|
GEORGE WASHINGTON BROWN
We know of no better biography of the late Hon. George W. Brown of
Galesburg, the inventor of the corn planter, than the following
address delivered by Hon. Clark E. Carr at the formal opening of Mr.
Brown's great shops in Galesburg on September 22, 1875.
The address is copied from the Illinois Prairie Farmer in which it
appeared in full.
''Fellow Citizens: I have prepared this paper at the request of some
business men of this city, who deemed it proper that during the
inaugural ceremonies now being celebrated, a brief history should be
given of the invention of the corn planter and the founder of these
great shops, Mr. George W. Brown. If Mr. Brown had his own way
tonight, nothing would be said about him ; but his friends have now
the entire control of the buildings, and can say just what they
please.
"Like most men who have conferred lasting benefits upon humanity,
Mr. Brown commenced life poor. He was born in Clifton Park township,
Saratoga county, New York, on the 29th of October, 1815, and is
sixty years old. He remained upon the farm where he was born until
he was fourteen, when he learned the carpenter's trade, in which he
worked many years. He remembers distinctly the first boat which came
through the Erie canal, with Dewitt Clinton and other distinguished
persons on board, with band playing and flags flying. lie worked at
his trade on the railroad, built from Albany to Schenectady, sixteen
miles long, which, when completed, was regarded as one of the
triumphs of the age. This was then the only railroad in the United
States, except a line of about the same length, running out of
Baltimore. lie remembers the first trip made over the road, by a
distinguished party in cars a little larger than our hacks. Of those
excursionists, Thurlow Weed is the only survivor. The company owned
one wheezy little engine, named the 'John Bull.' Mr. Brown had the
honor of being appointed road-master or track-master of this
celebrated railroad, a position which he did not find to be
lucrative. He was married before he was of age, to Maria Terpening.
with whom he has lived happily all of these years, and to whom he is
largely indebted for his success. They were both members of the
Methodist church, and have continued their membership for over forty
years. The old church which they joined on the banks of the Mohawk,
in their halcyon days is still in existence.
"Some near relatives of the young couple had gone to Illinois, who
sent back glowing accounts of the prairie and of the possibilities
of the future. There was room for the young mechanic—a chance to own
a farm, make a home, establish a hearth-stone; an opportunity to
become independent. Besides, was there not an opportunity to build
up that church and help plant the seeds of that religion to which
they had consecrated their lives ? They did not hesitate, but bought
a team and wagon, loaded all their available property, and started
upon their long journey. It rained nearly all the way, and the roads
were dreadful. Still the white covered wagon kept on; but the driver
had as much work as had the horses, lifting and prying wheels when
stuck fast in swamps and sloughs. Worn and weary they reached their
destination, and located in July, 1836, before many who hear me were
born, upon a farm near what was afterwards Tylerville, in Warren
county, nine miles northwest of here. At that time there was not a
house on this prairie. He traded his team for an eighty of land and
went to work. He had a log house to build for himself, and the
neighbors needed the services of a carpenter. For a long time he
went out to work at his trade, and his wife conducted the farm.
There was no pine lumber here, nothing but the hard woods of our
groves, and it was no child's play to work them. Carpenters
thoroughly appreciate the difference between pine and the oak and
walnut of our forests.
"Money was hard to get when ten cents a bushel was a good price for
corn, and three dollars a hundred a good price for pork. But where
there was a will there was a way, and Mr. Brown, with plow and hoe,
and saw and chisel, managed to make a living, although he laid by
scarcely anything. There are many houses in the neighborhoods of
Shanghai and Tylerville upon which he worked. He built the Alfred
Brown house on this side of Henderson Grove. Fie also worked
considerably in Galesburg and Knoxville. Fie built the house on the
corner opposite the Universalist and Episcopal churches, owned and
occupied by Mrs. Wells. He worked a winter in Knoxville, for Hon.
James Knox, and built, among others, the building occupied by the
First National Bank of that city."
"Mr. John S. Winter, county clerk, remembers being at his house in
1846, near Tylerville, a small log building. Fie found Mr. Brown
barefooted, his only clothing a straw hat, hickory shirt and jean
pants, literally in a brown study upon farm implements. Among other
implements used were cultivators, and in 1848 Mr. Brown conceived
the idea of turning a cultivator into a corn planter. liis first
idea was to drop three rows at once, placing the shovels of the
cultivator as wide apart as he wished to have the corn rows, and
boxes of corn on the beam's back of the shovel, so fixed that the
center of each box would be over the middle of the furrows made by
the shovels. A slide was so adjusted that by moving it there would
be an aperture at the center of the bottom of each box large enough
for from three to five kernels of corn to slip through, which would
of course fall into the middle of each furrow behind the shovels.
This slide was to be operated by a man walking behind the machine.
Fie attached heavy wheels to the cultivator back of the boxes, which
were made of sections sawed off from logs, and which would roll the
ground after the corn was dropped in, filling and leveling the
furrow.
"Flow simple all these contrivances seem now! We naturally exclaim,
'Why, anybody can do that!' That is true, almost anybody can do
it—after he is shown how. You remember the story of Columbus. When
he was told that many men had sailed to America, he called for an ^gg
and asked any of those present to set it upon the small end and make
it stand. None could do it, when he took it and tapping it on the
table until slightly broken in, let go and it stood upright. Several
voices shouted, 'Why, anybody can do that.' 'Yes,' answered the
great discoverer, 'after he is shown the way."
"Out of these simple experiments upon a cultivator came the
perfected corn planter, with which two men and a team can plant from
sixteen to twenty acres of corn in a day."
"In the spring of 1851, -Mr. Brown made the first complete corn
planter of the present style, and planted corn with it the following
May. Prior to that he was experimenting, but it was his corn planter
drop attached to a cultivator already described. In 1852 he planted
with his improved machine sixteen acres for himself, and eight acres
for Alfred Brown. That same spring he commenced the manufacture of
ten machines, but, on account of poverty and embarrassments, only
one was completed. About this time he determined to stake all he
possessed upon the success of his invention. He had already sold
everything about the place, including his last horse, to furnish
means to secure his patents. He then sold his little farm for what
he could get, went deeply into debt for more money, and took the
chances of success. Times were hard and the facilities for
manufacturing poor. He had no such machinery as you have seen here
tonight; but everything had to be done by hand. Very soon he was so
much involved that, had he been called upon to pay, he would not
have been worth a dollar. But he was an upright man; had a good
name; was full of enthusiasm for his new invention; and his largest
creditors were willing to give him a fair trial. But he was
frequently obliged to pay exorbitant rates of interest—sometimes
from one to two per cent a month, and once three per cent for one
month, and a short month at that. He commenced manufacturing at
Shanghai, and in 1853 completed twelve machines, one of
which that season planted three hundred acres of corn. In 1854 he
made a hundred machines, and in 1855 he made three hundred machines,
after which he removed to Galesburg. In 1856 he made six hundred
machines, and in 1857 he made a thousand machines. It is not
necessary for me to give in detail the number of machines in detail
manufactured since that time. It is enough to say that last year Mr.
Brown manufactured six thousand machines, and had orders which came
too late been a little less tardy, he would have manufactured and
sold many hundreds more.
"Everyone knew that corn could be planted with a hoe and would come
up, but would it grow when run through the hopper of this newfangled
machine? All could see that the machine would run very prettily
through a field, but did it leave the corn in the right places in
the proper quantities? Was it well covered, and would it grow ? It
was a serious matter for the manufacturers to answer these
questions.
"It is not necessary to go through the years of long wearisome
lawsuits. Shakespeare in Hamlet's soliloquy makes the 'law's delay'
an excuse for suicide, and Dickens vividly protrays the miseries
produced by the slow court of chancery in the imaginary case of
Jarndyce and Jarndyce. It is enough for our purpose to state that in
May, 1874, after hearing all the evidence and arguments, the
1118 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
supreme court of the United States, the highest judicial tribunal on
this continent, declared that George W. Brown was the inventor of
the corn planter. Soon after this decision was announced, most of
those who had been engaged in the manufacture of planters came
forward and paid Mr. Brown a royalty upon the machines they had
made.
"The completion of these magnificent shops, with their monstrous
capacity for turning out corn planters, marks an era in the history
of Galesburg well worthy of inaugural ceremonies. The buildings
comprise foundry, polishing rooms, blacksmith shops, wheel building
(they do not use logs for wheels now) and office, besides this
immense building. There are in these buildings thirty thousand
square feet of floors. This building with some other improvements
made this summer, cost sixty thousand dollars. With the present
facilities, Mr. Brown can manufacture twenty thousand planters a
year.
"I have thus as briefly as possible given a history of inventor and
invention. Concerning Mr. Brown, I would be glad to say all that is
in my heart. These great shops, Brown's Hotel, the Methodist Church
edifice, proclaim his enterprise and public spirit more eloquently
than any mere words can do. He has little of the learning of
schools, and no mere accomplishments; yet there are very few more
competent mechanics, and he is always a gentleman. He will not be
ranked as either statesman or philosopher; yet there are no purer
patriots, nor more practical common-sense men. He never preaches
morality, but always practices it. He never wrangles upon doctrine,
but is always a Christian. Would that we had more such men! Who can
estimate their influence upon humanity? Give me the name, if you
can, of a statesman whose whole life of lofty endeavor has given him
a claim to gratitude equal to that of Johan Gutenberg, the inventor
of printing. Call to mind, if you please, a military hero whose
memory humanity has so much reason to bless, as that of George
Stephenson. The mighty deeds of Alexander and Hannibal, of Caesar
and Napoleon—what are they compared with the triumphs of Galileo and
Milton, of Stephenson, Fulton and Morse!
"How many men during the war represented in the army McCormick's
reapers and Brown's corn planters ; or what would have been the
difference in the muster rolls if wheat had been cut by cradles and
the corn planted with hoes, when the interest of our great armies
depended upon wheat and corn ? We in Galesburg can see how many
families are fed and clothed by the seventy-five thousand dollars
paid out annually in wages by Mr. Brown and how this money finds its
way into and stimulates every branch of business; but who can
estimate the comforts and advantages derived from this one machine
in the Mississippi valley?"
The above glowing tribute is the history of George W. Brown to 1875,
paid to him by one of the closest observers of the economic
conditions of the state of Illinois and of the nation. From 1875
until l892 Brown had active management of the shops. The
business increased and flourished and was incorporated under the
name of George W. Brown & Company. Mr. I. S. Perkins
was general manager for a number of years. Loren Stevens was
secretary, A. O. Peterson was master mechanic, and James E. Brown,
son of George W. Brown, * was treasurer. The shop buildings were
enlarged to more than double their original size and a great deal of
other machinery besides corn planters was manufactured there, such
as corn shellers, rakes, cultivators, discs, and other farming
implements. During the year 1886 Mr. Brown purchased a ranch at
Riverside, California, and spent a great deal of the winter months
in his western home. He had one of the most beautiful orange ranches
in the Santa Ana valley and spared neither time nor expense in
putting it in shape.
Mr. Brown was always an active participant in public affairs and
even in his declining years did not cease to take a helpful interest
in matters relative to the general good. He served for one term as
mayor of Galesburg and during his administration the first attempts
were made to establish hard-road streets.
In 1891 Mrs. Brown, who had by her loving example and industrious
life and her worthy counsel, assisted Mr. Brown in his brightest as
well as his darkest days, expired at Galesburg, surrounded by her
family, consisting of Mrs. Elizabeth Perrin, Mrs. Jennie S. Cowan
and James E. Brown. Her death was a sad blow to Mr. Brown and
apparently he never recovered from the effects. In the winter time
he would go, first with one daughter and then with the other, to
California, there to spend his winters, his health being very much
impaired. In the spring of 1895 he returned to Galesburg earlier
than usual. Anxious to see the old place of his early struggles in
Illinois and his old friends who were living near Tylerville, he
took his team and buggy and drove to Tylerville. The day was fair
enough when he started, but before night it developed into a
roaring, blustering storm. Not being acclimated to such weather Mr.
Brown contracted a severe cold which developed into pneumonia and he
died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Cowan, on the 2d of June,
1895. He left surviving him an only son, James E. Brown, who was
manager of the Brown & Company Planter Works from the
withdrawal of I. S. Perkins until the death of his father, George W.
Brown. Immediately afterward the son went to Riverside, California,
to take care of the large financial interests which his father had
acquired there. He purchased the shares of the other heirs in the
property there and added three or four other ranches to the holdings
which his father had acquired. The surviving daughters are Mrs. M.
T. Perrin, and Mrs. Jennie S. Cowan. Both live in Galesburg,
surrounded by their children.
Mr. James E. Brown is residing in California now. He is a director
of one of the banks and a director of the La Mesa Fruit
Packing Company. His wife died at Galesburg in November,
1910, while they were visiting his daughter, Mrs. M. J. Daugherty.
Mr. Brown has two daughters living, Mrs. M. J. Daugherty and Mrs. A.
L. Woodill. The latter lives near her father in Riverside,
California. Mr. James E. Brown was for many years a director in the
Galesburg National Bank of Galesburg. He was a public-spirited man
and although of a retiring nature was admittedly one of Galesburg's
financiers. Mrs. Cowan and Mrs. Perrin have spent their lives in
Galesburg and can enjoy the many incidents that George W. Brown's
life left in the history of the city.
George W. Brown was a free giver to every enterprise that came to
Galesburg. He was one of the donors to the Santa Fe railroad
and he liberally contributed toward other public enterprises
of all kinds. He owned two farms two miles east of Galesburg and on
each of them he constructed a lake. The first was a small one, which
he called Lake Washington, and then, he constructed
another lake partly in Galesburg township and partly in Knox
township, just north of Main street, which he called Lake
George. This lake he offered several times to the city of
Galesburg, together with the property surrounding it, for less than
what it cost him, the intention being to establish a public park
there with water supply for the city. The offer was refused. Finally
the heirs sold the property to the Burlington road for their water
supply and they changed the name to Lake Rice. It is
not denied or questioned that the most public-spirited man that
Galesburg ever had was George W. Brown. It is further not denied or
questioned that George W. Brown made many valuable donations to
public enterprises, especially to religious and educational
institutions, and yet, singular to say, with all that, no place has
been dedicated to his name, no effort made to assist the citizens of
Galesburg in preserving the memory of a man whose works for thirty
years contributed the largest revenues the city ever had, with the
exception of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.
The great achievements of George W. Brown in a business way will
long survive his memory as a great and good citizen. In the past
Galesburg has failed to realize what she has lost but his name and
good works will be a monument to his memory for years to come.
HAROLD MAY HOLLAND.
The career of one who has been accorded the superior advantages of
the higher educational institutions is favored with splendid and
special opportunities. At the outset it affords him an independence
which in itself is of an inspirational nature and gives him
confidence to reach higher and attempt greater things than his
fellow citizens who have been denied those advantages. Withal,
however, the university with its learning is one thing and the
business world with its practical experience and competition is
quite another. The world calls for real value.
Harold M. Holland, after graduating from Dartmouth College made his
start in the business world in 1903. At that time he engaged in the
retail and wholesale athletic goods business with John F. McLean,
under the firm name of McLean & Holland. After remaining in
partnership with Mr. McLean for some time he purchased the entire
business and has since continued to conduct the store independently,
although the firm name, McLean & Holland, is still used.
Mr. Holland was born in Galesburg, Illinois, on the 15th of April,
1878, a son of Joseph Basset and Mary Otis (May) Holland. The
father's birth occurred near Brattleboro, Vermont, July 11, 1830.
After being graduated from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New
Hampshire, in 1858, he entered the medical department of Dartmouth.
While an undergraduate he was admitted to the Psi Upsilon
fraternity, and because of the excellent record he made in his
studies he was admitted to the Phi Beta Kappa. Later he was a
special student at Amhurst College, Harvard University and Columbia
LTniversity. For several years he was demonstrator in microscopical
and pathological anatomy at Dartmouth and subsequently was
associated with D. Appleton & Company and
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 1119
William Wood & Company in wholesale publishing. He holds membership
in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was
the first American to be elected as a member of the British Economic
Society. At one time he was vice president of the New England
Agricultural Society, and for years has been president of the
Galesburg Public Library Association. His name also appears on the
directorate of the First National Bank of Galesburg. On the 18th of
November, 1872, he was married at Galesburg to Miss Mary Otis May, a
daughter of Henry Harvey and Delia (Ray) May. Mr. H. H. May was one
of the early settlers in Knox county, having arrived here in 1837.
He was the inventor of the first successful horse-power reaper and
made the first steel plow. Mrs. Joseph B. Holland is now residing in
California with her son, Hubert Ray.
Harold M. Holland first attended school at Galesburg where he
pursued his early education in the public schools. In 1893 he
entered Knox College Academy and for several years was a student in
Knox College. He was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1900 with
the degree of A. B. While a student there he was chosen a member of
Phi Delta Theta.
On the 3d of April, 1909, Mr. Holland was married to Miss Beulah
Mary Hunt, of Galesburg. He is a member of the Soangetaha Club, of
which he has been a director for three years. Pie also holds
membership in the Cooper Ornithological Club of California and is an
associate member of the American Ornithologists' Union. In 1908,
1909 and again in 1912 he was elected president of the Galesburg
Base Ball Company. In religious faith he is affiliated with the
Central Congregational church of Galesburg. In politics he is a
republican. Mr. Holland bears the reputation of being very
progressive in his business ideas and has been most successful in
promoting and introducing new lines and methods which tend to
further the welfare of his business.
WILKINS SEACORD.
Wilkins Seacord, deceased, was for many years an active and honored
resident of Galesburg and Knox county, many business interests
feeling the stimulus of his activity, his commercial and industrial
connections being at all times of such a character as contributed to
general progress and prosperity as well as to individual success.
Moreover, the methods pursued would ever bear close investigation
and scrutiny so that he was honored and respected wherever known,
and most of all where he was best known. His life history
constitutes a creditable chapter in the annals of Knox county. His
birth occurred in Orange county, New York, September 20, 1833, and
his ancestry can be traced back to the Huguenots of France. His
grandfather was subordinate officer under Marquis de la Fayette and
came to America with that gallant French hero who aided in the
establishment of American independence. Pleased with the new world
and its prospects he decided to remain and established his home in
the Empire state.
1110 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
His son, Wilkins Seacord, father of him whose name introduces this
review, married Hulda J. Morris, also a native of New York. He was a
prominent citizen of that state and for many years represented his
district in the general assembly, leaving the impress of his
individuality upon the laws which were enacted during his connection
with the state legislature. He continued a resident of New York
until called to his final rest in 1862, when sixty-two years of age.
His widow survived him for about fifteen years and passed away at
the age of seventy-two years. In their family were five children of
whom Wilkins Seacord, of this review, was the fourth in order of
birth. He had the advantage of training in a home of culture and
refinement, enjoyed good educational privileges and in early manhood
came to the middle west. In his youth he learned something of the
blacksmith's trade and also worked at farming for a time. He was
twenty-two years of age when he left home and for a brief period he
drifted about in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana but found what he
regarded as a suitable place of residence when in October, 1855, ne
arrived in Galesburg. He then devoted his attention to teaching
school for a brief period and also broke prairie, but in the spring
of 1857 took up commercial pursuits, engaging in business in Oneida.
In the spring of 1862 he turned his attention to the meat and
live-stock business which he carried on with considerable success
for about six years but abandoned that line in 1868 and removed from
Oneida to Knoxville, which was then the county seat. There he filled
the office of sheriff for a two years' term but in 1870 returned to
Galesburg and took charge of the stock yards at this place. In 1876
his duties were further extended to include the superintendency of
the stock yards at Quincy, the two places being under his care for
many years. He also had supervision over the yards at Ottumwa and at
Burlington, Iowa, and over the large sheep yard at Montgomery. He
became recognized as one of the best judges of live stock in the
Mississippi valley and in connection with his activity as
superintendent of stock yards he also conducted an extensive
rendering establishment. In fact he was associated with many
prominent business enterprises of this city and state, was the owner
of three large farms, had extensive banking interests and was also
connected with other business concerns. He became one of the early
stockholders of the Farmers & Mechanics Bank and served on its
directorate. He was also a director of the First National Bank for
many years and became one of the original stockholders of the
Purington Paving Brick Company, of which he served as a director for
several years. Fie was active in promoting the Galesburg Electric
Motor & Power Company, took considerable stock in the enterprise and
served as its president for a number of years, and also as a member
of its board of directors. This company purchased the old horse-car
lines, installed electric power and after successfully conducting
the system for several years sold to the McKinley interests.
It was on the 1st of October, 1857, in this county, that Mr. Seacord
was united in marriage to Miss Keren L. Courtwright, who died in
November, 1869, leaving three children: Fred, of Galesburg; Louise,
the wife of John Wilcox; and De Forrest, who is familiarly known as
Judd. On the 20th of September, 1883, Mr. Seacord was again married,
his second union being with Mrs. Fannie M. Hollowell, nee Turner, of
Kansas City, who still survives him. The death of Mr. Seacord
occurred July 3, 1900, and in his demise the county lost one of its
most valued and representative citizens. His political allegiance
was given
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 1111
to the republican party and he belonged also to the Masonic
fraternity, exemplifying in his life the beneficent spirit of the
craft. He was a man of social disposition and of unfeigned
cordiality, whose attractive qualities made him a congenial
companion. His friendship always stood the test of time and he was
loved by all. In fact there were few citizens in Knox county as
popular and highly esteemed as was Wilkins Seacord, and the death of
none has been more deeply deplored.
WILLIAM D. SMITH.
William D. Smith, depot master for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad at Galesburg, was born in Portageville, New York, August
16, 1857. He comes of an old family of the Empire state. His
grandfather was there born and became a soldier of the War of 1812.
In days of peace he followed the occupation of farming and was
called to his final rest when in middle life. His wife, Mrs. Lavina
Smith, also a native of New York, long survived him and died at the
age of eighty-six years. They were the parents of three sons and
four daughters, of whom one son died in childhood. The others were
Joseph, Franklin, Abigail, Betsey, Louise and Laura. Of these,
Franklin C. Smith was the father of William D. Smith. He, too, was
born in New York and was reared in Wyoming county, where he
practiced law for a few years. He afterward became a contractor on
the Erie canal and in 1859 removed to Illinois, settling in
Galesburg, where he lived for two years. He next located at Oneida,
Illinois, where he engaged in the practice of law and also filled
the office of internal revenue collector for one term. Lie was a
soldier of the Civil war and served for three years in the One
Hundred and Second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, holding the rank of
colonel. He made an excellent record, inspiring his men with much of
his loyalty, zeal and bravery. He married Sarah M. Gilbert, who was
born in New York, as were her parents. Her mother was a Miss Weed in
maidenhood. Her father was proprietor of a hardware and tin store in
Portage, New York, and died in middle life, while his wife reached
the age of eighty-nine. Their family numbered three daughters and a
son, including Caroline, Sophia, Sarah and Charles. As previously
stated, Sarah M. Gilbert became the wife of Franklin C. Smith and
unto them were born four children: Anna E., now deceased, who had
been married twice, her first husband being Dr. Edwin Card and the
second Edwin E. Terry; William D., of this review; Franklin C, who
passed away at the age of three years; and Ella, who died when seven
years old.
William D. Smith was reared in Oneida, Illinois, between the age of
four and sixteen years, and attended the public schools there.
Coming to Galesburg, he served as brakeman and conductor in the
service of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company from
1874 until 1887. He then went to Elgin, Nebraska, where he resided
until 1891, devoting his time to farming upon a tract of one hundred
and sixty acres which he owned. At length he sold that property and
returned to Galesburg, reentering the employ of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company as a brakeman. For the past
twelve years he has been depot master, and his long connection with
the line indicates the faithfulness and loyalty of his service and
his capability
1112 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
In October, 1882, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Mary D. Pike, a
daughter of William Pike, whose wife in her maidenhood was Letitia
D. Bull. They were residing in the outskirts of Galesburg at the
time of Mrs. Smith's birth. They had come to this state from New
York and her father died at Woodhull, where he was proprietor of a
general store. Her mother passed away in Galesburg at the age of
sixty-four years. In their family were but two children, Charles and
Mary D. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born four children, Louise
D., Gilbert C, Frank C. and Stanley W., the first named a graduate
of the high school. Mrs. Smith belongs to the Congregational church
and the family are well known socially in the community. Mr. Smith
is a republican in his political views and conversant with the
principles of the party and the leading questions of the day but has
no ambition for office, his time and energies being given to his
business duties, which are always most faithfully performed.
M. O. WILLIAMSON.
M. O. Williamson was born on the Atlantic Ocean, July 14, 1850,
while his parents were on their way from Sweden to this country.
They located in Knox county, where since has been the family home.
The father died in 1853, leaving the mother with a family of six
children. This family she cared for until they were all grown to man
and womanhood. The mother died in 1886.
When a lad of thirteen years, M. O. Williamson learned the harness
trade with Olson & Gray at Wataga, Illinois, serving an
apprenticeship of three years, and worked at the bench thereafter
for twenty-five years. His educational advantages were limited. He
attended the district school up to the age of thirteen and stayed
for a term of six months in the village school when seventeen years
of age.
Mr. Williamson was married October 18, 1871, to Mary A. Driggs, of
Wataga, Illinois, and there were born to them one son, who died in
infancy, and two daughters. Adelaide F., born May 6, 1878, married
May 13, 1902, Edward Clyde Slocumb and their home is at present at
Artesia, New Mexico. Nellie M. was born April 22, 1883, and married
May 8, 1907, H. A. Whipple, her home at this time being at
Galesburg, Illinois. M. O. Williamson was elected and served as town
and city clerk, alderman and justice of the peace. He was elected
county treasurer of the county of Knox in 1886, and was elected
county clerk of the same county in 1890, 1894 and 1898. In 1900 he
was nominated and elected state treasurer. He was one of the
organizers and is an active member of the Swedish-American
Republican League of the state of Illinois, and was its president in
1897. In political faith, he is an earnest and consistent
republican. He believes in his party creed, and has done much for
the success of his party candidates and party principals. In 1884 he
was made
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 1115
secretary of the county central committee, and was either secretary
or chairman for twenty years.
In 1890, he with his family removed to Galesburg, Illinois which has
since been his home. He is a member of the Business Men's Club of
Galesburg, the Hamilton Club of Chicago, and is a Knight Templar
Mason, an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, and an Elk. He was for
two years a member of the Lincoln Monument Association of Illinois,
and it was during his term that the rebuilding of the Lincoln
monument at Springfield was completed, and the remains of the
martyred president were laid in their final resting place in the
monument. Mr. Williamson is at this time president of the People's
Trust & Savings Bank, of Galesburg, Illinois, one of the largest and
most successful financial institutions in the state outside of
Chicago.
HARMAN J. KUNKEL.
Harman J. Kunkel, who owns and operates the largest gristmill not
only in Knox county but in this section of the state, is one of
Wataga's self-made men, having begun here in his early youth with no
capital save his untiring energy and determination. He was born in
Cashtown, Adair county, Pennsylvania, on the 27th of October, 1872,
and is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Smith) Kunkel, both of whom
are now deceased, the father having passed away in 1877 and the
mother in 1879. Joseph Kunkel, who was a veteran of the Civil war,
was a blacksmith by trade but he had been educated for a music
teacher, which vocation he sometimes followed while he also engaged
in farming. Five of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Kunkel are
still living, those beside our subject being as follows: Sarah, the
wife of George Kadel, now deceased, of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania;
Mary, the wife of Harry E. Smith, of Knoxville; John, who is a
resident of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; and Irwin, who is living in
Wellsville, Pennsylvania.
Left an orphan at the age of seven years, Harman J. Kunkel was
reared in the county of his birth, whose common schools he attended
until he was thirteen, during which time he also worked on a farm.
After laying aside his text-books he apprenticed himself to the
carpenter's trade, serving for three years, at the expiration of
which period he came west. He was only a youth of sixteen when he
came to Knox county and first located at Wykoff, near Wataga, where
he worked at his trade for fifty cents per day. He subsequently went
to Galesburg, where he engaged as carpenter for two years, returning
to Wataga, where he farmed until his marriage in 1893. During the
succeeding five years he operated a farm in the vicinity of Wataga,
but later he bought a place which he has sold, on moving to Wataga,
where he is now residing. In
494 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
1907 he purchased a flour and feed mill here and soon thereafter
withdrew from his agricultural pursuits, giving his undivided
attention to the operation of his mill. This proved to be a very
lucrative undertaking and on the 30th of March, 1911, he extended
the scope of his activities by becoming the owner of the mill
belonging to the estate of Warden & Son. He has one of the finest
plants in this part of the state, the capacity being far greater
than that of any other mill in his vicinity, while it is fully
equipped with all modern machinery. Mr. Kunkel has been very
successful in all of his undertakings and in addition to his mill is
the owner of the electric light plant in Wataga, which he installed
in May, 1909. Such success as has come to him has been the result of
his own intelligently directed effort and unceasing application, as
he began his career in Knox county without either capital or
influence, but he possessed those qualities that invariably win:
industry and determination of purpose.
Mr. Kunkel's plans for a home of his own had their culmination in
his marriage, in October, 1893, to Miss Minnie A. Morgan, of Wataga,
Illinois. Mrs. Kunkel is a daughter of Abram and Elizabeth Morgan,
both of whom are now deceased. The father was a coal miner. Of the
union of Mr. and Mrs. Kunkel there have been born the following
children: Sarah Elizabeth, who is sixteen; Mary Frances, now
fourteen; John Morgan, who is thirteen; Beulah Fern, nine years of
age; Harry, who is six; and George Flarman, who has passed the
fourth anniversary of his birth.
The family attend the services of the Methodist Episcopal church, of
which the mother is a member, and Mr. Kunkel is an active member of
a large number of fraternal organizations. He is affiliated with the
Masonic order through his membership in Wataga Lodge, No. 291, A. F.
& A. M.; and he is an Odd Fellow, his local connection with this
society being through Wataga Lodge, No. 598, I. O. O. F., and he
also belongs to the Odd Fellows encampment at Galesburg. The Mystic
Workers; Brotherhood of American Yeomen; and United Commercial
Travelers, Galesburg Lodge, No. 269, claim his affiliation also.
Political activities have never occupied much of Mr. Kunkel's
attention his entire time and thought having been concentrated upon
the development of his personal interests, in which he has met with
notable success. However, he is always ready to give his cooperation
or indorsement to any movement he deems qualified to advance the
community or to promote municipal enterprises.
ALEXANDER GEHRING.
Alexander Gehring, a well known and successful farmer and
stock-raiser of Sparta township, Knox county, Illinois, is still
engaged in cultivating the farm on which he has lived for nearly
forty-six years. His birth occurred in Baden, Germany, on the 1st of
December, 1844. His father, Anthony G., was born March 12, 1821, and
his mother, whose maiden name was Mary Mosier, was born June 24,
1823. They came to America and settled in Sparta township in 1857.
His paternal grandparents were Bennett and Elizabeth (Closman)
Gehring and his great-grandparents were Mathias and Susan Gehring.
His maternal grandparents were Jacob and Mary Mosier. Alexander
Gehring was the oldest
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 495
of three children, a sister who is dead, and a brother named Martin,
a farmer in Sparta township, with whom his mother makes her home.
Alexander Gehring began his education in Germany, continuing his
studies for a little time after coming to this country. When a mere
boy, at the age of fourteen, he commenced to work on the farm, first
for his father and later hiring out to a neighbor. At twenty-one he
began to work for himself and in 1867, after his marriage, took
possession of the farm which he is now operating. In addition to
general farming he devotes much time to stock-raising in which
pursuit he has been very successful. Born to his calling he loves
his work and the interests which fill a farmer's life and has no
wish to retire while his farm yields him the comfortable income
which he now enjoys.
The marriage of Alexander Gehring to Miss Jerusha Squires, of
Trumbull county, Ohio, occurred May 30, 1867. Her father, Ira
Squires, was born in Ireland in 1818 and came to America when six
years old. Her mother, Caroline Stewart was born in 1820 of Scotch
parentage. When Mrs. Alexander Gehring was three years old her
parents died whereupon she was reared by Isaac and Sarah (Hillergast)
Baker. She was the granddaughter of Tason and Dorothea (Tew)
Squires. Mrs. Gehring has one brother, Albert Squires, who lives at
her home.
In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Gehring were four children.
Carrie, who remained single and was living at home, died in August,
1911, at the age of thirty-four, at Greenville, Pennsylvania, while
on a visit. She was a very devout woman and an untiring worker in
the Methodist Episcopal church. She was an officer in the missionary
society of her church and a member of the Epworth League. Alice, the
wife of James Parkinson, a farmer in Kansas, is the mother of five
children. Sarah Luella, the wife of Benjamin Morgan of Wataga,
Illinois, has four children. Ira Anthony, married to Effie Richmond,
lives in Galesburg and is the father of two children.
The Gehring family holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal
church of Wataga, Illinois, in which Mr. Gehring is a steward and a
trustee. In hjs political views he is a republican and has always
been an ardent worker for his party. He served as roadmaster for
several terms and was on the school board three terms. Coming to
this locaHty more than fifty years ago, Alexander Gehring has not
only witnessed the agricultural growth and development of Knox
county but has been a large contributor to the prosperity for which
this community is noted.
OLIVER SWANSON.
Oliver Swanson was born on the 16th of February, 1853, at Solvesborg,
a town in the southern part of Sweden, his parents being Swan and
Kama (Person) Olson. The father, whose birth occurred in 1825,
engaged in agricultural pursuits in Sweden until his death, which
occurred when his son Oliver was a child of but two years. Both
mother and father spent their entire lives in Sweden. Oliver Swanson
received his education in the common schools of his native land and
at the age of eighteen years, after having assisted on the home
farm, came
496 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
to America settling at Woodhull. For a time he worked out by the
month and then came to Ontario township where he settled on a farm
in 1881. In 1893 he came to his present home. This property consists
of eighty acres and has been his residence ever since. Although he
devotes his time and energy principally to general farming, he also
raises shorthorn cattle and feeds hogs and cattle for .the market.
In these various branches he is meeting with the success, which is
the reward of persistent and diligent labor. On the 12th 01 April,
1879, Mr. Swanson was married to Marie Anderson, a resident of Knox
county, and a daughter of Anders and Anna (Johnson) Anderson, both
of whom were natives of Sweden, where they were engaged in farming.
The father died in Sweden and the mother came to Henry county, in
1875. They were the parents of five children. To Mr. and Mrs.
Swanson three children have been born: Hattie S., who is the wife of
William Sebastian, a resident farmer of Henry county; Hart-wick,
whose birth occurred in 1884 and who died in January 1905; and
Florence, who is attending high school in Altona, Illinois.
In politics Mr. Swanson gives his support to the men and measures of
the republican party and has served as road commissioner and is
assessor at the present time. In religious faith he holds membership
in the Lutheran church of Altona. By his earnest work and diligent
application to his agricultural pursuits and by his interest and
furthering of all measures pertaining to the higher social and moral
development of the community, Mr. Swanson has become recognized as a
citizen of substantial and honorable worth.
FRANKLIN
PIERCE TYLER, M. D.
Dr. Franklin Pierce Tyler, engaged in the general practice of
medicine in Galesburg, was born in Rock Island county, Illinois,
June 21, 1854, his parents being Dr. Truman Murray and Mary Ann
(Cutler) Tyler. The family home was first established in Galesburg
in 1862. The father was born in the state of New York in 1804 and
the mother's birth occurred in Massachusetts in 1810. In early
manhood he prepared for the practice of medicine and for a time
followed his profession in Ohio, after which he came to Illinois,
settling in Illinois City. His next place of residence was in
Edgington, this state, and afterward he lived for a time at Rock
Island, coming to Galesburg in 1862. Here he opened an office and
continued in active practice until his life's labors were ended in
death twenty-one years later. He was widely known as a capable
physician whose scientific knowledge was supplemented by broad
humanitarian principles, thus making his work of great worth in the
world. His widow survived him and died at the home of her son, Dr.
Tyler, in Clifton, Kansas. Dr. Truman Tyler, Sr., was a democrat in
his political views and fraternally was connected with the Masons,
which order found him an exemplary representative. Both he and his
wife were members of the Universalist church and were people of
kindly purpose and of high principles. In their family were three
children, Stella Louise, the elder, who died in 1908; and
Christopher C, who like our subject is also a resident of Galesburg.
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 499
Dr. Tyler, Jr., whose name introduces this record, was a lad of but
eight years when the family removed to this city, so that his
education was largely acquired here. After attending the public
schools, he entered Lombard University, where he pursued his more
specifically literary course. His professional training was received
in Rush Medical College, from which he was graduated with the class
of 1885. He then went to Clifton, Kansas, where he opened an office
and continued in active practice for twelve years. On the expiration
of that period he returned to Galesburg, where he still follows his
profession as a general practitioner, having comprehensive knowledge
of the principles of medicine and surgery, while his broad and
extended experience has added greatly to his efficiency.
On the 12th of October, 1886, occurred the marriage of Dr. Tyler and
Miss Emilia Brewer Laux, a daughter of Professor Carl Rupert Laux,
of Galesburg. The children of this marriage are: Carl Rupert, who
was born in Clifton, Kansas, in September, 1887; and Cecil May, also
a native of Clifton. Both are still at home. Mrs. Tyler is a member
of the First Congregational church and Dr. Tyler holds membership
with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights and Ladies of
Security. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party
but without desire for office, his ballot merely expressing his
approval of the policies and principles of the party. He belongs to
the city and county medical societies and is ever deeply interested
in anything that tends to bring to man the key to the mystery of
life. He is extremely careful and conscientious in all of his
professional work and his ability has gained for him a liberal
patronage.
BENJAMIN THOMAS
HART.
The commercial activity of Altona finds a worthy representative in
Benjamin Thomas Hart, who is now proprietor of a drug store. He has
conducted this for three years and is accorded a good patronage. He
was born at Camp Point, Illinois, December 3, 1877. The early
ancestral history of the family has been lost. It is supposed,
however, that the great-grandfather was stolen by the Indians and
was carried to Kentucky. The grandfather, Thomas W. Hart, was a
native of that state. He married Miss Wheeler and they became
parents of a son, George M. Hart, who was born in Frankfort,
Kentucky, January 29, 1837. When a boy of six years he accompanied
his parents on their removal to Quincy, Illinois, where his boyhood
days were passed. He learned and followed the cooper's trade and
from Quincy removed to Camp Point, Illinois, being at that time
twenty years of age. This was some time prior to 1859. ^n the early
'60s he walked from Quincy to Denver, Colorado, starting with an
emigrant train that traveled by way of Leavenworth. At length he
returned to Camp Point, Illinois, where he engaged in the cooperage
business for many years but is now living retired. He married Rhoda
Bryant, who also survives and is now sixty-eight years of age, her
birth occurring on the 20th of July, 1843, m Kentucky. She was a
daughter of -Moses Bryant. Unto him and his wife were born six
children of whom Benjamin T. Hart and two sisters are
500 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
now living. The sisters are: Elitha May, the wife of Charles H.
Montgomery, of Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Hazel Gertrude, who is
teaching in the Loraine high school. Three of the children died in
infancy.
Benjamin Thomas Hart spent his youthful days in his parents' home
and after his education was over, began clerking in a drug store at
Camp Point on the 1st of March, 1892. For two years he attended the
Chicago College of Pharmacy and, in May, 1899, came to Altona where
he conducted a drug business for two years. He then returned to
Chicago where he finished his course of study with the class of
1902. On locating in Altona he engaged in clerking where he now
carries on business for himself. He also spent a year in Burt's drug
store in Galesburg and in August, 1904, purchased his present drug
store at Altona. ' He has also been engaged in the restaurant
business at Altona since 1908 and both branches have proven
profitable. He has a well appointed and well conducted establishment
and his business methods are such as will bear the closest
investigation and scrutiny.
On the 20th of April, 1902, Mr. Hart was united in marriage to Miss
Elizabeth Updike, who was born in Altona, February 12, 1879, and is
a daughter of Tosiah W. and Edith (Van Scyok) Updike, the father a
pioneer resident of this county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hart have been
born two children: Harry Worth, who was born February 8, 1903; and
Marjory Lois, born December 20, 1905. Mr. Hart and his wife are
members of the Methodist church of Altona and at the present time he
is financial secretary of the church. Fraternally he is a Mason,
belonging to Altona Lodge, No. 330, F. & A. M. He also holds
membership with Altona Camp, No. 3737, »M. W. A., of which he is
past consul, and he likewise belongs to the Illinois Pharmaceutical
Association. He is a young man and yet, in business and in social
life, he has made a record which is creditable and enviable, gaining
for him the respect and admiration of his fellowmen.
FRANK C. KRANS.
Trained in the printing trade and in editorial work, Frank C. Krans
is well qualified to fill the position which he now occupies as
editor and manager of the Oneida News, a weekly paper published in
Oneida, Knox county, Illinois. During a period covering more than
twenty years he has gained his experience in Illinois, in Nebraska,
Oregon and Washington, coming in contact with newspapermen and
printers from every section of the country, since the members of
this fraternity are of a roving disposition fond of seeking new
scenes for their field of labor. Frank C. Krans was born July 6,
1870, in Galva, Illinois, a son of O. and Christiana (Aspequist)
Krans, natives of Sweden. The father came to America with his
parents when he was a young man and made his way to a Swedish
settlement at Bishop's Hill, walking all the way from Chicago. When
a boy he assisted in hauling the lumber from Bishop's Hill to Galva
when the first building was erected in the latter town. At the
outbreak of the war he enlisted in Company D, of the Fifty-seventh
Volunteer Infantry of Illinois, from Princeton. At the close of the
war he returned to Galva, Illinois, where he
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 501
followed his trade as painter and decorator until ten years ago when
he removed to Altona, Illinois, and has resided there ever since,
still actively interested in his work. He is a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic of Galva.
Reared at home Frank C. Krans was educated in the common schools and
in the high school of Galva. He prepared himself for his career by
acting as assistant on the Galva News learning the many varied
features of the work. He then went to Altona where he took charge of
a paper started by C. F. Mc-Donough and continued in the management
of the same for two years, when he decided to gratify his desire to
move farther west and secured employment in Ogalalla, Nebraska. A
year later he went to the Pacific coast and remained there, working
at the printer trade for five years. In the fall of 1893 ^-e re~
turned to Illinois and purchased the Altona Record which he
conducted until 1906 when he sold it to Mills & Company. Thereupon
he went to Kewanee, Illinois, where he held a responsible position
on the Star Courier and labored there until 1911, serving one term
of this time as president of the Typographical Union of Kewanee.
During the current year he bought an interest in a stock company in
Oneida, organized in 1900, which publishes a weekly, the Oneida
News, and of this he became editor and manager. He is spirited and
enthusiastic in his work and in the brief period since coming to
this position has already demonstrated his efficiency.
The marriage of Mr. Krans and Miss Anna Olson, of Altona, was
celebrated October 2, 1898. She is a daughter of Peter Olson and
obtained her education in the grammar and high schools of Altona and
the Normal school of Bushnell, after which she followed the vocation
of teaching for a number of years. She gave that up, however, and
entered the Hospital Training School at Galesburg where she was
fitted for the profession of nursing and after her graduation was
given a position on their staff. Mr. and Mrs. Krans are the parents
of three children: Kenneth, who is attending school, and two younger
ones, John and Walton.
Mr. Krans is a republican in his political affiliations and served
as town clerk for five years during his residence in Altona and also
as village clerk for an equal period of time, while as a member of
the council he gave his efforts to the advancement of the welfare of
the community. He is a member of the Masonic order, being connected
with Lodge No. 320, F. & A. M., of Altona and the Knights of
Pythias, of Oneida, whose beneficent principles he tries to follow
in all the relations of his daily life.
HENRY WELCH.
Henry Welch, who is a resident of Ontario township, has been
connected with agricultural interests in Knox county throughout his
life. He was born in Rio township, March 6, 1871, and is the son of
John and Ann Welch, the former, whose birth occurred May 28, 1836, a
native of Kings county, Ireland, and the latter a native of New
York. John Welch, whose parents, John and Sarah (Clarke) Welch, were
agriculturists in Ireland and there resided all their life, worked
on the farm and received a common-school education while at home,
and
502 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
after emigrating to this country, in 1850, continued in agricultural
pursuits. Going to Galesburg in 1857, he worked out by the day until
he removed to Rio township in 1862, at which time he rented a farm.
After cultivating this for some time, he purchased two hundred acres
of land near by and has ever since made that farm his home although
he now rents it and lives retired. This farm is a high tribute to
his ability and labor and stands as evidence of his rise from a day
laborer, husking corn at fifty cents per day to> a successful
agriculturist, who has acquired a competence sufficient to provide
for a comfortable retired life. Mr. and Mrs. Welch have been the
parents of six children, namely: Mrs. Mary Stafford, a widow, who is
the mother of two children, Clare and William; Henry, the subject of
this sketch; Charles, who is married to Winiferd Barry, the daughter
of James Barry, and who is the mother of one child, Anna May, of
Sparta township; Margaret, who is the wife of J. H. Rittenhouse, a
traveling salesman of Galesburg and to whom two children, Neal and
Ruth, have been born; Nellie, the wife of Ira Rice, who conducts a
general store at Wataga; and Edward, deceased.
Henry Welch received a common-school education and then worked on
his father's farm until he started in life for himself, at the age
of twenty-seven years. He began his independent career on a farm in
Rio township, which he cultivated for ten years, and, in 1900, he
came to Ontario township and purchased the one hundred and
fifty-three acres of land comprising his present farm, which is all
under high cultivation and returning profitable yields to the labor
expended upon it. Mr. Welch is raising grain and general farm
products and is also engaged in cattle and hog-raising for the
western markets.
On February 2, 1898, occurred Mr. Welch's marriage to Lucy Barry,
the daughter of James and Frances (Edwards) Barry, who have long
been residents of Knox county. To Mr. and Mrs. Welch three children
have been born, Maurice E., Francis M. and Florence L.
Mr. Welch is a democrat and is a member of the Roman Catholic church
of Woodhull. In these, as in other relations he is consistently
loyal, living in accordance with the highest ideals of citizenship.
ORANGE LOWELL
CAMPBELL.
The consensus of public opinion places the name of Orange Lowell
Campbell high on the roll of representative and honored residents of
Knoxville, where he is now filling the position of postmaster. This
is his native town, his birth having here occurred, March 7, 1852.
His parents were Elisha and Mary A. (Lowell) Campbell. The father
was born in Gallipolis, Ohio, in 1825, and was a son of Dr. John and
Mary (Webb) Campbell, both of whom were natives of Virginia, where
the grandfather engaged in the practice of medicine, becoming
recognized as a prominent member of the profession and a prolific
writer who made valuablue contributions to medical literature. His
father had been a native of Scotland and Dr. John Campbell displayed
in his life many of the sterling characteristics of his Scotch
ancestry. At an early day he removed from Virginia to Ohio, settling
in Gallipolis, and subsequently he came to Illinois, establishing
his home in Quincy, where he lived to the time of his death. When a
young man he not only practiced medicine but also engaged in the
practice of law and, at the time of the war of 1812, manifested his
patriotic loyalty to his country by active service in the field. His
wide reading made him a well informed man and as a ready writer he
discussed through the press many questions of widespread interest.
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 505
The maternal grandparents of O. L. Campbell were
natives of England, while the paternal grandmother, Mrs. Mary (Webb)
Campbell, was of German lineage. Elisha Campbell, the father of O.
L. Campbell, spent his youthful days under the parental roof and in
early manhood took up the profession of teaching, which he followed
successfully in Ohio until his removal to Illinois. He also learned
the plasterer's and mason's trades and thus became well qualified
for the attainment of success along different lines of activity. It
was in 1848 that he became a resident of this state and in May,
1850, he was married in Knox-ville to Miss Mary A. Lowell. On coming
to the Mississippi valley he had spent a short time in St. Louis,
Missouri, and thence made his way to Peoria, Illinois, where he also
remained for but a brief period. On the expiration of that time he
came to Knoxville, where he followed his trade and also engaged in
teaching school. His life was thus busily passed until August, 1862,
when he responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting here
as a member of Company E, Eighty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry,
with which he served for three years. He was appointed corporal of
his company and later was advanced to the rank of sergeant. On
account of the wounds which he had sustained, he was assigned to a
position in the recruiting service, as he was unfit for active field
duty, and as such enlisted a company of negro soldiers at Fort
Donelson. Following the close of the war he returned to Knoxville,
but afterward became a resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he
died in 1880, the interment being made, however, in Red Oak, Iowa.
His wife survived him until June 2, 1900, passing away at Omaha,
Nebraska, and her grave, too, was made at Red Oak. In their family
were ten children, five sons and five daughters, as follows: Orange
L., who is the eldest in the family; Almira, the second of the
family, who was for twenty-one years a teacher in the public schools
of Omaha; Clara; Charles, engaged in business in Los Angeles,
California; Lloyd, mechanic of Detroit, Michigan, acting as foreman
of the paint department of the Chalmers Automobile Company of that
city; John and George, both of whom died in infancy; Emma and
Louise, twins, deceased; and Ella, also deceased. The first two were
teachers in the public schools of Iowa.
Orange L. Campbell pursued his education in the public schools of
his native town and, passing through consecutive grades, was
eventually graduated from the high school. When a young man he
learned the printing trade, which he followed during the summer
seasons while continuing his education in the winter months. His
first work was in the office of the Knox County Republican, with
which paper he continued during the period of the Civil war and
until he had completed eight years' service in that connection. He
then went to Watseka, Illinois, where he remained for a year, after
which he secured a position on one of the leading papers at Quincy,
Illinois. Returning to Knoxville, he purchased in 1876 the Knox
County Republican, which he edited until 1910, making it one of the
progressive country papers of this part of the state, with
506 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
a good circulation and large advertising patronage. He put aside
private business affairs, however, to enter upon public office,
being first appointed postmaster under President Harrison and later
by Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt. while at the present time he
is filling the position by appointment of President Taft. His
administration of the office has always been business like and
systematic, his course winning the approval of the many patrons of
this office. In 1887 he was elected to the position of town clerk
and served for eight years. He was also the first secretary and
clerk of the public library and for eight years was secretary of the
board of education. During seventeen years he served as secretary of
the Knox County Agricultural Association and was the first secretary
of the Knox County Farmers' Institute, which position he filled for
eight years. Fie is an honored member of the Knox County Old
Settlers' Association and has been its secretary for twenty-seven
years. Flis activities have touched the general interests of society
along many lines and in every connection he has been found faithful
to the trust reposed in him.
Fraternally Mr. Campbell is connected with Pacific Lodge, No. 66, A.
F. & A. M., of which he has been the secretary. He belongs also to
Raboni Chapter, No. 95, R. A. M., and to Illinois Council, No. 1,
which was the first lodge of this kind in the state. Fie became one
of the organizers of the Fraternal Reserves and was its first state
vice president. Fie likewise has membership with the Modern Woodmen
of America, with the Sons of Veterans of Gales-burg and for two
terms was captain of the Knoxville Sons of Veterans, having also
been one of the organizers of this society. Pie is the vice
president of the Fifteenth Congressional District Postmasters'
Association and is president of the Military Tract Association. All
of his varied interests have brought him a wide acquaintance and
everywhere he is held in high regard.
On the 19th of June, 1873, in Knoxville, Mr. Campbell was united in
marriage to Miss Augusta Stowe Bull, who was born in Milford,
Connecticut, July 2, 1851, a daughter of Captain William and Phoebe
(Stowe) Bull. Her father came to Knox county at an early day,
purchased a farm and resided thereon until his death in 1862. Her
mother died in 1909, at the age of eighty-nine years, having spent
her last days in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Campbell. The Stowe family
of which Mrs. Campbell is a representative in the maternal line came
from Milford, Connecticut, and from the same ancestry descended
Harriet Beecher Stowe. The great-grandfather of Mrs. Campbell was a
soldier of the Revolutionary war under General Washington. Unto
Captain and Mrs. But there were born seven children, of whom the
Rev. Cornelius Bull was the eldest. He is a minister of the Free
Methodist Episcopal church and resides in Fullerton, Kansas. The
other members of the family were: Mrs. R. J. Over-street, of
Galesburg; I. T. Bull, living in Shenandoah, Iowa; John S., of Fort
Wayne, Indiana; Philip H., of Galesburg; and one, who died in
infancy. Mrs. Campbell, also a member of this family, has become the
mother of three children, of whom the eldest, Sterling H., now
resides in St. Louis, Missouri, being sales agent for the American
Railway Equipment Company, in which connection he travels all over
the United States. He is a graduate of St. Alban's School of
Knoxville. Charlotte W. is vice principal and teacher of language
and literature in St. Mary's school. Mary, the youngest, is now a
student in that school. Both Mr. and Mrs. Campbell hold membership
in the Presbyterian
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 507
church and he is a member of its choir. Their daughters, Charlotte
and Mary, are members of the Episcopal church. In the religious
organization to which he belongs Mr. Campbell has always taken an
active interest and has served as secretary and treasurer of the
Presbyterian Sunday school. His political allegiance is given to the
republican party and he has ever been a stalwart champion of its
principles. He is also much interested in music, possessing
considerable natural talent and ability, and for six years he has
been a member of the Gales-burg Musical Union. Mr. Campbell has a
very wide acquaintance not only in Knox county but in other parts of
the state and his sterling worth has won him high regard, while his
geniality and cordiality have gained for him enduring friendships.
He is popular wherever known and everywhere is spoken of in terms of
good-will, confidence and respect.
JOHN SCHWARZ.
John Schwarz, one of the successful farmers and dairymen of Sparta
township, Knox county, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, on the 4th
of December, 1866. He is a son of John George Schwarz, who spent the
first forty-five years of his life in the fatherland, his birth
there occurring on November 14, 1827. His parents were John and
Margaret Schwarz, who spent their entire lives in their native land,
where they were identified with agricultural pursuits. Left an
orphan at the age of seven John George Schwarz was reared by an
elder brother until old enough to become self-supporting. For his
wife he chose Rosina Moessner, a daughter of Matthew Moessner, a
school teacher in Germany. She was also a native of Wurtemberg, her
birth occurring on January 3, 1827. Five of the children born of the
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Schwarz are living, those beside our
subject being as follows: Leonard, who is a cooper, Mathias and
Michael, all residents of St. Clair county; and Anna Margaret, the
wife of Conrad A. Fritz, of Belleville, Illinois. Together with his
wife and family John George Schwarz emigrated to the United States
in 1872, locating in St. Clair county. There for a time he worked as
a laborer, but later by means of his thrift and unceasing energy he
was able to buy a small farm that he cultivated until his death on
June 16, 1882. The parents were both members of the German Lutheran
church and assisted in the organization of the church in the
vicinity of their home, Mr. Schwarz being one of the trustees until
his death. Although he became a citizen of the United States he
never actively participated in political affairs, devoting his
entire attention to the development of his personal interests.
Having been only a lad of six years when he emigrated to the United
States with his parents John Schwarz obtained practically his entire
education in the district schools of St. Clair county, which he
attended until he was thirteen years of age. His energies were then
directed toward assisting his father in the cultivation of the home
farm, where he continued to live until twenty-three years of age. He
then came to Knox county, and during the first two years of his
residence here he worked as a laborer on the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy Railroad. After his marriage he rented the farm where he is
now living, so intelligently directing his efforts in its
cultivation that he acquired the means to purchase it in 1890. Mr.
Schwarz takes great pride in his homestead and its appearance,
giving his personal supervision to everything about his place. His
fields are carefully tilled and annually yield abundant harvests in
return for his labor, while his dairy business is also proving most
lucrative.
508 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
Mr. Schwarz has been ably assisted in his efforts by his wife, whose
maiden name was Wilhelmina Schultz. She is a native of Galesburg,
her birth there occurring on the 226. of October, 1871. Her parents
are William and Margaret (Sauter) Schultz, both of whom are still
living. The father, who is a blacksmith, was for many years actively
engaged in his trade, but having attained the age of sixty-seven is
now living retired. The mother is a daughter of Jacob and Dorothea
(Zeller) Sauter, the former still living at the venerable age of
eighty-seven, but the wife passed away in 1873, when she was
fifty-eight. She was a daughter of Christopher and Katherine Zeller,
the father a laborer of Lauterberg, Germany, while the parents of
Jacob Sauter were Johann and Anna Margaretha (Maier) Sauter. Johann
Sauter passed away in 1850 at the age of seventy-eight. Of the union
of Mr. and Mrs. Schwarz there have been born seven children: George
William, who is nineteen and living at home; Dorothea Paulina, who
is seventeen; Rosa, fourteen; Carolina, who is twelve; Wilhelmina,
aged nine; Anna Margaretha, who is seven; and Ruth Irene, aged three
weeks.
The family manifest their religious views through their membership
in the Lutheran church, while his political support Mr. Schwarz
gives to the republican party. He takes an active interest in all
matters pertaining to the township and served for thirteen years as
a member of the school board, while at the present time he is
serving in the capacity of road commissioner. He is held in high
esteem in his community where he is known as a straightforward
upright man, whose business transactions are always conducted in a
fair and honorable manner.
JOHN McMASTER.
John McMaster, who is now living retired in Altona, Illinois, is one
of the men whom his fellow citizens regard with honor and respect
because his life exemplifies all that is commendable and in
accordance with high principles. He was an earnest and diligent
laborer and his integrity in any business dealing has never been
questioned. He was born on the 15th of May, 1827, at Daldillan,
parish of Sorn, Ayrshire, Scotland, and in 1852 came to America with
his parents, John and Ann (Struthers) McMaster, the latter being a
daughter of James and Mary (Watson) Struthers. The father was the
only son of John McMaster, who was an agriculturist of Scotland, his
death having occurred at the age of ninety-two years, in 1868, Mrs.
McMaster having passed away ten years previous, at the age of
eighty-five years. They were the parents of: David, who is living
retired in Copley township; George, a resident of Henry county;
Thomas, who is living in Walnut Grove township; and John, the
subject of this sketch. The McMasters made the trip from their
native land in company with the Struthers family and
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 509
went direct to Chicago and thence overland with teams to Peoria,
from which place they set out for Copley township, Knox county.
There they built the first log house which was erected in that
district on eighty acres of land, which Mr. McMaster and his
children brought under such a state of cultivation that it was
suitable for a home.
At the age of fourteen years John McMaster began his active career
on the home farm. Subsequently he purchased a team of horses and by
hard labor and constant saving was soon able to make a home for his
parents. After his marriage he bought eighty acres in Walnut Grove
township but disposed of it two years later, when he purchased one
hundred and sixty acres, which formed the nucleus of the more
extensive farm he owned at the time of his retirement in 1898.
Mr. McMaster was married on the 226. of August, 1861, to Miss
Lorinda Helen Multer, who is a daughter of Captain Joseph and Susan
(Becker) Multer and whose birth occurred at South Worcester, Ostego
county, New York, on the 10th of May, 1838. Captain Multer was a
veteran of the war of 1812. Mrs. Multer was a daughter of Louis
Becker, of Germany, and Joseph Multer was oi Dutch descent, his
father having been the royal family's physician. Mrs. McMaster came
to Knox county to visit her brother in i860 and was one of thirteen
children, her two surviving sisters being: Catherine, the wife of E.
Daily, of New York; and Susan, who is the widow of George Payne, of
New York. Mr. and Mrs. McMaster became the parents of five children:
Chauncey J., who is married to Frances Reed and is living in Walnut
Grove township; David N., a resident of Walnut Grove township, who
married Miss May Thompson; Anna, who is the wife of Frank Brown, of
Galesburg, and has one child, Margaret; John E., also residing in
Walnut Grove township, who married Minnie Lock and has two children,
Lola M. and Bequeath; and Mary E., the wife of William Thomson, of
Walnut Grove township, and the mother of two children, Helen A., and
Mary M.
On the 22d of August, 1911, Mr. and Mrs. McMaster celebrated their
golden wedding anniversary, an occasion which gave one hundred and
seventy-five of their friends, who had assembled from various parts
of the United States and even as far as India, an opportunity to
show the regard and esteem in which this worthy couple is held. They
were the recipients of the hearty congratulations of their neighbors
and of many substantial and valuable gifts. The following poem,
which was written and read by J. W. McQueen, gives an idea of the
affection felt for Mr. and Mrs. McMaster:
"Fifty years you have walked together Along the pathway of life,
Amid the storm and shiny weather You've not faltered in the strife.
"Yes those years have drawn you nearer, Dearer far than tongue can
tell Have your lives together blended In the race you have run so
well.
510 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
"Golden weddings are not common, Few can reach that auspicious day,
Yours has been a happy concourse Friends you've made along the
way. "Life without friends would be dreary, If we lived for
ourselves alone The days would go so long and weary Life a void and
empty tomb.
"Here today we meet and greet you Children, neighbors, friends have
come To extend the hand of friendship On this your gala nuptial
day. "May the golden sunshine brighten Many happy days ere yet to
come As adown life's road you travel Towards the setting of the
sun."
In politics Mr. .McMaster has always given his support to the
republican party and has frequently held township offices, thus
having opportunity to serve his community. Mrs. McMaster holds
membership in the Methodist church, in the work of which she takes
an active and helpful interest. They have passed their entire
married life in this vicinity and by their kindly spirit, charitable
disposition and generous acts have won the affection and regard of
all who know them.
ALAN McOUARRIE.
This country is in a large measure indebted for its civilization and
institutions to the sturdy natives of Scotland who have been
prominent in stimulating the march of progress and in directing
affairs along safe and conservative lines. Alan McQuarrie, who
passed away December 29, 1903, and was well known in Copley
township, Knox county, is a native of that country, his birth having
occurred in Ayrshire, near Glasgow, December 31, 1814. He was the
descendant of a family which can trace its ancestry far back in the
annals of the Highland Scotch race and at the present time the
family has in its possession a tartan worn by one of the earliest
generations.
Mr. McQuarrie began his active career in his native land, first
engaging in agricultural pursuits, but later he became the owner of
coal lands which gave promise of valuable mineral beds and also
contracted with his government to drain a section of the adjacent
lowlands. These undertakings were all of the kind calling for hard
labor and yet would not yield immediate profits and America seemed
to him to offer greater opportunities to the man who was willing to
sacrifice and labor. Accordingly, he set out for the United States
with his wife
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 515
and two children, in 1851, and came directly to Knox county, where
he located upon the Copley township property which is the present
McQuarrie homestead. That he was one of the earliest pioneers to
enter the district is seen in the fact that his was the first log
house built. Throughout his life the greater part of his time and
attention was given to dealing in land and farming, although he was
engaged in contracting and railroad grading near Altona, Illinois.
At various times he bought and sold tracts of land in Iowa.
Mr. McQuarrie was married June 15, 1849, to Miss Mary Watson .McMaster,
who was born in Scotland, on the 20th of August, 1824, and died on
the 29th of January, 1895, at the age of seventy years. She was a
daughter of John McMaster, also a native of Scotland, who came to
the United States in 1850, locating in Copley township, Knox county,
where his death occurred at the age of ninety-two years. He was
married to Ann Struthers, who was a daughter of James Struthers,
whose death occurred in 1868, at the age of ninety-five years. Mr.
and Mrs. McQuarrie became the parents of five children. Margaret,
who is the wife of J. Gordon, was born in 1852. She is residing in
Altona. Mary Watson was born on the 17th of January, 1855, on the
home farm and has devoted her entire life to her parents. She is a
member of the Presbyterian church and is at present residing on the
home farm. Alan John, whose birth occurred on the 30th of April,
1859, in the old log cabin, has engaged in agricultural pursuits
throughout his entire life. He casts his vote with the democratic
party but has never taken an active interest in politics. Agnes
Florence is married to Albert Erickson, of Walnut Grove township.
Ann Struthers became the wife of Alexander Morgan and both are now
deceased.
In politics Mr. McQuarrie was a democrat and, although he was not an
active politician, he was always interested in public affairs and
contributed his influence and support toward securing the election
of those candidates whom he thought would be most efficient in
promoting measures which would be to the interest of public welfare.
He was a man of high moral character, industrious and enterprising,
and his honesty and uprightness always merited the confidence and
respect of his neighbors.
GEORGE BEHRINGER.
George Behringer, who has long been identified with the agricultural
interests of Knox county, being engaged in general farming and
stock-raising in Sparta township, was born in Galesburg, on the 4th
of November, 1856. His father, Michael Behringer, was born in
Wurtemberg, Germany, on March 5, 1824, and there he passed the first
twenty-five years of his life. He was in the government service,
being employed in the capacity of mail driver and express courier,
but early recognizing that there was little possibility of his ever
attaining such a position as he aspired to, he determined to leave
his native land and come to America. In 1849 ne t00^ passage for the
United States, coming directly to Chicago, where he remained for
three years. Almost immediately upon his arrival he obtained a
position with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, continuing
in their service during the remainder of his life. Being entirely
unfamiliar with the language and customs of the country, as well as
with railroading his early duties were of a minor nature. He proved
to be an efficient and trustworthy employe, however, and was
promoted from time to time to positions of greater responsibility
and for many years was overseer of the freight yards, and during the
cholera year was placed in charge of the coaches in transit wherein
were piaced those stricken with this fatal disease. For his wife Mr.
Behringer chose Miss Helen Schmidt, also a native of Wurtemberg, her
birth there occurring on March 24, 1824, and a daughter of Daniel
Schmidt, a fruit-grower and a manufacturer of wine. The paternal
grandfather, Michael Behringer, was a weaver by trade. Both of the
parents were members of the Lutheran church and for many years the
father discharged the duties of trustee. Four of the children born
to Mr. and Mrs. Behringer are still living, our subject being the
eldest of the family. The others are as follows: Daniel .M., who is
a merchant in Nebraska; William, who lives in Sparta township; and
Helen C, the wife of N. E. Olson, a farmer in the vicinity of
Galesburg.
George Behringer was reared in Galesburg and educated in the common
schools. When old enough to qualify himself for a life vocation, he
entered the* machine shops of the "Q" at Galesburg, but after being
there employed for three years, he decided he preferred agricultural
pursuits, so turned his attention to
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 517
farming. He subsequently located on the place where he is now
living, meeting with such excellent success in his undertakings that
he ultimately became owner of the property. The place was well
improved when he purchased it, but during the period of his
occupancy he has effected various changes and installed some modern
conveniences, that have greatly added to its appearance. As he is
energetic and capable, Mr. Behringer has met with good success in
both his farming and stock-raising and is known as one of the
prosperous citizens of Sparta township. Fie was one of the
organizers of the Wataga State Bank, of which he is now vice
president, and he is interested in various other local enterprises.
On the 3d of March, 1887, Mr. Behringer was united in marriage to
Miss Hannah Benson, who was born in Warren county, Illinois, on the
25th of October, 1866, and is a daughter of Tufve and Catherine
(Allison) Benson, the father a native of Sweden. The mother passed
away on the 18th of November, 1909, at the age of sixty-eight years.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Benson, as follows: Samuel,
a retired real-estate dealer of Galesburg; Carrie, the wife of IT.
Gehring, now retired, also of Galesburg; Mrs. Behringer; Ira, a
plumber of Maplewood, Missouri; Harvey, a farmer of Salem, Illinois;
Jeannette, who married Charles Harpman, a teacher at Pittsburg,
Kansas; Hazel, who is at home; and Edith, who is deceased. Mr. and
Airs. Behringer have three children: Dessa, who is twenty-two years
of age, now attending Lombard College; Frank Lloyd, who will soon
attain his majority, and Herald, a youth of twelve years, are both
at home.
Mr. Behringer is a member of the Lutheran church and Mrs. Behringer
of the Congregational, being affiliated with, the Ladies' Aid
Society and for three years president of this organization.
Fraternally he is identified with the Wataga camp of the Modern
Woodmen of America, and he also belongs to the Mystic Workers of the
World. His political allegiance he has never accorded any one body,
but gives his support to such men and measures as he considers best
adapted to protect the highest interests of the majority. Although
he takes a deep interest in all public affairs, Mr. Behringer has
had neither time nor inclination to seek political honors,
preferring to give his undivided attention to the development of his
business affairs.
GEORGE HILL
SMITH, D. D. S.
Dr. George Hill Smith, engaged in the practice of dentistry in
Galesburg, was born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, October 19, 1874,
a son of Robert Starrett and Sarah (Hill) Smith. The ancestry is
traced back through several generations to Robert and Mary (Starrett)
Smith, who were the great-grandparents in the paternal line. There
is a strain of Scotch on the paternal side of the family and of
Scotch-Irish on the maternal. Robert Smith, the grandfather of Dr.
Smith, was a native of Franklin township, Fayette county,
Pennsylvania, born November 19, 1799. He was a farmer by occupation
and devoted his entire life to that pursuit. Fie married Rosetta.
Shotwell, also a native of Franklin township, and a daughter of John
and Sarah (Skanklin) Shotwell. The ancestors of John Shotwell came
from' Scotland and settled in New Jersey, in 1680. The
518 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
name was originally Shadwell, but upon witnessing the skill in
marksmanship of one of them the king exclaimed: "Well done, Shotwell,"
since which time this family has been known as Shotwell. Robert
Starrett Smith, son of Robert and Rosetta (Shotwell) Smith, was born
in Franklin township, January 20, 1837, pursued his education there
and afterward engaged in teaching school for a time. Later he took
up the occupation of farming, which he followed at Brownsville,
Pennsylvania, until his removal to the middle west in 1879, when he
settled near Galva, Illinois, where he carried on farming until
1894. In that year he retired and came to Galesburg, where he is
still living. In early manhood he wedded Sarah Hill, who was born in
East Liberty, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, November 1, 1841, and
was a daughter of Colonel Alexander McClelland and Mary (Johnston)
Hill. Her father was born in 1802 and died March 17, 1863, while her
mother, whose birth occurred in 1805, passed away on the nth of
January, 1863. Alexander McClelland Hill was colonel of a
Pennsylvania regiment and was twice a member of the state
legislature, representing the district of Fayette and Westmoreland
counties (1851-52) and was prominent in the public life of his
locality. He was among the pioneers of the coke manufacture in this
country and an earnest advocate of the extension of the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad through Fayette county, and labored hard to effect it.
He was a son of Rev. George and Elizabeth (McClelland) Hill, the
latter being a daughter of Alexander McClelland, of Fayette county,
Pennsylvania. Rev. George Hill was born in York county,
Pennsylvania, March 13, 1764, and was ordained as the Presbyterian
pastor of Wheatfield on the 13th of November, 1792, later accepting
the charge of Legonier, Westmoreland county, where he continued to
serve until the time of his death, June 9, 1822. Mrs. Sarah (Hill)
Smith was educated in the east, attending Blairsville Seminary,
which school was founded by her cousin, George Hill, D. D., who was
a grandson of Rev. George Hill of Legonier, Pennsylvania. It was on
the 27th of December, i860, that Robert S. Smith and Sarah Plill
were married, and unto them were born six children: Alexander, who
died in infancy; Mary Rosetta, the wife of Charles E. Eldridge, of
Sioux City, Iowa; Annetta P.; Alice J. at home; David Wilson,
deceased; and George Hill.
Dr. George Hill Smith spent his youthful days under the parental
roof and was educated in the Galva high school and in Knox College.
He then entered the Northwestern University Dental School, of
Chicago, from which he was graduated with the class of 1902. He
first located for practice in Ottawa, Illinois, where he remained
for three years and then came to Galesburg in July, 1905. Pie has
since continued in this city and his ability is attested by the
liberal patronage now given him. He has a well appointed office,
splendidly equipped with all modern dental appliances, and his work
is highly satisfactory, for, added to his scientific knowledge, is
superior mechanical skill, which is one of the requisites of
successful dentistry. He belongs to the Knox County Dental
Association, in which he has held all of the offices, having been
honored with election to the presidency two years ago.
On the 29th of June, 1903, Dr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss
Mabel Lou Foster, a daughter of Julian Albert and Huldah Elizabeth
(Parker) Foster, of Salem, Wisconsin. Mrs. Mabel (Foster) Smith was
graduated from the Cum-nock School of Oratory, Northwestern
University, with the class of 1902. She is a member of the Daughters
of the American Revolution through the service of
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 519
Asa Parker, whose grandfather was one of the five Parker brothers
who came to Haverhill, Massachusetts, from Maclesfield, England,
about 1640 and later settled in Andover, Connecticut. Her
grandparents on the paternal side, Andrew William and Prudence
(Cornwall) Foster, were among the early settlers of Kenosha county,
Wisconsin, making the trip in wagons from Oswego, New York, in 1841.
Both Dr. and Mrs. Smith have many friends in Galesburg, occupying an
enviable position in social circles. He also belongs to the Supreme
Chapter of Delta Sigma Delta, a dental fraternity, and to a number
of societies and clubs. He is an exemplary representative of Vesper
Lodge, No. 584, A. F. & A. M., and also of the Modern Woodmen camp,
and he likewise holds membership in the Galesburg Club. He is true
to his home teaching in religious matters for his parents are
members of the Presbyterian church, to which the Doctor and Mrs.
Smith also belong, and in politics he has followed in the footsteps
of his father, being a stanch republican, his mature judgment
sanctioning the policy and principles of that party. The skill and
ability which he has displayed in his profession have placed him in
a prominent position in the ranks of the dental fraternity in
Galesburg and his personal qualities and sterling worth have assured
him high position socially.
THOMAS PETER MAIN.
Thomas Peter Main, who is residing on his farm in Walnut Grove
township, Knox county, was born in the old Main homestead, on the
20th of March, 1873, his parents being Elias and Mary Ann
(Huntington) Main. The father was a native of Otsego county, New
York, but spent the greater part of his active career in Knox
county, where he engaged principally in the wagon-making trade.
Thomas Main's entire life has been spent in Knox county, and he has
done much to further agricultural interests of the county during the
last twenty years. His methods have always been practical and
scientific, and his application has been so constant that he has met
with the success which is due to the energetic and persistent
worker.
On the 24th of March, 1908, Mr. Main was married to Patience Jannan,
the daughter of Jonathan Jannan of Salem township, Knox county. The
father was a native of Brown county, Ohio, where he assisted his
father in agricultural pursuits previous to his removal to Knox
county when he was very young, his parents being George and Rebecca
(Bevens) Jannan. Jonathan Jannan married Clara May Phelps, who is
the daughter of Samuel and Emeline Lucy ( Frisbie) Phelps. She is
living in Knox county at present at the age of fifty-nine years, and
Mr. Jannan reached his seventy-second birthday on the 5th of
September. Their son, Henry Phelps Jannan, is a prominent
agriculturist of Salem township, and is married to Lorine Bowers.
Mrs. Main was born on the 10th of February, 1882, and received her
education in the Elmwood high school, and three years later was
graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana. Subsequently
she taught music until her marriage. To this union one child has
been born, Clara Ruth, whose birth occurred on the 2nd of April,
1910.
520 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
Both Mr. and Mrs. Main are active and prominent members of the
Presbyterian church, of Altona and Mr. Main also holds membership in
the Masonic Lodge of his home city. In church and fraternal circles
he is held in high regard, and has ever stood to< maintain the same
honorable relations with which he is accredited in industrial
circles. In farming and stock-raising he has shown his readiness to
keep abreast with the spirit and development of the times, and has
won for himself a name which stands for efficiency, aggression and
stability.
IRA L. PILLSBURY.
A highly successful florist of Galesburg is Ira L. Pillsbury, who
came here seventeen years ago. He commenced in rather a small way
but has so intelligently directed his business, that it has
developed until he now maintains one retail store and has several
times multiplied the size of his original greenhouse. He was born in
Macomb, Illinois, on the 3d of February,. 1859, and is a son of
Ithamar and Caroline E. (Miller) Pillsbury. The father was born in
Dracut, Massachusetts, on the 22d of August, 1794, and the mother in
Smithtown, Long Island, on the 14th of October, 1818. Ithamar
Pillsbury was educated at Yale Divinity College for the Presbyterian
ministry and was graduated in 1822. Subsequently he became a
missionary to seamen and sailors in New York city. Later he preached
at various points in the east until 1836, when he came to Illinois,
bringing the first colony to Henry county, having acquired the land
for his settlement from the government. He continued to follow the
ministry and organized a church at Andover, where he preached for
several years. In Macomb he filled subsequently the pulpit of the
Presbyterian church and was also president of McDonough College.
During his active connection with the ministry he assisted in
organizing fourteen churches in Illinois. The first church that he
formed was at Burlington, August 27, 1836, and the last at Dixon,
Illinois, January 29, 1852. Andover, Illinois, was the scene of the
marriage of the Rev. Ithamar Pillsbury and Miss Miller on December
18, 1837, and there they spent the latter years of their life.
Reverend Pillsbury passed away on the 20th of April, 1862, and his
wife survived until June 8, 1896, her death occurring at Macomb.
During the war of 1812 he served as a private and his political
support he gave to the republican party. The family of Mr. and Mrs.
Pillsbury numbered ten, our subject being the ninth in order of
birth. The others are as follows: Elizabeth, who was born on the
12th of October, 1838, and died August 16, 1886; James Lebbius, born
October 26, 1840, who died in 1841 ; Edward Payson, who was born on
April 27, 1842, and died on the 10th of May, 1898; Asiel Nettleton,
who was born on November 29, 1844, and is now living at Palma Sola,
Florida; Mary Louisa, who was born May 2, 1847, and died on the 1st
of June, 1909; Sarah Adelia, who was born on the 3d of April, 1849,
the wife of Charles F. Fairfield, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Francis
Ithamar, who was born June 14, 1851, and died January 8, 1893;
Alfred Sawyer, born on November 2, 1854, now7 residing at West
Plains, Missouri; and Ithamar, whose natal day was the 19th of
August, 1861, a resident of Macomb.
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 523
Ira L. Pillsbury attended the common schools of Macomb in the
acquirement of an education. He graduated from the public school in
1876 and very soon thereafter he engaged in market gardening,
meeting with such success in this undertaking that he later extended
the scope of his activities by raising flowers and ornamental
plants. He continued in his horticultural activity until 1894, when
he disposed of his gardens and came to Galesburg, engaging in
business as a florist. At the beginning he had but one hothouse,
twenty by sixty feet, but during the past seventeen years he has
developed his enterprise until he now needs eight greenhouses and
has a retail salesroom. A store combined with his greenhouses is
located on East Main and Locust streets and the floral establishment
at 65 South Seminary street. He makes a specialty of carnations,
roses, violets, chrysanthemums and ornamental potted plants, of the
flowering and plain variety. From six to ten people are constantly
employed in his greenhouses and stores, and during the busy seasons
he requires the assistance of several more. Mr. Pillsbury is
resourceful and of an inventive turn of mind, so to obviate the
heavy loss sustained by every florist in the handling of carnations,
caused by the splitting of the calyx of this flower, he has
originated a clever little device known as "Pillsbury's carnation
staple." It is made of very fine green wire and, being practically
invisible, can be used without detracting from the flower's
appearance. The artifice has been found practical and has proven
economical in his own business and since placing it upon the market,
he has been favored with orders from florists throughout the
country.
At Macomb, Illinois, on the 19th of March, 1885, Mr. Pillsbury and
Miss Dollie B. Harris were married. She is a daughter of the Rev.
Ralph and Mary (Wilson) Harris, and was born at Cameron, Missouri,
on the nth of April, 1859. Mr. Harris filled the pulpit of the
Presbyterian church at Macomb for some years and was also president
of McDonough College. He was born April 6, 1812, in Charlotte
county, Virginia, and united with the church at Charlotte Courthouse
in 1828. Fie acquired his education at Center College in Danville,
Kentucky, which institution conferred upon him the degrees of A. M.
and D. D. In 1840 he was licensed to preach and in 1843 was ordained
as an evangelist and sent as a missionary to the mountains of
Kentucky and Tennessee. In 1849 he accepted the presidency of
McDonough College, after having had charge of several different
churches, and in 1852 he was called to the pastorate of the
Presbyterian church at Macomb, Illinois, where he remained until
1855, when he removed to Cameron, Missouri. When the Civil war broke
out he went to the front with the Eighty-fourth Regiment of Illinois
Volunteers as their chaplain but on account of ill health was forced
to return before the close of the war. Fie afterward took up the
study of medicine and in 1864 was graduated from the Hahnemann
Medical College of Chicago and entered upon active practice, in
which he continued until 1882, when he retired. He died March 19,
1895, having for only eight weeks survived his wife. They traveled
life's journey happily together as man and wife for nearly
fifty-eight years and were among the most highly esteemed residents
of Macomb. Dr. Harris was twice married, his first union being with
Martha P. Hughes on the 2d of October, 1834. They had one daughter,
Ellen Amanda, who was born in 1835, and became the wife of Edward
Maguire. The wife and mother died in 1836 and on the 31st of May,
1837, Dr. Harris was married to Miss Mary P. Wilson, who was born
near
524 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
Crab Orchard, Kentucky, February 27, 1818, and passed away January
24, 1895. Dr. and Mrs, Harris were the parents of ten children.
James Harvie who was born May 7, 1838, died January 4, 1893. Robert
Campbell, who was born January 19, 1840, was killed by guerrillas,
October 17, 1861, while serving as a soldier of the Civil war.
William Thomas, born September 18, 1841, was a soldier of the Union
army and is living in Keosauqua, Iowa. Miss Martha Perry Hughes,
born November 25, 1842, is living in Macomb. Ralph Erskins, born
July 4, 1846, is living in Pocatello, Idaho. John Green, born August
'24, 1848, died August 16, 1849. Mary Elizabeth, born January 29,
1850, died February 28, 1892. Charles Stewart, born March 24, 1852,
is living in Gales-burg. Sarah Cornelia, who was born March 24,
1854, died November 15, 1905. Dollie Bailey, born April 11, 1859, is
now the wife of Ira L. Pillsbury. Mr. and Mrs. Pillsbury have three
children. George M., who was born in Macomb, on May 16, 1886, is now
engaged in farming near Englewood, Kansas. Fie is married and has
two children, Gertrude Agnes, who was born May 7, 1910 and Dollie
Irene, born October 8, 1911. Ira Harris, whose birth occurred at
Macomb, on July 25, 1887, graduated from Knox College and is now a
student in the McCormick Theological Seminary at Chicago. He has had
the unusual distinction of delivering a sermon in the Presbyterian
church at Macomb, where both of his grandfathers formerly preached.
Walter E., who was born on the 3d of September, 1890, is still at
home and is assisting his father in the business.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Pillsbury are active members of the Presbyterian
church and take a deep interest in all Christian work. He is deacon
of the church and assistant Sunday school superintendent, and he was
formerly president of the McDonough County Sunday School
Association. He is also affiliated with the Young Men's Christian
Association and the Court of Honor, No. 171. Being a progressive and
enterprising business man he is a member of the Retail Merchants
Association of Galesburg and the National and Illinois State
Florists' Associations. Mr. Pillsbury is a stanch republican in
politics but, never having had either the time or inclination for
public office, does not prominently participate in municipal
campaigns of political nature. By reason of his foresight and
sagacity he is meeting with excellent success in his business, which
is now firmly established and flourishing in its various
departments.
OSCAR H. LITTLE.
Since the establishment of The Continental, a men's clothing
establishment in Galesburg, Oscar H. Little has been at the head of
the business, and as manager has contributed in a substantial
measure to its growth and success. Throughout his life he has been
connected with the clothing trade and his long experience, his
enterprise and earnest purpose have been the elements of making his
establishment one of the leading commercial concerns of Galesburg.
Fie was born in Newton, Iowa, September 21, 1863, and is the son of
William T. and Emily J. (Grey) Little. The father, who was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 8, 1836, was a clothing
merchant of Newton, Iowa, having come to the west as a young man.
Later he went to Chicago where he engaged in the wholesale clothing
business, and after some years opened a real-estate office in that
city. At length he retired from business life, and in 1906 removed
to Galesburg where he passed away November 18, 1908. His widow still
survives and is now living in Rogers Park, one of the Chicago
suburbs. She was born in Virginia, January 23, 1843. Mr. Little was
a republican in his political views and both he and his wife were
members of the Society of Friends. They were married in Lynnville,
Iowa, January, 1859, and they became parents of three children: Ida
L., Oscar H. and William G...
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 525-
Oscar H. Little was educated in Newton, Iowa, and his initial
experience in business came to him as an employee in his father's
store, whom he first represented in Carroll, Iowa, as manager of one
of his stores. Two years later he went to Newton, Iowa, and
continued in the business with his father for six years, after which
he moved to Chicago and engaged in the wholesale clothing business
for two years. He remained with his father until 1892 when he
entered the employ of Samuel Stern of Chicago. At Hampton, Iowa, he
represented Mr. Stern for one year and then, after a brief period
spent in Chicago, came to Galesburg, on the 10th of December, 1895.
^ was on tnat day that The Continental opened its doors for business
at No. 7 Main street, Mr. Stern having established the business of
which he made Mr. Little the manager. The trade grew so rapidly that
within a year and a half The Continental was forced to seek larger
quarters, and in September 1897 removed to their present location at
Nos. 152 and 154 East Main street. In May, 1906, the business was
incorporated with Mr. Stern as president, N. J. Ullman, vice
president and treasurer, S. Schiff, secretary and Oscar H. Little,
manager. On the 15th of December, 1908, a fire broke out and that
part of the store which was not destroyed by the flames was damaged
by water, and the entire remaining stock was then sold to the
Underwriters' Salvage Company. For three months Mr. Little was out
of business, during which time the room was being refitted and an
entire, new stock assembled. The firm is now again successfully
conducting a large enterprise in Galesburg, each year having
witnessed steady growth in their trade. They carry a large and well
selected line of goods, and the business policy of the house is
based upon progressive methods and irreproachable commercial
integrity.
On the 18th of February, 1889, Mr. Little was united in marriage
with Miss Mary Long, a daughter of James and Mary Long, of Newton,
Iowa. Unto this marriage was born a son, Harlan William, whose birth
occurred at Newton, Iowa, February 28, 1890, and who is now
connected with The Continental. After losing his first wife, who
died in 1892, Mr. Little was again married September 9, 1902, his
second union being with Miss Mae Starnes, a daughter of P. M. and
Mahala J. (Van Horn) Starnes, of Ipava, Illinois. Her father was
born near Nashville, Tennessee, November 10, 1837, and her mother's
birth occurred in Harrisville, Ohio, October 8, 1845. For some time
the father was engaged in merchandising at Ipava, Illinois. He is a
republican in his political views, and both he and his wife are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, loyal to its teachings
and active in its work.
Mr. Little is a member of the Galesburg Club, the Retail Merchants'
Association and the Elks Lodge. For a number of years he was
connected with the Elks Lodge at Monmonth and was one of the
petitioners for the establishment of the Elks Lodge at Galesburg.
His friends, and they are many, find in him a social,
526 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
genial gentleman, courteous and obliging. His business associates
know him as a reliable, enterprising merchant, and one whose success
has been honorably achieved, and is therefore well deserved.
Galesburg numbers him among her leading citizens, and the position
is one to which he has attained by his own earnest efforts.
BYRON A. STEVENS.
In the record of Byron A. Stevens are found many qualities such as
command confidence and respect. His influence was always on the side
of material, political, intellectual and moral progress. He was
always loyal to duty, manifesting the same splendid qualities which
he displayed when a soldier on the field of battle, defending the
stars and stripes.
Mr. Stevens was born in Westford, Vermont, September 9, 1841, a son
of Cassius P. and Clamentia (Smith) Stevens. The father was born in
Essex, Vermont, January 11, 1815, and the mother's birth occurred in
Monkton, Vermont, on the 4th of June, 1814. Cassius Stevens was a
farmer by occupation and always remained a resident of the Green
Mountain state. ITis political allegiance was given to the
republican party. Mrs. Stevens was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. To them were born two sons, the younger, Loren,
being a resident of Galesburg, Illinois. Both Cassius Stevens and
his wife passed away in Essex, Vermont; the former on the 5th of
February, 1892, and the latter on July 27, 1876.
Byron A. Stevens pursued his education in the schools of Vermont,
completing his course in the Classical Institute at Essex. He
afterward took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for
three or four years prior to the outbreak of the Civil war. With the
beginning of hostilities his patriotic spirit was aroused and later
he enlisted as a private. However, he was at once made first
lieutenant of Company H of the One Hundred and Ninth Colored
Infantry and served until the close of the war, making an honorable
record by reason of his loyalty and his fearlessness.
When the country no longer needed his military aid, Mr. Stevens
returned to Essex, Vermont, and again engaged in teaching school. He
was also superintendent of schools of Essex for several years. For a
short time he conducted a store. Later he turned his attention to
the insurance business, in which he was engaged for a number of
years. In the fall of 1877 he came to Galesburg, Illinois, where he
entered the employ of George W. Brown in the capacity of traveling
salesman. For several years he remained upon the road and was then
called to the office, where he proved a valuable man, his previous
broad experience and knowledge of the business giving him
understanding of what was necessary in his office work as manager of
the sales department. At all times he was thoroughly reliable and
progressive, and he bore an excellent reputation in business
circles.
On the 7th of December, 1862, Mr. Stevens was united in marriage to
Miss Hannah M. Drury, who was born in Westford, Vermont, December
21, 1840, a daughter of Jacob K. and Caroline (Bascom) Drury. Her
father was born
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 529
at Milton, Vermont, March 30, 1808. His wife's birth occurred in
Fairfax, Vermont, August 1, 1818. Mr. Drury was a farmer by
occupation, devoting his early life to the tilling of the soil, but
later he established a brick manufactory at Essex, which he
conducted up to the time of his death on the 29th of September,
1889. For about three years he had survived his wife, who passed
away November 9, 1886. In his political views Mr. Drury was a
republican, and for a time he represented his district in the state
legislature. He was also prominent in local political circles. For
many years he served on the official board of the Methodist
Episcopal church, of which both he and his wife were members.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stevens: Arthur L., who was
born in Essex, Vermont, April 25, 1867, and who is now a traveling
salesman, making his home in Minneapolis; Charlie S„ who was born
October 6, 1869, and died February 19, 1874; and Mabel, who was born
at Essex, June 28, 1872, and makes her home with her mother in
Galesburg, Illinois. She was graduated from Knox College in 1895 anc^
later became a teacher in the public schools of Galesburg.
Mr. Stevens was a loyal member of the Masonic fraternity and
exemplified in his life the beneficent spirit of the craft. He also
belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and to the Grand
Army post at Galesburg, and he was for many years a member of the
Galesburg Club. Although he had never united with the church, in his
religious belief he was in sympathy with the Methodist Episcopal
church, of which his wife and daughter are' members. In his
political views he was a republican, believing that the principles
of the party contained the best elements of good government, yet he
never sought or desired office.
Mr. Stevens' genial manner, his kindly disposition, and his
unfailing courtesy made him popular wherever he was known. He passed
away November 19, 1895, leaving behind him a circle of warm friends,
to whom he was endeared by reason of his sterling traits of
character.
HARRY E. MAIN.
Only twenty-six years of age Harry E. Main has already made a place
for himself among the enterprising and progressive business men of
Knox county, and as the manager of the Terry Lumber Company for the
past five years, in charge of the yards at Wataga when the company
was first organized and for the past three years filling a similar
position at Oneida, has demonstrated his executive ability and
efficiency. He was born in Galesburg township, August 15. 1885, a
son of Charles A. and Harriet (Mosher) Main, natives of New York,
where the grandfather, Thomas Main, wras engaged in agriculture
until wrell on in years, when he came west and settled in Boone,
Iowa. The father was for twenty-four years in the employ of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad until he gave up this
connection and took charge of a farm of eighty acres which he had
purchased some years previously and on which he had done occasional
labor by way of variation from the confining nature of the duties
which devolved upon him in his capacity as passenger conductor. He
found great pleasure in the
530 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
open-air work, tilling the fields, and sowing and gathering the
crops, continuing in this occupation from about 1880 until some
years ago, when he met with a runaway in which he was fatally
injured. His widow resides in Marshall, Michigan, with her daughter.
There were three children in the family: Frances M., who is the wife
of J. G. France, the manager of a fruit farm; Earl T., who was
killed in a railroad wreck at Marshalltown, Iowa, in the spring of
1910, just five months after his marriage; and Harry E.
Living in Knox county all his life Harry E. Main obtained his
education here first in the elementary schools, and later in the
high school at Galesburg. He secured employment with the Terry and
Lewis Lumber Company at Galesburg and remained with them fourteen
months working in the yards. He then went to Wataga, Illinois, and
took charge of the management of the yards of the Terry Lumber
Company just organized in that town, filling this position for a
year and a half when he was transferred, in 1908, to their lumber
yards at Oneida and has been here ever since. Fie is dependable in
the execution of his duties and has a promising future before him.
He is also- interested in a farm of two hundred acres near Delavan,
Faribault county, Minnesota.
Mr. Main was united in marriage to Miss Sadie Graves, on November
22, 1906. Her parents were George and Minnie (Sherman) Graves, and
came from New Hampshire, her father, who was a grain dealer at
Wataga, being now deceased. The mother is residing in Wataga.
In his political persuasion Mr. Main is republican and has been
called upon to serve as city treasurer. Lie |