OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
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 ALBU 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 Full-page portrait? aqd Biogifaphical etche^ of 
 
 fiitizeq^ of tlje Countij. 
 
 and 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES OP ALL THE GOVERNORS OP ILLINOIS, 
 AND OP THE PRESIDENTS OP THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ALSO CONTAINING A HISTORY OF THE COUNTY, FROM ITS EARLIEST SETTLEMENT 
 
 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
 
 CHICAGO: 
 CHAPMAN BROTHERS. 
 
 1883.
 
 
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 E HAVE completed our labors in writing and compiling the PORTRAIT ANDBIOGRAPH' 
 ALBUM OF WHITESIDE 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 
 demand that 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 to Whiteside 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 abrilliant 
 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 representa- 
 tive 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 represented. There are others, it is true, who claim equal prominence with 
 those presented, 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 Whiteside 
 County for kindly and material assistance in the preparation of this ALBUM. 
 
 CHAPMAN BROTHERS. 
 CHICAGO, August, 1885. 
 
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 FJXST 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 1751, 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
 
 
 'x'Hf^V, 
 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
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 trip was a perilous one, and several times he came near 
 losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished 
 a 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 leveling 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 
 look 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 1o 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 
 
 x : 
 
 
 commission as commander-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 was 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 his throat, produced inflammation, and terminated 
 fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh- 
 teenth his body was borne with 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 unit : ng 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 tall, 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. 
 
 ' 
 
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 '

 
 SECOND PRESIDENT. 
 
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 K 
 
 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 1640, 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, but 
 on Adams devolved the task of battling it through 
 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, "the 
 greatest question was decided that ever was debated 
 in America; and greater, perhaps, never was or will 
 be decided among men. A resolution was 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, shows> 

 
 ~~ v : K- 
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
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 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. 1 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 pvoposels. 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,hemade 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 opiwsition. 
 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 
 classof 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 o r 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 spitit into the hands of his God. 
 
 The personal appearance and manners of Mr. 
 Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face, 
 as his jx>rtrait 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. 

 
 t >rr*, ,, v 
 
 OF ILLINOIS
 
 THIRD PRESIDENT. 
 
 
 THOMAS 
 
 v 
 
 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 obodeof fashion 
 a.id 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 haid 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 
 

 
 <a> 
 
 
 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, was also to publish her to the world, free, 
 soverign and independent. It is one of the most re- 
 markable papers ever written ; and did no other effort 
 of 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 api>ointed 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. i, 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 
 tranquility and peace of the Union ; this was the con- 
 spiracyof 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 horses, 
 fathers aTid 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- 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 
 
 
 sary of the Declaration of American Independence, 
 great preparations were made in every part of the 
 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 air of 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. 
 
 *&* ** 
 

 
 UNIVERSITY 01- 11 
 UKfcAM*
 
 FOURTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 BIDES IDIDISOD. 
 
 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 
 It was but 25 miles from the home of 
 Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and 
 [xjlitical 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- 
 
 Blue Ridge. 
 
 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 subse- 
 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-loving 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 
 
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 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 lie 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, 1813, was 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 Februaiy, 
 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 Bladensburg 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. Bui 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. 13, 1815, the treaty of peace was signed atGhent. 
 
 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. 
 
 \ 
 
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 .^/^V^-T 

 
 UBRfUft 
 WWVERSITY of iLUIWtt 
 
 U88AHM
 
 FIFTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 AMES MONROE, the fifth 
 President of 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 Legislature 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, 
 
 * to 
 
 Of*
 
 - .. - 
 
 JAMES MONROE. 
 
 r 
 
 he was in the succeeding year chosen a member of 
 the Congress of the United States. 
 
 Deeply as Mr. Monroe felt the imperfections of the old 
 Confederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution, 
 thinking, 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 
 right 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. 
 
 -/> VX; 
 
 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. Their 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 our 
 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 of 
 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 wish 
 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 ? econd term Mr. Monroe retired 
 to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 18-50, 
 when he went to New York to live with his son-in- 
 law. In that city he died,on the 4th of July, 1831. 
 
 ^S.l 
 
 ^*i^>s 
 
 ^TSkT'V
 
 UNIVERSITY OF IIUNO(S
 
 J, oL.
 
 SIXTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 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., 
 T||!, on the i i th 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 
 Charlestdwn. 
 
 When but eleven years old he 
 took a tearful adieu of his mother, 
 to sail with his father 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 i78r, when the manly boy was but fourteen 
 years of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana, our min- 
 ister to the Russian court, as his private secretary. 
 
 In 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. 
 
 : v?
 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 
 
 
 (f 
 
 I 
 
 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 
 the 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 
 Quincy 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 
 kept 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 
 i8th 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 dating 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 player 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, "I am content" These were the 
 last words of the grand "Old Man Eloquent." 
 
 B *&*

 
 SEVENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 tg) 
 
 NDREW JACKSON, the 
 seventh President of the 
 United States, was born in 
 VVaxhaw 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. 
 
 During 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 
 
 I 
 
 ' 
 

 
 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 expi-.ing, 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. 
 
 Wheu the war of 1812 with Great Britian com- 
 menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair. 
 Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was 
 an 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 hurdred 
 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 to 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. Beriton, 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 upon 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 Tallapoosa 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 
 [xjwer of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold 
 plunge into the wilderness, with its terriffic slaughter, 
 so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants 
 of the bands caiiie 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 w hich 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.
 
 I rr-r ' -v 
 
 UNIVERSITY ik ILLINOIS
 
 ' 7/1? 06 

 
 EIGHTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 ARTIN VAN BUREN, the 
 eighth President of the 
 United States, was born 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 
 a 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, the 
 county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years, 
 constantly gaining strength by contending in the 
 courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned 
 the bar of his State. 
 
 Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mr. 
 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 gave 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 

 
 . 
 
 i 
 
 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 springs 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, 
 ratify the nomination, and he returned 
 
 to 
 
 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 1848, 
 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 ihe 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. 

 
 ;"-.--. -^ 
 
 -^^ 6veGo>>^- 
 
 NINTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 J4@^-<^ 
 
 K fTS33<ViS' 
 
 HENRY HARRISON. 
 
 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 sgring 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 settlements in 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 
 
 to 
 
 1'
 
 r -. 
 '' 
 
 <jnns 
 
 S 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 
 
 & 
 
 U) 
 
 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 accompanied by a shower of bullets. 
 
 The camp-fires were instantly extinguished, as the 
 light aided the Indians in their aim. With hide- 
 ous 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- 
 f 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 for the 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 
 pleurisy-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. 
 
 X - 
 
 ^T/VSJC;
 
 f .- ., 
 
 UNIVERSITY w 
 
 , uinuw
 
 TENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 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, lie 
 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- 
 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 
 Jefferson 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 
 
 V) 
 
 
 
 
 *&
 
 
 
 ^OU 
 
 
 JOHN 
 
 &PD>T 
 
 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 reccomm ended 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 
 
 ^^^ &*m 
 
 ^ 
 
 A 
 
 + 
 
 E=X 
 
 ii 
 
 V 
 
 y 
 
 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 at the 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 destroy, by 
 force of arms, the Government over which he had 
 once presided, he was taken sick and soon died. 
 

 
 ur 
 UNIVERSITY OF
 
 
 
 
 <2/tx^-**-fi
 
 ELEVENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 AMES IK- PDIK" 
 
 AMES K. POLK, the eleventh 
 President of the United States, 
 was bom in Mecklenburg Co., 
 N. C., Nov. 2, 1795. His par- 
 
 ents were ^ amue ' an d J ane 
 (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 1006, 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 
 
 86&l@>^(5) 
 
 ^yrejc'XV^i 

 
 r 1 
 
 JAMBS K. POLK. 
 
 xmrteous in his bearing, and with that sympathetic 
 nature in the jo>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 1839, he was con- 
 tinued in that office. He then voluntarily withdrew, 
 only that lie 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 141)1 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. Polk 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 
 
 K-'-x-^- 
 
 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 isth of June, 1849,111 the fifty-fourth 
 year of his age, greatly mourned by his countrymen. 
 
 

 
 U --r " 
 -I . 
 
 UHiVERsirv or-
 
 *& 
 
 TWELFTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 ,~r^ ^T^, 
 few ~>. '- -5X 
 
 ACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth 
 President of the United States, 
 was born on the 241)1 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 
 y 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- 
 v 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- 
 
 

 
 
 6 4 
 
 s_^ V .V- H H <L H H y V 
 
 ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 1 
 
 ' 
 
 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 to it; 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 
 
 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." 
 
 had never been heard of, s-ave in connection with Palo ^ 
 Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey and Buena /$ 
 Vista. It Is said that Daniel Webster, in his haste re- 2 *_ 
 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 gth 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.
 
 LIBI 
 UNIVthi>!!> -< ,L

 
 'i ><> 
 
 THIRTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 ^ 
 
 FILLMDRE.^ 
 
 NIMHN**5IIM^ 
 
 ** 
 
 & 
 
 ILLARD FILLMORE, thir- 
 teenth President of the United 
 States, was born at Summer 
 Hill, Cayuga Co., N. Y ., on 
 the yth 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 the 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 
 and then enters a law office, who is by no means as 
 
 &
 
 *. *. 
 
 
 ** 
 
 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 degn e 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 was 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 trumpet-tones all over the land. But 
 it was necessary to associate with him on the same 
 ticket some man of reputation as a statesman. 
 
 Under the influence of these considerations, the 
 namesof 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 measuresof 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 com promise 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.
 
 UNIVERSITY ft ii.Liw.iiii 
 l/Kr
 
 
 I 
 
 '"
 
 &X&&g/G\\ J'i^l 
 f*^ YVtSfctf .1 
 
 FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 RANKLIN PIERCE, the 
 fourteenth President of the 
 United States, was born in 
 Hillsborough, N. H., Nov. 
 23, 1864. 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 
 
 ^^^ ^A^O n 
 
 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. 
 
 t 
 
 three sons who were bom 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 27th 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 1 2th 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. 

 
 < tvy
 
 ; v ; i 1 ; i' . ,' .--,' ; ,' ; i 1 ; v ; v ; .' ; ><:,<: i'.;j:-:. . v..v.,v..v.,'i . ...'. -..'. .. | i--.. 1 .". v.-vvv..,' 
 
 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 years of 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- 
 
 V2cSsi8 ^nJMkar' 
 
 I 
 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. 
 Daring 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, 
 ap]x>inted 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. 
 
 *& 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 s\
 
 "V ^^ 
 
 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 cap 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 perpetuation 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 1050, 
 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 forthe 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. Buuhanan 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 
 nominated Abraham Lincoln as their standard bearer 
 in the next Presidential canvass. The pro-slavery 
 party declared, that if he were elected, and (he 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-slavery 
 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 cannot 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. 

 
 L." :;.-.?'; 
 yf , LUIWj(S
 

 
 SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 & < LINCOLN. > 
 
 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 
 family and moved into the then 
 wilds of Kentucky. Only two years 
 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 forever 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 shall not 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- 
 
 ' 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 ; 
 
 XX 
 
 <?s
 
 ' 
 
 (2; 
 
 * 
 
 ; ' 
 
 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 Sangamon 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. 
 Stuart, 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 
 the 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 i6th 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 
 prominent. 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 render 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 ol 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, both 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 Gen. 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.
 
 [ ',... 
 
 (/ILLINOIS
 
 
 ^ V 
 
 SEVENTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 ~- 
 
 NDREW JOHNSON, seven- 
 teenth President of the United 
 States. The early life of 
 Andrew Johnson contains but 
 ,_^ the record of poverty, destitu- 
 |fy tion and friendlessness. He 
 v 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, ne 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 responsible posi- 
 tions, he discharged his duties with distinguished abil-
 
 
 ANDREW JOHNSON. 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 ra 
 
 
 r 
 
 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 most 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 im potently, 
 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. 

 
 or
 
 "**, 

 
 
 EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 LYSSES S. GRANT, the 
 eighteenth President of the 
 United States, was born on 
 the 29111 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, he 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 animal, 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 
 
 
 
 
 V)
 
 
 
 - - 
 
 "". 
 
 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 
 
 June, 1 86 1, 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 
 district 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 tactical 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 term, 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. It 
 is not too much to say that his modest, courteous, and 
 dignified demeanor in the presence of the most dis- 
 tinguished men in the different nations in the world, 
 reflected honor upon the Republic which he so long 
 and so faithfully served. The country felt a great 
 pride in his reception. Upon his arrival in San Fran- 
 cisco, Sept. 20, 1879, the city authorities gave him a 
 fine reception. After lingering in the Golden State 
 for a while, he began his tour through the States, 
 which extended North and South, everywhere mark- 
 ed by great acclamation and splendid ovations. 
 
 >^9 : *^
 
 Lias 
 
 UNlVERSlfr yjf ILLINOIS
 
 

 
 VVr. H H 2> H H ' S\^^' 
 
 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 farbackas 1280, when Hayes and 
 Rutherford were two Scottish chief- 
 tains, righting 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 in New Haven, 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 
 
 6g|A@>$6 
 
 ^5/xC-<3'\ 
 

 
 V 
 
 V 
 
 f 
 
 ' 
 
 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 see. 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 1838,31 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 1845, 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 Chief 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 Club 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 ygth 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 1 >em- 
 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 come to Washington until I can come by 
 the way of Richmond." He was re-elected in 1866. 
 
 In 1867, Gen Hayes was elected Governor 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 
 auguratcd Monday, March 5, 1875. He served his 
 full term, not, however, with satisfaction to his party, 
 but his administration was an average one 
 
 
 s-\ <v.
 
 UNIVERS/IY * . 
 URBMM
 

 
 TWENTIETH PRESIDENT. 
 
 i A. (JAR FIELD. 
 
 AMES A. GARFIELD, twen- 
 tieth President of the United 
 States, was born Nov. 19, 
 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 
 \ poor Ohio farmers of that day. It 
 was about 20x30 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 biother'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 her 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 sureof 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 : 
 
 
 
 crt 
 
 S 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 s
 
 : 
 
 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 m6re 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 loveour 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 1 85 6 , 
 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, i86r. 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 Ligcoln, on his success commissioned him 
 Brigadier-General, Jan. ro, 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 ef 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 
 
 rvV-Pra^Aft 
 
 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, r88o, 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 in.1i< '.ing 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 Elberon, 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.
 
 <* lum
 
 / 
 
 r
 
 
 TWEAITY-FIRST PRESIDENT. 
 
 HESTER A. ARTHUR, 
 twenty-first President of the 
 United States, was born in 
 F ranklin County, Vermont, on 
 the fifthof October, 1830, and is 
 the oldest of a family of two 
 sons and five daughters. His 
 father was the Rev. Dr. William 
 Arthur, a Baptist clergyman, who 
 emigrated to this country' from 
 the county Antrim, Ireland, in 
 his 1 8th year, and died in 1875, in 
 Newton ville, near Albany, after a 
 long and successful ministry. 
 
 Young Arthur was educated at 
 Union College, Schenectady, where 
 he excelled in all his studies. Af- 
 ter his graduation he taught school 
 h in Vermont for two years, and at 
 J 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 married 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 
 jn 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 quickK 
 
 <& 
 
 
 , 
 
 * V- Vx
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 V 
 
 ) 
 
 
 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, 1 878, 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, 1 880. This was perhaps the greatest political 
 convention that ever assembled on thecontinent. 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 Domination. 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, when the hearts of all civilized na- 
 
 ^^^ ^XMim: 
 
 I 
 
 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 <R 
 and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible suf- 
 fering man has often been called upon to endure, was iSf 
 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 ]X>sition 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 V 
 affairs, he happily surprised the nation, acting so 
 wisely that but few criticised his administration, f 
 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 f 
 of one of the opposing candidates, he would have 
 been selected as the standard-bearer of his party ,A, \ 
 for another campaign. He retired to private life car- ( 
 rying with him the best wishes of the American peo- < 
 pie, whom he had served in a manner satisfactory ( 
 to them and with credit to himself. */ 
 
 m 
 

 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 UKfcftNA
 

 
 - 
 
 TWENTY-SECOND PRESIDENT. 
 
 TEPHEN GROVER CLEVE- 
 LAND, the twenty- second Pres- 
 ident of the United States, was 
 born in 1837, in the obscure 
 town of Caldwell, Essex Co., 
 N. ]., 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 
 
 ..J&i^ 
 
 
 V) 
 
 fp)
 
 104 
 
 GROVER CLEVELAND. 
 
 
 
 
 
 T 
 
 (o 
 
 
 
 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 he 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 erii- 
 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 most 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 
 n, 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. 
 
 ' 
 
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 .:- . 


 
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ''' 
 
 
 HADRACH BOND, the first 
 Governor of Illinois after its 
 organization ns 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 ne 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 )x>rtion of the State be- 
 ing mainly in Madison County. Thus it appears 
 that Mr. Bond was honored by the naming of a 
 
 \ 
 
 $ 
 " f 
 
 
 x .
 
 112 
 
 
 
 SHADRACH BOND. 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 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 State, 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 were 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 the " Convention party," for 
 introducing slavery into the State, supported by Elias 
 Ke.it 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.im:>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 1824, 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 Wubash 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 
 to 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- 
 islature, 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. 
 
 
 . 
 
 /VT^ 
 
 
 ^xS
 
 UNIVERSITY Oi- iLL(NOfi>
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 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 hi;n to reconcile the immortal declaration 
 "that all men are bom 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. M idison was because he believed 
 that through the acquaintances he could make at 
 Washington he could better determine in what part 
 of the non-slaveho'ding 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- 
 
 ' -^V!>l 
 
 
 t
 
 ! jp? 
 
 
 116 
 
 EDWARD COLES. 
 
 
 & 
 
 (& 
 
 ander) of the error committed by his min-ister at 
 Washington, and the consequent withdrawal of the 
 the latter from the post. On his return, Mr. Coles 
 visited other 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 he 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 described 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 countenances 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 df every philan- 
 thropist of modern times. 
 
 March 5, 1819, President Monroe appointed Mr. 
 Coles Registrar of the Land Office at Edwardsville, 
 at that time one of the principal land offices in the 
 State. While acting in this capacity and gaining 
 many friends by his politeness and general intelli- 
 gence, the greatest struggle that ever occurred in 
 Illinois on the slavery question 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. 
 Bond, the pro-slavery element divided into factions, 
 putting forward for the executive office Joseph 
 Phillips, Chief Justice of the State, Thomas C. 
 Browne and Gen. James B. Moore, of the State Mil- 
 itia. 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 
 was 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 which 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 Vandalia 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 masterly 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 cama to this country with Wm. Penn in 1682. 
 
 After the expiration of his term of service, Gov. 
 Coles continued his residence in Edwardsville, sup- 
 erintending his farm in the vicinity. He was fond 
 of agriculture, and was the founder of the first agft- 
 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. 
 
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 DIVERSITY Of ILLINOIS 
 URBAM
 
 ' ' 1 'V. H H *JJ> H H ^ V 
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 i ni a n EdA\ 
 
 INIAN EDWARDS, Governor 
 from 1827 to 1830, was a son 
 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, an3 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 
 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 
 County before he was 2 r 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 1809, 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, 1809. Edwards arrived at Kaskaskia in 
 June, and on the i tth 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 
 

 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
 A 
 
 "> 
 
 1 
 
 E3 
 & 
 
 
 
 
 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 t8io 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. VVirt, 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 party in 1824. 
 
 In 1826-7 the Winnebago and other Indians com- 
 mitted soire 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, 
 arid 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 eightorten 
 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. 
 
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 - ILLINOIS
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 123 
 
 . 
 
 
 |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 1800 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 
 to 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 2oth 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 
 
 
 
 TaC 
 
 REYNOLDS. 
 
 From his services in the West, in the war of 1812, 
 he obtained the sobriquet of the " Old Ranger." He 
 was Orderly Sergeant, then Judge Advocate. 
 
 Mr. Reynolds opened his first law office in the 
 winter and spring of 1814, in the French village of 
 Cahokia, then the capital of St. Glair 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 recommended 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 voce, 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 e^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 
 YVashington. 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 ' ugly, he 
 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 to the 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. 
 
 - - 
 
 A
 
 . .. 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 URBAM
 
 GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 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 inarched 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 inarch. 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- 
 
 * ' 
 
 J
 
 . ptsr 
 
 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 
 \$ days, namely, from the 3d to the xyth days, in- 
 clusive, of November. On the i;th 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 Kent 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. 
 
 :--

 

 
 s^@^^ 
 ""STSJcyv 
 
 CO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 SSS ^ Sr f^QfUWnv- 
 
 awwe^-St^Zfajrev. 
 
 je>- 
 
 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 
 lie 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 1826, 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 lie 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
 
 JOSEPH DUNCAN. 
 
 @ 
 
 4 
 
 . 
 
 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 went 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. 
 
 [HOMAS 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 farming, and then removed 
 to Greene County. He located the town site of Car- 
 rollton, 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 i838j 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 scheme 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 ele-tion was: Carlin, 35,573 ; Ander- 
 son, 30,335; Edwards, 29,629; and Davidson, 28,- 
 
 Upon the meeting of the subsequent Legislature 
 (1839), the retiring Governor (Duncan) in his rnes- 

 
 j( J 
 
 
 
 r. .-< 
 ^ 
 
 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 Judicu, 
 ary, and under it five additional Supreme Judges 
 were elected by the Legislature, namely, Thomas 
 Ford (afterward Governor), Sidney Breese, Walter B. 
 Scates, 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, r84i, 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, 
 1 85 2, at his residence at Carrollton, leaving a wife 
 and seven children. 

 
 UNIVERSITY Of JUJNOIJ,
 
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 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
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 ^^sM 
 
 JHOMAS FORD, 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 
 
 
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 I 
 
 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, owing. 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 upon the true Jefferson- 
 ian principle, Never to ask and 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 
 sound, 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 
 politician, 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 
 financial 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 was 
 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 during 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 non-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 against those of his con- 
 temporaries who were prominent during his term of 
 office as Governor. 
 
 The death of Gov. Ford took place at Peoria, 111., 
 Nov. 2, 1850. 

 
 '" miTY OF iLUNOIS 
 URBANA
 
 1 '*&*iK 
 

 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 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 ot 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, Win. 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 votes, 
 
 * ' 
 
 I
 
 O M H " ^ >T 
 
 AUGUSTUS C. FRENCH. 
 
 ir 
 
 By the new Constitution of 1848, a new election for 
 State officers was ordered in November 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 incumbent 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 Pierre 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 L. D. Morrison. But Wm. 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, tne Legisla- 
 ture, by special permission 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 time, 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 $100,000 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 to 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 of industrious citi- 
 zens, and by the charter a good income to the State 
 Treasury is paid in from the earnings of the road. 
 
 In 1851 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- (Q) 
 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.
 
 Or ,LUNO
 
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 |:OEL A. MATTESON, Governor 
 1 85 3-6, was bora 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 boarded 12 
 
 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 1841, 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 
 
 
 A<*
 
 JOEL A. MATTESON. 
 
 greed for office, unwilling to 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 two full succeeding Senatorial terms, 
 discharging its important duties with ability and faith- 
 fulness. Besides his extensive woolen-mill interest, 
 when work was resumed on the canal under the new 
 loan of $1,600,000 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. C. 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 v tes 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 
 virtues 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 Con- 
 
 /-> .Vv 
 
 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 parry 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 few ballotings 
 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 $137,818,07910 $349,951,272; the pub- 
 lic debt was 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 less 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 $224^82.66. 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. 
 
 . ,"
 
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 1 
 
 . liiB 11. 
 
 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 
 lie 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 to 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 to 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, 
 
 
 (i 
 
 I
 
 WILLIAM H BfSSELL. 
 
 X f 
 
 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 1 
 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 
 County, for Lieutenant Governor. The result of the 
 
 h ^^^ ^< 
 
 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 Genual 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 had been a member since 1854.
 
 WWVERsmr (# IUJ(IUIS
 
 

 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 n||:OHN WOOD, Governor 1 86o-r , and 
 fife** the first settler of Quincy, 111., 
 was born in the town of Serapro- 
 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, wag 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, 
 
 1 8 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 his 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 tiie 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 1861 ex-Gov. Wood was one of the five Dele- 
 gates from Illinois to the " Peace Convention " at 
 Washington, and in April of the same 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. 
 
 *. 

 
 UCRARY 
 
 ONIVtRSlTY Of ILLINOIS 
 UKttUlft

 
 ;>*- 
 
 T2^sr 
 
 64@>a 
 
 *-gKj^Kf<\ 
 
 GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ICHARD YATES, the "War 
 Governor," 1861-4, was born 
 Jan. 18, 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, and, 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. 
 
 Gpv. Yates occupied the chair of State during tht; 
 
 - 
 
 S 
 

 
 
 RICHARD YATES. 
 
 <; 
 
 ? 
 
 "> 
 
 ) 
 
 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 
 effect a peaceable revolution of the State Government 
 
 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 2-jth of November following. 
 
 ;/
 
 L.----.P 1 ,' 
 
 , LUN01S
 
 GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Richard JT* Ogl 
 
 
 -s 
 
 UCHARD 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, h e 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-
 
 tf 
 @j 
 
 \zs 
 
 V 
 
 mediate death. That rebel ball he carries to this 
 day. On his partial recovery he was promoted as 
 Major General, for gallantry, 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, whin he returned home. 
 The Republican, or Union, -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 Clark, 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 the 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 
 
 1865 were the election of ex-Gov. Yates to the 
 United States Senate, and the ratification of the I3th 
 amend.nent 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 Gustavus 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 tbeir 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 jaint 
 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. Og'esby 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 iovial 
 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 gestures, 
 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 emphasis, 
 he delights a promiscuous audience beyond measure.
 
 Of
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 JOHN M. PALMES 
 
 --* 
 
 * f< 
 
 j:OHN Me AULEY PALMER, Gov- 
 ernor 1869-72, was 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 
 early 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, Sred 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, 
 

 
 -' . ' 
 
 m 
 
 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 III. 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 14th 
 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 Peoria 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. 
 
 On 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 State's rights ground. This and some minor 
 points, which were more in keeping with the Demo- 
 cratic sentiment, constituted the entering wedge fjr 
 the criticisms and reproofs he afterward received 
 from the Republican party, and ultimately resulted 
 in his entire aleniation from the latter 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 statesmanship. 
 
 m
 
 I "rv 
 
 UNlVERSinr <*
 
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Xi'^^^V-,.'^.'!.^ '..'>. 'i '. 'i .;'..'. '. . V. 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 Beveridge, 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 
 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, n_>t willing to bur- 
 den the family, he packed his trunk and with only 
 $40 in money started South to seek his fortune, 

 
 >J 
 
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 p 
 
 k 
 
 
 
 V"V.MHCDHH-y V v ~' 
 
 JOHN L. BEYERIUGE. 
 
 |$@JX<s) 
 
 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, i$47, 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, 12 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, 
 HI., 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- 
 
 tles and skirmishes : was at Fair Oaks, the seven days' 
 fight around Richmond, Fredericksburg, Chancellors- 
 ville 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 lyth 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 7 1 Dearborn Street (McCormick Block), 
 Chicago, and since November, 1881, 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. 
 
 vg) 


 
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 M. CULLOM. 
 
 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 
 i873- 
 
 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 mpnths. 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 for 
 packing, for A. G. Tyng, in Peoria, 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 
 
 /-> /VX:,
 
 I? 6 
 
 SHELB Y M. CULLOM. 
 
 
 
 .. 
 
 law until 1 860, 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 parly 
 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 Charles 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 entered 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 Chairmanship 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 for the 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, iS8i. 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 
 Lieutenant-Governor John M. Hamilton to the Gov- 
 ernorship. Senator Cullom's term in the United 
 States Senate will expire 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. 
 
 1 s 
 
 * '"
 
 UNIVERSITY OF
 

 
 _*A/S>K>l/ r 
 
 ^(VXiJcj 
 
 GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 OHN MARSH ALL 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 war, young Hamilton 
 was rejected on account of his youth, he being then 
 but 14 years of age. During the winter 0^1863-4 he 
 attended an academy at Henry, Marshall County, 
 
 -JSyrSf^bf/rSfl 
 
 ""fTSST^ii. 
 

 
 
 JOHN MARSHALL HAMILTON. 
 
 fi 
 
 
 S)\ 
 
 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 too-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 time 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 Feb. 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. Wm. G. Williams, 
 Professor of Greek in the Ohio Wesleyan 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, against so 
 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 was 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 32d 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. 
 
 ;* | . '
 
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 jjr^DG'
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 M- 
 
 -M- 
 
 SHE comparative value of bi- 
 ography in the field of lit- 
 erature is daily becoming 
 more apparent. At no 
 period lias it ranked as at 
 present, and each success- 
 ive day adds to its promi- 
 nence. Sixty years ago its su- 
 premacy was acknowledged by the 
 most graceful pen of the age, and 
 the concession had all the more 
 strength coming as it did from a 
 man whose ultima thule was found 
 in a direction considered diametri- 
 cally its reverse. Tourgee consid- 
 ers biography as hardly worthy 
 respect, and the opinion seems 
 conspicuously singular, coming 
 from one who expounds his principles through the 
 lips of fictitious characters, constructed for the pur- 
 pose. It strikes one as paradoxical. But when a 
 historian so masterly as Lord Macaulay pays tribute 
 to the value and power of biography, its place is as- 
 sured beyond danger from assault. 
 
 Carlyle's statement that the world's history is the 
 history of its leaders, is the truest thing that has 
 been said of the comparative merits of biography, 
 and it brings us to the quest for the world's leaders. 
 Finding them, we are startled to discover that the 
 real and true leaders are, for the most part, compara- 
 tively unknown. Modern progress, with its hurried 
 sweep, has engulfed them, and bewildered the com- 
 mon understanding with its exhibit of marvels. But 
 when the lapse of time has cooled enthusiasm, when 
 
 results stand forth in matchless proportions and the 
 spontaneous meed of praise awaits its rightful 
 owner, agencies appear in their legitimate attitude. 
 
 The time is here when biography is no longer con- 
 fined to those who have done great things. The 
 day of small things has come, and the grand array 
 of those who have created the proud position and 
 splendid supremacy of American institutions, is re- 
 ceiving just recognition. 
 
 No wonder that Illinois is supreme among States! 
 When her pioneer sons first trod her fair acres, and 
 the hope of ultimate ownership arose in their souls, 
 did they not know, though unwittingly, what is the 
 true significance of the " divine right of kings ? " 
 
 Who more a king than he who stood in the primal 
 days of Whiteside County, his gaze fixed on the 
 broad acres of his " claim," and feeling in his veins 
 the leaping tide and in his muscles the latent 
 strength, through whose intelligent application the 
 fruition of his hopes should come ? 
 
 The " annals " that follow these words of introduc- 
 tion have been retouched with reverence, and a full 
 realization of the responsibility attending the work. 
 Every man who has added by his life's efforts to the 
 productiveness of the soil, improved the quality or 
 swelled the number of the herds, has a right to a 
 representation to the generations of the future from 
 his own standpoint of motive and achievement. 
 
 And when they that follow contemplate the re- 
 sults of the toil of those who led, question as to per- 
 sonality and purpose, these pages will exist to answer 
 their eager solicitude, and to urge them, in the light 
 of example, to fill worthily the steps that first trod 
 where theirs must come after. 
 
 
 S 
 
 .
 
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 ^ V 
 
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 f^^

 
 1 XT' H H *1* H H y V v ' 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 OL. EBENEZER SEELY, 
 the oldest living resident of 
 Whiteside County, living up- 
 on his farm in Portland 
 Tp., was bom in Ononda- 
 ga Co., N. Y., Nov. 6, 1802. 
 He is a son of Jeduthan and Sally 
 (Gibhs) Seely. His father was a na- 
 tive of Washington Co., N. Y., a farmer 
 by occupation, and died near where 
 Col. Seely now resides, Sept. 4, 1836, 
 and was the first man buried in the 
 county. His mother was a native of 
 Utica, N. Y., and died in Olin, Iowa, 
 in 1841. They were united in mar- 
 riage in Onondaga Co., N. Y., and afterwards moved 
 to Genesee County, that State. They were the par- 
 ents of six children, five sons and one daughter, three 
 of whom yet survive, and one of whom, Col. Seely, 
 subject of this notice, is the eldest. Horace is now 
 residing at Oxford Mills, Jones Co., Iowa. Mary is 
 the wife of Rev. Lowry, a Congregational minister in 
 Olin, Jones Co., Iowa. 
 
 In 1806, the parents of Col. Seely moved from 
 Onondaga to Genesee Co., N. Y., and in the latter 
 county Mr. Seely was reared on a farm, receiving 
 the advantages afforded by the common schools, and 
 developed into manhood. On attaining adult age he 
 continued to follow the vocation of farming and 
 lumbering, and soon after entered into a copartner- 
 ship with Marvin Frary in the saw-mill business. 
 They erected a saw-mill in the latter county, which 
 they continued to operate for five years, when Col. 
 
 Seely sold out and, taking his share of the lumber 
 that was on hand, constructed a raft on which he 
 placed his family, consisting of wife and five children 
 and father and mother, and rafted down the Ohio 
 River to Louisville, Ky. He sold his lumber at that 
 place and took a boat to St. Louis, accompanied by 
 his family, and went from the latter city to Rock Isl- 
 and. At the latter place he hired a team and 
 brought his family to what is now Prophelstown 
 Township. He had nevertheless been to this county 
 before. In September, 1834, he came here and lo- 
 cated 320 acres of land on sections 6, of Prophets- 
 town Township, and i of Portland Township. He 
 broke some land and made some other improvements 
 on his place, and in March, 1835, returned to New 
 York, and in April, 1836, brought his family as stated. 
 He at first moved into a little house his brother Nor- 
 man B., now deceased, owned at that time, and soon 
 erected a log house of his own, 22x22 feet. The 
 following year he erected another building, 22x22 
 feet in dimensions, twelve feet from the building 
 which he first erected, and placed them both 
 under one roof. In 1839 he erected a frame house, 
 22x30 in dimensions, and one and a half stories, 
 in which he kept " hotel " for the accommodation of 
 pioneer travelers, having brought with him a good 
 supply of bedding, provisions, etc. He continued to 
 act as " mine host " on his farm for 32 years, the 
 same being known as a farmers' home. He had at one 
 time 220 acres under the plow, and a fine farm. 
 
 Col. Seely also erected a steam saw-mill on his 
 farm, in company with several other pioneers, and 
 they ran it for about ten years, when he bought them 
 
 j 
 
 * * 
 
 A f
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 'S'f 
 I 
 
 all out, which he did one at a time, and became sole 
 owner. The mill was finally run for two years as a 
 grist-mill. Afterward Col. Seely sold the machinery, 
 which was shipped away. 
 
 Mr. Seely tells many interesting stories of his early 
 settlement in this county. The first grist that he had 
 ground he took to Aurora, 100 miles distant, and was 
 some eight days making the trip. He has drawn a 
 great deal of wheat to Chicago, and has had at a time 
 two and three teams on the road at once. He has 
 seen a string of teams three miles long loaded with 
 wheat, and on their way to the now great metropolis. 
 At one time he went to Chicago with three loads of 
 wheat, and was spokesman for the wheat " drawers " 
 that day and controlled the price of that article there, 
 and bulled the market from 75 cents to $1.10. At 
 present he could hardly accomplish the wonderful 
 feat he performed at that time. The Colonel also 
 saw the first two-story building erected in Chicago, 
 which was in September, 1834. This was the Tre- 
 mont House, which afterward burned, and was 
 replaced with another fine stone building. Mr. Seely 
 receives his title of Colonel from having been the 
 Colonel of the militia of New York, and also in this 
 State. 
 
 Col. Seely was united in marriage, in Alexander 
 Township, Genesee Co., N. Y., Jan. 25, 1824, to 
 Miss Dolly Maynard, who was born in the State of 
 Connecticut, Feb. 27, 1803, and died Jan. 6, 1875. 
 They raised seven children, six of whom survive. 
 Solomon, a resident of Sterling: Sarah, the wife of 
 Alexander Hatfield, a resident of Sterling. Andrew 
 J., a farmer in Portland Township. Martin V., a 
 resident of Prophetstown. Caroline, wife of Stephen 
 H. Beardslee, a resident of Cadillac, Mich.; and Jen- 
 nie, a widow, residing in Brooklyn, N. Y. David is 
 deceased. 
 
 Col. Seely has been a member of the I. O. O. F. 
 30 years. He was the first President of the Pioneer 
 Society of this county, and has held the position ever 
 since. The first meeting was held in January, 1853, 
 in the Wallace House, Sterling, and Col. Seely has 
 never failed to attend the meetings of the society 
 since, with but a single exception. The meetings 
 are held at Hamilton's Bluffs, in Lyndon Township, 
 this county. He has a remarkable memory for a 
 man of his age. His mind is as clear and strong as 
 men usually are at 60. 
 
 Mr. Seely is a gentleman worthy the distinction of 
 
 
 
 having his portrait placed in the honorary position in 
 this ALBUM, and especially so when he has been 
 living in this county longer than any other man. 
 
 ason W. Blaisdell, farmer, residing on 
 section 16, Portland Township, and the 
 owner of 210 acres in the township, is a 
 son of Daniel and Clarissa (Gardner), Blais- 
 dell, and was born in Cortland Co., N. Y. , July 
 27, 1820. His father was a millwright, in connec- 
 tion with farming and lumbering, in the State of Ver- 
 mont, and his mother was a native of the same 
 State. The issue of their union was three children! 
 two of whom are living. Mary is deceased. Caro- 
 line is the wife of Daniel F. Cole, a farmer residing 
 in Portland Township, this county. 
 
 Mr. Blaisdell is the youngest of his father's 
 family. He and his father came by river to Rock 
 Island, and walked to Portland Township, this 
 county, arriving at the residence of Horace Burk 
 June 15, 1836. His father made a claim of 160 
 acres on section 21, of Portland Township. Com- 
 ing at that date in company with his father, Mr. B., 
 as well as the latter, may be considered one of the 
 pioneer settlers of this county. His father made 
 improvements on his claim, and in the fall of 1837 
 the remainder of the family followed. In the tornado 
 which occurred in 1 844, his father was considerably 
 bruised, and never fully recovered. He died on his 
 farm, Dec. 23, 1855, where the mother also died> 
 April 15, 1870. He was a man of energetic dispo- 
 sition, with a determination to establish a home for 
 himself and family, and faithfully labored for the 
 fulfillment of his desire. He held numerous offices 
 in the township. 
 
 Mr. Blaisdell purchased 40 acres of prairie land 
 and 33 of timber land in 1843, and subsequently 
 added to his landed interests until at one time he 
 had about 500 acres. He has given 80 acres to his 
 son, Herbert P., 120 acres to his daughter, Anulet, 
 and 80 acres to Almeda, and now has 210 acres, lo- 
 cated on sections 21, 16, 25 and 27. He has a fine 
 residence, good orchard, barns, fine running spring, 
 etc. He also runs a threshing-machine in seasons, 
 and has sawed wood for a number of years. 
 
 Mr. Blaisdell was united in marriage in Portland
 
 Township, Dec. 5, 1844, to Miss Alzina Rowe. She 
 was a daughter of James and Mary A. Rowe, and 
 was born in Steuben Co., N. Y. The issue of their 
 union was three children, all born in Portland 
 Township, this county. Their record is as follows : 
 Anulet was born April 14, 1847, and is the wife of 
 Ralph Smedley, a farmer of Portland Township; 
 Aimeda was born July 31, 1855, and is the wife of 
 William C. Bryant, a farmer and dealer in stock at 
 Erie; Herbert P., born Sept. 13, 1852, is now a resi- 
 dent of La Vergne, Minn. 
 
 illiam Pearson, general farmer, section 29, 
 Ustick Township, is the proprietor of one 
 of the finest farms in Whiteside County, 
 comprising 340 acres. His first purchase, 
 in 1856, included 60 acres, which has been 
 and still is the site of his home. He has been 
 prospered in his business relations, and is a very 
 successful farmer. 
 
 He was born Feb. 14, 1832, in Chedelhume, 
 Chestershire, England, and is the son of James and 
 Mary (Fisher) Pearson. His parents were natives 
 of England, and the mother died in her native 
 country, in 1852. Their children were born in the 
 following order : John, Samuel, Thomas, Jane, Will- 
 iam, James, Henry and Isaac. Thomas was drowned 
 in Clinton, De Witt Co., 111. Isaac died at 22. The 
 surviving brothers and sisters of Mr. Pearson live in 
 England. His father came to America and lived 
 about five years, when he died at the residence of 
 his son. He was successively a butcher, farmer 
 and silk-weaver. 
 
 Mr. Pearson came to the United States in 1854, 
 and settled at Blackberry, Kane Co., 111., operating as 
 a section foreman on the Chicago & North Western 
 Railroad. In 1856 he came to Whiteside County, 
 and has since been engaged in farming. He operated 
 in the same capacity in the interests of the same 
 railroad corporation after his removal hither, one ter- 
 mination of his route being Unionville. He has 
 since resided in Ustick Township, with the excep- 
 tion of six months spent in Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1860 he returned to his native country to ful- 
 fill a long cherished purpose, the result of which 
 was his marriage to Ann Shotwell. Their union was 
 
 celebrated Jan. 25, and soon after they sailed for 
 their home in the New World. They have had 12 
 children, nine of whom still survive. They were 
 born in the following order, in Ustick Township : 
 George, Dec. 25, 1861 ; James, Jan. 27, 1863; Mary 
 J., Jan. 4, 1865 ; Frances E., March 9, 1866 ; Fred- 
 eric W., Feb. 28, 1868; Emma C, April 7, 1870; 
 Eliza, June 10, 1872; Levi, March 4, r874; Allan. 
 Three children died in infancy. Mrs. Pearson was 
 born Nov. 14, 1836, and is the daughter of George 
 and Frances Shotwell. Her father was born in 1806, 
 in Woodford, Chestershire, and died Jan. 9, 1879. 
 Her mother was born in 1808 in the same place, and 
 died June 24, 1883. Their children were named 
 Sarah, Frederick, Levi, Ann, Samuel, William and 
 Eliza. Two sisters died in England. Samuel and 
 William came to America. 
 
 ILornelius Trowbridge, a farmer owning 
 land on sections 33 and 34, Mt. Pleasant 
 Township, is a son of Willard and Amy 
 
 (Sprague) Trowbridge, natives of Connecticut. 
 
 They were married and settled in Lewis Co.^ 
 
 N. Y., where the wife and mother died. The 
 father afterward removed to Fulton Co., Ohio, where 
 he is at present residing. Their family comprised 
 six children, namely: John S., Jordon, Emily. An- 
 son, Allen and Cornelius. 
 
 Cornelius, the subject of this biographical notice, 
 was born in York, Lewis Co., N. Y., Feb. 20, 1828. 
 He received a common-school education in Ohio, 
 and as the country in which his father resided was 
 new, and he being the first settler in the township of 
 the county, the school privileges were very limited. 
 Cornelius lived at home assisting on the farm until 
 he attained the age of majority. He then bought a 
 tract of timbered land, which he cleared and after- 
 ward sold, and then cleared another farm in the 
 same locality ; he also assisted in clearing his father's 
 farm in Fulton County, Ohio. 
 
 Nov. 8, 1863, Mr. Trowbridge enlisted in the 38th 
 Ohio Vol. Inf., and served till the close of the war. 
 He participated in the battle of Jonesboro and at the 
 siege of Atlanta, and was wounded by a minie ball 
 in the right leg, and in consequence thereof he wa? 
 incapacitated from active duty in the field. He is a 

 
 J( 
 
 192 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 member of Alpheus Clark Post, G. A. R., at Morri- 
 son, and is also a pensioner of the Government. 
 After the war closed Mr. Trowbridge returned to his 
 farm in Ohio, and resumed the cultivation of his 
 land, which he continued until June, 1878, when he 
 came to this county and settled on the farm on 
 which he at present resides, in Mt. Pleasant Town- 
 ship, which he had purchased the spring previous to 
 his removal hither. He is the owner of 187^ acres, 
 the principal portion of which lies in Mt. Pleasant 
 Township, and of the whole tract, 180 acres is in a 
 good tillable condition. 
 
 Mr. Trowbridge was united in marriage in Fulton 
 Co., Ohio, Dec. 30, 1849, to Celina M., daughter of 
 Alanson and Mary (Hubbard) Bradley, natives of 
 Connecticut. Her patents were married and settled 
 in York State, from whence they removed to Fulton 
 Co., Ohio, in 1844, and where her father died Aug. 
 8, 1877. The mother resides in Dakota. Their 
 family comprised ten children, namely : Edwin, 
 Celina, Almon, Jane, Enos, Cyrus, James, Martha, 
 Frederick and Mary. Mrs. Trowbridge was born in 
 Oswego Co., N. Y., Aug. 21, 1830. She and her 
 husband are the parents of three children, Julius O., 
 born Dec. 26, 1850; Alfred E., born Jan. 16, 1854; 
 Martha A., born May 7, 1867, and died when 16 
 months old. 
 
 Mr. Trowbridge has held the office of School Di- 
 rector, and he and his wife are members of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. Politically he is identified with 
 the Republican party. 
 
 I UUam H. Harrison, a merchant at Tam- 
 pico, was born Dec. 20, 1856, in Fenton 
 Township, Whiteside Co., 111. His par- 
 ents, Samuel and Betsey (Pope) Harrison, 
 were born in England, where they were 
 farmers. They came to Whiteside County, 
 and the father died in Fenton Township, in 1866. 
 In 1874 the mother and children went to Vancouver's 
 Island, B. C. 
 
 Mr. Harrison returned to Whiteside County in 
 1876. He obtained a position as clerk in the em- 
 ployment of Isaac Kahn, in whose interests he oper- 
 ated 18 months. In 1878 he came to Tampico and 
 formed a partnership with R. Davis in the sale of 
 
 general merchandise. At the end of 18 months their 
 connection terminated, Mr. Harrison becoming sole 
 proprietor. His business is in a prosperous condi- 
 tion. In political opinion and relations, Mr. Har- 
 rison is a Republican. He is at present a member 
 of the Village Board. 
 
 Dec. 25, 1883, he was married to Sadie, daughter 
 of Thomas A. and Mary (Varien) Glassburn. Her 
 parents were born, reared and married in Ohio, and 
 came to Illinois in 1856, since which time they have 
 resided in Whiteside County. They now live in 
 Tampico Township, where Mrs. Harrison was born, 
 and acquired a good education. At 16 she com- 
 menced teaching in the primary department of the 
 village school at Tampico, where she was employed 
 six years. 
 
 1 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 artin V. Seely, " mine host " of the " Seely 
 House," is a son of Col. Ebenezer and 
 Dolly (Maynard) Seely (see sketch of * 
 Col. Ebenezer Seely in another part of this 
 work), and was born in Cattaraugus Co., N. i 
 Y., Jan. 30, 1834. The father of Mr. Seely ^ 
 was a native of Genesee Co., N. Y., and now resides 
 in Portland Township, this county, at the advanced 
 age of 82 years ; his portrait appears in this work, 
 and in connection therewith a biographical sketch of 
 his life. The mother of Mr. Seely died on the old 
 homestead, aged 72 years. 
 
 When two years of age, 1836, Mr. Seely accom- 
 panied his parents to this county, where they located 
 -on a farm. He was reared on the farm, assisting in J \ 
 the labors of the same and alternating his work 
 thereon by attendance at the common schools until 
 he attained the age of majority. 
 
 Mr. Seely was united in marriage in Portland 
 Township, this county, March 20, 1855, to Miss 
 Armina Maynard, a daughter of William and Emily 
 Maynard. She was born in Erie Co., N. Y., Jan. 30, 
 1834, the same day and year which witnessed the 
 birth of her husband. The issue of their union was 
 two children, both of whom are deceased, Sadie and 
 Willie. 
 
 Mrs. Seely died in Portland Township,. March 7, 
 1859, and Mr. Seely was ngain married in the same 
 township, Dec. 19, 1861, to Miss Amelia Keeler, 
 
 
 I 

 
 -: .. - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 daughter of Ralph O. and Orlantha J. Keeler. Slie 
 was born in Wood Co., Ohio, Aug. 15, 1835. They 
 had one son, Ralph M., born July 19, 1867, and at 
 present attending the Business College at Sterling, 
 111. Mrs. Seely died in Prophetstown, Dec. 15, 1884. 
 In 1861, Mr. Seely bought the old homestead, which 
 comprised 260 acres. He subsequently sold 160 
 acres of the same and at the present time is the pro- 
 prietor of 100 acres of the old homestead, also 160 
 acres on sections i and 35 in Portland Township. 
 He made a speciality of stock-raising, buying and 
 feeding his stock and shipping annually about $50,- 
 ooo worth. Mr. Seely was President of the White- 
 side Agricultural Society of Sterling, for two years. 
 Socially, he is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Seely went to Prophetstown and built 
 the Seely House, which he rented for six years, and 
 during that time was interested in the stock business. 
 When the First National Bank was organized, he was 
 a stock-holder and director of the same. In 1879, 
 he took charge of his hotel and has conducted it ever 
 since. It is the only hotel in Prophetstown, has 28 
 rooms for the accommodation of guests, and is con- 
 ducted in a manner every way suited to the wants of 
 the traveling public. Mr. Seely is strictly temperate, 
 never having tasted a drop of ardent spirits in his 
 life ; nor does he use tobacco in any way. 
 
 avid B. Arrell is one of the most prosper- 
 ous ano< enterprising fanners in Garden 
 Plain Township. He was born in the 
 township of Veale in Daviess Co., Ind., Sept. 
 20, 1821. His parents, James and Sarah (Crab) 
 Arrell, were natives of the township of Fallow- 
 field, Washington Co., Pa., and emigrated thence to 
 Indiana alxnit 1817, traveling on flat-boats on the 
 Monongahela and Ohio Rivers to Evansville on the 
 latter, whence they went to Daviess County with 
 teams. They located in Daviess County and were 
 pioneers, building a log house in the depths of the 
 timber. The structure was built without nails, cov- 
 ered with clapboards and had a puncheon floor. The 
 door was furnished with a wooden latch, and the 
 trite saying that " its string was always out," may 
 be accepted in all its significations. The family left 
 Indiana in 1823, returning to Pennsylvania. 
 
 So far as can be ascertained the firsi representa- 
 tives of the name of Arrell in America were two 
 brothers, Edward and William Arrell, who came 
 from County Derry, Ireland, to America in 1774. 
 They were descendants of the Scotch who went to 
 the north of the Green Isle to escape the persecutions 
 of the "kirk" in 1619, and who experienced per- 
 plexities scarcely less oppressive from the taxation of 
 the Established Church, which presented their as- 
 similation in any degree with the people of the coun- 
 try where they first sought refuge, for a long period 
 of time. Hence the first Scotch-Irish who settled in 
 America had no mixture of Irish blood in their veins. 
 They were Scotch who were born in Ireland. Ed- 
 ward Arrell, paternal grandfather of Mr. Arrell of 
 this sketch, espoused the cause of the Colonists in 
 their rebellion against British oppression. He was 
 employed in the commissary department at Bunker 
 Hill, and while driving^ his team on the retreat his 
 wagon tipped over. He restored its equilibrium, 
 filled it with wounded soldiers and the procession 
 made good its escape. He located after the war was 
 done in Fayette Co., Pa. After his marriage he se- 
 cured a claim of land on Maple Creek, in Fallowfield 
 Township. He improved a farm on which he lived 
 until his life's journey closed.. His children num- 
 bered seven four sons and three daughters. 
 
 James and Sarah Arrell became the parents of 
 seven children. Following is the record of those of 
 the number who survive : Matilda is the wife of Wil- 
 liam Wood, and they reside on a part of the home- 
 stead in Daviess Co., Ind. David B. is the oldest 
 surviving son. Alice married Hon. John B. Scud- 
 der, of Daviess Co., Ind. Nancy is the widow of 
 Fenwick Alexander. Rachel is the wife of G. Mc- 
 Ilvaine, of Washington Co., Pa. 
 
 William Arrell, the brother of Edward, settled in 
 Chambersburg, Pa. He had three sons and one 
 daughter. Only one of his sons was married. The 
 son John located near Poland, Ohio, where some of 
 his descendants yet reside. 
 
 Mr. Arrell of this sketch was two years of age when 
 his parents went to Pennsylvania. After a residence 
 there of seven years, the family returned to Daviess 
 Co., Ind., where the son remained until he was 18. 
 He returned to Pennsylvania in 1839 to live with his 
 aunts. In 1846 he was married to Margaret J., 
 daughter of Baptiste and Nancy (Arrell) Hopper. 
 
 V) 
 
 *' 
 
 \ 0r 
 *\
 
 M* The year following they went to Monongahela City, 
 where they resided until 1853. In that year they 
 came to Illinois and fixed their first place of abode 
 near Albany. Mr. Arrell bought a tract of unim- 
 proved land on section 32, of Garden Plain Town- 
 ship, of which he took possession in 1857. On tak- 
 ing up his residence thereon, he at once proceeded 
 to put the place in the best condition for occupation 
 and successful management. The entire property is 
 in advanced cultivation and fitted with the best type 
 of modern farm fixtures, 
 
 Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Arrell. Those now living are as follows: fiffie is the 
 wife of Dr. J. B. Ewing, of Uniontown, Fayette Co., 
 Pa. Hopper is married and lives in Newton Town- 
 ship. Gertrude married B. H. Quick, of Moline. 
 David B., Jr., resides at home. 
 
 abez Lathe, a farmer in Lyndon Township, 
 is the third son of Reuel and Sally (Rob- 
 ins) Lathe, of whom a sketch may be 
 found elsewhere in this volume. He was born 
 Dec. i, 1822, in Steuben Co., N. Y., where he 
 was brought up on a farm, and was well edu- 
 cated. He began teaching when 20 years old, and 
 alternated that pursuit with farming until he came 
 to Whiteside County with his parents, the removal 
 of the family hither being effected in 1845. In 1846 
 he bought 80 acres of land on section 12, Lyndon 
 Township, on which he made the first improve- 
 ments, in 1848. He broke a few acres and set out 
 an orchard, as a beginning of the work of putting 
 his property under thorough cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Lathe was united in marriage April 4, 1849, 
 to Pamelia, daughter of John P. and Candace Sands. 
 In the spring of 1850 he located on his place, where 
 he had built a house. His wife died Sept. i, 1854. 
 He was again married Dec. i, 1855, to Martha M. 
 Hickcox. She was born in Chittenden Co., Vt., and 
 is the daughter of Thomas N. and Mary (Foster) 
 $ Hickcox. 
 
 The agricultural affairs of Mr. Lathe were pro- 
 ceeding prosperously, when his buildings, fences 
 and orchard were swept away by the tornado of June 
 3, 1860. His wife was so severely injured that she 
 
 GN/A. : 
 
 never fully recovered. He built the house he now 
 occupies in 1862, and the farm is again supplied 
 with convenient buildings, and is fenced in good 
 condition. 
 
 ichard Storer, deceased, formerly a farmer 
 on section n, Garden Plain Township, was 
 born Feb. 23, 1816, in Washington Co., 
 Pa. He was the son of John and Elizabeth 
 (Holecraft) Storer, and was brought up on his 
 father's farm. He married Margaret Curry, 
 a native of Pennsylvania, born Dec. 29, 1818. They 
 resided in Allegheny Co , Pa., after their marriage, 
 until their removal in 1853 to Whiteside County, 
 where they settled on the southeast quarter of section 
 n, in Garden Plain Township. Mr. Storer was a 
 skillful and industrious farmer, and pushed his agri- 
 cultural operations with success. He died in June, 
 1881. 
 
 Mrs. Storer lives on the homestead. She is the 
 mother of two daughters, Elizabeth, wife of J. B. 
 Kearns ; and Adeline, who married A. J. Stowell, of 
 whom a sketch appears elsewhere. 
 
 Austin, a farmer on section 6, Lyn- 
 don Township, owns a valuable farm of 
 220 acres, pleasantly and desirably located 
 about three miles south of Morrison. The 
 place is increased in appearance and value 
 by shade and ornamental trees and shrubs. 
 Mr. Austin was born Dec. 30, 1825, in Allenville, 
 Switzerland Co., Ind. William Austin, his father, 
 was born in Oneida Co., N. Y., in 1794, and was 
 descended from the early emigrants to New England. 
 During the war of 1812 he raised a company of vol- 
 unteer soldiers and started for Plattsburg, where a 
 battle was in progress, but arrived too late to take 
 active share in it. 
 
 He married Margaret Livings, a native of New 
 Jersey, of mixed English and German parentage. 
 After their marriage they resided a brief period in the 
 State of New York, and went thence to Hamilton
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 Co., Ohio. They lived two years in the vicinity of 
 Cincinnati, and then pushed on to what was in that 
 day the western frontier, locating in Cotton Town- 
 ship, Switzerland Co.,Ind. The senior Austin bought 
 a tract of land covered with the first forest, where he 
 cleared a farm, removing from it after it was well im- 
 proved to a second farm in the wilderness, where he 
 repeated the experience and moved to a third tract 
 of forest. He placed the latter in improved condi- 
 tion, and in 1854 made a final remove to Whiteside 
 County, where he had previously bought 400 acres 
 from the United States Government, which was lo- 
 cated in Mt. Pleasant Township. He bought a 
 house which he removed to section 27, and which 
 constituted his residence until his death, in 1859. 
 His wife died in 1877. Their children numbered 
 ten, and seven are still living (1885)., Miranda, the 
 widow of Henry Murphy, lives in Jewell Co., Kan. 
 Daniel, Silas R. and Dennis live in Lyndon Town- 
 ship. Martin B. is a resident of Morrison. Georgi- 
 anna, wife of Homer Olmstead, lives in Cloud Co., 
 Kan. William Steward is a resident at (Jnionville. 
 
 Mr. Austin was the assistant of his father on the 
 pioneer farms from the time he had sufficient strength 
 to operate with an ax. He improved the enforced 
 leisure of the winters by attendance at the district 
 schools, and he made his home with his father's 
 family until he was 23. 
 
 In September, 1848, he was joined in marriage to 
 Harriet Gary. She was born in Rushford, Allegany 
 Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Charles and 
 Eunice (Spaulding) Gary. Her parents were natives 
 respectively of Connecticnt and Vermont. Previous 
 to his marriage Mr. Austin had purchased 50 acres 
 of land under partial improvements in Cotton Town- 
 ship, on which he settled with his bride and began 
 the world on his own responsibility. He operated as 
 a fanner on his property, clearing and extending the 
 improvements and increasing its value until 1854. 
 In the autumn of that year he came to Whiteside 
 County to engage in agricultural pursuits under more 
 favorable circumstances. He purchased land in 
 Lyndon Township, then known as township 20, 
 range 5 east. His land was located on section 6, 
 and was wholly guiltless of the arts of the husband- 
 man. Mr. Austin rented a farm during the first year, 
 and in 1856 began the work of improvement of his 
 own property. He built a frame house of unpreten- 
 
 tious character, which his family occupied 20 years, 
 when he erected the dwelling in which they now 
 reside. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Austin number 
 eight: Millard married Alice Moss, and lives in 
 Cloud Co., Kan.; Frank married Sophia Follinsby 
 and resides in Clark Co., D. T.; Esther is the wife of 
 S. A. Maxwell, of Unionville (see sketch); Olive 
 married Frank Wenner, a farmer in Clark Co., D. T.; 
 Lincoln is a farmer in Clark Co., D. T.; Hattie, Clara 
 E. and Clark were born next in order; Harrison, 
 fourth child, married Ellen Follinsby, and died in 
 Exeter, Neb., aged 24 years. He left a child, who re- 
 sides with the widowed mother in Clark Co., D. T. 
 
 . enjamin Belt is one of the early settlers of 
 Lyndon Township, whither Tie came in 
 November, 1845. He settled in 1846 on 
 section 7. He was born Dec. 7, 1802, in 
 Huntington Co., Pa., whence he went with 
 his parents eight years later to Ohio. They 
 were pioneers in the valley of the Licking. Mr. 
 Belt passed his minority in Licking County and was 
 a resident there until his rernoval to Illinois. 
 
 He was married April 30, 1823, to Deborah Calli- 
 han, a native of Ohio. Seven of their ten children 
 are living: Samantha is the widow of David Ray; 
 Hannah is the wife of G. H. Hamilton, a leading 
 farmer of Lyndon Township, of whom a full account 
 is given elsewhere in this ALBUM; Elizabeth married 
 John Belt; Salathiel lives in California; Celona is 
 the wife of H. Daily and they litfe in Dakota; Sa- 
 brina is the widow of George A. Coleman ; Frank 
 lives on the homestead. Augustus is the name of 
 an adopted son. Mrs. Belt died Feb. 17, 1878. 
 
 #3v -tec - 
 
 lion. James McCoy, the pioneer lawyer and 
 one of the founders of Fulton City, 111., 
 has been an attorney in Northwestern Illi- 
 j nois for nearly 50 years, and the record of his 
 career is such as to reflect most honorably upon 
 his character as a man. He was born in 
 Greenbrier Co., Va., Sept. 22, i8i/. William Mc- 
 Coy, his grandfather in the paternal line, was of 
 
 V> 
 
 X
 
 *,v3^sr\ J^l 
 
 ' v V ?f: 
 
 / 
 
 ;i 
 
 f Scotch origin and was born in Virginia. He mar- 
 ') ried a Miss Hamilton, who was of mixed Welsh and 
 Irish parentage. They settled in Greenbrier County 
 during the stirring times that preceded the Revolu- 
 tion, when the Indians of the Atlantic seaboard 
 were at the height of their atrocities, which con- 
 dition was, to a great extent, attributable to the 
 fluence of the Tory element. Forts were con- 
 structed by the frontiersmen, and in one of these in 
 Greenbrier County, William McCoy, father of Judge 
 McCoy, was born, while his parents were seeking 
 protection from Indian hostilities. William McCoy 
 ,, (ad) attained to man's estate in his native county, 
 and married Agnes, daughter of James and Eliza- 
 beth (Gillian) Hanna. The former was born in Ire- 
 land, and when a boy came to America and settled 
 in Greenbrier County. His wife was of Scotch ori- 
 gin and was born in the same county, in 1784, and 
 was of Scotch and Irish descent. There were 12 
 children in Win. McCoy's family, all of whom grew 
 to maturity, and eight of whom are still living. Of 
 these, our subject is fourth in order of birth. James 
 received an academic education in Monroe Co., Va., 
 and was graduated in 1836. He read law till near 
 his majority, when he came to Illinois with a view, of 
 establishing himself in his profession in some of the 
 new towns of the West. He reached the Missis- 
 sippi River at the point now embraced by the city of 
 Fulton, May 9, 1837. Here he found John Baker, 
 on whose claim a rude attempt had been made to 
 plat a town site. 
 
 This survey was abandoned, and a new one made 
 under the management of Mr. McCoy, assisted by 
 Henry C. Fellows, John B. Jenkins and George 
 Kellogg. These four kept bachelor's hall in a little 
 shanty on the river bank near the present steamboat 
 landing. For several months they led an isolated 
 and dreary life, fighting musquitoes and shaking with 
 ague. Occasionally a curious passenger would land 
 from some passing boat and, after looking the situa- 
 tion over, would go on. To the eastward of them 
 was an almost unbroken stretch of wild and unsettled 
 country extending to Dixon. Not even a trail led to 
 the young city. Finally a few venturesome spirits 
 joined them. The owners of the lots at that time 
 were mainly Messrs. McCoy, Henry C. Fellows, John 
 B. Jenkins, George W. Kellogg, Alvin Humphries, R. 
 J. Jenks, John Baker, Lyman Blake and Jeremiah 
 Humphries. 
 
 
 
 
 
 In the fall of the same year he went to Cham- 
 paign Co., Ohio, where he was joined by his brother, 
 and they returned to Fulton. He sold his land, 
 consisting of one-sixteenth of the platted tract, 
 chiefly on credit, and, on the completion of his 
 arrangements, he returned to Virginia, reaching 
 home after an absence of 1 1 months, in the spring 
 of 1838. He remained in Virginia until July of the 
 the same year, when he leturned to Fulton to make 
 collections. The financial crisis, which had con- 
 vulsed the business world, had reached Fulton, and 
 he was not able to adjust the business which had 
 brought him there a second time, and he was 
 obliged to re -purchase his property to secure himself 
 from loss. He stayed in Fulton until winter, and 
 made further purchases of land. He went to Ohio, 
 where he passed the winter, and was there married, 
 April 23, 1839, to Miss Elizabeth Russell, daughter 
 of James and Jane Russell. Mrs. McCoy was born 
 in Champaign Co., Ohio, Nov. 19, 1819. 
 
 In October, 1839, Mr. McCoy returned a third 
 time to Fulton, to be present at the land sales. He 
 soon determined to make this his future home. One 
 year later, the village having acquired a population of 
 three or four hundred, he entered upon the practice 
 of his profession. His marked ability and untiring 
 energy soon placed him among the foremost of his 
 profession in the West, and his practice extended to 
 the neighboring Courts, throughout Illinois and Iowa. 
 He was admitted to practice in the Supreme Courts 
 of both these States, where he conducted success- 
 fully many important suits. 
 
 From the outset of his career as an attorney, Judge 
 McCoy has controlled an extensive practice ; and, 
 although he has a wide repute as a chancery lawyer, 
 he is a master of every branch of the profession. 
 Throughout his entire practice Judge McCoy has 
 pursued one undeviating course of strict adherence 
 to the letter of the law under the direction of author- 
 itative and acknowledged interpreters. He is an 
 acknowledged leader in the legal ranks of Whiteside 
 County, has no superior as a counselor, and but few 
 peers. He has conducted his business singly with 
 the exception of the period in which he was asso- 
 ciated with his two oldest sons. William J., a prac- 
 ticing attorney at Morrison and Judge of the County 
 Court, is a man of peerless ability and is rapidly 
 attaining a foremost position as a chancery lawyer. ()) 
 His character, formed under the direction of his 
 
 
 \\ 
 

 
 V"ViHHX!>HH-'X V 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 father, is one of the best evidences of the influence 
 by which it was involved. Albert R., an attorney at 
 Clinton, Iowa, is one of the most brilliant advocates 
 of the Northwest, and is a man of spotless record. 
 
 In 1851, while a project was under consideration 
 before the Illinois Legislature to construct a railroad 
 north and south through the State, Judge McCoy 
 originated the idea of an east and west line from the 
 Lakes to Council Bluffs on the Missouri River, to 
 cross the Mississippi at Fulton and Lyons. He at 
 once called a railroad meeting at Lyons, Iowa, just 
 opposite Fulton City. His plan was to get the Iowa 
 Legislature, which was then in session, to pass an act 
 to incorporate a railway between Lyons and Council 
 Bluffs. The meeting was well attended, and Judge 
 McCoy was appointed Chairman of a committee of 
 four, whose duty it was to present the matter to the 
 Legislature and urge the passage of such an act. 
 His associates upon the committee were John B. 
 Bope, Benjamin Lake and D. P. McDonald. The 
 petition was presented on Monday morning, and on 
 the following morning an act of incorporation was 
 passed by the House. It was sent to the Senate 
 by a special messenger, where it was introduced. 
 Senator Leffingwell procured a suspension of the 
 rules and it passed to its third reading in 20 minutes, 
 after which it received the Governor's signature and 
 immediately became a law, in January, 1851. 
 
 In order to procure the passage of this act, Judge 
 McCoy had pledged himself to secure the passage of 
 an act by the Illinois Legislature to grant a charter 
 for a railroad from Fulton to intersect the proposed 
 Illinois Central Road at or near Dixon. He im- 
 mediately called a railroad meeting at Fulton, and 
 secured a well signed petition for a charter for a rail- 
 road from Fulton City eastward. Although the Illi- 
 nois Legislature was almost at the close of its session, 
 by prompt and energetic action he secured before its 
 adjournment a passage of the bill he desired, which 
 provided for the construction of the Mississippi & 
 Rock River Junction Railroad, now the Chicago & 
 Northwestern. 
 
 No sooner were these preliminaries successfully 
 accomplished than a serious obstacle arose in the 
 form of another line of road just chartered to run 
 from Beloit, Wis., to Rock Island, 111. The inter- 
 ests of the two roads were in conflict. A desperate 
 effort was made by the managers of the latter road 
 
 V) 
 
 
 to defeat the project of building the Mississippi & 
 Rock River Junction Railroad. Mr. McCoy took up 
 the gauntlet, and with his characteristic energy called 
 railroad meetings, made as many as three speeches 
 a week in the interest of the road, until the total 
 amout of capital stock was subscribed. He spent 
 three years in soliciting an aggregate of $750,000. 
 He secured a topographical map of the v. estern slope 
 from the Pacific to the top of the Sierras, which he 
 used in his address, and prophesied that within 25 
 years the achievements would take place which he 
 actually did witness within 17 years! 
 
 May i, 1852, at a meeting of stockholders held 
 at Union Grove, the following named gentlemen 
 were elected officers of the road : James McCoy, 
 President; Directors J. T. Atkinson, Royal Jacobs, 
 Charles Dement, Benjamin Lake, Elijah Buel, John 
 Phelps and A. W. Benton. 
 
 Judge McCoy was still the leading spirit in this en- 
 terprise, and by wise and close procedure the con- 
 struction of the road was assured. He issued the 
 first $^00,000 in bonds, and let the contract to build 
 the road. Ground was first broken in February, 1853, 
 and in April following the Michigan Central and 
 Galena & Chicago Union Railroad Companies came 
 forward and took stock to the amount of $405,000 
 in that portion of the road lying between Dixon and 
 Fulton. From that date its success was assured. 
 
 Mr. McCoy was elected its first President and 
 served as director of the road several years, and 
 as the attorney of the company under its different 
 managements till about 1879, when he resigned, to 
 devote himself to his local practice. 
 
 He was elected -Judge of the County Court of \ 
 Whiteside County, in 1857, with common-law juris- 
 diction, but resigned in his third year of service, as 
 he preferred his regular practice. He was elected a 
 Delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1869- 
 70, to form a new State Constitution, and was made 
 Chairman of one of the most important committees, 
 that of State, County and Municipal Indebtedness. 
 He also served on the Judiciary Committee and on 
 three others of great importance. 
 
 Judge McCoy was led through his warm interest 
 in educational matters to accept a place on the Board 
 of Trustees of the Illinois Soldiers' College, located 
 at Fulton City, now known as the " Northern College 
 of Illinois," and held that position several years. 
 
 

 
 V 
 
 (s; 
 
 In politics Mr. McCoy was originally a Whig and 
 cast his first Presidential vote for Harrison. On 
 the adjustment of political matters and the conse- 
 quent re-organization of parties, he became a Repub- 
 lican, and has voted with that party since. He was 
 a Delegate to the National Convention of 1864, which 
 renominated Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency, 
 and was a Presidential Elector of 1868. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. McCoy have had a family of seven 
 children, of whom six are living : Melvina is the 
 widow of Hon. Robert E. Logan, of Union Grove; 
 William J. married Marie Aylesworth. Addison W. 
 married Georgiana Freeman, and is practicing medi- 
 cine at Wichita, Kan.; Augustine is a lumber mer- 
 chant of Iowa; Edward, the youngest, is a lumber 
 dealer of Sioux Rapids, Iowa. 
 
 iram Austin, a farmer of Lyndon Town- 
 ship, resident on section 4, is the oldest son 
 of Stewart and Eliza (Reynolds) Austin. 
 He was born Sept. 4, 1828, in Rutland Town- 
 ship, Tioga Co., Pa., where his parents were 
 early settlers. As soon as he obtained a suit- 
 able growth he aided his father in the pioneer labors 
 of the farm, helping to clear the timber away, and in 
 the tillage of the soil. He obtained his education, 
 attending school in the winter seasons. 
 
 His father came to Illinois in 1847, leaving him 
 to arrange the incomplete affairs relating to the 
 estate. He set out to rejoin the family in Septem- 
 ber, 1848, leaving Elmira, and traveling to Buffalo 
 on the canal. He came from there on a steamboat 
 to Chicago, and walked from that city to Lyndon in 
 three days. His first labor in Whiteside County was 
 with a threshing-machine, and the next year he 
 worked on his father's farm. < 
 
 In January, 1855, he was united in marriage to 
 Laura, daughter of William C. and Emmeline (Mon- 
 roe) Morse. She was born Nov. 21, 1836, in Luzerne 
 Co., Pa. Mr. Austin and his brother had purchased 
 the homestead, and on the event of his marriage he 
 took up his residence thereon. He still occupies 
 the place, of which he is sole owner, having bought 
 the interest of his brother. The farm comprises 180 
 acres, in the best condition for agricultural purposes, 
 
 
 all in tillage, and fenced, with substantial buildings, 
 fruit and shade trees. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Austin, eight in 
 number, were named Celestia E., Lyman R., Em- 
 ma, Cora Belle, Lester M., Clara May, Phebe I. 
 and Raymond H. ; Emma died in infancy. 
 
 | obert M. Carr, merchant at Fenton Cen- 
 ter, who was born Feb. 13, 1854, in the 
 township of Fenton. Merrill P. Carr, his 
 .- father, came with his father, Timothy Carr, to 
 Fenton Township in 1838, when he was but 
 eight years of age. Merrill P. Carr was born 
 in Vermont, in September, 1830. He married Phebe 
 A. Hoffman, a native of Virginia. He settled about 
 the time of his marriage on section 20, Fenton 
 Township, and at the time of his death, in Septem- 
 ber, 1862, he owned 258 acres of land. His widow 
 afterwards became the wife of Paschal Davis, and 
 they reside in Shelby Co., Mo. 
 
 Robert M. is the second son and second child. 
 James, his eldest brother, is a practicing attorney at 
 Maysville, Nodaway Co, Mo. Charles W., next 
 younger, lives in Lyndon. Clara married Dyer 
 Booth, and lives in Barton Co., Mo. Lawren D. is 
 County Superintendent of Schools, in Sully Co., Dak. 
 
 Mr. Carr was reared on his father's homestead 
 and educated in the common schools. 
 
 He was married Feb. 25, 1875, to Cynthia L., 
 daughter of L. J. and Sarah Robinson. He located 
 on a part of his father's estate, of which he is now 
 the owner. In 1881 he went to live at Fenton Cen- 
 ter, and in February, 1882, in company with his 
 brother, he established a mercantile enterprise. They 
 conducted their joint business two years, when R. M. 
 Carr became by purchase sole proprietor, and has 
 since managed his affairs singly. In 1884 he leased 
 the elevator at Fenton Center and has since been 
 engaged in traffic in grain and stock. In the spring 
 of 1885 he began the sale of agricultural implements. 
 He is Postmaster of Fenton, to which he was ap- 
 pointed in 1882. 
 
 They are the parents of five children, namely : 
 Minnie A., Clara E., Sarah A., Linneus M. and 
 Mary L. 
 
 f, ,-s 

 
 ^y 
 
 UNIVERSITY ut- IUJNORj
 
 
 6
 
 OC"X> ^ 
 
 A. West, of the firm of Hollinshead & 
 !? West, dealers in clothing and gentlemen's 
 furnishing goods at Morrison, was born 
 April 8, 1856, in Clyde Township, Whiteside 
 County. He is a son of Benjamin and Mary 
 (Whitley) West, and was reared on a farm, re- 
 ceiving a good common-school education. 
 
 He came to Morrison when 2 1 years of age and 
 entered the employ of Knox & Brown, grocers, as a 
 salesman, operating in their interests two years. He 
 officiated in the same capacity for Brown Bros, and 
 John Snyder & Co., respectively, one year. In 1881 
 he formed a partnership with R. P. Hollinshead and 
 embarked in the business enterprise in which they 
 are still jointly interested. Their stock includes a 
 full line of well assorted goods common to their busi- 
 ness. They own the building they are occupying. 
 
 Mr. West is one of the Councilmen of Morrison, 
 and he belongs to the Order of Odd Fellows. 
 
 ^.enry Rollins Sampson, Mayor of Morrison, 
 is a descendant of one of the company 
 of devoted pilgrims who came to Mas- 
 sachusetts in the Mayflower, in 1620. He is 
 descended from a later generation, which in- 
 cluded the children of Miles Standish and 
 John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, who intermarried. 
 Henry Sampson, his first recorded ancestor, was a 
 child when he came to Plymouth, and was a member 
 of the family of his uncle, Edward Tilley. This fact 
 became known through' the record made by Governor 
 Bradford himself, and which was not discovered un- 
 til 236 years afterward. Governor Bradford speaks 
 of "the youth, Henery Samson," which accounts for 
 the absence of his name from the compact which 
 was made hi the cabin of* the Mayflower, and also 
 shows that its original orthography omitted the letter 
 " p," which was incorporated therein by subsequent 
 generations. The lines of descent are remarkably well 
 defined, and in but one single instance are clouded 
 by lack of direct evidence. This, however, is obviated 
 by accumulation of negative testimony to an extent 
 .that substantiates the unbroken lineage. Henry 
 
 
 e> 
 
 
 Sampson married Ann Plummer, and they became 
 the parents of 10 children. His youngest son, Caleb, 
 married Mercy Standish, the grand-daughter of Cap- 
 tain Miles Standish, and the daughter of Alexander 
 Standish, who married Sarah Alden, daughter of v / 
 John Alden and Priscilla Mullens, whose courtship is 
 the subject of one of the sweetest poems in the 
 English language. David, eldest son of Caleb and 
 Mercy Sampson, was born in Duxbury, and married 
 Mary Chaffin. Chapin, their youngest son, was 
 born in Marshfield, Sept. 21, 1735, and married 
 Elizabeth Clift. He was a shipmaster, and is the 
 first of the family on record as following a seafaring 
 life. Job Sampson, his son, was born in Duxbury, 
 Sept. 19, 1766, and married Betsey Winsor. They 
 had four children, three sons and a daughter. Henry 
 Briggs, the eldest child, was born July 14, 1787, and 
 married Nancy Turner, who was born in Scituate, 
 Mass., May 8, 1787. They had eight children. 
 Francis E. is the wife of W. S. Wilkinson, one of the 
 most prominent citizens of Morrison, and now living 
 there in retirement. Ann B. is deceased. Henry Rol- 
 lins was born Sept. 6, 1819, in Duxbury, Mass. John 
 T. is deceased. Julia T. is the wife of Charles N. 
 Russell, a retired merchant at Sterling. Georgiana 
 married Charles P. Mallett, son of Colonel Mallett, 
 of New York, and grandson of James Fenner, Gov- 
 ernor of Rhode Island. They are living at Joplin, 
 Mo. Florence H. married E. H. Whitman, a farmer 
 near Como, Whiteside County. Albert S. is a mer- 
 chant at Sterling. Henry Briggs Sampson also be- 
 came a shipmaster, and after following a seafaring 
 life some years, was associated with his brother in a 
 mercantile enterprise for a few years, after which he 
 removed with his family to Gardner, Maine, and re- 
 sumed his former position as a captain in the mer- > 
 chant service. Two years later, in 1836, he came 
 West to Tremont, 111., whence he came, about 1839, 
 to Hopkins Township, and was one of the earliest 
 settlers on the present site of Como. His mother 
 was the oldest of the colony who located there, and 
 died at Como, Oct, 5, 1854. The senior Sampson 
 located on a farm, where he kept a hotel for the ac- 
 commodation of the many travelers and prospectors 
 in the county. He died at Como Dec. 31, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Sampson is the third child of his parents, and 
 remained under their authority until he was 15 
 years of age. He obtained a good practical educa- 
 tion at the academies at Duxbury, Mass., and Gard- 
 MS *^ ' 

 
 - ... - 
 
 202 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
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 ner, Maine, and, possessing a reflective temperament, 
 was at an early age the master of the limited cur- 
 riculum of the schools of the period. In 1835 he 
 obtained a clerkship in Boston, 'and later entered a 
 large shipping establishment in the same city, as 
 general assistant, where he was employed several 
 years. 
 
 He came to Morrison in 1858 and entered upon 
 the duties of the position of deputy-clerk, under his 
 brother-in-law, W. S. Wilkinson. He was re -ap- 
 pointed and served an aggregate of eight years. 
 
 In 1865, in partnership with Col. D. R. Clendenen, 
 he embarked in a mercantile enterprise, which rela- 
 tion was in existence about one year. In 1872, 
 associated with A. W. Warren, he opened an ab- 
 stract office at Morrison, and they operated in part- 
 nership until July, 1882. Soon after the termination 
 of their relations, Mr. Sampson formed his present 
 business association with his nephew, Henry B. Wil- 
 kinson, and they are the owners of the only set of 
 abstracts of Whiteside County. They are also trans- 
 acting a popular and profitable business in real 
 estate and loans. 
 
 Mr. Sampson has been an active and useful citizen 
 of Whiteside County since the beginning of his resi- 
 dence therein. In 1861 he was elected Town Clerk 
 and served three successive terms. In 1861 he was 
 elected to his first term as Supervisor of Mt. Pleasant 
 Township, and has since been re-elected until the 
 aggregate period of his official terms in that capacity 
 is eight years. He was a member of the State Board 
 of Equalization about two years, and has officiated 
 six years as Councilman of Morrison. Among other 
 important services which he has rendered was that of 
 Chairman of the Water Works Committee, in which 
 he accomplished a permanent benefit to the city of 
 Morrison. At the point where the water works are now 
 located there was a seemingly exhaustless natural 
 spring, and it was in his opinion a desirable location 
 for the purpose. He proved the value of his judg- 
 ment by experiment, sinking a well of sufficient 
 dimensions to thoroughly test its capacity. The 
 necessary excavation led through the soil to bed- 
 rock, on which the foundation of the masonry is 
 placed ; and in this a basin has been blasted, into 
 which the water flows through interstices in the rock, 
 and of remarkable purity. He superintended the 
 construction of the works until their completion, and 
 
 they form one of the attractions of Morrison, as well 
 as one of the most valuable acquisitions of the place. 
 Mr. Sampson was elected Mayor of Morrison, April 
 21, 1885, receiving an unanimous vote. 
 
 His marriage to Emma L. Dickinson took place at 
 Boston, Sept. 27, 1858. Kate Power Sampson, their 
 only child, was born in July, 1859. She died sud- 
 denly of heart disease March 27, 1878, going from 
 life before a taint of worldliness had touched her 
 glad young spirit and while existence was in its sil- 
 very bloom of hope and joy. She is 
 
 Safe from all sin and all sorrow. 
 
 And safe from the world's luring strife. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Sampson are members of the Univers- 
 alist Church. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Sampson appears on a preced- 
 ing page. His character is plainly apparent from 
 the data given of his course of life since he became 
 a citizen of Morrison. His entire record is one of 
 probity, integrity and ability, the quality of his judg- 
 ment and mental balance rendering him an efficient 
 factor in all public enterprises. 
 
 _amuel M. Ladd, jeweler and optician at 
 Morrison, was born Nov. 15, 1857, in Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio, and is the son of John A. 
 and Mary E. (Molt) Ladd. His father was 
 one of the pioneer telegraphers in Chicago and 
 the West, and for many years conductor and 
 superintendent of railroad, and in charge of United 
 States transportation during the War : he is now a 
 resident of Sterling. He is one of the most promin- 
 ent Masons in Illinois, being Grand High Priest of 
 the State. 
 
 Mr. Ladd is the oldest of the six children belong- 
 ing to the family, of whom two are deceased. Marian 
 E. lives at Morrison. Mabel E. and Fannie K. are 
 the youngest children. The son completed his edu- 
 cational course at the High School of Sterling, and in 
 the spring of 1879 he entered the jewelry store of 
 Clark & Giddings to learn the business, and passed 
 two years in his apprenticeship. At the end of that 
 time the firm of Sackett & Ladd was formed and they 
 opened business at Sterling, continuing their relations 
 and operations there three years. 
 In June, 1884, Mr. Ladd came to Morrison and
 
 . 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 established his business alone. He has a judiciously 
 assorted stock and is doing a good business. He is 
 one of the leaders in his line of traffic in the western 
 part of Whiteside County, and is the only exclusive 
 dealer in jewelry at Morrison. He makes a specialty 
 of Johnson's optical goods, and uses Dr. Johnson's 
 dioptic meter, to perfectly adjust glasses to the eye 
 and determine the lens suited to the case. His 
 stock includes a full line of fine goods, solid and 
 plated ware, jewelry, watches and all other articles 
 common to similar establishments. 
 
 Mr. Ladd is an earnest member of the Presbyterian 
 Church. He takes a deep interest in Sunday-school 
 matters and is the Secretary of the Central District 
 Sunday-school organization. 
 
 s6v "& rae- 
 
 .dwin Old, farmer, upon section seven, 
 Clyde Township, is a citizen of this coun- 
 try by adoption, having been born Feb. 26, 
 1815, in Wakefield, Yorkshire, Eng. _His father 
 and mother, Thomas and Elizabeth (Brooks) 
 Old, were both natives of the same shire where 
 the son was born, and were able to trace their line of 
 ancestral descent to a very early period in the history 
 of Great Britain. -The father was a cloth manufac- 
 turer by profession and both he and his wife spent 
 their entire lives where they were born. 
 
 Mr. Old was 12 years of age when he began to ac- 
 quire a knowledge of the calling of his father. He 
 served a regular apprenticeship and followed the 
 business until he was 25 years old in the place of his 
 nativity, In 1840 he emigrated to the United States 
 and first located in the State of New Jersey. He went 
 thence to Cairo, Greene Co., N. Y., where he ob- 
 tained employment in the cloth manufacturing es- 
 tablishment of Horace Austin & Co., and operated in 
 the interests of the firm five years. 
 
 He was married June 17, 1841, in Cairo, to Ann 
 Platt, and they have been the parents of seven chil- 
 dren, of whom four survive : William, who married 
 Georgiana Rhodes and resides at Clinton, Iowa; 
 Adaline married Robert Davis, who is a gardener at 
 Morrison; Frances married Thomas Gulliland, a 
 farmer in Usttck Township. Ellen lives with her 
 parents. The father and mother of Mrs. Old, John 
 and Betty (Beens) Platt, were natives of Yorkshire. 
 
 Her father was a weaver. They came with their 
 family of three children to America. Mrs. Old was 
 born Jan. 12, 1822, in Yorkshire, and is the oldest 
 child and at the time of the removal of the family to 
 the United States she was six years of age. They 
 located in Cairo, Greene Co., N. Y., and there her 
 father died in 1849. The mother died about 1831. 
 
 After they had been married five years, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Old went to Hobart, Delaware Co., N. Y., and 
 in the year following returned to Greene Co., N. Y., 
 locating in Windham for a time, whence they went 
 to Haverstraw, in Rockland County, in the same 
 State. After a residence there of three years they 
 went to New Jersey. One year later they made a 
 final change in their affairs and set out westward, 
 coming to Clyde Township, where a number of 
 English families from Yorkshire had located together 
 with others from the eastern portion of the State of 
 New York. 
 
 Mr. Old purchased 40 acres of land on his arrival 
 and set diligently about the work of improving his 
 property and developing the general welfare of the 
 community so far as lay within the reach of his indi- 
 vidual influence. The entire section was almost 
 wholly unimproved, and houses were few. There 
 were literally no fences. The family encountered 
 the novel experiences of pioneer life, but instead of 
 being disheartened pressed eagerly forward in the 
 work of making a home. The homestead estate now 
 comprises 200 acres, with 160 acres under improve- 
 ment. Mr. and Mrs. Old are members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, of England. 
 
 If ease Johnson (deceased) was born in Troy, 
 fa N. Y., April 2, 1798, and was the son of 
 John and Sarah (Conkle) Johnson. His 
 father was a graduate of Yale College, a 
 soldier of the Revolution and a prominent at- 
 torney of New York. Jesse went to Loweville, 
 Lewis Co., N. Y., while a young man, where he was 
 married Feb. 8, 1822, to Miss Mary Webb. They 
 had four boys and eight girls : Mary, wife of Carlos 
 Ware, of Fulton Township. Sarah, wife of William 
 Knight, died in December, 1863. Charles J. mar- 
 ried Mary Exley, and is an attorney of Sterling, 111. 
 Harriet, wife of William C. Green, the present May 
 
 
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 _/; 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
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 of Fulton. John was an attorney of LeClaire, Iowa; 
 he married Olive Abbott, and died in July, 1884, 
 leaving a wife and seven children. Edmoud L. 
 married Mahala Wright, was a soldier of the late war 
 and died in 1862, leaving a wife and son. Cornelia 
 died in infancy. Cornelia P. is the wife of Richard 
 Green, a merchant of Fulton, 111. Henrietta, wife of 
 Charles Davidson, a locomotive engineer of Bloom- 
 ington, 111. Anna M., widow of William Reed and a 
 resident of Clinton,' Iowa. Eliza, wife of Samuel 
 Denison, of Port Byron, 111. Caleb C., the youngest, 
 is an attorney of Sterling and a Representative to 
 the State Legislature from Whiteside County. He 
 married Josephine Worthington. 
 
 Mr. Johnson moved from New York to Indiana in 
 1832, and in June, 1838, came to Fulton, 111. He 
 spent the summer at the village and in the fall moved 
 to a farm about five miles distant, and was one of 
 the very first to begin farming in the- county. He 
 remained on his farm till 1853, when he returned to 
 the city and in company with his son-in-law, William 
 Knight, purchased and put in operation the first steam 
 ferry between Fulton and Lyons. He subsequently 
 formed a partnership with Daniel Oliver in the 
 grocery business at Fulton, but retired from business 
 several years prior to his death, which occurred Oct. 
 12, 1876, at his residence in Fulton. His wife sur- 
 vived him till April, 1879. She was an estimable 
 lady and highly respected. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson 
 were members of the Baptist Church for many years. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was a Whig in early life and on the 
 organization of the Republican party, became an 
 earnest supporter of its policy. He never sought 
 public office and only once served in a. public 
 capacity at Fulton, that of Road_Commissioner. 
 
 ichard Beswick, deceased, was formerly 
 a resident on section 31, Clyde Township, 
 where he settled in 18 . He was born 
 Sept. 12, 1810, in Scarborough, Yorkshire, 
 England, and died at his home July 7, 1884. 
 His demise was very sudden and was the re- 
 sult of blood clot obstructing the action of the heart. 
 Richard Beswick, senior, and Elizabeth (Naggs) 
 Beswick, his wife, father and mother of the subject 
 of this biographical sketch, were natives of England 
 and belonged to the old class of yeomanry. The 
 
 *- *rz ^< 
 
 son was 19 years of age when the family came to the 
 New World and located in the vicinity of the city of 
 Toronto. Richard Beswick, junior, was there mar- 
 ried and resided in the Dominion about three years 
 after that event, when with his family he removed to 
 Clyde Township. Both township and county were 
 in the earliest period of their development and the 
 former was still unnamed. Mr. Beswick at once 
 purchased a tract of land and began the tedious 
 though pleasant work of making a home. The first 
 grain he raised was marketed at Chicago and Galena, 
 and drawn thither by horse teams. His wife, Sally 
 (Patrick) Beswick, died about 1844, leaving a son 
 and a daughter. George died of measles while serv- 
 ing as a soldier for the Union. Belinda is the wife 
 of Richard Tyre, an extensive farmer of Dakota 
 Territory, owning 400 acres of land in Union 
 County. 
 
 After the decease of his wife Mr. Beswick returned 
 to Canada and removed his parents to Clyde Town- 
 ship, where they remained during the rest of their 
 lives. They died at the residence of their son, but 
 had chiefly made their home with a married daugh- 
 ter in Clyde Township. They were aged, respec- 
 tively, about 75 and 60 years. 
 
 March 24, 1849, Mr. Beswick was married to Mrs. 
 Hannah E. Humphrey. She was born March 16, 
 1821, in Northport Township, Waldo Co., Maine, 
 and is the daughter of George W. and Lydia (Dun- 
 can) Knight. Her parents were natives of the Pine- 
 Tree State, born of New England ancestry, and of 
 English extraction, save a slight admixture of Irish 
 blood in the predecessors of the father. The mother 
 died in 1831, leaving n children, eight of whom yet 
 survive. 
 
 Mrs. Beswick was sixth in order of birth and was 
 but ten years of age when her mother was removed 
 by death. Her father was again married, in Maine, 
 and of the second union one son (nw de- 
 ceased) was born. Later the father took six of the 
 younger children and went to Ohio and settled on a 
 farm near Grandville, Licking County. He was 
 again married while living there, and later came to 
 Fulton, Whiteside County. The father died there 
 Feb. 12, 1866. His wife died at her brother's home, 
 in the southern part of Illinois, shortly after coming 
 to the State. Both were in advanced life. 
 
 The first marriage of Mrs. Beswick, to Alvaro 
 Humphrey, occurred June 22, 1838, in Licking Co. 
 
 
 
 -
 
 Ohio. He was a native of the county and was the 
 son of a farmer who was born in New England and 
 who had .become a pioneer of the Buckeye State in 
 its earliest development. His father died in Cincin- 
 nati, the mother in Licking County. The death of 
 Mr. Humphrey took place in the county of his na- 
 tivity April 22, 1847, and he left two sons, George 
 and Lorenzo. The former married Lucy Van Damark 
 and is a farmer in Brown Co., Kan. The younger child, 
 died in Fulton soon after the removal of his mother 
 to Illinois. After the death of her husband Mrs. 
 Beswick came to Whiteside County and was an in- 
 mate of the family of hei brother, William Knight, un- 
 til she became the wife of Mr. Beswick. Of this 
 union five children have been born, William A., 
 Thomas L., Lizzie, Carrie and Sarah. The latter 
 died when five years of age. 
 
 Mr. Beswick was a useful and influential citizen of 
 his township and served 14 years as Supervisor, act- 
 ing continuously during that period. He held var- 
 ious other offices and was actively interested in 
 educational matters. He was a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Frederick J. Beuzeville, dealer in boots, 
 shoes, harnesses, etc., at Morrison, was 
 born April 17, 1849, in Vienna, Ontario 
 Co., N. Y., and is the son of George and 
 Miriam (Prescott) Beuzeville. His parents 
 were born in England, and in 1842 emigrated 
 to the United States, and located in Ontario Co., N. 
 Y. In 1854 the family came to Morrison, and nine 
 years later went to Lyons, low.a. They went thence 
 in 1882 to Plankington, Aurora Co., Dak., where 
 they are still resident. 
 
 Mr. Beuzeville learned his trade of his father, who 
 has followed the business of a harness-maker in the 
 various places where he has been located. The son 
 began to acquire a knowledge of its various details 
 at Lyons, Iowa, when he was 17 years of age, and 
 after working under his father's supervision until 
 1869, he came to Morrison and established the busi- 
 ness enterprise in which he has since been engaged. 
 In 1872 he bought the building which he first oper- 
 ated, and the site therewith, and on the latter in 
 1875 he erected the brick building which he now oc- 
 
 cupies, situated on the principal business street at 
 Morrison. Mr. Beuzeville owns also his residence 
 and two valuable city lots in the vicinity of the fair- 
 ground. 
 
 Jan. 5, 1874, he formed a matrimonial alliance 
 with Maria Evans, and they have three children : 
 Eva, born Jan. 20, 1875 ; Lela, April, 17, 1877 ; and 
 Mabel, May 7, 1879. Mrs. Beuzeville was born 
 March 2, 1855, at Auburn, Steuben Co., Ind., and is 
 the daughter of Erastus and Caroline (Frink) Evans. 
 Her mother was born May i, 1827, in Eaton, Madi- 
 son Co., N. Y. Her father was born in 1824, in 
 Hastings, N. Y., and died when he was 31 years of 
 age, before the birth of his daughter. 
 
 .imon Stapleton, farmer in Clyde Town- 
 ship, located on section 18, was born Dec. 
 25, 1827, in Earleaten, Yorkshire, England. 
 William Stapleton, his father, was a dresser 
 of woolen goods and married Susan Tong. 
 Both were of English parentage and ancestry, 
 and they had nine children. 
 
 Simon is the sixth child, and when he was 14 
 years of age the father, mother and seven youngest 
 children came to America. The children whom they 
 left behind had become the heads of families. The 
 family landed at the port of New York in April, 1841. 
 They went thence to Jersey City, where the father 
 found remunerative employment in a pottery and 
 continued to labor in the same establishment two 
 years. In 1843 they removed to Little Falls, in 
 the same State, where the senior Stapleton obtained 
 a situation in the same business in which he was en- 
 gaged in his native country, in 1845 another trans- 
 fer was made to. Bloomfield, N. J., where the 
 father worked three years as a cloth dresser. At the 
 expiration of that time they removed to West Hobo- 
 ken, N. J., in the vicinity of the city of New York. 
 
 Prior to this period, Mr. Stapleton had remained 
 an inmate of the household of his father, but on their 
 locating at Hoboken he determined to fit himself for 
 the calling of a carpet weaver, and after spending 
 five years in the accomplishment of his purpose he 
 went with his father and family from Holwken to 
 Haverstraw, on the Hudson River. There he and 
 his father obtained employment in the mills and were 
 
 5F 
 fa 

 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 occupied some time in the pursuit of their respective 
 callings. Meanwhile he was married and later came 
 West, his father going to Yonkers, in the State of 
 New York, in r85i, where he remained about 
 two years, and while he maintained his residence 
 there visited his native home in England. After his 
 return to the United States, he removed to Astoria, 
 L. I. A year later he went to Franklin, where he 
 died Dec. 25, 1858, aged 67 years. The widowed 
 mother returned to Yonkers and died there in 1860. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Stapleton to Mary Wood took 
 place April 21, at Poughkeepsie. She was born Oct. 
 17, 1829, in Saddleworth, Yorkshire, England, and is 
 the daughter of Joseph and Mary (Browbent) Wood. 
 They belonged to the class who worked in the 
 factories of that country, and when the daughter was 
 12 years of age, in 1841, the family emigrated to 
 America, locating in Haverstraw. Later on they 
 went to Webster, Mass., where they resided two 
 years. 
 
 In 1850 Mr. and Mrs. Stapleton and the parents 
 of the latter came to Whiteside County, and were 
 among the very earliest of its permanent pioneer ele- 
 ment. Mr. Wood died May 9, 1884, ten years lack- 
 ing one month subsequent to the death of his wife, 
 which occurred April 9, 1874. They had four chil- 
 dren, the two eldest being twins, of whom Mrs. 
 Stapleton is one. She has, herself, been the mother 
 of 12 children, nine of whom are living. Susan mar- 
 ried Frank Mills, a farmer of Clyde Township. 
 Joseph married Nellie Leech and removed to a farm 
 in Clark County, D. T. James married Phebe 
 Fletcher and is a resident of the county last named. 
 Simon is also living in Dakota. Lucy married Pierce 
 Smith, of Union Grove Township, and he'is em- 
 ployed by the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad 
 corporation as a telegraph operator. Jane is the wife, 
 of Morris Weaver, a farmer of Mt. Pleasant Town- 
 ship. Charles, Frederick and Edward are the names 
 of the youngest children who survive. Mary A. died 
 when she was 21 years old. William died in infancy. 
 
 On coming to Clyde Township, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Stapleton located on 40 acres of land given them by 
 the parents of the fotmer. On this they have main- 
 tained their homestead without intermission, with the 
 exception of two years, when they lived at Port By- 
 ron, Rock Island Co., 111. They have added materially 
 to their original acreage and now own 260 acres of 
 
 (gVV^g^CT , 
 
 well improved land, including 20 acres in- timber. 
 Mr. Stapleton has made all the improvements on his 
 place, which is one of the best in Clyde Township. 
 He is an earnest Republican and influential in 
 politics in the locality where he is a citizen. He has 
 devoted his interest and energies to the educational 
 development of the township and has served in the 
 several official positions of the school district in 
 which he resides. 
 
 "ohn H. Snyder, senior member of the firm 
 of Snyder & Co., merchants "at Morrison, 
 was born Aug. 16, 1840, in Argusville, 
 Schoharie Co., N. Y. His father, James Sny- 
 der, was born in the State of New York, where 
 he was for some years engaged in the mercan- 
 tile business. He is a resident of Morrison and is 
 about 77 years of age. The mother, Nancy (Runkle) 
 Snyder, was a native of New York, and has been 
 some years deceased. The four children of whom 
 they became the parents still survive. Mary is the 
 wife of L. H. Robinson, of Chicago, who is operating 
 in that city as a loan and real-estate broker. Har- 
 riet N. lives in Chicago. James A. is engaged in 
 conducting a branch store in Clarence, Iowa. 
 
 Until he was 20 years of age, Mr. Snyder was 
 chiefly engaged in obtaining his education, and in 
 1855 he accompanied the family of his father to 
 Morrison. His first employ was as a clerk in the 
 dry-goods house of Spears & Bro., in which capacity 
 he officiated about four years, when he was admitted 
 to a partnership and the firm style became Spears & 
 Co. Its relations were in existence four years, and 
 in 1868 he went to Clarence, Iowa, where, in com- 
 pany with his brother, he established the mercantile 
 enterprise which is now under the management of 
 his brother. He instituted the business which he 
 has since prosecuted in 1876, and is operating with 
 satisfactory results. His stock includes fine and well 
 assorted lines of dry goods. 
 
 He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and be- 
 longs to Lodge No. 357, at Morrison. He owns 
 considerable property in the city, and is a stock- 
 holder and director in the First National Bank at 
 Morrison. 
 
 Mr. Snyder was married July 20, 1867, in Morri- 
 son, to Mary Furlong, and they have two children,
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Jessie H. and Alliene. Mrs. Snyder is the daughter 
 ,j of John and Sarah Furlong and was born Jan 25, 
 1847, in New York. 
 
 homas L. Beswick, farmer, section 30, 
 Clyde Township, was born Nov. 15, 1852, 
 on section 3 of the township of which he 
 has been a life-long resident. He is the son of 
 Richard and Hannah E. (Knight) Beswick, of 
 whom a biographical narration appears on 
 other pages of this work. They were among the first 
 settlers of the county and the son is one of the first 
 white children born in Clyde Township. 
 
 Mr. Beswick was educated in the common schools 
 and brought up with a complete practical knowledge 
 of fanning. He was married Dec. 30, 1875, to Sarah, 
 daughter of Chester W. and Ann (Milnes) Millard. 
 The father was born in Pennsylvania and was of 
 English descent. The mother was born in England 
 and when but four years of age came to America 
 with her parents, who located in Whiteside County 
 in the very earliest period of its history. The par- 
 ents were married in Clyde Township, where they 
 resided during the entire period of their married life, 
 which was terminated by the death of the father in 
 August, 1 88 1. Mr. Millard was a miller by vocation 
 and erected the first mill in Clyde Township, which 
 was located on Rock Creek, in the east part of the 
 town. He sold that property later on and con- 
 structed a second mill on a branch of the creek, sit- 
 uated about the center of the town, of which he 
 retained the ownership during the remainder of his 
 life. He died of cancer on the hand, at 63 years of 
 age. Mrs. Beswick is their only child and was born 
 April 9, 1855, in Clyde Township. She was educated 
 at the common schools of her native township and at 
 Morrison, obtaining a more extended course of study 
 at Lowell, Mass. She devoted some time to teach- 
 ing previous to her marriage. Four children have 
 been born to Mr. and Mrs. Beswick in the order 
 named: George C., Nov. 19, 1876; Florence A., 
 Aug. 2, 1878; Clarence W., June 23, 1880; Carrie 
 E., Aug. 15, 1882. 
 
 After marriage Mr. Beswick rented farms situated 
 at different points in Clyde Township, and operated 
 in that method until 1885, when he purchased 210 
 
 acres of the homestead of his father. He is an ex- 
 perienced and skillful farmer and is making a spe- 
 ciality of raising Poland China swine and Short-Horn 
 cattle. He is a Democrat and has served his town- 
 ship for some time in the capacity of .Collector. Mrs. 
 Beswick is a member of the Episcopal Church. 
 
 ames Stapleton, farmer, section 5, Clyde 
 Township, is the owner of 199 acres of 
 land, on which he has been a resident since 
 1858, and which became his property by pur- 
 chase four years earlier. He was born Feb. 
 28, 1830, at Earl's Eaton, Yorkshire, England: 
 is the son of William and Susan Stapleton, of whom 
 a biographical sketch appears on other pages. He 
 was 1 1 years of age when his parents came from 
 their native country with their family to America, lo- 
 cating first at Paterson, N. J. Soon afterwards they 
 went to Jersey City. When he was 16 years old he 
 entered the carpet factory of Shepherd, Sines & Co., 
 of Jersey City, to learn the method of weaving in- 
 grain carpet, and spent two years in the accom- 
 plishment of his purpose. He went from Jersey City 
 to Haverstraw on the Hudson River, located near 
 Sing Sing, where he obtained a situation in- the ex- 
 tensive establishment of Higgins & Co. He was 
 employed by that firm five years. He went next to 
 Franklin, N. J., and was there five years. In 1858 
 he came to Clyde Township and took possession of 
 the farm on which he has since resided, and which 
 his brother secured for him in 1854. He was un- 
 married and made his home as convenience or op- 
 portunity served, and June 29, 1861, he was married 
 to Sarah J. Simpson. Two children have been born to 
 them, George B., born July 24, 1864, and John V., 
 Sept. 25, 1867. Mrs. Stapleton is the daughter of 
 Israel and Jane (Huston) Simpson. Her parents 
 were natives of New Jersey and were of New Eng- 
 land origin, in nationality representing the English, 
 Dutch and Scotch from whom they were descended. 
 They were farmers in their native county, where they 
 spent their entire lives. The death of the father 
 took place in 1865, at the age of 75 years. The 
 mother died in 1870, when she was 74 years old. 
 Mrs. Stapleton was born May 4, 1835, in Frankl'n, 
 Essex Co., N. J., and she is the seventh of nine chil- 

 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 dren born to her parents. She was educated in the 
 public schools and lived in the place of her nativity 
 until she came West after marriage. 
 
 The farm on which Mr. and Mrs. Stapleton began 
 their wedded lifejiad been somewhat improved and 
 is now in excellent agricultural condition with good 
 residence and farm buildings and a large and valua- 
 ble orchard. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Stapleton is a Republican. 
 
 mil Westphal, liquor dealer at Morrison, 
 was born June 24, 1828, in Holstein, Ger- 
 many. At an early age he was sent to 
 the University of Kiel, where he remained until 
 he graduated, March 28, 1848. At the break- 
 ing out of war between Denmark and Schles- 
 wig-Holstein, he served on the staff of General 
 Baudissin until the close of the contest. He also 
 took part in the French and Italian revolution. At 
 the insurrection of Milan, Italy, he was again en- 
 gaged in the cause of liberty, under General Mazini. 
 He came to the United States in 1858, first loca- 
 ting in Fulton, 111. He found it necessary to engage 
 in active labor and obtained a situation in the employ 
 of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, by which 
 he was placed in charge of a corps of wood-choppers. 
 In 1863 he inaugurated his present business at 
 Morrison, which he has prosecuted for more than a 
 score of years with .satisfactory results. He is a 
 member of the Knights of Pythias. 
 
 Sept. 22, 1867, he was married to Paulina Nomm- 
 sen, a native of Schleswig. Their four children were 
 born in the following order : Carl, Paula, Fritz and 
 Julia. Paula died in 1881. 
 
 aniel P. Spears, of the firm of D. P. Spears 
 & Son, dealers in dry goods, hats, notions, 
 gentlemen's and ladies' furnishing goods, 
 at Morrison, 111., was born Dec. 29, 1822, in 
 Milan, Erie Co., Ohio. His father, William W. 
 Spears, was born in Pennsylvania and went 
 thence to the State of New York, whence, after a 
 residence of some years there, he went to Ohio 
 where he remained until the termination of his life. 
 
 \m 
 
 = 
 
 .ivc of 
 
 The mother, Love (Watkins) Spears, was a native of 
 Massachusetts. Of their ten children five are liv- 
 ing : Nathan W. is a farmer and merchant in Fay- 
 ette Co., Iowa ; Nancy is the widow of Samuel Harper 
 and lives in Lawton, Mich.; Betsey is the wife of 
 Russell Munger, a retired farmer at Lawton, Mich. ; 
 Mary A. married Crowell Eddy, a farmer in the 
 township of Clinton, Lenawee Co., Mich., and died 
 there March 10, 1885. 
 
 Mr. Spears is the youngest of the children born to 
 his parents, and until he was 24 years of age re- 
 mained on the farm of his father. Meanwhile his 
 brothers, William and Charles, both now deceased, 
 had established themselves in business at Pittsburg, 
 and at the age named he went there and engaged in 
 their employ, where he continued four years. About 
 1840 he went to Tecumseh, Lenawee Co., Mich., and 
 entered in partnership with his brother, Nathan, 
 where they were interested in the manufacture of 
 woolen goods. .On the termination of this venture 
 he went to White Co., Ind., where, associated with 
 W. R. Davis, he embarked in a mercantile enterprise 
 in which he was occupied seven years. In 1858 he 
 came to Morrison to enter upon the duties of the 
 position of salesman in the dry-goods house of 
 Spears & Bro. Four years later he purchased a part 
 of the building where he is now engaged in the 
 transaction of his business and put in a stqck of 
 merchandise. He embarked in the enterprise in 
 company with Joseph Shafer. This relation existed 
 until the death of the latter, when Mr. Spears pur- 
 chased the claims of the heirs of his late partner, 
 and became associated with James Shafer, nephew 
 of the deceased. Two years later he became by pur- 
 chase sole proprietor of the establishment and until 
 September, 1884, conducted the business alone. At 
 that date he purchased the store and stock of Chas. 
 Spears & Son, situated adjoining, opened communi- 
 cation between the sales-rooms and is now transact- 
 ing business in the double store. At the date of 
 enlargement he admitted his son, Frank W., to 
 a partnership. Their establishment includes two 
 large sales-rooms, 51 by 44 feet in size, and they 
 employ four assistants. Their stock is estimated at 
 a value of $17,000, and includes a full line of goods 
 suited to the local patronage. In the spring of 1885 
 Messrs. Spears & Son added a carpet department to 
 their business. 
 
 Mr. Spears belongs to the Order of Odd Fellows.
 
 I ' ' 
 
 r .,|OIS
 

 

 
 f ' 
 
 of 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 213 
 
 
 He is a member of the Board of Aldermen of Mor- 
 rison. He owns a farm of 70 acres lying three miles 
 south of the city, also 12 acres connected with his 
 residence in this place. He is also the owner of 
 a half interest in 160 acres of land in White Co., Ind. 
 Mr. Spears has been married three times. He 
 was first joined in marriage in Milan, Ohio, to Eliz- 
 abeth Walbridge, who died two years later, after 
 becoming the mother of one child, who died in in- 
 fancy. Mr. Spears was again married, in White Co., 
 Ind., to Sarah J. Burns, who survived between two 
 and three years. Dec. 6, 1858, Mr. Spears con- 
 tracted a third marriage at Monticello, Ind., with 
 Mary Shafer. Their five children were born at 
 Morrison. Frank W. is the oldest and is in business 
 with his father. Fred is the next in order of birth. 
 Burt C. is a clerk in the store. Maggie J. and James 
 are the two youngest. 
 
 jtarlan ]j. Brewer, proprietor of the "Brewer 
 House " at Rock Falls, was born at Black 
 Rock, N. Y., Feb. 7, 1845. His parents, 
 Addison and Maria (Adams) Brewer, farmers, 
 came West in 1846 and settled at Bingham 
 ton, Lee Co., 111., on land which they bought of 
 the Government. After a residence there of five 
 years they removed to Dixon, 111., where Mr. B. 
 started a wagon shop and pursued his business there 
 a year. He then sold out and returned to Bing- 
 hamton, purchasing a hotel, whiph he conducted 
 until his death, which was caused by his team run- 
 ning away and throwing him out upon the ground. 
 
 When 1 6 years old, young Harlan enlisted in Co. 
 B, i2th 111. Vol. Inf., Sept. T3, 1861, under Col. 
 John McArthur, and participated in many im- 
 portant engagements, among which were the battles 
 of Fort Donaldson, Shiloh, Corinth, in front of At- 
 lanta, etc., and in Sherman's march to the sea. He 
 veteranized Dec. 31, 1863, and took part in the Grand 
 Review at Washington. He was mustered out at 
 Louisville, Ky.,July 10, 1865. 
 
 Returning from the war, he for two years was a 
 brakeman on the Illinois Central Railroad, and then 
 promoted as conductor. He followed railroading 
 for 13 years. He next took charge of the "Baltic 
 House " as proprietor, changing its name to " Brewer 
 
 House," which he is now successfully conducting. 
 He is a member of the A. O. TJ. W. and of the G. 
 A. R. In politics he is a Republican, and he has 
 held the offices of Village Trustee and Constable at 
 Rock Falls. 
 
 He was married Dec. 31, 1866, to Miss Amelia 
 Doolittle, a native of Binghamton, Broome Co., N. 
 Y. They have had two children : Stella May, born 
 Nov. 10, 1869; and Villette D., June 25, 1878, who 
 died June 28, 1883. 
 
 li Upton, retired farmer, residing at Mor- 
 rison, has lived in Whiteside County since 
 1844. He was born Sept. 28, i8ir, in 
 Peterboro, N. H. His parents, Eli and Abi- 
 gail (Snow) Upton, resided in the farming com- 
 munity in the Granite State, and consequently 
 their son was brought up on a farm. Before he 
 reached his majority he had acquired a thorough 
 knowledge of the trade of machinist and passed 14 
 years in its pursuit. He operated ten years in Mas- 
 sachusetts and in Dover, N. H., with satisfactory 
 results. In 1840 he went to Sonora, -Mexico, where 
 he passed four years in the construction of a cotton 
 factory, which he put in complete running order. In 
 1844 he determined on an entire change in his mode 
 of life. He therefore came to Whiteside County and 
 bought a farm in Lyndon Township, on which he re- 
 sided and was occupied in its improvement ten years. 
 In 1854 he transferred his residence to a farm on 
 section 32, in the town of Mt. Pleasant. His original 
 purchase there is still in his possession and he is the 
 owner of 800 acres of land in the township, which 
 constitutes one of the most valuable homesteads in 
 Whiteside County and is all improved and perfectly 
 equipped. Among its attractions is a valuable and 
 elegant farm residence, built at an expense of $7,000. 
 In the spring of 1882 Mr. Upton entered upon a life 
 of retirement at Morrison. Associated with his son, 
 he is the owner of three imported French Norman 
 horses, each of which cost $2,000. They own, besides, 
 one valuable animal of half Norman blood and a 
 trotting stallion. Mr. Upton and his son take great 
 satisfaction in their valuable and beautiful horses, 
 and are justifiable in so doing, as they have added
 
 
 
 
 fi 
 
 
 
 5 s 
 
 1 
 
 214 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 materially to the value of that variety of property in 
 Whiteside County. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Upton to Elizabeth A. New- 
 comb took place in Enfield, Conn., June 15, 1844. 
 They have had four children, all sons, three of 
 whom are living. They were born in the following 
 order: George Y., John E., Joseph S. and Franklin 
 A. The oldest is a farmer and is associated with 
 his father in the ownership and management of their 
 valuable horses. The second son is not living. The 
 younger sons are farmers in the township of Mt. 
 Pleasant. 
 
 The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Upton appear on 
 preceding pages. 
 
 yron Stowe, resident on section 2, Union 
 Grove Township, has been a farmer of 
 Whiteside County since 1855, when he 
 came with a company and bought a tract of 
 land containing 456 acres lying in the town- 
 ships of Union Grove and Mt. Pleasant. 
 
 He was born March 20, 1831, in Weybridge, Ad- 
 dison Co., Vt., and is the son of Clarke and Abigail 
 (Marsh) Stowe. They were both born in Vermont, 
 and the former died there April 18, 1847. The 
 mother came after that event to Whiteside County, 
 and died in Albany, Nov. 26, 1875. Their children 
 six in number lived to mature age. They were 
 named Caroline, Mary A., Byron, Milo, Beulah and 
 Edgar. 
 
 Mr. Stowe remained in his native State until he 
 came to Whiteside County, and was engaged in 
 farming, after reaching suitable age. In 1855 he 
 came to Whiteside County, as stated. He settled 
 on the same section on which he is now resident and 
 where he owns 112^ acres of land, and has placed 
 most of his acreage under cultivation. He is a Re- 
 publican in political affiliation, and has held several 
 local official positions. 
 
 He was married Aug. 31, 1862, to Mrs. Elvira 
 Ellison, daughter of Samuel and Amelia (Keith) 
 Bannister, and widow of Gilbert Ellison. The lat- 
 ter died in January, 1860, in Cincinnati, Ohio. By 
 her earlier marriage she became the mother of one 
 child Willard S. Mrs. Stowe was born in Pots- 
 dam, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Jan. 8, 1834. Her 
 
 Mf. ^^ @^ 
 
 parents removed to Whiteside County about 1850, 
 and were residents of Union Grove Township about 
 1 8 years, removing thence to Clinton, Iowa. Her 
 father died Dec. 20, 1881. Her mother's demise oc- 
 curred Feb. 12, 1884. They had five children El- 
 len, Elvira, Mary, Prentice and Martin. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stowe have one child Merntt M. 
 They are members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 am.es Pettigrew, Postmaster at Rock 
 Falls, was born July 8, 1827, at Paisley, 
 Renfrewshire, Scotland. When he was 
 seven years of age his father, John Pettigrew, 
 died ; and his mother, nee Jane Allison, emi- 
 grated to this country and died in 1882. 
 The subject of this sketch remained with his 
 mother and took care of her while she lived, re- 
 ceiving in his younger days a common-school educa- 
 tion ; came to this country with his mother in the 
 fall of 1843, spending the first winter at Sterling, 
 111., and lived in Ogle County until 1875, when he 
 purchased a farm of 125 acres. After working upon 
 the place for a season he sold it, and in 1876 pur- 
 chased his present residence. 
 
 He has been elected Justice of the Peace four 
 times. He was a Justice for ten years in Ogle 
 County, and was elected to the office at Rock Falls 
 in the spring of 1876, and held it until he resigned 
 "to accept his present position as Postmaster. He was 
 Village Trustee for one term, Village Treasurer four 
 years, and has held minor offices. He is a zeal- 
 ous Republican, a Trustee of the Congregational 
 Church, but not a member. By his native talent 
 and public services he has become a prominent 
 man in his community. He owns several lots in 
 Rock Falls, besides the postoffice building on Main 
 Street. 
 
 amuel Currie, retired farmer, resident at 
 Morrison, has been a citizen of Whiteside 
 County since 1838, when he became a 
 member of its pioneer agricultural element, 
 and has since been a factor in the develop- 
 ment of Northwestern Illinois. He was born 
 Aug. 15, 1810, in Roxburgshire, Scotland, on the 
 
 *&* 
 
 >
 
 river Tweed. His father, John Carrie, was a native 
 of Yetholra, in the same shire, and was born Oct. 25, 
 1776. His mother, Hannah (Lockey) Currie was 
 born in Ilderton, Northumberlandshire, England, 
 Nov. n, 1784. The marriage of his parents took 
 place at Jedburgh, May 27, 1805, and in May, 1818, 
 the family emigrated to America. They settled at 
 first in the State of New York, where they remained 
 until November, 1819, when they went to York, 
 in Canada (now Toronto). In March, 1820, they 
 took possession of a farm in Scarborough, in the 
 Dominion, where the father died, Sept. 17, 1830. 
 The mother died Dec. 18, 1861, in East Whitby, 
 Canada. There are (in 1885), but four survivors of 
 their ten children, who were born in the following 
 order: Sarah (deceased) was the wife of Joseph 
 Lundy. James is living in retirement in the town- 
 ship of Whitby, Canada; has been for many years a 
 minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. John 
 was a farmer; Andrew was a merchant tailor, and 
 Robert, formerly a farmer in Kansas, are all deceased. 
 George is engaged in the business of sheep-raising in 
 Montana. Mark was during his lifetime a carriage 
 builder and blacksmith in Canada. Margaret is de- 
 ceased. William resides in Lloyd, Wis., and was a 
 millwright before his retirement from active business 
 life. 
 
 Mr. Currie attained to adult age in the Dominion, 
 and when about 24 years of age rented a saw-mill 
 and engaged in manufacture of lumber, in which he 
 was interested about five years. During that period 
 Mackenzie's Rebellion, known also to the history as 
 the Patriot War, startled the representatives of the 
 British government in the Dominion, and Mr. Currie 
 joined the insurgents in the ill-fated struggle. He 
 was shot through his right arm in one of the en- 
 counters of the conflict, and has suffered from the 
 consequences all his life. He found Canadian rule 
 no more palatable after the rebellion had been 
 crushed than before, and, in June, 1838, he bid a 
 final farewell to monarchical government and came 
 to Illinois, locating primarily in Carroll County, where 
 he remained one year. In 1839 he came to White- 
 side County and entered a claim of 240 acres of land 
 on section 30, Clyde Township, which comprised 160 
 acres of prairie and 80 acres of timber one of the 
 finest and most promising tracts of land in the town- 
 ship and which he converted into a model farm. He 
 
 resided on his estate 25 years, pursuing his agricul- 
 tural projects and engaged during the latter part of that 
 period in loaning money. He has operated to some 
 extent in the business last named since his removal 
 to Morrison, in October, 1864, when he retired from 
 active participation in a laborious life. He is the 
 owner of considerable property, variously situated in 
 the county. 
 
 Mr. Currie has been married twice. He first 
 formed a matrimonial alliance, in Scarborough, Can- 
 ada, June 15, 1833, with Jane Patrick, who died May 
 27, 1840, after becoming the mother of two sons 
 Asa and John who followed their young mother to 
 the silent land beyond while they were still in youth. 
 She was bom June 4, 1812. Mr. Currie was united 
 in marriage to Julia Thomas, Sept. 17, 1840, in the 
 township of Mt. Pleasant. Mrs. Currie was born 
 Dec. 10, 1817, in St. Clair, 111. Her parents, An- 
 thony M. and Jane (Jordan) Thomas, were born in 
 South Carolina, and were married in 1805, in St. 
 Clair County, whither the former had come in 1804. 
 Anthony Thomas was a soldier of 1812. He came 
 to Mt. Pleasant in 1837, where he died Sept. 8, 1850. 
 His wife died Sept. 12, 1858. 
 
 eonard Hiner, farmer, resident on section 
 19, Clyde Township, has been a citizen of 
 Whiteside County since 1855. He was 
 born Aug. 30, 1813, in Lancaster Co., Ta. 
 Leonard Hiner, senior, his father, was a farmer 
 and was also a native of the Keystone State. 
 Late in life he became a resident of Wabash Co., 
 Ind., where he died in August, 1854. He married 
 Catherine Bitterman, who was born in Lancaster 
 County, and was of German parentage and descent. 
 She died about 1860, in Wabash Co., Ind. Their 
 children were 12 in number. 
 
 Mr. Hiner was third in order of birth. He was 
 reared on the farm of his father, and operated as a 
 farm assistant until he was of age, with the exception 
 of two years, when he was employed in a woolen 
 mill. 
 
 He was married in February, 1833, in Chester Co., 
 Pa., to Mary Sparr, who was born in that county. 
 Her parents, Frederick and Elizabeth (Criley) Sparr, 
 were fanners and were born of German parentage, in 

 
 T 
 
 
 Chester County. They lived in the same place 
 throughout their lives. The record of the children 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Hiner is as follows : Martin L. mar- 
 ried Lizzie McFadden and is superintending the 
 homestead of his parents. They have three chil- 
 dren, Delia M., Anna M. and Albertus B. Catherine 
 M. married Eugene Griffith, and resides in Iowa. 
 Elizabeth is the wife of Jacob Wengert, a farmer in 
 Benton County, Iowa. Julia A. married William 
 Alldritt, a farmer in Clyde Township. Rachel J. 
 married Lewis Griffith, and they live in Knox Coun- 
 ty, Ohio. Harriet is the wife of Mr. Little, and they 
 are residents of California. 
 
 After they had been married two years, during 
 which time they had resided in Chester Co., Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hiner went to Lancaster Co., Pa., and, a year 
 later, went to Wayne County, and thence to Mercer 
 County, Ohio. They passed seven years in the 
 county last named on a farm of which they became 
 the owners by purchase. The place was sold in 
 1854, and a year later the family canje to Whiteside 
 County. They made their first location on Elkhorn 
 Creek, where their stay was brief, Mr. Hiner soon 
 after deciding to fix his permanent residence in Clyde 
 Township, where he purchased 80 acres of unim- 
 proved prairie. The place is now in an attractive and 
 valuable condition. Mr. Hiner is a Democrat in 
 political faith and has held several offices. Mrs. 
 Hiner died in the fall of 1878,3! the age of 71 years. 
 
 foh.ii H. Becker, blacksmith and wagon 
 manufacturer at Coleta, was born Oct. 3, 
 1853, in Prussia, Germany. His parents, 
 Peter and Margaret Becker, were natives of the 
 same country as their ancestors had been for 
 generations before. The former died in Prus- 
 sia about 1857, when his son was a small lad. He 
 was an only child, and when his mother chose an- 
 other husband he went to live wilh his grandfather, 
 where he remained two years ; and at the expiration 
 of that time he accompanied some relatives to the 
 United States, and was taken by them to Ohio. His 
 mother had, meanwhile, emigrated to the New World, 
 and had become settled in St. Joseph Co., Ind., 
 whither he went soon after and was again under 
 maternal care until he was T5 years of age. Al>out 
 1868 he came to Genesee Township, in Whiteside 
 
 County, and he became a farm laborer, in which oc- 
 cupation he passed two years. At the end of that 
 time, he came to Coleta to learn his trade under the 
 instructions of L. H. Porter. After a service of four 
 years he bought the shop and business relations of 
 his employer and began to operate on his own re- 
 sponsibility. During the four years he learned the 
 details of wagon-making at Sterling, and he has 
 since pursued both callings. He has two forges and 
 in wagon-making he has acquired an excellent repu- 
 tation through successful competition at the fairs at 
 Morrison and Sterling. His work is accomplished 
 with skill, and is ranked as first-class in reliability. 
 He owns his business buildings and residence. 
 Politically he is a Republican. 
 
 He was united in marriage in Genesee Township, 
 April 30, 1874, to Esabinda Nance, and they have 
 three children, William, Mary and Arthur. Mrs. 
 Becker was born July 8, 1856. She is a member of 
 the Christian Church. 
 
 arren P. Hall (deceased), late of the 
 Langford & Hall Lumber Company, and 
 a prominent citizen of Fulton, was born 
 in the town of Bristol, Ontario Co., N. 
 Y., Sept. 5, 1826, and was the son of 
 Perez and Ruth (Hicks) Hall. When he was 
 only a year old his parents moved to West Bloom- 
 field, of the same county, where his boyhood was 
 passed. When he was 13 years of age, he removed 
 with his parents to Burton, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y.; 
 and six years later he left home to work with a Mr. 
 Lemuel Smith, a manufacturer of lumber at Port- 
 ville. He spent ten years with Mr. Smith, during 
 which time he learned the lumber business thor- 
 oughly, especially the mechanical part, for which 
 Mr. Hall had a peculiar fitness. His natural love 
 of machinery and of mechanical construction found 
 a fair field for expansion in his chosen employment. 
 Soon after leaving Mr. Smith, he engaged in the 
 lumber business for himself, at Portville, Cattaraugus 
 County, but continued it only two years, when he 
 was burned out. 
 
 He then went to Berlin, Wis., where he was em- 
 ployed as foreman by Mr. Ruddock, an extensive 
 lumber manufacturer on the Fox River. He was 
 
 ' - 
 
 . . ' .
 
 1 
 
 V 
 
 - .. - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ) 
 
 married in that city Dec. 30, 1858, to Miss Catha- 
 rine Swarts, daughter of George and Margaret 
 (Barry) Swarts. Mrs. Hall was born in Hamilton, 
 Monroe Co., Penn. One year after their marriage, 
 Mr. Hall and wife moved to Janesville, Wis., where 
 he was employed in the lumber business. In 1861 
 he removed to Dixon, 111., where he set up a mill 
 and operated it for Mr. A. K. Norris till the spring 
 of 1865. He came to Fu.ton April 6 of that year, 
 and engaged as foreman with Mr. C. E. Langford, a 
 lumber manufacturer of that place. In January, 
 1866, he entered into partnership with Mr. Langford, 
 under the firm name of "Langford & Hall." Mr. 
 Hall took charge of the mill and manufacturing de- 
 partment, and under his superior management the 
 present extensive and complete mills of the Lang- 
 ford &Hall Lumber Company were built in 1876-7. 
 It was largely due to Mr. Hall's successful man- 
 agement of the operating department that the com- 
 pany made such rapid progress in increasing and 
 extending their business. 
 
 In Jan., 1878, the Langford & Hall Lumber Com- 
 pany was incorporated, in which Mr. Hall held shares 
 to the amount of $35,000. He was elected pres- 
 ident and also superintendent of the company in 
 1880, which po silions he held till the happening of 
 the terrible accident that cut short his valuable life 
 in the noon-day of his success and prosperity. Mr. 
 Hall lost his life on the 7th of July, 1881, by a blow 
 from a falling timber, while assisting his men in re- 
 moving the hoisting poles after having raised a 
 smoke-stack at the mill. 
 
 The sudden death of such a man as Warren P. 
 Hall was a sad blow, not only to his wife and chil- 
 dren, to whom he had been a devoted husband and 
 father, but also to his business associates, employes 
 and fellow-citizens. 
 
 Mr. Hall experienced religion at the early age of 
 1 1 years, and became a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church of West Bloomfield, N. Y. He continued 
 a consistent member of that Church till 19 years of 
 age, when he severed his connection and united with 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church at Portville, N. Y. 
 He continued during the remainder of his life an 
 earnest, zealous worker in that denomination. He 
 filled the offices of Steward, Class-leader and 1 Trustee 
 for many years, and by his good example, sincere 
 and liberal support, was veritably a pillar of 
 
 ^^ 
 
 the Church. He was punctual in attendance at ser- 
 vices, prayer-meetings and class-meetings, while his 
 purse was always open in support of the Church, its 
 missions and its charities. 
 
 The funeral services were conducted by the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity, of which he had long been an hon- 
 ored member. The attendance was remarkably 
 large, both from city and country, and showed the 
 high esteem in which the deceased was held. The 
 Revs. R. M. Smith, Carr and David delivered ap- 
 propriate discourses. 
 
 Mr. Hall left a wife and two daughters to mourn 
 his loss. The family had been bereaved only a few 
 years before by the death of an only son, George, 
 who was drowned while skating on the so-called 
 Cat-tail, Jan. 15, 1876. He was a bright, promising 
 lad in his i6th year. He had experienced religion 
 three years before, and was a worthy member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. He was the eldest of 
 the children, and was born at Janesville, Wis. Es- 
 tella, the second child and eldest daughter, was born 
 at Dixon, 111., and is the wife of Silas E. Morris, of 
 Darlington, Wis. Grace E., the youngest, was born 
 at Fulton. 
 
 Mr. Hall was a Republican with strong prohibi- 
 tion sympathies. His temperance views were well 
 known, and it may truthfully be said of him that in 
 all the walks of life he aimed to be right and his in- 
 fluence was always in favor of that which was cal- 
 culated to make the world better and purer. 
 
 : iram C. McCray, farmer, section 6, Genesee 
 Township, was born Aug. 30, 1850, and is 
 the son of Martin D. and Margaret Ann 
 ^ (Crum) McCray. His father was a settler of 
 1838 in Genesee Township. He was born May 
 31, 1806, in Kentucky. His father dying when 
 he was ten years of age, he went to Indiana, where 
 he grew to manhood in the care of his uncle. Jan. 
 i, 1836, he married the sister of John Thompson 
 Crum, who came to Genesee Township in the same 
 year. The wife was born in Ohio, and their mar-, 
 riage occurred in Henry Co., Ind. They had five 
 children and Mr. McCray is the youngest. His 
 father died in 1863, and he remained in his mother's 
 care a year longer. She married John Yager, Nov. 

 
 2l8 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 I 
 
 * 
 
 16, 1863, and lives in Sterling. When her son, who 
 is the subject of this sketch, was 14 years of age, 
 he went to Coleta for the purpose of acquiring a 
 knowledge of the trade of a blacksmith, under the 
 direction of J. H. Gulp. After working a year he 
 engaged in farming until 1870; then worked ten 
 years for T. T. Daniels at Morrison, and in 1883 he 
 again commenced farming. 
 
 His marriage to Susanna Hurless took place Sept. 
 19, 1869. Mrs. McCray was born Aug. 20, 1852, in 
 Wood Co., Ohio, and she is the daughter of Rev. 
 Cephas and Elizabeth (Overholser) Hurless, of whom 
 a sketch may be found on other pages. She was 
 hardly two years of age when her parents located in 
 Genesee Township. She is the mother of two chil- 
 dren, Edwin M., born May 8, 1870, and Perry A., 
 born June 21, 1872. 
 
 Mr. McCray is a Democrat. His wife is a mem- 
 ber of the United Brethren Church. 
 
 ouis B. Peters, undertaker and dealer in 
 furniture opposite the depot of the Chicago, 
 Burlington & Quincy Railroad, at Fulton 
 City, is a successor to his father,_ Clement 
 Peters, who established the business in 1872. 
 The subject of this sketch was ,born in Lyons, 
 Iowa, Aug. 9, 1857, and is the son of Clement and 
 Doretha (Langenberg) Peters. His parents were 
 both natives of Europe. His father was born in 
 Loraine,on the Franco German border: his mother, in 
 Saxony. His father came to America in 1855, and 
 his mother in 1856. Louis learned the cabinet- 
 makers' trade at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and subse- 
 quently worked at it in Vinton, la., Denver, Col., 
 and Le Mars, la. He was also employed by the 
 Chicago & Northwestern Railroad one and a half 
 years, in 1881-2. On the death of his father he 
 succeeded to his present business in November, 
 1882. Mr. Peters has a well stocked store in his 
 line, and attends promptly to all orders in the under- 
 taking line. His stock averages in value about 
 $2,500. 
 
 He was married at Fulton, III, Feb. n, 1885, to 
 Miss Susan Monohan, daughter of William Monohan. 
 Mrs. Peters was born in Whiteside Co., 111. They 
 
 are members of the Catholic Church of Fulton. Mr. 
 Peters is a member of good standing of Abou Ben 
 Adhem Lodge, No. t48, I. O. O. F., and in politics 
 is a Democrat. He is an enterprising young busi- 
 ness man, possessing a thorough knowledge of under- 
 taking and furniture business, and is rapidly building 
 up a substantial trade. 
 
 braham L. Grater, general farmer on sec- 
 tion 35, Clyde Township, was born Sept. 
 12, 1845, in Limerick Township, Mont- 
 gomery Co., Pa. Henry and Elizabeth (Lan- 
 dis) Grater, his father and mother, were natives 
 of the same county and were both descendants 
 of German ancestors. The father was married twice 
 and by the first marriage there were three children. 
 Ten children were born to the parents of Mr. Grater, 
 and he is the fourth in order of birth. His father 
 and mother now reside with him, and are aged re- 
 spectively 76 and 72 years. 
 
 When he was 18 years of age he left his father's 
 household to learn the business of a carpenter, and 
 entered upon an apprenticeship with his brother-in- 
 law, Samuel E. Horning. After working under in- 
 structions three years, he operated as a journeyman, 
 remaining some time in his native State, and in the 
 city of Philadelphia 
 
 He was united in marriage Sept. 12, 1867, in his 
 native county, to Hannah Spare. She was born in 
 Limerick, Montgomery Co., Pa., Sept. 8, 1845, and 
 is the daughter of William and Delana (Poley) 
 Spare. She is four days older than her husband, 
 and is the mother of seven children, William H., 
 Lizzie, Jacob W., John, Mary E., Benjamin F. and 
 Abraham E. 
 
 After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Grater resided eight 
 years in their native county, where the former en- 
 gaged in farming. In April, r875, they came to Illi- 
 nois and located on a farm in Clyde Township, 
 situated near the -projected village of Malvern, and 
 during one year after locating there, Mr. Grater op- 
 erated as a carpenter. He then engaged in farming, 
 and he now owns 75 acres of first-class land under 
 excellent improvements. He is the owner of a herd 
 of 33 cows of good grades and has for some time 
 
 *&*:
 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 I 
 
 / 
 
 been engaged in the dairy business, in which he has 
 met with satisfactory results. 
 
 Mr. Grater is a Republican in political principles. 
 He is a member of the Dunkard or Brethren Church, 
 and in 1879 was made a Deacon. In 1883 he was 
 elected minister and has since filled that position. 
 Mrs. Grater is a member of the same religious de- 
 nomination. 
 
 ^.achariah Dent is the earliest pioneer set- 
 tler in Clyde Township. He moved into 
 the township June i, 1839, previous to the 
 organization of Whiteside County, and at a 
 
 > date when its original state of nature was al- 
 most uninvaded. Mr. Dent was born July 26, 
 1805, in Buckingham, Norfolkshire, England. He 
 was named for his father, who was an English yeo- 
 man. Elizabeth Dent, his mother, was a native of 
 the same country. The elder Dent died about 1811, 
 and his son was brought up chiefly by strangers. 
 The mother survived some years, dying after the re- 
 moval of her son to America. 
 
 Mr. Dent learned the trade of a cloth-\veaver, and 
 followed that vocation until 1832, the year in which 
 he emigrated to America. He first located in On- 
 tario, Can , where he obtained a clerkship near New- 
 market. He passed several years in one employ, 
 and for some time subsequently he was similarly en- 
 gaged in the interests of a second employer. Mean- 
 while he came to Illinois and located his claim, 
 which he purchased of an Englishman, and was 
 careful to settle in the " timber,"' as it was then gen- 
 erally the opinion that the prairie was comparatively 
 useless for agricultural purposes. While in Canada 
 he took part in the contest known to history as Me 
 Kenzie's Rebellion, or the Patriot War, espousing 
 the cause of the rebels. He was on the losing side, 
 and shared the consequences, which in his case was 
 a term of imprisonment at Toronto. During the 
 short-lived struggle he was involved in its several 
 conflicts, but escaped without receiving injury, and 
 on being released from prison he was again admitted 
 to his former social position. Useless as were the 
 efforts to shake off the bonds of the British Govern- 
 ment, the underlying principles were in accordance 
 
 with strict justice and in the natural order of things 
 must in the course of time prevail. 
 
 On removal to Clyde Township for a permanent 
 residence, he constructed a home in the woods where 
 he located for reasons stated. He lived alone for 
 some years, engaged in a struggle with the adversi- 
 ties and trials of an early settler in a new country. 
 The condition of things may be inferred from the 
 fact that the value of a bushel of wheat was less than 
 a pound of coffee. 
 
 Mr. Dent was married about the year 1848 to 
 Eunice Montgomery. She was born in August, 
 1810, in Roxbury, Delaware Co., N. Y., and was the 
 daughter of Martin and Louisa (Waite) Montgomery. 
 Her parents were born in New York and were of 
 New England ancestry. They were a branch of the 
 family who were prominent in New England and in 
 the State of New York in the period of the Revolu- 
 tion. The family of Mrs. Dent removed to Illinois 
 in July, 1839, and have all been dead some years. 
 No children came to add to the home happiness of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dent. She died in the winter of 1869, 
 and since that event Mr. Dent has lived in quiet re- 
 tirement, on section 15 of Clyde Township. He is 
 the owner of 250 acres of land, finely situated and 
 comparing favorably with the farms in the vicinity. 
 He is a Democrat of the Jackson school, and has al- 
 ways adhered to his first political principles. He 
 has officiated some years in township offices but 
 finally withdrew from active duty as a citizen on ac- 
 count of old age. He is 80 years of age at the date 
 of this writing (1885). 
 
 Collins, successor to A. Critchfield & Co., 
 wholesale and retail dealer in marble and 
 granite monuments, cemetery enclosures, 
 etc., at Fulton. This business was established 
 in June, 1882, by A. Critchfield & Co., who con- 
 ducted it till March, 1884, when Mr. Collins 
 bought them out, Mr. A. Critchfield being retained 
 as foreman and general manager of the mechanical 
 and designing department. 
 
 Mr. Collins employs from six to ten men, and turns 
 out from eighteen to twenty thousand dollars' worth 
 of work annually. The bulk of his custom comes 
 from Whiteside and neighboring counties, although 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 
 <& 

 
 SEf sales extend into Iowa and neighboring States. He 
 uses in his work only the best grades of Italian and 
 American marble, and of Scotch and American 
 granite. He has facilities for turning out work on 
 short notice, of beautiful designs and of the finest 
 workmanship. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Cumber- 
 berland Co., N. J., near the historic ground known 
 as " Vineland," on the igth of September, 1824, and 
 is the son of John and Mary (Pettet) Collins. In 
 1838 he removed with his parents to Dayton, Ohio, 
 where he was reared on a farm. He was married at 
 Dayton, June 24, 1847,10 Miss Mary J. Irvin, daugh- 
 ter of William and Martha (Brooks) Irvin. Mrs. 
 Collins was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio. In 1855 
 he came West and settled on a farm in Muscatine 
 Co., Iowa. He was elected and served 14 years as 
 Township Assessor, several years as Town Clerk, 
 and held other minor offices. He continued farming 
 in Muscatine County till March, 1882, when, having 
 sold out, he removed to Fulton and engaged in the 
 marble business. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Collins have had eight children, two 
 sons and six daughters. Anna B. is the wife of T. 
 S. Meeker, of Muscatine, Iowa. Mary E. is the wife 
 of Asa Critchfield, of Fulton, 111. Laura died aged 
 21 years. Martha L. is the wife of Morris N. Rippey, 
 of Muscatine, Iowa. Ida C., William I., Harry E. 
 and Eva A. are unmarried. William is engaged with 
 his father in the marble works. Harry is at Darling- 
 ton, Wis , employed as merchant clerk. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Collins are members of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church. Mr. C. is Prohibitionist in 
 politics, but was a Republican till 1884. 
 
 "Wgs&wf eorge w R ema g e) M. D., physician and 
 surgeon at Coleta, was born Jan. 29, 1837, 
 in Holmes Co., Ohio. Abner Remage, his 
 ? father, was born in Pennsylvania, and was of 
 Scotch and French extraction. The -ancestral 
 stock located in America prior to the Revolu- 
 tionary War, in which the paternal great-grandfather 
 of Dr. Remage was a participant and was captain of 
 a company. His grandfather and two uncles were 
 soldiers in the War of 1812. Their business relations 
 were in the vocations of farmers and mechanics. 
 
 Abner Remage settled in Holmes Co., Ohio, in 1826, 
 where he was a pioneer, and located in the woods on 
 a farm which was in its primeval condition. He 
 made it his home until his death, which occurred in 
 November, 1861. He had lived a life of usefulness 
 and honor and had proved a valuable citizen in the 
 progress of the county from its primal condition to 
 the advanced state to which it attained with great 
 rapidity. The mother of Dr. Remage, Susan Custer, 
 before her. marriage, was a member of one of the old 
 Dutch families who were identified with the pioneer 
 history of the State. She died in Holmes Co., Ohio, 
 in 1855, aged 47 years. They had ten children, five 
 sons and five daughters. 
 
 Dr. Remage is the third son and seventh child. 
 He remained at home until he was 17 years of age 
 and obtained a rudimentary education at the district 
 school, which at that age he began to turn to account 
 in teaching, in Berlin, in the county where he was 
 born, and he passed alternate seasons in attendance 
 at school. He had cherished a project to fit himself 
 for a professional life, and he commenced to read 
 medicine in the office of Dr. W. N. King, in Millers- 
 burg, Holmes County. In the winter of 1858-9, he 
 entered the Medical Department of the University of 
 Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he pursued the pre- 
 scribed course of study until the following spring, 
 when he went to Middletown, in his native county, 
 and commenced practice in company with Dr. Joel 
 Poerene. Two years later, the nation was convulsed 
 by civil war, and Dr. Remage, then in the full vigor 
 of young hopes and ambitions, resolved to risk the 
 fate of war, and he enlisted as a private soldier in 
 Co. H, 23d Regt. Ohio Vol., under Capt. J. L. Drake. 
 The regiment was assigned to the Department of 
 West Virginia. He was under fire Sept. 10, i86r, at 
 Carnifex Ferry, which was the only occasion in which 
 he was in active service. His health became seri- 
 ously impaired and he received honorable discharge 
 in November, r86r. He resumed his practice, 
 which he prosecuted until the fall of 1862, when he 
 went again to the University at Ann Arbor and com- 
 pleted his course of medical study and was graduated 
 March 25, 1863. He received from Gov. Tod, of 
 Ohio, a commission as Assistant Surgeon of the g6th 
 Regt. Ohio Vol., and thus officiated until Feb. 13, 
 1865, when he was promoted Surgeon and assigned 
 to the Fifth Tenn. Reg. in the Dept. of the Cum- 
 berland. At the close of the war, July T7, 1865, he 
 
 V 
 
 I
 
 i 1' - f -., r 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 URBANA

 
 
 ' 
 
 ' 
 
 WHITES IDE COUNTY. 
 
 was mustered out of service, when he resumed the 
 practice of his profession at Somerville, Union Co., 
 Ohio. He operated as a physician at that point five 
 years, and, in 1870, transferred his interests to Paul- 
 ding, the county seat of the county of the same name, 
 where he established his business and operated with 
 marked success until December, 1877. He became 
 worn with constant attention to his professional 
 duties and sold out for the purpose of travel and 
 recuperation, in which he was occupied some months. 
 In September, 1878, he located at Coleta, where he 
 has since resided and prosecuted his business as a 
 physician with satisfactory results. 
 
 Dr. Remage was married at Wooster, Wayne Co., 
 Ohio, Sept. 20, 1859, to Louisa C. Schwartfager, and 
 they have had three children. Laura is deceased. 
 Lola married Archie McAdow and lives at Paulding, 
 Ohio. Herman is a student at Paulding. Mrs. 
 Remage was born in Coshocton Co.. Ohio. 
 
 s 
 
 eril Mead, Justice of the Peace and in- 
 surance agent at Morrison, was born Dec. 
 18, 1820, in Springfield, Clarke Co., Ohio. 
 Allen Mead, his father, was born Feb. 20, 
 1793, in Saratoga Co., N. Y., and was but a 
 youth when the second war with Great Britain 
 occurred. He entered the United States army and 
 was in the command of Gen. Van Rensselaer. At 
 the battle of Queenstown, his regiment was attached 
 to the forces under Winfield Scott, then a Lieutenant 
 in the regular army of the United States. Daring 
 the last 28 years of his life he was a minister of the 
 Free-Will Baptist Church and resided at various 
 places in the pursuit of his calling. He died at 
 Wolf Lake, Noble Co., Ind., Jan. 20, 1849. Sally 
 (Scarlett) Mead, his mother, was born Feb. 25, 1797, 
 in Addison Co., Vt., and died at Wolf Lake, Sept. i r, 
 1864. They had ten children, five of whom are yet 
 living. The eldest, Alfred, resides at Tremont, 
 Clarke Co., Ohio. Mr. Mead is the next in order of 
 birth. Ephraim is a farmer in Indiana. Sophronia 
 married Washington Scott, and resides in Michigan. 
 Sarah, wife of Jefferson Scott, lives in Warsaw, Ind. 
 Mr. Mead received a good education in his native 
 State, completing his studies at Springfield, where he 
 took a thorough course of instruction in advanced 
 
 English branches. On leaving school he engaged in 
 teaching, of which he made a business for 15 years. 
 In 1855 he came to Whiteside County and interested 
 himself in the purchase, improvement and sale of 
 lands in the township of Ustick. While there he 
 officiated seven years as Justice of the Peace. After 
 a business career of nine years in Ustick Township 
 he removed, in 1865, to Morrison, and purchased 80 
 acres of land, of which sixteen acres lay within the 
 corporation, upon which he built his residence. The 
 remainder of the 80 acres is situated east of the city. 
 Mr. Mead is also the owner of a business building in 
 the city. He is the owner of 160 acres of land in 
 Sioux and Hancock Counties, Iowa, and 60 acres in 
 Du Page Co., 111., lying 14 miles southwest of Chi- 
 cago, on the line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
 Railroad. He owns, besides the estate enumerated, 
 153 acres in Union Grove Township. He is a 
 stockholder and director of the First National Bank 
 at Morrison, and is a stockholder in the First Na- 
 tional Bank at Kearney, Neb. In his relations as an 
 insurance agent he represents the Orient of Hartford 
 and the Royal of Liverpool (fire insurance). In life 
 insurance he operates in the interests of the North- 
 western Mutual, of Milwaukee, Wis. He is also 
 dealing in real estate and acting in the capacity of 
 Pension Agent. 
 
 On coming to manhood, Mr. Mead accepted the 
 political issues of the Whig party, and became a 
 partisan of the Henry Clay school. He continued to 
 act with that party until 1856, when he became a 
 Republican, uniting himself with the party which 
 then came into existence. He was prominent in 
 public life in his native county, and in 1844 was 
 elected Assessor of Harmony Township, and was re- 
 elected ten consecutive years. In 1850 he was ap- 
 pointed Deputy United States Marshal for Clarke 
 Co, Ohio, under the administration of President 
 Taylor. In 1872 he supported Horace Greeley for 
 President In 1884 he was an ardent supporter of 
 James G. Blaine. In 1873 he was elected Coroner 
 of Whiteside County and served out the term. In 
 the spring of 1881, he was elected Justice of the 
 Peace and still holds the incumbency. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Odd Fellows fraternity and belongs to 
 Lodge No. 257, at Morrison. 
 
 Mr. Mead was united in marriage at Harmony, 
 Clarke Co., Ohio, Sept. 30, 1847, to Harriet Newlove. 
 She was born April 3, 1830, in Harmony, and is the 
 
 5^ 
 
 (' 
 
 c 
 r 
 
 < 
 
 V
 
 WHITKSIDE COUNTY, 
 
 *$ daughter of Laybourn and Elizabeth Newlove. Fol- 
 
 'A lowing is the record of the children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 
 . ', -i Mead: Elizabeth was born Sept. 2, 1848, and died 
 Aug. 12, 1862. Rilla S., born Nov. 12, 1851, died 
 
 S*) Dec. 25, 1879. M. Inman, born Feb. 25, 1856, is 
 the manager of his father's farm in Union Grove 
 Township. Ellen, born May 17, 1860, died Feb. 14, 
 1882. Harriet and Eliza, twins, were born April 5, 
 1863. 
 
 Mr. Mead's portrait is given on another page. Its 
 claims to a place in the records of Whiteside County 
 are clearly manifest from the foregoing account of his 
 relations to the community in whose interests he has 
 so faithfully labored. 
 
 
 'homas Milnes, general farmer, resident on 
 section 21, Clyde Township, was born on 
 the same section, March 25, 1861. His 
 parents were Joseph and Jennie (Mason) 
 Milnes. The later was born in the North of 
 Ireland. She was but six years of age when 
 her parents emigrated from the Green Isle to the 
 United States and settled in Lowell, Mass. The 
 father was of English descent and their marriage 
 took place in 1860, in Chicago. The senior Milnes 
 was a farmer and had come, in 1842, to Clyde Town- 
 ship, where his father located a farm on the bank of 
 Little Rock Creek. He was then about ten years 
 old. The family was one of the first to make a per- 
 manent settlement in Whiteside County. Joseph 
 Milnes and his wife located immediately after their 
 marriage on the homestead estate, where they reared 
 their family and conducted their affairs until their 
 removal in 1882 to Morrison, where they still reside. 
 The place is in the possession of the son, who is the 
 subject of this biographical narration. 
 
 Mr. Milnes was brought up on his grandfather's 
 farm and has all his life been interested in its prog- 
 ressive improvements, interspersed by attendance at 
 school. He obtained a more entensive education by 
 going to school at Oshkosh, Wis., where he passed 
 two years, and there entered upon a course of com- 
 mercial study, which he completed at Fulton, in 
 Whiteside County. After leaving school he returned 
 to agricultural pursuits on the home farm. Two 
 years later he formed a matrimonial alliance with 
 
 Carrie E., daughter of Richard and Hannah E. 
 (Knight) Beswick. Their marriage took place Dec. 
 28, 1882. Mrs. Milnes was born Aug. 24, r86i, on 
 section 30, Clyde Township, and was brought up and 
 educated in her native county. The family now in- 
 cludes two children born as follows : Earl B., Nov. 
 26, 1883, and Paul E., Feb. 26, 1885. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Milnes settled after their marriage on the old home 
 place and have diligently prosecuted the interests of 
 general farming. Mr. Milnes is a Democrat and is 
 present Township Treasurer. 
 
 f^ohn E. Durstine, farmer, residing on sec- 
 tion 34, Coloma Township, is the sixth 
 child born to Martin and Mary A. (Har- 
 vey) Durstine, natives of Pennsylvania and 
 devoted to agricultural life. They sold their 
 old home and moved to Round Grove, this 
 county, in 1853. The latter place they also sold and 
 in 1870 purchased property at Morrison, which they 
 occupied until 1874, when they rented it and changed 
 their residence to Coleta, a small town northwest of 
 Sterling, where the father died, in September, i877 ) 
 and the mother in September, 1884. 
 
 The subiect of this sketch was born Dec. 5, 1842, 
 received a common-school education, and when 17 
 years of age enlisted for the Union. At Stone River 
 he was wounded through the thigh ; was taken pris- 
 oner a short time and was paroled, and finally ex- 
 changed. Before he was wounded he was Orderly 
 to Gen. E. N. Kirk; afterward, Orderly at the Medi- 
 cal Director's Office of the i4th Army Corps, the Army 
 of the Cumberland. At the expiration of his three 
 years' enlistment he was honorably discharged. 
 
 He then came to Round Grove and worked at 
 farming for a time, and next he attended the Illinois 
 Soldiers' College at Fulton, this county, for two terms, 
 He went then to Benton Co., Iowa, and, in company 
 with his brother, purchased a farm of 193 acres. Re- 
 turning to Round Grove, he married Miss Emma 
 Stone, a native of Ohio. Their two children are 
 Warren E. and Ethel S. Mr. Durstine, after mar- 
 riage, moved to his farm in Iowa, and after residing 
 there two years he moved to Story County, same 
 State, and occupied a farm there for three years; 
 then five years at Round Grove again ; then six years 
 on a farm he purchased about two miles north of the 

 
 ,.-- 
 
 r 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 "si 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 
 station ; and finally sold that property and moved to 
 the place he now occupies. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Durstine is a Republican, and 
 religiously he belongs to the Congregational Church, 
 as does also Mrs. D. He is a Deacon and a Trus- 
 tee in his Church. He is also Treasurer and Com- 
 missioner of High ways of his township. By the many 
 removals and changes in life Mr. Durstine has made, 
 he has generally ameliorated his condition and cir- 
 cumstances, and is now one of the leading men of 
 Coloina. 
 
 eorge W. Holcomb, liveryman at Morri- 
 son, was born Aug. 18, 1848, in the town- 
 ship of Woodbine, Jo Daviess Co., 111. 
 Newell Holcomb, his father, was born Aug. 
 15, 1819, on an island in Lake Champlain, 
 which belongs to the State of Vermont and 
 which constitutes Grand Isle County. Louisa (Kel- 
 logg) Holcomb, the mother, was born April 4, 1823, 
 in Chautauqua Co., N. Y. The former was one of 
 the earliest settlers in the State of Illinois, and he 
 went in 1839 to Jo Daviess County, walking the en- 
 tire distance from Springfield to Galena. The mother 
 died in Woodbine Township, Sept. 7, (849, leaving 
 two children, the eldest of whom, Maria L., married 
 Sidney Willison, of Jo Daviess Co., 111. 
 
 Mr. Holcomb was little more than a year old 
 when his mother died. He was brought up on the 
 farm of his father, and bred to the business of an 
 agriculturist. On reaching an age suitable to set- 
 tling in life, he bought 40 acres of land in the same 
 township in which he was born, and where he oper- 
 ated until the spring of 1882, when he opened a 
 restaurant at Savanna, Carroll Co., 111. After pass- 
 ing a year there in that business, he transferred his 
 interests to Sterling. He maintained a restaurant 
 there but a short time, however, removing in 1883 to 
 Morrison. He opened a grocery, in which he was 
 engaged six months, when he sold out and interested 
 himself in the business in which he is now occupied. 
 He keeps about eight horses and livery equipments 
 in proportion. 
 
 Mr. Holcomb was married May 13, 1878, at 
 Lyons, Iowa, to Mary S., daughter of William and 
 Mary Tyson. She was born in Clyde Township, 
 
 , : * 
 
 Whiteside County. Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb have 
 one daughter, Lillie M., born in Woodbine Township, 
 Dec. 28, 1879. 
 
 iilliam B. Brown, liveryman and deale r 
 in horses at Rock Falls, was born at North 
 Stonington, New London Co., Conn., June 
 24, 1838. His parents, Thatcher and Eu- 
 nice (Spalding) Brown, were also natives of 
 the same State. 
 Receiving a liberal education, he commenced 
 teaching at the age of 16 years, and followed that 
 vocation for five years ; thenceforward he made ag- 
 riculture his principal business, and dealt in live 
 stock. In 1868 he left his parental home and emi- 
 grated to this State; after stopping at Grand de 
 Tour six months, lie came to Rock Falls and en- 
 gaged in the livery business, following it ever since, 
 with satisfactory success. Purchasing a lot on Main 
 Street, he built a store upon it, aud has since rented 
 the same. He also bought two lots on Bridge Street, 
 where he at present keeps his livery barn and outfit. 
 In his political principles Mr. Brown is a Republi- 
 can. He has been Trustee of the village corpora- 
 tion for six years, Assessor four years and School 
 Director two years. 
 
 He was married Sept. 3, 1863, to Phebe E. Col- 
 lins, a native of Connecticut and a daughter of 
 Amos and Phebe (Brown) Collins, who were also na- 
 tives of Connecticut and members of the agricultural 
 community. By this marriage there have been six 
 children John B., Charles R., George I., William J., 
 Sarah L. and Nellie F. 
 
 ustin Morse, dealer in leather, shoemakers' 
 supplies, etc., established his business at 
 Fulton, Nov. i, 1884. He was born in 
 Worcester, Mass., Aug. 21, 1824, and is the 
 son of Joseph and Sally (Bigelow) Morse. His 
 parents were of Puritan descent. He served 
 a regular apprenticeship to the tanner and currier's 
 trade in his native town, and in early manhood went 
 to Boston, where he was employed as foreman in a 
 large currying establishment. 
 
 He was married in Boston, Jan. 9, 1845, to Miss 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 & 
 
 >> 
 
 ft ' 
 
 f- 
 
 f
 
 I 
 
 ) 
 
 (S> 
 
 it 
 
 
 
 Susan J. Walker, of Lincoln Co., Maine. In 1847 
 he removed to New Hartford, Oneida Co., N. Y., and 
 was foreman of the tannery of Stephen Childs of 
 that place, one of the largest concerns of the kind 
 in the State. He held that position nine years, and 
 then removed to Dixon, 111. (1856). He engaged in 
 business at Dixon as dealer in leather and saddlers' 
 hardware, which he carried on successfully for 28 
 years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Morse had four children, three boys 
 and one girl. Georgiana I. is the wife of W. W. Knox, 
 of Pittsburg, Pa. ; Willie died in childhood ; Charles 
 died aged six years ; Edward is an attorney in prac- 
 tice at Huron, D. T. Mrs. Morse died Jan. 20, 
 1883. 
 
 Mr. Morse was married again March 20, 1884, at 
 Fulton, 111., to Mrs. Catharine Hall, widow of Warren 
 P. Hall, late of the Langford & Hall Lumber Com- 
 pany, and daughter of George and Margaret Barry 
 Swarts. 
 
 Mr. Morse moved to Fulton in the fall of 1884 
 and established his present business Nov. i, of that 
 year. Politics, Republican. 
 
 euben P. Hollinshead, of the firm of Hol- 
 linshead & West, dealers in clothing and 
 furnishing goods at Morrison, is a native 
 citizen of Whiteside County, 111., having been 
 born May 3, 1857, at Fulton. Joshua Hol- 
 linshead, his father, is a native of Canada, 
 and is a farmer in Ustick Township. The mother, 
 Nancy (Ingham) Hollinshead, was born in the State 
 of New York, and died at Fulton, this county, leav- 
 ing two children, both sons. John D. is a pilot on 
 the Mississippi River. 
 
 Mr. Hollinshead left home when he was 19 years 
 of age to learn the jewelry business, and bought out 
 an establishment at Fulton, where he acquired a 
 practical knowledge of its details. In September, 
 1879, he came to Morrison, where he entered the 
 clothing house of H. Worthington as a salesman. In 
 January, 1881, associated with J. A. West, he became 
 one of the proprietors of the stock and business inter- 
 ests of his former employer, to which they succeeded 
 by purchase. They are doing a successful and 
 
 popular business. Mr. Hollinshead is a member of 
 
 ^ 
 
 S&\ ^g^g-nr 
 
 HEP V^AV^TV 
 
 the Masonic fraternity and of the Order of Odd 
 Fellows. 
 
 His marriage to Mary S. Brumagrin took place at 
 Morrison, Oct. 25, 1882; they have one son, Frank 
 Glenmore, born Jan. 10, 1884. Mrs. Hollinshead 
 was born March 26, 1863, in Spolswood, N. J., and 
 is the daughter of Dr. R. J. and Jane D. (Van Cleef) 
 Brumagrin. 
 
 eorge E. Goodenough, farmer, section 
 10, Union Grove Township, was born 
 April IT, 1843, in Jefferson Co., N. Y. He 
 is the son of Willard A. and Jane (Hull) 
 Goodenough, whose biographical notice is to 
 be found on other pages of this work. He 
 was 22 years of age when he came with his parents 
 to Whiteside County. 
 
 He is one of the prominent agriculturists of Union 
 Grove Township, and is the owner of 230 acres of 
 land, the principal part of which is under cultiva- 
 tion. In political faith he is a Republican. 
 
 He formed a matrimonial alliance with Mary De 
 Groodt, and they have four children Minnie J., 
 John W., Arthur L. and Bertie E. John W. died 
 when he was five months old. Mrs. Goodenough is 
 the daughterof John and Mary De Groodt, and they 
 were natives of the State of New York. She was 
 born Feb. 15, 1849, in Rockford, 111. She is a mem- 
 ber of the Baptist Church, to which her husband also 
 belongs. 
 
 ohn Dickson, watchman for the Keystone 
 Manufacturing Company, of Rock Falls, 
 was born Dec. 31, 1830, in Scotland. He 
 was the second child of William and Ellen 
 (Tunna) Dickson, natives, also, of that coun- 
 try and members of the agricultural class, who 
 died in their native land. 
 
 Mr. Dickson remained at his parental home until 
 he was 26 years of age, receiving a common-school 
 education and assisting upon the farm. In 1855 he 
 emigrated to America, landing at New York, taking 
 a steamer up the Hudson to Albany and going 
 out to Sharon Springs, where he worked nine months 
 
 
 
 
 :; 

 
 ! 
 
 , 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 - 
 ) 
 
 in a hotel. He then came to Sterling and worked a 
 year in a hotel ; next he was employed a mile west 
 of that place until the spring of 1859, when he went 
 to Pike's Peak, where he was successful in gold-min- 
 ing. In 1861 he returned to Sterling, and went on 
 to England, where he visited from August to No- 
 vember and married Miss Anna Campbell, a native of 
 Scotland. Coming again to this country, he com- 
 menced keeping house a mile west of Sterling, and 
 lived in that neighborhood five and a half years. 
 The last six months of this time he was engaged at 
 work on the second bridge at that point, below the 
 dam. Since 1863 he has been in the employment 
 of the Keystone Manufacturing Company. 
 
 His first purchase in this county was a lot in Ster- 
 ling, and the second was a lot of A. P. Smith at Rock 
 Falls, for which he paid $[oo, and on which he built 
 a residence. After residing there a short time he 
 made a trade with Mr. Smith for another lot and 
 moved his house upon it. Since then he has bought 
 another lot, adjoining, for which he paid $350. In 
 1884 he purchased a house and lot joining north of 
 him, paying for it $900. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Dickson is a Democrat, casting his 
 first vote for Stephen A. Douglas, after taking out 
 his naturalization papers. He is a member of the 
 Board of Aldermen of Rock Falls, is a member and 
 treasurer of the Keystone Fire Company, treasurer 
 of the Keystone Aid and Relief Society, a member 
 of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Presbyterian 
 Society of Sterling, to which latter body his wife also 
 belongs. They have four children E. Ella, Anna 
 L., William G. and John A. Dickson. 
 
 86V 
 
 net - 
 
 S illiam A. Kennedy, farmer, located on 
 section 27, Clyde Township, was born 
 *p " Oct. 10, 1828, in Washington Co., N. Y. 
 jy His parents, Alexander and Sarah A. (Tice) 
 Kennedy, were natives of New York, and' 
 descended from ancestors of New England birth 
 and Scotch origin. They were farmers and came 
 West when their son was 20 years old in 1848 
 They located at first in Whiteside County, but later 
 the father went to Buffalo County, Neb., where he 
 died in Kearney City, in the fall of 1883. The 
 mother is living in Clyde Township, and is 78 years 
 
 of age. She is still in unbroken health and strength. 
 
 Mr. Kennedy, in company with his brother, be- 
 came the proprietor of 320 acres of land in Clyde 
 Township, all of it being unimproved. He was then 
 not 23 years of age. He was married April 10, 1856, 
 in the township of Mt. Pleasant, to Emmeline, daugh- 
 ter of Aaron and Amy (Havens) Bailey. Her father 
 was born in Vermont, and her mother was a native 
 of Essex Co., N. Y. Mrs. Kennedy was born Aug. 
 14, 1840, in Jefferson Co., N. Y. Her parents came 
 to Mt. Pleasant Township, in 1855, where they were 
 fanners. Her father died of a cancer, Oct. 20, 1874, 
 in the township of Delhi, when he was 77 years of 
 age. The mother is 84 years old and is vigorous, 
 mentally and physically. 
 
 At the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ken- 
 nedy settled on the property he owned, on which he 
 made rapid improvements. The farm is now (1885) 
 in the best of conditions and fenced and stocked. 
 Mr. Kennedy is a Democrat, and both himself and 
 wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 j^olomon Farwell, resident at Unionville, 
 has been a citizen of Whiteside County 
 since ^53. His parents, Solomon and 
 Sabina (Burlingame) Farwell, were natives re- 
 spectively of Massachusetts and Vermont. 
 The former was born in Groton, Mass., March 
 2 3> J 773- The birth of the latter occurred in 
 Wethersfield, Vt., Dec. 29, 1780. After their mar- 
 riage they settled for a fime in Vermont, afterward 
 going to Lewis Co., N. Y., where they were pioneers 
 and residents for many years. Late in life they went 
 to Loraine, Jefferson Co., N. Y., where the father 
 died June 17, 1850. The mother died Feb. 5, 1856. 
 Their nine children were born in the following order: 
 Submit, Leonard M., Selah, Eunice, Sabina, Eliza, 
 Lemuel, Phila A., Hannah E. and Solomon. 
 
 Mr. Farwell was born Jan. n, 1827, in Denmark, 
 Lewis Co., N. Y., and is the youngest child of his 
 parents. He attended the common schools and be- 
 came a carpenter and joiner, following that business 
 until his removal to Whiteside County, and since that 
 time has continued to work at his trade in connection 
 with his farming. In September, 1853, he bought 60 
 acres of land in the township of Ustick, where he was 
 
 
 /~\ .V.
 
 ^*~s 
 
 * 
 
 I 
 
 (3; 
 
 I 
 
 A 
 A>, 
 
 I 
 
 
 engaged in the pursuit of agricultural projects about 
 1 6 years, and then sold and purchased a farm in the 
 township of Union Grove. He remained there but a 
 short time, selling his farm and returning again to 
 Ustick Township, where he bought another farm, on 
 which he resided and operated until he determined 
 to retire from active business life. In the fall of 
 1882, he sold his landed interests and removed to 
 Unionville. 
 
 He was married in Denmark, Lewis Co., N. Y., 
 Feb. 4, 1848, to Margaret Plank, and they' are the 
 parents of nine children, Celia H., Emma E., Car- 
 rie A., J. D., Nellie F., Minnie P., Fred B., Lulu G. 
 and Gertie L. The child last named died when four 
 months old. Mrs. Farwell was born Sept. 21, 1829, 
 in Denmark, and is the daughter of John and Eleanor 
 (Ostrander) Plank. Her parents were born in the 
 State of New York, and four of their children reached 
 mature life, Margaret, Hannah, Nancy and John H. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Farwell is a Republican. He held 
 the positions of Township Clerk and Assessor while 
 a resident in Ustick. He and his wife are members 
 of the Universalist Church. 
 
 jfiorace L. Abbott, proprietor of a livery, 
 sale and feed stable at Fulton, established 
 his business there in March, 1874. He is 
 a native of New York, was born in Chautauqua 
 County, Feb. 12, 1840, and is the son of Clark 
 and Betsy (Crouch) Abbott. His parents were 
 natives of Vermont. 
 
 Horace came to Illinois with his parents in 1842 
 and lived in DeKalb County till 1853, when the 
 family removed to the township of Ustick, this 
 county. He was brought up on a farm in Ustick, 
 and continued his residence there till the second 
 year of the war. He enlisted Aug. 9, 1862, in Co. 
 F, 93d 111. Vol. Inf., and served till the close of that 
 great conflict, being mustered out July 2, 1865. His 
 regiment was in the isth Army Corps or the Army 
 of the Tennessee, and he participated in the battles 
 of Jackson, Miss., Champion Hill, siege of Vicks- 
 burg, Miss., battles of Missionary Ridge, Lookout 
 Mountain, Altoona Pass and Savannah, Ga., besides 
 various minor engagements. 
 
 On his return from the war he located at Fulton 
 
 X-s .V 
 
 and engaged in teaming and threshing till 1871, 
 when he engaged in farming. In 1874 he quit 
 farming and entered the livery business. 
 
 Mr. Abbott was married in Ustick, this county, 
 July 3, 1866, to Miss Martha Barber, daughter of 
 Millard and Margaret (Glen) Barber, her father a 
 native of Litchfield Co., Conn. She was born in 
 Montour Co., Pa. They have three children, all 
 boys : Charles, Lester and Willard. 
 
 Mr. Abbott has served six years as City Marshal 
 of Fulton and four years as Constable. He is a 
 member of the Order of Modern Woodmen, and in 
 politics an earnest Democrat. 
 
 illiam Taylor, farmer, section 32,Genesee 
 Township, was born May 16, 1814, in the 
 city of New York. Stephen Taylor, his 
 grandfather, was born in the State of New 
 York, and descended from ancestors of New 
 England origin. He died about 1840 in Onon- 
 daga Co., N. Y. His wife, who was born Rebecca 
 Emmett, was of Irish parentage and died in El- 
 bridge, Onondaga County. Tunis, the second son 
 of the latter, and father of Mr. Taylor of this sketch, 
 was born in the State of New York, where he spent 
 his life, and died in 1864, in Wayne County, aged 
 about 63 years. He married Catherine Clelland, 
 who was also born in the State of New York, and 
 descended from ancestors who came to America from 
 Holland. She died Aug. 26, 1864, in Wayne County, 
 aged 50 years. 
 
 Mr. Taylor is the third child of his parents, and 
 he was a very small boy when they moved into the 
 woods of Onondaga. He obtained his education in 
 the pioneer school-houses of that county, which were 
 built of scantling cut from logs, the structures being 
 built in the same method or plan on which log houses 
 were built. He attained to man's estate on his fa- 
 ther's farm, and was married March 2, 1834, in 
 Wayne County, to Eunice M. Olmstead. Follow- 
 ing is the record of their children : Calista A., born 
 Aug. 23, 1835, married J. H. Hewitt, a farmer in 
 Chickasaw Co., Iowa. James C. was born May 13, 
 1837, and married Louise Edson for his first wife. 
 She died, leaving two children : James E. and Sylvia. 
 He was a second time married, to Mary l.ucinda
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Bruner, and they reside on a farm in Genesee Town- 
 ship. Jerusha, now Mrs. Dowd, is the wife of a 
 farmer in Genesee Township. Eunice married Ran- 
 som B. Johnson and lives in Ottawa Co., Kan. 
 Lucy is the wife of Scott Sortor, of Chickasaw Co., 
 Iowa. Rosalia, now the wife of Jacob Buzzard, is a 
 resident of Brown Co., D. T. S. W. is deceased. 
 Tunis became a soldier in the Union Army and was 
 killed by a minie ball at the battle of Perryville, 
 Ky. Mary died in infancy. John H. is deceased. 
 On settling in life, Mr. Taylor established his fam- 
 ily on a farm in his native State, and they were there 
 resident until 1852. In that year he came West and 
 purchased 80 acres of land on section 32, Genesee 
 Township, which had not then known the plow or 
 any other element or influence to develop its fruit- 
 fulness. The entire tract is under cultivation, and 
 he has deeded 40 acres to his son. In October, 
 1867, he was appointed Postmaster at the place 
 where he lives, and has since officiated in that posi- 
 tion. He was a Democrat at the outset of his polit- 
 ical career, but some years since became a Republi- 
 can. He is holding the position of Justice of the 
 Peace. He and his wife were reared in the tenets 
 of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 "jilliam F. Twining, retired farmer, resi- 
 dent on section 12, Union Grove Town- 
 ship, came to Whiteside County in 1863. 
 He is the son of William and Ovonda (Fow- 
 ler) Twining. They were natives of Mas- 
 sachusetts, and located after their marriage in 
 the State of New York, and were there resident dur- 
 ing the remainder of their lives. Their children 
 were named Susan, John, Lucinda, William F., Al- 
 fred W., Milo S. and Mariette. 
 
 Mr. Twining was born Aug. 17, 1820, in Jefferson 
 Co., N. Y. He was a farmer in his native State un- 
 til his removal to Illinois. He decided to locate in 
 Union Grove, and he purchased 65 acres on sections 
 12 and 13. He continued to live on and operate 
 his farm until the spring of 1884, when he sold his 
 property and retired from participation in active 
 life. He affiliates with the Republican party in po- 
 litical sentiment, and has officiated as Township 
 
 Treasurer and School Trustee, besides having held 
 several minor official positions. 
 
 Mr. Twining was united in marriage in Champion, 
 Jefferson Co., N. Y., Feb. 19, 1846, to Martha M. 
 Taylor, a native of the State of New York. They 
 became the parents of five children Mary F., Will- 
 iam E., Mary F. (2d), Fred A. and Florence A. The 
 eldest child is deceased, as is the fourth Fred A. 
 The mother died in Union Grove Township, July 26, 
 1879. Mr. Twining was again married March 16, 
 1882, to Nellie, daughter of William and Nellie 
 (Wilson) Rook. Mrs. Twining was born July 28, 
 1845, in England. She is one of six children born 
 to her parents, as follows: John, Martha, Elizabeth, 
 Nellie, Mary and Fanny. Mr. and Mrs. Twining 
 have one child Gracie B. 
 
 ames C. Taylor, farmer, section 31, Gen- 
 esee Township, was born May 13, 1837, in 
 'Wayne Co., N. Y. He is the son of William 
 Taylor, of whom an account is given elsewhere 
 in this volume. He lived in the county of his 
 nativity until he was 15 years of age, and in 
 1852 he came to Illinois with his parents and has 
 since been a resident of Genesee Township. Every- 
 thing was in a primeval condition and it was neces- 
 sary that all should give their earnest attention to 
 the work of improving a home. He was the oldest 
 son, and he devoted himself with vigorous energy to 
 the cultivation of the prairie farm. He continued 
 to live at home until he was 30 years of age. 
 
 He was first married Sept. 18, 1870, in Genesee 
 Township, to Louise Edson, the daughter of Jacob 
 Edson. She was born Jan. 27, 1840, in Otsego Co., 
 N. Y. Her parents were natives of New England, 
 She grew up and was educated in the county where 
 she was born, and, at .the age of 15 years, began to 
 teach in the public schools of New York, and was 
 similarly engaged until she was past 20 years of age. 
 In 1 868 she came to Whiteside County, where she 
 taught school until she was married. She died 
 April rg, 1883, and left two children. James E. 
 was born Feb. 12, 1876, and Sylvia L.,,Feb. 22, 
 1879. She was a person of estimable character, and 
 her loss to her family and friends was deeply de- 
 plored by her family and neighbors, who still pre- 
 
 
 
 f& 
 
 I 
 
 - - 
 
 f*^j
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 serve her memory. Mr. Taylor formed a second 
 matrimonial alliance with LucindaBruner. She was 
 born Jan. 12, 1848, in Somerset Co., Pa., and is the 
 daughter of Joseph and Mary A. (Mull) Bruner. 
 Her father was formerly a miller in Pennsylvania 
 and in 1865, after coming West, he settled in Lee 
 Co., 111., and became a farmer, operating in that 
 capacity in the townships of Franklin Grove and 
 South Dixon. He and his wife are residents in the 
 township last named, and they are aged respectively 
 67 and 65 years (1885). 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Taylor located his residence on 40 
 acres of land, constituting one-half of the original 
 claim of his father, and situated on section 31. With 
 the exception of a year spent in Nebraska, this has 
 since been his place of abode. 
 
 He is a Republican in political belief. Mrs. Tay- 
 lor is a member of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 
 
 
 illiam Parker, editor and proprietor of the 
 Rock Falls News, is a native of Maysville, 
 Ky., born in 1835, and is a descendant of 
 <^ the pioneers of that State. Commenced the 
 printing business at the age of 15 and served 
 three years in the office of the Ripley Bee, at 
 Ripley, Ohio, afterwards served two years in the job 
 office of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He came to Illi- 
 nois in 1855 and commenced the publication of a 
 paper at Salem, in Marion County, in the same year, 
 and has been steadily engaged in the newspaper and 
 printing business ever since. 
 
 Mr. Parker entered the volunteer service of the 
 United States army as Lieutenant of Co. A, 75th 
 111. Vol. Inf., at Dixon, in 1862, and served till the 
 close of the war, being promoted as Captain soon after 
 going to the front. After the war closed he was com- 
 missioned Brevet Lieutenant Colonel for meritorious 
 services on the field. He came from old Kentucky 
 " emancipation " Whig stock, joined the Republican 
 party at its organization and has never voted any 
 other ticket. 
 
 Mr. Parker was married in Salem, Marion Co., 111., 
 to Miss Ella Bond, in 1856. Miss Anna F. Parker, 
 their only living child, is interested with her father in 
 the publication of the Rock Falls News. 
 
 Both self and wife are of Presbyterian and Con- 
 gregational stock. He is Senior Vice-Commander of 
 Will Robinson Post, No. 274, G. A. R., and has been 
 twice elected representative to the State Encamp- 
 ment of that order. 
 
 ainos Holleran, proprietor of the " Robin- 
 son House," the only first-class hotel in 
 Fulton, was born in County Clare, Ireland, 
 Dec. 26, 1843, and is the son of P. M. and 
 Catharine Holleran. He emigrated with his 
 parents to Canada West in 1848, and in 1855 
 came to Fulton, 111. 
 
 He engaged in steamboating as cabin boy %nd 
 worked his way up to the position of Captain, 
 followed steamboating some 12 years and was known 
 as an expert pilot and trustworthy officer. During 
 the late war he was employed in the United States 
 Naval service on the lower river. He built and op- 
 erated a ferry between Fulton and Lyons for some 
 years. He also conducted a "bus line at Fulton. He 
 was elected and served as City Marshal. In 1865 
 he engaged in the hardware business with John 
 Downs, which connection continued till 1878, when 
 he sold out and went to Orleans, Harlan Co., Neb. 
 He built the " Central House " at Orleans and kept, 
 it two years, when he sold out and went to Red 
 Cloud, where he kept the "Valley House " till r88o. 
 He then removed to Cascade, Iowa, and kept tr 
 " Holleran House " till the fall of 1884, when he 
 moved to Fulton and purchased the " Robinson 
 House." Mr. Holleran has made many important 
 improvements in the house and premises, and now 
 has a comfortable and tasteful establishment, com- 
 plete and first-class in all its appointments. He 
 also has a good livery in connection with the house. 
 He was married at Fulton, May 28, 1865, to Miss 
 Adelia Connor, daughter of P. H. and Ellen Connor. 
 Mrs. H. was born at Dundas, Canada. They have 
 four children, one son and three daughters : Minnie 
 E., Frank L., Eva and Maudie I. Mr. and Mr 
 Holleran are members of the Catholic Church. In 
 politics Mr. H. is Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Holleran still owns his fine farm of r6o acres 
 in Harlan Co., Neb., valuable city property in Red 
 Cloud, a fine residence and five acres of land at 
 
 5 ^^
 
 t"*~r 
 
 '-

 
 . J:
 
 
 Ti i> ILLlNOlb 
 

 
 > 
 
 ;: 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 233 
 
 3j 
 
 Cascade, besides 20 lots. He is an enterprising 
 business man, and, being ably assisted by his intelli- 
 gent and energetic wife, is bound to make the " Rob- 
 inson House " a favorite stopping place with the 
 
 traveling public. 
 
 
 N 
 
 : 
 
 illiam D. Hayes, merchant and Postmaster 
 at Malvern, was born in West Brandywine 
 Township, Chester Co., Pa., Oct. 25, 1830. 
 Thomas and Ann (Davis) Hayes, his par- 
 ents, were also born in that State and were 
 of English ancestry. Henry Hayes, his earliest 
 traceable ancestor, came to America as a refugee 
 (ram British law, in 1690, or thereabouts. He was in 
 humble circumstances in his native country and was 
 employed as a teamster. An unguarded motion with 
 his whip resulted in a run-away, by which the grand- 
 ees were well shaken up and the horses cleared 
 themselves from the clumsy state carriage, and he 
 was obliged to flee for his life. He secreted himself 
 in the heath until opportunity served to get away and 
 he sailed for the New World, landing where is now 
 Chester, on the Delaware River. He sought the 
 headwaters of White Clay Creek and spent seven 
 years in a small cabin, living the life of a hermit, the 
 wilderness being then unbroken. Samuel Hayes, his 
 great-grandfather, located in East Malborough Town- 
 ship, Chester County, and was surrounded by Tories 
 during the Revolutionary War, who made him much 
 trouble on account of his Whig principles. His 
 grandfather on his mother's side, William Davis, died 
 in Chester Co., Pa ., Jan. 9, 1863, aged 82 years He 
 was a " smith " (or blacksmith) nearly all his life, 
 engaged in the manufacture of edged tools, with the 
 hand hammer on a common anvil. 
 
 Thomas Hayes was a mechanic in early life and 
 later became a farmer. He died in the township of 
 Newlin, Chester Co., Pa., in March, 1867, aged 
 60 years. His widow died March 6, 1878, aged 73 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Hayes was reared by his parents, with whom 
 he remained until the death of his father. He had 
 obtained a good education and when he was 2 1 years 
 of age he began teaching and followed that calling 
 12 years. During that period (April 29, 1857) he 
 was married, in the city of Philadelphia, to Martha E., 
 
 daughter of Thomas and Martha (O'Niel) Johnson, 
 who was born in Chester County. Her parents were 
 farmers and were of German and Irish extraction. 
 Both are now deceased. Mrs. Hayes was born in 
 Willistown Tp,. Chester Co., Pa., Sept. 27, 1833. 
 Five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hayes are all 
 living. They were born in the following order: 
 Anna M., born Feb. 9, 1860; Ira T., June 8, r867; 
 May E., Aug. 5, 1868; Elsie T., Nov. 23, 1873; 
 Clarence J., Sept. 30, 1875. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hayes located after their marriage 
 in Newlin, where they purchased a small property, 
 and Mr. Hayes was there engaged some time in 
 teaching. Ten years later they went to the township 
 of West Pikeland, in the same county, where they 
 operated as farmers two years,- and went thence to 
 Chester Valley, where they resided a year. They 
 removed thence to Delaware County, in the same 
 State. Later they made another transfer, to Mont- 
 gomery Co., Pa. After a stay there of three years, 
 they came to Clyde Township, reaching their desti- 
 nation Feb. T2, 1876. Mr. Hayes at once established 
 his mercantile relations and has since continued in 
 trade. In December, 1877, he was appointed Post- 
 master at Malvern, of which he is the founder and 
 was the chief means of procuring the establishment 
 of the mail route. He is the first Postmaster. He 
 is a Republican and has acted eight years as Justice 
 of the Peace; has also held various other offices. 
 
 illiam A. Van Osdol, one of the most 
 extensive farmers in Whiteside County, 
 residing upon section 7, Hopkins Town- 
 ship, is a son of John and Nancy (Gibson) 
 Van Osdol, natives of Pennsylvania. They 
 married in Ohio Co., Ind., but finally settled in 
 Dearborn County. Mr. Van Osdol died in February, 
 1870, in Ohio Co., Ind., where all of William's grand- 
 parents settled about 1820, coming from Penn- 
 sylvania. His wife, and the mother of William A., 
 still survives and resides in that county. They 
 had a family of 1 1 children, of whom William A. was 
 the eldest. He was born in Ohio Co., Ind., Aug. 
 17, 1827. He passed his boyhood days and grew 
 to manhood in that county and continued to reside 
 there till 1856. He received a good common-school 

 
 234 
 
 WHITESWE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 education, and for a time was engaged in mercantile 
 pursuits at Aberdeen, Ind. 
 
 In May, 1856, Mr. Van Osdol came to Whiteside 
 County and located in Hopkins Township, where he 
 has since lived, closely and largely identified with the 
 interests and welfare of the community. He is the 
 owner of 520 acres of land in this township, 500 
 acres of which is in a tillable condition. He also 
 owns 440 acres of land in Ida Co., Iowa, all under 
 cultivation and managed by his eldest son. This vast 
 estate has been accumulated by Mr. Van Osdol in a 
 very brief time, be it said to his credit. When 22 
 years of age he possessed only $37.50 of prop- 
 erty, which was in a note given to him by his father. 
 The secret of his splendid success, besides possess- 
 ing good business ability, is industry and frugality. 
 Young men about to enter upon an active business 
 career might read the record of his life with no little 
 profit. 
 
 Mr. Van Osdol was united in marriage in Dear- 
 born Co., Ind., Nov. 20, 1850, with Rebecca Turner. 
 She was a native of Pennsylvania, born of Irish 
 parentage, and the seventh of a family of nine chil- 
 dren. Her parents were Robert and Martha (Woods) 
 Turner. To Mr. and Mrs. Van Osdol have been 
 born six children , John M., Sarah E., William S., 
 Ida M., Robert R. and Frank A. John M. and 
 Sarah E. are deceased. While never aspiring to 
 public position, Mr. Van. Osdol has held many of 
 the minor offices of his township. He is a member 
 of the Methodist Episcopil Church, and in political 
 views is identified with the Democratic party. 
 
 As a truly representative agriculturist and a worthy 
 citizen of Whiteside County, we place Mr. Van 
 Osdol's portrait in this volume in connection with 
 this sketch. It is engraved from a photograph taken 
 about 1878. 
 
 illiam H. Knox, of Union Grove Town- 
 ship, is a native citizen of Whiteside 
 County, and was born Oct. 8, 1856, in 
 Mt. Pleasant Township. His parents, Will- 
 iam and Mary J. (Emery) Knox, came to 
 Whiteside County in 1835, and after residing 
 some time in Prophetstown, removed to the township 
 of Mt. Pleasant and there the father died, Dec. 20, 
 
 l %gi*& 
 
 1884. The mother is still living. The names of 
 their eight children were Sarah J., Harriet, Walter 
 E., Martin W., William H., Andrew J., Clarence D. 
 and Clara M. 
 
 Mr. Knox spent the years of his minority in ob- 
 taining his education. In 1878 he detached himself 
 from home associations and rented a farm in Mount 
 Pleasant Township, on which he operated two years. 
 In 1881 he made a permanent settlement on a farm 
 of 150 acres on section 25, of which he is the owner, 
 in Union Grove Township. Of this 115 acres are 
 under excellent cultivation. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Knox to Cora M. Harrison 
 took place Jan. i, 1879, in the township of Mt. 
 Pleasant. Two children have been added to the 
 household circle, Olive L. and Ruby H. Mrs. 
 Knox was born Oct. 12, 1859,511 Ohio, and she is 
 the daughter of Thomas and Electa A.'(Hoag) Har- 
 rison. Her father was a native of England and her 
 mother was born in the State of New York. After a 
 residence of some years in the State last named and 
 in Ohio, they came, in the spring of 1868, to White- 
 side County and fixed their residence in the township 
 of Mt. Pleasant. Mrs. Knox has one brother younger 
 than herself George F. Harrison. 
 
 Mr. Knox is identified with the Republican parly 
 in political sentiment. 
 
 .in, 
 
 lip, 
 
 :o., \[ 
 
 nd ,. 
 Her I 
 
 lam R. Grubb, farmer and blacksmith, 
 resident on section 33, Genesee Township, 
 was born April i, 1842, in Lancaster Co., 
 Pa. The- sketch of his parents, Samuel and 
 Mary (Rowe) Grubb, may be found on oth 
 pages. 
 
 Of two sons, which comprise the entire number of 
 children, Mr. Grubb is the younger. He attended 
 school in his native county from a suitable age until 
 he was 14, when his parents removed to Sterling. 
 There he was engaged in study one year. Mean- 
 while, his father purchased a farm in Genesee Town- 
 ship, to which the family removed, and father and g 
 sons entered into the work of establishing a home, / 
 such as was possible on the prairie, that only needed 
 the application of the commonest methods of agri- ' 
 culture to respond generously. 
 
 Mr. Grubb worked on the farm summers and
 
 >> 
 
 - .. 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 to school winters for some years. He remained un- 
 married until he was 28 years old. Feb. 27, 1870, 
 he formed a matrimonial alliance with Eliza A., 
 daughter of C. B. and Jane (Loudon) Peugh, of 
 whom a personal account is inserted in this work. 
 Mrs. Grubb was born Oct. n, 1848, in Washington 
 Co., Ind. She was a child of four years when her 
 parents came to Illinois and settled, in Genesee 
 Township in its days of first things, a condition of 
 things fully realized by Mrs. Grubb, as she was one 
 of the oldest children. She is the mother of two 
 children: Charles L., born Aug. n, 1871, and Fanny 
 A., Oct. 7, 1876. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Grubb settled on 40 acres of land, 
 which had been purchased by the former previous to 
 his marriage, and was then totally unimproved. He 
 had made it ready for a home, and on removing 
 thither pressed the work of improvement. He has 
 purchased an additional tract of 80 acres, and has 
 improved the entire quantity. Mr. Grubb is a Re- 
 publican. Mrs. Grubb has been a member of the 
 Christian Church since she was 16 years of age. 
 
 |jenry E. Horning, carpenter and joiner, 
 resident at Malvern, in Clyde Township, is 
 the son of Henry and Hannah (Isenberg) 
 yy Horning, both of whom were of German ances- 
 try, with a slight admixture of English blood on 
 the side of the mother. Mr. Horning was born 
 Oct. 23, 1838, in Trappe, Montgomery Co., Pa. He 
 set out independently in life when he was 14 years 
 old, his parents then both living. His father died Nov. 
 12, 1 87 2, aged 74 years. His mother is still living in 
 firm health, in Maryland, Ogle Co., 111., aged 87 years. 
 On making his first venture in life, Mr. Horning 
 engaged in farm labor, in which he continued four 
 years. Oct. 26, 1856, he apprenticed himself to John 
 ' Poley, a cousin who resided in the place of his 
 nativity, and he served with him three years, obtain- 
 ing a thorough and practical knowledge of the busi- 
 ness of a carpenter. Passing another year working 
 as a journeyman, he afterwards established a shop in 
 his own interests in his native village. In August, 
 1862, he went to Philadelphia and remained there 
 engaged in work at his trade 13 years. He returned 
 at the end of that time to- his native county and 
 
 MXar- f-N l^f: 
 
 worked as a carpenter two years, at Worcester. In 
 February, 1876, in company with W. D. Hayes, he 
 came to Whiteside County and settled at Malvern, 
 and is the owner of the property where he resides. 
 Since May 6, 1885, he has been traveling agent for 
 the sale of medicines. 
 
 He was married Nov. 24, 1859, at Bethel, Berks 
 Co., Pa., to Lydia, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth 
 (Hammaker) Pfeifer. Her parents were natives of 
 Berks County, and were of German descent. They 
 were farmers and lived and died in their native State. 
 Mrs. H. is a member of the Dunkard Church. Mr. 
 H. is a Democrat and a member of the K. of P. 
 
 l^-,apt. Alfred M. Carpenter, Master of the 
 steamer " Helen Mar," and a pioneer of 
 Whiteside County, was born in Lake Co., 
 Ohio, May 19, 1836, and is the son of John 
 B. and Mary (Fisk) Carpenter. When four 
 years of age he removed with his parents to 
 Adams Co., 111., and a few years later to Missouri. 
 In 1846 the family returned to Illinois and settled 
 in Albany, this county. 
 
 When 15 years of age Alfred began running the 
 Mississippi River, floating rafts, and in 1867 began 
 sleamboating. In 1873, after 22 years on the river, 
 12 of which were spent on the rafts, he had by hard 
 labor and economy accumulated a snug sum of 
 money. This he invested in the purchase of the 
 steamer " Hudson, " and began business for himself, 
 as Captain of his own vessel. He had secured a 
 large contract for moving lumber at a figure that 
 promised him a very flattering return for his labor ; 
 but misfortune overtook him near the close of the 
 third season. While towing a raft, a log was carried 
 under his boat which " hung her up " in such a man- 
 ner that she could not be relieved. He left her 
 with the expectation of raising her when the ice 
 should be strong enough to work on. The mildness 
 of the winter frustrated his plans, and in the break- 
 up the following spring his vessel was swept away. 
 By this disaster he not only lost his earnings for so 
 many years of hard work and exposure, but he also 
 lost the benefit of his contract, which was worth at 
 least $10,000, for the reason that he was to move 
 the lumber with the steamer " Hudson." 
 The following season (1874) he began steamboat- 
 
 
 i
 
 v_x 
 
 y 
 
 i 
 
 If 
 
 <: 
 
 il 
 
 I 
 
 ing again, on a salary, since which time he has com- 
 manded the following named boats : " Louisville 
 Despatch," "Andy Riley," "White," "Eclipse," 
 "Stillwater" and the "Helen Mar." He is the 
 present Captain of the latter named boat, which is 
 owned by Knapp, Stout & Co., of St. Louis, and en- 
 gaged in the lumber trade. 
 
 Captain Carpenter was married in Albany, White- 
 side Co., 111., Dec. 31, 1857, to Miss Sarah J. Zent, 
 a daughter of John and Myra Zent. Mrs. Carpenter 
 was born in Morrow Co., Ohio,. They had five chil- 
 dren^ three sons and two daughters: Florence C., 
 the -wife of Henry Rodman, of Davenport, Iowa ; Al- 
 fred M. died in childhood ; Charles O. is a steamboat 
 mate on the Mississippi ; Theodore A. died aged 
 eight years ; and Eva J., the youngest, is four years 
 of age. Mrs. Carpenter died May 13, 1882, and 
 Capt. Carpenter was married again Dec. 5, 1883. in 
 Dakota, Minn., to Miss Laura Fox, daughter of Al- 
 vin K. and Sophia (Tompkins) Fox. Mrs. Carpenter 
 was born in Minnesota. 
 
 With the exception of five years spent in Hancock 
 Co., 111., Captain Carpenter has made his home at 
 Fulton since his first marriage. 
 
 He has now had 34 years' experience in the lumber 
 and log business on the river, and 13 years' as steam- 
 boat Captain. With the exception of the loss of his 
 own boat, he has met with no accident of conse- 
 quence, and enjoys the reputation of being one of the 
 most experienced and successful captains on the 
 river. 
 
 Clifton Snyder, Postmaster of Fulton, 111. 
 was born in this city, Nov. 14, 1857, and is 
 the son of the Hon. William C. and 
 Isyphene C. (Pearce) Snyder. He was educated 
 in the city schools of Fulton and at the North- 
 ern Illinois College. At 14 years of age he 
 entered the office of the Fulton Journal as an ap- 
 prentice, learned the printer's trade, and in Decem- 
 ber, 1877, formed a partnership with his brother-in- 
 law, T. J. Pickett, Jr. and leased the Journal office, 
 Mr. Pickett being succeeded by Mr. W. R. Cobb in 
 March, 1879. This connection lasted till March i, 
 1880, when he sold out, but continued in the office 
 some time longer. In May, 1881, he engaged in the 
 
 fS- ^3^ ^ ^i 
 
 warehouse business, in company with W. C. Snyder, 
 and they do a general forwarding and commission 
 business, and deal in grain, feed, coal, lime, brick and 
 cement. Mr. Snyder was appointed Postmaster at 
 Fulton by President Arthur, Dec. 22, 1882, and 
 entered upon the duties of the office Jan. i, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Snyder was married at Peoria, 111., March 29, 
 1885, to Miss Hattie L. Noble, daughter of Hiram 
 and Sophia E. (Summers) Noble. Mrs. Snyder was 
 born on Staten Island, N. Y. 
 
 - 6 (d /y^PitO^'*^ ^) A 
 
 v ts> >3SXi>r e; 
 
 phraim M. Bechtel, a farmer on section 
 10, Clyde Township, was born March 23, 
 1833, in Columbiana Co., Ohio. Benja- 
 min R. Bechtel, his father, was a native of 
 Berks Co., Pa., and was a stone mason by 
 trade. He learned his business in the State 
 where he was born, and was there married to Re- 
 becca Myers. Both parents were of German ances- 
 try and descent. After the birth of their eldest child 
 they removed to Ohio, where they located in Colum- 
 biana County. Mr. Bechtel of this sketch was born 
 soon after, and is the second child born in that 
 county, being the third child of his parents. When 
 he was five years of age the family removed to Ches- 
 ter Township, Wayne Co., in the same State. He 
 was there brought up and educated and was an in- 
 mate of the paternal home until he was 20 years of 
 age, when he learned the trade of a cooper, and was 
 was engaged in that business two years. Subse- 
 quently he engaged as a mechanic in the employ of 
 the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Pittsburg Railroad 
 corporation, and, after two years in their service, he 
 came to Illinois. He was first employed by the 
 Chicago & Rock Island corporation, in whose inter- 
 ests he operated one year. He then came to White- 
 side County, whither his parents had removed in 
 1855. He purchased 40 acres of land in Clyde 
 Township, which was his second purchase of real 
 estate, he having previously become the owner of 40 
 acres of land in Benton Co., Iowa. This he after- 
 wards sold and devoted his entire time to the im- 
 provement of his property in Illinois. His parents 
 were residents on a farm in the eastern part of Clyde 
 Township, where they passed the remainder of their 
 lives. The father died about a year after removing 
 
 ' ' 

 
 V' 
 
 COUNTY. 
 
 f 
 
 \ 
 
 * 
 
 : 
 
 V 
 
 to Illinois. The death of the mother occurred about 
 1872. Both were in advanced years. 
 
 Mr. Bechtel devoted his time and strength to the 
 improvement of his farm in Clyde Township until 
 March, 1859, when, in company with James Wood, 
 Thomas Aldritt and Richard Frye, he started for the 
 promised land of Pike's Peak. They drove across 
 the plains, encountering hardship, privation and 
 fatigue, and finally arrived at Denver. They went 
 thence up the Platte River, prospecting for gold but 
 with success far below the hopes which had induced 
 them to leave the certainties of a life of effort on the 
 beautiful and fruitful prairies of Illinois, to chase the 
 will-o-the-wisp promises of speedy wealth in the 
 Rocky Mountains, and they learned that the gold 
 that came through the medium of their toil was just 
 as swift recompense as the placer yields of the 
 Platte, and a deal more certain. Their tarry in the 
 mountains was brief, and selling their equipments 
 they purchased provisions with the proceeds and set 
 out on their return homeward. They made the 
 route in hungry weariness, encountering throngs of 
 starving and distressed emigrants pressing on to re- 
 peat the experiment which had proved to them 
 anything but a success. 
 
 Mr. Bechtel resumed farming in Whiteside County, 
 and added further purchases to his acreage. A few 
 years later he made a change in location and pur- 
 chased 80 acres on section 10, which he bought with 
 the purpose of making it a permanent location. It 
 was wholly unimproved, and he entered vigorously 
 into the work of converting it into a farm. Later, 
 he purchased 80 acres on section 9, and still later 
 bought 80 acres additional on section 10, on which 
 some improvements had been made. He is now the 
 owner of 240 acres, all of which is under cultivation, 
 and constitutes one of the splendid estates which 
 gives Whiteside County its value. Its buildings are 
 valuable and serve to increase the attractions of the 
 place. The proprietor is heavily interested in stock 
 and sends to market annually upwards of 100 head. 
 Mr. Bechtel inclines to the principles of the Re- 
 publican party, but is in no sense aggressive in his 
 political affiliations. He is a Deacon in the Dunkard 
 Church. 
 
 His marriage to Sarah Wilson took place Feb. 22, 
 1861, in Clyde Township. She is the daughter of 
 John and Jane (Blue) Wilson, and is a native of 
 
 \f 
 
 Clyde Township, where she was born March 29, -j 
 1841. (See sketches of David and William Gsell.) 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Bechtel four children have been 
 born as follows: John, Feb. 17, 1862; Ella, July i, 
 1866; Lana, Nov. i, 1876; and Rebecca, who died \&) 
 when nearly 15 years of age. 
 
 enjamin Bonebrake, resident at Union- 
 ville, has passed his life as a mechanic. 
 He is a son of Frederick and Catherine 
 (La Rose) Bonebrake, the former a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and the latter of North Caro- 
 lina. After their marriage they located in 
 Ohio, where they were subsequently resident until 
 their death. Their children were named Anna, Levi, 
 Benjamin and Sarah. 
 
 Mr. Bonebrake was born May 22, 1817, in Preble 
 Co., Ohio. He passed his youth in the acquisition 
 of his education and as a farm assistant, at home. 
 At the age of 20 years he obtained the control of his 
 own time, and he fulfilled a predetermined resolution 
 to learn the trade of carpenter and joiner, in which 
 he passed 44 years. On becoming master of his 
 trade, he located in Butler Co., Ohio, where he 
 operated eight years. In the spring of 1856 he came 
 to Whiteside County and rented a farm in Mt. Pleas- 
 ant Township. After a short trial of agricultural life 
 he went to Morrison, and in the spring of 1861 set- 
 tled permanently at Unionville. He is the owner of 
 40 acres of land in Union Grove Township. 
 
 In political preference Mr. Bonebrake is a Repub- 
 lican, and he has been active in several local official 
 positions. He has served 12 years as School Trus- 
 tee, and as Collector six years. He is a member of 
 Union Grove Lodge, No. 257, 1. O. O. F. He be- 
 longs to the Protestant Methodist Church, of which 
 his wife is also a member. 
 
 " His marriage to Susan White occurred in Preble 
 Co., Ohio, in September, 1841. She was born in 
 Vermont and died Feb. 28, 1858, in Mt. Pleasant 
 Township, leaving two children, Carrie and La 
 Rose. Feb. 28, 1861, he was again married to Mrs. 
 Harriet A. (Trye) Baker. She was born Aug. 13, 
 1825, in Sheffield, England, and is the daughter of 
 William and Sarah (Carter) Trye, and widow of Wil- 
 liam R. Baker, by whom she had four children,
 
 fy 
 
 (, 
 
 named Charles W., Olive, Warren and Ida M. Mr. 
 Baker died June 14, 1859. He was the oldest son of 
 Jacob Baker, a prominent pioneer citizen of White- 
 side County, of whom a personal record appears on 
 another page. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ohn Stuart, carriage manufacturer at Ful- 
 ton, established his factory in 1865. He 
 is a native of the North of Ireland, of 
 Scotch descent, and was born May 8, 1844. 
 His parents were Alexander and Margaret 
 (Ellis) Stuart. He emigrated with his family 
 to Canada, in childhood, where he learned the black- 
 smith and carriage trade, at Mitchell, Canada West, 
 at which he served a regular apprenticeship of three 
 years. His compensation was limited, and increased 
 slowly. For the first year he received the princely 
 sum of $25, the second $35, and the last year $45. 
 But, strange as it may sound to modern apprentices, 
 he had every dollar of his three years' wages at the 
 close of his apprenticeship. He continued with his 
 employer a half year longer, and in March, 1859, 
 came to the United States. He first tried his fortunes 
 in Missouri, but was obliged to abandon that field on 
 account of the climate; he then came to Fulton, 111., 
 July 8, 1859, and engaged as journeyman black- 
 smith with Mr. James Broadhead, at 50 cents a day. 
 He continued to work as journeyman till March, 
 1862, when, having accumulated a cash capital of $65, 
 he opened a blacksmith shop of his own. 'Three 
 years later he began the carriage business in a small 
 way at his present stand. The superior quality of 
 his work, together with a reputation for fair dealing, 
 soon increased his trade till he was obliged to erect 
 additional buildings and to increase his force. This 
 he has been doing from time to time, till he now has 
 commodious quarters, and employs a force of from 12 
 to 16 men. His works turn out from 75 to 100 single 
 and double carriages yearly, of various styles and of 
 the finest workmanship. Mr. Stuart uses Ohio tim- 
 ber, and builds his work up from the rough to the 
 last touch of the painter's brush, or the final stitch of 
 the upholsterer. His market is principally in Iowa, 
 although his trade, to a considerable extent, extends 
 to California and the Territories. 
 
 In 1873 William Stuart, a younger brother, pur- 
 
 chased an interest in the business, and the firm be- 
 came J. & W. Stuart. This connection continued till 
 Feb. 29, 1884, when John bought him out and now 
 operates his factory alone. 
 
 Mr. Stuart was married at Fulton, 111., Nov. 12, 
 1863, to Miss Mary A. Stevenson, daughter of Simon 
 and Mary (Irwin) Stevenson. They have had six 
 children, four sons and two daughters, John A., 
 Simon, William, Mary, Fanny and Arthur, all of 
 whom are living except Fanny, who died aged seven 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Stuart is a member of the present City Council 
 from the First Ward, and has been Alderman once 
 before from the same. He has been a member of 
 Fulton City Lodge, No. 189, A. F. & A. M., since 
 1872, and is also a member of Fulton Chapter, No. 
 108, R. A. M., of which he is Treasurer. In politics 
 he is a Republican. 
 
 Jilliam Annan, miller, located in Union- 
 ville, was born Nov. 2, 1848, in Scotland, 
 and is the oldest son of William and Eliz- 
 abeth (Murray) Annan, who were natives of 
 the same country and of Scotch descent, 
 through a long line of ancestors. They came- 
 directly from the " land of heather " to Whiteside 
 County, and fixed their residence soon after in 
 Unionville, where the former died, Jan. n, 1882. 
 The mother is still living, as are three of the four 
 children, Barbara, William, Catherine and James. 
 The last named is deceased. 
 
 Mr. Annan was scarcely a year old when his par- 
 ents came, with two children, to the United States. 
 He obtained a good common-school education at 
 Unionville, and afterwards attended the commercial 
 college at Davenport, Iowa. His father, associated 
 with John A. Robertson, built a grist-mill on Rock 
 Creek in 1859-60, and in the intervals of school he 
 assisted in its management, continuing to act in some 
 capacity connected therewith until the decease of 
 his father, when he assumed charge of the estab- 
 lishment and has since conducted its business. Its 
 producing capacity is 75 barrels of flour daily, and 
 the trade is chiefly custom work. 
 
 In political affiliation Mr. Annan is a Republican. 
 He was united in marriage with Marian Ely, at 
 
 
 v 
 
 c
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 239 
 
 ' 
 
 Cortland, De Kalb Co., 111., May 16, 1878, and to 
 them three children have been born, who are named 
 Frank W., George and Floyd J. Mrs. Annan was 
 born in the State of New York, and is the daughter 
 of C. F. and Lydia M. Ely. 
 
 eorge B. Adams, editor and proprietor of 
 the Herald, at Morrison, was born in 
 Lyndon, Whiteside Co., 111., Oct. 7, 1855, 
 being the eldest of a family of eight children 
 of A. D. and Mary E. (Snyder) Adams, and 
 has always been a resident of the county. 
 From Lyndon the family moved to Portland, 
 where they lived several years, afterward removing 
 again to Spring Hill, and in 1865 locating in 
 Prophetstown, the present home. In each of these 
 locations the father pursued his vocation of black- 
 sm'th, a trade in which he was a superior workman. 
 He also purchased a farm in Prophetstown Town- 
 ship, on which the family lived a few years, finally 
 returning to the village and subsequently disposing 
 of the farm. 
 
 Mr. Adams' education was acquired by studious 
 attendance at the public school until 18 years of age, 
 
 when he engaged as a teacher in one of tjie rural 
 districts of the county. Not finding the calling a 
 congenial one, however, he abandoned the teacher's 
 profession, and in 1875 entered the general store of 
 D. K. Smith, Prophetstown, as clerk, remaining un- 
 til 1877. In March of that year he went to Mor- 
 rison and became a law student in the office of F. 
 D. Ramsay, varying the monotony of constant read- 
 ing by writing an occasional contribution for the 
 county press, as well as for more remote publications. 
 
 In April, 1878, A. D. Hill founded 7 he Wiiteside 
 Herald in Morrison, and, being aware of Mr. 
 Adams' newspaper inclinations, secured his services 
 as local editor. He continued his legal studies, in 
 connection with reportorial work, until the fall of 
 1878, when he finally abandoned the former and de- 
 voted himself exclusively to the latter, soon becom- 
 ing a partner in the publication of the Herald, the 
 firm being Hill & Adams. Three years later the 
 junior partner withdrew from the enterprise, and on 
 the first of July, 1882, leased the Herald of Mr. 
 Hill, and the following April purchased the office 
 
 > 
 
 and business where he is still engaged. The Herald 
 is an independent paper, devoted to the local news 
 of the city and county. Mr. Adams is also man- 
 ager of the Telephone Exchange at Morrison. 
 
 Nov. 19, 1879, Mr. Adams was united in marriage 
 with Miss Lucy Euphemia, youngest daughter of 
 Luther B. and Caroline M. (Smith) Ramsay, of 
 Prophetstown. They have one child, Frank Ram- 
 say, born July 7, 1883. 
 
 f 
 
 j^phraim Summers, of Fulton, and a pioneer 
 
 of Whiteside County of 1838, was born in 
 the town of Barnet, Caledonia Co., Vt., 
 Sept. 4, 1812, and is the son of William and 
 Y Emma (Pierce) Summers. He worked at the 
 carpenter and joiner's trade, and was also en- 
 gaged in farming. He was married in February, 
 1833, in Vermont, to Mary L. Dickson, daughter of 
 John and Jane (Lindsey) Dickson. 
 
 He came to Illinois in 1838 and made his home 
 at Portland, this county, for awhile, but soon located 
 at Sterling, to which place he removed his family 
 from the East in 1840. He learned the blacksmith's 
 trade in the West, and opened a shop at Sterling, 
 which he continued till 1847. He then removed to 
 Fulton, where he worked at blacksmithing till 1850, 
 when he joined a party bound for the gold fields of 
 California. He left Fulton April 9, crossed the 
 plains and arrived at Hangtown, Cal., early in 
 August following. He spent two years in the Golden 
 State, and returned to his home via the Panama 
 and New York route. In 1853 he engaged in the 
 hardware business at Fulton, which he continued till 
 1857. He was elected Justice of the Peace several 
 times, and served in all 20 years. In 1873 he was 
 appointed United States Ganger and served as such 
 two years, or until by a change in the law the office 
 was abolished. He also held various local offices. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Summers had seven children, font 
 sons and three daughters : Cloys, the eldest son, 
 was a soldier of the late war, and is now a merchant 
 of Fulton. He married Margaret Joyce. Morris 
 died in infancy. Oscar married Lizzie Exley and is 
 in partnership with his elder brother. Cyrus is 
 single and lives in Indianapolis, Ind. Sophia is the 
 
 
 (i)
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 wife of Hiram Noble, of Fulton. Orilla is the wife 
 of George Hartford, of Boone, Iowa; Mary is the 
 wife of Herman Jordan, of Newton Township, this 
 county. 
 
 . Mr. Summers gave up active business several 
 years since, and is living in comfortable retirement 
 with several of his children near by, and in the en- 
 joyment of the highest respect and esteem of neigh- 
 bors and friends. He is now with his eldest son. 
 Mrs. Summers died July 23, 1879. 
 
 ehemiah Grubb, farmer, section 33, Gen- 
 esee Township, was born Dec. 4, 1840, in 
 Lancaster Co., Pa. He is the oldest of 
 two sons born to Samuel and Mary (Row) 
 Grubb, of whom a sketch appears on other 
 pages of this work, and that of Elam R., the 
 younger son, appearing elsewhere, gives a complete 
 record of the Grubb family in Genesee Township. 
 
 Mr. Grubb was about 14 years of age when the 
 family abandoned their native State and came to 
 Illinois. They came at once to Whiteside County 
 and settled for the first year in Sterling. In the 
 second year (1855) the parents bought a farm on 
 section 33, Genesee Township. The sons had ob- 
 tained a fair education, and on taking possession of 
 their homestead the father and sons gave their un- 
 divided attention to the conversion of the hitherto 
 unfilled prairie into a valuable and fertile farm. 
 
 Mr. Grubb became the possessor of 40 acres of 
 land previous to his marriage, which was situated on 
 the same section as that purchased by his father, 
 and on which he began to make improvements. He 
 was married July 7, 1870, in Hopkins Township, to 
 Amanda, daughter of Peter and Charlotte (Mellen- 
 gar) Gara. The family of the wife were natives of 
 Lancaster County, and were of German ancestry and 
 descent. They were farmers and came to Illinois in 
 1865. Mrs. Grubb is the oldest child and was born 
 in Lancaster County, Nov. 7, 1850, and she was 15 
 years of age when she came with her father's family 
 to Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Grubb have one child, 
 Frank R., who was born Jan. 2, 1871. After their 
 marriage they took possession of the small farm 
 where Mr. Grubb had prepared a home for his fam- 
 ,ily. It has been enlarged and now contains 80 
 
 acres, all of which is under improvements, with ' 
 buildings and equipments suited to a farmer who is ' 
 making a substantial start in the world. 
 
 
 
 Mr. Grubb is a Republican of decided type. 
 
 ( r. Daniel Reed, deceased, the pioneer phy- 
 sician of Fulton of 1838, was born in 
 Camillus, Onondaga Co., N. Y., Sept. 4, 
 1803. His parents were William and Eliza- 
 beth (Mix) Reed. His mother was a relative of 
 ex-President Hayes. He was educated at Fair- 
 field College, New York, and studied medicine with 
 Dr. Daniel T. Jones, then a popular physician of 
 Central Nsw York. Having taken his degree, he be- 
 gan practice at Auburn, N. Y. 
 
 He was married at Sandy Creek, Oswego Co., N. 
 Y., May r, 1828, to Miss Cinda T. Meigs, daughter 
 of Dr. Jesse and Hannah (Pritchard) Meigs. Mrs. 
 Reed was born in Bethlehem, Litchfield Co., Conn., 
 May T3, 1801. Dr. Reed pursued the practice of 
 his profession in New York till the fall of 1836, when 
 he removed to Joliet, 111. Two years later he came 
 to Fulton (in the fall of 1838), and engaged in prac- 
 tice at this place. A great deal of sickness pre- 
 vailed here the following year, and the Doctor, 
 assisted by his wife, who was also a doctor, had their 
 hands full. 
 
 The Doctor had an extensive practice for a few 
 years, when he removed to Galesburg, 111., in order 
 to afford his children better advantages of education. 
 Five years later he removed to Chicago, where he 
 spent one year. He next went to Belvidere, and af- 
 ter three years spent at that place they returned to 
 Fulton. On his return to Fulton he retired from 
 practice, but made this his home till his death, which 
 occurred Feb. 16, 1882. 
 
 Dr. Reed was chosen to fill various public offices. 
 He served as Assessor in 1863, Justice of the Peace 
 in 1866, Coroner of Whiteside County from 1856 to 
 1858, and held other minor offices. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian Church and took an active 
 and prominent part in the building of the church at 
 Fulton. 
 
 In politics he was a Republican. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Reed had a family of six children, 
 four girls and two boys: William died April 17 
 1872 ; Helen M. was the wife of Wm. P. Culbertson
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 and died Nov. 6, 1857; Athalia, wife of J. B. Hall, 
 of Columbus, Ohio; James H. married Annie Pome- 
 roy and is a photographer at Clinton ; Cynthia J. is 
 the widow of Wm. E. Baldwin and lives at Lyons; 
 Harriet died Sept. 6, 1841, in childhood. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 illiam Wahl, farmer, section 35, Genesee 
 Township, was born Feb. 26, 1843, in 
 , Wurternberg, Germany. His parents, Mat- 
 !> thew and Rosena (Schwartz) Wahl, were 
 also natives of the " father-land," and were 
 weavers and flax-hatchelers in Germany. The 
 family emigrated to the United States in 1854, ar- 
 riving in April. They located in Warren, Trumbull 
 Co., Ohio, where they were engaged in farming until 
 the fall of 1856, when they proceeded farther West 
 and located on a farm four miles north of Sterling. 
 The family included six children, who are all living, 
 surviving the mother, who died in Genesee Town- 
 ship, about 1862. Since 1882, the senior vVahl has 
 resided in Sterling. 
 
 Mr. Wahl is the fourth child, and he spent his 
 youth and early manhood at home, obtaining his ed- 
 ucation in the public schools of the township of 
 Sterling. March n, 1866, he was married in the 
 city of that name to Dora, daughter of Michael 
 Smith. Mrs. Wahl was born in Germany about 
 1845, and came with her parents when she was two 
 years of age to the United States, locating in the city 
 of New York, whence they subsequently came to 
 Tecumseh, Lenawee Co., Mich., settling there about 
 1860. Her parents are still resident there. She 
 came to Sterling to spend a short lime with relatives, 
 and was married there. She died at her home in 
 Genesee Township, Dec. 10, 1876. Her six chil- 
 dren were born as follows : C. Henry, Nov. r, 1866; 
 Carrie L., Jan. 28, 1868; Emma, July 13, 1871 ; Al- 
 bert A., Aug. 27, 1872; Nettie M., June 23, 1874; 
 William M., March n, 1876. Mr. Wahl was again 
 married March i, 188.1, in the village of Empire, 
 Hopkins Township, to Mary C., daughter of Lewis 
 and Susannah ( Etter ) Diehl, descendants from 
 the sturdy class known as " Pennsylvania Dutch." 
 They were farmers and were residents of St. Thomas, 
 Franklin Co., Pa. Mrs. Wahl was born Aug. 31, 
 
 1857, near Chambersburg. She was nearly 18 years 
 of age when she accompanied her parents to Illinois, 
 who fixed their residence at Empire, in Whiteside 
 County. They have since moved to Clark Co., D. 
 T., where her father is engaged in the livery busi- 
 ness. Mrs. Wahl is the oldest child of her parents 
 and is the mother of one daughter, Lydia A., born 
 March 20, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Wahl made his first purchase of land in Gen- 
 esee Township in April, 1867. The tract at first 
 comprised 80 acres, and he has since added 80 
 acres more, which he purchased in 1876. The home- 
 stead exhibits the best quality of agricultural effort. 
 Mrs. Wahl is a member of the Lutheran Church. 
 In political affiliation Mr. Wahl is a Republican. 
 
 ooster Y. Ives, of Fulton, one of the ear- 
 liest pioneers of Whiteside County and 
 a noted hunter of the Mississippi River 
 its tributaries, was born in Meriden, 
 Conn., July 8, i8ro, and is the son of Wat- 
 rous and Polly (Yale) Ives. 
 
 He was brought up in his native State and began 
 business as a peddler of Yankee clocks and notions. 
 In the spring of r836 he made an unsuccessful at- 
 tempt to come West via the Great Lakes. He was 
 shipwrecked on Lake Erie and returned to the 
 East. In the spring of 1837 he came to Whiteside 
 Co., 111., and made a claim in the western part of 
 the town of Ustick, where he built the first house in 
 the township. He finally had 600 acres of land. 
 
 Mr. Ives sold his farm and since 1868 has made 
 his permanent residence in the city of Fulton. 
 
 Mr. Ives, from early boyhood, was passionately 
 fond of the chase, and when 15 years old was an ex- 
 pert with the rifle. He killed the first deer and bear 
 he saw running wild. This occurred before leaving 
 New England. After reaching the Mississippi he 
 found a field worthy of his ambition. Wild deer 
 abounded in this region in those early days, while 
 small game was* to be found in abundance. Choice 
 furred animals, such as the otter, beaver and mink, 
 were to be found in considerable numbers along the 
 great river and its tributaries. Mr. Ives could not 
 content himself with the dull routine of the farm 
 while such tempting game was so near at hand. Ac- 
 
 
 XV
 
 WHITESIDK COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 
 cordingly, help was hired to cultivate the farm, and 
 during the hunting and trapping season Mr. Ives 
 was killing deer or trapping otter. He ranged the 
 Mississippi and its tributaries, between St. Louis 
 and St. Paul, with marked success. He performed 
 the unusual feat of killing eight deer in four shots 
 in one season. The number of deer killed by him 
 east of the Rocky Mountains aggregated between 
 900 and 1,000. Wild turkeys and small game were 
 taken in proportion. He fell in with a great South- 
 western trapper in an early day, from whom he 
 learned some valuable secrets in relation to trapping, 
 and soon became so proficient in the art that the 
 otter and beaver were almost taken at will. There 
 was one occasion when he took nine otter in one 
 morning from a setting of eleven traps. He has 
 caught upwards of 500 otter, between St. Louis and 
 and St. Paul. Mink and the smaller furred animals 
 seldom occupied his attention. While he enjoyed 
 the sport hugely, he made it a source of profit far 
 greater than his labor on the farm would have been. 
 So sure was he of his skill that he would contract 
 loads of deer for delivery on certain days, just as a 
 man now would contract a car load of hogs or cattle 
 from his pens; and he was never known to fail to fill 
 his orders. 
 
 In April, 1850, he joined a party of his friends 
 from Fulton and went overland to California. They 
 left Fulton April 9 and reached Hangtown, Cal., 
 Aug. i, following. On the very day that he reached 
 his destination, his wife died at Fulton, although it 
 was some weeks before he learned the sad news! 
 He undertook working in the mines in California, but 
 the plentiful supply of game about and the good 
 prices paid in that section, soon tempted him to the 
 mountains with his trusty rifle. As his game was 
 principally marketed, he kept a pretty good record 
 of it. During the three years spent in that region 
 he bagged about $400 worth of game a month. The 
 list included about 300 antelope, r25 elk, 5 grizzly 
 bears, 9 black and brown bears and a large number 
 of deer of a smaller species. He returned to his 
 hpme in the spring of 1853, via Panama and New 
 York. 
 
 Mr. Ives resumed farming and hunting, in this 
 county, which he continued till the spring of 1862, 
 when, having leased his farm, he accompanied a 
 friend on a trip through Oregon and California. 
 While on their way over the mountains their wagon 
 . * 
 
 train was attacked by the Indians, his friend was 
 shot through the arm with an arrow and nearly lost 
 his life from loss of blood. Mr. Ives succeeded in 
 shooting two of the Indians, one of whom he killed : 
 the others retreated. He spent two and a half years 
 traveling in Oregon and California, and returned to 
 his home via Panama and New York. 
 
 During his hunting and trapping excursions Mr. 
 Ives has had many exciting adventures and endured 
 many hardships, and several times has barely escaped 
 with his life. The history of his life, properly told, 
 would afford material for an interesting book of itself : 
 our space will only admit of this brief mention. His 
 fame as a most successful hunter is known from the 
 Mississippi to the Pacific. He made his last hunt- 
 ing excursion in 1882, to Northern Wisconsin, when 
 72 years old, and in the 5ist year of his active life 
 as a hunter. 
 
 Mr. Ives was first married in Connecticut, Jan. i, 
 1837, to Elizabeth Blake, a native of New York City. 
 His second marriage took place, in the same State. 
 Aug. 2r, 1853, to Miss Elizabeth Parrish, daughter 
 of John and Polly (Gun) Parrish. Mrs. Ives was 
 born in Litchfield Co., Conn. 
 
 In politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 ( 
 'i: 
 
 : 
 
 ohn Kent, who has been for many years a 
 prominent agriculturist of Whiteside Coun- 
 ty, is living in retirement from active busi- 
 ness life at Morrison. He has been associated 
 with the development and general progress of 
 the county since 1839, when he became a 
 land-holder in the township of Union Grove. 
 
 He was born in Morris Co., N. J., June 18, 1816 
 and is the son of Jacob and Nancy (Blackford) Kent, 
 both being natives of the same State where the son 
 was born. His father was a tanner and currier 
 and also a shoemaker, as the custom prevailed in 
 those days of combining the three callings. The 
 family removed from New Jersey, in 1827, to Knox 
 Co., Ohio. Late in life, the parents came to Illinois 
 to pass the remainder of their lives with their chil- 
 dren. The father died in Carroll County, Dec. 16, 
 1859, aged 74 years and 26 days. The demise of 
 the mother occurred June 26, 1869, when she had 

 
 - ,. .- 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 readied the age of 73 years, i month and 12 days. 
 They had 1 1 children, and only five survive to the 
 present. Mrs. Elizabeth Chamberlain, of Morrison, 
 is the oldest. Mr. Kent is the second who is living. 
 Levi is a fanner in Douglas Co., Oregon; James L. 
 is a farmer in Kansas; William is pursuing the same 
 business in Nebraska, and is by trade a carpenter. 
 
 Mr. Kent was thoroughly trained in the theory and 
 practice of farming, which he has made his life -long 
 pursuit. He came to Union Grove, Whiteside Coun- 
 ty, in the full flush of the strength and ambition of 
 his young manhood, and took a claim of 80 acres, 
 which he secured when the land came into market 
 and to which he added by further purchase until his 
 property on section 3 aggregated 1 60 acres, of which 
 he made a valuable farm. He attended diligently to 
 his interests, and as he prospered he made further 
 purchases, and now owns 1 60 acres of land on section 
 9, in the township where he first located, 114 acres 
 on section 3, 20 acres of timber on section i, 10 acres 
 of timber in Mt. Pleasant Township, and 20 acres of 
 the same valuable variety of real estate in Carroll 
 Co., 111., situated in the township of York. He is 
 also the owner of his residence, the lot therewith con- 
 nected and two vacant lots in Morrison. 
 
 At the date of Mr. Kent's arrival in Whiteside 
 County, a condition of almost primeval nature reigned. 
 Claims were held by right of possession, households 
 were like angels' visits, few and far between, and 
 glimpses of humanity were more welcome than the 
 glow of the summer sun or the kiss of the prairie 
 breeze on the cheek of the laborer who turned the 
 soil with his plow, and dreamed wild dreams of the 
 plentiful harvest, promised by the rich mold which 
 had lain fallow since the continent rose from the 
 depths of the sea. There were privations, toil and 
 hardships, but the season of prosperity was too near 
 at hand and too certain for the admission of discour- 
 agement, and the lovely prairie acres of to-day fully 
 attest the quality of the energies brought to bear on 
 their reclamation and conversion into fruitful fields. 
 
 Mr. Kent was married Oct. 7, 1841, in Union 
 Grove Township, to Mary Jeflers. Eight children 
 were Iwrn to them in that township, of whom five are 
 yet living. Following is the record : Sarah was born 
 June 10, 1844, and died Sept. 17, 1875; Mary M. 
 was born April 9, 1848, and married Volney Twitchr:!, 
 a tanner in the township where she was born ; Ella 
 
 A., born May 25, 1850, is the wife of John Blue, a 
 farmer in Nebraska. Omar was born Jan. 18, 1852, 
 and is engaged in farn.ing in Nebraska. Lewis H., 
 born June n, 1854, is a practicing attorney in Ne- 
 braska. John W., a farmer in Union Grove Town- 
 ship, was born April 27, 1859. Their mother, a na- 
 tive of the State of New York, died July 13, 1876. 
 
 The second marriage of Mr. Kent, to Mrs. Diana 
 Green, occurred March 14, 1878, near Tomson, Car- 
 roll Co., 111. Her first husband, John Green, was a 
 native of Johnstown, Licking Co., Ohio, and died 
 March 18, 1870, in Tomson. Their children were 
 three in number. Sarah, wife of Jasper Whitney, a 
 farmer of Tomson, was born in Licking Co., Ohio. 
 Horton, also a native of Ohio, is a traveling salesman 
 in the employment of the Union Knife Company of 
 Chicago. Francis M. was born in Carroll County, 
 and is a farmer in Dakota. 
 
 ,apt. Havilah Pease, weighmaster of the 
 Chicago & Northwestern Railway elevator 
 at Fulton, 111. The elevator was built in 
 1866, and has a storing capacity of 65,000 
 bushels of grain. It is operated by an en- 
 gine of loo-horse power. Mr. Pease has 
 held his present position since the completion of the 
 elevator in 1867. 
 
 He was born at Albion, Kennebec Co., Me , April 
 1 8, 1825, and is the son of Seba and Mary C. 
 (Ripley) Pease. He was brought up on a farm and 
 removed with his parents to Rockland, Knox Co., Me. 
 When 2 1 years old he went to sea engaging in the New 
 York, West India, European and coast trade. He 
 was made master and sailed as such in the Amer- 
 ican coasting trade till the breaking out of the 
 late war, when he enlisted, in April, 1861, as a 
 private of Co. B, 4th Maine Vol. Inf., and served 
 in the Army of the Potomac. He participated in the 
 following named battles ^nd skirmishes : First Bull 
 Run, siege of Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, 
 Peach Orchard, White Oak Swamp, Glendale, Mal- 
 vern Hill, Mouth of the Monocacy, Fredericksburg, 
 battle of Chancellorville, Gettysburg, Wapping 
 Heights, Kelly's Ford, Orange Grove, Mine Run, bat- 
 tles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Conrt-House, 
 Taylor's Bridge, Hanover Junction, Cold Harbor and 
 
 (5) 
 
 
 .: _
 
 - .. 
 
 
 
 244 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 other minor engagements, till the expiration of his 
 term of enlistment. He was commissioned Second 
 Lieutenant and was mustered out of the service 
 July 1 8, 1864. 
 
 On his return from the war Capt. Pease resumed 
 sailing, and continued to follow the sea till the 
 spring of 1867, when he came to Fulton, III., to ac- 
 cept the position he now occupies with the Chicago 
 & Northwestern Railway Company. 
 
 Captain Pease voted with the Republican party 
 from the time of its organization till 1884, when he 
 identified himself with the Prohibition party. He 
 is a member of Fulton City Lodge, No. 189 A. F. & 
 A. M., and of the G. W. Baker Post, G. A. R., of 
 Clinton, la. He is actively interested in the cause 
 of temperance, and is a member of Leota Lodge, 
 No. 428, I. O. G. T. He has served two years as 
 Alderman in the Fulton Common Council, and was 
 once elected Mayor, on the Prohibition ticket, but 
 resigned. 
 
 He was married Dec. 28, 1869, in Rockland, 
 Maine, to Miss Hannah I. Gould, daughter of Ed- 
 ward Gould. Mrs. Pease was born in Ellsworth, 
 Maine. 
 
 ewis Wetzel, farmer, section 17, Hopkins 
 Township, is a son of John and Margaret 
 (Reese) Wetzel, who were natives of Frank- 
 lin Co., Pa., of German and English descent. 
 They first settled in Ohio and lived there till 
 1855, when they came to Whiteside County and 
 settled in the township of Genesee, where they lived 
 till their death. He died Sept. 18, 1860, and she 
 Feb. 2, 1882. They had a family of 12 children, 
 namely : Catherine, Daniel, Jacob, John, George, 
 Elizabeth, David, Andrew, Hannah, Joseph, Margaret 
 and Lewis. 
 
 Mr. Wetzel was born in Stark Co., Ohio, June 3, 
 1837. He received a common-school education and 
 came to Whiteside County with his father when he 
 was 18 years old. He lived in Genesee Township 
 till the fall of 1861, when he purchased a farm of 
 160 acres on section 17, Hopkins Township, where 
 he settled and has since lived. He is now the owner 
 of 206 acres, most of which is tillable. He has 
 erected some very fine buildings on his farm. 
 
 
 
 
 Mr. Wetzel was married in Sterling, 111., March 
 25, 1858,10 Mary, daughter of Frederick and Cath- 
 arine Lawyer, natives of Germany, who had four 
 children, Jacob, Mary, William and Frank. Mary 
 (Mrs. W.) was born in Stark Co., Ohio, March i, 
 1836. Mr. and Mrs. W. are the parents of four 
 children Rebecca E., Delilah J., John G. and Rol- 
 lin E. 
 
 Mr. Wetzel has been Overseer of Highways and 
 School Director. In politics he is identified with the 
 Republican party. 
 
 ev. George W. Perry, editor and pub- 
 lisher of the Fulton Star. The Star was 
 established in January, 1883, and the first 
 number issued on the 4th of that month. It 
 is an eight- page, five-column quarto. Mrs. 
 E. M. Perry is associate editor. The Star 
 was established as a Republican paper but took no 
 active part in politics till March 25, 1885, when it 
 was adopted as the official organ of the Prohibition 
 party of Whiteside County. 
 
 Mr. Perry was born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., April 
 15, 1830, and is the son of George and Catharine 
 (Shultz) Perry. When seven years of age he re- 
 moved with his parents to Kane Co., 111. He pre- 
 pared for college by taking a course at Greenfield 
 Academy, Ohio, and entered the Ohio University at 
 Athens. He left the University before completing 
 the course and went to Charlottesville, N. Y. After 
 a short time spent there he went to Madison, Wis., 
 and attended the Wisconsin University and was 
 matriculated into the Senior class of that institution. 
 One year later he entered the Lane Theological 
 Seminary of Cincinnati, Ohio, a Presbyterian insti- 
 tution, at which he graduated in the class of 1858, 
 after a three years' course, and was licensed to preach 
 by the Cincinnati Presbytery. He began his career 
 as a clergyman by preaching as a Congregationalist 
 at Harrington, Cook Co., '111., in 1860. He continued 
 at that place till April, 1861, when he went to 
 Campion, 111. He was married at the latter place 
 Oct. 20, 1860, to Miss Emma M. Atwood, daughter 
 of Luke and Emily (Duucklee) Atwood. Mrs. Perry 
 wa,s born in Sullivan Co., N. H., town of Newport. 
 They have four children, all sons : Marcus L., 
 George T., Warren F. and Jesse G.
 
 : 
 
 
 I 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Mr. Perry continued at Campion till 1865. In 
 1866 he transferred his ecclesiastical relations to the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and was assigned to 
 Wyanet, Bureau Co., 111. He was ordained a Dea- 
 con at Freeport, 111., Oct. 10, 1869, by Bishop D. 
 W. Clark, and was ordained an Elder at Aurora, 111., 
 Oct. 15, 1871, by Bishop Edward R. Ames. He 
 labored within the limits of the Rock River Con- 
 ference till October, i879,when he was superannuated 
 on account of failing health. He came to Fulton in 
 September, 1880, and in January, 1883, established 
 the Star, as before mentioned. His second son, 
 George T., is the local editor and business manager 
 of the Star. 
 
 P. S. On May. 19, 1885, since the above was in 
 type, the Star was transferred to the sons George T. 
 and Warren F. Perry. 
 
 t avid G. Proctor, farmer, section 6, Gene- 
 see Township, was born July 23, 1840, in 
 Shawswick Township, Lawrence Co., Ind. 
 George R. Proctor, his father, was born in 
 Kentucky, near Lexington, and was the son 
 of Ezekiel Proctor. The latter removed from 
 Kentucky with his family to Southern Indiana and 
 located near the line of Jackson County, a part of the 
 State that was still in heavy timber. George R. 
 Proctor married Mary W. Green. She was born in 
 Lawrence Co., Ind., where she was brought up and 
 where her marriage took place. Later on, after three 
 children had been added to the family, they removed 
 to Martin, where the father was made Sheriff, and 
 was one of the first officials of the county after its 
 organization. He was a man of good judgment and 
 fair education, and in early manhood he had spent 
 some years in teaching in the public schools. He 
 officiated as Sheriff two years. In 1850 he returned 
 to Lawrence County and left his wife and children 
 on the Green homestead, the estate of her father. 
 He engaged one season in running a flat-boat on. the 
 Mississippi Ri/er to New Orleans. He set out from 
 St. Joseph, Mo., with the Beck brothers (his brothers- 
 in-law by a former marriage), for California. They 
 drove across the plains with oxen and mules, the 
 journey consuming six months. Mr. Proctor spent 
 three years in the land of gold, with satisfactory re- 
 
 suits; but, returning in the same manner in which he 
 went out, he was taken sick while making the transit, 
 and his accumulations disappeared. He reached his 
 family in Lawrence County, whence* he came to Illi- 
 nois two years later, locating in Whiteside County in 
 October, 1855. This portion of Illinois was then 
 comparatively unorganized and unsettled, and in the 
 year following Mr. Proctor, senior, went to Carroll 
 County, where he died. The mother is 69 years old 
 (1885). The first wife lived but two years after mar- 
 riage and had no children. 
 
 Mr. Proctor of this sketch is the oldest living child 
 of his parents, and is the second in order of birth of 
 the family, which included seven children. He is 
 the only son, and his father's death left the family, 
 consisting of his mother and six young daughters, 
 dependent on him for support ; and by effort and 
 economy he was enabled to fulfill the trust. His 
 oldest sister married William Moxley, one of the first 
 white children born in Genesee Township. He died 
 and left his wife his property, which consisted chiefly 
 of a farm on section 6, and which she gave to her 
 mother when she died, two years later. This prop- 
 erty is still held by the mother and that owned by 
 the son lies adjoining. The combined acreage con- 
 stitutes a fine and well located farm. That owned 
 by Mr. Proctor includes 66 acres and lies in Carroll 
 County. 
 
 His marriage to Sarah A. Hurless took place in 
 Genesee Township, Dec. 17, 1865. She was l>orn 
 April 11, 1849, in Holmes Co., Ohio, and is the 
 daughter of Rev. Cephas Hurless, deceased, of whom 
 a full account is presented elsewhere in this work. 
 Her parents removed to Illinois when she was five 
 years of age. She was reared to womanhood in 
 Genesee Township, receiving a good education, and 
 when she reached suitable age and degree of quali- 
 fication, she engaged in teaching. The six children 
 now included in the family circle were born as fol- 
 lows : Cephas E., April 29, 1867; George R., May 
 25, 1869; R. Ira, March i, 1872. (This child is a 
 dwarf. His height is three feet and four inches, or 
 40 inches, and his weight is 39 pounds. He is per- 
 fectly and symmetrically formed.) Minnie J. was 
 born Dec. 10, 1876; Richard, Sept. 13, 1881 ; Lizzie, 
 Aug. 19, 1883. Mr. Proctor is a Democrat in politi- 
 cal persuasion. He has been prominent in local 
 official positions, and has served in the capacities of 
 
 I 
 
 v) 
 
 I 
 
 :: 
 
 fa)
 
 '$ Tax Collector and those of the several school offices. 
 j Mrs. Proctor is a member of the United Brethren 
 
 Church. 
 
 -iet- 
 
 ra. Dr. Cinda T. Reed, cf Fulton, and 
 widow of Dr. Daniel Reed, is deserving 
 of appropriate mention in the biographi- 
 cal department of this work. She was born 
 in the town of Bethlehem, Litchfield Co., 
 Conn., May 13, 1801, is the daughter of Dr. 
 Jesse and Hannah Pritchard Meigs, and a cousin of 
 ex-Governor John R. Meigs, of Ohio, and of Dr. 
 Charles D. Meigs, President of the Philadelphia 
 Medical College. 
 
 Her father was a popular physician of Litchfield 
 Co., Conn., and she, while a child, accompanied him 
 in his professional visits, and soon evinced a marked 
 interest in the nature of medicines and the method 
 of treatment of the cases under his care, so much 
 so that her father, in answer to her numerous ques- 
 tions, incidentally imparted to her much valuable 
 information. She married a physician, Dr. Daniel 
 Reed, at Sandy Creek, Oswego Co., N. Y., May i, 
 1828. She often accompanied her husband, as she 
 had her father, in his professional rounds, and, hav- 
 ing access to his books, she availed herself of them 
 to perfect her knowledge of medicine. 
 
 On coming to Fulton with her husband in 1838, 
 she rendered valuable assistance to Dr. Reed in the 
 care of his patients, especially during the sickly 
 seasons so common in the early settlement of this 
 region. At one time, during the absence of the 
 Doctor from the city, the care of a large number of 
 sick fell to her charge. She turned her house into 
 a hospital, and several of the leading business men 
 of Fulton were thankful to be under her skillful 
 treatment. Her husband retired from practice about 
 1860, and she became the doctor in earnest. She 
 went to every call, at all times of day or night, in 
 storm or sunshine. Many a cold wintry night she 
 was called out of her bed to traverse snow-drifted 
 streets to attend some patient. She was successful 
 to a remarkable degree, and continued to practice 
 upward of 20 years. 
 
 An adventure that befell Mrs. Reed many years 
 ago is deserving of mention. She had been visit- 
 
 ing Dr. Bassett's family at Lyons with her husband 
 in early spring, before the break-up began, and was 
 returning in the evening on the ice on foot to Fulton. 
 Her husband carried a pole with which to test the 
 ice, but in spite of his caution, when about two- 
 thirds of the distance had been traversed, the ice 
 gave way and they found themselves in the river and 
 in imminent danger of being carried under the ice 
 by the strong current. Mrs. Reed worked herself 
 around to the strongest part of the ice where by a 
 desperate effort she succeeded in raising herself upon 
 it ; then, by the aid of the pole which her husband 
 had carried, she pulled him out! He was in favor 
 of returning to the Iowa side, but Mrs. Reed had 
 left a family of children at home and was determined 
 to make the crossing, which they did, in safety, al- 
 though with clothes frozen stiff. This incident goes 
 to prove the heroic energy of the lady, who by her 
 cool courage and nerve saved her own life as well 
 as that of her husband. 
 
 During the late war Mrs. Reed' was President of 
 the Soldiers' Aid Society, and did noble service in 
 the sanitary cause. 
 
 She united with the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 when 1 6 years of age, and has been a consistent 
 member of that denomination continuously since. 
 She is now 84 years of age, but with eyes as bright 
 and faculties as perfect as many a lady of half her 
 years. She is a remarkably bright and intelligent 
 lady, possessed of many estimable qualities of mind 
 and heart. Her life has been rich in acts of useful- 
 ness and kindness, and now, as the shadows lengthen 
 she is happy in the assurance of a safe place in the 
 love and esteem of a large circle of acquaintances 
 and friends. She reared a family of six children, of 
 whom mention is made in the sketch of her hus 
 band. 
 
 rancis M. Harrison, farmer, section 36, 
 Union Grove Township, was born Jan. i, 
 1839, in Fayette Co., Ohio. He accom- 
 panied his parents, Michael and Rachel (Ru- 
 pert) Harrison, to White-side County when he 
 was 12 years of age. His father was born in 
 Tennessee, and his mother was a native of Kentucky. 
 They were respectively of German and English an- 
 cestry. They settled in Union Grove Township in
 
 WHITESIDh COUNTY. 
 
 
 1852, and the father died Dec. i, 1863. The de- 
 mise of the mother occurred Jan. 28, 1878. Follow- 
 ing are the names of their 1 1 children, George, 
 Lucy L., William, John, Andrew J., Rachel, Michael, 
 Jr., Louisa J., Francis M., Henry and Isabella. 
 
 Mr. Harrison received his educational training in 
 the common schools of Ohio and Illinois, and he has 
 been a continuous resident of the township of Union 
 Grove, and he is one of its prominent agriculturists. 
 His farm on section 36 contains 187 acres of land, 
 which is under good cultivation. Politically he is a 
 Republican, and he has held various local official 
 positions. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Harrison to Amanda M. Bell 
 was celebrated Nov. 8, 1861, in the township of 
 Union Grove, and they have become the parents of 
 five children, whose names are Eli S., Augusta A., 
 Leona S., Clara B. and Cora M. Mrs. Harrison was 
 born Feb. 13, 1846, in Logan Co., Ohio, and she is 
 the only child of her parents, Joseph and Harriet 
 (Wells) Bell. 
 
 evi Houghton, retired farmer of Fulton, and 
 an early settler of Whiteside County, was 
 born in the State of New York, March 26, 
 1805, and is the son of Elijah and Martha 
 (Oaks) Houghton. He removed with his fam- 
 ily to Otsego Co., N. Y., in childhood, and 
 from there to Herkimer County when he was 13 
 years of age, where he was married Sept. 30, 1830,10 
 Clarissa Jackson, daughter of Samuel Jackson, whose 
 father was a cousin of Gen. Jackson. They had 
 live sons and two daughters : Harrison mar- 
 ried Clarissa Blodgett and lives in Ustick ; George 
 died in childhood ; Amelia C. is the wife of Mr. 
 Conkey, of Grand Rapids, Mich. ; Samuel N. mar- 
 ried May McDaniels and lives in Nebraska ; Clar- 
 ence B. married Mary French and lives in Ustick; 
 Sedate W. is the wife of James F. Ward, of Fulton ; 
 and Daniel S. is single and lives in Dakota. 
 
 Mr. Houghton moved from Herkimer to Lewis Co., 
 N. Y., soon after his marriage, and from there to 
 Ustick, Whiteside Co., 111., in 1845. He had a fine 
 farm of 400 acres in that township, which he has 
 deeded to his two youngest sons, reserving the in- 
 come while he lives. Mrs. Houghton died Oct. 25, 
 
 1861. Mr. Houghton was married again April 15, 
 
 1862, and in the town of Ustick, to Miss Elizabeth 
 Todd, daughter of Moses Todd, of Newburyport, 
 Mass. Mrs. Houghton was born in Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Mr. Houghton retired from farming in 1872 and 
 came to Fulton, since which time he has resided in 
 this city. He was a Democrat -up to 1860, when he 
 joined the Republican party. Mrs. Houghton is a 
 member of the Presbyterian Church of Fulton. 
 
 ev. Oliver Beach, of Union vi lie, has been 
 a resident of Whiteside County since 1853. 
 His. parents, David and Mary (Peck) 
 Beach, were natives of Connecticut, and re- 
 moved thence to Portage Co., Ohio, in 1825. 
 In 1839 they made another removal to Iowa, 
 where they resided as long as they lived. They had 
 six children: Oliver, Eliada, David, Bernice, Calvin 
 and Elizor. 
 
 Mr. Beach is the eldest child of his parents, and 
 was born Jan. 26, 1827, in Portage Co., Ohio, where 
 he began the acquisition of his education in the 
 common schools. He was 12 years of age when his 
 parents went to Iowa, where he continued to attend 
 school and also engaged in farm labor at home un- 
 til he was 20 years of age. He then engaged as a 
 farm laborer and operated in his own interests about 
 three years. About 1850 he purchased a limited 
 number of acres of land in Iowa, which he ex- 
 changed in 1853 for land in Whiteside County. In 
 the spring of that year he came hither and located 
 on his property in the township of Newton, where he 
 was a resident until his removal to Garden Plain 
 Township, where he owns 129 acres of land, which 
 is all under tillage. 
 
 Mr. Beach is an adherent of the political element 
 known as Prohibitionists. 
 
 He was united in marriage Oct. 26, 1854, to Mar- 
 garet McNeil, and they had three children : James 
 O., David E. and William. Their mother was lx>rn 
 in Ireland and was brought in infancy by her par- 
 ents to the United States. She died Aug. 7, 1873, 
 in the township of Garden Plain. Mr. Beach formed 
 a second matrimonial alliance, with Mrs. Mary (Nev- 
 itt) Gibler. Their marriage took place July 15, 
 1876, in the township of Garden Plain. Mrs. Beach 
 
 -; v :<- 
 
 
 
 I
 
 . 
 
 - .. - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 (2; 
 
 ' 
 
 * r 
 
 ^!S 
 
 is the daughter of Isaac and Rhoda (Johnson) Nev- 
 itt, and was the widow of Jeremiah Gibler. Her 
 parents were born in Ohio. Her first husband died 
 in November, 1872, and by him she became the 
 mother of n children : Amanda J., Isaac M., Chris- 
 tine, Amos, James, Rhoda, Joseph, Elizabeth, Car- 
 rie, Disbury and John. Mrs. Beach was born May 
 13, 1825, in Harrison Co., Ohio. She is a member 
 of the religious body known as the United Brethren. 
 Mr. Beach is a member of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church. In 1860 he received a license as an 
 exhorter, and since 1876 he has been a local preacher. 
 Feeling that he is called to preach, he has tried as 
 well as he could to preach, the gospel in school- 
 houses as opportunity presented itself. He has also 
 taken great interest in Sabbath-schools, organizing 
 and superintending schools in school-houses in the 
 country in the afternoon, after taking part in one in 
 forenoon in the church where he holds his member- 
 ship. Often he has been a member of two schools 
 at once, laboring earnestly for the religious instruc- 
 tion of children. 
 
 t" "Wscar Summers, of the firm of O. & C. 
 f : f. Summers, grocers at Fulton, was born in 
 
 Sterling, 111., June 5, 1842, and is the son 
 of Ephraim and Mary L. (Dickson) Sum- 
 mers. He came to Fulton with his parents 
 in 1846, and was educated in the city schools 
 of this place. 
 
 He enlisted Oct. 8, 1861, as a private of Co. F, 
 52d Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., was promoted Corporal, Ser- 
 geant and finally commissioned Captain. He re-en- 
 listed as a veteran Jan. i, 1864, and served till the 
 close of the war, being in the 151)1 and i6th Army 
 Corps and participating in all battles and engage- 
 ments in which his regiment was represented. He 
 took part in the battles of Shiloh, siege of Corinth, 
 battle of Corinth, Atlanta campaign, Sherman's 
 march to the sea, battle of Bentonville and other 
 minor engagements. 
 
 In 1869 he formed a partnership, in the grocery 
 business, with Mr. John L. Knight, at Fulton, 
 which connection continued till the spring of 1871, 
 when his brother Cloys bought out Mr. Knight and 
 the present firm was established. The Summers 
 
 Bros, carry a well assorted stock of general groceries, 
 provisions and crockery, of an average value of 
 
 $2,000. 
 
 Mr. Summers was married at Des Moines, Iowa, 
 April 2, 1877,10 Miss Elizabeth Exley, daughter of 
 Thomas and B. M. Exley. Mrs. Summers was born 
 in Clyde Township, this county. They have two 
 children (daughters), Ruby E. and Margery A. 
 
 illiam Lovett, farmer, section 8, Union 
 Grove Township, has been a land-holder 
 in Whiteside County since 1858. He was 
 born Nov. 3, 1829, in New Jersey, of which 
 State his parents, John and Beulah (Harvey) 
 Lovett, were natives, and where they passed 
 their entire lives. Their five children were named 
 Isaac, John, Samuel, William and Elizabeth. 
 
 Mr. Lovett was sent to the public schools until he 
 was 14 years of age, when he was apprenticed to a 
 blacksmith, and served six years, acquiring a thor- 
 oughly practical knowledge of the business in all its 
 details, and he made it the vocation of his life in his 
 native State until 1858, the year in which he re- 
 moved to Unionville, where he was similarly occu- 
 pied for a year. Meanwhile he determined to 
 become a farmer, and, in the following year, he pur- 
 chased a small farm in the township of Union Grove. 
 He continued its proprietor seven years, when he 
 sold it and bought 80 acres of land on section 8, 
 where he has since lived. His farm is in creditable 
 agricultural condition, and the owner has'materially 
 added to its value by erecting substantial farm 
 buildings. Mr. Lovett is a Republican in political 
 faith and connections. 
 
 He was united in marriage to Emmeline Russell, 
 March 23, 1859, in Mt. Holly, N. J., and they have 
 had four children. Anna E., Emma A. and William 
 A. still survive. Mary died in infancy. Mrs. Lovett 
 is the daughter of William and Harriet (Lovett) Rus- 
 sell. Her parents were natives of New Jersey and 
 had four children, all girls, Rachel, Emmeline, 
 Louisa and Jane. Mrs. Lovett was born Sept. 18, 
 1827, in Springfield, N. J. She is a member of the 
 Methodist Church.
 
 Lit" 
 
 UNIVERSITY of 
 Ui&ANA

 
 i f
 
 
 I 
 - 
 \ 
 
 
 VV-; H H XI> M H " yv 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 jj^enry D. Pond, general farmer, section 31, 
 Genesee Township, was born Oct. r2, 1840, 
 in Portage Co., Ohio. He is the son of 
 Stephen and Abiah (Bristol) Pond, whose rec- 
 ord, together with a statement of the genealogy 
 of the family in America, is presented elsewhere 
 in this volume. He was an infant of a few months 
 when his parents changed their residence to Huron 
 Co., Ohio, and when he was 1 1 years of age they 
 made a final transfer of their interests to Illinois, lo- 
 cating in Genesee Township. 
 
 Mr. Pond grew to manhood in Whiteside County, 
 passing the successive years in working on the home 
 estate and obtaining such education as the common 
 schools of the place and period afforded. The same 
 blood that flowed in the veins of his ancestors, in 
 both lines of descent, and impelled them to unite in 
 the common cause and struggle for the independ- 
 ence of the Colonies, furnished the impetus under 
 whose influence he identified himself with the cause 
 of' the Union, when the echoes from the rebel guns 
 of April 14, i86r, sounded the knell of peace. He 
 determined to enroll himself among the defenders of 
 the principles which had protected him, and he en- 
 listed at Chicago, Aug. 28, i86r, in the 391)1 Regt. 
 111. Vol. Inf., becoming a member of Company G, 
 under Captain Slaughter. The regiment was under 
 the command of Col. Light and was assigned to the 
 Department of the South. During the first portion 
 of its period of service it was attached to the com- 
 mand of General Grant and afterwards to that of 
 General Butler. Among the more important actions 
 in which Mr. Pond was a participant, were the siege 
 of Charleston, Deep Bottoms and the action before 
 Petersburg. He was in numerous smaller engage- 
 ments and skirmishes, and was the only one out of 
 1 6 that enlisted from his vicinity who went through 
 three years of military service without dying or suf- 
 fering from wounds or sickness. He received hon- 
 forable discharge Sept. 10, 1864, at Petersburg. He 
 served all the time in the ranks and was never cap- 
 tured by the rebels. He was nearly 2 1 years of age 
 when he became a soldier, and on his return to 
 Genesee Township he engaged in farming. 
 
 He was united in marriage to Margaret Fleming, 
 
 
 March 15, 1866, at Mt. Carroll, 111. Mrs. Pond is 
 the daughter of Robert L. and Jane (Wilson) Flem- 
 ing. Her parents were natives respectively of Phil- 
 adelphia and of the State of New York. The families 
 to which they belonged removed to Indiana, where 
 they met and were married in Lawrence County- 
 The daughter was born there Jan. 13, r842, and she 
 came with her parents to Carroll County in 1848, 
 and grew to womanhood in that county. Her father 
 died Feb. 27, 1878 ; the death of her mother occurred 
 Nov. 9, 1880. They had ten children and Mrs. 
 Pond is fourth in order of birth. She is the mother 
 of one child, Abiah D., born Dec. 24, 1873. 
 
 Mr. Pond settled in his new capacity of the head 
 of a family, on a farm containing 80 acres of land, 
 of which 40 acres lay in Genesee Township and the 
 other half in the township of Hopkins. It was 
 partly improved but had no buildings. These have 
 since been supplied and are of a creditable character. 
 The horses and cattle on the place are of excellent 
 grade. 
 
 Mr. Pond is such a Republican as his war record 
 evinces, and takes an active interest in local politics. 
 Mrs. Pond accepts the views of Spiritualism. 
 
 enry L. Birdsall, farmer, section 4, Hop- 
 kins Township, is a son of James and Lydia 
 (De Germo) Birdsall, natives of New York 
 State, who came to Whiteside County in the 
 spring of 1845, settling in Sterling Township, 
 where they lived until their death. They had 
 five children, named Edmund N., Elias D., Henry 
 L., George A. and Harriet. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Mendon, 
 Monroe Co., N. Y., Sept. n, 1834. He received a 
 common-school education and came when he was 
 ten years old, with his father, to this county, where 
 he has since lived, engaged in farming. He first 
 bought a farm on section 8, Hopkins Township, 
 where he settled and lived about eight years, when 
 he sold and bought r47 acres on section 4, where he 
 at present resides. He has erected fine buildings on 
 his farm, and most of his land is in a state of good 
 cultivation. 
 
 He was married first in Carroll Co., 111., Nov. 19, 
 1857, to Mary A. Flemming, a native of Indiana. 
 
 /* ^ ^TH. 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 l
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 254 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 i 
 
 
 They have had one child, C.lara J., who is now the 
 wife of Henry Stevens, and resides in Stephenson 
 Co., 111. Mrs. B. died in Hopkins Township, Jan. 
 28, 1863, and Mr. Birdsall was again married March 
 15, 1864, in Monroe Co., N. Y. to Joanna Wood, 
 daughter of Robert and Ann (Moran) Wood, natives 
 of Ireland, who married and settled in Rochester, N. 
 Y. Mr. Wood was a member of the r4oth N. Y. 
 Vol. Inf., and died in the army, in the fall of 1863 ; 
 Mrs. Wood died Dec. 18, 1883, in Mendon, Monroe 
 Co., N. Y. They had a family of eight children, 
 namely, John, Mary A., Joanna, Thomas, Frank, 
 Margaret and! Anna; one died in infancy. Mrs. B. 
 was born in Monroe Co , N. Y., Nov. 3, 1843. Mr. 
 and Mrs. B. are the parents of four children : Alonzo 
 G., Loren E., Estella and Harry L. 
 
 Mr. Birdsall has been School Director and Over- 
 seer of Highways. In politics he is identified with 
 the National party. 
 
 As a prominent citizen of Whiteside County, and one 
 who has been intimately identified with the best 
 interests and growth of the county, we take pleas- 
 ure in placing the portrait of Mr. Birdsall in this 
 ALBUM. Coming to the county when a mere boy, he 
 has grown and developed in all that goes to make a 
 representative citizen of this splendid portion of the 
 great Prairie State. As a fitting 'companion picture 
 we place beside his that of his estimable wife. These 
 pictures were made from photographs taken in 1885. 
 
 A. Hardin, of the banking house of T. 
 A. Hardin & Co., Fulton, was born in 
 McDonough Co., 111., Feb. 14, 1845, and is 
 the son of Victor M. and Nancy A. (Purdy) 
 Hardin. His parents were born in Kentucky 
 and settled in Illinois in 1831, being among 
 the earliest pioneers of this State. 
 
 T. A. received a common-school education, and 
 began his business life as Deputy Clerk of Mc- 
 Donough Co., 111. He remained in that position 
 only a short time when he went to Quincy, where he 
 was employed in the money department of the 
 Farmers & Merchants' Insurance Company. He 
 was made cashier and served the company five years. 
 In 1871 he established the banking house of T. A. 
 Hardin & Co., at Blandinsville, 111., which?he con- 
 
 ducted till January, 1876, when he sold for profit. 
 He then came to Fulton and established the present 
 banking house of T. A. Hardin & Co., Aug. i, 1876. 
 He had associated with him at that time Messrs. 
 Quinton C. Ward, John H. Hungate and N. W. 
 MeGee. The last named gentleman sold his inter- 
 est to Mr. Hardin Aug. i, 1882. This bank does a 
 general banking business, and represents a capital of 
 $100,000. Mr. Hardin's partners, Ward & Hungate, 
 reside at La Harpe, 111., while Mr. Hardin is the 
 resident partner and manager of the bank at Fulton. 
 
 Mr. Hardin was married at Rock Island, 111., 
 Feb. 7, 1878, to Miss Ida C. Eckert, daughter of 
 George and Caroline (Dennis) Eckert. Mrs. Hardin 
 was born in Fulton, 111. Her parents were natives 
 of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Hardin have one 
 child, Mary Alice, born at Fulton, April 2, 1879. 
 
 Mr. Hardin is a thoroughgoing business man, 
 whose ability as a financier and unquestioned in- 
 tegrity commands the confidence and respect of his 
 customers and the business public. He was made a 
 Mason in Bodley Lodge, No. i, of Quincy, 111., in 
 1866. He is now a member of Fulton City Lodge, 
 No. 189, and of the Fulton Chapter, No. 108, R. A. 
 M., and of Sterling Commandery, K. T. 
 
 dmund Bowman, jeweler on the corner of 
 Third and Mulberry Streets, Sterling, was 
 born in Strasburg, Pa., Oct. 14, 1824, and 
 is a son of Joseph and Ann Bowman, who 
 were also natives of the Keystone State. He 
 remained at his parental home until the age of 
 20, receiving a common-school education and learn- 
 ing of his father the jewelry business. 
 
 After leaving home, he worked at his trade as 
 journeyman in Kennett Square, Chester Co., Pa. He 
 opened business for himself the first time in 1853, 
 but subsequently he closed business there, brought 
 his stock of goods to Sterling, opened a jewelry house 
 and has since prosecuted his business here. His 
 success in this line, as might be expected, has been 
 marked. He has a farm of 204 acres three miles 
 from Sterling, besides the corner he occupies in busi- 
 ness and two dwelling-houses in Sterling. In politics 
 he is a Republican, and in the community he enjoys 
 a high and honorable standing.
 
 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 2 55 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 May 13, 1857, is the date of his marriage lo Maria 
 P. Adams, and they have five children living, 
 namely, Frank J., Grant J., Edward, Jennie and 
 Louise. 
 
 t'ames Lynch, a farmer of Genesee Town- 
 ^ ship, located on section 34, was born Dec.- 
 10, 1837, in County Kilkenny, Province of 
 Leinster, Ireland. His parents, James and 
 Honora (Sullivan) Lynch, were Irish by birth 
 and long descent, their ancestors having lived 
 in Ireland as far back as the generations can be 
 traced. Mr. Lynch's father died some months be- 
 fore the son's birth, and before the latter was five 
 years of age he was in possession of a step-father. 
 He had two step-sisters, one of whom died young, 
 and the other is living in Clinton, Iowa. An elder 
 sister of Mr. Lynch is still living in Ireland. 
 
 He remained in his native country until he was 
 nearly of age, and came to the United States in 
 1857, landing in Boston on the ist day of June. 
 He came direct to Chicago, where he obtained em- 
 ploy in a shingle factory, working for a Mr. Oliver. 
 He came thence to Lee Co., 111., in the fall of the 
 same year, and worked at Franklin Grove for the 
 Chicago & Northwestern Railroad corporation. In 
 the spring following, he entered the employ of the 
 Chicago & Rock Island Company, going to Minne- 
 sota in their interests. In 1859 he returned to. the 
 employ of the former corporation. A few months 
 later he went to Arkansas, where he worked on the 
 levees. 
 
 He came back to Whiteside County in the spring 
 of 1860, and July 8, 1863, he was married, in that 
 city, to Sarah A., daughter of Mark and M.ary (Tay- 
 lor) Harrison, pioneers of Whiteside County and 
 represented in the personal account of James H. 
 Harrison, the brother of Mrs. Lynch. She was 
 born March 3, 1844, on the homestead of her father 
 in Genesee Township. She was educated and 
 grew to womanhood in the same township in which 
 she was born, and where she has passed her entire 
 life. She had the advantage of two years' instruc- 
 tion by a private teacher in her father's house. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lynch six children have been born, 
 all of whom are living but one. James M. was 
 
 born Aug. 18, 1864; Joseph T., June 15, 1869; 
 Olive A., born Sept. 19, 1870, died in 1873 ; Edward 
 M., Aug. 6, 1872 ; Mary E., Ju^y 24, 1874 ; William 
 H., April 8, 1877. After their marriage Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lynch resided for a time at Sterling, and the 
 husband was there employed on the line of railroad 
 then being built. A year later he entered the em- 
 ploy of S. T. Hosmer, a brewer, with whom he re- 
 mained until 1866. In July of that year Mr. 
 Lynch became a farmer in the township of Genesee 
 and operated some years as a renter. They finally 
 settled on 40 acres of land which became the prop- 
 erty of Mrs. Lynch by inheritance from her father's 
 estate. It is in excellent condition with fine barn 
 and residence, which have been erected by Mr. 
 Lynch. He is a believer in the Catholic faith ; his 
 wife is a member of the Christian Church. Mr. 
 Lynch is an active and earnest Republican. 
 
 t r. N. W. Hubbard, deceased, formerly a 
 resident of Fulton, possessed a national 
 reputation with the medical profession as 
 the inventor of the world-renowned " Hubbard 
 Truss " and the originator of the successful 
 system of hernia treatment which bears his 
 name. The use of the ingenious appliances invent- 
 ed by Dr. Hubbard and the application of his sys- 
 tem of treatment in cases of hernia, has resulted in 
 saving many lives and in affording relief to thousands 
 of sufferers. 
 
 Dr. Hubbard was the eldest son in a family of ten 
 children, and was born in the town of Randolph, 
 Portage Co., Ohio, April 10, 1810. His parents, 
 Bela F. and Clarissa (Ward) Hubbard, were natives 
 of Connecticut and were among the pioneer settlers 
 of the Western Reserve of Ohio. Dr. Hubbard took 
 a regular course at the Medical College of Columbus, 
 Ohio, and graduated with honor in the class of 1840. 
 He entered upon the practice of his profession at 
 Newark, Licking Co., Ohio. Being a sufferer from 
 hernia, he was led to an investigation of the current 
 methods of treatment and the mechanical appliances 
 in use in such cases. He made a thorough study of 
 the subject, that resulted in valuable discoveries, 
 which were presented to the profession through a 
 paper read by him before the State Medical Associa- 
 
 i* 
 I 

 
 
 - . - 
 
 V 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 K 
 
 
 
 
 tion of Ohio, and which was printed and circulated 
 extensively by order of the Association. During his 
 long and useful career as a physician, his services 
 and advice were often sought, in consultation, by 
 such teachers of surgery as Girdon Buck and Wil- 
 lard Parker, of New York, and R. L. Howard, of 
 Ohio. 
 
 Dr. Hubbard was married at Rootstown, Portage 
 Co., Ohio, July 6, 1837, to Miss Mary A. Coe, daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Lucy (Lester) Coe. Mrs. Hub- 
 bard is a native of Portage Co., Ohio. Her parents 
 were born and brought up in Massachusetts, and 
 were among the early pioneers of Western Ohio. The 
 Doctor removed to Elyria, Ohio, in 1 85 1 , and from 
 that time out he devoted his efforts entirely to his 
 specialty, the treatment of hernia in its various 
 phases. He came to Fulton, 111., in 1855, and made 
 this his home till the time of his death, which oc- 
 curred May 14, 1883. While Fulton was his place 
 of residence, his professional services were in demand 
 throughout the States and Territories, and for some 
 years he maintained an office in New York city. 
 
 He was an earnest supporter of a free and liberal 
 educational system, and for several years was a mem- 
 ber of the Board of Trustees of the Northern Illinois 
 College. He was enterprising and public-spirited, 
 taking an active part in matters of local improve- 
 ment. He was active in organizing the Agricultural 
 Society of Whiteside County, and was chosen its first 
 President. In politics he was an ardent Republican, 
 of strong anti-slavery sympathies in the early history 
 of the party and of as strong Prohibition sympathies 
 in later years. Withal, he was conservative and ad- 
 vocated only legitimate, legal measures of redress, 
 always opposing extreme or radical views. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Hubbard had four children, two sons 
 and two daughters, Frances, Lester C., Frederick 
 H. and Grace. Frances, the eldest, is the widow of 
 Harry Bellard, and resides at Hannibal, Mo. Lester 
 C. was a Captain in the volunteer service in the late 
 war, and is now employed as editor on a Boston 
 paper. Frederick H. studied medicine and graduated 
 at Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York, 
 and is engaged in the practice of his profession at 
 Brooklyn. He married Miss Emma Owen, of Han- 
 nibal, Mo. Grace, the youngest child, resides with 
 her mother at the old homestead in Fulton, 111. 
 
 Dr. Hubbard was a true and affectionate husband 
 
 and father, a worthy brother of the Masonic Order, 
 being a member of Fulton City Lodge, No. 189, A. 
 F. & A. M. As a neighbor and citizen, he was held 
 in high esteem, while in the medical profession, 
 where his great services were best appreciated, he 
 won a place of which his friends may well be proud. 
 
 -5- 
 
 Solomon Eshleman, a farmer of Clyde 
 Township, established on section 24, was 
 one of the first mechanics to locate at 
 Morrison, where he started a blacksmith shop 
 in 1855. He was born March i, 1827, in 
 Bucks Co., Pa., and is almost wholly without 
 knowledge of his parents. His father died before 
 his birth, and all the inheritance left was his name, 
 which was bestowed upon his son. The mother was 
 unable to give her child proper care and rearing, and 
 she confided him, when only a few weeks old, to 
 strangers, who did not desire to have him retain any 
 knowledge of his origin, and he has never known her 
 name. He became a laborer on arriving at a suit- 
 able age, and remained in his native State until he 
 was 22 years of age. In 1850 he came to Freeport, 
 111., and worked as a blacksmith, having acquired a 
 knowledge of that business at Goodstown, Berks Co., 
 Pa., under the training of Daniel Grooninger. He 
 went from Freeport to Sabula, Jackson Co., Iowa, 
 where he worked at his trade 18 months. He came 
 thence to Savanna, Carroll Co., 111., and was simi- 
 larly occupied about one year at that place. In 
 1855, associated with Thomas McClelland, he es- 
 tablished a shop at Morrison for general work. Their 
 business relations existed four years, terminating in 
 1860. 
 
 Mr. Eshleman was married in December, 1860, to 
 Louisa Siddles. She was born June 27, 1837, in 
 New Jersey. Her parents were of New England 
 origin and came to Illinois in the '40*5, locating in 
 Whiteside County, north of the city of Sterling. Her 
 father and mother have both been dead some years. 
 Mr. Eshleman continued to prosecute the busi- 
 ness of a blacksmith at Morrison about ten years af- 
 ter his marriage. In 1870 he purchased 82 acres of 
 land in Clyde Township, of which he took possession 
 the same year. The place had been improved to 
 some extent, and it has since been placed by its 
 
 
 
 ...
 
 A 
 
 -2$&KT 
 
 > 
 
 ^X^.HHX^HH-'v^V 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 proprietor in complete agricultural condition, and has 
 constituted the family homestead. The acreage has 
 been increased until it includes 151 acres. Mr. 
 Eshleman is a Democrat and was brought up in the 
 German Lutheran faith. 
 
 Five children have been born to him and his wife. 
 William F. died in infancy. Emma E., Joseph H., 
 Benjamin and Cora M. are the names of the four 
 who are now living. 
 
 r. J. Frank Keefer, practicing physician at 
 Sterling, was born May 10, 1856, in Hop- 
 kins Township, this county. His parents, 
 Henry and Elizabeth (Strickler) Keefer, were 
 natives of Pennsylvania, and in 1854-5 came 
 West, settling in Empire, Hopkins Township, 
 where Mr. Keefer purchased a farm of 80 acres and 
 followed farming until 1875, when he sold and 
 moved into Sterling. In the spring of 1878 he pur- 
 chased Dr. Gait's drug-store on the corner of Locust 
 and Third Streets, and has since been engaged in 
 business there. 
 
 Mr. Keefer, the subject of this sketch, was reared 
 as a farmer's son until 17 years of age, when he en- 
 tered the Carthage (111.) College and continued there 
 until the spring of 1878, graduating ; then, attending 
 Rush Medical College at Chicago two winter terms 
 and one spring, he received his medical diploma, 
 Feb. 22, 1 88 1 ; and finally located in Sterling, in the 
 practice of his profession, in which he has a rising 
 popularity. He is also a partner of his father in the 
 drug-store, which also is a leading business estab- 
 lishment of the place. 
 
 ddison S. Melvin, merchant on Third Street, 
 Sterling, was born Sept. 22, 1828, in 
 Geauga Co., Ohio. His parents, Alonzo 
 and Roenna (Lyman) Melvin, were natives of 
 Massachusetts and descendants of the old 
 Puritan stock. They came to Ohio when 
 young, married in 1819, and had nine sons and four 
 daughters, all of whom excepting one son lived to 
 be grown ; the son died when four years and six 
 months old. 
 
 Addison remained with his parents until 22 years 
 
 Kfri ^^ ^M 
 
 of age, passing his youth on the farm, at the district 
 school and two years (17 to 19 years old) at the 
 Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary at Kirkland, 
 Ohio. He then taught school one season, but, his 
 health failing, he returned to farm labor in New York 
 State. Two years afterward he went to Southern 
 Indiana, where he followed carpentering for nine 
 years. He came from there to Sterling and engaged 
 in coopering, employing r 2 men, and continued in 
 the same line for 16 years; then, in 1882, he started 
 in the grocery business, under the firm name of 
 Melvin & Son, and is now prosecuting a successful 
 trade in that line. 
 
 Mr. Melvin was married Sept. 7, 1856, to Miss 
 Cordelia McKinney, a native of New York, and they 
 have had five children, three of whom are still living : 
 Arthur N., Addison S., Jr., and Alonzo D. Arthur 
 married Gussie Roberts, of Lyndon, 111., March 16, 
 1882. 
 
 In political matters Mr. Melvin is a Republican, 
 and in religious he is connected with the Congrega- 
 tional Church, as is also Mrs. M. 
 
 5- 
 
 
 
 bram D. Mitchell, dealer in groceries, 
 provisions and crockery, at Fulton, estab- 
 lished his present business in January, 
 1866. Average value of stock about $3,500. 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Adams 
 Co., Ohio, Jan. 10, 1835, and is the son of 
 David and Harriet (Murphy) Mitchell. His parents 
 are natives of Ohio. The family removed to Mar- 
 shall Co., 111., in 1836, making their home on a farm 
 near Lacon. He remained in Illinois about four or 
 five years and returned to Ohio. In 1843 he came 
 to Whiteside County and located in Albany. 
 
 Abram D. was reared on a farm in the township 
 of Garden Plain, Whiteside County, till 2 1 years of 
 age. He then went to Northern Iowa and in 1858 
 to Colorado with a wagon train. In 185 9 he went 
 to Pike's Peak and spent three years as a miner in 
 the gold regions. In 1862 he went to Montana Ter- 
 ritory and participated in the pioneer gold-mining of 
 that region. He returned to Illinois in the fall of 
 1865, and located at Fulton. In January, 1866, he 
 established his present business in company with 
 John Hudson. Two years later he purchased his 
 
 .r
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 (3; 
 
 partner's interest and has carried on the business 
 alone since. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell was married in Garden Plain, White- 
 side Co., 111., Dec. n, 1867, to Miss Mary E. 
 Murphy, daughter of Jacob and Diana (Jewett) 
 Murphy. Mrs. Mitchell was born in Adams Co., 
 Ohio. They have had four children, two boys and 
 two girls, all born at Fulton : Charles J., born Sept. 
 21, 1868; William H., born Oct. 16, 1873; Mary A., 
 born July 9, 1875; Irene H., born Jan. i, 1879. The 
 last named died Oct. 5, 1882. Mr. Mitchell is a 
 member of Fulton City Lodge, No. 189, A. F. &. A. 
 M., and has been connected with that lodge since 
 1866. He is also a member of Fulton Chapter No. 
 1 08. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell is a Republican in politics. As a 
 business man he is widely and favorably known as a 
 man of strict integrity, who by fair dealing and earn- 
 est attention to business has succeeded in building 
 up an extensive trade from Fulton and surrounding 
 country. 
 
 acob Bailey, farmer and carpenter, sec- 
 tion 5, Hopkins Township, is a son of Elias 
 and Elizabeth (Trueax) Bailey, natives re- 
 spectively of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 
 who settled in Fulton Co., Pa., where they re- 
 sided until their death. They had a family of 
 eight children, viz. : Sarah, Levi, Ellen, John, Jacob, 
 Elizabeth, Job and Jessee. 
 
 Mr. Bailey, the subject of this sketch, was born in 
 Fulton Co., Pa., Oct. 28, 1828, and lived in his na- 
 tive county till 28 years of age. At the age of 20 he 
 was apprenticed for two years to learn the trade of 
 carpenter and joiner, which he followed till he came 
 West. He came to Whiteside County in 1857 and 
 remained for two years, engaged at his trade, and 
 then went to Central City, Col., where he remained 
 for nine years working at his trade and in mill- 
 wright business. He then returned to Whiteside 
 County, and purchased 60 acres of land in section 
 5, Hopkins Township, where he settled and has 
 since lived. He is now the owner of 140 acres, 
 most of which is in a good tillable condition. Since 
 his return from Colorado he has engaged extensively 
 in farming. He keeps about 20 head of short-horn 
 
 cattle, four head of horses, and fattens annually 
 from 30 to 40 head of hogs. 
 
 In politics Mr. Bailey is a Republican. 
 
 ..0*0..- 
 
 mos A. Hulett, fanner on section 26, 
 Union Grove Township, was born April 7, 
 1812, in Chester, Vt. He is the son of 
 Benjamin G. and Lydia (Pollard) Hulett, and 
 his father was also born in Chester, March 31, 
 1787. The latter died in Union Grove 
 Township, April 10, 1877, a few days after he be- 
 came 90 years old. The father of B. G. Hulett was 
 born in Rhode Island, Nov. 2, 1751, and died Oct. 
 i, 1850, lacking one month of being 99 years of age. 
 Lydia Hulett was born April 9, 1795, in Massa- 
 chusetts, and died April 12, 1879, in Union Grove 
 Township, two years after the decease of her hus- 
 band and in her 8sth year. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Hulett located after marriage 
 in Chester, whence they came in 1865 to Whiteside 
 County, fixing their residence in the township where 
 they died, as stated. Their children were Amos A., 
 Lucius A., William L., Elias H., Louisa H., John 
 P., Lydia A. and Sarah J. Mr. Hulett was a resi- 
 dent in his native State until he was 23 years of age. 
 He obtained a good education and learned the trade 
 of a carpenter before he reached the age of man- 
 hood. He followed that as a business until June, 
 1853, when he removed with his family, consisting 
 of his wife and three children, to Whiteside County. 
 He located on section 26, where he made a claim of 
 120 acres of land. To this he has added by later 
 purchase, and now owns 160 acres. The first tract is 
 all under an excellent order of cultivation. Mr. 
 Hulett is a prominent Republican, and is holding 
 the office of Justice of the Peace, to which he has 
 been successively re-elected several terms. He has 
 also been elected School Director, Collector and 
 Assessor. 
 
 He was married May 20, 1838, in Preble Co., 
 Ohio, to Sarah W. White, and they have five chil- 
 dren : Ansel S., James H., William, Robert G. and 
 John W. The oldest child is deceased. Mrs. Hu- 
 lett was born Sept. 6, 18(8, in Reading, Vt., and she 
 is the daughter of Robert and Mary (Johnson) 
 White. Her parents were born in New England.
 
 -. .. - 
 
 JSLvsCXsX/^ 
 
 $t3\<) 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 In 1856 they came to Whiteside County, where they 
 remained through the last years of their lives. The 
 mother died at Morrison, Sept. 27, 1866. The death 
 of the father took place Aug. 28, 1870. He was a 
 soldier in the second war with Great Britain. In 
 the battle at Fort Erie, both his arms were shot away 
 by the same ball, one arm being carried some dis- 
 tance from him before he realized his situation. 
 His children were 1 3 in number, and all lived to 
 mature age. They were born in the following order : 
 Priscilla, Joseph, Sarah, Mary, Susan, James G., 
 Elizabeth, John W., Lorenzo J., David, Jonathan, 
 Caroline and Thomas. 
 
 enjamin Burgess, Jr., retired fanner, liv- 
 ing on section 30, Genesee Township, was 
 born July 3, 1809, in the town of Fort 
 Ann, Washington Co., N. Y. He is the only 
 son of Benjamin and Jerusha (Chase) Bur- 
 gess, and, in the paternal line of descent, is 
 of mixed Irish and English blood, while the mother's 
 ancestors were English. They were farmers; and 
 the mother died about 1844, in Cayuga Co., N. Y., 
 when she had passed the age of 60 years. Benja- 
 min Burgess, senior, came to Genesee Township and 
 died at the house of his son. He has been dead 
 some years, and was about 80 years of age at the 
 time of his decease. 
 
 The family settled in Cayuga County about 1819. 
 That section of the Empire State was in a dense 
 wilderness of original forest. Mr. Burgess was there 
 reared, and before he separated from the parental 
 household he formed a matrimonial alliance with 
 Sarah A. Annable. She was born Jan. 23, 1809, in 
 Saratoga Co., N. Y., and her parents, Prince and 
 Ruth (Hovvland) Annable, were also natives of that 
 State and were respectively of French and English 
 descent. They were farmers and the families from 
 which they came were for a long period of years 
 identified with the history of the United States, hav- 
 ing come here prior to the Revolution. Mrs. Bur- 
 gess was eight years old when her father became a 
 citizen of Cayuga County. There she grew to ma- 
 turity and was married Dec. 17, 1831. Later, her 
 parents came to Illinois and located in Jo Daviess 
 County, where their lives terminated. Mr. and Mrs. 
 
 Burgess located on 50 acres of land in the township 
 of Fort Edward in Washington Co., N. Y., to which 
 they afterward added 25 acres, and, after making im- 
 portant improvements, sold out to buy another farm 
 containing 100 acres, which was all cultivated. This 
 constituted the homestead until their removal to 
 Illinois in 1841. They located on a claim on which 
 a settlement had been made and which they pur- 
 chased of its original claimant previous to the land's 
 coining into market. Three years later Mr. Burgess 
 sold his title and bought 80 acres on the section 
 which has since been his field of operation. He has 
 put his son in possession of 40 acres of the original 
 purchase, and has bought 40 acres of timber, three- 
 fourths of which still belongs to the estate. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Burgess are the parents of three sons 
 and two daughters : Caleb married Rosanna Col- 
 cord and they reside at Sterling, where the former is 
 a mechanic ; James married Lavina Switzer, and is 
 a farmer in Jones Co., Iowa. Lucy married John 
 Cutting, a farmer in Gage Co., Neb. William mar- 
 ried Margaret Vest, and is engaged in farming in 
 Tama Co., Iowa. Ruth was born in the State of 
 New York, which was the native State of her broth- 
 ers and sister, and married James Siddles. His 
 parents were Joseph and Jane (Courtright) Siddles, 
 and he was born Sept. 25, 1827, in Sussex Co.. N. J. 
 When he was six years of age his parents removed 
 to Susquehanna Co., Pa., where he was brought up 
 and educated. In 1854 they came to Whiteside 
 County and settled at Sterling. The mother died 
 within the year of their arrival there. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Siddles have had three children, Milan, who died 
 Feb. n, 1872; Charles C., and Dora V. 
 
 Mr. Burgess is a Republican and he and his wife 
 are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 since. 
 
 S 
 
 i 
 
 ,loys Summers, of the firm of O. & C. 
 Summers, dealers in groceries, provisions 
 3 *' and crockery at Fulton, was born in Bar- 
 net, Caledonia Co., Vt, Dec. 9, 1833, came to 
 Sterling, 111 , with his parents in 1840, and 
 has made Whiteside County his home ever 
 He has spent several years away, but never 
 established a residence elsewhere. He took part in 
 the so-called " Kansas War " of 1854. From there
 
 
 
 
 =3 
 S 
 
 he went with a Government train to Albuquerque, 
 New Mexico, in 1855. He next entered the service 
 of the Hockaday Stage Company, and ran a pony 
 express from South Pass to Salt Lake Cily. He was 
 in Utah at the time of the Mormon War, and par- 
 ticipated in some wild border scenes. He returned 
 to Fulton after spending about four years on the 
 plains and in the mountains. 
 
 He enlisted in the late war, in September, 1861, 
 in Co. A, 34th 111. Vol. Inf., and was promoted Cor- 
 poral and Sergeant. He served three years, and re- 
 enlisted in September, 1864. He was appointed 
 Commissary Sergeant immediately and served till 
 the close of the war. He was in the i4th Army 
 Corps, and with his company and regiment in every 
 battle in which they participated, among them the 
 battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, siege 
 of Atlanta and Jonesborough, siege of Savannah and 
 other minor engagements. 
 
 Mr. Summers was married at Fulton, 111., Dec. 9, 
 1866, to Miss Margaret Joyce, daughter of Clayton 
 and Margaret E. Joyce. Mrs. Summers was born 
 in Burlington Co., N. J. They have had four chil- 
 dren, three daughters and a son, as follows: Belle, 
 born Dec. 4, 1868, died Sept. 14, 1879; Myron D., 
 born Feb. 12, 1870, died Aug. 7, 1870; Aetna E., 
 born Aug. n, 1873, died Aug. 7, 1875; and Mary 
 Alice, born Oct. 7, 1875. 
 
 Soon after his return from the war Mr. Summers 
 engaged as clerk and salesman for the lumber firm 
 of Langford & Hall, and continued with them till 
 the spring of 1871, when he formed the existing 
 partnership with his brother Oscar. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. S. is a Republican. 
 
 ' 
 ("$ 
 
 i 
 
 rank H. Robinson, of the firm of S. W. 
 Robinson & Brother, dealers in hardware 
 and agricultural implements at Morrison, 
 was born March 5, 1837, in Zanesville, Ohio, 
 and is the youngest surviving child of his par- 
 ents, Robert P. and Mary J. (Culbertson) Rob- 
 inson. His father, whose business career is outlined 
 in the sketch of S. W. Robinson on other pages of 
 this work, put him when 14 years of age in the posi- 
 tion of an assistant in the hardware store, of which 
 
 the former was proprietor at Zanesville for more than 
 20 years. 
 
 In the spring of 1856 he came to Sterling in this 
 county, and continued in the capacity of salesman 
 there until the subsequent autumn, when he came to 
 Morrison and opened a branch hardware store in the 
 interest of his father. He conducted its relations 
 singly until the spring of 1857, when he was joined 
 by his brother, Samuel W. In the fall of the same 
 year the latter became the owner of the stock and 
 business interests by purchase, Mr. F. H. Robinson 
 continuing to operate as a clerk until he became in- 
 terested in the progress and issues of the Civil War. 
 
 The awakening of his zeal and enthusiasm re- 
 sulted in his enrollment as a soldier of the Union 
 Army. In July, 1861, he enlisted at Lyons, Iowa, 
 as private in Co. B., First Iowa Cav., under Capt. 
 Wm. E. Leffingwell. The regiment was assigned to 
 the Army of the Frontier in Missouri. Mr. Robin- 
 son remained a member of the " First Iowa " two 
 years. He was mustered out July 14, 1863, to ac- 
 cept a commission as First Lieutenant of Co. H. 
 nth Mo. Cav. He entered upon the work of re- 
 cruiting, and after enlisting 57 men at Rolla, Mo., 
 he was made Captain, his commission dating Dec. 
 27, 1864. He continued to hold his command until 
 his discharge. He was mustered out of the mili- 
 tary service of the United States in August, 1865, 
 at St. Louis, Mo., and returned to Morrison. He 
 purchased a half interest in the business of his 
 brother, and the firm of S. W. Robinson & Brother 
 have since continued their operations as dealers in 
 hardware and agricultural implements without inter- 
 ruption. They carry a stock of extensive value and 
 well assorted, making a speciality of agricultural 
 machinery. Their business requires three regular 
 assistants, and at times necessitates the employment 
 of a force of double that number. In addition to 
 the avenues of business named they do all varieties of 
 work as tinners, a^ roofing, spouting, the manufacture 
 of creamery goods, etc. 
 
 Mr. Robinson is connected with the Order of the 
 Grand Army of the Republic. 
 
 His marriage to Carrie E. Clark took place Dec. 
 23, 1873, at Morrison, and their three children were 
 born as follows : Frank C., Jan. 5, 1877 ; Minnie B., 
 April i, 1880; Edith A., born April 7, 1882, died 
 Sept. 5, 1883. Mrs. Robinson was bprn in Lyndon
 
 I!. RAKY 
 UNIVERSITY Of
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Township. She is the daughter of Alpheus and 
 Augusta Clark, and her parents were among the 
 earliest of the permanent white settlers of Whiteside 
 County. Her father was a Major in the Eighth 111. 
 Vol. Cav., and died from the effects of a wound re- 
 ceived at Beverly Ford. Post Alpheus Clark, No. 
 1 1 6, G. A. R., at Morrison, is named in honor of his 
 devotion to the Union cause and gallant services in 
 its defense. 
 
 Hlliam Tyson, resident on section 18, Clyde 
 Township, has been a farmer where he is 
 
 g^/;""' now located for more than 30 years, hav- 
 [> ing entered his claim in 1854. He was born 
 April 15, r824, in Lancastershire, England. 
 John Tyson, his father, was a native of York- 
 shire and was a cutler by trade, having learned that 
 business in Sheffield, where he was born. He mar- 
 ried Martha Wilby, who was born in the same city, 
 and a few years later they went to Lancastershire, 
 where he was employed in the mills. In 1845' the 
 father, mother and four younger children came to 
 the United States, landing at the port of New York. 
 They left two children in England. The father died 
 1 8 days after reaching New York, and the family 
 were supported some time by the efforts of the sons. 
 
 Mr. Tyson was occupied in various ways until he 
 went to New Jersey, where he was employed in farm 
 labor, and he went thence to Columbia, Lancaster 
 Co., Pa. From there he returned to the city of New 
 York, whence, after a brief stay, he proceeded to 
 Connecticut. In his native country he had acquired 
 and followed the business of a cotton-twister in the 
 factories of the place where he was born, in which 
 he was occupied from 12 to 20 years of age. When 
 he left his native land he brought away with him a 
 determination never to work in a factory, to which 
 resolution he faithfully adhered. 
 
 On coining to Illinois he fixed on Whiteside County 
 as a suitable place to locate, and he bought 74 acres 
 of land situated near the farm of John Sykes, his 
 brother-in-law. (See sketch.) The place was un- 
 improved, and the entire acreage is still in his pos- 
 session, all of which is under cultivation and sup- 
 plied with necessary and suitable buildings. 
 
 X r *x '> " 
 
 Mr. Tyson was married May 19, 1851, in Brook- 
 lyn, N. Y., to Mary Sykes. She was born Oct. 28, 
 1822, in Yorkshire, England, and lived in her native 
 country until after the death of her mother. She 
 came to America in 1847, and from that time until 
 her marriage she maintained herself. She has been 
 the mother of nine children, two of whom are de- 
 ceased. Josephine W. is married and has one child, 
 Mary L. Mary S. married George W. Holcomb, a 
 liveryman at Morrison, Whiteside Co., 111. Alice S. 
 is the wife of Paul Remkes, a farmer in Colorado. 
 Hattie E. married Frank W. White, and resides at 
 Idaho Springs, Col. Charles W. is the next in order 
 of birth and lives at Miller, Hand Co., D. T. George 
 H. lives in Colorado. Olive P. is a teacher in the 
 public schools of Whiteside County. Sarah and Ira 
 J. died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Tyson is a Republican in political fath. 
 
 avid R. Wetzel is a retired farmer of 
 Hopkins Township, and resides on section 
 27. His parents, John and Margaret 
 (Reese) Wetzel, were born in Pennsylvania 
 and were of German lineage. They went 
 thence in 1814 to Ohio, whence they came in 
 1855 to Whiteside County. The father, a direct 
 descendant of Lewis Wetzel, the Indian hunter, died 
 in Genesee Township, Sept. 18, 1860. The death of 
 the mother occurred Feb. 2, 1882. Their children 
 were born in the order named : Catherine, Daniel, 
 Jacob, John, George, Elizabeth, David R., Andrew, 
 Joseph, Hannah, Margaret and Louis. 
 
 Mri Wetzel was born April 7, 1823, in Summit 
 Co., Ohio. He attended the public schools of his 
 native State, and afterwards was interested in farm- 
 ing there until his removal in the fall of 1855 to 
 Whiteside County. He was a farmer in Genesee 
 Township until the spring of 1883, when he changed 
 his residence to Hopkins Township, where he had 
 bought a farm during the previous fall. The com- 
 bined area of his land in the townships of Genesee 
 and Hopkins is 640 acres, and the entire extent is 
 under tillage. He has rented his estate and is living 
 in quiet retirement. He has built up his possessions 
 by industry and economy, having begun in the world 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 d) 

 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 by small means, and has made his way unaided. He 
 is one of the heaviest land-holders in Whiteside 
 County, and in politics is identified with the Republi- 
 can party. 
 
 The publishers of this ALBUM take pleasure in 
 presenting a fine lithographic portrait of Mr. Wetzel 
 in connection with this sketch. 
 
 radford C. Church, Jr., one of the pro- 
 prietors of the Sterling Roller Flouring 
 Mill, was born June 20, 1860, atKankakee, 
 111. He came to Sterling with his father in 
 1868, where he received a practical education, 
 and in the year 1 88 1 accepted a position as 
 book-keeper in Church & Patterson's mills. After 
 his father's death he purchased his half interest in 
 the mill from the other heirs, and has since been 
 engaged in conducting that establishment. He is 
 one of the young and leading men of Sterling, is a 
 Republican in his political action, and is a member 
 of the A. O. U. W. and of the Order of Modern 
 Woodmen of America. 
 
 Mr. Church's marriage to Mary Patterson occurred 
 Oct. 17, 1883. Her parents were William L. and 
 Isabel (Wallace) Patterson. Mr. and Mrs. Church 
 have one child, John L., born Aug. 6, 1884. 
 
 |f ohn Downs, dealer in hardware, stoves and 
 tinware, manufacturer and repairer of tin- 
 ware, at Fulton, established his present 
 business in February, 1875, and carries an 
 average stock of $2,500 value. Mr, Downs 
 was born in Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 23, 1839, 
 and is the son of John and Ann (Gilmore) Downs. 
 His parents were natives of Ireland and emigrated to 
 the United States in 1835. John served a regular 
 apprenticeship to the tinner's trade, in Cleveland, 
 and came to Fulton, 111., in the fall of 1858. He 
 was employed as a journeyman in this city till Feb- 
 ruary, 1875, when he engaged in his present business 
 and has carried it on continuously since. 
 
 He was married in September, 1862, at Dixon, 111., 
 to Miss Annie Mahony. Mrs. Downs was born 
 in Limerick, Ireland, in 1842, and is a daughter of 
 
 Daniel and Margaret (Ring) Mahony. They have 
 four children, three boys and a girl : Edward, l>orn 
 Aug. 28, 1864; William, June 25, 1867 ; Nellie, Sept. 
 26, 1872, and John, Dec. 16, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Downs has been a member of the Fulton City 
 Council eight years. He is a Democrat and a mem- 
 ber of the temperance organization entitled the " R. 
 C. B. & T. Society." Mr. Downs, his wife and 
 family are members of the Catholic Church of Fulton. 
 
 Mr. Downs has now been in business for himself a 
 little over ten years, and has built up a very satis- 
 factory trade. He aims to do good work, keep good 
 goods, and give his customers the value of their 
 money. 
 
 =ezekiah Brink, farmer on the northeast 
 quarter of section 22, Sterling Township, 
 was born May 21, 1809, in Vermont. His 
 father, Isaiah Brink, a native of Germany, 
 adopted this as his country in an early period 
 of his life and became a soldier in our war with 
 Great Britain in 1812-4, losing his life. His widow, 
 nee Anna Murdock, a native of New York State, after- 
 ward married Samuel S. Geere, in Erie Co., N. Y. 
 
 Having received a common-school education, Mr. 
 Brink, at the age of 16 years, left home and went to 
 Madison, Ind., to learn the hatter's trade, extending 
 his period of apprenticeship until he was 20 years 
 old. He then opened a shop in Ripley Co., Ind., 
 and carried on business there and in Coventry until 
 1834. Selling out, he came to what is now the city 
 of Sterling, entering, in June, 1834, the quarter-section 
 which he still owns and occupies. During the sum- 
 mer and fall he broke a piece of ground and built a 
 log house 18x20 feet in dimensions, and with a 
 puncheon floor. The one room it comprised was 
 parlor, kitchen and bed-room. This was his resi- 
 dence until 1841. The following December (1834) 
 he returned to Indiana and brought out his family to 
 their new home, arriving May i, 1835. 
 
 In 1836 he built a saw-mill in Milledgeville, and 
 the next year he erected a frame for a grist-mill, and 
 purchased the buhrs and machinery, but sold out be- 
 fore completing the mill. In May, 1836, he sold an 
 interest in his farm to Capt. Harris & Bros, for a part 
 of a cargo of provisions, which they brought up Rock 
 
 - 
 
 -
 
 River by steamer from Galena. Their complete 
 cargo comprised about $600 or $700 worth of pro- 
 visions. After this exchange, Mr. Brink erected a 
 building 18 x 20 feet for a store. Being of hewn logs, 
 it was considered in those days a very fine structure. 
 It was built on what is now Block 41, in the city of 
 Sterling, where it still remains, occupied as a dwell- 
 ing. After conducting the store here for four years, 
 Mr. Brink disposed of it by sale. In the meantime 
 he had built saw, grist and carding mills at Empire. 
 connected with one power, which he ran until 1847, 
 when he sold them. 
 
 Returning then to Sterling, he put up a saw-mill 
 at Elkhorn, three miles above Empire, and after run- 
 ning it about one year he sold it ; and, renting a 
 mill at Coe's Grove, he operated that-a year. Then 
 he followed farming until 1854. About this time he 
 went to Canada and purchased from Theodore Wynn 
 his undivided interest in Sterling. Returning home, 
 he built a stone house and rented it to the School 
 District for a public school. In 1855 he engaged in 
 general building, contracting for and erecting most of 
 the brick houses in Sterling up to 1870, and often 
 having as many as 65 men in his employ at one time. 
 He manufactured all his brick and stone. During 
 this time he also conducted a store for five years. In 
 1870 he returned to his farm. 
 
 Mr. Brink did the first " breaking " in Como and 
 in the county, in 1834, with three yoke of oxen. He 
 also did " breaking " for the neighbors for miles 
 around, at $5 a day. In 1835 he broke 40 acres of 
 land where the village of Sterling now stands, and 
 raised crops upon it for several years. At present he 
 is devoting his attention principally to the culture of 
 small fruits, having in all four acres, three acres of 
 which consist of black and red .raspberries. This 
 fruit is put up chiefly by the canning factories of 
 Sterling. He also raises, apples, pears, plums, etc. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. B. is a Republican, and 
 in his religious relations he has belonged to the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church ever since he was 15 
 years old. 
 
 He was first married Sept. 25, 1829, to Miss 
 Martha Buchanan, a native of Indiana, who died 
 Oct. 16, 1839, after having become the mother of four 
 children, Thomas, Samuel, Margery and David. 
 Oct. i, 1840, Mr. Brink was again married, to 
 Sophronia L. Griffin, a native .of Ohio. She died 
 
 Dec. 23, 1866. By this marriage there were n chil- 
 dren, namely, Harvey, Charles, Caroline, Albert, 
 Julia, Newton, Alona, Ada, Ella, Martha B. and ' 
 Allen. 
 
 radford C. Church, Sr., deceased, in his 
 life-time a highly respected business man 
 of Sterling, was born in Portageville, Wy- 
 oming Co., N. Y., April 28, 1834. In 1854 
 he came to Chicago, where he was employed 
 in a store for five years; then, until 1862, he 
 was engaged in the hardware business in Kankakee, 
 111. ; then, for five years, in the same business at 
 Morris, Grundy Co., 111. ; and finally, in the spring 
 of 1868, he came to Sterling and engaged in the 
 milling business. In 1871 he entered into partner- 
 ship with Samuel Patterson, the firm name being 
 Church & Patterson. In 1875 he was elected Mayor 
 of the city of Sterling, and in 1876 was re-elected. 
 In his political action he was a Republican. 
 
 Mr. Church died of apoplexy on the cars, on his 
 way home from St. Louis, Sept. 20, 1883. He was 
 one of Sterling's most respected citizens. 
 
 illiam Topping, retired farmer, Union 
 Grove Tp., was born in Lowville, Lewis 
 Co., N. Y., April 6, 1802. His parents, 
 Jared and Judith (Prentiss) Topping, were 
 born in Connecticut. William was brought 
 up on a farm, and was married in his native 
 town Jan. i, 1823, to Miss Sarah Weaver. They 
 had eight children, four of whom lived to be men 
 and women ; the others died in childhood. Of the 
 former, the eldest was Harriet, wife of W. G. Hitch- 
 cock, of Morrison. The second is Edwin G., who 
 married Rose Chapman and resides in Harvey Co., 
 Kan. The third, Oscar F., married Ellen Powell, 
 and lives in Oregon. The fourth, George, died aged 
 41 years, leaving a wife and five children, residents 
 of Morrison. 
 
 Mr. Topping removed to Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, in 
 1834, where he was engaged in milling and farming 
 till 1855, when he came to Illinois and located on 
 section 16, Union Grove Township, this county, where 
 
 *v 
 
 V/ 
 
 I 

 
 he had a finely improved farm of 100 acres. Mrs. 
 Topping died Aug. 7, 1882, and Mr. Topping was 
 married again Nov. 26, 1882, at Morrison, to Mrs. 
 Rosina Burwell, widow of Abram Burwell, and only 
 daughter of Reynolds and Lucy (Powers) Vaughn. 
 She was born in the town of Ferrisburg, Addison 
 Co., Vt. She had three children by her former 
 marriage : Martha E. Burwell, of Morrison, the eld- 
 est ; Charles H. died aged aged five years ; and Silas 
 A. married Anna Bull, and resides in Polo, 111. 
 
 Mr. Topping served as Assessor of Union Grove 
 Township two years. In early life he was a staunch 
 Democrat, but of strong anti-slavery sympathies. 
 He joined the Republican party on its organization, 
 and has been an earnest advocate of Republican 
 principles continuously since. Mr. Topping and 
 wife are members of the Universalist Church. Mr. 
 T. is a remarkably well preserved man at 83 years of 
 age, in full possession of his faculties ; and active 
 and energetic as many a man at 50. He sold his 
 farm, and since Christmas, 1883, has made his home 
 at Morrison. 
 
 
 Lf mar E. Fanning, farmer, section 14, Hop- 
 ^kins Township, is a son of Asa and Phebe 
 A. (Cole) Fanning, natives of New England, 
 who first settled in Cheuango Co., N. Y., and 
 afterwards removed to Broome County, that 
 State, where he died in the summer of 1863 ; 
 she came to Whiteside County in 1883 and now re- 
 sides in Sterling. They had a family of three chil- 
 dren, Omar E., Franklin and Wallace. 
 
 Mr. Fanning, the subject of this biographical out- 
 line, was born in Oxford, Chenango Co., N. Y., Feb. 
 2, 1829, received a common-school education, in 
 Broome Co., N. Y., and lived there till he was 22 
 years of age. He then came to Whiteside County, 
 in August, 1851, and engaged as a clerk for Joel 
 Harvey at Empire. He was in his employment 
 about three years at that time. He then engaged 
 in carriage and wagon making at Empire, having 
 learned that trade in Broome Co., N. Y., where he 
 served an apprenticeship of about one and a half 
 years. He continued in that vocation at Empire, 
 about two and a half years, when he sold that business 
 and bought a half interest in the mercantile establish- 
 
 v 
 
 ment at Empire, with Joel Harvey, and the company 
 was known as Harvey & Fanning. They continued 
 together about three years, when Mr. Fanning sold 
 out his interest to Mr. Harvey. In the spring of 1860 
 he rented a farm in Hopkins Township, which he 
 carried on one season, and in the meantime he pur- 
 chased 40 acres on section r4, which he afterwards 
 sold. He has been engaged in farming since 1860, 
 with the exception of four years, during which time 
 he has bought and sold various tracts of land. He 
 is now the owner of 160 acres in Hopkins Township 
 all of which is tillable. 
 
 Mr. Fanning was first married in Round Grove, 
 Hopkins Township, in March, 1855, to Miss Louisa 
 Simonson, daughter of Frederick and Sabrina (Har- 
 vey) Simonson^ who were natives of the State of 
 New York. Mrs. F. was born in Tioga Co., N. 
 Y., and died in Hopkins Township, Nov. 8, 1868. 
 Mr. F. was again married Nov. 22, 1870, to Mary J., 
 daughter of John and Mary A. (Stackhouse) Lefferts, 
 natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Whiteside 
 County in the spring of 1855 and settled in Hopkins 
 Township, where they lived till their death. He 
 died March 8, 1871, and she April 29, 1884. They 
 had a family of six children, Mary J., Carrie E., 
 Anna J., Sarah E., Charles H. and Susanna. Mary J, 
 (Mrs. F.) was born in Newtown, Pa., Aug. 20, 1840, 
 and came to Whiteside County when about 15 years 
 old, with her parents. She taught school a number 
 of years, commencing in 1859, in Hopkins Township. 
 Mr. and Mrs. F. are the parents of four children, 
 Phebe, Frank C., Jessie and Omar A. 
 
 Mr. Fanning was an active member of the Patrons 
 of Husbandry, having been Secretary of the State 
 organization four years. He has held many of the 
 township offices, as Commissioner of Highways one 
 term, Collector two years, Township Assessor 12 
 years, Township Trustee, etc. In politics he is 
 identified with the Republican party and its inter- 
 ests. 
 
 heodore S. Barrett, a retired farmer liv- 
 ing on section 25, Hopkins Township, was 
 born April 17, 1808, in Madison Co., N. Y. 
 He was educated in the public schools, which 
 he attended until he was about 18 years old, 
 and at that age entered the academy at Caze- 
 N. Y., where he was a student two years. 
 
 nova,
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 After becoming his own master, he engaged in dairy 
 farming and operated in his native State until 1856, 
 when he came to Whiteside County. After a stay of 
 two years at Sterling he bought 100 acres of land on 
 sections 25 and 26 in Hopkins Township. On this 
 he fixed his place of residence, and it has since been 
 his home. His estate includes 125 acres of land, 
 which is chiefly under tillage. 
 
 Mr. Barrett is an adherent of the Republican 
 party. He has officiated as Township Clerk and in 
 other minor offices. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Barrett, to Caroline Da- 
 mon, took place Nov. 14; 1830, in Madison Co., N. 
 Y. Frances G., Theodore H., Lorenzo M. and 
 Lucia C. are the names of the children of whom 
 they became the parents. The mother died July 
 8, 1860, in Hopkins Township. Mr. Barrett formed 
 a second matrimonial alliance Oct. 10, 1864, at Ster- 
 ling, with Jerusha B. (McCune) Eggleston. She is the 
 daughter of Stephen and Polly (Davenport) McCune, 
 and was the widow of Daniel Eggleston, who died in 
 Indiana in 1858, leaving two children, Adella and 
 George W. Mrs. Barrett was born May 16, 1822, 
 in Oswegp Co., N. Y. She is a member of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. 
 
 illiam P. Palmer, grain, coal and lumber 
 merchant, at Sterling, was born in Frank- 
 lin Co., Pa., Oct. 9, 1846. His parents, 
 Jonas C. and Catharine (Fleck) Palmer, 
 were also natives of that State ; his" father 
 was a farmer by vocation. 
 After obtaining a district-school education, the 
 subject of this notice, at the age of 19 years, attend- 
 ed the Iron City College at Pittsburg for a period of 
 six months. At the age of 20 he left home and for 
 a year was clerk in a grain house at Chambersburg, 
 then until 1877 he was a member of the firm of 
 Keefer, Palmer & Co., dealing in grain, coal and ag- 
 ricultural implements. Then selling out his inter- 
 est in the latter business, he came to Sterling and 
 assumed charge of the interests of the Langford & 
 Hall Lumber Company. Two years afterward he 
 bought them out, and since then he has managed 
 the business alone. He is a successful and enter- 
 prising business man, shrewd and well qualified for 
 
 public trusts. Politically, he is a Republican, and 
 religiously a member of the Presbyterian Church of 
 Sterling, as is also his wife : both were members of 
 the First Reformed Church in Chambersburg, Pa. 
 He is a member of the Orders of Masonry, Legion 
 of Honor and Knights of Pythias. He is also a mem- 
 ber of the Wallace School Board, and in the muni- 
 cipality he is at present the Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee on Streets and Alleys. 
 
 In the spring of 1865 he married Maggie B., a 
 daughter of Michael and Mary (Bear) Rutt, and of 
 Pennsylvania!! nativity, born in 1866. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Palmer have four children : Bertie, Minnie, John G. 
 and Bessie. The last named died at three years of 
 age. 
 
 |'|:urrell V. Daniels, farmer, section 5, Union 
 Grove Township, has been a resident of 
 Whiteside County since 1849. He was 
 born in Canada, Feb. 14, 1833. His father 
 and mother, Asa and Almira (Vance) Daniels, 
 were natives of Vermont. They were resi- 
 dents of Canada after they were married, and re- 
 turned to Vermont, whence the father came, in 1846, 
 to the township of Ustick and located on section 32. 
 In 1850 his family joined him. The senior Daniels 
 met his death April 15, 1874, by a fall from aloadof 
 hay. The mother is living in Ustick Township. 
 Their family included seven children, David, War- 
 ner, Amos and Asahel (twins), Sylvia, Burrell V. and 
 Martha. 
 
 Mr. Daniels came to Whiteside County in June, 
 1849, and has since been engaged in farming. He 
 is now the owner of 310 acres of land in the town- 
 ship of Union Grove and has placed 250 acres under 
 tillage. His stock includes 18 horses, 20 head of 
 cattle and he fattens an average of 40 hogs annually. 
 He is identified with the Republican party in polit- 
 ical sentiment and action. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Daniels to Mary E. Cass 
 took place Feb. 14, 1855, in Ustick Township, and 
 they have had three sons, Wallace M., Wyman F. 
 and Adelbert W. The second child died when one 
 year and eight months old. Mrs. Daniels is the 
 daughter of Jehiel and Sally (Scott) Cass. Her par- 
 ents were natives of Vermont and had nine children, 
 Cynthia, Rosina, Maria, Mary E., Sarah, George, 
 
 -f*i^ 
 
 v) 
 
 3=1 
 
 i 
 

 
 ) f 
 
 1 
 
 cat 
 
 ( 
 
 Alonzo, Emily and Estella. Mrs. Daniels was born 
 June 4, 1836, in Canada ; at the age of 3 years, her 
 parents moved to Irasburg-, Orleans Co., Vt., where 
 they lived until they came to Whiteside County in 
 1854. Her mother died July 26, 1869, in Union 
 Grove Township. Her father is a farmer in Dakota, 
 where he went in the fall of 1883. He is in his 
 79th year. 
 
 Mr. Daniels, and also his children, are zealous and 
 able Republicans, advocates of temperance and op- 
 ponents of secret societies. 
 
 -t- 
 
 -5- 
 
 ,,enry C. Donaldson, M. D., of Morrison, one 
 of the pioneer physicians of Whiteside 
 County of 1847, was born in Guilford, Che- 
 "l^ nango Co., N. Y., April 19, 1825, and is the son 
 of the Rev. Asa and Delia (Allen) Donaldson. 
 His father was born at Munson, Hampshire 
 Co., Mass., Sept. 4, 1788, was a Presbyterian clergy- 
 man and died at Chariton, Iowa, Feb. 3, 1876, aged 
 88 years. His mother died at Maiden, 111., July 4, 
 
 1862, aged 61 years. 
 
 Henry C. went to Tioga Co., Pa., in 1831, with his 
 parents, and from there to Bureau Co., 111., in 1839. 
 He was educated at Princeton Academy, and entered 
 Rush Medical College in 1846, took a regular course 
 and graduated in the class of 1849-50. He began 
 practice in Whiteside County in 1847, and has pur- 
 sued it continuously to this date, covering a period of 
 38 years, and has made his home at Morrison since 
 
 1863. He is a member of the State Medical Asso- 
 ciation, and also of the County Medical Society, of 
 which he has been President several years. During 
 the existence of the Rock River Medical Association 
 he was a member of that society and for some time 
 its Secretary. He was elected Coroner of Whiteside 
 County in i88i,and has held that office continuously 
 since. 
 
 Dr. Donaldson was married in Prophetstown, 111., 
 Jan. 14, 1849, to Miss Bethiah Ellithorp, daughter of 
 Sampson and Eliza (Wight) Ellithorp. Mrs. Donald- 
 son was born in Saratoga Co., N. Y. They have had 
 four children : Ira B. married Ella Smith and lives in 
 Exeter,. Neb.; Evelyn E. was the wife of Dr. W. L. 
 Duffin, and died aged 25 years; Lizzie married Dr. 
 W. L. Duffin, the husband of her deceased sister, 
 
 and resides in Guttenburg, Iowa; Earl S. is a physi- i 
 cian in practice at Hudson, Iowa. Dr. Donaldson, <; 
 wife and children are members of the Congregational * 
 Church. The Doctor has served as Deacon of the 
 Church since 1864. He is a member of Dunlap V. 
 Lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 321, and votes the Re- 
 publican ticket. 
 
 ohn H. filey, farmer, section 18, Hopkins 
 Township, is a son of John H. and Maria 
 Bley, who were natives of Germany, where 
 they died. They had a family of three chil- 
 dren, John H., Elizabeth and Frederick. Mr. 
 Bley, of this sketch, was born in Germany, July 
 3, 1835, lived in his native land till 1860, when he 
 came to America and direct to Whiteside County, 
 locating in Hopkins Township. Soon afterward he 
 purchased 160 acres of land, where he settled and 
 has since lived. He is now the owner of 215 acres 
 in the township, most of which is cultivated. 
 
 Mr. Bley was married in Hopkins Township, 
 March 15, 1869, to Margaret Staassen, who was born 
 in Germany, July 9, 1843. They have had eight 
 children, six of whom are surviving, viz.: Johanna 
 E., Emily M,, Frederick G., William M., Anna H. 
 and John H., Jr.; two died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. B. are members of the German 
 Lutheran Church. In politics he is identified with 
 the Democratic party. 
 
 'ohn Fieldsend, farmer, resident on section 
 15, Clyde Township, was born April 30, 
 1828, in the town of Thurston, Yorkshire, 
 England. Benjamin Fieldsend, his father, 
 was a tailor by profession and instructed his 
 son in the details of that business, which he 
 followed from the age of 14 years to that of 21. He 
 also worked as a "jour" one year. 
 
 He was married Aug. 5, 1850, in Yorkshire, to 
 Ann, daughter of William and Lucy A. (Askam) 
 Greaves. The parents of Mrs. Fieldsend were born 
 in Yorkshire and were residents there throughout 
 their entire lives. Her father died Oct. 23, 1881
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 when he was 77 years old. The demise of the 
 mother occurred in June, 1851. Mrs. Fieldsend 
 was born in Snowdenhill, Yorkshire, June 24, 1826. 
 To her and her husband eight children have been 
 born, two of whom are deceased. William M., born 
 in England, March ii, 1852, married Agnes Platt 
 and is a farmer in Dakota; Ben, born Nov. 19, 1853, 
 in England, is deceased; Sarah, born Aug. 12, 1855. 
 in Wisconsin, is the wife of James Davis, a farmer in 
 Plymouth Co., Iowa; Lucy A., born Sept. 6, 1857, in 
 Wisconsin, is the wife of Win. West, a farmer in Clyde 
 Tp. ; Martha, born Dec. 30, 18*0, also in Wiscon- 
 sin, married William Comady, a farmer of Clyde ; 
 Isabella was born Aug. 19, 1863, in Wisconsin; 
 Mary, March 27, 1866, in Illinois; and Caroline, 
 born July n, 1868, also in this State, is deceased. 
 
 Mr. Fieldsend followed his business as a tailor 
 four years subsequent to his marriage. In the sum- 
 mer of 1854 he removed his family to the United 
 States and remained one season in Poughkeepsie, in 
 the State of New York. From there they went to 
 Dodgeville, Iowa Co., Wis. He passed some time 
 working as a tailor and later purchased Government 
 land, on which he "farmed" until 1864. In that 
 year he settled in Illinois on the tract of land which 
 has since constituted his homestead. His farm in- 
 cluded 80 acres at the date of purchase, but he has 
 made additional purchases until it now comprises 
 231 acres of well improved land, under the best kind 
 of cultivation. He owns some fine stock and is in- 
 terested in its improvement. 
 
 Mr. Fieldsend and his wife were reared in the 
 English Church. Politically, he is a decided Dem- 
 ocrat. 
 
 ( artin Ryerson, carpenter and farmer, sec- 
 tion 14, Hopkins Township, is a son of 
 David and Esther (Burr) Ryerson, who 
 were natives respectively of New Jersey 
 and New York State. They married and set- 
 tled in that State and lived there, where he was 
 engaged in farming, till their death. They had a 
 family of seven children, namely : Martin, Harriet, 
 Lilah, John, Mary, George and Sarah. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in New Jersey, 
 Sept. 28, 1824. He received a common-school edu- 
 
 cation, and at the age of 16 was apprenticed for four 
 years, at ten cents per day, to learn the carpenter's 
 trade, which vocation he has followed mostly up to 
 the present time. In the spring of 1850 he came to 
 Whiteside County and engaged in carpentering, and 
 soon afterward bought 80 acres of land on section 
 14, on which he has erected fine buildings. He owns 
 125 acres of land in Hopkins Township, 120. acres 
 of which is tillable. 
 
 He was married in Sterling to Margaret Johnson, 
 daughter of Robert and Rebecca (Truax) John- 
 son, who were natives respectively of Maryland and 
 Pennsylvania. Mrs. R..was born in Pennsylvania. 
 Mr. and Mrs. R. are the parents of four children, 
 Sarah, Esther, Martin J. and John. John is deceased 
 and Esther is now the wife of Pardon Angel and 
 resides in Como. 
 
 Mr. Ryerson has been Overseer of Highways. He 
 and his wife are members of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church. In politics he is identified with the 
 Republican party. 
 
 F enry M. Grinnold, deceased, a pioneer of 
 Whiteside County, and in his life-time a 
 resident of Fulton, was born in the State of 
 New York, Jan. i, 1813, and removed in his 
 youth with his parents to Berkshire Co., Mass. 
 He learned the shoemaker's trade in the toivn 
 of Egremont, of that county, and in 1838 came to 
 Whiteside Co., 111., settling near Thompson. 
 
 He was married July 18, 1839, in the township of 
 Garden Plain, to Miss Eliza T. Parker, daughter of 
 Abel and Eleanor (Howe) Parker. Mrs. Grinnold 
 was born in Wells Township, Rutland Co., Vt, 
 March 10, 1823. Her people were from Connecti- 
 cut, and had moved to Wells about the time of the 
 war of 1812-14. Her father carried on milling ex- 
 tensively at Wells, and emigrated to Garden Plain, 
 this county, in 1836. Mr. G. had a fine farm of 160 
 acres at Garden Plain Corners, but he worked at his 
 trade more or less, and in 1854 opened a general 
 store at Fulton. In 1855 he moved his family to 
 the city, where they have continued to reside. He 
 continued in business till October, 1858, when he 
 was burned out, sustaining a heavy loss. In. the 
 spring of 1859, when the Pike's Peak gold fever was 
 
 c!) 
 
 
 
 ^_ /-\ l*^*. 
 
 x
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 * 
 
 beginning to rage, Mr. Grinnotd became infected 
 with it and made a trip to the mountains, hoping 
 also to improve his health, which was greatly im- 
 paired. He returned in the fall of that year some- 
 what encouraged, spent the winter at home, and the 
 following spring set out for Pike's Peak again. Dur- 
 ing the summer his health failed rapidly, and he 
 started- for the home which he was never destined to 
 reach, his death occurring on the road Aug. n, 
 1860. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Grinnold had eight children : 
 Henry, the eldest, was accidentally shot on the cars, 
 while traveling in the West, and killed; John died 
 aged 1 6 years; Jones and Lydia E. died in infancy; 
 Mellie A. is residing with her mother at Fulton ; 
 William S. died aged five years; Mary E. died aged 
 21 years; and Hattie M., the youngest, resides with 
 her mother. 
 
 Mr. Grinnold was a Republican, and while a resi- 
 dent of Garden Plain held the offices of Justice of 
 the Peace and Town Clerk. 
 
 Mrs. G. and daughters are members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. 
 
 P. Royer, farmer, section 7, Hopkins 
 Township, is a son of Christian and Mary 
 (Whitmer) Royer, natives of Pennsylvania, 
 who still reside in their native State. They 
 had a family of 13 children, whose names are 
 Jacob W., George A., David and Christian 
 (twins), Cyrus E., C. F., Washington, Ellie C., Mary 
 E., Alice G., Elam and Ezra (twins) and Ida F. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Franklin 
 Co., Pa., June 24, 1856, received his education mostly 
 in the common schools and remained at home till the 
 spring of 1877, when he came to Whiteside County, 
 and for three years worked out by the month, farm- 
 ing, and then went to Kansas, where he remained 
 one year and then resided alsj a year in Iowa, most 
 of the time dealing in stock. He finally returned to 
 this county, where he rented a farm of 200 acres on 
 section 7, where he now resides. 
 
 He was married in Coleta, Jan. 5, 1882, to Clara, 
 daughter of James S. and Hester (Hanawalt) Mc- 
 Cauley, who were natives of Virginia and Ohio. 
 They came to Whiteside County in the year 1853, 
 
 settling in Hopkins Township, where they have 
 since lived. They had a family of eight children, 
 namely: Marcellus, Mary C., John W., Alice A., Ida 
 R., Clara and Willie ; one died in infancy. Mrs. R. 
 was born in Hopkins Township, April 6, 1861. She 
 and her husband are the parents of two children, 
 Bertha M., born Jan. 22, 1883, and James Chris- 
 tian, born April 20, 1885. They are members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. In political mat- 
 ters, Mr. Royer is identified with the Republican 
 party. 
 
 ^*VJ^^ 
 
 homas Mathew has been a resident in the 
 township of Hopkins since 1836. In this 
 year he is recorded among the pioneer 
 settlers of the township to which he came one 
 year after the first permanent resident took up 
 his abode here. He owns 525 acres of land 
 in the township, and 500 acres are under good im- 
 provements, and well furnished with excellent and 
 necessary buildings. He first purchased 80 acres of 
 land, on which he operated two years, and sold it in 
 1838, buying 80 acres on the section where he has 
 resided since, and which forms the nucleus of his 
 present large estate. 
 
 He was born in Scotland, where his parents, 
 Thomas and Margaret (Thompson) Mathew, were 
 born, lived and died. Their children, seven in num- 
 ber, were born in the following order: Andrew, 
 Robert, Thomas, Margaret, Euphemia, Elizabeth, Ag- 
 nes and Jane. Mr. Mathew's birth occurred July 
 15, 1808. He came from Scotland to the United 
 States in 1835, and passed his first year on the soil 
 of the New World in the State of Vermont, whence 
 he came to Illinois. 
 
 He was married Nov. 28, 1862, in Hopkins Town- 
 ship, to Margaret, daughter of William and Jeannette 
 Mathew, and widow of Reuben Dumire. By her 
 first husband she became the mother of four chil- 
 dren, Jeannette, Mary C., William T. and Reuben. 
 The children born of the second marriage are named 
 Thomas and Robert. The mother died Sept. 25, 
 1865. Mr. Mathew was a second time married July 
 9, 1868, in Hopkins Township, to Anna B. Thomp- 
 son. She was born Feb. 28, 1849, ' n Scotland. Jean- 
 nie B., William A., Robert A. and Elizabeth G. arc 
 
 
 - 
 
 -
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 the names of the children of which she became the 
 mother. Mr. Mat hew is again a widower, his wife 
 having died July 7, 1876. 
 
 In his political connection Mr. M. is a Republican, 
 and he has held various official positions ; and, be- 
 ing a prominent and representative citizen, as well 
 ?s one of the oldest pioneers of the county, his por- 
 trait, on a preceding page, will naturally be expected 
 in this connection by the reading public. 
 
 R. Cobb, Secretary and Treasurer of the 
 (ASK Sterling Gazette Company and its manag- 
 ing editor, was born in Elizabeth City, N. 
 C., Oct. 4, 1846. The greater part of his 
 life since reaching manhood has been given 
 to his newspaper profession. He was for four 
 years an officer in the United States Navy. He 
 came West in the fall of 1876; taught a country 
 school for a year and a half; assumed editorial 
 charge of the Fulton (Whiteside Co.) Journal in 
 1879; became editor and secretary of the Sterling 
 Gazette in 1880; and upon the reorganization of that 
 institution in 1882 was made its general business 
 manager and editor. 
 
 Although a Southern man and a slave-holder by 
 birth, Mr. Cobb's sympathies and "material aid" 
 were with and for the Union during the late war. In 
 polities he has always been a Republican: His peo- 
 ple are among the oldest of the settlers of the " Old 
 North State," the old homestead having been in the 
 possession of his family for over 200 years. His 
 mother and brother yet live in the ancestral home. 
 Mr. Cobb married Laura E. John, of Elizabeth City, 
 N. C., in 1869. There have been seven children by 
 this marriage, three of whom, two daughters and a 
 son, are living. 
 
 !=*= 
 
 ames A. Wessel, farmer, section 8, Union 
 ji- Grove Tp., bought 40 acres of land on 
 ^ the same section on which he is now re- 
 siding, where he pursued the vocation of farm- 
 ing, to which he had been bred in his native 
 State. In February, 1876, he sold the land of 
 his original purchase, and bought 120 acres on the 
 
 
 
 same section (8), where he has since prosecuted his 
 agricultural projects. 
 
 Mr. Wessel was born Jan. 31, 1835, in Oswego 
 Co., N. Y. His parents, Luke and Nancy (Allen) 
 Wessel, were natives of the Empire State and lived 
 for some time after their marriage in Oswego County, 
 removing thence, in 1842, to Jefferson County in the 
 same State, where they both died. They had eight 
 children, John, Maria, Belinda, Jane, Mary, Char- 
 lotte, James A. and Henry. 
 
 Mr. Wessel was seven years of age when he ac- 
 companied his parents to Jefferson Co., N. Y. He 
 there received his education and was brought up a 
 farmer by his father, removing when he was 30 years 
 of age to Whiteside County. His entire farm is un- 
 der the plow and compares favorably as to value 
 with the farms by which it is surrounded. 
 
 Mr. Wessel is a Republican in political views and 
 connections. 
 
 He was united in marriage to Esther J. Gooden- 
 ough, Jan. 8, 1863, in Oswego Co., N. Y. He was 
 married the same day of the month, and in the same 
 town, county, house and room in which his wife's 
 father and mother were married. She was born in 
 Jefferson Co., N. Y., Sept. 9, 1845, and is the daugh- 
 ter of Willard A. and Nancy J. Goodenough, who 
 are now residents of Union Grove Township and 
 whose sketch may be found on another page of this 
 work. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wessel have four children, Frank 
 E., Gertie J.. Bessie E. and Myrtle L. 
 
 ichard Alldritt, general farmer, resident 
 on section 20, Clyde Township, was born 
 Jan. 4, 1819, in Staffordshire, England, 
 and is the son of Thomas and Ann Alldritt > 
 an account of whose lives may be found in 
 the sketch of W. Alldritt in another portion of 
 this work. 
 
 He is the fifth son and fifth child of his parents, 
 who had 12 children, and he was six years of age 
 when they came with their family to America, land- 
 ing at the port of Boston. Two years later they 
 went to Lowell, Mass., where the father died about 
 
 \ ^fcjiBia.jp^ M&itffi> 
 
 ^^
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 four years later. He was a manufacturer of earthen- 
 ware in his native country. Mr. Alldritt lived in 
 Massachusetts until 1844, when he came West and 
 settled in Clyde Township, where he entered a claim 
 of 200 acres of land on which he interested himself 
 vigorously in establishing a home. The entire town- 
 ship was chiefly in an unsettled condition. He is 
 still a resident on the place of which he holds 163 
 acres, and chiefly under the plow.. 
 
 He was married Dec. 31, 1848, in Union ville, in 
 Whiteside County, to Orrilla, daughter of Elisha and 
 Clarissa (VVilber) Bosley. Her parents were born 
 respectively in Pennsylvania and Vermont, and after 
 their marriage they settled in Trumbull Co., Ohio, 
 where her father followed the profession of a mill- 
 wright for many years, and where Mrs. Alldritt was 
 born in Farmington, April 9, 1828. She was in early 
 womanhood when her parents settled in Whiteside 
 Co., 111. She became the mother of nine children, 
 three of whom are deceased. Emma is the wife of 
 Julius Elftman, and resides in Canton, Minnesota. 
 Her husband is a preacher in the M. E. Church. 
 Albert married Anna Heacock, and is a stock-buyer 
 at Friendville, Neb. Alonzo E. is a butcher by 
 calling. Henry and Orrilla, and Frank also, live at 
 home. The mother died March 21, 1875. Lucy 
 died aged six years. Edward died at the age of 18 
 months. Mr. Alldritt is a member of the Wesleyan 
 Church, his wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. He is a Republican in political connection, 
 and has been Poor Master and Road Commissioner. 
 
 Imer Perault, farmer, section 28, Union 
 Grove Township, was born June 17, 1843, 
 in Canada, and his parents, Peter and Betsey 
 (Conkling) Perault, were also born in the Do- 
 minion. They are still living there. When 
 Mr. Perault was 18 years of age, he left Can- 
 ada, where he had hitherto passed his life, and went 
 to Vermont. He was employed one year in a tan- 
 nery and went thence to Massachusetts, where he 
 continued until 1866, engaged in the same occupa- 
 tion. In the winter of that year he transferred his 
 esidence to Whiteside County and bought 141 acres 
 
 of land where he has since been occupied in farming. 
 He has added several acres by later purchase, and 
 owns 185 acres, constituting a farm which in pro- 
 ductive value ranks fairly with surrounding estates. 
 In political connections and opinions Mr. Perault 
 adopts the principles and issues of the Republican 
 party, and he has held the offices of Highway Over- 
 seer and School Director. He belongs to the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Perault to Martha R. J. Coe 
 occurred Dec. 4, 1867, in Union Grove Township. 
 John I. and Rebecca (Moon) Coe, her parents, were 
 natives of Ohio. They came to Whiteside County in 
 1841 and settled in the township of Union Grove, 
 where they both died. Mrs. Perault was born in 
 October, 1847, in Erie Co., Ohio. She has been the 
 mother of four children, one dying in infancy. Jen- 
 nie E., Charles O. and Eva A. are still living. 
 
 i Ilium Mensch, farmer, section 18, Hopkins 
 Township, is a son of John and Chribtiun- 
 , na (Heinbach) Mensch, who were natives 
 (' of Pennsylvania and of German descent, and 
 passed their entire lives in that State. They 
 had a family of nine children who lived to grow 
 up, namely : Sarah, Michael, Eliza, Jesse, Christian, 
 Maria, William, Catherine and Abby. 
 
 William, the subject of this sketch, was born in 
 Columbia Co., Pa., April 3, 1826. He lived in his 
 native State till 1860, where he followed farming, and 
 in the spring of that year came to Whiteside County 
 and bought 165 acres of land in Hopkins Township, 
 on section 18, where he settled and has since lived. 
 He is now the owner of 337 acres, most of which is 
 well cultivated. He has erected fine buildings on 
 his farm, and in many ways enhanced its value. He 
 was married in Columbia Co., Pa., about Dec. 26, 
 1847, to Anna C. Leiby, who was born in Columbia 
 Co., Pa., Jan. 9, 1826. She was a daughter of Jacob 
 and Mary (Harmon) Leiby, who were also natives of 
 the Keystone State. They had a family of 12 chil- 
 dren, namely: Reuben, Mary, David, Rebecca, 
 Jacob, Isaac, Samuel, Anna C., John, Emeline, Har- 
 riet and Ira Jackson. Mr. and Mrs. M. have had 16 
 >tiH-^v>, ^ 

 
 
 
 
 
 ">rv-;4HXDMM.'y"v w 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 children, ten surviving: Martin L., William A., Eva, 
 John H., Alice, Harriet, Jacob M., Clarence H., 
 Laura J. and Ida are living, and Maria, Emeline, 
 Lovina, Mary M., Sarah C. and Ellen M. are 
 deceased. 
 
 Mr. Mensch has been Overseer of Highways, School 
 Director and Highway Commissioner. Mr. and Mrs. 
 M. are members of the German Lutheran Church. 
 In politics, Mr. Mensch is identified with the Demo- 
 cratic party. 
 
 teiram P. Smith, a farmer of Clyde Township j 
 resident on section 7, was born in Black 
 Creek Township, Luzerne Co., Pa., May 
 20, 1834. His parents, Abraham and Cath- 
 erine (McMurtrie) Smith, were born in New 
 Jersey. Their parents were natives of New 
 England and were of Irish extraction. His paternal 
 ancestors emigrated to New England previous to the 
 days of the Revolution. His father and mother 
 were married in Black Creek Township, and they 
 lived there all the years of their united lives, attain- 
 ing a respected and useful position in society. The 
 father was prominent in military affairs and held the 
 rank of Major in the militia alxnit 17 years. He 
 died Sept. 30, 1876,' aged 79 years. The mother is 
 84 years of age and is still resident on the home- 
 stead. Five of their nine children are living. 
 
 Mr. Smith is the fifth child in order of birth and 
 until he reached his majority lived at home, mean- 
 while obtaining such education as was possible at 
 that period, and also acquiring a complete knowledge 
 of agricultural arts. On obtaining the control and 
 direction of his own time he attended Wyoming 
 Seminary for some time, and completed an entire 
 course of study. He afterwards engaged in teach- 
 ing in his native county, passing the alternate sum- 
 mer seasons in agricultural labors. He passed six 
 years in this manner and meanwhile came West, ar- 
 riving in Lee Co., 111., in October, 1858. Nov. 19, 
 1861, he was married to Catherine, daughter of John 
 and Jane (Flick) Smith. Mrs. Smith is of German 
 descent, her grandparents having emigrated from 
 Germany to Pennsylvania. Her parents were mar- 
 . ried in Columbia Co., Pa., and afterwards located in 
 
 Lycoming County, in that State, whence they came, 
 some years later, to Clyde Township and are now 
 living on a farm on section 18. Mrs. Smith was born 
 in Briar Creek Township, Columbia Co., Pa., Nov. 
 19, 1841. She was about two years old when her 
 parents went to Lycoming County, where she was 
 principally educated. She was 1 7 years of age when 
 her father removed to Illinois. The family first lo- 
 cated in Ogle County, removing later to Lee County, 
 fixing their residence near Dixon. She became a 
 teacher and taught school two terms in Lee County 
 and was married there. The family circle now in- 
 cludes six children, Wellington L., Emma J., Mary 
 A., Clement R., Eva M. and Hiram P., Jr. 
 
 Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Smith set- 
 tled in Fair Haven Township, Carroll County, this 
 State, whence they removed, two years afterward, 
 to Clyde Township. They managed a farm two 
 years in the interests of John F. Demmon, after 
 which they purchased 80 acres of land on section 7, 
 Clyde Township. The property is finely located 
 and the homestead no rV contains 1 60 acres of land, 
 all under good improvement and well stocked. At 
 the time it came into the possession of Mr. Smith it 
 was all unbroken prairie. The cattle or. the place 
 are valuable grades of Short-Horns. 
 
 Mr. Smith affiliates with the Democratic party and 
 has held the minor offices of the township. With 
 his wife, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 Joseph W. Bump, farmer, Clyde Township, 
 resident on section 27, was born June 16, 
 1831, in De Ruyter Township, Madison 
 Co., N. Y. His father and mother, Marcus 
 and Mary A. (Winegar) Bump, were natives 
 respectively of New England and the State of 
 New York, and were both of New England origin. 
 They were farmers and resided after their marriage 
 in Madison County until their death. They were 
 both members of the Friends, a society of Quakers. 
 The father was about 70 years of age when he died, 
 in 1871. The mother died in 1858 and was nearly 
 60 years of age. 
 
 Mr. Bump remained at home until he was 18 years 
 of age, engaged principally in obtaining his educa- 
 
 VJ> 
 \\ 
 
 
 
 _
 
 y 
 
 1? 
 
 i 
 
 & 
 
 tion. In 1849 he went to Cayuga County, in his 
 native State, where he entered into an apprenticeship 
 with his uncle, Edward Mitchell, to learn the busi- 
 ness of a blacksmith. He remained under his 
 instructions three years, removing meanwhile to 
 Onondaga County in the same State. He pursued 
 his trade in his native State until he was 23 years of 
 age. 
 
 In March, 1855, he came, unaccompanied, to Illi- 
 nois and at once purchased 160 acres of land in 
 Clyde Township. The broad acres of the prairie 
 were still unbroken by the plow and stretched away 
 under the summer sun and the wintry snows in 
 glorious promise, which the energetic, industrious and 
 judicious farmer has brought to realization. He gave 
 little attention to his farm for a few years, but began 
 to prepare for his future success by working at various 
 points at his trade and as a farm laborer. 
 
 He was married Dec. 27, 1865, in Fairview, Mer- 
 cer Co., Pa., whither he went to accomplish that 
 purpose, to Alvira L. Converse. She was born Aug. 
 4, 1836, in Medina Co., Ohio, and is the daughter of 
 Winthrop and Laura (Wentworth) Converse. Her 
 father was a farmer and was a native of Massachu- 
 setts. Her mother was born in Canada. Both par- 
 ents were of English descent and of New England 
 origin. The former died in Mercer Co., Pa., in 
 August, 1868, and was 66 years of age. After that 
 event the mother went to liv x e with her son in Iowa, 
 and died in September, 1882. She was 81 years of 
 age. "Mrs. Bump was five years old when her parents 
 went to Mercer Co., Pa., where she was educated. 
 
 The children belonging to the household of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bump were born as follows: Myron C., 
 Sept. 2, 1866; Winthrop M., March 26, 1869; Mar- 
 cus S., Nov. 1 6, 1873. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bump settled 
 on the farm in Clyde Township, which has since 
 been the field of their labors and where they have 
 reared their children. The improvements include a 
 fine residence and good farm buildings, and the 
 place is well stocked with a good grade of Durham 
 cattle. Mrs. Bump is a member of the Baptist 
 Church, of which her father was at one time a minis- 
 ter. Mr. Bump is a believer in the tenets of the 
 Friends, in which he was brought up. He is a Re- 
 publican of vigorous views. 
 
 In August, 1862, he entered the Union army, lay- 
 
 ing aside his peace principles in the cause of his 
 country. He enlisted in the 751)1 Regiment of Illi- 
 nois Volunteers, enrolling in Company C, under 
 Captain Altman, of Morrison. He was with his reg- 
 iment in the battle of Perrysville, Ky., Sept. 8, 1862, 
 and, six days later, was engagad in a lively skirmish 
 with the rebels at a point between Lancaster and 
 Danville, Ky. Soon after he contracted camp diar- 
 rhea which was attended with typhoid fever, and 
 was placed on the sick list at Danville, where he was 
 sent to the hospital. He was removed to the hos- 
 pital at Lexington, Ky., and received honorable dis- 
 charge from thence in the spring of 1863. He 
 escaped the risks of the battlefields to encounter 
 those of the army hospitals. 
 
 
 Bwsro W. Terpenning, general farmer, resi- 
 itM : f dent at Coleta, Genesee Township, was 
 born May 22, 1842, in Cayuga Co., N. Y. 
 Peter Terpenning, his father, was born in the 
 same State, and was of New England parent- 
 age and German descent. He was a farmer 
 and married Lydia Anable, also a native of New 
 York and of mixed English and French extraction. 
 They removed after some years to Lenawee Co., 
 Mich., settling in the township of Addison. The 
 father died there March 16, 1857, at the age of 46 
 years. The mother died in April, 1884, aged 78. 
 They were prosperous and became prominent in the 
 community where they resided. They had ten chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Mr. Terpenning is the eighth child, and he was 
 tow years of age when his parents came to Michigan. 
 When he was ten years old he came to Genesee 
 Township, and lived with relatives. He obtained a 
 good fundamental education and was sent to Mt. 
 Carroll Seminary, where he completed a more thor- 
 ough course of study. 
 
 He was married Nov. 22, 1865, to Angelina. 
 daughter of Ivory and Alzina (White) Colcord. (See 
 sketch of W. H. Colcord.) She was born Nov. 22, 
 1847, in Genesee Township. Mr. and Mrs. Terpen- 
 ning have three children : Frank I. was born Jan. 
 i, 1868; Harry E. was born Jan. 24, 1869; Aeolia 
 V., Sept. 3, 1871. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Terpenning re- 
 
 
 ' 
 
 - 
 , 
 
 - 
 
 _:.7^VTv 
 
 
 j -.
 
 - .. - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 sided five years on a farm, which at that time con- 
 tained 40 acres, and in 1876 they settled on the 
 Colcord estate, where they were residents until 1883, 
 the date of their removal to the village of Coleta, 
 where they own 24 acres of land on the south bound- 
 ary. Mr. Terpenning is also the owner of 260 acres 
 of land in Genesee Township, nearly all under im- 
 provement. 
 
 Mr. Terpenning is Steward in the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, of which his wife is also a member. 
 He is a Republican of consistent and honorable 
 record. 
 
 B. Shirk, of the mercantile firm of 
 Shirk Bros., at Morrison, dealers in cloth- 
 ing and furnishing goods for gentlemen, 
 was born May 23d, 1840, in Clarion Co^ 
 Pa. He is a son of Charles and Sarah (Gal- 
 braith) Shirk, residents of Morrison, of whom 
 an extended sketch, with a record of their several 
 children, may be found on another page of this work. 
 The father of Mr. Shirk has been and is still an 
 extensive land proprietor of Whiteside County, and 
 the son was reared on a farm. He lived on a farm 
 until the fall of 1878, when, in company with his 
 brother William, he came to Morrison and embarked 
 in the business in which they have since been en- 
 gaged, and have operated with success. 
 
 Mr. Shirk formed a matrimonial Alliance with 
 Jennie G. Gates Dec. 20, 1864, at Cooperstown, 
 Venango Co., Pa., and they have had three children, 
 namely : Elizabeth, George and Mary. 
 
 Mrs. Shirk was born in Clarion Co., Pa., and is the 
 daughter of George and Elizabeth Gates. 
 
 i illiam Alldritt is a farmer of prominence 
 on section 29, Clyde Township, and was 
 born Oct. 6, 1823, in Bradley, Stafford- 
 shire, England. His parents, Thomas and 
 Ann (Jackson) Alldritt, were natives of the 
 /same country and of unmixed English descent, 
 and his father was engaged in active business life in 
 his own country until 1824, when he left England to 
 found a home in the New World. 
 
 Mr. Alldritt is the seventh son and was less than a 
 year old when the family emigrated to America. He 
 was too young to walk alone, but he learned while 
 on ship-board, and made his first trip on fool across 
 the cabin of the captain. They made port in Bos- 
 ton harbor, and went from that city, after a short 
 residence, to Lowell, in the same State. In that 
 place Mr. Alldritt grew to a suitable size and age to 
 attend school. His father died there in February, 
 1831, and when he was 12 years of age his mother 
 removed to a farm in the country. The family re- 
 mained there until 1845. I' 1 May f tnat y ear the 
 mother, with four children, came to Whiteside 
 County, whither Richard, an elder son, had come pre- 
 vious. They located on a farm which included 180 
 acres situated on sections 20, 29 and 33, and bought 
 by the mother and her son Richard. 
 
 William Alldritt was an inmate of his mother's 
 home until his first marriage, which occurred Jan. 
 24, 1855, to Mary C. Griffin. She was .born in 1827 
 in Methuen, Mass., and her parents were of New 
 England origin. They have been dead some years. 
 After their decease she came to the township of 
 Clyde with an elder brother, and she was there mar- 
 ried to Mr. Alldritt. She died Dec. 25, 1855, sur- 
 viving her marriage but about one year. She was a 
 lady of prominent Christian character, and was 
 highly respected. Mr. Alldritt was a second time 
 married March 4, 1860, in Clyde Township, to Julia 
 A., daughter of Leonard and Mary (Sparr) Hiner. 
 Her parents were born in Pennsylvania of German 
 ancestors, and were among the earliest settlers of the 
 Keystone State. The daughter was born Jan. 2, 
 1841, in Wayne Co., Ohio, whither her parents had 
 removed several years before her birth. When she 
 was seven years of age her parents went to Mercer 
 Co., Ohio, remaining there seven years. The fam- 
 ily came to Illinois in 1855 and located in the east 
 part of Whiteside County. Later they settled in 
 Clyde Township, where the mother died in the fall 
 of 1878, aged nearly 71 years. The father is yet 
 living. Mr. and Mrs. Alldritt have had six children : 
 Charles J., lx>rn May u, 1864; William R., June 4, 
 1866; Benjamin F., Aug. 10, 1868; Nathan G., 
 July 31, 1870; William was born Feb. 2, 1861, and 
 died July 19, 1863; Minnie M. was born Aug. 15, 
 1862, and died July 13, 1863. But six days inter- 
 vened between their deaths. 
 
 At the date of his second marriage, Mr. Alldritt 
 
 _-.-,
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 became a resident on the homestead in Clyde-Town- 
 ship, which he has since occupied. It contains 145 
 acres, all under cultivation, except ten acres, which 
 is in timber. The buildings on the place are credit- 
 able to its proprietor and a great addition to the 
 general appearance. His stock is valuable, and in- 
 cludes excellent grades. He is a practical apicul- 
 turist, and has about 30 stands of bees in his yard 
 on an average. He is a Republican of liberal views, 
 and has officiated in various town offices. 
 
 fohn S. Green, dealer in drugs, books and 
 stationery, at Morrison, and senior member 
 of the firm of J. S. Green & Co., grain, 
 lumber and coal merchants at the same place, 
 was born Dec. 13, 1831,111 Walton, Delaware 
 Co., N. Y., and is the son of Thomas J. and 
 Delilah N. (Fitch) Green. His father was a native of 
 Vermont, where he was born Feb. 10, 1810. He 
 went in early life to Walton, where he was married, 
 his wife being a native of that place (born in July, 
 1812). In 1842 the family removed to Deposit, in 
 the same State, where the demise of both parents 
 occurred, that of the mother being in 1870, and 
 that of the father in May, 1877. They had eight 
 children, of whom six survive. Mr. Green of this 
 sketch is the oldest. Sherman K. is a. boot and 
 shoe dealer at Kansas City, Mo. Charles H. is a 
 salesman with the latter. Elizabeth N. is the wife 
 of Lyman M. Fitch, a farmer of Walton, N. Y. 
 Emma M. is the wife of Charles H. Bradshaw, of 
 Galesburg, 111. Eliza J. is unmarried. 
 
 Mr. Green was about ten years of age when his par- 
 ents removed from his native place to Deposit. 
 His education was conducted with the judgment 
 which characterizes the better classes in the mental 
 training of their children, and he was sent for sev- 
 eral years to an academy. After completing his 
 course of study,' he obtained a position as clerk and 
 later as a station agent on the line of the Erie Rail- 
 road, in which capacity he operated until he was 
 about 25 years of age.' 
 
 In 1857 he went to Kansas City, Mo., where he 
 was occupied as a book-keeper, and also became in- 
 terested in speculations in real estate, in which he 
 was occupied until the war between the North and 
 South destroyed all business relations in the latter 
 section. In April, 1862, Mr. Green closed his affairs 
 
 in Missouri and came to Morrison. He formed a 
 business opening in the drug trade, in which he has 
 since been interested, purchasing the stock of Dr. 
 VV. L. Coe. His business has been uniformly pros- 
 perous and the average value of the stock he carries 
 is about $10,000. He employs three assistants and 
 occupies the two lower stories and cellar of the 
 building of which he is the proprietor. It is con- 
 structed of brick and is 21 by 52 feet in size. 
 
 In December, 1883, the business firm of J. S. 
 Green & Co. was formed, comprising Mr. Green, 
 W. F. Johnson, a commission merchant of Chicago, 
 and M. H. Potter, of Morrison. The business trans- 
 actions of the house are extensive and include traffic 
 in grain, coal, lumber, lime, salt, cement and all 
 other building materials.. In the last named com- 
 modities (builders' supplies) they hold a monopoly 
 at Morrison, no other establishment in the city being 
 similarly engaged. Their facilities for the transac- 
 tion of their business are complete and consist of an 
 elevator, lumber and coal-yard with sheds, lime- 
 house and a dry-lumber room 50 by 98 feet in extent, 
 the whole occupying an area of about two acres. 
 Mr. Green has been actively interested in municipal 
 affairs since his location at Morrison and has served 
 1 2 years as City Treasurer. He has been Alderman 
 two terms and officiated in other minor positions. 
 
 Jan. 5, 1864, Mr. Green formed a matrimonial 
 alliance with Nellie A., daughter of Harvey E. and 
 Wealthy A. Williams. Their marriage took place at 
 Dixon, 111. Mrs. Green was born Oct 31, 1844, in 
 Genesee Co , N. Y. Four children have been born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Green as follows: Harvey S., April 
 9, 1866; Ivy, July 6, 1869; Olive, June 28, 1877; 
 and Florence M., Feb. 18, 1881. 
 
 form Gsell, deceased, was formerly a resi- 
 ? dent upon section 30, Clyde Township, and 
 was born Feb. 21, 1842, in Franklin Co., 
 Pa. The full biographical sketch of his par- 
 ents may be found in the account of William 
 Gsell, which appears elsewhere in this work. 
 Mr. Gsell was brought up on his father's farm, 
 and was carefully trained in a knowledge of the de- 
 tails of agriculture, in which he was engaged all his 
 life. He lived at home until he was 21 years of age, 
 and, a. few months after reaching that period, he be- 
 came a householder. 
 

 
 WHITBSIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 His marriage to Elizabeth Elter took place in 
 Franklin Co., Pa., Oct. 25, 1863. She is the daugh- 
 ter of John and Mary (Huber) Elter. Her father 
 was a German by birth and was educated in his na- 
 tive laud. He came in young manhood to the 
 United States, and his passage across the ocean was 
 memorable for its length and hardships. The scarcity 
 f food necessitated the use of bread which had be- 
 come so moldy from age that clouds of dust would 
 fly from it when the pieces were bitten. Mr. Elter 
 located in Pennsylvania and married his wife at 
 Rocky Springs in the same State. He was a farmer, 
 and, after their marriage, the parents of Mrs. Gsell 
 always lived in the same place. The mother died 
 in 1841, when her daughter was but five years of 
 age. The father was a second time married, and 
 died of paralysis about 1 86 1, after he had attained 
 to a great age. Their family included four daugh- 
 ters and two sons. 
 
 The surviving children of Mr. and Mrs. Gsell 
 were born as follows: Aaron, May 25, 1865; 
 Maria, Jan. 20, 1867; Barbara, July 23, 1868; Sarah, 
 June 13, .1870; William John, Oct. 8, 1873. They 
 have all been educated with care in the public 
 schools. Two children died in infancy. 
 
 After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Gsell lived on 
 a farm in Franklin Co., Pa., about two years, when 
 they removed to Illinois. They settled on one of the 
 best located farms in Clyde Township, which they 
 improved in the best possible way until it was greatly 
 increased in value by the character of the buildings, 
 stock and fixtures. 
 
 Mr. Gsell died Sept. 8, 1880. He was a Republi- 
 can and a member of the Mennonite Church. 
 
 Mrs. Gsell retains in her own right 133 acres of the 
 original homestead estate, and is its manager. She 
 belongs to the Dunkard Church. 
 
 likamuel W. Robinson, senior member of the 
 firm of S. W. Robinson & Bro., hardware 
 merchants and dealers in agricultural im- 
 plements at Morrison, was born Jan. 5, 1835, 
 in Zanesville, Ohio. Robert P. Robinson, his 
 father, was born in Pennsylvania in 1809, and 
 acquired a knowledge of the business of a foundry- 
 man and hardware merchant. He married Mary J. 
 ^Culbertson, who was born in 1812 near the city of 
 
 _ 
 
 v 
 
 Zanesville, Ohio, and was raised in Pittsburg, Penn- 
 sylvania, and a few years after transferred his fam- 
 ily and business interests to Zanesville, where he 
 engaged in the sale of hardware, and operated there 
 more than 20 years. In 1857 he came to Dixon, 111., 
 and passed about four years in the foundry business. 
 About 1 86 1 he went to Sterling and established a 
 trade in agricultural implements, in which he was 
 interested to the time of his death. The mother died 
 at Zanesville. Of their seven children only the 
 brothers who are conducting a joint business at Mor- 
 rison are living. 
 
 Mr. Robinson was placed at school as soon as he 
 reached a suitable age, and his education was con- 
 ducted with care in the best schools at Zanes- 
 ville until he was 1 6 years of age, when he became 
 an assistant in his father's hardware business. This 
 he has made the vocation of his life, and he has 
 pursued it without intermission for 34 years (1885). 
 It is probably safe to venture the statement that he 
 is the senior hardware merchant in the county of 
 Whiteside. Entering his father's store in 1851, he 
 continued in the position of salesman and assistant 
 six years, and in 1857 came to Morrison and began 
 business independently on the site now occupied by 
 the Revere House. Almost simultaneously he be- 
 gan to make arrangements to establish himself per- 
 manently, and in the same year he built the store he 
 now occupies. It is constructed of brick, is three 
 stories in height above the cellar, and is connected 
 with a large warehouse, of brick, located on the rail- 
 road. In 1859 he admitted his brother, Frank H., 
 to a partnership. (A biographical sketch of the 
 latter may be found elsewhere in this volume.) The 
 business of the Robinson brothers is extensive, and 
 includes all the branches common to establishments 
 of similar scope and purpose. Their stcck comprises 
 full and complete lines of hardware and agricultural 
 implements and machinery. They make a specialty 
 of farm machinery of every description. Their busi- 
 ness requires the aid of three assistants. 
 
 Mr. Robinson was united in marriage, Dec. 6, 
 1859, to Anna Gibbs, and they have had six chil- 
 children : William G. was born Sept. 6, 1860, and 
 is a clerk in his father's store; Paul, born Jan. 29, 
 1862, is engaged in the same capacity ; Mary C. was 
 born May 2, 1864; Maud was born May 6, 1870. 
 Two children died in infancy. Mrs. Robinson was 
 
 : 
 
 & 
 * 
 
 f
 
 I 
 
 born in 1841, in Steuben Co., N. Y., and is the 
 daughter of Alanson and Sophronia Gibbs. She was 
 v ? brought up at Lyndon, this county, to which place 
 her parents moved from New York when she was 
 about six years of age. Her education was com- 
 pleted at the seminaries of Mt. Carroll and Rock- 
 ford, 111. 
 
 * 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 aniel Long, retired farmer, residing at 
 Morrison, was born in Somersetshire, Eng- 
 land, Sept. 26, 1821. His father was Wil- 
 liam Long, a miller and baker by trade ; his 
 mother's maiden name was Susanna Follett. 
 His father died in June, 1870. The subject 
 of this sketch was brought up in his father's busi- 
 ness, and was Married in 1848 to Miss Susan Chap- 
 man. They had but one child, Frederick D., now 
 a resident of England. Mrs. Long died in 185 r, and 
 the following spring Mr. Long emigrated to America. 
 He spent a few months in Rochester, N. Y., and 
 then went to Lyons, Iowa, where he resided one year. 
 He next removed to Clinton, where he engaged in the 
 butchering business. He was an early settler of 
 Clinton and continued in business there six years, 
 and then engaged in farming, in Spring Valley, this 
 county. 
 
 He was married in Mt. Pleasant Township, Dec. 
 8, 1854, to Mrs. Elizabeth Church, widow of Edward 
 Church and daughter of John and Ann Link. 
 Mrs. Long's paternal grandfather was John Link, 
 and her paternal grandmother was Penelope Link, 
 who was a daughter of Edward Beeks. Her maternal 
 grandfather was Joseph Tyler, and her maternal 
 grandmother was Mary Kollett. Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Long was born in Tarrington, Herefordshire, Eng- 
 land, and emigrated to America in 1852. She had 
 one child by her former marriage, Alfred A., who 
 married Mary Lourcher and resides in Spring Valley, 
 Ustick Township, Whiteside County. They have 
 three children, Arthur A., Elizabeth A. and Lizzie 
 M. Mrs. Long lost her former husband in 1848. 
 Mrs. Ann Link died in November, 1870. 
 
 Mr. Long and wife continued to reside on their 
 fine farm in Spring Valley till 1883, when they 
 moved to Morrison, their present home. Mr. Long 
 till owns a well improved farm in Ustick, of 160 
 
 acres, situated on sections 3 and 4. He also has two 
 dwelling-houses and five and a half city lots in Mor- 
 rison, besides city property in Clinton, Iowa, and a 
 quarter-section of farming land in Northern Dakota. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Long have had one child, Alice A., 
 who died in infancy. Mr. Long is a Democrat, and 
 he and his wife are members of the Episcopal Church. 
 He has made two visits to his native country since 
 coming to America, on one of which his wife accom- 
 panied him. During his last visit, his father died, at 
 the advanced age of 89 years. 
 
 illiam C. Page, of Sterling, is a hatter by 
 trade, but is now retired from active busi- 
 ness. He was born in York Co., Maine, 
 July 31, 1810, his parents being Samuel 
 and Sophia ( Goddard ) Page. He re- 
 ceived a common-school education, and at the 
 age of 17 years left home and served a four-years 
 apprenticeship in learning the hatter's trade. Shortly 
 after the expiration of this term, he opened a shop at 
 New Market, N. H., where he followed his trade six 
 years ; selling out, he removed to Exeter, that State, 
 and followed the business four years; went next to 
 Kennebec, Maine, purchased a farm and managed 
 that for ii years, in connection with following his 
 trade; selling out, he went to Haverhill, Mass., 
 where he was employed in the manufacture of flannel 
 three years ; then he went to North Berwick and in 
 company with two others purchased a factory, which 
 they ran for three years, manufacturing woolen 
 blankets for calico printers ; selling out his interest in 
 the latter, in 1857, he came to Sterling and opened a 
 lumber-yard, since which time he has been engaged 
 in milling and farming. He is succeeding well in his 
 business, and is a prominent citizen of the county. 
 
 Politically, he indorses Republican politics, and 
 religiously he is a member of the Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. Page was married in January, 1833, to Miss 
 Dorcas Felker, a native of New Hampshire, and they 
 have had six children, two only of whom are now liv- 
 ing, Harriet N. and Soviah. Mrs. Page died Dec. 
 20, 1872, and in 1874 Mr. Page married again, this 
 time wedding Jane Stackpole, also a native of the 
 old Granite State. She died in August, 1884. 
 O
 
 UNIVERSITY of ILUN01S 
 UKKANA
 
 

 
 ,rank D. Ramsay, attorney at Morrison, is 
 one of the leading lawyers of Whiteside 
 County, of which he is a native. Luther 
 B. Ramsay, his father, is a pioneer of the 
 county, and came here from his native State 
 when he was at the threshold of manhood. He 
 was born Sept. 19, 1818, and in 1839 came to the 
 township of Coloma, as an assistant of Leonard H. 
 Woodworth, chief engineer in the construction of the 
 canal around the rapids in the river above Rock 
 Falls. He spent six months in the work, meanwhile 
 securing a claim in territory that is now included in 
 the township of Hume. 
 
 In the fall of 1839 he went back to his native 
 State, returning in the autumn of the succeeding 
 year to take possession of his property in Hume 
 Township. He removed thence in 1843 to Prophets- 
 town, and has since been a resident of that township. 
 He has been prominent in its agricultural develop- 
 ment, and is the proprietor of one of the magnificent 
 fanns which gives Whiteside County its prestige 
 among the agricultural districts of Illinois. The 
 farm contains 320 acres and is contiguous to the vil- 
 lage of Prophetstown, where Mr. Ramsay is now liv- 
 ing in retirement, after a life of unusual activity. He 
 spent some years in mercantile business at Prophets- 
 town. 
 
 Caroline M. (Smith) Ramsay, his wife, was born in 
 May, 1827, in Poultney, Rutland Co., Vt. Her par- 
 ents, Stephen D. and Tilly (Manly) Smith, settled 
 at Prophetstown in 1840, where they are still living. 
 Mr. Smith was born in 1798, and is 87 years of age. 
 In 1855 he purchased a farm adjoining the village of 
 Prophetstown, in which he then resided ; and in 
 1871 it was platted and a portion of the village is 
 now located thereon. The families of Smith and 
 Ramsay are inseparably connected with the history 
 of the early days of progress and improvement in 
 Whiteside County. 
 
 Mr. Ra nsay is the oldest child of his parents, arid 
 he has one sister, Lucy E., who is the wife of George 
 B. A lams, editor of the Morrison Herald. Christine 
 is the adopted daughter of the senior Ramsay and 
 his wife, and lives with them at Prophetstown. 
 
 Mr. Ramsay was born in Prophetstown, Whiteside 
 Co., IU. f 'Sept/7, 1846. He obtained his elementary 
 
 education^in his native county and completed his 
 course of study at Dixon University. After leaving 
 school he engaged as a clerk and also became inter- 
 ested in various other avenues of employment until 
 1867, when he entered the law office of Frederick 
 Sackett at Sterling, to fulfill a long cherished pur- 
 pose and obtain a comprehensive knowledge of law 
 and familiarity with office routine under competent 
 instruction. He had, by previous study and reading 
 at odd intervals, obtained a general knowledge of the 
 profession he purposed to enter ; and, after a course 
 of diligent application under the preceptorship of Mr. 
 Sackett, he was admitted, in the spring of 1868, to 
 practice in all the State Courts of Illinois. He has 
 since been admitted to the privileges of the Federal 
 Courts. 
 
 On obtaining his credentials, he came to Morrison 
 and opened an office in company with O. F. Wood- 
 ruff. After a partnership of a year's duration, they 
 severed their business relations. During the con-- 
 struction of the branch of the Chicago, Burlington & 
 Quincy Railroad through Whiteside County, Mr. 
 Ramsay officiated as attorney for the corporation 
 and acted in the same capacity for some years sub- 
 sequent. His practice has gradually extended and 
 is one of the largest in White.side County. 
 
 The rank of Mr. Ramsay in his profession is sucli 
 as might be expected of a man of his caliber, pos- 
 sessing a disciplined mind, combined with persever- 
 ance, energy and unimpeachable integrity. He 
 inherits the directness, clear foresight and sturdy 
 adherence to purpose which distinctively characterize 
 the \ ancestral stock to which he traces his origin. 
 The Scotch-Irish, who came from Londonderry to 
 escape interference with what they considered their 
 religious liberty, have given to this country an ele- 
 ment which manifests as little deterioration through 
 descending generations as any other which enters 
 into our composite nationality. It is noted for inde- 
 pendence of character and freedom from ostentation; 
 and while its representatives possess a laudable and 
 normal ambition to rank fairly with others in the 
 world's contest, they covet no place or position which 
 involves sacrifice of others. They are champions of 
 common rights and arrogate to themselves no privi- 
 leges save those which secure their right to lead pure 
 and honorable lives of effort and usefulness. Of this 
 class Mr. Ramsay is a representative. In his pro-
 
 
 
 284 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 
 fessional relations he holds a degree of confidence 
 which is in itself the best possible evidence of the 
 quality of his efforts in behalf of his clients. 
 He is fitted by nature and training for an effect- 
 ive advocate; he is direct in method, imbued with 
 an earnest belief in his work, and formulates his 
 comprehension of points at issue in language that is 
 chiefly noticeable for its pertinence to the case, and 
 its entire freedom from effort to produce oratorical 
 effect. He is a clear logician and is able to present 
 the course of an argument with a perspicuity that is 
 far more effective than rhetorical display. Mr. Ram- 
 say is still a young man, but has achieved through 
 hard work and a persistent determination, a position 
 in his profession and in his relations generally, which 
 is a safeguard to his future. A determination to do 
 well that which is to be done, leaves little possibility 
 of retrogression. 
 
 He was united in marriage, Feb. i, 1872, at 
 Prophetstown, to Lovisa McKenzie. Their two chil- 
 dren were born as follows: Luther R., May i8 ( 
 1876; Robert M., Feb. 14, 1879. Mrs. Ramsay 
 was born Aug. 7, 1848, in Prophetstown. Her par- 
 ents, William R. and Harriet (Martin) McKenzie, 
 came to that township in 1837. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Ramsay appears on a previous 
 page. It is copied from a likeness taken in 1885. 
 
 oyal C. Twitchell, farmer, section i, Union 
 Grove Township, was born Dec. 8, 1812, 
 in New Haven, Addison Co., Vt. His 
 parents, Daniel and Lura (Clark) Twitchell, 
 were also natives of the Green Mountain State, 
 where they remained all their lives. Mr. 
 Twitchell is the oldest of their children, ten in 
 number. Following are the names of his brothers 
 and sisters in the order of their birth : Edith, Lucius, 
 Clark, Almeda, Ira, Urial, Francis and Damon. One 
 child died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Twitchell received a common-school educa- 
 tion, and at the age of 17 years he began to acquire 
 a practical knowledge of the trade of his father, who 
 was a mason and also a farmer. He pursued the 
 former line of business in hie native State until 1854. 
 In December of that year he came to Whiteside 
 
 
 County, where he joined the army of Western agri- 
 culturists, purchasing 86 acres in the township of 
 which he has since been a resident, and has labored 
 successfully as a farmer. He has made a later pur- 
 chase of 40 acres additional, and his homestead now 
 contains 126 acres of valuable land, nearly all of 
 which is in good agricultural condition. 
 
 He is a Republican in political sentiment and 
 sustains the general and local issues of the party. 
 He has held the several minor offices of the town- 
 ship. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Twitchell to Mary Harring- 
 ton took place Nov. 2, 1834, at Weybridge, Vt., and 
 they have three children, Alzina L., Alice A. and 
 Volney M. Mrs. Twitchell was born in New Haven, 
 Addison Co., Vt., Feb. 21, 1814. She is the daugh- 
 ter of Silas and Betsey (Dickinson) Harrington, and 
 had seven brothers and sisters. The children of her 
 parents were born as follows: Earl, Sophia, Nelson, 
 Noble, Mary, Lovisa, Lewis and Amelia. 
 
 ev. Adelford J. Brown, Pastor of the 
 First Baptist Church of Sterling, was born 
 in Madison Co., N. Y., Oct. i, 1850. His 
 parents were William (a mason by trade) and 
 Elizabeth (Belknap) Brown. At the age of 
 13 years he was " bound out " to Amos Hera- 
 street, a farmer, until of age, with the understanding 
 that he should then receive $150 and two suits of 
 clothes ; but his behavior was so good that he was 
 set free at 18 with this bonus. The reason that he 
 was "bound out" was his father's entering the United 
 States Army in 1862, when the family was too large 
 and dependent to remain together at home. Two of 
 the children were accordingly indentured. 
 
 When Mr. Brown left Mr. Hemstreet, he attended 
 the Cazenovia (N. Y.) Seminary three years and 
 graduated, and then attended the Syracuse (N. Y.) 
 University two years. Making a profession of religion 
 at the age of 17, he continued his Christian career 
 with zeal and began to preach the gospel while a 
 student at Syracuse, having his appointment at Col- 
 mar, six miles distant. He was Pastor of the Baptist 
 Church at the latter place, and while sustaining this 
 relation he was blest with a revival, resulting in 104 
 conversions. After leaving Colmar he taught scl 
 
 * 
 
 

 
 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 285 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
 at Upper Lisle, Broome Co., N. Y., and next, by the 
 advice of his father-in-law, he purchased a farm in 
 Chenango County, and followed agriculture three 
 years: then, receiving a call from West Danby, 
 Tompkins Co., N. Y., he sold his farm and engaged 
 in the ministry as a " supply " at that place. He was 
 ordained May 7, 1879, at Scott's Corners, Seneca^Co., 
 N. Y., and accepted a call from the Baptist Church 
 at that place and was in their service three years. 
 Next, he accepted a call from the Baptist Church at 
 Sennett, Cayuga Co., N. Y., where he served two 
 years; then he served the Church at Dansville, N. 
 Y., about two years; and finally, in January, 1885, 
 he received and accepted a call from the Sterling 
 (111.) Baptist Church, and he removed here and com- 
 nienced his pastoral labors on the i5th day of Feb- 
 ruary following. His flock numbers 240. An account 
 of the Church is given on a subsequent page, under 
 the heading of " Sterling." 
 
 Oct. 28, 1873, Mr. Brown married Miss Hattie R. 
 Eaton, a native of Willett, Cortland Co., N. Y., and a 
 daughter of Peter Eaton, a Methodist clergyman. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Brown hive two children, Earl O. 
 and Hattie E. 
 
 ; ames McCue, general farmer on section 
 [^ 32, Hopkins Township, was born Sept. 24, 
 1834, in the parish of Balanakiln, County 
 Galway, Ireland. He emigrated thence in 
 1854, arriving in the United States in Novem- 
 ber after he was 20 years old. He worked 
 by the month until the spring of 1859, when he 
 rented a farm. He continued its management three 
 years, after which he bought a farm in Hopkins 
 Township, containing 80 acres, where he fixed his 
 homestead. He is now the owner of 460 acres in 
 the townships of Hopkins and Lyndon, which in- 
 cludes about 300 acres under the plow. His place 
 is well stocked with an average number of 90 head 
 of cattle and 18 horses, and he fattens an annual 
 average of 60 hogs. 
 
 His parents, Thomas and Honora (Ternon) Mc- 
 Cue, lived and died in Ireland. They had four 
 children : William, James, Mary and Ann. 
 
 Mr. McCuc was married at Dixon, Lee Co., 111., by 
 Rev. Father Kinady, C. P., March i, 1859, to Mar- 
 
 garet, daughter of James and Ellen (Kirk) Doyle. 
 She is one of their nine children : Michael, James, 
 Mary, Margaret, John, Patrick, Catherine, Sarah and 
 Ellen. Mrs. McCue was born in Ireland, and is the 
 mother of six children, named William, James, Mary, 
 Thomas, John and Edward. 
 
 Politically, Mr. McCue is a Democrat. He has 
 held several official positions in local affairs. The 
 family are Catholics. 
 
 ouis Oltmanns, editor of the Sterling Be- 
 obachter, was born in Jever, Oldenburg, 
 Germany, April 30, 1836, his parents being 
 (j Gerhard W. and Anna M. (Luemmen) Olt- 
 manns, natives of Germany, who emigrated to 
 this country in 1867 and settled in Sterling. 
 The subject of this sketch attended private school, 
 and college a short time, left his parental home at 
 the age of 15 years and engaged in mercantile busi- 
 ness for 14 years; then, in 1865, he came to America 
 and first was employed by R. B. Witmer at Sterling, 
 until Feb. i, 1883, when he assumed his present 
 position. In his political views he is a Democrat. 
 He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and of the Luth- 
 eran Church, to which latter body his wife also belongs. 
 Mr. Oltmanns was married in 1868 to Miss Annie 
 Lederer, a native of Germany, and they have had 
 four children, William, Anna, Louisa and Mary. 
 
 -* H| *- 
 
 ichard S. W. Ely, dealer in real estate at 
 Morrison, is a native of Connecticut and 
 was born in Mansfield, Oct. 27, 1834, the 
 son of the Rev. William and Harriet (Whiting) 
 Ely. His parents were born in Connecticut. 
 His father was a well known Congregational 
 minister of that State. 
 
 Richard was left an orphan in his boyhood, and in 
 such limited circumstances that he was obliged to 
 depend entirely upon his own efforts for his advance- 
 ment in life. His education was received in the 
 public schools, and when 21 years of age he sought 
 his fortune in the West. He came to Illinois in 
 1851, and spent one year at Waukegan as a sales- 
 man in a mercantile house. From there he went to 
 
 ^M^%ce: K&^s^f/$> 

 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 De Kalb, where he engaged in real-estate business. 
 A few years later he went to Columbus, Wis., pursu- 
 ing the same business. Thence he went to Cedar 
 Falls, Iowa, and thence to Geneva, 111. In 1864 tie 
 came to Morrison, where he engaged in the grain 
 business. ~ He also bought and sold real estate, and 
 by the exercise of good judgment made many good 
 investments, and acquired property rapidly. About 
 1867 he formed a partnership in real-estate business 
 with G. A. Whitcomb, which continued about two 
 years. In 1873 he bought out the Morrison Carriage 
 Works, and two years later took Mr. Whitcomb in as 
 an equal partner. The business was conducted 
 under the firm name of Ely & Whitcomb till Novem- 
 ber, 1882, when they sold out. The Carriage Works 
 employed an average force of 22 men and turned out 
 from 250 to 300 carriages annually. Mr. Ely is still 
 connected with Mr. Whitcomb in real-estate business, 
 their transactions extending through Illinois, Wiscon- 
 sin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, besides 
 heavy interests in city property in Minneapolis and 
 other cities. Their agricultural lands aggregate up- 
 ward of 7,000 acres, and are valuable. 
 
 Mr. Ely continues to make his home at Morrison, 
 where he has a handsome property. He formerly 
 owned and remodeled the magnificent residence now 
 the property of O. W. Woodruff. 
 
 He was married at Sycamore, 111., Oct. 5, 1858, to 
 Miss Mary E. Crawford, daughter of Charles and 
 Frances (Billmeyer) Crawford. Mrs. Ely was born 
 in Pennsylvania. They have three children, two 
 sons and a daughter: William R., Spencer C. and 
 Hattie G. Mr. Ely is a stanch Democrat, while he 
 and his estimable wife are consistent members of the 
 Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Mr. Ely began the race of life an orphan boy with- 
 out means or influential friends, but possessed of 
 shrewd business instincts, sound judgment and good 
 executive ability, backed by pluck, enterprise and 
 unquestioned integrity. With these qualifications, 
 success was only a question of time. At this writ- 
 ing, having been a resident of Illinois 24 years, he 
 has acquired the large property interests previously 
 alluded to, and is reckoned among the most successful 
 business men of Morrison. The wide range of his 
 field of operations and the magnitude of some of his 
 successful transactions have demonstrated his ac- 
 curate judgment, cool nerve and keen business 
 
 sagacity. Mr. Ely is possessed of many estimable 
 qualities, both of heart and mind, while he is no more 
 free from faults than many other good citizens. He 
 is a frank, candid man, who says what he means and 
 stands by what he says, his word being as good as 
 his bond. Generous and free-hearted, his frequent 
 and liberal aid to those in distress has often led to 
 the abuse of his kindness. Notwithstanding such 
 experience, his purse opens just as quickly to the 
 next seemingly worthy applicant for his bounty. 
 Friendship with him is sacred. Once having won his 
 regard and confidence, his friends have always found 
 him true as steel. Trouble or misfortune on the part 
 of a friend, with him only strengthens the tie. It is 
 often the case where one is so firm a friend, he will, 
 where the occasion justifies it, prove as bitter an 
 enemy ; but with the subject of our sketch such is 
 not the case. Once having had his quarrel out, he 
 harbors no animosity, but seems to forget the entire 
 matter. 
 
 In matters of public interest he has always been 
 found liberal and enterprising. There are but few 
 citizens of Morrison entitled to more credit for a free 
 and generous support of worthy public enterprises 
 than Mr. Ely. In his domestic relations he is known 
 at his best. His unselfish devotion to his wife and 
 children is but another consistent characteristic of 
 the man. 
 
 
 
 avid B. Denison, one of the proprietors of 
 the Economy Mill at Sterling, was born in 
 Westmoreland Co., Pa., Jan. 6, 1840. His 
 parents, David and Elizabeth (Rhodes) Den- 
 ison, were also natives of that State. His father 
 $ was a millwright and miller, and followed his 
 trade in his native State until 1857, when he moved 
 to Princeton, Bureau Co., Ill, and for a short time 
 he was employed at farming : since then he has pur- 
 sued his chosen vocation as a mechanic and miller. 
 The subject of this sketch is the third of a family 
 of eight children, in order of birth, received in his 
 youth a common-school education and assisted his 
 father at farming and also at his trade. At the age 
 of 20 he left home and took a farm on shares near 
 Princeton. Next he resided in Nelson, Lee Co., 111., 
 for a time, following agriculture there for five years ; 
 
 
 I 

 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 then was a millwright at Dixon, 111., until 1871 ; fol- 
 lowed his trade three years in Neosho Co., Kan., 
 and in 1874 he came to Sterling, where he continued 
 his vocation as a millwright until July, 1884, since 
 which time he has had his present position. In 
 1882 he purchased a residence on the corner of 
 Fifth and Spruce Streets. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Denison enlisted in the cause of his 
 country, joining Co. A, 691)1 Regt. 111. Vol. Inf. (100 
 days). His regiment was sent to Vicksburg, Miss., 
 where he was mostly on guard duty in charge of 
 prisoners. After being in the service six months, he 
 was mustered out with his regiment at Chicago, re- 
 ceiving an honorable discharge. Politically, Mr. D. 
 is a Democrat. He is a member of the Masonic 
 Order, of the A. O. U. W. and of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. To the latter, his wife also be- 
 longs. 
 
 His marriage to Miss Clara S. Richardson took 
 place July 29, 1873. She was the daughter of 
 Joseph T. and Annie (Dorman) Richardson, natives 
 respectively of England and New Jersey. Mr. and 
 Mrs. D. have had three children ; Roy O., born May 
 8, 1874; Grace E., Feb. 5, 1879; and Myrtle C., 
 Jan. 5, 1884. 
 
 a 
 
 I infield W. Woodruff, deceased, was for- 
 merly a resident of Lyndon Township, 
 whither he removed in 1852 from his na- 
 tive State, New York. He "was born in 
 Livonia, Livingston County, in3the Empire 
 State, in 1817. His father, Landon J. Wood- 
 ruff, M. D., was a prominent physician and surgeon 
 of Western New York, and was desirous that his son 
 should fit himself for the same profession, giving him 
 a substantial education as preparatory to that pur- 
 pose ; but the young man's proclivities led him in 
 another direction, and on his marriage he settled 
 himself to the pursuit of agriculture in his native 
 State. 
 
 He was married Jan. i, 1839, to Solemma F. 
 Terry, and they became the parents of three sons : 
 Orr F., of whom an extended sketch appears else- 
 where in this work, is a distinguished lawyer at Mor- 
 rison ; William M. is a farmer and stock dealer at 
 Kearney, Neb. ; and John J. is an attorney by pro- 
 fession and possesses uncommon talent, but is en- 
 
 gaged almost exclusively in the sheep industry at 
 Kearney, Neb. They are all worthy citizens, in 
 whom their parents felt a just pride. 
 
 The condition of public affairs in the State of New 
 York, which existed when Mr. Woodruff found him- 
 self qualified to enter upon the duties and privileges 
 of citizenship, was such as to develop all the abilities 
 with which he was endowed by nature. His boyish 
 enthusiasm had been quickened and kept alive by 
 the public training days, and he became an active 
 member of the State militia. His commission as 
 Ensign in the 2151)1 Regt. N. Y. Vol. Inf., is dated 
 May 2, 1840, and bears the autograph signature of 
 William H. Seward, Governor 'of New York. He 
 was a Whig of intense partisan sentiment, and in af- 
 ter years was fond of rehearsing the incidents of the 
 "good old log-cabin times of 1840." He was stren- 
 uously opposed to the slave element. 
 
 He resided in Lyndon Township nine years pre- 
 vious to the culmination of the discontent and dis- 
 loyalty of the southern portion of the United States, 
 watching the succession of ominous events with all 
 the interest of a patriotic citizen. He manifested 
 the stuff of which he was made and the quality of 
 his loyalty, by enlisting when he was 44 years of 
 age as a private in the Eighth 111. Vol. Cav., at the 
 time of the organization of the regiment in 1861. 
 His military career was in conformity with his char- 
 acter, and he made an honorable record. After the 
 war he resided in Whiteside County until October, 
 1875, when he went to Kearney, Nebraska, to re- 
 side. He died in November, 1884, from the re-* 
 suit of injuries received while attempting to manage 
 a powerful sheep. He had nearly accomplished the 
 allotted period of three-score and ten years and 
 passed to his reward in the enjoyment of the honors 
 of a pure, worthy life of uprightness and usefulness. 
 His wife survives him. 
 
 \: ev. N. H. G. Fife, for the past 12 years 
 Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Ster- 
 ling, was born in the village of Elizabeth, 
 Allegheny Co., Pa., Feb. 19, 1840: both his 
 parents were natives of the same State. His 
 father, Andrew Fife, was a farmer and attained 
 the age of 89 years. His mother, nee Sarah Robin- 
 son, died at the age of 84 years. 
 
 \ 
 f 

 
 
 288 
 
 WHITEST DE COUNTY. 
 
 Rev. Fife received his academic training at El- 
 der's Ridge, Indiana Co., Pa., and entered the Junior 
 class in Jefferson College in September, 1857, grad- 
 uating when 19 years of age. After teaching one 
 year at Middletown, Ky., he entered the Western 
 Theological Seminary in Allegheny City, Pa., at 
 which he graduated in April, 1863. Immediately af- 
 terward he was ordained to the work of the ministry 
 by the Redstone Presbytery, and installed Pastor of 
 the Presbyterian Church of Connellsville, Pa., which 
 position he sustained five years. He then took charge 
 of the Church at Long Run, in the same Presbytery, 
 where he remained until November, 1873, when he 
 came to Illinois and entered upon his present pastor- 
 ate. (See the latter part of this volume for a sketch 
 of the Church.) 
 
 June 9, 1869, Mr. F. married Miss Maty E. Paull, 
 of Connellsville, Pa. Three children have been 
 born to them, Eliza P., Charles A. and J. Paull. 
 
 Mr. Fife is a Republican in his political views, 
 and his long service in such an intelligent com- 
 munity as that of Sterling, with the continued ap- 
 proval of his Church, is sufficient evidence of his 
 ability and faithfulness in the gospel ministry. 
 
 
 
 | esley Robinson, a prominent farmer on 
 
 section 12, Clyde Township, was born 
 March 20, 1820, in the village of Man- 
 chester, Dearborn Co., Ind. Stephen Rob- 
 inson, his father, was a native of Maine, and 
 was of mixed English and Scotch lineage. He 
 was married in the State of his nativity to Mahitabel 
 Plumer, also born in the Pine-Tree State. She was 
 of English extraction. Some years after their mar- 
 liage they removed to Indiana, where the mother 
 died, at the place already recorded as the birthplace 
 of the son, in the spring of 1842. In 1850 the father 
 removed to Illinois and was a member of his son's 
 household until his death, about 1857, when he was 
 nearly 87 years of age. They had six children, five 
 sons and a daughter. 
 
 Mr. Robinson is the second oldest child, and re- 
 mained under the authority of his parents until 1843, 
 when he removed to Lee Co., Iowa, where he spent 
 some years as a general laborer. He then yielded 
 to a fancy to try life on the river, and he engaged in 
 
 boating. His route terminated at New Orleans, 
 where he has passed several winters after having 
 been occupied as a boatman through the summers. 
 
 In the spring of 1844, he came to Whiteside 
 County and located near Sterling, where he fixed his 
 residence. In April, 1847, he was married to Maria, 
 daughter of Martin and Lois (Waite) Montgomery. 
 Her father was of Irish extraction and was born in 
 Vermont. Her mother was of mixed Welsh and 
 French origin and was born in Rhode Island. After 
 their marriage they settled in Roxbury, Delaware 
 Co., N. Y., and at that place Mrs. Robinson was 
 born, Nov. 6, 1818. In 1839 her father moved his 
 worldly belongings to Illinois, his family accompany- 
 ing him, with the exception of two children. The 
 family located near Sterling. 
 
 Three years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Robinson removed to Clyde Township, where they 
 took up their abode on 241 acres of unbroken prairie, 
 situated on sections n, 12, 13 and 14. Nearly all 
 the place is under cultivation and it is fairly stocked. 
 
 Frank C. Robinson is the only child of his parents, 
 and he was born Sept. 4, 1855. He was married 
 March 20, 1878, to Millie E. Barrett. They located 
 on his father's farm in Whiteside, where she became 
 the mother of a child, who is also deceased. She 
 died in Wheaton, 111., in 1881, where she went for 
 medical treatment. The son resides on the home- 
 stead. Father and son are Republicans in political 
 principle. 
 
 braham Zook, a retired farmer of Clyde 
 Township, resides on section 3. He was 
 born Dec. 2, 1820, in Lancaster Co., Pa., 
 and is the son of Joseph Zook, who was born 
 in Chester Co., Pa. In national descent Mr. 
 Zook is of Swiss extraction, and records him- 
 self as third in generation from three brothers in the 
 paternal line who came to America just previous to 
 the Revolutionary War. Joseph Zook was a woolen 
 manufacturer in Pennsylvania until he was 43 years 
 of age, when he turned his attention to farming. He 
 died in his native State in July, 1852, aged 65 years. 
 Anna (Shuck) Zook, the mother, was born in Lan- 
 caster County, and was of mixed Swiss and Ger- 
 man origin. Her progenitors were early settlers in 
 the United States. She died in 1826, in the county 

 
 
 where she was born, when her son was but six years 
 of age. She had been the mother of six children. 
 The father married again after the death of his'wife, 
 and the children were'reared at home. 
 
 Mr. Zook was educated in the common schools 
 and instructed in the duties of farm labor. Feb. 18, 
 1840, he was married in JFranklin Co. Pa., to Ann, 
 daughter of John and Susanna (Raiher) Gsell." Both 
 the latter were born in Pennsylvania, of German 
 descent. They were farmers and died in Franklin 
 County. The death of the father transpired May 
 10, 1873, when he was 94 years of age. The mother 
 died in 1832. They were the parents of 1 1 children. 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Zook, 10 in number, 
 are all yet living, and are all heads of families : 
 Catherine is the wife of Jacob Swisher, a farmer in 
 Adair Co., Iowa ; Sarah married Jacob Garwick, of 
 whom a full sketch appears on another page ; Anna 
 is Mrs. Henry Garwick, and lives In the township of 
 Clyde ; Mary is the wife of Isaac Trump, a bishop 
 in what is designated the River Brethren Church, 
 and resides at Polo in Ogle County ; Joseph S. mar- 
 ried" Adaline Law, and is a farmer in Adair Co., 
 Iowa; Amanda is Mrs. George Hiller and is a resi- 
 dent on a farm in Clyde Township : Elizabeth mar- 
 ried Jacob Ditch, who is a farmer in Ogle Co., 111. ; 
 Abraham married Rosa Bowers and is a resident of 
 Clyde Township. 
 
 John R. Zook was born Nov. 27, r857, in the 
 township of Newton. When he was 20 years of age 
 he began teaching in the public schools of the town- 
 ship where he was born, and after spending two 
 years in that vocation he went to the college at Val- 
 paraiso, Ind., where he passed some time in study. 
 Subsequently he engaged in teaching in Ogle County, 
 but passed only one term in that avenue of business, 
 returning at its expiration to the family homestead, 
 of which he has since been the superintendent. He 
 has been engaged for some years as a teacher of 
 vocal music. 
 
 Dec. 18, 1884, he was united in marriage to Sarah 
 A., daughter of Jacob and Priscilla (Holley) George. 
 She was born Feb. 22, 1865, in Carroll Co., 111. She 
 was -only two years 'of age" when her father and 
 mother came to the township of Clyde, where she 
 grew to womanhood, was educated in the common 
 schools and was married at her father's house. 
 
 Melissa the youngest child of Abraham and Ann 
 
 Zook, married John H. Gayman, a farmer in Fair- 
 haven Township, Carroll Co., 111. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Zook remained in Franklin Co., Pa., after their mar- 
 riage, until 1857. In that year they removed to Illinois 
 and resided between two and three years in the 
 townships of Garden Plain and Newton. In 1860 
 they removed to Clyde Township, where they pur- 
 chased 1 60 acres of unbroken prairie. They pro- 
 ceeded .with vigorous energy to make the usual 
 improvements. Their efforts' resulted in a fine and 
 valuable farm, all under cultivation, well stocked 
 and supplied with commodious and necessary farm 
 buildings. The present manager of the place is 
 interested in the improvement of stock and is the 
 owner of fine grades of Short-Horn cattle. All the 
 members of the family, with one exception, belong to 
 the River Brethren Church. The father and sons 
 are Republicans of pronounced type. 
 
 V. 
 
 
 Ifred Bayliss, of the firm of Newcomer & 
 Bayliss, publishers of the Sterling Standard, 
 was born in Bledington, Gloucestershire, 
 England, March 22, 1847. He came with his 
 parents, John and Frances (Blake) Bayliss, to 
 this country in March, 1854. The family re- 
 sided two years in Cleveland, Ohio, then moved to 
 Hillsdale, Mich. He was educated in public schools 
 of Cleveland and Hillsdale and at Hillsdale College ; 
 was graduated at the latter institution in 1870. He 
 served from October, 1863, to August, 1865, in Co. 
 H of the nth Mich. Cav. Was Superintendent of 
 Schools at La Grange, Ind., in 1871-3, and in 1872 
 was appointed School Examiner for the County. He 
 was afterwards chosen County Superintendent of 
 Schools, which office he resigned to take charge of 
 the Second Ward School in Sterling in 1874, and re- 
 mained in charge of that school for ten years. Since 
 June, 1884, he has been associated with James W. 
 Newcomer in the publication of the Sterling Stand- 
 ard, a weekly newspaper, straight Republican. 
 
 Mr. Bayliss was married June 28, 1871, to Clara 
 M., daughter of Manasseh and Caroline Kern, of 
 Porter, Van Buren Co., Mich. They have two chil- 
 dren, Clara Kern, born Nov. 10, 1872, and Zoe, 
 born Aug. 14, 1879. 
 
 > ^fl 
 
 
 
 cy. 
 
 1=3
 
 
 Y"V. M H XD* H H V'V^^ 
 
 IVHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 (fames W. Newcomer, of the firm of New- 
 Kf- comer & Bayliss, publishers of the Sterling 
 Standard, was born in Centre Co., Pa., 
 Nov. 23, 1841 ; came to Illinois {^1846 with 
 his parents, and settled near Freeport; learned 
 the printer's trade in the Freeport Journal 
 office; enlisted in Co. D, 93d 111. Vol. Inf., in 1862, 
 and served three years; was wounded at Altoona 
 Pass in October, 1864; was commissioned ist Lieu- 
 tenant in 1865. 
 
 He published the Lena Star from 1869 to 1878 ; 
 was United States Storekeeper at Sterling from 1878 
 to 1883. Subsequently he entered the firm of Mack 
 & Newcomer, which in June, 1884, became New- 
 comer & Bayliss, publishers of the Standard, a 
 straight Republican newspaper. 
 
 Mr. Newcomer was married in 1870 to Miss Lola, 
 daughter of Z. Stover, then of Lena, now of Repub- 
 lic, Kan. They have one daughter, Lulu, born Jan. 
 10, 1872. 
 
 Tacob Garwick, a farmer on section 2, Clyde 
 Township, is a citizen 'of the United States 
 by adoption, and was born Dec. 13, 1834, 
 in the province of Alsace, France. (This ter- 
 ritory has since been recovered by its original 
 owner, Germany, by whom it is still held.) 
 Jacob Garwick, senior, his father, was a native of the 
 same province and was of German parentage. He 
 was a miller by vocation and married Magdalene 
 Wolff. She was of mixed French and Swiss ancestry. 
 Both her grandsires came to America during the 
 progress of the Revolutionary War, under the com- 
 mand of General Lafayette, and were among his 
 corps of officers. Several other male relatives were 
 among the French soldiery who came to assist in the 
 Colonial struggle. 
 
 The senior Garwick removed to the United States 
 with his wife and children, the family locating on a 
 farm in Butler Co., Pa. Mr. Garwick, of this sketch, 
 is the oldest of his parents' children, and he left his 
 native province in November, 1852," arriving ;in 
 Pennsylvania a year before his parents. He made 
 
 
 a'home for them, and after seeing them comfort- 
 ably settled he set out for Illinois, locating, in 1854, 
 in Clyde Township, this county. Three years later 
 his father's family followed and fixed their residence 
 in Fair Haven, Carroll County, locating on a farm. 
 The father died in June, 1878, and in May, 1884, 
 the mother followed him to the world of the here- 
 after. 
 
 Mr. Garwick operated as a general laborer after 
 coming to Illinois, but while in Pennsylvania had 
 followed the calling of a miller, in which he had been 
 trained by his father in his native country. He had 
 not sufficient money to pay for his breakfast on the 
 morning of his arrival in Chicago, but he made his 
 way to friends in Du Page County, where he ob- 
 tained aid and employment. His life, to the age of 
 27 years, was one of continued experience of toil and 
 hardship. He spent three months on board the 
 ship on his way to America, not knowing a soul on 
 the vessel. The entire period was one of storm and 
 peril by sea. Food was exhausted and distress sig- 
 nals were flown from the masthead three successive 
 days before their condition was discovered. They 
 anchored near an island belonging to Portugal, in 
 the South Sea, and secured supplies sufficient to en- 
 able them to proceed on their voyage. After his 
 arrival in Whiteside Co., 111., he became a farm 
 laborer. 
 
 He was married Feb. 27, 1 86 1, in Clyde Township, 
 to Sarah, daughter of Abraham and Anna (Gsell) 
 Zook. Her parents were of Swiss and German 
 orgin, and were natives of Lancaster Co., Pa. Their 
 ancestors settled in America about the date of the 
 Colonial struggle for independence. They were farm- 
 ers and were married in Franklin Co., Pa., where the 
 daughter was born Jan. 19, 1843. She is one of a 
 family of eight children and accompanied her par- 
 ents when she was 13 years of age to Illinois. They 
 located at first in Newton Township. Two years 
 later they came to the township of Clyde and located 
 on the section which has since been their home. 
 Three of nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Gar- 
 wick are deceased. Those who survive are named 
 George E., Anna, Sarah, Lizzie, Dora and Katie. 
 The son was a student at college and all have received 
 careful educational instruction. William H. died at 
 the age of 17 years. Abraham and Lena were aged 
 respectively five and two years at the time of their 
 decease. The parents at first fixed their residence 
 
 

 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 on 70 acres of land, and Mr. Garwick expended his 
 last dollar to secure his place. (He had but $25.) 
 In a few years he was free from debt and is now the 
 owner of 300 acres of land, which is all in the best 
 agricultural condition. Mr. Garwick is also inter- 
 ested in improved cattle, and makes a specialty of 
 the Short- Horn breed. His farm is as well stocked as 
 any other of similar grade in Clyde Township and 
 the farm buildings are of an excellent and creditable 
 type. His entire acreage was wholly unbroken at 
 the date of purchase. 
 
 He has been for many years a minister in the 
 River Brethren Church. In his native country 
 he was educated in German and French and acted 
 for some time as an assistant teacher in the schools 
 where he had been a student. 
 
 euben Davis, physician and farmer, resid- 
 ing on section 3, Hahnaman Township, is 
 " one of the extensive land-holders and truly 
 practical and representative men of Whiteside 
 County. The parents of Dr. Davis, William 
 and Hannah (Appleton) Davis, were natives 
 of Maine, from which State they moved to Ohio, 
 where they resided the remainder of their lives. 
 They were the parents of 13 children, namely : 
 Eliphalet, John A., Mary A., Rhoda, Hannah, Reu- 
 ben, Sarah, Francis A., Isaac, William, JanTes E. and 
 Joshua C. One died in infancy. 
 
 Reuben Davis, subject of this biographical notice, 
 is a native of Ohio, where, in Morgan County, he was 
 born Ott. 17, 1819. The country was new in the 
 locality of his birth at that date, and his early educa- 
 tion was consequently limited. His early years 
 were passed on the farm and in working on the 
 Ohio and Mississippi Rivers .which vocation he fol- 
 lowed, more or less, until the date of his emigrating 
 to this State. 
 
 In 1845 Dr. Davis matriculated at the Medical 
 College at Cincinnati, Ohio, and followed the entire 
 curriculum of that institution, graduating with hon- 
 ors in March, 1849. 
 
 Soon after leaving the college, he engaged in the 
 practice of his profession in Perry Co., Ohio, and 
 followed the same with a flattering degree of success 
 until February, 1853. He then came to this county 
 
 and settled in Como, Hopkins Township, where he 
 continued to practice medicine over two years, 
 when he purchased land in Montmorency Township. 
 He moved upon his land and began to cultivate it 
 extensively, alternating his labors thereon by the 
 practice of his profession. 
 
 In the fall of 1858 Dr. Davis moved into Hahna- 
 man Township and settled on section 3, his present 
 residence. He determined to make this his perma- 
 nent home, and at once entered on the improvement 
 of the land, erected good buildings and otherwise 
 ornamented and improved his homestead, and at the 
 present time he has a home for himself and family 
 in which they all take pride, realizing it was procured 
 through arduous toil and untiring energy and deter- 
 mination. The Doctor has been a very extensive 
 land-holder in the county, owning at one time some 
 1,400 acres. His landed possessions in the county 
 at present comprise some 645 acres, all improved, 
 and for his success in life he has none to thank ex- 
 cept his own good judgment and energy, coupled 
 with the hearty co-operation of his good helpmeets. 
 
 Dr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
 Ann Geddes in Morgan Co., Ohio, Dec. 17, 1839. She 
 was a native of Pennsylvania, in which State she 
 was born in March, 1819. The issue of their union 
 was five children. Two died in infancy and those 
 surviving are Naomi W., Martha J. and Thomas 
 H. B. 
 
 The wife and mother died in Morgan Co., Ohio, 
 March 28, r848. In the same county Dr. Davis was 
 again married. This wedding occurred Oct. 2, 1849, 
 and Miss Elizabeth H. Work was the bride. She is 
 the daughter of David and Sarah (Ross) Work, na- 
 tives of Ohio, and in which State she was born 
 May 6, i83r. By the latter union 12 children 
 have been born, namely : Francis C., Sarah X., 
 Robert L., Thaddeus C., Hannah A., Mary G., W. 
 Alice, T. McClellan, Dora S., Reuben H., Jessie L. 
 and J. Darwin : ten of these are living. 
 
 Dr. Davis, although not seeking office, has almost 
 constantly been honored by the citizens of his town- 
 ship with some office. He was Supervisor six years, 
 Justice of the Peace 12 years and Assessor and Col- 
 lector several years. In fact, he has held almost 
 every office in the township, and at this writing is 
 performing the functions of the office of Township 
 Clerk and School Trustee. Politically, Dr. Davis 

 
 
 
 : 
 
 WHITES IDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 - a supporter of and believer in the principles of the 
 ) Democratic party and cast his first vote for Martin 
 . Van Buren in 1840. 
 
 As a truly representative man of Whiteside County, 
 and as one the citizens can but feel pleased to see 
 represented among the portraits we give in this work, 
 we give that of the subject of this biography. It is 
 engraved from a photograph taken in 1884. 
 
 , nines Houseman . is a farmer on section 
 14, Ml. Pleasant Township, where he has 
 prosecuted his agricultural projects since 
 his removal to Whiteside County, in 1856. He 
 was born April 7, 1825, in Montgomery Co., 
 N. Y. He was reared to the vocation in which 
 he is now engaged, and which he pursued in his 
 native State. His farm of 160 acres is all under 
 tillage. 
 
 His parents, John and Ann (Scribner) Houseman, 
 were lx>rn in the State of New York, where they 
 reared a family of five children, named George, 
 James, William, John and Emmett. The marriage 
 of Mr. Houseman to Elizabeth Van Wagner took 
 place June 10, 1856, in the township where they 
 have since lived. She was born July 19, 1830, in 
 Erie Co., N. Y. Gilbert and Lydia (Knox) Van 
 Wagner, her parents^ were bom in that state, and 
 their children are Edgar, Mary and Elizabeth. Fol- 
 lowing are the names of the children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Houseman : Emmett P., Nora, Edgar M., Arthur and 
 Emma A. 
 
 Mr. Houseman is an adherent of the Democratic 
 party in politics. 
 
 (& 
 
 eorge Pittman, farmer, section 3, Hopkins 
 Township, is a son of Abraham and Mary 
 (Alexander) Pittman, who were natives 
 respectively of Virginia and Pennsylvania, and 
 came to Whiteside County in the spring of 
 I 1864 and settled in Hopkins Township, where 
 they lived the remainder of their days. They had a 
 family of seven children, viz.: George, James, Esther, 
 Catherine, David, Rebecca and Caroline. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Fulton Co., 
 
 *&* & 
 
 Pa., Dec. 14, 1835. He lived in that State till 1864, 
 when he came to Whiteside County, where he has 
 since lived. He is the owner of 70 acres of land, in 
 Hopkins Township, all of which is in a good tillable 
 condition, and he has a valuable stone quarry on his 
 farm. 
 
 He was married in Fulton Co., Pa, Feb. 5, 1859, 
 to Elizabeth Clevenger, daughter of John and Julia 
 A. (Carbol) Clevenger, natives of the Keystone State. 
 They had a family of four children, as follows : 
 Elizabeth, Ann, John and Catherine. Mrs. Pittman 
 was born in Fulton Co., Pa., Aug. 12, 1841. Mr. 
 and Mrs. P. are the parents of seven living children, 
 namely: Martha E., Sophia J., James H., John H., 
 Charles M., Mary M. and Homer. Sophia J. died 
 when five years, five months and eleven days old. 
 
 In politics Mr. Pittman is identified with the 
 Democratic party. 
 
 illiam H. Maxfleld, farmer, section 24, 
 Mount Pleasant Township, was born Oct. 
 21, 1841, in Bristol, R. I. Nathaniel and 
 Susan (Sherman) Maxfield, his father and 
 mother, were born in New England. After 
 their marriage they located at Bristol, whence 
 they came in 1855 to Whiteside County, settling at 
 Como. The mother died in February, 1870, in Hop- 
 kins Township. The father lives in the township of 
 Mount Pleasant. Their ten children were named 
 William H., Frank S., Mary A., Maria W., Georgi- 
 anna, Nathaniel, Eva H , Elizabeth, Harriet and 
 Winnifred L. 
 
 Mr. Maxfield was 13 years of age when he came 
 to Whiteside County, where he has since lived. He 
 is now one of the heavy land-holders of Mount 
 Pleasant Township, owning 240 acres, which lie 
 partly in section 24 of the township, on which his resi- 
 dence is located, and on section 1 9 of Hopkins Town- 
 ship. The entire area is practically all under tillage. 
 Mr. Maxfield deals quite extensively in stock, his 
 herds containing 60 head of cattle and nine horses, 
 and he raises an annual average of 100 hogs. 
 
 His marriage to Jennie McElrath took place in 
 Como, July 4, 1864. Their children were named 
 Minnie E., William H., Jr., and Walter I. Mrs. 
 Maxfield is of Irish and Scotch origin, her parents,
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 John and Jane (Jackson) McElrath, having been 
 natives respectively of Ireland and Scotland. They 
 became residents of Whiteside County about 1856, 
 locating in Mt. Pleasant Township, where they spent 
 the remainder of their days. The demise of the 
 mother occurred June i, 1872, and that of the fa- 
 ther in the month of October following. Margaret, 
 Thomas, John, Eliza, Jennie and William W. are 
 the names of their children. Mrs. Maxfield was 
 bom in Ireland, April 20, 1843, and was about five 
 years old when her parents emigrated to the United 
 States. 
 
 Mr. Maxfield is a Republican in political connec- 
 tion and views. He has officiated in several local 
 offices. 
 
 rohn Harpham, dealer in harness and sad- 
 fc dlery hardware, Third Street, Sterling, was 
 rborn in Madison Co., N. Y., Oct. 27, 1828, 
 being the seventh in a family of ten children, 
 four sons and six daughters. His parents were 
 Septibah and Jane (McAlpine) Harpham, na- 
 tives respectively of England and Scotland. The 
 senior Harpham \vas a farmer by occupation, and 
 died |an. 11, 1840: the widow survived until 1863. 
 John was reared on the farm and in the common 
 school until 19 years of age, when he left home and 
 went to Chenango Forks to learn the harness trade, 
 remaining a year and a half. He then engaged in 
 the same business for himself at Bridgport, N. Y., for 
 one and a half years. Then he sold out and for 
 about three years attended the Fulton and Cazenovia 
 Seminaries, a portion of this time teaching school. 
 Then he married and settled in Fayetteville, Onon- 
 daga Co., N. Y., where he followed his trade a year 
 and a half. Selling out, he came to Sterling, since 
 which time he has been successfully engaged in the 
 business stated at the beginning of this sketch, both 
 wholesale and retail. In this line he is the leading 
 man in Sterling. 
 
 Mr. Harpham is a Republican and a Christian 
 
 gentleman, belonging to the Congregational Church 
 
 at Sterling. He was married May 22, 1853, to 
 
 Nancy Terwilliger, a native of Onondaga Co , N. Y., 
 
 and they have three children, Bertha A., Fanny E. 
 and John L. Mrs. H. is also a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church. 
 
 ihauncey W. Reynolds, farmer, section 2, 
 Mt. Pleasant Township, was born Nov. 12, 
 1821, in Sudbury, Vt., and is the son of Allen 
 and Lydia (Raymond) Reynolds. They were 
 natives of Vermont, were married there, and 
 there the mother died. The father died in 
 'the State of New York. Their children, three in 
 number, were named Raymond A., Oliver L. and 
 Chauncey W. 
 
 The youngest child was brought up by his maternal 
 grandfather, with whom he lived until he was 22 
 years of age. For about five years after, he was oc- 
 cupied as a farm assistant, and about 1848 he became 
 foreman of a saw-mill and filled 'the position seven 
 years. In 1855 he came West to secure a broader 
 and more hopeful field of operation, and spent one 
 season in a saw-mill at Davenport, Iowa, after which 
 he prospected in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. He 
 decided that Whiteside County offered as much in- 
 ducement as any other locality, and in October, 1857, 
 he made a purchase of a claim which included 1 20 
 acres of unbroken prairie, situated in the townships 
 of Mt. Pleasant and Clyde. His homestead build- 
 ings are in the township first named, and his entire 
 amount of land includes 700 acres, which is situated 
 in the two townships and is practically all under 
 tillage. Mr. Reynolds is identified with and supports 
 the principles of the Democratic party. 
 
 He formed a matrimonial union with Althea Dean 
 Dec. 24, 1856, in Kane Co., Ill , and they have five 
 children, Mary A., Walter D., Raymond A., Lydia 
 L. and Chauncey W., Jr. The oldest daughter is the 
 wife of Samuel McCune, and lives in Clyde Town- 
 ship. Mrs. Reynolds was born July 10, 1833, in 
 Putnam Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of S. A. and 
 Delilah (Wright) Dean. The parents were natives 
 of the same county where the daughter was born. 
 They removed thence in 1846 to Kane Co., 111., 
 where the father died, in April. 1849. Late in life 
 the mother came to Whiteside County and became a 
 member of ;he family of her daughter, and died at her 
 
 M* 
 
 H 
 
 1 
 
 d) 
 

 
 
 296 
 
 WHITBSIDE COUNTY. 
 
 $ 
 
 
 home Dec. 2, 1882. She had been the mother of 
 fp> eight children, Erastus, Altliea, John, Ada, Robert 
 R., Lewis, Marion and Smith A. 
 
 eter A. Quackenbush, section 10, Mt. 
 Pleasant Township, has been a farmer in 
 Whiteside County since 1856. He was 
 born June 25, 1828, in Montgomery Co., N. 
 Y. His parents, Peter P. and Magdalene 
 (Speaker) Quackenbush, were also born in the 
 Empire State. Mr. Quackenbush of this sketch had 
 one sister, Margaret A., who was his senior in birth. 
 In his native State he was principally interested in 
 mercantile pursuits, and in February of the year 
 named as that in which he removed to Whiteside 
 County, he located in the township of Mt. Pleasant. 
 His first farm consisted of 75 acres of land, which he 
 purchased, and on which he located, putting into 
 effective operation the purposes of his change of lo- 
 cation and calling.' He has added by subsequent 
 purchase, and is now the proprietor of a valuable 
 farm of 160 acres of land, which is all under tillage. 
 Mr. Quackenbush is identified politically with the 
 Republican party. 
 
 He was first married Dec. 12, 1850, in Montgomery 
 Co., N. Y., to Harriet Becker. She was born in the 
 Empire State and accompanied her husband to Illi- 
 nois. She died Aug. 11, 1861, in the township of 
 Mt. Pleasant. Mr. Quackenbush was united in 
 marriage Jan. g, 1862, to Harriet Drum, at Sterling. 
 To them four children have been born, who are 
 named Maggif M., Ainsley, Estella and Edward D. 
 The mother was born Aug. 21, 1841, in Schoharie 
 Co., N. Y. Her parents, John and Margaret (Becker) 
 Drum, were born in New York, and they had 1 1 chil- 
 dren, named Mary, Julia, Martha, Delevan, George, 
 Melissa, Harriet, Lucy, Clarissa, Ellen and Nancy. 
 
 acob Kauffmann, retired farmer and a resi- 
 ~ dent of Sterling, was born in Lancaster Co., 
 Pa., Jan. 26, 1820, and his parents were 
 Rudolph and Elizabeth (Summy) Kauffman. 
 Leaving home at the age of 15 years, he was a 
 farm laborer for 18 months, at $4.50 per month 
 for 10 months, and $8 a month the remainder of that 
 
 period. Next, he devoted two and a half years of 
 his time to learning the shoemaker's trade, then one 
 year as a journeyman, and then opened a shop for 
 himself and followed the business for eight years. 
 Next, he was engaged in the furnace business for 18 
 months, and then he came to Sterling Township, 
 where he was a farm laborer for three years. He 
 then bought 80 acres in Jordan Township, moved 
 upon the place, and in 1855 purchased 40 acres ad- 
 joining, and in 1 864 a quarter-section more : this last 
 he afterward sold. At one time he owned as much 
 as 440 acres. In 1871 he bought a lot in Sterling 
 and built a residence upon it, where he now lives. 
 
 Mr. Kauffman is a Republican in his political 
 views, and has held local offices of trust. He was 
 School Director in Jordan Township for 15 years. 
 He is a substantial and worthy citizen. 
 
 His marriage to Miss Anna E. Snyder, a native of 
 Pennsylvania, took place Feb. 2, 1840, and they have 
 five children living, namely: Tobias, who married 
 Hattie Capp and has six children, Minnie, Lincoln, 
 Frank, George, .Clarrie and Jessie ; Leander, who 
 married Beckie Spivey and has four children, Carrie 
 Fred, Florence and Grace ; Jacob, who married Flor- 
 ence Robertson and has two children, Benjamin 
 and Jesse; and the two other children of the sub- 
 ject of this sketch are Adam and Cora. 
 
 Tobias Kauffman, of the above family, enlisted in 
 the last war, in 1864, in the cause of the Union, and 
 was a member of the 34th Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., under 
 Gen. Sherman. He was wounded at the battle of 
 Bentonville, was engaged in many skirmishes, and 
 served faithfully to the end of that great contest, 
 when he was honorably discharged. 
 
 ft liver S. Oakley is a farmer of Mt. Pleasant 
 SJfe Township, located on 463 acres of land on 
 
 
 section 29, which is all under advanced 
 cultivation excepting about too acres. Mr. 
 Oakley is a native of Sweden, where he was 
 born Feb. 7, 1836. His father and mother, 
 Swan and Christiana (Jenson) Oakley, lived and 
 died in that country. Mr. Oakley was brought up 
 by his parents at home, and when he was 18 years 
 of age he came to this country. The track of the 
 Chicago & Northwestern Railroad was being laid, 
 
 
 
 
 . . * 
 
 ; -v^ /, '. 
 
 '\ ^
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 and he was employed as a laborer in the vicinity of 
 Round Grove for some time. He next engaged by 
 the month at farm labor, in which capacity he oper- 
 ated until 1862. He then began to rent farms, and 
 devoted his attention to agriculture for about seven 
 years, pursuing that method of operation. He went 
 to Iowa in 1869, and bought 160 acres of land, which 
 he continued to own and operate six years. In the 
 spring of 1875, having sold his property in Iowa, 
 he returned to Whiteside County, where he obtained 
 possession, by purchase, of the fine estate he now 
 owns. Since obtaining the privileges of citizenship, 
 Mr. Oakley has supported the issues of the Repub- 
 lican party. 
 
 Mr. Oakley was united in marriage Jan. 3, 1865, 
 to Jennie L. Maxwell. Alice M., Cora A., Ida S., 
 Lottie C. and Freddie S. are the names of their 
 children. Mrs. Oakley is the oldest of a large 
 family of children, and is the daughter of David and 
 Barbara (Cassels) Maxwell. Her parents lived and 
 died in Scotland, their native land. She was about 
 12 years of age when she came to the United States. 
 She is a member of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 j illiam H. Reed is a farmer on section 13, 
 Hopkins Township. He was born Dec. 8, 
 1831, in Franklin Co., Pa., son of Isaac 
 and Ann (Commerer) Reed, and his par- 
 ents were also born in the same State, where 
 they were residents until 1852. In that year 
 they settled in Hopkins Township. In August, 1881, 
 they went to Sterling, where they are now resident. 
 Their children were born and named as follows : 
 Elizabeth C., William H., Mary, Anna M., John C., 
 Martin L., George T. and Emma R. 
 
 Mr. Reed is the oldest son, and he received only 
 a common-school education. He accompanied his 
 parents and their family to Hopkins Township, lo- 
 cating near Empire, where he has since resided. He 
 owns 41 acres of land, which is under partial im- 
 provements. 
 
 His marriage to Mary J. Hacker took place Oct. 
 26, 1856, at Sterling. Her parents, William and 
 Elizabeth (Jasper) Hacker, were born in England 
 and came to the United States in 1834, settling in 
 Ulster Co., N. Y. In 1845 they came to Whiteside 
 
 County, settling in Elkhorn Grove, where they passed 
 the remainder of their lives. They had nine chil- 
 dren, born in the following order: Richard J., Na- 
 thaniel S., Elizabeth G., Annabella V., Eliza B., Jane 
 H., Mary J., Edward W. and John T. 
 
 Mrs. Reed was born June 19, 1834, on Prince Ed- 
 ward's Island. She is the mother of seven children, 
 as follows: Nathaniel J., Charles H., Nettie B., 
 Daniel E , Mary E., Ida L. and Lovie D. 
 
 Mr. Reed is a Democrat. He has been somewhat 
 active in local official matters. He belongs to the 
 I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 174, at Sterling. 
 
 .dward Scotchbrook is a farmer of Mt. 
 Pleasant Township, resident on section 
 31. He is a citizen of the United States 
 by adoption, having been born Dec. 8, 1827, in 
 Lincolnshire, England, where he grew to man- 
 hood and was engaged in farming until 1851, 
 when he emigrated to the United States. He first 
 located in Tompkins Co., N. Y. In July, 1852, he 
 came to Whiteside County, and in the autumn fol- 
 lowing he bought 40 acres of land in Fenton Town- 
 ship. He obtained employment as a farm assistant 
 in Lyndon Township, where he worked by the 
 month until the spring of 1854, when he rented the 
 farm known as the Gibbs place, which he managed 
 a year. He then bought 100 acres of land in the 
 township of Prophetstown, where he was engaged in 
 agriculture two years. In 1856 he exchanged his 
 property for another farm in the same township, on 
 which he was the resident proprietor eight years. In 
 1864 he sold the place and bought the Patterson 
 farm near the village of Lyndon, which he held eight 
 years. In 1872 he sold it and bought 294 acres in 
 Mt. Pleasant Township, which is situated on sections 
 31 and 32. On this place he established his home- 
 stead. The entire acreage is practically under till- 
 age, and the proprietor stocks his place on an average 
 with 75 head of cattle and eight horses, and he fat- 
 lens about 50 hogs annually. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Scotchbrook has been an adherent 
 of the Republican party since he became in fact a 
 citizen of the United States until the spring of 1884, 
 when he joined the ranks of the independents. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Scotchbrook, John and Char- 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 * * 
 
 > * 
 
 i 
 
 lotte (Taylor) Scotchbrook, came from Lincolnshire, 
 England, to the United States in 1853. They lo- 
 cated in Whiteside County, where they both died. 
 The date of the decease of the former was in July, 
 1872. The latter died May 6, 1882. They had 
 three children, Mary A., Edward and Elizabeth. 
 
 Mr. Scotchbrook was married in Lyndon Township, 
 March 27, 1854, to Mary A. Pope. Of their union 
 five children have been born, Mary E., George P., 
 Willard A., John T. and Sadie E. The mother was 
 born Dec. 25, 1830, in Lincolnshire, England. Her 
 parents, Abraham and Sarah Crampton Pope, were 
 natives of the English shire where their daughter 
 was born, and whence they emigrated to the United 
 States in 1853. They came to Whiteside County 
 and located in the township of Lyndon. In 1874 
 they made another removal, to the western borders 
 of the continent, to Vancouver's Island. The mother 
 died there, Dec. n, 1878. Their children were 
 named Mary A., Betsey, Thomas, Sarah, Louisa, 
 Eliza, Emma and Aaron. 
 
 harles N. Russell, a retired merchant of 
 Sterling, was born Feb. 3, 1826, in Green- 
 field, Mass. His parents, Charles and Ade- 
 line (Nash) Russell, were natives respectively 
 of Massachusetts and Vermont and of Eng- 
 lish ancestry. 
 
 From the age of 15 to 20 Mr. Russell lived with 
 the Rev. A. Harding, of New Salem, Mass.; then 
 coming to Como, this county, he worked a year 
 on the farm belonging to S. B. Harding; then for 
 two winters he taught school in Princeton, Bureau 
 Co., 111.; next, he was employed at farm labor until 
 the following August, when he went with a survey- 
 ing party north of La Crosse, Wis. The next four 
 years he was employed as clerk in Holmes & Hap- 
 good's store at Como, and four years more he was 
 engaged in the grocery business with A. C. Hap- 
 good at Como ; then he bought out Mr. Hapgood 
 and conducted the business alone for four years, .and 
 sold out. Two years subsequently he removed to 
 Sterling and purchased a house and lot on Spruce 
 St.; subsequently built on the corner of Seventh and 
 Spruce streets, which he now occupies as a resi- 
 
 dence. He also owns a farm of 190 acres at Big 
 Bend, which he rents. 
 
 Mr. Russell is a Republican in his political prin- 
 ciples. He takes special interest in public im- 
 provements and institutions for the public welfare. 
 
 He was married Dec. 25, 1851, to Miss Julia T. 
 Sampson, a native of Duxbury, Mass. She came 
 West in 1836 with her parents, Capt. Henry and 
 Nancy (Turner) Sampson, who settled in Como, kept 
 a hotel for a time and finally died there. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Russell have two children, Annie F. and 
 Charles T. 
 
 armon E. Burr, farmer, section 12, Union 
 Grove Township, was born Nov. 18, 1818, 
 in Winsted, Connecticut. He is the son of 
 Solomon and Mary (Ensign) Burr, and they 
 were both natives and life-long residents of 
 that State. The mother died Oct. 29, 1846 ; 
 the death of the father occurred Dec. 19, 1851. 
 Following are the names of their ten children : Maria, 
 Rufus, Samuel, Mary, Rhoda, Sarah, Willard, Hul- 
 dah, Harmon and Charlotte. 
 
 Mr. Burr attended the common schools until he 
 was 15 years of age, when he commenced teaching. 
 After following that business seven years without 
 intermission, he entered Oberlin College (Ohio), 
 where he pursued a full course of study and was 
 graduated in 1849. He taught during the'vacation 
 seasons to obtain means to defray the expense of his 
 collegiate course. He resumed teaching for a liveli- 
 hood, and resided in Lorain Co., Ohio. In 1850 he 
 was elected Sheriff and served a full term of tour 
 years. On the expiration of his official life in 1865, 
 he came to Illinois and located in Whiteside County. 
 Since his removal to Union Grove Township he has 
 been engaged in farming and in teaching. In the 
 latter calling he is the senior in the county, having 
 taught 50 years. He owns 200 acres of land on 
 the section where he resides, which is principally in 
 a good agricultural condition, and is largely devoted 
 to stock purposes. Mr. Burr has 48 head of cattle 
 and six horses, and sends to market about 60 swine 
 annually. 
 
 He was married in Columbia, Lorain Co., Ohio, 
 May i, 1849, to Ann Squire, and they have 
 
 ! 
 
 . 
 

 
 V"ViHHXrXHH- - y^V ^> 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 - 
 
 
 three children : Harmon E. was bom Jan. 12, 1851 ; 
 Charlotte A., born March 13, 1856, died Feb. 27, 
 1883: John W., born Aug. 27, 1862, died July 23, 
 1870. Mrs. Burr was born March 2, 1825, in Devon- 
 shire, England, and is the 'daughter of Thomas and 
 Susannah Squire. Her parents were born in Devon- 
 shire, England, and in 1834 emigrated with their 
 family to the United States. They located in Lorain 
 Co., Ohio. The father died there Dec. 14, 1856; 
 the mother died in October, 1861. Their children, 
 of whom they had ten, lived to maturity. Their 
 names were Thomas, John, Jonas, Hannah, William, 
 Susan, Elizabeth, Ann,Tamsen and Margaret. 
 
 Mr. Burr is identified politically with the Repub- 
 lican party. In the fall of 1884 he was elected 
 Supervisor of his township, and is still engaged in the 
 discharge of the duties of the position. He and his 
 wife are communicants in the Episcopal Church. 
 
 William Bassett, deceased, formerly a 
 resident of Fulton, and one of the pioneer 
 physicians of Whiteside County, was born 
 in Hinsdale, Berkshire Co., Mass., Sept. 20, 
 1808, and was a son of Isaac and Mary (Knight) 
 Bassett. He received his medical education at 
 the Berkshire Medical Institute, of Pittsfield, Mass., 
 and graduated in the class of 1834. 
 
 He was married at Granby, Hampshire Co., 
 Mass., April 16, 1835, to Miss Louisa A. Ayres, 
 daughter of Chester and Lois (Preston) Ayres. Mrs. 
 Bassett's people for many generations were natives of 
 Massachusetts. Dr. Bassett removed to Bertrand, 
 Mich., and began practice in 1836. The following 
 year he removed to Sycamore, De Kalb Co., 111., 
 where he was in practice till 1842. He then went 
 to Iowa, and from Iowa he came to Fulton in 1849. 
 He entered upon the duties of his profession at this 
 place, where he had an extensive and successful 
 practice. He was afflicted with lung trouble and 
 was often obliged to decline answering calls on ac^ 
 count of failing health. He made his home at Ful- 
 ton i ontinuously from 1849 to the time of his death, 
 which occurred June 23, 1867, except a few months 
 at a time spent in Colorado and in Mt. Morris and 
 Union Grove, 111., for his health. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Bassett's family consisted of two 
 
 sons and a daughter: William E. married Geneva 
 Estabrook and resides in Alabama; Helen S. is the 
 wife of B. F. Woodward, of Denver, Col. ; and Lang- 
 don, the youngest son, died aged four and a half 
 years. 
 
 Dr. Bassett was a Republican and one of Fulton's 
 most respected citizens. As a physician he was 
 skillful in his profession, especially in the diseases 
 incident to the early settlement of this country. His 
 wife, an estimable lady, survives him and continues 
 to reside at Fulton. She is a respected member of 
 the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 eander S. Kauffman is a farmer on sec- 
 tion 25, Hopkins Township. He is the 
 son of Jacob and Ann E. (Snyder) Kauff- 
 man, who were born in Pennsylvania, of Ger- 
 man descent. In 1850 they removed from the 
 Keystone State to Whiteside County, locating 
 primarily at Sterling and removing thence to Jordan 
 Township. Later on they again settled at Sterling, 
 their present place of abode, where they are living 
 in retirement. Their seven children were born in 
 the order in which they are named: Tobias, Ben- 
 jamin F., Leander S., Jacob S., Adam E., Walter N. 
 and Cora M. 
 
 Mr. Kauffman was born May 20, 1847, in Lan- 
 caster Co., Pa. He was three years of age when his 
 parents removed with their family to Whiteside 
 County. He secured a common-school education 
 and lived at home under the care and authority of 
 his parents until he reached his majority. He then 
 began teaching and pursued that business five years 
 in Whiteside County. At the end of that time he 
 entered upon the prosecution of a plan he had pre- 
 viously formed and engaged in farming. He bought 
 80 acres of land in Jordan Township, which he 
 managed five years. He sold his property at the ex- 
 piration of that period of time and bought his 
 present estate in Hopkins Township. At the date 
 of purchase it included no acres, and it now em- 
 braces 213 acres, which is practically all under culti- 
 vation. Mr. Kauffman is a Republican in political 
 preference and relations, and has held several school 
 and local township offices. 
 
 He was united in marriage Nov. 9, 1871, in Lee 
 
 -
 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 I 
 
 (S, 
 
 Co., 111., with Rebecca, daughter of John and Sarah 
 (Robinson) Spivey. The parents were born in Eng- 
 land, and the mother died there in 1850. In 1853 
 the father emigrated with his family to the United 
 States, settling in Ogle Co., 111. The father died 
 there April 6, 1863. Mrs. Kauffman had two sisters, 
 Hannah and Sarah, both older than herself. She 
 was born April 20, 1849, in England. She has been 
 the mother of four children, Carrie M., Fred W., 
 Hattie F. and Grace L. Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman 
 are members of the Christian Church. He belongs 
 to the A. O. U. W. 
 
 ohn Phelps, deceased, an early pioneer 
 merchant of Fulton and one of her most 
 enterprising and respected citizens, was 
 born in Greenfield, Franklin Co., Mass., April 
 8, 1819. His parents were John and Almeda 
 (Newton) Phelps, of English descent. 
 When 1 6 years of age John went to Hartford, 
 Conn., where he was employed as a clerk in a dry- 
 goods store nine years. In 1844 he came to Fulton, 
 111., where he formed a partnership with an elder 
 brother, Augustine Phelps, under the firm name of 
 A. and J. Phelps, dealers in general merchandise. 
 The firm continued to do business until the death of 
 Mr. Augustine Phelps, after which Mr. John Phelps 
 carried on the business alone till 1855, when he sold 
 out to Patrick & Hollinshead. He then built the 
 stone warehouse on the. levee, and was engaged in 
 warehouse business for some years. 
 
 He was married at Fulton, in June, 1848, to Miss 
 Ellen Humphries, daughter of C. and Almira Hum- 
 phries, and step-daughter of John Baker, the first 
 white settler at Fulton. Mrs. Phelps was born at 
 Collinsviile, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. Phelps had two 
 children, a daughter and son: Hattie N. ,is the 
 widow of Robert Robinson; the son, Dwight, mar- 
 ried Louise C. Stetler, and is a resident of Iowa. 
 
 In the fall of 1853 Mr. Phelps and Judge James 
 McCoy purchased a printing-press and office outfit 
 in St. Louis; but as the steamer having the press on 
 board was caught in the ice at Rock Island, it was 
 not until the following spring that it reached its des- 
 nation. The first paper was issued in May, 1854, 
 
 ' ' 
 
 and was called the Whiteside Investigator. This 
 was the first paper published at Fulton. 
 
 Mr. Phelps took an active part in the early rail- 
 road projects, and was chosen a member of the first 
 Board of Directors of the Mississippi & Rock River 
 Junction Railroad, and aided materially in securing 
 the construction of the first railroad to Fulton. He 
 was frequently chosen to fill public positions, and 
 served as School Director, Assessor, Township 
 School Treasurer, Supervisor of the town, Alderman 
 of the city and Township Clerk. He was a promi- 
 nent Freemason, having taken the highest degree in 
 that order, being a member of Fulton City Lodge, 
 No. 189, A. F. & A. M., of which he was an officer 
 many years. He was also a member and officer of 
 Fulton Chapter, No. 108, R. A. M., and of the Dixon 
 Commandery and Freeport Consistory. In politics 
 he was Republican. 
 
 Mr. Phelps was a man of many noble qualities, 
 and remarkable for a keen sense of honor and the 
 strictest integrity. His word was considered as 
 good as his bond. While among his fellow citizens 
 he was known as " Honest John Phelps." 
 
 He lost his wife, an estimable lady, Oct. 10, 1877, 
 and for several years prior to his death he was not 
 in business, but lived quietly at his old homestead in 
 the company of his only daughter, Mrs. Robinson. 
 His death occurred Feb. 5, 1884. 
 
 .amuel H. Greenawalt, dealer in grain, 
 coal and lumber at Gait and Round Grove, 
 was born Jan. 18, 1841, in Franklin Co., 
 Pa. His father, Jacob Greenawalt, was born 
 in Pennsylvania and there married Mary Diehl, 
 I also a native of the same State. Their 12 
 children were born in Franklin County, where the 
 father died, in 1865. The mother survives. 
 
 Mr. Greenawalt is the seventh child of his parents. 
 He received the advantages of the common schools 
 of his native county, where he remained during his 
 minority, serving meanwhile two years in the shop of 
 his father, who was a tailor. On arriving at the age 
 of 21 years he came to Illinois. After passing a 
 year in Lee County, where tie worked on a farm, he 
 came in 1863 to Whiteside County and passed the 
 first season as a farm laborer. In the winter of
 
 UnrtMfi 
 
 UNIVERSITY W
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 1864-5 he engaged as a clerk in a general mercan- 
 tile establishment, and afterwards entered the ma- 
 chine shop of Gait & Tracy. He continued in their 
 employment until the fall of 1866, when he formed 
 a partnership with J. K. Caro'lus, the firm style be- 
 coming Carolus & Greenawalt. They transacled a 
 business in general merchandise at Empire until the 
 spring of 1885, when they disposed of their stock, 
 in order to devote themselves exclusively to the 
 management of the trade in which they are now 
 operating, and which they inaugurated in 1881 at 
 Gait, their firm style being transposed, and their 
 business has since been managed under that of 
 Greenawalt & Carolus. They have a branch estab- 
 lishment at Round Grove. Mr. Greenawalt is a 
 Democrat in political sentiment, and he has been 
 Clerk of Hopkins Township four years. He is a 
 member of the I. O. O. F., and belongs to the 
 English Lutheran Church, with which his wife is also 
 connected. 
 
 He was united in marriage in 1866 at Sterling, 
 111., to Melinda, daughter of George and Elizabeth 
 (Kuhn) Carolus, and is the sister of the business as- 
 sociate of her husband. She was born in April, 
 1842, in Franklin Co., Pa., and came in April, 1862, 
 to Whiteside County. Ollie M. and Frank H. are 
 the names of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Greenawalt. 
 
 
 i eander Smith, banker at Morrison, is one 
 
 fof the most prominent business men in 
 Northern Illinois. He is senior member 
 of the banking firm of Smith & Mackay, and 
 has been president of the First National Bank at 
 Morrison since its organization in 1865. The 
 ancestors of Mr. Smith belonged to the old Puritan 
 stock that settled in Massachusetts, and his imme- 
 diate progenitors located at and near Ipswich, in that 
 State. From there, Nathan Smith, his father, traced 
 direct lineal descent. The grandparents of Mr. 
 Smith settled in Mount Vernon, N. H., where Na- 
 than was born in 1777. Nancy Lamson, who became 
 his wife, was born in Mount Vernon, in 1^82, and 
 they became the parents of two sons .Nathan, Jr., 
 
 5^ 
 
 and Leander. The former died in Athol, Mass., in 
 January, 1879, and left a wife and three children. 
 
 Nathan Smith, senior, was by vocation a manu- 
 facturer of woolen cloth, and, after marriage went to 
 Templeton, Mass. In 1838 he removed to Royals- 
 ton, in the same State, and died there in 1849. His 
 wife died at the same place, in 1854. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born Feb. 10, 1819, in Templeton, 
 Mass. In addition to the business of a manufacturer 
 his father owned and conducted a farm, where his 
 family lived and where his sons were brought up. 
 Mr. Smith lived on the farm until he was 16 years 
 of age, when he was sent to an academy at New 
 Ipswich, N. H., where he obtained a substantial ele- 
 mentary education. At the age of 17 years he began 
 teaching and spent six successive winters in the pur- 
 suit of that vocation. Meanwhile he was engaged 
 in studious preparation for a professional life, and, as 
 opportunity offered, he began to read medicine. He 
 matriculated in the Medical Department of Dart- 
 mouth College, in Hanover, N. H., from which he 
 was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1842, 
 when he was 23 years of age. He entered upon his 
 initiatory career as a physician and surgeon at Rich- 
 mond, N. H., where he practiced with success for 
 about three years. He was not content with the 
 scope and acquisitions of his life as a professional 
 man, and in order to extend his business relations he 
 left Richmond and went to Tioga Co., Pa., when the 
 rich lumber resources of that section was being 
 opened and which afforded a promising field for trie 
 exercise of the abilities and ambitions of Mr. Smith. 
 His professional skill was as valuable a resource as 
 the energies and financial ability he brought to bear 
 upon the situation, and he conducted his business as 
 a physician with all the interest and ardor demanded 
 by the exigencies of the location. He entered 
 heavily into the manufacture and sale of lumber and 
 combined therewith a mercantile enterprise of con- 
 siderable proportions. His location was at Elkland, 
 and he was engaged in the pursuit of his several 
 business interests in Tioga County from 1845 to l8 53- 
 
 Meanwhile, the glowing and exciting accounts of 
 the golden harvest on the Pacific coast, ripe for the 
 reapers, aroused all sections of the New World and 
 Mr. Smith joined the "Argonauts," as the earliest im- 
 migrants to California were designated. He went in 
 March, 1849, to the sunset slope of the Western 
 

 
 v Continent, to avail himself of the mining resources. 
 
 ; At that time the city of Sacramento was a hamlet of 
 " tents, and a few unpretentious houses occupied the 
 site of the present magnificent city of the Golden 
 Gate. The local government was in a state of chaos 
 from existing circumstances ; the rapid influx of 
 population of a most miscellaneous character, setting 
 aside all regulations of law and order; and, in the ab- 
 sence of authority, every man was a power unto him- 
 self and exercised his assumed prerogatives according 
 to his own interpretations of the rights and privileges 
 
 - to himself accruing, by virtue of his, understanding, 
 his interests, or his pejudices, or whatever his stand- 
 point might be. Mr. Smith engaged in prospecting 
 on the North Fork of the American River, and he 
 remained in California about a year. He was an 
 efficient auxiliary in the administration of measures 
 to secure the tranquillity and protection of the people, 
 the government being in a formative condition and 
 largely dependent on the efficiency of the authorities 
 constituted irregularly in the absence of systematized 
 municipal regulations. 
 
 He returned to Pennsylvania in 1850, after a year 
 of successful operation in the Golden State, and re- 
 sumed the duties of his former business connections. 
 In 1853 he went to Vinton, Benton Co., Iowa, under 
 the same impetus which had led him to Pennsyl- 
 vania. He established his practice there and be- 
 came speedily and extensively identified with the 
 general interests of the place. He acquired the pro- 
 prietorship of large tracts of Government land, and 
 he platted an addition to the village of Vinton, which 
 is still designated by his name. After operating at 
 that point a year, he went to Lyons, in Iowa, and 
 prosecuted his professional business and other inter- 
 ests two years. 
 
 In 1856 he came to Fulton, Whiteside Co., 111., 
 where he devoted his attention to the prosecution of 
 financial projects and enterprises, and also engaged 
 extensively in the manufacture and sale of lumber. 
 He prosecuted his interests in that direction at Ful- 
 ton ten years, and during that time he secured large 
 tracts of Government land in Wisconsin and Min- 
 nesota, covered with pine timber, the latter being re- 
 moved and the land afterwards sold to settlers for 
 farms. 
 
 Mr. Smith inaugurated the private banking enter- 
 prise of Smith, Root & Co., at Fulton, in 1856, in 
 
 *S*ft- 
 
 
 
 which he retained a controlling interest until 1864, 
 in which year the financial enterprise under the style 
 of L. Smith & Co. was established at Morrison. In 
 1865 the latter was converted into the First National 
 Bank, with Mr. Smith as President and A. J. Jack- 
 son, Cashier. In January, 1885, the bank com- 
 menced business under its first extension of franchise, 
 its original charter having expired at the end of 20 
 years. 
 
 In the fall of 1862, while a resident of Fulton, Mr- 
 Smith was elected to represent his district in the 
 Legislature of Illinois, and in the fall of 1864, he was 
 re-elected to the same position. He served on 
 Committees on Banks, Corporations and State Insti- 
 tutions, and on several others of minor importance. 
 Hi performed his duties in the interests of his con- 
 stituency in an able and characteristic manner. He 
 introduced several important bills, among which was 
 that providing for the building of the Rockford, Rock 
 Island & St. Louis Railroad, now the property of the 
 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy corporation. 
 
 In 1868, Mr. Smith visited California in the pur- 
 suit of health and relaxation from business cares, to 
 find a wealthy and prosperous commonwealth, fair 
 cities thronged with the most cosmopolitan popula- 
 tion to be found on the earth, and a general con- 
 dition which seemed the result of the operations of 
 some superhuman instrumentality. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Smith became a resident of Morrison, 
 ai d in 1878 he founded the private banking house of 
 Smith & Mackay, of which he is the senior member, 
 and which has been from the outset engaged in the 
 transaction of extensive and satisfactory financial 
 operations. He has continued his traffic in real 
 estate and has devoted much attention to the general 
 improvement of land in Whiteside County, where he 
 is the proprietor of 2,000 acres of land under excel- 
 lent cultivation. He is also the owner of several 
 thousand acres of land in Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin 
 and Minnesota. 
 
 Since becoming a citizen of Whiteside County, he 
 has been continuously identified with the local inter- 
 ests of Fulton and Morrison. He officiated several 
 years as member of the Council in the former place, 
 and also served that municipality some years as City 
 Treasurer. On the organization of the College of 
 Northern' Illinois, at Fulton, he was constituted a 
 member of the Board of Trustees, and, with the ex- 
 ^ r^ ^JJVSL.ir' 
 
 ! 
 i 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 ;
 
 
 . WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ception of an interim of one year, he has acted as its 
 Treasurer continuously. He has had entire charge 
 of its endowment fund. Mr. Smith has been one of 
 the Board of Aldermen at Morrison six years. He 
 belongs to the Masonic fraternity at Fulton. 
 
 Whatever political faith Mr. Smith possessed on 
 arriving at the era of his legal freedom he had im- 
 bibed from association chiefly, his ancestors having 
 been Democrats of the Jacksonian school, and he 
 acted in accordance with his transmitted principles 
 until 1848. The crowning and significant events 
 that characterized the presidential campaign of that 
 year had a weighty influence with Mr. Smith, and he 
 had, as by intuition, a comprehensive understanding 
 of all that was implied by the term "Free Soil," and 
 understood the responsibilities which, coming exi- 
 gencies laid upon his manhood. He voted for Martin 
 Van Buren as the exponent of his new faith in its 
 embryo state. On the organization of the Republican 
 party he enlisted earnestly in its ranks, and has ever 
 since accorded to its issues his zealous support. 
 
 He is equally sincere in religious sentiment, and 
 although he favors the tenets of the Baptist creed, he 
 is liberal and tolerant of all denominational bodies 
 who base their organization upon the principles of 
 Christianity. He gives to all generously without dis- 
 tinction of sect, and since the outset of his career of 
 prosperity he has been known as the helpful assist- 
 ant of all evangelical projects. He was one of the 
 largest contributors to the new church edifice built by 
 the Presbyterian society at Morrison, in 1884. 
 
 It is conceded that Mr. Smith is at the head of the 
 long catalogue of financiers in Whiteside County, 
 which presents an array of names of uncommon 
 ability and success. Men are born with the Midas 
 touch, and every community comprises one or more 
 in its category of types of business pre-eminence. 
 
 Mr. Smith was united in marriage Aug. 18, 1843, 
 in Richmond, N. H., to Elizabeth Parkhurst. She 
 was born in Richmond and was the daughter of Dr. 
 John Parkhurst, of that place. She died Jan. 31, 
 1851, at Elkland, Pa. Mr. Smith entered into a 
 second matrimonial alliance May 2, 1855, with Dolly 
 Ann Allen. She was born in Cortland Co., N. Y. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been the parents of six 
 children. Elizabeth, second child, is deceased. 
 Alice is the oldest. Frank L. is cashier in the bank- 
 ing house of Smith & Mackay. Louis W. is his suc- 
 -SM&-. - ^-axa.^ ,-s v^ 
 
 cessor in the order of birth. Edward A. is a book- ' 
 keeper in the bank. Harry W. is the youngest child. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Smith is presented on another * 
 page. It will be welcomed by his own generation 
 through personal motives of appreciation, and those i! 
 of the future will cherish it as the likeness of one who 
 brought his abilities and resources to bear upon the 
 permanent foundation of Whiteside County. 
 
 r'ohn Yager, retired farmer, resident at Ster- 
 '* ling, was born in Union Co., Pa., Jan. 30, 
 1808, his parents being John and Mary E. 
 (Phillip) Yager, farmers, of German ancestry. 
 In their family of six children, the subject 
 whose name heads this paragraph was the 
 second in order of birth. His parents moved to 
 Ohio in 1812 and lived there eight years, clearing 
 and improving a small farm. This they sold and 
 removed to Jackson County, that State, where they 
 purchased a farm of 160 acres and then retired, in 
 1837. Mr. Y. died Feb. 13, 1856. 
 
 John remained at home until 2 1 years of age, as- 
 sisting on the farm and receiving a limited education. 
 After leaving home he purchased 80 acres of the 
 Government, which he improved and occupied for 
 seven years. He then sold out, and in 1836 came 
 to Ogle County, this State, and took up a claim that 
 had no bounds, as " Uncle Sam " owned all the land 
 that was "joining him! " Residing there until 1843, 
 he sold out his interest and removed to Genesee 
 Township, this county, buying 600 acres, which he 
 occupied till 1880, when he moved to his present 
 residence in Sterling. He still owns 540 acres of 
 land. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Yager is a Democrat, 
 and both himself and wife are members of the 
 Christian Church, of which he has also been a min- 
 ister. He was ordained in 1836, and followed 
 preaching the gospel, as well as farming, up to 1880. 
 At Coleta he built a house of worship, at his own 
 expense. He has, accordingly, exhibited a high de- 
 gree of philanthropy ; and, being a consistent Chris- 
 tian, he has won the respect and maintained the 
 highest esteem of the community. 
 
 April 19, 1829, Mr. Yager married Miss Elizabeth 
 Ayers, and they had nine children, only two of whom 
 
 ^@ 

 
 . 
 
 X 
 
 v < 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 I 
 (> 
 
 are living, Mary and Harriet. The first named 
 married Henry Miller, and they have six children, ' 
 William, Oran, John, Bell, Hattie and Samuel. Har- 
 riet Yager married Ephraim Brookfield, and has three 
 children living, Edwin, Nellie and Helen. Mr. 
 Brookfield died in Florida, and his widow afterward 
 married Henry Green, and by this marriage had one 
 child, Charles by name. For his second wife Mr. 
 Yager married Catharine Nance, Dec. 12, 1853, and 
 lived with her nine years. 
 
 Nov. 1 6, 1863, Mr. Yager married for his present 
 wife, Mrs. M. A. McCray. 
 
 W. Bastian, of the firm of F. K. & A. W. 
 Bastian, publishers and proprietors of the 
 Fulton Journal, a semi-weekly independent 
 paper, was born ' in Geauga Co., Ohio, June 
 26, 1846, and is the son of Van S. and Ann E. 
 Bastian. He removed to Rochester, N. Y., 
 with his parents in 1850, and received his primary 
 education in the schools of that city. In 1861 he 
 came to Prophetstown, this county, where he was 
 engaged in farming and teaching school. He sub- 
 sequently removed to Bureau County, this State. 
 Being ambitious to acquire a thorough education, 
 while his circumstances did not justify the necessary 
 expense, he was obliged to earn the money with 
 which to pay his way through college. This he did 
 in teaching school and working on a farm till he 
 succeeded in obtaining three terms at Dover College 
 and two at Wheaton, finally receiving a State certifi- 
 cate. His attendance at Wheaton occurred after he 
 was married. He taught the Yorktown school, or- 
 ganized the Tampico school, graded it and served as 
 Principal seven years. 
 
 He came to Fulton in August, 1881, and pur- 
 chased a half interest in the Journal office, and has 
 since devoted his entire attention to conducting that 
 business. The history of the paper under the man- 
 agement of the Bastian Brothers proves that it is 
 ably edited and that the office is conducted on sound 
 business principles. 
 
 Mr. A. W. Bastian was married in Yorktown, 111., 
 March 4, 1872, to Miss Eva A. Patterson, daughter 
 of Orrin and Lucy M. (Chubbuck) Patterson. Mrs. 
 
 Bastian was born in Bureau Co., 111. They have 
 one child, Sidney A., born Dec. 13, 1875. 
 
 Mr. Bastian is a Democrat in his political views. 
 
 _dward J. Hempstead, liveryman, Sterling, 
 was born in Oswego Co., N. Y., April 28, 
 1816, his parents being Col. William and 
 Miriam (Hyatt) Hempstead, natives of the Em- 
 pire State. His father dying in 1834, he as- 
 sisted in support of the family until he was 25 
 years of age, when he bought a small farm and cul- 
 tivated it six years. He then sold out and entered 
 the livery business at Oswego City, which he fol- 
 lowed for 14 years. Then he came to Sterling and 
 engaged in the same business, in which he is enjoy- 
 ing fair success. He is the oldest liveryman in the 
 city. 
 
 Politically, he is a Democrat in his principles, and 
 religiously he is in sympathy with the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 He was married Oct. 8, 1846, to Miss Julia King, 
 and they have one son, Frederick, born May 21, 
 1848. 
 
 red K. Bastian, senior partner of Bastian 
 Bros., publishers and proprietors of the 
 Fulton Journal (see history of the paper 
 elsewhere in this work), was born in Roches- 
 ter, N. Y., Sept. 23, 1856, and is the son of 
 Van S. and Ann E. Bastian. He came to 
 Illinois with his parents in 1861, and was brought 
 up on a farm near Prophetstown, this county. He 
 received his primary education in the district school, 
 became a student of Princeton (111.) High School 
 and of Wheaton (111.) College, and subsequently at- 
 tended the Whiteside County Normal School three 
 terms. He received a first-grade certificate and 
 taught school three years. He was engaged in vari- 
 ous employments till October, 1879, when he was 
 employed as reporter on the Sterling Gazette. That 
 connection continued till April, 1881, when he pur- 
 chased the Journal office of the Sterling Gazette 
 Company. He changed its politics from Republican 
 to Independent-Democratic. Aug. 21, 1881, his
 
 -N X. 
 
 ^^^V-MMxrXMM-:/^ W 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 - - 
 
 elder brother, A. W., purchased a half interest in 
 the office, and the business has since been conducted 
 under the firm name of Bastian Brothers. In Sep- 
 tember of that year they changed the paper from an 
 eight-column folio to a nine-column folio, weekly, 
 patent inside ; and in November following the patent 
 business was discontinued and the paper wholly 
 printed at home. The paper was issued in that 
 form till October 30, 1882, when it was made a 
 seven-column semi-weekly, all home print, and pub- 
 lished Tuesdays and Fridays. The Journal was 
 the official paper of the county during the years 
 1883-4-5. The office is supplied with a power press 
 and good outfit of material for all sorts of job work. 
 Without severing his connection with the Journal, 
 Mr. Bastian went to Grand Forks, Dak., in July, 
 1882, and engaged as a reporter on the Grand Forks 
 Daily and Weekly News. He continued on the 
 News staff until November of that year, when he re- 
 turned to Fulton and the Journal office. 
 
 Mr. Bastian has served one year as City Marshal 
 of Fulton. In politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 He was married at Mendota, 111., Aug. 21, 1884, 
 to Miss Nellie J. Barton, daughter of William and 
 Maria L. Barton. Mrs. Bastian was born in fcsr 
 
 salience., 111. 
 
 i ashington Loomis, deceased, was formerly 
 a farmer on section 34, Hopkins Town- 
 ship. He was born Feb. 9, 1827, in the 
 State of New York. He settled at Como, in 
 Hopkins Township, in 1854, where he was 
 resident a little more than two years. He then 
 bought 1 60 acres of land on section 34, Hopkins 
 Township, and later made a further purchase of 103 
 acres. He continued the management of his farm- 
 ing interests until the fall of 1867, when he removed 
 to Sterling. In the spring of 1868 he went to 
 Waverly, Iowa, and engaged in the sale of agricul- 
 tural implements, and was occupied in that business 
 until his death, which occurred July 30, 1870. 
 
 While a resident of Hopkins Township he was 
 prominent in local township official matters and 
 acted in the capacity of Supervisor nine years, be- 
 sides filling the position of Treasurer and other 
 minor offices. 
 
 He was married Nov. 9, 1854, to Marcia G. Bur- 
 
 dick, by whom he had six children, named William 
 H., Carlton W., Frank W., Carrie A., Blanche A. and 
 Henry E. The three last named are deceased. Mrs. 
 Loomis was born Aug. 7, 1831, in the State of New 
 York, and is the daughter of Joel C. and Mary 
 (Baker) Burdick. The former was a native of Mas- 
 sachusetts and the latter was born in New York. 
 Their children were Marcia G., William R., Joel C., 
 Alexis C. and Clarence A. 
 
 
 enry May, farmer, section 35, Hopkins 
 j Township, has lived in Whiteside County 
 since the autumn of 1854, when he came 
 hither with his wife and two children ; and, as- 
 sociated with his brother, bought 167 acres on 
 the section on which his homestead has since 
 been established. He is the owner of 70 acres of 
 land, chiefly under tillage. He is a Democrat in 
 political choice and relations. 
 
 Mr. May was born Oct. 19, 1815, in Massachu- 
 setts. He spent his youthful years in obtaining a 
 common-school education, and passed the time in- 
 tervening between that age and his majority in ac- 
 quiring a knowledge of carriage-making and the 
 trade of wheelwright. He followed these occupa- 
 tions until 1840, when he began running an omnibus 
 line between Roxbury and Boston, in which he was 
 interested four years. In January, 185 r, he went to 
 California, making the route there by way of the isth- 
 mus of Panama. He engaged in mining in the 
 Golden State, and was occupied in that business 
 three years, meeting partial success. He returned 
 to Massachusetts in the spring of 1854; and in the 
 fall came to Illinois. 
 
 He formed a matrimonial alliance with Martha 
 Jane Currier Nov. 27, 1846, in Methuen, Mass. She 
 was born Feb. 20, 1822, in that place, and is the 
 daughter of John and Harriet (Burr) Currier. Her 
 parents lived and died in the State of Massachusetts. 
 She is the oldest of their six children, and her broth- 
 ers and sisters were named Eunice B., John M., 
 Jonathan G., Ada B. and Cynthia E. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. May have been four 
 in number, and they were born in the following order : 
 Mary H., Esther E., William A. and Henry C. Es-
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 II 
 
 
 
 ther died Oct. 14, 1853, when about three years of 
 age. Mary married Delos Olds and lives at Como. 
 Mr. and Mrs. May are members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 
 Christian Kurkholder, proprietor of the 
 general agricultural depot on Spruce 
 Street, Sterling, was born Sept. 29, 1848, 
 his parents being Elias and Maria (Blair) Burk 
 holder, natives of Pennsylvania, who moved 
 to Clinton Co., Ohio, in 1857, and to Sterling 
 in the fall of 1859. Mr. Burkholder, the senior, fol- 
 lowed farming until 1882, since which time he has 
 been engaged in the live-stock business. 
 
 Christian, the subject of this notice, attended 
 the Rock River Seminary at Mount Morris, 111., 
 four terms. Then he started out in business by 
 entering the employment of H. S. Street, in the ag- 
 ricultural warehouse, and was with him until 1877, 
 when he purchased his interest and has since then 
 managed the business alone. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. B. is a Republican, is a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is 
 a consistent Christian gentleman, being liberal and 
 public-spirited. 
 
 Mr. Burkholder married Miss Mary P. Irvine, the 
 daughter of Joseph and Electa S. (Parsons) Irvine, 
 of Rockford, Oct. 7, 1869. By this marriage there 
 have been six children, Nellie M., Charles J., Lotta 
 A., Harry E., Homer S. and Alice M. 
 
 H 
 
 Naniga & Co., dealers in dry goods, gro- 
 ceries, boots and shoes, etc. This is a 
 new mercantile firm, established at Fulton 
 April r, 1885, with a fine general stock valued 
 at $3,000. The members comprising the firm 
 are Garrett Naniga and Herman Sikkema. 
 The senior partner, Garrett Naniga, was born in Ful- 
 ton Township, this county, Feb. 18, 1861, and is the 
 son of George and Dereke (Felt) Naniga. He was 
 reared on a farm, and in 1882 engaged as clerk for 
 George DeBey, a general merchant of Fulton, and 
 continued with him till April i, 1885, when he formed 
 the existing partnership with Mr. Sikkema. He was 
 
 married in Ustick Township, this county, Oct. 15, 
 1884, to Miss Helen Sikkema, daughter of Jacob 
 Sikkema. Mrs. Naniga was born in Holland and 
 came to the United States in 1865. Mr. Naniga's 
 parents are also natives of Holland and came to the 
 United States in 1855. He is a Republican ; he and 
 his wife attend the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Herman Sikkema, junior partner of the above men- 
 tioned firm, is a native of Holland and was born 
 June 21, 1858. He is the son of William and Annie 
 (Housenga) Sikkema. He emigrated to the United 
 States in 1872 and arrived in Fulton, 111., the same 
 year. He has been engaged in farming, mill work 
 and teaming till April, 1885, when he formed the ex- 
 isting partnership with Mr. Naniga. He is Repub- 
 lican in politics and attends the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Messrs. Naniga and Sikkema are energetic young 
 business men, who have hosts of friends who will re- 
 joice to see them prosper in their newly established 
 business. 
 
 eremiah K. Carolus, member of the firm ot 
 ' Greenawalt & Carolus, dealers in grain, coal 
 and lumber, at Gait and Round Grove, 
 was born in Franklin Co., Pa., July 23, 1844. 
 and he is the son of George and Elizabeth 
 (Kuhn) Carolus. His father was born in 
 Pennsylvania and died there July 15, 1856. In 
 1860 the mother came to Whiteside County and has 
 since resided at Sterling. Their ten children were 
 born in the order in which their names are given, as 
 follows : John F., Isaac, Joanna, Margaret, Elizabeth, 
 William, Josiah, Melinda, Jeremiah K. and Emanuel. 
 In 1860 Mr. Carolus came to Whiteside County, 
 where he arrived in April. He engaged as a farm 
 laborer at various points and spent three years work- 
 ing by the month, after which he operated as a car- 
 penter at Sterling about the same length of time. He 
 then came to Empire in Hopkins Township, and in 
 December, 1866, entered into a business association 
 with Samuel H. Greeanwalt, his brother-in law, for the 
 purpose of prosecuting mercantile transactions. They 
 maintained their establishment at Empire until the 
 spring of 1885, when they sold their stock. 
 
 In 1 88 1 they began their operations in coal, grain 
 and lumber at Gait, under the firm name of Green- 
 
 ^nna^ 

 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 39 
 
 ' await & Carolus, and in the spring of 1885 they 
 started a branch establishment, at Round Grove. 
 They are managing their business relations with 
 profit to themselves and satisfaction to the public 
 generally. 
 
 Mr. Carolus is a Republican in political connec- 
 tion, has been actively interested in school matters 
 in his locality, and was elected Town Clerkin the 
 spring of 1885. 
 
 His marriage to Mary A., daughter of Joseph and 
 and Louisa Lytle, occurred Nov. 28, 1872, in Hop- 
 kins Township. Her parents were born in Pennsyl- 
 vania and settled about 1857 in Whiteside County. 
 Her father died in 1884. Mrs. Carolus is one of six 
 children, who were born as follows : Joseph, Lucy, 
 Mary A., Harry, Maggie and Lizzie. She was born 
 Sept. 23, 1844, in Lancaster Co., Pa., and she is the 
 mother of four children George L., Bertie, Herbert 
 J. and Edith M. Mr. and Mrs. Carolus are mem- 
 bers of the English Lutheran Church, and he is a 
 member of the I. O. O. F. 
 
 i ufus E. Dade, dealer in boots and shoes, 
 and sewing-machines, Fulton City, estab- 
 lished his business Jan. i, 1880. He was 
 born in Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., 
 June 12, 1844. When three years of age he 
 went -with his parents to Fulton, N. Y.; six 
 years later the family removed to Spring Wells, 
 Mich., where Rufus learned the shoemaker's trade. 
 
 On the breaking out of the late war he enlisted, 
 Sept. 10, 1861, in Co. F, 5th Mich. Vol. Inf. He 
 participated in the siege of Yorktown, Va., from some 
 time in April to Mays, 1862; battles of Williams- 
 burg, May 5; Fair Oaks, May 31, and June i; 
 Chickahominy, June 26 ; Malvern Hill, July i ; 
 second Bull Run, Aug. 30; Chantilly, Sept. i; South 
 Mountain, Md., Sept. 14; Antietam, Md., Sept. 17; 
 Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13 ; Chancellorsville, May 
 2, 1863; Gettysburg, Pa., July 2 and 3; Locust 
 Grove, Va., Dec. 27 and 30; and the Wilderness, 
 May 5, and 6, 1864, where he was wounded. He 
 was then in the hospitals at Washington, D. C., and 
 York, Pa., and was sent from the last named place to 
 Detroit, Mich., where he was mustered out of the ser- 
 Oct. 27, 1864, receiving an honorable discharge. 
 
 He re-enlisted June 6, 1866, in the 43d Veteran Re- 
 serve Corps, and performed duty as an artificer, with 
 the rank of a non-commissioned officer. He was 
 stationed at Fort Mackinaw and served till May 26, 
 1868. 
 
 He then came to Fulton, 111., where he was em- 
 ployed as foreman by S. B. Boyer, boot and shoe 
 manufacturer, until he closed business in 1877. He 
 then formed a partnership with Fred Fell in the boot 
 and shoe trade, which connection continued two 
 years. Jan. i, 1880, he entered upon his present 
 business. 
 
 He was married at Fulton, 111., Jan. 26, 1871, to 
 Miss Elizabeth R. Webb, daughter of E. K. and 
 Anna M. Webb. Mrs. Dade was born in Fulton, 111. 
 They have four children, two boys and two girls: 
 Myrtie E., Laura A., Edwin R. and Bertie A. 
 
 Mr. Dade has usually voted with the Republican 
 party, but at present is inclined to be an independent. 
 
 ames Drew, one of the proprietors of the 
 (f- Economy Mill, Sterling, was born in the 
 Dominion of Canada, Dec. 3, 1832, his par- 
 ents being Elisha and Anna (Dart) Drew. His 
 father was by trade a carpenter, and in 1852 
 came ^to Stephenson County, this State, en- 
 gaging in agriculture; but he is at present a resident 
 of Lena, having retired from active business. 
 
 James, the eldest in his father's family of nine 
 children, remained at home until 21 years of age, 
 assisting his father at his trade and on the farm and 
 receiving a common-school education. He left Can- 
 ada in 1851, came to Stephenson Co., 111., worked at 
 the carpenter's trade and assisted his father on his 
 farm until of age. Then he went to Lena and 
 worked at the carpenter's trade till the fall of 1855, 
 when he came to Sterling and followed his vocation 
 until, in 1861, he commenced as a miller for a man 
 named Ross ; the mill changed proprietors at the 
 end of a year, and Mr. Drew continued in his 
 capacity as miller several years longer, for the new 
 firm. He next entered the employment of J. McKen- 
 ney in the Sterling Mills, working for him several 
 years, then four years for Church & Patterson. In 
 1880 he purchased a third interest in the Economy 
 Mill, in company with Dillon & Harris; in 1881, in 
 company with Harris, he purchased Mr. Dillon's 
 
 
 
 E7t 
 
 J 
 
 fa 
 
 I
 
 X v- 
 
 310 
 
 ^TX-'.HHXDfHH-'X'V ^ 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 - 
 
 I 
 
 ^ f interest ; and he bought out Mr. Harris in 1883. In 
 
 \ 1884 he sold a half interest to D. R. Denison. They 
 bought the building lot and water power, and have 
 since conducted the establishment as a merchant 
 (&j and custom mill, with acceptability to their patrons. 
 Mr. D. owns his fine residence on Pine and Sixth 
 Streets. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Drew is a Republican, 
 and in his religious connections a member of the 
 Presbyterian Church at Sterling, of which body Mrs. 
 Drew is also a member. He is also a member of the 
 v Masonic Order. 
 
 June 4, 1856, Mr. Drew was married to Melinda 
 Olinghouse, a native of Ohio, and they have had 
 three children, namely, Florence E., Laura F. and 
 Charles E. 
 
 .arius Gould, furniture dealer in the Far- 
 well Block, on Locust Street, Sterling, was 
 born March 9, 1824, in Saratoga Co., N. 
 Y., and was one year old when his parents, 
 Tobias and Dinah (Degroff) Gould (also natives 
 of the Empire State), moved to Bradford Co., 
 where his father, a farmer, died, in 1831 : his 
 mother died in Georgia, in 1875. 
 
 On the death of his father, Mr. Gould went with 
 his grandparents to Cayuga Co., N. Y., and remained 
 with them until 17 years of age, attending school 
 winters. He then went to Tioga County, same State, 
 and served a three years' apprenticeship at shoe- 
 making. His health failing, he returned to Cayuga 
 County and worked at carpentry three years, when 
 he came to Genesee, this county, purchased a farm 
 of 40 acres, cultivated it and also worked at his 
 trade. This farm he sold in 1860, and purchased 
 another in the same town, comprising 120 acres. 
 Two years afterward he sold this farm also, went to 
 Hickory Grove, bought 80 acres and followed farm- 
 ing there until 1870, when he sold out and moved to 
 Sterling, where for 14 years he followed building by 
 contracts, being very successful. Sometimes he had 
 as many as ten men in his employ. Jan. i, 1884, he 
 purchased the interest of Joshua McKenny in the 
 furniture and undertaking business. He has one 
 partner, and now the firm of Stakemiller .& Gould 
 enjoying a prosperous trade. Mr. Gould owns a 
 
 house and lot on Sixth Street, between Locust and 
 B, where he resides. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Gould is a Republican ; religiously, 
 a consistent Christian gentlemen, being a member of 
 the Baptist Church at Sterling, to which body Mrs. 
 G. also belongs. He is also a Freemason. 
 
 Mr. Gould was married to Miss Lucy Ann South- 
 ard, of Cayuga Co., N. Y., March 17, 1848. She 
 died in 1876, leaving four children, Francis A.> 
 William L., Sarah A. and Ida A. Mr. Gould was 
 married a second time, Sept. 5, 1877, to Mrs. E. 
 S. Phillips, of Sterling, and by this marriage there is 
 one daughter, Jessie by name. 
 
 jarlton W. Loomis is a farmer on section 
 34, Hopkins Township. He is the son of 
 Washington and Marcia G. (Burdick) Loomis, 
 of whom a succinct personal narration is given 
 on another page. He was born March 24, 
 1 86 1, in Hopkins Township. He obtained as 
 good a common-school education as the public 
 schools afforded, which he attended until he was 16 
 years of age. He then went to Valparaiso, Ind., 
 where he attended the Normal School six months. 
 Later he entered the Iowa Business College at Cedar 
 Rapids, where he was graduated in February, 1878. 
 He is engaged in farming on the homestead of his 
 father, of which he is the owner. In political prefer- 
 ence he is a Republican. 
 
 Mr. Loomis was married Feb. 22, i88i,in Sterling, 
 to Lydia, daughter of Henry S. and Elizabeth (Eshle- 
 man) Williams. Her parents are natives of Lancas- 
 ter Co., Pa,, and she is one of seven children, born in 
 the following order: Benjamin F., Albert A., Jacob 
 E., Lydia, Henry E., Ulysses G. and Minnie E. 
 Mrs. Loomis was born March 3, 1864, in Sterling. 
 She is the mother of two children, William W. and 
 Charles E. 
 
 "8 
 
 !' F. Eastman, now connected with the 
 Sterling Gazette, was born in Ellisburg, N. 
 i/""' Y., Nov. u, 1844, his parents being 
 P Charles W. and Cynthia (Fiske) Eastman, ijf 
 '^ natives of New England. He graduated at 
 Schenectady, and taught school at Maquoketa, 
 Iowa, and at different points in this county until
 
 
 ,....

 
 LI 
 Utt!VtR,S"> of if
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 1872, when he assumed the editorship of the Red 
 Oak (Iowa) Express. In a few months, however, he 
 returned to Sterling, and was connected with the 
 Gazette, as editor and proprietor, for ten years ; then 
 was engaged in banking and farming in Dakota for 
 two and a half years, and finally, in 1885, he came 
 to Sterling again and engaged in the Gazette office. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Eastman is a zealous 
 Republican and a prohibitionist. He belongs to 
 the Christian Church of Sterling, of which he was 
 one of the founders in 1875, and one of the Elders 
 and Sunday-school Superintendent before he went 
 to Dakota. He is a member also of the Legion of 
 Honor, and is an influential citizen of Whiteside 
 County. 
 
 Mr. Eastman was married July 23, 1872, to Miss 
 Frances Adams, of Sterling, who died in 1877. For 
 his second wife Mr. E. married Myra Christopher, a 
 native of Byron, Ogle Co., 111. They have one child, 
 born in the month of October, 1881. 
 
 ["ohn Wolfersperger, retired farmer, resid- 
 ^ ing at Sterling, was born in Lebanon Co., 
 Pa., Oct. 14, 1820, his parents being John 
 and Margaret E. (Trautman) Wolfersperger, 
 natives of the same State. Remaining at home 
 until 31 years of age, he came to Jordan Town- 
 ship, this county, and bought a saw-mill and 100 
 acres of land, where he remained three and a half 
 years. In the fall of 1853 he entered 240 acres, in 
 the same township; in the following spring he en- 
 tered 80 acres more ; and in the fall of 1854 he 
 moved upon this tract, aggregating at the time 320 
 acres. He resided upon that place until 1883, when 
 he went to Kansas and spent a winter there to attend 
 the tract of 960 acres of land which he had bought 
 in 1873. In 1884 he returned to Sterling and pur- 
 chased a residence, which he now occupies. He 
 has, since his first purchases of land, bought and 
 sold real estate, so that he is now the proprietor of a 
 total amount of 720 acres in Jordan Township, and 
 i, 600 acres in Prairie Co., Ark. 
 
 In his political principles, Mr. W. is a Democrat. 
 He and his family attend the Lutheran Church. 
 
 He was married Oct. 20, 1844, to Lydia A. Kapp, 
 a native of the Keystone State, and they now have 
 
 four children living, Henry F., Aaron, Cassie and 
 Margaret. Henry F. married Tillie Duefflinger, and 
 they live in Kansas, with a family of six children, 
 John, Dan, Lydia, Maggie, Maud and Bent. Aaron 
 married Anna Hendricks, and they have two chil- 
 dren, Lelia and John J. Cassie married William 
 Seidel and they reside in Kansas. Margaret mar- 
 ried W. W. Davis, and they have one son, John 
 Davis. 
 
 .dmund N. Birdsall, farmer, section 8, 
 Hopkins Township, is a son of James and 
 Lydia (De Garmo) Birdsall, natives of 
 New York State, who married and resided 
 there till 1845, when they came to Whiteside 
 County and settled in Sterling Township. They 
 died in fhe city of Sterling, he July n, 1866, and 
 she June 27, 1868. They had a family of five chil- 
 dren, as follows : Edmund N., Elias D., Henry L., 
 Harriet W. and George A. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Dutchess 
 Co., N. Y., Feb. 16, 1830, and was 15 years old 
 when he came to Whiteside County. He received a 
 common-school education and lived at home till he 
 was 30 years of age, although he was married some 
 years previously. He has been engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits. He is the owner of 154 acres of land 
 in Hopkins and Genesee Townships, besides prop- 
 erty in the village of Sterling; 140 acres of his land 
 is tillable. In 1876 he erected a fine frame house, 
 and in 1881 built a fine barn, and his buildings are 
 second to none in the county. 
 
 He was first married in Genesee Township, Feb. 
 16, 1854, to Clarissa Danes, a native of this State, 
 who bore him one child, George D., but he died at 
 the age of five months. Mrs. Birdsall died Aug. 
 9. t8 55> a d Mr. B. was again married, in Carroll 
 Co., 111., Oct. 20, 1860, to Sarah J., daughter of Rob- 
 ert L. and Jane (Wilson) Fleming: her parents are 
 natives respectively of New York State and Pennsyl- 
 vania, and came to Carroll County in 1848, where 
 they lived till their deaths. He died January 27, 
 1879, and she Sept. 9, 1881. They had a family of 
 eight children who lived to grow up, namely : Jas- 
 per, Sarah J., Hugh M., Angeline, Margaret, Nancy, 

 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 \\ 
 
 
 Bruce and Eveline. Mrs. B. was born in Washing- 
 ton Co., Ind., Feb. 22, 1836. Mr. and Mrs. B. are 
 the parents of two children, Charles and Pinkie. 
 Charles was married Sept 6, 1883, to Ida Baker, 
 daughter of George and Mary Baker. They have 
 one child, Edmund G. 
 
 In politics Mr. Birdsall is an Anti-monopolist. 
 
 As a gentleman worthy to be classed among the 
 representative men of Whiteside County, we place a 
 likeness of Mr. Birdsall in the gallery of portraits 
 given in this ALBUM. Accompanying his we also 
 give that of Mrs. Birdsall. Both these portraits are 
 made from photographs recently taken. 
 
 ohn Dyer, retired merchant, Fulton, was 
 g born in Jefferson Co., N. Y., March 6, 1824, 
 the son of John and Eunice (Hurd) Dyer. 
 He was educated in the public schools of his 
 native county and learned the shoemaker's 
 trade in the city of Watertown. In May, 1842, 
 he went to Lockport, Niagara County, where he was 
 first employed as journeyman and subsequently as 
 foreman in a large boot and shoe making establish- 
 ment. 
 
 He was married in Lockport, March 12, 1843, to 
 Miss Sarah A. Webb. The ceremony was performed 
 by the Rev. Elon Galusha, son of ex-Gov. Galusha, 
 of Vermont. Mrs. Dyer was born in the town of 
 Perry, Geauga Co., Ohio, and is the daughter of Lea- 
 mon and Eunice (Anderson) Webb, and is a cousin 
 of the well-known Baptist minister and college presi- 
 dent, Galusha Anderson, of Chicago. 
 
 In April, 1856, Mr. Dyer went to Wisconsin, and 
 a few months later to Clinton, Iowa. He spent one 
 year in Clinton and came to Fulton, Oct. 7, 1857, 
 opening at once in the boot and shoe trade, which 
 he continued till 1861, when he closed. 
 
 On the breaking out of the late war he enlisted, in 
 September, 1861 ; was commissioned Second Lieu- 
 tenant of Co. F, 52d 111. Vol. Inf., and was mustered 
 into the service in November following. He con- 
 tinued in active service till March, 1862, when he 
 was compelled to resign on account of physical dis- 
 ability caused by exposure in the field. In August, 
 following the President's call of July, 1862, for addi- 
 tional troops, he assisted in recruiting Co. F of the 
 
 
 
 93d 111. Vol. Inf., of which he was commissioned 
 First Lieutenant. The regiment went into active 
 service early that fall, under Sherman's command. 
 The following spring Lieutenant Dyer was again 
 prostrated by a serious illness, and was obliged to 
 resign, in April, 1863, on account of physical dis- 
 ability brought on in the service. His health im- 
 proved slowly, and he was unable to resume business 
 till the beginning of 1864, when he again engaged in 
 his former business at Fulton. He continued in trade 
 till 1873, when he sold out and retired from business. 
 
 Mr. Dyer has held various public positions of 
 honor and trust since a resident of Fulton. He has 
 served as Alderman one term, Collector of the town- 
 ship in 1860, Supervisor five years, three of which 
 were in succession. He was elected Police Justice 
 and Justice of the Peace. He has held the latter 
 office 12 years, and has just been re-elected this 
 spring (1885). He has also been Township School 
 Trustee six years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dyer are members of the Baptist 
 Church of Fulton. Mr. Dyer was a Free-Soil Demo- 
 crat in Van Buren's time, and on the organization of 
 the Republicans he joined that party, and has voted 
 that ticket continuously since, excepting the cam- 
 paign of 1872, when he voted for Greeley. 
 
 Mr. Dyer's family was represented in Illinois in a 
 very early day, his brother, the Rev. Sidney Dyer, 
 Ph. D., a popular Baptist minister, now of Philadel- 
 phia, having explored the territory as early as 1832. 
 
 
 
 
 
 |j oswell Champion, Justice of the Peace, 
 Sterling, was born in Lyme, New London 
 Co , Conn., May 26, 1827, his parents be- 
 ing John and Sophia (Lay) Champion, natives 
 of Connecticut and of the old Puritan stock. 
 When he was nine years old his mother moved 
 with the family to Herkimer Co., N. Y., where they 
 lived until their death, that of his mother occurring 
 in 1875, and that of his father in October, 1884. 
 
 He lived at the parental home until 2 1 years of 
 age, having the usual experiences of farm and school 
 life (of the common district school, with the excep- 
 tion of one term at the Institute in Clinton, Oneida 
 County, being a teacher the last two years of the above 
 period.) Next he was employed four years in a mer-
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 cantile house at Albion, Mich. In 1855 he came to 
 Sterling, continuing in the mercantile business, and 
 soon purchased a grocery house, which he conducted 
 a short time. Selling out the latter, he then engaged 
 as book-keeper for the firm of Gait & Brother, then 
 in the same capacity for the firm of Patterson, Witmer 
 & Co., and continued for some time with Mr. Wit- 
 mer after the old firm was dissolved. His health 
 failing, he accepted an agency for the ^Etna Fire 
 Insurance Company of Hartford, Conn., and subse- 
 quently for other fire insurance companies, in which 
 business he still continues. In 1869 he was elected 
 Justice of the Peace, and has held the office ever since. 
 In 1873 he accepted a position as cashier in one of 
 the banks at Sterling, which he fulfilled for three 
 years. In the same year he was appointed School 
 Treasurer, and he still holds the office. He is a Re- 
 publican in his political views, and as to religious 
 views he favors the Swedenborgian explanation of 
 the Word, believing it to be the most reasonable. 
 He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, as is 
 also his wife. 
 
 In December, 1869, Mr. Champion married Agnes 
 Wallace, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to 
 Sterling with her parents, Hugh and Mary (Gait) 
 Wallace. Mr. Wallace was a lawyer here for many 
 years, retired from the profession and devoted his 
 attention to his real estate until his death, in August, 
 1864. Since the spring of 1879 the interests of his 
 estate have been in the charge of Mr. Champion. 
 
 Y. Jackson, farmer, section 25, Union 
 Grove Township, is a prominent citizen of 
 Whiteside County, where he has been a 
 land-holder since 1856. His parents, Aaron 
 C. and Charity A. (Young) Jackson, were na- 
 tives of New Jersey, and were married and 
 settled in Ohio. They came thence about 1837, and 
 purchased a claim in the township of Mt. Pleasant, 
 which had been located in the year previous. The. 
 senior Jackson was an able and influential man, and 
 was active in promoting the general welfare of the 
 community. The township of Mt. Pleasant, which 
 was organized in 1852, received its name from him. 
 The farm on which he settled was situated near the 
 city of Morrison, and included 160 acres of land, 
 
 i 
 
 with 40 acres of timber. His local public life com- 
 prised his operations as president of a society of 
 settlers to prevent claim-jumping, as Justice of the 
 Peace, and as Supervisor. In 1842 he was elected 
 Representative on the Whig ticket, and served two 
 years in the Legislature of Illinois. In 1847 he was 
 chosen a member of the Constitutional Convention. 
 He officiated as Postmaster at Morrison during the 
 administration of President Lincoln. His wife died 
 Sept. 5, 1855. His demise occurred June 10, 1879. 
 Their children were n in number, and were born as 
 follows: Daniel B., Flavius J., Susan L., John Y., 
 Tryphena, Elizabeth, Silas, Phebe, Amanda and 
 Lafayette ; one child died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Jackson was born September 14, 1829, in 
 Knox Co., Ohio, where his father was a pioneer. He 
 was about eight years of age when he accompanied 
 his parents to Illinois, and he passed the years of 
 his minority in attendance at the district school and 
 in farm labor. On reaching his majority he engaged 
 in efforts in his own interest, working out by the 
 month one year on a farm. In 1852 he went to 
 California, making his way there overland, with the 
 purpose of operating as a miner. He spent four 
 years in that vocation, with reasonable success, 
 although he was unable to work during the first 
 ; winter. 
 
 He returned to Whiteside County in 1856, and 
 purchased 120 acres of land on section 25, Union 
 Grove Township. The prairie sod was still lying 
 under the skies as it had lain through the centuries 
 of the past, and was first broken by Mr. Jackson, by 
 whom the farm has been put in first-class agricul- 
 tural condition. It is now all under the plow, and 
 five acres of timber belong to the estate. It has 
 been supplied with an excellent class of buildings. 
 
 He was united in marriage to Cordelia Huntley, 
 Dec. 17, 1857, at Morrison. She was born in Ogden, 
 Monroe Co., N. Y., Feb. it, 1830, and is the daugh- 
 ter of Erastus L. and Phebe (Eldridge) Huntley. 
 Her parents were natives of New England, were 
 married and settled in the State of New York, 
 whence they removed to Michigan, where her father 
 died. Her motherwas born Jan. 15, 1803, in Sharon, 
 N. Y. After the death of her husband she returned 
 to the home and associations of her earlier years in 
 the Empire State, where her life terminated, at War- 
 saw, Aug. 29, 1849. Her father, Seth Eldridge, was 
 
 
 (3) 
 

 
 .. 
 
 'IT V-. M H Z> M M ;j/V^ 
 
 WHJTESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 - .. - 
 
 1 
 
 *l 
 
 born Oct. 2, 1773, and died May 20, 1865, in Yates, 
 Monroe Co., N. Y. March u, 1826, she married 
 Erastus Little Huntley, who was born Dec. 21, 1797, 
 and died Nov. 14, 1848, in Hartland, Livingston Co., 
 Mich. They had nine children. Following are their 
 names in the order of their birth : Rebecca E., Hen- 
 rietta S., Cordelia, Phebe A., John E., Erastus L., 
 Edwin, Seth E. and Robert A. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have no children. In 1869 
 they adopted Lillie M. Weaver, who was born May 
 28, 1864, in Mt. Pleasant Township. 
 
 Mr. Jackson is identified with the Republican 
 party in political relations, and he has officiated 
 through a long series of years in local positions of 
 trust. He acted in the capacity of Magistrate nine 
 years, as Commissioner eight years, and seven years 
 as Assessor. He and his wife are members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 
 
 eslie Williams, druggist, established his 
 present business at Fulton in August, 1872. 
 He is a native of Boston, Mass., was born 
 Feb. 17, 1848, and is the son of George and 
 
 Catharine (Ravis) Williams, of Welsh descent. 
 
 He was adopted by John L. Thompson, with 
 whom he went to Burlington, Iowa, in April, 1856. 
 He came to Fulton the following June, and was ed- 
 ucated in the public schools of this city. When 15 
 years of age he began business as a clerk with his 
 half-brother, H. J. Ravis, dealer in general merchan- 
 dise, and remained with him till 1867. He spent 
 the next two years as a salesman in a hardware store 
 at Fulton. In 1869 he bought out a stock of fancy 
 goods, books and stationery, and started in business 
 for himself. He was doing well until a fire occurred, 
 Jan. 2, 1872, that swept away his entire stock, by 
 which he suffered a loss of $1,500, and on which he 
 only realized by insurance $500. In 1872 he opened 
 in the drug business. He has conducted this es- 
 tablishment about 13 years with marked success, 
 and now has a large, tasteful and well stocked store 
 in his line. His stock averages in value about 
 $5,000, and includes everything usually found in a 
 first-class drug store. 
 
 He was married at Fulton, Nov. 22, 1872, to Miss 
 
 Anna Gerrish, daughter of B. S. Gerrish. Mrs. 
 Williams was born in Portsmouth, N. H. 
 
 Mr. Williams has held various offices of local im- 
 portance, and is the present Township Clerk and 
 Township School Treasurer. He has held the for- 
 mer office six years and the latter eight. He has 
 always taken a warm interest in politics, is an earn- 
 est Democrat, and in 1880 was a Delegate to the 
 Illinois State Democratic Convention. 
 
 He was made a Freemason immediately after be- 
 coming of age, and is a member of Fulton City 
 Lodge, No. 189. He is also a member of Fulton 
 Chapter, No. 108, R. A. M. 
 
 With his characteristic earnestness, Mr. Williams 
 applied himself to acquiring a knowledge of Masonry, 
 and is recognized as one of the most efficient mem- 
 bers of the order. He is a man of good executive 
 ability, quick perception and sound judgment, sup- 
 ported by a habit of earnest application to the mat- 
 ter in hand, which assures a prompt and correct 
 discharge of public and private duties that may de- 
 volve upon him. 
 
 ra Heath, farmer, section 30, Hopkins 
 Township, has been identified with the ag- 
 ricultural development of Whiteside County 
 since 1846. He passed the first year of his 
 residence within its limits in the township of 
 Mt. Pleasant, and in 1847 bought 53 acres, 
 which is now a part of his homestead estate, which 
 includes 100 acres, nine-tenths being in tillage. In 
 political conviction and connections he is a Repub- 
 lican ; has officiated as School Director in his dis- 
 trict about 30 years, and has held other offices. 
 
 Mr. Heath was born May 22, 1818, in Berkshire 
 Co., Mass. His father, William Heath, was also a 
 native of the Bay State, and married Olive Brown. 
 After their marriage they located in Berkshire 
 County, where they became the parents of 12 chil- 
 dren, Alvin, Samantha, Caroline, Laura, Ransom, 
 Thetis, Lucian R., William, Ira, Russell B., Philena 
 and Heman. Their father died March i, 1853, and 
 their mother survived until Dec. 14, 1859. 
 
 Mr. Heath spent the years of his childhood and 
 earlier youth in obtaining a common-school educa- 
 tion, and at 19 years of age began to work as a farm 
 
 
 ::
 
 - .. - 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 laborer, which vocation he pursued until he was 22 
 years old, when he built a saw-mill. He conducted 
 its affairs three years, after which he sold it and 
 again engaged in farming in his native State until 
 the year in which lie moved to Whiteside County as 
 stated (1846). 
 
 He formed a matrimonial alliance in Berkshire 
 Co., Mass., May 21, 1840, with Mary A. Harmon. 
 She was born in that county Feb. 22, 1822, and is 
 the daughter of Walter and Azubah (Hyde) Har- 
 mon. Both her parents were born in Massachusetts 
 and were residents there until 1848, when they set- 
 tled in Hopkins Township, and there passed the re- 
 maining years of their lives. The father died Aug. 
 30, 1865; the mother survived until Nov. 27, 1875. 
 Their children were five in number, Porter J., Mary 
 A., George W., Truman. W. and William M. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Heath have had five children, but only 
 one survives, Henry D. George W., Samantha C., 
 Rosella A. and Frank W. are deceased. 
 
 i; obert B. Johnson, farmer, section 9, Hop- 
 kins Township, is a son of Aaron and Sally 
 * (Law) Johnson, natives of Pennsylvania, 
 who removed to Ohio, where they lived till 
 their death. They had a family of nine chil- 
 dren, as follows : Rachel, Mary A., Robert R., 
 Margaret, Ephraim, Rebecca, Thomas, Aaron and 
 Samuel. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Washington 
 Co., Pa., June 16, 1819, and was 17 years old when 
 his father removed to Ohio ; he continued to live at 
 home till 24 years of age. He engaged in farming in 
 Ohio till the fall of 1854, when he came to Whiteside 
 County and lived in Jordan Township about nine 
 months, and since then has lived in Hopkins Town- 
 ship. In 1856 he settled on section 9, where he 
 had bought 400 acres previous to his coming to the 
 county to reside. He has disposed of all but 165 
 acres, and all this except five acres is in a state of 
 good cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was married in Perry Co., Ohio, May 
 12, 1852, to Susan, daughter of Isaac and Nellie 
 (Chenoweth) Brown. The former was born in Ire- 
 land, and at the age of three years moved to Virginia; 
 he was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church for a 
 
 $. S^ n *< 
 
 number of years. Mrs. Johnson's mother was a 
 native of Virginia. They settled in the State of Ohio, 
 where they finally died. They had a family of nine 
 children, viz.: Ellen, Margaret, Susan, Eliza, Isa- 
 bella, Absalom, Matilda, Martha and Harriet. Mrs. 
 J. was born in Perry Co., Ohio, Feb. 15, 1827, and 
 has become the mother of eight children, as follows : 
 Alice C., Sarah E., Monroe, Julius A., Herbert H., 
 Hattie E., Effie E. and Ida B. Monroe died Dec. 
 13, 1872, when 14 years old. 
 
 Mr. Johnson in his political views is a Democrat. 
 Mrs. J. is a member of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 h avid Mathew is one of the leading agri- 
 culturists of Mt. Pleasant Township, and 
 a resident on section r. He was born in 
 Fifeshire, Scotland, June 3, 1824, and was a 
 resident of his native country until he was 
 24 years of age. He emigrated thence in 
 1848 and landed at New York. He spent six 
 months in the State of Maryland, going thence to 
 West Virginia, where he continued his stay 12 years. 
 He came from that State to Illinois in 1860, and lo- 
 cated in Whiteside County. His estate includes 572 
 acres, lying in the townships of Mt. Pleasant and 
 Hopkins. It is chiefly under cultivation. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Mathew, William and Jean- 
 nette (Wylie) Mathews, were natives of Scotland, 
 who about 1851 came to the United States, first lo- 
 cating in Tucker Co., W. Va. ; and six years later 
 they made a change of their residence to Whiteside 
 County, settling in Hopkins Township. The death 
 of the mother took place in that township and the 
 father died in Mt. Pleasant Township. Their chil- 
 dren were named Thomas, David, William, Jeannette, 
 Andrew, Margaret, Ann, Jane, Robert and Alex- 
 ander. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Mathew to Ann Wolf took 
 place in November, 1857, in West Virginia. Mrs. 
 Mathew is the daughter of George and Catharine 
 (Barb) Wolf, and they were natives of Virginia. 
 Their seven children were. named: Isaac, George 
 A., Elizabeth, Mary, Ann, Catharine and Israel. 
 Mrs. Mathew was born July 4, 1830, in West Vir- 
 ginia. To her and her husband have been born 13 
 children, named as follows : William B., Jeannette 
 

 
 
 5 
 
 M 
 
 and George (twins), Catharine, Robert, Mary, Anna, 
 David W. and George W. (twins), James A., Ezra, 
 Simon and Samuel (twins.) One child is deceased, 
 George, twin brother of Jeannette. Mrs. Mathew 
 belongs to the family from which the celebrated hero 
 of Quebec descended. Mr. M. is an adherent 
 of the Republican party and belongs to the Pres- 
 byterian Church. He has held several offices. 
 
 ohn Phinney, a citizen of Union Grove 
 Township, located on a farm on section 13, 
 is engaged in the twofold calling of agri- 
 culturist and teacher. He was born April 
 29, 1825, in Monkton, Addison Co., Vt, where 
 he obtained a common-school education, and 
 he extended the scope of his intellectual attainments 
 at the academy at Bakersfield, Vt. His parents, 
 Martin and Sally (Mallory) Phinney, were natives of 
 Vermont and were of Scotch and English lineage. 
 They remained in the State of their nativity through- 
 out their lives. They had three children. John, 
 Harris and Sally. The mother died in 1830 and 
 the father contracted a second marriage, with Mercy 
 Brown. To them two children were born, Dan A. 
 and Ellen M. The former died near Iowa City, of ty- 
 phoid fever, in 1856, and is buried in the Quaker 
 burying-ground near that city. 
 
 On completing his education Mr. Phinney applied 
 himself to the occupation of teaching, which he fol- 
 lowed in Vermont between two and three years. In 
 April, 1854, he came to Whiteside County and first 
 located in the township of Union Grove, where he 
 pursued the vocation of teacher two years. In 1856 
 he went to Como, and was there occupied in the 
 same capacity four years. In 1860 he bought a 
 farm in the township of Montmorency, where he en- 
 gaged in farming two years, spending the winters in 
 teaching. In 1862 he sold his farm and went to 
 Sterling, where he taught one year. At the expira- 
 tion of that time he made an engagement to take 
 charge of the school at Unionville, where he was 
 employed three years. He then returned to Sterling 
 to enter upon an engagement as teacher, which ex- 
 isted five years, after which he taught two years in 
 Unionville. From there he went to Hopkins Town- 
 ship, and after teaching there two years he engaged 
 
 in the same capacity at Como, where he continued 
 to operate four years. In the fall of 1883 he began 
 to teach in Mt. Pleasant township, where he was en- 
 gaged seven months. The aggregate of his teach- 
 ing in Whiteside County covers a period of 31 years. 
 He bought his farm in Union Grove Township in 
 the fall of 1872, consisting of 88 acres, and where 
 he has maintained his residence since the property 
 came into his possession. It is nearly all under cul- 
 tivation. In political relations Mr. Phinney is inde- 
 pendent. 
 
 He formed a matrimonial alliance with Alzina L. 
 Twitchell, April 18, 1855, and they have had three 
 children, Burritt E., Martin Loyal and Effie B. 
 The oldest son died Oct. 20, 1883, in Union Grove 
 Township, at the age of 25 years. He fixed upon 
 the calling of a jeweler, and spent four years in 
 preparation for making that the business of his life, 
 serving his apprenticeship at Morrison. He con- 
 tracted consumption and went to California in the 
 vain hope of recovery. He returned home and died 
 at the home of his parents in Union Grove. He 
 lies buried in the cemetery at Morrison. The second 
 son is a student at Oberlin, Ohio. Mrs. Phinney 
 was born in New Haven, Vt., May i, 1836. She is 
 the daughter of L. C. Twitchell, of whom a sketcli 
 appears on another page. 
 
 eter Kitchen, manufacturer of and dealer 
 in harness and saddlery at Fulton, began 
 business here in June, 1858, and has the 
 oldest established house in his line in the city. 
 He was born in Ithaca, Tompkins Co., N. Y., 
 Dec. 15, 1837, and is the son of William and Mar- 
 tha (Van Buskirk) Kitchen. He learned his trade 
 in his native town, and in 1856 went to Pennsyl- 
 vania. Two years later he came to Fulton, 111., and 
 established his present business. He has carried it 
 on continuously, since, at this place, covering a 
 period of 27 years. Starting in a moderate way, 
 he has increased his stock and facilities for manu- 
 facturing till he now has an extensive establishment, 
 well stocked with everything in his line and most 
 complete in its appointments. 
 
 Mr. Kitchen has been twice married, first at Ful- 
 ton, 111., March 24, 1860, to Miss Letitia Fitzpatrick 
 
 
 ( 
 
 , 
 
 \
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 by the Rev. Ben. Close. Two children were born of 
 this union, namely : Frank, the eldest, is employed 
 on the Mississippi River ; the younger died in in- 
 fancy. Mrs. K. died Dec. 13, 1862, and Mr. Kitchen 
 was married again, at Fulton, Nov. ir, 1863, to Miss 
 Sarah E. Price, by the Rev. J. B. McClure. Mrs. 
 K. is the daughter of William Price, and was born 
 in Monroeville, Ohio. 
 
 Mr. Kitchen is a member of Fulton City Lodge, 
 No. 189, A. F. & A. M. In politics he is a Demo- 
 crat. 
 
 L amuel S. Keefer, liveryman, Sterling, was 
 born in Franklin Co., Pa., Sept. 2, 1845, 
 his parents being John (a farmer) and 
 Ann M. (Grove) Keefer. Receiving a com- 
 mon-school education and being brought up 
 at farm labor, he emigrated West in 1865, and 
 in 1866 he left home, worked at the occupation of 
 carpenter two years, then was engaged in the grocery 
 trade in Sterling the same length of time; next he 
 resided on a farm of 160 acres in Genesee Township 
 12 years, and returned to Sterling in 1882. In 
 March, 1883, he bought out the stock of F. M. May- 
 nard in the livery business, and has since been en- 
 gaged in that line, now having about 12 horses. His 
 livery equipment is the largest in Sterling. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Keefer is a Republican, 
 and in his social relations he is a member of the 
 Order of Modern Woodmen of America. 
 
 He was married Sept. n, 1866, to Miss Anna M. 
 Kurtz, a native of Pennsylvania. They have two 
 children, Emma F. and Ida May. 
 
 y illard A. Goodenough, farmer, section 
 10, Union Grove Township, has been a 
 resident on the same farm which he now 
 occupies since he first took possession of it 
 at the time of his settling in the county in 
 J 1865. 
 
 He is the third child of John and Betsey (Cob- 
 leigh) Goodenough. His parents were natives of 
 Vermont, and removed from there to Jefferson Co., 
 N. Y., where they were farmers and reared their 
 children, 1 1 in number. 
 
 Mr. Goodenough was born March 24, 1822, in 
 
 Jefferson Co., N. Y., where he grew to manhood and 
 there obtained a good common-school education. 
 About the time he arrived at the period of his legal 
 freedom, he bought a farm in his native county, on 
 which he labored until his removal to Illinois in the 
 year named. He made a purchase of 120 acres of 
 land on the section where he has since maintained 
 his homestead. He is now the owner of 230 acres 
 of the valuable land which is the source of the 
 wealth and prosperity of Whiteside County. It is 
 chiefly under cultivation. He is a Prohibitionist in 
 his political views. 
 
 His marriage to Nancy J. Hull took place Jan. 
 13, 1842, in Oswego Co., N. Y., and they have been 
 the parents of five children : George E., Esther J., 
 Lewis E., Emma L. and Ella L. (twins). Lewis died 
 at the age of 16 months. Mrs. Goodenough was 
 born Aug. 22, 1820, in Morristown, St. Lawrence 
 Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Nathaniel and 
 Prudence (Fish) Hull. Her mother was born in 
 Massachusetts, and her father in Connecticut. They 
 had four children. Mr. and Mrs. Goodenough are 
 members of the Baptist Church. 
 
 aron A. Wolfersperger, attorney at law, 
 Sterling, was born in Jordan Township. 
 Whiteside, Co., 111., March 22, 1856. His 
 parents, John and Lydia (Kapp) Wolfersperger, 
 natives of Lebanon Co., Pa., came from the 
 Keystone State in 1851 to Jordan Township, 
 Mr. W. purchased land at different times, so that he 
 is now the proprietor of 640 acres. 
 
 Aaron, the subject of this notice, remained at his 
 parental home until 15 years of age, laboring upon 
 the farm and attending the district school ; then, 
 leaving home, he attended a college at Naperville, 
 111., one year, an institution under the auspices of 
 the Evangelical Church ; then four years at the col- 
 lege at Carthage, 111., where he graduated ; next, a 
 term of six months at Eastman's Business College at 
 Poughkeepsie, N. Y., receiving a diploma; followed 
 farming the next summer; and the ensuing fall he 
 went to Chicago and attended the Union College of 
 Law for two years, receiving a diploma : finally, in 
 the spring of 1879, he came to Sterling and com- 
 menced the practice of law. In 1881 he was elected 
 Justice of the Peace and has held the office since. 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 *f In 1884 he was elected City Attorney, and re- 
 & elected in the spring of 1885. He is one of the 
 **, leading and rising lawyers of Sterling. Politically 
 he is a Democrat, and in his social relations he is a 
 member of the Orders of Odd Fellows, Knights of 
 Pythias, and of the A. O. U. W. 
 
 Mr. Wolfenperger was married Nov. 4, 1880, to 
 Miss Anna Hendrick, a native of this State. They 
 have had two children; Lelia S., born Aug. 4, 1882 ; 
 and John J., Aug. 26, 1884. 
 
 >rs. Phebe Worthington, a resident of 
 Coloma, and a widow of Artemas W. 
 Worthington, deceased, was born in Col- 
 chester, Conn., in 1813, and was married 
 Oct. 9, 1837. She came West and settled in 
 Harrisburg, this county, July 3, 1839, and 
 afterward moved across the river and located on 
 what is now called Coloma, where Mr. Worthington 
 died in 1855. 
 
 She has had six children, four of whom are still 
 living. Isabella was born in 1839; Robert, 1845; 
 Alfred, 1847 ; Alice, 1849; and Robert E., 1853. She 
 has a farm of 160 acres, on which she resides, and 
 which is managed by her son Alfred. The latter 
 married Martha Wright, a native of Pennsylvania, 
 where she was born March 3, 1873. They have 
 five children, namely Mabel, Ollie M., Artemas W., 
 Edgar S. and one not yet named. 
 
 Mrs. W.'s parents were Richard and Phebe 
 (Ketchum) Sammis, natives of Long Island and 
 members of the agricultural community. 
 
 obert S. Norrish, an extensive farmer of 
 Mt. Pleasant Township, located on sec- 
 tion 2, is a representative of a large class 
 - N in Whiteside County, who have been in- 
 strumental in its development, though he 
 was born under another government. His 
 farming interests also demonstrate the results of a 
 life of honorable, judicious effort under the protec- 
 tion of a republican form of government. He is 
 the owner of 680 acres of land, which is all under 
 
 cultivation with the exception of about one-sixth. 
 His farm is stocked with about 100 head of cattle 
 and 1 6 horses, and he fattens for market an annual 
 average of 75 hogs. 
 
 Mr. Norrish was born Oct. i, 1826, in Devon- 
 shire, England, and he is the son of Samuel and 
 Frances (Snow) Norrish. His parents lived and 
 died in their native shire. Their children were 
 named Samuel, Elizabeth, Mary, Francis, Edward, 
 Robert S., John, Jane and Ann. Mr. Norrish was 
 educated in his native country and lived there until 
 1850, when he came to the United States. He went 
 at first to Ohio, where he was married, July 6, 1852, 
 in Lorain County, to Tamzin Squire. They remained 
 in Ohio until 1853, when they removed thence to 
 Mt. Pleasant Township. The wife died there in 
 October, 1863, having borne two children, who were 
 named Samuel and Margaret A. The plder child 
 died in infancy. March 2, 1865, Mr. Norrish was 
 again married, in Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, to Ann Adams. 
 Their three children were named Robert A., Mary 
 and John W. The daughter died in infancy. Mrs. 
 Norrish was born Feb. 17, 1827, in Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land, and is the daughter of George and Martha 
 (Hargate) Adams. Her parents came to the United 
 States in July, 1846, and located in Ohio. They 
 had four children, named James, Ann, William 
 and Maiy. 
 
 Mr. Norrish is in sympathy with the principles of 
 the Republican party. He is. active in township lo- 
 cal interests. Mrs. Norrish is a communicant in the 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 
 eorge W. Clendenen, M. D., Fulton, is a 
 native of Boone Co., Va. (now West Vir- 
 ginia), and was born Dec. 4, 1844. His 
 parents were Robert A. and Amanda (Hinch- 
 man) Clendenen. George W. came to Cass Co., 
 Mich., with his parents in childhood, and when 
 six years of age his father died, leaving his family in 
 indigent circumstances. 
 
 The subject of our sketch was left to shift for him- 
 self at an early age. He began by working out sum- 
 mers to earn money to pay his way through school in 
 the winters. He attended the union school of Niles, 
 Mich., till he fitted himself to enter the State Normal
 
 . 
 UNIVERSITY or

 
 WHITES 'IDE COUNTY. 
 
 School at Ypsilanti, which he did, and passed exam- 
 ination in the literary department and entered upon 
 the classic course. He then became a school-teach- 
 er, to provide means of support while he should 
 be engaged in the study of medicine, he having de- 
 termined to adopt that profession as his calling. He 
 began to read medicine in 1872, with his brother, Dr. 
 Floyd Clendenen, of Dowagiac, Mich., now of La- 
 Salle, 111. He soon afterward became a traveling 
 salesman for a wooden-ware establishment. Carry- 
 ing medical books on the various branches with him 
 in his travels, he read and studied them as he could 
 find opportunity. He came to Fulton in 1874, and has 
 since made this his home. He continued on the road 
 till 1876, since which time he has devoted himself to 
 the study and practice of medicine. He took a 
 regular course of lectures at the Bennett College of 
 Eclectic Medicine and Surgery, of Chicago, from 
 which he received his degree of M. D., March 25, 
 1884; and since that time he has been engaged in the 
 practice of his profession at Fulton, with the very 
 best of success. 
 
 He was married in Tuscumbia, Ala., Jan. 15, 1869, 
 to Miss Ellen A. Ferriss, daughter of E. W. Ferriss. 
 Mrs. Clendenen was born in St. Joseph Co., Mich- 
 They had four children : Blanch, who died aged two 
 years; Gracie, who died aged one year; Eddie W. 
 and Kittie G., who are living. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Clendenen are members of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, and he is also a member of Lodge 
 No. 189, A. F. & A. M., and in politics is a Democrat. 
 
 Although young in the profession, Dr. Clendenen is 
 securing a rapidly increasing practice as a reward for 
 a zealous and faithful discharge of his professional 
 duties. 
 
 |rr F. Woodruff, attorney at law at Mor- 
 li rison, was born June 30, 1840, in the town- 
 s' ship of Clarendon, Orleans Co., N. Y. 
 
 Winfield Woodruff, his father, was a native of 
 the State of New York and was a farmer by 
 vocation. He married Sole m ma Terry, who 
 was also born in New York. Of their three chil- 
 dren, Mr. Woodruff of this sketch is the oldest. 
 William M. is an agriculturist and dealer in stock 
 near Kearney, Neb. John J., resident at Kearney, 
 
 was formerly an attorney and is now interested in 
 sheep industry. In 1875 the parents went to Kear- 
 ney, where the father died in November, 1884. The 
 mother survives. 
 
 Until he was 19 years of age, Mr. Woodruff con- 
 tinued under the direction of his parents on the 
 homestead farm and acquired a high-school educa- 
 tion. He came to Morrison in November, 1859, 
 where he became a student of law in the office of 
 Hon. Henry M. Teller, Secretary of the Interior 
 under President Arthur. Mr. Teller was then en- 
 gaged in legal practice at Morrison, and under his 
 preceptorship Mr. Woodruff enjoyed unusual ad- 
 vantages and derived much practical benefit from 
 the associations of the office. In May, 1861, he 
 was admitted to practice in all the courts of Illinois, 
 and on receiving his credentials he established his 
 business in the former office of Mr. Teller, who 
 went to Colorado. Mr. Woodruff has since con- 
 ducted the relations of an extensive and popular 
 law practice with success, and chieflly unaided. He 
 has risen through ability, industry and undeviating 
 devotion to his business interests, as well as through 
 high-minded integrity, to distinction in his profes- 
 sion. He is still engaged in the management of a 
 large and lucrative practice in the County, Appellate 
 and Supreme Courts of Illinois and in the Federal 
 Courts at Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Woodruff has won an honorable and enviable 
 position at the Bar as a criminal lawyer ; and has 
 been connected with a number of prominent cases 
 involving the liberty and sometimes the lives of in- 
 dividuals. He is a logical and effective advocate, 
 and possesses an exhaustive comprehension of legal 
 principles. He is noted for keenness of perception 
 and discrimination in presenting his argument, and 
 when fully aroused to his work, exercises a magnetic 
 influence which proves a controlling element in the 
 courts where he pleads. He possesses the rare-quality 
 of sinking his own personality in the merits of his 
 case, and fully imbuing himself with its justice and 
 equity, a trait which rarely fails to achieve a purpose. 
 He is a thorough student of human nature and re- 
 cognizes above all other considerations that penal- 
 ties are designed for reformation rather than punish- 
 ment. Standing firmly on the fact that the results 
 of crime are irretrievable in most instances, he is 
 just as inflexible in taking the humanitarian view, 
 
 < *^ ' 
 
 I 

 
 - . - , . , 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 f i\ 
 
 *. 
 (S; 
 
 T 
 
 s-a. 
 
 and in his advocacy presents his views and appeals, 
 to the tribunals before which his clients are arraigned, 
 in the strength of the unwritten code of mercy and 
 forbearance. He frames his argument with sagacity, 
 and clothes it in simple, effective language calcu- 
 lated to reach the better part of the human heart, 
 and wields a masterly power over the sympathies 
 and emotions of both court and jury. The late 
 Judge Heaton once said of him: "When Woodruff 
 is thoroughly convinced that his cause is just, or 
 that his client should win, he is often a dangerous 
 adversary to meet, either before court or jury. " 
 Before the court in argument, he never fails to sup- 
 port his position with a long array of authorities, and 
 to that extent that victories have in some instances 
 been won that even the judge had doubts about 
 sustaining upon more mature deliberation. 
 
 Mr. Woodruff finds opportunity for the exercise of 
 his peculiar abilities in the cross-examination of wit- 
 nesses, and it is the opinion of those who observe his 
 methods and admire his achievements, that his 
 splendid repute as an attorney is due to the tact and 
 shrewdness with which he manipulates an adverse 
 witness, rather than to any other qualification he 
 may possess. His ability and skill are universally 
 conceded, and he is regarded as a safe counselor and 
 a jurist of more than ordinary claims. He will al- 
 ways be a leader in his profession. 
 
 In connection with his legal business he has ex- 
 tensive agricultural interests in Whueside County, 
 and is the owner of 1,000 acres of land at Alpena, 
 Jerauld Co., D. T. On the latter he is making a 
 specialty of fine stock. His herds there comprise 
 150 head of short-horn cattle and 20 horses of Per- 
 cheron grades. He owns two farms in Whiteside 
 County, comprising 280 acres, located five miles 
 southwest of Morrison, in Fenton Township, and 
 240 acres situated 14 miles distant from Morrison in 
 the same direction, in Newton Township; and they 
 are stocked with about 40 head of thoroughbred 
 Durham cattle and 30 horses. 
 
 He has obeyed the obligations of his citizenship 
 at Morrison and responded to the demands of the 
 general public by serving two terms as Mayor of the 
 city, the aggregated period of his official career as 
 the chief executive of the municipality including the 
 years 1879 to 1882. 
 
 He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, be- 
 longing to Dunlap Lodge, No. 327, at Morrison. 
 
 Mr. Woodruff has been married twice. He first ^ 
 formed a matrimonial alliance with Victoria O'Hara, 
 Nov. it, 1862, and they became the parents of two * 
 children, Maitland J. and Maud, both now deceased. ' 
 The death of the wife and mother took place at Mor- , 
 rison in October, 1867. She was a native of the 
 Dominion of Canada. Mr. Woodruff was a second 
 time married Feb. 22, 1869, at Morrison, to Mary 
 Lathrop. She was born in August, 1843, in Canada. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Woodruff presented on a pre- 
 ceding page is a copy of a likeness taken in 1882. 
 
 
 .Isworth Dill, furniture dealer and uphol- 
 sterer, Sterling, was born at Hamden, Vin- 
 ton Co., Ohio, June 22, 1847, and is a son 
 .Iji. of Benjamin and Armada (Catlin) Dill, natives 
 > of Ohio. The senior Mr. Dill, who was en- 
 gaged in a stove manufactory and in a tannery, 
 sold out in 1864 and came to Coleta, this county, 
 engaging in farming and stock-raising. 
 
 Three months afterward Elsworth came West, 
 stopping with his father six or eight months, when, 
 arriving at the age of legal freedom, he struck out in 
 the world for himself. He commenced to work for 
 Gait & Tracy before the fire, continuing only two 
 months ; then for six months he followed the butcher- 
 ing business with his father; next, he was an em- 
 ployee in the Boyington Hotel at Sterling for ten 
 months ; then a clerk in the Wallace Hotel three 
 months; after three months out of employment, was 
 clerk at the Boyington again, four months ; followed 
 farming one season in Nebraska, but a hail-storm 
 nearly ruined his crop; returning to Sterling, he 
 engaged again as clerk at the Boyington Hotel for a 
 year; put in and attended another crop in Nebraska, 
 this time with success; returned to Sterling and for 
 three months was engaged in the coal business ; sold 
 out and for a time worked for Mr. Seely in his res- 
 taurant, and then went with him into the Wallace 
 Hotel and clerked for two years; employed for six 
 months, most of the time as superintendent, by the 
 Sterling Gas Company; clerked again at the Wallace 
 Hotel until the Gait House was opened, where he 
 was chief clerk a year, then in the same capacity at 
 the Wallace one year; ran a meat market for six 
 months; sold out and engaged in a restaurant a 

 
 
 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 month; sold again, and from 1878 to 1883 he was 
 employed as traveling agent by the Rock Falls Man- 
 ufacturing Company ; then was manager of the Gait 
 House one year; and finally, June i, 1884, he rented 
 the Sterling' Mercantile Block and opened out with a 
 large stock of furniture, where he is at present carry- 
 ing on a prosperous trade. Ralph Waldo Emerson 
 remarks that he is not the greatest man who succeeds 
 by sticking to one business, but he who, in trying 
 many kinds, falls every time like a cat, lighting 
 upon his feet. E. Dill & Co. now carry a stock of 
 $5,000 worth of goods and have a large aiid increas- 
 ing trade. They do much in the line of upholstering. 
 
 Mr. Dill is a member of the A. O. U. W., of the 
 Select Knights and of the Modern Woodmen of 
 America. 
 
 He was married Feb. 12, 1872, to Miss Addie E. 
 Bowen, of Rock Falls, and they have two sons, 
 Edwin E. and E. Leroy T. 
 
 eorge Terwilliger, attorney at law, Justice 
 of the Peace, Notary Public and insurance 
 agent, at Fulton, was born in the town of 
 New Scotland, Albany Co., N. Y., and is the 
 son of John and Margaret (Reid) Terwilliger, 
 his father being of Holland descent and his 
 mother of Scotch. 
 
 At the age of nine years he moved with his par- 
 ents to De Witt, Onondaga Co., N. Y., and remained 
 with his father on the farm, receiving the ordinary 
 common-school education, until he entered the Onon- 
 daga Academy, located at Onondaga Hollow, where 
 he took a four years' course and graduated in the 
 class of 1850. He then commenced the study of the 
 law with Forbes & Sheldon, in the city of Syracuse, 
 and was admitted to practice in all the Courts of New 
 York State on the 5th of July, 1852. During the 
 time he was studying law he frequently assisted in 
 editing the Syracuse Daily Journal, one of the lead- 
 ing newspapers in the interior of New York State, 
 and after his admission to the Bar became editor-in- 
 chief of that paper. He remained in this position for 
 about two years, when he resigned on account of a 
 change in the proprietorship, he being Free-Soil in 
 his proclivities, while the new proprietors were pro- 
 slavery in their views. Shortly after his resigning he 
 was elected City Attorney of the city of Syracuse, re- 
 
 ceiving the highest vote cast for any one on his ticket 
 except the candidate for City Treasurer. In 1857 
 he removed to New York city, where he practiced 
 law, and was also honored with positions in the Cus- 
 tom House, and in the Tax Commissioner's office. 
 While a resident of New York he was admitted to 
 practice in the United States District and Circuit 
 Courts. 
 
 In the summer of 1870 he came West in accord- 
 ance with a long considered intention, and purchased 
 the Sterling Gazette, which paper he conducted with 
 ability and success until March, 1872, when he sold 
 out and moved to Fulton, purchasing the Fulton 
 Journal. In the fall of 1872 he sold a one-half in- 
 terest in the Journal to Dr. W. C. Snyder, now State 
 Senator, he taking the editorial department, and Dr. 
 Snyder the business department. In 1876 he sold 
 his interest in the Journal, and virtually laid aside 
 the editorial quill. When the Legislature of 1877 
 convened, his reputation was such that he easily se- 
 cured a clerkship in the House of Representatives, 
 and served during the session. In the spring of that 
 year he was elected Justice of the Peace of Fulton ( 
 and on his return from Springfield entered upon the 
 duties of his office. In June, 1877, he was employed 
 in editing and compiling Bent's History of Whiteside 
 County, and completed the work in the following 
 January. At the session of the Legislature in 1879 
 he was elected First Assistant Secretary of the 
 Senate, and was re-elected at the session of 1881, the 
 Senators being so well pleased with his services that 
 at this session they presented him with an elegant 
 gold watch. At the special session of 1881 he was 
 elected Secretary of the Senate. During the years 
 1874, 1875 and 1876, he was City Clerk of the city of 
 Fulton. He has been Justice of the Peace of the 
 town of Fulton for eight years, and at the late spring 
 election was again elected, without opposition, for 
 four years more. 
 
 Mr. Terwilliger has been a member of the Masonic 
 Order since 1862, having been made a Mason in 
 New York city. He was married while editing the 
 Syracuse Daily Journal, to Miss Matilda B. Fowler, 
 daughter of John and Eliza Fowler, Mrs. Terwilliger 
 being a native of New York city. They have two 
 children, both girls : Lillian, wife of Henry H. Den- 
 ton, of Newtown, Queens Co., N. Y., and Georgiana, 
 unmarried. 
 
 Mr. T. is Republican in politics, and has been an 
 
 A r* ?m*&a^. ^Sig^sA 
 
 W'^ <i'X 
 
 1 
 
 * ' 
 

 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 Y 
 
 > 
 
 I 
 
 active member of the party since its organization. 
 He is a popular Justice, his thorough knowledge of 
 law and judicial turn of mind enabling him to make 
 his rulings and decisions in accordance with law and 
 evidence, so that his judgments are seldom reversed. 
 As a writer Mr. Terwilliger is favorably known 
 throughout Northern and Western Illinois by his con- 
 nection with the press, and his able compilation of 
 tha History of Whiteside County in 1877. 
 
 f doniram Judson Booth, publisher of the 
 Sterling Blade, is a son of Gifford John 
 and Mary A. Booth, and was born in Dun- 
 dee, Yates Co., N. Y., Feb. 3, 1846. When 
 three years old he removed with his parents 
 to Elmira, N. Y., and resided there till 1855, 
 when his farther 's family removed to Illinois, resid- 
 ing for one year in Rock Island, and then in Fulton, 
 Whiteside County. Here he completed his studies 
 at the Fulton High School. In 1859 his father 
 leased (and subsequently bought) the material of the 
 Fulton Advertiser and commenced the publication 
 of the Fulton Courier; he entered the office to 
 learn the printing trade, and remained therein till 
 1866, when he took a joint interest in the paper, 
 which had in 1863 been changed in name to " Ful- 
 ton Journal." Mr. Booth and his father continued 
 the business till March, 1872, when the establish- 
 ment was purchased by George Terwilliger, of Ster- 
 ling. For one year prior to the above sale Mr. 
 Booth had been pursuing a special course of medical 
 instruction, under the supervision of Dr. John Eddy, 
 a thoroughly educated regular physician of Fulton; 
 he subsequently gave his entire attention to his med- 
 ical studies till the summer of 1873, when he went 
 to Chicago and attended a regular course of med- 
 ical lectures at the Hahnemann Medical College in 
 1873-4. 
 
 While home from college in 1874 he joined his 
 father in purchasing the Investigator printing-office- 
 at Morrison, this county; the name of the paper was 
 changed to Morrison Times, and conducted as a 
 Greenback organ. In 1876 this office was removed 
 to Rock Falls, and the name of the paper changed 
 to Whiteside Times ; it was Democratic-Greenback in 
 
 ix)litics, and had a very extensive circulation in ev- 
 ery township in Whiteside County. In the fall of 
 
 1877, Mr. Booth successfully issued a creditable his- 
 tory and directory of the two cities, Sterling and 
 Rock Falls, bound in cloth and gold leaf. In May, 
 
 1878, A. J. Booth & Co. leased the Whiteside Times 
 to Messrs. Hyde & Seade. 
 
 In June, i88r, Mr. Booth decided to commence 
 the publication of the Daily Blade, a morning daily 
 paper, in the city of Sterling, notwithstanding four 
 failures in that line by former parties. This enter- 
 prise was a success, and was continued for nearly 
 three years, until Dec. i, 1883, when impaired 
 health necessitated a change of business. In Novem- 
 ber, 1884, having recovered health, Mr. Booth re- 
 turned to Sterling and resumed the publication of 
 the Blade as a weekly paper, Democratic in politics, 
 six-column quarto in size. 
 
 Feb. 3, 1869, Mr. Booth married Miss Alma C. 
 Sperry, of Lee Center, 111., to whom were born five 
 children, to wit: Gifford M., Harry Judson, Ida 
 May, Charles Edwin and Anna Maude. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Booth are both members of the Sterling Bap- 
 tist Church. 
 
 J- 
 
 'ames S. McCauley, farmer on section 5, 
 Hopkins Township, has been a resident of 
 Whiteside County since 185 3, and has been 
 identified with its agricultural development 
 and progress for more than 30 years. He was 
 born Nov. n, 1821, in West Virginia. Corne- 
 lius McCauley, his father, was born in Scotland, 
 whence he emigrated and came to Maryland, where 
 he was married to Mary Butler, after which they set- 
 tled in Virginia. James was an infant when his 
 parents went to Ross Co., Ohio, after which they 
 moved to Pickaway County in the same State. The 
 father died there March 13, 1837. The death of the 
 mother occurred in Ross County, July 7, 1851. Their 
 children were n in number and were naii'ed as fol- 
 lows : William, Anna, Sarah, Susan, Elizabeth, Mary, 
 John, Rebecca, Margaret, Catherine and James S. 
 
 Mr. McCauley was 16 years of age when his father 
 died ; and until that event he remained at home en- 
 gaged in obtaining his education at the common 
 schools. Until the age of 23 years he operated as a 
 
 ' 
 
 : 
 
 I
 
 - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 farm assistant, and in 1848 rented a farm, which he 
 continued to manage five successive years. In the 
 fall of 1853 he came to Whiteside County, and pur- 
 chased 80 acres on section 8, in Hopkins Township. 
 It was wholly unimproved, and he rented a farm in 
 the same township, which he conducted four years. 
 He then purchased 1 20 acres where he has since lived, 
 and the buildings he has since erected are located on 
 the home place on that section. He is now the 
 owner of 408 acres of land, most of which is in Hop- 
 kins Township, and which is practically all under 
 cultivation. He supports the principles of the Re- 
 publican party, and has officiated in several local 
 offices. 
 
 Mr. McCauley was married Jan. 7, 1847, in Ross 
 Co., Ohio, to Hester A., daughter of Henry and Mary 
 (Caug'hey) Hanawalt. They were born in Pennsyl- 
 vania and located in Ohio after their marriage. The 
 father died July 28, 1831, and the mother survived 
 him until July 17, 1846. The brothers and sisters of 
 Mrs. McCauley were named Christopher, Samuel, 
 Jane, George and John. She is the youngest of all, 
 and was born Jan. 10, 1822, in Ross Co., Ohio. Only 
 two of eight children of which she has been the 
 mother are living. Mary C. and Clara still survive. 
 Marcellus, John W., Ida R., Alice A , Willie and an 
 infant child unnamed are deceased. 
 
 F. Strock, member of the firm of Dillon, 
 '< Bowers & Strock, proprietors of the Rock 
 Falls Roller Mills, Sterling, was born 
 in Franklin Co., Pa., May 4, 1844, his parents 
 being Daniel and Mary (Over) Strock, natives 
 also of that State. Mr. Strock, senior, a man- 
 ufacturer of agricultural implements, came to Sterling 
 in 1864. 
 
 The subject of this biographical sketch remained 
 at his parental home until he was 25 years of age, 
 receiving a common-school education. At the age 
 of 20 he entered a hardware store at Chambersburg, 
 Pa., as clerk, remaining one year. He then came to 
 Sterling and engaged as clerk for Patterson, Witmer 
 & Co., continuing for three years, and then accepted 
 a position in the interests of the Sterling School 
 Furniture Company, continuing for eight years. He 
 
 is an active and influential business man, a Repub- 
 lican, a member of the A. O. U. W., Select Knights 
 and the Lutheran Church, to which latter organiza- 
 tion his wife also belongs. 
 
 Mr. Strock was married Sept. r4, 1869, to Miss 
 Martha, daughter of Joel and Rachel (Cole) Harvey, 
 natives of New York and early immigrants to Sterl- 
 ing. By this marriage there have been three chil- 
 dren, two of whom are still living, Willoughby C. 
 and John F. After the death of Mr. Harvey, Mr. 
 Strock took charge of his estate and business affairs, 
 and did not engage in any other business until 1882, 
 when he bought a third interest in the Rock Falls 
 Roller Mills, where he has since been interested. 
 
 illiam Pratt, general farmer in the Town- 
 ship of Hopkins, has been a resident of 
 Whiteside County since 1854, and a citizen 
 of the State of Illinois since 1842, when he 
 removed from New York to Kane County. 
 After a stay of about one year's duration at 
 Elgin, he went to McHenry County, where he was 
 engaged in farming, and building the Fox River Val- 
 ley Railroad. On coming to Wbiteside Co., he took 
 a contract to grade the railroad from Sterling to Ful- 
 ton. While fulfilling his obligations with the build- 
 ing corporation, he bought, in 1856, a farm in 
 Hopkins Township. On this he settled on the ter- 
 mination of the business mentioned, and has since 
 pushed his agricultural operations with profit. 
 
 He was born May 16, 1817, in Chenango Co., N. 
 Y., and is the son of William and Cynthia (Case) 
 Pratt, who were born in the State of Connecticut. 
 He is one of a family of four children named Har- 
 riet, Jerome, William and Ralph. 
 
 Mr. Pratt was married Oct. 8, 1855, in Prophets- 
 town, Whiteside County, to Euphemia J., daughter 
 of David and Lydia (Butler) Ramsay. Her parents 
 were natives of New England and were of Scotch 
 lineage. William, Hannah M., Luther B., Euphemia 
 J. and Lydia A. were the names of their children. 
 Mrs. Pratt was born Sept. 9, 1822, in Rome, Oneida 
 Co., N. Y. Le Roi W. Pratt, her only child, was 
 born Jan 25, 1857, and graduated in 1882, at the 
 Union College of Law, Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Pratt is a Democrat in political preference 
 
 vS 

 
 - 
 
 WHITESWE COUNTY. 
 
 ^f and acts in local and general issues in consonance 
 with the principles of that party. Mrs. Pratt is a 
 ! ''j communicant of the Episcopal Church. 
 
 L rederick B. Hubbard, of the firm of Dill 
 & Co., furniture dealers of Sterling, was 
 born Oct. 26, 1859, in Dover, Bureau Co., 
 111., and remained at home until 18 years of 
 age, receiving a fine education. He then went 
 to Yankton, Dak., arriving there June 19, 1878, 
 and spending a year and a half in the jeweler's busi- 
 ness. Next, he engaged in the same business for 
 himself in Hiawatha, Brown Co., Kan. A year and 
 a half after, he sold out, came to Sterling and made 
 a commencement in the same line of business ; but, 
 his health failing, he sold out, and engaged with his 
 present partner in the furniture trade, which they 
 have to the present carried on with success to them- 
 selves and satisfaction to their patrons. 
 
 Mr. Hubbard was married to Miss Louisa H. 
 Brown, of St. Joseph, Mo., March 27, 1881. They 
 have one daughter, Ada L , who was born May 24, 
 1883. He belongs to the Knights of Honor, the 
 Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of 
 Pythias. 
 
 Mr. Hubbard is a liberal and public-spirited citi- 
 zen of Sterling, worthy of official trusts. 
 
 : enry M. Kennedy, physician and surgeon, 
 Head Clerk of the Order of Modern Wood- 
 
 f"~~ men of America, and residing at Fulton, 
 . was born in Mishawaka, St. Joseph Co., Ind., 
 Jan. 4, 1851, and is the son of Henry D. and 
 Charlotte (Steere) Kennedy. He came to Elgin, 
 111., with his parents in infancy, and was educated 
 at Wheaton (111.) College. After some experience 
 as a clerk in Chicago he spent several seasons in the 
 the fruit business at Benton Harbor, Mich., teach- 
 ing school winters. 
 
 He took a regular 'three years' course at the Hahn- 
 emann Medical College, of Chicago, at which he re- 
 ceived the degree of M. D. He began practice in 
 
 Jackson Co., Iowa, which he continued till 1880, 
 
 when he removed to Fulton, 111., and has pursued 
 his profession in this city continuously since. On < 
 the organization of the " Modern Woodmen," a ben- 
 eficiary fraternity, he was chosen Head Physician, 
 and in May, 1884, he was elected Head Clerk, or 
 Grand Secretary, of the order. He is also Ihe edi- 
 tor of the Woodman's Echo. 
 
 He was married Nov. 10, 1874, at St. Joseph, 
 Mich., to Miss Lillie Overacker. Mrs. Kennedy 
 was born in Otsego Co., N. Y., June 14, 1854. They 
 have three children, all boys, Harry, Fred and 
 Clarence. 
 
 The Doctor is a Prohibitionist in politics, and 
 served as City Clerk of Fulton in 1883-4. He is an 
 earnest temperance advocate, and a member of 
 Leota Lodge, No. 428, I. O. G. T. The Dr. and 
 Mrs. K. are members of tlie Baptist Church. 
 
 Although a resident of Fulton but a few years, Dr. 
 Kennedy has made many warm friends, and has de- 
 veloped a very satisfactory practice. 
 
 Cornelius Bachellor, farmer, residing on 
 section 12, Montmorency Township, is a 
 son of Ebenezer and Hannah (Ellis) 
 Bachellor. They were married and settled 
 in Vermont, where the mother died. 
 
 Cornelius was the only child born of his 
 parents' union, and was born in Essex, Chittenden 
 Co., Vt., Aug. 30, 1829. Four years after that 
 event, in 1833, his father moved to Ohio, his mother 
 having previously died. In the latter State he 
 passed his years of minority, working on his fathers 
 farm and attending the common schools. 
 
 In 1856, Mr. Bachellor purchased 80 acres of 
 land in Montmorency Township, this county. From 
 1857 to 1861 he resided at Rock Falls, and during 
 the latter year moved on his land in Montmor- 
 ency Township. He erected good substantial farm 
 buildings on his land, and entered vigorously and 
 actively upon its cultivation. By energetic effort 
 and good management Mr. Bachellor has increased 
 his landed possessions in the county to 240 acres, 
 one-half of which is in a good tillable condition. 
 
 Mr. Bachellor was united in marriage, in Licking 
 Co., Ohio, April 8, 1852, to Tabitha MacClintic, 
 
 '
 
 - 
 
 -, . - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 daughter of James and Elizabeth (Frank) MacClintic, 
 natives of Ireland and Virginia. The parents set- 
 tled in Ohio, where the father died. The mother 
 afterward came to this county and died in Rock 
 Falls, Aug. 30, 1877. The issue of their union was 
 one child, Mrs. Bachellor. She was born in Colum- 
 biana Co., Ohio, Jan. 29, 1831. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Bachellor are the parents of eight children, namely: 
 Mary E., William A., Cordelia, Martin R., Ida M., 
 Clarence, Charles and Lewis. The two latter are 
 deceased. 
 
 Mr. Bachellor has been Highway Commissioner, 
 School Trustee and Overseer of Highways in his 
 township. Politically, he is identified with tenets of 
 the Democratic party. 
 
 >,harles Foster, one of the solid business 
 men of Whiteside County, resident at 
 Morrison, has been for 30 years connected 
 with its leading business enterprises. In 
 1855 he came to Sterling, and obtained em- 
 ployment as a clerk ; but, his abilities in cer- 
 tain lines soon becoming apparent, he was intrusted 
 with important duties, and in the course of a year he 
 began to operate in his own interests, beginning on a 
 moderate scale, and regulating his efforts as oppor- 
 tunity served to make profitable ventures, until he 
 received the reward of his energy, thrift and exercise 
 of judgment and good sense, and has for years 
 ranked as one of the most deservedly successful 
 men of his generation. 
 
 He was born Sept. 2, 1831, near Ithaca, Tompkins 
 Co., N. Y. His father, William Foster, was born 
 in England, Oct. iq, 1807, and married Catherine 
 Chandler, also of English nativity, having been born 
 in that country, Oct. i, 1805. On coming to Amer- 
 ica they settled in Tompkins Co., N. Y., where the 
 father still resides, on the homestead, and where his 
 children were born and reared, and where, also, his 
 wifa and mother died. Their children were born in 
 the following order: Henrietta was born Jan. 8, 
 1828, and married John Supplee, of Yates Co.,N. Y.; 
 Mr. Foster is the next in order of birth ; James E. 
 was bom March 16, 1833, and is a farmer in Iowa; 
 John Chandler was born June 6, 1835, and is a sea- 
 man and ship-owner; Harriet E., born June 13; 
 1839, is the wife of Oscar Saunders, a farmer in the 
 
 vicinity of Robinson, Mich.; George W. was born 
 March 3, 1850, and is engaged in farming in Wells 
 Co., Dak. 
 
 Mr. Foster was brought up on the homestead of 
 his father, and when he was 23 years of age he be- 
 came the owner of a small farm in his native county, 
 which comprised 53 acres of land. On this he 
 operated one year, and in 1854 he determined to 
 seek the broader scope of the West, and test the 
 virtues of its promises, which were so glowing as to 
 tax credulity and tempt an ambitious man to risk his 
 time, if not his resources, in the trial of their merits. 
 Accordingly he came to DeKalb Co., and for a time 
 was employed on a farm in the Township of Syca- 
 more. In the spring of 1855 he came to Sterling, 
 and spent three months as a clerk in a dry-goods 
 store. At the end of that time he was sent by his 
 employers to Morrison to buy grain and live stock, 
 and he operated in their interests about a year. In 
 1856 he engaged in similar transactions on his own 
 account, and from a small but profitable beginning 
 he gradually increased his operations until the aggre- 
 gate of his business amounted to $150,000 yearly, 
 and his relations were quite as extensive in Iowa as 
 in his own State. In addition to grain and stock, for 
 a long term of years, he dealt largely in butter, eggs 
 and poultry. As a representative of his operations 
 some generation in the future may be interested in 
 knowing that his purchases of butter reached 310,000 
 pounds in a single year; and at the time he was, 
 without doubt, the heaviest dealer in butter in Illi- 
 nois outside of Chicago. 
 
 In 1882 he relinquished this business, and turned 
 his attention to financial enterprise, and organized 
 the First National Bank of Norfolk, Neb., with a cap- 
 ital of $50,000, his own investment therein being 
 $26,000. A year later he disposed of his interest in 
 the banking house, with the design of withdrawing 
 from active business life, which he has practically 
 done, only occasionally yielding to force of habit and 
 circumstances when he traffics in real estate and 
 engages in lending money. 
 
 Mr. Foster has never parted ownership with his 
 original landed property in Tompkins Co., N. Y., of 
 which he is still the proprietor. He is also the 
 owner of 60 acres of land in Whiteside County, a 
 portion of which lies within the corporate limits of 
 the city of Morrison. His other claims of real 
 
 x=
 
 
 - . 
 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 (; 
 
 
 estate include liis residence and two other dwell- 
 ings at Morrison, 320 acres of land in Clark Co., 
 Dak., 480 acres in Stanton Co., Neb., city property 
 in Benton, Iowa, and in Oneida, Knox Co., 111. 
 
 The first wife of Mr. Foster was formerly Miss 
 Lydia A. Drake, and their marriage took place Nov. 
 i, 1860. She was born March 19, 1839, and was 
 the daughter of Charles L. and Roxana (Bruce) 
 Drake. From this union five children were born: 
 William C. completed the prescribed course of study 
 in the High School at Morrison, afterward becoming 
 a student at Beloit College, Wisconsin, where he 
 studied two years. He is now Deputy Treasurer of 
 Brown Co., Dak., and is the owner of a half interest 
 in the abstracts of that county ; Gertrude M. is a 
 graduate of the school at Morrison, and of the New 
 England Conservatory of Music at Boston ; she is a 
 thoroughly accomplished musician ; Josephine and 
 Anna B. are the names of the younger children who 
 survive; Charles E. is deceased. The death of the 
 mother occurred at Morrison June 6, 1875. Mr. 
 Foster contracted a second matrimonial alliance, with 
 Lottie L. Corey, Oct. 3, 1876, at Sturbridge, Mass. 
 She was born in that place April 9, 1844, and is the 
 daughter of George V. and Martha Corey, both of 
 whom are living. 
 
 Barren Bond, resident at Morrison, was 
 born April 13, 1823, in Denmark, Lewis 
 Co., N. Y., and is the son of Henry and 
 Betsey (Graves) Bond. He was reared to 
 man's estate in the State of his nativity, and 
 in 1842 came to Illinois. On the i6th of April 
 in that year he located in Fulton Townsh p, and 
 while a resident of that township he became promi- 
 nent in the management of local affairs, holding sev- 
 eral official positions. In 1852 he purchased 240 
 acres of land situated on section 32 and lying on the 
 Morrison and Fulton road, in the township of Ustick. 
 He has given much attention to raising stock, and is 
 entitled to much credit for his 'efficiency in improv- 
 ing the grades of Whiteside County cattle. He has 
 been for many years identified with the energetic, 
 intelligent and prosperous farming element of the 
 township where he has resided. The contrast in his 
 earlier and later circumstances is to be inferred from 
 
 the facts that, in his native State he used to labor 
 from sunrise to sunset, threshing with a flail and 
 cleaning grain, and receiving compensation at the 
 rate of five cents a bushel. On coming to Whiteside 
 County he worked for John Hollinshead in the town- 
 ship of Ustick, at $12 a month. In less than 20 
 years his gross receipts from his stock and farm 
 averaged about $2,000 annually. Mr. Bond is the 
 owner of 160 acres of land in Kearney Co., Neb. 
 He sold his land in Ustick Township, and in the 
 spring of of 1883 retired from active agricultural life, 
 removing to Morrison, where he built a residence 
 and is living in the enjoyment of the accumula- 
 tions of the efforts of his years of prime. 
 
 He is a Republican in political bias, and has de- 
 voted reasonable attention and effort to the interests 
 of his party in view of his understanding of the obli- 
 gations of his citizenship. He was always active in 
 local politics in Fulton and Ustick Townships, and 
 has served as a member of the County Committee. 
 He served the town of Ustick as its Supervisor for 
 ten years, also served as Census Enumerator for 
 Ustick Township in 1880. Has taken a lively inter- 
 est in school affairs, having held the office of School 
 Director, Trustee and Treasurer. He is a member 
 of the Masonic fraternity and belongs to the Royal 
 Arch Chapter. 
 
 Since his retirement to Morrison, Mr. Bond has 
 engaged to some extent in financial operations. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Bond to Harriet N. Camfield 
 occurred July 13, 1844. Following is the record of 
 their children: Edna E., born Nov. 5, 1847, mar- 
 ried Delos P. Martin, Oct. 18, 1865, and lives in 
 Nebraska; Loretta H., born Feb. 15, 1850, was 
 married Dec. 31,. 1868, to William J. Reed, and 
 lives in Ustick Township; Viola E. was born Dec. 
 21, 1851, and was married March 18, 1872, to Aus- 
 tin Goff, and died Dec. 3, 1872; George E. was 
 born June 5, 1854, married Sarah Bulkley Dec. 20, 
 1876, and died July 15, 1881 ; Vesta M. was born 
 July 10, 1856. She was married Jan. i, 1874, to 
 \Yilson Springer, and now resides in Kearney Co., 
 Neb.; Olive J. was born Aug. 28, 1858, and was 
 married Aug. 15, 1876, to Alonzo Springer, a farmer 
 in Union Grove Township; Ada A. and Ida A., 
 twins, were born March 2, 1861 ; they died respect- 
 ively Sept. 14 and Sept. 21, of the same year; Isa- 
 bel I. was born Aug. 29, 1863, and was married in
 
 -pv

 
 August, 1881, to Walter Webber, a farmer in 
 Kearney Co., Neb.; Alva W. was born Sept. 26, 
 7865, and is still with his parents. 
 
 M. Martin, merchant at Sterling, was born 
 in Franklin Co., Pa., Nov. 13, 1841. His 
 father, Joseph R. Martin, died in January, 
 1877; and his mother, whose maiden name 
 was Martha Meshy, is still living. Both his 
 parents were natives of the Keystone State, 
 and had seven sons and four daughters. 
 
 At the age of seven years, the subject of this no- 
 tice left home and lived until 15 years old with 
 Michael Ebersole, a farmer. He continued in agri- 
 cultural pursuits until the summer of 1862, when he 
 enlisted for the Government in the i26th Regt. Pa. 
 Vol. Inf., Co. A. He went from Chambersburg to 
 Harrisburg, where he was mustered into service. 
 After remaining in camp three weeks at Arlington 
 Heights, he went to Leesburg, Va., where he par- 
 ticipated in the second battle of Bull Run. He was 
 then ordered back to Washington and to Antietam, 
 where he was held in reserve in camp on the battle- 
 field, until October, when he went up the Loudoun 
 Valley and thence to Fredericksburg. Engaging in 
 action at the latter place, he received a wound and 
 was confined six weeks in the hospital. He returned 
 to his regiment in time to engage in the battle of 
 Chancellorsville, soon after which his term of enlist- 
 ment (nine months) expired and he was mustered 
 out at Harrisburg. In the summer of 1864 he came 
 to Freeport, 111., and in February, 1865, re-enlisted, 
 in the 147111 Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., went to Nashville, 
 Tenn., and Dalton, Ga., where he received a com- 
 mission HS Second Lieutenant of Co. E, of the i47th. 
 After a delay of two months at Dalton and a month 
 at Resaca, he went with a detachment to Albany, 
 Ga., and with the remainder of the regiment to 
 Americus, same State, where he was appointed 
 Adjutant for the battalion; and after serving a 
 month in this capacity he was appointed As- 
 sistant Provost Marshal for Starkville, Lee Co., Ga. 
 Three months afterward he returned to his regiment, 
 which soon was moved to Savannah, Ga., where Mr. 
 Martin did Provost duty in the city uutil 1866, 
 when the regiment was mustered out. 
 
 Returning to Freeport for a month, he came to 
 Sterling and acted as clerk in a grocery store during 
 the summer (1866); next, in the same capacity for 
 Carpenter & Edison until 1874 ; then he went to Cali- 
 fornia and was employed for two months in the freight 
 office of the Central Pacific Railroad; and then served 
 as station agent at Modesto, Cal., until the fall of 1875, 
 when he came to Sterling and engaged again as 
 clerk for E. W. Edison. In the spring of 1877 he 
 was employed as salesman for M. B. Rutt & Co., of 
 Sterling, for a year, and then he formed a partner- 
 ship with D. B. Strickler in the dry-goods business. 
 Two years afterward C. A. Sheeting purchased 
 Stickler's interest, who in turn sold to Mr. Kintzle, 
 and the firm name became Martin & Kintzle, the 
 present style. Their store, 40 x 90 feet, is at Nos. 
 118 and 120, Locust Street, and they are carrying on 
 a prosperous business on honorable principles. 
 
 Mr. Martin is a Republican and a member of the 
 Masonic Order. 
 
 April 17, 1878, he married Miss Emma Sheeting, 
 of Freeport, and they have one daughter, born Dec. 
 10, 1881. 
 
 amcs G. Gridley, one of the prominent 
 land-holders in Union Grove Township, 
 resident on section 12, became a citizen of 
 Whiteside County in 1855. He located at 
 Morrison, then in its first year of existence, and 
 his genius as a mechanic was in immediate 
 requisition to meet the demands of the throng of 
 new comers to the incipient city. He was active in 
 the work of incorporation, and was elected one of 
 the first Trustees. He was a member of the Board 
 for several successive years, and he was a resident 
 there until 1861. He was the builder of the main 
 part of the school building at Morrison, and the 
 church edifice of the First Presbyterian Society. He 
 built the second warehouse in Morrison, which is 
 now occupied as a livery stable by M. G. Preston, 
 and, in partnership with L. H. Robinson and J. V. 
 Giles successively, engaged in the business of ship- 
 ping grain and stock, and in the sale of lumber. On 
 relinquishing his business at Morrison, he purchased 
 a farm in the township of Ustick. He is now a res- 
 dent of Union Grove Township, and is the owner of 
 
 VX 
 
 (f 
 
 I 
 

 
 
 - . 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 500 acres of land in the county, which is all prac- 
 tically under excellent cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Gridley was born Oct. i, 1811, at Middle- 
 burgh, Schoharie Co., N. Y., and is the son of John 
 and Margaret (Stopplebeen) Gridley. His parents 
 were born in the State of New York and had nine 
 children. Mr. Gridley is the third in successive 
 order, and he grew to man's estate in the place 
 where he was born. Previous to his removal to 
 Whiteside County,- he lived some years in the coun- 
 ties of Columbia and Otsego respectively. 
 
 He has been thrice married. His first matrimonial 
 alliance was formed with Jane E. Miller, in Colum- 
 bia Co., N. Y., June u, 1837, and thsy had three 
 children, Margaret, Stephen and Rachel. The 
 oldest child is the wife of Joseph Sholes,of Nebraska. 
 Rachel died at Moline, 111., Oct. 15, 1877. Mrs. 
 G. died Jan. 4, 1849, and Mr. Gridley was again 
 married Oct. 15, 1850, to Sarah J. Duffin, in Otsego 
 Co., N. Y., where she died, Nov. 8, 1854. He was 
 a third time married, June 2, 1857, in Columbia Co., 
 N. Y., to Sarah J. Hornfager, and they have three 
 children, namely, John,' Charles E. and Mary. 
 The youngest daughter died Feb. 24, 1883, in Union 
 Grove Township, when 17 years of age. Mrs. Grid- 
 ley was born Oct. 3, 1822, in Columbia Co., N. Y. 
 
 Mr. Gridley is a Democrat and he has held var- 
 ious local official positions. His portrait is presented 
 on a page in proximity, with more than ordinary sat- 
 isfaction, from the relations he has borne to the 
 progress of Whiteside County. It is a copy of a like- 
 ness taken in 1885. 
 
 had 
 
 arm T. Meins, farmer, section 16, Hop- 
 kins Township, is a son of Henry W. and 
 Mary Meins, natives of Germany, who 
 came to America in 1859 and settled in Hop- 
 kins Township, this county. She died Janu- 
 ary 1 6, 1870, and he March 13, 1885. They 
 a family of four children : Teite M., Mein, 
 Harm and Mary. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Germany, 
 Dec. 21, 1830, and learned the trade of shoemaker, 
 which he followed in the old country and in Ameri- 
 ca about 16 years. He came to this country in 
 1854 and lived four years in Connecticut, where he 
 
 **" S ^^ 
 
 followed his trade, and in the summer of 1858 came 
 to Whiteside County and worked at his trade two 
 years in Sterling, and then purchased 40 acres on 
 section 16, Hopkins Township, where he settled and 
 has since lived. He is now the owner of 210 acres, 
 200 of which is in good cultivation. He has erected 
 fine buildings on his farm. 
 
 He was married in Dixon, in August, 1858, to 
 Anna C. Janssen, who was born in Germany, Aug. 
 26, 1830. Mr. and Mrs. Meins are the parents of 
 two children : Anna, now the wife of John Fulfs and 
 residing- in Genesee Township; and Hannah H., 
 now the wife of Henry W. Stern, and a resident of 
 Hopkins Township. 
 
 Mr. Meins has been Overseer of Highways, Road 
 Commissioner and School Trustee. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Meins are members of the German Lutheran 
 Church. In politics Mr. M. is identified with the 
 Democratic party. 
 
 /,enry Pott, farmer, residing on section 27, 
 Hahnaman Township, is a native of Ger- 
 many, and was born in that country July 
 14, 1844. His parents, Jacob and Catharine 
 (Stroh) Pott, were also natives of Germany and 
 emigrated to the United States and settled in 
 Sterling, this county, in 1853. His father died in the 
 latter place Feb. 17, 1881. The issue of this union 
 was eight children, namely : John, who died in Ger- 
 many; Christian, Henry, Joseph, Barbara, Mathias, 
 Peter and Mary. 
 
 Henry Pott came with parents to this country in 
 1853 and direct to this county, arriving here when in 
 his ninth year, and consequently has been a resident 
 of the county for 25 years, and during which time he 
 has been closely identified with its agricultural ad- 
 vancement. 
 
 Aug. n, 1862, Mr. Pott enlisted in Co. D. 75th 
 111. Vol. Inf., and served until Feb. 15, 1865, at 
 which date he received a discharge on account of a 
 gunshot wound which deprived him of his left eye. 
 He received the wound at Lovejoy Station, Ga. At 
 the battle of Perry ville, Ky., Oct. 8, 1862, he re- 
 ceived a wound in the hip which, nevertheless, did 
 not incapacitate him from duty. 
 
 On receiving his discharge Mr. Pott returned to 
 
 1*^ .
 
 
 -f*tK< 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 this county, .where he has since lived. He settled 
 in Hahnaman Township in 1861, and is now the 
 owner of 154 acres on section 27, 1 10 of which is till- 
 able. He is a deserving pensioner of the Govern- 
 ment, and receives a pension for the loss of an eye 
 as stated. 
 
 Mr. Pott was united in marriage at Sterling, this 
 county, Oct. 10, 1868, with Miss Mary, daughter of 
 George and Elizabeth (Kauffman) Spangler, natives 
 of Pennsylvania. They came to this county in 1863 
 and settled in Sterling Township, where her father 
 died. His death was caused by drowning in Rock 
 River, and occurred in August, 1863. Her mother 
 died in Hahnaman Township, March 26, 1873. The 
 issue of their union was seven children, Mary, Sarah 
 Abraham, Elizabeth, George, Jonas and Ida. 
 
 Mrs. Pott was born in Cumberland Co., Pa. Aug. 
 11, 1853. She and her husband are the parents of 
 seven children, namely : Henry C., Elizabeth, Jacob, 
 R., George A., Emma M., Albert B. and Catharine. 
 
 Mr. Pott has held the office of Overseer of High- 
 ways four years and School Director for ten years, 
 and Clerk of the Board for five years, and politically 
 is an independent. He and his wife are members 
 of the German Catholic Church. 
 
 eorge A. Whitcomb, retired manufacturer, 
 formerly of the firm of Ely & Whitcomb, 
 carriage manufacturers at Morrison, was 
 born in Granville, Washington Co., N. Y., 
 Oct. 23, 1837, and is the youngest son of 
 Benjamin B. and Sabrina B. (Dual) Whitcomb. 
 His father was a native of New Hampshire, and his 
 mother of New York. 
 
 In 1856 he came to Unionville, this county, and 
 engaged as a clerk for James A. Fisher, a general 
 merchant. In 1857 he came to Morrison and was 
 employed as a clerk in a drug-store for Dr. Coe. He 
 bought out Dr. Coe in 1858 and carried on the drug 
 business three years, when he sold out and engaged 
 in the grain trade. In 1865 he bought an interest 
 in the drug-store of John S. Green and maintained 
 that connection till 1867, when he sold out. He 
 then formed a partnership with Mr. Ely in the real- 
 estate business. In 1875 he bought a half interest 
 in the Morrison Carriage Works, the property of R. 
 
 & 
 
 S. W. Ely, and the business was conducted under 
 the firm name of Ely & Whitcomb. The factory did 
 an extensive business, furnishing employment for an 
 average force of 22 men, and turning out from'25o 
 to 300 carriages annually. He was still interested 
 with Mr. Ely in extensive real-estate transactions. 
 In November, 1882, he sold out his interest in the 
 factory, but still retains his connection with Mr. Ely 
 in the real-estate business. Their operations extend 
 over several States, including Illinois, Wisconsin, 
 Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, wherein they 
 own upwards of 5,000 acres of valuable farming 
 land, besides city and town property, including 
 dwelling-houses and business buildings. 
 
 During the past year they have operated quite ex- 
 tensively in real estate in Minneapolis, where they 
 have much valuable property. 
 
 Mr. Whitcomb was married at Mt. Carroll, 111., 
 June 22, 1861, to Miss Sarah A. Town, daughter of 
 Salem and Mary A. Town, pioneer settlers of White- 
 side County. Mrs. Whitcomb was born in Union 
 Grove, of this county, Jan. 14, 1841. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Whitcomb have three children, all born in Morrison : 
 Nettie, born Aug. 22, 1863, now taking a collegiate 
 course at Oberlin, Ohio; Annie, born Oct. 22, 1865, 
 is now taking a musical course ; and George G., 
 bora April n, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Whitcomb in early life was a Republican of 
 abolition sympathies, and continued an earnest sup- 
 porter of that party during the war and up to Grant's 
 administration, since which time he has been an in- 
 dependent, strongly opposed to so-called " protective 
 tariff." He has been a thorough student in political 
 economy and American politics. He supported the 
 Democratic national nominees in 1880 and 1884, 
 and has won a reputation as a candid and fair 
 speaker, whose campaign arguments were logical 
 and well supported by unimpeachable authority. He 
 has been twice chosen Mayor of Morrison and has 
 held minor offices. As shown by our sketch, Mr. 
 Whitcomb is one of the pioneers of Morrison, he 
 having been a resident of this city upwards of 28 
 years, during which time he has been identified with 
 its leading business interests, and foremost in sup- 
 port of every public enterprise calculated to benefit 
 the city or to improve its advantages.. 
 
 Mr. Whitcomb is a thorough business man, cool 
 and clear-headed, of quick perceptive faculties and 
 
 16) 
 

 
 -'.yg-XM^^, 
 
 igTS^AS'vVi' 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 **-s 
 
 * 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 A 
 
 (& 
 
 sound judgment, scrupulously exact in all his deal- 
 ings and rigid in his notions of justice, honor and 
 veracity. Naturally quick and impulsive, he has 
 won that greatest of victories, self-control. These 
 few remarks are offered in no spirit of laudation, but 
 simply as the briefest possible mention of some of 
 the characteristics of an old settler who is held in 
 high esteem as an upright man, true friend, and kind 
 neighbor by many who will read these pages. 
 
 Captain John MacKenzie, a resident of 
 Fulton, and Master of the steamer" Silver 
 Wave," of the Van Sant & Musser line, 
 plying between Stillwater, Minn., and Mus- 
 catine, Iowa, is a native of Whiteside Co., 111., 
 being born in the town of Ustick, July 3, 
 1850. His parents, John and Margaret (Ritchie) 
 MacKenzie, were born in the Highlands of Scotland 
 and came to this county in 1843. 
 
 John was reared on his father's farm, and when 
 18 years of age, or in 1868, he engaged as a deck 
 hand on a Mississippi River steamer. Before the 
 expiration of two years he had qualified himself for 
 the position of pilot, and sailed as such. In 18 
 he purchased a third interest in the steamer " Wm. 
 White " and became her Captain. He afterwards 
 built and commanded the steamer " Eclipse." He 
 sold out his steamboat interests in the spring of 
 1883, since which time he has sailed the "Sam 
 Atlee " and the " Silver Wave." 
 
 Capt. MacKenzie was married near Creston, Iowa, 
 Dec. 14, 1880, to Miss Abbie E. Devore, daughter of 
 John and Josephine (Smith) Devore. Mrs. Mac- 
 Kenzie was born near Mt. Carroll, Carroll Co , 111. 
 
 The Captain is a staunch Prohibitionist, of Repub- 
 lican antecedents. He is Chairman of the Prohibi- 
 tion County Committee, and was the Prohibition 
 candidate for Representative in the late campaign. 
 He is a member of Fulton City Lodge, No. 189, A. 
 F. & A. M. Mrs. MacKenzie is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Captain MacKenzie has worked up through all 
 grades of a boatman's duties from the lowest to the 
 highest, and has long been classed among the most 
 popular and skillful of the Mississippi steamboat 
 Captains. He has made his home at Fulton, 111., 
 since 1881. 
 
 .avid G. Harrison, farmer on section 23 
 Union Grove Township, is a native citizen 
 of Illinois, having been born June 21, 
 1842, in Beardstown. He is of English de- 
 scent, his parents, Thomas and Nancy (Ger- 
 { lick) Harrison, having been born in England, 
 where they were married. They came to the United 
 States about 1841, and at once located in Beards- 
 town, whence they removed after a residence of two 
 years to Union Grove Township. They both died 
 there. Their children were named John S., Eliza 
 A., Charles W., Maria, David G., Mary H., Emma 
 J., Sarah L. and Charlotte E. Mr. Harrison is the 
 youngest son, and he was an inmate of the parental 
 home until its relations were dissolved by the death 
 of the father. He succeeded to the heritage of the 
 homestead and has continued to make it the scene of 
 his efforts. His estate includes 238 acres, and he has 
 placed 200 acres under creditable tillage. In polit- 
 ical inclinations, Mr. Harrison affiliates with the 
 party of Prohibition. 
 
 His marriage to Elizabeth W. Thompson took 
 place in Ustick Township, Oct. 6, 1875. Their 
 children have been four in number, and were named 
 Otto W., Jeanie B., Bessie and Feemie G. Bessie 
 died in infancy. The parents of Mrs. Harrison, 
 William and Jane (Burns) Thompson, were natives 
 of Scotland, and they had eight children, named 
 Elizabeth W., Anna B., William G., Archibald T., 
 Robert B., Maggie J., Hugh D. and Mary J. Mrs. 
 Harrison was born in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, 
 Jan. 19, 1848. .She and her husband are members 
 of the Baptist Church. 
 
 
 
 en. William M. Kilgour, late attorney 
 at law at Sterling, was born June 12, 
 1828, in Cumberland Co., Pa., and is 
 a son of Col. Ezekiel Kilgour, manufacturer, 
 and Colonel of the militia regiment in that 
 county. His mother, nee Eliza Graham, was a 
 daughter of Judge Graham, of the same county. In 
 1837 the family came West, settling near Sterling. 
 Gen. Kilgour received a common-school education
 
 L: rv 
 
 UNIVLsi <ir 
 UftMNA 
 
 
 I
 
 ' 
 
 jjSLj/s 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 in his youth, studied law, and was admitted to prac- 
 tice in the State Courts by the Supreme Court at 
 Ottawa, 111., in 1856. The next year he was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar of the Federal Circuit and District 
 Courts, and subsequently in the Supreme Court at 
 Washington. The General was a prominent politician. 
 Under the old regime he was a Whig, and was a 
 representative from his county to the mass conven- 
 tion held at Bloomington, which organized the Re- 
 publican party in Illinois, and nominated Col. Bissell 
 for Governor. 
 
 It was as a soldier, however, that the General 
 made his mark. In 1861 he was among the first to 
 volunteer, enlisting as a private in the i3th Regt. 
 111. Vol. Inf. Upon its organization he was elected 
 Second Lieutenant, and served with the regiment one 
 year in Missouri, taking part in the skirmish at Wet 
 Glaze, Lynn Creek, Springfield and Salem. During 
 the time he also served as Judge Advocate. The 
 next year, 1862, he was taken sick with fever and 
 resigned. He had scarcely recovered from his ill- 
 ness when more troops were called for and he volun- 
 teered again, receiving a commission as Captain in 
 the 75th Regt. 111. Vol. Inf. When the regiment was 
 fully organized he was promoted to the rank of Major. 
 Shortly afterward, in an engagement at Perryville, 
 Ky., he was wounded by a ball passing through his 
 body. It was thought at the time that the wound 
 would prove fatal ; but he recovered, and in August, 
 1863, regained his command just in time to partici- 
 pate in the bloody battle of Chickamauga. He con- 
 tinued to serve with the regiment until it was mus- 
 tered out, in July, 1865, having been in every battle 
 in which it participated from the time he rejoined it 
 excepting that at Gulp's Farm, making in all 27 regu- 
 lar engagements. He was in nearly every battle 
 fought in the Department of the Cumberland. Dur- 
 ing a great part of the Atlanta campaign he was in 
 command of the 8oth 111. Vol. Inf., and at Pumpkin- 
 Vine Creek, in Georgia, was under fire for nine con- 
 secutive days. The 75th Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., under 
 Gen. Kilgour, was the first under Gen. Joseph Hook- 
 er's command to charge the rebel works at Lookout 
 Mountain, driving the rebels first up the mountain 
 and then off of it. He was wounded three times, 
 and was three times promoted for meritorious ser- 
 vices in the field. His commission as Second Lieu- 
 tenant of the 1 3th 111. Inf., he received from Gov. 
 Yates, April 20, 1861. For gallant and meritorious 
 
 services at Mission Ridge, Tenn., he was commis- 
 sioned Major by brevet, Oct. 31, 1867, by U. S. 
 Grant, then President of the United States. Also, 
 the same date, he received, for similar valor at 
 Atlanta, Ga., a commission as Lieutenant Colonel by 
 brevet; and again, for bravery at Nashville, Tenn., 
 he was brevetted Colonel. At the close of the war 
 he was commissioned Colonel in the regular army, 
 and subsequently brevetted Brigadier General. 
 
 The foregoing testimonials to Gen. Kilgour's effi- 
 ciency in the field of war in defense of his country 
 were never sought by him either directly or indi- 
 rectly. They are simply proofs of his merit. On 
 his retirement from the army, in 1867, Gen. Kilgour 
 resumed the practice of his profession at Sterling, in 
 which he was successfully engaged until his death, 
 which occurred May 29, 1885, at Los Gatos, Cal., 
 from the effects of the principal wound he received 
 from the rebels in defense of his country. He was a 
 member of the Knights of Pythias, I. O. O. F., A. F. 
 and A. M., K. T., and G. A. R. 
 
 The General was married in 1865, to Mary Isa- 
 bella Junkin, of Perry Co., Pa. They had five chil- 
 dren : Eliza G., Susan J., James Albee, Cassius M. 
 and William S. 
 
 'ohn MacKengie, deceased, was an early 
 settler of Whiteside County. He was born 
 'in the Highlands of Scotland, in midsum- 
 mer, 1800, and was the son of Alexander and 
 Margaret (Thompson) MacKenzie. He learned 
 the trade of mason and builder, and was mar- 
 ried in Aberdeenshire, Oct. n, 1833, to Miss Mar- 
 garet S. Ritchie, daughter of George and Margaret 
 (Read) Ritchie. He emigrated to America in 1838, 
 and settled in Virginia, where he continued to reside 
 till June, 1843, when he came to Whiteside County 
 and located on a farm in the township of Ustick. 
 He worked at his trade of mason and contractor in 
 Fulton, while his energetic and thrifty wife conducted 
 the farm. Mr. MacKenzie built in 1848 and oper- 
 ated the first saw-mill at Fulton, which was a small 
 water-power mill, and continued to conduct it to the 
 time of his death, which occurred Sept. 29, 1854. 
 He also worked at his trade, and among his contracts 
 was one for the erection of the stone building now 
 used as a planing-mill by the Langford & Hall Lum- 
 

 
 I! 
 
 
 
 bet Company, which he built for Judge McCoy & 
 Co. He was also employed by the Government 
 in the construction of Fort Gaines, some 200 miles 
 above St. Paul, and spent two seasons on Govern- 
 ment work. 
 
 While a resident of Ustick he was the first Super- 
 visor of that township, and held other minor offices. 
 In politics he was a Whig. Mr. and Mrs. MacKen- 
 zie had four sons and six daughters. The eldest 
 child was Margaret, wife of James Savage, now of 
 Oregon; Helen is the wife of William Savage, of 
 Morrison, 111.; Alexander died in childhood; Vir- 
 ginia so named from her native State is the wife 
 of Augustus Johnson, of Morrison ; George married 
 Ella Houghton, and died in 1877, leaving a wife and 
 four children ; Alexander, the second of that name, 
 married Lovina Devore, and lives in Iowa; Mary 
 married William Trye, and lives at Morrison ; John 
 and Josephene are twins ; John is a Captain on the 
 Mississippi ; he married Miss Abbie E. Devore, and 
 resides at Fulton ; Josephene married John Kyner, 
 and lives in Nebraska; Clarissa A. is the wife of 
 Thomas Janvrin, of Morrison ; George and Alex- 
 ander were soldiers of the late war. Mrs. Mac- 
 Kenzie survives her husband, and resides at Fulton, 
 with her son, Captain John MacKenzie. She has 
 been a member of the Presbyterian Church since 
 her girlhood. 
 
 Andrew Mathew, farmer, section 6, Hop- 
 kins Township, is a son of William and 
 Jennette (Wiley) Mathew, natives of Scot- 
 land, who came to America in 1851 (see sketch 
 of David Mathew), and settled in West Virginia, 
 and came to Whiteside County in 1856 and 
 passed the remainder of their life here. They had 
 ten children, named Thomas, David, William, Jean- 
 nette, Andrew, Ann, Margaret, Robert, Jane and 
 Alexander. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Scotland, 
 Aug. 6, 1830. He received a common-school edu- 
 cation and remained in his native land till about 
 1847, when he came to West Virginia, where he lived 
 seven years, engaged in farming and at work on the 
 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, grading. In the fall 
 of 1856 he came to Whiteside County and worked 
 
 out for three years. He then rented a farm in Hop- 
 kins and Mt. Pleasant Townships for eight years. 
 He then purchased 74 acres on section 6, Hopkins 
 Township, where he settled and has since lived. He 
 was married first in Virginia, to Mary A. Dumire, 
 who was a native of Virginia. They h.xd one child, 
 Sarah C., who is now the wife of John S. Lingel and 
 resides in Morrison. Mrs. Mathew died in Hopkins 
 Township, in April, 1858, and Mr. M. was again 
 married, in Carroll Co., 111., Jan. 29, 1860, to Rachel 
 Hunter, who was a native of Scotland, being a 
 daughter of Robert and Jennette (Cassells) Hunter. 
 By this marriage there have been seven children, 
 Jennette E., Margaret J., William A., Eliza M., Rob- 
 ert, Ella R. and Andrew T. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Mathew is independent. 
 
 ruman Culver, a retired merchant, of Rock 
 Falls, is a native of the Empire State. He 
 is the first son that survived in the family 
 of Truman H. and Catherine A. (Campbell) 
 Culver, and was born in Booneville, Oneida 
 
 1 Co., N. Y., Sept. 9, 1835. His parents, na- 
 tives also of that State, emigrated to Lee County, 
 this State, in 1860, where his father died : his mother 
 is still living, with one of her sons, at Cambridge, 
 Neb. 
 
 Truman, the subject of this biography, remained 
 at his parental home until he was 17 years of age. 
 At 14 he began to attend school ; being subject to 
 asthma, he could not begin earlier. Although his 
 schooling comprised so short a term, only three 
 years, he made such progress that he then began 
 to teach; and, as was the practice in those days, he 
 "bought his time " and started out in the world for 
 himself, promising to give his father $200 any time 
 before he was 21. He paid this debt within 18 
 months. He taught eight terms of district school, 
 alternating with attendance as a pupil at higher 
 schools. From the age of 22 to 24 he attended col- 
 lege during the winters and followed manual labor 
 the rest of the year. 
 
 He next went to Pike's Peak to dig gold, and was 
 not successful. After remaining there a month, in 
 company with three others, he made two canoes 
 (" dug-outs ") from cottonwood, lashed them together 
 

 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 to keep them from rocking while on the water, and 
 started from Denver (that place then comprising 
 only seven sod houses) down the Platte River to 
 Omaha; but after going about 150 miles they came 
 to grief by the upsetting of their craft in a whirlpool 
 caused by a beaver dam. They lost everything ex- 
 cept a part of a sack of flour. They made a fire 
 on the bank, rolled their rescued flour, which had 
 become wet by the accident, into balls and roasted 
 them on the coals, for their bread, which they stored 
 in a small sack made out of the flour sack just re- 
 ferred to. They started on foot and subsisted on 
 these bread balls two days, when they met an old 
 trapper, from whom they purchased an old coffee- 
 pot, without spout, handle or bail, at the price of 
 14.50! In this they made gruel out of the dry por- 
 tion of their flour, which lasted them about a week. 
 
 At this time they learned from inscriptions on 
 buffalo bones that the coming trains had received 
 word that the gold diggings had proved a failure and 
 that they had turned back, and those coming back 
 had taken a shorter route. On learning these facts, 
 they knew they would not be overtaken by any one, 
 nor met by those coming, while they were hun- 
 dreds of miles from civilization, without anything to 
 eat. They resolved, however, to push ahead, hoping 
 to meat friendly Indians. After their little store 
 gave out the first thing they ate was cactus, which 
 proved nauseous and could not be retained in the 
 stomach. They then tried several kinds of weeds, 
 but with no better effect. Finally they succeeded in 
 capturing five frogs, which they ate entire! and with 
 good results! They pushed on until again ex- 
 hausted, when they found some herd's grass, the 
 roots of which they ate. On the strength of this 
 they trudged along two days more! But by this time 
 their stomachs became so weak they could bear 
 nothing, yet they dragged their weary way along for 
 a few days more, without endeavoring to -eat any- 
 thing! At this juncture Mr. Culver noticed that the 
 other boys avoided him, and were consulting each 
 other privately! He pretended to go to sleep, so he 
 might overhear what they said ; and, sure enough ! he 
 learned that two of the three were in favor of killing 
 him to eat! He roused up and asked them wheth- 
 er they heard "those frogs." They answered No. He 
 said, " Remain here, and I will go and look for them." 
 Accordingly he went down to the bank, and forever 
 disappeared from those fellows. He soon fell in 
 
 with a band of Indians, who gave him "jerked" 
 antelope, refusing money but accepting a bright- 
 colored neck-tie as a remuneration. With this sus- 
 tenance Mr. Culver pushed on, walking, for many 
 days, and at last sank down on the bank of the 
 Platte, utterly exhausted. He wrote on an envelope 
 his address and a statement that he had starved to 
 death; and there he lay insensible, he knows not 
 how long, when he was discovered by four men, in 
 the first boat that ever succeeded in getting down 
 the river. He could not talk above a whisper. Af- 
 ter informing them of the emergency, they took him 
 aboard their boat, saying that if he were to die he 
 should die with them. They gave him broth, and 
 after a few days of careful management they so re- 
 vived him that he became able to steer the boat. 
 Their provisions being exhausted, they searched 
 about for something to eat, and the best they could 
 find was the carcass of a buffalo, which had lain so 
 long as to become tainted ; but they made a portion 
 of it palatable by scorching it. A day or two after 
 that gave out, they arrived at Fort Kearney, where 
 they were cared for by the Government army sur- 
 geons. Regaining sufficient strength, they were 
 sent to Omaha, where the subject of this sketch 
 found he weighed a little over 100 pounds, having 
 lost about 70 pounds! 
 
 Mr. Culver then came to Whiteside County, lo- 
 cating at Morrison. After working, as he was able, 
 on a farm for three months, he returned to the State 
 of New York and taught a term of school. Then he 
 came West with his parents, who settled near Lee 
 Center, while he came on to Morrison and worked 
 on the same farm in 1861, owned by Erastus Pollard. 
 
 Next, Mr. Culver enlisted for the cause of the 
 Union in the great War of the Rebellion, joining Co. 
 C, Eighth 111. Vol. Cav., as a private, and during 
 his service in the army he was under fire more than 
 a hundred times. At the battle of Gettysburg he 
 was wounded in the right ankle, on the second day 
 of the engagement, but he remained on duty to the 
 close of that bloody contest. At the expiration of his 
 term of service in 1865, he was honorably discharged, 
 as First Lieutenant. 
 
 Reluming to Morrison, he engaged in the grocery 
 trade, which he followed for about 13 years, erecting 
 at Ihe end of three years the first new store build 
 ing in Rock Falls, on the corner of Main and May 
 Streets. For the next three years he was engaged 
 
 V) 
 
 

 
 3K 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 in the boot and shoe trade, and then retired from 
 active business. 
 
 Sept. 5, 1865, Mr. Culver was married to Clarinda 
 Allen, of Morrison. Their only child, named Glen, 
 died when five years of age. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. C. is a Republican. 
 Was the first Postmaster of Rock Falls, holding that 
 position three years. He is a member of the G. A. R. 
 
 
 *> 
 
 "ohn Devore,, deceased, and early pioneer 
 of Illinois and a resident of Ustick Tp., 
 was born in Kentucky Oct. 18, 1819. He 
 was brought up on a farm in Indiana, where 
 he was married to Miss Josephine Smith, a 
 native of Vermont. 
 Mr. Devore came to Illinois in 1842 and settled 
 near Mt. Carroll, Carroll County, where he was en- 
 gaged in farming till 1852, when he removed to 
 the township of Ustick, this county. He pursued 
 the business of farming in Ustick till 1870, when he 
 removed to Iowa near Creston, where he purchased 
 a farm and made that place his home till the time of 
 his death, which occurred Oct. 15, 1884. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Devore had two sons and four daughters, viz. : 
 Ellen, the eldest, died in infancy ; Noah died aged 
 38 years ; Harry S. married Miss Jane Brady and 
 resides in Iowa ; Lucinda is the wife of James Brady, 
 also of Iowa ; Lovina is the wife of Alexander Mac- 
 Kenzie, of Iowa ; and Abbie E. married Capt. John 
 MacKenzie and resides in Fulton. 
 
 Mr. Devore was a Republican and a member of 
 the United Brethren Church. His wife survives 
 him and resides at the homestead in Iowa. She is 
 also a member of the Church of the United Brethren. 
 
 B. Seger, M. D., of the firm of Tay- 
 lor & Seger, physicians and surgeons; of- 
 fice corner of Main & Genesee Streets ; 
 residence on Grove, Morrison ; was born in 
 Oxford Co., Maine, Jan. 4, 1842, and is the 
 son of Allen & Achsa (Howard) Seger. His 
 father was a native of Maine and his mother of 
 Vermont. He came to Wethersfield, Henry Co., 111., 
 his parents in 1852. He began reading medi- 
 
 cine with Doctors Taylor & Person, of Erie, 111., 
 prior to the breaking out of the late war. 
 
 In November, 1861, he enlisted in Co. I, 45th III. 
 Vol. Inf., and served six months, when he was dis- 
 charged for physical disability contracted in the 
 field. He then resumed the study of medicine with 
 his former preceptors, and pursued his studies till 
 the fall of 1863, when he re-enlisted in the 74th 111. 
 Vol. Inf., and was detailed as hospital steward in the 
 4th Army Corps. He was in constant service in 
 hospital duty till the close of the war, and was dis- 
 charged Oct. 8, 1865. On his return from the war 
 he attended Rush Medical College, of Chicago, tak- 
 ing a regular course of lectures and graduated in the 
 class of 1867-8, with the degree of M. D. He be- 
 gan practice at Erie, this county, which he continued 
 till 1882, when he came to Morrison and formed the 
 existing partnership with his old preceptor, Dr. Tay- 
 lor. He has a rapidly increasing practice, and is 
 working into the front ranks of the profession. 
 
 Dr. Seger was married at Erie, III., Feb. 14, 1873, to 
 Miss Kate L. Reynolds, daughter of William and 
 Ann (Binan) Reynolds. Mrs. Seger was born in 
 Fenton, Whiteside Co., 111. They have two children. 
 Inez and Ivy. Mrs. Seger's parents were early pio- 
 neers of Fenton Township, of this county. 
 
 S. Street, Mayor of Sterling, was born in 
 Hinsdale, Mass., Jan. 29, 1836, third in 
 order of birth in a family of five children; 
 j- parents of Massachusetts nativity. His father, 
 Horace Street, was a farmer, moved to Orleans 
 Co., N. Y., in 1837, and resided there until his 
 death, in June, 1875. His mother, whose maiden 
 name was Althea Stowell, died in the same county, 
 in January, 1844. 
 
 He remained at his parental home until 1860, at- 
 tending the Albion Academy and receiving a prac- 
 tical education. From 1853 to 1860 he taught 
 school, and then he came to Sterling and engaged 
 in selling farm machinery for 18 years, then selling 
 out. In 1883 he purchased the coal yard of Taylor 
 Williams, of which he is now the proprietor. He 
 is a successful, honorable business man, and a prom- 
 inent citizen. His residence is on the corner of 
 Fifth and Locust Streets. 
 
 In 1865 he was elected Alderman and held 
 
 A f-\ **jaeL~' JiaJ// 
 
 "^psSj'v^.
 
 - .. r 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 office (or two years ; was Deputy Collector of Inter- 
 nal Revenue from 1870 to 1873. In 1881 he was 
 elected Mayor, and re-elected in 1884, and again re- 
 elected in 1885. At present he is a member of 
 the Board of Education of the Wallace School. In 
 politics he is a Republican, and in respect to reli- 
 gion he attends the Methodist Episccpal Church. 
 He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and A. F. & 
 A. M. 
 
 Dec. 12, 1861, Mr. Street married Julia A. Smith, 
 a native of New York, and they have three children, 
 named Emily J., Walter S.. and Albert L. 
 
 I'ames M. Burr is a. resident of Como, Hop- 
 |r kins Township, and was formerly a sea 
 Captain. He was born in Boston, Mass., 
 Dec. 2, 1808, and lived at home until he was 
 1 1 years of age, when, after the fashion of a 
 large number of youngsters who are born near 
 the sea, he yielded to a temptation to try the ex- 
 periences of the salt water himself, and ran away on 
 a mackerel boat. The trip lasted two months, and 
 he was sufficiently well pleased with the experiment 
 to continue in the same business three years. He 
 next tried the novelties and excitement of cod-fishing 
 on the Newfoundland Banks for a season or two, after 
 which he went to the Falkland Isles and spent five 
 years in seal-fishing. On his return to Boston, he 
 obtained a position as first mate on an ocean steamer 
 belonging to the Liverpool Packet Line, and operated 
 in that capacity about four years. He sptnt a brief 
 time at his home in Boston, after which he shipped as 
 a common sailor for a voyage around the world, and 
 was absent three years. He continued his seafaring 
 about 20 years, operating as a sailor before the mast 
 as mate and finally as Captain. He passed a year 
 or two in the Lake service and afterwards engaged in 
 steam-boating on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. 
 While thus engaged he made a visit to a brother in 
 Tazewell Co., 111., and while there he decided to 
 abandon his seafaring life and accompany his rela- 
 tives to Northern Illinois. He came to Whiteside 
 County about 1838 and purchased 50 acres of land 
 in Hopkins Township, which is now included in the 
 platting of Como, and on which he has since resided. 
 He has since made a trip to California for the pur- 
 
 pose of mining for gold, in which he spent three 
 years, with reasonable success. He has disposed of 
 the major portion of his property in the township of 
 Hopkins. Captain Burr is a stanch Republican. 
 
 He is the son of Martin and Eunice (Turner) Burr, 
 who were natives of Massachusetts and lived there 
 until their death. That of the father took place 
 Nov. 19, 1846; that of the mother occurred in Au- 
 gust, 1853. They had nine children, George T., 
 Harriet, Adaline, James M., Eunice, Sarah A., Wil- 
 liam T., Theo. M. and Stephen M. 
 
 Captain Burr was married Aug. 22, 1840, at Ports- 
 mouth, N. H., to Caroline, daughter of Jeremiah and 
 Lucy (Furber) Neal. Her parents were born in that 
 city and lived there until their deaths, which oc- 
 curred respectively in 1827 and 1869. Their chil- 
 dren, five in number, were named Clarinda, Sarah A. 
 Caroline H., John W. and Charles K. Mrs. Burr 
 was born Dec. 5, 1820, in Portsmouth. To her and her 
 husband seven children have been born, James M., 
 Adaline E., Eunice T., Hattie, Netty, Charles M., J. 
 S. Ellery and William T. The oldest son and the sec- 
 ond daughter are deceased. Adaline E., oldest 
 daughter, is the wife of Judge David Davis, formerly 
 United States Senator from Illinois, and resides at 
 Bloomington. Hattie is the wife of Charles Heitshu 
 and resides at Marshalltown, Iowa. Eunice T. mar- 
 ried Charles N. Munson, formerly of Sterling, now a 
 resident of Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 The portrait of Capt. Burr, on the opposite page, 
 will naturally be expected on this connection. 
 
 :enry Flock, farmer, residing on section 22, 
 Hahnaman Township, is a son of John and 
 Anna (Fanenstihs) Flock, natives of Ger- 
 many, in which country they both died. They 
 were the parents of six children, Henry, Will- 
 iam, Joseph, Kathrina and Margaret. 
 Henry Flock, subject of this biographical notice, 
 was born May 22, 1833, in Germany. He lived in 
 his native country until 24 years of age (1857), when 
 he came to the United States and soon afterward to 
 this county. On his arrival here, he settled in Ster- 
 ling Township and " worked out " by the month for 
 about four years. 
 
 Mr. Flock enlisted, Aug. n, 1862, in the 75th 111. 
 Vol. Inf., and served until the close of the war. He 
 
 F 
 
 h 

 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 foS 
 
 served in the infantry for about seven months and 
 was then detached and placed on the pioneer corps, 
 where he remained for about 14 months. He was 
 then transferred to the First United States Engineer 
 Corps, where he continued to remain until his dis- 
 charge. 
 
 On receiving his discharge, Mr. Flock returned to 
 Whiteside County and settled in Hahnaman Town- 
 ship, where he has since resided. He is at present 
 (1885) the owner of 276 acres in the township, 210 
 of which is tillable. 
 
 Mr. Flock was united in marriage at Polo, 111., 
 June 15, 1862, to Miss Barbara, daughter of Jacob 
 and Catharine (Stroh) Pott, natives of Germany. 
 They came to this country in 1853, and soon there- 
 after settled in Sterling, this county, where her 
 father died Feb. 17, 1881. He and his wife were 
 the parents of five children, Christian, Henry, Bar- 
 bara, Mathias and Mary. 
 
 Mrs. Flock was born in Germany, Oct. 18, 1846. 
 She accompanied her parents to this country and 
 county in 1853 and remained mostly at home until 
 the date of her marriage. She is the mother of n 
 children by Mr. Flock, namely : Catherine, John, 
 Jacob R. W., Mary T., Anna E., Henry, Mathias, 
 Elizabeth B., William, Maggie and Nellie T. 
 
 Mr. Flock has held the office of Overseer of High- 
 ways and School Trustee, and in politics is a Demo- 
 crat. He and his wife are members of the German 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 ullivan Jackson, farmer, section 4, Mt. 
 Pleasant Township, is the son of Thomas 
 L. and Freedom (Heaton) Jackson. The 
 former was born Oct. 23, 1787,111 New Lisbon, 
 New London Co., Conn. He went to the 
 State of New York, and in December, 1824, 
 was married to the daughter of William and Martha 
 (Bailey) Heaton, who settled in the township of Mt. 
 Pleasant in 1837. She was born in 1805. They 
 had three children. The family removed in 1835 to 
 Portage Co., Ohio, and in April, 1841, he set out with 
 his family for Illinois and arrived in May following, 
 in Whiteside County. The father died Jan. 12, 
 1882, aged nearly 95 years. The mother died Jan. 
 
 23, 1879. Their children are still living, Floyd 
 H., Mary and Sullivan. 
 
 The latter was born Dec. 3, 1830, in Jefferson Co., 
 N. Y. He has resided on the same section since he 
 came in 1841 to Mt. Pleasant Township, and he is 
 the owner of 265 acres of land, of which about 160 
 acres are under tillage. Politically, Mr. Jackson is 
 a Democrat, and has held several township offices. 
 
 He was united in marriage ,Dec. 31, 1862, in Mt. 
 Pleasant, to Almira C. Baxter, and they have two 
 children, Andrew and Ralph B. H. Mrs. Jackson 
 was born March 10, 1843, in Schoharie Co., N. Y., 
 and is the daughter of Stephen and Emeline (Dillen- 
 beck) Baxter. Her parents were natives of the State 
 of New York and settled in Mt. Pleasant Township 
 in 1856. They removed to the township of Lyndon, 
 where the mother died Nov. 18, 1877. Their chil- 
 dren were named Almira C., Jennie L., Lizzie S. 
 and Clara T. 
 
 .olomon Hubbard, lumber merchant at 
 Rock Falls, was born in Thetford, Orange 
 Co., Vt., Oct. 28', 1817, being the sixth in 
 a family of 12 children. His parents were 
 Josiah and Cynthia (Cummings) Hubbard, 
 of Connecticut, and followers of farming pur- 
 suits. He received a fine education in the academies 
 of his native town, and assisted his father on the 
 farm until 18 years of age, when for three years he 
 was a clerk in a store. He then opened a general 
 stock of goods in Strafford, Vt., continuing in mer- | 
 candle business there about two years ; likewise in 
 Thetford two years. Selling out, he came to Dover, 
 Bureau Co., 111., in 1848, where he was a merchant 
 15 years. He sold his stock there and followed the 
 same business in Rockford, 111., for eight months. 
 Next, he \vas a resident of Dover again, four years, 
 dealing in real estate; and finally, in 1869, he moved 
 to Sterling, where for the first five years he was en- 
 gaged in the sale of dry goods. He sold out, and for 
 four years afterward he purchased a stock of groceries 
 and was a dealer in that line one year ; then dealt in 
 real estate until 1882, when he purchased the lum- 
 ber yard and stock of Wheeler & Brown, of Rock 
 Falls, in the management of which he and his two 
 sons, Harry F. and Arthur G., are now engaged.
 
 ^De- 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 two other men as assistants. Their sales 
 aggregate $50,000 or more per year. His first resi- 
 dence, consisting of a house and two lots on Second 
 Street, he sold, and in 1883 bought another house 
 and two lots, on the same street, for $6,000, where 
 he now resides. 
 
 Mr. Hubbard was married Sept. 23, 1845, at Ran- 
 dolph, Mass., to Miss Amanda N. Belcher, a native 
 of Vermont. They have had seven children, four of 
 whom are living, Harry F., Frederick B., Arthur 
 G. and Emma A. Frederick B. married Lulu Brown, 
 of St. Joseph, Mo., and they reside in Sterling, where 
 Mr. H. is engaged in the furniture business of Dill 
 &Co. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Hubbard, the subject of 
 the foregoing sketch, is a Republican. 
 
 rs. Isabella Sides, a resident of Sterling, 
 was the daughter of John M. and Amelia 
 H. (Eicholtz) Werntz, and was born Jan. 
 1 8, 1843. Her father, a merchant of Stras- 
 burg, Pa., sold out there in 1862, and came to 
 Sterling, where he was a merchant tailor, un- 
 til the time of his decease, which took place Jan. 3, 
 1882. Mrs. Werntz died in Strasburg, Pa., Aug. 22, 
 
 1857- 
 
 Their daughter, the subject of this sketch, mar- 
 ried Jacob R. Sides, a native of Strasburg, Dec. 
 31, 1863. Mr. S. was born Sept. 2, 1844, and was 
 the son of John H. and Maria (Rohrer) Sides. He 
 received a fine education. He made his home 
 with his parents until he was of age. He taught 
 school, and also followed agricultural pursuits in 
 Pennsylvania, until 1865, when he sold out and 
 came West, locating in Sterling, and entering the 
 lumber and grain business. This he followed ten 
 years Eight years of this time he bought 
 grain and took charge of the books of the firm of 
 John S. Miller & Co., distillers, who ran the Sterling 
 distillery. During his lifetime he established a nice 
 home for his wife and children, and built three other 
 houses, two of which he sold. He died Aug. 25, 
 1882, leaving a life insurance policy of $20,000, 
 whch was paid his family. He had four children, 
 
 namely: Minnie H., Ora K., Edwin R. and Grace 
 B. Minnie H. married John Annas, of Sterling, 
 May 6, 1885. 
 
 'bomas McClelland, Marshal of the City ot 
 Morrison and Constable, was born March 
 20, 1824, in Cumberland Co., Pa. His 
 father and mother, William and Margaret 
 (Shannon) McClelland, were natives of the 
 Keystone State. The former died in Franklin 
 Co., Pa., in 1842, when about 60 years of age. The 
 demise of the latter took place in Cumberland, Alle- 
 ghany Co., Md., about 1848. Seven of their nine 
 children are now living, namely : Mrs. Lydia Heaggy 
 is a widow and resides at Mt. Carroll, 111. ; William 
 is a carpenter in Clinton Co., Mo.; Jane, widow of 
 William Paxton, lives at Morrison ; John is a Meth- 
 odist clergyman in Virginia; Joseph is a mechanic 
 in Washington, D. C. 
 
 Thomas McClelland is next to the youngest of his 
 parents' children in order of birth, and was brought 
 up on his father's farm until he was 17 years of age, 
 when he entered a shop in Loudon, Franklin Co., 
 Pa., to learn the business of a blacksmith, in which 
 vocation he was engaged 35 years, and has passed 
 21 years of his life at Morrison in that pursuit. He 
 opened his shop there in October, 1855, and oper- 
 ated about five years in company with Solomon 
 Eshleman. After that, until he abandoned the 
 business in 1876, he conducted his affairs alone. 
 In the spring of 1877 he was elected Constable, and 
 has been successively re-elected to the same posU 
 tion to the date of this writing in 1885. In 1879 he 
 was elected City Marshal, and, with the exception 
 of about one year, he has since occupied the same 
 position. Mr. McClelland has been active in other 
 official positions in the municipal affairs of Morrison, 
 and was a member of the second Board of Trustees. 
 He has also acted in the capacity of School Di- 
 rector. 
 
 He was married in Mercersburg, Franklin Co., 
 Pa., March 5, 1845, to Jane Ottenberger. Their 
 seven children were named Martha J., Margaret I., 
 Maria K., Thomas J., Susan C., Lydia A. and Ida 
 May. Two of the daughters and the only son 
 are deceased; Maria K. is the wife of William I. 
 
 x . 
 
 '- 
 
 

 
 -J^VSvV^/^ 
 
 sv y 
 
 IVHITESTDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 Lane, of Morrison; Lydia A. married Lewis M. 
 Brown, of the same place. Mrs. McClelland was 
 born Oct. 19, 1823, in Franklin Co., Pa., and is the 
 daughter of Jacob Ottenberger. 
 
 iiimiel Taylor, M. D., physician and sur- 
 geon, member of the medical firm of Tay- 
 lor & Seger, at Morrison, was born March 
 13, 1829, in Sharon Township, Richland Co., 
 Ohio, and is the son of Henry and Evelina 
 (Ayres) Taylor. His father and mother were 
 born in Connecticut, and removed from that State to 
 Ohio, where they completed the period of their lives 
 in Richland County. The father died in April, 1874. 
 The demise of the mother occurred Sept. 4, 1866. 
 Three of their children are living, and the record of 
 ) seven, of whom they became the parents, is as fol- 
 lows : Walter, the eldest, is deceased ; Esther mar- 
 ried Dr. William Bricker, of Shelby, Ohio; Burton A. 
 is not living; he married Catherine Sipe, of Shelby ; 
 Dr. Taylor is the fourth in order of birth ; Alva B. 
 and Mary A., who were his successors, are both 
 dead; the former married Margaret Anderson, and 
 the latter was the wife of A. D. Anderson, and died 
 at Kansas City, in December, 1881 ; they re- 
 moved to Whiteside County, where she died about 
 seven years later ; Angelina is the wife of David 
 Cummins, of Shelby, Ohio; Walter died a single man 
 in California, to which place he had gone during the 
 gold-mining enthusiasm. 
 
 Dr. Taylor was reared on his father's farm, and re- 
 ceived the anvantages of the common school. Later 
 he attended Oberlin College several years, where he 
 formed his purpose to devote himself to a profes- 
 sional career; and later he read medicine under the 
 direction of his brother-in-law, Dr. Bricker. 
 
 After having read under his direction at intervals 
 about four years, he went to Ann Arbor and attend- 
 ed the Medical Department of the University of 
 Michigan six months. The next year he went to 
 the Western Reserve Medical College at Cleveland, 
 Ohio, where he was graduated in the spring of 1854. 
 began his independent initiatory practice at 
 
 He 
 
 Salem, Ohio, where he continued nearly two years. 
 He came thence to Erie, Whiteside Co., 111., in the 
 fall of 1855, where he established and maintained 
 
 his practice seven years. In 1862 he removed to 
 Morrison, and has continued his business at that 
 place for more than 20 years. In 1879 he associ- 
 ated S. S. Hall, M. D., with himself in his business, 
 and their connection existed until May, 1882, when 
 Dr. Hall gave place to Dana B. Seger, M. D. 
 
 Dr. Taylor has earned a substantial repute as a 
 medical practitioner, and has built up a profitable 
 and extensive practice. He has officiated eight 
 years as County Coroner. He belongs by member- 
 ship to the American Medical Association, and is 
 also a member of the Order of Odd Fellows. 
 
 He was united in marriage to Stella Hannum, 
 Dec. 26, 1854, at Brecksville, Cuyahoga Co , Ohio. 
 She was born in that county Sept. 9, 1835, and is 
 the daughter of Julius and Martha Hannum. Her 
 father was born Oct. 16, 1780, in Masschusetts, and 
 died Dec. 9, 1853. Her mother was born in the same 
 place Aug. 13, 1789, and died March 28, 1864. 
 Five children have been born to Dr. and Mrs. 
 Taylor: Eva M. was born Dec. i, 1858, in Erie, 
 Whiteside County, and was married Oct. 30, 1879 
 to Frank Fitzgerald; Walter, bom Sept. it, 1861 
 died May 13, 1882; Burton was born July 19, 1864, 
 and died Dec. n, 1876; Mary A. was born Oct. 27, 
 1867 ; William B. was born Dec. 23, 1872. 
 
 rederick Wahl, farmer, residing on section 
 22, Hahnaman Township, is a son of Ma- 
 thias and Rosa (Schwartz) Wahl, natives 
 of Germany. They came to the United States 
 in 1854, and first settled in Ohio. In 1857 they 
 came to this county and located in Sterling 
 Township, afterward removing to Genesee Town- 
 ship, where, in 1862, the mother died. The father 
 still survives. The issue of their union was six 
 children, namely: Frederick, Frederika, Louisa, Wil- 
 liam, Caroline and Lucinda. 
 
 Frederick Wahl, subject of this biographical no- 
 tice, was born in Germany, Feb. 8, 1834. He lived 
 in his native country until 1853, attending the com- 
 mon schools until 14 years of age. In the spring of 
 1853 he came unaccompanied to this country, 
 and for three years "worked out" in Ohio. In the 
 spring of 1857 he came to this county, and "worked 
 out" until 1861, when he went to Iowa and pur- 
 
 . 
 
 - 
 
 '.-
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 chased a farm. He lived on the latter place four 
 years; then sold, and returned to this county and 
 rented a farm, which he cultivated for two years. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Wahl purchased 160 acres of land, 
 situated on section 22, Hahnaman Township, on 
 which he has since resided. He has erected fine 
 farm buildings on his home place, and by subsequent 
 purchase has increased his landed possessions in 
 Hahnaman Township to 560 acres, 440 of which is 
 tillable. 
 
 Mr. Wahl was united in marriage in Sterling 
 Township, Feb. 22, 1858, to Miss Anna, daughter of 
 George and Catharine (Buhler) Kirges, natives of 
 Germany. They came to America in the fall of 1855, 
 and settled in Jordan Township, this county, where 
 the father was drowned, in July, 1858. The issue of 
 their union was five children: Mary, Barbara, Cathe- 
 rine, Anna, Christiana. 
 
 Mrs. Wahl was born in Germany, March 8, 1838. 
 She and her husband are the parents of 12 children, 
 namely, Catherine, Caroline, William W., Frederick, 
 Edward, Charles M., Frank, Nellie H., Henry, 
 George, Ethel A. and Glenn F. 
 
 Mr. Wahl has held the office of Road Commis- 
 sioner, School Trustee, School Director and School 
 Treasurer, and politically is an adherent to the prin- 
 ciples of the Republican party. He and his wife are 
 both members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 |;apt. Christopher C. Carpenter, of Fulton, 
 S^3 Captain of the steamer "Brother Jona- 
 than," of the Jenks, Mathews & Jordan Line, 
 of Stillwater, Minn., is a native of Whiteside 
 Co., 111., and was born in Albany, Feb. 20, 
 1849. His parents, John B. and Mary(Fisk) 
 Carpenter, were among the pioneers of Illinois, of 
 1840, and of Whiteside County, of 1846, and were 
 originally from New York. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was brought up on a 
 farm, and in 1864 began work on the river, floating 
 rafts. In 1868 he began steam-boating, and was 
 made Captain of his first boat, the steamer "G. B. 
 Knapp," in 1870, since which time he has been 
 Master of the steamers " Jim Watson," " Lumber- 
 man," <; Dexter," " Nellie," " La Fayette," " Lamb " 
 and finally " Brother Jonathan." At this writing he 
 
 is about starting out on his fourth season as Captain 
 of the last named boat. He has had 20 years' ex- 
 perience on the river in the lumber and log business, 
 and 15 years' as steam-boat Captain. During this 
 time he has never lost a boat or met with any acci- 
 dent of consequence, but has been very successful, 
 and is held in high esteem as an experienced and 
 trustworthy officer. 
 
 He was married in Albany, 111., Nov. 24, 1870, to 
 Miss Mary J. LaRue, daughter of George and Ger- 
 trude A. LaRue. Mrs. Carpenter was born in Lee 
 Co., 111. They have two children, Effiie M. and 
 Gertrude A. 
 
 Capt. Carpenter is a member of Abou Ben Adhem 
 Lodge, No. 148, I. O. O. F., of Fulton, 111., and has 
 been through the chairs. In politics he is a Demo- 
 crat. He has made his home in Fulton since 1870, 
 except two years, from 1878 to 1880, which he spent 
 in Cordova, 111. 
 
 Daniel L. Burroughs, of Tampico, has been 
 a prominent factor in the various business 
 interests of Whiteside County since his re- 
 moval here in 1867. He is at present ex- 
 tensively interested in traffic in poultry, eggs 
 and butter. He was born Oct. 14, 1841, in 
 Napoli, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., where his father, 
 Loren Burroughs, was a prominent farmer. Meribah 
 (Boardmari) Burroughs, the mother, was also a na- 
 tive of the State of New York. Daniel is the tenth 
 in order of birth of 13 children included in the 
 family of his parents. He spent the years of his 
 youth in alternate attendance at school and in farm 
 labor on his father's homestead, and when 20 years 
 old enlisted in the military service of the United 
 States. Aug. 9, 1862, he enrolled in Co. B, i54th 
 N. Y. Vol. Inf. His chiefs in company, regiment 
 and brigade were Capt. Allen, Col. Jones and Gens. 
 Hooker and Howard, and his command was assigned 
 to the Army of the Potomac. He was in the various 
 engagements in which the regiment participated, 
 among which was the battle of Chancellorsville, 
 where his brother, George W. Burroughs, was killed. 
 He was taken ill with pneumonia, and on recovery 
 was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps. He 
 was sent to Washington, D. C., where he was hon- 
 
 ifc 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 35 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 orably discharged July 19, 1865, at the termination 
 of the war, after a period of military service extend- 
 ing over nearly three years. Previous to his enlist- 
 ment his parents had removed to Chautauqua 
 County, where he returned on being once more at 
 liberty to resume the duties of a civilian. He was 
 for some time engaged in teaching in that county, 
 and was married Nov. 22, 1866, in Jamestown, to 
 Mattie, the only daughter of W. C. and Mary E. 
 (Abbott) Hassett. She was born in Chautauqua 
 County, N. Y., in 1848, and was reared to woman- 
 hood in her native county. Her father was a farmer, 
 and was largely interested in the dairy business. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs have one child, A. De Ette, 
 born May 16, 1868. 
 
 In March, 1867, they came to Whiteside County, 
 locating at Prophetstown, where Mr. Burroughs was 
 a farmer and also a teacher for some time. He 
 went thence to Geneseo, Henry Co., 111., and became 
 a dealer in butter and eggs, establishing his business 
 in 1872 and operating extensively until 1876, when 
 he sold out and came to Tampico. He has since 
 been more extensively engaged in trade in poultry 
 than any other single dealer in the State. In the 
 winter of 1884-5 he shipped 200 tons of poultry, and 
 he has also been interested in the management of two 
 creameries. He has six poultry buildings in dif- 
 ferent localities, and is the owner of considerable 
 village property. 
 
 Mr. Burroughs is a Republican of a decided type, 
 and has served on the Board of Village Trustees. 
 
 euben F. Shirley, retired farmer, and a 
 resident of Rock Falls, was born Aug. 21, 
 > " 1820, in Connersville, Fayette Co., Ind., 
 and was the youngest son of eight children in 
 the family of John and Elizabeth (Danner) 
 Shirley, his father a native of Virginia and his 
 mother of Pennsylvania. Receiving a limited school 
 education, and remaining with his parents until 22 
 years of age, he bought a farm in Marshall Co., Ind., 
 containing 170 acres, and occupied it from 1843 to 
 1864 ; he then sold it, and came to Lee County, this 
 State, buying 240 acres of land, which he cultivated 
 three years; selling this, he purchased an 8o-acre 
 farm in this county, on the Dixon road, and resided 
 
 there from 1867 to 1876. He then sold this place to 
 his son, Samuel, and came to Rock Falls, and pur- 
 chased a half block in Arey's Addition, erecting a 
 residence thereon, which he now occupies. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Shirley is Democratic. He is a 
 self-made man, ready at all times to lend a helping 
 hand for the good of society. 
 
 He was married June 2, r842, to Jane Thompson, 
 also a native of Indiana. They have had six chil- 
 dren, four of whom are now living and married, 
 namely: Samuel T., who married Alice V. Worth- 
 ington; Meredith A., who married Sarah L. Dens- 
 more; Sarah E., who married Charles E. Pay son, 
 and Nancy A., who married J. H. Meckling. 
 
 
 -J- 
 
 . Edward V. H. Alexander, dentist at 
 Sterling (office on Locust Street), and the 
 oldest operator in that line in the city, was 
 born in Hartford, Conn., April 29, 1830, and 
 was the fourth child in a family of six. His 
 father, William Alexander, died in 1832, and his 
 mother, nee Maria Wilber, survived until April 14, 
 1885, the very day that this sketch was written. 
 
 The subject of this biographical outline attended 
 the common schools until he arrived at the age of 
 1 6 years, and after he became of age he attended 
 Macedon Academy, Wayne Co., N. Y., for two years, 
 and then for eight years he taught school during the' 
 winter seasons, alternating with farm work the re- 
 mainder of the year. 
 
 April 10, 1856, he married Miss Mary Ada Hale, 
 a native of Wayne Co., N. Y. There are now two 
 children living: Edward H. and Jessie. After mar- 
 riage the Doctor moved to Beloit, Wis., where a 
 daughter, Mary Hellen, was born. At this place he 
 was engaged in farming and teaching for two years; 
 then he returned to Clyde, Wayne Co., N. Y., where 
 the daughter died, and was buried at Lyons, that 
 county. There he purchased a farm of 80 acres, 
 cultivated it one year, sold it, and moved West 
 again, this time locating in Sterling. Here for the 
 first two years he conducted a grocery and drug- 
 store; this he sold, and in April, 1864, he visited 
 the gold regions of Montana, being in the vicinity 
 of Virginia City, Helena, the Yellowstone and Deer 
 Lodge Valley, for three and a half years ; next, he 

 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 351 
 
 went to Portland, Oregon, for a. few weeks, and 
 thence to Salem, the capital of the State, where he 
 remained two and a half years. At the latter place 
 he finished his studies in medicine and surgery, 
 which he had pursued years before, and graduated 
 at the Willamette University in 1870. Having ac- 
 quired the art of dentistry, and previously practiced 
 it, upon returning home to Sterling in 1870 he en- 
 tered the dental profession, in which he has re- 
 mained to the present time, a successful operator 
 and a leading man in the profession. 
 
 In his political views, Dr. Alexander is a stanch 
 Republican. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
 and a representative and worthy gentleman. Mrs. 
 A. died May 16, 1882, while on a visit at Lyons, 
 Wayne Co., N. Y., and was buried there beside her 
 daughter. 
 
 ;"ohn Mason, farmer, section 27, Coloma 
 Township, was born Dec. 25, 1803, in 
 Paisley, Scotland, and was the fifth child in 
 his father's family of u children, eight sons 
 and three daughters. His parents were George 
 and Elizabeth (Nelson) Mason, natives also of 
 Scotland. His father was a manufacturer of silk and 
 shawls, and died March 7, 1849, and his mother 
 Feb. 29, 1832. When 17 years of age he emigrated 
 to America, landing at Quebec. Going to Caledonia 
 Co., Vt., he worked out by the month on a farm, 
 remaining there until 1830. He then traveled for 
 a while, in the meantime learning the mason's trade. 
 In September, 1836, he came to Chicago, and went 
 thence to Joliet, where he worked on a farm. The 
 next year he came to Sterling, this county, when it 
 was wild prairie, there being there but one house a 
 log structure. Here he worked at odd jobs, until he 
 took a claim of a quarter-section of land three miles 
 north of Sterling. After living there for four years 
 he sold the place, and then for two years drove a 
 team, hauling to Chicago and return, and doing other 
 jobs in the line of teaming. About this time he 
 suffered considerably from inflammation of the eyes, 
 trying many remedies, but without avail. Returning 
 to Scotland, his eyes were cured, and he came again 
 to Sterling, where he resumed his trade for two 
 years. He then came to Coloma, and purchased 80 
 
 _?*jpG)*tr'. /-^.- \. 
 
 acres of land, where he has since made his home. 
 He has never been married, but has always had 
 some of his friends living with him. 
 
 In politics Mr. Mason is a Jackson Democrat, and 
 votes steadfastly with his party. In religion he was 
 brought up a Presbyterian. He is a public-spirited 
 man, as is evinced by the material and moral aid he 
 has given public institutions of beneficence. 
 
 Robert McNeil, a nephew of Mr. Mason, who has 
 lived with him ever since his immigration to this 
 country, in 1849, superintends the work of the farm. 
 He was married July 4, 1856, to Miss Jean Tyle, of 
 Ogle Co., 111., but formerly from Scotland. They 
 have been the parents of eight children : Alexander 
 J., Agnes J., Willie E., John M., Jennie L., Geor- 
 giana M., Robert B. and Mary I. Mr. McNeil is a 
 Democrat, and a member of the County Democratic 
 Committee; also Chairman of the Town Central 
 Committee. He holds the Presbyterian faith, and 
 his wife and daughter belong to the Presbyterian 
 Church at Sterling. 
 
 Mr. McNeil was the first organizer of the White- 
 side County Caledonian Club, consisting of 40 mem- 
 bers, all of Scotch descent. They received a charter 
 in 1878, and are still in existence. They have a 
 library of 250 volumes, mostly of Scotch and Eng- 
 lish literature. 
 
 
 illiam A. Early, farmer, section ir, Mont- 
 morency Township, is a son of Charles H. 
 and Elicia (McKinney) Early, natives of 
 New York and Canada respectively. Tliey 
 were residents of York State at the date of 
 their death, that of the father occurring in the 
 spring of r863, and that of the mother in December, 
 1860. The issue of their union comprised seven 
 children : Jane, William A., Margaret,~Mary, Margie, 
 Elicia and Charles H. 
 
 William A. Early, subject of this biographical 
 notice, was born in Columbia Co., N. Y., Nov. 18, 
 1832. He lived on the home farm, alternating his 
 labors thereon by attendance at the common schools, 
 until he attained the age of 21 years. On reaching 
 that age he came to Kane County, this State, and 
 resided one winter in Elgin. 
 
 In the spring of 1854 Mr. Early came to this 
 ,--, ' ^jsxgflp" ^xa 

 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 *. 
 
 r.ounty, and for four years he was engaged in the 
 livery business and teaming at Sterling. He then 
 purchased 40 acres of land situated on section n, 
 Montmorency Township, upon which he erected 
 good buildings, and entered actively and vigorously 
 upon the cultivation of his land. He now owns 160 
 acres, 120 of which is tillable. He keeps about 40 
 head of cattle, 6 head of horses, and fattens some 50 
 head of hogs annually. 
 
 Mr. Early was united in marriage, in Geneva, 
 Kane County, this State, Jan. 10, 1861, to Miss 
 Susan A., daughter of Abraham and Susan (Dolph) 
 Dunham, natives of Connecticut and New York, re- 
 spectively. They settled in Kane County, this State, 
 where they both died, inside of one week, in March, 
 1861. Their family comprised nine children, 
 Edward, Harriet, Elizabeth, Sophia, Susan A, 
 Fletcher D., Edward E., Charles and Martha. 
 
 Susan A. (Mrs. Early) was born in Steuben Co., 
 N. Y., Nov. 18, 1835, and has borne to Mr. Early 
 eight children, Albert W., Emma ]., Eva M., Hat- 
 tie A., George W., Frank A., Mary E. and Charles F. 
 
 Mr. Early has held many offices of trust, and in 
 politics is a Republican. Socially, he has been a 
 member of the I. O. O. F. ever since he attained 
 his majority. 
 
 ames K. Chester, dry-goods merchant at 
 Sterling, was born at Henrietta, Lorain Co., 
 Ohio, March 6, 1843, the fifth in a family 
 of seven children. His father, Edwin Chester > 
 a fanner, was born in Connecticut, came West 
 first to Ohio, then to Michigan and Kansas, 
 where he lived five years with a son, and finally, 
 in 1880, to Sterling, where he died, March 29, 1885. 
 His wife, nee Mary E. Porter, was a native of Mas- 
 sachusetts, and died in Ohio, in 1857. 
 
 When 18 years of age, Mr. Chester, the subject of 
 this sketch, entered the college at Oberlin, Ohio, at 
 which place he afterward engaged as a clerk in a store 
 for six years ; then for the two succeeding years he was 
 a member of the firm of Reamer, Hubburd & Co , as 
 proprietors of the same establishment. In 1869 he 
 came to Sterling and, continuing in the same busi- 
 ness, first was a member of the firm of Mills & Ches- 
 ter, then Ingersoll & Chester, until 1875, tnen of tne 
 terling Mercantile Company for five years, when he 
 
 \\ 
 
 sold his interest in the latter and opened a dry -goods 
 house on Third Street, under the firm name of J. K. i 
 Chester & Co., where he has since been prosecuting ' 
 his business interests, with that marked degree of 
 success which characterizes a solid man of business. > 
 He is a consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church, a member of society in high standing and an 
 influential citizen. He is a member of the A. O. U. 
 W., of the I. O. M. A., and of the American Legion 
 of Honor. He has a fine residence on Third Street. 
 Oct. n, 1866, is the date 'of his marriage to Miss 
 Cynthia L. Ingersoll, and they have one daughter, 
 Sophie I., born Jan. 19, 1876. 
 
 enry M. Zendt, a farmer of Jordan Town- 
 ship, resident on section 17, was born Feb. 
 21, 1825, in Baden, Germany. Jacob Zendti 
 his father, was born also in Baden, and was 
 a millwright by vocation. Elizabeth (Down) 
 Zendt, his mother, was born in Baden. In 
 1830, the family, consisting of the parents and six 
 children, emigrated from Germany to the United 
 States. After a residence of three years in the city 
 of Philadelphia, where one child was born, they re- 
 moved to Montgomery Co., Pa. In 1851 another 
 transfer, to Lancaster County, in the same State, was 
 made. 
 
 While living in Montgomery County, Mr. Zendt 
 served three years as an apprentice in learning the 
 trade of carriage-maker from a man named Abraham 
 Kolb. He worked at that business as a journeyman 
 six years in Montgomery County, where he was fore- 
 man four years in a carriage shop. After removing 
 to Lancaster County, he established a shop with 
 business relations under his own control, managing 
 his affairs at that point 12 years with success. 
 
 His marriage to Catherine Groff took place Feb. 
 28, 1860. Mrs. Zendt is the daughter of B. M. and 
 Lydia(Tombo) GrofF, and was born in East Lampster 
 Township, Lancaster Co., Pa., Sept. 24, 1841. When 
 she was ten years of age she was removed from the 
 care of her parents and was reared to womanhood by 
 strangers. Her mother died in Lancaster County, in 
 the summer of 1884. Her father is yet living. The 
 children of Mr. and Mrs. Zendt have been born as 
 follows: Lydia A., Oct. 18, 1863; Mary M., June 16, 
 A' s-\ 
 
 ' -
 
 UNIVERSITY OF <LUNUK> 
 UKfrttlA
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 1866; John G., Oct. 23, 1871. Two children died 
 young: Franklin G., born Jan. 5, 1861, died June i, 
 1864 ; Naomi T., born April 2t, 1859, died May 17, 
 
 i873- 
 They came to Sterling in the spring of 1864. Mr. 
 
 Zendt followed the business of carriage-maker there 
 20 years with success. In 1873 he formed a part- 
 nership with A. B. Spies, and their business relations 
 continued until the senior partner became a farmer. 
 In May, 1867, he purchased 80 acres of land on sec- 
 tion 1 8, Jordan Township, which was improved. In 
 February, 1884, he made another purchase of 60 
 acres on section 17, which was also improved. He 
 is also the owner of five acres of timber in Gen- 
 esee Township. He has made considerable addi- 
 tional improvement on his property. He and his 
 wife are members of the Meaponite Church, and 
 Mr. Zendt is one of the Deacons of the society. 
 
 1'ames M. Winters, a retired farmer, resi- 
 Jl?- dent in the village of Coleta, in Genesee 
 Township, was bcrn March 22, 1809, in 
 Leicester Township, Genesee Co., N. Y. His 
 father, Timothy Winters, was a farmer by call- 
 ing and was born in Pennsylvania. He was 
 of Irish origin and was married in his native State, 
 to Margaret Lemon. He fixed his family residence 
 in Genesee County and lived there some years, re- 
 moving thence to Washington Co., Ind. He engaged 
 in farming there until his death in 1841, when he 
 was 56 years of age. The maternal grandparents of 
 Mr. Winters came from Germany to the United 
 States, and from them descended the families of 
 their name in this country, who are of German origin. 
 The mother of Mr. Winters was born in the eastern 
 part of Pennsylvania, near the line of the State of 
 Xew York, where she was brought up to womanhood 
 and married. She went with her husband to Indiana 
 in 1817, and died in Washington County, in 1822, 
 aged 38 years. She was the mother of six children, 
 three sons and three daughters. 
 
 Mr. Winter's birth was preceded by that of one 
 sister, and he was a little less than nine years of age 
 when his father removed his family .to Indiana. 
 Washington County was in its infancy, having been 
 organized only one year previous to their settlement 
 within its borders. He was an inmate of his father's 
 
 household until the years of his minority were 
 passed, which were spant in obtaining a common- 
 school education and in acquiring a complete un- 
 derstanding of agriculture. His education was lim- 
 ited according to the meagre advantages afforded by 
 the pioneer schools, but his temperament led him to 
 observe and reflect to an extent that sufficed as well 
 for mental training as instruction would have done. 
 He had also good judgment and discrimination in 
 the choice of books, of which he was fond. 
 
 He was married Aug. 17, 1831 (the year follow- 
 ing th it in which he became his " own man "), to 
 Susan, daughter of George and Tabitha (Hendricks) 
 Gyger. She was born in East Tennessee, and her 
 parents were natives of Scotland. They removed 
 from Tennessee to Indiana in the year in which the 
 State was organized. Her father died in Washing- 
 ton County in 1831; the mother's death occurred 
 about four years later. 
 
 Mrs. Winters died in Coleta. She was a woman 
 of decided Christian character and passed the later 
 years of her life in earnest, devoted labor in the 
 cause which was nearer her heart than any other. 
 She died June 10, 1882. In religious connection 
 she belonged to the United Brethren Church. She 
 is sincerely mourned by her numerous acquaintances, 
 and seven children are left motherless by her death. 
 Two children had gone before to the other world. 
 George Clinton Winters, one of the deceased sons, 
 became a soldier of the Union Army, enlisting in 
 Co. A, 34th Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., commanded by Col. 
 E. N. Kirk, of Sterling. He was seized with typhoid 
 fever, from which he died in the hospital at Louis- 
 ville, Ky., soon after his regiment was assigned 
 to its position. John M. died in 1856, aged three 
 years. Following is the record of the seven chil- 
 dren who survive : Catherine, who married Newlon 
 Dodd, a farmer of Clay Co., Kan. ; William J., who 
 married Elizabeth Fowler and now resides in the 
 vicinity of Traer, in Tama Co., Iowa; Tabitha H., 
 who married Cephas Hurless, late Supervisor of 
 Genesee Township. He died at Coleta in the fall of 
 1884. James P. married Olive Baxter and lives at 
 Marshall, Iowa; Matilda C., who married E. M. 
 Olmstead and lives at Coleta ; E. C. Winters, who 
 married Paulina Scoville and lives at Sterling, 111.; 
 Melissa is the wife of Charles Wallace, a farmer of 
 Riley Co., Kan. 
 
 Mr. Winters was a second time married, at Coleta, 
 
 t.
 
 2r 
 
 (21 
 
 r ' 
 
 
 1 
 
 Dec. 9, 1884,. to Anna Skill, daughter of Timothy 
 and Margaret (Carr) Skill. Her parents were na- 
 tives of Ireland, where their entire lives were passed. 
 Her father died at 50 years of age, in 1883. Mrs. 
 Winters was born in the north of Ireland, Dec. 25, 
 1858, and emigrated to the United States in 1880, 
 and had been in America four years when mar- 
 ried. 
 
 Mr. Winters came from Washington Co., Ind., to 
 Illinois in r847, and located at first in the township 
 of Wysox, Carroll County, where he continued to 
 reside until the fall of 1876, the date of his retire- 
 ment from the life of a farmer, when he fixed his 
 residence at Coleta. He is the owner of four dwell- 
 ings at that place, and has 1 1 acres of land laid out 
 in village lots. Mr. Winters is an active member 
 of the United Brethren Church, in which he has 
 been a Class-leader and Trustee. While a resident 
 of Carroll County, he was active in the administra- 
 tion of local affairs. He was elected Assessor of the 
 township of Genesee in 1884, and is now the incum- 
 bent of that position, which he has held since the 
 date of his first election. He is an earnest and zeal- 
 ous Republican. 
 
 Mr. Winters is of that type of man and citizen as 
 demands, in the estimation of the community, a rep- 
 resentation among the portraits of this volume; and 
 it is accordingly given, on a page opposite the be- 
 ginning of the foregoing sketch. 
 
 ugust Stern, farmer, section 8, Hopkins 
 Township, is a son of Christian and Louisa 
 Stern, natives of Germany, who emigrated 
 to America about 1862, and settled in Ogle 
 Co., 111., and afterwards removed into this 
 county, settling in Genesee Township, where 
 they resided until their death. They had five chil- 
 dren, Fritz, Christoph, August, Fredericka and 
 Wilhmena. 
 
 Mr. Stern, the subject of this sketch, was born in 
 Germany, Aug. 24, 1835. He lived in his native 
 country till 1858, where he was employed in farming. 
 In the summer of 1858 he came to America and 
 lived about a year in Ogle County, and came to 
 Whiteside County in 1861, purchasing 80 acres of 
 land on section 8, Hopkins Township, where he set- 
 
 tied and has since lived. He is the owner of 203 
 acres, 200 of which is in good cultivation. He has 
 erected fine buildings u]>on his farm. 
 
 Mr. Stern was married in Sugar Grove Township, 
 Ogle County, Feb. 21, 1861, to Dorothea Shultz, 
 daughter of Frederick and Dorothea Shultz, who 
 were natives of Germany. They had a family of two 
 children who lived to years of maturity, namely : 
 Dorothea and Ernestina. Mrs. S. was born in Ger- 
 many, Sept. i, 1839. Mr. and Mrs. Stern are the 
 parents of 12 children, 11 of whom are living, viz., 
 Henry W., Edgar F., Emma J., Isabella, John F., 
 William C., Ernest T., Hannah J., GustavA., Helena 
 A. and Herman A Christian died when an infant. 
 
 The parents are members of the German Lutheran 
 Church. In politics Mr. Stern is identified with the 
 Democratic party. . 
 
 ' 
 
 "oseph C. Eeeves, farmer, section 20, Hahn- 
 aman Township, is a son of Howell and 
 Phebe (Howell) Reeves, his father a na- 
 tive ; of New York and his mother of New Jer- 
 sey. They passed their entire lives in the 
 Empire State. They had eight children, as 
 follows : Stephen, Hila, David, Amos, Fanny E., 
 Joseph C., Harlan P. and Charles E. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Wayne Co., 
 N. Y., April 26, 1840, and obtained his education at 
 the common school until 17 years of age and then 
 for two years at the Marion Collegiate Institute in 
 Wayne Co., N. Y. In the fall of 1860 he came to 
 Whiteside County; taught school in Hahnaman 
 Township the following winter, and the next autumn 
 returned to Wayne Co., N. Y., for the purpose of 
 enlisting in the army. He enrolled Sept. 19, 1861, 
 in the Eighth N. Y. Cav., and served nearly four 
 years, being in about 60 general engagements, be- 
 sides numerous skirmishes. At the battle of Five 
 Forks, Va., in April, 1864, he was wounded in the 
 neck by a minie ball, which incapacitated him for 
 further service, and he remained in the hospital at 
 Washington until the close of the war. 
 
 After receiving his discharge he came directly to 
 Whiteside County and, in company with his brother 
 Amos, purchased 200 acres of land in Hahnaman 
 Township, since which time he has resided there, 
 
 ' 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 with the exception of nearly six years, when he lived 
 in the township of Tampico. He is now the owner 
 of 1 60 acres on section 20, all of which is in cultiva- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Reeves is a member of Samuel G. Steadman 
 Post, No. 491, G. A. R., has held the office of Town- 
 ship Assessor one year, is a Republican in his po- 
 litical views, and both himself and wife are members 
 of the Baptist Church. 
 
 He was married in Washington, D. C., Nov. 30, 
 1869, to Fanny R. Brewer, daughter of Hiram and 
 Clarrissa (Hollister) Brewer, natives of Massachusetts 
 and now residing in Washington, D. C. Their children 
 were six in number, and named Mason H., Auren S., 
 Hiram H., Maria C., Fanny R. and Daniel E. Mrs. 
 Reeves was born in Berkshire Co., Mass., Nov. 26, 
 1843. Mr. and Mrs. Reeves are the parents of four 
 children, viz. : Auren C., J. Mason, H. Edson and 
 Walter E. 
 
 j ^ <:> _. 
 
 r. John L. Morrill, practicing physician 
 at Rock Falls, was born Oct. 19, 1823, at 
 Olean, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., and was 
 reared in Napoli. He was the fourth in the 
 family of Mastin and Sally (Osborn) Morrill, 
 natives of Vermont. The senior Morrill was 
 the first male child born in Danville, Vt., and was a 
 farmer by vocation. The subject of this biograph- 
 ical notice remained at his parental home until of 
 age, obtaining a liberal education. He taught 
 school for a time, and then attended high school in 
 Springfield, Erie Co., about three years. Then he 
 taught eight years in graded and district schools, in 
 the meantime taking up the study of medicine. 
 Commencing to attend lectures in the fall of 1855, 
 he was admitted to practice the next year. He 
 taught school and practiced medicine until 1860, 
 when he made a trip to the Rocky Mountains. He 
 visited Boulder City, when there was but one house 
 m the place supplied with a floor ; and Golden City, 
 where men were engaged in digging for gold ; and 
 also Denver. He was on this tour from April to 
 September. He then located in Yorktown, Bureau 
 > Co., 111., where he followed his profession eight 
 years, coming then, in 1867,10 Rock Falls, since 
 - which date he has pursued his calling here. In the 
 
 fall of that year he erected a residence, and the next 
 year a store building, wherein he opened a stock of 
 drugs ; but this he afterward sold to O. A. Oliver & 
 Co., who continued business in the same building 
 for about eight years. Being signally successful, he 
 has had a large practice. He has built one of the 
 finest residences in the village, and three miles east 
 he owns a valuable farm of 2 1 2 acres. 
 
 Dr. Morrill was married Oct. 28, 1863, to Louisa 
 Smith, a native of Allegany Co., N. Y., and they 
 have two children, viz. : Ella Francina, born Aug. 
 13, 1866, and Arthur Burdett, May 7, 1872. 
 
 In his political views the Doctor is a Republican, 
 and both himself and wife are members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. 
 
 'ohn R. Renner, farmer, section 18, Hahn- 
 aman Township, is a son of William and 
 Elmina (Rheinhart) Renner, natives of 
 Pennsylvania, who married and lived in that 
 State until Dec., 1842, when they emigrated 
 West, and, after spending the ensuing winter 
 at Deer Grove, Hahnaman Township,, this county, 
 removed to Bureau County, this State. There they 
 resided until 1859, when they returned to Hahnaman 
 Township, settling upon section 17, where they re- 
 sided until Mr. Renner's death, which occurred Nov. 
 20, 1859. They had a family of n children, whose 
 names were William D., Emanuel, Uriah, John R., 
 Thomas, James, Margaret J., Susan E., Ruth, Frank 
 and Freddie. Mrs. Renner was again married, in 
 Tampico Township, to William K. Harvey, who 
 afterward died in Hahnaman Township, Feb. 28, 
 1862. Mrs. H. was again married in February, 
 1867, in Hahnaman Township, to William Beal, who 
 died in Iowa about 1871. Mrs. Beal is the owner 
 of 80 acres of land in Hahnaman Township, all of 
 which is in a state of cultivation. 
 
 Mr. John R. Renner, the fourth in order of birth 
 in his parents' family of children, was born in Greene 
 Co., Pa., Feb. 17, 1842, and was a young child when 
 his parents moved with him to this county, since 
 which time he has lived in this and Bureau Counties. 
 His education was such as was common to farmers' 
 sons. Aug. 15, 1862, he enlisted in the ii2th Regt. 
 111. Inf., and served nearly three years in the cause 
 of the Union, participating in numerous battles and 
 
 Jf 
 
 :* 
 
 & 
 
 
 ( ( 
 
 \
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 (b 
 
 
 skirmishes. While on picket duty at Columbia, 
 Term., in November, 1864, he was taken prisoner, in 
 company with thirty comrades of his regiment, and 
 was confined' in the awful prison at Andersonville 
 most of the time for five months, when the war 
 closed and he was consequently liberated, barely 
 escaping with his life. He received his discharge at 
 Springfield, III., and returned to this county, where 
 he has since made his residence and followed agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He now owns 228 acres of land, 
 130 of which is in a good state of cultivation. 
 
 He is a member of Samuel G. Steadman Post, 
 G. A. R. In his political views he is a Repub- 
 lican, and he has held the offices of Road Commis- 
 sioner, School Director and Overseer of Highways. 
 
 uman Wakeman, farmer on section 18, 
 Montmorency Township, is a son of David 
 and Helen (Waltermire) Wakeman, who 
 were natives respectively of Connecticut and 
 New York State. Mr. David Wakeman died 
 at his home in Dutchess Co., N. Y., April 28, 
 1833, and his widow afterward married Hiram 
 Witherwax, and they came to Whiteside County in 
 1866, settling in Hume Township, where she died 
 April 4, 1 88 1. They had five children, George, 
 Clarissa, David, Sarah and Luman. 
 
 Mr. Wakeman, the subject of this sketch, was born 
 in Red Hook, Dutchess Co., N. Y., Feb. 27, 1831, 
 and was about two years of age when his father died ; 
 consequently he was very young when he started out 
 in the perilous voyage of life for himself. At the age 
 of 14 years he was apprenticed to learn the saddlery 
 trade, to which he applied himself for something over 
 two years. Up to this time his school education was 
 very limited, owing mainly to feeble health. From 
 the same cause, and partly from choice, he abandoned 
 the trade that had been chosen for him, and sought 
 out-door employment on the farm. After being thus 
 engaged about 14 years, he purchased the farm which 
 he now occupies, and upon which he permanently 
 located in 1858; he had previously spent a short 
 time in this county, and also in Winnebago County 
 and Iowa. In Winnebago County he followed farm- 
 ing about three years and was married. From the 
 
 age of 20 to 24 he was engaged in the lumber woods 
 and in a saw-mill, and also for a time had charge of 
 the engine. In 1858 he purchased 80 acres where 
 he lives, erected good farm buildings and subse- 
 quently added other land by purchase, so that he is 
 now the proprietor of 225 acres, all of which is in 
 cultivation. 
 
 In his political action, Mr. Wakeman is indepen- 
 dent; in religion he is a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and in the community he enjoys a high 
 social standing. Officially, he has held many posi- 
 tions of trust. 
 
 Mr. Wakeman was first married in Yates Co., N. 
 Y., March 16, 1852, to Sarah A. Bradbury, a native 
 of that State, and they had one child, David L. 
 His second marriage occurred in Guilford, Winne- 
 bago Co, 111., Sept. 19, 1859, to Mrs. Emily A., 
 daughter of Hiram and Nancy (Boss) Cunningham, 
 and widow of Peter Christie, who died in Oakland, 
 Jefferson Co., Wis., Nov. 15, 1856. By her first mar- 
 riage there we. - e three children, Orson, Katie and 
 Henry. The first named died Jan. 8, 1885, when 32 
 years of age, and Katie died March 21, 1856. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Cunningham were natives of Oneida Co., 
 N. Y., moved to Jefferson Co., Wis., thence to Win- 
 nebago Co., 111., and finally to Delaware Co., Iowa, 
 where Mr. C. died, Nov. 18, 1868. Mrs. C. survives. 
 They had a family of nine children, Edwin, Emily 
 A., Benjamin, Horace, Henry, Freeman, Marshall, 
 Guy and Putnam. Mrs. Wakeman was born in Os- 
 wego Co., N. Y., Jan. 20, 1831, and by her present 
 marriage there are three children, Emma A., Aetna 
 D. and Edwin M. 
 
 j: obert Emmet Logan, deceased, late Rep- 
 resentative in the Legislature, was born in 
 Bath.Steuben Co., N. Y., Feb. 13, 1828, 
 and died of heart disease in the Illinois State 
 Capitol, while in the performance of his du- 
 ties as a Legislator, on Thursday, Feb. 26, 
 He was educated at Bath Academy, N. Y. 
 He learned the trade of cabinet-making, working at 
 it for several years in the East, and in 1853 turned 
 his steps westward, coming to Davenport, Iowa, 
 
 1885. 
 
 ?>
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 where for some time he was foreman in a furniture 
 factory. 
 
 In December, 1854, being attracted by the influ- 
 ence of family relations, he took up his residence in 
 Portland Township, Whiteside Co, 111., where he 
 taught school, and afterward pursued the business 
 of cabinet-making. In 1860 he became Deputy 
 Sheriff of the County, and served in that capacity 
 until lie was elected Sheriff in 1862, holding the lat- 
 ter position for one term. General Oglesby was first 
 elected Governor in November, 1864, and early in 
 1865 he appointed Mr. Logan a Penitentiary Com- 
 missioner. Mr. Logan was re- appointed at the end 
 of two years, and in 1868 was elected to the same 
 position by the people, the office having become 
 elective. He is one of the proprietors of the present 
 Revere House at Morrison at its opening, Dec. 26, 
 1865, and maintained his connection with it for about 
 a year. In the meantime, he had, in 1864, entered 
 largely into the business of farming in Union Grove 
 Township, about four miles west of Morrison, and 
 moved upon his farm in 1867. He was President 
 of the Whiteside County Central Agricultural Soci- 
 ety from 1875 to his death, and by his energy made 
 it one of the most successful in the State. His ex- 
 excutive ability gave him great prominence among 
 his fellow men, and as a presiding officer he had few 
 equals in his party. 
 
 For the past 20 years he has been actively inter- 
 ested in politics. He was a Delegate to the National 
 Republican Convention at Chicago, in 1880, and was 
 Presidential Elector from the old Fifth District that 
 year. He was very popular at home, and .on all 
 occasions where the interest of the community was 
 to be subserved, Robert E. Logan was the modest, 
 liberal and efficient man, and to him the meed of 
 praise was cheerfully accorded. He served as Su- 
 pervisor of his town continuously from 1875 until 
 November, 1884, when he resigned upon his election 
 to the Legislature ; he was Chairman of the Board 
 for several terms. In the fall of 1884 he was the 
 unanimous choice of the Republican Convention of 
 Whiteside County for the Legislature, and was nomi- 
 nated shortly after by the Republican Convention 
 of the Nineteenth Senatorial District, comprising 
 Whiteside and Lee Counties. Upon the convening 
 of the Legislature he took a very active and influ- 
 ential part, and gave promise of a useful career. He 
 was a member of the Masonic Lodge at Morrison. 
 
 Seldom is it that a community is called to mourn 
 the loss of a person so generally and warmly appre- 
 ciated as was Mr. Logan a man who willingly 
 aided every good work. No one could manage any- 
 thing of a public nature better than he. His friends 
 loved him because he was true to them; his enemies 
 respected him because he was just to them. 
 
 Mrs. Malvina (McCoy) Logan, who survives him, 
 is the daughter of Hon. James McCoy, of Fulton, of 
 whom a sketch is given elsewhere. Their marriage 
 took place Feb. 23, 1864, and their children are 
 three sons and a daughter. 
 
 iharles H. Smith, farmer, residing on sec- 
 lion 21, Hahnaman Township, is a son 
 of Christian and Anna M. Smith, natives of 
 Germany. His mother died in her native 
 country, and in the spring of 185 i his father 
 emigrated to this country, and settled in Mont- 
 gomery Co , Pa. He resided there for six years, and 
 in 1857 came to this county and settled in Sterling. 
 The issue of their union was four children, namely: 
 Christian, Charles H., Emma and William. 
 
 Charles H. was born in Germany, Feb. i, 1846, and 
 was five years old when he came with his father to 
 the United States. He lived at home, in Pennsyl- 
 vania, assisting on the farm and attending the 
 common schools, until 1861, when he came to this 
 county, and "worked out " on a farm for three years. 
 He then, in partnership with his father, rented a 
 farm in Coloma Township, which they jointly culti- 
 vated for five years, after which he was variously 
 occupied for a while, and then rented a farm, and 
 cultivated it himself for several years. 
 
 In 1880 he went to Hahnaman Township, and 
 purchased 160 acres of land, located on section 21. 
 He erected a fine house and barn on the land, and 
 entered vigorously upon the task of its improve- 
 ment. In April, 1884, the destroying element, fire, 
 swept away his barn and outbuildings, together with 
 a large quantity of grain, 16 head of hogs, and all 
 his farming implements. Misfortune did not dis- 
 hearten or overcome him, and he rebuilt the same 
 year. About 80 acres of his land is in a good tilla- 
 ble condition. 
 
 Mr. Smith was united in marriage Feb. 18, 1868, 

 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 at Sterling, III, to Miss Mary, daughter of Phillip 
 and Margaret Obendorf, natives of Germany. They 
 emigrated to the United States about 1850, and 
 settled in Philadelphia, Pa., from whence they came 
 to this county in the spring of 1860, settling in Jor- 
 dan Township, where, three years later, in 1863, the 
 father died. They were the parents of five chil- 
 dren: John, Mary, William, Charles and Sarah. 
 
 Mrs. Smith was born in Philadelphia, Pa., Aug. 29, 
 1850. She and her husband are the parents of four 
 children : Nellie M., Nettie M., Charles E. and Lilly 
 M. 
 
 Mr. Smith has held the office of School Director, 
 and politically is identified with the Republican 
 party. Religiously, he is a member of the German 
 Evangelical Church, and his wife is a member of the 
 English Lutheran Church, of which she has been a 
 member since 16 years of age. 
 
 a 
 
 v 
 & 
 
 > - 
 
 1 
 
 | ufus H. Sheldon, dealer in agricultural 
 implements, grain and live stock, at Rock 
 Falls, was born in Cayuga Co., N. Y., Aug. 
 27, 1815. His father, Ira Sheldon, a farmer, 
 was a native of Connecticut, of New England 
 ancestry and English descent. His grand- 
 father, Rufus Sheldon, was also a native of Con- 
 necticut and of similar ancestry. The family, so far 
 as concerns its history in America, originally sprang 
 from three brothers who emigrated to this country 
 previous to the Revolution, settling in New England. 
 Most of the Sheldons have been farmers by vocation. 
 Ira Sheldon was a soldier in the War of 1812, and 
 died in Cayuga Co., N. Y., June 2, 1827, at the age 
 of 42. His wife, Mary, was a native of Vermont, of 
 New England ancestry and English descent, and 
 died in Barry Co., Mich. The subject of this sketch 
 is a relative of Henry O. Sheldon, editor of Sheldons 
 Magazine. He is the second in a family of six chil- 
 dren, his brothers being Isaac N., De WittC., Harvey 
 N., Orson B. and Sylvester W. 
 
 Mr. S. was 12 years old when his father died, but 
 continued to live with his mother (who was again 
 married) until he was of age, receiving a high-school 
 education. At the age of 19 he commenced teach- 
 ing during the winter seasons, while he pursued farm- 
 ing during the intervals. He afterward purchased 
 
 the interest of the other heirs and became sole pro- 
 prietor of the old homestead, where he resided until 
 1847, when he came to Illinois, settling on an unim- 
 proved tract of 340 acres in Bureau County. After 
 improving that place a number of years, he sold and 
 came, in 1869, to Sterling, where, in partnership with 
 C. M. Jaques, of Rock Falls, he entered the trade in 
 agricultural implements and coal. They now have 
 two elevators (having built one in 1877), with a 
 capacity of about 60,000 bushels. They also deal 
 extensively in live stock, and are driving a prosperous 
 business. Mr. S. attends the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and in politics is a stanch Republican. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon was married in his native county, 
 Dec. i, 1836, to Miss Mercy E. Edmonds, who was 
 born in the township of Brutus, same county, in 1817, 
 the daughter of Joseph Edmonds, a farmer. Mr. 
 and Mrs. S. became the parents of eight children, 
 three of whom are deceased. The record now 
 stands : Irving W. married Eleanor Cortwright, and 
 now resides on a farm in Dakota; Clarence L. mar- 
 ried Letitia Crawford and resides in Sterling, where 
 he is practicing as an attorney at law; R. H., 
 Jr., married Miss May Stitzel,and is interested in the 
 agricultural implement trade with his father; William 
 C. married Anna Banes, and is now a resident of 
 Winnipeg, Manitoba; IdaM. married Newton Petrie, 
 a county officer in Pittsburg, Pa.; and the deceased 
 are Mary, Edward S. and Joseph C. 
 
 evi Courtright, farmer, section 28, Genesee 
 Township, was born Jan. 27, 1840, in Sus- 
 sex Co., N. J., and is a son of Reuben and 
 Elizabeth (Vernanten) Courtright. (See sketch 
 of John Courtright). His parents came to Illi- 
 nois when he was 15 years of age. His father 
 was the parent of 2 r children, born of two marriages. 
 Mr. Courtright is the sixth in order of birth of ten 
 children born of the second marriage. He was 
 brought up on his father's farm and lived at home 
 until he was 22 years old. 
 
 He was married Dec. 24, 1861, in Genesee Town- 
 ship, to Sarah Franklin. She was born Feb. 12, 1841, 
 in Muskingum Co., Ohio. Her parents, Simeon and 
 Catherine (Funk) Franklin, went when she was ten 
 years old to Fulton County, in the same State. Six 
 
 >f^^_____ _e^LiSv^SA 
 
 l ^7*^L**o '\
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 years later they made another removal to Genesee 
 Township, in Whiteside County. Her father died in 
 May, 1871, aged 70 years. Her mother lives in 
 Jones Co., Iowa, with her eldest daughter, and is 
 aged 78 years (1885). 
 
 Mrs. Courtright is one of a family of eight children, 
 and is herself the mother of five sons and daughters. 
 Emma V. is the wife of Henry Finzel, a farmer and 
 teacher in Genesee Township. Martha C., Charles, 
 Frank and Fred (twins) are the names of those who 
 are yet unmarried. 
 
 Mr. Courtright passed some years in the business 
 of farming "on shares," and in February, 1873, 
 bought 103 acres on sections 28 and 19, which has 
 since been his field of operation. The family belong 
 to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Courtright 
 is a Republican in political affiliation. 
 
 dward Horner, senior member of the firm 
 of E. Horner & Son, dealers in pianos, 
 organs and musical merchandise, was born 
 April 2, 1823, in Wakefield, Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land. His father, Frank Horner, was a native 
 of Yorkshire and was a professional musician, 
 playing the "cello and singing in concert. He died 
 in August, 1853, in Thornhill, Yorkshire, and was 68 
 years old. The mother, Ellen (Rowley) Horner, was 
 about 63 years old when she died (in 1854), in her 
 native county of Yorkshire. Five of their eight chil- 
 dren are living. George is a farmer in Greene Co., 
 Iowa, and has acquired some reputation as a violin- 
 ist. Jesse enlisted in the War for the Union, in the 
 38th 111. Vol. Inf. He was taken prisoner at the 
 battle of Murfreesboro, and died of the concentrated 
 miseries and sufferings at Andersonville! John is a 
 dry-goods merchant at Queensbury, Yorkshire, and 
 he is also a musician. Bessie is the wife of Charles 
 Baxendale, a game-keeper on Breton Hall's estate in 
 Yorkshire, England. 
 
 When he was 15 years of age, Mr. Horner engaged 
 in the business of a wool-sorter, in which he was oc- 
 cupied until he was 24 years old. At that date he 
 obtained an appointment as receiving clerk in the 
 Wakefield prison and officiated in that capacity four 
 years. After the expiration of his engagement he re- 
 sumed his former employment, 
 
 In July, 1854, he came to the United States. He 
 at first located at Lincoln, 111., where he spent a few 
 months. He went thence to the lead mines of Jo 
 Daviess County, where he spent seven years in pros- 
 pecting. He went next to Mt. Carroll, and he em- 
 barked in the sale of Mason & Hamlin organs and 
 the Vose & Co. pianos. After operating there seven 
 years, he went to Depere, Wis., where he conducted 
 a music store between two and three years. 
 
 In 1870 he came to Morrison and opened his 
 present business, which he has since continued to 
 pursue. He is a musician of more than ordinary 
 ability, and has engaged in teaching to a consider- 
 able extent, as have his sons. His whole family are 
 educated in music. 
 
 Mr. Horner was married Sept. i, 1847, in the 
 Halifax Cathedral, Yorkshire, England, to Anna 
 Ellis, and they have had seven children, of whom 
 but two are living. Sarah A. was born June 4, 1848, 
 and died Nov. 4, 1864; Matilda was born Aug. 19, 
 1849, an d died Oct. 9, 1852 ; Frank was born April 
 27, 1851, and died April 2, 1852 ; Henry is a dealer 
 in music and sewing-machines at Marengo, 111. He 
 was born Oct. 26, 1852. Alice was born April 3, 
 1854, and died Oct. 31, 1864; Mary, born Oct. 16, 
 1860, died July 10, 1863; Samuel, born Oct. 19, 
 1857 is in business with his father. He is the 
 leader of the Morrison Band and is a fine pianist. 
 
 The members of the firm of E. Horner & Co. deal 
 in American, English and German musical publica- 
 tions, and make a specialty of Peek & Sons (N. Y.) 
 pianos. They handle the organs of George Wood- & 
 Co. and those of Hillstrom & Co., which are man- 
 ufactured at Chesterton, Ind. 
 
 .nines P. Hopkins, farmer, section 36, Hop- 
 jfp kins Township, is the youngest son of 
 Jason Hopkins, whose memory is per- 
 petuated by the name of that division of the 
 county in which he resides. His father was 
 born Jan. 27, 1789, and he married Eleanor 
 Johnson, who was born in Kentucky. They lived in 
 Tennessee until their removal, in 1835, to Hopkins 
 Township, where they were the first white settlers. 
 The senior Hopkins built the first log house on Rock 
 River, in Whiteside County, of which he took posses- 
 
 *^ 
 
 ' 
 
 i
 
 . 
 
 "> v7 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 sion and which he occupied some years. He re- 
 moved thence to another part of the same section, 
 known as the " Como Purchase." He died there 
 Aug. 19, 1853. The date of the death of the mother 
 is May, 13, 1858. Their children were four in number, 
 and were named William T., Helen, Frances and 
 James P. The oldest child was born Feb. 22, 1837, 
 and was the first white male child born in Whiteside 
 County. He died about 1862. 
 
 Mr. Hopkins of this sketch was born Oct. 4, 1843, 
 in Hopkins Township. He was but 10 years of age 
 when his father died, and he has lived all his life at 
 Como, with the exception of the time which he spent 
 in the military service of the United States. He en- 
 listed Sept. 2, 1862, in the 75th Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., 
 and was in active service until the close of the war, 
 receiving his honorable discharge in July, 1865. He 
 was under rebel fire at Atlanta, Murfreesboro, Chick- 
 amauga and Lookout Mountain, besides seeing other 
 service of a miscellaneous character. He passed 
 through the varied experiences of war entirely with- 
 out injury. On. his return to his home he resumed 
 his former occupation of farming. He is an adherent 
 of the Republican party in his political principles. 
 He has been active in school and other local interests. 
 
 Mr. Hopkins was married Nov. 30, 1869, at Atkin- 
 son, Henry Co., 111., to Asenath H., daughter of 
 Donald and Mary (Lloyd) Lamont. Her father was 
 born in Scotland and her mother was a native of 
 Canada. 1 hey were married in the Dominion, where 
 they resided some years, and afterward came to Illi- 
 nois, settling in Hopkins Township, this county, in 
 1865: they are still living. Mrs. Hopkins is their 
 oldest child, and her brothers and sisters are named 
 Flora A., John, Jesse L., Susanna, Elizabeth J, 
 Charity, Washington M., Emily I. and Mary I. Mrs. 
 Hopkins was bora Nov. 2, 1842, in Canada. She 
 has become the mother of five children, Eleanor 
 M., Jessie L., Anna F., Eunice B. and James P., Jr. 
 
 harles L. Hubbard, farmer, residing on 
 _^ section 5, Montmorency Township, is a 
 * son of Chas. C. and Lucia A. (Reed) Hubbard, 
 natives of New England. Soon after their 
 marriage they came to Illinois and settled in 
 Bureau County, where they resided most of 
 time until the spring of 1880, when they came to 
 
 
 
 this county. On arrival here they located in Ster- 
 ling and continued to reside there until the father's 
 death, which occurred April 6, 1883. The mother 
 still survives. Their family consisted of two chil- 
 dren, May C. and Charles L. 
 
 Charles L. was born in Maiden, Bureau County, 
 this State, Oct. n, 1860. He attended the com- 
 mon schools of his native county until he was 16 
 years of age, and then for three years attended the 
 Dover Academy in Bureau County. He lived at 
 home until 1880, when he came to this county and 
 settled on a farm of 240 acres his father purchased 
 in Montmorency Township, this county, of which he 
 has had the entire management, giving his attention 
 largely to the breeding of thcroughbred cattle and 
 horses, and taking a prominent position among the 
 advanced farmers of the county. 
 
 Politically Mr. Hubbard is identified with the Re- 
 publicans. Religiously he is a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church of Sterling. 
 
 iharles F. GifFord, editor and proprietor of 
 the Tampico Tornado, was born in Elgin, 
 111., June 25, 1847. His father, Edmond F. 
 Gifford, died of apoplexy at the residence of 
 his daughter, Mrs. L. S. Norris, of Grinnell, 
 Iowa, Thursday, July 19, 1883, aged 72 years, 
 10 months and 15 days. He was born in Duxbury, 
 Mass., Sept. 4, 1810, was early in life thrown upon 
 his own resources, and he worked for others at farm 
 labor during the summer, and attended school during 
 the winters. He learned the cabinet trade, at which 
 he worked and also taught school, and thereby earned 
 money sufficient to enable him to complete a classical 
 course, graduating at Harvard University, Cam- 
 bridge, Mass. For a year or two following he prac- 
 ticed law in Boston, Mass. May 25, 1840, he married 
 Miss Lucy W. Sampson, of Duxbury, Mass., and 
 shortly afterward emigrated West, locating in Elgin, 
 111., where he practiced law and for a number of 
 years held the office of County Superintendent of 
 Schools. 
 
 At the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion he 
 enlisted, and served as Adjutant of the Second Bat- 
 
 -ftem 
 
 ' 
 
 v 
 

 
 LIBRARY 
 
 of ILLINOIi
 
 


 
 LWfMtfV 
 V 'it ii
 
 talion of the Eighth 111. Vol. Cav. After the seven 
 days' battle before Richmond, Va., he was appointed 
 Paymaster and stationed at New Orleans, which 
 position lie held to the close of the war. During the 
 Red River Expedition he was wounded in the right 
 arm, the scar resulting from which he carried ever 
 afterward. 
 
 After the close of the war he returned to Elgin, but 
 soon moved to Louisiana, where, under the Kellogg 
 government, he was appointed a District Judge. In 
 February, 1882, he returned North, and after making 
 his home several months with his son, Charles F., at 
 Tampico, he went to Grinnell, where he died, as 
 stated. Charles' mother is now residing in Boston, 
 Mass., with her daughter, Mrs. Ada Sampson, and is 
 aged 64 years. She was the only daughter of a New 
 England ship-builder, and came of a family of con- 
 siderable prominence. 
 
 Mr. Gifford, the subject of this biographical out- 
 line, is the third in order of birth of a family of nine 
 children, five of whom are now deceased. At the 
 age of 13 years he went with his father into the army 
 as clerk for him. In 1862 he quit the field of war 
 and entered the military school at Fulton, this 
 county, and after a year's drill there he enlisted as 
 Corporal in the 1415! Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., which was 
 attached to the Army of the Cumberland. At the 
 expiration of the roo days, for which he had enlisted, 
 he was honorably discharged. He then went to 
 Louisiana and served as Clerk in the Paymaster's 
 Department of the Division of the Gulf, remaining 
 there with his father until the close of the war. 
 
 In April, 1866, he became an employee of the 
 Elgin Gazette, under the management of Kincaid & 
 Post, where he remained for two years, when he ac- 
 cepted a position as foreman of the Elgin Watchman, 
 E. C. Kincaid then being the proprietor. One year 
 later, the Gazette and Watchman consolidated, and 
 he was elected, by the hands of both offices, as fore- 
 man of the new office. He held that position until 
 the fall of 1870, when sickness compelled him to re- 
 sign. In the spring of 1870 he went to Missouri 
 and acted in the capacity of clerk, for his father-in- 
 law, John Murdock, who was a contractor in grad- 
 ing a railroad running from Hannibal to Edina. In 
 October he returned home, and in November, 1871, 
 he, in company with Mr. C. F. Larkins, established 
 the Dundee (111.) Weekly. They soon after sus- 
 
 )5(2^^ >*JB^*' ^ f^^ 
 
 _r- 
 
 pended for an indefinite time, and shortly afterward 
 Mr. Gifford went to Chicago and for a time served 
 on the Post and then the Inter Ocean, during the 
 Greeley campaign. Next he was engaged with Mr. 
 Bent on the Sentinel at Morrison, this county, and 
 then was employed at Fulton. In 1876 he went to 
 Tampico and established the Tornado, an historical 
 sketch of which paper will be given in the last 
 division of this work. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Gifford is a Republican. 
 
 May 4, 1868, is the date of Mr. Gifford's marriage, 
 at Elgin, 111., to Miss Mary J., daughter of John and 
 Jane Murdock, who was born in Ulster Co., N. Y., 
 Sept. 25 1848, and came West with her parents when 
 a child. Her father was born in Delaware Co., N. 
 Y., in 1826, a mason by occupation, is now a farmer, 
 residing at Tolona, Mo.; her mother died when she 
 (the daughter) was very young. Mr. and Mrs. Gifford 
 are the parents of six children, namely : Harry L., 
 Agnes L.,Ella L., Mabel L., Arthur L. and Julius L. 
 
 aron Fluck, a farmer on section 14, Hume 
 Township, is one of the enterprising agri- 
 culturists of Whiteside County of which he 
 has been a resident principally since 1857. 
 He first located at Sterling, where he passed 
 several years working at his trade of carpenter 
 and also as a general laborer. He went to Arkansas 
 just previous to the outbreak of the Southern Rebel- 
 lion, where he found himself pressed into drill pre- 
 paratory to the organization of the rebel army. He 
 spent a month in the distasteful occupation, and es- 
 caped on the last steamer that passed up the Miss- 
 issippi River before it was closed by the rebel 
 authorities, thereby forfeiting his wages. He re- 
 turned to Sterling, where he resumed his occupation 
 as a mechanic. He was a resident of Sterling until 
 1866, working at his trade and engaging also, as 
 opportunity offered, in the improvement of his farm, 
 which he had purchased in 1864. It comprised 160 
 acres, and at the time of his purchase it was un- 
 broken prairie. He took possession o( the place in 
 1866, and was its occupant until 1872, when he went 
 to a small tract of land containing T4 acres situated 
 near the city of Sterling, and which was the location 
 of a valuable stone quarry. He operated there 
 
 A ^ -^J&SLir ^IfrgsVj^g) 
 
 V) 
 
 SIX
 
 V. 
 
 ' 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ir 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 years, and in 1878 again removed to his farm, where 
 he is engaged in the management of his agricultural 
 interests. He also owns 40 acres on section 15 and 
 80 acres adjoining the land of his first purchase. 
 The dwelling Mr. Fluck has erected on his place is 
 the largest and most valuable in the township, and 
 his barns are of the same comparative size and merit. 
 He deals in high grades of stock. In political faith 
 and connections he is a Democrat, and has held 
 several local offices. 
 
 He was born Sept. 22, 1833, in Bucks Co., Pa. 
 His family descent is from a German ancestor who 
 settled many years ago in Bucks County, where the 
 descending generations maintained a residence 
 through the succeeding years until 1857, when Mr. 
 Fluck of this sketch broadened the field of occupa- 
 tion by removal to Illinois. John Fluck, his father, 
 was born in Bucks County in 1797, and married 
 Elizabeth Leight. She was born in Northampton 
 Co., Pa., and was of mixed Scotch and German an- 
 cestry. Her birth took place in 1807, and she died 
 in 1844. Her husband was a carpenter and was a 
 prominent official in the German Reformed Church, 
 to which she also belonged. He died in Lehigh Co., 
 Pa., in i88r. Their family included seven children. 
 The grandfather of Mr. Fluck was named John, and 
 he was a stone mason. 
 
 Aaron Fluck is the third child of his parents, and 
 he was n years of age when he lost his mother by 
 death. He continued under the care of his father 
 until he came to his majority; but at the age of 17 
 he began to work at his trade of carpenter with 
 Daniel Shafer, his cousin by marriage, who lived in 
 Lehigh County. On reaching the age of 2 i years he 
 entered the employment of his master as a journey- 
 man, with whom he served one year, and with the 
 exception of $5 gave his earnings to his father. He 
 passed the three years subsequent in his native 
 county, working at his trade. 
 
 Mr. Fluck was married Nov. 15, 1864, in Sterling > 
 to Lydia A. Tombow, and they have had eight chil- 
 dren. Six of them are still living, and following are 
 their names: McClelland, John, Ida M., Aaron, 
 Katie and Matilda. Benjamin and William are de- 
 ceased. Mrs. Fluck was born Aug. 26, 1846, in 
 Lampeter Township in Lancaster Co., Pa., and is 
 the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Borer) Tom- 
 bow. Her parents were of Dutch descent, and her 
 j>r^-ft 
 
 father was a stone mason by trade. Her mother died 
 when she was seven years old, and she was placed 
 in the charge of Mr. Landis, now of Sterling Town- 
 ship, by whom she was brought up and with whose 
 family she came to Whiteside County. Her father' 
 meanwhile had married again and had removed to 
 Sterling a year previous to her coming to this county. 
 She continued a member of Mr. Landis' family until 
 her marriage. 
 
 The portraits of Mr. Fluck and his wife are given 
 on previous pages, and represent the typical class 
 whose thrift and energy have so rapidly developed 
 Whiteside County. They are copies of likenesses 
 recently taken. 
 
 lames N. Ward, druggist, at Fulton, was 
 born in Essex Co., N. J., June 19, 1822, 
 and is the son of Reuben and Electa 
 (Condit) Ward. He spent his early life in his 
 native county, and in 1836 removed with his 
 parents to Delaware Co., Ohio. He learned 
 the trade of carpenter and joiner, at which he worked 
 in Ohio till April, 1856; in August of that year he 
 came to Fulton and engaged in business as con- 
 tractor and builder, which he continued till Decem- 
 ber, 1870. He then went to Maquoketa, Iowa, and 
 engaged in the lumber trade. He carried on the 
 lumber business in Iowa about three and a half 
 years, still maintaining his residence at Fulton. In 
 October, r875, he purchased the stock of Mr. John 
 Hudson, druggist at Fulton, and succeeded to the 
 business. Mr. Ward has had ten years' experience 
 as a druggist, and has a tasteful, well stocked store 
 in his line, that of drugs, medicines, paints, oils, 
 toilet articles, wall paper, etc. The average value 
 of his stock is $3,000. His course as a business 
 man has won him a reputation for fair dealing and 
 conscientious and careful attention in serving his 
 customers. 
 
 He was married in Delaware Co., Ohio, April 3, 
 1849, to Miss Sarah J. Thatcher, daughter of Elisha 
 and Sarah J. (Dana) Thatcher. Mrs. Ward was 
 born in Delaware Co., Ohio. They have three chil- 
 dren, all sons. The eldest, George A., was born at 
 Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 17, 1851, and is a resident of 
 Fulton ; James F. was born in Columbus, Ohio, Jan.
 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 4, 1853, married Miss Sedate Houghton, and is also 
 a resident of Fulton; the youngest, William W., was 
 born in Fulton, Sept. 23, 1856, and is living in Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Ward is a Democrat, " tried and 
 
 true." 
 
 aeob Hein, farmer, section 19, Hahnaman 
 - Township, came to this county in 1858, 
 sf *^" purchasing 200 acres of good land, which 
 he still occupies as a home, and where he has 
 erected fine farm buildings. He now owns 360 
 acres of land, 200 of which is in cultivation. 
 He was first married in Kendall Co., 111., in 1851, 
 to Christiana Krum, and they have five children, 
 Matilda, Gustavus A., William A., Jacob H. and 
 Christian. Mrs. H. died May r, 1860, and Mr. 
 Hein was again married, Dec. 24, 1860, in Hahnaman 
 Township, to Mary A. Hamblock, and by this mar- 
 riage there have been two children, namely, Mary K. 
 and Matilda Elizabeth. Mr. Hein's parents were 
 natives of Germany. 
 
 j illiam Butman, farmer, residing on sec- 
 tion 26, Fulton Township, is a son of 
 James and Esther (Moulthrop) Butman, 
 natives of Massachusetts and Vermont, 
 whose family consisted of five children, 
 namely: Betsey, Melissa, Laura, James and 
 William. William Butman was born in Rutland, 
 Rutland Co., Vt., Feb. 10, 182 r. He received a 
 good common-school and academical education, and 
 remained in his native State alternating his attend- 
 ance at school by working on the farm until 19 years 
 of age. On reaching this age he -went to Elmira, 
 N. Y., where he was engaged in the occupation of a 
 carpenter and builder for a year. He was next em- 
 ployed as a passenger conductor on the New York 
 Central R. R., and followed that position for about 17 
 years. In 1865 he went to New York City, and was 
 there employed in the Custom House as Examiner 
 and Verifier for upward of three years. He then 
 went to Michigan, and entered the employ of the 
 Detroit, Lansing & Northern Railroad, as conduc- 
 
 tor. He was the first conductor of a passenger train 
 on that road, and remained with the company for 14 
 years. 
 
 His health failing, he came to this county, and 
 settled in Fulton Township. 
 
 Mr. Butman was married in Dundee, Yates Co., 
 N. Y., in 1843, to Miss Clarissa Booth, a native of 
 York State. She bore him five children : Theo. F., 
 William E. and Emily E. Emily E. is the wife of 
 John W. Boyer, and resides in Detroit. Sarah and 
 Henry died in infancy. William is employed as 
 postal clerk on the D., L. & N. R. R., and resides 
 at Detroit. Theo. died in 1878, aged 36 years. 
 
 The wife and mother died in 1871, and Mr. But- 
 man was again married Sept. 17, 1873, to Miss Abbie 
 A. Goodrich, at Ionia, Mich. She was a daughter of 
 Leonard and Juliet Goodrich, and was a descendant 
 from Miles Standish. Her parents were natives of 
 Vermont, and emigrated to Michigan in 1850, and 
 settled in Pontiac, Oakland County. Her mother 
 died there, and her father moved to Ionia, Mich., 
 where he still resides, living a retired life. Mrs. 
 Butman's parents had five children : Melancton S., 
 Norman S., Ellen J., Louisa A. and Abbie A. 
 
 Mrs. Butman was born in Trumbull Co., Ohio, 
 Dec. 13, 1848, and has borne to her husband five 
 children, of whom two are living, Frank S. and an 
 unnamed infant. Three died in childhood, Harry, 
 James L. and Etta M. 
 
 Mr. Butman has held the office of School Director, 
 and politically endorses the principles of the Repub- 
 lican party. Mrs. B., religiously, is a member of the 
 Baptist Church. 
 
 v ;* 
 
 ' 
 
 
 '. 
 
 ason Hopkins, for whom Hopkins Town- 
 ship was named, was a native of Nashville, 
 Tenn., and was born Jan. 27, 1789. He 
 remained at Nashville till about the middle 
 age of life, when he came to Illinois on account 
 of his anti-slavery principles, and settled at 
 Belleville. From there he went to Peoria. When 
 the Black Hawk War broke out, he volunteered in a 
 cavalry regiment, was appointed Quartermaster, and 
 served in that capacity during the war. In the 
 autumn of 1832, as the troops were returning to their 
 homes, Mr. Hopkins, with a party, came to Rock 
 
 '
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 River, and in coasting along its banks came to 
 the site of the present village of Como. Being im- 
 pressed with the beauty of the place, he made a 
 claim covering the whole tract known in pioneer 
 parlance as a "jack-knife claim," by cutting his 
 name in the bark of trees. Mr. Hopkins often spoke 
 of this location as being as beautiful as the Garden 
 of Eden. 
 
 He was married at Peoria, 111., to Eleanor John- 
 son, who was born Dec. 29, 1801, near Bowling 
 Green, Ky., and with her Mr. H. returned in 1835 
 and surveyed the claim, establishing the boundaries 
 by marking trees in the timber and running furrows 
 through the prairie with an ox team and a prairie 
 plow. He afterwards purchased the claim, com- 
 prising sections 25, 26, 35 and 36, and as much ad- 
 joining as made 3,200 acres. He built the first log 
 cabin in the township that bears his name. 
 
 He died Aug. 19, 1853. He possessed many 
 traits of character peculiar to the citizens of ancient 
 Rome in its republican days, firmness, unswerv- 
 ing integrity and patriotism. He was in intimate 
 acquaintance with, and a great admirer of, General 
 Jackson. He was altogether a remarkable man and 
 admirably fitted for a pioneer. Mrs. H., his wife, 
 died May 13, 1858. 
 
 Their children were four in number and were 
 named William T., Helen, Frances and James P. 
 (A sketch of the latter is given in this work.) The 
 first mentioned, William T. Hopkins, was the first 
 white male child born in Whiteside County. He 
 died about 1862. 
 
 (jenry Diehl, formerly a farmer on section 
 13, Hopkins Township, now residing in re- 
 tirement at Empire in the same township, 
 was born Oct. 12, 1805, in Lancaster Co., Pa. 
 His parents, Samuel and Barbara (Bitner) Diehl, 
 were also natives of the same State and had 
 12 children. 
 
 Mr. Diehl of this sketch remained in his native 
 State, pursuing the vocation of a farmer, until 1865, 
 when he came to Illinois. He first made a location 
 in Carroll County, spending but one year there. In 
 1866 he came to Whiteside County and bought a 
 farm on sections 19 and 30 in Hopkins Township. 
 
 He fixed his residence on the section last named, 
 where he continued to live until 187 i. In that year 
 he purchased a house at Empire and has since been 
 retired from active business life. His property in 
 Hopkins Township includes 137 acres of land. 
 
 Mr. Diehl was married in Franklin Co., Pa., 
 Jan. 13, 1829, to Margaret, daughter of John and 
 Barbara (Leep) Myers, and she is the oldest of a 
 family of three children. She was born Aug. 27, 
 1808. To her and her husband ten children have 
 been born, in the following order ; Catherine, Eliza- 
 beth, Daniel, Lewis, Malachi, Adam, Mary, Jacob, 
 Peter S. and Margaret C. 
 
 The parents are members of the English Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 jharles G. Seidel is a farmer of Hopkins 
 Township, being located in the northeast 
 quarter of section 10. He is the owner 
 of 100 acres of land, which is his original 
 purchase in the township and county, and 
 which came into his possession in 1867. He 
 has since added to his real estate, increasing the ag- 
 gregate to 160. It is all under good cultivation, and 
 the proprietor has erected fine farm buildings. In 
 political sentiment and connections Mr. Seidel is a 
 Republican. 
 
 He was born in Germany, Oct. 4, 1839. Gotleib 
 and Barbara (Zaiser) Seidel, his parents, were inhab- 
 itants of their native land until 1853, when they 
 emigrated to the United States. They made their 
 first location at Columbus, Ohio, whence they came 
 to Whiteside Co., 111., and fixed their residence at 
 Sterling. The mother died there May 3, 1883. 
 Their children were born in the following order: 
 Caroline, Louis, Fred, Charles G., Wilhelmine, Wil- ( 
 liam, Joshua, Dorothea, Caleb, Sophia, Mary, George 
 Emma. One child died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Seidel came to this country with his parents 
 in 1853. He came with them to Sterling in 1857, 
 where he engaged in farm labor and worked by the 
 month for six years, after which he rented a farm for 
 four years. At the expiration of that time he be- 
 came a land-holder in Hopkins Township. 
 
 Mr. Seidel was married April 9, 1863, to Anna, 
 daughter of Solomon and Margaret A. (Wagner) 
 
 - - 
 
 ..
 
 
 
 - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Freighner. She was born Sept. 30, 1845, ln Penn- 
 sylvania, where her mother died when she was 10 
 years of age. The father lives with his daughter, 
 who is one of six children. Anna M., Samuel, Mar- 
 garet, John and David lived to reach maturity. One 
 child died in infancy. To Mr. and Mrs. Seidel 12 
 children have been born, six of whom are still living : 
 Charles F., Margaret E., Georgietta, Charles W., 
 Chester L. and Mary C. Those who are deceased were 
 named Clara A., George W., Ida M., Aaron H. and 
 Edward L. One child died unnamed. The parents 
 are members of the English Lutheran Church. 
 
 84 illiam H. Cadwell, Justice of the Peace, 
 (kifli? Notary Public and Clerk of the Village of 
 Rock Falls, was born Dec. 28, 1826, at 
 ^ Hartford, Conn., of which place his parents 
 Charles and Annie T. (Benton) CadweU 
 were also natives. Mr. Cadwell received a 
 very limited common-school education. Being at 
 the age of 12 years thrown upon his own resources, 
 having to look out for himself, he entered a printing- 
 office, where he remained nearly three years, at the 
 expiration of which time he found employment-in a 
 map-publishing house for another year. At the age 
 of 1 6 years he apprenticed himself to his uncle, 
 Daniel Fish, and completed his trade as a pastry- 
 baker and confectioner. 
 
 In 1848 Mr. Cadwell married Miss Catharine 
 Fish, of Boston, Mass., by whom he has one daugh- 
 ter, Nellie Frances; she married Mr. W. H. Tuttle in 
 1871, with whom Mr. Cadwell is now residing, hav- 
 lost his wife by death on the 5th of March, 1884. 
 Soon afterward he assumed control of the manufac- 
 turing department of his uncle's business. Having 
 a desire to better his condition in life, he took Hor- 
 ace Greeley's advice, packed up, and, with his wife 
 and child, his sister and her family, started West, 
 arriving in Belvidere, Boone County, this State, in 
 the spring of 1856, where he again conducted his 
 business, in connection with ice-cream parlors and a 
 news room. 
 
 Soon after the breaking out of the war he was ap- 
 pointed agent of the American Express Company, 
 at about which time the printing establishment then 
 known as the Belvidere Union came into his posses- 
 sion, and the name changed to the Boone County 
 
 Advertiser, In 1868 he disposed of the office to a 
 syndicate of Democrats, to boom the nomination of 
 Horatio Seymour for President. After the election 
 of Grant the establishment again came into the 
 hands of Mr. Cadwell, who discontinued the paper. 
 In 1870 he formed a partnership with Mr. W. H. 
 Tuttle, and moved the establishment with his family 
 to Rock Falls, and started the first newspaper pub- 
 lished on the south side of Rock River, naming it 
 the Rock Falls Progress. After conducting the 
 paper for six years and six months, it was discon- 
 tinued and the partnership dissolved, Mr. Cadwell 
 continuing in the job-printing business. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Cadwell was elected Justice of the 
 Peace to fill a vacancy. At the spring election of 
 the present year (1885), Mr. Cadwell was elected 
 his own successor. He also is appointed by Gov- 
 ernor Oglesby a Notary Public, also for four years, 
 and again re-elected Village Clerk. 
 
 Politically, he is a Republican and takes an active 
 interest in matters pertaining to the growth and 
 prosperity of the Republican party, and the village 
 and town in which he resides. Socially, he is a 
 member of the Order of Odd Fellows : was an active 
 worker for the organization of Advance Lodge, No. 
 590, of which he was the first presiding officer; is 
 also a member of the Grand Lodge of Illinois. He 
 is also the first Master Workman of Union Lodge, 
 No. 3, A. O. U. W., of Sterling, the organization of 
 which is due to his labor. He was sent from No. 3 
 as a delegate for the organization of the Grand 
 Lodge of Illinois, of which organization he was made 
 the first Past Grand Master of the State; also the 
 first Representative from the Grand Lodge to the 
 Supreme Lodge of the United States, meeting at 
 Cincinnati in 1875, which position he filled for three 
 successive terms. 
 
 Jenry S. Powell is a farmer on section 12, 
 in Sterling Township. His parents, Joseph 
 and Hannah (Benerman) Powell, lived after 
 their marriage in Saratoga Co., N. Y., and 
 afterwards in Monroe Co., N. Y., where they 
 died. They had nine children, all of whom 
 lived to maturity with one exception. 
 
 Mr. Powell was born Dec. 7, 1823, in Saratoga 
 
 & ^PZ fJ@JX@
 
 -: .. - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Y 
 
 I 
 
 I; 
 
 @i 
 
 
 Co., N. Y., and he was nine years of age when his 
 parents removed thence to Monroe County. He is 
 the fifth child, and he remained in Monroe County 
 throughout the remaining years of his minority, com- 
 ing, in 1844, to Whiteside -Co., 111. About three 
 years subsequent to his removal hither, he bought 
 150 acres of land in Sterling Township, and he has 
 since purchased 75 acres additional. The place is 
 in valuable agricultural condition, with an orchard 
 containing 400 trees and excellent buildings. In 
 political affinity Mr. Powell is identified with the 
 Republican party. 
 
 He was married in Genesee Township, Feb. 16, 
 1853, to Elizabeth Batchelder, a native of Vermont. 
 She died May 10, 1883, having been the mother of 
 nine children, four of whom lived to grow up, John, 
 George, Lucia M. and Jessie B. The oldest son was 
 drowned when he was 16 years of age. 
 
 avid G. Ely is a general farmer and stock- 
 grower on section i, Hume Township. He 
 was born Sept. 20, 1811, in Oneida Co., 
 N. Y. John Ely, his father, was a native 
 of New Jersey, and became a prominent farmer 
 of Oneida County. He owned about 700 acres of 
 land in the valley of the Mohawk. He built two 
 large jails in Oneida Co., N. Y., in an early day, one, 
 in the town of Whitestown, four miles west of Utica, 
 which is still standing, the other, in Rome, N. Y. 
 which was burned probably about 30 years ago. His 
 death occurred April 14, 1842. Beulah A. (Gould) 
 Ely, the mother, was born in Williamstown, Mass., 
 and descended from the earliest settlers of New 
 England. She died in February, 1845. 
 
 Mr. Ely is the fifth of his parents' ten children. 
 When he was 15 years of age he learned the shoe- 
 maker's trade, and made for himself the first pair of 
 boots he ever wore. Later, he learned the trade of 
 carpenter and joiner, and worked with his father at 
 that business and as a farmer until he was 26 years 
 of age. Feb. 17, 1836, he was married, in Floyd 
 Township, Oneida County, to-Alvira Wallace, who 
 was born in that township May n, 1817, and died 
 Nov. 26, 1873, in Hume Township. She was the 
 mother of six children, three of whom are deceased. 
 Beulah, George and Nancy, who are the survivors, 
 
 *&* ^ 
 
 are married. Lydia M., Eliza and Lovisa are dead. 
 
 Mr. Ely was a resident of his native State until 
 1855, when he went to Oshkosh, Wis., and worked 
 there three years as a jnechanic. In 1858 he lo- 
 cated in Hume Township, purchasing 184 acres on 
 section 10. He occupied this property five years, 
 when, in 1863, he went to the township of Coloma, 
 where he resided three years on 80 acres of land. 
 He went back in 1866 to Hume Township, and, af- 
 ter operating three years a little east of the central 
 portion of the township, he came to section i, where 
 he had become the owner of 92 acres of land by ex- 
 change. His estate is under good improvements, 
 and he is engaged in successful farming. 
 
 Mr. Ely was a second time married, Nov. 17, 
 1876, in Adair Co., Mo., to Mrs. Mary (Paddock) 
 Miner. She was born July 18, 1826, in Oneida Co., 
 N. Y., where she was brought up and educated. 
 John Paddock, her father, was an enterprising agri- 
 culturist of her native county. She was first mar- 
 ried to Michael Gushing, who was born in Vermont 
 and died in Pennsylvania. Two children were 
 of that earlier marriage, Jane, now Mrs. Buck, and 
 Michael, both of whom are living in Shelby Co., 
 Iowa. She married Curtis Miner in Prophetstown, 
 Whiteside County. He was a native of Vermont, 
 and died in the military service of the United States, 
 from a gunshot wound. Frank, Curtis and Ella are 
 the names of the children born of the second mar- 
 riage. The oldest and youngest are married. 
 
 Mr. Ely is a Republican in his political opinions. 
 
 ||.enry S. Landis, farmer, section 23, Sterling 
 Township, was born March 27, 1820, in 
 Lancaster Co., Pa. David and Margaret 
 (Shaffer) Landis, his parents, were born in 
 Pennsylvania, where they also died. They had 
 five children, named Eliza, Emanuel, Maria, 
 Henry S. and Anna. 
 
 Mr. Landis has been a resident of Whiteside 
 County since 185 r, when he removed hither from 
 his native State. He still lives on the property he 
 first bought, which comprised 144 acres of land. 
 The 'estate is all under improved cultivation. Mr. 
 Landis is a Republican, and is interested in school 
 matters. 
 
 He was married Nov. 18, 1841, in Lancaster Co., 
 
 I 
 
 ' 
 
 VN '
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Pa., to Fanny Stauffer, and they have 13 children, as 
 follows : Anna, Barbara, Margaret, Susanna, Amos, 
 Maria, John, Henry F. and Emma F. (twins), 
 Emanuel, Benjamin F., Jonas R. and Daniel. Mrs. 
 Landis is the daughter of John and Barbara (Eby) 
 Stauffer, and is one of nine children born to her par- 
 ents : Benjamin, Fanny, Peter, Christian, John, 
 Margaret, Anna, Bertram and Henry. Mrs. Landis 
 belongs to the Mennonite Church. 
 
 ,oses Dillon, lumber, grain and coal mer- 
 chant, at Sterling, was born in Ohio, Sept. 
 19, 1845. His father, Lloyd Dillon a 
 native of Maryland was employed in the 
 furnace business at Zanesville, Ohio, where he 
 died, in 1845. His mother, nee MargarefA. 
 Culbertson, was a native of Pennsylvania. Mr. 
 Dillon was an inmate of his parental home until he 
 was of age, receiving a common-school education. 
 From 1857 to 1860 he was a resident of Dixon, 111. 
 In 1859-60 he herded cattle for William Butler at 
 Nelson Station. In 1861 he engaged as clerk in the 
 mercantile establishment of D. M. Crawford in Ster- 
 ling the first boy employed in such capacity in that 
 store remaining there two and a-half years, and 
 thereby receiving a good business education. Then, 
 at the age of 18, he enlisted in Co. A, T4oth Regr. 111. 
 Vol. Inf , was mustered into the military service at 
 Dixon, went with his regiment to Memphis, Tenn., 
 and did guard duty. 
 
 In 1865 he returned home and formed a partner- 
 ship with Charles Smith in the grocery business, 
 under the name of Smith & Dillon, and thus con- 
 tinued in the trade for ten years. He sold out his 
 interest in 1875, and bought the interest of Joseph 
 Golder, in the grain, coal and lumber business, 
 forming a partnership with Mr. Golder's son, under 
 the firm name of Golder & Dillon. In this relation 
 they continued until 1880, when Mr. Dillon pur- 
 chased the interest of his partner, since which time 
 he has conducted the business alone, with success. 
 His office is on the corner of Third and Spruce 
 Streets, and in the rear of his office he has an eleva- 
 tor with a capacity of 60,000 bushels, which he runs 
 with a gas engine a curiosity to all the people of 
 
 the county. His lumber and coal yard occupies all 
 of block 43, and his salt and drying sheds and barns 
 all of block 42. He has the only planing-mill in 
 Sterling, where he does all kinds of wood work. 
 
 Mr. Dillon is a " Sterling " man. Coming when 
 young to the place, he has by diligence and strict 
 integrity won a high business and social position. 
 He'is the President of the Northwestern Fair Asso- 
 ciation, and is a member of the I. O. O. F., and of 
 the A. O. U. W. He is a Republican in his 
 political views, and, with his wife, is a member of the 
 Presbyterian Church of Sterling. 
 
 May 8, 1867, Mr. Dillon married Miss Emma J. 
 Golder, daughter of Judge Golder, of Sterling, and 
 they have five children, namely: Mary P., Maggie 
 A., Alice E., Joseph G. and Moses L. 
 
 c * ? i? JifX^^i ^ " o 
 1 fe ^KSXs-J-r^ @) v . 
 
 D. Hill, editor of the Prophetstown Spike, 
 office in Baldwin's Block, is a son of Ben- 
 jamin F. and Rebecca (McElroy) Hill, and 
 was born in Lancaster Co., Pa., June 19, 1842. 
 Growing up, he was engaged as clerk in a 
 store, taught school, and dealt in coal, lumber, grain, 
 etc., and in July, 1866, came to Morrison, this 
 county, where he was employed in buying grain, 
 stock, etc., first by himself, and afterward in com- 
 pany with others; taught school; was local editor of 
 the Whiteside Sentinel, and finally, in company with 
 Charles Bent, established the Prophetstown Spike, 
 issuing the first number of the paper Sept. r, 1871. 
 In October, 1872, he bought out Mr. Bent, and con- 
 ducted the paper alone until 1876, when he formed 
 a partnership with Charles F. Gifford in the publica- 
 tion of the Spike and the Tornado, of Tampico, the 
 latter paper being established in May of that year. 
 In January, 1878, he sold the Spike to John W. Olm- 
 stead. In the meantime, in April, 1878, he founded 
 the Whiteside Herald, and conducted it for five 
 years. In the fall of 1882 he dislocated his ankle, 
 which laid him up for the ensuing winter. The fol- 
 lowing spring, 1883, he returned to Prophetstown 
 and bought the Spike, since which time he has 
 conducted it with success, employing usually two 
 assistants. The paper is an eight-column folio, 
 four pages, 26x40 inches, Republican in politics 
 and devoted to local news. It is ably edited. A 
 
 
 V) 
 
 < 
 rt 
 
 $
 
 ***: 
 
 -, .. - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 good job office is in connection with the establish- 
 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Hill has been a member of the Town Council 
 one year; April 21, 1885, he was elected Village 
 Clerk; has taken an active part in local politics, 
 having been a Delegate to a number of District, 
 County and State Conventions ; was a member of the 
 Illinois National Guard five years, holding the com- 
 mission of Lieutenant of the 141)1 Battalion, with 
 headquarters at Moline, III, during a portion of that 
 time. Mr. H. is also a member of the I. O. O. F. 
 
 He was married in Morrison, 111., June i, 1872, to 
 Miss Jane, daughter of John and Martha Beck, and 
 born in Newton Township, this county. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hill have three children, the two eldest born in 
 Prophetstown, and the youngest in Morrison. Their 
 names are John B., Martha R. and Vio C. 
 
 janiel Young, farmer, section 30, Portland 
 Township, is a son of Adam and Elizabeth 
 'Young, and was born in Blair Co., Pa., 
 Jan. 6, 1851. In November, 1853, the family 
 came West, when the senior Young Iccated a 
 part of the land on which he now resides, and 
 which lies adjoining the premises of Mr. Daniel 
 Young, on the northwest ; it is a nice farm of 200 
 acres. 
 
 After remaining an inmate of his paternal home 
 until he was 19 years of age, the subject of this 
 sketch commenced working out as a common 
 laborer, and thus continued until 1876, when he 
 purchased 87 acres of his present farm, and resided 
 there until the spring of 1883 ; he then bought his 
 present residence and 160 acres of land, and having 
 purchased 40 acres in 1881, he has now an aggre- 
 gate of 287 acres. He is beginning to make a spe- 
 cialty of Holstein cattle, of which he expects to keep 
 about 75 head ; also 15 head of graded Clydesdale 
 (Norman) horses. Mr. Y. has also run threshing- 
 machines for 1 6 years. His brother Adam, Jr., now 
 owns a third interest in a steam threshing-machine, 
 in partnership with him. They have threshed as 
 high as 2,000 bushels of grain in a day. 
 
 Dec. 25, 1869, at Morrison, Mr. Young was mar- 
 ried to Miss Esther Camerer, a daughter of Samuel 
 
 and Catherine Camerer. She was born near Mar- 
 tinsburg, Pa., May 14, 1851. Mr. and Mrs. Young 
 have five children, namely : Albert, who was born 
 May 14, 1871 ; Maud, March 9, 1876; Elmer, Jan. 
 26,1878; Hattie, Sept. 10, 1881; and Edith, Nov. ^ 
 10, 1884. Mrs. Young's father died when she was a 
 little girl, and her mother resides in Pennsylvania. 
 
 homas A. Gait, a pioneer manufacturer of 
 Sterling and a member of the banking firm 
 of Gait & Tracy, was born in Lancaster 
 Co., Pa., Jan. 13, r828; was reared on a farm 
 and received only a common-school education. 
 
 1 Being only 14 years of age when his father 
 died, he was early thrown upon his own resources, 
 and for the first year he worked only for his board 
 and lodging, but thenceforward until he became of 
 age he received over $100 annually. 
 
 He was first employed as a clerk in Concord, Pa., 
 and afterward at Strasburg, same State, and at Phil- 
 adelphia, until 1849, when he entered into business 
 for himself at Strasburg, in which he was very suc- 
 cessful. Being of an enterprising nature, he sold his 
 business there in 1855, and emigrated West, first 
 engaging in the hardware business with D. M. Craw- 
 ford at Sterling. The firm of Gait & Crawford con- 
 tinued until 1858, when the latter withdrew and Mr. 
 Gait admitted his brother, John M., the firm name 
 becoming Gait & Bro. In 1863 two more partners 
 were admitted, and under their joint management 
 their business grew to significant proportions. Dur- 
 ing the same year Mr. Gait, in addition to his hard- 
 ware store, commenced the manufacture of farm 
 implements, and soon after he became associated 
 with George S. Tracy, who was then carrying on a 
 planing-mill in Sterling. The mill and the manu- 
 factory were merged into one establishment, under 
 the firm name of Gait & Tracy. The title of " Key- 
 stone Works " was soon after adopted. 
 
 In 1864 the manufacturing business had grown to 
 such an extent as to demand Mr. Gait's whole at- 
 tention, and he sold his interest in the hardware 
 business and retired from the retail trade. The 
 wholesale manufacturing business, as he continued 
 in it, became highly successful. In July, 1867, the 
 whole premises and stock of the factory were de-
 
 ) t 
 
 UKfcMNA

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 stroyed by fire, causing a loss to the firm of about 
 $30,000, the property being uninsured. The activity 
 and vim which were characteristic of Mr. Gait's na- 
 ture were not crushed by this blow, and measures 
 were soon taken for the restoration of the firm's busi- 
 ness. The factory in Sterling was rebuilt, and so 
 vigorously was the work pushed forward that in 
 three weeks from the time of the fire the new struc- 
 ture was not only finished but furnished with ma- 
 chinery, including engine and boiler. The factory 
 was appropriated to sash and door manufacturing 
 and planing-mill. 
 
 In the meantime the firm purchased a water priv- 
 ilege and some land at Rock Falls, opposite Sterling, 
 and commenced a new factory, including foundry, 
 machine shops and implement works, which were 
 pushed on so vigorously that within three months 
 from the burning of the old works the new were all 
 in working order. This manufactory was the first 
 of any kind erected in Rock Falls. Within six 
 months after commencing business, the firm turned 
 out about 1,500 agricultural machines of all kinds, 
 besides a large amount of wood-work from the plan- 
 ing-mill. 
 
 In 1870 the trade had increased so much that a 
 joint-stock company was incorporated, under the 
 name of the "Keystone Manufacturing Company," 
 with a capital of $[50,000, which has since been in- 
 creased to nearly half a million. Mr/ Gait was 
 elected President, and George S. Tracy Vice Presi- 
 dent and Superintendent. This company is now 
 among the largest manufacturers of farm implements 
 in the world, and their trade extends throughout the 
 United States and Mexico, and Central and South. 
 America. They employ usually about 200 to 250 
 hands. Mr. Gait is also interested in several other 
 manufacturing firms in Rock Falls and Sterling. 
 
 Messrs. Gait & Tracy have also engaged in the 
 banking business in the Gait House Block, where 
 they do a general banking business, dealing in foreign 
 and domestic exchange, stocks and bonds. They 
 also own the Academy of Music building. 
 
 Mr. G. lias large real-estate interests in Sterling, 
 among which is a fine residence of brick, with stone 
 trimmings, on Third Street. 
 
 In addition to his other enterprises, Mr. Gait com- 
 menced the erection of the Gait House in 1876, and 
 completed it in 1877, at a cost of $65,000. He also 
 
 owns the Gait House, Wallace House and Waverly 
 House, which are all the hotels in town, and several 
 large store buildings on Third Street. He is a Di- 
 rector and Trustee of the Presbyterian Theological 
 Seminary of the Northwest, located in Chicago. He 
 and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 He has also been Mayor of the city one term. 
 
 Mr. Gait has been twice married, first in 1850, to 
 Miss Julia Jones, of New Hartford, Conn., who 
 died in 1853; and he was married again in 1856, to 
 Miss Catherine Anthony, of Onondaga Co., N. Y., 
 daughter of Isaac and Permelia Anthony, and a sis- 
 ter of Dr. J. P. Anthony, of Sterling, and also of 
 Judge Anthony of the Chicago Superior Court. Mr. 
 Gait had two children by his first wife, which died 
 in infancy; and by his second wife eight children, 
 three of whom died in infancy. The living are : E. 
 Leroy, Treasurer of the Keystone Manufacturing 
 Company; one daughter is the wife of E. L. Brook- 
 field, President of the Rock Falls Manufacturing 
 Company; the others, daughters, are at home. 
 
 ^avid Parker, deceased, formerly a resident 
 K of Garden Plain Township, came to White- 
 side County in 1836. His father, Abel 
 Parker, was the pioneer of the territory now 
 designated Garden Plain Township, whither he 
 came in August of that year and built a cabin on 
 a claim in the timber, situated on section 25, and 
 afterwards known as " Parker's Grove," and whither 
 he removed his six sons and three daughters soon 
 after. 
 
 David Parker was born in Wells, Rutland Co., Vt., 
 Dec. 12, 1811, and was the oldest son of Abel and 
 Eleanor (Howe) Parker. His father was a miller, 
 and he was early inducted into an understanding of 
 all the art and science embraced in the calling, being 
 so young that he was compelled to stand on an in- 
 verted half-bushel measure in order to- reach the 
 hopper. After coming to Garden Plain Township he 
 lived with his father until the death of the latter. In 
 1838 he secured a claim of 160 acres of land on sec- 
 tion 15 in the same township, which he began to im- 
 prove the next year. In 1840 he built a half-frame 
 structure, which a little latter supplied a much 
 needed want in the unsettled region where it was 
 
 
 
 
 r= 
 
 V
 
 ^-' IrV. M H "0> H H arv 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 * 
 
 E3 
 
 5 
 
 V 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 located, serving as a haven of rest and comfort for 
 the hungry and weary travelers who sought this por- 
 tion of Northwestern Illinois. The place bore no dis- 
 tinctive mark as a hostelry, but a post in its vicinity, 
 bearing the painted inscription "Parker's," was the 
 guaranty to a wearied traveler that food to appease 
 his hunger, and a bed whereon to rest his tired 
 frame, were close at hand. It served the same pur- 
 pose until 1865, a period of 25 years. 
 
 David Parker died Feb. 10, 1876. His life of 
 nearly 40 years' duration in Garden Plain Township 
 was one of honorable, useful effort, and he reaped 
 substantial reward in his accumulations and a per- 
 manent place in the memory of the people whose in- 
 terests and well-being he never forgot. His relations 
 with the public were based on the principle that 
 whatever substantiates the general interest is the 
 best possible safeguard of individual prosperity. At 
 the time of his death he owned 480 acres of land in 
 the township of Garden Plain, which was all in fine 
 agricultural condition. He was also the owner of 74 
 acres of valuable timber in the same town and a con- 
 siderable acreage in Iowa and Minnesota. The thrift 
 and industry, which are the leading traits of the 
 agricultural element of his native State, character- 
 ized his noble life, and he had the peculiar aversion 
 to holding office which is a marked characteristic of 
 the class to which he belonged by birth and descent. 
 When the school matters of Garden Plain Township 
 were adjusted, he was made one of the first three 
 Directors in the township, and that was the only 
 official position he could ever be induced to hold. 
 
 He was always what was called " forehanded," 
 and operated in a private way as a banker, making 
 loans and dealing in financial paper. He was no 
 usurer, and never in all his transactions took advan- 
 tage of another's pressing need to secure his own in- 
 terest. It was common with him to say, "I only 
 want my 10 per cent." He was careful concerning 
 security, but he never pressed a debtor to extremity. 
 He never foreclosed a mortgage, or refused time to 
 enable a delinquent to meet his obligations. After 
 his death, outlawed notes were found among his 
 papers, which were made by perfectly good and re- 
 sponsible parties, and could have been collected with- 
 out difficulty, but which, for reasons known only to 
 himself, he had suffered to become null. In political 
 sentiment he was an earnest Republican from the 
 organization of that party to the day of his death. 
 
 Mr. Parker was married in Garden Plain Town- 
 ship, June i, 1852,10 Elizabeth, daughter of Ichabod 
 and Mehitabel (Kempton) Shurtleff. Mrs. Parker 
 was born May i, 1822, in Orleans Co., Vt. Three 
 sons and a daughter were born to David Parker and 
 his wife. Charles D. married Amanda Sutherland, 
 and has lately become a citizen and business man at 
 Fulton. Henry L. died when six years old. Lizzie 
 and Herbert live at Fulton with their mother. In 
 January, 1881, they started with her on a European 
 trip, which consumed two and a half years, and dur- 
 ing that time they visited England, France, Switzer- 
 land, Italy and Germany. 
 
 Mrs. Parker fixed her residence at Fulton in 1876, 
 soon after the death of her husband. She is one of 
 the pioneer women of Whiteside County, where she 
 is widely and favorably known. She participated in 
 the hardships incident to the early settlement of this 
 Western country, cheerfully aiding her husband in 
 his undertakings and contributing largely to his suc- 
 cess. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church 
 of Garden Plain. 
 
 A portrait of Mr. Parker accompanies this sketch. 
 
 
 'ohn Huntington, a farmer on section 31, 
 ^ Portland Township, is a son of Nathan 
 B. and Matilda (Whiting) Huntington, 
 and was born in Westford, Conn., Oct. 6, 
 1834. His father was a farmer, teacher, mer- 
 chant, etc., and is now a resident of Geneseo, 
 His mother was a native of Connecticut, and 
 died when Mr. H. of this sketch was but seven 
 years old, in Tazewell Co., 111. They had three 
 children, all of whom are living, John being the 
 eldest ; Maria is the wife of Cornelius Van Vetchen, 
 a farmer in the State of New York, in Elbridge, 
 Onondaga County; and Andrew, a farmer in Cham- 
 paign Co., 111. In 1838 the family settled near 
 Groveland, Tazewell Co., 111., where the father 
 bought a farm. They came to Geneseo, Henry i 
 County, in 1852, and in 1856 Mr. H. went upon his 3 
 father's farm in Phenix Township, that county, pur- t\i 
 chasing 60 acres of the same. Subsequently he % 
 exchanged his interests there for his present farm of y 
 103 acres in 1859. On this he has made a number 
 
 ,
 
 
 - . v 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 of improvements, and is succeeding well as a general 
 farmer. 
 
 Mr. Huntington was married at Spring Hill, this 
 county, May 17, 1857, to Miss Harriet E. Schmied, 
 daughter of Jacob and Rachel Schmied. She was 
 born in Norristown, Montgomery Co., Pa., Aug. 
 21, 1826. Mr. and Mrs. H. have seven children, 
 one born in Phenix Township and six at the 
 present residence, viz.: Rachel M., Oct. 22, 1858, 
 now the wife of David Uric, a farmer in this town- 
 ship; Emma M.,born March 22, 1860, now teaching 
 school; Charlotte E., born Jan. 25, 1862; John F., 
 Dec. 7, r863 ; Henry A., Aug. 30, 1865 ; Estella R . 
 Dec. 7, 1867 ; Daisy B., Feb. 25, 1879. 
 
 Mr. Schmied located here July 3, 1844, entering a 
 large tract of land in Portland Township. He died 
 on his farm April i, 1858. His widow resides in 
 Geneseo, 111. 
 
 W. Broadhead, dealer in general mer- 
 chandise, successor to Herrold, Broadhead 
 & Co., Fulton. The business was founded 
 
 by Herrold & Church in 18 . In 1873 Mr. 
 
 Broadhead and a younger brother of Mr. 
 
 Church purchased the elder Church's interest 
 and the firm became Herrold, Broadhead & Co. The 
 business was conducted under this head till 1878, 
 when Mr. Broadhead bought out Mr. Church, and 
 in the spring of 1883 purchased his remaining part- 
 ner's interest and became sole proprietor. He car- 
 ries an extensive stock of general merchandise, ex- 
 ceeding anything in that line in Fulton. His stock 
 is selected with great care, with a view to suiting his 
 customers. Six salesmen are employed in the busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Mr. Broadhead was born near Jamestown, Chau- 
 tauqua Co., N. Y., May 20, 1850, and is the son of 
 James and Caroline (Van Ness) Broadhead. He 
 came to Fulton with his parents in 1857, and was 
 educated in the public schools of this city. His 
 father was a blacksmith by trade, and J. W. was 
 employed a part of his time as an assistant in the 
 shop. In 1867 he engaged with Herrold & Church, 
 general merchants at Fulton, as salesman. After 
 having had six years' experience in the business, he 
 
 purchased an interest in the house, and in the spring 
 of 1883 became sole proprietor, as before stated. Mr. 
 B. has demonstrated his capacity to conduct an ex- 
 tensive business successfully. He has a good re- 
 liable trade and is considered one of the leading 
 merchants of Whiteside County. 
 
 He was married at Fulton, 111., in February, 1877, 
 to Miss Alice Robinson, daughter of Bradstreet Rob- 
 inson, one of Fulton's oldest and n.ost respected cit- 
 izens. Mrs. Broadhead was born at Fulton. They 
 have three children, all girls, Elsie, Helen and 
 Sylvia. 
 
 Mr. Broadhead is a member of Fulton City Lodge, 
 No. 189, A. F. & A. M., and is Republican in pol- 
 itics. 
 
 f ohn E. Eipley, farmer, section 30, Mont- 
 fr- morency Township, is a son of Pomeroy 
 and Sarah (Merricks) Ripley, natives re- 
 spectively of New York State and Virginia, who 
 settled in Ohio, afterward removed to the Em- 
 pire State, and in 1852 located in Jordan Town- 
 ship, this county, where Mr. R. died, Jan. i, 1864, 
 and Mrs. R. slill survives. During his life, Mr. R. 
 served in many places of trust in local affairs, being 
 Supervisor, Justice of the Peace, Tax Collector, etc., 
 a number of years. They had seven children, 
 Eliza A., Frances C., John E., Ezra P., Henry C., 
 Sarah D. and Charles P. Four of this number are 
 now living: Eliza A. Christie, of Hume Township, 
 this County ; Henry E., who now resides at Owego, 
 N. Y., is the proprietor of a large boot and shoe 
 store and is a gaduate of the Sterling Business Col- 
 lege; and Charles P., who is yet living at his 
 mother's home in Hume Township ; and John E. 
 Mr. Ripley, of this sketch, was born in Jordan 
 Township, this county, July 31, 1855, and has all his 
 life been a farmer. He received a common-school 
 education, and at the age of 22 left his paternal home, 
 bought 82 acres of land in Montmorency Township, 
 on section 30, where he settled and has since re- 
 sided. He now owns 122 acres, nearly all of which 
 is in cultivation. 
 
 He was married in Nelson, Lee Co., 111., Feb. 28, 
 1878, to Flora E., daughter of Lewis F. and Sevilla 
 (Hasse) Long, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Lee County in 1876, where they still reside; they 
 had seven children, viz.: Sophia A., Flora E., Nor- 
 man H., Ida C., Nettie 'A., Samuel T. and Grace. 
 Mrs. Ripley was born in Somerset Co., Pa., March 
 12, 1856. She and her husband have two children, 
 Bessie G. and Blanch E. 
 
 Mr. Ripley's politics are Republican, his religion 
 that of the Baptist Church. Mrs. R. is a member of 
 the English Lutheran Church. 
 
 illiam A. Beswick, a prominent agricul- 
 turist of Clyde Township, and a resident 
 ,., on section 30, was born where he now 
 i> lives, Jan. i, 1850. Richard Beswick, his 
 father, was a native of Yorkshire, England, 
 and was of unmixed English lineage. When 
 he was r8 years old he emigrated to the New World 
 and settled in the province of Ontario. He was 
 there married to Sarah Patrick, a native of the 
 province, and born of Scotch parents. After that 
 event they removed to Illinois and settled in Clyde 
 Township, then in its pioneer days. The father se- 
 cured a claim, where he began the labors and efforts 
 of a pioneer settler on the unbroken prairie, building 
 at the outset a home suited to the necessities of a 
 family. A few years later the wife died, leaving two 
 children. Of these a daughter survives. A son 
 died not long after the mother. The second wife of 
 Mr. Beswick was Mrs. Hannah (Knight) Humphrey. 
 She is a native of Maine and was married to her first 
 husband in Ohio, where he died and left her with 
 two children, both boys, one of whom is deceased. 
 After she became a widow she came to Illinois and 
 married Mr. Beswick. They had five children, and 
 the mother is still living on the homestead estate, 
 aged 64 years. The father died on the farm July 7, 
 1884, aged 74 years. 
 
 Mr. Beswick of this sketch lived at home until he 
 was 25 years of age, and his first important step was 
 his matrimonial alliance with Mary, daughter of 
 Frederick and Sarah (Milnes) Wood, which occurred 
 Jan. i, 1875. T1)e father of Mrs. Beswick was a 
 native of England and came in childhood to the 
 United States. When he was 20 years of age he 
 came to Illinois and located in the then new county 
 of Whiteside. His wife was born in Massachusetts 
 
 and came to Whiteside County when she and it were 
 in the early periods of their existences. After their 
 marriage they became the owners of unbroken prairie, 
 which they improved, and which they made their 
 homestead. They now own 200 acres on which they 
 are living in retirement. 
 
 Mrs. Beswick was born April 22, 1854, on section 
 29, Clyde Township, and was reared at home and 
 educated in the public schools. Her children by 
 Mr. Beswick are all living and were born as follows: 
 Elmer M., Nov. 24, 1876; Lorenzo, Feb. 14, 1878; 
 Sarah, Aug. 26, 1879; Richard F., Oct. 10, 1881 ; 
 and Hannah, June 21, 1883. 
 
 On settling in life Mr. and Mrs. Beswick rented a 
 farm which they managed for some time. In 1876 
 they bought 80 acres of land on section 30, which 
 was partly improved, and included 20 acres of tim- 
 ber, whose value in a prairie country needs no dem- 
 onstration. The estate of Mr. Beswick now includes 
 
 (1885) 189 acres, and of this 160 acres are under 
 cultivation. He has a well earned repute as a 
 grower of stock, and has a fine herd of thoroughbred 
 Durham cattle and a valuable lot of Poland-China 
 swine. The buildings on the homestead place are 
 first-class farm edifices and greatly enhance the 
 value and appearance of the place. In addition to 
 his own farm, Mr. Beswick has been conducting the 
 agricultural affairs of 400 acres of land situated 01 
 sections 30 and 31. 
 
 He is a Democrat in political views and conne( 
 tions. He has been active in local township affairs 
 and has served in several official positions. He is a 
 Director in the Mt. Pleasant Mutual Fire Insurance 
 Company. 
 
 ( 
 
 j 
 
 J. Talcott, M. D., a practicing physician 
 at Spring Hill, Portland Township, is a 
 native of the Empiie State. His father, 
 Asel Talcott, was a mechanic, and later in his 
 life a farmer and stock -raiser, in Hanna Town- 
 ship, Henry Co., 111., at which place he located 
 in 1845. He died in February, 1876. The Doctor's 
 mother, Jane Talcott, died in May, 1841. They had 
 four children, three of whom are living, the Doctor 
 being the eldest. Dexter, the second-born, is a 
 farmer and stock-raiser in Sharon, Portland Town- 
 
 i 
 
 , 
 
 .:
 
 r( ' 
 
 - - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 t 
 
 ''* 5 
 
 ship, this county ; Catherine is a widow, residing in 
 Guthrie Co., Iowa. 
 
 Doctor Talcott was born in Oneida Co., N. Y., 
 Nov. 30, 1826, first learned house-painting of his 
 father, and then entered the office of Dr. T. S. Smith, 
 of Hampton, Rock Island County. After reading 
 medicine there for a time he attended the Eclectic 
 Medical College of Cincinnati during the years 1849 
 to 1852 inclusive, graduating. He then engaged in 
 the practice of his profession in Rock Island and 
 Henry Counties. The war came on, and Aug. r, 
 i86r, at Geneseo, he enlisted in the 8th Kansas 
 Regt. Vol. Inf. as Assistant Surgeon, the Illinois 
 representation in the army being then full. He 
 accordingly went to Leavenworth, and served with 
 the regiment nearly through the war, namely, until 
 March, 1865, when the regiment was ordered to 
 Texas, and he came home. 
 
 The same year, 1865, he moved to Spring Hill, 
 where he has ever since followed his chosen profes- 
 sion, with gratifying success. He is the only physi- 
 cian at that point. The Doctor has been Supervisor 
 of his township one year, and he was Postmaster at 
 Spring Hill from 1871 to 1881. 
 
 He was married in Sharon, May 17, 1855, to Miss 
 Harriet, daughter of Jerry and Harriet Johnson. 
 She was born in New York, August, 1835. The 
 Doctor has three children living, viz.: George, now a 
 clerk and school-teacher in Spring Hill ; Roy, also a 
 clerk at Spring Hill ; and Agnes ; the deceased were 
 named Vivia and Jessie, who died in infancy. 
 
 >rs. Aura T. Brown, a resident on sec- 
 tion 1 6, Portland Township, occupies a 
 farm of 2*0 acres. She is a daughter of 
 Jeremiah and Abigail Lindley, and was 
 born in Tinmouth, Rutland Co., Vt., Oct. 8, 
 1807. She was married in Middletown, that 
 county, Jan. 2, 1832, to Vivalda Brown, who was 
 a son of Jonathan Brown. The latter was born in 
 Wells, same county, May 5, 1807. They had nine 
 children, namely : Jeremiah D., a farmer in Lan- 
 caster Co. Neb. ; Charlotte S., deceased ; Albert O., 
 also deceased ; Jonathan, who died in the late war ; 
 Alanson L., residing in Idaho; Cordelia M., James 
 V., Martha M., all of whom are deceased, and Mary 
 
 J.,the wife of Pliny Brown, a farmer and blacksmith 
 in Kansas. 
 
 Mr. Brown was a shoe and harness maker. He, 
 with his family, moved from Vermont to Pennsyl- 
 vania, and, after a residence of three years there, to 
 Aurora, Erie Co., N. Y., where he followed his trade. 
 In October, 1850, they came to Prophetstown, this 
 county, and in 1852 moved upon their farm, which 
 Mr. Brown bought in July, 1849. Upon this place 
 he made a number of improvements, as house, barn, 
 fences, etc. He died at his home, July 4, r87i. 
 Mrs. B. now rents the farm. 
 
 
 ife 
 
 i? 
 
 la .harles D. Parker, farmer and breeder of 
 |SJ! Short-Horn cattle and Jersey Red swine, 
 -- ^ at Fulton, is a native of this county. He 
 was born in Garden Plain Township, July 12, 
 1853. His parents were David and Eliza- 
 
 { beth (Shurtleff) Parker, and were -among the 
 very earliest pioneers of this county. A full personal 
 account of David Parker may be found elsewhere in 
 this volume. 
 
 Charles D. was educated in the public schools 
 and brought up on his father's farm. He was mar- 
 ried in Fulton, Jan. 6, 1876, to Miss Amanda Suth- 
 erland, daughter of Peter M. and Mary Sutherland. 
 Mrs. Parker was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. They 
 have one child, a son, named Carl S., who was born 
 in Garden Plain, Feb. 12, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Parker has had charge of the estate since his 
 father's death, which included 554 acres. Of this 
 the major portion is in tillage, and the place is well 
 stocked witn herds of cattle, comprising 40 thor- 
 oughbreds and about 150 grades of a valuable type. 
 The demands of the estate require 20 horses, and 
 there is a dairy of 20 cows. The hogs on the place 
 average about 150 yearly, and Mr. Parker exhibits 
 20 thoroughbred JerseyReds. The estate has five 
 dwellings, with three tenants. The farm buildings 
 are of excellent character. He has added 240 acres 
 to its extent, making the total area of the estate 
 lying in Garden Plain Township 794 acres. He 
 moved to Fulton City in April, 1885. 
 
 Mr. Parker has been chosen to fill various public 
 positions, the duties of which he has discharged with 
 marked fidelity. He served three terms in the 
 County Board as Supervisor from Garden Plain, for
 
 
 \T\^- H HXT H H -S Y^ 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 jfo the years 1882-3-4. He has also served as Com- 
 missioner of Highways, School Director and in other 
 minor offices. He is an enthusiastic Republican, 
 and has taken an active part in local politics. He 
 has been a member of the County Central Commit- 
 tee eight years, and has also served several times on 
 the Executive Committee. He was a delegate to 
 the State Republican Conventions of t88o and 1882. 
 He was one of the charter members of Invincible 
 Lodge, No. 220, of the United Workmen, and served 
 as its first Master. Mr. Parker has been Vice-Presi- 
 dent of the Whiteside Central Agricultural Society 
 two years, and on the death of Hon. R. E. Logan, 
 in 1885, was his successor. 
 
 L amuel L. Wheelock, a farmer, on section 
 36, Hume Township, has been a resident 
 'of Whiteside County since 1855. He was 
 born Jan. 26, 1825, in Berkshire Co., Mass. 
 Luther Wheelock, his father, was a native of 
 the same county, and passed many years 
 there in agricultural pursuits. He was of Irish lin- 
 eage. Clarissa (Marcy) Wheelock, the mother, was 
 born in Massachusetts, of similar ancestry, and her 
 marriage occurred in Berkshire County. The father 
 died there at a greatly advanced age ; the mother 
 resides in Tampico village, and is 81 years old. 
 
 Mr. Wheelock grew up and was educated in his 
 native county, living at home until he was 20 years 
 of age. His first venture of importance was his mar- 
 riage to Almena R. Langdon, Nov. 27, 1842. She 
 was born June 7, 1822, in Hampshire Co., Mass., 
 and descended from parents who were born and 
 reared in the same State, where the father died ; the 
 mother died in Hume Township. Mrs. Wheelock 
 was reared to mature age in her native county, and 
 was there educated. To her and her husband four 
 children have been born : Amanda married William 
 Dennison, who was born in the State of Massachu- 
 setts. He died at the age of 35 years, in May, 1873, 
 at Prophetstown, leaving two children, Hubert and 
 William ; Elbert married Edla Linkletter, and they 
 reside in Tampico Township; they have four chil- 
 dren : Cora, Bertie, Brace and Jay ; Ozro died be- 
 .fore he was ayear old; Luther married Katie 
 
 ,X^J?,. -^PSU^- /-s Jl 
 
 Freeby, and they live with his parents ; they have 
 two children, Charles and Cecil. 
 
 After marriage Mr. Wheelock was interested in 
 farming in his native county about ten years, when 
 he removed with his wife and children to the village 
 of Prophetstown, where he lived six years. He be- 
 came a farmer in that township, and was interested 
 in agriculture in the capacity of a renter four years, 
 during the last of which he purchased 190 acres on 
 section 33 Hume Township, of which he took per- 
 sonal possession in March, 1866. The place con- 
 sisted of unbroken prairie, and settlers were few in 
 that immediate vicinity. The proprietor has pressed 
 his agricultural projects with success, and has in- 
 creased his possessions until he owns 400 acres un- 
 der excellent improvements and supplied with good 
 farm buildings, including a fine residence. 
 
 Mr. Wheelock is a Republican, of decided type, 
 and has been a useful citizen of his township. He 
 was made Supervisor in 1880, and officiated during 
 the years 1883-4 as Assessor. He is now serving 
 as Township Trustee. 
 
 *.- 
 
 j^ugh Wallace, deceased, was born Aug. 10, 
 1812, in Cumberland Co., Pa. He was a 
 TJjKf'' graduate of Washington College, Pa., and 
 W read law with George Porter in Lancaster, Pa. 
 On being admitted to the Bar he opened an office 
 in Lancaster, where he continued to practice 
 for a time, and then returned to his native county. 
 In 1837 he came to Whiteside County, and located 
 at Chatham, now the city of Sterling. The country 
 being new and the county not yet organized, the law 
 business could not be very profitable; and so he 
 followed the business of farming for a few years, or 
 until the country became more densely populated, 
 when he devoted himself to his profession. As a 
 lawyer he took high rank at the Bar, and when he 
 undertook a case de determined to win at all haz- 
 ards. Hugh Wallace was a man of energy, and in 
 every enterprise calculated to build up his adopted 
 city he was very active. To him, more than to any 
 other man, is due the construction of the dam at 
 Sterling. He served the county as a member of the 
 General Assembly of the State, both in the House 
 and Senate. He also served four years as a Regis- 
 
 ^ gA^v>A^g) 
 
 
 f 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 i- % 
 
 ter of the Land Office in Dixon. A leading trait of 
 his character is said to have been his great hospi- 
 tality. The latch-string of his door was always out, 
 and his hospitality was tested by hundreds. Mr. 
 Wallace was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
 Gait, March 16, 1830. The following are the names 
 of their children : James G., Agnes, Mary, Isabella, 
 Elizabeth C., Kate, James M., Jesse., Hamilton and 
 Ann Eliza. Mr. Wallace died Aug. 18, 1864. His 
 widow yet resides in Sterling. 
 
 Andrew J. Seely, a farmer on section i, 
 Portland Township, is a son of Col. Ebene- 
 zer and Dolly Seely, and was born in Catta- 
 raugus Co., N. Y., Jan. 26, 1832. In June, 
 1836, the family emigrated to this county, 
 locating in Portland, where Andrew J. has 
 since resided. When 23 years of age he left the 
 homestead and went to Sterling, forming a partner- 
 ship with Romanzo Ramsay ^ a brother-in-law, and 
 starting the first furniture store and lumber-yard in 
 that place; but a few months afterward his partner 
 died, in July, 1855. Then, in company with his 
 brother Martin, Mr. Seely opened a hardware, gro- 
 cery and tin shop in .Portland village, under the firm 
 name of A. J. & M. V. Seely. After continuing this 
 about 1 8 months they closed the business and rented 
 the homestead, consisting of 250 acres, for two years, 
 when the subject of this sketch removed to Prophets- 
 town, opened the first livery stable in that place, and 
 conducted it two years. He then returned to the 
 homestead for a year, and next went to Pike's Peak, 
 Col., and followed mining for seven months, and was 
 also barber, blacksmith and road-grader, assisting in 
 grading the road to Gold Hill; he returned in the 
 fall. 
 
 In January, 1861, he opened the first livery stable 
 in the village of Erie; remained there five months; 
 thence went to Portland Township again, purchasing 
 40 acres of the homestead and 10 acres adjoining, to 
 which he has since added until he now has an aggre- 
 gate of 200 acres, where he is now settled, making a 
 specialty of Hambletonian horses, raises some cattle 
 and fattens 40 to 50 hogs annually. During the last 
 12 or 14 years he has also been engaged to some 
 extent in removing buildings. He has raised and 
 worked on very many buildings in Portland and 
 
 Prophetstown ; is now doing an active business as 
 auctioneer. In 1871-2 he was employed grading on 
 the railroad. Thus he has demonstrated himself to 
 be a handy man at almost anything in the mechan- 
 ical and live-stock line. 
 
 Mr. Seely has been Assessor of Portland Town- 
 ship eight years ; is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
 being a Representative in the Grand Lodge ; is also 
 Worthy Councilor, in the Lodge of Modern Wood- 
 men at Prophetstown, and is also a member of the 
 Order of the Daughters of Rebecca, as are also his 
 wife and daughter. 
 
 He was married Feb. 21, 1856, in Portland Town- 
 ship, to Miss Almina, daughter of Calvin and Sally 
 Williams, who was born in Lodi, Cattaraugus Co., 
 N. Y., Nov. 7, 1833. Mr. and Mrs. Seely have three 
 children : Alexander J., born Nov. 15, 1857, who left 
 here in 1880, and engaged in the smelting works at 
 Rico, Col., and was married at Prophetstown, Feb. 
 20, 1884, to Miss Florence Bartlett, then a teacher 
 in Prophetstown; Jennie L,., born July 29, 1862, still 
 at home; and Charles E., born Dec. 4, 1867. 
 
 Mrs. Seely 's parents came to Detroit, Mich., where 
 they resided three years; then, in 1838, came to 
 Prophetstown Township. They are both now de- 
 ceased, the mother dying July 14, 1840, and the 
 father Oct. 7, 1884, aged 84 years, four months and 
 seven days. Her father was a mechanic, a carpenter 
 and joiner by trade, and erected a number of build- 
 ings in Prophetstown Township. He received an 
 injury at Rochelle in 1883, by a railroad train, that 
 was the cause of his death at the time stated. Mrs. 
 S. has three sisters and one brother in this county, 
 and a sister in Rochelle, 111. Her oldest sister is 
 Mrs. Emily Gage; 2d, Mrs. Harriet Myres; 3d, Mrs. 
 Eliza Barber; 4th, Mrs. Lovina Thanks; and her 
 brother is Enos Williams. 
 
 
 eorge S. Tracy, of the firm of Gait & 
 Tracy, manufacturers of farm machinery, 
 Sterling, was born in Norwich, Mass., June 
 28, 1829. His father, John Tracy, was a 
 mechanic, of whom he learned the trade of 
 carpenter and joiner. His mother's maiden name 
 was Betsey Dimock. Mr. Tracy came to Sterling in 
 1857, and became a member of the firm of Cook & 
 

 
 : - 
 
 .. :- 
 
 , ' 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 x 
 
 ) 
 
 . j 
 
 ; 
 
 ft b 
 
 Co., in the manufacture of sash and doors, which re- 
 lation was sustained until 1863. Having bought 
 out his partners, he at this date merged his business 
 with that of 1 homas A. Gait, since which time they 
 have carried on a good trade, employing usually 200 
 to 250 hands. Mr. T. is also a stockholder in the 
 Sterling Manufacturing Company, which was the 
 old establishment he took of Cook & Co. 
 
 Mr. Tracy was married in Camden, Me., Sept. 7, 
 1863, to Miss Helen M., daughter of Nathaniel and 
 Eliza Hosmer, and a native of Camden. They have 
 had three children, all born in Sterling, viz.: Susan, 
 Frank and Edith. Frank is attending the scientific 
 department of an institution of learning at East 
 Hampton, Mass. 
 
 ilbert Finkle, general farmer, resident on 
 section i, Jordan Township, was born 
 July 5, 1834, in Delaware Co., N. Y. At 
 the age of 20 years he found himself pos- 
 sessed of the privilege of making a hand-to- 
 hand struggle with the world on his own 
 account. In March, 1845, a few months before he 
 reached the age of 21 years, he came to Illinois, and 
 located at Buffalo Grove, Ogle County. He found 
 ready employment as a farm laborer, and spent 
 three years in the service of N. N. Shaver. Mean- 
 while he was married to Nancy Sanford. An ac- 
 count of her parents is to be found elsewhere in this 
 work, her father, Vernon Sanford, being one of the 
 pioneers of Whiteside County. Her marriage to Mr. 
 Finkle took place Oct. 22, 1857. She is one of the 
 first white children born in Whiteside County, where 
 her birth occurred April 15, 1839. She has been the 
 mother of eight children, all of whom are living with 
 two exceptions. Irving is a farmer in Jordan Town- 
 ship; Mary J. married Fletcher Schryver, a farmer 
 in Eagle Point Township, Ogle Co., 111. David E., 
 Arthur, Vernon and Sarah C. are at home ; Adam V. 
 died March 23, 1865; Cyrenus died March 3, 1879. 
 After becoming the son-in-law of Mr. Sanford, Mr. 
 Finkle acceded to the management of his home- 
 stead, and spent some years in the prosecution of its 
 interests. He is now the owner of nine acres in Jor- 
 dan Township, and 230 acres in Ogle County. Mr. 
 Finkle is a Democrat in his political principles. 
 
 Sgfgdf* : 
 
 .dward Somers, farmer, section 27, Port- 
 land Township, cultivating the Youngs 
 farm, which comprises 197 acres, is a son 
 of Frank and Mary (Baker) Somers, and was 
 born July 25, 1846, in Portland Township, this 
 county. His father, a farmer, was a native of 
 Pennsylvania. His parents came to this western 
 country in 1836, and were therefore among the earli- 
 est settlers here. His mother died when he was 
 very young, and his father again married, and now 
 resides in Kansas. Of the four children of his 
 mother three are living, namely : Sarah, who is the 
 wife of Edward Ott, a farmer in Kansas ; Peter, a 
 farmer. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is the oldest of the 
 children, and remained at his parental home until 
 he was 18 years of age, when he was employed by 
 the month, and then took a rented farm, which he 
 cultivated for a time. . In 1882 he bought a farm of 
 120 acres in Portland Township, kept it a year, and 
 then sold and rented his present farm of 197 acres. 
 
 He was married in Loraine Township, Henry Co., 
 111., May 5, 1867, to Miss Nancy Bollen, daughter 
 of Thomas and Lydia Bollen. She was born in that 
 township in August, 1850. They have seven chil- 
 dren : Cora, Frederick, Frank, John, Bernard, Lutitia 
 and Hattie. 
 
 'onas H. Baer, farmer, section 26, Jordan 
 Township, is the son of Martin Baer, 
 whom an extended personal sketch ap 
 pears on other pages. He was born Jan. i( 
 1853, in the township of Manor, in Lancaster 
 Co., Pa. He is the second of seven children 
 born to his parents, and the entire family are living: 
 the household circle is still unbroken by death. 
 Baer was four years of age when his father remove 
 to Illinois. The family located in Jordan Township, 
 on the section on which they have since resided 
 without intermission. The farm purchased by the 
 senior Baer was almost wholly unimproved, and the 
 sons gave their attention and efforts to the work of 
 converting the place into a homestead of value and 
 
 Mr.
 

 
 Photograph taken on her ioo th birthday 

 
 . 
 / 
 
 I 
 
 beauty, with all possible speed. Mr. Baer continued 
 at home until he was 22 years of age, attending the 
 public schools during the winter seasons. 
 
 His marriage took place at Sterling, Sept. 12, 1876, 
 when Anna H. Rutt became his wife. Mrs. Baer is 
 the daughter of Jacob and Fannie (Harnley) Rutl, 
 who were born in Lancaster Co., Pa., of German 
 ancestors. They were married in that county, and 
 became farmers in Franklin County, in the same 
 State, locating near Chambersburg, whence they re- 
 moved in 1865, on account of the unpleasant condi- 
 tion arising from the rebellion of the South, which 
 the loyal people found so distasteful, and from which 
 many fled to relieve themselves of the horrors of 
 war. The family located in Palmyra Township, Lee 
 Co., 111., where they lived 20 years. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Rutt are quite aged. Their eight children are all 
 living, and are all married. Mrs! Baer is the young- 
 est. She is the mother of two children: Roy R., 
 born July 7, 1877, and Bert R., born March i, 1883. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Baer managed 160 acres 
 belonging to his father, on section 26, working it on 
 shares until 1885 (current year), when he became 
 the proprietor of the property by purchase. It is all 
 under tillage, and is stocked with graded Short-horn 
 cattle. 
 
 Politically Mr. Baer is a Republican, and he has 
 officiated six years as School Director. He is now 
 serving a term as School Trustee. 
 
 9- 
 
 -5- 
 
 ^dward Vennum, a leading agriculturist of 
 Whiteside County and a highly esteemed 
 citizen of Union Grove Township, has been 
 a resident of the county since 1842. He was 
 one of the officials chosen at the first township 
 meeting of Union Grove, which was held April 
 6, 1852. 
 
 He was born Sept. 16, 1818, in Morris Township, 
 Knox Co., Ohio. He was a quiet boy, of reflective 
 and naturally studious nature, but his proclivities 
 found little encouragement in the public schools, 
 which, like everything else in the place where he 
 passed from childhood to youth, were in the imper- 
 fect condition of a pioneer period. He gathered such 
 education as was possible, and formed a determina- 
 tion to avail himself of the first opportunities to add 
 
 . 
 
 to his store of knowledge sufficiently to become a 
 teacher, for which vocation he had an ambition. A 
 little before he was 18 years of age, he went to New- 
 ark, N. J., and engaged as salesman in a provision 
 store, where he was employed three years. He had 
 studied as he could, but ill health impelled him to 
 abandon his cherished plans, and he came in 1842 to 
 Whiteside Co., 111., where he spent two years, opera- 
 ting alternately as a teacher in the seasons of winter, 
 and pursuing farming on his own account on a rented 
 farm. 
 
 In 1851, having concluded that his health de- 
 pended on a line of activity in the open air, he 
 bought 172 acres of land on section 2, and began 
 farming in earnest, as the vocation of his life. The 
 place included 60 acres, which had been " broken," 
 and was supplied with a log cabin. On this he re- 
 sided 1 8 years, putting the entire acreage in excel- 
 lent condition for profitable agriculture, and erecting 
 creditable farm buildings. At the expiration of the 
 time named, he made additional purchases of land 
 and removed to section IT, where he established his 
 homestead. He is, at present writing, the owner of 
 412 acres of land in the township of Union Grove, 
 which is all situated on sections 2 and n, and is all 
 under tillage. Mr. Vennum endorses the principles 
 of the Republican party, which he adopted on its 
 organization. He has never been aggressive in the 
 promulgation of his views, but has adhered to his 
 sentiments with the quiet persistency which is one of 
 his characteristics. He cast his first Presidential 
 vote in 1840 for Harrison, and was always a decided 
 Abolitionist. 
 
 He was united in marriage Feb. 20, 1845, in Mt. 
 Pleasant Township, to Susan, daughter of Aaron C. 
 and Charity A. (Young) Jackson. They have had 
 seven children, of whom two are deceased : Albert B. 
 was born Dec. 4, 1845, ar >d was married Nov. 28, 
 188.2, to Laura Shaub; Phebe A. was born Jan. 25, 
 1848, and was married April 10, 1866, to P. S. Ban- 
 nister: she died June 23, 1874 ; Aaron J. was born 
 Dec. ir, 1849, and was married Oct. n, 1881, to 
 Rhoda Gallentine; Columbus C. was born Oct. 31, 
 1851, and was married July i, 1880, to Florence 
 Twining; Edwin P. was born Oct. 26, 1853, and 
 was married Feb. 12, 1880, to Linda Reemer; Abbie 
 T. was born July 3, 1856, and died Dec. 18, 1873; 
 and John G. was born Dec. 6, 1864. All the sons, 
 with the exception of Edwin P., are business men in 
 
 
 \/ 
 
 (T 

 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 $ 
 
 E3 
 
 '-^li 
 
 < 
 
 ' 
 
 Exeter, Fillmore Co., Neb. The latter is at home 
 pursuing a course of commercial study. Mrs. Ven- 
 num, the mother, was born Feb. 13, 1827, in the 
 township of Wayne, Knox Co., Ohio. She and her 
 husband are members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 John Vennum, the father of Edward, was born in 
 Washington Co., Pa., Oct. 4, 1784. He went in 
 young manhood to Knox Co., Ohio, where he mar- 
 ried Phebe Jackson. She was born June 23, 1784, 
 in Rockaway, Morris Co., N. J., and is the daughter 
 of Benjamin and Abigail (Mitchell) Jackson. Her 
 parents went to Knox Co., Ohio, in 1814, after the 
 first and second struggle with Great Britain. In the 
 War of the Revolution he served with honor and held 
 the rank of Major. John Vennum and his wife lived 
 in Ohio until 1846, when they removed to Union 
 Grove Township. The former was then past 60 
 years of age. He located on a farm on section 3, 
 where he died Feb. 12, 1858. Three sons were born 
 to him and his wife, Edward, Columbus and John 
 N. The latter is a farmer in Rhinebeck, Grundy 
 Co., Iowa; Columbus died Jan. 5, 1849. 
 
 Mrs. Vennum is still living, and is 101 years of age 
 (1885). She is probably the oldest person living in 
 Whiteside County. She was born when the Repub- 
 lic was in its cradle, and five years before Washing- 
 ton was made President. She has lived through 96 
 years of the history of this country under the federal 
 government. It is a marvel that she lives to see her 
 portrait gathered into the same volume with those of 
 all the Chief Executives of the Nation and State of 
 Illinois, reaching prominence through the fact of her 
 great age. Only seven of the Presidents were older 
 than herself, and only two Governors of Illinois, 
 which has been a State 67 years, were her seniors. 
 She has lived a quiet, uneventful life; and although 
 she has seen more than a century in years, she is 
 erect in figure, dignified and free from the feebleness 
 and tremulousness of extreme age. She is slightly 
 deaf, but still reads the newspapers and her Bible. 
 She has laid aside the work which occupied her 
 hands until she was more than 98 years old. Her 
 interest in household events is still alive, and she 
 sometimes proffers assistance in some light labor. 
 Her mental faculties are undimmed, and her memory 
 is clearer than that of most people who are from 50 
 to 20 years her junior. She can be relied on to state 
 the dates of events all through the years of most her 
 
 life. Her tenacity of life is partly an inheritance, her 
 progenitors having been long-lived, though she has 
 outstripped them all in number of years. Though a 
 woman of strong will, she is of singularly equable 
 temperament, uniform in habits, and has been noted 
 for the sweet spirit of content which has pervaded 
 her whole life. She spends about eight hours in the 
 24 in bed, sleeping quietly and refreshingly. She 
 was fond of society in earlier years, and was a de- 
 lighted listener to the conversation of others. She 
 has never had an illness in her life, and has never 
 taken more than half a dozen doses of medicine. 
 June 23, 1884, a large party of the people of Mor- 
 rison, Mt. Pleasant and Union Grove Townships, 
 gathered to celebrate the year in which she reached 
 the age of 100. Among the number of visitors, aggre- 
 gating about 200 persons, 1 1 States were represented. 
 She received her guests in the calm dignity which 
 characterizes her, and those who were of the com- 
 pany remember the occasion as one of solemn inter- 
 est. To those who meet her she seems a creature of 
 some other world. 
 
 The portrait of Mrs. Vennum, which is presented 
 on a preceding page, was taken on the day referred 
 to at her home. She wrote the autograph which ap- 
 pears below it in 1871. 
 
 OC- 
 
 .enry Cramer, merchant, Fourth Street, 
 Sterling, was born Oct. 8, 1824, in Penn- 
 sylvania. His parents were Christian and 
 f Hannah (Miller) Cramer, residents upon a 
 farm. Mr. Cramer, the sixth child in a family 
 of ten sons and four daughters, remained at 
 home until of age, receiving a common-school educa- 
 tion. He was then a day laborer for many years, 
 through the winter carrying on the butchering busi- 
 ness. 
 
 He came West in 1864, settling in Sterling, this 
 county, where he has since resided. He opened liis 
 grocery store in 1880, commencing on the small 
 capital ,of $i 17. At the present time he carries a 
 stock of $2,000, and runs a delivery wagon to all 'i'" 
 parts of the city, and also to Rock Falls. His trade ( 
 is prospering in all its branches. Previous to en- 
 gaging in mercantile business he purchased his resi- 
 dence, the west half of lots 7, 8 and 9, block 21, east
 
 _A 
 
 I 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 v 
 
 'f 
 
 I 
 
 of Broadway, and just east of the old American 
 House. 
 
 Mr. Cramer is a representative business man of 
 Sterling, a member of the Methodist Church, and in 
 politics a Republican. 
 
 He was married Nov. 27, 1844,10 Annie Smith, and 
 they have had nine children living, and all married, 
 as follows : Mahala A. married Martin R. Watson, 
 and has seven children living : Laura, Biga, Horace, 
 Lillie B.,Guy, Jeffy and Martie; William H. married 
 Elzabeth Brenbarger, and had by that marriage 
 three children, Minnie, Charles and Wilber ; he 
 afterward married Lucy Daniel, a native of Kan- 
 sas City, and by the present union there is one 
 son, Frank; Emanuel married Anna Heckerman, a 
 native of Pennsylvania, and they had one child, 
 named Mabel ; by his first wife he was the 
 parent of two sons, Walter and Charles ; Isaac D. 
 married Belle Morgan, a native of Sterling, and their 
 three children are Daisy, Mertie and Tinie; Benja- 
 min F. married Ada Swartzbaugh; John C. married 
 Susie Stout, a native of Pennsylvania, and their 
 three children are Rilla, Clifton and Lotta; Joseph 
 M. married Ella Burgess, a native of Iowa; Mary H. 
 became the wife of David Stookey, a native of Iowa, 
 and they have two children. Guy and Emma; Sarah 
 E. is now Mrs. Sargenas Williams, and the mother 
 of two children, Anna and Earl. 
 
 Mrs. Cramer is also a member cf the Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 ,avid B. Gsell, farmer, located on section 
 7, Clyde Township, was born Dec. 15, 
 1852, in Franklin Co., Pa., and is the son 
 of William and Maria (Burkhartj Gsell, for 
 an extended sketch of whom see the biography 
 of Wm. B. Gsell on another page. The family 
 removed to Whiteside County, whither an older 
 son had come the previous year, in 1864. Mr. Gsell 
 was then 13 years of age, and he had passed his 
 boyhood in his native State, obtaining a rudimentary 
 education, to which he materially added by further 
 attendance at school in Clyde Township, which he 
 maintained until he reached the period of his legal 
 freedom. When he was 21 years of age he engaged 
 in fanning, in which he has since continued with 
 
 the exception of one year which he spent in Johnson 
 Co., Neb. 
 
 He was married Feb. 25, 1879, to Margaret M., 
 daughter of John and Jane (Blue) Wilson, a bio- 
 graphical sketch of whom appears in connection with 
 that of William Gsell, who married another daugh- 
 ter. Mrs. Gsell was born April. 28, 1857, in Clyde 
 Township, and was educated in the district school 
 and lived with her parents until marriage. She is 
 the mother of two children, Clifford, born Nov. 7, 
 1880, and Maud., born Nov. 18, 1884. 
 
 Mr. Gsell is a Republican and his wife is a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His farm 
 contains 72 acres of well improved land. 
 
 amuel Strock, farmer, section 10, Sterling 
 Township, is the son of Samuel and Eliza- 
 beth (Lehman) Strock, natives of Pennsyl- 
 vania, and life-long residents of that State. 
 Five of their seven children lived to mature 
 age, namely: Mary A., Daniel, Catherine, 
 Samuel and John L. Samuel was born Aug. 21, 
 1834, in Franklin Co., Pa., and was an inmate of the 
 paternal home until he was 22. In the spring of 
 1856, he came to Illinois, and first went to Carroll 
 County, where he worked three years as a farm 
 laborer. In 1859 he took possession of a rented 
 farm which he occupied four years. At the expira- 
 tion of that time he bought a farm, which he con- 
 ducted until the spring of 1865, when he sold it and 
 bought 160 acres of land in Hopkins Township, 
 Whiteside County. Two years afterward he again 
 sold out, and in the spring of 1867 he bought the 
 farm on which he has since resided, and which then 
 included 100 acres of land. His property now in- 
 cludes 662 acres of land in the townships of Stf rling 
 and Hopkins, which is chiefly under cultivation. 
 He has erected valuable buildings on his homestead. 
 Mr. Strock is a Republican in political sentiment. 
 
 He was married Feb. 3, 1859, in Mt. Carroll, 
 Carroll County, to Mary A., daughter of Joseph 
 and Elizabeth (Hershey) Emmert. Her father and 
 mother were natives of Maryland, and their n 
 children lived to years of maturity. They were^born 
 in this order: Susan, Christine H., Andrew H., John 
 J., Josiah, Alfred R., William, Mary A., Elizabeth 
 
 : **& 
 
 ( 
 
 ' . 
 
 1 
 
 V 
 
 <
 
 ^^iff* 
 
 --, .. - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 H., Catherine and Louisa. Mrs. Strock was born 
 
 J 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 May 2, 1838, in Maryland. To her and her husband 
 seven children have been born, who are named Mil- 
 lard A., Allison E., Homer C., Arthur W., Otto E., 
 Linius L. and Ada E. Arthur W. died when be- 
 tween two and three years of age. Mrs. Strock is a 
 member of the German Baptist Church. 
 
 illiam Ramsay, general farmer and stock- 
 grower on section 2, Hume Township, is 
 a representative of the days of first things 
 of a permanent character in the township 
 where he has lived about 46 years. David 
 Ramsay, his father, was born in 1787, in Lon- 
 donderry, N. H., and was a member of one of the 
 Scotch-Irish families who emigrated to that place from 
 a place of the same name in the North of Ireland 
 prior to the War of the Revolution. The grandfather 
 of Horace Greeley and the progenitors of General 
 Stark were of the same race. William Ramsay, 
 father of David, was born in Londonderry, and went 
 with his son to Caledonia Co., Vt., where his life 
 terminated. The son (David) was a young man 
 when he went to Vermont, and he was there married 
 to Lydia, daughter of Luther and Hannah (Wilson) 
 Butler. The family was of long-continued standing 
 in New England. They were farmers, and in their 
 old age they went to Oneida Co., N. Y., where they 
 died, at a greatly advanced age. The marriage oc- 
 curred in 1812, and about a year later the removal 
 to Oneida County was effected. In 1840, David 
 Ramsay removed his family to Whiteside County, 
 settling in the township of Hume. They were among 
 the first settlers in the township, who made a per- 
 manent location, and they settled on a claim on sec- 
 tion 10. David Ramsay died in February, 1852, 
 aged 65 years. The mother died at Prophetstown, 
 in the fall ot 1859, at 69 years of age. 
 
 Mr. Ramsay was born Feb. 16, 1815, in Oneida 
 Co., N. Y., where he remained until he reached his 
 majority, engaged in the acquisition of his education 
 in the public schools and in practical farming. After 
 becoming 2 1 years old, he worked for his father by 
 jhe year for the three subsequent years. He had four 
 brothers and sisters, and is the oldest child. Hannah 
 M., his sister, was 15 months his junior, and she died 
 
 in Hume Township, unmarried. She was 26 years of 
 age. Luther B. Ramsay is a resident of Prophetstown. 
 (See sketch of F. D. Ramsay.) Euphemia J. mar- 
 ried and is a resident of Hopkins Township. Lydia 
 A. is also married and lives in Prophetstown. 
 
 When he was 24. years of age, Mr. Ramsay se- 
 cured a team and set out alone for Illinois, then 
 "the West." He thus made his way to Buffalo, 
 where he took passage on a boat. He made the ac- 
 quaintance of Sidney Barber, a passenger like him- 
 self (now living in Whiteside County), and they came 
 together to Cleveland, proceeding thence by land to 
 Whiteside County, reaching Rock Falls Oct. 18, 
 1839. They found hospitable quarters with L. H. 
 Woodworth, of whom a personal account is else- 
 where given. Mr. Ramsay boarded with Mr. Wood- 
 worth until March 24, 1840, when he settled on 160 
 acres of land in Hume Township. He made a pre- 
 emption claim, and boarded with a man in the 
 vicinity, who lived in a sod house, while he entered 
 vigorously into the work of converting the raw prairie 
 acres into fertile fields. He was the first permanent 
 settler in the township. In the summer of 1840 he 
 built a house, of which his parents took possession 
 on their arrival in the fall of the same year, and of 
 which he was also an occupant. The place is on 
 section 10. Mr. Ramsay continued to work the 
 place until his marriage, which transpired Feb. 3, 
 1845, in Lee Co., III., to Lucy, daughter of Bradford 
 and Anna (Barnes) Church. Her father was a na- 
 tive of Chenango Co., N. Y., and her mother was 
 born in Litchfield Co., Conn. The father of M 
 Church was a mechanic, and an Ensign in the Rev- 
 olutionary War. The marriage of the parents took 
 place in Cortland Co., N. Y., and they went to Che- 
 nango County, in that State, where Mrs. Ramsay 
 was born in Oxford Township, March 30, 1820. She 
 had one brother and three sisters, all of whom are 
 deceased. They were named Jane E., Elizabeth E., 
 Fitche M. and Frederick R. They came to Lee Co., 
 111., in the fall of 1841, and there the mirriage of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay occurred. In 1876 her par- 
 ents became inmates of her home in Hume Town- 
 ship. Her father died Dec. 26, 1884, and was 89 
 years old. Her mother died in October of the same 
 year, aged 86. They spent 65 years of married life 
 together, and were separated by death but a few 
 weeks. They were active and consistent members 
 of the Congregational Church. Mrs. Ramsay is
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 their oldest child, and the only one who survived 
 them. She has had five children : William F. mar- 
 ried Alida Kleespie, and lives in Mitchell Co., Kan. 
 (They have two children, David M. and Royal R.) 
 Kate, Elizabeth and Luman live at home. Mrs. 
 Ramsay had been a teacher from the age of 15 years 
 to her marriage. She was educated at Oxford Acad- 
 emy, in Chenango County, which was one of the best 
 schools of that period. The Ramsays resided on 
 section 10 for seven years, when they went to Como 
 for the purpose of educating their children, and were 
 resident there seven years. 7n the fall of 1858 the 
 family took possession of a new farm purchased by 
 the father, including 182 acres lying in the "Ox- 
 Bow " of Rock River, below Como, in Hume Town- 
 ship, and situated on sections 2, 3, and u. The 
 homestead residence is situated on section 2, and is 
 beautifully located near the river. The entire prop- 
 erty was unimproved, and the work of transforma- 
 tion has been all done by the proprietor. One of 
 the most noticeable belongings of the household is a 
 finely selected library, all its members being readers 
 of sense and judgment. Mrs. Ramsay is inter- 
 ested in the progress of the Congregational Church, 
 of which she is a member. Mr. Ramsay is an act- 
 ive and zealous Republican. 
 
 Mr. Ramsay was the first individual to assume 
 the bonds of matrimony in Hume Township. His 
 sister, Hannah Maria, died in the fall of 1842, and 
 her demise was the first event of that character in 
 the township. 
 
 ;"ohn Weaver, a farmer on section 24, Ster- 
 ling Township, has been a preacher in the 
 Reformed Mennonite Church for 20 years. 
 He was born Oct. 12, 1806, in Lancaster Co., 
 Pa., and his parents, John and Barbara (Lan- 
 dis) Weaver, were natives of the same State 
 where they passed their entire lives. Four of their 
 children lived to maturity, John, David, Henry and 
 Nancy. 
 
 Mr. Weaver was brought up a farmer and engaged 
 in that calling in his native State until his removal in 
 1854 to Whiteside County. He bought 270 acres of 
 land in the same township of which he is now a resi- 
 dent, and his estate in Whiteside County includes 
 
 ^^^ Q^< 
 
 817 acres of land, all of which is in Sterling Town- 
 ship. He is also the owner of 150 acres of land in 
 Lee County. Nearly all his estate is under tillage. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Weaver took place 
 March 3, 1831, to Anna Snavely. She was born in 
 Pennsylvania, and bore eight children, named Ben- 
 jamin, Abram S., John S., Frank S., Elizabeth and 
 Israel. Two children died in infancy, and Israel 
 when a small boy. The mother died in Lancaster Co., 
 Pa. He was again married in the same county, to 
 Fanny Hoover, also a native of the same State. One 
 child born to them died in infancy. The mother died 
 Aug. 11, 1882. 
 
 yman Blake, proprietor of Blake's Addition 
 to Fulton City, and dealer in real estate, 
 was born in Merrimac Co., N. H., town of 
 Chichester, and is the son of James and Jane 
 (Sherbourne) Blake. He came West in 1838, 
 when about 25 years of age. He stopped at 
 Fulton City then a town on paper only and pur- 
 chased an interest in the village plat, and also 
 purchased a claim of 80 acres on the river, on sec- 
 tion 28, which he subsequently entered at Govern- 
 ment price at the land sale of 1839. He remained 
 only a few months on his first trip, and returned to 
 the East. He came again to Fulton in 1839 to en- 
 ter his land, and again went East. He spent some 
 time in New Hampshire, and then went to Boston, 
 where he was employed in a wholesale mercantile 
 house. He next went to Buffalo, and from there to 
 Cincinnati, where he engaged in commercial bus T 
 iness and spent the ensuing twelve years, except 
 one year and a few months 1848-9 which he 
 passed in Mexico. He returned to Fulton in 1855, 
 when he sold a portion of his land to the railroad 
 company (" Dixon Air Line," now the Chicago & 
 Northwestern), and laid out the fractional 80 acres 
 into village lots, naming it "Blake's Addition to 
 Fulton City." The plat is now well settled, and the 
 property quite valuable. Mr. Blake engaged in the 
 grain and warehouse business soon after the railroad 
 was completed to this place, and continued it for a 
 number of years, besides dealing extensively in real 
 estate. 
 
 He has never aspired to the honors of public 
 
 
 * - 
 
 ;(
 
 j office, but has unwillingly allowed his name to be 
 used as a candidate for Alderman. He was elected 
 to the Common Council of Fulton for the years 
 1859-60, and again for the years 1885-6. He is a 
 Democrat in politics, and is held in high esteem by 
 his fellow townsmen as an upright, honorable busi- 
 ness man, who has done much to improve the city 
 and develop its advantages. He has resided here 
 continually since 1855. 
 
 
 
 Tames H. Van Demark, general farme'r and 
 fc stock-grower on section 25, Hume Town- 
 ship, was born March 12, 1830, in Marble 
 Township, Ulster Co., N. Y. Jacob S. Van 
 Demark, his father, was born in the same town 
 and was a farmer and carpenter. The family 
 is of Dutch descent, the ancestral progenitors having 
 come to America from the Netherlands at a period 
 between the two struggles with the Government of 
 Great Britain. Maria (Parker) Van Demark, was 
 born in New Haven, Conn., of pure Yankee lineage. 
 She and her husband were married in Ulster Co., 
 N. Y., and the family were resident there until 1867, 
 when they came to Whiteside County and located 
 at Sterling. The father died there in August, 1872, 
 age 70 years. The mother died in the same place 
 in January, 1882, when 78 years of age. 
 
 Mr. Van Demark is the second in order of birth of 
 seven children, and he remained a member of the 
 parental household some time after reaching matur- 
 ity, receiving a good common-school education. He 
 had obtained a fair knowledge of the occupation of a 
 carpenter, working with his father as opportunity 
 served. He was married in Olive Township, Ulster 
 County, Jan. 12, 1854, to Judith Winchell. They 
 had three children : Delia is the wife of H. H. 
 Chapin, of whom a sketch is to be found elsewhere; 
 Watson, born March 10, 1860, was married Jan. 17, 
 1883, to Lou E. Wilber. She was born Sept. 6, 
 1863, in Ogle Co., 111., and resides with her husband 
 in Hume Township, on the homestead of his parents. 
 Her father and mother, Edwin B. and Harriet (Col- 
 lar) Wilber, reside in Hume Township. She was 
 brought up to the age of 15 years in Linn Co., Iowa. 
 (Jtilla is the youngest-child, and she was born Aug. 
 25, 1862. She has been educated with care and re- 
 
 sides at her father's home. Mrs. Van Dem ark was 
 born in Olive Township, Ulster Co., in 1831, and 
 was the daughter of Josiah and Phebe (Boice) Win- 
 chell. She died in Hume Township, July 23, 1883. 
 Her father died when she was young. She was the 
 oldest of three children, and her brother Jacob and 
 sister Elizabeth are still her survivors. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Van Demark lived with his 
 parents for some years, following his trade and work- 
 ing on the farm. In 1867 he removed his family and 
 interests to Sterling, where he pursued his mechani- 
 cal calling and superintended the construction of 
 some of the most important buildings at Rock Falls. 
 
 In 1867 he purchased 120 acres of land in the 
 township of which he has since been a resident, and 
 where he has devoted much of his time and energies 
 to its improvements. He built a school -house within 
 the first year after his change of base, and has fol- 
 lowed his trade to some extent in conjunction with 
 his farming. He is now the proprietary owner of 
 360 acres of land, all under advanced cultivation 
 and with creditable and valuable buildings. 
 
 Mr. Van Demark is a Republican in political sen- 
 timents, and is active in local and in general affairs. 
 He has officiated as Township Treasurer between 
 seven and eight years. 
 
 .avid B. Grove, farmer, residing on section 
 3, Hahnaman Township, is a son of David 
 and Margaret (Bruner) Grove, natives of 
 Pennsylvania, in which State they resided 
 until their death. Their family consisted of 
 six children, namely: Charles, David, Philip, 
 Mary, Anna and Catharine. 
 
 David B. Grove, subject of this biographical notice, 
 was born in Bucks Co., Pa., Aug. 15, 1828. He re- 
 ceived the advantages afforded by the common 
 schools of his native county and was engaged in 
 mercantile pursuits until he came to this county, in 
 1855. On arrival here he located at Sterling, where 
 he continued to reside until 1864. During that year 
 he returned to his native State and engaged in the 
 hardware business in Philadelphia. He continued 
 in the business at the place last named until 1878, 
 when he returned to this county and settled in 
 Hahnaman Township. 
 
 Mr. Grove had previously, in 1860, purchased 155 
 
 ti
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 - 
 
 acres on section 3, Hahnaman Township, and on 
 this land he settled, on his return to the county in 
 1878, and entered vigorously and energetically upon 
 its cultivation. About 140 acres of the tract is in 
 good tillable condition. 
 
 Mr. Grove was united in marriage in Montgomery 
 Co., Pa., Nov. 15, 1849, to Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Jacob and Mary (Smith) Sorver, natives of that 
 State, and where they resided until their death. 
 Their family comprised nine children, namely : 
 Oliver, Elmira, Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Jacob, John, 
 Barbara and Jennie. 
 
 Mrs. Grove was born in Montgomery Co., Pa., 
 Aug. 12,1830. She and her husband are the par- 
 ents of six children, namely : Cordelia Lizzie, David 
 V., Edward E., Mary and Kate. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Grove is a Democrat. 
 
 torace H. Chapin, far.ner, section 24, Hume 
 Township, was born July 28, 1852, in Litch- 
 field, Conn. Hart H. Chapin, his father, 
 was a cabinet-maker and died two months after 
 the birth of the son. The latter was brought to 
 Prophetstown, this county, when he was five 
 years of age, by his mother, Julia (Johnson) Chapin, 
 and they were residents of that village until about 
 the spring of 1864, when they went to Hamilton, 
 Hancock Co., 111. The mother died there about nine 
 years after. Mr. Chapin became a farm assistant 
 on removal to Hamilton, coming later to Sterling and 
 moving thence to Hume Township, where he was 
 similarly occupied. Later still, he was employed on 
 a farm in Lee County. 
 
 He was married Feb. 19, 1880, to Delia, daugh- 
 ter of James H. Van Demark. (See sketch.) She 
 was born Nov. 4, 1854, in Ulster Co., N. Y. She 
 came to Illinois when she was 12 years of age, and 
 was educated in the common schools of Sterling and 
 Hume Townships. Mr. and Mrs. Chapin have one 
 child, Myrta, born Dec. 14, 1883. 
 
 They spent the year succeeding their marriage on 
 a rented farm. In 1882 Mr. Chapin took possession 
 of 80 acres of land on section 24, belonging to the 
 father of his wife. In political faith and affiliation 
 he is a Republican. 
 
 rlando Sprague, surveyor and retired farm- 
 er, residing at Fulton, was a pioneer of 
 Illinois, of June, 18.36, and of Whiteside 
 County, of June, 1842. He is a native of the 
 State of New York, and was born in Broome 
 County Jan. 4, 1815, the son of Charles and 
 Luanna (Bennett) Sprague, and was reared in his 
 native county, receiving a liberal education and 
 learning the gunsmith's trade. 
 
 In June, 1836, he emigrated to Illinois and located 
 at Chicago, where he spent two years working at his 
 trade. In 1838 he removed to Ottawa, and from 
 there to Fulton in June, 1842. Soon after reaching 
 this place he formed a partnership with Daniel 
 Lamberton, who had been his companion on coming 
 to the city, and under the firm name of Sprague & 
 Lamberton they entered upon the manufacture of 
 furniture. At that early day their machinery was 
 not very perfect, and their lathes were turned by 
 horse power. However, they turned out all sorts of 
 useful and substantial furniture, and were the first 
 in their line of business in the place. Thus they 
 continued till 1847, when they closed, and Mr. 
 Sprague engaged in the manufacture of cut shingles, 
 using horse power and a machine of his own inven- 
 tion. His machine turned out 6,000 shingles per 
 hour, of fine quality. 
 
 He continued the shingle-making business up to 
 the fall of 1849, when, having caught the California 
 gold fever, he began preparations for a trip to that 
 region. On the 8th of April, 1850, he started over- 
 land for California, in company with a party of his 
 fellow townsmen, and arrived at Hangtown.Cal., the 
 8th of August following. Instead of undertaking 
 placer-mining, he engaged in hunting, in company 
 with the well known hunter, W. Y. Ives ; and 
 they did a fine business, killing antelope, which 
 they sold at 25 cents per pound. They frequently 
 killed from 20 to 25 antelope a day. Learning of a 
 good opening at Shasta, in Northern California, for a 
 gunsmith, Mr. Sprague proceeded to that point and 
 opened a gunsmith shop. Business prospered with 
 him beyond his expectations, but his health failed 
 him and he was obliged to suspend operations and 
 return to the States, which he did via the Panama 
 and New Orleans route.
 
 > * 
 
 ; 
 
 
 
 He then purchased a large tract of land lying in 
 Fulton Township, amounting to 840 acres, situated 
 on sections 26, 35 and 27. He then engaged in 
 farming, while still residing in the city. 
 
 Mr. Sprague was married at Fulton, 111., Nov. 17, 
 1845, to Miss Mary J. Hamilton, a daughter of Wm. 
 Hamilton ; she was born in Indiana. Two children 
 were born of this marriage. The elder, Cora E., is 
 the wife of Mr. Winchester, of Chicago ; and Helen, 
 the younger, died in childhood, from burns received 
 in falling into a fire in the street ! A separation oc- 
 curred between Mr. Sprague and his wife in 1872, 
 and she now resides with her daughter in Chicago. 
 He married again Sept. 26, 1872, at Rock Island. 
 His present wife was Mrs. Martha J. Bradway, 
 widow of William Bradway, and daughter of Edson 
 and Sophronia (Marsh) Smith. Mrs. Sprague was 
 born in Connecticut and came West to reside in 
 1865. She had one child by her former marriage, a 
 daughter, named Stella M., and born Sept. 27, 1867. 
 
 Mr. Sprague sold his farming lands, and for the 
 past ten years has devoted his attention to survey- 
 ing, the lending of his capital and the care of his ex- 
 tensive village property. He had made a study of 
 surveying in his younger days; and, having a natural 
 love of mathematics, he soon became an expert in 
 his business and authority on the subject of land 
 boundaries in this region. 
 
 In politics he is an earnest Republican, and has 
 voted with that party since its organization. He 
 still resides in the comfortable house he erected in 
 Fulton in 1846. 
 
 tt * 
 
 
 artin L Bush, retired farmer and dealer 
 in real estate, at Sterling, was born in that 
 village, Nov. 22, 1838. His parents were 
 Luther and Eunice (Cornish) Bush, natives 
 respectively of Connecticut and New York. 
 His father, a mason by occupation, came to 
 Bureau Co., 111., in 1836, and in 1839 to Sterling. 
 He died in October, 1870, and Mrs. Bush is still liv- 
 ing, with her son, the subject of this sketch. 
 
 The latter, after receiving a common-school edu 
 cation and attaining legal age, left home and com- 
 menced working at the business of an artist. About 
 nine years afterward he went to Iowa and took up a 
 
 homestead of 80 acres, and also bought 80 acres, on 
 which he lived and labored for ten years. He then 
 moved back to Sterling, renting his farms in Iowa, 
 and engaging in the real-estate business. Mr. Bush 
 is a good business man; in political matters he votes 
 for the " best man," and he is a member of the 
 I. O. O. F. 
 
 March 17, 1860, he married Catherine Wexler, a 
 native of Germany, and they have three children, 
 Laura, Bertha E. and Eva J. 
 
 ~Hf 
 
 Ibert Ferris, farmer, section 7, Hahnaman 
 Township, is a son of B and Martha J. 
 (Currey) Ferris, natives of Indiana, who 
 came to Whiteside County in 1871, settling in 
 the township of Tampico, where Mr. F. died, 
 May 18, 1877 ; Mrs. F. survives. Their chil- 
 dren were nine in number, namely, Edwin C., Ralph, 
 John, Albert, Lucy, Mary, Chester, Noble and Nora. 
 Mr. Ferris, of this sketch, was born in Metamora, 
 Franklin Co., Ind., March 4, 1859, and was 12 years 
 of age when his parents came with him to this 
 county. In 1882 he purchased 80 acres of land in 
 Hahnaman Township, to which he added 80 more 
 in 1884, on section 7, where he resides. All his 
 land is good. 
 
 Mr. Ferris was married, in this township, Oct. 1 2, 
 1882, to Rebecca J., daughter of A. J. Glassburn; 
 see sketch of the latter in this work. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ferris have become the parents of two children, 
 Daisy M. and Clarence E. 
 
 In his political relations Mr. Ferris is identifie 
 with the Republican party. 
 
 -~*9{ 
 
 ^ichael Mannion, farmer on section 4, 
 Sterling Township, was born in Septem- 
 ber, 1830, in Ireland. His father, Ed- 
 ward Mannion, was born in Ireland and 
 died there. Mr. Mannion is one of seven chil- 
 dren born to his parents, and they were named 
 Patrick, Michael, Margaret, Bridget, John, Mary and 
 Catherine. Catherine Mannion, their mother, came 
 to America in 1858. 
 
 Mr. Mannion lived seven years in New Hampshire,
 
 f -..-, .~. f 
 
 UuuAKT 
 
 IJNIVERSilY OF ILLINOIS

 
 W VV."UMI>MM':/"V 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 397 
 
 coming to Whiteside County in 1862. He obtained 
 employment at Como, working by the month two years. 
 In 1864 he bought 40 acres of land in the township 
 of Sterling, where he established his homestead. He 
 has pursued his farming with success, and bought 
 additional land, until he is the owner of 112 acres 
 under excellent tillage. He is a Democrat of liberal 
 views. 
 
 Mr. Mannion was united in marriage, Feb. 12, 
 1859, in New Hampshire, to Catherine Mitchell, and 
 they have five children, Mary A., Margaret, Bern- 
 ard, Catherine and Michael. Mrs. Mannion died 
 April 30, 1878. The family belong to the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 ilinton C. Buell, one of the citizens of 
 Whiteside County who has become dis- 
 tinguished through the merits of his efforts in 
 whatever he has undertaken, is a farmer on 
 section 8, Montmorency Township, and has 
 been prominent in the advancement of the 
 agricultural interests of the county and State since he 
 became a resident here in 1865. He was one of the 
 first to introduce Jersey cattle in Whiteside County, 
 and was at the outset the subject of frequent derision 
 on account of the stunted appearance of his " Alder- 
 neys ;" but he has passed to the last of the three stages 
 which the leader in a novel project must undergo, 
 derision, possibility and practicability, and proved 
 that he who " laughs last, laughs best." 
 
 Mr. Buell was born in Lebanon, Madison Co., N. 
 Y., March 22, 1828. He is the second son and 
 fourth child of Elijah and Polly (Higgins) Buell. 
 His parents were born in the State of New York, and 
 settled in Madison County, where they lived during 
 the entire period of their married lives. The grand- 
 parentsThomas and Irene (Blodgett) Buell 
 came from Western Massachusetts. Elijah Buell 
 was a man of earnest piety, which he carried into 
 practice under all circumstances. He was in the 
 habit of making a yearly call on each family in the 
 town where he lived, for prayer and religious conver- 
 sation. He met with uniform courtesy and was 
 always received with kindly consideration, even by 
 infidels and others who differed with him in religious 
 opinions. He was for many years a Deacon in the Bap- 
 
 tist Church. His death occurred May 16, 1854. His 
 wife died July 29, 1856. Their children were named 
 Mary A., Irene B., Hiram E., Clinton C. and Ira W. 
 
 Until he was 17, Mr. Buell attended the common 
 schools of his native town. He then attended Ham- 
 ilton Academy, in Hamilton, N. Y., for some time, and 
 in 1850 entered the Sophomore class of Madison 
 University, matriculating in the third term. He 
 commenced teaching a common school at 18 years 
 of age, and during his entire preparatory and under- 
 graduate course, with the exception of one term, 
 gave instruction to classes either in the Academy or 
 in the Preparatory Department of the University, 
 thereby meeting the expenses of his own education. 
 About the middle of his Senior year he was elected 
 Principal of the Hamilton Academy, but retained his 
 standing in his class by extra labor, and at gradua- 
 tion in 1852 received the " first honors " of his class, 
 as he had also done at the Junior exhibition the pre- 
 ceding year. 
 
 He continued Principal of the Academy about 
 four years and until the burning of its principal 
 building. He then founded and conducted for four 
 years the " Hamilton Female Seminary," which grad- 
 uated during the time 39 young ladies from a course 
 of study as thorough and complete as was then to be 
 found. The seminary was established as a stock en- 
 terprise, a fatal weakness, which in the crisis of 
 1857 and in the unprosperous years preceding and 
 following, brought financial disaster to Mr. Buell, 
 and in 1857 he separated his connection with the 
 seminary, but in a manner entirely honorable to all 
 concerned. 
 
 Collecting the merest fragments of what had been 
 a comfortable property, Mr. Buell, in the fall of 1859, 
 removed with his family to Anamosa, Jones Co., Iowa, 
 where he established a trade in groceries and 
 provisions, and also a lumber agency, which were a 
 marked success from the outset, and he soon found 
 himself at the head of his line of traffic in that city. 
 The events of the spring and summer of 1861 en- 
 gaged his interested attention, and in the fall of that 
 year he sold his business preparatory to entering the 
 military service of the United States. He raised 
 about two-thirds of a company of volunteers for the 
 I4th Iowa Infantry, and was elected its Captain ; but 
 in the organization of the regiment it became neces- 
 sary to consolidate the companies, and his com- 
 mand was merged in another. In view of his 
 
 v/ 

 
 398 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 I 
 
 ^\JKi 
 
 J) VH 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 qualifications as a business man, he was offered the 
 position of Regimental Quartermaster, with the rank 
 of First Lieutenant, and served three years. After 
 the first three months' service with his regiment, 
 he was almost constantly on duty by special order as 
 Acting A. Q. M., or as Acting A. C. S. His Brigade 
 was the first to scale the ramparts of Fort Donelson, 
 and as a mark of honor occupied the barracks of the 
 fort, after its surrender the captured stores being 
 taken possession of and accounted for by Lieut. 
 Buell. 
 
 An epitome of Lieut. Buell's service in the Civil 
 War would be about as follows : 
 
 In the fall of 1861 he raised a company as Captain 
 and was mustered into service as First Lieutenant 
 and R. Q. M., I4th Iowa Inf. Vols. Equipped the reg- 
 iment at Camp McClellan, Iowa, and at Benton Bar- 
 racks, Mo., fall and early winter of 1861. Was Acting 
 A. Q. M. and Acting A. C. S. at Fort Donelson. 
 Same at Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh, in the spring 
 of 1862. Was ordered on recruiting service at Camp 
 McClellan, Davenport, Iowa, in August, 1862, and 
 on reporting was immediately ordered on duty as 
 Quartermaster and Commissary of the Post. At his 
 own request he was ordered to join regiment in the 
 field at Cairo, 111., in the spring of 1863. Served 
 with the regiment at Cairo, III., and Columbus, Ky., 
 in the summer and fall of 1863, in the meantime 
 building extensive barracks and military prisons at 
 Columbus. Thence, in the winter of 1863-4, he 
 went to Vicksburg, Miss., thence to Meridian on 
 what is known as "Sherman's raid to Meridian," 
 serving as A. A. Q. M. Thence, in the spring of 
 1864, on Banks' expedition up Red River in Gen. A. 
 J. Smith's Corps. Thence returning to Memphis, 
 Tenn., and making two expeditions into Mississippi 
 as A. A. C. S. of Gen A. J. Smith's Corps, on one of 
 which occurred the battle of Tupelo. Thence from 
 Memphis to Jefferson Barracks, Mo., as A. A. Q. M., 
 in charge of the entire Quartermaster's Department 
 of the Left Wing of the 1 6th Army Corps. Thence 
 in the pursuit of Price through Missouri to the Kan- 
 sas line. Thence to St. Louis, Missouri, and Dav- 
 enport, Iowa, to be mustered out, in November, 
 1864. 
 
 Lieut. Buell was present at the important battles 
 of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Fort De 
 Kussey, La., Pleasant Hill, La., Old Oaks, La., and 
 
 LPrSN/A 
 
 Tupelo, Miss., not to mention numerous smaller 
 engagements and skirmishes. The position of A. 
 Q. M. and a Captain's commission were at one time 
 open to him, but he declined to seek them, the folly 
 of which act he did not at that time see. 
 
 In the winter and spring of 1864-5 Mr. Buell en- 
 gaged in business in Sterling, 111., in which, owing to 
 circumstances connected with the close of the war, 
 he was again a heavy loser. In the summer of 1865, 
 associated with Capt. J. W. Niles, he bought a half 
 section of unimproved prairie land, of which, changed 
 by some additions and subtractions by purchase 
 and sale, he is now the owner. He ascribes his 
 success during the last 15 years entirely to the dairy 
 business, to which he has given persistent and thor- 
 ough attention. He has been an efficient promoter 
 of the dairy interests through active membership in 
 different dairymen's associations, and has contributed 
 largely to the practical literature relating to the dairy 
 industry in the Northwest. 
 
 Mr. Buell delivered the first annual address before 
 the Illinois State Grange, and also wrote the his- 
 torical sketch of the Grange for the State Agricul- 
 tural Report for 1873. That report presents hi 
 ideas of the possibilities of that institution. 
 
 In the fall of 1866 he received an application to 
 take charge of the Third Ward School at Sterling, 
 and he filled the position two terms, afterward as- 
 suming the management of the Second Ward School, 
 which he organized and conducted about three years. 
 
 Mr. Buell was married July 21, 1853, in Madison 
 Co., N. Y., to Mary A., daughter of John and Sarah 
 (Mosely) Niles. Mrs. Buell was born Nov. 5, 1828, in 
 Madison County, of which her parents were also na- 
 tives. They came to Whiteside County in 1869, and 
 for several years were members of the family of their 
 daughter. Later on, they removed to Sterling, where 
 they died. The decease of the father took place 
 Nov. 23, 1882. That of the mother occurred Sept. 
 i, 1884. Their children were A. Mosely, Sarah S., 
 Susan A., Mary A., John W., Harvey, Anna H. and 
 S. Wheeler. Mr. and Mrs. Buell have lost three 
 children by death. They were named John E., Ira 
 J. and Mary A. Four children are still living, named 
 Jewett C., Fred, Charles C., Jr., and Sarah I. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Buell will be cordially received 
 by the patrons of the WHITESIDE COUNTY ALBUM. 
 His record in three of the noblest States of the Union 
 reflects credit of no ordinary degree upon his abilities f 
 
 

 
 
 i 
 
 as a scholar, patriot and man of business. He is a 
 representative of the best type of the American citi- 
 zen, who surpasses the men of all other nationalities 
 in versatility of powers, and who can achieve equal 
 success in diverse avenues of business. Mr. Buell's 
 portrait, which appears on a previous page, is a copy 
 of a likeness taken in 1885. 
 
 i illiam Reecher, proprietor and manager 
 of the Transient Hotel and restaurant, at 
 Coleta, is the son of Samuel and Leah 
 (Hoffman) Reecher, of whom an extended 
 personal account appears elsewhere in this 
 volume. He was born in the village of Ring- 
 gold, Washington Co., Md., July 19, 1856. He was 
 nine years old when his parents removed their fam- 
 ily from " My Maryland " to Sterling, 111., and was 
 an aid on the farm in Jordan Township where the 
 family was resident one year, and he proved a val- 
 uable assistant on the home place in Genesee Town- 
 ship, as he was the eldest surviving child. His 
 education was meanwhile looked after, and he ob- 
 tained a fair degree of mental cultivation in the 
 district schools. 
 
 He continued a member of the home circle until 
 lie was 24 years of age, when he went back to his 
 native State. While there he made the acquaint- 
 ance of his wife, then Sarah C. Mentzer, to whom he 
 was married in Sterling, Jan. 17, 1882. Mrs. Reecher 
 is the daughter of John W. and Esther (Hoffman) 
 Mentzer, and was born in Washington Co., Md., 
 May 8, 1855. Her great-grandparents were natives 
 of Germany, and emigrated thence to the United 
 States in early life. Her parents were married in 
 Washington County and there passed their entire 
 lives, acquiring a competency. Her father died Jan. 
 u, 1879, aged about 55 years. The death of her 
 mother transpired Jan. 22, 1881. She was then 54 
 years of age. Mrs. Reecher was brought up .at 
 home, and at the age of 18 years learned the trade 
 of a tailoress, in which she was occupied until she 
 was married. She is the mother of two children, 
 Elsie M., born Nov. 20, 1882, and John M., born 
 Jan. 21, 1884. 
 After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Reecher lo- 
 
 V- -X 
 
 cated at Coleta, where the former obtained a clerk- 
 ship in the mercantile establishment of S. S. Cobb. 
 On leaving his employ he established a restaurant 
 business, in which he was interested a short time 
 and sold out, after which he again became a clerk in 
 the store in which he liad formerly been employed, 
 and which was then under the management of 
 Messrs. Cobb & Howe. A year later he purchased 
 a hotel, and soon after added a restaurant to its reg- 
 ular business, and has since conducted their joint 
 relations. 
 
 Mr. Reecher is a Democrat in political connection 
 and he has officiated as Constable of his Township. 
 Mrs. Reecher belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 odfrey Munz, one of the large land-hold- 
 ers of Jordan Township, whose estate in- 
 cludes 370 acres, situated upon section 19, 
 was born Aug. i, 1823, in Wurtemberg, Ger- 
 many. His father was a farmer in the same 
 place, and died in 1868. Christiana (Strobel) 
 Munz, his mother, was born in Wurtemberg and died 
 in 1852. They had seven children. 
 
 Mr. Munz was next to the youngest child, and 
 was about 23 years of age when he came to the 
 United States, leaving the old country for the new 
 in 1850. He located in Huntington Co., Pa. He 
 readily obtained employment as a common laborer 
 and passed some time as a farm assistant. He was 
 married May 31, 1853, to Margaret, daughter of 
 George Blum. She was born in Wurtemberg, June, 
 16, 1828. When she was in infancy, being less 
 than two years of age, her mother died. Her father 
 was again married and she grew up under the care 
 of her stepmother. At 19 years of age she came to 
 the United States, and located in Huntington Co., 
 Pa. She has had seven children, one of whom is 
 deceased. John married Marion M. Thompson and 
 is a farmer in Jordan Township. Emma is the wife 
 of Walter Shoup, a farmer in Genesee Township. 
 William married Lizzie Wolber, and they live on the 
 homestead, which they manage on shares. Charles, 
 George and Rena are the names of the younger chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Mr. Munz removed his family to Dixon, Lee Co. 
 
 X 
 
 fa 
 
 to 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 . 
 
 ;
 
 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 ! 
 
 s 
 
 111., in 1856, and conducted a farm in the vicinity of 
 that city until 1860, when he came to Whiteside 
 County and rented a farm in Jordan Township. He 
 continued to operate in that method for some years, 
 finally locating on 80 acres of unimproved land 
 which he purchased in 1853. It is situated on sec- 
 tion 19, and he has improved it and made additional 
 purchases until his estate now includes 370 acres of 
 land under tillage and 14 acres of timber. The 
 buildings on the place are valuable and add greatly 
 to the beauty and value of the farm. 
 
 In political choice, Mr. Munz is a Democrat. 
 With his wife, he belongs to the Lutheran Church, 
 of which he has been a prominent official, in the 
 capacities of Deacon, Elder and Trustee. He was 
 one of its members at the time of the local organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 enry F. Batcheller, manufacturer, Rock 
 Falls, was born Jan. 13, 1834, in Peninsula, 
 Ohio. His parents were Daniel F. and 
 * Caroline (Maynard) Batcheller, natives of Ver- 
 ^ mont, who moved to Ohio in 1837. Daniel F. 
 I was a carpenter by trade, and owned a farm at 
 Peninsula, where his wife died, in 1838. 
 
 The subject of this sketch came to Sterling with 
 his father and family, where they remained five years. 
 They then bought an 8o-acre farm in Coloma, where 
 they resided until the death of the father. Henry 
 F. remained at his parental home until of legal age, 
 receiving a common-school education and learning 
 the carpenter's trade, of his father, with whom he 
 worked until 1867. He commenced the manu- 
 facture of corn-planters, on a style of which he had 
 received a patent in 1859. At first he manufactured 
 only by hand, but by 1873 the increase of his busi- 
 ness enabled him to erect a shop, with machinery, 
 which he is now conducting. In addition he man- 
 ufactures dog-powers, churns and other dairy appli- 
 ances. A year ago he also added a foundry, and 
 during the year 1884 he did a business amounting to 
 $30,000. He has bought three lots adjoining one 
 another, and at present his buildings cover the ground 
 of all three. 
 
 In his political views Mr. B. is a Republican, has 
 held the office of Supervisor since 1873, has been 
 <-^/J>>_ ->yagi^- /-N v> 
 
 School Director, etc. He is one of the representa- 
 tive men of Rock Falls, and deeply interested in the 
 public weal. He attends religious services at the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church. 
 
 He was married July i, 1852, to Mary McNeil, a 
 native of Scotland, and they have had three children, 
 namely: Addison M., who is married and lives at 
 Rock Falls; Imogene M. and Carrie Fay. 
 
 eter Andreas, farmer, section 14, Sterling 
 Township, was born Jan. 19, 1822, in Lan- , 
 caster Co., Pa , which was the native State 
 of his parents, Martin and Nancy (Metzler) 
 Andreas, who had four children, Peter, Henry, 
 John and Martin. 
 
 At the age of 23, Mr. Andreas rented a farm and 
 was engaged in agriculture in Pennsylvania until his 
 removal to Illinois, which event transpired in the 
 spring of 1865. He bought about 160 acres on sec- 
 tion 25, Sterling Township, on which he settled and 
 lived 14 years. In 1882 he bought a small tract of 2 
 land on section 14, where he erected excellent farm _ 
 buildings, and has since occupied the place. He \ 
 owns 137 acres at present, which is all under tillage. * 
 In political sentiment, Mr. Andreas is a Republican, ( 
 and he has officiated in township offices 18 years. 
 
 He was married Oct. 10, 1844, in Lancaster Co., 
 Pa., to Mary Geist, and they have eight children, 
 named and born in the following order : Martin G., 
 Mary A., Catherine, Philip, Amanda, Frank, Lizzie 
 and Harry. Mrs. Andreas is the daughter of Philip 
 and Mary (Book) Geist, who were born in Pennsyl- 
 vania, and who were the parents of two daughters, 
 Catherine and Mary. 
 
 [ dam Horlacher, farmer, section 12, Gen- 
 esee Township, was born Aug. 2, 1857, in 
 Sterling, this county. The sketch of his 
 parents, Godfrey and Elizabeth (Spies) Hor- 
 lacher, appears elsewhere in this book. After . 
 his birth, they settled on a farm in Genesee 
 Township where he was brought up and thoroughly 
 instructed in farming. He acquired a fair education^, 
 
 -yftygyX^/S) 
 ?\V=>
 
 
 
 - .. - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 in the district schools and was an inmate of the par- 
 ental home until he was about 22 years of age. 
 
 His marriage to Mary Myers took place Dec. 18, 
 1879, in Sterling. She was born Oct. 17, 1862, in 
 Jordan Township, and is the daughter of Francis 
 and Elizabeth Myers. Her parents are natives of 
 Pennsylvania and are Germans by ancestral origin. 
 They are farmers in Jordan Township, where they 
 own an extensive estate. 
 
 After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Horlacher 
 they took possession of a farm on section 12, Gen- 
 esee Township, owned jointly by the former and his 
 father, their respective claims being 80 and 120 
 acres. The entire tract is still under the same man- 
 agement, which has met with marked success. The 
 place is stocked with Short-Horn cattle of valuable 
 grades, and valuable horses. Extensive improve- 
 ments in the number and character of farm build- 
 ings have been made. 
 
 Mr. Horlachex is a Republican and has been act- 
 ive in the minor local offices of the town. 
 
 ^ecius O. Coe is one of the prominent citi- 
 zens of Whiteside County, from the extent 
 and character of his business relations, 
 and from the fact that he is connected by 
 descent and marriage with two of its earliest 
 pioneers. His parents, Simeon M. and Mary 
 (Miles) Coe of whom an extended account is pre- 
 sented in connection with the personal narration of 
 S. M. Coe, of Jordan Township came to Whiteside 
 County in 1838, and settled in Jordan Township. 
 Mr. Coe of this sketch was born in Monroe Co., 
 N. Y., Nov. 23, 1820, where he lived until 1838, 
 when he accompanied his parents to Jordan Town- 
 ship, and was a resident there about three years, 
 when he removed to Sterling Township with his 
 parents. He located on a farm on section n, which 
 he received by inheritance from his father, and on 
 which he resided about 20 years. At the expiration 
 of that time he sold his place, and not long after- 
 ward went to the city of Sterling, where he has re- 
 sided six years. 
 
 He has been identified with the growth of the city, 
 and was one of the founders of the First National 
 Bank of Sterling, in which he was also one of the 
 
 /-> ,v 
 
 401 
 
 Directors. He has been a Republican since the 
 organization of the party, and was a member of 
 the first mass convention held at Springfield, 111., for 
 the purpose of organizing that element in Illinois. 
 He has held the office of Supervisor several years, 
 and Justice of the Peace one term and served as 
 Alderman. He has also been active in the promo- 
 tion of the educational interests. He was one of 
 the Board of Supervisors when the county seat was 
 removed to Morrison, and served on the committee 
 appointed to fix the sites of the county buildings. 
 He was an active member of the Agricultural Society 
 of Whiteside County from its organization for about 
 20 years, being a member of the Executive Board 
 most of the time. He was President of the society 
 one year. 
 
 In June, 1872, he settled on the section where he 
 now resides, and is the owner of 245 acres of land 
 located in the townships of Sterling, Jordan and 
 Hume, which is all in a state of advanced culti- 
 vation. Mr. Coe is the possessor of a fine estate, for 
 which he is indebted to his own energy, perseverance 
 and industry. 
 
 His marriage to Eveline N., daughter of Jonathan 
 and Ellen (Bowman) Stevens, took place Nov. 8, 
 1844. Her father was born Dec. 31, 1798, in Ston- 
 ington, Conn., and he was married Jan. 13, 1824. 
 His wife was born Feb. 2, 1807, in Pennsylvania, and 
 after their marriage they located in Luzerne County, 
 in that State, where they remained until their re- 
 moval to Whiteside County. They arrived in the 
 Township of Sterling on the same day in which S. M. 
 Coe came to Jordan Township. Mr. Stevens settled 
 on a farm on section 15, just north of Harrisburg, now 
 incorporated within the limits of Sterling. On this 
 he lived 33 years, and died Sept. 14, 1870. Mrs. 
 Stevens died Jan. 22, 1876. Mrs. Coe is their only 
 daughter and second child. Thomas W. is the name 
 of her oldest brother. Marshall S. and John N. are 
 the youngest children of the family. Mrs. Coe was 
 born May 8, 1827, in Luzerne Co., Pa., and she is 
 the mother of one surviving child, Marcus L., who 
 married Julia A. Gait, of Sterling, Aug. 26^875. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Coe have buried four children : Marcus 
 La Fayette, Augustus J., Ellen M. and Albert L. 
 The parents are members of the Presbyterian 
 Church, with which the father has been many years 
 connected. He has been an Elder many years, 
 and is the oldest incumbent of that position in the 
 
 \* 
 
 S* 
 
 it*
 
 WHITES IDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 Church at Sterling, and when he was elected he was 
 the third Elder in that body. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Coe are decidedly radical in their temperance views, 
 and adopt the principles of the Prohibition element. 
 The brothers of Mr. Coe have been prominent in 
 the localities in which they settled. George A. Coe, 
 second eldest brother, went to Coldwater, Mich., 
 where he became distinguished in political circles. 
 He was a member of the Legislature of the Penin- 
 sular State, when he was the only Whig in the 
 Assembly, all the other members being Democrats. 
 He was afterward elected Lieutenant-Governor of 
 the State. He died at Coldwater. Albert S. Coe 
 went to Rock Island, and represented that county in 
 the Legislature of Illinois. He settled on a town- 
 ship previous to its organization, and when that 
 event occurred it was called " Coe " in his honor. 
 He died Oct. 17, 1869. 
 
 amuel G, Bryning, M. D., Fulton, is a 
 native of Canada, and a graduate of the 
 Medical Department of Victoria University, 
 Toronto, Canada. He was born in Norfolk 
 County, now Ontario, Nov. 29, 1826, and is 
 the son of Rev. John and Nancy (Lee) Bry- 
 He received his literary education at Mt. 
 Pleasant Academy, studied medicine with Drs. J. B. 
 Culver and I. White, of Florence, Canada, and with 
 Dr. James Lee, of London, Canada. He attended 
 lectures at Victoria University, Toronto, at which in- 
 stitution he graduated. He began practice at Mel- 
 bourne, Canada, in 1860, which he continued till 
 1864, when he came to Illinois, and located at Rock- 
 ton. He pursued the practice of medicine at that 
 place till September, 1868, when he came to Fulton, 
 this county, and has been in practice here contin- 
 uously since. 
 
 Dr. Bryning was married at Simcoe, Norfolk Co., 
 Canada, Nov. 26, 1848, to Miss Catharine, daughter 
 of Captain Jacob Davis. Mrs. Bryning was born at 
 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. They had two sons : the 
 elder, Samuel L., married Esther Barr, and lives at 
 Wheaton, 111. ; John A. married Nillie Smith, and 
 died, aged 25 years, leaving a wife and one child, 
 now residing at Fulton. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Bryning are members of the Presby- 
 
 nmg. 
 
 terian Church of Fulton. The Doctor votes the 
 Republican ticket ; is a member of the Order of the 
 Knights of Honor of Iowa, and of Camp No. 2 of the 
 Modern Woodmen of Fulton. 
 
 Dr. Bryning has had 35 years' experience in the 
 practice of medicine, 17 of which he has passed at 
 Fulton. His practice extends to neighboring coun- 
 ties, and has reached very flattering and lucrative 
 proportions. He has certainly been eminently suc- 
 cessful, and success is the standard by which the 
 world forms its judgment. 
 
 homas Conboy is a farmer on section i, 
 Hume Township. He was born Sept. 12, 
 1842, in Galway, Ireland, and is the son of 
 Patrick and Margaret Conboy. They were 
 natives of the same part of Ireland. In 1861 
 the son emigrated to America. He made his 
 first location in the town of Clarence, in Cedar Co., 
 Iowa. A year later he came to CoTno, in Whiteside 
 County. He engaged as a laborer on .the farm of C. 
 H. Holmes, where he was employed four years. A 
 year after, in 1868, he purchased 80 acres on section 
 i, Hume Township, on which he had resided during 
 the year 1866 as a renter. In 1873 he bought 80 
 acres more and in 1882 he made another purchase of 
 43 acres. The tract is now all under improvement, 
 and is supplied with a fine large residence and suit- 
 able farm buildings. Mr. Conboy is engaged to a 
 considerable extent in raising fine graded stock. 
 
 April 8, 1866, he was married, in Hume Town- 
 ship, to Mary, daughter of Patrick and Bridget (Ely) 
 Noonen. Her parents were born and married in the 
 west of Ireland. A few years later they emigrated 
 to America and made a temporary settlement in 
 Monmouth Co., N. J., where Mrs. Conboy was born, 
 May 15, 1848. Later, her parents came to Como, 
 where they located when she was a small girl. Her 
 mother lives with her. Her children are eight in 
 number and are named Martin, Maggie, Mary, Ed- 
 die, Thomas, Anna, Willie and John. The family 
 belong to the Catholic Church. 
 
 Mr. Conboy is Democratic in political opinion. 
 He has officiated as School Director and as Highway 
 Commissioner. 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ; 
 
 i 
 
 harles E. Langford, President of the 
 Langford & Hall Lumber Company, of 
 Fulton, 111., and the pioneer lumberman of 
 this city, established himself in this business 
 at Fulton in 1859. He began by running 
 lumber across the river from Lyons. He next leased 
 a saw -mill just above town, which he operated till 
 1862, when he built a small mill on the site of his 
 present one. He operated the first mill till 1876, 
 when he moved it off, and built the present extensive 
 concern. The mill was begun in 1876 and com- 
 pleted in 1877. The Langford & Hall Lumber 
 Company was incorporated Jan. 26, 1878, with a 
 capital stock of $75,000, all of which is paid up. 
 The mill has a cutting capacity of 75,000 feet per 
 day, and, when running a full force, 130 men are 
 employed ten hours a day. The company carries 
 an average stock of 7 ,000,000 feet of lumber. It was 
 inventoried Jan. r, 1885, at a net value of $97,181. 
 Mr. Langford was elected President and Treasurer 
 at the organization of the company, and held the 
 office for several years. Mr. George S. Sardam is 
 the present efficient Secretary. Mr. Langford holds 
 half the company stock, while the balance is divided 
 between the heirs of Warren P. Hall and others. 
 
 Mr. Langford was born in Genesee Co., N. Y., 
 Dec. 14, 1816, and is the son of Charles and Fannie 
 (Mansfield) Langford. His parents were natives of 
 New York : his father was born in Genesee, and his 
 mother in Oneida County. When two years of age 
 Charles removed with his parents to Upper Canada, 
 to St. John's. Seven years later they went to North- 
 ern Ohio, where they resided till 1829, when they 
 changed to Erie Co., Pa. At the age of 14 years 
 Charles bought his time of his father, who was a 
 carder and clothier, and began life for himself. 
 He had learned the carding business, at which he 
 worked till the fall of 1 836, when he started out to 
 seek his fortune. He traveled South as far as New 
 Orleans, and the following June (1837) he came up 
 the Mississippi River to Lyons, Iowa. He made a 
 claim on unsurveyed land between Lyons and Sa- 
 bula before the Indians were removed. 
 
 His experience while a squatter is well worth re- 
 lating. He built a log shanty, and hired five acres 
 
 S^n 
 
 broken, which he planted to' sod corn. He soon 
 after bought a pair of old oxen on time ; then, having 
 a chance to exchange one of his oxen for breaking, he 
 did so, and added nine acres to his plowed land, and 
 paid for the cattle with the proceeds of his sod corn. 
 The following season he sowed a part of his land 
 with wheat and planted the balance with corn. He 
 then rigged his odd ox with an old mule's har- 
 ness, with ropes tied to his horns for lines, and 
 with this novel outfit he cultivated his corn ! His 
 wheat yielded 30 bushels to the acre, which he 
 hauled to Chicago, and sold for 90 cents a bushel. 
 
 He sold his claim for a small consideration the 
 second year, and the following winter engaged in 
 cutting cord-wood for the boats. He sold his wood 
 the next spring, and with the proceeds purchased a 
 carding-machine at St. Louis, which he set up the 
 following July, on a little water power on Elk River, 
 between Sabula and Lyons. He built a dam and a 
 small mill and began business as a carder. As many 
 of the old settlers kept a few sheep and used the old- 
 fashioned spinning v, heels, he found plenty to do. 
 He continued that business about five or six years, 
 when he sold out. He then purchased a tract of 
 land in Clinton Co., Iowa, where he engaged in 
 farming. In 1852 he leased a small water-power 
 saw-mill, on Elk River, above Lyons, which he sub- 
 sequently bought. He operated that mill only a 
 short time, when he sold out and resumed farming. 
 
 In 1856 he retired from the farm and located at 
 Lyons. Soon after the financial storm of 1857 he 
 leased what was known as the Stambaugh Saw-Mill 
 at Lyons since burned which he operated till 
 1859, when he leased the mill on the Fulton side of 
 the river, above town. In 1862 he built the small 
 steam mill on the site of his present mill, as before 
 mentioned. He is still the owner of 500 acres of his 
 old farm in Clinton Co., Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Langford has, by the exercise of good judg- 
 ment and untiring energy, developed an important 
 and extensive business. He is a fair type of the 
 self-made Western man, starting as he did at the age 
 of 14 years, buying his time of his father, and going 
 out into the battle of life with only his bare hands, 
 shrewd judgment and indomitable will to back him. 
 His marked success has been won after many a hard 
 struggle against discouraging circumstances. 
 
 Mr. Langford has been twice married: first in 
 Pennsylvania, to Miss Hannah Shadduck, in 1836. 
 ^A 
 
 
 
 fi
 
 WHITES! DE COUNTY. 
 
 His second wife was Miss Maria Sherman, to whom 
 he was married in Fulton, 111., June'iS, 1874. He 
 had seven children by his first marriage, three sons 
 and four daughters ; by his second marriage he has 
 one daughter. 
 
 Mr. Langford was a Whig in early life, and since 
 the organization of the Republican party he has 
 voted that ticket. 
 
 
 (Si 
 
 ohn F. Dickinson, of the firm of Dickinson 
 & James, dealers in general hardware, 
 agricultural implements, farm machinery, 
 etc., at Erie, is a son of Chauncey B. and 
 Clarissa (Ingles) Dickinson, and was born in 
 Auburn, N. Y., Nov. 26, 1828. His father 
 was a stone mason and dock builder on the Erie 
 Canal, in New York, for a number of years. The 
 parents were natives of New England, and the father 
 died in Lockport, N. Y., in 1880, and the mother in 
 Forest ville, same State, in 1878. The issue of their 
 union was seven children. Their record is as fol- 
 lows : Orlando E. enlisted in the late Civil War, 
 was in the artillery service on the Potomac, was 
 wounded and returned home to Lockport, where he 
 died. Edward S. enlisted in the 13111 111. Vol. Inf., 
 was flag-bearer, then promoted First Lieutenant, and 
 again as Government Inspector with rank as Major. 
 Russell I. is a retired farmer, residing at Prophets- 
 town, this county. Eliza A. is the widow of Daniel 
 W. Parsons, formerly a farmer and merchant. Augus- 
 tus enlisted in the 131)1 111. Vol. Inf., was promoted, 
 discharged, re-enlisted and has never since been 
 heard from, and is undoubtedly sleeping his last 
 sleep in an unknown soldier's grave. John D., sub- 
 ject of this sketch, is next in order of birth. Louisa 
 is the wife of Orland Elmore, a farmer in Chautau- 
 qua Co., N. Y. 
 
 In 1843, when 15 years of age, Mr. Dickinson 
 came to Lawrence Co., 111., and engaged in farming. 
 He soon afterward went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and 
 engaged in clerking, which he followed for two years 
 and then went to Forestville, where he learned the 
 harness trade, which he followed in connection with 
 railroading several years. 
 
 In the spring of 1860, Mr. Dickinson came to Erie, 
 this county, and opened a harness-shop, which he 
 conducted till 1875 an d then sold. In the spring of 
 
 1880 he opened a hardware store at Erie, and in 
 August of that year formed a partnership with R. T. 
 James in the same business, the firm becoming Dick- 
 inson & James, and which relation exists at the 
 present writing. They carry a well selected stock of 
 goods adapted to the wants of their customers, own 
 their building and warehouse and are doing a good 
 business. Mr. D. owns his residence and five lots 
 in the village. 
 
 Mr. Dickinson was married Nov. 26, 1848, to Miss 
 Helen Ferguson. She was born Sept. 18, 1830, in 
 Oneida Co., N. Y., and has borne him five children, 
 Orlando P. D., born Sept. 8, 1849; Harriet A., Nov. 
 i, 1851; Raymond F., born Jan. 10, 1855, died 
 March 14, 1858; William W., born Oct. 8, 1858; 
 and Samuel B., Dec. 27, 1862. 
 
 Mrs. Dickinson died in Erie, June 22, 1866, and 
 Mr. D. was again married, in Forestville, Chautau- 
 qua Co., N. Y., Jan. 30, 1867, to Miss Emma J. 
 Cranston. She was born in Forestville, Nov. 22, 
 1835, and is the mother of one child, Martha W., 
 born Oct. 29, 1868. 
 
 Mr. Dickinson, politically, is a Democrat. He 
 has been Chairman of the Township Democratic 
 Committee 25 years, and is also a member of the 
 Democratic County Committee. Socially, he is a 
 member of the Masonic Order and was one of the 
 charter members of Erie Lodge, No. 667, also char- 
 ter member of Portland Odd Fellows Lodge and 
 Eastern Star Lodge of Evangeline Chapter, No. 53, 
 and of the latter is a Past Grand Patron. He is 
 also one of the Pilgrim Knights of the Palm and 
 Shell Order of Jerusalem. Religiously, he is a 
 member of the Baptist Church. 
 
 saac S. Bressler, of the firm of Bressler 
 Bros., farmers and stock-growers on section 
 35, Jordan Township, was born Aug. 23, 
 1851, on the section adjoining that on which 
 he lives in Jordan Township. He is a son of 
 Henry Bressler, of whom a personal account 
 is given in connection with that of Levi Bressler. 
 
 Mr. Bressler spent the succeeding years of his 
 youth in obtaining a fair elementary education at the 
 common schools, He finished his education at Mt. 
 Vernon, Iowa, and he remained at home until his 
 majority. At 21 he assumed the management of his 
 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 \
 
 
 
 

 

 
 UNlYtKSIIT
 
 
 , 
 
 J 
 
 grandfather's farm, which was his first independent 
 venture in that direction. 
 
 He was married Jan. 14, 1874, at Sterling, to 
 Delora, daughter of George W. and Elizabeth (Green) 
 Brewer. She was bom in the city of Sterling, where 
 her parents yet reside, and where she was reared 
 and educated. She is the mother of two boys, Fred 
 and George. 
 
 Mr. Bressler continued the management of the 
 farm of his grandfather until December, 1878, when 
 he formed a business relation with his younger 
 brother, John. They commenced farming together 
 on 305 acres of land in Sterling Township, at the 
 same time establishing " Bressler's Dairy." They 
 kept a dairy herd of 60 cows, selling milk in the city 
 of Sterling. After two years of joint operation as 
 general farmers, they began to breed superior Short- 
 Horn cattle. They are the owners of a stock farm 
 on section 35, the old homestead, Jordan Township, 
 which includes 220 acres of land under tillage. 
 They have 220 head of cattle in their herds, 60 head 
 of which are Short-Horn, and the rest principally 
 high grades. They have erected buildings especially 
 for the purpose of giving their stock every care and 
 protection suited to their wants. They maintain a 
 drove of Poland-China swine, averaging 50 in num- 
 ber. 
 
 Since September, 1884, Mr. Bressler has been a 
 resident and personal superintendent of the farm in 
 Jordan Township, while his brother is similarly sit- 
 uated on the rented place in Sterling Townsip. 
 
 They take much interest in the exhibitions of lo- 
 cal agricultural societies, in which they have been 
 successful competitors as farmers and stock-growers. 
 
 Mr. Bressler is a Republican in political faith, 
 and belongs to the Fourth Methodist Episcopal 
 Church at Sterling, of which society his wife is also a 
 member. 
 
 ^ .0^0.. 1 e^ t ' . y 
 
 ;,,enry C. Fellows, capitalist ' at Fulton 
 City, was one of the first party of pio- 
 neers at . that place, and also, one of the 
 proprietors of the first town plat. He is a na- 
 tive of New York, and was born in the town of 
 New Lebanon, Columbia County, March 10, 
 1813, and is the son of Joshua and Juliet (Darling) 
 Fellows. His early life was n passed^on^his father's 
 
 farm, till he became ambitious of being his own 
 master. 
 
 He learned the carpenter and joiner's trade, and ^s 
 in the fall of 1835 started for the West, arriving at 
 Joliet, 111., in November of that year. He worked at \& 
 his trade in Joliet till the spring of 1837, when he 
 started out in search of an opening for business. He 
 was joined by a party of land-seekers ; and, after 
 fording swollen streams of ice-cold water and spending 
 two nights on the open prairie without shelter, they 
 reached the banks of the Mississippi at the present 
 site of Fulton, on the first of March, 1837. Here 
 they found a deserted shanty that had been built by 
 John Baker, who had erected a better house to the 
 eastward, over the hill, where he was then living. 
 They took possession of the old shanty and for a 
 considerable time it was headquarters, or bachelor's 
 hall, for themselves and others who soon after joined 
 them. In May of that year their party consisted of 
 H. C. Fellows, James McCoy, John B. Jenkins, Geo. 
 W. Kellog. 
 
 A bargain was made with Mr. John Baker, who 
 claimed the town site, and who had made a rude 
 survey of a plat, by which the old plat was aban- 
 doned and a new survey made, with the new-comers 
 as joint proprietors. The survey was made by Mc- 
 Coy, Fellows, Jenkins and Kellog. The principal 
 proprietors of the town site were H. C. Fellows, 
 James McCoy, George W. Kellog, John B. Jenkins, 
 Alvin Humphries, R. J. Jeoks, Lyman Blake, John 
 Baker and Jeremiah Humphries. 
 
 It was some time before the land came into mar- 
 ket and real titles could be obtained. In the mean- 
 time other emigrants joined them, and the town of ^ 
 Fulton soon became an established fact. The found- 
 ers of the youhg town had many privations to endure. i 
 The low prices of produce and great distance from 
 market made incomes necessarily small. Had mos- 
 quitoes and malaria been marketable, the young col- 
 ony would have been rich. However, the pleasure 
 peculiar to a frontier life partially compensated for 
 the lack of the comforts of more mature civilization. 
 
 Mr. Fellows took an active part in encouraging 
 the improvement and development of the town, and 
 soon became prominent in public affairs. He was 
 appointed Deputy Sheriff under John W. LeMore 
 in 1844, for two years. He was- elected Justice of 
 the Peace in the early days of the town, was re- 
 elected and held that office 14 years. Litigation 
 
 [
 
 \r Xri M M I N M X v *^ 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 1 
 5 
 
 : 
 I 
 
 was mote common in early times than in later years, 
 as the machinery of society could not be expected to 
 run smoothly at first, where there were many con- 
 flicting interests and numerous turbulent spirits that 
 naturally gravitate to the frontier. 'Squire Fellows' 
 Court was kept in active operation and justice was 
 meted out with a view to equity as well as law. His 
 decisions were deemed so just and fair that an ap- 
 peal was seldom made from them. He was elected 
 Supervisor of Fulton Township in 1857, and again 
 in 1860-3-4-70, and was appointed in 1871 to fill a 
 vacancy, and re-elected again in 1872. He was one 
 of the first Aldermen of the city and has held other 
 local offices. 
 
 In April, 1850, he joined a party of his fellow 
 townsmen in a trip to California, going across the 
 plains. He spent two years in the gold regions, and 
 returned well satisfied with his experience. 
 
 In 1859 he formed a partnership with Mr. Irving 
 G. Gates, under the firm name of Fellows & Gates, 
 lumber merchants, and carried on an extensive busi- 
 from 1859 to 1862, when they sold out. In 1864 he 
 removed to Union Grove, to one of his farms, where 
 he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1868, 
 when he returned to Fulton. In 1871 he went into 
 the livery business, which he conducted till 1876. 
 
 Mr. Fellows is a man of keen business sagacity, 
 of unquestioned integrity, whose word is as good as 
 his bond. By strict attention to business and ju- 
 dicious investment, he has acquired a large and 
 valuable property. He has several well improved 
 farms, aggregating 1,500 acres, besides valuable city 
 property and securities. 
 
 He was married in Union Grove Township, Nov. 
 9, 1843, to Miss Lydia Baker, daughter of Jacob and 
 Elizabeth Baker. Mrs. Fellows was born in Trum- 
 bull Co., Ohio, and came to Fulton with her parents 
 in 1839. Mr. and Mrs. Fellows have had seven 
 children, four daughters and three sons. The eld- 
 est, Robert ]., married Hattie Burns, and resides at 
 "Union Grove, 111. They have three children, all girls, 
 Augusta E., Lola M. and Mabel E. The second 
 child, Augusta E., died aged 18 years. The thkd, Ella 
 H., died aged 17 years. Florence A. resides with her 
 parents. Mary died aged two years. William H., 
 a lawyer, and Fred A. are in business in Northern 
 Dakota. 
 
 In all. matters of public enterprise calculated to 
 
 benefit his town or county, Mr. Fellows has acted 
 with his characteristic earnestness and decision, ren- 
 dering wise counsel, and material aid. When the 
 project of constructing a railroad as an outlet from 
 Fulton to the East was under consideration, he was 
 one of those whose earnest efforts secured its ac- 
 complishment. 
 
 The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Fellows are pre- 
 sented in this volume with much satisfaction, as the 
 subjects are inseparably connected with the earliest 
 history of Fulton and the county of Whiteside. Time 
 has dealt kindly with them, as they deserve from 
 their lives of thrift and usefulness. 
 
 -X 
 
 - 
 
 S. Coe, general farmer on sec. 12, Hun 
 Township, was born Sept. 21, 1832, in 
 Monroe Co., N. Y., and is a son of one 
 of the earliest of the pioneer settlers in 
 Whiteside County, The sketch of his brother, 
 S. M. Coe, contains a detailec} account of his 
 parents, Simeon and Mary Miles Coe. 
 
 Mr. Coe was in early childhood when the family 
 came to Whiteside County. His father died while 
 he was yet a lad, and he remained the companion of 
 his mother and sister until he was nearly of age. He 
 started his career on his own responsibility as a day 
 laborer, and he bought a claim of 160 acres of unim- 
 proved land in Jordan Township, where his father 
 had located on removal to this county. 
 
 He was married Marches, 1855, in Sterling 
 Township, to Rachel, daughter of Edwin and Mary 
 (Spencer) Penrose. The father was of English de- 
 scent and of Canadian parentage, and both were 
 born in Pennsylvania. They went to Ohio when 
 young, and were married in that State. They set- 
 tled on a farm in Belmont County, where Mrs. Coe 
 was born Aug. 22, 1835. When she was n years 
 of age her parents removed to Whiteside County and 
 settled on a farm in Sterling Township. They were 
 prominent members of the " Society of Friends," or 
 Quakers. In the spring of 1864 they sold their farn 
 and went to Keokuk Co., Iowa. Later they removed 
 to Jasper County, in the same State, where the 
 mother died, when 66 years old. The father re- 
 turned to Keokuk County, and died there, aged 72 
 years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Coe have two children : Edwin 
 ' _^ &s 
 
 r&s
 
 - .. :- 
 
 .- 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 f 
 
 K> 
 
 M., who was born Jan. 5, 1858, and married Adele 
 Mangan : they reside in Hopkins Township, and 
 have two children, Albert E. and Lauren M. ; Al- 
 bert L. was born Sept. 27, 1861 ; he married Eva B. 
 Bancroft, and is managing his. father's property. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Coe located on the farm in Jordan 
 Township, which Mr. Coe put in good farming con- 
 dition and afterwards sold. In 1869 he came to 
 Hume Township, where he purchased 200 acres of 
 land as a beginning, on section 12, and later added 
 40 acres adjoining on section n. The farm is 
 one of the best improved and most valuable in 
 the township. The dwelling is of the finest type 
 and the stock on the farm is well graded. Mr. 
 Coe ranks as a leading agriculturist. He is prom- 
 inent as an uncompromising Republican, and has 
 been Township Trustee for six years. He has been 
 Trustee in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of 
 which he and his wife are earnest members. 
 
 lark R. Powell, farmer and nurseryman, 
 section 23, Sterling Township, was born 
 Sept. 12, 1826, in Saratoga Co., N. Y. He is 
 the son of Joseph and Hannah (Bowerman) 
 Powell, and his parents were born and passed 
 their entire lives in the State of New York. 
 The names of their children were Jacob, Lydia Ann, 
 Nathaniel, Martha, Eliza, Henry S., Clark R. and 
 Nelson. 
 
 Mr. Powell of this sketch was educated in the 
 common schools, attended academy at Macedon 
 Center four months, and at the age of 23 left home to 
 make his own way in the world. He came to White- 
 side County in 1849. His first purchase of land was 
 made in Lee County and comprised 160 acres, which 
 he afterwards sold, and bought 30 acres where he 
 has since operated. In 1850 he engaged in the 
 nursery business, and he now owns 80 acres, of which 
 about 20 acres is devoted to nursery and orchard. 
 His place is known as the Sterling Nurseries, and 
 he is engaged in the growth and sale of all kinds 
 of trees common to the trade, besides general nur- 
 sery stock of a miscellaneous character. Mr. Powell 
 is a Republican in political sentiments, and supports 
 the issues of that party. 
 
 was married in Mendon, Monroe Co., N. Y., 
 
 Pf^/s.. 
 
 Oct. 17, 1853, to Mary E., daughter of Henry and 
 Judith S. (Russell) Quick. Mrs. Powell was born 
 Oct. 12, 1834, in Ulster Co., N. Y., and her parents 
 were born in the same State. Their children were 
 named James S., Mary E., Rachel J., Susan M., Sid- 
 ney, Minnie A. and Madison D. The names of the, 
 children of Mr. and Mrs. Powell are Albert, Melissa 
 A., Edwin, Theron and Martha. 
 
 illiam C. Green, (ist) this " ist " is used 
 to distinguish Mr. Green from a nephew 
 ... of the same name Mayor of Fulton, 
 i' and by occupation a wagon and carriage 
 maker, was born in Bono, Lawrence Co., 
 Ind , Dec. 14, 1822, and is the son of David 
 and Margaret C. (Coots) Green. He was brought up 
 upon his father's farm, and varied farm life by run- 
 ning flat-boats between Bono and New Orleans, car- 
 rying produce to market. He became expert as a 
 pilot, and made a great many flat-boat trips. He 
 also learned the carpenter and boat-builders' trade, 
 at which he worked several years. He came to 
 Fulton in the middle of October, 1849, an d was en- 
 gaged for a time with his brothers, N. and R. Green, 
 in merchandising. He quit the store, and spent one 
 year on a farm near Fulton. He then returned to 
 the city, and re-entered the store with his brothers, 
 and continued with them till the business was closed, 
 in 1860. He then engaged at carpenter work, and 
 in 1864 opened a wagon and carriage shop, since 
 which time he has carried on the business continu- 
 ously. 
 
 He was married at Fulton, Nov. 21, 1850, to Mrs. 
 Harriet Carpenter, widow of Ralph Carpenter, and 
 daughter of Jesse and Mary (Webb) Johnson. Mrs. 
 Green was born in Lowville, Lewis Co., N. Y. She 
 had two children by her former marriage, a son and 
 daughter. The son, Ralph, was a soldier of the late 
 war, and died in his country's service at Kennerville, 
 La. The daughter, Minnie, is the wife of Joseph 
 Pierce, of Green County. Mrs. Green's father, Jesse 
 Johnson, was among the pioneers of Fulton of 1838. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Green have four children, two sons 
 and two daughters: Harriet E., William E., Clarence 
 and Clara, the last two being twins. 
 
 Mr. Green has frequently been chosen to fill pub- 
 
 ] 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 

 
 N^ 
 
 I 
 
 lie positions of honor and trust. He has served as 
 School Director 14 years, and as Alderman four 
 years ; is now serving his sixth year as Assessor and 
 his third term as Mayor of Fulton. He is also the 
 present Clerk and Director of the School Board. In 
 politics he is a Democrat, of the Stephen A. Doug- 
 las school. 
 
 It is no idle compliment to say of Mr. Green that 
 he has always discharged the duties of office with 
 ability and fidelity, while his private life is without 
 reproach. His fellow citizens paid him the hand- 
 some compliment, in the spring of 1885, of electing 
 him the third time as Mayor, and without opposition. 
 Mrs. Green is a member of the Presbyterian Church 
 of Fulton. 
 
 
 Daniel Schryver, liveryman at Erie, is a son 
 of Abraham and Charity Schryver, and 
 was born in Monroe Co., N. Y., April 21, 
 1833. His parents were natives of New 
 York, and died in Illinois. The issue of their 
 union was five children, of whom three are liv- 
 ing: Sally A., widow of Nevatus Webster, deceased, 
 formerly a farmer near Polo, 111.; Joseph A., a far- 
 mer near Marysville, Kan.; and Daniel. 
 
 Daniel's mother died when he was six years old, 
 and he remained with his father until he attained 
 the age of 1 3 years, when he left home and went to 
 Galena, 111., where he remained about three months 
 and then went to New Orleans. He was only about 
 three months at the latter place, and went thence to 
 Columbus, Ky., where he was engaged in driving 
 stage to Mayfield for about six months. 
 
 In 1851 he came to Erie and drove stage between 
 Erie and Port Byron two years. He was then, in 
 1853, united in marriage with Miss Lennora, daugh- 
 ter of Joseph and Orpha Atwood. She was born in 
 Vermont, Dec. 31, 1835, and bore him nine children, 
 five of whom survive : Herman is a farmer in Erie 
 Township. Libbie is the wife of Lemuel Cane, a 
 barber in Nebraska. Horace is at home. Lucy is 
 the wife of Marsh Batie, a resident of Montana, and 
 Lena is at home. The deceased were Luella, Ho- 
 mer, Harry and Lorena. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Schryver purchased 80 
 acres of land one and one-half miles south of Erie, 
 
 & **@V* 
 
 and also rented the S. L. Wilder tract, embracing 
 3,000 acres. He herds cattle on the rented land, 
 and farms a portion of it. 
 
 Mr. Schryver enlisted in Co. I, 75th 111. Vol. Inf., 
 in 1862, as private andserved three years. He was 
 in a number of engagements, prominent among 
 which were Perryville, Nashville, Murfreesboro, Stone 
 River, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, 
 Mission Ridge, Jonesboro, Pulaski, Tenn., and a 
 second time at Nashville, besides numerous skir- 
 mishes, and escaped the perils of war without any 
 serious injury. 
 
 Returning from the war he turned his attention to 
 farming and herding. He now has the 3,000 acres 
 under fence, still owns the 80 acres he originally 
 purchased, and has since purchased 120 acres. He 
 also owns his residence and lot in Erie. In Decem- 
 ber, 1882, he moved to Erie, and in the fall of 1884 
 purchased the livery stable at that place. He keeps 
 eight horses and six carriages. 
 
 Mr. Schryver is a member of the Masonic Order, 
 and of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is 
 also Constable. 
 
 ohn W. Hull, farmer, section 32, Ustick 
 Township, is the son of Abraham and Bet- 
 sey (Wolcott) Bull, who were born respect- 
 ively in Vermont and New York, and who 
 were the parents of four children, John W., 
 Benjamin, Elzina and Lyman. The oldest 
 son was born April 26, 1822, in Watertown, Jeffer- 
 son Co., N. Y. Until he was 15 years of age he at- 
 tended the common schools, and since that time he 
 has been engaged in farming most of the time. In 
 July, 1854, he came to Whiteside County, fixing his 
 residence in Ustick Township. He owns about 166 
 acres of land and has improved 125 acres. 
 
 In political faith he is not the adherent of any 
 party; he has held several official positions, and is a 
 member of the Masonic Order. 
 
 Mr. Bull has been married three times. Huldah 
 Wilson, of Orange Co., N. Y., became his wife May 
 22, 1849. She was born July 13, 1827, in Jefferson 
 Co., N. Y., and became the mother of four children, 
 Ellen M., Wilson B., Bion B. and Adela B. She 
 died July 6, 1863, in Ustick Township. Mr. Bull 
 
 
 f 
 '
 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 was a second time married, in Ustick Township, to 
 Fhilena Gordon. She was born in Lewis Co., N. Y., 
 and died Feb. 12, 1874, leaving three children, 
 Benjamin, Abraham and Ezra. Mr. Bull was again 
 married May 19, 1877, in Fulton, 111., to Isabella 
 Gatton, a native of Carroll Co., 111., where she was 
 born Dec. 15, 1851. Of the last marriage three 
 children have been born, named Charles J., George 
 S. and Fred W. 
 
 tavid A. Slick, general farmer and stock- 
 man, located on section 13, Genesee 
 Township, is the son of Jeremiah and 
 Elizabeth (Leady) Slick. They were both 
 born in the State of Pennsylvania. They were 
 married in Pennsylvania, where they engaged 
 in 'agricultural pursuits until their removal, in 1853, 
 to Carroll Co., 111. They settled in the township of 
 Freedom, where the son was born, October 5 of the 
 same year. The parents are now residents of Lan- 
 ark, Carroll Co., 111. 
 
 Until he was 1 6 years of age, Mr. Slick remained 
 at home, attending the district school. He then be- 
 gan a regular course of study at the college of Lan- 
 ark, Carroll Co., 111., and continued till Oct. 6, 1870. 
 Soon after he entered the mercantile establishment 
 of Henry Wickey, at Coleta. He was a salesman 
 there 10 years, and at the expiration of that time he 
 purchased a half interest in the business. The re- 
 lationship was in active existence two years, with 
 successful results. On the termination of his com- 
 mercial enterprise, Mr. Slick bought a farm of 80 
 acres, on section 13, Genesee Township. Since 
 1883, the year in which he engaged in farming, he 
 has given considerable attention to agricultural oper- 
 ations, and to raising valuable stock. He contem- 
 plates another change a year hence, in 1886, and 
 preliminary thereto he has sold his farm. 
 
 His marriage to Celesta Wetzel took place Sept. 
 19, 1 88 r. Mrs. Slick was born Oct. 30, 1854, in 
 Tuscarawas Co., Ohio. She is the daughter of 
 George aad Mary (Lineroad) Wetzel, both being of 
 German extraction, and by birth natives of Ohio. 
 She is the youngest of three daughters, there being 
 no sons in the family. Her father was a mechanic, 
 and he came West when she was a child of five 
 
 years. Her mother died in Ohio in 1856, aged 25 
 years and six months. The daughter was placed in 
 charge of her uncle, Joseph Hannah, by whom she 
 was brought up. She was educated at Mt. Carroll, 
 111., and Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and later, was sent to 
 the Northwestern College at Naperville, 111. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Slick have been the parents of three chil- 
 dren Josephine Natalie, Emory D. and Harold R. 
 Mrs. Slick is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. In political sentiment Mr. Slick is a Re- 
 publican. 
 
 
 B. Prey is a farmer on section 28, 
 Jordan Township, and was born July 16, 
 1841, in Lancaster Co., Pa. His father, Henry 
 Frey, was a native of the same State, and was 
 a farmer by vocation. He was reared to man- 
 hood on his father's homestead, and, in 1865, 
 was married to Lizzie Keider. She was a native of 
 Lancaster County, where she was married, and has 
 become the mother of 12 children. One named An- 
 nie died in infancy. Lizzie A., Hattie, John, Amos, 
 Henry, Jacob, Abraham, Daniel, Mary, Martin and 
 Noah were born in the order named. 
 
 The family remained in Lancaster County until 
 1863, coming West to Sterling in the spring of that 
 year. In 1869 Mr. Frey bought 80 acres of land on 
 section 28, which had been partly improved. His 
 farm now includes 240 acres in advanced agricultur- 
 al'condition, and well stocked with excellent grades 
 of cattle. 
 
 Mr. Frey is a Republican in political preference 
 and relations. 
 
 - ^ _<.> ^ j. 
 
 obert G. Barber, a farmer on section 27, 
 Ustick Township, is the son of Millard 
 and Margaret (Glenn) Barber, natives re- 
 spectively of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. 
 They removed with their family to Whiteside 
 County in the spring of 1856, settling in Us- 
 tick Township, where the father died April 5, 1874. 
 The mother is still living. Mary, Robert G., Martha 
 J. and George P. are the names of their children.
 
 " .. - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 I 
 
 (; 
 
 - 
 
 Mr. Barber was born in what is now Montour Co., 
 Pa., Sept. 2, 1841. He was educated in the com- 
 mon schools, and came in 1856 to Whiteside County 
 with his parents. He engaged in the business of 
 farming, in which he operated independently until 
 1868, when he removed to Fulton and engaged 
 in the omnibus business, in which he was interested 
 until 1874, when he returned to his homestead. He 
 is now the owner of 198 acres of land, which is all 
 improved. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Barber to Delia E., daughter 
 of A. C. and Amerita (Pierce) Crouch, took place at 
 Morrison. Their five children were born as follows : 
 Cora A., Aug. 9, 1868; Percy L., Sept. 24, 1870; 
 Harley P., Sept. 10, 1874; Mirtie M., March 7, 
 1876; Delia M., Sept. 30, 1879. Mr. Barber was a 
 second time married, in Garden Plain Township, to 
 Jane, daughter of James K. and Rachel (Phinney) 
 Kinard. She was born Nov. 6, 1849, in Ohio, and 
 has had one child, Inis V, born July 8, 1884. For 
 12 years previous to her marriage she was engaged 
 in teaching in Kansas and Illinois. Her parents re- 
 side in Kansas, whither they emigrated in 1869. 
 
 Andrew J. Osborne, contractor and bridge 
 builder, resident at Erie, is a son of James 
 and Rebecca (Glass) Osborne, and was 
 born in Ashfield, Franklin Co., Mass., Dec. 17, 
 1828. His father was a miller by vocation, 
 and died when Andrew was four years of age. 
 His mother died when he was eight years old, and 
 Andrew and his brother James, who constituted the 
 issue of his parents' union, were left orphans. 
 
 Andrew J. Osborne, after the death of his parents, 
 went to live with an uncle, with whom he remained 
 until he attained the age of 1 2 years. He then left 
 his uncle's house and went to Livingston Co., Mich, 
 where he worked on farms summers and attended 
 school about six months during winters, and also im- 
 proved his leisure time in study at home. 
 
 In 1844 Mr. Osborne left Michigan and came to 
 this State, where he remained four years, and then 
 went to New York. He was in the latter State one 
 year, and then came to Rock Island County, this 
 State. Here, when 57 years of age, he taught school 
 for a time in Canoe Creek Township. 
 
 $$ = 
 
 In the fall of 1850 he came to this county and 
 taught an arithmetical school evenings in Erie 
 Township. He taught what was then known as 
 the Prussian System of Calculation. He continued 
 teaching during the winters of 1851-2-3 in Portland 
 Township, and met with success in his profession. 
 
 Mr. Osborne was united in marriage in Erie 
 Township, March 24, 1853, to Miss Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Benjamin H. and Mary J. Smith. She 
 was born in Aurora, 111., April 12, 1833, and bore 
 him ii children, namely: Charles F., Ella C., 
 Henry A., Barnett A., Jesse E., Grant S., Rachel M. 
 (deceased), Elizabeth C., Rebecca M., Lucy E. and 
 Andrew J. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Osborne purchased 160 
 acres of land in Canoe Creek Township, Rock Island 
 County, which he cultivated for one year and then 
 sold. He next came to Erie, this county, and 
 erected a saw-mill there, which he ran for a year and 
 then failed. His next move was to Cass Co., Iowa, 
 where he was engaged in farming and milling for 
 five years, when he returned to Genesee, Henry Co., 
 this Slate. He remained at the latter place two 
 years, and then came to Erie Township, this county, 
 and moved on a farm his wife had received from her 
 father, on section 15. He worked hard and indus- 
 triously, and soon succeeded in paying all the debts 
 he had contracted prior to his failure, and also pur- 
 chased 1 60 acres of land on section 16, same town- 
 ship. He resided on the latter place for several 
 years, and then moved to Erie. 
 
 In 1882 he ran on the Greenback ticket for State 
 Representative; and, although his popularity placed 
 him several hundred votes ahead of his ticket, he 
 was not successful. After moving to Erie he en- 
 gaged in contracting- to build bridges for wagon 
 roads, and has continued in the business for a num- 
 ber of years. He has made a number of improve- 
 ments in bracing bridges for wagon roads, and has 
 continued in the business for a number of years. 
 He has made a number of improvements in bracing 
 bridges and so constructing the bridge as to prevent 
 the timber from rotting. He has built 
 bridges in this and adjoining counties. 
 
 Mr. Osborne still owns the 160 acres on the sec- 
 tion which he rents. He is an original thinker of J 
 some merit, and has written numerous articles o 
 finance, which have been published in the pai 
 and has also lectured on this subject ; lie has al 
 
 
 a number of '
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 UfffiAM
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 written a pamphlet on finance entitled "New Treat- 
 ise on Money," and has also written an article, now 
 in process of compilation, on formation of coal and 
 rocks, which promises to show a new departure in 
 the science of geology. 
 
 Dt. John W. Niles, a retired farmer re- 
 siding at Sterling, was born in Madison 
 Co., N. Y., Nov. ii, 1832. His parents, John 
 and Sarah (Mosely) Niles, emigrated West in 
 1855, settling in Jones Co., Iowa, upon a 
 tract of 480 acres of land, where they resided, 
 following agricultural pursuits for 13 years. They 
 then sold that place and removed to Sterling, this 
 county, and resided with their son, named at the 
 head of this paragraph, until their death. Mr. Niles 
 died in November, 1882, aged 82 years, and Mrs. N. 
 died Sept. i, 1884, also aged 82 years. They had 
 lived together in the married relation 59 years. 
 
 Capt. Niles, the subject of this sketch, was an in- 
 mate of his parental home until he was 20 years of 
 age, receiving an academical education at Hamilton, 
 N. Y. Then, in 1850, he went to Ohio, and was a 
 clerk in a bank for a year. Returning to the State 
 of New York, he taught district school winters until 
 1853, when he moved to Iowa and followed farming 
 until the summer of 1861. 
 
 At this time the tocsin of war was sounded, and 
 he regarded it as a call to exhibit his patriotism by 
 engagement in the field of carnage. Accordingly he 
 enlisted, in the Ninth Regt. Iowa Vol. Inf., and was 
 immediately appointed Sergeant. Going with Gen. 
 Curtis' army to the southwestern part of the State of 
 Missouri, he participated in the battle of Pea Ridge. 
 Next, he was in Gen. Grant's army during the Vicks- 
 burg campaign, was at the charge on Vicksburg on 
 the 22d of May, 1863, and for gallantry in action he 
 was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant. He 
 was also engaged in the campaign of Lookout Moun- 
 tain and Missionary Ridge in the fall of 1863. In 
 the summer of 1864 he was Regimental Quarter- 
 master in the Atlanta campaign, and participated in 
 Gen. Sherman's grand "march to the sea," when he 
 received his commission as Captain. Was with Gen. 
 Sherman at the surrender of Jo Johnston at Raleigh, 
 N. C. He took part in many battles and skirmishes 
 s2esit~ '^tsL&'Su^. -"> A. 
 
 too numerous to mention here. After participating 
 in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C., the i5th 
 Corps, of which he was a member, was taken to 
 Louisville, Ky., in July, 1865, and mustered out. 
 Thus, after a service of four years in the greatest war 
 ever waged, Capt. Niles was honorably discharged. 
 
 Returning from the war to this county, he pur- 
 chased 200 acres of land four miles south of Sterling, 
 and occupied it as an agriculturist until October, 
 1875, when he sold it and moved into a residence he 
 bought on Walnut Street in the city of Sterling, 
 where he is now a resident. He is Alderman of the 
 Second Ward, and Secretary of the Board of Educa- 
 tion of that ward. Is a member of the Masonic 
 fraternity, Commander of the Post of G. A. R., a 
 Republican in his political sympathies, a member of 
 the Baptist Church of Sterling, and a leading, repre- 
 sentative citizen of Whiteside County. Accordingly 
 a portrait of the Captain is given in this volume, ac- 
 companying this sketch. 
 
 'oseph Hannah, farmer, section 14, Gene- 
 ( see Township, was born Dec. 14, 1834, in 
 Somerset Co., Pa. His parents, Daniel 
 and Susan (Ferdinand) Hannah, were natives 
 of the same State and county, and were there 
 united in marriage. They had nine children. 
 The father died in Bakersville, Somerset Co., Pa., at 
 the age of 82 years. The mother is 85 years of age, 
 and lives at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She was born in 
 1800. 
 
 After he was eight years of age Mr. Hannah was 
 dependent on his own exertions for support, and he 
 performed labor suited to his age and size in the in- 
 terest of various farmers. When he reached the age 
 of 16 years he was apprenticed to Adam Kellering, a 
 miller in his native county, with whom he remained 
 between two and three years. At the expiration of 
 his obligations he went to Stark Co., Ohio, where he 
 operated as a journeyman miller. 
 
 His marriage to Emmeline Lineroad took place 
 Oct. 2, 1855, in Stark County. The parents of Mrs. 
 Hannah, Frederick and Elizabeth (Deardoff) Line- 
 road, were respectively natives of Germany and 
 Maryland, and were both descended from German 
 ancestry. They died in Stark Co., Ohio, and at the 
 
 
 v) 
 
 < 
 r~i 
 
 1 
 
 =1 
 
 7
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ir 
 L 
 
 time of their deaths the father was aged 75 years 
 and the mother was 68 years old. The mother's 
 parents were born in New England. Mrs. Hannah 
 was born June n, 1826. She came with her hus- 
 band to Genesee Township in 1856. They engaged 
 in farming, and lived some years on rented places. 
 In 1865 Mr. Hannah bought 80 acres of land, on 
 which he began to make improvements. He also 
 built a new house on the place, and has continued 
 the efforts of a provident farmer until his pioperty is 
 much increased in value and affords valuable re- 
 turns for the expenditure of time and effort. He is 
 engaged to considerable extent in raising stock, and 
 is the owner of swine of valuable breeds. He is a 
 Republican of positive type, and has been active in 
 township offices. Mrs. Hannah is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 fames W. Entwhistle, of Ustkk Township, 
 is a farmer on section 35, and is the son of 
 James and Margaret (Wilson) Entwhistle, 
 who were born in Ireland. They each emi- 
 grated to the United States in early life and 
 were married and settled in Philadelphia. Later 
 they came with their family to Jo Daviess Co., 111., 
 and resided there from 1834 to 1874, a period of 40 
 years. The mother died in 1854. In 1875 the 
 father came to Whiteside County and lived four 
 years in the family of his son, dying in 1879. Their 
 family of children, six in number, were born in the 
 following order: Mary A., Ellen, Thomas, John, 
 James W. and Robert. 
 
 Mr. Entwhistle was born Aug. 30, 1831, in Phila- 
 delphia. He was educated in the common schools 
 of Jo Daviess County, after which he became a 
 farmer. In 1870 he came to Whiteside County and 
 bought 120 acres of land in the township of Ustick. 
 He is now the owner of 240 acres of fine and valu- 
 able land, all under good cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Entwhistle was married Jan. 4, 1855, in Jo 
 Daviess County, to Ellen, daughter of John and Ann 
 (Statham) Lawton. The parents were born in Eng- 
 land. The daughter was born June 13, 1835, in 
 Columbia Co., N. Y. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Entwhistle are named Margaret A., John J., Carrie, 
 
 Hannah and George W. Elmer E. and Ella are 
 the names of two that are deceased. 
 
 Mr. Entwhistle is a Republican in political senti- 
 ment. He has served as School Trustee and is a 
 member of the Order of Masonry. Both himself and 
 his wife belong to the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 'otham McKee, farmer, section 22, Ustic 
 jijr Township, was born Oct. 27, 1821, in Jef- 
 ferson Co., N. Y. His father and mother, 
 Horace and Clarissa (King) McKee, were born 
 and lived all their lives in the same State. Of 
 their family of nine children, six lived to grow 
 up, as follows: Sophronia, Joseph, Horace, Sally 
 A., Jotham and Hiram W. 
 
 Mr. McKee was engaged in agricultural pursuits 
 in his native county until January, 1866. He then 
 came to Whiteside County and lived in the city ut 
 Morrison 12 years, during which time he was en- 
 gaged in a meat market. He officiated ten years as 
 City Marshal. He acted as Constable and a part of 
 the time served as Deputy Sheriff. He was also 
 Street Commissioner four years. In the spring of 
 1878 he bought 160 acres of land in Ustick Town- 
 ship, which has since been his field of operation. 
 Politically, Mr. McKee is a Republican, and he has 
 been a Constable in Ustick Township four years. He 
 is also a member of the Order of Odd Fellows. 
 
 His marriage to Delight Frink took place April 
 7, 1846, and they have one child, James F., who is 
 a resident of Rockford, 111. Mrs. McKee was born 
 Nov. 30, 1824, in Cortland Co., N. Y., and is the 
 daughter of Joseph and Esther (Palmer) Frink. Her 
 parents were natives of the State of New York. She 
 is a member of the Baptist Church. 
 
 
 eorge F. Shuler is a farmer of Sterling 
 Township and is located on section 9. His 
 parents, John G. and Christian (Bristle) 
 Shuler, were born in Germany and passed 
 their who)e lives in their native country. Four 
 of their six children lived to maturity and 
 were named George F., John G., Anna M. and 
 Mathtas. 
 
 Mr. Shuler was born April 26, 1835, in Germany,
 
 WH1TES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 \ 
 
 and at 18 came to America, leaving his native land 
 forever in 1853. He went first to Butler Co., Ohio, 
 where he remained eight months, after which he 
 came to Whiteside County, arriving in the State of 
 Illinois in August, 1854. He was a farm laborer 
 until 1856, when he bought 40 acres of land, which 
 is now included in his fine farm in Sterling Town- 
 ship, and is on section 9. His estate comprises 530 
 acres of land, and is chiefly under cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Shuler obtained a fair education in his native 
 country. He has taken an active interest in the 
 affairs of his township and served 17 years as High- 
 way Commissioner: is now serving another term of 
 three years; has been School Director 15 years. He 
 is a Republican in political sentiment, and was 
 reared in the principles of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 He was united in marriage, Feb. 14, 1856,111 Ster- 
 ling Township, to Elizabeth D. Rosenberry, and they 
 have had six children, three of whom they have lost 
 by death. Three daughters are living, -Ann E., 
 Emma R. and Mary R. John died when nearly 
 three years of age. Two children died in infancy. 
 
 manuel S. Landis is a farmer of Sterling 
 Township, and is the son of Daniel and 
 Margaret (Shaffer) Landis, natives of 
 Pennsylvania, and parents of five children, 
 Eliza, Emanuel S., Maria, Henry S. and 
 Anna. The subject of this personal narration 
 was born Dec. 27, 1816, and came to Illinois in 
 1852. He settled in Sterling Toivnship, where he 
 has since resided. He is the proprietor of 88 acres 
 of land, which is nearly all under cultivation. He 
 was first married in Lancaster Co., Pa., Feb. 24, 
 1857, to Mary Linginfield, who was a native of that 
 State. Their two children were named A. May and 
 Benjamin F. ; the latter is deceased. The mother 
 died in July, 1866, in Sterling Township. 
 
 Mr. Landis was again married, in Sterling Town- 
 ship, Dec. 29, 1867, to Susan, daughter of John 
 and Mary (Herr) Hoover, and widow of John tan- 
 dis. Her first husband died July 8, 1855, in Ster- 
 ling Township, and by this marriage there were nine 
 children, David H., Mary A., Phares H., Abraham 
 H., Ann M., Lizzie E., Emma, Martha E. and John. 
 
 Three of these are living, Anna M., Phares H. and 
 Martha E. Mrs. Landis was born June 9, 1820, 
 in Lancaster Co., Pa. With her husband, she is a 
 member of the Mennonite Church. 
 
 ay Cleaveland, general farmer, on section 
 29, Hume Township, was born March 
 25, 1844, in Lewis Co., N. Y. He has 
 been a resident in the township where he now 
 lives since he was eight years old, his father 
 and mother, David and Amy (Hawkins) 
 Cleaveland, having removed hither from the State of 
 New York in 1852. They settled on a farm which 
 the father had purchased two years before. (See 
 sketch of Nelon Cleaveland.) 
 
 Mr. Cleaveland was educated and reared to man- 
 hood at home, and, on reaching his majority, he was 
 married to Fanny Denison. The ceremony was 
 performed at Morrison, May 24, 1865. Mrs. Cleave- 
 land was born Aug. 9, 1845-, in Massachusetts. She 
 came thence with her parents to Prophetstown. 
 Shortly after their arrival there her father died, and 
 she was afterward cared for by her mother. She 
 has been the mother of two children, the older of 
 whom died in infancy : Earl was born Aug. 7, 1874. 
 In 1869 Mr. Cleaveland became the owner by pur- 
 chase of the farm on which he has since operated, 
 consisting of 160 acres. It was under very imper- 
 fect improvement, but now shows the quality of the 
 energy and judgment brought to bear on it. 
 
 Mr. Cleaveland is a Republican in political faith 
 and connection. He has officiated in several town- 
 ship offices. 
 
 .imeon Miles Coe, a farmer in Whiteside 
 County, " jumped " a claim on section 33 
 in what is now Jordan Township, on the 
 loth of April, 1835, nine months prior to the 
 separation of the county from Jo Daviess 
 County. There were then three families resi- 
 dent within the limits of what is now Whiteside 
 County, who had come here in 1834. At Dixon 
 there was one double log house, owned by a man of 
 
 -txtSJC. 
 
 i 
 
 * 
 
 VX
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 I 
 t 
 
 that name who was engaged in farming on the site 
 of the present beautiful city. Mr. Coe was guided 
 in his selection by what he believed a necessity, his 
 object being to secure timber land, which predomi- 
 inated where he located. The settlers who had 
 come here from places where prairies were unknown 
 did not believe the immense tracts of treeless acres 
 would ever be settled, on the premise that it was 
 impossible for humanity .o endure the winter winds. 
 The absence of landmarks on the sweeping expanse 
 destitute of trees made them appalling. 
 
 Mr. Coe built a log cabin in the edge of the tim- 
 ber, and broke 20 acres of prairie, putting in grain 
 and vegetables. He lived alone in bachelor freedom 
 three years, and on the event of his marriage, in 
 1838, he built the " best log cabin " in the county 
 for the reception of his bride. Harriet Hull, to 
 whom he was joined in marriage in the winter of 
 1838, was born in Delaware Co., N. Y., and she 
 came in very early life with her parents to Illinois, 
 who located at Buffalo Grove, Ogle County. She 
 died in 1842. Mary, the only child born to her, 
 died in infancy. June 22, 1847, Mr. Coe was mar- 
 ried to Mary D., daughter of Levi and Mary (Kress) 
 Walling. She was born March 27, 1824, in Barring- 
 ton, Yates Co., N. Y. Her father was of German 
 origin, and her mother was a descendant of one of 
 the early Dutch settlers of the State of New York, 
 whose second generation settled in New Jersey. 
 Levi Walling held a commission in the war of 1812, 
 and was by calling a farmer. He removed in 1846 
 to Sterling, Whiteside County. He died there in 
 1868, and was about 75 years of age. The mother 
 of Mrs. Coe traced her ancestry to the earliest set- 
 tlers in this country. They were Puritans and held 
 to the most rigid regulations of the sect. The landed 
 property of the grandfather is held by Isaac Kress, a 
 descendant in direct line. Mrs. Coe was reared and 
 educated in the State of New York, and was 22 
 years of age when she accompanied her parents to 
 Illinois. A year later she gave her hand in mar- 
 riage to Mr. Coe, and they have had eight children, 
 namely: Levi W. (ist) died in infancy; Henry W., 
 born June 21, 1848, is married and lives in Lee Co., 
 111. ; Isaac N. was born Dec. 9, 1852, is married and 
 lives at Ellendale, Dak.; Levi W. (zd) was born 
 Sept. 21, 1855 J J esse F- was born Jan. 9, 1857, and 
 lives in Iowa; Aurora B. was born April 8, 1860, 
 is teaching in Lee Co., 111. ; Simeon M. was born 
 
 Aug. 7, 1863; Fred W., July 19, 1866; Mary R., 
 July it, 1869. 
 
 Mr. Coe was born March 12, 1810, in Paris Town- 
 ship, Oneida Co., N. Y. His father, Simeon M. 
 Coe, was born in Litchfield, Conn., Oct. 29, 1784. 
 His immediate ancestors descended from several 
 brothers who came from England and were the found- 
 ers of a lineage, where succeeding generations have 
 continued in the vocation of their progenitors, who 
 were farmers, and who have sustained the prestige 
 of an honorable name. Simeon Coe and Joshua 
 Miles, his grandfathers, were both soldiers of the 
 Revolution, and the latter became a Captain in the 
 command of General Putnam. The diffusion of 
 generations have settled in New England, New York 
 and Ohio. Simeon M. Coe, senior, descended from 
 the New England branch of the family, and married, 
 Sept. i, 1807, Mary Miles, who was born in Connec- 
 ticut. After their marriage they removed to Oneida 
 Co., N. Y., and located near the city of Utica, 
 which then had no existence. They were pioneers, 
 and Mr. Coe cleared and otherwise improved two 
 farms. They had 13 children, all but one attaining 
 mature age. Lucy M. married George Stull and is 
 deceased." Mr. Coe of this sketch is next in order of 
 birth. George A., Frederick W., Henry A. and 
 Albert S. are not living. Jonathan F. and Decius 
 O. succeeded them in birth. Adeline E. married 
 Thomas Stevens and is deceased. Helen A. is a 
 resident of Whiteside County, as are all the surviv- 
 ors. Marcus L. died in Rock Falls, Whiteside Co., 
 111. Mortimer S. is the youngest. 
 
 When Mr. Coe of this sketch was a child of less 
 than four years of age, his parents went, in the win- 
 ter of 1814-15, to Monroe Co., N. Y., traveling on 
 sleds drawn by ox teams. The family located in the 
 dense forest of Monroe County, where the woods 
 were so thick that in portions the light of day was 
 softened to a mellow twilight, and at the bases of 
 the huge 'rees grew the Indian pipe, a plant six 
 inches in height, and in color and appearance like 
 white wax. After a residence of more than 20 years, 
 in the fall of 1838, the parents removed to Sterling 
 Township, where the father died May 18, 1848. 
 The mother died in October, 1857. The former 
 was a man of ability, and in 1840 was made a mem- 
 ber of the County Commissioners' Court, a tribunal 
 which was succeeded in 1849 by the County Court. 
 He was a Whig, and was always active in local po-
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 litical affairs. He and his wife belonged to the 
 Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Mr. Coe was reared to manhood in Monroe County, 
 obtaining an excellent common-school education, 
 which he made available as a teacher, and was en- 
 gaged in that vocation four winters. He remained 
 on his father's farm in the State of New York until 
 he was 25 years of age, aiding in the improvement 
 of the homestead. The family was large, and the 
 high price of land rendered the prospects of advance- 
 ment to young ambitions rather narrow. Mr. Coe 
 inherited his proclivities for an agricultural life, and 
 his chief incentive to his removal to Illinois was a 
 desire to secure a broader opportunity for the life of 
 effort which was the height of his ambition. He 
 came West in company with Isaac and John Albert- 
 son, twin brothers, who had the same purposes in 
 view. After looking about other parts of the State 
 they went to Joliet, but Mr. Coe accepted the judg- 
 ment of a man named Philip Townsend, and came 
 to Whiteside County. One of the unique experi- 
 ences of the bachelor life of Mr. Coe was his manu- 
 facture of a pair of pantaloons. He understood that 
 it was necessary that the seams should be pressed, 
 and he accomplished that accessory to fine tailoring 
 by the aid of an iron wedge. Mr. Coe's first pur- 
 chase of land comprised 160 acres, and has made 
 later purchases, until he is now the owner of 273 
 acres, all being under good tillage. The work of 
 improvement has been done by his own hands 
 and under his supervision, and the family occupy a 
 frame house on section 34. The ruins of the first 
 log cabin are still standing, and a tree which 
 is growing up through it marks the first home of 
 civilization in Jordan Township. The tree is two 
 feet in diameter. On section 34 Mr. Coe set out an 
 evergreen grove of various kinds of trees. In con- 
 formity with the recommendation of Horace Greeley, 
 he set out a balsam tree as a memorial to Abraham 
 Lincoln in 1865, which is now 30 feet in height. 
 
 Mr. Coe was a Whig when he first obtained the 
 privileges of citizenship, but he had an admiration 
 for the character of Andrew Jackson, for whom he 
 cast his first Presidential vote. He is a Repub- 
 lican of positive stamp, and all the male members of 
 the family to which he belongs support the issues of 
 that poliiical element. He has been unflinching in 
 his local duties, and has held the office of Supervisor 
 
 of his township seven years ; he has also served sev- 
 eral terms as Clerk, and has acted 16 years in the 
 capacity of Treasurer. He and his estimable wife 
 are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 I; hilip Nice, a merchant on Spruce Street, 
 Sterling, was born in Montgomery Co., Pa., 
 Nov. 12, 1845. His parents were Henry 
 and Levinah (Tyson) Nice, natives also of the 
 Keystone State, who moved to Ohio in 1850, 
 and in 1865 to Sterling, this county. Mr. 
 Henry Nice is a farmer and is at present residing 
 north of Morrison. 
 
 The subject of this notice received in his youth a 
 common-school education, and at the age of 19 left 
 his paternal home and was a farm laborer by the 
 month for seven years ; then worked a rented farm 
 for three years ; next he was a clerk at Sterling 
 four years, since which time he has been a suc- 
 cessful merchant in independent business. He deals 
 honorably and is known to be a man of firm princi- 
 ples. 
 
 Dec. 25, 1873, is the date of his marriage to Miss 
 Anna Konhaus, a native of Indiana, and they are 
 the parents of five children, namely : Amelia, Jo- 
 seph, Emma, Tobias and Edith. 
 
 Mr. Nice is a Republican in his political views, 
 and both himself and wife belong to the old Men- 
 nonite Church of Sterling Township. 
 
 ^ 
 
 t aniel B. Henwood, farmer, and owner of 
 the Henwood Ferry, near Erie, and a resi- 
 dent of Erie, was born in Harrisburg, Pa., 
 July 22, 1824. His father, Abraham Hen- 
 wood, was a native of Germany, a blacksmith 
 by occupation, and moved from Pennsylvania 
 to Ohio, where he followed his trade, and died about 
 the year 1828. His mother was a native of one of 
 the New England States. The issue of his parents' 
 union was three children, all living, of whom Daniel 
 B. is the oldest. Peter is a blacksmith and farmer, 
 and resides in Angola, Ind., and Thomas is a hotel- 
 keeper and farmer in Washington Co., Kan. 
 
 Mr. Henwood remained at home until he attained 
 
 I 
 
 3 :* 
 
 161 

 
 
 v 
 
 his majority, and then traveled some years as a ped- 
 dler. He then came to Springfield, this State, and 
 acted as nurse under Dr. J. L. Dunyon.and continued 
 at that vocation for a number of years. In 1851 he 
 came to Erie Township, and purchased the Evie 
 Ferry and 60 acres of land. He cultivated his land 
 and ran the ferry for a time, and then engaged in the 
 drug business at Erie, in partnership with Dr. Sim- 
 mons, afterward with Dr. Springer, and then with 
 Dr. Jackson, and was quite successful. In 1881 he 
 sold out his drug business, and since then has fol- 
 lowed farming. He has about 20 acres in timber 
 land, and 60 acres on sections 7 and 8, Erie Town- 
 ship. He owns his residence in Erie, and two lots, 
 besides three-quarters of an acre of land on Main 
 Street, three store buildings and two or three other 
 buildings. 
 
 Mr. Kenwood was married in Erie, June 27, 1852, 
 to Miss Lydia E., daughter of Charles R. and Han- 
 nah (Maxwell) Coburn,-born in New York, Jan. 4, 
 1828. They have had seven children, four of whom 
 are living : Butler now tends the Erie Ferry and fol- 
 lows the vocation of farming ; Carrie is the wife of 
 F. E. Burridge, a drug clerk at Erie; Frank resides 
 at home, and is a farmer by occupation ; Ida is the 
 wife of George Baker, a farmer in Montana. 
 
 Mrs. Henwood commenced teaching at an early 
 age, and taught in this county a number of years. 
 Her parents were pioneers of the county, and she 
 has witnessed all the trials incident to a pioneer life. 
 
 tt 
 
 Lamuel Landis, farmer, section 10, Sterling 
 Township, has been a citizen of Whiteside 
 County since 1866. In that year he pur- 
 chased 60 acres of land in the township where 
 he is now a resident. He was born June 25, 
 1824, in Lebanon Co., Pa., and is the son of 
 Benjamin and Eve (Segor) Landis. His parents 
 were born and passed their entire lives in Pennsyl- 
 vania. 'Their n children were named Elizabeth, 
 Sarah, John, Mary, Susan, Henry, Benjamin, Samuel, 
 Abraham, Rebecca and Catherine. 
 
 Mr. Landis passed his minority under the author- 
 ity of his parents and obtained a common-school 
 education. He learned the business of chair-making, 
 which he followed some years and was afterwards 
 
 variously employed, until his removal to VVhitcside 
 County. Mr. Landis is a Republican in politics and 
 has officiated as School Director. 
 
 He was first married in Lebanon Co., Pa., in 1848, 
 to Lavina Martock, and they became the parents of 
 two children Mary A. and Rebecca. The mother 
 died in 1851. Mr. Landis was a second time united 
 in marriage Oct. 29, 1864, to Susan Nagle, and of 
 their marriage nine children were born, as follows : 
 George T., Alvin, Sarah, Agnes, Samuel, John, Ida, 
 Emma and Amanda. Mrs. Landis was born March 
 3, 1842, in Pennsylvania. She is a member of the 
 German Lutheran Church, and her husband belongs 
 to the Presbyterian denomination. 
 
 ohn H. Moyers, retired farmer, residen 
 on Sixth Street, Sterling, was born in Penn- 
 sylvania, Nov. 12, 1818, his parents being 
 Samuel and Barbara (High) Moyers, natives 
 also of the Keystone State ; both were born in 
 Bucks County and passed all their lives there. 
 The subject of this sketch remained at his parental 
 home until he was 22 years of age, receiving a com- 
 mon-school education and assisting on the farm. At 
 the age mentioned he left home, and commenced 
 dealing in horses and cattle, which he followed for 
 1 8 years. Two years after leaving home he bought 
 a lot of 15 acres, on which he lived four years: he 
 was engaged in merchandising one year during this 
 time. Then he sold out and bought a tract of 
 too acres, on which was a water-power, and on that 
 he built a mill. The farm and mill he conducted for 
 six years; he then sold out and bought 15 acres, 
 which he occupied for four years ; he sold again, and 
 in 1861 came to Sterling, rented a farm and culti- 
 vated it 14 years; and finally he bought a residence 
 tm Sixth Street, in Sterling, with three lots, for $1,660, 
 which he now occupies. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Moyer is a Republican. 
 He was married in 1842, to Miss Elizabeth My 
 a native of Pennsylvania, and they have had i 
 children, two of whom have deceased. The livi 
 are Barbara, Hiram, Mary, Hannah, Susan, Amanda, 
 Elizabeth, Samuel and John, all of whom are married 
 except John, as follows : Barbara married Abraham 
 Cassel and has five children, Henry C., Mamie 
 
 lamie V., 
 V *'
 
 UNIVERSITY of ILLINOIS

 
 I r*rt Mr -, 
 
 UNIVERSE OF ILLINOIS' 
 URBAJM
 
 
 : 
 
 ^ 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ' Elizabeth C., Rena and Mabel D. Hiram married 
 Fannie Reinhart and has four children, Eva, Amy, 
 
 i John and Hiram. Mary married Anthony Trudo, and 
 they have one son, Harry. Hannah married Martin 
 
 . Grubb. Susan married Allen R. Hendricks, and has 
 one child living, Olive G. Amanda married Warren 
 Roath, and they have one daughter, Belle E. Eliza- 
 beth married John Reitz, and their two children are 
 Arthur and Edith M. Samuel married Lorenza 
 Hamblin. 
 
 / 
 
 \\ ichard T. Hughes has been a farmer in 
 Whiteside County since 1839, and has re- 
 sided in Illinois 51 years. He came-, in 
 1834, to a location south of Elkhorn Grove, 
 now in Carroll County, which was then in the 
 county of Jo Daviess. He settled on a claim 
 of 440 acres of land, and put a considerable propor- 
 tion under improvement. In 1839 he sold out, pre- 
 paratory to removal to Genesee Grove. He bought 
 a large acreage in Genesee Township, and improved 
 two farms. In 1848 he again sold his estate, and 
 bought 2r5 acres of Jonathan Haines on section 7, 
 Mt. Pleasant Township, which was under partial 
 improvement, embracing 68 acres of timber. It is, 
 in point of location, one of the best farms in the 
 township, the timber being situated on a rise of 
 ground and the broad acres of prairie stretching 
 south and west. Mr. Hughes has placed his farm 
 under advanced cultivation, with good and suitable 
 buildings. He made later purchases, and is now the 
 owner of 480 acres, a large proportion of which is 
 under cultivation. 
 
 He was born Oct. 17, 1812, in Clermont Co., 
 Ohio, and is the son of Allen and Elizabeth (Tilton) 
 Hughes. His grandfather, Allen Hughes (ist), was 
 a native of Virginia, where his son Allen (2d) was 
 born. The latter went to Kentucky, where he was 
 married. Richard Tilton, the maternal grandfather 
 of Mr. Hughes of this sketch, was a member of a 
 prominent Kentucky family, noted for the charac- 
 teristics which distinguished the pioneer inhabitants 
 of that State. The traditions which have come to 
 their descendants preserve the memory of the beauty 
 of their women, and the bravery of the male mem- 
 bers of the family in the historic times when Ken- 
 
 tucky was placed on permanent record as the " dark 
 and bloody ground." Richard Tilton was a Meth- 
 odist minister of prominence and influence, and 
 preached many years in Kentucky. His family in- 
 cluded 12 or 13 children; and, after they had at- 
 tained to the growth if not the years of maturity, 
 they removed to Okaw, the southeastern township of 
 Bond County, on the Kaskaskia River, in Illinois. 
 They were pioneers, and received the full benefit of 
 the poisonous emanations from the low marshes in 
 their vicinity, which resulted in the most terrible 
 mortality. One by one the stalwart sons and fair 
 Daughters succumbed, and the parents followed in 
 their turn. Five individuals lay dead in the house 
 at one time. Several recovered, and as soon as was 
 possible they went back to the old home in Ken- 
 tucky, leaving a monstrous estate, including thou- 
 sands of acres, under the control of a lawyer named 
 Robert Turner, through whose chicanery the entire 
 property was wasted, and availed nothing to its 
 rightful owners, the heirs of Richard Tilton. One of 
 the daughters, Oletha, married Samuel Parker, a 
 Methodist divine of distinction, the record of whose 
 labors and abilities are preserved with just pride in 
 the annals of the Church, and who died at New 
 Orleans, to which place he had been sent by the 
 Conference. 
 
 Allen and Elizabeth Hughes had 15 children, 13 
 of whom lived to adult age, and were born in the 
 following order: Melinda, John A., Sarah, Elizabeth, 
 PollVj Nancy, Richard T., Oletha, Amanda, Emily 
 Allen, Perry and James P. The parents were earn- 
 est believers in the principles of Christianity, and 
 lived in the satisfaction of a belief which crowned 
 their lives with triumph, having received satisfactory 
 evidence of every child following where they had led 
 in faith and humility. Six are now deceased, dying 
 in the exultant faith of Christian believers. Those 
 who survive are passing their sunset years in the 
 calmness and content of the trust in which they 
 were trained. The senior Hughes removed to Ohio 
 with his wife and children, in the closing years of 
 the 1 8th century, where he became prominent in 
 business relating to the development of the part of 
 the State where he settled. He owned immense 
 tracts of land, on which he induced settlers to locate; 
 he built mills, and operated extensively as a finan- 
 cier; but troublesome times came, and the scarcity 
 of money induced ruin from the impossibility of 
 
 i\ 
 

 
 I 
 
 ' 
 
 i I 
 
 (L 
 
 f 
 
 B 
 
 \ 
 
 4 
 
 making assets available, and in 1823 he removed to 
 White Co., III. Later he went to Morgan County, 
 where he died, in 1834. While a resident of Ohio he 
 held several public of offices trust, while at the same 
 time he was burdened with heavy business cares. 
 His commercial operations extended upon the prin- 
 cipal rivers. He went even to New Orleans, being 
 absent for a month at a time and thus increasing the 
 home cares of Mrs. H., as she had the hired hands 
 at Mr. Hughes' mills to look after, etc. In the even- 
 ing of his closing career of 55 years, he often re- 
 marked that his sleep was sweet to him on account 
 of his freedom from business cares. He died a tran- 
 quil death, as did Mrs. Hughes. 
 
 Mr. Hughes is the seventh child of his parents, 
 and he was 12 years of age when they removed to 
 White Co., 111. He went with them to Morgan Co., 
 and in 1834 he came to Jo Daviess County, now 
 Carroll. His father died within the year, and his 
 mother, with six children, joined him at Elkhorn 
 Grove. They were without means of support ; but 
 the son only felt that he was happy in having them 
 to provide for, and he bent every energy to the ful- 
 fillment of the duty, whose magnitude will be appar- 
 ent to those who consider the fact that the nearest 
 point of supplies was at Hennepin on the Illinois 
 River. Mr. Hughes was in his young manhood; 
 and, through the first winter at Elkhorn Grove, he 
 made frequent trips to Hennepin for the necessaries 
 of life, encountering all the trials and hardships of 
 an unsettled portion of country. His mother was a 
 host in herself, and her Christian courage proved a 
 support to her children, and was the center of the 
 first religious movement in that locality. An old log 
 school-house, which served several purposes, was the 
 place of a weekly gathering for prayer, the assembly 
 consisting of herself, another old lady, and two men, 
 who came long distances with the utmost regularity 
 to sustain the prayer-meeting. Later there were 
 regular religious services at the same place, con- 
 ducted by a clergyman. The mother of Mr. Hughes 
 was a thorough mistress of Holy Writ, and conducted 
 all her religious movements with ability and fear- 
 lessness. Notwithstanding the pioneer conditions 
 and attendant privations, that time is remembered 
 as full of happiness. ' The two nearest neighbors 
 were John Ankeny, who lived a mile and a half 
 north, and Pearson Shoemaker. The latter is now 
 living at Lanark, Carroll County. He then lived 
 
 two miles east of the Grove. Mr. Uixon (so often 
 quoted in this work) lived on the site of the city 
 which bears his name, and was the only resident in 
 that vicinity. The first winter Mr. Hughes passed 
 in his cabin alone in the midst of hundreds of Indi- 
 ans, whose revengeful spirits had been wholly sub- 
 dued by the terrible punishment they had received 
 in the Black Hawk War. They showed the utmost 
 solicitude to be on friendly terms with the solitary 
 youth in the Grove; but he was unable to trust them 
 fully, and spent many nights in terror, lest some 
 skulker might kill him to obtain possession of his 
 flour, pork, sugar and other supplies. He had con- 
 stant applications to exchange a pint of flour for a 
 venison ham, and once "swapped" pork for deer's 
 meat. The experiment was a success, as the In- 
 dians were wholly unaccustomed to the use of salt, 
 and wanted no more pork. On one occasion they 
 invited Mr. Hughes to dine at a wigwam, and at 
 the time appointed he went, to find a spread of 
 dried venison on a blanket laid out on the ground. 
 The Indians urged him to eat a " big heap, " 
 and also to help himself to honey from a bucket 
 which stood near. Not understanding the etiquette 
 of dining in that fashion, he waited to take observa- 
 tions. The Indian dogs, part canine and part 
 prairie wolf, running about, picking up pieces of 
 meat, and, after chewing for a time, dropping them 
 where chance directed, settled the question of Mr. 
 Hughes' dining on venison ; and when he saw his 
 hosts dip their fingers in the honey, and, after licking 
 their digits, wipe them on the dogs, he flatly declined 
 their hospitality. The grief of his would-be-enter- 
 tainers was deep and genuine. The early settlers 
 were in constant terror of the Indians, but there was 
 not an instance when harm was done to any indi- 
 vidual. 
 
 Mr. Hughes split 8,000 rails the first winter. He 
 afterward hewed the timber for the two first mills 
 built north of Rock River, for which there was no 
 use when they were completed. The first grist 
 ground was a peck of coffee, in the possession of one 
 of the mill-owners, and was the first grist in Jo Da- 
 viess County. Mr. Hughes, a little later, carried the 
 best of wheat flour to Galena, which he sold for a 
 dollar a hundred, and pork at the same rate. He 
 also carried wheat to Chicago, which he sold for 75 
 cents a bushel. An idea of comparative values may 
 be gained from the fact that 200 pounds of pork were 
 
 
 , 
 
 X'rtHOtHH'.X 
 
 N^UflAJIIlfy'
 
 WHITES 'IDE COUNTY. 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 . 9 
 *>> 
 
 5 
 A 
 
 I 
 
 * 
 ) 
 
 in one instance exchanged for a teapot. Expenses 
 were so heavy that in these expeditions the settlers 
 carried their provisions with them and camped under 
 their wagons on the prairie. The utmost harmony 
 prevailed among the new settlers. Sympathy made 
 sorrow lighter and increased the joy of happiness. 
 The fact that flour was twenty miles away and $15 
 a barrel, increased rather than diminished the gen- 
 eral good feeling. 
 
 After a few months Mr. Hughes grew desirous to 
 obtain a sight of white faces; and, mounting his 
 pony, he rode to the home of Jesse Hill, the first 
 settler in Genesee Township. He dismounted and 
 called at the door of the log cabin, where three girls, 
 a boy and a large dog were partaking of a meal of 
 baked potatoes, served on the puncheon floor with- 
 out dishes. The unaccustomed presence of a stranger 
 sent three of the children to a hiding place beneath 
 the " bunk," only the oldest girl standing her ground. 
 The bunk was the pioneer bed, the frame of which 
 was made by driving crotched sticks into the ground 
 to support poles, the ends of which were lodged in 
 holes bored in the logs in the cabin walls. The girls 
 were clad in garments made in the most primitive 
 manner, being mere sacks tied about their necks, 
 with their arms thrust through holes cut for that 
 purpose. The cloth was also a home-made material. 
 While the startled family recovered their equilibrium, 
 the dog secured his share of the rations. Mr. 
 Hughes made his visit a brief one, as the father was 
 absent. The wife and mother died before the family 
 removed to Whiteside County, and the daughter had 
 received no instruction in domestic affairs, save 
 such as the father could bestow. 
 
 Mr. Hughes' mother returned to Morgan County, 
 on a visit, where she died in the fall of 1858. 
 
 He was married March 13, 1844, in Whiteside 
 County, to Mary J., daughter of Edward and Susan 
 (Case) Scoville, and they had four children : James 
 S. was born Feb. r, 1845. He was drowned June 4, 
 1855, m tne m iH pond near Jacobs' Mill. He has 
 been dead 30 years; but the pang of the terrible' 
 event is still fresh in his parents' hearts. John 
 M. was born Aug. 24, r846, and is a prosperous and 
 thrifty farmer in Mt. Pleasant Township ; Caroline 
 L. was born Feb. 18, r849, and married James Brown. 
 They live on the homestead with her parents. Mr. 
 Brown is the owner of a farm in Ustick Township. 
 
 *- :s ^pz o^i 
 
 He removed his family to the home of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hughes on account of the death of the youngest 
 daughter, which is a sharp affliction to her aged 
 father and mother; Oletha was born March 19, 1859, 
 and became the wife of George Johnson. She died 
 June 23, 1882, in Mt. Pleasant Township, in the 
 dawn of womanhood. Her death was marked by the 
 calm and earnest faith of a genuine Christian be- 
 liever. Mrs. Hughes was born in Batavia N. Y. 
 The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are given 
 on previous pages and do not require comment. 
 They are engraved from photographs taked in 1885. 
 Their worthy, useful lives have their best commem- 
 oration in the esteem of their neighbors, and their 
 permanent record in this boqk is but their just meed 
 of reward. They are zealous, consistent members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church at Morrison. 
 
 nry Bush is a farmer on section 9, Sterling 
 Township, and is the oldest son of Luther 
 Bush, one of the pioneer settlers of White- 
 side County. The father was born Aug. 12, 
 1794, and he married Eunice Cornish, locating 
 in Lewis Co., N. Y., whence he removed with 
 his family to Whiteside County. He was a mason 
 by trade, which pursuit he followed all his life. His 
 memory is cherished with the utmost respect, his 
 mental capacity and moral rectitude being unusually 
 prominent. He was a member of the first religious 
 organization in Sterling Township, which was the 
 foundation of the Methodist Episcopal Church at 
 Sterling. Luther Bush died Nov. 29, 1870, of dropsy. 
 His wife, who was born July 28, 1800, is still living. 
 She is 85 years of age. Their children were named 
 Henry, Edward, Esther H., Andrew J., Alfred, Julia 
 V. and Martin L. Edward died July 14, r87i, at 
 the age of 47 years. Alfred died Feb. 25, 1860; he 
 was 28 years old. Esther H. was married June 18, 
 1843, to John Dippell, and is now a widow. Julia 
 V. married Joseph M. Martin and lives in Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Bush was born in Lewis Co., N. Y., Oct. 17, 
 1822. In 1836 he came with his parents to Bureau 
 Co., 111., and accompanied them to Whiteside County. 
 He acquired a knowledge of the business of his 
 father and passed r5 years in its pursuit. He is 
 now engaged in farming. 
 
 In political affiliation, Mr. Bush is a Republican. 
 
 "* ^tf^aL*"^ geJlAaX^ 
 
 - - . -\ 
 
 - 
 ' 
 
 
 I 
 
 I
 
 ir 
 
 (Qf 
 
 His marriage to Sarah E. Judd took place at Ster- 
 ling, Dec. 4, 1850. Of this union three children 
 were born, as follows: Lewis C., Jeannette G. died 
 Sept. 22, 1855, Norton G. The mother died in Ster- 
 ling March 9, 1857. She was the daughter of Charles 
 C. Judd. Mr. Bush was again united in marriage, 
 to Elizabeth J. ( Bressler ) Nichols, daughter of 
 Isaac and Frances (Neff) Bressler, and widow of Nor- 
 ton J. Nichols. The latter died Jan. 7, 1854,31 
 Sterling. The only child of that marriage was 
 Amoret F., who was born Nov. 22, 1853, and died 
 Aoril i, 1854. Five children have been born to Mr, 
 and Mrs. Bush: Emma E., Phebe C ., Isaac I. and 
 Henry L. (twins), Nathan G. Mrs Bush was born 
 July 10, 1822, in Lancaster Co., Pa. (See sketch of 
 Isaac Bressler.) The family attend the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Bush is a member. 
 
 I 
 
 ames E. Summers is a farmer on section 
 25, Hopkins Township. He was born 
 Aug. 25, 1839, in Susquehanna Co., Pa., 
 of which State his parents, Levi and Sarah 
 (Smith) Summers, were also natives. Their 
 five children were born in the following order : 
 William H., James E., a daughter who died in in- 
 fancy, Harvey and Leland. 
 
 Previous to his arrival at 22 years of age, he 
 passed his time in obtaining an education and in 
 farm labor on his father's homestead. In the spring 
 of 1861, he came to Whiteside County, and for four 
 years subsequently he was engaged as a farm assist- 
 ant. In 1865 he rented a farm, and later bought a 
 small piece of real estate in Lyndon Township. 
 This he afterwards sold and bought 62 acres where 
 he has since been a resident. He has increased his 
 possessions until he now owns 222 acres, which is 
 all under tillage excepting a small proportion. He 
 is a staunch Republican. 
 
 Mr. Summers was married June 4, 1877, in Gait, 
 Hopkins Township, to Orpha D. (Freeman) Carr. She 
 was born Nov. 17, 1839, in Lyndon Township, and 
 is the daughter of Henry B. and Zimrhode A. (Sum- 
 mers) Freeman, who Vere among the oldest settlers 
 of Whiteside County. She was the widow of Robert 
 M. Carr, a lawyer who resided at Hennepin, Putnam 
 Co., 111., when he was a soldier in the United States 
 
 Army. He was Sergeant in Henshaw's Battery, 111. 
 Lt. Art. Vol., and before they were called into action ' 
 he died in camp at Ottawa, Jan. 31, 1862, leaving 
 one child, Robert M., who was born April 4, 1863. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Summers are members of the Con- 
 gregational Church. 
 
 -* ** i- 
 
 braham S. Weaver, a farmer on section 13, 
 Sterling Township, is the son of John and 
 Anna (Snavely) Weaver, of whom a personal 
 sketch may be found elsewhere. The son was 
 born Oct. 23, 1835, in Lancaster Co., Pa. His 
 father came to Whiteside County with his family 
 when he was 17 years of age, and he has been a 
 farmer in Sterling Township since that date (1852). 
 He was married Jan. 20, 1861, to Mary, daughter 
 of John and Martha (Kreider) Hoover, and they had 
 one child, Mary, who died when six years of age. 
 The mother died July 10, 1862. The second mar- 
 raige of Mr. Weaver, to Annie Hoover, the sister of 
 his first wife, took place in Sterling Township. She 
 was born Sept. 24, 1842, in Franklin Co., Pa., and 
 has become the mother of four children: Benjamin, 
 Louetta, Cora and Emma G. 
 
 Mr. Weaver is identified in politics with the Re- 
 publican party, and has been School Director. 
 
 saac Sturtevant, retired farmer, residing at 
 Rock Falls, was born in the State of New i \ 
 
 I 
 
 Hampshire, June 10, 1810. His parents, 
 Perez and Dorothy (Kimball) Sturtevant, were 
 also natives of the old Granite State, and 
 moved to Vermont in 1825, where his mother 
 died, after which event his father came West, and 
 resided with him until his dealh. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was a resident of the 
 parental homestead until he was 24 years of age, 
 receiving in his youth a common-school education. 
 After leaving home he bought a farm in Vermont of 
 1 60 acres, where he followed agricultural pursuits 
 for nine years. He then, in 1843, sold out there 
 and came to Sterling, renting a farm north of that 
 place for a year. Next he purchased a farm of 117
 
 I 
 
 / 
 
 acres in Coloma Township, where he followed his 
 calling for 30 years. This place he now leases 
 to other parties. He also owns 600 acres of im- 
 proved land in Iowa, where he has a herd of 75 
 catlle. In 1870 he purchased four acres of ground 
 in Rock Falls, and built upon it a substantial resi- 
 dence, which he now occupies; its cost was $2,500. 
 
 In his politics Mr. S. is a Democrat, and as a c'ti- 
 zen he is one of the prominent and representative 
 men of Rock Falls. 
 
 He was married Nov. 25, 1834, to Miss Susan 
 Summers, a native of Vermont, and of their nine 
 children seven are living, namely : Jane, who mar- 
 ried Frank June, July 29, 1856, and has six children 
 Minnie, Emmaroy, Susie, Frank, Paul and Jesse; 
 Maria, who married Joseph Spear, April 5, 1859, 
 and has five sons Harry, William, Eugene, Ernest 
 and Jessie; William, who married Mary McGee 
 June 23, 1866, and has three children Edna, 
 Gracie and William ; Emily, who became the wife 
 of Dwight Johnson Sept. 6, 1872, and now has four 
 children Elmer, Flossie, Bert and Arthur ; Susie, 
 now Mrs. Jake Bowers, and the mother of two chil- 
 dren, Roy and William ; Jerome, who married Currie 
 Hand in 1870, and is the parent of five chidren 
 Maud, May, Jannie, Frank and Isaac. 
 
 I 
 
 erome E. Sands, a farmer in Lyndon 
 jr Township, residing on section 12, was born 
 December 23, 1830, in Hornby, Steuben 
 Co., N. Y. He is the second child and oldest 
 son of John P. and Candace (Gaylord) Sands. 
 When he was 14, his parents removed to 
 Whiteside County, and he remained with them dur- 
 ing his minority. At 21, he entered the employment 
 of Marcus Sperry, a merchant in Lyndon, with 
 whom he remained most of the time for three years. 
 He was married Aug. 23, 1854,10 Violetta A., 
 daughter of Ruel and Sally Lathe. About the same 
 dine he bought 120 acres of unimproved land on 
 section iz, township 20, range 5, which is now the 
 township of Lyndon. He built a house 14 x 22 feet 
 on the ground with lo-foot joists, in which his family 
 lived until 1876, when they took possession of the 
 new dwelling which they have since occupied. In 
 
 1879 Mr. Sands built his fine large barn, and all the 
 buildings on the place are of a valuable, convenient 
 and well-arranged class. The estate of Mr. Sai ds 
 now includes 400 acres of land, which exhibits the 
 possibilities of Illinois farms under judicious man- 
 agement. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Sands are three in 
 number, and are named Frank E., who was born 
 April 6, 1856; Fred L., born Nov. 18, 1860; and 
 Ella J., born June 13, 1869. The mother died Nov. 
 16, 1881. 
 
 eorge Hagey, a jeweler by trade, but now 
 retired from business, and a resident on the 
 corner of Fourth and Chestnut Streets, 
 Sterling, was born in Montgomery Co., Pa., 
 Feb. 14, 1808. His parents were Jacob and 
 Elizabeth (Garehart) Hagey, who lived and 
 died in their native State, Pennsylvania. 
 
 Mr. George Hagey received in his youth a limited 
 education, remaining at his parental home until of 
 age and learning the jewelry trade of his father. He 
 then engaged in business for himself, in his native 
 county, for two years, and then for 17 years at 
 Trappe, in the same county. Then he purchased a 
 farm of in acres in Bucks County, that State, and 
 resided upon it six years. Selling out at the expira- 
 tion of that time, he came to Sterling, this county, in 
 1855, engaging in the jewelry business and following 
 it until 1 88 1. He then sold his stock and interest 
 in the business and has since lived in quiet retire- 
 ment. In his religious relations he belongs to the 
 New Mennonites. 
 
 He was married in October, 1830, to Sarah Myers, 
 a native of Pennsylvania, and they had seven chil- 
 dren, three of whom are living, namely, Jacob M., 
 William H. H. and Elizabeth. Jacob M. married 
 Sjphina Briggs, a native of the State of New York, 
 and their children are Maud, Blanch and John. 
 Wm. H. H. married Emily M. Humphrey, a native 
 of New York, and they are the parents of Emma J. 
 and Charles H. Elizabeth became the wife of Wm. 
 W. Pratt, of K insa-;, and the mother of Julius B., 
 George H., Mary L., Emma J. and Zella. 
 
 Mrs. Higey du-d in 1849, and Mr. H., in 1851, 
 married Susan Pool, a native of Pennsylvania. By 
 this marriage one daughter has been born, Emma 
 
 - 
 
 . 
 
 I
 
 ( 
 
 
 
 
 L., who married Walter C. G. Sackett in 1878, and 
 has one son, Walter G. 
 
 Abraham G., the second son of Mr. George Hagey, 
 died in 1878. He married Agnes Lyle, a native of 
 Scotland, and had four children, George, Jamie, 
 Fannie and John. 
 
 athaniel L. Bond, a farmer of Union Grove 
 Township, resident on section 12, came to 
 Whiteside County in 1843. Henry and 
 Betsey (Graves) Bond, his father and mother, 
 were born in the State of New York, where they 
 were married and became the parents of seven chil- 
 dren, Egbert, Nathaniel L., Elizabeth, Henry, Har- 
 riet, Warren and Allen. On removal to Whiteside 
 County, they located on a farm in CJstick Township, 
 and there their lives terminated, the mother dying 
 first, April 7, 1857, the father July 18, 1862. Henry 
 Bond bought the farm of Roys Oatman, who went in 
 1850 with his family to California. In Arizona they 
 were attacked by Indians, and the father, mother 
 and four children were murdered. One child was 
 left for dead, but recovered and made his way to 
 safety. Two daughters were carried into captivity. 
 One died of want. The other was rescued after five 
 years of indescribable suffering. 
 
 Mr. Bond was born Jan. 26, 1815, in Lewis Co., 
 N. Y. He lived in his native township until 1843, 
 when he set out for Whiteside County, where several 
 brothers had preceded him. The entire journey was 
 made by the aid of horses, and consumed 41 days. 
 The family arrived at their destination in October, 
 and Mr. Bond bought 160 acres of land in Fulton 
 Township. After an occupancy of six years, he sold 
 out and located on a farm in the township of Lyn- 
 don. He purchased a farm, on which he resided 
 about 20 years. He again sold out and went to the 
 county of De Kalb, 111., where he was a resident one 
 year, when he returned to Whiteside County, buying 
 120 acres of land in Union Grove Township. This 
 was his field of agricultural operations until 1881. 
 In that year he determined to secure release from 
 agricultural labor and responsibilities, and accord- 
 ingly sold his farm. He bought a home in Union- 
 ville, where he fixed his residence. In his political 
 
 
 
 relations and views, he assimilates with the Repub- 
 lican party. 
 
 He was united in marriage March 4, 1841, in 
 Lewis Co.," N. Y., to Sally M. Canfield, and they 
 had ten children, namely: Sarah L., Laura A., 
 Mary J., Alzina L., Charles M. and Rosetta C. are 
 living. George E., Norton H., Ellen L. and Sewell 
 L. are deceased. Mrs. Bond was born Feb. 3, 1822, 
 in Denmark, Lewis Co., N. Y. She is the daughter 
 of Norton and Sally C. (Lockwood) Canfield. Her 
 parents were born in New England and had 13 chil- 
 dren, Harriet, M., Sally M., James L., Mary J., 
 Lucy A., John N., Laura E., Henry H., William 
 M., George M., Lorenzo B., Jay F. and Edna A. 
 All of Mr. Bond's children were born in Whiteside 
 Co., 111., except Lucinda, who was born in Lewis 
 Co., N. Y. 
 
 
 illiam Hardy, general farmer on section 
 13, Ustick Township, has been a resident 
 of Whiteside County since 1853. He 
 was a citizen of Mt. Pleasant Township un- 
 til 1877, when he removed to Morrison. In 
 1879 he became a land-holder in Ustick Town- 
 ship by the purchase of 162 acres of land, which is 
 still in his possession, and he has also added 160 
 acres by later purchase, the whole tract being in 
 Whiteside County. It is practically all under cul- 
 tivation. 
 
 Mr. Hardy was born Jan. 27, 1832, in Lincoln- 
 shire, England, and is the son of Isaac and Sarah 
 Hardy. The father died in England, and the 
 mother is still living. Mr. Hardy is their fifth child, 
 and he had seven brothers and sisters. He was 
 brought up a farmer. In 1852 he came to the 
 United States. He spent one year in New York, 
 and in 1853 came to Whiteside County as stated. 
 
 Mr. Hardy is a Republican, and he has served in 
 the capacity of School Trustee. 
 
 His first marriage, to Mrs. Keziah (Richardson) 
 Hardy, took place at Unionville, and they had seven 
 children, Amos W., Richardson L, Wingfield J., 
 Horace G., Olive, Alice J. and Ruby K. Thomas 
 Hardy, her first husband, died in Mt. Pleasant 
 Township. The mother died in August, 1869, and 
 
 ^ggur' ^Aisv 
 
 r
 

 
 Mr. Hardy married Alicia (Richardson), widow of 
 William Kennen. The latter died in Mt. Pleasant 
 Township. Mrs. Hardy died April 2, 1885, in Us- 
 tick Township. 
 
 M. Hansen, A. M., Ph. D., President of 
 ^_^_ the Northern Illinois College at Fulton, is 
 :-; '.; a native of the State of Ohio and was born 
 in Gibesonville, Hocking County, March 17, 
 1850. His parents were Samuel C. and Eliz- 
 abeth (Kinser) Hansen. His father was born 
 in England and his mother in Ohio. 
 
 Mr. Hansen received his primary education in the 
 common schools, and was next a student at the 
 Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. He 
 subsequently took a regular course at the National 
 Normal University of Lebanon, of the same State, 
 where he was graduated with the class of 1875, in 
 the classical course. He entered upon the career 
 of educational instructor in Hocking Co., Ohio, where 
 v he taught school one year. From there he went to 
 Linn Co., Mo., where he was employed as teacher 
 ty about the same length of time. He next accepted 
 
 * the positions of President of Taylorville College and 
 ) Superintendent of City Schools, of Taylorville, 111. 
 
 After two years devoted to the duties of these offices, 
 he removed to Dixon, 111., and was elected Presi-- 
 dent of the Rock River University of that city, 
 which position he held till the spring of 1879, when 
 he came to Fulton to accept the chair of Professor 
 
 / of Natural Sciences and Director of Study of the 
 
 | Northern Illinois College. As the President was 
 necessarily absent the greater part of the time, the 
 responsibility of conducting the college devolved 
 upon Prof. Hansen from the start. In June of the 
 following year (1880), he was elected President of 
 
 I the college for the term of eight years, and in the 
 spring of 1884 he was re-elected to the same position 
 
 \ for ten additional years. The history of the college 
 
 for the past six years, while under the management 
 ^of President Hansen, covers the most prosperous 
 
 ' period of its existence. As extensive improvements 
 ^/in the way of buildings were in contemplation by the 
 ^ Board of Trustees, in 1884, it was determined to se- 
 ' cure the services of President Hansen for the term 
 ( of ten years in addition to his unexpired term, be- 
 
 fore the expense of improvement should be incurred. 
 The action of the Trustees in this matter is a well 
 merited compliment to the ability and able manage- 
 ment of the President. A history and description of 
 the college is given in another department of this 
 work. 
 
 Mr. Hansen was married at Blue Mcund, Macon 
 Co., 111., Nov. n, 1877, to Miss Laura Wilcox, 
 daughter of James and Mary (Sims) Wilcox. Mrs. 
 Hansen was born in Morgan Co., 111. Two children 
 have been born of their union, a son and a daughter : 
 Charles Roy. Jan. 8, 1879, and Lena May, May i, 
 1882. 
 
 Professor Hansen's portrait, on a preceding page, 
 forms one of the most important additions to the 
 ALBUM OF WHITESIDE COUNTY. To him is entrusted 
 one of the leading enterprises, not only of Fulton 
 and the county, but of Northern Illinois. He has 
 accomplished a work that will perpetuate his name 
 as one of the benefactors of his generation ; and those 
 who have been connected as pupils with the noble 
 institution to which he is devoting the best energies 
 of his prime, will give a hearty welcome to his like- 
 ness. 
 
 Marbles crumble in decay; men forget in the 
 tumultuous haste of successive years, even those to 
 whom they owe the most ; but an engraving on the 
 pages of accredited history is imperishable. 
 
 oseph K. Robertson, farmer, section 23, 
 'f Ustick Township, is one of the leading 
 agriculturists of Whiteside County, with 
 whose development he has been identified 
 since his removal here in 1853. He first 
 bought 200 acres of Government land in 
 Ustick Township, on which he established his 
 homestead. His operations have, met with success, 
 and he is now the owner of 250 acres additional in 
 Whiteside County, 160 acres in Iowa and 240 acres in 
 Missouri. On his home place he has erected build- 
 ings which add greatly to its value and beauty. Po- 
 litically, Mr. Robertson is a Democrat. He has 
 served as Collector two years, and as School Director 
 27 years. 
 
 He was born Sept. 7, 1825, in Clark Co., Ind., 
 and is the son of John and Rebecca (Riddle) Rob- 
 
 ! 
 
 j 
 
 ci) 
 
 to) 
 
 it
 
 
 
 .. - 
 
 ertson. To his father is nccorded the honor of 
 having been the first child of American parents born 
 in Indiana. The mother w.is a native of Kentucky. 
 After their marriage they located in Clark Co., Ind., 
 and were residents of that State until the fall of 
 1828, when they came to Illinois and settled in that 
 part of Cass County which was (hen included in 
 Morgan County. The mother died there in Janu- 
 ary, 1839. The death of the father occurred Dec. 
 22, 1870. Their children were named Margaret, 
 Joseph K., Isaac R., Susan E., Cornelius and Mary. 
 At the time the family came lo Whiteside County, 
 Mr. Robertson's father wanted him to go to Missouri, 
 but he refused, preferring to live in a free State. 
 
 Mr. Robertson has been a resident of Illinois 
 since he was three years old. He grew to manhood 
 in Cass County, and was there engaged in farming. 
 In 1853 he fixed his residence in the county of 
 Whiteside, as slated. He was married in Virginia, 
 Cass Co., 111., May 27, 1852, to Mary, daughter of 
 John and Elizabeth (Pashley) Needham. She was 
 born May ir, 1834, in England, and is one of two 
 children born to her parents. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Robertson of this sketch have had 
 nine children, as follows: John H., Sarah J., James 
 B., Joseph, Isaac, Mary A., Susan, Margaret and 
 Christian C. Isaac and Susan died in infancy ; 
 John amd James are farmers in Missouri, where 
 they are engaged in stock-raising. 
 
 Christian Hutten is a farmer, pursuing his 
 noble calling on section 6, Hahnaman 
 Township. His parents, John and Katherina 
 (Asser) Hutten, natives of Prussia, came to 
 America in 1863, settling in Jordan Township, 
 this county, where they resided until their 
 death. 
 
 He was born in Prussia, July 16, 1827, the second 
 in a family of eight, and was about 25 years of age 
 when he came to this country. He located in this 
 county in 1858, purchasing 240 acres of land in 
 Hahnaman Township in 1863, where he finally set- 
 tled and has since made his home. He has 200 
 acres of land in good cultivation, and his entire tract 
 constitutes a valuable farm. 
 
 Mr. Hutten was married in Freeport, 111., May 25, 
 
 ^> !^S 
 
 1863, to Anna Tieman, a native of Ireland. Mr. 
 and Mrs. H. are the parents of three children, 
 William J., Mathias J. and one who died when an 
 infant. 
 
 Mr H. has been School Director 15 years and 
 Constable three years ; in his political principles he 
 is a Democrat, and both himself and Mrs. H. are 
 members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 +~t&'~ 
 
 saac Fletcher, farmer, located on section 
 7, Clyde Township, was born April 23, 
 1826, in Saltford, Somersetshire, England. 
 His father, Isaac Fletcher, was born in 
 England, and belonged to a family of unmixed 
 English ancestry. He was an employe of the 
 government, and operated to a considerable ex- 
 tent as a contractor on public works, occupying 
 positions of trust and responsibility. He died at 
 Saltford, Somersetshire, in 1879, and was nearly 90 
 years of age. Betsey (Smith) Fletcher, the mother, 
 was born Oct. 31, 1791, in the same shire, and was 
 the daughter of Thomas Smith, an English yeoman. 
 She died in 1862, aged 71 years. Their family in- 
 cluded 10 children one daughter and nine sons. 
 
 Mr. Fletcfier remained under the control of his 
 parents until he was 16 years of age, when he began 
 to operate on his own account, and worked some 
 years on the docks, canals and railroads in the in- 
 terests of his government. He was married in Liv- 
 erpool, England, March 4, 1850, to Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Valentine Shaw. The father was born 
 Feb. 14, 1801, in Northamptonshire, England, and 
 when he was in advanced age (1851) came to the 
 United States, dying 18 days after landing at the 
 port of New York. Deborah (Clark) Shaw, her 
 mother, was born in Welton, Northamptonshire, and 
 came to the United States with her husband, t\vi 
 daughters, one son and a son-in-law, in the year fol- 
 lowing the marriage of the daughter. The mother 
 died at Morrison. March n, 1869, aged 62 years. 
 Mrs. Fletcher was born in Newnham, Northampton- 
 shire, Oct. 15,1833, and was a resident there until 
 she was 14 years of age, when she went with her 
 parents to Liveri>ool. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher have 
 been the parents of 13 children, two of whom are 
 deceased. Emma S. was born July 21, 1851, mar- 
 
 i ^^z |*C@ 

 
 \ 
 
 ried Fayette Dimick, Oct. 12, 1874, and they live at 
 . Exeter. Fillmore Co, Neb. Mr. Dimick is a town 
 official where he lives, and is engaged in the sale of 
 agricultural implements. He is a prominent and en- 
 terprising citizen. Debbie A., born March 8, 18153, 
 married Alexander Wil?on, June 15, 1876, and re- 
 sides on a farm in Ustick Township. She was a 
 teacher for many years. Mary E. was born Aug. 23, 
 1855. Phebe was born Nov. 28, 1859, and married 
 James Stapleton, a farmer in Clark Co., D. T. She 
 was also a teacher. Those named, besides one 
 daughter, deceased, were born in Fredonia, N. Y. 
 William was born Oct. 4, 1862; Charles, March 14, 
 1863; Allie E, Feb. 24, 1845; Jennie and James 
 (twins) were born Dec. 19, 1867; Arthur, Jan. 31, 
 1869; Theophilus, Nov. 14, 1871. Amelia, and an- 
 other child who was not named, are deceased. 
 
 The family left England for America May 13, 
 1851, and they landed at the port of New York. 
 From there they proceeded to Fredonia, Chautauqua 
 Co., N. Y., where they resided some years. In 1860 
 they came to Whiteside County, and located on the 
 section on which they have since resided. It was 
 under some improvements, and at the date of pur- 
 chase contained 80 acres. The farm now comprises 
 200 acres, all under excellent cultivation. The farm 
 buildings are first-class, and the place is stocked 
 with cattle of the best grade. Mr. Fletcher justly 
 ranks among the best citizens of his township, and 
 is considered a representative agriculturist. The 
 younger members of the family are well educated, 
 and their social position second to none. Mr. 
 Fletcher is active and influential in political con- 
 nection, and is a Republican. He has acted in the 
 local offices of the township, and is at present 
 Commissioner of Highways. He knows of no rela- 
 tive in America save his own family. 
 
 {.erman Worthington is one of the substan- 
 tial agriculturists of Ustick Township, 
 and owns a farm on section 19. He is the 
 proprietor of 385 acres of land in Whiteside 
 County and has 80 acres under culture. He 
 was born June 26, 1836, in Wayne Co., N. Y., 
 and is the son of William S. and Sarah E. (Jenkins) 
 Worthington.. They were born in the State of New 
 
 York and there the mother died, April 14, 1885. 
 The father is still living. They had seven children, 
 of whom three lived to grow up. They were named 
 Elizabeth, Herman and Solomon F. 
 
 Mr. Worthington obtained a common-school edu- 
 cation of limited scope, and resided with his parents 
 until the age of 25 years. In 1861 hecame to White- 
 side County. He has since pursued his interests in 
 agricultural directions, with the exception of five 
 years when he was interested in shipping live stock 
 at Morrison and in the sale of clothing. 
 
 Mary Hollinshead became the wife of Mr. Worth- 
 ington April 5, r865. She is the daughter of John 
 and Elizabeth (Rush) Hollinshead, of whom a sketch 
 is given with that of Joshua Hollinshead. She was 
 born July 21, 1839, in Clyde Township, Whiteside 
 County, and is the first child born to her parents af- 
 ter their removal to Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Worth- 
 ington have two children, Sarah E. and Mary. 
 
 Mr. Worthington is a Republican, and has been 
 Supervisor and Trustee of Ustick Township. He is 
 a member of the Masonic Order. 
 
 ames W. Fraser, marble manufacturer, 
 Sterling, was born in Huron Township, 
 Wayne Co., N. Y., Aug. 12, 1832. His 
 parents, Henry and Lucinda (Stewart) Fraser, 
 were also natives of the Empire State, and 
 came West in 1849, arriving at Genesee Grove, 
 this county, Sept. i. Mr. Henry Fraser was a 
 farmer, and on coming here he purchased 415 acres 
 of land, on which he pursued his vocation until 1873, 
 when he changed his residence to Sterling, where he 
 spent the remainder of his days. Mrs. F. is also 
 deceased . 
 
 Mr. James W. Fraser was an inmate of the par- 
 ental home until he was r4 years of age, receiving a 
 common-school education ; he then went to Clyde, 
 N. Y., to learn the printer's trade, serving at that 
 business a year and a half, the proprietor then sell- 
 ing out; he continued four months longer in the vo- 
 cation, working as a journeyman ; returning home, 
 he attended school during the winter of 1848-9; 
 then he came to Illinois with his father's family, and 
 taught school three terms at Genesee Grove ; en- 
 gaged in printing again for about six months, at Mt. 
 
 SP 
 }* 

 
 Morris, 111.; worked on his father's farm again; in 
 1851 he was engaged half a year in a printing-office 
 at Galesburg, 111. ; worked on the home farm again, 
 for a year; then about a year and a half, all to- 
 ' gether, in a printing-office at Mt. Carroll, 111. ; the 
 winter of 1855-6, taught school three months; in 
 1858 he and his brother commenced the manufac- 
 ture of marble, which they continued for a year; 
 1861-4, was employed as a printer at Morrison; re- 
 sided at Genesee Grove for eight years; and finally, 
 in 1872, he moved to Sterling, where he has since 
 resided, engaged in marble manufacture and con- 
 ducting a prosperous business. He is a Republican 
 in his political views, 
 
 Mr. Fraser was married Oct. 9, 1864, to Harriet 
 E. Leland, and by this union six children have been 
 born, in the following order : James L., Edgar L., 
 Maud L., Pliny L., Grace L. and Annie L. 
 
 saac Body, a prominent farmer, on section 
 12, Ustick Township, is a native citizen of 
 the State of Illinois, having heen born July 
 12, 1837, in Iroquois County, to which place 
 his parents, Isaac and Mary (Myers) Body, 
 removed from their native State Pennsyl- 
 vania in the pioneer days of Illinois. Their eight 
 children were named Catherine, Susan, Mary A., 
 John, George, Isaac, Sarah and Eliza. 
 
 Mr. Body has been all his life engaged in agricul- 
 ture, and when he was 26 years of age set out for 
 himself independently, and in October, 1863, came 
 to Whiteside County. He spent the first year on a 
 rented farm in Ustick Township, and in the year 
 succeeding bought 80 acres of land. On this he has 
 operated with satisfactory and substantial results. 
 He has erected an excellent class of buildings, and 
 the place is one of the pleasantest in location in the 
 township. His estate now includes 220 acres in the 
 townships of Ustick and Clyde, and 120 is in till- 
 age. Mr. Body is a Republican, and has been 
 School Director; he has also officiated in other town- 
 ship offices. 
 
 Mr. Body was married Nov. 13, 1860, in Carroll 
 Co., 111., to Cyrena Dyson, and they are the parents 
 of seven children : Adda F., Charles C., Delia E., 
 ary L., Samuel M., Elmer I. and Etta C. The 
 
 " 
 
 oldest daughter is the wife of John Bristol, of Ustick, 
 Township. Mrs. Body was born Nov. 15, 1839, in 
 Carroll Co., 111., and is the daughter of Hezekiah and 
 Ruth (Mclndoo) Dyson. Her parents were born in 
 Indiana, from which State they removed to Carroll 
 Co., 111., in its earliest period. Their children were 
 named James, Charles, William, Cyrena, Hezekiah, 
 Ruth.jCornelius, Margaret A., Dimmis D. and Mary 
 E. Mr. and Mrs. Body are members of the Meth- 
 odist Church. 
 
 itus J. Twombly, resident on section 12, 
 Union Grove Township, was born in Shef- 
 field, Orleans Co.,Vt.,Dec. n, 1823. His 
 parents, Daniel and Sarah (Jenness) Twom- 
 bly, were natives of Vermont, were there mar- 
 ried, and passed all the years of their united 
 lives in that State. The mother died in Browning- 
 ton, Orleans Co., Vt., in March, 1870. The father 
 is still living. They had ten children, named Sylva- 
 nia, Lyman, Titus J., Joshua, Hannah, Susan, Wil- 
 liam B., George, Jefferson J. and Hiram M. 
 
 Mr. Twombly spent the years of childhood and 
 early youth in the pursuits and methods so common 
 in those days in his native State, and he learned 
 the business of carpenter of his father, who was a 
 builder. He was occupied in. its pursuit in his na- 
 tive State until his removal to Whiteside County, 
 which occurred in January, 1857. He was married 
 March 29, 1854, in Derby, Vt., to Rosena J. Cass. 
 Mrs. Twombly was born Oct. 29, 1831, in Lyndon, 
 Vt., and is the daughter of Jehiel and Sally (Scott) 
 Cass. Her father and mother were born in Ver- 
 mont, and in 1854 removed to Whiteside County, 
 locating in the Township of Union Grove, where the 
 latter died July 26, 1869. Their children were 
 named Cynthia C., Rosena J., Maria J., Mary E., 
 Sarah H., George W., Albert A., Emily J. and Es- 
 tella A. 
 
 Mr. Twombly rented a farm for seven years after 
 he located in Whiteside County, after which he 
 followed his trade until 1877, when he bought 80 
 acres of land, situated in the Townships of Union 
 Grove and Mt. Pleasant. Of this three-fourths is 
 under tillage. Mr. Twombly assimilates with the 
 principles of the Republican element in politics. 
 
 i
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Mass. 
 
 He and his wife are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. They have two children : Hor- 
 ace E., born March 9, 1855, and Adah Belle, born 
 June 13, 1857. 
 
 Charles Adams Wetherbee, a farmer on 
 section 12, Sterling Township, is a pioneer 
 of Whiteside County, and he is the owner 
 of the claim on which his parents settled in 
 1838. His father, Luther B. Wetherbee, was 
 born June 23, 1809, in the town of Hardwick, 
 The wife of the latter, who was Charlotte 
 Adams before her marriage, was also a native of the 
 same State, in which they lived until their removal 
 to Whiteside County. The senior Wetherbee built 
 the first frame house between Sterling and Sugar 
 Grove. He had been a machinist in Barre, Mass. 
 L. B. Wetherbee came to Illinois in 1838, went to 
 Massachusetts in 1845 and returned to Illinois in 
 1848. He returned to his farm and, finding con- 
 ditions belter from the progress in development of 
 this section of Illinois, he entered heartily into the 
 prosecution of his farming interests, in which he was 
 successful. He was a man of more than ordinary 
 ability, and proved a valuable citizen. He died 
 Nov. 6, 1873. His wife survived him until Oct. 8, 
 1878. They had six children, Martha A., Charles 
 A. (ist), Jane L., Charles A. (zd), Mary A. and Ed- 
 win C. The three elder children died in early life. 
 Mr. Wetherbee was born Dec. 17, 1839, in Ster- 
 ling Township. He received all the advantages 
 possible in the common schools and fitted for col- 
 lege at Kalamazoo, Mich. He was still engaged in 
 preparatory studies when the nation was turned 
 from its wonted ways by the advent of civil war. 
 Mr. Wetherbee yielded to the pressure of succeeding 
 events, and in September, 1861, enlisted in the 34th 
 Regt. 111. Inf. for three years. At the battle of Stone 
 River he was taken prisoner, but his captivity was 
 ended during the same conflict by the Union forces. 
 He testifies that an examination of the business end 
 of a loaded revolver at short range has a hair-lifting 
 influence of the most persuasive order. He was in 
 the military service of the United States three years, 
 and experienced all the vicissitudes of war. He re- 
 ceived an honorable discharge at Atlanta, Ga., and 
 
 returned to his home. He has since pursued the 
 life of a farmer. In 1876 he bought the old home- 
 stead of his parents in Sterling Township, which in- 
 cludes 200 acres of land, all under tillage. 
 
 Mr. Wetherbee is a Republican m political senti- 
 ment, and has been active in local official affairs. 
 He is a member of the Order of United Workmen. 
 
 His marriage to Margaret L. Penrose took place 
 Oct. 5, 1865, in the township of Sterling. She was 
 born May 26, 1840, in Belmont, Ohio, and is the 
 daughter of Mark und Harriet (Johns) Penrose. Her 
 father was born in Pennsylvania and her mother was 
 a native of England. They removed to Sterling 
 Township in the spring of 1844. The mother died 
 Feb. 17, 1848. Their children were Robert F., 
 William M., Margaret L. , Rachel C., Edwin J. and 
 Harriet. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Wetherbee 
 are May P., Ella D., Harriet A. and Charles Earl. 
 The parents are members of the Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 illium Thomson, farmer, section 28, Us- 
 tick Township, is the son of Thomas and 
 Margaret (Skeoch) Thomson. His par- 
 ents were natives of Scotland, and died 
 there in the year 1848. Their surviving 
 children were born in the following order : 
 Mary, Jeannette, John, William, Margaret and Jane ; 
 two died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Thomson was born March 19, 1822, in Scot- 
 land. He came to the United States in 1850, and 
 settled in Virginia, where he was engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits 1 3 years ; after which he passed two 
 years as a construction hand on a railroad in Mary- 
 land. In 1865 he came to Whiteside County, enga- 
 ging first as a renter in Hopkins Township. In 1870 
 he bought 160 acres of land in the Township of 
 Ustick. To this he has added by later purchase 
 until he owns 380 acres, nearly all of which is under 
 cultivation. The place is supplied with handsome 
 and valuable buildings. 
 
 Mr. Tompson was married June 2, 1847, in Ayr- 
 shire, Scotland, to Jane, daughter of William and 
 Elizabeth (Walker) Burns. She was born Nov. 16, 
 1820, in Scotland. She has become the mother of 
 
 1 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 - 
 
 I 
 
 .--
 
 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 eight children : Elizabeth W., Anna B., William, 
 Archibald T., Robert B., Margaret ]., Hugh D. and 
 Mary ]. 
 
 Mr. Thompson is an adherent in politics of the 
 National Greenback party, and in temperance prin- 
 ciples is a prohibitionist. He and wife are members 
 of the Protestant Methodist Church. 
 
 ohn Dickinson, a farmer on section 8, 
 Jordan Township, was born in England, 
 Jan. 9, 1841. His parents emigrated with 
 their family to the United States when he 
 was a child, and made a settlement in Rush, 
 Monroe Co., N. Y. His father, Thomas Dick- 
 inson, died when he was five years of age, and he 
 was afterwards cared for by John P. Furry (whose 
 sketch is given on another page), by whom he was 
 brought up, and with whom he lived through his 
 minority. 
 
 He was married Dec. 22, 1869, to Diana Pierce. 
 She was born Dec. 22, 1844, in East Mendon, Monroe 
 Co., N. Y. She was two years of age when her 
 parents came to Illinois and lived with them in Jor- 
 dan Township until she was married. She died Nov. 
 13, 1883, at her home in Jordan Township. Mr. 
 Dickinson entered into a second matrimonial alli- 
 ance March 24, 1885, with Alma I. Gordon. Her 
 parents, James W. and Mary A. (Orr) Gordon, were 
 respectively of Scotch, English and French descent, 
 and were born in the province of Ontario, Canada. 
 Their daughter was born March 14, 1856, in Dur- 
 ham Co., Ont. Her parents came when she was 
 about 14 years of age to Sterling, 111. She and a 
 younger sister went back to Canada, where she was 
 mostly educated, and afterwards moved to Vinton, 
 Iowa. The parents reside at the latter place. 
 
 Mr. Dickinson earnestly indorses the views of the 
 party known as Anti-monopolists. He is at present 
 a School Director. 
 
 In the spring of 1863 he made a purchase of 40 
 acres of land on section 8, Jordan Township. It 
 had been somewhat improved, and Mr. Dickinson 
 added 20 acres to his estate by a later purchase. 
 His farm is all under tillage, with necessary farm 
 buildings. 
 
 evi Suavely, farmer, section n, Sterling 
 Township, is a son of Jacob and Barbara 
 (Hess) Snavely. His parents were born in 
 Pennsylvania, and they had 10 children, who 
 were born in the order in which their names 
 are given, as follows : Elias, Elizabeth, Jacob, 
 Moses, Henry, John, Anna, Levi, Mary and Su- 
 san. Levi was born Jan. 23, 1837, in Lebanon 
 Co., Pa., and he came to Whiteside County in 1855, 
 first buying a farm in Jordan Township. He took 
 possession of his property, and resided thereon until 
 1868, when he bought 140 acres in Sterling Town- 
 ship. He has pushed his business operations \vith 
 profitable results, and he is now the owner of 262 
 acres of valuable land in Whiteside County, 198 in 
 Lee Co., 111., and 540 in Marion Co., Kan., which is 
 mostly under tillage. The proprietor has erected ex- 
 cellent buildings, which add materially to the gen- 
 eral appearance of the place. Politically Mr. Snavely 
 is identified with the Republican party, and has 
 been active in the well-being and progress of the 
 schools of the township. 
 
 He was united in marriage Jan. 6, 1860, in Ster- 
 ling Township, to Anna, daughter of Henry S. and 
 Fanny ( Stauffer ) Landis. (See sketch of H. S. 
 Landis.) They have 10 children, as follows: 
 Emma J., Willliam, Francis, Alice, Anna, Henry, 
 Jacob, Ervin, John and Mabel. William and 
 Francis are deceased. 
 
 ohn B. Hughes, Clerk of Jordan Town- 
 
 jjf ship, is a farmer and prominent stock- 
 grower on section 24. He was borfi March 
 23, 1857, in St. Clair, Schuylkil! Co., Pa. 
 William Hughes, his father, was a native of 
 Columbia C.O., Pa., and was a farmer. The 
 family is of Welsh descent, as is indicated by the 
 name, although the later general ions are all of 
 American birlh. The father went to Schuylkifl 
 County when lie was young, and he there engaged in 
 mercantile business at St. Clair, where he established 
 his interests on a scale of considerable magnitude. 
 Later, he went to Beaver Meadow, where he was
 
 i .'.":' rv 
 lh f if 
 
 UfifiANA
 
 r 
 
 
 
 I 
 i 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 similarly occupied for a time, but he returned to St. 
 Clair, where he was married June 2, 1856, to Eliza- 
 beth Bam ford. She was born Feb. 6, 1832, in the 
 city of Liverpool, England. Her parents, John and 
 Sophia (Goodacher) Bamford, were natives of Derby- 
 shire. She was but a few weeks old when her father 
 emigrated with his family to Canada. After a resi- 
 dence of two years in the Dominion they went to 
 Schuylkill Co., Pa., where they reared and educated 
 their children. Mrs. Hughes has become the mother 
 of two children John B., of this sketch, and Sophia 
 E., who is her mother's companion still. 
 
 When Mr. Hughes was five years old, in 1862, his 
 parents came to Illinois. In May of that year they 
 located on 160 acres of unimproved land on section 
 24, Jordan Township. To this the father added 40 
 acres on section 23 by a later purchase; and at the 
 time of his death, which occurred Oct. 14, 1877, he 
 was the owner of 200 acres of land in a valuable 
 agricultural condition. The buildings on the place 
 are eminently creditable to the judgment and taste 
 of the former proprietor, who has left a fine estate as 
 a memorial of a life of useful effort. He died at 53 
 years of age. He was prominent as an agriculturist 
 and generally esteemed as a substantial and reliable 
 citizen. The mother is yet living. She is a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Church. 
 
 Mr. Hughes passed the first 17 years of his life on 
 the homested farm and attended the public schools. 
 At that age he entered the Second Ward School at 
 Sterling, and was graduated June 21, 1876, when he 
 was 19 years of age. He began the profession of a 
 teacher in Genesee Township, which he pursued 
 until his own plans were interrupted by the death of 
 his father. Since that date he has been engaged in 
 the management of the homestead. He is interested 
 in growing stock and owns a fine herd of Short-Horn 
 cattle and a drove of full-blooded Poland-China 
 swine. His home, " West Lawn," is one of the finest 
 farms in Whiteside County, and his herd, "West Lawn 
 Herd " comprises many animals of fashionable breed- 
 ing and rare individual merit. He has met with 
 success in that branch of business, and has competed, 
 with gratifying results, with other stock-growers at 
 the local fairs. 
 
 Mr. Hughes is possessed of a well-trained and dis- 
 ciplined mind, is a great reader and has a well as- 
 sorted and valuable library. He was elected Town- 
 ship Clerk in the spring of 1879, and has held the 
 
 office ever since. He received the election to the 
 same position in the spring of the current year. He 
 is also officiating as School Treasurer. 
 
 His marriage to Mary Bennison occurred Dec. 18, 
 1878, at Kewanee, Henry Co., 111. She was born 
 Oct. 17, 1854, in Shullsburg, Lafayette Co., Wis., and 
 is the daughter of William and Sarah (Walton) Ben- 
 nison, the former a native of England and the latter 
 of Pennsylvania. Both are of English origin. They 
 were married in Wisconsin. In 1865 they removed 
 to Kewanee, where her father, who was a merchant 
 in Wisconsin, resumed that occupation. He died in 
 1871, when the daughter was 17 years of age. Her 
 mother is still living. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hughes are recorded as follows: Winifred B., born 
 Dec. 18, 1879; Raymond G., born Nov. 12, 1881; 
 Bert E., born Dec. 2, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Hughes is a Republican in political opinion 
 and action. His wife is a member of the Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 homas B. King, dealer in country produce 
 and manufacturer of creamery butter, resid- 
 ing at Morrison, was born Feb. 25, 1844, in 
 the parish of Street, Somersetshire, England. 
 His forefathers were residents of the same 
 parish and shire for many generations before 
 His grandfather, Robert King, was born in 
 and married a Miss Reives. She died in 1838, 
 aged 78 years. Charles King, his father, was born 
 March n, 1805, in Overleigh. Street (parish), Somer- 
 setshire, and married Jane Lessey. She was born 
 March 25, 1805, at Midney, near Longport. They 
 had five children, four of whom are living. Sarah 
 and Catherine live in England. Mary Ann is the 
 wife of Josiah Lamport, of St. Joseph, Mo. 
 
 Mr. King began to operate in his own behalf in his 
 native country when he was but 14 years of age, and 
 cpmmenced by trafficking in live stock. He followed 
 the business in his own country until 1865, when he 
 emigrated to America. He began dealing in butter 
 at Memphis, Tenn., where he prosecuted his inter- 
 ests about five years, spending one summer at 
 Belvidere, Boone Co., 111., buying butter for the 
 Memphis market. In 1871 he established himself at 
 Morrison, and began to deal in butter and farm 
 
 ^MM-A * ^ ' 
 
 A llufy r \ : J 
 
 ' 
 
 fa 
 
 him. 
 '777. 
 
 I
 
 
 v> 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 
 produce. At present he is conducting two cream- 
 eries in Whiteside County, situated respectively at 
 Round Grove and at Prairie Center. His daily ag- 
 gregate product of butter in the best part of the sea- 
 son averages from 2,500 to 3,500 pounds. He is 
 the owner of a large refrigerator building for the stor- 
 age of butter and eggs, situated at Maquoketa, Iowa, 
 35 x 62 feet in dimensions, and acknowledged to be 
 the best structure of its kind in the State. He makes 
 his shipments chiefly to New York and Philadelphia, 
 and transacts business amounting annually to $300,- 
 ooo. To farmers who furnish the cream for his 
 creameries, he supplies the necessary outfit. 
 
 Mr. King owns the building at Morrison where he 
 operates, his residence and grounds, which are located 
 in one of the most pleasant and prominent parts of 
 the city. 
 
 Mr. King's marriage to Louisa Gibbs took place 
 Aug. 23, 1862, at Glastonbury, Somersetshire, Eng- 
 land, and they have five children, whose record is as 
 follows: Harry C. was born Dec. 23, 1863, in Eng- 
 land; Kate G. was born Feb. 17, 1870, in Memphis, 
 Tenn.; Lilly M. was born March T3, 1873, in Mor- 
 rison, and died Aug. 16, 1873; Edna L. was born 
 Oct. 5, 1874; George E. was born June 20, 1884. 
 Mrs. King was born March 25, 1843, in Kingston, 
 Somersetshire, England, and is the daughter of 
 Henry and Ann (Damphier) Gibbs. 
 
 The possibilities under the Government of the 
 United States are exemplified in the history of Mr. 
 King, and form a strong contrast to those offered to 
 the class to which he belongs by birth. His portrait 
 is presented on a preceding page. His character as 
 a business man and citizen of Whiteside County ren- 
 der it a significant addition to the collated records of 
 the community in which he is a resident. 
 
 acob Powell is a farmer of Sterling Town- 
 ship, and owns 220 acres of land on sec- 
 tion 13, where he settled in the fall of 
 1845. He was born Jan. 19, 1814, in Dutchess 
 Co., N. Y., and is the son of Joseph and Han- 
 nah (Bowerman) Powell. Their children were 
 eight in number, and the son who is the subject of 
 this sketch is the oldest. He lived in his native 
 State chiefly until his removal to Whiteside County. 
 
 
 
 He made a purchase of 160 acres of land at first, to 
 which he has added 60 acres, and the entire trad is 
 under cultivation. Mr. Powell is a Republican in 
 political preference. 
 
 His marriage to Eliza (Corscaden) Brown took 
 place in Sterling Township, April 15, 1863. She 
 was the widow of Joseph Brown, who died July 24, 
 1862, at Sterling. He was a soldier in the Civil 
 War and belonged to Cheney's Battery. He was 
 taken ill while at his post of duty, and obtained a 
 furlough. Before its expiration he died as stated. 
 He left two children, Jennie and Jessie. Arthur 
 died previous to his father's death. Mrs. Powell is 
 the daughter of Richard and Jane Crawford Cors- 
 caden. Her father was born in Scotland ; her mother 
 was born in Ireland, of Scottish parentage. Mrs. 
 Powell was also born in Ireland, in October, 1824. 
 
 Ifred M. Earley, D. D., Ixjcal Elder of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church at Erie, 
 is a son of John and Mary (Graesberry) 
 Earley, and was born in Philadelphia, Pa., 
 June i, 1811. His father and mother were 
 natives of New Jersey. The latter was born 
 in June, 1777, and died in Philadelphia, June 12, 
 1865, aged 87 years. They had four children, of 
 whom Alfred M. is the only survivor. He remained 
 at home until 18 years of age, and then engaged in 
 mercantile business in Philadelphia. 
 
 In 1839 Mr. Earley came West, locating in Platte- 
 ville, Wis., where he became a minister in the Meth- 
 odist Church. Soon after he came to Jo Daviess 
 County, this State, where he was engaged in the 
 ministry, and has continued to labor in that profes- 
 sion ever since. His labors have been distributed 
 in Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Bureau, Kane and this 
 county since 1839. He has also preached the gospel 
 in Wisconsin, and has preached in Albany, Union 
 Grove and Prophetstown, this county, off and on 
 since 1843. Rev. Earley has resided in Erie a num- 
 ber of years, and owns a nice residence and an acre 
 of land there. He is now 74 years old, and occa- 
 sionally fills an appointment. 
 
 Mr. Early was united in marriage to Miss Ruth B. 
 Childs.at Philadelphia, in July,r839. Shewas,born 
 in that State, in 1820, and bore him eight children, 
 only two of whom survive. The record is as follows 
 
 
 

 
 15 
 
 
 
 : 
 
 -> 
 
 . - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Henry, who was a Sergeant in the late war, came 
 home sick from disease contracted in the army, and 
 died ; Israel, who was also in the army, was wounded 
 at the battle of Perryville, received his discharge, 
 came home and died ; Amelia is the wife of William 
 Smith, book-keeper in a mercantile establishment at 
 at Erie; a son and daughter who died in their in- 
 fancy ; Minnie and Frank are also deceased, and 
 Charles is carrying on a carriage and harness busi- 
 ness in Erie. 
 
 Mrs. Barley died in Erie, March 24, 1873 ; and 
 Mr. Barley was again married, in Scott Co., Iowa, to 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Carpenter, a native of Ohio. 
 
 ^amuel W. Rutt, retired farmer, and a resi- 
 dent of Sterling, was born Oct. 7, 1821, in 
 Lancaster Co., Pa. His parents, Samuel 
 and Susannah (Whisler) Rutt, also natives of 
 the Keystone State, were members of the 
 farming community. He was brought up, as 
 farmers' sons usually are, at school and on the farm, 
 and when 22 years of age he left the parental roof- 
 tree and rented a farm, which he conducted for four 
 years. He then bought 65 acres in Lancaster 
 County, and followed his calling there for three 
 years, at which time he sold that place, and pur- 
 chased a farm of 120 acres in Franklin Co., Pa., 
 where he followed farming another three years. 
 Selling out again, he bought a farm of 125 acres, 
 which he kept for five years. Selling out again, he 
 packed up his goods and emigrated to the Great 
 West, settling first on a farm in Lee County, this 
 State, where he remained 14 years. Finally, in 
 1878, he came to Sterling, this county, and bought a 
 house and lot on the corner of Spruce and Fifth 
 Streets, where he now resides. 
 
 Oct. 12, 1843, he was married to Magdalene Rutt, 
 and they have had n children, seven of whom are 
 living, namely: Levi R., born Aug. 3, 1844; Abra- 
 ham, Aug. 17, 1852; Henry, July 8, 1856; Leah, 
 April 22, 1859; Fanny, Jan. 28, 1862; David, May 
 26, 1865, and Emma, Jan. 19, 1869; Levi R. mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Weaver, .1 native of Pennsylvania, 
 and they have two children, Ella and Leroy. Henry 
 married Amanda Bressler, of Sterling; Leah married 
 Marcus Bressler, a native of Illinois, and is the 
 
 mother of three children, two of whom are living, 
 Lura Belle and Edith Merl; Abraham married Maria 
 Landis, a native of this State, and has foui sons, 
 Clarence, Amos, Loren and Ralph. 
 
 Mr. Rutt is a Republican in his political princi- 
 ples, and in respect to religion he is a member of the 
 Mennonite Church, as is also Mrs. Rutt. 
 
 _. 
 
 K. Mellinger, a farmer on section 23, 
 Jordan Township, was born Nov. 14, 1854, 
 in the Township of Manor, Lancaster Co., 
 Pa. Benjamin Mellinger, his father, a farmer 
 of that State and county, where he was also 
 born, spent his entire days there, dying Feb. 
 J 5i '^55, a few months after the birth of his son. The 
 wife and mother (Anna Kauffman before her mar- 
 riage) subsequently married H. Peters and removed 
 to Whiteside County. She was born and reared in 
 Manor Township, where she was twice married. She 
 bore five children by her first husband. Mr. Mel- 
 linger resided with his stepfather and mother in his 
 native State until 1869, when he accompanied them 
 to Whiteside County, and he was an inmate of their 
 home until he established himself at the head of a 
 family. Since the second widowhood of his mother, 
 he has had the supervision of her welfare. She is 64 
 years of age and is in excellent mental and physical 
 health. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Mellinger to Emma Hess 
 took place July 19, 1874. She is the daughter of 
 Michael and Magdalena (Eshleman) Hess, and her 
 parents were born in the same place where her hus- 
 band's parents had their origin. She was born March 
 3, 1854, in Conestoga Township, Lancaster Co., Pa-. 
 She was 13 years of age when her parents came 
 West and settled on a farm in Jordan Township. 
 The births of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Mel- 
 linger occurred as follows : Lillie B., Feb. 22, 1875 ; 
 Benjamin, April 9, 1880. 
 
 Since his marriage Mr. Mellinger has conducted 
 his mother's farm. It consists of 80 acres of good 
 farm land, under good improvements and supplied 
 with creditable and necessary farm equipments. The 
 place is well stocked. In political preference and 
 
 -$@5^ 
 
 Sx 
 
 5 

 
 
 . .. - 
 
 
 f^r^C^ 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 d) 
 
 f 
 
 connection, Mr. Mellinger is a Republican, and he 
 has officiated in several local offices. He and his 
 wife are members of the Mennonite Church. 
 
 K^^IH 
 
 Christian Overholser, farmer, section 3, 
 '' Genesee Township, was born Dec. 9, 
 1831, in Harrison Co., Ohio. He is the 
 son of Martin and Barbara (Arford) Over- 
 holser, the former a native of Bucks Co., Pa., 
 and the latter of Washington Co., Md. The 
 ancestral stock in the paternal and maternal lines of 
 descent is German. The parents of Barbara Arford 
 died when she was three years of age, and she was 
 brought up by the father and mother of h.er husband, 
 to whom she was married in Harrison Co., Ohio, and 
 with him and their children came to Illinois, arriving 
 in Genesee Township, May 4, 1854. Both are living 
 in Coleta village ; they are aged respectively 7 6 and 
 73 years. 
 
 The family removed in 1834 to Tuscarawas Co., 
 Ohio. Mr. Overholser is the oldest of the children 
 now surviving. He came to Genesee Township 
 with his parents in 1854, and enjoyed all the expe- 
 riences of the pioneers of Whiteside County, enter- 
 ing heartily into the work of improving a prairie 
 farm from its original condition. The claims had 
 been held some time, but only as bones of conten- 
 tion among the speculators. The parents are active 
 members of the United Brethren Church, in which 
 the father has held the offices of Trustee, Steward 
 and Class-leader. He was in early political life a 
 Whig, and has latterly acted with the Reptfblican 
 party. 
 
 The son was married Sept. 27, 1857, to Sarah 
 Kilmer, in Genesee Township. Mrs. Overholser is 
 the daughter of Christian and Mary (Shoop) Kilmer. 
 Her father was a carpenter by vocation, and both 
 he and her mother were descended from ancestors 
 of pure German origin. They were married in Penn- 
 sylvania, and went soon after to Holmes Co., Ohio, 
 which was then unsettled and not organized. Mrs. 
 Overholser was born there, March 19, 1832, and is 
 the youngest of seven children. She came with her 
 sister, Mrs. A. R. Hurless, to Genesee Township, in 
 1857, and was married as stated. The children of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Overholser are recorded as follows : 
 
 _ 
 
 Frances A. vnarried Charles Lunn, and they reside 
 on a farm in Hancock Co., Iowa; they have two 
 children, Oliver N., born April 2, 1882, and Ada B., 
 born Dec. 4, 1883; Delilah J. married Volney G. 
 Chaffee, and they are farmers in Wysox Township 
 Carroll Co., 111. Their children were born as fol- 
 lows: Jessie M., Sept. n, 1880 ; Henry L., April 30, 
 1882; Christian, Feb. 23, 1884. Henry H. married 
 Louisa Horlacher, and they live in Coleta, where the 
 former is operating as agent for the creamery estab- 
 lishment of T. F. King & Co., at Morrison ; their 
 daughter Erma was born Feb. 20, 1884. Edwin W., 
 William I. and Florence M. live at home ; James L. 
 and an infant unnamed are deceased. 
 
 The first home of Mr. and Mrs. Overholser was 
 a pioneer's cabin 16 feet square, located on 40 acres 
 of land, on section three, presented to them by th 
 senior Overholser. The proprietor applied his effor 
 to its improvement, and purchased 17 acres of tim- 
 ber and 80 acres of prairie adjoining, the farm now 
 containing an aggregate of 137 acres of land in ex- 
 cellent condition. The place exhibits a valuable 
 and tasteful collection of farm buildings, includir 
 a good residence. It is stocked with high grades 
 Short-horn cattle and Poland swine. Mr. Overhc 
 ser is a member of the United Brethren Church, and 
 has held every office within the scope of the society ; 
 has been Sunday-school Superintendent, and has 
 been an indefatigable worker in that capacity. Polit- 
 ically, he is a Republican in sentiment and action. 
 He has served long and arduously in local offices. 
 He officiated three terms as Collector of Taxes, six 
 years as Constable, four years as Justice of the 
 Peace, and a long period as Township Trustee. 
 
 larles W. Barley, a son of Rev. A. M. 
 and Ruth B. Earley, was born in 1'rophets- 
 town, this county, Sept. 28, 1859. He is 
 a manufacturer of and dealer in harness, car- 
 riages, saddlery goods, collars, whips, fly-nets, 
 buggiy cushions, etc., in Erie. At the age of 
 14 he commenced to learn the trade of harness- 
 maker; when 1 8 years of age he entered into busi- 
 ness for himself in Port Byron, Rock Island County. 
 In 1879 he removed to Erie and has continued in 
 business in that place until the present time, 
 strict attention to business, honest dealing and turn- 
 
 <^ *
 
 - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ing out good work, he has built up a fine trade. He 
 carries a stock of from $2,500 to $3,000, and em- 
 ploys one assistant. 
 
 Mr. Earley was united in marriage to Miss Belle 
 M. Berry, Sept. 26, 1882, at Erie. She is a daughter 
 of John R. and Elizabeth M. Berry, and was born in 
 Portland Township, this county, Sept. 24, 1862. Mrs. 
 Earley was educated in a convent, entering the 
 Immaculate Conception Academy at Davenport, 
 Iowa, when 13. At the age of ten years she com- 
 menced the study of music, which she continued, to- 
 gether with her other studies. When 18 years of 
 age she finished in the other branches, and then de- 
 voted her time entirely to music. In i88p she went 
 to Chicago and entered the Chicago Musical College, 
 and in 1882 finished her musical education, under 
 the instruction of Dr. F. Ziegfeld, President of the 
 College. Mr. and Mrs. Earley have one child 
 Alfred Berry, born Aug. 7, 1884. 
 
 Tames L. Peugh, section 10, Genesee Town- 
 j^- ship, was born on section 17, in the town- 
 ship where he has always lived, Dec. n, 
 1854. He is the son of C. B. Peugh, of whom 
 an account is given elsewhere in this volume. 
 He was brought up as a farmer's son, and re- 
 mained at home until he was 18 years old, mean- 
 while obtaining such education as was possible at the 
 district schools of Genesee Township. In 1872 he 
 entered the College at Wheaton, 111., where he 
 studied a year. 
 
 Mr. Peugh was married June 29, 1878, at Coleta, 
 to Alice, daughter of W. H. Colcord, whose personal 
 sketch may be found on another page. She was 
 born June 28, 1860, in Genesee Township. Mrs. 
 Peugh is an accomplished musician, and has given 
 much attention to the acquisition of superior skill in 
 instrumental music. Mr. and Mrs. Peugh located 
 on a farm of 80 acres in their native township, of 
 which he had become the owner previous to his 
 marriage. They were its occupants three years, 
 after which it was sold, and the family removed to 
 Coleta. Mr. Peugh had contracted a disease of the 
 eyes and was obliged eventually to abandon his busi- 
 ness, in order to take a course of systematic treat- 
 ment. The disease was technically termed granu- 
 
 z*^ ^A< 
 
 lated eye-lids and he was treated by Dr. Gait, of 
 Rock Island, 111., and also by Dr. Holmes. 
 
 In the fall of 1881 he made a purchase of 60 acres 
 of land on section 10, in his native township, on 
 which he and his wife have since resided. The 
 place is all under tillage. Mr. Peugh is a member 
 of the Christian Church and is a Trustee of the so- 
 ciety. He is a Democrat in political persuasion. 
 
 rancis Marion Allen, youngest son of 
 George W. and Sophronia (Besse) Allen, 
 resident on section 9, Lyndon Township, 
 was born Oct. 30, 1835, in the township of 
 Wales, -Erie Co., N. Y. He was nine years of 
 age when the family residence was transferred 
 to Kankakee Co., 111., where he attained to man's 
 estate. A full personal account of his parents is 
 given in the sketch of A. B. Allen. Mr. Allen was 
 united in marriage with Melvina Mann, Aug. 8, 
 1858. She. was born in Richland Co., Ohio, and is 
 the daughter of Alexander and Maria (Bumpus) 
 Mann. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Allen and his wife assisted 
 his parents on the homestead until 1869, when he 
 removed to Lyndon Township. He purchased a 
 farm on section 9, and is now the owner of 265 
 acres, fenced and under advanced improvements, 
 and including six acres of timber. 
 
 Roderick D., Rhoda, Henry and Ralph are th'e 
 names of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Allen. 
 
 ,ohn Smith, general farmer, residing on 
 section 18, Clyde Township, was born 
 Oct. 25, 1815, in Columbia Co., Pa. He 
 is of mixed English and German extraction, 
 his parents, David and Catherine (Hiner) 
 Smith, belonging respectively to those nation- 
 glides in lineal descent. They were born in New 
 Jersey, were married in the State of their nativity, 
 and lived there some time as farmers. Later they 
 removed to Pennsylvania, and were among the pio- 
 neers of Columbia County, in that State. Their 16 
 children eight sons and eight daughters nearly all 
 attained adult age. 
 
 Mr. Smith is the sixth child, and he lived at home 
 
 $
 
 XX 
 
 4 * 
 
 i 
 
 
 until he was 24 years old. His mother died when 
 he was 16 years of age. He was married in his 
 native county to Jane H., daughter of John and 
 Elizabeth (Laub) Flick. Both were of German de- 
 scent, and came in early life to Pennsylvania. They 
 were married in Northampton County, and afterward 
 located in Columbia County, where Mrs. Smith was 
 born, Oct. 28, 1818, and she is the youngest but one 
 of a family of 10 children. When she was nine 
 years of age she became a member of the family of 
 her sister, Mrs. Catherine L. Appleman, in Montour 
 Co., Pa. Her father died March 6, 1864, in Lyco- 
 ming Co., Pa., aged 85 years. Her mother died 
 there also, Oct. 28, 1860, aged 79 years. 
 
 The qhildren of Mr. and Mrs. Smith were six in 
 number : Catherine is now the wife of H. P. Smith ; 
 Peter married Ada Hiner, and is engaged in farming 
 in Clyde Township ; William B. married Susannah 
 L. Sykes, and. resides in Union Grove Township; 
 Ettie M. is the wife of John Taylor, of Morrison ; 
 Stephen P. married Lucy Stapleton, and lives in the 
 township of Union Grove ; Mathias became "a sol- 
 dier in the Union army, and died at Chattanooga, 
 Tenn.; he was 24 years of age. 
 
 The family remained in Pennsylvania until 1859, 
 when they removed to Illinois, and located near 
 White Rock in Ogle County. After a brief residence 
 there they settled on a farm in Lee County, which 
 they occupied some years. In 1869 they located on 
 a farm of 76 acres on section 19, Clyde Township, 
 where they have since resided, and have made ex- 
 cellent improvements. The family are members of 
 the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Smith is a Democrat. 
 
 | oswell G. Pinney, deceased, formerly a 
 resident on section 8, came to Lyndon 
 Township in 1868, and bought a farm of 
 288 acres, located on sections 5 and 8. He 
 also bought 20 acres of timber at Round 
 Grove, and five acres in what was designated 
 the "Big Woods." Mr. Pinney was born March 30, 
 1809, in Litchfield Co., Conn., and there passed his 
 childhood and youth, and prepared to follow the 
 business of a clothier. He was married Sept. 3, 
 1835, to Abbie Louisa Strong. She was born Sept. 
 i, 1812, in Hebron, Tolland Co., Conn. Mr. Pin- 
 
 ' r\ A. 
 
 ney was engaged in the prosecution of the business 
 of a clothier in Glastonbury two years after marriage, 
 but, his health becoming impaired, he went to Erie 
 Co., Pa., to which place his parents had removed. 
 He bought a farm, which he occupied several years, 
 and removed thence to another in Crawford County, 
 in the same State, of which he was the proprietor 
 until 1868, the year in which he sold the place and 
 removed to Lyndon Township, where he resided 
 until his death, which transpired in June, 1882. To 
 him and his wife seven children were born, of whom 
 four are now living: George R. is a resident of Ster- 
 ling; Emily J. is the wife of George Eiteman, and 
 lives at Round Grove; Jennie L. is the youngest 
 daughter. 
 
 Elizur E. is the owner of part of the homestead. 
 He was born July 7, 1847, and was reared on his 
 father's farm, receiving a good education, which he 
 made available as a teacher before he settled in life. 
 He was married Nov. 4, 1874, to Carrie, daughter of 
 Alexander and Almeda (Gait) Thompson. Francis 
 B., Clara Belle, Nina E. and Earl T. are the names 
 of their children. 
 
 ohn E. Stauffer has been a farmer in 
 Sterling Township since 1858. He was 
 born Aug. 2, 1827, in Lancaster Co., Pa., 
 and is the son of John and Barbara (Eby) 
 Stauffer, who were natives of the same county 
 where their son was born. They had nine 
 children, as follows: Benjamin, Francis, Peter, 
 Christian, Henry, John E., Margaret, Ann and 
 Barbara. The senior Stauffer was a miller by pro- 
 fession, and when the son was of suitable age he 
 was instructed in the same pursuit, in which he 
 passed 15 years, at the end of which time he came, 
 as stated, to Whiteside County. He first bought 60 
 acres in Sterling Township, located on sections 3 
 and 4. He fixed his residence on the former, where 
 he has since lived. He is at present the owner of 
 too acres of improved land. He is an apiarist, and 
 his yard is stocked with 66 stands of bees. He is 
 operating in that line with satisfactory results. Mr. 
 Stauffer has officiated several years as School Direc- 
 tor. He is a believer in the principles of the Re- 
 publican party. 
 
 He was united in marriage in Lancaster Co., Pa., 
 

 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 URKANA
 

 
 g 
 
 -. 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 > 
 > 
 
 . 
 
 ji> 
 
 * * 
 
 I 
 
 Dec. 14, 1848, to Catherine, daughter of Isaac and 
 Frances (Neff) Bressler, natives of Pennsylvania and 
 the parents of 1 1 children who grew to be men and 
 women. They were born in the following order: 
 Eliza, Levi, Ann, Henry, Catherine, Peter, Isaac, 
 Benjamin, Lydia, Mary and Frances. Mrs. Stauffer 
 was born (une 2, 1827, in Lancaster Co., Pa., and 
 she has become the mother of five children, as fol- 
 lows: Ema F., Isaac, Arthur F. and Mary F. ; one 
 child died in infancy. 
 
 'arnes Wood, general farmer on section 19, 
 Clyde Township, was born March $, 1832, 
 in Sattelworth, Yorkshire, England, and he 
 is the son of Joseph and Mary (Brodbent) 
 Wood, who were farmers in England, their na- 
 tive country. They had four children, the two 
 oldest being twins, and the third in order of birth 
 being the son who is the subject of this sketch. He 
 was eight years of age when the family abandoned 
 their native land to find a home across the sea. 
 They located in Worcester. Mass., and later went 
 thence to Rockland Co., N. Y. Soon afterward they 
 made another removal, to Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
 
 In 1848 Mr. Wood came to Clyde Township with 
 his father. At that date trie township was compara- 
 tively in its original state, being mostly unimproved 
 and the prairie still lying fallow as it had done 
 through all the years in which it had spread its 
 broad acres to the sunlight. Newcomers experienced 
 the inconveniences and privations of the pioneer 
 period, chief among which were the remoteness of 
 the markets. For ordinary supplies it was necessary 
 to go to Albany and Mt. Carroll. To sell stock, a 
 distance of 60 miles must be traversed, to Rockford. 
 Mr. Wood's first purchase of land included 69 
 acres, which he let to another party some time after. 
 In company with three others, Thomas Alldritt, 
 Ephraim Bestle and Richard Trye, he went to Pike's 
 Peak. This was in 1869, when the gold fever was 
 at its height, and they made the route thither with a 
 four-horse team across the plains, and encountered 
 the experiences common to the emigrants of that 
 year. They met with disaster, as there was no 
 work for any one and they had no means to aid them 
 in returning. They finally sold some mining imple- 
 
 ments, comprising picks and shovels, which they 
 found in a deserted camp. They were thereby en- 
 abled to buy a sack of flour at Denver, for which 
 they paid $16, and which served as supply until 
 they came within the limits of civilization. After 
 reaching his home Mr. Wood located on his farm. 
 
 Aug. 17, 1862, he was united in marriage to Mrs. 
 Elizabeth J. (Marshall) Demmon, at Fulton, White- 
 side County. Mrs. Wood is the daughter of Alex- 
 ander A. and Elizabeth (Chalbiant) Marshall. She 
 was born June 16, 1832, at Lexington, Ky. Her 
 parents were born in the State of Kentucky and were 
 of English descent. The mother died when the 
 daughter was 12 years of age. After that she lived 
 in Brooklyn, N. Y. By her first husband she is the 
 mother of one child, Edway C. Tucker. By her 
 second husband she had no children. Lulu G. is 
 the name of the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Wood. 
 
 They have now 160 acres of land in Clyde Town- 
 ship, all of which is under excellent cultivation. 
 They also own three lots in Morrison. Mr. Wood is 
 also joint owner of 160 acres in Dakota. .He is 
 rapidly gaining ground as a stock man. He is 
 zealous and active in the interests of the Republican 
 party and has held several township offices. Mrs. 
 Wood belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Ij-ufus K. Hiddleson, resident at Unionville, 
 where he is living in retirement, has been 
 a citizen of Whiteside County since 1850. 
 ,- N His father and mother, John and Mary 
 (Pimm) Hiddleson, were natives of Pennsyl- 
 vania, and came in 1865 to this county, where 
 they passed the remainder of their lives. The mother, 
 who was born in 1786, died April 19, 1866, in the 
 township of Mt. Pleasant. The father, who was born 
 in 1789, died Oct. 25, 1875. Edwin M., Rufus K., 
 Jane S., Wm. P., Rebecca, John A., Joseph H., Lydia 
 A.' and Mary E. were the names of their children. 
 
 Mr. Hiddleson was born Jan. 19, 1813, in Chester 
 Co., Pa., and he lived in that State until his removal 
 to Whiteside County, obtaining there a common- 
 school education and laboring as a farmer. On com- 
 ing to Illinois, he located in the township of Mt. 
 Pleasant, where he became an extensive land-holder, 
 owning 440 acres of the variety of land which gives 
 Whiteside County its prestige, located on one of the
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 creeks which traverses the township. He has dis- 
 posed of the major portion to relieve himself of the 
 cares of extensive business connections in his ad- 
 vancing years, and is at present the owner of about 
 122 acres of land in Whiteside County. He also 
 owns 1 60 acres of land in Mitchell Co., Kan. 
 
 In political sentiment he is a Republican. He 
 has held the office of Justice of the Peace four years 
 and also has officiated in other township offices. 
 
 He was first married March 12, 1836, in Lycoming 
 Co., Pa., to Caroline Converse, and they became the 
 parents of three children, Sarah E., Lydia J. and 
 William P. The wife and mother was born in the 
 State of Vermont, and died in March, 1883, in Mt. 
 Pleasant Township. Mr. Hiddleson was again mar- 
 ried Aug. 28, 1883, in Grundy Co., Iowa, to Mrs. 
 Charlotte (Dening) Long. Mrs. Hiddleson was 
 born June n, 1832, in England, where she grew to 
 womanhood and was married to Simeon Long, who 
 died there June 9, 1877. By her first marriage she 
 had four children, Ellen A., Emily M., Daniel D. 
 and Charles. In 1882 she came with her children 
 to the United States and located in Iowa. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hiddleson are members of the Prot- 
 estant .Methodist Church. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Hiddleson which appears on a 
 preceding page is made from a likeness taken in 
 1885. 
 
 rbuthnot W. Kitchie, farmer, section 15, 
 Ustick Township, is a citizen of the United 
 1 States by adoption, his birth having taken 
 place May r, 1825, in Scotland. His parents, 
 ""George and Margaret (Reed) Ritchie, were 
 born in Scotland. While a resident in his na- 
 tive land he was interested in agricultural business 
 and in quarrying stone. In the summer of r853 he 
 came to the United States and located in Ustick 
 Township. He owns 334 acres of land, which is 
 chiefly under cultivation. Mr. Ritchie is a Republi- 
 can in political connection, and he has filled several 
 of the township offices. 
 
 His marriage to Rachel Adan took place June 
 9, 1854, in Ustick Township. They have had nine 
 children, Charles A., George A., William A., Mar- 
 garet J., James A., Steward D., John N., Agnes N. 
 
 of 
 
 and May E. Mrs. Ritchie is the daughter of Charles 
 and Margaret (Rae) Adan. She was born March 2, 
 1831, in Scotland, of which country her parents also 
 were natives. She and her husband are members of 
 the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 eorge Diehl, general farmer on section 8 
 Clyde Township, was born Jan. 21, 1840, 
 in Franklin Co., Pa. Samuel Diehl, his 
 father, was born in the same State, and was of 
 German descent and parentage. He was born 
 in 1800 and died in Pennsylvania in Septem- 
 ber, 1883. The mother of Mr. Diehl, whose maiden 
 name was Elnora Cook, and was also a native 
 Franklin County, was of Irish ancestry and died o: 
 the family homestead in January, 1843. The famil; 
 included seven children, three sons and four daugh- 
 ters, who are all living. 
 
 Mr. Diehl was two years of age when his mother 
 died. His father was soon after married again, and 
 he remained at home until he was 18 years of age, 
 obtaining a common-school education. He then be- 
 gan an independent life as a farm laborer and was 
 employed at various points un'til he was married and 
 settled in life. 
 
 He was united in marriage to Susannah Zook, 
 Nov. 21, 1861, in Greene Township, Franklin Co., 
 Pa. She was born there Feb. 19, 1844, and is the 
 sister of Abraham Zook, of whom a sketch appears 
 on other pages of this ALB UM. She is the child of 
 her father's second marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Diehl five children have been born : Mahala mar- 
 ried Charles Etter, Dec. 25, 1879, and they reside in 
 the township of Hopkins, and have three children, 
 Cora M., Elmer C. and Mabel E. Jacob, Katie A., 
 Elnora and Oliver are living at home. 
 
 The family removed from Pennsylvania to Illinois 
 in the fall of 1864, and they located on the farm of 
 which they have since been the occupants. It con- 
 tained 120 acres of land and at the date of purchase 
 was partly improved. With the exception of about 
 ten years this has been their residence, and the place 
 is under complete improvements. A further pur- 
 chase of So acres has been made, and the farm is in 
 excellent agricultural condition. The proprietor is 
 engaged to some extent in dealing in live stock.
 
 9 
 
 / 
 
 A 
 
 V 
 
 Mr. Diehl is a Democrat and has held various 
 /( 3 offices. The entire family are members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Carles A. Griswold, A. M., M. D., one of 
 
 the leading physicians of Western Illinois, 
 and the oldest resident medical practi- 
 tioner of Fulton, was born in Saybrook, Conn., 
 Nov. 24, 1830, and is the son of Selah and 
 
 < Rosana (Bull) Griswold. His father was a 
 descendant of the Griswold family prominent in the 
 early history of Connecticut, after whom Fort Gris- 
 wold was named, and whose membership included 
 one Governor of the State. The grandfather of Dr. 
 Griswold was a pensioner of the War of the Revolu- 
 tion, while his father was a pensioner of the War of 
 1812-14. 
 
 Charles A. received his primary education at 
 Cheshire, Conn., entered Yale College, where he took 
 a regular course, and graduated in the class of 1852. 
 He took two courses of medical lectures at Yale, 
 and spent three years in study in connection with 
 the State Lunatic Asylum, at Utica, N. Y. He fin- 
 ished one course at the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons, of New York City, and received the de- 
 gree of M. D., in March, 1856, from the last named 
 institution. 
 
 He came to Fulton, 111. early in September, 1856, 
 and, unlike most young physicians, he entered upon 
 a successful practice almost immediately. He pur- 
 sued his profession at Fulton till October, 1862, 
 when he entered the service of the Government, in 
 the late war, as Assistant Surgeon of the 93d Regi- 
 ment, 111. Vol. Inf. He was in the Yazoo Pass ex- 
 pedition, in the siege of Vicksburg, and entered the 
 city after its surrender, remaining there till Septem- 
 ber. He was at the battle of Mission Ridge, and 
 followed Sherman in his celebrated march to the 
 sea. He was detailed for special duty on many oc- 
 casions, and in December, 1864, he was prompted 
 to Regimental Surgeon of the 93d. He served in 
 the 1 5th and i7th Army Corps, till the close of the 
 war, and was mustered out in July, 1865, having 
 served three years, without meeting with a casualty, 
 or failing for a day to be on hand for duty. While 
 he endured many hardships incident to army life, 
 
 his experience gained on the field, especially in 
 surgery, has amply repaid him. In fact, his term of 
 service in the late war marks an epoch in his life, of 
 which he may well be proud, while the vivid recol- 
 lection of the scenes through which he passed, often 
 terrible, and sometimes humorous, will always supply 
 interesting matter for retrospection. 
 
 After his return from the war, the Doctor resumed 
 his practice at Fulton, and has steadily advanced to 
 an honorable position in his profession. 
 
 He was prominently identified with the Union 
 Medical Society, of Whiteside Co., 111., and Clinton 
 Co., Iowa, and is also a member of the Whiteside 
 County Medical Society. He was appointed Dele- 
 gate to the American Medical Association, which 
 convened at Minneapolis, Minn., in June, 1882- 
 He was connected with the Northern Illinois College 
 three years, during which time he lectured on Physi- 
 ology, Anatomy and Hygiene. He was appointed 
 Examiner of Pensions, on his return from the war, 
 and has held that position continuously since. He 
 has held various local offices, having served as May- 
 or of Fulton in 1868, Supervisor of Fulton Township 
 two terms, and three terms as School Director. 
 
 He has been a Freemason many years, and is a 
 member of Fulton City Lodge, No. 1 89, A. F. & A. M., 
 of which he has been Master four years. 
 
 Dr. Griswold was married at Cleveland, Ohio, July 
 5, 1866, to Miss Alice E. Smith. They had four 
 children, three daughters and one son, namely : 
 Marietta Alice ; Joe Adelaide, born March 8, 1870, 
 died Sept. 30, 1870; Henrietta Beaumont; Charles 
 Richard, born Dec. i, 1874, died July 19, 1875. 
 
 Marietta and Henrietta, his surviving children, 
 are attending school at Cleveland, under the care, of 
 relatives. Mrs. Griswold died Dec. 10, 1874.- 
 
 The Doctor has been addicted to literary pursuits, 
 more or less, as the spirit moved him, and has been 
 a liberal contributor to the local press. At one time 
 he was associate editor of the Fulton Advertiser, a 
 Republican paper of this city, since changed to the 
 Journal. He is a terse and expressive writer, whose 
 articles are always of interest, on whatever subject 
 he may touch. In politics he is a " stalwart Repub- 
 lican." He has always taken a .lively interest in 
 politics, and has done good service for the party. 
 He has been a delegate to many local conventions. 
 
 There is one episode in the Doctor's life that he 
 
 
 

 
 
 <J VV. 
 WHJTESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 I! 
 (, 
 
 
 
 will never forget, and -from the effects of which he 
 will never fully recover. He was returning from 
 Connecticut, where he had been to attend the funeral 
 of his father, who died in his 971)1 year, and was a 
 passenger on the ill-fated train that made the fearful 
 plunge through the Ashtabula bridge, Dec. 29, 1876, 
 a distance of 140 feet, to the river below! He was 
 taken from the wreck in an insensible condition, but 
 with whole bones. He is satisfied that one such ex- 
 perience in a lifetime is enough. 
 
 /jj'|[[ Ifred H. Daniel is a prominent agricultur- 
 ist of Whiteside County, and is a citizen of 
 Clyde Township, where he is located on 
 section 21. He is a native of the county, 
 having been born in Jacobstown, Mt. Pleasant 
 Township, June 15, 1842, and was one of the 
 first white children who began life in Whiteside 
 County. His father, Henry Daniel, was a miller by 
 profession, and was born in England. In early life 
 he emigrated thence to Canada, where he married 
 Lydia Hollenhead, and lived a considerable time 
 with his family in Ontario. The father was the 
 operator there of a wa'er-power grist-mill, which he 
 managed some time, and afterwards became the 
 owner of a large tract of land in Clyde Township. 
 Later he went to Houghton, on the Mississippi Riv- 
 er, in Iowa, where he operated as a miller until his 
 death about the year 1848. The mother, so far as 
 known, was born in the province of Ontario, where 
 she was brought up and educated. Her death took 
 place in the township of Clyde about the year 1857. 
 The son, who is the subject of this sketch, lived 
 with his mother until her death. He was then 15 
 years of age, and he entered the family of a man 
 named Dent, one of the oldest citizens of the town- 
 ship of Clyde, who is still living. Mr. Dent released 
 him from his obligations to himself, when he was 20 
 years of age, and he passed some time in general farm 
 labor. The first event of any importance was his 
 marriage Feb 12, 1866, to Cynthia Mutart, who was 
 born in Canada, and came after reaching woman- 
 hood to Whiteside County, where she found a home 
 with her relatives. She was of mixed French and 
 English extraction, and died Aug. 9, 1871, in Clyde 
 Township. Ol this marriage two children were born, 
 
 as follows : Lydia, Oct. 9, 1867 ; and Ora, Oct. 16, 
 1869. The second marriage of Mr. Daniel, to Mrs. 
 Jennie (Schwarer) Lay, occurred Jan. 31, 1878, in 
 Ustick Township. She is the daughter of John V. 
 and Marie (Oberacker) Lay. Her parents were 
 born respectively in Prussia and Bavaria, and were 
 both of German ancestry. Mrs. Daniel was born 
 Oct. 25, 1855, in Germany, and when she was six 
 years of age emigrated with her parents to the 
 United States and located in the State of New York. 
 The father died there in 1864, of quick consump- 
 tion, and the death of the mother, of the same dis- 
 ease, occurred in 1866. The daughter was n years 
 of age when she was wholly orphaned, and she was 
 cared for by strangers until she was married to 
 Harry K. Lay, that event occurring July 29, 1874. 
 She became the mother of one child, Roswell L., 
 born Aug. 1 6, 1875. At the time of her second 
 marriage she was a resident of Clyde Township. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Daniel have three children, born as 
 follows: Bertha L., Nov. 29, 1878; Reuben H., May 
 17, 1882 ; and Alfred D., Sept. 12, 1884. 
 
 After his first marriage Mr. Daniel located on the 
 homestead of his father, where he had control of 
 one-fifth of the estate for some time, and later pur- 
 chased the interests of the other heirs. He owns 
 170 acres of land, all of which is well improved, 
 fenced, stocked and supplied with good buildings, 
 among which is one of the best stock and grain 
 barns in the county. He is a Democrat, and has 
 never aspired to the honors of official life. 
 
 ,ornelius Springer is a farmer on section 
 33, Ustick Township, and the son of 
 "^ Jacob H. and Hannah (Davoe) Springer. 
 His parents were born in the State of New 
 York, and in 1866 came to Whiteside Coun- 
 ty, locating in Union Crove, where the father 
 died, Aug. 26, 1876. The mother still lives in Union 
 Grove Township. Their children, who numbered 
 1 2, were named : Clarinda, Henry, Jacob, Corne- 
 lius, Daniel, Eleanor C., Lavina E., Martin, Wynard, 
 John G., Alonzo and Alexander. 
 
 Mr. Springer was born Oct. 9, 1830, in Herkimer 
 Co., N. Y., obtained his education in the public 
 schools, and since the beginning of his life of active 
 
 . 
 
 t 
 
 I 
 
 *j> 
 
 i
 
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 : 
 
 ( 
 
 i 
 
 independence, he has been occupied chiefly with 
 agricultural pursuits, although he has given some 
 attention to the business of a carpenter. In 1860 
 he left his native State to engage in farming in Illi- 
 nois, and he settled in Ustick township, where he is 
 now the owner of 155 acres of land. He also owns 
 640 acres in Dakota. 
 
 Mr. Springer is a Republican in political principle, 
 and accepts the doctrines of the Prohibitionists. He 
 has filled the offices of Road Commissioner, Col- 
 lector, School Director and Overseer of Highways. 
 
 His marriage to Mary A., daughter of Hiram and 
 Nancy (Munger) Stratton, took place Oct. 28, 1852, in 
 Jefferson Co., N. Y. The parents came in 1859 to 
 Whiteside County, and located in Ustick Township. 
 The mother died in November, 1876, in Morrison. 
 The father is still living. Their children are Ada- 
 line E., Theresa N., Mary A., Calista F., Ellen L., 
 Emeline and Celia. Mrs. Springer was born Oct. 
 23, 1831, in Rutland Co., Vt. Nine children have 
 been born of her marriage to Mr. Springer Hiram 
 A., Martin J., Eleanor T., Eber D., Alonzo J., Will- 
 iam D., Grant U., Herbert and J. D. Eber is not 
 living. i 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Springer are members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church ; also their sons, Hiram and 
 Alonzo. 
 
 ;~ohn H. Wetzell, farmer, section 34, Hume 
 j? Township, is a native citizen of Whiteside 
 County, having been born April 20, 1857, 
 in Genesee Township. His parents had a 
 family of six children. He is the youngest, 
 and also the only son. In 1865 the family re- 
 moved to the township of Hume. Mr. Wetzell was 
 fond of study, and made good use of such school 
 privileges as the times afforded. When he was 18 
 years of age he put his education to practical use by 
 teaching in "Genesee Township. He supplemented 
 his stock of knowledge by attendance at five local 
 Normal institutes. He passed the winters of five 
 years in teaching, and worked on farms summers. 
 At the end of that time he found his health was 
 suffering from confinement* and the routine of the 
 duties attendant upon his profession, and he aban- 
 doned it to mnke a specialty of agriculture. He 
 
 i '* m i&*^' ^ 
 
 became the owner of his father's homestead, and 
 after his marriage fixed his residence thereon. He 
 is now the owner of 338 acres of land, chiefly 
 under a good order of cultivation, and furnished 
 with convenient and well-built structures suited to 
 the necessities of the farm. He is in accord with the 
 tenets of the Republican faith, and is at present a 
 Township Trustee. 
 
 On the i4th day of June, 1881, his marriage to 
 Katie Horlacher took place. She was born Nov. 26, 
 1859, in Genesee Township, and is the daughter ot 
 Godfrey Horlacher, of whom a personal narration is 
 given in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Wetzell have two 
 children, who were born as follows : David A., May 
 1 6, 1882, and Emma E. Oc.t. 30, 1884. 
 
 Mr. Wetzell is a member of the Wesleyan Metho- 
 dist Church, with which he has been connected since 
 he Tvas 1 1 years old. 
 
 acob W. Hollinshead, a farmer in Ustick 
 Township, located on section 7, is the son 
 of John and Betsey (Rush) Hollinshead, of 
 whom a personal sketch is given elsewhere, 
 with that of Joshua Hollinshead. They died 
 in Ustick Township, respectively in March, 
 1843, an d i n June, 1863. Their children were 
 named Joshua, Julia A., Jacob W., Daniel, Lydia, 
 Charles, Mary and Emily. 
 
 Mr. Hollinshead was born Aug. 22, 1831, in Can- 
 ada, and he was about nine years of age when he 
 came with his parents to Whiteside County. He re- 
 ceived the advantages of the common schools, and 
 was occupied on the home farm until he was 28 
 years of age. He then undertook the management 
 of the homestead, in which he continued two years, 
 and after that bought 94 acres of land situated on 
 sections 7 and 8, in Ustick Township. On this he 
 at once located and erected the buildings which he 
 has since occupied and utilized in his agricultural 
 operations. He is now the owner of about 217 acres 
 in the county, and has 194 acres under good tillage. 
 In political connections Mr. Hollinshead is in 
 sympathy with the Democrats. He has been Con- 
 stable three years, Collector four years, Road Com- 
 missioner about ten years, has served as School 
 Director, and in the spring of 1885 was elected As- 
 
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 1 
 
 i
 
 
 \s 
 
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 i 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 sessor. He is a member of the Masonic Order, and, 
 with his wife, belongs to the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 He was married in Mt. Carroll, 111., Sept. 12, 1858, 
 to Jeannette,. daughter of Orange and Margaret 
 (Johnson) Benton, who had nine children, named as 
 follows : Johnson, Lafayette, Rebecca, Edwin, Wil- 
 lard, Maria, Jasper, Jeannette and Emmett. Mrs. 
 Hollinshead was born Feb. n, 1837, in Chenango 
 Co., N. Y., and to her and her husband three chil- 
 dren have been born: Ethel L., Elizabeth M. and 
 Frank L. 
 
 Augustus N. Mallory, of the firm of Cavert 
 & Mallory, proprietors of the Sterling Iron 
 Works, residence on Spruce Street, was 
 born June 7, 1846, in Canada, his parents be- 
 ing L. D. and Malinda (Plumb) Mallory 
 natives also of the Dominion, who came to 
 Sterling in 1859. 
 
 Mr. Mallory received a common-school education ; 
 from 1863 to 1878 he followed the printing business, 
 and since then has been a machinist. In 1865 he 
 enlisted in the war for the Union, in Co. A, 341)1 
 Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., and was engaged in the'battle of 
 Raleigh, N. C. At the close of his four months' 
 service he was honorably discharged. In his polit- 
 ical views he is a Republican; and he is a member 
 of the Masonic fraternity and of the Grand Army of 
 the Republic. 
 
 He was married Nov. 4, 1873, to Miss Josephine 
 Adams, a native of Illinois, and they have one 
 daughter, named Bertha. 
 
 ohn C. Parnham, farmer, section 27, Us- 
 tick Township, is the son of John and 
 Mary (Craven) Parnham, whose family 
 comprised six children, five of whom were 
 younger than the subject of this sketch. They 
 were born in the order in which their names 
 are here given : Elizabeth, Sarah, Ann (ist), Charles 
 and Ann (2d). The fourth child is dead. 
 
 Mr. Parnham was born in England, where his par- 
 ents passed their entire lives. His birth occurred 
 Nov. 1 1, 1836, and he was 19 years of age when he 
 
 came from his native country to the United States. 
 He located in Lyndon Township, Whiteside Co., 
 where he rented farms until 1867, the year in which 
 he removed to 200 acres which he had purchased in 
 Ustick Township, and where he fixed his homestead. 
 He was married in Lyndon Township to the widow 
 of Alfred Parnham, Mrs. Jane (Ridley) Parnham. 
 Her first husband died June 5, 1860, from injuries 
 received in the tornado of June 3, two days before. 
 The house in which the family lived was torn to 
 atoms by the fearful storm which crossed from Iowa 
 and struck the western side of Whiteside County, 
 just at evening on Sunday, June 3, 1860. The two 
 children Charles and William A. were in bed, and 
 after the storm had passed the first child was found 
 dead some distance from the house. Mrs. Parnham 
 was born June 25, 1833, in England, and is the 
 daughter of John and Elizabeth (Rush) Ridley, 
 whose family included six children. The brothers 
 and sister of Mrs. Parnham are John R., Joseph, 
 Matthew, Charles and Elizabeth. By her second 
 marriage Mrs. Parnmam has three children Lydia 
 A., Katie M. and Gertie A. She and her husband 
 belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. 
 Parnham is a Prohibitionist in temperance principle. 
 He has always been a Republican, and is now serv- 
 ing his third year as Road Commissioner. 
 
 ohn Sykes, retired farmer, resident on sec- 
 tion 1 8, Clyde Township, is a citizen of 
 the United States by adoption, having been 
 born Nov. 14, 1818, in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, 
 England. Charles Sykes, his father-, was a 
 craftsman, and worked in the woolen mills ot 
 Yorkshire. Sarah (Croft) Sykes, his mother, was 
 born in England and was reared by her uncle, her 
 parents having died when she was an infant. She 
 lived all her life in her native country and died 
 there. After her demise the father emigrated to 
 the United States and located in Scott Co., Iowa, 
 where he died, in Letare Township, about 1862, 
 aged 73 years. They had seven children. Four 
 are still living, of whom Mr. Sykes is the oldest. 
 
 He was reared and educated in his native country, 
 and at the age of 16 years he was apprenticed to 
 learn the tnde of a weaver, in which he was occu- 
 
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 -
 
 LIUKARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OK ILLINOIS 
 URIBANA

 
 
 
 
 
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 I 
 
 pied until 1841, when he came to America and lo- 
 cated in the State of New York. He operated as a 
 journeyman weaver for some years in various parts 
 of the State, and held the position of foreman in 
 several factories. He managed the carpet factory 
 of Higgins, in the city of New York, seven years, and 
 operated also at Poughkeepsie and at Haverstraw. 
 He next engaged in the management of a carding- 
 machine for Alexander Smith at another place in the 
 State of New York, where he was employed one 
 year. At the end of that time he came West to es- 
 tablish a permanent home, and located on 400 acres 
 of land in Clyde Township, which he had purchased 
 a year previous to his removal hither. He was 
 among the earliest of the pioneer settlers of the 
 township, and at the date of his taking possession of 
 his farm neighbors were few and widely scattered. 
 Morrison was not in existence, even in the sanguine 
 imagination of speculation. Sterling was in its 
 swaddling clothes. Some months after becoming a 
 resident of the township, in company with a brother, 
 he made a trip with ox teams to Chicago. He had 
 shipped a considerable amount of personal property 
 from the East, which was detained for want of trans- 
 portation facilities. The time was early September, 
 and the heat was so excessive as to necessitate night 
 travel. On one of the nights just preceding their 
 arrival in the city, an Irishman proposed to purchase 
 one of the teams. Mr. Sykes mentioned his price 
 and the Irishman accepted the terms, as teams were 
 scarce and the opportunity to purchase a good team, 
 even at extravagant rates, could not be allowed to 
 pass. 
 
 Mr. Sykes cultivated an ambition to convert his 
 farm into one of the best in the county. He is now 
 the owner of 380 acres, which includes his first pur- 
 chase of 1 60 acres. The entire acreage is improved 
 and supplied with a class of buildings which are in 
 fair rank with the best in the county. He also owns 
 200 acres in Iowa, which is under good improve- 
 ments with excellent buildings. He is also engaged 
 in traffic in graded cattle and other classes of stock, 
 and is dealing in them to considerable extent. 
 
 Mr. Sykes was married Nov. 29, 1843, at Brook- 
 lyn, N. Y., to Susannah, daughter of Richard and 
 Elizabeth (Peterson) Owens, the former a descendant 
 of Welsh parents, the latter of German ancestry, and 
 both were born in the city of New York. On the 
 mother's side Mrs. Sykes is a descendant of John 
 
 Paulding, one of the captors of Major Andre. Richard 
 Owens was a skillful painter, and himself and wife 
 passed their whole lives in the place where they were 
 born. The death of the former took place in 1822; 
 that of the latter in 1840. Mrs. Sykes was born Jan. 
 5, rSrs, in the city of New York. Her father died 
 when she was seven years of age, and she was 
 reared by her mother. To Mr. and Mrs. Sykes 
 seven sons and daughters were born, and two have 
 died. The record is: Richard married Harriet 
 Ridmon and they reside in Iowa; John E! is the 
 second in order of birth ; Susannah is the wife of 
 William Smith, and they are farmers in Ustick 
 Township; Helen is an accomplished musician; 
 William H. C. is conducting the agricultural affairs 
 of the homestead ; Sarah A. and Mary E. are de- 
 ceased. 
 
 Mr. Sykes is a decided Republican. His wife be- 
 longs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 ernon Sanford is a pioneer of Jordan Town- 
 ship of 1836, and, after nearly 50 years' 
 identification with the development of 
 Whiteside County, is living in retirement on 
 his farm on section i of the township where he 
 settled in its earliest period. He was born 
 April 4, i8ro, in the township of Middletown, Dela- 
 ware Co., N. Y. Cyrenius Sanford, his father, was 
 born in Connecticut, of New England parentage, and 
 married Anna Hubbell. Both were of pure Yankee 
 lineage. They were married in Connecticut, and 
 went to Delaware Co., N. Y., where they remained 
 until 1834, the date of their coming to Ogle Co., 111., 
 where they were among the earliest settlers. 
 
 Mr. Sanford is the sixth of his parents' children, 
 andjie lived at home until he was married. Catherine 
 Campbell became his wife Sept. 7, 1834. She was 
 born Nov. 18, iSc;, in Dutchess Co, N. Y., and is 
 the daughter of Henry and Rachel (Martin) Camp- 
 bell. Her parents were natives of the State of New 
 York and were farmers. They moved to Delaware 
 County, where her father died. Her mother after- 
 wards came to Ogle Co., 111., where she spent the 
 closing years of her life. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Sanford located on section i, Jordan 
 Township, Nov. 8, 1836. They came direct from 
 
 V> 

 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 the town of Middletown, Delaware Co., N. Y., 
 They bought 320 acres of land, chiefly located on 
 section i. They lived at first in a pioneer's cabin, 
 built of logs in primitive style, which they abandoned 
 in a very few years to take possession of the first 
 frame house built in the township, erected by the 
 proprietor. The entire property of Mr. Sanford is 
 under improvement, including 204 acres which he 
 owns in Jordan Township and 101 in Ogle County. 
 
 In 1848 the ancient .village of Sanfordville, which 
 was named for Mr. Sanford, was laid out, but is now 
 in decay. 
 
 The following record is that of the children of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Sanford: Mary Jane was born Feb. 5, 1837, 
 and married Edwin Wolcot Dec. 13, 1854. She died 
 March 25, 1861. Nancy was born April 15, 1839, 
 and was married Oct. 22, 1857, to Gilbert Finkle. 
 (See sketch.) Rachel A. was born Oct. 12, 1852, 
 and died Dec. 4, 1855. Mrs. Sanford belongs to the 
 Baptist Church. Mr. Sanford is a Democrat in 
 political faith. 
 
 Probably the familiar features of no pioneer of the 
 county will be more welcomed within this ALBUM by 
 the people of Whiteside County than those of this 
 venerable man ; and accordingly a lithographic like- 
 ness of him is given upon a page in proximity. 
 
 avid Cowan, farmer, section 27, Ustick 
 Township, has been a citizen of Whiteside 
 County since June, 1854. He is the son 
 of Robert and Mary (Sellers) Cowan, and his 
 parents were born and died in Scotland. Their 
 seven children were born in the following order: 
 William, Mary, Robert, Adam, John, David and 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 Mr. Cowan, the youngest son, was born June 22, 
 1822, in Scotland. He was educated in the parish 
 school near his early home, and he was a farmer on 
 his native heather until 1854. In June of that year 
 he bade a final farewell to the land 'of his birth, and 
 on reaching Whiteside County went to the township 
 of Union Grove, where he remained ten months. He 
 went next to Clyde Township, where he passed a 
 similar period, working by the month. In 1857 he 
 located where he has since lived and managed his 
 farm, which comprises 123 acres in tillage. 
 
 Mr. Cowan was married April 10, 1857, in Union- 
 
 ^^ ^7 
 
 ville, Union Grove Township, to Agues, daughter of 
 Archibald and Agnes (Wilson) Taylor. She was 
 born April 25, 1822, in Scotland, which was also the 
 native land of her parents. Robert S., Archie T., 
 Mary A., Lizzie W. and Margaret B. are the names 
 of the children of which Mr. and Mrs. Cowan have 
 been the parents. The youngest daughter died 
 when five years old. The parents are members of 
 the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Mr. Cowan is a Nationalist in political sentiment ; 
 in temperance principle he is a prohibitionist. He 
 has held the office of School Director three years. 
 
 Mrs. Cowan had ten brothers and sisters, born as 
 follows : Robert (ist), Elizabeth, John, Robert (2d), 
 Agnes, Archibald, James, Margaret (ist) Gilbert, 
 Margaret (ad) and Mary. Five of the above only 
 are now living, all of whom are residing in the United 
 States. 
 
 ohn P. Hey, general farmer, section 23, 
 Jordan Township, was born Feb. n, 1856, 
 in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. His parents, 
 Jacob and Klementina (Dal) Hey, were born 
 respectively in Bavaria and Baden, Germany. 
 She is a sister of Dr. Jacob Dal, of Chicago. 
 They came to America in early life, and were mar- 
 i ried in Poughkeepsie. Their son, who is the sub- 
 Iject of this sketch, was but two months old when 
 \ they removed to Illinois. The mother was a second 
 i wife, and Mr. Hey is the oldest child of the later 
 
 marriage. The family settled in Lee Co., 111., near 
 | Gap Grove, in Palmyra Township. Later, they 
 ! came to Whiteside County and the father pur- 
 
 chased 80 acres of land on section 23, Jordan Town- 
 ship (1858), which is now the residence of Mr. Hey, 
 of this sketch. 
 
 The latter was reared at home and educated at 
 ! the public schools. At 21, he worked for his father 
 : by the month, and in the next year he became the 
 husband of Elizabeth Baer, to whom he was mar- 
 ried Feb. 26, 1878. She is the daughter of Martin 
 Baer, of whom a sketch is given elsewhere. She 
 was born Jan. 2, 1854, in Manor Township, Lan- 
 caster Co., Pa. When she was little more than 
 three years of age, hpr parents came to Illinois, set- 
 tling in Jordan Township, where she has lived and 
 
 
 E3 
 $ 
 
 
 \
 
 >. f 
 
 obtained her education. To her and her husband 
 three children have been born, as follows: Mary 
 A., March 14, 1880; Clement, March 8, 1882 ; Henry, 
 March 8, 1884. 
 
 Since their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Hey have 
 lived on the Hey homestead. The former has be- 
 come a prominent agriculturist. He first purchased 
 100 acres of land on section 22, adjoining the home- 
 stead. Later, he bought the i6o-acre homestead 
 on sections 23 and 26, and the entire tract is under 
 an excellent order of tillage. Mr. Hey is engaged in 
 raising horses, cattle and hogs, and buying and feed- 
 ing cattle. He is a Republican in political prefer- 
 ence. 
 
 ) 
 
 } arcellus Kidder, is a prominent and en- 
 ^, terprising farmer of Jordan Township, 
 and is located on section 14, where he 
 owns a large farm comprising, in connec- 
 tion with his acreage on sections u and 15, 
 300 acres in a solid body. It is all well im- 
 proved and supplied with fine farm buildings. Mr. 
 Kidder is also succassfully engaged in raising stock. 
 
 He was born Sept. 8, 1840, in Bristol, Grafton 
 Co., N. H. Benjamin Kidder, his father, was a 
 native of the same place, and was a descendant 
 from a family who came to America during the 
 Colonial period, and were participants in the War of 
 the Revolution. 
 
 Benjamin Kidder married for his second wife, Mary 
 Doton, whose father, Ephraim Doton, was born in 
 New Hampshire, and was of English lineage, his 
 progenitors having come to America previous to 
 the war for Colonial independence. The first wife, 
 whose maiden name was Sarah Dodge, was also 
 born in New Hampshire and bore three children. 
 One, named Adniram, is still living, in O'Brien Co., 
 Iowa. Of the second marriage, three children were 
 born : Electa married H. Taylor and died in Powe- 
 shiek Co., Iowa, June 9, 1878. She was born Nov. 
 15, 1837. Nelson B. is a farmer in Ogle Co., 111. 
 
 Mr. Kidder 's parents came West when he was 15 
 years old, in 1856. They located on section n, 
 on a farm containing 160 acres of land, where soil 
 had never seen the implements of agriculture. On 
 this place the family lived for years, the son re- 
 
 maining at home until he was married. The parents 
 went later to Ogle County, where the father died, 
 at Woosung, Aug. 6, 1883, aged 88. He was 
 an active and prominent member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. The mother is 78 years old. 
 
 Mr. Kidder was married April 25, 187 r, at Dixon, 
 Lee Co., 111., to Ella J., daughter of John G. and 
 Hannah B. (Torcy) Annan. Her father was of Scotch 
 lineage, and her mother descended from parents of 
 English extraction. They were natives of New 
 Hampshire, and were married in the city of Man- 
 chester. Mrs. Kidder was born Sept. 2, 1848, in 
 Grafton, N. H. She was reared and educated prin- 
 cipally in that county and completed her studies at 
 New Hampton Institute. When she was 18 years of 
 age, she began teaching and made that her occu- 
 pation until 1869, when she came to Ogle County. 
 She is the mother of two children. Ida L. was born 
 May 9, 1875 ; Royce A. was born July 8, 1878. 
 
 Mr. Kidder, at the outset of his married life, lo- 
 cated on 80 acres of the homested of his father, 
 which is now included in his estate. He is a Demo- 
 crat in political persuasion. 
 
 eorge W. Allen, deceased, came to White- 
 side County in 1869, and located on sec- 
 tion 4 of " township 20, range 6 east," 
 now Lyndon Township. Associated with his 
 son, A. B. Allen, whose biography is given 
 elsewhere, he bought 547 acres of land situ- 
 ated on sections 4, 9 and 1 6, most of which was 
 already improved. Mr. Allen was born in Skene- 
 ateles, Onondaga Co., N. Y., Oct. 22, 1801. His 
 father was named Ethan Allen. George W. grew to 
 manhood in his native county, and was there mar- 
 ried to Sophronia Besse, in 1825. She was born in 
 Westmoreland, N. Y., March n, 1802. After his 
 marriage Mr. Allen bought a tract of land in Wales, 
 situated in the Holland Purchase, on which he re- 
 sided until 1844, when he sold and came to Illinois. 
 He drove the entire distance, conveying his family 
 and portable property in two covered wagons drawn 
 by four horses. He first made a location in Du Page 
 County, removing in 1846 to Kankakee County, and 
 settling in the township of Rockville. He bought a 
 soldier's warrant of 160 acres, on which he built a 
 
 * . 

 
 frame house and barn, and fenced and made the 
 usual improvements. He sold the place in 1868 for 
 ,*, $45 per acre. He came to Lyndon in the spring of 
 1869, and was a citizen of that township until his 
 death, July 21, 1884. 
 
 The first wife of Mr. Allen died in 1850, in 
 Kankakee County. Her successor was M^ry Ann 
 Kearns, to whom Mr. Allen was married Aug. 4, 
 1853. The record of the children of the first mar- 
 riage, five in number, is as follows : Albert B. is the 
 oldest, and a personal account of him is given else- 
 where in this volume; Sarah Ann married L. G. 
 Tubbs, and resided for a number of years in Iowa; 
 she died in Kankakee, while visiting in that city ; 
 Seymour J. lives in Kankakee ; Mandane married 
 Milton Bloom, who entered the military service of 
 the United States during the Civil War, and died 
 before the expiration of his term of enlistment. His 
 widow lives in Lyndon Township, with her son, 
 Bernard Bloom. Two children were born of the 
 second marriage, viz. : Ethan G., who lives in Ten- 
 nessee ; and Ada, who is the wife of W. E. Free- 
 man, of Lyndon Township. 
 
 . 
 ' 
 
 -fr- 
 
 -*H* 
 
 ohn Avery, a farmer, section 16, Portland 
 ? Township, is a son of Milburn and Eliza- 
 beth (Green) Avery, and was born in Wal- 
 ton, Northamptonshire, England, May 29, 1809. 
 His parents were poor, and when he was a very 
 small boy he went to work in a sack factory to 
 turn a wheel (or spinning-wheel), and afterward en- 
 gaged in farming. Feb. 21, 1854, he emigrated to 
 this country, and after a residence in New York State 
 of a few months, he came in the fall of 1854 to the 
 township of Portland, this county, with no means in 
 his possession. He rented a few years and then 
 bought 75 acres where he now resides ; but at pres- 
 ent he is the proprietor of 135 acres. For the last 
 two years he has rented his farm to his sons. 
 
 Mr. Avery was first married in Huntingtonshire, 
 England, to Elizabeth Culpin, and by that marriage 
 there were three children, all of whom are now de- 
 ceased. Mrs. A, died in the old country, and Mr. 
 Avery was again married, in that country, to Hannah 
 Coaten, Oct. 22, 1838; she was born in Helpstone, 
 England, Sept. i, 1811. By this marriage there were 
 
 seven children, five of whom are now living. The 
 record at present stands as follows: James is a 
 farmer in Portland Township; Hannah is the wife of 
 Stanley Fuller, also a farmer in the same township; 
 Martha is deceased ; Ruth is the wife of Silas 
 Dickerson, a farmer in Nebraska; John is a resident 
 of this township; George is a fanner here, and Mil- 
 burn is deceased. 
 
 obert Wallace, Mayor of Morrison, was 
 born June 17, 1841, in Lochwinnoch, near 
 Paisley, Scotland. His parents, William 
 and Margaret (Dinsmore) Wallace, were na- 
 tives of the same country, and the father was 
 born in 1812. The son was less than a year 
 old when the family emigrated from " auld Scotia " 
 to the New World, and located at Newburg, N. Y., 
 where the father maintained his family by labor in a 
 cotton factory. They came in 1851 to Whiteside 
 County, and located in Clyde Township, where the 
 father bought a farm of 120 acres. On this Mr. 
 Wallace was reared, and when he attained to the 
 period of independent manhood, purchased 80 acres 
 of land in the township of Ustick. He conducted 
 its agricultural progress for four years, and at the 
 expiration of that time came to Morrison, where he 
 bought the hardware business of W. I,. Robinson & 
 Bro. He became associated with N. S. Forsting in 
 its interests and relations, and they managed their 
 affairs jointly about two and a half years. He oper- 
 ated alone about the same length of time, after which 
 he sold the business to its original proprietors. 
 
 In 1879, in partnership with his cousin, William 
 H. Wallace, he established a private banking enter- 
 prise at Exeter, Neb. It was operated as a private 
 institution until February, 1884, when a stock com- 
 pany was formed, and the establishment was con- 
 verted into the National Bank of Exeter, with Mr. 
 Wallace as its President, which position he still 
 holds, and at intervals he gives its affairs his per- 
 sonal superintendence. In May, 1879, he was 
 appointed to the position of cashier of Smith & 
 Mackay's Bank, at Morrison, and discharged its 
 obligations until July, 1884. At that date he re- 
 signed his connection with active business interests. 
 He was elected Mayor of Morrison in the spring of
 
 a 
 
 1883. He 
 Church. 
 
 Mayor Wallace was married Oct. 10, 1866, at 
 Milledgeville, Carroll Co., 111., to Malinda, daughter 
 of George B. and Mary M. Dodd. Mrs. Wallace 
 was born in Ohio. The family includes an adopted 
 daughter, Julia Wallace. 
 
 acob Smaltz is a farmer on section 23, Us- 
 ? tick Township. He was born in Germany 
 Nov. 9, r8i4, and is the son of George and 
 Kalhrina Smaltz, who were also natives of 
 Germany. He was married in his native land, 
 Sept. 25, 1846, to Anna Fichter, and they are 
 now the parents of ten children Jacob, Mathias, 
 Anna, Christiana, Dora, George, Mary, John, Eliza 
 and William. 
 
 Mr. Smaltz emigrated with his wife and children 
 to the United States in 1852. He went first to Ohio, 
 where he lived 10 years, coming, in 1862, to White- 
 side County. Soon after his arrival in Illinois he 
 bought 80 acres of land in Ustick Township, on 
 which he has since lived. He has exerted the thrift 
 and energy which make continued existence possible 
 in his own country, on the acres which he owns in 
 Illinois, and has shown the worth of one man in the 
 field of well directed effort. The habits he formed 
 from necessity in early life have proved resources of 
 profit to him under the privileges of a republic. He 
 is now the owner of 203 acres in VVhiteside County 
 and 1 60 acres in Iowa. The home farm displays 
 buildings of an excellent and valuable type. Polit- 
 ically Mr. Smaltz is a Democrat. He and his wife 
 are members of the German Lutheran Church. 
 
 illiam B. Gsell, farmer, section 30, Clyde 
 Township, was born Feb. 15, 1854, near 
 Chambersburg, Franklin Co., Pa. Will- 
 iam Gsell, his father, was a farmer, and was 
 also a native of the State of Pennsylvania, 
 where he attained to the estate of manhood, 
 A and married Maria Burkhart. In 1864, the family 
 ) removed to Clyde Township, where they settled on 
 y section 30. The father died Sept. 8, 1881, aged 61 
 
 years. He was the proprietor of 627 acres of land 
 which, upon his decease, was divided among his 1 1 
 heirs. His death occurred in Ustick Township, 
 where the mother still resides, and has reached the 
 age of 64 years. 
 
 Mr. Gsell obtained a practical common-school 
 education, and passed 21 years of his life under the 
 guardianship of his father. The two years subse- 
 quent he lived with his oldest brother. He was 
 married Oct. 7, 1879, in Sterling, at the residence of 
 Rev. J. T. Mason, to Katie Wilson. John Wilson, 
 her father, was born in Scotland, and married Jane 
 Blue, who was born in Nova Scotia of Scotch parent- 
 age. They were married in Whiteside County, 
 whither they had come a short time previous. They 
 were thereafter residents of Whiteside County, and 
 were among the agricultural class. The father died 
 March 9, 1883, in Clyde Township. The mother is 
 69 years of age. Mrs. Gsell was born in Clyde 
 Township, Nov. 9, 1861, and is the mother of one 
 child, Earl, born Aug. 18, 1882. 
 
 After the event of his marriage Mr. Gsell located 
 on 1 15 acres of land on section 30, Clyde Town- 
 ship, and has every prospect of a sucessful career 
 as a farmer. He, is a Republican and has held sev- 
 eral official positions in the township. Both himself 
 and wife occupy a good social standing, and are 
 generally esteemed. 
 
 .arrison L. Houghton, farmer, section 8, 
 Ustick Township, is the son of Levi and 
 and Clarissa B. (Jackson) Houghton, pio- 
 neers of 1843 in Whiteside County, whither 
 they came from their native county of Herki- 
 mer in the State of New York. They passed 
 the first year in Fulton and removed thence perma- 
 nently to Ustick Township. The mother died there 
 Oct.' 25, 1 86 1, and after that event the father went 
 to Fulton, where he is now a resident. Their chil- 
 dren were named Harrison L., George, Amelia C., 
 Samuel N., Clarence B., Sedate W., Stewart D. 
 
 The oldest son was born Dec. i, 1831, in Herki- 
 mer Co, N. Y., and he was 12 years old when he 
 became a resident in Whiteside County. He lived 
 with them at Fulton and has continued to live in 
 Ustick Township since 1844. He is now a promi- 
 nent and progressive farmer, and owns 260 acres of 
 
 c 
 
 c 
 r.
 
 I 
 \ 
 
 /N 
 
 
 land, of which 130 acres is in excellent agricultural 
 condition. In his political affiliation Mr. Houghton 
 is a Republican, and he has held several official 
 township positions. 
 
 He was married March 15, 1857, in Mt. Carroll, 
 Carroll Co., Ill , to Clarissa A., daughter of Canfield 
 and Emily (Sylvester) Blodgett. Her father and 
 mother were natives of Jefferson Co., N. Y., where 
 the latter died. Her father 'removed in the spring of 
 1857 to Whiteside County, and located in the town- 
 ship of Union Grove. He died March 10, 1877, 
 in Morrison. The nine children of the family were 
 born in the following order : Rufus K., Clarissa A., 
 Sylvester S., Jennie M., Douglass D., Emily L, 
 Harrison H., Guvera M. and Phebe E. Mrs. 
 Houghton was born July 2, 1831, in Jefferson Co., 
 N. Y. Of two children born to herself and her hus- 
 band, only Hattie C. is living. Emily died Jan. 25. 
 1 86 1, aged three years. 
 
 >a M. Abbott, farmer, section 32, Ustick 
 Township, has been prominent in the affairs 
 of his township since his removal hither. 
 He is the son of Benjamin and Dorcas (Noyes) 
 Abbott, and his parents were born in New 
 Hampshire. In 1848 they came to Whiteside 
 County to spend their remaining years with their 
 son. The father died Feb. 24, 1854, at the residence 
 of the latter in Ustick Township, when 67 years of 
 age. The mother died at the same place Feb. 27, 
 1877, at the greatly advanced age of 92 years. Their 
 children were born in the following order : Ephraim 
 ( i st), deceased, Susan M., Ephraim (2d), Peter G., 
 Enoch N., Asa M., Laura D. and Ruth M. 
 
 Mr. Abbott was born Nov. 16, 1820, in Hartland, 
 Windsor Co., Vt. He lived in his na'ive State until 
 he was 14 years of age, when he went to Massachu- 
 setts to learn the trade of a machinist, and he spent 
 about six yea's in the manufacture of shelf hard- 
 wire. He went next to Springfield in the same State, 
 where he w.is employed in the arsenal about one 
 year, after which he went to Richmond, Ky., where 
 he spent a year in gunsmithing. He then went to 
 St. Louis, Mo., and was there employed at his trade 
 about two years. He came thence to Oquawka, 
 Henderson Co., 111., where he opened a gunsmith's 
 shop, which he managed about three years. In 
 
 *&>* 
 
 July, 1847, he came to Fulton, 111. He worked at 
 his trade about six months, and in the following 
 spring he located in the township of Ustick, buying 
 120 acres of land on section 32, and there estab- 
 lished his homestead. He lias erected excellent 
 buildings. His estate includes 420 acres of land in 
 Whiteside, some timber land in Carroll County and 
 a large tract in Kansas. Nearly all his land in 
 Whiteside County is in tillage. 
 
 Mr. Abbott was married Dec. 6, 1 846, in Oquawka, 
 to Sarah, daughter of Jay and Mary (Lamoret) 
 Sperry. Her parents were born respectively in Con- 
 necticut and New York. After her parents' mar- 
 riage they went to Ohio, where they remained till 
 1837. They came thence to Hancock Co., 111., 
 where they resided till they went to Iowa, as stated. 
 In 1846 they moved from Illinois to Iowa and lo- 
 cated at Council Bluffs, where they remained until 
 the termination of their lives. Their children were 
 as follows: John, Mary A., Betsey, Phebe, Sarah, 
 William, Aaron, Charles and Harrison. Mrs. Ab- 
 bott was born Feb. 18, 1822, in Trumbull Co., Ohio. 
 The family circle now includes six children, Charles 
 E., Jay M., Theo. S., Edward L., William L. and 
 Alfred N. Ruth M., third child, died of lung 
 fever when she was three years old. She was not 
 fully grown to the size common to children of her 
 age and was considered a dwarf. The oldest son 
 was educated at the (then) Military College at Ful- 
 ton, and when he was 17 years of age he enlisted in 
 the T47th 111. Vol Inf., and was in the military ser- 
 vice one year as a musician. He is now a conductor 
 on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. J. Morion 
 is a farmer in Kansas. Theo. S. was graduated at 
 the State University of Illinois. He is operating as 
 a civil engineer, and has occupied prominent posi- 
 tions at different points, and for some years in Mex- 
 ico. Edward L. is a graduate from the same 
 institution and is engaged in the same business, in 
 the city of New York. William L. is also a graduate 
 from the University of Illinois, and is a mechanical 
 engineer in Chicago. Alfred N. was also graduated 
 at the same University. 
 
 Mrs. Mary A. Oa'tman, the eldest sister of Mrs. 
 Abbott, was murdered by the Indians in Arizona 
 while on the way to Southern California in 1849. A 
 full account of the massacre of the family is given 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Mrs. Abbott is a member of the Baptist Church. 
 
 
 , 
 
 rr 
 , 
 

 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 URBANA
 


 
 (LL(NO(S 

 
 II 
 
 
 ^>\r V. H H V* H H ' r~*f~ 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 Mr. Abbott has been a Trustee in the Methodist 
 E])iscopal Church since its organization in 1872 in 
 Ustick Township, although not a member. He be- 
 longs to the Masonic Order and to the I. O. O. F. 
 He is a Republican in political opinions and connec- 
 tions, was in earnest sympathy with the North in the 
 Civil War, and before it he was the practical friend 
 of the fugitives from bondage, to whom his house 
 was open for protection on their way to freedom. 
 
 ohn F. Demmon, located on section 4, 
 Clyde Township, is one of the heaviest 
 land-holders in the county of Whiteside. 
 He was born April 15, rSaS, in Windsor Co., 
 Vt. Roswell Demmon, his father, was a far- 
 mer, and was born in Hartford, Vt. His lin- 
 eage was all traceable in America, through descend- 
 ing generations from English ancestors, who came 
 from the mother country at an early period of Colo- 
 nial history. The same facts pertain to the record 
 of the mother of Mr. Demmon, who was born Ame- 
 lia Farnsworth, in Woodstock, Vt. His parents died 
 in Hartford, respectively in r855 and 1840. They 
 had five children. 
 
 Mr. Demmon was 16 years of age when his 
 mother died, but he remained with his father, at- 
 tending the schools of Hartford until 1850. At the 
 age of 22 years, he made the beginning in his single- 
 handed contest with life. Coming to Belvidere, 111., 
 he entered the employment of Frink, Walker & 
 Co., who controlled the mail routes in the north- 
 western part of the State. He acted as their agent 
 1 1 years, operating successfully at Belvidere, Cherry 
 Valley, Rockford, Freeport, and Warren, and later at 
 Galena. The completion of lines of railroad over 
 his accustomed routes put an end to his connection 
 therewith, and he went to Madison, Wis., where he 
 was connected with another branch of stage-route 
 business, acting as collector, a position which necessi- 
 tated his personal examination of the accounts at all 
 stations. He had some unique and peculiar ex- 
 periences, one of which was his visit in December, 
 1855, to Sunrise City, an extreme northern post, 
 where the cold was so intense as to freeze the mer- 
 cury. In 1853 he had entered a claim of land in 
 Clyde Township, of which he took possession in 
 
 1 86 1. It comprised 800 acres of land and was en- 
 tirely guiltless of acquaintance with the implements 
 of the agriculturist. The history of Mr. Demmon's 
 connection with the development of the farming re- 
 sources of the township and county of which he is a 
 resident, is, practically, the oft-told tale of the pioneer 
 of the prairies. The degree of his success is com- 
 mensurate with his plans and purposes, and the 
 quality of his efforts, tk owns 840 acres in Clyde 
 Township, and 240 acres connected therewith in an 
 adjacent part of Carroll County. He is also the 
 owner of 320 acres in the northern part of the same 
 county, in all 1,400 acres of farming land of valu- 
 able character. On his home estate are fine build- 
 ings suited to the business of the place, and a large 
 residence. He markets annually 200 cattle, and 
 makes specialties of raising Cotswold sheep and 
 Short-Horns. He is also raising thoroughbred 
 Hambletonian colts. 
 
 His marriage to Eliza A. Van Patten took place 
 Dec. 20, 1864, at Chicago, and they have been the 
 parents of five children, one of whom is no longer 
 living. Charles R., John B., Rose and Stephen are 
 the names of those who survive, and the family are 
 resident at Mt. Carroll to obtain the benefit of the 
 educational institution at that place. 
 
 Mr. Demmon is a Republican of active and de- 
 cided type. He has little affinity for the honors of 
 official life, but has offiiciated through one term as 
 Justice of the Peace. 
 
 aron Young, a farmer of Mt. Pleasant 
 Township, resident on section 12, was born 
 Aug. r, 1830, in Benton, Columbia Co., Pa., 
 and is the son of Abraham and Ann (Peter- 
 man) Young. The former was a native of New 
 Jersey, and the latter was born in Pennsylvnia, 
 where their marriage took place and where they lo- 
 cated and reared their family. The father died in 
 the Keystone State, and the mother has never left 
 the place, where all her life has been spent. Their 
 seven children were named Thomas W., John K., 
 Amanda, Mercy A., Aaron, Sarah and Abraham P. 
 All attained to adult age. 
 
 When he was of age Mr. Young came West. He 
 left his native State in the spring of 1852, and lo-
 
 -.' 
 
 470 
 
 COUNTY. 
 
 4* 
 
 i 
 
 cated at Dixon, Lee Co., 111., where he remained until 
 his removal from there to VVhiteside County, an event 
 which occurred in the spring of 1859. He then 
 engaged iii farming, and about 1863 he purchased 
 120 acres of land on section 12, where he established 
 his homestead, and has since maintained his resi- 
 dence there. He has added 53 acres by subsequent 
 purchase, constituting an estate of 173 acres, on 
 which he has erected fine farm buildings. 
 
 Mr. Young was educated primarily in the com- 
 mon schools of his native county, and also passed 
 nearly two years in study at Rock River Seminary, 
 after coming to Lee County. He taught several 
 terms of school while living at Dixon, and he also 
 worked as a carpenter during his residence there. 
 
 He was united in marriage, in Sterling, 111., April 
 i, 1858, to Rhoda E. Gardner, and their family of six 
 children are named Lester C., Helen A., Mary E., 
 Dora A., Clara M. and Marcia L. Mrs. Young was 
 born April 4, 1834, in Luzerne Co., Pa., and is the 
 daughter of Asahel and Rebecca (Colvin) Gardner, 
 the former a native of Rhode Island, the latter of 
 Pennsylvania. They had four children, Almira, 
 Adaline, Esther and Rhoda. Mrs. Young attended 
 the district schools of her native county until she was 
 1 5 years of age, and after that she was a student about 
 two years at Madison Academy in Luzerne County. 
 After completing her education she engaged in teach- 
 ing, with successful results, and was occupied in that 
 vocation until her marriage. She came to Whiteside 
 County in 1857. 
 
 Mr. Young affiliates with the Democratic party, 
 and has acted in several official positions in his 
 township. 
 
 His portrait and that of his estimable wife appear 
 on previous pages. The photographs from which 
 they were copied were taken in 1885. 
 
 j 
 
 [Ibert B. Allen, a substantial farmer and 
 prominent citizen of Lyndon, was born 
 Nov. 1 8, 1826, in the town of Benningtori, 
 Erie Co., N. Y. When he was 17 years old 
 he accompanied his parents (see sketch of 
 George W. Allen) to Illinois, and he remained 
 a member of the parental household until he became 
 himself the head of a family. He was married Nov. 
 25, 1852, to Ann M., daughter of Alexander and 
 
 ^mug^jT^ ,c '^^Do 
 
 Maria. (Bumpus) Mann: she was born in Richland 
 Co., Ohio. His father settled in the township of 
 Rockville, Kankakee County, and he bought a tract 
 of land adjoining the paternal homestead, where he 
 was a resident until 1866, when he bought an im- 
 proved farm in Iroquois County. After two years he 
 came to Lyndon Township, where he bought land 
 in company with his father. He has improved his 
 property, and is now a leading agriculturist, owning 
 400 acres of land in most excellent agricultural con- 
 dition, with valuable buildings suited to the variety 
 of husbandry to which the farm is devoted. In 
 political connection and views Mr. Allen is a Re- 
 publican. 
 
 Sophronia, Ida, May, Elmer, Maud, George, Sadie 
 and Laura are the names of the children of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Allen. 
 
 eorge O. Odlin, of Morrison, was born 
 Aug. 26, 1823, in the town of Exeter, 
 Rockingham Co., N. H. His parents, 
 James and Martha (Osborn) Odlin, were 
 natives of the same place. The founder 
 of the family in the United States was born 
 in England. He is prominent in the colonial his- 
 tory of , Massachusetts, from the fact that he was 
 one of the original owners of the land now included 
 in Boston Common. The Odlin family were among 
 the pioneer settlers of New Hampshire, and were 
 identified with the days of first things in the Granite 
 State. Rev. John Odlin became the Pastor of the 
 First Congregational Church at Exeter, in 1706, and 
 retained his charge until he was succeeded, in 1743, 
 by his son, Woodbridge Odlin. The father died in 
 1776. The ministry of the son covered a period of 
 47 consecutive years, and the combined pastorate of 
 father and son embraced 83 years. 
 
 Elisha Odlin, son and brother of those just named, 
 is the ancestor in a direct line of Mr. Odlin of this 
 sketch, from whom the latter is the sixth descend- 
 ant. Elisha Odlin was also a clergyman in the 
 Congregational Church, and was Pastor of a society 
 at Amesbury, where the Quaker poet, John G. 
 Whittier, lives. Winthrop Odlin, great-grandson of 
 Elisha, was born in Exeter, which was also the place 
 of nativity of his son, William Odlin, the father of 
 
 .y. 
 
 s
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 James. William Odlin was a harness-maker by 
 calling. James Odlin was a carriage manufacturer 
 at Exeter, where he was born, and where he lived 
 and died. The maternal great-grandfather of Mr. 
 Odlin was named Jewett, and he was a member of 
 one of the families who were among the original set- 
 tlers of Exeter. The Osborn family were early set- 
 tlers at Salem and Danvers, Mass., where they are 
 still represented by their descendants. The family 
 of William included five sons : James, William, Jo- 
 seph, Benjamin and Woodbridge. They were all 
 enterprising and successful business men at Exeter. 
 They were prominent in current affairs, and were 
 Abolitionists in principle. The youngest, Wood- 
 bridge Odlin, endowed Phillips Academy, at Exeter, 
 with $20,000, on the condition that 10 students from 
 Exeter should be made the beneficiaries of the priv- 
 ileges of the institution, providing that there should 
 be that number of poor and worthy applicant?. 
 
 Mr. Odlin of this sketch was reared at Exeter. 
 He was educated principally in the public schools 
 of the place and attended the Exeter Academy 
 several terms. He was 17 years old when he went 
 to Concord to learn the printer's trade, and was in 
 that business there 12 years. In 1844 he purchased 
 an interest in the New Hampshire Statesman, which 
 was and is now published at Concord. He edited 
 that journal seven years, and sold out in 1851. He 
 continued a resident at Concord and Manchester 
 until 1856, when he went to Fond du Lac, Wis.> 
 for the purpose of engaging in the milling business, 
 in which he was employed until 1858. In that year 
 he came to Union Grove Township. He bought an 
 improved farm on section 5, and was engaged in its 
 management until i88r, when he put the property 
 into the charge of his son, and removed to Morrison, 
 where he has since resided. 
 
 He was united in marriage Sept. 9, 1846, to 
 Emma P. Dustin. She was born in Francistown, 
 Hillsborough Co , N. H., and is a lineal descendant 
 of the celebrated Indian captive, Hannah Dustin. 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Odlin are recorded as 
 follows: William was born Aug. 3, 1847, and died 
 May 6, 1865 ; George F. was born June 13, 1850, 
 and died April 6, 1874; Emma C. was born Aug. 30, 
 1862, and died July i, 1884; John was born Jan. 17, 
 1855, and married Margaret Entwhistle; he is con- 
 ducting the affairs of his father's homestead ; James 
 
 ay^e *-t 
 
 
 was born June 14, 1859, and married Flora S. Cor- 
 bett; they live at Guernsey, Iowa. The first wife of 
 Mr. Odlin died March 25, 1869. He was a second 
 time married to Harriet A., nee Fitz, the widow of 
 Jason Childs, who died during the war in the mili- 
 tary service of the United States. He was a mem- 
 ber of the ist New Hampshire Cavalry, and died in 
 prison at Florence, S. C. She was born Aug. 16, 
 1836, in Chester, Rockingham Co., N. -H., and has 
 one child, Martha G. Odlin, born April 13, 1877. 
 
 \f 
 
 \ 
 
 *. ^f 
 i& 
 
 ohn M. Hughes, farmer residing on sec- 
 tion 7, Mt. Pleasant Township, is a son of 
 Richard T. and Mary J. Hughes. He was 
 born in Genesee Township, this county, Aug. 
 24, 1847. The education of Mr. Hughes was 
 acquired in the common schools of this county, 
 and his years were spent on his father's farm until 
 about 1875. He then removed to Ustick Township, 
 this county, resided there a year and then went to 
 Mt. Pleasant Township, where he at present resides. 
 He is the owner of 213 acres of land in the latter 
 township, located on section 7, and about 115 acres 
 of the same is in a good tillable condition. 
 
 Mr. Hughes was united in marriage in Garden 
 Plain Township, Oct. 22, 1873, to Miss Phebe R. 
 Thompson. She is a daughter of James K. and 
 
 V *4^ |*l^@ 
 
 arren Graves, farmer, section 26, Ustick 
 Township, was born April 18, 1830, in 
 _ Lewis Co., N. Y., where he lived 1 1 
 (> years with his parents, David L. and Polly 
 Graves. The family came in 1841 to Us- 
 tick Township. Both parents are deceased. 
 Mr. Graves is the only survivor of four children born 
 to his father and mother. His farm comprises 120 
 acres of land in a tillable condition. 
 
 He was united in marriage July 3, 1856, at Ster- 
 ling, 111., to Mary, daughter of William Annan, a 
 pioneer settler in Whiteside County. No children 
 have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Graves, but they 
 have adopted Hattie, daughter of Henry Canfield, a 
 resident of the city of Morrison. Mrs. Graves is a 
 member of the Presbyterian Church.
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 i 
 f 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 Martha (Kyle) Thompson, natives of Pennsylvania. 
 They came to this county in 1863 and settled in 
 Garden Plain Township, where they at present re- 
 side. The issue of their union was nine children, 
 namely: Margaret, Eliza J., John R., Phebe R., 
 Sarah E., Eva M., Alice E., James A. and King W. 
 Mrs. Hughes was born in Wisconsin, Sept. 16, 
 1853. She and her husband are the parents of 
 three children, namely: Herbert, Perry M. and 
 Emma. Politically, Mr. Hughes is identified with 
 the Republican party. 
 
 rimothy Martin, deceased, formerly a far- 
 mer on section 31, Ustick Township, was 
 born Aug. 5, 1821, in Jefferson Co., N. Y., 
 where he was brought up, and lived until his 
 removal in 1853 to Whiteside County. He 
 was the proprietor of a farm in Ustick 
 Township, which contained 80 acres. He died Oct. 
 21, 1876, and his widow is now. the owner of the 
 homestead, which is all in tillage. 
 
 Mr. Martin was married March 8, 1843, in Jeffer- 
 son Co., N. Y., to Sally C. Paul. Their only child, 
 Luna P., was born July 31, 1846, in Jefferson Co., 
 N. Y.,.and is now the widow of Kendrick Blodgett. 
 She resides at Morrison. Mrs. Martin was born 
 April 4, 1823, in Middletown, Vt. She is a member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 larence B. Houghton, farmer, on section 
 8, Ustick Township, is the son of Levi 
 and Clarissa B. (Jackson) Houghton, who 
 were pioneers of 1843 in Whiteside County, 
 and of whom as full a sketch as possible is 
 given with that of H. L. Houghton. Mr. 
 Houghton of this personal narration was born Nov. 
 ii, 1848,111 the township where he is now iden- 
 tified with the agricultural class. He was educated 
 chiefly in the common schools, and later went to 
 Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College at Chicago, 
 where he spent five months. With the exception of 
 six months, during which he was engaged in mercan- 
 tile business at Fulton, he has devoted his life to the 
 pursuit of agriculture and raising stock. His estate 
 
 includes 300 acres in Ustick Township, of which 
 three-fifths is in tillage. Mr. Houghton is a Repub- 
 lican, and has served in several official positions. 
 
 His first marriage occurred Dec. n, 1872, in Car- 
 roll Co., 111., when Jane E. French became his wife. 
 Her parents, Norman and Mary (Dunsbee) French, 
 were natives of Vermont. The latter died Dec. n, 
 1855, in Carroll County. Their family included 
 three children : Jane E., Mary E. and Mary D. 
 
 Mrs. Houghton died Feb. 9, 1874. Mr. Hough- 
 ton was a second time married, Oct. 5, 1876, to 
 Mary D. French, sister of his first wife, and they 
 have three children: Roy I., Harry F., and an infant 
 son, unnamed, born May 26, 1885. 
 
 frin Sholes, resident at Morrison, formerly a 
 farmer and merchant, was born June 19, 
 1808, at a place now known as Chipman's 
 Point, in Vermont, and included within the 
 township of Orwell, which was set off from 
 Rutland County to Addison County some 
 years since. It was formerly Sholes Point, and is 
 located about two miles south of the old fort, Ticon- 
 deroga, in Essex Co., N. Y. (The outline of Lake 
 Champlain at this point is such that a portion lies 
 due south of the fort.) His father, Joseph Sholes ) 
 was born June T7, 1771, and married Ann Hull, who 
 was born Sept. 23, 1768. Both parents were born in 
 Connecticut. Of their six children, Mr. Sholes is 
 the only survivor. His mother was within sight of 
 New London, Conn., when it was taken by Arnold, 
 and her brother, who was in the fortifications, per- 
 ished, with others, only one person escaping with his 
 life. 
 
 Mr. Sholes was reared on a farm and was en- 
 gaged in agriculture until 1841, when he went to 
 North Ferrisburg, Addison Co., Vermont, and opened 
 a mercantile enterprise, which he continued to man- 
 age 13 years. In November, 1854, he came West 
 and located at Unionville, Union Grove Township, 
 where he engaged in trade in hardware, tinware, etc., 
 operating at that point until 1860. In that year 
 he bought 160 acres of land in the township of Union 
 Grove, located on section 29, where he pursued 
 his agricultural projects until 187 i, when he leased 
 the farm and removed to Morrison. He owns his 
 
 
 
 < 
 

 
 residence, a dwelling adjoining and three lots con- 
 nected therewith, besides several acres lying north of 
 the village in the township of Mt. Pleasant. He also 
 owns 320 acres in Dakota. 
 
 Mr. Sholes was first married Oct. 10, 1830, in 
 Orwell, Vt., to Caroline Wicker. They had n chil- 
 dren, of whom seven are still living, and they were 
 born in the following order: Lucy P. (Savage); 
 Louisa (Steer); Chipman W. resides in Lincoln, Neb., 
 but owns and runs a cattle ranch in the Indian Ter- 
 ritory; Watson W., a stockman in Fredonia, Kan.; 
 Joseph, a farmer in Nebraska; Royce, a tinner in 
 Fredonia, Kan.; Charlotte is now the wife of Eugene 
 Steer, of Pierre, Dak.; Joseph and Rollin C. were 
 soldiers in the Civil War, and enlisted in the Eighth 
 HI Cav. The latter died while in the military ser- 
 vice of the United States. Mr. Sholes' wife died at 
 Hinesburg, Vt. He was a second time married in 
 Lyndon Township, March 20, 1857, to Mrs. Mary 
 J Loomis. She was born Oct. i, 1825, in Lewis Co., 
 N. Y., and by her first marriage had three children 
 Alice, Sue A. and Bert Loomis. The older daugh- 
 ter is the wife of A. W. Hull, a railroad conductor in 
 Minnesota. The son is a merchant in Hannibal, 
 Mo. 
 
 "oh.n Lawton, farmer, section 29, Ustick 
 Township, is the only son of Samuel and 
 Mary (Campbell) Lawton, who were born 
 in England and lived and died there. The 
 son was born May 6, 1831, in England. He 
 had -little opportunity for education save from 
 observation, and in his early life he was a farmer 
 and gardener. He improved an opportunity to study 
 the art of a veterinary surgeon, in which capacity he 
 has operated ever since. He came to the United 
 States in 1859, settling primarily in Fall River, 
 Mass., where he operated two years as a gardener. 
 In February, 1861, he came to Whiteside County 
 and bought 60 acres of land on the same section 
 where he has since been a resident. His estate now 
 includes 160 acres, of which about two-thirds is in a 
 condition favorable to farming. 
 
 Mr. Lawton's marriage to Ann Hurst took place 
 May 3, 1860. Mrs. Lawton is the daughter of John 
 and Sarah (Hibard) Hurst, and her parents were 
 born in England, where her mother died. Her 
 
 father came with her to Fall River, where he passed 
 the reinainitig years of his life. James, Mary, Jane 
 and Ann were the names of the children of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hurst. Mrs. Lawton was born in September, 
 1830, in England. She has become the mother of 
 four children, Thomas, Alfred, Edwin C. and 
 Ruth A. 
 
 In the spring of 1885, Mr. Lawton was elected 
 Supervisor of Ustick Township. He is independent 
 in political connection and adopts the views of the 
 prohibition element. Mr. a;id Mrs. Lawton are 
 members of the Methodist Church. 
 
 .amuel A. Maxwell, teacher, at Unionville, 
 has been all his life a resident in White- 
 side County, having been born Dec. 27, 
 185 1, in the township of Mt. Pleasant. His 
 father and mother were Ambrose I. and Arte- 
 misia (Hulce) Maxwell. His father and 
 mother were natives of Delaware Co., N. Y., and x - i 
 came thence, in 1837,10 Lyndon Township, with the {& 
 family whom they accompanied from their native =^ 
 State. They were married in 1839, and they went ^Y 
 for a brief period to Ogle County, whence they re- 
 turned to Lyndon Township, the scene of their life's 
 labors, and where they are still resident. The father 
 was one of the first mechanics in the county, and his 
 services were in eager demand among the settlers. 
 
 Mr. Maxwell is the youngest of five children, and 
 he had two brothers and two sisters Louisa, Calvin 
 A., James H. and Mary M. He obtained his educa- 
 tion previous to his 2Oth year, in the common 
 schools of his native county, and he subsequently 
 attended the High Schools at Lyndon and at Polo, 
 Ogle County. He was graduated at the latter in- 
 stitutio'n in 1875. He interspersed his periods of 
 study with teaching, to which he has since devoted 
 his time in various parts of the county. 
 
 In 1882 he took charge of the school at Union- 
 ville, in which capacity he is still operating. Mr. 
 Maxwell holds credentials from the highest educa- 
 tional tribunals in the State, and is a member of the .., 
 National Educational Association. 
 
 He was united in marriage Dec. 27, 1876, in Lyn- 
 don Township, to Esther W., daughter of Dennis 
 and Harriet (Gary) Austin, and the three children
 
 f 
 
 <; 
 
 now belonging to the family are named Edith L., 
 Ralph E. and Vera J. Mrs. Maxwell was born 
 April 20, 1857, in Lyndon Township. Her father 
 was born in Indiana, and her mother in the State of 
 New York. They settled in Lyndon Township in 
 1854, and had 10 children, named Emery, Willard 
 F., Franklin P., Harrison C., Esther W., Olive B., 
 Lincoln A., Hattie B., Clara E. and Clark D. 
 
 In political adherence Mr. Maxwell is a Repub- 
 lican, and supports the issues of the party of Prohi- 
 bition. He is' a member of the Baptist Church, to 
 which his wife also belongs. 
 
 g 
 
 I 
 
 bhn P. Sands, deceased, formerly a resi- 
 .dent on section 7, Lyndon Township, was 
 born Aug. 15, 1803, in Westchester Co., 
 N. Y., and was the son of Jesse and Mary 
 (Pardee) Sands, natives respectively of New 
 York and Connecticut. The family removed 
 to Yates County, in the same State, in 1819, whence 
 they went, two years later, to Hornby, Steuben 
 County. Mr. Sands was married in Hornby, June 
 8, 1825, to Candace Gaylord. Following is the 
 record of their children : Ezra, the fourth son, was 
 born March 9, 1839, in Yates Co., N. Y. ; he was 
 six years of age when his parents removed to White- 
 side County, where he grew to manhood; he was 
 22 when the Civil War made it necessary for the 
 Nation to demand aid of her strong sons, and he en- 
 listed under the second call for troops, enrolling in 
 August, 1 86 1, in the Eighth 111. Cav., Co. C. he 
 was killed Oct. n, 1863, in a skirmish at Raccoon 
 Ford, Rapidan River, Va. ; his command had been 
 with the Army of the Potomac from the date of 
 taking the field, and had participated in much ser- 
 vice ; he held the rank of Corporal ; Pamela, the 
 oldest daughter, was born Feb. 4, 1828, in Hornby, 
 and was married April 4, 1849, to Jabez Lathe; she 
 died Sept. i, 1854, of cholera; Mary Jane, born 
 March 18, 1836, was married Dec. 15, 1853,10 Jona- 
 than Remington. He was born in Pennsylvania, 
 and located in Lyndon in 1845 ; he died of cholera, 
 Aug. 28, 1854. Five children survive: Lydia was 
 born Nov. 29, 1833 ; Charles G., Nov. 29, 1845, and 
 Marcus A., Aug. 7, 1848. The mother was born 
 
 April 8, 1809, in Plymouth, Litchfield Co., Conn., 
 and is the daughter of Marcus and Lydia (Pond) 
 Gaylord. Her parents were born in Plymouth, and 
 in 1826 went to Hornby, Steuben Co., N. Y., where 
 they died. In 1830 John P. Sands moved to Yates 
 County from Steuben, and there lived until 1842, 
 when he returned to Hornby. In May, 1845, he 
 started for Illinois, in the common way of traveling, 
 with a wagon to convey family and household goods, 
 and a span of horses. At Buffalo they embarked on 
 a 'steamer, proceeding to Chicago, where they re- 
 sumed their journey under the same circumstances 
 as they left their home. 
 
 Mr. Sands made a claim on section 7, of township 
 20, range 5 east, which was in its original prairie 
 condition. He built a log cabin, 14x16 feet in size, 
 which the parents and eight children lived in three 
 years, when they moved to a new frame house better 
 adapted to their changing and improving circum- 
 stances. Mr. Sands improved his farm according to 
 the usual methods, and it was his home during the 
 remainder of his life a period of almost 40 years. 
 He died June 11,1883. Mrs. Sands is still a resi- 
 dent on the homestead, and is 76 years of age. 
 
 ranklin B. GofiF, farmer, section 33, Us- 
 tick Township, is the oldest son of Stephen 
 W. Goff, a pioneer of Whiteside County 
 of 1844. His father was born in 1805, in 
 Granville, Hampshire Co., Mass., whence he 
 removed to Jefferson Co., N. Y., and was mar- 
 ried in Watertown, in that county, in 1827, to Almira 
 Bull. When their family came to this county they 
 located on section 33, in Ustick Township. The 
 mother died April 28, 1874; the father's demise oc- 
 curred Aug. 30, 1884. Their children, nine in num- 
 ber, were born in the following order: Franklin B., 
 Martin M., Johnson B , Sarah R., Lorenzo D.,Lyman 
 D., Olive E., James E. and Austin W. Lyman 
 D. became a soldier in the military service of the 
 United States and enlisted in the i26th 111. Vol. Inf. 
 He died at Vicksburg, Miss., from the effects of a 
 sunstroke. Martin M. died May 7, 1885, in Ustick 
 Township. 
 
 Mr. Goff was born April 22, 1828, in Watertown,
 
 LFBRAKY 
 UNIVERSITV Of ILLINOIS

 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 Jefferson Co., N. Y., and was 16 years of age when 
 his parents removed to Whiteside County. He ob- 
 tained a common- school education and worked with 
 his father at wagon making until about the lime he 
 came to Illinois. Since his arrival in Whiteside 
 County, he has been occupied in agricultural pur- 
 suits, and is now the owner of 282 acres of land, on 
 which he has erected good buildings. Most of his 
 estate is under cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Goff was married Sept. 26, 1851/10 Mary E., 
 daughter of Henry and Sophia (Eno) Baker. She 
 was bom Oct. 5, 1831, in Clay, Onondaga Co., N. Y. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Goff have five children, Armenia M., 
 Orena M., Lyman J., Sylvester W. and Nara D. 
 The oldest daughter married Charles P. Roberts 
 and lives in Iowa. Orena M. is the wife of John J. 
 Entwhistle and lives in Ustick Township. 
 
 Mr. Goff is a Republican in political connection 
 and accepts the views of the Proh'bitionists. He 
 has been many years School Director and also High- 
 way Commissioner. 
 
 oodcil B. Dillon, dentist, corner of Third 
 and Locust Streets, Sterling, was borri in 
 ' Vinton Co., Ohio, May 27, 1857. His 
 parents, John and Ann E. (Newell) Dillon, 
 were natives of Zanesville, that State. His 
 i grandfather, also named John Dillon, built the 
 first furnace west of the Alleghany Mountains, at 
 Zanesville. His father first graduated at the Cin- 
 cinnati Law School, but abandoned the pursuit of the 
 legal profession, at the age of 21, to enter the Meth- 
 dist Episcopal ministry, in which he continued for 
 40 years, until his death, Aug 26, 1876. 
 
 The subject of this sketch remained at home with 
 his parents until 2 i years of age. completing his ed- 
 ucation at the Normal Academy at Wilkesville, 
 Ohio, afterward managing his father's farm until 
 1881, when he began the study of dentistry, under 
 the supervision of his brother, Dr. E. H. Dillon, at 
 Elmwood, III, graduated at the Ohio College of 
 Dental Surgery, and commenced the practice of his 
 profession at Rock Falls, this county, in 1884. After 
 remaining there nearly a year he moved his office 
 to Sterling. He is a successful practitioner, has a 
 
 **^ Q>' 
 
 growing business and is a worthy citizen. He. is a 
 Republican in his political views, and a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. He, with a sis- 
 ter and three brothers, resides wiih his mother. 
 
 ndrew Wilkinson, retired farmer and foim- 
 |. erly one of the largest land owners in the 
 county, and at present residing at Prophets- 
 town, is a son of James and Samantha (Field) 
 Wilkinson, and was born in Oneida Co., N. 
 Y., Jan. 3, 1836. His father was a farmer 
 and a native of the same county, and was born Jan. 
 5, 1814. His mother was born April 14, 1814. The 
 former died April 7, 1874, and the latter Aug. 21, 
 1882. 
 
 When a young man of 24 years of age, in 1860, 
 Andrew came West to find a wider field to work in 
 and to join with the enterprising men in building up 
 the great prairie State. He came to Whiteside 
 County and located in Prophetstown Township. 
 The following autumn his father and mother with 
 the other members of the family one son and three 
 daughters joined him. They soon began to buy 
 land in this section, and accumulated until at one 
 time they owned 2,016 acres of fine farming land on 
 the Rock River bottom. Shortly after their arrival 
 here, the bought 40 acres of land in Prcphetstown 
 Township, and subsequently 120 in Tampico Town- 
 ship, and afterward 889 in Hume, and at subsequent 
 purchases in the latter township .597 acres. They 
 accumulated all this land before selling any-. A num- 
 ber of years after the above named purchases, they 
 bought two farms in Lyndon Township, one of 140 
 acres and the other of 416. Andrew still owns 565 
 acres in Hume Township and one and a half acres 
 in Prophetstown city. While farming they raised 
 large numbers of hogs and cattle, doing their own 
 shipping. He now owns 183 head of cattle and 25 
 horses. 
 
 The members of his father's family were born in 
 the following order: Andrew, the subject of this 
 sketch; Alonzo, now living at Sterling; Ann Eliza, 
 wife of George D. Wiard, a farmer near Ypsilanti, 
 Mich ; Annett, wife of J. M. V. Sanderson, of Mo- 
 line, 111. ; Sophronia, wife of C. H. Field, in the 
 American Express office, Chicago. Those deceased 

 
 1 
 
 
 t 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 are Margaret Jane and Jay. The former died Sept. 
 1 6, 1871, and the latter April 18, 1873. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was married Jan. i, 
 1857, in Oneida Co., N. Y., to Miss Sarah E., daugh- 
 ter of Coonrad and Sally House. She was born in 
 Oneida County Dec. 2,1837. To them have been 
 born two children, Irwin G., who is a farmer in 
 Hume Township, and Eva J., wife of Henry Clark, 
 of Prophetstown. Mrs. Wilkinson died in Tampico 
 Township, Feb. 23, 1866. Mr. W. was again mar- 
 ried, March n, 1879, this time to Mary M. Quigley, 
 who was born in Lancaster Co., Pa., Sept. 10, 1836. 
 
 Mr. W. retired from the farm, where he had been 
 eminently successful, in January, 1883, and has 
 since resided at Prophetstown. He is a Mason and 
 a member of the Order of Modern Woodmen of 
 America. 
 
 As a truly representative citizen of Whiteside 
 County, we present a portrait of Mr. Wilkinson in 
 this volume. 
 
 ' oseph M. Golder, an agriculturist of exten- 
 sive relations in Montmorency Township, 
 and resident on section 10, was born 
 March 8, 1834, in Dutchess Co., N. Y. He 
 is the only son of Alonzo and Caroline E. 
 Golder, of whom a sketch is presented on 
 other pages. His education was obtained in the 
 public schools, and he also attended a school of 
 higher grade for a time. He has always lived with 
 his parents ; and on arriving at a suitable age he 
 became associated with his father in business opera- 
 tions. He was 22 years of age when they made 
 their joint purchase of land in Montmorency Town- 
 ship, arid he is the practical manager of their large 
 estate, his father being now in advan< ed life. 
 
 Mr. Golder is a Democrat in political sentiment. 
 He is a useful and able citizen, and has officiated as 
 School Treasurer 18 years, and as Director six years. 
 He hns served for many years as Elder in the Pres- 
 byterian Church. 
 
 He was married Dec. n,i86r, in Montmorency 
 Township, to Helen A Church. She was born Oct. 
 15, 1839, in Oswego Co., N. Y., and is the daughter 
 of Artemus and Elizabeth (Peck) Church, who were 
 botli natives of the State of New York. John F., 
 
 Carrie E , Lee and Lyle (twins), William L. and 
 Maud V., are the names of the children of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Golder. The latter is also a member of the 
 Presbyterian Church. 
 
 esley V. Zimmerman, proprietor of the 
 St. Nicholas Hotel and Restaurant at 
 , Erie, is a son of John and Rachel (Fuller) 
 v Zimmerman, and was born in Cattaraugus 
 Co., N. Y., Jan. 12, 1840. His father is a 
 native of that State, is a farmer by occupation 
 and resides one-half mile north of Spring Hill, this 
 county. The mother of Wesley is also a native of 
 New York and is living with her husband as above 
 stated. Their children were nine in number, as fol- 
 lows : Cordelia, wife of Hiram Gilmore, a farmer in 
 Medicine Co., Cal. ; Mary A., wife of Levi Fuller, a 
 resident of Eureka Springs, Ark. ; John D., deceased ; 
 Edwin, a butcher in Prophetstown, this county; 
 Alice, wife of George Clifford, at work in the piner- 
 ies of Minnesota; Annie, wife of Clements Merrill, a 
 farmer in Iowa; George, a wholesale and retail 
 hardware merchant in San Francisco, Cal. ; Frank, a 
 farmer near Spring Hill, this county ; and Wesley. 
 
 Mr. Zimmerman was reared on a farm, and on at- 
 taining adult age he followed lumbering during the 
 winter seasons. 
 
 He was married in Salamanca, Cattaraugus Co , 
 N. Y., Feb. 20, 1864, to Miss Mary P., daughter of 
 James K. (a lumberman residing in New York) and 
 Elmira (Kilbourn) Webb. Her mother is deceased. 
 Mrs. Z. was born in Warren Co., Pa., July 14, 1845. 
 They have had five children, three of whom are liv- 
 ing. The record is as follows : Allie, born March 
 18, 1865 ; Webb D., born May 22, 1866, died Dec. 
 2, -same year; Alden, born July 25, 1867, died Dec. 
 17, same year; Frank R., born April 2, 1872; and 
 Fred, born Feb. 18, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Zimmerman came West to a point near Spring 
 Hill, this county, in 1868, where he farmed one year, 
 after which he engaged in railroading for several 
 years. In 1876 he came to Erie and opened a res- 
 taurant, which he conducted a short time and then 
 took possession of the St. Nicholas Hotel, which he 
 ran for a time. He afterward opened a saloon, 
 which business he followed until the spring of 1883, 
 
 ]\ 
 
 vi 
 
 A
 
 i 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 In April, 1884, Mr. Zimmerman rented the St. 
 Nicholas Hotel, and has continued to conduct the 
 same as a first-class house. He can accommodate 
 from 15 to 20 guests, and keeps adjoining a restau- 
 rant and ice-cream parlor, and also a saloon, and is 
 doing a good and increasing busines. The travel- 
 ing public will find the St. Nicholas one of thepleas- 
 antest places in the county. 
 
 ipley Stauffer, general farmer and apiarist 
 on section 23, Jordan Township, was born 
 June 13, 1839, in Manor Township, Lan- 
 caster Co., Pa., where his parents were also 
 born and passed their whole lives. They 
 were members of the pioneer Dutch families 
 that settled in considerable numbers in Lancaster 
 County. The father was married twice, and had n 
 children by his first wife, all grown up and married 
 but one. He died in 1852, when more than 70 
 years of age. Elizabeth (Ripley) Stauffer, the 
 mother, was twice married. By her first husband, 
 William Rummel, she had three children. Christina 
 is the oldest ; William is deceased ; John is the 
 name of the youngest. 
 
 Mr. Stauffer is the only child of the second mar- 
 riage. When he was ten years of age he found him- 
 self at liberty to maintain himself, and he earned 
 his own livelihood among strangers until he was 
 married. He worked at various points until he was 
 1 8 years of age, when he entered upon an appren- 
 ticeship to learn the trade of a carpenter, with his 
 cousin, Zachariah Winner, in the township where he 
 was born. He spent three years in the acquisition 
 of a complete knowledge of that business, and after 
 he was 21 years of age was employed as a journey- 
 man in the same place. 
 
 His marriage to Mary A. Hess took place in Lan- 
 caster County, Oct. 16, 1862. Mrs. Stauffer is the 
 daughter of Michael Hess, and sister of the wife of 
 Henry Mellinger. (See sketch of H. Mellinger for a 
 condensed account of the parents.) She was born 
 in Manor Township, March 19, 1843, and was reared 
 and educated in Conestoga Township in her native 
 county. Lizzie, born Feb. 5, 1863, and now the 
 wife of Charles Bennett, is the oldest child of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Stauffer. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett reside on 
 
 a farm in Jordan Township. They have one child, 
 Jessie: Minnie and Walter are deceased. Susie, 
 second child, born June 18, 1864, married Jabez 
 Franklin, and they live in Los Angeles, Cal. Willie, 
 born Sept. 12, 1870, is the youngest and lives at 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Stauffer followed the business of carpenter 
 five years in his native county, and at the expiration 
 of that time came West. He purchased 20 acres of 
 land for a homestead for his family, and has culti- 
 vated his place and devoted his time to bee culture, 
 with satisfactory results. He has about 40 stands of 
 bees, and is gradually enlarging the number of his 
 colonies. His annual product of honey averages 
 about one ton. 
 
 Mr. Stauffer is a staunch and zealous Republican 
 and has held several township offices. He belongs 
 to the TJnited Brethren Church, of which his wife is 
 also a member, and has acted as Steward and Class- 
 leader some years. 
 
 
 orenzo D. Eddy, poultry fancier at Al- 
 bany, was born April 9, 1828, in St. Law- 
 rence Co., N. Y. Augustus Eddy, his 
 father, was a native of Vermont, and married 
 Polly McKinster, who was a native of Connec- 
 { ticut. In 1831 the family went to Potsdam, 
 N. Y., and in 1835 made another removal, to Du 
 Page Co., 111. The household included at that time 
 five children. The entire journey was made with 
 teams, except from Buffalo to Detroit, when they \ 
 traveled on the lake. The grandfather of Mr. Eddy 
 had made a squatter's claim in 1834 and Augustus .< 
 Eddy took possession of the log house which had 
 been built by his father. They continued to reside 
 on the farm in Du Page County until 1853, when it 
 was sold and a removal to Whiteside County effected. 
 A farm was bought near Erie, where the parents re- 
 sided during the lemaining years of their lives. But 
 three of the family of eight children are now living 
 (1885). York and Noble, the two youngest, reside at 
 Erie. 
 
 Mr. Eddy lived with his father and mother until 
 1851, when he went to Erie and engaged in the 
 blacksmith business with his brother-in-law, where he 
 remained through one winter. During two years
 
 T 
 
 i 
 
 v 
 
 succeeding he was employed in a hotel at Erie. In 
 1853 he was married to Mary Early. They had eight 
 children, namely: Loran G., Susie A. (Mrs. Wm. 
 Wingert, of Springfield, Ohio) ; Tamma, wife of John 
 Byers, of Albany Township; James A. (married 
 DeLucia Chamberlain) ; Laura (Mrs. C. I. Barker) ; 
 William (married Rosa Lay) ; Perry and Delia (twins). 
 
 After he was married, Mr. Eddy bought a tract of 
 wild land five miles southwest of the village of Erie 
 and improved a farm. He was its occupant until 
 1864, when he sold the property and bought a farm 
 on section 25, of township 21, range 2. He has 
 since bought land adjoining, included in the town 
 plat. The place is well supplied with an excellent 
 class of farm buildings. Mr. Eddy now rents the 
 farm and lives in the village of Albany. 
 
 In 1884 he began to give his attention to raising 
 fancy breeds of poultry and has in stock five full- 
 blooded varieties. He has erected suitable quarters 
 for his fowls. He is the owner of some fine Jersey 
 
 fW scar Woods, member of the hardware firm 
 _ _JI> of Woods & Clendenen, hardware mer- 
 chants and dealers in farm machinery, 
 windmills and pumps, at Morrison, was born 
 Oct. 18, r837, at Homer, Licking Co., Ohio. 
 Leonard Woods, his father, was born in Ver- 
 mont and was but ten years of age when his parents 
 removed from the Green Mountain State to Ohio, 
 where the family was among the first of the pioneer 
 element that located at Granville in that State. 
 The senior Woods married Mary Sinnet. She 
 was born in Massachusetts and went when a little 
 girl with her father's family to Granville, Ohio, they 
 being also among the first permanent white settlers. 
 In early life Leonard Woods was a teacher, and 
 though he became a farmer in more advanced life, he 
 always recognized the value of intellectual culture, 
 even in the most ordinary walks of life, and gave 
 earnest attention to the education of his children. 
 He and his wife are no longer living, but their six 
 children survive, and in their various positions sus- 
 tain the honor of the name they inherited and verify 
 the value of mental training they received through 
 the efforts and precepts of their parents. Mary, 
 
 oldest child and only daughter, married Rev. A. A. 
 Russell, who is stationed at Exeter, Neb.; Warren 
 belongs to a coal-mining corporation near Warren, 
 Ohio; Arthur E. is a minister of the Baptist denom- 
 ination, and is in charge of a flourishing society at 
 Paterson, N. J.; Hubert C , D. D., is the officiating 
 clergyman of a Baptist Church in St. Paul, Minn. : 
 he received his degree in 1880; Byron A. is the 
 Pastor of a Baptist Church in the city of Philadel- 
 phia. The three last named completed their prepar- 
 atory studies and were graduated at Madison 
 University, N. Y., and were afterwards graduated in 
 the theological department of the same institution. 
 The parents removed to Illinois in 1861, and settled 
 in Morrison, where the father lived in retirement till 
 the time of his death. 
 
 Mr. Woods is the third child of his parents. He 
 was educated until he was 17 years "old in the com- 
 mon schools, and afterwards attended school at 
 Dennison University, in Granville, Ohio, after which 
 he taught school and passed the winters of six years 
 in that vocation, devoting his time through the sum- 
 mer seasons to farming. He came to Illinois in r86i, 
 and became a land-holder in the township of Fair 
 Haven, in Carroll County. In the spring of 1865 he 
 removed to a farm of 240 acres in Union Grove 
 Township, where he lived until 187 r, and prosecuted 
 his agricultural interests with satisfactory results, 
 owning a valuable farm. 
 
 In 187 i he moved to the city of Morrison, where 
 he engaged in traffic in live stock, in company with 
 George A. Whitcomb. After a business connection 
 of five years, he bought the interest of his partner 
 and soon after sold his entire business. In 1876 he 
 bought the interest of A. A. Carter in the business in 
 which he is now engaged, and its relations were con- 
 ducted for a period of seven years, under the firm 
 style of Ferguson & Woods. In January, 1883, he 
 became by purchase the owner of the entire estab- 
 lishment and sold an interest therein to F. Clen- 
 denen, his present business associate. Mr. Woods 
 owns a half interest in the buildings utilized in the 
 prosecution of his mercantile interests, including a 
 store and warehouse, also his residence and two 
 acres of ground in the south part of the city. He 
 has officiated several years as a member of the Board 
 of Education of Morrison, and is at present Super- 
 visor of Mt. Pleasant Township, in which capacity 
 OnM^V^ f-\ >yiBax<iir' 
 
 (> 
 

 
 he is serving his fifth term : is Chairman of the 
 Board. 
 
 Mr. Woods was married Nov. n, 1863, in Alex- 
 ander, Ohio, to Amanda Shaub, and their three chil- 
 dren were born as follows : Francie, Sept. 2, 1865; 
 Edna D., Jan. 21, 1868; Louis O. April 28, 1875. 
 The two oldest were bom in Union Grove Town- 
 ship : the youngest at Morrison. Mrs. Woods was 
 born Dec. 25, r839, at Newark, Ohio, and is the 
 daughter of Martin and Esther Shaub. Her father 
 was born in December, 1811, in Lancaster Co., Pa., 
 and is still living. Her mother was born Dec. 25, 
 1818, and was the daughter of Hon. John Sthrom, 
 who was a member of Congress from Lancaster, Pa., 
 at the time Abraham Lincoln was a member ofithat 
 body. He died in January, 1885, aged 89 years. 
 He was probably the oldest ex-Congressman in the 
 United States at the time of his death. 
 
 1 
 
 ) 
 
 Idelbert A. Church, farmer, section 22, 
 Montmorency Township, was born April 
 22, 1844, in Oswego Co., N. Y. His parents, 
 Artemus and Elizabeth (Peck) Church, were 
 natives of the same State and came in 1858 to 
 Whiteside County, locating soon after in Mont- 
 morency Township. The father died Feb. ig, 1875, 
 in Coloma Township. Their children, three in num- 
 ber, are named Helen A., Adelbert A. and Morris C. 
 The oldest is the wife of J. M. Golder. (See sketch.) 
 Mr. Church was educated in the common schools 
 and also attended an academy in his native State for 
 a considerable period. He was a lad of T4 when his 
 parents came to the township, where he has since 
 been interested in agricultural pursuits. He owns 
 400 acres of land, of which one-half has been placed 
 in cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Church is in sympathy with the principles of 
 the Democratic party. On first coming to Whiteside 
 County he was employed in the office of General 
 Kilgour at Sterling, where he was occupied about 
 three years, and during a part of the time attended 
 school. He has officiated as Supervisor of Mont- 
 morency Township two years and about 10 years as 
 Clerk. From r876 to 1880 he was Township Treas- 
 urer, and in the spring of 1884 he was again elected; 
 at present he is filling the unexpired term. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Church to Alida Van Allen 
 took place Aug. 30, 1870, at Rock Falls. Mrs. 
 Church is the adopted daughter of Col. A. Woodford, 
 formerly a resident of that place. She was born July 
 20, 1847, in Greene Co., N. Y. The children of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Church are named Earl F., Lawrence A. 
 and Howard L. 
 
 Daniel Wetzell, general farmer, section 27, 
 Hume Township, was born Sept. 2r, 1815, 
 in Stark Co., Ohio. The record of his par- 
 ents may be found in connection with the 
 sketch of Jacob Wetzell. He was the oldest 
 child and was a member of the parental house- 
 hold until his majority. 
 
 He was married, in Holmes Co., Ohio, Sept. 5, 
 1839, to Mary Beidler, and they have had six chil- 
 dren, Elizabeth, Margaret, Catherine, Mary A. ; 
 Martha and John H. They are all married. Mrs. 
 Wetzell was born Dec. 3, i8ig, in Holmes County, 
 where her parents belonged to the wealthy agricul- 
 tural class. Her mother died when she was a year 
 old, and she was cared for until her marriage by her 
 stepmother. Her father died in Ohio. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. Wetzell left Ohio for Illinois, settling 
 in Gene.iee Township, in Whiteside County. After 
 some years' residence on a farm, he went to Hopkins 
 Township and was a farmer there five years. In the 
 fall of 1865 he located in Hume Township. He has 
 been extensively interested in buying and improving 
 land, and has settled each of his children comfort- 
 ably in life. In 1885 he removed to 55 acres on the 
 section where he ndw resides. Mr. Wetzell is a Re- 
 publican politically, and both himself and wife are 
 active in religious matters. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Daveler, wagon and carriage mak- 
 er, Third Street, Sterling, of the firm of 
 Daveler Bros., was born in Pennsylvania, 
 June 29, 1850, his parents being Jacob and 
 Catherine (Yentzer) Daveler. His father was 
 a farmer, and came to Sterling in r87o. 
 Mr. D. received a common-school education in 
 his youth, and at the age of 14 years left home and
 
 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 worked at farming, the vocation of his father, until 
 he was 20 years of age; then worked at wagon-mak- 
 ing a year as an apprentice, then two years as a 
 journeyman; next he followed farming again for 
 (5; seven years, on rented land; and lastly, in 1882, he 
 came to Sterling, where he has since been engaged 
 as above mentioned. He is a Republican on na- 
 tional issues, and a member of the Baptist Church, 
 as is also his wife. 
 
 He was married Sept. 30, 1873, to Miss Emma F. 
 \ Jones, of Sterling, and they have one daughter, 
 Malta L., who was born April 7, 1879. 
 
 ' 
 
 amuel Reecher, general farmer, section 
 17, Genesee Township, was born Nov. 5, 
 1828, in Frederick Co., Md. Jacob Reech- 
 er, his father, was of German parentage and 
 was by calling a shoemaker. The latter was 
 reared in Maryland, where he married Cather- 
 ine Chrise, who was of the same nationality as him- 
 self. In 1832, they transferred their residence to 
 Washington County, in the same State, settling in 
 the now village of Ringgold, which was then Ridge- 
 ville. There, among the mountains, they reared six 
 of their seven children to maturity, and laid down 
 their life's armor after years of usefulness and hon- 
 orable struggle. The father died in the autumn of 
 1 866, aged about 7 8 years. The mother died in Feb- 
 ruary, 187 i, when she was about 72 years old. 
 
 Mr. Reecher is the fourth child in order of birth, 
 and, until he was 24 years of age, he lived at home, 
 securing such education as he could in the common 
 schools of Washington County, augmented by home 
 reading, study and observation. The first prominent 
 event of his life occurred on the day made historical 
 in the annals of the United States by the election of 
 President Pierce, whose administration covered four 
 of the most portentous years in the history of the re- 
 public. That day preceded his 24th birthday. Nov. 
 4, 1852, he was joined in marriage with Leah Hoff- 
 man, in Waynesborough, Pa. Jacob and Madelina 
 (Stoffer) Hoffman, the parents of Mrs. Reecher, were 
 of unmixed German descent and were farmers. 
 Their family comprised seven daughters and three 
 sons, all of whom attained adult age. They lived 
 nost of their lives in Washington County, and there 
 
 / 
 
 the father died in 1866, aged 68 ; the demise of the 
 mother took place in 1884, and she was 85 years of 
 age. Mrs. Reecher was educated in the same com- 
 mon school as her husband. She has been the 
 mother of 15 children. Ten of the number still sur- 
 vive, and three are married. Following is the record : 
 William married Sarah C. Mentzer, and is present 
 (1885) proprietor of the Transient House at Coleta. 
 Emma C. married Henry Donahue of Coleta. Aaron 
 married Hattie C. Pratt and resides on his father's 
 homestead. Louis lives at Coleta. Anna, Isaac, 
 Samuel, Margaret E., Leah and Jacob are under 
 their parents' care. Sarah, Alice, Benjamin F., Ida 
 M. and John H. are the names of the children who 
 are deceased. 
 
 After he was 12 years of age Mr. Reecher assisted 
 his father, as occasion required and leisure afforded 
 opportunity, in the business of shoemaking, of which 
 he acquired a complete knowledge, and after his mar- 
 riage he operated one year as a craftsman in that 
 avenue of employ, after which he turned his atten- 
 tion to the business of a marketman, in which he was 
 engaged as long as he remained in Maryland. In 
 February, 1865, with his wife and five children, he 
 came to Illinois, leaving forever the early home, made 
 dearer by the fact that the old soil contained the re- 
 mains of two deceased children. Mr. Reecher first 
 sought a home at Sterling, where he operated as a 
 shoemaker a little more than a year. He went 
 thence to a point seven miles north of that city in 
 the township of Jordan, where he did a country busi- 
 ness for ojie year. At the end of that time he 
 decided to combine farming with his trade and he 
 removed to a farm near the eastern county line 
 containing too acres of land. He conducted his 
 two-fold business one year, and in March, 1868, he 
 purchased 200 acres of land in Genesee Township, on 
 which he has since resided. A large proportion was 
 in timber, and the place was wholly unimproved, but 
 has been converted into a good farm. A spring of 
 underground origin situated centrally on the farm 
 supplies a perpetual flow of water of remarkable 
 coldness and purity and large volume, being the 
 fountain head of a considerable stream which emp- 
 ties into Rock Creek. The owner is constructing a 
 pond on his farm for the artificial production of fish, 
 which will cover 15 acres in area. He designs to 
 stock the pond with German carp. 
 
 V. 
 
 SlA/gv'XA/t
 
 KARY 
 irr Uf ILLINOIS

 
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 f 
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 3 
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 ^ 
 
 D 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Mr. Reecher is in accord with the Democratic ele- 
 ment in politics and has held several township of- 
 fices. Mrs. Reecher is a member of the Mennonite 
 Chur.h. 
 
 'lonzo Golder, section 10, Montmorency 
 Township, has been a resident of White- 
 side County since 1856, and he has reached 
 prominence as an agriculturist and promoter 
 bf the general welfare of the locality where 
 he has lived nearly 30 years. He was born 
 April 24, 1807, in Dutchess Co., N. Y., and is the 
 oldest son of William and Mary (Chase) Golder, who 
 were born respectively in New York and Rhode Isl- 
 and. The native county of William Golder was the 
 same in which his son was born, and there he settled 
 with the bride of his early manhood, who died after 
 giving birth to six children Ellen, Alonzo, Eliza- 
 beth, Emmeline, Phebe and Joseph. 
 
 The father was married a second time to Phebe 
 Hewett, a native of New York. She died in Illnois. 
 One child, Jane H.,was born of the second marriage. 
 
 The portion of New York where Mr. Golder was 
 born and grew to maturity was in an undeveloped 
 condition, and although he acquired such education 
 as was afforded by the schools of that time he gath- 
 ered a more useful and mental training by observa- 
 tion and from the force of circumstances. He at- 
 tended school during the winter seasons until he was 
 14 years of age, after which he was a laborer on his 
 father's farm until he was 23 years old, with the 
 exception of a single year when he was engaged in 
 boating on the Hudson River. He passed another 
 year in the employ of an uncle, after which he es- 
 tablished a country store at Pleasant Plains, Dutchess 
 County, in partnership with John^Bard, the son of a 
 Hessian soldier. Their business connections were in 
 existence one year, and, after their dissolution, Mr. 
 Golder prospected for a time in search of a favorable 
 location. He fixed upon Clinton Hollow, in his na- 
 tive county and again established his mercantile en- 
 terprise in connection with a flouring mill, associated 
 with Charles Slate. At the end of the first year Mr. 
 Golder became the sole proprietor by purchase, and 
 shortly after formed a partnership with Spencer Ben- 
 
 ^*^- 
 
 nett, under the firm style of Bennett, Golder & Co. 
 After three years the business was closed. 
 
 Mr. Golder bought a farm in Cayuga Co., N. Y., 
 where he operated as farmer four years. He sold 
 his property at the end of that time for the pur- 
 pose of moving West, but he yielded to the solicita- 
 tions of friends in Dutchess County, and returned 
 there to engage in mercantile and lumber traffic, set- 
 tling at Hyde Park. He did not meet the success he 
 anticipated, and after a fair trial of four years' dura- 
 tion he sold out. 
 
 In 1844 he came to Illinois and located at Hart- 
 land, McHenry County, where he engaged in farm- 
 ing, in which he was interested until 1855, when he 
 sold his farm, and in the fall of the same year he 
 came to Whiteside County. In the spring of 1856 
 he purchased 400 acres in Montmorency Township, 
 in company with his son Joseph. Their joint owner- 
 ship of real estate includes 680 acres, of which 500 
 acres are in tillage. They have an average herd of 
 about 70 cattle, 10 horses, and fatten for market 
 yearly about 60 hogs. They have erected suitable 
 and substantial buildings, where father and son re- 
 side together. 
 
 Mr. Golder was one of the most active and promin- 
 ent promoters of the Grange movement and was made 
 first Master of the State organization. He repre- 
 sented Illinois four successive terms in the National 
 Grange. In his native State he was actively inter- 
 ested in the militia and belonged to the cavalry. He 
 was made Brigade Inspector under General I. I. 
 Platt, and was a compeer of the late General Van 
 Rensselaer. 
 
 He is a Democrat in his political affiliations, and 
 cast his first Presidential vote for Andrew Jackson. 
 While in McHenry County he served as Supervisor 
 and has been Justice of the Peace in the township 
 wher he now lives about 16 years. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Golder to Caroline E. Lloyd 
 occurred in Blanford, Hampden Co., Mass., June 3, 
 1833. Mrs. Golder was born in that county, and is 
 the daughter of Isaac and Eunice (Gibbs) Lloyd, who 
 were natives of Massachusetts, of English and Welsh 
 descent. Her father died in his native State. The 
 mother joined the daughter in McHenry Co., 111., 
 where she died. Joseph M. is the only son of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Alonzo Golder, and both are represented 
 by sketches on other pages. Ellen M. is their only 
 
 
 V) 
 
 e
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY 
 
 daughter, and is the wife of Alvin Roper, of Wash- 
 
 ington Territory. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Golder, which appears in this 
 work accompanying the above sketch, is engraved 
 from a photograph taken in 1875, and presents the 
 facial features of a worthy citizen of Whiteside 
 County. 
 
 , illiam H- Allen, lawyer, of Erie, is a son 
 of S. V. R. and Sarah (Richardson) Al- 
 *,-. len, born in Dublin, Cheshire Co., N. H. 
 3> His father is a farmer, and a native of 
 Stillwater, Saratoga Co., N. Y., and was 
 born Aug. 23, 1812, and resides two miles west 
 of Erie village, on his farm. His mother was a na- 
 tive of Newton, Mass., born Feb. 14, 1803, and died 
 at Erie, June 9, 1862. They had three children : 
 William H., Colonel Samuel R., a lawyer at Little 
 Rock, Ark., and Sarah A., a teacher, who resides 
 with her father. The family removed from New 
 Hampshire to Rushford, Allegany Co., N. Y., in 
 1846; thence to Erie, this county, in 1856. 
 
 While at Rushford Mr. Allen attended Rushford 
 Academy for a time. After coming to Illinois he 
 farmed, taught school, worked as engineer in mills, 
 studied law in the city of Rock Island, and was 
 admitted to the Bar at Ottawa, 111., April 16, r866. 
 
 Mr. Allen married Mary A. Orr, daughter of John 
 and Catherine (Bleecker) Orr, and grand-daughter 
 and grand-niece of Samuel and William Orr, and 
 was born in the township of Sidney, Hastings Co., 
 Province of Ontario. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Allen have seven children: William 
 C., Samuel R., Sarah R., Solomon V. R., Henry W., 
 Catherine Bleecker and John O. Allen, all minors. 
 Three children, Helen, Jennie and Richard, died 
 in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Allen held the office of Justice of the Peace 
 for a term, and that of Supervisor for eight years at 
 different times, from 1862 to 1878; was Representa- 
 tive in the Illinois State Legislature for four years, 
 being elected to the 3ist and re-elected to the 
 32d General Assembly; was author of the drainage 
 laws, and promoted the passage of the principal rev- 
 enue laws passed by the last mentioned Assembly ; 
 was largely responsible for the legislation under the 
 
 amendment of the Constitution changing the time of 
 election of county officers, afterward sustained by 
 the Supreme Court ; was Chairman of the Committee 
 on Revenue ; advocated and defended the ad-va- 
 lorem system of taxation; successfully resisted the 
 attempts that were made to deprive municipalities, 
 towns and counties of their portion of taxes derived 
 from railroad property, and to abolish the State 
 Board of Equalization; his argument thereon was 
 printed and published by the State pursuant to a 
 resolution of the H-juse of Representatives. 
 
 He is at present in the practice of his pro- 
 fession in the counties of Whiteside, Henry and 
 Rock Island, devoting his attention to all depart- 
 ments of law and chancery, besides superintending 
 his farms in Erie and Fenton Townships. He is a 
 Freemason, Kn'ght Templar, and a Presbyterian in 
 religious faith. He resides on his homestead in the 
 village of Erie. 
 
 ohn M. Overholser, general farmer, section 
 9, Genesee Township, was born Jan. 19, 
 1854. He is the son of Martin and Bar- 
 bara (Arford) Overholser, of whom an account 
 is given in connection with that of Christian 
 Overholser. The subject of this personal rec- 
 ord was reared and educated in Tuscarawas Co., 
 Ohio, where he was born. He was employed on his 
 father's farm until he had passed his 2Oth birthday, 
 and until the removal of the family to Illinois. 
 They located on section 9, where the son entered 
 into the work of improving a new farm in which he 
 was engaged until he established himself as the in- 
 dependent head of a family. He formed a matri- 
 monial alliance with Lydia, daughter of Jacob and 
 Anna (Overholser) Crom, in Wysox, Carroll Co., 111. 
 Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, and were 
 brought up in Harrison Co., Ohio. After their mar- 
 riage they went to Sandusky County, and afterward 
 to Wood County, in the same State. Mrs. Over- 
 holser was born there, April 18, 1835. She was 19 
 years of age when her father made a transfer of his 
 family and business relations to Carroll Co., 111. 
 
 To her and her husband five children have been 
 born: Elizabeth A. is the wife of W. C. Vinson, of 
 Coleta; they have one child, Myrtle. Martin mar- 
 
 

 
 ried Anna M. Dull, and lives at home; Clara J. 
 ? married Howard Hawkins, of Clyde Township, and 
 . they have one child, Orvil, by name; Becca and 
 James C. are the two youngest children. 
 
 Mr. Overholser is the owner of 1 17 acres of land, 
 which he purchased after his marriage, and he has 
 devoted the greater part of his time and energies to 
 its improvement. He has erected creditable farm 
 buildings. In political faith and adherence he is a 
 Republican. He belongs to the United Brethren 
 Church, of which his wife is also a member. 
 
 ichard Blue, farmer, resident on section 22, 
 Clyde Township, was born on section 17 
 of the same municipality, where he has 
 lived all his life. His birth occurred Nov. 7, 
 1855, and he is the son of Alexander A. and 
 Mary (Beswick) Blue. His father was born 
 in Nova Scotia of Scotch parentage, and his mother 
 was a native of England. They were united in 
 marriage in the township of Clyde, and became the 
 parents of four children. 
 
 The incident about to be related in connection 
 with the history of Mr. Blue, eclipses in intensity all 
 others that have hitherto fallen within the province 
 of the biographer, whose duty it becomes .to place on 
 permanent record a narration of terrible suffering and 
 horrible necessity, such as clouds the personal annals 
 of but few. Sorrows beset and troubles multiply, but 
 are rarely without some shade of mitigation. In this 
 there is but the ghastly reality. 
 
 In 1859 Alexander, Daniel and Charles Blue, the 
 first named being the father and the others the 
 uncles of Mr. Blue of this sketch, together with John 
 Campbell and Thomas Stevenson, set forth from 
 VVhiteside Coun'y for the new El Dorado of Pike's 
 Peak, making their way there across the plains on 
 foot. At Manhattan, Kan., they were joined by a 
 party of nine others. When within sight of the 
 peaks of the Rocky Mountains, their further progress 
 was impeded by a terrific snow storm, and they 
 wandered helplessly, consuming the remnants of 
 food in their possession until starvation was im- 
 minent. Alexander and Charles were sick, the 
 former having inflammatory rheumatism. After the 
 terrible five-days storm was over, Charles was com- 
 
 pletely disabled. Then some of the party left them 
 and went on. After proceeding on some days, after a 
 rest for Charles' welfare, Alexander sank down ex- 
 hausted and in extreme pain. In giving a desciiption 
 of their awful suffering, Daniel Blue continues the 
 narration as follows: "We wrapped Alexander up 
 in blankets, ba'.hed him with snow water, and, tear- 
 ing our shirts into strips, bandaged his feet and head, 
 and did all we could in our weak and almost dying 
 condition to relieve him, and then we all lay down 
 in our blankets on the snow and rested till morning. 
 Oh, for something nourishing to eat! How hunger 
 gnawed in our stomachs, parched our lips, and 
 dried up the moisture of our throats and mouths 
 How it weakened us, consuming, as if by fire, our 
 muscles and our juices ! It reduced us to very skele- 
 tons, and we stalked about, emaciated, with death's 
 hollow sound in every woid we tried to speak, with 
 death's dull, leaden fixedness in our eyes, and with 
 death's pale look in our sad and wretched faces. 
 
 " It was here, in the midst of these tribulations, 
 while we were lying on the ground together, and 
 feeling that death from starvation was near at hand 
 to all of us, that our conversation turned to the sub- 
 ject of eating each other! Horrible thought! And 
 yet, the subject having been mentioned, we kept 
 thinking of it, and subsequently we again spoke of it, 
 and all then agreed that whichever of us should die 
 first, should be eaten by the rest. 
 
 " On the next morning I beheld for the first time, 
 dimly up among the clouds, a peak of the Rocky 
 Mountains. My heart, faint with weakness, beat 
 quicker then, and a thrill of joy came over me, and 
 hope revived. I ran back to my companions, and 
 joyfully announced to them my discovery. I carried 
 Alexander a portion of the way. But we had not 
 gone over 40 rods, when Alexander fell down ex- 
 hausted again. I now deemed it improper for my 
 brothers to try to go on further, and it was then pro- 
 posed that all of the party who were able, should go 
 on, and if they found help, should return to the 
 rescue of the others. All went except Soley, one of 
 the party that joined us. 
 
 " He and brother Alexander were now completely 
 prostrate, helpless as babes. Charles rallied a little 
 during the day, and he walked along slowly, while I 
 carried the two helpless men along, first bearing 
 Soley a certain distance, and setting him down, then 
 going back after Alexander, and then again return- 
 
 ^js/G^tv .& 
 
 <&
 
 WHITES fDE COUMTY. 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 ing for our satchels. My object was to find, if pos- 
 sible, a better shelter for them, hoping to find a 
 human habitation of some kind. But evening came 
 again, and our condition and prospects were more 
 desperate and wretched than ever before. We had 
 now been eight entire days without food, except 
 boiled roots and grass and the snow, and even these, 
 what little we could get of them, did not in the least 
 satisfy our hunger. The roots were bitter and would 
 not digest, and lay heavily on our stomachs, making 
 us more miserable than we had felt previously. 
 
 " On that night Alexander suffered terribly, and I 
 had to sit up with him, trying to soothe and alleviate 
 his excruciating rheumatic pains. Charles and Soley 
 slept soundly till morning ; but at about seven o'clock 
 that same morning, Soley commenced to sink rapidly, 
 and soon expired, bidding us a sad farewell, and re- 
 questing us, with his last words, to take his body and 
 eat of it as much as we could, and thus preserve our 
 lives. The poor, noble-hearted boy had actually 
 starved to death! And in his fate, we three brothers, 
 who were now left entirely alone, saw our own ; for 
 death was surely gnawing at our vitals, and we felt 
 that soon we would have to follow our now silent, 
 pale and emancipated companion to the other world, 
 ' where the weary are at rest.' We were not strong 
 enough to inter the corpse, neither had we pick or 
 shovel with which to dig a grave, even if we could 
 muster strength enough to do so. The dead body 
 lay there for three days, we lying helpless on the 
 ground near it, our craving for food increasing con- 
 tinually, until, driven to desperation, wild with hun- 
 ger, and feeling, in its full force, the truth of the 
 sentiment, that ' self-preservation is the first law of 
 nature,' we took our knives and commenced cutting 
 the flesh from the legs and arms of our dead com- 
 panion, and ate it! this was the hardest of our trials 
 this being forced to eat human flesh. We re- 
 strained as long as we could, but we yielded at last, 
 for it was our last resort for hope of preservation." 
 
 After struggling against fate, all died shortly after- 
 ward, excepting Daniel, who subsequently became 
 demented through suffering and grief and wandered 
 aimlessly about, but was finally discovered by some 
 Indians in the vicinity of the Big Sandy River in 
 Colorado. He was utterly without sense or knowl- 
 edge and the red men delivered him to some whites, 
 vho took him to Denver, where he was cared for 
 
 with skill and restored to health and reason. He 
 has since written an account of his dreadful ex- 
 perience and has become a married man and is a 
 farmer in Iowa. 
 
 The mother of Mr. Blue lived until April, 1863, 
 when she died, leaving four orphan children, the 
 youngest of whom was but seven years old. 
 
 The son, who is the subject of this sketch, has 
 sustained himself since his mother's death. Dec. 
 25, 1877, he was married to Emma A. Alldritt, and 
 they have two children Wilfred T., born Dec. 16, 
 1878, and Samuel A., born Jan. 6, 1885. Mrs. Blue 
 was born in Clyde Township, Aug. 13, 1859, and is 
 the daughter of Thomas and Lavina (Heacox) All- 
 dritt. Her parents were both natives of England and 
 were married in Clyde Township, whither they re- 
 moved with their respective parents. The father of 
 Mrs. Blue is still living. The mother died Sept. 
 25, 1880. 
 
 Joseph T. Miller, traveling salesman for 
 ' the Troy Stove Works of Chicago, resides 
 upon Keystone Avenue, opposite Mulberry 
 Street, Sterling. He was born in Lancaster 
 Co., Pa., June 13, 1843, his parents being 
 Joseph and Eliza A. (LeFevre) Miller, natives 
 also of tho Keystone State. His father carried on 
 farming in his native State, and also owned cars on 
 the Pennsylvania Central Railroad. (The State 
 owned the road-bed and the locomotive power, and 
 individuals owned the cars.) Mr. Miller sold out his 
 interests there and in the spring of 1847 came West, 
 locating in Sterling, where .he engaged in the con- 
 struction of stone-work, and followed the occupation 
 until his death, which occurred Feb. 12, 1874 
 
 The subject of this sketch lived at his father's 
 home until about five years ago. He received a 
 common-school education, and learned the hard- 
 ware business at Sterling. In 1872 he went East to 
 Pennsylvania and traveled as a salesman for Mitch- 
 ell, Stephenson & Co., a firm manufacturing stoves. 
 In 1878, in company with Mr. Johnson, of the 
 village of Lyndon, he ran the flouring mills at that 
 place for one year; then, in 1879, he commenced 
 again to travel for the Troy Stove Company, of 
 Chicago, in which business he is now engaged. He 
 owns a farm of 277 acres adjoining the village of 
 
 

 
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 ' 
 5 
 
 
 
 WHTTESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Rock Falls, and also other property in Sterlini* 
 Township. 
 
 Mr. Miller was married Jan. 13, 1879, to Miss Eva 
 E. Cool, a native of Indiana, and they have one son, 
 named Leonard J. 
 
 f'ohn Courtright, general farmer, section 
 32, Genesee Township, was born Oct. 10, 
 1823, in Sussex Co., N. J. His grand- 
 father, Samuel Courtright, and his father, 
 Reuben Courtright, were both farmers, and 
 were born in Sussex County. The former 
 died in that county. They were farmers and were 
 the descendants of the settlers from the Nether- 
 lands who located in New Jersey. The mother of 
 Mr. Courtright, Deborah Bedell before her marriage, 
 was the daughter of a New Jersey farmer, and passed 
 her whole life in her native State, where she died 
 about 1827. She was the mother of ten children. 
 Reuben Courtright took a second wife, by whom he 
 had also ten children. Nearly all his 20 children 
 grew to mature age. Reuben Courtright died Aug. 
 8, 1875, aged 86 years and some months. 
 
 Mr. Courtright was four years of age when his 
 mother died, and he was under the care of his 
 stepmother after the second marriage of his father, 
 continuing a member of the paternal household until 
 he was 22 years of age. He went then to Port Jar- 
 vis, N. Y., where he apprenticed himself to learn the 
 trade of a carpenter with John Clark and John Kyte. 
 The terms of his agreement provided that he was to 
 remain with them two years and receive six dollars 
 a month for his first year's service. He abandoned 
 the plan under which he began to acquire his trade 
 and completed his preparation for a mechanic's ca- 
 reer with a man named Westbrook Williamson. He 
 afterwards returned to his native county in New Jer- 
 sey, and was married Dec. 29, 1848, to Sarah A. 
 Trauger. She was the daughter of Lewis and Eliz- 
 abeth (Adams) Trauger, natives of Bucks Co., Pa., 
 and of German descent and ancestry. They were 
 farmers and were married in their native county, 
 afterwards removing to Sussex Co., N. J. Their two 
 eldest children were born in Bucks Co., Pa., and the 
 eight younger were born in Sussex County. Mrs. 
 
 Courtright has a twin sister and they were born July 
 25, 1825. Her father died in 1836 and was about 
 46 years of age at the time of his decease. The 
 death of her mother occurred about 1853 and she 
 was 65 years old. Mrs. Courtright remained with 
 her mother until two years previous to her marriage, 
 and the intervening time she was a member of the 
 family of an older sister. 
 
 After the union in marriage of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Courtright, they lived nearly three years in Sussex 
 County, whence they came in 1852 to Illinois and 
 settled for a few months in the township of Sterling, 
 in Whiteside County. In the year following, in 
 company with his brother, he bought 160 acres orf 
 section 32, Genesee Township, on which they oper- 
 ated together some time and afterwards made a 
 division of the estate, Mr. Courtright taking the south- 
 ern half, adjoining which he had bought 40 acres, 
 the whole constituting a valuable and finely located 
 farm of 121 acres. The entire acreage was all un- 
 broken prairie at the date of his purchase. It gives 
 substantial proof of the quality of the energy and 
 thrift brought to bear on the property by its ad- 
 vanced cultivation and its excellent farm buildings. 
 Mr. Courtright is the owner of two additional farms, 
 containing respectively 79 and 75 acres, which are 
 all under improvement. He owns besides 10 acres 
 of timber. 
 
 Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Court- 
 right. Amanda married Francis A Gould, and they 
 reside with her parents. Lester died when six 
 years of age. Mr. Courtright is a decided Republi- 
 can. 
 
 i^ohn Hannis, a retired farmer, resident at 
 Coleta, is engaged in the business of an 
 insurance agent and stock dealer. He was 
 born July 26, 1827, in Luzerne Co., Pa. John 
 Hannis, senior, his father, was born in Penn- 
 sylvania, and was of German extraction. He 
 married Sarah A. Horton, a native of New Jersey 
 and of Yankee parentage. Their marriage took 
 place in Wilksbarre, Pa., at the house of Gen. Ross, 
 whose name is well known as being connected with 
 the war of 1812. They became the parents of 12 
 children. The father died in January, 1845. Mr. 
 
 
 
 x.
 
 
 490 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 Hannis is the youngest child of his parents, and he 
 was 18 years old when his father died. After that 
 event he had his own battle to fight with the world, 
 and set out with the equipments of a sound consti- 
 tution, an abundance of the variety of pluck that 
 kept him supplied with hopeful energy, and a 
 cash capital of one shilling. He obtained a posi- 
 tion as engineer in the service of the Lehigh Navi- 
 gation Company, and was in the employ of the same 
 corporation 12 years. He wisely married when he 
 found himself with reasonable prospects of employ- 
 ment. The ceremony which constituted him the 
 husband of Elizabeth Steel took place May 30, 1846, 
 in Luzerne Co., Pa. Her father, Adam Steel, was 
 born at Mt. Bethel, Pa., and was of German descent. 
 He was a farmer, and married Mary Ross, a native 
 of the place last named and born of Irish parents. 
 The former died Jan. i-j, 1849, in Luzenve Co., Pa. 
 The mother went afterwards to Henry Co., Iowa, 
 where she died May 29, 1857. Mrs. Hannis was 
 born April 13, 1825, and she is the youngest of nine 
 children, six girls and three boys. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hannis went in 1856 to Henry Co., 
 Iowa, where the former was occupied four years as 
 an engineer. In 1860 they came to Whiteside 
 County and spent ten years in farming, taking farms 
 on shares until 1870, when Mr. Hannis purchased 
 80 acres of land in Carroll County, this State. He 
 owned the property until 1880, when he sold it and 
 purchased 80 acres on section 17, Genesee Town- 
 ship, which is in valuable farming condition. In 
 1882 he retired to the village of Coleta, where he 
 owns a desirable location with a residence. 
 
 In political connection he is Republican. He and 
 his wife are members of the Christian Church. 
 
 ^amuel H. Kingery, fanner, section 8, Geri- 
 esee Township, was born Oct. 29, 1836, in 
 Pennsylvania. His father, Daniel Kingery, 
 was a native of Pennsylvania, of German ex- 
 traction, and was a physician. The latter 
 married Susannah Hoover, also a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and a descendant of the Dutch ele- 
 ment that settled many sections of the Atlantic re- 
 gion. After marriage they resided in that State until 
 1 845 , when they came with seven children to White- 
 
 side County, and located at Albany on the river. 
 The father was one of the pioneer practitioners of 
 the western part of Whiteside County, but, true to a 
 peculiar trait of his character which led him con- 
 stantly to new and untried fields of effort, he re- 
 mained there but a limited time, going subsequently 
 to Carroll, Stephenson and Ogle Counties. He 
 made a permanent settlement at Polo, where he 
 died, Feb. 27, 1874, aged 69 years. The mother 
 lives in Carroll County with her daughter, Mrs. D. 
 S. Good, and is 74 years of age. The family to 
 which Mr. Kingery belongs is noted for tenacity of 
 life, several of his ancestors having lived nearly a 
 century. 
 
 He accompanied his father's family in their changes 
 of residence until he was of age. He obtained an 
 education by study in the district schools and under 
 the instructions of Prof. August Cadmus in Carroll 
 Co., Ill: He taught school two years in Cherry 
 Grove in that County. 
 
 His marriage to Rebecca Overholser occurred 
 Aug. 1 6, 1860. Mrs. Kingery is the daughter of 
 " Uncle " John and Julia A. (Weimer) Overholser. 
 Her parents were born respectively in Pennsylvania 
 and Ohio. Her paternal ancestors were natives of 
 Holland. Her grandfather in that line was born in 
 Bucks Co., Pa. The family of her father's mother 
 belonged to the territory which was in dispute in the 
 recent struggle between Germany and France and 
 now belongs to the former, Alsace. The name of 
 the founder of the family was Joseph Van Gundy 
 and the later generations have dropped the prefix. 
 Both families came to the United States colonies be- 
 fore the Revolution, and founded the Overholser 
 and Gundy genealogies in this country. They were 
 all farmers and belonged to the Mennonite Church. 
 The grandfather and father of Mrs. Kingery located 
 in Harrison Co., Ohio, when the latter was but five 
 years of age, and he there passed his youth and in 
 early manhood was married. The daughter was 
 born there Feb. 25, 1839. In 1844 her parents and 
 four children went to Stark County in the same 
 State, where they lived on a farm until 1859. In 
 that year they became residents of Genesee Town- 
 ship, locating near the village of Coleta. " Uncle " 
 John is a member of the family of Mr. Kingery. 
 Aug. 28, 1885, he will be 74 years old. He has 
 been blind since 1875. In position as an honorable, 
 upright man he is second to none, and he sustains 
 
 , 

 
 LIBRARY 
 UMlVERSIPf (If 
 URUANA
 

 
 
 > 
 
 | 
 
 V 
 
 the repute which he has worthily earned among a 
 large circle of appreciative friends in Whileside and 
 Carroll Counties. His name is a household word 
 in Genesee Township, and old and young have a 
 personal interest in his welfare. His wife died Dec. 
 29, 1884. "Grandma" Overholser was warmly 
 loved by the people among whom she lived 25 years. 
 She and her husband were regarded as home mis- 
 sionaries in their intercourse with humanity. The 
 latter has been for many years a prominent member 
 in the religious society of which they are members. 
 They belonged to the United Brethren Church. 
 
 Mrs. Kingery came to Illinois when she was 18 
 years of age, and she lived with her parents until 
 she was married. No children have been born of 
 that event, but she has reared a foster child to man's 
 estate, Daniel O'Brien, now a resident of Sterling. 
 She is now in charge of a little girl, Fannie L. 
 Berkey, who promises to reward the efforts in her 
 behalf. 
 
 Mr. Kingery was a resident of Carroll County 
 about one year after marriage. He then bought 70 
 acres of land now included in the plats of Coleta, 
 which he was chiefly instrumental in laying out. 
 In October, 1869, he sold the properly and went to 
 Sterling, where he acquired an interest in a flour- 
 mill and its business relations. He conducted an 
 extensive business on the Rock River for five and a 
 half years, but was obliged to relinquish his relations 
 in that line, and traveled until he became free from 
 the disease known as the miller's sore throat, which 
 he had contracted. On recovering his health, he 
 embarked in the furniture trade at Sterling, in which 
 he operated with success several years, and later 
 became interested in the sale of groceries and pro- 
 visions. He sold out eventually and went to Cali- 
 fornia for the benefit of his wife's health. The ob- 
 ject was fully accomplished after a residence of 18 
 months on the Pacific coast. 
 
 On returning to Genesee Township, he assumed 
 charge of the farm of his father-in-law, and he has 
 made a successful trial of agriculture. 
 
 Mr. Kingery 's connection with the general affairs 
 of the township and county reflect credit on his citi- 
 zenship and manhood. He was prominent while at 
 Sterling as a member of the City Council, and he 
 officiated some time as Vice-President of the Gas 
 Company. He has also done effective service in 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 the Agricultural Society, was Superintendent of Floral 
 Hall and took active part in the various exhibitions 
 of the organization. He is no less prominent and 
 zealous in religious interests, and was President and 
 Vice-President of the Y. M. C. A., being an active 
 factor in the establishment of the reading room un- 
 der the auspices of that body. He and his wife are 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. 
 Kingery is a Republican of decided type, and has 
 been Justice of the Peace. 
 
 -* 4~* *- 
 
 ames Frank, a citizen of Montmorency 
 if- Township, on section 28, has lived in 
 VVhiteside County since 1856. His par- 
 ents, Jacob and Mary (Dill) Frank, were na- 
 tives of Bucks Co., Pa., and were born of 
 German ancestors. They came in 1856 to 
 VVhiteside Co'inty, but not finding themselves con- 
 tented they returned to Pennsylvania after a stay of 
 about six weeks. Their deaths occurred respectively 
 in 1870 and 1879. Their children were named 
 Sophia, James, Abner and Noah. 
 
 Mr. Frank was born March 12, 1825, in Mont- 
 gomery Co., Pa. He was educated in German, 
 which was the language of his parents, and which 
 was the prevailing tongue of his native township. 
 At the age of 22 years he went to an English settle- 
 ment and engaged as a laborer for about three 
 years. During the winter seasons he went to school 
 and acquired a practical knowledge of the English 
 language. After that he spent five years as a farm 
 laborer, hiring by the year. He then left Pennsyl- 
 vania to seek a home in the West. He prospected 
 at various points and spent three months in Ohio, a 
 similar period in Indiana, and in the fall of 1854 
 came to Whiteside County. He returned to the 
 State of his nativity two months later, with the in- 
 tention of settling permanently in Whiteside County 
 in the following spring, but he postponed his return 
 until the spring of 1856. On arrival he engaged a 
 year as a farm laborer, when he rented a farm in 
 Sterling Township, which he managed three years. 
 He then rented a farm west of Sterling, which he 
 occupied seven years. He bought 200 acres of land 
 on section 28, in Montmorency Township, on which 
 he settled and where he has. since lived. He is at 
 

 
 present the possessor of 480 acres of land in the 
 same township, about half of it being under culture. 
 The buildings on the estate are of excellent charac- 
 ter and rank among the best and most valuable in 
 the township. Mr. Frank herds about 70 head of 
 cattle on an average, owns nine horses and colts, 
 and fattens annually a considerable number of hogs. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Frank is a Democrat. He has 
 been Collector two years, School Trustee for three 
 years and Commissioner of Highways ten years, and 
 has held the office of Assessor two years. 
 
 He was first married in Sugar Grove, Lee Co., 111., 
 May 12, 1857, to Fanny Lingenfelter, a native of 
 Lancaster Co., Pa. She became the mother of three 
 children, Theodore, Jacob and Mary A. The 
 youngest child is deceased. The mother died of 
 consumption, June 3, 1864, in Sterling Township. 
 Nov. 8, 1866, Mr. Frank was again married, in Ster- 
 ling, to Anna W. Shuler. She was born March 10, 
 1841, in Germany. They have four children, 
 Anna, James, Lizz'e and Samuel. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Frank are members of the German Lutheran Church. 
 
 Mr. Frank, being a representative and prominent 
 citizen of Whiteside County, and an exemplary and 
 honorable gentleman, is represented among the por- 
 traits of this ALBUM. It is given on a page just pre- 
 ceding the above sketch. 
 
 illiam H. Courtright, general farmer, liv- 
 ing on section 31, Genesee Township, was 
 born April 26, 1820, in Sandyston, Sussex 
 Co., N. J. His parents were Reuben and 
 Debora (Bedell) Courtright, of whom a full 
 sketch appears in connection with that of John 
 Courtright. Their children were : Peter, born Nov. 
 r, 1809; Phebe, Jan. n, 1812; Isaac, April 18, 
 1813; Catharine, Jan. 7, 1815; Lucinda, April 30, 
 1816; Jane, May 27, 1818; William H., April 26, 
 1820; Margaret, Feb. 6, 1822; John, Oct. 10, 1823; 
 Mary, March 18, 1827; and Deborah, March 18, 
 1827 ; and by Mr. C.'s second wife there were the 
 following : Benjamin, born July 22, 1831 ; Samuel, 
 July 13, 1833; Mary, Oct. T4, 1835; William H., 
 Nov. 21, 1837 ; Levi, Jan. 27, 1840; George, Sept. 
 14, 1843; Partial, Aug. 7, 1845; Lydia Ann, Aug. 
 22, 1848; Josephine, Oct. 20, 1850; and Aaron D., 
 /g\Vreyg- T >^ga.^ ^ A. 
 
 _ S f^^^t^* 
 
 Dec. 2, 1852. Mr. Reuben Courtright died Aug. 8, 
 1875; Mrs. Deborah Couriright, March 18, 1827; 
 and Lucinda, their daughter, died Aug. 22, 1848. 
 
 Mr. Courtright, the subject of this sketch, received 
 a limited education in the public schools, and con- 
 tinued under the parental authority until he was 21 
 years of age. After arriving at his majority he spent 
 two years in the capacity of a farm laborer. His first 
 important movement was his marriage, Dec. 22, 1842, 
 to Mary A. Trauger. She was born July 25, 1825, 
 id the township of Wallpack, Sussex Co., N. J., and 
 is a daughter of Lewis and Elizabeth (Adams) 
 Trauger, whose sister is the wife of John Courtright. 
 The items pertaining to the personal history of the 
 parents of Mrs. Courtright are to be found in con- 
 nection with the sketch already referred to. She is 
 twin sister of Mrs. John Courtright. Her sisters and 
 brothers, in order, were: Jessie, Samuel, William, 
 Geo. A.,Christenah, Elias, Mary A., Sarah A., Henry 
 and Theodore. To her and her husband n children 
 have been born, seven of whom are living. Henry 
 T. married Katherine O. Trauger, and they are resi- 
 dents of Clay Co., Iowa. S. Elizabeth married Charles 
 S. Rowley, a farmer of Plymouth Co., Iowa. William 
 R. married Sarah A. Gould. They live on a farm 
 in Hopkins Township. Delila A. is the -wife of John 
 Parish, a farmer in Tania Co., Iowa. Miles A. mar- 
 ried Minnie S. Marohn, and they are residents of 
 Lincoln, Neb., where the husband is a teacher in the 
 public schools. Anna M. married David Decker of 
 Sterling. Emma is unmarried and resides at home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Courtright passed five years in farm- 
 ing in their native county after they were married, 
 and they removed thence to Luzerne Co., Pa. They 
 were there interested in agricultural pursuits a similar 
 length of time. In 1852 the brothers William and 
 John, accompanied by their families, removed to 
 Whiteside County and purchased 160 acres of land 
 on section 32, of which they were the joint possessors 
 some years. At length the tract was divided and 
 Mr. Courtright of this sketch became the sole pro- 
 prietor of the northern moiety, and his acreage had 
 been increased by a purchase of 20 acres previous to 
 the division. Subsequently, he sold his farm on 
 section 32, and bought 177 acres on sections 31 and 
 30. At the time he took possession of his home- 
 stead it was in its primal condition, and is now under 
 excellent improvements. 
 
 Mr. Courtright is a Republican in political senti- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .*
 
 ment and has lield several township offices. He 
 and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and he has been a Class-leader more than 
 20 years. 
 
 
 
 ) 
 
 * 
 
 
 iristian G. Wolf is a general farmer and 
 stock-grower on section 17, Jordan Town- 
 ship, and was born Sept. 19, 1842, in Wur- 
 temberg, Germany. His father, Jacob Wolf, 
 was a farmer in Germany and died there in 
 1866, aged 64 years. The mother of Mr. 
 Wolf, who was Rosena Schielb before her marriage, 
 was also born and died in her native country. Her 
 death occurred in 1852. 
 
 After the loss of his mother, which took place 
 when he was 10 years of age, Mr. Wolf remained 
 under the care of his father until 1860. In that year 
 he came to the United States. He was 18 years old 
 and was accompanied hither by his brother Jacob, 
 younger than he, and now a farmer in Jordan Town- 
 ship. Soon after landing, they came to Illinois, 
 making their first stop in. the State at Sterling. Mr. 
 Wolf readily obtained employment on a farm and 
 spent some lime working by the month. He became 
 interested in the Civil War, and decided to become a 
 soldier. He enlisted Aug. 10, 1862, in Co K, 82d 
 111. Vol. Inf., Capt. Joseph Granhort. The regiment 
 was assigned to the Army of the Potomac under 
 Generals Burnside, Hooker and Meade, and was 
 attached to the corps of Sigel and Howard. Mr. 
 \Volfwasaparticipantin the disastrous day's fight 
 at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, where he sus- 
 tained a slight wound in the left leg near the foot. 
 At Gettysburg, where he was also under fire, he re- 
 ceived another gunshot wound in nearly the same 
 place. He was also in the actions at Missionary 
 Ridge, Lookout Mountain and Knoxville, Tenn., be 
 sides numerous other contests of less importance, 
 and received an honorable discharge at the close of 
 the war. His papers were dated July 6, 1865. He 
 was in the military service nearly three years. 
 
 After returning to Jordan Township, he worked 
 some time for his brother, David Wolf, and was 
 afterwards employed at various points as a general 
 laborer. He was mairied April 14, 1868, at Sugar 
 Grove, Lee Co., 111., to Mary Buehler. She was born 
 
 Njt 
 
 in Wurtemberg, Germany, Oct. 23, 1843, an d was : 9 
 years of age when she joined her parents in America, 
 they having come to the United States some time 
 previously. She has had six children, Charles, 
 Louisa, Katie, Abraham, Andrew and Anna. 
 ' Prior to his marriage, Mr. Wolf had bought 80 
 acres of land in the township where he now resides 
 and on which he settled. He has applied himself 
 vigorously to the work of improvement and has 
 placed his farm in excellent condition. It now in- 
 cludes 125 acres, and is supplied with creditable and 
 suitable buildings. 
 
 Mr. Wolf is a. Republican in political views, and is 
 in sympathy with the general and local issues of that 
 party, and has been holding an office as Commis- 
 sioner of Highways in Jordan for the last four years. 
 He and his wife are members of the Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 zekiel Olds, resident at Albany, is the fifth 
 child of Cheney and Amma (Walker) Olds, 
 of whom a full and detailed account is 
 given in connection with the sketch of Warren 
 Olds. He was born Oct. 24, 1826, in Stur- 
 bridge, Worcester Co., Mass., and was a child 
 of nearly two years when his parents removed to the 
 State of New .York. In his I2th year the memor- 
 able transit of the family to Whiteside County was 
 accomplished, the events of which made a lasting 
 impression on the remembrance of the lad, who 
 found its novelty entertaining, notwithstanding its 
 tedious length. 
 
 At the age of 18 Mr. Olds began to work with his 
 brother Warren as a carpenter and joiner, operating 
 in that avenue of business continually until 1880, 
 when< he became interested in the growing of small 
 fruits, which enterprise has since occupied his atten- 
 tion. He is engaged in the cultivation of rasp- 
 berries, strawberries, blackberries and grapes. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Olds to Sarah Pease took 
 place Dec. 29, 1852. Mrs. Olds is the daughter of 
 Henry and Mary (Warburton) Pease, of whom a 
 sketch appears on another page. She is the mother 
 of six children : Mary Elizabeth is the wife of George 
 Van Beb Ber, of Savannah, 111. ; Fanny P., Edwin 
 L., Edith H., Louisa W., and Albert H. are unmar- 
 
 Vg) 
 
 f 
 
 vl- 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ried. In 1873 Mr. Olds bought his present resi- 
 ' dence, which is pleasantly located on a bluff over- 
 looking the river. 
 
 -Ofr 
 
 form S. Weaver is a farmer on section 23, 
 Sterling Township, and is the son of John 
 ". and Anna (Suavely) Weaver, whose sketch 
 appears on another page of this volume. He 
 was born Jan. 15, 1838, in Lancaster Co., Pa., 
 and came with his parents to Whiteside County. 
 He obtained a fair common-school education, and 
 since arriving at the estate of manhood has been 
 interested in agricultural pursuits. He is the pro- 
 prietor of 80 acres of, land, which is under good im- 
 provements. 
 
 Mr. Weaver was married in Sterling, 111., Feb. 2r, 
 1864, to Mary A., daughter of Michael and Julia 
 (Grim) Delp. Her parents are natives of Pennsyl- 
 vania and came in 1851 to Whiteside County, lo- 
 cating at first in Jordan and later removing to the 
 township of Sterling. Their 10 children were named 
 Benjamin, Charles, Mahlon, Caroline, Mary A., 
 Michael, Julia, Samuel, Barbara and Martha. Mrs. 
 Weaver was born in Montgomery Co., Pa., Dec. 31, 
 1841. Their surviving children are five in number, 
 and are named Irving L., Agnes and Alice (twins) 
 Mammie and Julia A. Three are deceased Ira, 
 Elam and Franklin. 
 
 Mr. Weaver is a Republican in his political views. 
 
 a Fayette Crandall, farmer, residing on 
 section 18, Erie Township (19 north, 4 
 east), is a son of Luke and Deborah Wil- 
 bor) Crandall, and was born in the Township 
 of Collins, Erie Co., N. Y., April 9, 1822. His 
 father, a farmer, was a native of Vermont, and 
 a descendant of an old American family. His moth- 
 er, also a native of the Green Mountain State, was 
 of Irish ancestry. Both are now deceased. They 
 had eight children, three of whom are living. The 
 record of all is : Hannah married David Hunt, a 
 farmer, who came to Erie Township in the fall of 
 i 8 3S; both are now dead; Maria became the wife 
 
 s*^ o 
 
 of Moses Hubbard, and both these are also de- 
 ceased ; they were residents of Rock Island County; 
 John and Lewis D. came to Erie Township, from 
 New York, in the fall of 1835, and about 1837 built 
 the ferry in this county, two miles south of the vil- 
 lage of Erie, which bears their name "Crandall 
 Ferry;" they had farms in this township; John died 
 in Edgar County, this State; and Lewis D., being 
 elected Sheriff of this county, was a resident of Ster- 
 ling for some years ; also a merchant for several 
 years previously in Portland, this county ; he moved 
 to Central City, Col., where he died Nov. 15, 1860; 
 Lucinda also came to Erie about 1837, kept house 
 for her brothers at the ferry, and married, in that 
 township, a farmer named James Hamilton ; both 
 these are now deceased ; Fidelia, the wife of Jerome 
 Peters, is now a resident of Mercer Co., III. ; they 
 were early settlers of Fenton Township, this county, 
 married in Erie Township, and resided there a num- 
 ber of years ; the next in order was La Fayette, the 
 subject of this sketch ; Luke W. came to this coun- 
 try about. 1839, resided with his brothers at the ferry 
 for a time, but was a roamer ; when last heard from 
 he was in Oregon. 
 
 When the subject of this sketch was 13 years of 
 age the family emigrated West, locating in Lee 
 County, this State, where his father purchased a 
 farm of about zoo acres, and was also a half owner 
 of a ferry across Rock River at that point. He died 
 in that county. La Fayette came to Erie Township, 
 this county, in 1839, and resided with his brothers 
 at times until ^47, when he took possession of the 
 60 acres where he now resides, receiving it from his 
 brother Lewis's claim, and his brother John let him 
 have ten acres of timber in Erie Grove. When the 
 the land came into market Mr. Crandall bought it, 
 and has since added to it by further purchases, so 
 that he now has an aggregate of 300 acres, on sec- 
 tions 18, 13, 25 and 26. He has a nice farm. His 
 house was probably the second frame structure in 
 the township. Mr. C. has been Justice of the Peace 
 six years. 
 
 He was married in Portland Township, Feb. to, 
 1847, to Miss Lovina, daughter of John S. and 
 Rachel Rowe. She was born May 20, 1827, in 
 Steuben Co., N. Y. Of their four children, three are 
 still living; Francis M., born April 27, 1849, married 
 Helen Stephenson, Dec. 25, 1872; he is a farmer, 
 and resides in Portland Township; Ida E, born 
 

 
 ' 
 
 
 'TX 
 
 / 
 
 V" V^ H HXD H H *S ~\ v - / 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 March 6, 1853, became the wife of John J. Bessee, a 
 farmer of Erie Township, April 15, 1874, and died 
 Nov. 29, 1884; Alice A., born Nov. 12, 1857, and 
 George W., Sept 15, 1865, are still at home. 
 
 been 
 sons 
 
 uthiiis Spang, a prominent and enter- 
 prising farmer, on section n, Genesee 
 Township, was born April i, 1837, in 
 Prussia. John Spang, his father, was of 
 the same nativity, and was a stone cutter. He 
 died in 1843, at 45 years of age. He had 
 twice married, and was the father of three 
 and a daughter by his first wife: John is a 
 stone-cutter in the land of his birth ; Peter is an 
 officer in the French army, and resides at Paris, 
 France ; William is a farmer in Racine Co., Wis. ; 
 the daughter is married, and lives in Cincinnati, 
 Ohio. The senior Spang was married about two 
 years after the death of his first wife, to Lucy Mer- 
 gan, daughter of a German farmer. She had be- 
 come the mother of three children when she became 
 a widow. Anthony, her second child, is a farmer in 
 in the Province of Ontario, Canada; Margaret lives 
 in Ontario. 
 
 Mr. Spang is the oldest of the children born of the 
 second marriage. The three little ones were such in 
 veiy fact, and the mother managed to keep her little 
 flock together until her son was old enough to maintain 
 the family. He had learned the trade of molder, 
 and followed it as a business until he was 20 years 
 of age, when he became liable to the conscription. 
 To avoid being drafted into the German army, he 
 came with his mother, brother and sister, to America. 
 They landed at Quebec, and proceeded at once to 
 Toronto, where Mr. Spang obtained employment as 
 molder. He had testimonials from his employers in 
 his native land, of whom he acquired a knowledge of 
 his business and with whom he remained until he 
 left Germany. The evidence of his qualifications 
 procured him a situation, which he filled until his 
 marriage. 
 
 He entered into a matrimonial alliance with Mary 
 Morden, Jan. 8, 1865 . Mrs. Spang is the daughter of 
 Jacob and Lydia (White) Morden, and was born June 
 i, 1848. Her parents were farmers in the Province 
 
 of Ontario, and still reside in the Dominion. Their 
 family included four sons and five daughters, Mrs. 
 S. being the oldest of the latter. She was reared to 
 womanhood in her native province, and is the mother 
 of nine children, born as follows : Lucy, Oct. 25, 
 1867 ; John, Nov. 17, 1869; Anthony, Aug. 7, 1871 ; 
 Mathias, June 27, 1873; Lydia, June 7, 1876; Mary, 
 Nov. 19, 1878; Anna, March 19, 1880; Lucinda, 
 Oct. 25, 1 88 1 ; William, Sept. 27, 1883. The oldest 
 child was born in Ontario Co., Canada. 
 
 The family came in 1868 to Chicago, where they 
 remained through the winter. They were three in- 
 dividuals father, mother and an infant child. In 
 the spring ensuing they came to Whiteside County, 
 and purchased 50 acres of land in Genesee Town- 
 ship, near Coleta. This was the beginning of the 
 career of Mr. Spang as a farmer under the fostering 
 influences of a republican government. He has in- 
 creased his estate to 98 acres in extent, and made 
 creditable and valuable improvements. 
 
 Among the people of his own nationality he is in a 
 sense a leader, ever holding himself in readiness to 
 give counsel and general information as he may be 
 qualified to do, and for which he has frequent appli- 
 cations. He is a Democrat in his political views, 
 and actively interested in the progress of the party 
 in local avenues. In religious belief he is a Cath- 
 olic. His wife was brought up under the tenets of 
 the Methodist Church. The mother of Mr. Spang 
 died at her home in Ontario, Canada, aged 84 years 
 and five months. 
 
 v> 
 
 
 icholas Freek has been a resident of Al- 
 bany since 1854, when he bought an acre 
 of land, on which he built his present res- 
 idence in 1855, having previously sent money 
 l(, on to purchase 80 acres in the country. 
 He was born Feb. 9, 1820, in Selby, Yorkshire, 
 Eng., and is the son of William and Ann ( Abby) 
 Freek. His father died when he was 12 years old, 
 and on finding the burden of maintenance on him- 
 self, he engaged in a brick and tile factory, where 
 he was occupied until 1841. On reaching his ma- 
 jority, he determined to emigrate to the United 
 States. He took passage for the New World on the 
 sailing vessel, " Ohio,'' and landed in New York after 
 A ^ >J
 
 
 
 
 a passage of six weeks. He was accompa'nied on 
 his journey by his mother, three brothers, two sisters 
 and brother-in-law. The whole party proceeded to 
 the city of Rochester. Mr. Freek and one of his 
 brothers went thence to Toronto, Canada. The 
 former was the possessor of $5 in cash, but he ob- 
 tained immediate employment as foreman in a brick- 
 yard at $26 a month. In the year following, associated 
 wtth his brother James, he established himself in 
 the manufacture of brick and tile, which business 
 they pursued till 1854. In that year Mr. Freek sold 
 his claim in the business in Canada and came to 
 Albany. He engaged in the manufacture oT brick 
 at that place, at Morrison and Savanna, in Carroll 
 County. Mr. Freek is the owner of four acres in- 
 cluded in the village plat, and all in excellent tillage. 
 He was married June 6, 1846, to Mary Routledge. 
 She was born June 16, 1816, in Market Weighton, 
 Yorkshire, England. Their five children were named 
 John, Thomas, Robert W., Ann E. and William 
 Robert. John was born in Toronto March 17, 1847, 
 and died Nov. 3, 1859; Thomas, born Oct. 8, 1848, 
 is a farmer in Newton Township ; Robert W., born 
 July 6, 1852, died July 21, 15 days after birth ; Ann 
 E., born July 20, 1850, married Robert Brewer, of 
 Eau Claire, Wis ; the youngest son was born Sept. 
 10, 1854, is a practicing physician and druggist and 
 lives at Cordova, 111. Mr. and Mrs. Freek are 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at 
 Albany. 
 
 Barnes R. Deyo. harness merchant, Sterling, 
 was born in Delaware Co., N. Y., May 24, 
 1829, his parents being Garrett and Re- 
 becca (Atherton) Deyo, natives respectively of 
 France and the State of New York, who were 
 married in 1808, followed farming until 1834, 
 removed to Peoria, 111., and after two years' residence 
 there, in 1836, to Jordan Township, this county. 
 Here the senior Deyo purchased a farm of 40 acres, 
 sold a part of it and resided upon the remainder un- 
 til his death in 1857 ; Mr?. Deyo died in 1865. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, after having been 
 brought up on a farm and receiving a common-school 
 education, left home at the age of 21 and learned 
 and followed the trade of carpenter for ten years. 
 
 ; "... 
 
 
 He then purchased a farm of 80 acres in Jordan 
 Township, this county, occupied it until 1865, sold 
 it, bought a quarter-section in Ogle Co., 111., remained 
 there till 1869, and finally removed to Sterling, where 
 he owned and ran a planing-mill until 1882; he 
 then sold out and engaged in the saddlery trade on 
 the east side of Mulberry Street, where he has been 
 in successful business. 
 
 In his political principles Mr. Deyo is a Republi- 
 can, and both himself and wife belong to the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church at Sterling : he is also a 
 Freemason, and a liberal, Christian gentleman. 
 
 He was married Sept. 4, 185 1, to Elizabeth Roberts, 
 who was lx>rn Jan. 12, 1832, in the State of New 
 York. They have two children, Sarah Jane and 
 Alexander M. The first mentioned married Rodger 
 Thomas, Sept. 10, 1872, and they have five children, 
 Gary N., Henry A., James R.. Elizabeth A. and 
 Nettie M. 
 
 hristian Hammelman, one of the most 
 extensive farmers in Genesee Township, 
 has been a citizen of Whiteside County 
 since 1862. He was born Feb. 13, 1825, in 
 Brandenburg, Prussia. His parents belonged 
 to the laboring class, and he was brought up 
 according to the legal regulations of his native land, 
 which provides for the disposal of every minor male 
 child born within its borders after reaching a certain 
 age. He came to the United States in 1854, and a 
 year later came to Illinois. He was employed as a 
 general laborer about seven years, when he made 
 his first purchase of land on section 26, in Genesee 
 Township, which was all unimproved. 
 
 He formed a matrimonial alliance with Mrs. Mar- 
 garet (Reis) Opendorf. She was born April 18, 
 1825, in Baden, Germany. She came to the United 
 States in 1847 in company with Philip Opendorf, to 
 whom she was married in Philadelphia as soon as 
 they landed. He followed the business of a shoe- {, 
 maker in the City of Brotherly Love 12 years, subse- 
 quently coming to Whiteside County. They lived 
 for a time in Jordan Township, where the husband 
 died, Feb. 22, 1863, leaving five children. The eld- 
 est is named John ; Mary married Charles Smith ; 
 William married Jennie Wilkinson and lives at Ster- 
 ling ; Charles married Barbara Beck and is a farmer 

 
 i 
 
 in Genesee Township ; Sarah lives with her mother 
 and step-father. Mr. and Mrs. Hammelman have 
 two children. Frank and Edward C. 
 
 Mr. Hammelman has brought the traits that char- 
 acterize the class to which he belonged in his native 
 land, thrift, industry and economy, to bear on his 
 business as a farmer. His fields stretch out from 
 the nucleus of the original tract which he purchased 
 until they number 370 acres, including three farms 
 all under excellent cultivation, with suitable and 
 necessary buildings. Mr. Hammelman is the owner 
 of large herds of stock. He is a Democrat, and, 
 with his wife, belongs to the Evangelical Church. 
 
 , on. William C. Snyder, State Senato^ 
 representing the igth Senatorial District of 
 Illinois, which includes Whiteside and Lee 
 Counties, is one of the early settlers of 
 Whiteside County, and was a practicing physi- 
 cian at Union Grove in the early history of 
 this part of the State. 
 
 Dr. Snyder was born in Burlington Co., N. J., 
 July 29, 1821, and is the son of James and Sabilla 
 (Cowperthwait) Snyder. His father was a native of 
 New Jersey,'and descended from one of the old Hol- 
 land families of that State. His mother was born 
 in Medford, Burlington Co., N. J., and descended 
 from the well-known English family of Cowper- 
 thwait. William C. left New Jersey in April, 1845, 
 and came to Lyons, Iowa, arriving there in May of 
 that year. He entered the office of Dr. Bassett, of 
 that city, as a medical student, and pursued his 
 studies there about two years. He removed to 
 Union Grove, this county, in June, 1847, where he 
 entered upon the practice of medicine. He subse- 
 quently took a course of lectures at Rush Medical 
 College, of Chicago, and continued the practice of 
 his profession at that place till June, 1854, when he 
 removed to Fulton, 111., and engaged in business as 
 a dealer in general merchandise. He continued in 
 that line two years, when he built the large ware- 
 house at the steamboat landing, and engaged in the 
 warehouse and forwarding business, which he has 
 continued, with the exception of limited intervals, to 
 this date, covering a period of nearly 30 years. 
 
 He was elected the first Supervisor of Union 
 
 Grove Township; in 1852 he was re-elected, and 
 served in 1853. Also from 1850 to 1853 inclusive, 
 he was Postmaster at Union Crove. In 1855 he 
 was elected Supervisor of Fulton, and in 1858 was 
 appointed Drainage Commissioner of Whiteside 
 County, serving in that capacity till 1872. While 
 occupying this respDnsible position he discharged its 
 important duties with fidelity and satisfaction to all 
 concerned. He was elected Collector of the town- 
 ship of Fulton, in 1857, and re-elected in ^58-9. 
 In 1861 he was appointed Postmaster of Fulton, by 
 President Lincoln, for the term of four years, and 
 re-appointed each succeeding term till December, 
 1882, when he resigned to qualify as State Senator, 
 to which office he had been elected in the fall by 
 nearly 3,000 majority. 
 
 Dr. Snyder has always taken a warm interest in 
 matters of public importance, and has, as his record 
 shows, held many positions of honor and trust. In 
 1866 he was elected Mayor of Fulton ; but, as it 
 was found that he could not discharge the duties of 
 the office while holding an office under the United 
 States, he resigned the position. 
 
 In the spring of 1876 he bought the printing of- 
 fice of the Fulton Journal, published the paper 
 three years, and sold out to his son, J. C., and son- 
 in-law, T. J. Pickett. 
 
 He was foremost in organizing the Fulton Busi- 
 ness Association, and the Cemetery Association, and 
 has served as Secretary of both for many-years. 
 
 In politics he is an earnest Republican, and for a 
 number of years has been Chairman of the Repub- 
 lican County Committee. He was also a member of 
 the Republican State Central Committee one term. 
 
 He was married in the city of Lyons, Iowa, in 
 1849, to Miss IsypheneC. Pearce, daughter of Jona- 
 than L. and Mary E. (Gardner) Pearce. Mrs. Snyder 
 was born in Rhode Island. Her parents were na- 
 tives of the same State. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Snyder have a family of seven 
 children, four daughters and three sons : Kate C. is 
 the wife of Thomas J. Pickett, Jr., son of Senator 
 T. J. Pickett, of Illinois, and is now a resident of 
 Ashland, Neb. Martha C. is the wife of J. C. Neff, 
 Agent of the Northwestern Railway, at Rodhelle, 
 111. ; J. Clifton is the present Postmaster of Fulton, 
 111., he having succeeded his father to that office in 
 December, 1842. He married Miss Hattie L. Noble 
 
 
 i 
 
 - 
 
 *eS*fc
 
 
 502 
 
 i 
 
 <!> 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 V 
 
 in March, 1885. Annie E., J. Justin, Henry G. and 
 Lena V. are residing with their parents. He has 
 been actively and prominently identified with the 
 movements of the temperance element for many 
 years, and is an uncompromising foe to the traffic in 
 and use of intoxicants. 
 
 Dr. Snyder was made a Freemason in Fulton City 
 Lodge, No. 189, A. F. & A. M., in 1857, and has 
 served as Master many years. He is one of the 
 charter members of Fulton Chapter, No. 108, R. A. 
 M., is the present H. P., and has presided over the 
 work of the Chapter several terms. 
 
 As State Senator he served on seven prominent 
 committees, and acted in the capacity of Chairman 
 of Committee on Warehouses. He was a member of 
 the managing committee on the part of the Senate, 
 whose watchfulness and sagacity was instrumental 
 in the election of Gen. John A. Logan to the United 
 States Senate. 
 
 Dr. Snyder's portrait, which is given on another 
 page, is a copy of a photograph taken in 1884. 
 
 eorge Higley, a pioneer of Whiteside 
 County in 1837, was born in 1793, in 
 Burlington, Vt. His parents went to 
 Pennsylvania while he was yet young, and a 
 few years later they proceeded to Geauga Co., 
 Ohio. Mr. Higley bought a hotel in Union- 
 ville in that county, and a mill which was located on 
 Grand River three miles from Unionville. He sold 
 his interests in Ohio in 1834, and, accompanied by 
 his wife and children, came to Illinois, traveling 
 overland to Joliet, in Will County, where he was one 
 of the pioneers. He built and conducted the first 
 hotel at Joliet. In 1837 he visited Whiteside County, 
 making a claim on section 8 of township 20, ranged, 
 now Lyndon. He built a dwelling of the variety 
 common to the locality, and left his brother, Samuel 
 Higley, in charge while he went back to Joliet for 
 his family. He returned to his claim in the spring 
 of 1838. He occupied his log cabin one year, when 
 the structure was removed and enlarged, and served 
 as a home for some years, after which a frame house 
 was built for their accommodation. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Higley sold his farm and went to 
 Blairstown, Iowa, where he bought village property. 
 
 He died there in December, 1880. His wife's death 
 preceded his nearly ten years. Their children were 
 13 in number. Only five are living : Louisa A. is 
 the widow of James Thomas; Angeline is the wife 
 of Samuel King: they live in Blairstown, Iowa; 
 Helen is the widow of Amzi Jennings and lives in 
 Sterling. (See sketch of G. W. Jennings.) George 
 W. lives in Oregon, and Henry C. in Rhinebeck, 
 Iowa. 
 
 George and Samuel Higley were men of giant 
 stature, the latter being six feet six inches in height, 
 and the former measuring six feet four inches. 
 
 odfried Horlacher, farmer, section 13, 
 Genesee Township, was born April 10, 
 1825, in Wurtenberg, Germany. His par- 
 ents were named John and Godleaving 
 (Steinbaugh) Horlacher. His father was a 
 farmer, and he was reared at home. When 
 he was 20 years old he began to operate as a clerk 
 and porter in the hotels of his native land, which 
 employment he followed until he emigrated to the 
 United States, which he did when he was 29 years 
 of age. He first engaged in farming in Bucks Co., 
 Pa., and he remained there occupied as a farm 
 laborer between two and three years. He was also 
 married there, to Elizabeth Spies, who was born 
 Sept. 2, 1834,111 Rhein Hesse, and is the daughter 
 of Adam and Christina (Baumgartner) Spies, both of 
 whom were natives of the same province. The fam- 
 ily came to the United States when she was 18 years 
 of age. They made their first location in Bucks Co., 
 Pa., coming thence to the West, where they made a 
 settlement on a farm in Genesee Township. In 
 1882 they went to Sterling, where they are living in 
 retirement, and are aged respectively 74 and 76 
 years. Mrs. Horlacher has been the mother of 
 seven children, all of whom are living and three are 
 married. They were born in the following order: 
 Adam, Katie, Emma, Louisa, John, Frank and 
 James. 
 
 Mr. Horlacher and his wife came to Illinois seven 
 months after they were married, and the husband 
 got employment as a laborer in Sterling. He was 
 employed about two years in that method of opera- 
 tion at various points. The next year he worked a 
 

 
 i 
 
 
 
 .. 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 farm on shares, and in ihe year following, associated 
 with his father-in-law and a man named Beeler, he 
 bought 80 acres of wild land on section 13. Mr. 
 Horlacher devoted himself to the improvement of 
 his share of the acreage, and he operated on it two 
 years with the aid of an ox team. He has proved 
 his agricultural operations to a marked success, and 
 is now the owner of 320 acres of land, all of which is 
 under the plow, and he owns in addition 15 acres of 
 timber. He has a fine residence and excellent barns 
 of the best type. He is also considerably interested 
 in stock. Mr. Horlacher was formerly a Democrat, 
 but is at present independent in politics. His wife 
 and himself are members of the Mennonite Church. 
 
 Dexter N. Foster is a general farmer and 
 grower of stock on section 34, Jordan 
 Township. He was born Nov. 25, 1832, 
 in Greenfield, Hillsborough Co., N. H. His 
 father, Amos Foster, was born in the same 
 county and was the son of Isaac Foster. 
 The latter was born in Massachusetts and claimed 
 lineal descent from the Pilgrims. The earlier gener- 
 ations were Puritans, and the grandfather of Mr. 
 Foster maintained the customs and peculiar views of 
 the sect. He accumulated considerable wealth and 
 died in New Hampshire. He had eight children, 
 Amos being the fourth in succession. The latter 
 was reared to manhood in his native county and 
 married Betsy, the daughter of Joshua Pratt. Her 
 mother was a member of the Holt family, of distinc- 
 tion, and was a descendant of the celebrated Abbott 
 family, of Massachusetts. The paternal great-grand- 
 sire of Mr. Foster was the father of eight children, 
 and the grandfather of 88 members of the succeed- 
 ing generation. Amos Foster and his wife became 
 the parents of seven children. The mother died in 
 1853, aged 53 years. The father remained in 
 Greenfield until his death, which transpired in No- 
 vember, 1882, at the age of 89 years. He had been 
 a prominent member of society, and in the Church 
 and in politics. He was a Republican and a Pres- 
 byterian. But one of his children is deceased, and 
 the survivors are all married with one exception. 
 Those who survive are named Amos H., Sylvia A., 
 John E., Dexter N., Esther H., and Francis Jane. 
 
 George H. died when he was 24 years of age, in 
 Lowell, Mass. 
 
 Mr. Foster attended the common schools until he 
 was 1 8 years of age, when he became a student at 
 Francistown, then the seat of a popular academy, and 
 he remained there during the school terms of four 
 years, teaching school in the intervals. Subse- 
 quently, he obtained a position in a bobbin factory, 
 after which he taught about two years. In 1855 he 
 came to Rockford; and sTiortly after went to Ga- 
 lena, Jo Daviess County. Early in 1856, he came to 
 Whiteside County, and sought a friend who lived in 
 Jordan Township, Dr. Pennington, a nurseryman 
 and fruit-grower, with whom he remained three 
 years. Within the first year he secured 94 acres of 
 unimproved land on section 31. In 1863 he bought 
 80 acres on section 6, in Sterling Township, lying 
 nearly adjoining his real estate in Jordan Township. 
 Two years after leaving Dr. Pennington, Mr. Foster 
 was a teacher, after which he turned his attention 
 to the improvement of his land during the summer 
 seasons, teaching in the winter ensuing in District 
 No. 3, Jordan Township, and continued in that alter- 
 nate method for five years. After that period he 
 abandoned teaching, and gave his exclusive atten- 
 tion to the improvement of his land. He put it in 
 thorough and complete agricultural condition, and 
 erected suitable and creditable buildings. In the 
 spring of 1876, he sold the place and purchased 320 
 acres of land on sections 33 and 34, which had been 
 partially improved. The proprietor has completed 
 the work of converting his acreage into a valuable 
 estate, with three dwellings and all other necessary 
 farm buildings. Mr. Foster is extensively interested 
 in stock-breeding, and shows good results in grades 
 and thoroughbred. He also owns some fine Nor- 
 man draught horses. 
 
 He was united in marriage in 1859 at Sterling, to 
 Harriet, daughter of Henry Deardorff. She was 
 born March 13, 1839, in Defiance Co., Ohio. She 
 was orphaned i;i childhood by the death of both her 
 parents. She came to Whiteside County, where she 
 was married as stated, and she became the mother of 
 three children : Charles L. was born Oct. 6, 1860, 
 and died at the age of 12 years. Elmer died when 
 three months old. George died when he was about 
 six years of age. Their mother died Feb.' 3, 1867, 
 when she was 28 years of age. She was a member 
 of the Lutheran Church. Mr. Foster contracted a 
 
 .^Avs?^! 

 
 W V"V< H HX> H H -X"V ^ 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 y 
 
 second matrimonial alliance March n, 1868, at 
 Boston, Mass., with Caroline E. Dinsmoor. She was 
 born Nov. 5, 1838, in Lowell, Mass. Her mother 
 died when she was four 'years old, and she was 
 brought up by her aunt, Mrs. Elizabeth D. Pillsbury, 
 at Milford, N. H. After attending an excellent 
 graded school, she completed her education at. 
 Winding Wave Seminary at Ludlow, Mass. In the 
 spring of 1860 she came to Whiteside County and 
 engaged in teaching. She taught school at Joliet 
 and elsewhere. Five children have been born of 
 her marriage to Mr. Foster. One died in extreme 
 infancy. Fred died at the age of four months. 
 Mabel D., Bessie P., and Robert D. are the names 
 of the surviving children. 
 
 In political faith, Mr. Foster is a Republican. In 
 1861 he was elected Supervisor. He has served two 
 terms as Collector, and as Assessor the same length 
 of time. He has been Road Commissioner two 
 years, Justice of the Peace 12 years, and has acted 
 10 years as School Trustee. He is a Presbyterian in 
 religious sentiment. 
 
 Mr. Foster is a prominent member of the Patrons 
 of Husbandry. The order in the State of Illinois 
 was first established in Whiteside County, and Mr. 
 Foster was among the members of the first organiza- 
 tion ; and he has since been actively prominent in 
 the establishment of Granges in other locations. He 
 acted as Secretary of the Executive Committee of 
 the State Grange and as General Deputy of the 
 State and county. In 1874 he represented the local 
 order at the National Grange at Charleston, S. C., 
 receiving much benefit and acquiring a gratifying 
 knowledge of Southern men and affairs. 
 
 lexis Hubbard, an old and much esteemed- 
 citizen of Lyndon Township, is a pioneer 
 of Whiteside County of 1837. He is a na- 
 tive of the town of Sangerfield, Oneida Co., 
 N. Y., where he was born Jan. 12, 181 r, and is 
 the son of Abel and Siley (Andrews) Hub- 
 bard. His parents were of New England origin. In 
 1827 the family went to Monroe Co., N. Y., and af- 
 ter a residence of a few years in Sweden Township, 
 they went thence to Clarendon, Orleans Co., N. Y., 
 
 &&&& 
 
 and there the parents lived until their respective 
 deaths. The father died April 12, 1857. The 
 mother's death took place July 20, 1832. Their 
 children included six sons and three daughters. 
 
 Mr. Hubbard is the fifth child in order of birth. 
 He was brought up on his father's farm and acquired 
 his elementary education in the district school, to 
 which he added by studying two terms at Clarkson 
 Academy and one term at Games' Academy in Or- 
 leans County. At 21 he engaged in teaching in the 
 latter. In the fall of 1836 he went to Ohio and 
 spent the winter following in teaching in Wadsworth, 
 Medina County. The next spring he came to White- 
 side County. He rode as far as White Pigeon, 
 Mich., with friends, and finished the journey thence 
 to Lyndon on foot, a distance of about 250 miles. 
 He made a claim on section 18 of township 20, 
 range 5 east, as it was designated by the Govern- 
 ment survey. After a stay of two months, he went 
 back to his native State and taught school the fol- 
 lowing winter. In the spring of r838 he returned to 
 Whiteside County and began the labor of improving 
 his farm. In the winter of 1838-9 he taught the 
 first term of winter school in the first school-house 
 ever built in the county. 
 
 He was married to Olive Dusett, Sept. n, 1839, 
 who was born in Gorham, Ontario Co., N. Y., and is 
 the daughter of John and Polly (Keys) Dusett. 
 They did their first housekeeping in the log school- 
 house on section 19, and, a few weeks later, Mr. 
 Hubbard completed a log house on his own land, to 
 which they removed. That was their home 14 years, 
 and in 1853 they removed to a new frame house. 
 
 Mr. Hubbard managed his farm personally until 
 1875, when he moved to Lyndon village and has 
 since occupied his present residence. His farm is 
 still in his possession. He is the owner of 222 acres 
 of land, a part of which lies in Fenton Township. 
 The place is all under the best of cultivation, and is 
 supplied with commodious and convenient buildings 
 suited to the needs of the farm. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard are members of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and Mr. Hubbard is an official 
 of the society to which they belong. 
 
 Ephraim A. Hubbard, the brother of Mr. Hub- 
 bard, now deceased, was the first of the family to 
 locate in Whiteside County, and he was the first 
 blacksmith in Lyndon. He came to Illinois in 1836 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 ft 
 
 ' 
 
 
 @
 
 3> 
 
 * '* 
 (^ 
 
 and made a claim on section 18. He built a log 
 house, in which he lived two years, and went to Hen- 
 nepin, where he died, March 8, 1842. He was born 
 May 21, 1806, in Sangerfield, N. Y. He left a 
 widow and two children. His widow married again 
 and lives at Traer, Tama Co., Iowa. His son, 
 Alexis E., lives in Lyndon. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard of this sketch are child- 
 less. They have been instrumental in rearing sev- 
 eral children, to whom their sympathy and aid have 
 been extended. They are on the sunset side of life, 
 and are pasing their declining years in the quiet 
 enjoyment which is the recompense of well spent 
 lives. 
 
 |j; ev. Cephas Hurless, deceased, formerly 
 a farmer of Genesee Township, was born 
 in 1828 in Holmes Co., Ohio. He was 
 reared to man's estate in his native county, 
 receiving a practical education in the public 
 schools. He was married in Holmes County, 
 13, 1848, to Elizabeth, daughter of Martin 
 and Barbria Overholser. She was born April 2, 
 1830. Six years after the event of their marriage, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hurless removed to Illinois and bought 
 an unbroken tract pf prairie near Coleta, and while 
 there resident Mrs. Hurless died, the date of her de- 
 cease being Feb. 20, 1862. Two children, Adaline 
 and an infant unnamed, died before the mother. 
 Four children, three daughters and a son, survive 
 her still. They were born in the following order : 
 Sarah A., Susanna, Rebecca J., and George P. They 
 are all married. 
 
 Mr. Hurless was a second time united in marriage, 
 to Tabitha A. Winters, Oct. 2, 1862, in Carroll Co, 
 111. She was born Nov. 28, 1836, in Bedford, Wash- 
 ington Co., Ind., and is the daughter of James and 
 Susan (Gyger) Winters, of whom a biographical 
 sketch is presented in this volume. She was n 
 years of age when her parents removed to Wysox, 
 Carroll Co., 111. To Mr. and Mrs. Hurless eight 
 children were born, four of them dying in infancy: 
 James M. was born Aug. 15, 1865 ; William J., Feb. 
 17, 1868; Bell, Nov. 18, 1869; S. Leroy, March 24, 
 '875- 
 The estate upon which the family settled near 
 
 April 
 
 Coleta contained upwards of 350 acres of land, and 
 it was wholly unimproved. The proprietor took 
 measures to proceed as rapidly as possible with the 
 work of reclaiming its acres and had accomplished 
 considerable, when the duties of public life neces- 
 sitated his removal to Coleta, where he fixed his res- 
 idence in 1875. He died Nov. 14, 1884, and was 
 serving as Supervisor at the time of his decease. 
 
 Mr. Hurless was a man of superior ability, which 
 was recognized and made available from the begin- 
 ning of his citizenship in Genesee Township. He 
 served several terms in the positions of Supervisor, 
 Assessor and Justice of the Peace. He joined the 
 United Brethren Church when he was 19 years of 
 age, and continued throughout his life an earnest, 
 active and consistent Christian. He had officiated 
 as Pastor of a charge in Will and Carroll Counties 
 and afterwards filled vacancies when occasion re- 
 quired. His death was considered a public loss and 
 in an obituary notice which appeared in a local pa- 
 per, his character was most justly and appropriately 
 set forth : "As a neighbor he was accommodating ; as 
 a citizen, upright; as a husband, loving; as a father, 
 kind almost to a fault; as a Christian, exemplary; 
 as an officer, true and honest ; and as a man he was 
 worthy of the confidence of his fellow-man." His 
 loss is keenly felt by the citizens of Genesee, who 
 had learned to love him for his Christian worth and 
 noble work. In political principle he was a Demo- 
 crat, and had been a candidate for minority Repre- 
 sentative. 
 
 ilbert H. Dimmick, deceased, a former 
 resident of Mt. Pleasant Township, was 
 born June r5, 1819, in Rutland Co., Vt. 
 He was the son of Timothy and Almira 
 (Rugg) Dimmick. He was brought up on the 
 farm of his father, and educated in the com- 
 mon schools. Nov. 17, 1841, he was married to 
 Clarinda, daughter of Elijah and Clarinda (Colton) 
 Herrick. Two years later, accompanied by his wife 
 and parents, he came to Whiteside County, and 
 bought a farm of Pardon M. Dodge, which was 
 located in 1836. Mr. Dimmick had been thoroughly 
 trained in the best type of husbandry in his native 
 State, and he made practical application ot
 
 V, I-^,/JB_. 
 
 (&%3&!$* 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 (; 
 
 knowledge in the raising of cattle and high grades of 
 sheep. He was much respected for his abilities and 
 reliable character as a man, and served in several 
 official capacities involving responsibility. In polit- 
 ical faith and action he was an uncompromising 
 Republican. 
 
 Mr. Dimmick was killed by the cars, Tuesday, 
 July 29, 1873, as he was crossing the railroad track 
 half a mile east of Morrison. He was driving to a 
 harvest field after supper, accompanied by his hired 
 man, who was comparatively uninjured, being only 
 rendered senseless by the concussion of a fall. The 
 team was also unhurt. Mr. Dimmick lived but half 
 an hour, and did not recover consciousness. He 
 was one of the worthiest citizens of his township, and 
 his terrible death was the source of widespread and 
 earnest sorrow. 
 
 fhomas Hoc, a prominent agriculturist of 
 of Whiteside County, came to the township 
 of Lyndon Oct. 22, 1864, and bought an 
 improved farm, located on sections 13 and 14, 
 which was originally owned by Brainard Or- 
 ton, a pioneer of the township of 1837. Mr. 
 Roe paid $12,000 for the farm, which comprised 440 
 acres. It is pleasantly located on Rock River, and 
 is one of the most desirable estates in the county, on 
 account of situation and grade of cultivation. Mr. 
 Roe set out about six miles of hedge on the farm 
 after it became his property. In 1874 he rented the 
 place, and removed to Lyndon village. 
 
 He was born in Vermilion Township, Richland 
 Co., Ohio, March 14, 1817, and is the son of Thomas 
 D. and Elizabeth (Holmes) Roe. His father was 
 born in 1779, seven miles south of Goshen, the gov- 
 ernment seat of Orange Co., N. Y., and was of Eng- 
 lish and German extraction. His mother was a 
 native of New Jersey, and her father was a Judge in 
 her native State. They were united in marriage in 
 1802, and two years later Mr. Roe, senior, set out 
 for the West, the frontier then being in Ohio. The 
 party, consisting of father, mother and one child, 
 traveled across the intervening country in a wagon 
 drawn by a pair of horses, and they terminated their 
 
 /-N V 
 
 journey in Jefferson County, where they were pio- 
 neers. Thomas D. Roe entered the military service 
 of his country in 1812, and after the war in 1814 he 
 removed his family to Vermilion Township, in Rich- 
 land County, and was the third white settler who 
 took possession of a claim with his household. In 
 1833 they removed to Springfield, in the same 
 county, where the father died in 1857. The death 
 of the mother took place in 1874. They had nine 
 children. 
 
 Mr. Roe, 01 this sketch, is the sixth in ordor of 
 birth. At 15 he took into his own hands the respons- 
 ibility ot managing his own career. He obtained 
 employment at Sandusky City, where he worked for 
 $8 per month, chopping cord-wood and doing chores 
 on a farm nights and mornings, continuing in that 
 manner about one year, when he borrowed money 
 and purchased a span of horses, by which means he 
 was enabled to engage in draying in the city of San- 
 dusky. He conducted his business in that line until 
 1838, when he returned to Richland County. 
 
 In the month of December, in that year, lie mar- 
 ried Mrs. Concurrence (Orton) Magnor. She was 
 the daughter of Dennis Orton and the widow of Wil- 
 liam Magnor. They had seven children, four of 
 whom are now living, viz. : Olive, who is the wife 
 of George Chamberlain, of McPherson Co., Dak.; 
 Oliver, who lives in Washington Territory ; Margaret 
 J., who is the wife of Henry Wilser; and Joseph, 
 who lives in Nebraska. Mrs. Roe died Feb. 18, 
 1876. Mr. Roe was again married Dec. 23, 1876, 
 to Mrs. Clarinda L. (Herrick) Dimmick. She was 
 born July 20, 1822, in Hubbardton, Rutland Co., 
 Vt. She was married to Gilbert H. Dimmick, Nov. 
 17, 1841, and became a widow July 29, 1873. (See 
 sketch of G. H. Dimmick.) Six children were born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Dimmick, and three are yet living, 
 as follows: Fayette T. lives in Exeter, Neb.; Ida E. 
 is the wife of Thomas Dallam, of La Salle, 111. ; and 
 Scott lives in Battle Creek, Iowa. 
 
 In 1840 Mr. Roe bought 80 acres of land in his 
 native township. He pursued his purposes and 
 plans there until 1864, meeting with success through 
 the exercise of the quality of energy and common 
 sense that never fail in the farmer's case to yield 
 their sure reward. He was enabled to add to his 
 estate until he was the owner of 210 acres. He 
 sold his land in 1864, at $60 per acre, and within 
 -A ^~\ ^n,

 
 -: .. .- 
 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 x the year found himself located, as stated, in Lyndon 
 2 Township. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Roe are still in vigorous health, and 
 ; are living in the quiet enjoyment to which they have 
 
 a clear title through their lives of well-directed en- 
 
 ergy and purpose. 
 
 artin Baer (spelled also Bare), is one of 
 f IpSaSSjt the leading farmers of Whiteside County, 
 8 fllllt owning a large and valuable farm on sec- 
 i jW"- tion 26, Jordan Township, was born Nov. 7, 
 1824, in Manor Township, Lancaster Co., Pa. 
 His father, Martin Baer, was born in the same 
 county and was of Swiss lineage. The latter was a 
 farmer and a man of unblemished rectitude of char- 
 acter, holding an honorable position in the German 
 ) Reformed Mennonite Church. He died in Lancas- 
 -, ter County, in October, 1875, aged 86 years and six 
 months. Elizabeth Harnish was the name of the 
 =i mother of Mr. Baer of this sketch, before her mar- 
 riage. She was of German origin and was born in 
 a Lancaster County. Her father was a prominent and 
 v wealthy farmer in Lancaster County. She died in 
 June, 1880, in the city of Lancaster, and was upwards 
 of 83 years of age. 
 
 Mr. Baer is the oldest of seven children. David, 
 his brother, next younger, is deceased. Esther, 
 Lydia, Susanna, Francis and Franklin are named in 
 the order of their birth. Mr. Baer is the only one 
 who has left his native State. He attended school 
 till he was 18 years old, and also assisted on the 
 homestead farm. After the age named he devoted 
 > his attention exclusively to the business of a farmer 
 , until he was 26 years of age. 
 
 He was married Dec. 17, 1850, in Lancaster City,' 
 Pa., to Mary Herr, daughter of Henry and Catherine 
 Herr. Her parents lived and died in their native 
 county of Lancaster, where they were prominent 
 farmers. Her father died Dec. 20, 1884, being 
 ' nearly 84 years of age. The mother was 59 years 
 old when she died, in February, 1863. Mrs. Baer 
 was born July 13, 1825, in Manor Township, Lan- 
 . ^ caster Co., Pa., and is the oldest child of her parents. 
 & She resided at home until her marriage, and received 
 D a good education in both German and English. The 
 - seven children of which she is the mother were born 
 
 
 
 as follows: Henry was born Oct. 2, 1857, and re- 
 sides in Ogle County, on a farm. Jonas was born 
 Jan. 1 6, 1853. His personal record is given on an- 
 other page. Elizabeth was born Jan. i, 1854, and 
 married John P. Hoy, a farmer in Jordan Township 
 (see sketch). Ezra, born Aug. 19, 1859, is engaged 
 in farming and bee culture in the township of Pal- 
 myra, Lee Co., 111. Abraham, born March 19, 1861, 
 lives on a farm in Hopkins Township. Catherine 
 was born Aug. 13, 1863; Franklin, Aug. 15, 1866. 
 
 Subsequent to his marriage Mr. Baer conducted 
 the affairs of his father s farm six years. In April, 
 1857, he came to Illinois, going at first to McDonough 
 County. In August following, the family came to 
 Whiteside County, to the city of Sterling. In the 
 same year the father purchased 1 60 acres of land in 
 Jordan Township, to which he removed his family in 
 March of the following year (rSsS). The place has 
 been improved until it ranks with the best farms in 
 the county, and is supplied with a good and com- 
 modious residence, excellent farm buildings and 
 stock. Mr. Baer is justly estimated as a skillful and 
 judicious farmer. He is an adherent of the Repub- 
 lican party, and has served as Township Clerk and 
 in several other official positions of less importance. 
 The entire family has strong predilections for books, 
 and are accordingly well read and intelligent. Mrs. 
 Baer is a member of the Reformed Mennonite 
 Church. 
 
 Accompanying the foregoing sketch, nothing could 
 be more appropriate than a portrait of the subject, 
 which is given on the opposite page. 
 
 Liram C. Ulmer, hardware merchant at 
 Coleta, is also a dealer in agricultural im- 
 plements and harness. He was born Nov- 
 24, 1839, in Lancaster Co., Pa., where his 
 father, Abraham Ulmer, was a farmer. The 
 latter was descended from German ancestors 
 and he married a lady named McCoy. She was 
 born in Lancaster County, of Irish parents. They 
 are both living in Genesee Township, and are aged 
 respectively 82 and 81 years. 
 
 Mr. Ulmer is the oldest with one exception of 
 four sons and four daughters. He has a sister and 
 a brother still living. Abraham lives in Columbia, 
 Ohio. Elizabeth resides in Whiteside County. When 
 
 $nii$^ ^3^ 
 
 I 

 
 WHITES IDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 /N 
 
 
 he was 18 the parents of Mr. (Jlmer removed to 
 Columbia Co., Ohio. He was married Feb. 9, 1862, 
 in Lawrence Co., Pa., to Sarepta A., daughter of 
 James and Martha (Gibson) Harrah. Her father 
 was a native of Pennsylvania, the former being of 
 English descent and the latter of Scotch extraction. 
 The father died in Coleta in May, 1878 ; the decease 
 of the mother took place in Ohio in March, 1869. 
 Mrs. Ulmer was born June 25, 1842, in Columbia 
 Co., Ohio, where she was reared and married. To 
 her and her husband, six children have been born, in 
 the following order: William L., Oct. 27, 1863; 
 Francis S., Oct. 6, 1865; Charles A., Sept. 13, 1869; 
 N. May, Nov. 24, 1875; James H., May 15,1878; 
 Harry D., March 4, 1881. 
 
 Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Ulmer 
 located on a farm of 80 acres on section 15, Genesee 
 Township. The place was under some improve- 
 ments at the time it became their property, and it is 
 now in excellent condition, created of the best qual- 
 ity of effort and judgment in its management. The 
 homestead farm now contains 130 acres and is sup- 
 plied with first-class farm buildings. In March, 
 1885, he moved from his farm to Coleta, where he 
 owns three acres of land with a good residence, and 
 he has another in process of erection. He estab- 
 lished his business as a merchant in October, 1884, 
 investing $3,000 in stock, which is at present largely 
 increased. Mr. and Mrs. Ulmer are active members 
 of the M. E. Church, and the former is Steward and 
 Class-leader in the society. He is a decided and 
 prominent Republican and has held the offices of 
 Collector and Assessor of Genesee Township. 
 
 U illiam Mathew, general farmer, resident 
 |L on section 2, Ustick Township, was born 
 July 9, 1826, in Scotland, which was also 
 the native country of his parents, William 
 and Jannet (Wiley) Mathew. He emi- 
 grated to the United States with his wife and 
 surviving children in 1870. He at once fixed his res- 
 idence in Whiteside County, where he has since lived. 
 In 1882 he bought the farm on which he has since 
 resided, and pursued his agricultural projects. It 
 comprises 200 acres and is under good cultivation. 
 Mr. Mathew is a Republican in political principles. 
 
 He was married in 1847 in Scotland to Jane Skin- 
 ner, and they have had seven children : Thomas, 
 Margaret, Jessie and James are deceased. Those 
 who are yet alive are named William, James S. and 
 David. Mr. and Mrs. Mathew are members of the 
 Presbyterian Church. 
 
 suph Deming, deceased, formerly a farmer 
 on section 12, Lyndon Township, was born 
 July 24, 1819, in Steuben Co., N. Y. In 
 the fall of 1838, he accompanied his father, 
 Charles S. Deming, to Whiteside County, and 
 the family settled in the township of Lyndon. 
 
 Mr. Deming made a claim of land on section 12, 
 on which he built a house and entered upon the im- 
 provement of his 'property. He was married Oct. 27, 
 1842, to Harriet B., daughter of Jireh and Betsey 
 (Wickey) Barlow. Mr. Deming was energetically 
 interested in the improvement of his estate and in the 
 prosecution of his agricultural affairs until the nation 
 was startled by the advent of civil war, and he took 
 an earnest interest in the progress of events until 
 August, 1862, when he enlisted in Co. B, 75111 111. 
 Vol. Inf., and was mustered into service as a Cor- 
 poral. He died at Murfreesboro, Tenn., June 20, 
 1863. At home he had left his wife and five chil- 
 dren. Before the expiration of the year three chil- 
 dren were dead, leaving the mother with one son 
 William Henry, who is living with her on the home- 
 stead. They are both members of the Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 Ann Eliza, only surviving daughter, who was mar- 
 ried in 1869 to Joseph D. Johnson, lives in Flushing, 
 Michigan. 
 
 Jireh Barlow, the father of Mrs. Deming, was a 
 pioneer of Whiteside County. He was born in 
 Massachusetts, but went in young manhood to Pitts- 
 ford, Vt. He was there married to Betsey Wicker, 
 who was also born in Massachusetts. Mr. Barlow 
 was a clothier by profession, and after his marriage 
 he built a factory at Pittsford and engaged in the 
 manufacture of woolen cloth. He also erected a 
 linseed-oil mill, and a flour and saw mill on the 
 same mountain stream. That part of the town is 
 called "Pittsford Mills " to this day, and has its own 
 local postoffice, taking its name from the business 
 
 $ *$&* 

 
 ^V^-: M M t(y M M if "Y^ 
 
 WHITES IDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 enterprises of Mr. Barlow. About 1827 the woolen 
 mill was burned, entailing a loss of about $8,000. 
 The proprietor rebuilt the establishment and con- 
 tinued its management a few years. About 1838 his 
 business became involved through the general shrink- 
 age of values in the crisis of the year before, and, as 
 his wife had fallen into ill health, he went to In- 
 diana, locating in Wabash County. In June of that 
 year he set out on horseback for Illinois to seek a 
 satisfactory location for a home. He was pleased 
 with the outlook of Whiteside County and returned 
 to Indiana for his family. In the winter of 1839-40 
 he came back, bringing with him a load of household 
 fixtures, and rented a farm, which is now included in 
 the city of Morrison. His wife was ill at the time 
 and remained with her children who were living in 
 Vermont. 
 
 In 1841 Mr. Barlow made a claim east of the 
 present site of Morrison, to which he removed. In 
 1848 he went to Indiana on a business errand, and 
 died there at 74 years of age. 
 
 Mr. Barlow was a man of more than ordinary 
 ability. While in Vermont he represented Pittsford 
 in the General Assembly for two sessions. He and 
 his wife were members of the Congregational Church. 
 
 G. Preston, liveryman at Morrison, was 
 born at Middleburg, Schoharie Co., N. 
 Y., March 4, 1826. Reuben Preston, his 
 father, was a native of Connecticut and was 
 a blacksmith by vocation. Polly (Wilder) Pres- 
 ton, the mother, was born in the same State. 
 They were the parents of 1 1 children, and five are 
 now living. Katherine is the wife of Christopher 
 Poland, a. farmer in Otsego Co., N. Y. Mr. Preston 
 of this sketch is the second child now Hving. Joseph 
 is a blacksmith in Otsego County. Lucy married 
 John Plainer, of Cherry Valley, in that county. 
 Susan is the wife of Dr. Irish, of Otsego County. 
 
 Mr. Preston learned the business of working in 
 wood in a carriage factory, and while a resident of his 
 native State pursued that vocation. He was mar- 
 ried in his native place, Oct. 26, 1853, to Abbie 
 Gridley, who was born there in April, 1830. Four 
 children were born to them : Libbie M. married 
 
 Robert Nowlen, of Morrison; De Wilt C., Raymond 
 M. and Elliott M. are the names of the three 
 youngest. 
 
 In April, 1865, Mr. Preston transferred his family 
 and interests to Morrison, and became engaged in 
 buying and selling stock, in which he was occupied 
 about three years. In 1868, associated with his broth- 
 ers-in-law, John E. and William Duffin, he embarked 
 in the livery business. About a year later this rela- 
 tion terminated by the sale of the interest of John 
 Duffin to his two partners, and the new firm trans- 
 acted business together about two years. In 1871 
 Mr. Preston assumed entire charge of the business, 
 which he has continued to manage successfully. He 
 keeps about 20 horses, and his livery is suitably 
 equipped to suit the demands of his patronage. He 
 also conducts a feed and sale stable. 
 
 Herbert E. Brown, general farmer, Tampico 
 Township, was born in that township, Oct. 
 6, 1859, was reared on the farm, and edu- 
 cated at the public schools and at Sterling 
 Business College. He spent one season, dur- 
 ing the year 1882, in the employment of the 
 Weed Sewing-Machine Company, of Chicago, as 
 their correspondent and book-keeper. He has since 
 been engaged in general farming, and is still residing 
 with his father and unmarried. 
 
 homas C. Gould, a pioneer of Whiteside 
 County of 1837, was born in Warwick, 
 Franklin Co., Mass., Oct. 29, 1803. His 
 falher was a blacksmith by trade, and the son 
 obtained of him a general knowledge of that 
 business, arid later served a two-years appren- 
 ticeship in Orange Co., N. Y. He afterwards spent 
 a few months in the South, and returned thence to 
 Middlesex County. He established his business in 
 Lexington, and was there married Nov. 8, 1832, to 
 Sarah Locke. She was born April 29, 1811, in 
 Lexington. 
 
 In 1837 Mr. Gould came to Illinois, and after a 
 few months spent on the Illinois River he came to 
 
 J\ s~\
 
 
 $, 
 
 512 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Lyndon and started a blacksmith's shop on the farm 
 of Deacon A. R. Hamilton. He went back to Mas- 
 sachusetts for his family in 1841, and on returning to 
 Whiteside County he opened a shop in the village of 
 Lyndon. He had entered a claim of land on section 
 3, and soon after establishing his business at Lyndon 
 was compelled by failing health to retire to his farm 
 and engage in agricultural pursuits, to which he de- 
 voted his attention until his death, Dec. 26, 1876. 
 Four children were born to him and Mrs. Gould, of 
 whom three are now living: Thomas C. was born 
 Oct. 5, 1835, in Lexington, Mass.; he married 
 Martha I. Pierce, Oct. 14, 1873; she was born in 
 Kentucky. Sarah is the wife, of J. W. Hazard (see 
 sketch), and Lucy married Henry E. Helms. 
 
 K4W 
 
 Carlos L. Ware, general farmer, section 14, 
 Fulton Township, is the son of Leonard 
 and Nancy A. (Thomas) Ware. They were 
 born in the State of Vermont, where the 
 father yet lives. The mother died there 
 April 3, 1882. Following are the names of their five 
 children : Harriet, Emily, Carlos L., William W., 
 Julia A. 
 
 Mr. Ware, of this sketch, was born May 5, 1832, 
 in Pomfret, Windsor Co., Vt. After obtaining his 
 elementary education in the common schools, he 
 attended Thetford Academy, where he completed 
 his education. He remained in Vermont until the 
 fall of 1852, when he came to Illinois. He spent 
 a winter in teaching in Du Page County. In the 
 spring of 1854 he came to Whiteside County, where 
 he has been a resident most of the time since. He 
 was engaged to some extent in rafting on the Missis- 
 sippi River. He came to Fulton for the purpose of 
 working on the Mississippi & Rock River Railroad, 
 on which he was employed one year. He is now one 
 of the most extensive land owners of the county, and, 
 associated with his son, is the proprietor of 400 
 acres of land. 
 
 He was married Jan. 13, 1858, in Fulton, 111., to 
 Mary Johnson, and they are the parents of four 
 children, of whom one, Julia, died in infancy: 
 James, Jessie and Georgie still survive. Mr. Ware 
 is a Republican in political pursuasion. He has 
 
 ^3^ Ci - a <M: 
 
 
 been Street Commissioner at Fulton, and has held 
 other offices. He belongs to the Order of Masons, 
 and is a member of the Presbyterian Church, to 
 which his wife also belongs. 
 
 Daniel Richmond, farmer, section 5. Lyn- 
 B| ? don Township, is a pioneer of Whiteside 
 County, of 1844. He was born Feb. 24, 
 1814, in Virgil, Cortland Co., N. Y., and is 
 the son of Thomas Richmond. His father was 
 born in New Jersey, and was an early settler in 
 Cortland County. He married Sallie Osborn, who 
 was a native of the State of New York. The par- 
 ents moved to Tompkins Co., N. Y., in 1821. After 
 a residence there of 10 years, they settled in Tioga 
 Co., Pa., where the father made a contract for a tract 
 of timber in Rutland Township. He built a log 
 house, which he covered with elm bark and floored 
 with puncheons. He lived on the place during the 
 remainder of his life, and his wife also died there. 
 
 Until he became a family man himself Daniel 
 Richmond lived with his parents. He was married 
 Jan. n, 1835, to Mahala Reynolds. She was born 
 May 3, 1817, in Sullivan, Tioga Co., Pa. After 
 their marriage they became the managers of the 
 homestead. In 1844 Mr. Richmond, accompanied 
 by his family, set out for an overland journey to Illi- 
 nois. They reached Lyndon Township, July 16, 
 after a month of travel, and the father made a claim 
 on section 5. The family were received under the 
 hospitable roof of Lyman J. Reynolds, a brother-in- 
 law of Mr. Richmond, where they lived until the fall 
 of 1845, when they took possession of a " dug-out," 
 which served for a shelter until the following fall. 
 It was covered with hay, and proved a comfortable 
 home through the winter, when the prairie wind 
 seemed too severe for safety. (This is the first 
 domicile of a house of this character recorded in this 
 volume.) In the fall of 1846 Mr. Richmond started 
 to build a frame house, but was unable to finish it 
 before the winter came on, and the family passed 
 that season in its cellar. By the fall of 1847 it was 
 enclosed, and in suitable condition for occupation. 
 In 1845 Mr. Richmond broke 10 acres of prairie, 
 which was the first improvement made on the farm. 
 This is still in his possession. It is now in pro- 
 gressive agricultural condition. 
 
 :ntif>A^ ^^ -"r -x- 
 

 
 ' 
 
 .. - 
 
 - .. - 
 
 v 
 
 
 so 
 
 C3 
 
 S 
 
 > 
 
 ) 
 
 
 I 
 ? 
 
 COUNTY. 
 
 The first wife of Mr. Richmond died Nov. 29, 
 1860. She had borne nine children, and six of them 
 are still living : Draper lives in Lyndon ; Mary is the 
 wife of Henry Aldrich, of Henry Co., 111. ; Samantha 
 married M. M. Aldrich, and lives in the same 
 county; Hannah is the wife of Joseph Hicks, of 
 Troy, N. Y. ; Phebe is Mrs. Henry Potter, of Har- 
 lan, Iowa; Perry J. is a farmer in Lincoln, Neb. 
 Mr. Richmond was married after the death of his 
 first wife to Jane Randall. Their marriage took 
 place June 24, 1861. She was born in Canada, Jan. 
 3, 1837, and died Sept. 4, 1872. She had one child, 
 Walter, who is now deceased. In October, 1873, 
 Mr. Richmond contracted marriage, a third time, 
 with Fannie M. Barber. She was born May 22, 
 1854, in Alabama. Wyllie and Nellie are the chil- 
 dren of the last marriage. 
 
 Mr. Richmond is a man of excellent abilities, and 
 is remarkably well preserved. He takes a lively in- 
 terest in current affairs, and is well informed. 
 
 ichard Arey, retired farmer, residing at 
 Rock Falls, was born at Cape Cod, Well- 
 ^ fleet, Mass., Aug. 13, 1809. His parents, 
 Reuben and Sally (Brown) Arey, were also 
 natives of the Bay State. His father was a 
 tanner by occupation. He made his home 
 with his father until 24 years of age, receiving a 
 common-school education, occasionally going to sea. 
 He spent two years in Boston with B. & L. on Com- 
 mercial Street, in the wholesale and retail of West 
 India goods. Next, building a wharf in South Well- 
 fleet, he engaged in the business of mackerel-packing 
 and furnishing fishermen with their outfits, for ten 
 years. Selling this position, in 1844, he came to 
 Rapid City, on Rock River and purchased a farm 
 comprising a quarter-section, one-half of which is 
 now in town lots in the village of Rock Falls. He 
 commenced business here in the- line of sheep-raising, 
 but the disease called "foot-rot" prevailed so exten- 
 sively among his stock that he was compelled to 
 abandon it. He followed agricultural pursuits on his 
 first purchase of land until 1872, since which time he 
 has been enjoying a retired life, still occupying the 
 dwelling he purchased in 1844, and the only resident 
 remaining of all that were here when he came. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Arey is a Republican, 
 and, with his wife, belongs to the Congregational 
 Church. He was the first Supervisor elected from 
 Coloma and the first Justice of the Peace in Rapid 
 City, later called Coloma. He has also held various 
 other offices. He has for a long time been a leading 
 and influential citizen. 
 
 For his first wife, Mr. Arey married Martha Davis, 
 daughter of Rev. T. Davis, of Massachusetts, in 
 1832, and they had ten children, seven of whom are 
 still living, John D., James C., Kathren D., Rich- 
 ard, Mary, Ezra W. and Martha. Mrs. Arey died in 
 1852, a great loss to the family and to the com- 
 munity. In i86r Mr. Arey married Lydia A. King, 
 a native of Vermont, a most excellent and highly 
 esteemed lady, a loving wife and a priceless mother- 
 in-law. 
 
 ra. Emma Randolph, corner of -Third 
 and A Streets, Sterling, is a daughter of 
 Abiah and Polly Redfield ; came to Illi- 
 nois in 1855; married Edgar F. Randolph 
 in 1860, who died Nov. 3, 1877, after a resi- 
 dence in Sterling, this county, of twenty-two 
 
 *- 
 
 years. 
 
 eorge W. Fitch, farmer and business 
 man of Whiteside County, has been a res- 
 ident of Lyndon Township since 1837, 
 when he accompanied his parents hither. 
 Erastus Fitch, his father, was born in Massa- 
 chusetts, where he grew up and received a 
 good education. He began the career of a teacher 
 in his native State, and afterwards taught school in 
 New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Penn- 
 sylvania. He was married in the latter State to Har- 
 riet (Beecher) Wells, the widow of Cyrus Wells, and 
 located in Pike, Bradford County, where he engaged 
 in farming, spending alternate winter seasons in 
 teaching. He removed with his family to Ohio in 
 1830, and obtained employment as a teacher in 
 Shalersville, Portage County, where he was occupied 
 in that calling four years. In 1834 he bought a 
 farm in the township of Edinburg, on which he op- 
 erated until 1836, the year in which he came to.
 
 - .. ^ 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 Whiteside County. He reached Chicago via the 
 lake route, and walked from that city to his destina- 
 tion. He made a claim on section 30, Lyndon 
 Township, and soon afterward built a log house, sit- 
 uated on the " bluff." He placed a few acres under 
 improvement during the summer, and in the fall 
 went to Ohio for his family. He left the Buckeye 
 State April 28 and journeyed by way of the Ohio 
 and Mississippi Rivers. The household occupied 
 the primitive log house about nine years, and after 
 that they were included in the family of their son, 
 George W., under whose supervision they remained 
 until the close of their lives. The father's demise 
 took place Feb. n, 1875 ; that of the mother June 6, 
 1877. They were aged respectively 86 and 89 years. 
 Four of their five children survive : R. Dudley is a 
 resident of Lyndon; George W. is next in order of 
 birth ; Lois, widow of P. Daggett, lives in Lyndon ; 
 Chauncey E. resides at Sterling; and one child died 
 in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Fitch, of this sketch, was born Feb. 21, 1822, 
 in Pike, Bradford Co., Pa. He was 15 years old 
 when he came to Illinois, and soon after became a 
 member of the household of his uncle, W. D. Dud- 
 ley, a pioneer settler of Lyndon Township of 1835, 
 and lived with him until his minority was passed. 
 Meanwhile he had secured a claim of 80 acres on 
 section 9 of the same township, in which he began 
 his labor as a developer of the agricultural resources 
 of his county, and of which he took possession 
 when he was married. His industry, frugality and 
 energy met with success, and at the time 'he sold his 
 estate in 1881 he was the owner of 320 acres of 
 land. 
 
 In 1857 Mr. Fitch engaged in buying cattle for 
 shipment to the cities of Boston, New York and 
 Chicago, in which line of business he operated ex- 
 tensively for more than a score of years. At the 
 same time he pushed his agricultural interests, and 
 trafficked somewhat largely in the purchase and sale 
 of land. At one period he held nearly 2,000 acres. 
 He was one of the founders and original stockhold- 
 ers of the Lyndon Hydraulic Manufacturing Com- 
 pany, and served as its President. 
 
 Feb. 4, 1845, Mr. Fitch was united in marriage to 
 Ellen D., daughter of Daniel F. and Aurelia S. 
 (Pease) Millikan, and they had eight children: 
 Frank E., Emily A. (Mrs. J. N. Pollard, of Fair- 
 
 mount, Neb.), Flora A. (Mrs. C. H. Abernethy, of 
 the same place), and Nellie A. are the only survivors. 
 The youngest daughter is a teacher near Fairmount, 
 Neb. Mr. and Mrs. Fitch are members of the Con- 
 gregational Church. 
 
 S. Bushman, retired farmer, resident 
 at Coleta, was born Sept. 22, 1822, in 
 Cayuga Co., N. Y. David and Eve(Spang- 
 ler) Bushman, his parents, were born respect- 
 ively in New York and Pennsylvania, and 
 were descendants of the class known to history 
 as " Pennsylvania Dutch," which has furnished 
 some of the best citizens of the Republic. They 
 were married in Cayuga Co., N. Y., and in 1845 
 came to Illinois, locating in Wysox Township, Car- 
 roll County, where the mother is still living and is 84 
 years old. The father died there Nov. 5, 1882, aged 
 82 years. They were the parents of six children, 
 four of whom were born previous to the removal of 
 the family to Illinois. 
 
 Mr. Bushman was nearly 21 years of age when he 
 came with his parents to Illinois, and he was pre- 
 ceded in birth by one sister. The home farm in 
 Carroll County at the time of purchase, consisted of 
 80 acres and by later purchase 80 acres more were 
 added. The son was educated chiefly in the town- 
 ship of Victory, in the county in which he was born, 
 and he remained a member of the family of his fa- 
 ther until he was married. That event occurred 
 March 18, 1846, in Wysox Township, when Lavinia 
 Burghduff became his wife. Her parents, Jacob 
 and Tama Burghduff, were formerly residents ot 
 Wayne Co., N. Y., and the former died in Michigan. 
 The latter died in the State of New York. Mrs. 
 Bushman was born Jan. -3, 1838, in Wayne Co., N. 
 Y., where she was educated. She died Feb. 3, 1873, 
 at her home on section n, Genesee Township, and 
 left six children. The deaths of three children pre- 
 ceded her own. Charles H. married Susannah Mull, 
 and they reside on a farm in Genesee Township. 
 Joseph S. married Rebecca Hurless. They live on 
 the homestead of Mr. Bushman. Colonel married 
 Ella Scoville, and is a farmer of Genesee Township. 
 Harlem married Lucinda Morden and they live on a 
 farm at Davis Junction, in Ogle Co., 111. He is a 
 
 1
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ,LUNOK>
 
 @)$^ 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 M 
 
 dealer in agricultural implements. Nelson married 
 Carrie Hendricks, and is a grocer at Davis Junction. 
 Sarah resides at home. 
 
 Mr. Bushman was married a second time Feb. 9, 
 1876, at Coleta, to Mrs. Rachel Dull, daughter of 
 Martin and Barbara (Arford) Overholser. She was 
 born in Ohio of German parentage. Her father and 
 mother removed some years since to Coleta, and are 
 aged respectively 76 and 74 years. She was. born 
 March 14, 1848, in Tuscarawas Co., Ohio. When 
 she was 16 years of age she accompanied her parents 
 to Whiteside Co., 111. Her first marriage, to Peter 
 Dull, occurred Nov. 12, 1856, and they had five 
 children. One of them, Anna M., is living, and she 
 is the wife of Martin Overholser. 
 
 After his first marriage, Mr. Bushman located on 
 a farm in Wysox Township, Carroll County. It 
 contained 160 acres, and he was its proprietor until 
 1856, when he bought 182 acres of land in Genesee 
 Township, and on which he was many years resident. 
 In April, 1872, the family came to the village of Co- 
 leta, and Mr. Bushman bought two acres of land on 
 which he has built a residence. He is the owner of 
 the farm property last mentioned and n acres of 
 timber. The former is all under improvements, and 
 supplied with creditable farm buildings. Mr. Bush- 
 man is a reliable Republican, and has held the local 
 offices of the township. He and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the United Brethren Church. 
 
 Scott, whose portrait is given on the 
 opposite page, is a representative and 
 prosperous farmer on section 18, Mont- 
 morency Township. He was born in Morgan 
 Co., Ohio, Jan. 7, 1828, and brought up a 
 farmer by his parents, Barney and Clarissa 
 (Davis) Scott. His father also was a native of Ohio, 
 and his mother rf the State of Maine; and they had 
 nine children, Alvin F., Hannah, Edwin (the sub- 
 ject of this sketch), Freeman, Merrill, Alfred, Jesse, 
 Bernard and Addison. Their parents died, in Ohio. 
 Mr. Scott remained at the parental home until 23 
 years of age, attending school and following agricul- 
 tural pursuits. In 1850 he struck out into the clash- 
 ing world for himself, going first to New Orleans, 
 where, however, he remained but a short time. 
 
 ' /***> A. 
 
 While there, on the eighth day of January, he saw 
 ice, which was frozen there by the low temperature 
 of the atmosphere, a rare occurrence in that latitude. 
 He came to this county in 1851, first settling in Hop- 
 kins Township, at Como, where he was a resident 
 two years. He then removed to Montmorency Town- 
 ship, where he purchased 40 acres on section 18, his 
 present residence. This place has been his home 
 ever since he first located upon it, with the exception 
 of three years, which he spent in Rock Falls. He 
 built a hewed-log house on his 40 acres in 1854, and 
 moved into it, it being the first house south of the 
 old Dixon road, or the " Lone Tree." Looking from 
 his door south, east, or west, as far as the eye could 
 see, there was nothing in sight but the vast prairie 
 or the tops of the trees of- the Green River timber. 
 He dug a well, which was the crystal fountain for 
 many, since the travel from New Bedford and vi- 
 cinity passed his door. In 1858, seven families 
 took all the water they used from this well. The set- 
 tlers as they came found board and lodging with him 
 while they built houses for themselves. Many a 
 weary traveler has rejoiced to find fhis cabin, some- 
 times nearly frozen, sometimes lost in the darkness, 
 and was made welcome to the comforts of the little 
 home. Mr. Scott now owns 200 acres, all sub- 
 dued to cultivation and in good agricultural condi- 
 tion. Mr. Scott has exhibited a high degree of 
 industry and good judgment, and by honorable deal- 
 ing and economy he has succeeded in establishing a 
 comfortable home. Officially, he has been honored 
 by his fellow citizens with the public positions of 
 School Director, Overseer of Highways, etc. In re- 
 spect to national issues he indorses the principles of 
 the Republican party. 
 
 March 4, 185 i, is the date of Mr. Scott's marriage, 
 in Como, Hopkins Township, to Miss E. Mary, 
 daughter of Jesse and Anna (Sherman) Scott. Her 
 parents, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and 
 Ohio, came from the latter named State to this county 
 in 1839, settling in Como, where they passed the re- 
 mainder of their days. They had 13 children, 
 namely : Asa, Jane, Josiah, David, Hiram, Adrial, 
 Joel, John, E. Mary (Mrs. Scott), Maria E., Caroline 
 A., Annis and Emeline. Mrs. Scott was born in 
 Morgan Co., Ohio, June 4, 1829, and has seven chil- 
 dren, namely: Clifton, Charles Ennis, Herschel, 
 Fred L., Eva, Albert E. and Jessie. Mr. Scott's 
 second son, Charles Ennis, married Miss Chattie 

 
 *& 
 
 SK 
 
 i ) 
 
 White, of Morgan Co., Ohio, in 1876, he having 
 formed her acquaintance while coming home from 
 the Centennial. In i88i,his eldest son, Clifton, mar- 
 ried Miss Elizabeth Albertson, of Orange Co. Ind., 
 he being at that time Principal of the Orleans High 
 School. In 1885, his third son, Herschel, who had 
 just returned from two years of travel, married Miss 
 Annie May, of this county, and is residing with his 
 parents at the present time. 
 
 
 c> 
 
 1 
 S 
 
 avid Hazard, a pioneer of Whiteside Coun- 
 ty of 1837, was born March 9, 1804, in 
 Chenango Co., N. Y. In his young man- 
 hood he went to Pennsylvania and after a 
 short stay returned to his native State and was 
 married Feb. 14, 1827, to Altheda C. Wolcott. 
 After their marriage they settled in Tioga Co., Pa., 
 where the wife died, in January, 1834, leaving four 
 young children. Mr. Hazard was again married in 
 September of the same year, to Lenora Reynolds, a 
 native of Tioga Co., Pa., where she was born March 
 31, 1812. Mr. Hazard had acquired a knowledge of 
 the trade of a carpenter in the State where he was 
 born, and he was employed in that avenue of labor 
 in Pennsylvania until his removal to Whiteside 
 County. He transferred his family and household 
 belongings to Illinois by means of a span of horses 
 and a covered wagon, and traveled 30 days before 
 reaching his destination. He located on the present 
 site of Lyndon village. One of his first "jobs " was 
 as an assistant in building the mill race at Lyndon. 
 In the fall of 1838 he took up his residence on the 
 claim of his brother, vv here he lived until 1840. In 
 that year he located a claim on the northwest quarter 
 of section 10, and secured his title by purchase as 
 soon as the land came into market. He moved to 
 the village of Lyndon in 1871, where he established 
 a mercantile enterprise in company with his sons. 
 Their joint relations were conducted until 1880, when 
 he retired. He died Nov. 24, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Hazard was a man of tact, energy and ability, 
 and was fitted by nature for a pioneer, which station 
 he occupied by birth as well as practice, his parents 
 having been among the early settlers of the State of 
 New York, and the principle of developing the coun- 
 try was one of the foremost in his plans. He was 
 
 made one of the first Assessors and filled the position 
 several years. He was elected Treasurer of White- 
 side County in 1847 and served two terms. In 1855 
 he was again elected and discharged the duties of 
 the office two years. In the days of his earliest 
 political adherence he was a Democrat, but when 
 the days of adjustment came he adopted the prin- 
 ciples of the Free-Soil party, and on the formation of 
 the Republican party he joined its ranks. He voted 
 for Abraham Lincoln and was a firm Union man 
 from first to last. 
 
 Four children were born of his marriage to Altheda 
 Wolcott : William B. and Harmon are residents of 
 Lyndon; Olivia W., widow of Dr. A. J. Grover ; and 
 Altheda C. M., now deceased. Of the second mar- 
 riage nine children were born, namely: John W., 
 Elisha H., Christian C., Eliza, Hannah, Albert S., 
 Edmund B., David A. and Anna A. Sketches of 
 John W. and Albert S. are given elsewhere. Eliza, 
 wife of L. L. Scott, resides at Mapleton, Monona 
 Co., Iowa. They are the only survivors. 
 
 'shbel C. Crouch, section 20, Ustick Town- 
 ship, is a son of John and Betsey (Pratt) 
 Crouch. His parents were born in Ver- 
 mont and lived all their lives in that State. 
 They had a family of 12 children. John A., 
 Ashbel C., Betsey, Caroline, Nelson and Mary 
 are the only ones who lived to attain the age of ma- 
 jority. 
 
 Mr. Crouch was born in Orwell, Rutland Co., Vt., 
 March 24, 1812, and he was educated in the common 
 schools and academy in Brandon and Shoreham in 
 his native township. He lived at home on his fa- 
 ther's farm until he was 23 years of age, when he 
 went to the western part of the State of New York 
 and settled in Chautauqua County. He lived there 
 about four years, and in 1839 removed to Madison 
 Co., 111. He spent nearly four years there engaged 
 in teaching, and at the expiration of that time went 
 to Iowa and became interested in farming, remaining 
 there until 1850. In that year he made an overland 
 journey to California with an ox-team, which con- 
 sumed four months. He engaged in mining and 
 pursued that vocation more than two years. In 
 1853 he came back as far East as Illinois and bought 
 
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 . 
 
 n 
 

 
 - . ;- 
 
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 * 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 rt) 
 
 ^ 
 
 A 
 
 I 
 
 1 60 acres of Government land in Ustick Township, 
 this county, on which he settled and fixed his home- 
 stead. He is now the proprietor of a finely im- 
 proved farm of 160 acres with excellent buildings. 
 Mr. Crouch is in sympathy with the principles of the 
 National Greenback party in political opinions, but 
 is independent in party relations. He has officiated 
 as Township Clerk, Commissioner of Highways and 
 Assessor. During the prevalence of the Grange 
 movement he was active in its interests. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Crouch took place 
 March 24, 1842, in Madison Co., 111., to Marion A. 
 'Pierce, a native of Vermont. Oscar, Julius, Wallace, 
 Delia and Edward were the names of their children, 
 who are all deceased. The mother died March 12, 
 1849, in Iowa. Mr. Crouch formed a second matri- 
 monial alliance with Mahala Bolick, March 6, 1854, 
 in Iowa, and they had two children : John and Mel- 
 vin D. The oldest son died when he was two years 
 of age. Mrs. Crouch is the daughter of David and 
 Rachel (Simond) Bolick, who were natives of North 
 Carolina, where she was born Feb. u, 1819. She 
 is the third in order of birth, and the names of her 
 brothers and sisters were Amos, Agalina, Priscilla, 
 Catherine, Caleb, David, Rachel and Lydia. 
 
 illium H. Colcord, Principal of the School 
 at Coleta, Supervisor of Genesee Town- 
 ship and Postmaster of the village where 
 he lives, is a native born citizen of his town- 
 ship, and represents one of the earliest names 
 connected with the settlement of the town- 
 ship of Genesee. His father, Ivory Colcord, came 
 to Genesee Township in 1836, and bought a claim, 
 consisting of 200 acres of prairie and 300 acres of 
 timber, paying therefor $150 in gold. He returned 
 to his home in Steuben Co., N. Y., and in 1837 set 
 out with his family for the West. They took pass- 
 age on a flat-boat on the Allegheny River, pro- 
 ceeded to Pittsburg, went thence to the Mississippi 
 River by way of the Ohio River, and from the junc- 
 tion of the two streams went to Fulton, whither they 
 were conveyed by wagon to Genesee Grove, arriving 
 there on the 15 th of October. A small shelter was 
 provided for temporary use during the winter that 
 followed, where the domestic machinery was oper- 
 
 ^ vW\^'^/v^ s * ^^^^^^^-^-$K.-viP^~ - ^"^^"^^"^ 
 
 ated, and which also served as a house of public 
 entertainment, as there was no hotel for the accom- 
 modation of the army of land-lookers and prospective 
 settlers. One of the controlling elements of a pio- 
 neer community is that of hospitality, and faces that 
 have lately looked on civilization seem connecting 
 links. The senior Colcord was a practical farmer, 
 and a man of cultivated mind. He was the first 
 school-teacher in Genesee Township, and was also 
 its first magistrate after the organization of the town- 
 ship. He died Jan. 25, 1865. He was born July 
 20, 1799, in Maine, and married Elzina Smith, who 
 was born June 27, 1805, near Keene, N. H., and 
 they settled in the State of New York. The mother 
 is yet living, with a daughter, in the village of Co- 
 leta. She is 80 years of age, and has been the 
 mother of 13 children, eight of whom survive. 
 
 Mr. Col:ord is the third white child born in Gen- 
 esee Township. His birth occurred July 29, 1839, 
 and he is lineally descended from the Pilgrims of 
 Massachusetts, his paternal grandmother being a 
 Bradbury. In the maternal line he is equally well 
 descended, and his veins contain a mixture of Scotch 
 and English blood, in which nationalities his earliest 
 ancestors had their origin. His education was be- 
 gun under the supervision of his father, and was 
 continued until he became of age. He was married 
 Feb. 16, 1860, to Fianna V. Linerode. The cere- 
 mony was performed by A. H. Law, at that date a 
 magistrate of Genesee Township, and now a resident 
 of Mercer Co., 111. Their marriage has been blessed 
 with 10 children, three sons and seven daughters, as 
 follows: Alice C., married to James L. Peugh, a 
 farmer in Genesee ; Eustatia V., married to J. Fred. 
 Fehrensen, druggist, in Coleta; Annetta A., married 
 to George A. Over, merchant, in Sterling ; and Edith 
 B., Ernest S., Clayton E., Nellie L., Bertie S., Glenn 
 D. and Elzina G., still at home with their parents. 
 Mrs. Colcord was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. 
 Her mother died when she was young, and her 
 father having married again, she continued under 
 the care of her step-mother until she was married. 
 Her father removed to Genesee Township when ^he 
 was young, and he became prominent in the official 
 history of the county. He died in 1857. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Colcord settled on a farm in Gene- 
 see Township. The former passed the chief portion 
 of the succeeding years in the improvement of his 
 property, and devoted the winter seasons to teach-
 
 
 ~ 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ing. With the exception of two intervening years, 
 he passed his life in this manner until 1878. In 
 that year he relinquished his agricultural projects in 
 order to apply his time and energies wholly to the 
 labors of a teacher, in which vocation he has since 
 been engaged. His farm contained 20 acres, and 
 was situated on section 21. In 1884 he sold the 
 place, and bought 150 acres near Sheldon, O'Brien 
 Co., Iowa. He owns his residence at Coleta. In 
 1884 he succeeded Henry Wickey in the position of 
 Postmaster. He has officiated one term as Justice 
 of the Peace, has been Township Clerk three years, 
 and is serving his fourth term as Supervisor, being 
 appointed during 1884 to fill a vacancy created by 
 the death of Rev. Cephas Hurless. He has also 
 served two years as Assessor. 
 
 Mr. Colcord is interested in local and general 
 political issues, and is an influential and consistent 
 Republican. 
 
 ohn W. Hazard, one of the substantial 
 citizens of Lyndon Township, is the son of 
 David and Leonora (Reynolds) Hazard, of 
 whom as full a personal narration as it is pos- 
 sible to obtain is presented in another place. 
 Mr. Hazard was born May 31, 1835, in Mans- 
 field, Tioga Co., Pa. In 1837 his parents came to 
 Whiteside County, coming with a pair of horses and 
 a wagon and driving through the entire route. The 
 son grew to man's estate on the homestead on which 
 his parents located, and obtained a fair education in 
 the public schools. At 20 he entered the employ- 
 ment of Turley & King, at Round Grove, to buy 
 grain. He operated in their interest one year, then 
 formed a partnership with D. K. Lincoln and J. B. 
 Bush. The company erected a warehouse at Round 
 Grove, and Mr. Hazard conducted the business of 
 buying and shipping grain one year. The firm dis- 
 solved, and he resumed farming, in which avenue of 
 employment he has since operated, with the excep- 
 tion of eight years, when he rented his farm and was 
 himself engaged in grain and lumber, also coal, 
 lime, etc.; was also engaged in the construction of 
 the water works at Lyndon, in which company he 
 was a stockholder. He is a useful and honored 
 citizen, and enjoys to an unusual degree the con- 
 
 fidence and esteem of his fellows. He is Supervisor 
 of Lyndon, and when the village of Lyndon was first 
 organized he was made Chairman of the Board of 
 Trustees. He has also served in the capacity of 
 Town Clerk. He was a stockholder in the Lyndon 
 Hydraulic Manufacturing Company, and one of the 
 trustees. He has been an uncompromising Repub- 
 lican from the formation of the party, and has pursued 
 an undeviating course, casting his first Presidential 
 vote for John C. Fremont and for every nominee of 
 the Republican party since. 
 
 Mr. Hazard was married in December, 1856, to 
 Sarah L., daughter of Thomas C. and Sarah (Locke) 
 Gould. She was born March 19, 1836, in Lexing- 
 ton, Middlesex Co., Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Hazard 
 have two children, Jessie S. and John G. 
 
 .5= ^ -<-> ^ *. 
 
 (fames Talbott, farmer, section 2, Jordan 
 Township, was born Dec. 25, 1846, on the 
 same section where he is now a resident. 
 He is the seventh child of his parents, James 
 and Sarah (Woods) Talbott, who were among 
 the pioneers of Jordan Township, of 1835, and 
 were the second permanent settlers in the township. 
 Theirs was the first family to locate within " town- 
 ship 22," S. M. Coe, whose arrival preceded theirs 
 by a few weeks, being a single man. The father was 
 active in the development and organization of the 
 township and county. He was also one of the fore- 
 most members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 which was the first religious society organized in 
 Jordan Township, and he was one of the first mem- 
 bers. Fuller details of the personal record of the 
 parents may be found in connection with the sketch 
 of Oliver Talbott. 
 
 Mr. Talbott lived with his parents on the home- 
 stead until their decease. In 1870, he bought 160 
 acres of land in Kansas, which he afterward ex- 
 changed with his father for the stock on the home- 
 stead and 80 acres of the place of which he is still 
 the owner. The whole is under good tillage. 
 
 His marriage to Addie Green took place Sept. 23, 
 1884, at Clarksville, Butler Co., Iowa. Mrs. Talbott 
 is the daughter of Edward and Jane (Nelson) Green. 
 Her parents were born in the State of New York, and 
 later removed to Trumbull, Ashtabula Co., Ohio. 
 
 \ 
 
 ' 
 
 
 : 

 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 S 21 
 
 They were there interested in farming four years, and 
 at the expiration of that time they transferred their 
 residence to Winnebago Co., 111., settling on a farm 
 in Roscoe Township. After five years they went to 
 Rock Co., Wis., where they were resident about a 
 score of years. They made another removal to Iowa, 
 and the father died in Butler County, Jan. 30, 1885, 
 aged 68. The mother is passing her old age with her 
 daughter in Jordan Township, aged 66 years. She 
 has had.three children, Frank, Frederick and Mrs. 
 Talbott, who is the youngest child. The latter was 
 born Nov. 4, 1857, in Avon, Rock Co., Wis. She 
 was 1 1 years of age when her parents went to Clarks- 
 ville, Iowa. She obtained an available education, 
 which she utilized in teaching, entering upon that 
 vocation when she was 18 years of age in Butler 
 County, and pursuing it as an occupation until she 
 was married. 
 
 Mr. Talbott is a Democrat and has held the school 
 offices in his district. 
 
 arvey R. Hand, farmer, section 31, Coloma 
 Township, was born March 31, 1842, in 
 Troy, Orleans Co., Vt. His parents, John 
 B. and Elizabeth J. (Peak) Hand, were natives of 
 New England. In 1867 they came to Whiteside 
 County, and were residents of Coloma Town- 
 ship until 1881, when they returned to Vermont. 
 They had ten children, six of whom lived to attain 
 the age of maturity: Frances M., Harvey R., Be- 
 ment J., Carrie A., Orilla H. and Juliette; four died 
 in childhood; Bement J. entered the army of the 
 United States when he was 18 years old, and died 
 before the expiration of his term of service. 
 
 Mr. Hand obtained a fair common-school educa- 
 tion, and was an attendant at the academy at 
 Peacham, Caledonia Co., Vt., five years. In the 
 spring of 1865 he came to Whiteside County, and 
 passed the first years of his residence in Illinois in 
 the management of a rented farm in Coloma Town- 
 ship. He then bought 200 acres of land in Hume 
 Township. His aggregated acreage is now 400 
 acres, which is all under tillage. He has an annual 
 average of 100 cattle, 20 horses and colts, and fat- 
 tens a drove of 75 hogs far market every year. Mr. 
 Hand is identified in politics with the Republican 
 
 ' @ 
 
 Regt. Vt. Vols., > 
 
 party. He enlisted in Co. F, i 
 in 1862. 
 
 He was married March 12, 1885, in the township 
 of Montmorency, to Celia D., daughter of Monroe 
 and Mary (Taylor) Carroll, natives of Ohio. Mrs. 
 Hand has one brother older than herself Edson B. 
 She was born Jan. 2, 1867, in Morgan Co., Ohio. 
 Her father's death took place in that county, in 1868. 
 The mother and daughter came to Montmorency 
 Township in 1870. 
 
 
 . 
 
 #vt 
 
 IP 
 
 Ibert S. Hazard, a farmer of Lyndon Town- 
 ship, was born in the same township, April 
 21, 1846. He was brought up by his par- 
 ents, and in 1865 engaged with Martin Con- 
 yne to learn the trade of blacksmith, working 
 under his directions a year and a half. He 
 returned to his father's farm in 1867 and built a shop 
 for his independent business. He passed two years 
 working on the farm and at his trade, and in 1869 
 formed a partnership with James Roach, of the vil- 
 lage of Lyndon, and they operated jointly as black- 
 smiths a few months, when he sold to his partner 
 and returned to the homestead. In 1876 he built a 
 shop in Lyndon and resumed work at his trade. In 
 1878 he went to Harlan, Shelby Co., Iowa, where he 
 pursued his business as a blacksmith until 1880, 
 when he came back to Lyndon. He worked as a 
 blacksmith in the employment of the paper mill com- 
 pany at that place, a few months after which he 
 opened a shop for general blacksmithing. 
 
 Mr. Hazard was married Aug. 20, 1865, to Dora 
 Bartholomew. She was born in Medina Co., Ohio. 
 Elsie, Jennie, Edward L., Olivia and Celia May are 
 the names of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Hazard. 
 
 jfienry M. Barnum, farmer, section 16, Mont- 
 morency Township, was born Jan. 18, 1843, 
 in Greene Co., N. Y. His parents, Abra- 
 ham and Sarah (Ingraham) Barnum, were na- 
 tives respectively of Connecticut and New York, 
 and in the latter State they were married and 
 made it their life-long residence. Their children 
 numbered 1 1, and were named as follows : George, 
 
 <W 
 
 -+.
 
 
 
 
 522 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 Amanda, Watson, Mary, Angeline, Henry M., Sarah, 
 William, Adelia A., Dexter and Georgiana. 
 
 The death of the father while the children were 
 yet small, left the support of the family on Mr. Bar- 
 num and his brother, a duty which they fulfilled 
 until its various members were able to care for them- 
 selves. Consequently, Mr. Barnum was deprived of 
 the opportunity of obtaining much education beyond 
 the ordinary English rudiments. He was r8 years 
 old when the war broke out, and within the first year 
 of the conflict he enlisted in the 2oth N. Y. Inf. for 
 three months. He re-enlisted at the expiration of 
 the time in the same regiment for three years, but 
 was discharged in February, 1863, for disability. 
 Soon after, he came to Whiteside County, and for 
 two years after his arrival he -operated as a farm 
 laborer. He then rented land and continued that 
 method of operation until 1878, when he bought 80 
 acres of land and established his homestead. His 
 place is all under tillage. Politically he is a Demo- 
 crat, and he has discharged the duties of the posi- 
 tions of Collector, Assessor and Township Clerk 
 three years respectively. 
 
 Mr. Barnum was united in marriage, Feb. 19, 
 1865, in Greene County in his native State, to Em- 
 meline, daughter of Simeon and Julia (Middaugh) 
 Reynolds. The parents of Mrs. Barnum live in 
 Ulster Co., N. Y. They had eight children, Mary 
 J., Gideon B., Emmeline, Elizabeth, Willard H., 
 George H., Oscar and Henry E. Mrs. Barnum was 
 born Aug. n, 1845, in Greene County. To her and 
 her husband seven children have been born, Er- 
 mina, Rena, Julia, Dora, Mary A., Wilber H. and 
 and Daisy E. The oldest child died when 16 
 months old. The mother is a member of the Baptist 
 Church of Sterling, having united with it in Decem- 
 ber, 1878. 
 
 javid R. Butler, a farmer on section 18 of 
 Montmorency Township, is a son of Eze- 
 kiel W. and Eunice (Shaw) Butler, natives 
 of New England, who came to Whiteside 
 County in 1857, settling in the township of 
 Prophetstown, where Mr. B. spent the remainder 
 of his days: Mrs. B. is still living. Their family 
 comprised n children, Nancy, John, Caroline, Har- 
 
 ^vgrgv/^-rc - 
 
 _ .'/VVSTV 
 
 riet, Sarah, Wilson, David R., Eunice, Lydia, Seward 
 and Eugene. 
 
 Mr. Butler, whose name heads this sketch, was 
 born in Rome Oneida Co., N. Y., Jan. 22, 1832, re- 
 ceived his education mostly in the common school, 
 and was an inmate of his parental home until he be- 
 came of age. He came to Whiteside County in 1854 
 and soon afterward purchased a quarter-section of 
 swamp land in the township of Prophetstown, where 
 he settled and lived until about 1861, when he went 
 to Montmorency Township and, in company with his 
 brothers, bought about 320 acres. He now owns 160 
 acres, on sections 18 and 19, almost all of which is 
 tillable and in good agricultural condition. 
 
 Mr. B. has held the office of School Trustee, has 
 been School Director several years, and in his polit- 
 ical principles is identified with the Republican 
 party. He was married in Sterling, Sept. 15, 1870, 
 to Miss Rosetta C., daughter of Josiah C. Sturtevant 
 (see sketch of the latter). She was born in Peacham, 
 Vt., June 28, 1838, and is the mother of Harry and 
 Mary E. 
 
 athan Brewer, a farmer residing on section 
 24, Portland Township, and the owner of 
 217 acres on sections 24 and 25, is the son 
 of Jonas and Malinda (Orton) Brewer, and 
 was born in what is now Monterey, Berkshire 
 Co., Mass., March 25, 1804. His father was 
 born in the same county and State and was a farmer 
 by occupation, and his mother was likewise born in 
 Berkshire County. The issue of their union was 
 seven children, only three of whom are now living. 
 Nathan is the oldest. Lucy was the wife of Grove 
 Terrell, deceased, and resides in Tampico, this 
 county. Emily is the wife of Miles Sperry, a 
 farmer residing in Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. Brewer resided on his father's farm until the 
 date of his marriage, which occurred in Monterey, 
 Berkshire Co., Mass. The lady whom he selected 
 to share his sorrows, his joys, his successes and his 
 failures, was Miss Louisa Chapin. Their union has 
 been blest with seven children, six of whom survived : 
 Lucia, born Dec. 23, 1835 ; Balinda, born Oct. i, 
 1837; Edgar J., born Nov. n, 1839; Warren S., 
 born Oct. 16, 1841; Wallace N., born Sept. 2, 1843; 
 
 ," 4 
 
 . 

 
 ' VV 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 I 
 
 Watson M., born Aug. 28, 1845; John M., born 
 March 30, 1848, and died June 27, 1881. 
 
 July 24, 1859, Mrs. Brewer departed to the land 
 of the hereafter, and Mr. Brewer was again united 
 in marriage, to Sarah Dudley, which event occurred 
 Jan. 24, 1870. Mrs. Dudley was the widow of Will- 
 iam Dudley, and had five children by her former 
 marriage, namely: Adeline, John, Ominda, George 
 and Frank W. Frank VV. is at present engaged in 
 running the farm of 217 acres. 
 
 In 1851 Mr. Brewer came West and located where 
 he now resides. He purchased at first 5 1 acres, 
 and has subsequently added by purchase until he 
 has increased his landed interests to 217 acres. 
 
 ^avid C. Overholser, stock farmer and gen- 
 
 fiptfL eral agriculturist on section 9, Genesee 
 .. 'jfy- Township, was born June 20, 1846, in 
 * Stark Co., Ohio. His parents, John and Julia 
 A. (Weimer) Overholser, removed from there to 
 Illinois in 1858, settling at Coleta. A personal 
 account of them appears in another part of this work. 
 They had n children. Mr. Overhol?er of this 
 sketch is the third son and fifth child. When he was 
 12 years of age the family, consisting of the parents 
 and eight children, removed to Coleta, and he was 
 educated primarily in the common schools of the 
 township of Genesee. At the age of 20 years he 
 entered the seminary at Mt. Morris, Ogle Co., III., 
 where he studied two years, and, in the winter of 
 1866-7, ne taught a term of school near Polo, 111. 
 He went to Western Iowa in the spring following, 
 and, associated with his brother, Joseph, he em- 
 barked in a mercantile enterprise. Their relation 
 existed about 18 months and was dissolved by ma- 
 tual consent. 
 
 Mr. Overholser was married Oct. 3, 1869, in 
 Johnson Co., Iowa, to Elizabeth A. Bowersox and 
 they have become the parents of seven children, 
 whose record is as follows : Waldo A. was born July 
 9, 1870; James Elery, Nov. 5, 1871; Maggie B., 
 Dec. 20, 1873; John D., Nov. 4, 1875; Julia S., 
 June 9, 1877 ; Ralph E., May 3, 1881 ; Frederick R., 
 Oct. 25, 1882. Mrs. Overholser was born Nov. n, 
 1848, in Augusta, Va., and is the daughter of James 
 E. and Mary M. (Shuey) Bowersox. They were of 
 
 German ancestry and descent, and were born re- 
 spectively in Maryland and Virginia. The former 
 was a minister in the United Brethren Church. 
 They were married in Virginia, and in 1854 went 
 with their family of four children to Iowa, settling in 
 Johnson County. Mrs. Overholser was educated in 
 Linn and Johnson Counties, completing her studies 
 at Western College in the former. She afterwards 
 taught school. Her father died in the fall of 1880; 
 her mother is still living. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Overholser came to Illinois after 
 their marriage, and located on 132 acres of land sit- 
 uated on section 9, of which they became the owners 
 by purchase a year later. The place was at that 
 time partially improved, and it now contains 215 
 acres, all of which is under tillage. The place is 
 well stocked. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Overholser is a decided Repub- 
 lican, and he has been Township Trustee three terms 
 and has also officiated as Collector. 
 
 amuel Grubb is a farmer on section 33, 
 Genesee Township. His parents, George 
 and Catherine (Smith) Grubb, were natives 
 of Pennsylvania and belonged by parentage 
 and descent, on the mother's side, to the 
 Dutch of the Keystone State. The ancestors of 
 the father came from Germany. He was a mechanic 
 and both he and his wife resided all their lives in 
 Lancaster Co., Pa. They have been some years 
 deceased. 
 
 Mr. Grubb is the second of'n children born to 
 his parents, his birth-place being Lancaster County. 
 He was married there to Mary Rowe. She was 
 born in the same county and is descended from Ger- 
 man parents. Mr. and Mrs. Grubb have two sons, 
 Nehemiah and Elam R., who are represented by 
 sketches on other pages of this work. They con- 
 tinued their residence in their native State 14 years 
 after their marriage, and in 1854 Mr. Grubb came 
 West. He traveled by railroad to Chicago, and from 
 there to Sterling by stage. A year later the family 
 located on a farm in Genesee Township, on which 
 they were the first settlers. It contains 80 acres, 
 and from its original condition has all been con- 
 verted into a tillable and valuable farm. The place
 
 gives unmistakable evidence of first-class manage- 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Grubb is a Republican of decided principles, 
 and is well known for his efforts in behalf of the 
 general welfare. 
 
 iehard Thompson, the pioneer of this 
 county, and a prosperous farmer residing 
 s on section n, Portland Township, owning 
 240 acres, is a son of Robert and Lydia 
 <V (Graham) Thompson, and was born in County 
 Monaghan, Ireland, March 19, 1828. When 
 six years of age the family came to the United States, 
 locating in Cleveland, Ohio. Two years later they 
 came to this county. His father started for this 
 State and came to Chicago via the lakes, and on the 
 way he met Guy Ray, Hiram Harmon and others, 
 and they hired a team and drove to Prophetstown, 
 this county. This was in the fall of 1836, and his 
 father bought a claim of 200 acres of land of Asa 
 
 (^i Crook, and when the land came into market he 
 bought it of the Government, and added to his 
 
 ^ original purchase until he had a fine farm of over 
 300 acres, where his two sons, John R. and Hiram 
 C., now reside. The father went back to Ohio after 
 getting his claim and moved his family to Chicago, 
 where he remained until the next summer and then 
 came to the. claim he had purchased, bringing with 
 him his furniture and family with a team. The 
 father was a Carpenter and worked at his trade in 
 Chicago during the winter he remained there. The 
 village was then in its infancy, and no one realized 
 the future in store for it. The father died on the 
 old homestead, as likewise did the mother. 
 
 Mr. Thompson, the subject of this biographical 
 notice, remained on the parental homestead until he 
 had attained the age of 23 years, when he received 
 100 acres as an inheritance from his father, and by 
 energetic effort and good judgment he has not only 
 succeeded in placing the land under a good state of 
 cultivation, but has added 80 acres to the original 
 tract. He has some nice graded Short-Horns, 25 to 
 30 head, also 14 to 20 horses and some 30 head of 
 hogs. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was united in marriage in Proph- 
 etstown, this county, June 19, 1852, to Miss Lo- 
 
 vina Williams. She is a daughter of Calvin and 
 Sally (Hill) Williams, and was born Jan. 12, 1835, 
 in Detroit, Mich. Of seven children born of their 
 union, in this township, the following is the record: 
 Robert E. was born March 24, 1853, and is a farmer 
 residing in Portland Township; Nathan C. was born 
 Jan. 1 8, 1855, and is a farme: residing near Des 
 Moines, Iowa; Fred. G., May 19, 1857; Frank D. 
 was born Oct. 28, 1860; Grace M., May 7, 1867; 
 Edwin R., Nov. 17, 1870; Rosa L., Oct. i, 1874. 
 
 Robert E. married Lora E. Wilson, March 12, 
 1876, and they have three children, Jennie, Zaidee 
 and Calvin. 
 
 eorge W. Howe, resident at Coleta, was 
 .i-a^aig born July 25, 1849, in Lawrence Co., Pa. 
 -g)^~ K His parents, Jacob and Hannah (Durstine) 
 ' l aP > Howe, were born in Pennsylvania, and were 
 of German extraction with a slight admixture 
 of English blood. The family came to Illi- 
 nois in 1855, and at that time included three sons 
 and two daughters. 
 
 Mr. Howe is the oldest son and second child, and 
 was nearly six years of age when his father located 
 at Round Grove, in Mt. Pleasant Township. Eight 
 children were born after the parents fixed their resi- 
 dence in Whiteside County. Two are deceased, and 
 of the survivors five live in Illinois. They were 
 born in the following order: Mary A., George W., 
 Nancy J., James M., William J., Jessie D., Han- 
 nah E., Madison M., Eliza O. and Susannah. The 
 deceased were David H. and Francis. Two sons 
 by adoption, Martin and Jacob, have been reared 
 by them. 
 
 Mr. Howe remained at home and attended school 
 through nearly all the years of his minority. His 
 mother died of heart disease. In 1861 his father 
 entered the Union army, and in April, 1864, the son 
 enlisted in the i4oth Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., consist- 
 ing of men for the special service of too days, 
 although he was not yet 15 years of age. Not long 
 after his enrollment he was attacked by a kidney 
 disease which resulted in injury to his eyes and 
 which confined him to the hospital throughout nearly 
 the entire period of his enlistment; and, although his 
 command was attached to the Army of the Potomac, 
 
 r 
 
 T
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 A 
 
 1=3 
 
 i 
 
 r=a 
 f 
 
 V 
 
 5) 
 
 he saw little actual service save skirmishing. He 
 was sent on sick leave to the Union hospital at 
 Memphis, Tenn., afterward lo Chicago, where he re- 
 ceived honorable discharge Oct. 29, 1864. Return- 
 ing home, he engaged in general farm labor after he 
 regained his health. 
 
 Feb. 17, 1870, he was married, at Coleta, to Susan- 
 nah, daughter of Martin and Barbara (Arford) Over- 
 holser. (See sketch of H. S. Bushman.) Mrs. 
 Howe was born Nov. 6, 1851, in Tuscarawas Co., 
 Ohio. Her parents removed to Genesee Township 
 when she was about three years of age. The house- 
 hold of Mr. and Mrs. Howe includes seven chil- 
 dren, Abner R., William M., Hattie T., Clarence 
 J., Martin O., Anna M. and Samuel S. Daisy died 
 Jan. 17, 1885. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Howe engaged in mercan- 
 tile business at Coleta, in which he has since oper- 
 ated. In November, 1884, he was appointed Justice 
 of the Peace, and has since engaged in the duties of 
 the position, proving himself an efficient and compe- 
 tent magistrate on the frequent occasions when his 
 services have been required. He is the proprietor 
 of 163 acres of land, situated on section 12, Clyde 
 Township. The place is in good condition, with 
 farm buildings. 
 
 Mr. Howe is independent in political opinion and 
 has taken no interest in general elections, having 
 never voted for a President. He is a member of 
 the G. A. R., of the A. O. U. W. and of the United 
 Brethren Church, of which latter societ Mrs. Howe 
 is also a member. 
 
 
 -J- 
 
 
 illiam A. Booth, a. farmer, residing on 
 section 30, Prophetstown Township, and 
 r . the owner of 220 acres of land thereon, 
 > is a son of Ashley and Mary (Foy) Booth, 
 and was born in Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., 
 June 18, 1832. His father is a native of 
 Tompkins County, that State, is a farmer by occu- 
 pation, and at present resides in Portland Township, 
 this county. His mother was a native of Cattarau- 
 gus County, and died in this county, Sept. 4, 1871. 
 Mr. Booth was then married, in April, 1872, to Mrs. 
 Fanny Winters. 
 
 Mr. Booth is the only child of his father's family, 
 
 and was reared on a farm, receiving the advantages 
 afforded by the common schools. In 1838 his 
 father's family came to this county, and located in 
 Prophetstown, and six years later his father located 
 1 66 acres of land on section 20, Prophetstown Town- 
 ship, where he resided until 1877, when he moved 
 to Portland village. 
 
 Mr. Booth, was united in marriage at the age of 18 
 years, in Hennepin, 111. The event occurred June 
 17, 1850, and the lady of his choice was Miss Ada- 
 liza Hurd. She was a daughter of Horace and 
 Lydia Hurd, and was born in Vermont, Nov. 6, 
 1831. They had six children, five of whom are 
 living: Horace A. was a farmer in Hume Township, 
 this county; Clarence is a farmer, residing in Gene- 
 seo, Henry Co., 111. : Fanny A. is the wife of Clem- 
 ent D. Johnson, a farmer in Prophetstown Town- 
 ship; Mary L. is deceased; Henry E. resides with 
 his parents, as likewise does Bertha G. 
 
 Mrs. Booth resided on the old family homestead 
 until about 24 years of age. In 1852 he entered 40 
 acres of land on section 29, Prophetstown Town- 
 ship, and resided on it about five years. He then 
 bought, where he now lives, 40 acres, and has since 
 added to his estate until at present he is the 
 proprietor of 220 acres. He makes a specialty of 
 dairying, and keeps usually about 20 cows. He 
 raises also from 50 to 75 hogs annually. 
 
 Mr. Booth is a member of the Odd Fellows Order, 
 Sinnisippi Lodge, No. 308. 
 
 ^ilvius H. Kingsbury, general farmer, lo- 
 cated on section 31, Genesee Township, 
 is also interested in raising stock, and 
 conducts a dairy of respectable proportions. 
 He has been a citizen of Whiteside County 
 since 1854. He is the son of John Kings- 
 and his father was born in New Hamp- 
 The latter was a pioneer of Jefferson Co., 
 N. Y., where he settled in its early period of settle- 
 ment. He was there married to Nancy Bailey, and 
 was a resident of that county until 1843, when he 
 died at the age of 41 years, the date thereof being 
 April 23d. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. 
 Kingsbury were Samuel and Olive Bailey. They, 
 together with three children, died within a period of 
 
 bury, 
 shire. 
 
 
 ' 
 
 (I 
 
 [A!
 
 
 
 - - ' 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 about two months, of an epidemic known as the 
 black fever. Samuel Bailey died Jan. i, 1813, aged 
 48 years; Olive Bailey, his wife, died Feb. 4, 1814, 
 aged 47 years; Lewis died Feb. 9, 1813, at the age 
 of nine years; Alison died Feb. 12, 1813, when he 
 was 12 years old; Joshua died March 5, 1813, and 
 was 1 8 years old. Mrs. Kingsbury never married 
 again, but, later on, she came to Morrison, and lived 
 with her daughter through her remaining years, 
 dying Nov. 26, 1873, aged 72 years. Her children 
 included two sons and two daughters. Mr. Kings- 
 bury is the eldest ; Nancy Parish was born Sept. 14, 
 1831, and died April 3, 1859; Eliza A. Erwin was 
 born July 13, 1835, and died March 3, 1872 ; Joseph 
 C. was born Oct. 2, 1837, and is a business man at 
 Marysville, Cal. 
 
 Mr. Kingsbury was 15 years old when his father 
 died, and he remained with his mother one year 
 after that event, and the family was never reunited. 
 Mr. Kingsbury obtained employment with a cattle 
 drover, named Robert Knott, who made purchases 
 of stock in St. Lawrence County for the market at 
 Albany, and he worked for him some years, acquiring 
 knowledge and experience which have been valu- 
 able to him in later years. 
 
 In 1854 he fulfilled a resolve of some years' stand- 
 ing, to locate permanently in the West, and he set- 
 tled in the township of Genesee. He purchased a 
 valuable tract of prairie land, which contained 200 
 acres, and was practically in its primal condition. 
 Household affairs were managed for some years by 
 his mother and his youngest sister. His marriage 
 to Olive E. Pond took place Feb. n, 1860, in White 
 Rock, Ogle Co., 111. Her father, Abel Pond, was a 
 native of Essex Co., N. Y., and he married Caroline 
 Crawford, who was born in Benson, Vt. (An outline 
 of the genealogy of the Pond family may be found 
 with the sketch of Stephen Pond.) Mrs. Kingsbury 
 was born April 12, 1838, in Middlebury, Knox Co., 
 Ohio, where she was brought up and educated. She 
 died in Genesee Township, Oct. 3, 1878, when she 
 was 41 years of age. Following is the record of her 
 four children : N. May, born Dec. 28, 1860, was mar- 
 ried March 2, 1882, to George Edson, and they live 
 on the Kingsbury estate; their child, Jennie O., was 
 born Feb. 5, 1883 ; Carrie E. was born Dec. 2, 1862, 
 and was married Aug. 21, 1883, to Jacob Mensch, a 
 farmer of Genesee Township ; Emma A., born Oct. 
 27, 1864, was married Nov. 30, 1882, to Charles Ken- 
 
 nedy, and lives in Clyde Township; they have one 
 child, Pearl; Joseph Cady was born March 26, 1871, 
 and is engaged in obtaining his education. 
 
 Since his removal to Genesee Township Mr. 
 Kingsbury has maintained his homestead on the 
 property he then bought, which is all well-improved 
 and supplied with first-class farm buildings, among 
 which is a superior residence. The proprietor is a 
 model farmer, is a Republican in political views, and 
 is earnestly interested in the welfare of his township 
 and county. 
 
 on. Tyler McWhorter, a prominent citi- 
 zen and extensive agriculturist, resident on 
 section 25, Montmorency Township, has 
 been identified with the substantial prosperity 
 of Whiteside County since the spring of 1856. 
 He was born in 1825 in Metamora, Franklin 
 Co., Ind., and is the oldest son of John and Mary 
 (Lynn) McWhorter. His father was born in Penn- 
 sylvania and his mother was a native of West Vir- 
 ginia. After their marriage, they located in Frank- 
 lin Co., Ind. They had ten children, whom they 
 reared to mature years in Indiana, and they remained 
 in that State as long as they lived. Until his re- 
 moval to Whiteside County, Mr. McWhorter re- 
 mained with his parents. On coming to Illinois he 
 bought half of section 25 in Montmorency Town- 
 ship. His estate is considered one of the best in the 
 county, and now includes 520 acres, situated in 
 Whiteside and Lee Counties. All the original acre- 
 age is under improvement and a portion of the re- 
 mainder. From the outset, Mr. McWhorter has 
 given intelligent attention to the improvement of 
 stock, and the high rank of his township in that par- 
 ticular is proportionately due to his exertions. He 
 owns on an average 80 head of cattle and 12 horses. 
 He has been an important factor in the local 
 government of his township, in which he has held 
 many offices of trust. He has served as Supervisor 
 nine years. His abilities and public spirit were duly 
 recognized in the fall of 1874 by his nomination for 
 Representative in the 2Qth Legislative Assembly of 
 Illinois, in which he served one term, being elected 
 by a large majority. The record of his services is 
 characterized by the same disinterestedness and ef- 
 
 _gvc>AA 
 7 ^- v i' 7 V 

 
 LIBRARY 
 DIVERSITY ,* (LLWOIS 
 
 URBAN*

 
 #/!/ 
 
 Tri&1~" 
 

 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 UR8ANA
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 fort which have marked his life in a less public ca- 
 pacity. He is an uncompromising Republican. 
 
 Mr. McWhorter was united in marriage to Rhoda 
 A. Ward, Nov. 28, 1849, in Franklin Co., Ind., and 
 they are now the parents of seven children, who 
 were born in the following order : Mary M , Ellis, 
 Anna, John E., William L., Louise and Leroy. The 
 mother was born in Ohio. Mr. McWhorter is a Re- 
 publican in political persuasion and he has been ac- 
 tively interested in school affairs. He has served as 
 School Director 15 years. 
 
 
 E. Schutt, general farmer, on section 
 1 6, Hume Township, was born Oct. 30, 
 !****" 1831, in Ulster Co., N. Y. Stephen Schutt, 
 his father, was a native of the same State, 
 where he was a farmer, and was extensively 
 engaged in lumbering: he married Margaret 
 Bois. Mr. Schutt lived with his parents until he 
 was 26 years of age, when he became a bargeman on 
 the Hudson River, and ran the "Morning Star" for 
 three years. He then engaged in the management 
 of a grist-mill at Eddiesville, on the Hudson, in 
 which he was occupied one year. He spent the year 
 following on the river, in his former capacity, with 
 another company. He went next to Steuben Co., 
 N. Y., where he engaged in running a grist, saw and 
 shingle mill in company with a brother. They con- 
 ducted their joint business six years. 
 
 Mr. Schutt was married Oct. 5, 1863, in Caton, 
 Steuben County, to Catherine VanDemark. (See 
 sketch of J. H. VanDemark). She was born in 1838, 
 and reared in Ulster County, and died at her home 
 in Hume Township, April 9, 1873. She was the 
 mother of two children, one of whom died in in- 
 fancy. Julian resides at home. 
 
 Mr. Schutt was married a second time Oct. 30, 
 1873, in Jordan Township, to Mrs. Sarah C. (Mer- 
 ricks) Ripley. She was born in Penn Co., Va., and 
 I! is the daughter or Edward Merricks, also a native 
 
 of Virginia. Mrs. Schutt's birth took place May 
 17, 1827, and came when 13 years old to Morrow 
 Co., Ohio. Her marriage to Charles B. Ripley took 
 place June 22, 1848. He was a native of Owego, 
 N. Y., where he was reared to manhood. He went 
 
 thence successively to Pennsylvania, Kentucky and 
 Ohio, and some years later, after marriage, came to 
 Whiteside County, settling in Jordan Township, 
 where he died in January, 1864, leaving his wife with 
 five children : Eliza E., John, Henry, Pomeroy and 
 Francis: the latter is deceased. 
 
 In April, 1869 Mr. Schutt came to Hume Town- 
 ship, and settled on a farm of 80 acres, which he 
 managed until 1881. In that year he sold out and 
 went to Sauk Co., Iowa. He remained there two 
 years, again sold out and returned ' to Hume Town- 
 ship. He purchased 223 acres of land on sections 
 14, 15 and 1 6, perfectly improved and supplied with 
 good buildings. 
 
 Mr. Schutt is a Republican in political faith, and 
 is serving a term as Justice of the Peace. He has 
 held several other official positions. 
 
 enjamin West, one of the prominent 
 and enterprising farmers in Clyde Town- 
 ship, is located on section 17. He was 
 born in the vicinity of the village of Peni- 
 stone, Yorkshire, England, April 23, 1820. 
 John West, his father, was a mechanic of 
 more than ordinary claims, possessing a complete 
 and practical knowledge of the craft of a carpenter, 
 millwright and wagon-maker. He was an inventive 
 genius, and was the inventor of a variety of wagon 
 axle, which was so contrived as to be oiled without 
 the removal of the wheel. He was a fine scholar 
 and was college bred. He did not accumulate much 
 property, but held a good social position. He was 
 born in Yorkshire, England, July 12, 1796, and died 
 about 1876, in the place of his nativity. His wife, 
 Ann Fieldsend before her marriage, was born May 
 10, 1799, in Yorkshire. She was carefully brought 
 up and educated. She died near Penistone, York- 
 shire, in 1837. Both she and her husband were 
 communicants in the Church of England. Of their 
 children 10 in number but two are living, Thomas 
 and Benjamin. The first is still a resident of his 
 native country, where he is prominent in Church and 
 social circles. Through his connection with Lord 
 Caverly he has been enabled to give his sons a colle- 
 giate education.
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 I 
 
 *. ! 
 (If 
 
 Mr. West was educated in the schools of York- 
 shire, and when he was 15 years old he went to 
 Holmfirth to learn the trade of cloth-making in the 
 large establishment of. John and George Hirst. He 
 served an apprenticeship, which lasted until he was 
 21 years old, and acquired a complete and practical 
 knowledge of the processes from first to last. He 
 went from the place where he learned his business 
 to Brown Hill, where he took charge of a woolen 
 factory owned by James Booth, in whose interests he 
 operated three years. At the expiration of that time 
 he sailed for the United States, making his first stop 
 at the city of New York. He went thence to Pough- 
 keepsie, N. Y., and remained one year, and pro- 
 ceeded thence to Washington Hollow, Dutchess Co., 
 N. Y., where he engaged in the management of a 
 mill for Messrs. Burch & Sullivan. He remained 
 there one year, and then returned to Poughkeepsie, 
 and spent some time in a carpet-mill. He passed 
 two years subsequent in Haverstraw, in the same 
 State, after which he returned to England, and was 
 married to Mary, daughter of Jeremiah and Mary 
 (Hirst) Whiteley. She was born in Yorkshire, and 
 was English in nativity and descent. Her father 
 and all the members of the families to which she 
 belonged were manufacturers of cloth. Her parents 
 died, respectively, in 1836 and 1846, in their native 
 country. They had 12 children: John, Betty, Jo- 
 seph, Joshua, Maria, James, Mary, Hannah, Will- 
 iam. Mathew, Sarah and Jane. All lived in Eng- 
 land, with the exception of Mrs. West, and her 
 brother Joshua, who came to America in 1851. The 
 brother was killed Jan. 24, 1853, while chopping in 
 the woods. Failing to return to his home at night- 
 fall, he was found crushed to death between the 
 stump and fallen trunk of a tree he had been 
 cutting. 
 
 Mrs. West was born Dec. 5, 1819, in Yorkshire, 
 where she was reared. She is the mother of eight 
 children : Henry is a miner in Arizona ; William mar- 
 ried Lucy A. Fieldsend, and they reside on a farm 
 in Clyde Township ; Anna is a music teacher; Jen- 
 nie is next in order of birth ; Joshua is a member of 
 the mercantile firm of Hollinshead & West, doing 
 business at Morrison ; Thomas is a miner in Colo- 
 rado; Benjamin and Charles are conducting the 
 homestead estate. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. West came to 
 
 X58" : 
 
 America, and passed one year in Haverstraw. They 
 came thence to Clyde Township, where they arrived 
 Sept. 19, 1849, and they were among the earliest of 
 the permanent settlers. They entered claims on 
 sections 17 and 21, where they purchased a land 
 warrant of 200 acres. That portion of the township 
 was so unsettled that there was not a fence between 
 their location and Fulton, a distance of 12 miles. 
 The land had never been touched by the plow, and 
 Mr. West set himself about improving his property, 
 and also exerted his influence in the development 
 of the town. He induced numbers of his friends 
 to locate in the township. He was one of the first 
 Englishmen to fix his residence in Clyde Township. 
 There are 15 other English settlers who came hither 
 through his representations, and that nationality pre- 
 dominates. Mr. West is the proprietor of 298 acres 
 of land, all improved and stocked with fine graded 
 cattle. 
 
 Mr. West is independent in political views, and 
 has represented both parties in their conventions. 
 He takes great interest in local politics, and he has 
 been the recipient of all the official honors pertaining 
 to his township. 
 
 He has crossed the Atlantic five times, having 
 twice revisited the home of his birth. Jennie, the 
 second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. West, visited the 
 birthplace of her parents in 1881. She left Morrison 
 Nov. 21, i88r, and sailed from the city of New York 
 six days later on the steamship Furnersia, and reached 
 Glasgow, Scotland, December 7. She went by rail 
 to Penistone in Yorkshire, England, where she spent 
 four months on the soil where her family had its 
 origin. She sailed for America April r3, 1882, and 
 derived much benefit to mind and body from the 
 trip. 
 
 The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. West, on other 
 pages, are given with peculiar satisfaction, as worthy 
 representatives of a class whose efforts have aided 
 materially in the development of Whiteside County. 
 Mr. West is a genuine Englishman of the middle 
 class, the type which constitutes the bone and sinew 
 of the government under which he was born ; and he 
 is as genuine an American citizen, appreciating the 
 abundant privileges accruing to him as such, and 
 giving the heartiest support to the institutions of the 
 Republic. His genial, mirth-loving temperament 
 secures its reward in the general esteem he wins and 
 the broad influence he wields. 
 
 
 )
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
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 I 
 
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 Ifred Barnes, of Genesee Township, has 
 been a farmer on section 13 since 1869. 
 He came to Whiteside County in 1854, 
 when he purchased a farm on section 24, on 
 which he was a resident 15 years. He has 
 been connected with the agricultural develop- 
 ment of this section of the State of Illinois over 30 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Barnes was born Nov. 28, 1824, in Fabius 
 Township, Onondaga Co., N. Y. His father, Tru- 
 man Barnes, was born in the State of New York, of 
 parents who were natives of New England. He 
 was a private soldier in the war of 1812, and was 
 married in his native county to Azuba Kinney. She 
 was born in the same county and township, and her 
 parentage was the same in nationality ds that of her 
 husband. They passed their entire lives in their na- 
 tive State, and died in the township of Pike, Wyom- 
 ing County. The father died.in 1835, when about 47 
 years of age. The mother, died in 1860. Three of 
 their nine children are living. 
 
 Mr. A. Barnes is the seventh child of his parents, 
 and he lived in his native place until he was eight 
 years old. His father then removed his family to 
 Wyoming County, where he received his education. 
 He was 1 1 years of age when his father died ; and 
 four years later, he went to Pike in the same county, 
 to enter upon an apprenticeship under Messrs. Hull 
 & Smith, woolen manufacturers. After completing 
 the period of his instructions, he engaged in their 
 service and remained with them 15 years, becoming 
 general manager of their factory. In 1854 he de- 
 cided to devote the remainder of his active life to 
 farming, and in accordance with that purpose he 
 came to Whiteside County, where he has since been 
 occupied as stated. The farm he first bought con- 
 tained 40 acres and was wholly unimproved. He 
 had placed it in good agricultural condition when he 
 severed his connection with it by sale. The farm 
 which he has owned since 1869, was under partial 
 improvement when he became its owner. It is at 
 present in excellent condition, and supplied with 
 creditable farm structures. It is one of the best im- 
 proved farms in the township. Mr. Barnes is a Re- 
 publican of well known stability and consistent 
 record. He has occupied several local official posi- 
 
 tions, interested in school matters since he came to 
 the township, and has been School Director 15 years 
 in succession. 
 
 March 21, 1848, he entered into matrimonial 
 bonds with Adaline Olin, in Pike, Wyoming Co., N. 
 Y. Mrs. Barnes is the daughter of Justin and Mary 
 (Tiffany) Olin. Her father was born in Vermont, 
 and is a cousin of Stephen D. Olin, a famous clergy- 
 man in the Methodist Church, and is a relative of 
 Senator George F. Edmunds, of Vermont. Her 
 mother was born in the State of New York. Mrs. 
 Barnes was born June 5, 1826, in the township of 
 Eagle, in Wyoming County. She is the daughter of 
 a farmer and was educated in her native county. 
 Her parents came to Illinois, and her father died in 
 1863, in Whiteside County. Her mother died in 1883 
 in Carroll County. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have been 
 the parents of six children. Mary L., Evaline P., 
 and S. Henrietta are married. Eugenia L. and 
 Emma E. are at home. Sarah A. died in infancy. 
 Mrs. Barnes is connected by membership with the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 H. Woodworth., farmer, section 27, Colo- 
 ma Township, was born in Norwich, Vt., 
 Oct. 20, 1806. His parents were Abel and 
 Olive (Patridge) Woodworth, natives also of 
 the Green Mountain State. His father was a 
 carpenter by trade. He remained with his 
 parents until of age, receiving a common-school 
 education. He also attended the Military Academy 
 at Middletown, Conn., for seven months, and the 
 Military Academy of New Jersey 18 months, in 
 r 82 8-9. After completing his studies, at the age of 
 17, he taught district school four winters. He then 
 taught for a time in the Military School at Perth 
 Amboy, N,J., and afterward as Assistant Professor of 
 Mathematics, in Jefferson (Miss.) College. About 
 this time he commenced the study of law ; but his 
 sight failing somewhat, he had to abandon the pur- 
 suit of his chosen calling, and for two years he was 
 in the employment of the State of New York as 
 Resident Engineer upon the Black River Canal. 
 
 In 1839 he emigrated to Illinois, settling on the 
 Upper Rapids on the south side of Rock River, 
 where he purchased of the Government a fractional 
 
 I
 
 *-' 
 
 quarter (9 1 acres) of section 9, Sterling Township. 
 He afterward sold this, and in 1842 pre-empted 124 
 acres on section 27, where he still lives. 
 
 Mr. W. has been Justice of the Peace, Town 
 Supervisor, County Surveyor of Whiteside, etc. In 
 religion he is a Universalist, and in politics a Repub- 
 lican, taking a deep interest in the welfare of the 
 community and of the nation. 
 
 May 14, 1834, in Saratoga Co., N. Y., Mr. Wood- 
 worth was married to Permelia Parks, who died Dec. 
 i, 1844, leaving two children, Leonard and George 
 L. Mr. W. was married again, Oct. 24, 1845, to Mrs. 
 Alice H. Goodell; and by this marriage there have 
 also been two children, Clarence C. and Alice S. 
 
 ^ohn H. Thompson, one of the progress- 
 liif ive and energetic farmers and stock 
 raisers of Whiteside County, residing on 
 section 10, Portland Township, and owning 
 650 acres in the township, is a son of Robert 
 and Lydia (Graham) Thompson. He was 
 born on the farm where he at present resides, Sept. 
 15, 1838. His father was a native of Ireland, and 
 came to this county from Ohio, in 1836. He drove 
 through with an ox team, bringing his furniture, wife 
 and children, Mary, Richard, William, Elizabeth and 
 Robert. He bought a claim where John R. now re- 
 sides, consisting of 320 acres, from Asa Crook, and 
 when the land came into market, purchased the 
 same from the Government. He died on the old 
 homestead, April 6, 1883. John R.'s mother died at 
 the same place, Aug. 16, 1873. 
 
 After his father's death, John R. Thompson 
 bought out his brother Hiram C.'s interest, and has 
 since added by subsequent purchase to his landed 
 estate until he is at present the possessor of 650 
 acres. He makes a specialty of Short-horn cattle, 
 and has 30 full-blooded and also a number of graded. 
 He raises a large quantity of poultry, among which 
 are the Plymouth Rock chickens and Mammoth 
 Black turkeys. He also raises a number of Norman 
 and Clydesdale horses. 
 
 Mr. Thompson worked on the farm for a number 
 of years after reaching the age of maturity, and then 
 himself and brother Hiram, being the youngest of 
 
 the children, ran the farm and took care of the old 
 folks. 
 
 Mr. Thompson enlisted in Portland Township, 
 this county, in Dec , 1861, in Co. B, 111. Vol. Inf., 
 and was soon afterward transferred to Co. K, 34th 
 111. Vol. Inf., in which he served as private for one 
 year. He was then wounded at the battle of Shi- 
 loh, April 6, 1862, in the left hand, and came home 
 on a furlough of three months. He returned to his 
 company and was discharged in December, 1862, on 
 account of disability. He then returned to the farm, 
 and the following April enlisted in Co. K, i34th 111. 
 Vol. Inf., and served for about six months, when he 
 again returned home, having received his final dis- 
 charge. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was married in Portland Town- 
 ship, this county, May 10, 1868, to Miss Celesta F. 
 Herman. She was a daughter of Moses and Betsy 
 (Underwood) Herman, and was born in Marion, Linn 
 Co., Iowa, Aug. i, 1850. They are the parents of 
 four children, all born on the homestead, in Portland 
 Township, this county. Their record is as follows : 
 Sylvia L., born March 10, 1869; Graham G., born 
 Oct. 20, 1870; Freddie J., born Sept. 27, 1876; 
 Pearle C., born Sept. 29, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Thompson has been School Director for the 
 past ten years. His brother Hiram C. makes his 
 home with him, and was born in Portland Township, 
 this county, Feb. 28, 1840. 
 
 eorge Toy is a farmer, residing on section 
 34, in Prophetstown Township, and the 
 owner of 200 acres of land located thereon. 
 He was born in Allegany Co., N. Y., Aug. 29, 
 1818. His father, William Foy, was a native 
 of Vermont and was born about 1788. His 
 mother, Ruth (Morrill) Foy, was also a native of 
 Vermont, and was born about 1790. They had ten 
 children, six of whom are now living. Phoebe, 
 Mahala, Harriet, George, Daniel and William. In 
 1839 the family came West to McDonough Co., 111., 
 where the father purchased a farm of 160 acres, and 
 George also became the proprietor of 120 acres. 
 
 In 1848 Mr. Foy, subject of this biographical 
 notice, came to this county and purchased his pres- 
 ent farm of 200 acres, located as above stated. He
 
 & 
 
 
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 I 
 
 has two groves on his farm, containing five acres of 
 ground, located near his residence and which is used 
 by picnic parties. He has improved his place by the 
 erection of a nice residence, barns, etc., and now has 
 a well cultivated and finely appearing farm. 
 
 Mr. Foy was united in marriage in McDonough 
 Co., 111., Tennessee Township, April 30, 1844, to 
 Miss Nancy Dickenson. She was a daughter of 
 John Dickenson, and was born in Kentucky, in r822. 
 They have had ri children, two born in Hancock 
 County. Of their children five survived, namely: 
 Charles E., a farmer and stock-raiser in Nebraska 
 and owning a fine place in that State, containing 590 
 acres. Mary F. is the wife of George Klock, a resi- 
 dent in Sheffield, Bureau Co., 111. Augusta E. is the 
 wife of Hulbert C. Bunker, a farmer residing in Ne- 
 braska. Wilbur is a farmer located near Davenport, 
 Iowa; and Freeman E. lives at home. 
 
 The deceased were Augustus, Latitia, Albert E., 
 who was a practicing physician in Elmira, Emma, 
 and two who died in infancy. The parents of Mr. 
 Foy came to this county a few years after their son, 
 and the father died in Prairie City, Jan. 1 6, 1 869 ; 
 arid the mother died in Prophetstown Township, 
 Sept. 21, 1864; Charles E. was a soldier in the war 
 for the Union, having enlisted in the 34th 111. Vol. 
 Inf., and served two years, participating in all the 
 engagements in which his regiment took part. 
 
 orm P. Fuller, one of the old pioneers of 
 Whiteside County, a farmer residing on 
 section 21, Portland Township, and the 
 owner of 120 acres of land in the township, is 
 a son of Levi and Betsey (Martin) Fuller, and 
 was born in Cattaraugus County, Randolph 
 Township, N. Y., July 4, 1822. His father was a 
 native of Oneida Co., N. Y., and was born in Jan- 
 uary, 1793, and his mother in the same county in 
 January, 1792. The issue of their union was IT chil- 
 dren, of whom five yet survive. Levi resides in 
 Arkansas, John P. is the subject of this notice, 
 George is a farmer in York Co., Neb., Rachel is the 
 wife of John Zimmerman, a farmer in Portland Town- 
 ship, this county, and Lucinda is the wife of C. W. 
 anphere, a farmer and veterinary surgeon in Port- 
 Township. The father died in Portland Town- 
 
 ship, April 19, 1856, on the old homestead, and the 
 mother is still living, aged 93 years. In 1835 the 
 family drove from Erie, Pa., to Chicago, this State. 
 The village of Chicago at that time was in its in- 
 fancy, and neither Mr. Fuller nor any of his children 
 realized for a moment the future of the great me- 
 tropolis. The family remained in the village of Chi- 
 cago until Feb. 2, 1836, when they drove to Portland 
 Township, this county, where the father took up a 
 claim of 160 acres of land located on section 10. He 
 resided there a number of years and experienced all 
 the trials incident to a pioneer life. He nevertheless 
 was determined to establish a home for himself and 
 family and laboriously entered upon the task of im- 
 proving and cultivating his land. He first built a 
 log house, and the product of his land he disposed of 
 in Chicago, which consisted of wheat and pork. He 
 was a Christian man and belonged to the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 Mr. Fuller, subject of this biographical notice, re- 
 mained at home until he was 21 years of age, when 
 he set forth upon the road of adversity to fight the 
 battles of life alone. He engaged to work by the day 
 for Mr. Horace Burk, and while working for him in 
 1841 or 1842, a tornado came through the township 
 at this time. He was in the house with 13 others, 
 and the tornado entirely demolished the house ; and 
 when it was over he found himself some six rods from 
 the house. He was terribly bruised and nearly dead, 
 and it took six hours and a half to revive the circu- 
 lation of the blood in his veins. The disaster laid 
 him up so he did nothing for about two years. Two 
 others of the 13 were badly hurt, Mr. Burk and wife, 
 and they never fully recovered from the injury they 
 received. Mr. Fuller feels the effect of the injury re- 
 ceived every day he lives, his spinal column being 
 fractured at the time. 
 
 Mr. Fuller purchased 40 acres of his present farm 
 about 1851, and now has 120 acres, also 12 acres of 
 timber land in Fuller's Grove, Portland Township. 
 His son-in-law, Henry Sibley, now works the farm. 
 Mr. Fuller has been Highway Commissioner 19 
 years. He was married in Warren Co., 111., June 
 25, 1844, to Miss Almira M. Lanphere, daughter of 
 Caleb and Lucinda (Martin) Lanphere. She was 
 born in Oneida Co., N. Y., Aug. 23, 1821. They had 
 seven children, five of whom yet survive. The rec- 
 ord is as follows: Clark C., born Nov. 4, 1847, is a 
 merchant at Spring Hill. Willis H., born Feb. 2;
 
 WHITES IDE COUNTY. 
 
 (J 
 
 
 / 
 
 i849> ' s a merchant at Spring Hill. Guy, born 
 March 14, 1850, -died Nov. 8, 1864. Emma, born 
 Aug. 2, 1851, is the wife of Charles Sibley, farmer in 
 Portland Township. Lydia, born Nov. 18, 1852, is 
 the wife of Henry Sibley, whp is engaged in con- 
 ducting the farm of Mr. Fuller. Katie, born Aug. 
 3> J^SS, is the wife of George Tolcott, of Spring Hill. 
 Alma, born June 13, 1861, died Jan. 4, 1875. 
 
 ___^,^ 
 --**& ^ 
 
 tephen Pond, resident on section 31, Gen- 
 esee Township, was born in Rutland Co., 
 Vt., July ii, 1808. His father, Stephen 
 Pond, Sr., was born in Berkshire Co., Mass. 
 The earliest ancestor from his descent is 
 clearly traced to Samuel Pond, who was mar- 
 ried Nov. 14, 1643, at Windsor, Conn., to a lady of 
 whom there is no trace save her given name of 
 Sarah. This era in his existence gives tangibility to 
 several suppositions regarding the founding of the 
 Pond family in America, as there are traditions of 
 two or three brothers who came hither in the time of 
 Governor Winthrop, of Massachusetts, and who were 
 of tender years and under the supervision of Win- 
 throp, who kept their father in England informed 
 concerning their welfare. Samuel, the second son of 
 him last named, was bom March 4, 1648, at Wind- 
 sor, Conn., and is recorded as Samuel Pond, Jr. His 
 second son, Philip, was the father of Dan Pond, the 
 father of Abel Pond. The latter was the grandfather 
 of Mr. Pond of this sketch, who is a member of the 
 eighth generation. Stephen Pond, senior, married 
 Elizabeth Streator. She was born March 27, 1785, 
 in Becket, Mass., and died in Rutland Co., Vt., Dec. 
 22, 1810. Her family settled in New England prior 
 to the Revolution, and seven of her brothers were in 
 the Colonial service. Abel Pond and six of his 
 brothers were soldiers of the Revolution. 
 
 Mr. Pond is the second of ten children born to his 
 father, and is the youngest child of his mother, who 
 died when he was between two and three years of 
 age. His father married again and eight children 
 were born of the second marriage. Mr. Pond re- 
 mained under the care of his father and stepmother 
 until he was 14 years of age. On leaving home he 
 went to Lansingburg, in the vicinity of the city of 
 ' OV A * Y -> . an d lie engaged soon after as a farm 
 
 /-\ A. 
 
 assistant in the neighborhood of that place. Later, 
 he went to Windham, Portage Co., Ohio, and worked 
 on the farm of his uncle, Jason Streator, remaining 
 in his employ three years. He was then about 17 
 years of age, and he went thence to Erie Co., Pa, 
 and began to learn the trade of a tailor. His next 
 removal was to Nelson, in Portage Co., Ohio, where 
 he completed his knowledge of his trade under the 
 instructions of a craftsman named Oren Smith. He 
 went back East and passed two years in Western 
 Vermont and Eastern New York, operating as a 
 journeyman tailor, after which he returned to Wind- 
 ham, Ohio, and he there established his business in- 
 dependently, and controlled a shop about five years. 
 He concluded to turn his attention to agriculture, 
 and he bought a farm in Huron Co., Ohio, on which 
 he resided about ten years. In 1853 he turned his 
 face Westward and decided to locate in Whiteside 
 County. He bought 160 acres of land on section 31, 
 Genesee Township, which was all unbroken prairie 
 at the time at which he made it his homestead. He 
 entered with all possible vigor into the work of im- 
 provement, which he prosecuted until the spring of 
 1864, when, after three years of war, there was need 
 of men for immediate service. He enlisted in Co. A, 
 i4<Dth 111. Regt, to serve 100 days in lieu of veteran 
 troops who were needed where experience was indis- 
 pensable. Company A was detailed for garrison 
 duty in Tennessee and Missouri. Mr. Pond was 
 discharged Oct. 29, 1864, after a service of 160 days. 
 He returned to his farm, on which he has since pur- 
 sued his vocation of farmer and which now contains 
 80 acres. 
 
 Mr. Pond was united in marriage to Abiah Bristol, 
 May 2, 1833, in Windham, Ohio. She died May 2, 
 1848, in New London, Huron Co., Ohio. She was 
 the daughter of a Connecticut farmer, and was her- 
 self born in that State, of New England ancestry. 
 Her parents removed to Ohio, in the year preceding 
 her marriage. She became the mother of three chil- 
 dren , one of whom has followed her to the land of 
 peace and silence. Elizabeth is the wife of Charles 
 Birdsall, of Lyndon Township. Henry D. married 
 Margaret Fleming and resides in Genesee Township 
 (see sketch). Helen M. was born March 12, 1838, 
 and died Sept. n, 1856, aged nearly 19 years. Mr. 
 Pond was again married Jan. 25, 1851, in Wayne, 
 Knox Co., Ohio, to Phebe A. Lindsley. She was 
 born May n, 1819, in the place where she was mar- 
 
 t; 
 I
 
 V^"Vi H HXD H H y "V^^ 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 \ 
 ) 
 
 * 
 
 ried, and died March 3, 1873, in Genesee Township. 
 Three of her children are with her in the mystic coun- 
 try of the hereafter. Grace C., the remaining child, 
 married E. C. Hannawalt. Hattie and Stephen 
 died in early childhood. The third wife of Mr. 
 Pond is the sister of her predecessor, and her name 
 Elizabeth. She is the daughter of David and 
 Elizabeth (Beers) Lindsley, and her parents were 
 born in New Jersey, of ancestors of mixed English 
 and German descent and New England origin. She 
 was born Jan. 27, 1833, in the township of Wayne, 
 Knox Co., Ohio. She was there married to J. W. 
 Wilson, by whom she became the mother of eight 
 children, of whom four are not living. Amanda is 
 deceased. Antha married Cnarles Chamberlain, a 
 dentist in Lanark, 111. Mary E. is deceased. Fran- 
 cis married Emma Baker and resides in Grundy Co., 
 Iowa. Patience is the wife of Levi Thorp, a farmer 
 in Genesee Township. Mortimer and Albert are 
 deceased. Emma lives with her mother. Mr. Wil- 
 son died at Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 Mr. Pond is a Republican in political sentiment. 
 
 alter H. Scott, of Hume Township, repre- 
 ||, sents a pioneer name which is connected 
 with the days of first things in Whiteside 
 County. Josiah Scott, his father, was born 
 N May 18, 1819, in Ohio, and he came to 
 Whiteside County, in 1839. He was married 
 March 13, 1846, to Harriet J. Coryell, and they had 
 12 children, of whom two died in infancy. Mr. Scott, 
 Sr., became the owner of a valuable farm on section 
 12, and attained prominence in the agricultural de- 
 ovelpment of the township. He is now living in re- 
 tirement at Rock Falls. 
 
 Mr. Scott was born in Delaware County, Ohio, in 
 1847. He was two years of age when his parents 
 removed to Hume Township. He obtained all the 
 education possible from the facilities afforded by the 
 public schools of the period. When he was 18 years 
 old he entered college at Adrian, Mich., where he 
 was a student nearly four years in the classical 
 course. On his return to Whiteside County he en- 
 gaged in teaching. He went, in the spring of 1873, 
 to Macon Co., Mo., where he engaged as a teacher 
 in the winter season, and during the remainder of 
 
 the year managed a steam grist and saw mill. After 
 a residence there of nearly 1 1 years, he returned to 
 Hume Township, where he assumed control of the 
 homestead estate, on section 12, in which he has 
 since been engaged. In his professional relations 
 he attained gratifying prominence. ' In his political 
 belief and connections he is a Republican. He has 
 officiated to a considerable extent in local affairs, 
 and is Township Clerk, and also Clerk of the Board 
 of School Directors in his district. 
 
 He was married in Allegan, Mich., to Mary G. 
 Wilcox, and they have had four children : George D., 
 Edith, Harriet and Hiram G. Mrs. Scott was born 
 May. 21, 1849, in Blissfield, Lenawee Co., Mich., 
 where her parents were prominent farmers. She 
 was educated at Adrian. 
 
 rohn Riley, retired physician, residing at 
 ji'f Spring Hill, Portland Township, this 
 county, was born in the city of New York, 
 Sept. 30, 1818. His father was born in the 
 same city, and was quite an extensive manu- 
 facturer and dealer in boots and shoes. His 
 mother was born in Poughkeepsie, the same State. 
 Their family comprised eight children, of whom two 
 survive. Richard J. was a farmer in Wright Co., 
 Iowa, and John is the subject of this notice. The 
 parents died in New York city when the subject of 
 this sketch was quite young, and he was taken by 
 relatives to Montgomery County, same State, and 
 raised on a farm. He remained on the farm, alter- 
 nating his labors thereon by attending the common 
 schools, until he attained the age of 17 years. He 
 then attended the seminary in Amsterdam and also 
 Kingsbury, and taught school for several years. He 
 taught for the purpose of procuring means to assist 
 him in attaining a knowledge of medicine. He 
 studied medicine in Fulton County, and then at- 
 tended the Castleton Medical College in Vermont, 
 and graduated in 1843. 
 
 Soon after the completion of his education, he 
 went to Saratoga Co., N. Y., where he followed his 
 profession for about three years, and then came to 
 Knox Co., 111., and located near Galesburg. In 1853 
 he came to Portland village, and practiced there a 
 short tune, and then went to Spring Hill, at which
 
 " .. - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 place he followed his profession until about 1873, 
 when he retired from active practice.. 
 
 Mr. Riley has a farm of 80 acres adjoining Spring 
 Hill, also 40 acres one mile southwest of the -village 
 and seven acres of a grove. He also has 160 acres 
 of land in Nebraska and the same in Dakota. In 
 1877 he opened a store and dealt in groceries, boots 
 and shoes, crockery, glassware, hardware, wagons, 
 etc., which he successfully conducted until lately, 
 when he sold out. He still owns his store building. 
 
 Mr. Riley was Coroner of the county one term, 
 1872-3, and Justice of the Peace four years, having 
 been elected in 1873. He was married Dec. 24, 
 1845, in Saratoga Co., N. Y., to Abigail Burnett. 
 She was the daughter of Isaac and Azubah (Slocum) 
 Burnett, and was born in Saratoga Co., N. Y., Dec. 
 17, 1825. They have seven children, all sons, one 
 born in Knox Co., 111., one in Henry Co., 111., and 
 the others in Portland Township, this county. 
 Charles graduated at the Soldiers' College at Fulton, 
 111., and enlisted in the war for the Union in the 
 1 1 2th 111. Vol. Inf , when he was 16 years of age. 
 He is now Superintendent of the Genesee Schools. 
 John is a physician in Exira, Audubon Co., Iowa. 
 William is an attorney in Grundy Co., Iowa. George 
 W. is an attorney in Albion, BooneCo., Iowa. Bruce 
 is now studying medicine at the Iowa State Univer- 
 sity. H. Clay is a land and insurance agent at 
 Clearwater, Antelope Co., Neb. Lincoln is now at- 
 tending the Fulton College. He is aged 17 years, 
 and is studying for the medical profession. 
 
 H 
 
 iarvey C. Hull, of the firm of Hull & Smith, 
 dealers in drugs, medicines and fancy toilet 
 articles, paints, oils, glass, etc., at Prophets- 
 town, was born in Roxbury, Conn., Jan. 10, 
 1830. His father, Bradford J. and Catherine 
 C. (Teeple) Hull, his mother, both died in the 
 fall of 1884, in Connecticut. The father was a car- 
 penter and farmer, and to him and his wife nine 
 children were born, five of whom are yet living. 
 
 Mr. Hull, subject of this biographical notice, 
 learned the trade of his father, that of a carpenter, 
 on attaining adult age, and when nineteen years old 
 he went to Waterbury, Conn., and was there em- 
 ployed at his trade until about 1853. He then came 
 
 West, and located in Geneseo, this State, where he 
 worked at his trade for a short time. In 1854 he 
 came to this county, locating at Prophetstown, where 
 he continued to work at his trade until 1864. In 
 October of that year he enlisted in Co. C, 75th 111. 
 Vol. Inf., and served for seven months as private, 
 during which time he participated in the battle of 
 Nashville. He then returned to Prophetstown, and 
 followed his trade until 1869, when he went to Lyn- 
 don, this county, and engaged in buying and ship- 
 ping grain, and also had a retail lumber and coal 
 yard. In 1870 he sold his business at Lyndon, and 
 returned to Prophetstown. He shipped the first 
 freight carried over the Rock Island and St. Louis 
 railroad, and also over the Clinton and Mendota 
 branch. 
 
 On returning to Prophetstown, 1870, he formed a 
 partnership with John J. Green, in the lumber, coal, 
 and grain business, and also built the Prophetstown 
 elevator. He afterward sold out his business, and 
 in the fall of 1875 engaged in the furniture trade 
 in partnership with E. C. Hutchinson. Jan. 29, 
 1884, they were burned out, sustaining a loss of 
 about $3,000. They sold the remnant of their stock 
 in March, 1884. May i, 1884, in company with 
 P. H. Smith, he erected the building they now 
 occupy, and put in a stock of drugs. He also, in 
 cdmpany with his former partner, Mr. Hutchinson, 
 rebuilt the building destroyed by fire, and which is 
 now fire-proof, as likewise is the drug-store. Mr. 
 Hull, in company with his partner, Mr. Smith, car- 
 ries a stock of from $3,000 to $4,000, and are doing a 
 good and constantly increasing business. Mr. Hull 
 has a farm of 130 acres, which he leases, and also a 
 fine residence, and one acre! of land on Washington 
 Street, Prophetstown. 
 
 Mr. Hull was united in marriage in Waterbury, 
 Conn., Oct. 7, 1850, to Miss Janette L. Scarritt, a 
 daughter of James and Harriett J. Scarritt. She was 
 born in Middletown, Conn., Feb. 18, 1832. They 
 have one son, Charles W., born in Waterbury, Conn., 
 May 1 8, 1852, and is at present a banker at Kirwin, 
 Phillips Co., Kan., the firm being Cameron, Hull & 
 Co. He was married to Miss Myra Hill, a daughter 
 of Joseph W. Hill, of Prophetstown, and they have 
 two children, Mary and Harvey. 
 
 Mr. Hull belongs to the Order of Masons, and is 
 a member of the Blue Lodge and Royal Arch Chap- 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 fa)
 
 > 
 
 ter. He was President of the Town Board four 
 years, and while acting in that capacity constructed 
 a large portion of the sewer system of the village of 
 Prophetstown, and has held numerous other minor 
 offices. 
 
 illiam Patton Culbertson, capitalist at 
 Fulton, was born Dec. 3, 1819, near Erie, 
 Pa. In the paternal line of descent he is 
 of Scotch lineage, his earliest recorded an- 
 cestor having been one of those who went 
 to Londonderry, Ireland, to escape the persecu- 
 tion of the Scottish "kirk," and who was in the siege 
 of that place during the attack by King James. 
 John Culbertson, son of the latter, landed at New 
 Castle, Del., during the reign of the first George. 
 His son, John Culbertson (2d), was born in 1708. 
 The record of his children is as follows : Andrew, 
 born in 1731; James, 1733; Jane, 1735; John, 
 1737; Samuel, 1744; Elizabeth, 1746; Margaret, 
 1749; Benjamin, 1751; Ebenezer, 1757: Esther, 
 1763. The children of Andrew Culbertson were 
 William, born in 1765 ; John Boyd, 1767 ; Elizabeth, 
 1769; John B. (2d), 1770; Andrew, 1772; James, 
 1774; Samuel, 1776; Mary, 1780; Jeannette, 1783. 
 Andrew Culbertson (2d), father of Mr. Culbertson 
 of this sketch, was born in 1772, in Northumberland 
 Co., Pa., the increasing generations having settled in 
 that State. He married Ann Culbertson, a cousin 
 of several removes, and they had the following chil- 
 dren : John B., born in 1798; Jane, 1800; Duncan, 
 1802; Agr.es, 1803; James, 1805; Eliza, 1807. 
 The mother died and was succeeded by Ann Moor- 
 head, who was born April 29, 1781, in Lancaster 
 Co., Pa., of Scotch-Irish parents. The children 
 were Thomas M., born June 21, 1810; Andrew J., 
 April 21, 1812; and William P., as above stated. 
 Their father was a farmer, and a pioneer of Erie 
 County. He located a farm, which he cleared of the 
 heavy forest and placed in creditable agricultural 
 condition. Desirous of changing his locality, he de- 
 termined to make his way Westward, and made 
 every preparation to that eff;ct about 1811; but 
 family considerations prevailed, and he settled about 
 ten miles east of Erie, where he secured a claim in 
 the dense primeval forest and cleared another farm. 
 
 He died in 1848. The demise of his wife took place 
 Nov. 17, 1867. Thomas M., their oldest son, died 
 Oct. 16, 1881. Andrew was for many years a farmer 
 in Garden Prairie Township, Boone Co., 111. He is 
 living there in retirement. 
 
 Mr. Culbertson obtained a fair degree of common- 
 school education under the difficulties naturally at- 
 tendant upon pioneer conditions; and after he was 
 21 years of age, acquired an expert acquaintance 
 with the business of a carpenter and joiner, going to 
 Washington County, in his native State, for that pur- 
 pose, and was occupied there in the vocation of a 
 mechanic between two and three years. In 1843, 
 circumstances induced him to make a chance trip to 
 Western Illinois, and he remained throughout that 
 year and until the fall of 1844 in Rock Island and 
 Warren Counties; and, during the period of his stay 
 in the latter, he was occupied in the pursuit of his 
 trade. He returned to the State of his nativity at 
 the time referred to, having contracted the " chills," 
 a malarial disease which was more troublesome than 
 dangerous, and in the early days of Illinois seemed 
 likely to postpone indefinitely the period of her per- 
 manent settlement. 
 
 Mr. Culbertson was first married in Erie County, 
 Aug. 22, 1846, to Mary, daughter of Robert McCord. 
 She was born in Newville, Cumberland Co., Pa. In 
 October, same year, they moved to Belvidere, Boone 
 Co., 111., and in the fall of 1850 Mrs. C. returned 
 to Erie Co., Pa., to spend the winter and there died, 
 Feb. 16, 1851. Mr. Culbertson continued to operate 
 as a contractor and builder. In 1852 he entered the 
 employment of Beloit & Madison Railroad corpora- 
 tion as superintendent of construction of buildings 
 and bridges, continuing in that capacity until 1855, 
 when he was appointed to the position of Assist- 
 ant Superintendent of the more extended railway, 
 the Dixon Air Line, now the Chicago & Northwest- 
 ern, his chief being George Bassett. His business 
 relations brought him in June, 1855, to Fulton, where 
 he was for some time occupied in constructing several 
 buildings in the railroad interest. In the spring 
 of 1859 he caught the inspiration of the gilded 
 rumors from Pike's Peak, and set out thence to push 
 his way to fortune by a more rapid route, and he 
 passed the summers of 1859-60 in mining for gold 
 with reasonable success. On his return in 1861 to 
 Fulton, he formed an association with Dr. Leander 
 Smith, now a banker at Morrison, for the purpose of 
 
 \ 
 
 '}
 
 
 - V 8 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 prosecuting the lumber business. In 1862 they pur- 
 chased the Dement saw-mill near Fulton, which they 
 continued to manage several years. Dr. Smith fell 
 into ill health, and in 1868 sold his lumber interest 
 to E. P. Wells, now a banker at Clinton, Iowa. Af- 
 ter the return of Dr. Smith with restored health, he 
 and J. M. Fay bought the half interest of Mr. Wells, 
 the firm style becoming Culbertson, Smith & Co. 
 They continued their joint transactions until 1878, 
 when they suspended active business, and at the 
 date of this writing (1885), the partnership has not 
 been formally dissolved. 
 
 In 1879 Messrs. Culbertson & Fay established a 
 grocery enterprise at Fulton, which they conducted 
 two years with satisfactory results, and closed in the 
 spring of 1882. Since that date Mr. Culbertson has 
 given his attention to financial transactions. 
 
 Politically, he is a Republican, but has never been 
 aggressive in his political action, and has never 
 sought the emoluments of office. In 1882 he was 
 elected a member of the Hoard of Trustees of the 
 Northern Illinois College, and is still the incumbent 
 of the position. 
 
 Oct. 28, 1852, he married Helen M., daughter of 
 Dr. Daniel Reed, of Belvidere, 111., and they had two 
 children: Carrie J., born April 23, 1854, is the wife 
 of Prof. Carl V. Lauchman, founder of the Conser- 
 vatory of Music at Minneapolis, Minn., and they 
 have a daughter, Helen Reed, who was born Aug. 
 30, 1878. Professor Lauchman was born' March 27, 
 1853, in Missouri and descended from German par- 
 ents. He has spent many years in the acquisition of 
 musical knowledge abroad. In 1881 he and his 
 wife, who is an accomplished musician, went to 
 Cologne for the purpose of study, where they spent 
 18 months. Later, they went to Berlin and thence 
 to Weimar, where they passed a year and a half un- 
 der the instructions of Lizst. Mrs. Lauchman was 
 a frequent contributor to the musical journals of 
 America during her residence in Germany, and has 
 since been connected with musical literature in her 
 native country. Charles R., the only son of Mr. 
 Culbertson, was born March 18, 1857, and is a resi- 
 dent at Fulton. 
 
 The mother died at Fulton, Nov. 6, 1857. Nov. 
 18, 1858, Mr. Culbertson entered into a matrimonial 
 alliance with Mary M., daughter of John Fay, at 
 Westfield, Chautauqua Co., N. Y She was born 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 there Aug. 2r, r82i, and died at Fulton, July 19, 
 1.866. Mr. Culbertson was again married Feb. 8, 
 1871, at Westfield, to Charlotte, daughter of Asa 
 Hall. She was born Sept. 23, 1828, at Westfield and 
 died at Fulton, Sept. 17, 1882. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Culbertson, which appears on 
 a previous page, is copied from a likeness taken in 
 1880. It is justly regarded as a fitting addition to 
 the catalogue of portraits presented in this volume, 
 from the character and position of the subject. Upon 
 him has fallen the mantle of the upright, thrifty and 
 honorable race of which he is a descendant. Fulton 
 has been the field of his operations in business mat- 
 ters for a period of 30 years; and during that time 
 he has maintained his record as a man of probity and 
 unswerving rectitude. He became a convert to the 
 faith of his ancestors in early life, and for 20 years 
 has been an Elder in the Presbyterian Church. 
 Physically, he has preserved the erect stature and 
 firm, so'.md constitution of the days of his prime. 
 Although he is approaching the limit of years allotted 
 to man, his mental powers are in full vigor, and he 
 manifests in not even the smallest degree the en- 
 croachments of time. His eyes exhibit the fire and 
 keenness of early life, and his face glows with the 
 ruddy hue of health. 
 
 Daniel L. Austin, of Lyndon Township, 
 was born Oct. 22. 1823, in Cotton Town- 
 ship, Switzerland Co., Ind., and he is the 
 second son of William and Margaret (Liv- 
 ings) Austin. While he was in his minority he 
 attended school winters, and as soon as he 
 reached a suitable age and degree of strength he 
 aided his father in improving the farm. 
 
 He was married Nov. 15, 1846, to Myra A. Gary. 
 She Was born in Rushford, Allegany Co., N. Y., and 
 is the daughter of Charles and Eunice (Spaulding) 
 Gary. Soon after the event of his marriage Mr. 
 Austin bought a portion of the land owned by his 
 father in the town where he was born, on which he 
 built a log house, and set about the work of reclaim- 
 ing his land, which was in timber. Later he built a 
 frame addition. In 1854 he sold his property in 
 Indiana, and emigrated to Whiteside County. He 
 bought a tract of unimproved land in Vstick Town- 
 
 > 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 8 
 
 ship, residing in Mt. Pleasant Township while en- 
 gaged in its improvement. In 1862 he purchased 
 , wild land in Mt. Pleasant Township, on section 31. 
 Two years later he made a purchase of land ad join - 
 i ing, lying on the same section, which was supplied 
 with a comfortable frame dwelling, of which he took 
 possession with his family, and which they occupied 
 until 1879. In that year Mr. Austin rented his farm 
 in Mt. Pleasant, and went to Lyndon, where he re- 
 mained three years. In 1882 he went back to his 
 farm. In 1884 he again rented his place, and again 
 went to Lyndon. He owns 131 acres of land, under 
 good improvements and all enclosed. 
 
 Mrs. Austin died April 18, 1874. Following is 
 the record of her surviving sons and daughters : 
 Myra J. is the wife of J. G. McGregor; Celia mar- 
 ried N. C. Vest, and lives in Lake City, Iowa ; George 
 W. resides near Storm Lake, Iowa : Charles W. re- 
 sides in Cloud Co., Kan. ; Augustus E. is a resident 
 of Morrison; John is living in Cloud Co., Kan. Mr. 
 Austin contracted a second matrimonial alliance 
 Oct. 22, 1877, with Mrs. Priscilla (Magner) Hurd, a 
 native of Richland Co., Ohio. Lou Belle is their 
 only child. Thomas H. Hurd, the first husband of 
 Mrs. Austin, died June 4, 1866. Their marriage 
 occurred June n, 1861. Their children were 
 named William H., Arthur O. and Mary G. 
 
 W. Carman, M. D., homeopathic physi- 
 cian and surgeon, office at his residence 
 in Prophetstown, is a son of Jeremiah and 
 Jane (Treat) Carman. He was born in Ster- 
 ling, Cayuga Co., N. Y. About the year 1862 
 his parents' family came to Henry Co., this 
 State. His father was a farmer, and is at present 
 engaged in the grocery business in Geneseo, Henry 
 Co., where his mother is also residing. Dr. Carman 
 was reared on the farm, and finished his education 
 in the High School of Geneseo. In 1876 he com- 
 menced to study medicine in the office of Dr. H. I. 
 Hoppins, where he remained until 1880, in the 
 meantime attending the Cook County Hospital one 
 year, and graduated from the Chicago Homeopathic 
 College. He practiced a short time in Geneseo, 
 and afterward followed his profession in Lyndon, 
 this county, 18 months. In the spring of 1883 he 
 
 moved to Prophetstown, and opened an office and 
 entered upon the practice of his profession at that 
 place, where he has since continued to follow the 
 same. He makes a specialty of chronic diseases 
 and of diseases of children, and has met with very 
 flattering success in his practice of medicine and 
 surgery. 
 
 Dr. Carman .formed a matrimonial alliance in 
 Geneseo, Henry County, this State, Oct. 25, 1882, 
 with Miss Mary S. Pomeroy, a daughter of Charles 
 and Sylvia A. (West) Pomeroy. She was born in 
 Henry Co., 111., March n, 1860. One son, Lee J., 
 was born of their union, in Prophetstown, Sept. 16, 
 1883. The father of Mrs. Carman is deceased, and 
 her mother resides in Moline, Mich. 
 
 Dr. Carman is a member of the Order of Modern 
 Woodmen of America, and also of the Rock River 
 Institule of Homeopathy. 
 
 ^halkley John is one of the most promi- 
 nent, active and enterprising citizens of 
 ** Whiteside County, and resides in Jordan 
 Township, of which he is Supervisor. He 
 is also the editor and manager of the Farm- 
 ers' Gazette, published at Sterling, and is 
 President of the Sterling Gazette Company. He 
 owns a farm on section 24, of Jordan Township, to 
 which place he came in 1859. 
 
 He was born Oct. 10, r839, in Shamokin Town- 
 ship, Northumberland Co., Pa. Elida John, his 
 father, was a native of the same county and was of 
 Welsh origin, being the son of Abia John, who was 
 born in the vicinity of the city of Philadelphia, of 
 Welsh parents, and who was a farmer. Elida John 
 came West and located in the township of Jordan, 
 where he became an extensive land-holder and a 
 citizen of prominence, dying in May, 1883, aged 78 
 years. In Pennsylvaiiia, the family acquired an 
 honorable reputation, and the elder John was highly 
 esteemed for his excellency of character, the relia- 
 bility of his judgment, his sound common sense and 
 his unswerving integrity, which made him a man to 
 whom his fellow townsmen often looked as an arbi- 
 trator to settle disputes. He reached prominence in 
 local official positions in Jordan Township, and en- 
 joyed to an unusual degree the confidence and es-
 
 
 XX 
 
 
 jf 
 
 I 
 
 544 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 teem of his fellow citizens. In his death the loss to 
 the community was regarded as a public calamity. 
 Sarah Hughes, to whom he was united in marriage, 
 and the mother of our subject, is an estimable lady. 
 She is the daughter of a Pennsylvania farmer of 
 English and Welsh extraction. But one of her ten 
 children is deceased, Ruth Anna, who was sixth 
 in order. The survivors are all married except one, 
 and are named Palemon, Edwin, Martha A., Abia 
 C., Hugh L., Chalkley, Sarah E., George D. and 
 Lydia E. The mother is still living, and is 83 years 
 of age, and makes her home with her son, the sub- 
 ject of this biography. The ancestry is well known, 
 and held their age to a remarkable degree, as the 
 family records show. 
 
 Mr. John passed the years of his minority under 
 the authority of his father, and he received only a 
 common-school education. He possessed an active, 
 ambitious mind and a body strong in health and 
 characterized by the vigor which is a trait of his lin- 
 eage. With determination to make his mark in the 
 world, he set out for the West, coming to Illinois. 
 On landing in Whiteside County, which was at the 
 time mostly unbroken prairie, he sought employment 
 on a farm of 160 acres his father had previously 
 secured in Jordan Township. 
 
 He took possession of his father's claim and be- 
 gan the work of improvement, boarding with his 
 sister, who had preceded him to the township and 
 was engaged in teaching in the public schools. He 
 had made considerable improvement on his father's 
 farm, where he had settled in the spring of 1859, 
 but afterwards purchased 166 acres of wild prairie 
 land on section 24, in partnership with his brother, 
 Hugh L. The latter erected necessary buildings, 
 and the brothers proceeded with the work of im- 
 provement. Later, Chalkley John bought the inter- 
 est of his brother. 
 
 His marriage to Anna Nixon occurred on the 24th 
 day of August, 1875. Mr. and Mrs. John had one 
 child, Marius, born Feb. 15, 1877. The mother 
 died at her home in Jordan Township, in November, 
 1878. She had occupied a high position in the 
 Church of the Friends, and was held in universal 
 esteem for her womanly character and excellent 
 traits. 
 
 With the exception of an interim of a few years, 
 Mr. John has resided on the old homestead of his 
 
 father, with his aged mother. His farm gives evi- 
 dence of the value of the persistent application of 
 energy and industry in agricultural avenues. 
 
 Previous to his election as Supervisor, Mr. John 
 held the office of Road Commissioner four years, to 
 which he was elected in the spring of 1877, and he 
 has been elected to the office of Supervisor every 
 year since, with the exception of one, and he still 
 holds said office. He has performed the duties of 
 his official life in a manner every way creditable. 
 He is a Republican of positive stamp, and has taken 
 a deep interest in tocal affairs. 
 
 The paper with which he is editorially connected 
 is published at the Gazette buildings at Sterling, and 
 his nephew, W. R. Cobb, is the secretary and treas- 
 urer of the proprietary interest. 
 
 Mr. John is a director in the Northwestern Agri- 
 cultural Society, which holds its exhibitions at Ster- 
 ling. He is a member of the Friends Society, in 
 which his father was a leading actor, and was for 
 many years and up to his death an Elder in his rela- 
 tions to the organization. 
 
 'ohn S. Logan, one of the pioneers of White- 
 ^ side County, residing in Prophetstown, is a 
 son of Robert and Polly (Row) Logan, and 
 was born in Yates Co., N. Y., Aug. 3, 1815. 
 He was reared on a farm in his native county, 
 receiving only such education as was common 
 to farmers' sons of the time and locality in which he 
 lived. In 1836 Mr. Logan came West with his 
 brother-in-law, Nathaniel Squires, and an uncle, 
 Christopher Row, both now deceased. They 
 started originally for Davenport, Iowa, but stopped 
 at Rock Island about two months, where Mr. Logan 
 was, with his brother-in-law, engaged in the carpen- 
 ter and joiner's trade. He then went to Davenport, 
 and was there engaged in the same business, and in 
 the fall of that year he came to this county and 
 made a short visit to parties of his acquaintance, 
 when he returned to Davenport and taught school 
 on Vandruffs Island, in Rock River, that winter, 
 the teacher having been drowned. In July, 1837, 
 he returned to Portland Township, this county, and 
 made a claim of 250 acres of land, and when the 
 same came into market, he bought quite a large
 
 Of

 
 
 *.
 
 RARY 
 
 UNIVtKSMY + ILLINOIS
 
 - .. - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 545 
 
 tract. He kept the same for 40 years, put it un- 
 der good tillable condition, and placed numerous 
 improvements upon it. While living in that town- 
 ship he was Assessor ten years. Justice of the Peace 
 twelve years, and Township Clerk several years. 
 
 Mr. Logan was united in marriage in Portland 
 Township, this county, Dec. 19, 1844, to Miss Eliza- 
 beth Warren, a daughter of Russell Warren. She 
 was born in New York, May 24, 1819, and has borne 
 her husband nine children, four of whom yet sur- 
 vive : Herman N. is a farmer, in York Co., Neb. ; 
 George E., a farmer of the same county ; Addis G. 
 is likewise a farmer of the latter county ; Robert 
 Emery is a printer in Washington, D. C. Mis. Lo- 
 gan died in Portland Township, on the old home- 
 stead, Oct. 26, 1863, and Mr. Logan was again mar- 
 ried, in the same township, April 2, 1865, to Mary 
 A. Ashton. She was a native of Devonshire, Eng- 
 land, and was born in that country Dec. n, 1824. 
 She had by her former marriage, with John Ashton, 
 six children: Samuel J., William H., Matilda, Eliza- 
 beth, Frank D. ; George is deceased. Mr. Logan 
 owns his residence and three lots in Prophetstown, 
 also a number of other vacant lots, and also has a 
 house and lot in Waco, York Co., Neb. He left the 
 farm in the spring of 1879 and moved to Prophets- 
 town, where he is at present residing, retired from the 
 active manual labor of life. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ~^\ 
 
 olonel Bushman is a farmer on section n, 
 Genesee Township, and he was born in 
 Wysox Township, Carroll Co., 111., Aug. io, 
 1853. The personal account of his parents 
 appears in connection with that of H. S. 
 Bushman. He was about six years of age when he 
 accompanied his father's family to Genesee Town- 
 ship, and they settled on section IT, on the estate 
 which has been for years designated the " old Bush- 
 man homestead." Mr. Bushman passed 17 years on 
 the place, engaged in obtaining his education and in 
 farm labor. 
 
 He was married Oct. 27, 1874,10 Ella, daughter 
 of James and Elizabeth (Hills) Scoville. (See sketch 
 of James Scoville.) She is a native of Genesee 
 Township and was born Dec. 12, 1851;, on section 
 
 ~ --Xiiff- 
 
 io. She has been reared and educated in the town- 
 ship where she is now living. The children of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bushman have the following record: Earl 
 L., born Sept. 18, 1877; Homer G., July 7, 1883; 
 and Tessa E., born Jan. 16, 1882, died April 9, 1882. 
 After his marriage Mr. Bushman took charge of 
 his father's homestead property, where he operated 
 between two and three years. He then managed 
 the farm of his father-in-law, James Scoville, for a 
 time, when he purchased TOO acres on section n, 
 and forming part of his father's farm. This is all 
 under cultivation and is in fine farming condition. 
 Mr. Bushman is a Republican in political opinion 
 and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, of 
 which Mrs. Bushman is also a member. 
 
 -?3- 
 
 illiam McNeill, Jr., a farmer and stock- 
 raiser, residing on Washington Street, 
 *_ Prophetstown, is a son of William, ST., 
 i> and Jane (Gillis) McNeill, and was born in 
 Portland Township, this county, Feb. 6, 
 1851. His father is a native of Ireland, as 
 likewise is his mother, and both at present reside in 
 Lamoille, Bureau Co., this State. Their family com- 
 prised six children, whose record is as follows: 
 James is deceased ; Elizabeth is the wife of Robert 
 Dale, a farmer residing in Portland Township, this 
 county; Florence is single and resides at Lamoille; 
 William, the subject of this notice, is next in order of 
 birth; Margaret is deceased; John J. is engaged in 
 running a creamery at Lamoille. The parents came 
 to this county in 1849, an( ^ located in Portland 
 Township, where the father procured a farm con- 
 sisting of 400 acres, and resided there until 1883, 
 when he sold the property and removed to Lamoille, 
 Bureau Co., 111. 
 
 Mr. McNeill was united in marriage in Prophets- 
 town, Nov. 18, 1880, to Miss Pearlie Geer, a daugh- 
 ter of Lyman D. and Caroline D. Geer. She was 
 born in Geneseo, Henry County, this State, Oct. i, 
 1858. She is the owner of a farm comprising 600 
 acres in Yorktown Township, Henry County, this 
 State, and Mr. McNeill is engaged in stocking it 
 with fine Short-Horn cattle. He expects to make a 
 specialty of fine stock, and will buy and sell consid- 
 erable. In 1 88 1 he started a creamery in Prophets-
 
 m 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 town, and in the foil of 882 he sold out and bought 
 an interest in a creamery in Walnut, Bureau County, 
 this State, with his brother, John J. They after- 
 wards purchased a creamery in Lamoille, and one at 
 Sublette, Lee County, this State; and Mr. McNeill 
 at present owns a one-fourth interest in the three 
 creameries. They manufacture annually about 500,- 
 ooo pounds of butter, and ship mostly to New York 
 City. Mrs. McNeill's father resides in Prophets- 
 town. 
 
 3 
 
 Ibert A. Colbert, a farmer residing on 
 section 29, owning 160 acres thereon, 13554 
 acres on section 20 and also 40 acres on 
 section 4, Portland Township, is a son of 
 Washington and Caroline (May) Colbert, and 
 was born in Phoenix Township, Henry Co., 
 111., March 19, 1842. His father was a native of 
 Kentucky and was born near Lexington, that State. 
 He was killed by the caving in of a well on his farm 
 in r844. His mother was a native of Southern Illi- 
 nois, and is at present residing in Geneseo, this State. 
 They were the parents of three children, of whom 
 Albert A., the subject of this biographical notice, is 
 the only survivor. 
 
 Mr. Colbert was reared on his father's farm in 
 this State, and received the advantages afforded by 
 the common, schools, assisting in the labors of the 
 farm. In 1842, his parents drove through from 
 Southern Illinois via the Rock Island and Dixon 
 Stage Road, and when they arrived in Phoenix 
 Township, the subject of this notice was born. His 
 father took up in that township 120 acres of land, 
 and resided there until his death. His mother now 
 owns a small place, consisting of ten acres near 
 Geneseo, where she has resided since 1862. 
 
 Albert A. enlisted in the war for the Union in 
 July, 1861, in the Texas Rangers. Three months 
 after enlistment he was taken prisoner at Lexington, 
 Ky., with 2,000 others. They took the oath and 
 were allowed to return, and went to St. Louis, where 
 they were discharged and returned home. In Au- 
 gust, 1862, he re-enlisted in Co. K, ii2th 111. Vol. 
 Inf., as teamster, and served in that capacity two 
 years and eight months. During that time he drove 
 one six-mule team, two years and four months, and 
 
 at the general review in North Carolina he was ac- 
 credited with having the finest appearing team 
 among 6,000 in the Western Army. After receiving 
 his discharge he returned to Geneseo and dealt in 
 horses one year. He was then united in marriage. 
 This event occurred in Phoenix Township, Aug. 20, 
 1866, and the lady chosen to share his joys and sor- 
 rows, his successes and failures, was Miss Lois A. 
 Allen. She was a daughter of Jonathan and Char- 
 lotte Allen, and was born near Keokuk, Iowa. 
 
 They are the parents of two children, namely : 
 Nellie M., born in Geneseo, April 6, r8;3 ; Amy B., 
 born in Portland Township, this county, July 5, 1877. 
 
 After marriage, Mr. Colbert bought 80 acres of 
 land in Phoenix Township, on which he resided and 
 cultivated four years, when he rented it, and re- 
 moved to Geneseo, and remained one year. He 
 then exchanged his 80 acres for 200 located on sec- 
 tions 14 and 15, Portland Township, and resided 
 there three years; then rented it, and in 1878 bought 
 160 acres, where he at present resides. He has 
 since resided in Geneseo one year, where he had a 
 fine residence and two acres of land, which he sold, 
 and returned to his farm. In the fall of 1844 he 
 bought 130 acres adjoining on the north, and now 
 has a fine farm, well improved. He makes a speci- 
 alty of stock, has 75 head of cattle, and is working 
 into the Short-horn breed, and intends making his 
 place a stock farm. He still deals in horses, and is 
 one of the energetic, progressive farmers of White- 
 side County. 
 
 ohn B. Loomis, liveryman at Prophets- 
 ^ town, is a son of Joel and Permelia (Bow- 
 man). Loomis, and was born in Steuben 
 Co., N. Y., March 18, 1841. When he was 
 four years of age he came to this county with 
 his mother and two brothers, his father having 
 died nearly two years previously. They came to 
 Morrison, this county, and afterward removed to 
 Henry County, this State. 
 
 Mr. Loomis was reared on a farm, and received 
 his education in the common schools of the time and 
 locality in which he resided. In the spring of i86r 
 he came to Prophetstown, and has made his resi- 
 dence there until the present time. He was united 

 
 f 
 
 . 
 
 <, 
 
 in marriage in Prophetstown, Dec. 16, 1868, to Mary 
 Mary Alvira Barber, a daughter of David and Eliza 
 Barber. She was born in Prophetstown Township, 
 March 4, 1850. Her parents were among the pio- 
 neers who settled that portion of the county and 
 endured all the trials incident to the early settle- 
 ment. Mr. and Mrs. Loomis are the parents of 
 three children, all born in Prophetstown: Carrie E., 
 Aug. 17, 1873; Mina P., Aug. 30, 1877, and Jay B., 
 Feb. 5, 1885. 
 
 Mr. Loomis has been in the livery business in 
 Prophetstown since January, 1881. He keeps usu- 
 ally about eight horses, and vehicles sufficient to 
 supply the wants of his customers. Socially he is a 
 member of the Order of Masonry, Modern Woodmen 
 of America, and the A. O. U. W. 
 
 Charles Hanson, farmer, section 1 1 , New- 
 ton Township, was born in the city of 
 Christian-i, Norway, March 19, 1828, the 
 youngest of five children. His father was a 
 mason by trade. He was not the son of 
 wealthy parents, but of poor, hard working, 
 people. His early education consisted of a few 
 weeks' schooling in the winter. He had no time to 
 go to school then, as boys have nowadays. He had 
 to be diligent when a small boy, doing what he 
 could in order to help support the family ; and 
 when he arrived at the age of manhood he saved 
 his earnings in order that he might come to North 
 America, to make his home out in the world, and 
 among strangers. He sailed for the United States 
 in the year 1853, and landed at the port of New 
 York, after a voyage of 52 days. 
 
 He came at once to Illinois, and obtained his first 
 employment on the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- 
 road, by which he earned enough money in a short 
 time to send back to his aged father, and his sister 
 and brother, to bring them also to the land of op- 
 portunity. His mother was called away by the 
 angels one year before he started for the United 
 States. He worked for the same corporation seven 
 years, and saved his earnings to buy his first 40 
 acres, after which 40 more, and so on until he now 
 owns a fine estate, comprising 400 acres of land, 
 with good improvements on all four farms. 
 
 H'S marriage to Mary Johnson, of Sweden, twk 
 
 place in Fulton, Jan. 13, 1857. They have seven 
 children, two of whom are dead. The two oldest 
 are married. The eldest married Miss Rebecca 
 Jordan, daughter of Hezekiah Jordan. Mrs. Han- 
 son is a hard-working and industrious woman. 
 
 illiam McCune, pump manufacturer, Ster- 
 ling, was born March 23, 1813. His par- 
 ents were Stephen and Polly (Davenport) 
 McCune, natives of Vermont and of Scotch 
 descent, who moved to Ohio in 1833, where 
 they died, the former in 1840 and the latter 
 in 1854. 
 
 Mr. Wm. McCune, the subject of this biographical 
 outline, was brought up as a farmer's son, receiving 
 a common-school education. At the age of 19 years 
 he left home and spent a year as a sailor on Lakes 
 Erie and Ontario ; was then on the North River and 
 the Erie Canal three years : next, he conducted a hotel 
 at McConnellsville, N. Y., five years ; then he pur- 
 chased a hotel at Camden, N. Y., and managed that 
 for seven years, when he sold it ; and finally, in the 
 fall of 1854, he came to Sterling and opened the 
 Wallace Hotel, of which he was landlord ten years. 
 Then he engaged in real-estate business, and was 
 also agent for the hydraulic company, and built the 
 second dam across Rock River. In 1870, in com- 
 pany with Hull & Bowers, he entered his present 
 business as pump-manufacturer. He afterward pur- 
 chased the interest of his partners, and he has since 
 admitted into the business his sons, so that the firm 
 name is now Wm. McCune & Co. They are enjoy- 
 ing a prosperous run of trade. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. McC. is a Democrat ; 
 and he is a member of the Masonic Order. 
 
 Mr. McCune was first married in 1834, to Luvina 
 I'crrin, and by that marriage there were three chil- 
 dren, two of whom are living, viz. : Sarah and Her- 
 vey H. Sarah was married to Mr. M. A. Bunn, 
 and she now has one child living, named Frank. 
 Mrs. McCune died in 1845, and Mr. McCune was 
 married again, in 1848, to Almira Hazen, and by 
 the latter union there are three children, Elizabeth, 
 William A. and James A. William was married 
 June 7, 1877, to Anna Crawford, and they have 
 three children, Fred L., born May 24, 1878; Helen, 

 
 
 Nov. 20, 1881; and Gretchen, May 9, 1883. James 
 A. married Ella Pickett, Sept. 12, 1877, and they 
 are the parents of one daughter, Etta L., born July 
 16, 1878. 
 
 Dudley R. Fitch, farmer, section 8, Lyn- 
 don Township, is the oldest son of Eras- 
 tus and Harriet (Beecher) Fitch, of whom 
 an account is given in connection with that 
 of George W. Fitch. He was born in Pike, 
 Bradford Co., Pa., Nov. 20, 1820, and was a 
 lad ot 12 years when his parents became pioneers of 
 Ohio. Four years later the family came to Lyndon 
 Township, and Mr. Fitch passed the remainder of 
 his minority in aiding his father on the homestead. 
 He spent two subsequent seasons breaking prairie, 
 and later he worked land on shares. In 1845 he 
 bought a claim on section 8, which he secured when 
 the Government sales were made, and also bought 
 40 acres adjoining on section 17. He built a dwell- 
 ing on the latter in 1850. He has improved and en- 
 closed his entire acreage. In 1874 he rented his 
 farm and went to Lyndon, where he bought four lots 
 and erected the dwelling he now occupies. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Fitch to Zelinda Merrill took 
 place Feb. 12, 1852. She was born in Lowell, Mass. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Fitch have had six children : Hattie 
 married L. L Barter and lives in Clinton, Iowa ; 
 Abbie A. is the wife of N. W. Martin, of Henry Co., 
 111. Ida M. was born Feb. 5, 1859, and died in Feb- 
 ruary, 1884. She was the wife of R. S. Vaughn; 
 Mary A. and Ernestine A. are the youngest; Grace 
 died in infancy. 
 
 ;fohn Farnuin, farmer, section 18, Prophets- 
 [< town Township, and the proprietor of 100 
 acres located thereon, is a son of John and 
 Sally (Philbrick) Farnum, and was born in 
 Orange Co., Vt., May 10, 1814. His father 
 was a native of New Hampshire, as likewise 
 was his mother. The father died just before the 
 subject of this notice was bom, and when he was 
 three years of age he was placed by his mother in 
 
 the family of Stephen Eaton, a farmer of Corinth 
 Township. 
 
 Mr. Farnum remained in his native township un- 
 til he had attained the age of 22 years, when he left 
 the family of Mr. Eaton and was employed two 
 years on a farm in the same neighborhood. In 
 1838 he came to Prophetstown Township, this county, 
 and bought a claim where he at present resides. 
 When the land came into market, he purchased the 
 same, and is now the owner of 100 acres of the 
 original tract, which is in a good tillable condition 
 and on which he has erected a nice residence and 
 otherwise improved it. 
 
 Mr. Farnum is a member of the Masonic fratern- 
 ity, belonging to Prophetstown lodge. 
 
 Mr. Farnum was united in marriage in Portland 
 Township, this county, Dec. 8, 1845, to Irene Under- 
 hill, nee Wellington. She was born in Cayuga Co., 
 N. Y., Jan. 3, 1816. They have adopted and raised 
 four children: Henry B. Leonard, now a merchant 
 in Prophetstown; Maria is the wife of Kingsley Car- 
 penter, a farmer residing near Jamestown, N. Y. ; 
 Cullen Southard is a farmer in Iowa; and Julius, a 
 traveling insurance agent in Nebraska. 
 
 ,aniel W. Reynolds has been a farmer in 
 Whiteside County since 1853. In April of 
 that year, he bought 150 acres in Lyndon 
 Township, settling thereon and continuing a 
 resident of that township 16 years. In 1869 he 
 sold that farm and bought 160 acres on section 
 32, in Hopkins Township. On this he fixed his 
 homestead and has made further purchases of real 
 estate until he is the owner of 37 i acres, which is all 
 practically under cultivation. In political sentiment 
 and action he is a Republican. While a resident of 
 Lyndon Township he was Treasurer and held other 
 local offices. 
 
 He was born May i, 1824, in Aurora, Erie Co., 
 N. Y., and he is the son of Nicholas and Mary 
 (Wright) Reynolds. They were natives of Vermont 
 and removed thence to Erie Co., N. Y., where the 
 father died. After the death of her husband, the 
 mother came to Whiteside County, and died in Hop- 
 kins Township. She had had eight children, born as 
 follows : Charlotte, Almos H., Harriet, Almond V. ( 
 Weston W., Marinda, James A. and Daniel W, 
 
 '. ! 
 
 * ' '

 
 r-;;^ 
 
 
 WHJTESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Mr. Reynolds was educated in the common schools 
 and obtained a more extended knowledge of English 
 branches at the academy at Aurora, his native place. 
 He remained at home until he was 27 years of age. 
 Several years afterward he came to Whiteside County, 
 as stated. 
 
 His marriage to Cordelia L. Besse took place April 
 15, 1851, in Erie Co., N. Y. They have had five 
 children, who were born in the following order: 
 Mary L., Frank W., Edward, Charles E. and Helen 
 E. Edward died in infancy. Mrs. Reynolds' par- 
 ents, John and Cassandra (Patten) Besse, were born 
 in the State of New York, which was also her birth- 
 place. 
 
 i oses A. Green is one of the leading and 
 progressive farmers, of Ustick Township, 
 where he has been a resident since 1864. 
 His farm of 200 acres is situated on section 
 i, and is, practically, all under cultivation. He 
 was born Nov. 26, 1817, in the township of 
 Monroe, Licking Co., Ohio. Hazel Creen, his 
 father, was born in Virginia, and married Susanna 
 Mullen, who was a native of Germany. After their 
 marriage they settled in Ohio, in the county where 
 their son was born. The senior Green died there in 
 August, 1841. Their children were 12 in number, 
 and were named Moses A., Merinda, Diana,. Noah, 
 James, Lovica, Abner, Lucretia, Charity, Archibald, 
 Emily and Malvina. The mother is yet alive. 
 
 Mr. Green was brought up in his native State, and 
 was there trained to ths pursuit which he has fol- 
 lowed all his life. In February, 1841, he came first 
 to Whiteside County, and lived three years in Union 
 Grove Township. In 1844 he went to Carroll Coun- 
 ty, where he resided nearly 20 years, coming, in 
 December, 1864, again to Whiteside County, having 
 exchanged his property for the farm in Ustick Town- 
 ship, on which he has since operated. He is a Dem- 
 ocrat in political views and connection, and he has 
 held various township offices. He belongs to the 
 Masonic Order. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Green to Sarah M. Kent 
 v took place Sept. 27, 1838, in Licking Co., Ohio. She 
 \" was born in New Jersey. Their children were 13 in 
 
 r , -.^number, and the survivors are named as follows: 
 
 . f. 
 
 . .., 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 Charlotte A., Nancy E., Abby M., Lewis D., Malvina 
 and Naoma. Seven are deceased. The mother 
 died suddenly Sept. 7, 1882, of heart disease, while 
 attending a fair at Morrison. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Green appears on the opposite 
 page. Its appropriateness to the collated records of 
 Whiteside County is apparent from the accompany- 
 ing sketch. 
 
 S. Ellithorp, a farmer residing on sec- 
 tion 6, Prophetstown Township, and the 
 proprietor of 450 acres of land, located 
 on sections 6, 31 and 32, is the son of Samp- 
 son and Eliza (Wight) Ellithorp, and was born 
 in Saratoga, N. Y., town of Edinburg, Nov. 21, 
 1833. His father was a native of New York, and 
 born in 1806. His mother was a native of Ver- 
 mont. The father was a farmer by occupation, and 
 died Sept. 5, 1840, in Prophetstown Township, this 
 county. The mother died in Lyndon Township, this 
 county. Their family comprised four children, two 
 of whom survive : Bethiab, now the wife of Dr. H. 
 C. Donaldson, of Morrison, and E. S., the subject of 
 this biographical notice. The two deceased were 
 Alpheus and Lucelia. 
 
 Mr. Ellithorp was reared on a farm, attended the 
 common schools, assisted in the maintenance of the 
 family, and developed into manhood. In the fall of 
 1839 his father came to this county, and made a 
 claim in Hume Township. He built a small house, 
 and entered vigorously upon the improvement of his 
 land preparatory to bringing his family to the county. 
 In the following spring he returned to New York for 
 his family and came to Prophetstown Township 
 with them in July, 1840. He died Sept. 5 following, 
 on the farm known as Crocker's farm, about one 
 and a half miles southeast of Prophetstown. The 
 mother afterwards married Marvin Frary, and they 
 moved to Portland Township. In 1845 they moved 
 to Prophetstown Township, to what is now known as 
 the Quaker Averill farm. 
 
 Mr. Ellithorp resided with his mother and step- 
 father until he had attained the age of majority. He 
 was united in marriage March 27, 1856, in the 
 township of Sharon, Henry County, this State, to 
 Miss Mary J. Averill. She was a daughter of Mark
 
 (3; 
 
 j 
 $> 
 
 552 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 R. and Ada (Dunn) Averill. She was born in High- 
 gate, Franklin Co., Vt., Feb. 21, 1835. They have 
 one daughter, born in this township, Louanna, 
 born Oct. 27, 1862. After his marriage Mr. Elli- 
 thorp rented the farm he now owns for two years, 
 and after that rented one-half of it. In the mean- 
 time he purchased a farm of 320 acres, in Hume 
 Township, upon which he moved in February, 1863, 
 and improved 160 acres of it. He sold the farm, 
 and in December, 1864, he returned to the farm on 
 which he at present resides. In the fall of 1867 he 
 went to Iowa, and engaged in the lumber and grain 
 business in company with his brother r in-law, C. H. 
 Sanford. He had previously started the business, 
 and the same had been run by his brother- 
 in-law two years. In the fall of 1868 he re- 
 turned to Prophetstown Township, and bought his 
 present farm of 450 acres, where he has since re- 
 sided. He makes a specialty of Merino sheep and 
 keeps as high as from 600 to 1,000. He also bred a 
 nice herd of Short -horn cattle, and now owns about 
 35 head. He also raises about 75 head of swine 
 annually. 
 
 March i, 1885, Mr. Ellithorp rented his farm for 
 three years, and expects to travel during that time 
 through California and other States of the Union. 
 
 orman Clark, senior member of the firm 
 of Clark, Giddings & Co., jewelers, Third 
 Street, Sterling, was born in Cavendish, 
 Vt., Feb. it, 1831. His father, Reuben 
 Clark, was a native of Barre, Mass., and a 
 watchmaker and jeweler by occupation. His 
 mother, nee Prudence Gibson, was born in Rindge, 
 N. H. At the age of 14 years, Mr. Clark com- 
 menced to obtain a systematic knowledge of his 
 trade, which he completed in five years. He was 
 also educated at the public school. At the age of 19 
 he left home and commenced business for himself, 
 in Ludlow, Vt., remaining there four years. Then 
 sellig out, he went to Rutland, same State, where 
 he followed his calling, in partnership with a brother, 
 for 18 years. In May, 1872, he sold his interests 
 there and came to Chicago, where he was with 
 Giles Bros. & Co. about two years. He then came 
 to Sterling, with his brother, and opened a jewelry 
 
 house. In 1880 his brother withdrew, S. P. Gid- 
 dings (see sketch) taking his place, in partnership, 
 the firm style at present being Clark, Giddings & 
 Co. They are the leading jewelers of Sterling. Mr. 
 Clark is a successful business man, as well as a suc- 
 cessful inventor. In political views he is a Repub- 
 lican, and both himself and Mrs. C. are exemplary 
 members of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Jan. i, 1857, is the date of Mr. Clark's marriage 
 to Miss Sarah J. Giddings, a native of Vermont, 
 and a daughter of Daniel N. and Beulah (Brown) 
 Giddings. By this union there are three children 
 Charles N., Anna E. and Reuben N. The first- 
 mentioned married Grace E. Bushnell, of Sterling, 
 and they have one daughter, named Virginia Nor- 
 
 T. Van Antwerp, a farmer, residing on 
 section 9, Prophetstown Township, and 
 owning 120 acres of land on the section, 
 is the son of John A. and Martha Anna 
 (Sturtevant) Van Antwerp, and was born in 
 Schenectady Co., N. Y., Aug. 20, 1823. His 
 father was a native of New York, and his grand- 
 father, Aaron Van Antwerp, was a native of Ant- 
 werp City, Holland, and at one time was the pos- 
 sessor of a fortune of several thousand pounds, but 
 lost it, and came to this country. He received 
 a section of land in Glenville Township, Schenec- 
 tady Co., N. Y., from this Government for his ser- 
 vices in the Revolutionary War. Six of his sons 
 were engaged in the war of 1812, and one of them, 
 Abraham, afterward represented his district in the 
 State Legislature. 
 
 D. T. Van Antwerp, the subject of this biograph- 
 ical notice, was reared on a farm two and a half 
 miles from Schenectady. His father died when he 
 was six years old, and at the age of nine years he 
 went forth upon the road of adversity to fight the 
 battles of life alone. Armed with a firm determin- 
 ation to succeed in life, he engaged as laborer on a 
 farm, and followed that vocation for some years. In 
 1854 he came to this county, and brought with him 
 some of the finest carriage horses ever owned in the 
 State. He is a breeder of fine horses, and is noted 
 in this line of business. He bought 120 acres 
 
 * 
 
 ( 
 
 . ' . ^-v
 
 /y^ 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUN'JY. 
 
 ' 
 
 f@ 
 
 where he at present resides. He also had land in 
 Iowa, and other parts of this county. He now has a 
 fine farm, comprising 120 acres, with good improve- 
 ments, and under a good state of cultivation. Start- 
 ing in the world with no assistance except his own 
 indomitable energy, combined with a firm determina- 
 tion to get on in the world, he has none to thank for 
 his success in life except his own good judgment, 
 energetic effort and the hearty co-operation of his 
 good helpmeet. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
 
 Mr. Van Antwerp was united in marriage at 
 Prophetstown, Dec. 25, 1861, to Almeda L. May- 
 nard, nee Spencer. She was a daughter of Jefferson 
 and Anna Maynard, and was born Oct. 3, 1840, in 
 Arcade, Wyoming Co., N. Y. They have two chil- 
 dren : Mattie, born Sept. 26, 1862, and Charlie D., 
 born Dec. 15, 1866. 
 
 been 
 
 i.amuel Echelbarger is a farmer on the 
 northwest quarter of section i, Newton 
 Township, 20 north, range 3 east, and was 
 born Jan. 24, 1824, in Vermillion Township, 
 then Richland Co., Ohio. (The township is 
 now in Ashland County, the territory having 
 divided.) His parents, George and Jane 
 (Hagerman) Echelbarger, were born in Westmore- 
 land Co., Pa. They were married in their native 
 State, and iti 1822 located in Richland Co., Ohio. 
 They moved there, with their teams, there being no 
 provision for public transportation, and settled in the 
 dense timber. The senior Echelbarger cleared a 
 farm, where his children were born and reared. In 
 1857 they came to Whiteside County, and settled 
 near Erie, where the father died in 1858. The 
 mother died in 1862, in Newton Township. 
 
 At 18 Mr. Echelbarger was apprenticed to learn 
 the business of a millwright in Richland County, at 
 which business he worked two years. He then be- 
 gan to operate as a carpenter and joiner and 
 worked at that business in Union Co., Ohio, until 
 1856. He had also acquired a knowledge of the 
 blacksmith's trade, and in the year named he came 
 to Whiteside County. He rented a farm on " Slo- 
 cumb Street," in Newton Township, and established 
 a blacksmith shop. In 1862 he bought the place, 
 
 which he has improved, and on which he has erected 
 good and suitable farm buildings. 
 
 His marriage to Matilda Flinn occurred Sept. 12, 
 1849. Following is the record of their children : 
 Susan married Henry Rumsey, and lives in Webster 
 Co., Iowa ; Silas G. lives in Newton Township, as 
 does Jared ; Mary S. is the wife of Jephtha Hatfield, 
 of Webster County; David lives in Garden Plain 
 Township, this county ; Benjamin F. is a resident of 
 Fulton Co., 111. ; Samuel lives at home. Mrs. Ech- 
 elbarger is a native of Virginia. 
 
 erdinand B. Hubbard, land agent, Ster- 
 ling, office on Mulberry Street, on block 
 39, west of Broadway, was born May 4, 
 r fi~~* 1 8 1 8, a native of New York, and a farmer by 
 J)\^ occupation. His father's given name was 
 Abel; his mother's maiden name was Siley 
 Andrews. He remained at home until of age, as- 
 sisting on the farm and receiving a common-school 
 education. In 1839 he came West, locating in Lyn- 
 don, this county, and during the first few seasons or 
 years taught school near Princeton, 111., and con- 
 tinued in the vocation of teaching for a number of 
 years. Returning to New York, he taught there two 
 winters ; was then employed in buying grain and 
 assisting in a store in Venice, Ohio, for a cousin, R. 
 H. Haywood, of Buffalo. In 1849 he went to Fre- 
 mont, Ohio, and in company with Messrs. Pease and 
 Roberts, under the firm name of Roberts, Hubbard 
 & Co., engaged in the stove and tinware business, 
 which relation continued for two or three years. 
 Selling out to his partners, he went to Huntsville, 
 that State, and continued in the same business, in 
 partnership with Sidney B. Foster, under the title of 
 Hubbard & Foster. A year or two afterward he 
 sold his interest to Mr. Foster, and engaged in the 
 warehouse business, buying grain, etc., in the same 
 place, and also acted as agent for the Mad River 
 Railroad Company,. In two or three years he sold 
 out, and in 1855 came to Sterling, entering the real- 
 estate business, and buying grain and live stock. 
 After following this for a year or two, he started, in 
 1856, the first (except one) agricultural store west 
 of Chicago, acting as general agent for the sale of 
 threshers and reapers for the Shite of Illinois for
 
 -:. .- - 
 
 . ' 
 
 WHITES! DE COUNTY. 
 
 (2; 
 
 
 I 
 
 manufactory in Ohio, and followed that business until 
 1878, since which time he has devoted his attention 
 to real estate. He owns lots 7 and 8, in block 39, 
 west of Broadway, lots i and 2 in block 22, on Mul- 
 berry Street, 275 acres south of Morrison, 160 in 
 the township of Hahnaman, 12% acres of timber in 
 Fenton Township, and 320 acres in Palo Alto Co., 
 Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Hubbard is an influential citizen, a Freema- 
 son, and a Republican. He married Miss Mary O., 
 daughter of Rev. Daniel Dorchester, April 17, 1850; 
 and they have six children living, namely: Siley M., 
 Charlie, Ferdinand B., Lizzie (deceased), Belle, Hat- 
 tie and Lena. Siley M. married Wilks C. Bunn ; 
 Ferdinand B., Jr., married Miss Carrie Paddock, and 
 has one son, Charlie E. 
 
 acob M. Van Demark, farmer and stock- 
 raiser, section 3, Tarnpico Township, was 
 born in Olive Township, Ulster Co., N. Y., 
 Dec. 18, 1832. . His father was J. S. Van De- 
 mark, a mechanic, of whom a sketch is given 
 elsewhere in this volume. He worked with 
 his father in mechanical pursuits until of age, receiv- 
 ing only a limited school education, but a good train- 
 ing in the art of honse-buildtng. 
 
 After he- attained his legal age he worked four 
 years for Martin Acker, an architect, and then, in 
 1858, he came West and located upon 40 acres in 
 Yorktown Township, Henry County, this State, and 
 followed his tirade. In 1859 he came to Tarn pi co 
 Township, this county, and helped to organize that 
 division of the county, being elected the first Town- 
 ship Clerk. He has since served also as Road Com- 
 missioner several years. In 1866 he settled on a 
 farm of 80 acres on the section he now occupies. At 
 present, however, he owns an aggregate of 220 acres, 
 all finely improved, the county ditch passing through 
 his farm. His farm buildings and equipments are 
 also first-class, and he exhibits every evidence of a 
 No. i agriculturist. His cattle are of a high grade 
 of Short-horns. 
 
 He votes the Republican ticket. Feb. 19, 1857, 
 in his native township, he married Miss Mary A. 
 Lane, who is also a native of Ulster Co., N. Y., where 
 her father, Cornelius Lane, was a farmer. Her 
 
 .* K-- 
 
 mother's maiden name was Catharine Elmendorf. 
 Her parents now reside in Hume Township. Mrs. 
 Van Demark received a good education, and before a 
 her marriage, taught school. Mr. and Mrs. V. are 
 the parents of two children, namely : Fred, born Oct. ^ 
 25, 1863; and Irma, born Sept. 12, 1870. 
 
 ewell W. Paddock, a farmer, residing on 
 section 7, Prophetstown Township, is a 
 son of Chauncey and Lucy Paddock, and 
 was born in Lewis Co., N. Y., April 20, 1851. 
 The same year that witnessed the birth of Mr. 
 Paddock, his parents' family came to Prophets- 
 town Township, this county, and located on the 
 Paddock Bottoms, two miles northeast of Prophets- 
 town. In December, 1870, the family moved to the 
 homestead on which they at. present reside. In the 
 fall of 1875, Mr. Paddock, in company with his two 
 brothers, bought the homestead, consisting of 280 
 acres of fine and improved land, on which Mr. Pad- 
 dock at present resides. 
 
 Mr. Paddock was united in marriage in Portland 
 Township, this county, Sept. 6, 1876, to Miss Laura 
 E. Brydia, daughter of Sidney and Lucy Brydia. 
 She was born in the township in which she was mar- 
 ried. Her parents came to this county about 1850. 
 Her father died in Portland Township, and her 
 mother still resides on the old homestead. 
 
 eter F. Hellerstedt, of the firm of Heller- 
 stedt Bros., manufacturers of carriages, 
 spring wagons, buggies, hearses, etc., at 
 Morrison, was born in East Gothia, Sweden, 
 Oct. 20, 1843, and is the son of Anders P. 
 and Anna K. Hellerstedt. The father was a 
 carriage ironer and locksmith and reared his son to 
 the same trades. The latter afterward entered a 
 coach factory to complete his knowledge of the busi- 
 ness in all its branches. 
 
 In 1865 he left his native land to seek his ad- 
 vancement in the Western world, arriving in Novem- 
 ber of the same year in Chicago. He entered a shop 
 in that city, where he worked for more than four 
 years. He went thence to Moline, 111., where he es- 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 fe> 
 
 1 
 
 <D 
 
 S 
 s5 
 
 ) 
 
 ' 
 
 tablished liimself in business in his own behalf, with 
 relations on a limited scale, in accordance with 
 his resources and ideas of safety in his transactions. 
 Four years later he disposed of his interests at Mo- 
 line, by sale, and in August, 1874, he came to Mor- 
 rison, where he entered upon the duties pertaining to 
 the position of foreman of the Morrison Carriage 
 Works, in which he was occupied until October, 
 1876, the date of his initiation of his present business 
 relations. July 7, 1879, he admitted his brother, C. 
 A. Hellerstedt, to a partnership, and their establish- 
 ment has been conducted under their joint manage- 
 ment since. They have had a business career of 
 marked prosperity and have built up a reputation sec- 
 ond to none, in point of integrity and ability. They 
 have invented and received letters patent for a two- 
 wheeled vehicle, known to the trade as Hellerstedt's 
 Road Cart, which is attracting favorable attention 
 and bids fair to become popular. The patent is 
 dated Jan. 27, 1885. The demands of their factory 
 require several different buildings and they employ 
 an average working force of ten men. The carriage 
 repository and office are situated in the Opera House 
 Block. Three buildings owned by Hellerstedt Bros, 
 are situated on Main Street, where they own a front- 
 age of 100 feet. 
 
 Mr. Hellerstedt is a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 He was married Nov. 20, 1879, at Morrison, to 
 Effie S. Smith, and they have two children, Carl 
 Johan, born Oct. 21, 1880,. and Ruth Mary, born Oct. 
 7, 1882. Mrs. Hellerstedt was born in Kane County 
 and is the daughter of Edmund and Mary Smith. 
 
 eorge W. Brewer, a retired farmer, resid- 
 ing at Sterling, was born May 6, 1827, * n 
 Otsego Co., N. Y., his paretits being Henry 
 and Lucinda (Johnson) Brewej, natives also 
 of the Empire State. His father was a wagon- 
 maker and millwright. The subject whose 
 name heads this sketch, was an inmate of the par- 
 ental home until of age, receiving a common-school 
 education and acquiring a practical knowledge of the 
 wagon-maker's trade of his father. This vocation he 
 continued to follow until he was about 25 years of 
 
 &, 
 
 age. He came to Sterling in February, 1838, and is 
 therefore the oldest male resident of the place. 
 
 When he discontinued his trade he exchanged his 
 shop and business for a farm of 160 acres in Sterling 
 T&wnship ; but within six weeks he sold the farm, at 
 a net gain of $1,625 '< tnen h bought another farm 
 and sold it. In 1855 he engaged in mercantile busi- 
 ness at Sterling for a year, and then turned his at- 
 tention to farming and dealing in farms, horses and 
 cattle, until 1881. At the present time he has only 
 100 acres, and that he rents. He has a fine resi- 
 dence on block 26, east of Broadway. He generally 
 votes the Republican ticket. 
 
 Mr. Brewer was married March 4, 1851, to Eliza- 
 beth S. Green, a native of New York State, and of 
 their ten children the following four are living: 
 Dolora E., Orra L., Carrie M. and Myrtie M. The 
 first named was married Jan. T4, 1874, to Isaac S. 
 Bressler, and their two children are, Freddie N., born 
 Sept. 12, 1876; and George B., Dec. 21, 1881. 
 
 A. Tuller, farmer, residing on section 36, 
 Prophetstown Township, is a son of Elam 
 and Eunitia (Eno) Tuller, and was born in 
 Simsbury, Hartford Co., Conn., Oct. 13, i8r3. 
 His father was a native of the same State, born 
 near Simsbury, as likewise was his mother. 
 The father followed the occupation of a farmer and 
 mechanic, and he and his wife were the parents of 
 six children, four of whom are yet living. J. A., 
 subject of this notice, is the oldest. Henry L. re- 
 sides in Peru, this State. William G. is a railroad 
 official and resides in New York city. Andrew died 
 in Sterling; and Elam is also deceased. 
 
 Mr. J. A. Tuller, subject of this biographical notice, 
 on attaining adult age, worked in a steam engine 
 manufactory at Hartford, Conn., of which his father 
 was the principal owner. In July, 1833, he came 
 with his father's family to Chicago and soon after- 
 ward went to what is now Joliet, this State, where he 
 remained a short time. In June, 1836, Mr: Tuller 
 came to Portland Township, this county, and re- 
 mained a short time and then returned to Joliet, and 
 in the fall following, came back and made a claim of 
 1 60 acres in Portland Township. He resided there 
 a short time and then sold his claim and bought 
 
 .IF"
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 other pieces of land in the county, and in 1857 he 
 purchased the farm on which he at present resides, 
 at that time consisting of 1 60 acres. He has subse- 
 quently increased his acreage until he at present is 
 the proprietor of 37 1 acres, all in a body, and con- 
 stituting a fine and well cultivated farm. His son, 
 Wilbur E., now cultivates the farm and they together 
 have 27 head of fine horses, with Norman Fercheron 
 blood, and a number of fine cattle. Mr. Tuller is a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity. 
 
 Mr. Tuller was united in marriage in Portland 
 Township, this county, June 8, 1837, to Harriet M. 
 Fuller, a daughter of Simeon and Lucina Fuller, and 
 a native of New York. They have three children : 
 Albert G., a farmer and stock-raiser in Osage Co., 
 Kan.; Emmet, a cattle raiser in Southern Colorado ; 
 Wilbur E. resides on the homestead, and was mar- 
 ried to Miss Grace McDonald. They have one child, 
 Agnes, born Feb. 2, 1883. 
 
 rancis W. Hodges, farmer, section 30, 
 Coloma Township, was born Aug. 3, 1823, 
 in Taunton, Mass., and is a son of David 
 and Clarissa M. (Jones) Hodges, who were 
 born, married and died in the Bay State. 
 Their children also included a daughter named 
 Clarissa. Mr. Hodges was sent to the public schools 
 and afterwards to a seminary in Maine, which he 
 attended two years. In 1840 he came to Kane Co., 
 111. In 1841 he became a resident at Como, in Hop- 
 kins Township, where he was a citizen until 1850. 
 In that year he made an overland journey to Califor- 
 nia for the purpose of mining. After four years of 
 effort with fair success he returned to Whiteside 
 County, and located on a tract of land he had en- 
 tered in 1841 and where he had established his 
 homestead for a permanency. His estate comprises 
 170 acres in the townships of Coloma and Hahna- 
 man, which is all under tillage. In politics Mr. 
 Hodges is identified with the Democratic party. 
 
 He was united in marriage with Mary B. Stewart 
 in Como, Jan. 24, 1856, and they have had four 
 children Joseph W., Frank A., Jennie L. and 
 James S. Mrs. Hodges was born March 19, 1839, 
 in Pittsburg, Pa., and is the daughter of James and 
 Jane (Lowry) Stewart. Her parents were natives of 
 Ireland and were ot Scotch lineage. They came to 
 ^HfiKftu ^.axn.^ ,-N * 
 
 lien Hays, general farmer, section 15, Hume 
 Township, was born Oct. 26, 1825, in Ve- 
 nango Co., Pa. His father, John P. Hays, 
 was a native of Maryland, and was a farmer. 
 Mr. Hays was married March 14, 1850, to 
 Esther Willing, and they became the parents 
 of nine children : Maria married Jacob Seth, and 
 lives on her father's homestead ; Lorena J. married 
 Joseph Brimmer, a farmer of Hume Township; Alice 
 resides at home ; the other children are deceased. 
 
 Mr. Hays was a farmer in Venango County until 
 the fall of 1882. In that season he removed to 
 Whiteside County, settling on a farm of 120 acres in 
 Hume Township. He became the owner of the 
 property in 1864, at which time it was wholly uncul- 
 tivated. After purchase he rented the place until 
 he became its occupant. 
 
 In political faith Mr. Hayes is an earnest Repub- 
 lican, and he has held several offices. 
 
 
 Whiteside County in 1853 and settled in Coloma 
 Township. They had nine children and the follow- 
 ing survived to mature age: Eliza A., Letitia M., *j * 
 Mary B., James H., John W. and Sarah C. Mrs. 
 Hodges is a communicant in the Episcopal Church. \&) 
 
 -*- 
 
 \ 
 
 j: odney C. Crook, a retired farmer residing 
 in Prophetstown, this county, is a son of 
 >>Kq\~ Stephen and Mary C. (Gibbs) Crook. He 
 x( was born in Orange County, Vt, Aug. 24, 
 1836. His father was a farmer by occupa- 
 tion, and in April, 1838, came West, and 
 located in what is now Prophetstown Township, this 
 county, and about one and a half miles east of the 
 present village of that name. Asa Crook, a brother 
 of Stephen Crook, father of the subject of this bio- f 
 graphical notice, moved from New York to Michi- 
 gan, and in May, 1834, came to this county and 
 located, and was one of the first, if not the first, 
 settler in Prophetstown Township. The parents of 
 Mr. Crook, of this sketch, drove from Vermont with 
 teams in the fall of 1837, spending the winter 
 in Buffalo, N. Y., and in the following spring came
 
 
 
 WHITES! DE COUNTY. 
 
 i 
 
 557 
 
 ) 
 
 A 
 
 West, with two teams loaded with household goods, 
 and located in this county. The family consisted 
 of four sons and four daughters. One daughter was 
 married and remained in Vermont; and one broth- 
 er, David P., had already preceded the family to this 
 county to prepare a place of shelter ; Mary, now de- 
 ceased, was married to Harry C. Crook, in Vermont ; 
 David P. and Albert G. are also deceased ; Lucy A. 
 is a widow, and resides in Denver, Col. ; Irene G. is 
 the wife of Joel Kirshbaum, of Burlington, Iowa, a 
 book-keeper by occupation ; Charles H. is a resident 
 of Iowa; Harriet is deceased, and Rodney C., the 
 subject of this notice. The father died here in the 
 fall after the arrival of the family. The mother was 
 assisted by her two sons, David P. and Albert G., 
 and when the land had come into market on which 
 they originally settled, they purchased 240 acres. 
 The mother died in Sterling, Sept. 30, 1861, where 
 she was living with her daughter, Lucy A. 
 
 Mr. Crook remained at home, assisting in the 
 maintenance of the family and receiving the ad- 
 vantages afforded by the common schools, until the 
 spring of 1834, when he went to California, in com- 
 pany with two brothers, D. P. and Charles. He 
 was employed in herding for his brother, D. P., and 
 in 1857 he returned, and the following spring he 
 was employed in a livery stable at Sterling. He 
 then, in 1860, went to Colorado, but only remained 
 a short time. In 1861 he again made the same trip. 
 In 1862 he went for the third time, and remained 
 until 1864, engaged in mining, and meeting with 
 very good success. He had several claims, and 
 made enough to return and purchase a farm of 160 
 acres, located on sections 30 and 31, Hume Town- 
 ship. He resides on section 30, and has since 
 added by subsequent purchase to his landed inter- 
 ests until he is at present the proprietor of 240 
 acres. He gradually worked into fine stock, and 
 when he retired from farming he had 53 head of 
 cattle, among which were 17 head of full-blooded 
 Short-horn and graded. He still owns his 24o-acre 
 farm, and has held the office of Supervisor one 
 year, Commissioner three years, School Trustee 
 three years, and Justice of the Peace nearly four 
 years. He is a member of the Masonic Order. In 
 the spring of 1885 he retired from active labor on 
 the farm, and moved to Prophetstown. 
 
 Mr. Crook was united in marriage in Livingston 
 
 ._ 
 
 Co., 111., Feb. 20, 1866, to Miss Mary C. Brydia, a 
 daughter of Truman W. and Laura (Day) Brydia. 
 She was bom in Bluffdale, Green County, May 13, 
 1844. They have one daughter, Mary L., born in 
 Hume Township, this county, March 20, 1876. The 
 parents of Mrs. Crook were natives of Vermont. 
 Her father is a farmer by occupation, and resides in 
 Livingston Co., 111. Her mother died in that county, 
 July 8, 1873. 
 
 
 ewis C. Arnett, farmer, residing on section 
 27, Portland Township, and the owner of 
 200 acres on the same section, was born in 
 the township in which he resides, on section 
 35, Dec. 18, 1842, and has spent his life within 
 [ the borders of the county. His parents were 
 Jacob and Charlotte (Summers) Arnett. His father 
 was a native of France, in which country he was 
 born April 15, 1815. He came to this country in 
 1827, and located in Warren Co., Pa., where he was 
 engaged in lumbering. In 1836 he came West and 
 in the fall of the same year he came to Portland 
 Township, this county. He was there engaged by 
 the month one season and in 1837 located the old 
 homestead of 160 acres on section 35, where the 
 subject of this biographical notice was born. The 
 parents of Mr. Arnett's father, Lewis and Clara 
 (Shedeg) Arnett, came to this State in 1838 and lo- 
 cated one mile south of the residence of Jacob Ar- 
 nett, over the line in Henry County, and died in 
 Loraine Township, that county. Lewis C.'s father 
 went back to Pennsylvania and was there married 
 in the village of Warren, in March, 1842, to Miss 
 Charlotte Summers. They had a family of seven 
 children, all living, ot whom Lewis C. is the eldest, 
 Samuel resides in Geneseo, 111., and is a dealer in 
 agricultural implements, in company with two other 
 brothers, Philip and Albert. Mary is the wife of An- 
 drew Smith, a farmer, who is residing in Loraine 
 Township, Henry County. Clara is the wife of 
 Abraham Rapp, a farmer residing in the same town- 
 ship. Otilla is the wife of Charles Alber, who keeps 
 a restaurant and bakery in Kansas City. 
 
 Mr. Arnett was reared at home until he attained 
 the age of 2 1 years, receiving the advantages af- 
 forded by the common schools and assisting in .the 
 maintenance of the family. In 1866 he bought 120 
 
 Ava^ 
 
 " 
 
 
 
 '
 
 
 
 
 <, 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 acres of his present farm, and in 1868 purchased 
 the remainder. He now has 200 acres of good till- 
 able land and also twenty-five acres of timber in 
 Loraine Township, Henry County. Mr. Arnett is a 
 member of the Masonic Order. He was united in 
 marriage in Loraine Township, Henry County, this 
 State, Sept. 6, 1868, to Miss Sarah Roos. She is a 
 daughter of Martin and Elizabeth Roos, and was 
 born in Loraine Township, May 22, 1849. They 
 have six children, all born in Portland Township, this 
 county, namely: Clara, born June 23, 1869; Stacy, 
 born Nov. 15, 1870; Leroy, born March 7, 1872; 
 Ida, born Aug. 20, 1873; Agnes, Feb. 14, 1875; and 
 vVinnie, Sept. 5, 1876. 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 ~^^* ''"fir" J ~" sT* 
 
 evi D. Baldwin, dealer in coal, feed, flour 
 and meal, lime and cement at Lyndon, be- 
 came a resident of that place in 1873. In 
 1879 he bought the business interests he is now 
 conducting of G. W. Fitch. He is the owner 
 of a considerable amount of village property, 
 which he purchased at various times. 
 
 Mr. Baldwin was born Oct. i, 1825, in Manchester, 
 Benmngton Co., Vt. His parents, Silas G. and Han- 
 nah (Church) Baldwin, were both born in the same 
 State. His paternal grandfather was a native of Eng- 
 land, and in company with two brothers came to Amer- 
 ica. They resided for a time in Connecticut and re- 
 moved thence to Washington Co., Vt., going from 
 there to Windham County, where the grandsire died. 
 Mr. Baldwin was but six years old when his mother 
 died, and his father went soon after to Jamaica, in 
 Windham County, where he was again married. Mr. 
 Baldwin began to take care of himself when but 
 nine years old, obtaining work in summer and at- 
 tending school in winter. In 1842 he left his native 
 State and went to Massachusetts, where he re- 
 mained three years, returning at the expiration of 
 that time to Vermont. 
 
 Mr. Baldwin formed a matrimonial alliance Nov. 
 4, 1845,' with Samantha Hogeboon. He remained 
 in Vermont until 1855, and during the last year of 
 his stay in that State he worked as a brick and 
 plaster mason. On coming to Illinois he purchased 
 a considerable acreage of land in Fairfield Town- 
 ship, Bureau County, consisting of both wild and 
 
 improved land. He began to apply himself indus- 
 triously as a farmer and also worked at the trade of 
 a mason. In 1871 he sold his farm and went to 
 Washington County, whence he returned after a stay 
 of eighteen months to Bureau County. In Febru- 
 ary, 1872, he came to the township of Lyndon, this 
 county. Mrs. Baldwin is the daughter of John 
 Hogeboon, a member of the family of his son-in- 
 law, and 91 years of age. 
 
 Deveraux Parish, insurance agent and 
 |" special agent and adjuster for Northern 
 Illinois, for the Home Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany of New York, has his office in Prophets- 
 town. He is a son of Oliver and Amanda M. 
 (Deveraux) Parish, and was born in Genesee 
 Co., N. Y., Dec. 26, 1845. His father was a farmer 
 i>y occupation, and was Sheriff of that county a num- 
 ber of years, and held numerous other offices. Both 
 parents are deceased. 
 
 Mr. Parish attended the common schools of his 
 native county, and afterward the Alexander and 
 Oakfield Academies, and then attended the Hamilton 
 College two years. He then engaged with the Mich- 
 igan Southern Railroad in the capacity of Civil Engi- 
 neer, and remained with them for two or three years, 
 and continued to follow the business, working for the 
 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Sheboygan & 
 Fond du Lac Railroad Companies from 1865 to 
 1871. In 1870 he came to Prophetstown as Civil 
 Engineer for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
 Railroad, and in 187 i he opened a store in company 
 with Benjamin Robinson, which they continued to 
 successfully conduct for a period of five years and 
 over. He then sold his interest and engaged in the 
 insurance business, in which he has since been in- 
 terested. He has a number of leading fire insur- 
 ance companies, which he represents, among which 
 are the Home of New York, Phcenix of Hartford, 
 Firemen's Fund, Sun of London, Commercial Union, 
 American of Philadelphia, German of Peoria, and 
 American Central of St. Louis. He does the prin- 
 cipal portion of the business of this section of the 
 county, and is also engaged to a considerable extent 
 in the real-estate and loan business. He owns his 
 nice residence in Prophetstown and one block on the 
 
 @J 
 
 Sk 
 
 V)
 
 iMf ui- ILLINOIS
 
 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ' 
 
 south side of the railroad. Mr.- Parish is also a 
 Notury Public ; also a Freemason, belonging to Blue 
 Lodge, and Chapter 173, Sterling Commandery, No. 
 57 ; is a Knight Templar and belongs to the Order 
 of Odd Fellows, having passed all the chairs; is a 
 member of the A. O. U. W. and also of the Order of 
 Modern Woodmen of America. 
 
 Mr. Parish was united in marriage in Prophets- 
 town, Aug. 10, 1871, to Miss Libbie Robinson. She 
 is a daughter of Benjamin and Fanny Robinson, and 
 was born in Prophetstown, March n, 1848. One 
 daughter, Lute R., was born to them Sept. 28, 1875. 
 The parents of Mrs. Parish were among the early 
 settlers of the county, coming here in 1843. Her 
 father is deceased and her mother is still living in 
 Prophetstown. 
 
 Mr. Parish was City Clerk for a number of years, 
 until May i, 1885. He took the census of 1880 and 
 is and has been for a number of years the township 
 Representative on the County Republican Central 
 Committee, of which he was secretary. He is also 
 one of the Directors of the Whiteside County Central 
 Agricultural Society of Morrison. In 1880 he was 
 one of the editors and proprietors of the Walnut 
 Motor, of Bureau County, 111., the firm being Parish 
 & Wilde. He was also Secretary of the Prophets- 
 town Driving Park Association two years. He has 
 been an active Republican worker in local politics. 
 In the 32d General Assembly he was Secretary of 
 the Revenue Committee. In April, 1885, he took 
 control of the State of Nebraska for the Home In- 
 surance Company of New York, in its farm depart- 
 ment as superintendent, with an office at Lincoln. 
 Is also interested in the firm of Parish Bros., in 
 Denver, Col. 
 
 ^oseph Benner, farmer, section i, Hopkins 
 fe- Township, is a son of Philip and Mary 
 (Fralich) Benner, who were natives of 
 Pennsylvania. They married and resided in 
 their native State until her death. He after- 
 wards removed to Canada, where he lived till 
 his death. They had a family of ten children, of 
 whom Joseph was the seventh. 
 
 He was born in Lancaster Co., Pa., March 30, 
 1817, and lived in his native State till 21 years of 
 
 age, when he went to Canada, where he engaged in 
 farming until he came to Whiteside County, in the 
 spring of 1868, and bought 160 acres of land in 
 Hopkins Township, on section i. Here he has since 
 lived. All his land is profitably tillable. 
 
 He was married in Canada, April r3, 1847, to 
 Mary, daughter of George and Mary Eaton, who were 
 natives of Ireland. She was the seventh of a family 
 of ten children, and was born in Ireland, May 26, 
 1824. Mr. and Mrs. B. are the parents of u chil- 
 dren, namely: Maggie A., Barbara, Elias D., George 
 W., Elam E., Mary E., Angie, Sarah E., Alice, Maria 
 and Joseph H. Alice died in infancy, when four 
 months old. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. B. are members of the Evangelical 
 Lutheran Church. In politics Mr. Benner is identi- 
 fied with the Democratic party. 
 
 L arrison D. Burch, farmer, section r 5, Union 
 Grove Township, was born July 22, 18331 
 in Chautauqua Co., N. Y. He is the son 
 of Ira and Joanna M. (Bacon) Burch, who were 
 born respectively in New York and Vermont. 
 After their marriage, they located in the State 
 of New York, and a few years later they went to 
 Indiana, whence they removed in 1837 to Illinois. 
 They are mentioned in the records of the county as 
 being one of four families who settled in the town- 
 ship of Garden Plain in that year. The father is 
 deceased. The mother survives and lives in Union 
 Grove Township. They have four children living, 
 Harrison D., Thomas J., Eliza S. and Ira S. 
 
 Mr. Burch was four years of age when his parents 
 came to Whiteside County, and he has practically 
 passed his life thus far within its limits, having spent 
 but 18 months outside of them since he was brought 
 hither by his father and mother. He is a farmer of 
 extensive agricultural relations, owning 335 acres of 
 land in Union Grove Township, which is nearly all 
 under tillage. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Burch to Elizabeth VV. 
 Wookey took place Jan. r, 1856, in Kenosha, Wis. 
 Mrs. Burch was born May 29, 1835, in England. 
 She is the daughter of George and Maria (Bryant) 
 Wookey. The family of her father came to America 
 about 1850 and located in Kenosha, where he died 
 
 :
 
 V 
 
 
 WH1TES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 Aug. 28, 1854. The mother died in Union Grove 
 Township, May 12, 1880. They had ten children, 
 who were named Mary A., John, Sarah, James, 
 George, Thomas, William, Jane, Elizabeth W. and 
 Frank R. Mr. and Mrs. Burch have been the par- 
 ents of 13 children, four of whom William, Marion, 
 Franklin and Nellie are deceased. They were born 
 in the following order: William, Thomas J., Frank- 
 lin, Lafayette W., Marion, Mary A., Ella M., George, 
 Lizzie J., Nellie, Bertie, Henrietta and Freddie. 
 
 In his political views and connections he affiliates 
 with the Republican party, and he has been active 
 in local official positions. He is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, to which his wife also 
 belongs. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Burch appears on a preceding 
 page and represents a man who is esteemed as a 
 worthy citizen and an upright, honorable man. It is 
 copied from a photograph recently taken. 
 
 Albert Field, a farmer, owning 278 acres of 
 land located on sections 22, 27 and 28, 
 Prophetstown Township, was born one- 
 eighth of a mile from his present residence, 
 Jan. 5, 1853. He is a son of Samuel and 
 Olive (Paddock) Field, natives of Oneida 
 County, N. Y., and who reside in Prophetstown 
 Township. Mr. Field was reared on a farm in the 
 latter township, receiving the advantages afforded by 
 the common schools and assisting in the labors of 
 the farm. In 1877 his father gave him 82^2 acres of 
 land where he at present resides, and he has since 
 added to his original tract until he is at present the 
 proprietor of the number of acres mentioned. Mr. 
 Field makes a specialty of dealing in cattle. He 
 buys and fattens his stock on his farm and ships 
 mostly to the Chicago market, usually shipping from 
 one to two cars of cattle and the same of swine. 
 
 Mr. Field was united in marriage in Prophetstown, 
 March 25, 1877, to Miss Alice A. Jewell. She is a 
 daughter of Lewis, H. and Margaret Jewell, and was 
 born in Carroll County, this State, Oct. 31, 1856. 
 Her parents are both living and reside in Lucas Co., 
 Iowa. Mr. Field has made a success in life, and has 
 a fine farm under good cultivation and is one of the 
 
 (g\V9rgs/R OT 
 
 representative and prosperous farmers of Whiteside 
 County. 
 
 Samuel Field, the father of the subject of this bio- 
 graphical notice, resides on section 26, the same 
 township. He is a son of Thomas and Anna (Fan- 
 ning) Field, and was born in Oneida Co., N. Y., Feb. 
 15, 1821. His father was a native of Rhode Island 
 and his mother a native of Connecticut. Their 
 family consisted of 1 1 children, four of whom are liv- 
 ing. Edmund, a farmer. Samuel, the subject of this 
 paragraph. Waterman, a farmer in California ; and 
 Silas, a rancher in British Columbia. Samuel Field 
 was reared on a farm, and in 1852 was the possessor 
 of 65 acres, which he sold, and located on the Rock 
 River bottom, where he bought 80 acres and subse- 
 quently added to it until he was the possessor of 
 630 acres, which he has since divided among his 
 children, except 88 acres. In 1865 he came to his 
 present farm and now has 120 acres, 58 of which is 
 on the river bottom. 
 
 He was married in Oneida Co., N. Y., to Miss 
 Olive Paddock, a daughter of John and Polly Pad- 
 dock. She was bom in Oneida Co., N. Y., Dec. 7, 
 1829. They have six children, one born in New 
 York and five in Prophetstown Township. Helen is 
 the wife of John Ellsworth, a farmer in Prophetstown 
 Township. Albert is also a farmer in the same town- 
 ship. Mary E. is the wife of Marion Green, a farmer 
 in Hume Township. George also follows the occu- 
 pation of a farmer. Nettie C. is the wife of William 
 Washburn; and Emma resides with her parents. 
 
 B. Worthington, deceased, formerly a 
 prominent resident of Sterling, was a na- 
 tive of Colchester, Conn., married, April 
 24, 1834, Miss Sarah, daughter of E. McShane, 
 of Philadelphia, Pa., and in 1837, with her and 
 their two children, emigrated from Luzerne Co., 
 Pa., to Harrisburg, this county, now the eastern por- 
 tion of Sterling, and then consisting of but four log 
 cabins. The two children were Anna, who afterward 
 married Lorenzo Hapgood, and Edward L., l>oth 
 now deceased. This was the fifth family to locate 
 here. 
 
 To induce Mrs. Worthington to open a school, the 
 town proprietors gave her a town lot, on which her 
 
 Z^ >^W^__ ..'. ^. 
 
 
 
 r
 
 
 husband built the first frame house in the locality. 
 The frame was raised on the 4th of July, 1837, and 
 occupied on the last day of November. The school 
 was commenced early the following spring, with 10 
 or 12 pupils. For a list of their names, see history 
 of Sterling, on another page. 
 
 Mr. W. made a claim on the south side of Rock 
 River, and, after improving it, sold it to Henry C. 
 Landis, the present owner. Mr. Worthington was 
 chosen Postmaster, under President Harrison, and 
 remained in office 12 years. When the county seat 
 was located and the court-house about to be built ) 
 the towns of Harrisburg and Chatham united, under 
 the name of Sterling, in honor of Major Sterling, of 
 Pennsylvania. Being desirable that the postoffice 
 should be more central, Mr. W. selected a location 
 on Broadway, namely, block 52, east of Broadway, 
 built, and removed there in November, 1843. This 
 place he continued to occupy until his death, which 
 took place Nov. 14, 1871 : it is still owned and oc- 
 cupied by his widow, who is now in her ygth year. 
 Mr. W. held the position of Deputy Clerk of the Cir- 
 cuit Court for several years. Before leaving Penn- 
 sylvania, Mr. Worthington edited 'the Anti-Masonic 
 Journal and Wilkes Barre Advertiser for four years, 
 when, on deciding to emigrate West, he sold to a 
 Mr. Minor. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. W. four daughters were born, in 
 Sterling, viz.: Mrs. S. S. Lukons, Mrs. A. A. Nor- 
 wood, Mrs. C. C. Johnson and one who died in in- 
 fancy. Since then the first named has also died. 
 
 harles Frederick Peterson, boot and shoe 
 merchant at Morrison, was born Dec. 16, 
 1831, in Germany, and his patents, Peter 
 P. and Dorathy Petersen, were also natives of 
 that country. The son was reared in the same 
 manner as other German children, the laws of 
 his native country fixing the course of training under 
 which all male children are brought up. After 
 spending the required time in school, he was placed 
 in an apprenticeship and learned the business of 
 shoemaking. On reaching manhood, he was con- 
 scripted in the regular army. He was in the 
 Schleswig-Holstein war and was under fire in sev- 
 eral actions. 
 
 In 1855 he determined on emigrating to America, 
 
 and in the same year he arrived in the United States. 
 He spent a few months at his trade in Albany and 
 went thence to Cleveland, Ohio, where he was simi- 
 larly employed for a short period. He went next to 
 Painesville, Ohio, where he remained n&arly three 
 years. 
 
 He came in 1858 to Morrison, and established his 
 business, in which he has operated continuously, and 
 is the oldest craftsman in his line at that place. He 
 first operated on a small scale, opening a boot and 
 shoe store and also did repairing. He bought the 
 stand where he is now pursuing the relations of his 
 business in 1859, and has been its occupant 26 years 
 (1885). He is the owner of 120 acres of land three 
 miles south of Morrison, and a residence at Morrison. 
 
 May 2, 1 86 1, he was united in marriage at Paines- 
 ville, Ohio, to Hannah Louisa Voelker, and they 
 have five children, Minnie, Frank, Edward, Albert 
 and Bertha. The oldest daughter is the wife of 
 Frank Johnson, of Morrison. 
 
 dward Cleaveland, general farmer and 
 stock-raiser, section 33, Hume Township, 
 was born in Oneida Co., N. Y., Sept. 27, 
 1841, and is a son of David and Amy Cleave- 
 land. He was about 12 years of age when his 
 parents emigrated West with their family and 
 settled in Hume Township. He was reared as a 
 farmer's son, remaining at home until he was 23 
 years of age. When 21 years old he enlisted for the 
 war in defense of his country, enrolling in Co. C, 
 75th Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., at Dixon. The regiment 
 was attached to the Army of the Cumberland, under 
 Gens. Buel and Rosecrans. Oct. 8, he was engaged 
 in the hottest of the battle at Perryville, Ky., and 
 was wounded in both legs below the knees by a gun- 
 shot from the enemy. After lying in the hospital 
 about four months he was honorably discharged, on 
 account of physical debility, at Louisville, Ky., Dec. 
 ii, 1862. 
 
 Jan. 3, 1865, he was married at Prophetstown, 
 this county, to Miss Harriet Morehead, who was 
 born in Venango Co., Pa., Jan. 17, 1847, and came 
 West to Illinois with her father when very young. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cleaveland have three children, 
 Amy, Grant and Mary Blanche. 
 
 During the spring after his marriage Mr. C. set- 
 
 S
 
 V 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ; 
 
 - 
 
 tied on the farm where he now resides, then com- 
 prising 40 acres but now 160, all well improved and 
 equipped with good farm buildings. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. C. is a stanch Demo- 
 crat, and he has been Road Commissioner three 
 years and Tax Collector four years. 
 
 Cornelius Cunningham, farmer, section 
 20, Hahnaman Township, was born in 
 Ireland, in 1820, and emigrated to this 
 country in 1850. He lived in Clinton, Hunt- 
 erdon Co., N. J., until 1852, in Pennsylvania 
 until the next year, then in Rockford, 111., 
 about two years, then in Monroe, Green Co., Wis., 
 till February, 1866, when he came to this county, 
 settling in Hahnaman Township, where he is now 
 the proprietor of 400 acres, about 250 of which is in 
 thorough cultivation. 
 
 Mr. C. was married in Pennsylvania, Nov. 14, 
 1852, to Eliza Fogarty, who also is a native of Ire- 
 land. They have 12 children, viz. : Morris, John J., 
 Mary A., Lizzie A., Cornelius, Nellie M., Sadie F., 
 Frank, Thomas, Edward, Margaret and Charles. 
 
 In his political views Mr. C. is a Republican, and 
 both himself and wife are members of the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 nson H. Brauer has been a farmer in Ster- 
 ling Township, since 1875, when he located 
 on section n, and where he made a purchase 
 of 80 acres of land. The farm is in excellent 
 agricultural condition. Mr. Brauer was born 
 in Lee Co., 111., May 30, 1849, and he is the son 
 of William and Helen Brauer. Both his parents 
 were natives of Germany, and emigrated to Illinois 
 in 1840. They located in Lee County, where they 
 are now living: They had three children, one of 
 whom died in infancy. Those who still survive are 
 named Anson H. and Frank W. 
 
 Mr. Brauer has passed his life since his school 
 days in the pursuit of agriculture, remaining with 
 his parents until he was 25. 
 
 He was married April 8, 1874, in Lee County, to 
 
 Lillian H. Butler, and they have two children 
 Myrtle M. and Leroy. Mrs. Brauer was born June 
 7, 1855, in Lee County, and is the daughter of 
 Timothy A. and Roxana (Stewart) Butler. The 
 former was born in the State of New York, and the 
 latter in Illinois. Their children, seven in number, 
 were born and named as follows: Mary M., Lillian 
 H., Otho J., Perdita A., Cicely E., Catherine and 
 NoraM. 
 
 Politically Mr. Brauer is a Republican, and in re- 
 ligious preference he is a believer in the tenets of 
 the German Lutheran Church. He has been Over- 
 seer of Highways five years, and School Director 
 since the spring of 1885. 
 
 elson Maxson, of Sterling, residing at the 
 corner of Fourth and Clinton Streets, was 
 born in Delaware Co., N. Y., Feb. 3, 1818, 
 his parents being Phineas and Phebe (Ring- 
 K, gold) Maxon, natives of Rhode Island and resi- 
 dents upon a farm. 
 
 Mr. Maxson was but 15 years of age when his 
 parents died, and then went to Allegany Co., N. Y., 
 and worked on a farm three years ; next, he went to 
 Augusta, Oneida County, that State, purchased a 
 wagon shop and carried it on until 1851, when he 
 sold it and moved to Oswego County, same State, 
 where he was engaged in the lumber business one 
 year; he was Deputy Sheriff of Oneida County, and 
 while at Augusta he was Postmaster during Taylor 
 and Fillmore's administrations; and while in Oswego V 
 County he was Postmaster until his removal West- 
 He sold his position in the lumber business in Os- 
 wego County, and moved to La Salle Co., 111., where 
 he took charge of a carriage shop two years. In 
 1855 he came to Sterling, this county, and engaged 
 in the manufacture of carr.ages until 1859, when he 
 closed the business and entered the mercantile trade 
 with Rice Bros., remaining with them until 1862. 
 Then selling his interest to them, he followed the 
 real-estate business until 1872 ; then was a merchant 
 again until 1874, in Sterling. He moved his stock 
 of goods to Tampico, this county, where he was in 
 business nearly two years, when he was burned out. 
 Returning to Sterling for a year, he purchased a 
 farm at Midland Junction, Iowa, where he was en- 
 
 '*
 
 7 
 
 fa 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits six years. Selling a 
 part of the farm, he moved back to Sterling, into the 
 same house he built and owned since 1855. He is 
 now enjoying a retirement from the responsibilities 
 of business. 
 
 In 1862 he was elected Mayor of Sterling and 
 served a term, and in 1865 was re-elected. He has 
 also been Overseer of the Poor for Sterling for six 
 years, and School Director for several years. He 
 was one of the Vestrymen of the Protestant Episco- 
 pal Church from the time their house of worship was 
 built, in 1865, for several years. Since 1844 he has 
 been a member of the I. O. O. F., and in politics he 
 is a Republican. He is an influential and leading 
 citizen of Sterling. 
 
 Mr. Maxson was married Aug. u, 1839,10 Miss 
 Mary Alexander, a native of Butternuts, Otsego Co., 
 N. Y.'They have two children living and an adopted 
 daughter. The children are, Adelbert A., who mar- 
 ried Lizzie Monohon in 1870, and has a daughter 
 named Virginia ; J. C., who married Annie Strong in 
 1883; and the adopted daughter is named Georgie. 
 
 Aug. n, 1864, Mr. and Mrs. Maxon celebrated 
 their silver wedding. Both being in good health, 
 they expect in 1889 to celebrate their golden wed- 
 ding. 
 
 ilson B. Bull, farmer, section 9, Union 
 Grove Township, is a son of J. W. and 
 , and Huldah (Wilson) Bull. (See sketch 
 |> of J. W. Bull.) He was born in Ustick 
 Township, this county. June 25, 1855, and 
 was reared to manhood on his father's farm, 
 receiving the advantages of the common schools. 
 
 At the age of 22 years, Mr. Bull left the parental 
 homestead and " worked out " for about 14 months. 
 He then rented his father's farm, which he cultivated 
 for one year, then rented a farm of Mrs. Sally Mar- 
 tin and cultivated that four years: He has since 
 rented various farms in the county, and is at this 
 writing (1885) cultivating a farm on the northeast 
 quarter of section 9. 
 
 Mr. Bull was united in marriage Feb. 26, 1879, to 
 Miss Eva M., daughter of B. P. and Adelia (Green- 
 Ice) Baker, in Ustick Township, and in which town- 
 ship Mrs. B.'s parents still reside. Mrs. Bull was 
 
 born in Union Grove Township, Nov. 28, 1856. She 
 and her husband are the parents of three children, 
 namely, Huldah M., Roy W. and Gertrude. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Bull is a Republican, and socially, 
 belongs to the I. O. O. F. 
 
 dam Wallace, retired farmer, resident at 
 Morrison, was born May 7, 1816, near 
 Loch Winroch, Scotland, and is the son of 
 Robert and Jane (McLachlan) Wallace. His 
 father was a tradesman and acquired a world- 
 wide celebrity as a philanthropist. During 
 the latter years of his life he devoted his time prin- 
 cipally to the personal investigation of the condition 
 of the poorer classes and in exertions for the amel- 
 ioration of their necessities. He was the author of 
 a pamphlet entitled "The Christian Soldier." Adam's 
 mother was also a native of Scotland. They were 
 the parents of 11 children, and four are living: 
 William is a retired farmer and resides at Morrison ; 
 Mary is a widow and lives near Chicago; Agnes is 
 the wife of Robert Ralston, a painter in Clinton, 
 Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Wallace is the second child of his parents 
 now living. After he was 16 years of age he was 
 an assistant in a cotton factory in his native country 
 until 1840, when he came to the United States, lo- 
 cating in Saco, Maine, where he obtained a position 
 as overseer in a cotton-mill. He has been a resi- 
 dent of Whiteside County since 1856, when he set- 
 tled in Ustick Township. In 1878 he quit the farm 
 in Ustick Township and moved to Morrison. 
 
 He look a prominent part in religious matters in 
 the township of Ustick and aided materially in the 
 construction of the Presbyterian church edifice in 
 that township. He was one who helped to purchase 
 an organ for the Sunday-school, and through the 
 mutual efforts of himself and the minister he was 
 instrumental in its being played during the services, 
 notwithstanding the determined opposition of many 
 members of the society who, true to their educational 
 prejudices, believed it sinful. The feeling grew to 
 such strength that some of the Scotch members took 
 the offending instrument a mile away and burned it! 
 His marriage to Olive Peabody took place in 
 Kennelmnk, Maine. Four children were born of,
 
 
 WHITESTDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 
 
 their union and two are deceased. William H. is a 
 banker in Exeter, Neb. ; Susan P. is acting as cashier 
 in the banking house of her brother. The mother 
 died in Biddeford, Maine. Mr. Wallace was a 
 second time married, in Chicago, to Hannah Roberts, 
 who was born at Holly Center, Maine. Two chil- 
 dren born of the second marriage are deceased. 
 
 rank Davis, farmer and stock-raiser, sec- 
 tion 3, Tampico Township, was born in 
 '" Lyndon, this county, Sept. 16, 1854. His 
 father, Isaac S. Davis, was a native of New 
 Jersey and a farmer; his mother's maiden 
 name was Jane Belt, and she was a native of 
 Ohio. His parents emigrated to the West in 1840, 
 and were among the first settlers in Lyndon Town- 
 ship. His father died in August, 1881, aged 66 
 years, and was buried at the Lyndon Cemetery. His 
 mother is still living with her son Frank, and is now 
 68 years of age. 
 
 Mr. Davis, the subject of this sketch, is the young- 
 est of a family of seven children ; he attended the 
 common schools of his native township until he was 
 14 years of age, when his parents removed to Tam- 
 pico Township, locating upon a splendid farm of 160 
 acres, where he developed a taste for agricultural 
 pursuits, and since the death of his father he has 
 been the possessor of the homestead. The whole 
 acreage is well improved and in fine condition. Mr. 
 Davis is also successfully increasing his operations 
 in rearing live stock. 
 
 In his political views he is a Republican. 
 
 ^"ohn H. Kempster, farmer, owning 150 
 acres on sections 33 and 34, Portland 
 Township, is a son of John and Lydia* 
 (Hall) Kempster (see sketch of William W. 
 Kempster for biography of parents), and was 
 born in Oneida Co., N. Y., May u, 1818. 
 He came West with his father's family by water, 
 via the lakes and Chicago, and Aug. 25, 1837, came 
 to Portland Township, this county. He was reared 
 on the farm and attended the common schools of the 
 ^county. On his father dividing his land among his 
 
 three sons, John H. received 120 acres and has since 
 added by purchase 30 acres, and at present has a 
 fine farm of 150 acres. He has a fine residence and 
 good farm buildings on his place and the entire 
 tract well fenced. In the winter of 1856 he pur- 
 chased an interest in a mill which his brothers and 
 a Mr. Butzer had erected (see sketch of Wm. W. 
 Kempster), buying out Mr. Butzer. 
 
 Mr. Kempster has held the office of Supervisor 
 one year, also Commissioner of Highways and School 
 Trustee. 
 
 He was married in Portland Township Oct. 6, 
 1853, to Miss Eliza Rowe, daughter of Smith and 
 Rachel Rowe. She was born in Steuber. Co., N. Y., 
 in 1830. The issue of their union was eight chil- 
 dren, namely: Ellen A., born Sept. 23, 1854; Mary 
 J., born March 17, 1856; Henry J., born May 31, 
 1858, died Aug. 5, 1879; Lottie J., born Dec. 24, 
 1860; Robert A., born March 5, 1863; Ulysses G., 
 Feb. i, 1865; Minnie E., Sept. n, 1868; Estella 
 M., July 7, 1870; Ethel C., Sept. 23, 1874; and 
 Bessie R., Feb. i, 1877. 
 
 Ellen A. married John Hahn, a farmer in Larimer, 
 Col. Mary J. is the wife of Wm. Arnett, a farmer 
 in Loraine Township, Henry County, this State. 
 Lottie J. is the wife of Henry Arnett, a farmer of the 
 same township and county. 
 
 illiam R. McKenzie, a farmer residing on 
 section 35, Prophetstown Township, is a 
 son of William and Lovisa (Richmond) 
 McKenzie, and was born in Essex Co., N. Y., 
 Oct. 30, 1815. His father was a native of 
 the same State in which his son was born, and 
 his mother a native of Connecticut. Their children 
 were five in number, four of whom are yet living. 
 William R., the subject of this notice, is the oldest ; 
 Milton, Marlow C., and Laura A. are the remaining 
 three who are living ; and Catherine is deceased. 
 
 Mr. McKenzie was reared on a farm and received 
 his education in the common schools of the time 
 and locality in which he resided. In 1837 he came 
 West and located in Prophetstown Township, this 
 county ; he came by steamer from New York to Chi- 
 cago, then in company with several others walked to 
 this county, where he engaged in the occupation of a 
 
 S 
 
 - _* 
 
 I
 
 ^-^ VV-MMOI 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 I 
 
 farmer for different parties. He entered a piece of 
 land on section 27, which he afterwards sold a_nd 
 bought (1849) where he at present resides 40 acres. 
 He kept adding to his original purchase at different 
 times, until he now has 360 acres of land, which 
 constitutes a nice and well improved farm, with sub- 
 stantial out-buildings, residence, etc. He has held 
 the office of Justice of the Peace four years, and also 
 that of School Trustee. 
 
 Mr. McKenzie was united in marriage in Lyndon 
 Township, this county, March 17, 1842, to Miss 
 Harriet Martin, a daughter of Silas and Sarah Mar- 
 tin. She was born in Canada, May 16, 1822, and 
 has borne to her husband seven children, two of whom 
 are deceased. The living are, Luther B., born Feb. 
 23, 1843, and is a farmer residing in Prophetstown 
 Township; Lovisa, born Aug. 7, 1848, is the wife of 
 F. D. Ramsay, an attorney at law, residing in Mor- 
 rison; Ella, wife of A. H. Reynolds, a farmer of 
 Green Co., Iowa, was born Dec. 20, 1850; Mabel, 
 wife of George H. Hyde, a merchant at Little Rock, 
 Ark., was born May 10, 1853; Arthur, born March 
 29, 1855, resides at home. The deceased are, Wil- 
 liam, born May 4, 1844, died Aug. 8, 1883; and 
 Dallas-, bovn Dec. 29, '845, died Aug.. 29, 1847. 
 
 Charles F. Adams, farmer, residing on sec- 
 tion 13, Portland Township, has 332 acres 
 of land in the township. He is a son of 
 Abela and Olive (Hawes) Adams, and was 
 born in Pittsford, Rutland Co., Vt., Aug. 24, 
 1829. In 1840 the family came to this 
 county, and located in Portland Township, where his 
 father bought a claim of 200 acres of land, located 
 where the son, Charles F., now resides, on section 
 13. Both parents are still living, opposite their son, 
 Charles F. 
 
 When 22 years of age he left home and bough', am 
 interest in a saw-mill in Portland village, and was 
 engaged in running the same for about six years. 
 He then sold his mill property, and went to Colo- 
 rado, where he was engaged in mining, and was 
 quite successful. He remained in the latter State 
 five years, and then returned to Portland Township, 
 this county, where he purchased 92 acres of the 
 present farm. He has since added 40 acres, by 
 
 
 subsequent purchase, to his homestead, and is at 
 present the owner of 322 acres in the township, and 
 also 120 acres in Henry Co., 111. He makes a spe- 
 cialty of fine Short-horn cattle, and has usually 50 
 head of graded, and one thoroughbred, and also 
 about 70 hogs and several horses. He has a fine, 
 well-improved farm, good residence and buildings. 
 
 Mr. Adams was married in Portland Township, 
 May 2, 1853, to Miss Sarah Brown. She was a 
 daughter of Samuel A. and Betsey Brown, and was 
 born in Pittsford, Rutland Co., Vt., Aug. 19, 1833. 
 They have one child, a daughter, Katie E., born in 
 Portland Township, March 30, 1855. She is the 
 wife of J. V.'Washburn, now a resident on the home- 
 stead. They were married April 2, 1885. He was 
 Deputy Postmaster of Portland village six years, and 
 Township Treasurer for eight years. The father of 
 Mrs. Adams, wife of the subject of this notice, is de- 
 ceased, and her mother resides in Rutland Co., Vt. 
 
 rson G. Baldwin, residing in Prophets- 
 tcrwn, is the son of Harley M. and Eliza 
 S. (Sherman) Baldwin, and was born in 
 Hinesburg, Chittenden Co., Vt., Dec. 13, 1845. 
 He was reared on a farm, and in 1867 left 
 home and came west to Prophetstown, this 
 county, where his brother, Sherman, had preceded 
 him, and formed a partnership with him in the 
 general mercantile business. They were very suc- 
 cessful in trade, and in 1872 erected the brick 
 building the brother now occupies. Mr. Baldwin 
 retired from the business July 19, 1884, which at 
 that time was the leading commercial house in town. 
 Since his retirement from the mercantile business, 
 Mr. Baldwin has dealt largely in stocks, and has in- 
 terested himself in farming. He has 80 acres of 
 land, one half mile south of Prophetstown, and also 
 owns, in connection with his brother, 320 acres of 
 land in Woodbury Co., Iowa. Himself and wife are 
 the joint owners of 160 acres of land, in Suez Town- 
 ship, Mercer County, this State. Mr. Baldwin also 
 owns a fine residence in the northern part of Proph- 
 etstown, and a store building on Washington Street. 
 He is a member of the Masonic Order, belonging to 
 the Royal Arch Chapter ; he was also a member of 
 the Town Board two terms. 

 
 . 
 
 - 
 
 
 - .. - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Mr. Baldwin was united in marriage in Prophets- 
 town, Oct. 20, 1869, to Miss J. Mina Shaw, and they 
 have two children- Blanche, born Nov. 7, 1870, and 
 Beth, born Aug. 13, 1875. Mrs. Baldwin died in 
 Prophetstown, July 4, 1881, and Mr. Baldwin was 
 again married, in Aledo, Mercer Co., 111., Feb. 20, 
 1884, to Miss Vesta Ransom. She is a daughter of 
 Asa W. and E. Susan Ransom, and was born in Suez 
 Township, Mercer Co., 111., Nov. 22, 1859, and was 
 one of eight children born to her parents. 
 
 When the First National Bank of Prophetstown 
 was organized he became a stockholder, and con-' 
 tinned as such during its existence. 
 
 Chapin is a farmer, residing on sec- 
 tion 24, Portland Township, and is the 
 owner of 81 acres of land. He is the 
 son of Samuel and Hannah (Jennings) Cha- 
 pin, and was born in Berkshire Co., Mass., Oct. 
 23, 1823. His father was a farmer, and a na- 
 tive of Massachusetts, and his mother was a native 
 of Connecticut. Both are deceased. They are the 
 parents of five children, of which Mr. Chapin, of this 
 biographical notice, was fourth in order of birth, and 
 the only survivor. The father died March 9,1831, 
 and the mother died in Tampico Township, this 
 county, Dec. 29, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Chapin was reared on the farm in Massachu- 
 setts, and received the advantages afforded by the 
 common schools. He remained on the farm until 
 he attained the age of 22 years, when he came West 
 (in 1845) to this county, and worked by the month 
 on a farm until 1849. Previous to that time he had 
 purchased 63 acres of his present farm, and added 
 to it by subsequent purchase until he was the pos- 
 sessor of 375 acres. He gave his son, Samuel, 120 
 acres, and his daughter, Louisa E., 120 acres, in 
 Prophetstown Township. In 1877 he retired from 
 his farm, and has since continued to rent it. 
 
 Mr. Chapin was united in marriage, near Lyndon, 
 this county, Sept. 19, 1849, to Miss Sarah E. La'. he, 
 daughter of Reuel and Sally (Robbins) Lathe. She 
 was born in Hornby Township, Steuben Co., N. Y., 
 Oct. 24, 1825. They were the parents of two chil- 
 dren, born on the farm: Louisa E., Sept. 16, 1851, 
 and was married April 4, 1877, to Andrew Steven- 
 
 son, a fanner residing in Portland Township; they 
 have one child, Charlie ; Samuel R., born on the 
 home farm, July 5, 1855, and was married Oct. 9, 
 1879, to Lillie D.Payne; they have three children 
 Milo Wallace, Alma Mabel and John. 
 
 Mr. Chapin is a member of the Order of Masonry, 
 and also is a Knight Templar. 
 
 ^herman G. Baldwin, dealer in general 
 merchandise at Prophetstown, and Super- 
 visor of the township, is a son of Harley 
 
 M. and Eliza S. (Sherman) Baldwin, and was 
 
 born in Hinesburg, Chittenden Co., Vt., Nov. 
 
 26, 1843. His father was born Oct. 4, 1804, 
 and was a farmer by occupation. His mother was a 
 native of Roxbury, Conn., and was born May 5, 
 r8o8, and resides in Hinesburg, Vt. They were 
 married Oct. 8, 1826, and the father died in Hines- 
 burg, Vt., Jan. 24, 1874. They had eight children, 
 six of whom survive: Myron H., a merchant in 
 Lincoln, Neb. ; Mary E.,"wife of Lewis Sanctuary, a 
 boot and shoe dealer, residing in Hinesburg, Vt. ; 
 Susan A. Ray, a widow, and resides in Burlington, 
 Vt. ; Orson G. resides in Prophetstown ; Sherman G. 
 is the subject of this notice; Frederick W., a farmer, 
 and resides in Lincoln, Neb. 
 
 Mr. Baldwin was reared on a farm and received 
 the advantages afforded by the common schools. 
 When 1 8 years of age, he enlisted in Co. G, i4th 
 Vt. Vol. Inf., as a private, and served in the Army of 
 the Potomac about one year, receiving his discharge 
 July 30, 1863, at Brattleboro, Vt. He participated 
 in the battle of Gettysburg. On receiving his dis- 
 charge, he returned to Vermont, and in October of 
 the same year came to this county and located at 
 Morrison, where he had a sister (wife of C. W. Sholes). 
 Soon afterward he went to Fulton, this county, and 
 was employed as clerk in the mercantile establish- 
 ment of Rice Bros., remaining with them for three 
 years. He then went to Davenport, Iowa, was there 
 engaged in the dry -goods house of Wadsworth & Co. 
 one year, when he returned to Morrison and was 
 employed by Charles Spears for a short time. He 
 then went to Prophetstown, and in April, 1867, in 
 company with his brother, Orson G., opened a gen- 
 eral store. In 1871 they built the fine brick he now 
 
 _vs>>* 
 
 Ci] 
 
 V 
 
 * 
 

 
 <* ILLINUib 
 
 URBANfl
 
 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 occupies, 24 x 75 feet in dimensions, being two stories 
 with basement and a brick warehouse adjoining 
 18x60. They enlarged their business from a $2,000 
 stock to about $20,000, and largely engaged in buy- 
 ing and shipping produce. In July, 1884, his brother 
 retired from the business. Mr. Baldwin employs 
 three assistants, carries a line of groceries, dry -goods, 
 ready-made clothing, boots and shoes, hats and caps, 
 carpets (on second floor), and does an annual busi- 
 ness approximating $60,000. He owns his residence, 
 two lots on Second Street, also 320 acres of land in 
 Woodbury Co., Iowa. He is a member of the Ma- 
 sonic Order, Blue Lodge, Royal Arch Chapter 174, 
 Prophetstown, and Sterling Commandery, No. 57; also 
 a member of the A. O. U. W. 
 
 Mr. Baldwin was united in marriage in Prophets- 
 town, March 27, 1872, to Miss Laura C. Brace, a 
 native of Cook Co., Ill , and born Jan. 29, 1849. 
 They have four <hildren, born in Prophetstown: 
 Kate, Dec. 23, 1872; Cass, June 3, 1875; Mary, 
 April 9, 1878; and Louane, July 18, 1881. When 
 the First National Bank of Prophetstown was organ- 
 ized, he was a stock-holder and director, and con- 
 tinued to be such until the bank was changed to a 
 private one. He was appointed as Supervisor to fill 
 a vacancy in 1879, and in 1880 was elected to the 
 position and has been re-elected each term since. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Baldwin is identified with the in- 
 terests of the Republican party, and at the last Re- 
 publican National Convention held at Chicago, and 
 also at the State Conventions of 1880 and 1884, he 
 was a Delegate. 
 
 aniel Hollinshead, farmer, section 8, Us- 
 tick Township, is the third son and fourth 
 child of John and Elizabeth (Rush) Hol- 
 linshead, who were pioneers of Whiteside 
 County of 1839. John Hollinshead was born 
 Jan. 6, 1798, in Jersey City, N. J. He went to 
 S^ Canada and came thence to Clyde Township in 
 Whiteside County. While in Canada he was a par- 
 bticipant in the Patriot War, and his Yankee shrewd- 
 S> ness made him a valuable auxiliary to the in- 
 surgents. His wife, Elizabeth Rush, was a grand- 
 niece of Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the 
 Declaration of Independence. Julia Ann Rush, her 
 
 1 
 
 mother, lived in the stirring times that preceded the 
 Revolution, and endorsed the cause of the colonists 
 with all the energies she possessed, which were of 
 no mean character. She put on male attire and per- 
 formed picket duty whenever her services were 
 needed. She accompanied her son-in-law to Canada 
 and came with his family to Ustick Township in 
 1839. She died in 1842 and was the first person 
 buried in the cemetery on the Hollinshead farm, 
 where John Hollinshead is buried. 
 
 Mr. Hollinshead was born Feb. 7, 1833, in Can- 
 ada. He came to Whiteside County with his par- 
 ents in the summer of 1839, and he lived at home 
 until he was 21 years of age, when, in company with 
 his brother Jacob, he rented the old homestead of 
 his mother. He is now the owner of 230 acres of 
 improved land and has placed 80 acres under tillage. 
 A part of the estate is on the first half-section of 
 land claimed in Ustick Township, which was made 
 by Ed. Rolfe and was entered by Daniel Reed. 
 
 Mr. Hollinshead was a Democrat in principle, but 
 latterly adopts the views of the National party, and 
 is also a strong adherent of prohibition. He has 
 held several official positions of various degrees of 
 importance. 
 
 He was first married in Mt. Carroll, 111.,, July 2, 
 1859, to Mary L. Knight. She was born July 3, 
 1842, in Nauvoo, 111. She died after having given 
 birth to four children, Viola, Emma, Dora and 
 Agnes. Dora is the only survivor. The mother's 
 death transpired in Ustick Township April 8, 1867. 
 Mr. Hollinshead was a second time married, Sept. 
 16, 1868, in St. Glair Co., Mich., to Rebecca, daugh- 
 ter of Matthew and Betsey (Foote) Hubbell. Her 
 parents were born respectively in Connecticut and 
 New York, and had four children, born in the fol- 
 lowing order : Lucy, Lois, Angelina and Rebecca. 
 Mrs. Hollinshead was born July 31, 1837, in Sum- 
 mit Co., Ohio. She has been the mother of five 
 children, Delia O., L. Hubbell, D. Earle, Archie 
 F. and C. Burton. Archie died when five years old. 
 Mrs. Hollinshead is a communicant of the Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Hollinshead, which appears on 
 the opposite page, forms a valuable addition to the 
 collection in this volume. He is a representative of 
 the best class who were factors in the first develop- 
 ment of the county, and sustains the honor of the 
 line of descent to which he belongs. 
 
 <D
 
 WHITES IDE COUNTY. 
 
 * ? 
 
 I 
 
 Ibert J. Glassburn, a farmer on section 5, 
 Hahnaman Township, is a son of John and 
 Jane (Fee) Glassburn, natives of Ohio. They 
 had a family of six children, David, John, 
 Thomas, Albert J., Sally A. and Mary J. The 
 subject of this sketch was born in Gallia Co., Ohio, 
 Sept. 26, 1842, attended the common school until 
 about 1 8 years of age, and remained a resident of 
 Ohio until 25 years old, engaged in the vocation of 
 agriculture. In the fall of 1867 he came to White- 
 side County and purchased 120 acres of land in 
 Hahnaman Township, where he erected good build- 
 ings and has since resided. He now owns 200 acres, 
 about 150 of which is in a state of good cultivation. 
 He has a fine farm. 
 
 Mr. Glassburn was married in Gallia Co., Ohio, 
 Sept. 26, 1861, to Miss Mary J., daughter of James 
 P. and Rebecca (Mauck) Wood, her parents being 
 natives of Ohio, and having in their family seven 
 children, viz.: Irene, Mary J., Harrison, Lydia M., 
 Joseph M., James P. and Kate S. Mrs. G. was born 
 in Gallia Co, Ohio, April 29, 1842. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Glassburn have had eight children, five of whom are 
 living, namely: John P., Rebecca J., Ina I., Albert 
 J., Jr., and William G. The deceased were named 
 Effie M., Charles D. and Edward T. 
 
 In his political principles he is identified as a 
 Democrat, and in religion both himself and wife are 
 members of the Baptist Church. 
 
 obert L. Burchell, dealer in dry goods, 
 clothing, boots and shoes, hats and caps, 
 notions, groceries and queensware, at Erie, 
 is a son of Robert C. and Mary J. (Morris) 
 Burchell, and was born in Columbus City, 
 Iowa, May 31, 1846. His father was a native 
 of Virginia and an attorney by profession, and came 
 West about 1850, locating in Columbus City, Iowa. 
 In 1855 he moved to Oregon, Ogle Co., 111., where 
 he is now Mayor of the city. He was State District 
 Attorney for eight years, was one of the Electors 
 on the Greeley ticket and was a strong Blaine man. 
 The mother of Robert L. is a native of New Albany, 
 
 Ind. The issue of their union was six children, all 
 living : Kate is the wife of Adolphus Jones, farmer, 
 residing in Iowa: Henry is a merchant at Walnut, 
 Bureau Co., 111.; Nancy resides at home; Robert 
 L. is the subject of this biographical notice ; Frank 
 is a merchant at Oregon, 111. ; Jenny is the wife of 
 Charles Wales, a butcher in Savannah, 111. 
 
 Robert L. Burchell, the subject of this notice, re- 
 ceived his education at Mt. Morris, Ogle Co., 111., 
 then entered a store as clerk in Oregon, where he 
 remained three years. He then went to Franklin 
 Grove, Lee County, where he clerked for a time, and 
 then went to Dixon, III., where he also clerked one 
 year. 
 
 In 1868 he came to Erie and opened a dry-goods 
 store. He started with $3,600, and has continued in 
 the business ever since. He has enlarged the busi- 
 ness until he now has three large stores which open 
 into each other, and carries a stock approximating 
 $35,000. His store is one of the largest in the 
 county. He also has 400 acres of farming land in 
 Erie and Fenton Townships, and also has in Erie 
 a number of buildings. He has kept the postoffice 
 since 1870. Mr. Burchell also has a creamery in 
 Erie, and in 1884 manufactured 100,000 pounds of 
 butter. He ships his products to St. Louis, New 
 York and Philadelphia. 
 
 Mr. Burchell has been Supervisor of Erie six 
 years, and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for 
 two terms. He is also Village Treasurer and also 
 Treasurer of the school fund. He has taken quite 
 an interest in politics. 
 
 Mr. Burchell was united in marriage at Chicago, 
 111., Nov. 18, 1866, to Miss Margaret Victoria Jones. 
 She is a daughter of Augustus and Mary Jones, and 
 was born in the State of New York, Nov. 18, 1847. 
 They have had four children. The record is as fol- 
 lows : Edith L., born March 27, 1868, and died 
 Sept. 14, 1880; Robert C., born June 16, 1870; 
 Mary J., bora Nov. 5, 1875 ; and George A., Aug. 
 13, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Burchell is a member of the Masonic Order 
 and was a charter member of the Blue Lodge of Erie. 
 He is also a member of the Prophetstown Chapter 
 and Sterling Cotnmandery. He owns a one-half 
 interest in the store of Burchell Bros., at Walnut, 111. 
 He employs in his store eight clerks and a. book- 
 keeper, and has put in the Lampson Cash Railway 
 
 Ai. 
 =1 
 
 i
 
 L 
 
 I 
 
 ; 
 
 
 System. In the main building he has two stories, 
 and also a large cellar. In addition he has a large 
 warehouse and handles large amounts of butter, 
 eggs, etc. He is one of the representative and ener- 
 getic business men of Whiteside County. 
 
 |.arry F. Kellum, resident of Prophetstown, 
 is a son of Samuel and Lucretia (Eldridge) 
 Kellum, and was born in Susquehanna Co., 
 Pa., town of Dimock, April i, 1818. His father 
 was a farmer and lumberman, and was born 
 
 I Oct. 19, 1783, and his mother Nov. 27, 1787. 
 The former died Jan. 2, 1869, and the latter Jan. 2, 
 1879. They had seven children, of whom only two 
 survive, Judge Charles Kellum, of Sycamore, De 
 Kalb County, this State, and the subject of this 
 biographical notice. 
 
 Mr. Kellum, subject of this notice, was reared on 
 the farm, alternating his labors thereon with attend- 
 ance at the common schools, and working at the 
 lumber business, until he was 18 years old. At this 
 age in life he left school and the farm and entered 
 the store of John F. Means, in which he acted in the 
 capacity of clerk for five years, the same being in 
 Towanda, Bradford Co., Pa. 
 
 In 1844 Mr. Kellum came to this State, locating 
 in Peru, where he remained until the fall of 1845, 
 when he went to the city of New Orleans. In De- 
 cember, 1846, he enlisted in Gen. Scott's Division, 
 as a soldier in the Mexican War, and was in the ser- 
 vice two years. He participated in a number of 
 prominent engagements, and was promoted from a 
 private to the position of Deputy Quartermaster. 
 After his term of service had expired, he came to 
 Peoria, this State, where he was engaged for a period 
 in the capacity of book-keeper. In the spring of 
 1850 he bought a team, and in May of that year 
 joined a caravan and traveled across the plains to 
 Sacramento. He stopped on his way at Salt Lake 
 one month, and arrived in Sacramento in September 
 of the same year ; he went into the gold mines, 
 where he endeavored to secure a fortune, and worked 
 at the business four years ; then became agent for 
 Wells, Fargo & Co.. at Prairie City, Sacramento 
 County, that State, in whose employ he remained 
 until 1859. During the latter year he returned 
 ' East via the Isthmus, and in 1860 came to this 
 
 county and located on a farm one and a half miles 
 east of Prophetstown. 
 
 Mrs. Kellum died Dec. 14, 1864, aged 33 years, 
 and after her death Mr. Kellum sold his property 
 and came to Prophetstown. He soon opened a 
 livery stable, which he ran until 1881, when he sold 
 it ; he then entered the grocery store of D. K. Smith 
 & Co., and remained with them two years. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Kellum occurred in 
 Prairie City, Sacramento Co., Cal., Feb. 14, 1854, 
 and the lady of his choice was Miss Sarah J. French, 
 a daughter of George W. and Mariah French. She 
 was born in Racine County, city of Burlington, Wis., 
 in 1831. They had five children, four of whom still 
 survive. Samuel was born Feb. 7, 1855, in Prairie 
 City, Cal., and died April 23 of the same year. 
 Addie was born May 22, 1856, in Folsom, Cal.; 
 Mary, Nov. n, 1858, in the same place, and is the 
 wife of George Parks, a jeweler in West Union, Iowa; 
 Louie was born Jan. 21, 1861, in Burlington, Wis. ; 
 Alice, Nov. 12, 1862, and is the wife of William 
 Norton, station agent and telegraph operator in 
 Shellsburg, Benton Co., Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Kellum was again united in marriage, in 
 Prophetstown, July 21, 1872, to Mrs. Louise Spencer, 
 nee Minchen, born in Montpelier, Vt., July 27, 1823, 
 and came to Illinois in 1838. 
 
 erman Sterling, a farmer on section 14 
 Montmorency Township, is the son of 
 Isaac H. and Harriet (Emmons) Sterling. 
 His parents were born, reared and married in 
 Connecticut; and soon after the event of their 
 I union in matrimony they went to Pennsylvania, 
 settling in Susquehanna County. In 1864 they re- 
 moved thence to Whiteside County, and resided for a 
 period of 17 years in Montmorency Township, and 
 in 1 88 1 they returned to Pennsylvania, where the 
 father died, Oct. 15, 1882. The mother was born in 
 1803, and is still living, aged 82 years. Their chil- 
 dren were named as follows : Amos, Ansel, James, 
 Charles, Herman, Ralph, Harriet L., Harriet, 
 Charles M., Julia and Ursula U. Amos, Harriet L. 
 and Charles are deceased. 
 
 Mr. Sterling was born Oct. 8, 1831, in Brooklyn, 
 Susquehanna Co., Pa. He came to Whiteside
 
 County in 1853, and has since been engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits. In 1858 he became a landholder 
 by the purchase of 80 acres of land, on which he 
 has since operated, together with managing 200 acres 
 additional, which he has acquired by later purchase. 
 He has erected excellent buildings. Nearly all' his 
 land is tillable. 
 
 Mr. Sterling is not the adherent of any political 
 party or faction, and he has been Assessor four years, 
 and School Trustee seven years. 
 
 His marriage to Frances A. Stroud took place 
 April 27, 1858, in Brooklyn, Susquehanna Co., Pa. 
 Mrs. Sterling is the daughter of John and Elvira M. 
 (Kingsley) Stroud, respectively natives of Connecti- 
 cut and Pennsylvania. They settled after marriage 
 in Susquehanna County, where the whole of their 
 married lives were spent, the father dying Dec. 29, 
 1850. The mother is now the wife of C. R. Palm- 
 er, and lives in Montmorency. Mrs. Palmer had 
 five children by her first husband : Elhanan, Fran- 
 ces, William, William E. and John E. Mrs. Sterling 
 was born in Brooklyn, Susquehanna Co., Pa., Feb. 
 27, 1840. 
 
 Mr. Sterling is a member of the A. O. U. W. 
 
 ^ 
 
 s> 
 
 Edwin Brookfield, President and Treas- 
 urer of the Rock Falls Manufacturing 
 Company (specialty, burial cases), was born 
 in Coleta, this counly, June 5, 1860. His 
 parents were Ephraim and Harriet (Yager) 
 Brookfield, and were natives of the Empire 
 State. His father was a banker at Rock Falls, and 
 died Jan. 10, 1876. 
 
 The subject of this sketch remained at home with 
 his parents until 1883, being educated at the public 
 schools of Sterling; and at the early age of 17 he 
 took charge of the business of the Rock Falls Man- 
 ufacturing Company, which was organized in August, 
 1877, and now does a business of $100,000 annually. 
 In 1884 he built, at Rock Falls, the Brookfield 
 Block, on Main Street, containing three stores one 
 for hardware, one for dry goods, boots and shoes and 
 one for a restaurant. This block cost $r 0,000. Mr. 
 B. also owns a farm of So acres in Genesee Town- 
 ship, this county, and three houses in Sterling, 
 where he resides. Though so young, he has already 
 
 become one of the leading business men of the 
 place. 
 
 Mr. Brookfield was married Sept. 15, 1882, to Miss 
 Helen J., daughter of Thomas A. and Catherine 
 (Anthony) Gait, of Sterling. They have one daugh- 
 ter, born June 14, 1883, and named Emily C. 
 
 In his political sympathies Mr. B. is a Republi- 
 can, and he is a member of the Order of Knights 
 Templars. 
 
 ichael Carney, farmer residing on sec- 
 tion 27, Portland Township, and owning 
 1 60 acres thereon, is a son of James and 
 Sally (England) Carney, and was born in 
 Massena Township, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., 
 April 5, 1847. His father was a native of 
 Ireland, afid died when the subject of this notice 
 was about nine years of age. His mother was also 
 a native of the same county, and still resides there. 
 They were the parents of nine children, eight liv- 
 ing, all in New York except Michael and one sister. 
 The record is as follows: John, Margaret, William, 
 Michael, Libbie, wife of Joseph Cockins, shoemaker 
 and dealer in boots and shoes at Erie, this county, 
 Mary, James, Robert. James (tst) is deceased. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Carney came to this township with- 
 out any capital, but with the firm determination to 
 establish a home for himself and family. He was 
 employed by the month for a period of six months, 
 when he hired to his present father-in-law, David 
 Chase, for whom he worked one year. He then rented 
 Mr. Chase's farm of 160 acres, which he continued 
 to cultivate for a period of six years, meeting with 
 success in a financial point of view. He then 
 tented a farm of 200 acres adjoining his present 
 farm on the north, and for four years cultivated il. 
 In 1880 he bought 130 acres of his farm, and sub- 
 sequently has added, by purchase, 30 acres more, 
 which latter purchase occurred in 1884. He now 
 has a nice farm well improved and profitable. Mr. 
 Carney is a member of the I. O. O. F., and has held 
 the position of Constable for four years, having been 
 re-elected in the spring of 1885. 
 
 Mr. Carney was united in marriage in Geneseo, 
 Henry County, this State, June 21, 1870, to Miss 
 Esther M. Chase. She is a daughter of David and 
 

 
 ce 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 /*\ 
 ^ 
 
 Sally Chase, and was born in Allegany Co., N. Y., 
 village of Rushford, Oct. 5, 1848. The issue of 
 their union has been three children, of whom the 
 following is a record: Dency was born Sept. 21, 
 1871; Zena was born Jan. 14, 1875; and Bertie, 
 born March, 1872, died Aug. 9, 1872. The parents 
 of Mrs. Carney are both deceased. They came 
 from New York to this county, and both died here. 
 
 elon Cleveland, a farmer on sections 19 
 and 30. Hume Township, was born near 
 Rome, N. Y., Dec. 20, 1845. In r8so his 
 father, David Cleveland, came to Whiteside 
 County, and, after locating a farm in the town- 
 ship of Hume, returned to the State of New 
 York to make the necessary preparations for the re- 
 moval of his family to the West, which purpose was 
 accomplished in 1852. The family consisted of the 
 mother, Mrs. Amy (Hawkins) Cleveland, and ten 
 children. Three children had died in infancy. 
 David Cleveland was a relative of Stephen Grover 
 Cleveland, President of the United States. He was 
 one of the first extensive land-holders in Hume 
 Township, his original claim consisting of 300 acres 
 of land, which he improved from the unbroken 
 prairie. He died Dec. 15, 1878, aged 77 years. His 
 wife died Aug. 28 of the following year, when she 
 was 73 years of age. 
 
 Mr. Cleveland was seven years of age when his 
 parents came to Hume Township and he was an in- 
 mate of the parental home until he became the head 
 of an independent household, when he was 24 years 
 of age. He was married Feb. 22, 1870, at Prophets- 
 town, to Fanny Z. Humaston. Her parents, Ephraim 
 and Frances (Pember) Humaston, were natives of 
 New York, where all the after incidents of their lives 
 transpired until their removal to Whiteside County. 
 Mrs. Cleveland was born Feb. 26, 1846, near Vienna, 
 Oneida Co., N. Y. She was the seventh of a family 
 of nine children, and was principally educated in 
 her native county, coming West with her parents 
 when she was 15 years of age. They made their 
 first stop near Aurora, Kane Co., 111., and in the 
 year following came to Prophetstown, where they 
 passed the remaining years of their lives. The 
 father died in May, 1880; the death of the mother 
 
 occurred Aug. 15, 1875. Their two children are, 
 Charles D., who was born July 6, 1874 ; and Jesse 
 E.., who died in infancy. 
 
 Two years after their marriage they moved from 
 Prophetstown to the township of Hume, and rented 
 a farm for three years. In August, 1882, they took 
 possession of the Cleveland homestead, which in- 
 cluded 320 acres, all under good improvement, be- 
 coming its owner by purchase. Mr. Cleveland is 
 engaged also in feeding and raising Durham cattle. 
 In political faith he is a Democrat. Mrs. Cleveland 
 is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 raper B. Richmond, a farmer of Lyndon 
 Township, section 4, was born Feb. 19, 
 1836, in the township of Rutland, Tioga 
 Co., Pa., and is the son of Daniel and Mahala 
 (Reynolds) Richmond. When he was eight 
 years of age he came to Whiteside County, 
 where he was educated in the common schools, and 
 was reared to the vocation of farmer. He was a 
 member of his father's family until his marriage. 
 
 He became the husband of Dorothy A. Hutchin- 
 son, Dec. 25, 1857. She was born March 25, 1842. 
 With his bride, he settled on section 33, Mt. Pleasant 
 Township. His claim was unimproved, and he 
 erected necessary buildings, and set himself vigor- 
 ously to work to put his farm in prosperous agricul- 
 tural condition, and the prospects of the little house- 
 hold were in most promising condition when the 
 tornado of June 3, 1860, two years and six months 
 after the marriage of the young couple, forever 
 wiped out of existence their home and their 
 plans. Their house was blown to fragments and 
 scattered beyond finding. Mrs. Richmond, who 
 was then but 18 years old, was found fatally injured 
 a few rods from the site of her house, and died within 
 an hour. Mr. Richmond was permanently hurt, and 
 at the time thought to be fatally so, but pariially 
 recovered. When he was again able to do business, 
 he sold his place in Mt. Pleasant Township. Sept. 
 5, 1861, he was again married, to Maggie Gibson. 
 She was born Oct. 17, 1843. Mr. and Mrs. Rich- 
 mond settled on section 5, Lyndon Township, where
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 he has since resided with the exception of three 
 years, which the family spent at Morrison for the 
 purpose of securing better school advantages. Five 
 children are included in the family circle, named 
 Mary K, Dorothy A.. Mina M., Frank D. and 
 Rew J. 
 
 alph B. Colcord, marble dealer at 431 
 Third Street, Sterling, was born in Steuben 
 Co., N. Y., June 8, 1828. His father, Ivory 
 Colcord, a native of Maine, was a farmer, 
 moved from Steuben County to Genesee 
 Township, this county, arriving Oct. 14, 1837, 
 where he died in 1865. His mother, a native of New 
 Hampshire, was born June 27, 1805, and is now a 
 resident of the village of Coleta. 
 
 Mr. Colcord remained at his parental home until 
 he was 25 years old, receiving a practical education 
 and engaging in farming, the vocation of his father. 
 About a year after he left home he entered the busi- 
 ness he has since pursued. He arrived in Sterling, 
 this county, Dec. 22, 1869, since which time he has 
 prospered in his trade. 
 
 In his political principles and sympathies, Mr. 
 Colcord is a Republican; he has served as a mem- 
 ber of the Board of Education, and Alderman several 
 years. He is a member of the Christian Church of 
 Sterling, as are also his family. 
 
 March 8, 1854, Mr. Colcord married Miss Mary 
 A. Shively, a native of Lyndon, this county, and they 
 have two children, namely: Emma L. and Luella 
 M. The first mentioned married George W. Pearl, 
 July 21, 1875, and they have one child, Glennie L. 
 
 j.zekiel Murray, farmer, section 5, Hahna- 
 man Township, is a son of George and 
 Elizabeth (Richardson) Murray. (See 
 sketch of George Murray in this work.) He 
 was born in Franklin County, Ind., Oct. 21, 
 1855. Mr. Murray remained at home in Indi- 
 ana, assisting his father in the maintenance of the 
 family, and attending the common schools until his 
 parents moved to this county, when he accompanied 
 them. In the spring of :88o he purchased a farm 
 of 68 acres in Hahnaman Township, on which he 
 
 moved. He cultivated this land until 1882, when 
 he sold out and purchased 100 acres on section 5, 
 same township, on which he at present resides. All 
 of his land is tillable, and he has good substantial 
 farm buildings on his place. 
 
 Mr. Murray was united in marriage Dec. 24, 1879, 
 to Miss Lucy, daughter of B and Martha J. (Curry) 
 Ferris. (See sketch of Albert Ferris.) She was born 
 in Franklin Co., Ind., July 15, 1861. They were the 
 parents of two children : Martha E. and Rolla J. 
 
 Politically Mr. Murray is a supporter of the tenets 
 of the Democratic party. Religiously, Mrs. Murray 
 is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
 ilas Langdon is a farmer residing on sec- 
 tion 24, Portland Township, and is the 
 owner of 130 acres of land thereon. He 
 is a son of Zaphna and Mercy (Hall) Lang- 
 don, and was born on the farm where he at 
 present resides, Aug. 13, 1855. His parents 
 came from Massachusetts about 1845 or 1846, and 
 located on the identical farm on which the son now 
 lives. The father first bought 40 acres, built a log 
 house, and entered vigorously upon the task of im- 
 proving his land. The issue of their union was ten 
 children, of whom only four at present survive, and 
 of whom the following is a record: Sarah M. is the 
 wife of Peter A. Jackson, a farmer in Butler Co., 
 Kan. ; Silas is next in order of birth ; Perry G. is a 
 farmer in Washington Territory ; and George R. is a 
 farmer in the same territory. The father died on 
 the old homestead, Dec. 21, 1877, and the mother 
 died in Elgin, this State. His father used to drive 
 an ox team to Chicago, and sold corn at 8 cents and 
 wheat at 15 cents per bushel. The date of his 
 birth is Feb. 15, 1818, and he died as stated. The 
 date of the mother's birth is Sept. 10, 1819, and that 
 of her death, Oct. 8, 1880. 
 
 Mr. Langdon bought out the other heirs, and now 
 has a fine farm with good residence, barn, etc., and 
 buys and feeds cattle for the market. He usually 
 keeps from 30 to 40 cattle, among which are some 
 good graded Herefords. He raises 60 to 75 hogs, 
 mostly the Jersey Red breed. 
 
 Mr. Langdon was united in marriage in Portland 
 Township, this county, July 4, 1877, to Miss Addie 
 
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 * 
 
 . 
 
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 I 
 
 A. Booth. She is a daughter of William Booth, and 
 was born in Cattaraugus County, June 29, 1861. 
 Her father is deceased, and her mother resides in 
 this township with her son, Wesley Booth. They 
 are the parents of four children, of whom the fol- 
 lowing is the record: Mark M., born Feb. 8, 1878; 
 Edmund S., born Aug. 5, 1879; Howard D., born 
 Jan. 9, 1 88 1 ; Addie May, born Dec. 14. 1882. 
 
 Mr. Langdon has met with success in his voca- 
 tion as a farmer. When he was united in marriage 
 he was the possessor of only $60 in money, and by 
 good judgment and energetic effort, combined with 
 the active co-operation of his help-meet, he has at- 
 tained to comfortable circumstances. 
 
 .lias D. Le Fevre, retired farmer and a resi- 
 dent of Sterling, was born in Lancaster 
 Co., Pa., Dec. 5, 1825. His father, John 
 W. Le Fevre, was of French ancestry, and his 
 mother, nee Mary Espenshade, was of French 
 and German parentage. They came to Ster- 
 ling in 1847, purchasing about 200 acres on section 
 21, in township 21, where they remained until their 
 death. Mrs. L. died Oct. 31, 1859, and Mr. L., Dec. 
 31, 1872. 
 
 The subject of this sketch resides still in the same 
 house which his father purchased in 1847, taking 
 possession in 1849, the year he was united in mar- 
 riage to Miss Annabella Hacker. They have had 
 nine children, namely: John W., born Dec. 10, 
 1850; Lemuel H., Aug. 17, 1852; Mary R., Aug. 
 19, 1854; Eliza Bell, Sept. 19, 1856; Ida I., Dec. 3, 
 1858; Lottie B., April 6, 1861 ; Hattie B., April 20, 
 1863; Edward H., Nov. 2, 1865; and E. Jasper, 
 June 28, 1870. John W. and Lemuel H. died in child- 
 hood. Mary R. died Aug. 31, 1879. She was a 
 graduate of the first class (1873) from the Second 
 Ward School, and was a successful teacher in the 
 same school for five years, and only left her position 
 to come home to die! Eliza Belle is still living and 
 the wife of Charles W. Snyder : they have had three 
 little girls, at one birth, all of whom are dead; Ida I. 
 died July 2, 1884; she was also a graduate of the 
 Second Ward School ; Lottie B. is a teacher and a 
 graduate of the Second Ward School, and has se- 
 cured a position in the same school the coming year ; 
 
 Hattie B. is the family's stand-by, and qualified for 
 any position; Edward H. is a book-keeper and 
 shipping clerk for H. F. Batcheller & Son, manu- 
 facturers at Rock Falls ; E. Jasper has not yet 
 finished his education. 
 
 Mr. Le Fevre has been a member of the Board of 
 Education for the Second Ward for nine years ; is a 
 worthy citizen, a Republican, and a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, to which latter body 
 his wife also belongs. 
 
 dward Tyne, a farmer in Montmorency 
 Township, was born March 27, 1841, in 
 County Tipperary, Ireland. William Tyne, 
 his father, was proprietor of a grocery and prod- 
 uce store in Ireland. In i86r, with his family, 
 he emigrated to America, coming because he 
 liked this Government better than that of his native 
 land. He sold out everything and brought a large 
 sum of money with him. He has never engaged in 
 any active business in this country, but has lived on 
 the income from his money. He is still living. The 
 elder Tyne came shortly after his wife's death, bring- 
 ing three children with him, two of whom now reside 
 in Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Tyne was one of the trio, and at the time was 
 20 years of age. He came first to Sterling, 111., and 
 worked two years as a common laborer. At the end 
 of that time he had so far bettered his circumstances 
 that he determined to marry, and Bridget Conboy 
 became his wife on Easter Sunday, in the spring of 
 1864. She was born in 1845, in County Galway, 
 Ireland, and came to America in i86r, with her 
 brother Thomas, of whom a sketch appears else- 
 where. She became a domestic in the family of Mr. 
 Sears, in Hume Township, Mr. Tyne being in the 
 same employment. After his marriage the latter 
 rented a farm in Hopkins Township, which he man- 
 aged one year. He moved to another place, where 
 he resided the year ensuing, after which he came to 
 Hume Township and rented a farm two years. In 
 1870 he purchased 80 acres on section i, Hume 
 Township, which he afterward exchanged for 160 
 acres on section 13, and in the summer of 1885 
 moved to his present home in Montmorency Town- 
 ship. He has been prospered in his efforts and 
 economy, and is now the owner of 323^ acres of
 
 
 
 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 < 
 
 improved land. Mr. Tyne is a Democrat politically, 
 and has held several township offices. The family 
 are Catholics. 
 
 Following are the names of the children of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Tyne : Maggie, Julia, William, Thomas, 
 Edward, Mary, Fanny, Martin, James and Nellie; 
 Thomas and Edward are deceased; Maggie is 
 married. 
 
 illiam W. Kempster, farmer, residing on 
 section 34, Portland Township, and own- 
 ing 461 acres on sections 27, 33, 34 and 
 35, is a son of John and Lydia (Hall) 
 Kempster. She was born Dec. 24, 1794. 
 His father was a native of Berkshire, England, 
 in which country he was born March 5, 1794. He 
 emigrated to the United States in 1819, and located 
 in Oneida Co., N. Y., where he married Miss Lydia 
 Hall, a native of that county. The issue of their 
 union was five children, one of whom died in in- 
 fancy. The record of those living is as follows : 
 John H., Ephraim H. and William W., farmers in 
 Portland Township (see respective biographical 
 sketches in this work); and Julia A. is the wife of 
 George W. Rowe, a farmer in Phcenix Township, 
 Henry County, this State. The family came West in 
 in 1837, and in August of that year the father pur- 
 chased a claim, of J. H. Avery, on section 34. This 
 claim consisted of 240 acres, and when the land 
 came into market he purchased it from the Govern- 
 ment. He located upon it with his family, Aug. 25, 
 1837, erected a log hut (the palatial residence of 
 those days) and made the house his residence for 
 about 15 years. His health failing, he divided his 
 land between his three sons, and lived with his son 
 J. H., until his death, which event occurred Jan. i, 
 1869. He was born March 5, 1794, and, coming to 
 this county in 1837, when its natural condition had 
 not been disturbed by the hand of man, he expe- 
 rienced, with his family, all the trials and depriva- 
 tions incident to an early settlement. His wife died 
 April i, 1843, and the kind parents are remembered 
 by the four surviving children as loving father and 
 mother, and by many citizens as energetic and re- 
 spected pioneers of Whiteside County. 
 
 - -- 
 
 William W. Kempster was born in Oneida County, 
 N. Y., June 7, 1832. He was reared on a farm in 
 this county, receiving the advantages of the common 
 schools. In 1837 he was brought by his parents 
 to this county, and consequently has passed the 
 greater portion of his life here, and is truly a pioneer 
 of the county. He remained on the home farm 
 until his father divided the land between his broth- 
 ers and himself, when he removed on the portion he 
 received, and has since continued to reside on the 
 same. By good judgment, hard labor and energetic 
 effort, Mr. Kempster has added to his original inher- 
 itance until he is at the present time the possessor 
 of 461 acres of land. He keeps on his farm usually 
 from 30 to 60 head of cattle, including a number of 
 high-grade Short-horns, 30 to 40 horses, including 
 10 brood mares, and raises annually from 75 to-ioo 
 head of hogs. 
 
 In the winter of 1855-6 two of the brothers, Wil- 
 liam W. and Ephraim H., and Jacob F. Butzer, con- 
 cluded to erect a saw-mill on the homestead farm ; 
 and as a proof of the energy and push they possess, 
 we mention the fact that within 30 days from the 
 origination of the thought the mill was erected and 
 running. After running the mill one season Mr. 
 Butzer sold his interest to another brother, J. H., 
 and it was run by the three brothers. In a few 
 years they added turning lathes. They manufac- 
 tured all kinds of wooden material for household 
 furniture, which they shipped mostly to Davenport, 
 Iowa. They continued to run the mill, meeting 
 with success for a number of years, and occasionally 
 run it now, and sometimes rent it. 
 
 Mr. Kempster was united in marriage in Sterling, 
 this county, Oct. 31, 1855, to Miss Margaret Hahn. 
 She was the daughter of John and Caroline Hahn, 
 natives of Germany, and in which country she was 
 born, Aug. 21, 1838. Mr. and Mrs. Kempster have 
 had 10 children, six of whom died in infancy. The 
 record of the surviving four is as follows : Flora was 
 born May 12, 1857, and is the wife of Nathan M. 
 Crook, a farmer in Henry County, this State. They 
 have two children, Roy and Birdie; Wallace was 
 born April 30, 1868; Perry W. was born Dec. 5, 
 1869; and Myrtle, Aug. 8, 1874. The three last- 
 named reside at home. Mr. Kempster has held the 
 position of School Director for 25 years, and is one 
 of the progressive farmers of the county. 
 
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 rank B. Thomas, general farmer and stock- 
 raiser, section 29, Tampico Township, was 
 born in Sterling 111., May 20, 1858. His 
 parents, Henry and Hannah (Norton) Thomas, 
 were natives of Massuchusetts, who came West 
 in 1855, locating in Sterling; but for the last 
 five years they have resided with their son, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Thomas was reared and educated at Sterling 
 until 18 years of age; and before his marriage he 
 followed wagon-making a year and carpentry two 
 years, which latter trade he learned of his father. 
 After marriage, he resided one year on the Bullock 
 homestead, and then located on an adjoining farm of 
 80 acres, which he now owns and occupies, and 
 most of which is well improved. 
 
 Mr. Thomas was married May 29, 1879, to Miss 
 Ida M., daughter of Rufus M. Bullock (see sketch). 
 She was born in Rockton, Winnebago Co., 111., April 
 12, 1857, and was 13 years of age when her parents 
 moved with their family to this county, settling in 
 Tampico. She was educated at Sterling. By this 
 marriage there are two children, namely : Mabel, 
 born Aug. 3, i88r ; and Alfred M., Dec. 13, 1882. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are members of the Baptist 
 Church, and in politics Mr. T. is a reliable Repub- 
 lican. 
 
 g: evi Bressler is one of the prominent, enter- 
 prising farmers of Jordan Township, and is 
 located on section 35. He is the grand- 
 son of Peter and Elizabeth (Stoner) Bressler. 
 The former was born in Germany, and was 
 about six years of age when his parents emi- 
 grated thence to the United States. They settled in 
 Lancaster Co., Pa., where Peter Bressler grew to 
 man's estate. He was married there to Elizabeth 
 < Stoner, who was of German parentage and American 
 I, birth. He was a blacksmith and farmer, and both 
 
 T 
 
 '^himself and his wife died in Lancaster County. 
 
 Their youngest child and only son, Isaac, was the 
 of Mr. Bressler, of this present narration. 
 '.& He acquired a complete knowledge of farming in 
 ^Lancaster County, where he was born, and he was 
 
 there married to Fanny Neff, a daughter of a Penn- 
 sylvania farmer, and a native of the same county. 
 She was of German origin, and became the mother 
 of 12 children, of whom n are still living, and who 
 are all married. One resides in Nebraska, two in 
 Pennsylvania, and the remaining eight in Whiteside 
 County. Isaac Bressler was a farmer, and, in con- 
 nection with his agricultural operations, managed an 
 overland transportation business, carried on between 
 the cities of Philadelphia, Wheeling and Pittsburg 
 the latter being the eastern terminus of the western 
 water route. This was conducted by means of the 
 famous "Conestoga" wagon, having a capacity of 
 four to six tons, and drawn by six horses. This 
 was the limit, as the route crossed the several moun- 
 tain chains of the Appalachian system. He was a 
 successful stock-grower and dealer. Among his 
 pioneer experiences was that of being a passenger 
 on the first railroad between Columbia and Phila- 
 delphia, horses furnishing the motive power. The 
 passengers were on the top of the car, and one was 
 nearly killed while passing under a bridge, neglect- 
 ing to stoop at the proper time. Associated with the 
 farmers of Lancaster County, he established the 
 Lancaster County Bank, in the city of the same 
 name. He acted as one of the directors of the 
 institution until 1856, when he removed to White- 
 side County. He purchased extensive tracts of land 
 in Jordan Township and in other portions of the 
 county, making the aggregate of 700 acres. He 
 built a large residence on his farm in Jordan Town- 
 ship, and a barn of the variety known as a " bank," 
 or Swisser barn, the first structure of the kind in the 
 township, if not in the county. He was born at the 
 very close of the r8th century, and died March 31, 
 1 88 1, after a life of active usefulness, during the en- 
 tire course of which he experienced but a few days' 
 illness. His death was caused by fatty degeneration 
 of the heart, at 82 years of age. The mother is still 
 living at Sterling. She was born in 1800, and is 85 
 years of age. She has been for some years nearly 
 blind. 
 
 Levi Bressler lived in his native county until he 
 was 25 years of age, and during the last five years 
 of that time he drove a team for his father in the 
 transportation business. In the spring of 1848 he 
 came to Illinois, and spent the ensuing summer in 
 Whiteside County, returning in the fall to Pennsyl- 
 vania, where he remained until he exchanged his
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 bachelor condition for that of a benedict. He was 
 \inited in marriage March 26, 1850, in Lancaster Co., 
 Pa., to Frances Eby. She was born Oct. 10, 1823, 
 in Leacock Township, Lancaster Co., Pa., and is the 
 daughter of a Pennsylvania farmer of German ex- 
 traction, Abraham and Elizabeth (Groff) Eby. Her 
 parents were lifelong residents of the'State of Penn- 
 sylvania. Mrs. Bressler died at her home in Jordan 
 Township Jan. 18, 1879, leaving five children. One 
 little one preceded her to the home of eternal peace. 
 She was a devoted adherent of the Mennonite faith. 
 Mary F. died Jan. 31, 1861 ; Emma E. lives at home ; 
 Louisa married John S. Landis, a farmei of Sterling 
 Township ; Amanda is the wife of Henry R. Rutt, a 
 farmer of Jordan Township; Lydia is the wife of 
 Frank P. Wilson, and lives on the hom-estead of her 
 father; Mary is also resident at home. 
 
 In 1850 Mr. Bressler came with his young wife to 
 Jordan Township, and located on section 35. He is 
 now the owner of 240 acres, situated on sections 33, 
 34 and 35, which is chiefly under excellent tillage, 
 and furnished with first-class farm buildings. In 
 political faith and connections he is a Republican of 
 the genuine stamp. 
 
 Accompanying the foregoing sketch, on a page 
 opposite the beginning, is given a good likeness of 
 Mr. Bressler, printed from an engraving on stone. 
 The position which the subject has so justly and 
 meritoriously earned, and for so many years main- 
 tained, in the community where he resides, as a 
 citizen and as a gentleman, justifies the insertion of 
 his portrait in the gallery of the Whiteside County 
 collection. 
 
 3 
 
 ( J. Bracken, farmer, residing on section 23, 
 
 Portland Township, and the owner of 240 
 acres of land thereon, was born on the farm 
 where he at present resides, April 29, 1854, 
 and has resided there ever since. His par- 
 ents, Andrew T. and Mary (Crock) Bracken, 
 were among the very earliest settlers of this county. 
 His father was born Aug. 6, 1804, and his mother 
 Sept. 7, 1815, in New York. They had three chil- 
 dren, two of whom yet survive. James L. is a grain 
 dealer in Tama City, Iowa, and married Nettie 
 Adams. They have two children, Rachel and 
 
 &&& **$& -A^j 
 
 James. The father of Mr. Bracken died on the old 
 homestead Dec. 9, 1870, and the mother Feb. 22, 
 1882. The mother had been previously married to 
 John Penwell, by whom she had one son, John, a 
 farmer residing in Geneseo, Henry Co., 111. 
 
 Mr. Bracken bought out the heirs of the old home- 
 stead, consisting of 240 acres, and now has a fine 
 farm. Politically his father was a Republican and 
 served several years as Supervisor, and all the boys 
 of his family are identified with the interest of the 
 party to which the father belonged. 
 
 Mr. Bracken was united in marriage in Portland 
 Township, this county, June 9, 1873, to Miss Sarah 
 Besse, daughter of William and Mary Besse. She 
 was born in Portland Township, this county, Nov. 
 2 7> 1853- 
 
 ussell Hunt has been a farmer on section 
 12, Albany Township, since 1867. He 
 was born June 7, 1825, in Kanawha Co., 
 W. Va., and is the son of Whiting B. and 
 Sarah (Moss) Hunt. His parents were na- 
 tives respectively of Connecticut and Massa- 
 chusetts, and they settled in West Virginia after 
 their marriage. The senior Hunt died in 1 828, leav- 
 ing his wife with seven children. She went with her 
 family to Franklin Co., Ohio, and after a brief resi- 
 dence there went to Scioto County in the same State. 
 After several removals in Ohio, they went to Indi- 
 ana, and remained until 1844, when they came to 
 Rock Island Co., 111. Four years later they went to 
 Clinton Co., Iowa. There the mother made her 
 home until 1867, when she came to Albany to live 
 with her son. She died in 1874. 
 
 Mr. Hunt was three years old when his father died, 
 and after that went to live principally with an older 
 sister in Kentucky and in Cincinnati. In the spring 
 of 1844 he came to Illinois, making the journey on 
 the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. He reached Rock 
 Island April 16, and went at once to Davenport, 
 Iowa, and resided with a sister there until 1846, 
 when he went to Clinton County, in the same State, 
 and entered Government land in the township of 
 Comanche, on which he built a frame house of hard 
 wood. He operated to a considerable extent in land 
 traffic, buying claims of the United States, which 
 
 
 X
 
 it 
 
 -3> 
 
 he improved and sold at an advance. In 1867 he 
 crossed the Mississippi River, and bought a farm 
 on section 12, in Albany Township, of which he has 
 since been the occupant. Mr. Hunt is a Republican 
 in political principle. He cast his first vote for the 
 State Constitution of Iowa. 
 
 He was married in December, 1848, to Anna 
 Mathews. She was born March 24, 1833, in Wayne 
 Co., Ohio, and is the daughter of John and Sarah 
 (Butler) Mathews. Her father was a native of Eng- 
 land, and her mother was born in Ohio. In 1839 
 the family settled in Clinton Co., Iowa, and were 
 among the pioneer settlers there. Her father died 
 in Clinton County, in October, 1877. Alfred W., 
 Eva L., Sarah L., Olive M. and Ida are the names 
 of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Hunt. The parents 
 are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at 
 Albany. 
 
 |r ames Stewart, farmer, residing on section 
 K- 29, Prophetstown Township, is the owner 
 of 240 acres, located on the section. He 
 was born in Warrensburg, Warren Co., N. Y., 
 April 28, 1820. His father, Daniel Stewart, 
 was a native of Scotland, a farmer by occupa- 
 tion, and in the year 1809 he emigrated to Prince 
 Edward Island, and the following year, 1810, he 
 came to New York. He died in Prophetstown Town- 
 ship, July 24, 1864, aged 79 years, 8 months and 23 
 days. The mother of Mr. Stewart, whose maiden 
 name was Christiann Moon, was likewise born in 
 Scotland, and died in Prophetstown Township, this 
 county, June 15, 1878, aged 94 years and 4 months. 
 They had six children, only two of whom survived : 
 Alexander, a farmer in Henry County, this State ; 
 and James. 
 
 Mr. Stewart is the youngest of his parents' family 
 and was reared on the home farm in the State of 
 New York, alternating his labors thereon by attend- 
 ing the common schools. In 1858, he came to this 
 township with his brother Alexander and their par- 
 ents. He and his brother bought 80 acres of land, 
 the same being a part of the farm on which James 
 now resides. They farmed it together and subse- 
 quently purchased 80 acres more in partnership. In 
 James bought out his brother, and has since 
 
 added to his home estate 80 acres additional. He 
 also owns 40 acres of woodland in Henry County, 
 five miles distant from his present residence. He is 
 engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and 
 has a dairy consisting of 16 cows, and usually keeps 
 a number of hogs. 
 
 Mr. Stewart was united in marriage in Troy, N. Y., 
 May 28, 1857, to Malvina Ellis, born in New York, 
 Aug. 7, 1822. They have three children : Henry, 
 born April 29, 1858; Charles, born Oct. 1,1862; and 
 Fred, born July 25, 1865. The mother of Mrs. 
 Stewart is deceased, and her father resides in Johns- 
 town, N. Y., aged 94 years. 
 
 amuel A. Langdon, farmer, section 7 , Lyn- 
 don Towiiship, was born June 17, 1833, in 
 Monterey, Berkshire Co., Mass. His pa- 
 rents, Amos and Naomi (Thompson) Langdon, 
 were both born in the same place. His pater- 
 nal great-grandsire was a native of Eastern 
 Massachusetts, and was one of the pioneers of the 
 town of Monterey. His maternal grandfather and 
 four brothers were farmers and extensive landholders 
 in the same town. 
 
 Mr. Langdon was brought up in the pursuit of his 
 ancestors, and Was educated in the common schools. 
 He discharged the obligations of his minority to his 
 parents, and at 21 years of age went to Ross Co., 
 Ohio. He was appointed agent at Lyndon Station, 
 in Ross County, on the line of the Cincinnati, Wash- 
 ington & Baltimore Railroad, where he operated six 
 years. At the end of that time he engaged in the 
 sale of merchandise in the village of Lyndon. In 
 1865 he was elected Treasurer of Ross County, and 
 removed to Chillicothe, the county seat. In 1867 
 he was re-elected, and served his two entire terms, 
 retiring from office in the fall of 1870. 
 
 He came to Morrison, 111., in the spring of 1871, 
 whence he removed, a year later, to the farm he has 
 since occupied. He purchased the place early in 
 the spring of 1872. His homestead comprises 344 
 acres, all in excellent agricultural condition. It is 
 fenced, and supplied with all necessary and commo- 
 dious buildings. The place is one of the best man- 
 aged in the county, and is beautified by shade and
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 fruit trees and ornamental shrubs. Two barns, 
 built by Mr. Langdon, have been destroyed by fire. 
 The farm stock includes a considerable herd of 
 thoroughbred Holstein cattle, in which the owner 
 takes a justifiable pride. 
 
 He was married Nov. 25, 1862, to Lucelia Brewer, 
 and their children are named Elsie L., Porter B., 
 Buel A., Ross S. and Clark E. Mrs. Langdon is 
 the daughter of Daniel P. and Emeline (Hollister) 
 Brewer, pioneers of Whiteside County. 
 
 Mr. Langdon is a gentleman of culture and excel- 
 lent judgment of men and general affairs, and enjoys 
 a high degree of esteem among his friends and 
 acquaintances. He has served three terms as a 
 member of the County Board of Supervisors. 
 
 arles B. Peugh, general farmer, section 
 27, Genesee Township, was born Dec. 9, 
 1819, in Bath Co., Ky. Samuel Peugh, his 
 father, was born in Virginia, and was of 
 English descent. He removed later to Ken- 
 tucky, and when his son was about four years 
 of age, made another transfer of his residence and 
 interests, to Washington Co., Ind., locating on an 
 unimproved farm in a county which was in its ear- 
 liest pioneer days. The mother, Elizabeth Peugh, 
 died in Indiana about 1875, and was nearly 80 years 
 of age. The father died at his son's house in Gen- 
 esee Township about 1865, when he was 77 years of 
 age. 
 
 Mr. Peugh was a member of his father's family 
 until his marriage, which took place when he was 
 26 years of age. He formed a matrimonial alliance 
 with Jane A. Loudon in September, 1845. Her par- 
 ents, John and Lavinia (Lee) Loudon, were born re- 
 spectively in Ireland and New Jersey. Her father 
 came to the United States in childhood, and was 
 married in the State of New York. He settled on 
 a farm in Washington County, York State. Mrs. 
 Peugh was born there March 28, 1827, and was 
 third in order of birth of a family of eight children. 
 Her parents went, when she was 12 years of age, to 
 Washington Co., Ind., where they died the de- 
 cease of the father occurring in 1852, and that of 
 the mother about 1871. Mr. and Mrs. Peugh have 
 been the parents of 13 children, and all are liv- 
 
 ing but one : John L. married Martha Swearin- 
 gen, and they reside on a farm in Genesee Township; 
 Eliza is the wife of E. R. Grubb, of whom a per- 
 sonal account is given in this book, and who has of- 
 ficiated as Deacon in the Christian Church about 1 1 
 years, and is a great worker in the Sunday-school in- 
 terest ; Samuel married Nancy Howe, and is a fann- 
 er and also a stock dealer, in Carroll Co., 111. ; Will- 
 iam C. married Catherine Wetzel, and is a farmer in 
 Genesee Township; Margaret is the wife of Joseph 
 Harrison, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this 
 work ; James L. married Alice Colcord (see sketch 
 of William H. Colcord) ; Viola B. is the wife of 
 Frank Wetzel, of Genesee Township; Elizabeth is 
 the wife of Frank Shannon, a farmer of Tama Co., 
 Iowa; Sarah A. married Patrick Flynn, and they re- 
 side in the county last named ; Malinda R. is the 
 widow of Millard Hannis; Nora E. and Cora M. re- 
 side with their parents ; one child died in infancy. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Peugh resided 
 on a farm owned by the former for a time, removing 
 in 1851 to Illinois, and fixing their residence on a 
 farm which he had purchased previously. The en- 
 tire tract was all unbroken prairie, with no visible 
 traces of civilization. The place is now in first-class 
 condition with fine and valuable farm buildings. Mr. 
 Peugh is a progressive farmer, and is interested in 
 stock. The entire family, with- a single exception, 
 are members of the Christian Church. Mr. Peugh 
 has been a Deacon five years, and has officiated as 
 Elder about seven years. In his political convic- 
 tions he is a Democrat. 
 
 jr 
 
 A 
 
 v/ 
 
 tarles Shirk, a retired farmer of White- 
 side County, resident at Morrison, is a 
 leading and representative pioneer citizen 
 of the county, and has been for 20 years inti- 
 mately identified with the development and 
 substantial progress of its agricultural inter- 
 ests, and been especially active in the furtherance 
 of its social, moral and religious interests. 
 
 He was born Dec. 23, 1816, in Center Co., Pa., 
 and is the son of Joseph and Catherine (Sissler) 
 Shirk. His parents were born in the Keystone 
 State, where his father was engaged in the business 
 of a tanner and currier. They had five children, 
 
 <& 
 
 ( I 
 
 tt^'f 
 
 I 
 

 
 ,

 
 V 
 
 r^V.UHX^MHry"^ 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 3^. 
 
 8 
 
 C3 
 
 s? 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 I 
 
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 Mr. Shirk and two older brothers constituting the 
 survivors. Robert is a shoe dealer in Center County; 
 Mordecai is a tanner in the State of his nativity. 
 The sons were brought up at home under the super- 
 vision and authority of their parents. 
 
 Jan. i [, 1838, Mr. Shirk of this sketch was united 
 in marriage to Sarah Galbraith, who was born Aug. 
 15, 1815, in Armstrong Co., Pa., and they became 
 the parents of ten children, five of whom are now 
 living. Catherine was born Oct. 6, 1838, and died 
 Dec. 12 ensuing. Miles B. was born May 23, 1840, 
 and is the proprietor of a clothing establishment at 
 Morrison. Mary, born April 13, 1842, was married 
 Nov. 5, 1860, to Clemens Watson ; Milton was born 
 May 9, 1844, and died July i, of the same year; 
 John B., born May 3, 1845, died Sept. i, 1863; 
 James C., born May 5, 1847, died Aug. 23, 1868; 
 Ellwood W., born July 13, 1849, is engaged in the 
 livery business at St. Paul, Minn.; William, born 
 June 22, 1851, is a farmer near Morrison; Eliza- 
 beth, born April 10, 1853, is the widow of James 
 Shafer; Margaret, born March 10, 1855, died Feb. 
 i, 1863. The wife and mother died Aug. 14, 1881, 
 after a wedded life of move than 43 years. Mr. 
 Shirk was a second time joined in marriage, to 
 Emeline Johnson, April 5, 1882. This union was of 
 short duration, the second wife passing to the world 
 of silence and of mystery April 20, 1884, after but 
 little more than two years of married existence. 
 Sept. 24, 1884, Mr. Shirk contracted a third matri- 
 monial alliance, with Ellen Steer. She was born 
 April 24, 1830. 
 
 Mr. Shirk was a citizen of his native State until 
 1864, when he transferred his energies and interests 
 to Whiteside County, purchased 160 acres of promis- 
 ing land on section 12, Union Grove Township, and 
 section 7, Mt. Pleasant Township, and brought to 
 bear thereon all the abilities and skill which were 
 the outgrowth of a life of endeavor under the foster- 
 ing influences of the East. He placed all its acres 
 under the best style of cultivation, and he made it 
 an attractive home for his family of growing children, 
 and its ownership is still held in the possession of 
 him who tilled its soil in hopefulness and made it 
 the nucleus of his years of successful effort. He 
 also owns 320 acres on section 16, and 200 acres on 
 section 21, in the same township, together with 40 
 acres of timber in the township of Clyde and two 
 
 lots with residences in the city of Morrison, one of 
 which is occupied by his family, the other by that of 
 his son William. He is also the owner of $12,000 
 invested in the stock of the First National Bank at 
 Morrison, of which he is one of the Directors. He 
 belongs in membership to the First Presbyterian 
 Church at Morrison, and was one of the most liberal 
 contributors in the erection of the new and hand- 
 some church edifice of the society. 
 
 i lanson Stowell, farmer, residing on section 
 4, Prophetstown Township, and the owner 
 '' of 320 acres thereon, is a son of Aaron and 
 Elizabeth (Pratt) Stowell, and was born in 
 Broome Co., N. Y., April 30, 1812. His father 
 and mother were both natives of the same 
 State, and the former was a farmer by occupation, 
 and both were of Scotch, English and Welsh ex- 
 traction. 
 
 Alanson Stowell, subject of this notice, was reared 
 on a farm, assisted in the maintenance of the family, 
 and attended the common schools of his native 
 county until he was 21. He then left the parental 
 roof-tree, and went to Canisteo, Steuben Co., N. Y., 
 where he learned the trade of millwright. He served 
 three years in the latter county, and in May, 1836, 
 came to Quincy, this State, and worked at his trade 
 for about three months. He then went to Iowa in 
 the vicinity of Davenport, where he worked one sea- 
 son on several mills in that neighborhood. He then 
 returned to Quincy, where his parents resided, and 
 in the spring again returned to Iowa, where he was 
 engaged at his trade for another three months. 
 
 In July, 1837, Mr. Stowell came to Prophetstown, 
 which was then a part of Jo Daviess County, and in 
 company with three others made a claim of 360 acres 
 of land. They erected a saw-mill on the same, one- 
 half mile from the mouth of Coon Creek, and cut a 
 race one and a half miles in length, which cost them 
 $2,000, and which proved a failure, and Mr. Stowell 
 was the loser thereby to the extent of one-fourth of 
 the -amount invested. They then moved the mill 
 and ran it something over two years, and finally 
 abandoned it, as it had a poor foundation and had 
 fallen down ; but Mr. Stowell was lucky in having 
 sold out his interest some time before the destruc- 
 tion of the property, although he was a loser by the 
 
 \Jf^jy^,
 
 
 
 investment. Mr. Stowell purchased 80 acres of his 
 present farm on section 4 from the Government after 
 the land had come into market, and has increased 
 his acreage by subsequent purchases, until he is now 
 the proprietor of 320 acres on the section named, 
 1 20 seres of the same being inside the corporate 
 limits of the village of Proplietstown. He has also 
 six acres of timber land in Portland Township. 
 
 Mr. Stowell was united in marriage in Prophets- 
 town, May 12, 1842, to Miss Annette E. Nichols. 
 She is the daughter of Erastus G. and Elizabeth G. 
 Nichols, and was born in Hardwick, Caledonia Co., 
 Vt., Sept. 21, 1824. They have had eight children, 
 seven of whom are living: Sarah E., wife of Henry 
 S. Davidson, farmer in Prophetstown Township ; 
 Erastus C., a farmer residing on the farm of the sub- 
 ject of this notice; Mary A., wife of R. ]. Pense, a 
 farmer in Nebraska ; Marion, wife of Frank McGrady, 
 section foreman on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
 Railroad branch; Bradford M., a farmer; Addie A., 
 wife of John Blackmore, a carpenter in Prophetstown ; 
 Mark A. resides at home ; Erastus C. married Lucy 
 Blackmore; Bradford married Maud Daratt. 
 
 Mr. Stowell was one of the early pioneers of 
 Whiteside County and has been ever active in de- 
 veloping its resources and laboring to promote the 
 welfare and prosperity of the community. He is. and 
 long has been, one of the leading and representative 
 men of his section of the county, and being a man of 
 this standing, we take pleasure in presenting his por- 
 trait in this ALBUM. 
 
 aniel Lipe, a retired farmer of Sterling, 
 was the son of Godfrey and Barbara 
 (House) Lipe, natives of North Carolina 
 and of 'German descent. They were far- 
 mers and died in their native State. He 
 remained at his parental home until he 
 was 23 years of age, receiving a common-school 
 education and assisting on the farm. On leaving 
 home he came to Montgomery County, this State, 
 purchased 500 acres of land and followed agricul- 
 ture there for 33 years, when he sold and came to 
 Sterling, buying 23 acres of land joining town ; he 
 still resides on a portion of the same tract. 
 
 Mr. Lipe was married March 8, 1832, to Miss 
 
 1*~ ^jgSir^ r: ^'flrt 
 
 TJ " ^srTU U 
 
 Matilda Walter, a native of North Carolina, and they 
 have had n children, 9 of whom are still living, 
 namely : 
 
 1. Louisa C., who was born in North Carolina, Feb. 
 11, 1833, moved with her parents to Illinois in 1835, 
 arriving Oct. 13, and Dec. 25, 1856, married Whit- 
 son Hefley, a blacksmith by trade, who died in the 
 Union Army, Oct 18, 1863. By that marriage Mrs. 
 H. had two children, one of whom, Arthur, is living. 
 In the fall of 1865 she married William F. Henry, 
 and by the present matrimonial union there have 
 been five children. The three children living are 
 May, Loa M. and Jesse. Arthur Hefley is married 
 and has two children. 
 
 2. Wiley A. Lipe, who is a minister of the Gospel. 
 He was born in North Carolina, July 9, 1835, and was 
 moved with his parents in emigration to Illinois 
 when only three months old. Oct. 25, 1860, he 
 married Elizabeth E. Brown, and now has six chil- 
 drenEva, Ada, Walter S., George, Archie and 
 Augustus K., besides Ida, deceased. 
 
 3. Barbara ]., born in Illinois, Sept. 29, 1837, 
 married Levi S. Hefley, a farmer, Oct. 24, 1858, and 
 has five children Cyrus, Elizabeth, Daniel, George 
 and Mary, besides one deceased. Elizabeth married 
 Smyth Caton, Feb. 9, 1882, and has one child, 
 Mabel. 
 
 4. Rufus F., who is a merchant. He was born 
 in Illinois, Jan. 6, 1840, married Mary M. Holmes, 
 Jan. 15, 1863, and has had two children Dalton S., 
 deceased, and Lilly D. The latter married Hiram 
 E. Price, May 3, 1879, and has one child, Murriel 
 by name. 
 
 5. Mary Elizabeth, who was born in this State, 
 April 9, 1842, married Jacob Single, a farmer, March 
 14, 1860, and died Feb. 27, 1861. 
 
 6. Luther L., who is a minister of the Gospel. 
 He was born Oct. 17, 1844, married Flora Stager, 
 Oct. 5, 187 2, and has had two children, Johnnie, de- 
 ceased, and Olive. 
 
 7. Cecelia A., who also was born in this State, in 
 August, 1850, and married Henry Raffenberger, an 
 insurance agent, Dec. 5, 1870, and has four children 
 Walter, Levi, Olive and Roy. 
 
 8. George W., a druggist, who was born in Illi- 
 nois, April 18, 1853, married Mary E. Miller, May 
 19, 1875, and has one child, Zula. 
 
 9. Sarah A. C., who was born in the Prairie State, 
 
 I 
 
 vg) 

 
 
 
 - 
 
 ' 
 
 
 f 
 
 WHITES/DM COUNTY. 
 
 May 23, 1856, and May 6, 1880, married Thomas 
 W. Henry, a general carriage and buggy agent for 
 the Enterprise Manufacturing Company of Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio. 
 
 10. Leora J., who was born in Illinois, Dec. 30, 
 1859, and Sept. 25, 1880, married Cyrus L. Schriver, 
 general carriage and buggy agent for the Enterprise 
 Manufacturing Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that Mr. Lipe, the subject of 
 this record, has had 29 grandchildren (seven of 
 whom are dead), and four great-grandchildren. His 
 sons and daughters who are living are all married 
 and are doing well, the men being in active business 
 or professional life. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Lipe is a Republican, 
 and both himself and wife are members of the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 K hilip H. Smith, of the firm of Hull & Smith, 
 dealers in drugs, medicines, notions, paints, 
 oils, jewelry, etc., at Prophetstown, is a son 
 of Adam and Catherine (Berner) Smith, and 
 was born in Niagara Co., N. Y., near Lockport, 
 Dec. 26, 1844. His father was a native of 
 Germany, a farmer by occupation and at present re- 
 sides in Boone Co., lo.wa, retired from the active 
 labors of life. His mother was also a native of Ger- 
 many, and is still living. The issue of their union 
 was nine children, six of whom are living. When Mr. 
 Smith was six months old, his parents came West 
 to Cook Co., 111., where they resided about 20 years, 
 his father owning a farm some 20 miles from the city 
 of Chicago. In 1861 the family moved to Henry 
 County, this State, where Mr. Smith of this notice 
 had purchased a farm of 120 acres, and subsequently 
 increased his acreage in that county until he owned 
 280 acres. He resided in Henry County until 1875, 
 when he came to Prophetstown and in company with 
 J. J. Green opened a general store, which they con- 
 ducted until the fall of 1881. In the spring of 1884, 
 Mr. Smith formed a partnership with H. C. Hull in 
 the drug business, which relation exists at the pres- 
 ent writing. They erected their fire-proof store 
 building, and carry a stock approximating $3,000 in 
 drugs and fancy goods. Mr. Smith still owns a farm 
 in Bureau County, and, in connection with J. J. 
 
 Green, 123 acres in Henry County. Socially, he is 
 a member of the Order of Modern Woodmen of 
 America. 
 
 .phraim H. Kempster, farmer, residing on 
 section 33, Portland Township, and own- 
 ing 370 acres of land in the township, is a 
 son of John and Lydia (Hall) Kempster (see 
 sketch of William W. Kempster), and was born 
 near Utica, Oneida Co., N. Y., Sept. 16, 1834. 
 When three years of age his parents came with him 
 to this county, settling on wild land in Portland 
 Township. Ephraim was reared on the farm, and 
 received the advantages afforded by the common 
 schools. On the death of his father he inherited 60 
 acres of the homestead, and purchased 30 acres of 
 the same from his brother, William. He at once 
 located on his land, and has resided there continu- 
 ously since. By energetic effort and good judgment 
 he has succeeded in increasing his landed interests 
 until he is at present the owner of 370 acres. In 
 the winter of 1855-6 he and his brother William, 
 together with Jacob F. Butzer, erected a mill, which 
 they ran for a season, when Mr. Butzer sold his in- 
 terest to J. H. Kempster, another brother. The 
 three brothers ran the mill for about 20 years as a 
 saw-mill, when they converted it into a turning 
 establishment, and manufactured all kinds of furni- 
 ture material for some 10 years. They have ceased 
 to run it, and for the past few years have rented it. 
 
 Mr. Kempster makes a specialty of stock on his 
 farm. He has from 150 to 200 head of hogs, mostly 
 Poland China. He has also a number of graded 
 Norman and Clydesdale horses. Mr. Kempster is 
 also, in addition to his agricultural labors, engaged 
 in manufacturing lumber, which he ships to Daven- 
 port. On his farm he has a deer park in which he 
 and his brother have six White-Tailed or Virginia 
 deer. 
 
 Mr. Kempster was united in marriage May 15, 
 1859, to Miss Rachel Ann Spicer. She was a 
 daughter of George and Abigail (Scudder) Spicer, 
 and was born April 23, 1846, in Will Co., 111. They 
 were the parents of six children, three of whom died 
 in infancy. The record is as follows: Loretta A., 
 born Feb. 14, 1860, died Sept. 12, 1860; Arthur E., 
 
 @5)f 
 
 iTiMff
 
 . 
 
 WHITES J DE COUNTY. 
 
 born March 17, 1862, died Feb. 20, 1864; Charles 
 M., born July 5, 1855, died Aug. 5, 1867 ; Frank E., 
 , born Sept. 12, 1868; Elbert A., born May 7, 1873; 
 and Mabel M., born April n, 1881. 
 
 
 i infield Scott Wilkinson, of Morrison, be- 
 came a resident of Whiteside County in 
 1839, and had been in the State two 
 years previous to that date. He has been 
 prominently connected with the municipal 
 affairs .of that county during the entire period of his 
 active life. He is widely known in his public and 
 official relations, and as a staunch friend and pro- 
 moter of the general welfare. 
 
 The genealogical record of the Wilkinsons in 
 America is complete. Lawrence Wilkinson was the 
 founder of the race, and Mr. Wilkinson belongs to 
 the sixth generation. Lawrence was born in Lan- 
 chester, in the shire of Durham, England. His 
 father was named William, and his grandfather bore 
 the same name as himself. He settled at Provi- 
 dence, R. I., in 1645, as nearly as can be estimated, 
 and he died in 1692, nine years after the death of 
 Roger Williams. From William Wilkinson, who 
 married Mary Conyers, the succession is traced, as 
 follows : Lawrence married Susannah Smith ; John, 
 their third child, married Deborah Whipple; Daniel, 
 fifth child of John' and Deborah, married Abigail In- 
 man. John, who was the seventh child of the latter, 
 married Betsey Tower, and they became the parents 
 of four children Alpha, Alfred, John and Diana 
 all now deceased. Alfred was born in Cumberland, 
 R. I., July 6, 1786. His parents went thence to Troy, 
 and from there to Skaneateles, N. Y., where he died, 
 July 19, 1859, on the farm where the family settled, 
 and on which he was buried. He was distinguished 
 for his learning, conscientiousness, public spirit and 
 religious fervor. He married Susan Smith, by whom 
 he had six children : Joab, Winfield Scott, Harry, 
 Morton Smith, Elizabeth and Sarah. After the 
 death of his first wife he married Laura Edwards, 
 who survived him. Two children, Harr, and Eliza- 
 beth, are deceased. Joab is a farmer in Macon Co., 
 111. Morton is an attorney at Welles, Minn. He 
 studied for his profession at Skaneateles, began his 
 
 practice at Eaton Rapids, Mich., and removed, in 
 1847, to Minnesota. Sarah resides on the home- 
 stead which was the pioneer home of her grand- 
 father. The generations that have descended from 
 Lawrence Wilkinson have included some of the most 
 distinguished names in the history of the country. 
 Ruth Wilkinson, daughter of Samuel, eldest son of 
 Lawrence, was the mother of Stephen Hopkins, 
 Governor of Rhode Island, and signer of the Decla- 
 ration of Independence. Jemima Wilkinson, the 
 Prophetess, belonged to the fourth generation. The 
 roll of those who attained distinction in learning, 
 law, theology and mechanics is too extensive for the 
 scope of this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Wilkinson was born Sept. n, 1812, in Skane- 
 ateles, N. Y. He was under the parental authority 
 during his minority, and obtained a good education. 
 He first engaged in teaching on reaching the period 
 of his legal freedom, and afterward acquired a thor- 
 ough and practical knowledge of the business of 
 civil engineering. In 1837 he came to Jacksonville, 
 111., and was employed by the State in the capacity 
 of civil engineer until the fall of 1839, when he 
 located in Whiteside County. 
 
 In October of that year he bought a farm on sec- 
 tion 25, near Como, in Hopkins Township, which 
 contained 70 acres. Como flourished, and became 
 the leading settlement in the eastern part of White- 
 side County. The Government land sales took 
 place in 1843, ar "d Mr- Wilkinson was one of three 
 selected by the claimants of Como to bid them in. 
 He was chosen to perform the same service for the 
 settlers in Hopkins Township. During the entire 
 period of his residence in Hopkins, his peculiar 
 fitness for the transaction of business in the interests 
 of a pioneer community were recognized and kept in 
 active use. In 1842 he was elected County Sur- 
 veyor, and discharged the duties of the position five 
 years. In 1844 he was elected Representative, and 
 served two years in the General Assembly, fulfilling 
 the obligations of his trust in a manner that reflected 
 credit upon himself and upon the judgment of his 
 constituents. 
 
 The business of Whiteside County was transacted 
 by a Commissioners' Court, until the institution of 
 the County Court. Mr. Wilkinson was named for 
 the chief official, but declined, and accepted an ap- 
 pointment as Associate Justice. The first meeting 
 of the Court was held in -March, 1850. In 1853 he 
 
 
 : 
 

 
 LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF iLUNOIS
 
 v-r*.
 
 aK- 
 
 - - 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 was again elected County Surveyor, and held the 
 position until 1857, when he was elected County 
 Clerk, the event being made conspicuous by his be- 
 ing the nominee of the Independent Democratic 
 element of the county. He was twice re-elected, 
 and served an aggregate of 12 years, or until 1869, 
 when he declined a further incumbency. The 
 ability and public spirit he had manifested in his 
 official relations won for him the appreciation of the 
 community, and the commendation of the officials of 
 the county with whom he was connected ex officio. 
 He was elected Senator in 1870, when the adoption 
 of the new Constitution of Illinois demanded that 
 the people should be represented by the soundest 
 judgment and most disinterested integrity. His dis- 
 trict included the counties of Whiteside and Lee, 
 and the service rendered by Mr. Wilkinson in the 
 Legislature justified the discretion of his constit- 
 uents. In September, 1856, he removed to Sterling, 
 then the county seat. On the removal of the county 
 government to Morrison, in 1858, he changed his 
 residence to the latter place, of which he has since 
 been a resident. At the termination of his Sena- 
 torial term, in 1872, he retired from public and 
 active life. 
 
 Mr. Wilkinson owns a farm on section 34, Hop- 
 kins Township, which is conducted by a tenant, and 
 also his residence at Morrison, and 16 acres of land. 
 
 His marriage to Frances E. Sampson occurred at 
 Como, Nov. 10, 1841, and they have had four chil- 
 dren. Mary, born April 14, 1843, married Dr. C. 
 H. Cogswell, and resides at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 
 Alfred E., born Dec. 6, 1846, is an attorney at Den- 
 nison, Texas. He studied at the University of 
 Michigan at Ann Arbor, and was graduated in 1869, 
 reading the class poem. Henry B., born April 8, 
 1849, is in company with his uncle, Hon. H. R. 
 Sampson, and is doing business as a real-estate and 
 loan agent. They are the owners of the only com- 
 plete set of abstracts in Whiteside County. Frank, 
 born March n, 1857, died Nov. 21, 1860. Mrs. 
 Wilkinson is the daughter of Capt. H. B. and Nancy 
 (Turner) Sampson, pioneers of Hopkins Township. 
 She was born Jan. 8, 1814. On her father's side she 
 is descended from " Myles " Standish and John Al- 
 den, whose children intermarried. On her mother's 
 side, she is descended from Governor Carver, of 
 Massachusetts, and her grandfather, Colonel Turner, 
 
 was a graduate from Harvard in 1767, and joined ^< 
 the Colonial army at Boston with a company of vol- ' 
 unteers. (See sketch of Hon. H. R. Sampson.) 
 
 y.on. Dwight S. Spafford, dealer in groceries, 
 crockery and cutlery at Morrison, was born 
 Dec. 22, 1834, in Bergen, Genesee Co., N. 
 Y. His father, Sumner Spafford, was born in 
 1799, in Worcester, Mass., and died in Feb- 
 ruary,. 1858, in Bergen. Delia (Barber) Spaf- 
 ford, his mother, was born in Connecticut and died 
 in October, 1883, aged 68 years. Three of their four 
 children yet survive. Burton J. is deceased. Cath- 
 erine married Thomas J. Tone, a grain dealer in 
 Bergen, N. Y. Jerome is a farmer in his native town- 
 ship, Bergen. 
 
 Mr. Spafford is the oldest of the surviving children 
 of his parents. He was reared on the home farm 
 and until he was 17 years of age, and had the ad- 
 vantage of winter terms of school only, after he at- 
 tained sufficient growth to render his labors profitable 
 on the farm. But he made excellent use of the 
 advantages he had, and at the age named began 
 teaching winters and became a student at the Nor- 
 mal School in the city of Albany. He was graduated 
 at that institution in 1853. He passed one year 
 ensuing in teaching at Greene, Chenango Co., N. Y., 
 where he officiated as Principal. He then went to 
 Equality, Gallatin Co., 111., and filled the position 
 of Principal three years. 
 
 In 1859 he came to Morrison, and, associated with 
 O. B. Crosby, established a business similar to that 
 in which he is now engaged. This relation existed 
 two years, at the end of which time Mr. Spafford be- 
 came by purchase sole proprietor, and has since 
 operated singly. In 1863 he built the brick building 
 in which he is now transacting his business. It is 
 three stories high above the cellar, and is 26 by 52 
 feet in dimensions, with a brick ware-house two 
 stories in height, in the rear, situated upon the rail- 
 road, furnishes him every facility for carrying one of 
 the largest stocks of goods in his line in the city, 
 and the aggregate of his annual transactions is a 
 speaking testimony to the character and business 
 methods of the proprietor. The duties of the estab- 
 lishment require the aid of four assistants. Mr. 
 Spafford is a stockholder and director in the First 
 
 \
 
 -i ... - 
 
 V ' 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 M> 
 
 National Bank at Morrison, also in the First National 
 Hank of Kearney, Neb.; has officiated four years as 
 Supervisor of the township of Mt. Pleasant, and is 
 the owner of considerable real estate at Morrison. 
 
 He is a Freemason, and is a member of the ad- 
 vanced bodies, including Sterling Royal Arch Chap- 
 ter, Dixon Commandery, and Freeport Consistory. 
 
 He was united in marriage Nov. 15, 1866, in Mor- 
 rison, to Lide E Robertson, and they have three 
 children, Frank S., Earl J. and Rob Roy. Mrs. 
 Spafford was born Jan. 20, 1845, in Union Grove 
 Township, and is the daughter of John A. and Emily 
 Robertson. Mr. Robertson came to Whiteside County 
 about 1838, from Washington Co., N. Y., and was 
 among its first pioneers. 
 
 Mr. Spafford's portrait appears on a preceding 
 page. It is a peculiarly fit addition to the gallery of 
 likenesses of distinguished citizens of Whiteside 
 County, from a fact in his career not yet referred to. 
 On the death of Hon. Robert E. Logan, of whom a 
 sketch is given in this work, he was elected to serve 
 as his successor as Representative in the Thirty- 
 fourth General Assembly from the Nineteenth 
 Senatorial District, comprising Whiteside and Lee 
 Counties It is a sufficient tribute to the estimate of 
 the character of Mr. Spafford by his party, that he 
 was selected in the midst of a session of the As- 
 sembly of Illinois which will mark one of the most 
 significant historical eras in the State annals. It 
 was one that was a forcible reminder of the times 
 when the party watchword characterized its picket 
 guard, and the emergency demanded that the posi- 
 tion be filled by a man of inflexible principle and un- 
 approachable probity. 
 
 E. Frary, section 25, Portland Township, 
 |F is a son of Myron and Martha (Morrill) 
 Frary, and was born in Napoli Township, 
 Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., April 3, 1843; his 
 father was a fanner. Mr. Frary finished his 
 school education in the Randolph Academy in 
 his native county. In the same village, Aug. 7, 1862, 
 he enlisted in Co. H, 1541!! Regt. N. Y. Vol. Inf., as a 
 private, and served until May 26, 1865, rising in the 
 meanwhile to the position of Sergeant. At the battle 
 of Chancellorsville he was wounded in the left elbow 
 
 and the right hip, which confined him to the hospi- 
 tal ; he came near losing his arm. He was brought 
 home by his father, and his arm was saved. He 
 then came to Portland Township, to which place his 
 parents had moved in the spring of 1865; and he, 
 being their only son, has resided with them nearly 
 ever since. In 1884 he bought of his father the 120 
 acres he now occupies, and where he has a herd of 
 50 head of graded Short-horns, one full-blood, and 
 50 to 75 hogs. 
 
 He was married in Morrison, this county, July i, 
 1869, to Miss Mary Martin, daughter of James and 
 Elvira Martin; she was born Jan. 10, 1849, in Pal- 
 ermo, Oswego Co., N. Y. They have two children, 
 both born here, and named Nora A., who was born 
 Aug. 14, 1871, and Claude E., April 19, 1877. 
 
 * 
 " 
 
 ilton B. Woodward, farmer residing on 
 section 29, Prophetstown Township, and 
 owning 120 acres of land thereon, is 
 a son of David and Mary (Leach) Wood- 
 ward. He was born on the farm where he at 
 present resides, and where he has lived all his 
 life, June 10, 1852. His father was a native of New 
 York, and was born April 13, 1811. He came to 
 this county in 1838; the following year he bought a 
 claim, the same being the farm on which Milton B., 
 the subject of this notice, now resides, and on which 
 the father died Nov. 22, 1882. His mother was a 
 native of New York, and was born Dec. 12, i8i_r, 
 and now resides with Milton B. The parents had 
 seven children, five of whom are still living. Eliza- 
 beth is the wife of James Keefer, a farmer residing 
 in Henry Co., 111. ; Emma is the wife of J. E. Gra- 
 ham, a farmer in Carroll Co., Iowa; Eleanor is the 
 wife of J. W. Keefer, a farmer residing in Prophets- 
 town Township; Mary E. is the wife of Edgar Ham- 
 mond, a farmer residing in the same township; the 
 deceased are Henry M. and Martin. The parents 
 were among the early pioneers of Prophetstown 
 Township. They came here from Chicago with .an 
 ox team, spending the winter of 1838 and 1839 with 
 a brother of the mother, and then came to Prophets- 
 town Township, and located on the identical farm on 
 which the subject of this notice is residing. They 
 built a log hut on what is known as Woodward's 
 
 .~- 
 
 Vg)
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Bluff, in which they resided for a number of years, 
 when the present comfortable frame residence was 
 erected. 
 
 About 1877 Mr. Woodward purchased the parental 
 homestead. He makes a specialty of Jersey cattle, 
 and is engaged also in the dairy business; he also 
 raises from 30 to 40 hogs annually and a number of 
 sheep. He was united in marriage in Fletcher, Sac 
 Co., Iowa, Sept. 12, 1883, to Miss Evelyn Brimmer, 
 daughter of Gilbert and Lucinda (Finch) Brimmer. 
 She was born in Steuben Co., N. Y., July 26, 1860. 
 They have one child, David H.,born Jan. n, 1885. 
 The father of Miiton B. was identified with the Dem- 
 ocratic party, but the son is not a party man. 
 
 
 fo 
 
 . 
 
 ohn Ferguson, proprietor of the Revere 
 House, Morrison, and a member of the 
 Novelty Carriage Works Company, situated 
 on Main Street, in that city, is a son of John 
 and Jenett (Fairchild) Ferguson. His father 
 was born in Argyleshire, Scotland, Nov. i, 
 1804. He was a farmer by occupation, and came to 
 the United States in 1831, stopping first at Albany, 
 N. Y., and he then came lo Indiana, where he spent 
 one year. He then moved further West, becoming 
 one of the pioneers of the great State, Iowa. He 
 located in Cedar County, in 1836, and was the sec- 
 ond settler in that county. He was an active, enter- 
 prising man, and did much to develop the country, 
 which he had chosen for his home. He dealt very 
 largely in land, handling several thousands of acres, 
 during his active life, and was also a successful 
 fanner. He retired from agricultural pursuits in 
 1880, and died on the old homestead, Sept. 1 1, 1884. 
 The mother of our subject is also a native of Scot- 
 land, and at present resides with her son, Mr. Fergu- 
 son of this sketch, and is in her 6oth year. The 
 elder Ferguson and his wife, were the parents of 
 eight children. The father was also the parent of 
 four children by a former marriage. All of the eight 
 children, born to Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson, are still 
 living, of whom our subject is the eldest. Bessie, 
 the next in order of birth, is the wife of E. H. Jones, 
 lumber dealer in Kingman, Kan ; Nellie J., wife of 
 Barry D. Woods, grocer, Morrison, 111.; Isabel, wife 
 of James Albright, farmer, Ida Co., Iowa ; James 
 D. and William A., resident on the old homestead, 
 
 ^^^ ^A<;D 
 
 and Alice and Clara, now attending school at Mt. 
 Carroll, 111. The following are the names of the 
 four children, by the first marriage: Hugh, farmer 
 in Ida Co., Iowa ; Ann, wife of A. Rogers, farmer in 
 Dakota; Mary, wife of R. M. Davidson, farmer, 
 Cedar Co., Iowa.; Margaret, wife of John G. Greig, 
 farmer, Cedar Co., Iowa : all are living. 
 
 Mr. Ferguson, the subject of this personal sketch, 
 was born in Cedar Co., Iowa, near Tipton, Dec. 7, 
 1848. He was reared on his father's farm, enjoying 
 the limited educational advantages offered at that 
 time. When he reached the age of 21, he bought 
 an interest in a drug store at Tipton, Iowa, which 
 he retained until 1877, when on account of ill-health 
 he was obliged to sell and select a different calling. 
 For a period of one year following, he engaged in 
 the lumber business, and for the next two years con- 
 ducted a farm. In December, 1881, he came to 
 Morrison, and engaged in the grocery business in 
 company with B. D. Woods. In October, 1882, he 
 formed a partnership with John Clark, for the pur- 
 pose of manufacturing carnages. In February, 
 1884, he sold his interest in the grocery business to 
 Henry Meyers, and turned his entire attention to the 
 carriage business, in which he was interested until 
 he became the proprietor of the Revere House. Dec. 
 16, 1884. Mr. Ferguson still sustains his relation to 
 the hotel, which is the leading place of public enter- 
 tainment in the city. 
 
 Mr. Ferguson was united in marriage with Miss 
 Ella M., daughter of John and Margaret Culbertson t 
 at Tipton, Iowa, Nov. 12, 1872. Mrs. Ferguson was 
 born at that place Oct. 28, 1849. Her father was 
 the leading merchant of Tipton for 25 years, and 
 about 1870 retired from active business. Mrs. Fer- 
 guson died at Tipton, Aug. 19, 1879, of pulmonary 
 disease. 
 
 ,aron Pope is a general farmer and stock- 
 grower on section 34, Hume Township. 
 He is a citizen of the United States by adop- 
 tion, having been born Feb. 23, 1845, in Lin- 
 colnshire, England. His father, Abraham 
 Pope, was an English mechanic and married 
 Sarah Crampton, a native of that shire and country. 
 In 1853 they came to the United States and made
 
 r& l^-XiA^ 
 
 V ' 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 (3; 
 
 their first location in the township of Lyndon, in 
 Whiteside County. After three years they went to 
 Tampico Township, where they lived until 1874. In 
 that year they removed to Vancouver's Island, where 
 the mother died Dec. n, 1878, aged 75 years and 
 four months. Abraham Pope is still living there. 
 
 At the age of 22 years Mr. Pope commenced busi- 
 ness independently by renting a farm, in which 
 method he continued two years, when he became, by 
 purchase, the owner of the homestead of his parents, 
 and of which he was the proprietor and manager 
 until his removal to Hume Township, where he pur- 
 chased 160 acres of land as a beginning. He is at 
 present the owner of 400 acres of land, under good 
 improvement, with two good residences and other 
 buildings. 
 
 He was married Feb. 22, 1874, to Mary A., daugh- 
 ter of Daniel Welzell, whose sketch is given on an- 
 other page. They have one child, J. Thomas, born 
 Jan. 22, 1877. Mrs. Pope was born in Tuscarawas 
 Co., Ohio, and came in childhood with her parents 
 to Whiteside County. 
 
 Mr. Pope is a Republican in his views of national 
 policy. 
 
 Barren Olds, of Albany, is extensively en- 
 gaged in the cultivation of small fruits, 
 and is also a market gardener. He is the 
 oldest son of Cheney and Amma (Walker) 
 CMds, and was born Nov. 29, 1818, in Stur- 
 bridge, Worcester Co., Mass. His father was 
 born March 3, 1793, in Brookfield, Mass., which was 
 also the birthplace of his mother, June 23, 1794. 
 The family descent on both sides is from the Eng- 
 lish. The progenitors emigrated to Worcester Co., 
 Mass., in the early part of the i8th century. Ezeki- 
 el, father of Cheney Olds, was born in Worcester 
 County, and about 1800 went to New Jersey. Soon 
 after the close of the second war with Great Britain, 
 he settled in Auburn, Cayuga Co., N. Y., where he 
 became interested in the lumber business, owning a 
 saw-mill, and managing the traffic in its various 
 avenues until his death. 
 
 Cheney Olds was 12 years of age when his father 
 removed to New Jersey with his family, and he there 
 attained to man's estate. His employer was drafted 
 
 as a soldier in the War of 1812, and he took his place 
 as a substitute, serving until the close of the con- 
 test. He went to the county where he was born, 
 after obtaining his discharge, and was there mar- 
 ried, locating on the homestead estate of the family 
 of his wife. He lived in Sturbridge until 1828, when 
 he set out with his family for the State of New York, 
 removing by the aid of teams to Albany, and thence 
 on the Erie Canal to Weedsport, in Cayuga County. 
 After a residence there of two years' duration he 
 went to Cattaraugus County, and bought 140 acres 
 of land included within the Holland Purchase. The 
 heavy timber of that section has become traditional, 
 and it was necessary to cut the trees and burn them 
 on the ground, the farmers cultivating the ground 
 between the stumps. There the family remained 
 until 1838, and Mr. Olds cleared 100 acres of land. 
 In the spring of that year, having sold the farm, he 
 removed his family to Olean, on the Allegheny 
 River. They arrived there about the middle of 
 March, intending to go down the river by the first 
 steamer that moved after the ice should go out, but 
 failed to do so. Their disappointment was fully al- 
 leviated by the intelligence of the explosion of the 
 steam boiler of the " Mozelle," causing 160 deaths! 
 Mr. Olds and his sons engaged in the common busi- 
 ness of cutting pine logs until the last day of April, 
 when the family, consisting of the parents and nine 
 children, took passage on one of the rafts on which 
 the father and sons were employed, and went to Cin- 
 cinnati, where they arrived May 16. They went 
 thence on the steamer " Knickerbocker " to Albany, 
 which they reached May 26, at 2 o'clock in the 
 morning. 
 
 Mr. Olds made a claim three and a half miles east 
 of Albany, where he broke a few acres. It was 
 State land, and he afterwards abandoned his title. 
 He readily obtained plenty of work at boot and shoe 
 making, which he had learned in his native State. 
 He built a frame house in Albany on the corner of 
 Church and Vine streets, where he resided until his 
 death Dec. 7, 1874. Mrs. Olds, the mother, died 
 Jan. 18, 1883. 
 
 Their children were born in the following order : 
 Warren, in Sturbridge, Mass.; Chester, in Stur- 
 bridge, July 27, 1820 (died at Albany, March 3, 
 1852); Louis lives in Woodland, Yolo Co., Cal.; 
 Nancy is the wife of Peter Van Nest, of Garden 
 Plain Township; Ezekiel and Walker live in Al- 
 
 m 
 
 ...-. ' 
 
 <
 
 
 ^ bany ; Cheney resides in Woodland, Yolo Co., Cal. ; 
 Asenath is the wife of John Faxon, and lives in Ne- 
 '.> braska; Mary died in Albany in 1838, aged three 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Olds, of this sketch, was nine years of age 
 when his parents went to the State of New York, 
 where he grew up. He accompanied them on their 
 removal to Albany, 111., and on arrival there ob- 
 tained immediate employment at the carpenter and 
 joiners' trade. While living in Franklinville, Cattar- 
 augus Co., N. Y., he obtained a practical knowledge 
 of the trade of carpenter, at which he worked dur- 
 ing the year previous to his removal to Albany. The 
 first work in Illinois done by Mr. Olds was the build- 
 ing of a sod fence at a point seven miles south of 
 Albany, in which he was assisted by Warren Fay and 
 Timothy Clark. They occupied a log shanty, and 
 attended to their domestic affairs after the method 
 ") known as " keeping bach." They had numerous ad- 
 ventures, all of which served to break the monotony 
 of toil, and aided materially in making the situation 
 interesting. One Saturday afternoon the party were 
 on their way to Albany in a skiff on the river, when 
 five stalwart Indians swam out to them and com- 
 pelled them to go ashore, where they were detained 
 two hours. Their captors searched their clothes 
 thoroughly, and after holding a council of some 
 sort, they were set at liberty, and made their way to 
 Albany. During the period of their detention their 
 thoughts were made entertaining by visions of 
 scalping, burning, and other interesting devices they 
 had seen delineated by illustrations of the encount- 
 ers between whites and Indians. 
 
 Mr. Olds passed his first summer in Illinois at a 
 point two miles north of Galena, where he obtained 
 employment in haying and harvesting. In 1839 he 
 went to Platteville, Grant Co.,Wis., and the next two 
 years he was engaged in steamboat and barge build- 
 ing at Rock Island. He returned at the end of that 
 time to Albany, and was employed by George Clark 
 five years as a builder. A few years later, in com- 
 pany with Duty Back, he built a steam saw-mill at 
 Albany, in whose management they were jointly in- 
 terested until their establishment and business were 
 wrecked by the tornado of June 3, i 860, in which 
 Mr. Buck lost his life. 
 
 Mr. Olds continued to operate as a contractor and 
 builder until 1877, when he engaged in the enter- 
 
 ? 
 
 r-x 
 
 prise to which he has since given his attention. He 
 owns 31 acres of land in first-class condition, situ- 
 ated adjoining the village of Albany, where he cul- 
 tivates all kinds of small fruits. His market list, for 
 1884 comprised 13,344 quarts, or 417 bushels, of 
 strawberries, 196 cases of black raspberries, each 
 containing 16 quarts, 202 cases of red raspberries, 
 255 cases of blackberries, 40 cases of cherries and 
 50 cases of grapes. He also raises many varieties 
 of vegetables. 
 
 Mr. Olds was first united in marriage to Harriet 
 Shively, and they had two children. One is now 
 living, Mary Jane. The wife and mother died in 
 1850. Mr. Olds was married a second time in Han- 
 cock Co., 111., to Phebe, daughter of Jacob Golden. 
 She was born in Mason Co., Ky. Four children 
 were born of the second marriage, one of whom, 
 George W., is still living. 
 
 ilbert Rogers, a farmer residing on section 
 19, Prophetstown Township,- is a son of 
 William and Hannah (Wildes) Rogers, 
 and was born in Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., Feb. 
 n, 1838. His father was a native of Wash- 
 ington County, that State, where he was born 
 Feb. 20, 1807. His mother was likewise a native of 
 New York, and was born in Schoharie County March 
 1 6, 1810. She died in Cattaraugus County, Dec. 
 12, 1865, and the father still resides there. Their 
 children were five in number, four of whom are liv- 
 ing. George is a farmer in New York ; Giles is a 
 farmer and manufacturer of shingles, and resides in 
 Randolph, Cattaraugus County, same State ; Gilbert 
 R., subject of this notice, is next in order of birth ; 
 Jane L. is the wife of Alfred J. Samples, a farmer 
 residing in Chautauqua Co., N. Y. ; Jerome, de- 
 ceased, was killed at the battle of Malvern Hill, 
 while fighting in the 72d N. Y. Vol. Inf. 
 
 Mr. Rogers was reared on a farm, assisted in the 
 maintenance of the family, attended the common 
 schools and developed into manhood. Sept. 3, 1862, 
 he enlisted, in Randolph, N. Y., in Co. H, I54th N. 
 Y. Vol. Inf., and served until the close of the war, 
 receiving an honorable discharge in June, 1865. He 
 attained to the rank of Sergeant,' and participated 
 with his company in the battles of Chancellorsville
 
 
 -. .. :- 
 
 598 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 and Buzzards' Roost. After receiving his discharge 
 he returned to the farm and worked the old home- 
 stead for a time. 
 
 Mr. Rogers was united in marriage in Randolph, 
 N. Y., Aug. 9, 1864, to Miss Cynthia A. Frary, 
 daughter of Myron and Martha (Morrill) Frary. She 
 was born in Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., Dec. 7, 1841. 
 Her mother is deceased, and her father resides in 
 Portland Township, this county. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Rogers are the parents of two children, one born in 
 New York and one in Portland Township, this 
 county. Frank E., born July 17, 1866, and Myron 
 C., Dec. 15, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Rogers came to this county in 1867, and lo- 
 cated in Portland Township, where for eight years 
 he was engaged in the occupation of farming, on 
 rented land. He is at present the owner of 38 acres, 
 has a nice residence and his place is well improved. 
 He has held numerous offices, among which we're 
 Justice of the Peace in Portland Township four 
 years, Commissioner of Highways three years, dur- 
 ing one of which, in 1884, he was Treasurer; he has 
 held the position of School Trustee for two years 
 and is at present acting in that capacity. He is 
 also Secretary of the Prophetstown Farmers' Mutual 
 Insurance Company. In the spring of 1885, Mr. 
 Rogers was elected Supervisor of his township. 
 
 -J67 - 
 
 illiiim J. Patterson, general farmer, sec- 
 tion 21, Ustick Township, is the son of 
 Alexander and Martha (Jemison) Patter- 
 son, who were natives of Ireland. They 
 came in early life to America and are now 
 deceased. Mary J., William J. and Samuel A. 
 are the names of their children. 
 
 Mr. Patterson was born July 26, 1848, in Phila- 
 delphia, and he lived in that city until he was ten 
 years old, coming, in 1858, to Whiteside County, 
 where he has since lived with the exception of two 
 years' stay in Iowa, and seven months spent in the 
 Army of the United States during the Civil War. 
 He enlisted Feb. 28, 1864, in the 156111 111. Inf., but 
 was in no actual service. His farm of 80 acres is all 
 under tillage. He is a Republican in politics and has 
 held various town offices. 
 
 Mr. Patterson's marriage to Mary E., daughter of 
 
 <f3@ff* zsig^. ^ 
 
 Charles and Lucinda (Martin) Casselman, occurred 
 in Ustick Township in 1871. The parents of Mrs. 
 Patterson were born in Jefferson Co., N. Y., and now 
 live in Nebraska. They had eight children Lorinda, 
 Rhoda, Mary E., Alice, Austin, Charles, Jason and 
 William. Mrs. Patterson was born Aug. 4, 1848, in 
 Jefferson Co., N. Y., and she has been the mother of 
 three children Charles E., Minnie M. and Gracie. 
 The latter child died in infancy. Mr. Patterson is a 
 member of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 -* 4* *- 
 
 dam B. Young, a retired farmer, residing 
 on section 30, Portland Township, and own- 
 ing 140 acres thereon and also 120 acres 
 on section 25, same township, is a son of Geo. 
 B. and Catherine (Burket) Young, and was 
 born in Bedford Co., Pa., March 3, 1823. His 
 father was a stone mason, and his son was reared on 
 a farm in Pennsylvania, receiving the advantages 
 afforded by the common schools, and assisting in the 
 maintenance of the family. 
 
 Mr. Young was united in marriage in Blair Co., 
 Pa., Sept. 18, 1844, to Miss Elizabeth Ebersole. She 
 was born in Bedford Co., Pa., Jan. 27, 1824, and has 
 borne to her husband seven children, five of whom 
 were born in Pennsylvania and two in Portland 
 Township, this county. The following is the record : 
 Jacob was born Dec. 15, 1845, and is a farmer 
 in Portland Township. John was born April 10, 
 1847, and is sL farmer by occupation. Isaac was born 
 Sept. 9, 1848, and is a farmer residing on the par- 
 ental homestead. Daniel was born Jan. 6, 1851, 
 and is a farmer in Portland Township. George was 
 born Sept. 10, 1853, and is a farmer residing in 
 Ad air Co., Iowa. Adam was born Dec. 12, 1859, 
 and resides on the homestead farm. Mary C. was 
 born Feb. 9, 1857, and is the wife of John Martin, a 
 farmer in Portland Township. 
 
 Mr. Young came West in 1853, and bought 120 
 acres of land on section 25, where he resided until 
 the fall of 1876, when he purchased an additional 
 tract adjoining, and now has 240 acres. He rents 
 his land and has retired from active farming since 
 about 1875. He has a cider press on his farm and 
 makes cider for the farmers of the county on shares. 
 He can turn out about 40 barrels per day. His press 
 
 ^9 >&* -te> 
 
 - 
 
 
 ; 
 
 1
 
 v is a patent one and was manufactured in Syracuse, 
 ^ N. Y. It is run by horse power but is adapted to 
 
 being run by steam power. He also raises sugar 
 i?j* cane and manufactures sorghum for others. In the 
 
 fall of 1883 he made a thousand gallons of sorghum. 
 Mr. Young has ten grandchildren. Isaac has three 
 
 children, Frank, Charles and Robert. Daniel has 
 
 five children, Albert, Elmer, Maud, Hattie and Edith ; 
 
 and George has two children, Grace and Mary. 
 
 emuel L. Hunt is an enterprising and sub- 
 stantial farmer of Newton Township, and 
 is located on section 3, where he bought a 
 claim in r862. He is now the proprietor of 
 320 acres of land in first-class agricultural con- 
 dition, with good farm buildings, shade and 
 fruit trees. 
 
 Mr. Hunt was born Oct. 2, 1823, in Loraine 
 Township, Jefferson Co., N. Y., and is the son of 
 Lemuel and Mary (Brown) Hunt. The former was a 
 Vermonter by birth, and the latter was born in the 
 State of New York. The son was educated in the 
 public schools, and at 18 entered upon an appren- 
 ticeship in a carriage shop at Watertown. He de- 
 voted three years to the acquisition of a complete 
 understanding of the business. Later he went to 
 Springfield, Mass., where he was made foreman in a 
 carriage car and machine shop. He went next to 
 Worcester, where he was employed by the Washburn 
 & Moen Manufacturing Company, and afterward at 
 Whittngville, building cotton machinery in the inter- 
 ests of Paul Whiting & Sons. 
 
 In 1849 he went to California, proceeding by ocean 
 steamer to the mouth of the Rio Grande River in 
 Texas, following the course of the river to Browns- 
 ville, in that State. The remainder of the journey 
 was made overland, the entire distance requiring 
 about six months' travel. He was engaged three 
 years in mining, and in 1852 came to Illinois. He 
 located near the Meredocia River in Rock Island 
 County, entering a claim of 160 acres of land, and 
 engaging in agricultural pursuits. The remembrance 
 of the land of gold had always made it look pleasant 
 to him as a place for a home, and in 1860 he went 
 there again, making the journey via New York and 
 the Isthmus of Panama. He visited California and 
 
 Oregon, prospecting at various points for a satis- 
 factory location, without accomplishing the desired 
 results. After nearly two years of vain effort to locate 
 a home, he returned to Illinois and bought a tract of 
 unimproved land, where he has since operated, and 
 whereon he made the usual preparations for taking 
 possession. He built a small frame house and 
 entered vigorously on the work of improving his 
 property. He has doubled his acreage, built a good 
 class of frame structures, and has increased the 
 beauty and value of the place by setting out numer- 
 ous fruit, shade and ornamental trees. 
 
 Mr. Hunt has been a Republican from the organ- 
 ization of the party, and was at the convention which 
 nominate'd Abraham Lincoln. He is tolerant and 
 liberal in his religious views. 
 
 He was married in 1852, to Caroline A. Gilman, a 
 native of Jefferson Co., N. Y. They have had nine 
 children, but seven of whom survive, John M., 
 Chester L., Mary P., Homer, Frederick S., Levi E. 
 and Hattie L. 
 
 a Fayette T. Stocking, attorney at Mor- 
 rison, was born at Pulver's Corners, Dutch- 
 ess Co., N. Y., Dec. 25, 1857. His parents, 
 Ransler V. and Mary (Keefer) Stocking, were 
 natives of the same county. His father was 
 born July 4, 1831, and is a mechanic by natural 
 gift and acquired knowledge. The marriage of the 
 latter occurred July 4, 1852, and he located at Pine 
 Plains, in the county of his nativity, where he resided 
 until r856, when he removed to Pulver's Corners. 
 A year later he came to Illinois and settled at 
 Prophetstown. In the spring of 1865 he removed 
 his family and interests to Morrison, where he has 
 since resided. Since his removal to Whiteside Coun- 
 ty, he has given his atttention to his relations as a 
 mechanic, with the exception of nine months' service 
 in the defense of the Union. He enlisted in the 
 winter of 1861, in Co. K, 34th 111. Vol. Inf., and was 
 in considerable active service, including the battle of 
 Shiloh. He was honorably discharged for disability 
 and returned to Morrison. Mr. Stocking has been a 
 member of the Beard of Trustees 12 years and servad 
 as its chief official several terms. He has been an 
 
 _->- ~_
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Alderman two or three terms since the city of Mor- 
 rison was incorporated. 
 
 Mr. Stocking of this sketch is the only surviving 
 child. He obtained his elementary education at the 
 Morrison High School, where he was graduated in 
 June, 1875. A month later he entered the law office 
 of F. D. Ramsay and read under his instructions one 
 year. He matriculated at the Law School of Albany, 
 N. Y., in 1876, where he completed the prescribed 
 course, and took his degree in 1877. He returned 
 to Morrison and has since been in the practice of his 
 profession. He was admitted to the Bar of his na- 
 tive State, in 1879. 
 
 Mr. Stocking was married Feb. u, 1879, to Kate 
 M., daughter of Thomas and Mary (Stiles) Griffin. 
 They have one daughter, Lena K., born July 29, 
 1880. Mrs. Stocking was born Nov. 28, 1860, at 
 Morrison. Her parents are natives respectively of 
 New York and Pennsylvania, and are residents of 
 Lee Co., 111. 
 
 Mr. Stocking has been a Republican since he be- 
 came a citizen. He has served as City Attorney 
 since 1882, when he was elected to fill a vacancy 
 caused by the removal of the incumbent to another 
 State. He was re-elected in 1883, and in 1885, the 
 current year. 
 
 Mr. Stocking is a gentleman of modest pretentions, 
 assuming no prerogatives but those of paying his just 
 obligations and observing a due discretion, commonly 
 designated as " minding his own business." 
 
 olomon Hubbard, a pioneer of Whiteside 
 County, whither he came in 1838, was born 
 July 19, 1804, in Sangersfield, Oneida Co., 
 N. Y. His parents were named Abel and 
 Lila (Andrews) Hubbard, and he was under 
 their care and authority until he reached his 
 majority. In 1825 he went to Sweden, Monroe Co., 
 N. Y., where he was married, Aug. 31, 1826, to Sa- 
 repta, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Branch) 
 Stone. He purchased a farm in Sweden Township, 
 which he conducted until his removal, in 1830, to 
 Ohio. He there bought a farm in the township of 
 York, in Medina County, on which he prosecuted his 
 agricultural interests until 1838. He sold out in the 
 
 
 .: ;-_ 
 
 spring of that year, and after settling his family com- 
 fortably he started for Illinois on foot. He walked 
 all the way to Whiteside County, where his brother, 
 E. A. Hubbard, had made a claim for him. He put 
 in a crop on the farm of his brother, and in July 
 went back to Ohio. He started for Illinois with his 
 family and household goods, traveling by canal and 
 the lakes to Chicago, where he left his family and 
 walked to Whiteside County. He obtained three 
 yokes of oxen and two wagons, and went back to 
 Chicago for his family. He occupied the claim of 
 his brother until 1845, and meanwhile improved his 
 own, which was located on the northeast quarter of 
 section 18, Lyndon Township. In the year last 
 mentioned he removed to his farm. 
 
 Four sons of Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard responded to 
 the call of the Nation in its hour of danger from foes 
 of its own household : Chauncey B., was born July 
 4, 1827 ; he enlisted, and was made Sergeant of Co. 
 B, 75th 111. Regt. Vol. Inf., and was wounded at the 
 battle of Stone River, in December, 1863, receiving 
 a discharge on account of his injury. He afterward 
 raised a volunteer company, which was assigned to 
 the I45th 111. Regiment, and on its organization as 
 Co. G he was made its Captain. He served through 
 the remainder of the war. He married Elizabeth 
 Morris, and lives in Clark Co., Dak. Orson K. was 
 born May 24, 1843. He enlisted in Co. B, 75111 111. 
 Vol. Inf., and was killed Oct. 8, 1862, at the battle 
 of Perryville, Ky. He was shot through the heart. 
 William was born Nov. 20, 1838. He lives in Lin- 
 coln, Republic Co., Kan. He also enlisted, and was 
 wounded at Stone River. George H. is the occu- 
 pant of the homestead. He was born Feb. 16, 1845. 
 In 1861, when 16 years of a?e, he became a soldier 
 in Co. B, 75th 111., and received a severe gunshot 
 wound at Shiloh, the ball entering his face and 
 coming out at the back of his head. He was dis- 
 charged, but on recovery he again enlisted to pay 
 the private score he owed the rebels, reasoning that 
 lightning and minie balls seldom strike twice in the 
 same place. He enrolled in the Eighth 111. Vol. 
 Cav , and served through the war. He was married 
 in 1871 to Eliza Paulins, who died a year later. 
 Mr. Hubbard was again married, April 2, 1875, to 
 Olive L. Adams. Burtie, Maxie and Edna are their 
 children. Elizabeth was born Sept. 20, 1831, and 
 died in 1848; Elrnina A., born Dec. 11,1836, died 
 in 1848; Darwin, born July 15, 1833, died in 1848. 
 
 '.' X- 
 
 
 fa) 
 f
 
 
 -$@&c@ 
 
 WH1TES1DE COUA/'l Y. 
 
 
 , 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 September, October and November of the fatal year, 
 Death's messenger took away a number of the hith- 
 erto unbroken household. Levi was born June 15, 
 1829, and is a resident of Mapleton, Iowa. 
 
 Mrs. Hubbard's father was born Oct. 24, 1779, in 
 Massachusetts, and died Sept. 20, 1849, in Ohio. 
 Her mother was born Dec. 20, 1781, also in the Bay 
 State, and died Oct. 22, 1849, in Ohio. 
 
 ontgomery H. Thompson, a farmer on 
 section 9, Jordan Township, has lived in 
 that township since he was 15 years of 
 age, his parents having settled in 1848 on 
 section 28, where they are still living. He re- 
 ceived a practical knowledge of the various 
 kinds of agricultural arts on his father's farm, until 
 he began to operate independently, when he pur- 
 chased 80 acres of wild prairie on section 22. After 
 making important improvements, he sold the place 
 and bought 160 acres, which now constitutes his 
 homestead. It is in good order for farming, with 
 suitable and necessary buildings. Mr. Thompson is 
 breeding high grades of Durham cattle. In political 
 sentiment he is independent. 
 
 He was born March 3, 1833, in Erie, Pa., and is 
 the son of John M. Thompson, a native of Madison 
 Co., N. Y., and descended from New England an- 
 cestry. The latter was married in that county and 
 removed with his wife and one child to Erie, where 
 the son who is the subject of this sketch was born. 
 Four children were born later, and the whole num- 
 ber included four sons and two daughters. In 1837, 
 the senior Thompson made another transfer of his 
 family and interests, to Palmyra Township, Lee Co., 
 111., where they remained n years. In 1848 they 
 made a permanent settlement in Whiteside County, 
 and are still living, aged respectively 78 and 76 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was married at Morrison, Dec. 31, 
 1862, to Alvira, daughter of Perry and Mary J. 
 (Montgomery) Pierce. The former was born in Ver- 
 mont and the latter in Ireland. She was born in the 
 north of the Emerald Isle, and her parents were 
 neighbors of the parents and other relatives of 
 President Pierce. The family was prominent in the 
 Irish rebellion in the closing years of the i8th cen- 
 
 tury, and an uncle of the mother of Mrs. Thompson 
 lost his head. She was 22 years of age when she 
 came to the United Slates, where she was married, 
 and located with her husband in Monroe Co., N. Y., 
 at a place called Mendon. Mrs. Thompson was 
 born there March 4, 1839. When she was eight 
 years of age, her parents came West. Her father 
 was a soldier of 1812 and received a serious wound. 
 Two of her brothers entered the military service of 
 the United States during the civil war, the younger 
 of whom was killed by the bursting of a shell. Her 
 father located first at Rock Falls and afterward in 
 Sterling Township. To Mr. and Mrs. Thompson 
 nine children have been born. Three died in in- 
 fancy. Marian I. married John Muntz, a farmer in 
 Jordan Township. Alice J., James F., Ada R., John 
 I. and Robert M. are the names of those who are 
 still members of the family circle. Mrs. Thompson 
 is a member of the Christian Church. 
 
 "udge Joseph Golder, whose portrait ap- 
 pears on the opposite page, is a resident of 
 Sterling, and was born on the Hudson 
 River, in Dutchess Co., N. Y., Sept. 20, 1814. 
 His father, William Golder, was also a native 
 of the Empire State, and a farmer ; and his 
 mother, nee Mary Chase, was a native of Rhode 
 Island. 
 
 Judge Golder was only eight years of age when 
 his mother died, and 12 years old when his father 
 died. After the latter event he went to live with 
 M. J. Conklin, his brother-in-law in Western New 
 York, where he was a laborer on a farm and a pupil 
 at school until he reached the age of 18 years. At 
 the age of 22 he came to Illinois, and in 1838 he 
 bought 200 acres in McHenry County, where he 
 followed the vocation of a farmer until 1848. Being 
 then elected Judge of Probate for that county, he 
 sold out and moved to Woodstock, the county seat, 
 where he remained four years in the discharge of his 
 official duties. He was also Justice of the Peace 
 for 12 years, and County Treasurer and Assessor, by 
 appointment. 
 
 In 1852 he left Woodstock and came to Sterling, 
 this county, where he resided six years, when he 
 bought a half section of land in Montmorency Town- 
 ship, this county, moved upon it and improved it. 

 
 v> 
 
 \ 
 
 *: * 
 (21 
 
 While there he was elected to the office of Super- 
 visor. He resided there from 1858 to 1868, when 
 he sold the place and returned to Sterling, where he 
 has since made his home, with the exception of one 
 winter spent in California, one in Texas and three in 
 Florida. 
 
 In his political principles he is a Republican ; both 
 himself and Mrs. G. are members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church of Sterling. 
 
 Judge Colder was married March 23, 1837, to 
 Prudence S. Goodrich, a native of New York State, 
 and they have had five children, four of whom are 
 living, namely : William A., who was born May 30, 
 1838, married Hellen Green, and has two children, 
 Hugh and Lena; Alonzo C., who was born April 
 4, 1840, and died April 2, 1862; Eliza I, who was 
 born April 10, 1842, manied L. C. Jenkins and has 
 seven children, William, Harry, Lotta, Ella, Lewis, 
 Robert and Prudence ; Emma J., who was born 
 March 22, 1845, an ^ became the wife of Moses 
 Dillon and the. mother of Mary, Maggie, Alice, 
 Joseph J. and Moses, Jr. ; Ella A., who was born 
 July i, 1847, and is now Mrs. N. G. Van Slant. 
 
 efferson Hannis, general farmer on section 
 '<- 8, Genesee Township, was born March 14, 
 1848, in LuzerneCo., Pa. (See sketch of 
 John Hannis.) He was nine years of age 
 when his parents went to Henry Co., Iowa, 
 whence they removed, two and a half years 
 later, to Carroll Co., 111., locating on a farm in Wysox 
 Township. He was the oldest but one of six children, 
 and is the only one now living. He was brought up 
 on his father's farm and received a common-school 
 education. 
 
 His marriage to Sarah Wallace occurred Aug. 14, 
 1875, at Mt. Carroll. Mrs. Hannis is the daughter 
 of Joel and Rebecca (Ro-nany) Wallace, and she 
 was born Dec. 27, 185 r, in Wysox Township, Carroll 
 Co., 111., where her parents located about a year after 
 their marriage, removing from New York, their na- 
 tive State. She was reared at home and was edu- 
 cated in the district schools and in the seminary at 
 Mt. Carroll. Her father died in 1873, and her 
 mother still resides in Wysox Township. The chil- 
 dren of Mr. and Mrs. Hannis have been three in 
 
 number: Linnie E. was born Dec. 27, 1879; Vf 
 Miles M., Feb. 12, 1882; Ruth died while an infant. ' 
 
 Two years subsequent to marriage, Mr. Hannis ^ 
 worked a farm " on shares," and in 1877 removed to 
 Genesee Township. He purchased the farm on . 
 which he has since prosecuted his business as a 
 farmer, then comprising 80 acres and now including 
 1 20 acres, he having added 40 acres by later pur- 
 chase. He is a careful and judicious farmer, and 
 raises several varieties of stock. 
 
 Politically, he is a Republican, and has held sev- 
 eral local offices. He is a Trustee in the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, of which his wife is also a mem- 
 ber. 
 
 athan Thompson, retired merchant and 
 farmer, residing at Prophetstown, is a son 
 of Nathan and Lucy (Plumb) Thompson, 
 and was born in Saratoga Co., N. Y., March 
 .!(, 9, 1822. His father was a native of the same 
 county, was a physician of the old allopathic school, 
 and died in that county in October, 1837, when in his 
 6oth year. His mother was a native of Connecticut, 
 and died in Saratoga Co., N. Y., in 1852. They 
 were the parents of six children, four of whom yet 
 survive. Mary is the wife of Ira Brockett, a retired 
 merchant residing in Saratoga County. Charles has 
 been for the past 30 years cashier for the Mohawk 
 Bank in Schenectady Co., N. Y., one of the oldest 
 and most reliable banks of that vicinity. Martha 
 resides in Jacksonville, Florida. Nathan is next in 
 the order of birth. 
 
 The father of the subject of this biographical 
 notice had several farms in Saratoga Co., N. Y., and 
 Nathan was reared to manhood on one of these 
 farms, receiving the advantages afforded by the com- 
 mon schools. When 21 years of age, in 1843, ne 
 came West, and located in Elgin, this State, where he 
 remained two years. In March, 1845, ' ie came to 
 this county, locating near Prophetstown, on a farm, 
 and followed that occupation for some time. In ' 
 1852, he formed a partnership with Andrew J. Tuller, 
 and they erected a store building in the village of 
 Prophetstown, and placed in it a general stock of 
 merchandise. The co-partnership existed for 15 
 years, during which time Mr. Thompson also carried 
 on farming. At the present time (1883) he is 
 
 
 \i
 
 w -- 
 
 JK the proprietor of 500 acres of land in Prophetstown 
 
 i) Township, which he leases. Upon the organization 
 
 *& of the First National Bank at Prophetstown, he was 
 
 A 
 
 elected its President, and held the office several 
 (5>j years. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was united in marriage in Prophets- 
 town, Dec. 22, 1867, to Miss Sarah ]. Parrott, a 
 native of Vermont, in which State she was born, 
 and she died March 28, 1882. 
 
 aron Henry Martin, druggist, at Morrison, 
 was born at Fitch's Point, Washington Co., 
 N. Y., July 25, 1838. Joseph Martin, his 
 father, is and has been all his life a farmer, 
 and is still engaged in agricultural pursuits on 
 the homestead where his son was born. The 
 former was born in April, 1796, and married Lucy 
 Palen, a native of Essex Co., N. Y. Their seven 
 $$} children were named Mary E., Aaron H., Lambert 
 A., William R., Martha L., Josephus, John D. 
 
 Mr. Martin was reared to man's estate on the farm 
 where he was bom. He had a predilection for the 
 medical profession, and at 20 years of age he came 
 West and entered the office of Dr. Lucius Clark, of 
 Rockford, as a student. He read diligently about 18 
 months, when he yielded to the pressure brought to 
 bear on the young men of that generation, and de- 
 termined to enter the Army of the United States. 
 He enlisted at Rockford, in 1861, in Co. K, 74th 
 Regt, 111. Vol. Inf., Colonel Marsh, commanding- 
 He enrolled for three years, and his regiment was as- 
 signed to the Army of the Cumberland in the Divi- 
 sion of Gen. Jeff. C. Davis. Mr. Martin served as a 
 private about 14 months, and encountered the 
 chances of war in the battles at Perryville and Stone 
 River. In 1862 he was placed in charge of the 
 medical dispensary connected with the hospital at 
 Nashville, Tenn., which position he occupied until 
 the expiration of his period of enlistment. He re- 
 ceived honorable discharge June 30, 1865, at the 
 close of the war, and returned to Rockford. 
 
 The position he had filled in the dispensary at 
 Nashville, had awakened in him a predilection for 
 the drug business, and he obtained a situation in the 
 drug-store of Potter & Harding, of Rockford, in 
 whose interests he operated two years, meanwhile 
 
 : ftACMlfl: 
 
 gaining a comprehensive and practical knowledge of 
 the trade. 
 
 He came to Morrison in the fall of 1867 and, as- 
 sociated with William Clendenin, purchased the drug 
 business and stock of S. T. Harding. They con- 
 ducted their business operations on the same site 12 
 successive years. During that time the expanding 
 character of their relations required more commodi- 
 ous quarters, and they erected the brick building 
 which has since been devoted to the prosecution of 
 the same trade. In 1875 a branch store was estab- 
 lished at Moline, with Mr. Clendenin as persona) 
 manager. The firm dissolved its relations in Janu- 
 ary, i88i,Mr. Martin retaining the Morrison brand). 
 He has since transacted a successful and popular 
 business, and is one of the most extensive dealers in 
 in the avenue of trade in which he is operating in 
 Whiteside County. 
 
 Mr. Martinis one of the leading citizens of Morri- 
 son, in point of reliability, probity and uprightness, 
 and enjoys the general esteem. He belongs to the 
 Presbyterian Church, and has officiated as Superin- 
 tendent of the Sunday-school. He is a member of 
 Post Alpheus Clark, G. A. R. and of the A. O. U. 
 W. In 1880 and 1881 he served as City Treasurer. 
 
 He was united in marriage to Sarah E. Lewis, 
 Jan. 26, r86g. Following is the record of their chil- 
 dren: Mattie J. was born March 15, 1870; Lottie 
 A., July 9, 187 r (died Sept. 2, 1871); Edith B., Jan. 
 7, 1878; Henry Dwelle, July 15, 1881 (died Jan. 15, 
 1884). Mrs. Martin was born Aug. 27, 1849, in 
 Knox Co., Ohio, and is the daughter of M. Y. and 
 Martha J. Lewis. 
 
 illliam Cavert, of the firm of Cavert & 
 > Mallory, proprietors of the Sterling Iron 
 Works, was born in Washington Co., Pa., 
 Dec. 20, 1837, and is the son of John and 
 Anna (Fulton) Cavert, also natives of the 
 same county. When 13 years of age he left home, 
 and worked on a farm until he was 16 years old. 
 He then learned the carriage-making and black- 
 smithing trade, at which he worked until 1861 ; next, 
 learning the business of an "artist," he followed that 
 until 1869, since which time he has been engaged in 
 the machinists' trade. In company with Messrs.
 
 Mason & Smith, he in 1874 bought out the iron 
 department of the Empire Feed-Mill Company, and 
 turned the same into their present "Sterling Iron 
 Works." These gentlemen are carrying on a pros- 
 perous trade. 
 
 Mr. Cavert is a member of the A. F. & A. M., 
 and I. O. O. F., and in political principles is a Re- 
 publican. 
 
 He came to Sterling in 1858, and has since resided 
 on Fourth Street, between B and C Streets. 
 
 May 1 8, 1865, he was married to Miss Hattie E. 
 Brainard, a native of the State of New Yorl^. 
 
 [uren S. Brewer, farmer and stock-raiser, 
 section 23, Tampico Township, was born in 
 Berkshire Co., Mass., March 18, 1838. His 
 father, Hiram Brewer, also a native of'the Bay 
 State, was a farmer and mechanic, but is now 
 retired and resides in Washington, D. C , 
 where he was time-keeper for the Government during 
 the erection of the extension of the Capitol building. 
 The maiden name of the mother of Auren S. was 
 Clarissa Hollister, also a native of Massachusetts. 
 Both the parents were of Scotch descent and of New 
 England ancestry. 
 
 When Mr. Brewer, the subject of this sketch, was 
 14 years of age, his parents removed with their family 
 to Maryland, settling near the United States capital. 
 At the age of 22 he set out upon the buffeting sea of 
 life for himself, and the first position he had was the 
 charge of the transfer while constructing the bridges, 
 and then the superintendency of a division of the 
 Orange & Alexandria Railroad, for a period of two 
 years. Next, he was in the service of the Adams 
 Express Company for some time. The route chang- 
 ing to the Southern Express Company, he continued 
 as express messenger for a period. At this time the 
 War of the Rebellion was inaugurated, and Mr. 
 Brewer accepted the position of Inspector of Guns 
 for the Confederate Army ; but in the fall of 1862 he 
 returned North. In this movement he experienced 
 some difficulty, as the rebels, supposing him to be a 
 Federal spy, interrupted his travels. He next ac- 
 cepted a position in the banking house of Lewis, 
 Johnson & Co., at Washington City (yet in existence), 
 and remained there nine years; then he was em- 
 
 ployed at the Patent Office two years ; then in the 
 Treasury Department until 1877, when he emigrated 
 West and located upon his present farm, near Tam- 
 pico, which he had bought in 1867. It comprises 
 240 acres, well improved, and is a splendid place. 
 Besides, he still owns property in Washington, which 
 yields an annual rental of $600, besides several 
 small tenements. He is one of the most extensive 
 farmers in that portion of the county, and makes a 
 specialty of raising Clydesdale horses and Short -horn 
 cattle. 
 
 In his principles of civil government, he is a 
 stanch Republican, and he takes a zealous hold of 
 local interests; he has been Township Supervisor 
 since the spring of 1884, and has also held other 
 offices in the township 
 
 He was married July 12, 1870, in Milford, Otsego 
 Co., N. Y., to Miss Amelia A. Barnard, who was 
 born in Milford, April 14, 1837. Her parents were 
 Deacon M. and Adelia (Grover) Barnard, natives 
 respectively of New York and New England, and of 
 English ancestry. Her parents dying early in her 
 life, she began school-teaching attheageof 16 years. 
 After teaching about three terms, she graduated at 
 the Delaware Literary Institute at Franklin, Delaware 
 Co., N. Y., at the age of 20 years. She succeeded 
 well in her calling. Mr. and Mrs. Brewer have had 
 three children, namely : Hattie, who was born June 
 28, 1871, and died April 15, 1879; Clara, who was 
 born Sept. 10, 1873; and Freddie, born Sept. 29, 
 1875. Mrs. Brewer is a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church. 
 
 5 Los Parker is a farmer on section 28, 
 Garden Plain Township. He was born 
 April 14, 1835, in Wells, Rutland Co., Vt., 
 and is the grandson of Abel Parker, the first 
 settler of Garden Plain. He is the second son 
 of Abel, Jr., and Amanda (Goodspeed) Parker. 
 His parents were among the earliest settlers of Rut- 
 land Co., Vt. Ansel Goodspeed, his maternal 
 grandfather, was Town Clerk of Wells 46 consecu- 
 tive years. He was also a Justice of the Peace and 
 a Representative in the General Assembly of the 
 Green Mountain State. He was born in Barnstable, 
 Mass. 
 
 Mr. Parker was brought up on his father's farm, 
 
 &&*& 


 
 
 
 
 C?
 
 
 V 
 
 and educated in the public schools of his native 
 town. At 14 he engaged with a carpenter and join- 
 er to acquire a knowledge of the business in which 
 he was employed two years. He then clerked one 
 year in a drug store. 
 
 In 1853 he came West to find a home and busi- 
 ness. At Chicago he entered the employ of the 
 Chicago & Galena Railroad corporation, in whose 
 interests he operated until the spring of 1855, when 
 he came to Whiteside County, and worked at the 
 business of a carpenter one year. He then engaged 
 in mercantile affairs at Garden Plain Corners. In 
 1860 he sold out and went overland to Pike's Peak, 
 arriving at his destination after about 60 days' travel. 
 He spent a few months in prospecting and mining, 
 and returned home on account of ill health. He 
 turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, and in 
 1863 bought a farm on the southeast quarter of sec- 
 tion 28. The place was under partial improvement, 
 having a small frame house and a few acres of prai- 
 rie, which had been plowed. The place is now sup- 
 plied with a valuable set of farm buildings, trees and 
 shrubs of different varieties. The proprietor is en- 
 gaged in mixed husbandry, and is interested in rais- 
 ing cattle and sheep, and also in conducting a dairy. 
 
 Mr. Parker was married Dec. 25, 1860, to Mary 
 E., daughter of Jacob L. and Rosina (Baker) Parker, 
 and they have six children : Wilbur, Harry J., Fred 
 L., Jessie E., Albert J. and Nellie Edith. Minnie 
 died in infancy. Mr. Parker is the representative of 
 the children of the first marriage of his grandfather, 
 Abel Parker. 
 
 ' 
 . 
 
 \\, 
 
 S 
 
 Jacobs, deceased, formerly a farmer 
 I?- of Tampico Township, was born in Cas- 
 tile, N. Y., Oct. 15, 1828, and was reared 
 to manhood as a farmer's son. During his 
 youth the family changed residence to a point 
 on the Genesee River, in Allegany County, 
 same State, where he received his education. On 
 arriving at the age of 2 1 he came to Illinois, and 
 settled in La Salle County, near Sandwich. A year 
 later he removed to a farm near Aurora, 111. While 
 living here he was married, and soon afterward he 
 moved upon a farm in DeKalb Co, 111, near Sand- 
 wich, and he came thence to this county and located 
 
 upon an 8o-acre tract of land in Tampico Township, 
 which he improved 10 years, and then he moved to 
 another 8o-acre piece of land on section 23, near the 
 village of Tampico, half of which has since been 
 incorporated into the village plat. He afterward 
 bought 80 acres more on section 10, and the whole 
 tract of land he improved and occupied up to the 
 date of his death, July 21, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs was a kind husband and father, a 
 quiet neighbor, and a useful citizen. He was a re- 
 liable Republican, a member of the I. O. O. F., and 
 he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. Mrs. Jacobs is also a member of the same. 
 He was married Jan. 23, 1850, to Miss Mary E. 
 Smith, daughter of Jehiel and Roxanna (White) 
 Smith. Her father, a farmer, was a native of Ver- 
 mont, and her mother of New York. After her pa- 
 rents were married they settled in Allegany Co., 
 N. Y., where she was born, Nov. 12, 1831, and she 
 was 18 years of age when the family emigrated 
 West, settling in DeKalb Co., 111. She is the mother 
 of four children : Alphia Eugene (see sketch) ; J. 
 Marion, who resides in Brown Co., Dak., engaged in 
 farming; Mary Evaline, who married Dr. A. H. 
 Morse, and resides in Walcott, Dak. and Albert H , 
 at home. 
 
 iGrman Sturtz, general farmer, section 12 
 Montmorency Township, connected his for- 
 tunes with the development of Whiteside 
 County, in December, 1855, when he became, 
 by purchase, the proprietor of So acres of land, 
 which formed the nucleus of further purchases, 
 whereby he became the owner of 400 acres of land 
 situated in Whiteside and Lee Counties. He has 
 displayed his sense and judgment in the erection of 
 exceptionally good buildings, ranking with the best 
 in the county, his dwelling and barns having cost 
 over $6,000. He keeps an average herd of 75 head 
 of cattle, 15 horses, and fattens about 100 hogs and 
 from one to two car-loads of cattle annually. 
 
 Mr. Sturtz was born Jan. 7, 1829, in Somerset Co., 
 Pa., and is the oldest son and second child of John 
 and Rebecca (Beal) Sturtz. His parents were life- 
 long residents of the State of Pennsylvania. Their 
 children were named Kate, Hiram, Herman, Mar-
 
 XX 
 
 f 
 
 2 3 
 
 (21 
 
 garet, Christine, Charles, Susan, Noah, Edward and 
 Louisa. Until he was 20 years of age, Mr. Sturtz 
 was engaged in the acquisition of his education in 
 the common schools and in farm labor. At that 
 period he found himself with the privilege of his own 
 maintenance in his possession, and with an undis- 
 puted right to build his own fortune. He began the 
 contest by farm work during the summer seasons 
 and by teaching winters. He passed five years in 
 this alternate method of operation, and at the close 
 of that time he came to Whiteside County, as stated. 
 
 In political connection Mr. Sturtz is a Republican. 
 He has officiated six years as Highway Commissioner, 
 and in the spring of 1885 (current year), he was 
 elected Supervisor of Montmorency. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Sterling Lodge of Odd Fellows. 
 
 As a leading agriculturist and a representative 
 citizen of Whiteside County, we place the portrait of 
 Mr. Sturtz in the galaxy of portraits of prominent 
 and representative men of the county given in this 
 ALBUM. 
 
 liharles Hooks Sloeumb, a retired farmer 
 
 . > 1 * 
 
 resident at Albany, was born Nov. 14, 
 1817, near Carmi, White Co., 111. Rev. 
 Samuel Sloeumb, his father, was a native of 
 Georgia, and was born Nov. 23, 1783, in At- 
 lanta. The family trace their descent in a 
 direct line from Anthony, Giles and Edward Slo- 
 eumb, who came to America from England in 1637. 
 The first named is recorded as the first landed pro- 
 prietor by purchase of 103 acres, which was called 
 New Plymouth and is now included in Taunton and 
 vicinity. Giles settled in Portsmouth, R. I., and 
 died there in 1682. Edward, is on record as one of 
 the Supervisors of Highways in Taunton, June i, 
 1647. There is no further record of him. The 
 Sloeumb family of Whiteside County are lineal de- 
 scendants from Giles Sloeumb. Joseph Sloeumb, 
 great-grandfdther of C. H. Sloeumb, was a merchant 
 at Atlanta, Ga., early in the i8th century, and he 
 had two sons, John Charles and Ezekiel. The 
 former was a soldier of the Revolutionary War, and 
 became a Methodist preacher. About the year 1800 
 he went to Kentucky, whence he removed about 
 five years later to Concord, White Co., 111., and there 
 died, about 1825. 
 
 Ezekiel lived in North Carolina after the close of 
 
 the War of the Revolution, and from '1812 to 1818 
 he was a member of what was then designated the 
 " House of Commons " of that State. He was a 
 valiant soldier in the Colonial struggle with England, 
 and was a. Lieutenant at the battle of Moore's Creek. 
 He was promoted to a Colonelcy for bravery in ac- 
 tion. Samuel Sloeumb, son of John Charles, went 
 with his parents to Kentucky, and in 1812 he re- 
 moved to the Territory of Illinois, settling near 
 Carmi. The second struggle with Great Britain 
 called him into the military service in the same year, 
 and he became an officer. He married Mary Ann 
 Beck, March 21, 1804, and settled to the pursuit of 
 farming in Concord. He was a man of recognized 
 abilities and became Postmaster at Concord. He 
 also held other important official positions at that 
 place. In 1833 he went to Knox Co., 111., where he 
 settled on Government land and engaged in farming. 
 He built a log house entirely without nails, covered 
 with clapboards bound in place with poles, and hav- 
 ing a puncheon floor. He lived on the place five 
 years, and in 1838 settled where the village of Al- 
 bany now stands. He died there Dec. 29, 1859. 
 His wife's death took place Feb. 24, 1851. He 
 officiated many years as a local preacher in the 
 Methodist Church, and was a farmer nearly all his 
 life. After coming to Albany he Wag made Justice 
 of the Peace and discharged the duties of the posi- 
 tion a number of years. To him and his wife 1 1 
 children were born : Samuel lives in La Bette Co., 
 Kan. ; William W. is a steamboat captain and lives 
 at Winona, Minn. With the exception of Mr. Slo- 
 eumb of this sketch no others are living. Samuel 
 Sloeumb died at the age of 76 years. He was six 
 years old when the Republic entered upon its first 
 stage of existence under the administration of a 
 President, and he died during the executive term of 
 the i5th head of the nation. He was always a pio- 
 neer, and encountered the trials, privations and 
 vicissitudes of the period of first things successively 
 in White, Knox and Whiteside Counties, and at the 
 time of his death, Albany was just emerging from its 
 formative stage. If the record of his experiences as 
 pioneer farmer and preacher had been preserved, 
 the recital would have possessed the interest of a. 
 work of fiction. 
 
 When the family removed to Knox County they 
 traveled with the aid of ox and horse teams, driving 
 their stock and camping and cooking by the wayside. 
 ' _3A/svX
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 SK 
 
 I 
 
 : > 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 There were no mills to grind gvain, and their food 
 was shaved corn, or hominy made by pounding the 
 grain in a mortar; and, having plenty of milk, they 
 subsisted on mush and milk. What would they 
 have said if they could have forseen the time when 
 their wholesome but compulsory food would be 
 served as a luxury on aristocratic tables ? 
 
 Charles H. Slocumb was 20 years old when his 
 parents removed to Albany. He rented five acres 
 of land and engaged in farming in 1839. In the 
 winter which ensued he chopped wood, at 25 cents 
 per cord. In 1840 he established a sort of indepen- 
 dent transportation line, carrying passengers to vari- 
 ous points in the county. He did a good business, 
 as many travelers came to Albany on the river who 
 had business inland. After pursuing this vocation 
 two years, he entered a claim in the (now) township 
 of Newton, where he erected a log house, the ma- 
 terial for which was removed from Albany. He 
 made his land claim at Dixon in 1842, whither he 
 went for the purpose, accompanied by his brother. 
 Associated with two brothers, he improved and fenced 
 1 60 acres, on which he lived until his removal in 
 185 i to the township of Garden Plain. He at first 
 bought 40 acres of land, to which he added by sub- 
 sequent purchases of State land until he was the 
 possessor of 218 acres. He occupied his estate un- 
 til 1878, when he rented the property and removed 
 to Albany. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth A. (Bennett) Slocumb was horn 
 March 23, 1830, in Cazenovia, Madison Co., N. Y. 
 She. is the oldest daughter of Lyman and Susan E. 
 (Latham) Bennett. Her father was born Nov. 8, 
 1802, in Ludlow, Hampden Co., Mass., of English 
 parentage. He went to Cazenovia, where he was 
 married Oct. 31, 1827. Susan Elizabeth Latham, 
 who became his wife, was born in Norwich, Conn., 
 in September, 1808, and while yet young went to 
 Madison County with her aunts. In the fall of 
 1835 the family set out for Whiteside County, travel- 
 ing in the primitive method then in vogue. They 
 had an ox team as a motive power and went to 
 Buffalo, where they embarked on a steamboat for 
 Detroit, their team coming across the lakes by the 
 same boat; and it was again brought into requisition 
 in the journey from the City of the Straits to White- 
 side County. The family brought all their personal 
 possessions, and they camped and cooked their food 
 while on the way to their destination. 
 
 Mr. Bennett entered a claim on the north bank of 
 Rock River, opposite Portland, where he built a log 
 cabin, and resided about four years. At the end of 
 that time Mr. Bennett went to what is now the town- 
 ship of Newton. He entered a claim, built a log 
 dwelling, and fenced and otherwise improved 40 
 acres of land, on which he was a resident until 1859, 
 the year in which he located in Albany Township. 
 A few years later he moved to the village of Albany, 
 which was his home until his death, which trans- 
 pired March 3, 1884. His wife died April 9, 1873. 
 Their children included two sons and eight daugh- 
 ters, and all but one lived to reach maturity : Eliza- 
 beth was married to C. H. Slocumb, Oct. 23, 1848; 
 Helen M. is the wife of David C. Hanks, and lives 
 in Albany; Harriet A. is the wife of A. T. Jenks, of 
 Stillwater, Minn.; Lewis D. is a resident of Lyons, 
 Iowa ; Alice married J. F. Hopper, and is a resident 
 of Albany ; Irene is the wife of Charles Paddock, 
 and lives at Albany ; Emily Jane and Sophronia are 
 deceased. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Slocumb 
 now living are: Lyman C., Samuel Chester, Sylves- 
 ter B., Grandus H., Robert D. and Mabel Azelma : 
 four children are not living. 
 
 illiam J. Love, stock dealer at Tampico, 
 was born in Greene Co., Pa., June 10, r844. 
 His father, George Love, was a native of 
 England, a farmer, who came to America in 
 early life and settled in Greene Co., Pa., where 
 he married Mrs. Hannah Leonard, nee Rein- 
 hart, a native of that county and of German ancestry. 
 Mr. Love was only four years old when his father 
 died. His mother afterward married William Adams, 
 a- native of Ohio. Two years after the death of his 
 father, Mrs. Love moved West with her family, lo- 
 cating in Fairfield Township, Bureau Co., 111. When 
 he became of age, Mr. Love began farming on his 
 own account, on a tract of 160 acres, in that town- 
 ship, where he continued until 1883, when he came 
 to Tampico and purchased three lots, with a good 
 dwelling, where he has since lived; and since his 
 location here he has devoted his attention to dealing 
 in live stock, buying and selling about 100 car-loads 
 annually. 
 
 In politics he is a thorough Republican. When
 
 '-; 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 he was about 25 years of age, March 23, 1870, he 
 married Miss Margaret, daughter of Ix>dowick and 
 Anna Underbill. Her father was born in New York 
 and her mother in Kentucky. Mrs. Love was born 
 in Yorktown Township, Henry Co., 111., Aug. 10, 
 1852, but she was brought up and educated in Mc- 
 Donough County, this State, where her parents still 
 reside. Mr. and Mrs. Love are the parents of three 
 children, namely: Claud D., who was born June 6, 
 1871; May, May 31, 1873; and Arling, Sept. 27, 
 1879. 
 
 H 
 
 
 j,r. David Wilson Lundy, deceased, former- 
 ly a practicing physician and surgeon at 
 Albany, was born March 10, 1842, in East 
 Guillambury, York, Canada. He was the son 
 of Judah and Elizabeth (Lepard) Lundy, who 
 were natives of Pennsylvania, and removed 
 thence to Canada, where they are still living. 
 
 Dr. Lundy received his primary education at the 
 grammar school. He was of studious, reflective 
 temperament, and early in the course of his educa- 
 tional career determined on a professional life. 
 While in comparative youth he entered the office of 
 Dr. Noble, of Sharon, Ont., under whose preceptor- 
 ship he read medicine. He matriculated in 1861, at 
 Victoria College, in Coburg, where he accomplished 
 the rigid course of study required by the regulations 
 of that institution, and was graduated with honor, 
 May 3, 1865. He was Delineator of Anatomy in 
 the college while completing his studies, and was 
 prominent while yet a student for his proficiency in 
 the science and art of surgery. 
 
 Dr. Lundy entered upon his practice at Albany, 
 whither he came soon after completing his course. of 
 study. He at once established a substantial and 
 popular business, in which he continued without in- 
 termission with the exception of a few months spent 
 in Canada. He formed at Albany a partnership 
 with Dr. H. M. Booth, which was in existence but a 
 short time. 
 
 Dr. Lundy was a man of fine character. His in- 
 tellectual qualities were pre-eminent, and he was 
 always an ardent student. He was considered a 
 leader in the surgical branch of his profession, and 
 in common practice as well. He was fitted by na- 
 
 
 ture for his profession, his calm, equable tempera- 
 ment rendering him an auxiliary to the sick-room 
 in the capacity of friend and nurse as well as of 
 physician. 
 
 He was married May 17, 1866, to Sarah C., 
 daughter of George and Elizabeth (Rockey) Slay- 
 maker, natives of Lancaster Co., Pa. Mr. Slaymaker 
 was born in 1799, and came to Whiteside County 
 about 1855, with his family. He died July 17, 1881, 
 in Newton Township, where he was a farmer. Mrs. 
 Slaymaker was born Feb. 28, 1815, and is still living. 
 Mrs. Lundy was born Aug. 28, 1844, in Lancaster 
 Co., Pa., and came with her parents to Whiteside 
 County. Dr. and Mrs. Lundy had two daughters : 
 Mary E. was born at Albany, Oct. 25, 1867; and 
 Kate E. was born March 19, 1869. The elder is 
 engaged in teaching. 
 
 Dr. Lundy died in April, 1881, losing his life by 
 an accident on the railroad. He was on his way to 
 Cordova to perform a surgical operation, when the 
 bridge over the Meredocia sank under the weight of 
 the train, having been rendered insecure by recent 
 high water, which had destroyed the highway bridges 
 in the vicinity. Dr. Lundy was the only citizen of 
 Albany who was injured. ' His loss was regarded as 
 a public calamity. 
 
 ' 
 i 
 
 
 A 
 
 leary C. Hrown, general farmer and stock- 
 raiser, section 28, Tampico Township, was 
 born in Otsego Co., N. Y., April 19, 1829, 
 his father being Allen Brown, a mason and 
 farmer, and a native also of that Stale. At the 
 age of 24 years, having previously learned the 
 trade of stone-mason, he came West, spent a few 
 months in La Salle County, this State, and in 1854 
 entered an 8o-acre tract in Tampico Township ; and 
 on this he commenced to make improvements, while 
 boarding with a neighbor, and soon he made his resi- 
 dence upon it. This is the place he still occupies, 
 but he has increased his landed possessions to 320 
 acres, all improved and in fine condition. Mr. 
 Brown has an imported stallion from France, valued 
 at $2,000. 
 
 Dec. 6, 1857, is the date of Mr. Brown's marriage, 
 at Erie, this county, to Miss Catherine, daughter of 
 William H. and Susan (Vanbiber) Gray. Her par- 

 
 ' . . 
 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 URBAN/1
 
 

 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 
 were natives of Ohio, and of English ancestry, 
 who settled on a farm in Athens Co., Ohio, where 
 Mrs. Brown was born, July 25, 1835. She was 12 
 years of age when the family changed residence to 
 a point near Pekin, 111. Afterward they moved to 
 New Bedford, Bureau County, and finally to Erie, 
 this county, where she was educated. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Brown have been the parents of four children, two 
 of whom have died. The living are : Herbert E., 
 born Oct. 6, 1859, residing at home; and Willis, who 
 was born Feb. 5, 1861, married Miss Minnie Badg- 
 ley, and resides in Tampico, the owner of 80 acres 
 on section 27 in this township. Their biographical 
 sketches are given more fully elsewhere in this vol- 
 ume. The deceased are Estella, who died Nov. 23, 
 1 86 1, at the age of about three years ; and Mary, who 
 was born Dec. 18, 1863, and died Sept. 9, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Brown, the subject of this sketch, in his politi- 
 cal views, is a National Greenbacker. He has been 
 honored by his fellow citizens with the offices of Jus- 
 tice of the Peace, and Township Clerk, Treasurer, 
 Trustee, etc. Both himself and Mrs. B. are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Protestant Church. 
 
 -0*-= 
 
 dwin A. Emmons. farmer, section 31, 
 Tampico Township, was born in Coloma 
 Township, this county, Feb. 4, 1847, his 
 parents being Samuel and Malinda (Booth) 
 Emmons. His father, a native of Pennsylvania 
 and a farmer by occupation, settled in Tampico 
 Township in r87o, and died Feb. 29, 1880, at the 
 i age of 67 years. Edwin's mother was born in Vir- 
 ginia, and died July 24, 1883, at the residence of her 
 daughter, Mrs. Nancy J. Macomber, in Sterling. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, the elder of the two 
 children born to his parents, was married the first 
 time in Sterling, Jan. 25, 1867, to Miss Sarah Pike, a 
 native of the State of New York. His second mar- 
 riage occurred in Tampico, March i, 1876, when he 
 wedded Miss Irene Foy, daughter of Daniel and 
 Matilda (Williams) Foy. Her father is a native of 
 New York, and her mother of Kentucky. The latter 
 ' were married in Hancock County, this State, and 
 after a residence for some time in Tampico Town- 
 ship, this county, moved in 1874 to Phillips Co., 
 Kan. Mrs. Emmons was born in this county, Dec. 
 
 17, 1852. She is now the mother of two children, 
 namely : Mabel, who was born June 28, 1877 ; and 
 Minnie, born Jan. i, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Emmons occupies the old homestead, which 
 he now owns and which comprises 200 acres of well 
 improved land. He is a School Director, and in his 
 political views is a decided Republican. 
 
 Joshua Hollinshead, farmer, section 8, Us- 
 ^ tick Township, is the oldest son of John 
 and Elizabeth (Rush) Hollinshead, pio- 
 neers of Whiteside County of 1839. The first 
 three years after they came to Illinois they 
 lived in Clyde Township. His father was born 
 Jan. 6, 1798, in New Jersey. He went thence to 
 Canada and was a resident there during McKenzie's 
 Rebellion, or the Patriot War, in which he was a 
 participant and did valiant service in behalf of the 
 Canadian insurgents. His wife was the great-niece 
 of Benj. Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration 
 of Independence. They had eight children, Joshua, 
 Julia A., Jacob W., Daniel, Lydia, Charles, Mary 
 and Emily E. John Hollinshead lived and died on 
 the farm under the bluffs of Ustick Township, where- 
 on he settled when he first came, there, and on 
 which he was buried. 
 
 Mr. Hollinshead was born Sept. 7, 1827, in Can- 
 ada, and came thence with his parents to Whiteside 
 County in June, 1839. He is the proprietary owner 
 of 202 acres of land in Ustick Township, and has 
 placed 80 acres under cultivation. He is a liberal 
 Democrat and has been Supervisor two years and 
 also Assessor three years, besides having held other 
 positions of minor importance. He is a member of 
 the Masonic Order. 
 
 He was first married Oct. 7, 1848, in Ustick Town- 
 ship, to Miss Nancy S. Ingham, and they had two 
 children, John D. and Reuben P. The mother died 
 March 25, 1858. Mrs. Mehitable M. (Applebee) 
 Lawrence became the wife of Mr. Hollinshead April 
 5, 1865. She was the widow of Albert G. Lawrence. 
 By her second marriage she became the mother of 
 five children, Lilla M., George L., Georgiana, Mat- 
 tie I. and Emma E. The first and third daughters 
 died in infancy, and the mother died July 9, r882. 
 Mr. Hollinshead was again married Aug. 21, 1883,
 
 / x 
 
 
 Vx/ ^ 
 
 <v 
 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 at Morrison, to Miss Emma Wilson. She was born 
 Nov. 6, 1858, at St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Hollinshead, which is given 
 on the opposite page, is presented with much satis- 
 faction as a representative of the pioneer element of 
 Whiteside County, whose ancestry and record cor- 
 respond in honorable prominence. 
 
 illis L. Brown, general farmer, section 30' 
 Tampico Township, was born Feb. 5, 
 1861, in Tampico, and is the son of E. C. 
 Brown, whose sketch is given in this ALBUM. 
 He was educated in the common schools of 
 his native township and in the Northern Illi- 
 nois College at Fulton, this county. 
 
 On arriving at the age of manhood, he married 
 Miss Minnie Badgley, daugh'er of J Perry Badgley, 
 who was educated in the village of Tampico. He 
 then settled on the farm of 80 acres which he still 
 occupies. It is all improved, and under Mr. Brown's 
 good judgment and industry it doubtless will in- 
 crease in value. 
 
 In political principles Mr. B. is a Republican, and 
 both himself and wife are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 (bel Parker, deceased, was the first perma- 
 nent settler in the township of Garden 
 PI 3 " 1 - He located in a grove, which has 
 since borne his name, adopting the prevalent 
 sentiment of the pioneers of the prairies by 
 j selecting a situation in the timber. Mr. Par- 
 ker was, presumably, a native of Connecticut, where 
 it is certain his parents, Abel and Elinor Parker, 
 were born. They were pioneer settlers of Poultney, 
 Rutland Co., Vt. Later, the senior Parker bought a 
 mill property in the adjoining town of Wells, where 
 he pursued his business until his removal to Illinois, 
 in 1836. On the 3oth day of June he started, with 
 his wife and nine children, to Whiteside County, 
 traveling with two pairs of horses and two wagons. 
 The party remained at Naperville two weeks, after 
 which they proceeded to Garden Plain Township, 
 where they arrived August 2gt\\. The household 
 
 effects were sent by the lake route, in charge of 
 Jacob L. Parker, the second son. The location of 
 the claim of Abel Parker was on section 25, township 
 2 i , range 3. 
 
 He was born Aug. 21,1772. Clarissa Stephens 
 became his wife April 18, 1799, and their children, 
 six in number, were named Horace, Lydia, Abel, 
 Betsey, Willard and Sarah. The mother died Oct. 
 12, iSio. Abel Parker was again married March 
 7, i8n,to Eleanor Howe, and they had 10 children: 
 David is deceased. A full sketch of his life, together 
 with a portrait, has been supplied for this work, by 
 his son, C. D. Parker, and may be found elsewhere; 
 Jacob L. is deceased, and is represented in this vol- 
 ume by a personal narration, furnished by his son, 
 James L. ; Phoebe is deceased ; Clarissa L. and 
 Eliza T. are among the survivors, as is Francis ; 
 Erminia is deceased ; Edwin and Hiram are famous 
 in Garden Plain Township, and sketches of them 
 may be found elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Parker 
 was born Nov. i, 1789, and died Oct. 29, 
 Abel Parker died Nov. 25, 1839. 
 
 
 oseph Spear is one of the most substantial 
 and enterprising agriculturists of Mont- 
 morency Township. He resides on section 
 24, where he located in 1860, removing there 
 from Coloma Township. He came to White- 
 side County in 1854, when he was 21 years of 
 age and there became the proprietor ot a farm .by 
 purchase. Six years later, he transferred his family 
 and interests to Montmorency Township, selling the 
 farm from which he removed. He first purchased 
 160 acres of land, and has continued to buy until he 
 is the owner of 1,009 acres in Whiteside County, all 
 improved. Besides, he holds valuable interests in 
 both Sterling and Rock Falls. In political faith and 
 connection Mr. Spear is a Republican. 
 
 He was born July 21, 1833, in Newbury, Vt., 
 where he remained through his minority and was 
 educated in the common and high schools. His 
 parents, James and Mary (Sevage) Spear, were born 
 respectively in Vermont and Canada. They passed 
 the entire course of their married lives in the Green 
 Mountain State, and they died there. Their chil- 
 
 . 
 
 ci / ./ v V'VS 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 dren were: Albert G., Julia A., Charlotte, William 
 and Joseph. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Spear to Maria D. Sturtevant 
 took place April 5, 1860, in Coloma Township, and 
 to them have been born five children -Harry W., 
 William H., Eugene V., Ernest B. and Joseph -D. 
 Mrs. Spear is the daughter of Isaac and Susan (Sum- 
 mers) Sturtevant, of whom a. personal narration is 
 given elsewhere. The eight children of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Sturtevant were born in the following order: 
 Jane, Maria D., Henry J., William S., Jerome B., 
 Emma A., Susan O. and Ida M. Mrs. Spear was 
 born in Vermont, Nov. 18, 1836. 
 
 
 eorge K. Hamilton is a pioneer of Lyndon 
 Township and the son of a pioneer. Fa- 
 ther and son came to Whiteside County in 
 1835. Adam R. Hamilton, the former, was 
 born Oct. 12, 1791, in Massachusetts. He 
 was married to Nancy Miller, April 18, 1813. 
 She was born Feb. 9, 1792, in Massachusetts, and 
 became the mother of eight children. George R.' 
 was born in Northampton, Hampshire Co., Mass., 
 Feb. 24, 1820. When he was three years of age his 
 father removed his family to Orleans Co., N. Y., 
 traveling on the Erie Canal to Rochester, where it 
 then terminated. Their further transit was made 
 with teams to Clarendon, where they were pioneer 
 settlers. The senior Hamilton bought land in the 
 timber, built a log house and was a resident there 
 until 1835, when he sold his estate and came to 
 Whiteside County, where he was one of the earliest 
 of the permanent settlers. Only four families pre- 
 ceded his arrival, and the county was not set off from 
 Jo Davies County for some months afterward. His 
 claim was made on section 19, town 20, range 5 east, 
 now Lyndon Township. Three families those of 
 Mr. Hamilton, W. D. Dudley and C. G. Woodruff- 
 left the State of New York at the same time, each 
 with a pair of horses and a wagon. A month was 
 consumed in the overland journey to Chicago. The 
 families stopped for a time at Plainfield, in Will 
 County, about 25 miles from Chicago, while the men 
 went on in advance. Mr. Hamilton was accom- 
 panied by his son John, and after making his claim 
 he returned for his family, leaving John to construct 
 
 \ - v 
 
 >. v /-- 
 
 a dwelling, into which they moved. Through the 
 first winter it was covered with hay and had no fl<>or. 
 In the spring following a larger house was b'lilt, 
 which was of a more aristocratic type, covered with 
 shakes and having a puncheon floor. A door lo the 
 establishment was made of the boards from a pick- 
 ing box, and it had wooden hinges and latch. Chi- 
 cago was the place of supplies, and the journey there 
 and back occupied from eight to thirteen days. 
 Adam R. Hamilton passed the remainder of his life 
 in the improvement and cultivation of the farm on 
 which he first settled, dying in 1861;. His wife died 
 in r86o. They had eight children, six of whom are 
 still living: John M. is a farmer in Lyndon Town- 
 ship (see sketch); Louisa B. is the wife of J. W. 
 Olds, of Lyndon; George R. is next in order of 
 birth; Adam'R. lives in California; Mary E. mar- 
 ried John Garlick ; and Amelia lives in Nebraska. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton of this sketch was 15 years of age 
 when he accompanied his parents to Whiteside 
 County, and he assisted his father in the improve- 
 ment of the farm on which the family located r.rd 
 which is now his property. 
 
 He was married May 28, 1867,10 Hannah L. Belt, 
 who was born in Ohio, and is the daughter of Ben- 
 jamin and Deborah Belt. (See sketch of B. Belt.) 
 They have two children, George W. and Louie 
 Effie. 
 
 With the exception of two seasons, Mr. Hamilton 
 has lived on the homestead since his removal to 
 Whiteside County. The place includes 315 acres, 
 all in good agricultural condition. 
 
 ewis L. Griffin, general farmer and stock- 
 raiser, section 20, Tampico Township, was 
 born Sept. 30, 1834, near Lake George, 
 Town of Bolton, Warren Co., N. Y., his parents 
 being Garles B. and Lucinda (Kenneyj Griffin, 
 natives also of the Empire State. His father 
 was a follower of agriculture. 
 
 Until 25 years of age Mr. Griffin was an inmaie of 
 his paternal home, being brought up on the farm and 
 in attendance at the common schools. After mar- 
 riage he resided in the town of Chester, Warren 
 County, for two years, when, in 1865, he came West 
 and settled in Sugar Grove, Kane Co., 111. After a 
 

 
 * ^ 
 
 i 
 
 year's residence there he removed to Bristol Town- 
 ship, Kendall County, this State; thence to Piano, 
 same county; and in 1872 he settled upon the quar- 
 ter section where he now resides. His farm is well 
 improved, and he makes a specialty of raising fine 
 Durham cattle. 
 
 Mr. Griffin was married in his native county 
 and township, Jan. 29, 1860, to Miss Emily, daugh- 
 ter of John R. and Judith (Bradt) Bradley, natives of 
 the Empire State. Mrs. Griffin was born in Renssel- 
 aer Co., N. Y., May 26, 1843, and when they were 
 three years of age her parents moved with their 
 family to Bennington Co., Vt. and nine years after- 
 ward to Warren Co., N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin 
 are the parents of three children, namely. Marvin 
 L., who married Miss Flora Winchell and resides in 
 Tampico; Dora, who married Joseph Scherett and 
 lives in Logan Township, Ida Co., Iowa; and Hattie, 
 who married Marion LaDue, and is a resident of 
 Prophetstown. 
 
 Mr. Griffin is a staunch Republican. 
 
 ames P. Overholser, boot and shoe mer- 
 f chant, Third Street, Sterling, was born in 
 Stark Co., Ohio, Dec. 2, 1841. His parents, 
 Martin and Barbara (Arford) Overholser, were 
 natives of Pennsylvania, moved to Ohio, and 
 emigrated to this State in 1854, arriving at 
 Coleta, this county, May 3, where Mr. O. purchased 
 210 acres of land, and afterward 300 acres more. 
 
 The subject of this sketch remained with his par- 
 ents until 23 years of age, receiving a district-school 
 education. In 1864 he engaged in the boot and 
 shoe trade at Lanark, this county, for nearly two 
 years. Next he attended the Eastman Business 
 College at Chicago and graduated. In 1866 he en- 
 tered general mercantile business at Coleta, in which 
 he continued until the summer of 1868, when he 
 sold out and went to Perry, Dallas Co., Iowa, and 
 bought 200 acres of land. Returning to Sterling, he 
 served McCoy & Gait as clerk for eight years; then, 
 in 1875, he engaged in the grocery business on Third 
 Street, continuing until 1882, when he sold out that 
 business and opened out in his present line of trade. 
 Mr. Overholser is a leading man in the city of 
 Sterling; is President of the Board of Education in 
 
 the Second Ward, a Republican in his |x>litical prm-' 
 ciples, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, as is also his wife. 
 
 July 4, 1866, he was married to Lizzie, daughter 
 of Jacob and Susannah (Bidler) Wetzell, of Coleta. 
 who are from Ohio. They have had ten children, 
 nine of whom are living, namely: Cora Belle (died 
 Dec. 23, 1876, at the age of e ght years), Nellie M , 
 S. Guy, Lillie Blanche, Ida, Leona, Arthur Ray, Lena 
 Viola, Mabel and Mertie. 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 .ranklin B. Clark, general farmer, section 
 ^ 29, Tampico Township, was born in Tioga 
 Co., N. Y., Sept. n, 1819, and was reared in 
 hisnativecounty. He was first married in Tomp- 
 kins Co., N. Y., to Miss Lucy A. Shepherd, a 
 native of that State, who was brought up in 
 that county, and finally died there, in 1882, leaving ( ^) 
 five children, one son and four daughters, all mar- ^ 
 ried. 
 
 Mr. Clark immediately came West, and was again i= 
 married, Dec. 27, 1882, to Mrs. Sarah E. Gibson, ^ 
 daughter of Samuel and Lois (Gridley) Hart. Her = 
 parents were natives of Connecticut, and settled in / 
 Tioga County before their marriage. Mrs. Clark was 
 born in Candor, that county, Oct. 29, 1823, received 
 a good education at the public schools, and Sept. 3, 
 1840, married Rowland Day, a native of Connecticut 
 and a farmer, who changed his residence to the State 
 of New York when 14 years of age. He came West 
 with his family in 1858, settling in Kenosha, Wis., 
 where he died three months afterward, leaving two 
 children bereaved, one of whom has since died, * 
 namely, Elizabeth A., who married William H. Dow, 
 and died in the asylum at Morrison, this county, 
 March 15, 1882, leaving no children. Rowland J. 
 Day, the surviving son, married Miss Lotta Coates, 
 and resides on a farm in Brown Co., Dakota. He 
 has two children, Blanche E. and Charles R. For 
 the eight years succeeding Mr. Day's death, his 
 widow (now Mrs. Clark) resided with her children at 
 Rockton, Winnebago Co., 111. ; later, they removed to 
 Port Byron, Rock Island Co., 111. Her second mar- 
 riage occurred Nov. 28, 1861, while at Rockton, to 
 Walter Kingsley, a brother of the late W. C. Kings- 
 ley, who built the Brooklyn Bridge across the East 
 River, N. Y. Mr. K. was born in New York, where 
 
 "-
 
 
 ^ vv-.uux>Mn:y^v ^ 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 - .. - 
 
 I 
 6ig< 
 
 V 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 he was also reared to manhood and received a good 
 education, and early in life became a railroad con- 
 tractor. He went to Boston, Mass., where he first 
 married Miss Elizabeth Dingley, a native of Massa 
 chusetts, who died at Freeport, 111., after having be- 
 come by this marriage the mother of three children. 
 Only one of these now survives, James A., a thor- 
 oughly educated civil engineer of California. The 
 other two died when in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Kingsley, after his marriage to the present 
 Mrs. Clark, resided at Rockton some years; but, his 
 health failing, he removed to Port Byron, before 
 mentioned, with the view of conducting the Nation- 
 al Hotel at that place, since consumed by fire. In 
 1869 he came to this county and purchased a quar- 
 ter of section 29, Tampico Township, the present 
 homestead, where he died, Jan. 18, 1870, leaving no 
 children. 
 
 Mrs. Clark's third husband was William Gibson, a 
 farmer, whom she married Feb. 15, 1871. He was 
 born in Barnesville, Ohio, Feb. 7, 1830, but was 
 brought up in Morris, Grundy Co., 111. He was first 
 married in Nauvoo, 111., to Miss Mary Gleason, who 
 was born and bred in Williamsport, Ohio. By this 
 marriage there was one child, Charles W., now a 
 postal clerk in the Chicago postoffice. Mr. Gibson 
 died upon the present homestead, June 7, 1876, of 
 heart disease. 
 
 Mrs. Clark's present estate comprised 120 acres of 
 well improved land. As to her religious relations, 
 she was formerly a Presbyterian, but is now an act- 
 ive member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 Her first and last husbands were members of the 
 former denomination, and all except Mr. Kingsley, 
 in political matters, were Republicans. 
 
 eorge S. Hoover, farmer on section 22 
 Sterling Township, is an enterprising agri- 
 culturist of Whiteside County. He moved 
 here in 1855, and is now the proprietor of 350 
 acres of land, all lying in the township of Ster- 
 ling and all under improvements. In politics 
 Mr. Hoover is a Republican and supports the gen- 
 eral and local issues of that party. 
 
 He was born Feb. 14, 1823, in Bedford Co., Pa., 
 and is the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Sprecher) 
 
 Hoover. His parents were natives of Lancaster Co., 
 Pa., moved to Bedford County, that State, in 1821, 
 and were residents there until 1855, when they 
 came to Illinois and settled on section 22, in the 
 township of Sterling. They died on the homestead. 
 Their ten children were named William, Catherine, 
 George S., Samuel M., Sarah, John W., Louisa, 
 David C , Elizabeth A. and Henry H. 
 
 Mr. Hoover was educated principally at the com- 
 mon schools of his native county, and afterward was 
 a farmer in Pennsylvania for a time. He engaged 
 about two years there in mercantile business. After 
 coming to Whiteside County, he engaged in the same 
 interest in Sterling about two years, and afterwards 
 as a butcher. Later, he engaged in farming on sec- 
 tion 22, Sterling Township. 
 
 His marriage took place Dec. 18, 1862, at Mar- 
 tinsburg, Blair Co., Pa., when Christine S., daughter 
 of Jacob and Margaretta (Glazier) Grafins, became 
 his wife. The parents were born in Pennsylvania, 
 where their entire lives were passed. Mrs. Hoover 
 had two brothers and two sisters, as follows : Anna 
 M., Ellen M., Martin and Silas, all younger than 
 herself. She was born Jan. 28, 1833, in Mifflin Co., 
 Pa., and to her and her husband four chilnren have 
 been born, named Edward S., Harry G., Martin G. 
 and Frank W. 
 
 Mr. Hoover has held the office of Road Commis- 
 sioner and School Director. He and his wife are 
 members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 *&- 
 
 La Fayette McKenzie, deceased, a form- 
 er resident of Coloma Township, was born 
 April 30, 1827. in Essex Co., N. Y. His 
 parents removed with their family when he 
 was young to the western part of his native 
 State, whence he came in 1834 to Whiteside 
 County. He first located at Prophetstown, where he 
 was a resident for about eight years. In 1842 he 
 went to the township of Portland and from there, in 
 1868, to the township of Coloma and was a resident 
 there until his heath, Nov. 21, 1879. He was the 
 owner of 480 acres of land when he died. 
 
 He was married in Sterling, Feb. 2, 1853,10 Lucia, 
 daughter of Nathan and Louisa (Chapin) Brewer. 
 The father and mother of Mrs. McKenzie were born 
 
 * ^^^~
 
 
 
 IVHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ill Massachusetts. They came thence to White- 
 side County in 1850 and settle in Portland Town- 
 ship. The mother died July 25, 1859; the father 
 survives. Mrs. McKenzie is the oldest of their ten 
 children. She was born Dec. 23,- 1835, in Massa- 
 chusetts, and is the mother of four children Nathan 
 L., Fred E., Julia C. and Wallace L. Mrs. Mc- 
 Kenzie owns 160 acres of improved land. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. McKenzie went to Colorado to en- 
 gage in the stock business. He was accompanied 
 by his family and made the trip overland as the 
 methods of traveling were then called, when parties 
 moved with their own teams. Three years later they 
 returned to the homestead in the township of Coloma. 
 Mr. McKenzie also went, in 1859, to Pike's Peak, 
 but he returned the same season. While in Color- 
 ado, associated with another man, he established 
 the first trading post at Golden City, Colorado. He 
 was a member of the A. O. U. W. 
 
 
 
 ugh Shannon, a prominent stock-breeder 
 and farmer of Whiteside County, is located 
 on section 1 5, Genesee Township. He was 
 born May 28, 1835, in County Antrim, Ireland, 
 and came to this continent when 14 years of 
 | age. He came to Whiteside County on attain- 
 ing his majority, and entered the employ of Van J. 
 Adams, of Sterling Township. Later, he rented a 
 farm in that township, which he " took on shares," 
 and in 1858, two years later, he went to Round 
 Grove, in Mt. Pleasant Township, where he passed 
 three years as a renter. In 1861 he purchased 80 
 acres of land in the same township. He continued 
 to own the place between two and three years, when 
 he sold out and bought a small farm in Genesee 
 Township, which he managed seven years before in- 
 creasing his real estate. He bought then sufficient 
 land to constitute a farm of 175 acres, which he 
 placed in good condition for agricultural purposes, 
 and which he supplied with suitable buildings. His 
 next removal brought him to a place near Coleta vil- 
 lage, where he began by buying 40 acres of land on 
 section 15. He has since purchased 120 acres, two- 
 thirds of which is situated on section 16. The 
 quality of his energies and judgment may be under- 
 stood from the fact that in addition to the property 
 
 named he owns 120 acres of pasture land in Genesee 
 Township, and 160 acres in the township of Lyndon. 
 His aggregated estate comprises 627 acres, and he 
 is also the owner of a house in the village of Coleta. 
 
 In 1860 Mr. Shannon began to interest himself in 
 trade in stock, and was soon operating extensively 
 in buying and shipping. One season he sent eight 
 car-loads of cattle to market. He has since given 
 much attention to raising colts, calves, and other 
 small stock. In the fall of 1882 he purchased of M. 
 W. Dunham, of Du Page, 111., the registered stallion 
 " Hercules," of Percheron blood and of full pedigree, 
 which is registered in France, whence he was im- 
 ported by his original owner. " Hercules " weighs 
 nearly 2,000 pounds. In October, 1883, Mr. Shan- 
 non purchased "Breeze," of the same breed and 
 pedigree, fully registered. His weight is about 1,800 
 pounds. . 
 
 Mr. Shannon is of mixed Irish and Scotch descent. 
 His father, Robert Shannon, was of unmixed Irish 
 lineage and married Rose Young, who was born in 
 Ireland of Scotch parentage. They belonged to the 
 class distinctively known as North-of-Ireland people, 
 and after their marriage they remained about 20 
 years in their native country. They emigrated thence 
 to America and located in Ontario, then Canada 
 West. The senior Shannon was a hotel proprietor in 
 his native country, and he acquired a fine compe- 
 tency, but the generous character which he inherited 
 proved the cause of disastrous loss, his belief in the 
 trustworthiness of his friends failing to produce cor- 
 responding results. He lost his gains and came to 
 this country to rebuild his fortune, and rear his chil- 
 dren. Six years after the family left Ireland they 
 came to the " States." They made a brief stay in 
 the township of Sterling, afterwards going to Wiscon- 
 sin. Later, they returned to Sterling, where the par- 
 ents were resident until the death of the mother, in 
 July, 1 88 1. She was 68 years of age. The father 
 has since resided with his daughter, Mrs. Jennie 
 Hazard, of Sterling. He is 75 years of age (1885). 
 Their 14 children were named Ellen, Mary, Hugh, 
 Thomas, Rachel, Robert, John, Anna, Glasgow, 
 Archie, Jennie, David, George and Prudence. Mr. 
 Shannon has one brother Thomas and one sister 
 Jennie still living. 
 
 He was married July 9, 1856,10 Susannah, daugh- 
 ter of Martin and Mary A. (Harvey) Durstine. The 
 latter were born of German ancestors in Pennsyl- 
 
 T 
 
 ) 
 
 ._ 
 
 <k) 
 

 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 vania and located after marriage in Butler County. 
 Mrs. Shannon was born in that county Dec. 12, 1835. 
 In 1852 her parents removed to the West, and re- 
 mained for a time in Iowa. They came thence to 
 Round Grove, in Whiteside County. They had n 
 children and she is fourth in order of birth. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Shannon have one child, Mary, who was -mar- 
 ried Nov. 30, 1879, to Chauncey A. Brow, a farmer 
 in Genesee Township. They have three children 
 May, Minnie and Hugh. 
 
 Mr. Shannon is an adherent of the Republican 
 party and belongs to the Baptist Church, of which 
 Mrs. Shannon is also a member. 
 
 
 
 ii 
 
 eter Van Nest, deceased, was a pioneer of 
 Whiteside County. He came to the town- 
 ship of Albany in 1837, and settled in the 
 f""J township of Garden Plain in 1853. He was 
 born March 11, 1812, at Dutch Neck, Mercer 
 Co., N. J., and was the youngest son of John 
 and Ida (Bergen) Van Nest. His parents were both 
 descendants of the Hollanders who settled on the 
 Atlantic seaboard during the early history of the 
 American continent, and his father was a well-to-do 
 farmer. The latter died when the son was ten years 
 old. Peter Van Nest learned the trade of a black- 
 smith from an older brother when he arrived at a 
 suitable age, and followed the business in the place 
 of his nativity until his removal to Illinois. In 1837 
 he set out by stage and crossed the Allegheny Moun- 
 tains to Pittsburg, whence he came on the rivers to 
 Albany. He established the first blacksmith shop at 
 that place, and was one of the original proprietors of 
 the present site of the village. He became inter- 
 ested in the establishment of the Congregational 
 Church at that place, before he became a member, 
 and in 1846 he joined the communion. He was soon 
 after elected, a Deacon and discharged the duties of 
 the position until March, 1885, when he transferred 
 his membership to the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 Soon after coming to the county he made a claim 
 of land on the east half of the southeast quarter of 
 section 31, in Garden Plain Township, and also on 
 the east half of the southwest quarter of the same 
 section. When the land came into market he se- 
 cured his title. In 1853 he took possession, living 
 
 at first in a log house. This soon gave place to a 
 commodious brick dwelling, which his family have 
 since occupied. He made extensive improvements, 
 setting out trees and varieties of small fruit, with 
 ornamental shrubs. He grew prosperous and added 
 more land to his estate, until he owned 240 acres, 
 all under excellent improvement. Afterward he also 
 bought 80 acres of land in Audubon Co., Iowa, in 
 1879. In his |x>litical proclivities he was a decided 
 Republican His death occurred May 21, 1885. 
 
 Peter Van Nest was married Dec. 21, 1842, 
 to N.mcy, oldest daughter of Cheney and Annie 
 (Walke-) Olds. (See sketch of Warren Olds.) She 
 was lorn Aug. 19, 1824, in Sturbridge, Worcester 
 Co., Mass. Their ten children are recorded as fol- 
 lows : George D. became a soldier when 18; he was 
 a drummer in the g^d Regt. 111. Vfcl. Inf., and was 
 with Sherman in his route to the sea and through 
 the Carolinas, serving through the war and partici- 
 pating in the Grand Review at Washington ; lives at 
 Laurel, Marshall Co., Iowa; Henry B. lives at Grin- 
 nell, Powesheik Co., Iowa ; Ida is the wife of Her- 
 bert Simpson, of Garden Plain Township; Louisa 
 O married John Nicewanger, also of that township; 
 Sarah E. married James Coyne, and they reside in 
 Audubon Co., Iowa; Walter C., Willis W. and John 
 F. live with their mother on the homestead. 
 
 2 olon Stevens is one of the practical, sub- 
 stantial farmers of Fenlon Township, and 
 is located on section 25, where he owns 
 320 acres of land, in first-class agricultural 
 condition. He was born in Standing Stone, 
 Bradford Co, Pa., Oct 13, 1820 His father, 
 Seth Stevens, was the grandson of one of the first 
 settlers of Wilkesbarre, Pa. The hitter was a native 
 of Connecticut, and was the first to engage in mer- 
 cantile pursuits where he located in Pennsylvania, 
 and shared the universal fate at the massacre of 
 Wyoming. His son, who became the father of Seth 
 Stevens, was then 16 years o'd, and, infuriated by 
 the dreadful experience, enlisted in the War of the 
 Revolution, and served until its close. He seitled 
 at Standing Stone, where he improved a fine farm, 
 and was its occupant until his death. The place is 
 still in the possession of his descendants. 
 
 Seth Stevens grew to manhood in the place of his 
 
 .
 
 nativity, where he lived a few years after his mar- 
 riage. He removed to Albany, irt the same county, 
 '*.and was a farmer there until 1871, when he went to 
 Crawford Co., Mo., and died in the fall of the same 
 , at the home of his son. His wife returned to 
 Pennsylvania, where she died a few years later. 
 They had 13 children. 
 
 Mr. Stevens is the third child of his parents. He 
 passed the early years of his boyhood, youth and 
 manhood in his na'.ive place, and was there married 
 to Charlotte M., daughter of Abraham and Han- 
 's nah (Letcher) Smith. She was born in Petersburg, 
 
 
 
 Rensselaer Co., N. Y., Sept. 27, 1822. He became 
 a farmer in New Albany, in his native county. In 
 1845 he came to Illinois to prospect, and he engaged 
 as assistant in building the bridge across the Rock 
 River, at Milan, Rock Island County. He took land 
 near Rock Island for payment. After a stay of six 
 , months he returned to Pennsylvania. In 1851 he 
 removed with his family to Illinois. He journeyed 
 ^ by rail to Dunkirk, and thence to Detroit on the 
 ^ lake. He came across Michigan by rail to New 
 ^ Buffalo, and reached Chicago from that place by 
 Lake Michigan. He went on the cars to Elgin, and 
 JT^ drove from that to Rock Island. He engaged as an 
 assistant in a steam-mill until winter, when he en- 
 s tered the employment of McMurphy & Co., the 
 v ) surveyor of Rock Island County, and assisted in the 
 survey of all the swamp lands in that county. 
 
 In March, 1832, he came to Whiteside County, 
 and bought a farm of 160 acres of land on section 
 25, of the township which is now Fenton, for which 
 he paid $3.38 per acre. He has since purchased an 
 additional quantity, similar in extent, and has put 
 the entire place under improvements. He has 
 erected substantial buildings, and supplied the natu- 
 ral deficiency of trees by setting out fruit, shade and 
 ornamental varieties. He is interested in raising 
 grain and stock. 
 
 Mr. Stevens was a Whig in his early political 
 affinities, but has been a Republican since the organ- 
 ization of the party. 
 
 Following is the record of the-children of Mr. and 
 . Mrs. Stevens: Addie C. is now the wife of Jesse W. 
 , Scott, a farmer of Montmorency Township; Martha 
 E. is the wife of Wallace Halladay, a farmer, resid- 
 K*y ing in Pottawatomie Co., Iowa; John E. is a stock 
 p- and grain buyer and farmer; he married Selah Em- 
 . 
 
 
 
 ~ 
 
 ory; Anna C. is now Mrs. B. F. Freeman, who is a 
 banker in Persia, Harrison Co, Iowa; Etta M. is 
 the wife of Fred E. Ryan, conductor on the C., B. & 
 Q. Railroad, and resides at Mendota, 111.; Emma 
 A. is the wife of Robert L. Porter, traveling auditor 
 on the C. B. & Q. Railroad ; Susie died when three 
 years old. 
 
 Murray Eaton, Supervisor of Garden 
 'f- Plain Township, was born Oct. 31, 1835, 
 in Willett, Cortland Co., N. Y. John Ea- 
 ton, his father, was born Sept. 9, 1785, in 
 Albany Co., N. Y., and was married in 1825, 
 to Lucy (Lee) Dains. She was born Dec. 7, 
 1795, in Oxford, Chenango Co., N. Y. They went 
 to Cherry Valley, and later to Willett, where they 
 were pioneers. The senior Eaton had bought a 
 military claim and took possession of the land, 
 which was covered with heavy timber. He improved 
 a large farm and occupied it until 1836. 
 
 The Eaton family descended from John Eaton, 
 who settled in 1635 in Dedham, Mass., and who 
 came from England. The mother's ancestral descent 
 came from the Bunker's, whose name is perpetuated 
 by Bunker Hill. 
 
 In 1836 John Eaton removed his family to Illi- 
 nois, traveling with teams, and reaching his destina- 
 tion in six weeks. They settled on a claim at 
 Elkhorn Grove, in Carroll County. Mr. Eaton built 
 the first fame house at the Grove, and it was the first 
 between Chicago and the Mississippi River. He 
 improved a (arm, of which he was the occupant until 
 1854. In that year he sold it and removed to Us- 
 tick Township. He died in 1868. He was married 
 first to Lydia Preston, about the year 1806, and their 
 children were ten in number. From the second 
 marriage there were four children, and of the whole 
 number, r4, there are 12 survivors. The second wife 
 is still living. 
 
 Mr. Eaton was one year old the day his parents 
 reached Elkhorn Grove, and he was brought up at 
 home, ac<ompanying them to Ustick Township in 
 1854. In 1864, associated with his brother, he 
 bought 240 acres of land on sections 23 and 26 of 
 Garden Plain Township. They continued their joint 
 ownership and relations a few years, when they made 
 
 ' _.iV3^>j 

 
 UHlVthSM? -J
 
 WHITES1DI-. COUNTY. 
 
 
 a division ; and Mr. Eaton is the owner of 170 acres 
 on section 23, where he has placed his estate in ex- 
 cellent condition for prosperous farming. 
 
 He was married Oct. 26, 1869, at Lowell, Mass., 
 to Emma Green. She was born in Greensbotough, 
 Vt., June 1 6, 1834, and was educated in Lowell. 
 She was for a half-score of years a teacher in the 
 schools of Illinois. 
 
 Mr. Eaton has served as Supervisor of Garden 
 Plain Township nine years. He has also filled the 
 position of Town Clerk and held other offices of 
 trust. 
 
 Charles Lancaster, a well to-do farmer, re- 
 ^ sides on section 24, Prophetstown Town- 
 ship, where he has a fine farm of 286 
 acres. His parents, Charles and Sarah (Cur- 
 tis) Lancaster, were both natives of England. 
 His mother died in her native country, and 
 his father in Prophetstown Township, Nov. 9, 1869. 
 
 Our subject was born in Nottinghamshire, England, 
 
 * July 14, 1827, but went into Lincolnshire at the age 
 ^ of two years, where he lived until the time he left the 
 s country. He was reared on a farm, enjoying only 
 
 such educational advantages as the times in that 
 country afforded. Shortly after reaching his major- 
 ity, in 1851, he turned his face toward the New 
 World, where he desired to come to better his for- 
 tune. He landed at New York, where he worked on 
 a farm till the autumn of 1855, when he returned to 
 England, where, however, he only remained for a 
 short time, returning to the United States in the 
 i spring of the following year, with his brother, Ed- 
 ward. They came to Prophetstown, where our sub- 
 3 ject for several years rented a farm. In the spring 
 of 1865 he bought 80 acres of his present farm, 
 and to this nucleus he has added until he now 
 has nearly 300 acres of fine farm land. He has 
 erected a splendid residence ; has good barns, fine 
 orchard, and, indeed, one of the best improved farms 
 (oVn the county. 
 
 In connection with carrying on this general farm- 
 -,., ing business, he gives special attention to the raising 
 of Short-horn cattle, in which particular line he 
 takes considerable pride and no little pleasure. On 
 his farm he usually has about 75 head of cattle, 13 
 to 15 head of horses, and from 75 to 125 hogs. 
 
 While not enjoying all the educational advantages 
 that the modern school system of this country 
 affords, he nevertheless takes an active interest in 
 promoting the welfare of the schools, and giving the 
 young every available advantage possible for secur- 
 ing an education. 
 
 While on his visit to England he was united in 
 marriage to Mrs. Sarah J. Hippy, daughter of Will- 
 iam and Mary Arin Hippy. The marriage took 
 place in South Lufenham, County Rutland, Eng- 
 land, in April, 1856. Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster are 
 the parents of six children, besides having an 
 adopted daughter. The following are their names : 
 Mary A., wife of Mallory Hill, farmer in Prophets- 
 town Township; Charles H., engaged in the fur- 
 niture business in Prophetstown ; Sarah, wife of 
 Millard Hill, farmer in Prophetstown Township; 
 William, Henry, and Franklin, still at home; Clara 
 is the name of the adopted daughter. 
 
 As a gentleman worthy to be classed among the 
 representative citizens of the county, we place Mr. 
 Lancaster's (lortrait in connection with this sketch, 
 and accompanying the portraits of many of the lead- 
 ing citizens of the county. It is engraved from a 
 portrait taken in 1885. 
 
 ev. Edward White, a resident of the town- 
 ship of Garden Plain, is a citizen of the 
 United States by adoption, having been 
 born in Sunderland, Durham Co., England ) 
 Jan. i, 1815. His father, John White, was 
 born in the same shire and was for many 
 years employed as a clerk in a stone quarry. 
 
 Mr. White was sent to school in his native coun- 
 try until he was 13 years of age. In 1828 he was 
 apprenticed as a clerk in a general mercantile es- 
 tablishment and served seven years, according to the 
 custom of the country. He went then to Newcastle 
 and was employed for a short time in the capacity 
 of a shipping clerk, after which he obtained a posi- 
 tion as foreman in a store at Houghton, Lee 
 Springs, continuing to discharge its duties between 
 three and four years. Later, he went to Lan- 
 cashire, where he embarked in the sale of dry goods 
 and operated in his own interests until 1843. In 
 the next year he came to the United States. He 
 
 SVV 
 y.- v
 
 626 
 
 
 -, .. - 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 took passage on a sailing vessel in March, and six 
 weeks after landed at New Orleans. He proceeded 
 directly from the Crescent City to Albany, in White- 
 side County. He made his way to Garden Plain 
 Township, and found a suitable location on section 
 33, where he bought a farm. He has applied the 
 habits he acquired in his native land to the de- 
 velopment of his estate and now has one of the best 
 farms in the township, which is noted for its fine ag- 
 ricultural advantages. Among other prominent fea- 
 tures of the place is an exceptionally choice orchard, 
 and the proprietor has manifested good sense and 
 judgment by setting out numerous shade and orna- 
 mental trees. 
 
 Mr. White's connection with religious matters be- 
 gan with his conversion at 14 years ot age. He 
 joined the communion of the Wesleyan Methodists, 
 soon after becoming an exhorter, and later a local 
 preacher. He . connected himself with the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church in Garden Plain and has 
 since exercised his talents as a local preacher on oc- 
 casion. 
 
 Mr. White was married in 1842, to Mary A. 
 Mathew. She was born Aug. 26, 1819, at Hough- 
 ton, Lee Springs, and is the daughter of a physician 
 of that place. They have five children John, 
 Alice, wife of Frank Peck, Hattie, widow of Samuel 
 Curry, Thomas and Mary. 
 
 (.apt. Cornelius Knapp, a resident of Al- 
 bany, was born July 9, 1830, in the town- 
 ship of Mooers, Clinton Co., N. Y., and is 
 the third son of Robert and Emily (Frost) 
 Knapp. His father was born in 1792, in 
 Nassau, N. Y., and was brought up in Lan- 
 singburg, near the city of Troy. He was a commis- 
 sioned officer during the war of 1812, and after its 
 close located in Clinton County, where he was a citi- 
 zen until his removal to Illinois in 1845. He made 
 the journey with his family, comprising his wife and 
 five children, and they set out from Rouse's Point on 
 Lake Champlain, whence they proceeded to White- 
 hall. They went from there via the Champlain and 
 Erie Canals to Buffalo, and thence on the lakes to 
 Chicago. A farmer brought the party from the Gar- 
 den City to Whiteside County. 
 
 Mr. Knapp bought a tract of Government land in 
 what is now Garden Plain Township, on which he 
 built a small frame house, suited to the times and his 
 means ; but it soon gave way to one of more conveni- 
 ent dimensions. On this place, which the proprietor 
 placed under excellent improvements, he resided un- 
 til his death, in 1871, a period of 26 years. The 
 mother was born May 4, 1799, in Rutland, Vt, and 
 she died March 15, 1877, aged 78 years. Their chil- 
 dren were five in number. C. Seymour lives in Gar- 
 den Plain Township, which is also the place of resi- 
 dence of George M., the second son, and of Hiram 
 F. and Mary Almira. 
 
 Captain Knapp was 15 years of age when he ac- 
 companied his father's family to Whiteside County. 
 In the winter following he attended school at Al- 
 bany, and in the ensuing summer he was employed 
 as teamster by Capt. W. S. Barnes. He spent the 
 succeeding winter in school at Union Grove. In the 
 spring of 1847 he engaged in rafting on the Mississippi 
 River, and followed that occupation three consecu- 
 tive seasons, attending school two alternating winters 
 and teaching a third in the school-house in Cedar 
 Creek District. In 1850 he went to California, jour- 
 neying thither most of the way on foot, supplies, etc., 
 being transported by horse teams. He was en 
 route three months. He became interested in gold 
 mining and remained on the Pacific coast until the 
 fall of 1853, when he returned via the Isthmus of 
 Panama and New Orleans. In 1854 he once more 
 engaged in his former occupation of rafting on the 
 river, and was engaged in that business until the 
 war. In 1857 he bought an interest in a steamboat, 
 but was not concerned personally in its management. 
 On the advent of civil war, Captain Knapp became 
 master on a freight boat plying between St. Croix 
 and Burlington, which he conducted one summer. 
 In the winter following he took the boat to Memphis 
 and sold it. Captain Knapp continued in the river 
 service until 1884, operating during the time princi- 
 pally as master and pilot on steamboats. He was 
 engaged two years on the " Diamond Joe " line, 
 which was his only digression from the service above 
 mentioned. 
 
 Captain Knapp was married Nov. 22, 1855, to 
 Harriet L. Townley. She was born in Quincy, 111., 
 and is the daughter of William and Harriet (Hunt- 
 ington) Townley. Her father was born March 5, 
 
 , 
 
 . 
 
 
 t 
 
 x . 
 
 ' *^
 
 1803, in Elizabethtown, N. J. Her mother was born 
 in Owego, N. Y., March 3, 1808. The family settled 
 Illinois in 1833. The two older children of Cap- 
 tain and Mrs. Knapp, Florence and Mildred C., live 
 in Chicago; William T. lives in Clinton, Iowa; Mary 
 L. lives with her parents. Florence is the widow of 
 Harry Leland. 
 
 to 
 
 } ichard Drury, a substantial farmer of 
 Newton Township, resident on section 4, 
 is a citizen of the United States by adop~ 
 tion. He was born May 15, 1826, in Lin- 
 colnshire, England, which was the native 
 shire of his parents, William and Mary (In- 
 gamells) Drury. 
 
 The son was reared a farmer near where he was 
 born, and at the age of 23 years came to the United 
 States on the sailing vessel " Ivanhoe," landing at 
 New York after a voyage of 33 days. He went to 
 Albany in a steamboat on the Hudson River, whence 
 he came to Buffalo, and thence on the lake to De- 
 troit. He spent a month at Dexter, Mich., and came 
 next to New Buffalo, and from there on Lake Mich- 
 igan to Chicago. He spent a month working on a 
 boat on the Illinois Canal. At the end of that time 
 he started for Whiteside County, coming by rail from 
 Chicago to St. Charles, whence he proceeded by stage 
 to Albany. He was in the employ of his brother-in- 
 law, William Minta, one year, and in that succeeding 
 he went to New Orleans. He was "seized with ill- 
 ness in the Crescent City, and spent five weeks in 
 the hospital. He returned up the river as far as St. 
 Louis, and there engaged as overseer in the employ 
 of an extensive market gardener. At the end of 
 the season he came to Garden Plain Township, and 
 after passing a few weeks with his brother-in-law, 
 he went to Albany and engaged as an assistant in 
 the warehouse of Mcllvaine & Hopper, operating in 
 their interests three months. In the spring of 1851 
 he rented a farm in Newton Township, on which he 
 purposed to spend one year in company with William 
 Brewer. After three months he sold his interest in 
 the crops to his partner and bought three yoke of 
 oxen, with which he engaged in breaking prairie. In 
 the fall he operated as a farm hand in the harvest. 
 In August, 1852, he was married to Sally A. Brad- 
 
 ley, and they began housekeeping in Albany. Mr. 
 Drury was occupied through the fall and winter in 
 teaming. In 1853 he settled on unimproved land in 
 what is now Newton Township, locating on section 
 4. He built a house 14 x 18 feet in dimensions and 
 one story high, entering at once on the improvement 
 of his land. He has resided on the same place 
 since that time, a period including more than 30 
 years, and is now the owner of 310 acres of land, 
 all fenced and improved with the exception of six 
 acres of timber. In addition to his homestead, he 
 owns 640 acres of land in Floyd Co., Texas, He 
 has erected three frame houses on the place and four 
 fine barns. Fruit, shade and ornamental trees have 
 been planted on the premises, and 1,000 rods of 
 hedge has been set. The farm is considered one of 
 the best in Whiteside County. Mr. Drury is inter- 
 ested in raising stock and grain. His first wife died 
 May 17, 1866, aged 38 years, n months and 9 days. 
 Three children survive the mother : Mary ]., wife 
 of T. W. Huggins, William W. and Robert I. Mr. 
 Drury was married a second time Feb. 24, 1875, to 
 Mary Becken. 
 
 In his success Mr. Drury typifies the value of the 
 privileges to be enjoyed by those who come to this 
 continent from the crowded acres of the Old World. 
 He came with naught but his manhood's strength 
 and correct habits, with which he has carved out a 
 position second to none, and at three-score can con- 
 template in affluence the results of a well ordered 
 life. 
 
 'apt. Austin M. George, a resident ot 
 Garden Plain Township, was born Feb. 
 16, 1803, and is the oldest son of Daniel 
 and Elizabeth (Morse) George. Father and 
 son were born in Conway, N. H. The moth- 
 er was a native of Peacham, Vt. When 
 Capt. George was 16 his father died, leaving a widow 
 and five children. The son passed three years suc- 
 ceeding in farming in the neighborhood, after which 
 he engaged in a flour-mill at Conway until 1837, 
 when he went to Hiram, Maine. He operated as 
 foreman in a flour-mill at that place one year, after 
 which he went to Boston, Mass. He entered the
 
 employment of James Vila, with whom he remained 
 eight years. 
 
 In 1846 he came to Whiteside County to make a 
 permanent stay. In 1844 he had come here, and 
 entered a claim of land on section 14, of Garden 
 Plain Township, and in 1845 had employed help in 
 breaking 14 acres of land. In the year in which he 
 took possession of his property he built a house and 
 fenced the part of his farm that was under improve- 
 ment. He raised his first crop of wheat in 1847. 
 The farm is at present under advanced cultivation, 
 with all improvements common to this section. 
 
 Capt. George has been an extensive traveler in his 
 own country, and has visited nearly every portion of 
 the United States. 
 
 He has been twice married. Sophronia Bachelder 
 became his wife June 19, 1836, and died Jan. 20, 
 
 1850, leaving four children : Daniel lives in Paola 
 Co., Kan. ; Charles is a resident of Cordova, Rock 
 Island Co., 111.; King resides in the same place; 
 Sophronia lives near Blunt, D. T. Capt. George 
 was a second time married, at Cordova, March 13, 
 
 1851, to Mrs. Caroline A., widow of Ira Stowell. 
 She was born Feb. 20, 1823, in New York, and is the 
 daughter of Jeremiah and Abigail (Mitchell) Rice. 
 Mr. Stowell left one son, Andrew, who lives in 
 Garden Plain Township. She has been the moth- 
 er of five children from her second marriage : Mary 
 and Martha are twins; the former married Hiram 
 Sweet, of Sanborn, Iowa; Martha is the wife of 
 William Page, of Garden Plain Township; Dewit 
 and Etta are the youngest : one child is deceased. 
 
 Capt. George received his commission in the State 
 militia of New Hampshire when 18 years of age. 
 
 Crum, a retired farmer at Sterling, 
 was born April 18, 1822, in Indiana, and 
 was the son of William and Rosanna 
 (Whitinger) Crum, natives of Pennsylvania, 
 who emigrated that year to Indiana. The 
 subject of this sketch was the youngest of 12 
 children in his father's family, and was only eight 
 months old when his father died. He was brought 
 up on the farm and in attendance at school until 
 1838, when he left home and came to Genesee Town- 
 ship, this county. Buying a quarter-section of land 
 
 as soon as it came into market, he followed agricul- 
 tural pursuits upon the same for 28 years; then for 
 six years he was engaged in general mercantile busi- 
 ness at Gait; selling out, he purchased a farm of 106 
 acres in Hopkins Township, and resided upon it nine 
 years; and finally, in 1884, he moved to Sterling, oc- 
 cupying a residence which he purchased at the cor- 
 ner of Eighth and Market Streets. 
 
 May 14, 1843, Mr. Crum was married to Emeline 
 Wick, a native of Ohio, and they had one child, 
 Nancy E., who married Joseph M. Sowles and has 
 five children, William, Arthur H., Lulu A., Bertha 
 M. and Mary E. Mrs. Crum died March 25, 1844 
 in Genesee Township, this county, and Mr. Crum, 
 for his second wife, married Rachel M. Lee.'Sept. 26, 
 1846. She was born in Ohio, and died Aug, n, 
 1 88 1, in Gait, this county. May 28, 1884, is the 
 date of Mr. Crum's marriage to his present wife, La- 
 tina L. Patrick, a native of Illinois. 
 
 Mr. Crum's political views are Democratic, and 
 both himself and wife are members of the Christian 
 Church. He is a liberal, intelligent Christian, and 
 therefore a useful and worthy citizen. 
 
 i - <:> - ^ 
 
 
 'ohn S. Kimball, a retired farmer, resident 
 at Tampico, was born at Saccarappa, Cum- 
 berland Co., Me., Nov. 1 6, 1833, his par- 
 ents being P. H. and Susan (Stanley) Kimball. 
 He was a child when the family removed to 
 Yarmouth, in his native county. When 15 
 years of age he went to Ipswich, one of the oldest 
 towns in the State of Massachusetts, where he spent 
 five years in attending school. 
 
 After spending a year at South Bend, he came to 
 Prophetstown Township, this county, where his father 
 had previously settled, and took possession of 160 
 acres of land, which his father had entered from the 
 Government. Here he commenced life in agricul- 
 tural pursuits and soon afterwards was married, at 
 Morrison, Jan. i. 1870, to Miss Martha Underhill, 
 daughter of Arnold and Anna (Chase) Underhill, na- 
 tives of Ohio. Mrs. Kimball was born in Shreves, 
 Sullivan County, that State, July 3, 1838, and died 
 at her home in Tampico, Aug. 8, 1882, aged 44 years", 
 i month and 5 days. After she was reared and 
 educated in her native State, she came with her par- 
 
 
 
 '
 
 1UIHW8

 
 
 
 WHITKSIDK COUNTY. 
 
 A 
 
 ents to the West, locating in the village of Prophets- 
 town, where she was a milliner and dress-maker 
 until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Kimball had one 
 child, Charlie, who died Aug. 4, 1875, at the age of 
 one ye.ir and 18 days. Mrs. Kimball was an active 
 and useful member of society, and her death was a 
 loss to all the living. 
 
 Immediately after marriage Mr. Kimball settled 
 on a farm of 160 acres in Tampico Township, ad- 
 joining Glassburn's original plat of the village of 
 Tampico. Half of it is now within the corporation 
 and six acres of it is platted as '" Kimball 's Addition 
 to Tampico." The other half is a handsomely im- 
 proved farm, made such altogether by Mr. Kimball's 
 own industry and good judgment. He is politically 
 a stanch and reliable Republican, and socially a 
 member of the Masonic Order. He is also very ac- 
 tive in local interests. 
 
 Some years ago Mr. and Mrs. Kimball took into 
 their care a girl named Lizzie Kewley, daughter of 
 James and Anna (McClure) Kewley, who was born in 
 Fairfield, March i, 1863, and under their supervision 
 she was carefully reared and educated. 
 
 Mr. Kimball was again married, in Prophetstown, 
 May 15, 1885, to Sarah Jones, daughter of Henry 
 and Anna Jones, natives of Ohio. She was born in 
 Newton Township, this county, Oct. 7, 1857. 
 
 1 
 
 mbrose L. Hotchkiss, manufacturer of 
 and dealer in boots and shoes, and repair- 
 er, at Prophetstown, is a son of David 
 and Phoebe (Brown) Hotchkiss, and was born 
 in Oswego Co., N. Y., April 24, 1832. His 
 father was a cooper, and when 13 years of age 
 Ambrose L. went to learn the boot and shoe trade in 
 Syracuse, his native State, and served at the same 
 two years. He then went to Mexico, Oswego County, 
 where his parents resided, and followed his trade at 
 that place and New Haven, an adjoining village, un- 
 til he came West. 
 
 Mr. Hotchkiss formed a matrimonial alliance with 
 Miss Lydia Oles, in Central Square, Oswego County, 
 March 27, 1852. She was the daughter of Asahel 
 and Dorcas Oles, and was born in New Haven, Os- 
 wego Co, N. Y. They had one child, Frank by 
 name, who was born in Mexico, that county, and re- 
 
 IK-x o ^^ - 
 
 sides in the State of New York. In June, 1864, Mr. 
 Hotchkiss came to Prophetstown and was employed 
 at his trade for a time. He also bought and sold 
 several farms and followed the occupation of a 
 farmer. In 1877 he opened the business in which 
 he is at present engaged. He owns his building, 
 also another store building in Prophetstown, and his 
 residence and six lots in the same village. In ad- 
 dition to his Prophetstown property, lie is the owner 
 of 220 acres of land in Green Co., Iowa, which he 
 rents. Hr. Hotchkiss is a member of the Free- 
 masons, Knights Templars and the I. O. O. F. 
 
 Mrs. Hotchkiss died in Prophetstown, March 8, 
 1872, and Mr. Hotchkiss formed another matrimonial 
 alliance Nov.-4, 1873, with Miss Lydia E. Leach, a 
 daughter of Francis and Adelphia Leach. She was 
 born in New York, July 29, 1841. One son has 
 been born of the latter union, Halla G., March 20, 
 1876, in Prophetstown. 
 
 osiah C. Sturtevant, resident on sec. 31, 
 Coloma Township, has resided in White- 
 side County since 1844, and since that time 
 he has been identified with the agricultural 
 development of Coloma Township. He was 
 born at Center Harbor, N. H., June 16, 1805, 
 and went to Vermont about 1826, where he con- 
 tinued to live until he came to Whiteside County. 
 He is the owner of 250 acres of land, which includes 
 80 acres acquired by a recent purchase. His first 
 investment in land in Coloma Township embraced 
 170 acres. 
 
 Mr. Sturtevant was married March 16, 1826, in 
 Peacham, Vt., to Mary A. Robbins. She was born 
 Sept. 30, 1809, in Vermont. She became the mother 
 of 17 children, all but six of whom lived to maturity. 
 The names of those who survived their infancy were 
 Eliza A., Antoinette, Newton C., Nelson A., Rosetta 
 C., Hamdin A., Harriet, Mary A., Jonas, Edward, 
 Emma F., Evaline F., Addie B., Charles P., and 
 Carrie. Antoinette taught the first school in the town 
 of Coloma. Mrs. Sturtevant died Feb. 3, i88r. She 
 was a member of the Methodist Church. 
 
 Mr. Sturtevant was made the first Justice of the 
 Peace on the organization of the Township of Colo- 
 ma, and was also the first Road Commissioner. He
 
 . - 
 
 
 WH1 Tl'.SfDH CO UNT\ '. 
 
 
 Sk 
 
 (O 
 
 I 
 
 has held other minor official positions. He is a 
 Democrat in political belief and connection. 
 
 His parents, Perez and Dolly (Kimball) Sturte- 
 vant, were natives of New England, and their family 
 included eight children: Starrett P., Josiah C., Heze- 
 kiah F., Isaac, John D., Albert, Rosetta and Mary. 
 
 The portrait, which appears on the preceding page, 
 is a copy of a photograph recently taken. Mr. Stur- 
 tevant is a representative of the pioneer period of 
 Whiteside County. 
 
 'ames H. Mosher, physician and druggist, 
 residing at Prophetstown and an extensive 
 dealer in Hambletonian, and Clydesdale 
 horses, is a son of George F. and Elizabeth 
 (Tieman) Mosher. He was born in Herkimer 
 Co., N. Y., May 28, 1840. His father was a 
 native of Maine and a mechanic by vocation. 
 
 Dr. Mosher was reared at home until he attained 
 the age of majority. He graduated -at the Mexico 
 (N. Y.) Academy. At 18 he began teaching, and 
 was Principal of Constantia School two years. In 
 1862 he went to California and was engaged as 
 Principal of the schools at Eureka, Humboldt County, 
 that State, for two years. He then returned to New 
 York city and entered a medical college (having 
 previously studied medicine) known as the Bellevue 
 Hospital Medical College, and graduated from the 
 Long Island Hospital Medical College in the spring 
 of 1867. That fall he came West, lo:ating at 
 Prophetstown, this county. He opened, an office 
 and entered upon the practice of his profession, 
 which he has continued to follow ever since, and has 
 established a large and lucrative practice. In 1871 
 he built a brick store on the corner of Third and 
 Washington Streets, 24 x 65 feet in dimensions, being 
 two stories with basement, and put in a stock of 
 goods. In July, 1871, he admitted R. A. Majors as 
 a partner in his business and he took charge of the 
 same. They were together in business five years, 
 until 1876, since which time the Doctor has con- 
 ducted the business alone. He employs two clerks 
 and carries a stock of about $5,000, in drugs, paints, 
 oils, wall paper, books, stationery, etc. The Doctor 
 has purchased considerable land since coming to the 
 township, and is the possessor at the present time of 
 
 over 1,000 acres of good farming land. He has 
 ' 700 acres of fine farming land near Prophets- 
 town, and leases the major portion. He keeps about 
 200 acres which he devotes to the raising of stock. 
 He has about 50 head of horses, among which are 
 three thoroughbred registered Clydesdales and one 
 imported Norman. He has also some six or eight 
 standard bred horses. Doctor Mosher has two 
 farms in Iowa, one in Pottawatomie and one in 
 Boone County, that State, where he raises Short- 
 horn cattle, among which are a number of thorough- 
 bred and graded. He has about 175 head of cattle 
 and 50 head of horses. 
 
 Doctor Mosher was an alternate at the National 
 Convention of the Republican party held in Chicago 
 in 1880. He is a member of the Order of Masonry, 
 and a Knight Templar, belonging to Sterling Com- 
 mandery, No. 57 ; he is also a member of the State 
 Medical Society and belongs to the A. O. U. W. 
 
 Doctor Mosher was united in marriage at Proph- 
 etstown, Oct. 10, 1871, to Miss Florence A. Warner. 
 She is a daughter of Andrew J. and Elvira (Rowe) 
 Warner. The mother is deceased, and the father 
 resides in Prophetstown. Mrs. Mosher was born in 
 Prophetstown, Aug. 24, 1852. She is the mother by 
 Dr. Mosher of two children, both born in Prophets- 
 town, Maud, Dec. 17, 1873, and George Warner, 
 Dec. 20, 1878. 
 
 oswell B. Denison, general farmer and 
 stock-raiser, and one of the energetic and 
 
 o 
 
 prosperous farmers of the county, residing 
 on section ir, Tampico Township, was born 
 in Berkshire Co., Mass., March 27, 1836, his 
 parents being William and Emeline (Bill) 
 Denison, of New England ancestry and of Scotch 
 and English descent. The senior Denison was also 
 a farmer, and in 1854 he emigrated West with his 
 family, locating in the village of Prophetstown, this 
 county. Five days afterward he died of cholera; 
 Mrs. D. yet survives, being about 73 years of age. 
 
 Mr. Denison of this sketch remained at home with 
 his mother for some years after the death of his 
 father. In 1854 he purchased a tract of land, 
 improved and occupied it three years before his mar- 
 riage. He continued upon it for three years after- 
 
 , 
 
 (i)
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 633 
 
 
 
 ward, then lived three years in Hume Township and 
 finally, in 1868, he purchased 240 acres of wild land 
 where he now resides. This is now nearly all im- 
 proved and furnished with farm buildings of fair 
 quality. 
 
 Mr. Denison is a positive Republican, and has 
 held the minor offices of his township. He is also a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which 
 body he has been Trustee. 
 
 He was married May 8, 1862, to Miss Jenette P. 
 Paddock, daughter of Isaac and Christina (Wager) 
 Paddock. Her father, a fanner, was a native of 
 New York, and after marriage settled in Lewis 
 County, that State, where she was born May 3, 1845. 
 She was six years old when her parents emigrated 
 West to Illinois, locating in Prophetstown, where 
 she was reared, educated and married. She also is 
 a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Denison have six children, namely : Ada 
 V., born Feb. 17, 1863; Er/in I., Jan. 21, 1867; 
 Everett W., Oct. .10, 1868; Jennie E., Aug. 9, 1873; 
 Elmer R., July 16, 1875 ; Earl M., Feb. 23, 1883. - 
 
 V 3 
 
 ^,oratio Wells, deceased, a pioneer of White- 
 side County, and formerly a resident of 
 Como, was born in Greenfield, Franklin Co., 
 Mass., April 10, 1796, and was a son of Sam- 
 uel and Electa (Bascom) Wells, both natives of 
 the Bay State. He was reared to agriculture, 
 his father's farm lying contiguous to the village in 
 which their residence was located. In 1821 he mar- 
 ried Sarah Swan, who was born in Greenfield, May 
 30, 1800, and was a daughter of Benjamin and Mary 
 (Wait) Swan, also natives of that village. Mr. Wells 
 resided upon the farm of his mother-in-law two 
 years, when he" purchased a farm in Deerfield, lived 
 there a few years, then bought a farm in Heath, and 
 occupied it a short time, and then moved to Athol. 
 While a resident of the latter place before the day 
 of railroads, he was engaged in hauling goods -be- 
 tween that place and Boston with a six-horse team. 
 
 In the fall of 1836 he started with his family for 
 the great Prairie State, then the distant West, coming 
 by way of Troy, the Erie Canal, Buffalo and the 
 lakes to Milwaukee, where he hired a conveyance 
 and brought his family to Sterling. In the spring of 
 
 iff- ^^^ ^<iU 
 
 1839 he settled upon his claim at Round Grove, 
 built a log cabin and commenced making improve- 
 ments. He made that place his homo until 18 , 
 when he moved to Como, where he lived in retire- 
 ment until his death, in 1874. His wife survived 
 until 1878. They were members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 They had a family of ten children, five of whom 
 are now living, viz. ; Samuel, who lives in Ransom 
 Co., Dak. ; Sarah Louisa, widow of William Mc- 
 Dearmon; Horatio, a resident of Mercer Co., 111.; 
 Carrie, wife of Charles Tobey, and residing in Adams 
 Co., Iowa. 
 
 illiam C. Booth, deceased, a pioneer of 
 Whiteside County, of 1839, was born 
 Nov. 28, r 82 1, in Randolph Co., Va. His 
 parents, William and Deborah (Hart) Booth, 
 were married in Beverly, in the county and 
 State above named. A few years later they 
 located at what was then Booth's Ferry, now Phil-, 
 lippi, in Barbour County. In 1835 they went to 
 Ohio, and made a temporary location in Vinton 
 County. In 1835 they went to Indiana, and after a 
 stay in Cass County they came to Illinois, traveling 
 with their own teams, as there were no methods of 
 public transportation. They settled in Whiteside 
 County, the father making a claim on section 9, in 
 Newton Township. Mr. Booth of this sketch located 
 on section 8, of the same township. He made his 
 home with his parents until his marriage, in 1849, to 
 Elizabeth Wells, a native of the State of Vermont. 
 After that event he bought a farm in Mt. Pleasant 
 Township, in Rock Island County, where he con- 
 tinued to prosecute his agricultural operations until 
 1856, when he returned to Whiteside County, and 
 took possession of his claim which he had made on 
 section 8. After a residence of one year he returned 
 to his property in Rock Island County, and remained 
 two years, when he came back to Newton Township. 
 In 1877 he bought a farm on section 36, in Albany 
 Township, of which he took possession in 1880. On 
 this he passed the remainder of his life, dying Feb. 
 23, 1883. He was an able man, and contributed 
 largely through his energetic, active life to the devel- 
 opment of the townships in which he was a pioneer.
 
 ^ 
 
 WHJTESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 He was the recipient of universal esteem wherevei 
 he was known. 
 
 The first wife died in 1855, leaving three chil- 
 dren : Amanda, wife of Andrew Cessford, is the only 
 survivor, and lives in La Mar, Barton Co., Mo. In 
 1856 Mr. Booth married Lydia A. Kittle. She was 
 born in Beverley, Pa., and is the daughter of Eli and 
 Rebecca (Wies) Kittle. Six children were born of 
 the second marriage, of whom four are living: Dama 
 M., Mason, William Clay and Bunn. Mason and 
 William Clay are engaged in the hardware business, 
 at Albany. Having in April, 1885, bought the hard- 
 ware store and stock formerly owned by B. H. Quick, 
 they carry a good stock of general hardware goods. 
 
 |' hylarman Daggett, deceased, a former res- 
 ident of Lyndon, was bom Aug. 17, 1812, 
 in Newport, Orleans Co , Vt, where he 
 
 ^ 
 
 lived during his boyhood and youth. He 
 learned the trade of a cabinet-maker in his na- 
 tive town. He came in 1836 to Plainfield, 
 = Will Co., III., and in 18^7 he removed to Whiteside 
 
 County, locating in Lyndon Township. He boarded 
 
 * for a time with William Dudley, and, while improv- 
 Y ing his land, worked at intervals at his trade. In 
 
 " 1847 he removed to the village of Lyndon, where he 
 ^ ) died, July 3, 1880. He was an earnest and devoted 
 Christian all his life, and was active in Church work. 
 Mr. Daggett was united in marriage three times. 
 He first formed a matrimonial alliance with Mary 
 Willey, who was born in Derby, Orleans Co., Vt. She 
 died ii months after marriage, without issue. Mr. 
 Daggett 's second wife was Jane D., widow of Augus- 
 tus Newhall, and they had one child, Mary F. She 
 msrried Freeman H. Kniskern. The mother died 
 Feb. 14, 1855, and Mr. Daggett was married July 
 22, 1869, to Lois Philena (Fitch) Jeffers. She was 
 born in Pike Township, Bradford Co., Pa., and mar- 
 ried for her first husband Perry L. Jeffers. Charles 
 P. Jeffers, only son by her first marriage, was born 
 (cj\ Jan. 30, 1853, in Lyndon. He received a careful 
 primary education, and entered the University of 
 Illinois, where he graduated in June, 1874. In the 
 spring of 1875 he went to Boston, Mass., and be- 
 came a salesman in the well known Shepard's drug- 
 store, where he operated one year, meanwhile at- 
 tending the School of Pharmacy and graduated. He 
 
 went next to a situation in a drug-store at Ipswich, 
 where he continued until 1880. In that year he 
 established himself in business at Swampscot and 
 has since continued its successful management. He 
 was married Dec. 25, 1875, to Elizabeth Stalker. 
 She was born in Ipswich, Essex Co., Mass. Their 
 two children are named Leroy and Lyndon. The 
 children of Mr. Daggelt's third marriage were Helen 
 and Hervey F. 
 
 H eter Hagan, general farmer and stock-raiser, 
 section 14, Tampico Township, was born 
 in Elizabethtown, N. J.- His parent;;, Pat- 
 rick and Catharine (Anthony) Hagan, were 
 natives of Ireland and New York State re- 
 spectively. His mother was of French and 
 German ancestry ; his father resided in Ireland until 
 he was about 20 years of age, when he emigrated to 
 America. -A few years afterward he was married, in 
 New Jersey, and after the birth of his fifth child he 
 moved to Franklin Co., Ohio, settling upon a farm. 
 In 1850 he moved to Greenville Township, Bureau 
 Co., 111., where Peter, the subject of this sketch, was 
 reared to manhood and completed his education, and 
 where his parents died, his father in 1880, aged 78 
 years, and his mother in 1883, aged 87 years. They 
 were prominent and highly respected members of 
 the farming community. 
 
 In 1864 the subject of this sketch left his parents' 
 home and came to Tampico Township, purchasing 
 80 acres of the section where he now resides, which 
 was the " raw " prairie, and he began at once to im- 
 prove it and lay the foundations for a comfortable 
 home. Thus he labored for ten years before he was 
 married, boarding at some of the neighbors. Mr. 
 Hagan is successful in agricultural pursuits. In his 
 his political principles he is a firm Democrat. 
 
 He was married in Greenville Township, Bureau 
 Co., 111., Feb. 4, 1874, to Mrs. Rachel Melvin, daugh- 
 ter of Rev. John and Anna (Carson) Brook. Her 
 father, a Methodist minister, was a native of Eng- 
 land, her mother of America, and they were married 
 in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Hagan was born in Clear- 
 field Co., Pa., Oct. 1 8, 1843. In 1845 her parents 
 removed to La Salle Co., 111., where her mother 
 died ; and, her father being an itinerant preacher, 
 she was reared by strangers. When she attained 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 
 ( 
 
 
 
 
 --' 
 

 
 UNlVtRSMY ( 
 URBAIW
 

 
 LI 
 
 UNIVERSITY Of ILLINOIS 
 URBANA
 
 x^x 
 
 I 
 
 ' 
 
 <; 
 
 
 
 the age of 17 years and obtained a good education 
 at Wheaton (111.) College, she went to New Bedford, 
 Bureau County, where she was for the first lime 
 married. She had by her first marriage two children, 
 viz : Frank, born March 8, 1866; Minnie C., April 
 5, 1869. By her present marriage she has three 
 children, namely: William, born Nov. 30, 1874; 
 Catharine, April 12, 1876; and Emma, May 12, 
 1878. Mrs. Hagan is a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 lida John, deceased. It is right that the 
 lives of tl% upright should be kept in ten- 
 der remembrance ; and with no touch of 
 adulation upon our heart? or pens, we note 
 down some of the occurrences in the life of him 
 who has recently passed from the pains and 
 cares of earth. 
 
 The subject of this sketch came to Illinois in ad- 
 vanced life, and here lived measurably retired from 
 the world, yet never ceased to feel a deep interest in 
 his fellow beings and in the affairs of government; 
 he was firm in his convictions of right and fearless 
 in the expression of these. Born in 1805, of course 
 he became acquainted with the hardships of that 
 early day ; but notwithstanding the meager chances 
 for instruction in literary preferment, he always 
 ranked among the foremost (wherever he lived) in 
 intelligence and solid worth. He became a teacher 
 while yet a youth, and was always identified as one 
 of the leaders in building up the interests of the 
 neighborhood in which he lived. After marriage he 
 continued teaching, and at one time established a 
 school in part of his residence. He was careful that 
 from their infancy his own children should be well 
 taught, fondly endeavoring, with the true and able 
 assistance of their mother, to supply them what the 
 rigor of the times denied to him. 
 
 When the free-school system was established in 
 Pennsylvania, he was elected a member of the first 
 Board of School Directors in Shamokin Township, 
 Northumberland County ; and there are many who 
 attest to the arduous labor of that faithful Board 
 whose duty and work it was to divide the large, 
 wooded, hilly township into suitable school districts, 
 and to contract for and inspect the building of the 
 
 many .school-houses erected at that time. Nearly 
 all of the heavy literary work fell into the hands of 
 the subject of this memorial. After getting these 
 schools into successful operation (every one of which 
 he assisted to start with suitably qualified teachers), 
 he spent much time for years in visiting them, and 
 in encouraging both teachers and pupils to the 
 highest attainments, reminding the children espe- 
 cially that they were then enjoying privileges richer 
 than their parents ever knew. Scores of young peo- 
 ple listened as they had never done before to kind 
 and earnest persuasions to receive wisely the bless- 
 ings waiting to crown their lives'; and the subse- 
 quent prosperity and success of those with gradually 
 enlightened homes, are held in the balance, re- 
 dounding to the peace of a rightly commissioned ser- 
 vant of Christ. 
 
 For about 20 years he followed the occupation of 
 surveyor and conveyancer in Northumberland, Col- 
 umbia, Montour and Schuylkill Counties, Pa., car- 
 rying compass, chain and leveling staff through 
 unbroken forests and over rocky mountains, pene- 
 trating into some of the most valuable anthracite 
 coal fields in the State. His v reputation for correct- 
 ness in surveys became such that he was often 
 summoned to go long distances to survey disputed 
 lines. His evidence in Courts of justice settled 
 many disputes. During these years large, a'nd some 
 of them complicated, estates were placed into his 
 hands for settlement, often making it incumbent 
 upon him to be the arbiter between man and man ; 
 yet this, of course, sometimes brought him into com- 
 petition with able lawyers; but, helped by a keen 
 insight and an unwavering sense of justice, he was 
 wonderfully enabled to save,'to widows and orphans, 
 home and comfort from apparently wrecked pos- 
 sessions, and at the same time retain the respect of 
 Courts. 
 
 Seeing very early the evils of intemperance, there 
 was no other way than to lift voice and influence 
 against this increasing tide of ruin. The jug of 
 whisky at that time was almost always found in the 
 harvest field, but he refused ,to furnish alcohol in 
 any form to his workmen. His neighbors predicted 
 that he would get no assistance ; but, offering a 
 shilling a day more than the common wages, and no 
 whisky, he succeeded in getting a sufficiency of 
 sober hands, and enough more work done and in 
 better condition to fully compensate for the differ- 
 
 $i HMW^ f~\ -***J. 
 
 '- 
 
 IS
 
 X > 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ence in wages. On the Board of School Directors 
 alluded to above, the majority were opposed to the 
 temperance movement ; one of the members was 
 even a distiller ; and when building those school- 
 houres this man offered a resolution that no temper- 
 ance nor abolition meeting sha-uld be held in them ! 
 As the school-house in those days was about the 
 only point where the people could be called together, 
 even for religious meetings, this, then, was a matter 
 of vital concern to any mind interested in the public 
 welfare. The subject of this memoir, knowing him- 
 self to be in the minority, so amended the resolution 
 as also to exclude singing-schools, a pastime which 
 nearly all of the Board greatly enjoyed. He thus 
 defeated the resolution, and saved to philanthropy 
 tho:e free-school houses. 
 
 At one of these Directors' meetings, a member 
 said to Elida John one day, " Mr. John, you temper- 
 ance men make a great fuss about a drink of whisky ; 
 and yet if a distiller should offer you a cent higher 
 than the market for your grain you would sell it to 
 him to convert into whisky ! " Before an answer 
 could be given, the distiller turned quickly to the 
 speaker with these honest words: "No, sir; Mr. 
 
 John will not! He sold his corn to Mr. for 
 
 more than anyone else was getting, and then asked 
 where he should deliver it. He was requested to 
 deliver it at my distillery. Immediately he recalled 
 the bargain at his own loss, and refused to deliver 
 the grain at all! " All through his life of 78 years, 
 and often an owner of much grain, he never sold 
 one bushel to a distiller. 
 
 He was also an earnest, conscientious anti-slavery 
 worker. 
 
 Some incidents connected with this part of his 
 life are very interesting, but too numerous to be in- 
 serted here. Through all the vicissitudes of his 
 career from youth to " the last of earth " he was un- 
 wavering in his endeavor to manifest allegiance to 
 the Divine Power by which he strove to direct his 
 own steps through life, and by precept and example 
 to lead his beloved household in the same light. 
 For many years, no matter what hurrying or ab- 
 stru.;e business engrossed his mind, or what attrac- 
 tions or exciterqents surrounded him, he laid all 
 aside when the meeting-hour came, and, taking his 
 family with him, repaired to the house of public 
 quiet prayer to spend one hour twice a week in Di- 
 
 vine worship. This house he had aided greatly, 
 both financially and otherwise, in building. It causes 
 a thrill of delight now to recall the marked defer- 
 ence with which those old-time neighbors and ac- 
 quaintances looked up to him, attesting their ap- 
 preciation of the noblest traits of the human soul, 
 while in the large circle of his own household he 
 was regarded almost as a patriarch. Even a testi- 
 monial from Europe expressed thankfulness for hav- 
 ing been privileged to become personally acquainted 
 with this honored and often referred to relative ! 
 Soon after settling in Jordan, he donated a piece of 
 ground to the Society of Friends here, and, as at the 
 old home in Pennsylvania, he helped along finan- 
 cially and otherwise in building the Friends' meet- 
 ing-house at Penrose, in this county. 
 
 Although an old man when he settled here, his 
 business ability was recognized, and his fine pen- 
 manship graces the pages of public documents in 
 the records of Jordan, as well as the registries in so- 
 ciety archives. 
 
 The following extract from a tribute to the memory 
 of Elida John is from the pen of Sidney Averill, 
 one of his dearest Western friends : 
 
 "The writer, living in a remote part of the county, 
 going to the Mill meeting, saw there a Friend, the 
 native unassnmed dignity of whose presence bore 
 the impress of a judge. The title, read in a 
 thought, remained. A man of superior mind, his 
 counsel had a directive force in the new Yearly 
 Meeting. Knowing, as he did, that it is often best 
 to hasten slowly, his hand sometimes pointed to a 
 pause, and in deference to his caution, others have 
 been led to re-weigh their evidence, and look again 
 over the course they are pursuing. As a father to 
 many others than his own, his recent departure out 
 of this life is missed and mourne.l wherever his lot 
 and his lines fell. Though he had large human 
 capabilities, the life he lived, and the influence he 
 had at home and among others, was due to the 
 light of a Power more than human." 
 
 Sarah H. John, wife of Mr. John, was born in 
 1802, of English and Welsh parentage, and was the 
 youngest child of Hugh and Mary Hughes. A 
 farm upon the site where has since risen the pleas- 
 ant and wealthy borough of Kennet Square, in 
 Chester Co., Pa, was the first landed possession of 
 her ancestors in the new world. Her parents 
 
 A s-*> 
 
 i\ 
 
 
 
 v9 

 
 
 > 
 
 , 
 
 . 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 \ 
 
 e> 
 
 settled on the banks of Shamokin Creek, in North- 
 umberland County, somewhere about the year 1790. 
 As an item of history, greatly varying from the cus- 
 tom of these times, the office of Justice of the 
 Peace was conferred by the Governor of the State 
 upon her father, which position he held many years, 
 and until the close of his life. 
 
 She and her future husband grew to majority in 
 the same neighborhood, and so closely have their 
 lives been blended that in writing the history of one 
 we almost produce that of the other also. All the 
 efficient public labor performed by the one was only 
 possible through the encouragement and the home 
 management of the other. Her husband being also 
 appointed Justice of the Peace by the Governor, 
 brought much domestic and other care into her 
 hands, yet an energy and willing spirit smoothed the 
 pathway through rugged difficulties, making theirs a 
 hospitable and pleasant home. 
 
 The career and character of Elida John, of the 
 foregoing sketch, and of his estimable wife, are such 
 as to warrant the insertion of their portraits in this 
 ALBUM, which may be found on pages just pre- 
 ceding. 
 
 eorge S. Sardam, Secretary of the Lang- 
 ford & Hall Lumber Company, at Fulton, 
 was born in Litchfield Co., Conn., Sept. 5, 
 1854, and is the son of Chapman and Pamelia 
 (Joyce) Sardam. His parents also were na- 
 tives of that State. He removed to Jefferson 
 Co., N. Y., with his family in 1862. He was edu- 
 cated in the city schools of Watertown, and gradu- 
 ated at the High School of that city in 1870. He 
 taught school in Jefferson County two years, and in 
 1873 went to Lyons, Iowa, with his uncle, Mr. D. 
 Joyce, a lumberman of that city. He was employed 
 one year as talleyman in his uncle's mill, when he 
 removed to Fulton and engaged as book-keeper and 
 salesman for the lumber firm of Langford & Hall. 
 On the incorporation of the Langford & Hall Lum- 
 ber Company (Jan. 26, 1878), he became a stock- 
 holder, was chosen a member of the Board of 
 Directors and elected Secretary of the Company. 
 He has been re-elected Secretary at each succeeding 
 election of officers to this date (1885), and has dis- 
 charged the responsible duties of the office with 
 
 ilK 
 
 ability and fidelity. The magnitude of the business 
 which passes through his hands may be inferred 
 from the following : The Langford & Half Lumber 
 Company has a paid up capital of $75,000, employs 
 in the working season about 130 men, while the mill 
 has a cutting capacity 0^75,000 feet per day of ten 
 hours. The stock on hand averages about 7,000,000 
 feet, estimated at a value of $100,000. 
 
 Mr. Sardam was married at Fulton, 111., Oct. 25, 
 1875, to Miss Anna Berry, daughter of Michael and 
 Mary Berry. Mrs. Sardam was born in Minnesota. 
 They have two children, a son and daughter, 
 Frank J. and Bertha E. 
 
 In politics, Mr. S. is a Republican, having always 
 voted with that party. 
 
 fenry Pease, of Albany, became a resident of 
 Whiteside County in 1848. He was born 
 April 12, 1800, in Somers, Tolland Co., 
 Conn., where is father, Giles Pease, was born 
 April 13, 1763. Noah Pease, his grandfather, 
 was born in 1740, and his great-grandfather, 
 Robert Pease, was born in 1683. Jerusha Pitkin, 
 mother of Henry and wife of Giles Pease, was barn 
 Jan. 27, 1766, in Hebron, Conn. Both families are 
 of unmixed English extraction. Noah Pease was a 
 Captain in the War of the Revolution, and the father 
 of Jerusha Pitkin was Colonel of a cavalry regiment 
 in the same contest. 
 
 Mr. Pease was sixth in order of birth of n chil- 
 dren, and he was reared on the farm until he was 16 
 years of age. He went then, in 1816, to Hartford, 
 Conn., and entered a general mercantile establish- 
 ment as a salesman, and operated in that capacity 
 until 1825. In 1818 he enlisted in the Governors 
 Foot Guard, the oldest military organization now in 
 existence in the United States, with which he was 
 connected until 1825. In that year he went to Nash- 
 ville, Tenn., taking with him a stock of dry goods. 
 He had a partner in the enterprise and they suc- 
 ceeded in making sale of their entire stock ir, three 
 months. Mr. Pease returned to Hartford, wjiere he 
 remained until 1827, when he started for Missouri. 
 He went to Schenectady by stage, thence by the 
 Erie Canal to Lockport, and from there to Buffalo by 
 stage, going by Niagara Falls. At Buffalo he cm-
 
 v> 
 
 a 
 
 *: 9 
 
 
 barked on a steamboat for Sandusky, whence he 
 crossed the State of Ohio by stage to Cincinnati. He 
 traveled on the Ohio River to Louisville and went 
 thence by stage to St. Louis, which point he reached 
 in 1 8 days, then considered a quick trip. After a 
 short stay in St. Louis, he went to Richmond Lead 
 Mines, Washington Co., Mo. On this trip he was 
 accompanied by his wife, where he engaged in mer- 
 cantile operations and as a lead smelter, in which 
 joint business he was occupied three years. He re- 
 turned to St. Louis and soon after went to Potosi in 
 the same State, where he engaged in mercantile af- 
 fairs seven years. At the expiration of that time he 
 went to Arcadia, in the Iron Mountain district. He 
 entered a claim of 600 acres in the Pilot Knob 
 country, and paid the United States authorities $1.25 
 per acre. He formed a partnership with Livingston 
 Van Docen, the owner of Iron Mountain. They 
 established a stock company and issued their certi- 
 ficates, but the company never worked the mines. 
 The organization soon came to grief and Mr. Pease 
 lost the whole of his investment. He came to Illi- 
 nois in 1842 and bought a farm near Rushville, 
 Schuyler County, where he was interested in agricul- 
 ture until 1848. In that year he came to Albany 
 and purchased village property. He engaged in a 
 mercantile enterprise in company with W. Y. Wetzel. 
 Their relations were in existence five years, and at 
 the end of that time, he bought the interest of his 
 partner, and continued the business singly until 
 1856, when he sold out. In 1858 he replaced the 
 fixtures in a flouring mill at Albany, which he con- 
 ducted until June, 1860, when the structure was de- 
 stroyed by the tornado. Since that time he has not 
 been actively engaged in business to a great extent, 
 but has given some attention to farming and resides 
 in the village of Albany. 
 
 Mr. Pease was married Nov. -18, 1823, to Mary A. 
 Warburton. She was born in Vernon, Tolland Co., 
 Conn., July 9, 1803. Her parents were natives of 
 England and came to the United States in 1793. 
 Her father built the first cotton mill at Vernon, 
 which was in fact the first cotton mill built in the 
 United States. She was first cousin to Sir Robert 
 Peel. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Pease num- 
 bered eight. Henry, oldest child, was born in Hart- 
 ford, Conn., where he died when nine months old. 
 Sarah is the wife of Ezekiel Olds, who is a resident 
 
 of Albany. (See sketch of E/.ekiel Olds.) Henrietta, 
 wife of E. W. Durant, lives in Still water, Minn. 
 Giles W. is a resident of Albany. Mary E and Ed- 
 win H. live at Racine. Far.nie A. married W. H. 
 Miller, and died at Albany, Feb. 3, 1884. Celia M., 
 wife of A. W. Gilbert, lives in Racine, Wis. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Pease celebrated their golden wed- 
 ding on the 5oth anniversary, Nov. 18, 1873. The 
 occasion was made memorable by the attendance of 
 a large number of guests, and the venerable pair re- 
 ceived many beautiful and valuable gifts. Mrs. 
 Pease died Feb. 20, 1877. 
 
 eorge W. Potter, farmer, residing on sec- 
 tion 20, Prophetstown Township, where he 
 owns 200 acres of land, is a son of Luman 
 C. and Mercy (Phillips) Potter, and was born 
 in Rutland Co., Vt, April 23, 1838. His 
 father was a farmer, born in Rutland County, 
 as likewise was his mother. She died when George 
 W. was only four years of age. The father still sur- 
 vives her, and resides in Rutland County. They 
 were the parents of five children, three of whom yet 
 survive. Theressa is the wife of Lorenzo Seamans, 
 a farmer residing in Wayne Co., Mich.; George W. 
 is next in order of birth and the subject of this no- 
 tice; Klvira is the wife of Albert Tomlinson, and re- 
 sides near Saratoga Springs, N. Y., where he is 
 engaged in railroading. The two deceased were 
 Edwin and Therendus and were the two eldest of 
 the children. 
 
 Mr. Potter was reared on the farm, receiving such 
 education as was atta'nable at the common schools 
 of his native county. In April, 1861, he enlisted in 
 Co. B, Second Vt. Vol. Inf., as private and served 
 three years. He was promoted to Sergeant March 
 7, 1862, and First or Orderly Sergeant Dec. 23, 
 1862. He has a splendid military record. He was 
 engaged in the following 17 battles: Bull Run, Va., 
 July 21, i86r ; Lee's Mills, Va., April 29, 1862; 
 Williamsburg, Va., May 5, 1862 ; Golding's Farm, 
 Va., June 27, 1862 ; Savage Station, Va., June 29, 
 1862; White-Oak Swamp, Va., June 30, 1862; 
 Crampton's Pass, Sept. 18, 1862; Antietam, Md., 
 Sept. 17, 1862; Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862; 
 Mary's Heights, Va., May 3, 1862; Banks' Ford, 
 Va., May 4, 1863; Franklin's Ford, Va., June 5,
 
 *

 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1863; Gettysburg, Pa., July 2 and 3, 1863; Finks- 
 town, Md., July 10, 1863; Rappaharmock Station, 
 Va., Nov. 7, 1863; Mine Run, Va., Nov. 28, 1863; 
 Wilderness, Va., May 5, 1864. 
 
 He received five wounds, the last one at the battle 
 of the Wilderness in the left side, which laid him up 
 for about three months. The olher wounds were 
 mere scratches, compared with the latter, and did 
 not incapacitate him for active participation in en- 
 gagements in which his company partook. After 
 receiving his discharge he returned to Vermont, and 
 Dec. 25, 1864, in Sudbury, that State, he was united 
 in marriage to Miss Paulina Ridlond, daughter of 
 Thomas and Delilah Baxter Ridlond. She was 
 born in Rutland Co., Vt., Feb. 14, 1840, and bore to 
 her husband one child, Luman T., who died when 
 15 months old. Mrs. Potter died April 24, 1868, 
 aiid Mr. Potter was again married, in Lyndon vil- 
 lage, this county, Jan. 30, 1877, to Maria L. Gould, 
 nee Button. She was born in Hamilton, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. Potter came West in 1865 and located in 
 Prophetsiown Township, where he worked at the 
 occupation of a farmer on rented la.nd three years. 
 He then purchased 160 acres of land of his present 
 farm, and by subsequent purchases has increased 
 his landed interests until he is the proprietor of 200 
 acres.- He has a good residence on his farm, to- 
 gether with substantial out-buildings and an orchard, 
 and small fruit in abundance. He also has a maple 
 grove of 1,500 trees, raised from seed sown in 1866 
 and re-set in the spring of 1870. The following 
 facts will give an idea of the rapidity of the growth 
 of the maple and walnut trees, and will show how 
 quickly groves may be grown : The largest one of 
 the maple trees measures around the trunk, four feet 
 above the ground, five feet four inches. A willow 
 tree in his back yard, that has grown from a 
 cutting the size of a man's thumb, planted in 
 the ground in the spring of 187 r, now measures 
 eight feet two inches around the trunk, four feet 
 above the ground. He also has a black walnut 
 grove of 300 trees, grown from seed planted in 1878. 
 The largest of these measures seven inches :i round 
 and 21 feet 4 inches high. He makes no specialty 
 of any department of farming, but raises horses, cat- 
 tle, sheep and hogs. Merino sheep and Chester 
 White hogs are his favorite stock. 
 
 Mr. Potter is a member of the School Board and 
 
 has held the position three terms. Socially, he is a 
 member of the I. O. O. F. 
 
 Samuel Albertson is a farmer on section 
 14, Sterling Township, where he settled in 
 September, 1841, on a portion of the land 
 included in a claim made by his twin brothers, 
 John J. and Isaac H. Albertson, in 1835, tne 
 second year in which settlements were made 
 in the township. Their father and mother, Joseph 
 and Elizabeth (Ham) Albertson, were natives of 
 Dutchess Co., N. Y., whence they removed to Mon- 
 roe County, in the same State. They continued to 
 reside there during the remainder of their lives. 
 They had a family of ten children, who lived to ma- 
 ture life, and were named Frederick, Isaac and John 
 (twins), David, Daniel, Jane, Maria, Phebe, Samuel 
 and Willet. 
 
 Mr. Albertson was born in Dutchess Co., N. Y., 
 Jan. 18, 1818. He was under the authority of his 
 parents until he was 21 years of age, and attended 
 school until he was 16 years of age. He then took 
 charge of his father's farm one year, after which he 
 came to Whiteside County, whither his brothers had 
 come six years before. The farm, of which he has 
 since been the owner, contains a mineral spring, 
 which is visited by many people during the summer 
 season. It is known as the " Woodlawn Mineral 
 Spring," and is highly esteemed for its curative prop- 
 erties. It is located about two miles east of the city 
 of Sterling, and has become quite popular. It is in 
 a grove, and accommodations for guests have been 
 constructed in the way of bath-houses and other 
 buildings. The farm of Mr. Albertson contains r35 
 acres, of which 90 acres are under tillage. 
 
 He was married Nov. 5, 1839, at Rochester, 
 N. Y., to Hannah DeGarmo. Her parents, Elias 
 and Clemma (Powell) DeGarmo, were Quakers, and 
 were born in Dutchess Co., N. Y. They died in 
 Monroe County. Their children were eight in num- 
 ber, and were named John, Lydia, Mary Ann, Han- 
 nah, Rufus, Peter and Jane. Mrs. Albertson was 
 born July 6, iSrg, in Ulster Co., N. Y. To her and 
 her husband three children were born: Harriet J., 
 Arthur and Ella M., only one of whom survives. 
 Arthur died June 6, 1868, when he was 24 years and 
 
 - 
 x ' 
 
 -. "' <-'....
 
 . -- 
 
 \ 
 
 WHITBSIDE COUNTY. 
 
 six months old; Ella died Aug. 22, 1878; she was 
 27 years old, and was the wife of John E. Wood- 
 yatt. She left three children Arthur, Grade and 
 Lulu M. Mr. Albertson is a Republican in political 
 sentiment, and has held several official positions. 
 The family were believers in the Quaker doctrines 
 preached by George Fox. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Albertson, which appears on a 
 preceding page, is copied from a likeness recently 
 taken. 
 
 Draper B. Reynolds, a pioneer of Whiteside 
 County of 1837, was born in Vermont and 
 was taken to Pennsylvania by his parents 
 in early childhood. He grew to manhood in 
 Tioga County, and in the autumn of the year 
 named he came to Illinois for the first time. 
 He made- a claim on section ir, Lyndon Township, 
 and returned to Pennsylvania. He came back to 
 Lyndon Township, accompanied by his father-in-law, 
 Capt. Harry Smith, and family. They made the 
 route lo this place by the Allegheny, Ohio and 
 Mississippi Rivers, and landed at Albany. After a 
 residence of a few years, he went to Iowa, where he 
 died, March 27, 1875. 
 
 His marriage to Harriet S. Smith took place in 
 1828. She died April 17, 1847, and left eight chil- 
 dren, seven of whom are now living: Julia is the 
 wife of P. A. Brooks (see sketch) ; Anna M. married 
 Martin Conyne and lives in Montgomery Co., Iowa; 
 Harrison is a resident of Grand River Valley, Col. ; 
 Warren lives at Santa Fe, N. M. ; Jasper is a citizen 
 of Kokomo, Col. ; Leonora is the widow of Thomas 
 Fennessy and lives in Iowa Co., Iowa; Charlotte 
 M. is the wife of David Olmstead, of Sac Co., Iowa.. 
 
 [ athan L. McKenzie, a farmer on section 
 30, Coloma Township, is a son of D. La 
 Fayette and Lucia (Brewer) McKenzie, of 
 whom a personal narration is given elsewhere 
 in this volume. The son was born Oct. 28, 
 1853, in the township of Portland in the same 
 county where he has passed his life thus far, with 
 the exception of about four years, when he was in 
 
 Colorado engaged in the cattle business. In 1883 
 he bought a farm in Iowa, which he afterward sold, 
 having occupied the property about 18 months. He 
 is now the owner of 240 acres in the township of 
 Portland, which is under a good degree of tillage. 
 
 Mr. McKenzie was united in marriage at Proph- 
 etstown, March 22, 1876, to Minnie, daughter of 
 William and Sarah (Young) Dudley. Her father 
 was born in Ohio, and her mother was a native of 
 England. Their children, were named John, Minnie, 
 George and Frank. Mrs. McKenzie was born in 
 Michigan, July 17, 1858. The chikken that have 
 been born to herself and husband are three in num- 
 ber and are named Myrtie, Grace and La Fayette H. 
 
 Mr. McKenzie is a Republican in political senti- 
 ment. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
 
 eorge de Bey, general merchant, also sen- 
 ior partner of the hardware firm of De 
 Bey & Van Dallen, at Fulton City. Mr. 
 de Bey in his individual store carries an ex- 
 tensive stock of general merchandise and is 
 also agent for ocean steamship lines, and for 
 the Germania and New York Underwriters' Fire In- 
 surance Companies. The firm of De Bey & Van 
 Dallen carry a well assorted stock of shelf and heavy 
 hardware and agricultural implements. 
 
 Mr. de Bey is a native of Holland and was born 
 July 21, 1848, and is the son of John and Angeline 
 (de Junge) de Bey. He emigrated to America in 
 May, 1868, came directly to Chicago, where he 
 learned the trade of mason and plasterer, at which 
 he worked in that city for eight years. In the fall of 
 1876 he came to Fulton and engaged as contractor 
 and builder. Among the buildings which he erected 
 may be mentioned the new dormitory of Northern 
 Illinois College and others. 
 
 In April, 1877, ^ e established his mercantile house 
 and has carried it on continuously since. The fol- 
 lowing year he added hardware and farm machinery 
 to his other business, and in April, 1881, formed the 
 existing partnership with Mr. John Van Dallen in 
 the hardware and farm implement business. Mr. 
 de Bey's stock in his general store averages about 
 $7,000, while in the hardware store the stock holds 
 at about $3,500. 
 
 He was married in Chicago in September, 1869, 
 
 (!) 
 
 A 
 
 
 
 
 
 v 
 
 .
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 to Miss Teitje de Graff, daughter of Franke de Graff. 
 i Mrs. de Bey was born in Holland and came to 
 '5* America in 1869. They have five children, three 
 boys and two girls, Lena, Frank, Jennie, John 
 \j and Joe. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. de Bey are members in full stand- 
 ing of the American Reformed Church, of which Mr. 
 de Bey has been an Elder nearly eight years. 
 
 Mr. de Bey votes with the Republican paity, of 
 which he is an earnest supporter. 
 
 He is a thorough business man in all his ways, 
 and has succeeded in his undertakings so well that 
 he is reckoned among the leading merchants of Ful- 
 ton. 
 
 
 Joseph Snyder, a settler in Whiteside 
 |^ County in 1844, was born Feb. 28, 1818, 
 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the son of 
 Daniel and Betsey (McMahon) Snyder. The 
 family originated in Pennsylvania. Mr. Snyder 
 passed the years of boyhord and youth in the 
 city of his nativity, and as soon as he was of suitable 
 age and size he engaged on a steamboat on the Ohio 
 River, on which he was occupied until his removal to 
 Whiteside County. He spent a summer in Albany 
 and rented a tract of land ' adjacent on which he 
 worked through the season. In the autumn of the 
 year he bought 40 acres of land on section 13, of 
 Garden Plain Township, of which he took posses 
 sion. Three acres were bioken and a log house of 
 hewn logs had been built. He employed his time 
 and energies to so good pur]x>se that in the year fol- 
 lowing he bought 40 acres additional, located on sec- 
 tion 1 8, of Union Grove Township, which was cov- 
 ered with timber. By making subsequent purchases 
 Mr. Snyder has became the owner of 160 acres, all 
 of which is enclosed and in tillage, except TOO acres 
 of timber. The acreage is located at four different 
 points and every portion is supplied with good farm 
 dwellings, and is devoted to raising grain and stock. 
 Mr. Snyder was for many years a Republican. 
 
 He was married May 2, 1840, to Nancy, daughter 
 of William and Elizabeth Clark. She was born Feb. 
 24, 1820, in Lewis Co., Ky. Her parents were na- 
 tives of Ohio. Joseph C., Henry, Sanford, William, 
 Mary E., Alonzo, Ann Augusta (Mrs. Henry Horner, 
 
 of Marengo, Iowa), Edward, Hattie, May, John, Ed- ^' 
 ward and Wads worth. The latter lives in Garden 
 Plain Township. 
 
 oah S. ]jOux is a farmer on section 15, 
 Sterling Township. He was born Jan. 27, 
 1845, in Bucks Co., Pa., and is the son of 
 Mathiisand Catherine (Yost) Loux. They 
 were natives of Pennsylvania, and the father 
 died in that State, in April. 1874. The death 
 of the mother occurred in June of the same year. 
 They had 14 children, of whom nine grew up, 
 namely : Andrew, Isaac, Hannah, Catherine, Mary, 
 Malhias, Elizabeth, Noah S. and Israel. 
 
 Mr. Loux was a carpenter in his native State un- 
 til 1864. In November of that year he came to 
 Whiteside County and was engaged in the same 
 business at Sterling, and also in wagon-making for 
 four years. In 1868 he began farming, and oper- 
 ated on rented farms until the spring of 1884, when 
 he bought the farm he now occupies, comprising 114 
 acres of land, which is in fine agricultural condition, 
 In politics Mr. Loux is neutral. 
 
 He was married .NoY. 19, 1869, in Hopkins Town- 
 ship, to Mary A., daughter of Jacob and Susan Reit- 
 zel. She was born in Lancaster Co., Pa., Sept. 9, 
 1843, and her brothers and sisters, nine in number, 
 were born in the following order: Martha, Sabina, 
 Susanna, Henry, Sarah, Abraham, Jacob and Lewis. 
 She is the second in order of birth. To her and her 
 husband four children have been born, but only one 
 survives, Nevin R. Harrison R. is deceased, and 
 two children who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Loux are membeis of the English Lutheran Church. 
 
 ^isberry J. Markee, of Newton Township, 
 was born in September, 1834, in Harrison 
 Co., Ohio James Markee, his father, was 
 of Scotch descent and married Rhoda John- 
 son. They went with their family from Ohio to 
 Southern Illinois, in 1846. The father bought 
 a farm in Crawford County, and there the parents 
 remained until the close of their lives. 
 
 At the age of 16 Mr. Markee came to Whiteside
 
 
 WH1TES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 i 
 
 ft 
 ( 
 
 County, joining his brother in-law. He obtained his 
 first employment in Newton Township. In 1861 he 
 first became an independent landholder, and bought 
 80 acres of land on section 12, in Newton Township. 
 It was wholly unimproved and Mr. Markee passed 
 nine years placing it in good condition for prosperous 
 tillage. At the end of that time he sold the property 
 and bought a tract of land on the east half of the 
 southeast quarter of section 2, in the same township. 
 Only the prairie had been broken ; no trees had been 
 planted or buildings of advanced style erected. All 
 these needs have been supplied, together with excel- 
 lent barns and stables for the protection of stock. 
 Mr. Markee has been a Republican since he first ob- 
 tained the privileges of citizenship. He cast his first 
 Presidential vote for Fremont. 
 
 He was married in 1857 to Mary A., daughter of 
 William G. and Leannah (Martin) Nevitt, of whom 
 an extended sketch appears in this work. Mrs. 
 Markee was born in Newton Township, Sept. 5, 1840. 
 Five children of Mr. and Mrs. Markee are living, 
 C. Alice, Lizzie L., William Leslie, Clifton L. and 
 May. Jessie A., fourth child in order of birth, was 
 born Jan. 23, 1867, and died Aug. n, 1868. 
 
 fardon Allen Brooks, farmer, section 30, 
 Lyndon Township, was born May 20, 1806, 
 in Sturbridge, Worcester Co., Mass., and 
 he is the second son of Benjamin and Esther 
 (Fisk) Brooks, the former a native of Worcester 
 Co., Mass., and the latter of Stafford, Conn. 
 His paternal grandfather was bom in Nova Scotia 
 and came thence to Worcester County soon after the 
 close of the Revolutionary War. When Benjamin 
 Brooks was married he bought a homestead in 
 Sturbridge and lived thereon until his death, at a 
 greatly advanced age. The mother also died there. 
 Mr. Brooks was reared in the manner common in 
 New England, working on the farm summers and 
 attending school wir.ters. At 19 he began to acquire 
 a knowledge of the trade of a brick, stone and plas- 
 ter mason, goir.g to West Springfield for the purpose. 
 After a short time he took a leading position in his 
 business, and operated as a builder and contractor, 
 and was the architect on several factories in North 
 Adams and other parts of Berkshire County, besides 
 building residences, business structures and churches. 
 
 >\/ft ^IKjggXy . /-N . 
 
 Five years later, in 1832, he went to Boston, where 
 he embarked in a mercantile enterprise, in which he 
 was interested until 1838. In that year he came to 
 Illinois, traveling from Boston to Albany by stage, 
 from there to Buffalo by canal and thence on the 
 lakes to Chicago. He then hired a man to bring 
 himself, his wife, children and household goods to 
 Whiteside County, paying $50 for the service. He 
 arrived in Lyndon in September of the same year. 
 'He bought a claim on section 30, town 20, range 5, 
 for which he paid $1,300. The improvements con- 
 sisted of a log house and a few acres broken. The 
 family took possession of the dwelling, in which they 
 lived until June following, when Mr. Brooks left his 
 family in care of his brother-in-law, and returned to 
 Boston. He obtained a position as clerk, which he 
 held two years, and earned the money to secure his 
 claim. In 1841 Mr. Brooks and Washington Libby 
 bought nine threshing-machines, which they shipped 
 from Winthrop, Maine, to Alton, 111., paying $100 
 freight on each. These were the first machines for 
 the purpose which were brought into the State, and 
 were a great advantage to the farmers, as they 
 would thresh 200 bushels of grain a day. They 
 were run by horse-power. 
 
 In 1842 Mr. Brooks went again to Boston and re- 
 sumed his position as a clerk in the Faneuil Hall 
 clothing store. He remained two years, and on his 
 return to Lyndon Township he operated in the man- 
 agement and sale of threshing-machines, also selling 
 county rights to manufacture. He devoted about 
 three years to the business, after which he gave his 
 attention to the improvement of his farm. Mean- 
 while he had placed his family in a substantial frame 
 house. His first crops consisted of grain, which he 
 drew to Chicago, 1 50 miles distant, a journey there 
 consuming a full week as a rule. He frequently 
 brought back a load of freight. He subscribed 
 $2,000 to the building of a railroad, which proved a 
 total loss. He raised his first paying crop in 1861, 
 when he sold 500 bushels of wheat at two dollars a 
 bushel, and his crops of oats and corn at proportion- 
 ately good figures. In 1872 he invested $10,000 in 
 a mill, and when the financial crash came the next 
 year he lost his investment with several thousands of 
 dollars besides, but his business was too well fortified 
 to be seriously crippled by a somewhat extensive 
 loss. Mr. Brooks improved about 300 acres of land 
 and erected commodious farm buildings, including 
 
 M&V^v&e) 
 
 7^?JrT/V A^-^ , 
 
 .
 
 ur ILLINOIS
 
 
 
 
 r
 
 -.,... .- 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 i 
 I 
 
 the brick house he occupies. He built one of the 
 first barns in the county. 
 
 He was married Sept. 12, 1833, to Olive M. Dean. 
 She was born Aug. 10, 1815, in North Adams, Mass. 
 Following is the record of the children of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Brooks: Hiram P. lives at Black Hawk, Gil- 
 pin Co., Col., and is engaged in mining; William H. 
 lives on the homestead; Isabella died in infancy; 
 Susan L. is the widow of Frank J. Cole, and lives in 
 East Saginaw, Mich. ; Lucian died in infancy ; Sam- 
 uel lives at La Conner, Whatcom Co., W. T., and is 
 an attorney; Rufus resides in Butte City, Montana, 
 where he has been engaged as a contractor and 
 shipping clerk for a mining company. The mother 
 died Aug. 4, 1857. Mr. Brooks was again married, 
 Sept. 5, 1859, to Julia M. Reynolds. She was born 
 Oct. 20, 1829, in Rutland Township, Tioga Co., Pa. 
 They had three children : Horace M. is a clerk in 
 the postoffice at Toston, M. T. ; George E. died in 
 infancy ; Esther married C. P. Sturtevant, of Fenton 
 Township, where he is a farmer and dealer in stock. 
 
 Mr. Brooks is a man who is justified in his claims 
 of builder and maker of his own fortunes. When he 
 was 12 years old he was earning $6 per month, and 
 during the winter seasons when attending school he 
 earned his board by doing chores. He received 
 sufficient education to teach, and pursued that busi- 
 ness several seasons. He has led a busy, useful, 
 active life, and is in the enjoyment of the reward of 
 his toil. He has a beautiful home, and the broad 
 prairie acres which he owns in his homestead give 
 ample testimony of the quality of the judgment and 
 skill of their owner. 
 
 on. James M. Pratt, of Fenton Township, 
 was born April 7, 1822, in Aurora, Erie Co., 
 N. Y. John C. Pratt, his father, was born 
 in Northampton, Hampshire Co., Mass., April 
 8, 1787, and his parents were natives of the 
 same place where he was born. The family 
 ^emigrated, in 1808, with ox teams from the Bay 
 State, to Erie Co., N Y., where they were early set- 
 tlers. John C. Pratt, on attaining suitable age, 
 bought land of the Holland Company. It was in 
 heavy timber, and he was engaged in clearing a farm 
 the War of 1812 with Great Britain came on, 
 he enlisted, remaining in the military service 
 
 until the close of the conflict. He returned to his 
 farm, and soon afterward built a saw and flour mill 
 on Buffalo Creek. He abandoned his agricultural 
 projects, and devoted his entire attention to his mill- 
 ing interests. Later he bought a saw and grist mill, 
 situated on the same stream, at a distance of a mile, 
 and continued to operate b-jth establishments until 
 1835, when he came to Whiteside County and made 
 a claim in what is now the township of Lyndon. He 
 wentback to his native State, disposed of his property 
 and made arrangements for a permanent removal to 
 Illinois. In 1837 he started for Chicago, by way of 
 the lakes, traveling from there with teams to Lyndon. 
 A log house had been built on his claim, of which 
 the household took possession. The senior Pratt at 
 once entered upon the improvement of a farm, on 
 which he passed the remainder of his life, dying in 
 December, 1843. His wife survived him until 
 March 9, 1879. Four of their 13 children are now 
 living: Mr. Pratt, of this sketch, is the oldest; 
 Amanda is the wife of Joseph Shorett, and lives in 
 Iowa; Lucius H. lives in Lyndon; Thurston resides 
 in Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Pratt was 15 years of age when he accom- 
 panied his parents to Whiteside County. He re- 
 sided with them until the death of his father, and 
 continued to live with his mother until his marriage. 
 Nov. 17, 1844, he was married to Lucinda Emery. 
 She was born May 10, r828, in Moriah, Essex Co., 
 N. Y., and is the daughter of John and Lucinda 
 (Tarbell) Emery. In the year following his marriage 
 Mr. Pratt settled on his farm, and has been a resi- 
 dent thereon since. 
 
 He had become the owner of 80 acres of land on 
 section 26, in what is now Fenton Township. On 
 this he built a log house, and began to operate as a 
 farmer. He has been successful in his efforts, and 
 the results of his energetic attention to his business 
 show the value of his judgment in directing his trans- 
 actions. He is now the owner of a magnificent tract, 
 containing 800 acres in excellent condition for pros- 
 perous farming. 
 
 Mr. Pratt has .been correspondingly active in the 
 relation of a good citizen to the general welfare. He 
 was the first Supervisor of Fenton Township, has 
 held the position several terms, and has been Chair- 
 man of the Board. He has held other offices in 
 the township, and in 1872 was made the first Presi- 
 dent of Whiteside Agricultural Society, serving in 
 
 .;,. . 
 
 -*?
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 that capacity for seven years, [n 1869 he was ap- 
 pointed Postmaster at Pratt, and still " holds the 
 fort" (1885). In 1879 he was elected as one of 
 the Representatives of the nth Senatorial District, 
 which included Whiteside and Carroll counties, and 
 performed service which reflected the greatest credit 
 upon himself and his constituents. 
 
 Eight children are included in his family circle : 
 Marietta M. is the wife of S. S. Chamberlain, of 
 Harrison Co., Iowa; John C. resides in the same 
 county, as do Dora V. and Cyrus E; Allen M. is a 
 citizen of Fenton Township: Ella J., James C. and 
 Manson W. also live in their native township. 
 
 In the coming years, when succeeding generations 
 seek for mementoes of those whose activity in the 
 progress of Whiteside County rendered them promi- 
 nent, the portrait of Mr. Pratt, given on a preceding 
 page, will be heartily appreciated. 
 
 tester Lusk, deceased, was one of the 
 pioneers of Albany, of 1836, and in Octo- 
 ber, 1839, he became one of the 12 pro- 
 prietors of the site of Lower Albany, by pur- 
 chase from the United States. He was born 
 in 1802, in Columbia Co., N. Y., and there 
 grew to manhood and learned the trade of shoe- 
 maker. He went thence to Berkshire Co., Mass. ; 
 and married Hannah Fitch, who was born in that 
 county. They went soon after their union to Cox- 
 sackie, in the State of' New York, removing shortly 
 after to Pittsford, Monroe County, where Mr. Lusk 
 worked at his trade between one and two years. 
 He made another removal to Holly, Orleans County, 
 where he lived eight years, and kept a hotel. At the 
 end of that time he removed to Ohio, and located 
 near Fremont, where he was engaged in farming 
 two years. 
 
 In 1836 he set out from Fremont for Whiteside 
 County, transporting his family and household be- 
 longings with horse teams. November 29 they 
 arrived at Stake's Ferry, which was full of floating 
 ice. They waited a week, and as soon as the stream 
 was cleared they crossed, and passed the winter in a 
 log house near the dwelling of William D. Dudley. 
 In ihe spring of 1837 the family took possession of 
 a claim at Mbany. The location of his farm was at 
 
 A, 
 
 Sheep Grove, where he prosecuted his agricultural 
 projects with energy. In 1850 he made the over- 
 land trip to California, and spent nearly two years in 
 mining for gold. He returned by the Isthmus of 
 Panama and New Orleans. He opened a meat 
 market at Albany on his return there, and also con- 
 tinued the management of his farm until his death 
 in February, 'i 855. His widow is still living with 
 a granddaughter, Mrs; William Herald, of Sloan, 
 Woodbury Co., Iowa. Two children were born to 
 them, Charles F. and Hiram P. The latter died 
 when 10 years old. (See skeich of C. F. Lusk.) 
 
 
 ames H. Harrison is a farmer on section 
 34, GeneseeTownship, and a native citizen 
 of the same Township, where he was born 
 Nov. 23, 1842. Mark Harrison, his father, 
 was born May 6, 1804, in Yorkshire, England, 
 where he belonged to the laboring class. He 
 spent the years of his life previous to the age of 21 
 in his native country, where he obtained the rudi- 
 ments of his education. On becoming the master of 
 his own time and efforts, he came to America, and, 
 for a time, he located in Canada. He spent some 
 years in the vocation of a sailor, after which he came 
 to Chicago. The place then consisted of a dozen log 
 structures, and he secured a claim which is now in- 
 cluded in one of the principal parts of the city, and 
 which was situated on the north side of the river. 
 He was in the employ of Captain Cook, for whom 
 the county where Chicago is located was named, 
 working for him some years. He received land for 
 his pay, which was in village lots, and they were then 
 very cheap. He held title to 160 acres of land in 
 all, but he suffered great annoyance from the In- 
 dians, who were there in great numbers, idle, shift- 
 less, and altogether mischievous. At one time they 
 burned his cabin and all his household goods, with 
 $250 in cash. He was so disgusted with the condi- 
 tion of things and the general outlook, that he traded 
 his property at a great sacrifice to obtain release from 
 what then seemed hopeless anarchy, receiving in ex- 
 exchange a few village lots in Fulton, Whiteside 
 County, accompanied by glowing accounts of the 
 certainties of that place from its location on the river 
 and natural advantages. He had business relations , 
 
 ^.\f/^, Kj.-'iJKVi 
 
 blsf?! 
 
 i<iZi-4 
 
 K
 
 ^ y 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 with Joseph Mush, and together they came to White- 
 side County. Arriving at Fulton, they found that the 
 entire value of the village lots aforesaid was all con- 
 centrated in the gorgeous coloring that had been a 
 concomitant to the exchange referred to. Fulton 
 was a city on paper, with prospects as hazy as the 
 river mists which hung above its vacancy. . Mr. 
 Harrison at once and forever abandoned his property 
 there and all hopes concerning it. He encountered 
 Hezekiah Brink, of Sterling, and, in compliance with 
 his request, went to Empire and assisted that gentle- 
 man in the erection of one of the first grist-mills built 
 in the county. He remained there three years. 
 Meanwhile he secured a claim in what is now Gen- 
 esee Township, where he was one of the first land- 
 holders. He paid Mr. Brink $50 for his title, and 
 when the land came into market he purchased it of 
 the United States Government at $1.25 per acre. 
 In 1836 he began the work of improving the land. 
 He was married in 1838, in Genesee, III., to Mary 
 Taylor. She was born in North Carolina and came 
 thence with a colony that located in Carroll County 
 and lived there until she was married. Mark Har- 
 rison died Nov. 15, 1877, in Genesee Township, and 
 was 73 years of age. His wife, who still survives, is 
 82 years old. 
 
 Mr. Harrison is the second oldest of five children, 
 and he continued under parental authority until he 
 attained his majority. Feb. 9, 1864, he enlisted in 
 Co. G, 561)1 Regt. 111. Vol. Inf. The command was 
 assigned to the corps of General Thomas, and the 
 only action in which the regiment was engaged was 
 that which resulted in the surrender of General 
 Johnston. Mr. Harrison obtained honorable dis- 
 charge at Memphis, Tenn., in September, 1865. He 
 returned home and located a claim of 80 acres of 
 land, which he has since improved and placed in ex- 
 cellent agricultural condition. He has one of the 
 finest and most valuable farms in the township, and 
 an elegant residence on a beautiful location. He is 
 a skillful and thrifty farmer, and has increased his 
 real estate to 183 acres. 
 
 His marriage to Julia Fitzgerald took place Sept. 
 30, 1865, at Sterling. She is the daughter of Patrick 
 and Mary (Barry) Fitzgerald. Her parents were 
 born and married in Ireland, and celebrated their 
 union by coming immediately thereafter to the United 
 States. After a residence of some years in the State 
 of New York, they came to Du Page Co., 111., where 
 
 Mrs. Harrison was bom, Jan. 23, 1850. Her parents 
 had n children, and she is the ninth in order of 
 birth. The family came to Whiteside County when 
 she was still an infant, and she was reared on her 
 father's farm in Genesee Township. Her mother 
 died when she was eight years old. She is herself 
 the mother of four children. William H. was bom 
 Sept. 4, 1867 ; Joshua L. was born Oct. 2, 1869. 
 Francis H. arid an infant are deceased. 
 
 Mr. Harrison is a Republican in his political views 
 and relations. 
 
 - 861- - 
 
 ndrew Lockhart, a prosperous farmer of 
 Garden Plain Township, was born in Green 
 Township, Adams County, Ohio, June 21, 
 1819. He is the son of Robert E. and Sarah 
 (Hemphill) Lockhart. His father was born 
 Oct. 18, 1793, in Fleming Co., Ky. He was a 
 soldier of the War of 1812, and was in the command 
 of Gen. Hull, stationed at Detroit. His mother was 
 born Sept. 21, 1795, near the celebrated battlefield 
 of the Brandywine, Pa. The great-grandfathers of 
 Mr. Lockhart settled in Adams County about the 
 year 1797, where the respective families of the Lock- 
 harts and Hemphills were residents for a long suc- 
 cession of years. 
 
 Mr. Lockhart was reared on his father's farm, and 
 received his education in the district schools. His 
 father was also interested in the business of a lumber 
 merchant, and on arriving at independent manhood' 
 the son entered the father's employ. In 1844 the 
 senior Lockhart presented his son with $200, above 
 his wages, and he devoted his accumulated means 
 to the purchase of land in Garden Plain Township, 
 whither he came for the purpose. He first bought 
 40 acres on section 24, and soon after secured an- 
 other tract on section 14. He then returned to his 
 home and engaged to work for his father for $too 
 yearly, and his board and clothes. He sent money 
 to pay his land taxes, but the letters miscarried and 
 40 acres were sold for their payment. On his return 
 in 1854 he redeemed his claim. 
 
 He came back for a final settlement in the year 
 named, and built a frame house, doing the first 
 breaking on the place in that year. He was married 
 March 27, 1856, to Nancy Randall. She was born 
 Sept. 16, 1834, in Jefferson Township, Adams Co.,
 
 Ohio, and is the daughter of Alexander and Hannah 
 (Newman) Randall. 
 
 Mr. Lockhart still owns the property on which he 
 first settled and has placed it in excellent farming 
 condition ; it is enlarged by a later purchase of 40 
 acres adjoining. In 1881 he bought the farm he 
 now occupies on section 14, which is also under till- 
 age and supplied with necessary farm fixtures. The 
 entire estate of Mr. Lockhart in Garden Plain Town- 
 ship, comprises 460 acres in valuable agricultural 
 condition. America F., Melissa, Elisha, Sarah, An- 
 geline and Robert Lee are the names of the children 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart. 
 
 j illiam Nevitt, deceased, was one of the 
 two earliest settlers in what is now known 
 as Upper Albany. In the fall of 1836 
 he came with W. C. Osborne to the banks 
 of the Mississippi River, and they pur- 
 chased the claim of the land speculators who 
 infested the West, which is now included within the 
 town and village of Albany, and which he secured 
 by purchase from the United States Government 
 when the land sales were made in October, 1839. 
 Until his death in 1848 he was identified with the 
 general and agricultural development of Albany. 
 
 Mr. Nevitt was born in 1779, in Brownsville, Fay- 
 ette Co., Pa., and he came of English ancestry. 
 The country was then in its Colonial period, and 
 only primitive methods of living and transacting 
 business prevailed. Mr. Nevitt's earliest occupation 
 was a teamster in his native State, between Phila- 
 delphia and Pittsburg. He was one of the drivers 
 of the wagons on the celebrated Conestoga road 
 that constituted communication between the Atlantic 
 seaboard and the central water route which termi- 
 nated in the Mississippi River. The Conestoga 
 road was about 400 miles in extent, and as it 
 traversed a broken and mountainous region, the 
 wagons were constructed with great strength. Mr. 
 Nevitt was accustomed to relate that on one occasion, 
 when his wagon came in violent contact with the 
 corner of a brick building,- the bricks flew out of the 
 structure, but the wagon was uninjured. His par- 
 ents located at Wheeling about 1807, and about r8io 
 he went to Breckenridge Co., Ky. He was there 
 
 married to Mary Edlin, a native of Port Tobacco, j/ 
 Md., where she was born in 1781. In i8r8 they (, 
 came to White Co., 111., buying a farm in the vicinity -..' 
 of Carmi, where Mr. Nevitt was extensively occu- 
 pied in the pursuit of agriculture until 1834, when \Gj 
 he came to Knoxville, Knox County, and became 
 the proprietor of a farm, on which he operated until 
 his removal to Whites ide County in 1837. 
 
 While the State organization was in a formative 
 condition, Mr. Nevitt was appointed Justice of the 
 Peace by the General Assembly. He was also 
 made one of the Commissioners for the improve- 
 ment of the Wabash River. During his residence 
 in White County he was prominent for his abilities 
 in executive avemies, and the Whig party selected 
 him as a candidate to represent their interests in the 
 State Legislature, but he suffered the common fate 
 of the Whigs, who were in a minority in his district. 
 On coming to Whiteside County, he was elected 
 School Commissioner, and held the office at the 
 time of his death, which occurred in White County, 
 whither he had gone to transact business. 
 
 To him and his wife n children were born : John, 
 James, Maria, Eliza, Nancy, Clement, Wm. G., 
 Allen, Susan, Edward H. and Wilson. Four are 
 new living. The mother died in December, 1860. 
 
 
 Jharles P. Lusk, merchant at Albany, was 
 born July 25, 1825, in Richmond, Berk- 
 shire Co., Mass., and was n years of age 
 when he came to Illinois, with his parents, of 
 whom a detailed sketch is given elsewhere. 
 At the age of 16 years he began to give his 
 attention to the acquisitioirof the trade of carpenter, 
 and he made that his business until 1876. He has 
 been a constant resident of Albany, with the excep- 
 tion of one year, which he spent in Boston in the 
 occupation of a stair-builder. In 1876 he embarked 
 in the mercantile enterprise to which he has since 
 devoted his time and energies. His business is 
 located in a building which he erected some years 
 before, and had previously leased. 
 
 Mr. Lusk has been married twice. His first wife's 
 name was Phcebe Humphreys. She was born in 
 Bradford, Pa., and was the daughter of Allen and 
 Elizabeth Humphreys, pioneers of Carroll County. 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 > * 
 
 $
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 657 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 The ancestors of the family were natives of Connec- 
 ticut. Two children are now living. The mother 
 died in January, 1852. Mr. Lusk was married in 
 1855, to Henrietta, daughter of Isaac and Mary 
 (Miller) Park. She was born in Indiana. Of the 
 second marriage six children were born : Isaac P., 
 Henry C., C. Frank, Jr., Nettie A., Roy A. and Josie 
 H. Mr. and Mrs. Lusk are members of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church. Mr. Lusk is a Republican 
 in political principle, and he belongs to Lodge No. 
 566, A. F. and A. M. 
 
 inus C. Reynolds, farmer, residing on sec- 
 tion 23, Prophetstown Township, and the 
 owner of 520 acres of farming land on the 
 section, and 12 acres in Portland Township, 
 consisting of a grove, is a son of Nathaniel G. 
 and Phoebe B. (Brace) Reynolds, and was 
 born in Erie Co., N. Y., Aug. 18, 1830. His father 
 was a native of Massachusetts and was born in 
 Hancock, Berkshire Co., that State, March r4, 1794. 
 His mother was also born in the same State and 
 died April 18, 1876, aged 76 years, 11 months and 
 3 days. They had five children, all of whom are 
 living, namely : Phineas B. is a farmer and resides 
 in Nebraska; Orpha is the wife of Edward Gage, a 
 farmer residing in Prophetstown Township ; Amanda 
 is the widow of Edson Smith, and resides in Proph- 
 etstown ; Linus C. is next in order of birth ; Clark G. 
 is a farmer and resides in Prophetstown Township. 
 The grandparents of Linus C. on his father's side 
 were Griffin, born April 14, 1772, and Martha, born 
 Feb. 10, 1775. 
 
 The elder Reynolds was Orderly Sergeant during 
 the War of i8r2, and after the war, in 1816, settled 
 in Genesee Co., N. Y. In 1835 he came with his 
 family to Detroit and drove from there to this county, 
 and became one of the pioneer settlers on Rock 
 River. He located in Prophetstown Township, 
 three-quarters of a mile from the present village of 
 Prophetstown, on what is now the Quigley faim. 
 During those primitive days he was compelled to 
 go to Knoxville, a distance of 70 miles, for provisions, 
 following an Indian trail through an unsettled coun- 
 try. For many years he was a strong temperance 
 man and a consistent Christian. He was Justice of 
 
 the Peace for a number of years, and was also 
 elected Judge of Probate, which position he held for 
 eight years. He was a prominent Mason as well as 
 a member of the Order of Sons of Temperance. He 
 died Jan. 21, 1866. 
 
 Mr. Reynolds of this sketch was reared principally 
 in this county on a farm, performing the labors com- 
 mon to farmer's sons of the time and locality in 
 which lie lived, and receiving the advantages afforded 
 by the common schools. His father sold out the 
 original tract which he owned and purchased 640 
 acres on sections T5 and 22, and at the date of his 
 death, Linus C. and his brother, Clark G., bought 
 the interests the other heirs had in the property. 
 Mr. Reynolds still owns his 320 acres and also the 
 homestead of 200 acres where he resides, making a 
 total of 520 acres of land. He also owns the house 
 and two lots in Sterling, where his father formerly 
 lived, and a house and one-half acre of land in Mor- 
 rison. He is a member of the Order of Sons of 
 Temperance, and has been for a number of years. 
 When the Grange was in active operation, he was a 
 member of it. 
 
 Mr. Reynolds was united in marriage to Miss 
 Sarah M. Conner, Dec. 22, 1858. She was a daugh- 
 ter of John H. and Catherine Conner, and was born 
 in St. Louis Co., Mo., March 12, 1836. They have 
 four children, all born in Prophetstown Township: 
 Fred A., born Nov. 18, 1859, is a manager of the 
 Gothenburg Hank, at Gothenburg, Dawson Co., Neb. ; 
 Belle was born April 10, i86r ; Earl H. was lx>rn 
 March 24, 1862; J. Burr was born July 24, 1865. 
 Two children died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Reynolds has grown up as a son of Whiteside 
 County and became a prominent factor in its growth 
 and progress, and it is fitting that he should be 
 among those chosen to represent the leading men in 
 the galaxy of portraits given in this volume. 
 
 
 ?-|B** 
 
 ' -./I ohn P. Badgley, of the firm of Stilson iV 
 ||jj[|- Badgley, general merchants at Tampico, 
 
 > was born Dec. 6, i83r, in the township of 
 
 Gallipolis, Gallia Co., Ohio, where his parents, j 
 
 Anthony and Sallie (King) Badgley, becpme t 
 
 residents before their marriage. The ances- v 
 
 tors of both lines of descent were natives of New " 
 
 r.' 
 f\ r~*. ^Jjxa.nr' !> - ^.Vv/VSs KflS
 
 3jV@>5l^ 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 England. Mr. Badgley passed the years of his 
 minority in his native State. In 1852 he came to 
 Kendall Co., 111., whither his father came soon after- 
 ward, and is now resident there, aged 78. The 
 mother died in Ohio in 1845. In Kendall County, 
 the father and son engaged in farming, and operated 
 jointly some years. In 18157 the latter located on 
 a farm in Tampico Township, and was its occu- 
 pant until 1883. In that year he went to Brown 
 Co., Dak., whence he returned eight months later 
 and formed his present business association. He 
 is the owner of 320 acres of land in Dakota. In 
 political faith and relations Mr. Badgley is a Repub- 
 lican. He and his wife are members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, and he has been many 
 years officially connected with the society. He has 
 also been identified with the local affairs of Tampico 
 village. 
 
 Mr. Badgley was married in January, 1854, to 
 Sarah A. Glassburn. She was born in August, 1837, 
 in the township of Gallipolis, Ohio, and is the daugh- 
 ter of a farmer. Following are the names of the 
 children of Mr. and Mrs. Badgley : Mary J., John, 
 Ida, " Jed" and Minnie are married ; Hettie E. and 
 Perry are not living; Hallie resides with her parents. 
 
 [fames A. Sweet, a resident on section 14, 
 is one of the earliest of the permanent set- 
 tlers of the township of Garden Plain, 
 having located within its borders in September, 
 1839. Mr. Sweet was born March 11, 1811, 
 in the town of Fayette, Seneca Co., N. Y. He 
 is the oldest son of Lemuel and Elizabeth (Acker- 
 man) Sweet. His grandfather and father were na- 
 tives of Rhode Island, and were among the pioneers 
 of the Empire State. They both died in Seneca 
 County. The Ackerman family, from whom Mr. 
 Sweet is descended in the maternal line, were from 
 New Jersey, and were of Holland descent. 
 
 Mr. Sweet was reared on his father's farm. He 
 was carefully educated, and on his father's death, in 
 1837 although only 16 years of age he readily 
 obtained a position as a teacher. He spent nearly 
 ten years in that occupation before coming to Illi- 
 nois. He traveled from his home to Erie, Pa., by 
 canal and steamboat, and thence by stage to Pitts- 
 
 burg, whence he journeyed by steamboat on the 
 Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to St. Louis. He was 
 was attacked by illness at that place, and nearly a 
 month elapsed before he recovered. He went from 
 there to Quincy, and remained until September, when 
 he proceeded up the river and landed at Albany, 
 where he met his uncle, Stephen Sweet, who had 
 secured claims in the township now known as Gar- 
 den Plain. From him he purchased a tract of land 
 lying on sections 14 and 24, which he secured at the 
 land sale at Galena, Oct. 21, 1839. Later in the 
 same autumn he entered 80 acres on section 4 of the 
 same township. 
 
 Mr. Sweet taught school in Albany the winter en- 
 suing, and in the spring following he went back to 
 his former home in the State of New York, and there 
 resumed teaching. He continued in his native State 
 until the spring of 1842, when he returned to his 
 claims of land in Whiteside County. In the winter 
 of 1842-3 he taught his last term of school at 
 Albany. He was married at Lyndon, in December, 
 1845, to Miss Judith Green. The estimable young 
 pair began their housekeeping in a log cabin, on the" 
 southwest quarter of section 24, where they lived 
 two years, removing thence to the homestead on 
 the southeast quarter of section 14. A small frame 
 house sufficed for their needs, and it is now in- 
 cluded' in the commodious dwelling which has been 
 constructed by later additions. The place is in 
 valuable condition. The excellent wife and mother 
 died in April, 1877. The family included nine chil- 
 dren, seven of whom reached mature life : Tames 
 
 " V 
 
 L. was born May 14, 1847; he enlisted when 17 
 years of age, and served through the war: he mar- 
 ried Ellen Emmons, and went to Kansas; after a 
 residence there of two years he returned with his 
 family to Garden Plain, where he was a resident 
 until his death, May 22, 1885; Hiram E. married 
 Mary George; Sarah is the wife of L. W. Slocumb, 
 and they reside in O'Brien Co., Iowa; Maggie is the 
 wife of Freeman Hanna, of Walla Walla, Oregon; 
 Edward S. live in Garden Plain, as do Emma and 
 Ernest; Esther and Willie are deceased. 
 
 The abilities of Mr. Sweet were early recognized 
 and made available in the local government. In 
 August, 1844, he was elected Sheriff, and by virtue 
 of his office was Assessor of the county. He held 
 the office two years. In 1845 he was appointed 
 Census Enumerator for the county of Whiteside. 

 
 te) 
 
 i 
 
 
 He has been Supervisor and Assessor and was Post- 
 master at Garden Plains for many years. He has 
 been School Director several terms, and in all his 
 official life has pursued an undeviating course of 
 integrity and uprightness. He is considered a 
 representative of the best elements in social and 
 public life in the county. He was a Whig in early 
 life, but has been an uncompromising Republican 
 since the formation of the party. 
 
 ? lpheus Mathews, a substantial farmer on 
 section 11, Garden Plain Township, was 
 born Jan. 14, 1812, in the town of Hector, 
 Tompkins Co., N. Y. His parents, Stephen 
 and Patience (Wightman) Mathews, were both 
 natives of the Empire State, where they were 
 fanners. 
 
 Mr. Mathews is their third son, and he was given 
 the advantage of a practical education, which he 
 made available in teaching. He began his first ef- 
 forts in that vocation when he was 21. In the fall 
 of 1835, on account of failing health, he went to 
 New Orleans, where he passed the winter, returning 
 to the place of his birth in the spring. In the fall 
 of 1837, he came to VVhiteside County. He -was a 
 single man, and traveled according to his circum- 
 stances and the facilities which the period afforded. 
 He journeyed to Chicago on the lakes, and walked 
 from ti.at city to VVhiteside County. He bought 
 a 'timber claim, and also entered one on his own 
 responsibility on the prairie located on section 13, 
 township 21, range 3, as Garden Plain Township 
 was then designated. He made some improvements 
 on his property, which he sold in 1844. He made 
 further purchases on sections 4 and 5 in the same 
 township, where he made considerable improvement, 
 and built a log cabin. In 1846 he sold his prairie 
 farm, but retained the timber for a time. He fixed 
 his residence in Ustick Township, where he lived 
 some years. In 1850 he bought the farm he now oc- 
 cupies, situated on sections 2 and 1 1. 
 
 Mr. Matliews was married Nov. 10, 1839, to Aby- 
 lene Bethea. She was born Dec. 20, 1819, in Ten- 
 nessee, and died Oct. 20, 1844. Mary, the first- 
 born child of this union, was the first white child 
 born in the township. Her birth occurred Aug. 20, 
 
 1840. She married Samuel Montgomery, and died 
 in 1872. William, born March 3, 1842, died in 
 February, 1879, in Missouri, where he was a farmer. 
 He entered the military service during the War of 
 the Rebellion, and was a soldier in the 8th 111. Cav. 
 three years. Carrie, born May 27, 1843, manied 
 Daniel George, and died in March, 1877, in Kansas. 
 Another child died in infancy. Mr. Mathews was a 
 second time married Oct. ri, 1846, to Lois Ingham, 
 widow of Thomas Patrick. They have had three 
 children : Martha is the wife of G. B. Griswold, and 
 they reside in Spink Co., D. T. ; Ida is the wife of 
 W. J. Malcom, of Garden Plain : Charles is de- 
 ceased. The mother died May 23, 1863. Mr. 
 Mathews married for his third wife Sarah Porter. 
 She was born March 31, 1815, in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Although Mr. Mathews has suffered many years 
 from precarious health, he has been enabled, solely 
 through good management, to accumulate a fine 
 property, and is rated among the valuable citizenship 
 of the county. He has secured through reading and 
 observation a well disciplined and well stored mind, 
 and is esteemed among his associates by his social, 
 genial nature. 
 
 illiam Granville Nevitt, a farmer on sec- 
 tion 6, Newton Township, was born 
 * March 22, 1814, in Breckenridge Co., Ky., 
 x> and is the fourth son of William and Mary 
 (Edlin) Nevitt. His parents came to White 
 Co., 111., when he was five years old, and he 
 there grew to man's estate. He was 18 when the 
 second invasion of Black Hawk took place, and he 
 volunteered in what was designated the Spy Battalion 
 of the Second Brigade, in command of Colonel 
 McHenry. He was equipped by his father with a 
 horse and gun and was a participant in the battle of 
 Bad Ax. After the capture of the troublesome 
 chief, Mr. Nevitt set out on his return. He desired 
 to make his way to his brother's in Knox County and 
 he started alone on his pony. He found his gun 
 burdensome and he threw it away. The first night 
 he found himself at the confluence of two creeks, 
 and he picketed his horse and slept on the ground. 
 At day dawn he again set forth and toward nightfall 
 struck a trail which led to a cabin in a corn field, out 
 
 S^ -$g
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 with no human being near. He pressed on until he 
 came to another cabin without an occupant, and he 
 again rode on, following the trail which led to a block 
 house, where he found the proprietors of the empty 
 houses. This was near Henderson Grove in Knox 
 County. He reached his brother the next day and 
 remained with him two weeks, after which he went 
 to Lewistown to see his brother-in-law. He reached 
 his home in September. He spent the next two 
 years as an assistant in a blacksmith shop, after 
 which he removed to Knox County. In 1836 he 
 went to Oquawka and there engaged to help build a 
 saw-mill. He joined his parents in Albany in 1837. 
 
 In June he started in company with the Slocumbs 
 to make claims. They went in a southeasterly 
 course and located in what is now Newton Town- 
 ship, making a claim on the west half of section 6, 
 Stephen B. Slocumb locating the east half of the 
 same. The other Slocumbs, four in number, made 
 claims east of section 6 in the same township. 
 Their land lay in a straight line and the thorough- 
 fare on which it was situated was called Slocumb 
 Street. Mr. Nevitt cut logs and hewed timber foi a 
 dwelling and sent to Maquoketa, Iowa, for sawed 
 lumber. His dwelling was 16 x 24 feet. He after- 
 ward increased its dimensions and occupied it until 
 1855, when he built the brick residence now occu- 
 pied by himself and family. Mr. Nevitt had the use 
 of three yoke of oxen during the first year of his 
 residence in Newton Township, and he was busy all 
 summer breaking prairie for his neighbors, receiving 
 $5 per acre fc-r his services. He also went to Beaver 
 Island to draw logs for a steam mill at Albany. He 
 drew one 60 feet long that would " square " 14 inches, 
 'which had been sought in vain by David Mitchell 
 and a man named Bergen, who also had an interest 
 in the mill. 
 
 Mr. Nevitt returned to White Co., 111., in the fall 
 of 1837 and spent the winter. March 5, 1838, he 
 was married to Leannah, daughter of John and 
 Rebecca (Merely) Martin. The parents of his wife 
 were natives of North Carolina, and were pioneers 
 of White County. April sth the bridegroom set out 
 with his bride to make their way to their future 
 home. Both were on horseback, Mrs. Nevitt riding 
 one given her by her father. They were 14 days 
 making the trip. They stayed a few days with the 
 parents of Mr. Nevitt, until their house was com- 
 
 pleted. They owned two chairs, which was presented 
 to them by the husband's parents. Seven of nine 
 children born to Mr. and Mrs. Nevitt are still living. 
 Mary married D. J. Markee, of Newton Township; 
 Martha is the wife of H. H. Bliss, of Webster Co., 
 Iowa; Perry resides in Newton Township; Olney 
 is a resident of Minneapolis, Minn ; Nannie is the 
 wife of C. C. Cleudening. of the same place ; Hettie 
 married Charles Osborne, of Minneapolis; Minnie 
 resides at home. 
 
 ames Watkins Boss, farmer on section 30, 
 Ustick Township, was born May 25, 1838, 
 in Clarendon, Rutland Co., Vt., and is the 
 oldest son of Walter and Eliza (Webb) Ross. 
 His father was born July 14, 1800, in Grafton, 
 Vt., and was married in Shrewsbury, Vt., 
 whither his parents had removed early in the igth 
 century. His mother was born March 16, 1805, in 
 Hardwick, Worcester Co., Mass., and removed with 
 her father's family to Vermont. Their children, 
 nine in number, were born in the following order : 
 Catharine, Melvina, Loantha, Luceba, James W., 
 John W., Aldis D., George W. and Elbridge. The 
 two oldest daughters are living, and Mr. Ross has 
 three brothers who still survive. His youngest 
 brother is deceased. His father died Sept. 28, 1871. 
 The demise of his mother occurred July 7, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Ross received a common-school education 'in 
 his native county and was thoroughly trained in a 
 knowledge of agriculture on his father's farm. His 
 marriage to Harriet Barney took place Jan. 2, 1867, 
 and they have two daughters. Frances L. was born 
 in Clarendon, Vt., Jan. 25, 1870; Gertrude E. was 
 born in Ustick Township Nov. 18, 1874. Mrs. Ross 
 was born Aug. 14, 1840, and is the daughter of Jef- 
 frey A. and Harriet (Ewing) Barney. Mr. Barney 
 was born June 17, 1801, in Shrewsbury, Vt., and 
 was married there in 1823. He died Oct. 26, 1880, 
 in Schoolcraft, Mich., while on a visit to his sons. 
 His wife was born Match 18, 1806, in Rutland, Vt., 
 and died Nov. 12, 1879, in Shrewsbury. Their chil- 
 dren, ten in number, were named Allen, S. Rolla, 
 Edward, Frank, Rush, John, Mary, Duar.e, Harriet, 
 and Carnelia. They are all living. 
 
 s 
 
 
 - 
 
 .
 

 
 ;> : 
 
 31 - .- 
 
 WHITESJUE COUJV2Y. 
 
 Mr. Ross was a resident of Clarendon four years 
 after his marriage, when, in 1871, he settled in Us- 
 tick Township, and purchased 76 acres of land. 
 He lias added by latter purchase until he is now the 
 proprietor of 193 acres, with 140 acres under tillage. 
 He is engaged in mixed husbandry grain and stock 
 raising. 
 
 In political belief and relations he is an uncom- 
 promising Republican. 
 
 j'ustus Eew, resident in Mt. Pleasant Town- 
 ship, is the senior member of the firm of 
 Rew & Thompson, real-estate and loan 
 agents at Grundy Center, lowy. He was born 
 May 3, 181 1, in the township of Orwell, Rut- 
 land Co., Vt. He is the son of Henry and 
 Anna (Benson) Rew, and when he was eight years of 
 age his parents removed to the township of Sullivan, 
 in Tioga Co., Pa., where the father and mother both 
 died. Their family included two sons. Benjamin, 
 the younger, was a farmer in Sullivan Township and 
 died there in 1883. The father was the second man 
 who mined coal in the now extensive fields of Bloss- 
 burg, Pa., which he did in 1818. 
 
 Mr. Rew of this sketch passed his boyhood and 
 later youth in Pennsylvania, and in 1833 he came 
 West to Portage, Ohio, where he remained three 
 years. In 1836 he proceeded thence to Wisconsin, 
 where he engaged in farming near the city of Mil- 
 waukee. In 1839 he decided on a return to Penn- 
 sylvania, where he remained until t845, and was 
 variously employed while there as a carpenter, black- 
 smith and farmer. 
 
 In 1845 Mr Rew determined to establish his 
 home permanently in the then far West, and he 
 came with that intent to Whiteside County. He 
 bought 200 acres of land in the township of Lyndon, 
 of which he took possession and entered and proved 
 his claim when it came into market. He remained 
 its occupant until 1877 and had converted it into a 
 fine and valuable farm, having excellent buildings 
 and all necessary farm equipments. The death of 
 his wife in 1877 set aside the necessity and inclina- 
 tion to maintain a home in his changed circum- 
 
 stances, and lie sold the place that had been for 
 over 30 years the object of his efforts, and on which 
 he had expended the best energies of his manhood's 
 prime. He has since been an inmate of the families 
 of friends in Mt. Pleasant Township. 
 
 In 1881 Mr. Rew formed a partnership with Sam- 
 uel Wilkinson, of Morrison, and L. G. Johnson and 
 they established a banking institution at Ordway, 
 Brown Co., D. T., which they continued to operate 
 until the spring of 1884. In February, 1883, Mr. 
 Rew entered into his present relations with M. J. 
 Thompson, of Grundy Center, Iowa, and they are 
 engaged in an extensive traffic in real estate and are 
 operating with success as loan agents. He was one 
 of the corporation in the construction of the Rock- 
 ford, Rock Island & St. Louis Railroad and also 
 one of its directors. He was also a director of the 
 Rockford & Rock Island Railroad. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic fraternity at Morrison. He is a 
 Democrat in political views and acted as Supervisor 
 of Lyndon Township seven terms, officiating one 
 year as Chairman of the Board. 
 
 He was married May 23, 1841, in Sullivan Town- 
 ship, Tioga Co., Pa., to Phebe Reynolds. She was 
 born there April 27, 1814, and died at her home in 
 Whiteside County Aug. 17, 1877. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Rew, which appears on page 
 662, is a reprint from a photograph taken in 1885 
 (current year). 
 
 Mr. Rew is such a man in physical development 
 and mental traits as the historical annals of the 
 frontiers and the imaginations of the novelists have 
 placed on peunanent record as one type of Ameiican 
 nationality. His height is six feet and four inches; 
 his frame is firmly and compactly built; he has the 
 brawn and sinew of the ideal pioneer, fitted to con- 
 tend successfully with the conditions of pioneer 
 existence; he possesses a keen and discriminating 
 mind and intellectual ability, and tastes that entitle 
 him to a fair rank in the world of culture. The 
 rugged luxuriance of Burns and other poets afford 
 to Mr. Rew a great source of enjoyment, and he has 
 at control a stock of quotations, with which, on oc- 
 casion, he gives his friends a delightful entertain- 
 ment. His own pathetic resume of his circumstances 
 is the best possible representative: "I am 74 years 
 old, without- father or mother, sister or brother, uncle 
 or aunt, son or daughter, and the last male repre- 

 
 sentative of the fifth generation." He has been an 
 active, enterprising man ; his declaration is as good 
 as an oath, and he has spent his life in rectitude 
 and uprightness. His record is stainless. 
 
 ' enry S. Woods is a farmer and stock -grower 
 |f of Coloma Township and is a resident on 
 section 32. His parents, Junius and Dia- 
 damia (Cook) Woods, were natives of Connecti- 
 cut. His grandfather, Samuel Woods, was a 
 soldier of the Revolution and was in active ser- 
 vice during the seven years of that conflict. He 
 was the son cTCol. Nicholas Woods, an officer of the 
 English army in the struggle known to history as the 
 French and English War and lost his life at the bat- 
 tle of Sackett's Harbor. Junius Woods was a fife 
 major for a short time in the War of 1812. Orson 
 C. Woods, the third son of the latter, was in the 
 military service of the United States during three 
 years of the Civil War, escaping without .injury. 
 The parents settled after their marriage in Oneida 
 Co., N. Y., where they died. Their children were 
 named Nancy M., Samuel T., Clarissa, Henry S., 
 Orson C., Helen F., Junius and Junius E. Junius 
 died when three years old. 
 
 Mr Woods was born Feb. 15, r829, in Oneida 
 Co , N. Y. His first business venture was as a 
 liveryman, when he was 19 years of age, and he es- 
 tablished his interests in the town of Camden, Oneida 
 Co., N. Y. ; continued his operations there until 
 1862, when he sold out and came to Whiteside 
 County. He farmed the first year on a rented farm 
 in the township of Montmorency, residing mean- 
 while in the city of Sterling. He then rented a farm 
 in Coloma Township, which he managed five years. 
 He then purchased 160 acres on which he has since 
 conducted his agricultural operations, and is devot- 
 ing much effort and attention to the improvement of 
 his stock, especially in horses. Mr. Woods is a 
 Republican and belongs to the I. O. O. F. 
 
 He. was united in marriage to Sophia F. McCune, 
 Sept. 22, 1853, in Camden, Oneida Co., N. Y., and 
 they have one child, Lillie A., now the wife of B. F. 
 Woodford, of Rock Falls. Mrs. Woods was born 
 Oct. 6, 1829, in Oswego Co., N. Y., and is the 
 daughter of Stephen and Polly (Davenport) McCune. 
 
 Her parents were natives of Vermont and removed 
 thence to Oswego Co., N. Y., whence they made 
 another removal a few years later, to Akron, Ohio. 
 There the father died, and the mother returned to 
 Oneida County to spend her remaining years. She 
 died at Delphos, Ohio, whither she had gone for a 
 visit. Their children were n in number and were 
 named Polly, Lydia, Harlow, Eliza, William, Charles 
 H., Francis S., Jerusha, Sophia, Orilla and Catha- 
 rine A. Mrs. Woods is a communicant in the 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 acob F. Leonard, Justice of the Peace, 
 Notary Public and insurance agent at 
 Tampico, was born April 10, 1838, in 
 Greene Co., Pa. John Leonard, his father, 
 was a native of the same State, and a farmer. 
 He died when his son was six months old. 
 The latter was brought up by his mother, Hannah 
 (Reinhart) Leonard, who was born in Pennsylvania 
 and was of German lineage. She married again and 
 came to Illinois in r85r, settling in Bureau County. 
 She is still living in that county, and is married to 
 her third husband, William Adams, a farmer in Fair- 
 field Township. Mr. Leonard was a resident of 
 Greene County until he was 14 years of age, when in 
 1852 he came to Bureau County. He remained there 
 a few years and went to Kansas, settling in an un- 
 organized part of the State, which is now Chase 
 County. In the summer of 1860 he went to Pike's 
 Peak, and after a brief stay came back to Kansas 
 and soon after to Illinois. He resided for a time with 
 his inoiher, in Bureau County, attending svhool. 
 
 He was married Sept. 18, 1863, in Bureau County, 
 to Martha A. Hayes. She was born Feb. 18, 1847, 
 in Putnam Co., 111., whence her parents removed to 
 Henry County, and after some years to Bureau 
 County. Three children have been born to her and 
 her husband, and they are all deceased, Leroy H., 
 Archa B., and Millroy. 
 
 Feb. 8, 1865, Mr. Leonard enlisted in Co. E, 1481!! 
 111. Vol. Inf., under the command of Captain Stubbs. 
 The regiment was assigned to the Army of the Ten- 
 nessee under Col. H. H. Wilsie. Mr. Leonard was 
 in no active engagements, and was discharged Sept. 
 5, r865, after the close of the war. 
 
 He returned to Bureau County and became inter- 
 
 V)
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
 * 
 
 ested in farming, which he followed there until 1875. 
 In that year he settled at Tampico and has been in- 
 terested to some extent in the business of an insur- 
 ance agent. In 1877, he was elected Justice of the 
 Peace and has been an incumbent of the office eight 
 years. He owns 280 acres of land in Bureau County, 
 and considerable property in the village of Tampico. 
 He is a zealous and uncompromising Republican, 
 and has served as Village Trustee. He is Quarter- 
 master in the local post of the G. A. R. at Tampico, 
 ^ and belongs to the Blue Lodge, Masonic Order. 
 
 Francis, one of the progressive farmers 
 of Whiteside County and the owner of 240 
 acres of land located on sections 14 and IT 
 of Prophetstown Township, is a native of 
 Lincolnshire, Eng., in which country he was 
 born Dec. 22, 1847. His parents were John 
 and Susanna Francis, natives of the same country. 
 : Their family comprised ten children, nine of whom 
 i> survive: Charles follows the occupation of a farmer 
 I in England; John follows the same vocation in the 
 ^y same country, and Susan is a widow, residing like- 
 wise in England ; Job is a farmer residing in Ida 
 Co., Iowa ; Jane, a twin sister to Job, is married and 
 resides in Moorestown, N. J. ; Mary is the wife of 
 Edward Lancaster, a farmer residing in Prophets- 
 town Township; William is also a farmer, and 
 Eliza is the wife of Henry Clark, also a farmer 
 of Prophetstown Township; Isaac, subject of this 
 sketch, is next in order of birth. The deceased was 
 i Anna, who died when 12 years of age. His mother 
 died when he was 16 years of age, and in 1864, in 
 company with his father, he came to Moorestown, 
 Burlington Co., N. J., from across the water. In 
 the latter State he was engaged in farming until the 
 spring of 1869, when he and his father came to 
 Prophetstown, this county, and in the spring of 1871 
 rented land from George P. Richmond and J. H. 
 Mosher, and engaged in the vocation of farming. 
 Seven years later he bought his present farm of 240 
 acres. His father resided with him until the date of 
 his death, April 25, 1883, aged 80 years, 2 months 
 and 25 days. His mother died July 2, 1863, aged 
 57 years, 3 months and 14 days. 
 
 Mr. Francis has a fine farm, under a good state of 
 
 'giV-gr-g >*-,. ^^gna.^ r^ \ 
 
 ^yvv^rf** 
 
 cultivation, with good residence and outbuildings, 
 and makes a specialty of stock raising. He has 30 
 head of high-grade Short-horns, and usually has 
 from 50 to 70 head of cattle. He has 20 head of 
 horses, and his specialty in the latter line is confined 
 to the Clydesdale breed, of which he has nine head ; 
 he also has usually from 75 to 100 head of hogs on 
 hand. 
 
 Mr. Francis formed a matrimonial alliance in 
 Moorestown, Burlington Co., N. J., March 11, 1869, 
 
 with Miss Thomson, a daughter of Pemberion 
 
 and Margaret Thomson. She was born in Moores- 
 town, Oct. 9, 1848. The issue of their union com- 
 prises five children, all born in this county. Their 
 record is as follows: Laura T., bor^May i, 1870; 
 Jennie, June 7, 1872; George Henry, May 19, 1875 ; 
 Willie T., Jan. 19, 1879; John P., April 18, 1883. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Francis is a member of the Order of 
 Masonry, the A. O. U. AV. and the Order of Modern 
 Woodmen of America. 
 
 'hompson M. Wylie, member of the mer- 
 cantile firm of McMillan & Wylie, at 
 Tampico, was born June 29, 1837, in Fay- 
 ette Co., Pa. Joseph L. Wylie, his father, was 
 a hardware merchant and was married in 
 Fayette County to Jane McKean, a native of 
 the same county and State, of Scotch-Irish descent. 
 The parents of Mr. Wylie reside on a f;irm in Tam- 
 pico Township. 
 
 He was educated primarily in the district schools 
 of his native county, and completed his studies at 
 Madison College when 19. He had also taught 
 nine terms of school. In 1857 he accompanied his 
 parents to Illinois, and the family located in Tiskilwa, 
 Bureau County, where Mr. Wylie was a resident un- 
 til he entered the military service of the United 
 States during the Civil War. He enlisted Aug. 15, 
 1862, from Bureau County, in the 93d 111. Vol. Inf., 
 enrolling in Co. E, Captain C. Wilkinson. The 
 regiment was commanded by Colonel Putnam, of 
 Freeport, 111., and was assigned to the Army of the 
 Tennessee. Following is a list of engagements in 
 which Mr. Wylie was a participant : Jackson, Miss., 
 May 14, 1863; Champion Hill, May 16; Vicks- 
 burg, May 22. At the latter he sustained a gunshot 
 wound in the calf of his leg. On recovery he was
 
 
 
 $ 
 
 =3 
 =3 
 
 ty 
 
 transferred to the 151!! Army Corps under General 
 Ix)gan, and was afterwards in action at Mission 
 Ridge, Nov. 16, 1863, and at Altoona, Oct. 5 of the 
 same year. The regiment was attached to the com- 
 mand of General Sherman and from that on was 
 under his orders during the march through Georgia 
 to the sea, and the Carol inas and thence to the 
 final scenes at Washington. Mr. Wylie received his 
 discharge July 5, 1865. 
 
 He returned to Bureau County and was for a 
 short time interested in the lumber business. He 
 came to Tampico in 1871 and formed the business 
 relations in which he has since been engaged. The 
 yearly aggregate of the transactions of the firm make 
 an extended and prosperous exhibit. 
 
 Mr. Wylie is a Democrat in political affiliation. 
 He has served his township in the capacities of 
 Supervisor and Clerk. 
 
 He was first married in Neenah, Wis., to Helen 
 Kellogg. She was born and educated in that place 
 and was the daughter of a Wisconsin farmer. She 
 died in Bureau Co., ,111 Mr. Wylie was married a 
 second time, in Bureau County, Nov. 4, 1871, to 
 Minnie Barnard. She was born July 29, 1849, in 
 the county where she was married, and is the daugh- 
 ter of Josiah and Joanna (Carter) Barnard. Her 
 parents were of New England origin and her father 
 was a business man of Bureau County. Blanche, 
 born July 12, 1872; Ralph, born Aug. 5, 1878, and 
 1 racy, born May 6, 1883, are the names of the chil- 
 dren of Mr. and Mrs. Wylie. The parents are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Wylie 
 has been connected with its official Board since the 
 organization of the society at Tampico. He is also 
 Sunday-school Superintendent. 
 
 rederick Hageman, farmer, section 21, 
 Hopkins Township, has been an agricul- 
 turist in Whiteside County since 1858. 
 In 1875 he bought 200 acres of partly im- 
 proved land in the township where he has since 
 prosecuted his farming projects. It is nearly all 
 under tillage. 
 
 He was born May 18, 1818, in Germany, also the 
 native place of his parents, David and Sophia Hage- 
 man. He had two brothers, Gotfried and William, 
 
 botli his seniors. He was 40 years old when he left 
 his native country, coming immediately on landing to 
 Whiteside County.where he bought a farm in Jordan 
 Township, on which he lived until, as stated, he re- 
 moved to Hopkins Township. 
 
 He was married in Germany to Charlotte Moss, 
 by whom he had 1 1 children, named as follows : 
 August F. W., John F. W., Augusta C., Herman A., 
 Christina, Frederick, Maria, Frank, John, Charles 
 and Rosa. The motherdied May 21, 1872, in Jordan 
 Township. Mr. Hageman contracted a second mar- 
 riage Oct. 13, 1873, with Christina Strehl. She was 
 born Nov. 17, 1835, in Germany. They are members 
 of the German Lutheran Church. In political sen- 
 timent Mr. Hageman is a Democratic. 
 
 'homas Shuler Beach, Sheriff of Whiteside 
 County, resident at Morrison, was born 
 at Battle Creek, Mich , May 8, 1847, and 
 is the son of Asahel and Martha Ann (Cady) 
 Beach. His father is the son of Thomas and 
 I Mary Beach, who were natives of the State of 
 New York, and so far as can be ascertained was the 
 youngest in order of birth of a family of four children 
 three sons and a daughter. The latter was named 
 Polly. Thaddeus, Thomas, John and Asahel were all 
 disciples of Esculapius and became eminent in their 
 practice as physicians and surgeons. Asahel Beach 
 was born Dec. 25, 1799, at Cambridge, Washington 
 Co., N. Y. He went in early manhood to Western 
 New York, where he was married, Oct. 24, 1826, in 
 Mendon, Monroe County. His wife was born there 
 Oct. 24, 1809. She was the daughter of Cholett and 
 Martha (Vandeveer) Cady. Dr. Beach removed his 
 family to Michigan in October, 1834. His house- 
 hold included his wife and infant daughter Martha 
 A. The later was seized with fatal illness on the 
 journey, and died and was buried at Grass Lake, 
 Mich., where her parents stopped t6 secure needed 
 assistance. Three children were born after Dr. 
 Beach and his wife settled at Battle Creek Mary 
 Adelpha, Cholett Cady and Thomas S. The daugh- 
 ter married Frank Bennitt and died at Battle Creek 
 Nov. 25, 1880. C. C. Beach is general collection 
 
 v 
 
 /S 

 
 UNIVERSITY Of ILLINOIS
 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUJVTY. 
 
 > 
 
 (( ) 
 
 (!) 
 
 o 
 
 << 
 I 
 
 agent for the manufacturing firm of Nichols, Shepard 
 & Co., of Battle Creek. 
 
 The mother died in March, 1878. Dr. Beach died 
 Dec. 29, 1879. He was in the prime of his manhood 
 in one of the most important eras in the history of 
 his country, and he was ever keenly alive to the ob- 
 ligations of his citizens-hip. He was a Whig at the 
 beginning of his political career; but became an 
 Abolitionist of the most radical type and conducted 
 his relations to his generation from the standpoint of 
 an inveterate antagonism to the traffic in humanity. 
 He became a Republican in 1856, and served the 
 interest of his party without swerving. He was ac- 
 tive in the management of the transportation system 
 known as the Underground Railroad; and, on the 
 advent of civil war, he exerted all his influence in be- 
 half of an integral union. Although he had relin- 
 quished his practice from advancing age, he tendered 
 his services to his adopted State in the capacity 
 of surgeon, but his infirmities precluded the pos- 
 sibility of his entering the military service. 
 
 Mr. Beach was educated primarily in the High 
 School at Battle Creek and took a course of business 
 instruction at Eastman's Commercial College, where 
 he was graduated in 1866. He obtained a posi- 
 tion with George McKinney & Co., of Chicago, and 
 officiated as clerk and book-keeper about 18 months. 
 He then entered the employ of S. H. McCrea & Co., 
 upwards of five years. Within a year after the fire 
 of October, 1871, Mr. Beach engaged in traffic in 
 grain, in which he operated at first at Onslow, Iowa, 
 whence he transferred his business relations to the 
 then rising and plucky little village of Tampico, and 
 prosecuted his operations in the same line of business 
 there until he was first elected to the official posi- 
 tion of which he is still the incumbent, in November, 
 1880. His transactions at Tampico were proceeding 
 prosperously when the tornado of June 6, 1874, de- 
 stroyed an elevator and its contents, which inflicted 
 a loss that interfered materially with the profits, 
 though the substantial method in which he conducted 
 his business relations prevented disastrous conse- 
 quences. 
 
 Mr. Beach is a Republican of decided stamp, and 
 has always sustained the general and local issues of 
 the party. While a resident of Tampico he was 
 made Town Clerk by several successive re-elections, 
 and vacated the office on account of his election as 
 
 Sheriff of Whiteside County. He was re-elected in 
 1882 for the term of four years. In the administra- 
 tion of the duties pertaining to his position, the course 
 of Mr. Beach has been such as to justify the wis- 
 dom of his appointment, and his terms have been 
 marked by judicious use of the powers vested in him 
 by virtue of his office. 
 
 He was united in marriage Dec. 25, 1872, to S. 
 Janie, daughter of David and Martha A. (Townsend) 
 Miller, of Chicago. She was born in Leroy, Mich., 
 July 8, 1846. Mary Adnah, only surviving child of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Beach, was born Sept. 27, 1873. 
 Asahel was born Nov. 8, 1874, and died Dec. 18, 
 1880. 
 
 j; ufus M. Bullock, general farmer and long 
 orre of the leading and prominent citizens 
 of Whiteside, County and residing upon 
 sections 29 and 32, Tampico Township, was 
 born in Bristol Co., Mass., Jan. 26, 1816, and 
 when a year old his parents removed to On- 
 tario Co., N. Y., where they passed the remainder of 
 their days, honored and respected people. 
 
 Our subject was reared upon the farm in Ontario 
 Count, and attended the public schools, obtaining a 
 good common-school education. At the age of 20 
 he left his parental home and began teaching school, 
 first in Ontario County, then in Massachusetts and 
 then in Michigan. In 1851 he came farther West 
 and located in Rockton, Winnebago Co., 111., where 
 he built the first cheese-factory in the county, being 
 among the first to inaugurate this business in North- 
 ern Illinois. After running the factory for three 
 years he sold it and came to Tampico, this county, 
 desiring to change his business. He settled upon 
 1 60 acres of land which he had previously purchased, 
 and which he still occupies. He is now the pro- 
 prietor of 360 acres altogether, which is mostly im- 
 proved. He has a finely equipped farm and a well 
 furnished farmer's home, and in the declining years 
 of his life enjoys the well earned fruits of an ener- 
 getic and successful career. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Bullock is a Republi- 
 can, and he has been Township Clerk. As to re- 
 ligion, both Mr. and Mrs. B. are consistent members 
 of the Baptist Church. Mrs. Bullock's father and 
 three of her brothers were Baptist ministers. 
 
 *& 
 
 : 
 
 ; 
 
 S=S 
 

 
 . 
 
 v . 
 
 WH1TKMDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 Mr. Bullock was first married in Bristol Co., Mass., 
 March 4, 1844, to Miss Phebe H. Gulliver, who was 
 born in that county, Jan. r7, 1820, and died at her 
 home in Richmond, Ontario Co., N. Y., Nov. 13, 
 1845. He was again married, in Livingston Co., N. 
 Y., Sept. 1 6, 1846, to Miss Olive W. Purinton, who 
 was born in Cortland Co., N. Y., Feb. 21, 1819. She 
 is the daughter of Rev. Thomas Purinton, a Baptist 
 clergyman. By this marriage eight children have 
 been born, four of whom have died. Those living 
 are Mary M., now the wife of Mr. Potter; Eudora 
 E., residing at home ; Ida M., now the wife of Frank 
 B. Thomas (see sketch); and Mrs. Carrie A. Mor- 
 gan. The deceased are Phebe J., Edith E. and two 
 infants. 
 
 As a gentleman eminently worthy to be classed 
 among the leading and representative men of the 
 county, we present the portrait of Mr. Bullock among 
 ) those given in this work: It certainly enhances the 
 value cf the ALBUM to those of his many friends 
 who possess it. 
 
 j^dward Ward, resident at Lyndon, was born 
 in i8r6, in Nottinghamshire, Eng. He 
 was there reared in the vocation in which 
 his ancestors had been bred for many years, 
 that of farming. He was married in 1838, to 
 Albina Dorr. She was a native of Lincoln- 
 shire, and was born in 1812. In 1849 they sailed 
 for the United States on the " Montezuma," and the 
 passage from Liverpool to New York occupied four 
 weeks. On their arrival at the port of the latter, 
 they went by steamboat to Philadelphia, thence by 
 canal to Pittsburg, from there down the Ohio River 
 and up the Mississippi River to Albany. They came 
 to Lyndon by stage, and Mr. Ward at once entered 
 upon the business of selecting a location for a home. 
 He entered a claim on the northeast quarter of sec- 
 tion 2, township 20, range 5, bought a frame house, 
 and moved it to the place for the accommodation of 
 his family, and, without farther delay, began the 
 work of improvement. In the spring of 1860 he be- 
 gan to make an addition to his dwelling, but before 
 it was completed the tornado of June 3, of that year, 
 destroyed the whole structure, and left his family 
 homeless. The members of the household were all 
 * 
 
 'sjxf' -^y 
 
 injured, and Mrs. Ward has never entirely recovered. 
 They found shelter under the hospitable roof of 
 Harry Smith, until Mr. Ward could rebuild his 
 home. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Ward rented his farm, and has since 
 lived in the village of Lyndon. He owned his resi- 
 dence there previously. Mr. and Mrs. Ward have 
 three children. William lives in Lyndon; Emily J. is 
 the wife of P. C. Riley, of Lyndon; John E. is the 
 youngest. 
 
 lisha Lockheart, one of the leading agri- 
 culturists of Garden Plain Township, was 
 born May 21, 1821, in Greene Township, 
 Adams Co., Ohio. He is the second son of 
 Robert E. and Sarah (Hemphill) Lockheart. 
 The first business in which he was engaged 
 was as a help manager of a wood-yard, at the head 
 of Brush Creek Island in the Ohio River, for the 
 purpose of supplying steamboats with fuel. He was 
 then but 12 years of age, and he continued to help 
 conduct the affairs of the wood station until 1852, 
 when he married, and ran a rented farm until 1856. 
 In the fall of 1845 he came to Whiteside County 
 and entered 231 acres of land, 200 of which was 
 was prairie, situated on section u, of township 21, 
 range 3. He made the remainder of his claim on 
 section 8, consisting of 30 acres of timber. After he 
 reached the age of 21 years he entered into an en- 
 gagement with his father for $100 yearly salary, and 
 his board and clothes. He came West in 1845 with 
 three years' salary, and secured his land. He went 
 back to Adams County, where he engaged in the 
 pursuit of agriculture and the wood business, until 
 1856. He then made a permanent removal to 
 Whiteside County, and located on section 27 of 
 Garden Plain Township, where he improved a farm. 
 In 1858 he took possession of the land he had form- 
 erly located on section n, and which was still in a 
 wholly wild state. It is at present writing in a state 
 of advanced cultivation, and he has increased his 
 possessions until he is now the owner of a valuable 
 estate, comprising 872 acres of land, all of which is 
 under tillage, with the exception of 5 i acres of tim- 
 ber. He also owns 160 acres of land in Poweshiek 
 County, Iowa, and 120 acres in Morris County, Kan. 
 
 .A r* ^jMuy' aS^^f^i 
 
 '\ - 
 
 (
 
 Mr. Lockheart has rented his land, and is living in 
 retirement. 
 
 He was united in marriage Nov. 16, 1852, to 
 Rebecca Rinard. She was born Dec. 27, 1825, in 
 Washington Co., Ohio, and died Feb. 20, 1885, and 
 was interred in the Cottonwood Cemetery, Ustick 
 Township. While the death of Mrs. Lockheart in- 
 flicted an irreparable loss, she accomplished much 
 more than the usual lot in the influence she exerted 
 in her home and in social circles. She was all that 
 the terms wife, friend and neighbor imply. 
 
 harles B. Rood, whose name is associated 
 with the history of Whiteside County in 
 the year 1836, when he located in Albany, 
 was born July 20, 1813, in Granville, Wash- 
 ington Co., N. Y. He is the son of Robert 
 R. and Elizabeth (Holden) Rood. His par- 
 ents were both natives of Connecticut and went, 
 about the jear 1800, to Clinton Co., N. Y., where 
 they were among the pioneer settlers at Mooers. 
 They left Clinton County in 1812, on account of the 
 embarrassments caused by the war, and passed the 
 next two years in Washington County, returning at 
 the end of that time to Mooers. His fatner owned 
 timber land in Clinton County, where he engaged in 
 the lumber business and cleared several farms; he 
 was a resident there until his death. 
 
 Mr. Rood returned to Washington County when 
 nine years of age, and spent three years in the family 
 of his uncle, after which he again became an inmate 
 of the paternal household, passing the time princi- 
 pally in attendance at school. At 19 he began to 
 teach school, and operated alternately as teacher 
 winters, and a farmer summers, for some years. In 
 1836 he came to Illinois to seek a suitable location 
 for the efforts he desired to make in the way of se- 
 curing a home and fortune. He came by the lakes 
 to Detroit and thence by stage to St. Joseph, Mich. 
 He operated there three months as a surveyor, and 
 early in the fall of the same year he took lake pass- 
 age for Chicago, coming from that then small city 
 to Ottawa by stage. In company with nine others, 
 with a span of horses and a wagon, he made his way 
 to Albany, where he remained during the winter. 
 In the spring of 1837 he made a claim, situated on 
 
 
 - " 
 
 section 22 in township 21, range 3, now Garden 
 Plain. In the winter of 1837-8 he taught the first 
 school in Albany, in a frame house he built at that 
 place. He was made Deputy Sheriff and also Deputy 
 County Surveyor of Whiteside County, in 1837, by 
 appointment from the officials of Ogle County, to 
 which Whiteside County was attached for municipal 
 purposes; and in 1839 was elected County Surveyor, 
 being the first incumbent of the office on the comple- 
 tion of the county organization. At the land sale at 
 Galena in 1839, he was appointed to bid in for the 
 several purchasers the land that was sold in the 
 townships of Albany and Garden Plain. In the fall 
 of 1840 he resigned, as he was about to return to 
 the State of New York. On his return about four 
 years later, he was appointed Deputy Surveyor, and 
 has held that position most of the time since. The 
 result of his operations as a surveyor may be traced 
 throughout the county. He surveyed and platted 
 Chatham and Harrisburg (now Sterling), Lyndon 
 and Albany, and located the principal thoroughfares. 
 He has also performed an enormous amount of labor 
 in private interests, surveying land for all purposes. 
 He has held some of the township offices, notably 
 Township Treasurer, Commissioner of Roads and 
 Supervisor several terms, and gives his best efforts 
 to the public welfare, both as a citizen and as an 
 official. On the establishment of a postoffice in 
 Garden Plain, he was elected as being well qualified 
 to attend to its relations. He has been a declared 
 temperance advocate all his life, and assisted in the 
 organization of the first temperance society in the 
 county, located at Albany. Mr. Rood was the first 
 Master of the County Grange, and also the first 
 Master of the subordinate grange in Garden Plain. 
 For the last five years he has been a member of the 
 Board of Trustees of the Northern Illinois College at 
 Fulton. He was originally a Whig, but became an 
 adherent of the Republican party in 1856. 
 
 Mr. Rood returned to Clinton Co., N. Y., in 1840, 
 and in the ensuing winter taught school in the vil- 
 lage of Mooers. He was married Oct. 27, 1842, to 
 Sarah S. Churchill. She was born Nov. n, 1815, in 
 Champlain, Clinton County. After marriage, Mr. 
 Rood located in the Province of Quebec, 40 miles 
 from Montreal. He bought a farm, where he erected 
 a saw-mill and engaged in the manufacture of lum- 
 ber. He bought standing timber for the supply of 
 his mill. In 1844 he returned to Whiteside County 
 
 *& *^ 
 
 vg> 
 
 ci)
 
 - .. - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 '. N4':i?\J:S5$ 
 'tr*StfVv& 1 V-.Vj&' 
 
 
 S 
 
 and settled on his land on section 22 in Garden 
 Plain Township. He at once set about the erection 
 of a frame house and engaged in the cultivation of 
 his farm. His estate is in fine and profitable con- 
 dition, and ranks more than fairly with farms of the 
 township. Mr. Rood hts taught several terms of 
 school since his return to Whiteside County. 
 
 Three of six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Rood 
 are now living : Myra A. is the oldest ; Nellie mar- 
 ried James Nimon and they live in Dennison, Tex. ; 
 Julia E. is the youngest.. The parents are members 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 iles A. Stilson, senior member of the 
 mercantile firm of Stilson & Badgley, at 
 Tampico, was born Feb. 24, 1827, in Ben- 
 nington Co., Vt. Russell Stilson, his father, 
 was a native of the same State and was a me- 
 chanic. He died on the farm where he had 
 lived ever since his marriage, which took place when 
 he was 24 years old. His death, which occurred 
 when he was 60 years of age, was caused .by a to- 
 bacco sore under the tongue, presumably the same 
 disease as that from which General Grant is suffer- 
 ing. He was a man of remarkable physical strength 
 and had a finely disciplined intellect. The family 
 had its origin in several Scotchmen, brothers, who 
 came to America prior to the Revolution, and two of 
 whom espoused the cause of the Colonists. Amanda 
 Landon, who became the wife of Russell Stilson, and 
 the mother of Giles A., was born in Vermont, and in 
 her veins flowed the blood of Irish, English and 
 Welsh progenitors. She lives with her daughter, 
 Mrs. Lois Lampson, at Manchester, Vt., and she is 
 past 80 years of age. 
 
 Mr. Stilson was educated in the excellent public 
 and private schools of Bennington County, and also 
 was under the direction of a private tutor named 
 Wadleigh, an English gentleman of culture and 
 refinement. In 1844 he came to Illinois, where he 
 located in Portland, Whiteside County. 
 
 He was married Jan. 16, 1849, to Mary A. Cram- 
 phin, who was born at Weedsport, New York, in 
 September, 1829, and came in 1844 to Michigan with 
 her parents. But one of three children of whom Mr. 
 and Mrs. Stilson became the parents is living 
 
 Emma, the wife of "Jed" Badgley, a farmer in 
 Brown Co., Dak.; Russell B. and Evaline died while 
 young. 
 
 Mr. Stilson engaged in farming until September, 
 1861, when he enlisted in the " Yates Battalion of 
 Sharp-shooters." The command was attached to the 
 Western Army Corps, serving first under General 
 Pope and subsequently under General Rosenkrans. 
 Mr. Stilson was in the service nearly a year and was 
 honorably discharged for disability. 
 
 In 1875 Mr. Stilson came to Tampico, and en- 
 gaged in traffic in grain with T. S. Beach, in which 
 branch of business he was interested two years. He 
 then engaged in mercantile transactions, in which he 
 had been previously interested, associated with other 
 parties. The firm of Stilson & Badgley are doing an 
 extensive business. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stilson are active members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. He is now a Village 
 Trustee. He has served several years as Supervisor, 
 a long term of years as School Treasurer, and six 
 years as Treasurer of Tampico Township. He was 
 formerly a Republican, but has adopted the princi- 
 ples of the Prohibitionists. 
 
 arvey L. Osborne, deceased, formerly a 
 resident of Lyndon Township, was born 
 March 17, 1831, in Centerville, Allegany 
 Co., N. Y. He was the fourth child of his par- 
 ents, Charles and Sarah (King) Osborne, the 
 former of whom was a native of Vermont; the 
 latter was born in Oneida Co., N. Y. 
 
 At 1 6, Mr. Osborne turned his attention to ac- 
 quiring a knowledge of harness-making, going for 
 that purpose to Randolph, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. 
 After serving an apprenticeship, he operated as a 
 journeyman in his native State until 1855, when, in 
 April, he came to Whiteside County. He worked at 
 his trade in Portland one summer, and in the fall of 
 the same year opened a shop in his own behalf at 
 Erie, where he conducted a prosperous business un- 
 til 1863. He rented a farm in Portland Township, 
 which he managed one year. In 1864 he exchanged 
 his property in Erie for land on section 31, of 
 township 20, range 5, then, which is now Lyndon 
 Township. He put the place in first-class condition 
 for agricultural operations, built suitable structures 
 
 
 
 i 
 "
 
 LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 &&& 
 
 .. 
 
 - ... .- 
 
 v. 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 for farm use, and set out trees. Mr. Osborne died 
 March 8, 1885. 
 
 He was united in marriage May 18, 1856,10 Eliza- 
 beth, daughter of Daniel P. and Emeline (Hollister) 
 Brewer, a pioneer of Portland, where Mrs. Osborne 
 was born. Mr. Osborne is survived by six- children 
 Adelbert, Lois E., Etta L , Harper E., Elva L. 
 and Laura E. 
 
 dward Lancaster, farmer, residing on sec- 
 tion 22, Propheistown Township, and the 
 proprietor of 350 acres located thereon, 
 and one of the progressive and representative 
 citizeiis of this county, is a son of Charles and 
 Sarah (Curtis) Lancaster, and was born in 
 Ropsley, England, June 22, 1831. His father was a 
 native of the same country, as likewise was his 
 mother. She died March 10, 1856, and the father at 
 the residence of his son Charles, in Prophetstown 
 Township, Nov. 10, 1869. The issue of the parents' 
 union was four children, three of whom are living. 
 Mary A. is the wife of John Dickson, a farmer resid- 
 ing in Prophetstown Township; Charles is a farmer 
 in the same township ; Sarah was the wife of Will- 
 iam Musson, and died in the State of New York, in 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 ! 
 
 Edward, the youngest, was reared on a farm and 
 acquired his education in the common schools of his 
 native country. He and his brother Charles emi- 
 grated to this country in 1856, and came directly to 
 the tow.iship of Prophetstown, this county, where 
 they engaged in work by the month. On his arrival 
 Mr. Lancaster found himself not only out of means 
 but in debt $40. He went to work by the month one 
 season, and then in company with his brother rented 
 the " Paddock " farm, consisting of 50 acres. Two 
 years later he rented 60 acres of George P. Rich- 
 mond, which he cultivated until 1865. In 1864 he 
 bought 80 acres of his present farm and has added 
 to it by subsequent purchases until he is the posses- 
 sor of a fine farm, embracing 350 acres of land. The 
 farm is well improved and stocked, and Mr. Lan- 
 caster is devoting his attention to the raising of stock. 
 He has usually from 50 to 75 head of cattle, and 
 raises annually about 100 head of hogs, and also has 
 from 19 to 1 6 head of horses. 
 
 Religiously, Mr. L is a member of the Lyndon 
 Congregational Church. 
 
 Mr. Lancaster was united in marriage in the city 
 of Bourn, Lincolnshire, England, April 9, 1856, to 
 Miss Mary Francis, daughter of John and Susan 
 Francis. She was born in Bourn, and accompanied 
 him when he emigrated to this country, in 1856 as 
 slated. They have had \ i children, ten of whom 
 yet survive : Jane is the wife of Lorenzo French, a 
 farmer on a portion of the old homestead ; Edwin 
 resides at home; Eliza is the wife of Nathaniel Gage; 
 Hannah, Herbert, Hettie, John, Agnes, Lewis and 
 Gilbert. Hetlie, the fifth born, is deceased. 
 
 Mr. Lancaster's life and career in this county have 
 been such as to warrant the insertion of his portrait 
 in ihis ALBUM, and it is accordingly given, on a page 
 opposite the beginning of the foregoing sketch. 
 
 prace Powers, a farmer residing on section 
 17, Erie Township, and the owner of 85 
 ~j^~' acres located theteon, is a son of John and 
 4J Roselma (Munn) Powers, and was born near 
 Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 24, 1839. His father was 
 a native of New York, a farmer by occupation, 
 and died when the subject of this biograghical notice 
 was but one year of age. His mother was a na- 
 tive of the same State, and, after the death of her 
 husband, married Matthias Dunlap, who was a cooper 
 and a farmer by occupation, and who is also de- 
 ceased. She resides in Nebraska. 
 
 Mr. Powers had one brother and three sisters, all 
 of whom are deceased. Soon after his father's death, 
 the mother moved to Chicago, where Mr. Powers, of 
 this sketch, resided with her and his step-father un- 
 til he was 13 years of age. The family then moved 
 to Peoria, and he accompanied them, where they re- 
 mained, about 1 8 months, and then, in 1853, they 
 came to Fenton Township, this county, and pur- 
 chased land located partly in Fenton and partly in 
 Erie Township, and on which the family resided 
 for a number of years. 
 
 Mr. Powers was united in marriage in Fenton 
 Township, Dec. n, 1866, to Miss Mercy A. Peck, 
 daughter of William and Rhoda (Brooks) Peck. She 
 was born in Warren Co., Pa., April 14, 1840. Two 
 children have been born of their union Otis Alonzo, 
 2 '-^^ 4*' 
 
 t to 
 
 *
 
 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 Jan. 9, 1868, and Luella, Oct. 23, 1869. Soon after 
 his marriage, Mr. Powers bought 40 acres of his 
 present faim, and has increased his acreage by sub- 
 sequent purchases, until he is now the owner of 85 
 acres of good farming land, ar.d has a nice residence, 
 good out buildings, orchard, et;. 
 
 Feb. 23, 1865, Mr. Powers enlisted in the War for 
 the Union, joining Co. G, 15 6th 111. Vol. Inf., and re- 
 ceived his discharge at the end of the term of enlist- 
 ment, Sept. 20, 1865. The parents of Mrs. Powers 
 came to Fenton Township, when she was about 14 
 years of age, and both died in the county, the father 
 in Fenton and the mother in Eiie Township. 
 
 Chester S. Sly, a farmer, sec. 15, Mt. Pleas- 
 ant Tp., is a son of Ira and Jerusha B. 
 (Adams) Sly, natives of Berkshire and Wor- 
 cester Counties, Mass., respectively. They 
 were married in \Villiamstown, Berkshire Co., 
 Mass., and settled in North Adams, that State, 
 where they lived till their death. The father died 
 June 22, 1880, and the mother Jan. 25, 1878. Their 
 family comprised eight children, namely : James N., 
 Mary M , Chester S., Susan A., Martha W., George 
 R., Charles E., Addison M. 
 
 Mr. Sly, the subject of this biographical notice, 
 was born in North Adams, Berkshire Co., Mass., 
 March 7, 1841. His education was achieved in the 
 common school of his native county, and he assisted 
 in the labors of the farm, until about the age of 19 
 years. He remained in his native county and on 
 the old homestead until he had attained the age of 
 25 years, when he came to this county, in the spring 
 of 1867, and located on 40 acres of land, which he 
 had purchased previously, the same being located on 
 section 15, Mt. Pleasant Township, and on which he 
 has resided ever since. He is now the own^er of 80 
 acres of good farming land, and eight acies not till- 
 able. 
 
 He was united in marriage in North Adams, Berk- 
 shire Co., Mass, Sept. 27, 1866, to Sarah O., 
 daughter of David and Sarah E. (Prentice) Ives, na- 
 tives of Berkshire and Hampshire Counties, Mass. 
 They settled in North Adams, where the mother 
 died in March, 1848. Their family consisted of 
 three children, Sarah O., Lucy M., and Frances A. 
 
 Sarah O. was born in North Adams, March 13, 1839 
 She and her husband are the parents of two chil- 
 dren, Carroll E. and Cherrie M. 
 
 Mr. Sly has been School Director, and is also one 
 of the Directors of Mt. Pleasant Mutual Fire Insur- 
 ance Company. He is also a member of the Order 
 of Masonry, and he and his wife belong to the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 < 
 
 V) 
 
 ,enry P. Williams, physician, Sterling, was 
 born in Ro;:kford, 111., Sept. i, 1859, his 
 parents being Lewis and Anna (Mesler) 
 Williams, natives of the city of New York. His 
 father, who was a hardware merchant there, 
 sold out and came to Rockford, III. He enlisted 
 in the 74th 111. Vol. Inf. as First Lieutenant, was 
 appointed Regimental Quartermaster, and died in 
 the service of his country in November, 1862, at 
 Nashville, Tenn. 
 
 Dr. Williams, the subject of this sketch, remained 
 at his parental home until of age, aiid since that 
 time his mother has resided with him. He attended 
 College at Beloit, Wis., graduating in 1882. He 
 commenced the study of medicine in the office of 
 Dr. Utley, of Sterling, attended a course of lectures 
 at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and graduated in 
 the spring of 1884, since which time he has devoted 
 his time to the practice of his chosen profession. 
 
 Dr. Williams is a staunch Prohibitionist, a member 
 of the Presbyterian Church and a citizen of very 
 high standing. 
 
 ev. Zachariah Darwin Paddock, deceased, 
 formerly of Albany, was born Feb. 3, 1819, 
 in the town of Warren, Herkimer Co., N. 
 Y., and was the son of Thomas and Amanda 
 (Harrison) Paddock. The Paddock family is 
 traditionally of Welsh origin. The progeni- 
 tors of the branches in America came from England 
 to Plymouth, Mass., in 1630, and all the represent- 
 atives of the name in the United States trace their 
 origin to the two brothers who were among the earli- 
 est comers ty New England. A volume now in the 
 
 CJ) 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 -' 
 
 possession of the family of Mr. Paddock gives these 
 particulars, which are authentic. The book is enti- 
 tled the " Biography of Rev. B. G. Paddock, by 
 Z. Paddock." 
 
 Little has been preserved concerning the branch 
 of the Harrison family to which Mrs. Paddock be- 
 longed ; but it is known that the family of the Presi- 
 dent was wealthy and distinguished. Her grand- 
 father's generation was cotemporary with Washing- 
 ton, and was in the same social scale. Benjamin 
 Harrison, her father's uncle, was a candidate with 
 John Hancock for the position of Speaker in the 
 celebrated Congress of 1775. 
 
 The author of the work and its subject were 
 brothers, and were uncles of Mr. Paddock of this 
 account. They were lx)th ministers of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church. They were circuit preach- 
 ers in New York and in the northern part of 
 Pennsylvania, where the elder labored more than 
 60 years. The younger was in active ministerial 
 life for more than half a century. The number of 
 Paddocks in this country is legion, and a large per- 
 centage have been and still are clergymen, a fact 
 which has been instrumental in bringing every suc- 
 cessive generation into prominence. 
 
 During his early youth Mr. Paddock determined 
 on his prospective career, and resolved to secure 
 the advantages of a liberal education. At 17 his 
 mind was sufficiently stored to begin teaching, and 
 in the course of the next two years he had secured 
 the means of defraying his expenses at the seminary 
 in Cazenovia, N. Y., where he took a preparatory 
 course of study, extending through the terms of two 
 years. He matriculated at Hamilton College, in 
 Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y., where he was graduated 
 at the age of 27, with the honors of his class. He 
 had previously been licensed to preach, and he 
 officiated one year during, his collegiate course at 
 Palmyra, N. Y. His first charge after leaving col- 
 lege was at Homer, Cortland Co., N. Y., where he 
 officiated two years, after which he passed a year 
 at Chittenango, in the same State. His successive 
 appointments were at Cardiff, where he preached 
 two years; Onondaga Valley, one year; Slatersville, 
 one year; Port Byron, two years; and Fleming, one 
 year. 
 
 In August, 1856 he came to Illinois, and supplied 
 an appointment in Genesee Township one year. In 
 
 1857 he joined the Rock River Conference, and was 
 stationed at Sterling, where he preached two years. 
 Subsequently he preached one year at Milledge- 
 ville, Carroll County, and at Palo, Ogle County, one 
 year. 
 
 During the first year of his residence in Whiteside 
 County, he had purchased land in Hopkins Town- 
 ship, and on leaving Palo he took possession of his 
 property, which he had hitherto managed with the 
 aid of hired assistants and renters. He conducted 
 his agricultural labors one year, renewing health and 
 strength ; and, on resuming his ministerial labors, he 
 was placed in charge of the Churches in Jordan and 
 Genesee Townships, where he operated two years. 
 His next charge was at Prophetstown, where he con- 
 tinued two years, and he passed a similar period of 
 time at Evanston, Cook County, engaged in business 
 of a secular character. He went to Nebraska, where 
 he secured a homestead claim in Johnson County, 
 and joined the Nebraska Conference. He preached 
 one year in Tecumseh, and in 1869 returned to 
 Illinois. In 1870 he rejoined the Rock River Con- 
 ference, and preached in the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church at Albany two years. He was subsequently 
 attached to the Light-House Circuit in Ogle County, 
 two years, going thence to Albany, where he fixed 
 his residence, and officiated three years at Erie. He 
 then withdrew from the Methodist Conference, and 
 engaged in fruit-growing. In 1879 he was appointed 
 Postmaster at Albany, and, in company with his son, 
 became interested in the sale of groceries and pro- 
 visions, in which business he was actively engaged 
 until his death, which occurred July 13, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Paddock was joined in marriage in July, 
 1846, to Caroline M. Thompson. She was born 
 March 16, 1821, in Hamilton, Madison Co., N. Y. 
 Their children, five in number, were named Charles 
 B., Mary L., Ellen A., John T. and Carrie A. L. 
 The oldest son was born July 20, 1847, in Homer, 
 Cortland County, N. Y., and was but nine years of 
 age when his parents came to Whiteside County. 
 He received his education in the public schools, and 
 at the age of 16 years was placed in charge of a 
 flock of sheep which his father owned. He went to 
 Nebraska with the family, and returned with them to 
 Albany, continuing one of the members of the pater- 
 nal household until 1869. In that year he engaged 
 in the culture of small fruits. In 1881 he was made 
 
 
 
 s*&
 
 
 * 
 
 Assistant Postmaster, and succeeded to the position 
 of his father at the dealh of the latter. He was 
 married Jan. i, 1873, to Irene M., youngest daughter 
 of Lyman and Susan (Latham) Bennett. . Their chil- 
 dren are Alice J., and Clarence L. B. T. 
 
 Mrs. Paddock, the mother, survives her husband, 
 and the youngest daughter resides with her, as does 
 her son, John T., who is the head of the family, and 
 is a merchant at Albany ; Mary L. married Solon L. 
 Marlowe, and lives at Galena, Kan.; he is a mail 
 agent; Ellen A. is the wife of Chester S. Slocumb. 
 
 Full biographies of the Slocumb and Bennett fami- 
 lies may be found elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 esley V. Timmerman, proprietor of the 
 St. Nicholas Hotel and Restaurant at 
 Erie, is a son of John and Rachel (Fuller) 
 Timmerman, and was born in Cattaraugus 
 Co., N. Y., Jan. 12, 1840. His father is a 
 a native of that State, is a farmer by occupa- 
 ion and resides one-half mile north of Spring Hill, 
 this county. The mother of Wesley is also a native 
 of New York, and is living with her husband as 
 above stated. Their children were nine in number, 
 as follows: Cordelia, wife of Hiram Gilmore, a 
 farmer in Medicine Co., Cal. ; Mary A., wife of Levi 
 Fuller, a resident of Eureka Springs, Ark. ; John D., 
 deceased; Edwin, a butcher in Prophetstown, this 
 county ; Alice, wife of George Clifford, at work in 
 the pineries of Minnesota ; Annie, wife of Clements 
 Merrill, a farmer in Iowa ; George, a wholesale and 
 retail hardware merchant in San Francisco, Cal.; 
 Frank, a farmer near Spring Hill, this county : and 
 Wesley. 
 
 Mr. Timmerman was reared on a farm, and on at- 
 taining adult age he followed lumbering during the 
 winter seasons. 
 
 He was married in Salamanca, Cattaraugus Co., 
 N. Y., Feb. 20, 1864, to Miss Mary P., daughter of 
 James K. (a lumberman residing in New York) and 
 Elmira (Kilhourn) Webb. Her mother is deceased. 
 Mrs. T. was born in Warren Co., Pa., July r4, 1845. 
 They have had five children, three of whom are liv- 
 ing. The record is as follows : Allie, born March 
 1 8, 1865; Webb D., born May 22, 1866, died Dec. 
 2, same year; Alden, born July 25, 1867, died Dec. 
 
 17, same year; Frank R., born April 2, 1872; and 
 Fred, born Feb. 18, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Timmerman came West to :i point near Spring 
 Hill, this county, in 1868, where he farmed one year, 
 after which he engaged in railroading for several 
 years. In 1876 he came to Erie and opened a res- 
 tanrnnt, which he conducted a short time, and then 
 took possession of the St. Nicholas Hotel, which he 
 ran for a time. He afterward opened a saloon, 
 which business he followed until the spring of 1883. 
 In April, 1884, Mr. Timmerman rented the St. Nich- 
 olas Hotel, and has continued to conduct the same 
 as a first-class house. He can accommodate from 15 
 to 20 guests, and keeps adjoining a restaurant and 
 ice-cream parlor, and also a saloon, and is doing a 
 good and increasing business. The traveling public 
 will find the St. Nicholas one of the pleasantest 
 places in the county. 
 
 ohn D. Fenton, contractor and bridge 
 builder, residing at Erie, this county, is a 
 son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Durell) Fen- 
 ton, and was born Nov. 10, 1832, neai Ml. 
 Holly, Burlington Co., N. J. His father was a 
 farmer, and was born in Burlington Co., N. J., 
 Sept 21, 1794; he died in Fenton Township, this 
 county, Sept. 28, 1874, aged 80 years and 7 days. 
 His mother was a native cf the same State and 
 county, born Oct. 16, 1803, and died in the same 
 township as her husband, Jan. 15, 1879. They were 
 married in Burlington Co., New Jersey, April n, 
 1826, and there resided on a farm, and where five of 
 their children were Ixjrn. Oct. 6, 1835, they came 
 to this county, and four more children were born to 
 them. Of their nine children, eight are still living. 
 Ell wood W. is head steward on the steamer Willam- 
 ette, chief Oregon Transportation Co.; Joseph R. is 
 a carpenter and bridge -builder for the Central Pacific 
 Railroad Company in Oakland, Cai.; Elizabeth is de- 
 ceased; John D., subject of this notice, is the next in 
 order of birth ; Robert S. is a farmer and resides in 
 Erie; Alfred W. is engaged in putting in drive wells, 
 and resides in Erie; Mary E. is the wife of Elson 
 Medhurst, of Erie; Sylvester H. is a carpenter and 
 joiner and lives in Fenton ; and Henry C. is a resi- 
 dent of Erie. The parents came by water to Chi- 
 
 ', 
 
 -
 
 LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY Of
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 m 
 11
 
 COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 C3 
 1 
 
 (!) 
 
 cago, at which place they purchased two yoke of 
 oxen and a wagon, and drove with their effects to 
 Erie Township, this county, and located on section 
 4. They built a log house after their arrival, Oct. 
 , 1835, and resided there a few months. In 1836, 
 they removed to Fenton Township, and located on 
 section 33, and erected a log house, being the first 
 settlers to locate in the township. They lived in the 
 old log house till 1850, when they built a cement 
 house. On arrival in the county, the father entered 
 200 acres of land, and at the date of his death 
 he was the proprietor of 215 acres, which is at pres- 
 ent owned by his four sons, John D., Alfred W., 
 Sylvester H. and Joseph R., who bought out the 
 other heirs. The father was a successful farmer, 
 and possessed that energy and determination which 
 in a new and undeveloped country is certain to 
 achieve the aim desired. He came here with al- 
 most nothing, and by indomitable energy and pluck 
 reared a large family and left his estate unincumbered. 
 When but a boy he was bound out, and had a hard 
 life to lead. He first started to Milwaukee, Wis., but 
 was induced to come here, by Ephraim A. Hubbard. 
 When the Township of Fenton was first organized 
 in 1852, it was named Eden Township, but was soon 
 afterward changed to that of Fenton, in honor of the 
 father of the subject of this notice, who was the first 
 settler there. 
 
 Mr. Fenton, of this notice, was reared on the old 
 homstead, receiving the advantages of the common 
 schools, and where he remained until he attained the 
 age of majority. He then rafted on the Mississippi 
 River for a short time and afterward returned and 
 rented the old homestead, which he cultivated for 
 a few years. In 1863, he came to Erie and taught 
 school in township 19, range 3, one winter, after 
 which he opened a wagon-shop, manufactured wagons 
 and sleds and did a general repairing business, 
 which he continued until about 1879, when he sold 
 his shop, and has since followed farming and build- 
 ing of bridges. He has 40 acres of land, located on 
 section 28, Fenton Township, which he farms; has 
 been Assessor, altogether, nine years, Constable 
 seven years, School Director several years, Collec- 
 tor one year, Justice of the Peace from 1873 to 1877 
 and was again elected in the spring of 1885. He is 
 also a Notary Public, which position he has held for 
 the past 1 6 years. 
 
 Mr. Fenton was united in marriage in Erie village, 
 
 March 14, 1859, to Miss Marcia Wonser, daughter of 
 Milden G. and Ruth M. Wonser. She was born in 
 Ellisville, 111., March 7, 1840. They had three chil- 
 dren, two of whom are now living. The living are: 
 Celona I., born July 20, 1862; and Ruth E., April 
 19, 1866; Myra B., the first-born, died in infancy. 
 The two daughters are both teachers in the public 
 schools. 
 
 Mr. Fenton was Deputy Sheriff from 1870 to 1872, 
 under Ed. A. Worrell. 
 
 
 -5- 
 
 Ferris, deceased, was for many years ex- 
 tensively engaged in agriculture in this 
 county, on section 13, Tampico Township. 
 He was born in Franklin Co.,Ind., March 18, 
 1822. He was reared upon the farm, attend- 
 ing to the duties that fell to the lot of farm- 
 ers' boys, and going to school during the winter 
 months. In this way he developed an excellent 
 manhood, and obtained a good common-school ed- 
 ucation. 
 
 After his marriage, which event occurred Dec. 28, 
 1848, Mr. Ferris continued to reside on a farm in his 
 native county until 1873. Thinking to better his 
 condition, or at least have a wider field to labor in, 
 he came further West, selecting Tampico Township, 
 Whiteside County, as a place for his home. Here he 
 settled on a large farm, containing 680 acres of land, 
 his residence being located on section 13. He im- 
 proved the entire acreage, and developed it to 
 that degree that it took rank among the valuable 
 farms of Whiteside County, which, as a matter of 
 fact, contains as finely improved an agricultural dis- 
 trict as there is in the great Prairie State. Mr. 
 Ferris continued to reside upon this farm, enjoying 
 the fruits of his hard and honest lalwr, until May 
 18, 1877, when he was relieved from further toil by 
 death. At that time he was 55 years and two 
 months old. 
 
 Mr. F. was united in marriage with Miss Martha 
 J. Currey, in Franklin Co., Ind., on the date above 
 mentioned. Mrs. Ferris was born in Franklin County, 
 Aug. 9, 1829. Her father was a farmer, and she 
 lived upon the home farm with her parents until her 
 marriage. She is the mother of nine children, two 
 of whom are deceased. The following is the record 
 
 
 
 

 
 ' 
 
 WHIT ESI DK COUNTY. 
 
 - 
 
 of those living: Edwin is married, and lives in Can- 
 ton, Dak.; Ralph, married, and residing in Mont- 
 morency Township; John S., married, and lives in 
 Hahnaman Township; Albert, Lucy and Mary are 
 also married and reside in this county ; Nobls is 
 living at home with his mother. Mrs. Ferris pos- 
 sesses rare business ability, and has managed the 
 affairs of her late husband with great credit. Both 
 she and her husband were members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Ferris was a Re- 
 publican in politics. 
 
 Considering the brief period that Mr. Ferris re- 
 sided in Whiteside County he was widely and favor- 
 ably known. On coming he entered into sympathy 
 with every movement to develop and improve both 
 the material wealth and social and moral standing of 
 the community. He was esteemed as a friend and 
 neighbor, and loved ns a husband, and in recognition 
 of his services and position as a citizen of the 
 county, we take pleasure in presenting a portrait in 
 this ALBUM, which appears in connection with this 
 sketch. 
 
 
 eorge A. Potter, a farmer of Fenton 
 Township, is a native of Whiteside County, 
 as he was born May 3, 1849, in Lyndon 
 Township. He is the oldest son of Martin M. 
 and Salena (Perry) Potter. His father came 
 to Whiteside County in the summer of 1837. 
 He was born Oct. 28, 1812, in Richfield, Otsego Co., 
 N. Y., and was the son of George and Alsarah Pot- 
 ter. He lived in his native county principally until 
 1855, when he went to Aurora, Erie Co,, N. Y., where 
 he was employed in a flour mill. While there he 
 made the acquaintance of Diantha, daughter of John 
 C. and Hannah (Olds) Pratt, to whom he was mar- 
 ried Nov. 28, 1836. In August, 1837, he accom- 
 panied the parents of his wife to Whiteside County 
 (see sketch of Hon. J. M. Pratt). Martin M. Potter 
 resided near Prophetstown, in Lyndon Township, for 
 four years, when he bought a farm in the township of 
 Union Grove, upon which he made his home for an- 
 other four years. He then sold the place and was 
 an occupant of the J. C. Pratt farm until 1851, when 
 he bought a farm on section 25, township 20, range 
 
 4, which is now the township of Fenton. He bought 
 additional land on sections 23 and 24, until he was 
 the proprietor of 395 acres. He resided on his es- 
 tate until his death, Nov. 10, 1884. He was mar- 
 ried July 22, 1847, to Salena Perry. She was born 
 Jan. 22, 1831, in Amity, Allegany Co., N. Y., and is 
 a daughter of Calvary P. and Lydia (Robins) Perry, 
 natives respectively of Vermont and Massachusetts. 
 The first wife of Mr. Potter, who died Nov. 2, 1846, 
 was the mother of four children : Eliza J., born Oct. 
 17, 1837, and married D. P. Perry, who lost his life 
 in the military service of the United States, and who 
 left two children. She afterwards married George 
 McKnight, and died June 6, 1870; Dewitt Clinton 
 lives in Shelby Co., Iowa; Charles W. is a resident 
 of Brown Co., Neb. He served four years in the 
 army and is now a prominent and influential citi- 
 zen where he lives; James Madison was born March 
 6, 1843, and died Oct. 12, 1846, in less than a 
 month before his mother's death. 
 
 There were eight children by the second marriage. 
 George A. is the occupant of the homestead ; Flor- 
 ence L. married Nelson W. Stone, and they live in 
 Adair County, Iowa; Henry Clay lives in Harlan, 
 Shelby Co., Iowa; Emery D. was born Feb. 17, 1856; 
 he married Lettie, daughter of Fred Hille, and died 
 Jan. 10, 1884, in Harlan, Iowa; Sarah S. is the wife 
 of Caleb B. Smith, and lives in Fletcher, Sac Co., 
 Iowa. Frank Martin, born Sept. 5, 1860, died Jan. 
 16, 1884, six days after his brother; John F. lives 
 with his mother; Mary, born Nov. 27, 1868, died 
 Dec. 26, following. 
 
 Martin M. Potter was one of the ablest, most pub- 
 lic-spirited of the early citizens of the county. His 
 entire career was one undeviating record of useful- 
 ness and integrity. He was Justice of the Peace 
 nearly all the time he lived in Fenton Township, and 
 was active in every project for the promotion of the 
 general welfare of the public. He is remembered for 
 his worth and excellent character. 
 
 Mr. Potter, of this sketch, is a worthy son of a 
 worthy sire. He grew to the estate of manhood on 
 his father's farm, and acted as an assistant on the 
 homestead and attended school. He was married 
 March 4, 1874, to Emma C., daughter of Humphrey 
 and Susanna P. (Whitlock) Thompson. She was 
 born in Ohio. They settled on a portion of the Pot- 
 ter homestead, which is now their property. The fol- 
 
 ! 

 
 WHITESIDE COUN7 Y. 
 
 lowing is a record of their children : Ethie was born 
 Jan. 25, 1875, and died March 27, 1875 ; Lena M., 
 born March 4, 1876, died March 15, 1881 ; Georgia 
 L. and Mabel O. are living; Earl T. was born Nov. 
 14, 1881, and died Sept. 30, 1883. 
 
 !( ames Collins, gardener, nurseryman and 
 ? farmer, residing in Erie, is a son of Will- 
 iam and Charlotte (Rawles) Collins, and 
 was born in Albany, N. Y., Nov. 19, 1823. His 
 father was a stone-cutter. His mother died 
 when James was seven years of age, and a 
 maiden aunt, Hannah Rawles, took him to Romeo, 
 Macomb Co., Mich., a few years' later, where he 
 learned the blacksmith's trade. He then went to 
 Florence, Oneida Co., N. Y., where he was em- 
 ployed on dairy farms several years. He then went 
 to New York City, where he was employed by the 
 Union Ferry Company at the South Ferry, between 
 Brooklyn and New York, and remained with them 
 from 1849 to 1853. After leaving their employ, he 
 came to Erie, this county, and purchased a farm of 
 80 acres, and in company with Samuel D Carr 
 bought several hundred acres of land. He subse- 
 quently sold his interest to Mr. Carr, in 1859. Mr. 
 ) Carr died in June, 1861, and Mr. Collins married 
 his widow, Elizabeth (Ennis) Carr, Aug 3r, 1864. 
 Slie was born in Ohio, Nov. 17, 1822, and had by her 
 first marriage four children, namely: Rebecca, de- 
 ceased, was the wife of George Wilcox, one of the 
 prison keepers in the Joliet Penitentiary ; Louisa is 
 the wife of James Worrell, a carpenter, residing in 
 Erie ; Mary, deceased, was the wife of Van Rensel- 
 laer Rowe, a farmer in Erie Township; William E. 
 is a clerk in R. L. Burchell's store at Erie. 
 
 Mr. Collins has one child by his marriage to 
 Mrs. Carr, Sherman, born July 18, 1865. He still 
 owns 170 acres of land in the vicinity of Erie, about 
 40 acres of which lie inside the corporate limits of 
 that villlage. In 1869 he engaged in the nursery 
 business, and has sold large numbers of evergreens 
 and other kinds of nursery stock in this section, and 
 raises numbers of sweet potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes 
 "' and other plants. He also has a contract to build 
 one and three-fourths miles of the main ditch of the 
 Whiteside and Rock Island drainage system, He 
 
 has held the office of Justice of the Peace two terms, 
 Township Clerk two terms, Assessor several years, 
 and has been a member of the Village Board several 
 years, and President of the same one year. 
 
 Mrs. Carr's first husband, Samuel D. Carr, was 
 one of the pioneers of Erie Township, and married 
 his wife in Rock Island County in 1843, and brought 
 her to this county. He has resided in the county 
 several years previous to his marriage. He built 
 part of the hotel known as the St. Nicholas Hotel, in 
 1851, and kept it until the fall of 1856, when he 
 he rented it for a period and then sold it. Previous 
 to that he had kept a hotel in a log house close by 
 where he erected the St. Nicholas. 
 
 -~ sSi *- 
 
 
 renry Litzrodt, general farmer and stock- 
 raiser, section 7, Genesee Township, was 
 born in Saxony, Germany, Sept. 4, 1829. His 
 father, a farmer, lived and died in the same 
 country, at the age of 85 years. His mother, 
 whose maiden name was Catharine Trenzel, is also a 
 native of Saxony, and still living there, aged 84 
 years, having been born Aug. 24, i8or. 
 
 Mr. Litzrodt, whose name heads this sketch, was 
 the fourth-born of a family of seven children, re- 
 ceived an education, and at the age of 15 years he 
 began as an apprentice to learn the trade of lock- 
 smith, under the supervision of Wilhelm Demmer, 
 in Eisenach, with the aid of $50 received from his 
 father. He completed his course in two and a half 
 years, and for the eight years ensuing he followed his 
 trade on his own account. When 26 years of age 
 he came alone to America, settling at Sterling, this 
 county, near which place he began to work for Mr. 
 Sox, on the farm, continuing in his service a num- 
 ber of years. In the meantime he purchased 80 
 acres of slightly improved timber land in Genesee 
 Grove, this county. He finally went there and com- 
 menced to improve the place, " baching " it the first 
 year. 
 
 He was then married, May 12, 1868, in the city of 
 Chicago, to Miss Sophia E. Wilcken, daughter of 
 Jacob and Sophia (Swart) Wilcken. She was born 
 in Mecklenburg, Germany, Feb. 17, 1834. Her 
 parents, natives of that country, raised a family of 
 four children, and are both now dead. She was 

 
 
 
 13 years of age when her father died, and then she 
 had to labor as a domestic in various families to sup- 
 port her aged mother. She was 34 years old when 
 her mother died, and she then emigrated with one 
 of her brothers to America, settling in Sterling i 
 with a sister who had preceded her to that place. 
 
 Mr. L. has since increased the dimensions of his 
 farm to 170, acres, iro of which is in cultivation. 
 He has recently erected a large, tasteful residence, 
 farm buildings, etc., and has made his place a desir- 
 able one. He raises a considerable number of do- 
 mestic animals, and carries on his agricultural inter- 
 ests in good style. He and his wife are members of 
 the Lutheran Church. In i>olitics he is a Republi- 
 can, and he has held the office of Road Commis- 
 sioner. 
 
 illiam J. Gladhill, Justice of the Peace, 
 
 jeweler and gunsmith, residing at Erie, 
 is a son of William and Sarah (Baughan) 
 Gladhill, and was born in Union Co., 
 Ohio, Feb. 2, 1830. His father was a 
 shoemaker and farmer, and died in Fulton, this 
 county, at which place the demise of his mother also 
 occurred. Their children were 13 in number, eight 
 of whom still survive. 
 
 Mr. Gladhill learned the trades of cooper and gun- 
 smith in enrly manhood, and followed the same until 
 he came West. In 1856 he came to Erie Township, 
 and was occupied in running the Henwood Ferry un- 
 til 1872. One year later, in 1873, he was elected 
 Constable and held the position for eight years. Ever 
 since coming to the county, he has followed, as 
 other business would permit, the gunsmith and 
 jewelry business. In the spring of 1873, he opened 
 a shop in Erie, and worked at general repairing, 
 which he has continued until the present time; he 
 also takes orders for all kinds of jewelry, watches, 
 clocks, etc. Socially, he is a member of the Order of 
 Masonry, belonging to the Eastern Star Lodge, and 
 religiously he belongs to the Christian Church. He 
 was elected Justice of the Peace in 1881, and was 
 re-elected Police Magistrate in 1885. 
 
 Mr. Gladhill was united in marriage, in Union Co , 
 Ohio, Township of Liberty, March 30, 1853, with 
 Miss Rosanna B. Echelberger, who was born in Ash- 
 
 land Co ., Ohio, June 28, 1831. They are the par- 
 ents of five children, namely. Everet, who is a tele- 
 graph operator in Oakland, Neb.; Alonzo W., who i& 
 is engaged in carriage, wagon, sign and landscape 1 
 painting, and frescoing, at Erie village; George W., . g 
 who is a painter, residing in LaVergne, Minn.; Theo- 
 dore W., who is a ticket agent in Erie, and also a 
 painter by occupation; and Eugene W., who is a 
 clerk in a drug store in Erie. 
 
 
 ohn E. Scott, retired farmer, reside at 
 Como, has lived in Hopkins Township 
 since his boyhood, having jme to White- 
 side County in 1839 with his i arents. Jesse 
 Scott, his father, was fitted >y nature and 
 habit for a pioneer. Enei ,Jtic, persistent, 
 sagacious and intrepid, he found himself cramped 
 for opportunity and he decided to transfer his rela- 
 tions to Illinois, flowery tales of whose prairies and 
 agricultural promise had filled the East. In March, 
 1839, he set out on a boat which was propelled by 
 horse power, and on which he traveled to his point 
 of destination on the Ohio, Mississippi and Rock 
 Rivers. The unique craft was of 100 tons' burden, 
 and on it he constructed a shelter for his family and 
 household goods. He landed June i, 1839, at 
 Como, where he fixed his location and resided 
 during the remainder of his life. He was a man of 
 most genial character, and through, the 40 years of 
 his life in Hopkins Township he was held in general 
 esteem. No other instance is on record of a boat 
 being propelled against the strong current of the 
 Mississippi River by horse power, and it was an ob- 
 ject of great interest when plying on the rivers on 
 the trading expeditions, of which its owner made 
 several. Mr. Scott died March 13, i8-jg. 
 
 His marriage to Annah D. Sherman took place Jan. 
 i, 1815, and they had 13 children. Mrs. Scott was 
 born in Ohio and was kin to the family from which 
 the distinguished General and Senator Sherman de- 
 scended. Jesse Scott was born July 24, 1790, in 
 Luzerne Co., Pa. He was 12 years of age when his 
 father went to Morgan Co., Ohio, and he lived there 
 until his removal to Illinois, as stated. He was 
 ne rly 89 years old at the time of his death. 
 His son, who is the subject of this personal 
 
 
 r 
 
 . 
 
 I 
 

 
 
 **! 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ V"V.MU0>MM.:/"V ^ 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 - 
 
 tion, was born May 26, 1828, in Morgan Co., Ohio, 
 and is the eighth child of his parents. The entire 
 number lived to mature life and were born in the 
 following order: Asa, Jane D., Josiah S., David, 
 Hiram B., Adrial, Joel S., John E., Mary E , Maria 
 A., Caroline A., Annis E. and Emmeline. 
 
 Mr. Scott received a common-school education 
 and led an active life in Hopkins Township until 
 1882, when he rented his farm and removed to 
 Como. He is the proprietor of 197 acres of land on 
 section 15. 
 
 His marriage to Mary J. Shereer occurred Nov. 4, 
 1852, in Hopkins Township. She is the daughter of 
 John E. and Mary M. (Cochrane) Shereer, and her 
 parents were born in Scotland. They emigrated in 
 early life to Canada, where they were married. They 
 came thence to Will Co., 111., where they resided un- 
 til they died. Mrs. Scott is their only child, and she 
 was born in Kingston, Out., Oct. 26, 1832. The 
 children of Mr. and Mrs. Scott are five in number, 
 Annis C., Annah A. and Ann E. (twins), Amy A. 
 and Oscar H. 
 
 In political opinion and acts, Mr. Scott affiliates 
 with the Republican party. 
 
 
 ; athan M. Hurlbert, deceased, formerly a 
 farmer of Lyndon Township, located on 
 section 3, was born Aug. 17, 1823, in the 
 town of Glover, Orleans Co., Vt. His 
 parents, Reuel and Prudence (Norton) Hurlbert, 
 were farmers in the Green Mountain State, 
 where their children were reared and educated in 
 the common schools. 
 
 July 9, 1850, Mr. Hurlbert was married to Ro- 
 sanna G. Gibson, and they remained in Vermont six 
 years. In 1856 they came to Whiteside County, and 
 Mr. Hurlbert bought land in Lyndon Township, 
 where he settled and engaged in the labor of culti- 
 vating his farm. His wife died May 12, 1858. Mr. 
 Hurlbert was again married Nov. 3, 1859, to Jane E. 
 Pratt. She was born Nov. 17, 1835, in Milton, Chit- 
 tenden Co., Vt. Mr. Hurlbert died Jan. 26, 1881. 
 He had lived a life of usefulness and success. 
 Frank N., his oldest son, lives in Nebraska ; George 
 W. is a resident of Dakota ; and Fred J. lives in 
 Lyndon. The second marriage resulted in six chil- 
 
 
 dren. Lyman died in infancy. Etta was born April 
 
 26, 1865, and died April 22, 1885. Norton is the 
 oldest. Warner, Ernest and Eddie are the youngest. * 
 Mr. Hurlbert was the father of eight sons and one 
 daughter. ^ 
 
 ames H. Baird, farmer, residing on section 
 |- 30, Prophetstown Township, and the pro- 
 prietor of 340 acres located thereon, is a 
 son of James and Mary (Wilson) Baird, and 
 was born in Perry Co., Ohio, Jan. 7, 1834. 
 His father was of Scotch-Irish lineage, and a 
 native of Pennsylvania, and his mother, of Scotch- 
 Irish descent, a native of Washington, same State. 
 His father died when Mr. Baird was five years old, 
 and he resided with his mother and sisters until he 
 had attained the age of thirty years. At the death 
 of the father the family were left in straitened cir- 
 cumstances, and James H. was compelled to labor 
 for their maintenance, receiving only the limited 
 education afforded by the common schools of the 
 county in which he resided. His mother was a 
 sister of Colonel Wilson, of Sterling, this county, who 
 is deceased. 
 
 Mr. Baird was united in marriage in Hopkins 
 Township, this county, at the residence of his broth- 
 er, May 24, 1864, to Martha Brown. She was a 
 daughter of Isaac and Ellen Brown, and was born 
 Dec. 12, 1834. Mr. Baird returned with his bride 
 to Ohio, where he had previously purchased the in- 
 terest of the heirs of the old homestead. In the fall 
 of 1864 he sold his farm and came to this county, 
 and bought the place on which he at present re- 
 sides. He moved his family here in March, 1865, 
 and has made this his residence ever since. He 
 has made a number of improvements on his place, 
 erected a nice residence and one of the finest barns 
 in this part of the county. He has some exceedingly 
 fine horses and cattle. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Baird have five children, born in 
 Prophetstown Township, as follows : Ida L., April 
 30, 1867; Zella, April 14, 1869; Mary E., Jan. 13, 
 1871; Jessie, July 2, 1875, and Emma, June 10, 
 1877. 
 
 Mr. Baird is Drain Commissioner of his district, 
 
 - -
 
 has spent considerable time in the exercise of his 
 office, and takes great interest in the work. He was 
 an officer of the School Board 1 2 years. 
 
 The subject of the foregoing sketch is also the 
 subject of a portrait on a preceding page, where the 
 publishers of this volume are proud to place it, in 
 consideration of his position as a representative 
 citizen of Whiteside County. 
 
 Andrew McFadden, farmer sec. 15, Ustick 
 Tp., is the son of Adam and Elizabeth 
 (Quig) McFadden : parents of Scotch 
 origin and Irish birth, belonging to the his- 
 toric families who went from Scotland to Ire- 
 land in 1619 to escape the persecutions of 
 James. Mr. McFadden was born June 28, 1817, in 
 Coun.ty Derry, Ireland. He was 22 years of age 
 when he came to the United States, and he remained 
 in the Eastern States until about 1853, when he lo- 
 cated in Ustick Township. He owns 80 acres of 
 land. 
 
 He was married in New York, Dec. n, 1843, to 
 Margaret Collins. She is a native of Ireland, whence 
 she emigrated when quite young. They have be- 
 come the parents of five children, two of whom 
 James and Margaret are deceased. They were 
 born in the following order : Jane, James, Elizabeth, 
 Edwin and Margaret. Mr. and Mrs. McFadden are 
 members of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. McFad- 
 den is a Republican in political preference. 
 
 eorge Murray, deceased, formerly a farmer 
 on section 35, Montmorency Township, 
 was born Jan. 17, 1815, in Bangor, Maine. 
 His parents went, about the year i8r8, to the 
 State of Kentucky, where he grew to man- 
 hood and was married. After that event 
 transpired he settled in Campbell County, same 
 State, where he lived ten years, removing at the 
 end of that time to Franklin Co., Ind. He was a 
 resident there seven years, and was engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits. In the spring of 1856, he came 
 with his wife and seven children to Whiteside 
 County, where he purchased 480 acres of land in 
 
 Montmorency Township. He afterward gave 100 
 acres to his son William, who took possession of it 
 when he was married. He put the remaining 380 
 acres of his farm in excellent agricultural condition, 
 erecting fine buildings. He was the occupant of 
 the place until his death, Sept. 6, i88i,at which 
 time his sons and daughters were all married and 
 living elsewhere, excepting Douglas and John, the 
 two youngest sons, who still own the homestead. 
 
 Mr. Murray was married Nov. 7, 1837, in Camp- 
 bell Co., Ky., to Elizabeth B. Richardson, and they 
 had ten children, namely : Lorenzo D., born Aug. 
 8. 1838; Sarah Ann, born Deo. i, 1840, died July 
 5, 1858 ; William H., born July i, 1843 ; Edward, 
 Jan. 21, 1846; Thomas, Nov. 27, 1848; Coburn, 
 Aug. 18, 1851, died June 3, 1868; Andrew, born 
 April 27, 1854, died Oct. 5 following; Ezekiel, Oct. 
 21, 1855; Douglas, Nov. 25, 1859; and John, April 
 30, 1862. 
 
 Mrs. Murray was born July 2, 1820, in the county 
 where she was married. Her parents, Hugh and 
 Lucy (Parker) Richardson, were natives of Kentucky, 
 and had a family of seven children : James H., 
 Sarah, Elizabeth B., Louisa, Susan, Lorenzo D. and 
 Mary J. She is a member of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, to which her husband also belonged. 
 
 i^tephen Sherwood, farmer, section 35, Gen- 
 esee Township, is prominently identified 
 with the agricultural interests of White- 
 side County. He was born Aug. 7, 1801, in 
 Peekskill, Westchester Co., N. Y. He rep- 
 resents prominent and honorable families in 
 both lines of descent, his father, Caleb Sherwood, 
 and his mother, who was Phebe Oakley, having be- 
 longed to families who came to this country prior to 
 the organization ol the Government, and their ances- 
 tors were personally interested in the stirring events 
 that resulted in the independence of the Colonies. 
 They were also represented in the War of 1812, and 
 the later generation sustained the repute of their 
 ancestral valor in the War of the Rebellion. Van 
 Wert and Paulding, two of the captors of Major 
 Andre, during the War of the Revolution, were 
 cousins of Caleb Sherwood. Two uncles of his wife 
 
 v|) 
 
 ( 
 
 -.' >
 
 s> 
 
 I 
 
 *: 3 
 
 & 
 
 V 
 
 ) 
 
 
 were participants in the second war with Great 
 Britain. 
 
 There were six children in the family to which Mr. 
 Sherwood belonged, and he was seven years of age 
 when his father died. A few years after that event 
 he went to th-i city of New York, where he went to 
 school until he was 16 years of age. He then en- 
 gaged in the Hudson River service, in the capacity 
 of a cabin-boy, where he was occupied some years. 
 He became later a sailor on the " Mary Augustus," 
 a merchant vessel in the West India trade, Captain 
 Miller, and he was on the ocean about 18 months. 
 He then resumed his operations on the North River, 
 where he was engaged until he came of age. In 
 1822 he became a clerk in a wholesale grocery in the 
 city of New York, where he was occupied some years. 
 He was a Whig of enthusiastic proclivities, and did 
 excellent service in the Presidential election of 1840 
 when, by his own exertions, he secured the i7th ward 
 in the city, which was notoriously Democratic, for his 
 party. In 1841 the value of his efforts received due 
 recognition, and he was appointed a clerk in the 
 postoffice of that city, and he continued in the posi- 
 tion through the administrations of Harrison, Tyler 
 and Polk. 
 
 In 1852 he came West. He settled in Whiteside 
 County, locating 160 acres of land on section 35 of 
 Genesee Township, of which he took possession in 
 1853. It has since been his permanent home. 
 Everything surrounding him was in the most primi- 
 tive condition. The county was still, much of it, 
 unsettled, and the city -bred man, who abandoned the 
 most advanced metropolis on this continent to strug- 
 gle with an unbroken prairie farm, experienced all 
 the novelties of the situation, which, treated after 
 the homely old fashion, would appear as home- 
 sickness. But Mr. Sherwood conquered his discon- 
 tent and identified himself with the element that was 
 putting forth every effort to further the progress of 
 Whiteside County. On his farm no improvements 
 had been made, and he drew the lumber for his 
 small house many miles. His estate now contains 
 245 acres, and is all under cultivation. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Sherwood, to Caroline 
 Chase, occurred in the city of New York. She was 
 born in Boston, June 30, 1812, and went at the age 
 of 1 8 years to the city of New York. She died in 
 Genesee Township, July 4, 1854. Of five children 
 
 S^K: a-A^fl 3 : 
 
 of whom she became the mother only one is living, 
 Caroline A. She is a widow, and lives at Dixon, 111. 
 The names of their deceased were Eliza E.,. Stephen 
 M., Maria L. and William H. Her parents were 
 natives of Massachusetts, and her father was inter- 
 ested in the woolen industry of that State. Mr. 
 Sherwood was again married May 31, 1855, at Ster- 
 ling, by the Rev. Mr. Stebbins of the Presbyterian 
 Church, to Marena C. Harrison, daughter of Mark 
 and Mary (Taylor) Harrison, of whom a sketch is 
 given in connection with that of her brother, James 
 H. Harrison. She was born in Putnam County, 111., 
 and was but five years of age when her parents set- 
 tled in Whiteside County, becoming pioneers and 
 representatives of the period of first things in Gen- 
 esee Township. Mr. and Mrs. Sherwood have had 
 10 children : Fanny E. married Fayette Berbeck ; he 
 was born in Wisconsin, and died Oct. 2, 1823, in 
 Cambridge, Cowley Co., Kan., leaving two children 
 F. Guy and Clarence ; Emma R. married William 
 Bush, and lives in Barton Co., Kan ; Gilbert is de- 
 ceased ; Phebe married Edward Knox ; Elnora, 
 Benjamin F., Charles J., Clara B., Asa K. and Ar- 
 thur C. still reside at home. 
 
 Mr. Sherwood is a Democrat, and is still an 
 adherent to the principles which controlled his ac- 
 tions when he attained his political freedom. He 
 cast his first Presidential vote for Henry Clay. 
 
 ewis D. Wynn, hardware merchant, Third 
 Street, Sterling, was born Sept. 8, 1849, in 
 Knox Co., Ohio. His parents were Dr. 
 Ulysses and Sarah A. (Cox) Wynn, natives re- 
 spectively of Virginia and Ohio. At the age of 
 eight years, young Lewis went to live with his 
 uncle, William Cox, in Indiana, and remained two 
 years; then for a time he was employed in the 
 grocery of Dan Wirick, in West Unity, Ohio; then two 
 years in the dry-goods house of Morrison & Elliott ; 
 next he was clerk for a year in his uncle's hotel at 
 Stryker, Ohio ; then he was traveling agent for Dr. 
 N. S. Dodge, of Chicago, until his health failed; then 
 he entered the preparatory department of the Doc- 
 tor's business at Mishawaka, Ind., and for some 
 months was employed in putting up medicine ; then 
 for a time ran the spoke machines in the Millbourne 
 Wagon Works. 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 *\
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 In 1864 he enlisted in Co. H, 48th Regt. Ind. Vet. 
 Vol. Inf., was placed in Gen. Sherman's command 
 and was under fire several times ; marching from 
 Nashville, Tenn., to Savannah, Ga., thence to Ra- 
 leigh, N. C., whence he came to Louisville, Ky., and 
 to Indianapolis, where he was honorably discharged. 
 Returning from the field of carnage, he attended 
 school at West Unity, Ohio, his native home, then a 
 year at Olivet College, Eaton Co., Mich., and then as 
 an apprentice he devoted three years to the acquisi- 
 tion of a knowledge of the tinner's trade at Hudson, 
 Mich., continuing as a journeyman to work for the 
 same firm for a time, and in 1870 went to Hillsdale, 
 Mich., where he followed his trade two years. 
 Thence he came to Sterling and worked in the tin- 
 shop of R. B. Witmer for a year, then in Chicago 
 until the great fire of 1871, then in Toledo, Ohio, 
 then in Chicago again, and finally back to Sterling, 
 where he was employed by Diller & Hither and 
 afterward by Lawrence & Belts, until 1876, when he 
 started in business for himself, at 460 Third Street 
 In 1880 he sold out and purchased a half interest 
 with the Solar Stove Works, of JolieJ, 111., in a west- 
 ern branch al Kansas City, Mo., and was engaged 
 for two years in the wholesale and retail of stoves. 
 Returning again to Sterling, he resumed ihe stove 
 business at the old site, 460, Third Street. In 1883 
 he moved his goods into the corner block on 
 Third and Mulberry Streels, where he has since con- 
 ducted his trade, wilh increasing prosperily. 
 
 Mr. Wynn was married in 7873 to Miss Lotta A. 
 Pixley, of Hudson, Mich., and Ihey have one daugh- 
 ter, Ila A., born May 4, 1879. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Wynn advocates Ihe 
 Democralic plalform. He is a member of the Orders 
 of United Workmen and Select Knights. 
 
 >ark B. Averill, at present residing in 
 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a son of John 
 and Rhoda Averill, and was born in 
 Swanton, Vt., Dec. 22, 1811. He resided 
 in the latler Slate until 1852, when he came 
 West, and for two years resided in Lee Co., 
 this Stale. In 1854, he purchased a farm from Fred 
 Dwighl, in Prophelslown Township, this county, 
 consisting of 600 acres, and upon which he resided 
 
 for a number of years. The farm is now owned by 
 E. S. Ellithorpe. 
 
 Soon after attaining his majority, Mr. Averill was 
 united in marriage with Ada C. Durin, of Newfanei 
 Windhan Co., Vt., with whom he is yet living. 
 
 A. C. Smith, physician and 
 Whiteside Co., 111. 
 
 surgeon, Tampico, 
 
 ilton H. Seger, Supervisor of Erie Town- 
 ship, and a farmer residing on section 3, 
 where he rents 197 acres of land, is a son 
 of Allen and Achsa (Howard) Seger, and 
 was born in Oxford Co., Me., Feb. 5, 1838. 
 His father was a nalive of the same county as 
 his son, and was a farmer by occupation. His 
 molher was a nalive of New Hampshire, and both 
 parents are deceased. Their family comprised three 
 children, two of whom are living: Milton H. and 
 Dana B., the latter of whom is a physician, residing 
 in Morrison. 
 
 Mr. Seger was reared on a farm, receiving the ad- 
 vantages afforded by the common schools, and en- 
 gaged in performing such labor as was common for 
 farmer's sons, until he attained the age of manhood. 
 In the spring of 1854, his father's family came West 
 and located in Wethersfield Township, Henry Co., 
 111., and in ihe fall of 1854 ihey came to this county 
 and located in Erie Township, one mile north of the 
 village of Erie, where his father purchased a farm of 
 130 acres, and on which he resided for three years. 
 His father then moved into the village of Erie and 
 purchased a small place, which is now inside the cor- 
 poralion of that village. He died there, Nov. 7, 1872, 
 as likewise the mother, Oct. 2, 1872. 
 
 In 1860 Mr. Seger of this nolice, lured by the 
 glowing accounls of Ihe discovery of gold, went to 
 Pike's Peak, where he was engaged in mining one 
 season, and returned to Erie Township and engaged 
 in farming and hunting during the game season. He 
 is a lover of the sport and met with considerable 
 success in hunting, his game consisting of prairie 
 chickens, snipe, plovers, etc., which he shipped to 
 the Chicago and Si. Louis markets. In Angus', 
 1871, he entered R. L. Burchell's store in Erie, and 
 
 
 .:-: C. 
 
 ^ ' .
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 acted in the capacity of clerk for that gentleman for 
 over 14 years. He was promoted to the position of 
 head clerk, and when the store was divided into de- 
 partments, he took the dry-goods department. In 
 March, 1885, on account of poor health, he retired to 
 his farm, on which he at present resides. He makes 
 a specialty of cattle and hogs, and keeps a small 
 dairy. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Seger was Supervisor and also held 
 the position of Justice of the Peace for eight years, 
 from 1873, and also other minor offices, and has been 
 re-elected to the former position the present year 
 
 
 He was united in marriage in Erie, April 16, 1861, 
 to Miss Nancy J. Duncan, daughter of Alexander 
 and Lucinda (Lee) Duncan. She was born in Penn- 
 sylvania. They are the parents of 12 children, all 
 born in this county : Cora V. is the wife of Seth 
 Eddy, a farmer of Erie Township ; Mary E.; Russell ; 
 Hattie H. is. clerking in the dry-goods department of 
 R. L. Burchell, of Erie; Ella, Wallace, M. Clayton, 
 Myrtie, Frank, Ernest, Dana and Ethel. The father 
 of Mrs. Seger is yet living and resides in Erie Town- 
 ship, where he follows the occupation of a farmer. 
 
 K~ ~1| liver Talbott is one of the enterprising 
 Jj, farmers of Jordan Township, and is lo- 
 cated on the southwest quarter of section 
 i. The name of his father, James Talbott, 
 appears among those of the earliest pioneers 
 ) of the county, and he came to Jordan Town- 
 ship in the same year (1835) in which S. M. Coe and 
 James M. Wilson pitched their tents within its limits. 
 James Talbott was born Aug. 7, 1801, in Westmore- 
 land Co., Pa. He was a man with a natural genius 
 for mechanical art, and in his native State he oper- 
 ated as a builder and a millwright. He married 
 Sarah Woods, May 29, 1828, and in 1833, accom- 
 panied by his wife and children, John W. and Mary 
 Jane, he started for the West. The family effects 
 were loaded on a flat-boat on the Youghiogheny 
 River, a tributary of the Monongahela, and the 
 party were conveyed to Pittsburg, whence they went 
 by steamer down the Ohio River. Cold weather 
 came on, and a halt at Louisville, Ky., became 
 
 necessary, on account of the river becoming unnavi- 
 gable from ice. The family remained in that city 
 until navigation opened, when they proceeded by the 
 Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois Rivers to Peoria. The 
 journey to Jordan Township was made overland in 
 a wagon drawn by three yokes of oxen. The little 
 party had increased in number during the tarry at 
 Louisville, where Oliver was born, Dec. 18, 1833. 
 They reached Peoria in the spring of 1834, where 
 the father built a mill, and operated as a carpenter 
 until the spring of 1835, when the family came, as ^ 
 staled, to Whiteside County. The point of their 
 first location in Jordan Township was at Buffalo t 
 Creek. Jordan Township had not received its name 
 and Whiteside County was still a part of Jo Daviess 
 County. The elder Talbott found immediate requi- 
 sition for his services and abilities in the erection of 
 a structure known as Wilson's Mill. It was built of 
 logs, and was the only mill in a radius of 50 miles. 
 The ancient building has given place to a frame 
 mill, which is still designated as formerly, and occu- 
 pies the same site. James Tabott was the first 
 Supervisor of the township, and held the office 
 several subsequent years. He was a Democrat of 
 the type of that period, and was active in the inter- 
 ests of his party. He engaged in farming success- 
 fully in Jordan Township until his removal to Ster- 
 ling, where he died in 1879. The death of his wife 
 transpired in 1882, when she was 76 years of age. 
 She was born in 1806. She was the mother of 10 
 children, and all reached adult age, except two, who 
 died in childhood. 
 
 Mr. Oliver Talbott is practically identified with 
 Jordan Township, where he came in infancy. He 
 owns 132 acres of land, which was originally a part 
 of the homestead, and 40 acres located near it. 
 The property is all improved. He is a Democrat, 
 and has held several local offices. 
 
 The elder Talbott and his estimable wife were 
 leading members ol the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 for almost 50 years, and their house was ever the 
 home of the traveling preacher. Within its hospi- 
 table doors they always found a warm welcome. 
 Mr. Talbott was not only a leading man within 5 i 
 the pales of his Church circle, nor alone within 
 the borders of his township, but was widely known 
 throughout the county, and took a prominent place 
 among its leading and representative citizens. Be-
 
 VT 
 
 (21 
 
 4 
 
 ing a man of this character a worthy pioneer, an ' 
 enterprising citizen, a kind and benevolent neigh- 
 bor, a devoted Christian and a model parent it is 
 certainly fitting that his features should be preserved 
 to his friends and to the public. We therefore give 
 them in connection with this sketch. The portrait 
 is engraved from a photograph taken many years 
 before his death. 
 
 illiam M. Patrick, editor and publisher of 
 the London Advocate, was born May 20, 
 
 , 1832, in Knox Township, Knox Co., 111. 
 
 '' He is the son of Enoch and Polly (Martin) 
 Patrick, natives respectively of Kentucky and 
 
 Virginia. They settled in Knox County in 1831, 
 where they were among the pioneer settlers and 
 where they lived until the close of their lives. The 
 father died at Knoxville, in January, 1865. The 
 mother's demise took place in May, 1872. 
 
 At 15, Mr. Patrick began his acquaintance with 
 the art of the printer in the office of the Knoxville 
 Journal, where he operated until the first year of the 
 Civil War. He enlisted July 4, 1861, in Co. B, 37th 
 Regt. 111. Vol. Inf. After two years of military ser- 
 vice he received a commission as Second Lieutenant 
 and was transferred to the 97th Regt. U. S. Colored 
 Troops, where he served one year as Acting Adjutant. 
 In 1864 he resigned, and, in November of the same 
 year, returned to Knoxville. In March, 1865, he 
 re-enlisted in Co. B, 4th Regt. U. S. Veteran Corps, 
 and served a year in the capacity of Sergeant. He 
 was discharged March i, 1866. He was a partic- 
 ipant in a number of important actions of the war, 
 among which were Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove and 
 Vicksburg. 
 
 His first decided move in a business direction, 
 after the war, was the purchase of the Leader, then 
 published at Orford (now Montour), TamaCo., Iowa, 
 which he accomplished in 1868. He remained there 
 two years, when he started another paper at Center 
 Point, in Linn Co., Iowa. He soon sold this and 
 then returned to Illinois, and located at Mendota, 
 La Salle County, where he bought land and engaged 
 in fruit-growing. In 1882 he published the Index, 
 in the interests of the Greenback party, one year. In 
 1883 he came to Lyndon and established the office 
 of the Advocate, which he has since conducted. 
 
 He was married Sept. 5, 1870, to Louisa M. Max- 
 well (see sketch of A. I. Maxwell). Mr. and Mrs. 
 Patrick have one child, Mary by name. 
 
 lexander L. Glass, merchant at Sterling, is 
 a native of Lewis Co., N. Y., the date of 
 'his birth being Jan. n, 1822. His parents, 
 John and Miss (Lewis) Glass, were also na- 
 tives of the Empire State. He was reared as 
 a farmer's son until the age of 12, when he 
 learned the industry of blacksmithing, which he fol- 
 lowed for nine years ; then for five years he dealt in 
 horses and cattle. In 1852 he went to California for 
 the improvement of his health, and for the seven 
 years he was there he was engaged in the fruit and 
 confectionery trade. Selling out, he returned to the 
 State of New York, purchased a farm and occupied 
 it until 1883, when he came to Morrison, this county, 
 and engaged in cheese-making for two years. This 
 year (1885), he disposed of his interest in that busi- 
 ness and moved to Sterling, opening out in the gro- 
 cery trade on Third Street, in which he is doing well. 
 His prospects are good, and his executive ability will 
 doubtless enable him to succeed. 
 
 In his political views he might be said to be 
 neutral. Both himself and wife are members of the 
 Baptist Church. He was married April 8, 1858, to 
 Ann E. May, also a native of the State of New York. 
 They have five children, named Fred. L., Frank C., 
 Nellie C., Bertha B. and Jennie M. 
 
 \ illiam W. Brown, retired lumberman, 
 Rock Falls, was born in Troy Grove, La 
 Salle Co., 111., April 16, 1839. His par- 
 ents, Joshua and Elizabeth (Keyser) Brown, 
 were natives of Germantown, Pa., and 
 moved to Illinois in 1835, settling at Troy 
 Grove. From there the family moved to Mendota, 
 and thence to Rock Falls. His father died at Troy' 
 Grove, Aug. 27, 1842, and his mother at Rock Falls, 
 March 24, 1881. Her father came from Holland, 
 from the banks of the River Rhine, and settled in 
 Philadelphia, where he was a medical professor. 
 
 ^A^nran^
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Gen George Washington was often a guest at his 
 house. 
 
 The subject of this biographical outline remained 
 an inmate of his parental home until he was 28 years 
 of age, attending to the farm and receiving an edu- 
 cation at the public schools. In the spring of 1868 
 he came to Rock Falls, when there were but three 
 houses there, and engaged in the lumber business, in 
 which he was very successful. In 1883 he sold his 
 interest in the business, but not in the ground. 
 
 He was married March 2, 1868, to Susan M. 
 Wheeler, a native of New Hampshire, and they have 
 had four children, one of whom is deceased : Cora 
 M. who was born Dec. 8, 1868; Lura E., July 21, 
 1870; and Frank E., May 6, 1875. Cora M. was the 
 first child born in Rock Falls. 
 
 Mr. Brown is a leading citizen, a stanch Repub- 
 lican and a member of the Ancient Order of United 
 Workmen. 
 
 ' 
 
 acob Wetzel, of Genesee Township, is a 
 farmer of Whiteside County of 29 years' 
 standing, having removed here in 1855. 
 He accompanied his parents, John and Mar- 
 garet (Reese) Wetzel, from Stark Co., Ohio, 
 where he was born, Sept. 12, 1814. His father 
 was born in Franklin Co., Pa., and was the grand- 
 son of John Wetzel, who came from Germany to 
 America and located in Pennsylvania near the line of 
 Maryland. He was a miller and erected flouring 
 mills, where he manufactured bread-stuffs for the 
 Colonial army during the War of the Revolution. A 
 male member of the preceding generation had mar- 
 ried one of the Indian women belonging to one of the 
 tribes of New England, and the celebrated half-breed 
 chief, Wetzel, was a member of the same family. 
 John Wetzel (isl) died in Pennsylvania, at a greatly 
 advanced age. His sons were born, lived and died, 
 in the same State, except one who died in Michigan. 
 On coming to Whiteside County, John Wetzel (2d) 
 located on a farm in Genesee Township, where he 
 died in 1861, aged about 70 years. Margaret Reese, 
 his wife, was born in Maryland and was the daugh- 
 ter of John Reese. He was a native of Maryland, 
 and, late in life, went to Pennsylvania. The family 
 pf which he was a member, was extensive in num- 
 
 bers, possessions and influence. A considerable 
 number of them settled early in the present century 
 in Stark Co., Ohio. Canton, the county seat, had 
 then three buildings. The grand-parents of John 
 Wetzel's wife died in Stark County, as did her 
 father, Jacob Wetzel. Her mother died in March, 
 1882, in Genesee Township, aged 92 years. 
 
 Jacob Wetzel is one of the older members of a 
 family of 12 children, eight sons and four daughters. 
 He was educated with care in both English and Ger- 
 man, the language of his ancestors being carefully 
 preserved in the descending generations. When he 
 was 23 years of age he began to teach in both lan- 
 guages in Tuscarawas Co., Ohio, and he pursued 
 that vocation three years. He was married Dec. 4, 
 1842, in Tuscarawas County, to Susanna, daughter 
 of Henry Bidler. The latter was a native of Penn- 
 sylvania and was a farmer in that State. He settled 
 in Monongahela County, on the river of that name, 
 and there the daughter was born Sept. 27, 1815. 
 Subsequent to her birth her parents removed to 
 Holmes Co., Ohio, where her mother died when she 
 was but four years old. Holmes County was in its 
 primal wilderness condition, and the little pioneer 
 home which sheltered the family was in the dense 
 forest. The father married again, and the daughter 
 was a member of the family until her marriage. Her 
 father died in 1852, two years after her removal to 
 Illinois. Following are the names of nine children 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Wetzel: Henry, Sarah A., 
 Elizabeth, Samuel, Mary, Catherine, Frank, Jacob, 
 Caroline. Mary and Jacob are unmarried. Caro- 
 line was married and died soon after. Another child 
 died a short time after birth, unnamed. 
 
 From the date of his marriage to his removal to 
 Illinois, Mr. Wetzel was a farmer in Ohio. Since his 
 location in Genesee Township he has handled a con- 
 siderable amount of real estate and has improved 
 the great proportion of that which he has owned at 
 different times. He is prominent as a farmer and 
 stockman. In social, religious and political connec- 
 tions the family are among the most valuable mem- 
 bers of Genesee society. Mr. Wetzel and his wife 
 are foremost in Christian work, and are passing the 
 afternoon of life in the enjoyment of the conscious- 
 ness of efforts made in unselfishness for- the best in- 
 terest of mankind. As they have understood their 
 duty, they have done it. Mr. Wetzel is an active, 
 zealous and uncompromising Republican. 
 
 N> 
 3* 
 
 *A- 
 
 
 H 
 
 ' S
 
 
 (1 
 
 \ 
 
 > 
 
 it 
 
 
 
 - .. - 
 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 rancis E. Burridge, dealer in drugs, 
 stationery, jewelry, paints, oils, notions, 
 etc., at Erie, is a son of John and Emma 
 (Young) Burridge, and was born in Van Buren 
 Co., Mich., July 29, 1858. His father is a 
 physician, and is at present following his pro- 
 fession in Erie. His mother was a native of Eng- 
 land, and died in Erie, March 31, 1879. The issue 
 of their union comprised seven children, of whom 
 five are living: Eugene H., Francis E., Mary Q., 
 Byron \V. and Rose B. The family removed to 
 Geneseo, Henry Co., 111., when Francis E. was but 
 five years of age. In 1862 they made another re- 
 move, to Portland Township, this county, and the 
 following year, in 1863, to Erie village, where they 
 have resided ever since, with the exception of one 
 year in Kansas. 
 
 Mr. Burridge, the subject of this biographical no- 
 tice, carries a stock approximating $3,300, and is do- 
 ing a good and constantly increasing business; and, 
 in addition to conducting the business mentioned, 
 he is also engaged in loaning money on a small 
 scale. 
 
 He was united in marriage in Erie, Nov. 25, 1880, 
 to Miss Carrie M. Kenwood, daughter of Daniel B. 
 and Lydia E. (Coburn) Henwood. She was born in 
 Erie Oct. 20, 1863, and has borne to her husband 
 two children: Emma E., born Jan. 7, 1882; and 
 Lily M., born Dec. 21, 1883. 
 
 Alfred Smith, senior member of the firm of 
 Smith & Bro., hardware merchants at 
 Tampico, was born May 30, 1847, in Devon- 
 shire, England. His father came with his 
 family to America in 1851, and settled in the 
 Wyoming Valley in LuzerneCo.,Pa. After a fewyears 
 another removal was effected, to Kankakee City, 111., 
 where the mother died, July 4, 1882, aged 62. The 
 father is married again and is still a resident of that 
 place. 
 
 Mr. Smith was brought up principally in Kanka- 
 kee, and was there educated. He also learned the 
 business of a tinner before he was 20 years of age, 
 
 serving an apprenticeship of two years with Kerr 
 Bros, of that place. After spending one year as a 
 "jour" he entered into an association with James 
 Porch, and they established their business at Che- 
 banse, eight miles from Kankakee. Their partner- 
 ship was in existence three years. 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. Smith was married Oct. n, 1870, 
 at Kaneville, Kane Co., 111., to Sadie Lewis. Mrs. 
 Smith was born in Elsie, Clinton Co., Mich., Oct. 
 8, 1855. Her father was a Baptist minister, and re- 
 moved when she was 14 years of age to Illinois, and 
 after several changes settled in Kaneville. They 
 now reside in Rock Island County. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Smith have two children: Ina, born July 16, 1871, 
 and Earle, born Jan. 2, 1879. 
 
 Mr. Smith became a citizen of Tampico in 1872, 
 when he established his business at that place. He 
 has built up a prosperous and extensive trade, which 
 is still increasing in popularity. He is the owner of 
 12 village lots. In 1884 Mr. Smith admitted his 
 brother to a partnership with him, and the firm style 
 became as stated. 
 
 Mr. Smith is a Republican in political principle 
 and connection. He has served as member of the 
 Village Board, and also as School Director. He is 
 a Deacon in the Baptist Church, and is also a 
 Trustee of the Society. Mrs. Smith is a member of 
 the same communion. 
 
 riffiri W. Wilson, farmer, section i, New- 
 ton Township, was born in Pomfret, Chau- 
 tauqua Co., N. Y., March 27, 1827. He 
 is the eldest son of Ashley and Lorinda 
 (Graves) Wilson, who were natives of the 
 State of New York. They located in Chau- 
 tauqua County about the year 1825, where the fa- 
 ther secured a claim of timber and improved a 
 farm. In 1841, they went to Ohio, settling in Lake 
 County, where they resided about five years, after 
 which another removal was effected, to La Porte Co., 
 Ind., where the parents died. 
 
 Mr. Wilson was an inmate of the parental house- 
 hold until his marriage in 1854, to Phoebe Layman. 
 She was born in La Porte County, and is the 
 daughter of Joshua and Eliza (Travis) Layman. 
 Her parents were natives of the Empire State. 
 In 1856 Mr. Wilson came to Newton Township. 
 
 5ega<f-
 
 
 p 
 
 

 
 -X 0- 
 
 v X- 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 He settled on " Slocum Street," where he purchased 
 a farm, and carried on agricultural operations until 
 1860. In that year he bought 160 acres on section 
 i. About 80 acres had been broken and a small 
 house had been built. Mr. Wilson has improved 
 the entire acreage, and erected excellent farm build- 
 ings. He has since made a purchase of the south- 
 east quarter, and is the owner of the entire eastern 
 half of the section. On the latter he has built the 
 necessary structures, including a dwelling, where he 
 is now living. The place is in fine condition, and its 
 value and appearance are considerably enhanced by 
 the shrubs and ornamental trees which the owner 
 has planted. He raises grain and stock, and is en- 
 gaged in mixed husbandry. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson 
 are members of the United Brethren Church, which 
 is located in Garden Plains Township. The record 
 of their children is as follows : Ord A. married Anna 
 C. Hanson, and they have three children : Seth A., 
 Daniel A. and Clara V. A sketch of the life of 
 Mr. Hanson may be found on another page. Frank 
 E. married Mattie Crump; they have one child, 
 Joseph L. Herbert W. is the name of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Wilson's youngest child. 
 
 -**- 
 
 euben Mather Thompson, one of the 
 most extensive and successful farmers in 
 the township of Fenton, as he is in White- 
 side County, was born in the township of 
 Salem, Meigs Co., Ohio, Dec. 27, 1825. His 
 paternal grandsire was a native of Vermont, 
 and was a soldier in the Colonial military service 
 during the War of the Revolution. After the dec- 
 laration of peace he emigrated to the (then) frontier, 
 which was in the State of New York, and became a 
 pioneer settler of Steuben County, purchasing timber 
 land of the Holland Company, included within the 
 celebrated Holland Purchase. He improved a 
 farm and was its occupant for many years. In his 
 old age he went to Ohio and resided with his son 
 Reuben some two years, returning to New York, 
 where he spent the remainder of his days. Reuben 
 Thompson, his son, and father of Mr. Thompson of 
 this sketch, was born in Steuben Co., N. Y., and re- 
 moved to Ohio about 1815. He was a resident 
 of Meigs County (where he was married to Philinda 
 
 Kent, Oct. 20, 1816) until 1839, when, accom- 
 panied by his sons, Elisha K. and Reuben M., he 
 proved his descent and inheritance as a pioneer by 
 striking westward to found a home. He came to 
 Whiteside County, and proceeded, after a stay of a 
 few weeks, to Iowa, where he made a claim on Mill 
 Creek in Cedar County. He built a log domicile, 
 and began the improvements on his properly. He 
 returned to Illinois, where he expected to meet his 
 brother Harvey, who was to take supplies to Iowa. 
 He was disappointed at finding that his brother had 
 gone to Chicago with his teams to engage in hauling 
 flour from Chicago to Prairie du Chien, Wis. This 
 compelled him to abandon his trip to Ohio for his 
 family, and he returned to Iowa to look after his son, 
 who had been left in charge of a drove of hogs, 
 which they took with them on their first trip to Iowa. 
 In the spring of 1841 he returned to Ohio, got his 
 family, and brought them to Whiteside Co., 111. He 
 secured a claim on section 35 of what was then 
 township 20, range 4. now Fenton. He prosecuted 
 the improvement of his property with vigor, and 
 among other things set out 250 fruit trees. He died 
 in 1850. His first wife died in 1827, and had been 
 the mother of five children. Three of them are now 
 living, as far as known. Elisha K. lives in Charles, 
 Mix Co., D. T. ; Samuel A. and Reuben M. are the 
 other survivors; James I., fourth son, settled in 
 Whiteside County in 1841. In 1850 he went to Cal- 
 ifornia, and has not since been heard from. The 
 father was a second time married, to the widow of 
 Fain Robinson, Esther McMillan before her first 
 marriage. From the second matrimonial alliance the 
 children who survive are: Lucinda, wife of Leonard 
 Barker, of Erie; Sarah, widow of Clinton Pratt, 
 lives in McPherson Co., D. T. ; (Mrs. Barker and 
 Mrs. Pratt are twins); Fain H. lives in Fenton 
 Township ; Joseph is a resident of Shelby Co., Iowa ; 
 Eliza, now the wife of Geo. Wood, resides in Los 
 Angeles, Cal. ; Virginia, wife of B. F. Hubbard, re- 
 sides at Eureka Springs, Ark. ; Geo. VV. lives in Dun- 
 lap, Iowa ; Mary A., deceased ; Hellen, now the wife 
 of Lafayette Pace, lives in Calhoun Co., Iowa. The 
 mother is now deceased. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was 14 years of age when his 
 father took him to Iowa, where he was assistant in 
 improving the property which his father secured. In 
 the winter of 1839-40 he was left alone on the Iowa 
 property to care for the stock during his father's ab- 
 
 , 
 
 
 
 i
 
 Sr 
 
 n 
 
 
 sence and to look after the family welfare. He was 
 three miles from other habitations, with nothing to 
 eat but corn. He hulled the grain to make it pala- 
 table. 
 
 In 1 841 he came to the county of Whiteside and 
 put in a crop with Charles Clark on section 35, Fen- 
 ton, to raise feed for stock for the winter of 1841-2, 
 whither the remaining members of the family came 
 in December. He was connected with the parental 
 household until he came of age, when he entered 
 into a contract with J. M. Pratt, one of the first of 
 the permanent settlers in the township, by which he 
 was to have 40 acres of land in exchange for his 
 labor in splitting rails. In the spring of 1842 he 
 went for a brief time to Black Hawk Co., Iowa. In 
 addition to the claim alluded to, he earned money 
 by working in the neighborhood, wherewith he bought 
 additional land. 
 
 Dec. 25, 1849, Mr. Thompson was married to 
 Matilda S. Dodge. Her father, John B. Dodge, was 
 a prominent factor in the work of developing White- 
 side County, where he was a settler of 1837, locating 
 in Mt. Pleasant Township. He was a man of de- 
 cided character, and although he died in the still 
 early days of the county, in 1843, at the early age of 
 35, he is still remembered with earnest consideration. 
 He was a soldier in the Black Hawk war. His wife 
 was Lydia B. Smith before marriage, and they had 
 several children. 
 
 Mr. Thompson located on the farm on which he 
 now resides immediately after his marriage, and with 
 his bride commenced housekeeping in the same log 
 dwelling first occupied by his father's family. Later 
 his family removed to a new frame house located on 
 the northeast quarter of section 35. 
 
 Mr. Thompson has been one of the heaviest land 
 holders in Whiteside County, and owned at one 
 period about 2,000 acres of improved land in Fenton 
 Township. He now has 1,300 acres. He is largely 
 interested in raising fine stock. His dairy herd in- 
 cludes 38 cows, and he conducts a creamery on his 
 own responsibility, the products of which are so fine 
 as to be in demand in the St. Louis, Mo., market. 
 
 Mr. Thompson has been prominent in the general 
 affairs of his township, in which he has officiated as 
 Constable and Collector. He was the first incum- 
 bent of the latter office in Fenton Township. He 
 has been Supervisor several terms, and held that 
 |>ositio:i during the progress of the Civil War. 
 
 To him and his wife ten children were born, of 
 whom there are eight living: Philinda is the wife of 
 Lewis Ewing; John L., Albert L., Clara (Mrs. 
 Marven Fadden), Vora, Leona, M. Ray and Henry 
 Clay were born in the order named. James A. and 
 Frank E. are deceased. The mother died April 20, 
 1878. Mr. Thompson was again married, to 
 Amanda, daughter of William and Nancy (Butler) 
 McMillan, and widow of H. P. White, of New 
 Hampshire.- 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Thompson, appearing on a 
 preceding page, will be welcomed by the patrons of 
 THE WHITESIDE COUNTY ALBUM with as much 
 satisfaction as the publishers experience in its addi- 
 tion to the unexceptionable collection presented in 
 this work. 
 
 
 2 5 
 
 homas James, one of the progressive and 
 energetic farmers of Whiteside County, 
 resident in Erie Township, and the pro- 
 prietor of 158 acres of land, located on section 
 2, and 160 acres on section n adjoining, in 
 the township, was born in Trenton, N. J., July 
 His father, George James, was a native 
 of Bristol, England, in which country he was born 
 Oct. 9, 1809. He was a merchant in Trenton, N. 
 J., and died at that place June i, 187 1. The mother 
 of Mr. James of this biographical notice was like- 
 wise a native of England, where she was born Nov. 
 10, 1817, and died in Morrison, this county, May 14, 
 1881. The issue of their union was nine children, 
 only four of whom survived. Thomas, the subject 
 of this notice, is the eldest ;. Emma, next in order of 
 birth, is the wife of I. W. Corry, Deputy Sheriff of 
 Morris Co., N. J. ; Robert is a merchant in Erie ; 
 Elizabeth J. is the wife of Emanuel Risenbigler, a 
 farmer in Fenton Township. The grandfather of 
 Mr. James came to this county from New Jersey in 
 1836, and located in Fenton Township, where he 
 was one of the first settlers, and in which township 
 he died. 
 
 Thomas James, subject of this biographical notice, 
 came with his father, in 1853, to this county, to visit 
 his grandfather, who was then residing here. His 
 father returned to New Jersey, and Thomas remained 
 in the county. He engaged in buying young stock
 
 WHITEST DE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 and raising cattle, and followed that vocation for 
 several years. His father had purchased a farm of 
 240 acres in the county, and at the date of his death 
 was the proprietor of 280 acres. 
 
 Aug. 8, 1862, Mr. James enlisted in the war for the 
 Union, joining Co. I, 75th 111. Vol. Inf., as a private, 
 and served until April, 1863, when he was discharged 
 on account of disabiliiy. On receiving his discharge 
 he returned to Fenton Township, and engaged in 
 cultivating the old homestead, which occupation he 
 followed until the spring of 1882, when he purchased 
 318 acres of land, where he at present resides, and 
 which he still owns. He has a fine residence, good 
 barn and orchard, and his place is well fenced and 
 under an advanced state of cultivation. He makes 
 a specialty of Short-horn cattle, and has one full- 
 blood and the other high grades, in all about 100 
 head; he also raises a few colts each year. 
 
 Mr. James was united in marriage in Fenton 
 Township, Jan. i, 1859, to Miss Henrietta M. Wood. 
 She is the daughter of James and Isabella Wood, 
 and was born in New York, Dec. 21, 1840, and bore 
 her husband seven children, four of whom died in 
 infancy. The living are : George W., born Dec. 5 
 1860; Robert L., born Nov. 8, 1865; Richard T.' 
 born Sept. 14, 1867; the deceased were Henry t 
 Isabelle, Frank and Edith. The parents of Mrs. 
 James are both living, and reside in Fenton Town- 
 ship, where her father follows the occupation of 
 a farmer. 
 
 illiam H. Thompson, farmer, and a resi- 
 dent of Portland village, was born in Ire- 
 /_ land, his parents being Robert and Lydia 
 !> (Graham) Thompson. He was a small boy 
 when his parents emigrated to this country, 
 settling in Cleveland, Ohio. They came thence 
 to Chicago, and thence, in the fall of 1836, to Port- 
 land Township, this county, locating upon a quarter- 
 section of land ; and when it came into market he 
 purchased 200 acres, and subsequently added to it 
 by further purchases until he obtained a total of 400 
 acres. He died April 6, 1883. Mrs. T. died in 
 August, 1872. They had nine children, seven of 
 whom are now living, viz. : Mary, Richard, William 
 H., Elizabeth, Robert, Hiram and John. 
 
 rffr *&* 
 
 After his father's death, the subject of this sketch 
 received from the property a house, two lots and a 
 barn in Prophetstown; he has also owned some 
 farms in this county. When 22 years of age he left 
 home and rented land, and purchased 145 acres 
 near the village of Erie, where he resided four years. 
 In addition to his agricultural pursuits, he also deals 
 to some extent in live stock. 
 
 He was married, in Iowa to Miss Lora A. Fay, 
 daughter of Moses and Betsey Fay. They have 
 eight children, five of whom are living, namely : 
 Ida, who is the wife of Fred Kreps, a farmer in 
 Minnesota; Willie, Ellsworth, Katie and Effie. The 
 deceased were William W., Lizzie B. and Effie M 
 
 tanley M. Fuller, farmer and stock-raiser, 
 residing on section 29, Portland Town- 
 ship and one of the energetic as well as 
 progressive farmers and self-made men of 
 Whiteside County, is a son of Edmund H. 
 and Mary M. (Turner) Fuller, and was born 
 ! in Portland Township, about one and a half miles 
 i northwest of where he at present resides, Oct. 
 '20, 1852. His father was a native of New York, 
 ; and his mother of Pennsylvania, and came to this 
 | county in 1836, in company with his father and 
 ; brothers. His father located in Portland Township, 
 where he took a claim, and at the time of his death 
 he resided one-half mile east of Spring Hill, where 
 he died March 4, 1856. His mother died in 
 Chicago, at the residence of her daughter, Jane 
 Wilcox, Aug. 7, 1880. 
 
 They were the parents of eight children, five of 
 whom survived. James L. is a merchant at Spring 
 Hill ; George W., a manufacturer of brick in Seward, 
 Neb.; Edmund P. is engaged in the livery business, 
 in David City, Neb. ; Jane is the wife of John H. 
 Armstrong, a farmer in Butler Co., Neb. 
 
 Mr. Fuller is the youngest of his father's children, 
 and was reared on the farm, receiving the advan- 
 tages afforded by the common schools, and has 
 resided in the township ever since. He was united 
 in marriage in Portland Township, Dec. 10, 1872, -to 
 Hannah Rowe, nee Avery. She owns the farm, con- 
 sisting of 135 acres. In 1879 Mr. Fuller purchased 

 
 / 
 
 iVHITESIDE COUNfy. 
 
 another farm, consisting of 130 acres, about one- 
 quarter of a mile west of his present residence. He 
 also owns 15 acres of timber. He has some good 
 cattle, graded Short-horn, and keeps usually from 60 
 to 70 head; also from 15 to 20 head of horses, and 
 raises from 75 to 80 head of hogs annually. He is 
 a member of the Order of Masonry, belonging to 
 Bo'.en Lodge, No. 412, of Spring Hill. 
 
 Mrs. Fuller had two children by her former mar- 
 riage: William A., born June 26, 1865, and Lewis 
 E., born Oct. 6, 1866; and by her present marriage 
 there have been four children : Harry P., born Sept. 
 18, 1873; George W., born Nov. 24, 1875; Clarence 
 M., born Dec. 3, 1880, and Gracie, born May 23, 
 1884. 
 
 Mr. Fuller has held the office of Justice of the 
 Peace for six years, to which position he was re- 
 elected in the spring of 1885. The parents of Mrs. 
 Fuller, the Averys, are among the earliest settlers of 
 this county. Her father still survives, and resides 
 in Portland Township, on his farm, and her mother 
 is deceased. 
 
 19* 
 
 ev. John Daly, Priest, lately in charge of 
 the Catholic Churches at Sterling and other 
 places in this county, came to Sterling, 
 June 5, 1863, at which time the circuit com- 
 prising his congregations extended for many 
 miles around, to all of which he administered 
 for 13 years. 
 
 Father Daly was born a short distance from the city 
 of Dublin, Ireland, May 9, 1822 or '24, his parents 
 being John and Catherine (McCabe) Daly, who were 
 natives of Ireland. He was sent to live with an aunt 
 in his childhood, as she had no children. He made it 
 his home with her until he emigrated to America. 
 At the age of 12 years he learned the wheelwright 
 trade, which he followed during his residence in 
 Ireland. At the age of 20 years, after coming to 
 New York city, he commenced to work at the car- 
 penter's trade, which he followed for six years. At 
 this time he was married to Miss Ann Fagan, who 
 lived, but a year afterward. Then, under the advice 
 of Father John Kelley, of Jersey City, he commenced 
 attendance at college, which he continued for eight 
 years. After the completion of his studies, he was 
 
 ordained Priest by Bishop Duggan, of Chicago, May 
 24, 1863, to take charge of the missions at Sterling, 
 Fulton and the neighboring towns. For a more com- 
 plete account of his parishes, see a subsequent por- 
 tion of this work. His residence is on Spruce Street, 
 in the village of Sterling. Father Daly is a highly 
 respected citize.i, esteemed by the Protestant popu- 
 lation as well as by his own people. 
 
 cott Crouch, senior member of the mer- 
 cantile firm of Crouch & Ackerman, at 
 Coleta, was born Jan. 5, 1842, at Saratoga 
 Springs, in the State of New York. Samuel 
 and Sarah (Baker) Crouch, his parents, were 
 born in Saratoga County, and were of New 
 England parentage. They lived in that county some 
 years after their marriage, and removed thence to 
 Wysox Township, Carroll Co., 111., where they set- 
 tled on a farm in 1848. Carroll County was in a 
 comparatively unbroken condition, having but few 
 permanent settlers. 
 
 Mr. Crouch has in his veins the blood of three 
 nationalities, Scotch, Irish and Dutch, from whom 
 his parents were descended. He is the oldest of 
 seven children, of whom there are four survivors 
 besides himself. His parents are yet living on the 
 farm where they located nearly 40 years ago. The 
 earlier ancestors of both were noted for tenacity of 
 life, which is a marked characteristic in both lines of 
 descent, several individuals having lived nearly a 
 century. Mr. Crouch has seen and known seven 
 grandparents and great-grandparents. He lived at 
 home until he was 22 years of age. His first inde- 
 pendent step was his marriage to Margaret J., daugh- 
 ter of George R. and Mary W. (Green) Proctor. The 
 latter were married in Lawrence County, where they 
 resided some years, removing thence to Martin 
 County, in the same State. Mrs. Crouch was born 
 Nov. 7, i84t, in Martin County, where she lived and 
 attended school until she was 14 yeai;s of age. In 
 1856 her father transferred his family and business 
 to Genesee Grove. He died the next year and the 
 mother resides in Genesee Township with her son. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Crouch have had four children, one 
 being deceased. Rachel was born Jan. 22, 1866 ; 
 David E. was born Feb. 18, 1873; Mabel was born 
 
 r " 
 
 $\ m
 
 UNIVERSITY Of ILLINOIS
 
 io July 3> 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Crouch settled on 
 ) farm containing 100 acres of valuable land, all under 
 improvement, in Carroll County, and which is still 
 owned by Mr. Crouch. In October, 1884, he re- 
 
 (3; moved to Coleta for the purpose of engaging in his 
 present businesi enterprise. The firm at that date 
 operated under the style of Cobb, Howe & Crouch, 
 and in 1885 it was constituted as at present. They 
 are transacting a satisfactory business and are 
 steadily advancing in popularity. Mr. Crouch is an 
 independent Republican. 
 
 
 (!) 
 
 icholas Lutyens, general farmer and stock- 
 raiser, section 28, Tampico Township, was 
 sf^ born in Luzerne Co., Pa., Feb. 25, 1827. 
 *^ His father, Francis Lutyens, was a native of 
 Germany, and a farmer, and died in Luzerne 
 County in 1827, before Nicholas was born. The 
 mother, nee Elizabeth Fowler, was a native of Penn- 
 sylvania, of German descent, and had a second 
 husband. Under the guidance of mother and step- 
 father young Nicholas was reared ; and, earning his 
 own livelihood a portion of the time independently, 
 he remained under the parental roof-tree until he 
 was 23 years of age. In 1836 the family moved to 
 the West, and soon afterward settled in what is now 
 Kendall County. 
 
 It was while he was a resident of that county, 
 Sept. 6, 1853, that Mr. L. married Miss Ellen Rowe, 
 who was born in New York State, Nov. 23, 1830, and 
 came West with her parents when she was 20 years 
 of age. Mr. and Mrs. Lutyens have had nine chil- 
 dren, three of whom are deceased. The survivors 
 are: Charles, who is married, and resides in Morri- 
 son ; Libbie, now the wife of L. K. Brainard ; George, 
 married, and residing in the village of Tampico; Wil- 
 liam, who is now a widower ; Ella and Levi, who are 
 unmarried, and remain at the parental home; the 
 names of thedece.ised were Cora,Cliffie and Freddie. 
 
 In 1854 Mr. Lutyens moved from Kendall Co., 
 111., to Fairfield Township, Bureau Co., III., settling 
 upon an improved farm, which he cultivated on 
 shares for a season, and the next year he came and 
 located upon an improved tract of land in Tampico 
 Township. His first purchase was of 80 acres, and 
 afterward he bought 80 acres more on section 27. 
 
 This has ever since been his home; but he was four 
 years in the army in defense of the Government. 
 He enlisted Oct. zt, 1 86 1, under the first call, in 
 Co. B, of the 561)1 Regt. Vol. Inf., under the com- 
 mand of W. F. Lynch, of the Army of the Ten- 
 nessee, under Gens. Sherman and Grant. He was 
 afterward transferred to the 57th and 58th, in the 
 last of which he had all his military experience. He 
 was at all the battles in which his regiment was 
 engaged, as Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, etc , be- 
 sides many skirmishes, his last engagement being at 
 the battle of Nashville. At the battle of Corinth 
 he was slightly wounded by a gunshot in the left 
 shoulder. At the battle of Shiloh nearly all his 
 regiment was captured, but he himself escaped. He 
 first enlisted as private; but Oct. 12, 1863, he was 
 commissioned First Orderly Sergeant, which appoint- 
 ment he held until the close of the war. He was 
 honorably discharged Feb. 7, 1865, at Chicago. 
 
 Since the war he has devoted his attention to his 
 estate, which now comprises, besides the tracts men- 
 tioned, 1 60 acres of the homestead, and 40 acres on 
 section 23, which is in meadow. 
 
 In political principles Mr. Lutyens is a strong 
 Republican. He was the first Road Commissioner 
 of his township, holding the office 15 years, and he 
 has served as Constable about two years. He and 
 his wife are members of the Baptist Church. 
 
 Mr. Lutyens' position in the county is such as to 
 justify the insertion of his portrait in this ALBUM, in 
 proximity to the above sketch* 
 
 on. William James McCoy, Judge of the 
 County Court of Whiteside County, was 
 born in Fulton, July 13, 1842. He is the 
 oldest son of Hon. James McCoy, ex-Judge of 
 the same Court, who is one of the pioneer at- 
 torneys of the county, and is still engaged in the 
 practice of his profession at Fulton. The records of 
 the father and son form a pertinent feature of the 
 collated annals of Whiteside County, from the fact 
 that the former is one of its few remaining pioneers, 
 and that the latter was born and has passed his life, 
 thus far, within its borders. 
 
 The progenitors of the McCoys were descendants 
 of the Scotch-Irish, a race distinguished for a greater
 
 number of prominent characteristics than any other, 
 and to whose fiber and strength some of the best 
 types of the amalgamated nationality of the United 
 States are wholly due. The traits which marked the 
 founders of the race, suffer no dilution in being trans- 
 mitted to succeeding generations. It is governed by 
 the same laws of family decay; but its energy, 
 thrift, courage, chivalry and purity go down to pos- 
 terity in their primal vigor. In its representatives the 
 " quality of manhood is unstrained." While they are 
 ambitious, their success is not so much a matter of 
 solicitude as the means by which it is reached. The 
 i records of Whiteside County will bear to the genera- 
 tions to come ample evidence of the influence, value 
 and prestige of those who trace their lineage to the 
 Scotch-Irish. 
 
 Whiteside County was in its incipiency as a mu- 
 nicipality when Judge McCoy was born at Fulton, at 
 a period dating more than a decade prior to that 
 when the now attractive little city took on the dignity 
 of organization. He obtained the foundation of his 
 elementary education at the public schools ; and 
 later became a student at the Illinois Soldiers' Col- 
 lege, then the Western Union College and the Mili- 
 tary Academy. The curriculum of study was based 
 on that of leading educational institutions of estab- 
 lished repute ; and Judge McCoy acquired a thorough 
 acquaintance with higher English and completed a 
 full college course in Latin, besides obtaining a prac- 
 tical understanding of other branches of classical 
 study. He was an arduous student, and through 
 unremitting application fell into ill health, which 
 necessitated radical change. In the spring of 1863, 
 lie availed himself of an opportunity to travel across 
 the plains with John Baker, the first settler at Fulton, 
 who was engaged in the business of a " freighter " to 
 Denver, Col., and he set out from Fulton for the pur- 
 pose of " roughing it " in order to re-establish his 
 health. At Council Bluffs he was promoted to the 
 post of " driver " and accomplished the double pur- 
 pose of enticing four yoke of oxen to Denver, and re- 
 gaining health and strength. He supplemented the 
 trip by .a short stay in the mountains, where he was 
 employed in a quartz mill. He returned to Fulton 
 at the close of the same summer. 
 
 In the course of his association with his father in 
 previous years, he had determined upon entering the 
 legal profession. He had drifted into familiarity with 
 
 office relations and had gathered much miscellaneous 
 acquaintance with common and statutory law. On 
 his return from Colorado, with health restored and 
 ambition freshened to activity, he entered upon the 
 systematic study of law in his father's office at Ful- 
 ton and prosecuted his studies with vigor until the 
 ensuing winter, when he entered the Law School at 
 Chicago and was graduated in July, 1865. In Sep- 
 tember following he was admitted to the full privi- 
 leges of the Bar of Illinois. Later he obtained those 
 of the Federal Courts. 
 
 The qualifications of Judge McCoy as a la wyer are 
 'of a high order. The natural bent of his mental 
 | organism has led him to a thorough mastery of the 
 I principles of jurisprudence, and he is the possessor 
 of a comprehensive knowledge of the technique of 
 | the profession. While he is fitted to perform the 
 duties of any branch of legal business, his tempera- 
 jment has dictated his preference for that of chancery 
 ; law, which affords opportunity for the exercise of his 
 natural proclivity to reduce conditions to systematic 
 I form. The bulk of his practice comprises cases that 
 i involve the settlement of important interests upon 
 j broad and equitable grounds. His clientage includes 
 i classes who are removed from common litigation by 
 elevation of character, and whose business in the 
 courts requires the services of an attorney who pos- 
 sesses a discriminating and exhaustive acquaintance 
 with authorities. 
 
 In the branch of the profession he has selected for 
 a field of operation, he has won prominence and dis- 
 tinction. He is also an advocate of recognized 
 ability. His powers are completely subservient to 
 his judgment, and he does effective work before a 
 jury from his perfect preparation and thorough un- 
 derstanding of the case. He constructs his argu- 
 ment symmetrically, building it step by step, and 
 avails himself of the force of incisive, significant 
 phraseology, which is entirely devoid of rhetorical 
 trickery, indulged for the purpose of bewildering and 
 captivating the judgment of men who are uncon- 
 scious of the cunning which is the expedient of the 
 leading charlatans of the period. 
 
 The relations of Judge McCoy to his profession 
 are such that an analysis may at some future date 
 answer the query of some one having a personal in- 
 terest in his character. His ability, industry, per- 
 sistency, energy and integrity have received just 
 
 ' _&V5vX
 
 acknowledgment in his selection for the responsible 
 position of which he is the incumbent. His associa- 
 tion with his father as son, student and business 
 partner, developed the best trait he possessed a 
 reverent appreciation of the inflexible piobity of his 
 sire; and to his daily contact with a life of unswerving 
 devotion to principle, does he owe more than to any 
 other cause whatever merits he may possess. He 
 was led to the recognition of the sublimity of equity 
 as the grand underlying principle of all codes, by the 
 fact that the bulk of law on which society is founded 
 and perpetuated, is unwritten ; and he has molded 
 his career in conformity with his convictions. The 
 existence of temptations in his profession, in his view, 
 furnishes no palliation for a corrupt manhood, and 
 he regards an attorney who finds himself conscious 
 of the seductions which prove pitfalls of moral ruin 
 to so many, a poor interpreter of the science of law. 
 Her.ce, he has found few obstacles to an undeviating 
 method in his practice, and he has adhered unswerv- 
 ingly to his deteimination to preserve his relations as 
 an exponent of law in the dignity and self-respect in- 
 [ cumbent upon him as a man, and the son of a man 
 
 j$J whose excellence of character sheds peculiar luster 
 [ on the records of Whiteside County. 
 
 Immediately upon the completion of his course of 
 preparation and his admission to the Bar, the firm of 
 
 (< ) J. McCoy & Son was established, and its members 
 conducted their business under that style until a 
 younger son and brother, A. R. McCoy, completed 
 his studies for the same profession, and was admitted 
 to a partnership, the firm style becoming McCoy & 
 Sons, which continued operative until the autumn of 
 1878, when W. J. McCoy removed to Morrison. 
 October [4, that year, he established his office in 
 that city and has built up a popular and successful 
 business. He is an indefatigable worker; and al- 
 though he has discharged the duties of his office in a 
 manner every way characteristic, his private busi- 
 ness has suffered no diminution, but has rather in- 
 creased through the wider scope of his connections. 
 He was elected County Judge in November, 1882, 
 scoring a success over the candidate of the opposi- 
 tion, Hon. William Lane,-by about 2,000 votes. The 
 fact that he ran ahead of his ticket by about 1,700 
 votes, renders the fact of an unpartisan election pe- 
 culiarly significant. During his term of office, still 
 unfulfilled in 1885, the business of the County Court 
 
 3$, ^g^ 
 
 has very materially increased, which is due in part to 
 the methods pursued by Judge McCoy, and in part 
 to changes in legislation, which occasion diversion 
 from the Circuit Court. 
 
 Judge McCoy was married Sept. 13, 1869, in Ful- 
 ton, to Marie E., daughter of Charles W. and Caro- 
 line M. Aylesworth. They have three children : Les- 
 ter C., born June 23, 1870; William M., born June 
 14, 1876; Helen C., born Feb. 24, 1885. Mrs. Mc- 
 Coy was born May 4, 1845, ' ln Salem, Ohio. 
 
 emuel M. Hunt is an enterprising and sub- 
 stantial farmer of Newton Township, and 
 is located on section 3, where he bought a 
 claim in 1862. He is now the proprietor of 
 320 acres of land in first-class agricultural con- 
 dition, with good farm buildings, shade and 
 fruit trees. 
 
 Mr. Hunt was born Oct. 2, 1823, in Loraine 
 Township, Jefferson Co., N. Y., and is the son of 
 Lemuel and Mary (Brown) Hunt. The former ,vas a 
 Vermonter by birth, and the latter was born in the 
 State of New York. The son was educated in the 
 public schools, and at 18 entered upon an appren- 
 ticeship in a carriage shop at Watertown. He de- 
 voted three years to the acquisition of a complete 
 understanding of the business. Later he went to 
 Springfield, Mass., where he was made foreman in a 
 carriage car and machine shop. He went next to 
 Worcester, where he was employed by the Washburn 
 & Moen Manufacturing Company, and afterward to 
 Whitingville, building cotton machinery in the inter- 
 ests of Paul Whiting & Sons. 
 
 In 1849 he went to California, proceeding by ocean 
 steamer to the mouth of the Rio Grande River in 
 Texas, following the course of the river to Browns- 
 ville, in that State. The remainder of the journey 
 was made overland, the entire distance requiring 
 about six months' travel. He was engaged three 
 years in mining, and in 1852 came to Illinois. He 
 located near the Meredocia River in Rock Island 
 County, entering a claim of 160 acres of land, and 
 engaging in agricultural pursuits. The remembrance 
 of the land of gold had always made it look pleasant 
 to him as a place for a home, and in 1860 he went 
 there again, making the journey via New York and 
 the Isthmus of Panama. He visited California and. 
 
 
 
 to) 

 
 *s& 
 
 WH1TES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 * * 
 
 \t 
 
 <I> 
 
 ( 
 
 Oregon, prospecting at various points for a satis- 
 factory location, without accomplishing the desired 
 results. After nearly two years of vain effort to locate 
 a home, he returned to Illinois and bought a tract of 
 unimproved land, where he has since operated, and 
 whereon he made the usual preparations for taking 
 possession. He built a small frame house and 
 entered vigorously on the work of improving his 
 property. He has doubled his acreage, built a good 
 class of frame structures, and has increased the 
 beauty and value of the place by setting out numer- 
 ous fruit, shade and ornamental trees. 
 
 Mr. Hunt has been a Republican from the organ- 
 ization of the party, and was at the convention which 
 nominated Abraham Lincoln. He is tolerant and 
 liberal in his religious views. 
 
 He was married in 1852, to Caroline A. Oilman, a 
 native of Jefferson Co., N. Y. They have had nine 
 children, but seven of whom survive, John M., 
 Chester L., Mary P., Homer, Frederick S., Levi E. 
 and Hattie L. 
 
 eter H. Wilt, one of the progressive farmers 
 of this county, residing in the village of 
 Erie, and owning 400 acres of land in Port- 
 land Township, was born in what is now Blair 
 Co., Pa , April i, 1819. His father, Peter Wilt, 
 was a native of the same State, and a farmer 
 by occupation. His mother was also a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and bore to her husband one child, 
 Peter H., the subject of this biographical notice. He 
 was reared on the farm and received the advantages 
 afforded by the common schools, and on attaining 
 majority, turned his attention in the direction of that 
 vocation, agriculture, which he had previously fol- 
 lowed. In March, 1866, he came to Portland Town- 
 ship, this county, and purchased 250 acres of land, 
 located on sections 27 and 28. He resided there till 
 March, 1880, and added to his original purchase 
 until he is at present the proprietor of 400 acres of 
 land. He was the possessor of three farms, in his 
 native State, comprising nearly 400 acres, previous 
 to his removal to this county, but disposed of the 
 same with the expectation of increasing his acreage 
 in the West. 
 
 He has a fine farm, and raised usually from 40 to 
 
 50 head of hogs ; also kept a small dairy and made a 
 number of improvements, such as the erection of a 
 residence, barn, etc. In March, 1880, he purchased 
 seven lots on which were located a fine residencCj 
 barn, etc., in the village of Erie, and moved thither 
 with his family. He is at present Justice of the 
 Peace, which office he held four years, and in the 
 spring of 1885 was re-elected to the same position; 
 he was also a member of the Village Board, and of 
 the Order of Masonry. Religiously, he is a member 
 of the Methodist Church. 
 
 Mr. Wilt has been united in marriage twice. His 
 first marriage occurred in Blair Co., Pa., and the lady 
 of his choice was Miss Mary Young. She was a 
 daughter of Balser and Catherine (Birket) Young, 
 and was born in Pennsylvania, Oct. 3, 1821. She 
 bore him 16 children, n of whom are living: Sarah 
 is the wife of Christian Beeler, a resident of Newton 
 Township; Jacob resides in Altoona, Pa.; Mary A. 
 is a resident of Spring Hill, this county ; Adam is a 
 farmer of Fenton Township ; Margaret is the wife of 
 E. W. Clapper, Postmaster at Spring Hill ; Rebecca 
 J. is the wife of Jos. Kelley, a resident of Iowa; 
 Catherine is the wife of Barber Curtis, a resident of 
 Clinton, Iowa ; Martha J. is the wife of Thomas Gra- 
 ham, residing in Portland Township; Lydia A. is the 
 wife of John Clapper, a resident of Spring Hill; Wil- 
 liam H. and Ella reside at home. 
 
 Mrs. Wilt died in Erie village, March 21, 1883, 
 and Mr. Wilt was again married in Kearney, Neb., 
 July 21, 1884, to Margaret Featherstine, a native of 
 Canada, in which country she was born Aug. 10, 
 1849. 
 
 ;enry Marcy, deceased, formerly a farmer 
 residing on section 15, Erie Township, and 
 and owning 160 acres of land thereon, was 
 a son of Edward and Olive (Eldridge) Marcy, 
 and was born in Mansfield, Windham Co., 
 Conn., Dec. 27, 1817. He was reared on a 
 farm, and received the advantages afforded by the 
 common school, and developed into manhood. Soon 
 after attaining the age of majority he went South, 
 and was engaged as Superintendent of a cotton mill 
 for some 15 years. 
 
 Leaving the South, Mr. Marcy came to Lockport, 
 Will County, this State, where he was. united in mar-
 
 U* " 'T"*r 
 - '"i(, J 
 
 UNIVERSITY <jf .LLINOIS

 
 X 
 
 
 riage to Miss Lucy Spicer, June 22 1852. She is a 
 daughter of George and Abigail (Scudder) Spicer, 
 and was born in Dundee, N. Y., Oct. 28, 1833. The 
 issue of their union was n children, seven of whom 
 survived. The living are : Eva J., wife of Jesse 
 Harriott, a farmer residing in Sherman Co., Neb., 
 born Aug. 22, 1853, in Will County, this State; Ellen, 
 born March 14, 1857,15 the wife of Fillmore Sly, a 
 farmer by occupation, residing in Will County ; Wil- 
 liam L., born April 23, 1859, is a farmer residing in 
 Sherman Co., Neb.; Charles H., born May 27, 1861, 
 is at present attending college at Fulton, this State! 
 Reuben S., born Aug. 14, 1864; Edward, Sept. 16, 
 1868; Hattie A., Jan. 31, 1869. 
 
 The family came to this county in 1853, and lo- 
 cated in Erie Township, where the father purchased 
 a farm of 160 acres of prairie land and 15 acres of 
 timber. They subsequently lost 80 acres of their 
 original purchase, but later purchased another 80, 
 so that Mrs. Marcy is now the possessor of 1 60 acres. 
 Mr. Marcy was a member of the Order of Masonry, 
 which order he joined in Joliet about 1845. He died 
 on the old homestead, Oct. 24, 1884. 
 
 M. Gerdes, merchant at Sterling, was 
 born in Wuppels, Oldenburg, Germany, 
 April 25, 1845, received the usual public- 
 school education, and at 15 years of age left 
 home, entering the mercantile establishment 
 of B. Eden, Oldorf, where he acted as sales- 
 man from April 27, 1859, to May 27, 1864, when he 
 left this firm and went in the employ of H. W. Hen- 
 rich, Heppens, from April i, 1864, till Nov. r, 1864, 
 and with John G. Peters, Mariensiel, from Nov. i , 
 1864, to April i, r866, and J. C. Kleiss, in Jever, 
 from April 2, 1866, to April 2, 1869. Hence he 
 only lost four days during his ten years' employment 
 in Germany. 
 
 Then he took a rest until he sailed from Bremen, 
 on the 24th day of April, 1869, landing in New 
 York on May 7, and at Sterling May 12, and 
 on June n, 1869, he continued his vocation, for 
 R. B. Witmer, for six years. June 14, 1875, he 
 commenced his business for himself, at Nos. rrg 
 and 121 Mulberry Street, and has since then en- 
 larged his sphere of operations from time to time, 
 
 until he has become one of the principal business 
 men of Sterling. He has all his life been an indus- 
 trious man. Since coming to Sterling he has lost 
 only 23 days' time. He belongs to Lodge No. 3, 
 A. O. U. W., and also to the Modern Woodmen of 
 America. He votes the Democratic ticket. 
 
 Mr. Gerdes was married July 5, 1871,10 Miss 
 Martha Herman, a native of Illinois, who was born 
 July 27, 1850. The two children of Mr. Gerdes are 
 Andrew J., born Aug. 6, 1874, and Fanny, Nov. 16, 
 1878. 
 
 rthur McLane, dealer in grain, lumber, 
 coal and wood, with office and elevator on 
 the C. B. & Q. R. R., near the depot at Erie, 
 is a son of Jesse and Emily (Neuman) Mc- 
 Lane, and was born in Wayne Co., Ind., near 
 Richmond, May 30, 1827. His father was born in 
 Pennsylvania and raised in Virginia. He was a 
 farmer during the latter portion of his life, and 
 formerly a dealer in horses. His mother was a na- 
 tive of Virginia, and both parents are now deceased. 
 The issue of their union was ten children, of whom 
 six survive, namely: Rebecca, the wife of William 
 Sellers; John, a farmer near La Porte, Ind. ; Mary, 
 the wife of John Belden ; Bird, a merchant at La- 
 Porte, Ind. ; Jesse N., a physician in Florida; and 
 Arthur. 
 
 Arthur was reared on a farm in Indiana, and at- 
 tended the common schools until 20 years of age. 
 He then taught school several winters and worked 
 in the capacity of a clerk. About this time he 
 learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed dur- 
 ing summers, and pursued his trade and teaching 
 conjointly until he came West. 
 
 Mr. McLane was united in marriage April 19, 
 1851, in La Porte, Ind., to Miss Emeline Barney. 
 She was a daughter of Ephraim and Ruth Barney, 
 and was born in New York, Oct. 28, 1830. They 
 have one child, Charlie H., who is at present engaged 
 in buying and shipping stock and hay at Erie. 
 
 Mr. McLane came to this county in 1854, and 
 purchased a farm of 200 acres in Fenton Township. 
 One year later he sold it, and purchased 100 acres 
 in Newton Township, which he cultivated and on 
 which he resided until 1859. He then sold and re- 
 
 \ 

 
 
 
 
 712 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 purchased his 200 acres in Fenton Township, on 
 which he moved, and engaged in stock-raising and 
 farming. He has since added, by purchase, to his 
 landed interest, and now owns 303 acres, all adjoin- 
 ing. He also owns in partnership with James Hub- 
 bard about 200 acres. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. 'McLane came to Erie, and engaged 
 in buying and shipping grain and live stock, and 
 handling coal and building material. He erected 
 his elevator in 1877, and it has a capacity of 12,000 
 bushels. He is also the owner of seven lots in Erie. 
 Religiously Mr. McLane is a member of the Baptist 
 Church. Socially he is a member of the Masonic 
 Order, belonging to Blue Lodge No. 667 at Erie, of 
 which he was a charter member, and is the present 
 Master. He had held the latter office three years 
 previously. He was Supervisor of Fenton Town- 
 ship three years, Assessor three years, and was one 
 of the principal movers and workers in the extensive 
 drainage system of Fenton and Newton Townships. 
 He was Drain Commissioner four years, three in 
 Union District, and one in Whiteside and Rock 
 Island. 
 
 Mr. McLane still keeps his farm well supplied with 
 fine stock. He has usually 75 head of high grades 
 and thoroughbred Short-horn, 100 head of Shrop- 
 shire Down sheep, and about 25 -head of horses. 
 
 Mrs. McLane died on the farm in Fenton Town- 
 ship, Jan. 22, 1883, leaving her husband and son, 
 and a host of friends to mourn her loss. 
 
 Since Mr. McLane's advent into Whiteside County 
 he has been quite an important factor in developing 
 its resources. He is an enterprising, public-spirited 
 citizen, and is justly classed among the leading and 
 representative men of the county. We present his 
 portrait in this volume in connection with this sketch. 
 It is engraved from a photograph recently taken. 
 
 saac S. Hoover, farmer, section 14, Sterling 
 Township, was born Jan. i, 1845, in Frank- 
 lin Co., Pa. He was six years old when 
 his parents, John and Martha (Kreider) Hoover, 
 removed from that State to Whiteside County, 
 where they settled in 1851. The latter died 
 in Sterling Township, in October, 1869. The father 
 died Feb. i, 1884. Their eight children were born in 
 
 the following order : Samuel, Elizabeth, Frank, 
 Mary, Ann, Isaac S., Martha and Benjamin. 
 
 Since arriving at manhood, Mr. Hoover has been 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits, and he is now the 
 owner of 1 1 6 acres of land in the township of Ster- 
 ling, which is practically all under culture. In po- 
 litical persuasion he is a Republican, and he has 
 served a number of years as School Director. 
 
 His marriage to Mary Martin occurred Nov. 2, 
 1870. She was born Nov. 8, 1841, in Erie Co., N. 
 Y., and her only child, Mamie M. Hoover, was born 
 Feb. 27, 1876. Libbie E. and William H. are the 
 names of two children who have been adopted by 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hoover. The latter is the daughter 
 of Samuel and Mary (Cox) Martin. Her parents 
 were natives of Pennsylvania and settled in the State 
 of New York, where the mother died March 21, 
 1869. The father removed after that event to Lee 
 Co., 111., and is now residing there. Their children 
 were five in number and were born in the following 
 order: John C., Elizabeth, Jacob C., Mary and 
 Samuel. Mr. and Mrs. Hoover are members of the 
 Christian Church. 
 
 ames C. Hubbart, owning 600 acres of 
 land, located on sections 4 and 15, Erie 
 Township, is the son of Elisha and Irena 
 (Coburn) Hubbart. He is one of the progress- 
 ive and enterprising farmers of Whiteside 
 County, and his birth dates back to the 1 2th 
 day of October, 1822, at which time, in Broome Co., 
 N. Y., he was born. His father was a native of New 
 Jersey, his birth occurring in Morris County, that 
 State, and at an early age he moved to the State of 
 New York, where he resided until his marriage. In 
 1838 he came to this county, arriving in February, 
 that year, and located in Union Grove Township. 
 The mother of the subject of this notice was a native 
 of the State of New York; both parents died in this 
 State. The family of the parents of Mr. Hubbart 
 comprised eight children, six of whom survive f 
 William resides in the village of Erie ; James C. is 
 next in order of birth ; Simpson S. is a farmer by oc- 
 cupation and resides in Erie; he owns the old home- 
 stead of 230 acres, located in Union Grove Township ; 
 Cynthia is the wife of Rev. Reuben Baker, a minis- 
 
 
 
 v 
 

 
 . 
 
 ' 
 \ 
 
 ter of the Free Methodist Church, and is located at 
 Princeton, this State; Mary died at the age of 16 
 years; Benjamin resides in Erie; Elisha is engaged 
 in mine speculating in Washington Territory ; Irena 
 was the wife of Area Broadwell, and they resided in 
 Minnesota until the date of their deaths. In the 
 spring of 1837 the family started by team from New 
 York, and went to Michigan ; arriving at Mottville, 
 they ran short of funds and were compelled to re- 
 main at that point during the summer; the following 
 February they again started for this county, and ar- 
 rived here about the 25th of that month. The par- 
 ents of Mrs. Hubbart, mother of the subject of this 
 notice, had already preceded her to this county, 
 having arrived here in July, 1837, and had made a 
 clearing for Mr. Hubbart's father, of 160 acres of 
 land, located-on sections 31 and 32, Union Grove 
 Township. The father erected a log cabin and put 
 in a crop for another man, and in August of that 
 year they moved into their own cabin. In May of 
 the following year, 1839, the wife and mother, who 
 had come West hoping to establish a home for her 
 children, was struck down by the hand of Death, the 
 event occurring the 1 2th day of that month. The 
 father survived her until March 8, 1841, when he 
 died near the city of Galena, this State, while absent 
 on business. 
 
 At the date of the death of their parents, the chil- 
 dren were all minors, and Benjamin Coburn was ap- 
 pointed their administrator. On attaining the age 
 of 19 years, Mr. Hubbart went to the Wisconsin 
 pineries, where he remained for one year; returning, 
 he found another party on the claim made by his 
 father, and in 1845 he and his brother Simpson pur- 
 chased the claim, then consisting of 200 acres. Mr. 
 Hubbart and his brother resided on the place and 
 cultivated the same, their sister Irena keeping house 
 for them. Jan. i, 1852, his brother was married 
 and brought his wife to the claim. 
 
 Mr. Hubbart was united in marriage in Erie 
 Township, on the farm on which he at present re- 
 sides, Oct. 14, 1855, to Miss Maria Putney, daughter 
 of Arthur and Lucinda Putney. She was born in 
 Massachusetts, Oct. 10, 1834. Their union has 
 been blest with three children, all born on the farm, 
 namely: Mary, Feb. 16, 1857, and is the wife of 
 Eugene Burridge, a druggist and physician at Parkers- 
 ville, Morris Co., Kan.; Luella, bom June 21, 1862, 
 
 ^ ' V"V!HHX!XHMry 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 is the wife of William James, a farmer residing on a 
 portion of Mr. Hubbart's farm ; James P., born Feb. 
 n, 1865, resides on the farm. 
 
 After marriage Mr. Hubbart sold out his interest 
 in the farm (which he owned in partnership with his 
 brother) to the latter, and purchased the farm on 
 which he at present resides, and which previously 
 belonged to his wife's parents. He first purchased 
 160 acres, and has subsequently added to the same 
 until at present he is the proprietor of 600 acres. 
 He has a fine and well improved farm, with three 
 residences, four barns and other out-buildings lo- 
 cated thereon, together with an orchard, and the 
 whole is well built. He usually keeps about 100 
 head of cattle, graded Short-horns, and has a large 
 dairy of from 30 to 40 cows. He also keeps from 
 25 to 30 head of horses, and from 60 to 100 head of 
 hogs each year. He has rented 300 acres of his fine 
 farm and one-half of his cows. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Hubbart is a member of the Order 
 of Masonry, and is also a member of the Order of 
 Sons of Temperance. In addition to his acreage, as 
 stated, he, in partnership with Arthur McLane, owns 
 200 acres of timber and pasture land in Erie Town- 
 ship. 
 
 ^fl^mos Daveler, of the firm of Daveler Bros., 
 wagon and carriage manufacturers, Third 
 Street, Sterling, was born in Lancaster Co., 
 Pa., Oct. 9, 1847. His father, Jacob Dave- 
 ler, a native of the same State, was a farmer 
 and came West in 1871, settling in Sterling; and 
 his mother, nee Catherine Yentzer, was also a Penn- 
 syl vanian. 
 
 The subject of this sketch began to work for him- 
 self away from home at the tender age of 12 years, 
 laboring upon a farm until he was 17 years old. He 
 then enlisted for the Government, under the i co-day 
 call. Serving out his time, he re-enlisted in the 
 I95th Regt. Pa. Vol. Inf., for one year, and also 
 served during this period, except six days, when the 
 Regiment was discharged and he returned home. 
 
 After working for a time on a farm, he came, in 
 the spring of 1868, to Sterling, commencing to work 
 as a carpenter. Working at this trade a year, he 
 served three months as an apprentice at wagon-
 
 making. Next he continued in the latter calling for 
 John M. Gait for a period of two years. He then 
 started out in the same business for himself on Sec- 
 ond Street, Sterling, where the Waverly House now 
 stands. In 1876-7 George Newton was his partner 
 fora year. In 1878 he erected a shop on Third 
 Street, where he has since carried on the business 
 with satisfactory success. He is an energetic, in- 
 dustrious worker, and an exemplary citizen. He is 
 Republican in his political creed, and in regard to 
 religion he, as well as his wife, belongs to the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. 
 
 He was married Aug. 19, 1869, to Miss Anna S., 
 daughter of Joseph Bowman, of Strasburg, Pa. 
 
 zckiel Olds, formerly an agriculturist of 
 Hopkins Township, now living in retire- 
 ment at Como, was born July 9, 1817, in 
 Ashtabula Co., Ohio. He was a resident in 
 his native county until his removal to White- 
 side County, in 1856. He was accompanied 
 by his wife and five children, and his father, Ezekiel 
 Olds. The latter was a native of Vermont, and, 
 after his marriage to Betsey (Pitney) Olds, settled in 
 Ohio. The mother was born in New Jersey, and 
 died in Ohio in 1831. The father died at Como. 
 Their children were born in the following order: 
 Phebe, Ezekiel, Sarah A., Louisa, John, Ruth, Cyn- 
 thia and Betsey. 
 
 Mr. Olds settled in the locality in Hopkins Town- 
 ship designated the " Como Purchase," and has al- 
 ways maintained his residence there. In political 
 preference he fraternizes with the Republican partyi 
 and he is a member of the Masonic Order. 
 
 His marriage to Roxana Wilcox took place March 
 15, 1840, in Ashtabula Co., Ohio. She is the daugh- 
 ter of Lyman and Hannah (Lillibridge) Wilcox. They 
 were natives of Rhode Island, and settled at Como in 
 the spring of 1846. The father died in 1859. The 
 demise of the mother took place at Rochelle, 111., in 
 1870. 
 
 Their children were four in number, and named 
 Harriet, Roxana, Caroline and Delos. 'Mrs. Olds 
 was born Dec. 2, 1824, in Ashtabula Co., Ohio. Fol- 
 lowing are the names of the nine children who have 
 
 been born to her and her husband William C., 
 Roxana E., Lyman D., Harriet A., Frankie P., 
 Fanny E., Ada, Hannah L. and Charlie W. 
 
 ndrew J. Wheelock, one of the energetic 
 as well as progressive farmers of Whiteside 
 County, residing on section 14, Erie Town- 
 ship, and the owner of 323^ acres of land, 
 was born in Genesee Co., N. Y , June i, 1827. 
 His father, Rew Wheelock, was a native of 
 Massachusetts, in which State he was born in 1794. 
 His mother was a native of Vermont. The father 
 was a farmer by occupation and also a manufacturer 
 of potash. They were the parents of eight children. 
 
 A. J. Wheelock was the seventh child of his 
 father's family, was reared on a farm, and received 
 the advantages afforded by the common schools. 
 When five years of age, his father's family moved to 
 near Ann Arbor, Mich., where his father purchased 
 a farm, and cultivated it for a period, and then 
 moved to Bridgewater Township, Washtenaw Coun- 
 ty. Andrew left home when a boy of 1 2 or 13 years, 
 and went to Ypsilanti, where he engaged in working 
 in a livery stable, which occupation he followed for 
 about two years ; then, when about 20 years of age, 
 he opened a livery stable in Grand Rapids, and con- 
 ducted the same for his own individual benefit, for 
 about six years. In 1853 he came to Rockford, 
 Winnebago Co., this State, where he engaged as a 
 runner for a stage company, in which business he 
 worked for a time, then went to Kane County, and 
 afterwards worked on a railroad at Rochelle, and La 
 Salle. 
 
 About 1855, Mr. Wheelock came to Sterling, this 
 county, and engaged in the grocery business. He 
 was married at that place, Aug. 14, 1855, to Miss 
 Bridget Evans, a native of Ireland, in which country 
 she was born Dec. 27, 1826. They are the parents 
 of five children, two of whom are living. The record 
 is as follows : William A., born July 31, 1856, died 
 when six years old; Mary E., born Nov. 2t, 1858, is 
 the wife of Eugene Chamberlain, a resident of New- 
 ton Township, and is a teacher ; George H., born 
 Oct. 28, 1860, and teaches school during the winter 
 season ; he is a graduate of the Fulton College, and 
 Mary E., of the Davenport Academy. Rosanna, born 
 / s 
 
 .. 

 

 
 -- .. :- 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Dec. 23, 1862, died aged seven years; Charles J., 
 born in 1864, died in 1869. 
 
 After marriage, Mr. Wheelock was engaged in rail- 
 roading one year, and afterward kept boarders for 
 about five years. About 1865, he came to Erie 
 Township and purchased 128 acres of the farm he at 
 present owns. Three years later, he left and again 
 engaged in keeping boarders on the cars, building 
 the Rockford, Rock Island & St. Louis Railroad. 
 He then returned to the farm, and has resided upon 
 and cultivated the same ever since. He has erected 
 a fine residence, good barns, planted an orchard, and 
 fenced his land and has from 50 to 60 head of cattle, 
 and from 30 to 40 head of hogs, and is meeting with 
 success in his agricultural and stock pursuits. 
 
 Bryant, farmer and stock-raiser on 
 section 36, Portland Township, is a son of 
 William and Elizabeth Bryant, and was 
 born in Wayne Township, Knox Co., Ohio, 
 Sept. 14, 1821. His father was a native of 
 New Jersey and his mother of New York. On 
 attaining the age of manhood, Mr. Bryant came 
 West and located in Ogle Co., 111. June 28, 1844, 
 he came to this county, and two years later, in 1846, 
 he entered 104 acres of the land he at present owns 
 in Portland Township. On first coming to the 
 county his entire moneyed possessions footed up the 
 " enormous " amount of j$i .50 ! His energetic deter- 
 mination and faith in the future developments of the 
 county, for he had faith from the first time that he 
 came, induced him to " stick," and he " stuck." He 
 went to work by the day, farming and following the 
 carpenter and joiner's trade, which he had learned in 
 the East, and waited patiently for developments and 
 opportunity. They came, and his good judgment 
 prompted him to enter his land as stated, and still 
 better judgment induced him to hold on to it He 
 has done so to the present time and has increased 
 his acreage, by subsequent purchase, until he is at 
 present the owner of 590 acres. He has a fine resi- 
 dence on his farm, which stands as a monument of 
 his own handiwork. Even the doors and windows 
 were made with his own hands. 
 
 Mr. Bryant usually keeps about 100 head of cat- 
 tle, a number of which are graded Short-horns, 15 
 
 or r 6 head of horses, and from 100 to 160 head of 
 hogs, and his success is attributable to his push and 
 energy, joined with the active co-operation of his 
 good helpmate. 
 
 He was united in marriage in Portland Township, 
 this county, Oct. 17, 1848, to Miss Emily M. Ben- 
 son. She is a daughter of Christian and Maria Ben- 
 son, and was born in Rhode Island, March 29, 1829. 
 Mr. Benson, Mrs. Bryant's father, was born in 
 Sweden, May i, 1805, but early in life, in 1820 
 came to America and became one of the first pio- 
 neers in Whiteside County. He located in Portland 
 Township, where he lived, an honored and respected 
 cit'zen, until his death, which occurred June 6, 1885. 
 In early life Mr. Benson was a sailor and had sailed 
 three times around the world before he settled down 
 to the quiet, peaceful life of a farmer. He was a 
 well-informed man, and in his long and eventful life 
 of four score years accomplished much good. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bryant have had four children: 
 William C., born Oct. n, 1850, is a dealer in stock 
 at Erie; George E., born April 12, 1853, is a farmer; 
 Joseph F., born Sept. i, 1856, and Maria R., born 
 Feb. 5, 1 8^6. Miss Maria possesses considerable 
 natural ability as a sketcher, painter and musician. 
 
 Mr. Bryant is a self-made man and deserves no 
 little credit for the success he has thus far made of 
 life. He possesses many rare traits of character, 
 which have made him an enterprising citizen, one who 
 is devoted to the best interests of the community in 
 which he resides, and won for him the esteem and 
 respect of all who know him. His portrait, made 
 from a photograph recently taken, is given in this 
 volume, included in the galaxy of those given of 
 representative people of the county. 
 
 ames R. Bell, dealer in clothing, furnishing 
 goods, boots and shoes, hats and caps, 
 Third Street, Sterling, was born in New 
 Hampshire, June 8, 1825, his parents being 
 Jonathan and Lydia (Dow) Bell, natives also 
 of the old Granite State and residents upon a 
 farm. 
 
 Of ten children in their family, James R. was the 
 eighth. He remained at home until 18 years of age, 
 receiving a common-school education. After leaving 
 
 -eSA/aJ^&S/T*) 
 
 ^J*^* 

 
 v< 
 3 * 
 
 ." 
 
 = 
 
 I 
 
 home he obtained a praciical knowledge of the boot 
 and shoe trade, serving three years. He then went 
 to Rushford, Allegany Co., N. Y., and worked at his 
 trade by the piece, for an uncle, two years. Buying 
 him out at this time, he carried on the business for 
 five years, often employing three assistants. Then, 
 for the sake of out-door and more pleasant and 
 healthful employment, he bought a small farm and 
 followed dairying for two years. This he sold, and 
 in the spring of 1854 came to Whiteside County and 
 purchased a farm of 240 acres near Erie, where he 
 followed agriculture for two , ears, and also kept a 
 dairy of 26 cows. That place he sold and moved in 
 the spring of 1856 to Sterling, where he at first en- 
 tered the boot and shoe trade on Third Street; in 
 1875 he added clothing, hats, caps and furnishing 
 goods to his trade. He is a "square " business man, 
 and therefore is prosperous. He is also a stock- 
 holder and President of the Sterling National Bank, 
 is an Alderman, and in politics a Republican. 
 
 He was married July 19, 1847, to Miss Soloma 
 Gordon, daughter of William Gordon, of Rushford, 
 N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have two sons, namely : 
 William J., who married Mary Cochran, a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and has two children, Russell and 
 Verna; and Samuel G. is the name of the other son. 
 
 ^ 4^ *~ 
 
 u dwin A. Worrell, of the firm of Baker & 
 Worrell, buyers and shippers of stock, at 
 Morrison, was born Nov. 12, 1843, near 
 Chesterfield, Jefferson Co., Ohio. His par- 
 ents, Isaiah C. and Elmira (Kirk) Worrell, were 
 both natives of Ohio, and both belonged to the 
 Society of Friends or Quakers. In 1851 they re- 
 moved thence to Fulton Co., 111., where they engaged 
 in farming. In 1853 they made another removal, to 
 Hubbard's Grove, in Jordan Township, Whiteside 
 County, where the father purchased 80 acres of land 
 and where the family lived about three years. They 
 went thence successively to the townships of Sterling 
 and Montmorency and Hume, and made a final lo- 
 cation in Rock Falls, where the senior Worrell died, 
 and where the mother still lives. 
 
 Mr. Worrell was reared on the various farms on 
 which the family were resident ; and before the ter- 
 mination of the obligations of his minority, his native 
 
 country was in the throes of civil war. Shortly after 
 he had passed his 2oth birthday, in November, 1863, 
 he entered the Union Army, enlisting as a private in 
 Co. C, 8th R.egt. 111. Cavalry and continued in the 
 service until the close of the war, receiving his final 
 discharge in July, 1865. The command was sent to 
 the Army of the Potomac, and Mr. Worrell was un- 
 der rebel fire through the battles of the Wilderness, 
 at Menoxa Junction, Upperville, Fredericks City, 
 Tonleytown and elsewhere, besides being en gaged in 
 a number of skirmishes. On being mustered out of 
 the military service of his country, he returned to 
 Whiteside County and passed some time in traveling 
 through the West for the purposes of prospecting, 
 locating finally in Whiteside County. 
 
 In December, 1866, he was appointed Deputy 
 Sheriff of Whiteside County by L. A. Lincoln, then 
 Sheriff, and after operating in that capacity two years, 
 in the fall of 1868, he was nominated on the Repub- 
 lican ticket for Sheriff. He made a successful cam- 
 paign and was successively renominated five times, 
 serving in the office six terms, or 12 years. In 1880, 
 succeeding his last official term, he was again re- 
 nominated in the convention by acclamation, but de- 
 clined to permit the use of his name a seventh time. 
 Soon after vacating his office of Sheriff, he became 
 interested in traffic in Western land, and, in the 
 spring of 1881, he removed to Unionville in Union 
 Grove Township, where he purchased a residence 
 and remained until July, 1884, when he became a 
 resident of Morrison once more. During his resi- 
 dence at Unionville he continued his operations in 
 real estate, going in 1882 to Dakota, where he entered 
 320 acres of land. On removal to Morrison he ex- 
 changed his property at Perry, Iowa, for 240 acres of 
 land in Union Grove Township, situated on section 
 21, of which he is still the owner. The place is fine 
 and valuable, as is the estate he still holds in Dakota. 
 He is the owner of two dwellings and three lots 
 therewith connected, at Morrison. In November, 
 1884, he formed his present business association with 
 B. G. Baker, and they have since operated success- 
 fully in stock. Mr. Worrell is a member of the 
 Masonic fraternity at Morrison and of Alpheus Clark 
 Post, No. i r 8, G. A. R. He has officiated two years 
 as City Councilman, and is now a member of the 
 Board of Education. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Worrell to Lucretia M. Lin- 
 coln took place on Sept. 7, 1869. She was born in 
 
 Sx 
 
 \\ 
 il 
 
 
 ( ( 
 
 *
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Stephenson Co., 111., and is the daughter of Lester 
 and Julana Lincoln. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Worrell were born as follows: Clifford L., Harry H., 
 Annie, Belle and Florence. 
 
 The mother of Mr. Worrell was a sister of General 
 Edward N. Kirk, who received his death wound in 
 the battle of Murfreesboro, Tenn. Two of his 
 brothers, James and Albert Worrell, were members 
 of Co. A, 34th Regt. 111. Inf., and the latter was 
 wounded at the battle of Lookout Mountain. They 
 both live in Whiteside County. 
 
 [f oseph Weaver, one of the energetic and 
 sf- progressive farmers as well as self-made 
 men of Whiteside County, residing in 
 Erie village, and the proprietor of 240 acres 
 of land, located on sections 7, 8, 17 and 
 18, is a son of William and Margaret (Rey- 
 nolds) Weaver, and was born in Washington Co., N. 
 Y., Sept. 8, 1807. His father was born in Newport, 
 R. I., was of New England extraction, and was a 
 farmer and mechanic. His mother was born in 
 Exeter, R. I., and was of Quaker descent. The is- 
 sue of their union was eight children, four of whom 
 are living. 
 
 Mr. Weaver, subject of this biographical notice, 
 was the seventh child of his parent's family, and was 
 reared on a farm in Montgomery Co., N. Y., until 
 the family moved to Allegany Co., same State, when 
 he engaged in farming. In 1856 he came with his 
 family to Erie, this county, and purchased 340 acres 
 of land, 240 of which constitutes his present farm, 
 having sold 100 acres of the same. His farm lies 
 contiguous to the village rf Erie, 27 ^ acres lying 
 within the* corporate limits of that village. He is 
 engaged in general farming, and has made numer- 
 ous improvements upon his place, having erected a 
 fine residence good buildings, etc. He rents his 
 land, except some pasture land and 20 acres which 
 he cultivates with the assistance of one hand. Mr. 
 Weaver has held the position of Justice of the 
 Peace eight years. 
 
 He was united in marriage in Monroe Co., N. Y., 
 Dec. 29, 1834, to Miss Melissa, daughter of Nahum 
 and Rachel Benedict. She was born in Mont- 
 gomery Co., N. Y., March 8, 1808, and has borne to 
 
 her husband eight children, six of whom survive : 
 Homer and Herman (twins) ; Rachel is the wife of 
 N. E. Lyman, President of the People's Bank in 
 Rockford, 111. ; Julia is the wife of Mortimer Wonser, 
 attorney and Postmaster at Tama City, Iowa; Emily 
 resides at home; and J. D. is the youngest living: 
 William and Mary are deceased. 
 
 ohn Charter, President and Treasurer of 
 the Williams & Orton Manufacturing Co., 
 of Sterling, was born in Germany, March 
 1 8, '1838, and came to America with his pa- 
 rents in 1844, who settled in Pennsylvania. 
 Mr. Charter, whose name heads this sketch, 
 is a self-educated and self-made man. Leaving his 
 parental home at the age of 13, he first learned the 
 cigar-maker's trade, which he followed in the interest 
 of his employers until he was 19 years of age, and 
 from that time until 1879 he carried on the business 
 on his own account ; he then sold out. Previously, 
 in 1875, he had been chosen to his present position, 
 and since 1878 he has had the sole management of 
 the gas company. In 1882 he invented a gas en- 
 gine, which works successfully and is being intro- 
 duced. He is a deep thinker, independent in his 
 judgments and reliable in his undertakings. The 
 manufacturing company make four sizes of engines 
 four, seven, ten and fifteen horse power. 
 
 Mr. Charter was married in this county, March 
 25, 1857, to Rachel E. Adams, a native of Illinois, 
 and they have two children: James, who was born 
 July 25, 1866, and John, whose birth occurred June 
 20, 1875. 
 
 ohn M. Hamilton, farmer, on section 20, 
 Lyndon Township, is the oldest son of 
 Adam R. Hamilton, a pioneer of Lyndon, 
 in 1834, of whom a full personal account is 
 given with the sketch of George R. Hamil- 
 ton, on another page. John M. Hamilton was 
 born May n, 1814, in Northampton, Hampshire 
 Co., Mass. About 1822 he accompanied his parents 
 to Clarendon, Orleans Co., N. Y., and resided witl} 
 
 t. 
 
 ) 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 
 < 

 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 them until their removal to Whiteside County. On 
 arrival here Mr. Hamilton pre-empted 80 acres of 
 land on section 20 of township 20, range 5. He 
 married Prudence Wright, and directly after that 
 event took possession of his property, upon which 
 he has since resided, and made extensive improve- 
 ments. He is the owner of 236 acres of land in 
 advanced cultivation. His wife died in August, 
 1854. He was married to Mrs. Anna B. (Thomp- 
 son) Woodward, June 18, 1856. She was born in 
 Adams Co., Pa., and was the widow of Eli Wood- 
 ward. John, Levi, Caroline A. and Elvira are the 
 children of the first wife ; the latter is the wife of 
 Philip Stone, of Lyndon, and Caroline A. is the wife 
 of Holly Smith, of Morrison. George W., the first- 
 born of the second marriage, died in infancy ; 
 Charles A. and Frederick E. survive. 
 
 S. Seger, manufacturer of the " Erie 
 Windmills," residing at Erie, is a son of 
 Edmund and Betsey (Powers) Seger, and 
 was born in Oxford Co., Me., March 22, '833. 
 His father was a native of the same State in 
 which his son was born, a farmer by occupa- 
 tion, and is deceased. His mother is also a native 
 of Maine, and at present resides in Erie. Soon 
 after attaining the age of majority, Mr. Seger accom- 
 panied his mother, in 1855., to Grand Detour, 111., 
 near the town of Dixon, this State; in the spring of 
 1853, moved to Erie. The family at that time com- 
 prised a brother, Hamlin A , now deceased, and a 
 sister, Caroline A., now the widow of Martin Mon- 
 roe, and residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He re- 
 mained near Dixon until the spring after his arrival 
 there, when he came to Erie village, and was em- 
 ployed on a farm near that place. He also learned 
 the trade of wagon-maker in Erie, with Marcus San- 
 ford. About 1875 he started the manufacture of 
 windmills, and afterward admitted Stephen Tobey, 
 who remained with him about three years, since 
 which time Mr. Seger has conducted the business 
 alone. He manufactures mills, and does general 
 repairing, makes water tanks, etc. ; he is somewhat 
 pf an inventive genius, and has procured several 
 
 patents on windmills, and other articles of manufac- 
 ture. 
 
 Mr. Seger was united in marriage in Dixon, 111., 
 June 4, 1873, by Harvey Morgan, J. P., to Miss 
 Cordelia Foskit, a daughter of Hiram and Jane E. 
 Foskit, who reside in Erie. She was born in Ran- 
 dolph, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. 
 
 eorge G. Keefer, Deputy Sheriff of White- 
 side County and a resident of Sterling, 
 was born in Franklin Co., Pa., April i, 
 1842, his parents being John and Ann M. 
 (Grove) Keefer, natives also of the same 
 county. His father was a merchant and 
 farmer. 
 
 Mr. Keefer, of this sketch, is the sixth in order of 
 birth in a family of 12 children, and remained at 
 home until 1862, receiving a common-school educa- 
 tion. On leaving his parental home he enlisted, 
 Aug. i, 1862. in the war for the Union, namely, in 
 Co. D, I26th Regt. Pa. Vol. Inf., which was attached 
 to the Army of the Potomac. They went from Har- 
 risburg into Virginia and participated in the second 
 battle of Bull Run, then the battles of Antietam, 
 Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, etc. Mr. Keefer's 
 office in the army during the entire time of his 
 enlistment, nine months, was that of messenger for 
 Gen. A. A. Humphrey. 
 
 He was honorably discharged, returned home and 
 in March, 1864, he came to Whiteside County, set- 
 tling near Empire, on the farm. After a residence 
 there of 1 1 years, he rented the place, and in Sep- 
 tember, 1878, moved to Sterling, where he is now a 
 resident. While on the farm he was Secretary of 
 the County Grange for several years, was one of the 
 Commissioners for eight years, and held other town- 
 ship offices. He was appointed Deputy Sheriff of 
 Whiteside County in 1880, and still holds his posi- 
 tion, his term not expiring until the fall of 1886. 
 He is a member of the order of Odd Fellows, United 
 Workmen, and Grand Army of the Republic; and 
 both himself and wife, as also two daughters, are 
 members of the Presbyterian Church. He is also 
 one of the Directors of the County Fair ; is a mem- 
 
 
 
 V> 
 
 ' :
 
 OF ILLINOIS
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 2 
 
 
 (Q; 
 
 ber of the Board of Education of the Second Ward 
 School of Sterling. 
 
 Dec. 13, r866, Mr. Keefer married Miss Phebe 
 A. Harvey, of Empire, this county. She was the 
 daughter of Joel and Rachel Harvey, natives of 
 the State of New York, who came West in 1836. 
 Mr. Harvey was an energetic, persevering man, over- 
 coming formidable obstacles in the opening of many 
 farms, improvement of roads, building of mills, 
 stores and factories, and doing more for the good of 
 the county, probably, than any other man. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Keefer have three children: Clara 
 R., Genevieve and Samuel H. 
 
 - 
 
 aniucl A. Thompson, one of the ener- 
 getic and prosperous farmers, and respec- 
 ted citizens of Whiteside County, residing 
 on section 26, Fenton Township, and the 
 owner of 770 acres of land in the county, was 
 born in Meigs Co., Ohio, July 29, 1823. His 
 father, Reuben Thompson, was a farmer by occupa- 
 tion, and is deceased, as is likewise his mother, Phil- 
 anda Thompson. Their family comprised four chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was reared on his father's farm, 
 and alternated his labors thereon by attending at the 
 common schools until he had attained the age of 18 
 years. On arriving at the age named, he learned 
 the carpenter's trade in his native county, and fol- 
 lowed the same until 1856. During the year named, 
 he came to this county, and located on 160 acres of 
 land, situated in Fenton Township, and which he 
 had purchased six years previous, in 1850. He kept 
 " bach " on his farm, and entered vigorously and en- 
 ergetically upon the task of its improvement and 
 cultivation, and by economy and hard labor added 
 to its original purchase until he is now the proprie- 
 tor of 770 acres, and in partnership with his brother, 
 R. M. Thompson, owns a quarter section of land in 
 Sac Co., Iowa; and in addition has two dwellings 
 and five lots in Lyndon village. He has on his 
 farm a fine residence, good barns, orchard, and the 
 entire acreage well fenced. He makes a specialty 
 of fine horses and cattle. He rents the homestead 
 farm to his son George, and they have upon the 
 place about 209 head of cattle, 15 head of full 
 
 . r-v'^jr' 
 
 blood and the others high grades, the major portion 
 of the stock being owned by Mr. Thompson. He 
 also has a fine stallion, Sir Garnet, registered in the 
 Scottish Stud Book, No. 2,409; American, No. 961, 
 and weighs 1,650 pounds; he is a large, black 
 Clydesdale, and stands 16 hands high, and is the 
 joint property of father and son ; they usually have 
 about 35 head of horses, and raise annually about 
 100 head of hogs and 150 head of sheep. 
 
 Mr. Thompson formed a matrimonial alliance, in 
 Erie Township, April 28, 1858, with Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Bull, widow of Elijah Bull, who was born in Ver- 
 mont in 1825, and died March 31, 1856. Mrs. 
 Thompson was born in Vermont, March 22, 1828, 
 and has borne to Mr. Thompson two children, Jen- 
 nie, born Dec. 19, 1858, is the wife of Jas. W. Carr, 
 an attorney in Missouri, and they have two children, 
 Myrtle and A. Mabel. Reuben A., born Feb. 22, 
 1870, resides at home. Mrs. Thompson has one son 
 by her former marriage, George E., born April 5, 
 1856, and who has been adopted by Mr. Thompson. 
 He married Nellie Eddy, and they have two chil- 
 dren, Willis E., born Sept. 20, 1882, and Edith J., 
 born June 2, 1885. 
 
 Mr. Thompson is classed among the most exten- 
 sive land owners of the county. He has been emi- 
 nently successful as an agriculturist, ever taking the 
 first rank as a progressive and enterprising farmer. 
 He is widely known throughout the county, and a 
 man in every way worthy to be classed among its 
 prominent and leading men. We present his portrait 
 to our patrons as a gentleman who has won by his 
 own exertion and ability a worthy place in the an- 
 nals of Whiteside County. 
 
 obert J. Thompson, farmer, section 25 1 
 Erie Townsip, is a son of one of the pio- 
 neers of this part of the county. He was 
 born aboard the ship Sheboygan, on Lake 
 Michigan, Aug. 19, 1836, while the family 
 were en route to Chicago. His parents, Rob- 
 ert and Lydia (Graham) Thompson, were natives of 
 Ireland. His father came to the county in 1835, 
 and returned East after his family. On their way 
 West, they remained for a time in Chicago, and in 

 
 "~ - -" 
 
 (; 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 September, 1836, the family arrived by OK teams in 
 Portland Township, Whiteside County. 
 
 Mr. Thompson enjoyed very meager educational 
 advantages, as in pioneer times the attention of the 
 people rather turned to the development of the coun- 
 try, making for themselves a home, and preparing to 
 live comfortably. He was reared on a farm in Port- 
 land Township, until 1853, when his parents moved 
 to Prophetstown, where his father bought a hotel, 
 which he continued to run until 1856, at which time 
 he sold it to B. F. Robinson. During this period, 
 Robert J. kept the books of the hotel, and was gen- 
 eral assistant in the management of the house. His 
 father returned to the farm, where he spent the rest 
 of his days. His mother also died on the fam. in 
 1872. Eight of the family of nine children, born to 
 his parents, are still living. They also reared an 
 adopted daughter. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was united in marriage in Prophets- 
 'town, May i, 1857, to Sylvenia, daughter of William 
 and Sarah Fairhurst, the former of whom is deceased 
 and the latter resides in Brooklyn, N. Y. Mrs. 
 Thompson was born May 7, 1842. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thompson four children have been born : Belle M., 
 born in Prophetstown, now deceased; Berry J., born 
 in Indianapolis, Ind., also deceased ; Kirk S., born in 
 Morrison ; and Sadie Belle M., born in Portland 
 Township. 
 
 In 1 86 1, when the dark and lowering clouds of 
 war overspread this country, Mr. Thompson, in 
 company with his brother John R., enlisted, Dec. 16, 
 in Co. K, 3ist 111. Vol. Inf., as a private. Our sub- 
 ject served through the entire war, and was mus- 
 tered out as Second Lieutenant. He participated in 
 22 engagements, including skirmishes. He was in 
 the Army of the Cumberland under General Buell, 
 and took part in the battle of Shiloh, and also parti- 
 cipated in engagements at Murfreesboro, Stone 
 River, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Missionary Ridge, Savan- 
 nah, and went with Sherman on his famous march 
 to the sen, and was at the engagement at Raleigh. 
 He became a veteran at Moccason Point, Tenn., in 
 1864. On account, of meritorious services he was 
 promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and during the 
 last three years was in command of the company. 
 He was honorably discharged at Annapolis, March 
 15, 1865. 
 
 At the close of the war, when his services were no 
 
 longer needed to defend the honor of the old flag 
 and preserve the integrity of the Union, he returned 
 to his family at Indianapolis. In that city he was en- 
 gaged for three years in the insurance business. He 
 then assisted in organizing and building up the 
 Southern Fire Insurance Co., of Nashville, Tenn. In 
 1869 he came to Morrison, this county, where he had 
 bought property and engaged in the patent-right 
 business, in company with David Seely, and also con- 
 ducted an insurance agency. He remained at Mor- 
 rison until 1872, when he sold out and bought 483 
 acres of land where he now resides. To this he has 
 since added until he has now a farm of 515 acres, 
 upon which he has built a nice, comfortable resi- 
 dence, good barns, has it well fenced, fine orchard, 
 etc. He usually keeps from 100 to 130 head of cat- 
 tle, and about 25 milch cows. 
 
 .rank Cochran, manufacturer of cigars and 
 dealer in tobacco and newspapers, at Ster- 
 ling, was born in Strasburg, Pa., March 3 
 1847, his parents being Amos E. and Barbara 
 Cochran, natives respectively of Maryland and 
 Pennsylvania. The subject of this sketch re- 
 mained at his parental home until he was 15 years of 
 age, when he enlisted in the i 22d Regt. Pa. Vol. Inf., 
 for nine months. Within a week he was in Virginia, 
 and during the second week he was engaged in the 
 second battle of Bull Run ; afterward he was in the 
 engagements at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and 
 the regiment then went to Washington to bury the 
 deceased Brigadier-General Whipple, as it was his 
 wish that their regiment should perform that mourn- 
 ful task. They were then discharged, as their time 
 had expired. Then, with some others of the regi- 
 ment, he joined the 5oth Militia at the time of the 
 rebel raid at Gettysburg, enlisting for three months ; 
 after serving their time they were honorably mus- 
 tered out. 
 
 Then, in 1863, he came to Sterling and worked in 
 the Gazette office for two weeks, and re-enlisted, as 
 Sergeant in Co. A, 140111 Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., for 
 100 days; went to Tennessee and Missouri, served 
 his time and was discharged. Returning to Sterling, 
 he was employed in the Gazette office for three years; 
 then went to the Williams & Orton machine-shops 
 
 ^ 
 
 - ' -
 
 learned the machinist's trade, at which he 
 worked about ten years. Two years of this time he 
 , worked for the Keystone Manufacturing Company. 
 When the depression in the iron trade. came on, 
 /> work was slack, and he bought out the tobacco and 
 cigar store of Mr. S. Hubbard, since which time he 
 has been in his present employment, on Third Street. 
 In his political views he is a Democrat; he is also 
 a Freemason and a member of the G. A. R., and of 
 the A. O. U. W. 
 
 Mr. Cochran was married Sept. 24, 1876, to Miss 
 g Flora K. Petrie, of Pittsburg, Pa., and they have 
 ? three children, Ollie M., Clara and William P. 
 
 uncan Mackay, member of the private 
 banking house of Smith & Mackay at 
 Morrison, is one of the leading financiers 
 of Northwestern Illinois. He is President of 
 the First National Bank at Mt. Carroll, 111., and 
 is a stockholder in a bank at Savanna, Carroll 
 County. 
 
 Mr. Mackay was born in 1812, in Sutherlandshire, 
 Scotland, and is the son of James and Ann (Mc- 
 Donald) Mackay. His ancestors for five successive 
 generations were tenants on the Sutherland estates, 
 and were well-to-do, substantial husbandmen, ac- 
 quiring property and characterized by the traits of 
 prudence and caution which, it is generally accorded, 
 belong essentially to the Scotch people. They were 
 in all generations stalwart and robust; and, as a 
 rule, tenacious of life. 
 
 In 1831 the parents fulfilled a long cherished 
 plan to bring their family to the New World, to se- 
 cure for their sons the broader privileges of a land 
 less crowded with squalid humanity and free from 
 the evils that utterly precluded advancement of any 
 other than the privileged classes. Their claims 
 were sold, and the parents with four children came 
 to Nova Scotia, leaving William, Jane and Duncan 
 to close and settle all business matters. In 1843 
 the parents came from Nova Scotia to Oakville, 
 where they passed the remaining years of their lives. 
 
 Mr. Mackay was educated in Scotland. His 
 father established a private school for his younger 
 children adjacent to his dwelling, where instruction 
 of a substantial character was meted out to the quick, 
 
 & 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 bright understandings of the sturdy young Highland- 
 ers, who, on becoming sufficiently advanced, were 
 sent to the parochial school on the Sutherland es- 
 tates, where the curriculum of study was of the 
 thorough, comprehensive character of the schools of 
 the Continent, in which students were prepared to 
 enter the universities, including classical and mod- 
 ern languages and the higher English branches. Mr. 
 Mackay made good use of his time in the institution 
 which involved four miles of travel daily. 
 
 He was 21 years of age when, in 1833, he came 
 with his brother and sister to rejoin his father's fam- 
 ily in Nova Scotia. He had acquired a thoroughly 
 practical knowledge of carriage-making in his native 
 land, but the locality of Nova Scotia where his par- 
 ents settled was in its primitive state, and there was 
 no demand for the class of work with which he was 
 acquainted. He and his brother William were oc- 
 cupied two years in the province as mechanics; and 
 in 1835 went to Washington Co., Maine, and estab- 
 lished themselves in the business of carriage-making. 
 
 They operated with success five years, then came 
 to Carroll Co., 111., investing their money in land, in- 
 cluding seven squatter claims, in township 24, 
 range 5, now Salem. The claims included several 
 thousand acres, and when the land came into mar- 
 ket the brothers Mackay secured their title 19 as 
 much as possible, the remainder lapsing to other 
 purchasers. They at once entered with character- 
 istic energy into the work of improvement, and 
 placed a large proportion under tillage, which they 
 stocked. When farm machinery came into vogue 
 Mr. Duncan Mackay operated extensively in its gen- 
 eral sale, and continued his operations as a farmer, 
 stock-grower and general agent for agricultural im- 
 plements for more than a half score of years. 
 
 When the Hydraulic Manufacturing Company of 
 Mt. Carroll started, Mr. Mackay took stock in it ; 
 but two well known, prominent citizens of Mt. Car- 
 roll had the controlling interest, and their manage- 
 ment did not suit him. As they had the majority 
 of the stock, he could only reason with them against 
 such measures as he thought imprudent, or was 
 contrary to his principles, such as adding a bank- 
 ing house to their legitimate business, and allowing 
 ten per cent, on deposits, and manufacturing high 
 wines. The latter he opposed on principle, having 
 long ago determined to have nothing to do with 
 
 X
 
 alcohol in any form, except as an enemy; but, not- 
 withstanding his protests, these, with other ill-ad- 
 vised measures, were adopted; and, seeing that 
 that neither his advice nor his feelings were re- 
 garded, he tried to dispose of his stock; but ere he 
 succeeded in this, one of the heaviest stockholders 
 called to inform him the company was hopelessly 
 insolvent! and as a friend he would advise him to 
 dispose of his property in such a manner that his 
 wife would get it back. He explained the plan they 
 both adopted, regretting the necessity of the act, but 
 duty to their families overcame all scruples, etc. 
 Mr. Mackay anticipated a failure in a few years, but 
 did not dream of its coming so suddenly; and as 
 the year (1857) was the worst he ever experienced 
 for business, the news fell on him like a thunderbolt, 
 knowing that property would not bring a tithe of its 
 value. He had considerable property, but no money ; 
 nor could any be borrowed ; but his manhood spurned 
 the thought of following the friendly advice, and he 
 told him that he could not bring his mind to do so 
 without being degraded in his own judgment, but 
 would prefer to dispose of the company's property 
 for the benefit of the creditors, and pay the balance 
 out of the private property of the stockholders. 
 
 But the other party would not agree to this, and 
 Mr. Mackay, after examining the assignment, pointed 
 out to them how he could break it up, should they 
 refuse. They laughed at this, knowing the eminent 
 legal talent employed in getting up the papers. For 
 weeks he pleaded with them, but in vain. The 
 creditors, learning that they could collect the com- 
 pany's debt of Mr. Mackay, took measures to do so. 
 This was the darkest hour in his life. " Hungry 
 Ruin had him in the wind!" With a sad heart he 
 started to Chicago and employed the best legal tal- 
 ent he could. After the first process was served, his 
 partners, after a long consultation with their lawyers, 
 agreed in substance with Mr. Mackay 's proposition, 
 and the suit was dropped. 
 
 In 1863, Mr. Mackay, associated with H. A. 
 Mills, James Mark, John Kridler, Daniel Hurley 
 and George Miller, established the First National 
 Bank at Mt. Carroll, of which he is the chief official. 
 He was its first Vice-President and came to his 
 present position on the death of the President, Mr. 
 Mark. At the end of the first year, Mr. Mark at- 
 tempted to cross Carroll Creek in the night-time dur- 
 ing a freshet, and lost his life. 
 
 Mr. Mackay continued a resident of Carroll County 
 until 1882. March 23 of that year, his family cele- 
 brated the birthday of a daughter some miles away, 
 and the h^ead of the family remained at home to 
 " take care of things." The arrival of visitors neces- 
 sitated the preparation of dinner, and after that 
 event, while Mr. Mackay was displaying European 
 curiosities he had obtained during a visit to the con- 
 tinent, a neighbor appeared with the intelligence 
 that the upper part of the house was in flames. No 
 help could be obtained, and the structure, with its 
 valuable contents, some of which could never be re- 
 placed, were destroyed. Only a favorite piano was 
 saved. Mr. Mackay removed to Morrison, where he 
 is a prominent and useful citizen. 
 
 His marriage to Jessie Mackay took place June 9, 
 1840, in New Glasgow, N. S., and they have had 12 
 children, born in the following order : Anna, who 
 is the wife of Robert Moore, a farmer in Carroll Co., 
 111. They have three sons and four daughters, 
 Robert, Charles, Duncan, Jennie, Nettie, Alice and 
 Henrietta. Jennie, eldest child, is married. Don- 
 ald J., who became a soldier in the Union army and 
 lost his life while in the military service of the 
 United States. Barbara, who married Alexander 
 Gilmore, of Beith, Scotland. Jennie, who is the 
 wife of Dr. Andrew Van Patten, of Mt. Carroll, 111. 
 Lena, who married Robert L. Jack, a farmer in 
 Fairhaven, Carroll County. Catherine, the wife of 
 George D. Ford, who owns a large cattle ranch in 
 New Mexico. Helen is the wife of Wright Hawse, 
 a farmer in Carroll County. Charles is deceased. 
 Henrietta is the next in order of birth. Nettie mar- 
 ried F. L Sharpe, a lumber dealer at Jacksonville, 
 111. Duncan manages the old homestead. Ada L. 
 was married June 9, 1885, on the anniversary of the 
 wedding-day of her father and mother 45 years be- 
 fore, and resides with her husband, Dr. J. L. Gray, 
 at David C,ity, Neb. Mrs. Mackay was born in 
 1821 in Scotland, and is the daughter of Donald 
 and Barbara Mackay. 
 
 In the adjustment of earthly affairs which time 
 accomplishes in every man's history, the name of 
 Mr. Mackay will appear in a connection which will 
 illustrate his respect for education, and his sense of 
 obligation to aid in its dissemination. In 1884 he 
 became interested in a scheme devised and put in 
 practical operation by John A. McAfee some years 
 ago. Mr. McAfee was President of a college in 
 
 """^ ggj^A/gt^A/Vg) 
 
 A 
 
 i 
 
 ^
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Kansas when 17 young men applied for the advan- 
 tages of the institution, to be paid for after complet- 
 ing the course of study. The college faculty refused 
 to consider the proposition, and Mr. McAfee de- 
 termined to test the faith which had produced such 
 results in England under the leadership of George 
 Mueller. He resigned his presidency in order to de- 
 vise some means of helping the applicants to ac- 
 complish their desires. Col. Park, of Parkville, Mo., 
 tendered an old tannery of which he was the pro- 
 prietor, and the 17 young men cleansed the building 
 and put it in order for occupation. Mr. McAfee de- 
 voted all his means to the furtherance of the project 
 and established the curriculum of study, supporting 
 and educating the students. Col. Park made a 
 further contribution of ten acres of land, which the 
 students tilled, and the scheme began to take tangi- 
 ble, systematic shape. The Park College Record 
 was established, which advertised the plan, and re- 
 inforcements of students and supplies began to pour 
 in. The old tannery was burned, and Col. Park 
 and others contributed to the erection of another 
 building for temporary use, Mr. Copley, the Phila- 
 delphia philanthropist, sending money, and the new 
 building was named " Copley Hall." As the scheme 
 became known, ladies applied, and the applicants 
 became too numerous for the accommodations. 
 Chance brought the project to the knowledge of Mr. 
 Mackay, and from the first enlisted his sympathetic 
 interest and engaged his substantial support. A 
 conference with Mr. McAfee resulted in his placing 
 $25,000 at the disposal of the trustees for the erec- 
 tion of suitable buildings, which are in process of 
 erection. The entire work of construction is done 
 by the students, who each labor daily from three to 
 four hours. The domestic and all necessary work 
 is accomplished by the ladies and gentlemen con- 
 nected with the institution. The central idea is to 
 secure family education, the interests being made 
 common through the general contribution of effort to 
 one grand purpose. There are over 300 students in 
 attendance. They are taken on six months' trial, 
 and most of them prove their capacity and willing- 
 ness to work as well as study, and be religiously dis- 
 posed, though creed is not a desideratum. The 
 increased numbers have necessitated their arrange- 
 ment into two families, each with its managing head. 
 The sons of Mr. McAfee, who is past the meridian 
 of life, give every promise of capacity and fitness to 
 
 succeed their father in his work. The college is lo- 
 cated 14 miles from Kansas City, Mo., and on the 
 completion of the new building will be named 
 " Mackay College." 
 
 illiam P. Taber, farmer, section 26, Port 
 land Township, was born in Erie Co., N 
 Y., Sept. 17, 1823. His father. William 
 Taber, was also a farmer, a native of Wash- 
 ington Co., N. Y., and served in the War of 
 1812, being a Captain in the same. His mother, 
 nee Isabel Pratt, was a native of Massachusetts. 
 Both his parents are now deceased, and of their five 
 children three are now living : William P., the eld- 
 est ; Andrew J., a farmer in Genoa, Nebraska; and 
 Valentine, a farmer in Pottawatomie Co., Iowa. The 
 two deceased were Lydia M. Hinchman and Nancy 
 Paynter. 
 
 Mr. William P., the subject of this biographical 
 notice, is of Quaker descent and has lived up to two 
 of the leading traits of that sect, namely: he has 
 never used intoxicating liquors of any kind, or turned 
 a hungry man from his door without satisfying his 
 hunger. On one occasion he was standing in his 
 door-yard, in company with a neighbor, when a 
 stranger approached bearing on his countenance and 
 in his dress the marks of poverty, and asked for 
 something in eat. The neighbor asked the stranger 
 how he came in such a condition; whereupon, Mr. 
 Taber reprimanded him, saying " it is none of our 
 business ; he is hungry and we should give him to 
 eat ;" and he did. 
 
 His father moved West in 1828, locating in Knox- 
 ville, 111., where they resided until 1837; they re- 
 moved thence to Phenix Township, Henry Co., this 
 State, where he and his father together owned 700 
 acres of land, raised large numbers of cattle, and also 
 bought and drove the same species of property for 12 
 years, driving them to -Chicago, Milwaukee and Ra- 
 cine, before the days of railroads. Mr. T. has handled 
 a large amount of live stock in his time. 
 
 In 1853 Mr. Taber came to Portland Township, 
 this county, and purchased 200 acres of his home 
 farm, consisting of 400 acres. He now makes a 
 specialty of Holstein cattle, having over 60 head of 
 high grades, including one thoroughbred from Dr. 
 Pratt, of Elgin, 111. He usually has 125 to 150 head 
 
 , 
 
 8
 
 cattle. He also owns 18 head of fine Noiman- 
 Percheron horses, some of the best in this section 
 <|J of the State. Mr. Taber also deals very largely in 
 hogs, fattening and shipping from two to four car- 
 loads annually. Besides, he has a respectable apiary. 
 In 1884 he shipped i^5oo pounds of white-clover 
 honey to Chicago, at the same time reserving several 
 hundred pounds for home use. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Taber is a Freemason, and he is per- 
 haps more acquainted in the county than any other 
 man. 
 
 He was married in Portland Township, Whiteside 
 County, Sept. 17, 1844, to Miss Hester C., daughter 
 of Smith and Fanny (Booth) Hurd, and a native of 
 the State of Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Taber are the 
 parents of four children, namely : Rothilda, widow 
 of R. B. Kelly, and residing with her parents ; Ocelia, 
 the wife of Barney McGrady, a farmer of Tampico, 
 this county ; Jane E , wife of J. Q Hill, a farmer of 
 Prophetstown Township; and Heman L., residing on 
 the homestead. 
 
 Mr. Taber was reared on the farm ; and, on account 
 of the newness of the country in which he resided, 
 and consequently the lack of common schotjls, as 
 well as the necessity which required him to labor for 
 the maintenance of the family, his education was 
 limited. He has, nevertheless, improved his time in 
 obtaining practical information, and is remarkably 
 well informed on subjects in general. Mr. Taber 
 may be truly said to be a self-made man, financially 
 as well as in an educational point of view. As a 
 gentleman respected by all who know him, and one 
 worthy to be remembered by the generations to come, 
 ( we give his likeness in this work, that those who 
 survive him may recognize the countenance of one of 
 i Whiteside County's respected and lamented citizens. 
 
 , illiam McDearman, deceased, formerly a 
 resident of Sterling, was born in Scipio, 
 Cayuga Co., N. Y., Jan. 24, 1807, and 
 when 17 years of age he learned the trade 
 of stone mason and plasterer, which he fol- 
 lowed for several years, in the city of Buffalo. 
 In 1845 he moved to Chicago, 111., where he con- 
 tinued to follow his trade for eight years. 
 
 He then came to Whiteside County and purchased 
 
 -@7* 
 
 So acres of land on section 7, township 20, range 5. 
 He was successful in farming, and added to his 
 landed estate until he had an aggregate of about 
 500 acres. 
 
 He was married Dec. 3r, 1834, to Harriet Rey- 
 nolds, and they had four children : Mary, wife of 
 G. W. Higley, and living in Oregon ; Charlotte, wife 
 of R. H. Scofield ; Clara, wife of L. G. Reynolds 
 and residing in Oregon; and William, who lives in 
 California. Charlotte died April 2, 1885, leaving 
 four children. Mr. McDearman, for his second 
 wife, married Miss Louisa, daughter of Horatio and 
 Sarah (Swan) Wells, and by this marriage also there 
 were four children, namely : Harriet, wife of R. J 
 Besse and residing in Lyndon ; Arthur, in California 
 Louisa and Edith are residents of Sterling. 
 
 Mr. McDearman died Sept. 12, 1881, highly re- 
 spected as a citizen and neighbor. As a father, too, 
 he took great interest in the welfare of his children, 
 giving them all a fair education. 
 
 Mrs. McDearman is a resident of Sterling, an 
 estimable lady, and a consistent member of the 
 Baptist Church. 
 
 'ames A. Nowlen, M. D., physician and sur- 
 geon (" Allopathist ") at Morrison, was born 
 April 6, 1853, in Wayne Co., Ohio. He is 
 the son of Arthur and Asenath (Proctor) Now- 
 len. His father is a physician and resides at 
 Des Moines, Iowa. The children of his par- 
 ents, five in number, are all living. Harvey is a 
 harness-maker in Marengo, Iowa. Charles W. is an 
 insurance agent at Morrison. Anna is the wife of 
 John Roach, an employee in the postoffice at Chicago. 
 Robert resides at Morrison. 
 
 Dr. Nowlen is the youngest child. He was but 
 five months old when his parents removed from Ohio 
 to Unionville, Whiteside Co., 111., where his father 
 established his medical practice. In 1860 the family 
 came to Morrison, where Dr. Nowlen, then a lad of 
 seven years, attended school until he was 17 years of 
 age. During the next year he entered upon a course 
 of systematic reading for his profession under the in- 
 struction of his father. He completed his studies at 
 Rush Medical College at Chicago, where he was 
 graduated in 1875. He also graduated, in 1883, 
 
 S> 
 
 1 
 
 *' * 
 IS 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 at the University Medical College of New York. He 
 was associated with his father in practice until 1879, 
 since which date he has conducted his business alone 
 and with satisfactory results. Dr. Nowlen is a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Medical 
 Association of Whiteside County. 
 
 His marriage to Eva E. Kidd took place at Mor- 
 rison, Jan. 1 6, 1879. His wife died Aug. 27, 1880. 
 She was born Feb. 22, 1855, in Galesburg, 111., and 
 was the daughter of Joseph M. and Laura A. Kidd. 
 Dr. Nowlen has officiated one year as County 
 Coroner. 
 
 eorge M. Robinson, Secretary of the Will- 
 iams & Orton Manufacturing Company, of 
 Sterling, was born at Zanesville, O. , June 
 7, 1854. His father, Robert P. Robinson, died 
 in 187 r, and his mother, nee Margaret Cul- 
 bertson, died in i88r. They came to Dixon, 
 111., in 1856, and to Sterling in 1861. 
 
 Mr. R. received a common-school education, and 
 at the age of 17 years he accepted a position in 
 Patterson's bank al Sterling, remaining there until 
 1873, when he became book-keeper for his present 
 employers; he was appointed Secretary in 1877. He 
 is an exemplary man, worthy of official trusts. His 
 residence is on Third Street. 
 
 He was married Nov. 24, 1880, to Miss Mary B. 
 McCloy, and they have one son, born Dec. 13, 1882, 
 and named William A. Mr. Robinson is a Repub- 
 lican in his political views, and as to his religious 
 relations he is a member of the Presbyterian Church 
 of Sterling. He has played the organ and lead with 
 his voice the congregational singing in said Church 
 or the last nine years. 
 
 LOlomon P. Giddings, jeweler, with the firm 
 of Clark, Giddings & Co., Sterling, was 
 born in Poultney, Vt., Nov. 2, 1837, his 
 parents being Daniel N. and Beulah (Brown) 
 Giddings, natives also of the Green Mountain 
 State. He remained at home until he was 22 
 years of age, assisting on the farm and attending the 
 common school. Then he was with Clark Bros. 
 
 &&& 
 
 three years, learning the jeweler's trade. Next, he 
 purchased the interest of Norman Clark, one of the 
 proprietors, engaging in business with H. G. Clark. 
 After a few years Mr. Clark sold his interest, and the 
 firm became Giddings & Adams. At the end of two 
 years, Mr. G. sold his interest in the establishment, 
 and in 1872 opened a jewelry house in West Rut- 
 land, Vt., which he continued to conduct for two 
 years. He then sold out and came to Sterling, form- 
 ing a partnership with Norman Clark, in the jewelry 
 trade, under the style of Clark, Giddings & Co., on 
 Third Street, where he is at present carrying on a 
 successful business. 
 
 In his political sympathies Mr. G. is a Republican. 
 He and his wife are members of the Congregational 
 Church of Sterling, and he is also a member of the 
 A. O. .U. W. and of the Masonic Order. He is a 
 Christian gentleman and a worthy citizen. 
 
 Mr. Giddings was married in 1867, to Miss Emaroy 
 Capen, a native of Fair Haven, Vt., and a daughter 
 of Jonathan and Emaroy (Blanchard) Capen. By 
 this union there have been two children, named 
 Beulah E. and Capen N. 
 
 icholas McGrath is a farmer on section 13, 
 Albany Township, where he owns 1 20 acres 
 of land under advanced cultivation. He 
 was born March 20, 1838, at Narrow Place, 
 IG 30 miles from the city of St. John, in the Prov- 
 ince of New Brunswick. In 1849 he accompanied 
 his parents to Albany, and he lived there and in 
 Garden Plain Township until 1858, when he went to 
 Wausau, Wis. He spent a short time rafting on the 
 river making a trip to St. Louis, whence he went to 
 Leavenworth, Kan., where he entered the employ- 
 ment of a Government contractor, and drove a train 
 comprising six yoke of oxen to Salt Lake City, con- 
 veying supplies for the soldiers. Four months were 
 consumed in the journey. Mr. McGrath went thence 
 to California, where he engaged in freighting from 
 Sacramento to Georgetown with six yoke of oxen. 
 The distance comprised in the route was 60 miles, 
 and he was interested in that vocation one year. 
 With the exception of the harvest seasons, he spent 
 the next two years in a livery stable in Sacramento. 
 He went thence to Silver Mountain and from there 
 
 -jfe?->*ft? 
 
 Ti =^3'\ A i4 
 
 ? 
 
 
 
 
 ) 
 
 /'
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 'A * 
 
 j 
 
 ir 
 
 (; 
 
 to Canon City, Nev., when he proceeded to Virginia 
 City. He passed six months there, driving a mule 
 train consisting of eight of those interesting animals, 
 after which he operated as an assistant in a quartz 
 mill, and was occupied in that capacity until 1865. 
 In that year he came Home and bought a claim of 
 land on which he has since resided. 
 
 Mr. McGrath was married in 1868, to Nancy A. 
 Brightman. They have two children William J. 
 and Maud E. 
 
 F. Derbyshire, residing in the village of 
 Erie, and the owner of a farm of 160 
 acres, located on section 6, Erie Town- 
 ship, was born in Otsego Co., N. Y., April 
 18, 1835. His father, George H. Derby- 
 shire, was a native of England and a farmer by 
 occupation, and his mother was a native of Connec- 
 ticut. Their family comprised six children, four of 
 whom survive: Caroline is the wife of Rev. W. 
 Gulick, of New York; Christopher has a cattle 
 ranch in Colorado; Mary is the wife of Dr. J. Smith, 
 Clyde, Wayne Co., N.Y.; W. F., the youngest son 
 of his father's family, was reared on the farm, and 
 received such advantages as was obtainable at the 
 common schools. 
 
 Mr. Derbyshire was united in marriage, near 
 Cooperstown, Otsego Co, N. Y., Aug. 23, 1860, to 
 Miss Emma Davison, daughter of Clark and Abigail 
 Davison. She was born in Otsego County, July 27, 
 1835, and has borne to her husband four children, 
 viz. : Kate, born in Hopkins Township, this county, 
 Sept. 13, 1866, and at present a music teacher at 
 Carson, Pottawatomie Co., Iowa; Will S., born Oct. 
 30, 1870. Two children are deceased, Robert C. 
 and Alice L. 
 
 In the spring of 1866, Mr. Derbyshire came to 
 Hopkins Township, this county, where he purchased 
 60 acres of land, on which he resided for some two 
 or three years, then came to Erie Township and 
 rented land for a time. He then bought 160 acres 
 of land, located as described, and on which he re- 
 sided until 1882, when he moved to the village of 
 Erie. He still owns his farm, and has the same 
 under a good state of cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Derbyshire is a member of the Modern Wood- 
 
 men of America, and also of the village Board of 
 Erie. In 1882 he built a nice residence in the vil- 
 lage, and has four lots connected with the same. 
 His parents, as well as the parents of his wife, are all 
 deceased. 
 
 
 
 "ohn P. Bull, farmer, section 2, Genesee 
 Township, was born Nov. 11, 1833, in 
 Wysox Township, Bradford Co., Pa. Eb- 
 enezer Bull (2d), his father, was born in 
 Orange Co., N. Y., and was of English and 
 German extraction. John Bull, father of the 
 latter, and son of Ebenezer Bull (ist), removed 
 with his family to Bradford County, going on foot 
 and transporting their effects on pack-horses. Eb- 
 enezer Bull (ist) was, in all probability, one of the 
 earliest settlers in the American colonies. Ebenezer 
 Bull (2d) married Wealthy Wheeler, who was born 
 in Vermont. She died in Pennsylvania, in 1842, 
 when she was 41 years of age. 
 
 Mr. Bull came in 1858 to Wysox Township, Car- 
 roll Co., 111., whither his father came with part of 
 the family. He was nine years old when his mother 
 died, and he is the only son. 
 
 He was married in Genesee Township, Dec. 20, , 
 1860, to Mary E., daughter of James and Elizabeth 
 (Hills) Scoville. Her parents were born in the State 
 of New York, and in youth went to Pennsylvania. 
 They were married in Erie County. Subsequent to 
 their marriage they settled in Henry Co., 111., re- 
 maining there but a short time, and going to the 
 township of Wysox, as stated. Mrs. Bull was born 
 there Dec. 7, 1841. When she was 10 years of age 
 her parents came to Genesee Township. Four chil- 
 dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bull and two are 
 deceased, Willie L. and an infant. Millie was born 
 Nov. 18, 1861, and married David Ruth, of Milledge- 
 ville, Carroll Co., 111. Myrtie was born Feb. i, 1869. 
 
 After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Bull took pos- 
 session of 40 acres of land in Wysox Township, be- 
 longing to his father, which they occupied two years. 
 At the end of that time they removed to section 2, 
 Genesee Township, where Mr. Bull purchased 80 
 acres of land. To this he has added a later pur- 
 chase of 40 acres and has converted the farm into a 
 profitable and valuable piece of property. The farm. 
 
 V<5) 
 
 
 
 "Vi 

 
 UNIVERSITY 'J 
 UKBANA
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 buildings are of good character and the residence is 
 in every way suitable to the premises. 1'he place is 
 finely stocked. 
 
 Mr. Bull is a Republican of positive metal, and 
 sustains by his influence and actions the issues of 
 the party. 
 
 oble F. Eddy, retired farmer and dealer in 
 stock, residing in Erie, this county, is a 
 son of Augustus and Polly (McKinster) 
 Eddy, and was born in Du Page Co., 111., 
 March 2, 1838. His father was a native of 
 Vermont, was a farmer by occupation and is 
 deceased. His mother was a native of Connecticut 
 and is likewise deceased. Their family comprised 
 eight children, three of whom are yet living: Lorenzo 
 D. is a farmer and resides in Albany Township, this 
 county; York is a fanner residing in the village of 
 Erie ; and Noble F., the subject of this notice, is the 
 other surviving child. The father of Mr. Eddy came 
 to Du Page County in 1836, where he located on a 
 farm. In 1853 he came to Erie Township and pur- 
 chased 120 acres of land, located on section 2, where 
 he resided until the date of his death, which occurred 
 Nov. 3, 1879 ; his mother also died on the farm, Sept. 
 i, 1879. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Eddy, subject of this notice, pur- 
 chased the farm of 120 acres, known as the old 
 homestead, and by subsequent purchases has added 
 to it until at the present time he is the owner of 286 
 acres, which he rents. He resided on his farm until 
 the spring of 1881, made a number of improvements 
 thereon, erected a residence, set out an orchard, and 
 otherwise improved his place, and then moved to the 
 village of Erie. He owns his residence in the vil- 
 lage, his two lots, a good barn and four acres of land. 
 Since 1881, he has occupied his time mostly in buy- 
 ing and shipping cattle. Religiously, he and his 
 wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. Eddy was united in marriage in Erie Town- 
 ship, this county, Sept. 5, 1870, to Miss Isabel Cess- 
 ford, born in Lockport, this State, Nov. 5, 1837. One 
 child, Minnie, was born of their union July 17, 1874. 
 Mrs. Eddy died on the farm, Sept. i, 1879, and Mr_ 
 Eddy was again married in Erie, Oct. 18, 1882, to 
 Miss Fidelia Cunningham, daughter of Andrew and 
 
 Sabrina Cunningham. She was born in Taylor, Ogle 
 Co., 111., Sept. 18, 1849. Of the latter union two 
 children have been born : Ida D., Sept. 6, 1883, and 
 Albert N., Aug. 20, 1884. 
 
 Mr. Eddy has held the office of Village Trustee 
 four years, which position he holds at present, and is 
 Chairman of the Board. In September, 1861, when 
 the firing on Sumter had aroused the people of the 
 North to a realization of the fa< t that the perpetuity 
 of our Union depended upon brave hearts and strong 
 arms, he enlisted in Co. B, 111. Vol. Inf., as private, 
 and served four years, until September, 1865. The 
 following is a list of the engagements in which he 
 participated: West Glaze, Mo., Oct. 14,1861; Linn 
 Creek, Mo., Oct. 16, 1861; Chickasaw Bayou, Miss., 
 Dec. 27. 28 and 29, 1861 ; Arkansas Post, Ark., Jan. 
 10 and rr, 1863; Deer Creek, Miss., April i, 1863; 
 Black Bayou, Miss., April ro, 1863; Jackson, Miss., 
 May 14, 1863; siege of Vicksburg, Miss., May 18 
 to July 4, 1863; siege of Jackson, Miss., July 10 to 
 16, 1863; Brandon, Miss., July 19, 1863; Tombs, 
 Ala., Oct. 23, 1863; Tuscumbia, Ala., Oct. 27, 1863; 
 Lookout Mountain, Tenn., Nov. 24 and 25, 1863; 
 Mission Ridge, Tenn., Nov. 25, 1863; RinggoldGap, 
 Nov. 27, 1863; Madison, Tenn., March n, 1864 
 Resaca, Ga., Nov. 10, 1864; Macon, Ga., Nov. 27, 
 1864; siege of Savannah, Dec. 10 to 20, 1864 ; Cy- 
 press Swamp, Feb. 6, 1865 ; Columbia, S. C., Feb. 17. 
 1865; Bentonville, N. C., Feb. 20 to 21, 1865; Ra- 
 leigh, N. C., April 3, 1865 ; surrender of Joseph E. 
 Johnston's army, April u, 1865; and received his 
 final discharge Aug. 12, 1865. 
 
 Among the portraits of leading and representative 
 men appearing in this work, is that of Mr. Eddy. He 
 is largely identified with the interests of the county, is 
 a native of the Prairie State, and for over thirty 
 years has been a resident of this county. 
 
 f 
 
 4 * 
 
 ' 
 
 i 
 
 harles Ward, farmer, resident on section 
 i, Mt. Pleasant Township, was born June 
 17, 1823, in Niagara Co., N. Y. Nahum M. 
 and Diadamia (Diver) Ward, his father and 
 mother, were born in Massachusetts and had 
 four children, named John H., Charles, George 
 W. and Nelson. 
 
 Mr. Ward was a resident of his native county more 
 
 /)
 
 WH1TESIDR COUNTY. 
 
 than 40 years, removing thence in the spring of 1864 
 to Whiteside County. He bought the farm on which 
 he has since prosecuted the purposes of his life, com- 
 prising 197 acres of land, situated in Mt. Pleasant 
 Township; and has added thereto by later purchase 
 until he is at present the proprietor of 287 acres of 
 land, nearly all of it being under excellent tillage. 
 Mr. Ward is an adherent of the Republican party. 
 
 He was first united in marriage in Niagara Co., N. 
 Y., Nov. 20, 1850, to Mary Tompkins. Their only 
 child died in infancy, and the death of the young 
 wife and mother soon ensued. She died Aug. 2, 
 1852. The husband remained single until May 291 
 1860, when he was again married, in Onondaga Co., 
 N. Y., to Amanda Mitchell. Their family comprises 
 four children, Hattie B., George W., Edward R. 
 and Amanda M. Mrs. Ward was born Oct. 23, 1836, 
 in Cayuga Co., N. Y. Her parents, Edward R. and 
 Harriet (Winegar) Mitchell, were natives of the Em- 
 pire State and had three children, named Amanda, 
 Charles W. and Lydia M. 
 
 javid Summers is a farmer on section 4, 
 Union Grove Township. He was born in 
 Scotland, in March, 1830, and is the son 
 of William and Christine Summers, who were 
 also natives of the same country, and were the 
 parents of six children, Catherine, David, An- 
 drew, Alexander, George and William. 
 
 Mr. Summers was about 18 years of age when he 
 left the " land of heather " for the New World. On 
 arrival on this side of the Atlantic he went to Henry 
 Co., 111., and was there resident till 1859. In the 
 spring of that year he went to Iowa, where -he spent 
 the summer ensuing, and in the fall of the same 
 year he came to Whiteside County. He first en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits on 80 acres of land in 
 Union Grove Township, which he purchased and on 
 which he operated four years. In 1863, in company 
 with his brother, he bought 233 acres situated in the 
 same township, and he is now the proprietor of 227 
 acres of the property, which is located on section 4. 
 Mr. Summers is a believer in and supporter of the 
 principles of the Democratic party. 
 
 He was united in marriage to Charlotte Gibbs, 
 Oct. 24, 1859, in Whiteside County. Their children 
 
 are named Jessie A., Thurston, Eugenia, Ernest and 
 Merton. Jesjie married Wallace M. Daniels and 
 lives on section 5, Union Grove Township. Mrs. 
 Summers was born Oct. 25, 1832, in Essex Co., 
 
 N. Y. 
 
 L braham G. Zook, farmer, resident on sec- 
 tion 10, Clyde Township, was born Sept. 
 25, 1854, in Franklin Co., Pa. The full 
 biographical record of his parents, Abraham 
 and Ann Zook, may be found elsewhere in 
 this volume. He was two years of age when 
 his father transferred his family and interests to 
 Whiteside County, and he continued under the par- 
 ental authority until he was 21 years of age. He 
 had acquired a fair common-school education, and, 
 on obtaining his majority, he went to Lyndon, and 
 for some time attended the seminary at that place. 
 He then returned to his former employment on his 
 father's farm, where he remained but a short time, 
 going to Morrison to enter upon the duties of a sales- 
 man in the mercantile house of Charles Spears & 
 Son. About a year later he engaged in teaching and 
 was chiefly occupied with that pursuit until his 
 marriage. 
 
 He was joined in matrimony with Rosa A. Bowers, 
 Aug. 5, 1879. Mrs. Zook is the daughter of Andrew 
 and Mary (Falkner) Bowers. Her parents were na- 
 tives of Blair Co., Pa., and she was born Oct. 1 1 , 
 1853, in Woodbury, in the same county. She is the 
 oldest of five children born to her parents and was 
 but six months old when they removed from Penn- 
 sylvania to Stark County, Ohio. Her mother died 
 when she was not yet eight years old, and before she 
 was ten years of age she was made wholly an orphan 
 by the death of her father. The decease of her 
 mother occurred Dec. 22, 1862 ; that of her father 
 took place April 20, 1865. She became a member 
 of the family of Dr. William O. Baker, of Louisville, 
 Ohio, where she remained four years attending 
 school. She afterwards lived among her relatives, 
 and when she was 22 years of age came to Illi- 
 nois, finding a home among friends in Ogle County. 
 Of three children born to herself and husband two 
 are deceased. Anna M. and Milton F., twins, were 
 
 : ^*is; 

 
 born April 18, 1882, and the latter died while yet an 
 infant. Mary died when she was five months old. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Zook settled after their marriage on 
 a farm in Ogle County. The place contained 155 
 acres and they were its occupants until July, 1883, 
 when they purchased 40 acres of land on section 10, 
 Clyde Township, and took possession of it. Mr. 
 Zook is still the owner of the farm in Ogle County, 
 and both places are well improved, and have excel- 
 lent farm buildings. He is an active member of the 
 River Brethren Church, to which his wife also be- 
 longs. He is a Republican in political faith and has 
 always been interested in educational progress, hav- 
 ing held the various school offices. 
 
 I illiam Kearns, a farmer on section 35, 
 Garden Plain Township, was born March 
 n, 1818, in Mifflintown, Juniata Co., 
 Pa. He is the only son of his parents, 
 Jacob and Mary (Woods) Kearns, both cf 
 whom were natives of Pennsylvania. The son 
 was brought up on a farm and reared to an under- 
 standing of the business of agriculture. At 16 he 
 engaged with a cabinet-maker to learn the trade, at 
 which he worked in Mifflin until 1839. In that 
 year he went to Dresden, Muskingum Co., Ohio, 
 where he was employed at his trade until 1841. 
 He then went back to Mifflin and again operated 
 there as a cabinet-maker until his removal to Illinois, 
 which event transpired in the fall of 1846. He 
 .made his way hither by canal to Pittsburg, and came 
 thence to Peoria by the Ohio, Mississippi and Illi- 
 nois Rivers. He opened a shop there and conducted 
 a line of furniture business. In 1863 he can* to 
 Whiteside County. He bought 160 acres of unim- 
 proved land on section 35, Garden Plain Township, 
 for which he paid at the rate of $11.25 P er acre. 
 He has put his property in valuable agricultural 
 condition. 
 
 Mr. Kearns has been twice married. Elizabeth 
 Saiger became his wife in the spring of 1839. She 
 was born in the town of Mifflin, and died in Dres- 
 den, Ohio, in 1840. The second marriage of Mr. 
 Kearns, to Lucy A. Boggs, occurred in 1843. She 
 was also a native of Mifflin. They have two chil- 
 dren . Joseph B. is the oldest. William L. was 
 
 born Jan. n, 1850, in Peoria, 111. In 1877 he was 
 married to Alice Startzman, and is the manager of 
 his father's estate. 
 
 eorge B. Kitel, dealer in illuminating oils 
 and gasoline, Sterling, was born in Berk- 
 shire Co., Mass., Nov. 24, 1824. His par- 
 ents were Francis and Hannah (Brodie) Kitel, 
 natives respectively of Rhode Island and 
 Massachusetts. Receiving a common-school 
 education, he left home at the age of 16, and for six 
 years was a farm laborer, following the vocation he 
 learned of his father. At the age of 22 he took 
 charge of public woiks, plank roads and railroading, 
 in which he was employed in the Eastern States until 
 1850, when he emigrated West, locating in Elgin, 111. 
 After conducting a hotel there for two years, he took 
 charge as foreman of a section of the old Elgin Rail- 
 road; and from 1853 to 1883 he was Road Master, 
 for one company. He has been a resident of Sterling 
 for 30 years, and is a highly esteemed citizen. He 
 is a Democrat in his political views, has held the 
 office of Alderman, and is a member of the Orders of 
 A. F. & A. M., K. T., and I. O. O. F. His residence 
 is in Wallace's Second Addition to Sterling. 
 
 He was married in August, 1852, to Miss Amanda 
 Wright, and they have had two sons and one daugh- 
 ter, viz : Nella, who married James St. J. Greenoiigh, 
 in 1878, and has three children, Helen, George and 
 Fanny ; Edward R., who married Malinda Rose, in 
 1879, and also has three children, Maud, Nella, 
 and Andrew R. 
 
 S> 
 
 Ambrose I. Maxwell, a Whiteside County 
 pioneer of 1837, was born April 18, 1814 
 inthe town of Delhi, Delaware Co., N. Y., 
 His father, Christopher Maxwell, was born in 
 1779, in Connecticut and married Lucy Green, 
 who was born in 1782, in Rhode Island. She 
 was a daughter of Silas Green, who was a Colonial 
 soldier. He was in the service under Arnold and 
 fought at Quebec, as in many other engagements
 
 s^ 
 
 n 
 
 The family of Green went to the State of New York 
 about 1787, and two years later they settled near 
 Delhi, in Delaware County. Later they went to 
 Decatur, in Otsego County, where the father died, 
 about 1834. 
 
 James Maxwell, paternal grandfather of Ambrose, 
 was born in Connecticut, of Scotch lineage. About 
 1797 he located in the vicinity of Delhi. His son, 
 Christopher, was married in 1801, and at once, on 
 settling in life, became a farmer in the township of 
 Delhi, and also engaged in the lumber trade and 
 constructed several saw-mills. With the exception 
 of one year, which he spent with his son in Lyndon, 
 he was a resident of Delaware County until his death, 
 in 1860. His wife died at the home of her daughter 
 in Erie, in 1855. They had 12 children. 
 
 Ambrose was the eighth in order of birth and was 
 an inmate of the parental home until he was 22. To 
 that time he had been a farmer, and he acquired a 
 knowledge of carpentry and also of the business of a 
 millwright. 
 
 In the spring of 1836 he came to Illinois, accom- 
 panied by George Dennis and P. L. Jeffers. They 
 obtained employment on a farm on De Soto Island, 
 where they stopped two days. He and Dennis went 
 to Peoria, where they remained two weeks and made 
 their way thence to Chicago by stage, the fare being 
 $15. Mr. Maxwell took passage on the lakes to 
 Buffalo, went from there to Syracuse on the canal, 
 and reached Delhi the first of July. He remained in 
 Delaware County until the spring of the following 
 year, when he started, accompanied by several 
 others, to Illinois. The party had seven wagons and 
 thirteen horses. Mr. Maxwell went with them to 
 Cattaraugus County, where he embarked on a raft on 
 the Alleghany River, going to Pittsburg. He made 
 the passage thence on the Ohio and Mississippi 
 Rivers to Peoria, where he waited for the arrival of 
 his brother-in-law, C. R. Coburn, who was on his 
 way there overland. They came together to Lyndon 
 Township, where they arrived July 9, 1837. 
 
 Mr. Maxwell contracted to build a house for 
 Elisha Hazard, which was the second frame dwell- 
 ing in the village of old Lyndon. In August of the 
 same year he engaged to build a saw-mill for Jona- 
 than Haines, in Mt. Pleasant Township, which was 
 the first mill operated in the county. The establish- 
 ment was completed in the middle of December of 
 
 the same year. He built a wheel and attached the 
 power to a small run of stones on the same flumei 
 and, Dec. 25, 1837, ground the first grain in this 
 portion of Whiteside County. In January, 1838, he 
 went to Ogle County, where he was employed as a 
 carpenter and builder until October, 1839, when he 
 returned to Lyndon. 
 
 May 4, 1839, he was married at Peoria, to Artemi- 
 sia, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Plummer) Hulee. 
 Her father was born in Goshen, Ulster Co., N. Y., 
 and her mother at Egg Harbor, N. J. The families 
 to which they belonged became residents of the State 
 of New York in the early part of the i8th century. 
 Mrs. Maxwell was born April 2, 1810, in Deposit, 
 Delaware Co., N. Y. She was educated with care 
 and became a teacher, commencing that occupation 
 when 1 8 years of age in Broome County, in her na- 
 tive State. She came to Illinois and taught at Sugar 
 Grove, Lee County. Mr. Maxwell had secured a 
 claim in Ogle County, which he sold and settled at 
 Lyndon, where he worked at his trade. In 1842 he 
 made a claim on section six of " town 20 north, 5 
 east," where he built a frame house, and broke and 
 fenced about 20 acres of prairie. In the fall of 1844 
 he sold his land and stock. In 1845 he secured an- 
 other claim on section 8, of town 15, ranges. He 
 built a house, granary and stable and fenced 80 acres 
 of land. In 1851 he rented the farm and went to 
 Union Grove and did the wood work in a grist-mill. 
 In 1853 he sold his farm to J. D. Fisk, who is still 
 its owner and occupant. Mr. Maxwell engaged at 
 his trade in Unionville. In the spring of 1854 he 
 bought land on section 8, of town 21, range 5 east, 
 and built a house. He held the place but a few 
 months, exchanging it for the first claim he had made 
 in the township of Lyndon. Mr. Maxwell was suc- 
 cessful in his land operations and was chiefly a resi- 
 dent of Lyndon Township. In 1872 he bought a 
 house in Lyndon village. 
 
 His family has included five children, of whom 
 four are living : Lousia M., wife of William Patrick 
 (see sketch), was born Jan. 31, 1840, in Lyndon 
 Township; Calvin A. was born March 13, 1842 ; he 
 enlisted in 1861 in the 7th 111. Cav., and died at 
 Bird's Point, Mo., Jan. 23, 1862; James H. was born 
 Feb. 19, 1845, and enlisted in the same regiment and 
 company with his brother. He was enrolled in Sep- 
 tember, 1861, and was discharged in February, 1862. 
 
 , 
 
 < 
 
 Vg) 
 
 
 '
 
 
 U- - f>v 
 . -.Ill 
 
 UNIVERSE Or ILUNUI* 
 UWANA
 
 He is a resident of Noble Co., Minn; Mary E., born 
 Feb. 22, 1847, is the wife of George W. Cale, of 
 Noble Co., Minn.; Samuel A., born Dec. 27, 1851, 
 lives at Unionville. 
 
 3=3 
 
 5 
 
 < * 
 
 prames H. Booth, farmer on section 9, New- 
 |r- ton Township, was born June 27, 1823, in 
 Harrison Co., W. Va. He is the son of 
 William and Deborah (Hart) Booth. His 
 father was a Major in the war of 1812, and his 
 title was recognized as long as he lived. In 
 1835 the family emigrated to Ohio, where they lived 
 two years in Vinton County. They went thence to 
 Cass Co., Ind., where they remained till 1839, and 
 in that year journeyed to Illinois, transporting the 
 family and household belongings with the aid of ox 
 teams. There were 1 1 persons, the parents and 
 nine children. They made their journeys from Vir- 
 ginia to Ohio, and thence to Indiana, by the same 
 method, carrying their provisions, cooking by the 
 way and sleeping in their wagons. 
 
 The senior Booth made a claim on section 9 of 
 township 20, range 3, now Newton. He built a log 
 structure, 16 x 16 feet in size, for a dwelling, which 
 the family occupied a few years, when it was re- 
 placed by a frame house. William Booth died in 
 1854. His wife survived him 20 years. 
 
 Mr. Booth, subject of this sketch, secured a claim 
 on a section adjoining that on which his father lo- 
 cated. He was married July 6, 1848, to Susanna E. 
 Rexroad. She was born Dec. 21, 1830, in Virginia. 
 After the event of his marriage, Mr. Booth located 
 on his estate, which he occupied until his death, 
 March 17, 1884. He was a skillful farmer and an 
 excellent manager, and his farm was considered one 
 of the best conducted in the township, being par- 
 ticularly noticeable for its tidy, well regulated ap- 
 pearance. The buildings are of a good class, and 
 the place is made attractive and valuable by fruit, 
 shade and ornamental trees. In 1850 Mr. Booth 
 went to California overland, traveling with ox teams, 
 as he had done in 1835, in 1837 and in 1839, thus 
 virtually crossing nearly the entire distance between 
 the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with teams of oxen, 
 an experience paralleled but rarely, if ever, in the 
 history of this continent. He spent two years in 
 
 California, engaged in mining and in other employ- 
 ments. In 1852 he started for home, sailing from 
 San Francisco, but the vessel was wrecked and the 
 crew went back to Sacramento. Mr. Booth returned 
 by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New Orleans. 
 
 In political faith he was a Republican. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Booth became members of -the Presbyterian 
 Church in 1858. 
 
 There were two children by the first marriage, 
 Dyer, a resident of Barton Co., Mo., and Milo, who 
 resides in Huron Co., Dak. The second marriage 
 of Mr. Booth, to Cinderella Burton, took place June 
 29, 1857. She was born in Madison, Wis., and is 
 the daughter of James N. and Martha (Wallace) 
 Burton. Her parents were born in Tennessee and 
 belonged to the pioneer element of Wisconsin. They 
 settled in Rock Island County in 1840. Eight chil- 
 dren were born of the second marriage, -Otis, Lucy, 
 Aura, Deborah, James M., Jessie B., Leslie K. and 
 Murray Houston. 
 
 
 Ransom Wink, a prominent farmer of Hop- 
 kins Township, is a son of Jacob A. and 
 Sarah R. (Markle) Wink, natives of Fulton 
 Co., Pa., where they lived till their death. 
 They had a family of six children, born in the 
 following order: Thomas H., Amos, Beulah 
 R., Lucinda, Sansom and one who died in infancy. 
 Mr. Wink, the subject of this sketch, was born in 
 what is now Fulton Co., Pa., Dec. 22, 1819. He 
 was reared on the farm, receiving the benefits of the 
 schools of that period and community, and remained 
 there until he was 29 years of age. He continued 
 to reside in the Keystone State until 1867, when he 
 concluded to move West. He accordingly came 
 West and located in Whiteside County. He settled 
 on a farm on section 4 of Hopkins Township, where 
 he resides at present. He owns a fine and valuable 
 farm of 160 acres here and enjoys the declining years 
 of his life amid pleasant surroundings. 
 
 Mr. Wink was married in his native county March 
 22, 1848, to Elizabeth, daughter of Robert and 
 Rebecca (Truax) Johnson, who were natives of 
 Maryland and Pennsylvania, respectively. They 
 were the parents of 1 2 children, of whom Elizabeth
 
 
 
 VV- M H I H M ' y V 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 was the third. She was born in Fulton Co., Pa., Dec. 
 2, 1830. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Wink have been born 14 chil- 
 dren, all of whom are living but one, Lizzie, who died 
 in infancy, Those living are Jacob J., Sarah R., 
 Thomas H., Huldah J., Samantha, Celesta H., 
 Wesley C., Axophia B., Cecelia A., Howard L. , 
 Elmer W., Corinna B., Olive and Charles A. 
 
 Mr. Wink has always taken an active part in pro- 
 moting the welfare of the community in which he 
 has lived and filled some of the local official posi- 
 tions. Politically he is a Prohibitionist. Both him- 
 self and wife are members of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Chuch. 
 
 As a representative citizen of Whiteside County, 
 and a gentleman worthy to be classed among the 
 best men of the county, we place a portrait of Mr. 
 Wink in this ALBUM. It is engraved from a photo- 
 graph taken in 1878. 
 
 ||| ufus Aldrich, of Tampico Township, was 
 _ _ bom in Binghamton, Broome Co., N. Y., 
 ' May 20, 1817, and lived there until he 
 was 12 years old, when he went with his par- 
 ents, Rufus and Polly (Smith) Aldrich, to 
 Bradford Co., Pa. He was married to Mary 
 Ann King, in 1839, who was born in Otsego Co., N. 
 Y., in 1817, lived there until four years old, when 
 her father, Joshua King, removed with his family to 
 Smithfield, Bradford Co., Pa. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. Aldrich left Pennsylvania and located 
 in Tampico, Whiteside Co., 111., purchasing 320 acres 
 of unimproved land in Tampico Township. In later 
 years he divided one-half between his two sons, John 
 Henry and Charles R. John H., after living on his 
 a number of years, sold it and located in Guthrie 
 Co., Iowa. He is a mechanic, and at present en- 
 gaged in bridge-building. He married Miss Juliaette 
 Robinson and has five children. Charles R. still 
 retains his farm, but has a residence in the village. 
 He also owns a livery stable, which he is managing. 
 He married Miss Mary Quinn, of Woodstock, 111., 
 and has three children. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich have had seven children : 
 Ataline, the oldest daughter, married Philo D. Morse, 
 and lives in Tampico; they have four children. 
 
 Juliaette married John W. Whittington, and died in 
 her 3oth year, leaving three children. Mary Jane 
 died in her 2oth year. Halbert, born in 1860, died 
 in 1861. Emma married M. Arthur Myres in 1875, 
 who died in 1881, leaving two children. 
 
 Rufus Aldrich is now a resident of Tampico, where 
 he has a grocery. 
 
 amuel Wetzell, resident on section 10, 
 Hume Township, is a farmer and teacher. 
 He was born Feb. 17, 1848, in Tuscarawas 
 Co., Ohio, and is the son of Jacob and Su- 
 sannah Wetzell. When he was seven years of 
 age his parents settled in Genesee Township, 
 this county. He became a pupil in the common 
 schools of that township, and afterward entered the 
 seminary at Mt. Morris, in Ogle County. He left 
 school in 1870 and began teaching in the year fol- 
 lowing, making his initiatory effort in his home dis- 
 trict, where he was engaged three years. After 
 teaching six years in situations adjoining, he went to 
 Coleta, to assume the duties of Principal in the 
 schools of that place. 
 
 Mr. Wetzell was married at Franklin Grove, Lee 
 Co., 111., Nov. 14, 1872, to Leona V. Wingert. Their 
 two children were born as follows: Lester W., 
 March 7, 1874; Clarence A., March 27, 1875. Mrs. 
 Wetzell was born Jan. 24, 1851, in Ohio. Her father 
 and mother, Henry and Anna (Bentz) Wingert, were 
 natives of Franklin Co., Pa., whence they removed 
 after their marriage to Ohio. The daughter was yel 
 in childhood when her parents came to Lee Co., 111. 
 She was educated at Mt. Morris, in Ogle Co., 111., 
 and began teaching in Lee County, when she was 
 18 years of age, and pursued that vocation several 
 years. 
 
 After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Wetzell located 
 at a point a mile west of Coleta, where they owned 
 a farm of no acres, situated in Genesee Township. 
 They removed thence to Sterling, where Mr. Wetzell 
 engaged in the boot and shoe trade, in which he was 
 interested two years, and conducted his affairs in 
 that line with reasonable success. Meanwhile he 
 purchased 230 acres on sections 10 and 15, Hume 
 Township, of which he took possession in 1879. He 
 has improved 175 acres and erected good and suit- 
 
 : 

 
 <Sf able buildings. The stock on the place includes 
 good grades of Short-horn cattle. Mr. Wetzell still 
 continues to teach winters. 
 
 He is an uncompromising Republican. In 1881 
 he was elected Assessor of Hume Township, and 
 held the office two years. He has served as Super- 
 visor one term. 
 
 <:> 
 
 _lpha Eugene Jacobs, druggist and sta- 
 tioner at Tampico, was born Jan. 22, 1856, 
 in La Salle Co., 111. His father was a 
 farmer and is now deceased. The latter came 
 to Tampico Township in 1860 and settled on 
 a farm. Mr. Jacobs was a pupil in the school 
 at Sterling and acquired a business education in the 
 Commercial College at Chicago. He afterwards 
 taught three terms in the common schools of White- 
 side County. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs was a member of his father's family 
 until his marriage, in Tampico Township, to Ida 
 Badgley. She was born Dec. 26, 1859, in Tampico 
 Township, and always resided in the same place un- 
 til her marriage. Her parents reside in the village. 
 Asahel and Sadie M. are the names of the children 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs. 
 
 Previous to his marriage, Mr. Jacobs had estab- 
 lished his business as a druggist, in which he has 
 achieved popularity and success. He has a valu- 
 able and well assorted stock of goods common to his 
 lines of business and he owns village property, and 
 also an individual interest in the estate of his father, 
 which includes 240 acres of land. 
 
 In political faith and relations he is a Republican, 
 and he is now serving as Village Treasurer (1885). 
 He is a member of the Masonic lodge. Mrs. Jacobs 
 belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 ,dgar Woods, a farmer on section 26, 
 Montmorency Township, is the son of 
 Peter C. and Angeline (Blacklidge) Woods. 
 His parents were natives of Indiana, and set- 
 tled in Franklin County after their marriage. 
 In December, 1864, they came to Whiteside 
 County, and located on a farm in the township of 
 
 
 Montmorency, where the death of the father occur- 
 red, June 7, 1880. The mother died Sept. 21, 1874. 
 Harvey C., their oldest child, died June 20, 1875. 
 They have two surviving sons. Edgar is the older. 
 
 Edgar was born May 12, 1856, in Franklin Co., 
 Ind., and he was eight years of age when his parents 
 removed to Whiteside County. He was educated 
 in the common schools. He has been occupied in 
 agricultural pursuits exclusively. In 1880 he took 
 possession of the farm on which he has since lived, 
 and of which he became the owner by right of in- 
 heritance from his father's estate. He is the owner 
 of 240 acres in the township where he lives, and has 
 1 80 in advanced and profitable cultivation. Mr. 
 Woods is independent in political opinions and rela- 
 tions. He has held the office of School Trustee five 
 years, and has officiated two years as Collector. 
 
 His marriage to Anna, daughter of Tyler and 
 Rhoda (Ward) McWhorter, took place Dec. 24, 1879. 
 (A sketch of the parents of Mrs. Woods is given 
 elsewhere.) She was born in Metamora, Franklin 
 Co., Ind., April 10, rS56. Three children are now 
 included in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Woods Roy 
 G., Mabel A. and Chester C. 
 
 lies Greene, one of the leading and exten- 
 sive agriculturists of Whiteside County, 
 residing on section 12, Lyndon Township, 
 is a son of Benjamin T. and Hetty (Wilson) 
 Greene, and grandson of William and Mary 
 A. Greene, also of Tibbets and Phcebe Wil- 
 He was born at Willett, Cortland Co., N. Y., 
 March 13, 1822. His father was a native of Rhode 
 Island, and a member of the New York State Militia 
 during the War of 1812. He was a farmer by occu- 
 pation, and went to Cortland County with his parents 
 in 1809, where he resided and followed his vocation 
 until the date of his death. 
 
 Giles Greene was reared on a farm and educated 
 at the Cortland and Oxford Academies. He com- 
 menced teaching at the age of 18, and continued in 
 that profession winters and farmed summers, until 
 after thedeath of his parents in 1853, when he came 
 west, arriving in this county in 1854, and locating in 
 Lyndon Township. He made his first purchase of 
 land in 1854, in the township where he has since 
 
 *$%%& 
 
 son. 
 
 -
 
 
 > 
 
 
 . 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 lived, and where he has risen to prominence through 
 his own efforts and judicious management. His 
 land, at the time of purchase, was located on sections 
 i and 1 2, and included about 15 acres which had 
 been plowed. It could boast also of a frame house 
 of diminutive proportions and a straw stable. From 
 this beginning Mr. Greene has progressed by the 
 usual methods of energy, industry and thrift until he 
 owns 750 acres of land, in excellent condition for 
 progressive farming. The buildings for the pro- 
 tection of his fine stock are of the most approved 
 construction, and are admirably adapted to their 
 purposes. 
 
 At Cincinnatus, Cortland Co., N. Y., Feb. 6, 1855, 
 Mr. Greene was married to Laura Mann, daughter 
 of Aristarchus and Sophia (Kneeland) Mann, and 
 grand-daughter of Oliver and Content (Hill) Mann ; 
 also'of Daniel and Grace Kneeland. Mrs. Greene 
 was born at Franklin, Delaware Co., N. Y., Dec. 
 27, 1827. Their family consists of five children, 
 namely: Hattie, Mary, Ray, Ben and Stark Greene, 
 all of whom reside at home. 
 
 ! 5- 
 
 icholas Marzi, retired farmer, residing in 
 Erie, is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth 
 (Snyder) Marzi, and was born in Prussia, 
 June 4, 1824. He was a coachman in Ger- 
 many some years, and also served in the army 
 in that country three years. In 1852 he emi- 
 grated to the United States, and was 13 weeks in 
 crossing the water, having been shipwrecked off the 
 coast of Ireland, and the vessel on which he sailed 
 having put in for repairs. Soon after his arrival he 
 located in Rensselaer Co., N. Y., where he was en- 
 gaged in various pursuits, until 1 863, when he went 
 to Davenport, Iowa. He remained in the latter 
 place until 1864, when he went to Rock Island 
 County, and rented a farm in Canoe Creek Town- 
 ship, which he cultivated for one year; then super- 
 intended a large stock farm one year. He after- 
 ward, in 1866, purchased a farm in Erie Township, 
 this county, consisting of 86 acres, and resided upon 
 and cultivated it for two years, when he exchanged 
 it for hotel property in Erie, the same being now 
 known as the St. Nicholas Hotel. He ran the hotel 
 
 
 until the spring of 1884, since which time he has 
 rented it. In 1882 he built a nice residence in 
 Erie, on six lots, which he owned, and where he at 
 present resides. 
 
 Mr. Marzi formed a matrimonial alliance, in 
 Rensselaer Co., N. Y., Nov. n, 1852, with Mary 
 Blocher, who was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, 
 March 23, 1827. Three children have been born 
 of their union, two in Rensselaer and one in this 
 county : Mary is the wife of James Ells, engineer, 
 in Rock Island, 111., and was born Aug. 21, 1852; 
 George A., born April 23, 1858, is now running a 
 branch music store for W. W. Kimball & Co., in 
 Muscatine, Iowa, and is unmarried; Ira H., born 
 Feb. 15, 1868, is learning telegraphy in the Erie 
 office. 
 
 irk C. Fuller, of the firm of W. H. 
 Fuller & Co., grocers and general mer- 
 chants, Spring Hill, is a son of John P. and 
 Almira (Lanphere) Fuller. He was born at 
 Sandy town, Portland Township, Nov. 4, 1847, 
 and was reared on the farm, remaining at his paren- 
 tal home until he was 22 years of age; then, after 
 working on the homestead, of 120 acres, a year, his 
 wife died and he returned to Prophetstown and lived 
 upon rented farms. In October, 1882, he came to 
 Spring Hill and purchased an interest in a store 
 with his brother Willis; they are carrying on a very 
 prosperous business, with a stock averaging about 
 $2,000, in groceries, ready-made clothing, notions, 
 etc. Mr. Fuller also keeps a hotel. He has been 
 Tax Collector three terms, Constable four years, be- 
 ing re-elected to that position in 1885 ; in the fall of 
 1882, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff, and is now 
 serving in that capacity. He is a member of the 
 Orders of Masonry and Odd Fellows. He owns his 
 residence, barn and one and a half lots. 
 
 Mr. Fuller was married in Portland Township, 
 April 14, 1870,10 Miss Lois, daughter of Miles and 
 Sarah Briggs; she was born in Erie Township, and 
 died in Kansas, Aug. 25, 1873; and Mr. Fuller was 
 again married, in Portland Township, Feb. t3, r877, 
 to Miss Carrie M. Rowe, daughter of Van Ransel- 
 laer and Jennie A. Rowe, who was born in Portland 
 
 4^(<$ 
 
 . 
 
 vg> 
 
 - 
 . 
 

 
 i wi' 
 
 I 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Township, Feb. 13, 1861. Her father came to this 
 county when a boy, and is therefore to be counted 
 among the early pioneers; he still lives in the vil- 
 lage of Erie. Her mother died March 19, 1876. 
 
 illiain Hill, one of the leading farmers in 
 Whiteside County, residing on section 5, 
 Prophetstown Township, has 380 acres 
 of land on sections 5 and 8. He is a son of 
 William and Susan (Baker) Hill, and was 
 born in Hubbardton, Rutland Co., Vt., Sept. 
 30, 1819. His father was a fanner by occupation, 
 but was an experienced carpenter and joiner and 
 wheelwright. Both his parents were natives of 
 Massachusetts, and were the parents of seven chil- 
 dren, all of whom grew to man's estate, and four of 
 whom are now living. The eldest of the family now 
 living is William, the subject of this sketch. Ezra 
 is a farmer, residing in Prophetstowri Township; 
 Fordyce and Joseph W. both reside in Prophetstown. 
 Mr. Hill's father, with his family, left Vermont Sept. 
 9, 1835, and emigrated to this county with a team, 
 being two months on the road. 
 
 Mr. Hill was reared on a farm, receiving only the 
 advantages in the way of an education that the 
 common schools of the neighborhood afforded. On 
 reaching the age of 21 he went out into the world 
 to battle with fickle fortune. He went north to 
 the State of Wisconsin, where for five years he 
 engaged in lumbering, part of the time working by 
 the month, and for a while engaged in contracting 
 on his own responsibility. In 1845 he left the 
 pineries, and came to Whiteside County. Prior to 
 that date, however, about 1838, he made a claim of 
 160 acres in Prophetstown Township, on what is 
 now the Luther McKenzie farm. When it came 
 into market, however, he was only able to obtain a 
 deed for 40 acres of it. His brother, John, had made 
 a claim of a quarter-section, where our subject now 
 resides, but died before the land was put upon the 
 market by the Government. Mr. Hill bought this 
 claim for $200, to which he has since added until 
 he now has 380 acres, under excellent cultivation. 
 He has erected upon it a fine residence, costing 
 $3,000, and added a number of improvements, which 
 
 makes it one of the most valuable and conveniently 
 arranged farms in the township. 
 
 While engaged in general agriculture, Mr. Hill 
 has made a specialty of raising Holstein cattle. He 
 carried on his farm himself until 1877, when he 
 rented it to his son, Mallory S., who now resides 
 upon it. Mr. Hill yet, however, retains a half in- 
 terest in the stock. They have about 40 head of 
 graded Holstein cattle, and one full-blooded regis- 
 tered bull, John G. For a number of years they 
 have also given special attention to raising Merino 
 sheep. 
 
 While never seeking political positions, Mr. Hill 
 has been called upon by his fellow townsmen to 
 represent the township in the Board of Supervisors, 
 and also serve as Justice of the Peace, which latter 
 position he has held for two terms. For several 
 years he has also served as Township Trustee. He 
 is also one of the originators of the Prophetstown 
 Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which 
 he has been a Director since its organization, and 
 President ever since, exeept one year. 
 
 Mr. Hill was married in Prophetstown Township, 
 May 6, 1846, to Miss Ann L., daughter of Harry and 
 Ursula Smith. She was born in Castleton, Rutland 
 Co., Vt., Sept. 21, 1827. To them have been born 
 eight children, five of whom are living: Hester is the 
 wife of Edgar S. Bentley, harness-maker of Prophets- 
 town ; John Q., farmer in Prophetstown Township; 
 Leroy, engaged in farming at Canton, McPherson 
 Co., Kan.; Truman, deceased ; Mallory S., now re- 
 siding on his father's farm; Stella A., wife of Frank 
 Johns, farmer of Prophetstown Township ; two others 
 died in infancy. 
 
 As a leading citizen, not only of his township, hut 
 of Whiteside County, the publishers take pleasure in 
 presenting Mr. Hill's portrait among those of the 
 representative citizens of this county in this ALBUM. 
 
 illiam Peckham, a farmer, residing on 
 section 36, Prophetstown Township, and 
 owning 120 acres located thereon, is a son 
 of William and Malvina (Miller) Peckham, 
 and was born in Verona, Oneida Co., N. Y., 
 April ro, 1842. .His father was a lumberman, 
 a native of Verona, and his mother of Otsego County, 
 that State. Their family comprised ten children, 
 
 
 *y 
 
 t 
 
 4
 
 - -X 
 
 
 
 748 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 seven of whom are living Achsie, Emorette, Will- 
 iam, Eugene, Alfred, Cora and George. 
 
 Mr. Peckham was reared under the parental roof- 
 tree until he attained adult age, when he worked in 
 the lumber woods, which vocation he followed until 
 the breaking out of the late Civil War. Sept. i, 
 1862, at Rome, N. Y., he enlisted in Co. E, 8ist N. 
 Y. Vol. Inf., as private, and served until Jan. 10, 
 1865. He participated in the battles of Cold Har- 
 bor, Petersburg and others. His corps was the first 
 that made an advance on Petersburg, and he partic- 
 ipated in two engagements against that place, one 
 under Grant and one under Butler. He returned to 
 New York, and in the spring of 1866 moved to Cerro 
 Gordo County, Iowa, and followed the vocation of a 
 farmer on rented land for two years, after which he 
 purchased a farm, consisting of 80 acres. He con- 
 tinued to follow the vocation of a farmer for seven 
 years, and in February, 1874, came to Prophetstown 
 Township, this county, and continued in his occupa- 
 tion for nine years, on rented land. In the spring of 
 1883, Mr. Peckham purchased his present farm of 
 1 20 acres, and has resided thereon ever since. 
 
 Mr. Peckham was united in marriage in Sterling, 
 this county, Feb. 7, 1868, to Miss Anice Humaston. 
 She was born in Vienna Township, Oneida Co., N. 
 Y., May 4, 1842. The issue of their union has been 
 two children: Ettie, born May 23, 1871, and Ada, 
 born April 17, 1873, both in the State of Iowa. 
 
 illiam Aitken, general farmer on section 
 10, Ustick Township, was born Aug. 12, 
 185 1, in Scotland. He is the oldest child 
 of Robert and Margaret (Duthie) Aitken, 
 and had two sisters, Isabella and Annie. 
 Mr. Aitken came to the United States on reach- 
 ing his majority, and after spending about six months 
 in the State of New York, he came in 1873 to White- 
 side County. His father's family emigrated at the 
 same time, and on their removal to Whiteside County, 
 father and son bought 140 acres of land in partner- 
 ship in Ustick Township. The latter is at present 
 sole proprietor of 205 acres of land, in a good farm- 
 ing condition. 
 
 May 7, 1880, he was joined in marriage, at Mor- 
 rison, with Eliz.a H. Cowie, and they have three 
 
 ff" :3 * (IC ^rK^D fl 
 
 children, William, Maggie A. and Bessie. Mrs. 
 Aitkin is a native of Scotland. 
 
 In political views and opinions, Mr. Aitken is in- 
 dependent. He has served as School Director. 
 
 ohn F. McNaughton,, proprietor of the 
 Tampico House, Tampico,, was born in 
 Hebron Township, Washington Co., N. Y., 
 Jan. 17, 1838. John McNaughton, his father, 
 was a teacher by profession, and married Bet- 
 sy Whitney, who was born in Washington 
 Co., N. Y. They went shortly afterward to Wayne 
 County, in the Empire State, returning subsequently 
 to Washington County. In 1855, the family came 
 to Illinois, and located in the township of Portland, 
 Whiteside County. The father died in June, 1871. 
 The death of the mother occurred Aug. 31, 1879, in 
 Fairfield Township, Bureau County. 
 
 Mr. McNaughton went with his parents to Wayne 
 County when a mere child, and obtained a chief 
 part of his education after they returned to Wash- 
 ington County. He lived with them until their 
 death. He was married July 4, 1853, to Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Thomas and Jane (White) Liddle. Her 
 parents were born respectively in Scotland and Ire- 
 land. They came in early life to the United States, 
 and were married in Argyle, Washington Co., N. Y. 
 Mrs. McNaughton was born May 22, 1831, in the 
 township of Salem, in the county named. She was 
 brought up by her mother, her father having died 
 when she was nine years of age. Her mother died 
 some years later, at the home of her son in Washing- 
 ton County. 
 
 On the event of his marriage, Mr. McNaughton 
 located in the township of Ontario, Wayne County, 
 where he was a citizen until 1855, when he removed 
 with his family to Portland, Whiteside County. He 
 occupied a farm in that township for 20 years, going 
 from there to the town of Fairfield, Bureau County. 
 In February, 18 , he came to Tampico and pur- 
 chased the hotel property, of which he has since 
 been manager. 
 
 Two of the children that have been added to the 
 family are dead. Eva is the wife of George Seibel, 
 and they live on a farm in Bureau County ; Hattie 
 married Frank Guy, and five, months afterwards be-
 
 '<&* 
 
 - -- 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 749 
 
 ^f came a widow, her husband having been drowned in 
 I Rock River; Josephine, Maggie L. and Sarah E. 
 live with their parents. Mrs. McNaughton is a 
 member of the United Brethren Church. 
 
 Politically, Mr. McNaughton is a decided Repub- 
 lican, and has been Township Collector. 
 
 .eorge Seyller, a hardware merchant, re- 
 siding in the village of Prophetstown, is a 
 son of George and Catherine (Haumesser) 
 Seyller, and was born in Alsace, France, 
 April 23, 1847. When Mr. Seyller was but 
 eight years of age. his father emigrated to the 
 United States and came to Naperville, this State. 
 His father was a farmer by occupation, and soon af- 
 ter settling at the latter place, removed to Henry 
 County and located on a farm. 
 
 Mr. Seyller was reared on the farm, receiving such 
 advantages as were afforded by the common schools 
 in the locality where he resided. He worked on the 
 farm until 1868, when, having attained his majority, 
 he went to Annawan, Henry County, this State, and 
 there engaged in the hardware business, in company 
 with Herman Herschberger, with whom he remained 
 in partnership until 1872, when he sold out. He 
 then came to Prophetstown and was in the employ 
 of W. E. Suthard in the capacity of a tinner. He 
 remained with him about nine months, when, in 
 company with his brother-in-law, August Clementz, 
 he purchased the stock of Mr. Suthard, and con- 
 ducted the partnership business about nine years, 
 when Mr. Seyller bought out his partner and has 
 since conducted the business alone. In 1874, while 
 the partnership was still in existence, they built the 
 building (24 x 74, two stories and cellar) which Mr. 
 Seyller now occupies. In 1883, Mr. Seyller bought 
 out the property ; he carries a stock approximating 
 $10,000, and is doing a good and constantly increas- 
 ing business, being the leading one of this kind in 
 Prophetstown. The stock consists of a full line of 
 hardware, stoves, cutlery, tinware, farming imple- 
 - ments and farm machinery. His warehouse is nearly 
 opposite his store building. He is also engaged in 
 tin roofing and repairing, and keeps two assistants. 
 Mr. Seyller is also the owner of 80 acres of land 
 situated on section 31, Prophetstown Township, 
 
 -v-,, >^jaai^ /-N V/^HI 
 
 which he cultivates. Religiously, he belongs to the 
 Catholic Church, and socially, he is a member of the 
 I. O. O. F. 
 
 Mr. Seyller was united in marriage, in Henry 
 County, this State, Jan. i, 1872, to Miss Catherine 
 Clementz, a daughter of John and Lena Clementz. 
 She was born in Naperville, Du Page Co., 111., Nov. 
 25, 1848, and has borne her husband three children. 
 Their record is as follows : Catherine, born Oct. 24, 
 1873; Nora, born Nov. 25, 1874; Martha, Aug. 7, 
 1876. Mr. Seyller has been a member of the City, 
 Council four years and is acting in that capacity at 
 the present time; he was also President of the 
 Council one year. 
 
 ,dgar R. Beckwith, grocery and provision 
 merchant at Albany, was born March 29, 
 1838, at Chazy, Clinton Co., N. Y. His 
 father, Ransom Beckwith, was born in Ver- 
 mont, and married Lois Graves, who was a 
 native of Greenbush, Columbia Co, N. Y. 
 Her father was a pioneer of Clinton County, and 
 was the founder of the village of Chazy. 
 
 The Beckwith family removed about 1841 to Ma- 
 lone, N. Y., and after a residence there of two years, 
 went to Madrid, in St. Lawrence County. Edgar 
 obtained a good common-school education at Mad- 
 rid, and studied three terms at the Academy at 
 Potsdam. At 18 he began a contest with the world 
 on his own responsibility, and came to Illinois in 
 1856. His health was poor, and he passed the 
 winter of 1856 and 1857 in travel in Jo Daviess, 
 and counties adjoining. In the following spring he 
 went to Kane County, and remained there during 
 the ensuing summer. He came to Albany in the 
 autumn of 1857. Soon after, he obtained an ap- 
 pointment as surveyor on the Illinois & Grand Trunk 
 Railroad, and acted in that capacity until the second 
 year of the Civil War. Aug. 10, 1862, he enlisted in 
 Co. C, 8th 111. Cav. He served two "years as a pri- 
 vate, and in August, 1864, he was discharged by 
 special order of the Secretary of War, to enlist as 
 hospital steward in the regular army of the United 
 States. He was stationed at the office of the provost- 
 marshal in Philadelphia. June 24, 1865, he was 
 
 . ..-. 
 
 
 1 
 
 r
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 discharged by order of the President. He returned 
 to Whiteside County in September, 1865, and located 
 at Union Grove. He had lived there 18 months, 
 when, in company with his brother, he bought a stock 
 of hardware and transacted business there one year. 
 In January, 1879, he and his brother bought a simi- 
 lar establishment at Albany. In 1874, the firm style 
 became Beckwith & Quick, by the sale of the inter- 
 est of Thomas Beckwith to Benjamin Quick. The 
 senior partner sold out to Mr. Quick in 1880, and 
 .Mr. Beckwith engaged in his present business enter- 
 prise. He sold out scon after, but again established 
 his trade in 1881. He has met with reasonable suc- 
 cess in his mercantile ventures, and is the owner of 
 a very pleasant residence, located at a desirable 
 point on the bluffs of the river, and commanding a 
 beautiful view of the Mississippi and country adja- 
 cent. 
 
 Mr. Beckwith was married Oct. 6, 1873, to Jennie 
 E., daughter of Benjamin S. and Mary A. Quick. 
 They have one child, Edgar Q. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Quick are pioneer settlers of Whiteside County. 
 
 amuol Curry, deceased, a former resident 
 of Garden Plain Township, and a farmer 
 on sections 32 and 33, was born Nov. 4, 
 1833, in Allegheny Co., Pa. He was the 
 eldest son of John and Jane (McRoberts) 
 Curry. He was reared on the farm of his 
 father, where he was born, and was educated in the 
 common schools. 
 
 In October, 1856, he came from Pennsylvania to 
 Whiteside County, and not long after, bought the 
 wild land of which his farm was comprised when he 
 took possession of it. He built a house on his 
 property, and began to make the usual improve- 
 ments without delay. He was a single man, and his 
 house was occupied at first by the family of his 
 brother, with whom he boarded. He was a man of 
 industrious habits and an excellent manager. He 
 put his farm in fine and valuable condition, and 
 greatly increased the beauty of its appearance by 
 setting out numerous trees. 
 
 Mr. Curry was married Feb. 17, 1875, to Hattie, 
 daughter of Rev. Edward and Mary (Mathew) 
 White, pioneers of Garden Plain Township, of 
 
 whom a sketch appears elsewhere. Their only 
 child is named Mary. Mr. Curry died March 17, 
 1885, (current year). 
 
 jharles T. Pierce, proprietor of the Erie 
 grist-mill, at Erie, is a son of Jonas and 
 Fannie (Earle) Pierce, and was born in 
 Royalston, Worcester Co., Mass., July n, 
 1837. His father was a farmer by occupation 
 and was a native of the same county, as was 
 likewise his mother. His parent's family consisted 
 of ten children, seven of whom are living, namely : 
 William, Harriet, James, Charles T., George and 
 Willard. 
 
 Charles T. was reared on the farm, assisting in the 
 maintenance of the family and attending the com- 
 mon schools until he attained the age of manhood. 
 He then came to Sycamore, De Kalb County, and 
 engaged to work in a grist-mill, at that place, where 
 he learned the business. He soon afterwards pur- 
 chased an interest in the mill, and the firm name 
 became Cox, Pierce & Block. 
 
 *Mr. Pierce continued in the mill until 1874, 
 when he sold his interest in the same, and came to 
 this county and purchased his present mill at Erie, 
 and has since continued to run it. He has enlarged 
 the mill from its original capacity, and at present 
 can turn out 75 barrels of flour per day. He does 
 custom work, grinds flour, feed, meal, etc., and usu- 
 ally employs two assistants. 
 
 Mr. Pierce was unitid in marriage in Sycamore, 
 May 28, 1862, to Miss Emily J., daughter of Jesse 
 C. and Phcebe Kellogg. She was born in Sycamore, 
 Jan. 28, 1837, and has borne to Mr. Pjerce five chil- 
 dren, three of whom are living, namely: Mary, born 
 May 7, 1870; Susan, born Feb. 18, 1873, and Cath- 
 erine, born April 6, 1874. The names of the de- 
 ceased children are James, born Aug. 8, 1863, and 
 died Sept. 16, 1863; and Fannie, born Feb. 14, 
 1867, died in October, 1867. Mrs. Pierce's parents 
 were among the early pioneers of De Kalb County, 
 coming from Vermont and settling there at an early 
 date, and she, Mrs. Pierce, was the first white child 
 born in that county. She died in Erie, this county, 
 March 15, 1877. 
 
 Mr. Pierce is a member of the Modern Woodmen 
 
 I 
 
 N0. 
 
 . .
 
 
 
 - - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Y 
 
 fK 
 
 (4 
 
 of America, and is one of the School Directors of 
 Erie. His business is a good one, and is steadily 
 increasing. 
 
 I'ames McGrath, farmer, section 25, Albany 
 1^ Township, was born March 10, 1829, in 
 the town of Lincoln, 60 miles from St. 
 Johns, N. B., and is the third son of James 
 and Elizabeth (Sewell) McGrath. He spent 
 his boyhood and youth in his native province 
 and was reared to agricultural pursuits. In 1854 he 
 came to Whiteside County, and rented a farm in the 
 township of Garden Plain, which he managed until 
 1858. In that year he moved to the section on 
 which he has since lived, in Albany Township, which 
 was then designated township 20, range 2. In 1860 
 he bought 120 acres of land, which has since been 
 his property. He is now the owner of 600 acres, lo- 
 cated on sections 25 and 26. His parents came 
 with him to Albany Township and lived with him 
 until their deaths, which occurred respectively in 
 1856 and 1884. Mr. McGrath is still a successful 
 eluder of the wiles of matrimony, and it is feared is a 
 confirmed bachelor. 
 
 ; oster H. Jones, deceased, formerly a farm- 
 er on section 26, Garden Plain Township, 
 ^ was born Aug. 6, 1832, in Saratoga Co., 
 N. Y. He went to Columbus, Ohio, when he 
 was a young man, where he was a resident 
 until 1854. He was married Aug. 17, of that 
 year, to Elizabeth Cox, who was born in Adams Co., 
 Ohio. In the same year he became a citizen of 
 Whiteside County. He rented land in Garden Plain 
 Township for five years after his removal to Illinois, 
 and in 1859 he bought a parcel of land on section 
 26. Its improvements consisted of a log house, 
 some fencing, and ten acres broken. The family 
 occupied the log house about four years, when the 
 proprietor built a fine frame house, and he has since 
 erected large and valuable farm buildings to suit the 
 needs of his business ; and he has also set out num- 
 erous trees of various descriptions. He continued 
 the purchase of land, and at the time of his death 
 
 he was the owner of 360 acres, in excellent condition 
 for prosperous agriculture. His widow still occupies 
 the homestead. Albert, John C., Charles H., Ern- 
 est E. and Cora Edna are the names of the children 
 who survive. Mary died in infancy. Frank was 
 born Aug. 7, 1857, and was killed on the cars at 
 Mendota, 111., Nov. 29, 1882. Maggie was born 
 March 31, 1859. She married Ira Clough and set- 
 tled in Burlingame, Kan., where she died Feb. 
 22, 1883. Albert is married and lives in Garden 
 Plain Township. John^C. is the manager of the 
 homestead, in which he is assisted by Ernest. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Jones were natives respect- 
 ively of New York and Ohio. 
 
 amuel M. Whitcomb, living at Albany in 
 retirement, was born July 22, 1816, in 
 Grafton, N. H. Benjamin Whitcomb, his 
 father, was a native of the same place, and 
 was of unmixed English origin. Benjamin 
 Whitcomb, father of the latter, was a Major in 
 the War of the Revolution. Sarah (Young) Whit- 
 comb, mother of Samuel, was born in Grafton, of 
 Scotch parents. Her mother was a sister of Gen. 
 Wolf, hero of Quebec, and died in Grafton, aged 113 
 years. 
 
 In 1824 the father removed to New Hampshire, 
 Scioto Co., Ohio. Samuel was then eight years 
 of age, and when he was fourteen he went to Cin- 
 cinnati lo live with a brother. While there he 
 served an apprenticeship as a millwright. After four 
 years spent in the acquisition of his trade he oper- 
 ated four years as a journeyman, traveling through 
 many States in the pursuit of his business, as was 
 then the custom. He first came to Illinois in 1835 
 and proceeded to Iowa, where he was engaged in the 
 survey of the western boundary of the State or Ter- 
 ritory. In the course of his travels he was occupied 
 a portion of the time as an engineer on the steam- 
 boats on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. 
 
 Mr. Whitcomb located in Albany, in 1849. April 
 i, 1850, he started for California by the overland 
 route, and reached the land of gold Aug. 12, follow- 
 ing, making the journey principally on foot. After a 
 stay of two years he returned to Illinois, by way of 
 the Isthmus of Panama and New Orleans. After 
 
 
 
 9- 
 
 six
 
 
 
 X 
 
 fj \ 
 
 i 
 
 754 
 
 rx-vHiooxMH; -s\ <-s 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 when a farm was purchased on section 16, in the 
 same township. A frame house was built, to which 
 the family removed, and which formed a homestead 
 until 1866. In that year the elder Millikan sold the 
 place to his son F. W., our subject, and bought a 
 residence in Lyndon village. He died Aug. 18, 1880. 
 His wife died March 20, 1875. They had eight 
 children, four of whom are now deceased. Those 
 living are Ellen D., who married G. W. Fitch, of 
 Lyndon (see sketch) ; Martha A. is the wife of Capt. 
 John Whallon (see sketch) ; Frank S. is a Congrega- 
 tional clergyman, and has a charge at Maquoketa, 
 Jackson Co., Iowa. Frederick W. is the youngest. 
 
 He was reared in the midst of pioneer conditions, 
 which marked the period of his birth and boyhood in 
 Whiteside County. The first event of importance in 
 his history was that of his marriage to Emma P. 
 Stone, which took place March 26, 1863. Mrs. Mil- 
 likan was born at New Boston, Hillsborough Co., 
 N. H., and came with her parents, Thomas J. and 
 Phebe F. (Peabody) Stone, to Whiteside County in 
 1858. They have lived on the Millikan estate, ad- 
 joining the village of Lyndon, since their marriage. 
 Mr. Millikan has owned the property since 1866. 
 William F. and Edward S. are the names of the sons 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Millikan. 
 
 .0+0 
 
 'acob L. Parker, deceased, formerly a 
 farmer of Garden Plain Township, was the 
 second son of Abel and Eleanor (Howe) 
 Parker, of whom a sketch is given on another 
 page. He was born Feb. 27, 1814, in the town 
 of Wells, Rutland Co., Vt. He was an opera- 
 tor in a woolen mill in his native town, and was en- 
 gaged in the same establishment, coloring and fulling 
 cloth, until 1 836. In that year the family removed to 
 Whiteside County. Jacob was next the oldest and 
 came on the lakes in charge of the household fix- 
 tures. 
 
 On his arrival in Illinois, he made a claim on sec- 
 tion 15 of Garden Plain Township, but made his 
 home with his parents until he was married. He 
 was a mechanic by natural gift, having an intuitive 
 knowledge of the use of tools, and he found general 
 employ as a carpenter and in repairs of various 
 kinds. 
 
 He was united in marriage in March, 1839, to 
 
 i 
 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Carpen- 
 ter) Baker. She was born Aug. 17, 1823, in Queen 
 Anne Co., Md. David Parker, the older brother of 
 Mr. Parker, whose sketch and portrait are presented 
 on other pages, had a claim on section 15, on which 
 a log-house had been built, and of this the newly 
 married people took possession. A year later, Mr. 
 Parker built a hewn-log house, which then consti- 
 tuted the aristocratic type of dwelling, and on its 
 completion took possession with his family. Some 
 of the earliest religious services held in the township 
 were conducted in the same building. Mr. Parker 
 had commenced the improvements on his land, and, 
 after moving into his house, devoted his entire at- 
 tention to placing his estate under good cultivation. 
 He erected suitable buildings as time advanced, and 
 at the time of his decease the property had greatly 
 advanced in attractiveness and value. He died 
 March 4, 1881. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Parker had six children, whose rec- 
 ord is as follows : Mary Eleanor is the wife of Delos 
 Parker, of Garden Plain Township; Hiram lives in 
 Central City, Col.; James L. resides at home; Edwin 
 lives in Sanborn, O'Brien Co., Iowa; Evaline is the 
 wife of John Hodges ; Lizzie died in infancy. 
 
 Carles Humaston, a farmer residing on 
 section 34, Prophetstown Township, and 
 the proprietor of 120 acres of land located 
 thereon, is a native of New York, in which 
 State, in the town of Vienna, Oct. 2, 1838, he 
 was born. His father, Ephraim Humaston, 
 was also a native of that State, and was born in the 
 same house as was his son Charles, July 9, 1809; he 
 died on the homestead now owned by Charles Hum- 
 aston, May 18, 1880. The mother of the subject of 
 this notice, nee Francis Pember, was a native of Con- 
 necticut, in which State she was born Feb. 14, 1809. 
 The parents' family comprised nine children, four of 
 whom yet survive: Theodocia C., Charles, Annice 
 and Francis, all farmers and residing in this county. 
 In 1861 Mr. Charles Humaston came West, and 
 located in Cerro Gordo Co., Iowa, where he had pro- 
 cured a farm, compiising 160 acres. He resided 
 there until 1864, when he removed to Aurora, this 
 State, and engaged in farming in that vicinity for 
 one year. In 1865 he made another remove, com- 
 
 
 :
 
 UNIVERSITY OF iLlWOIS
 

 
 ing to Prophetstown Township, this county, where 
 he rented land from George P. Richmond, and culti- 
 vated the same for a period of four years. He then 
 bought land, 160 acres, on the Rock River bottom, 
 which he cultivated until 1871, when he sold it and 
 bought his present farm of 120 acres, located as 
 stated. He now has a nice farm under a good state 
 of cultivation, with good residence, outbuildings, etc., 
 and in addition to his homestead place, has 160 acres 
 on section 25. Since 1871, he has spent nearly 
 seven years in Colorado, where he is interested to a 
 considerable extent, in mining property. His inter- 
 est in the estate consists in stock in the Hope, the 
 Cross, and also the Lookout gold and silver mines. 
 Socially, he is a member of the Order of Masonry, 
 the I. O. O. F. and the Knights Templars. 
 
 Mr. Charles Humaston formed a matrimonial alli- 
 ance in Prophetstown Township. May g, 1871, with 
 Miss Helen, daughter of Alden and Harriet M. Tuller. 
 She died Oct. 14, 1871, without issue, and Mr. 
 Charles Humaston was again united in marriage Nov. 
 1 6, 1880, in Denver, Col., to Sarah Weber, born in 
 Troy, N. Y. One child has been born of the latter 
 union, Fanny A. Humaston, Aug. 31, 1881. 
 
 ohn W. Glassburn, senior member of the 
 firm of Glassburn & Son, at Tampico, was 
 born June 26, '835, in Gallia County, 
 Ohio. John Glassburn, his father, was a na- 
 tive of Virginia, and was descended from 
 German ancestors. His parents removed their 
 family to Ohio when he was a small boy, and he 
 grew to the estate of manhood in the Buckeye State. 
 He was married in Vinton County, to Jane Fee. She 
 was the daughter of an Ohio farmer, whose family 
 were early settlers in the State of New York. The 
 elder Glassburn resided in Gallia County till 1867, 
 when he removed to the township of Hahnaman and 
 settled on a farm. The father died there, in the fall 
 of 1870, aged 64 years. The mother is yet living, 
 and is a member of the family of her son in Hahna- 
 man Township. She is about 74 years of age. 
 
 Mr. Glassburn attained to manhood under the 
 authority of his parents, and acquired a fair educa- 
 tion, though school facilities were limited, indeed. 
 June 14, 1854, he was married in his native county 
 
 
 
 to Olive Johnston, the daughter of Andrew and Olive *; 
 (Weed) Johnston. She was born in January, 1838, 
 in Gallia County, Ohio, whither her parents removed 
 from the State of New York, in the pioneer period of 
 Ohio. They were residents there until their deaths. g\ 
 Two of six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Glassburn 
 are deceased. Thomas, the oldest son, is a partner 
 with his father in the banking business and the grain 
 trade, at Tampico. Jennie married William G. 
 Reeve, and they reside at Peru, III. Mr. Reeve is 
 Vice-President of the First National Bank at that 
 place. May is the wife of Silas C. Hovey, of 
 Independence, Iowa. Silas H. is a real-estate agent. 
 Fred lives with his parents. John E. and Ina are 
 deceased. 
 
 Mr. Glassburn located in Tampico about two 
 years after his marriage. He located on a claim of 
 80 acres of wild land, which was the condition of 
 most of the surrounding country. Later he bought 
 120 acres lying in Bureau County, adjoining Turn- 
 pico Township. 
 
 In 1 86 1 he sold his estate and purchased 80 acres 
 on each of sections 14 and 15, where he was the first 
 permanent settler. In March, 1872, the Clinton 
 Branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
 road was completed, and the line of the survey led 
 through his land. Mr. Glassburn succeeded in in- 
 ducing the corporation to lay the depot grounds 
 in the center of his farm, for which he paid $2,000, 
 and he laid out the village, which he named after 
 the township. When the road was open for transit, 
 he established the business in which he has since 
 been interested, and in May, 1882, he built and or- 
 ganized, with W. W. Craddock, the. Tampico Bank, 
 of Glassburn & Craddock, and was elected President 
 of the bank. He first formed a partnership with 
 Marcus Bryant, and later with his son, Thomas, on 
 the latter becoming of age. Their lines of business 
 include traffic in grain, stock, flour, coal, salt, real 
 estate, and their establishment is supplied with all 
 fixtures and conveniences for the transaction of their 
 business, which covers several hundred thousand 
 dollars in value in the course of a year. J. W. owns 
 about 1,400 acres of land. The elevator connected 
 with their business has a capacity of about 30,000 
 bushels, and they held at one time 150,000 bushels 
 of corn. Mr. Glassburn had all of his farm platted 
 in the village of Tampico. He is the founder of 
 Tampico, and has ever been alive to its permanent 
 
 

 
 -?&,. 
 
 WHITESfDE COUNTY. 
 
 well-being, and it is to-day the " apple of his eye." 
 His efforts have made it a convenient shipping point 
 for the produce of the vicinity. Mr. Glassburn is a 
 Democrat. He has held various local township 
 offices. His wife and children are members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Accompanying the foregoing sketch, there is 
 given very appropriately a lithographic portrait of 
 Mr. Glassburn, on the page just preceding. 
 
 & 
 \f 
 
 enry G. Moss, Supervisor of Fenton Town- 
 ship (1885), was born Jan. 14, 1826, in 
 Bedford Co., Tenn., near the city of N'ash- 
 ville. His father, William Moss, was a native 
 of Tennessee, and married Rachel Bratton, 
 who was born in Virginia. His parents came 
 in the first year of his life to Illinois, moving accord- 
 ing to the primitive fashion of those times with horses 
 and a pioneer wagon. They settled seven miles 
 northwest of Jacksonville, in Morgan Co., 111., where 
 they were among the first permanent settlers. The 
 father bought a tract of wild land from the Govern- 
 ment, built a log-house, and settled to add his iota 
 to the development of the common wealth of Illinois. 
 The senior Moss died there May 8, 1876, aged 82 
 years. His wife's death preceded his nearly 30 
 years, as she died in 1848. Their family record is 
 one of the most remarkable, their children number- 
 ing 17, and all were living at the time of the birth 
 of the youngest. 
 
 Mr. Moss is the eighth in order of birth, and he 
 passed his youth in the midst of pioneer conditions, 
 which allowed little latitude save for labor and pri- 
 vation. The first important event in his life was his 
 leap into matrimony. His marriage to Elizabeth 
 Eads took place Nov. 19, 1851. She was born in 
 Madison, Ind. They settled in Union Grove Town- 
 ship in 1853, taking possession of a portion of un- 
 improved land, pn which they began to make the 
 usual efforts to reclaim a farm. They sold the 
 property in 1855, and bought a farm on which some 
 improvements had been made. It was located on 
 section 8, and the family were its occupants until 
 1867. In that year they again sold, and bought 400 
 
 9$. *Q^ 
 
 acres of land on sections 9 and 4 in the township 
 of Fenton. Since his removal to the farm on which 
 he now resides he has been chiefly interested in 
 stock farming. In 1881 he was elected Supervisor, 
 and has been successively re-elected since. 
 
 Following is the record of the children of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Moss: Emily C. is the wife of Sidney C. 
 Covert, of Sterling; Alice E. married Millard F. 
 Austin, of Cloud Co., Kan. ; Lydia M. is Mrs. M. 
 
 D. Allen, of Fenton Township ; Eliza B. is the wife 
 of A. F. Pinkley, and they reside in Nebraska ; 
 Charles N. is the next in order; George. H. is a 
 farmer in Cloud Co., Kan. ; Carrie E., who married 
 
 E. A. Sikes, and Nellie J. are the youngest. 
 
 Mr. Moss is one of the substantial citizens of Fen- 
 ton Township, and he enjoys the confidence and 
 esteem of his fellow townsmen. 
 
 amuel W. Spangler, farmer on section 21, 
 Garden Plain Township, was born April 
 14, 1820, in Rapho Township, Lancaster 
 County, Pa., and is the third son of Daniel 
 and Catharine (Wyland) Spangler. The par- 
 ents were both born in Lancaster County. 
 Mr. Spangler acquired a complete knowledge ot 
 the various details of the business pertaining to a 
 flour mill, which he began to learn at 19, and which 
 he followed in Lancaster County, in 1844. In the 
 fall of that year he went to Wayne County, Ind., 
 where he engaged in the same capacity through the 
 winter following. He returned to Pennsylvania, 
 and was a resident there until 1847, when he went a 
 second time to Wayne County, Ind., and passed four 
 years in the management of a flour-mill near Center- 
 ville. 
 
 In 1851, he came to Whiteside County and 
 bought 80 acres of land on section 21, of Garden 
 Plain Township. He is now a prosperous and pro- 
 gressive farmer, on the same estate upon which he 
 first located on coming to Illinois. A house has been 
 built upon this, to which additions have been made, 
 and other requisite farm buildings have been erected. 
 The proprietor has also planted hedges and set out 
 ornamental trees. The farm cgntains IZQ aqres, all 
 
 V 
 
 

 
 &&&& 
 
 ^^- 
 
 
 WH1TES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 inclosed, and Mr, Spangler is also the owner of 10 
 acres of timber. 
 
 He was married March 16, 1848, to Mary, daugh- 
 ter of Ephraim J. and Margaret (Trindle) Merritt. 
 She was born Dec. n, 1829, in Wayne County, Ind. 
 They have 10 children living, Washington, Nancy, 
 William, Edward, Lincoln, Albert, Newton, Law- 
 rence, Mary J., Samuel and Arthur. Orlando, third 
 in order of birth, died in 1860, aged six years. 
 
 dwin P. Gibbs, a farmer on section 20, 
 Lyndon Township, was born July 13, 1838, 
 in Hornby Township, Steuben Co., N. Y. 
 He is the oldest surviving child of Alanson 
 and Sophronia (Gaylord) Gibbs. His father was 
 born in Rutland Co., Vt., and accompanied his 
 parents in his young manhood to Steuben County. 
 He was there married to the daughter of Marcus 
 and Lydia (Pond) Gaylord, and they had six chil- 
 dren, of whom two are living. Mr. Gibbs has one 
 surviving sister, Mrs. Lydia A. Robinson, of Morri- 
 son. 
 
 The family remained in Hornby Township until 
 1845. In 1843 'he senior Gibbs visited Whiteside 
 County; and, in 1844, he came again and secured a 
 claim on section n,in the township now called Lyn- 
 don. The farm included 20 acres in tillage and 
 had a farm house. Mr. Gibbs remained to put in a 
 crop, and in the fall of the same year went back to 
 New York. He started for his new home in the 
 spring of 1845, and on reaching Chicago bought a 
 span of horses with which he brought his family to 
 Lyndon Township. They occupied the farm until 
 1849, when it was leased to a tenant and Mr. Gibbs 
 became the manager of the hotel at Lyndon, in 
 which he continued until his death, in August, 1854. 
 He was a Whig in political opinion and became a 
 pronounced Abolitionist. He and his wife were 
 members of the Congregational Church. 
 
 Mr. E. P. Gibbs ,was seven years old when his 
 parents came to Illinois, and he was 16 when his 
 father died. His mother continued to manage the 
 hotel two years, and he aided her as best he could. 
 In 1856 he went to Kansas, in company with Gen. 
 
 " Jim " Lane, as a Free-State settler, and remained 
 there one summer, taking a claim while there, in 
 Brown County, which strengthened his principles as 
 an Abolititionist. He came back to Lyndon and at- 
 tended school in the winter of 1856 and 1857. In 
 the spring ensuing, he went to the pineries of Wis- 
 consin, and was occupied through the summer in 
 rafting. He attended school in Lyndon another win- 
 ter, and afterwards aided in farming on the home- 
 stead on section n. In the fall of 1858 he went to 
 Victoria Co., Texas, where he was employed in a 
 hotel and as a stage-driver and in other occupations, 
 and was there through the excitement preceding the 
 outbreak of the movement of Secession. In August, 
 1 86 1, he made his way across the country home to 
 Lyndon. 
 
 Dec. 25, 1862, Mr. Gibbs was married to Lucy 
 Church. She was born in Portage, N. Y., Feb. 20, 
 1839, and died in 1874, leaving four children Brad- 
 ford L., Mabelle, Augusta and Reid. Mr. Gibbs was 
 again married Dec. 30, 1875,10 Emma Heilman, and 
 they are the parents of the following children: Ed., 
 Erwin and Anne Maud. Mrs. Gibbs is a native of 
 Germany. 
 
 At the time of his first marriage, Mr. Gibbs took 
 possession of the homestead which he has since oc- 
 cupied. It contains 240 acres in good agricultural 
 condition, and the proprietor is interested in raising 
 stock and grain. 
 
 fohn P. Aylsworth, one of the progressive 
 and representative citizens, as well as 
 prosperous and energetic farmers of White- 
 side County, residing on section 27, in the 
 township of Prophetstown, and the proprietor 
 of 444 acres of land in the township, was born 
 in Oneida County, Lee Township, New York 
 May 19, 1841. His father, John B., was a carpen- 
 ter and joiner by occupation, and died in the State 
 of New York March 3, 1877. His mother died 
 when John P. was four years of age, leaving two 
 children, of which the subject of this notice is the 
 oldest. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Aylsworth came West and located 
 
 & 
 
 * '* 

 
 
 in Prophetstown Township. He worked by the 
 month two years on a farm, then rented land two 
 years, when he purchased 221 acres of the farm on 
 which he at present resides, and to which he has 
 added by subsequent purchases until at the present 
 time he is the proprietor of 444 acres. He rents a 
 portion of his land and cultivates the remainder. He 
 makes a specialty of Short-horn cattle and Clydes- 
 dale, Morgan and English coach horses. He has 
 one thoroughbred bull, registered number 19,765, 
 raised in Lexington, Ky. He has some i5-i6thsand 
 others j4 and 3/ bloods, and in all has 83 head of 
 cattle and 18 head of horses. He has a fine stallion 
 named Clyde, J^ Black-Hawk Morgan and }4 
 Clydesdale, which he raised from a colt. He has 
 also sold a number of fine horses. He has a nice 
 flock of sheep, usually numbering about 50 head, 
 and also about 100 head of hogs. 
 
 Mr. Aylsworth was united in marriage in Sterling, 
 this county, Dec. 25, 1866, to Miss Helen Field. 
 She is a daughter of Samuel and Olive (Paddock) 
 Field, born in Ava Township, Oneida Co., N. Y., 
 April 21, 1851. The,- have three children, Eva 
 Anna, born Oct. 3, 1868 ; Ella Evangeline, born 
 Feb. 15, 1873; George Samuel, Jan. 27, 1883. 
 
 foseph C. Snyder, farmer, section 24, Al- 
 bany Township, was born July 18, 1844, 
 in the same township, of which he has 
 been a citizen since the time he reached the 
 period of his privileges as such, and where he 
 spent the years of his boyhood and youth. He 
 is the son of Joseph and Nancy (Clark) Snyder. 
 
 At the age of 18 Mr. Snyder entered the military 
 service of the United States. He enlisted in the 
 same month in which he reached that age, in Co. F, 
 93d 111. Vol. Inf. and continued in service during the 
 war. He was under rebel fire in the battles at Jack- 
 son, Miss., Raymond, Champion Hills, siege of 
 Vicksburg and Missionary Ridge. At the last- 
 named contest his ankle was broken by a minie ball, 
 and he was disabled for six months. He rejoined 
 his command at Goldsboro, N. C., and accompanied 
 his regiment to Washington, where he was a partici- 
 pant in the grand review. 
 
 
 On obtaining his discharge, he came back to 
 Whiteside County, and engaged in farming in Gar- 
 den Plain Township. He was married in October, 
 r866, to Mary H., daughter of William and Harriet 
 Ewing, and took up his residence on his father's 
 farm, a portion of which was under his management 
 until his removal to Albany, where he bought a 
 livery stable. After two years' attention to that 
 enterprise, he rented a farm in the Township of 
 Newton, which he conducted until 1875. In that 
 year he bought the farm of which he is still the 
 owner and occupant. It comprises 160 acres of 
 land and is all fenced and in advanced cultivation. 
 The buildings are of a good class, and the appear- 
 ance and the value of the farm are much increased 
 by the fruit and shade trees. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Snyder have four children, namely: 
 Fannie H., Minnie, Mabel and Myrtle. 
 
 harles L. Parkhurst has been a business 
 tj|kRp||' 1T >an at Lyndon since 1873, when he pur- 
 d *' chased a stock of hardware of the Man- 
 
 ning estate, his purchase including a frame 
 building. In 1882 he bought the Coburn 
 building, which he moved and attached to the 
 structure in which he was then managing his hard- 
 ware business and the sale of agricultural implements. 
 He added the sale of groceries, glass, crockery, boots, 
 shoes, wall-paper, patent medicines and school- 
 books, and has since actively prosecuted the miscel- 
 laneous details of his business. 
 
 Mr. Parkhurst was born March 27, 1840, in Siloam, 
 Madison Co., N. Y. His parents, Uzual and Mary 
 (Curtis) Parkhurst, were born in New York. His 
 mother died when he was four years old, and at 12 
 years of age he became a farm assistant near Oswego, 
 where he obtained employment at $5 a month. 
 Eighteen months afterward, in 1854, he came to 
 Whiteside County, having a brother-in-law, George 
 B. Day, at Round Grove. He remained with his 
 relatives six months, when he engaged as a clerk 
 with Scott & Russell in the sale of groceries and 
 hardware and operated in their interests one year. 
 He then went to Morrison, where he was employed 
 
 sx 
 
 I 
 
 -"' 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 - " " 
 
 ~ '. "
 
 j&a/^&eff?. 
 
 T^JVl) 
 
 three years in a restaurant. Sept. 17, 1861, he en- 
 listed in Company B, 341)1 111. Vol. Inf. In his ser- 
 vice, which covered a period of three years, he 
 was a participant in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth 
 and Stone River. He was captured by the Rebels 
 at the last named and was taken to Libby prison at 
 Richmond. He was paroled six months later, and 
 went to St. Louis, where he remained until ex- 
 changed. He rejoined his command at Murfrees- 
 boro and was in action at Atlanta and Jonesboro. 
 He was discharged Sept. 17, 1864, at Atlanta, and 
 <* returned to Whiteside County. He engaged in farm- 
 ing, but was compelled by poor health to devote his 
 \ attention to other employ. In 1867 he embarked in 
 a mercantile enterprise at Erie, in which he was in- 
 terested at that point one year, removing in 1868 to 
 Sterling. He prosecuted the same business there 
 one year and went thence to Round Grove, whence 
 he transferred his relations to Lyndon in 1873, as 
 stated. Mr. Parkhurst is engaged in the active pros- 
 ecution of a popular and successful trade, for which 
 he is fitted by nature and training. 
 
 He was married to Elizabeth Shoeman in 1865, 
 and they have had eight children Burtie, Willliam, 
 Ceola, Matie, Frank, Freddie, Jennie and Winnie. 
 Freddie died in infancy. 
 
 i * 
 
 i> 
 
 ion B. Bull, a farmer residing on section 
 34, Ustick Township, is a son of John W. 
 and Huldah (Wilson) Bull, and was born 
 in the township in which he at present re- 
 sides, Sept. 19, 1858. For a sketch of his 
 father, see biography of J. W. Bull in another 
 part of this work. 
 
 Bion B. Bull, the subject of this biographical notice, 
 was reared on his father's farm, where he remained 
 alternating his labors thereon by attendance at the 
 common schools, until he attained the age of 19 
 years, when he set forth upon the sea of adversity to 
 fight the battles of life alone. He worked out by the 
 month farming, and continued that vocation for 
 about three years, in the State of Iowa, after which 
 he returned to Ustick Township, and rented land, 
 which he cultivated for his own individual benefit. 
 
 - & 
 
 He has, since boyhood days or until the age spoken 
 of, been constantly engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 Mr. Bull was united in marriage in Ustick Town- 
 ship, Feb. 26, 1885, to Miss Maggie, daughter of 
 James and Jane (McKee) Jemison. She was born 
 in Ustick Township, Jan. 17, 1864. Politically Mr. 
 Bull is an advocate of the principles of the Republi- 
 can party. 
 
 uilford Langford, farmer, resident on 
 section 12, Albany Township, was born 
 Dec. 27, 1836, in Waterford, Fulton Co. 
 111. Asa Langford, his father, was born in 
 Alabama and accompanied his parents about 
 1805 to the Territory of Illinois. They located 
 near Carmi in White County, where they were among 
 the earliest to make a permanent location. The 
 senior Langford was married there, and about 1815 
 he went to Fulton County with his family, then in- 
 cluding his wife and two children. He became in- 
 terested in the river service and soon obtained a 
 position as pilot, rising later to that of Captain. He 
 was in the Black Hawk War and held the rank of 
 Second Lieutenant. He died in Fulton County, 
 April 6, 1862. Nancy (Nevitt) Langford, his wife, 
 was the daughter of Wm. Nevitt, one of the first 
 pioneers of Albany in Whiteside County. She died 
 in 1868. Four of their seven children are now liv- 
 ing (1885). The eldest is a member of the current 
 Legislature of Illinois. A sketch of Wm. Nevitt, 
 who was a pioneer of Whiteside County, is given 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. Langford was the sixth child of his parents in 
 order of birth, and was 14 when his father settled in 
 Albany. Four years later he was attached to the 
 corps of Frink & Walker, stage route proprietors, be- 
 tween Chicago and Albany, in the capacity of road- 
 master. After operating in their interests one year, 
 he engaged as an engineer in a steam saw-mill, where 
 he was occupied two years. The succeeding seven 
 years he rafted on the Mississippi River. He had 
 acquired some property and was comfortably located 
 at Albany, when the tornado of June 3, 1860, which 
 ruined the vfllage, swept away his accumulations and 
 
 
 
 
 
 *
 
 1" 
 
 (5) 
 
 left him with the privilege of beginning the world 
 anew. He went to Bureau County and rented land, 
 which he continued to manage two years. At the 
 expiration of that time he took possession of some 
 land left him 'by his father, situated on section 19. 
 Three years later he sold the place and bought a 
 homestead on section 12, where he has since operated 
 with success. He now owns 500 acres, all in good 
 agricultural condition with excellent buildings. 
 
 Mr. Langford was married April 23, 1859, to 
 Emeline Valentine. She was born in Monmouth, 
 N. J., and is the daughter of Wm. and Julia A. Val- 
 entine. Guilford J. and Frank are the names of the 
 sons of Mr. and Mrs. Langford. Frank received 
 ijjjroo per month as stenographer when only 19 years 
 old. 
 
 :ecker Miller, a pioneer of Whiteside 
 County, of 1837, is living in retirement 
 on his farm on section 25, Jordan Town- 
 ship. He is a citizen of the United States 
 by adoption, having been born in Oldenburg, 
 Germany, April 6, 1820. P. E. Miller, his 
 father, 'was a native of Germany, and was the son of 
 a manufacturer of linseed oil, who was a native 
 of Friesland, Hanover, Germany, where he died 
 many years ago. He was the earliest ancestor 
 known in the paternal line. The family is, and has 
 been for several generations, remarkable for strong, 
 stalwart men. The father of Becker Miller was the 
 youngest of a large family of children. He was 
 gifted with a brilliant intellect and a strong pro- 
 clivity for study, which he indulged through the 
 succeeding years of his life. The peasants of the 
 Duchy of Oldenburg were very poor; and in unpro- 
 ductive years, when the scarcity of food threatened 
 famine, and they were reduced to suffering, it was 
 their custom to make their distresses known to the 
 Duke ol Oldenburg by petition, and the senior 
 Miller was selected not only to prepare the docu- 
 ment, but also to present it to the dignitary who 
 formed the head of the local government. The 
 accomplishments and fine character of the messen- 
 ger won the sincere friendship of the Duke. Mr. 
 Miller, senior, married Theda Remmers, who was 
 
 born in Oldenburg, and was a farmer's daughter. 
 Her father was possessed of a fine estate, and was 
 of a deeply religious character. He was made the 
 victim of unscrupulous friends, and lost his wealth. 
 His family have been noted for remarkable tenacity 
 of life. 
 
 In 1837 the parents came with five children to 
 the United States. Elizabeth, the eldest child, re- 
 mained in Germany until 1866, when she came to 
 America. Christina married John Abels, and died 
 in the province where she was born. The children 
 who accompanied the parents to this country were 
 named Siebold, Emke D., Anthony F., Becker and 
 Henry. With the exception of the oldest son, who 
 was a miller by profession, the sons were all farmers. 
 The family settled in Cass Co., 111., in 1837, where 
 the father died in September of the same year, aged 
 58 years. He was buried in that county, and in 
 the next year the mother, with her five sons, came 
 to Lee County, and settled in Palmyra Township. 
 They bought a claim in r838, which they secured 
 from the Government when the land came into 
 market in 1843, and had the proud privilege of 
 knowing that they paid in full for the land they 
 owned. They settled in Lee County, before the 
 township had a name, and when Dixon had no 
 existence, save as Dixon's Ferry, the name given to 
 the little cluster of insignificant dwellings on the 
 site of the now beautiful city. 
 
 Mr. Miler was married Sept. 19, 1852, in Palmyra 
 Township, to Elizabeth M. Thummel, the youngest 
 child of the Rev. Christian B. and Elizabeth M. 
 (Cox) Thummel. She had two brothers : William, 
 the oldest, lives on a farm in Worth Co., Mo. 
 Charles died when he was a babe. Mrs. Miller was 
 born Dec. 5, 1835, in the city of Utica, N. Y. 
 She was 10 days of age when her mother died 
 Her father was again married, May 17, 1837, in 
 the State of New York, to Catherine Lattin, and 
 the two motherless children were reared by their 
 step-mother. 
 
 In 1846 the family came to Illinois, and settled 
 in Palmyra Township, in Lee County. The father 
 died there, May 24, 1881. He was 80 years of age. 
 and spent 50 years in active, efficient ministerial 
 labor. He was a reliable man, and won universal 
 confidence. For fifteen years before his death he 
 was Treasurer of the Farmers' Life Insurance Com- 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 V) 

 
 pany. His wife is still living, and is the mother of 
 five children : Anson E., Charles, George, Warren 
 and Catherine. The children of Becker Miller and 
 his wife are recorded as follows : Emma C. married 
 Henry Montillon, and lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa ; 
 Adaline E. married Samuel Wailk, and lives on the 
 homestead ; Ella M. married William Emory, and 
 they are farmers in Boone Co., Iowa; George W. B. 
 lives in Kansas ; Frederick L. is a resident of Mar- 
 shall Co., Iowa; and Jessie L. lives at home. 
 
 After the marriage of Mr. Miller he located on a 
 farm in Palmyra Township, of which he became 
 the owner, and which he sold in 1853. In the fall 
 of the same year he removed to Jordan Township, 
 and bought an improved farm on section 25, where 
 he is now the owner of 260 acres of land, which he 
 has redeemed from its original condition. He has 
 given much attention to stock-growing. He is con- 
 sidered a skillful and progressive farmer. Mr. Mil- 
 ler is a Democrat. During the War of the Rebellion 
 he served two years as Supervisor, and devoted his 
 energies effectively to the prosecution of a draft in 
 his township. He has held other responsible official 
 positions. For many years he and his wife have 
 been members of the Lutheran Cburch. 
 
 obert K. Murphy, farmer, Garden Plain 
 Township, was born Feb. 14, 1836, in 
 Adams Co., Ohio. His parents removed 
 in 1852 to Whiteside County. He was then 
 1 6 years of age, and he resided with them un- 
 til his marriage. Eliza J. Armstrong became 
 his wife, March 9, 1859. She was born Oct. 8, 1835, 
 in Franklin Co., Pa., and died in Garden Plain Town- 
 ship in 1878. She left five children, namely: Addie 
 married E. A. Harrington and they live at La Moille; 
 D. Edgar is a resident in Ustick Township ; Samuel, 
 Bertha and Frances M. are the names of the three 
 youngest, in order of birth. Mr. Murphy was mar- 
 ried a second time, to Lorinda Casselman, March 25, 
 1880. She was born in Jefferson Co., N. Y. 
 
 At the time of his first marriage, he located on 80 
 acres of land on section 27, since which time he has 
 been occupied, continuously in its improvement, A 
 
 ^&,. 
 
 new dwelling has been erected on the place, in addi- 
 tion to the pursuits common to mixed husbandry, 
 Mr. Murphy has been for some years interested in 
 the cultivation of small fruit, including grapes, cher- 
 ries and apples. He is also the owner of a fine 
 apiary, comprising 85 colonies of bees. In 1880 he 
 embarked in the creamery business, in which he 
 is operating with success. 
 
 Mr. Murphy is reaping the reward of his industry, 
 frugality and thrift, and is a valuable citizen in his 
 township. 
 
 
 aron Porter Holt, M. D., deceased, for- 
 merly a medical practitioner at Lyndon, 
 was born Oct. 8, 1808, in Holden, Worces- 
 ter Co., Mass. His father was named Amos 
 Holt, and he was the third son. The latter 
 was reared on the paternal homestead and re- 
 ceived a commons-chool education. In youth he 
 was apprenticed to learn the business of a machinist, 
 but he devoted his entire leisure to study. In 1835, 
 when 27, he began to read medicine, and in 1840 
 opened an office at Andover, Essex Co., N. Y., em- 
 ploying the botanic and eclectic systems. In 1841 
 he went to Lowell, Mass., where he kept an infirm- 
 ary six years, and met with results entirely satisfac- 
 tory. He grew dissatisfied with city life and went to 
 Palmyra, Jefferson Co., Wis., where he transacted 
 business for a brief period. In 1847 he came to Lyn- 
 don. Two years later he was seized with a hemor- 
 rhage of the lungs, and suffered from the conse- 
 quences nearly a year. He was a consumptive by 
 inheritance, his mother, brothers and sisters having 
 been victims of the disease. Through careful treat- 
 ment he recovered his health. As soon as he had 
 sufficiently recovered to resume business, he ob- 
 tained a homeopathic library and the remedies pre- 
 scribed by that school of medicine; and after careful 
 investigation by experiment, he adopted that method 
 of practice. In 1856 he was graduated at the Home- 
 opathic College, at Cleveland, O., acquitting himself 
 with honor in his examination. He used no other 
 system in his latter practice. Dr. Holt was a mem- 
 ber gf the first Homeopathic Medical Society that
 
 ; 
 
 was organized in Illinois. He also was one of the 
 foremost citizens of Lyndon in affording support to 
 all projects that promised substantial or permanent 
 benefit to the general welfare. He was one of the 
 proprietors of the Railroad Addition to Lyndon, 
 platted in 1869, and in 1874 was made one of the 
 first Board of Trustees when the village was incor- 
 porated, the first meeting of that body being held at 
 his home May zd. 
 
 He was married Dec. 2, 1829, to Clarissa Huse, of 
 Chester, N. H. She died in September, 1864. Dr. 
 Holt's second marriage, to Rosetta M. Mitchell, oc- 
 curred in August, 1865. She was born in Aurora, 
 Erie Co., N. Y. By the first marriage there were six 
 children, but three of whom are living. Lucius is a 
 medical practitioner at Marshalltown, Iowa. Luella 
 A. is the wife of George L. Coburn. Mary Lowell is 
 married to Atwater Day, of Boston, Mass. James 
 H., the youngest son of the earlier marriage, was born 
 Aug. 9, 1843. He was a bugler in the military ser- 
 vice of his country during the Rebellion, and died 
 during his period of enlistment. Charlotte M., Amos 
 W., Kittie B., Arthur M. and Aaron P. are the chil- 
 dren of the later marriage of Dr. Holt. 
 
 He died March 6, 1876, after an illness of two 
 years. He prescribed for visiting patients until a 
 week previous to his death. 
 
 ~ohn M. Overholser, general farmer, section 
 9, Genesee Township, was born Jan. 19, 
 1854. He is the son of Martin and Bar- 
 bara (Arford) Overholser, of whom an account 
 is given in connection with that of Christian 
 Overholser. 
 
 The subject of this personal record was reared 
 and educated in Tuscarawas Co., Ohio, where he 
 was born. He was employed on his father's farm 
 until he had passed his twentieth birthday, and until 
 the removal of the family to Illinois. They located 
 on section 9, where the son entered into the work 
 of improving a new farm, in which he was engaged 
 until he established himself as the independent head 
 of a family. He formed a matrimonial alliance with 
 
 ffi _V^4- ^^^ ^-*< 
 
 Lydia, daughter of Jacob and Anna (Overholser) 
 Crom, in Wysox, Carroll Co., 111. Her parents were 
 natives of Pennsylvania, and were brought up in 
 Harrison Co., Ohio. After their marriage they went 
 to Sandusky County, and afterwards to Wood 
 County, in the same State. Mrs. Overholser was 
 born there April 18, 1833. She was 19 years of age 
 when her father made a transfer of his family and 
 business relations to Carroll Co., 111. To her and 
 her husband five children have been born, Elizabeth 
 A. is the wife of C. Vincent, of Coleta. (They have 
 one child, Myrtle.) Martin married Anna M. Dull, 
 and lives at home. Clara J. married Howard 
 Hawkins, of Clyde Township. Rebecca A. and 
 James C. are the two youngest children. 
 
 Mr. Overholser is the owner of 117 acres of land, 
 which he purchased after his marriage, and he has 
 devoted the greatest part of his time and energies to 
 its improvement. He has erected creditable farm 
 buildings. In political faith and adherence he is a 
 Republican. He belongs to the United Brethren 
 Church, of which his wife is also a member. 
 
 r <t 
 : 
 
 *fofrM ^ 
 
 aniel Nicenwanger is a farmer on section 
 31, Garden Plain Township. He was born 
 in Ligonier Township, Westmoreland Co., 
 Pa., July 2, 1834. His paternal descent is of 
 German, and his father, Joseph Nicenwanger, 
 . was born in Cumberland Co., Pa. His mother, \ 
 Margaret Hull, before her marriage, was of English rf 
 origin, and was born in Allegheny Co., Pa. The ^ 
 father conducted a home of public entertainment in 
 the village of Mill Creek, Pa., and he also owned a 
 farm, which he managed. 
 
 The son operated as his father's assistant in both 
 his business interests. He was married July 2, 
 1857, to Jane Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob and Eliz- 
 abeth Lowrey. She was born June 22, 1835, in the'S 
 town of Ligonier, Westmoreland Co., Pa., of mixed i 
 German and Scotch ancestry. 
 
 The newly married people passed the first year wjj 
 subsequent to the'r marriage on the homestead farm Sj* 
 of the senior Nicenwanger, after which they settled 8JJ 
 on a farm, of which they were the occupants until 
 
 |^<e>
 
 UNIVERSilY Of ILLINOIS 
 URBANA
 
 ~ . . " 
 
 -7&\>- 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 1862. In August of that year, the husband enlisted 
 as a Corporal in the military service in the State of 
 Illinois, and went to Connellsville. At that place he 
 was transferred to the Quartermaster's Department 
 and served six months. His term of enlistment hav- 
 ing expired, he was discharged in February, 1864. He 
 re-enlisted in the regular army as a private. He 
 was assigned to a position on the signal service de- 
 partment under Capt. Russel Pennis. He was soon 
 after promoted to the rank of Sergeant and served 
 till August, 1865, when he was honorably discharged, 
 and returned to Westmoreland County. 
 
 In 1866 he came to Rock Island Co., 111., to as- 
 sume the duties as superintendent of the property 
 known as the McCormick stock farm, which he man- 
 aged five years. He afterward rented the same farm, 
 and conducted his interests there two years. Mean- 
 while he bought the farm he now occupies in Garden 
 Plain Township. It includes 120 acres, has a good 
 outfit of buildings, and is under an excellent grade 
 of cultivation. Its improvements includes one of 
 the finest apple orchards in the county and a large 
 assortment of varieties of small fruits. 
 
 Mr. Nicenwanger belongs to the Post Captain 
 Mack, G. A. R., at Albany, to Lodge No. 66, A. F. 
 and A. M., to the A. O. U. W., of Garden Plain, and 
 to the Forest Camp of Modern Woodmen. He and 
 his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 Tht:ir children are named Anna, Grace, Etta and 
 Joseph Edgar. The elder is the wife of William 
 Drury, of Garden PJain Township. 
 
 eorge P. Richmond, one of the leading 
 
 a agriculturists of Whiteside County, and a 
 
 K prominent stock-horse raiser, residing on 
 *- * section 35, Prophetstown, was born in Adams 
 Township, Berkshire Co., Mass., Oct. 24, 1827. 
 His parents, John and Chloe Richmond, were 
 New Englanders, the former a native. of Connecticut 
 and the latter of Massachusetts. In the early part 
 of his life, his father was a farmer, but later engaged 
 in mercantile business. He died in 1838. His 
 mother died in Berkshire County in 1841. They 
 were the parents of four children, all of whom are 
 
 living: John, the eldest, is a farmer in Adams 
 Township, Mass.; Mary, wife of R. M. Cole, a mer- 
 chant and farmer in Cheshire, Berkshire Co., Mass.; 
 the subject of this sketch, the third in order of birth ; 
 and Rufus, farmer in Pittfield Township, Mass. 
 
 When ready to go into the world, to enter upon a 
 business career for himself, Mr. Richmond looked 
 for a wider field of operation than his native State 
 offered. With thousands of others, he looked to the 
 great and growing West, and in 1849 came to Illi- 
 nois and located in Prophetstown Township, where 
 he purchased 1 60 acres of land, located on section 
 26. He has been quite successful, and accumulated 
 property, until he now has about 2,000 acres of land, 
 in this township, besides a few village lots in Lyn- 
 don. When Mr. R. first came to this county he had 
 but little money, all told only $1,500; but by energy 
 and the display of rare business ability, with which 
 he is gifted, he has accumulated until he is now quite 
 wealthy. Being one of the early settlers of the 
 county, however, he endured much privation and 
 had had many obstacles to contend with, in carry- 
 ing forward his business, that the young men of to- 
 day know little or nothing about When he first 
 came he raised a number of cattle, and drove them 
 all the way to the Chicago market. 
 
 Mr. Richmond is quite extensively engaged in 
 stock-raising, usually buying a large number of young 
 stock, which he raises and fattens for the market. 
 He gives his special attention to the raising of 
 horses, having at present over 100 head. The 
 Hambletonians are his principal breed, of which he 
 raises very fine and fast horses. He has been a 
 prominent competitor in the fairs of his own county, 
 and those of Chicago in the stock department, hav- 
 ing exhibited some very fine colts and cattle at these 
 exhibitions. He is a member of the Illinois Breed- 
 ers' Association, and takes great interest in all mat- 
 ters pertaining to the development of farm stock. 
 
 Mr. Richmond was united in marriage in Prophets- 
 town Township, Feb. 22, 1860, to Miss Sevilla, 
 daughter of Edward and Orpha Gage. His wife was 
 a native of this township and was born April 30, 
 1842. Mrs. Richmond died April 18, 1879. She 
 was the mother of three chilcren, all born in Prophets- 
 town Township. John, the oldest was born Sept. 24, 
 1 86 1, resides at home and is interested with his 
 father in the horses and other stock; Mary, wife of 
 
 \s 
 
 3* 
 
 Vg) 
 
 ft 
 
 
 
 ~-- 
 
 '
 
 grjfc* 
 II 
 
 * 
 
 o* 
 
 C. L. Passmore, a jeweler at Savanna, 111. She 
 was born Sept. 9, 1863; Harry B., born Feb. 25, 
 1 87 1 , now at home. 
 
 Not only as a representative agriculturist of the 
 county, but as one who ranks with the leading men, 
 we place a portrait of Mr. Richmond in this ALBUM, 
 accompanying this sketch. It is engraved from a 
 photograph recently taken. 
 
 acob L. Myers, resident on section 22, 
 Genesee Township, has been a farmer all 
 his active life, and is now living in retire- 
 ment. He was born Nov. 29, 1829, in Carroll 
 Co., Md. Joseph Myers, his father, was a 
 native of Pennsylvania, and was of mixed 
 German and English descent. He was a carder and 
 fuller by trade, and worked at that business among 
 the pioneers of Pennsylvania and Maryland. He is 
 yet living in McDonough Co., 111., and is 82 years of 
 age. He married Mary Lehman, a native of York 
 Co., Pa., and a descendant of the Pennsylvania 
 *Dutch. Her father was a carder and fuller, and 
 also a farmer. She died in Pennsylvania, July 6, 
 1872, aged 69 years. She became the mother of 
 seven sons and two daughters. 
 
 Mr. Myers continued to live in Maryland until he 
 was six years of age, when his parents went to York 
 Co., Pa., where he attended the common schools, 
 and was reared to the age of 20 years on his father's 
 farm. In 1849 he was apprenticed to learn the 
 trade of a miller. He first passed a winter in that 
 employ, working for $30 for the season. He after- 
 ward received regular wages, following the same 
 business about eight years. 
 
 He came during that period to Whiteside County, 
 and located at the mouth of Buffalo Creek, in Juda 
 Township, where Joseph M. Wilson's mill was in 
 operation. He was married in 1857, and resided 
 for a time at a point on section 33, Jordan Town- 
 ship, yet known as Bressler's Mill. A few months 
 after locating there he removed to his farm in the 
 same township. He had purchased previous to his 
 marriage 80 acres of land, and on this he pursued 
 his agricultural interests about seven years. He 
 purchased 1 20 acres of land in Genesee Township, 
 
 and", in 1864, took permanent possession of the 
 place. He is now the owner of 526 acres in first- 
 class condition, and constituting one of the finest 
 farms in Genesee Township, beautified and increased 
 in value by its buildings. He also owns 40 acres of 
 timber, and the same amount of pasture. He has 
 been extensively interested in raising stock. 
 
 Mr. Myers was married Dec. 3, 1857, in Lee Co., 
 111., to Nancy, daughter of Joseph and Mary (More- 
 land) Cohenour, natives respectively of Ireland and 
 the Dominion of Canada. They were married in 
 Huntington Co., Pa., and her father was a wagon- 
 maker by occupation. Mrs. Myers was born Feb. 
 5, 1830, in Orbisonia, Hfintington Co., Pa, and is 
 one of a family of nine children. Her father re- 
 moved with his family when she was 24 years of 
 age, to the western part of Lee County. Four 
 children that have been born to her and her hus- 
 band are all married. Mary E., born Sept. 27, 
 1858, is the wife of Daniel Shank, of Genesee Town- 
 ship; Joseph E., born Nov. 28, 1859, married Mat- 
 tie Runion ; Ann Eliza, born Nov. 29, 1860, married 
 Jacob Hager; John A., born Aug. 8, 1862, married 
 Mary Swigart. They all live in Genesee Township. 
 
 The family are members of the Dunkard Church. 
 Mr. Myers has been many years a Deacon, and has 
 officiated four years as a minister. He is a Repub- 
 lican, and in his political connections is one of the 
 most reliable citizens of his township. He has held 
 several local offices. 
 
 rminius S. Round, a fanner on section 25, 
 Fenton Township, is the son of George and 
 Rebecca (Potter) Round. His father was 
 born in Scituate, R. I., and went with his 
 parents to the State of New York when he 
 was 16 years of age. The mother's history 
 was much the same. She died in Fenton at the 
 home of her son. The senior Round had a large 
 family and limited resources. 
 
 The son, who is the subject of this biographical 
 notice, set out in his single-handed contest with the 
 world when he was 14 years old. He was born 
 
 3 *^ .
 
 
 I 
 
 Feb. 23, 1836, in Richfield, Otsego Co., N. Y. He 
 hired out to a farmer in 1850, to work one season at 
 
 ^ $5 a month. In the winter ensuing he did chores 
 for his board and went to school. Two successive 
 summers he worked for $6 and $8 a month, and went 
 to school winters. He continued to operate in this 
 method until he was twenty years of age. In 1856 
 he went to Grand Rapids, Mich., and worked on a 
 farm one summer, teaching school in the winter fol- 
 lowing. The next year he took up a claim in Kan- 
 sas, and lived thereon until fall, when he returned 
 to the State of New York, and spent a year in farm 
 labor. He next came to Grundy Co., 111., and 
 passed two years, teaching school winters. He went 
 next to Missouri, and thence to Memphis, Tenn., 
 where he remained about two months. He returned 
 to Illinois, and reached Whiteside County June 10, 
 1859. 
 
 He was interested in farming until the breaking 
 out of the Southern Rebellion, when he hastened 
 back to his native State to enter the military ser- 
 vice of the United States. He enlisted May i, r86i, 
 20 days after the first gun of the insurgents was fired 
 upon Fort Sumter. He enrolled in Co. G, 34th N. Y. 
 Vol. Inf. He was in action at Fair Oaks, Savage 
 Station, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, South 
 Mountain, Antietam, and the Second Battle of Fred- 
 ericksburg. Co. G went into the fight at Antietam, 
 Sept. 17, 1862, with 35 men, and in less than five 
 minutes after forming in line of battle nine men 
 were killed and eight wounded. Mr. Round was 
 shot through the right lung in the first volley, and 
 before he could leave his position a canister shot 
 j passed through his left leg, and he was reported in the 
 list of casualities as killed. He lay 26 hours on the 
 field, during which time our own and the rebel line 
 of battle passed over him three times in charging 
 and recharging, and when the fighting finally ceased, 
 he lay midway between the two lines of battle! Five 
 months later he rejoined his command at Falmouth, 
 Va., where he was commissione'd Second Lieutenant. 
 He was mustered out of service at Albany, N. Y., 
 June 30, 1863, at the expiration of his period of en- 
 listment. Jan. i, 1864, Mr. Round re -enlisted in 
 Co. L, 2d N. Y. Heavy Artillery, as a private. He 
 was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, March i. His 
 regiment joined the Army of the Potomac after the 
 battle of the Wilderness, leaving their siege guns at 
 
 ^j. Washington, and going to the front as infantry, and 
 
 \ 
 
 doing service as such until the war was ended. The 
 regiment was under fire at Spottsylvania Court- 
 house, May 19, 1869; North Anna River, May 22; 
 Tolopoyomy Creek, May 31 ; Cold Harbor, June 2 
 to June 10 ; Petersburg, June 16, 17, 18 and 22 ; 
 Strawberry Plains, July 28 ; Deep Bottom, Aug. 14 
 and 16 ; Ream's Station, Aug. 25 ; Hatcher's Run, 
 Dec. 9 ; Battle of the 2d Corps near Petersburg, 
 March 25, 1865; Five Forks, March i; South Side 
 Railroad, April 2 ; Amelia Springs (Sailors' Creek), 
 April 6; Farm ville (Round Fort), April 7 ; surrender 
 of the Rebel Army by Gen. R. E. Lee to Gen. U. S. 
 Grant, at Appomattox Court-house, April 9, 1865. 
 Mr. Round was with his regiment through the entire 
 list which has been given, and was in the nine- 
 months' siege of Petersburg and Richmond, and at 
 Deep Bottom on the James River. At the close of 
 the last-named engagement, he was the only com- 
 missioned officer left to his company, which went 
 into action with three who ranked him. He was 
 made Second Lieutenant, July 26, 1864; Dec. 24, 
 1864, was commissioned First Lieutenant, and Feb. 
 20, 1865, became Captain of his company. He as- 
 sumed command of his company Aug. 14, 1864, and 
 was its chief officer until Oct. n, 1865. On that, 
 day the command was "mustered" out on David's 
 Island (N. Y.) Harbor. Mr. Round sustained the 
 honor of the blood which descended to him from his 
 ancestral stock, and proved the quality of the patriot- 
 ism which laid the sure foundations of freedom in 
 the New World. Barthrum Round, his grandfather, 
 was a soldier of the Revolution, with the rank of 
 Ensign, and drew a pension from the Government. 
 
 Mr. Round returned to Illinois in the fall of 1865, 
 in the capacity of a civilian. In the spring follow- 
 ing he bought the farm on which he has since re- 
 sided. He formed a matrimonial alliance, Dec. 28, 
 1866, with Helen J., daughter of Asa and Elvira 
 Adams. Mrs. Round was born in Aurora, Erie Co., 
 N. Y., Nov. 9, 1844. Morris, Tliaddeus, Nora, 
 Daisy and George are the names of the children of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Round, two of whom, Daisy and 
 Frank, are deceased. 
 
 George Round was born April 21, 1779, and died 
 Dec. 3, 1851; Rebecca Round was born Dec. 22, 
 1799, and died Oct. 4, 1872; Barthrum Round, 
 father of George, was born Dec. 22, 1741, and died 
 Oct. i, 1833, aged 92 years; Alice Round, paternal 

 
 & 
 
 I 
 
 KM 
 
 grandmother of A. S. Round, was born Nov. 6, 1744, 
 and died April n, 1828, aged 84 years. The 
 parents, whose births and deaths are given at the 
 opening of this paragraph, were 73 at the time ot 
 their decease. 
 
 The estate of Mr. Round is situated on sections 
 24 and 25, and comprises 215 acres, in valuable 
 condition. 
 
 iharles M. Hewitt, a farmer, residing on 
 section 35, Montmorency Township, is a 
 son of Moses P. and Sarah M. (Webb) 
 Hewitt, natives of the State of New York 
 and Massachusetts respectively. Their fam- 
 ily comprised seven children, namely : Chas. 
 M., Elisha P., William, Joseph, John, Frances and 
 Sarah M. 
 
 Charles M., the suject of this biographical notice, 
 was born in Mexico, Oswego Co., N. Y., Feb. 6, 
 1835. He was reared on the farm, and received an 
 English education at the common schools of his na- 
 tive county, remaining on the parental homestead 
 until about 22 years of age. At this period in his 
 life's history, he engaged in the livery and stage 
 business, which occupation he followed for about 18 
 months. In 1858 Mr. Hewitt came to this county, 
 locating at Sterling, where he engaged in farm labor, 
 and which vocation he followed in the neighborhood 
 of that place, about four years ; he then rented land 
 and cultivated it for his own individual benefit for 
 some four years longer. At the expiration of this 
 time, he purchased 160 acres of land, located in 
 Montmorency Township, upon which he settled and 
 entered vigorously and energetically upon the task 
 of its cultivation and improvement, and on which he 
 has resided until the present time. 
 
 Mr. Hewitt was united in marriage to Miss Ida 
 Emmons, at Sterling, 111., in 1866. She is a daughter 
 of A. F. R. Emmons, and was born in Sterling, this 
 county, March 22, 1845. Their family comprised 
 three children: Effie May, born May 10, 1867, died 
 July 22, following, aged 10 weeks ; Allie S., born 
 Aug. 4, 1868; and Frankie, March 22, 1870. 
 
 X 
 
 The parents of Mrs. H. were early settlers of this 
 county and experienced all the trials incident to the 
 establishment of a home in this county during its 
 pioneer days. Their family comprised four children : 
 Harriet M., Ida E., William L. and Cora L. The 
 parents are yet living and reside at Rock Falls. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Hewitt is independent. Al- 
 though a man who devotes his time strictly to his 
 own business and not a seeker after office, he has of- 
 ficiated as Road Commissioner, and held other 
 minor offices within the gift of the people of his 
 township. 
 
 ('oseph W. Hill, of the firm of J. W. Hill & 
 ff- Co., dealers in dry goods, groceries, boots *( 
 and shoes, crockery, notions, etc., at ^ 
 Prophetstown, is a son of William and Susan 
 (Baker) Hill, and was born in Castleton, Rut- 
 land Co., Vt., Dec. 2, 1827. His father was a 
 farmer by vocation, and also a mechanic. His par- 
 ents' family consisted of eight children, four of whom ^ 
 are now living. In Sept., 1835, the family started ( 
 from Castleton. Vt., with teams and three wagons. 
 The father had been prospecting in the fall of the 
 previous year and had decided to locate in Knox 
 Co., 111. On the way out, others traveling to Rock 
 River induced him to come to this county, and he 
 located two miles southwest of the present village 
 of Prophetstown, on section 7, of the township of the 
 same name. He bought a claim there, consisting of 
 1 60 acres, and when the land came into market he 
 purchased the same from the Government. He 
 subsequently added to his original purchase, and, at 
 the date of his death, had a fine farm consisting of 
 200 acres, under a good state of cultivation. He died 
 on his farm, Aug. 29, 1846. The mother also died 
 there, Feb. 14, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Hill, subject of this biographical notice, when < 
 21 years of age, purchased the interests of 'the heirs ^ 
 to the family homestead and resided on the same ^ 
 till March 7, iSSi. He then moved to Prophets- 
 town and rented his farm, and engaged in business 
 in company with his brother William during the year
 
 1884. He soon afterward purchased the building. 
 His daughter has since been admitted as a member 
 of the company. They carry a stock approximating 
 $6,000, and are doing a good and constantly increas- 
 ing business. 
 
 Mr. Hill is the proprietor of 280 acres of land, in- 
 cluding the old homestead. He has taken an act- 
 ive part in school matters, and is, truly speaking, 
 one of the representative citizens of Whiteside 
 County. He was married in Prophetstown Town- 
 ship, on the old homestead, to Miss Martha Reynolds, 
 a daughter of Oliver and Sophia Reynolds, April 30, 
 1854. She was born in Pennsylvania, April 30, 
 1835, and has borne to her husband nine children. 
 Harden R. is a farmer and stockman, and resides in 
 Kansas. Leman resides on the homestead. Emma 
 is a partner in the business at Prophetstown. Almira 
 B. is the wife of Charles W. Hull, a banker in 
 Kirwin, Kas. Vira is the wife of Frank Warner, a 
 farmer residing three and a half miles southeast of 
 Prophetstown. Elma and Elbert L. are now living 
 on a farm in Kansas. Mina also resides in the 
 latter State; and Mertie J. is residing at home. 
 
 tames Currier, retired farmer, Sterling, 
 Ip was born in the town of Holland, Erie 
 Co., N. Y.,_ on Cazenovia Creek, his 
 parents being Joseph and Mary (Craig) Cur- 
 rier, natives of Montpelier, Vt. His father, a 
 farmer by calling, pursued his vocation on a 
 farm of 40 acres, partly timber land, which he had 
 purchased ; but after occupying the place for six 
 years he lost it. He then moved 12 miles away, 
 with a yoke of two-year-old steers, into the woods, 
 upon another 4o-acre tract, which he had bought for 
 $2.50. There he built a small log house, 12x20 
 feet in size, commenced to clear the ground, ane the 
 first year raised a. good little crop of farm .produce. 
 He died in 1856, leaving a widow with six depen- 
 dent Children, James being the third in order of 
 birth. 
 
 At the youthful age of ten years, the subject of 
 this sketch, with his mother, took charge of the fam- 
 ily and of the farm. She died in 1859; also, a son 
 
 and a daughter died while the family resided at that 
 place. James became the owner of the homestead, 
 and continued to manage it, clearing more ground 
 and purchasing 70 acres of timbered land in addi- 
 tion. All this tract he cleared, except a small por- 
 tion reserved for a wood lot. He remained 40 years. 
 
 May 10, 1839, he married Sally A. Stillwell, and 
 they became the parents of four children, Mary, 
 Archibald, Martha J. and Phebe A. Mary died 
 Aug. 14, 1840. Archibald married Mary McVicker, 
 March 9, 187 r, and they have two children, 
 Charles and Melvin. Martha J. became the wife of 
 Jesse Penrose in 1879, and they have one daughter, 
 Lillian. Phebe A. married Malburn A Tapper, 
 Oct. 5, 1871, and they have two sons, -Bertie and 
 Eddie. 
 
 Mrs. Currier died May ro, 1848, and for his 
 second wife Mr. C. married Miss Alma Howe, Oct. 
 8, 1848. She was the daughter of Aaron and Sarah 
 (Clark) Howe, natives respectively of Maine and 
 Massachusetts, Mrs. C. being the fifth in order of 
 birth in their family of six children. By the last 
 marriage there have been five children, namely: 
 Emma V., who, Sept. 2, 1873, married Levi W. 
 Davis, of Iowa, and they had two children, Isaa*, 
 born Sept. 6, 1875, and Mary, Aug. 6, 1878. Mr. 
 Davis died Nov. 29, 1882. Julius S., second 
 daughter, was married Jan. i, r874, to Samuel Hos- 
 ford, of Montmorency, 111., and they have three 
 children, Frederick, Franklin and Theresa. Ed- 
 ward J. married Rose Bowers, of Montmorency, 
 Jan. 13, 1879, and their three children are Leroy, 
 Lee and Alma M. Elizabeth S. was married Dec. 
 14, 1879, to John Harl. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Currier, May 14, 1858, moved with 
 their family to Montmorency, exchanging their 
 former homestead for 200 acres of prairie land, esti- 
 mating the latter at $12 per acre ; also, in the same 
 trade, Mr. C. gave a horse for 80 acres of land. 
 
 While practicing as a veterinarian in New York 
 State, Mr. Currier purchased a valuable horse, which 
 was afflicted with the " grease-heel," and in doctor- 
 ing it was poisoned, so that he was covered with 
 blisters. After the best physicians in the vicinity 
 had failed to relieve him, he went in r874 to Hot 
 Springs, Ark., weighing only 68J^ pounds, and four 
 months afterward he came home weighing 141 
 pounds. In 1878 he went again, remaining three 
 

 
 5* 
 
 M 
 
 (21 
 
 months; but he has never fully recovered. The 
 doctors have taken pounds of proud flesh off his 
 arm and palm of his hand. Both his hands are 
 crippled. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Currier is a Green- 
 backer, and as a citizen of Sterling he stands high in 
 the estimation of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 I 
 
 eorge H. Jennings was born Feb. 7, 
 1850, in the Township of Lyndon; and 
 he is the son of Amzie and Helen 
 (Highley) Jennings. His father was a farmer 
 in Lyndon Township, and he was brought 
 up on the homestead. He obtained a fair 
 education in the district schools. His marriage to 
 Julia E. Whipple took place Dec. 13, 1872. She 
 was born in Barre, Worcester Co., Mass., and is the 
 daughter of Leander J. and Julia (Anson) Whipple, 
 lx>th of whom were born in the Bay State. 
 
 Mr. Jennings lived on the homestead of his father 
 a year after marriage, and then located in Lyndon 
 village, whence he removed to a farm and continued 
 to push his agricultural interests as a renter until 
 Oct. 22, 1882, when he bought the family home- 
 stead, where he is now engaged in prosperous farm- 
 ing. Myra E., Mabel and Ross are the names of 
 the children belonging to the family. 
 
 Squire William Jennings, grandfather of George 
 H., was the earliest settler of the family in Lyn- 
 don Township, whither he came in 1844. He was 
 born April 9, 1798, in Orange County, N. Y. When 
 he had attained suitable age and strength he ob- 
 tained employment on the Hudson River, where he 
 operated some years and rose to the responsibili- 
 ties and honors of a Captain. 
 
 He was married Dec. 24, 1825, to Emeline Gay- 
 lord, a native of Plymouth, Litchfield Co., Conn., 
 born April n, 1808. At the time of their marriage 
 they settled in the town of Hornby, Steuben Co., N. 
 Y., Mr. Jennings buying land there in the heavy 
 timber. He improved and put his farm in good con- 
 dition, and was its occupant with the exception of 
 four years until his removal in 1845 to Whiteside 
 
 County. The interval referred to was passed in 
 Yates County. 
 
 Mr. Jennings set cut for Illinois with a horse and 
 buggy, and a wagon and a span of horses. The 
 teams were driven to Buffalo, whence the party em- 
 barked for Chicago. Arrived at that place, the 
 family again took passage with their teams for 
 Whiteside County. Mr. Jennings pre-empted land 
 on section 7, in what is now Lyndon Township, and 
 built a frame house, for which he drew the lumber 
 from Chicago. He was a resident on his farm ten 
 years, removing in 1855 to Como, where he died in 
 1856. His widow is still his survivor, and resides 
 at Round Grove. Their children were Amzie, Eg- 
 bert, Mary J., Gaylord M. and Willis L. The 
 daughter is the only survivor. 
 
 Amiie E. Jennings was born Dec. 22, 1824, in 
 Steuben County, Ky., and was the eldest son of g- 
 W. and Emeline (Gaylord) Jennings. He was 
 brought up by his parents on the farm where he was 
 born, and was 2 1 years of age when his parents came 
 with their family to Lyndon Township. After a short 
 residence on the estate, pre-empted by his father, he 
 bought land adjoining and built a home, in which he 
 lived the rest of his life. He died Oct. 9, 1879. He 
 was twice married. Lydia Hill, to whom he was 
 married in April, 1841;, died in October of the same 
 year, and he married Helen Higley. She was born 
 in Geauga County, Ohio, and survives her husband. 
 Since October, 1880, she has lived at Sterling. 
 George H., Francis C., Willis 1-., Edwin M. and 
 May H. are the names of her sons and daughters. 
 Mrs. Jennings is the daughter of George and Phebe 
 (Chamberlain) Higley. 
 
 oseph E. Harrison is a farmer of Genesee 
 Township, and is located on section 34, 
 where he was born Sept. 25, 1849. His 
 father, Mark Harrison, was one of the earliest 
 settlers in Genesee Township, whither he 
 came in 1836. He married Mary Taylor. 
 Genesee Township was in the earliest of its pioneer 
 days, and, when Mark Harrison married his wife 
 they began life with a joint cash capital of "5^5.50 
 
 -' .*.. 
 ^//yves^y
 
 WHIJ^ESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 the former amount being the individual property of 
 the wife and the latter of the husband. But they 
 cooked and ate their wedding dinner in their own 
 log cabin. They had no regular extension table, 
 but in lieu of that there were two long pins driven 
 into auger holes in one of the logs of which the 
 house was built, and a board lying thereon answered 
 every purpose. They sat on three-legged stools, 
 and their bed was fresh straw. Some years passed 
 before the little home had either tables or chairs. 
 In one particular the record of the mother is unique. 
 She was born in North Carolina, Sept. 10, 1803, and, 
 losing her parents, became housekeeper for her 
 brother, who was a widower with two children. He 
 sold his property, and his sister and children set out 
 for the State of Illinois. The children were nine 
 and five years old, and the party had two light 
 wagons, with the household goods. The journey of 
 1,500 miles was accomplished on foot. The father 
 and brother remaining behind to settle up his busi- 
 ness, the father died suddenly with the cholera, and 
 the children were brought up by Mrs. Harrison. 
 They are both deceased. The chief drawback to 
 the rapid advancement of Whiteside County, in the 
 pioneer days, was the ruinously low price of produce. 
 At one time, Mr. Harrison, Sr., sold wheat at 25 
 cents a bushel to Hezekiah Brink, in payment for a 
 colt for which he paid $30. At another he took two 
 fat cows to Galena to sell. One brought five dollars, 
 and he bought two five-pound bunches of cotton- 
 yarn with the money. This was combined with 
 home-spun wool, and woven. into cloth for clothes 
 for the family. 
 
 Mr. Harrison of this sketch is the youngest of five 
 children. The father maintained a private teacher 
 for his children two years, and it was during this 
 period that Mr. Harrison began his education. He 
 was thoroughly trained in agricultural knowledge 
 on his father's farm, and soon after attaining his 
 majority he assumed the management of his father's 
 homestead estate, and superintended the property 
 several years. 
 
 He was married Sept. 23, 1873, in the city of Mor- 
 rison, to Margaret, daughter of C. B. and Jane 
 (London^ Peugh. She was born April 14, 1854, in 
 the township where she has always lived. After 
 marriage Mr. and Mrs. Harrison lived on the home- 
 stead as he had done previous to that event. By an 
 
 arrangement with his father, a ywrtion was set apart 
 to him where he built a house. On the death of his 
 father (Nov. 15,1877)116 bought the claims of the 
 other heirs, and is now the proprietor of the whole 
 property, including 120 acres, all of which is under 
 excellent improvements, and supplied with the best 
 type of farm buildings. Mr. Harrison is an earnest 
 Republican, as was his father before him, and he 
 has held several local offices. He and his wife 
 belong to the Christian Church, in which he is a 
 Trustee. 
 
 The children of the family, five in number, were 
 born as follows : Lillie B., Nov. 3, 1875; Mary J., 
 Dec. 9, 1877; Charles B. and Bertha J., twins, March 
 15, 1880; Cynthia L., Jan. 6, 1883. 
 
 lias Burkholder, dealer in horses, mules 
 and cattle, at Sterling, was born in Lan- 
 caster Co., Pa., June 1 6, 1824. His 
 parents, Christian and Fannie (Groff) Burk- 
 holder, were natives also of the Keystone State, 
 and had a family of 12 children, Seth, Chris- 
 tiana, Elias, Ezra, Menno, Catharine, Maria, Ann, 
 Fanny, Groff, Christian and Peter. 
 
 Their third child, the subject of this sketch, re- 
 mained at home until 22 years ol age, assisting on 
 the farm and receiving a common-school education. 
 Leaving home, he was engaged in the commission 
 business nine years at Bird-in-Hand, in his native 
 county ; and while there he also studied medicine 
 for several years, and then practiced the profession 
 a year at Vogansville ; the next two years he also 
 followed farming. In 1858 he moved to New Vien- 
 na, Clinton Co., Ohio, where he followed the two vo- 
 cations for eleven months ; then the same again at 
 Sterling, this county, until 1875, since which time he 
 has been dealing in stock, in which business he has 
 fair success. 
 
 He is a Republican in his political views, and 
 both himself and wife belong to the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church. He is a Christian gentleman. 
 
 He was married Nov. 18, 1847, to Miss Maria, 
 daughter of James and Harriet (Harsh) Blair, na- 
 tives also of the Keystone State. Mr. and Mrs, 
 
 - 
 
 ' 
 
 . 
 
 
 .
 
 770 
 
 WH1TES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 
 Burkholder have had seven children, three of whom 
 are living, namely: Christian, who married Miss 
 Mary Erwin, of Rockford, 111., and has five children; 
 "" Charley, Lotta, Homer, Harry and Alice; Fianna, 
 . who became the wife of Fred Kauffman, of Sterling, 
 Ox and the mother of Branch and Mercy J. ; and Mary, 
 now the wife of Dr. N. H. Lehman, of Ohio, and the 
 mother of Leroy. 
 
 ^avid McMillan, of the firm of McMillan 
 & Wylie, lumber dealers and merchants, 
 at Tampico, was born Jan. 31, 1834, in 
 Fayette Co., Pa. Thomas McMillan, his 
 father, was a native of the same State. He was 
 a man of scholarly attainments and passed the 
 years of his early business life in teaching. Later 
 he became interested in farming. He was Commis- 
 sioner of Fayette a number of years. He married 
 Priscilla Arnold, the daughter of a farmer, and who 
 was one of the earliest settlers of Western Pennsyl- 
 vania, and belonged to the nationality known as 
 English descent. The father died in Fayette County 
 in 1853, and the mother died about ten years later. 
 Mr. McMillan was the second oldest child in or- 
 der of birth, and he had one brother and two sisters. 
 His father died when he was about 18 years old. 
 Previous to that time he attended the common school. 
 Subsequently he took charge of the homestead, liv- 
 ing with his mother until her death. After that 
 event he came to Illinois, making his first location 
 near Buda, Bureau County, settling on a farm of 200 
 acres. He continued its management for four years. 
 He spent a year prospecting in various Western 
 States for the purpose of selecting a suitable loca- 
 tion, and finally boujit 160 acres of land in Mont- 
 gomery Co., Iowa, near the village of Red Oak. 
 Later on he came to Whiteside County and entered 
 into the business relations in which he has since 
 been interested. He is the owner of 160 acres of 
 land in Tampico Township, which is under partial 
 improvement. The firm owns a considerable amount 
 of property in the village of Tampico. Their busi- 
 ness covers the transactions common to trade in 
 
 lumber, general merchandise, hardware, agricultural 
 implements, coal, etc. 
 
 Mr. McMillan was married Oct. 21, 1879, in Lyn- 
 don, to Mollie Patterson. James and Mary Pannell 
 Patterson, her parents, were natives of Pennsylvania, 
 where they belonged to the agricultural class. They 
 were early settlers in Lyndon and were connected 
 with the pioneer history. Their farm was located in 
 the vicinity of the village of Lyndon, where Mrs. Mc- 
 Millan was born. She was brought up and educated in 
 the district schools and in the village schools at 
 Lyndon. She became a teacher and followed that 
 vocation for some years. Leroy and Clark are the 
 names of the children of Mr. and Mrs. McMillan. 
 The mother is a zealous member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 Mr. McMillan has served the interests of his 
 township as Supervisor, and is at present School 
 Treasurer. He has also acted in the capacity of 
 Village Trustee. He experienced a severe loss of 
 property in the destruction of dwellings in the tor- 
 nado of June 6, 1874. 
 
 x->v *, 
 
 larles W. Worthington, Postmaster of 
 Sterling, was born in that city, Sept. 16, 
 1838. His father, Eiijah Worthington, 
 was a native of Connecticut, from whence he 
 moved to Luzerne Co., Pa., engaging in mer- 
 cantile pursuits at Pittston, and as newspaper 
 publisher at Wilkesbarre. In 1833 he was married 
 to Miss Eliza Ann Merritt, of the latter place, and in 
 1835 emigrated to Illinois, becoming one of the orig- 
 inal proprietors of what is now the city of Sterling. 
 He died in 1839. His widow married Leonard Goss, 
 moving to his home at Mt. Carroll, where she died 
 in 1846. From eight years of age until thirteen, 
 Charles, the subject of our sketch, had no permanent 
 abiding place, but " grew up with the country " as 
 best he could. At 13 he entered the office of H. G. 
 Grattan, at Mt. Carroll, to learn the printing busi- 
 ness, and, after three years' apprenticeship, returned 
 to Sterling, serving the various grades as compositor, 
 foreman and local editor of the Sterling Times, 
 until circumstances mustered the paper out of exist- 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 

 
 
 WHITHSIDE COUNTY. 
 
 tence, in 1857. After a year's sojourn in St. Louis, 
 perfecting himself in the printers' art, he accepted 
 the position of foreman and local editor of the Sterl- 
 ing Gazette, then published by Wm. Caffrey. In 
 1861, in company with his father-in-law, W. C. Page, 
 he purchased the Gazette and continued in the man- 
 agement of the office until 1875, except a short in- 
 terval in 1870, and during his term of service in the 
 army, as First Lieutenant of Co. A, I4oth 111. Vol. 
 Inf. He has filled several official positions, viz. : 
 Collector of Taxes in 1861; Alderman in 1863-4; 
 United States Revenue Inspector and storekeeper in 
 1866-7. In 1880 he was appointed Postmaster, and 
 re-appointed in 1884. 
 
 Mr. Worthington is a " native, and to the manner 
 born," being the first male child born in the settle- 
 ment ; and can justly take pride in the fact that he 
 has seen the rude cabins of pioneer days give place 
 to the thriving city of the present time to the pros- 
 perity of which he has contributed in no small 
 degree. 
 
 TS* 
 
 pohn W. White, attorney at Tampico, was 
 born Oct. 7, 1852, in La Salle Co., 111. 
 His father, John White, was born near the 
 city of Rome, Oneida Co., N. Y. The family 
 are descendants of ancestry that settled in the 
 Empire State in the earliest period of its his- 
 tory. The senior White went in his early life to 
 Allegany County, in his native State, and was mar- 
 ried in Danville, to Thankful Clark, who was of 
 similar birth and ancestry. Mr. White became 
 Captain of the Slate Militia, of the section where he 
 resided, and held his commission under Gov. Sew- 
 ard until he resigned to come West. In 1851, the 
 family removed to La Salle Co., III., and fixed their 
 residence at Northville. The mother died there in 
 1854, when John W. was but two years old. The 
 father removed after her death to Whiteside County, 
 and lived in Hahnaman Township, settling later in 
 the Township of Tampico, were he died, in, 1879, 
 aged 69. 
 
 Mr. White of this sketch was a member of his 
 father's family till 1875, working on the farm and 
 attending school. In that year he went to Minne- 
 
 sota and thence to Iowa. He became a student of 
 law with the legal firm of White & Varner, of Adel, 
 Dallas County, and read for his profession under 
 their preceptorship until 1877, when he came to 
 Tampico, and established his business. He has 
 conducted his affairs singly. Mr. White was ad- 
 mitted to the privileges of the Courts of Iowa, at 
 Des Moines, in 1876, and of those of the tribunals 
 of Illinois, in 1878, on examination before the proper 
 authorities. Mr. White has met with the success 
 which is the just reward of industrious application in 
 his business relations. He has acquired by pur- 
 chase farm and town property in Tampico Town- 
 ship, and in the village where he resides. He is 
 also the owner of a very complete law library. 
 
 Mr. White was married April 7, 1883, at Rock 
 Falls, Whiteside County, to Lizzie, only daughter of 
 Charles E. and Mary (Russell) Payson. She was 
 born Oct. 21, 1857, in Chemung Co., N. Y. Her 
 parents moved to Sterling when she was 12 years of 
 age, going later to Rock Falls. Before her marriage 
 Mrs. White was engaged in the business of dress- 
 making. Bessie, born Feb. n, 1884, is the only 
 child. 
 
 Mr. White is a Republican of decided type. He 
 is at present (1885) Village Attorney, and has held 
 the office a number of years. He has also been 
 Supervisor several terms. He is Senior Warden of 
 the Masonic Lodge at Tampico, of which he is a 
 member. Mr. and Mrs. White are members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, he being one of the 
 Church officers. 
 
 rank Hadaway, one of the energetic, pros- 
 perous and representative farmers of 
 Whiteside County, residing on section 21, 
 Prophetstown Township, and the proprietor of 
 760 acres in the township, was born in Essex 
 Co., N. Y., July 27, 1832. His father, Lot 
 Hadaway, was a native of Vermont, and a farmer 
 and lumberman by occupation. His mother, Are- 
 thusa (Tarbull) Hadaway, was also a native of Ver- 
 mont. The parents had a family of six children, 
 only two of whom survive, Frank and Susan. She 
 is the wife of Burchard Chapman, a farmer in 
 Kansas. 
 
 Mr. Hadaway was reared on a farm and also 
 
 = -** 
 
 7
 
 jfiu/ 1 
 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 s 
 
 s 
 
 
 brought up to the occupation of a lumberman. In 
 January, 1855, he came to this county and purchased 
 80 acres of land, located on the site of his present 
 farm, which he had purchased in 1853. He engaged 
 in running the Prophetstown ferry one year, and 
 broke prairie one season, and then located on his 
 farm. He made a number of improvements on his 
 farm, and by good judgment, energetic effort and 
 determination, combined with economy and co-oper- 
 ation on the part of his good helpmeet, he has sub- 
 sequently added by purchase to his landed interests 
 until he is now the possessor of the large acreage 
 stated, to wit, 760 acres in his home farm. He 
 also owns 80 acres in Prophetstown Township, 52 
 acres in Portland Township, besides 240 acres north 
 of Spring Hill, same township, and 320 acres in 
 Kansas. He raises each year a number of cattle, 
 hogs and sheep, which he ships direct to Chicago. 
 He is a member of the Masonic Order and was one 
 of the charter members of the Prophetstown lodge. 
 
 Mr. Hadaway was united in marriage to Miss 
 Georgiana Burk, in 1860. She was born in Portland 
 Township, this county, and bore him two children, 
 George S., who is a farmer in Prophetstown Town- 
 ship ; and Julia, now a resident of Prophetstown, is 
 a photographer by profession. Mrs. Hadaway died 
 in Prophetstown Township, July 27, 1868, and Mr. 
 Hadaway was again married in the same Township, 
 Sept. 5, 1869, to Mary K. Martin. She was born 
 April 23, 1844, at Livonia, Washington Co., Ind., 
 and has borne him four children. Frank Martin, 
 Susan, Kingley T. and Zetta. George S. was united 
 in marriage to Mary Bechel, March 10, 1885. 
 
 i,apt. James Hugunin, resident at Albany, 
 was born Dec. 24, 1839, in Butler Co., 
 Ohio. His father, James Hugunin, was 
 born in 1806, in Oswego Co., N. Y., and was 
 taken by his parents, in his early boyhood, 
 to Ohio, where his father secured a claim of 
 land from the United States. The site of the city 
 of Cincinnati now includes the land comprised in 
 the claim. He constructed a residence, which his 
 family occupied a short time, after which it was 
 sold, and they went to Butler County. The father 
 returned to Massachusetts, and died in his native 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 place. James Hugunin (first) grew to manhood in 
 Butler County, and married Sarah Flack, a native of 
 Ohio. They lived in Butler County until 1840, when 
 they removed to this State, and five years later 
 cair.e to Albany.' The parents, with five chil- 
 dren, came from Ohio overland with their own con- 
 veyance. Mr. Hugunin at first selected a location a 
 little east of Albany, and later went to the township 
 of Garden Plain, whence he removed to Clay Co., 
 Kan., and is now resident there. 
 
 Capt. Hugunin was but six years old when his 
 parents came to Albany. He was but 15 when, in 
 the fall of 1854, he engaged in the capacity of a 
 common hand on the river, and h e has spent every 
 successive season in the same service in the several 
 capacities of common hand, pilot and Captain. He 
 is also the owner of forty acres of land, and gives 
 some attention to agriculture. He is interested in 
 good breeds of horses, and owns some fine thorough- 
 bred Almont Rattlers. 
 
 He was married Aug. 16, 1859, to Sarah Whistler. 
 She was born Feb. 7, 1841, in Morrow Co., Ohio, 
 and is the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Kiehl) 
 Whistler. John E., Clara M., Harry D. and Ida 
 Augusta are the names of their children. 
 
 
 amuel S. Epla, a resident of Lyndon, was 
 born Sept. 22, 1832, in Rockingham Co., 
 Va. When he was about five years of age 
 his parents, John and Elizabeth Epla, went 
 to Ohio and settled in Clarke County. His 
 mother died there. Four years after his father 
 went to that county, the son left there and went to 
 Vigo Co., Ind., to reside with a brother-in-law, with 
 whom he made his home until he was 13 years of 
 age. In 1845 he went to Paw Paw Grove, Lee Co. 
 111., and he lived there ten years. He went, in 1855, 
 to Minnesota, and made a claim four miles west of 
 Owatonna, broke and fenced a part of the land and 
 built a log-house. He was actively engaged in the 
 prosecution of his agricultural projects until 1863. 
 He became interested in the progress of the civil war, 
 and in the year last named he enlisted in Company 
 C., Second Minnesota Cavalry. His regiment was in 
 frontier service, in which he was engaged about one 
 year, when he wa.s disabled by being thrown from
 
 
 WHITESlDE COUNTY. 
 
 a horse and received honorable discharge. He re- 
 turned to Minnesota and resided there until his re- 
 .. ,, moval to Lyndon in 1873. In 1875 he opened a 
 barber-shop, which he continued to manage until 
 
 He was married July 18, 1867, to Clara, daughter 
 of Gustavus and Caroline (Denzer) Burke, of Owa- 
 tonna. They have one child Viola May. 
 
 Clark Miller, baker and confectioner, 
 Third Street, Sterling, was born in 
 Chambersburg, Franklin Co., Pa., Feb. 5, 
 1842, and is a son of David and Mary 
 (Swisher) Miller, natives of Pennsylvania and 
 members of the farming community. 
 The subject of this notice remained at home until 
 19 years of age, receiving a common-school educa- 
 tion. He then served two and a half years at the 
 blacksmith trade, and in r863 came to Sterling, 
 where he followed his trade ten years, a part of the 
 time as a journeyman. Next, he was an employee 
 of the William & Orton Manufacturing Company 
 for about eight years, and finally, in 1882, he bought 
 out the bakery and confectionery business of W. M. 
 Greeting, in which line he has since continued, en- 
 joying a signal success. He owns, also, his resi- 
 dence on Spruce Street, blocks 2 and 3. 
 
 In February, 1885, Mr. Miller married Miss D. A. 
 Newton, of Titusville, Pa. He belongs to the First 
 English Lutheran Church, and to the Woodmen of 
 America, and in politics is a Republican. 
 
 ^-*K-'^>fv, e\vr 
 
 homas Burke, general farmer, section 25, 
 Hume. Township, was born in 1831, in 
 County Tipperary, Ireland. About the 
 year 1852, he emigrated to the United States. 
 He first located in New Jersey, and later went 
 to Northampton Co., Pa. He was married 
 there in 1856, to Mary Fay, who was born in Ireland 
 wt and came when she was eight ye'ars of age to Amer- 
 ica. The family first settled in Connecticut and went 
 afterwards to Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Burke 
 have been the parents of 13 children, of whom two 
 are no longer living. Mary married John Taylor 
 
 and lives near Platte Center, Neb. Thomas lives on 
 the farm in Hume Township, as also do William, 
 John, Patrick, Anna, Bridget, David, James, Ellen 
 and Edward. Honora and Michael died in child- 
 hood. 
 
 Soon after marriage Mr. Burke went to New Jersey, 
 where he lived two years, and in r858 he removed 
 his family to Sterling, 111. During his residence there 
 he purchased land in the township of Hahnaman, on 
 which he moved after two years. He went thence 
 to Montmorency Township, where he was the occu- 
 pant and owner of 200 acres of land. He sold the 
 place in 1881 and purchased 240 acres of land in 
 Hume Township, where he has since been engaged 
 in prosperous farming. Mr. Burke is a Democrat in 
 political relations, and is at present a School Director 
 
 The family are members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 . Henry Utley, physician at Sterling, was 
 born in Oneida Co., N. Y., June 23, 1822. 
 His parents were Henry and Sarah (Morse) 
 Utley, nat ives respectively of Rhode Island 
 and Connecticut, who died in Oneida Co., N. Y. 
 His father was by occupation a tanner arid 
 saddler. 
 
 At the age of 16 years the subject of this sketch 
 attended school at Whitesborough and then the 
 Clinton Institute. In 1846 he traveled through the 
 Southern States, mostly in Alabama and Louisiana, 
 for his health. Recovering it, he returned to Rome, 
 Oneida Co., N. Y., where he continued his medical 
 studies (which he had begun), in the office of Dr. 
 Pope. He then attended a course of lectures at the 
 Yale Medical College at New Haven, and another at 
 the New York University and the Bellevue Hospital 
 Medical College, where he received his diploma. He 
 commenced the practice of his chosen profession at 
 Turin, Lewis Co., N. Y., continuing eight years, when 
 he came to Como, this county, and practiced medi- 
 cine there for six years. Receiving then an appoint- 
 ment as Surgeon of the 75 th Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., he 
 proceeded to Louisville, Ky., and to Perry ville, where 
 he had charge of the hospital two months. Next, he 
 had charge of the hospital at Danville, Ky., where he 
 received an injury to his left leg which laid him up 
 and compelled him to resign. Gov. Yates gave him 
 
 
 
 * ' 

 
 a commission promoting him and permitting him to 
 remain at home until he could return to the field 
 ^ when his health was regained ; and, although the 
 Sanitary Commission of Sterling sent him to Nash- 
 ville and Murfreesboro, Tenn., his health continued 
 so poor that he had to return home to remain. Since 
 then he has continued the practice of his profession 
 at Sterling, with marked success. He is one of the 
 leading physicians of this part of the country. In his 
 political views he is a Republican. 
 
 May i, 1868, he married Miss C. S. Butler, daugh 
 ter of Ezekiel Butler, of Rome, N. Y., and they have 
 three sons: J. F., who married Cora Richards, of 
 Sterling; H. B., who married Miss Mattie Harden, 
 also of Sterling; and W. P., who married Miss Lida 
 Howland, of Rock Falls. 
 
 ,.enry Miller, farmer, section 16, Genesee 
 Township, was born in the village of Ham- 
 den, Vinton Co., Ohio, March 12, 1837. 
 Samuel Miller, his father, was born in Virginia 
 and was a stone-mason by vocation. He was 
 left early in life without the care of his father, 
 and he was still in young manhood when he went 
 to Ohio, where he married Catherine Flowers. Her 
 father was a German teacher in Pennsylvania. Mr. 
 Miller, senior, was a resident of Vinton County after 
 he was married, until his death, about the year 1867. 
 The mother died in August, 1882. They reared a 
 family of seven children, born in the order named : 
 Joseph, John, Maria, Samantha, Mary, Henry and 
 Kate. Samantha and Mary are not living. Mr. 
 Miller set about the earning of his own livelihood 
 when he was 20 years of age. He went to Southern 
 New York, whence, after remaining some months, he 
 came to Illinois with his family. 
 
 He was married Nov. 9, 1858, in Vinton Co., Ohio, 
 to Mary, daughter of John and Eliza (Ayers) Yager. 
 Her parents were born respectively in Pennsylvania 
 and Maryland, and were of Dutch descent and an- 
 cestry in the paternal line. John Yager was born 
 Jan. 3, 1809, in Union Co., and went with his parents 
 in 1812 to Pickaway Co , Ohio. In 1820 the family 
 made another removal to Jackson County, in the 
 same State. He was married April 19, 1829, and, in 
 1836, located at Chamber's Grove, III. Seven years 
 
 1 
 
 later he settled near Genesee Grove, where he died. 
 Ten children were born to him, of whom but two are 
 living. Mrs. Miller has one sister, Mrs. Harriet 
 Brookfield, of Sterling. The wife and mother died 
 Oct. 2, 1852. Mr. Yager was again married Dec. 12, 
 1853, in Jeffersonville, Ind., to Catherine Nance, who 
 died, without issue, June 17, 1863. Mr. Yager con- 
 tracted a third marriage, with Mrs. Margaret A. Mc- 
 Crea, Nov. 16, 1863. 
 
 Mrs. Miller was born June 21, 1836, in Vinton 
 Co., Ohio, and was only three months old when her 
 parents came to Illinois. They settled in Ogle 
 County, and when they came to Whiteside County, 
 Genesee Township was practically unsettled. Fol- 
 lowing is the record of the children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Miller: William, married Cynthia Pulver, and lives 
 in Hardin Co., Iowa; O. W. lives in Iowa; John is a 
 resident of Milledgeville, Carroll Co., 111. Nell and 
 Hattie live at home with their parents (1885). 
 Samuel is still an inmate of the paternal home. After 
 their marriage in 1858, Mr. and Mrs. Miller came to 
 Whiteside County and took charge of Mr. Yager's 
 farm. In the fall of 1860 they made a journey to 
 Vinton Co., Ohio, in a wagon, and, in the autumn of 
 the year following, they returned in the same way to 
 Illinois. They resumed their former relations on the 
 Yager homestead, which they maintained two years, 
 and, in 1863, bought 60 acres of land in the same 
 township. After some time they removed to Mil- 
 ledgeville, Carroll Co., 111., where Mr. Miller en- 
 gaged in the grocery trade and also became inter- 
 ested in a livery stable. In March, 1884, they 
 returned to the homestead of Mr. Yager, which he 
 had willed to his daughter, Mrs. Miller. Mr. Miller 
 is a Republican in political views and connections. 
 
 
 'ohn H. Kreider has been a farmer on sec- 
 tion 13, Sterling Township, since the fall 
 of 1854. He was born Dec. 3, 1814, in 
 Lancaster Co., Pa., and is the only surviving 
 child of his parents, John and Catherine 
 (Hostetter) Kreider, who were natives and life- 
 long residents of Pennsylvania. Their children were 
 six in number, and five died in childhood. 
 
 Mr. Kreider acquired a common-school education 
 and lived at home with his parents until the age of
 
 
 Wff/TESSDE COUNTY. 
 
 775 
 
 22 years. He then obtained employment as a farmer 
 and passed 13 years in that and other occupations in 
 his native State. He first purchased 155 acres of 
 land, and increased his property to a little less than 
 200 acres by later purchase. His farm now includes 
 150 acres of land, under good tillage and with good 
 buildings. 
 
 He was married Nov. 9, 1836, in Lancaster Co., 
 Pa., to Sarah Heidelbuch. She was born in the 
 county where she was married, Feb. i, 1819, and is 
 the youngest child of John J. and Sarah Heidelbuch, 
 who were the parents of eight children. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kreider have had six children, 
 Catherine, Jacob, David, Henry, John and Sarah. 
 Only three children are still living. The mother is 
 a member of the Mennonite Church. Mr. Kreider 
 is identified with the Republican party in political 
 preference. He has been Highway Commissioner 
 about 15 years. 
 
 ^ ^ .<-> - - 
 
 M. Cunningham, dealer in drugs, patent 
 medicines, glass, stationery, clocks, watch- 
 es, jewelry, etc., at Erie, is a son of An- 
 drew and Sabrina (Mumford) Cunningham, 
 and was born in Exeter, Otsego Co., N. Y., 
 Jan. 31, 1846. Mr. Cunningham was eight 
 years of age when his parents permanently settled 
 on a farm in Taylor Township, Ogle County. 
 
 Mr. Cunningham remained on his father's farm in 
 Ogle County until 18 years of age, receiving the ad- 
 vantages afforded by the common schools. He then 
 went to Mt. Morris, same county, in which he re- 
 sided and engaged in the drug business. He served 
 three years in the latter and in 1874 came to Erie, 
 this county, and conducted a drug-store for his 
 father. He soon afterwards purchased the neces- 
 sary tools for watch repairing, and carried on that 
 business in connection with the former. He con- 
 tinued to conduct both branches of the business 
 until 1884. His father died Feb. 24 of that year, 
 and he became full possessor of the business July 
 i, 1885. He carries a stock approximating $2,000. 
 He has a good and constantly increasing trade. He 
 has two patent medicines, Cunningham's Anti-bil- 
 ious Elixir, and The Good Samaritan. The former 
 he warrants a sure cure for bilious fever, fever and 
 
 ague, headache, dyspepsia, jaundice and all diseases 
 arising from an impure condition of the blood. The 
 latter he warrants to cure croup, sore throat, burns, 
 sprains, wounds, deafness, sore eyes, rheumatism, etc-. 
 Mr. Cunningham was married in Erie, April 14, 
 1877, to Miss Annie Moffat. She was born near 
 Amboy, 111., July 3, 1859, and has borne him one 
 son, Ernest J., born in Erie, July 3, 1878. 
 
 'ohn Abbey, farmer, resident on section 24, 
 Newton Township, was born in November, 
 1833, in Licking Co., Ohio, and he was 
 four years old when his parents, Luke and 
 Hannah Abbey, removed thence to Newton 
 Township. Luke Abbey was a pioneer of 1837 
 in Whiteside County. He was born in March, 1787, 
 in Yorkshire, England. He belonged to the agri- 
 cultural class in his native shire, and was trained 
 carefully in all things pertaining to the business of a 
 farmer. In 1818 he came to the United States, lo- 
 cating in Trenton, N. J., where he lived several 
 years. He went to Ohio in 1833 and was a resident 
 of Licking County four years. In August, 1837, he 
 transferred his family and interests to Illinois. His 
 household included his wife and seven children, and 
 the journey hither was made overland. Mr. Abbey 
 located a claim on section 24 of township 20, range 
 3, now the township of Newton. At first he built a 
 log cabin, and later a cement house. He improved 
 a fine farm, on which he resided until his death, in 
 November, 1869. He was married three times. His 
 third wife, Hannah Mills before her marriage, was 
 born in Mt. Holly, N. J. She bore him seven chil- 
 dren : Sarah married O. A. Root, of Dickinson Co., 
 Kan.; Charles W. is a resident of Aliceville, Kan.; 
 Hannah L. is the wife of John Marshall, of Cotton- 
 wood, Montana ; John lives on the homestead ; 
 Marie, wife of Henry S. Eye, is living in Citrus, Los 
 Angeles Co., Cal. Two children are deceased. 
 
 Mr. Abbey was reared on his father's farm. At 
 18 he went to California, starting April 7, 1852, with 
 ox teams, to cross the plains. He arrived at Placer- 
 ville Aug. 20 of the same year, more than four 
 months elapsing before he arrived at his destination. 
 He was occupied in mining at Placerville and in 
 Calaveras County until 1853, when he went to Aus- 
 tralia, and interested himself in gold- mining there. 
 
 
 . 
 
 

 
 vx 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 On the voyage to Australia the vessel became dis- 
 masted in a heavy gale, and a stop of 14 days for 
 repairs was made at the Society Islands. An at- 
 tempt to land at Norfolk Island was made, in order 
 to procure coal and supplies, but the authorities re- 
 fused permission, as the island was inhabited by 
 English convicts. He spent five years on the island- 
 continent, and visited Sidney and Melbourne and 
 other places of interest. In 1858 he returned to 
 San Francisco, and resumed mining in California, 
 and also became interested in farming, spending two 
 years in his two-fold business. In 1860 he went to 
 Portland, Oregon, and proceeded thence to Lewiston, 
 Idaho. He returned to Portland in the fall of that 
 year and spent 18 months in Oregon. On his route 
 home he went to Vancouver's Island and after a few 
 days to San Francisco. He returned to Illinois by 
 way of the Isthmus of Panama and New York. On 
 reaching Whiteside County, he engaged in farming. 
 He was married March 15, 1864, to Annie E. 
 Huff. Their children are named Luke, Lucy, May, 
 Hannah, Sadie, Gertie and Elizabeth. Mrs. Abbey 
 was born in Luzerne Co., Pa., and is the daughter 
 of George H. and Hannah (Dodson) Huff. Her 
 father was born in New Jersey and her mother in 
 Pennsylvania. At the time of his marriage, Mr. 
 Abbey settled on his father's homestead, which he 
 now owns and occupies. In 1870 he built a fine 
 residence, which was burned Feb. ig, 1884. He 
 then erected the dwelling he now occupies. It is 
 pleasantly located near a natural growth of timber, 
 which shelters it on the north and east. Mr. Abbey 
 is engaged in mixed husbandry, and is giving some 
 attention to the cultivation of fruit. 
 
 yron Frary, a farmer, residing on section 
 25 of Portland Township, is a son of John 
 and Rachel (Crooks) Frary, and was 
 born in Ontario Co., N. Y., May 14, 1811. 
 He was reared on a farm, and when eight 
 years of age his parents removed from Rich- 
 mond Township, Ontario Co., N. Y., to Napoli Town- 
 ship, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. 
 
 In 1846 Mr. Frary bought 90 acres of land in 
 Napoli Township, and resided there until 1865, when 
 he came West and located where his son James E. 
 
 now resides, half a mile south of Jefferson Corners. 
 He bought 120 acres there and made a number of 
 improvements upon the same. In 1866 he bought 
 his present farm of 45 acres, which he still owns. 
 In 1884 he deeded the 120 acres which he had 
 originally purchased, to his son, upon which he is at 
 present residing. To his daughter Cynthia he pre- 
 sented 39 acres in Prophetstown Township, where 
 she at present resides. 
 
 Mr. Frary was united in marriage in Napoli Town- 
 ship, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., to Martha Morrill, a 
 daughter of Martin and Sally (Osborne) Morrill. 
 She was born in Olean, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. 
 
 The issue of their union was two children, whose 
 record is as follows: Cynthia, born Dec. 7, 1841, is 
 the wife of Gilbert Rogers ; and James E. was born 
 April 3, r843. The first wife of James E. died in 
 Portland Township, Dec. 20, 1868, and he was 
 again married, in Portland Township, Sept. 20, 1870, 
 to Harriet E. Baird, a native of Ohio. She died 
 March. 10, 1885, without issue. 
 
 B. Witmer, merchant at Sterling, is the 
 son of Benjamin and Anna Witmer, na- 
 lives of Pennsylvania, who passed their en- 
 tire lives in their native State. He was born 
 in August, 1827, the fifth in a family of eight 
 children. Receiving a common-school edu- 
 tion, at the age of 13 he left home and was employed 
 in a store at Mt. Joy, Lancaster Co., Pa., for ten 
 years ; next, he was clerk for four months in a store 
 at Saluna, four miles east, and then, purchasing a 
 half interest in that establishment from one of the 
 proprietors, he continued in business there five yqars 
 longer; finally, selling out, he came to Sterling, 
 where, after clerking for a short time, he engaged in 
 business on his account. He has since had various 
 partners, and while under the firm name of R. B. 
 Witmer & Co. they built their mammoth store on the 
 corner of Third and Locust Streets, in 1865. 
 
 Mr. Witmer has four regular departments, dry 
 goods, clothing, carpeting and groceries, and con- 
 nected with the same is a merchant tailoring estab- 
 lishment. In all, a force of 25 men are required to 
 conduct the business. Mr. Witmer is also connected 
 with Williams & Orton in the manufacture of gas 
 

 
 engines, and he is 1'resident of the Sterling Gas Com- 
 pany. He has also held the offices of Mayor and 
 Councilman. His success in business has been re- 
 markable, and his high standing in the community is 
 conspicuous. He has been burned out twice, once 
 in Pennsylvania and once in Sterling. Politically he 
 is a Prohibitionist, and in religion he is a member of 
 the Presbyterian Church, as are also his wife and four 
 daughters. 
 
 In the year 1851, Mr. Winner was married to 
 Martha J. Dickey, a native of Pennsylvania. They 
 have eight children living, William T. Mary A., 
 Anna M., Elizabeth, Emma, Alice, Robie B. and 
 Mabel. 
 
 eorge R. Cady, liveryman, at Lyndon, 
 was born Aug. 25, 1840, in the township of 
 the same name. Amos Cady, his father, a 
 pioneer of Whiteside County, whither he came 
 in 1837, was born in 1800, in Oneida Co., N. Y. 
 He passed his boyhood and youth in his na- 
 tive county, and in early manhood went to Orleans 
 County, in his native State, where, and in Genesee 
 County, he passed the intervening years, until the 
 year in which he came to Illinois. He journeyed 
 westward by the lakes to Detroit, and from there 
 over land with teams to Whiteside County. He 
 bought a claim of G. G. Woodruff on section 29, in 
 Lyndon Township. A pioneer cabin had been 
 erected, of which he took possession with his family, 
 and entered upon the duties pertaining to the im- 
 provement of the land included in his purchase. He 
 secured his claim by the usual method when it came 
 into market and entered a second on section 20. On 
 this he built a frame house, which was one of the 
 first constructed in Whiteside County, a part of the 
 lumber for which he drew from Chicago. The siding 
 of the front was of black walnut. This home he oc 
 cupied afterwards until the time of his death, which 
 occurred Nov. 5, 1857. 
 
 His first wife, born Cynthia Smith, died in 1836. 
 March 21, 1837, he was married to Charity Crippin. 
 She was born Jan. 10, i8r2, in Rome, Oneida Co., 
 N. Y., and was the daughter of Peter and Charlotte 
 (Smith) Crippin, both parents being natives of the 
 State of New York. By the first marriage there were 
 
 seven children, of whom at this writing there are 
 six living. Henry is a resident of Traer, Tama Co., 
 Iowa; Amos lives in Lyndon; John is living in 
 Iowa; Leonard has removed to California; Alonzo 
 resides in Nebraska ; Sarah married Chauncey Har- 
 kins, of Lyndon. Six children born of the second 
 marriage of Mr. Cady, senior, are still living, and are 
 located as follows: William J., Independence, Kan.; 
 Geo. R., Lyndon; Eliza, wife of Lewis Gillett, died 
 in Fayette Co., Iowa, in 1873'; Cynthia, wife of 
 Charles Lewis, lives in the county last named ; Or- 
 lando lives on the Cady homestead ; Elza, Indepen- 
 dence, Kan. ; Adelbert, telegraph operator at Palo, 
 Iowa. Mr. Cady was a prominent citizen of Lyndon 
 Township and discharged his obligations as such in 
 numerous official capacities. He sef'ved for a num- 
 ber of years as Deputy Sheriff. 
 
 Mr. Cady, of this sketch, received the training 
 common to that usually bestowed on the sons of 
 farmers, operating chiefly after reaching suitable 
 growth on the farm through the greater part of the 
 year and attending the district school winters. He 
 was united in marriage Feb. 22, 1862, to Nettie 
 Parshall. About the same time he bought a part of 
 the old homestead and engaged in farming. 
 
 In 1874 he opened a livery stable in Lyndon, buy- 
 ing the barn and equipments of Charles H. Field ; 
 and has since managed a prosperous and profitable 
 business. He has served six years as village Con- 
 stable, and in the spring of 1885 was re-elected to 
 the same position. His family includes five children: 
 Walter D. is the oldest ; Ella married Jay Hazard ; 
 Zella, Lelia, DeWitt R., and the youngest, George 
 Myrl,who was born June 9, 1885. 
 
 armenter Brothers, of Lyndon, represent 
 one of the heaviest business interests of 
 that place. The firm is composed of George 
 H. and Allen E. Parmenter, sons of John G. 
 and Harriet (Wait) Parmenter. John G. was 
 only seven years of age when his parents came 
 to Illinois. He was married in 1851, in Rock Island 
 County. The family includes four children. Sophia 
 was born in 1856 and married Albert Brunner, of 
 Holdredge, Neb., where she died, April 9, 1885. 
 
 George H , the eldest son, was born March 30, 
 1852, in Edgington, Rock Island Co., Ill,, and was 
 
 4^f 

 
 Y V. H HXD H H : -S^l 
 
 WHITESIJJE COUNTY. 
 
 "(5; 
 
 brought up on his father's farm. In December, 
 1875, he married Amanda Debord, who was born in 
 Peoria, 111. He engaged in farming in his native 
 township, where he operated until 1882, when he 
 came to Lyndon and purchased the business which 
 he is now conducting in company with his brother. 
 
 Allen E. Parmenter was born Dec. 20, 1853. 
 When 20 years of age he went to Mercer Co., 111., 
 and engaged as a clerk in a general mercantile es- 
 tablishment at Hamlet, where he operated six years. 
 In 1879, he came to Lyndon. 
 
 Charles was born Dec. 19, 1858, in Edgington 
 Township, Rock Island County, and obtained a fair 
 education in the common schools and one year at 
 the academy at Fulton. In 1879 he engaged in 
 teaching at Osborne Station, in his native county. 
 He came to Lyndon in December, 1882, and Jan- 
 uary 29, 1884, he was appointed Postmaster of Lyn- 
 don. The postoffice is in his brother's store. 
 
 The firm of Parmenter Bros, is engaged in an ex- 
 tensive and popular trade in dry goods, druggists' 
 sundries, boots and shoes, groceries, etc. 
 
 ^>oc 
 
 fesse W. Scott, a farmer on section 7, Mont- 
 jg- morency Township, is a son of Asa and 
 Elizabeth (Taylor) Scott, natives of Ohio 
 who settled in Hopkins Township, this county, 
 as early as 1839, and afterward moved to 
 Montmorency Township, where they resided 
 the remainder of their lives, he dying May 17, 1883, 
 and she March ig, 1884. They had 16 children, 
 namely : Jesse W., Mary T., Elkanah B., Ellen, 
 James, Ada B., Francis, Anna, Asa, Jr., Desdemona, 
 John, Dolly, Eugene, Carrie, Frederick S. and Philip 
 S., the last two are twins. 
 
 Mr. Scott was born in Morgan Co., Ohio, Nov. 16, 
 1839, and ever since he was old enough to labor he 
 has been engaged in agricultural pursuits, and has 
 resided in this county ever since he was three and a 
 half years old, with the exception of six months spens 
 in Missouri. His school education was such as wat 
 usual in the common schools of his boyhood days. 
 
 He was first married March 13, 1863, in Como 
 Hopkins Township, to Sarah Z. Scott, daughter of 
 Solomon W. and Hannah (Davis) Scott, natives of 
 Ohio. Mrs. S. had one child, Ida M., and died May 
 
 i, 1867, in Missouri. Mr. Scott was again married, 
 in Sterling, 111., Sept. 22, 1869, to Charlotte A., 
 daughter of Solon and Charlotte (Smith) Stevens, 
 who were natives of Pennsylvania. They had seven 
 children, Charlotte A., Martha, Anna C., John, 
 Etta M., Emma A. and Susan. Mrs. Scott was born 
 in the Keystone State and she and her husband are 
 the parents of Ernest, Charlie P., Goldie G., Wayne 
 E. and Pearlie. The first named died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Scott is now the owner of 240 acres of land, 
 all but 20 of which are in cultivation. He is a Re- 
 publican in his political views, and has held the 
 offices of Collector six consecutive years, Road Com- 
 missioner four years, Overseer of Highways several 
 years, etc. 
 
 
 
 ohn Butzer, farmer and stock-raiser, sec- 
 tion 34, Portland Township (19 north, 3 
 east), is a son of Jacob F. and Sarah R. 
 (Rickel) Butzer, and was born in Phenix Town- 
 ship, Henry Co., 111., May 17, 1858. His 
 father, a farmer, was a native of Germany, and 
 died in Henry County ; and his mother, a native of 
 Ohio, is now a resident of Geneseo, 111., aged 55 
 years. They had seven children, all of whom are 
 living, namely: John, Jr., Louisa, Marcella, George, 
 Susan, William S. and Ella. George resides in 
 Portland Township, is a farmer, and his two sisters, 
 Marcella and Ella, reside with him. 
 
 John, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the 
 farm. In 1867 the family moved to Portland Town- 
 ship, settling upon a farm of 160 acres, on the sec- 
 tion above named, and resided there until 1870, 
 when they removed to Henry County. In 1878, 
 John took charge of a farm of 167 acres, adjoining 
 his present farm, for his father one season; then, 
 renting it himself, he has conducted it ever since. 
 April 16, 1883, he purchased his present farm of 
 207 acres. He raises annually about 100 hogs ; also 
 deals in cattle, shipping every year about two car- 
 loads ; keeps also a few horses and a small dairy, 
 employing usually two assistants. 
 
 Mr. Butzer was married in Loraine Township, 
 Henry County, Feb. 17, i88r, to Miss Christena, 
 daughter of Martin Roos, and born in that township 
 
 i 
 
 &}/ 
 
 ,
 
 UNIVERSinr Of ILLINOIS 
 UKBANA
 
 Jan. 6, 1860, and they have two children, both born 
 on the present homestead, viz. : Jessie Blanche, 
 June 16, 1882; and Ada Maud, Jan. 12, 1884. 
 
 --*&!, 
 
 - f9c- 
 
 ,on. Edward H. Nevitt, of Albany, whose 
 portrait appears on the opposite page, 
 has been a prominent business man of 
 Whiteside County since 1850. He is a native 
 citizen of the State, having been born atCarmi, 
 White County, Jan. 6, 1822. He was 15 years 
 of age when his father (see sketch of William 
 Nevitt), removed his family to Albany Township, 
 and until the date' named he was engaged in farm- 
 ing, with the exception of the time spent in 
 obtaing his education, which he completed by stud- 
 ying at Knox College. He had observed the 
 advantages of the lumber trade on the Mississippi, 
 and at the age of 28 years began his active connec- 
 tion therewith, pursuing his business vigorously in 
 the various avenues of traffic in production of lum- 
 ber," until the summer of 1860, when he suffered 
 almost total annihilation of his business relations 
 from the tornado of June 3, which literally destroyed 
 the village of Albany ; his saw-mill, with the lumber 
 and fixtures, and his residence, being swept away. 
 He made a brave struggle to recover his losses, 
 staying on the spot with his friends and neighbors, 
 who had encountered similar disaster. In 1865, he 
 was appointed United States Mail Agent, and dis- 
 charged the duties of the position on the river route 
 from Dubuque to Rock Island, one season. In the 
 fall of the same year he again embarked in the lum- 
 ber trade, in which h,e has since operated continu- 
 ously. 
 
 Mr. Nevitt's abilities received early recognition by 
 his townsmen, and he was elected to the position of 
 Assessor on the organization of the township, and 
 was successfully re-elected twenty years. He served 
 as County School' Commissioner and as Supervisor 
 of Albany. He held the latter office six consecutive 
 years, and was re-elected fer a seventh term, but re- 
 signed to take his position as Representative of the 
 Eleventh District, which included the counties of 
 Whiteside and Carroll. He was elected to the 
 Assembly of Illinois in the fall of 1876, and was 
 made a member of some of the most important coiu- 
 
 mittees. His service in the 3oth General Assembly 
 was characterized by the same ability, faithfulness 
 and public spirit which had made him prominent in 
 local affairs and in the duties of his private citizen- 
 ship. Mr. Nevitt is the possessor of a mind well 
 stored by a wide familiarity with literature and prom- 
 inent individuals in public life; and he is the recip- 
 ient of the respect and esteem of all who know him 
 for his disinterested services in the general welfare, 
 as well as for his superior character as a man. 
 
 Mr. Nevitt was joined in marriage to Hannah 
 Alvord, Dec. 27, 1855, at LeClaire, Iowa. She was 
 lx>rn May 26, 1826, in Ellicottville, Cattaraugus 
 Co., N. Y. A daughter Lizzie Blanche was born 
 April 19, 1856, and died Nov. 18, 1858. The wife 
 and mother died Nov. 30, 1882* The second mar- 
 riage of Mr. Nevitt, to Jennie Whiting, occurred Jan. 
 15, 1884. Mrs. Nevitt is a native of the City of 
 Lockport, N. Y. 
 
 | obert Adams, farmer on section 13, Ster- 
 ling Township, is the youngest son of Van 
 J. Adams, one of the pioneers of 1836 of 
 * Whiteside County. The latter was a native 
 of Ross Co., Ohio, where he was born in De- 
 cember, 1803. He was brought up to the 
 business of a miller, which he abandoned at 19 years 
 of age and passed ten years as a teacher. He was 
 married Oct. 28, 1828, to Mary A. Ritchie, a native of 
 Ohio. On their removal to Whiteside County they 
 located on a farm east of Sterling, where the father 
 resided as long as he lived. He became wealthy, 
 and his abilities made him prominent in the local 
 and general affairs of the county and State. He 
 served one term as a member of the Legislature of 
 Illinois, but declined further preferment. He died 
 April 29, 1871, from the effects of an accident. His 
 wife died in August of the same year. Their chil- 
 dren were named Matthew R., Maria P., Josiah Q., 
 Francis W., Jay H. and Robert. 
 
 The latter was born in Sterling Township, Aug. 16, 
 1850. He obtained his elementary education at the 
 common schools and afterward attended the college 
 at Wheaton two years. After leaving school, Mr. 
 Adams formed a partnership with J. W. R. Stombaugh 
 in the sale of paints and oils at Sterling; and after 
 
 f 
 
 <* 
 
 ^ 
 
 - 
 
 v> 
 
 Ss 
 
 Jf
 
 
 
 780 
 
 
 
 WHITES IDE COUN7Y. 
 
 operating in this joint relation two years, Mr. Adams 
 sold out and bought the livery establishment and in- 
 terests of Frank Maynard, associated with Henry H. 
 Hoover. After operating four years, Mr. Adams be- 
 came the proprietor of the entire business by buying 
 the interests of his associate. After two years he 
 severed his connection with the livery business by 
 selling out. In December, 1881, he returned to the 
 old homestead and has since carried on the farm of 
 his father, in company with his brother. He is a 
 Republican in his political principles. 
 
 Mr. Adams was married June 17, 1873, to Julia 
 M., daughter of D. W. and Mary E. Lewis, in Ster- 
 ling. Her parents came to Whiteside County in 
 1862. They settled in Sterling until 1880, when 
 they went to Minnesota. Their children were four 
 in number, and were named Isabella M., Julia M , 
 Emma C. and Martin R. Mrs. Adams was born 
 July 3, 1853, in Bradford Co., Pa. To her and her 
 husband four children have been born, named Eva 
 E., Mary R., Robert H. and Van J. Mrs. Adams is 
 a communicant in the Episcopal Church. Her sister 
 Isabella is the wife of William Lindley and resides in 
 Iowa. Emma married E. H. Reynolds, of Rochelle, 
 111., and is now deceased. Martin lives at Albert 
 Lea, Minn. 
 
 Matthew R. Adams is a resident of Rock Falls. 
 Maria P. married Edmund Bowman, of Sterling. 
 Josiah Q. died in November, 1860. Frances married 
 W. F. Eastman, of Sterling, and died Feb. 25, 1877. 
 Jay H. is a member of the law firm of Wilson & 
 Adams, of La Fayette, Ind. 
 
 McGregor, a farmer residing on 
 section 18, Erie Township, where, in con- 
 \,\> nection with his brother Robert, he is cul- 
 tivating 281 acres of land, which they rent, is 
 a son of Daniel and Harriet (Carpenter) Mc- 
 Gregor, and was born in Portland Township, 
 this county, three miles southwest of the village of 
 Portland, Feb. 13, 1851. His father was a native of 
 New York, as likewise was his mother. They came 
 by water to Chicago in 1850, and then drove to 
 Portland Township, where the father soon afterwards 
 bought a farm of 76 acres. In the fall of 1870, he 
 went to Erie Township, and rented the farm which 
 
 Samuel, the subject of this notice, now rents. The 
 father died on that place, Oct. 15, 1871. The mother 
 still resides with her sons on the farm. The par- 
 ents' family comprised five children, all living, and 
 all born in this county. 
 
 Mr. McGregor is the oldest of his father's family. 
 Clara is "the wife of Jarvis Fargo, a farmer residing in 
 Erie Township ; Robert is a partner in the culti- 
 vation of the farm ; Jane is the wife of Wm. Wiggins, 
 a farmer also residing in the same township; and 
 Mary is the wife of Dewitt Bunn, likewise a farmer in 
 Erie Township. When the father died the two boys, 
 Robert and Samuel, took charge of the farm, and 
 cultivated the same for their mother three years; they 
 then rented the farm themselves, and have ever since 
 cultivated the same, and have met with success, 
 usually raising from 25 to 30 hogs, a few colts, etc. 
 
 -* *"* - 
 
 ucien J. Olmstead, general farmer, section 
 29, Genesee Township, was born Aug. i, 
 1830, in the township of Huron, Wayne 
 Co., N. Y. He has been a resident of White- 
 side County since 1864, and came to Illinois in 
 1852. His father, Elijah Olmstead, was a na- 
 tive of Connecticut and was of English descent. He 
 married Gerusha Grover, who was born in the State 
 of Vermont, whence she went in early life to White- 
 hall, N. Y., and from there to Wayne County, same 
 State. She bore her husband 12 children, and after 
 his death, which occurred in Wayne County, she mar- 
 ried Robert Stage. Late in life she removed to 
 Genesee Township, where she died. 
 
 Mr. Olmstead was next to the youngest child and 
 he was four years old when his father died. He re- 
 mained with his mother and stepfather until he was 
 1 6 years of age. He then was in Canada for two 
 years. ' Returning home, he worked at painting three 
 or four years. In 1852 he came West and located 
 in Carroll County, where he spent sme time work- 
 ing at his trade. Jan. 17, 1856, he was married in 
 Wysox Township, Carroll County, to Sarah, daugh- 
 ter of John and Polly (Holmes) Dewey, who were 
 born in the State of New York. Mr. Olmstead was 
 born Aug. 30,1836, in Chenango Co., N. Y. Her 
 father died when she was six years old, and when she 
 was 14 years she wtjnt with an older sister to Brad- 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 *s' 
 

 
 ford Co., Pa. She obtained a good education in the 
 common school, which she made available in teach- 
 ing. She came, when she was 18 years of age, with 
 her sister, Mrs. Julia A. DeWolf, to Carroll Co., 111., 
 and was married, as stated, two years later. Follow- 
 ing is the record of five children of whom she is the 
 mother : Ellen J. married James Keller and resides 
 at Omaha, Neb., where her husband is engaged in 
 teaching music. Frank lives in Omaha, where he is 
 engaged in teaching and studying. Alanson lives at 
 home. Luther D. is a student at Dixon, 111. Fred 
 L. is the youngest. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Olmstead re- 
 sided at first in Milledgeville, Carroll County. Later 
 they engaged in farming. In the fall of 1864, they 
 purchased a farm in Genesee Township, where they 
 established their homestead permanently. The farm 
 included 182 acres, with 60 under improvement ; too 
 acres are now under the plow. Mr. and Mrs. Olm- 
 stead are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and the former has officiated as Steward and 
 Class-leader. In political conviction and connection 
 he is a Republican. 
 
 S esley C. Graham, Justice of the Peace and 
 farmer, of Spring Hill, is a son of James 
 and Eliza (Martin) Graham, and was 
 born in Portland Township, this county, 
 Dec. 14, 1845. His father, a farmer, was a 
 native of Ireland, came to this country, resided 
 in Cleveland, Ohio, then in Chicago for a time, and in 
 1837 or 1838 came to this county, settling in Port- 
 land Township, on 120 acres of land, which he had 
 purchased, near Rock River; he died there, in Sep- 
 tember, 1865 ; the mother of the subject of this 
 sketch still lives on her farm in this township. They 
 had 12 children, eight of whom are living. 
 
 Mr. Graham was reared on the farm, and after 
 working the homestead on his own account several 
 years, he came, in 1874, to Spring Hill and opened a 
 general store. He conducted this alone a year, and 
 then admitted to partnership Mr. A. D. Booth, and 
 they managed the business together three years ; then, 
 dividing their stock, Mr. Graham was engaged in 
 trade in Geneseo for two years. He then sold out 
 
 there and returned to Spring Hill, purchasing 117 
 acres of land, where he is now conducting his agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He is a Freemason in his social 
 relations, and he has been Township Collector two 
 years and School Director a number of years. He was 
 elected a Justice of the Peace in 1882, and re-elected 
 in 1885. 
 
 Mr. Graham was married in Spring Hill, Jan. 29, 
 1871, to Miss Lucina, daughter of Levi and Melissa 
 Fuller. She was born in Portland, Sept. 20, r843. 
 The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Graham are 
 Lorena Dell, born Nov. 13, 1871, and Franklin, May 
 16, 1875. 
 
 
 ; ohn G. Dieterle, farmer and stock-grower 
 ^ on section 8, Jordan Township, was born 
 April 29, 1833, in Wurtemberg, Germany. 
 His father, Martin Dieterle, died in Germany, 
 when he was 63 years of age. His mother 
 died in i84r. In 1855 he came to this coun- 
 try, and at once to Sterling, 111., and entered the 
 employment of Colonel R. L. Wilson, and remained 
 in his service 14 months. He went next to Rock- 
 ford, and was employed by E. R. Hinkley as a com- 
 mon laborer, and continued to labor in his interest 
 two years. He spent the succeeding two years at 
 Rochelle, and a year and a half afterward worked 
 on a farm in Jordan Township. He then rented a 
 farm one year. 
 
 He was married at Rochelle, to Kate Dougherty, 
 a native of Ireland. Her parents removed with 
 their family to the Province of Ontario, Canada, 
 where she was reared and educated. Her parents 
 died in the Dominion. Four children were born of 
 her marriage to Mr. Dieterle : Fanny F. was born 
 March 13, 1865; Mary C., May 9, 1868; William 
 E., Aug. 23, r86g; and one died in infancy. The 
 mother died April 4, 1871. She was a consistent 
 member of the Lutheran Church. Mr: Dieterle 
 formed a second marriage with Lydia A. Jacob, 
 Sept. 14, 1875. She was born Jan. 3, 1843, near the 
 city of Baltimore, Md. Her father, John A. Jacob, 
 was a mechanic in the State of Maryland, but came 
 West and located on a farm in the Township of Jor- 
 dan, where he was one of the leading farmers in 
 ^m.JJX^.0^ ^^^ ( 
 
 * '
 
 
 Whiteside County, and one of the most prominent 
 agriculturists and growers of stock in the township. 
 He died Sept. 19, 1882. Catherine (Story) Jacob, 
 the mother of Mrs. Dieterle, was born in Maryland, 
 of German parentage. She is yet living on the 
 homestead, where the family settled when the daugh- 
 ter was nine years of age. The latter has been the 
 mother of four children : One, John A., is deceased; 
 he died when seven days old; Lydia C. was born 
 Sept. 20, 1876; Martha J., Sept. 19, 1879; John G., 
 Sept. ii, 1882; the deceased child was second in 
 order of birth, and was born Aug. 23, 1878. 
 
 Mr. Dieterle bought, in 1864, 80 acres of land on 
 section 18, of the railroad company, which was. all in 
 a wild state. He put it under tillage, after which he 
 sold it, and bought 80 acres on section 8, which wa? 
 partially improved. On this he has wrought with 
 success, and has added to his estate until he is now 
 the owner of 240 acres of land, in good farming con- 
 dition. His wife owns 160 acres of land in the 
 State of Iowa. They and three of the children are 
 members of the Lutheran Church, in which the 
 father was an Elder three years. He is actively in- 
 terested in educational matters. 
 
 
 f 
 
 ohn H. Kreider, Jr., farmer, section 2, 
 r Sterling Township, was born Dec. 20, 
 1850, in Lancaster Co., Pa., and is the son 
 of John H. Kreider, of whom a personal nar- 
 ration is given on another page. He attended 
 the public schools until he was about 18 years 
 old. He has resided in Whiteside County since he was 
 four years of age, his parents having come hither in 
 1854 , and since he reached man's estate he has 
 been engaged in agricultural pursuits. In the win- 
 ter of 1880 he bought no acres of land on section 
 2, where he is now prosecuting his farming projects. 
 Of this, 90 acres are under tillage. Mr. Kreider is a 
 Republican in political sentiment. 
 
 He was married Dec. 24, 1871, in Sterling, 111., 
 to Maggie Ebersole, and they have five children, who 
 were born in the following order: Matilda, Henry, 
 Abraham, Franklin and John. Mrs. Kreider was 
 born March 9, 1851, in Lancaster Co., Pa., and is 
 
 
 the daughter of Abraham D. and Anna (Rutt) Eber- *' 
 sole. A personal sketch of her parents may be 
 found elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Kreider is a 
 member of the Mennonite Church. 
 
 A. Boyd, marketman at Morrison, was lx>rn 
 June i, 1838, in Ayrshire, Scotland. He is 
 the son of William and Mary (Robinson) 
 Boyd, who emigrated to America with their 
 family in 1854, locating on a farm two miles 
 east of Morrison. They had 10 children, seven 
 of whom are still living. John is a fanner and 
 dealer in stock near Morrison; William is a farmer 
 in Nebraska; Peter is bojk-keeper for Thomas R. 
 King, at Morrison ; Mary is the wife of Robert Rob- 
 inson, a farmer in the vicinity of Morrison ; Janet 
 married John Thompson, an " overman " in a mine 
 in Ayrshire, Scotland ; Jane is the wife of John 
 Clark, of Morrison. (See sketch.) 
 
 Mr. Boyd was trained on a farm in his native 
 shire, and when he was 18 years of age accompanied 
 his parents to this country. After spending a few 
 years on the home farm, near Morrison, he went 
 South, and was for some time engaged as superin- 
 tendent of construction on various railroads, over- 
 seeing the labors of men engaged in building trestle- 
 wofk, culverts and bridges. He returned to the 
 county, where he has since been a resident, and he 
 engaged in farming, drawing building materials and 
 jobbing generally. He owned 40 acres of land situ- 
 ated a mile south of Morrison. In 1873 he bought 
 the place where he is now engaged in the transac- 
 tion of his business, and opened a meat-shop in 
 company with his brother-in-law, John Clark. A 
 year later he bought the interest of the latter. He 
 has since been engaged in the transaction of a heavy 
 business, including extensive shipping relations. He 
 has also a fine farm of 100 acres, lying one mile 
 southwest of Morrison, which he superintended per- 
 sonally, and is interested in breeding horses, making 
 a specialty of Mambrinos, Clydesdale and Hamble- 
 tonians. He is also the owner of 320 acres of land 
 in McPherson Co., D. T. His residence is located 
 on three and half acres of land, and is an attractive 
 and valuable homestead. He belongs to the Order 
 of Odd Fellows.
 
 >.- 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Boyd to Sarah Clark took 
 place Dec. 29, 1864, in I)e Witt, Iowa, and to them 
 four children have been born: Herbert N., Gertrude, 
 John T. and Mary. Mrs. Boyd was born in Chau- 
 tauqua Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Thomas 
 and Phebe Clark. 
 
 D. Ebersole is a farmer on section 
 3, Sterling Township. He was born Sept. 
 
 ' 8 ' l822 ' in Lancaster Co -. Pa -- and is the 
 fourth in order of birth of a family of ten chil- 
 dren born to his parents, David and Esther 
 (Burkholder) Ebersole, who were natives of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Ebersole sold his farm in the State 
 where he had lived 45 years, and in the autumn 
 came to Illinois. He bought 204 acres of land on 
 sections 2 and 3 of Sterling Township, where he 
 made a permanent location. He is now the owner 
 of i [o acres, which is practically all under tillage. 
 He is a Republican in political principle. 
 
 He was married Oct. 16, 1845, in Lancaster Co., 
 Pa., to Anna, daughter of Christian and Magdalena 
 (Ebersole) Rutt. His wife is the sixth child in or- 
 der of birth, and is next the youngest of her parents' 
 children. She was born Jan. 20, 1827, in Lancaster 
 Co., Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Ebersole have nine chil- 
 dren, Elias, Esther, Maggie, Anna, Sabine, Michael, 
 Abraham, Solomon and Amos. The parents are 
 members of the Mennonite Church. 
 
 . rancis K. Hoover is a farmer of Sterling 
 Township, and is a resident on section 3. 
 His parents, John and Martha (Kreider) 
 Hoover, were born in Pennsylvania, and set- 
 tled in the township of Sterling in 1851. The 
 death of the mother transpired Oct. 8, 1869; 
 the father. died Feb. 2, 1884. Their family included 
 eight children, two of whom died in infancy. Francis 
 K., Mary, Anna, Isaac, Martha and Benjamin are 
 still living. 
 
 Mr. Hoover was bom July 27, 1835, in Lancaster 
 Co., Pa. He was about 16 years of age when he 
 
 came with his parents to Whiteside County, and he 
 has since been interested almost exclusively in agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He became a land-holder in 1867, 
 when he bought 80 acres of land on the section 
 wrier" his homestead is now located. On this he has 
 since lived with the exception of two years, when he 
 resided on section 2. His farm now comprises 200 
 acres, and is supplied with good buildings. His 
 place is all under improvement. Mr. Hoover has 
 been School Director three years, and in political 
 sentiment he is in accord with the Republican party. 
 He was married Feb. 27, 1859, in Sterling Town- 
 ship, to Mary, daughter of Jacob and Barbara (Hess) 
 Suavely, natives of Pennsylvania. Her parents came 
 to Whiteside County about 1856, and passed the re- 
 mainder of their lives in Sterling Township. They 
 had nine children. (See sketch of Levi Snavely.) 
 Mrs. Hoover was born Feb. 2, 1839, in Lebanon Co., 
 Pa , and she is the mother of eight children, named 
 as follows: John, Edward, William, Hattie, Isaac, 
 Harry, Benjaminand Frank. 
 
 .enry Johnson, general farmer, on section 
 26, Genesee Township, was born in Alten- 
 burg, Germany, Sept. 13, 1842, and is the 
 son of Volkart and Gertrude (Sies) Johnson, 
 who were also natives of the same German 
 I State. His father was a shoe maker by trade, 
 and removed with his family to the United States in 
 1852. They first found a home in Prairieville (now 
 Palmyra), Lee Co., III. Three years later they be- 
 gan farming. The son assisted in the improvement 
 and establishment of a homestead until he had 
 passed his majority by some years. 
 
 He was married, Nov. 27, 1866, to Metta, daugh- 
 ter of Henry J. and Frelsa (Reckleis) Irlis. The 
 family came from Germany and were natives of the 
 same State, where Mr. Johnson was born and where 
 his father's progenitors originated. Mrs. Johnson 
 was born Jan. 24, 1845, in Germany. She was 21 
 years of age when her father emigrated with his 
 family to the United States, and he became a farmer 
 in Whiteside County. 
 
 Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Johnson, and all are yet living except one. They 
 are named Freleca, William, Mary, Anna and Metta 
 
 
 ' 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 1 
 
 (twins), Henry, Charles and Barnet. Volkhart is 
 deceased. 
 
 On the event of their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Johnson removed to a farm in Jordan Township, 
 where the former became the proprietor of 80 acres 
 of land, on which he resided, and which he improved 
 in a creditable manner. In 1872 the place was sold, 
 and the farm of which Mr. Johnson is now the pro- 
 prietor in Genesee Township was bought, including 
 at the date of purchase too acres. He has since in- 
 creased his estate to double its original acreage, and 
 the entire amount is under fine improvement and its 
 buildings add greatly to the appearance and value of 
 the property. He owns a considerable amount of 
 valuable stock. He is a Democrat and has held 
 minor offices in the Township. He and his wife are 
 members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 i illiam A. Jamison, a prominent agricul- 
 turist of Montmorency Township, resi- 
 dent on section 34, came to Whiteside 
 County in 1858. He passed the first year in 
 farm labor as an assistant, and in 1 85 9 rented 
 land, in which latter method he operated three 
 years, after which he settled on a tract of land pur- 
 chased by his mother in r&$g. After a residence of 
 two years he rented a farm, which he conducted four 
 years. He then bought 1 60 acres of land, which is 
 still in his possession, together with a subsequent 
 purchase of a similar amount. His farm of 320 
 acres is all under tillage. Mr. Jamison is a decided 
 Republican and has held several township offices. 
 
 He was born Feb. i, i84r, in Blooming Grove, 
 Franklin Co., Ind., and is the son of Thomas and 
 Sarah (Smith) Jamison. His father was a native of 
 Delaware, and his father was born in Ohio. After 
 their marriage, they settled in Union Co., Ind., where 
 the father died, 'April 7, 1853. The mother came in 
 1859 to Whiteside County, and is still living. Their 
 five children were named William A., Rebecca B., 
 Joseph A., John Q. and Emma. The latter died 
 when two years old. 
 
 Mr. Jamison was married in Iowa, on Feb. 4, 1868, 
 to Elizabeth, daughter of Amos and Anna (Knif- 
 fen) Brown, and they have had three children Mary 
 E., Anna G. and Emma. Mrs. Jamison was born in 
 
 the State of Michigan. Her parents were also natives 
 of that State and came thence in 1865 to Whiteside 
 County, where they lived three years. They went 
 to Iowa, where the mother died. 
 
 The father died Oct. i, r88i,in Michigan. Their 
 children were Edward, Elizabeth, Marvin G. and 
 Marion H. 
 
 eorge Adair, proprietor of the plow and 
 wagon shop at Rock Falls, and genera' 
 jobber in mechanical work, was born in 
 Canada, May 2, 1827, his parents being John 
 and Anna (Teezel) Adair, natives of New 
 Jersey. 
 
 He lived at his parental home until 16 years of 
 age, receiving a limited education. He next served 
 two years as an apprentice at the blacksmith trade, 
 worked at the business as a journeyman six years, 
 and then started in business on his own responsi- 
 bility in Canada. At the end of two years he sold 
 out, moved to Wisconsin, where he established a 
 smithy and conducted it until 1860. Next he re- 
 sided four years in Michigan, and then, until the fall 
 of 1871, in the same place and business in Wiscon- 
 sin he formerly had; then he sold out there and re- 
 moved to Moline, where he wrought at his vocation 
 for two years, and finally, in 1879, he commenced 
 business for himself in Rock Falls. He is prosper- 
 ing most signally. In his political views he is a Re- 
 publican, and he is a member of the A. O. U. W. 
 
 He was married in 1849 to Martha Simkins, and 
 they have had ten children, seven of whom still sur- 
 vive, viz.: Sarah J., George M., Belvia A., John E , 
 Angie N., William S. and Ambrose. 
 
 4= 
 
 ohn Martin, of Sterling, is a native of Bed- 
 ford Co., Pa., and was born March 17, 
 1814, his parents being David and Cathe- 
 rine (Long) Martin. His father was an ex- 
 tensive farmer, owning and managing over 600 
 acres in that State. He died in Pennsylvania, 
 in 1859, and his wife (mother of John) survived un- 
 til 1877. 
 
 The subject of this sketch remained with his par-
 
 ents until 23 years of age, working on the farm and 
 attending school. After leaving home he rented a 
 farm from his father. In 1839 he purchased 121 
 acres from his father, and occupied it for 18 years; 
 then, in 1857, he rented that farm and came to Ster- 
 ling, 111. In 1864 he sold his Pennsylvania farm 
 and bought, all together, 606 acres in this county, 
 which he now lets out to tenants. At present he is 
 leading a quiet, pleasant life, his residence being at 
 the corner of Cedar and Seventh Streets, in the vil- 
 lage of Sterling. He has accumulated a large amount 
 of property, and is a citizen of high standing. In 
 his political views he sustains Republican principles. 
 Mr. Martin was married in 1837, to Catherine 
 Hoover, a native of Pennsylvania, Lancaster County; 
 and they have four children, namely : Joseph, who 
 married Clara Stager; Jennie, who is the wife of 
 Washington Dillon, and has four children, Cath- 
 arine, Margaret, John and Paul; David and John 
 W. are the other two children of Mr. Martin. Mrs. 
 Martin died in July, 1863, in Sterling. 
 
 j|ermon Sox, farmer, section 12, Sterling 
 Township, was born Nov. 14, 1814, in Ger- 
 many. His parents, Selig and Rosa Sox, 
 lived and died in their native country. Their 
 children were nine in number, and were named 
 Hirtz, Myers, Hermon, Abram, Louis, Hirsch, 
 Hannah, Rosa and Emma. Mr. Sox passed his 
 minority in his native land, and fulfilled the legal 
 conditions which provide that German boys shall 
 attend school a certain number of years and after- 
 ward learn a trade. He obtained a knowledge of the 
 business of a soap and candle manufacturer and also 
 worked on a farm. 
 
 In 1835 he came to the United States. He first 
 went to Pennsylvania, where he lived three years. 
 At the expiration of that time he went to St. Louis, 
 Mo., and a year later came to Whiteside County. 
 He passed five years in the capacity of a farm 
 laborer, and on a farm which he rented, after which 
 he bought 240 acres of land in Sterling Township. 
 He is now the proprietor of 160 acres, all of which 
 is under cultivation, and the buildings on the place 
 are valuable and add greatly to its general appear- 
 
 ^*f~r 
 
 ance. Mr. Sox is identified with the Republican 
 party in politics. 
 
 He was united in marriage Dec. 27, 1838, in 
 Pennsylvania, to Margaret Owens. She was born 
 in that State Nov. 14, 1814, on the same day of the 
 same month and year as her husband. Their 
 children are named Emily, Jane, Ella, Edward F., 
 Hattie, Mary, Louis N., Harmon E. and Amanda. 
 Mrs. Sox is the daughter of Redmond and Chris 
 tiana (Arnold) Owens. Her parents lived and died 
 in Pennsylvania, where they reared their children 
 Christiana, Edward,, John, Mary, Hattie and Eliza- 
 beth. 
 
 t r. H. E. Robinson, physician and sur- 
 geon at Albany, was born Dec. 19, 1848, 
 in Mercersburg, Franklin Co., Pa., and is 
 the son of M. F. and Martha (Rankin) Rob- 
 inson. His father was a medical practitioner, 
 and a graduate from Washington College, in 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 
 Dr. Robinson obtained his elementary education 
 in the public schools, and afterwards improved his 
 supply of knowledge at the Normal and Classical 
 School at Newville, Pa. He began to study for his 
 profession under the instructions of his father. He 
 attended his first course of lectures at Jefferson 
 College, Philadelphia, finishing his course at the 
 University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, whence he 
 graduated March 30, 1870, and began his career as 
 a practitioner as his father's associate in Newville, 
 remaining with him a few months. In the fall of 
 the same year, he came to Albany and opened his 
 business. In the spring of the year following, he 
 formed a partnership with Dr. H. M. Booth, and 
 their connection was in existence three years. In 
 the autumn of 1874, he went to Pennsylvania and 
 embarked in the sale of drugs, and also in the prac- 
 tice of medicine, successively at Mt. Holly Springs 
 and Newville, remaining in his native State until 
 the fall of 1880, when he returned to Albany and re- 
 sumed his practice. 
 
 Dr. Robinson was married in October, 1870, to 
 Annie W, Woodburn, a native of Newville, Cumber- 
 
 ) 
 
 
 ^
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 land Co., Pa. Their five children are named 
 Laura E., Mary M., Robert B., Arthur W., Annie 
 R. and Nellie. 
 
 illiam T. Whitmore, Superintendent of 
 the manufacturing department of the 
 Langford & Hall Lumber Company, was 
 born in Vincennes, Ind., Nov. 18, 1843, and 
 is the son of David and Caroline (Stewart) 
 Whitmore. His father was a native of Hart- 
 ford, Conn., and his mother of France. 
 
 When four years of age he went with his parents 
 to Maquoketa, Iowa. He was educated in the public 
 schools and engaged as an employe in the lumber 
 business. He worked at Maquoketa, Clinton and 
 Lyons, Iowa, and at Glen Haven, Wis. He became 
 master of the manufacturing department of the lum- 
 ber business and served several years as foreman. 
 In 1877 he came from Lyons to Fulton to accept his 
 present position with the Langford & Hall Lumber 
 Company, and has been with this company con- 
 tinuously since. 
 
 Mr. Whitmore was married in Maquoketa, Iowa, 
 Dec. 24, 1865, to Miss Mary A. Lyle, daughter of 
 Thomas P. Lyle. Mrs. Whitmore was born in Lock 
 Haven, Pa. They have four children, three boys 
 and a girl, George M., Josie, Harry C. and Arthur. 
 Mr. Whitmore is a Democrat, and has made his 
 home at Fulton since 1877. He is an efficient and 
 competent manager in his department, where he has 
 served since 1877. 
 
 ames Jamison, farmer, section 21, Ustick 
 Township, is the son of Samuel and Mary 
 (Dummond) Jemison,who were natives re- 
 spectively of Scotland and Ireland. Their 
 seven children were named Jane, Martha, 
 Matthew, Samuel, Jeannette, James and David, 
 Mr. Jemison was born in March, 1827, in Ireland, 
 and he lived on his native soil until he was 20 years 
 of age, when he emigrated to the United States; 
 and, after spending five years in the city of Phila- 
 delphia, he went to Lancaster Co., Pa. A year later 
 he came to Whiteside County, and lived for a time 
 
 
 
 on its western limits, but finally located in Ustick 
 Township. He is the owner of i 20 acres of land, 
 most of which is in tillage. In political relations 
 he is a Republican, and has served his township as 
 School Director and as Overseer of Highways. 
 
 Mr. Jemison was married Dec. 6, 1854, in Lan- 
 caster Co., Pa., to Jane, daughter of Thomas and 
 Margaret (McCrumb) McKee. She was born Aug. 
 16, 1833, in Ireland, which was the native country of 
 her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Jemison have had 14 
 children, but only seven of them are living. They are 
 named Martha, Samuel, Margaret J., William, \ 
 Charles, Mary E. and Eli. Thomas, Mary J., James 
 (ist), Alexander, Margaret I. and James (2d) died in f 
 childhood. James D. (3d) died in infancy. The 
 parents are members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 S. Bentley, a harness-maker residing in 
 the village of Prophetstown, is a son of 
 Levi P. and Julia (Montague) Bentley, 
 and was born in Franklin Co., Vt., Sept. 9, 
 1837. His father was a native of the same 
 State, a farmer by occupation, and died in his 
 native State. His mother was also a native of Ver- 
 mont, and died there. The issue of their union 
 was five children, four of whom are yet living. 
 Tane is the wife of Allen Leach, a farmer residing 
 in Vermont ; Mr. Bentley of this sketch is next in 
 order of birth ; Orrin D. is a sawyer by vocation, 
 and resides in Michigan; George C. is an attorney, 
 residing in Hancock, Mich. 
 
 Mr. Bentley was reared on a farm until he at- ^ 
 tained the age of about 17, when he went to North 
 Brookfield, Worcester Co., Mass., where he learned f 
 the harness trade, and remained for two years; he 
 then went to Plattsburg, N. Y., and worked in a saw- 
 mill for a time, then came to Spring Hill, this county, 
 arriving in 1857. He was engaged in farming here 
 until March, 1860, when he went to Pike's Peak, 
 Col. He was engaged in mining near the lat- 
 ter place until the year 1862, when, in the fall of 
 that year, he enlisted in the ist Col. Cav., Co. F, as 
 private, and served three years, his -company being 
 engaged mostly in fighting the Indians. He was 
 also quartermaster saddler. He then followed his 
 trade for about 18 months, and finally came to 
 
 ^fti/0,5
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 has conducted ever since. He keeps a good stock 
 of harness, saddles, whips, etc., does repairing, and 
 usually has one assistant, and is doing a good and 
 increasing business. 
 
 Mr. Bentley was united in marriage in Prophets- 
 town, Sept. 29, 1868, to Miss Hester Hill, a daughter 
 of William and Ann .Hill. She was born in Prophets- 
 town, Jan. 28, 1847. The parents of Mrs. Bentley 
 came here in November, 1834, and may be classed 
 as among the very first settlers of the township, and 
 are yet living, one and a half miles southwest of 
 Prophetstown, where her father is engaged in farm- 
 ing. Mr. Bentley owns his shop and residence and 
 one lot ; he is a member of the Masonic Order and 
 of the A. O. U. W. 
 
 li O. Nash, contractor and builder, residing 
 at Unionville, is a son of Samuel and 
 Lydia (Mixer) Nash, natives of Vermont. 
 The parents were married and settled in Ver- 
 mont, and afterwards removed to Jefferson Co., 
 "York State," where they resided until their 
 deaths. Their family comprised nine children, namely: 
 Rufus, Almira, Emma, Asa, Eliza, Whitney, Unity, 
 Nelson and Eli O. 
 
 Eli O., subject of this biographical notice, was 
 born in Jefferson Co., N. Y., March 13, 1826. He 
 lived at home, assisting in the working of the farm 
 and received the advantages afforded by the common 
 schools ; and on attaining the age of 20 years he en- 
 gaged to learn the trade of a carpenter and joiner, 
 which he followed until the spring of 1868, in York 
 State. During the year last named, he came to 
 Kane County, this State, and in the fall of that year 
 to this county, and has resided here ever since, al- 
 most continually engaged in working at his trade. 
 
 Mr. Nash formed a matrimonial alliance in Jeffer- 
 son Co., N. Y., Jan. 5, 1851, with Miss Parmelia 
 Albro. She is a daughter of Alanson and Parmelia 
 (Brooks) Albro, natives of Vermont, whose, family 
 consisted of four children, Oliver, Olive, Henry and 
 Parmelia. Mrs. Nash was born in Jefferson Co., N. 
 Y., June 25, 1831. Their family consisted of three 
 children, only one of whom survives, Bert E. Alan- 
 son, De F. and Nettie P. died in infancy. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Nash is a believer in the tenets of 
 
 the Republican party. Socially, he is a member of ^ 
 the I. O. O. F., belonging to Grove Lodge, No. 257 
 
 - 
 
 arcus Lyon, general farmer and stock- 
 raiser, residing on section 6, Tampico 
 Township, was born in Medina Co., O., 
 Feb. 27, 1845, his parents being Daxter 
 and Sarah A. (Vaughn) Lyon, who, after mar- 
 riage, emigrated to Illinois, when Marcus was 
 five years of age, settling in Mt. Pleasant Township, 
 this county. 
 
 Mr. Lyon, the subject of this biographical notice, 
 was educated at the district schools and at Morrison, 
 and remained an inmate of his paternal home until 
 he was 25 years of age, when, Feb. 28, 1870, he was 
 married, in Wyoming, Jones Co., Iowa, to Miss Mi- 
 nerva Miller, a native of Indiana, who was reared 
 and educated ( in Iowa, where her parents are now 
 living. Mr. and Mrs. Lyon have become the parents 
 of seven children, namely : Lottie, Lewis, Gracie, 
 Hubert, Katie, Rhoda and Martha. The last named 
 is deceased. 
 
 After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Lyon settled on a 
 farm of 120 acres in Mt. Pleasant Township, this 
 county, where they lived until March, 1875, when 
 they moved to Tampico. Here Mr. L. had pur- 
 chased a quarter section 'of good land, and after 
 settling on the same bought 80 acres more on section 
 6, so that he now has a fine farm of 240 acres, all 
 improved. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Lyon is a Republican. 
 
 
 
 
 ohn H. Helms is a native of Hanover, Ger- ! 
 many, in which country he was born Nov. 
 26, 1841. He attended school in his na- 
 tive country until he attained the age of 14 
 years, after which he followed the occupation 
 of a farmer, until arriving at the age of 20 
 years. He then joined the army, in conformity with 
 the laws of his native country, and served six years, 
 during which time he participated in several battles. 
 After receiving his discharge, he went to France, 
 and resided in that country for two years. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Helms, realizing that he could better 
 his financial condition in the New World, emigrated 
 
 *,)&*/& 
 
 gT*zx;'\\^.
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 to the United States, and the same year came to 
 this county, and for a time resided with his brother, 
 Henry, who had preceded him and located in Lyn- 
 don Township. He remained with him for about 
 one year, then went to Minneapolis, where he 
 worked in a hotel one year. His next move was to 
 the land of gold, California, in which State he was 
 variously employed until 1873, when he returned 
 to Lyndon and rented farms, which he cultivated for 
 his own individual profit for a period of two years. 
 
 Leaving the farm, Mr. Helms moved to the 
 village of Lyndon, where he engaged in the pro- 
 vision and restaurant business, which vocation he 
 followed for eight years. In 1882 he purchased the 
 farm he at present occupies, adjoining the village 
 plat and located on section 1 6. He has also other 
 lands that he has bought at times, and at present his 
 landed interests amount to 200 acres. Mr. Helms 
 is a self-made man, and of this world's goods that he 
 possesses, he has none to thank except his own in- 
 domitable energy, coupled with the active co-opera- 
 tion of his good helpmeet. 
 
 He was united in marriage in the month of May, 
 1870, to Henrietta Carson. She died October fol- 
 lowing, without issue, and Mr. Helms was again mar- 
 ried Oct. 24, 1873, to Miss Sophia Meyer, a native 
 of Hanover, Germany. Four children have been 
 born of the latter union, Emma, Anna, Willie and 
 John. 
 
 ? ndrew T. Glassburn, cashier of Tampicj 
 Bank, in the village of Tampico, is the jun- 
 ior member of the firm of J. W. Glassburn 
 & Son. He was born Oct. 4, 1856, in Gallia 
 Co., O., and was four months old when his 
 parents came to Illinois. He was a pupil in 
 the first school-house built at Tampico, where he ob- 
 tained an elementary education. He has acquired a 
 knowledge of business methods by experience and 
 conducts his banking operations by a thorough bank- 
 ing system. On becoming of age he engaged in his 
 father's employ as book-keeper on a salary, but the 
 latter, recognizing the value of his abilities, gave him 
 a half interest in his business relations, which he has 
 greatly increased in extent. He continued in the 
 grain business with his father until February, 1885, 
 when he bought W. W. Craddock's interest in the 
 
 bank established by Glassburn & Craddock, in May, 
 1882, and became cashier of the same. 
 
 Mr. Glassburn 's marriage to Viva Smith took place 
 Sept. 10, 1878. Her parents, A. M. and Laura 
 (Badgley) Smith, were formerly farmers in Tampico 
 Township. Her mother died in 1879. Her father 
 lives in Brown Co., D. T., with other children. He 
 is 57 years of age. Mrs. Glassburn was brought up 
 in Tampico, where she received her education. Asa 
 C., born May 18, 1880, is the only child of the 
 family. 
 
 Mr. Glassburn is a Democrat of decided type. He 
 has served as Village Trustee and as President of 
 the Board. With his wife, he belongs to the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church and is a Trustee of the 
 Society. 
 
 ..harles C. Smith, of the firm of Smith & 
 |g Guthrie, dealers in hardware, stoves and 
 agricultural implements at Erie, is the son 
 of Sydney and Louisa (Riggs) Smith, and was 
 born in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Sept. 28, 1836. 
 His father is a native of Lewis Co., N. Y.,is a 
 hatter, and resides in this county, aged 80 years. 
 His mother is also a. native of Lewis County, and re- 
 sides here. The issue of their union was six chil- 
 dren, four of whom are living. Lester is a tinner by 
 vocation and resides in Waterville, N. Y.; Lavina 
 L. was the wife of David Guthrie and resides in 
 Erie. William M. is cashier and book-keeper for R. 
 L. Burchell, of Erie ; Charles C. is in business as 
 stated, and the other two died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Smith learned the trade of carpenter and 
 joiner in his native town, Canton, St. Lawrence Co., 
 N. Y., and followed it for a number of years. In 
 1854 he came to Erie and followed his trade for some 
 time. In 1873 he formed a partnership with his 
 brother-in-law, Joseph Guthrie, and engaged in the 
 hardware business, and has continued it ever since 
 except about 18 months. In the spring of 1882 he 
 sold out and went to O'Brien Co., Iowa, where he 
 was engaged in the hardware business until the fall 
 of 1883, when he returned and again entered in part- 
 nership with his former partner. They carry a stock 
 usually amounting to $6,000, and employ one clerk. 
 They own their buildings, four stores and ware- 
 house, and keep all kinds of hardware, tinware, ag- 
 
 V. 
 
 X.
 
 WHITESWE COUNTY. 
 
 ricultural implements and farm machinery, and are 
 having a good and constantly increasing trade. Mr. 
 Smith was married in Portland Township, this county, 
 Sept. i, 1857, to Miss Elizabeth Guthrie, daughter of 
 Samuel and Ann Guthrie, natives of Ireland. The 
 issue of their union was five children: Estella L., 
 born July 14, 1858, is the wife of Anson A. Mat- 
 thews, engaged in the furniture business at Erie; 
 Sevilla, born Aug. 7, was the wife of Henry Loucks, 
 a farmer of DeKalb County,. and died April 21, 1885. 
 Minnie was born Sept. 9, 1862; Fannie, May 14, 
 1870, and Lester, Oct. 24, 1874. 
 
 I? ashington M. Dillon, President and 
 Treasurer of the Northwestern Barbed 
 Wire Company, of Rock Falls, was born 
 in Putnam, Muskingum Co., Ohio, July 2, 
 1842. His father, Loyd Dillon, was an iron 
 manufacturer and built the first iron furnace 
 west of the Alleghanies, in company with his father, 
 John Dillon, at Dillon Falls, above Zanesville. The 
 maiden name of Washington's mother was Margaret 
 A. Culbertson. His father was born in Baltimore, 
 Md., and his mother in Ohio. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was but five years of 
 age when his father died, and then lived with his 
 grandmother until 14 years of age ; next v he was 
 with an uncle on a farm for six years, receiving also 
 a fine education. In 1862 he enlisted in the service 
 of his country, remaining two years, in the 1481)1 
 Regt. Ohio Vol. Inf., and engaging in several battles 
 in Tennessee and Alabama and with the Army of 
 the Potomac. After serving his time, he was hon- 
 orably discharged. 
 
 Returning from the exciting scenes of war, he at- 
 tended the commercial school at Lebanon, Ohio, 
 completed the course of study and received his 
 diploma. Then he was clerk for a year in the bank 
 of Culver, Penn & Co., 19 and 21, Nassau Street, 
 New York city. Next, he came West to St. Louis, 
 Mo., and conducted a paper for a year. Selling out, 
 he came to Dixon, 111., and clerked in the dry-goods 
 house of Isaac Jones for a period of six months ; 
 then for four years he was engaged in the grocery 
 and queensware trade in the same city ; he then sold 
 out and came to Sterling, entering the hardware 
 business in company with W. C. Robinson, on Mul- 
 
 berry Street, in which he continued for about nine 
 years. Again selling out, in 1879, he engaged in 
 the manufacture of barbed'wire, on which he owns 
 the patents. A stock company was formed, at first 
 with a capital of $10,000, which has since been in- 
 creased to $100,000. Their factory is at Rock Falls, 
 where they turn out 600 spools of wire per day of 24 
 hours. Mr. D. retains a controlling interest. 
 
 Mr. Dillon is a wide-awake, representative busi- 
 ness man of Sterling, a Republican, an Odd Fellow, 
 and a member of the A. O. U. W. and of the Pres- 
 byterian Church ; Mrs. D. also belongs to that de- 
 nomination. 
 
 Mr. Dillon was married May 8, 1875, to Miss 
 Sarah J., daughter of John Martin, of Sterling, and 
 they have four children, Mary K., Margaret A., 
 John M. and Paul W. 
 
 eorge H. Fadden, a farmer residing in the 
 village of Erie, and the son of Ira and 
 Lucinda (Patterson) Fadden, was born in 
 Clarenceville, Canada East, Dec. 8, 1847. His 
 father is a native of the same country, as like- 
 wise is his mother, and they are both at pres- 
 ent residing in Stanstead Co., Can., where his father 
 is engaged in farming. Their family comprised 12 
 children, 1 1 of whom still survive : George H. is the 
 eldest ; Mary and Hiram reside in Canada ; Adelaide, 
 in Kansas; Electa, in Canada; Marvin I., a farmer 
 in this county; Harvey, a resident of Erie; Emma, 
 wife of Wm. James, a barber in the same village; 
 Elizabeth, living in Canada ; and Charles and Ger- 
 trude. 
 
 Mr. Fadden was reared on a farm in his native 
 country, receiving such advantages as were obtain- 
 able at the common schools. In the fall of 1868, he 
 came to Erie, this county, and was employed on a 
 farm near that village a short time, and then on a 
 railroad for about seven years. In June, 1875, he 
 entered a butcher-shop in Erie, and two years later, 
 in 1877, he bought an interest in the same, from Wm. 
 Guthrie. They conducted the business for about 18 
 months, then sold, and Mr. Fadden again engaged 
 in the same business, with L. E. Mathews, and the 
 partnership continued for over six years, or until Feb. 
 9, 1885. Mr. Fadden then moved on the farm of his 
 father-in-law, L. D. Gordon, consisting of 220 acres, 
 
 V> 
 
 ft 
 
 
 
 :.* 
 
 
 - 
 
 ' 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 v> 
 
 
 which he rents, and which he expects to make a 
 stock farm. 
 
 Mr. Fadden formed a matrimonial alliance in Erie 
 village, Sept. 27, 1875, with Miss Genevie Gordon. 
 She is a daughter of Lorenzo D. and Orissa Gordon, 
 and was born in New York, Oct. 18, 1851. Two chil- 
 dren constitute the issue of their marriage : Lester 
 G., born July 27, 1876, and Mabel C., born April 27, 
 1 88 1. The father of Mrs. Fadden is still living, and 
 resides with his daughter. Her mother died May 
 7, 1884. The family of Mrs. Fadden's parents con- 
 sisted of Mrs. Fadden, wife of the subject of this 
 sketch, and one sister, Marien E., who was born in 
 Allegany Co., N. Y., Oct. 15, 1848, and died Jan. 17, 
 1883. 
 
 homas J. Burch., a farmer of Garden Plain 
 Township, was born Nov. 9, 1835, in La 
 Porte Co., Ind. Ira Burch, his father, was 
 born May 24, 1800, in Steuben Co., N. Y. The 
 latter entered the lake service when a young 
 man, and operated as a sailor on the chain of 
 the great lakes until 1832. On the 5th of April in 
 that year he was married to Joanna W. Bacon. She 
 was born Aug. i, 1817, in Sunderland, Bennington 
 Co., Vt. For a year subsequent to their marriage 
 they lived in Ripley, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., and in 
 1833 went to La Porte Co., Ind., whither they moved 
 their family and household fixtures by the aid of an 
 ox team. The father secured a claim of 80 acres of 
 land near the present city of La Porte, where they 
 were resident until 1837. In that year they again 
 set out to find a home in an untried region, traveling 
 with a pair of horses and a wagon, and were on the 
 road a little more than a week. Mr. Burch had 
 made a trip to Whiteside County a little before and 
 made a claim on section 1 8, in Union Grove Town- 
 ship, as it has since been designated. He also built 
 a house for a shelter for his family. They remained 
 in it but a short time, as Mr. Burch sold his claim 
 and secured another on section 7, in the same town- 
 ship, and built a pioneer cabin. He had also en- 
 tered a claim on section 12, of township 21, range 3, 
 now Garden Plain. To this the second log house 
 was afterward removed. The father died March n, 
 1846. The widow survives, and is a resident of the 
 homestead in Union Grove Township. Of eight 
 
 children born to them four are deceased. Harrison 
 D. lives in Whiteside County. Thomas J. is the 
 second in order of birth. Eliza is the wife of G. A. 
 Clauff, of Ringgold Co., Iowa. Ira S. is the young- . 
 est. 
 
 Mrs. Burch was married again to Ezekiel Perry, 
 who died in June, 1860. 
 
 Thomas J. was in his second year when his 
 parents settled in Whiteside County. He was edu- 
 cated in the log and stone school-houses of the 
 township of Garden Plain, and was trained in a 
 knowledge of agriculture. In 1858 he went to Mis- 
 souri, going there through Iowa, Kansas and Ne- 
 braska. While in Missouri he was married to Mary 
 A. Cooley, in July, 1859. She was born Sept. 13, 
 1834, in Ohio. In 1860 they returned to Garden 
 Plain Township, and were residents on the home- 
 stead two years. In 1862 Mr. Burch bought 55 
 acres of land on section i, to which he removed. He 
 is at present owner of 160 acres on the same section, 
 having since purchased 105 acres, the remainder of 
 the northeast quarter of section i. He also owns 
 33 acres of timber in Union Grove Township. 
 
 Four of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Burch are 
 living at this date (1885), Harry D., Henry, Alvin 
 and Elmer. Mr. Burch has been a Prohibitionist in 
 principle several years. He and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 :enjamin P. Echelbarger, Supervisor of 
 Newton Township the current year, was 
 born March 13, 1839, in Ashland Co., Ohio. 
 His parents, George and Jane (Hagaman) 
 Echelbarger, removed when he was nine years 
 old to Union County, and the family continued 
 to reside there until 1856. In that year they trans- 
 ferred their interests to Whiteside County, locating 
 near Erie. The father died there in 1857. The 
 mother died in 1860, in Newton Township. 
 
 Oct. 12, 1861, Mr. Echelbarger enlisted in Co. D, 
 461)1 Regt. 111. Vol. Inf. The command remained in 
 barracks at Dixon until February, 1862, when it was 
 sent South and was stationed at Memphis. In the 
 fall, Mr. Echelbarger was sent home on recruiting 
 service and discharged the duties of the position, 
 holding the rank of Sergeant. He rejoined his regi- 
 ment in July, 1863, at Vicksburg. In January, 1865,
 
 IflWVERSJTV OF ILLINOIS
 
 a;J 
 
 2! 
 
 The Prophet 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ' he was transferred to the i6th Veteran Reserve 
 
 Corps and stationed at St. Louis. In March he went 
 
 , to Washington and from there to Harrisburg, Pa. 
 
 At the expiration of his period of enlistment he was 
 
 discharged and returned to Whiteside County. 
 
 Within the year he bought 40 acres of unbroken 
 
 prairie in Newton Township, located on section i, 
 
 vvhere he entered upon the duties of a pioneer farm- 
 
 er, and has operated with successful results. He 
 
 now owns 80 acres of land, having bought an addi- 
 
 - tional 40 acres adjoining his first purchase. The en- 
 
 , tire property is in good agricultural condition. In 
 
 1 political faith he is a Republican. He has officiated 
 
 1 as Constable nine years and has been Road Commis- 
 
 sioner six year. In the spring of 1884 he was elected 
 
 Supervisor and was re-elected in 1885. 
 
 Mr. Echelbarger was married in 1867, to Eliza- 
 beth Slead. She was born March 19, 1850, in 
 Delaware Co., N. Y. 
 
 eorge F. Allen, of the firm of Allen Bros., 
 dealers in hardware and agricultural im- 
 plements at Morrison, was born Dec. 20, 
 1854, in Milford, 111. George W. and Cather- 
 ine (Hamlin) Allen, his parents, are yet living. 
 They were born respectively in the State of 
 New York and in Canada. Following is the record 
 of their children: James A. is a merchant at Davis 
 Junction, Ogle Co., 111.; Charles W. is the business 
 associate with his brother, the subject of this sketch; 
 Cora is a teacher in the High School at Rochelle, 111.; 
 Hattie is engaged in the same occupation near 
 Bloommglon, 111. 
 
 Mr. Allen is the second in order of birth. At the 
 age of 15 he engaged in the acquisition of a knowl- 
 edge of the trade of a tinner, wWch has- thus- far in 
 life chiefly engaged his attention. After completing 
 his trade he entered the employ of D. E. Edrington, 
 of Creston, 111., in whose interests he operated seven 
 years. Subsequently he was employed by Patten 
 Bros., of Fielding, five years after which, in company 
 with I. W. Miller, he purchased the business of his 
 employers. Their relations were in existence two 
 years, when Mr. Allen came to Morrison, and in 
 April, 1884, established his present business in part- 
 nership with his brother, and they are conducting 
 a prosperous trade. 
 
 Mr. Allen was united in marriage in Fielding, De 
 Kalb, Co., 111., Jan. 31, 1882, to Hattie Nash. Mrs. 
 Allen was born Nov. n, 1852, in Ogle Co., 111. 
 
 iiram Parker, a farmer on section 25, Gar- 
 den Plain Township, is the youngest son of 
 Abel and Eleanor (Howe) Parker, pioneers 
 of Whiteside County of 1836, of whom a sketch 
 appears on another page. He was born July 
 18, 1833, in the town of Wells, Rutland Co., Vt., 
 and when he was three years of age, in company 
 with his parents, he came to Whiteside County, 
 where he was reared on his father's farm, and was 
 educated in the common schools. His father died 
 in 1839, and he lived with his mother and brothers 
 until 1863, when he bought the interest of the other 
 heirs in the homested of his parents. On this he has 
 since resided and continued the work of improve- 
 ment. He has erected a good set of farm build- 
 ings and has an exceptionally pleasant home. 
 
 Mr. Parker was married Feb. 19, 1873, to Emily 
 A. DeGraff. She was born in Dutchess Co., N. Y., 
 and is descended from French ancestry. Her pro- 
 genitors were among the earliest settlers of her na- 
 . live county. 
 
 -et- 
 
 a-bo-kies-shiek, or White Cloud, the 
 prophet of the Winnebagoes, and com- 
 monly called "The Prophet," was the 
 most prominent Indian that was ever inti- 
 mately connected with the history of White- 
 side County. He was born about 1790, and 
 made Prophetstown his home. He was a stout, 
 shrewd-looking Indian ; sagacity and cunning were 
 prominent traits of his character and essential to the 
 prophetic pretensions by which he imposed upon the 
 credulity of his ignorant followers. It is claimed 
 that he was one of the chief instigators in bringing on 
 the Black Hawk War. He resided at Propjietstown, 
 where there was a large Indian village. (See page 
 889.) 
 
 Through the generous interest of the Hon. Elihu 
 B. Washburne, while Minister Plenipotentiary from 
 this country to the Court of Paris, this county was 
 enabled to secure a portrait of this noted chief, which 
 
 . 
 
 Sg) 
 
 
 
 
 Q. m
 
 ^ 
 
 > 79* 
 fe 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 (if 
 
 now decorates the walls of the Supervisors' room in 
 the Record building at Morrison. It is painted by 
 P. A. Healey, the distinguished American portrait 
 painter, from the original study of George Catlin, the 
 American artist, and one of the most celebrated of 
 Indian painters. It was painted by Mr. Healey in 
 Europe, at the request of Mr. Washburne, and pre- 
 sented by him to Whiteside County as a historic 
 souvenir. This work was greatly admired while on 
 exhibition in the artist's studio at Paris. It is a full- 
 sized portrait and is a work of rare merit. It repre- 
 sents the Prophet standing erect, in full Indian dress, 
 with his blanket thrown over his left shoulder, par- 
 tially folded over one arm, and hanging with careless 
 grace by his side. He stands upon the brow of a 
 hill, while about are some small trees and shrubbery. 
 In the back-ground is the blue sky. In front is a 
 broad expanse of country, over which his eye rests 
 with a melancholy gaze, contemplating a land that is 
 rapidly fading away from him and his race. Mr. 
 Washburne was cordially received by the people of 
 Whiteside County, whom he had formerly repre- 
 sented for many years in Congress. The presenta- 
 tion of the portrait was made Oct. 27, 1877, at the 
 Fair Grounds, which had been fitted up for the oc- 
 casion, and was preceded by an eloquent address 
 from Mr. Washburne, the donor. It was made a 
 grand occasion, and one long to be remembered by 
 the people of the county. 
 
 In connection with this sketch we give the por- 
 trait of White Cloud, a reproduction of the painting 
 mentioned above. 
 
 >#-)-* 
 
 jilliam Bryant, dealer in live stock at Erie, 
 is a son of James and Emily (Benson) 
 Bryant, and was born in Portland Town- 
 ship, Oct. n, 1850. His father was a 
 native of Knox Co., Ohio, a farmer by occu- 
 pation, and at present resides in Portland Town- 
 ship. He was one of the first settlers in that town- 
 ship, married there and reared a family of four 
 children. 
 
 Mr. Bryant was reared on his father's farm, Port- 
 land Township, where he received the advantages 
 afforded by the common schools, assisted in the main- 
 tenance of the family, and developed into manhood. 
 
 He was married in Geneseo, Henry Co., 111., May 27, 
 1873, to Miss Almeda Blaisdell, daughter of Mason 
 and Alzina (Rowe) Blaisdell, and was born in Port- 
 land Township, July 31, 1857. The issue of their 
 union was three children, two born in Portland Town- 
 ship, and one in Erie Township: Lorena, March 29, 
 1875; Emil, Dec. 15, 1882; Ralph C., Oct. 28, 1884. 
 After his marriage, Mr. Bryant resided on 64 acres of 
 land in Portland Township, which belonged to his 
 father; his wife received 67 acres of land adjoining 
 that on which he resided, making 131 acres, where 
 they lived until October, 1882, when he moved into 
 the village of Erie. Having since become the pro- 
 prietor of the farm, he rents it. Since moving to the 
 village he occupies his time in buying live stock and 
 shipping to Chicago, in which business he is asso- 
 ciated with Charles H. McLean. 
 
 amuel Rosenkrans, resident at Albany, 
 was born Feb. 15, 1834, in Smithfield, 
 Monroe Co., Pa. He is the oldest son of 
 Simeon and Mary (Zimmerman) Rosenkrans. 
 Simeon Rosenkrans, his paternal grandsire, 
 was born in Sussex Co., N. J. He was a 
 physician, and married Sarah Shumaker, who was 
 born in the same county. They were both of Hol- 
 land Dutch descent. They went from New Jersey 
 to Steuben Co., N. Y., where they died. Simeon 
 Rosenkrans, the father, was born in Wallpack, Sussex 
 Co., N. J., and his mother was a native of Smithfield, 
 Pa. She died in Cohocton, Steuben Co., N. Y., in 
 June, 1884, at the age of 79. His father died In the 
 same place in May, 1872, at 65. He was second 
 cousin to the distinguished General of the late civil 
 war. 
 
 Mr. Rosenkrans is the only survivor of three 
 children. He was in infancy when his parents went 
 to Steuben Co., N. Y., and his father bought a farm 
 in Avoca Township. He grew to man's estate, and 
 obtained a good degree of education in the common 
 schools. He afterward attended four terms at the 
 High School at Bath, and one term at Franklin 
 Academy. At 16 he became a clerk in a general 
 store at Bath, where he operated three years, after 
 which he obtained a situation as agent of the New 
 York & Erie Railroad at Wallace Station, in Steuben 
 
 
 
 ---
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 793 
 
 County. He retained the position nine years, and, 
 on relinquishing it, engaged in the management of 
 his father's farm, in which capacity he was occupied 
 two years. He then bought- a farm in the adjoining 
 town of Cohocton, and conducted his agricultural 
 interests there six years. He sold his property in 
 1870, and came to Illinois on a visit and to prospect. 
 He remained until the ist of July in the same year, 
 when he returned to New York to make preparations 
 to return and locate in Whiteside County. In Sep- 
 tember he came to Albany, and, in partnership with 
 James Early, he engaged in traffic in grain and 
 stock. They continued their joint business opera- 
 tions two years, and, on their dissolution, Mr. Rosen- 
 krans continued the management of his trade singly. 
 He is also engaged in farming on sections 25 and 26, 
 Albany Township, and is also interested in raising 
 stock. 
 
 He was married in 1859 to Harriet A. Armstrong, 
 and they have four children Mary, Henry, Louisa 
 and Myron. Mrs. Rosenkrans was born in Cohoc- 
 ton, Steuben Co., N. Y. 
 
 gnatz Spinka, proprietor of the pottery at 
 Fulton, was born March 31, 1842, in Bohe- 
 mia. He attended the schools of his native 
 country until the age of 12, when he began the 
 acquisition of a knowledge of the craft of a 
 potter. He was employed in that business un- 
 til 1868, when he emigrated to America, and at once 
 proceeded to Carroll Co., 111., where a brother who 
 had preceded him to the New World resided. He 
 remained with him one year in the capacity of a 
 farm assistant. In 1870 he came to Fulton, and en- 
 tered the employ of C. B. Batchelder, the proprietor 
 of a pottery. He afterw ard bought the business, and 
 has since conducted its relations on his own respon- 
 sibility. He has operated with success, and owns a 
 house and lot at Fulton. He built his dwelling in 
 1872. 
 
 Mr. Spinka is an industrious and enterprising 
 man, and, like most of his class, has prospered tinder 
 the influences of the habits he brought from his 
 native land, which form the best capital of foreign- 
 born citizens of the American Republic, and, to- 
 gether with their energetic perseverance, rarely fail 
 .to produce substantial results. He has acquired a 
 
 thoroughly practical knowledge of English, which he 
 reads and speaks. 
 
 He was married Jan. 22, 1867, to Mary Baryz- 
 kaalso, a native of Bohemia, and they have three 
 daughters Mary, Carrie and Annie. The two 
 oldest were graduated from Fulton Academy, June 
 3, 1885. 
 
 ndrew J. Stowell was born March 14, 
 1846, in Rock Island Co., 111., and is the 
 son of Ira and Caroline A. (Riel) Stowell. 
 His father died when he was but an infant, 
 and when he was six years of age his mother 
 marrried Capt. A. M. George, and the family 
 moved to Garden Plain Township. 
 
 Mr. Slowell was educated in the district school 
 and later attended the " Northern Illinois Soldiers' 
 College," at Fulton, two terms. His marriage to 
 AddieS., daughter of Richard and Margaret (Curry) 
 Storer, took place Dec. 23, 1873. She was born in 
 Allegheny, Pa. At the time of his marriage, Mr. 
 Stowell was in the employ of Lamb & Sons, mer- 
 chan^, at. Clinton, and when the season of naviga- 
 tion opened, he accepted a situation as clerk on a 
 steamboat. In the winter ensuing he entered an of- 
 fice, and in that alternate manner he operated three 
 years. He passed two years subsequent in farming 
 in Garden Plain Township. In 1876 he began to 
 operate as a grain and stock buyer, at Garden Plain 
 Station, and has since operated continuously in that 
 vocation. 
 
 Mr. Stowell is a Republican in affiliation and was 
 elected to the position of clerk of Lyndon Township 
 in 1 88 1. He is a member of Lodge No. 220, A. O. 
 U.W., at Garden Plain, and also belongs to the 
 Presbyterian Church, of which Mrs. Stowell is also 
 a member. 
 
 on. Nathan Williams, a citizen farmer of 
 Montmorency Township, resident on sec- 
 tion 20, came to Whiteside County in 1856. 
 He was born June 18, 1821, in Pomfret, Wind- 
 ham Co., Conn. His parents, Nathan and 
 Phila (Day) Williams, were also natives of that 
 county, where his father was for many years a 
 
 
 'a 
 
 t 
 
 f \ 

 
 n 
 
 
 (o 
 
 
 farmer, having been born on the farm where he 
 passed his entire life. He was a neighbor of Gen. 
 Israel Putnam, and died in 1862. The mother died 
 in 1876. Their children were born in the following 
 order : Wareham, Nathan, John, Watz, Deborah, 
 Julia and Albert D. 
 
 Mr. Williams passed his boyhood's years in school 
 and on his father's farm, where he was an assistant 
 until he was 16 years old. At that age he engaged 
 in teaching, and was occupied several seasons in 
 that capacity. He attended an academy at Brook- 
 lyn, four miles from his home, which distance he 
 walked night and morning. When he was 22 years 
 old he became a clerk in the employ of the Mason- 
 ville Manufacturing Company, and officiated three 
 years in that capacity, and in that of book-keeper in 
 their interests. In 1846 he became interested in 
 mercantile pursuits at Putnam, Conn., in which he 
 was engaged nine years, and operated principally 
 alone, with satisfactory results. He found that his 
 health was becoming broken from the confinement 
 and other causes, and he determined to try a change 
 of climate. In 1856 he came to Sterling, where he 
 again interested himself in his former pursuit, in a 
 building which he erected for the purpose.^ After 
 two years he was obliged from the same causes to 
 sell his business. He then, in 1858, bought 160 
 acres of land on sections 19 and 20 in Montmorency 
 Township, fixing his hom-sstead on the latter. He 
 has been fortunate in his agricultural projects and 
 has extended his ownership until he is the possessor 
 of 880 acres of land in the same township. Nearly 
 600 acres are under excellent tillage. His stock 
 includes about 100 head of cattle, and between 40 
 and 50 horses. He is interested in raising fine 
 breeds of the latter, and was the first to introduce 
 Clydesdales into Whiteside County. He also fat- 
 tens about a hundred head of hogs annually. 
 
 In the early days of his political career, Mr. Will- 
 iams was a Whig ; and, on the adjustment of party 
 elements and organization of the Republican party, 
 he joined its ranks and has since supported its is- 
 sues. In his native State he was actively interested 
 in local and general politics, and his executive abili- 
 ties and public spirit brought him a long array of 
 official honors, wholesomely mixed with official labor. 
 He has served an aggregate of 20 years as Justice 
 of the Peace in Connecticut and Whiteside County, 
 and in the latter has been Township Assessor five 
 
 ** ^^ ~ 
 
 years. He has also been warmly interested in 
 school matters in both States. At the fall election 
 of 1870 he was elected for the position of Repre- 
 sentative from the nth District, comprising Carroll 
 and Whiteside Counties, and served through two reg- 
 ular and two special sessions, covering ten months 
 during the two years of his term. 
 
 Mr. Williams was united in marriage in Thomp- 
 son, Conn., July 23, 1845, to Catherine B. Thatcher. 
 They became the parents of five children, of whom 
 there are four survivors : Ada T., Thomas T., N. v 
 Percy and Abbott. Mrs. Williams was born Dec. 
 5, 1819, in Hartford, Susquehanna Co., Pa., and is 
 the daughter of Thomas and Betsey (Mills) 
 Thatcher. Her father was born in Massachusetts, 
 and her mother was a native of Connecticut. The 
 former was a manufacturer and spent most of his 
 life in Connecticut, where he was married. He died 
 March 28, 1845. His wife died June 19, 1825. 
 Their children were Sarah M., Catherine B., Ellen 
 and Anna F. 
 
 ranklin F. Hamilton, a farmer, on section 
 34, Fenton Township, is the son of a 
 pioneer of Whiteside County. James / 
 Hamilton, his father, was born in 1812, in the 
 State of New York. He came to Erie Town- 
 ship in 1836, and married Lucinda, daughter 
 of Lewis D. and Phoebe (Hunt) Crandall. Lewis 
 D. Crandall was the second settler in Erie Town- 
 ship, where he came in 1835, and located on section 
 18. He died in 1860. After his marriage the senior 
 Hamilton went to Lee Co., 111., and was a resident 
 there until 1844, when he returned with his family 
 to Whiteside County. He died in 1874. His wife 
 survived until 1881. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton is the second of their six children. 
 He was born at Grand deTour, then in Lee Co., 111., 
 Oct. 30, 1843, and was but a few months old when 
 his father came to Whiteside County, for a permanent 
 residence. He was a member of the parental house- 
 hold until he assumed family responsibilities himself. 
 Feb. 8, 1869, he located on section 34, Fenton 
 Township, on a farm of 196 acres, which is in excel- 
 lent condition 4 for successful tillage. 
 
 Dec. 24, 1866, Mr. Hamilton married Esther 
 
 A^C) >^y _M|^^(g) 
 
 A 
 
 jjr
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Peters, who was born Nov. 10, 1846, in Fenton 
 Township, this county. By this marriage there were 
 four children. Mrs. H. died July 19, 1879, leaving 
 two children, only one of whom is now living, namely, 
 Allie, who was born Nov. 4, 1870; Frankie was born 
 Feb. 9, 1879, and died Dec. 17, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton formed a second matrimonial alli- 
 ance, April 24, 1884, with Carrie Naftzger, a native 
 of Ohio. 
 
 L Murray, a prominent young farmer 
 of Montmorency Township, residing on 
 section 35, is a son of George and Eliz- 
 abeth (Richardson) Murray, both natives of 
 Kentucky. A sketch of George Murray, the 
 father of John L., who is now deceased, may 
 be found on page 688. He was one of the early set- 
 tlers of Montmorency Township, and was extensively 
 engaged in farming, owning about 500 acres of land, 
 most of which was in excellent agricultural condi- 
 tion. 
 
 John L., the subject of this biographical notice, 
 was the youngest of a family of ten children. He 
 was reared and educated in this county, receiving 
 such advantages as the schools of the county af- 
 forded in the way of obtaining an education. For a 
 life pursuit he has chosen the quiet, pleasant and 
 profitable occupation of a farmer, and to-day is one 
 of the leading agriculturists of Montmorency Town- 
 ship. 
 
 | illiarn R. Brightman, a farmer on section 
 25, Garden Plain Township, was born Jan. 
 5, 1819, in Adams Co., Ohio. He is the 
 only son of Abner and Nancy (Clark) Bright- 
 man, and his parents removed in his infancy 
 to Lewis Co., Ky., where they brought up their 
 family on a farm. He formed a matrimonial alliance 
 in 1842, with Elizabeth Royster, who was a native 
 of Lewis County. During the summer of the same 
 year Mr. Brightman worked on a farm, and passed 
 the remaining months in rafting lumber. Sept. 13, 
 1852, he set out with his family, including his wife 
 and five children, and accompanied by his mother 
 and step-father, for Illinois. A wagon drawn by a 
 span of horses conveyed the parly to Garden -Plain. 
 They traveled in the manner common in the earlier 
 days, camping and cooking on the way. On the 8th 
 day of October they arrived in the township of Gar- 
 den Plain. For a few years Mr. Brightman rented 
 land, on which he operated successfully as a farmer. 
 In 1864 he bought a tract of unimproved land on 
 section 25 of the same township, which he had en- 
 
 tered in 1855. His first purchase included 40 acres, 
 and he is now the owner of 90 acres in an improved 
 condition and 27 acres in timber. The place now is 
 supplied with a good set of frame buildings, and has 
 also a valuable orchard. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bnghlman have eight surviving 
 children, namely : Nancy A. is the wife of Nicholas 
 McGrath, a prosperous farmer of Albany Township ; 
 William L , James R., Rufus, Sarah E., Charles E., 
 Alexander and Joseph C. are the names of the 
 younger children; John Henry was born in Ken- 
 tucky, Feb. 22, 1843. He served as a soldier in Co. 
 F, 93d III., Inf., and was killed in action, May 22, 
 1863, at the siege of Vicksburg. 
 
 rick P. Brown, residing at Prophetstown, 
 is a son of Philip B. Brown, deceased, 
 and was born in the village in which he 
 at present resides, Dec. 19, 1853. Philip B. 
 Brown, father of the subject of this biograph- 
 ical notice, was born in Rutland, Rutland Co., 
 Vt., June 21, 1821. He was a son of Philip Brown, 
 and was united in marriage in Prophetstown, March 
 24, 1851, to Miss Adeliza D. Nichols, daughter of E. 
 G. and Elizabeth G. Nichols. She was born Oct. 
 27, 1826, and bore to her husband four children, 
 three of whom are living Erick P., the subject of 
 this notice; Ernest M., born Feb, 22, 1855, died 
 Sept. 17. 1878; Nicholas B, born May, 6, 1857, 
 Bertha E., born July 21, 1859, is the wife of R. C. 
 Forkey, a clerk in Baldwin's store, Prophetstown. 
 
 Philip Brown came to this county in 1847 and 
 located in Prophetstown Township, on sections 3 
 and 10, and when the land came into market paid 
 $1.25 per acre for 160 acres, on which his son Nich- 
 olas B. at present resides. While living, he made a 
 specialty of fine horses and cattle, and devoted his 
 time to the cultivation of his farm. He died on the 
 old homestead, lamented and mourned by a host of 
 relatives and friends, Oct. 4, 1880. His widow still 
 survives, and is at present residing with her daughter 
 at Prophetstown. 
 
 Erick P. Brown, subject of this biographical no- 
 tice, was reared and educated in Prophetstown. On 
 arriving at about the age of 14, he returned to the 
 homestead in Prophetstown Township, where he 
 taught school for about two years. His education 
 had been acquired in the schools of Prophetstown, 
 and he graduated from the Commercial College at 
 Clinton in 1876. In March, 1883, Mr. Brown en- 
 tered the drug- store of J. H. Mosher, at Prophets- 
 town, with whom he has remained until the present 
 time. He has acquired a full knowledge of the drug 
 business in ;ill its different details, and expects to 
 continue in the same. 
 
 X& 
 

 
 
 
 (21 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 n 
 
 1 
 
 v) 
 
 
 
 = 
 
 I 
 
 - 
 * 

 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ) 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 UT little more than a half cen- 
 tury has passed away since 
 the white men made their 
 first settlement in what is 
 now one of the most thriving 
 counties in the great State 
 of Illinois the county of 
 Whiteside. But within that 
 time a wilderness has been 
 transformed into a cultivated region of 
 thrift and prosperity by the untiring zeal 
 and energy of an enterprising people. 
 The trails of hunters and the wily red 
 men have given place to railroads and 
 thoroughfares for vehicles of every de- 
 scription ; the cabins and garden patches 
 of the pioneers have been succeeded by 
 ,-r comfortable houses and broad fields of 
 
 Zjf waving grain, with churches, school- 
 
 houses, mills, postoffices, manufactories, and every 
 convenience that could be asked for by civilized 
 man. 
 
 The record of this marvelous change is history, 
 and the most important that can be written. For 
 one-half century the people of Whiteside County 
 have been making a history that for thrilling inter- 
 est, grand practical results, and lessons that may be 
 perused with profit by citizens of other regions, will 
 compare favorably with the history of any county in 
 the great Northwest. Take, for instance, the record 
 
 of the county in the great War of the Rebellion. 
 Where were braver men than those forming the 
 quota of Whiteside? There were few only of the 
 battle-fields of the South but what were moistened 
 by the life-blood of her sons. 
 
 The question is often asked why men leave the 
 comforts and pleasures of civilized lands and strike 
 out into a new and almost unknown country, bearing 
 the toils and privations which are unavoidable. Not 
 more from choice than from necessity, did the old 
 pioneers bid farewell to the play-grounds of their 
 childhood and the graves of their fathers. One gen- 
 eration after another had worn themselves out in 
 the service of avaricious landlords, or had to eke out 
 a miserable existence upon barren or worn-out land 
 which they called their own. From the first flashes 
 of the morning light until the last glimmer of the 
 setting sun, they had toiled unceasingly on from 
 father to son, carrying home each day upon their 
 aching shoulders the precious proceeds of their daily 
 labor. Money, pride and power were handed down 
 in the line of succession from the rich father to his 
 son, while unceasing work, continuous poverty and 
 everlasting obscurity were the heritage of the work- 
 ingman and his children. For the sons and daugh- 
 ters of the poor man to remain there, was to follow 
 and never to lead to be poor forever. 
 
 Without money, prestige or friends, the old pioneer 
 drifted along seeking the garden spot, the place 
 where he might establish a home, where he might 
 
 \S> 
 
 *&. 
 

 
 XV 
 
 i 
 
 
 educate his sons and daughters, giving them privi- 
 leges never enjoyed by himself. The broad prairies 
 and beautiful groves of Whiteside County in that 
 early day were indeed inviting to those seeking a 
 home in a more favored land, and here they planted 
 their stakes. To secure and adorn the homes de- 
 sired by the pioneers, more than ordinary ambition 
 was required, greater than ordinary endurance de- 
 manded. How well they have succeeded let the 
 broad cultivated fields and fruit-bearing orchards, 
 the flocks and the herds, the palatial residences, the 
 places of business, the spacious halls, the clattering 
 car-wheels and ponderous engines all testify. 
 
 There was a time when pioneers waded through 
 deep snows, across bridgeless rivers and through 
 bottomless sloughs, more than a score of miles, to 
 mill or market, and when more time was required to 
 reach and return from market than is now required 
 to cross the continent or the Atlantic Ocean. These 
 were the times when their palaces were constructed 
 of logs and covered with clapboards riven from the 
 forest trees. These were the times when children 
 were stowed away in the night in the low, dark attics, 
 amongst the horns of the elk and the deer, and 
 where through the chinks in the clapboards they 
 could count the twinkling stars. These were the 
 times when chairs and bedsteads were hewn from 
 the forest trees, and tables and bureaus constructed 
 from the boxes in which goods were brought. These 
 were the times when all were required to work six 
 days in the week and all the hours in the day from 
 sunrise to sunset. Now all is changed. In viewing 
 the blessings which now surround us, we should 
 reverence those that made them possible, and ever 
 fondly cherish in memory the sturdy old pioneer and 
 his log cabin. 
 
 Value of Local History. 
 
 HE great dread of man from remote ages 
 has been to be forgotten. The means em- 
 ployed to prevent this and to perpetuate 
 his memory has been in proportion to the 
 amount of intelligence he possessed. It has 
 been conceded now by scientists that the prin- 
 cipal object of the Egyptians in building their pyra- 
 mids was to perpjtuate the name and deeds of their 
 
 igvVgrgv/A.n, 
 ^/yvvsry 
 
 great leaders and rulers. The walls in the extensive 
 apartments beneath those huge stone monuments are 
 covered with paintings illustrating the deeds, both 
 in peace and war, of her illustrious princes, and in 
 chronological order. These colors are as bright, 
 apparently, as when they were first laid on, and the 
 work shows great skill and artistic design. The ex- 
 humations made by the archaeologist of Egypt from 
 buried Memphis indicate a desire of these people to 
 perpetuate the memory of their achievements. The 
 walls of these palaces found buried here are decorated 
 with historical emblems representing the lives and 
 deeds of these people. In Memphis they displayed 
 a higher art. The'y carved out in marble elegant and 
 life-like statues of their distinguished princes, accom- 
 panied with hieroglyphics, illustrating their deeds. 
 The erection of those great obelisks were for the 
 same purpose. Coming down to a later period we 
 find the Greeks and Romans erecting mausoleums 
 and monuments, and carving out statues to chron- 
 icle their great achievements, and carry them down 
 the ages. It is evident that the Mound-Builders, in 
 piling up their great mounds of earth, had but this 
 idea to leave something to show that they had lived. 
 All these works, these representations, though many 
 of them costly in the extreme, give but a faint idea 
 of the lives and character of those whose memory 
 they were intended to perpetuate, and scarcely noth- 
 ing of the masses of the people that then lived. The 
 great pyramids and some of the obelisks remain, ob- 
 jects only for scientists or curiosity seekers ; the 
 mausoleums, monuments and statues are crumbling 
 into dust. The monuments, statues and other relics 
 are being gradually conveyed to the different muse- 
 ums of the world, and soon there will nothing remain 
 in these countries to illustrate the lives of the people 
 who once dwelt in them. 
 
 Generation after generation comes and goes like the 
 leaves of autumn. Nations have been born, have 
 had their rise and fall, and then passed away, leav- 
 ing scarcely a riffle on the great ocean of time to 
 show that they ever existed, so imperfect and muta- 
 ble has been their means to perpetuate their achieve- 
 ments. It was left to modern ages to establish an 
 intelligent, undecaying, immutable method of per- 
 petuating this history, immutable in that it is al- 
 most unlimited in extent, and perpetual in its action ; 
 and this is through the art of printing. Nations 
 may become disintegrated and pass away, monu- 
 
 y-t 
 
 l\
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ments and statues may crumble into dust, but books 
 will live. This art has been rapidly advancing from 
 [ts first inception until now it would seem that there 
 were no longer any further ground for improvement. 
 This is pre-eminently an age of printing, an age of 
 books. 
 
 To the present generation, however, are we in- 
 debted for the introduction of the admirable system 
 of local history and local biography. By this system 
 every man, though he has not achieved what the 
 world calls greatness, has the means to perpetuate 
 his life, his history through the coming ages ; so alike 
 has every community. 
 
 We come now to the work before us : To our 
 patrons, we say, that the scythe of Time cuts down 
 all; nothing of the physical man is left; the monu- 
 ment which his children or friends may erect to his 
 memory in the cemetery will crumble into dust and 
 pass away ; but his life, his achievements, the work 
 he has accomplished, which otherwise would be for- 
 gotten, is perpetuated by this book through coming 
 ages. Shakespeare has said : 
 
 The evil men do lives after them ; 
 
 The good is oft interred witli their bones. 
 
 Our aim in this work has been only to preserve 
 the good. We sought to gather from the best 
 sources of information obtainable, the conditions and 
 incidents of the early pioneer life, and to present 
 that, together with the present development of the 
 county. Many of the pioneers came into this beau- 
 tiful country without a dollar in their pockets, but 
 with the unflinching determination to carve out their 
 fortunes and build up a country. With undaunted 
 hearts, and a courage equal to that of the great he- 
 roes of our history, they began life. 
 
 How Our Fathers Lived. 
 
 IONEER life at the present time is not to 
 ^^L be compared with that of 50 years ago. 
 In this day the great railway corporations 
 build railroads into and through such country 
 as they may think in time will become profita- 
 
 ( J 
 
 / 
 
 lr 
 
 ble to the settlers and themselves, and the pioneers 
 j) enter palace cars and are conveyed to their destina- 
 >s, tion at the rate of thirty miles an hour, and from the 
 
 beginning have a market for their produce at their 
 very door. All this was different in the early days 
 of Whiteside County. Then, when one desired to 
 remove from the far East, it required long and ex- 
 tensive preparations, their conveyance generally be- 
 ing an ox team hitched to a heavy lumber wagon. 
 The route lay through a wild and rough country ; 
 swamps and marshes were crossed with great exer- 
 tion and fatigue; rivers were forded with difficulty 
 and danger; nights were passed in the dense forests, 
 with mother earth for a couch and the trees and foli- 
 age for a shelter ; long, weary days and weeks of 
 travel were endured, but finally their eyes were glad- 
 dened and their hearts beat faster when a vision of 
 their future home burst upon them. 
 
 The first thing upon their arrival was to set about 
 building a cabin. While this was being done the 
 family slept in the wagons or upon the grass, while 
 the .horses or mules, tethered to prevent escape, 
 grazed on the grass around them. Trees of a suita- 
 ble and uniform size were selected, felled and pre- 
 pared for their places. The day for the raising was 
 announced, and from far and near came other pio- 
 neers to assist in the labor. The structure went up, 
 a log at a time, those engaged in the work stopping 
 now and then to " wet their whistles," and soon it 
 was ready for the clapboard roof, which was held on 
 by huge weight-poles. A door and a window were 
 cut where the good wife directed, a chimney built, 
 and the building was ready for its occupants. The 
 space between the logs was filled with split sticks of 
 wood, called " chinks," and then daubed over, both 
 inside and out, with mortar made of clay. The 
 floor was sometimes nothing more than earth tramped 
 hard and smooth, but was commonly made of pun- 
 cheons, or split logs, with the split side turned up- 
 wards. The roof was made by gradually drawing 
 in the top to the ridge-pole and on cross-pieces lay- 
 ing the clapboards, which, being several feet in 
 length, instead of being nailed were held in place by 
 weight-poles, reaching the entire length of the cabin. 
 
 For a fire-place, a space was cut out of the wall 
 on one, side of the room, usually about six feet in 
 length, and three sides were built up of logs, making 
 an offset in the wall. This was lined with stone, if 
 convenient; if not, then earth was used. The flue, 
 or upper part of the chimney, was built of small 
 split sticks, two and a half or three feet in length, 
 carried a little space above the roof, and plastered 
 
 
 
 t
 
 - . . -- 
 
 800 
 
 f V- M M O H H ' yV 5 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 over with clay, and when finished was called " cob 
 and clay " chimney. The door space was also made 
 by cutting an aperture in one side of the room of 
 the required size, the door itself being made of clap- 
 boards secured by wooden pins to two cross-pieces. 
 The hinges were also of wood, while the fastening 
 consisted of a wooden latch catching on a hook of the 
 same material. To open the door from the outside, 
 a strip of buckskin was tied to the latch and drawn 
 through a hole a few inches above the latch bar, so 
 that on pulling the string the latch was lifted from 
 the catch or hook, and the door was opened without 
 further trouble. To lock the door it was only neces- 
 sary to pull the string through the hole to the inside. 
 Here the family lived, and here the guest and way- 
 farer were made welcome. The living-room was of 
 good size, but to a large extent it was also kitchen, 
 bed-room, parlor and arsenal, with flitches of bacon 
 and rings of dried pumpkin suspended from the 
 rafters. These simple cabins were inhabited by a 
 kind and true-hearted people. They were strangers 
 to mock modesty, and the travelers seeking lodgings 
 for the night, or desirous of spending a few days in 
 the community, if willing to accept the rude offer- 
 ings, was always welcome, although how they were 
 disposed of at night the reader may not imagine. 
 
 The character of the pioneers of Whiteside County 
 falls properly within the range of the historian. They 
 lived in a region of exuberance and fertility, where 
 Nature had scattered her blessings with a liberal 
 hand. The forest supply, the fertile prairie, and the 
 many improvements constantly going forward, with 
 the bright prospect for a glorious future in every- 
 thing that renders life pleasant, combined to deeply 
 impress their character, to give them a spirit of en- 
 terprise, an independence of feeling, and a joyous- 
 ness of hope. They were a thorough admixture of 
 many nations, characters, languages, conditions and 
 opinions. There was scarcely a State in the Union 
 that was not represented among the early settlers. 
 
 The clothing of the early pioneers was as plain and 
 simple as their houses. Necessity compelled it to be 
 in conformity to the strictest economy. The clothing 
 taken to the new country was made to render a vast 
 deal of service. In summer, nearly all persons, both 
 male and female, went barefooted. Buckskin moc- 
 caskins were much worn. Boys of 12 and 15 years 
 of age never thought of wearing anything on their 
 feet, except during three or four months of the cold- 
 est weather in winter. Boots were unknown until a 
 later generation. 
 
 
 

 
 - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
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 HE numerous and well au- 
 thenticated accounts of anti- 
 quities found in various parts 
 of our country, clearly demon- 
 strate that a people civilized, 
 and even highly cultivated, 
 a occupied the broad surface of 
 our continent before its posses- 
 sion by the present Indians ; 
 but the date of their rule of the 
 Western World is so remote that 
 all traces of their history, their 
 progress and decay, lie buried in the 
 deepest obscurity. Nature, at the 
 time the first Europeans came, had 
 asserted her original dominion over 
 the earth ; the forests were all in their full luxuriance, 
 the growth of many centuries ; and naught existed 
 to point out who and what they were who formerly 
 lived, and loved, and hibored, and died, on the con- 
 tinent of America. This pre-historic race is known 
 as the Mound-Builders, from the numerous large 
 mounds of earth-works left by them. The remains 
 of the works of this people form the most interesting 
 class of antiquities discovered in the United States. 
 Their character can be but partially gleaned from 
 the internal evidences arid the peculiarities of the 
 
 only remains left, the mounds. They consist of 
 remains of what were apparently villages, altars, 
 temples, idols, cemeteries, monuments, camps, forti- 
 fications, pleasure grounds, etc., etc. Their habita- 
 tions must have been tents, structures of wood, or 
 other perishable material ; otherwise their remains 
 would be numerous. 
 
 The mounds and other ancient earth-works con- 
 structed by this people are far more abundant than 
 generally supposed, from the fact that while some 
 are quite large, the greater part of them are small 
 and inconspicuous. Along nearly all our water 
 courses that are large enough to be navigated with a 
 canoe, the mounds are almost invariably found, cov- 
 ering the base points and headlands of the bluffs 
 which border the narrower valleys; so that when one 
 finds himself in such positions as to command the 
 grandest views for river scenery, he may almost al- 
 ways discover that he is standing upon, or in close 
 proximity to, some one or more of these traces of the 
 labors of an ancient people. 
 
 This county is a prolific field for the study of the 
 archaeologist, many mounds having been found here, 
 the one near Sterling being the largest. In these 
 mounds have been found stone axes, arrows and 
 spear heads, earthen-ware of various colors, beads of 
 
 Is
 
 ^'ViMMXfi.MH.:/^ ^ 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 <& 
 
 bone and stone, pieces of copper, besides bones of 
 human beings. 
 
 The largest number of mounds found in any one 
 group are near Albany. They are rounded heaps 
 from two to twelve feet in height, nearly circular, 
 though a few are elliptical, their long diameter being 
 parallel with the river. Galena, mica and fragments 
 of pottery have been found in these mounds, together 
 with bone implements and human skeletons. 
 
 It is thought by some that on account of the num- 
 ber of implements found in some localities, that the 
 
 pre-historic race must have lived in villages. In 
 plowing one acre of ground in Genesee Township, 
 84 arrow heads and spear points were found. A 
 number of small, sharp triangular pieces of flint were 
 also found. On the farm of one* gentleman in Clyde 
 Township, more than 100 scrapers, together with a 
 number of corn pestles and stone hoes, were found. 
 Skinning axes have also been found in this county. 
 
 To those interested, Whiteside County furnishes a 
 fruitful field for investigating the subject of pre-his- 
 toric man as revealed in the numerous mounds. 
 
 Hf N the north, Whiteside County 
 is bounded by Carroll and 
 Ogle, on the east by Ogle 
 and Lee, on the south by 
 Bureau and Henry Counties, 
 and on the west by Rock Is- 
 land and the Mississippi. It embraces 
 1 6 entire and 5 fractional townships. 
 The southeastern part of the county 
 is quite level, the greater part having 
 formerly been regarded as swamp land; 
 but of late years much of this has 
 been reclaimed by drainage, so that 
 now what were once sloughs and 
 marshes are fine, productive farms. 
 The central part of the county is quite rolling, while 
 the western part is hilly, some of the ridges reaching 
 a height of more than 100 feet. 
 
 The principal streams are the Rock River the 
 Sinnissippi of the Indians Elkhorn, Sugar, Grove, 
 Lynn, Rock, Otter and Spring Creeks. The Rock 
 River enters the county on section 25, Coloma Town- 
 ship, and, pursuing a tortuous course in a southwest- 
 ern direction, it leaves the county in the extreme 
 southwestern corner. Excellent water power is af- 
 
 forded and utilized at two points in the county 
 Sterling and Lyndon. For many years it was hoped 
 that the stream would be made navigable, and no 
 dams were permitted for 20 years after the first set- 
 tlements were made in the county. Elkhorn Creek 
 heads in Carroll County and flows into Rock River 
 on section 35, Hopkins Township. Spring Creek is 
 tributary to the Elkhorn. Rock Creek flows into 
 Rock River on section 4, Erie Township. Grove 
 Creek is tributary to Rock River. Otter Creek flows 
 into the Mississippi. The highest lands in the 
 county are in the northeastern part. A variety of 
 soil is found in the county, but principally a black 
 loam. It is adapted to all the cereals peculiar to 
 this latitude. 
 
 The early settlers of the county made their claims 
 in close proximity to the timber and water, and could 
 hardly believe that the distant prairies would ever 
 serve any other purpose than that of a large range 
 for stock. They felt sure that no farmer could live 
 there, so far away from the timber. They little 
 thought many of them would live to see it all settled 
 and occupied by man. Some of the wealthiest farm- 
 ers and the most productive farms of the county are 
 now found on the prairies. 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 before the advent of the white 
 men, the territory comprising the 
 county of Whiteside was occu- 
 pied by the Sacs and Foxes and 
 the Winnebago tribes of Indians. 
 The Rock River Valley was what 
 might be termed the Indian's 
 paradise, abounding, as it did, 
 with game of all kinds, and its 
 clear waters stocked with an 
 abundance of fish. The Sacs 
 and Foxes were originally of the 
 Algonquin tribe, inhabiting the 
 Eastern States, but had been 
 driven step by step towards the 
 setting sun by the whites and other warlike tribes 
 of Indians, the Iroquois being an inveterate foe. 
 
 In 1804 a treaty was made with the Sacs and 
 Foxes by which they ceded to the whites all title to 
 the Rock River country, though they were permitted 
 the privilege of living and hunting therein as long 
 as it remained the property of the United States. 
 This treaty Black Hawk, one of their most celebrated 
 chiefs, would never recognize, asserting that it was 
 secured by the whites through fraud, the Indian 
 chiefs being drunk when the treaty was signed. In 
 the War of 1812 these tribes sided with Great Britain. 
 In 1816 a treaty was made with them at Fort Arm- 
 strong (Rock Island) by which that of 1804 was rati- 
 fied, and large bodies of land were ceded to the 
 United States. Black Hawk signed this treaty. 
 In 1829 a portion of the land in the Rock River 
 
 country was sold to private individuals, and therefore 
 it became necessary to remove the Indians across the 
 Mississippi. Another treaty was therefore made, in 
 1830, by which they agreed to surrender the land 
 ceded to the United States and peaceably retire to 
 their Iowa reservations. Notwithstanding Black 
 Hawk was a party to the treaty and retired with 
 his tribe, yet he longed to return to live and hunt in 
 the beautiful Rock River country. He represented 
 to the tribes that their rights to the soil were inalien- 
 able and the cessions and treaties were null and 
 void. In 1831, with 300 warriors and his women 
 and children, Black Hawk re-crossed the Mississippi, 
 ordered the settlers away and killed their cattle and 
 otherwise destroyed their property. Gov. Reynolds 
 at once issued a call for 700 troops to drive them 
 back to their reservation, and 1,600 responded to the 
 call. Upon the appearance of these troops Black 
 Hawk, with his warriors, fled across the river, and 
 for fear of pursuit and punishment, sued for peace. 
 Another treaty was entered into by which the In- 
 dians agreed to forever remain west of the Missis- 
 sippi River, and never to re-cross it without permis- 
 sion of the President or Governor of the State. The 
 treacherous character of the Indians was shown the 
 following year, when Black Hawk and the disaffected 
 braves returned to the Rock River. 
 
 In Whiteside County there were several Indian 
 villages, the most noted being that known as Prophets- 
 town, being the home of the Prophet, a noted In- 
 dian chief of the Winnebago tribe. (See sketch.) 
 There were villages and various points along the 
 Rock River, that stream abounding in fish. 
 
 r$ *^ 
 
 - 
 
 v-.
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 K. 
 
 The Indians' Mode of Living. 
 
 'HE art of hunting not only supplied the In- 
 dian with food, but, like that of war, was a 
 means of gratifying his love of distinction. 
 The male children, as soon as they acquired 
 sufficient age and strength, were furnished 
 
 I with a bow and arrow, and taught to shoot birds 
 and other small game. Success in killing large ani- 
 mals required years of careful study and practice, 
 and the art was as sedulously inculcated in the 
 minds of the rising generation as are elements of 
 reading, writing and arithmetic in the common 
 schools of civilized communities. The mazes of the 
 forest and the dense tall grass of the prairies were 
 the objects of the most searching scrutiny, and re- 
 vealed at a glance the animal that made any visible 
 traces, the direction it was pursuing, and the time 
 that had elapsed since it had passed. In a forest 
 country he selected the valleys, because they were 
 most frequently the resort of game. The most easily 
 taken, perhaps, of all the animals of the chase was 
 the deer. It is endowed with a curiosity which 
 prompts it to stop in its flight and look back at the 
 approaching hunter, who always avails himself of 
 this opportunity to let fly the fatal arrow. 
 
 Their general councils were composed of the 
 chiefs and old men. When in council, they usually 
 sat in concentric circles around the speaker, and 
 each individual, notwithstanding the fiery passions 
 that burned within, preserved an exterior as immov- 
 able as though cast in bronze. Before commencing 
 business a person appeared with the sacred pipe, and 
 another with fire to kindle it. After being lighted it 
 was presented to heaven, then to the earth, then to the 
 presiding spirit, and lastly to the several councilors, 
 each of whom took a whiff. These formalities were 
 observed with as close exactness as state etiquette 
 in civilized courts. 
 
 The dwellings of the Indians were of the simplest 
 and rudest character. On some pleasant spot by 
 the bank of a stream, or near an ever-running spring, 
 they raised their groups of wigwams, constructed of 
 the bark of trees, and easily taken down and re- 
 moved to another spot. The dwelling-places of the 
 chiefs were sometimes more spacious, and con- 
 
 structed with greater care, but of the same materials. 
 Skins taken in the chase served them for repose. 
 
 Though principally dependent upon hunting and 
 fishing, the uncertain supply from these sources led 
 them to cultivate small patches of corn. Every 
 family did everything necessary within itself, com- 
 merce, or an exchange of articles, being almost un- 
 known to them. In case of dispute and dissension, 
 each Indian relied upon himself for retaliation ; blood 
 for blood was the rule, and the relatives of the slain 
 man were bound to obtain bloody revenge for his 
 death. This principle gave rise, as a matter of 
 course, to innumerable and bitter feuds, and wars of 
 extermination, when such were possible. War, in- 
 deed, rather than peace, was the Indian's glory and 
 delight war, not conducted as in civilization, but 
 where individual skill, endurance, gallantry and 
 cruelty were prime requisites. For such a purpose 
 as revenge the Indian would make great sacrifices, 
 and display a patience and perseverance truly heroic; 
 but when the excitement was over he sank back 
 into a listless, unoccupied, well-nigh useless savage. 
 During the intervals of his more exciting pursuits, 
 the Indian employed his time in decorating his per- 
 son with all the refinement of paint and feathers, 
 and in the manufacture of his arms and canoes. 
 These were constructed of bark, and so light that 
 they could easily be carried on the shoulder from 
 stream to stream. His amusements were the war 
 dance, athletic games, the narration of his exploits 
 and listening to the oratory of the chiefs ; but during 
 long periods of such existence he remained in a 
 state of torpor, gazing listlessly upon the trees of the 
 forest and the clouds that sailed above them ; and 
 this vacancy imprinted habitual gravity, and even 
 melancholy, upon his general deportment. 
 
 The main labor and drudgery of Indian communi- 
 ties fell upon the women. The planting, tending 
 and gathering of the crops, making mats and bas- 
 kets, carrying burdens, in fact, all things of the 
 kind were performed by them, thus making their 
 condition but little better than slaves. Marriage 
 was merely a matter of bargain and sale, the hus- 
 band giving presents to the father of the bride. In 
 general they had but few children. They were sub- 
 jected to many and severe attacks of sickness, and 
 at times famine and pestilence swept away whole 
 tribes, small-pox being especially destructive.
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 The Black Hawk War. 
 
 'HIS conflict, though occurring prior to the 
 settlement of Whiteside County, has an im- 
 portant bearing upon its history. It was 
 the fertile valley of the Rock River that the 
 old chief and his braves wanted to re-possess, 
 
 I that was the cause of the war. Black Hawk 
 had recrossed to the eastern bank of the Mississippi 
 prior to 1832, as stated above, but it was during the 
 early part of that year that he made the most con- 
 certed and desperate effort to regain the country so 
 dear to him and which he considered he had been 
 unjustly deprived of. There has been much specu- 
 lation as to Black Hawk's motives in returning to 
 Illinois, many claiming he came only to get food for 
 his tribe and not with hostile intentions. Upon 
 Black Hawk with his force appearing on this bank 
 of the Mississippi, a large force was at once raised 
 and marched against him. On the evening of May 
 14, 1832, the first engagement occurred between the 
 military and Black Hawk's band, in which the former 
 were defeated. 
 
 This attack and its result aroused the whites. A 
 large force of men was raised, and Gen. Scott hast- 
 ened from the seaboard, by way of the lakes, with 
 United States troops and artillery to aid in the sub- 
 jugation of the Indians. On the 241(1 of June, Black 
 Hawk, with 200 warriors, was repulsed by Major 
 Demont between Rock River and Galena. The 
 American army continued to move up Rock River 
 toward the main body of the Indians, and on the 
 2istof July came upon Black Hawk and his band, 
 and defeated them near the Blue Mounds. 
 
 Black Hawk, with his twenty braves, retreated up 
 the Wisconsin River. The Winnebagoes, desirous 
 of securing the friendship of the whites, went in pur- 
 suit and captured and delivered them to Gen. Street, 
 the United States Indian Agent. Among the pris- 
 oners were the son of Black Hawk and the prophet 
 of the tribe. These with Black Hawk were taken to 
 Washington, D. C., and soon consigned as prisoners 
 at Fortress Monroe. 
 
 At the interview Black Hawk had with the Presi- 
 
 dent, he closed his speech delivered on the occasion 
 in the following words : " We did not expect to 
 conquer the whites. They have too many houses, 
 too many men. I took up the hatchet, for my part, 
 to revenge injuries which my people could no longer 
 endure. Had I borne them longer without striking, 
 my people would have said, ' Black Hawk is a 
 woman ; he is too old to be a chief; he is no Sac.' 
 These reflections caused me to raise the war-whoop. 
 I say no more. It is known to you. Keokuk once 
 was here; you took him by the hand, and when he 
 wished to return to his home, you were willing. 
 Black Hawk expects, like Keokuk, he shall be per- 
 mitted to return too." 
 
 After their release from prison they were con- 
 ducted, in charge of Major Garland, through some of 
 the principal cities, that they might witness the 
 power of the United States and learn their own in- 
 ability to cope with them in war. Great multitudes 
 flocked to see them wherever they were taken, and 
 the attention paid them rendered their progress 
 through the country a triumphal procession instead 
 of the transportation of prisoners by an officer. At 
 Rock Island the prisoners were given their liberty, 
 amid great and impressive ceremony. In r838 Black 
 Hawk built him a dwelling near Des Moines, Iowa, 
 and furnished it after the manner of the whites, and 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits and hunting and 
 fishing. Here, with his wife, to whom he was greatly 
 attached, he passed the few remaining days of his 
 life. To his credit, it may be said, that Black Hawk- 
 remained true to his wife, and served her with a de- 
 votion uncommon among Indians, living with her 
 upward of 40 years. 
 
 In September, 1838, while on his way to Rock 
 Island to receive his annuity from the Government, 
 he contracted a severe cold which resulted in a fatal 
 attack of bilious fever, and terminated his life Octo- 
 ber 3. After his death he was dressed in the uni- 
 form presented to him by the President while in 
 Washington. He was buried in a grave six feet deep, 
 situated upon a beautiful eminence. The body was 
 placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting posture 
 upon a seat constructed for that purpose. On his 
 left side the cane given him by Henry Clay was 
 placed upright, with his right hand resting upon it. 
 Thus, after a long, adventurous and shifting life, 
 Black Hawk was gathered to his fathers. 
 
 : f^ 

 
 
 "x^v^^ 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ^ 
 *'-<& 
 
 
 
 HEN it was fully understood 
 that the Indians were re- 
 moved beyond the Missis- 
 sippi and were not likely again 
 to molest the whites, settle- 
 ments began to be made in 
 various parts of Northern Illinois, 
 and it could not be that the beau- 
 tiful Rock River Valley would 
 long escape the watchful eyes 
 of those seeking a home in 
 a more favored land than the 
 barren and over-crowded East. In 
 June, 1834, Alexander J. and Nor- 
 man B. Seely made claims to the 
 land upon which the village of 
 Portland was subsequently located. 
 Norman Seely erected a cabin in the 
 grove where he lived the following 
 winter. Mitchell Ruxton also came 
 the same year and located near 
 the Seelys. Asa Crook and family 
 located in what is now the town- 
 ship of Prophetstown the same 
 season. About the same time Samuel A. McClure 
 located at the mouth of Walker's Slough. In Sep- 
 tember, following, he sold out to John W. Stakes. 
 John Bowman, a brother of Mrs. Stakes, came with 
 them. Alfred Wood and John Cham pine were here 
 in the fall. 
 
 In May, 1834, Hezekiah Brink located his claim 
 
 upon the site of the present city of Sterling. Mr. 
 
 Brink yet resides upon a portion of his original claim. 
 
 Adam and John James and Jesse Hill located in 
 
 Genesee early in the spring of 1834. It has usually 
 
 been said that this settlement was made in 1835, but 
 on the authority of George O. James, now living in 
 Morrison, the date given is 1834. 
 
 These were all the settlements made in the county 
 during the year 1834. In 1835, settlements were 
 made in various parts of the county. 
 
 As the early settlement of the county is given in 
 detail in the histories of the various townships and 
 villages in their respective places, we forego further 
 mention here other than to give the date of the set- 
 tlements of the various townships.. 
 
 Albany Township was settled in 1835 by Edward 
 Corbin and Mr. Mitchell, brothers-in-law. The lat- 
 ter made a claim in what is now known as 'Upper 
 Albany, and the latter in Lower Albany. 
 
 Erie was settled in 1835, by Lewis D. Crandall, 
 Peter Gile and Mr. Hunt, the first named locating 
 on section 18. 
 
 John Baker was the first settler in Fulton, in 1835. 
 He located where the city of Fulton now stands. 
 
 Joseph Fenton, for whom the township was named, 
 was the first settler in Fenton Township, in 1835. 
 
 On the loth day of April, 1835, S. Miles Coe 
 made claim to a portion of sections 33 and 34 of 
 Jordan Township, and thus has the honor of being 
 the first settler. Mr. Coe now writes his name 
 Simeon M., only adopting the former method while 
 his father was yet living, the latter then being known 
 as Simeon M. 
 
 Jason Hopkins and Isaac H. Brittell, in the 
 spring of 1835, made a settlement on the site of the 
 old village of Como, and were the first settlers of 
 Hopkins Township. 
 
 Lyndon wa.s settled in 1835. Adam R. Hamil-
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 8o 7 
 
 ton, Chauncey G. Woodruff, Liberty Walker, Win. 
 D. Dudley and Ephraim H. Hubbard were the pio- 
 neers, 
 
 James J. Thomas, Felix French, Wm. H. and 
 John D. Paschal were the first settlers of Mt. Pleas- 
 ant, in 1835. 
 
 In 1836 Abel Parker made the first settlement in 
 Garden Plain. He located at the grove which has 
 since been known as Parker's Grove. 
 
 Leonard Morse made a claim on section 16, of 
 Hume, in 1836, and has the honor of being the first 
 ;n that township. 
 
 In the spring of 1836 Joshua T. Atkinson located 
 in Union Grove, and was, therefore, the pioneer. 
 
 Wooster Y. Ives and Edward Corbin made claims 
 and located in Ustick Township, in 1837. Amos 
 Short and Edward Rolph settled here the same year. 
 
 Coloma was settled in 1837 by Edward Atkins, 
 Noah Merrill and Daniel Brooks. 
 
 Jesse Hill and Wm. Mick made claims in Clyde, 
 in 1835, but the first permanent settlement was 
 doubtless made in 1838, Henry W. Daniels, Hugh 
 Hollinshead, Dr. H. H. Fowler and Mr. Wing being 
 among the number then locating here. 
 
 Wm. Renner and family located in Hahnaman 
 Township, in 1841, being the pioneer. 
 
 Montmorency was settled first in 1847, by Asa 
 Scott. 
 
 
 I 
 
 as?. 
 
 ANUARY 1 6, 1836, an act 
 was passed by the General 
 Assembly of the Slate nam- 
 ing and establishing the pres- 
 ent boundaries of Whiteside 
 County, as follows : " All that 
 tract of country within the follow- 
 ing boundary, to-wit: Commencing 
 at the southeast corner of town- 
 ship No. 19 north, of range 7 east, 
 of the fourth principal meridian; 
 thence west with the said township 
 line to Rock River; thence down 
 the middle of Rock River to the 
 middle of the Meredosia, with the 
 line of Rock Island County, to the 
 Mississippi River; thence along the 
 middle of the main channel of the Mississippi 
 River to the point where the north line of township 
 22 intersects the same; thence east with the said last 
 mentioned township line to the southeast corner of 
 township 23; thence south with the line between 
 
 ranges 7 and 8, to the point of beginning, shall 
 constitute a county to be called Whiteside." 
 
 The question has frequently arisen as. to whom 
 the honor was conferred upon in naming the county. 
 Hon. E. B. Washburne investigated the question most 
 thoroughly. After giving the opinion of Hon. John 
 T. Stuart, of Springfield, that the county was named 
 for no member of the Whiteside family in particular, 
 and of Hon. William Thomas, of Jacksonville, who 
 said that he " had a distinct recollection of being in- 
 formed when the bill was pending in the Senate that 
 it was called for the father of John I). Whiteside, 
 afterwards State Treasurer," Mr. Washburne said: 
 
 " The John D. Whiteside alluded to by Judge 
 Thomas was a very prominent man in the history of 
 our State and time, and was the son of the old pio- 
 neer, Col. William Whiteside. He was a member of 
 the State Senate, from Monroe County, at the time 
 the bill was passed creating Whiteside County in 
 1836, which might have given color to the idea that 
 the county was named after his father. But my 
 judgment is that it was named after Gen. Samuel 
 
 T 
 
 4 
 

 
 ^fe. 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 3$ 
 
 
 
 fcS 
 
 Whiteside. He had resided at an early day at what 
 was then called the 'Galena country,' was known by 
 the people, identified with their interests, and had 
 been a leading figure in the Black Hawk War. I am 
 strengthened in this belief from the fact that the bill 
 creating Whiteside and other counties, was introduced 
 in the Senate by the then Senator from this dis- 
 trict, Col. James M. Strode, who himself commanded 
 a regiment in the Black Hawk War, and who was 
 attached to the command of Gen. Whiteside, and 
 knew him well. It was, therefore, much more 
 natural for him to give to the county the name of 
 General Samuel Whiteside, who was so familiar with 
 this section of the country, and who had been iden- 
 tified with its struggle, rather than to Col. William 
 Whiteside. This is the opinion of Hon. Joseph Gil - 
 lespie, who was an early pioneer of the Galena min- 
 ing region, and mined for lead at 'Snake Diggins,' 
 now Potosi, Wis., before the Black Hawk War. 
 
 " Distinguished as a lawyer and judge, Mr. Gilles- 
 pie is probably as well posted in the early history of 
 our State as any man in iC My acknowledgments 
 are due to him for the following sketch of Gen. Sam- 
 uel Whiteside. After enumerating the services he 
 rendered in a military capacity, and w.iich I have al- 
 ready stated, he says of him : ' He never put any 
 value on promotion in civil life, but seemed, indeed, 
 to despise it. He could undoubtedly have succeeded 
 to any ciyil place in his county if he had striven 
 for it. He did, however, act as one of the Commis- 
 sioners who selected Vandaliafor the seat of govern- 
 ment of Illinois, and I think aided in selecting the 
 Canal lands. In matters of religion he sided with 
 the Baptists, and in political affairs he co-operated 
 with the Democrats. He was an honest man, and 
 the only thing he was afraid of was being in debt. 
 He believed with all his powers that what he believed 
 ' was right, and it was rather a hard task to con- 
 vince him that the opposite side might seem to be 
 right. He thought there was but one right side to a 
 question, and that all honest men would be apt to 
 see it in the same light. 
 
 '"He was a famous hunter and followed the chase 
 as long as his strength permitted. He was thor- 
 oughly versed in wood-craft, and knew all the haunts 
 and habits of wild animals to perfection. He loved 
 to make long limits and live in camp for weeks 
 gether, and eat nothing but game. His hunt- 
 
 ing dress in early life was buckskin, and he 
 wore moccasins while in the woods. It would have 
 delighted him to attack a lion, or tiger, or grizzly 
 bear. I believe he would have gone into the fight 
 with as little dread on his mind as if he had a rabbit 
 to contend with; and I have no doubt he would have 
 employed the skill and means, in every instance, to 
 enable him to come out without any risk or scratch. 
 The writer knew of his killing three panthers on one 
 occasion, and he did not seem to think he had per- 
 formed a feat worthy of mention. He died Jan. 3, 
 1866, one mile and a half east of Mount Auburn, 
 Christian Co., 111., at the house of his son-in-law, 
 John A. Henderson, with whom he had been living 
 since 1855. Whiteside County, I have no doubt, 
 was named in his honor. The county was formed in 
 1836, and he was the only Whiteside of note at that 
 time.' " 
 
 At the time the act was passed fixing the bound- 
 aries of the county, the territory comprising it formed 
 a part of Jo Daviess County. By the latter county 
 it was divided into three election precincts. What 
 is now Gordon Township was attached to Elkhorn 
 Grove precinct, which comprised also parts of Ogle, 
 Lee and Carroll counties. Harrisburg precinct com- 
 prised the present townships of Sterling, Coloma, 
 Montmorency, Hahnaman, and the east half of 
 Tampico, Hopkins and Hume. Crow Creek pre- 
 cinct comprised all the rest of the county. An elec- 
 tion was held in each of these precincts in August, 
 1836. 
 
 By the same act defining the boundaries of White- 
 side, the county of Ogle was created, and on its 
 organization Whiteside was attached to it for county 
 and judicial purposes. The latter county reorgan- 
 ized the precincts, and in 1839 there were seven in 
 number: Albany, Elkhorn, Fulton, Genesee, Little 
 Rock, Portland and Union Grove. 
 
 Early in 1839 it was thought best the, county of 
 Whiteside should organize. Accordingly an election 
 was ordered to be held May 6, 1839, for the election 
 of county officers. It resulted as follows: Nathaniel 
 G. Reynolds, Elijah Worthington and John B. Dodge, 
 County Commissioners; James C. Woodburn, Sheriff; 
 Daniel B. Young, Probate Justice; David Mitchell, 
 County Treasurer ; Charles R. Rood, County Sur- 
 veyor ; Augustine W. Newhall, Recorder; Ivory Col- 
 cord, Coroner; Guy Ray, Clerk of the County Com- 
 missioners' Court. 

 
 A 
 
 > 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 809 
 
 At the time of the organization of the county the 
 $ civil government of counties was vested in a board 
 ' of county commissioners, consisting of three mem- 
 bers. In this connection are given some of the 
 most important acts of the commissioners, as well 
 ^ as those officers who subsequently discharged the 
 same duties. 
 
 Acts of the County Commissioners. 
 
 'HE first meeting of the Commissioners' 
 Court was held at the house of William 
 D. Dudley, in Lyndon Township, May 16, 
 1839. Nathaniel G. Reynolds, Elijah Worth- 
 ington and John B. Dodge qualified as Com- 
 missioners. Guy Ray was appointed, and 
 took the oath of office as Clerk of the Board, having 
 given satisfactory bonds for the faithful discharge 
 of the duties of the office. 
 
 The second meeting was .held at the school- 
 house near the residence of Mr. Dudley. 
 
 The county was divided into i r road districts, 
 bounded as follows: 
 
 Road District No. i to comprise that portion of 
 the county south of Rock River and east of town- 
 ship line between ranges 5 and 6 east. William 
 W. Durant to be Supervisor. 
 
 Road District No. 2 to comprise that portion of 
 the county south of Rock River, east of the west 
 line of section 35, township 19 north, range 4 east, 
 to line of range 5 east. Erastus G. Nichols, Super- 
 visor. 
 
 Road District No. 3 to comprise all the territory 
 south of Rock River, west of section 35, township 19 
 north, range 4 east. James Rowe, Supervisor. 
 
 Road District No. 4 to comprise all that part 
 of Elkhorn precinct north of the towrship line 
 running east and west between townships 21 and 
 22 north. Joseph Nelson, Supervisor. 
 
 Road District No. 5 to comprise all that portion 
 of Elkhorn precinct lying south of the east and west 
 line between townships 21 and 22 north. Nelson 
 Mason, Supervisor. 
 
 Road District No. 6 to comprise all that part 
 called Genesee precinct. Ivory Colcord, Super- 
 visor. 
 
 Road District No. 7 to comprise all the territory 
 
 east of the center of township 26 north, range 4 
 east. David Hazard, Supervise* 
 
 Road District No. 8 to comprise all the territory 
 west of the east line of range 4 east. Arthur Put- 
 ney, Supervisor. 
 
 Road District No. 9 to comprise all the territory 
 in Union precinct. John W. Stakes, Supervisor. 
 
 Road District No. 10 to comprise all the territory 
 in Fulton precinct. John Baker, Supervisor. 
 
 Road District No. n, to comprise all the territory 
 in Albany precinct. Gilbert Buckingham, Super- 
 visor. 
 
 All persons subject to road labor were each re- 
 quired to labor on the roads five days. 
 
 Assessors for the different precincts were ap- 
 pointed as follows: Union, Henry Boyer; Portland, 
 Ebenezer Seely ; Elkhorn, John W. McLemore ; 
 Genesee, William Wick; Fulton, Hosea Jacobs; 
 Albany, Lewis Spurlock; Little Rock, Chauncey G. 
 Woodruff. 
 
 After appointing assessors in the various pre- 
 cincts, Court adjourned till Monday, June 3, 1839. 
 
 On the 3d of June the Court met, but transacted 
 no business, adjourning till the following day. 
 
 The first business transacted was the appoint- 
 ment of John Wick, Assessor of Genesee precinct, 
 instead of William Wick, who declined to serve. 
 
 A petition was presented asking the formation of 
 an election precinct, to be known as Round Grove, 
 and bounded on the east by Klkhorn River; on the 
 north and west by the north and west line of town- 
 ship 2 r , range 6 east ; also by the west line of town- 
 ship 20, range 6 east, to Rock River; on the south 
 by Rock River. The elections to be held at the 
 school-house in Round Grove The petition was 
 signed by R. J. Jenks, Charles C. Jenks, William 
 Pilgrim, N. P. Thompson, Joel Harvey, Caleb 
 Plnmmer, William H. McLemore, John Washy, 
 Levi Gaston, Joseph Jones, Samuel Higby, Thomas 
 Matthews, Earle A. Somers, George Higby, W. 
 Morrison, John Van Tassel, F. Simonson, Clement 
 D. Nance. The petition was granted with a change 
 in the boundary line, the east line being made town- 
 ship 21, range 6 east, and Elkhorn Creek. R: J. 
 Jenks, George Higby and Joel Harvey were ap- 
 pointed Judges of Election. 
 
 A petition was received from Fulton City, urging 
 the Board not to grant license for the sale of ardent 
 
 (j) 
 
 < 
 
 A 

 
 
 810 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 (; 
 
 ~* 
 
 * 
 
 spirits by the drink. This petition was signed by 
 Daniel Reed, William Ross, Richard L. Mills, Eli- 
 jah K. Webb, John H. Prentiss, H. Chenery, A. 
 Phelps, W. Knight, W. Y. Ives, Henry Bond, Lewis 
 Graves, H. F. Rice, Moses W. Jenks, Reuben S. 
 Rhodes, Nathan Scott, John Morgan. It is sup- 
 posed the request of the petitioners was complied 
 with, as there is no entry of license being granted. 
 
 George P. Dennis was appointed Special Con- 
 stable at this session to serve the notices of the 
 Court. 
 
 The rates of toll for ferriage across Rock River 
 were made as follows : 
 
 One person 1 2 J^ 
 
 Wagon or carriage drawn by two horses 75 
 
 For every additional ox or horse 12^ 
 
 Wagon drawn by one horse 37 j 
 
 Cart drawn by horses or oxen 50 
 
 Cattle, hogs, goats, each head 6] 
 
 Sheep, each '. 3 
 
 The ferriage was to be free for citizens of the 
 county, the Court appropriating the sum of $40 per 
 year as compensation to the owner of the ferry for 
 that purpose. 
 
 John W McLemore was appoined Collector of 
 taxes for the year 1839. 
 
 The court adjourned to meet at the house of Dr. 
 Stickel, in Lyndon, the first Tuesday in July. 
 
 At this meeting the Commissioners drew lols for 
 the term of office. Nathaniel G. Reynolds drew for 
 oneyenr; Khjah Worth! ngton for two jears; John B. 
 Dodge for three years. 
 
 Judges of election were api>ointed at this term for 
 the various precincts. 
 
 At the December, 1839, meeting, Simeon S. Page 
 was allowed $30 for use of his ferry during the past 
 season. Edward S. Gage was allowed $65 for the 
 same purpose, and William Knox $20 in addition to 
 what had already been allowed him for the same 
 purpose, 
 
 The Clerk was authorized to employ Jonathan 
 Haines to nuiko a seal for the county, either of cop- 
 per, brass or silver. 
 
 At the March, 1840, term of the Court, Hosea 
 Jacobs, William Sampson and Hiram Harmon ap- 
 peared and qualified as County Commissioners. The 
 first named drew the ticket for term of service which 
 expired the first Monday in August, 1840. William 
 
 Sampson drew for the term that expired the first Mon- 
 day in August, 1841. Hiram Harmon drew for the 
 term which expired the first Monday in August, 
 1842. 
 
 Caleb Clark was authorized to keep a ferry across 
 the Mississippi River at Fulton City for the period 
 of one year on the payment of a license fee of $10. 
 The rates of toll were fixed as follows : 
 
 For each footman $ 25 
 
 Man and horse 75 
 
 Head of cattle 25 
 
 Two-wheel carriage i oo 
 
 Yoke of oxen and wagon loaded i 50 
 
 Additional ox or horse 25 
 
 Head of hogs or sheep 12}^ 
 
 One horse and wagon i oo 
 
 The Clerk of the Commissioners' Court was author- 
 ized to call upon the Clerk of Commissioners' 
 Court of Ogle County for a transcript of the elec- 
 tions of all justices of the peace and the time of 
 qualification, together with a transcript of the bound- 
 aries of election precincts. 
 
 John W. McLemore was appointed Assessor for 
 the county. 
 
 Simeon M. Coe contested the election of William 
 Sampson, and on the 315! day of March Van J. 
 Adams, Daniel Brooks and A. C. Jackson, Justices 
 of the Peace, sat as a court lo hear and determine 
 who was entitled to the seat. After hearing the evi- 
 dence they decided that Mr. Coe was entitled to the 
 certificate of election and instructed the Clerk of the 
 Commissioners' Court to make out and certify to him 
 the fact of his election. It was accordingly done, 
 and Simeon M. Coe appeared at the June term and 
 took the oath of office. 
 
 It was ordered by the Court that its members 
 should draw by lot for the term of service. Mr. Har- 
 mon objected, probably on the ground that he had 
 already drawn, and that Mr. Coe should serve the 
 time drawn by Mr. Sampson. His protest was not 
 heeded. Hosea Jacobs drew one year. Simeon M. 
 Coe drew three years. Mr. Harmon refused to 
 draw. 
 
 D. B. Young was appointed School Commissioner. 
 
 At the December, 1840, term it was ordered that 
 Portland Precinct be divided into three precincts, as 
 follows : All the territory south of Rock River in 
 Whiteside County, and east of the line north and 
 south through the center of township 6 east of 
 fourth principal meridian, to be known as Rapids 
 
 .: _
 
 pa 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 8n 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Precinct, the place of holding elections to be at the 
 house of Edward Atkins; all the territory south of 
 Rock River and west of Rapids Precinct, lying east 
 of a certain slough, between Hiram Underbill's and 
 Richard Potter's, on the south line of the county, 
 ihence northeasterly along the center of said slough 
 and its outlet into Rock River, to be known as 
 Prophetstown Precinct, and the place of holding 
 elections to be at the house of Asa Crook ; and all 
 the territory west of Prophetstown Precinct, and 
 south of Rock River, to remain as Portland Precinct, 
 the place of holding elections to be at the house 
 of Kbenezer Seely. William W. Durant, Daniel 
 Brooks and L. H. Woodworth were appointed judges 
 of election of Rapids Precinct; Asa Crook, Jabez 
 Warner and N. G. Reynolds, of Prophetstown Pre- 
 cinct; and Daniel Blaisdell, William S. Crane, and 
 Simeon Fuller, of Portland Precinct. 
 
 Guy Ray, Clerk of the Court, was allowed $7.80 
 for returning votes of August election for represent- 
 ative to Jo Daviess County. On the same day Lyn- 
 don township was authorized to organize into a school 
 district, and Edward S. Gage licensed to run a ferry 
 across Rock River at Prophetstown. 
 
 Lyndon Township was authorized to organize into 
 a school district. 
 
 Lewis D. Crandall, Arthur Putney and A. Smith 
 were authorized to solicit subscriptions for the con- 
 struction of a bridge over the Meredosia River, near 
 Rock River, on the mail route from Lyndon to 
 Stephenson, and to expend the same in the construc- 
 tion of the bridge according to a plan to be furnished 
 by Hosea Jacobs, provided it was done without cost 
 to the county. 
 
 At the March session, in 1841, John Scott was au- 
 thorized to operate a ferry across Rock River, at 
 Como, by paying a license fee of $5. He was per- 
 mitted to charge as ferriage " for each two-horse or ox 
 wagon, with team, 50 cents; single wagon and horse, 
 25 cents; man and horse, 18^ cents; footman, 6 ] 
 cents; head of cattle, 6j^ cents; head of sheep or 
 swine, 6^ cents. 
 
 David and Samuel Mitchell were authorized to 
 operate a ferry across the Mississippi River at Al- 
 bany. 
 
 At the April, 1841, term, Guy Ray resigned the 
 position of Clerk of the Commissioners' Court. Theo- 
 dore Winn was appointed Clerk pro tern. 
 
 The following order was placed upon record : 
 " WHEREAS, by virtue of an act of the General As- 
 sembly of the State of Illinois, passed on the zist 
 day of February, 1839, providing for the location of 
 the county seat, or seat of justice, for Whiteside 
 County and State aforesaid. To the end, therefore, 
 we, the County Commissioners in and for said county 
 from a fair and impartial examination of the poll 
 books now in the Clerk's office of the County Com- 
 missioners' Court, do verily believe that the people of 
 said county have placed the county seat at the town 
 of Sterling, in said county; do therefore order the 
 Circuit and County Commissioners' Court to be holden 
 in and at the town of Sterling, in said county, and 
 do direct this order to be put on the record of this 
 Court, and that a copy of this order be served upon 
 the Sheriff of this county, and also on the Clerk of 
 the Circuit Court." 
 
 The June term of the Court was held at Sterling, 
 commencing June 8. 
 
 Royal Jacobs was allowed three months' additional 
 time in which to complete a horse ferry-boat to be run 
 across the Mississippi River at Fulton. Mr. Jacobs 
 was the assignee of A. M. Wing and others. He was 
 required to give bond to run the ferry according to 
 law. 
 
 The following order was entered upon the records: 
 Whereas, by virtue of an act of the General As- 
 sembly of this State, passed and in force Feb. 21, 
 1839, entitled " An act to locate the county seat of 
 Whiteside, and provide for election of county officers,'' 
 elections have been held in said county, pursuant to 
 said law, and at the election held on the 23d day of 
 September, 1839, for the location of said county seat, 
 the following was the result : Sterling received 264 
 votes; Lyndon received 253, and Windsor 4 votes. 
 By virtue of said result, and in pursuance of said 
 law, the County Commissioners, by an order entered 
 on the record of said Court, declared Sterling the 
 county seat of said county. And, further, the said 
 Court now in session, and holding their June term, 
 hereby order and direct that the Clerk of this Court 
 proceed to the Land Office at Dixon and receive and 
 obtain of and from the proper officers a full and com- 
 plete title by pre-emption, as provided by law for the 
 use and benefits of said county, for the southwest 
 fractional quarter of section 22, township 21, range 7 
 east of the fourth principal meridian ; that being the 

 
 dP 
 
 'u W.UH<LHM->' \ 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 r -:'*j* 
 
 fractional quarter upon which the town or point, 
 Sterling, is now located, and that being the quarter 
 now claimed by said Commissioners for the use of 
 said county, by virtue of said location of the county 
 seat, and in pursuance of law in such cases made 
 and provided, directed by said Court this 8th day of 
 June, 1841. 
 
 Whereas, the pfoprietors of the towns of Harrisburg 
 and Chatham, at the Rapids in Elkhorn Precinct, 
 have united the said town plats, and have agreed to 
 change the names of said towns to that of Sterling; 
 and, whereas, by an act to locate the county seat of 
 Whiteside, it shall be lawful for individuals of said 
 county to offer donations of lands to the county of 
 Whiteside whereon to locate the seat of justice of 
 said county, the proprietors of said Sterling offer the 
 following donations : Eighty acres of land bounded 
 as follows : Beginning at a point in Broadway and 
 Fourth Street, being the center of said town, thence 
 west 50 rods, thence north 120, thence east 80 rods, 
 thence south 1 20 rods, thence west 30 rods to the 
 place of beginning, containing 60 acres, and to be 
 deeded to the Commissioners by the proprietors of 
 that part of the town formerly known as Harrisburg; 
 also 20 acres adjoining and being partly between 
 said 60 acres and the river, to be bounded by streets 
 and alleys, and extending west to the section line of 
 2 1 , and to be deeded to the Commissioners by the 
 proprietors of that part of the town formerly known 
 as Chatham ; and further, the proprietors of each of 
 the above named places offer and agree to pay to the 
 County Commissioners $ 1,000 for county purposes, 
 and to be paid in equ.il payments in three, six, nine 
 and twelve months from the day and date of the lo- 
 cation of the county seat, making in the whole a 
 donation of 80 acres of land and $2,000.; provided 
 the public buildings for said county shall be placed 
 in block 58, west of Broadway, being a central posi- 
 tion in said town." 
 
 The offer was'dated at Sterling, May 3, 1839, and 
 was signed by Nelson Mason, J. D. Barnett, Heze- 
 kiah Brink, E. Worthington, Hugh Wallace. 
 
 The Commissioners accepting the offer made, 
 spread an order upon their records in which it was 
 provided that the sum of $2,000 received from the 
 proprietors of the town of Sterling should not be- 
 come a part of the general fund of the county, but 
 was to be used solely for the purpose of erecting the 
 
 county buildings on block 58 of the town of Sterling. 
 
 Robert L. Wilson was appointed a Commissioner 
 on the part of the county to superintend the sale and 
 conveyance of the lots of the county in the town of 
 Sterling. 
 
 At the September term Daniel Blaisdell appeared 
 as one of the Commissioners. John Roy gave bonds 
 as Clerk of the Commissioners' Court. 
 
 R. L. Wilson made his report in relation to the 
 disposal of the real estate of the county. He sold 
 lots amounting to $583.37^, and reported that he 
 had taken notes for the sum of $2,000 offered by the 
 proprietors of the town, all of which was amply se- 
 cured. 
 
 Jacob Whipple was appointed an agent in the fol- 
 lowing terms : 
 
 "Ordered, that Jacob Whipple be and he is here- 
 by appointed an agent to make contracts on behalf 
 of the county of Whiteside for all necessary materials 
 for the erection of public buildings in said county, 
 and he is hereby empowered to collect, sue for and 
 receive moneys now due or hereafter to become due 
 and payable to said county and for said purposes in 
 such sums and at such times as he may deem 
 necessary for the erection of said buildings, not to 
 exceed $2,000, and that he proceed to do the same 
 without unnecessary delay after giving a bond with 
 good security approved by the Clerk." 
 
 It was further ordered " That the Court-House to 
 be erected for the county of Whiteside to be 37 feet 
 long by 30 feet wide ; lower story eight feet high ; 
 upper story eleven feet high in the clear; passage 
 through the lower story seven feet wide ; balance of 
 lower story to be divided into four rooms ; house to 
 be covered with white pine shingles, and finished in 
 a plain and substantial manner. That our agent 
 issue specifications and receive proposals for the 
 building of said Court-House without unnecessary 
 delay and report to our next Court. 
 
 At the December, 1841, term of the Court the 
 order in relation to the size of the Court-House was 
 amended so as to read that the Court-House should 
 be 40 feet square, the lower story nine feet high in 
 the clear, the upper story 1 2 feet high in the clear, 
 with a passage ten feet wide in the lower story, which 
 was to be divided into six rooms. 
 
 Col. Whipple was removed as agent for making 
 contracts for material to be used in the erection of 
 
 - 
 
 
 

 
 V^V-iMMXIXM W'V Y^ 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Y 
 
 fa 
 
 '& 
 
 the Court-House, and William Sampson appointed 
 in his place, in January, 1843. He was authorized 
 to demand of Whipple all contracts, money, or other 
 valuables in his possession belonging to the county. 
 Mr. Sampson reported to the Commissioners that he 
 called on Whipple, as directed, and was sent by him 
 to R. L. Wilson, but could get no satisfaction. 
 
 At the March, 1843, term; William, Sampson was 
 appointed an agent to settle with Col. Wilson, Com- 
 missioner appointed by the Court to dispose of the 
 real estate donated to the county, the proceeds of 
 which were to be applied in the erection of county 
 buildings. The order was subsequently rescinded. 
 
 The County Commissioners met at their June 
 term, 1843, at Lyndon, that town having been se- 
 lected as the county seat by the Commissioners ap- 
 pointed by an act of the General Assembly, ap- 
 proved Feb. 28, 1843. Daniel Blaisdell, David Mitch- 
 ell and Henry Boyer, Commissioners, were present. 
 
 William Sampson was again appointed agent of 
 the county for the purpose of making contracts for 
 material to be used for public buildings. 
 
 At the March term, in 1844, Jacob Whipple re- 
 signed the position of agent for the county to super- 
 intend the erection of public buildings, and Joel 
 Harvey was appointed in his place. 
 
 At the March, 1845, term it was ordered that the 
 people of Sterling have the use of the Court-House 
 for religious services, and that Rev. George Stebbins 
 have the use of two rooms for school purposes. 
 
 The June, 1847, term of the Court was held at 
 Sterling. 
 
 At the March, 1848, term, Thomas W. Trum- 
 bull made demand on the Commissioners that they 
 should deed back to him certain real estate which he 
 had donated for county purposes at Lyndon, the 
 seat of justice having been removed to Sterling. M. 
 S. Henry was appointed Commissioner to deed Mr. 
 Trumbull the land claimed. 
 
 County Court. 
 
 jjr 
 
 i 
 
 Y an act of the General Assembly the 
 : business of the county heretofore trans- 
 acted by officers known as County Com- 
 missioners, in 1850, was made to devolve 
 upon the County Court, composed of a 
 county judge and two associate judges. The 
 first session of this court met at the Court-House in 
 
 Sterling, March 4, 1850. There were present N. G. 
 Reynolds, Judge ; Winfield S.Wilkinson and Thomas 
 Brewer, Associate Judges; L. D. Crandall, Sheriff ; 
 N. J. Nichols, Clerk. 
 
 No acts of special interest were transacted by this 
 Court. 
 
 At the November election, in 1851, the question 
 was submitted to a vote of the people on the ques- 
 tion of the adoption of the township organization 
 law. There were 37^ votes cast for and 144 against 
 the measure. The question had once before been 
 submitted to a vote and carried. Commissioners 
 were appointed who divided the county into town- 
 ships, but on account of some informality the ques- 
 tion had to be re-submitted. 
 
 At the December, 1851, term of the Court, L. D. 
 Crandall, L. H. Wood worth and William Pollock 
 were appointed a Committee to divide the county 
 into townships according to an act of the General 
 Assembly, providing for township organization. They 
 reported the townships as follows : 
 
 Township of Fulton includes fractional township 
 22 north, range 3 east of the 4th principal meridian. 
 
 Ustick includes township 22 north, range 4 east. 
 
 Clyde includes township 22 north, range 5 east. 
 
 Genesee includes township 22 north, range 6 east. 
 
 Jordan includes township 22 north, range 7 east. 
 
 Sterling includes that part of township 21 north, 
 range 7 east, north of Rock River, including Cant- 
 rail's Island, so-called, in said river. 
 
 Montmorency includes township 20 north, range 
 7 east. 
 
 Coloma includes that part of township 21 north, 
 range 7 east, south and east of Rock River, includ- 
 ing all the islands, except Cantrall's, in that part of 
 said river bounding said territory on the north and 
 west; also, that part of section 25, township 21 
 north, range 6 east, lying east of Rock River, and 
 for judicial purposes, for the time being, is attached 
 to the township of Montmorency, excepting the 
 western tier of sections. 
 
 Hahnaman includes township 19 north, range 7 
 east. 
 
 Hume includes that part of township 20, range 6 
 east, lying south of Rock River; also that part of 
 section 34, township 21 north, range 6 east, lying 
 south of Rock River. [This town was given the 
 name of Jackson by the Commissioners, but subse- 
 
 ( 
 
 |
 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 quently changed by the Board of Supervisors.] 
 
 Como includes that part of township 20 north, 
 range 6 east, north of Rock River, except that the 
 north and south half section line of section 4 in 
 said township and Rock River be the eastern 
 boundary. [Originally called Homer, and subse- 
 quently made a part of Hopkins.] 
 
 Hopkins includes township 21 north, range 6 east, 
 excepting those parts allotted to the township of 
 Hume and Rapids orColoma; includes, also, that 
 part of township 20 north, range 6 east, lying north 
 of Rock River, and east of a line passing north and 
 south through the center of section 4, and for judi- 
 cial purposes, for the time being, is attached to the 
 western tier of sections of the township of Mont- 
 ruorency; also, that part of the township of Hui; e 
 extending as far west as Rock River, and the half 
 section line passing north through the center of sec- 
 tions 33, 28, 21 and 16, until intersecting Rock 
 River; also the town of Hahnaman. 
 
 Tampico includes township 19 north, range 6 
 east. 
 
 Volney includes township 19 north, range 5 east, 
 south and east of Rock River. [Originally the 
 township was called Washington, and subsequently 
 made a part of Prophetstown.] 
 
 Prophetstown includes township 20 north, range 5 
 east, south and east of Rock River, and for judicial 
 purposes for the time being attached to the western 
 part of the township of Hume, excepting as far east 
 as a line running north through sections 33, 28, 
 21 and 1 6, to the intersection of Rock River; also 
 the townships of Tampico and Washington. 
 
 Portland includes that part of township 19 north, 
 range 4 east, south of Rock River ; also that part of 
 township 19 north, range 3 east, south of Rock 
 River, and that part of township 20 north, range 4 
 east, south of Rock River. 
 
 Erie includes township 19 north, range 4 east, 
 north of Rock River, excepting that part of section 
 i lying north; also that part of township 19 north, 
 range 3 east, lying north of Rock River. 
 
 Fenton includes so much of township 20 north, 
 range 4 east, as is lying north of Rock River; also 
 township 19 north, range 5 east, lying north and 
 west of Rock River; also that part of section i, 
 township 19 north, range 4 east, lying north of Rock 
 River. [This township was originally called Eden.] 
 
 Lyndon includes that part of township 20 north, 
 range 5 east, lying north and west of Rock River, 
 and for judicial purposes for the time being is 
 attached to the township of Homer [Como]. 
 
 Mt. Pleasant includes township 21 north, range 5 
 east. 
 
 Union Grove includes township 21 north, range 4 
 east. 
 
 Garden Plain includes township 21 north, range 3 
 east. 
 
 Albany includes fractional township 21 north, 
 range 2 east. 
 
 Newton includes fractional township 20 north, 
 range 2 east, lying east of the Meredosia, and town- 
 ship 20 north, range 3 east. 
 
 Board of Supervisors. 
 
 HE election for members of the Board 
 of Supervisors was held the first Tues- 
 day in April, 1852, in all the townships 
 except Montmorency, Hume, Hahnaman and 
 Tampico, which were not fully organized. 
 The following named were chosen mem- 
 bers of the first Board for their respective town- 
 ships: Albany, W. S. Barnes; Coloma, Richard 
 Arey ; Clyde, W. P. Hiddleson ; Erie, Charles R. 
 Coburn; Fenton, James M. Pratt; Fulton, Wilson 
 S. Wright; Garden Plain, S. M. Kilgour; Genesee' 
 Ivory Colcord ; Hopkins, Simeon Sampson; Jordan, 
 J. Talbot ; Lyndon, R. G. Clendenin ; Mt. Pleasant, 
 A. C. Jackson; Newton, Joseph Miller; Prophets- 
 town, O. W. Gage; Portland, B. P. Besse ; Sterling, 
 Jesse Penrose; Union Grove, W. C. Snyder; Ustick, 
 John Mackenzie. 
 
 The first annual meeting of the Board was held 
 in September. W. S. Barnes was chosen Chairman 
 for the ensuing year, and rules were adopted for the 
 government of the Board. 
 
 W. C. Snyder, R. G. Clendenin and Simeon Samp- 
 son were appointed a committee to ascertain the 
 indebtedness of the county. 
 
 But little business was transacted for some years 
 of public interest. At the March, 1855, term of the 
 Board, the Drainage Commissioner was instructed 
 to sell certain swamp lands, and to pay all money 
 received for the same to the School Commissioner, 
 to be loaned by him, and the interest applied as 
 other school funds. The first choice of the land 
 
 *>: 
 
 
 
 i 
 

 
 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 was to be sold at $3 per acre, the second $1.50, and 
 the third at 50 cents. 
 
 In 1856 the question of the purchase of a poor 
 farm was under discussion in the Hoard. A com- 
 mittee appointed for the purpose reported pauperism 
 on the increase, and that the cost for the mainte- 
 nance of the poor was greater than it would other- 
 wise be if the county was provided with a suitable 
 place for their proper care. They recommended the 
 purchase of 240 acres of land in Union Grove 
 Township, 120 acres of which were under cultiva- 
 tion, and on which was situated a good stone house, 
 barn, and out-buildings, and never-failing springs of 
 water. The report was received, and a committee 
 was appointed to purchase the farm. 
 
 In 1857 considerable difficulty was experienced 
 in procuring funds for the transaction of county 
 business. A committee of three was appointed to 
 procure a loan, but in consequence of the scarcity 
 of money and the county having allowed some of 
 its bonds to mature without provision for their pay- 
 ment, a loan was finally effected in Chicago, but at 
 a considerable discount. The Drainage Commis- 
 sioner was ordered to pay to the County Treasurer 
 the proceeds of the sale of swamp lands, the county 
 obligating itself to pay the same to the School Com- 
 missioner, in five years, with interest at 10 per 
 cent., payable semi-annually. In 1858 the Board 
 resolved to sustain the Township Collectors and 
 County Treasurer in receiving good Illinois and 
 Wisconsin currency in payment of taxes. 
 
 During the war the Board performed its part 
 nobly, doing all in its power to aid enlistments and 
 to provide for the families of the volunteers. 
 
 From that time to the present it has continued 
 to administer the affairs of the county in a manner 
 satisfactory to the people generally. The credit of 
 the county is No. T. 
 
 County-Seat Contests. 
 
 counties throughout the length and 
 breadth of the land but have had their 
 county-seat contests. To be the shire 
 town of a county is an honor coveted at all 
 times, and much bad blood has been engen- 
 dered in working to secure the prize of a 
 county seat. The people of many towns have acted 
 
 815 
 
 &&*** 
 
 as though they believed that if their town was only 
 permitted the possession of the court-house and jail 
 of the county, and made the home of the county 
 officers, a metropolis would at once spring up. The 
 same efforts that have been put forth to secure the 
 seat of justice of a county, if used in another direc- 
 tion, would result in incalculable good to a place. 
 
 Whiteside County is no exception to the general 
 rule in relation to a county seat. The General As- 
 sembly passed an act which was approved Feb. 21, 
 1839, in relation to the county seat of this county. 
 By that act the question was to be left to a vote of 
 the people to decide where it should be permanently 
 located. It was provided by the act that an election 
 should be held on the first Monday in May, 1 839. 
 If more than one point was voted for, and no place 
 received a majority of the votes cast, another election 
 should be held on Monday of each succeeding four 
 weeks, until some place should, receive a majority. 
 
 It was also provided in the act that neo person 
 might offer a donation of land on which to locate the 
 county seat, and in the event of the point offered 
 being selected by the legal voters of the county, a 
 good and sufficient deed should be executed to the 
 County Commissioners within four weeks. 
 
 The first election for the location of the county 
 seat was held at the time provided in the act, but no 
 place received a majority of the votes cast. An- 
 other election was held, with like results. Finally, 
 on the 23d of September, 1839, it was declared that 
 the village of Lyndon had received a majority of the 
 votes cast. The result was declared by Adam R. 
 Hamilton and C. G. Woodruff, the Justices of the 
 Peace named in the act for canvassing the vote. 
 Lyndon, previous to this time, had virtually been the 
 county seat, the County Commissioners' Court being 
 held at that place 
 
 On the i rth of February, 1840, a contract was 
 made with Thomas C. Gould, by John Ray and 
 Augustine Smith, on the part of the people of 
 Lyndon, for the erection of a good and substantial 
 frame building, 26 x 17 feet, one and a half stories 
 in height, to be used for county puqwses. The 
 building was soon afterward erected on lot 51, block 
 10, and used for county and court purposes until 
 the removal of the offices to Sterling. 
 
 By reference to the history of the city of Sterling it 
 will be seen that that place originally comprised two 
 
 

 
 .. ,. 
 
 816 
 
 WHITBSIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 
 villages, located but a few rods apart. Desiring to 
 secure the location of the county seat, and knowing 
 that neither could obtain the prize if acting alone, 
 the proprietors of the two villages had the vacant 
 space between the two places surveyed, thus uniting 
 the two, and naming it Sterling. They then, on the 
 3d day of May, r839, offered to donate to the county 
 80 acres of land, provided they secured the location 
 of the county seat. In addition to the donation of 
 land, the proprietors agreed to pay to the County 
 Commissioners the sum of $2,000, to be used for 
 county purposes, providing the public builduigs 
 should be erected on block 58, west of Broadway, 
 a central position in the totvn. 
 
 With the declared result of the election, in which 
 it had been averred that Lyndon had received a 
 majority of all the votes cast on the 23d of Septem- 
 ber, 1839, the friends of Sterling would not agree, 
 claiming the result was obtained by throwing out 
 the votes of a precinct which had given a ma- 
 jority for Sterling. At that election the regularly- 
 appointed Judges refused to serve, and the legal 
 voters of the precinct selected others in their places, 
 who received, counted, and certified the returns. 
 These returns were thrown out as irregular, thus 
 giving Lyndon the majority. In February, r84o, 
 at an election for county commissioners, the candi- 
 date favorable to Sterling was elected. A re- 
 canvass of the vote of Sept. 23, 1839, was ordered, 
 the returns of the rejected precinct received and 
 counted, showfng a majority of seven votes in favor 
 of Sterling. 
 
 The County Commissioners, on the result being 
 declared, issued an order removing the county seat 
 to Sterling. Accordingly the sessions of the County 
 Commissioners' Courts were held in Sterling until 
 September, 1842. At the annual election held this 
 year for county Commissioners, candidates favorable 
 to Lyndon were elected. At the September session 
 of the Court an order was entered removing the 
 county seat back to Lyndon. So back it went. 
 
 In order to forever settle the matter, an act was 
 passed in the General Assembly of 1843 appointing 
 G. W. Harrison and John McDonald, of Jo Daviess 
 County, Joshua Harper, of Henry County, Leonard 
 Andrus, of Ogle County, and R. H. Spicer, of 
 Mercer County, Commissioners to permanently lo- 
 cate the seat of justice of Whiteside County. The 
 
 ^j%, -^.agi^ /-s 
 
 act provided that the Commissioners, or a majority 
 of them, should meet at the town of Albany, on 
 the first Monday in May, r843, or within 30 days 
 thereafter, and locate the county seat at the plact 
 which would most conduce to the public good of 
 the citizens of the county. After examining such 
 parts of the county as they might think proper, 
 they were to make out and return to the Clerk 
 of the County Commissioners' Court a certificate 
 of such location. By the act the Commissioners 
 could not locate the seat of justice at any point 
 where a donation of at least 30 acres of land was 
 not secured. It was also provided that as soon 
 as convenient after the location of the county seat 
 the County Commissioners should cause to be 
 erected a court-house and other necessary buildings, 
 for public use. 
 
 Joshua Harper, Leonard Andrus and R. H. Spi- 
 cer, agreeable to the provisions of the act, met 
 at Albany, at the specified time, and proceeded 
 to examine the different locations. They finally 
 agreed upon Lyndon, and so reported to the County 
 Commissioners on the zyth of May, 1843. 
 
 It was now supposed that the contest was ended 
 and that Lyndon would remain in peaceable posses- 
 sion of the prize. But not so. When the County 
 Commissioners, in 1841, ordered the removal of the 
 county seat to Sterling, steps were at once taken to 
 erect a 'court-house. A house 40 feet square, two 
 stories in height, was erected and finally completed 
 in 1844. This property the Commissioners always 
 controlled, notwithstanding the seat of justice was 
 taken from Sterling, and the proprietors could not 
 therefore reap any of the benefits they sought to de- 
 rive in making the donations to the county. The 
 proprietors of Lyndon, on the place beirig selected 
 by the Commissioners appointed to locate the county 
 seat, made a donation of 40 acres for county pur- 
 poses ; but no county buildings were erected. The 
 friends of Sterling therefore claimed that, inasmuch 
 as no public buildings had been erected in Lyndon, 
 and that the same had been erected in Sterling, that 
 place should be the county seat. The County Com- 
 missioners were prevailed upon to enter an order 
 that the grand and petit juries, selected at their 
 March (1846) term to attend at the May term of the 
 Circuit Court, be summoned to attend at Sterling 
 instead of at Lyndon, 
 
 I 
 
 ' 
 
 (' 
 ,/Ss 
 
 v 
 
 I
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Agreeable to the order of the County Commission- 
 ers, the terms of the Circuit Court were afterwards 
 held at Sterling. Lyndon was not pleased at this 
 action of the County Commissioners, and applied for 
 a writ of mandamus compelling the Commissioners 
 to make an order removing the Circuit Court back 
 to Lyndon, on the ground that the Commissioners 
 appointed by the State for the purpose of perma- 
 nently locating the county seat, had selected that 
 point and that suitable buildings were provided for 
 the county officers and Court purposes. The writ 
 was refused, the Court holding that from the evi- 
 dence the building used for county purposes was not 
 upon the grounds donated to the county, as required 
 by the statutes. 
 
 The General Assembly of the State was again ap- 
 pealed to, and passed an act declaring Sterling to be 
 the county seat until such time as the county should 
 compensate the donors of money and land for their 
 donations used for county purposes. As several 
 thousand dollars had been donated and expended, 
 the friends of Lyndon could not raise the amount 
 or prevail upon the County Commissioners to make 
 a levy for that purpose. It was cheaper to again 
 appeal to the General Assembly. An act was there- 
 fore secured by which the question should be sub- 
 mitted to a vote of the people as to which of the two 
 places, Sterling or Lyndon, should be the permanent 
 seat of justice of the county. If Lyndon should se- 
 cure a majority of the votes cast, it should be de- 
 clared the county seat, and the act by which Sterling 
 was to be made the county seat until compensation 
 should be made to donors of land, should be re- 
 pealed. The act further provided that donations of 
 money and lands might be offered for the purpose of 
 the erection of county buildings and that the offers 
 should be entered upon record. James M. Pratt 
 and Augustine Smith offered 50 acres of land on be- 
 half of Lyndon, and $1,432 was offered by the citi- 
 zens. The election was held April 3, 1849, resulting 
 in favor of Sterling by a majority of 68, in a total 
 vote of 970. 
 
 For eight years Sterling was permitted the county 
 seat, when the General Assembly was once more ap- 
 pealed to, and an act was passed entitled " An act 
 for the removal of the seat of justice of Whiteside 
 County," which was approved Feb. 7, 1857. The 
 act provided that at the November election the legal 
 
 voters of the county should vote upon the question 
 of the removal of the county seat from Sterling to 
 Morrison, and that in case the latter should receive 
 a majority of all the votes cast, it should be declared 
 the county seat, provided a donation of land should 
 be made not less than 300 feet square, and the sum 
 of $3,000 donated to aid in the construction of county 
 buildings. At the election held for the purpose, Mor- 
 rison received a majority of 59, out of 3, 203 votes 
 cast. 
 
 The ground selected by a committee appointed by 
 the Board of Supervisors was deeded to the county, 
 and $3,000 turned over to the County Treasurer; 
 and May 3, 1858, the county offices were removed to 
 Morrison, where they yet remain. 
 
 Court-House. 
 
 FTER the county seat had been removed 
 from Sterling to Morrison, which was in 
 1858, the Board of Supervisors took under 
 consideration the building of a suitable court- 
 house and other county buildings. For the 
 Court-House, by order of the Board, plans were 
 made and bids were called for. There were many 
 contestants, but the contract was finally let to John 
 McKay, of Springfield, 111., for $14,000. Architect 
 B. S. Foreman drew the plans. The building was 
 completed in the spring of 1866, and was accepted 
 by the Board. For extra work the contractor was 
 paid $668.80. In 1881 an addition was made to the 
 rear of the building at a cost of $3,341.66, making 
 a total cost of $18,010.46. The foundation, or 
 basement, is of block stone and the superstructure 
 is built of brick. It is well constructed, and 
 neatly finished on the inside and furnished. The 
 court room is circular in form, large, lightsome and 
 airy, with a gallery facing the bench, which is entered 
 from the story above. The building is nearly 
 too feet in length by 55 feet in width. From the 
 floor to the ceiling, in the court room, it is 23 feet. 
 
 On the left, as you enter the building, is the 
 Sheriff's office. Directly above, on the second floor, 
 is the County School Superintendent's office. In the 
 rear of the court room, first floor, is a hall which 
 opens into the court library and Judge's room. A 
 
 
 CY^iS... 
 
 A4?
 
 
 8i8 
 
 WHITESrDE COUNTY. 
 
 back stairway leads up to a vestibule on the second 
 floor, which opens into the Grand Jury room. Ad- 
 joining this room is the State's Attorney's room. 
 Directly in the rear of the court chamber is the Petit 
 Jury's room. Surmounting the building is a dome 
 from which a grand view of the surrounding country 
 can be had. The building is located on an elevated 
 site in the north part of the city, and is in the center 
 of the block. 
 
 Record Building. 
 
 I; RIOR to the construction of the Court- 
 House, the Board of Supervisors appro- 
 priated $1,200 for the erection of a suitable 
 building for county offices for County Clerk, 
 Recorder, Treasurer, Circuit Clerk, Supervisors 
 and Probate Judge. This building was com- 
 pleted in 1862, and is situated west of the Court- 
 House in the county block. It is a solid two-story 
 building, constructed of brick, with stone trimmings, 
 and is fire-proof. 
 
 The finishing and furnishing inside is neat and 
 substantial. This building was constructed .under 
 the supervision of R. G. Clendenin, E. B. Warner 
 and A. Farrington. The Recorder's and the Clerk's 
 rooms are incased with solid walls and have iron 
 doors with combination locks. The Supervisors' 
 room is in this building. It is a pretty little hall, 
 providing a bench for the President and his Clerk, 
 and a desk for each Supervisor. 
 
 County Jail. 
 
 URING the January term of 1858, the 
 Board of Supervisors passed an order for 
 "* the construction of a jail. Bids were re- 
 ceived by W. S. Barnes, H. C. Fellows and 
 A. C. Jackson, Supervisors, who were appointed 
 a committee on construction and contract. The 
 contract was let to Charles Nelson, who was to com- 
 plete the work for $10,100, in accordance with the 
 plans and specifications adopted. The building was 
 
 -^&z 9-*<>ii!l: 
 
 completed in the early part of 1859. The jail was 
 inadequate to meet the increasing demands of later 
 years, and in 1876 the Board of Supervisors made an 
 appropriation of $4,900 for enlarging and remodeling 
 it. This work was completed the same year. Total 
 cost of jail, including Sheriffs residence, $15,000. 
 These improvements were much needed, not only for 
 the safety of the prisoners, but for their health. 
 
 The jail, with the Sheriffs residence, which is in 
 front, is a two-story building, constructed of Joliet 
 stone. There are eight cells, which are built after 
 the P. J. Pauly patent, four below and four above. 
 A corridor runs on three sides, leaving the north end 
 of the cells against the outer wall. These cells are 
 constructed with a combination of iron and steel, and 
 would seem proof against the most experienced and 
 skillful criminal. They are well ventilated and 
 reasonably lighted. An iron stairway leads to the 
 cells above. Water is conducted through the entire 
 building from the water works. The jail is situated 
 in the Court-House Square block, just east of the 
 Court-House. 
 
 Poor Farm. 
 
 HE Board of Supervisors assembled together 
 at the June term of 1853 to devise some 
 means to provide for the helpless poor of 
 the county. After due consideration a com- 
 mittee was appointed for this purpose, con- 
 sisting of W. C. Snyder, William Y. Wetzell 
 and James M. Pratt. The committee immediately 
 set to work and matured their plans. A farm of 240 
 acres, of which one-half was inclosed and under cul- 
 tivation, was selected, in Union Grove Township. It 
 contained a good rock house and outbuildings. This 
 farm could be bought for $25 per acre, one-half down 
 and the balance in one and two years' payments. 
 The report of the committee was accepted by the 
 Board, and the farm purchased, which was called the 
 County Poor Farm. This answered the purpose for 
 many years. A more suitable location, one con- 
 venient to the railroad and the county seat, became 
 desirable. 
 
 The Supervisors took the matter under consider- 
 ation, which resulted in the appointment of James 

 
 
 ^ VV-.HH O HM.-/^ ^ 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 819 
 
 M. Pratt, L. S. Pennington and H. R. Sampson as 
 a committee to make a new selection of grounds and 
 erect necessary buildings. The committee selected 
 1 08 acres of land on section 23, township 21 north, 
 range 5 east, on the line of the Northwestern Rail- 
 road, which could be purchased for $45 per acre. 
 This selection was approved by the Board, and the 
 committee was instructed to purchase the farm, and 
 erect the necessary buildings, at a cost not to exceed 
 $r5,ooo for the whole. Switzer & Kennedy received 
 the contract for putting up the house, barn and out- 
 buildings. The whole was completed in 1870, and 
 at a cost of $13,448. The building is 50 by 72 feet, 
 three stories high, with basement, and constructed of 
 brick. It is divided in two parts for the conven- 
 ience of the male and female occupants. 
 
 The basement is divided up into apartments for 
 kitchen, dining-room, store-rooms, bath-rooms and 
 cellar. On the first floor are bed-rooms, a parlor, a 
 sitting-room and a vestibule. The second is ar- 
 ranged for sleeping- rooms, with ample closets. The 
 general construction of the building is substantial 
 and the architecture attractive. Every convenience 
 is considered for making thercounty wards comfort- 
 able and at home. The soil is rich and well adapted 
 for agriculture. The larger and smaller fruits are 
 cultivated at the farm with success. This eleemosy- 
 nary institution is very creditable to the authorities 
 and citizens of Whiteside County, and gives assur- 
 ance that while they are supplied with the wants and 
 luxuries of life, they are not forgetful of the poor. W. 
 
 F. Bariuim is the present Superintendent of the 
 farm. He is paid $850 for his services. Expenses 
 for the year ending Sept. i, 1884, was $6,343,67. 
 
 The Building for the Insane. 
 
 S the population of the county increased, so 
 did the number of insane people, and it 
 was deemed necessary to make some suit- 
 able provisions for them. The subject was 
 brought to the attention of the Board of Super- 
 visors, and they made an appropriation for a 
 building which was to be erected on the Poor Farm. 
 A committee was appointed to draw up plans and 
 specifications for the building, and an estimate of the 
 expense. 
 
 The plans and specifications, with an estimate of 
 the cost, was presented to the Board at a special 
 meeting held in December, 1874, and were adopted. 
 The contract was let to Messrs. A. & J. A. McKay. 
 In November, 1875, the building was completed, 
 and accepted by the committee. 
 
 The total cost of the building was $7,429.47. This 
 building stands near the Farm house. It is a large 
 iwo-story and basement structure, built of stone and 
 brick. It contains 1 6 cells, with large corridors and 
 halls for the accommodation and recreation of the 
 inmates. 
 
 < 
 
 fh
 
 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 
 INCE the days of Adam crime 
 has existed in the world, and 
 for the punishment thereof 
 courts have been instituted, 
 and men have made the study 
 of law their life work. The 
 legal profession is an honored 
 one, and those connected with it 
 have always been regarded as leaders 
 of the people. They were expected 
 to make as well as to interpret and 
 execute law. When Whiteside 
 County was organized it was made 
 part of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, 
 which then included the counties of 
 Whiteside, Rock Island, Carroll, 
 Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone and Jo Daviess. By 
 the act organizing the circuit the terms for White- 
 side County were to begin on the second Monday 
 in April and September. By the act of 1840 the 
 time was changed to the first Thursday after the 
 third Monday in April. The first term of the Cir- 
 cuit Court in this county was ordered held on the 
 second Monday of September, 1839, but was not 
 held, however, unlil the Thursday after the third 
 Monday in April, 1840. There were present at this 
 term Hon. Dan Slone, Judge of the Sixth Judicial 
 Circuit ; Erastus G. Nichols, Clerk ; Shelton L. Hall, 
 Circuit Attorney; James C. Woodburn, Sheriff. 
 Among the attorneys present at this first term were 
 Harvey & Woodruff, Edward Southwick, Hugh 
 Wallace, James McCoy, Knox & Drury, Isaiah H. 
 
 Marshall, L. B. Knowlton, Isaac Hopkins, Mr. 
 Frazer, Mr. Evans, Mr. Davidson and Mr. Kellogg. 
 But two of this number, Hugh Wallace and James 
 McCoy, were residents of this county. It must be 
 remembered that at this time lawyers were in the 
 habit of traveling the circuit and taking such cases 
 as they could pick up at the term of court then be- 
 ing held. 
 
 Erastus G. Nichols resigned the position of Clerk 
 of the Court, and Robert L. Wilson was appointed. 
 
 The first case entered upon the docket was that of 
 Win. R. Cox vs. Hutchins Crocker, assumpsit. 
 When the case was called the plaintiff's attorney 
 moved that the suit be dismissed at the plaintiff's 
 cost. 
 
 On motion, Joseph Knox, Isaiah H. Marshall and 
 Isaac Hopkins were admitted as attorneys and coun- 
 selors at law of the Court. 
 
 The grand jurors serving at this term of court 
 were Jason Hopkins, Henry Burlingame, Jacob Sells, 
 James Talbott, Jeremiah Johnson, James Row, 
 Hiram Harmon, Jabez Warner, W. F. Van Norman, 
 A. W. Newhall, Brainard Orton, John C. Pratt, 
 Jonathan Haines, D. B. Young, Win. Wick, John 
 Wick, Erastus Allen, P. B. Vannest, David Mitchell, 
 Hosea Jacobs, Daniel Reed, Edmund Cowdrey, 
 Win. Heaton, Ivory Colcord, A. J. Matson, Horatio 
 Wells, Chas. R. Rood and Hezekiah Brink. 
 
 Writs were issued against John Baker, A. M. 
 Wing, W. S. Barnes, Alfred Slocum, Isaac Merrill, 
 John Chapman, Harry Smith, A. C. Jackson and 
 Henry Boyer for contempt of court for failing to at- 
 
 J 
 
 
 _ 
 
 ... 
 
 -- 
 
 * .
 
 tend as grand jurors. Writs were also issued against 
 E. Wick, Van J. Adams, Chester Lusk, Ivy Buck, 
 J. A. Reynolds, D. P. Brewer, Lyman Blake, H. F. 
 Rice, J. T. Atkinson, Joseph Town and Chas. 
 Clark for contempt in failing to attend as petit 
 jurors. 
 
 The second term of the Circuit Court was held in 
 May, 1841, Hon. Thomas C. Browne, Judge; R. L. 
 Wilson, Clerk; John W. McLemore, Sheriff; Shel- 
 ton L. Hall, Circuit Attorney. At this term Mary 
 Beeman applied for a divorce from her husband, 
 John Beeman. The first criminal case was that of 
 The People vs. Daniel Dolan, on a charge of rape. 
 This case came from Lee County on a change of 
 venue. The jury found Dolan guilty, and fixed his 
 punishment at three years in the penitentiary. 
 
 By an act of the General Assembly, approved 
 Feb. 23, 1841, some changes were made in the 
 Sixth circuit, it then embracing the counties of 
 Whiteside, Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Winnebago, 
 Boone, Lee, Carroll, Rock Island, Mercer and 
 Henry. The second Monday in May and the third 
 Monday in September were fixed as the time for 
 holding terms of court in this county. No further 
 change was made until 1847. During this time 
 Judge Brown remained ori the bench, while three 
 different prosecuting attorneys served the Circuit 
 Joseph R. Wells, James L. Loop and Thos. L. 
 Turner. Robert L. Wilson continued as Clerk, 
 with John W. McLemore and James A. Sweet, 
 Sheriffs at different times. 
 
 By an act approved Feb. 27, 1847, the Sixth Cir- 
 cuit was reduced in size, and made to constitute the 
 counties of Whiteside, Lee, Henry, Mercer, Rock 
 Island, Carroll and Joe Daviess. The third Mon- 
 day in April and fourth Monday in August were 
 fixed as times for holding court. At the terms of 
 court held in this county, in 1847 and 1848, there 
 were present Hon. Thos. C. Brown, Judge ; H. B. 
 Stillman, Prosecuting Attorney ; R. L. Wilson, Clerk ; 
 John W. McLemore, Sheriff. 
 
 In 1849, under the constitution of 1848, several 
 new circuits were created, and the boundaries of the 
 old much changed. The Sixth Circuit was made to 
 embrace the counties of Whiteside, Jo Daviess, 
 Stephenson, Ogle, Lee and Carroll, with terms in 
 Whiteside to be held on the third Monday in April 
 and September, At the April term, 1849, Hon. 
 
 Ben. R. Sheldon was Judge ; H. B. Stillman, Pros- 
 ecuting Attorney ; R. L. Wilson, Clerk ; Lewis D. 
 Crandall, Sheriff. No business of public interest 
 was transacted. 
 
 In 1851 the boundaries of the circuit were again 
 changed, and the circuit made to embrace White- 
 side, Henry, Rock Island, Ogle, Lee and Carroll, 
 and so remained until r857. Ira O. Wilkinson was 
 elected Judge and began his term in 185 r, serving 
 for the first time in this county in October of that 
 year. H. B. Stillman served as Prosecuting At- 
 torney till 1853, when he was succeeded by Wm. T. 
 Miller. 
 
 At the April term, 1853, William A. Chamberlain 
 was indicted and tried for offering to sell playing 
 cards. The charge was not sustained. At the same 
 term Lyman Wilcox and Lewis A. Davis were in- 
 dicted for selling playing cards. Trial was had in 
 September and the two were found guilty. This was 
 the first and last trial for this offence on record in 
 this county. What brought about the streak of virtue 
 in the grand jury the old settler telleth not. 
 
 In 1855 James Chrismas and Ruth Towning were 
 under arrest for murder, but after investigation by 
 the grand jury they were discharged. 
 
 In September, 1855, Hon. J. Wilson Drury was 
 upon the Bench as Judge. He served but two years, 
 when the circuit was changed. 
 
 At the October term, in r8s7, an investigation was 
 had by the grand jury on a charge of murder against 
 Charles Montgomery. Sufficient cause for indict- 
 ment could not be found and the accused was dis- 
 charged. 
 
 By an act approved Feb. 5, 1857, several more 
 circuits were created. By this act Whiteside was 
 made a part of the 22d Circuit, embracing the coun- 
 ties of Whiteside, Lee, Ogle and Carroll. The terms 
 for Whiteside were to be held on the fourth Mondays 
 in March and October. John V. Eustace was elec- 
 ted Judge of the Circuit and served until 1862. 
 Robert C. Burchell was elected State's Attorney, as 
 then called, and served until i86r. 
 
 At the March, 1858, term, Thomas Coggins was 
 indicted for murder. When the case was called a 
 continuance was secured. At the May, 1859, term, 
 he was arraigned and by the Court adjudged insane 
 and ordered as such to a hospital for the insane. 
 
 At the January, 1861, term, Judge Eustace pre- 
 
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 *:;;:? 
 
 822 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 sided. David McCartney was State's Attorney ; 
 Addison Farrington, Clerk; R. G. Clendennin, 
 Sheriff. 
 
 In July, 1861, Hon. William W. Heaton received 
 his commission as Judge of the 22d Circuit, and 
 served until his death, in 1877. 
 
 Cornelius Ryon and Susan Ryon, alias Susan 
 Grace, were indicted for murder at the May term of 
 the Court, in 1865. In October, 1865, Susan Ryon 
 was tried and acquitted. The case against Cornelius 
 Ryon was continued from term to term until January, 
 1867, when, on motion of the State's Attorney, it was 
 stricken from the docket. 
 
 In January, 1866, John Flood, Sr., John Flood, Jr., 
 Dennis Ryan, Timothy McGrath, Michael McGrath 
 and William McGrath were indicted for murder. 
 They were tried and the jury rendered a verdict of 
 acquittal. 
 
 Elishaand William Conant, in January, 1867, were 
 indicted for murder, tried, and the jury failed to 
 agree. They were remanded to the Lee County jail 
 for safe keeping. In October, 1867, they were 
 brought back and tried on the charge of man- 
 slaughter. Both were found guilty and William was 
 sentenced to eight years and Elisha to six years in 
 the penitentiary. 
 
 Adeline Goddard, at the May, 1867, term, was in- 
 dicted and tried for manslaughter. She was found 
 guilty and the jury fixed the term of imprisonment at 
 four and a half years. 
 
 In October, 1868, an indictment was found by the 
 grand jury against Elizabeth Osborne for the crime 
 of murder. When the case was called for trial a 
 continuance was had to the January, 1869, term, 
 when she was tried and acquitted. 
 
 Under the Constitution of 1870, the General As- 
 sembly, by an act approved March 28, 1873, divided 
 the State into 26 Judicial Circuits, in each of which 
 one Judge was elected on the 2d of June, 1873, for 
 the term of six years. Whiteside, together with the 
 counties of Carroll, Ogle and Lee, was made to con- 
 stitute the Third Circuit, and William W. Heaton 
 was elected Judge. 
 
 In August, 1874, Geo. Bryant and Mason Blaisdell 
 were indicted for manslaughter. At the December 
 term following the case was tried. Bryant was ac- 
 quitted, but Blaisdell was found guilty and sentenced 
 to one year in the penitentiary. 
 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 By an act of the General Assembly, approved June 
 2, 1877, the State was divided into 13 circuits, in 
 each of which three Judges were to be elected. 
 Whiteside, together with the counties of Winnebago, 
 Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Carroll, Ogle and Lee, con- 
 stituted the 1 3th Circuit. The Judges serving the 
 circuit from that time to the present are William W. 
 Heaton, who died Dec. 26, 1877; William Brown, 
 Joseph M. Bailey and John V. Eustace. 
 
 At the December, 1880, term, Michael Joyce was 
 indicted for the murder of John McLaughlin, by 
 shooting him with a revolver. McLaughlin lingered 
 five days and died. Joyce was tried, but the jury 
 rendered a verdict of not guilty as charged, and that 
 he was insane at the time the deed was committed. 
 
 At the March, 1884, term, Christian Reibling was 
 indicted for the murder of Albert Lucia, in the vil- 
 lage of Lyndon, on the 25th of December, 1883. 
 The trial was had before Judge Eustace, and lasted 
 two days. The County Attorney, Walter Stager, 
 prosecuted the case, and Reibling was defended by 
 J. D. Andrews and W. H. Allen. The jury found 
 the defendant guilty and fixed the sentence at death. 
 A motion for a new trial was over-ruled, and on the 
 izth of April, 1884, Judge Eustace pronounced the 
 sentence of death, the execution to take place Friday, 
 May 1 6, 1884. The crime for which Reibling was 
 convicted occurred, as stated, in the village of Lyn- 
 don, Dec. 25, 1883. Reibling was in the store of C. 
 L. Parkhurst, pleading with the proprietor for some 
 liquor. While there, Albert Lucia entered, and was 
 immediately ordered by Reibling to leave, the latter 
 drawing a revolver to enforce his demand. Lucia 
 went over to Cody's livery stable, followed shortly 
 afterwards by Reibling, who ordered him to leave 
 that place. Lucia refused to go. After talking a 
 moment or two to others, Reibling again ordered 
 Lucia to leave the stable, at the same time pointing 
 his revolver at him ; and as the young man attempted 
 to leave, he fired, the bullet taking effect in Lucia's 
 leg. After surviving u days the young man died 
 from the effects of the wound. 
 
 At 2 o'clock on the afternoon of May 16, 1884, 
 Christian Reibling was led from the jail to the scaf- 
 fold, and after prayer by Rev. Mr. Sweet and a few 
 words of farewell by the condemned, in which he 
 stated that strong drink was the cause of his ruin, 
 the noose was placed around his neck, the trap-door 
 
 sA ^ ^^^r" fci 
 
 K
 
 ... - 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 * 
 3 
 
 sprung, and the unfortunate man was rushed into 
 the presence of his Maker. 
 
 John Miller was indicted in December, 1884, for 
 the murder of August Langley, by striking him on 
 the head with an ax. The prisoner pleaded guilty 
 when arraigned for trial, refusing to accept counsel. 
 The court sentenced him to imprisonment in the 
 penitentiary for life. 
 
 The Judges of the Circuit Court for Whiteside 
 County have been as follows : Dan Stone, Thomas 
 C. Brown, Benj. R. Sheldon, Ira O. Wilkinson, J. 
 Wilson Drury, John V. Eustace, Wm. W. Heaton, 
 Wm. Browne, Joseph M. Bailey. 
 
 The State's Attorneys for the Circuit have been 
 Shelton L. Hall, Joseph B. Wells, James L. Loop, 
 Thomas L. Turner, Henry B. Stillman, Wm. T. 
 Miller, Robert C. Burchell, and David McCartney. 
 The County Attorneys have been David McCartney 
 and Walter Stager. 
 
 Probate Court. 
 
 HE General Assembly, in 1837, passed an 
 act creating the office of Probate Justice of 
 the Peace, the justice being vested with the 
 same powers and jurisdiction in civil cases as 
 other Justices of the Peace, and were subject 
 I to the same rules of law. All probate matters 
 were committed to their trust. The first Probate 
 Justice of the Peace in this county was Daniel B. 
 Young, who was commissioned June 6, r839, and 
 held the office for about three years. The first rec- 
 ord made by this court was on the 2gth of October, 
 1839, when the will of Joseph H. Carr was admitted 
 to probate. Ivory Col cord and William Wick were 
 appointed administrators under the will and gave 
 bond in the sum of $800. 
 
 Robert L. Wilson succeeded Mr. Young as Pro- 
 bate Justice and filled the office until it was abol- 
 ished by law. 
 
 County Court. 
 
 :Y an act of the General Assembly, ap- 
 proved Feb. 12, 1849, a court of record 
 was formed to be styled the County Court, 
 and the office of County Judge was created. 
 Under the act the County Court was vested 
 with all the powers and jurisdiction of the 
 ' Probate Court. The act further provided that the 
 \>f. 
 
 823 
 
 County Judge, with two Justices of the Peace, to be 
 known as Associate, Justices should sit as a County 
 Court and have all the powers vested in the County 
 Commissioners' Court, the latter being abolished by 
 this act. N. G. Reynolds was elected the first 
 County Judge and served eight years. In 1852, and 
 during the term of office of Judge Reynolds, the 
 county adopted the township organization law, and 
 the powers of the County Commissioners' Court were 
 taken from the County Court and vested in that of a 
 County Board of Supervisors, leaving the County 
 Judge vested with only such powers as in that of a 
 Judge of Probate. 
 
 The General Assembly in 1872 passed an act by 
 which County Courts, in addition to ..their probate 
 powers, were to have concurrent jurisdiction with 
 Circuit Courts in all civil cases where the value of 
 property in controversy, or the amount claimed 
 should not exceed $500, and in criminal cases where 
 the punishment is not imprisonment in the peniten- 
 tiary or death. No appeals, however, are allowed 
 from Justices of the Peace to the County Court. 
 
 The Bar of the County. 
 
 S stated on a previous page, attorneys 
 from abroad in search of business, visited 
 the county at each term of the Circuit 
 Court. They followed the Circuit Judge from 
 one county to another in the circuit and thus 
 secured a practice they would not otherwise 
 have obtained. The most eminent lawyers in North- 
 ern Illinois thus visited Whiteside County. Among 
 those now remembered were Joseph Knox, Judge 
 Purple, David Campbell, Hoge, Sweet, Kellogg 
 and Knowlton. 
 
 Fun was the order of the day, and the night, 
 too, among these traveling attorneys. They played 
 their jokes upon the people with whom they stopped 
 and upon one another. It is related that on one occa- 
 sion Campbell and another attorney had been occu- 
 pying the same bed for a time, when one day Camp- 
 bell said to his friend: "See here! You must get 
 the landlord to furnish you another bed." " I would 
 like to know what objection you have to sleeping 
 with me, Gen. Campbell?" "Sleeping with you!" 
 criid the General ; " sleeping with you! Nobody can 
 sleep with you while you snore like a. trooper. I can 
 stand it no longer. You must get the landlord to 
 
 
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 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 furnish you another bed." "But what if he hasn't 
 another bed? " "Then go out to the hay mow; any- 
 where." " Now, look here, friend Campbell ; if any 
 one has to go out to the hay mow it will be you and 
 not me." That night the friend went to bed at an 
 early hour, but before retiring he placed upon one 
 of his heels a sharp spur. Along about 12 o'clock 
 Campbell came in to bed about " half seas over." 
 Undressing himself, he jumped into bed, telling his 
 friend to lie over, and also began fondling him. The 
 friend who had been' feigning sleep and snoring 
 quietly began to say, " Get up, here! get up, here! " 
 at the same time raising his leg and sinking the spur 
 into the thigh of the Campbell. The latter jumped 
 about six feet, upon the floor, crying out, " Jeho- 
 shaphat! the fellow has got the nightmare, and has 
 taken me for his blamed old horse ! " 
 
 James McCoy was the first lawyer to locate in the 
 county. For almost a half century he has been con- 
 nected with the Bar and has a larger circle of friends 
 and acquaintances than probably any other man 
 here. He has been an active man and has not yet 
 ceased to labor. In this connection the living, act- 
 ive representatives of tfie Bar are not mentioned at 
 length, and the reader's attention is called to a sketch 
 of Judge McCoy on page 195. 
 
 Among the attorneys that have practiced before 
 the Courts of this county, who have died, moved 
 away or have quit practicing, are Erastus G. Nichols, 
 Hugh Wallace, M. S. Henry, Mr. Stillman, Edwin 
 N. Kirk, Elliot Anthony, Fred Sackett, David Mc- 
 Cartney, Joseph Weir, B C. Coblentz, Samuel Straw- 
 der, H. W. Bristol, Geo. T. Smith, James Haskell, 
 Jeremiah Humphrey, C. C. Teats and E. H. Brenton. 
 
 Hugh Wallace came from Pennsylvania and lo- 
 cated in' Sterling, then Chatham, in 1837. He was 
 a graduate of Washington College, Pennsylvania, 
 and read law with Gen. Porter in Lancaster, that 
 State. Upon his removal to this county, he engaged 
 in farming as well as in the practice of law. In 
 1846 he was elected a member of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives of the General Assembly, and in 1852 
 he was elected State Senator. He also served four 
 years as Register of the Land Office at Dixon. He 
 was a man of great energy, and whatever he at- 
 tempted to do, he did with all his might. He was a 
 very hospitable man, and the members of the Bar 
 who followed the circuit usually made his house 
 
 their home when in Sterling. Mr. Wallace died 
 Aug. 1 8, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Stillman came to the county at an early day 
 and located in Sterling when that place was the 
 county seat. He was a fine lawyer and became 
 quite noted at the Bar. Mr. Stillman was a native 
 of this State. After remaining in Sterling some years, 
 he returned to Southern Illinois and died, in 1883. 
 
 Jeremiah Humphrey located in Fulton in 1837. 
 He was from Massachusetts, and was a fine lawyer 
 in every respect, a brilliant advocate, and a very 
 logical and fine judicial pleader. He died about 
 1843. 
 
 M. S. Henry was from New York and came to 
 this county in 1846. He was a man of fine natural 
 ability and a good lawyer. He served for some time 
 as one of the Bank Commissioners of the State. He 
 was very active in every local enterprise calculated 
 to build up his adopted place. When the Sterling 
 & Rock Island Railroad Company was organized, 
 he was elected and served as President. Mr. Henry 
 died at Sterling, in 1878. 
 
 Edwin N. Kirk located in Sterling about 1854. 
 He was a native of Maryland. Mr. Kirk was a man 
 of more than average ability. He died here some 
 years ago. 
 
 Fred Sackett is regarded as one of the best law- 
 yers that ever resided in Whiteside County. As a 
 criminal lawyer he ranked among the best in the 
 State. Mr. Sackett was a native of Massachusetts 
 and located in Sterling about 1854. His death oc- 
 curred while in Chicago. 
 
 B. C. Coblentz was a native of Maryland. He lo- 
 cated here about 1856, but did not attain any great 
 distinction. Some years ago he removed to Arkan- 
 sas, where he was when last heard from. 
 
 Elliot Anthony came to the county in 1857 and 
 remained about two years, removing to Chicago, 
 where he attained considerable distinction at the Bar 
 and became one of the Judges. 
 
 Geo. T. Smith came from Ohio in 1857, and re- 
 mained here in the practice of his profession until 
 1 86 1, when he went to Washington, where he se- 
 cured a position in one of the departments. His 
 present whereabouts are unknown. 
 
 Samuel Strawder was from Ohio, locating here in 
 1860. He was a. fair lawyer and a man of great 
 energy. He died in 1868. 
 
 v) 
 
 
 
 A 
 
 -
 
 WHIT&SIDE COUNTY. 
 
 H. W. Bristol was also from Ohio. In 1861 he 
 entered the army as Captain. Resigning some time 
 afterwards, he returned to Ohio. 
 
 C. C. Teats was admitted to the Bar in 1854 and 
 commenced practice in the village of Erie. In 1861 
 he was elected County Judge and served four years. 
 Judge Teats died in 1874. 
 
 Edward H. Brenton was also an attorney residing 
 in the village of Erie. He remained here in prac- 
 tice until 1882. 
 
 H. M. Teller opened an office in Morrison on the 
 location here of the county seat, and remained here 
 until 1861, when he moved to Colorado, locating at 
 Central City. Since his removal to Colorado,. Mr. 
 Teller has become quite distinguished. Securing an 
 extentive practice while Colorado was a Territory, as 
 a claim lawyer,, he formed a large acquaintance, and 
 when the Territory was admitted into the Union as 
 a State, he was elected United States Senator for 
 the short term and re-elected for the long term. He 
 resigned his seat in the Senate to accept the portfolio 
 of the Interior Department. In the winter of 1884-5 
 he was again elected to the United States Senate for 
 a term of six years. 
 
 William Teller, a brother of H. M., came to Mor- 
 rison shortly after the removal of his brother to Col- 
 orado. He was a fair lawyer, and secured a fair 
 practice, but also moved to Colorado many years 
 ago. 
 
 John J. Woodruff was admitted to the Bar in 1870. 
 He practiced in partnership with his brother until 
 his removal to Nebraska in 1875. He now resides 
 near Kearney, engaged in the sheep culture. Mr. 
 Woodruff was a good chancery lawyer. 
 
 Julius E. Hibbard was from New York, and lo- 
 cated in Fulton, where he engaged in practice, be- 
 tween 1850 and 1855. He removed to Kansas and 
 has since died. Mr. Hibbard was an energetic man 
 and a fair lawyer. 
 
 S. T. Smith was a prominent lawyer here between 
 1850 and 1858. He now resides in Cincinnati. 
 
 David McCartney read law with Judge McCoy, 
 and on his admission to the Bar commenced the 
 
 practice of his profession at Fulton. While still a 
 resident at Fulton he was elected Prosecuting At- 
 torney, and served as such till his health gave way, 
 a few years ago. Mr. McCartney was regarded a 
 brilliant prosecutor, full of wit and humor, good at 
 retort, and had a great faculty for observing and 
 running down a falsehood in witnesses. David 
 McCartney yet resides in Sterling, which has been 
 his home for many years, and is honored by all. 
 
 Charles J. Johnson also read law with McCoy, 
 and commenced the practice of his profession at 
 Fulton. He subsequently removed to Morrison, 
 and secured an extensive practice. He was County 
 Judge one term. After remaining in Morrison for 
 some years, Judge Johnson removed to Rock Island, 
 and from thence to Chicago. He is now a resident 
 of Sterling. Judge Johnson is a man of fine abilty, 
 a good advocate, and ranks above the average in his 
 profession, excelling as a chancery lawyer. 
 
 The Present Bar. 
 
 'HE Bar of Whiteside County to-day will 
 favorably compare with any other period 
 of its history. As full sketches of many 
 of its members are given in the biographical 
 department of this work, the names alone are 
 given in this connection. 
 Sterling. John W. Alexander, E. G. Allen, F. E. 
 Andrews, Bennett Si Green, Chamberlin Bros., J. & 
 J. Dinsmoor, V. S. Ferguson, C. J. & C. C. Johnson, 
 Manahan & Ward, David McCartney, J. E. Mc- 
 Pherran, C. S. Sheldon, Walter Stager, A. A. Wolf- 
 ersperger. 
 
 Morrison. O. F. Woodruff, Frank D. Ramsay, 
 William J. McCoy, James D. Andrews, William 
 Lang, George H. Hay and L. C. Stocking. 
 Albany. D. S. Efner and C. P. Ege. 
 Fulton. James McCoy. 
 Erie.\V. H. Allen. 
 
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 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
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 ROM the formation of the 
 Government for a period of 
 over three-fourths of a cen- 
 tury, slavery was a source of 
 trouble between the free and 
 slave-holding States. Bitter 
 feelings were engendered, threats 
 often indulged in, and compro- 
 mise measures passed to avert 
 what many believed would ulti- 
 lj mately come to pass a bloody 
 civil war. Increase in power, 
 with a strong following in the 
 free States, had made the slave- 
 holders lx>ld and arrogant in 
 their demands. The Missouri Compromise, which 
 limited the spread of slavery in the territories south 
 of an imaginary line, was repealed by the passage 
 of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and the friends of free- 
 dom were aroused. The Republican party rapidly 
 gained in numbers and in strength, and in 1860, in 
 consequence of the division existing in the Demo- 
 cratic party, succeeded in electing their candidate 
 for the Presidency Abraham Lincoln. Threats of 
 secession were made by the Southern States in the 
 event of Lincoln's election, and almost as soon as 
 the result was known, State after State in the South, 
 by their respective conventions, passed articles of 
 secession. Lincoln was inaugurated on the 4th 
 
 of March, 1861, and issued an inaugural address 
 full of kindly feelings and assurance that the rights 
 of no States would be interfered with ; but it was 
 without avail to allay the fancied fears of the South- 
 ern people. Preparations were made for war by the 
 so-called Southern Confederacy, which had been 
 organized; and on the i2th day of April, i86r, 
 the first gun was fired upon Fort Sumter, which, on 
 the i4th, was compelled to surrender to the rebel 
 forces. 
 
 The first gun that was fired echoed and re-echoed 
 through the North, and was as much a signal for 
 a call to arms as the proclamation of Abraham Lin- 
 coln for 75,000 men, which immediately followed. 
 No call by any government that ever existed upon 
 the face of the earth was more speedily answered. 
 
 The tocsin of war was sounded, meetings were 
 held in every township, at which stirring and spirited 
 addresses were made, and resolutions adopted ad- 
 mitting of but one interpretation that of uncon- 
 ditional allegiance and undying devotion to their 
 country and their country's flag; that, at whatever 
 cost of blood or treasure, the stars and stripes, 
 wherever floating, must be honored, and the su- 
 premacy of the law of the national union sustained. 
 
 Whiteside County was behind no other section of 
 the country. The loyal citizens were aroused, and 
 each and every one determined to do his duty 
 toward the support of the Government and the 
 maintenance of the Union. Party lines were for 
 
 (J) 
 
 
 
 A
 
 " 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 the time obliterated, and, like the lamented Douglas, 
 it was hereafter to be with all the thought that the 
 country must first be saved, and only patriots and 
 traitors would be known until all danger was 
 averted. A mass meeting of the citizens of Morri- 
 son and vicinity was held, and it was resolved to 
 hold all sympathizers with the Rebels as enemies to 
 the Government, and to treat them accordingly. 
 The citizens were each requested to display the 
 Union flag, showing their loyalty to the Govern- 
 ment. A committee was appointed to wait upon all 
 who refused to display the flag, and if found in 
 sympathy with the enemies of their country, they 
 were ordered to leave the place within 24 hours. 
 In case of their refusal to leave, the committee were 
 empowered to call assistance and forcibly expel 
 such persons from the place. 
 
 That the Board of Supervisors were loyal and 
 patriotic their labor during the years of the rebellion 
 readily shows. They loved and venerated their 
 national emblem, the stars and stripes ; and not 
 only would they sacrifice all in defending it from 
 further tnsult, but desired to confer upon it greater 
 honor. 
 
 The Board met in April, i86r, shortly after the 
 first gun was fired, and passed strong resolutions, 
 declaring the devotion and fidelity of the county to 
 the Union. It made a bright record during the Re- 
 bellion. Scarcely a county in the State was more 
 active, or further took the lead in matters relative to 
 her soldiery, than Whiteside County. 
 
 Under the first call for three months' men, White- 
 side County was not represented ; but in the first 
 three years' regiment, the r3th infantry, it had two 
 full companies, B and G. These companies were 
 recruited within two weeks after the fall of Fort 
 Sumter. The Board of Supervisors passed the 
 following resolutions : 
 
 Resolved, That the people of Whiteside County 
 do, without regard to party, unanimously pledge to 
 the Governor of this State the entire resources of 
 our county for the defense of our State and Union, 
 and that we will pledge the entire credit of our 
 county to furnish men or money as the Government 
 may require. 
 
 Resolved, That we do hereby appropriate a fund 
 of $20,000 to be placed in the hands of five com- 
 missioners, to be appointd by our Chairman, to be 
 used for the support of needy families of volunteers 
 while said volunteers are engaged in the service of 
 their country. 
 
 The year of 1862 will be remembered as one of 
 general gloom. The Union armies had met with a 
 number of reverses, and great apprehensions ex- 
 isted on every hand. All thought of a speedy 
 triumph in the suppression of the rebellion was at 
 an end. In its place was a fixed determination to 
 maintain the supremacy of the Union at whatever 
 cost. Several calls had been made by the Presi- 
 dent for more troops to fill up the depleted ranks of 
 our defeated armies, and most nobly did the men of 
 Whiteside County respond to the call. The ladies, 
 too, did all in their power to aid in the good work. 
 Soldiers' aid societies were formed in every town 
 and township in the county, and the boys in the 
 field received from their hands many delicacies not 
 provided by the general Government. 
 
 During this year an enrollment of militia was 
 ordered preparatory to a draft, should not a sufficient 
 number of volunteers be secured. A draft was not 
 desired in this county, and an earnest effort was put 
 forth to raise the quota. War meetings were held 
 in almost every village and hamlet, and the Board of 
 Supervisors was petitioned to offer a bounty of $100 
 to each volunteer. Responding, in part, to the pe- 
 tition, the Board appropriated $60 each. Five com- 
 panies were raised for the 75th 111. Inf., and one 
 company for the 93d. To meet the extra expense 
 incurred, the Board decided to borrow $40,000. 
 
 In 1863 many enlisted to fill up the depleted 
 ranks of regiments then in the field. Still there 
 was not enough. In 1864 many of those whose 
 terms of service had nearly expired re-enlisted for 
 three years or during the war. Two companies of 
 too days' men were enlisted in this county this year, 
 under the President's call for 100,000 men to serve 
 for that time in garrison duty, while the veterans 
 were actively engaged in the field. 
 
 Call after call had been made for troops, and every 
 time promptly filled, and still treason was not 
 crushed. The President issued another call, for 
 500,000. Whiteside County had always filled her 
 quota quickly, but now it was apparent that without 
 extra and greater inducement a draft must be made. 
 
 The Board of Supervisors decided to pay to each 
 volunteer the sum of $200. They also appropriated 
 $10,000 to aid families of volunteers. A draft was 
 ordered for Oct. 5, 1864. This county on the 27th 
 of September, 1864, was owing 87 men. To evade 
 
 
 
 
 i
 
 - . - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 the draft subscription papers were circulated to se- 
 cure an additional amount to be added to the $200 
 offered by the county. By the efforts put forth the 
 number was secured save for the township of Hah- 
 naman, where three men were drafted, the only con- 
 scription in the county during the war. 
 
 On the igth of December, 1864, another call for 
 300,000 men was issued, the quota of this county 
 being 250. A draft was thought to be inevitable, but 
 by almost super-human efforts it was avoided. The 
 Board of Supervisors, at their December meeting, 
 voted a bounty of $500 to each volunteer, and in 
 February, 1865, $100 additional was voted. The 
 township also voted to pay an additional bounty. 
 
 But the war was drawing to a close. Our armies 
 undercommand of Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Logan 
 and others whose names have been rendered im- 
 mortal, were fast drawing in on the rebels, capturing 
 their fortifications, taking prisoners corps and divis- 
 ions of half-starved men, and soon the news was 
 flashed over the wires that Lee had surrendered, 
 that Richmond had fallen, and the rebellion was 
 virtually at an end. 
 
 For four long years the organization of new com- 
 panies and enlistment of men for old companies 
 whose ranks had been decimated by disease and 
 rebel bullets, was carried on. Gray -headed men, 
 who had almost reached three score years and ten, 
 and boys not yet out of their teens, went to the 
 camp, and, through the most urgent solicitation, 
 were accepted and sworn into the service. Neither 
 age nor youth kept them back ; and when rejected 
 from either cause, or from physical inability, would 
 insist on being received, believing themselves as 
 capable of doing a soldier's duty as thousands who 
 had gone before. Over 2,500 of men as brave 
 as ever handled a musket or drew a sword went out 
 from this county, many, very many, never to re- 
 turn. If you go with us to the battle-fields of the 
 South we shall see how there fell at Stone River, 
 Shiloh, Mission Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Chatta- 
 nooga, Chickamauga, Atlanta, Vicksburg and other 
 places, those who were the pride of fond fathers, 
 loving mothers, and unselfish, devoted wives. We 
 shall see them dropping off one by one, and often 
 without coffin or burial shroud thrown into the cold 
 ground, there to await the resurrection morn and the 
 reunion upon the other side of the river of death. 
 
 In many a home throughout the county we find the 
 vacant chair, and witness the mournful look of 
 those ever watching for one that cometh not. Upon 
 the streets, day by day, we meet those wearing 
 sleeveless garments, or walking in a way that tells 
 too plainly that the sound of the foot-fall is not 
 made by flesh and blood. Inquire the reason, and 
 we shall probably learn that while charging the ene- 
 my's lines at Vicksburg, Shiloh, or elsewhere, a can- 
 non ball deprived them of a limb. But no word of 
 complaint do we hear ; the only regret expressed 
 being that it was not possible to do more for their 
 country. 
 
 The record of Whiteside County in the war is a 
 glorious one. With a population of but 18,729, it 
 sent 2,535 men to ^ e field, a deficit of only four 
 men under all the calls that were made. The sum 
 of $529,402.17 was expended in aid of the cause, or 
 $28 for each man, woman and child in the county. 
 
 The happy termination of the war was made 
 gloomy by the sad death of President Lincoln. 
 Struck down by the hand of an assassin on the 
 night of the I4th of April, 1865, on the morning of 
 the isth he breathed his last, all the nations of the 
 earth mourning his loss. In every city, village and 
 hamlet in the North, where the church spires 
 pointed heaven ward, services in commemoration 
 of the noble deadwere held. 
 
 The war is over, but it is not forgotten by the 
 loyal citizens of Whiteside County. In too many 
 homes exists the vacant chair ; too many mourn the 
 loss of a kind father, a loving brother, or an affec- 
 tionate husband. In our graveyards lie the remains 
 of many who lost their lives during that fear- 
 ful rebellion, or who wasted away from disease con- 
 tracted in that gloomy period. In the sunny South 
 were left the bodies of others of the brave sons of 
 Whiteside, where they will remain till the resurrec- 
 tion day. On our streets is daily seen the empty 
 sleeve of those who lost an arm in the service, or we 
 hear the uncertain step of others who gave a limb 
 that their country might be saved. No ; the war is 
 not forgotten ; nor are the brave men who perished. 
 Once each year the old soldiers and their friends 
 meet at the graves of the departed, strewing them 
 with beautiful flowers, shedding the regretful tear, 
 but happy in the consciousness that they are at rest, 
 and have exemplified the thought, " How noble it is 
 to die for one's country." 
 
 _iA/?:v>A, 
 
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 V^ii^tf 1 
 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
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 +-X9c~ 
 
 iAILROADS form no inconsid- 
 erable portion of the wealth 
 of this county ; nor is the 
 history of the railroads within 
 its borders void of historic in- 
 terest. From the beginning 
 of the agitation of the build- 
 ing of railroads in this county, 
 which was about as early as that of 
 any other portion of the State, the 
 people have given great attention to, 
 and manifested great interest in, the 
 subject of railroad building. The 
 gigantic system of internal improve- 
 ments which was inaugurated by the 
 Legislature of 1837, included the 
 building of many railroads throughout the State. 
 The plans promulgated at that time involved an 
 expenditure of about $30,000,000 by the State for 
 the building of railroads. The country was but 
 partially settled then, and consequently was not 
 in a condition to export anything that would com- 
 mand money. Soon after the law was enacted, 
 certificates of internal-improvement stock were 
 readily taken, contracts let, and work commenced 
 at various points in all parts of the State ; nor was 
 Whiteside County behind any, as will be seen by the 
 following sketches. Millions of dollars were squan- 
 dered in this way before the autumn of 1837, when 
 the great financial crash swept over the whole 
 
 United States, and the internal improvement system 
 of Illinois went down, leaving the State in what was 
 thought at the time to be hopeless bankruptcy. We 
 give the history of the various railroad enterprises 
 under the heads of the names by which they were 
 known. 
 
 The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. 
 
 ( S early as 1836 a charter was obtained 
 from the General Assembly of Illinois for 
 the Galena & Chicago Railroad. But 
 little work was done upon this line, however, 
 for several years, after which it was com- 
 pleted only as far as Freeport, at which place 
 a junction was afterward formed with the Illinois 
 Central to Galena. This line was of no practical 
 benefit to the people of Whiteside County, who 
 wanted a railroad connection with Chicago or the 
 lakes. 
 
 In 1851 the passage by the General Assembly of 
 a bill granting a charter for the construction of a 
 road from Beloit, Wis., to Rock Island, gave the 
 people of the county a chance for a railroad line, but 
 it was not satisfactory. The route of this road was 
 to be in the Rock River Valley, through Rockford, 
 Dixon, Sterling, Albany, and then on the Rock 
 Island. At this time a road from Chicago to Beloit 
 
 
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 3^- 
 
 
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 I 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 was in operation. The Beloit and Rock Island 
 project was, however, nipped in the bud by another 
 railroad enterprise, as will be seen hereafter. 
 
 While a charter was pending in the Illinois Legis- 
 lature, in 1851, for a railroad to pass from north to 
 south through the center of the State, known as the 
 Illinois Central, another railroad project was con- 
 ceived by Judge James McCoy, of Fulton, for a 
 grand central line leading from the lakes directly 
 west to the nearest point on the Mississippi, and 
 passing through Central Iowa to Council Bluffs, 
 on the Missouri River. This was a new railroad 
 scheme. Judge McCoy immediately gave notice 
 for a railroad meeting at Lyons, just opposite Fulton 
 in Iowa. 
 
 The Legislatures of both States were then in 
 session. He assured the meeting that if the Iowa 
 Legislature would pass an act for the incorporation 
 of a railroad company to construct a line from 
 Council' Bluff to Lyons, on the Mississippi, he would 
 procure a charter from the Illinois Legslature for a 
 road from Fulton, running east and intersecting 
 with the Illinois Central Railroad. 
 
 Three delegates were appointed to accompany 
 Mr. McCoy to Iowa City, where the Legislature was 
 then in session. This project was eagerly taken up 
 by the Iowa Legislature. The bill was presented 
 one day, and was passed the next, and received 
 the Governor's signature. Immediately afterward 
 McCoy went home, called a railroad meeting at 
 Fulton, and secured a large petition for a railroad 
 running eastward from Fulton. 
 
 Hurrying on to Springfield, as the Illinois Legis- 
 lature was about closing its session, by arduous 
 labor he secured a charter before adjournment for 
 his great project the Mississippi & Rock River 
 Junction Railroad, which passed the same time as 
 the Illinois Central bill. The object of this road 
 was to connect with the latter at or near Dixon. 
 
 When the Illinois Central surveyed its route "it 
 made a branch survey from the main line about 50 
 miles north of Cairo, to a point opposite Dubuque, 
 Iowa, which passed through Dixon. 
 
 In 1852 the Chicago, St. Charles & Mississippi 
 Railroad was projected to run -from Chicago to the 
 Mississippi River at Savanna. This project rather 
 alarmed the managers of the Galena & Chicago 
 Union Railroad, and a charter was hastily secured 
 
 by them authorizing the construction of the Dixon 
 Air Line Road, commencing at a point about six 
 miles east of St. Charles and running directly west to 
 Dixon. This was to be a branch of the Galena & 
 Chicago Union Railroad. About this time a rail- 
 road was being constructed around the southern end 
 of Lake Michigan to Chicago by the Litchfields, in- 
 tending to form a connection with the Galena & 
 Chicago Railroad, which was in course of construc- 
 tion, and had been built to Cherry Valley, about 15 
 miles east of Freeport, with a branch from St. Charles 
 westward to Dixon, and another to Aurora from the 
 junction. 
 
 It became evident to the projectors of the Beloit, 
 Rock River & Rock Island Railroad, that if the Ful- 
 ton road the Mississippi & Rock River Junction 
 was built, it would cross their route near the center, 
 and, with its southern and eastern connections, be 
 fatal to their enterprise ; consequently a most vigor- 
 ous attack was made upon the managers of this road. 
 A meeting was called at Sterling, which was largely 
 attended, the main object of which was to defeat the 
 Fulton enterprise. 
 
 This meeting was more for effect or a counter 
 movement than otherwise ; for no stock could be 
 taken, as public notice had not been given under the 
 requirements of theii charter. Flaming speeches 
 were made, and the Mississippi road was unscrupu- 
 lously attacked. During the meeting Judge McCoy 
 dropped in (who was on his way home from a session 
 of the Supreme Court, in Iowa), and became a silent 
 spectator to the abuse of his great project. He could 
 do nothing but listen until his name was used, when 
 he arose and responded to them in an eloquent 
 speech. This meeting was a benefit to Judge Mc- 
 Coy, in that it gave him an insight into their plans 
 and enable him to defeat them. He at once started 
 out, and when the necessary time had elapsed for 
 the opening of the stock books for their road, he had 
 secured almost all the inhabitants along the line of 
 their projected road, to become stockholders in his 
 enterprise. He continued to work, making some- 
 times speeches every day, until the capital stock was 
 fully subscribed. On the first day of May a meeling 
 of stockholders convened at Union Grove, for the 
 purpose of electing a president and directors. James 
 McCoy was chosen President; J. T. Atkinson, Royal 
 Jacobs, Charles Dement, Benj. Lake, Elijah Buell, 
 
 
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 * 
 
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 _ 
 
 -~ -...,..- 
 
 A'Sv.'VvA 
 
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 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 John Phelps and A. W. Benton, Directors. The 
 contest between these two projects continued nearly 
 a year, which only resulted in placing the Fulton 
 road on a firmer basis. The citizens of Rock Island 
 took but little interest in the Rock River Valley 
 project, as their attention was mainly given to- the 
 construction of a road from their town to Chicago. 
 
 In January, 1853, the directors of the Mississippi 
 road let the contract for building the track, and the 
 8th of February following the first ground was broken. 
 In April following the Galena & Chicago Union, and 
 the Michigan Central Railroads came forward and 
 took $405,000 stock in the road, which insured its 
 success. At the annual election of officers for the 
 company, held in May, 1853, the following directors 
 were elected : John B. Turner, J. H. Burch, E. Peck, 
 J. Van Hartwick, James F. Joy, James McCoy, 
 Bayard Fowler, Charles Dement and Lewis D. Cran- 
 dall. Charles Dement was chosen President. About 
 this time all that was available of the St. Charles Air 
 Line Railroad passed into the hands of the Galena 
 & Chicago Company, and was used in the construc- 
 tion of the road to Fulton. The Galena & Chicago 
 Company had now become so far identified with the 
 Mississippi Junction Road that the construction was 
 carried on under their direction, under the name of 
 the Galena & Chicago Union Company. The first 
 bonds of the Mississippi Junction Company were 
 sold in Boston for ninety-six and five-eights cents on 
 the dollar. 
 
 The first train of cars of this road steamed into 
 Sterling July 17, 1855, when a grand celebration 
 was had in honor of the event. It partook of the 
 nature of an old-fashioned barbecue. Simeon M. 
 Coe, the first settler of Jordan Township, donated a 
 fat ox, which was roasted whole. About 3,000 peo- 
 ple were assembled, among whom were many invited 
 guests, John Wentworth, Stephen A. Douglas, I. 
 N. Arnold and B. F. Taylor being present. 
 
 An eloquent address was delivered by Mr. Taylor, 
 after which the " Little Giant " made one of his 
 characteristic speeches. The festivities concluded 
 with a ball in the evening. 
 
 The road was completed to Fulton about the mid- 
 dle of December, 1855. 
 
 A union was formed with the Wisconsin road and 
 then the line was called the Chicago & Northwest- 
 ern. This was in 1856. The Chicago & North- 
 
 western Company about this period took a lease of 
 the Chicago, Iowa & Cedar Rapids Railroad, running 
 from Clinton to Cedar Rapids, until 1862, agreeing 
 to pay ten per cent, of the gross earnings. By the 
 time the lease was out, the Northwestern Company 
 had control of the stock, which gave them the con- 
 trol of the road to Cedar Rapids. During this time 
 the company built a track (a plug) from Fulton to 
 Clinton bridge. From Cedar Rapids they extended 
 their line to Council Bluffs, under the name of the 
 Mississippi Railroad Company. Subsequently an 
 iron bridge was built across the Mississippi, which 
 cost $[,700,000. Before this bridge was built, the 
 trains ran across on boats. The bridge is under 
 control of a separate corporation, which charges 
 toll for all freight passing over. 
 
 The Northwestern moved their depot from the 
 city of Fulton to the junction, its present location. 
 Subsequently, however, they laid a track along the 
 banks of the Mississippi in front of the city, where 
 they erected a large elevator with a capacity of 75,- 
 ooo bushels of grain. 
 
 This road enters about the middle of the county 
 in Sterling Township, and passes through Hopkins, 
 Mount Pleasant, the northwestern corner of Union 
 Grove, southwestern corner of Ustick, and Fulton. 
 
 This company is now one of the heaviest railroad 
 corporations in the country, operating some 6,000 
 miles of railway. 
 
 
 The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. 
 
 HIS company completed its branch road, 
 known as the Clinton & Mendota Branch 
 of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (No. 
 6), through the county in 1872. It enters in 
 the southeastern corner of the county and runs 
 through the townships of Hahnaman, Tampico, 
 Prophetstown, Lyndon, Fenton, Union Grove and 
 Garden Plain to the Mississippi, opposite to Clinton. 
 After many years of struggling, this company secured 
 their right of way into Fulton. They obtained their 
 right of way across the Northwestern track Dec. 25, 
 1882. In the month of January, 1883, they com- 
 pleted their track and ran their first train into Ful- 
 ton. 
 
 This company also owns the road from Rock Isl 
 A r^ 
 
 * >
 
 
 and to Sterling, known as the Rock Island & St. 
 Louis Branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. 
 This road was completed through the county in Jan- 
 uary, 1869. It leaves the line of the Northwestern 
 a few miles west of Sterling and runs southwest 
 along Rock River, passing out through the lower 
 part of Erie Township. 
 
 This company controls, under a lease, the road 
 from Rock Falls to Aurora, by way of Amboy, cross- 
 ing the Illinois Central at the latter place. In 
 order to make this line available, the company con- 
 structed a bridge across the river to Sterling. 
 
 The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. 
 
 ^tevo~<^ 
 
 HIS was formerly the Racine & Mississippi 
 Railroad. It came into Fulton as the 
 Warsaw, Rock Island & Galena Company, 
 commonly known as the Western Union. Their 
 right of way was obtained into Fulton during 
 the latter part of December, 1864. Soon after 
 the right of way was secured and the land con- 
 demned, work was commenced and continued through 
 the winter. In the early part of the year 1865, the 
 track was completed and the train came into Fulton. 
 
 Whiteside County Agricultural Society. 
 
 T the village of Union Grove, Feb. 26, 
 1856, the Whiteside County Agricultural 
 Society was organized, with the following 
 named gentlemen as its first officers : Robert 
 L. Wilson, President ; A. R. Hamilton, Vice 
 President; L. S. Pennington, Secretary; 
 Luther Dodge, Treasurer. Annual fairs were held 
 at Morrison until 1863, when the society suffered 
 the loss of part of its property, and was considerably 
 in debt. Notwithstanding its ill luck, all premiums 
 were paid in full. New grounds were obtained at 
 Sterling and fitted up for the annual exhibitions, 
 since which time all fairs have been held here. The 
 receipts in 1863 were $2,859.90. 
 
 In 1864, Charles D. Sanford was elected Presi- 
 dent ; Charles B. Holmes, Secretary ; Lucius E. 
 
 Rice, Treasurer. A fine exhibition was held this 
 year, though the weather was very unfavorable. 
 Mr. Sanford was re-elected President for the years 
 1866 and 1867, and the fairs continued to be more 
 profitable year by year. The receipts for 1867 were 
 $3,626. In 1868 they were increased to $4,000, and 
 in 1878 to $6,000. 
 
 The affairs of the society have, in general, been 
 well managed. The grounds, which are owned by 
 one of the citizens of Sterling, and for which an an- 
 nual rental of $900 is paid, are well fitted up for the 
 purpose of the annual exhibitions, which have been 
 held without interruption since its organization. In 
 1884 the Teachers' Association of the county offered 
 premiums for the best specimens of penmanship and 
 map-drawing. Many specimens were entered, and 
 much interest was taken in the display by pupils, 
 teachers and parents, so much so that the society 
 for 1885 increased the amount offered for the pur- 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 . .
 
 : 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 pose by the Teachers' Association. Another inter- 
 esting feature was that of dressed dolls, premiums 
 being offered for the best dressed doll and for dolls 
 dressed to represent certain historical and fictitious 
 characters. This, too, was well represented. Premi- 
 ums were also offered for the best collection of in- 
 sects and birds. Altogether, the Whiteside County 
 Agricultural Society is indeed creditable to the citi- 
 zens of the county, and to its many patrons from ad- 
 joining counties. For 1885 Moses Dillon is the 
 President, and Alfred Bayliss, Secretary. 
 
 County Officers. 
 
 HITESIDE County has been excep- 
 tionally fortunate in securing efficient 
 , and honest men to conduct its public af- 
 !,' fairs from the organization of the county. 
 The business of the county has usually 
 been conducted with satisfaction to all parties. 
 The following is a list of the officers of the county 
 from its organization to the present time : 
 
 CLERK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' COURT. 
 
 I John Roy 1841-49 
 
 COUNTY CLERK. 
 
 Norton J . Nichols 1849-53 f Winfield S. Wilkinson 1857-69 
 
 Rufus DeGarmo l %53-57 I Edwin W. Payne 1869-85 
 
 CLERK CIRCUIT COURT. 
 
 Erastus G. Nichols 1839-40 ' Robert L. Wilson 1840-48 
 
 RECORDER. 
 
 Augustine W. Newhall... 1839 I W.W.Gilbert 1.1839-48 
 
 CIRCUIT CLERK AND RECORDER. 
 
 Robert L. Wilson 1848-60 I William P. Squire 1872-76 
 
 Addtson Farrington 1860-68 I Addison Farrington 1876-84 
 
 John N. Baird 1868-72 | Lauren E. Tuttle 1884-85 
 
 PROBATE JUSTICE. 
 
 Daniel B. Young 1839-42 I Robert L. Wilson 1842-49 
 
 COUNTY JUDGE. 
 N. G. Reynolds 1849-57 Christopher C. Teats 1861-65 
 
 Guy Ray 1839-41 
 
 Theodore Winn 1841 
 
 James McCoy ^57-59 
 
 Charles J. Johnson 1859-60 
 
 W. Anderson 1860-61 
 
 James C. Woodburn 1839-40 
 
 J. W. McLemore 1840-44 
 
 James A. Sweet 1844-46 
 
 J.W. McLemore 1846-48 
 
 L. D. Crandall 1848-50 
 
 Perry L. Jeffers 1850-52 
 
 Charles Wright 1852-54 
 
 Wm. Mauahan 1854-56 
 
 Ed. G. Allen i?6s-69 
 
 William Lane 1869-82 
 
 Wm. J. McCoy 1882-85 
 
 SHERIFF. 
 
 R.G. Clendenin 1856-58 
 
 John Dippell 1858-60 
 
 R. G. Clendenin 1860-62 
 
 Robert E. Logan 1862-64 
 
 John IJippell 1864-66 
 
 L. A. Lincoln 1866-68 
 
 Edwin A.Worrell-. 1868-80 
 
 Thos. A. Beach 1880-85 
 
 CORONER. 
 
 Ivory Colcord 1839-44 
 
 Gilbert Buckingham 1844-46 
 
 Clinton G. Taylor 1846-48 
 
 Ivory Colcoid 1848-54 
 
 D. F. Miilikan 1854-56 
 
 Daniel Reed 1856-58 
 
 Wm. L. Coe 1858-60 
 
 John Eddy 1860-62 
 
 Samuel Taylor 1862-68 
 
 Wm. L. Coe 1868-70 
 
 D. B. Seger 1870-72 
 
 John Riley 1872-73 
 
 Meril Meade 1873-74 
 
 David E. Dodge 1874-76 
 
 M OSes Lathe 1876-78 
 
 James A. Nowlen 1878-80 
 
 H. C. Donaldson 1880-85 
 
 TREASURER. 
 
 David M itchell 1839-41 
 
 Daniel Brooks 1841-43 
 
 David Hazard 1843-47 
 
 Henry UstSck 1847-50 
 
 John B. Myers 1850-51 
 
 David Hazard 
 
 Jesse Penrose 
 
 Edward B. Warner.. .. 
 William H. Thatcher. 
 
 1851-55 ) 
 i 8 5S-57 
 .1857-69 ' 
 . 1869-85 
 
 SURVEYOR. 
 
 Charles R. Rood 1839-42 
 
 W. S. Wilkinson 1842-47 
 
 Wm. Pollock 1847-53 
 
 W. S.Wilkinson 1853-57 
 
 L. H. Woodworth 1857-63 
 
 Miles T. Woolley 
 
 John D . Arey 
 
 Silas Sears 
 
 Watson C. Holbrook 
 
 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER. 
 
 Charles S. Deming. .. . 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 Daniel B. Young 1840-42 
 
 William Nevitt 1842-45 
 
 1863-65 
 1865-71 
 1871-79 
 1879-85 
 
 l8 45-55 
 
 Charles S. Deming... 
 
 M. R Kelly 
 
 Michael W. Smith.... 
 
 ....1855-57 
 ....1857-69 
 ....1869-77 
 
 Orrin M . Crary 
 
 Geo. C. Loomis 
 
 Benjamin F. Hendricks. 
 
 873-77 
 .1877-82 ' 
 1882-86 f 
 
 Patrons of Husbandry. 
 
 HE Order of Patrons of Husbandry, on its 
 organization, secured a strong following in 
 this county. In a very short time granges 
 were established in every township, and in 
 some there were two or three organizations. 
 In 1873 a County Grange was organized. 
 Nearly all the best and most influential farmers be- 
 came members of the order and took a lively inter- 
 est in its welfare. That great good was accomplished 
 by means of the order can not be denied. On the 
 organization of the State Grange, in 1872, Alonzo 
 Colder, of Montmorency Township, was elected 
 Master, and served two terms. As a token of their 
 appreciation of his services, the members of the 
 State Grange presented him with a fine gold watch, 
 which he wears with becoming modesty. Mr. 
 Colder represented the State Grange in the Na- 
 tional Grange several years, and was a member of 
 the National Executive Committee. 
 
 Matrimonial. 
 
 HE following very interesting table gives JL 
 the number of marriage licenses issued each 
 year from the organization of the county. 
 It will be noticed that the largest number is- 
 sued in any year was in 1866, the year follow- 
 ing the close of the war, when so many of the 
 boys in blue returned home to fulfill the vows long 
 made:
 
 1839 
 1840 
 1841 
 1842 
 
 1843 
 1844 
 
 I84S 
 
 1846 
 
 1847. 
 
 1848. 
 
 1849 
 
 1850 
 
 1851 
 
 1852 
 
 I853- 
 
 1854 
 
 1855 
 1856 
 
 I8S7 
 1858 
 1859.. 
 i860 
 
 1861 
 
 ::; 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 1862 152 
 
 1863 145 
 
 1864 203 
 
 1865 224 
 
 1866 297 
 
 1867 248 
 
 1868 254 
 
 1869 273 
 
 1870 264 
 
 1871 250 
 
 1872 239 
 
 '873 259 
 
 1874 270 
 
 1875 274 
 
 1876 287 
 
 1877 290 
 
 1878 269 
 
 1879 285 
 
 1880 247 
 
 1881 272 
 
 1882 256 
 
 1883 278 
 
 1884 277 
 
 How Whiteside Missed Forming a Part of the 
 State of Wisconsin. 
 
 EW of the present generation know that it 
 was the desire of proba'bly the greater 
 number of the early settlers that White- 
 side County should form a part of Wisconsin 
 Territory, and that at an election held in 
 1841 the question of a separation was voted 
 upon. According to an ordinance of Congress in re- 
 lation to the government of the Northwestern Terri- 
 tory, the northern boundary of Illinois should be a 
 direct line west from the southern bend of Lake 
 Michigan. This would have brought nearly the 
 whole of Whiteside County in Wisconsin Territory. 
 By the ordinance the line could not be changed with- 
 out the consent of the original States and the people 
 of the Northwest Territory. Notwithstanding this 
 section of the ordinance, the line was changed 
 by an act of Congress, without the consent of the 
 people, the object being to enable the State of Illi- 
 nois to have the benefit of the lake. Meetings were 
 held throughout Northern Illinois of those favoring 
 the original line. The desire to form a part of Wis- 
 consin was intensified by the fact that Illinois had 
 become, as it was supposed, almost hopelessly in 
 debt. State paper was worth but about 15 cents on 
 the dollar. Wheat at this time 'was worth but 25 
 cents per bushel and pork $i per hundred, and no 
 
 market nearer than Chicago. The prospect was in- 
 deed gloomy, and it is but little wonder the citizens 
 of Northern Illinois were willing to do anything hon- 
 orable to change their condition. Notwithstanding 
 the desire of the people for annexation and the 
 hearty co-operation of the people and authorities of 
 Wisconsin, the effort failed. The State debt was 
 provided for, an era of prosperity set in, and it is 
 doubtful if there could many be found to advocate 
 annexation at this time. Whiteside County is one 
 of the banner counties of the State of Illinois. 
 
 Old Settlers' Association. 
 
 HE pioneers of Whiteside were among the 
 very first in Northern Illinois to meet for 
 the purpose of forming an association 
 whereby old friendships may be renewed, old- 
 time incidents talked over and a historical rec- 
 ord kept. In pioneer life there are always 
 incidents of peculiar interest, not only to the pioneers 
 themselves, but, if properly preserved, would be of in- 
 terest to posterity. 
 
 Fifty years have come and gone since white men 
 began to exercise dominion in this region of country, 
 erst the home of the red men. These years have 
 been full of changes, and the visitor of to-day, igno- 
 rant of the past of the county, could scarcely be 
 made to realize that within these years there has 
 grown up a population of 30,000 people, who in all 
 the accomplishments of life are as far advanced as 
 are the people in the counties of older States. 
 Schools, churches, colleges, palatial dwellings, 
 beautiful grounds, large, well-cultivated and pro- 
 ductive farms, as well as cities, towns and busy 
 manufactories, have grown up and now occupy the 
 hunting grounds and camping places of the In- 
 dians, and in every direction there are evidences 
 of wealth, comfort and luxury. There is but little 
 left of the old landmarks. Advanced civilization 
 and the progressive demands of revolving years 
 have obliterated all traces of Indian occupancy, until 
 they are only remembered in name. 
 
 Of the inhabitants in T840, representing a popula- 
 tion of a few thousand, many removed from the 
 county to find homes in other States, while the spirits 
 of others were called to join the immortal throng 
 gathered around the great white throne in the far- 
 
 T 
 
 X
 
 ix away realms of eternal life and light. Others pre- 
 ) ferred to remain in the homes they commenced in 
 Whiteside County, and by the goodness and mercy 
 of God have grown in wealth, wisdom and usefulness, 
 until in their declining years they are respected and 
 honored patriarchs in the community that owes 
 much of its character and great advancement to the 
 influences they established in pioneer times. 
 
 It is not strange that among the pioneer settlers of 
 any new country a deep-seated and sincere friend- 
 ship should spring up, that should grow and 
 strengthen with their years. The incidents peculiar 
 to life in a new country the trials and hardships, 
 privations and destitutions are well calculated to 
 test, not only the physical powers of endurance, but 
 the moral, kindly, generous attributes of manhood and 
 womanhood. Then are the times that try men's 
 souls and bring to the surface all that there may be 
 in them of either good or bad. As a rule there is an 
 equality of conditions that recognizes no distinctions. 
 All occupy a common level, and as a natural conse- 
 quence a brotherly and sisterly feeling grows up 
 that is as lasting as time ; for " a fellow feeling makes 
 us wondrous kind." With such a community there 
 is a hospitality, a kindness, a benevolence and a 
 charity unknown and unpracticed among the older, 
 richer and more densely populated commonwealths. 
 The very nature of the surroundings of these pio- 
 neers teaches them to feel each other's woe and share 
 each other's joys. An injury or a wrong may be 
 ignored, but a kindly, generous, charitable act is never 
 forgotten. The memory of old associations and 
 kindly deeds is always fresh. Raven locks may 
 
 i bleach and whiten ; full, round cheeks become 
 sunken and hollow ; the fires of intelligence vanish 
 
 ^ from the organs of vision ; the brow become wrinkled 
 with care and age, and the erect form bowed with 
 the accumulating years ; but the true friends of "long 
 ago" will be remembered as long as life and reason 
 endure. 
 
 Speaking of the hospitality of the pioneers, Marcus 
 L. Coe, at the first meeting of the Pioneer Association, 
 which was held at Sterling, Feb. 22, 1858, said, " No- 
 where does the stranger meet with a more hearty 
 welcome than with the 'old pioneer.' To his ' corn 
 dodger,' or ' roast turkey,' you are alike welcome, and 
 will ever be greeted, with a hearty ' I reckon.' His 
 'latch-string is always out.' 'Old Settlers,' may their 
 corn and bacon always equal their hospitality." 
 
 Referring to the hard times of the pioneers, Col. R. 
 L. Wilson responded to the toast on this subject at 
 the same meeting, as follows: 
 
 " In the land of our nativity, surrounded by kind 
 friends, schools, churches, and scenes of childhood, 
 why are we not content? Many causes contribute to 
 alienate our affections, and offer a compensation for 
 the privations incident to the life of the pioneer. 
 Some are prompted by curiosity, and a love for the 
 romantic grandeur of nature; but the largest portion 
 seek retirement on the frontier for the purpose of bet- 
 tering themselves and families. They can there ob- 
 tain a home that they can call their own ; although 
 it may be a log cabin, it is still 'sweet home.' When 
 we have fully made up our minds to emigrate, the 
 work is almost done. All that remains is to ' wait for 
 the wagon,' and we 'take a ride' to our future home 
 in the West. The wagon box serves for a house 
 being at once the parlor, the kitchen, and the pantry 
 a place for everything. We finally arrive at our 
 claim, and then comes the raising of log cabins, on 
 which occasion every pioneer within 20 miles is on 
 hand. By and by a school-house and church are 
 wanted ; and if t in the West the husband is not able 
 to assist in building the school-house and church, 
 and he may not yet have paid his last payment so as 
 to relieve his home from the Shylock's trust deed, 
 his wife calls a meeting of the ladies, when the work 
 is done ; for who ever heard of an enterprise failing 
 when pioneer ladies untertook it ? The secret of the 
 success of the pioneer is explained by his determina- 
 tion to leave his loved home, to endure the priva- 
 tions of the journey, the discomforts of the log cabin, 
 the want of suitable food and clothing, the absence 
 of schools and churches, and the recollection of dear 
 ones who 'miss them at home." The man or woman 
 who encounters all these privations, with the fever 
 and ague of the early days, will succeed anywhere 
 and under any circumstances, and their descendants 
 may be depended upon as the guardians of civil and 
 and religious liberty. 
 
 Upon this very interesting occasion, the first meet- 
 ing of the Pioneer Society, among a large number of 
 others besides the above named gentlemen who spoke, 
 was Joseph Ware, in response to the toast : " White- 
 side County now and as she was when her sons 
 wore buckskin trousers and wolfskin caps. " " It is 
 useless for me to speak to this audience of White- 
 side County as it was. You have all seen it in its 
 
 ^ 1*^- 
 
 S&* 
 3* 
 
 ! 
 
 V) 
 
 *
 
 
 
 _X-;i 
 
 
 
 (a; 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 original beauty. You have looked upon these prai- 
 ries before they were marred by the plow, or dotted 
 with buildings, as they lay in green luxuriance 
 ' Gardens of the desert unshorn, 
 Fields boundless and beautiful,' 
 
 Their fertility and beauty were sufficient to cause 
 you to give up your comfortable homes, and induce 
 you to brave the toils and dangers of a pioneer life; 
 but to one whose boyhood has been spent in their 
 midst, who has no other recollections to fall back 
 upon, who has recognized no other spot as home, 
 their beauty is doubly attractive. Of the earliest 
 settlers, of the men who wore the coonskin cap and 
 buckskin hunting shirt, I doubt not your recollections 
 are as broad as mine. That they were good men and 
 true, hardy, enterprising and honest, you all know. 
 I have one in mind who would serve as an excellent 
 example of the class. Doubtless many will recollect 
 him, John B. Dodge, of Mt. Pleasant. How I wish 
 he could stand before you this evening in his pioneer 
 dress, with buckskin moccasins and hunting shirt, 
 surmounted by that veritable coonskin cap ! He 
 was a man of matchless proportions, had seen some 
 active service in the Black Hawk War, and had the 
 reputation of being the strongest man in Northern 
 Illinois. He had been known to kill a wolf with his 
 naked hands> and to conquer a savage and 
 frightened horse by the mere force of strength and 
 will. Mr. John B. Dodge was one of the members 
 of the first Board of County Commissioners that 
 was elected in our county, and in that capacity 
 
 officiated at the first Court. The Court-House 
 on that occasion was one room of a double log 
 house, near Lyndon. Mr. Dodge, as one of the Com- 
 missioners, opened the Court; and, standing in the 
 door of the cabin, arrayed in all the glories of buck- 
 skin and coonskin, he announced in a loud voice, 
 'O yes! O yes! O yes! the first Hon. County Court 
 of Whiteside is now setting, and will soon hatch! ' Of 
 the future of our county it is useless to speak. Her 
 present prosperity and past success are sufficient 
 guarantees that she will continue to advance. All 
 the elements of wealth, prosperity and greatness lie 
 thick around us, and literature, science and art will 
 assuredly follow in their train. Then honor to old 
 Whiteside! 
 
 'We'll plow the prairies as of old 
 
 Our fathers plowed the sea; 
 
 We'll make the West, 
 
 As they the East, 
 
 The homestead of the free. ' 
 
 Meetings of this association are annually held, and 
 as the years go by, and one by one the old settlers 
 pass " over the river," those that remain assemble at 
 these annual gatherings with warm hearts, talk of 
 the olden times, think of the time when they, too, 
 will go to meet those who have gone before, yet re- 
 joicing in the fact that their work on earth has been 
 well done, and that they leave for their children a 
 grand country in which they can live and enjoy life 
 without the trials and hardships which they were 
 called on to endure. 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 $'Vi 7 '-X 
 
 
 v:uV"V 

 
 WHITKSIDR COUNTY. 
 
 gOWNSHIP history is an es- 
 sential and prominent part 
 of the county history. The 
 various parts of Whiteside 
 County were settled by men 
 most of whom have repre- 
 sentatives now living in the 
 county, or are still living here 
 themselves. A careful reading of 
 the incidents relating to the early 
 settlement of the several town- 
 ships will repay the reader, as each 
 one contains the names of the first 
 settlers, and many other items 
 which are required to make the 
 history complete. The township 
 histories are given in their alpha- 
 betical order, and the sketches of 
 the villages are included in their respective town- 
 ships. The cities of Morrison, Sterling and Fulton 
 follow the townships. 
 
 ALBANY TOWNSHIP. 
 
 |f LBANY in its precinct organization em- 
 braced its present territory and that of 
 Garden Plain, Newton and a part of the 
 Congressional township of Cordova, now form- 
 ing a part of Rock Island County. It was 
 organized under the township system April 6, 
 1852. At the election for township organization 
 held Nov. 4, 1851, Albany Precinct cast 59 votes in 
 favor and 19 against the organization. 
 
 The first meeting for selecting township officials 
 was held at the school-house in the village of Albany 
 
 ".,.., 
 
 and resulted in the election of Wm. S. Barnes for 
 Supervisor, M. S. Denlinger, Clerk ; Wm. Ewing and 
 Ivy Buck, Justices of the Peace ; Charles Boynton, 
 Assessor; B. L. Quick, Collector; Commissioners of 
 Highway, Alfred Slocum and J. B. Emmons ; Over- 
 seer of the Poor, Henry Pease ; Constables, Chester 
 Lusk and Thomas Stagg. Albany Township is only 
 a fraction alone, and is in Congressional townships 20 
 and 2 1 north, of range 2 east of the 4lh principal 
 meridian. It is bounded on the north by the Miss- 
 issippi River, on the east by Garden Plain and New- 
 ton Townships, on the south and west by Rock Island 
 County, and the west by the Mississippi. In the 
 northern part of this township and along the Missis- 
 sippi the land is high and very much broken. Along 
 the Marais d' Osier, the land is low, and contains a 
 good many sloughs. On the bluffs, or highlands, the 
 soil is clay with a mixture of sand ; in the low lands 
 the soil is mostly a heavy loam. The township is 
 long and narrow, and is watered by the Mississippi, 
 the Marais d' Osier and Spring Creek. 
 
 The Marais d' Osier extends from the Mississippi 
 to Rock River, passing through the northwestern 
 portion of the township. The high land divides it, 
 one part flowing into the Mississippi and the other 
 into Rock River. Some of the scenery in this town- 
 ship is quite beautiful, especially the northern part, 
 which has a commanding view of the " Father of 
 Waters." There are many fine farms which are well 
 cultivated and highly improved, with good dwellings 
 and farm buildings. The people have given con- 
 siderable attention to the cultivation of fruit, which 
 does well here. The Southwestern Division of the 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad passes through the 
 township from north to south. This railroad, with 
 the Mississippi, gives the people ample means of 
 transportation. 
 
 ^^ H 
 
 ft 
 
 1 
 
 1
 
 
 
 
 The first Supervisor of this township, W. S. Barnes, 
 ') died at Albany village, July 20, 1872, and his re- 
 s' ,* mains rest in the Albany Cemetery. 
 
 The early settlers in the territory now embraced by 
 (Qjthis township were mostly identified with Albany 
 village; and the history of the township and the vil- 
 lage are so closely woven together that it has been 
 thought best to continue the history of the township 
 in that of the village. 
 
 The County Superintendent, in his annual report 
 for the year ending June 30, 1884, furnishes the fol- 
 -j lowing information regarding the school of this tOwn- 
 .1 ship: School District i, which is graded and has a 
 brick building. Value of school property, $4,000. 
 Of persons under 21 years of age there were 334, of 
 whom 229 were of scholastic age, 184 being enrolled. 
 The highest wages paid teachers was $70 per month; 
 the lowest $30. Tax levy, $900. 
 
 From the Assessors' report of 1884 the following 
 information is obtained : Number of acres of im- 
 proved land, 3,207 ; valuation of improved land, 
 $34,701; Total value of town lots, $37,537; total 
 value of personal property, $30,549 ; number of 
 horses, 240; asses and mules, 3 ; cattle, 565 ; sheep, 
 * 32; hogs, 364; carriages and wagons, 135 ; watches 
 and clocks, 174; sewing and knitting machines, 104; 
 pianos, 16; organs and melodeons, 33. Total value 
 of lands, lots and personal property, $119,169. 
 
 Below are given the names of the Supervisors 
 who have represented this township since its or- 
 ganization : 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 W. S. Barnes 1852 E. H. Nevitt 1871-6 
 
 f William Y. Wetzell 1853 Peter Ege 1877-82 
 
 A.T.Hudson "8=4-5 J. F. Hopper 1883 
 
 ' W.S.Barnes 1856-62 Peter Ege 1884 
 
 t>enn S. Efner 1863-70 Geprge D. Quick ... 1885 
 
 Albany Village. 
 
 OR natural beauty of location Albany is un- 
 surpassed by any town in the county, and 
 also for commercial advantages. In its 
 site it has no superior; but advantages in loca- 
 tion do not always make towns or cities. The 
 most trivial circumstance often shapes the 
 destinies of nations; so, also, with towns and indi- 
 viduals. Albany was settled about as early as any 
 
 
 other part of the county, and had the power of 
 the great Mississippi to aid it in the beginning. 
 People came here to trade at one time from all parts 
 of the precinct. It had the Mississippi as a great 
 auxiliary on one side, and all it wanted to insure its 
 prosperity was a timely connection with the great 
 lakes by rail. This the keen-sighted founders of 
 Albany saw, but failed in the necessary activity to 
 consummate it. Delays, they say, are dangerous. 
 It so appeared in the case in point. 
 
 In 1851 the General Assembly of Illinois passed 
 a bill for the construction of a railroad from Beloit, 
 Wis., to Rock Island. The general line of this road 
 was to run along Rock River Valley, from Beloit to 
 Rockford, Dixon, Sterling, and to Albany, and from 
 Albany to Rock Island. A meeting of the project- 
 ors and friends of this enterprise was held at Ster- 
 ling in February, 1852, the result of which was the 
 division of this route into four sections, and the 
 passage of a resolution providing that from the 
 capital stock first subscribed an amount should be 
 at once appropriated sufficient to complete the third 
 section of the road. The first section of the road 
 was to extend from Beloit to Rockford ; the second 
 from Rockford to Dixon ; the third from Dixon to 
 Albany, and the fourth from Albany to Rock Island, 
 completing the line. In accordance with the reso- 
 tion, a contract was made for the completion of the 
 third section; but there were many delays in its 
 execution, which were fatal to the enterprise and 
 the aspiring hopes of the citizens of Albany. The 
 Galena & Chicago, and the Mississippi & Rock 
 River Junction Companies joined their interests, and 
 directly commenced the construction of their line to 
 Fulton. This defeated the former enterprise, and 
 gave a direct blow to the growth of Albany. 
 
 The village of Albany is located on what is called 
 the Great Eastern Bend of the Mississippi. The 
 landing could not be better. The town site is 
 highly picturesque and beautiful. From the river 
 the ground rises at an angle of some 20 degrees, 
 until it reaches the height of the surrounding coun- 
 try, where a commanding view of the Mississippi 
 and its Iowa borders is had. The first settlers here, 
 as far as known, were Mr. Mitchell and Edwin 
 Corbin, squatters, who came in in 1835 and made 
 claims, the former at the upper end, and the latter 
 at the lower end, of Albany. 
 
 In the spring of 1836, Lewis Spurlock, Alfred 
 
 
 *
 
 WHITES1DE COUXTY. 
 
 839 
 
 
 Slocum, William Nevitt and Gilbert Buckingham 
 came in and located in Upper Albany, as it is 
 called, buying out Mitchell's interest, and S. M. 
 Kilgour, R. H. Niblack, I. C., Allen, C. R. Rood, 
 P. B. Vannest, Oliver McMahan, E. Allen, S. 
 Mitchell, D. Mitchell, A. Bergen, C. Lusk and 
 Samuel Searles located in Lower Albany, buying 
 out Edwin Corbin's claim. This ground was subse- 
 quently laid off into 133 lots, and filed for record. 
 C. R. Rood, Spurlock and Garrett made an addition 
 in 1841. The land was re-surveyed by W. S. Wil- 
 kinson, in March, 1842. Liberal reserves were 
 made for public buildings, schools and churches. 
 
 About one mile below Albany the Marias d'Osier 
 puts into the Mississippi. The country in this 
 vcinity and along Rock River is unsurpassed ; and 
 it was prophesied that, with the exception of the 
 sloughs, it would be covered with a dense popu- 
 lation. 
 
 In 1837 an addition was made to the settlement 
 in the persons of Jonathan Davis and family, Ivy 
 and Duty Buck, with their families, Jeremiah Rice, 
 Willis C. Osborne, Gregory McMahan, Uriah Cook, 
 Thomas Finch. The settlers continued to come in 
 until the spring of 1839 among the last arrivals 
 being Capt. W. S. Barnes and family, Dr. John 
 Clark and family, and Benjamin S. Quick when 
 the sickly season set in, and emigration for a time 
 was suspended. 
 
 The first Postmaster commissioned was Willis C. 
 Osborne, in the winter of 1837. The first mail ser- 
 vice was established the same year, the route being 
 from Galena to Rock Island. It was a pony mail 
 service. 
 
 Ivy Buck was the first Justice of the Peace. He 
 also opened the first store, which was in the lower 
 end of the town. This was in 1838. He had only 
 a small stock. 
 
 The first man to open up a general store was 
 Capt. W. S. Barnes, who was a steamboat Captain, 
 and who brought his goods from St. Louis. This 
 was in the fall of 1839. Capt. Barnes died July 20, 
 1872, and his wife Jan. 24, 1885. 
 
 The first hotel was opened in 1837, in the lower 
 end of the town, by Oliver and Gregory McMahan. 
 It was a log building, but it is reported to have done 
 good service. 
 
 Alfred Slocum opened a hotel soon after in the 
 
 v 
 
 - -- 
 
 upper end of the town. It was also a log building . 
 Mr. Slocum subsequently erected a stone building 
 for his hotel service, which is still standing on the 
 banks of the river. 
 
 R. C. Niblack and Amy Buck, daughter of Ivy 
 Buck, were the first to unite in the holy bonds of 
 matrimony. This interesting event occurred Feb. 
 n, 1838. 
 
 The first natural increase to the population of the 
 town was May 18, 1838, when Josephine, daughter 
 of Jonathan and Phoebe Davis, announced her ar- 
 rival. 
 
 The first death was that of tfate Allen, daughter 
 of E. Allen, one of the platters of the village. This 
 was. in 1838. 
 
 When the settlers came there were several bands 
 of Indians around the country. They were camped 
 mostly about the Marais d' Osier. Prior to this 
 period, and before the white man's foot ever rested 
 upon this soil, there must have been extensive tribes 
 of Indians living in the vicinity of Albany. There 
 is every indication that there was here at some time 
 in the past a large Indian village. 
 
 South of the town and along the banks of the 
 Mississipppi there are numerous mounds, some of 
 them quite large. These mounds were the ceme- 
 teries of this race, so rapidly passing away, when 
 they had a country they could call their own. As 
 the ground is broken to meet the demands of what 
 we are pleased to call a more advanced civilization, 
 bones of this race, or one even preceding it, are be- 
 ing exhumed. While the historian was at Albany, 
 one of the citizens, to get some soil for his garden, 
 dug into one of these mounds. In doing so, he 
 threw up skulls, bones, and implements peculiar to 
 the Indian race. Thus the bodies of the older race 
 have become the means of enriching the soil for the 
 use of the new. 
 
 Here, too, have been found evidences of a race 
 prior to the Indian. One of the citizens has a relic 
 a small bowl which was taken from one of these 
 mounds. It is made of finer material than the In- 
 dian ware. Around the outside of this bowl are 
 convex, or circular, designs in relief. Upon these 
 and all over the sides of the bowl are carved Ma- 
 sonic emblems, and hieroglyphics. It is probably a 
 censor, or an incense bowl, once belonging to the 
 Mound-Builders. Numerous kinds of relics and 
 
 ^ ^^ * 
 
 
 i
 
 fossils have been found along this shore and in these 
 mounds. 
 
 In 1844 a regular line of stages was started run- 
 ning from Chicago to Albany. They were put on by 
 those popular stage men, Frink & Walker. This 
 gave a new impetus to the growth of the town. Af- 
 ter the establishment of this line, Capt. W. S. Barnes 
 converted his fine dwelling-house into a hotel, which 
 he named the Eagle Hotel. It became a popular 
 resort for travelers, and was extensively patronized. 
 Other hotels soon followed, and all were well patron- 
 ized, for Albany was a live town in those days. The 
 Eagle Hotel is stilf standing, near the waters of the 
 Mississippi, and is open for the traveling public. 
 
 A ferry was started between Albany and Comanche 
 as early as 1840, by the Mitchell Brothers. Horse 
 power was at first used : afterwards they put on a 
 steam ferry-boat. 
 
 The first saw-mill was put up in 1838. It was a 
 steam mill and was built by C. S. Dorsey, and was 
 located in the lower end of town on the river bank. 
 It cut out a good deal of lumber and was of great 
 assistance to the building up of the town. After 
 running several years it was destroyed by fire. 
 
 Several stores followed that of Capt. Barnes, and 
 Albany became quite a trading point. 
 
 Another saw-mill was started in 1853, by a com- 
 pany. The members of this firm were E. H. Nevitt, 
 Francis R. Walker and John D. Mcllvaine. It was 
 a large steam mill, with planing machinery attached. 
 
 This mill was destroyed by the tornado of 
 1860. This tornado, reached Albany on Sunday, 
 June 3, 1860, and from its fearful, destructive power, 
 struck terror into the hearts of all the inhabitants. 
 It came from the northwest, crossing the Mississippi 
 and striking th upper end of the town. It passed 
 through in a southeasterly direction, devastating 
 almost everything in its pathway, killing several citi- 
 zens and injuring others. It is reported to have been 
 one of the most terrible tornadoes ever witnessed in 
 the country. Heavy stone and brick buildings were 
 leveled to the ground and seemed to have no more 
 power of resistance than the slightest frame structure. 
 Nearly every building was demolished, and the 
 wrecks of many may be seen to this day. It was 
 very peculiar in its movements. Some buildings it 
 would tear all to pieces ; others it would remove from 
 their foundations with but little injury. Stock and 
 
 fowls were killed, some of the latter being entirely 
 denuded of their feathers. 
 
 The tornado lasted only a few moments, but its 
 devastating work wag sickening to behold. Nearly 
 one hundred thousand dollars' worth of property was 
 destroyed. Those killed were Edward Efner, Duty 
 Buck, Mr. Rileyand Mr. Sweet. It was many years 
 before Albany recovered from the effects of this tor- 
 nado. In fact, it is thought it never did. 
 
 About the middle of December, 1865, the first 
 railroad train came into Albany. This road was first 
 called the Western Union. It is now called the 
 Southwestern Division of the Milwaukee & St. Paul 
 Railroad. 
 
 Albany village was organized under the incorpora- 
 tion act of 1845, and the amendments thereto, in 
 1869. A meeting was held for this purpose at the 
 office of E. H. Nevitt, February 15. D. S. Efner, H. 
 M. Booth, W. D. Haslet, A. Winans and R. H. Nib- 
 luck were elected Trustees. D. S. Efner was then 
 chosen President; E. H. Nevitt, Clerk, and H. M. 
 Booth, Treasurer. The vote for incorporation was 
 taken Jan. 25, 1869. There were 82 votes cast, 62 
 votes for, and 20 against. The cor]x>rate limits em- 
 brace all of the north half of sections 25 and 26, and' 
 all of fractional section 24, in town 21 north, range 2 
 east. 
 
 Albany had at one time great hopes of securing 
 the outlet into the Mississippi of the Hennepin Canal. 
 A bill was presented to Congress by the member 
 from this district asking for an appropriation for a 
 survey for a ship canal from the Illinois River to the 
 Mississippi. The bill was passed by the Forty- 
 seventh Congress providing for a survey and appro- 
 priating $30,000 to defray the expenses. Three 
 routes were surveyed, one to Albany, one to Water- 
 town and one to Rock Island. The engineers re- 
 ported in favor of the Albany route, and estimated 
 the cost at a million less than the route to Rock 
 Island. Political, as well as moneyed influences, how- 
 ever, are in favor of the latter route, and a bill is be- 
 fore Congress to this effect, which undoubtedly will 
 pass. 
 
 Could this canal be brought into Albany it would 
 insure its development, and make of it a large, thriv- 
 ing town. It has now the local tradeof the township, 
 with some parts of Newton, and is steadily growing. 
 There are some fair business houses here and some 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 <) 
 
 - '
 
 attractive dwellings. Its attractive features for resi- 
 dences and for business may yet be appreciated by 
 the business world, and the tide set in in its favor. 
 
 The census report of 1880 gave the population at 
 810, including the village; that of the village, 623. 
 The estimated population of the village is now 700. 
 The present officers are, President, W. Hanna ; Trus- 
 tees, David Byers, Wm. Graves, Charles H. Slocum 
 and Joseph Smith ; Clerk, D. S. Efner ; Treasurer, E. 
 R. Beckwith ; Constable, James Beach. 
 
 BUSINESS INTERESTS. 
 
 Paddock & Son, general line of merchandise, sta- 
 tionery and wall paper. 
 
 C. A. Olds & Co., general merchandise. 
 
 E. R. Beckwith, general grocery store. 
 
 S. E. Chamberlain carries a line of drugs and 
 medicines. 
 
 J. A. Eddy has a grocery store, with confectionery 
 and jewelry. 
 
 E. H. Nevitt, general lumber dealer. 
 
 George H. Colby deals in organs, and is under- 
 taker. 
 
 Booth & Bros, are general hardware dealers, and 
 have a tinshop. 
 
 J. W. Dinneen deals in wagons, buggies, agricul- 
 tural implements, and has a blacksmith shop. 
 
 Nicholas Freek manufactures brick. 
 
 E. A. Fassett has harness and saddlery. 
 
 Graves & Son, wagon-makers, skiff-builders and 
 blacksmithing. 
 
 Miss Frances D. Barnes has millinery and fancy 
 goods. 
 
 C. E. Langford & Co., of Fulton, have a saw-mill, 
 but it is not in operation. 
 
 Beach & Bros, and A. Fletcher keep meat- 
 markets. 
 
 O. O. Huggins has a restaurant and a confection- 
 ery store. 
 
 L. G. Perkins has a boot and shoe shop. 
 
 The legal profession is represented by D. S. Efner 
 and C. P. Ege, and the medical profession by Drs. 
 E. R. Robinson and M. M. Samnis. 
 
 Eagle Hotel, W. H. Barnes, proprietor. This hotel 
 is one of the old landmarks of Albany, and has fur- 
 nished accommodations for travelers for a generation 
 past. 
 
 C. D. Paddock presides over the postoffice. 
 
 >Vgt|i- 
 
 ysv**vy*^ 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The people of Albany have a good graded school, 
 which is in charge of a thorough and energetic 
 teacher. The building is constructed of brick and is 
 a substantial one, large and roomy. 
 
 D. F. Shirk is the Principal ; Miss Hattie Church- 
 ill, Assistant. Kittie Hawks has charge of the Inter- 
 mediate, and Miss Frances Olds, the Primary De- 
 partment. Average attendance, 190. The school 
 has eight grades, with a full English course of study. 
 It has graduating classes and issues diplomas. The 
 first graduating exercises were held May 14, 1885, 
 and was attended with marked success. There are 
 five institute divisions in the county. Albany and 
 Erie form one division. They hold their meetings 
 once a month. It includes teachers in active service. 
 A chairman is elected for one year. They discuss 
 questions that may arise, and particularly those 
 questions that relate to teaching. 
 
 PRESS. 
 
 The Albany News was established by F. C. and 
 W. G. Redline. Its first issue was cast before the 
 good people of Albany Dec. 12, 1884, and it has fur- 
 nished them with the current news of the day and 
 good reading matter from that date. The News is a 
 fouvcolumn quarto, and is issued every Friday. It 
 is Republican in politics, has a good circulation, and 
 is ably conducted. 
 
 The Albany Times. This paper was started by 
 W. G. Bleecker in the spring of 1883, and continued 
 publication until the summer of 1884, when it was 
 suspended. The press was moved to Clinton, Iowa, 
 and the editor arranged with the Clinton Weekly 
 News to fill out his contract with his subscribers by i 
 sending them that paper. 
 
 SOCIETIES. 
 
 Albany Lodge, A. F. fy A. M., No. 566, was in- 
 stituted May 18, 1867, under dispensation granted 
 April 25, the same year. J. M. Eaton was the first 
 W. M. The present W. M. is J. F. Hopper. The 
 lodge has now a membership of 42. They rent a 
 hall, which is commodious and well equipped. The 
 society is in good working condition. 
 
 /. O. O. F., No. 168, was organized March 16, 
 This lodge has a membership of 15. They meet in 
 the G. A. R. Hall. The first N. G. was James 
 Beach, who is also the present N. G. 
 
 SI* 
 
 -5 V 
 
 fa 

 
 The G. A. J?., Captain A. F. Knight Post, was 
 chartered June 14, 1884. C. P. Ege was the first 
 Commander, and J. B. David is the present. Their 
 membership numbers 31. They have a good hall, 
 and are prosperous. 
 
 Sons of the G. A. R., Lieut, James Elaine Camp, 
 No. 20. This society was chartered March 23, 1885. 
 They have a membership of 20, and meet in the 
 G. A. R. Hall. 
 
 Modern Woodmen of America was organized Feb. 
 20, 1884, with 20 members; Venerable Consul, 
 C. P. Ege. This society has a good hall, which is 
 fitted up very uniquely, and after the manner of their 
 order. The present Venerable Consul is G. A. 
 Cobey, and their membership is 67. The Camp 
 is increasing in numbers. 
 
 RELIGIOUS. 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. This society was or- 
 ganized in 1840, by Rev. Philo Judson. Previous to 
 this time the members of this church were visited 
 by circuit riders, and had preaching in private houses. 
 The first church edifice was erected in 1861, and 
 dedicated New Year's Day, 1862. Rev. J. Frost was 
 in charge at this time. The building cost $t,oo. 
 In 1860, the tornado blew down their house of wor- 
 ship, which had been formerly used as a school- 
 house. The latter part of 1868, Rev. Barton Cart- 
 wright took charge, and assisted financially to build 
 the parsonage. A subscription was taken up at the 
 time of the dedication, and money enough was col- 
 lected to pay off the debt of the Church and leave a 
 balance on hand. An interesting Sabbath-school is 
 connected with the Church. Rev. F. Lines is the 
 present Pastor. 
 
 ALBANY CEMETERY. 
 
 The citizens of the village have secured a good 
 site for their last resting place. It is located on the 
 bluff just above the town, and contains about seven 
 acres. There are some very fine monuments in this 
 cemetery, where rest the remains of many of Alba- 
 ny's first citizens. 
 
 dfgdfj. ^^^ &* 
 
 CLYDE TOWNSHIP. 
 
 LYDE Township was organized April 6, 
 1852. The first meeting for choosing 
 township officials was called together and 
 Thomas Exley was chosen Moderator, and 
 Thomas Milnes, Clerk. When the polls were 
 closed the ballot-box was found to contain 21 
 votes, and they were cast with the following result : 
 W. P. Hiddleson for Supervisor; Thomas Milnes, 
 Clerk ; Thomas Exley, Assessor ; Ed. Wick and 
 William Alldritt, for Commissioners of Highway; 
 John McKinley, for Constable; and Ed. Wick and 
 William Willson for Justices of the Peace. 
 
 Clyde is in the northern tier of townships, number 
 22 north, range 5 east of the 4th principal meridian, 
 and is a full Congressional township. 
 
 Carroll County bounds it on the north, Genesee 
 Township on the east, Mount Pleasant on the south 
 and Ustick on the West. It formerly belonged to 
 Union Precinct. 
 
 Jesse Hill is credited with being the first settler 
 in Clyde, in the spring of 1835. He was followed 
 by William Wink, who made a claim adjoining. 
 There was but very little done toward settling up or 
 improving this territory until 1838, when substantial 
 men began to come in. During this year Samuel 
 Wessell, who was a native of England, Zachariah 
 Dent, H. W. Daniels, Hugh Hollinshead and Mr. 
 Wing came in and made settlements. 
 
 In 1839 Mr. Wing and H. H. Fowler put up a 
 saw-mill on Rock Creek, and commenced cutting 
 out lumber. It was during this year that Wing, 
 who it appears was a speculative genius, got up a 
 real-estate boom, taking in some Eastern men. He 
 staked off some lots at the mill, and founded what 
 he would have people believe, a future great city. 
 This he called Genesee City. Quite an addition 
 was made to the population this year, but the " city " 
 did not seem to grow much, though there was plenty 
 of land for it to expand in, and Wing had it 'for sale. 
 Cabins, however, were put up, farms laid out, ground 
 broken, and farming begun in good earnest. They 
 had a ready market for all their products at Albany, 
 Fulton and other more distant towns. 
 
 In this, as in all the other townships, the early 
 *^ .(* 

 
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 & 
 
 ^ ) 
 
 w> 
 
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 settlers, sspecially those coming directly from the 
 East, were prone to locate about the timber, holding 
 the erroneous belief that here were the best farming 
 lands. Experience, however, soon taught them their 
 mistake. 
 
 During the early times, religious services were 
 held by the pioneers at what was called Genesee 
 Grove, and at the houses of the settlers, which were 
 conducted by some missionary. Some, when they 
 wanted a religious feast, would go down to Union- 
 ville. in Union Grove Township. 
 
 Mrs. Belinda Beswick, wife of Richard Beswick, 
 won the admiration of the settlers by presenting to 
 them a son, the first child born in the township. 
 This event occurred on the toth of February, A. D. 
 1840. He was named George Richard. 
 
 Marriages in those days were by no means com- 
 mon, and when Sam. Currie and Julia Thomas were 
 joined together in holy bonds of wedlock, it was an 
 occasion of great interest and they the recipients of 
 many blessings. Tradition gives this important 
 event as occurring in September, 1840. 
 
 The first deaths were those of John and Margaret 
 Blue, who died in the fall of 1839. 
 
 The people were without the advantages of schools 
 for several years. In 1846 a summer school was 
 opened at the house of Thomas Exley, and Lucy 
 Exley was the teacher. 
 
 The firs', grist-mill started in the township was by 
 Mr. Broth well, on section 13, on Rock Creek. This 
 was on the old saw-mill site. 
 
 In 1867, the Methodists, having organized a so- 
 ciety and gathered up funds sufficient for their pur- 
 pose, erected them a church edifice. This was 
 located on section 7. Having an organization and a 
 house of worship, they secured the services of Rev. 
 L. C. Connant. This was a growing and an active 
 society for many years, and to it was attached an 
 interesting Sunday-school. Services are still held 
 in this church. 
 
 The Dunkards also have .an organization in this 
 township and hold services regularly. 
 
 W. D. Hayes secured the establishment of a mail 
 route in the township in 1876, with a postoffice at 
 Malvern village. He was appointed Postmaster, 
 and has held the position since that time. There is 
 another postoffice now in the township, located on 
 section 14, and known as the White Pigeon office. 
 
 %&^& 
 
 George Platt is Postmaster. This was first located 
 on section i, with J. S. Reed as Postmaster. Mr. 
 Platt has in connection with his office a grocery 
 store. 
 
 Of the first settlers, the only one living now in the 
 township is Zachariah Dent. He still resides on 
 section 14, and, considering his age, is a pretty 
 hearty man. 
 
 Clyde Township is very liberally watered and well 
 timbered, with many beautiful little groves. The 
 land is rolling, and in some localities quite broken 
 and picturesque. The soil is mostly clay. In the 
 bottoms it is a heavy loam. There are many 
 splendid farms in the township, with fine farm 
 buildings. The nearest railroad station is at Morri- 
 son. The population is estimated at 1,100. 
 
 S. B. Geyer has a grist-mill on section 26. Hiram 
 Barthell has also a grist-mill, which is on the old 
 Broth well mill site, section 13. 
 
 T. R. King has a creamery at Round Grove. 
 
 There is a good school at Geyer's mill, taught by 
 Miss Emma Fisk, and one at White Pigeon, taught 
 by Miss Mattie E. Young. At this school there is 
 an average attendance of 20 pupils. 
 
 The Assessor's reports for the last year furnishes 
 the following figures : number of acres of improved 
 land, 22,023; value of these lands, $252,775 ; total 
 value of personal property, $215,925; number of 
 horses, 459; asses and mules, 14; sheep, 238 ; hogs, 
 1,306; carriages and wagons, 204; watches and 
 clocks, 142; sewing and knitting machines, too; 
 pianos, 4 ; organs and melodeons, 24 ; total value of 
 lands, lots and personal property, $316,532. 
 
 From the annual report of the County Superin- 
 tendent for 1884, the following statistics have been 
 obtained: number of school districts 8, with 8 frame 
 school buildings; valuation of school property, $5,- 
 885 ; of persons under 21 years of age there were 
 506, of whom 372 were of scholastic age, and 279 
 enrolled; the highest wages paid teachers was $50 
 per month; the lowest, $23; the tax levy was 
 $2,144. 
 
 Below is a list of the Supervisors who have repre- 
 sented the township since its organization : 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 William P. Hiildleson. 
 Joseph H. Hrothwell.. 
 Benjamin West 
 
 'I lnniiHS Melnes 
 
 William Willson 
 
 1852-3 
 1854 
 
 '855 
 
 J. B. Van Court 1856 
 
 William P. Hiildleson... 1857-8 
 
 Richard Heswick 1859-72 
 
 Joseph Milnes 1873-82 
 
 George Janvrin 1883-5 
 
 
 - '
 
 
 
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 - 
 
 
 > 844 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 m 
 
 
 MALVERN VILLAGE. 
 
 Malvern village is located on section 35, and is 
 quite a stirring little hamlet. S. E. Horning has a 
 wagon-shop, where he puts up a first-class wagon. 
 He also does repairing and general blacksmithing. 
 
 Thomas D. Kline carries a good stock of goods 
 dry-goods, groceries, hardware, boots and shoes, etc. 
 
 This village is connected with the telephone 
 system. 
 
 COLOMA TOWNSHIP. 
 
 LL that part of Congressional township 
 21 north, range 7 east, lying south of 
 Rock River, comprises the township of Co- 
 loma. The surface of the township is some- 
 what broken, and the soil is generally a sandy 
 loam. Edward Atkins and Isaac Merrill 
 were the first settlers, locating here early in 1837. 
 Noah Merrill and Daniel Brooks came the same 
 year. Soon after came Samuel B., Frank and John 
 J. Gushing, W. W. Durant, A. B. Wheeler, Ira Silla- 
 man, Zerah M. Chapman, Herman Emmons, L. H. 
 Woodworth, Artemus W. Worthington, Daniel F. 
 Batcheller and Asa F. R. Emmons. 
 
 Edward Atkins was a native of Ireland, but came 
 to this county from Canada. He was one of the 
 proprietors of Rapids City. It is said that in Can- 
 ada he went by the name of Watson, was there mar- 
 ried and had a family of seven children. Leaving, 
 his family there he came here, married again and by 
 the second wife had seven more children. While 
 he was in California the second wife obtained a di- 
 vorce. Returning, he went to Canada, was recon- 
 ciled to his first wife, re-married, and lived with her 
 till her death. In the meantime his second wife se- 
 cured a divorce from the man she married, and Mr. 
 Atkins sought her out, and they were again married. 
 After remaining here for a time the family removed 
 to McDonough County. 
 
 Noah Merrill was a native of Connecticut. He 
 located near the present village of Rock Falls, oppo- 
 site Eagle Island. The land had been claimed by 
 Elijah Worthington, and Mr. Merrill was ordered off 
 by the Anti-Claim-Jumping Association, but de- 
 
 clined to go. He afterwards sold his claim, went to 
 California in 1850, returned and located at Sterling. 
 Daniel Brooks was a native of Ohio. He was 
 elected Justice of the Peace in Rapids Precinct at an 
 early day. In 1849 he sold out, went to California, 
 and died in San Francisco, of Asiatic cholera, after 
 a few hours' illness. 
 
 L. H. Woodworth was born in Vermont. He was 
 a well educated man, and was for a time a teacher 
 in the military school at Perth Amboy, N. J., and 
 afterwards Assistant Professor of Mathematics in 
 Mississippi. In 1839 he located in this township. 
 He held the office of County Surveyor from 1863 to 
 to 1865, was a member of the Board of Supervisors 
 for a time, and was also Swamp Land Commissioner. 
 
 Asa F. R. Emmons is a native of Canada. In 
 1839 he settled at Sterling, and in 1840 removed to 
 this township, where he yet resides. 
 
 Ira Sillaman located in this township in 1838. He 
 was a native of Pennsylvania, and was generally es- 
 teemed by all who knew him. He has been dead 
 many years. 
 
 A. W. Worthington was a native of Connecticut, 
 and located here in 1840. He held several township 
 offices, and died many years ago, from the effects of 
 the bite of a rattlesnake. It is said that he had 
 lost a number of cattle from the bites of the reptiles, 
 and remarked that he would rather have been bitten 
 himself, as he could be cured, while the cattle could 
 not. He was bitten, but, unfortunately, not cured. 
 
 D. F. Batcheller located here in 1840. A sketch 
 of his son ma.y be found on page 400. 
 
 The Cushings were from Rhode Island. Samuel 
 B. died in Providence, R. I., in 1873. John J. re- 
 moved to California. 
 
 Nelson B., son of Noah and Amanda Merrill, was 
 born Nov. 6, 1838, and is supposed to have been the 
 first white child born in the township. 
 
 William Hawkins and Lema Brooks were united 
 in marriage in 1839, the first in the township. 
 
 The first death was" that of Mrs. W. W. Durant, 
 in October, 1839. 
 
 The first school was taught in an old store build- 
 ing in Rapids City, in 1845, by Miss Anastatia 
 Sturtevant. The next year an old granary was 
 bought of L. H. Woodworth, for $20, which was 
 fitted up for school purposes. It was moved to the 
 site of the present school building in the east dis- 
 trict, and the first term of school held therein was 
 
 .. 
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 WHITESWE COUNTY. 
 
 by Miss McLaughlin. The schools of the township 
 now are first-class. 
 
 Colonia was originally a part of Portland Pre- 
 cinct, and subsequently part of Rapids Precinct. 
 It was organized as a township in 1852, the first 
 town meeting being held at the house of Richard 
 Arey, April 6. As a- township it has " gone on the 
 even tenor of its way " to the present time, the only 
 real difficulty which it has had being in relation to 
 the bonds issued in aid of the Rock River Railroad. 
 The township of Sterling had been asked to assist 
 in securing the road, but refused, and therefore Co- 
 lonia was required to burden itself with a large 
 debt, it voting $50,000 to the work. In 1873 it was 
 charged that the bonds had been issued illegally, 
 and their validity was contested. Bennett & Sack- 
 ett were employed as counsel, and after expending 
 nearly $1,200 the suit was abandoned, and on the 
 nth of September, 1876, at a special town meeting, 
 it was voted to issue $25,000 wortli of bonds to pay 
 interest on the railroad bonds, together with costs. 
 
 From the abstract of assessments it is learned 
 that there are 5,986 acres of improved land, valued 
 at $135,588. The town lots are assessed at $139,782, 
 and personal property at $78,989, a total of $356,- 
 435. There were subject to taxation 398 horses ; 
 21 mules and asses; 796 cattle; 492 hogs; 6 steam 
 engines ; 189 carriages and wagons ; 5 watches and 
 clocks ; 85 sewing and knitting machines ; 16 
 pianos ; 58 organs and melodeons. 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 The following named have served the township as 
 members of the Board of Supervisors : 
 
 Richard Arey 1852 
 
 L. H. Woodworth 1853 
 
 A. W. Worthington 1854 
 
 Sidney Barber 1855-57 
 
 Frank Gushing 1858-59 
 
 L. L. Kmmons 1860-67 
 
 Jas. A. Patterson 1868 
 
 L. L. Emmons 1869-70 
 
 M. R. Adams 1871-73 
 
 H. F. Batcheller 1874-85 
 
 Rock Falls. 
 
 N 1837, a portion of that territory now occu- 
 pied by the incorporated village of Rock 
 Falls, was known as Rapids City. The 
 first building was erected by Edward Atkins, 
 who came from Canada, and is the same now 
 occupied by Deacon Arey as a residence. It 
 fronts on Bridge Street, and stands between the river 
 and Main Street, 
 
 At this time the State had made an appropriation 
 of $40,000 for the improvement of Rock River, an 
 account of which is given in the history of Sterling; 
 and it. was thought a large city would eventually 
 here be built. A town was laid out one mile square, 
 which presented a beautiful sight on paper. The 
 contractors for the improvement of the river opened 
 a small store, and Rapids City had a beginning, and 
 that is all it ever had. The hard times succeeding 
 the panic of 1837 caused the State to withdraw all 
 aid for internal improvements, the proprietors of the 
 place gave up all hope of its future greatness, and 
 in 1857 the plat was vacated. 
 
 In 1867, A. P. Smith, of Sterling, purchased an in- 
 terest in the water power, including some 65 acres 
 of land on the south side of the river, including a 
 portion of the old site of Rapids City, and at once 
 had surveyed and platted a town to which he gave 
 the name of Rock Falls. Mr. Smith's intentions at 
 first were to make the place an addition to Sterling, 
 but he subsequently thought best to lay out a town 
 independent of that place. In platting the town he 
 was joined by W. A. Sanborn and the Sterling Hy- 
 draulic Company, owners of a tract of land adjoining 
 that of Mr. Smith. The plat recorded in the office 
 of the records at the county seat is dated Jan. 28, 
 1868. 
 
 Aside from the manufacturing interests, the first 
 improvements made in Rock Falls were by A. D. 
 Hapgood, who moved a house from Como, in which 
 he opened up a small stock of general merchandise 
 late in the summer of 1867. The venture was not 
 profitable. The house now forms a part of the 
 Brewer House, and has been used for hotel purposes 
 a number of years. Oliver & Saxon and Charles 
 Hoag now represent the trade. 
 
 In November, 1867, Truman Culver erected a 
 building on the southeast corner of Main and May 
 Streets, in which he opened a grocery store, the first 
 in the place. His first day's sales amounted to 25 
 cents, his only customer purchasing a box of axle 
 grease. At the end of three weeks the entire 
 receipts amounted to $27. The old adage, " A poor 
 beginning often has a good ending," was exemplified 
 in his case, for, on the expiration of the first year, his 
 sales amounted to, $35,000. "The people found 
 out," says Mr. Culver, " that it was not necessary 
 to go over the river to buy goods : that the little store 
 on the corner was bound to do business." 
 
 
 i 

 
 -3*k 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 In the spring of 1868 Newton & Muckeridge came 
 from Como and opened a stock of general merchan- 
 dise in a building erected for the purpose, opposite 
 Culver's, on Main Street. The copartnership con- 
 tinued but a short time, Mr. Muckeridge taking the 
 dry goods and returning to Como, J. L. Newton re- 
 taining the groceries and continuing the business. 
 Mr. Newton still continues in business. A. C. 
 Stanley, Enoch Long and C. K. Worrell also deal in 
 groceries, in the spring of 1885. 
 
 The first drug house was started in the spring of 
 
 1868. Mark Bickford is the present druggist. 
 Andrew Goodell and Charles Ingalls, under the 
 
 firm name of Goodell & Ingalls, commenced the 
 hardware trade in the summer of 1868. Scott & Van 
 Vleet and Joseph Pennybecker are the present rep- 
 resentatives. 
 
 The first harness-maker was M. Hendricks, in 
 
 1869. Samuel Morse now represents that trade. 
 Samuel Schultz, in 1872, was the first shoemaker. 
 
 John Reiter and James Kelley are now engaged in 
 the business. 
 
 R. H. Sheldon & Son were the first agricultural 
 implement dealers. They began business in 1874, 
 and yet continue in the trade. Scott & Van Vleet 
 also deal in that line of goods. 
 
 Joseph H. Bachus, in 1868, began blacksmithing 
 in the village. George Adair, John Wood and Her- 
 man C. Rouse are now in the trade. 
 
 James Rush opened a barber shop in 1871. Ted 
 Williams now represents that trade. 
 
 James Scott was the first attorney, in 1872. No 
 representative at present. 
 
 The first physician was Dr. J. L. Morrill, in 1868. 
 He still continues here, in the practice of his pro- 
 fession. Dr. W. M. Smith and J. W. Montgomery 
 are also here. 
 
 The first jeweler was A. W. Erb, in 1869. J. S. 
 May and A. N. Taylor are now in the business. . 
 
 Brown & Ryan were the first liverymen. W. B. 
 Brown and H. Schofield are now in the business. 
 
 The first milliner was Mrs. N. L. Baldwin, who 
 still continues in the trade. 
 
 The first hotel was the Rock Falls House, opened 
 by Mr. Doty in 1868. The Rock Falls House and 
 the Brewer House now entertain the traveling 
 public. 
 
 John Reiter is the present boot and shoe dealer. 
 
 *T Q v* < 
 
 The first meat market was opened by William L. 
 Smith, in 1868. The present dealers are Pipperd & 
 Woodford, George Hoffner and Mr. Mansfield. 
 
 Julius Smith opened a furniture store in 1872. 
 There is no representative now here in that line. 
 
 The dry-goods and notion trade is represented by 
 C. K. Brown and Mr. Worth. 
 
 A bank was established here in October, 1874, by 
 Ephraim Brookfield, who came from Coleta. He 
 continued the business until his death, in January, 
 1876, and was succeeded by George W. Nance, who 
 had been with him since the opening of the bank. 
 Mr. Nance was succeeded by J. L. Newton, who 
 still continues the business. 
 
 The first marriage was that of Gideon Reynolds 
 and Mary Arey, in 1867. 
 
 The first birth was that of Lenoretta, daughter of 
 John Barker. 
 
 The first death was that of B. C. Hunt, Sept. 
 15, 1868. 
 
 The Rock Falls Progress was the first newspaper. 
 Its career was short. The Whiteside Times, Ensign 
 of Liberty and Rock Falls News have likewise been 
 published here. The latter is still in existence. A 
 history of the press is found elsewhere in this 
 volume. 
 
 The postoffice was established here in 1868. Tru- 
 man Culver was the first Postmaster. He held the 
 position until 1872, when he was succeeded by C. 
 K. Brown, who was in turn succeeded by Dr. J. P. 
 Ralph and James Pettigrew. In July, 1874, a 
 money-order department was attached to the office, 
 which was and is a great convenience to the citizens 
 of Rock Falls and vicinity. 
 
 In 1868 a meeting of the citizens of the township 
 was held to consider its educational interests. It 
 was voted to unite the whole township in one school 
 district, with the understanding that at the village a 
 high school was to be maintained. A school-house 
 was erected on the corner of Elm and Bridge Streets, 
 a two-story frame structure, with three rooms. M. 
 R. Harris was the first principal. The school-house 
 remained on this location until 1875, when a block 
 of ground was purchased fronting on Florence, be- 
 tween Grove and Marr Streets, and it was removed 
 to that point, reconstructed and a new one built. 
 The schools are in a flourishing condition. 
 
 Rock Falls was incorporated as a village under 
 
 9 *^ 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 47 
 
 the general laws of the State in 1869. Its first elec- 
 tion for village officers was held Feb. 4, of that year. 
 The first ordinance passed was one prohibiting the 
 sale of malt liquors in the place. In general the 
 affairs of the village have been managed in a man- 
 ner satisfactory to all concerned. The following 
 named comprise the officers for 1885 : Trustees 
 R. M. Sheldon, President; W. H. Tuttle, Joseph 
 Wright, J. M. Bickford, W. H. Kadel, S. M. Mingle; 
 Clerk, W. H. Cadwell ; Treasurer, C. E. Doty ; At- 
 torney, C. L. Sheldon ; Street Commissioner, H. N. 
 Schaeffer; Policeman, H. L. Brown. 
 SOCIETIES. 
 
 The secret and benevolent societies are not as 
 well represented in Rock Falls as they would be if 
 not in proximity to Sterling. Probably every society 
 in that city numbers among its members citizens of 
 this place. The expense of maintaining separate 
 organizations is thus avoided. The Odd Fellows, 
 United Workmen, and Women's Christian Temper- 
 ance Union are well represented here, though the 
 latter must not be classed among the secret societies. 
 
 Ancient Order of United Workmen, Industrial 
 Lodge, No. 5, was instituted June rr, 1875, with 28 
 charter members. It has had a flourishing existence 
 and now numbers 62 members. One member has 
 been removed by death since its organization D. L. 
 McKenzie. Truman Culver was the first Master. 
 Palmer Collins is the present Master Workman. 
 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellcnus, Advance Lodge, 
 No. sgo, was instituted Sept. 22, 1875, and holds its 
 meetings regularly each week. The lodge is in a 
 flourishing condition and numbers among its mem- 
 bers some of the best citizens of Rock Falls and 
 vicinity. There is no encampment here, those tak- 
 ing the degrees of that branch of the order uniting 
 with the Sterling Encampment. 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 As in respect to benevolent societies, so it is in 
 regard to the Churches. At present but three of 
 the denominations are represented here, many unit- 
 ing with the Church of their choice in Sterling. The 
 Methodist Episcopal, Congregational and German 
 Lutheran each have church edifices. 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. This Church was 
 organized in 1868, and was connected with the 
 Fourth Street Methodist Episcopal Church charge of 
 Sterling. Several notable revivals have been held, re- 
 
 ^ff** 
 
 suiting in large accessions to the Church. The erec- 
 tion of the church edifice was commenced in 1869, 
 but it was not completed and dedicated until April, 
 187 r. Rock Falls embraced part of a circuit until 
 1872, when it was made a station. The Church has 
 had a prosperous career and has accomplished great 
 good in the community since its organization. 
 
 First Congregational Church. This Church was 
 organized Dec. 26, 1875, with 14 members, and held 
 its meetings for nearly a year in one of the school 
 buildings. In August, 1870, a house of worship, 
 40x75 feet, was commenced and a portion of it 
 completed and occupied Dec. 3 of the same year. 
 It was soon afterwards fully completed and is a 
 very neat and commodious house of worship. The 
 Church now numbers 65 members, and is in a healthy 
 condition. Richard Arey and J. E. Durstine are 
 the Deacons ; D. O. Coe, Superintendent of Sunday- 
 school ; Rev. O. W. Fay, Pastor. 
 
 German Lutheran Church. This Church was or- 
 ganized in 1877, and a house of worship at once 
 erected. The membership is small. 
 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 Rock Falls Progress. In r87o Cadwell & Tuttle 
 commenced the publication of the Rock Falls Prog- 
 ress, a seven-column folio sheet. This was the 
 first paper established in the village. After a few 
 numbers were issued it was changed to a five-column 
 quarto. The paper was continued for seven years 
 and then suspended, principally on account of the 
 continued illness of Mr. Cadwell. A fair patronage 
 was received, the proprietors making no complaint 
 on that account. 
 
 The Whiteside Times. In 1876, A. J. Booth & 
 Co. removed from Morrison to Rock Falls and com- 
 menced the publication of the Whiteside Times, a 
 six-column quarto, independent in politics. The 
 firm continued the publication of the paper till May, 
 1878, when they leased the material of the office to 
 Hyde & Searle, who continued the publication of the 
 paper for one year, Booth & Co. refusing to longer 
 continue to lease them the material. The paper was 
 consequently suspended. 
 
 Searle's Times. Elmer Searle, of the firm of Hyde 
 & Searle, not being content with his experience in 
 the newspaper line, commenced the publication of a 
 paper known as Searle's Times, Cadwell & Tuttle 
 
 fa
 
 3F 
 
 2? 
 
 
 
 
 doing his printing. The paper was short-lived, dying 
 on the expiration of three months. 
 
 7%<r Ensign of Liberty. On the 25th of February, 
 1879, the first issue of a paper under the foregoing 
 title made its appearance in Rock Falls, with J. M. 
 Foley as editor and proprietor, though the paper was 
 printed by Cadwell & Tuttle. It advocated the 
 principles of the National Greenback party, and as 
 there were not enough holding the peculiar views of 
 that party in this vicinity, within three months it 
 died a natural death. 
 
 Rock Falls News. Rock Falls had been without 
 a newspaper for some time, the \Vhiteside Times 
 having suspended. The field was a good one and 
 must be occupied : so thought Wm. Parker. Ac- 
 cordingly, on the 5th day of July, 1882, the first 
 number of the Rock Falls News made its appearance, 
 with Wm. Parker as editor and proprietor. In his 
 introductory, the editor said : 
 
 " We shall publish a paper devoted to building 
 up and advancing every manufactory, trade and 
 industry located in our town, encourage a spirit of 
 public improvement and advocating a high standard 
 of education. * Of politics we shall make 
 
 a secondary consideration. While we are a working 
 Republican and a firm believer in Republican prin- 
 ciples, we also believe there are many of other polit- 
 cal parties who are equally as sincere in their beliefs 
 and entitled to respectful consideration; therefore 
 our columns will always be open to give the political 
 news of all parties, publish their announcements and 
 report their proceedings. On the temperance ques- 
 tion we are in harmony with the majority of the peo- 
 ple of Rock Falls, having no use for saloons, and 
 believing them to be a detriment to the moral and 
 financial well-being of any community; to be pro- 
 hibited whereverjmblic sentiment will enforce prohi- 
 bition, as it seems to do in Rock Falls. Our business 
 we shall conduct on business principles. We shall 
 pay for all we get and expect pay for all Work we do 
 for others. We want every one to understand that 
 he will be expected to pay his subscription or print- 
 ing bill with the same promptness as he does his 
 grocer or his butcher. " . 
 
 The News was commenced as a seven-column 
 folio and continued as such until Dec. 14, 1882, 
 when it was changed to an eight-column folio. In 
 April, 1884, it was changed to a five-column quarto, 
 
 which form it yet retains. On the ist day of Janu- 
 ary, 1885, Miss Anna F. Parker was admitted as a 
 partner in the publication of the paper. Miss Parker 
 is the daughter of the original proprietor, and had 
 been an assistant in the office for some time. She is 
 a young lady of fine ability and wields a ready and 
 fluent pen. The News has a fine advertising pa- 
 tronage, an increasing circulation, and the office has 
 a good run of job work. 
 
 MANUFACTORIES. 
 
 Rock Falls is noted for its man ufactories, there being 
 several very extensive ones in the place. If the 
 account which follows is not as complete as would 
 be desired by some, it can be said that neither the 
 publishers nor editor of this volume is to blame. 
 There are some men who possess such an infinitesimal 
 amount of public enterprise' that they will do abso- 
 lutely nothing toward advertising the business inter- 
 ests of their town, or placing them in the best light 
 before the public. Not only this, but should they be 
 lucky enough to make a little money they become 
 arrogant, selfish, and lordly in their bearing. 
 
 The Keystone Manufacturing Co. is the outgrowth of 
 two distinct lines of business, in Sterling, one com- 
 menced in 1857 by Geo. S. Tracy, and the other in 
 1863 by Thomas A.|Galt. Mr. Tracy had a planing- 
 mill and engaged in the manufacture of sash, doors 
 and blinds, while Mr. Gait engaged in the manufac- 
 ture of farm implements. Shortly after Mr. Gait 
 commenced, the two firms united under the firm 
 name of Gait & Tracy, and subsequently the name 
 of " Keystone Works " was adopted. The firm was 
 very successful from the start, but in 1867 met with 
 a serious loss in the burning of their manufactory. 
 Another building was erected and the works put in 
 operation and soon moved to the south side of the 
 river. Later on, a joint-stock company was incorpo- 
 rated under the name of the Keystone Manufacturing 
 Company, with a capital of $150,000, which was sub- 
 sequently increased to $350,000. 
 
 The Sterling Manufacturing Company dates its 
 commencement from the time George S. Tracy man- 
 ufactured doors, sash and blinds before the war. 
 It was organized in 1870, with a capital of $30,000, 
 a joint-stock company, having its works in Sterling. 
 In 1883 they moved to Rock Falls, and their works 
 there are among the finest on the water power, 
 the capac.ty being treble that of their old works in 
 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 '*' 
 
 I
 
 ; .:. 
 
 --. . ; - 
 
 WttlTEtStDE COUNTY. 
 
 Sterling. The plant comprises five acres of land, 
 with ample water power and the best of railroad 
 facilities. The company manufacture various agri- 
 cultural implements. About 30 men are employed. 
 
 The Enterprise Works In. 1859 H. F. Batcheller 
 commenced the manufacture, on his farm, about one 
 mile south of Sterling, of a hand corn-planter of his 
 own invention, and during the year made 12 ma- 
 chines, of which he sold seven. Making some 
 improvements in the implemeut, he exchanged those 
 sold for the improved ones. Until 1873 he con- 
 tinued to make machines on his farm. In that 
 year he erected buildings in Rock Falls, since which 
 time he has continued their manufacture here, while 
 at the same time he has added other implements to 
 his manufactory. Among other articles manufac- 
 tured have been churns, butter-workers, dog-powers 
 and a general line of dairy and creamery supplies. 
 For some tiroe A. M. Batcheller has been a partner, 
 the business being transacted under the firm name 
 of H. F. Batcheller & Son. The average sales of 
 the corn-planters are 1,500 per year. In 1884 the 
 company had the misfortune to be partially burned 
 out, bat immediately rebuilt. In 1883 a foundry 
 was added to the other departments of the business. 
 The Enterprise Works is the name by which the 
 institution is more generally known. 
 
 The Northwestern Barb- Wire Company, of which 
 W. M. Dillon is President and Treasurer, L. H. 
 Dillon, Secretary, and James Burke, Superintendent, 
 made during 1884, 400 car-loads, of 20,000 pounds 
 each, of the famous Kiltleson Barb Wire enough 
 to encircle the "wide, wide world." To do this the 
 company employed, on an average, 65 men. There 
 are 35 machines, which were kept running continu- 
 ously night and day for six months. The works 
 were not closed during the year except for repairs. 
 Among the additions to the plant made in the past 
 year, are a new fire-proof warehouse, 75x25 feet, 
 and a new brick building 72x100 feet, with a 
 twenty-inch wall, to be used for a warehouse, but 
 built heavy enough for any kind of manufacturing. 
 The company is a responsible one. 
 
 The Rock Falls Roller Mills of Dillon, Bowers & 
 Strock, is one of the institutions of Rock Falls. 
 The capacity of the mill is 100 barrels per day, and 
 it is run up to its full capacity, making brands of 
 flour equal to any made. L. H. Dillon, M. C. Bow- 
 
 ers and M. C. Strock are the members of the firm. 
 They employ on an average six men. 
 
 The Eureka Manufacttiring Company was organ- 
 ized in 1871, and is engaged in manufacturing vari- 
 ous agricultural implements. About 50 men are 
 employed. John M. Gait is President ; M. A. 
 Bunn, Vice-President ; J. G. Crawford, Secretary; 
 Alexander McCloy, Treasurer. 
 
 Church, Utley 6 Company. B. C. Church, H. B. 
 Utley and Samuel Patterson are the proprietors of 
 the Rock Falls Mills, established in November, 
 1862. John E. West is the Superintendent. The 
 capacity of the mills is six and a half tons per day. 
 They make a superior article of straw wrapping- 
 paper for grocers and butchers, at the average rate 
 of three car-loads a week. They run day and night. 
 The product is shipped in car-loads only, over a 
 wide scope of country. The company enjoy the 
 reputation of making an excellent quality of straw 
 wrapping-paper, and furnishes employment to about 
 40 men. 
 
 The Creamery Package Company, as its name im- 
 plies, are manufacturers of butter tubs, creamery 
 supplies, etc., and occupy rooms in the east end of 
 the Industrial Building. In 1884 they manufac- 
 tured 400,000 butter tubs, in addition to other sup- 
 plies. Employment is given to about 75 men. C. 
 M. Gates is the President and general manager. 
 The company was organized in 1882. 
 
 George W. Packer has for some years been en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of patterns and models, 
 affording employment to from three to eight men. 
 In the spring of 1885 he purchased the establish- 
 ment of E. F. Brock & Co., manufacturers of the 
 Yankee hand-sled, butter-tub machinery and black- 
 smith punches. Some 15 men are now employed. 
 
 Smith 6 Goodell are manufacturers of bee-hives 
 and apiary supplies, in the Industrial Building. 
 They are successors to Dur & Harris, and have 
 been in business but a few months. 
 
 A. S. Todd manufactures pruning shears, hedge 
 trimmers, barrel carts and barn-door hangers, in one 
 of the busy basements of that hive of industry, the 
 Industrial Building. 
 
 Dyer &" Keeney are manufacturers of hand corn- 
 planters, barb-wire spools, step-ladders, center-tables 
 and flower-stands. The business was started in the 
 Industrial Building in 1872, by Mr. Dyer. The 
 
 
 
 1^1 
 I zS \
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 i 
 
 company furnish employment to about 20 men. 
 Farwell, Huling & Company began the manufac- 
 ture of farmers', miners' and mechanics' garments, 
 Dec. i, 1884. They are at present giving employ- 
 riient to about 200 women. 
 
 ERIE TOWNSHIP. 
 
 tf the ist day of March, 1852, notice was 
 given by order of the County Commission- 
 ers that an election would be held at the 
 house of Samuel D. Carr in the town of Erie, 
 on the first Tuesday in April, for the purpose 
 of choosing township officers and perfecting 
 the township organization underact of Feb. 17, 1851. 
 At this meeting James Early was chosen Modera- 
 tor and Addison Farrington Clerk. There were 29 
 votes cast, resulting in the election of Charles R. 
 Coborn for Supervisor, Addison Farrington for Clerk, 
 M. G. Wonsor for Assessor, James McMillin for Col- 
 lector, and John Freek for Overseer of the Poor. 
 James Early was elected Commissioner of High- 
 ways, and N. K. Chapman, L. F. Crandall and James 
 McMillin Constables. Esquire Wonsor swore the 
 Moderator and Clerk in for the faithful discharge of 
 their duties. 
 
 This township was formed from Erie Precinct, 
 which was established Dec. i, 1844, by order of the 
 Commissioner's Court. It formerly composed a part 
 of the territory of Albany and Lyndon Precincts. Its 
 present territory embraces all that part of the Con- 
 gressional township 19 north, of range 3 east, and so 
 much of township 19 north, of range 4 east, as lies 
 north of Rock River, which winds around the south- 
 eastern portion, containing in all 14,392 acres. On 
 the north it is bordered by Newton and Fenton Town- 
 ships. 
 
 In some portions of this township, the land is 
 rolling, with occasional ridges of sand. But the 
 great body of it is is low and flat. When drained 
 and brought under cultivation it is rich and very 
 productive. The land is better adapted for dairying 
 and stock-raising, and in this department are the 
 farmers mostly engaged. It is very well watered, 
 having the Rock River, which skirts its southeastern 
 border, and several small streams. The township is 
 
 very well timbered, particularly that part bordering 
 on Rock River. 
 
 In the northwestern part of the township, and 
 extending into Fenton Township, lies in quiet re- 
 pose a very pretty little lake. Beneath its clear 
 waters, spotting about, are fish of different species, 
 while its borders are fringed with beautiful trees. 
 This lake is over a mile in length, and from a quarter 
 to an eighth of a mile in width. 
 
 Rock River runs along the eastern and southern 
 line, and Rock Island County lies on the west. The 
 people of this precinct voted against township organ- 
 ization in November, 1851. Of the 29 voters for the 
 organization of the township in 1852, nine are still 
 living, five of whom voted at the spring election, 
 April 7, 1885 W. W. Hubbart, N. K. Chapman, A. 
 J. Osborne, Harvey Steele and L. F. Crandall. Thos. 
 Freek still resides in Erie, and the other three in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country. [Since the above was 
 written, Mr. Freek has deceased, dying July 4, 1885, 
 at Erie.] 
 
 The first settlers to occupy this territory were 
 Lewis D., John and Lafayette F. Crandall, John 
 Freek and Joseph Fenton, David Hunt and Peter 
 Giles in the fall of 1835. The Crandalls came from 
 Erie County, N. Y., which is bordered by Lake Erie ; 
 and, desiring to have same associations of their former 
 home around them, they gave the name of Erie to 
 the new settlement. John C. located on section 19, 
 Lewis D. and Lafayette on section 18, and David 
 Hunt on section 25. George Steele located on sec- 
 tion 7. The Crandall boys came with their parents, 
 .who located at Grand de Tour, on Rock River. 
 They all came by wagon from New York. They 
 started from their old home April 3, 1835, and ar- 
 rived at their new home the latter part of May. The 
 roads were not the best in those days, and sometimes ) 
 if they diminished their journey by a mile they 
 thought they were making a good day's work. 
 
 Following the pioneers mentioned above were 
 George, Henry and Harvey Steele, from Connecticut ; 
 Samuel Carr, Orville and Alvin Brooks, James Ham- 
 ilton, Charles R. Coborn and William Teats, from 
 New York, and Arthur Putney. Ernest Warner, 
 from Massachusetts. The pioneers upon their ar- 
 rival commenced the construction of rude cabins for 
 their habitations, Mr. Hunt's cabin being the first 
 put up and Peter Giles' the next. 
 
 V> 
 
 
 ](
 
 A very sad incident occurred about this time. 
 Peter Giles, after getting his cabin ready, started back 
 to Dixon after his family and goods by way of Rock 
 River. He had, in which to embark his precious 
 freight, two canoes which were lashed together, and 
 was accompanied by Lewis D. Crandall. Having 
 embarked their worldly possessions, they started down 
 the river in their frail canoes. The party consisted 
 of Mr. Giles and wife, a son of six and a daugh- 
 ter of three years, and Mr. Crandall. The two chil- 
 dren were put into a dry -goods box. The current of 
 the river was very strong and they glided along very 
 swiftly and smoothly toward their future home. 
 Night had come on, and they were approaching Rock 
 Creek when they ran into a tree-top which had fallen 
 over from the banks of the river and lay out in the 
 stream. The suction here tipped the canoes over 
 and drew them under. The dry-goods box was 
 thrown out and, turning around the tree, floated down 
 the river. The remainder of these voyagers, Mr. 
 Giles and wife and Mr. Crandall, clung to the 
 branches of the tree. Crandall was the only one 
 that could swim, and he struck out for the shore and 
 to get a boat to rescue the party. The children had 
 been given up as lost. 
 
 Mr. Crandall had to go some distance for a boat. 
 Upon returning up the river to the tree he met the 
 dry-goods box floating down. The boy was on top, 
 and called out to the man in the boat to take him on 
 board, as his boat was full of water. Mr. Crandall 
 rowed up to the box and took the boy in, and, turning 
 the box over, found the little baby girl inside, 
 drowned. Going on to the tree, the father and 
 mother were rescued and taken ashore in a very 
 chilled and exhausted condition. Some of the 
 goods were afterwards recovered. Mrs. Giles, from 
 her exposure and sufferings, was thrown into a fever 
 from which she died in a few days, having been 
 cared for and nursed by her husband, her only phy- 
 sician, nurse and friend. She was buried with her 
 little drowned child, which were the first interments 
 in Erie Township. The boy was afterwards drowned 
 in Rock River, three miles below the town of Erie, 
 by the capsizing of a skiff in which he was being 
 carried. 
 
 There were a few Indians here when the first 
 settlers came in, but they soon went off, passing be- 
 yond the Mississippi. They were peaceful, and 
 annoyed the settlers only by small thefts. 
 
 The first matrimonial alliance was between Lewis 
 D. Crandall and Phcebe Hunt, in 1838. The first 
 child born in the township was a daughter to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Arthur Putney, in the summer of 1838. 
 She was named Louisa, and was a fair but delicate 
 flower, and died in her fifth summer. The first 
 school taught was in the summer of 1842, by Marv 
 Ann Sprague, in a log school-house erected where 
 Lyndon Street now is in the village of Erie. Horace 
 Cole taught here the following winter, and is spoken 
 of now by the old citizens as a good teacher. 
 
 Of the early settlers, Lewis D. Crandall died in 
 Colorado, in 1860. John Crandall died in Edgar 
 County, 111. Peter Giles moved to Oregon, and is 
 still living. Daniel Hunt died in Erie, and is" bur- 
 ied by the side of his father (who came to Erie 
 Township after him) in the Erie Cemetery. John 
 Freek, who was an active man, and aided very much 
 in the establishment of school and religious socie- 
 ties in the new country, emigrated to Kansas, where 
 he died. He came from England, in 1830, locating 
 for a while in New Jersey, where he was married to 
 Miss Fenton. George Steele died in 1872, at his old 
 farm house on section 7. His widow, whose maiden 
 name was Mary Ann Pingree, is living on the home- 
 stead. 
 
 The first mail service in the township was from 
 Dixon to Rock Island. A. L. Porter was the mail 
 carrier. The first postoffice established in the town- 
 ship was at Crandall's Ferry, two miles below the 
 village of Erie. 
 
 The first religious services were held at the house 
 of John Freek near the sand ridge, in 1838, by Rev. 
 Mr. McMurtry. 
 
 June 5, 1844, a fearful tornado swept over the 
 country, and struck Erie Township on its devastating 
 course. It passed through the middle part of the 
 township, coming from the west across the Missis- 
 sippi. It laid Lewis Crandall's house flat and scat- 
 tered the household goods. No lives were lost in 
 this township, but stock and fowls were killed. One 
 of the finest groves in the county, near Crandall's 
 house, was torn up, and large trees were broken 
 down. It plowed its way through the river, carrying 
 fish and shells to some distance. Many persons 
 were injured, but none dangerously, which was re- 
 garded at the time as miraculous. 
 
 The St. Louis Branch of the Chicago, Burlington 
 & Quincy Railroad, which runs diagonally through 
 
 
 11 
 

 
 -^\V2C2it8.. 
 
 <$^f&f/*- 
 
 ~ 
 
 ./* 
 
 - .. - 
 
 8 S 2 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 the township, affords means of transportation. The 
 trading point for the people is Erie village. 
 
 The census of 1880 gave a population of 778, and 
 it is estimated that the increase from that time will 
 not exceed 100 souls. 
 
 Regarding schools, the County Superintendent, in 
 his report for the year ending June '30, 1884, 
 furnished the following information : Number of 
 districts, eight, in all of which there were frame 
 buildings; valuation of school property, $2,100. Of 
 persons under 21 years of age there were 339, 
 of whom 269 were of scholastic age, 184 being 
 enrolled. The highest wages paid teachers was 
 $55, and the lowest wages was $20 per month. 
 The tax levy was $5,215. 
 
 From the Assessor's report of 1884 the following 
 information is obtained : Number of acres of improved 
 land, 4,759; valuation of improved land, $45,996; 
 total value of town lots, $24,365 ; total value of 
 personal property, $33,588; number of horses, 397; 
 asses and mules, u; cattle, 974; sheep, 172; hogs, 
 596; steam engines, 2; carriages and wagons, 115; 
 watches and clocks, 125 ; sewing and knitting ma- 
 chines, 79; pianos, 10; organs and melodeons, 22. 
 Total number of lands, lots and personal property) 
 $141,046. 
 
 This township has honored the following-named 
 citizens since its organization by electing them to the 
 office of Supervisor: 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 Charles R. Coborn 1852 
 
 C. C Teats 1853-4 
 
 T. B. Whipple 1855 
 
 Ralph Sage 1856-7 
 
 A. rarrington 1858-60 
 
 F. A. Harrington 1861 
 
 C. C. Teats 1862 
 
 W. H. Allen 1863-4 
 
 C. C. Teats 1865 
 
 Samuel O rcutt 1866 
 
 Thomas Freek 1867 
 
 Wm. H. Allen 1868-9 
 
 A.M. Early 1870-1 
 
 C. C. Teats 1872-3 
 
 Milton H. Seger 1874 
 
 Wm. H. Allen 1875-8 
 
 R. L. liurchell 1879-84 
 
 Milton H. Segei 1885 
 
 Erie Village. 
 
 HIS village was incorporated under an act 
 of the Legislature, approved April 10, 1872. 
 An election was held under the same act, 
 Sept. 21, 1872, at which the following named 
 officers were elected : Joseph Grover, Andrew 
 J. Osborne, Q. Johnstone, James Collins, 
 William L. Mitchell, and John D. Trenton, as 
 Trustees. This Board, on as sembling at Mitchell 
 
 & Worrell's building, elected Joseph Grover for 
 President, John D. Fenton, Clerk, and William L. 
 Mitchell, Treasurer. Its location and corporate 
 limits, are described as follows : The south half and 
 the northeast quarter of section 6, and the north 
 half of section 7, in township 19 north, of range 4 
 east of the 4th principal meridian. 
 
 This village is prettily located, and surrounded by 
 a rich farming country. The first hotel opened here 
 was by Samuel D. Carr, in 1838. It was located 
 near the present site of the St. Nicholas House. It 
 was a log building, simple and plain in appearance, 
 yet it was noted far and wide for the good cheer 
 within ; and for its well-filled larder and comfortable 
 beds. The landlord of this pioneer died in June, 
 1 86 1, and was buried in Erie Cemetery, where a 
 pretty little monument is erected for his memory. 
 
 M. G. Wonser opened the first store in the village, 
 which was the first in the township. He opened 
 his store with two wagon-loads of goods, which in- 
 cluded what was of considerable importance in those 
 days a barrel of whisky. Before this store was 
 opened the people used to go across the river to 
 Shannon, in Portland Township, to do their trading. 
 Mr. Wonser died in 1883. His widow is still living 
 in Erie. Dr. Plimpton, a Methodist preacher, held 
 the first religious services here in a public building. 
 This was during the summer of 1842. 
 
 There is but little manufacturing carried on here. 
 For the maintenance and growth of the town the 
 citizens depend on the agricultural industries sur- 
 rounding it. Its population is estimated to be about 
 600. The people are industrious and temperate in 
 their habits, and there prevails among them a neigh- 
 borly feeling, which is commendable. 
 
 The beginning of the town may be dated from the 
 opening of Mr. Wonser's store, which was in 1850. 
 Samuel Carr's tavern was already here. A black- 
 smith shop for horse-shoeing and repairing was 
 started by Henry Bolton. This same year (1850) 
 Dr. Fetters came in to attend to the physical and C. 
 C. Teats to the legal wants. The postoffice had 
 been moved up from Crandall's Ferry in the spring; 
 so their mail facilities were satisfactory. The relig- 
 ious wants of the villagers were also looked after, 
 there being preaching by the representatives of the 
 different Churches from time to time in the school- 
 house and in private houses. But the first church 
 
 
 
 
 - -
 
 building was put up in 1854 by the United Brethren. 
 Mr. A. J. Osborne materially assisted the growth 
 of the town by furnishing the people with lumber 
 from his saw-mill, which he started in 1855, and 
 which was the first in the town. As the town grew 
 a desire to have railroad communications became 
 uppermost in the minds of its citizens. They were 
 doomed to disappointment, however, for many years. 
 The Sterling & Rock Island Railroad was per- 
 fected in 1855, and farmers and real- estate owners 
 mortgaged their property heavily to assist the enter- 
 prise ; but it all ended in disaster. After several 
 years the project was again taken up, and in 1869 a 
 road was constructed through this county called 
 the Rockford, Rock Island & St. Louis Railroad. 
 The first train of cars came into Erie Jan. 20. The 
 year before, anticipating the advent of the railroad, 
 Messrs. Simonson & Ritchie put up a steam flouring- 
 mill. From this time on the town had a substantial, 
 healthy growth. 
 
 BUSINESS INTERESTS. 
 
 R. L. Burchell has a large general supply store, 
 consisting of dry goods, groceries, clothing, carpets, 
 boots and shoes, crockery, agricultural implements, 
 etc. Handles annually about $70,000 in goods. 
 Established in 1862. 
 
 Dickinson & Jones carry a large assortment of 
 general hardware and agricultural implements. 
 
 Smith & Guthrie have a general hardware store 
 and tin shop, and also keep farming implements. 
 
 Erie Flouring Mills, C. T. Pierce, proprietor, with 
 four run of stone ; capacity, 85 barrels of flour per 
 day ; corn and feed, 200 bushels. Established in 
 1874. Attached to the mill is an elevator and corn 
 sheller. 
 
 Another important industry of Erie is the creamery 
 owned by R. L. Burchell. This creamery manu- 
 factured last season 75,000 pounds of butter, and 
 this season it is expected to make 100,000 pounds. 
 Five teams are employed in gathering in the cream, 
 from a tertitory embracing an area of about ten 
 miles. 
 
 S. Segcr has a windmill manufactory, to which he 
 applies his patent section wheel. 
 
 M. J. Williams increases the industries of the 
 town in the manufacture of good hand-made wagons. 
 
 Arthur McLane has an elevator, and is also a 
 dealer in grain. 
 
 A. A. Mathews has a furniture store, and is also 
 undertaker. 
 
 Harness and saddlery carried on by C. W, Early. 
 
 W. J. Gladhill, jeweler and gunsmith. 
 
 George Echelberger, general repaii shop and 
 coopering. 
 
 F. E. Burridge keeps a general line of drugs and 
 stationery. 
 
 J. M. Cunningham has a general line of drugs 
 and stationery. Is also the manufacturer of Cunning- 
 ham's " Elixir " and the " Good Samaritan " bit- 
 ters. 
 
 The good ladies of Erie have a happy place of 
 resort in the millinery stores of Mesdames E. L. 
 Barker and Hattie L. Blaisdell. 
 
 M. C. Cole, groceries, confectioneries, etc. 
 
 Wm. Smith does blacksmithing. Joseph Cocking, 
 M. Kroninberg, boot and shoe makers. D. Schriver 
 has a livery and feed stable. Mathews & Bros, sup- 
 ply the people with a market. The medical profes- 
 sion is represented by O. J. Bowers and H. R. Wells, 
 who are skilled physicians. Legal matters of Erie 
 rest entirely upon the broad shoulders of W. H. 
 Allen. St. Nicholas Hotel, one of the old land marks 
 of Erie, is managed now by W. V. Timmerman and 
 his estimable wife. The traveler always rejoices 
 when he is placed under the care of the landlord 
 and landlady of this hostelry. 
 
 Erie is not behind in the popular craze of roller- 
 skating rinks, having a very good one. 
 
 The postoffice is presided over by R. L. Burchell, 
 who has held the place since 1870. He succeeded 
 W. R. Davis. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The citizens of Erie have taken special pains in 
 providing a good school for the education of their 
 children. They have a fair school building, with a 
 graded school, embracing nine grades. T. B. Stan- 
 ley is Principal, Miss Saloiue Fenton, Intermediate ( 
 and Miss Lucy A. Passmore, Primary. A full En- 
 glish course is taught. There are oil the rolls 162 
 pupils. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. The establishment 
 of this religious organization in Erie may date back 
 to the autumn of 1838, when a few of its members 
 gathered together at the house of John Freek, near 
 the sand ridge, and, with Rev. Mr. McMurtry pre- 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 siding, held divine service. Mr. McMurtry belonged 
 to the missionary service, and traveled about, hold- 
 ing meetings and establishing societies. A Method- 
 ist class was formed at this time, consisting of John 
 Freek and wife, Alvin Brooks, Mrs. Hunt and James 
 Early and wife. John Freek was Class-leader. 
 Later on, these pioneers were joined by Thomas 
 Freek, John F. Adams, Orem Rook, Adam Hoffman 
 and others. Services were held in the school-house, 
 which were presided over by Rev. Philo Judson. 
 In the latter part of 1841, Rev. Mr. Buck came and 
 took charge of the Church. 
 
 After several unsuccessful efforts, a church build- 
 ing was finally erected, and dedicated under the ad- 
 ministration of Rev. C. E. Smith. The dedication 
 took place Sept. 10, 1871, Dr. J. H. Balys preaching 
 the sermon. The edifice was a very substantial one, 
 costing about $3,000. Prior to the construction of 
 this building, application was made to the Church 
 Extension Society for aid, but not a dollar was re- 
 ceived, and the building was put up and paid for by 
 the Erie people. This society is now in a fair con- 
 dition, and with a membership of 60. They have 
 in connection a good Sabbath-school. Rev. Dick 
 Hull is presiding. 
 
 Christian Church. This congregation was organ- 
 ized by Rev. J. N. Smith, April 20, 1870. The 
 meeting for this purpose was held at the school- 
 house, and A. A. Mathews was chosen Elder; T. J. 
 Henwood and James Cronk, Deacons ; and L. E. 
 Mathews, Clerk. In the winter of 1877, the congre- 
 gation bought the building belonging to the United 
 Brethren Church, which society had been disbanded. 
 This building was refitted and dedicated to their use 
 March 20, 1877. This Church is in a healthy con- 
 dition, with a membership of 55. They have also 
 an interesting Sunday-school. The present pastor 
 is Rev. T. B. Stanley. 
 
 Erie Baptist Church. This society was organized 
 March 26, 1854. Elder W. Rutledge was chosen 
 Moderator at the meeting, and J. VanVleek, Clerk. 
 Ten members were received into the Church at its 
 organization. Rev. L. L. Lansing was their first 
 pastor, who served for five years. Services were 
 held in a school-house until 1870, when a building 
 was erected and dedicated as a place of worship. 
 A committee was selected by the members, consist- 
 ing of John F. Dickinson, Frederick Rhodes and 
 
 iVav/JB.. 
 
 * . " 
 
 James C. Hubbart, to superintend the construction 
 of the edifice; and it was through their efforts and 
 those of Rev. T. J. Mason that the building was 
 finally completed. The Church had several pastors, 
 serving short terms, until 1880, when Rev. D. S. 
 Donegan's services were secured. Mr. Donegan re- 
 mained four years and then severed his connection 
 with this society, accepting a call at Port Byron, 
 Rock Island County. At present the Church is 
 without a pastor, but it has a large and interesting 
 Sunday-school, which is presided over by John F. 
 Dickinson, one of its most zealous members. 
 
 
 
 THE PRESS.' 
 
 Erie has not buried as many newspaper enter- 
 prises as some other towns, there being only one 
 death recorded. The first paper established here was 
 called the Erie Plaindealer, which was in the spring 
 of 1879. The editor, though evidently intending to 
 deal plainly with the people, became satisfied that 
 they would not support his enterprise, and after a 
 brief existence closed his publication. 
 
 The Erie Independent came soon after the close of 
 the Plaindealer. G. W. Gurnsey, believing that the 
 people of Erie ought to have a good paper, and that 
 he could satisfy them on this point, came forward, 
 bought up the office of the late Plaindealer, gathered 
 up his news matter, put it in type and issued forth his 
 first sheet. This was done July 9, 1879. It is a five- 
 column quartp, well gotten up and newsy, with a cir- 
 culation of about 1,000. It is independent in politics. 
 The publisher has also a job office and is prepared 
 to do job work in a satisfactory manner. 
 
 SOCIETIES. 
 
 Masonic Lodge, No. 667. This lodge was insti- 
 tuted Aug. 3, 1871. First W. M. was Abbott M. 
 Crary. There were 25 charter members. 
 
 They have a good large hall, 60 by 24 feet, and 
 well equipped. The lodge is in good working order 
 and prosperous, with a membership of 45. Arthur 
 McLane is the present W. M. ; David Schriver, Sr. 
 W.; W. J. Gladhill, Jr. W. ; P. H. Wilt, Treasurer; 
 Joseph Cocking, Secretary ; Wm. Smith, Sr. D. ; W. 
 E. Carr, Jr. D. ; S. Toby, Tyler ; Joseph Cunning- 
 ham, Sr. Steward ; Wm. Guthrie, Jr. Steward. They 
 own their hall, which was built at a cost of $1,500. 
 
 In connection with this lodge is the Order of the 
 Eastern Star, Evangeline Lodge, No. 52. This lodge 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 

 
 was chartered Oct. 7, 1880. Esmath A. Orcutt was 
 the first Matron under the charter. 
 
 M. W. A., Rock River Camp, No. 14, was insti- 
 tuted Aug. 14, 1883, with 15 charter members. They 
 have added to this number 13 new members. They 
 have a hall and meet regularly. 
 
 ERIE CEMETERY. 
 
 This cemetery is located at the edge of the village 
 on section 6, and contains about ten acres. It is on 
 a beautiful site, well laid out, and adorned with shade 
 trees and evergreens. It was platted by W. S. Wil- 
 kinson. It was started first by private parties, but 
 it is now in the control of the village. It has a web- 
 wire fence in front, with barbed wire on the other 
 sides. This cemetery has many pretty monuments, 
 the avenues are shaded with trees, and the lots and 
 grounds are well taken care of, which speaks well for 
 the good people of this village. 
 
 FEN TON TOWNSHIP. 
 
 J.ENTON Township was organized April 
 6, 1852. The meeting for perfecting the 
 organization and electing township officials 
 was held at the residence of James M. Pratt, 
 on section 26. Joseph Fenton was chosen 
 temporary Chairman, when the citizens pro- 
 ceeded to ballot for moderator and clerk, which 
 resulted in the election of Zena M. Emery as Moder- 
 ator, and J. D. Odell as Clerk. In the ballot-box at 
 the close of the election for township officers there 
 were 26 votes, and upon counting them James M. 
 Pratt was found to be elected Supervisor; J. D. Odell, 
 Clerk ; Joseph Fenton, Overseer of the Poor ; Thomas 
 W. Havens was chosen for Assessor ; R. M. Thomp- 
 son, Collector ; John A. King, D. C. Smith and 
 George H. Peters, Commissioners of the Highway ; 
 Hiram Harmon and Martin M. Potter, Justices of 
 the Peace; and R. M. Thompson, Constable. 
 
 Fenton embraces all of Congressional township 20 
 north, range 4 east, except a part of sections 35 and 
 36, which are attached to Portland Township; and 
 a fractional portion of section i in Portland, and 
 section 6 in Prophetstown Township. Union drove 
 Township bounds it on the north, Lyndon on the 
 east, Portland on the south, and Newton on the 
 
 west. This territory was originally included in the 
 Lyndon Precinct. The Commissioners of 1849, who 
 were appointed to define the territory and name the 
 townships, gave this territory the name of Eden, 
 which name it retained until the Commissioners of 
 185 2 changed the name to Fenton, in honor of Joseph 
 Fenton, who was the first settler in the township. 
 
 Joseph Fenton located in this township, with his 
 wife and four children, Oct. 10, 1835, taking up a 
 claim on section 33. He came from New Jersey, 
 where he was born Sept. 12, 1794. He married 
 Elizabeth Durell, of the same State, in April, 1826. 
 He died at his home in Fenton, where he first lo- 
 cated, Sept. 28, 1874. Four children were added to 
 his family after he located in Fenton. They had eight 
 children, born as follows : Ellwood W., born Jan. 23, 
 1827; Joseph R., March 27, 1829; Elizabeth H., 
 July 9, 1831; John D., Nov. 10,1832; Robert S., 
 Oct. 6, 1834. These were born in New Jersey 
 Alfred W., May r3, 1837 ; Mary E., Dec. 18, 1839 
 Sylvester H., Aug. 27, 1841, and Henry C., July 3, 
 1845. All of the latter born in Fenton. They are 
 all still living except Elizabeth, who died in New 
 Jersey. Mrs. Fenton died Jan. 15, 1879. The 
 Fenton farm, which increased in acreage until it em- 
 braced 215 acres, is owned by the four sons. Part 
 qf it is on section 4, Erie Township, the balance on 
 section 33, in Fenton. The old house was in Fen- 
 ton. It has been torn down, and on the site is a 
 corn-field. Mr. Fenton came from Chicago with an 
 ox team. They lived in tents until a house could 
 be built, which was the first house put up in the 
 township. Mr. Fenton, with John Freek, who came 
 with him, and who married Mrs. Fenton's sister, put 
 in the first crop in the township. During their first 
 winter they had for neighbors a party of Winnebago 
 Indians, who located there to hunt. There was 
 plenty of wild game about in those days, which at- 
 tracted there these Indians. 
 
 Lyman Bennett came in in- 1836, and the follow- 
 ing year John R., William L. and Charles Clarke, 
 Earnest Warner; and Joseph James, Robert G. Clen- 
 denin and Theron Crook came in 1838. From this 
 on the population steadily increased. 
 
 The first birth in the township was that of Alfred, 
 son of Joseph and Elizabeth Fenton, born May 13, 
 1837. He is now living in Erie village. The first 
 couple to enter into wedlock were Daniel C. Smith 
 
 I 

 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 
 and Eliza James, daughter of Thomas James. This 
 happy event occurred in 1838. They are still living, 
 but not in this State. Thomas James and wife are 
 dead. 
 
 Miss Arminta Lathe opened the first school, in 
 1848. She occupied a log cabin owried by James 
 M. Pratt, near his residence on section 26. This 
 pioneer teacher left this world years ago. 
 
 The- first sermon preached in the township was in 
 a log house, in 1846, by Rev. Hiram Harmon, a 
 Methodist clergyman. At one period they had re- 
 ligious services quite regularly. Mr. James M. 
 Pratt was a regular attendant, but was wont to ask 
 the preachers questions during the delivery of their 
 sermons, and have disputations with them. This 
 considerably lessened the quantity of preaching. 
 Yet, after the heated, religious debate was over, Mr. 
 Pratt would invite the ministers over to his house, 
 which was near by, and give them a good dinner. 
 The members of the Church did not at all like this 
 interruption, and said if it was not for Pratt they 
 might have more preaching. Finally Mr. Pratt ab- 
 stained from attending Church for a few Sundays, 
 which seemed to detract from the usual interest of 
 the services, and which finally resulted in the break- 
 ing up of the preaching altogether. 
 
 The people of Fenton went to Crandall's Ferry in 
 early days for their meat. It was not until the atl- 
 vent of the railroad, in 1869, that a postoffice was 
 established in the township. This was at Pratt 
 Station, and Mr. Pratt was appointed Postmaster. 
 He has been continued since. 
 
 A road was made through the township in an 
 early day. It lead from Dixon to Rock Island, and 
 was traveled by the Frink & Walker stages, which 
 were a joy in those days to the traveler. It is 
 claimed by old settlers that this road was one of the 
 best in the State. 
 
 N. O. Hurless opened the first store in the town- 
 ship, which was located at what is now known as 
 Fenton Center. 
 
 The Rock Island & St. Louis Branch of the Chi- 
 cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, completed its 
 track through the township during the first days of 
 January, 1869. It enters the township on section 25 
 and passes out on section 33. 
 
 Pratt Station, on the line of this road, was platted 
 and lots were laid out, and great expectations were 
 
 iiad regarding it. The growth or the destiny of a 
 railroad station, or town, is as uncertain as the action 
 or course of a tornado. The company long since 
 withdrew its agent from the place, and only one build- 
 ing stands to mark the village site. The Clinton 
 branch of the C., B. & Q. Railroad laid its track 
 through the township in 1872. It crosses the St. 
 Louis branch, and enters the township on section 24, 
 running northwest and going out on section 4. 
 
 The soil in Fenton is mostly a black sandy loam. 
 A good deal of the land is low, and, until it was 
 ditched, was swampy and unfit for cultivation. It is 
 rolling in parts, and in the northwestern portion there 
 are high, sandy ridges. Sloughs are quite frequent 
 in the township. Rock River winds along the south- 
 east corner, and Rock Creek meanders through from 
 north to south. There are several other little streams, 
 and a pretty little lake, which the people have been 
 pleased to call Lake Erie, quietly reposes on the 
 southern border. About the water-courses there is a 
 liberal growth of timber, and, take the township alto- 
 gether, it is a very attractive one. Fruit does well 
 in this township, and it is cultivated to some extent. 
 
 The population of the township is estimated at 800. 
 The census of 1880 showed 752 inhabitants. 
 
 FENTON CENTER. 
 
 Fenton Center is a little hamlet located on section 
 10, on the line of the Clinton branch of the C. B. & 
 Q. Railroad. This town was platted in 1872, by 
 James Enson, who gave ten acres of land here to the . 
 railroad company, to induce them to locate a station 
 at this point. The road was built through the place 
 in 1872. The company erected a depot and also 
 put up an elevator. 
 
 Fenton Center has a good school building, and a 
 fine school. Miss Anna Mathews is the teacher, and 
 the school has an average attendance of 25 pupils. 
 
 United Brethren Church. This society was or- 
 ganized in 1866, at Coborn, on section 2r, by Rev. 
 Samuel Midler. Joseph Pinkly and wife, J. P. Miller 
 and wife, and E. J. Ewers and daughters were the 
 original members. In 1871 the society erected a 
 church building in the northeast corner of section 17, 
 near Fenton Center, at a cost of $1,200. The so- 
 ciety have had regular services since its organiza- 
 tion. They were aided in the erection of their 
 church by donation work. If has a membership of 
 about 30, with a Sabbath-school. Rev. Conrad Ben- 
 der is the present pastor. 
 
 
 /r)
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Postoffice. Was established here in 1872. L. S. 
 Burritt was appointed the first Postmaster. He was 
 succeeded by Wm. Miller, and Miller by M. O. 
 Hurless. R. M. Carr succeeded M. O. Hurless, and 
 is the present Postmaster. Fenton Center has also a 
 telephone, which is located in the postoffice. 
 
 Business. There are two creameries in the town, 
 one owned by G. L. Whipple, and the other by 
 Wright & Allen. R. M. Carr has a general store, 
 and is also a dealer in grain. M. D. Allen also has 
 a general store. R. M. Thompson operates an ele- 
 vator. Blacksmithing is carried on by C. A. Gilroy. 
 M. D. Allen is the physician and surgeon of the place. 
 
 From the Assessor's rolls the following informa- 
 tion is obtained : Number of acres of improved land 
 10,736; value of the same, $101,730; total value of 
 personal property, $5 i ,069 ; number of horses, 488 ; 
 asses and mules, 16; cattle, 1,348; sheep, 211; 
 hogs, 1,331; steam engines, 2; carriages and wag- 
 ons, 174; watches and clocks, 148; sewing and 
 knitting machines, 84 ; organs and melodeons, 32 ; 
 pianos, 3. Total value of lands, lots and personal 
 property, $212,071. 
 
 The County Superintendent in his annual report 
 ending June 30, 1884, gives the following informa- 
 tion regarding schools : There were ten school dis- 
 tricts, all with frame buildings. No graded schools. 
 Two of the schools had libraries. The school prop- 
 erty was valued at $2,800. Of persons under 21 
 years of age there were 340, of whom 235 were of 
 school age, and 155 enrolled. The highest wages 
 paid teachers was $50 per month, the lowest $20. 
 
 The tax levy was $1,038. The township -has hon- 
 ored the following named citizens as Supervisors. 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 James M. Pratt 1852-4 
 
 Alfred Freeman 1855 
 
 JamesM. Pratt 1856 
 
 Alfred Freeman 1857 
 
 Hiram Harmon 1858-9 
 
 Alfred Freeman 1860 
 
 Joseph R Paul 1861-2 
 
 R.M. Thompson 1863-4 
 
 Arthur McLane 1865 
 
 James N. Bull 1866 
 
 JamesM. Pratt 1867-8 
 
 Arthur McLane 1869 
 
 JamesM. Pratt 1870 
 
 Arthur McLane 1871-2 
 
 R.M. Thompson 1873 
 
 JamesM. Pratt 1874-6 
 
 M.O. Hurless 1877-81 
 
 Henry G. Moss 1882-5 
 
 FULTON TOWNSHIP. 
 
 TJLTON Township was organized from 
 Fulton Precinct. A meeting was held for 
 the election of officers, under the township 
 organization laws, April 6, 1852. Charles 
 Johnson was chosen Moderator, and James F. 
 Booth, Clerk, pro tern. There were 41 votes 
 cast, according to the poll-book, James McCoy cast- 
 
 ing the first. This election resulted in the selection 
 of the following named officers: Willson S. Wright, 
 Supervisor; James F. Booth, Clerk; Ephraim Sum- 
 mers, Assessor; R. M. Rockwell, Collector; P. L. 
 Wright, Constable; Samuel Garrish, Orlando Sprague 
 and Wm. H. Knight, Commissioners of the High- 
 way ; P. D. Wright, Overseer of the Poor ; and Isaac 
 Butcher, Pound Master. Of those who voted at 
 this election four still live in Fulton, James McCoy, 
 Richard Green, W. C. Green and G. H. Rice. 
 
 Fulton is not a full Congressional township, there 
 being only about 18 sections in it. 
 
 The nature of the land of this township is gener- 
 ally rolling. Along the Mississippi it is broken, and 
 containing many high points. A clay soil rests on 
 the high lands, while in the bottom lands the soil is 
 a rich loam. The township is watered by the Cat- 
 tail, Otter Creek and the Great River. 
 
 The first settler in this township was John Baker, 
 in 1835, who took up a claim upon which the town 
 of Fulton was afterwards built. He was a native of 
 Maryland. He came up the Mississippi from New 
 Orleans in 1833, settling first at the Marais d" Osier, 
 where he remained a short time and then pursued 
 his way northward and located on the banks of 
 the Mississippi, above Albany. Here he built him 
 a cabin and remained about a year, when he lo- 
 cated in Fulton and put up another cabin, which 
 was much larger than the one he built below. For 
 some time he lived alone, having only Indians for 
 his neighbors and guests, they being quite numerous 
 about here at this time. 
 
 In the fall of 1836, his nephew, John W. Baker, 
 wife and three sisters, came out from the East. Mr. 
 Baker was married the same year, seeking his 
 bride in Rock Island County. His log cabin was of 
 necessity converted into an inn, and became in time 
 quite a famous hostelry. His wife did not survive 
 the hardships of frontier life very long. In 1840 he 
 married Mrs. Humphreys. In 1850 he went to 
 California for his health, but returned in a few years 
 to Albany, where he died, in December, 1863. 
 
 Most of the early settlers located in and about 
 where Fulton City now is, and the incidents con- 
 nected with the early settlement will be found in the 
 history of that city. 
 
 Fulton Township contains many fine and well im- 
 proved farms. The farmers are doing well, and 
 
 fa) 
 
 , . 
 
 r' <^> i^s-i
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 most of them are in independent circumstances. 
 Good roads have been constructed throughout the 
 township, and the traveler as he rides over them is 
 presented with attractive homes and cultivated fields. 
 
 Three great railway lines enter the township and 
 have depots in Fulton city; one from the north, the 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul ; one from the east, the 
 Chicago & Northwestern; and one from the south, 
 the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. 
 
 The population of the township in 1880, accord- 
 ing to the census reports, was 1,994, including the 
 city of Fulton. 
 
 The County Superintendent, in his report for the 
 year ending June 30, 1884, gives the following in- 
 formation regarding the schools of this township : 
 Number of districts, three, with one graded and two 
 ungraded schools; buildings, two frame and one 
 brick; number of libraries, three. The school prop- 
 erty was valued at $17,450. Of persons under 21 
 years of age, there were 1,103, of whom 720 were of 
 scholastic age, 490 being enrolled. The highest 
 wages paid teachers was $125 per month, and the 
 lowest $23. The tax levy was $3,950. 
 
 The Assessor's report for 1884 contains the fol- 
 lowing information: Number of acres of improved 
 land, 6,206; valuation of improved land, $50,696. 
 Total value of town lots, $118,413. Total value of 
 personal property, $67,665. Number of horses, 237 ; 
 asses and mules, 5: cattle, 477; sheep, 24; hogs, 
 490; steam engines, i; carriages and wagons, 142 ; 
 watches and clocks, 109; sewing and knitting ma- 
 chines, 106; pianos 16; organs and melodeons, 42. 
 Total value of lands, lots and personal property, 
 $258,^2. 
 
 The following named citizens have represented 
 this township since its organization, as 
 
 SUPERVISORS : 
 
 Willson S Wright 1852-3 
 
 A. W. Benton 1854-5 
 
 Wm. C. Snyder 1856 
 
 Henry C. Fellows 1857 
 
 C. N. Wheeler ..1858-60 
 
 Irving G. Gates 1861-2 
 
 Henry C. Fellows 1863-4 
 
 .John Phelps 1865 
 
 Irving G. Gates 1866 
 
 John Dyer 1867 
 
 Bradstreet Robinson 1868-9 
 
 Henry C. Fellows 1870 
 
 Richard Green 1871 
 
 Henry C. Fellows, asVnt 1871 
 
 Henry C. Fellows 1872 
 
 A. R McCoy 1873-4 
 
 John Dyer 1875 
 
 N. Y. Wetzell ,876-8 
 
 John Dyer (assistant) 1878 
 
 John Dyer ,870-80 
 
 W. C. Green ,88, 
 
 C. A. Griswold (assistant) 1881 
 
 C . A . Griswold ,882 
 
 C. B. Mercereau ,883-5 
 
 The history of the city of Fulton follows the town- 
 ship and village, under a separate head. 
 
 GARDEN PLAIN TOWNSHIP. 
 
 ARDEN PLAIN Township never had 
 any identity as a precinct, but the terri- 
 tory of which it is now composed was 
 embraced in Van Buren Precinct, and later 
 in that of Albany. The County Commis- 
 sioners' Court, in 1852, defined its boundaries, 
 and gave it its name. As at present organized, it 
 is township 21 north, of range 3 east of the 4th 
 principal meridian. It is not a full Congressional 
 township, unless those sections extending into the 
 Mississippi River are counted. Its organization was 
 completed at a meeting held April 6, 1852, in the 
 school-house at Garden Plain Corners. 
 
 Samuel M. Kilgour was called to the chair, and 
 James A. Sweet acted as Clerk. Upon taking a 
 ballot Samuel M. Kilgour was elected Moderator, 
 and James A. Sweet, Clerk. The result of this 
 meeting was the election of Samuel M. Kilgour for 
 Supervisor; Daniel Kilgour, Clerk; David Miller, 
 Assessor; J. W. Baker, Collector; Edward White, 
 Overseer of the Poor; and E. Kilgour, R. Blean and 
 Francis Parker, Commissioners of the Highway. 
 
 Garden Plain has the Mississippi River and 
 Fulton Township on the north, Union Grove on the 
 east, Newton on the South, and Albany and the 
 Mississippi on the west. The topography of this 
 township is varied. Commencing near the south- 
 western portion, ranging along near the banks of the 
 Mississippi for some distance, and then coursing to 
 the eastward, are a line of bluffs, or perhaps, more 
 appropriately speaking, a Succession of hills. 
 
 The Cattail's western outlet is through this town- 
 ship, and it is watered by several other small 
 streams. In some parts the land is rolling, in 
 others slightly undulating, with extensive level 
 fields. The soil is mostly a rich vegetable mold 
 mixed with sand ; the higher ground partakes more 
 of a clay soil. Corn is regarded as the best crop in 
 the township, though all cereals and vegetables do 
 well. 
 
 David Parker, with his large family, began the 
 settlement of Garden Plain, in the spring of 1836, 
 making a claim in what was afterwards known as 
 Parker's Grove. Here he built a cabin, which was 
 
 W 
 
 '<$ 
 
 4^ 
 
 v> 
 
 f 
 
 
 _/~\ A.
 
 the first in the township. A more particular history 
 of this pioneer, and his large family, will be found 
 in the biographical part of this work. 
 
 Joseph Bacon, who came in about the same time 
 that Parker did, put up the next cabin. Stephen 
 Sweet came in 1836, and made a claim on section 
 8, called the Holland Farm, section 4. He was in 
 the War of 1812. Mr. Sweet married the widow of 
 Thomas Sey, in 1840. By this marriage they had 
 one son, who enlisted in the War of the Rebellion, 
 and was killed. Among the early settlers coming 
 in and making claims from this period to 1840, were 
 John Redfern, Alpheus Mathews, Charles R. Rood, 
 James A. Sweet, Isaac Crosby, David Mitchell, 
 William Minta, Ira Burch, Henry M. Grinnold, 
 Samuel Robbins, Thomas Sey, John Grant, and 
 Samuel M. Kilgour. Most of these pioneers had 
 families. 
 
 This territory was, as before stated, in the Albany 
 Precinct, but when the townships were surveyed 
 and organized, and the sections laid out, the loca- 
 tions of the settlers became better known. Mathews 
 and Sweet came around the lakes to Chicago, and 
 footed it from there to their new home. Samuel 
 Robbins and John Redfern located on what is now 
 known as the Ham Farm. When the township 
 lines were drawn they divided the farm, placing 
 Mr. Redfern in Fulton and Mr. Robbins in Garden 
 Plain Township. Alpheus Mathews settled on 
 section 13, where he made a claim, and for some 
 time lived in David Parker's cabin. Joseph Bacon 
 located on section T3, and Charles K. Rood on 
 section 22. Ira Burch located on section 12. 
 Abel Parker and James A. Sweet planted the first 
 crop a sod crop in the township, in 1837, at 
 the Grove farm. Mr. Parker did not improve the 
 Garden Plain Corners farm until 1839, when, after 
 his house was finished, he moved in. This after- 
 ward became the property of David Parker, the 
 oldest son of Abel Parker. It is now owned by 
 Charles D. Parker, grandson of Abel, and son of 
 David Parker. 
 
 In the early days this house was opened for the 
 accommodation of the traveler, and was known far 
 and wide as " Parker's," from the name which was 
 painted on a post near by. It is a two-story house, 
 the first part built of walnut, with additions made 
 since. It id still in good repair, especially the old 
 
 part, and until recently was the residence of Charles 
 D. Parker. This celebrated country hostelry was 
 loved by the old pioneer travelers, for its good enter- 
 tainment ; for the kind, sympathetic treatment and 
 warm greeting extended to them by its host ; and for 
 the social, convivial hours spent there. The old 
 road from Union Grove, and extending on to Dixon 
 and to Chicago, passed by this house, and thence on 
 to Albany. The Fink & Walker stages ran on this 
 road for many years. The old track, or wagon road, 
 can be seen now beneath the grass leading up to the 
 front of the house. The grounds in front are shaded 
 by large trees, which were planted by the Parkers. 
 Though the doors of this famous tavern has long 
 been closed to the public, yet no man have ever been 
 turned away from its hospitable roof hungry or with- 
 out shelter. 
 
 The first child born in the township was Mary, 
 daughter of Alpheus and Abylene (Bethea) Mathews. 
 The date of her birth was August 20, 1840. She 
 was married to Samuel Montgomery in 1861, and 
 died at her home in 1872. The first marriage cele- 
 brated was between Samuel Robbins and Clarissa 
 Parker, eldest daughter of Abel Parker. This very 
 interesting event, not only to those parties directly 
 concerned, but to all the Garden Plain settlement, 
 occurred in the winter of 1839. They were married 
 by Esquire Buckingham, of Albany. Alpheus "Math- 
 ews and Abylene (Bethea) were the next couple to 
 enter into wedlock. Miss Bethea was from Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 The first school taught in Garden Plain was 
 by Harriet Boyington, in 1838, at Parker's cabin, on 
 the northwest corner of section 15. 
 
 The first postoffice established was in April, 1846, 
 with Charles R. Rood as Postmaster. 
 
 The first death in the township was that of Elijah 
 Knowlton, in March, 1838. 
 
 The first preaching extended to the good people 
 of Garden Plain was by Rev. Mr. McKean, a Meth- 
 odist (mission) preacher. Services were held in the 
 school- house. 
 
 Early attention was given by the people to their 
 wagon roads, and throughout the township now the 
 public thoroughfares are first-class. The Clinton 
 branch of the C., B. & Q. Railroad completed its 
 line through the township in 1872, making a station 
 at Garden Plain, which affords the people ample 
 
 _,gA^V 
 
 
 r
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 i 
 
 
 and ready means of transportation. Their nearest 
 trading towns are Albany and Fulton. There is a 
 small store at Cedar Creek, kept by John Burns, and 
 one at Garden Plain Corners, by E. W. Sayre. R. 
 R. Murphy has a creamery on section 27, where he 
 makes during the season about 6,000 pounds of 
 butter per week. C. D. Parker is giving a good deal 
 of attention to breeding Short-horns and the red 
 Jersey pig. J. B. Krames, on section ri, is also 
 breeding Short-horns. Fruit has been cultivated by 
 the people here, and there are many valuable or- 
 chards throughout the township. The greater por- 
 tion of the roads are bordered with hedges, which are 
 generally well trimmed. About the farms and roads 
 shade trees have been set out, which adds much to 
 the adornment of the country. 
 
 To one with a cultivated eye, and fond of pas- 
 toral scenes, no more pleasing country could be 
 visited than Garden Plain Township. The farms 
 are magnificent, the dwellings good, and constructed 
 with taste. It was an old saying by the people of 
 New York, when they wanted to express a measure 
 of value for anything, that they would not take an 
 " interest in Goshen for it ; or it was " worth an 
 interest in Goshen ;* referring to a township in that 
 State noted for its richness and beauty. The same 
 expression, with only the change of the name, could, 
 with all modesty, be applied to this township. 
 
 The old Grant school-house at the " Corners " has 
 been carefully preserved and kept in good repair. 
 By its side has been erected, to meet the demands of 
 an increased population, a larger one a two-story, 
 building, with a hall above. They have a good 
 school here, with an average attendance in the 
 winter of 55 pupils, while in the summer- about 37 
 pupils attend. W. S. Ellison is the present teacher. 
 The old school-house is used for town purposes. 
 
 The postoffice, as has been previously stated, was 
 first established in 1846, with C. R. Rood as Post- 
 master. Mr. Rood resigned in 1851, and James A. 
 Sweet was appointed, who held the place until the 
 office was discontinued on account of the withdrawal 
 of the Fink and Walker stage line, which was caused 
 by the completion of what was then called the 
 Dixon branch of the Chicago & Galena Railroad. 
 It was re-established in 1862, with D. H. Knowlton 
 as Postmaster. 
 
 It was again discontinued in 1864, and so re- 
 
 mained until 1876, when it was re-established, and 
 L. P. Hill was appointed to the office. Mr. Hill 
 was succeeded by A. J. Stowell, who is the present 
 postmaster. 
 
 A. O. U. W. Lodge No. 220, was organized June 
 7, 1882; with 26 charter members. C. D. Parker was 
 chosen M. W. and J. B. Kearnes P. M. W. They 
 have a hall in the school building, section 22, which 
 is appropriately furnished. The lodge is prosperous. 
 Has had but one death since its organization. Pres- 
 ent M. W., J. B. Kearnes; P. M. W., J. Simpson. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 The Presbyterian Church. This society was or- 
 ganized March 16, 1850, in the old Grant School- 
 house, by Rev. J. J. Hill. Francis Parker, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Samuel Kilgour, and Mrs. E. Zorn, composed 
 the first membership. 
 
 Rev. W. T. Wheeler commenced his labors in the 
 Church in the fall of the same year, services being 
 held in the school-house. Mr. Wheeler died in the 
 fall of 1851. Rev. J. Walker was a supply preacher 
 until the fall of 1855, when Rev. Nathaniel Pinne 
 was called to take charge, remaining about two 
 years. 
 
 In Feb., 1858, Rev. Josiah Leonard assumed the 
 pastoral duties. He remained until September, 1871. 
 In Oct. of the same year, the society called Rev. E. 
 E. Bayless, who remained but a short time, and was 
 succeeded by Rev. M. D. Graves, who remained 
 until March, 1884, after which Rev. E. H. Sayre, 
 the present pastor, assumed charge. They have a 
 neat little edifice, and also a parsonage all costing 
 about $7,000. They have at present about 60 mem- 
 bers, and a flourishing Sabbath-school ; services every 
 Sunday. This church is located on section 23. 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church has an organization 
 in this township, with a church building located three 
 miles southeast of the "Corners." Rev. F. Lines, 
 from Albany, holds services here every Sunday after- 
 noon, and preaches to about 40 members. 
 
 CEMETERY. 
 
 The inhabitants of Garden Plain have provided a 
 place for their departed friends. They have a 
 beautiful little cemetery, situated upon a rising piece 
 of ground near the Corners, and shaded by fine old 
 trees. It contains some fine monuments. Abel 
 Parker and his son David are buried here. The 
 first interment was the body of A. M. George. 
 
 ( 

 
 -.. .. , 
 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 The following-named citizens have been honored 
 
 by election to the office of Supervisor, from the first 
 i organization of the township to the present time : 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 Samuel M. Kilgotir 1852 
 
 J. C. V. H;unl ^853-4 
 
 C. H . Knupp 1855 
 
 James A . Sweet 1856 
 
 A.M. ( Jeorije 1857-61 
 
 ('. R. Rood 1862 
 
 A. M. licorge 1863 
 
 C- R Rood.. 1864 
 
 James A. Sweet ......... 1865-6 
 
 C. R. Rood ............... 1867 
 
 1). B. Arrcll ............. 1868 
 
 David Miller ............. 1869 
 
 James M. Eaton .......... 1870-1 
 
 Daniel Mjller ............ 1872-5 
 
 James M. Eaton .......... 1876-81 
 
 Charles D. Parker ........ 1882-85 
 
 GENESEE TOWNSHIP. 
 
 L L of Congressional township No. 22 
 north, range 6 east of the 4th principal 
 meridian, comprises the township of Gen- 
 esee. The township was organized in r852, 
 previous to which time it had formed a part 
 of Crow Creek, Elkhorn and Genesee Grove 
 Precincts, in the order named. Genesee Grove lies 
 in the northwest corner of the township, and is a 
 fine body of limber land. Among the varieties of 
 timber are white, black and burr oak, hickory and 
 walnut. With the exception of this grove, the re- 
 mainder of the township is a beautiful, rolling prairie, 
 and at this writing dotted over with fine farm houses 
 and barns, proving that it has an enterprising and 
 thrifty population. There are no large streams in 
 the township. Spring Creek, which rises on section 
 10, is the largest. Branches of Otter Creek and 
 Rock Creek also water the township. Genesee is 
 bounded on the north by Ogle and Carroll Counties, 
 on the South by Hopkins Township, on the east by 
 Jordan, and on the west by Clyde. 
 
 The first settlement made in Genesee was in the 
 spring of 1834, by Jesse Hill, Nathaniel Moxley, 
 Adam and John James. In 1836 and 1837 came 
 William and John Wick, Eli Redman, Samuel Lan- 
 dis, Joseph Mush and Mark Harrison; Ivory Col- 
 cord, Isaac Brookfield, James McMullen, Pleasant 
 Stanley and Jacob Huffman in 1838; in 1838 and 
 1839, Edward Richard, Levi Marble, Harvey Sum- 
 mers, John T. Crum, Martin D. McCrea, William 
 Crum, Mr. Carr, Henry H. Holbrook, James Sco- 
 ville, R. T. Hughes, R. Baker, Israel Reed, E. R. 
 Huett, Watson Parish and Marvin Chappell. 
 
 Jesse Hill was from North Carolina. He located 
 on the north side of the grove, on section 6. The 
 family consisted of the old gentleman, his wife, and 
 
 nine children, five boys and four girls. Jesse Hill 
 died many years ago. 
 
 Nathaniel Moxley was also from North Carolina. 
 He moved to Oregon about 1857, where he was still 
 living when last heard from, in the spring of 1885. 
 
 Adam and John James were brothers, natives of 
 North Carolina. They settled on the south side of 
 the grove, and, it is said, made an alliance with the 
 Hill family, in which they were to divide the grove 
 and defend each other's claims. Adam James 
 returned to Morgan Co., 111., from which place he 
 came to Genesee. John James moved to Mt. 
 Pleasant Township. 
 
 Samuel Landis came from Virginia, and located 
 on section 7, in the spring of 1836. He was a 
 cabinet-maker by trade, and worked at it occasion- 
 ally in connection with his farming. In having a 
 tumor removed from his body, chloroform was 
 administered, and it was successfully removed, but 
 he never recovered, and died soon after. 
 
 William and John Wick were brothers, natives of 
 Kentucky, but reared in Ohio. They came to Gen- 
 essee in 1836, William in June and John in October. 
 Both were soldiers in the War of 1812. William 
 was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 and his house was the home of all the pioneer 
 preachers. He died in 1858. John died some two 
 years ago. 
 
 Eli Redman was also a Virginian by birth, but 
 reared in Ohio, and, like the Wick brothers, served 
 in the War of 1812. In 1827 he moved to Taze- 
 well Co., 111., and from thence to Genesee Town- 
 ship in 1836. He was familiarly known to all early 
 settlers as " Uncle Eli Redman." Mr. Redman 
 died in 1862, and was buried in the Genesee Grove 
 Cemetery. 
 
 Mark Harrison was of English birth, a sailor by 
 profession. He came to this county in 1836. When 
 he married, it is said, he had but 50 cents, while 
 his wife had $15. When they began housekeeping 
 they had no table, bed or chairs; but they managed 
 to get along, and in the end were rewarded for their 
 sacrifices. 
 
 Isaac Brookfield was from New York. He came 
 to Genesee in 1837, remaining six years, and then 
 moved to Indiana. In 1858 he came back to White- 
 side County, and settled in Sterling, where he died, 
 Jan. 23, 1877. 
 
 ft 
 
 e ' 
 
 Jl 1
 
 
 James McMullen was born in Ireland. He set- 
 tled in Genesee in 1837. On the death of his wife 
 he sold out and went to Canada, but returned, and, 
 after living a while in Carroll County, settled at 
 Fulton. 
 
 Jacob Huffman was from Canada, and located on 
 the north side of the grove. He died many years 
 ago. 
 
 Ivory Colcord came from New Hampshire in 
 1837. A sketch of him appears elsewhere. 
 
 For several years after the first settlement of 
 this township, the Indians remained near to hunt 
 and fish. Many humorous stories are told of how 
 the pioneers were frightened by ill reports of their 
 depredations humorous to those now living, but 
 quite serious to the early settlers. They were gen- 
 erally quite peaceful, but would now and then steal 
 a horse and some provisions. On one occasion, 
 after stealing some horses, they were followed and 
 overtaken on an island of the Mississippi, near Ful- 
 ton, the horse recovered, and the guilty ones horse- 
 whipped. 
 
 Some trouble was occasioned by claim-jumpers, 
 but nothing serious occurred. Some public whip- 
 pings were administered to those who violated the 
 claim law, but no blood was shed by claimants or 
 those who had jumped claims. 
 
 The early settlers of Genesee were composed of 
 families from various parts of the country, New Eng- 
 land, the South and the Middle States contributing 
 their quota. While some might be termed ignorant 
 of knowledge obtained from books, many were well 
 educated, and all were good citizens, kind and hos- 
 pitable. The "latch string" was always out at the 
 cabins of these worthy pioneers. No cabin was too 
 small, or over-crowded so much but the weary trav- 
 eler would receive a genuine welcome, and given "the 
 best the house afforded." 
 
 Louisa, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Win. Wick, was 
 born in 1836, the first birth in the township. 
 
 Mrs. James, the mother of Adam and John James, 
 died in 1838. Her death was doubtless the first in 
 the township. 
 
 Among the early marriages was that of Harvey 
 Preston and Jane Hall in 1839. 
 
 Within two months after his arrival in October, 
 '8;?7. Ivory Colcord commenced teaching an evening 
 school at the house of Wm. Wick. This was the 
 
 
 first in the township. The second school was taught 
 by Dinsmoor Barnett in the winter of 1839-40, in a 
 log house erected for the purpose on section 8. This 
 house was used for some years, but has since been 
 replaced by a better one, the section on which it was 
 situated comprising a portion of District No. 4. 
 
 The Superintendent of Public Schools, in his an- 
 nual report for the year ending June 30, 1884, gave 
 for the township ten school districts, with nine frame 
 school-houses, valued at $11,150. There were 710 
 persons under 21, of which number 508 were above 
 the age of six years, and 429 of these were enrolled 
 in the public schools. The highest wages paid 
 teachers were $75 and the lowest $25 per month. 
 The tax levy for school purposes for the year was 
 
 Rev. Barton H. Cartwright was doubtless the first 
 to proclaim the gospel in Genesee, services being 
 held at the house of Wm. Wick in 1837. A class 
 was soon afterwards organized, of which Ivory Col- 
 cord was class-leader. The Methodists now have 
 two societies in the township, one at Coleta, the out- 
 growth of the first class, and the other in the south 
 part of the township. The Christians were the next 
 to organize, effecting one in 1839. The first church 
 edifice was erected by the United Brethren, in 1858. 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 Ivory Colcord 1852-3 
 
 AndrewS. Ferguson 1854-5 
 
 Chas. I.incroad 1856-7 
 
 C. W. Sherwood 1858-9 
 
 Andrew S. Ferguson 1860-3 
 
 Kphraitn lirookfield 1864-6 
 
 l>avid Anthony ...1867 
 
 Andrew S. Ferguson 1868-70 
 
 Village of Coleta. 
 
 N the fall of 1854 John T. Crum and Henry 
 Mason commenced the sale of merchandise 
 in an old log house which was then stand- 
 ing on the southwest corner of section 10. Mr. 
 Mason continued but a short time. After oc- 
 cupying the store some years, Mr. Crum erect- 
 ed a. frame building across the road from his first 
 location, bringing it on the southeast corner of sec- 
 tion 9. Around this store, in time, grew up the pres- 
 ent village of Coleta. 
 
 When the village was laid out it was proposed to 
 give it the name of Clayton, but on making applica- 
 
 S 
 
 -' ' 
 
 Wm. H. Colcord 1871-2 
 
 Cephas Hurless 1873-4 
 
 Ira Scoville 1875-7 
 
 Cephas Hurless 1878-80 
 
 Kphraim C. Winters 1881 
 
 Cephas Hurless 1882-3 
 
 Win. H. Colcord 1884-5 
 

 
 tion to have the name of the postoffice changed, it 
 was found there was a Clayton in Adams County. 
 Having experienced some difficulty in regard to 
 mails, there being a Geneseo postoffice in the State, 
 when the change was made from Genesee, it was de- 
 termined that a name should be adopted that would 
 not be similar to s.ome other in Illinois. Accordingly 
 a meeting was called of those receiving mail at the 
 office, and at the suggestion of Miss Nora Porter, it 
 was called Co-le-ta. 
 
 For some years Crum's store was the only place of 
 business at this point. A blacksmith shop being re- 
 garded as a necessity, Mr. Crum erected a shop, 
 placed in it the necessary tools, and engaged Levi 
 Porter as smith. Mr. Porter in due time became 
 proprietor, did an excellent business, and was soon 
 numbered among the well-to-do people of the neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 Mr. Crum, after a number of years' active business 
 life, sold out his mercantile interests to Ephraim 
 Brookfield, who had been a clerk in his store. Mr. 
 Brookfield was unusually successful in the business, 
 accumulated considerable money, sold out and com- 
 menced the banking business at Rock Falls in 1874. 
 Failing health caused him to try the genial climate 
 of Florida, but it was without avail. He died June 
 10, 1876. 
 
 In 1865 Cephas and Martin Hurless started in the 
 general mercantile business and soon built up a 
 heavy trade. 
 
 Other business enterprises were begun from time 
 to time, but as each of the lines of railroad running 
 into the county passed the village by, it has never 
 flourished as it otherwise would have done. Beauti- 
 fully located, surrounded by a rich agricultural coun- 
 try, but for the absence of a railroad, it doubtless 
 would have made : one of the best towns in the 
 county. 
 
 Genesee Grove (jostoffice was started about two 
 miles west of the present village of Coleta in 1839, 
 with Edward Richardson as Postmaster. M. C. 
 Wood succeeded Richardson and the office was 
 changed to his residence. Win. Crum and John 
 Yager each held the office. When the village was 
 platted it was removed there, with John Thompson 
 Crum as Postmaster, and the name of the office 
 changed to that of the village, W : H. Colcord is the 
 present Postmaster. 
 
 $* ^* 
 
 Coleta forms a part of School District No. 2. The 
 first school-house was built in 1850, about one-fourth 
 mile south of the village. It was used until a bet- 
 ter building was erected in the village. It was a 
 frame building, one story in height, size 20x28. It 
 was occupied until 1875, when the present building, 
 without the wing, was erected. The wing was added 
 in 1883. The estimated value of the school prop- 
 erty is $4,000. The schools of Coleta are a credit 
 to the place. For several years, W. H. Colcord has 
 been Principal. Miss Mary Hogan is his assistant. 
 During the past winter there was an enrollment of 
 no. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 At present there are three church edifices in the 
 place, occupied by the Methodist, Christian and 
 United Brethren denominations. 
 
 The Methodist l-'.piscopal Church building was 
 erected in 1867. It is a neat frame, capable of 
 seating 300. A parsonage is also owned by the so- 
 ciety. This Church is the outgrowth of the first 
 class organized in the township by Rev. B. H. Cart- 
 wright, and of which Ivory Colcord was the Class- 
 leader It has had its seasons of prosperity, and has 
 experienced trials peculiar to all who walk in the 
 Way. Rev. Mr. Schoonmaker is the present pastor, 
 and the Church has a membership of 64. There is 
 preaching every Sabbath. A Sunday-school is con- 
 nected, with an average attendance of 40, with S. 
 H. Kingery as Superintendent. 
 
 The Christian Church dates back to 1842, though 
 there had been occasional preaching by Dr. Nance 
 since 1839. In the former year six persons who had 
 become obedient to the gospel, resolved to meet reg- 
 ularly each Lord's Day to commemorate the Savior's 
 death. In 1844, Henry Howe came to the neighbor- 
 hood, and, in a log house one mile west of the pres- 
 ent village of Coleta, held a meeting of some days, 
 going from thence to the residence of Mr. Moxley, 
 where he continued. Thirteen were immersed as 
 the result of the meeting and an organization 
 effected of 19 members. Services were held at the 
 Center School-house until 1868, when a neat house 
 of worship was erected, at a cost of over $2,000, 
 John Yager donating the greater part. This house 
 was subsequently sold, and the present house of 
 worship erected, at a cost of $2,500, including 
 ground. The present membership is 83. Elder 
 
 -
 
 y 
 
 fa 
 
 
 <; 
 
 
 Hamilton is pastor, with Thomas Stanley, Charles 
 Pugh and Win. J. Stanley, Elders. A Sunday- 
 school is maintained by the Church. 
 
 United Brethren Church was organized in 1854, at 
 the Hazel Green School-house on section 4. In 
 1858 a church building was erected near that point, 
 which was occupied until 1868, when the present 
 church edifice was erected in Coleta. The Church 
 has at present a membership of 125, and is in a 
 flourishing condition. Rev. John W. Baumgardner 
 was sent to the charge in the fall of 1883, and has 
 done good work for the Church. A Sabbath-school, 
 with an average attendance of 75, is maintained. 
 David Overholser is the present Superintendent. 
 SOCIETIES. 
 
 The Order of Modern Woodmen of America is 
 represented in this place by LaFayette Camp, No. 
 16, which was instituted in December, 1884, with u 
 charter members. Hiram McCrea was President 
 and Fred Fehrenson, Clerk. 
 
 During the war, the Union League was repre- 
 sented here by a flourishing lodge. 
 
 The Masons had a flourishing lodge here for a 
 lime. 
 
 BUSINESS, ETC. 
 
 The business and professional interests of the 
 place were represented in May, 1885, as follows: 
 
 Crouch & Ackerman and Brown Bros, carry good 
 stocks of general merchandise. The hardware, tin- 
 ware and farm implement business is carried on by 
 Meister & Neis and H. C. Ulmer ; the latter is also 
 handling windmills, pumps and farm implements. 
 The drug trade, school books and wall-paper sup- 
 plies are handled by Colcord & Fehrenson. William 
 Reecher has a restaurant and hotel, while J. T. 
 Meakins conducts a hotel. The millinery and dress- 
 making business is represented by Miss Winland and 
 Mrs. Royer, likewise by Mrs. W. E. Kennedy. W. J. 
 Howe and J. H. Becker are engaged in the black- 
 smith and wagon-making business. W. H. Waters 
 does the painting and carpenter work, and Fraser 
 Bros, are painters and paper-hangers. H. Conaway 
 is the contractor and builder. Peter Ihmels repre- 
 sents the shoemakers' trade. W. P. Fraser, Remage 
 & Beeman are the physicians and surgeons. John 
 Hannis deals in live stock and also conducts an in- 
 surance agency. W. E. Kennedy is a carpenter. 
 Royer & Terpeny do the well-digging. Daniel Zoll- 
 
 ^^ ^X : 
 
 ers is a plasterer and calciminer. Hugh Shannon 
 deals in imported horses. The banking business is 
 represented by Crouch & Ackerman. G. W. Howe 
 is Justice of the Peace and does a general collecting 
 business. W. H. Colcord is a Notary Public and 
 also engaged in general collecting. 
 
 HAHNAMAN TOWNSHIP. 
 
 AHNAMAN Township is in the extreme 
 southeastern part of the county. Its 
 boundaries were defined by the County 
 Court in 1852, but the township was not fully 
 organized until 1860. Hahnaman comprises 
 all of township 19, range 7 east of the fourth 
 principal meridian. It is largely made up of what is 
 known as swamp lands, but they are being drained 
 to a considerable extent. The remainder of the 
 township is rolling prairie, excepting a few sand 
 ridges. The county ditch commences about two 
 miles west of the east line of the township, and 
 from the west line enters Tampico. 
 
 The first settlement was made at Deer Grove, in 
 1841, by Wm. Renner and family, from Pennsyl- 
 vania. Mr. Renner died in 1859, leaving a widow 
 and eight children. Among the first settlers not 
 mentioned in the biographical portion of the work 
 are the following : 
 
 Lemuel Scott, from Vermont, was the next to 
 make here his home, arriving in 1845. He died at 
 the house of Mr. Renner, in 1849. 
 
 In 1854, Mrs. Ryder, a widow lady, and her fam- 
 ily arrived in the township. During the following 
 three or four years a number of families came in. 
 Among the arrivals were James Chambers, W. M. 
 Halsted, Benj. Ackley, Martin Clark, Wm. Hum- 
 phrey, Wm. Johnson, John J. Van Valkenburg, 
 Wm. Brakey, Geo. Brakey, Wm. McNickel, Thomas 
 Langan, Peter Ford, Amos Reeves and Dr. Reuben 
 Davis. 
 
 James Chambers was from Indiana. He located 
 on section 4, where he remained a number of years, 
 and then moved to Kansas. 
 
 Benj. Ackley was also from Indiana. He located 
 on section 4, and likewise moved to Kansas, some 
 years ago. 
 
 Martip Clark came from the same State. Cham- 
 
 ' 
 
 : 

 
 bers, Ackley and Clark were brothers-in-law. Mr. 
 Clark located on section 2. He also moved to 
 Kansas, where he has since died. 
 
 William Johnson, from Rutland, Vermont, came 
 in 1855, and located on section 2. He now resides 
 in Rock Falls. 
 
 William Humphrey, was from Ohio. He located 
 on section 1 8, where he died, some years ago. 
 
 John J. Van Valkenlmrg was a native of New 
 York. He located on section 18, spending his time 
 either in working his farm or at his trade of carpen- 
 ter. A few years ago he moved to Valley Center, 
 Kansas, where he now resides. 
 
 William and George Brakey were from Pennsyl- 
 vania. They came to this township in 1856. Some 
 years ago they moved West, where William has 
 since died. 
 
 John McNickel was also from Pennsylvania. 
 He located here and died, on his homestead, some 
 years ago. 
 
 Peter Ford came from Ireland in 18=56, and 
 located on section 12, where he is still living. 
 
 Thomas Langan was also from Ireland. He 
 located in 1856 on section 24,where he is still living. 
 
 Isaiah, son of DeWitt and Catherine Ryder, was 
 the first white child born in the township. 
 
 The first death was that of Mrs. Ryder, in 1855. 
 
 H. V. Hinman and Jane L. Brakey were united in 
 marriage in 1859, the first event of the kind in the 
 township. 
 
 The first school-house was built on section 4, in 
 1856, and subsequently moved to section 3. This is 
 District No. i. The house, though a small one, was 
 used for some years,when a larger and more conven- 
 ient one was erected on section 3, a part of Dr. 
 Reuben Davis' farm. It has since been moved to 
 the original site on section 4. A house was built in 
 District No. 2, in 1856. 
 
 For the year ending June 30, 1884, the County 
 Superintendent of Public Schools gave the following 
 items pertaining to educational matters in the town- 
 ship. There were six school districts and frame 
 school-houses, with 369 persons under 23 years of 
 age, of which number 274 were of school age and 
 233 enrolled in the public schools. The highest 
 wages paid teachers was $50 and the lowest $25 per 
 month. The tax levy for school purposes was 
 $2,232. 
 
 The first religious services in the township were 
 
 
 probably at the school- houses in Districts No. i and 
 No. 2. In 1876 regular services were established by 
 the Methodists at Deer Grove. No church edifices 
 have been built. 
 
 In the war for the Union Hahnaman Township 
 did her part nobly, considering its limited resources. 
 Every call was responded to but one, when a draft 
 was ordered for thiee men, the only one in the 
 county. The township had but few men able to 
 go .that could be spared, but every effort was put 
 forth to meet the demands of the General Govern- 
 ment. At one time $500 was raised and placed in 
 the hands of a committee to provide men in answer 
 to a call. The committee expended the amount, 
 but with little benefit to the township. The last all 
 made by the President was in December, 1864. 
 Thirteen men were apportioned lo this township. 
 Of the number six had been secured, when a meet- 
 ing was called to devise means for securing the 
 number. The county had offered a bounty of $500, 
 and it was pressed to supplement this amount by 
 $100 more to each volunteer. Nearly every voter in 
 the township was present at the meeting, when Dr. 
 Davis and some others agreed to advance the 
 amount, provided those present would agree to vote 
 the amount back to them from the township funds. 
 On the 6th of February, 1865, this was done. 
 
 On the 3oth day of September, 1869, a special 
 election was held for the purpose of voting on the 
 question of the township subscribing $10,000 to the 
 capital stock of the Illinois Grand Trunk Railway, 
 now the Clinton & Mendota Branch of the Chicago, 
 Burlington & Quincy Railroad. The terms on which 
 the township agreed to subscribe for the stock were 
 that one-fifth should be paid in five years and one- 
 fifth annually thereafter until the whole amount was 
 paid, the interest to be at the rate of 10 per cent, 
 per annum. The company refused to accept the 
 proposition, demanding that five per cent, should be 
 paid down, and the balance when sufficient stock 
 was subscribed to grade, bridge and tie that part of 
 the road between Prophetstown and Mendota. An- 
 other special election was held June 25, 1870, to see 
 if the township would accept the terms of the rail- 
 road company. The proposition was defeated, when 
 the railroad company acceded to the proposition of 
 the township. Accordingly, in i87r, the bonds were 
 issued. The entire amount has since been paid. 
 
 The township of Hahnaman was named in 
 
 A r~~, 
 
 Vx 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 -:-> X-
 
 
 
 
 
 honor of the founder of the homoeopathic school of 
 medicine, the renowned Dr. Hahnemann. A mistake 
 was made by the commissioners in the spelling, but 
 as the name has been made a matter of record as 
 spelled it was permitted to stand. The first election 
 for township officers was held April 3, 1860, at the 
 school-house in District No. 2. The following men 
 were chosen : Wm. M. Halsted, Supervisor ; Amos 
 Reeves, Clerk ; George S. Brakey, Assessor; Reuben 
 Davis, Collector; George S. Brakey and Reuben 
 Davis, Justices of the Peace. 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 The supervisors from 1860 to the present time 
 have been as follows : 
 
 Wm. M. HalsuH 1860 
 
 O. H. McNickcl* 1861 
 
 Wm. Johnson 1862 
 
 M. A. Meyers 1863 
 
 Reuben Davis 1864-65 
 
 Amos Reeves 1866 
 
 Reuben Davis 1867-68 
 
 *Mr. MoNickel resigned in September anil Win. John- 
 son was appointed to fill the vacancy. 
 
 DEER GROVE. 
 
 Iii 1873, W. H. Wheeler opened a store on the 
 line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad 
 at Deer Grove, and soon after secured the appoint- 
 ment of Postmaster for a new office to be established 
 at this point, to be known as Deer Grove. Mr. 
 Wheeler continued the store about two years, when 
 he sold out to Charles L. Dewey. Several families 
 soon after located here, and a village of about a 
 dozen houses was built up. In 1875 an elevator 
 was erected. For some cause the town has never 
 thrived, and to-day has no more inhabitants than it 
 had ten years ago. There is one store, owned by 
 Martin Coleman, a blacksmith shop, school-house, 
 postoffice, and some 12 or 15 houses. 
 
 Edward Perkinson 1869-72 
 
 John Conlon 1873 
 
 John McCabe '874-75 
 
 Amos Reeves 1876-78 
 
 Munson Robhins 1879 
 
 Edward Devine 1880-85 
 
 HOPKINS TOWNSHIP. 
 
 of township 21, range 6 east of the 
 4th principal meridian, together with a 
 small fraction of section 2, township 20, 
 range 6, lying north of Rock River, comprises 
 the township of Hopkins. It is well watered 
 by the Elkhorn Creek, which enters the town- 
 ship on section 13 and empties into Rock River from 
 
 section 35 ; and Spring Creek, which rises in Genesee 
 and enters Hopkins on section 3, flowing southward 
 and uniting with the Elkhornon section 14. Round 
 Grove lies wholly within this township, and there is 
 much timber along the banks of the streams. The 
 remainder of the township is a beautiful rolling 
 prairie, which is highly productive. 
 
 Jason Hopkins, for whom the township is named 
 and Isaac H. Brittle, have the honor of being the 
 pioneers of the township, effecting a settlement in 
 1835, where the village of Como was subsequently 
 located. Mr. Hopkins passed through this section 
 in 1832, during the Black Hawk War, and was 
 charmed with the country. At that time he made a 
 "jack-knife claim," by cutting his name in the bark 
 of the trees. He said the location was as " beautiful 
 as the Garden of Eden." When he returned with 
 his family in 1835, he surveyed the claim and 
 marked its boundaries in the customary manner of 
 running furrows through the prairies and marking 
 the trees in the timber. 
 
 In 1836 settlements were made by Joseph Jones, 
 William Pilgrim, Clement C. Nance, Frank Adams, 
 James Cleveland, James Brady, Jacob Benjamin, 
 and Anthony Sells. Between 1836 and 1840 many 
 others came in, among whom were James D. Bing- 
 ham, Mrs. Martha Adams and family, William Beebe, 
 Thomas Matthews, Joel Harvey, W. F. Hopkins, 
 Simon Sampson, H. H. Perkins, Horatio Wells, 
 Frederick Simonson, Thompson Brothers, Elijah 
 Wallace, H. B. Sampson, W. S. Wilkinson, Jesse 
 Scott, G. H. Kirby, N. A. Sturtevant, Geo. Sturte- 
 vant, A. C. Merrill, E. C. Whitmore, J. M. Dow, S. 
 P. Breed, Wm. Sampson and J. M. Burr. 
 
 Jason Hopkins was a native of Tennessee, born 
 Dec. 26, 1786. On coming to this State he first lo- 
 cated at Belleville, from which place he went to 
 Peoria, and was there on the breaking out of the 
 Black Hawk War. Enlisting in a cavalry regiment, 
 he was appointed Quartermaster, and as such served 
 during the war. He was a cabinet-maker and 
 worked at his trade until he came to this county. 
 An intimate friend of Gen. Jackson, he was a great 
 admirer of the old hero. Mr. Hopkins was a true 
 pioneer, a man esteemed by all who knew him. He 
 died at his home in Coino, Aug. 19, 1853. 
 
 Henry B. Sampson was born in Duxbury, Mass., 
 July 15, 1787, and emigrated to Illinois in 1836, lo- 
 
 
 *G> 
 
 I
 
 eating at Tremont. In 1839 he came to Hopkins 
 and located at Como. Ho died here in 1865. 
 
 Wm. Sampson was also born in Duxbury, Mass., 
 and came to this township in 1839. He died in 
 Chicago, in 185 r. 
 
 Jesse Scott came from Ohio, though born in Lu- 
 zerne Co., Pa. He made the trip by way of the 
 Ohio, Mississippi and Rock Rivers, in a keel-boat 
 propelled by horse-power, lantfing at Como, June i, 
 1839. With this boat he made trading trips for 
 several'years after coming to Como. 
 
 Joel Harvey was a pioneer of 1837, a native of 
 New York and a wagon -maker by trade. He lo- 
 cated at Round Grove, purchasing the claim of 
 Caleb Plummer, and was the first Postmaster at that 
 point. It is said that he did more in opening up 
 farms, laying out roads, building mills, stores and 
 factories than any man in Whiteside County. The 
 artesian well in Sterling was his work. Mr. Harvey 
 died in Sterling, Sept 3, 1875. 
 
 Elijah Wallace came in 1838 from Cumberland 
 Co., Pa., locating near Empire. He improved a 
 farm, on which he died many years ago. 
 
 Wm. Pollock was from Erie Co., Pa., and was 
 numbered among the early settlers of Como. He 
 was County Surveyor several terms and also held 
 other offices of public trust. 
 
 James D. Bingham came from Connecticut, and is 
 numbered among the pioneers of 1837. He moved 
 to Sterling. 
 
 Frank Adams came to Como in company with 
 Jason Hopkins, and located on the bank of the river 
 near the ferry landing. His wife was the first white 
 woman in the place, and for a time the only one. 
 
 Frederick Simonson came in 1838 from New York, 
 and died on the homestead in 1869. 
 
 Horatio Wells was a native of Massachusetts, and 
 came to Hopkins in 1838, in a wagon, from his na- 
 tive State. He died many years ago. 
 
 Capt. Simeon Sampson was a native of Massa- 
 chusetts, and followed the sea for some years, or 
 until he came West. He returned to Massachusetts 
 some years ago and now resides at Boston. 
 
 William Pilgrim, Joseph Jones and Clement C. 
 Nance were from Indiana, and located at Round 
 Grove. They all married sisters. Pilgrim and Jones 
 returned to Indiana after a time, but Nance re- 
 mained, studied and practiced medicine, and also 
 
 preached the gospel as the opportunity was afforded 
 him. 
 
 Ira Silliman located here at an early day, residing *,"." 
 in Como, where he remained until his death, in the 
 winter of 1872-3. .&) 
 
 Anthony Sells located his claim west of the Elk- 
 horn Creek, but subsequently sold it to .Elijah Wal- 
 lace, went West and died many years ago. 
 
 Benjamin Sells sold his claim to John Gait, moved 
 to Rock Island County and there died. 
 
 Jacob Sells sold his claim to Edward Vernon and 
 Frank Adams, moved to Bureau County, laid out the 
 village of Tailholt, and ran a hotel there some years. 
 
 In all settlements marriages, births and deaths 
 occur, and Hopkins Township was no exception to 
 the rule. 
 
 The first marriage occurred in 1840, Isaac H. 
 Brittle and Jane Scott being the contracting parties. 
 On the toth day of November, 1841, a double 
 weddin g occurred Win field S. Wil kinson and Frances 
 E. Sampson, and Frank dishing and Mary D. Breed. 
 
 William Tell, son of Jason Hopkins, who was born 
 Feb. 22, 1837, was the first born in the township, 
 and is said to have been the first male child born in 
 the county. 
 
 By whom the first religious services were held is 
 unknown, but it is quite probable that Rev. B. H. 
 Cartwright was among the first. Clement C. Nance 
 also preached at an early day. The first house of 
 worship was erected at Como by the Congregational- 
 ists in 1854. 
 
 Miss Higby has the honor of teaching the first 
 school in 1840 at Round Grove. The first school- 
 house was erected at Como, in 1842. The educa- ^ 
 tional interests of the township have kept pace with 
 its improvement in other respects. 
 
 From the report of the County Superintendent of 
 Public Schools for the year ending June 30, 1884, it 
 is learned that there were six school districts in the 
 township, each having a good frame school house. 
 The total value of which were $8,500. There were 
 544 persons under the age of 21, of which number 
 there were 390 of school age, 320 of whom were 
 enrolled in the public schools. The highest wages 
 paid teachers were $60 and the lowest $30 per month. 
 The levy for school purposes was $2,816. 
 
 Brink & Cushman commenced the erection of a 
 saw-mill near Empire in 1837 and completed it the
 
 following year. Elijah Wallace, in the summer of 
 1838, erected another on Spring Creek, and in 1839 
 Joel Harvey built one on Deer Creek. 
 
 Hopkins Township was organized in 1852, its first 
 election being held in April of that year. The fol- 
 lowing officers were chosen : Simeon Sampson, Su- 
 pervisor; Henry B. Sampson, Town Clerk; Simeon 
 Sampson, Assessor; Nelson R. Douglass, Collector; 
 Grant Conklin, Overseer of the Poor; Henry B. 
 Sampson and Walter Harmon, Justices of the Peace ; 
 Ira Silliman, Wm. Manahan and Fred. Simonson, 
 Commissioners of Highways; Nelson R. Douglass 
 and Porter J. Harmon, Constables; Poor Masters, 
 Chas. Holmes, O. C. Stolp, Fred Simonson. Jesse 
 Scott, Joel Harvey, P. J. Harmon and Josiah S. Scott 
 were appointed Overseers of Highways. There were 
 
 7 1 votes cast at this election. 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 Simon Sampson, 1852-54 
 
 Geo. Wilson, 1855-56 
 
 Fred Simonson '857 
 
 Washington Loomis 1858-6} 
 
 W. M. Law 1864 
 
 James Dinsfnoor 1865-71 
 
 B.R.Watson 1872-73 
 
 Henry Keefer 1874 75 
 
 James Buyars 1876 
 
 S. J. Baird 1877-78 
 
 Henj.J. Watson i87Q-8o 
 
 Fred Simonson 1881-82 
 
 James Dinsmoor 1883 
 
 Roland C. Wharficld... 1884 
 
 Omer E Fanning 1885 
 
 Village of Como. 
 
 i S this history is being compiled, in the spring 
 of 1885, the village of Como presents another 
 grand illustration of " what might have been. " 
 Located upon the north side of Rock River, 
 with a beauty of location second to none, and 
 surrounded by an agricultural country of great 
 fertility, it would seem that nothing more could have 
 been desired to make of it one of the best inland 
 towns in the State. 
 
 The site of the village of Como was a part of the 
 original claim of Jason Hopkins, and about 1837 
 passed into the hands of Peter Menard and Judge 
 Bigelow, of Peoria. Dr. Harding, a son-in-law of 
 the latter, came about that time and settled upon the 
 claim. Soon afterwards the claim was purchased of 
 Bigelow and Menard by a colony formed in Taze- 
 well County, and in July, 1838, a village was platted 
 to which was given the name of Como, from the fact 
 that the expanse of the river just above the town was 
 said to resemble Lake Como, in Italy. 
 
 No village in the West started out with brighter 
 
 prospects. Settled by an intelligent, enterprising 
 people, with a determination to build up a thriving 
 city, no one would have dared to predict failure. It 
 is said that among the original proprietors of the 
 town were six civil engineers and surveyors, three 
 ship captains, one clergyman, one editor, one printer, 
 one physician, one miller, one merchant, three shoe 
 and leather dealers : and two farmers. The greater 
 number of them were from Massachusetts and New 
 Hampshire, and were well educated, hospitable and 
 moral people. 
 
 In the spring of 1840 a ferry was built across the 
 river at this point, bridges were built and roads 
 opened, so that trade would flow in this direction. A 
 tavern had been opened the year previous by Henry 
 Sampson, the first in the place and which Was exten- 
 sively patronized by the traveling public, especially 
 after Frink & Walker began running their stage 
 coaches through the place, making Capt. Sampson's 
 house a point where the passengers could be pro- 
 vided with good, wholesome meals. 
 
 The first store was opened in 1840, by, Alfred and 
 James Dow. About the same time a postoffice was 
 established here, with Dr. Harding as Postmaster. 
 In 1841 William Pollock opened the second store, 
 and was followed soon after by Wm. Nurritt. In 
 1845 Aaron W.Pitts began the manufacture of plows, 
 and did a thriving business for several years. 
 
 Among other business interests, Lorenzo Hapgood 
 and Charles Holmes opened a store, in 1844, and in 
 1845 Smith & Weber opened a store, and com- 
 menced the erection of a grist-uiill. The mill was 
 built at a cost of $42,000, and was the first of its 
 kind in the county. For many years it did an ex- 
 tensive business, supplying the people witli flour for 
 miles around. Como at this time was the best busi- 
 ness point in the eastern part of the county, even 
 Sterling being tributary to it. 
 
 While the business interests were being developed, 
 the educational was not neglected In 1842 a school- 
 house was erected, the first in the township. Among 
 the early teachers were Maria Sampson, now Mrs. 
 A. E. Merrill, and Mary D. Breed, who subsequently 
 married Frank dishing. Good schools have al- 
 ways been mrintained at this point. 
 
 When the railroad agitation commenced, it was 
 thought that beyond any possibility of doubt Como 
 would be. made a station on the road, but " the best 
 
 ?
 
 - 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 869 
 
 2 
 
 laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley," and 
 the town was left a mile and a half one side, and its 
 glory immediately began to wane. One by one the 
 merchants of the place closed their doors, removed 
 the remnants of their stock to more fortunate places, 
 and in some instances removed their store buildings 
 also. The old mill has ceased to run, the fires have 
 gone out of the forges, and, as stated in the begin- 
 ning of this article, another illustration is given of 
 " what might have been." Only the postoffice re- 
 mains, in which a small stock of goods is carried by 
 the postmaster. 
 
 Village of Gait. 
 
 'N the southwest quarter of section 24, in 
 January, 1855, John Gait and others had 
 platted a village to which was given the 
 name of Gait. It is the first station west of 
 Sterling, and is surrounded by a fine farming 
 country. For a time the village seemed to 
 flourish, but its proximity to Sterling and Morrison 
 has tended to retard .its growth. 
 
 Village of Empire. 
 
 HIS village was laid out in 1855, by 
 Elijah Wallace, G. S. Fraser, O. C. Stolp 
 and Wm. M. Sutton, on the southwest 
 quarter of section 13. Hezekiah Brink had 
 here erected a saw-mill, and Joel Harvey soon 
 afterwards erected a large grist-mill, a woolen 
 factory and a store. He also built several dwelling- 
 houses. The mill burned down some years ago, and 
 has not been re-built. This place, like Como, was 
 virtually killed by the railroad running within a short 
 distance of it, but too far away for the citizens to 
 reap the benefits of its construction. The Luther- 
 ans have a good church edifice in the place, and 
 there is also a fine school building. 
 
 HUME TOWNSHIP. 
 
 K.UME Township comprises all of township 
 20 north, of range 6 east of the fourth 
 principal meridian, lying south of Rock 
 River. When the township organization law 
 was adopted, in rS52, the territory was set off, 
 but not fully organized as a township until 
 1857, the east half being attached to Hopkins and 
 the west half to Prophetstown. 
 
 This is a prairie township, there being no tatural 
 groves in it. The soil is rich and highly productive, 
 and every acre is susceptible of cultivation. Rock 
 River forms the greater part of the northern 
 boundary, but there are no streams in the township. 
 Water is easily obtained from wells sunk to not a 
 very great depth. 
 
 Leonard Morse has the honor of being the first to 
 reside within the township. He came from Lee 
 County, in 1 836, erected a log cabin on section 16, 
 and for several years resided there, his house being 
 used to entertain travelers, it being on the old State 
 Road from Rock Island to Beloit, and which virtually 
 followed the Indian trail. On account of his being 
 on the school section, no title could be secured for 
 the land claimed. As was customary, the Govern- 
 ment gave him a certificate, called by the early 
 settlers a " float," entitling to enter any unoccupied 
 Government land. The certificate he sold to Fred 
 Dutcher, and then moved to McHenry County. 
 
 Uriah Wood came next, in 1839. He erected a 
 sod house but a short distance from Morse, on the 
 same section. In this house he lived with a family 
 of seven children, until the fall of 1840, when he 
 removed to Lee County. 
 
 William Ramsay was the next to locate in the 
 township, and it may be said was the first permanent 
 settler in the township. He came to the county in 
 1839, and on the 24th day of March, 1840, took up 
 his residence in Hume, pre-empting a tract of 160 
 acres, and for which he secured a title, signed by 
 John Tyler. A sketch of Mr. Ramsay may be found 
 on page 283. 
 
 Charles Wright came in June, 1840, and located 
 on the west line of the township on the Prophets- 
 town Road. Mr. Wright was a native of Vermont, 
 but came here from Canada, where he had resided for 
 some years. He was a man universally esteemed, a 
 loving father and husband, and a kind neighbor. 
 He died Jan. 24, 1875, on the old homestead. 
 
 David Ramsay and Lyman Baker came in 1840, 
 as also did L. B. Ramsay. 
 
 David Ramsay was the father of William and L. 
 B. Ramsay. He was born in Londonderry, N. H., 
 in 1787; married in Vermont, in 1812, after which 
 he removed to Oneida Co., N. Y., from whidi place 
 he came to Whiteside County. Locating on section 
 10, he built a frame house, which, though not in- 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 tended for a tavern, was used for that purpose for 
 some years. Men going to and from the land 
 office often availed themselves of the privilege of 
 stopping at Ramsay's. A good many anecdotes of 
 hotel life at this place are related. On one occasion 
 a traveler called at the house after all had retired 
 and asked permission to stop, Mr. Ramsay replied : 
 " Friend, my house is but 16 X22, and we now have 
 21 lodged here." " Well, I'll make the number 22," 
 said the traveler, as he dismounted from his horse. 
 He was cared for. 
 
 Upon another occasion a party was returning 
 from the land sales, where they had secured titles 
 for their land, and, in consequence, was in good 
 spirits. They brought along with them a jug of 
 whisky, which they had purchased as a preventive 
 of chills, fever and snake-bites. One of the num- 
 ber was a bald-headed man, and as in those days 
 bald-headed men were rare, he was made the butt 
 of a good many jokes. Not knowing but snakes and 
 other " varmints " might abound about the premises, 
 the contents of the jug were sampled, and enough 
 partaken of to make them feel happy. The bald 
 head of their friend shone forth, and as whisky 
 was good for so many " ills that flesh is heir to," it 
 was thought it might make a good hair restorative. 
 Despite the struggles of the man, his head was 
 deluged with the rum, and vigorously shampooed, 
 amid the laughter of all but the victim. David 
 Ramsay lived upon the homestead which he located 
 till his death, which occurred in 1852. 
 
 Lyman Baker came from Washington Co., N. Y. 
 He located on section 1 1. 
 
 L. B. Ramsay is a son of David Ramsay. He 
 now resides in Prophetstown. 
 
 Hume Township did not rapidly settle up, in con- 
 sequence of their being no timber. Among those 
 who came in at an early period, or before the adop- 
 tion of the township organization law, in addition to 
 those already named, were J. S. Scott, David Cleave- 
 land, R. F. Stewart, J. G. Peckham, J. D. Beaji, Mr. 
 Chas. S. D. Perry, Austin Morse and G. W. Curtis. 
 
 David Cleaveland was from Oneida Co., N. Y. 
 He located on sections 19 and 30. 
 
 J. S. Scott is a native of Ohio. He came to this 
 county with his parents, resided in Hopkins till his 
 marriage, in 1846, when he removed to Hume. He 
 is now living a retired life at Rock Falls. 
 
 jypY^-n ^>jaq.<^ ^\ i^ j 
 
 The first resident of Hume Township to be united 
 in marriage was William Ramsay. He went to Lee 
 County for his wife, and was there married, Feb. 3, 
 1845. 
 
 Ann Maria Ramsay died in the fall of 1842. Her 
 death was the first in the township. 
 
 The first birth was that of a child of Leonard 
 Morse, in 1838. 
 
 James Griffith is said to have taught the first 
 school in the township, in 18157. A school-house 
 had just been completed in the Cleaveland neigh- 
 borhood, and in this house was held the first school. 
 According to the report of the Superintendent of 
 Public Schools, the township is divided into six 
 school districts, with one brick and five frame 
 school-houses, valued at $6,400. There were, in 
 June, 1884, under the age of 21 years, 356 persons, 
 of whom 257 were over six, with an enrollment of 
 196. The wages paid ranged from $25 to $50 per 
 month. The tax levy for school purposes was 
 
 There is no village in the township. A postoffice 
 was established in 1874, under the name of South 
 Hume, with J. D. Perry as Postmaster. It was 
 continued but about two years. 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 The following-named have served the township as ( 
 members of the Board of Supervisors : 
 
 Charles Wright 1857-65 
 
 S. M. Elliott 1866 
 
 John C. Paddock 1867 
 
 Austin Morse 1868-70 
 
 John H . Plutnley 1871 
 
 John C. Paddock 1872-74 
 
 M. C. McKenzie 1875-76 
 
 R. C. Crook 1877 
 
 John H. Phimley 1878-70 
 
 S. F. Wheelock 1880 
 
 W. A. Cleaveland 1881-3 
 
 Samuel Wetzel 1884 
 
 W. A. Cleaveland 1885 
 
 JORDAN TOWNSHIP. 
 
 HIS township is situated in the northwest- 
 ern part of the county, and comprises all 
 of township 22 north, range 7, east of the 
 fourth principal meridian. Timber is found 
 along the banks of the principal streams, the 
 remainder of the township being an undulat- 
 ing prairie. Inexhaustible stone quarries are found 
 here. 
 
 Jordan was one of the earliest settled townships 
 in thecQunty. On the roth, day of April, 1835, S. 
 
 l(
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 vx 
 
 * 
 
 
 Miles Coe* located a claim upon sections 33 and 34, 
 and immediately commenced the erection of a log 
 cabin, into which he moved a few days after his ar- 
 rival. He broke about 20 acres of prairie, sowed 
 oats and planted corn and vegetables. 
 
 James Talbott was the next to locate here, arriv- 
 ing some weeks later than Mr. Coe, but in time to do 
 a little breaking and plant some sod corn and vege- 
 tables. 
 
 Joseph M. Wilson arrived in the township and lo- 
 cated on Buffalo Creek, on section 4. He was a man 
 ot fine ability, a member of the society of Friends. 
 He died here some years ago. 
 
 The foregoing were all the settlers of 1835. In the 
 following five years many others came in, among 
 whom were Vernon San ford, James, Garrett, Jacob 
 and Howard Deyo, Becker Miller, James Wood, 
 Harry Burlingame, Capt. Manoah Hubbard, Simeon 
 M. Coe, the father of the first settler, John Brookie, 
 Henry Bolton, Mr. Bush, Mr. Goodchild, John, 
 Thomas and Caleb Plummer, Jabez Gilbert, Geo. 
 Suill, Benj. Davis, Charles H. Miles, Horace R. 
 Mack and Chas. S. Lunt. 
 
 James Talbott was a native of Pennsylvania, and 
 was by trade a carpenter and joiner. In 1834 he 
 removed West to Peoria, 111., and in 1835, as stated, 
 to Whiteside County. In this county he was a suc- 
 cessful farmer. 
 
 Garrett Deyo came with his family to Whiteside 
 County in 1836. He raised a family of 13 children, 
 and died Aug. 18, 1859. 
 
 Vernon Sanford was born in Delaware Co., N. Y., 
 and located in Whiteside County in 1836, his selec- 
 tion being a portion of section 7, Jordan Township. 
 In 1841 he built the first frame house in the town- 
 ship. The village of Sanfordville, which lies mostly 
 in Ogle County, derives its name from him. 
 
 Becker Miller came in 1837, and yet resides in 
 the township. A sketch of him will be found else- 
 where in this volume. 
 
 Simeon M. Coe, Sr., was born in Litchfield, Conn., 
 Oct. 29, 1784, but in early life removed with his par- 
 ents to New York. He married Mary Miles in 
 that State. In 1838 he came to this county and 
 
 * Better known as Simeon M. Coo, the former manner of 
 writing it, having been adopted by Ml'. Coe because bis 
 
 father was of the same name. On the death of the lat- 
 ter Miles began writing it as now Simeon INI. Coe. 
 _See page 41!). 
 
 township, and settled upon section 33, at a grove to or^ 
 which was given the name of Coe's Grove. Here he j\ 
 erected a saw-mill and for some years did a good 
 business. Mr. Coe died in 1848, and Mrs. Coe in 
 
 Jabez Gilbert was from Connecticut and settled 
 here in 1839. He died on his homestead in 1844. 
 
 Horace Mack was a native of Connecticut, but 
 was reared in Pennsylvania. He came to this town- 
 ship in 1839, where he remained till 1847, when he 
 moved to Sterling. He died there, many years ago. 
 
 The pioneers of Jordan, in common with all others, 
 experienced the hardships incidental to the settle- 
 ment of a new country. Wild animals were abund- 
 ant in an early day, and Indians were frequent 
 visitors to the cabins of the settlers. All this has 
 now been changed, and to-day Jordan is one of the 
 best townships in the county, settled with a thrifty 
 people, with fine dwelling-houses, large barns and 
 every convenience that could be desired. The town- 
 ship is now largely represented by Germans and 
 Irish. 
 
 Joseph M. Wilson, as stated, located in" this 
 township in 1835, making a claim on section 4. On 
 Buffalo Creek, which runs through a part of his farm, 
 he erected a grist-mill in the fall of 1836, and had 
 it in running order early in the spring of 1837. It 
 was the first and only mill in the county, and drew 
 custom for miles around. The structure was of logs 
 and Wilson's old log-mill was a popular place for the 
 pioneer. At this place Col. S. M. Bowman laid out 
 a town about the time the mill was being construct- 
 ed. Several houses were built and a store opened 
 by Mr. Wilson and also one by Mr. Brookie. A 
 postoffice was also established here, known as Ber- 
 wick postoffice, which continued in existence several 
 years. The town plat of Berwick was never recorded, 
 and the place has long since ceased to have a habi- 
 tation and a name. 
 
 Simeon M. Coe, Sr., built his saw-mill in 1840, 
 continuing it until his death in 1848. The mill was 
 subsequently owned by several persons, and finally 
 passed into the hands of Benj. Bressler, and was 
 long known as Bressler's Mill. 
 
 Manoah Hubbard erected a saw-mill on Elkhom 
 Creek in 1841, which was operated for many years, 
 doing a large business. 
 
 In addition to the Berwick postoffice, two others 
 
 
 e ' 
 ffl 
 
 *-
 
 "24. 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 have had an existence in the township. Jordan 
 postoffice was established during the administration 
 of James Buchanan, and continued about four years. 
 Mr. Alexander was Postmaster An office was es- 
 tablished at Jordan Center in 1881, under the name 
 of Penroi?e. 
 
 Among the early births in the township was John, 
 a son of Jabez 'Gilbert, in 1839. About the same 
 time Mr. and Mrs. Benj. Davis and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Gilbert had each, a child born to them. 
 
 Simon Fellows and Elizabeth Deyo were united in 
 marriage July 10, 1836, the first in the township. 
 
 The first religious services were held in private 
 houses. Rev. Barton H. Cartwrighl was doubtless 
 the first to conduct the exercises. There are now 
 three church edifices in the township, Lutheran, in 
 the southern part; the Friends, at Jordan Center, 
 and a union church in the northeastern part. 
 
 The first school was held in a house erected for 
 the purpose about one mile north of Simeon M. 
 Coe's, some time during the first decade of the set- 
 tlement of the township. The house was built by 
 the citizens before the days of public-school funds, 
 under the school law. 
 
 In relation to educational affairs in the township 
 at the present time, the Superintendent of Public 
 Schools, in his annual rqwrt for the year ending 
 June 30, 1884, says there are seven school districts 
 in the township, with six frame and one stone school- 
 house, the total value of which is $7,550. There 
 are 536 persons under 21 years of age, of whom 392 
 are of school age, and 27 1 enrolled in the public 
 schools. The highest wages received by any teacher 
 was $60 per month, the lowest, $27. The tax levy 
 for school purposes was $2,693 for the year. 
 
 The first blacksmith was Samuel Detweiler, who 
 erected a shop in 1847. 
 
 Thomas Plummer, in 1839, commenced carding 
 wool at his cabin on Sugar Creek. The house in 
 which he did business was too small to accommo- 
 date his patrons with lodgings, and many camped 
 out on the prairie while waiting for their wool to be 
 carded. 
 
 In the War of the Rebellion, Jordan did its part 
 nobly, filling each quota, and thus avoiding a draft. 
 
 Jordan Township was organized in 1852. The 
 name was suggested from the fact that a certain 
 citizen of the township would frequently go to Ster- 
 
 ling and other places, and, after imbibing freely of 
 the "flowing bowl," would sing the song of "Jordan 
 am a hard road to travel," and in answer to the 
 question where he lived, would invariably reply, 
 " On the other side of Jordan." 
 
 The first town meeting was held at the house of 
 Isaiah C. Worrell. At the election then held, the 
 following officers were elected : James Talbott, 
 Supervisor; James Woods, Clerk ; Lemuel Sweeney, 
 Assessor; M. H. Snavely, Collector ; Charles Diller, 
 S. M. Coe, Justices of the Peace. The Supervisors 
 from that time to this are as follows : 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 James Talbott 1852 
 
 S. M. Coe 1853-4 
 
 J.F. Coe 1855-6 
 
 James Talbott 1857 
 
 J. F. Coe 1858 
 
 S . M . Coe 1859-60 
 
 U. N. Foster 1861 
 
 James Talbott 1862 
 
 J. F. Coe 1863 
 
 Keeker Miller 1864-5 
 
 James Talbott 1866 
 
 Lot S. Pennington 1867-76 
 
 Chalklcy John 1877-80 
 
 Osborne Williams 1881 
 
 Chalkley John 1882-5 
 
 H. L. John opened a general store at what was 
 called John's Corners, near the center of the town- 
 ship, June 23, 1874. He still continues the busi- 
 ness and has enjoyed a good trade. On the 241)1 of 
 March, 1881, a postoffice was established at the 
 Corners, with H. L. John as Postmaster. The office 
 is called Penrose, in honor of one of the pioneers of 
 the county. A wagon and blacksmith shop was 
 started here about 1860, by John G. Detweiler, who 
 subsequently sold it to Elida John, who rented it till 
 Oct. 12, 1882, when it was sold to John GroflT, who 
 still carries on the business. The place is now known 
 as Penrose. 
 
 A weekly indulged meeting of Friends for worship 
 was held at the residence of Joseph M. Wilson, for 
 a number of years prior to the regular establishment 
 of a Friends' meeting in Whiteside County. The 
 first regularly established or organized meeting of 
 Frionds in the county, was held on the 151)1 day of 
 the 6th month, 1872, at what is now Penrose, and 
 was known as East Jordan Preparative Meeting of 
 Friends. The first established First-Day meeting 
 for worship was held on the following day. The 
 first Monthly Meeting of Friends held in the county 
 was on the igth day of the 4th month, 1873. The 
 first Clerks of the Monthly Meeting were Edwin 
 John and Sarah E. HufF. The first Elders were 
 Elida John, Mark Penrose, Sarah H. John, Frances 
 P. Wilson and Lydia K. Penrose. The ministers, 
 whose names are on record as such, in the Monthly 
 Meeting, are Jonathan W. Plummer and Reuben. 
 
 yr 
 
 
 
 gA.Ov.VNA 
 

 
 John. The present Clerks of the Meeting are Ed- 
 win John and Mary S. Wilson. The present Elders 
 are Sarah H. John, Edwin John, Nathan P. Wilson, 
 Martha A. John, Lydia K. Pen rose imd Elmira K. 
 Worrell. A First-Day school is held, with N. P. 
 Wilson, Superintendent; Geo. 1). |ohn, Assistant 
 Superintendent; Maggie M. John, Secretary; Man- 
 rice D. John, Librarian. 
 
 son 
 
 LYNDON TOWNSHIP. 
 
 MEETING was held for the organization 
 of this township April 2, 1852, at the 
 school-house. Augustus Smith was chosen 
 Moderator and W. Anderson, Clerk. There 
 were 94 votes cast, resulting in the election of 
 R. G. Clendennin for Supervisor ; W. Ander- 
 Clerk ; Justus Rew, Assessor; Amos Cady, 
 Collector; James Coborn, Overseer of the Poor; 
 Henry Dudley, W. S. Boardman and Eli Upton, 
 Commissioners of the Highway; D. P. Moore, A. 
 Smith, Justices of the Peace, and Amos Cady, Con- 
 stable. 
 
 Lyndon Township embraces all that part of Con- 
 gessional township 20 north, range 5 east, and town- 
 ship 20 north, range 6 e.isl, lying north of Rock 
 River, and contains 16,799 acres of land. The ter- 
 ritory of which it is composed originally belonged to 
 Crow Creek Precinct. Later on it was connected 
 with Little Rock Precinct, and afterward it formed, 
 with a part of the territory now belonging to Fen ton 
 Township, the Lyndon Precinct. The land is roll- 
 ing, with a good deal of prairie. Some parts of the 
 township, it is quite broken. Along Rock River, 
 and extending back some distance, there is a good 
 deal of bottom land which is very fertile and unex- 
 celled for production. With the exception of a few 
 groves, and on the borders of the river, there is but 
 little original timber in the township. The early 
 settlers in this country were rather alx>ve the aver- 
 age pioneer. 
 
 Adam R. Hamilton and family, William D. Dud- 
 ley and family, and Chauncy G. Woodruffand family, 
 were the first settlers in what is now known as Lyn- 
 don Township, which was early in the summer of 
 1835, locating on section 19. They came together 
 
 from New York, traveling by land, and were a month 
 on their journey. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton was born in Massachusetts, Oct. 12, 
 1791. He married Nancy Miller, of the same State, 
 April 13, 1813. Mrs. Hamilton died, and Mr. 
 Hamilton married Miss Annie Woodward. By his 
 first wife he had eight children, and by his second 
 wife three, all of whom came with him except Mary, 
 who died in 1823. Mr. Woodruff, who was born in 
 New York, in 1797, had three children, who came 
 with him. Mr. Dudley was born in Massachusetts, 
 Nov. 23, 1786. He married Miss Tryphena Fitch, 
 Feb. n, 1817. By this marriage there were five 
 children, three of whom died before they came West, 
 the other two, William C. and Louisa, came with 
 them. Mr. Hamilton died Aug. 28, 1865 His 
 wife died several years previous. Mr. Woodruff died 
 April 25, 1875, living many years after the death of 
 his wife. W. D. Dudley died at his old home in 
 Lyndon, Jan. 25, 1857. His wife is still living, at 
 the advanced age of 72, and for her age is quite 
 active. Many of their children and grandchildren 
 live in Lyndon ; the rest are scattered all about the 
 western country. 
 
 In 1836, quite an addition was made to the set- 
 tlement from the East. During this year came Rev. 
 Elisha Hazard, William O. Dudley, Dr. Augustus 
 Smith, John Ray.Theron Crook, William Farrington, 
 E. Fitch, August us Rice, Perry Jeffers and W. W. 
 Gilbert. 
 
 Dr. Smith practiced his profession in Lyndon until 
 185 i. He was the first physician in the town, and a 
 great comfort he was, too, to those early settlers, who 
 had come from an older civilization into a new and 
 strange country. 
 
 Mr. Gilbert farmed for several years. In 1839, 
 he was elected Recorder of the county. 
 
 John Ray opened the first store in the township, 
 which was in 1837. He brought his goods from 
 Ohio. Mr. Ray also opened the first tavern in Lyn- 
 don. The building was put up by Phylarman Dag- 
 gett. It was a frame building, and is still standing. 
 Elisha Hazard located on a farm near the " bluff"." 
 Among those coming in in 1837, were David 
 Hazard, John C. Pratt, Harry Smirh, Phylarman 
 Daggett, Solomon and Alexis Hubbard, Ambrose I. 
 Maxwell, Wesley Anderson, Alpheus Clark, Brainard 
 Orton, Benjamin Coburn, D. F. Millikan and 
 
 
 =1 
 
 1 
 
 ETT 
 & 
 
 I
 
 . . >< 
 
 874 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 Thomas C. Gould. Miss Artimesia Hulce, who 
 afterwards married Mr. Maxwell, also came this year 
 will) the Coburn family. In 1838-9 and '40, large 
 additions were made to this settlement, and it began 
 to look more neighborly. Most of these early set- 
 tlers were men of marked character, and became 
 prominent in the affairs of the country, and did 
 much towards its advancement. 
 
 The first wedding in the township was between 
 Theron Crook and Nancy A. Hamilton, daughter of 
 Adam R. Hamilton. This marriage occurred March 
 3, 1836, and, according to the report of the early set- 
 tlers, it was made quite a lively affair. 
 
 The first child born is now the wife of Dr. Augus- 
 tus Smith. The second was Elisha H., son of Mr. 
 and Mrs David Hazard, born Dec. 8, 1837. He was 
 drowned in a slough on his way to a sugar camp at 
 Rock Creek, March 27, 1847. Mr. Hazard died in 
 in November, 1881. Mrs. Hazard is still living in 
 Lyndon. The first death in the township was that 
 of Liberty Walker, April 29, 1837. He was buried 
 on a mound near the residence of P. A. Brooks. 
 Mary A., wife of Dr. Augustus Smith, was the first 
 female to die. Her death occurred July 16, 1837. 
 Mrs. Lydia Coburn, who died July 31, 1837, was the 
 first person interred in the Lyndon Cemetery. 
 
 William O. Dudley taught the first singing-school, 
 which was in the winter of 1836-7. His class met 
 around at the neighbors' houses. The first school 
 taught was by Miss Lucia B. Hamilton, in her 
 father's cabin, in the spring of 1836. The first 
 school taught by a male teacher was in one of the 
 rooms of Mr. Hamilton's house, in the winter of 
 1837-8. Mr. Knowlton was the teacher. The first 
 school building put up was a log one, near A. R. 
 Hamilton's residence, at the Corners. 
 
 The first blacksmith-shop set up was at the 
 " bluff," by Hamilton & Dudley. They had pur- 
 chased in Chicago, on their way out, an outfit for 
 this purpose. Mr. Hubbard did the work. 
 
 These early settlers had a good many privations 
 to endure. They had then to go to Chicago for 
 their supplies. For their mail they went to Dixon ; 
 and then if they were fortunate enough to find a 
 letter there for them, they were unfortunate enough 
 to have to pay 25 cents before they could take it out 
 of the postoffice. 
 
 John C. Pratt was an active and leading man in 
 
 Lyndon up to the time of his death, which was in 
 December, 1843. 
 
 When the Hazards (David and Elisha, with their 
 families), came to Lyndon, there was but one house 
 finished, and none other nearer than Union Grove. 
 David Hazard located on what is now known as the 
 old town of Lyndon, in October, 1837. Elisha Haz- 
 ard, who had come the year previous, joined them 
 here with his family. They fitted up their cabin, 
 which contained one room, 14 x 14 feet, and the two 
 families 14 in number lived there through the 
 winter, and also, as Mrs. Hazard says, took in a 
 boarder, a man who clerked for Mr. Ray and slept 
 in the store. In the spring the main part of their 
 house was finished, which gave them more room. 
 
 The first religious services were held in a cabin 
 12 feet square, covered with bark, and owned by W. 
 D. Dudley. It was built by him for a dwelling. A. 
 R. Hamilton officiated at this meeting, by reading a 
 sermon. The first sermon really preached was also 
 in this cabin, in June, 1836, by'Rev. Elisha Hazard. 
 
 C. G. Woodruff was the first Justice of the Peace, 
 and W. D. Dudley was the first United States 
 officer in the township, holding the position of Post- 
 master and mail-carrier. 
 
 The first County Court was held in the spring of 
 1839, at the Dudley cabin. Elijah Worthington, 
 John Dodge and N. G. Reynolds were the Commis- 
 sioners, and Guy Ray was Clerk. 
 
 James M. Goodhue was the first attorney to settle 
 in Lyndon Township. He was an able lawyer and 
 a man of fine ability. He emigrated to Minnesota 
 at an early day, and become quite prominent in the 
 political affairs of that State. He has been dead 
 some years. 
 
 The first Fourth-of-July celebration was at Lyn- 
 don, and it was celebrated by a dance at Samuel 
 Willson's tavern. The dances were held in those 
 good old days in the day-time. Liquor was in- 
 cluded in the bill of fare, and it was " set up" at the 
 conclusion of every sett. Mr. Willson had supplied 
 himself quite liberally, as he thought, with liquors 
 and wines, having purchased one barrel of whisky, 
 five gallons of brandy, and two gallons of rum, and 
 the wine, which was intended more for the ladies. 
 He had some doubts, however, as to his ability to 
 manage the affair successfully, and accordingly 
 sent for J. D. Odell, and asked him to help him 
 
 f^ 
 
 V 
 
 : 

 
 through. On looking over the stock of drinkables, 
 and having a good knowledge of the guests, Mr. 
 Odell at once saw that the brandy would not hold 
 out. He therefore asked the landlord, who reluc- 
 tantly gave his consent to allow him to increase the 
 quantity of brandy at the expense of the whisky. 
 Mr. Odell then drew out two gallons of the brandy, 
 arid put in its place the same quantity of whisky. 
 They thought the brandy was splendid. The dance 
 went on, and the mirth increased. A heavy drain 
 
 ( was made on the favorite brandy cask, and Mr. 
 Odell was becoming alarmed lest it should give out. 
 
 I He had the daring to again draw on the whisky 
 barrel, and took from it two more gallons, and put it 
 into the brandy cask. The celebraters then thought 
 it was the best brandy they had ever drank in the 
 West. This enhanced the popularity of that par- 
 ticular cask, and increased the draft on it as the 
 dance went on, and made Mr. Odell very nervous. 
 As a last resort he put in two more gallons of 
 whisky. When they came again to drink, they all 
 declared it was the best brandy they had ever drank, 
 East or West. 
 
 This township is pretty well under cultivation, 
 and it is dotted all over with fine farms and good 
 dwellings. At one time it bid fair to become the 
 most populous township in the county. It had the 
 agricultural advantages, the water facilities, and the 
 location. The scenery is very picturesque, particu- 
 larly that portion which lies adjacent to Rock 
 River, which meanders along its southwestern border. 
 Another stream waters this township, which rises in 
 section 2 and, coursing southward, empties into the 
 river. The people do their trading mostly at the 
 village of Lyndon, which is also their nearest rail- 
 road station and postoffice. 
 
 This township is rather remarkable for the pro- 
 duction of snakes. Mr. G. R. Hamilton has an old 
 well which was dug at the " bluff's," in 1835. For 
 many years it has been dry, and has been taken pos- 
 session of by snakes. Early in the spring of 1882 a 
 neighbor asked Mr. Hamilton if he knew his old 
 well had become a den for snakes; but he thought it 
 was a joke his friend was playing upon him. Upon 
 examination, however, he says he did find a few. 
 He procured a hook and took out 131 snakes, from 
 2 to iYz feet long; in 1883 he took out 160, from 2 
 to 7 feet long; in 1884 he took out HI, from 2 to 6^ 
 
 _ -^.Ha^tr' t-\ A. 
 
 feet long; and in 1885 he took out 8g, from 2 to 
 feet in length, making in all 491 snakes, mostly the 
 horned adder, some blue racers, a few water-snakes 
 and one small rattlesnake.. 
 
 The Rock Island Branch of the Chicago, Burling- 
 ton & Quincy Railroad completed its track through 
 the township in January, 1869. It enters on section 
 i, and, passing diagonally through the township, goes 
 out on section 30. The Clinton Branch of (he Chi- 
 cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad passes through 
 the southwest part of the township on section 30, in 
 a northwesterly and southeasterly direction. This 
 track was completed in 1872. 
 
 The census reports of 1880 gave the population of 
 Lyndon Township at 1,157, including the village. 
 It is not thought to have increased in population 
 since that time. 
 
 The County Superintendent's report for the fiscal 
 year ending June 30, 1884, furnishes the following 
 school statistics : There are nine school districts, 
 each one having frame- school-houses, and one 
 graded school, which is at Lyndon village. The 
 value of school property was $8,300. Of persons 
 under 21 years of age there were 513, of whom 350 
 were of scholastic age, 278 being enrolled. The 
 highest wages paid teachers was $70 per month, and 
 the lowest $20. The tax levy was $2,073.57. There 
 has been a school library. 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 Robert O. Clendennin.. . . 1852-55 
 
 Justus Rew 1856-62 
 
 Lucius R. Rice 1863 
 
 John Whallon 1864 
 
 Henry Dudley 1865-69 
 
 John Whallon 1870-72 
 
 Justus Rcw i?73 
 
 J oh n W h al Ion 1874-77 
 
 John Lathe 1878 
 
 John Whallon 1870-80 
 
 F. M. Brewer 1881 
 
 Samuel A . Langdon 1882-84 
 
 John W. Hazard 1885 
 
 Lyndon Village. 
 
 HIS village is situated on the western 
 banks of Rock River. Its site is one of 
 exceeding beauty, with superior natural 
 advantages; and had the business affairs of 
 this town gone on as they had been planned, 
 it would now be the foremost town in the 
 county. But men may, with commendable judg- 
 ment, map out the future of a town, yet, after all, 
 there is a higher power that determines its desti- 
 nies. The first house put up in the old town of 
 Lyndon was by Dr. Augustus Smith, in 1836. It 
 was occupied afterwards for a store and dwelling. 
 
 
 3s
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Iii the winter of 1837-8 John Roy opened the 
 store, bringing his goods all the way from Ohio. It 
 v& was not a very large stock, as might be expected, yet 
 the people felt happy and jubilant over the event. 
 
 John Roy must have been an enterprising man, 
 for we find him in 1838 opening a "tavern/'speaking 
 after the manner of those days. This was in a 
 frame building, which is still standing. 
 
 The old part of Lyndon was platted in 1836, on 
 the fractional 40 acres of the northeast quarter of 
 f section 21. It was laid out by Mr. Rood, a surveyor. 
 William D. Dudley, A. R. Hamilton, C. G. Wood- 
 ^ ruff, Dr. Augustus Smith and Mr. Lusk were the 
 projectors. An addition, called Sperry's, was laid 
 out on section 16, southeast quarter, in 1848. The 
 next was the railroad addition, laid out when the 
 railroad came through, in 1869. The "mill "addi- 
 tion, which was platted in 1872, was the next. This 
 was followed by Fitch & Wilkins' Addition. 
 
 In 1839, the question came up for selecting the 
 county seat of Whiteside County. Chauncy G. 
 Woodruff and Adam R. Hamilton were appointed 
 under the act of the General Assembly, passed in 
 1839, to superintend an election to determine this 
 question. There were several aspiring towns which 
 desired to be selected. The election was held the 
 first Monday in May, 1839, and Lyndon, Albany, 
 Fulton, Prophetstown, Union Grove and Sterling 
 were voted for, but no choice was made. The act 
 provided that a majority of the votes cast should 
 determine the place for the seat, and that an elec- 
 tion should be held every month until such a major- 
 ity was given. Three other elections were held, with 
 no better result, the minority towns, however, drop- 
 ping out. By the time the September election came 
 the vote had narrowed down between Lyndon and 
 Sterling. The election was held, and the important 
 issue was decided in favor of Lyndon, and the 
 county seat was accordingly located at this place. 
 The town agreed to give, for county purposes, the 
 southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 
 1 6, on condition that the county seat be located here; 
 which was done. 
 
 The first term of the Circuit Court held in Lyndon 
 and the first in the county was in April, 1840, in a 
 partially finished house, which was owned by T. C. 
 Gould. Hon. Daniel Stone presided. R. L. Willson 
 was Clerk, and J. W. McLemore Acting Sheriff. 
 
 Three terms of Court were held here, when (he 
 county seat, by order of the County Commissioners, 
 was removed to Sterling, and the Circuit Court and 
 Commissioners' Court was ordered to be holden there. 
 A recount of the vote taken for the removal of the 
 county seat, upon application, was granted by the 
 County Commissioners' Court. Upon an examina- 
 tion of the poll-books it was found that the vote of 
 Sterling Precinct had been rejected, and with this 
 vote the election would place the county seat at 
 Sterling ; and this was the reason given by the 
 County Commissioners for their action. Further 
 history of this Court and county-seat affairs is given 
 in the general history of the county. 
 
 The Indians were quite numerous around and 
 about Lyndon during the first years of its settlement. 
 Having large camps across the river toward Proph- 
 etstown, they would come over in squads, begging 
 and picking up what they could get. They were not 
 troublesome, however. 
 
 In 1869, the track of the Rock Island Branch of 
 the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was 
 completed and a depot made near the town. This 
 gave new hope to the people, and they looked for a 
 rapid development of the place. The line ran along 
 outside of the limits ; and in order that their corpora- 
 tion might b_> within a railroad, or the railroad be 
 within their corporation, they laid out a new addi- 
 tion, taking in the station. 
 
 In April, 1872, the citizens met to organize into a 
 village corporation, under the organization act. The 
 election for selecting village officials was held that 
 month, at the Town Hall, and the following citi- 
 zens were chosen Trustees : John W. Hazard, A. 
 M. McKery, C. C. Sweeney, Leander Church and J. 
 L. Bates. The village Board, composed of these 
 gentlemen, met May 2 following, at the residence of 
 Dr. A. P. Holt, to complete their village organiza- 
 tion. J. W. Hazard was chosen President, E. W. 
 Hazard, Clerk, and Wm. M. Burkitt, Treasurer. 
 
 During this year the Lyndon Hydraulic Manu- 
 facturing Company was organized, with a capital 
 stock of $60,000. Its object was to furnish water 
 power for manufacturing purposes. They con- 
 structed a dam across Rock River, a short distance 
 above the town, with a head of about eight feet, and 
 giving a large water-power. A large flouring-mill 
 was also erected by this company, called the Lyndon 
 
 
 x 
 
 .
 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Mills. The following year a paper-mill was com- 
 pleted near the dam. It was an extensive estab- 
 lishment, and should have been a success. It'had a 
 capacity of manufacturing 2,000 tons of paper per 
 year. Following this, and located near, was another 
 flou ring-m ill, which was erected by Putman & 
 Willson. 
 
 In 1875, the Farmers' Co-operative Manufactur- 
 ing Company was organized. Their establishment 
 was completed in 1876. They erected a large brick 
 building, and had in it a full set of machinery for 
 manufacturing agricultural implements. 
 
 It is sad to write of wrecks, and we pass over 
 these grand prospects of man's brain. They were 
 like the house that was built on the sand. They 
 differ only in this: they still stand as monuments of 
 failure. Failure of plans badly executed, however 
 well they have been conceived, rise up before you. 
 They stand like ghosts of departed hopes. The 
 dam in the first place was poorly constructed, and 
 inadequate to resist for any length of time the power 
 behind it. In an evil hour a break was made ; it was 
 not mended ; the dam went down the river, and with 
 it the hopes of Lyndon. 
 
 The estimated population of Lyndon now is about 
 300. 
 
 Good fortune does not always fall to the worthy, 
 yet sometimes it visits thrm, which it did in the case 
 of a very worthy young lady of this town, the daugh- 
 ter of Mr. W. M. Patrick, publisher of the Advocate. 
 A humorous paper in New York, known as the 
 Tid-JBits, offered a reward of a thousand-dollar up- 
 right piano for the best story, selected or original, to 
 be decided by a committee appointed especially for 
 the purpose. Miss Mary L. Patrick selected a story 
 and sent it on, merely writing her name on the 
 piece. She thought no more about it after^a few 
 days had passed, until she received a notice from the 
 paper, stating that she had won the prize, and 
 asking how and where to send it. 
 
 She received the piano in due time, and it proved 
 to be a very beautiful one, with an excellent tone. 
 The design of the case is very artistic, and is made 
 of bur-walnut and butternut wood. There were 
 2,241 pieces sent in. Miss Mary justly feels proud 
 of her success. 
 
 B USINESS. 
 
 C. L. Parkhurst has a general store, deals in hard- 
 
 ware and agricultural implements, and runs a tin- 
 shop. Parmenter & Bros, are general dealers in 
 merchandise, grain and coal. M. A. McKerg manu- 
 factures and deals in harness and saddlery. Mrs. M. 
 J. Steward deals in millinery, fancy goods, and has 
 a dressmaking establishment. Blacksmithing is done 
 by A. S. Hazard and James Roach. W. H. Robinson 
 has a restaurant and confectionery store. Ira Sher- 
 wood supplies the boots and shoes for the people 
 and does repairing. The meat market is run by Gris- 
 wold & Hamilton. G. R. Cady conducts the livery 
 and feed stable. John Whallon represents the Bar. 
 The physicians and surgeons of the place are O. H. 
 Bartlett and F. W. Cannon. The Lyndon Hotel is 
 conducted by S. Zimmers. He and his lady are al- 
 ways ready to give the weary, or the unweary trav- 
 eler, good entertainment. For good beds and table, 
 and careful attention to the wants of its guests, the 
 Lyndon House ranks among the best hotels in ihe 
 county. Lyndon is supplied with two mails each 
 way daily. C. W. Parmenter is the genial Postmas- 
 ter. 
 
 PRESS. 
 
 The people of Lyndon have a good organ to rep- 
 resent their interests in the Lyndon Advocate, which 
 is published by W. M. Patrick. The first issue of 
 this paper appeared July 7, 1883. Mr. Patrick 
 moved his paper from Mendota, where it was pub- 
 lished and known as the Mendota Index. He is an 
 old newspaper man and knows how to conduct a 
 paper in a manner quite satisfactory to his patrons. 
 The Advocate is independent in politics, is published 
 every Saturday, and has a good circulation. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Lyndon has a good graded school, of which W. W. 
 Noyes is the Principal, and Miss Dolly Scott teacher 
 in the intermediate department, and Miss Agnes 
 McNeil, of the primary department. This school 
 has enrolled 140 pupils. A full English course is 
 taught, and also vocal music. The Principal's sys- 
 tem is to use text-books as little as possible. The 
 school buildings of the place are fair. 
 RELIGIOUS. 
 
 The Congregational Church. This society was or- 
 ganized June 27, 1836, at the residence of Wm. D. 
 Dudley, by Rev. Elisha Hazard. Adam R. Hamil- 
 ton and wife, John M. Hamilton, Adam R., Jr., 
 Nancy A., Lovica H. and Mary E. Hamilton, W. D. 
 
 c
 
 
 878 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 Dudley and wife, Louisa, his daughter, Liberty 
 Walker, C. G. Woodruff and wife and daughter Julia 
 Ann, Ephraim A. Hubbard and Orem L. Turner 
 formed the first organization. They held their ser- 
 vices in private houses and in the school-house. In 
 1848 the church building was commenced and the 
 following year finished and dedicated, the Rev. Mr. 
 Wilcox preaching the dedicatory sermon. This was 
 a grout building, and was burned April 8, 1883. 
 Soon after a subscription was started to raise means 
 for a new edifice. The town hall was in the mean- 
 time used for holding meetings. The new church 
 slrucUue was completed, and dedicated Dec. 27, 
 1883, Rev. S. S. Mitchell, of Iowa, preaching the 
 dedicatory sermon. The first Sunday service was 
 held on Dec. 30 following, and in the evening a 
 Sunday-school concert was given. It is a very neat 
 and attractive edifice, and was erected at a cost of 
 $2,600 They have a fine Sunday-school. The 
 Church has about 60 members. 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 
 1841, by Revs. W. Buck and G. L. S. Stuff, in an 
 old store building. Leanora Hazard and Chauncy 
 G. Woodruff were the first members. Mr. Stuff is 
 still living and preaching. This society was attached 
 to the Union Grove Circuit. Services were held at 
 first in private residences. When the town hall was 
 completed, they held their meetings in it. Their 
 first building was a grout structure. It was burned 
 in 1882. Their present church building was com- 
 pleted in 1884, in the spring. Services were held in 
 the town hall until their building was finished. Their 
 new building is a large, substantial frame structure, 
 40x60, and cost 2,500. The congregation has a 
 membership of 50. The present pastor is Rev. Ed- 
 ward Brien. A Sabbath-school is connected with 
 the society. 
 
 The Baptist Church. This society was organized 
 in September, 1839. Meetings were held in private 
 residences until the Town Hall was built, when it 
 met there. They had quite a following for some 
 years, but never erected a church building. The 
 society disbanded about 20 years ago, there being so 
 few members, nearly all those active in its organiza- 
 tion having moved away or died. 
 
 SOCIETIES. 
 Masonic Lodge No. 750. This lodge was insti- 
 
 tuted July 18, 1876, with 12 charter members. John 
 J. Hurlbert was Master. It was prosperous after its 
 organization, largely increasing its original number. 
 They have a good large hall for holding their ses- 
 sions, which is well furnished and equipped. 
 
 The Modern IVoodmen of America have a" branch 
 camp in Lyndon, which was organized recently. 
 They have already a large membership. They hold 
 their meetings regularly, in their hall, and are in a 
 flourishing condition. 
 
 The young people at one time had a literary so- 
 ciety here, and held meetings every two weeks, 
 when original literary articles would be read by its 
 members. J. D. Odell, now of Morrison, was a 
 prominent member of this society. Time has wrought 
 its changes with this society as well as with many 
 others, and it may be recorded now as among the 
 things of the past. 
 
 
 
 MONTMOBENCY TOWNSHIP. 
 
 t 
 
 Y)NTMORENCY was set oft as a township 
 by the committee appointed for that pur- 
 pose on the adoption of the township 
 organization law in 1852, but its organiza- 
 tion was not completed until 1859. It is com- 
 posed exclusively of prairie land, nearly all of 
 which is susceptible of cultivation and the greater 
 part being well improved. 
 
 The first settlement made in the township was in 
 1847, when Asa Scott, a native of Ohio, but who 
 had been living for some years in Hopkins Town- 
 ship, entered a portion of section 7. For nearly five 
 years he was the only settler in the township. In 
 
 1852 S! Russell located on the same section, and in 
 
 1853 Edwin Scott located on section 12. Between 
 1853 and 1856 a number of families came into the 
 township, among whom were those of Tyler Mc- 
 Whorter, J. G. Barnes, Geo. Murray, Herman Sturtz, 
 Robert Adams, Robert Clay, Joel Wood, Dr. Davis, 
 Alonzo and Joseph Colder, and William Hall. 
 
 Asa Scott was born in Morgan County, Ohio, and 
 came to Whiteside County, locating at Como, in 
 1839. There he remained until 1847, when he 
 moved to this township, and, as stated, became its 
 
 *^ 
 

 
 
 x 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 first settler. Mr. Scott was united in marriage with 
 Elizabeth Taylor, Feb. 22, 1838, and 16 children 
 were born to them. He was a great hunter, and 
 went every year to Deer Grove to shoot deer. 
 
 Tyler McWhorter is a native of Indiana. He 
 came he-re in 1854, since which time he has been a 
 prominent figure in political and township affairs. 
 A full sketch of him will be found on page 526. 
 
 Alonzo Colder is from Dutchess Co., N. Y. In 
 1844 he moved to McHenry Co., 111., from which 
 place he came to Whiteside in 1855, locating on sec- 
 tion ro, Montmorency Township. He has been a 
 representative man among the farmers for years and 
 was the first Master of the State Grange, Patrons of 
 Husbandry. (See page 485.) 
 
 Addie B., daughter of Asa and Elizabeth Scott, 
 was born Aug. 6, 1848. She was the first born in 
 the township. Growing to womanhood, she married 
 Nathaniel Wood and subsequently moved to Iowa. 
 
 John, son of Asa and Elizabeth Scott, died Feb. 
 26, 1856. This was the first death in the township 
 
 The first marriage was that of Geo. C. Calkins 
 and Mary T. Scott, the ceremony taking place at the 
 house of the bride's parents. The couple subse- 
 quently removed to Iowa. 
 
 The first school-house was on the northeast cor- 
 ner of section 9, almost opposite the residence of 
 Alonzo Colder. It was erected in 1856, at a time 
 when the settlement was small, indeed. In the fol- 
 lowing winter, Alfred Snell taught a term of school 
 therein. This was the first in the township. The 
 school-house was but a temporary structure, the de- 
 sign being to remove it in due time and erect on its 
 site a larger and better building. The great tornado 
 of June 3, 1860, which passed over this county, 
 saved the citizens the trouble of removing it. By 
 that tornado it was quickly removed and completely 
 destroyed. The next year the district erected an- 
 other building, which yet stands. Other school- 
 houses were built from time to time. 
 
 The Superintendent of Public Schools of the 
 county, in his annual report for the year ending 
 June 30, 1884, reported six school districts, with six 
 frame school -houses, in the township, valued at 
 at $4,400. There were 318 persons under 21 years 
 of age, 217 of whom were of school age, and 128 en- 
 rolled in the public schools. The highest wages 
 paid teachers per month was $60, and the lowest 
 $25. The tax levy for the year was $560. 
 
 The first religious service held in the township is 
 said to have been in the McWhorter School-house, 
 in 1860, Rev. Zadoc Paddock, a minister of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, conducting the exer- 
 cises. The first Sunday-school was organized in the 
 same house, in the summer of 1860, by Miss Sarah 
 Robinson. Its proximity to various towns that are 
 well supplied with good churches, has prevented any 
 house of worship being erected in the township. 
 
 In the War of the Rebellion, Montmorency per- 
 formed her part, every call of the President being 
 responded to in sufficient numbers to avoid a draft. 
 Wm. Macomber, of this township, was promoted to 
 a staff officer under Gen. McClellan. Alonzo Colder, 
 a son of Joseph Colder, died in the service. 
 
 There was an old Indian trail which entered the 
 township near the northeast corner, and running in 
 a southwesterly direction, passed out a little west of 
 the center of the south line. This was the first 
 traveled road through the township. The old stage 
 route from Dixon to Rock Island was another early 
 traveled road. It ran through the northwest part of 
 the township. The " lone tree " was a prominent 
 object on this line. It stood on section 7 , near the 
 house of Asa Scott. It is related that at the root of 
 the tree a jug or bottle of liquor used to be kept by 
 the stage-drivers to " wet their whistles " as they 
 passed, going to or returning from Rock Island. It 
 was understood that whoever emptied the bottle 
 must take it with him, have it filled and put it in the 
 accustomed place on his return. The tree was also 
 known as the " grocery tree " from this fact. 
 
 Montmorency Township, notwithstanding its late 
 settlement, is now regarded as one of the best town- 
 ships in the county, and has an enterprising and 
 thrifty class of people within its borders. The farm 
 houses and barns are generally of a superior char- 
 acter. Of late years much attention has been given 
 to the raising of fine stock, and several farmers have 
 turned their attention almost entirely to this branch 
 of industry. The dairy interests are also repre- 
 sented, C. C. Buell devoting much of his time to this 
 industry. 
 
 The Rock River branch of the Chicago, Burlington 
 & Quincy Railroad passes through the northeast 
 corner of the township, but has no station within its 
 borders. In building this road, the township was 
 asked for aid to the amount of $50,000. At a special 
 town meeting, held Aug. 28, 1869, at the school- 
 
 I 
 
 
 * ' 
 I 
 
 x 
 
 _
 
 i 
 
 
 house in District No. 2, the question of subscribing 
 that amount of stock was submitted to a vote of the 
 people. There were 43 votes cast for and 34 against 
 subscription. Bonds were to be issued for the pay- 
 ment of the stock. Soon after the election the rail- 
 road company applied to Tyler McVVhorter, who was 
 then Supervisor, to subscribe in behalf of the town- 
 ship. Mr. McWhorter declined doing so. An ap- 
 plication was made to Judge Heaton for a wiit of 
 mandamus compelling him to do so, but the Judge 
 refused to grant the writ. On the completion of the 
 road, the company again requested Mr. McWhorter 
 to subscribe, and, on his refusal to do so, sued out a 
 writ of mandamus before Judge Pleasants. The town- 
 ship appealed to the Supreme Court on the ground 
 that at the election held Aug. 29, 1869, a majority of 
 all the legal voters of the town had not voted to 
 subscribe for the stock. The appeal was sustained 
 and the writ was dismissed. No stock was ever 
 subscribed by the township. 
 
 As already stated, the township was not fully or- 
 ganized until 1859. The first election was held 
 April 5, of that year, and resulted in the election of 
 the following named officers : Joseph Colder, Super- 
 visor; A. L. Burdett, Clerk; Asa Scott, Assessor; 
 Win. C. Payson, Collector; Alonzo Golder, Benjamin 
 Gushing, Justices of the Peace. Only 20 votes were 
 cast at this election. It was voted at this first town 
 meeting that the name of the township be changed 
 from Montmorency to Arcade, but on reflection the 
 vote was rescinded at the next annual town meeting. 
 The following named have served the township on 
 the Board of Supervisors ; Joseph Golder, 1859-64 ; 
 George M. Sawyer, 1865-7 ; Tyler McWhorter, 
 1868-74; C. C. Buell, 1875-7; Tyler McWhorter, 
 1878-9; C. C. Buell, 1880-2 ; A. A. Church, 1883-4 ; 
 Herman SUirtz, 1885. 
 
 MOUNT PLEASANT TOWNSHIP. 
 
 'OUNT PLEASANT Township, during 
 the days of the County Commissioners' 
 rule, formed a part of Union Grove Pre- 
 cinct, which was among the first of the 
 precints to be settled. The territory of which 
 it is now composed is bounded on the north by 
 Ustick, and on the east by Hopkins, on the south 
 
 by Lyndon, and on the west by Union Grove Town- 
 ship. It is numbered 21 north, range 5 east, and is 
 a full Congressional township. 
 
 The credit of the first settlement is given to Felix 
 French, James J. Thomas, J. D. Pashcal, Wm. H. 
 Pashcal and George O. James, who came in the spring 
 of 1835. Felix French located on section 19; W. 
 H. Pashcal on section 17 ; J. D. Pashcal on section 
 16; James J. Thomas on section 16, and George O. 
 James on section 7. George W. Thomas came in a 
 little later, and made a claim on section 9, and 
 one for his brother, W. C., on section 8. John 
 W. Stakes, with Joshua T. Atkinson, made the first 
 claims in Union Grove Precinct, on both sides of 
 Rock Creek, in 1835. They made a division of 
 their property in 1836, Mr. Atkinson taking the west 
 side of the creek and Stakes the east side, which 
 is now embraced by Mt. Pleasant Township. He 
 should be regarded as a settler in this township. 
 During the summer of 1836 he broke up the ground 
 and planted a crop where Morrison now stands. 
 
 These pioneers, with their families, and the Indi- 
 ans, made up the settlement of this territory for 1835. 
 
 The Pashcals were born in North Carolina \V. 
 H. in 1804, and J. D. in 1805. James J. Thomas 
 was born in St. Clair Co., 111., in 1801, and George 
 W. in 1820; George O. James was -born in South 
 Carolina in 1 806. The Pashcals served in the In- 
 dian War of 1831-2 ; so also did James J. Thomas. 
 The Pashcals came from Morgan Co., 111. They 
 built a log cabin, which was used as common prop- 
 erty by all the settlers that season and the following 
 winter. In the spring a corn crop was planted, 
 which was the first in the township. Other cabins 
 were soon built, and the settlers began to feel more 
 comfortably "fixed." Jonathan Haines, Horace Hea- 
 ton, Samuel Lane and John B. Dodge came in this 
 year. Heaton and Lane located on section 4, and 
 Dodge on section 6. 
 
 Jonathan Haines put up a saw-mill on Rock Creek, 
 about a mile and a half above Unionville. He had 
 only cut a few feet of lumber when a freshet came 
 and took his mill down stream. It was hauled back 
 and set up again, but not in time to cut any lumber 
 that season. In the spring of 1837 it was again 
 started, and with better success. During this season 
 two stones were put in for grinding corn and wheat. 
 This mill site was in what was afterward called 
 
 ' . 
 
 
 ... ' 1 ~
 
 Jacqbstown. Mr. Haines became quite a prominent 
 and useful citizen, doing much toward advancing 
 the township. He afterward moved to Pekin, 111, 
 where he died, Feb. 22, 1868. William H. Fashcal 
 accumulated considerable property, and was a much 
 respected citizen. He died on his farm home, 
 March 12, 1875. He was a son-in-law of Anthony 
 M. Thomas. J. D. Pashcal died during the winter 
 of 1885. J. B. Dodge died at his farm in January, 
 1843. 
 
 In 1837 the settlement was increased by the arri- 
 val of Pardon Dodge, Anthony M. Thomas and 
 family, William Heaton, Sr., and family, Aaron C. 
 Jackson and family, and James Knox, Sr., and fam- 
 ily. These were soon followed by many of their 
 friends, and others who had heard and read of the 
 glowing accounts of this fair country. 
 
 From this tfme on the township increased in 
 population rapidly. Mr. Jackson made his purchase 
 on section 17, where a part of the city of Morrison 
 is no AT located. He reared a large and respectable 
 family of children, most of whom are still living. 
 He died June 10, 1879. The first wedding in the 
 territory now embraced by Mt. Pleasant Township, 
 was, according to Mr. D. B. Young's recollections, 
 between Horace Heaton and Sally Chamberlain, 
 in 1838. Miss Chamberlain came out with Mr. 
 Young's family. Mr. Heaton died Sept. 16, 1867. 
 Mary Ann, daughter of John W. Stakes, was the first 
 child bom here, which event occurred Oct. 15, 1855. 
 The first death occurred in 1837, and was that of 
 James Heaton, son of William Heaton, Sr. Oliver 
 Hall was the first teacher to instruct the youths 
 of this primitive settlement in book-learning. His 
 school was opened in 1838, in a rudely constructed 
 log house, on William H. Pashcal's claim. He was 
 a native of Massachusetts. For his services he re- 
 ceived $10 per month, which was raised by subscrip- 
 tion, and he was also boarded by the settlers. The 
 first School Board elected was on Jan. i, 1846. 
 A. M. Thomas, William Knox, A. C. Jackson and 
 Jonathan Haines, were the Trustees chosen. A. P. 
 Young was the first teacher appointed by a board 
 of school trustees. He taught in District No. i. 
 
 In 1836, a Methodist class was formed, consisting 
 of James J. Thomas and wife, and George O. James 
 and wife. Meetings were held in Mr. Thomas' 
 cabin. This was the nucleus from which the present 
 
 Methodist Church of Morrison was formed. This 
 class was formed by Rev. James McKean. He was 
 a circuit " rider," belonging to the Rock River 
 Conference. 
 
 The pioneers in those early days had a pretty 
 hard time to secure supplies for their winter wants. 
 About this locality, the Indians had killed or driven 
 off nearly all the wild game. They had to depend 
 on Chicago, Galena and the Mississippi landings for 
 supplies, and as markets for their products. The 
 distance to Chicago was long, and the roads bad. 
 They could not afford to put up at the taverns, so 
 they took food along for themselves and feed for 
 their teams. They would leave feed along the road 
 on their way, in order to lighten their load, for use 
 on their return trip. It would often take them ten 
 and twelve days to make a trip. If they got back 
 home with a few supplies in exchange for their hard- 
 earned products, they thought themselves lucky, and 
 were satisfied. The lands were not then surveyed ; 
 and it was not until January, 1843, that they came 
 into market. They were held then at $1.25 per 
 acre. While the pioneers had awaited with no little 
 expectancy this order of the Government, yet it was 
 received by most of them with trepidation, and by som 
 with consternation. The question was, as to how 
 they were going to meet the first payments, as they 
 were all poor. They had some grain and a few head 
 of stock, but no money. They must make their pay- 
 ments or lose their claims. Many sold everything 
 they had at a great sacrifice to do this. It was dur- 
 ing this period that claims were jumped. But this 
 proceeding was very hazardous to the jumper, as 
 the farmers generally would stand by each other. ^ 
 
 Ml. Pleasant was organized under the township 
 system, April 6, 1856. The meeting for this pur- f 
 pose was held at Mt. Pleasant school-house. Ward 
 P. Lewis was chosen Moderator, and John W. 
 Stakes, Clerk, pro tern. After these officers were 
 sworn in by a Justice of the Peace, who was acting, 
 the polls were declared to be open. The meeting 
 resulted in the election of Aaron C. Jackson for 
 Supervisor; Ward P. Lewis, Clerk; Alfred Haines, 
 Assessor; Cyrus P. Emery, Collector; John James, 
 Overseer of the _Poor; William H. Paschal, R. K. 
 Hiddleson and Horace Hinton, Commissioners of the 
 Highway; G. H. Deniick, R. K. Hiddleson, Justices 
 of the Peace, and Cyrus I". Emery and A. C. Pratt, 
 Constables. 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 The surface of the land in this township is quite 
 varied, some parts of it prairie, some undulating, 
 some rolling, and some, particularly the western 
 part, bluffy, or broken. Its topography is, indeed, 
 very attractive. It is watered by Rock Creek, and 
 smaller streams, on the borders of which are fine 
 groves of timber. The soil is mostly a clay loam, 
 which is very fertile. Considerable attention is being 
 paid to the raising of stock, and in this department 
 the township ranks third. The farms are well culti- 
 vated, and many of them are adorned with beautiful 
 dwellings. The farm buildings throughout the town- 
 ship are above the average, and the roads good. 
 
 In 1855, the Chicago & Northwestern com- 
 pleted its track through the township, which gives to 
 the people ample means of transportation. It enters 
 the township on section 28, and, running west by 
 north, passes out on section 18. 
 
 The principal trading place for the people is Mor- 
 rison, which has grown up since the completion of 
 the railroad. 
 
 Before this town started the trading was done at 
 Unionville, which was the principal town, not only 
 for this, but Union Grove Township. There was 
 also another hamlet where the people were wont to 
 trade and get their smithing done, called Jacobstown. 
 There were a mill, a supply store, and some shops 
 there. This only exists now in the memory of the 
 old settler. There is, also, a station on the Chicago 
 & Northwestern, called Round drove. At this 
 place there is a postoffice. The farmers, mostl , 
 have adopted the creamery system, and send their 
 cream to those places where it is converted into 
 butter. 
 
 According to the census report of 1880, the pop- 
 ulation of Mt. Pleasant, including the city of Mor- 
 rison, was 3,048. It is estimated that the popula- 
 tion has increased 500 since that time. The County 
 Superintendent in his annual re|X>rt ending June 30, 
 1884, makes the following report regarding school 
 statistics: Value of school property, $39,900. In 
 the nine school districts there are eight frame and 
 one brick building. Of persons under 21 years of 
 age, there were 1,227, of whom 880 were of scho- 
 lastic age, and 758 enrolled. The highest wages paid 
 teachers was $130 per month, and the lowest, $25. 
 
 Below are the names of the citizens who have 
 
 s*^ Q/< 
 
 represented the township as Supervisors since its 
 organization: 
 
 Addison Farrington . . . 
 
 W. S. Wilkinson 
 
 D. S. Spoflfbrd... 
 A. C. McAllister. 
 Oscar Woods 
 
 1871-73 
 
 ...1874 
 
 . -.1875-78 
 1879-80 
 1881-85 
 
 f 
 
 Aaron C. Jackson 1852-56 
 
 Ward S- Lewis...., 1857 
 
 H. P. Roberts 1858 
 
 S. H. McCrea 1859-63 
 
 Henry I\. Sampson 1864-69 
 
 Cyrus Reynolds 1870 
 
 NEWTON TOWNSHIP. 
 
 EWTON Township in its first precinct 
 government belonged to Crow Creek Pre- 
 cinct. It was afterwards attached to the 
 Albany Precinct. With many other precincts, 
 the people of this township voted, in 1849, in 
 favor of township organization. It was during 
 this year that the Commissioners fixed the present 
 IxMindary lines, and gave to the township the name 
 of Greenfield. The election in 1849 was invalid, 
 and in 1851 the citizens again expressed themselves 
 at the polls as favorable to the township system. 
 Accordingly, on the 6th of April, 1852, the citizens 
 met to consummate their organization. The meeting 
 was held at Greenfield, but no record is made of the 
 preliminary officers. Joseph Miller was elected Su- 
 pervisor; S. B. Slocumb, Clerk; John Thompson, 
 Assessor; John Mitchell, Collector; Luke Abbey, 
 Overseer of the Poor; George Rowe, William G. 
 Nevitt and Oliver Root, Commissioners of the High- 
 way; Win. W. Slocumb and Arthur Hoffman, Con- 
 stables ; and Wm. Payne and S. B. Bliss, Justices of 
 the Peace. 
 
 Newton is nearly a full Congressional township, 
 sections 31 and 32 being fractional. 
 
 Jeremiah Pearson, a Georgian, has the honor of 
 making the first settlement in Newton. He made a 
 claim on section 21, in 1835, and put up a log cabin, 
 which was the first in the township. Adam Stall- 
 naker, from Virginia, came in next, and located on 
 section 16. These two pioneers did not seem to like 
 Newton very well, for they soon sold out their inter- 
 est, the former going beyond the Marais d' Osier, 
 and the latter to Albany Township, where he after- 
 wards died. John and William Piercy, who came in 
 in 1836, l>ought Pearson's claim, and the following 
 year sold out to Joseph and John Miller. Stallnaker 
 sold his claim to Alexander Thompson and Samuel 
 Miller. In 1837, W. G. Nevitt, S. B. Slocumb and 
 
 I 
 
 & 
 
 <V 
 
 *:'*
 
 -; 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Luke Abbey made claims here. Mr. Nevitt located 
 on section 6. Luke Abbey located on section 24, 
 and Slocuinb on section 6. There were no roads in 
 the township at this time, and Mr. Nevitt did not like 
 the idea of living in a country without roads, or even 
 a cow-path, so he went into the timber, cut down a 
 tree and then, hitching a couple of yokes of oxen to it, 
 he started out for Albany. When he returned home 
 with his tree he thought he had a pretty fair road ; 
 at least, he could find his way out to a settlement 
 then. Settlers came in rather slowly during the 
 early years, the land in this township not coming 
 into market until 1845, and after this the population 
 increased more rapidly. 
 
 There were Indians al>out here, as there were in 
 most of the townships, in the pioneer times, but they 
 were peaceable, doing nothing beyond stealing When- 
 ever they had a good opportunity. 
 
 Henty Rexroad and Eliza, daughter of Luke Ab- 
 bey, were the first to enter into matrimonial alliance. 
 The first child born in the township was William, 
 son of Luke Abbey. At the breaking out of the 
 late war he enlisted, and was mustered into the 341)1 
 Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., but died before goingintbany ac- 
 tive service. The first death was that of John 
 Winchell's child, who died near Mineral Springs. 
 
 The first school was taught in a log house, put up 
 by W. (r. Nevitt, on section 6. Miss Witt was the 
 teacher. 
 
 The few Methodists who were here in the early 
 days went to Albany for worship. Afterwards they 
 held services around ^in the houses of the settlers. 
 John Freek, a religions devotee who lived by the 
 sand ridge, in Erie, used to come on foot to preside 
 at these meetings. This gentleman organized a 
 Sunday-school here, and would be punctually on 
 hand every Sunday to preside over his flock. Later 
 on, Mr. Nevitt put up a building near his home, in 
 which the people worshiped. When the school- 
 house was completed, meetings were held there. 
 Other school-houses, as soon as built, were appro- 
 priated on Sunday for divine services. Through the 
 efforts of W. G. Nevitt and S. B. Slocumb, a church 
 building was finally erected. It was afterwards used 
 lor a school-house. 
 
 Between the years 1855 and 1860, the people of 
 Newton Township were greatly exhilarated over the 
 prospect of having a railroad, which was to run from 
 
 Mendota through their township to Albany, thence 
 across the Mississippi to Comanche. They em- 
 barked in this project eagerly, mortgaging their 
 farms to help on the enterprise. Nothing was done 
 further than partially grade the line, and the farmers 
 lost heavily by this swindle. If all the men who have 
 been directly instrumental in robbing the farmers 
 under the plea of constructing a railroad were to get 
 their just deserts, it would require a larger factory 
 than that now used for manufacturing the bicycle to 
 make the gallows. 
 
 Newton Township did nobly during the late Re- 
 bellion, sending into the field nearly 150 volunteers. 
 They also contributed liberally in aid of the war. 
 
 The topography of this township is exceedingly 
 beautiful. The land is mostly rolling, and suffi- 
 ciently timbered. While it has no large rivers or 
 streams of water, there are several pretty little creeks 
 that meander through. There are some splendid 
 farms within its borders, and many fine dwellings; 
 and most of the farmers are in independent circum- 
 stances. 
 
 The first and the only murder committed in 
 this township was that of William Andrews, by his 
 son, May 5, 1884. The father and son did not 
 agree very well, and finally the father ordered the 
 son to leave the premises, which order he obeyed. 
 Subsequently the father went away on some busi- 
 ness, and when he returned home he found his son 
 there. He said nothing, but allowed him to remain. 
 One day the father was correcting a younger son, 
 when the elder son, whose name was John, inter- 
 fered, telling his brother not to mind what the old 
 man was saying. This angered the father, and he 
 reprimanded the John, whereupon he drew a revol- 
 ver and fired at his father, who ran out and around 
 the house. John followed him, firing all the time, 
 until he fell, as was supposed, dead. John imme- 
 diately left the farm and the country, and has never 
 been heard of since. A reward was offered for his 
 capture, but it was of no avail. Mr. Andrews died 
 one month after he was shot, and was buried in Erie 
 Cemetery. 
 
 A postoffice is established in the township, called 
 Kingsbury. It has no special locality, or fixed place, 
 but is transferred wherever the Postmaster happens 
 to live. Paul Burke is the present incumbent of this 
 office. 
 
 There are good school buildings and good schools 
 
 
 -
 
 - 
 
 
 884 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 in all the districts of the township, and careful atten- 
 tion is given to the education of the children. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church Have a very 
 substantial church building in the northeast part of 
 the township. This is called Zion's M. E. Church. 
 The building is 24 by 40 feet and cost $r,ooo. They 
 have about forty members. Rev. F. Lines, of Al- 
 bany, holds service here every two weeks. 
 
 Presbyterian Church. This is known as the 
 Kingsbury Church. They have a prosperous soci- 
 ety, with sixty -four members, and a large and inter- 
 esting Sabbath-school. A very neat little church 
 structure, which was erected some fifteen years ago, 
 at a cost of about a thousand dollars, affords this 
 society a pleasant place of worship. A good organ 
 is provided, which is used in connection with con- 
 gregational singing. Rev. J. Lafferty is the present 
 pastor in charge. 
 
 The Dunkards and the River Brethren have quite 
 a following in Newton. In their religious simplicity, 
 however, they do not go so far as to construct church 
 buildings, but confine their places of worship chiefly 
 to barns and groves. 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 J. H. Marshall 1863-5 
 
 William 1'rothrow 1866-7 
 
 J. H. Marshall 1868-71 
 
 Jesse K. HI can 1872 
 
 Joseph H. Marshall 1873 
 
 Joseph Miller 1852 
 
 William 1'rothrow 1853 
 
 James HIean 1854 
 
 S. 11. I'.liss. 
 
 .1855 
 
 William Prothrow 1856-8 
 
 S. I!. Bliss 1859 
 
 K. L. Cane 1800-1 
 
 William Prothrow 1862 
 
 j . n. iviarsnaii ieoo- 
 
 Jesse K. HI can 1872 
 
 Joseph H. Marshall 1873 
 
 Jesse K. HIcan 1874-83 
 
 13. P. Echelberger.., 1884-5 
 
 PORTLAND TOWNSHIP. 
 
 p ORTLAND Township was organized under 
 the township organization laws of April 6, 
 1852. The meeting for this purpose was 
 
 held at the residence of Horace Burke. D. F. 
 
 Cole was chosen as Moderator, and S. M. 
 
 Seely Clerk. The following named officers 
 were elected to represent the new township: George 
 Paddock for Supervisor; D. D. Dickinson, Clerk; J. 
 S. Logan, Assessor ; Levi Fuller, Collector ; A. T. 
 Brackin, Overseer of the Poor; D. Underhill, Rich- 
 ard Brown, H. Burke, Levi Fuller, R. M. Besse, 
 Constables ; and J. T. Welding, Justice of the Peace. 
 Paddock and Dickinson served but a short time and 
 
 then resigned. A special election was called to fill 
 their places, July 8, 1852. Bacchus Besse was 
 elected Supervisor, and Alphonzo Brook, Clerk. 
 
 When Whiteside County was attached to Ogle 
 County, this territory formed a part of the Crow Creek 
 Precinct. In 1837, the Commissioners' Court of Ogle 
 County formed it into the Precinct of Prophetstown, 
 which embraced all the territory in the county lying 
 south of Rock River. The following year the name 
 was changed to Portland. In 1840 it was subdi- 
 vided into three Precincts, a part taking the old 
 name of Prophetstown, a part that of Rapids, and 
 the remainder Portland. As now organized the 
 township of Portland embraces all that part of Con- 
 gressional township 19 north, range 4 east, lying 
 south of Rock River, and also that portion of Con- 
 gressional township 19 north, range 3 east, lying 
 south of Rock River, containing in all 22,243 acres 
 of ground. Its surface is generally level, though in 
 the northeastern part there are some high lands. 
 The soil is a sandy loam in the main. There are 
 many sloughs, and what is called the Big Slough ex- 
 tends up into the township. It is well timbered and 
 quite liberally watered. It is better adapted for 
 stock-raising than for agricultural purposes. In In- 
 dian times it was a favorite hunting ground. Nor- 
 man B. and Alexander J, Seely, brothers, were the 
 first settlers in the township, coming about the ist of 
 June, 1834. They came from Genesee County, N. 
 Y., and located on section i. Ebenezer, an elder 
 brother, who had been living with his parents in Cat- 
 taraugus County, N. Y., joined them in September. 
 He first went to Michigan, expecting to find his 
 brothers there, but they had pushed on Westward. 
 Leaving their location, he hurried on to the Prairie 
 State to find them. Mitchell Ruxton came in about 
 this time, and this quartette, it might be said, made 
 up the population of this township for this year. They 
 put up some cabins in the grove, which gave them 
 shelter through the winter. Glowing accounts had 
 gone back East oi the grand Western Empire, which 
 brought a large immigration the following year to 
 Illinois. Among those settling in Portland were 
 Horace Burke, Wm. H. Cushman, Simon Fuller, 
 Simon Chaffee, Alphonzo Brooks, Horace G. Seely 
 and Bacchus Besse. 
 
 In 1836 some 20 families came in, among them 
 Levi Fuller, Sr., with a family often children. From 
 this time on the population of Portland Township 
 
 
 
 & 
 
 - "-.-. 
 

 
 
 rapidly increased. Simon Fuller located on section 
 15, Horace Burke on section 16. Ebenezer Seely, 
 more familiarly known as Col. Seely, made a claim 
 afterwards on section 6, in what is now Prophetstown 
 Township, in the history of which more particular 
 mention will be made. Norman Seely, in 1835, 
 planted the first crop. 
 
 During the first years of the settlement the people 
 had to go to Chicago to do their trading. They 
 would drive their hogs there, and often sell them at 
 the rate of $2 a hundred. They felt quite happy 
 when a trading place was opened to them at Albany, 
 on the Mississippi. 
 
 The first school taught in the township was by D. 
 F. Cole, at the house of Simon Fuller, on section 
 15, in the winter of 1836-7. The first death is re- 
 ported to be that of a son of Alonzo Brooks, who 
 died in 1837. The first birth was a daughter to the 
 wife of Norman B. Seely, in the fall of 1834. She 
 was named Mary. The second birth was a daughter 
 of Alexander J. and Philena Seely, a year later. 
 
 The first religious society organized was that of 
 the Presbyterians, in 1839, at Sharon, on section 29. 
 It was in a school-house, Rev. Mr. Wilcox presiding. 
 The Church rapidly increased, and in 1841 a build- 
 ing was erected, which was the first church structure 
 put up in the township. A parsonage was after- 
 wards added. The first mail came through in 1836, 
 but no postoffice was established until 1852, which 
 was at Jefferson Corners, with Benj. Dow as post- 
 master. 
 
 In 1840 there were voters enough in Portland to 
 make the Presidential campaign quite lively. Whig 
 whisky, as well as Democratic whisky, was plenty 
 during that campaign, but the Whig whisky, or Gen- 
 eral Harrison's popularity, prevailed. 
 
 In 1838 a road was laid out, running from Fulton 
 City through Parker's Grove, in Garden Plain Town- 
 ship ; thence along by Winchell's Grove, and cross- 
 ing at Crandall's Ferry on Rock River; thence into 
 Portland. The first nursery planted in Portland 
 Township, and the first in Whiteside County, is cred- 
 ited to Nathaniel Norton, in 1837. This enterprise 
 was a succsss, and many of the early settlers are in- 
 debted to Mr. Norton's- happy foresight for their 
 early fruit. 
 
 The tornado of 1844 was one of the events that 
 the people of Portland never forgot. It came 
 
 through the township in the afternoon of June the 
 5th, crossing Rock River in the vicinity of Cran- 
 dall's Ferry. It demolished everything along its 
 pathway, tearing up trees and plowing up the 
 ground. Its course was through Mr. Rowe's farm. 
 His house was demolished and two of his sons killed, 
 and his daughter was so seriously injured that she 
 never fully recovered. He was also badly injured. 
 A stake from a fence killed one of his sons, being 
 thrown with such force as to pass entirely through 
 his body. Many of Rowe's cattle were also killed. 
 John P. Fuller was at Horace Burkes house when 
 the tornado struck it. The house was nearly leveled 
 to the ground, and he was carried some six rods and 
 thrown against a sapling, and badly hurt. The phy- 
 sicians tried to- bleed him, but it was six hours be- 
 fore they could get any blood. He says he never 
 has recovered from that ride. Mr. Burke also re- 
 ceived injuries, but his family escaped, except a son, 
 who received a severe kick from a cow that had been 
 transported about half a mile from Rowe's farm, and 
 set down on Mr. Burke's hot cook-stove. He lost 
 several head of cattle, horses and hogs. A new barn, 
 which he had but recently completed, was taken up 
 and carried some distance, passing over his house 
 and scattering the grain all about. The tornado was 
 not at all selfish in its visitations, but called at 
 Daniel Blaisdell's, tearing down almost everything, 
 and at A. T. Brackin's and Robert Mead's ; but no 
 further bodily injury was done to the people than 
 mentioned above. 
 
 Col. Seely started the first saw-mill in the township, 
 which was located on section i. He organized a 
 company, consisting of himself, R. M. and P. B. 
 Besse, A. Adams, D. D. Dickinson and George Pad- 
 dock. This was a steam-power mill, and their en- 
 gine was purchased at Springfield, Mass. A stone was 
 afterwards put in and grists were ground. This mill 
 commenced sawing lumber in 1852. An effort was 
 made to start a town here, which was called Port 
 land ; and when the route for the Clinton Branch of 
 the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was be- 
 ing laid out, strong exertions were made to secure 
 the line through this town, but Prophetstown got it, 
 and the road then deflected to the northward. The 
 trading place now is chiefly at Spring Hill and 
 Prophetstown. Portland is a good agricultural town- 
 ship, and is among the first in raising stock. 
 
 
 ^> ,v.
 
 
 886 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Many of the early settlers are still living in the 
 township; some of them have moved away, and 
 some have- died. Norman B. Seely died at his 
 home, in 1874, at the age of 65. Alexander J. 
 Seely left for Texas at an early day, having had a 
 difficulty with an Indian, which resulted in the kill- 
 ing of the latter. He went into the Mexican War 
 and was killed. Levi Fuller died in 1856, at his 
 home. 
 
 The population of the township is estimated at 
 1,200, being a gain of nearly 300 since the census of 
 1880. 
 
 Col. Seely speaks of an elephant's tusk which 
 his son David found at an early day in the sand 
 on the shore of Rock River. It was over four feet 
 long, five feet in diameter, and weighed 32 pounds 
 The Colonel had it sent to Barnum's Museum. 
 
 From the County Superintendent's annual report 
 for the year ending June, 1884, the following infor- 
 mation regarding schools has been gathered : There 
 are ten school districts in the township, in one of 
 which there is a graded school. The school prop- 
 erty was valued at $7,900. In the ten districts 
 there are nine frame and one brick building; of per- 
 sons under 21 years of age there were 543, of whom 
 482 were of scholastic age, 332 being enrolled. The 
 highest wages paid teachers per month was $90, the 
 lowest $25. The tax levy was $2,230. 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 George Paddock 1852 
 
 Bacchus Hesse 1853-8 
 
 Alphenzo Brooks 1859-60 
 
 Daniel F. Cole 1861 
 
 A. T. Brackin 1862 
 
 Homer B. Col 1863-4 
 
 Peter B. Besse 1865 
 
 Levi Fuller 1866 
 
 Henry Keinster 1867 
 
 Peter B. Besse 1868-9 
 
 I). F. Cole 1870-1 
 
 John 1,. Marvel 1872-3 
 
 P. B. Besse 1874-6 
 
 A. J. Seely '877 
 
 John L. Marvel 1878 
 
 K. J. Talcott 1879 
 
 I). F. Cole 1880 
 
 Horace B. Cole 1881-2 
 
 Frank Brooks 1883 
 
 Horace B. Cole 1884-5 
 
 Sprang 
 
 Hill. 
 
 PHIS village is located in Portland Township, 
 on sections 21 and 28, the section line 
 dividing the town. Atone time it was quite 
 a flourishing town, but latterly it has not been 
 so prosperous, as the trade from the township 
 has gone elsewhere. It was founded by Levi 
 and Horace Fuller, who opened a general supply 
 store in 1850. They carried on the business here 
 for several years, when they closed up. In 1852 a 
 mail route, running from Rock Island to Princeton, 
 by way of Spring Hill, was established, and Lewis D. 
 
 Crandall was the mail-carrier. Levi Fuller received 
 his appointment as Postmaster for this place in 1853. 
 E. W. Clapper is the present Postmaster. 
 
 Spring Hill has telephone connections with the 
 different towns of the county, and this, with a daily 
 mail service by stage, makes up to a great extent for 
 the loss of a railroad. The town is located in thu 
 midst of a rich farming country, and it is possible 
 that it may take on a new growth. 
 
 BUSINESS INTERESTS. 
 
 A. D. Booth & Co. carry quite a large stock of 
 general merchandise, and have also agricultural im- 
 plements. They have been in business here since 
 1875. W. H. Fuller & Co. keep a stock of general 
 merchandise. J. L. Fuller has a general store. C. 
 C. Fuller keeps the hotel, and is ready at all times 
 to welcome his guests and make them feel at home. 
 
 The citizens have provided for the education of 
 their children by erecting a good school building and 
 procuring the services of competent teachers. Miss 
 Mary Dolan is the present teacher. She has an 
 average attendance of 40 pupils. 
 
 The Lutheran Society hold religious services every 
 two weeks in the school-house. 
 
 The Masons have an organization here Bollen 
 Lodge, No. 412. It was chartered Oct. 5, 1864, 
 with twelve charter members. The present mem- 
 bership is about 30. They have a good hall, which 
 they own. It is well fitted up, pleasant and commo- 
 dious. 
 
 
 PROPHETSTOWN TOWNSHIP. 
 
 i 
 
 HE territory that is now embraced by this 
 township during the earlier division of the 
 county, belonged to Crow Creek Precinct. 
 In 1837, when Whiteside County was by the 
 County Commissioners of Ogle County at- 
 I t ached to the territory of that county, this 
 territory was formed into Prophetstown Precinct, 
 embracing all the territory in this coiiiity south of 
 Rock River. The name was afterwards changed to 
 Portland. In 1840 this territory was divided into 
 three precincts, which were named Prophetstown, 
 Portland and Rapids. This arrangement gave to 
 Prophetstown its present territory and the western 
 
 
 - ' - 
 
 
 .av^vy^ tJ?& 
 
 %t&&v$L/^m
 
 - . - 
 
 
 . 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 yx 
 
 I? 
 
 ' 
 
 ' 
 
 . 
 
 half of that territory now embraced by Hume and 
 Tana pi co Townships. 
 
 After the election for township organization, in 
 185 1, the Commissioners appointed to give names 
 and boundaries to townships, retained the name of 
 Prophetstown for the territory lying in town 20 north, 
 range 5 east, south of Rock River; and the name of 
 Volney to that part in township 19 north, range 5 
 east. The latter name was afterwards dropped, and 
 the entire district was known only as Prophetstown. 
 This township was organized under the township 
 organization law April 6, 1852, when the following 
 named officers were chosen : Obadiah W. Gage, 
 Supervisor; J. W. Gage, Assessor; Wm. R. Cox, 
 Clerk ; R. W. Smith, Collector ; and N. G. Reynolds, 
 Overseer of the Poor. Commissioners of the High- 
 way were P. D. Beardsley and E. S. Gage. 
 
 This is the largest township in the county. The 
 nature of the land is mostly rolling, and but very 
 little of it broken. The soil is a sandy loam and 
 very productive. It is watered by Rock River and 
 Coon Creek. A+ong these water-courses there is 
 more or less timber. Back, or south from Rock 
 River, there is quite a forest. There are several 
 pretty groves in different portions of the township. 
 One of the county ditches runs along the west part 
 of the township, emptying into Coon Creek. 
 
 The first settler to locate in the territory now em- 
 braced by Prophetstown, was Asa Crook, with his 
 family, which consisted of his wife and nine chil- 
 dren, four sons and five daughters, and a hired man 
 by the name of Brown. They came about the first 
 of June, 1834, and located near the mouth of Coon 
 Creek, and were accompanied by Norman B. and 
 Alexander J. Seely, who located in what is now 
 Portland Township. Mr. Crook constructed, for 
 their use through the summer, a wickeup. 
 
 Samuel A. McClure came in a few days later than 
 Mr. Crook and made a claim, but did not stay long, 
 selling out his claim to that stirring pioneer, John 
 W. Stakes, who came in with his family, and John 
 Bowman, along in September. 
 
 Before Stakes and family came in, however, Col. 
 Ebenezer Seely had arrived, and made a claim on 
 what is now section 6. Col. Seely came from Cat- 
 taraugus Co., N. Y. He went first to Michigan, ex- 
 pecting to find his brothers, Norman and Alexander, 
 there. On arriving in Michigan he found they had 
 
 pushed on West to Illinois, and so he followed them. 
 Mail facilities were not so good in those days as now, 
 and the family at home had not been advised of the 
 brothers' change of base. He put up a cabin on his 
 claim and wintered there and about the settlement. 
 Mr. Crook also built a cabin, which made them more 
 comfortable winter qimrters. In March, 1836, Col. 
 Seely went back for his family, and returned with 
 them in June. They had a farm in New York and 
 also a saw-mill, which they sold, and, constructing a 
 raft, put all their household effects aboard and started 
 down the Alleghany River. He brought with him 
 his family, his father and mother, John Reed and 
 family, and 'Henry Bower and family ; also a large 
 supply of provisions. 
 
 Leaving the Alleghany Rivsr, they .gassed down 
 the Ohio to Louisville, where he disposed of his lum- 
 ber and then took a steamboat for St. Louis. From 
 St. Louis they came up the river to Rock Island. 
 At Rock Island he hired a ferry-boat, upon which 
 they all embarked with their goods and supplies, and 
 poled it up Rock River to Prophetstown, where they 
 all safely arrived after a journey of two months and 
 20 days. He brought with him among the rest of 
 his cargo, lumber, door and window frames. More 
 particulars concerning this pioneer and his family 
 will be found in his biography, on page 189. 
 
 The settlement was increased this year by the ar- 
 rival of Amos Gordon, N. G. Reynolds, HarrySmith, 
 Charles Atkinson, Marvin Frary, Edward Wright, 
 William Hill, Alonzo Davis, J. S. Johnson, and a 
 few others. In 1836-7, considerable addition was 
 made, and from this on immigration set in quite lib- 
 erally. 
 
 The first child born in this township, and the first 
 female child in the county, was Anna Stakes, daugh- 
 ter of John W. Stakes, in 1835, on section 22. Col. 
 Seely says that the first male child born in the 
 county was William Hopkins, at Como. The first 
 death was that of Jeduthan Seely, Sr., in the fall of 
 1836. Col. Si;ely was the first Postmaster, getting 
 his commission in the fall of 1836. Solomon, his son, 
 carried the mail, receiving it at Dixon, to which 
 place it was brought by mail contractors. Col. Seely 
 was Postmaster until 1856, a period of twenty years, 
 and then the office was given to Farmer Adams, who 
 lived on section 13, Mr. Adams had it about four 
 years, when it was removed to Spring Hill, in Port- 
 land Township. 
 
 
 
 ty 
 
 v :) 

 
 
 888 
 
 WH1TES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 Lovica Hamilton taught the first school in the 
 township, in the summer of 1836. It was on sec- 
 tion 3, in a log school-house. Miss Hamilton was 
 afterwards married to John C. Swarthout, and raised 
 a large and respectable family. Daniel Crocker 
 brought the first stock of goods into the township 
 from Galena, in the spring of [836. He located on 
 the banks of the river in a log house, near the ferry. 
 It is said by some that this was the first stock of 
 goods opened in the county. This ferry was run 
 by John Knox, and was the oldest ferry in the 
 county except the Crandall Ferry, and was located 
 abjut twomiles from Lyndon. 
 
 In the early part of 1835, Asa Crook opened the 
 first tavern. It was a double log cabin, located on 
 section 3, and became quite famous in those days for 
 its hospitality. 
 
 About this time there were about 300 or 400 In- 
 dians (mostly Winnebagoes) camping near the 
 mouth of the creek, and Asa Crook used to trade 
 with them a good deal, and was a great favorite with 
 them. In the fall of 1835 a Winnebago Indian was 
 killed by a Pottawatomie, in a quarrel. The mur- 
 derer fled, and a reward of two ponies was offered for 
 his capture, or for his head, by the Chief. Some In- 
 dians went in pursuit, and finally captured the fugi- 
 tive at the mounds, in Wisconsin, near where Racine 
 is located. They killed and decapitated him, and 
 returned to camp with the head, which was buried in 
 the grave of the murdered Winnebago. 
 
 The Prophet, and Black Hawk, whose home was 
 at Rock Island, had left the country before the set 
 tiers came. The Indians soon followed them, 
 passing beyond the Mississippi, to fade away at 
 last. 
 
 Col. Seely, in 1836, sowed the first handful of 
 wheat in the township, and said to be the first in the 
 county. In 1837, he went to Aurora, and had the 
 first grist ground. He saw, as he was passing 
 through Chicago on his way to Whiteside County, 
 in 1834, the first two-story building that was erected 
 in that city. It was being built for a hotel, and was 
 located upon the site of the present Briggs House, 
 corner Randolph and Fifth Avenue. Col. Seely, in 
 early days, started the building of a town in Port- 
 land Township, on section i, which was called Port- 
 land. He erected here quite a large hotel and other 
 buildings, laying out considerable money. But 
 
 there were other interests, which were directed to- 
 wards Prophetstown. When he railroad came 
 it passed through 1'rophetstown and then turned 
 northward, leaving Portland some two miles to the 
 south, and Col. Seely's project was unsuccessful. 
 This contest was rather spirited and bitter, leaving 
 some unpleasant reminiscences behind. One of the 
 results of the contest was the petition of Col. Seely 
 to the Board of Supervisors to have his farm, his 
 home of 80 acres, set off to Portland Township, 
 which was granted, and to all intents and purposes 
 he is a citizen of that township. He is still living 
 at his home, in his eighty-third year, and is hale and 
 hearty. (See page 189.) 
 
 Those pioneers had but few sources of amuse- 
 ment in the early days, but were very fond of a 
 little sport now and then. Once on a. lime, and a 
 very good time it was, they say they had a Fourlh- 
 of-July celebration. It was the first held in the 
 township, being at no later date than 1836. Noth- 
 ing aroused those old pioneers like a Fourth-of-July 
 celebration. They could not have grand processions 
 then with gay uniforms, brass bands, roaring of 
 cannon and the display of fireworks, but they could 
 have a dance; and this they did, and Asa Crook's 
 tavern was the place where it was held. Col. Seely 
 was a prominent and important factor in this cele- 
 bration, and he wanted it to go off well, which he 
 thought it could not do unless there was a little 
 something to drink. But just at this time the art- 
 icle of drink was a very scarce commodity. Deacon 
 Crocker had some wine, but he kept it for sacra- 
 mental purposes, and would not sell it for any 
 other, being inclined to temperance principles. 
 
 Col. Seely finally prevailed upon the Deacon to 
 let him have a gallon for the use of the ladies who 
 were to participate in the celebration, some of 
 whom, he stated, were not very well. Having ob- 
 tained permission to enter the cellar, the Colonel 
 saw his way clear. He secured the services of a 
 boy and two patent pails, entered the cellar by the 
 back way, filled his pails, and returned to the tav- 
 ern. They had a grand time. The wine was 
 drank, and the ladies went home well and happy. 
 
 Prophetstown is one of the best improved town- 
 ships in the county, and has a larger per cent, of 
 its lands under cultivation than any other. It ranks 
 the first in stock-raising, and, is a, large producer of 
 
 I 
 
 
 <& 
 
 s ! 
 
 1 

 
 grain. Its roads are good, and the buildings through- 
 out the township are substantial, many of them be- 
 ing very attractive. The Clinton branch of the Chi- 
 cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was completed 
 through ihe township in 1871. It passes through 
 the northeast corner, entering on section 12, and 
 going out on section 5. The people do their trad- 
 ing mostly at Prophetstown. The population now 
 is estimated at 2,200. The census of 1880 retried 
 1,709. Special attention has been given from the 
 first by i he people of this township to the education 
 of their children. The result has been that they 
 have good school buildings in all their districts. 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 Obadiah W. Gage 
 
 Mark R Averill 
 
 II . S Cahholt 
 
 Mark R. Averill. 
 
 Andrew J. Fuller. 186) 
 
 William Hill 1868 
 
 .1852-8 
 
 "859 
 
 .1860-1 
 
 862 
 
 Leandcr W. Lewis 
 
 George H. Quigley . . . . 
 
 I.eander W. Lewis 
 
 P. B. Reynolds 
 
 S. (1. Baldwin 
 
 Gilbert Rogers. 
 
 .1869-71 
 
 .1872 
 
 1873-5 
 
 .1876-9 
 
 .1880-4 
 
 Prophetstown Village. 
 
 HIS beautiful and somewhat noted town is 
 located on the picturesque banks of Rock 
 River, and surrounded by a rich agricul- 
 tural country. It was incorporated by act of 
 the Legislature March 10, 1859, and the terri- 
 tory now embraced by it may be more particu- 
 larly described as the southeast fractional quarter of 
 section 32 in township 20, range 5 ; the southwest 
 half of the southwest fractional quarter of section 
 33, same range and township; the northwest frac- 
 tional quarter of section 4, township 19, range 5, 
 and the northeast fractional quarter of section 5, 
 township 19, range 5, east of the fourth principal 
 meridian. This was declared to be the limits of the 
 village of Prophetstown. 
 
 The first election was held for selecting village 
 officers April 4, 1859. Andrew J. Fuller, Elias C. 
 Hutchinson, John H. Warner, Albert G. Porter, 
 Edward S. Dickinson, were elected Trustees, and 
 VV. T. Minchen, Clerk ; Andrew J. Fuller was chosen 
 President of the Hoard of Trustees. 
 
 The town is well laid out, with wide streets, which 
 nre shaded by fine large trees. This village was 
 originally platted in 1838, and was distinguished 
 by having among its proprietors the great Webster. 
 Its platters were George W. Campbell, Daniel Web- 
 ster, Asa Crook, Dixon B. Morehouse, James Craig, 
 
 Erastus Nichols and Jabez Warner. This plat in- 
 cluded that of the present village lying north of 
 Main Street. It is not remembered by any of the 
 early settlers that the great American statesman- 
 ever visited the village, or that he was ever pecuni- 
 arily benefited for the use of his name. It was 
 undoubtedly put in to give the town a " send-off," 
 and create what would now be called a real-estate 
 "boom." 
 
 This town was called in eirly days the Prophet's 
 Village, and it was here that Wa-bo-Kies Shiek, or 
 White Cloud, commonly called the Prophet, had his 
 home with his tribe. He was a son of a chief of 
 the Sac and Fox tribes, but was connected with the 
 Winnebagoes by marriage, having two of their 
 women for his wives. He is reported to have been 
 a splendid specimen of the Indian race. He was 
 tall and dignified in his movements, possessing an 
 intelligence far beyond his race. His face had 
 something of the Grecian cast, and his mind and 
 character was more that of a student than that of 
 an uncivilized Indian warrior. He became one of 
 the most distinguished chiefs of the Winnebagoes 
 and was the right arm of Black Hawk during the 
 Black Hawk War of 1832, being constantly with 
 him until its close, which ended at the battle of Bad 
 Ax. It is hard to realize that this pleasant, quiet 
 village was the theater of hostile operations during 
 this war. It was to this place that Black Hawk, 
 after organizing at Sac Village, marched with all his 
 forces and formed his camp. The Prophet, through 
 his marriage with a friendly tribe, and his associa- 
 tions with the early settlers particularly with Col. 
 Henry Gratiot, Agent of the Winnebagoes, and his 
 family was disposed to be on amicable relations 
 with the white settlers. He had not that bitter, 
 vindictive spirit in his heart against the white man 
 that Black Hawk had ; but when the war broke out 
 he did all in his power to make the Indian cause 
 successful. He was in reality an enemy in war and 
 in peace a friend. (See biography and iwtrait of 
 White Cloud in the biographical portion of this 
 book.) 
 
 Daniel Crocker opened the first store in Prophets- 
 town, which was in the spring of 1836. It was in a 
 log cabin near the bank of the river. He did a 
 thriving business, selling to Asa Crook alone $1,000 
 worth of goods in one year. Alanson Smith has the 
 
 ' 
 
 * '*
 
 x4 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 credit of erecting the first frame building, which was 
 in the summer of 1838, and was located near the 
 river. It remained there until 1875, when it was 
 removed. Asa Crook opened the first tavern in 
 1836. It was a double log cabin, but it's roof gave 
 shelter to many a pioneer who otherwise would have 
 had nothing but the canopy of heaven above him. 
 A. J. Mattson started the second store, and was the 
 first Justice of the Peace. He is still honored by his 
 fellow townsmen with this position. The first wed- 
 ding in this village was the marriage of Isaac C. 
 Southard and Almira B. Hill. 
 
 Settlement was made on the site of this village 
 when it was in the precinct of Prophetstown with a 
 view of forming a town. About the year 1845 an 
 attempt was made by Col. Seely and others to es- 
 tablish the town on what is now section i, Portland 
 Township. Quite a number of buildings were put 
 up there, and among these was a hotel building. 
 This project was a failure, and Prophetstown grew 
 right along. The hotel building that was put up in 
 the prospective village of Portland was afterwards 
 moved over to Prophetstown. and forms now a part 
 of the Seely House. 
 
 After repeated failures to have a railroad to put 
 the town in communication with the railway world, 
 a road was finally constructed by the aid of the 
 towns along the line, which was called the Mendota 
 & Clinton Railroad, and is now a branch of the 
 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. The first train of 
 cars came into the village March 8, 1871. The 
 town has since steadily grown, and now has a popu- 
 lation of about 1,000 souls. There are many beau- 
 tiful dwelling-houses in the village and substantial 
 business blocks. Where the savage once pitched 
 his tent, and held his council of war; where the In- 
 dian war-whoop, with its ominous piercing cry, was 
 once heard, there is now a thriving village, the in- 
 habitants of which are devoted to industrial pur- 
 suits and the arts of civilization. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The people of Prophetstown have secured for the 
 education of their children a good graded school 
 with a very excellent corps of teachers. In 1882 
 they erected a new school building, at a cost of $r2,- 
 ooo, furniture $300. It is a large two-story building 
 constructed of brick, with four apartments, which 
 are heated by a furnace. Seating capacity, about 
 
 (b 
 
 
 240. Total enrollment of pupils for the past year 
 was 220; average enrollment, 168; average attend- 
 ance, 143. The school is divided into eleven grades, 
 each representing one year's work. The school has 
 a regular course of study, embracing all the English 
 branches and the natural sciences. The pupils in 
 general are superior in intelligence and earnest in 
 their studies. The progress made in the primary 
 department in writing, maping and drawing was re- 
 markable. This school is under good discipline. 
 There appears to be a sympathy between teacher 
 and pupil, which is the basis of government. Will J. 
 Johnston is Principal ; Grammar Department, Miss 
 Anna L. Bastian ; Intermediate, .Miss Mary E. 
 Cabot; Primary, Mrs. W. J. Johnston. 
 PRESS. 
 
 Prophetstown has an excellent newspaper to 
 represent its interests. The Prophelstmvn Spike is 
 an eight-column folio paper, published every Sat- 
 urday by A. I). Hill, who is editor and proprietor. 
 It was established in September, 1871, by A. D. 
 Hill and Charles Bent. The former bought out Mr. 
 Bent's interests in 1872. In 1878 he sold out to J. 
 W. Olmstead, who published it a while and then 
 sold to another party. In May, 1883, Mr. Hill re- 
 purchased the paper, and has since been sole owner. 
 In politics the Spike is Republican, and has a good 
 circulation. It is a well edited, bright and newsy 
 paper. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. This society was 
 formed in 1836, at the residence of Nathaniel G. 
 Reynolds. There were only five members at the 
 first organization, and only class services were held 
 for some time. Later on they had preaching from 
 the mission service, and held their meetings in the 
 school-house. In 1860 they erected a church build- 
 ing, which was the first in the town. It was erected 
 under the administration of Rev. M. Lewis, to whom 
 its final completion was due. This society has con- 
 tinued its services regularly since its building was 
 completed. A pastor is at present in charge, and 
 the church is fairly prosperous. 
 SOCIETIES. 
 
 Prophetstanm Lodge No. 293, A. F. and A. M. 
 Dispensation was granted for the organization of this 
 lodge Oct. 7, 1858. Win. T. Minchen received from 
 the Grand Lodge the appointment as Master. The 
 
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 1 
 
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 first meeting was held Oct. 16, 1858. In 1868 the 
 lodge bought a lot, and in September following they 
 voted in favor of building a hall. This was com- 
 pleted, and Dec. 10, 1868, was dedicated. Deputy 
 Grand Master James C. Luckey was master of cere- 
 monies, assisted by Past Masters John Rugles, Jr., 
 Win. Frasier and I. G. Burbank. The building cost 
 about $3,000, and the furniture and equipments 
 i| 1,000. This society has an elegant hall, and is in a 
 prosperous condition. In connection with the hall 
 they have a dining-room and kitchen, with all the 
 necessary cooking utensils, and also table furniture 
 for an extensive banquet.- The logde is out of debt, 
 and lias money at interest. Present Master, H. A. 
 Stuttevant, with a membership of 87. 
 
 Prophctstown Chapter, No. 174, R. A. M., was or- 
 ganized under dispensation Dec. 23, 1875, and was 
 chartered Oct. 26, 1876. It was constituted Nov. 9, 
 1876, by M. S. Bowman, of Sterling. Silas Sears was 
 the first High Priest, and H. R. Kent is the present. 
 This chapter has 6t members and is prosperous. 
 
 Sinnissippi Lodge, No. 508, /. O. O. F., was in- 
 stituted in 1873, with Silas Sears as N. G. This 
 society has a good, large hall, which they own. The 
 hall is very neatly furnished and equipped. The 
 walls are decorated with emblematic representations, 
 denoting the different degrees and their significance. 
 These were made by C. N. Stevens, and are very 
 artistic as well as ingenious in their construction. 
 The lodge also has a good organ. A fine engraving 
 of Schuyler Colfax (who established the Rebekah 
 order) hangs at the head of the hall. They hold 
 regular meetings and are in a prosperous condition. 
 Present N. G., C. H. Gould. 
 
 Tidal Wave Rebekah Lodge, No. ng. This so- 
 ciety was organized Nov. 20, 1883. Mrs. Alice 
 Daily was the first N. G. They have 50 members, 
 and meet in the Odd Fellows Hall. The present N. 
 G. is Mrs. Cora L. Emory. 
 
 STERLING TOWNSHIP. 
 
 TERLING Township comprises all that 
 part of Congressional township 2t north, 
 range 7 east, lying north of Rock River. 
 Originally it formed part of Harrisburg Pre- 
 cinct, then F.lkhorn Precinct, where it re- 
 mained until organi/.ed as a civil township in 
 185.2. . Along the banks of the Rock River east of 
 
 the city of Sterling, the land is somewhat bluffy ; back 
 from the river it is a rolling prairie, except along 
 Elkhorn Creek, which is broken in places and more 
 or less covered with timber. The township is wa- 
 tered by Rock River and Elkhorn Creek. Stone of 
 a good quality for building purposes is quarried at 
 the foot of the bluffs in the upper part of Sterling 
 and in the rapids of the river. 
 
 The finest permanent settlement of the township 
 was made by Hezekiah Brink in 1834. He located 
 in what is now the eastern portioto of the city of 
 Sterling. At that time his nearest neighbor was 
 Samuel A. McClure, at Prophetstown. 
 
 In 1835 John J.*and Isaac .H. Albertson came and 
 made a claim on section 23, just east of Mr. Brink. 
 
 Hezekiah Brink, the pioneer, was from Vermont. 
 He is yet an honored citizen of Sterling. A good 
 sketch of him will be found on page 264. 
 
 Luther Bush, an old pioneer of the township, was 
 a native of Connecticut, but came to this county in 
 1836 from New York. He was a plasterer by trade, 
 well respected and a sincere Christian. Mr. Bush 
 died in October, 1870. 
 
 Jesse Penrose, one of the first to locate here, was 
 from Northumberland Co., Pa. Samuel Geer came 
 early. He was from Indiana. His wife was the 
 mother of Hezekiah Brink. 
 
 John W. McLemore, an old pioneer of this county, 
 came in 1836. He was a native of Tennessee. In 
 1839 he was Deputy Sheriff and subsequently held 
 the office of Sheriff. He died at Sterling in 187 r. 
 
 John W. Chapman, another old settler of 1835, 
 was a native of New Vork. 
 
 Wright Murphy came with Mr. Chapman and lived 
 with him. He was one of the first school-teachers 
 in the county. During the war he enlisted, served 
 three years, contracted disease while in the service, 
 and died shortly after his return home to Fox River, 
 where he had moved. 
 
 Elijah Worthington came in 1836 from Pennsyl- 
 vania, though he was a native Connecticut. Pur- 
 chasing part of Mr. Brink's claim, he became inter- 
 ested with that gentleman in the future growth of 
 Harrisburg, but did not live long enough to witness 
 its growth, dying in December, 1839. 
 
 John Ogle, one of the first settlers, was from In- 
 diana, and a brother-in-law of He/.ekiah Brink. He 
 died many years ago. 
 
 Isaac H. and John J. Albertsdn were twin broth- 
 
 V)
 
 VV.HHOHH.~yV ^ 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 (J 
 
 ers, natives of New York. They located upon sec- 
 tion 23. Isaac H. died in 1845, and John J. in 
 1872. 
 
 Van J. Adams was from Ohio, arriving here in 
 
 1836, and making a claim two miles east of Sterling. 
 He served the county in the General Assembly of 
 the State for two years. Mr. Adams died in April, 
 1871, from the effects of a kick of a vicious horse. 
 
 Henry Brewer first located in Portland Township 
 in 1836. In 1837 he moved to this township. He 
 was a native of New York. Mr. Brewer died in 
 1848. 
 
 Hugh Wallace, a prominent pioneer, came in 1837. 
 A sketch of Mr. Wallace will be* found elsewhere. 
 Jonathan Stevens, a native of Connecticut, came 
 to Sterling in 1838 and died on the homestead that 
 he then claimed in "1870. 
 
 Jacob VVhipple was born in Massachusetts and 
 came to this county in 1838, locating a little west of 
 Sterling. He died in 1872. 
 
 Luther B. Wetherbee came in 1837 from Massa- 
 chusetts. He located on section 12, where he died 
 in 1873. 
 
 Geo W. and James C. Woodburn were brothers, 
 natives of Pennsylvania, who came in 1837. The 
 latter was the first Sheriff of the county. He died 
 in 1848. The former lived till 1872. 
 
 Hiram Platt was from New York, arriving here in 
 
 1837, locating two miles north of Sterling. He died 
 in 1869. John Platt came in 1838. Henry Tuttle 
 came to Sterling in 1837. Martin Montgomery was 
 from New York. He died about 1862. 
 
 Ezekiel Kilgour came from Pennsylvania in 1837. 
 He was quite a noted man in the early days, a strong 
 temperance man, one always true to his convictions. 
 He died Jan. 16, 1848. 
 
 Nelson Mason was from Vermont, though a native 
 of Scotland. He was one of the original proprietors 
 of Chatham, and was instrumental in effecting the 
 union between that village and Harrisburg. For a 
 number of years past, he has resided in Chicago. 
 John 1). Barnett, who came to Chatham with Mr. 
 Mason, remained only until 1841, when he returned 
 East. 
 
 Robert L. Wilson, a well-known pioneer, was born 
 in Pennsylvania. He came to this 'county in 1839. 
 
 The first marriage solemnized in the township is a 
 matter of doubt. 
 
 Margara, daughter of Hezekiah and Martha Brink, 
 was born Feb. 25, 1836, and was, without doubt, the 
 first white child born in what is now Sterling Town- 
 ship. She grew to womanhood, and in 1855 married 
 A. B. Crandall. 
 
 A son was born to John and Sarah Ogle in May, 
 1837. He was doubtless the first male child. Chas. 
 M. Worthington has usually been said to be the first. 
 The birth of the Ogle boy is given on the authority 
 of Mrs. E. B. Worthirigton. 
 
 The first death in the township occurred in 1838. 
 Elijah Worthington had a claim on the south side of 
 the river, on which another person was a trespasser. 
 Although frequently warned, he still persisted in his 
 lawlessness, until it was determined by citizens of 
 Harrisburg and Chatham to teach him a lesson. As 
 the party proceeded on the way, an accidental dis- 
 charge of a gun in the hands of one of the party 
 struck a young man in the leg, inflicting a serious 
 wound, which rendered amputation necessary some 
 weeks after, from which operation the patient died. 
 His funeral occurred at Harrisburg. 
 
 Mrs. E. B. Worthington taught the first school, at 
 her residence in Harrisburg, in the spring of 1 838. 
 L. Whipple, William H. Andrews, John W. Chap- 
 man and Rev. Mr. Stebbins were among the early 
 teachers of the township. At present the schools of 
 the township, which include those of the city, are 
 classed among the best in the State, as well as in the 
 county. 
 
 The minister of the gospel follows steadily in the 
 wake of the pioneer as he proceeds westward, and in 
 the rude log cabins first erected he proclaims the un- 
 searchable riches of Christ. This was true in Ster- 
 ling as in every oilier section of the West. Hezekiah 
 Brink, Luther Bush and others opened their cabins to 
 the followers of the meek and lowly one, and the 
 praise therein offered were from hearts filled with 
 gratitude for the blessings received. Rev. Barton H. 
 Cartwright, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was 
 probably the first ordained minister to officiate, and 
 in the cabin of Hezekiah Brink the first class was 
 organized. In the history of the cily of Sterling the 
 various organizations are treated more at length. 
 
 About one mile east of the cily of Sterling is situ- 
 ated the farm of Samuel Alberlson. For years it was 
 known that abundant springs of water were there, 
 but of their medicinal qualities nothing was known 
 
 
 v-.l
 
 i 
 
 ) 
 
 Finally a test was made and the water analyzed by 
 an expert chemist, proving that it contained the fol- 
 lowing qualities : Bi-carbonates of soda, lithia, 
 potassa, iron and magnesia, sulphate and bi-car- 
 bonate of lime, and traces of the chlorides and silica. 
 When the medicinal qualities of the water were fully 
 determined, Mr. Albertson erected bath-houses, a 
 large hotel and other buildings for the convenience of 
 guests. The grounds were laid out in walks and 
 drives, and the place assumed the appearance of a 
 fashionable watering resort. Physicians have been 
 constantly employed and everything done that was 
 possible to promote the comfort and restore the health 
 of those who sought the health-giving waters. Dr. 
 Hannah Pettigrew was in charge for six years. Dr. 
 E. S. Hoag is now in charge, although the works are 
 personally under the management of Mr. Albertson. 
 Hundreds of testimonials have been secured from 
 those benefited. The springs are situated in a beau- 
 tiful grove, and the drive to it from Sterling is over a 
 well graveled road. Picnic parties find it a pleasant 
 resort. 
 
 Sterling Township was organized in 1852, and at 
 the first meeting the following named were elected : 
 Jesse Penrose, Supervisor; Norton J. Nichols, Clerk ; 
 Henry Tuttle, Assessor; Henry Aument, Collector ; 
 Joseph Colder, Justice of the Peace. 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 iesse Penrose 1852-55 
 :dward N. Kirk 1856 
 
 DeciusO. Coe 1857-58 
 
 Frederick Sackett 1859 
 
 S jinuel S . Patterson 1860 
 
 Daniel Richards 1861-62 
 
 Marcus L. Coe 1863 
 
 Nelson Mason 1864 
 
 A. A. Terrell 1865-66 
 
 Decius O. Coe 1867 
 
 Joscrh M . Patterson 1868 
 
 Joseph M. Patterson 1869-73 
 
 Wm. M. Kilgour 1869-73 
 
 JohnG. Manahan 1874 
 
 Samuel G. Harvey ^74 
 
 Joseph M. Patterson 1875-76 
 
 James M . Wallace 1 875~76 
 
 W. A . Sanborn 1877 
 
 W. C. Robinson 1877 
 
 Chas C. Johnson 1878 
 
 Adam Smith 1878 
 
 W. A. Sanborn ^79 
 
 G. W. Brewer 1879 
 
 W.A. Sanborn 1880 
 
 R. Smith 1880 
 
 A. Sanborn 1881-85 
 
 TAMPICO TOWNSHIP. 
 
 j 1 HIS township lies on the south line of the 
 county, with Bureau County forming its 
 southern boundary. It is exclusively a 
 3* prairie township, a portion of it being rolling 
 and well drained, while the remainder is flat, 
 and much of it originally covered with water. 
 The big slough, north of the village of Tampico, 
 was for years almost impassable. For a large por- 
 
 tion of the year it was covered with water from one 
 to two miles in width. In 1862 the slough was 
 piked, and in 1863-4 the county ditch was dug, 
 draining this land to a considerable extent. 
 
 Being prairie land, and much of it covered with 
 water, prevented the early settlement of the town- 
 ship. The first to make this section their home 
 were Hiram Tompkins, John and Nicholas Lutyens, 
 and Jacob Barney, in 1852. A beginning having 
 been made, others came in from time to time: among 
 those denominated as pioneers were Geo. W. Curtis, 
 Aaron S. Miller, Rev. Wm. Gray, Wm. Aldrich, 
 Rufus Aldrich, James Conroy, Daniel Foy, J. C. 
 Aldrich, John W. and T. A. Glassburn, J. P. Badgley 
 and A. M. Smith. 
 
 Nicholas Lutyens doubtless erected the first house 
 in 1852, on section 27. John Lutyens located on 
 section 28. They were from the State of New York, 
 but of German descent. John long since moved 
 away, but Nicholas yet resides on the old home- 
 stead. See page 705 for sketch and portrait of Mr. 
 Lutyens. 
 
 Hiram Tompkins was also from New York. He 
 located on section 33, where he remained until about 
 1857, when he moved away and his whereabouts are 
 unknown. 
 
 Jacob Barney came from Canada and located on 
 section 26. He remained in the township some 
 years and then moved to Sheffield, Bureau Co., 111., 
 where he has since died. 
 
 Geo. W. Curtis came to this township from the 
 Fox River Valley, but was originally from New York. 
 After remaining here some years he moved into 
 Hume Township, where he yet resides. 
 
 Aaron S. Miller was from Tompkins Co., N. Y. 
 He yet resides in the county. 
 
 Rev. Wm. Gray was a Protestant Methodist min- 
 ister from Bradford Co., Penn. He yet resides about 
 two miles south of the village. 
 
 Daniel Foy was originally from Cattaraugus Co., 
 N. Y., but came to this county from McDonough 
 Co., 111., locating first in Prophetstown, but moving 
 into Tampico in 1855, and locating on section 29. 
 He was Supervisor several years, and also held the 
 office of Justice of the Peace some years. In 1884 
 he moved to Kansas. 
 
 The Aldriches were from Bradford Co., Pa. 
 William came in 1854, Rufus in 1855, and J. C. in 
 
 V> 
 
 4* 

 
 1856. They are yet excellent citizens. See sketch 
 on page 742. 
 
 John W. and T. A. Glassburn were brothers from 
 Ohio. They are yet well-known, enterprising citi- 
 zens of the township, biographical sketches of whom 
 are given elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 The first birth in the township was that of Emma, 
 daughter of Rufus and Mary A. Aldrich, born Oct. 
 
 *3, i855- 
 
 Mrs. Baker, a daughter of Jacob Barney, died in 
 the summer of 1856, the first in the township. 
 
 The first marriage was that of Eleary C. Brown 
 and Susan Gray, in 1857, the ceremony being per- 
 formed by Rev. Wm. H. Gray, the father of the 
 bride. 
 
 In 1866, when there were but few people yet re- 
 siding here, a school-house was erected in the Aid- 
 rich neighborhood, in which Orlando McNickel 
 taught the first term of school. The township was 
 subsequently divided into districts and school-houses 
 were erected at various points. There are now six 
 whole and three joint districts, with seven good 
 school-houses in the township, the estimated value 
 of which are $8,900. For the year ending June 30, 
 1884, there were 348 persons of school age, with an 
 enrollment of 264. During the year $2,672 were 
 paid out to teachers. The highest wages paid was 
 $70 per month, and the lowest $22.50. The tax 
 levy was $2,550. School is held in each district 
 from seven to nine months in the year. The town- 
 ship fund amounts to $14,480.88. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Pinkney, a Methodist Episcopal min- 
 ister, was the first to preach the gospel in this town- 
 ship. The first services were held in the Aldrich 
 School-house shortly after its erection. Rev. Wm. 
 H. Gray, a Protestant Methodist, came next. There 
 are now three Church organizations, all in the village 
 of Tampico. 
 
 Tampico was behind no other in sending her sons 
 forth to fight in the War of the Rebellion. Every 
 call was responded to and its quota promptly filled. 
 
 The township in 1870 voted to subscribe for stock 
 in the Grand Trunk Railway, to the amount of $20,- 
 ooo. Bonds were issued in March, 1871, and of the 
 amount $4,000 was to be paid in five years, the re- 
 mainder in equal installments annually thereafter, 
 the whole to be paid in ten years. The amount was 
 
 all paid several years ago, and the township is now 
 out of debt. 
 
 When the township organization law was adopted 
 Tampico was given its name, but the eastern half 
 was attached to Hopkins and the west half to Proph- 
 etstown until such time as it would have a suffi- 
 cient number of inhabitants to organize a separate 
 government. This was not until 1861. The first 
 election was held April 2, 1861, resulting in the 
 election of the following named : Daniel Foy, Super- 
 visor; E. C. Brown, Clerk; Rufus Aldrich, Assessor; 
 John P. Badgley, Collector ; Joseph Rainer, Justice 
 of the Peace. 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 Daniel Foy 1861-63 
 
 J . C . Aldrich 1864 
 
 Daniel Foy 1865 
 
 G. A. Stilson 1866-69 
 
 J . C . Aldrich 1870-73 
 
 M.H. Brewer "874-75 
 
 Village of Tampico. 
 
 HEN the Grand Trunk, now the Mendota 
 Branch of the Chicago, Burlington & 
 Quincy Railroad, was surveyed through 
 the township, it was decided to locate a sta- 
 tion upon the farm of John W. Glassburn. 
 The first building erected on the site of the 
 present village after the station was determined on, 
 was that of S. B. Winter, in the fall of 1870. This 
 building was used by him as a store and dwelling. 
 The second was that of Levi Renner, and used by 
 him as a saloon. Fisher, Thompson & Bryant, dur- 
 ing the same fall, erected scales, put up an office 
 and built cribs for storing corn until the railroad 
 should be completed. Tampico thus had its begin- 
 ning. 
 
 The railroad was completed in the spring of 1871, 
 and few towns grew more rapidly than Tampico. 
 Almost every line of business was soon represented, 
 and a bright future for the village seemed assured. 
 While the first business interests were being secured, 
 in the spring of 1871, a fire occurred, destroying the 
 hotel of Maurice Fitzgerald, which then stood where 
 the building of the Tampico Bank now stands, and 
 the store of J. H. Cain, entailing a loss of over 
 $5,000. Mr. Fitzgerald at once commenced the 
 
 
 ', 
 
 T. M. Wylie... i8 7 6- 77 
 
 S. W. Sheldon 1878 
 
 I. W. White 1879 
 
 Daniel McMillan 1880 
 
 J. W. White 1881-83 
 
 U.S. Brewer 1884-83 
 
 
 4) 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 ife
 
 WHITEST DE COUNTY. 
 
 895 
 
 
 erection of the present Tampico House, and soon 
 had it ready for the reception of guests. 
 
 But this was not the only fire. On the 5th of 
 January, 1874, the second fire occurred, destroying 
 property to the amount of $35,000, including the 
 general merchandise stores of James Conroy and E. 
 W. High, the grocery store and dwelling of P. 
 Burke, and the store building of A. W. Bastian, oc- 
 cupied by Case & Davis, clothiers. 
 
 On the night of Saturday, June 6, 1874, the vil- 
 lage was visited by a most destructive tornado, 
 totally destroying 21 buildings, severely injuring a 
 number of persons, and causing a loss of many 
 thousands of dollars. During the day there were 
 indications of a storm approaching, though nothing 
 serious was anticipated. About half-past ten o'clock 
 p. m., some who had not retired noticed the rising of 
 the wind and endeavored to prepare for it. The 
 wind at this time was from the southwest, and in- 
 creased in velocity until about 1 1 o'clock, when a 
 heavy black cloud was seen coming from an oppo- 
 ' site direction. Within ten minutes the two clouds 
 met just above the devoted village, and in their con- 
 tact hurled down to the earth a terrible current, 
 striking the village on the western side, sweeping 
 \f through it, utterly ruining everything found in its 
 path, and then rebounding into the air. The whole 
 destruction was done in an instant. In the track of 
 the storm, half a mile long by 40 rods wide, 21 
 buildings were totally destroyed and 20 others badly 
 injured, and, at the highest estimate, the storm did 
 not extend over a minute of time. The greater 
 number of the buildings destroyed were dwelling- 
 houses, and that so many were destroyed and no 
 lives lost, seems almost miraculous. 
 
 In the house of Mr. Banes were six persons, two 
 being in the upper story. These escaped without 
 injury. Mrs. Banes had a limb broken, and one of 
 her daughters had her face badly bruised. Mr. 
 Banes and another daughter received slight bruises. 
 They were blown out of the house they occupied, 
 and covered with the debris of another building. 
 
 In the house of Mr. Dow were 1 1 persons, all of 
 whom escaped uninjured. A little child of Mr. 
 Dow's was buried in the ruins, and was not found 
 for half an hour after the storm, when its cries re- 
 vealed its position. A pump on the side of his 
 house was left standing, the house being blown over 
 the top of it. 
 
 /~\ 
 
 
 Mr. Gates' house was completely demolished. In 
 it were eight persons. Mrs. Gates was found some 
 50 feet from the house, with a fractured shoulder. 
 Mr. Gates was buried in the ruins of the house, 
 but was little injured. Two of his children were 
 buried in the ruins and two were blown some dis- 
 tance away, but escaped uninjured ! 
 
 A wagon shop containing three carriages and sev- 
 eral hundred dollars' worth of stock, was blown away, 
 not a vestige of it remaining, and little of the stock 
 was ever recovered. 
 
 The Methodist Church was lifted from its founda- 
 tions and utterly destroyed, everything in and about 
 it being torn into kindling wood, yet within six rods 
 of where it stood not enough could be collected to 
 build a fire. Four rods to the north of it there was 
 no disturbance, not even the lightest thing being 
 moved from its place. 
 
 The two elevators were entirely destroyed. The 
 sills of the larger one, 12 inches in diameter, were 
 torn into splinters. In this elevator were two 
 horses, one of which was buried in the ruins, yet 
 when extricated not a bruise could be found on it ! 
 
 Of the depot building, one-half was taken, the 
 other left. The storm cut it in two almost as well 
 as a carpenter would have done it ! 
 
 A 2 x 4 scantling was blown through a window of 
 Mr. Glassburn's residence, through the head of a 
 bed on which his two children were sleeping, and 
 into the partition on the opposite side of the room. 
 The children were not injured ! 
 
 Among others injured, Mrs. Piersall was badly 
 bruised; Mr. O'Conner, hurt by flying timber; 
 Luther Piersall, bruised ; many others were slightly 
 hurt. The storm was a terrible one, indeed, and 
 those witnessing it will have a distinct recollection of 
 it till their dying hour. 
 
 A committee, consisting of E. W. High, A. Smith, 
 T. M. Wylie, J. S. Kimball and William Camper, 
 was appointed to receive aid for the sufferers. The 
 response to their appeals was promptly made by the 
 citizens of the county, and soon store buildings and 
 dwelling-houses were erected, and all signs of the 
 terrible tornado disappeared. 
 
 But the village was not yet left to continue unin- 
 terruptedly its career. On the lyth of May, 1876, 
 another fire occurred, which was undoubtedly the 
 work of an incendiary. Six buildings were destroyed. 
 One was James Conroy 's store and dwelling ; loss, 
 
 
 
 $ 
 
 >& 
 
 4* 
 
 
 j 
 9
 
 1 
 
 \l 
 
 f 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 tfAi. /-^Vas? i, 
 
 s^v (s^s^f 8 
 
 / 896 
 
 $2,000. Nelson Mason's store; loss, $6,600. Peter 
 Burke's store; loss, $3,600. George Dee's store 
 building; loss, $2,500. E. W. High, merchandise in 
 Dee's building ; loss, $6,000. John Price, store and 
 dwelling ; loss, $2,300. Case & Adams, billiard 
 hall ; loss, $1,500. Total, $23,500. 
 
 The postoffice was established here in 1871, J. S. 
 Kimball being the first Postmaster. He was suc- 
 ceeded in a short time by S. B. Winters. The latter 
 was succeeded in turn by J. W. Mosshart, Albert 
 Berry and F. H. Richardson, the incumbent. Mr. 
 Richardson has been Postmaster now for about 
 eight years, and has given satisfaction to the patrons 
 of the office. 
 
 Tampico was incorporated as a village in 1875, its 
 first election being held Feb. 26. D. McMillan, E. 
 W. High, Alfred Smith, J. W. Glassburn, J. H. Cain 
 and H. L. Denison were elected Trustees. The 
 present officers are : Board of Trustees President, 
 G. A. Stilson ; Trustees Geo. Forward, Frank M. 
 Palmer, W. H. Harrison, Fred W. Smith, Joseph 
 Pinkley ; Clerk, Herman Sheldon ; Treasurer, A. E. 
 Jacobs; Attorney J. W. White; Street Commis- 
 sioner, H. Cummings; Constable, T. A. Sanders; 
 Police Magistrate, T. Hogue ; Pound Master, Geo. 
 Breckinridge; School Directors Alf. Smith, J. F. 
 Leonard and Charles R. Aldrich. 
 
 Storms and fires could not destroy the interest of 
 the citizens of Tampico in the cause of education, 
 and the public schools of the place are the pride of 
 all. The school-house in the district of which the 
 village forms a part, was first built in 1869, one mile 
 south, but when the railroad was built through the 
 place, in r87i, it was removed here. In less than 
 one year the building became too small to accommo- 
 date the increased attendance. A room over Geo. 
 Guffey's store was rented and the primary depart- 
 ment moved thereto. In 1874 the present school 
 building was erected. It is a two-story frame struc- 
 ture, 32 x 56 feet in size, with a wing for halls and 
 stairway, and with four comfortable school-rooms. 
 The cost of the building was $4,000. A. W. Bastian, 
 now of the Fulton Journal, was the first Principal 
 in this building, continuing in charge until the spring 
 of r88o. He made an excellent teacher, and under 
 his administration the Tampico school took rank 
 second to none in the county. G. S. Lowe suc- 
 ceeded Mr. Bastian as Principal, and served one 
 
 year. Abram Myers then served two years and was 
 succeeded by F. S. Johnson, in the fall of 1883. 
 Mr. Johnson is still the Principal. Few schools 
 have turned out as many teachers as that of Tam- 
 pico. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 There are at present three church edifices in the 
 place, with as many Church organizations. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 
 the village in 1871. Previous to this time, meetings 
 were held one mile south, once a fortnight. On re- 
 moving to the]village, meetings were first held in Shel- 
 don's Hall, Rev. L. A. Sanford, of Sterling, officiat- 
 ing. During the fall of 1872, the society erected a 
 house of worship, at a cost of $1,300. On the 6th 
 of June, 1874, the house was totally destroyed by 
 the great tornado. No regular services were "held 
 during the remainder of the year, the pastor being 
 engaged in soliciting aid in rebuilding. The present 
 building was commenced in the fall of 1874 and 
 completed in 1875, at a cost of $2,500. The church 
 has had a fairly prosperous condition, but has been 
 much weakened in the past two years by removal of 
 many of its members. In 1879 a parsonage was 
 purchased. Rev. J. A. J. Whipple is the present 
 pastor, with T. M. Wylie, J. P. Badgley, L. K. 
 Brainard and A. T. Glassburn, Class-leaders. T. 
 M. Wylie is Superintendent of the Sunday-school. 
 
 The St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church was or- 
 ganized in 1875, by a committee of four, consisting 
 of Maurice Fitzgerald, Geo. Dee, Thomas Burden 
 and Peter Burke. They were authorized by Rt. 
 Rev. Bishop Foley to raise subscriptions to build a 
 church. In a short time an amount sufficient for 
 the purpose was secured, $2,520 of which was raised 
 by a fair held in the village. The church edifice 
 was commenced June 26, 1875, and completed Sept. 
 18, 1875. Rev. O'Gara Shean was the first pastor 
 of the parish. Rev. R. H. McGuire is now in 
 charge. 
 
 The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church was 
 organized in May, 1874, with a membership of 45 
 heads of families. In 1875 a house of worship was 
 erected, at a cost of $2,500. After struggling along 
 for some years, the organization disbanded, the 
 members residing in this neighborhood taking mem- 
 bership with other societies in neighboring towns. 
 
 The Baptist Church was organized in November, 
 
 V> 
 
 J -;.-, ^
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 1877, at which time some 26 persons covenanted 
 together to observe the commandments and ordi- 
 nances of the Lord. The first Deacons were E. A. 
 Hovey, R. M. Bullock, Samuel Johnson and Alfred 
 Smith. The society rented for five years the Luth- 
 eran church building in which to hold its services, 
 but in January, 1880, purchased the same for $1,200. 
 Rev. H. A. Smith was the first pastor of the Church, 
 serving four years, and being succeeded by Rev. F. 
 M. Smith, who remained until December, 1884. 
 During the winter of 1878-9 a revival was experiencd 
 in which there were 100 conversions and baptisms. 
 A Sunday-school was organized at the same time 
 with the Church. Alfred Smith is the present Su- 
 perintendent. It has an average attendance of 60. 
 The Church numbers about 100 active members. 
 
 SOCIETIES. 
 
 The Masons, Good Templars, Woodmen and G. 
 A. R. are represented with lodges, post and camp in 
 this place. 
 
 Yorktown Lodge, No. 633, was organized at York- 
 town, Bureau Co., 111., by dispensation of the Grand 
 Master, June 4, 1870, and a charter was granted 
 Oct. 4, of the same year. On the 24th day of July, 
 1875, the lodge was removed to this place. Here it 
 has a well furnished hall and is meeting with a 
 reasonable degree of success, having a membership 
 of 32. The officers in 1885 are Job E. Greenman, 
 W. M. ; J. W. White, S. W. ; A. E. Jacobs, J. W.; 
 J. F. Leonard, Treas. ; Jesse Van Bibber, Sec. 
 
 Tampico Camp, No. p, Modern Woodmen of 
 America, was instituted June 15, 1883, with ten 
 charter members. E. E. Wheelock was the first Con- 
 sul, and C. R. Aldrich, Clerk. The camp has been 
 very successful, now having a membership of 32. 
 Since its existence it has lost none by death. E. E. 
 Wheelock is the present Consul, and C. F. Gilford, 
 Clerk. 
 
 Tampico Lodge, No. 298, I. O. G. T., was organ- 
 ized April 9, 1884, with 30 charter members. Abram 
 Myers was the first W. C. T.; Lottie Sanders, W. V. 
 T.; Herman Sheldon, W. Sec. The lodge holds its 
 meetings every Tuesday evening, in Masonic Hall. 
 It has a prosperous existence and now numbers 45, 
 with H. E. Brown, W. C. T.; Ellen Denison, W. V. 
 T.; Lizzie Kenley, W. Sec. 
 
 Samuel G. Steadman Post, No. 491, G. A. 
 
 organized in December, 1884, with 23 charter mem- 
 bers. T. M. Wylie was the first Commander; Abram 
 Myers, V. Com.; Joseph Reeves, Adj. The Post 
 now has a membership of 30. Samuel G. Stead- 
 man, for whom the Post is named, was a private in 
 Co. D, 75111 111. Inf., now deceased. He lived in 
 Prophetstown and was highly esteemed by all. 
 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 The Tampico Tornado was established in the cen- 
 tennial year, the first issue bearing date May 4, 1876. 
 A. D. Hill and Charles F. Gifford were the publish- 
 ers and proprietors. During the first year the paper 
 was printed at Prophetstown. Mr. Gifford at the ex- 
 piration of that time became sole proprietor, pur- 
 chased an outfit and commenced its publication at 
 Tampico. The paper met with good success from 
 its commencement, securing a good paying list of 
 subscribers and being well patronized by the busi- 
 ness men of the place. While probably not being 
 able to destroy with its breath like the physical mani- 
 festation of the tornado, it is yet a power in the com- 
 munity in which it exists, Mr. Gifford being a born 
 newspaper man. 
 
 TAMPICO BANK. 
 
 The Tampico Bank was organized May 28, 1882, 
 with John W. Glassburn as President ; W. W. Crad- 
 dock, V. P.; Delos Craddock, Cashier. The present 
 bank building was erected at this time by the com- 
 pany. This was the first regular banking institution, 
 though previous to this time Mr. Glassburn kept an 
 account with a bank in Chicago and accommodated 
 merchants and others with exchange. In January, 
 1885, A. T. Glassburn purchased the interests of the 
 Craddocks, the bank now being conducted by J. W. 
 Glassburn, President, and A. T. Glassburn, Cashier. 
 A satisfactory business has been done since the es- 
 tablishment of the bank. The Glassburns are pleas- 
 ant and accommodating men and the bank is re- 
 garded as a safe institution. 
 
 CEMETERY. 
 
 The Tampico Cemetery Association was organ- 
 ized in 1 883. Land was purchased a few rods north 
 cf the village and a cemetery laid out, which is rap- 
 idly being improved by planting evergreen trees, 
 flowers and shrubs. Previous to this time, the re- 
 mains of those who died in the village were interred 
 in the burying-ground one mile south.
 
 6VHHfi> 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 UNION GROVE TOWNSHIP. 
 
 NION GROVE Township, under the origin- 
 al division of the county, formed a part of 
 Union Grove Precinct. This precinct was 
 known abroad before much of the territory 
 that now forms Whiteside County was settled. 
 Pursuant to a public notice, the citizens of this 
 township met on the 6th day of April, 1852, at 
 the residence of John A. Robertson, in the village of 
 Unionville, to organize under the new township laws. 
 Stephen Jeffers was appointed Moderator, and J. N. 
 Vennum, Clerk. After the polls were opened the 
 citizens proceeded to cast their votes, the result of 
 which was the election of W. C. Snyder for Super- 
 visor ; A. P. Young, Clerk ; Benj. Burns, Assessor; 
 Collector, Allen Graves ; Overseer of the Poor, Jacob 
 Baker; Commissioners of the Highway, John A. 
 Robertson, "Edwin Vennuni and Stephen Jeffers; 
 Constables, A. A. Richmond and J. N. Vennum ; 
 Justices of the Peace, D. B. Young and Reed Wil- 
 ber. 
 
 The first settler in the territory now embraced by 
 Union Grove Township was Joshua T. Atkinson, who 
 was born in Massachusetts in 1810. He first came 
 to Whiteside County in the fall of 1834, settling in 
 Prophetstown, and occupying a cabin with J. W. 
 Stakes. The following spring he and Stakes made 
 claims in what was then Union Grove Precinct, on 
 both sides of Rock Creek, and commenced their im- 
 provements. These claims were made in what is 
 now Union Grove and Mount Pleasant Townships, 
 and were situated in the northern portions. They 
 afterwards divided their interests, Atkinson taking 
 the west side and Stakes the east. He had put up a 
 cabin, which was the first built in the township. It 
 was located where Unionville now is, sections i and 
 12. Along in the spring (1836) Daniel B. Young 
 came in. He was born Sept. 16, 1800, in New Jer- 
 sey. He went from there to Ohio, and from Ohio 
 he came to Union Grove. He remained for a while, 
 looking around, and finally purchased Mr. Atkin- 
 son's claim on section i, which consisted of 640 acres 
 of land with improvements. After making some 
 further preparations, he returned to Ohio for his fam- 
 ily. In the fall he came back, bringing his family, 
 and settled down on his purchase. The following 
 
 year he planted the first crop of corn, wheat and 
 potatoes. 
 
 Mr. Young married Betsey Jackson in 1824. They 
 came to Union Grove with seven children. Five 
 children were born to them in Union Grove. All are 
 living except two, Tryphena and Abigail. Mrs. 
 Young died Jan. 13, 1872. Mr. Young sold his 
 farm to H. M. Teller, and is now living in Morrison. 
 John Richards and family came in 1836, locating 
 on section 34. He came around the lakes. The 
 vessel in which they took passage was wrecked and 
 they lost all their money and most of their goods, 
 and came very nearly being drowned. Mr. Richards 
 died several years ago, but his wife is still living. 
 
 Benj. Burns and John A. Robertson came in 1837 
 and commenced the erection of a saw-mill on the 
 ground now occupied by William Annan's flouring 
 mill. This mill was of great assistance to the early 
 settlers in furnishing them with lumber to build 
 their houses, and for other purposes. Henry Ustick, 
 Elisha Hubbart, John A. King, John Kent and M. 
 L. Atkinson came in and made claims in 1838. 
 Henry Boyer settled on the Mt. Pleasant site in 
 1836, where he lived until 1840, when he moved to 
 Union Grove. The start having been made, the set- 
 tlement increased quite rapidly. 
 
 The first school taught in the township was by 
 Miss Mary Jeffers, in the summer of 1838, in a log 
 cabin owned by Henry Boyer. Miss Jeffers was 
 afterwards married to John Kent, which was the first 
 wedding in the township. The first death was that 
 of James Heaton, son of William Heaton, who lived 
 in Mt. Pleasant Township. He died in 1840, and 
 was buried in the woods in the Heaton neighborhood. 
 The body was afterwards removed to the Heaton 
 burying-ground. 
 
 Mrs. Phoebe Vennum, one of the early settlers 
 here, is still living, residing with her son Edward, 
 who is now quite an old man. She was 101 years 
 old on the 23d of June last. She is in reasonably 
 good health, bright and active, and gives promise of 
 remaining with her friends many years longer. Mrs. 
 Vennum remembers very well when George Wash- 
 ington was President of the United States, and the 
 political events following in the eighteenth century. 
 The War of 1812 is a new event to her. She has 
 witnessed during her life a nation's birth and growth, 
 a growth which places it ahead of all the nations of 
 the earth; and one for grandeur and great achiev- 
 
 
 fa) 
 
 ^.fflgu
 
 ments is unparalleled in the history of the world. 
 For personal sketch and portrait of Mrs. Vennum, 
 see page 386. 
 
 The good people of Union Grove were early sup- 
 plied with religious services, from mission preachers 
 and others, but its religious history is so intimately 
 connected with that ofMt. Pleasant Township, it has 
 been thought best to include it with the latter. 
 
 About three-fourths of the land in this township 
 is good ; the balance is composed of swamps and 
 bluffs. This is the portion taken in by the Cat-tail. 
 The latter runs from the Mississippi to Rock River. 
 About midway between these streams the ground is 
 high and the water runs each way to the two rivers. 
 The center or high point is in Union Grove Town- 
 ship. Some of this land has been reclaimed, which 
 makes excellent meadows. In this Cat-tail, or slough, 
 lie large deposits of peat, which is said to be of a 
 good quality. Geologists claim that over this part 
 of the country at one time rested a body of water. 
 The people along the borders of this bed, or slough, 
 have used this peat for fuel, and say that it burns 
 well. Several efforts have been made to convert 
 these deposits of peat into marketable shape, but so 
 far they have not been attended with success. Some 
 portions of the township is undulating, and in others 
 there are broad prairie fields. The soil, generally, is 
 clay loam, and very productive. It is watered by 
 Rock Creek and its tributaries, the Cat-tail and sev- 
 eral brooks. Along these streams there is a liberal 
 growth of timber. 
 
 The township is well improved, having good roads, 
 many beautiful farms, and fine dwellings. Some 
 attention is being paid to fine stock. Elias Williams 
 & Son, who live on section 8, are breeding Short- 
 horn Durhams. James Willson, on section 16, has 
 an imported Holstein, and is breeding grades. On 
 section 21 T. R. King has a good creamery, where 
 he makes during the season about 1,000 pounds of 
 butter daily. 
 
 The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad completed 
 its track through the township in October, 1855. 
 
 (Jnionville, now a pretty little hamlet for dwell- 
 ings, located on section 12, was once quite a business 
 town, so much so, that it was platted, in 1841. 
 There were here mills, shops, stores, churches, a 
 postoffice, etc., and the citizens looked forward to 
 the time when their town would assume the propor- 
 
 /JNA/S3&/* 
 
 ^/yXV^ 
 
 tions of a city ; but on an unlucky day a railroad 
 line came through and made its station across the 
 creek in Mt. Pleasant Township. A town sprang up, 
 known since to the world as Morrison, and Union- 
 ville was doomed. Many of the people moved over, 
 and all the business houses were transferred, and the 
 churches soon followed. 
 
 Unionville Mills is owned by William Annan, Jr. 
 It has four run of stone, with two sets of rollers, and 
 a capacity of 75 barrels of flour per day of 24 hours. 
 It is water wheel, with three turbine wheels, and 
 located on tha bank of Rock Creek. The building 
 is a good, solid stone structure, and is one of the old 
 landmarks of Unionville. It was built in 1860, by 
 William Annan, Sr.,and John A. Robertson. There 
 was formerly a saw-miH on this site. 
 
 Unionville has a fine school, which is taught by 
 S. A. Maxwell. The town hall and the school 
 building is combined, and was- erected at a cost of 
 $2,000. It is one lot west of the old school-house 
 site. 
 
 Union Grove was the home of the late Hon. Rob- 
 ert E. Logan, Member of the Legislature, who died 
 at his post in the Capitol at Springfield, Feb. 26, 
 1885. He had a farm on section 15, which he had 
 cultivated for many years. He was for several years 
 Supervisor of Union Grove Township, and a prom- 
 inent and honored citizen. (See page 358.) 
 
 Union Grove had a population in 1880, according 
 to the census, of 1,091. It has gained but little since 
 that time. 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 W. C. Snyder 1852-4 
 
 John Kent 1855 
 
 C. J. Goodwin 1856-7 
 
 Daniel B. Young 1858 
 
 J. T. Atkinson 1859-64 
 
 William Annan 1865 
 
 E.V.Latham 1866-7 
 
 H. C. Fellows 1868 
 
 G. L. Hough 1869 
 
 A. M. Teller 1870 
 
 G. L. Hough 1871 
 
 I . C. A . Bennett 1872-4 
 
 Robert E. Logan 1875-84 
 
 SamuelR.Hall 1885 
 
 USTICK TOWNSHIP. 
 
 HE territory that is now embraced by this 
 township originally belonged to Union and 
 Albany Precincts, and subsequently the 
 whole was attached to Fulton Precinct, and 
 so remained until the township system was 
 adopted. Notice having been given that there 
 would be an election on the sixth day of April, 1852, 
 
 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY 
 
 
 ? 
 
 for the purpose of forming a township under the 
 organization act, the citizens of this territory accord- 
 ingly assembled together at the Franklin School- 
 house, in what is now School District No. 2, to 
 perfect said organization. Henry Ustick was chosen 
 Moderator, and A. M. Abbott Clerk. A committee 
 of five were appointed to draft by-laws Benjamin 
 Abbott, S. W. Goff, Oliver Baker, Reuben Baker and 
 Joseph Hollinshead. One of the by-laws the first 
 was that the township should be known as Hemlo. 
 
 There were 26 votes cast at this election, with the 
 following result: John McKenzie was chosen for 
 Supervisor; A. M. Abbott, Clerk; Henry Ustick, 
 Assessor ; Ira E. Baker, Collector, and Jesse O. 
 Johnson, Overseer of the Poor ; Hiram Ingham and 
 Reuben Baker were elected as Commissioners of the 
 Highway ; N. M. T. Ustick and Ira E. Baker, "Con- 
 stables ; and Henry Ustick and Oliver Baker, Jus- 
 tices of the Peace. 
 
 Ustick Township is quite diversified in its to- 
 pography, having extensive plains, high bluffs and 
 undulating surfaces. It has a fine growth of young 
 timber, with many old forest groves. It is liberally 
 watered by the Otter and numerous small creeks. 
 
 The soil is a clay loam, underlaid with sand. On 
 the ridges there is a good deal of sand. It drains 
 and works well, and is very productive. 
 
 This township was not settled as early as some of 
 the others. W. Y. Ives was the first pioneer to 
 come in and enter a claim, which was in June, 1837. 
 He located on section 19. Had the elements been 
 in his favor he would have taken possession of a 
 piece of Uncle Sam's dominions a year earlier. He 
 left New Haven, Conn., in the spring of 1836, with 
 the intention of going around the lakes to Illinois, 
 but was wrecked on Lake Erie. After repeated 
 efforts to complete his journey, he arrived as far as 
 Detroit. It then being pretty late in the season, he 
 turned his back on the " Great West" and returned 
 to New Haven. The next spring he took a different 
 route, coming to Pittsburg, thence down the Ohio 
 River, and up the Mississippi to Albany, where he 
 staid two months, and then went into Ustick. Soon 
 after his arrival he put up a log cabin, which was the 
 first house built in Ustick Township. He broke his 
 ground and put in a crop the same year, which was 
 the first in the township. Ives was a great hunter, 
 and used to travel far and wide in his hunting expe- 
 
 _r ".v 
 
 ditions. Soon after Mr. Ives located his claim, Ed- 
 ward Corbin came in and made a claim adjoining. 
 He did not work his claim long, but sold out to Mr. 
 Ives. Ives is now living at Fulton, and is in his 75th 
 year. (See page 241.) During the latter part of 1837 
 Amos Short and Edward Ralph came in from In- 
 diana. Mr. Short located on section 18. He after- 
 wards emigrated to Oregon, and was drowned in the 
 Columbia River. Henry Bond, Allen and Louis 
 Graves, Henry Cone and Jesse Johnson, from New 
 York, came in 1838. The Graveses, Bond and Cone 
 located on section 18, and Johnson on section 8. 
 The following year added quite a large number to 
 the pioneer list, and each succeeding year increased 
 the population. Louis and Allen Graves, Henry 
 Bond and Jesse Johnson are all dead. 
 
 The first birth in the township was that of Ro- 
 setta, daughter of Thomas and Louise (Ingham) 
 Patrick, in 1840. Rosetta's parents were the first 
 couple married in the township, which event oc- 
 curred in the spring of 1839. 
 
 Amos Short's little child fell into a deep spring 
 near his house and was drowned, which was the first 
 death occurring in the township. 
 
 Miss Armenia Ingham has the credit of opening 
 the first school, which was in the summer of 1841. 
 There was no school buildings then, and no surplus 
 room of any other kind. Mr. Short, however, had a 
 log cabin, above which was an attic, and here a 
 school-room was improvised, and the ambitious 
 Armenia presided over her little charge. As years 
 passed by they improved on this system, and a stone 
 school-house was erected on seceion 8, and after- 
 wards located as District No. i. This was in 1844, 
 and Sarah Jenks was employed as the teacher. 
 
 At a meeting of some of the citizens of Ustick, 
 at Fulton, for the purpose of petitioning the general 
 Government for a mail route and a postoffice, the 
 question came up about the name to be given to the 
 office. Finally they decided to put some letters in a 
 hat, and then draw them out. This was done, and 
 the letters, as they were drawn out, spelled the name 
 of " Hemlo." This petition was granted, and a 
 route was established, running from Sterling to Ful- 
 ton. A. M. Abbott was appointed Postmaster, and 
 the office located at his house, which was on section 
 32. Mr. Abbott's appointment dated Nov. 19, 1850, 
 and he was the first postmaster of the township. It 
 
 
 
 i 
 ci)
 
 was known as the Hemlo postoffice. After the 
 Northwestern Railroad came through, the mail was 
 brought only from Fulton up to Hemlo. 
 
 The name of Ustick was given to the township 
 upon its organization, against the wishes of most of 
 the citizens. It was named after Henry Ustick, who 
 came to the township in 1845, settling on section 34. 
 The people did not like the name, and petitioned the 
 County Commissioners to have it changed to that of 
 Hemlo, but their wishes were not respected. They 
 then petitioned the Legislature, but with like re- 
 sult. The office was removed from Hemlo to Clif- 
 ton in 1858, and Mrs. Francis Martin was appointed 
 to the place. It was abolished a few years later, 
 upon the establishment of an office at Union Grove. 
 Ustick has no town within her borders for a market, 
 or trading purposes, and the people either go to Ful- 
 ton or Morrison to sell their products and do their 
 trading. 
 
 The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad crosses the 
 southwest corner of the township, entering on sec- 
 tion 33, running up into section 29, and deflecting 
 southward again, passes out along the lower line of 
 section 30. 
 
 The school section (16) was regarded by the citi- 
 zens as of little value, and efforts were made with 
 the General Land Office, at Washington, to assign a 
 more available section, so that it could be sold and a 
 respectable fund raised for school purposes ; but the 
 request was not listened to. Mr. Ives proposed to 
 buy it at one time for a deer park, and offered as 
 high as $800 for it. This proposition was not ac- 
 cepted. It was finally sold for $2,600, and the 
 money was appropriated for school purposes. 
 
 The people have given especial attention to their 
 public highways, and the result of this has been 
 that they have now good roads throughout their 
 township. 
 
 The citizens of Ustick showed great patriot- 
 ism during the War of the Rebellion. All the able- 
 bodied men of the township turned out to save the 
 Union. In this they deserve great credit. There 
 were not at the close of the war half a dozen men 
 liable to duty. 
 
 The massacre of the Oatman family, who lived in 
 Ustick, deserves a special mention in this work. 
 Roys Oatman came from Hancock County, 111., 
 with his wife and children in 1842, and located in 
 
 Ustick Township, on section 32. He remained here 
 cultivating his farm until 1849, when, getting the 
 California fever, he sold his farm to Henry Bond, and 
 commenced his preparations for the new Eldorado. 
 Having completed his preparations, he moved out 
 one April morning, in 1850, with his family, consist- 
 ing of a wife and seven children, three boys and 
 four girls. His outfit consisted of three wagons, 
 three yokes of oxen and two spans of horses. These 
 wagons contained household goods, clothing and 
 provisions. They joined other emigrant trains on 
 the way and traveled with them for some days, 
 when, having better teams, they went on ahead, 
 leaving'the others behind. They journeyed on very 
 pleasantly until they passed into the Territory of 
 Arizona, the Indian country, where they became 
 subjected to constant annoyances. The first of 
 these was the want of feed for their teams. Soon 
 the Indians began pestering them, stealing their 
 horses or cattle, goods, and their provisions. At 
 last they reached a long hill, about 150 miles from 
 Fort Yuma, and stopped for a short rest. They 
 were reduced now to one yoke of oxen and a wagon. 
 The oxen were mere skeletons, and were nearly worn 
 out and starved. They had unloaded the wagon pre- 
 paratory to carrying the goods up the hill, leaving 
 the oxen to haul up the empty wagon. At this 
 juncture, Dr. John Le Conte, a scientist and geol- 
 ogist, came upon the party. He was traveling to 
 California with an attendant, each mounted on a 
 horse. The Dr. tarried for a while, talking with Mr. 
 Oatman and family, and before he left was fully ap- 
 prised of their perilous condition. Mr. Oatman 
 urged him to hurry on to Fort Yuma and send troops 
 back to his rescue. Dr. Le Conte promised to do 
 this, and immediately started forward. Arriving at 
 the fort he made known the condition of the Oat- 
 man family, and their eminent danger of being at any 
 moment murdered by the Indians. Gen. Samuel P. 
 Heintzelman, who was then in command of the fort, 
 immediately sent out a force for their rescue. The 
 troops on their way came upon the massacred party 
 but a few miles west of the hill where Le Conte had 
 parted from them ! The bodies of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Oatman and four of their children lay about on the 
 ground in a fearfully mutilated condition. The fate 
 of the other three remained a mystery. A grave was 
 dug by the soldiers large enough to receive all the 
 
 -
 
 6 s 
 
 i'^r^ 
 
 902 
 
 ^T'ViMH'C&'HH'y'V^^ 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 bodies, victims to the rapacity of the savages, into 
 which they were deposited and covered up. This 
 done, the troops returned to the fort. 
 
 The boy, Lorenzo, aged 14 years, who had been 
 left as dead by the savages, recovered- sufficiently to 
 walk, and, taking the road his fated parents had so 
 recently passed over, soon came upon the emigrants 
 they had left in the rear. They took up the poor 
 orphan boy, and carried him through with them to 
 California. 
 
 The Indians committing the massacre were the 
 Apaches. They carried Olive and Mary Ann, aged 
 respectively twelve and seven years, off with them, 
 and afterwards sold them to the Mohaves and 
 Yumas, who made slaves of them. After being two 
 years in captivity Mary Ann died of starvation. 
 Olive was rescued in 1856, by the late Gen. Saml. P. 
 Heintzelman, who was then in command of Fort 
 Yuma. A Yuma Indian coming into the fort re- 
 ported that there were two white girls with the Mo- 
 have tribe. Steps were at once taken to get them. 
 Trusted officers were sent to the Mohave tribe. It 
 was discovered that only one white girl was with 
 them, and this was poor Olive Oatman, her sister 
 Mary having died, as before stated. Her freedom 
 was obtained from the Indians by giving in exchange 
 ponies, and she was taken into the fort. It was 
 many days before she could speak the English lan- 
 guage. Her mother tongue, however, in time came 
 back to her. She then gave a full account of her 
 sad captivity, the fate of her sister, and the massa- 
 cre, the horrible impressions of which had never 
 been erased from her mind. She had fortunately 
 fell into the hands of the chief, who adopted her as 
 his daughter. She was never molested, but retained 
 her chastity during her long captivity, though she 
 was made to work. She remained in California a 
 year going to school, when she returned to the 
 States. In 1860 she was married to John B. Fair- 
 child. They moved to Sherman, Texas, where they 
 are still living. Olive was a niece of A. M. Abbott, 
 of Ustick. She had been tattooed after the manner 
 of the Indians, and still carries the marks on her 
 chin. 
 
 There are first-class country schools in Ustick. 
 
 The Franklin School has an average attendance of 
 35 pupils. 
 
 The Presbyterians have a society at Spring Val- 
 ley, where they have a neat little church. This was 
 organized in 1860, by Rev. A. H. Lackey. There 
 were at the organization some twenty members. 
 They worshiped in a school-house until they com- 
 pleted their building, which was in 1866, at a cost of 
 over $2,000. The ministers serving this Church are 
 Revs. J. B. McClure, A. Keigwin, A. H. Lackey, 
 A. W. Colver, A. W. Hanna, W. D. Lummis, and 
 F. J. Prichert. 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. A meeting was held 
 by the members belonging to the Methodist Church 
 at the Franklin School-house March 5, 1871. John 
 O. Odlin was made chairman, and John Lawton 
 clerk. It was moved and carried that they organ- 
 ize a society, and that it be called the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. It was also decided to erect a 
 church building, and a site was selected adjoining 
 and south of the school grounds. The building was 
 completed, and dedicated in August, 1872. It is a 
 very neat, substantial building, costing $1,800. 
 
 About half a mile distant from the Franklin 
 Church is the Franklin Cemetery, which belongs to 
 this society. It is a very pretty little cemetery, and 
 beautifully located ; and what is worthier still, well 
 taken care of. Ustick is a pleasing township to look 
 at. It is dotted all over with grand and beautiful 
 farms, which are well fenced and skillfully cultivated. 
 The farm buildings are good, the dwellings first-class, 
 many of them having been constructed with artistic 
 skill. 
 
 The census of 1880 showed a population of 1,066, 
 and it is estimated that there has been an increase 
 since that time of about 150 souls. 
 
 SUPERVISORS. 
 
 John McKinzie 1852-53 
 
 A . M . I ves 1854 
 
 A.M.Abbott 1855 
 
 John A. Crouch 1856 
 
 Oliver Baker 1&57-59 
 
 Warren Bond 1860 
 
 A. M. Abbott 1861 
 
 Meril Meade 1862 
 
 Oliver Baker 1863-66 
 
 Warren Bond 1867-68 
 
 D. W. McKinzie 
 James O. Gridley 
 Warren Bond.. . . 
 
 A. E. Smith 
 
 B. G. Baker 
 Warren Bond 
 Joshua Hollinshcad 
 Robert (J. Barber 
 Hiram Worthington 
 John Lawton 
 
 
 
 :^L.
 
 JVS'v} 
 
 4HKGI13 
 
 '-'irXr^HHKTXHM^X^V^ 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 
 i 
 
 EW cities in the West present 
 more natural advantages than 
 Sterling. Situated upon the 
 north side of Rock River, 
 it extends along its banks 
 over two miles and back from 
 the river from one-half to three- 
 fourths of a mile. The land is 
 high enough above the river 
 bank to prevent it being over- 
 flowed, even in high water. 
 
 In June, 1834, Hezekiah Brink 
 made a settlement on the south- 
 east quarter of section 22, and 
 commenced its improvement. 
 His house, constructed of logs and rifted lumber, stood 
 upon what is now block 34. At this time he had 
 probably no thought that around him would spring 
 up a thriving city, with manufactories affording em- 
 ployment to hundreds of men and a mercantile 
 trade second to no city of its size in the State. 
 
 In the spring of 1835, William Kirkpatrick made 
 a claim a little west of Mr. Brink's. Mr. Kirkpatrick 
 was then the owner of a mill on Yellow Creek, near 
 Freeport, Stephenson County, and also had a large 
 claim in that vicinity. His claim here was consid- 
 ered made for speculative purposes by the settlers, 
 who were not favorable to " land sharks," as they 
 were called. They made known to him their views 
 and he asked a conference. After several meetings 
 were held Mr. Kirkpatrick entered into bond in the 
 sum of $1,000, by which he agreed to lay out a 
 town at the Rapids of Rock River within one year. 
 The bond was made and executed Nov. 16, 1835, 
 to Isaac H. Albertson, Simeon M. Coe, Wyatt Can- 
 trell, Solomon Whitman, Ward Storer, Nathaniel 
 
 Morehouse, John J. Albertson, Harvey Morgan 
 and John Simonson. The conditions of the bond 
 were duly complied with by Mr. Kirkpatrick, and the 
 prospective village given the name of Chatham. 
 
 In 1837, it was found that the original survey 
 made by Joseph Crawford was incorrect, and there- 
 fore a re-survey was made by Charles R. Rood. 
 About 500 lots were platted. The village of 
 Chatham was bounded on the east by the street 
 now known as Cherry Street in the city of Ster- 
 ling, on the north by the city limits, and the west by 
 what is now A Street, and on the south by the 
 river. 
 
 In the meantime Hezekiah Brink determined to 
 lay out a village upon his claim, and says he had the 
 survey and platting done before Mr. Kirkpatrick had 
 that of Chatham. 
 
 On the isth day of May, 1836, the steamer Pio- 
 neer, Capt. D. S. Harris, came up the Rock River, 
 and with the aid of the settlers and their oxen suc- 
 ceeded in getting over the rapids, effecting a land- 
 ing near the residence of Mr. Brink. The steamer 
 was loaded with groceries and provisions, which 
 were disposed of to the settlers, Mr. Brink taking 
 the greater portion in payment for a part of his 
 claim, which he deeded to Capt. Harris, it being un- 
 derstood between them that jointly they would lay 
 out a town. Accordingly, a few months after, Israel 
 Mitchell, of Jo Daviess County, made a survey and 
 platted a v,llage, to which was given the name Har- 
 risburg, in honor of Capt. Harris. 
 
 A meeting was held on the boat, while it was 
 being taken over the rapids, and it was decided 
 to petition the Postoffice Department to establish 
 here a postoffice, under the name of Rock River 
 Rapids, with Hezekiah Brink as Postmaster. The 
 
 

 
 Department granted the request, but Mr. Brink 
 declined to accept, and it was not until the following 
 year that the office was established. 
 
 With the stock of goods purchased of Capt. Harris, 
 Mr. Brink opened the first store in the new town. In 
 the summer of 1837 he formed a partnership with 
 Elijah Worthington, and under the firm name of 
 Brink & Worthington continued the business, adding 
 dry goods and notions, purchasing the stock of a 
 dealer at Sugar Grove, in Lee County. The firm of 
 Brink & Worthington continued in business until 
 1839, when they closed out. Theodore and Elijah 
 Winn were the next merchants in Harrisburg. They 
 continued in business but a short time, Brown- 
 shields & Fuller were the next to engage here in 
 business. 
 
 While these events were transpiring in Harrisburg 
 the proprietors of the rival village of Chatham were 
 not idle and were using every exertion to build up 
 thatplace. In the winter of 1836-7, Mason & Bar- 
 nett opened a general stock of merchandise, the first 
 general stock in Whiteside County. Several dwell- 
 ing houses were erected, and the " future great " of 
 Whiteside County started on its way rejoicing. 
 
 Between the two villages was a space of ground 
 which was known as neutral territory. When the or- 
 ganization of the country had been determined upon, 
 the villages of Chatham and Harrisburg were each 
 anxious to secure the county seat. Being rivals, 
 neither would be willing the other should have it; so 
 they determined to make common cause. The neu- 
 tral ground was surveyed and platted, thus uniting 
 the two towns, and after much discussion the name 
 of Sterling was adopted. The choice of a name was 
 left to Hezekiah Brink and E. B. Worthington, rep- 
 resenting Harrisburg, and Nelson Mason and Hugh 
 Wallace, repiesenting Chatham. Not being able 
 readily to agree on a name, it was determined to 
 throw up a copper, the winning party to bestow the 
 name, and also to have the county buildings placed 
 upon that side of Broadway which they represented. 
 Mason and Wallace won, the latter naming the town 
 in honor of an old friend, Col. Sterling, of Pennsyl- 
 vania. At the election held in 1839, for the location 
 of the county seat, it was finally determined that 
 Sterling had a majority of the votes, and the coveted 
 prize was secured, and the county buildings were in 
 due time erected, upon block 57, west of Broadway. 
 
 
 
 For a detailed history of the county-seat contests 
 which followed, Sterling finally losing the prize, the 
 reader's attention is called to page 815. 
 
 Notwithstanding the two towns had united, the ri- 
 valry between the upper and lower towns, as the two 
 extremes were called, continued to exist, and every 
 effort was made by the friends of either to build up 
 their respective sections, even if done at the expense 
 of the other. This rivalry retarded the growth of 
 Sterling materially, and it has been but a few years 
 since the contest was abandoned, the lower town, by 
 reason of securing the railroad depots, water power 
 and manufactories, being victorious. 
 
 Until the completion of this railroad, in 1855, the 
 growth of Sterling was very slow, many of the sur- 
 rounding towns, like Dixon, Fulton and Albany, be- 
 ing far more prosperous and with apparently a much 
 brighter career before them. But the advent of the 
 railroad infused new life into the business men and 
 capitalists of the place, and from the moment the 
 sound of the steam whistle was heard till the present 
 time, Sterling has had a steady, sterling growth. 
 
 The railroad was completed to this place in June, 
 1855, and the dam soon afterwards completed. Man- 
 ufactories in due time began to be built, palatial 
 stores and elegant dwelling-houses erected, and, as 
 has been said, few cities of its size present more at- 
 tractions to the stranger, as well as the citizens of 
 the place, as Sterling. 
 
 INCORPORATION. 
 
 Sterling was incorporated as a city under a special 
 charter, granted by the General Assembly, and ap- 
 proved Feb. 1 6, 1857. Previous to this time, it had 
 been an unincorporated village. The first election 
 under the charter was held in April, and the first 
 meeting of the new council was held April 23, 1857. 
 An adjourned meeting was held on the 25th, when 
 L. King Hawthorne was elected City Clerk ; Edward 
 N. Kirk, City Attorney; Winfield S. Wilkinson, City 
 Surveyor. Tne first ordinance was passed and ap- 
 proved by the Mayor May 2, 1857, and related to 
 the duties and salary of the City Surveyor. The fol- 
 lowing named have served the city in the office of 
 Mayor: Lorenzo Ha pgood, 1857-59; Nelson Maxson, 
 1860; John L. Price, 1861 ; Nelson Maxson, 1862 ; 
 Fred Sackett, 1863; Samuel S. Patterson, 1864; 
 Nelson Maxson, 1865 ; Thomas A. Gait, 1866; Ben- 
 jamin C. Coblenz, 1867-68; C. D. Sanford, 1869; 
 
 v> 

 
 John G. Manahan, 1870-72; Wm. H. Bennett, 1873; 
 Joshua V. McKinney, 1874; B.C. Church, 1875-76; 
 f^ Joseph M. Patterson, 1877. 
 
 POSTOFFICE. 
 
 As early as 1836 an attempt was made to estab- 
 lish here a postoffice, with Hezekiah Brink as Post- 
 master, but that gentleman refused the proffered 
 honor. In 1837 John D. Barnett received the ap- 
 pointment of Postmaster, and the Rock River post- 
 office was established here. The postoffice was kept 
 in Mason & Barnett's store, a small frame building 
 standing on the river bank, in what was then the vil- 
 lage of Chatham. Mr. Barnett was Posrmaster 
 about one year, when Daniel D. Guiles received the 
 appointment and moved the office to Harrisburg, 
 keeping it in a frame building south of the present 
 Lincoln Park. In 1841 E. B. Worthington was ap- 
 pointed Postmaster, keeping the office at his house, 
 on Main street, in Harrisburg. Subsequently he 
 purchased some lots lying between the two villages, 
 where he built a house and moved the postoffice into 
 it. This was satisfactory to the citizens of both vil- 
 lages, and Mr. Worthington was permitted to retain 
 the office for about 1 2 years. He was succeeded by 
 Bradley Nichols, who removed the office to a build- 
 ing on the north side of Third Street, but west of 
 Broadway. 
 
 Joseph Hutchinson was the next Postmaster. He 
 was a strong Democrat, an adherent of Buchanan, 
 and received his appointment from that gentleman. 
 The citizens of the place were not consulted in the 
 matter and were angry ; and their anger was in- 
 creased when Mr. Hutchinson removed the office to 
 his store, known as the '' stone front," situated on 
 Third Street. This was then some distance west of 
 the business portion of the town. The excitement 
 that followed was great and did not easily subside, 
 but grew in intensity until it got so hot that some of 
 the dissatisfied in the upper part of Sterling, to- 
 gether with sympathizers from the country, would 
 not mail or receive letters at the Sterling postoffice, 
 but sent them to Nelson or Como. One day, after a 
 heavy fall of rain, and when the streets were a sea 
 of mud, almost without bottom, about 50 of the citi- 
 zens of the upper town, including some from the 
 country, headed by merchants, lawyers and doctors, 
 rolled up their trousers, arranging them to carry as 
 much mud as would naturally deposit itself in the 
 
 roll, started for their mail through the middle of the 
 street. Arriving at Hutchinson's store, where the 
 office was kept, they must pull down their trousers, 
 of course, and stamp off the mud. Being somewhat 
 noisy and demonstrative in that performance, L. D. 
 Crandall, who was then Sheriff, was suddenly im- 
 pressed with the idea that it was his duty to com- 
 mand the peace. Climbing upon the counter for 
 that purpose, he left his deposit of real estate greatiy 
 to the detriment of the dry goods there on sale. The 
 office was soon after moved a little farther up town. 
 L. King Hawthorne was Hutchinson's successor, 
 receiving his appointment from Abraham Lincoln. 
 He served until his death, about three years after. 
 Mrs. E. J. B. Bushnell was next appointed. Her 
 petition was presented to Lincoln by E. B. Wash- 
 burne. After reading it, and examining the accom- 
 panying documents, Mr. Lincoln entered upon it the 
 following endorsement : '' Mr. Washburne has pre- 
 sented to me the papers in this case. Finding Mrs. 
 Bushnell as well recommended as any other, and she 
 being the widow of a soldier who fell in battle for the 
 union, let her be appointed." Mrs. Bushnell held 
 the office about eight years, when she resigned to be 
 united in marriage with Major M. S. Henry. Under 
 the administration of Mrs. Bushnell, the office was 
 removed to No. 90 Mulberry Street, between Second 
 and Third Streets. Mrs. Electa E. Smith was ap- 
 pointed to succeed Mrs. Bushnell. She served until 
 the present incumbent, Chas. M. Worthington, was 
 appointed. The office was removed to the corner of 
 Fourth and Locust Streets, where it yet remains in a 
 neatly furnished room. 
 
 RELIGIOUS. 
 
 The various religious denominations are well rep- 
 resented in this city, some of which have handsome 
 church edifices. The first services by a minister of 
 the gospel were held at the house of Hezekiah Brink, 
 in 1836, Rev. Barton H. Cartwright, of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, officiating. For some years ser- 
 vices were held in private houses by such ministers 
 as were passing. When the Court-House was built, 
 the court-room was used for such purposes. The old 
 stone school-house was also used for a time. 
 
 Broadway Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1 838 
 Rev. B. H. Cartwright organized a class of six mem- 
 bers, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Hezekiah Brink, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Luther Bush, Mrs. Pratt and Mrs. Geer. 
 
 Ik"- > . 
 
 /~N A^^.
 
 906 
 
 WHITES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 
 From this small beginning grew the present Broad- 
 way Methodist Episcopal Church, which is the par- 
 ent of the Fourth Street Church. Of the original 
 membership, Hezekiah Brink yet remains to worship 
 with the congregation. The others have passed 
 " over the other side." ' The Church has had its sea- 
 sons of prosperity and seasons of adversity, but has 
 continued on its way trying to serve the Mascer as 
 best it could, and in the old church, erected in 1855, 
 the faithful assemble each Sabbath-day, and in true 
 Methodistic style worship the living God. In 1855 
 the Church was made a station, previous to which 
 time it had been attached to the Buffalo Grove Cir- 
 cuit. The Church numbers at present 100 members, 
 with Rev. J. S. David as pastor. Wm. Lightcap is 
 the Superintendent of the Sabbath-school, which has 
 an average attendance of 100. 
 
 The First Presbyterian Church dates its existence 
 from Nov. 4, 1844, when it was organized by a com- 
 mittee from the Schuyler Presbytery. Ten persons 
 comprised the original membership. John Gait was 
 the first ruling elder, serving until his death in 1866. 
 In 1848 a church edifice was commenced, but not 
 fully completed until 1852. The Church has had a 
 very prosperous existence, and in point of numbers 
 outranks any Protestant Church in the city. In 1884 
 the erection of a new house of worship was com- 
 menced, the finishing touches on which are being 
 done as this history is compiled. The building will 
 be the handsomest one for religious purposes in the 
 city, and will cost, when completed, $25,000. Rev. 
 N. H. G. Fife is the present pastor. J. G. Mana- 
 han is Superintendent of the Sabbath-school. 
 
 St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church was or- 
 ganized in December, 1854, under the pastoral care 
 of Rev. Wm. Uhl, with a membership of n, which 
 has been increased to 118. A house of worship was 
 erected in 1856. Rev. E. Brown has been pastor of 
 the Church since 1873. Frederick M. Eyster is 
 Superintendent of the Sabbath-school, which has an 
 average attendance of about 100. 
 
 First Baptist Church was organized June i, 1856, 
 with 1 1 members. Meetings were first held in the 
 school-room of the Presbyterian church, and then 
 in Crandall's Hall, and subsequently in Boynton's 
 Hall, until the erection of their church edifice. The 
 membership of the Church grew rapidly, and soon a 
 larger building was required; therefore, in 1873, the 
 
 
 present building was erected, at a cost of $20,000. 
 This building is 45 x 82 feet in size. Rev. J. T. 
 Mason was the first regular pastor, beginning his la- 
 bors in November, 1856, and serving until November, 
 1883, when he resigned and removed to Montana. 
 Rev. A. J. Brown is the present pastor, and the 
 Church has a membership of 240. A Sunday-school 
 is maintained, with an average attendance of 135, A. 
 S. Todd being the Superintendent. 
 
 Congregational Church. A meeting was held in 
 the Second Ward School-house, April 15, 1857, to 
 consider the question of the organization of a Con- 
 gregational Church. An adjourned meeting was 
 held at the Boynton House, April 17. At this meet- 
 ing it was voted unanimously to organize, and on 
 the 2ist of June the organization was completed, 30 
 persons uniting in forming it. The first meetings 
 of the Church were held in the Commercial Hall, 
 and then a room was rented in the Central Block, 
 where services continued to be held until the erec- 
 tion of their church edifice, in the spring of 1864. 
 The congregations increasing, it became necessary 
 to enlarge their house of worship, which was accord- 
 ingly done in 1870. The Church has occupied a 
 leading position in the community from the begin- 
 ning. The present membership is 150. Rev. Mar- 
 tin Post is the present pastor. He began his labors 
 in July, 1884. The Sunday-school is under the 
 superintendency of J. K. Chester and has an average 
 attendance of 130. A pipe organ is being con- 
 structed, at a cost of $2,500. The Church is in a 
 flourishing condition. 
 
 St. Patricks Catholic Church. The parish was 
 organized in 1860, previous to which time it had 
 been connected with Dixon. A church building, 
 together with the priest's residence, was erected in 
 1865. Rev. Mr. Herbert was the first priest in 
 charge, being succeeded by Rev. J. Daly in June, 
 1863. Father Daly served for 12 years, and did 
 much in building up the cause in this place. Rev. 
 M. J. Byrnes succeeded Father Daly, and in turn 
 was succeeded by Rev. C. J. O'Callaghan. 
 
 Evangelical Association. This society was organ- 
 ized in 1864. The first pastor was Rev. J. M. Lind- 
 linger. The membership at that time was but small 
 and scattering. A church building was soon after- 
 wards erected, on the corner of Fifth and Pine 
 Streets, at a cost of $3,500. In size it is 36 x 54. 
 
 4 
 
 
 <k) 
 
 *''* 
 
 -
 
 The membership of the Church is now 55. Rev. H. 
 Moser is the pastor. John Curfurs is Superintendent 
 of the Sunday-school, which has an average attend- 
 ance of 65. 
 
 Grace Church {Episcopal). The parish was or- 
 ganized in 1864, and a house of worship erected in 
 1865, at a cost of $15,000. Previous to this time 
 services were held in Wallace's Hall. Rev. O. B. 
 Thayer was the first rector. The present rector is 
 Rev. A. A. Joss, who has served about four years. 
 The Church has a membership of 70. A Sunday- 
 school is maintained, having an average attendance 
 of 40 scholars. Lorenzo Hapgood is the present 
 Senior Warden; Fayette Dyer, Junior Warden ; Wm. 
 A. Sanborn, John Miller, W. H. Bennett, James 
 Ingelson, S. T. Osmer, James McKim, Alfred Sleep, 
 Wm. Davis, Vestrymen. 
 
 Fourth Street Methodist Episcopal Church. This 
 Church is an outgrowth of the Broadway Methodist 
 Episccpal Church, and was organized in 1867. 
 Worshipping for a time in Union Hall, they then 
 moved to Wallace Hall, where services were held 
 until 1869, when the basement of their present 
 church edifice was occupied. Two years after, the 
 main audience-room was completed and dedicated to 
 the service of Almighty God. The entire cost of the 
 building was $16,000. It is located on the corner of 
 Fourth and A Streets. Rev. J. H. Ailing was the 
 first pastor. The present pastor is Rev. R. S. Can- 
 tine. The Church has had a prosperons career and 
 now numbers 190 members, with a Sunday-school 
 numbering 140, on an average, under the superin- 
 tendency of J. P. Overholser. 
 
 German Catholic Church was originally a part of 
 St. Patrick's, its separation taking place in 1869. 
 The next year a house of worship was erected, cost- 
 ing $2,000, and in size 24 x 50 feet. The Church is 
 in a flourishing condition and has in process of erec- 
 tion a new and handsome church edifice, costing 
 $15,000. It is 55 x8s feet in size. There are now 
 120 families connected with the parish. Rev. H. M. 
 Fegers is the priest in charge. A day school is 
 maintained, with an attendance of 65 to 70 pupils. 
 
 Swedish Lutheran Church was organized in 1 87 i 
 and erected a house of worship the following year, 
 at a cose of $3,000. Rev. J. P. Neander is the 
 present pastor. The Church numbers 43 persons. 
 The Sunday-school has an average attendance of 20 
 
 and is under the superintendency of G. A. Anderson. 
 Reformed Mennonite Church was organized about 
 20 years ago and has a membership of 75, with John 
 Weaver as the minister. A. B. Spies and H. M. 
 Zendt are the present Deacons. A house of worship 
 was erected in 1867 at a cost of $1,200. Baptism 
 is administered by sprinkling, and none but adults 
 are admitted to the rite. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The beginning of the educational work in Sterling 
 dates back to 1838. The first teacher was Mrs. E. 
 B. Worthington. As an inducement for her to open 
 a school the proprietors of Harrisburg gave her a 
 city lot. There were but few pupils in attendance, 
 and the remuneration was not large. Mrs. Worth- 
 ington relates how that a lady residing some distance 
 from the place, hearing of her intention to start a 
 school, visited her for the purpose of making ar- 
 rangements for board and instruction of her four 
 children. Mrs. Worthington asked her $i per week 
 for each pupil, but it was thought to be too much by 
 the lady, as her children were delicate eaters, and 
 " never had much appetite for breakfast." Among 
 Mrs. Worthington 's pupils were Gen. W. M. Kilgour, 
 then a lad of six years, Mrs. John Crawford, George 
 W. Brewer and two sisters, Andrew, John and Esther 
 Bush, Elijah and Helen Worthington, Miss Arathusa 
 Barnett, later Mrs. J. Coe. Norton J. Nichols is 
 said to have been the first male teacher in the place. 
 
 The schools of Sterling are a matter of pride 
 with its people. The city is divided into three 
 school districts, and there seems to be a generous 
 rivalry between each. The schools are known as 
 the First, Second and Third Ward Schools, though 
 the wards have nothing to do with the boundaries of 
 the district; but the school-houses, being originally 
 built in each of these districts, they naturally took 
 the name of the ward in which they were located. 
 
 The First Ward School District, No. 7, was organ- 
 ized in 1856. A stone house, erected by Hezekiah 
 Brink, was used for school purposes until 1860, when 
 the present building, facing on Spring Street, between 
 Fifth and Sixth Streets, was erected, at a cost of 
 $3,000. A whole block of ground is owned by the 
 District on which the building is located, affording 
 ample play-ground for the pupils. 
 
 The Second Ward School is in District No. 3. 
 The school-house was erected in 1867, at a cost of 
 
 -'-' 
 
 
 y^@
 
 WHITESTDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 if 
 
 $65,000, and is one of the best in the State used for 
 public-school purposes. It is of the Grecian style 
 of architecture, combining the Ionic, Doric and 
 Corinthian, the latter being the predominating fea- 
 ture. It is located on Sixth Street, between Walnut 
 and Pine, and, together with its walks and play- 
 grounds, occupies a square. Prof. C. C. Buell was 
 the first Principal in this house, which was occupied 
 April i, 1867. The first class was graduated in 
 1873, since which time 120 pupils have received 
 certificates from the institution, many of whom are 
 now occupying responsible positions throughout the 
 West. Of the 14 teachers employed for the year 
 1885-6, seven are graduates of the school. Alfred 
 Bayliss, now editor of the Sterling Standard, was 
 Principal of the school for ten years, from 1874 to 
 1884, and to him much credit is due for the effici- 
 ency of the school. C. H. Crandall succeeded Mr. 
 Bayliss, and is the present Principal. 
 
 The Third Ward School is in District No. 8, 
 which was organized in 1866. The school-house is 
 situated on the block between Fourth and Fifth 
 Streets, E and F Streets being the east and west 
 boundaries. It was erecteH "in 1874, at a cost of 
 $28,000. The building is three stories in height 
 and 80x82 feet in size. The work done in this 
 school will compare favorably with that of any 
 school in the State. 
 
 PUBLIC LIBRARY. 
 
 The Sterling Public Library is an institution in 
 which the citizens take a just pride. It was or- 
 ganized April 27, 1878, under the State law, with ]. 
 E. McPherran, T. A. Gait, A. Bayliss, R. B. Witmer, 
 G. W. Brewer, W. H. Bennett, R. B. Colcord, B. C. 
 Church and M. H. Kreider as Directors. These 
 gentlemen were all interested in the work, and devo- 
 ted much time in promoting the interests of the 
 library. Mr. Church and Mr. Kreider have since 
 died. On the organization of the Library Associa- 
 tion, the Christian Association made a donation of 
 their books, on condition a free public library should 
 be maintained by the city. Agreeable to the statutes, 
 the City Council each year appropriates from $1,200 
 to $1,500 to maintain the library. In addition to 
 this, the Library Lecture Association have for some 
 years annually raised and donated for library pur- 
 poses from $300 to $500. There are now 3,880 
 bound volumes in the library, together with a large 
 
 number of pamphlets, and unbound magazines and 
 newspapers. In one month of this year there were 
 2,900 visits made to the library and 2,200 volumes 
 loaned, showing that the library is appreciated by the 
 people. Miss C. E. Bowman was the first librarian. 
 She was succeeded by Miss S. M. Hubbard and Miss 
 Belle Hubbard, the latter having served since 1883. 
 There has never been a book lost from the library, 
 which certainly speaks well for the faithfulness of 
 the librarians. The present Directors are J. E. 
 McPherran, President; A. Bayliss, Secretary; W. 
 H. Bennett, W. W. Davis, Thos. Diller, George S. 
 Tracy, E. W. Edson, E. L. Gait and Walter Stager. 
 The Christian Church of Sterling is the result of 
 earnest, faithful missionary work. At a meeting of 
 the Sixth District Illinois Christian Missionary Con- 
 vention, held in Coleta, in May, 1874, the Board of 
 Directors were instructed to select some new point 
 for missionary efforts. Sterling was selected as that 
 point. There were 1 1 Disciples known to be livinn 
 in that city or vicinity, and it was their earnest desire 
 that the cause should be established in their midst. 
 In the spring of 1875 Knowles Shaw, the evangelist, 
 was engaged to come here, hold a meeting of some 
 days, and organize a Church. A large tent was 
 secured in which to hold the meetings, and on 
 Friday, June 18, Elder Shaw commenced the work. 
 Previous to this time Elder J. J. Moss preached one 
 discourse in the Baptist Church, the first ever de- 
 livered by a recognized minister of the Christian 
 Church. As a result of the meeting an organization 
 was effected with 75 members. George W. Nance, 
 R. B. Colcord and J. S. Detweiler were elected 
 elders. A Sunday-school was organized at the same 
 time, with W. F. Eastman as Superintendent. Elder 
 J. N. Smith was called to the pastorate, and began 
 his labors Oct. 3, 1875, and served one year. He 
 was succeeded by J. H. Wright, who remained until 
 September, 1879. The Church was then for a time 
 without a pastor. Previous to this time meetings 
 were held in public halls, the congregation mean- 
 while anxious to secure a permanent house. In the 
 fall of 1879 Turner Hall was purchased and fitted 
 up for a house of worship; and on Lord's Day, Feb. 
 i, 1880, it was dedicated to the worship of Almighty 
 God, Prof. B. J. Radford preaching the sermon. A 
 protracted meeting immediately followed, George F. 
 Adams doing the preaching. There were 39 addi- 
 
 4eSXQ 

 
 . 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 tions. In May, 1880, M. L. Blaney was called to 
 the pastorate, and served a little over one year. J. 
 H. Wright returned, and served one year, and was 
 succeeded by T. W. Grafton, who remained until the 
 spring of 1885, when W. H. Cannon, the present 
 pastor, was employed. The Church is in a flourish- 
 ing condition, with a membership of 198 in May, 
 1885. A Sunday-school is maintained, and is like- 
 wise prospering, with an average attendance of 175. 
 The prayer-meetings are well attended, many taking 
 part in the exercises. 
 
 The German Lutheran Church was organized in 
 1874. Rev. F. Luskey was the first pastor. The 
 house of worship was erected in i88r, at a cost 
 of $800, previous to which time the congregation 
 met in Bethlehem Lutheran Church. There are 
 now 55 families connected with the congregation. 
 Rev. John Merkel is pastor, and also Superin- 
 tendent of the Sabbath-school. Rev. F. Luskey is 
 now located with the church at Round Grove, in 
 Hopkins Township. 
 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 The Sterling Gazette. In July, 1856, the publi- 
 cation of the Sterling Republican" was commenced, 
 William Caffrey being editor and proprietor. In the 
 winter of 1857-8, H. G. Grattan, who had previously 
 purchased the press and materials of the Times, 
 commenced the publication of the Sterling Gazette. 
 The Times referred to was the first paper published 
 at Sterling. It first appeared Dec. 12, 1854. It 
 was edited by Chales Boynton. This paper had a 
 hard struggle for existence, and in 1857 was obliged 
 to suspend. Subsequently the proprietors of the 
 Republican and Gazette united the two papers under 
 the name of Republican and Gazette, continuing as 
 joint proprietors until Mr. Grattan sold his interest 
 to Walter Nimocks, when the firm became Caffrey & 
 Nimocks. The partnership continued but a short 
 time, when Mr. Caffrey became the sole proprietor, 
 and shortly after the name of Republican was drop- 
 ped, the paper since being continued under its 
 present name the Sterling Gazette. In 1861 Mr. 
 Caffrey sold out to C. M. Worthington & Co., Mr. 
 Worthington soon becoming sole proprietor, and 
 continuing as such until he sold to George Terwill- 
 iger, in September, 1870. Mr. Terwilliger did not 
 long retain control, but sold the establishment back 
 to Mr. Worthington, 
 
 In 1873 W. F. Eastman became associated in the 
 publication of the paper, the firm being C. M. Worth- 
 ington & Co. In March, 1876, Mr. Eastman became 
 sole proprietor, but in July of that year associated 
 with himself in the publication of the paper D. J. 
 Jenne. The partnership of Eastman & Jenne con- 
 tinued until March 12, 1880, when the Sterling Ga- 
 zette Company was organized, with W. F. Eastman 
 President, D. J. Jenne, Treasurer, and W. R. Cobb, 
 Secretary. In September, 1882, C. John was elected 
 President of the company, and W. R. Cobb, Secre- 
 tary and Treasurer. 
 
 The Gazette, from its commencement, has been a 
 growing paper, its growth during the past 12 years 
 being unsurpassed by any newspaper published in a 
 town of Sterling's size. The office at present is one 
 of the best equipped west of Chicago, having three 
 cylinder and three job presses, power paper-cutter, 
 and other material, making it first-class in every 
 respect. Twenty hands are constantly employed in 
 the office. In addition to the newspaper and job 
 office, the company have a complete book-bindery. 
 In 1878 the publication of a small daily was com- 
 menced, but it was short-lived. 
 
 On the i6th of February, 1882, another attempt 
 was made to establish a daily, and with greater 
 success. It was commenced as a five-column folio, 
 and published the regular Associated Press dis- 
 patches. In consequence of a violation of agree- 
 ment on the part of the Western Union Telegraph 
 Company, the publication of the dispatches were 
 discontinued after a few months, and more attention 
 was given to local news. In June, 1883, on account 
 of pressure on its advertising columns, the paper 
 was enlarged to a seven-column folio, which size and 
 form is yet retained. The daily Gazette is now a 
 permanent fixture, with a circulation of over 1,000 
 copies per day. The weekly Gazette is a seven- 
 column quarto, and has a large circulation. Both 
 the daily and weekly are well edited and interesting 
 papers, worthy of the support received. 
 
 The Sterling Standard. On the i ith day of June, 
 1868, the first issue of a new seven-column folio, 
 under the name of the Whiteside Chronicle, made 
 its appearance, with Theo. H. and Charles M. Mack 
 editors and proprietors. In June, 1870, Theo. H. 
 Mack purchased the interest of his brother, and be- 
 came sole proprietor. He changed the size and form 
 S*3* -*
 
 
 910 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 of the paper to a five-column quarto. In January, 
 1872, he changed the name to the Sterling Standard, 
 giving as a reason that in so doing it brought into 
 more prominence the city in which it was printed. 
 One or two changes were made in its size by Mr. 
 Mack, who continued alone in its publication till 
 October, 1883, when he sold a half interest in the 
 office to J. W. Newcomer. In January, 1884, the 
 size and form was changed from a seven-column 
 folio to a six-column quarto. In June, 1884, Alfred 
 Bayliss purchased the interest of Mr. Mack, the 
 paper being continued by the new firm of New- 
 comer & Bayliss. A power press has been added 
 by the new firm, and the paper improved. Its cir- 
 culation has been rapidly increasing, and it now has 
 attained a circulation and influence second to none. 
 Mr. Newcomer is a practical printer, and a news- 
 paper man of experience, while Mr. Bayliss, in edi- 
 torial harness, works as if he had always been used 
 to the business. In politics the Standard, as in the 
 past, is a fearless advocate of the principles of the 
 Republican party. Mr. Bayliss' biography appears 
 on page 289. 
 
 The Sterling Beobachter. -This is the only Ger- 
 man newspaper in the county. Its publication was 
 commenced in 1877 by Charles Strock, and con- 
 tinued by him until 1881, when he disposed of the 
 paper to H. Mathey. In February, 1883, Louis 
 Oltmanns became sole editor and proprietor. (See 
 page 285.) The Beobachter -is an eight-column folio, 
 Democratic in politics, has a good circulation, and a 
 good paying business. 
 
 The Sterling Blade. A. J. Booth, in June, 1881, 
 commenced the publication of the Daily Blade, a 
 four-column folio sheet, independent in politics. In 
 March, 1882, it was enlarged to a six-column folio, 
 and otherwise improved. The paper met with a fair 
 degree of success, but for certain reasons suspended 
 publication in December, 1883. In December, 
 1884, Mr. Booth revived the paper as a weekly, under 
 the name of the Sterling Blade. It is a six-column 
 quarto, in politics Democratic, and is edited with 
 vim and ability by Mr. Booth. 
 
 A special farmers' edition is issued each week and 
 distributed gratuitously to the patrons of the Blade. 
 A job office is conducted in connection by Mr. 
 Booth, who is a practical printer of many years' 
 
 gyVgrg;/*-, > niPS|^ ^ .^f-'.nn*' 
 
 .^/Av^vjp*- ^>Qr srV V*U.4'^ 
 
 experience. For personal sketch of the editor, see 
 page 328. 
 
 SOCIETIES. 
 
 The various temperance, secret and benevolent 
 societies are well represented in this city, each hav- 
 ing a large membership. 
 
 Temperance Societies. Sterling has a large num- 
 ber of vigorous and efficient temperance workers, 
 and the fight against King Alcohol and his evil in- 
 fluences is made with undaunted bravery and a de- 
 termination to conquer. There are the following 
 well organized and active temperance societies in 
 Sterling : 
 
 The Women's Christian Temperance Union of 
 Sterling is the outgrowth of an organization known 
 as the Ladies' Temperance Association, which was 
 organized June 23, 1874. On the 23d of July, 1875, 
 the association adopted its present name. Among 
 those active in its organization were Mrs. Dr. Gor- 
 don, Mrs. C. B. Rutlege, Mrs. T. E. Bye, Mrs. J. 
 T. Mason. Meetings were first held in the lecture- 
 room of the Congregational Church, and subsequent- 
 ly in the parlors of some of its members, and in the 
 reading-room on Mulberry Street; also in a room on 
 Third Street, occupied jointly by the Union and the 
 Reform Club. When the Academy of Music was 
 built meetings began to be held in the rooms of the 
 Christian Association, where meetings are still held 
 each Tuesday afternoon at three o'clock. The 
 present officers of the Union are Mrs. E L. Cham- 
 plin, President; Mrs. R. B. Witmer, Mrs. J. Harp- 
 ham, Mrs. Wiley, Mrs. Homer and Mrs. Pearl, 
 Vice-Presidents ; Miss Lottie B. Le Fever, Record- 
 ing Secretary ; Mrs. S. E. Huff, Corresponding Sec- 
 retary. 
 
 The Prohibition Christian Temperance Union, of 
 Sterling, was organized June 23, 1874, and known as 
 the Ladies' Temperance Association. It changed to 
 its present name July 23, 1875. Its first officers 
 were: President, Mrs. Dr. Gordon ; Vice-President, 
 Mrs. C. B. Utley; Secretary and Treasurer, Mrs. T. 
 E. Bye; Chaplain, Mrs. J. B. Mason. The meet- 
 ings were first held in the lecture room of the Con- 
 gregational Church and in the parlors of the differ- 
 ent members; later in the reading-room on Mulberry 
 Street; then a room on Third Street was. fitted up and 
 used by them and the Ribbon Club for a time. Since 
 the Academy of Music was built, they have used the 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 present officers 
 
 are: President, Mrs. E. L. Champlin; Vice-Presi- 
 7 a dent, Mrs. R. B. Witmer; Mrs. J. Harpham, Mrs. 
 Wiley, Mrs. Deacon Homer and Mrs. Pearl ; Record- 
 ing Secretary, Miss Lottie B. LeFever ; Correspond- 
 ing Secretary, Mrs. S. E. Huff. 
 
 The line of the work now pursued is the juve- 
 nile, superintended by Mrs. E. S. Huff, who has 
 charge of the " Band of Earnest Workers," which 
 numbers about 150. Miss Lottie B. LeFever is su- 
 perintendent of scientific temperance instruction in 
 public schools, whose chief duty is to introduce tem- 
 perance text-books in the same. Mrs. L. F. Jen- 
 nings, superintendent of literature. Mrs. E. L. 
 Champlin, superintenpent of newspaper work. She 
 keeps three columns of temperance matter in the city 
 papers. Mrs. Anna Williams is chairman of the re- 
 lief committee. Large quantities of food, clothing 
 and coal have been given to the poor. Meetings are 
 held every Tuesday afternoon at 3 o'clock. 
 
 The Sterling Christian Association was organized 
 in the spring of 1873. Among those who were 
 active in its organization were Revs. Mason, Lipe 
 and Moon, and R. B. Witmer, D. J. Jenne and W. 
 F. Eastman. J. T. Mason was the first President; 
 W. F. Eastman, Secretary; R. B. Witmer, Treas- 
 urer. The object of the association was to promote 
 Christian fraternity, union in evangelical labors, and 
 the circulation of good and pure literature. For 
 some time rooms were occupied on Mullberry 
 Street. In 1878 a lease for ten years was secured 
 for the rooms on Locust Street, where the meetings 
 are now held. An old library was donated to the 
 association on its organization, and $1,000 was sub- 
 scribed to maintain a free library and reading-room. 
 In 1878 the City Council agreed to maintain a free 
 public library, and the books of the associatian were 
 donated to it. For several years regular services 
 were maintained, and the association took charge of 
 all temperance work in the city. The Good Tem- 
 plar Lodge was organized and fostered by it, as was 
 \ also the prohibitory movement. 
 
 Masonic. The Masonic fraternity in Sterling oc- 
 , .. cupy a prominent position, having a blue lodge, chap- 
 ) ter, council and commandery, with a total member- 
 ' ship of 321, and all in fine condition. The order 
 occupies a hall in Ingersoll's Block, which has been 
 fitted up in splendid style, the main lodge room be- 
 
 ing covered with fine Brussels carpet and the furni- 
 ture being truly elegant. The waiting rooms and 
 library room are also fitted up nicely. 
 
 Rock River Lodge, No. 612, was instituted Nov. 
 21, 1868. The meetings were for several years held 
 in Boy n ton's Block, but the lodge-room becoming too 
 small, a removal was made to Hull & Ingersoll's 
 Block. The lodge now numbers 134 members, and 
 is in a flourishing condition. John W. Niles is the 
 present W. M. ; H. C. Ward, S. W. ; V. S. Ferguson, 
 J. W.; W. A. McCune, Treas. ; H. S. Street, Sec. 
 
 Sterling Chapter, No. 57, R. A. M., was instituted 
 Oct. 3, 1859, and, like the blue lodge, has had a 
 prosperous existence, numbering at the present time 
 77 members, and meeting once each month. The 
 officers for 1885 are : S. T. Osmer, M.E.H.P.; J. R. 
 Deyo, E. K. ; G. E. Wilson, E. S.; G. B. Kitel 
 Treas. ; J. W. Niles, Sec. ; Rev. A. A. Joss, Chap. 
 
 Rock River Council, No. 33, R. & S. M., was re- 
 organized in 1884, and have now 50 members. 
 Meetings are held once in three months. The prin- 
 cipal officers for r88s was S. T. Osmer, T. I. G. M. ; 
 J. W. Niles, D. I. G. M.; A. Sleep, I. P. C.W. ; H. B. 
 Amring, Rec. 
 
 Sterling Commandery, No. 57, was organized under 
 dispensation in February, 1884, receiving its charter 
 in October following. There were 30 charter mem- 
 bers. The membership has since been increased to 
 60. Among the officers for 1885 were C. C. John- 
 son, E. C. ; G. E. Rogers, G. ; J. M. Martin, C. G. ; 
 C. L. Shelton, Prel. ; H. S. Street, Treas. ; A. H. 
 Hershey, Rec. 
 
 Odd Fell<nvs.1\& Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows is represented with a subordinate lodge, 
 encampment, uniformed degree and Rebekah degree. 
 
 Sterling Lodge, No. 174, I. O. O. F., was organized 
 Oct. 12, 1855. The lodge met first in Boynton's 
 Block, subsequently removing to a room over Stam- 
 baugh's paint and wall-paper store, where meetings 
 were held for some years. The lodge now meets in 
 the Academy of Music building, where they have one 
 of the finest lodge rooms in the State. From the 
 start, the lodge has had a prosperous existence, num- 
 bering among its members the best citizens of the 
 place. The Present membership is 140. 
 
 Abraham Encampment, No. 49, was instituted 
 March 21, 1860. Like the subordinate lodge, it has 
 had a prosperous existence. Two of its members 
 
 
 
 <t>) 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 * ' 
 
 (* S 

 
 
 .. : 
 
 912 
 
 WHITES IDE COUNT*. 
 
 
 
 * f 
 
 *]s 
 
 have been honored with offices in the Grand En- 
 campment Nelson Maxson having served as Grand 
 Senior Warden, and Benjamin Gurtisen as Grand 
 Patriarch. The encampment has a present member- 
 ship of 63, of which number 16 were initiated in 
 1884. 
 
 Rebekah Degree Lodge, No. 26, I. O. O. F., Jwas 
 instituted July 28, 1870, and holds its meetings in 
 the hall of Sterling Lodge, twice a month. 
 
 A Uniformed Degree Lodge has been instituted, 
 which is in a very flourishing condition. 
 
 United Workmen. The Ancient Order of United 
 Workmen is well represented in Sterling. 
 
 Union Lodge, No. 3, was organized Feb. 13, 1875, 
 with T4 charter members. It met first in Boynton 
 Block, from where it moved to a hall over Wolf's 
 clothing store, on Third Street, where it remained 
 five years. In December, i88i,it moved to its pres- 
 ent location, in Hull & Ingersoll's block, where the 
 lodge is pleasantly situated. It has had a prosper- 
 ous career, and now numbers 142 members. Death 
 has removed two of its members. John Hall died in 
 March, 1880, and J. E. Fryberger, Jan. 6, 1883. C. 
 U. Goeding, M.W. ; W. A. Hall, Rec. 
 
 Pearl Lodge, No. 148, was instituted Aug 9, 1879, 
 with 30 charter members, and now has a member- 
 ship of no, showing a remarkable growth and a 
 healthy state of existence. For some time the lodge 
 met in the same hall with No. 3, but subsequently 
 moved to a room of its own, in Union block, which 
 they fitted up in a neat and tasty manner. The reg- 
 ular meetings are held on Monday evening of each 
 week. The officers in the spring of 1885 were Theo. 
 H. Mack, M. W. ; Wesley Trumbleson, F. ; Wm. 
 Manahan, O.; S. C. Grubb, Fin.; J. H. Woodburn, 
 Rce.; W. W. Pratt, Rec'r. 
 
 Banner Legion, No. jo, Select Knights, A. O. U. 
 W., was organized in 1883, with 60 charter members. 
 Henry Crissman was instituting officer, assisted by 
 Alex. McLean, Grand Commander. The Legion 
 now numbers 57 of the best citizens of the place. 
 Meetings are held semi-monthly in Hull & Inger- 
 soll's block. A. R. Hendricks is the present Select 
 Commander; Geo. O. Deyo, Vice Com.; A. Richt- 
 meyer, Lt. Com.; W. A. Hall, Rec. 
 
 Knights of Pythias. The Knights of Pythias are 
 represented by one lodge. 
 
 Corinthian Lodge, No. 63, was organized Nov. 23, 
 if" ^^^ A< 
 
 1875, w i tn 21 charter members'. The lodge has 
 been and is yet in a flourishing condition, having at 
 present 45 members, and holding its regular meet- 
 ings on Thursday evening of each week in the hall 
 of the A. O. U. W., in Hull & Ingersoll's Block. The 
 officers in the spring of 1885 were J. W. R. Stam- 
 baugh, Com.; H. Treashor, Vice Com.; Frank But- 
 ton, Prelate; Frank Spies, M. of E.; T. H. Atwood, 
 M. of F.; S. M. Seeley, K. of R.; John Wickens, M 
 of A. 
 
 Legion of Honor. The American Legion of Honor 
 is represented by Sterling Legion, No. 914, which 
 was organized in April, 1881, with 62 charter mem- 
 bers. The Legion meets in the hall of the A. O. U. 
 W., on the first and third Tuesday in each month. 
 The present membership is 42. J. W. R. Stam- 
 baugh, Com.; C. R. Wilson, Col.; S. S. Kehr, Secre- 
 tary and Medical Examiner. 
 
 Modern Woodmen. The Modern Woodmen of 
 America is comparatively a new order, its object be- 
 ing somewhat similar to the United Workmen. The 
 order is represented here by one camp, which is in a 
 flourishing condition. 
 
 Sterling Camp, No. 12, M. W. A., was first or- 
 ganized in the spring of 1883, but for some cause it 
 did not succeed in securing the confidence of the 
 people, and soon ceased to exist. On the i9th day 
 of December, 1884, it was re-organized with 19 of 
 the old and 80 new charter members, composed of 
 some of the best people of Sterling. Meetings are 
 held on the second and fourth Wednesday evenings 
 in each month, in the hall of Pearl Lodge, A. O. U. 
 W. It is now growing and in a healthy condition. 
 
 Order of the Red Cross. The Order of the Red 
 Cross is represented by one commandery. 
 
 Sterling Commandery, No. 13, O. H. C., was or- 
 ganized in 1879, with 25 charter members. It has 
 little more than held its own and now numbers 29 
 members. J. H. Woodburn is the present Com- 
 mander; R. H. Thomas, Recorder; W. W. Pratt. 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Knights of Honor. The Knights of Honor have 
 one lodge, which is comparatively weak in point of 
 numbers. 
 
 Sterling Lodge, No. 1,628, K. of H., was organized 
 in 1879, with 39 charter members. They meet in 
 the hall in Ingersoll's block. For two years the 
 lodge has barely held its own, and now numbers 23 
 
 : 
 
 A
 
 vv-; H H xin H M -y v^-> 
 WHITE.SID& COUNTY. 
 
 913 
 
 members. A. A. Hershey is the present Dictator, 
 and W. N. Harrison, Reporter. 
 
 Mutual Aid. The Independent Order of Mutual 
 Aid is represented by one lodge. 
 
 Keystone Lodge, No. J/, /. O. M. A., was instituted 
 in 1 88 1, with 22 charter members. Meetings are 
 held over Oliver's drug-store. For some cause the 
 order has not flourished as have some others and now 
 numbers but 20 members. Wm. Manahan, Jr., is 
 President, and J. H. Woodburn, Secretary. 
 
 Grand Army of the Republic. The Grand Army 
 of the Republic is represented by Will C. Robinson 
 Post, No. 274. A post had previously existed here 
 known as the Lincoln Post, No. 16, which was in- 
 stituted June 15, 1874, with 23 charter members. 
 Meetings were held regularly for some years, but 
 finally it ceased to exist. 
 
 Will C. Robinson Post, A'o. 274, was mustered 
 June 14, 1883, by F. Clendennin and Post Com. 
 Burst, with 28 charter members. The Post was 
 named in honor of William C. Robinson, who en- 
 listed in Co. A, 34th Regt. 111. Vol. Inf., Sept. 7, 
 1 86 1, as a private, and rose to the rank of Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel, by brevet. After serving faithfully till 
 the close of the war, he returned to Sterling, where 
 he was engaged in business for several years. He 
 died shortly before the organization of the Post. Few 
 posts have had a more prosperous career, it now 
 numbering 143 members, with J. W. Niles, Com- 
 mander, and Alfred Bayliss, Adjutant. 
 
 Miscellaneous. There are several societies and as- 
 sociations that it is deemed proper to mention under 
 this head. 
 
 The Ladies' Home and Foreign Mission Society, 
 of the Lutheran Church, meets once each month. 
 
 The Ladies' Benevolent Society, of the Baptist 
 Church, meets once a fortnight. 
 
 The Ladies' Foreign Mission Circle, of the Baptist 
 Church, holds sessions once a month. 
 ^The Ladies' Guild, of the Episcopal Church, have 
 regular weekly meetings. 
 
 Children's Foreign Mission, of the Baptist Church, 
 holds its meetings once in every two weeks. 
 
 The German Maennerchor have regular meetings 
 the first Saturday in each month. 
 
 The Sterling Scientific Club has for its object the 
 the development of science, literature and art. 
 
 The Sterling Cemetery Association own and con- 
 trol the cemetery at the east end of Third Street. 
 
 The Odd Fellows and Reformed Mennonites have 
 cemeteries adjoining. 
 
 STERLING IN THE WAR. 
 
 The record made by the citizen soldiers of Ster- 
 ling is an honorable one. The calls of the President 
 and the noble war Governor of the State, Richard 
 Yates, were no sooner issued than men from this 
 place responded and marched to the front. Under 
 every call, the quota of the city and township was 
 filled, and no braver men ever went forth in defense 
 of their country's honor. On the battle-field, in the 
 dreary hospital and in horrible Southern prison pens, 
 life went out from those willing to die that their 
 country might be saved. All honor to these brave 
 men! Let their names and their deeds never be 
 forgotten. Let the children of this generation tell 
 them to their children and to their children's chil- 
 dren, and may the story be repeated to the end of 
 time. 
 
 FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The fire department of Sterling consists of two 
 companies, the Columbia Engine and Hose Com- 
 pany, and the West End Company, each having a 
 good supply of hose. Before the present hose-car- 
 riages and engine were purchased, a hand engine 
 was used. The department is efficiently managed 
 and has saved property that would have paid its 
 cost many times over. 
 
 FERRIES AND BRIDGES. 
 
 Hezekiah Brink, in 1839-40, ran a free rope ferry 
 across the river at this place. This was done in 
 order to secure the travel from the south and east to 
 this point. The boat was 45 x 12 feet. After Mr. 
 Brink stopped running his ferry, no means were af- 
 forded for crossing'Rock River, only by fording, for 
 several years. 
 
 The first bridge across the river at this point was 
 built in 1856-7, but was soon after washed away by 
 a freshet. It was a wooden structure and spanned 
 the river at the head of the island. 
 
 In 1863 the Sterling Bridge Company constructed 
 another bridge, at a cost of $30,000. It was a toll 
 bridge and used quite extensively until the erection 
 of the present structure, in 1878. 
 
 In August, 1876, an election was held to determine 
 
 4 
 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 (if 
 
 K 
 
 
 whether a free bridge should be constructed by the 
 city across the river. The project was carried by a 
 large majority, and the present fine structure was 
 completed. 
 
 When the first bridge was washed away, B. G. 
 Wheeler started a ferry and ran it for a time, but not 
 being profitable, it was abandoned. James A. Pat- 
 terson then ran one for a short time, but with no 
 better success. In 1874 he purchased a steam tug 
 and fitted it up for a ferry-boat and launched it upon 
 the river above ^he dam. The little steamer did a 
 good business, making about 150 trips daily during 
 the season. When the free bridge was built there 
 was no further use for the White Swan, as it was 
 named, only for pleasure parties. 
 
 IMPROVEMENT OF ROCK RIVER. 
 
 In 1839 an appropriation of $40,000 was made by 
 the General Assembly of the State, under the In- 
 ternal Improvement Act, for the improvement of 
 Rock River Rapids, enabling steamboats to go farther 
 up the river, the contract to be let to the lowest bid- 
 der. The contract was awarded to E. G. Nichols, 
 of Prophetstown, but he died before commencing the 
 work. His brother, in company with Smith Gal- 
 braith and Mr. Sangermon, had the benefit of the 
 contract. The projected improvement resulted in 
 the expenditure of the sum appropriated, but Rock 
 River did not become a navigable stream. 
 
 The people of Sterling and other places, notwith- 
 standing the failure, did not abandon the idea of 
 making the river navigable, ]and accordingly peti- 
 tioned the General Assembly to pass an act by 
 which the counties along the river could levy a tax 
 for its improvement. In February, 1845, an act 
 was passed for the purpose, the work to be done un- 
 der the superintendence of a Board of Commission- 
 ers. The Board was appointed and let contracts for 
 the purpose of excavating the rapids, which seems 
 to have been done, at least to its satisfaction. 
 
 The opinion prevailed for some years that Rock 
 River could and must be made a navigable stream, 
 and it was not until the whistle of the locomotive 
 was heard in the distance, and a better way for com- 
 municating with the outer world was opened up, that 
 the idea was abandoned, and the great power of the 
 river was put to a practical use in driving the ma- 
 chinery of the scores of factories that now line its 
 banks from the rapids to its mouth. 
 
 STERLING HYDRAULIC COMPANY. 
 
 Under an act of the General Assembly, approved 
 Feb. 5, 1849, "for the improvement of navigation 
 and the production of water power," an association 
 was formed at Sterling under the name of the Sterling 
 Hydraulic Company, for the purpose of improving 
 the power at this place. The capital stock of the 
 company was fixed at $15,000, divided into 600 
 shares, at $25 per share. Citizens generally were 
 given an opportunity to subscribe, and 36 availed 
 themselves of the opportunity, Hugh Wallace and 
 Charles Dement taking the greater part of the stock. 
 The certificate of incorporation was filed July 7, 
 1852. 
 
 The design of the company was to build a dam 
 across the river at this point and aid in securing 
 and establishing manufactories. The proprietors of 
 Sterling donated a number of lots in aid of the work. 
 At one of the first meetings of the directors, a small 
 assessment was made upon the stock and a commit- 
 tee was authorized to employ an engineer to survey, 
 make drafts and estimate the cost of constructing 
 the dam. On the i4th of December, 1852, a meet- 
 ing of the directors was held, and it was resolved to 
 build a dam not less than four feet high. 
 
 For some cause, no meeting of the directors was 
 held from December, 1852, till February, 1854. On 
 the 1 8th of that month they decided to " build a 
 crib with timber, filled with stone." 
 
 Before the completion of the dam the capital stock 
 was increased to $30,000. This was in October, 
 1855. John Van Nortwick was then president of 
 the company. The dam was soon afterwards com- 
 pleted, and in February, 1856, an advertisement was 
 ordered inserted in one Chicago, New York and 
 Boston paper, setting forth the advantages and loca- 
 tion of the water power then for sale at this place. 
 For some cause but little was done in using the 
 power for a number of years. 
 
 Soon after the close of the war efforts were made 
 by a few to revive the interest in manufacturing, and 
 in 1867 A. P. Smith purchased of the Hydraulic 
 Company one-half the power, or all that portion on 
 the south side of the river. At this time only 
 three or four lots had been sold on the Sterling 
 side of the river, and only two or three manufactur- 
 ing interests were using the power. The purchase 
 by Smith gave aid to the cause of manufactories, 
 
 - ; 
 
 -* 
 
 ( 
 
 
 
 
 .r^ A.
 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 and sales were rapidly made of the power, until 
 in 1883, when nearly every foot of it had been sold. 
 
 The first dividend to the stockholders of the com- 
 pany was in 1871, when 25 per cent, was declared. 
 The hopes of those who had retained the stock was 
 now high. Other dividends were declared, from 
 time to time one in January, 1878, of 150 per 
 per cent. 
 
 May 22, 1883, a transfer of the stock of the stock- 
 holders was made to the owners of the power, in 
 proportion to the number of inches each owned, and 
 the affairs of the old company were virtually wound 
 up. A new company was formed, but working un- 
 der the old charter, and new officers were elected. 
 As at present managed, it is more satisfactory to 
 the owners of the power, as each has a voice in its 
 control. The present officers are Wm. A. McCune, 
 President ; Jas. F. Platt, Secretary : Geo. S. Tracy, 
 Treasurer. 
 
 MANUFACTURING INTERESTS. 
 
 Flouring Mills. Upon the completion of the 
 race and dam, in 1856, Joshua V. and Wm. Mc- 
 Kinney commenced the erection of a stone mill, 
 and soon had it completed and in running order. 
 This was the first use of the water-power. The mill 
 has long been the property of Church & Patterson, 
 and has been in constant operation for a period of 
 nearly 30 years. The buhrs have given place to 
 the modern rollers, and the mill now has a capacity 
 of 200 barrels per day. Ten men are employed in 
 the mills, and during 1884 there were made 45,000 
 barrels of flour. Much of this product is for the ex- 
 port trade, and is sent chiefly to the ports of Glas- 
 gow and Liverpool in sacks, usually of it'o pounds 
 weight. Among the improvements in 1884 was a 
 new elevator, 25 by 40 feet, and 70 feet in height, 
 and a warehouse 25 by 50. The elevator contains 
 14 bins of 2,000 bushels capacity each, and conven- 
 iently arranged. The warehouse joins the elevator 
 on the south, and is in turn connected with the mill 
 by a covered way across the race. The cost of the 
 elevator and warehouse is $5,000. 
 
 Shortly after the McKinneys built their mill, Luk- 
 ens & Bye built one, which subsequently became 
 the property of Geo. T. Elliot. This mill is known 
 as the Commercial Mills. 
 
 1 he Sterling Pump Works originated from a pri- 
 vate enterprise established in 1863 by M. C. Bowers, 
 
 ^^ & 
 
 who commenced the manufacture of pumps for the 
 retail trade. In 1871 a stock company was organ- 
 ized under the name of the Sterling Pump Works, 
 with a capital of $50,000. Aaron J. Hull was the 
 Treasurer and M. C. Bowers, Secretary. The trade 
 rapidly increased for several years. In 1878 Wm. 
 McCune & Co. became sole proprietors, and have 
 since had charge of the works. The pumps manu- 
 factured by the firm give excellent satisfaction. The 
 company of the firm is Wm. A. McCune, who for 
 several years was Secretary of the Wood Pump Man 
 ufacturers' Association of America. 
 
 The Rock Falls Manufacturing Co. succeeded the 
 Sterling Burial Case Company, which was organized 
 in 1873. Commencing in Sterling, the Burial Case 
 Company subsequently moved to Rock Falls, but has 
 since returned to Sterling. Having acquired a rep- 
 utation under the name of the Rock Falls Manufac- 
 turing Company, it was not thought advisable to 
 change it. L. E. Brookfield is now the President 
 and general manager. The company manufacture 
 wood and cloth burial cases, furnishing employment 
 for 35 hands and producing annually 10,000 
 coffins, of all kinds. Their trade amounts to the 
 round sum of $too,ooo annually. Their productions 
 are shipped to 26 different States and Territories, the 
 northwest trade being supplied from the branch at 
 St. Paul, Minn. They make over 50 styles of cases 
 and caskets, from the cheaper to the best grades upon 
 the market. Have also lately added to their line the 
 manufacture of hearses, under the superintendence 
 of Mr. A. Daveler. 
 
 The Williams & Orton Manufacturing Compauy 
 was organized in 1871, and is the outgrowth of a 
 business established by Williams & Orton some 
 years previous. On its organization, F. B. Williams 
 was elected President; B. E. Orton, Secretary; J. 
 M. Patterson, Treasurer. The officers for a number 
 of years have been John Charter, President and 
 Treasurer, and George M. Robinson, Secretary. 
 Their principal manufactured articles are wire rope 
 transmissions, portable mills, pulleys, shafting hang- 
 ers, etc., to which they are just adding the Charter 
 Patent Gas Engine, ,he invention of Mr. Charter. It 
 possesses great advantages The engine consists of 
 a power and a supply cylinder (the latter being 
 placed under the power cylinder), both being pro- 
 vided wi(h suitable pistons, which are operated by one 
 ' 5ia^ 

 
 ~3& i . 
 
 V 
 
 916 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 crank, making the construction very compact. The 
 engine makes an explosion at every revolution. The 
 charge of gas and air, being of the same uniform mix- 
 ture under all conditions, is varied in quantity ac- 
 cording to the power required, as in the case of 
 steam engines. This insures ignition of the charges, 
 steady power, and causes less strain on the working 
 parts. The principle employed in governing other 
 gas engines is to cut off the entire supply of gas for 
 a time, when the speed becomes excessive or less 
 than full power is required, and the engine slackens 
 in speed before the gas is again admitted. It will be 
 plainly seen that an engine such as this, with the 
 charge graduated in quantity according to the 
 amount of power required at each revolution, must 
 give steadier motion. The burnt gases are expelled 
 from the cylinder by two pistons approaching each 
 other to near the exhaust port, thus preventing any 
 fire remaining in the cylinder, which might cause 
 premature explosions. The ignition valve is very 
 simple, being cylindrical in form, and requires no 
 springs or screws to keep it in position, thereby 
 avoiding all friction ; nor does it require any 
 adjustment before or after starting the engine. Only 
 one light is used, and that requires no adjustment. 
 
 Sterling Iron Works. The firm of Cavert & Mai- 
 lory have been in existence about four years, and are 
 engaged in the manufacture, to order, of barb-wire 
 twisting-machines, feed mills, wind-mills, wire brush 
 machines, and any specialties in iron that may be 
 ordered. They have the agency for Catchpole's 
 Improved Florida Steam-heating Boiler, a new de- 
 vice for making steam radiation adaptable for warm- 
 ing residences and stores. The business was estab- 
 lished in 1874, by Cavert, Mason & Smith, but soon 
 after the two latter withdrew, and the firm of Cavert 
 & Estabrooks was formed. In 1881 the present firm 
 began business. They give employment to about 
 eight men. 
 
 Planing Mill. At his planing-mill on Spruce 
 Street, Moses Dillon, the lumber, grain and coal 
 dealer, manufactures in the course of a year quite a 
 number of patent chaff bee-hives. He also makes 
 door and window frames in quantity to supply the 
 demand. 
 
 The Sterling Wagon Factory is owned by A. B. 
 Spies, who manufactures wagons, sleds and harrows, 
 and gives employment to about 60 men. The busi- 
 
 ness was begun by Mr. Spies in 1863, and has stead- 
 ily grown to its present dimensions. 
 
 Daveler Bros, have been in the wagon-making 
 and blacksmithing business a number of years. 
 They furnish employment on an average to eight 
 men, and, besides general repairing of every sort of 
 wheeled conveyances, make from 60 to 100 vehicles 
 a year, principally buggies and hearses. Their busi- 
 ness is increasing from year to year, and 1884 has 
 been to them better than an average year. They 
 are making a specialty at present of a patent buggy- 
 top, which is without a front bow, making the car- 
 riage much easier to get in and out of, and which 
 when folded back lies perfectly flat, a.nd is kept dust- 
 proof without the need of any extra curtain. They 
 sell as fast as they can make them. 
 
 Justus Becker employs five men in the manufac- 
 ture of buggies and wagons. 
 
 The Rock River Packing Company is one that 
 gives employment during many months to a large 
 number of persons. The foundation of this concern 
 was established in a small way a few years since, 
 and has grown year by year, until at the present time 
 it is one of the fixed institutions. The labor of two 
 persons only was needed when the packing business 
 in his city was started, and pork was the only article 
 handled. Now a large force of men, women and boys 
 are employed, and vegetables, fruits and meats of all 
 kinds are handled. Some idea may be formed of 
 the magnitude of the concern when it is known that 
 the company in the spring of 1885 contracted for 
 400,000 can labels, and that r,8oo boxes of tin have 
 already been purchased to be used for the making 
 of cans. The cans are made at the factory, this 
 part of the work giving employment to a number of 
 skilled mechanics. 
 
 The Sterling Paper Company, manufacturers of 
 straw, rag, manilla and express cloth paper; John A. 
 Page, President. An average of 22 hands were em- 
 ployed day and night during 1884. The capacity 
 of the mill is six tons per day. 
 
 W. W. Perkins &* Son are located in the Colcord 
 Block on Third Street. They manufacture corru- 
 gated iron shutters and iron sheathing and roofing 
 for buildings. Their products are known in nearly 
 every large town in Illinois and Iowa, and their 
 trade extends into Nebraska and even as far west as 
 Utah. They employ from four to eight men, and 
 
 
 . .
 
 >> 
 
 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY, 
 
 
 report a fair year's work. They manufactured dur- 
 ing the year 1884 over 40 tons of their shutters. 
 
 E. Dill 6 Company have been in the manufacture 
 of upholstered goods and other articles of furniture 
 for about one year, furnishing employment to 12 
 men. They are heavy dealers in fine and medium 
 furniture, and occupy a portion of the Mercantile 
 Building. 
 
 Economy Mills occupy a portion of the building of 
 the Sterling Pump Works, and have a capacity of 
 20 barrels of flour daily. They make buckwheat, 
 rye and graham flour, and corn-meal, making custom 
 work a specialty. Drew & Dennison; proprietors. 
 
 Cruse & Son, are manufacturers of furniture, and 
 the Comfort Glass Case, patented by Norman Clark, 
 which sells all over the West. 
 
 John Harpham is a manufacturer of harness, col- 
 lars and fly nets, and employs on an average ten 
 men in this business. 
 
 Sterling Brewing Company have been in existence 
 some years. They annually manufacture about 2,000 
 barrels of ale and porter. 
 
 Sterling Creamery Company do a large business, 
 and scatter, a great deal of money in the community, 
 The capacity of the creamery is 10,000 pounds of 
 butter a day. 
 
 Strickler Bros. 6 Company manufacture about 
 90 barrels per year of Perry's concentrated butter 
 color, which is distributed throughout the States of 
 Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Kansas and 
 Nebraska, for use in the creameries. 
 
 
 

 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 HIS beautiful city, the county 
 seat of Whiteside County, is 
 situated in the western part 
 of Mt. Pleasant Township, 
 and is surrounded by rolling 
 fertile country, forming a pic- 
 turesque landscape. It is located 
 on sections 17, 18 and 19, and 
 was platted by W. S. Wilkinson, 
 Surveyor, in 1855, under the su- 
 perintendency of Messrs. John- 
 son and Vroom, railroad men, who 
 had come in upon the advent of the 
 Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. 
 The location of the road through 
 here and the building up of the 
 town is somewhat providential. The 
 line was being laid out with the in- 
 tention of running through Union- 
 ville, then a thriving town in Union 
 Grove Township; but the railroad 
 men met with so cold a reception 
 from the citizens, and the property 
 holders were so exorbitant in the 
 vJuing of their lands, that they finally abandoned 
 Unionville, and, turning their line southward, passed 
 through sections 17 and 18 in Mt. Pleasant Town- 
 ship, and made a station there. This sealed the 
 fate of Unionville. Trivial things sometimes pro- 
 duce important changes and results. It is reported 
 that when the line was being run it passed through 
 the house of one of the good matrons of this hamlet. 
 
 who raised such a storm about the engineer's head 
 that he at once withdrew from the field, saying, with 
 an oath, "that if he could prevent it, they should 
 not have a railroad there at all." The place selected 
 for a depot and a town was on the land originally 
 owned by John W. Stakes and the Knoxes. Other 
 parties later on had secured interests here. 
 
 This land was purchased by the incorporators of 
 Morrison, who were Lyman Johnson, H. S. Vroom, 
 Homer Caswell, John W. Stakes, James Snyder, N. 
 M. Jackson, John J. West, L. H. Robinson and W. 
 H. Van Epps. These gentlemen were the founders 
 of the town. It was named in honor of a friend of 
 Mr. Van Epps, Mr. Charles Morrison, of New York. 
 Lyman Johnson has the credit of erecting the first 
 house. It was located where the Firs.t National 
 Bank now is. 
 
 The plat, as originally laid out, embraced all of 
 section 18, and the west half of the southwest quar- 
 ter, and the west half of the northeast quarter of 
 section 17 ; the north half of the northwest quarter, 
 and the north half of the northwest quarter of sec- 
 tion 19, township 21 north, of range 5 east of the 
 fourth principal meridian. Since that time there 
 have been several additions, and among these are 
 JCnox's in 1856, Johnson's in 1858, and Gridley & 
 Nelson's in the same year. 
 
 The most important event in the history of this 
 place, without which the city would have never 
 been, occurred Oct. ig, 1855, when the first train 
 steamed in. This settled the destiny of Morrison. 
 From this time on the underbrush and scrub oaks 
 
 <^
 
 )^^ 
 
 
 ~ 57 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 disappeared, and houses sprung up in their places, 
 and the growth and development of Morrison was 
 assured. John E. Bennett and Henry Ustick came 
 in and opened their stores, having first secured their 
 building, which were the first business houses 
 opened. Mr. Bennett's store was located where the 
 Revere House now stands. The first dwelling 
 erected in the town was by Henry S. Vroom, on the 
 corner of Main and Base streets, though Conductor 
 Furlong had brought his cabin in on a car, and had 
 set it up before this. Blacksmiths, brick masons and 
 carpenters came in from all parts of the county, and 
 there was plenty of work for them to do. Robert- 
 son's saw-mill was kept busy, and A. S. Tryon 
 started a brick kiln to meet the demands. About 
 this time Mrs. B. O. Russell died, which was the 
 first death in the new town. That there should be 
 no diminution to the population, Mrs. Henry S. 
 Vroom gave birth to a daughter, who was named 
 Minnie. 
 
 The rich and settled country surrounding Mor- 
 rison aided and sustained her in her growth. So 
 much developed was this country that in 1856 an 
 agricultural fair was held, which was attended with 
 satisfactory results. This was the first agricultural 
 fair held in the county. In 1857 substantial brick 
 blocks began to make their appearance. 
 
 The growth of the town was so rapid that it was 
 deemed necessary to incorporate, and accordingly 
 the people were given notice that this subject would 
 be considered. It read as follows : 
 
 " NOTICE. The residents of lawful age of the 
 town of Morrison, Illinois, will meet at Johnson's 
 Hall, on Saturday, April 18, 1857, at 4 o'clock, p. m., 
 to consider whether the said town shall be incorpor- 
 ated under the statutes in such cases made and pro- 
 vided. A full attendance is requested. 1 ' These 
 notices were signed by William L. Coe, and posted 
 in conspicuous places. A meeting was duly held in 
 pursuance to this call, the result of which was in 
 favor of incorporation, only one negative vote having 
 been received against it. 
 
 In accordance with this decision an election was 
 held April 25, 1857, for the purpose of organizing 
 a village government, which resulted in the choice 
 of H. S. Vroom, S. H. McCrea, Lyman Johnson, 
 James G. Gridley and William L. Coe, Trustees ; 
 and Hiram Olmstead, Police Magistrate. Win. L. 
 
 Coe was chosen President of the Board of Trustees. 
 There were 44 votes cast at this election. During the 
 year the growth of the village of Morrison was given 
 another impetus. At the fall election a vote was 
 taken upon the question of the removal of the county 
 seat from Sterling to Morrison, and the choice was 
 given to the latter town. The spring following, May 
 3, 1858, the records were removed to Morrison. The 
 building now occupied by John S. Green as a drug 
 store, and S. W. Robinson & Co. as a hardware store, 
 on Main Street, were fitted up for offices and court 
 purposes, and were used until the new county build- 
 ings were completed. 
 
 In 1867 a bill was presented to the Legislature 
 and passed incorporating the "City of Morrison." 
 By an error in the bill, the " City of Morrison" was 
 placed over in Union Grove Township, range four 
 having been used in defining the locality instead of 
 range five. Notwithstanding this, an election was 
 held under the charter, and two tickets were put up, 
 with an issue for or against the charter. The anti- 
 charter party carried the election, and, strange as 
 it may seem, organized their government under it. 
 The question, however, soon arose as to whether 
 Morrison had a legal city government. It was 
 finally settled by bringing the question before the 
 Circuit Court under a writ of quo warranto against 
 the city officers. The Court decided that there was 
 no city government, and this placed Morrison again 
 under the village corporation. 
 
 A second bill was passed by the Legislature, and 
 approved Feb. 23, 1869, providing a city corporation. 
 This charter was accepted by the people in a vote 
 taken March 29, 1869. 
 
 On the 6th of April, 1869, an election was held 
 under the charter, when the following officers were 
 elected: George A. Whitcomb, Mayor; John S. 
 Green, W. L. Coe, S. W. Robinson, J. A. McKay, W. 
 J. Savage and James Colby, Aldermen. John S. 
 Green was chosen Treasurer; W. E. Savage, Clerk; 
 L. G. Johnson, City Attorney ; and Marshal and 
 Street Commissioner, George M. Cole. The ques- 
 tion of license or anti-license was an issue at this 
 election, the anti-license party securing the victory. 
 
 In 1872 the charter was amended, and the city 
 government was reorganized under the general or- 
 ganization laws of the State. This took effect May 
 i, 1873. Among other things provided under the 
 new organization was a two-years' term for the 
 
 
 
 ( > 
 
 < * 

 
 ^4. 
 
 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 5 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Mayor. The election under reorganization was 
 held April 15, 1873. At this time the city was $4,- 
 194.74 in debt. Additional loans were made during 
 this year, amounting in all to $10,600. 
 
 In December, 1855, the site of the Union Grove 
 (Unionville) postoffice was changed to Morrison, 
 with John E. Bennett as Postmaster, who was ap- 
 pointed to the Union Grove office in December, 1855. 
 The name was changed to Morrison, June 5, 1857. 
 Mr. Bennett served his entire time as Postmaster 
 both at Union Grove and at Morrison, on the site of 
 the present postoffice. 
 
 In 1856 the Baptist Society commenced the erec- 
 tion of a church building, completing it the same 
 year. This was the first church edifice erected in 
 Morrison, and the brick used in its construction 
 were manufactured in the town. The people up to 
 this time depended mostly on Unionville for re- 
 ligious matters. 
 
 Dr. Norris was the first physician to locate in 
 Morrison. He was soon followed by others from 
 different parts of the country. 
 
 The principal contests between the citizens of 
 Morrison from its first foundation has been on the 
 liquor question. These contests, which have been 
 conducted in the spirit of good nature, have resulted 
 generally in favor of licensing the liquor traffic. One 
 of the peculiar features of this city, and one which 
 is observed by a stranger, is the kind and neighborly 
 feeling the inhabitants have toward each other. No 
 serious quarrel has ever occurred between one citi- 
 zen and another. 
 
 The population of Morrison is estimated now at 
 2,100. 
 
 The citizens have gone on in their improvements, 
 putting up business blocks, church edifices and pub- 
 lic buildings, erecting grand residences, and adorn- 
 ing their grounds and streets with fine shade trees, 
 until they have one of the most beautiful towns in 
 the country ; and all this has been done within 
 one generation. It's growth is steady and sure. 
 Many of the first settlers who saw this country in a 
 wild, uncultivated condition, are still living here. 
 They have beheld in one generation a wilderness 
 transformed into a fair city, with homes of wealth, 
 culture and refinement, and surrounded by an agri- 
 cultural country which for beauty and excellence is 
 unexcelled. 
 
 And while they contemplate the fair picture that 
 lies before them, they have the additional satisfac- 
 tion of knowing that they are the artists who have 
 carved it out. 
 
 The postoffice was first opened in Morrison in De- 
 cember, 1855, with John E. Bennett as Postmaster. 
 He was succeeded by John M. Cobleigh in 1859. 
 In 1 86 1 A. C. Jackson was appointed, who held the 
 place until 1866, when John M. Cobleigh was again 
 appointed. Frank Clendennin succeeded Mr. Cob- 
 leigh in January, 1867, and is the present incum- 
 bent. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The Morrison Graded School is supplied by an 
 able corps of teachers, M. F. Miller being Superin- 
 tendent; Mrs. P. F. Burtch, Principal; Miss L. A. 
 Wellington, assistant; and in the grammar depart- 
 ment are Miss E. Worthington and Miss Anna Cor- 
 coran, while the intermediate department is presided 
 over by Miss J. Mahoney and Miss Kate L. Martin. 
 The primary department is in charge of Miss Cora 
 Patterson, Miss M. L. Hewit and Miss Ida Strawder. 
 The musical department is under the management 
 of Prof. Mountz. Vocal music is taught in all the 
 departments. The course of study of the High 
 School covers four years, and is thorough ir at the 
 English branches, the graduates receiving diplomas. 
 The graduates of this school have formed an 
 alumni association. The teachers are devoted to 
 their profession, and are painstaking in instructing 
 their pupils, of whom there are about 500. 
 
 The school has a library of 250 volumes, and a 
 cabinet of geology, with a laboratory for chemistry. 
 The main building was erected in 1860, since which 
 time extensive additions have been made. The 
 main portion is three-story, with two-story wings ex- 
 tending each side. It is constructed of brick, and 
 is heated by steam. Ten rooms are used for school 
 instruction. 
 
 WATER WORKS. 
 
 To secure good water and plenty of it was one of 
 the first public considerations that occupied the 
 minds of the people of Morrison. They wanted to 
 secure immunity, as far as possible, from fire, and 
 also to have a good flow of pure water for domestic 
 purposes. This subject was put into definite shape 
 in 1868, when the citizens authorized the Board of 
 Trustees to put down an artesian well, at an ex- 
 
 ^ 
 & 
 
 ' 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 921 
 
 
 pense of $3,000. The well, which was located north 
 of the town, upon high ground, was completed, and 
 the water was brought to within 20 feet of the sur- 
 face. A large tank was constructed with a capacity 
 of 90,000 gallons, which was to be kept full of water 
 for fire purposes. A large-sized wind-mill was 
 erected at the mill, with pipes connecting with the 
 tank. 
 
 The above plan, however, was not a very success- 
 ful one. The water-tank burst and flooded the im- 
 mediate neighborhood, doing considerable damage. 
 After further consideration the citizens concluded to 
 adopt the Holly system. This plan they put into 
 execution, locating the water-works in the southwest 
 part of the town, near the creek. Here they found 
 some fine springs with very pure water, and over the 
 springs they constructed a large reservoir, with a ca- 
 pacity of 4,000 barrels of water. It is held to this 
 capacity by the_ springs, which have a constant flow, 
 making the supply practically inexhaustible. The 
 Worthington pumps were put in, with two engines 
 and two boilers, having So-horse power. Pipes ex- 
 tend from the pumps to the reservoir. Over the en- 
 gines and pumps is erected a good frame building. 
 An eight-inch main runs from the water-works up 
 town, and to the old tank, which is still used, or held 
 in reserve. Hydrants are placed in different parts 
 of the city, and are connected with the water mains. 
 Fire alarms are placed in different sections of the 
 city, which connect with the water-works. The en- 
 gines can pump 52 barrels a minute. These works 
 were completed in 1882, at a cost of $20,000. Mr. 
 H. C. Parrish, a verj competent engineer, and a 
 trustworthy man, has charge of the works. 
 
 In connection with the water-works, and for fire 
 purposes, the city has two organized hose companies, 
 the Jackson and the Juvenile Company, with about 
 1,500 feet of hose. 
 
 BAND. 
 
 Morrison has a band that any city might be proud 
 of. It was organized in 1882, with nine members. S. 
 Homer is the leader. During the first year of or- 
 ganization they filled many engagements, and pur- 
 chased their instruments. In 1884 they achieved a 
 great success at the State Band Tournament held at 
 Geneseo, 111., Aug. 30, by winning two prizes. They 
 practice regularly, and are constantly improving. It 
 is called the Cornet Band. 
 
 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 No enterprising or prosperous community will re- 
 main long without a newspaper. In fact, no com- 
 munity, however enterprising, will be prosperous 
 long without a press to represent it ; and so the peo- 
 ple of Morrison believed ; for the stubs were not yet 
 removed from the streets before they began to con- 
 sider this important question, and to devise means to 
 carry it out. However important a newspaper may 
 be to the growth and development of a town or 
 country, it is not every man that is qualified to pub- 
 lish one, any more than that every man can run a 
 hotel, except into the ground. It would be a large 
 record that could contain the births and deaths of 
 all the newspaper enterprises of the country. 
 
 The Whiteside Sentinel. The citizens of Morrison 
 were not long, however, in finding a man with the 
 nerve to take hold of the enterprise, and this man 
 was Mr. Alfred McFadden, formerly connected with 
 the Fulton Investigator. They advanced the money, 
 and a hand-press (which in those days quite fully 
 met the wants of an ordinarily ambitious newspaper 
 man), with type and a small job office, was pur- 
 chased. A building was secured for this pioneer 
 plant, and July 23, 1857, the first issue ofihzlVhite- 
 side Sentinel went forth to the world, fresh and newsy, 
 the editor full of hope for the success of his little 
 venture. He may have thought, as he sent his ven- 
 ture forth into an untraveled sea, as Bob Southey 
 
 did: 
 
 Go, my little book, from this my solitude; 
 I cast thee on the waters ; $ thy ways ; 
 But if, as I suppose, thy vein be good. 
 The world will find thee after many days. 
 
 Mr. McFadden edited the paper until 1862, when, 
 his health failing him, it was leased to Elmer Searle 
 for one year. At the expiration pf Mr. Searle's lease 
 Mr. McFadden again took charge, and in a few years 
 enlarged it to an eight-column paper. 
 
 In July, 1867, the Sentinel was 'purchased by 
 Charles Bent and Morris Savage. In May, 1870, 
 Mr. Bent purchased Mr. Savage's interest, and be- 
 came sole proprietor. Mr. Bent made many im- 
 provements in the plant, put in a cylinder power 
 press, a new job office, and enlarged the paper to ' 
 nine columns. He published the paper until 1877, 
 when he sold out to Robert W.Welch, of New York. 
 After a few years, Mr. Bent again purchased the 
 Sentinel, and is the present owner. The Whiteside ^ 

 
 STY 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Sentinel is a nine-cpi$enJ .folio, published every 
 Thursday, with a circulation of about t,8oo. It is a 
 good paper, and well ,'cojiducted. From its founda- 
 tion it has been Republican in, politics, and a strong 
 advocate of the principles of this party. 
 
 The Whiteside He.r.ald, This is an eight-column 
 weekly paper, published every Friday. It was 
 founded by A. D. Hill, in 1-878. Its first issue ap- 
 peared April 4th of , that year. In the fall of 1878, 
 Mr. A. D. Adams purchased an interest, and the 
 Herald was conducted' by him and Mr. Hill until 
 1882, when the former leased the paper. In 1883, 
 Mr. Adams purchased Mr. jHiU's interest, and is now 
 the owner. A good job office is connected with the 
 Herald, and the proprietor, is prepared to fill all or- 
 ders in this line to the satisfaction of his customers. 
 It is independent in politics, and has a circulation 
 of over 800. The Herald,, which is a zealous advo- 
 cate of the interests of the city, is ably edited, and is 
 a bright and newsy sheet. 
 
 Reform Investigator. There were several other 
 papers started in Morrison from time to time, but 
 they were of short life. In 1868, Elmer Searle came 
 out with a sheet, which he called the Reform Investi- 
 gator. Whether or : not he thought the people of 
 Morrison needed reformation in religion, morals, pol- 
 itics or manners, history does not inform us. It was 
 a company concern, and, like most of company enter- 
 prises when connected- avith newspapers, it was a 
 failure. In 1870 the plant was moved to Chicago, 
 and converted int6 ashes-in the great fire of 1871. 
 
 Morrison Independent. The year 1872 gave birth 
 to the Morrison Independent. It was started to ad- 
 vance the interests of Horace Greeley for the Presi- 
 dency. It was established by a stock company and 
 conducted by L'. S-'Watd and J. W. Huett, the lat- 
 ter being the editor.'-^ The immortal Greeley has 
 said that nothing 'succeeds like success. The cam- 
 paign not being ; sUccessfuV,"it did not succeed; and 
 the Independent met with 'the same fate. It barely 
 outlived this campaign; closing in 1874. The office 
 was purchased-' by'-G? J'.'Booth & Son, who, in July 
 of the same year, e'stibfished the Morrison Times. 
 It was Democratic irt potrt'ics,- and a fair newspaper, 
 but was not stifficiefitff-'ffetronized to warrant its con- 
 tinuation, and in' iS^6 'the 'plant was moved to Rock 
 Falls, and from~ifc%aV fi ?ssued forth in a short time 
 the Whiteside TirM!* ''<-"-- 
 
 cs,/* 
 
 The Morrison Democrat. The ever memorable 
 year of 1876 witnessed the establishment of another 
 political paper in Morrison, which had for its ambi- 
 tion the election of Samuel J. Tilden to the Presi- 
 dency. It was started by Messrs. Connelly & 
 Gove, who moved their office from Lyndon, and was 
 called the Morrison Democrat. It survived the in- 
 auguration of that weakest and most unreliable and 
 incompetent of all Presidents, R. B. Hayes, but a few 
 weeks, and then the plant was closed out at a mort- 
 gage sale. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. The commencement 
 of the organization of this society was in 1836, at 
 James J. Thomas's cabin. There were present on 
 this occasion Mr. Thomas and wife, George O. 
 James and wife and Rev. James McKean, who be- 
 longed to the Rock River Conference, and who or- 
 ganized the class. It was transferred to Unionville 
 afterwards and became a part of the Union Grove 
 circuit, which was composed of Genesee Grove, 
 Round Grove, Albany, Erie, Union Grove and Lyn- 
 don. In 1842 the society was permanently organ- 
 ized by Rev. B. Weed, Presiding Elder of the district, 
 with Rev. Chester Campbell as pastor, who re- 
 mained until 1844, when he was succeeded by Rev. 
 A. M. Early. Mr. Early remained until 1845, when 
 Rev. Isaac Searles took charge of the Church. He 
 was followed in 1846 by Rev. James McKean, who 
 presided over the destinies of this society until 1848. 
 Rev. Charles Babcock was the next to assume 
 charge. He remained only one year, when Rev. 
 William Haney was assigned. In 1850, Mr. Haney 
 was relieved by Rev. Mathew Homer, who staid 
 with this flock until 1852, and then was succeeded 
 by Rev. B. Applebee. Mr. Applebee gave place to 
 Rev.' B. A. Falkenbury in 1853, and he to Rev. S. B. 
 Baker in 1854. 
 
 Up to this time services had been held in school- 
 houses and residences. During this year a building 
 was erected. Mr. Baker remained until 1855, and 
 then Rev. D. W. Linn took charge, remaining until 
 1857, when he was succeeded by Rev. J. W. Water- 
 bury, who had pastoral charge until 1858. During 
 this year the Church was removed to Morrison. He 
 was relieved by Rev. Aaron Cross, who presided until 
 1860, and then gave place to Rev. Y. S. Kellogg, 
 who was followed in 1862 by Rev. Benjamin Gloss. 
 
 (51
 
 Mr. Gloss was succeed in 1863 by Rev. J. VV. David- 
 son, who had charge until 1866, when Rev. John 
 Frost took charge. Mr. Frost died in 1867, and his 
 time was,served out by Rev. Don Kusley. In 1867, 
 Rev. George S. Young was sent in. He remained 
 until 1868, and was relieved by Rev. L. A. Sanford. 
 In 1870 Rev. D. W. Linn was appointed, who had 
 charge until 1871, and then Rev. Jacob Hartman 
 was assigned. Rev. Isaac Limbarger served from 
 1872 to 1874 ; Rev. J. Borbidge, from 1874 to 1876; 
 Rev. G. W. Carr, from 1876 to 1879. The church 
 edifice was completed during Mr. Carr's administra- 
 tion, at a cost of $5,000. It is a plain, substantial 
 frame building, the rear portion of which was moved 
 from Unionville. The society has a parsonage, which 
 was built at a cost of $2,000. 
 
 In 1879, Rev. A. Needham assumed charge, serv- 
 ing until 1880, and was relieved by Rev. A. Camp- 
 bell, who remained until 1882, Rev. W. H. Lock 
 serving out his term. Rev. V. E. Sweet, the present 
 past >r, was then placed in charge. Mr. Sweet is an 
 able and popular minister. They have 131 mem- 
 bers, and the society is in a prosperous condition, 
 with a large and interesting Sunday-school in con- 
 nection with it. 
 
 The Presbyterian Church was organized March 28, 
 18153, at Unionville, by Rev. W. W. Hasha and W. 
 C. Mason, who were appointed to this work by the 
 Rock River Presbytery. There were 22 members 
 forming the first organization. Among these was 
 Mrs. Phcebe Vennum, now living in her one hun- 
 dred and second year. Rev. Jacob Coon was the 
 first pastor to serve this Church. He remained over 
 three years. This society moved, with the inhabit- 
 ants and interests of Unionville, to Morrison. Rev. 
 H. P. Lackey succeeded Mr. Coon and remained 
 until 1860. He was followed by Rev. Daniel Kelley, 
 who served the Church two years and six months. 
 Rev. George Powell, the African missionary, preached 
 for six months, and then Rev. George T. Crissman 
 was called. He was a very popular clergyman and 
 did much to build up the society. After ably serv- 
 ing the Church for 14 years, Mr. Crissman was fol- 
 lowed by Rev. S. H. Weller, who remained ui.til 
 1883. It was during his administration that the 
 erection of the new church edifice was commenced. 
 It was completed in 1884, and dedicated Nov. 7 of 
 the same year, Rey : Paniel S. Gregory, of Lake 
 
 Forest, preaching the dedication sermon. It is an 
 attractive gothic edifice, the walls , being constructed 
 of brick, and is finished off", on tlie inside in an ele- 
 gant manner. Present .uiembersnip is 175. The 
 society has a flourishing., S.undaj[-school. Rev. J. 
 Worthington, who succeeded '.Mr. Weller, is the 
 present pastor. 
 
 Baptist Church, This society was organized 
 Sept. 8, 1854, in a school-house about a mile east 
 of Morrison, by Rev. E:- Ingham. Mr. Ingham 
 was chosen Moderator and -B-.- A. Pollard, Clerk. 
 First members were, T. Deiniek, S. Williams, W. H. 
 Pollard, E. A. Pollard, N. Si-Barlow, wilh their wives, 
 and Nancy J. Lewis and (DklQffiiia Demick. E. Ing- 
 ham and A. S. Maxwell officiated until Rev. L. L. 
 Lansing was secured, in Dec., i85'4. A brick church 
 was put up in 1855. This was the first church 
 building erected in Mor'nsori: . After their large 
 new church was erected -it teas fitted up for a par- 
 sonage. The building was" sold in the spring of 1885. 
 
 Rev. J. B. Allison took clvtrge in the year 1859, re- 
 maining until 1865, when 'Rev. K. W. Benton ac- 
 cepted a call from the Church'. He remained until 
 1867, when Rev. A. A. Russell was called. Mr. 
 Russell resigned in 1873; and Rev. J. A. Delano 
 assumed the duties, remaining until 1874. Rev. A. 
 C. Keene served from 1874 to 1876, when he re- 
 signed. The Church was' supplied until 1877, when 
 Rev. N. S. Collins accepted a call, serving until Oct., 
 1878, being succeeded ; then, by Rev. A. A. Russell, 
 who remained until December, ig8o. Rev. W. A. 
 Broadhurst then accepted a call, and remained until 
 1884, when he was succeeded" by Rev. F. M. Wil- 
 liams, the present pastor. The new edifice was 
 completed in t88t, and dedicated by Dr. D. H. 
 Cooley, May 4,'sme year. ItisaSne substantial 
 edifice, constructed ftf brick; and cost about $1,200. 
 They have at present about- ; 135 members, with a 
 good Sunday-school. 
 
 Protestant Methodist -CKurc'hVfa& organized in 
 1839, in the cabin of W. Hv'Pa'shcal, on section 17, 
 by Rev. Daniel Young, bT 'th'e mission service. The 
 Pashcals, with their v/wei a'h'dT a few others, com- 
 posed the first organizatfon:"'-'This society gradually 
 increased in numbers,' -holding services among 
 the cabins of the earty:settlers-for a long time, 
 and then in school-hoaSfcsj '_:Mn 1860, Mr. Meril 
 Meade, was authorized ;to purchase, the old Congre- 
 
 * ? 
 
 A t
 
 
 924 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 gational Church building, which he did, contributing 
 largely himself Qo its purchase. This gave the 
 society a place Of worship for several years, and 
 until their increasing numbers warranted them in 
 the construction .of a new building. This was ac- 
 complished under the energetic administration of 
 Rev. Jacob Fowler, and the edifice was completed 
 in 1868. He was ably supported by Meril Mead, 
 the Pashcals, W. P. Lewis, Thomas McClelland and 
 the people. The erection of this building, together 
 with the property, cost about $9,000. A large bell was 
 afterward purchased, costing $555. In 1867, in con- 
 sequence of the separation of this Church, North and 
 South, this society adopted a new constitution and a 
 new name, dropping the " Protestant " and taking 
 the name " Mefhodist Church " only. This was 
 done at a general conference, which was held 
 at Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Meade, who was oae of the 
 delegates to this conference, representing the North- 
 ern Illinois Coriference, and a leading member of 
 the Morrison organization, opposed this action. At 
 the Baltimore Conference in 1877, the Church of 
 both sections of the country became united again, 
 and the old name of " Protestant Methodist " was 
 resumed. In 1867, a difference occurred between 
 Rev. H.'A. Heath, the pastor, and the Conference, 
 which caused a resolution to be adopted by the 
 Church, suspending financial relations with the An- 
 nual Conference until such differences could be 
 adjusted. This society took an independent posi- 
 tion from this time on. In 1878, it sent a dele- 
 gate to the Annual Conference for the purpose of 
 adjusting the old difference, and harmony was 
 again restored without prejudice either to the Con- 
 ference or to this society. This Church has been 
 served by several pastors since it's first organiza- 
 tion, and has had its prosperity and adversity. At 
 one time it had 1 15 members. Its present condition 
 is not a prosperous one. Rev. Isaac Wood took 
 charge in 1882, and is the present pastor. 
 
 Congregational Church. This society, like most of 
 the religious organizations of Morrison, had its birth 
 in Unionville. It was organized March 2, 1844, 
 with T2 members, by Rev. Nathaniel Smith. Services 
 were held in the school-house until 1854, when a 
 church building was erected. Mr. Smith was the 
 pastor until 1850, when Kev. William T. Wheeler 
 was called to take charge. He died the latter part 
 
 of this year. Early in 185 i, Rev. G. Walker was es- 
 tablished as pastor. In 1858, the new town of Morri- 
 son, having outstripped Unionville in growth, and 
 most of the congregation having transferred their 
 residences there, it was decided after a conference to 
 dissolve this organization, and re-organize at Morri- 
 son under the name of the " First Congregational 
 Church of Morrison." The first service held under 
 the new organization was June 29, 1858, at Concert 
 Hall, by Rev. Daniel Chapman. Rev. John White 
 was called to take charge of the new organization. 
 He was a man of talent, and very successful in his 
 ministration, raising the membership up to 74. Meet- 
 ings were held in halls and other churches until 
 1865, when the society completed its church edifice, 
 a substantial brick structure. Mr. White desiring 
 to withdraw from this field of labor, Rev. Clay Mc- 
 Cauley was received in his place, temporarily. The 
 services of Rev. S. F. Millikan were finally secured. 
 He served until January, 1873, and was succeeded 
 by Rev. E. H. Smith, who remained with the con- 
 gregation several years, when he tendered his resig- 
 nation, which was accepted. The society have had 
 no pastor since, but in the meantime worship with 
 the Presbyterians. 
 
 The Universalists. From the early settlement of 
 Morrison there were people who believed in the doc- 
 trines taught by this Church, and at different times 
 services were held in the town presided over by min- 
 isters of this faith from abroad. Obedient to a call, 
 the believers in this Church assembled together Dec. 
 18, 1866, and formed an organization, adopted a con- 
 stitution, and elected their officers. J. R. Bailey, 
 Jesse McKee, Win. F. Twining, George S. Fullmer 
 and William Tapping were chosen Trustees; J. M. 
 Burtch, Secretary ; and J. Mayo, Treasurer. Forty- 
 seven members subscribed to the constitution. They 
 held their services in Concert Hall, and until the 
 completion of their building. It was finished and 
 dedicated in 1870, Dr. Ryder delivering the dedication 
 sermon. It is a handsome edifice, the walls of 
 which are of brick, with a stone foundation, costing 
 in all $11, ooo. The auditorium is large and taste- 
 fully finished. 
 
 Rev. John J. Austin was the first regular minister 
 to assume charge, which was in March, 1870. He 
 served three years. 
 
 In 1876 the society received the services of Rev. 
 
 <- 
 1 
 
 T
 
 WfTITESfDE COUNTY. 
 
 925 
 
 ^ 
 
 f 
 
 . 
 
 L. J. Dinsmore, who remained one year. Rev. C. A. 
 Lander came in 1881, and remained with the Church 
 until 1883. Since 1884 they have had the services 
 of Miss Mary Garard, who preaches every other 
 Sunday. This society was known for a long time as 
 the Church of the Good Shepherd, but by almost 
 unanimous consent they resumed the old name of 
 Universalists, which they still bear. 
 
 Episcopal Church. Services were held in Morri- 
 son by the members of this Church several years be- 
 fore an organization was formed. An organization 
 was finally completed in 1883, by the zeal of a few 
 members. By perseverance of the members, especi- 
 ally the ladies, a lot was purchased, at a cost of $400, 
 and a neat little chapel was erected thereon, cost- 
 ing, with furniture, $1,550. It was dedicated on 
 Thanksgiving day, 1884, the Rev. J. Joss, of Sterling, 
 delivering the dedicatory sermon. They have at 
 present 20 communicants, with services every three 
 weeks, Rev. J. Joss, officiating. 
 
 St. Patricks (Catholic) Church. Religious services 
 were held in Morrison by the Catholic clergymen at 
 the residences of members for some years before a 
 church edifice was erected. In 1862 their building 
 was completed, and dedicated. It is a good, sub- 
 stantial brick structure. Rev. T. Kennedy was the 
 first clergyman in charge. It has been served since 
 by Revs. Michael Ford, William Herbert, John Daly, 
 James Govern, P. J. Gormley, John Kilkenney and 
 Maurice Sack. Father Sack is located at Fulton, 
 and holds services in Morrison every third Sunday. 
 It has a membership of some 70 families. This 
 Church belongs to the Diocese of Chicago. 
 
 SOCIETIES. 
 
 Dunlap Lodge, No. 321, A. F. 6" A. M This 
 lodge was instituted May 30, 1859, under a dispen- 
 sation, and received its charter Oct. 5, 1859. It or- 
 ganized with ten members, with William Lane as 
 W. M. The lodge now has seventy members, with 
 George H. Kentfield as W. M. They have a large, 
 commodious hall, which is well furnished and 
 equipped. The walls of the hall are adorned with 
 the photographs of the members. They also have 
 an organ for their musical entertainment. The 
 lodge is in good working order and prosperous. 
 
 G. A. R., Alpheus Clark Post, No. 118 Was or- 
 ganized Dec. 8, 1 88 1, with 22 charter members. 
 
 Frank Clendennin was chosen Commander. They 
 have a hall with A. O. U. W. Order, which is fitted 
 up in good style. The camp is increasing in num- 
 bers and is in a prosperous condition. 
 
 /. O. O. P., Grove Lodge, No. 257. This lodge 
 was instituted May 12, 1858. Charter received Oct. 
 15 of the same year. There were six charter mem- 
 bers. Upon the organization, W. W. Winter was 
 chosen N. G. The lodge has a good hall, neatly 
 furnished, and is in good working order. Stephen 
 Stafford is the present Noble Grand. 
 
 Bethel Encampment, No. 55, I. O. O. F.Wzs 
 organized July 4, 1860, and chartered the same day, 
 with six charter members. W. W. Winters was 
 elected Chief. This encampment has at present 44 
 members, and is in a flourishing condition. Their 
 hall is 27 by 60 feet, and nicely furnished. They 
 have an organ and a library. 
 
 Eudine Rebekah Lodge, No. 8, 1. O. O. F This 
 order was instituted March 17, 1870, and received 
 ils charter Oct. 1 1 following. They organized with 
 10 members, G. W. Chapman, N. G. Mrs. D. G. 
 Ackerman is the present N. G., with a membership 
 of 64. This order meets regularly, and is in a good 
 working condition. 
 
 Knights of Pythias, No. 120. This society has 
 an interesting organization, with a membership of 
 40. They have a good, large hall, which is well 
 furnished and equipped. 
 
 A. O. U. W., No. 52 Was organized April 6, 
 
 1877, with 28 charter members. The lodge has in- 
 creased in numbers steadily since its organization, 
 and has at present 51 members. They have a good 
 hall and are a prosperous society. 
 
 The Morrison Library and Scientific Association 
 Was founded by J. D. Odell. and opened in August, 
 
 1878. The rooms are on the third floor of the bank 
 building. This association has a well selected 
 library of some 2,400 volumes, and an interesting 
 collection of minerals, fossils, and geological speci- 
 mens. An annual assessment of $i is made among 
 the members of the association to defray the ex- 
 penses of keeping the hall open and for supplying 
 the library with new books. This is a worthy insti- 
 tution, and is very creditable to its founder and 
 others who assisted in its establishment. 
 
 The Whiteside County Agricultural Society. This 
 society was organized at Morrison, May 28, 1872 
 
 
 \ 
 
 I 
 / 
 
 
 "
 
 
 - ; 
 
 926 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 The objects of this organization were to aid all kinds 
 of industries, especially the agricultural, horticul- 
 tural and mechanical branches, by stimulating com- 
 petition, in gathering together the various products 
 of the county and awarding premiums to the most 
 deserving. A constitution was adopted and by- 
 laws governing the society. The first officers chosen 
 were James M. Pratt, President; H. M. Teller, Vice- 
 President; Frank Clendennin, Secretary, and E. G. 
 Tapping, Treasurer. The Executive Committee 
 were Levi Fuller, James Willson, H. F. Kellum, 
 George W. Mackenzie, John F. Demmon, D. J. 
 Parker, M. M. Potter, J. H. Marshall and L. H. 
 Pratt. The first Fair was held at Morrison, Sept. 
 24, 25, 26 and 27, 1872, and was regarded as a 
 successful one. The Fair Grounds are located in 
 the southwest part of the town, on the banksof Rock 
 Creek, and inclose about 15 acres. Exhibition 
 buildings have been erected and apartments for stock 
 provided for. A half-mile track has been made 
 also for speeding horses. Some good time has been 
 made here, and as fine stock exhibited as could be 
 seen anywhere in the State. 
 
 C. D. Parker is the present Acting President , J. 
 N. Baird, Secretary, and George N. Brown, Treas- 
 urer. The society hold regular annual fairs, is out 
 of debt, and active in the objects for which it was in- 
 stituted. 
 
 GROVE HILL CEMETERY 
 
 is located on the northeast quarter of the northeast 
 quarterof section 18. It was laid out June 28, 1873, 
 and contains 12^ acres. The site, though too near 
 the town, is a beautiful one, situated on an emin- 
 ence above the city. The lots are regularly laid out, 
 with avenues and isles between. Pretty shade trees 
 and tastefully chiseled monuments adorn the 
 grounds, which are well kept. The care and atten- 
 tion given to this cemetery is a good index to the 
 character of the people of this town. No better is 
 needed. The quality of a community can be meas- 
 ured by the home it constructs for its departed. Re- 
 posing here after life's battles are over, are some of 
 the soldiers who gave their lives for the preservation 
 and perpetuation of their country during the late civil 
 war. Below is given a list, with the regiments served 
 in: Robert S. Anthony, Co. G, 131!! 111. Vols.; W. 
 M. Alexander, Co. I, 8th Kan. Vols. ; Edwin P. 
 Bojer, Co. G, 156111 111. Vols. ; Henry E. Allen, Co. 
 
 : 
 
 F, 93 d 111. Vols.; D. D. Blodgett, Co. E, 4 6th III. 
 Vols.; J. J. Brown, Co. E, ist Li^it Artillery ; Henry 
 Brown, Co. C, 8th 111. Cav. ; Jasper Booth, ad Regt. 
 W. Va. Vols. ; Alpheus Clark, Major, 8th 111. Cav. ; 
 Columbus Dodge, Co. E, 46th 111. Vols. ; John G. 
 Gillett, Co. C, 75th 111. Vols. ; Lyman A. Hulett, Co. 
 B, i 47 th 111. Vols.; E. Ingerson, Co. B, i86th N. Y. 
 Vols.; John M. Isenheart, Co. D, 2ist 111. Vols.; 
 Aaron B. Jackson, Co. G, i3th 111. Vols. ; D. D. 
 Lincoln, Captain, Co. C, 8th 111. Cav. ; H. Levitt, 
 Co. G, 8th 111. Cav.; Samuel Lenhart, Co. G, 156111 
 111. Vols.; John Lucas, U. S. Navy; George W. 
 Mackenzie, Sergeant, Co. C, 8th 111. Cav. ; AlmanM. 
 Mosher, Co. B, ist Iowa Cav. ; George S. Milnes, 
 Co. H, 75111 111. Vols. ; Milton Morse, Co. B, i4oth 
 111. Vols.; Thomas Powers, Co. G, 741)1 111. Vols.; 
 W. H. Pollington, Co. B, 131)1 111. Vols.; George A. 
 Quackenbush, Musician, 34th 111. Vols. Rugg 
 Gardner, Co. B, 38th III. Vols. ; Rollin C. Sholes, 
 Co. C, 8th 111. Cav. 
 
 Soldiers of the War of 1812 who are buried here, 
 are William Austin, Gordon Borrows, John Hall, 
 Michael Harrison and Robert White. 
 
 One who served in the Black Hawk War is W. H. 
 Pashcal. 
 
 BUSINESS INTERESTS. 
 
 Hellerstedt & Bros., manufacturers of carriages, 
 buggies, and all kinds of spring wagons, are one of 
 the leading firms. They also manufacture harness 
 and deal in general saddlery. This is one of the 
 establishments that help build up a city. They 
 employ on an average 15 men. They have in their 
 sales-room buggies that for excellence in workman- 
 ship cannot be excelled in the State. The Novelty 
 Carriage Works, established by P. J. Gottsman, and 
 superintended by J. O. Farrell, make a specialty of 
 the Farrell Patent Surprise Spring, and also the 
 Combination Spring. 
 
 G. B. Beecher is a wagon-maker, and does ma- 
 chine repairing and blacksmithing. H. F. Ander- 
 son is a worker in wood. C. Nilson is also a wagon- 
 maker, and L. C. Brown deals in carriages, wagons, 
 sleighs, etc. 
 
 Woods & Clendennin, successors to Carter & Fer- 
 guson, conduct a. general hardware store, and deal 
 in agricultural implements and windmills. They 
 have the exclusive sale in the county of the Gerard 
 
 &
 
 -.,.,. sr 
 
 . 
 . 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 and Eclipse windmills and pumps. They handle 
 about $40,000 worth of goods annually. 
 
 W. S. Robinson & Co. are also general dealers in 
 hardware, stoves, builder's material, and all kinds of 
 agricultural implements. 
 
 The First National Bank of Morrison was estab- 
 lished in 1865, by Leander Smith, who was the first 
 and is the present president. (See page 303.) Its 
 capital is $100,000. It has a good banking office 
 and an excellent vault. 
 
 Smith & McKay are private bankers of this city. 
 This concern was established by Leander Smith 
 (see page 303) and Duncan McKay (see page 7 25) 
 in 1878. Mr. Smith formerly carried on the bank- 
 ing business in Fulton. 
 
 D. P. Spears & Son deal in dry goods, carpets, 
 etc. This firm carries a large stock. 
 
 J. Sablatzky deals in staple and fancy goods, boots 
 and shoes. C. E. Page & Co. handle dry goods, 
 notions and underwear. Snyder & Co. also carry a 
 line of dry goods, fancy goods, besides boots and 
 shoes. Allen & Bros, deal in hardware, agricul- 
 tural implements and plumbing. 
 
 J. A. Shaw has a large and well-made stock of 
 furniture, and is undertaker. His business was es- 
 tablished in 1873. J. McKee & Son are also gen- 
 eral furniture dealers and undertakers. J. S. Green 
 & Co. (successors to A. C. McAlister & Co.) are 
 general dealers in grain, lumber, brick, and all kinds 
 of building material. 
 
 A. H. Martin and John S. Green keep a general 
 line of drugs, also books and stationery. Thomas 
 Harrison & Co. are dealers in groceries, crockery, 
 willow-ware, notions, etc. D. S. Spafford has a 
 general grocery store and handles seeds, etc. (See 
 Page 593.) 
 
 F. Dunbridge does the coopering for the town. B. 
 J. Barker, Curtis Johnson and John Calderwood are 
 manufacturers of harness, and dealers in saddlery. 
 Samuel M. Ladd carries a very fine and well select- 
 ed stock of jewelry, clocks, watches, etc. 
 
 Hollinshead & West deal in a general line of cloth- 
 ing. Mrs. F. C. Woodruff supplies the fair ladies of 
 Morrison from a well selected stock of millinery. E. 
 Homer & Son furnishes the people with music and 
 musical instruments. 
 
 J. A. Anguish has groceris and provisions. In 
 bakery and confectionery and restaurants, the town 
 
 is supplied by Jacob Feldman and Henry Simms. 
 
 E. Hoal and Charles Borman do the tailoring. Beck- 
 ert & Peterson are dealers in boots and shoes. F. J. 
 Beuzeville is a manufacturer of boots and shoes. 
 Blacksmithing is done by Alex. McClennan, J. S. 
 Reed & Co. and G. W. Moore. Isaac Crasley a; 
 H. A. Boyd supply the people with markets. 
 
 Livery and feed stables are carried on by John C. 
 Clark, C. W. Holcomb and M. Preston. Edward 
 Sampson and W. L. Park have photograph galleries, 
 and execute good work. Abstract and commission 
 office by Henry R. Sampson. Meril Meade is an ex- 
 tensive dealer in real estate, and is also Justice of 
 the Peace (see page 223). Frank Clendennin does 
 an insurance and real-estate business. 
 
 The medical profession is represented by Drs. H. 
 
 C. Davidson, C. N. Hazelton, R. B. Johnson, Tay- 
 lor & Seger, J. A. Nowlen and C. J. Pearson ; and the 
 dental profession by A. E. Kennedy and A. S. Nel- 
 son. 
 
 Morrison has an able Bar. It is represented by O. 
 
 F. Woodruff (the Nestor of the Bar), who was ad- 
 mitted to practice in 1861 (see page 325), Frank 
 
 D. Ramsay (see page 283) ; James D. Andrews, W. 
 J. McCoy, William Lang, George H. Fay and L. T. 
 Stocking (see page 5 99). 
 
 There are several hotels in the town. The Revere 
 House, of which J. Ferguson is proprietor and A. C. 
 McAllister manager, is the leading hotel. The Mor- 
 rison House is kept by J. E. Duffin, Farmers' Ex- 
 change, by Frank Clark, and the Franklin House is 
 also a place of entertainment. 
 
 There are several saloons in the town, two barber 
 shops, and a roller-skating rink. 
 
 MAYORS. 
 
 Below are the names of the Mayors who have 
 served the city since its incorporation, with the date 
 of their election : 
 
 George A. Whitcomb 1869 
 
 N. M. Jackson (special charter) 1870 
 
 Charles Spears (re-elected) 187 1-2 
 
 E. B'. Warner 1873-4 
 
 A. J. Jackson 1 875-6 
 
 George A. Whitcomb 1877-8 
 
 O. F. Woodruff (re-elected) 1879-82 
 
 Robert Wallace 1883-4 
 
 H. R. Sampson 1885-6 
 
 
 .." ;
 
 City of Fulton 
 
 
 JHE city of Fulton is located 
 at what has been called the 
 " Narrows of the Mississippi 
 River." The site is a beau- 
 tiful one, with all the neces- 
 sary advantages for a large 
 town. Nature, it would 
 seem, has done here all that it 
 could do to aid man in the build- 
 ing of a large and populous com- 
 munity. Along the river and to 
 the south a level plain extends for 
 several miles, while back from the 
 river to the northward the land 
 gradually rises to an eminence that 
 affords a commanding view of the 
 surrounding country, and forms 
 charming sites for residences. From 
 these heights can be seen for several miles the noble 
 Mississippi as it flows toward the Gulf, the rugged 
 bluffs on the Iowa side and the prairies of Illinois 
 stretching far away into space. Along the banks of 
 the river there are great beds of rock which are suf- 
 ficiently high to be free from inundation, and yet low 
 enough for the conveniences of steamboat landing, 
 and the erection of wharfs and warehouses. Another 
 advantage which this landing seems to have is that 
 it undergoes so little change. This effect is un- 
 doubtedly produced by the "narrows " above, which, 
 
 to a certain extent, controls the great flow of water 
 southward. 
 
 This city is 134 miles from Chicago, and 377 miles 
 by water from St. Ix>uis; and is in lattitude 41 de 
 grees,52 minutes and 3 seconds north, and longitude 
 90 degrees, 1 1 minutes and 3 seconds west of Green- 
 wich. 
 
 The first settler here was John Baker, who, it may 
 be truthfully said, was the founder of the town ; 
 for, when this pioneer made his claims and located 
 here, he evidently did not do so for the purpose of 
 putting them into a farm. This was in the spring of 
 1835. He erected his first cabin near the Cat-tail, 
 where he lived for some time. The second cabin he 
 put up was on the banks of the river near where 
 Spinker's pottery works are, in 1837. In 1836, Mr. 
 Baker had an acquisition to his settlement, the new 
 arrivals being his nephew, John W., with his wife 
 and three sisters. In the fall Joseph Crawford came 
 in. During this year James McCoy paid him a 
 visit, but did not tarry long. He came up from Vir- 
 ginia on horseback, looking out for a good country 
 to locate in, and went on north. Finding nothing 
 that suited him so well as Fulton, he returned in the 
 spring of 1837. About this time there was quite an 
 influx to the population of this Mississippi village, 
 and Baker began to think he had planned wisely. 
 Among those that came in alxnit this time, were 
 George W. Kellogg, John B. Jenkins Henry C. Fel 
 
 -
 
 .. 
 
 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 929 
 
 lows, Dr. Daniel Reed, Jeremiah and Alvin Hum- 
 phrey, Robert Booth, John Redfern, R. J. Jenks, 
 John Grinnold, Edward Rolph, Allen Graves, Ed- 
 ward Caudry, Lyman Blake, Jesse Johnson, Jonathan 
 Briggs, David Ross and A. Briggs. 
 
 Mr. Baker had a partial survey made in the latter 
 part of 1836 by Joseph Crawford, laying off some 
 lots in what is now known as section 28. In 1837 
 some of the new-comers purchased an interest in 
 Mr. Baker's claim, and it was decided to abandon 
 the old survey and have a new one made. James 
 McCoy, who was a surveyor as well as a law student, 
 was secured to do this work. He was assisted by 
 Henry G. Fellows, George W. Kellogg and John B. 
 Jenkins. Mr. McCoy received ten cents a lot for 
 his services. He laid off 2,600 lots. During the 
 survey he bought one-sixteenth interests in these 
 lots. The owners at this time of the city to be, 
 were Alvin Humphrey, John Baker, Henry C. Fel- 
 lows, John B. Jenkins, James McCoy, George W. 
 Kellogg, John W. Baker, Lyman Blake, Jeremiah 
 Humphrey and R. J. Jenks. Several cabins went 
 up this season, which gave an air of stability to the 
 settlement. 
 
 A community of this kind could not be long 
 together without a matrimonial affair. The fair sex 
 were exceedingly scarce at this time, yet this only 
 made them more precious, and the single men more 
 ardent. Edward Rolph and Frances Baker (sister of 
 John Baker) had met, and loved. The result of 
 this was that in the fall a wedding was announced, 
 and everybody invited to attend ; and, as this was 
 the first affair of the kind in the country, no one re- 
 fused. The wedding was at the residence of John 
 Baker. Mrs. Daniel Reed, who had established an 
 enviable reputation for cooking the most palatable 
 and savory dishes, and that too, from the scantiest 
 larder, superintended the culinary department. She 
 made a wedding cake for the bride, which gave her 
 great delight, and it is said she paid almost as much 
 attention to it as she did to the bridegroom. A 
 young lady who was living with Mrs. Reed took 
 charge of the bride. The bridegroom was loth to 
 put on gloves, stating that it was not cold enough to 
 wear them ! They were married by Justice Barlow. 
 It was a merry time all around, and every one was 
 happy. The Justice was particularly so, having 
 drank the bride's health a good many times ! He 
 
 got on the table and sat down, taking his coffee 
 through the medium of ginger-bread. Mrs. Reed 
 celebrated her 84th birthday on the i3th of last 
 May (1885.) 
 
 The first birth in the town was a son to the wife of 
 Robert Booth. This important event occurred in the 
 early part of 1838. The first person who died in 
 Fulton was Eunicia Aldrich, a daughter of John 
 Baker's second wife, by her first husband. She died 
 in 1838, and was buried near the Cat-tail Creek. 
 Joseph Fowler died soon after, and was buried in 
 the grounds now inclosed by the cemetery. He was 
 interred just north of the lots first set aside for the 
 cemetery. 
 
 The first religious service held in the town was in 
 1838, by 'Rev. Mr. Emmerson, a Congregational 
 minister. Dr. Daniel Reed was the first physician 
 to settle in Fulton. He died in 1882. (See page 
 240.) Robert Booth opened the first regular hotel 
 in the town. It was a frame building and was lo- 
 cated just east of what was known as the square. 
 The building was subsequently moved out onto a 
 farm. R. J. Jenks constructed the first ferry for 
 crossing the Mississippi. This was in 1837. Chenery 
 & Phelps opened the first store, which was early in 
 the spring of 1839. They started with their goods 
 the fall before, but their goods were frozen in at Al- 
 ton, where they remained through the winter. They 
 brought in a large stock for those days. Before this 
 store was opened, the people did their trading mostly 
 at Galena and Fort Armstrong, now Rock Island. 
 Sometimes they traded at Albany. 
 
 The land of this section was put into the market 
 in October, 1839, when it was sectionized. This was 
 done along the river and extending back to the 
 bluffs. It was all surveyed and sectionized about 
 the year 1844, when it was all in the market. In 
 1839 the plat of Fulton was enlarged, and included 
 then about 500 acres. The Land Office at this time 
 was at Galena. Hollis Chenery was appointed 
 agent by the claimants of Fulton, to go to the Land 
 Office and purchase the land, which was then held 
 at $1.25 per acre. This he did, and when he re- 
 turned, deeded it back to the claimants. 
 
 The first postoffice was established in Fulton in 
 1838, with John Baker as Postmaster. Hollis 
 Chenery succeed Mr. Baker in 1841. In 1849 an- 
 other change was made and A. Phelps was ap- 
 

 
 93 
 
 WH1TES1DE COUNTY. 
 
 i 
 
 pointed, who held the place until he died. John 
 Phelps then look charge and held the office until 
 1853, when he was succeed by W. S. Wright. Suc- 
 ceeding Mr. Wright were George S. Phelps, J. J. 
 Jones, O. Leighton and E. P. Wills. When Abra- 
 ham Lincoln became President he appointed Dr. 
 W. C. Snyder, who held the office until 1883, when, 
 having been elected to the Legislature, he resigned, 
 and was succeeded by his son, J. C. Snyder, who at 
 present holds the office. 
 
 In 1848, the town was impeded in its growth on 
 account of the cholera. 
 
 The first school opened in the town was by James 
 * McCoy, in the winter of 1840. 
 
 When the settlers first came in, there were quite 
 a number of the Winnebago, Pottawatomie and 
 Fox Indians loitering about, who had not yet gone 
 to their reservations beyond the Mississippi. They 
 made themselves at home among the settlers, pitch- 
 f ing their tepees wherever they pleased. They were 
 friendly, however, and made no disturbance. A 
 A? favorite amusement with the settlers was to hire the 
 Indians to dance for them. 
 
 The Aborigines must have had a large town here 
 at one time, the location being selected on account 
 of its favorable river crossing. There were deep 
 paths worn into the ground leading from the east to 
 the river. There were also primitive smelting fur- 
 naces found here, and upon their being dug out, 
 quantities of lead and lead ore were discovered, to- 
 gether with Indian relics and tools. What uses 
 they put the lead to is not known. The ore was 
 taken from the bluffs in the northeastern part of the 
 town. From the tumulated appearance of the ground, 
 they must have also planted and raised corn here to 
 a considerable extent. 
 
 The first saw-mill put in operation in the town 
 was by Price & Todd, in 1853. It was called Todd 
 & Dement's Mill. There was a small water-power 
 mill started up on the Cat-tail some years before this, 
 but it did not pay and was abandoned. The De- 
 ment Mill afterwards passed into the hands of Cul- 
 bertson, Smith & Co. The lumber business continued 
 to increase until it became an important factor in 
 the growth of Fulton. 
 
 In 1851 quite an impetus was given to the growth 
 @) of Fulton by the railroad project which had for its 
 \s, object the connection of Fulton with the lakes by 
 
 f^tS. 
 
 *; '* 
 
 rail. This project was conceived by Judge James 
 McCoy, one of Fulton's oldest and most prominent 
 citizens. After passing through many complications, 
 the particular history of which will be found in the 
 chapter on railroads, this road was completed to 
 Fulton. 
 
 Pending the construction of this road, Charles 
 Dement conceived the project of erecting in Fulton 
 the largest hotel west of Chicago. This hotel, called 
 the Dement House, was completed in 1855, at a 
 cost of $roo,ooo, and furnished with goods from 
 New York at a cost of $40,000. The building is 
 100 xi 10 feet, and five stories high. The walls 
 were built of stone taken from the Fulton quarries. 
 It was finished with all the improvements known at 
 that time, elegantly furnished and thoroughly ap- 
 pointed throughout. For a time it was crowded 
 with guests, and it seemed that another hotel was 
 necessary to meet the demands of the city. But the 
 action of the railroad companies changed all this, 
 and in 1857 this grand hotel closed, and with it 
 many other enterprises connected with the city. 
 
 In 1855, business matters were so prosperous that 
 it was thought best to have the town incorporated. 
 A meeting was held for the election of officers in 
 April. Wm. C. Green, Charles Dement, Onser Cas- 
 well, Wilson S. Wright and James Briggs were elected 
 Trustees. Wm. C. Green was elected President of 
 the Board ; Benj. S. Gerrish, Clerk ; and Charles N. 
 Wheeler, Treasurer. 
 
 The village was platted in 1856. Among the pro- 
 visions were, that all streets and alleys north and 
 south should run parallel with Base Street, and 
 streets east and west parallel with Ferry Street. 
 This plat embraced all of section 28, except that 
 part extending into the river, and about 60 acres in 
 the southwest corner. 
 
 The growth of the town induced the people to take 
 on a higher organization, and in 1859 Fulton became 
 a city. It was organized under a special act of the 
 Legislature, passed Feb. 14, 1859, and it is governed 
 under the provisions of the charter granted by this 
 act, and the amendments thereto, approved March 
 9, 1869. 
 
 The city perfected its organizations under the pro- 
 visions of its charter by an election held the first 
 Tuesday in April, 1859. James McCoy was chosen 
 Mayor ; Leander Smith, Daniel E. Dodge, Lyman 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 r;;. 
 
 j 
 
 f& 

 
 -> ,, KT 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 Blake and Charles A. Chase, Aldermen ; and Jerome 
 T. Westwell, Clerk. 
 
 The lumber interests became quite an important 
 auxiliary to the development of Fulton, and one of 
 its principal industries. In 1862 C. E. Langford 
 put his mill in operation, from which grew his 
 present extensive lumber manufactory. He first re- 
 paired the old Dement Mill, and operated that 
 awhile. In 1868, he took Warren P. Hall in as a 
 partner. In 1878, it was incorporated, with a capital 
 stock of $75,000. From time to time the manufac- 
 turing capacity of this lumber mill has been in- 
 creased until it has reached its present dimensions. 
 
 In the latter part of December, 1864, the right of 
 way into the city by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 St. Paul Railroad was obtained, and condemnation 
 of property had. In the early part of 1865 the track 
 was completed and the road came into Fulton, but 
 known then as the Warsaw, Rock Island & Galena 
 Railroad. In the month of January, 1883, the Ful- 
 ton, or Clinton, & Mendota Branch of the Chicago, 
 Burlington & Quincy Railroad, completed its track 
 and run its first train into the city. In addition to 
 the above mentioned railway lines, the City of Ful v 
 ton has the transportatiun facilities afforded by the 
 Mississippi. There are numerous boats plying the 
 river and landing at Fulton, but the principal busi- 
 ness done is by the Diamond Jo Line, as it is 
 called, which was established in 1866 by Joseph 
 Reynolds. It was started at first to operate in con- 
 nection with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. 
 This line brings down in boats and barges much 
 of the products of the Great Northwest. Their car- 
 goes are transferred into the warehouses and eleva- 
 tors, and taken from there by rail to Chicago, the 
 emporium of the world. The Fulton and Lyons 
 Ferry furnishes ready transportation across the Mis- 
 sissippi to Lyons. It makes trips every hour. 
 
 Fulton enjoys a permanent and steady growth. 
 Its buildings, dwellings, as well as business blocks, 
 have been of late years constructed mostly of brick. 
 The census of 1880 gave it a population of 1,733 
 souls. The population is at present estimated at 
 about 2,100. 
 
 The change of the plans of the Northwestern Rail- 
 road by crossing the Mifsissippi River at Clinton, 
 instead of at the " Narrows," materially affected the 
 destinies of Fulton. Beyond a doubt this is the best 
 
 place for constructing a bridge across the Missis- 
 sippi of all along the Illinois shore. But this city 
 has sustaining resources within herself and will 
 progress forward, not backward. It is supported by 
 a rich agricultural and stock-raising country, which 
 is not fickle, and will not change, though railways 
 may. It has many substantial and enriching indus- 
 tries that cannot but be perpetuated. Its many beau- 
 tiful residences indicate the taste of its citizens ; its 
 fine schools, their intelligence. As a place of resi- 
 dence, its site is healthful and pleasing. From its 
 heights most superb views can be had from every 
 point of the compass. 
 
 Many of the early settlers of this place, though 
 they have passed through the struggles and hard- 
 ships of pioneer life ; though their shadows fall to- 
 ward the east, and the frosts of many winters rest 
 upon their heads, are still in possession of health to 
 enjoy the blessings of the civilization and the culture 
 they have labored so hard to establish. They have 
 built upon the lands once occupied by a race that 
 has left nothing behind them but their mounds, and 
 by another that is fast passing away. But the new 
 race will remain as long as the " Father of the 
 Waters " shall wash the shores of their city. 
 
 The following are the names of the present officers 
 of the city government . Mayor, Wm. C. Green ; Al- 
 dermen John Stewart, Oliver E. Finch, First Ward ; 
 Jackson F. Martin, George S. Sardam, Second Ward; 
 Lyman Blake, Joel W. Farley, Third Ward ; Clerk, 
 Thomas H. Smith : Treasurer, Charles B. Mer- 
 cereau ; Attorney, James McCoy ; Marshal, Fred K. 
 Bastian. 
 
 BUSINESS INTERESTS. 
 
 One of the important industries of Fulton is the 
 Langford & Hall Lumber Company. This business 
 was started in 1862, by C. E. Langford. The ca- 
 pacity per day ten hours is 75,000 feet of lumber, 
 36,000 shingles, and 12,000 lath. They also manu- 
 facture moldings, and employ 130 men. The three 
 lines of railroads have tracts through their yards. 
 The mill is located on the bank of the river, and 
 their logs came from Wisconsin and Minnesota and 
 are rafted down the Mississippi. 
 
 T. A. Harden & Co. are the bankers of the city. 
 The members of the firm are Quinton C. Ward and 
 John H. Hungate. This is one of the substantial 
 banking houses of the country. The building is a. 
 
 S!> 
 
 5 

 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 ~^tse 
 
 
 two-story brick structure and the vault is built upon 
 the solid bed rock of the Mississippi. The walls are 
 double, with air chambers and ventilators, and has a 
 
 '" combination lock on the vault-doors. Inside is one 
 . of Hall's combination time-lock, double burglar-proof 
 vp safes. The office is large, airy and well appointed, 
 with private rooms attached. This bank was es- 
 tablished in 1876. 
 
 Leslie Williams carries a large assortment of drugs, 
 medicines, stationery, books, wall-paper and fancy 
 goods. A D. Mitchell has a general line of groceries, 
 glass and crockery-ware. 
 
 W. C. & J. C. Snyder, dealers in grain, farm pro- 
 duce and agricultural implements. General Steam- 
 boat Agency is one of the leading firms of the county. 
 This business was started in 1855. 
 ' John Stewart is a manufacturer of carriages and 
 light buggies ; also does blacksmithing and repairing. 
 
 Egnatz Spinkee is proprietor of the Fulton Pottery, 
 -' where garden-vases, jugs, jars, pots, pans, firkins, 
 etc., are manufactured. He gets his clay from 
 Whitehall, 111. The Pipe Factory is conducted by 
 Gerten & Bros., who manufacture smoking-pipes 
 and do quite an extensive business, shipping their 
 goods to all parts of the country. They get their 
 clay from Ustick Township. Oliver Finch is the 
 brick manufacturer. 
 
 The Fulton Flouring Mills are owned by W. M. 
 Herald and leased by T. L. Taggart. They have 
 two run of stone, and are making a good article of 
 flour. 
 
 De Bey & Van Dallen are dealers in hardware and 
 and agricultural implements. George de Bey has a 
 f general line of groceries and dry goods. Richard 
 Green has dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes. J. 
 (^ N. Ward keeps a line of drugs, medicines, wall- 
 paper, etc. W. D. Madden & Co. are wholesale 
 liquor dealers. Tohn Downs has a general line' of 
 hardware. P. Kitchen is a manufacturer of harness 
 and dealer in saddlery. S. Collins conducts marble 
 and granite works. Frank Dana has a news depot, 
 stationery, fruit and cigars. 
 
 D. & C. Summers carry a general stock of gro- 
 ceries, while another hardware store is conducted by 
 C. N. Wheeler. A. Morse is the dealer in leather 
 and findings. L. B. Peters has a furniture store, and 
 manufactures mattresses. He is also an undertaker. 
 J. M. Fay is also an undertaker. Mrs. S, C, Ins- 
 
 keep accommodates the ladies with millinery. H. 
 P. Pulver and D. N. Allison each have a bakery and 
 confectionery store. 
 
 J. W. Broadhead deals in dry goods, notions and 
 clothing, while G. Naniga & Co. are dealers in dry 
 goods, groceries, boots and shoes, feed and produce. 
 1 S. O. Newell has an elegant assortment of jewelry. 
 
 Hill & Peterson and G. Utz have meat markets. 
 A. F. W. Volkman and H. De Wind have tailor- 
 shops. J. W. Nye does blacksmithing, wagon and 
 machine repairing. H. L. Abbott keeps a livery and 
 feed stable. John Frit* is the builder and contrac- 
 tor. A. E. Dade and Fred Fell are boot and shoe- 
 makers. Thos. A. Davenport does house and sign 
 painting, and Milo Jones keeps a restaurant. There 
 are several saloons and billard halls in town and a 
 skating rink. 
 
 Fulton has three hotels. The Robinson House, 
 James Holleran, proprietor. This hotel is one of the 
 old resorts for travelers. It has been partially re- 
 built and refitted, and offers now good entertainment 
 to its guests. The Central House, of which T. W. 
 Schroederis proprietor, andTransient House, of which 
 E. W. Oakley is proprietor. This hotel is at the 
 the Junction. 
 
 The people of Fulton are well provided with able 
 and skillful physicians. The gentlemen who repre- 
 sent this profession are Drs. C. A. Griswold, G. W. 
 Clendennin, H. M. Kennedy, H. J. Heusinkald, 
 and H. Leach. 
 
 James McCoy represents the legal profession at 
 Fulton, and has done so for nearly half a century. 
 He was the first lawyer to locate in Fulton. George 
 Terwilliger is the city's Magistrate. 
 
 FULTON BAND. 
 
 The city is quite fortunate in having so good a 
 band. It keeps up in its practice with the musical 
 world, and is one of the best bands in the county. It 
 is lead by C. W. Warren. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 Fulton Graded School. -The youth of Fulton are 
 exceedingly fortunate in having such an excellent 
 school in which to prepare themselves for the duties 
 of life. George C. Lomis is Principal, assisted by 
 Miss F. H. Benson. Miss Hattie Green has charge 
 of the Grammar department ; Miss Josie E. Knight 
 and Miss Alice E. Knight have charge of the Inter- 
 mediate ; Miss Clara A, Adams, Mrs. N. Hutchins 
 
 
 A 
 
 r: '' 
 
 2*^ *t*@j(
 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 and Miss A. Chandler, the Primary. The average 
 attendance in each of the departments is about 50- 
 
 ^ total enrollment, 350. Connected with the school is a 
 library of 75 volumes. The school has a graduating 
 
 /! class, who receive diplomas upon the completion of 
 their course of studies. Prof. S. W. Mountz gives 
 instruction in music twice a week during the terms. 
 Mr. Lomis has a commendable system of instruc- 
 tion a system which is well adapted for the rapid 
 advancement of his pupils. The school building is 
 a substantial three-story brick structure, with large, 
 airy and well ventilated rooms. It is located on an 
 eminence which commands a wide extent of beau- 
 tiful country, and its grounds are attractive. 
 
 Northern Illinois College. This is one of the 
 great features of Fulton. It was first established 
 by Col. De Estynge Cavert, in 1861, as a military 
 school, and was called the Western Union College 
 and Military Academy. Col. Cavert proposed to 
 open his institution if the citizens would take hold 
 and help him, which they did, forming a company 
 and issuing bonds. He secured the Dement House, 
 which had been vacant for some years, refitted the 
 building, and extended the grounds so as to have 
 ample room for drill. The war had commenced, 
 and military enthusiasm ran high. He received 
 from the United States Government arms and ac- 
 coutrements for the use of the cadet corps. It was 
 carried on in this way for about four years, receiving 
 large numbers of students, and sending out many 
 well drilled cadets to the field. Col. Cavert desired 
 then to retire from the college, and have the com- 
 pany take it off his hands and rent it as a college. 
 They took it from him, and organized a college 
 under the general laws of the State, securing a 
 special charter. Donations were asked for and re- 
 ceived from all parts of the State, and quite a large 
 fund was raised. One of the objects was to take 
 the disabled soldiers from Illinois regiments and 
 educate them to fill civil stations. The same ad- 
 vantages were extended to the children of soldiers. 
 The trustees managed the institution, with a fac- 
 ulty, of whom Leander H. Potter was President. 
 The expenses were defrayed from the donation fund. 
 The institution received from the State during this 
 period about $20,000. Mr. Potter's administration 
 was not satisfactory to the trustees, and they indi- 
 cated to him that his resignation would be accepted, 
 
 and he resigned. About this period they ceased 
 soliciting aid from tbe State. The question of 
 changing the name of the college was discussed, and 
 it was finally agreed by the stockholders and trus- 
 tees to adopt' a new name", calling the institution 
 the Northern Illinois College. The trustees then 
 secured Mr. W. D. F. Lummis, who, with other pro- 
 fessors, took charge of the institution. They gave 
 him the interest on the fund (which was then 
 $30,000), charging him nothing for the use of the 
 building. 
 
 Mr. Lummis did well financially, but did not 
 build the college up, and they disposed of him. 
 They then leased the college to a minister, J. W. 
 Hubbard, whose administration was about as unsat- 
 isfactory as the preceding ones. Subsequently, A. 
 A. Griffith took charge of the institution. He was a 
 very good man, but did not advance the college as 
 the trustees desired it to be done. It was during 
 Mr. Griffith's management that Professors A. M. 
 Hansen and W. F. Hansen came in. They were 
 very popular and pleased the Board. They finally 
 disposed of Mr. Griffith, and placed the college in 
 charge of Prof. A. M. Hansen, who reorganized the 
 institution, making a good many changes and im- 
 provements. President Hansen had erected on the. 
 grounds north of the college a large brick three-story 
 building, for the accommodation of his family, the 
 female students, and for a dining hall. 
 
 The trustees keep up the expenses of the institu- 
 tion, such as repairs, insurance, etc., and give the 
 use of the building. This is done from the interest 
 on the donation fund. President Hansen has be- 
 come quite popular, and he has largely increased the 
 patronage. A business education can be had at 
 this institution that cannot be secured at a graded 
 school or any other college. The student can get 
 his business education and go out, or can go through 
 with a regular classical course. This is one of the 
 best educational institutions in the State, and piob- 
 ably nowhere in the State can a thorough education 
 be procured at so little expense. For health and 
 beauty of location it is unexcelled. The Faculty 
 take every pains with their pupils, and the President 
 looks after them with the care of a parent. The pa- 
 rents who send their children here can rest assured 
 that they will be under the best of influences. The 
 college buildings are heated by steam, and the 
 
 
 
 f 

 
 
 WHITESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 rooms are large and well-ventilated. The apart- 
 
 ments appropriated to the young ladies are really 
 3 ejegant. The college has all the instruments, chem- 
 icals, and chemical apparatus, geological cabinets 
 and., charts necessary for the use of' the student. 
 One pf the attractive features of this institution is 
 that it is free from sectarian influences, though its 
 government is upon a true Christian basis. Board 
 of Trustees Edmund R. Allen, President : Leander 
 Smith, Treasurer; James McCoy, Secretary; C. E. 
 t Langford, Payson Trask, John Dickson, Bradstreet 
 Robinson, Charles R. Rood, Daniel P. Spears, Wm. 
 P. Culbertson, Charles Spears and A. M. Hansen; 
 Executive Committee Bradstreet Robinson, James 
 McCoy, Leander Smith, Payson Trask and Wm. P. 
 Culbertson. 
 
 The Faculty is as follows: A. M. Hansen, A. 
 M., Ph. D., metaphysics and ancient languages ; 
 W. F. Hansen, mathematics and literature; Miss 
 Mary A. Parker, A. B., natural sciences and Ger- 
 man ; J. E. Bittinger, B. S., commercial course and 
 assistant in natural sciences; Miss Minnie L. Wil- 
 bur, B. S., instrumental and vocal music; N. C. 
 Pratt, B. S., common branches; Miss E. M. Vath, 
 B. S., elocution and reading; Mrs. Lottie Post, oil 
 painting and drawing. 
 
 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 The Fulton Journal. Feeling that it was essen- 
 tial to the growth and prosperity of Fulton to have 
 an organ to represent its interests, Judge James 
 McCoy and John Phelps got together and deter- 
 mined favorably for the project. Accordingly, in the 
 fall of 1853, they sent to St. Louis and purchased a 
 press and a newspaper outfit. The press was ship- 
 ped by a steamboat, but it was so late in the season 
 when the boat started that her passage up the river 
 was obstructed by ice, and she was obliged to put 
 in at Rock Island, where the material for Fulton's 
 future exponent was stored for the winter. When 
 navigation opened in the spring, the press was 
 brought up. 
 
 Not being printers, the projectors of this enterprise 
 secured the services of a practical printer in the per- 
 son of A. McFadden, of Freeport, who came and 
 took charge, organized the office and issued the first 
 number in May, 1854. It was issued as the White- 
 side Investigator, and was the first paper published 
 in the county. It was a very respectable sheet for 
 
 /~> <v 
 
 that period. Messrs. McCoy & Phelps had erected 
 a two-story brick building for the use of the press, 
 on the corner of Short and Union Streets. McFad- 
 den bought the paper from McCoy & Phelps, and 
 subsequently took in G. A. Laighton as a partner. 
 Later on, Laighton became sole owner, and changed 
 the name to Fulton City Advertiser. He improved 
 the paper, and was assisted in the editorial depart- 
 ment by Dr. C. A. Griswold and Messrs. Goot & 
 Lewis. In 1856, the Advertiser advocated the elec- 
 tion of James Buchanan for the Presidency, which 
 changed its editorial staff. Subsequently Laighton 
 became involved in debt and quit the country, leav- 
 ing the paper in the hands of subordinates, and after 
 a few issues it suspended. 
 
 In 1859 the press was leased to G. J. Booth and 
 B. C. Galliday, and a paper was issued by them un- 
 der the name of the Weekly Courier, which was 
 Republican in politics. In a few months Galliday 
 withdrew and Booth had entire charge. In the 
 spring of 1863 Mr. Booth purchased the plant from 
 Laighton, and changed the name to the Fulton 
 Journal, which name has been continued to the 
 present time. In 1866, Mr. Booth took his son into 
 the office, and the paper was carried on under the 
 name of G. J. Booth & Son. 
 
 In 1872, Mr. George Terwilliger purchased the 
 establishment and became editor and proprietor. In 
 the fall of the same year he sold a half interest to 
 Dr. W. C. Snyder, who relieved Mr. Terwilliger of 
 the business department. 
 
 In March, 1876, Mr. Snyder purchased the entire 
 interest, retaining Mr. Terwilliger as editor. Mr. 
 Terwilliger withdrew in November, 1876, and after- 
 wards Thos. J. Pickett, Jr., leased the paper from 
 Dr. Snyder. Subsequently, Mr. Pickett and J. C. 
 Snyder purchased it. In 1878, W. R. Cobb bought 
 out Pickett's interest. In 1880 it was purchased by 
 the Sterling Gazette Company and J. C. Snyder re- 
 tained as editor. In i88t, Fred K. Bastian, who 
 was local editor of the Gazette, purchased the entire 
 interest. In August of the same year, his brother 
 A. W. came in as a partner, and the Journal has 
 since been conducted jointly by them. During this 
 year the Journal was changed to a seven-column 
 folio semi-weekly paper. It was first published as a 
 Democratic paper. In 1859 it was changed to a 
 Republican paper and remained so until 1881, when 
 
 I 
 
 *T* 
 
 4, 
 
 
 i^yvvs^S 
 
 - ' -
 
 (SN 
 
 it became an independent Democratic journal. It 
 has a splendid job office and one of the best compo- 
 sition rooms in the country. 
 
 The Journal is now in its 3 1 st volume, with a 
 large and increasing circulation. It is a bright 
 newspaper, containing all the important news of the 
 day, devoted to the interests of Fulton and the 
 country, ably edited and one of the leading papers 
 of the county. 
 
 Fulton Star. This paper was established by Rev. 
 George W. Perry, the first issue coming out Jan. 4, 
 1883. It is a neat, newsy, five-column quarto 
 weekly journal, well conducted, with a circulation of 
 about 500. It was established as a Republican 
 paper. In March, 1885, it became a Prohibition 
 sheet, accepting a proposition extended by this party 
 to be their official organ for Whiteside County. It 
 is the prospective organ of this party of this Sena- 
 torial District. Mr. Perry is a retired member of 
 the Rock River Methodist Episcopal Conference. 
 He has been a zealous advocate of prohibition for 
 many years. On account of ill health, Mr. Perry 
 recently retired from the paper, and it is now owned 
 and conducted by his sons, George T. and W. F. 
 Perry. 
 
 SOCIETIES. 
 
 Fulton City Lodge, No. 189, A. F. and A. M., 
 was instituted Dec. 25, 1855, Christmas eve. It 
 was organized under a dispensation, the Masons of 
 the city having petitioned for the privilege. In Oc- 
 tober, 1856, a charter was granted them. David 
 W. Thomson was the first W. M. In 1868, they 
 commenced the building of a hall, which was finished 
 in the spring of 1869, and dedicated June 30. 
 James I.uckey, Acting Grand Master, opened the 
 ceremonies with an appropriate speech. On this 
 occasion David W. Thomson presented the lodge 
 with a gavel made in Jerusalem from olive wood, 
 and an ashlar made of stone from the quarry under 
 the city of Jerusalem. The dedication ceremonies 
 were closed by a grand banquet which was held in 
 their banqueting hall, and which was gotten up by 
 the ladies of Fulton. They have a fine hall, which 
 is very neatly and appropriately furnished. Ad- 
 joining the hall is their banquet room, and in the 
 rear of this is their kitchen, which is furnished with 
 all the utensils necessary for a culinary department. 
 The lodge has 70 members, is in good working 
 
 The present W. M. is J. C. 
 
 d 
 
 order, and prospering. 
 Martindale. 
 
 Fulton Chapter, No. 108, R. A. M., was organized 
 Feb. 13, 1867. It worked under a dispensation. 
 Oct. 4, when their charter was granted, Abraham 
 Salle was the first H. P., D. W. Thomson, King, 
 and Cyrus Pratt, Scribe. They have at present 62 
 members. The present officers are, W. C. Snyder, 
 H. P., R. H. Andrews, King, and Thomas A. 
 Hardin, Scribe. 
 
 Abou Ben Adhem Lodge, No. 148, 1. O. O. F. 
 This lodge was chartered in 1871, and the meet- , 
 ing for the organization was held July 29, same 
 year. It was formed from the old Portland Lodge, 
 whose charter was granted Oct. 12, 1853, and which 
 was disbanded in i86r. ]. \V. Woodward was the 
 first N. G. This lodge has a large and well- 
 equipped hall, with a membership of 148. The 
 present N. G. is Henry McCurray. 
 
 Modern Woodmen of America. This camp was 
 chartered Feb. to, 1883. They have a membership 
 of 62, and meet in the Odd Fellows' Hall. The j 
 object of this order is to promote good fellowship * 
 and neighborly regard. It bestows substantial ben- ] 
 efits upon the widows, children, and relatives of > 
 deceased members. They also care for the sick 
 and indigent members. It is a life insurance order, " 
 paying such amounts upon the death of a member I 
 as he may select when joining. During life, each 
 member is subject to assessments on the sum se- 
 lected by him, whenever necessary to meet death 
 claims. These assessments are very moderate. 
 
 The Woman's Christian Temperance Union have 
 an interesting organization in Fulton. Their object, \ 
 as is well known, is to promote the cause of temper- 
 ance. This society was organized in September, 
 1875. They hold regular meetings, and give a good 
 deal of time to the objects of their organization. 
 Mrs. George Whitcomb is President ; Mrs. C. A. 
 Wood, Corresponding Secretary, and Miss Julia 
 Teller, Treasurer. 
 
 The Leata Lodge, No. 428, 1. O. G. T. This so-/; 
 ciety was organized Aug. 6, 1880. Officers, A. A. 
 Wheeler, W. C. ; J. C. Snyder, Secretary, and Mrs.^, 
 W. F. Hansen, Treasurer. They meet in the base- p ;' 
 ment of the P.aptist Church. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 The Presbyterian Church. This Church was or- 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 WH1TESIDE COUNTY. 
 
 m 
 
 ganized March 30, 1868, by a union of the Old and 
 New School Presbyterians. The Old School Church 
 was organized in May, 1856. Its pastors were Revs. 
 W. C. Mason, J. B. McClure and A. N. Keigwin. 
 The New School Church (growing out of the Con- 
 gregational Church, which was organized in 1845) 
 was organized in 1862. Rev. Josiah Leonard was 
 its only minister from its organization until the 
 union in 1868. Rev. Henry Keigwin became the 
 pastor after the reorganization, and remained with 
 the Church until June, 1872. Rev. Delos E. Wells 
 succeeded him, serving the society until March, 1882, 
 when Rev. Benj. Mills was called, who remained un- 
 til May, 1883. Rev. W. D. Smith succeeded Mr. 
 Mills, and served the Church until Nov. 1884. Rev. 
 R. L. Adams, the present minister, assumed the 
 pastoral duties January, 1885. They have a fine, 
 large brick edifice. The society has at present 
 about 100 members and is growin'g. It also has a 
 large and interesting Sunday-school. 
 
 Church of the Immaculate Conception. The mem- 
 bers of this Church were attended by clergymen 
 from parishes in Illinois and Iowa for many years 
 before a society was constituted here. In 1862 they 
 erected a very neat church edifice, which they still 
 use. The have also a good parsonage, and a ceme- 
 tery, inclosing about five acres. The Church is out 
 of debt and in a most prosperous condition. Dr. J. 
 J. Govern was the first resident pastor. The Church 
 has a membership at present of about 130 families. 
 Rev. Maurice Sack is in charge of the Church. He 
 also serves the Morrison Church, and holds mission 
 service at Coflfey's Corners, in Albany Township, 
 about 12 miles below Fulton, every third Sunday. 
 They have a new frame church building at this 
 place, with a membership of 35 families. These 
 Churches belong to the Diocese of Chicago. 
 
 The Baptist Church. About twenty years after the 
 first settlement of Fulton, and long after the Meth- 
 odists and Presbyterians had established their so- 
 cieties, the members of the Baptist Church, feeling 
 the need of a place of worship, assembled together, 
 and after consultation decided to organize. Acting 
 upon this decision, Alfred McFadden, John Peter- 
 son, Mrs. A. B. Starkweather, Miss Matilda Meeker, 
 all of whom had letters from the Churches where 
 they had formerly lived, with Rev. A. H. Stark- 
 weather, met at the old stone school-house, July 28, 
 1855, and completed their organization. 
 
 As soon as this nucleus was formed the Church 
 increased in numbers rapidly. Mr. Starkweather 
 assumed pastoral charge, and remained until the 
 early part of the summer of 1858. During this time 
 the Church commenced the construction of an edi- 
 fice. It was so far completed that they were en- 
 abled to use the basement, and in the fall of 1856 it 
 was dedicated. During this year the society was 
 reorganized by the council and attached to the Dixon 
 Association. About this period some dissatisfaction 
 arose among the members which drew off some of 
 them, and it was deemed best to reorganize, which 
 they did. The new organization was called the 
 First Baptist Church and Society of the City of Ful- 
 ton. 
 
 Owing to this dissension, and the erection of their 
 building, the society became involved in debt. Rev. 
 A. A. Swain succeeded Mr. Starkweather, and 
 through his able efforts the building was completed 
 and the debt paid off. In 1860, March 30, the 
 Church was dedicated, Dr. Evarts, of Chicago, as- 
 sisting in the services. 
 
 The foundation of the building is of stone, the 
 superstructure being of brick, and cost $6,000. It 
 is a large, plain edifice, 36 x 70 feet. Several pastors 
 served the Church after Mr. Swain, who resigned in 
 the latter part of 1860, the last being Rev. W. H. 
 Barnes. Rev. H. F. Gilbert is at present acting 
 as pastor. 
 
 The Episcopal Church. In the spring of 1869, 
 13 members of this Church met in the old Methodist 
 building and organized a society which they called 
 Christ's Episcopal Church. The society was served 
 by ministers from Lyons and Clinton until the latter 
 part of the year, when the services of the Rev. 
 George Gibson were engaged, who was the first regu- 
 lar pastor. In July, 1871, they purchased a build- 
 ing from Mr. Wetzell, and fitted it up for the holding 
 of their meetings. This Church has not been very 
 prosperous. Mr. Gibson was their first and last rec- 
 tor. Rev. Mr. Trimble, of Clinton, Iowa, held ser- 
 vices occasionally until 1877. In 1878 their build- 
 ing was sold to the Northern Illinois College and 
 moved up and located on Base Street opposite. 
 
 The Holland Church, of Fulton City, was organ- 
 ized Oct. 28, 1866, by Rev. H. G. Klyn and Elder 
 G. Vostenhoud. The Elders chosen at this time 
 were F. Stemberg and G. Manninga ; Deacon, J. 
 
 **. . 

 
 Tellema. Their church building was completed, and 
 dedicated Dec. 15, 1867. In August, 1869, Rev. H. 
 Waltman was established as pastor. His health not 
 being good, he was given a leave of absence. He 
 went West, and then to Grand Rapids, Mich., where 
 he died, April 30, 1870. He was succeeded by 
 Rev. John Van der Meurlen, and he by Rev. Wm. 
 Hazenberg. He remained a while, when Rev. H. 
 Van der Ploeg, the present pastor, took charge. The 
 church is situated in the east part of the town, near 
 the Northwestern depot. The members of this 
 Church are made up chiefly of Hollanders living 
 in and about Fulton and in East Clinton. Their 
 membership is composed of about 170 families, and 
 they have about the same number in baptism. They 
 have commenced the erection of a new church edi- 
 fice, which is to be a large and commodious struc- 
 ture, 50 x go feet, and will cost when completed about 
 $5,500. It will be a frame building.'with a solid 
 stone foundation. This society is in a prosperous 
 condition, and has a larger membership than any 
 other in the city. Their new church building is 
 near the center of the town, on Genesee Street. Near 
 
 it is. the parsonage, and, with the exception of one 
 lot, the society owns the entire block. 
 
 
 
 CEMETERY. 
 
 " Fulton City Cemetery. While in the active walks 
 of this life the citizens of Fulton have not forgotten 
 that it is only a temporary one at best, and that the 
 time will come when all that this world claims of 
 them will be laid down to rest forever. 
 
 When the founders laid out the town they set off 
 three lots in the northern portion for a cemetery. 
 These grounds were afterwards enlarged and now 
 contain about twelve acres. The cemetery, which 
 is under the control of a stock association, is located 
 upon the high bluffs which lie north of the city, and 
 which afford a magnificent view of the Mississippi 
 and the country below. The grounds were naturally 
 beautiful, and the cultivated taste of the inhabitants 
 has enhanced their attractiveness. They are liber- 
 ally shaded with trees, some of which have been 
 planted, and some have come up from Nature |s or- 
 iginal growth. There are many rich and costly mon- 
 uments, which are varied in design and are artistic.
 
 
 
 - 
 
 Abbey, John .'- . . .775 
 
 Abbott, A. M 464 
 
 Abbott, H.L 228 
 
 Adair, George 784 
 
 Adam , C. F 567 
 
 Adam , George B 239 
 
 Adam , John 23 
 
 Adam , John Quincy 39 
 
 Adam , Robert 779 
 
 Aitken,Wm 748 
 
 Albcrtson, Samuel 645 
 
 Aid-rich, Rufus -.742 
 
 Alexander, E. V. H., M. D..SSO 
 
 Alldritt, Richard 373 
 
 Alldritt, William 277 
 
 Allen, A, B 470 
 
 Allen, F.M 447 
 
 Allen, G. F 791 
 
 Allen, George W 461 
 
 Allen, O. W 796 
 
 Allen W. H 486 
 
 Andreas, Peter 400 
 
 Annan William 238 
 
 Arey, Richard 513 
 
 Arnett, L. C 557 
 
 Arrell, David B 193 
 
 Arthur, Chester A 99 
 
 Austin. Dennis .194 
 
 Austin, D. L 542 
 
 Austin, Hiram 198 
 
 Averill, M. R 690 
 
 Avery, John 462 
 
 Aylsworth, John P 759 
 
 B 
 
 Bachellor, Cornelius 330 
 
 Badgley, J. P 657 
 
 Baer, J. H 384 
 
 Baer, Martin, 509 
 
 Bailey, Jacob 258 
 
 Baird, James H 687 
 
 Baldwin, L. D 558 
 
 Baldwin, S.G 568 
 
 Baldwin, O. G 567 
 
 Barber, Robert G 413 
 
 Barnum, H. M 521 
 
 Barnes, Alfred 533 
 
 Barrett.T.S 266 
 
 liassett, Dr. William 299 
 
 liastian, A . W, 306 
 
 I'.astian, Fred K 306 
 
 Batchcllcr, H. F 400 
 
 Bayliss, Alfred 289 
 
 Beach, Rev. Oliver 247 
 
 Beach, T. S 666 
 
 Bechtel, E. M 236 
 
 Becker, John H 216 
 
 Bcckwith, E. R 749 
 
 Bell, James R 717 
 
 Belt, Benjamin 195 
 
 Benner, Joseph 561 
 
 Bentley, E. S 786 
 
 Beswick, Richard 204 
 
 Beswick, Thomas L 207 
 
 lieswick, William A 380 
 
 Bcuzeville, F. J 205 
 
 Beveridge, John L 171 
 
 Bey, George de: see De Bey. 
 
 Birdsall, E. N 315 
 
 Birdsall, H. L 253 
 
 Bissell, William H i st 
 
 Blaisdell, M. W 190 
 
 Blake, Lyman 391 
 
 Bley,John H 268 
 
 Blue, Richard 487 
 
 Body, Isaac 438 
 
 Bond, N. L 432 
 
 Bond, Shadrach m 
 
 Bond, Warren 332 
 
 Bonebrake, Benj 237 
 
 Booth, A. J 328 
 
 Booth, James H 741 
 
 Booth, Wm. A 525 
 
 Booth Wm. C 633 
 
 Bowman, Edmund 254 
 
 Boyd, H. A 782 
 
 Bracken, A . J 582 
 
 Brauer, Anson H 564 
 
 Bresslcr, Isaac S 404 
 
 Brcssler, Levi 58r 
 
 Brewer, A. S 606 
 
 Brewer, George W 555 
 
 Brewer, H . L 213 
 
 Brewer, Nathan 522 
 
 Brink, Hezekiah 264 
 
 Brightman, W . R 795 
 
 Broaclhead, J. W 379 
 
 Brookfield, L. E 574 
 
 Brooks, P. A 648 
 
 Brown, Rev. A.J 284 
 
 Brown, Mrs. A. T. 381 
 
 Brown, E. C 612 
 
 Brown, E. P 793 
 
 Brown, Herbert E 511 
 
 Brown, Wm. B 225 
 
 Brown, Willis L 616 
 
 Brown, Wm. W 694 
 
 Bryant, James 717 
 
 Bryant, Wm 792 
 
 Bryning, S.G.,M.D 402 
 
 Buchanan, James 75 
 
 Buell, C. C 397 
 
 Bull.B. B 76' 
 
 Bull, John P 732 
 
 Bull, J. W 412 
 
 Bull, W. B 565 
 
 Bullock, R.M 669 
 
 Bump, Joseph W 275 
 
 Burch, H. D 561 
 
 Burch, T. J 79 
 
 Burchell, R. L 572 
 
 Burgess, Benj., Jr 259 
 
 Burke, Thomas 773 
 
 Burkholdcr, Christian 308 
 
 Burkholder, E 769 
 
 Burr, James M 345 
 
 Burr, H. E 298 
 
 Burridgc, F. E 696 
 
 Burroughs, D. L 349 
 
 Bush, Henry 429 
 
 Bush, M. L 394 
 
 Bushman, Colonel 545 
 
 Bushman, H. S 514 
 
 Butler, David R 522 
 
 Butman, Wm 369 
 
 liutzer, John 778 
 
 Cadwell, Wm. H 371 
 
 Cady, George R 777 
 
 Carlin, Thomas 135 
 
 Carman, F. W., M . D 543 
 
 Carney, Michael 574 
 
 Carolus, J. K 308 
 
 Carpenter, Capt. A. M 235 
 
 Carpenter, Capt. C. C 349 
 
 Carr, R. M 198 
 
 Cavert, William 605 
 
 *. 
 
 
 Champion, Roswell 316 
 
 Chapin, H. H 393 
 
 Chapin, Milo 568 
 
 Charter, John 7'9 
 
 Chester, J. K 352 
 
 Church, A. A 481 
 
 Church, B. C.,Sr 263 
 
 Church, B. C., Jr 264 
 
 Clark, F. B 618 
 
 Clark, John 79 s " 
 
 Clark, Norman 552 
 
 Clcaveland, Edward 563 ,\>. 
 
 Cleaveland, J 419 Jj 
 
 Clendenen, Dr. G. W 322 * 
 
 Cleveland, Nelon 575 * 
 
 Cleveland, S. Grover 103 ^ 
 
 Cobb, W. R 273 
 
 Cochran, Frank 724 
 
 Coe, D.O 4"' < 
 
 Coe,M.S 410 
 
 Coe,S. M 419 
 
 Colbert, A. A 546 
 
 Colcord, R. B 576 
 
 Colcord, W. H 519 
 
 Coles, Edward 115 
 
 Collins, James 683 
 
 Collins, S 219 
 
 Conboy, Thomas 402 
 
 Courtright, John . 489 < 
 
 Courtright, Levi 360 
 
 Courtright, W. H 494 ] 
 
 Cowan, David 4C< 
 
 Cramer, Henry 388 , 
 
 Crandall, I.. F 496 
 
 Crook, R,C 556 
 
 Crouch, A. C 5' 8 
 
 Crouch, Scott 702 
 
 Crum, William 628 
 
 Cullom, Shelby M 175 
 
 Culbertson, Wm. P 541 
 
 Culver, Truman 34. 
 
 Cunningham, Cornelius 564 
 
 Cunningham, J - M 775 
 
 Currie, Samuel 214 
 
 Currier, James 767 
 
 Curry, Samuel 750 
 
 D 
 
 Hade, Rufus E 309 
 
 Daggett, P 634
 
 
 
 Daly, Rev . John 702 
 
 Daniel, Alfred B 454 
 
 Daniels, B. V 267 
 
 Davcler, Amos 713 
 
 1 >.iveler, Emanuel 481 
 
 Davis, Frank 566 
 
 Davis, Reuben 293 
 
 De Bey, George 646 
 
 Demming, Asaph ....510 
 
 1 1 1 i union, J . F 469 
 
 Denison, D. R 286 
 
 Denison, R. B 632 
 
 Dent, Zachariah 219 
 
 Derbyshire, W. F 732 
 
 Devore, John 342 
 
 Deyo, James R 498 
 
 Dickinson, John 440 
 
 Dickinson, J . F 404 
 
 Dickson, John 226 
 
 Diehl, George 452 
 
 Diehl, Henry 370 
 
 Dieterle, J. G 781 
 
 Dill, Elsworth 326 
 
 Dillon, G. B 477 
 
 Dillon. Moses 373 
 
 Dillon, W. M 789 
 
 Dimmick, G . H 505 
 
 Donaldson, Henry C.,M . D..268 
 
 Downs, John 364 
 
 Drew, James 309 
 
 1 >rury, Richard 627 
 
 Duncan, George 131 
 
 Dun more, Benj 798 
 
 Durstine, John E 224 
 
 Dyer, John 316 
 
 & 
 
 
 
 Early, Alfred M., D. D 444 
 
 Early, C. W 446 
 
 Early, W. A 351 
 
 Eastman, W. F 310 
 
 Eaton, J. M 623 
 
 Ebersole, A. D 783 
 
 Echelbarfier, B. P 790 
 
 Echelbarger, Samuel 553 
 
 Eddy, L. D 479 
 
 Eddy, Noble F 735 
 
 Edwards, Ninian 119 
 
 Ellithorp, E. S 551 
 
 Ely, David G 372 
 
 Ely, K. S. W 285 
 
 Emmons, E. A 615 
 
 Kntwhistle, J. W 418 
 
 Epla, S. S 772 
 
 Eshleman, S 256 
 
 Ewing, W. L. D 127 
 
 Fadden, George H 789 
 
 Ka nning, O. E 266 
 
 Karnum, John 548 
 
 Farwell, Solomon 227 
 
 Fellows, H. C 409 
 
 Fenton, Alfred W 798 
 
 Fenton, John D 678 
 
 Ferguson, John 595 
 
 Ferris, Albert 394 
 
 Ferris, B 681 
 
 Field, Albert 562 
 
 Fieldsend, John 268 
 
 i Fife, Kev. N. H. G 287 
 
 ', Fill more, Mi Hard 67 
 
 ; Finkle, Gilbert 384 
 
 Fitch, Dudley R 548 
 
 i Fitch, G. W 513 
 
 Fletcher, Isaac 436 
 
 i Flock, Henry 345 
 
 Fluck, Aaron 367 
 
 , Ford, Tli o mas . 139 
 
 Foster, Charles 331 
 
 Foster, D. N 503 
 
 Foy, George 534 
 
 Francis, Isaac 665 
 
 Frank, James 493 
 
 Frary, J. E 594 
 
 Frary, Myron 776 
 
 Eraser, I . W 437 
 
 Freek, Nicholas 497 
 
 French, Augustus C 143 
 
 Frey, Henry B 413 
 
 Fuller, C. C 744 
 
 FulIer,J. P 535 
 
 Fuller, S. M .....701 
 
 Gait, T. A 374 
 
 G arfield , J ames A 95 
 
 Garwick, Jacob 390 
 
 George, Capt. A. M .627 
 
 Gerdes,G. M 711 
 
 Gibbs, E. P 759 
 
 Giddings, S. P 731 
 
 Gifford, Charles F 363 
 
 Gladhill, Wm. J 684 
 
 Glass, A. L 694 
 
 Glassburn, A. J 572 
 
 Glassburn, A. T 788 
 
 Glassburn, J. W 757 
 
 Goff, F. B 474 
 
 Colder, Alonzo 485 
 
 G older, Judge Joseph 603 
 
 Golder, Joseph M 478 
 
 Goodenough, G. E 226 
 
 Goodenough, W. A 321 
 
 Gould, Darius. 310 
 
 Gould, T. C , 511 
 
 Graham, W. C 781 
 
 Grant, Ulysses S 87 
 
 Grater, Abraham L 278 
 
 Graves, W 471 
 
 Green, John S 278 
 
 Green, Moses A .551 
 
 Green, Win . C. (ist) 411 ' 
 
 Greenawalt, S. H 300 
 
 Greene, Giles 743 
 
 Gridley, J . G 335 
 
 Griffin, L. L 617 
 
 Grinnold, Henry M 269 
 
 Griswold, Dr. C. A 453 
 
 Grove, David B 393 
 
 Grubb, E. R 234 
 
 Grubb, Nehemiah 240 
 
 Grubb, Samuel 523 
 
 Gsell, David B 389 
 
 Gsell, John 278 
 
 Gsell, Wm. B 463 
 
 H 
 
 Hadaway, Frank 771 
 
 Hawaii, Peter 634 
 
 Bageman, Fredeiick 666 
 
 Hai^ry, George 431 
 
 Hall, Warren P 216 
 
 Hamilton, F . F 794 
 
 Hamilton, John M 719 
 
 Hamilton, John M 179 
 
 Hamilton, G . R 617 
 
 Hammeltnan, Christian 498 
 
 Hand, H. R 521 
 
 Hannah, Joseph 417 
 
 Han n is, Jefferson 604 
 
 Hannis, John 489 
 
 Hansen, A. M., Ph. D 435 
 
 Hanson, Charles 547 
 
 H a rd i n , T . A 254 
 
 Hardy, Wm 432 
 
 Harpham, John 295 
 
 Harrison, D. G 338 
 
 Harrison, F. M 246 
 
 Harrison, James H .652 
 
 Harrison, Joseph E.... 768 
 
 Harrison, Wm. H 51 
 
 Harrison, Wm. H 193 
 
 Hayes, Allen 556 
 
 Hayes, Rutherford B 91 
 
 Hayes, William D 233 
 
 Hazard, Albert S 521 
 
 Hazard, David 518 
 
 Hazard, J. W 520 
 
 Heath, Ira 318 
 
 Hein, Jacob 369 
 
 Hellerstedt, P. F 554 
 
 Helm, John H 787 
 
 Helms, Henry E 796 
 
 Hempstead, E. J 306 
 
 Hen wood, D . B 421 
 
 Hewitt, C. M 766 
 
 Hey, J. P 460 
 
 Hiddlcson, R. K 451 
 
 Higley, George 502 
 
 Hill, A. D 375 
 
 Hill, J. W... 7 66 
 
 Hill, William 747 
 
 Hiner, Leonard 215 
 
 Hodges, Francis W 556 
 
 Holcomb, G. W 225 
 
 Hollcran, James 230 
 
 Hollinshead, Daniel 571 
 
 Hollinshead, J. W 455 
 
 Hollinshead, Joshua 615 
 
 Hollinshead, R.P 326 
 
 Holt, A. P 763 
 
 Hoover, F. K 783 
 
 Hoover, George S 619 
 
 Hoover, I . S 712 
 
 Hopkins, J. P 361 
 
 Hopkins, Jason 369 
 
 Horlacher, Adam 400 
 
 Horlachcr, Godfried 502 
 
 Homer, Edward 361 
 
 Horning, H. E 235 
 
 Hotchkiss, A. L 631 
 
 Houghton, C. B 472 
 
 Houghton, H. L 463 
 
 HonghtODi Lev! 247 
 
 Houseman, James 294 
 
 K 
 
 Kit lit I man, Jacob 296 
 
 Kauffman, L. S 299 
 
 Kcarns, Wm 737 
 
 Kcefer, G. G 720 
 
 Keefer, J. F..M.D 257 
 
 Kcefer, Samuel S 321 
 
 Kellum, H. F 573 
 
 Kempster, Ephraim H 589 
 
 Kempster, J. H 566 
 
 Kempster, Wm. W 57 8 
 
 Kennedy, Dr. H. M 330 
 
 Kennedy, Wm. A 227 
 
 Kent, John 242 
 
 Kidder, Marcellus 461 
 
 Kilgour.Gen. W. M 338 
 
 Kimball, John S 628 
 
 King,T. R 443 
 
 Kingcry,S. H 490 
 
 Kingsbury, S. H , 525 
 
 Kitchen, Peter 320 
 
 Ho we, George W 524 
 
 Hubbard, Alexis 504 
 
 Hubbard, Charles L 362 
 
 Hubbard, Frederick B 330 
 
 Hubbard, Ferdinand B 553 
 
 Hubbard, Dr. N. W 255 
 
 Hubbard, Solomon 346 
 
 Hubbard, Solomon . 600 
 
 Hubbart, James C 712 
 
 Huffman, Wm 79 8 
 
 Hugamin, James 772 
 
 Hughes,J. B 440 
 
 Hughe*, John M 471 
 
 Hughes, R. T 427 
 
 Hulett, A. A 258 
 
 Hnll,H. C 53 8 
 
 Humaston, Charles 754 
 
 Hunt, L. M 707 
 
 Hunt, Russell jg 2 
 
 Hun tington, John 37 8 
 
 Hurlbert, Nathan N 687 
 
 Hurless, Rev. Cephas 505 
 
 Hutten, Christian 436 
 
 I 
 
 Ives, W. Y ... 24I 
 
 Jackson, Andrew 43 
 
 Jackson, John Y .. .317 
 
 Jackson, Sullivan 346 
 
 J acobs, A . E 743 
 
 Jacobs, Joseph 609 
 
 James, Robert T 797 
 
 James, Thomas 700 
 
 Jamison, Wm. A 784 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas 27 
 
 Jemison, J 786 
 
 Jennings, George H 768 C 
 
 John, Chalkley 543 
 
 John, Elida 639 
 
 Johnson, Andrew 83 
 
 Johnson, Henry.. 783 
 
 Johnson, Jesse 203 
 
 Johnson, Robert R . . . . , 319 
 
 Jones, F. H 751 

 
 I 
 
 ** 
 
 940 
 
 Kitk-, George B 737 
 
 Knapp, Capt. Cornelius 626 
 
 Knox.Wm. H 234 
 
 Kreider, John H.... 774 
 
 Kreider, JohnH.,Jr 782 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 <&/ 
 
 Ladd.S. M 202 
 
 Lancaster, Charles 625 
 
 Lancaster, Kdward 675 
 
 Landis, Kmanuel S 419 
 
 Landis, Henry S 372 
 
 Landis, Samuel 422 
 
 Langdon, S. A 583 
 
 Langdon, Silas 576 
 
 Lansford, C. E 43 
 
 Langford , (.! uilford 761 
 
 Lathe, Jabez 194 
 
 l.awton, John 473 
 
 Le Fevre, Elias D 577 
 
 Leonard, J. F 664 
 
 Litzrodt, Henry 683 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham 79 
 
 Lipe, Daniel 588 
 
 Litzrodt, Henry 683 
 
 Lockhart, Andrew 653 
 
 Lockheart, Elisha 670 
 
 Logan, J. S 544 
 
 Logan.Hon. R. E 35 8 
 
 Long, Daniel 280 
 
 Loomis, J. B 54<J 
 
 Loomis.C. W 3o 
 
 Loomis, Washington 37 
 
 Loux, NoahS : 647 
 
 Love, W. J 611 
 
 I.ovett, Wm 248 
 
 I.undy, Dr. D. W 612 
 
 Lusk,C. F 654 
 
 Lusk, Chester 652 
 
 Lutyens, Nicholas 75 
 
 Lynch, James 255 
 
 Lyon, Marcus 787 
 
 M 
 
 Mackay, Duncan 725 
 
 Madison, James 31 
 
 Mallory, A. N 45 
 
 Mannion, Michael 394 
 
 Marcy, Henry 708 
 
 Markee, D. J 647 
 
 Martin, A. H 605 
 
 Martin, J. M 335 
 
 Martin, John 784 
 
 Martin, Timothy 472 
 
 Marzi, Nicholas 744 
 
 Mason, John 351 
 
 Mathew, Andrew 340 
 
 Mathew, David 319 
 
 Mathew, Thomas 270 
 
 Mathew, Wm 510 
 
 Mathews, Alpheus 659 
 
 Mattcson, Joel A 147 
 
 Maxficld.W. H 294 
 
 Maxson. Nelson 564 
 
 Maxwell, A. 1 737 
 
 Maxwell, S. A 473 
 
 May, Henry 307 
 
 McCaulcy, J. S 338 
 
 McClelland Thomas 347 
 
 McCoy, Hon . James 195 
 
 McCoy, Hon. Wm. J 703 
 
 McCray, H . C . .217 
 
 McCue, James 285 
 
 'McCime, Wm... 
 
 547 
 
 Me Dear man, Wm 730 
 
 McFadden, Andrew 688 
 
 McGrath, James... 751 
 
 NcGrath, Nicholas.. 731 
 
 I McGregor, Samuel... 780 
 
 McKee, Jotham 418 
 
 MaeKenzie, Capt. John 338 
 
 McKcnzie, John 339 
 
 McKenzie, D L 619 
 
 McKenzie, N. L 646 
 
 McKcnzie, Wm. R 566 
 
 McLane, Arthur 71* 
 
 McMillen, David 770 
 
 McNaughton, J. F 748 
 
 McNeill, Wm 545 
 
 McWhorter, Hon. Tyler 526 
 
 Meadc, Meril ... .223 
 
 Meins, H. T 336 
 
 Millikan, F. W 753 
 
 Mellinger, Henry K. 445 
 
 Melvin, A . S 257 
 
 Mensch, William 274 
 
 Miller, Becker 762 
 
 Miller, Henry 774 
 
 Miller, Joseph T 488 
 
 MillerM. C 773 
 
 Milnes, Thomas 224 
 
 Mitchell, A. D 257 
 
 Monroe, James 35 
 
 Morrill, Dr. John L 357 
 
 Morse, Austin 225 
 
 Mosher, J. H., M. D 632 
 
 Moss, Henry G 758 
 
 Moyers, John H 422 
 
 Munz, Godfrey 399 
 
 Murray, Ezekiel. ... 576 
 
 Murray, George 688 
 
 Murray, John L 795 
 
 Murphy, R. R 763 
 
 Myers, Jacob L 764 
 
 N 
 
 Naniga, G., & Co 308 
 
 Nash, Eli O 787 
 
 Nevitt, Hon. E. H 779 
 
 Nevitt, W. G -.659 
 
 Nevitt, Wm 654 
 
 Newcomer, James W... 290 
 
 Nice, Philip 421 
 
 Nicenwanger, Daniel 764 
 
 Niles,Capt. John W 417 
 
 Norrish, R. S 322 
 
 Nowlen, James A . , M . D. . . .730 
 
 O 
 
 Oakley, Oliver S 296 
 
 Odlin , George O 470 
 
 Oglesby, Richard J 163 
 
 Old, Edwin 203 
 
 Olds, Ezekiel 495 
 
 Olds, Ezekiel 714 
 
 Olds, Warren 506 
 
 Olmstead, L J 780 
 
 Oltmanns, Louis 285 
 
 Osborne, A. J .. .414 
 
 Osliunif, H . L 672 
 
 Overholser, C 446 
 
 Overholser, D. C 523 
 
 Overholser, James P. . . 618 
 
 Overholser, J . M 486 
 
 Overholser John M 764 
 
 Paddock, N. W 554 
 
 P.uMock. Rev. Z. D 676 
 
 Page,Wm. C 280 
 
 Palmer, J ohn M 167 
 
 Palmer, Wm. P 267 
 
 Parish, J. D '..558 
 
 Parker, Abel 616 
 
 Parker, C. D 381 
 
 Parker, David 377 
 
 Parker, Delos 606 
 
 Parker, Edwin 753 
 
 Parker, Hiram ... 791 
 
 Parker, Jacob L 754 
 
 Parker, Truman 752 
 
 Parker, Wm 230 
 
 Parkhurst, C. L 760 
 
 Parmenter Brothers 777 
 
 Parnham, J. C 456 
 
 Patrick, Wm. M 694 
 
 Patterson, W. J 598 
 
 Pearson, Wm 191 
 
 Pease, Capt. Havilah 243 
 
 Pease, Henry 641 
 
 Peckham, Wm 747 
 
 Pcrault, Aimer 274 
 
 Perry, Rev. G. W 244 
 
 Peters, L. B 218 
 
 Petersen, Charles F. 563 
 
 Pettigrew. James 214 
 
 Peugh.C. B 584 
 
 Peugh. James L 447 
 
 Phelps, John 300 
 
 Phinney, John 320 
 
 Pierce, C. T 750 
 
 Pierce, Franklin 71 
 
 Pinney, R. G 448 
 
 Pittman, George 294 
 
 Polk, James K S9 
 
 Pope, Aaron ... .' 595 
 
 Pond, Henry D 253 
 
 Pond. Stephen 536 
 
 Pott, Henry 336 
 
 Potter, George A 682 
 
 Potter, George W 642 
 
 Powell, C. R 411 
 
 Powell, Henry S 371 
 
 Powell, Jacob 444 
 
 Powers, Horace 675 
 
 Pratt, Hon. J. M 651 
 
 Pratt, William 329 
 
 Preston, M . G 511 
 
 Proctor, D. G 245 
 
 Quackenbush, P. A 296 
 
 R 
 
 Ramsay, F. D 283 
 
 Ramsay, Wm 390 
 
 Randolph, Mrs Emma 513 
 
 RccUine Urothtrs 752 
 
 Reecher, Samuel 482 
 
 Reecher, William joxj 
 
 Reed, Dr. Daniel .240 
 
 Reed, Mrs. Dr. C. T 246 
 
 Reed,W. H 297 
 
 Reeves, Joseph C 356 
 
 Kernage, G. W., M. D ..220 
 
 Runner, John R 357 
 
 Rew, Justus 663 
 
 Reynolds, C . G 79- 
 
 Reynolds, C. W 205 
 
 Reynolds, D. B 646 
 
 Reynolds, D. W 548 
 
 Reynolds, John 122 
 
 Reynolds, L. C 657 
 
 Richmond, Daniel 512 
 
 Richmond, D. B 575 
 
 Richmond, George P 763 
 
 Riley, John 537 
 
 Ripley, John E 379 
 
 Ritchie, A. W 45 2 
 
 Robertson, Joseph K 435 
 
 Robinson, F. H 260 
 
 Robinson, G. M 731 
 
 Robinson, R. E..M. D 785 
 
 Robinson, S . W 379 
 
 Robinson, Wesley 288 
 
 Roe, Thomas 506 
 
 Rogers, Gilbert . . .597 
 
 Rosenkrans, S 793 
 
 Ross, James W 660 
 
 Round, A. S 764 
 
 Rood, C. R 671 
 
 Royer,C. F ., 270 
 
 Russell, C. N 298 
 
 Rutt, Samuel W 445 
 
 Ryerson, Martin 269 
 
 Sampson, H . R 201 
 
 Sands, J. E 431 
 
 Sands, John P 474 
 
 Sanford, Vernon 459 
 
 Sardain, George S 641 
 
 Schryver, Daniel 412 
 
 Schutt, Henry E 531 
 
 Scotchbrook, Edward 297 
 
 Scott, Edwin 517 
 
 Scott, John E 684 
 
 Scott, J.W 77 8 
 
 Scott, W. H 537 
 
 Seely, A. J 383 
 
 Seely, Col. Ebenezer 189 
 
 Seely, M. V 192 
 
 Segcr,D. B., M. D 342 
 
 Seger, E. S 720 
 
 Seger, M. H 690 
 
 Seidel, Chaales G 370 
 
 Seyller, George 749 
 
 Shannon, Hugh 620 
 
 Sheldon, R. H 360 
 
 Sherwood, Stephen 688 
 
 Shirk, Charles 584 
 
 Shirk, M. P. 277 
 
 Shirley, R. F 350 
 
 Shuler, George F 418 
 
 Sholes, Orin 472 
 
 Sides, Mrs. Isabella 347 
 
 \ 
 
 - I 
 
 C\ f
 
 -~ . . ~r 
 
 v 
 
 34 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Slaymaker, W. D 752 
 
 Slick. D. A 413 
 
 Sloe umb, C. H 610 
 
 Sly,C. S 676 \ 
 
 Smaltz, Jacob 463 \ 
 
 Smith, Dr. A.C 690 
 
 Smith, Alfred . . . : 6y6 
 
 Smith, C. C 788 
 
 Smith, C, H 359 
 
 Smith, Hiram P , 275 
 
 Smith, John 447 
 
 Smith, Leander 303 
 
 Smith, Philip H 589 
 
 Suavely, Levi 
 Snyder, J. C 
 
 Snyder J . Clifton 236 
 
 Snyder, John H . .206 
 
 Snyder, Joseph 647 
 
 Snyder, Hun. W. C 501 
 
 Somers, Edward 384 
 
 Sox, Hcrmon 785 
 
 Spafford, Hon. D. S 593 
 
 Spang, Mathias 457 
 
 Spear, Joseph 616 
 
 Spears, D. P 208 
 
 gpangler, S. W 758 
 
 Spinka, Ignatz 793 
 
 Sprague, Orlando .393 
 
 Springer, C 45-4 
 
 Stapleton, James 207 
 
 Stapleton, Simon 205 
 
 Stauffer J E. 448 
 
 Staiifler, Ripley 479 
 
 Sterling, Herman 573 
 
 Stern, August 356 
 
 Stevens, Solon 621 
 
 Stewart, James . . 583 
 
 Stilson, G. A 672 
 
 Stocking, L. T 599 
 
 Storer, Richard 194 
 
 Stowe, Byron .... 214 
 
 Stowell Alanson 587 
 
 S to well, A. J 793 
 
 Street, H. S 342 
 
 Strock, J. F...? 329 
 
 Strock, Samuel 389 
 
 Stuart, John ,.238 
 
 Sturtevant, Isaac 430 
 
 Adams, John 22 
 
 Adams, John Quincy 38 
 
 Albertson, Samuel 644 
 
 Arthur, Chester A 98 
 
 Baer, Martin 508 
 
 Baird, James H 686 
 
 Bevendge, John L 170 
 
 Birdsall, Edmund N 312 
 
 Birdsall. Mrs. Sarah J 313 
 
 Sturtevant, J. C 
 Sturtz, H 
 Summers, Cloys 
 Summers, David 
 Summers, Ephraim 
 Summers, James E 
 Summers, Oscar 
 Sweet, J. A 
 Sykes, John 
 
 631 
 609 
 259 
 736 
 239 
 430 
 248 
 658 
 45$ 
 
 T 
 
 Taber, Wm. P 729 
 
 Talbott, James 520 
 
 Talbott, Oliver 693 
 
 Talcott, E..J., M. I) 3 8o 
 
 Taylor, James C 229 
 
 Taylor, S.. M. D 34 8 
 
 Taylor, William 228 
 
 Taylor, Zachary 63 
 
 Terpenning, Osro W 276 
 
 Terwilliger, George 337 
 
 Thomas, Frank B 581 
 
 Thompson, J . R 534 
 
 Thompson, M- H 603 
 
 Thompson, Nathan 604 
 
 Thompson, Richard 524 
 
 Thompson, R. M.. .-. , 699 
 
 Thompson, R. J 723 
 
 Thompson, S. A 723 
 
 Thompson, Wm. H 701 
 
 Thomson, Wm 439 
 
 Timmerman,W. V 67? 
 
 Topping, Wm 265 
 
 Tracy,G4orge S 383 
 
 Trowbrldfee, Cornelius. . . .., . .191 
 
 Tuller, Jj A 555 
 
 Twining, fWm. F 229 
 
 Twitchelli L. C 284 
 
 Twombly^T. J .438 
 
 Tyler, Jofcn 55 
 
 Tyne, Edward 577 
 
 Tyson, William 263 
 
 U 
 
 I 
 
 Ulmer, HI C 509 
 
 Upton, Kfi . . . . f 213 
 
 Utley, H., M/D 773 
 
 Van Antwerp, U. T 552 
 
 Van Buren, Martin 47 
 
 Van Demark, J. H 393 
 
 Van Demark, J. M 554 
 
 Van Nest, Peter 621 
 
 Van Osdol, W m . A 233 
 
 Vennum, Edward 387 
 
 w 
 
 Wa-bo-kies-sMek 791 
 
 Wahl, Fred 348 
 
 Wahl, William... ...241 
 
 Wakeman, L 358 
 
 Wallace, Adam 565 
 
 Wallace, Hugh 382 
 
 Wallace, Robert 462 
 
 Ward, Charles 735 
 
 Ward, Edward 670 
 
 Waid, J. N 368 
 
 Ware, C. L 5 ia 
 
 Washington, George 19 
 
 Weaver, A. S 430 
 
 Weaver, John 391 
 
 Weaver, John S 496 
 
 Weaver, Joseph 719 
 
 Wells, Horatio 633 
 
 Wessel, J. A } 273 
 
 West, Benj ; 531 
 
 West.J. A 201 
 
 Westphal, Emil 208 
 
 Wetherbee,C. A 439 
 
 Wetzell, Daniel , 481 
 
 Wetzel, D. R , 263 
 
 Wetzel, Jacob 695 
 
 Wetzell, John H , 455 
 
 Wetzel, Lewis 244 
 
 Wetzell, Samuel : 742 
 
 WheeIock,A. J < 714 
 
 Wheelock, S. L 382 
 
 White, Rev. Edward 625 
 
 Whitcomb, Geo . A....' 337 
 
 Whitcomb, S. M 751 
 
 Birdsall, Henry 1 250 
 
 Birdsall, Mrs. Joanna 251 
 
 Bissell, VVfm. H... 150 
 
 Bond , Shafd rach no 
 
 Bressler, Levi 580 
 
 Bryant, James ..716 
 
 Buchanan, James 74 
 
 Buell, Clinton C 396 
 
 Bullock, Rufus M 668 
 
 Burch, Harrison I> . . . s 560 
 
 Carlin, Thomas ., 134 
 
 Cleveland, S. G rover., 102 
 
 Coles, Edward 114 
 
 Cul hcrtson ,Wm. P . .., 540 
 
 Cullom, Shelby M 174 
 
 1 >a\ is Reuben, M . D , 292 
 
 Duncan, George ^.130 
 
 Eddy, Noble F 734 
 
 White, J. W 
 
 Whitmore,Wm. T 786 
 
 Wilkinson, Andrew 477 
 
 Wilkinson, W. S 590 
 
 Williams, H. P g 76 
 
 Williams, Leslie 31 8 
 
 Williams, Hon. Nathan 793 
 
 Wilson, G. W 696 
 
 Wilt, Peter H 7O 8 
 
 Wink, Sansom 741 
 
 Winters, James M 355 
 
 Winner, R. B 77O 
 
 Wolf, C. G 05 
 
 Wolferspergcr, A. A 321 
 
 Wolfersperger, John 315 
 
 Wood, James 451 
 
 Wood, John i js 
 
 Woodruff, O. F 325 
 
 Woodruff, W. W 287 
 
 Woods, Edgar 743 
 
 Woods, H . b 664 
 
 Woods, Oscar . .480 
 
 Woodward, Milton B 594 
 
 Woodworth, L. H 533 
 
 Worrell, E. A 7 ,8 
 
 Worthington, C. W 770 
 
 Worthington, E. B 562 
 
 Worthington, H 437 
 
 Worthington, Mrs Phebe. ..332 
 
 Wynn, Lewis D 689 
 
 Wylie.T: M 665 
 
 Yager.John 305 
 
 Yates, Richard 159 
 
 Young, A 460, 
 
 Young, Adam B 598 
 
 Young, Daniel 374" 
 
 Zemlt, H. M 352 
 
 Zook, Abraham 288 
 
 Zook. A. G 736 
 
 Edwards, Ninian 118 
 
 Ewing, Wm. L. D 126 
 
 Fellows, Henry C 407 
 
 Fellows, Mrs. Lydia 406 
 
 Ferris, B 680 
 
 Fillmore, Millard 66 
 
 Fluck, Aaron 365 
 
 Kluck, Mrs. Lydia A 364 
 
 Ford, Thomas 138 

 
 942 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Frank, James 4Qz 
 
 French, Augustus C . . 142 
 
 Garfield, James A 94 
 
 Glassburn, J. W ;s6 
 
 Colder, Alonzo 484 
 
 Grant, Ulysses S 86 
 
 G reen , M oses A 550 
 
 Gridley, James G 334 
 
 Hamilton, John M .178 
 
 Hansen, A. M 434 
 
 Harrison, Wm. H 50 
 
 Hayes, Rutherford B oo 
 
 Hiddleson, Kufus K 45 
 
 Hill, William 7*6 
 
 Hollinshead, Daniel 570 
 
 Hollinshead, Joshua 614 
 
 Hughes, Mrs. Mary Jane 425 
 
 Hughes, Richard T 424 
 
 Jackson, Andrew. r , 42 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas, 26 
 
 John, Elida 636 
 
 John, Mrs. Sarah H 637 
 
 Johnson, Andrew 82 
 
 Kilgour, Gen. William M 338 
 
 King, Thomas R 442 
 
 Lancaster, Charles 624 
 
 Lancaster, Edward 674 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham 78 
 
 Lutycns, Nicholas 704 
 
 Madison, James 30 
 
 Matteson, Joel A 146 
 
 Mathew, Thomas 271 
 
 Mead, Meril 223 
 
 McNeill, William 545 
 
 McNeill,Mrs. Pearlie 545 
 
 McLane, Arthur 710 
 
 Monroe, James 34 
 
 Nevitt, Edward H 779 
 
 Nilcs, Capt. John W 416 
 
 Oglesby, Richard J 162 
 
 Palmer, John M 166 
 
 Parker, David 376 
 
 Pierce, Franklin 
 
 Polk, James K 
 
 Pratt, Hon. James M.... 
 
 Ramsay, Frank D 
 
 Rew, Justin 
 
 Reynolds, John 
 
 Reynolds, Linus C 
 
 Richmond, George P. . . . 
 
 Sampson, Henry R 
 
 Sanford, Vernon 
 
 Scott, Edwin 
 
 Seely,Col. Ebenezer .... 
 
 Smith, Leander 
 
 StoweU, Alanson 
 
 Snyder, Hon. William C. 
 Spafford, Hon. Dwight S. 
 
 Sturtevant, Josiah C 
 
 Sturtz, Herman , 
 
 Tabor William P 
 
 Talbott, James 
 
 Taylor, Zachary 
 
 .. 70 
 
 -- 58 
 650 
 
 ..282 
 ..662 
 
 . 122 
 .656 
 .763 
 .200 
 458 
 -516 
 
 .586 
 -500 
 
 SQ2 
 
 .630 
 .608 
 .728 
 .692 
 . 62 
 
 Thompson, Reuben M 
 Thompson, Samuel A 
 
 Tyler, John 54 
 
 Upton, Eli 211 
 
 Upton, Mrs. Elizabeth A 210 
 
 Van Buren, Martin 46 
 
 Van Osdol, Win. A 132 
 
 Van Osdol, Mrs. Rebecca T..?3i 
 
 Vennum, Mrs. Pheba 386 
 
 Wa-bo-kies-shick . .., 791 
 
 Washington, George 18 
 
 West, Benjamin. 528 
 
 West, Mrs. Mary 529 
 
 Wet/el, David R 262 
 
 Wilkinson, Andrew 476 
 
 Wink, Sansora 740 
 
 Winter, James M 354 
 
 Wood, John 154 
 
 Woodruff, OrrF 324 
 
 Yates, Richard 158 
 
 Young, Aaron 467 
 
 Young, Mrs. Rhoda E 466 
 
 ....6,8 xT> 
 
 HISTORIC 
 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 Value of Local History 
 
 How Our Fathers Lived 
 ARCHAEOLOGY 
 TOPOGRAPHICAL 
 INDIAN HISTORY 
 
 Indian Mode of Living 
 
 Black Hawk War 
 EARLY SETTLERS 
 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 
 
 Acts of Co. Commis'ners 
 
 County Court 
 
 Board of Supervisors 
 
 County-Seat Contests 
 
 Court-House 
 
 Record Building 
 
 County Jail 
 
 Poor Farm 
 
 Building for the Insane 
 LEGAL HISTORY 
 
 Probate Court 
 
 County Court 
 
 Bar of the County 
 
 Present Bar 
 
 WAR FOR THE UNION 
 RAILROADS 
 MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 Whiteside Co. Agl. Soc. 
 
 County Officers 
 
 797 
 
 Patrons of Husbandry 
 
 833 
 
 798 
 
 Matrimonial 
 
 833 
 
 799 
 
 Old Settlers' Association 
 
 834 
 
 80 1 
 
 TOWNSHIPS 
 
 837 
 
 802 
 
 Albany 
 
 837 
 
 803 
 
 Clyde 
 
 842 
 
 So it 
 
 Coloma 
 
 844 
 
 <j\j*i 
 8oc 
 
 Erie 
 
 850 
 
 <jj 
 
 Fenton 
 
 8cc 
 
 806 
 
 Fulton 
 
 J J 
 
 857 
 
 807 
 
 Garden Plain 
 
 858 
 
 809 
 
 Genesee 
 
 86 1 
 
 813 
 
 Hahnaman 
 
 864 
 
 814 
 
 Hopkins 
 
 866 
 
 815 
 
 Hume 
 
 869 
 
 8i 7 
 
 Jordan 
 
 870 
 
 818 
 
 Lyndon 
 
 873 
 
 818 
 
 Montmorency 
 
 878 
 
 818 
 
 Mount Pleasant 
 
 880 
 
 819 
 
 Newton 
 
 882 
 
 820 
 
 Portland 
 
 884 
 
 823 
 
 823 
 823 
 
 Prophetstown 
 Sterling 
 Tampico 
 Union Gtove 
 
 887 
 891 
 
 893 
 898 
 
 8*5 
 
 Q-/; 
 
 Ustick 
 
 899 
 
 o2O 
 
 CITIES AND VILLAGES : 
 
 
 829 
 
 Albany 
 
 838 
 
 832 
 
 Coleta 
 
 862 
 
 832 
 
 Como 
 
 868 
 
 833 Empire 
 
 869 
 
 Erie 852 
 
 Fulton 928 
 
 Business Interests 931 
 
 Educational 932 
 
 The Press 934 
 
 Churches 935 
 
 Gait 869 
 
 Lyndon 875 
 
 Malvern 844 
 
 Morrison 918 
 
 Educational 920 
 
 Water Works 920 
 
 The Press 921 
 
 Churches 922 
 
 Societies 925 
 
 Business Interests 926 
 
 Prophetstown 889 
 
 Rock Falls 845 
 
 Spring Hill 886 
 
 Sterling 903 
 
 Incorporation 904 
 
 Religious 95> 98 
 
 Educational 907 ,, 
 
 Public Library 908 <) 
 
 The Press 909 
 
 Societies 910 
 
 Fire Department 913 
 
 Ferries and Bridges 913 
 
 Improv. of RockRiver 914 
 
 Tampico 894 
 
 Unionville 899 
 

 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBftNA