GEORGE M.
SORNBORGER.
To win recognition as a valiant soldier, as a prosperous farmer and
as a capable merchant shows not only versatility, but also indicates
the adaptability and concentrated effort which compel success. For
this reason George M. Sornborger who has distinguished himself in
such a varied record commands our unqualified admiration. A native
of Victoria township, Knox county, he, 965, has remained a
resident of this county all his life, and for the last fifteen years
has lived in Victoria, Copley township, where he is engaged in the
mercantile business. He was born April i, 1841, a son of Anson
Sornborger, who moved from his native place, Dutchess county, New
York, in the year 1838, coming with his parents to Victoria
township, Knox county, Illinois. Like his father he followed farming
as a pursuit, buying sixty acres of land in 1842. He sold this after
a time and in 1849 bought another farm near Copley, where he lived
till the end. He married Miss Catherine Wilber, also a native of
Dutchess county, New York, and who accompanied Martin Van Buren's
family to Illinois, where they settled in Victoria township when she
was a young girl. She was a daughter of John Wilber and Dorothy (Freimeyer)
Wilber. Of the family of Mr. and Mrs. Anson Sornborger, George M.,
the subject of this biography, and two brothers survive: F. W.
Sornborger, who lives in Geddes, South Dakota; and Charles, residing
in Victoria township. The grandfather, George Sornborger, was born
in Holland and came to this country with his parents during colonial
times. His wife was Miss Catherine Wolcott, of English lineage. By
occupation he was a farmer and mechanic and during the Revolution
took up arms in the cause of freedom. He is buried in Victoria
cemetery, Knox county, the only Revolutionary war hero in any
cemetery in this part of the county. His death occurred in 1840.
George M. Sornborger had a common-school education. At twenty-one he
enlisted in the Eighty-third Illinois Infantry from Knox county,
under the command of Colonel Harding of Monmouth, Illinois, a
company which remained with General Grant for three years. Mr.
Sornborger remained until their famous engagement at Fort Donelson,
afterward becoming ill with pneumonia and on that account he had to
be discharged after serving eleven months and seventeen days. He
returned home and when sufficiently recovered to work, he took up
farming and followed this for more than thirty years. He owned his
farm and made a comfortable income in general farming and cattle
raising. During this time he saw the wild prairies of Illinois
transformed into beautiful tracts of cultivated land and the old
difficult methods of transportation replaced by the railroads built
through almost every county of the state. His father used to tell of
the early hardships and difficulties with which the farmers had to
contend, how, for example, he took his grain clear in to the Chicago
markets by team and there sold it for fifty cents a bushel. In 1896
George M. Sornborger sold of his land, one hundred and sixty of his
two hundred acres. His sons Claude and Floyd are now operating the
old farm. Upon his withdrawal 'from agricultural labors he removed
to Victoria and opened a general merchandise store which he has
conducted since 1896.
The marriage of Mr. George M. Sornborger and Miss Frances E. Suydam
occurred October 12, 1865. Born in New York state, she was a
daughter of John G. and Henrietta (Cholette) Snydam, who removed
from New York to Victoria township, this county, in 1849. Mr. Suydam
enlisted in the Eighty-third Illinois Infantry, the same company to
which Mr. Sornborger belonged, and died for the Union June 6, 1863.
Miss Frances E. Suydam's paternal grandparents were Mr. and Mrs.
Abraham (Smith) Suydam, natives of New York, while those on the
mother's side were D. C. and Sarah (Mire) Cholette.
966 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. George M. Sornborger, all
of whom are living. They are: Clarence T., aged forty-four, who is
married to Anna Doak and operates a farm in Copley township; George
A., who is married to Nellie Hanson and lives in Copley township;
Lolette Kate, residing at Ne-koma, Illinois, the wife of W.
Woodcock, and mother of two children, Ross and Bertha; Mary, the
wife of Alfred Sanquist, who resides in Victoria township; Claude
and Floyd, who live on their father's old place, the latter being
married to Edith Johnson, of which union there is one child; Grace,
the wife of C. A. Carlson, a farmer of Victoria township, and the
mother of two children, Doris M. and Charles William; Fern, who is
the wife of Emery Anderson, a farmer, of Dakota and has three
children, Vera C, Clarence G. and Maurice G.
George M. Sornborger is well known in military organizations of the
state, being a member of P. G. Tate Post No. 678, G. A. R., of
Victoria, Illinois, and is now serving as commander of that post for
his second term. From the time of casting his first vote, which was
for Abraham Lincoln, he has been a consistent republican in his
political faith and has been elected to office several times, once
as assessor and for two terms as collector. Mr. Sornborger is a man
of genial temperament and in his public and private relations has
never failed to adhere to the principles of honor and truth which
have constituted his guiding rule of life.
WILLIAM HENRY GIBBS.
William Henry Gibbs, a well known citizen of Galva, Illinois, is a
native of Knox county, his birth occurring in Lynn township, January
27, 1843. He comes of a family of Quaker origin, which was founded
in America at the time William Penn and his colony settled in
Pennsylvania. Our subject's paternal grandfather, Martin Gibbs, was
a native of Camden county, New Jersey, in which state he engaged in
the sawmill business prior to coming to Illinois with "the father of
our subject in September, 1838. They located upon what became known
as the old Gibbs homestead in Lynn township, Knox county. Here the
grandfather erected a sawmill in 1849 and engaged in its operation.
He and his son occupied a double log house during those pioneer
days. He married Hannah Beck and they were prominently identified
with the early development of this section of the state.
Jonathan Gibbs, the father of our subject, was born in Camden
county, New Jersey, December 22, 1808, and remained with his parents
until he had attained his majority, when he commenced learning the
glass-blower's trade, following that occupation for nine years. As
previously stated, he came to Knox county in September, 1838, and
upon the home farm in Lynn township spent the remainder of his life.
In connection with farming he assisted in the operation of the
sawmill, which was the first erected in his part of the county. On
coming to this state he was accompanied by his wife and one child,
for he had previously -married Tamar Norcross on the 14th of August,
1832. She was born May 11, 1812, and was a daughter of Joseph and
Martha (Duball) Norcross, being one of their seven children. Her
death occurred July 15, 1900.
967 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
To Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Gibbs were born nine children, of whom four
are still living, namely: Phoebe, the wife of A. O. Bradley, of La
Fayette, Illinois; Clayton A., who is connected with the Hayes Works
at Galva; Richard F., of Lynn township; and William Henry, of this
review. Jonathan Gibbs died September 16, 1889.
William H. Gibbs was reared and educated in much the usual manner of
farmer boys and remained under the parental roof until twenty-two
years of age, assisting in the work of the farm. He then went to La
Fayette, where he engaged in business as a contractor in mason work
until 1888. He was next employed as fireman on the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad and later was promoted to engineer, in
which capacity he served until 1901. For one year he had charge of
the City Water Works of Galva and in 1909 entered the employ of the
Hayes Manufacturing Company of that place, with which he is still
connected.
On the 12th of May, 1864, Mr. Gibbs was united in marriage to Miss
Julia A. Grant, who was born in Stark county, Illinois, August 30,
1844. Her father, Nelson Grant, who was a farmer by occupation and a
native of New York state, was born on the 16th of February, 1810,
and died February 27, 1892, in Stark county, Illinois. Her mother,
who bore the maiden name of Mary Chatfield, was born November 10,
1814, and died May 12, 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs have become the
parents of three children: Cora May, who is the wife of Herman R.
Pelz, a traveling salesman living in Peoria; Clara Alice, the wife
of Thomas E. Chilton, who is a native of England and a salesman for
the Challenge Company of Batavia, living in Galva, Illinois; and
Claude Irvin, a molder by trade, who married Alice Peterson, a
daughter of John S. Peterson, of Galva, in which city they make
their home. Mr. Gibbs has one grandchild, Dorothy May Chilton, who
was born April 4, 1903, and is now attending school. By his ballot
Mr. Gibbs supports the men and measures of the republican party and
he has taken an active interest in local affairs. He served on the
school board in Lynn township and his support is never withheld from
any enterprise which he believes will prove of public benefit.
P. A. SUNWALL.
P. A. Sunwall, a successful agriculturist who makes a specialty of
buying, selling and raising stock, is the owner of a fine farm of
one hundred and thirty acres, located two miles north of
Williamsfield. He is a native of Knox county, his birth having
occurred in Truro township, in 1871, and a son of Jonas and Anna
(Peterson) Sunwall, natives of Sweden. The father was born in
Helsing-land in 1826, and there he passed the first forty-three
years of his life. Having heard many favorable reports regarding the
opportunities and advantages afforded to enterprising men in the
United States, in 1869, together with his wife and family, Jonas
Sunwall took passage for the new world. Upon his arrival in this
country he came directly to Knox county, settling on a farm in Truro
township to the further development of which he devoted his energies
until age compelled his retirement from active life. He passed away
in 1907
at the venerable age of eighty-two years. The family of Mr. and Mrs.
Sun-wall numbered four: Nelson J., a resident of Texas; P. A., the
subject of this sketch; Jennie M., of Colorado; and a son who died
in infancy.
The period of his boyhood and youth, P. A. Sunwall spent on his
father's farm, obtaining his education in the district schools. Like
other farmer lads he was early assigned chores about the barn and
fields, his duties increasing as his strength developed with the
passing years. By the time he .had attained his maturity he was a
good practical agriculturist, having long been accustomed to
plowing, sowing and harvesting the fields under the competent
direction of his father. When qualified to begin farming for himself
he undertook the operation of the home place, where he is now living
and has met with increasing prosperity in its cultivation. His
fields are rich and fertile and annually yield abundant harvests
that well repay him for the labor expended in their cultivation. In
addition to his general farming, Mr. Sunwall also raises and buys
stock, that he ships to the Chicago and St. Louis markets. He has
met with more than an average degree of success. In taking care of
the soil and in the conservation of its fertility he follows the
plans of the State University and is a faithful adherent of
Professor Hopkins, whom he considers the foremost exponent of
scientific soil renovation in the world. In his experiments vvith
various crops Mr. Sunwall was the first in this section of the
country to obtain satisfactory results in planting his land to
alfalfa. He considers this legume the most valuable the farmer can
raise and is proud to be set down as the pioneer alfalfa grower in
these parts. During the period of his ownership of his present place
he has put thereon many improvements indicative of the spirit of
enterprise and progress that has characterized his undertakings.
Ever since age conferred upon him the right of franchise he has
given his political support to the men and measures of the
republican party. He has been called upon to discharge the duties of
a number of township offices and for many years has been a school
trustee. Keenly regretting the limited opportunities offered him in
acquiring his own education he has become the earnest advocate of
betterment in our school system and especially interests himself in
bringing about the consolidation and grading of the country schools.
Mr. Sunwall is unmarried. He is a man of enterprise and industry,
whose success is attributable to intelligently directed effort.
W. B. ELLIOTT.
W. B. Elliott lives on the old homestead of two hundred and fifty
acres four and one-half mile north of Williamsfield, in Victoria
township. He was born within a mile and one-half of where he now
resides, May 10, 1866. His parents were Burgess and Achsah Ann (Rue)
Elliott, the father a native of this county and the mother of
Indiana. The father was born in 1837 and the mother in 1846. Four
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Elliott, two of whom died in
infancy. Our subject is the elder of the two surviving, the other
being C. W., who resides at 89 Arnold street, Galesburg. Burgess
Elliott spent his entire life in this county, where for many years
he was actively' engaged in farming. His efforts were crowned with
success and he subsequently retired to Williamsfield, where he was
living when he passed away at the age of seventy-one years.
971 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
Reared on his father's farm, W. B. Elliott obtained his preliminary
education at his mother's knee, between the corn rows and in the
district school. He attended Lombard College about a year and
one-half and then spent three years at the State Normal University,
completing the course in 1893. He spent seven years as teacher in
the public schools of this state, being principal of schools at
Saybrook, McLean county, Wyoming, Stark county, and Altona, Knox
county. In 1895, while principal of the Altona school, Mr. Elliott
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, locating upon his
father's farm, where he now lives. Here he engages in general
farming and stock-raising and is meeting with very good returns from
both. Having been reared on a farm, he possessed the practical
knowledge that well qualified him for his present undertaking. A man
of good business judgment, he has applied himself intelligently to
the direction of his activities along the more progressive lines of
modern agriculture. He has erected several new buildings on the
place and remodeled many of those that were there, installing
various modern conveniences and improvements that have added greatly
to the comfort and attractiveness as well as the value of the
property. In every respect it is a thoroughly up-to-date and model
farm, manifesting in all its details the careful supervision and
capable direction that indicate system in its operation. Mr. Elliott
owns one hundred and twenty acres about a mile from where he
resides, having purchased this tract several years ago.
For his wife Mr. Elliott chose Miss Jeannette Armstrong. She was the
daughter of John and Mary (Montgomery) Armstrong, natives of
Scotland, and was born at Darhead, Lanarkshire, Scotland, July 10,
1863. Her father was born in 1802 and died in 1885, while the mother
was born in 1828 and still resides in this county. They were married
in 1852 and emigrated to America in 1867, locating in Victoria
township, where the mother now lives. Mrs. Elliott was one of a
family of nine children, of whom but three others survive, namely:
Mrs. Agnes Wycoff, of Peoria county; and James and Thomas, who live
with their mother. W. B. Elliott and wife have become the parents of
six children: Jennie Achsah, William Burgess, Edward Rue, Robert
Montgomery, Charles Roland (deceased), and John Kenneth.
Mr. Elliott's fraternal relations are confined to his membership in
the Modern Woodmen of America and the Royal Neighbors, his wife also
being a member of the latter. He is a member of the Galesburg Club
and maintains relations with his fellow agriculturists of Knox
county through the medium of his membership in the Farmers'
Institute, of which organization he has been president for the past
two years. His political allegiance he gives to the republican party
and now represents Victoria township on the county central
committee. All local political affairs engage his attention, and for
two years he served as supervisor of Victoria township and he is now
discharging the duties of justice of the peace, while for fifteen
years he has been a member of the board of school directors. He has
been a delegate to county and state conventions of his party. Mr.
Elliott is a representative modern agriculturist of progressive
ideas, who believes that it requires as high a standard of
intelligence, clear judgment and business sagacity to successfully
direct the operation of a farm as any industrial enterprise.
Agriculture is becoming recognized as one of the most lucrative as
well as independent vocations and is annually attracting a more
intelligent and capable class of men, who realize that it is a
business in which success is as dependent upon foresight, sagacity
and specific information as any in the whole field of commercial or
industrial activities.972
STEPHEN WYMAN.
A well known agriculturist of Knox county, who is now living retired
on his beautiful homestead located on section 20, Persifer township,
is Stephen Wyman, whose holdings in this county aggregate four
hundred and sixty-five acres. He was born in Vinton county, Ohio, on
the 21st of June, 1834, and is a son of Arthur and Annie (Soltz)
Wyman. The father was born in the state of New York, but when a lad
of eight years he came to Ohio with his people, who passed the
remainder of their lives in the Buckeye state. Arthur Wyman was
reared and educated in Vinton county, and there he met and
subsequently married Miss Soltz, who was a native of Ohio. They
began their domestic life on a farm in that state, where Mr. Wyman
continued to engage in agricultural pursuits until 1852. In the
latter year with his wife and family he came to Illinois, settling
in Knox county. Pie subsequently acquired the title of two hundred
and forty acres of land in Persifer township, northeast of the farm
of their son Stephen, and now the property of Harvey England. A man
of much energy and determination of purpose, he industriously
applied himself to the further improvement and cultivation of his
property, erecting thereon a comfortable dwelling and good
substantial barns and outbuildings. His farming was conducted along
general lines, the greater part of his time and attention being
devoted to stock-raising, which proved to be very lucrative. He
passed away on his homestead at the age of sixty-seven and was
buried at Westfall cemetery, as was also the mother, who was
seventy-five at the time of her death. They were members of the
United Brethren church, and in his political views the father was a
republican. He was always interested in all township affairs and
served with efficiency in some of the minor offices. The family of
Mr. and Mrs. Wyman numbered eleven, all of whom were born in Ohio.
John, who passed away at the age of seventy years and was buried in
Westfall cemetery in Persifer township, became one of the prosperous
farmers of this county, owning at the time of his death eight
hundred acres of land in Persifer township. He married twice, his
first union being with Hannah Taylor, a daughter of Daniel Taylor,
while for his second wife he chose Miss Katherine Mundwilder, who
now resides in Knoxville. Minerva, the eldest daughter, married Noah
Dawson, of Persifer township, and they are now both deceased. Edward
J., who died at the age of sixty-nine years and was buried in
Westfall cemetery, married Elizabeth Bradford. The next in order of
birth died in infancy, and the fifth is Stephen, our subject. Levi
died in Missouri, while in the Union army. Mary married Charley
Taylor of Persifer township and they are now both deceased, as also
are Eliza and Andrew, who were twins. Arthur, who was a volunteer in
the Union service, died from yellow fever just after the battle of
Vicksburg, and George, the youngest member of the family, when last
heard from was living in Idaho.
973 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
The first eighteen years of his life, Stephen Wyman passed in his
native state in whose common schools he obtained his education. He
accompanied his parents on their removal to Knox county in 1852, and
remained at home until he had attained his majority, assisting with
the operation of the farm. When he was twenty-one he began working
for himself, so capably and intelligently directing his activities
that he met with excellent success in his agricultural pursuits. He
kept adding to his holdings as he was able until he now owns
ninety-two acres of land in Knox township, and three hundred and
twenty on section 20 of Persifer, where he has resided for many
years and fifty-three in section 18, making in all four hundred and
sixty-five acres. The dominant factors in the success of Mr. Wyman
have unquestionably been his perseverance and energy, which have
been utilized to most excellent advantage. He is most ambitious and
applies himself conscientiously and painstakingly to whatever he
undertakes, striving to excel in everything. No effort has been
spared in the development of his farm, all of which is now under
high cultivation and well improved. He has erected good substantial
buildings on his place, to the value of which he has added at
various times by installing many modern conveniences and
improvements. Both hip residence and grounds afford a most
attractive and pleasing-appearance from the public highway and he
has built a fine private road on his grounds with cement bridges
across the culverts. In connection with general farming Mr. Wyman
raised stock, making a specialty of hogs annually, making large
shipments to the near-by markets.
Mr. Wyman has been married twice. His first wife was Miss Katherine
Miner, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Thomas Miner, who
resided in Knox county only one year, and they became the parents of
seven children. In order of birth they are as follows: Richard, a
resident of Knoxville, who married Annie Swanson; Marion, who was
drowned in the state of Washington; Electra, the wife of Cornelius
Ward; Thomas, who married Bessie Brandt and is residing in Abingdon,
this state; George, who lives in the state of Washington; San ford,
who died in Oregon and is buried in Westfall cemetery; and Viola,
who died at the age of nine months. The mother died on the farm
where she had passed the period of her married life and was laid to
rest in the family lot at Westfall. She was a fine Christian
character and held membership in the United Brethren church. Mr.
Wyman subsequently married Miss Erma F. Rambo, who was born in
Peoria, and is a daughter of George Rambo. They have five children:
Jasper Newton, who is living in the northwestern part of Colorado;
Walter Stephen, who is operating the home farm; Iva, the wife of
Norman Arbogast, of Galesburg; Hattie, who married Martin O'Connor
and is living in Galesburg, Illinois; and Lewis, who married Mary
Arthur and is living in Douglas, Illinois.
Ever since granted the right of franchise upon attaining his
majority, Mr. Wyman has given his political support to the men and
measures of the republican party. He has never prominently figured
in township affairs but he has given efficient service as a school
director. Progressive and enterprising in matters of citizenship he
takes a deep interest in all movements that he feels will benefit ,
974, the community and assists in promoting their adoption.
He is now rated as one of the prosperous agriculturists of his
township, but the struggle to attain this position was fraught with
much self-denial and years of unceasing labor. Upon him developed
the hardships and discouragements that fall to the lot of the
majority of people, and the money to provide some of the necessary
improvements on his place was borrowed at an exorbitant rate of
interest. However, he possessed those qualities that refuse to
recognize defeat and kept persistently ahead until he had attained
the goal. Now in addition to his valuable property he has a
comfortable competence and is a stockholder in the Appleton &
Victoria Telephone Company. Mr. Wyman is a man of many fine sterling
qualities, the worth of which have been thoroughly tested during the
long period of his residence in Knox county and never found wanting.
JENNIE H. REYNOLDS.
Jennie H. Reynolds, wife of the late Peter G. Reynolds, who during
his lifetime was associated with agricultural interests in Knox
county, resides on the farm which her husband operated for many
years, a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in Sparta township.
She was born in Knoxville, Illinois, January 29, 1864. Her father,
Robert Higgins, who lives at Knoxville and is in his seventy-third
year, is a native of Belfast, Ireland, arriving in America at the
age of fourteen years. His parents located at Knoxville, Illinois,
and there he was brought up to follow farming and also learned the
butcher's trade, following this dual occupation until his retirement
a number of years ago. He married Elizabeth Wallace, also a native
of Ireland, and they had ten children, five boys and five girls, of
whom two are deceased. The living are: Jennie, the subject of this
review; Robert, residing in Minnesota; Samuel, living at home;
Mayme, the wife of J. B. Grounds of Denver, Colorado; Martha, the
wife of Ray Van Tassel, of Flint, Michigan; James and Charles,
living in La Junta, Colorado; and Belle, the wife of A. Humphrey of
Minnesota.
After the usual education in the public schools of her native
locality Jennie H. Higgins remained at home for a time and in April,
1893, was united in marriage to Peter G. Reynolds. He was born on
the old homestead in Sparta township in i860 and was a son of E. B.
Reynolds, at present a resident of Gales-burg. Reared in the
locality in which he passed his entire life he obtained his
education here attending first the district schools of Sparta
township and later Lombard College at Galesburg. He engaged in
agriculture operating his father's farm for a number of years. He
then farmed on his own account and after his marriage purchased the
farm where Mrs. Reynolds is now living. Here he followed the
pursuits of general farming and feeding cattle for market, meeting
with substantial rewards for his untiring toil. In politics he was
an ardent democrat and served for many terms as a director on the
school board and as road commissioner. On August 3, 1898, Mr.
Reynolds passed away after a lingering illness of two years, and
although he had suffered long his untimely death came as a great
shock to his family, for he had been a good husband and a devoted
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 975
father. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds: Ralph J.,
born August 13, 1894; and John E., born February 24, 1897.
Mrs. Reynolds is a member of the Christian church of Knoxville, the
faith to which her husband also belonged. He maintained fraternal
relations with the Masonic order having been a member of the
Knoxville lodge. Occupied with the responsibilities of motherhood,
educating her children, seeing that they may be provided with the
opportunities which will enable them to make their way in the world,
the years of widowhood have passed rapidly for Mrs. Reynolds and
have softened her grief and the loneliness that follows the
bereavement of dear ones.
OWEN BETTERTON WEST.
Born in Yates City, Illinois, Owen Betterton West has been a
resident of Knox county his entire life," the date of his birth
being August 1, 1869. His father, Isaac N. West, was born in Clinton
county, Ohio, in 1835, and came to Yates City with his parents, John
and Elizabeth (George) West, who settled two miles north of Yates
City on a farm which he owned, comprising one thousand acres of
land, and grew to manhood in Elba township. John West was also a
native of Clinton county, Ohio, being born May 3, 1809. His first
American ancestor was Owen West, a brother to the father of Benjamin
West, the celebrated artist, and was born in London, England, in
1729 and came to America in 1761, settling in Georgia. He was widely
known for the strong views he held in opposition to slavery. Isaac
N. West was twice married, his first wife being Charlotte Hull; he
was married the second time to Eliza Ann Mason, a daughter of
Jeremiah and Eliza (Sayler) Mason, who lived in Knox county, where
Mrs. West was reared, although she claimed Ohio as her native state.
There were nine children in the West family, of whom the following
are still living: Charles, married to Susan Nixon, resides in Miami,
Oklahoma, where he is engaged in the real-estate business; Owen B.;
Nora, the wife of Frederick Soldwell, who resides in Yates City; and
William Edwin, who operates a grain elevator in Yates City. The
deceased are: Marion, Edith, Josephine and two who died in infancy.
By his former union to Miss Charlotte Hull, Mr. West had a daughter,
Charlotte, the wife of Frank Chamberlain, a merchant in Yates City.
I. N. West resided north of Yates City where he owned a very fine
farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Salem township, operating
this until his death at the age of forty-eight years. He was not a
politician but was loyal in his support of the republican policies.
Mrs. West passed away at the age of seventy years and three months.
Owen B. West obtained his education in the common schools of Salem
township and attended Lombard College, after which he took a course
at Brown's Business College, at Peoria, Illinois. His first work was
in the fields but he remained at this only a short time when he
engaged in the grain business in Yates City meeting with much
success in the enterprise. His desire to return to agricultural
labors, however, and a good offer made him by M. W. Thompson induced
him to sell his grain interests—which Mr. Thompson later sold to
976 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
William Edwin West, Owen West's brother—and again resume the
carefree and independent life on a farm. Being progressive and
modern in his methods of cultivating the soil and breeding cattle he
found much profit in this work and continued it until the spring of
1911 when he located in Yates City where he now lives. He is
interested in several local business enterprises and is the
president of the Farmer's Telephone Company.
The marriage of Mr. West and Miss Alpha Van Tassell occurred on
March 14, 1895. She was a native of Peoria, Illinois, her parents
being William W. Van Tassell, born in New York city, and Jane
(Boardman) Van Tassell, born in England. Mr. Van Tassell brought his
wife as a bride to Stark county, Illinois, and later removed to
Peoria, where he lived for forty years, being employed on the
railroad during much of that time and for a number of years was
employed as government store keeper for the internal revenue
department of the United States. He was an old soldier, having
enlisted for the first time from New York and for the second time
from Stark county, Illinois. At the time of his discharge he was a
sergeant. He was a republican in politics and with his family
belonged to the Methodist church. His death occurred at the age of
seventy-two and his wife's at the age of sixty-five years. They had
eight children of whom six are still living, Mrs. West being the
only one of the number residing in Knox county. Mr. and Mrs. West
are the parents of two children: Lloyd Alvin, born March 14, 1896;
and Harriet Florine, born November 21, 1903.
In his political views Mr. West is a republican and was elected on
the party ticket in the spring of 1910 to the office of supervisor,
his term continuing until 1912. At previous times he has held the
offices of assessor of Salem township, member of the board of
auditors of Salem township, alderman, and mayor of Yates City. He is
a Mason being a member of the Yates City lodge in which he has
passed through all the chairs.
JAMES CATION.
James Cation was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1821, and died in
Williams-field, Illinois, in 1904, his parents being William and
Margaret (Paul) Cation. The family were well known silk weavers of
that country and were engaged in hand weaving fine Paisley shawls.
In the land of his nativity James Cation was reared and educated and
in 1843 accompanied his parents on their emigration to the United
States, the voyage being made in a sailing vessel which encountered
a severe storm while passing through the West Indies. The rigging of
the vessel was torn away and lost, and for nine weeks they drifted
but finally landed in New Orleans, whence they made their way to
Peoria, Illinois.
The father of our subject settled on a farm on section 26, Millbrook
township, Peoria county, and James Cation subsequently purchased the
land which his father had obtained from the government. It was in
1870 that James Cation came to Knox county and located on a farm in
Elba township, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1892.
Pie then retired from active labor and removed to Williamsfield,
where he passed away at the age of eighty-three years.
977, HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, ILLINOIS
He was a member of the Presbyterian church and was formerly a
republican in politics but later came a free-trade democrat. He took
a very prominent and active part in township affairs and held a
number of minor offices. He was successful in business and was a man
honored and esteemed by all who knew him. In 1855 he married
Catherine Gray, who was also born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1838, and
came to America in 1852 with a brother and two sisters, her parents
having died in Scotland. She still resides in Williamsfield and is
an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church. To Mr. and Mrs.
Cation were born eight children, namely: David, of Williamsfield,
Illinois; William, a resident of Knoxville, Illinois; Alex, who
lives in Walla Walla, Washington; John, of Elba township, Knox
county; one who died in childhood; James L., a banker who died in
Arizona at the age of thirty-seven years; Charles, who died in
Oregon; and Mary, who died at the home of her parents when a young
woman.
CLYDE H. MACHEN.
Clyde H. Machen, senior partner of the firm of Machen Brothers,
wholesale and retail dealers in fuel, feed, flour and hay, at 133
East Waters street, Galesburg, was born in Columbus, Texas, on
January 24, 1882. His parents are Henry S. and Mary J. (Brower)
Machen, the father a native of Illinois and the mother of
Pennsylvania. Henry S. Machen was born in Peotone, Will county, and
there he was also reared. He was given the benefit of very good
educational advantages and when old enough to become self-supporting
engaged in teaching. This profession engaged his attention for
several years, but having decided upon a commercial career he
subsequently went to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, where he became
identified with the lumber business. Later he was appointed manager
of a large plantation and lumber mill in Texas, that he operated for
a time and then went into the oyster business at Mississippi City,
Mississippi. In 1887 ne removed to Missouri and engaged in
contracting and building at Marcehne, that state. While engaged in
this business he erected or supervised the construction of many of
the leading buildings in the town. At the end of three years, in
1890, he entered the employ of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad Company, and has ever since continued in their service. In
February, 1903, he was transferred to Galesburg in the capacity of
passenger and freight agent, which position he still holds. The
paternal grandparents of our subject were A. B. and Louise (Sultzbaugh)
Machen, natives of Pennsylvania. In their early years they came to
Illinois, locating in Will county, where they resided for many years
and from there removed to Marceline, Missouri. There the grandfather
passed away about 1885, having attained a ripe old age, but he is
still survived by the grandmother, who continues to make her home in
Marceline. Mrs. Henry S. Machen was the only child of her parents,
her mother being Mrs. Ella L. (Evans) Brower. Three sons were born
to Mr. and Mrs. Machen, of whom our subject is the eldest, the other
two being Harvey L. and Cecil E.
The earliest memories of Clyde H. Machen are associated with
Marceline and Lexington Junction, Missouri, as he was only a child
of three years when
978
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
his parents located in the former place. When old enough to begin
his education he entered the public schools of Marceline, but
subsequently, attended Woodson Institute. As soon as he was
qualified to become self-supporting he laid aside his text-books and
entered the employ of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad
Company, at Lexington Junction, where he remained until 1901. In the
•latter year he was stationed at Laplata, Missouri, going from there
to various other points on the company's lines until 1903, when he
accompanied his parents on their removal to Galesburg. Very soon
thereafter he was assigned duty elsewhere, and during the succeeding
six years was employed in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado
and New Mexico. In 1909 he returned to Galesburg and established the
business he is now conducting. During the first three months he was
sole owner, but the enterprise developed so rapidly that his brother
Cecil E. became associated with him at the expiration of that period
under the firm name of Machen Brothers. Their store is located at
No. 133 East Waters street, and as they are both enterprising young
men, who conduct their business in a straightforward, legitimate
manner, they are accorded an excellent patronage that is constantly
increasing.
On the 21st of December, 1908, Mr. Machen was united in marriage to
Mrs. Nellie ii. Wright, a daughter of Benson and Gertrude V. Hume,
of Illinois, and they have become the parents of one son, Clyde
Richard.
Mr. and Mrs. Machen hold membership in the Central Congregational
church. His political support Mr. Machen gives to the republican
party. During the brief period of his connection with the commercial
activities of Galesburg, he has manifested the qualities that
invariably characterize the successful business man, and the future
of the enterprise with which he is connected seems assured.
MICHAEL WELSH.
In the death of Michael Welsh on the 28th of July, 1907, Knox county
lost a citizen who had long been honored as a representative and
worthy resident of this part of the state. He had occupied his home
in Williamsfield for many years, becoming a resident of Truro
township in the spring of 1856. From that time until his death he
had maintained a creditable position as a business man and as a
public official, and throughout his entire life he had wisely used
the advantages and opportunities that came to him. While he never
had any great ambition to obtain wealth, yet he made for his family
a comfortable living and he continually added to his store of mental
riches through his wide and diversified reading.
Mr. Welsh was born September 8, 1830, in Kilkenny county, Ireland,
his parents being William and Mary (Holden) Welsh. His educational
opportunities were equivalent to those of a common-school course in
this land, and on the 14th of October, 1850, when he was twenty
years of age, he was married to Miss Catherine Grace, and with his
bride started for America, arriving in New Orleans on the 1st of
January, 1851. This was the wedding journey of the young couple who,
after a voyage of eight weeks upon a sailing vessel, reached the
American port, and from the present city of New Orleans made
cx£U~S Qk&L-
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 981
their way up the Mississippi river to St. Louis. After a brief
period passed there they journeyed up the Illinois river to Peoria
and thence by wagon traveled with Benoni Simpkins, one of Mr.
Welsh's earliest friends, to Maquon, arriving there on the 19th of
April, 1851. The following year Mr. Welsh aided in building a bridge
across Spoon river, now known as the Long Bridge, receiving for his
services the munificent sum of fifty cents per day! He turned his
attention to agricultural pursuits when, in 1856, he removed with
his young family to Truro township, where he continuously made his
home until the time of his death. While residing there he formed the
acquaintance and gained the friendship of Llenry J. Corbin, whose
willingness to assist young men in their struggles to get a start in
those pioneer times endeared his memory to many. Mr. Welsh was
always extremely grateful to Mr. Corbin, and one of the last things
he planned before his death was a visit to the grave of this friend
of his early manhood to remove some brush that had grown upon and
around the last resting place of Mr. Corbin.
While Mr. Welsh carefully managed his business affairs with the
laudable ambition to provide a good living for his family it was
well known that he never took advantage of the necessities of
another in a business transaction, nor was he ever so busy that he
neglected the duties and obligations of good citizenship. It is said
that his home was known from Galesburg to Chillicothe in the early
days as the abode of hospitality and good cheer and that no worthy
person was ever denied shelter and entertainment there. From time to
time he was called to public offices and filled a number of local
positions in a most creditable manner. Fie served as assessor for
several terms, and for twenty years filled the position of justice
of the peace at a time when country justices heard many cases. Much
litigation occurred in the country between the years i860 and 1880,
and all through the fall and winter months, after crops had been
harvested, Mr. Welsh was busy hearing the contested interests of
litigating parties. Fie made a fine judicial officer, and at
different times nearly every leading attorney of Knox county bar of
that period practiced before him, including H. N. Keightley, Judge
Leander Douglas, Judge Craig and C. K. Harvey. That his decisions
were strictly fair and impartial is indicated in the fact that in
the twenty years in which he presided over the justice court no
litigant ever took an appeal from his decision. For a half century
he had a personal acquaintance with all the members of the Knox
county bar and he was a great admirer of Julius Manning and a
lifelong friend and supporter of Judge Craig.
Mr. Welsh took a very deep interest in everything pertaining to the
general progress and improvement of his home community, his county,
state and nation. He was a stalwart democrat, giving unfaltering
support to the principles of his party, yet he approved and
commended the stand which President Roosevelt took concerning the
anthracite coal strike, and he sympathized with President Lincoln in
his determination to put down the war. Fie did not approve of the
peace measures advocated at the time of the McClelland campaign. He
had previously supported Stephen A. Douglas, and was present at the
famous Lincoln-Douglas debate in Galesburg in 1858. All through his
life he added to his knowledge through wide reading and was
especially interested in works of a legal nature and in history. The
rural daily mail brought many periodicals and papers to his home and
he always kept in touch with current events. In
Vol. .11—45
982
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
the early days when it was difficult to obtain books he eagerly
availed himself of every opportunity to secure reading matter and
pored over the volumes of biography that contained the lives of
Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Washington, Lincoln and the heroes of the
Revolutionary war. Thus from the well supplied storehouse of his
mind he could continually draw for anecdote, information, or fact to
enrich his conversation or prove an argument.
Six months before his demise Mr. Welsh was called upon to mourn the
loss of his wife. A half year passed and he was laid to rest by her
side in St. Joseph's cemetery in Galesburg. Their family included
the following sons and daughters: William M., F. F. and Jay of
Williamsfield, Illinois; Mrs. Alice Cloonen, of Zearing, Iowa; J.
D., of Galesburg; Dr. M. M., of Odell, Illinois; and Mrs. Mary Judge
of Pontiac, Illinois. Mr. Welsh enjoyed good health and was a man of
splendid physique. I>y the members of his family he was never
regarded as old or decrepit for he continued young in thought and
spirit. He planned to attend the 4th of July celebration at
Galesburg, in 1907, but the excessive heat of the summer proved
detrimental to him, and on the 8th of July, while sitting on the
porch of his home, he was overcome by the heat. All through his life
he had chosen those things which are most worth while. He entered
largely into the realm of thought, and yet he remained an active
factor in the world's work.
LYMAN P. WILSON.
Lyman P. Wilson, now serving for the second term as city attorney of
Galesburg, to which office he was reelected in 1911, is one of the
younger representatives of the bar of the city, yet since entering
upon active practice has made substantial and continuous progress.
Fie was born in Clarke county, Iowa, January 21, 1883. His father,
John Wilson, was a native of Hermon, Knox county, Illinois, born
August 11, 1856, and in the public schools of this county he pursued
his early education, which was supplemented by a course in Hcdding
College. He then took up rail construction work and contracting, and
after continuing in that line of business for a time, devoted
several years to farming in Iowa, near the town of Leslie. Fie then
returned to Knox county and filled the position of postmaster at
Hermon for twelve years. In 1897 he removed to Galesburg and entered
the employ of the city water department, while subsequently he
became connected with the engineering department, where he is now to
be found. He has always voted with the democracy and made for
himself a creditable record during his three terms' service as
postmaster of Hermon. On the 21st of July, 1881, near London Mills,
he was united in marriage to Miss Amanda P. Phillippi, who was born
in that locality, November 25, 1858. They are both members of the
Methodist Episcopal church and well spent lives have won for them
the kindly regard and confidence of all with whom they have been
brought in contact.
Lyman P. Wilson, their only child, pursued his education in the
public and high schools of Galesburg and in Knox College, from which
he was graduated with the class of 1904. He then entered upon
preparation for a professional career as a student in the law
department of the University of Chicago, form which he was graduated
in the spring of 1907. In the fall of the same year he opened an
office in Galesburg, where he continues in general practice, and in
the trial of cases he has proved his ability to successfully cope
with the many intricate problems of the law. In the spring of 1909
he was elected city attorney and commendation of his first term's
service was given him in his reelection, in the spring of 1911. He
was chosen as the candidate of the republican party and has always
been one of the stanch supporters of that political organization.
On the 21st of January, 1909, Mr. Wilson was married to Miss Edith
Marks, a daughter of J. Warren and Mary Lillian (Houder) Marks, of
Pontiac, Illinois. Her father, who was born August 2, 1857, followed
farming for a long period at Pontiac and is now living at Lake Park,
Iowa. It was on the 10th of January, 1883, that he wedded Mary L.
Houder, who was born December 14, 1862. They became the parents of
three children: Wei ford PL, born July 24, 1884; Mrs. Edith Wilson,
born December 31, 1886; and Florence L., born September 18, 1889.
During his college days Mr. Wilson was prominent in fraternal
circles, becoming a member of the Phi Alpha Delta of the University
of Chicago and the Delta Sigma Rho fraternity of Knox College. Both
he and his wife are earnest and active members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, in the work of which he has taken a helpful part,
serving for a time as a teacher in the Sunday school. He also
belongs to the Woodmen's lodge. Because nature endowed him with
strong intellectual qualities and, furthermore, because he is
ambitious and determined, one feels no hesitancy in predicting for
him a successful future, for he has already well established himself
in the practice of his chosen profession.
JOHN HALL.
John Hall, one of the venerable residents of this county, who is
passing a peaceful old age in his home in Douglas, retired from
active participation in farming interests several years ago, and
although nearly eighty-two years of age he is as cheerful in spirit
and keen in mind as many a man twenty years his junior. He was born
in County Mayo, Ireland, June 13, 1830, his parents being James and
Mary (Nash) Hall, natives of Ireland. There were nine children in
the family, seven of whom came to America, John Hall being the only
one who survived. On his arrival in the United States he settled in
New York state and found employment in a machine shop, continuing in
this connection for a number of years, until he came to Peoria
county, Illinois. He remained there three years and then removed to
Gallia county, Ohio, where he resided for twelve years. There he
married Mary Jane Stewart, a native of Ohio, and subsequently
removed to Salem township, Knox county, Illinois, buying a farm of
eighty acres, situated on section 7 of Salem township, in 1867. Mr.
Hall set about cultivating this land, which was partly improved, and
constructed buildings and fences thereon. He was enterprising in his
methods
984 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
and met with excellent results in his work. In 1907 he discontinued
his labors on the farm and retired ;to Douglas, Illinois, to pass
the remainder of his life in the enjoyment of a well earned rest.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. IT all: Fred,
deceased; John William; Robert S., who resides in Douglas and is
married to Blanch Burlington, a daughter of Frank Burlington, of
Farmington, Illinois, and has three children, Priscilla Bella, Floyd
Vincent and Mary Elizabeth; Francis, who married Anna Kennedy, a
daughter of James Kennedy, of Macomb, Illinois, and has one child,
Glenn, and two daughters deceased, one dying at the age of two years
and the other at the age of six. Mrs. ITall passed away on the old
home farm at the age of fifty-six years and is interred in the
Union-town cemetery.
Mr. Hall votes with the republican party but is not actively
interested in politics although he is well informed on affairs of
national and local interest. He is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, to which his wife also belonged.
HENRY SULTZBAUGH
MACHEN.
Henry Sultzbaugh Machen, who has been freight and passenger agent
for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad at Galesburg since
February 1, 1903, was born in McLean county, Illinois, on the 25th
of February, 1861. Lie is a son of Amos and Louise (Sultzbaugh)
Machen, both natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Amos Machen
remained a resident of his native state until i860, when he came to
Illinois, locating on a farm in McLean county. He assiduously
applied himself to the further cultivation and improvement of his
land for some years thereafter, meeting with a reasonable degree of
success. Later, however, he withdrew from agricultural pursuits and
engaged in contracting and building. After identifying himself with
this business he removed to Missouri, subsequently becoming a
resident of Marceline, that state. Lie located there about the time
the town was founded and engaged in the same business. As he was a
good mechanic and capable business man, his undertaking thrived and
he erected many of the leading public buildings and private
residences in the town. He was numbered among the enterprising and
successful citizens at the time of his death, which occurred in
1899, at the age of sixty-two years. The mother is still living and
continues to make her home in Marceline and there recently
celebrated the sixty-eighth anniversary of her birth. Mr. Machen was
a veteran of the Civil war, having been in the service for three
years and three months. He was clerk of his company and was mustered
out with the rank of corporal. He was not a member of any
denomination but was friendly to all, while his wife holds
membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. They were the parents
of eleven children, our subject being the eldest of the six who
attained maturity. In order of birth the others are as follows: Levi
B., who is deceased; Emma, the wife of William Houle, of Chicago;
George R, who is deceased; May, deceased; and Guy, who lives "in San
Marcial, New Mexico. The paternal grandparents were Henry and
Caroline (Brennemann) Machen, natives of Pennsylvania, but of German
extraction. To them were born four children, Amos, the father of our
subject; Ann; Peter; and Henry. Agricultural pursuits always engaged
the attention of Henry Machen, who passed away in Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania, at the age of sixty-seven years. He was long survived
by his widow, who was eighty-two at the time of her death. The
maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Flenry Sultzbaugh, were also
natives of Pennsylvania, but they came in an early day to Peotone,
Will county, Illinois, making their home with their son. Later they
returned to the Keystone state and there they both passed away at a
ripe old age. Their family was as follows: Philip; Henry; Louise,
the mother of our subject; Mary Ann; Peter; and Rebecca.
The first year of his life Henry S. Machen passed in his native
state, but at the expiration of that time he was taken to
Pennsylvania, where he resided until he was seven. In 1868 he was
brought back to Illinois, spending the succeeding two years in Will
county. He then accompanied his parents on their removal to Linn
county, Missouri, remaining there until he was a youth of thirteen,
when he went to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. At the usual age he began
his education, which was pursued in the public schools at his
various points of residence, until he was graduated from the high
school at Sturgeon Bay. For two years thereafter he engaged in
teaching, but having decided that he preferred commercial activities
at the end of that time he withdrew from this profession and began
his business career. Fie was identified with the lumber interests of
Wisconsin for some years thereafter, and then went to Texas. During
the first eighteen months of his residence in the latter state he
was overseer of a large cotton plantation, but later he was made
manager of some shingle mills in Beaumont, Texas, continuing in this
capacity for two years. From there he went to Mississippi City,
Mississippi, where he engaged in contracting and building for a
year, then established a wholesale and retail oyster business that
he conducted for three years. At the end of that period he withdrew
from commercial activities and entered the employ of the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company. He began his services with this
company in 1888 in the capacity of night ticket clerk at Marceline,
Missouri, remaining there for five years. In 1903 he was transferred
to Galesburg as freight and passenger agent and has ever since been
identified with this position. A man of pleasing personality and
gracious and accommodating manner. Mr. Machen has discharged his
services in a manner highly acceptable to the company and the
public, • and is held in high esteem by all who have occasion to
have dealings with him."
At Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, on the 13th of April, 1881, was
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Machen and Miss Mary J. Brower, and
they have become the parents of three children. Clyde PL, who is
mentioned at greater length elsewhere in this work, is engaged in
the fuel, feed and flour business with his brother, Cecil E., who is
the youngest member of the family. Harvey, the second in order of
birth, who is now residing in Oklahoma, and married.. having two
children.
Mr. Machen is a trustee of the Central Congregational church, in
which both he and his wife hold membership, and fraternally he is
affiliated with the
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
985
and Caroline (Brennemann) Machen, natives of Pennsylvania, but of
German extraction. To them were born four children, Amos, the father
of our subject; Ann; Peter; and Henry. Agricultural pursuits always
engaged the attention of Henry Machen, who passed away in Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, at the age of sixty-seven years. He was long
survived by his widow, who was eighty-two at the time of her death.
The maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sultzbaugh, were also
natives of Pennsylvania, but they came in an early day to Peotone,
Will county, Illinois, making their home with their son. Later they
returned to the Keystone state and there they both passed away at a
ripe old age. Their family was as follows: Philip; Henry; Louise,
the mother of our subject; Mary Ann; Peter; and Rebecca.
The first year of his life Henry S. Machen passed in his native
state, but at the expiration of that time he was taken to
Pennsylvania, where he resided until he was seven. In 1868 he was
brought back to Illinois, spending the succeeding two years in Will
county. He then accompanied his parents on their removal to Linn
county, Missouri, remaining there until he was a youth of thirteen,
when he went to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. At the usual age he began
his education, which was pursued in the public schools at his
various points of residence, until he was graduated from the high
school at Sturgeon Bay. For two years thereafter he engaged in
teaching, but having decided that he preferred commercial activities
at the end of that time he withdrew from this profession and began
his business career. Fie was identified with the lumber interests of
Wisconsin for some years thereafter, and then went to Texas. During
the first eighteen months of his residence in the latter state he
was overseer of a large cotton plantation, but later he was made
manager of some shingle mills in Beaumont, Texas, continuing in this
capacity for two years. From there he went to Mississippi City,
Mississippi, where he engaged in contracting and building for a
year, then established a wholesale and retail oyster business that
he conducted for three years. At the end of that period he withdrew
from commercial activities and entered the employ of the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company. He began his services with this
company in 1888 in the capacity of night ticket clerk at Marceline,
Missouri, remaining there for five years. In 1903 he was transferred
to Galesburg as freight and passenger agent and has ever since been
identified with this position. A man of pleasing personality and
gracious and accommodating manner. Mr. Machen has discharged his
services in a manner highly acceptable to the company and the
public, • and is held in high esteem by all who have occasion to
have dealings with him."
At Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, on the 13th of April, 1881, was
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Machen and Miss Mary J. Brower, and
they have become the parents of three children. Clyde PL, who is
mentioned at greater length elsewhere in this work, is engaged in
the fuel, feed and flour business with his brother, Cecil E., who is
the youngest member of the family. Harvey, the second in order of
birth, who is now residing in Oklahoma, and married.. having two
children.
Mr. Machen is a trustee of the Central Congregational church, in
which both he and his wife hold membership, and fraternally he is
affiliated with the
986
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
Masonic order, being identified with Vesper Lodge, A. F. & A. M. In
politics he is a republican, giving his endorsement to the
progressive faction of that party, and for one year he served as
city clerk of Galesburg. Mr. Machen is a highly estimable citizen,
progressive and enterprising in his ideas, who takes an active
interest in all matters pertaining to the public welfare.
ERASTUS FULLER.
Erastus Fuller, now living retired at No. 630 Maple avenue, is one
of the well known citizens of Galesburg, having resided here for
forty-nine years, during the greater portion of which period he
actively engaged in carpenter work, while for a time he also
operated a planing mill. His birth occurred at Gardiner, Maine, a
town located on the banks of the picturesque Kennebec river, on the
3d of May, 1830. The Fuller family originally came from England, the
founder of the American branch having located in New England in
1634. The paternal grandparents of our subject were William and Lucy
(Hodg-kins) Fuller. The former was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts,
March 10, 1761, and died in West Gardiner, Maine, in September,
1842. The grandmother was born June 10, 1764, and died May 3, 1846.
In their family were eleven children: Hannah, born September 17,
1787; Lucy, born December 14, 1788; Catherine, February 3, 1791;
William, February 1, 1793; David, January 19, 1795; James, January
12, 1797; Abigail, December 12, 1798; Daniel, February 1, 1801;
Joseph, February 17, 1803; George, July 13, 1807; and Mary Ann,
August 20, 1810. All were born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, with the
exception of the last named, whose birth occurred in Gardiner,
Maine. The father of these children was a cabinet-maker and
carpenter by trade and was a veteran of the Revolutionary war,
having enlisted in the service three times during the war for
independence. The maternal grandparents of our subject were Elisha
and Sarah (True) Drew, to whom were born five daughters: Mary,
Charlotte, Sarah Ann, Adaline and Hannah. They were likewise
residents of Massachusetts, where the grandfather followed the
carpenter's trade during his active years.
The parents of our subject, David and Mary (Drew) Fuller, were both
natives of the state of Massachusetts, and there they were likewise
reared and married and passed the early years of their domestic
life. Subsequently they removed to Gardiner, Maine, formerly a part
of Massachusetts, where the father followed his trade during the
remainder of his active life. He was a carpenter and cabinet-maker
of rare skill and workmanship, having learned to do exquisite work
with the broadax. He was one of the well-to-do citizens of his town,
owning his own home, and there both he and his wife passed away at
the venerable age of seventy-four years, his death occurring in 1869
and hers in 1877. In matters of faith they were strictly orthodox
and his political support he gave to the whig party. When the second
war with Great Britain opened, David Fuller was old enough to enlist
and went to the front as the musician of his regiment but did not
long remain in the service. He was a public-spirited man and always
took much interest in all local political issues and for some years
discharged the duties of justice of the peace. Eight children were
born to Mr.
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
987
and Mrs. Fuller, our subject being the fifth in order of birth. The
others are as follows: Elizabeth E., Elisha D., David H., Mary C,
Sarah H., Rebecca A. and Ursula Anna, who died December 4, 1829.
Reared on his father's farm in Maine, Erastus Fuller obtained his
education in the subscription schools of the vicinity. At the age of
fourteen years he laid aside his school books and turned his
attention to the carpenter's trade, which he learned under the
capable direction of his father. This had been the occupation of the
men in both the paternal and maternal lines of his family for
several generations and to this fact in all probability can be
attributed much of the mechanical skill Mr. Fuller has always
manifested. By the time he had attained his majority he was a
capable and most creditable representative of his craft, which he
successfully followed during the entire period of his active life.
Fie followed his trade in his native state until he was twenty-seven
years of age, but believing that the newer towns of the west offered
greater possibilities, in 1857 with his wife and family he came to
Illinois. Upon his arrival in the state he first located at Oquawka,
Henderson county, where he resided until 1863. In May of the latter
year he removed to Galesburg, where he has even since lived, having
resided in his present home for forty-four years. During the long
period of his residence here Mr. Fuller has erected and
superintended the construction of many of the best dwellings in the
town and has also done the carpenter work in some of the leading
public buildings. He was always regarded as one of the best
carpenters in the town and one of the most reliable. A man of high
honor and integrity, he made it one of the guiding principles of his
life to keep his word and to discharge each task to the best of his
ability. Consequently he had little difficulty in commanding a high
price for his work, as it was always found to be worth the amount
charged. When he first located here he only did carpenter work but
after his sons became old enough to go to work he leased the old
Coulton planing mill, which he operated for fifteen years very
successfully. A goodly degree of prosperity has attended the efforts
of Mr. Fuller, who in addition to his comfortable residence and
other property interests has a competence that provides him and his
wife with all of the necessities and many of the comforts of life.
Mr. Fuller has been married twice. His first union was with Miss
Elizabeth Merry, a daughter of Samuel and Frances (Barter) Merry,
their marriage being celebrated in Maine, on December 9, 1851. Four
children were born to them, as follows: Lizzie Flora, who died at
the age of seven years; Elmer, who was a babe of eighteen months
when he died; Hervey, whose death occurred at the age of one year;
and Blanche, who died in infancy. The mother passed away on the 5th
of April, 1867. On the 23d of April, 1868, Mr. Fuller married Miss
Amelia D. Stancliff, who is a daughter of William and Esther
(Belden) Stan-cliff. Mrs. Fuller was born in Knox county, on
September 26, 1843, an^ nere she has passed her entire life. Her
father was a native of Pennsylvania and her mother of New York, but
they were married in the former state, coming from Erie,
Pennsylvania, to Knox county in 1843. They located at Center Point
in June of that year and there they continued to reside until 1848,
when they came to Galesburg. Here William Stancliff passed away on
the 15th of August, 1851, at the age of forty-three years. The
mother, however, survived until February, 1894, her death occurring
at the venerable age of eighty-four.
988 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stancliff, as follows:
William Henry Harrison, Mary Anna, Amelia Desire, Emma Arabel, James
Russell, David Russell and Daniel Belden. The paternal grandparents
of Mrs. Fuller were Russell and Desire (Goodard) Stancliff, natives,
of Pennsylvania. They had two sons, William and James. Her maternal
grandparents were David and Anna (Ensign) Belden, natives of New
York, whence they removed to Pennsylvania, coming from there to Knox
county in 1839. Plere they both passed away and were laid to rest in
Llope cemetery. They had seven children: Par-melia, Esther,
Nathaniel, William, Sallie Ann, Daniel Dixon and Susanna Meriel. The
family of Mr. Fuller and his second wife numbers six, three
daughters and three sons. David, who is a traveling salesman,
married Cora Elizabeth Barrer and they reside at Galesburg. Emma,
the deceased wife of Dr. Ralph T. Edwards, passed away in Siam near
Bangkok, in January, 1910, leaving three children, Ralph Stancliff,
Emma Hammell and Mary Elizabeth. W'illiam Stancliff, a postal clerk
on the fast mail running from Chicago to Omaha, married Mary Ellen
Brooks and resides at La Grange, Illinois. They have one child
living, Erastus Brooks. Walter Erastus, the youngest son, died just
before graduating from high school in March of 1895. Bessie Mabel is
a nurse in Mayo Brothers Llospital at Rochester, Minnesota. Mary
Edith, who is the youngest member of the family, is at home with her
parents.
In matters of faith Mr. and Mrs. Fuller are Congregationalists,
holding membership in Central church of this city, and his political
support he gives to the republicans. He was formerly a whig but when
that party was merged into the republican he transferred his
allegiance and has ever since cast his ballot for their candidates.
Mr. Fuller has witnessed the marvelous development of Galesburg that
has accompanied the introduction of modern commercial and industrial
methods in keeping with the rapid progress of the times, the
inventions that are now common household and business necessities
being undreamed of luxuries when he first came here.
EDSON
REIFSNIDER, D. D.
Edson Reifsnider, who is dean of Ryder Divinity School, Lombard
College. was born in Aurora, Illinois, on the 28th of April, 1868, a
son of Vincent and Frances Salina (Gurley) Reifsnider. He acquired
his early education in the public schools of Chicago and
subsequently entered the divinity department of Tuft's College,
Boston, Massachusetts, from which institution he was graduated in
1898 with the degree of B. D. Before entering college Dr. Reifsnider
spent ten years in mercantile pursuits in Chicago. During his senior
year at Tuft's College he acted as pastor of the New Bedford,
Massachusetts, Universalist church. Immediately after his graduation
he accepted a pastorate in Danvers, Massachusetts. Lie remained
there until 1892 and the following year removed to Galesburg, where
he held a pastorate for six years. In 1903 he also accepted a
position as instructor in Ryder Divinity School, Lombard College,
and was thus engaged until 1909 when he was chosen dean of the
school. Lie has since occupied that office. In 1911 Buchtel College,
Akron, Ohio, conferred upon him the degree of D. D.
991
On the 1st of October, 1906, Dr. Reifsnider was married in Galesburg
to Miss Anna Louise Cutter. Lie gives his attention exclusively to
the best interests of the Ryder Divinity School and is one of the
valued members of the faculty of Lombard College.
JOHN PURDY.
John Purdy was known in business, circles of Galesburg as a
pattern-maker and through his well conducted activities reached a
point of success that enabled him to spend his later years in
honorable retirement from labor. In early life he learned the
pattern-maker's trade, which he followed for a number of years,
entering the employ of George Brown. In this connection he displayed
marked skill and ability, so that he was able to fill a responsible
position and command good wages for his services. Llis industry and
careful expenditure at length brought him a substantial competence
and with this he retired to private life about 1886.
Mr. Purdy was twice married, his second union being with Mrs. Anna
Foote, whom he wedded on the ist of June, 1887. She is a daughter of
James and Sarah (Halley) McFarland, of Warren county, Illinois,
their home being on the Monmouth road about six miles from
Galesburg. Their daughter Anna was twice married, her first husband
being Henry Foote, who was born in Illinois, February 5, 1834, and
was a son of Francis and Hannah B. (Miles) Foote, both of whom were
natives of the east and died in that part of the country when their
son Henry was a small child. He afterward came to Illinois with an
uncle, Bradley Miles, who settled at Lewistown, this state. Mr.
Foote completed his education as a student in Knox College and for a
few years engaged in farming but, believing that he was called to
the ministry, he engaged in preaching in the Methodist Episcopal
church. Lie was called to his last charge in Oneida, Knox county, in
the fall of 1873 and there engaged in preaching until the following
year, when he went to Tennessee, where he died on the 5th of
January, 1874. His life was ever a consistent and honorable one and
was a factor for good in the world's work. Llis widow afterward
returned to her mother's home, where she lived for a year, and then
came to Galesburg, placing her children in the high school here.
It was on the 26th of October, 1859, m Warren county, about six
miles southwest of Galesburg, that Mr. Foote was united in marriage
to Miss Anna McFarland, and the children of this marriage are: Harry
Willis, who was born August 12, 1864, in Warren county, Illinois,
and is now engaged in the live-stock commission business in St.
Joseph, Missouri; and Winifred Louise, who was born July 31, 1870,
in Warren county, Illinois, and is the wife of George Rakstraw, a
banker of Wyoming, Illinois, by whom she has four children, Harry
Eugene, Roy Delbert, Florence Margaret and Helen Louise. The mother
of these children, Mrs. Rakstraw, was educated in Brown's Business
College.
Some years subsequent to the death of her first husband Mrs. Foote,
who was born in Warren county, Illinois, October 12, 1842, became
the wife of John Purdy. In his political views he was a republican
but never sought nor desired
992 . HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
office in recognition of his party fealty. His religious faith was
that of the Baptist church, while Mrs. Purdy belongs to the
Methodist Episcopal church. She is widely known in this part of the
state, where her entire life has been passed, and those who know
her, esteem her highly because her life has been a force for good
and because her Christian principles have found manifestation in her
kindly spirit and charity toward others.
GEORGE A. GIBSON.
George A. Gibson is one of the representative agriculturists of
Persifer township, where he engages in the cultivation of three
hundred and twenty acres of land, two hundred and forty of which on
section 17, Persifer township, he owns. He was born in Vermilion
county, Illinois, on May 22, 1875, and is a son of John H. and Mary
(Leadbetter) Gibson. In 1881, the father, who is now deceased,
removed with his family to Knox county, locating in Persifer
township, where he engaged in farming.
George A. Gibson was a child of six years when he removed with his
parents to Knox county, and here he has ever since made his home.
His youth was passed in the township where he now resides, his
education being obtained in the common schools. While he was still
in his early boyhood he began assisting his father about the home
place, thus acquiring the knowledge that has enabled him to become
the successful agriculturist and stockman he is today. When old
enough to begin for himself, naturally he adopted the vocation to
which he had been trained from childhood, and that his decision was
a wise one is evidenced by his present prosperity. Pie is the owner
of two hundred and forty acres of most fertile land on section 17,
Persifer township, that is well improved and under high cultivation.
His place is fully and thoroughly equipped with all the machinery
and appliances deemed essential by the modern farmer for the
operation of the fields, and he has introduced various other
conveniences and improvements in keeping with the spirit of progress
that characterizes all of his undertakings. In connection with the
cultivation of his fields Mr. Gibson is engaged in stock-raising and
is meeting with satisfactory success in both branches of the
business. He takes great pride in his farm and his stock, the latter
being of high grade, and everything about the place bespeaks the
intelligent direction and capable supervision that accompany
success. lie is a man of progressive ideas, yet is not a theorist,
being thoroughly practical in his methods, and directs all of his
operations with as careful regard for system as is evidenced by the
successful man in any other line of business. lie makes a scientific
study of his soil, its needs and requirements and the cereal to
which it is best adapted, and by the carefvil and systematic
rotation of his crops realizes abundant harvests each year. Mr.
Gibson bought his farm of Charles Wyman, and located here
immediately after his marriage. Although the previous owner had
erected all of the buildings he has wrought many changes in the
place during the period of his occupancy, and it is now one of the
most attractive as well as valuable properties in the community.
993, HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
For his companion and helpmate Mr. Gibson chose Miss Emma Kellar,
and they have become the parents of one son, Roy H., who is
attending the local school. Mrs. Gibson is well known in the
vicinity being a daughter of William and Katherine Kellar.
His political support Mr. Gibson always accords to the republican
party, and for the past three years he has been serving as road
commissioner in Persifer township, and he is also a school director
in district 89. He is meeting with financial success in his
agricultural pursuits, and in addition to his well stocked farm he
is a member and director of the Persifer Telephone Company. Mr.
Gibson has at all times fortunately directed his activities so
intelligently that he has achieved his purpose. This can be largely
attributed to the fact that he is never in doubt about the course he
shall pursue, but carefully concentrates his energies upon a
definite end with the determination of attaining it.
DOUGLAS WILLIAMSON.
Douglas Williamson, living on section 13, Indian Point township, is
one of the representative farmers of Knox county. His methods are at
all times practical, as well as progressive, and the results
achieved have placed him with the substantial and successful
residents of his community. Pie was born in Cedar township, January
29, 1856, a son of James and Sophronia (Bland) Williamson, both of
whom were natives of Indiana. The grandfather, Thomas Williamson,
was a native of Kentucky and with his family removed to Illinois,
settling first in Sangamon county, where he remained for a short
time. In 1832 he came to Knox county and entered land from the
government. Not a furrow had been turned, nor an improvement made
upon the place and the family experienced all the hardships and
privations of pioneer life, while converting the raw prairie land
into productive fields. Thomas Williamson had been a resident of
Knox county for only a brief period when he was drafted for service
in the Black Hawk war and aided in quelling the Indian uprising in
this state. The farm upon which he settled in Cedar township
remained his place of residence until his death and his wife also
died on the old homestead.
James Williamson, father of Douglas Williamson, accompanied his
parents on their removal from Indiana to Illinois and was reared in
this state. In boyhood he assisted in the arduous task of developing
the home farm and later he purchased land and began farming on his
own account. For many years he was thus connected with agricultural
interests in Knox county, but eventually sold his farm and removed
to Abingdon, where he lived retired until his death in 1902. He was
then seventy-eight years of age. He married Sophronia Bland, whose
father, Joshua Bland, was also one of the early settlers of Knox
county, arriving here in 1832. She is still living in Abingdon at
the advanced age of eighty-four years. In the family of Mr. and Mrs.
James Williamson were nine sons and five daughters and twelve of
these are still living. The eldest, Mrs. Mary Bateman is deceased.
The oldest surviving member of the family is Stewart Williamson, now
of Galesburg. He was born in an old log schoolhouse of Cedar
township, March 10, 1847, was educated in the Brush creek school in
994. HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illiinois
that township, and then took up the occupation of farming. For
fifteen years he resided in Abingdon, after which he settled on a
farm near that town. Eventually, however, he took up his abode in
Galesburg, where he now lives. Fie was married in Abingdon October
n, 1874, to Elizabeth Jones, a native of Monmouth and a daughter of
John A. and Nancy (Hart) Jones, who came to Illinois from Virginia
and were resident farmers of Knox county until their deaths. Unto
Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Williamson were born eight children: Minnie,
the wife of Harry Bloomneld of California; Guy, of this county;
Clyde, of Cedar township; Myrtle, the wife of John Smith of Chicago;
Lou, the wife of Allen Sweborg, living on a farm in Cedar township;
Cora, Ethel and James, all at home. Frank M. Williamson, the third
member of the family of Mr. and Mrs. James Williamson, is living in
Cedar township where he follows farming. Annie, the next of the
family, is the wife of R. McGahey. Rachel is the widow of George
Swartz and lives in Abingdon. James M., is a resident of Colorado.
Douglas is the next of the family. William is a resident of
Colorado. Ellen is married and lives in Cedar township. John is a
practitioner of osteopathy in Parsons, Kansas. Mary is the wife of
Dwight Hunter of Cedar township. Daniel who was killed in a runaway
accident in April, 1911, was among the first to go to the Klondyke
country, traveling with a company of men who walked over the
Chilkoot paths. He remained there one season when his provisions
gave out and he was compelled to leave the north. Pie then went to
California where he remained one year and then made his way to
Seattle, Washington. While there he enlisted for service in the
Spanish-American war and went to the Philippines, taking part in the
first battle. Pie participated altogether in thirty-seven
engagements, remaining in the islands for three years. On his return
to the United States he was mustered out at Seattle and was
discharged at Washington, D. C. Later he drew a piece of land in
Oklahoma, remaining there for some time, but subsequently sold his
claim. He then engaged in breaking horses and was killed while
following that business. Charles, the next of the family, is a
farmer living in Cedar township. Edward is an electrician and sketch
artist, residing in Denver, Colorado, and the youngest of the
family.
In taking up the personal history of Douglas Williamson, we present
to our readers the life record of one of the well known and
representative agriculturists of Knox county. Pie pursued his
education in the Warren school and then took up the occupation to
which he had been reared. For fourteen years he engaged in breaking
horses and did a larger business of that kind than any other man in
the county, breaking as many as one hundred and fifty horses in a
year. Since then he has confined his attention entirely to general
farming, including the cultivation of the cereals best adapted to
soil and climate, and also to the raising of stock, making a
specialty of thoroughbred Jersey cattle. For the past six years he
has lived on his present farm on section 13, Indian Point township,
and the neat and thrifty appearance of his place indicates his
careful management and progressive methods.
On the 20th of March, 1894, in Galesburg, Mr. Williamson was married
to Miss Cora Young, who was born in Fulton county, Illinois,
February 24, 1872, a daughter of Asher and Susan (Parks) Young, both
of whom were natives of New Jersey and on removing to Illinois
settled near Fairview, Fulton county, when that was a pioneer
district. Both Mr. and Mrs. Young are now living with Mr. and Mrs.
Williamson. The three children of the latter are: Gladys, Marie and
Otis, all at home. The parents are valued members of the Methodist
Episcopal church and are loyal to its teachings. Air. Williamson
belongs to Abingdon Lodge No. 185, F. & A. M. and also to the Odd
Fellows Lodge of Hermon and the Modern Woodmen Camp at Abingdon. His
many sterling traits of character and his business enterprise and
ability have gained him a place among the valued citizens of his
township and his good qualities have won him many friends. 995
LORENTUS CONGER
FERRIS.
Lorentus Conger Ferris, who is conducting a feed store and transfer
line at number 109 South Prairie street, Galesburg, is a native of
Knox county, his birth having occurred in this township on the 14th
of January, 1869. He is a son of Fred and Elizabeth (Sherman)
Ferris, who were also born and reared in this county, where their
parents located during the pioneer days. The paternal grandfather,
George Ferris, came here about the same time as the Gale family and
was numbered among the founders of Galesburg. The maternal
grandparents passed the greater part of their lives in this
vicinity, where they attained a ripe old age. Their family numbered
fourteen. Reared on a farm, during his early manhood Fred Ferris
followed agricultural pursuits, but of recent years he has been
engaged in gardening in the immediate vicinity of Galesburg. When
the call came for troops in the early days of the war, Mr. Ferris
responded by enlisting as a private and going to the front, where he
remained for three and a half years. There he early displayed the
courage and ability that qualified for a more responsible position
and he was mustered out with the rank of lieutenant. Upon his return
home he resumed the responsibilities of civil life as a farmer,
continuing to follow that occupation for some years thereafter. The
children of Mr. and Mrs. Ferris numbered thirteen, nine of whom
lived to attain maturity, as follows: George, who is living at Bull
Frog Fields, Nevada; Margaret, the widow of Mr. Beckwell, of Los
Angeles, California; Lorentus Conger, our subject; Olmstead, who
resides at Rock Island; James, of Kenosha, Wisconsin; Harry, who
lives in Peoria; Albert, now a resident of Galesburg; Edward, who is
living in Fairview; and Grant, who is a farmer in Warren township.
The mother, who has now passed away was a Methodist in religious
faith, and his political support the father accords to the
republican party.
The first six years in the childhood of Lorentus Conger Ferris were
passed on the farm where he was born, but he has ever since lived in
Galesburg. He attended the public schools until he was old enough to
make his own way in the world and engaged in lathing for two years.
At the expiration of that time he gave up this trade and for three
years thereafter drove a dray, continuing at home until he had
attained his maturity. Four years ago, Mr. Ferris established the
business he is now conducting and is meeting with a goodly measure
of success in his undertaking. He is one of those who energetically
apply themselves to whatever they engage in, and is using
intelligence in the direction of hisenterprise. During the four
years he has been identified with this activity he has made marked
progress in its development, and is now firmly established and
thriving.
996 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
Mr. Ferris was married on the ist of July, 1890, to Miss Ida Morgan,
who was born in Indiana and is a daughter of Peter and Catharine
(Harris) Morgan. The parents came from Indiana to Knox county many
years ago settling on the Gale farm. Agricultural pursuits always
engaged the energies of the father, who passed away at the age of
sixty years. The mother, however, is still living. They had seven
daughters, as follows: Ida, now Mrs. Ferris; Alice; Anna; Rhoda;
Frances, who died at the age of fourteen years; Lillian; and one,
who was seven at the time of her death. The father, Peter Morgan,
was one of those who gave his services in defense of the Union
during the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Ferris have two daughters, Ethel
and Bessie. The family home is located at 198 Cedar avenue, where
they own a comfortable and pleasant residence.
Mr. Ferris champions the political principles of the republican
party, and although he takes an active interest in all municipal
affairs, has never sought public office. Mrs. Ferris and their two
daughters hold membership in the -Methodist Episcopal church, and
take a helpful interest in the work of its various organizations.
F[e is a most worthy representative of one of the highly respected
pioneer families, and is held in favorable regard by his many
friends, the majority of whom have known him from early boyhood.
HENRY C. BLOOM.
Among the farmers of Persifer township who have prospered as the
result of untiring and faithful labor is Henry C. Bloom, the owner
of eighty acres of land on section 13. A native of Sweden, he was
born September 21, 1865. Flis grandfather was Constan Sunderman
Bloom, a wealthy sea captain, who on one of his voyages was wrecked
at sea for three weeks and after five days of floating on the water
was picked up by a passing ship. John Jaskrith Bloom, father of
Henry C. Bloom, was also a native of Sweden, born in 1818. His
occupation was that of agriculturist and he performed his duties
with an additional degree of success because of the liberal
education which he had received. Fie married Carolina Johnston, a
countrywoman of his, born in 1828, who had also received a good
education in the land of her birth. She was a daughter of Jonas
Johnston. Mr. Bloom was ten years his wife's senior and after her
death, in 1908, he survived her by only two years, both being buried
in Saby cemetery, in Jankopinglan, Sweden. They were both zealous
members of the Lutheran church. Their family consisted of four
children, three girls and one boy, two of the girls being deceased.
Only Henry C. and one sister now survive.
Henry C. Bloom after finishing his education, in 1887, when only
twenty-two years of age, with the initiative and courage
characteristic of those who make a success of life, set out
unaccompanied for America, reaching Knox county, where he labored
for three months as a section hand. Then going to Dahinda, Illinois,
he worked for two years on the Santa Fe Railroad, after which he
began his career as a farmer. On January 11, 1893, he married
Christiana Matteson, a native of Sweden, born December 5, 1845, and
the youngest child of John and Anna Catherine (Pearson) Svidbeurg.
John Svidbeurg was born in 1805, and his wife, in 1809, both being
natives of Sweden, where they spent their entire lives, he dying in
1876, and she in 1882. They were the parents of five children, three
girls and two boys. One brother and one sister of Airs. Bloom also
came to America, the sister residing in Bloomington, Illinois, and
the brother in Orange township, Knox county. After receiving her
education Christiana Svidbeurg came to America at the age of
twenty-five, living in Galesburg for two years and at Knoxville for
six months prior to her marriage to her first husband, a Mr.
Matteson, deceased. Two children were born of her first marriage:
Ella Amanda, who is the wife of W. H. Webb, of Persifer township,
and mother of Marion Eleanor, Margaret Christiana, and Maurice
Matteson and Madeline, twins; and Minnie Esther, who is the wife of
Henry Westergreen, residing in Copley township, and mother of Vivian
lone, Harold Love and Nellie Christiana. After his marriage Mr.
Bloom purchased a farm of Judge Craig, in Persifer township, which
tract being unimproved he has cultivated, erecting on it good
buildings and converting it into an attractive place. Iiis farming
has been along general lines and he also raises cattle, hogs and
horses. Mr. Bloom has been very active in furthering the interests
of his community. Lie is a stockholder in the Dahinda-Victoria
Mutual Telephone Company, has given much attention to the schools of
his district and has served one term as school director. He is loyal
to the republican party and is socially connected with the Fraternal
Reserve Life Association, Dahinda Lodge, No. 2, being chaplain of
the local lodge. Mr. Bloom is a true representative of the land of
his birth, sturdy, persevering, reliable, and these qualities have
made him a highly honored citizen. 997
E. S. WILLARD.
E. S. Willard is one of the highly successful and capable business
men of Williamsfield, where he located three years ago, founding the
enterprise that he and R. L. Reed are now conducting under the firm
name of E. S. Willard & Company. His birth occurred in Marshall
county, this state in 1878, and he is the only child born of the
marriage of J. E. and Martha (Schanck) Willard. His father, who is
also a native of Marshall county, was for many years engaged in the
restaurant business, but he now has charge of the cemetery at
Prince-ville, and both he and the mother reside in that city.
When old enough to begin his education E. S. Willard entered the
public schools of Lawn Ridge, which he attended until he had reached
the age of sixteen years. Feeling that he had sufficient knowledge
to enable him to begin preparations for his business career, he then
laid aside his text-books and entered Ziegler's furniture and
undertaking establishment of Peoria, of which there was a branch at
Lawn Ridge. From there he went to Wyoming, where he continued to
follow the same business for eight years, thus ably qualifying
himself to conduct a similar place of his own. In 1908 he came to
Williamsfield and opened the establishment of E. S. Willard &
Company, which has developed in a most gratifying manner during the
three years of its existence. Mr. Willard was at first alone in the
business, but soon took in E. T. Merry as a partner. Upon the
latter's death in 1910, Mr. Reed purchased his interest and has ever
since been connected with the enterprise. It is the only furniture
store in the town and they also carry a varied assortment of
carpets, hardware, crockery, wall paper and musical instruments. In
connection with their household furnishings they maintain an
undertaking department, which is among the most complete to be found
in a town of this size in the state. Mr. Willard gives his personal
attention to this department of their business and discharges his
duties in a manner becoming its dignity and solemnity. In their
store, due to its excellent location and attractiveness, they have
enjoyed a good and growing patronage from the first, and being
pleasant and agreeable as well as accommodating they have succeeded
in retaining satisfied customers and in adding to them continually.
Every department of the store is flourishing, and they are having
particularly large sales in musical instruments, especially pianos.
998
Mr. Willard was married while residing in Wyoming to Miss Ida
Osborn, a resident of that place, the event being celebrated in
April, 1901.
Fraternally Mr. Willard is affiliated with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, having taken all degrees to the Encampment. He is one
of the wide-awake, alert and progressive business men of
Williamsfield, who is not alone interested in the development of his
own enterprise but in that of the community at large, and he can
always be depended upon to give his support and cooperation to every
movement that he feels will be of general benefit to the citizens of
the town and surrounding districts.
PROFESSOR WILLIAM EDWARD SIMONDS.
Professor William Edward Simonds, professor of English in Knox
College since 1889 and a well known contributor to the text-books of
the schools, was born in September 10, i860, in Peabody,
Massachusetts, a son of Edward and Mary A. (Chase) Simonds. The
father was also a native of the old Bay state, having been born at
Ipswich, Massachusetts, December 30, 1811. He was the second of the
ten children of Charles and Mary (Stacy) Simonds, who were married
in 1808. The former was born in 1786 and passed away in 1851, while
his wife, who was born in 1788, died in 1874. Their children
continued to live in Pea-body or that vicinity until called from
this life, the death of Edward Simonds there occurring July 4, 1873.
In early manhood he had wedded Mary A. Chase, who was born in
Bushwick, a borough of Brooklyn, New York, August n, 1828. Shortly
after her birth her parents removed to Massachusetts, occupying for
two years the old Whittier homestead in East Haverhill, following
the removal of the poet to Amesbury. Thereafter the family settled
permanently in Hudson, New Hampshire. Her ancestry is traced back to
Humphrey and Rebekah (Nichols) Chase. The former, who was born in
1779, died in i860, and the latter, born in 1780, died in 1848. They
were the parents of John Chase, who was born in Plaistow, New
Hampshire, in 1802, and was married in 1827 to Martha L. Rhodes, of
Lynn, Massachusetts, a daughter of Thomas and Ruth (Marston) Rhodes.
John Chase died in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1888. He was the father
of Mrs. Mary A. Simonds, who was the eldest in a family of ten
children and is now living in the home of her son, Professor
Simonds, in Galesburg.1001
The childhood and youth of Professor Simonds were passed in Peabody,
Massachusetts, formerly known as South Danvers, a parish of the
ancient town of Danvers, adjoining the city of Salem, noted in
colonial history as the scene of the witchcraft delusion. South
Danvers was the birthplace of George Pea-body, who became prominent
as a banker in London and famous as a philanthropist, and at his
death the town took the name of Peabody in his honor. Professor
Simonds pursued his education in the public schools of that place
and afterward spent the year of 1878-9 in the Phillips Andover
Academy. In 1879 he entered Brown University, from which he was
graduated in 1883 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was
thirteen years of age at the time of his father's death. The family
inherited little or no property and his education was obtained at
considerable sacrifice and with much hard work. He has always
accredited much of his success to his mother; she had been a school
teacher prior to her marriage and was ambitious for her son and
anxious that he should have a college education. While they both
worked to accomplish the object before them, Professor Simonds has
always said that he felt sure that his mother carried the larger
burden. During his college days she boarded some of the students in
her home and thus provided for the support of her family, while
Professor Simonds at different periods worked in the Providence
public library, taught in the evening schools and during the summer
vacations engaged in such employment as usually claims the attention
of college students. For two summers he was storekeeper at Rocky
Point, a great shore resort on Narragansett Bay. He afterward acted
as station agent for the Stonington line at Oakland Beach, another
resort, through one summer, and undoubtedly these experiences, due
to necessity, were not the least valuable part of his education.
Following the completion of his college course Professor Simonds
engaged in teaching for two years in the high school of Providence,
Rhode Island, to which place he and his mother had removed in 1879,
making that city their home until the summer of 1885, when they went
to Germany. During the fall and succeeding winter he was a student
in the University of Berlin, after which he and his mother went to
Strassburg, where he continued his studies until the spring of 1888,
at which time he passed his examinations and received his Ph. D.
degree from the university. His work had been in the field of
English literature and Teutonic philology. On returning to the
United States he spent one year at Cornell University at Ithaca, New
York, as instructor in German, and in 1889 received a call to the
chair of English in Knox College, where he has since remained,
making this one of the most attractive departments of the
institution. The work done is thorough and comprehensive, bringing
to the pupils a wide knowledge of the best literature of our race.
Professor Simonds has written and edited several text-books for the
use of students of English literature, the first of these being the
thesis which he prepared at Strassburg—Sir Thomas Wyat and his Poems
(1889). He published an Introduction to the Study of English Fiction
in 1894, a Student's History of English Literature in 1902, a
Student's History of American Literature in 1909 and has edited
school editions of Scott's Ivanhoe, De Quincey's Revolt of the
Tartars, Mrs. Gaskell's Cranford, Scott's Quentin Durward,
Washington's Farewell Address and Webster's First Bunker Hill
Oration. Professor Simonds is also a contributor to The Dial. During
1904 he gave courses of lectures in the summer session of the
University of Illinois and in 1907 and again in 1908 he taught
through the summer sessions at the Ohio State University, while in
1911 he again taught at the University of Illinois. At its
commencement exercises in June, 1911, Brown University honored him
by conferring upon him the degree of Doctor of Letters. He has
lectured frequently on subjects connected with literature and during
the period when university extension was most popular, from 1890
until 1900, he gave many courses in cities and towns in Illinois,
particularly in Peoria and Quincy and also in Burlington, Iowa. He
has delivered many addresses before teachers' institutes in central
Illinois and has taken an advanced position upon many points which
have proven important elements in upholding the standard of
education in the state.1002
Professor Simonds has cooperated in many projects which are allied
interests of school work. Pie is a member of the Modern Language
Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. For
many years he has been a director of the Galesburg public library.
In connection with his duties as professor of the college he is also
discharging those of secretary of the faculty. Pie is a member of
the Delta Upsilon, a college fraternity, and since 1876 has been a
member of the Baptist church, serving at the present time on the
board of trustees of the First Baptist church of Galesburg. He is
president of the Associated Charities of Knox county and no good
work done in the name of charity or religion seeks his aid in vain.
Plis political allegiance has always been given to the republican
party and it is a well known fact that Professor Simonds' position
upon any vital question is never an equivocal one.
In 1898, at Chicago, Professor Simonds was united in marriage to
Miss Katherine L. Courtright, daughter of Rev. Calvin W. Courtright,
a Presbyterian clergyman. For some years prior to her marriage Mrs.
Simonds followed the profession of teaching, conducting for a short
time a private school for children and young women in Chicago. In
1896-7 she acted as dean of women in Knox College. By her marriage
she has become the mother of three "daughters, Mar-jorie, Katherine
and Eleanor.
Such in brief is the history of Professor Simonds, who throughout
his entire career has never chosen the second best but has sought
always those things which are of greatest value to the individual
and to the community and at all times has made his life a
serviceable factor for good in the world's work.
JOHN A. JOHNSTON.
John A. Johnston, who owns and operates a farm in Walnut Grove
township, Knox county, was born on the 18th of August, 1866, in this
township. He is a son of Joseph and Jeannette (Anderson) Johnston,
the former a native of Sorn, Ayrshire, Scotland, who came to America
early in life and located in Altona. At first he was employed by the
month on a farm but subsequently purchased a tract for himself.
During this time he was also engaged in hauling merchandise by team
from Galesburg to Pikes Peak, Colorado. Pie made two round trips,
usually making thirty miles a day. After this he returned to engage
in farming in Walnut Grove township but while thus occupied he
secured a claim in a gold mine, which brought him some profits.
During the war he deposited this money in the Galesburg Bank and
later purchased the first eighty acres of the farm upon which he
resided during the remainder of his life. He brought this farm under
a high state of cultivation and devoted much of his time to
stock-dealing. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and,
though he never held political office, was greatly interested in the
welfare of the community. Mrs. Jeannette (Anderson) Johnston is of
Scotch ancestry, her father being James Anderson, a son of John
Anderson, and the mother Miss Mary Borland. The father was born in
Ayrshire, Scotland, and was a blacksmith by trade, following his
occupation all his life in his native country. In i860 he came to
America and made his home with his son A. B. Anderson in Knox
county, where he died in 1865. A. B. Anderson, the brother of Mrs.
Johnston, is a prominent banker and the senior member of the firm of
A. B. Anderson & Son, of Oneida. There were nine children in the
Anderson family. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnston five children were born:
Mary, who is the wife of Thomas Wade, of Galva, Illinois; John A.,
who is the subject of this review; and Isaac, Henry and Maggie, all
residing in Galva. Mr. Johnston's second marriage was to Miss Maggie
Meikle, who is now residing in Galva, and to this union two children
were born: Jeannette, who is the wife of John Anderson; and William,
who is living in Galva. 1003
John A. Johnston spent his youth and boyhood attending the district
school and on the home farm, where he was early trained to the best
methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. He started
upon his independent career on a part of the home farm, where he
engaged in general farming and stock-raising, in which he has met
with the success which is the reward of persistent effort, diligent
labor and constant application.
Mr. Johnston was married to Miss Abbie Lytton, whose birth occurred
in 1867 and who is a daughter of Ezra and Rhoda Lytton. To this
union two children have been born, Ray, who is eight, and Loren, who
is five years of age. Mr. Johnston devotes his whole attention to
agricultural pursuits and has never been an active member of any
political party, church or lodge. He has been a resident of the
county throughout his life and is regarded as one of the substantial
and progressive farmers, displaying in all of his undertakings an
energy which has enabled him to overcome any difficulties and
obstacles that have arisen.
THOMAS W.
THOMSON, M. D.
Dr. Thomas W. Thomson, numbered among the alumni of Rush Medical
College and successfully engaged in practice in Knoxville, was born
in Truro township, Knox county, January 27, 1873, a son of P. and
Mary S. (Lapham) Thomson, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The
father was a mechanic and wood worker who in early life came to
Illinois, where he was married. He settled first in Macon county but
after a year came to Knox county and was identified with industrial
interests here for a considerable period. For the past thirty-five
years he and his wife have made their home in Yates City
1004 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
and their sterling worth has won for them the high regard and
friendship of many with whom they have been brought in contact. In
their family were the following children: Morton W., who is a
resident of Calgary, Canada; LeRoy A., a retired farmer living at
Galesburg; Frank D., the principal of a high school at Springfield,
Illinois; Preston W., an attorney of Los Angeles, California; and
Thomas W., of this review.
Dr. Thomson, whose name introduces this review, spent his boyhood
days in Yates City, where he attended the public schools and after
completing his course there received a certificate that entitled him
to teach. lie followed that profession for four years or from 1891
until 1895, when, desiring to make further advancement along
educational lines, he matriculated in Knox College, where he spent
the succeeding four years as a student. Even then he was not
satisfied with his educational training and from 1899 until 1903
attended the University of Chicago, from which he was graduated on
the 15th of January of the latter year, winning the degree of
Bachelor of Science. His broad literary education served as an
excellent foundation for his professional knowledge, which was
gained in Rush Medical College of Chicago. In 1898 he had been
awarded a state teacher's certificate. The success which he gained
in that field foreshadowed the results which were to crown his
efforts since he has entered upon active practice. In the meantime,
however, the military chapter in his life history was written,
covering his service in the Spanish-American war. He enlisted on the
16th of April, 1898, as a member of Company C, Sixth Illinois
Volunteer Infantry, and was in the service at Porto Rico, returning
to New York on the 13th of September, 1898. On the 25th of November
he was mustered out at Springfield, Illinois, having done active
duty in the West Indies and made for himself a creditable record.
Following" his graduation from Rush, Dr. Thomson entered upon the
practice of medicine and surgery in Elmwood, Peoria county,
Illinois, where he remained for three years and then returned to
Knox county, settling in Knox-ville. He is said to be one of the
busiest physicians and surgeons in the county, constantly
overburdened by the demands which are made upon his professional
service. He is very painstaking and conscientious in the performance
of his professional duties, is most careful in the diagnosis of his
cases and is seldom, if ever, at fault in predicting the outcome of
disease, while as operator he has obtained wide recognition.
While Dr. Thomson's life work is that of the practice of medicine
and surgery, he has become equally widely known in musical circles,
having developed the marked talent with which nature endowed him
until his ability has gained him wide recognition. For three years
he was a director of the band at the University of Chicago and
received there a baton, which was the highest honor for
professorship. He was also solo cornetist of the Sixth Regiment Band
and is now first violinist in the Conservatory of Music Band of Knox
College. Moreover, he has done much to foster and stimulate musical
taste and talent in this and other sections of the state.
It was on the 24th of June, 1903, in Galesburg, that Dr. Thomson was
united in marriage to Miss Agnes Bollenbach, who was born in that
city October 22, 1879, a daughter of Peter and Christina Bollenbach,
both of whom were natives of Germany. The father is now deceased but
the mother vet resides in Galesburg. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Thomson have
been born four children: William H., Berwin, Florence H. and Frank.
The family is well known socially and the hospitality of the best
homes in Galesburg and the county is cordially extended them. Dr.
Thomson holds membership in Pacific Lodge, No. 66, A. F. & A. M. ;
Ravinia Chapter, No. 95, R. A. M.; and Illinois Council, No. 91, R.
& S. M. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, cordially
and actively supporting the different departments of the church
work. His professional relationships are with the Knox County and
Illinois State Medical Societies and he is the official medical
examiner for the United States Marine Corps at Knoxville. In every
relation of life his labors have been actuated by a high sense of
duty and a laudable ambition that has prompted him to reach out for
the best, whether for his own benefit or for the community at large.
Early in life he set his mark high and has used every available
opportunity to reach that level. 1005
DORRANCE W.
ALDRICH, M. D.
A record of the medical profession in Galesburg would be very
incomplete and unsatisfactory were not prominent reference made to
Dr. Dorrance W. Aldrich, who for thirty years was a practitioner
here, capable, energetic and conscientious. He was born in Boone
county, Illinois, near Belvidere, April 1, 1846, his parents being
William and Sarah Ann (Bassett) Aldrich, the former of whom was born
at Binghamton, New York, September 25, 1809, and the latter a native
of Pennsylvania, born at East Smithfield, July 26, 1812. They were
married at Smithfield, Pennsylvania, March 30, 1834. Making the trip
overland, they located in Boone county, where the father devoted his
time to farming. Just before the Civil war he came to Knox county,
settling about four miles north of Galesburg, in Henderson township,
where he owned and cultivated a farm, making his home there until
his demise. Pie was a republican in his political views and a
Presbyterian in his religious faith. Plis wife also belonged to the
same church. Following the death of her husband she removed to
Abilene, Kansas, where she made her home with a daughter until she,
too, passed away January 16, 1902. In their family were twelve
children: Chauncey S., now deceased; Owen J., living at Grand
Junction, Colorado; Francis, deceased; Julian B., whose home is in
Omaha, Nebraska; Dorrance W.; Clara, the wife of James Dickson, of
Quincy, Illinois; Laurin W., living in Council Bluffs, Iowa ; Nora,
the wife of Frank Morse, of Abilene, Kansas; Norman K., of
Galesburg; Percy, Prentice and Jesta, all now deceased.
Dr. Aldrich pursued his preliminary education in the schools of
Henderson township and afterward had the benefit of a course in Knox
College, thus through broad literary training laying the foundation
for his professional knowledge. He prepared for the practice of
medicine as a student in Rush Medical College and entered upon the
active work of the profession at Gilson, Illinois, where he remained
for two and a half years. He then entered the Bellevue Hospital
College of New York, and completed a course with the class of 1874.
Thus still better equipped for the onerous and responsible duties
which devolved upon him, he returned to Gilson, where he continued
in practice until 1879.
1006 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
That year witnessed his arrival in Galesburg, where he remained
until his death, which occurred on the 8th of May, 1909. He held to
a high standard of professional ethics and gave to his patients the
benefit of unwearied service and of superior talent and wide
knowledge. He was always most careful in the diagnosis of his cases
and the excellent results which followed his labors secured him an
extensive practice. Moreover, he was active in the establishment of
the Galesburg Hospital and served on its staff for several years.
Dr. Aldrich was married twice. On the 1st of August, 1873, he wedded
Miss Marguerite McBride, a daughter of A. D. and Sarah (McCandlass)
Mc-Bride, of Knoxville. Unto them were born four children: Blanche,
now the wife of Charles May, of Peoria, Illinois; Mabel, who was
born November 29, 1875, anc* died May 16, T898; Sarah Gertrude, now
the wife of Anthony J. Caldwell, of Stoutsville, Missouri; and
Julian Karl, also of Stoutsville. For his second wife Dr. Aldrich
chose Miss Martha Graham, whom he wedded on the 3d of February,
1903. Her parents were William F. and Margaret (Hutchinson) Graham,
who resided in Mercer county, Illinois, near Alexis. Her father was
born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, March 13, 1833, and her
mother's birth occurred in the same state, August 14, 1836. They
were married in Mercer county, Illinois, August 19, 1858, and Mr.
Graham devoted his time to general farming. He had come to the
middle west with his mother in 1839 and was educated near Oquawka,
Henderson county, after which he concentrated his energies upon the
work of tilling the soil and in his well directed efforts provided a
comfortable living for his family. In 1894 he retired to private
life with a comfortable competence and removed to Galesburg, where
he died on the 26th of January, 1910. His wife had passed away at
Denver, Colorado, August 9, 1892, when they were on a pleasure trip.
Mr. Graham had given his political support to the democratic part)-
and had served as township assessor. He attended the Presbyterian
church at Norwood, Illinois, and was a man of many admirable traits
of character. Mrs. Aldrich traces her ancestry back in the maternal
line through several generations. Pier great-grandfather, John
Hutchinson, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, rendering
valuable aid in the establishment of American independence. liis
son, who bore the name of Henry Hutchinson, was born in Pennsylvania
and devoted his life to farming. He and his wife, Mary Brown
Hutchinson, were the parents of Margaret Hutchinson, who became the
wife of William Graham. Unto this marriage six children were born,
namely: Mildred, now the wife of Arthur Olin. of Alexis, Illinois;
Mary, the wife of Charles E. Anderson, also of Alexis; Arthur PL,
who is living in the same place; Daniel H., a resident of Ursa,
Illinois; Margaret, the wife of Sidney C. West, of Denver, Colorado;
and Mrs. Aldrich. The last named was born in Alexis, in Mercer
county, April 20. 1877, and supplemented her common-school education
by study in the schools of Galesburg. By her marriage she became the
mother of an interesting little son. Max William, who was born in
Galesburg, December 3, 1903.
The family circle was broken by the hand of death, when on the 8th
of May, 1909, Dr. Aldrich was called to his final rest. In his
passing Galesburg lost a < valued and representative citizen, who
had done much for the public welfare. From the time that age
conferred upon him the right of franchise he supported the
republican party and in 1887 was called to the office of mayor,
which he filled for a two years' term, making a good record as the
chief executive of the city. He was also at one time county coroner.
His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church, but he was
never narrowly sectarian, and in his charity and in his kindly
thought he reached out in sympathy to all who needed aid or
encouragement. He was entitled to wear the Grand Army button for in
1864 he enlisted as a private of Company E, One Hundred and
Forty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Later he was detailed for
duty on the staff of General Dudley. Fie afterward joined the
Galesburg post and thus maintained pleasant relations with his old
army comrades throughout his remaining days. He also held membership
with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In strictly
professional lines he was connected with the Knox County and the
Illinois State Medical Societies and through their proceedings kept
in close touch with the advanced work being done by the medical
profession. He always remained a close student of the science of
medicine and his ready understanding of its relation to practical
needs made him very successful in his chosen life work. Many a
household of Galesburg regarded him most kindly, not only because of
aid he had rendered professionally, but also because of his sterling
worth as a man whom to know was to respect and honor. January 1,
1886, he was appointed local surgeon for the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy Railroad with headquarters at Galesburg, and served in that
capacity up to the time of his death.1007
JOHN H. RICE.
John H. Rice is one of the well known business men of Williamsfield,
where for many years he has been engaged in buying and shipping
stock. He was born in Victoria township, Knox county, in 1854, and
is a son of Foster and Harriet (Aldridge) Rice, the father a native
of the state of New York and the mother of Indiana. When he was a
very young lad Foster Rice came to Illinois with his parents, and
the remainder of his life was spent in Peoria and Knox counties,
where he engaged in farming. He was living in Victoria township,
where for many years he had been engaged in agricultural pursuits,
at the time of his death, which occurred at the age of sixty-seven
years. Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Foster Rice there were born
six children: Henry; Mrs. Eliza Aden; John IT., our subject; George;
Arthur; and Alvin.
As he was reared in the country John H. Rice acquired his education
in the common schools, during which time he gave his father such
assistance as he was able in the operation of the home farm. When he
had obtained such knowledge as was deemed essential to enable him to
assume the heavier responsibilities, he left school and devoted his
entire attention to the work of the fields, remaining under the
parental roof for five years thereafter. At the expiration of that
time he began his independent agricultural career and farmed as a
renter for several years. He next removed to Missouri, but at the
expiration of two years he returned to Knox county, settling in
Williamsfield, where he subsequently became associated with Peter A.
Sunwall in buying and shipping stock. He has ever since engaged in
this business in which he has met very good success.
1008 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
Mr. Rice has been married three times. His first union was with Miss
Ella Goodspeed, and unto them were born two children; Carl and Mrs.
Maud Davis. He subsequently married Miss Hannah Hammond, while his
present wife was formerly Miss Tillie Anderson, a daughter of the
late Adolphus Anderson, who was a farmer jn Victoria township. Unto
Mr. Rice and his third wife there have been born two children, Vera
and John.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Rice hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal
church, and politically he is a republican. He always takes an
active interest in all municipal and township affairs and has served
with efficiency in a number of the township offices.
G. L. HEDSTROM.
A well improved and highly cultivated farm of four hundred acres
located on sections 18 and 19, Victoria township, is a tribute to
the agricultural skill of G. L. Hedstrom. His birth occurred at
Victoria, on the 23d of August, 1853, his parents being Jonas J. and
Deantha (Sornborger) Hedstrom. Jonas J. Hedstrom is supposed to have
been born on the island of Aland, Sweden, where he was educated and
reared to the age of nineteen years. His father was a corporal in
the Swedish army and passed his entire life in his native land, as
did also the mother, who died during the early childhood of her son.
After completing his schooling, Jonas J. Hedstrom learned the
blacksmith's trade, which he followed in Sweden until he was
nineteen years of age. He then joined his brother, the Rev. O. G.
Hedstrom, a minister living in the state of New York. Soon after his
arrival in this country, Jonas J. Hedstrom located in the vicinity
of Victoria, where he followed his trade and also preached the
gospel. He was the first Swedish minister in this vicinity and was
the founder of the Swedish Methodist Episcopal church in Victoria.
The first services were held in a log house in Copley township, but
he subsequently solicited funds in New York and thus obtained the
means to form a permanent organization. In addition to the services
he held in his native tongue, Mr. Hedstrom also preached to English
audiences. During the early years of his residence in Victoria he
was married to Miss Sornborger, who was a native of the state of New
York and a daughter of George Sornborger. During the early years of
their domestic life they removed to Farmington, Illinois, where he
continued to work at his trade, and also discharged the duties of a
local preacher. Later he returned to Victoria, helping to organize
the village in 1839, he and his family thereafter making that place
their home. Soon after his return he withdrew from his trade and
began traveling through Minnesota and Iowa for the Swedish missions.
In 1850 he organized the first Swedish Methodist church in Iowa at
New Sweden. He was an efficient and capable worker, being tireless
in his efforts to advance the cause of Christianity, and ultimately
became presiding elder of the Swedish missions, discharging the
duties of this office until his death. He passed away on the nth of
May, 1859, at the age of forty-six years, and was buried in the
cemetery at Victoria. The mother, who was also a forceful Christian
worker, survived until the 6th of July, 1874, and was laid to rest
beside her husband. In his political views Mr. Hedstrom was a
republican, considering that policy conducive to the interests of
the majority. He was at all times too deeply engrossed with his
Christian work to become prominently identified with public affairs,
but he was a loyal citizen and always gave his cooperation and
support to every movement that he deemed likely to promote the
general welfare of the community at large. Five children were born
to Mr. and Mrs. Hedstrom, the two eldest while they were residing in
Farmington and the other three upon their return to Victoria. In
order of birth they are as follows: Almina, the deceased wife of
Charles S. Clark; Margaret Ann, who died at the age of eleven years
and is buried in Victoria cemetery; Jane, who married Frederick
Becker, son of Frederick Becker, now residing in Victoria, on the
Copley township site; Charlotte, who died when eighteen months of
age; and G. L., our subject. Mrs. Becker had two children: George,
who married Lane Swickard, a daughter of Noah Swickard ; and Ava,
who died at the age of two years. 1013
Reared in a good home amid Christian environments, G. L. Hedstrom
had inculcated in his mind from earliest childhood the substantial
qualities essential to the development of character. He attended the
common schools of Victoria in the acquirement of his education, and
spent such time as was not there engaged in a manner similar to
other lads of the period and surroundings. After laying aside his
text-books he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits,
believing that these offered better opportunities to the young man
without capital than any other occupation, and moreover, he liked
the idea of living in the open. That his decision was a wise one is
manifested beyond question by the success that has attended his
efforts. When he was twenty-one he established a home of his own by
his marriage to Miss Emma L. Tripp, and soon thereafter they located
on a farm directly south of their present homestead. There they
resided for three years and then removed to the place, where they
now live. Mr. Fledstrom was an enterprising and industrious young
man, applying himself assiduously to the further improvement and
cultivation of his land. He directed his activities along practical
lines, using intelligence and discretion in the methods employed in
his agricultural pursuits and as a result he had the satisfaction of
annually realizing abundant and lucrative returns from his labor. In
connection with general farming he raised stock, using the greater
part of his grain for feeding. His various undertakings have
prospered and he is now known as one of the substantial and highly
successful agriculturists of the community.
In 1874, Mr. Hedstrom was united in marriage to Miss Emma L. Tripp,
who was born in Victoria, December 4, 1854, and was a daughter of
David and Elizabeth (Suydam) Tripp. The parents were both natives of
the state of New York, whence they came in the early years of their
domestic life to Knox county. They subsequently returned to the
east, locating in Venango county, Pennsylvania, where for four years
Mr. Tripp worked in the oil fields. At the expiration of that time
he and his family again took up their residence in this county and
he engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death at the age of
sixty-two years. The mother was seventy-two when she passed away and
is buried beside her husband in the cemetery at Victoria. During her
lifetime Mrs. Tripp was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. His political support Mr. Tripp gave to the democratic
party, but he held no other office save that of school director in
Victoria township. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Mrs. Tripp numbered
five, all of whom were born in Victoria: Emma L., now Mrs. Hedstrom;
Charlotte, who is deceased; Luella, the wife of John Van Buren, of
Victoria; and Alice and Edward, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and
Mrs. Hedstrom had four children. Florence J., the eldest, who was
born on October 24, 1875, died on the 3d of August, 1903, and was
buried in the family lot in the cemetery at Victoria. She was a very
capable young woman and for some years prior to her death had been
engaged in teaching. Ava Grace and Ethel May, the next two in order
of birth, are both teaching music. The youngest member of the family
was a son, who died in infancy.
1014 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
The parents hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, of
which Mr. Hedstrom has been a trustee and a member of the board of
stewards for many years. He votes the republican ticket, but has
never sought political preferment, although he at one time
discharged the duties of school treasurer. As the years have passed
he has accumulated a comfortable competence and in addition to his
valuable property is a stockholder and director of the State Bank of
Victoria. Mr. Hedstrom is one of the self-made men of Knox county,
his success being entirely attributable to his own efforts. His
father died when he was a lad of barely six years, and the financial
circumstances early compelled him to leave school and become
self-supporting. He has applied himself tirelessly to whatever he
has undertaken, possessing the indomitable will and determination of
purpose that ultimately lead to success in any undertaking.
SIG B. NELSON.
Sig B. Nelson, cashier of the Wataga State Bank, is a native of
Sweden, his birth having occurred at Christianstad, July 23, 1885.
His father, Olof Nilsson, was born in Sweden on the 17th of January,
1850, continuing to be a resident of that country until 1886, when
he emigrated with his wife and family to the United States. While
living in his native land he had operated a mill and dye works, but
upon coming to this country he turned his attention to agricultural
pursuits. Immediately following his arrival he came to Knox county,
locating in Ontario township on a farm. He passed away in Ontario
township on October 4, 1897. He was a man possessed of excellent
capabilities, and despite the fact that he was not a trained
agriculturist, made an unusual success of that vocation. His wife,
the mother of our subject, was prior to her marriage Miss Sigrid
Bennett, a daughter of B. P. and Ingra (Bahrstedt) Bennett, her
birth having occurred in Sweden, February 27, 1857. The mother is
still living, as are also four of the sons and two daughters born
unto this worthy couple. In order of birth they are as follows: Anna
E., the wife of Professor Grafstrom, of Augustana College, Rock
Island, Illinois; Fred O., who is a farmer of Galva, Illinois; Sig
B., our subject; Lincoln A., who is in the engineering department of
Northway Motor Co., Detroit, Michigan; Harold T., who is living on
the farm with his mother; and Hortense E., a student in Knox
College. The parents are members of the Swedish Lutheran church, and
it was in the faith of this denomination they reared their family.
Although a native of Sweden Sig B. Nelson was reared in Illinois,
having
.1017 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
been only a babe of one year when his parents located in Knox
county. His elementary education was obtained in the common schools
in the vicinity of the home farm where he spent his childhood and
youth. Upon the completion of the course there he went to Galesburg,
where during the winter of 1903-4 he attended Brown's Business
College, graduating in the latter year. Subsequently he entered Knox
College, taking work in both the academic and collegiate
departments, and was graduated from that institution with the class
of 1910. He paid his own way through college and became a prominent
member of the Literary Society, winning prizes in debates there.
After leaving school Mr. Nelson assisted in the organization of the
Wataga State Bank, of which he is a stockholder as well as cashier
and manager. He is also financially interested in the Peoples Trust
& Savings Bank of Galesburg, the president of this institution being
connected with the Wataga State Bank in the capacity of director.
Mr. Nelson is also connected with the Woodhull State Bank of
Woodhull, Illinois, being one of the four organizers of that bank,
which was organized December 11, 1911, with a capital of twenty-five
thousand dollars. A man of genial nature, gracious and
accommodating, Mr. Nelson has been instrumental in building up
Wataga State Bank and his business sagacity, clear judgment and
incorruptible integrity serve to inspire trust and confidence in it.
He is recognized as one well qualified to fill positions of trust
and responsibility and is now serving his second term as treasurer
of the Svea Mutual Protective Fire & Lightning Insurance Company of
Knox, Henry and Mercer counties, which is one of the largest
assessment insurance organizations of the state, insurance in force
at eight million dollars, and of which he is the youngest acting
official.
Fraternally Mr. Nelson is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America,
in which he is serving as banker, and is also financial secretary of
the Mystic Workers at Wataga. Religiously he is a member of the
Swedish Lutheran church. Although he is still quite young, he gives
every indication of having a promising future as a financier judging
by the ability he has developed during the brief period of his
business career.
MRS. ALPHA B.
McCALLISTER.
Mrs. Alpha B. McCallister, who with her son owns one hundred and
forty-one acres of land on section 6, Haw Creek township, Knox
county, was born in Salina, Kansas, on January 28, 1870. She is a
daughter of A. G. and Mary (Anderson) Couse, the father a native of
Boston, Massachusetts, where he was reared, and the mother of Knox
county, her birth having occurred on the farm, where Mrs.
McCallister now resides. This originally belonged to the maternal
grandparents of our subject, Samuel and Irene Anderson, who were
among the pioneer settlers of the county, having removed here from
Dayton, Ohio. After their marraige Mr. and Airs. Couse removed to
Kansas, where the latter died in February, 1871, and was laid to
rest in McCallister cemetery, Orange township, this county. The
father lived until 1877 and is buried at Dwight, Illinois.
Having been but a child when her parents died, Mrs. McCallister was
reared by her mother's sister and her husband, Elizabeth (Anderson)
and C. H. Huggins,
1018 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
obtaining her education in the schools of Knox county. Mr. and Mrs.
Huggins never had any children of their own but they reared seven.
He was one of the prominent farmers and stockmen of Haw Creek
township, where he was well known. In 1863 he went west and spent
the following five years in California, Idaho, and Oregon, having
been engaged in the hotel business in Idaho for a short time. Upon
his return he settled down in Knox county, spending the remainder of
his life in Haw Creek township. He passed away on October 26, TQ04,
at the age of seventy-seven. His widow survived for three years
thereafter, her death occurring on the 10th of April. They were both
laid to rest in McCallister cemetery. He was one of the highly
esteemed men of his community and he and his wife held membership in
the Knoxville Presbyterian church. Politically he was a republican,
but not seeking public office or emoluments, although for many years
he served as a school director in Haw Creek township.
Mrs. McCallister, who has been married three times, was first united
to Harry Bowson, a native of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, their marriage
occurring in 1892. One child was born unto them, Charles Huggins,
who is now living with his mother on the farm, one-half of which
belongs to him. On the 22d of February, 1901, she was married to S.
H. McCallister, her third husband. Mr. McCallister was born and
reared in Orange township, this county, and there he was also
educated. Fie is the younger of the two children, born of the
marriage of the late Wesley and Harriet McCallister. Together with
his mother he owns a fine farm of two hundred and seventy-seven
acres, and, as she has now attained the age of seventy years, he
spends a large portion of his time there with her. Mrs. McCallister,
with the assistance of her son, engages in general farming and is
meeting with satisfactory returns in her undertaking.
Both Mr. and Mrs. McCallister are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
Flis political support he accords to the republican party, and is
now serving his third term as clerk of Orange township. Mrs.
McCallister is an intelligent and capable business woman and is
highly esteemed in Haw Creek township, of which her family have been
residents for four generations.
JOSHUA BETTERTON.
Joshua Betterton has for twenty-one years been engaged in general
farming and stock-raising on a well cultivated tract of land
containing sixty acres located on section 24, Chestnut township. He
was born in Clinton county, Ohio, in the vicinity of Vienna, on the
28th of November, 1846, his parents being Owen and Anna (Moon)
Betterton, also natives of Clinton county. In 1850 together with his
wife and family Mr. Betterton came to Illinois, making the long,
hard journey across the prairies with a wagon. Upon their arrival in
Knox county he acquired a tract of government land in Chestnut
township, upon which he erected such buildings as were needed for
their comfort and then engaged in the cultivation of his soil.
Through his unremitting energy, capable management and thrift he was
later able to add to his holdings and at the time of his death in
the
1019 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
late '80s owned over a half section of highly cultivated and fertile
land. Mr. Betterton became one of the leading men in his township
and for over a quarter of a century served as justice of the peace.
He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Christian
church, as was also the mother, who passed away in 1872. They were
both laid to rest in the cemetery at Hermon. Of the marriage of Mr.
and Mrs. Betterton there were born ten children: Elizabeth, the
widow of Henry Davis, of Abingdon; Mary Jane, who passed away in
1905; John, living in Norton county, Kansas, who was a member of
Company D, Seventh Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, participated in the
battle of Shiloh and all of the engagements of the Mississippi
campaign; Cyrus, who is deceased; George R., of Littleton, Colorado,
who was also a member of Company D, Seventh Illinois Volunteer
Cavalry and took part in all of the battles along the river,
remaining at the front for four years and seven months, during which
time he participated in forty-two engagements; Joshua, our subject;
Susan, who is der ceased; Ellen, the wife of Pleasant Grice, of
Winfield, Iowa; Laura, the wife of Henry C. Jones, of London Mills,
Illinois; and Emma, the wife of Edwin White, of London Mills.
Joshua Betterton was only a child of four years when he accompanied
his parents on their removal from his native state to Illinois. His
youthful years were not unlike those of other lads of the pioneer
days, his winters being largely devoted to the acquirement of an
education in the district schools, while during the summer months he
assisted his father in the work of the fields and the care of the
stock. He remained under the parental roof until he was seventeen
years of age when he enlisted in Company D, Seventh Illinois
Volunteer Cavalry, and went to the front. He served from February 1,
1863, until November on detached duty in the hospital. When mustered
out he returned to Chestnut township where he remained until 1873,
when he removed to Seward county, Nebraska. He spent three years in
the latter state and then returned to Knox county, once more
settling in Chestnut township, where he has ever since resided.
Twenty-one years ago he removed to his present place on section 24,
where he owns sixty acres of well tilled and highly improved land.
Mr. Better-ton is a man of progressive methods and practical ideas
and his farm is provided with every modern facility that will
expedite the work or give greater assurance of efficiency. His
fields are successfully operated under his capable. supervision and
every year yield abundant harvests that bring the highest prices the
market offers. In connection with his general farming he raises a
good grade of stock, thus greatly increasing his annual dividends.
In 1876, Mr. Betterton was married to Miss Liza Pickerel, who is a
native of Haw Creek township, Knox county, and a daughter of George
and Maria (Richmond) Pickerel, natives of Ohio. They came to this
county in 1836, locating in Haw Creek township, where they resided
until 1873 when they removed to Seward county, Nebraska, and there
spent the remainder of their lives. Their family numbered fourteen
children: Charles, who is living in Seward, Nebraska; Harvey, who
was a member of Company A, Fourteenth Illinois Volunteer Cavalry,
now a resident of York, Nebraska; Alary M., the deceased widow of
Henry Naris, who was a member of the Fourteenth Illinois Volunteer
Cavalry; Mrs. Betterton; Christ, deceased, also a member of the
Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry; Anna, the wife of Perry Cope, of Seward
county, Nebraska; Elizabeth, who is
1020 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
married and also living in Seward county, Nebraska; Booker and
Caroline, both of whom are deceased; Emma, who married Fred Carlson,
of Seward county; George, who is a resident of Omaha, Nebraska;
Frank, who is living in Lincoln, Nebraska; William, of Seward, that
state, and Ella, who is deceased. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Betterton there were born four children: Arthur and Elias, both of
whom are deceased; Anne, the wife of J. P. Huybbanks, of Maquon; and
Minnie, the wife of Flarry Huybbanks, of Chestnut township.
His political support Mr. Betterton has always given to the
republican party, his first presidential vote having been cast for
U. S. Grant. He takes an active interest in all township affairs and
served for two terms as assessor while for many years he has been a
member of the board of school directors. Fie remembers Lincoln well,
in the days of his private life, and was present at the
Lincoln-Douglas debate at Galesburg. Mr. Betterton has always been a
loyal member of the Grand Army of the Republic, through the medium
of which organization he maintains relations with his comrades of
the field. During the fifty-eight years he has been a resident of
Chestnut township, Mr. Betterton has watched its wonderful
development from a pioneer district to one of the richest
agricultural sections of Knox county, during which time the log
cabin of the first settlers has given place to modern residences and
the unbroken prairie has been converted into productive farms.
HUGH C. SIMPSON.
Hugh C. Simpson is numbered among the native sons of Knox county and
has been a lifelong resident of Walnut Grove township, where he is
now devoting his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits.
He represents one of the old families of the county and was born
upon the Simpson homestead farm on the 14th of December, 1862. No
event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm
life for him in his boyhood and youth, his experiences being those
which usually fall to the lot of the lad who divides his time
between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the
playground and the work of the home farm. His early training was of
a practical nature, acquainting him with the best methods of tilling
the soil and caring for the crops, so that when he started out in
life on his own account he was well prepared to meet the duties that
devolved upon him. He has never sought to change his occupation,
being always content to engage in the tilling of the soil, knowing
that the rich prairie land of Illinois will respond bountifully if
the work of cultivation is carried on along modern and progressive
lines. He now has a well improved property, the neat and thrifty
appearance of his fields and the good improvements found upon his
place constituting it one of the attractive features of the
landscape.
Mr. Simpson was united in marriage to Miss Ada L. McLaughlin, who
was • born on the 13th of June, 1878, a daughter of James W. and
Martha E. (Collin-son) McLaughlin. Her father, who was a native of
Ohio and was a son of John and Priscilla (Anderson) McLaughlin, came
to Knox county in his boyhood days with his parents, and when he
started out in life on his own account
1021 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
he began farming in Walnut Grove township upon the tract of land
which is now being cultivated by his son-in-law, Hugh Simpson. There
he carried on the work of the farm year by year until ill health
compelled him to put aside business cares and he went to Colorado,
hoping that the change of climate would prove beneficial. However,
he did not improve as he had hoped and there passed away in 1893,
when fifty-six years of age. In early manhood he had married Martha
E. Collinson, a daughter of Simeon L. and Mary M. (Craver)
Collinson, who came from England in 1833, 'having previously resided
near Leeds. On crossing the Atlantic they settled first in
Pennsylvania and in 1838 came to Knox county, Illinois, casting in
their lot among the earliest settlers of this part of the state.
They arrived here only six years after the Black Hawk war occurred
and at that time there were but few evidences of modern
civilization. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. James McLaughlin there
were four children: Wilson T., who is now living in Kansas; Ada L.,
the wrife of Hugh C. Simpson; Harriet, at home; and Netta, the wife
of E. Van Patten, a resident of Chicago. Mrs. James McLaughlin is
still living at the age of sixty-eight years.
Mr. and Mrs. Simpson, having spent their entire lives in this
county, are well known and their circle of friends is almost
coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance. Mr. Simpson
belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp at Altona and gives his political
allegiance to the republican party. While the honors and emoluments
of political office have had no attraction for him, he has rendered
valuable service to the cause of education during the twelve years
in which he has been a member of the school board. The greater part
of his time and attention, however, are devoted to his farming
interests and his capable management in this connection constitutes
the basis of growing success.
RANSOM J. BROOKS.
Ransom J. Brooks was for many years actively identified with the
agricultural development of Knox county, but is now living retired
in Knoxville. He is a native of Illinois, his birth having occurred
in the vicinity of Canton on the 8th of May, 1838, and he is a son
of Samuel and Elizabeth (Eggers) Brooks. The father was born and
reared in the east. The mother was a daughter of Landrian Eggers,
one of the state's earliest pioneers, in the time when many Indians
roved in the country, constantly menacing the settlers who first
located here. Samuel Brooks came to Illinois in his early manhood,
purchasing land in the vicinity of Canton that he operated for
several years. Later he removed to Knox county, settling in Chestnut
township where he farmed for a time. He then went to Iowa,
continuing to reside there until his death. The mother passed away
in Chestnut township. Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Brooks
there were born two daughters and ten sons, of whom the following
grew to maturity: Ransom J., our subject, who is the eldest;
Landrian, who lives in the vicinity of Abingdon, this county; Jane,
who is deceased; Charles, who makes his home in Kansas; Daniel, who
passed away in Missouri; Matthew and Sarah A., both of whom are
deceased; James, who is a resident of Missouri; and Cyrus.
1022 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
The education of Ransom J. Brooks was obtained in an old log
schoolhouse with puncheon floor and slab benches in Chestnut
township. The method of instruction and the text-books used at that
period were thoroughly in keeping with the unattractive schoolroom,
and did not inspire in the average pupil a very great desire for
study. Being the eldest of the family he early began assisting with
the work of the farm, and when little more than a child had assumed
many of the duties of manhood. The life of the average farmer lad of
that period left little time for play, as there were always a
multitude of duties requiring attention, as this was the time prior
to the advent of modern agricultural implements. From his early
youth agricultural pursuits engaged the energies of Mr. Brooks until
1896, when he withdrew from the active work of the fields and
removed to Knoxville, where he has ever since lived retired. He met
with success in both farming and stock-raising, acquiring a
competence through his long years of industry and enterprise that
enables him to enjoy in the evening of life comfort and ease.
Chestnut township was the scene of the marriage of Mr. Brooks on the
5th of August, 1858, to Miss Lovina Goodenough, whose birth occurred
in Michigan on the 6th of April, 1843. She is a daughter of Erastus
and Louise (Phelps) Goodenough, who were also natives of Michigan,
in which state the father passed away. There were six children in
the family. In her early childhood Mrs. Brooks was brought to
Illinois, where she was reared and educated. She first lived in
Fulton county, whence she later removed to Knox, and here she has
ever since made her home. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have become the
parents of three sons and one daughter. Albert, who is living in
Minnesota and married Viola Wrenn. They have six children:
Cleveland; Ethel, the wife of Charles Rulin, who lives near
Knoxville, and has two children; Archibald; Blanche; Cecil and
Dorothy. Emory, who lives in Knoxville, married Bertha Jennings, and
they have three children: Orpha, Zora and Flarry. Emma, who is now
deceased, married Herod Peters of Galesburg, by whom she had two
children, Merrill and Grace. Daniel, who is also a resident of
Galesburg, married Hulda Freed, and they have two children, Carl and
Gertrude.
In matters of faith both Mr. and Mrs. Brooks are Baptists, being
devoted members of the church and active in its affiliated
societies. He takes a lively interest in all local matters and has
filled various offices in Chestnut township. Having resided in Knox
county for over sixty years, Mr. Brooks has witnessed its marvelous
development as pioneer conditions have given way to the conveniences
and comforts of a modern civilization.
GEORGE W. THOMPSON.
Few lawyers are making a more forceful impression upon the bar of
the state both for legal ability of a high order and for the
individuality of a personal character which impresses itself upon
the community than George W. Thompson. He is actively connected with
the profession, of which he has been a prominent follower from early
manhood. Of a family conspicuous for indomitable courage and energy,
he entered upon his career as a lawyer and such were
1025 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
his force of character and natural qualifications that he has
overcome all obstacles and risen to a position of eminence among
those whose abilities place them in the front ranks of the legal
fraternity of the state. A native of Canada, he was born near St.
Marys, August 9, 1850, his parents being Robert and Theresa (Lee)
Thompson. They were natives of England emigrating to Canada, where
they resided until 1872, when they came to Knox county, Illinois,
engaging in agricultural pursuits on a farm in and adjoining the
city of Galesburg.
George W. Thompson spent the days of his boyhood and youth amid the
conditions and environments of the country life of Canada. His early
educational advantages were supplemented by study in the grammar
schools of St. Marys and the Upper Canada College of Toronto. Later
he entered the University of Toronto, from which he was graduated in
the class of 1874 with the degree, of B. A. While a student in that
institution and pursuing a full literary course in the classics he
won a gold medal for the superior quality of his work. While still
in college he determined upon a professional career and began
reading law. Subsequently he studied in the office of William Davis,
an English barrister, who had located in Galesburg, and he was
admitted to practice law at Fort Madison, Iowa, in 1875. No dreary
novitiate awaited him, for he soon demonstrated his ability to
successfully handle intricate legal problems by his oratorical
powers and logical reasoning, which enabled him to present his
subject with great clearness and force. After practicing for two
years at Sibley, Iowa, he was admitted to the bar of the state of
Illinois in June, 1877. He immediately located at Galesburg.
Professional advancement is proverbially slow, but his connection
with the bar of Illinois has been marked by orderly progression.
Ever thorough and painstaking in the preparation of his cases,
unfaltering in his loyalty to the interests of his clients, and
recognizing at the same time that he owed a still higher allegiance
to the majesty of the law, he maintained in his practice the highest
standard of professional ethics. His success has been won by reason
of the fact that his position was in the eyes of the law a correct
one as established by precedent and principle. In 1897, he was
elected circuit judge for the ninth judicial circuit of Illinois,
which office he has since held continuously. He was appointed to the
appellate bench at Ottawa, Illinois, the second district of
Illinois, in 1906, and acted as one of the appellate judges in that
court until October, 1911, when he was transferred by the supreme
court to Springfield as one of the judges of the appellate court of
the third district.
On the 12th of September, 1884, Judge Thompson was married to Miss
Hettie Linsley, a daughter of James H. Linsley, a roadmaster of the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. To their union three children
have been born, Alma C, Ruth L., and Wallace L. Mrs. Thompson was
born in Galva, Illinois, and acquired her education in Knox College.
Subsequently she acted as city librarian of the Galesburg library
for five years before her marriage. In 1902 she was elected a member
of the board of education of the city of Galesburg. She has
performed the duties of that office so conscientiously and
satisfactorily to the people that no person has ever been nominated
to take her place in that situation. She is also a club woman, being
a member of the Hawthorn Club, and the first president of the
Federated Womans' Clubs of the city of Galesburg.
1026 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
In politics Judge Thompson gives his support to the republican
party. He served as city alderman in Galesburg from 1882 to 1886. He
attends the Baptist church. It is not necessary to enter into any
series of statements showing Mr. Thompson to be a man of broad mind,
scholarly attainments, public spirit and lofty patriotism, for this
has been evident throughout his career. In his profession he has
always been conscientious and no one knows better the necessity for
thorough preparation and no one more industriously studies his
cases. His course in the courtroom as a lawyer and as a judge on the
bench has always been characterized by a calmness and dignity that
indicate reserve strength, and his analysis of facts is clear and
exhaustive. He is able to see without effort their relation or
dependence and consequently can so group the facts as to enable him
to throw their combined force on the point they tend to prove. His
rulings in the circuit court and his published opinions in the
appellate court reports show that he has a clear comprehension of
legal and equitable principles and ability to logically apply them
to questions in issue before him. His name is one of note in the
legal history of Illinois.
CLARENCE BINGHAM
RIPLEY, M. D.
Dr. Clarence Bingham Ripley, engaged in the general practice of
medicine in Galesburg, has made continuous advancement in his
profession since he won his M. D. degree on graduation from the
University of Michigan in 1902. His ability has increased because of
his broad reading and the lessons he has learned from experience. He
is now accorded a liberal patronage in this city and at the same
time is recognized as one of the prominent representatives of the
republican party in Knox county. Galesburg numbers him among her
native sons, his birth having here occurred on the nth of December,
1876. His parents were John Adams and Letitia (Shephard) Ripley. The
father was born in Berlin Center, a town in northeastern Ohio, June
26, 1844, and the mother's birth occurred in New Haven, Connecticut,
December 8, 1849. Jonn A. Ripley was educated in the public schools
of Ohio and following the outbreak of the Civil war his patriotic
spirit prompted his enlistment for service in the army. While on
active duty he became ill and on account of his physical disability
was honorably discharged. As soon as he had recovered, however, he
once more joined the army, reenlisting in the one hundred days'
service. While the war was in progress his father's family disposed
of their interests in Ohio and removed to Princeton, Illinois, where
he joined them after the close of hostilities and in 1865 ne re~
moved to Galesburg, where he secured a position as brakeman on the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He afterward served as
freight conductor for a time and later was advanced to the position
of passenger conductor. For over forty years he was well known in
connection with the railway service of that line. He died in
Galesburg, December 20, 1911. It was on the 7th of October, 1870,
that he wedded Letitia Shephard, who had come to the middle west
with her parents and located in Knox county, where she formed the
acquaintance of the man to whom she gave her hand in marriage. They
became the parents of five children: Frederick, deceased; Edwin
Shephard, a practicing attorney of Lincoln, Nebraska; Clarence B.,
of this review; and Caroline and Alice E., who have departed this
life.
1027 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
In the public schools of Galesburg, Dr. Ripley pursued his early
education and later became a student at Hinsdale, Illinois. He
afterward entered the high school of Lyons township, Cook county,
from which he was graduated with the class of 1896. His college
course was pursued in the University of Michigan, from which he won
the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1900, while in 1902 he gained his
professional degree, having determined to make the practice of
medicine his life work.
Dr. Ripley then located in Riley, Michigan, where he opened an
office and continued in practice for two years. He then came to
Galesburg in April, 1904, and took a position in the relief
department of the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy Railroad. In June of
the same year, however, he was sent to Alliance, Nebraska, by the
company and there continued until December, when he returned to this
city. He continued in the service of the railroad company until the
1st of August, 1906, when he resigned and entered independently upon
the general practice of medicine. He has since served as city and
county physician, having been appointed to that office in the spring
of 1908. His professional ability is widely recognized and the
public confidence in his power is attested by the liberal patronage
accorded him. He has studied continuously along professional lines,
keeping in touch with the most advanced methods, and scientific
principles find exemplification in the daily performance of his
duties. He belongs to the Galesburg Medical Society, the Knox County
Medical Society and the Illinois State Medical Society. He has been
for several years a member of the medical staff of the Galesburg
Hospital and a review of his professional career shows that he has
done excellent work in the departments of both medicine and surgery.
On the 8th of June, 1904, Dr. Ripley was united in marriage to Miss
Bertha Raymer, of Cleveland, Ohio, and they now have one son,
Clarence Bingham, Jr., born in Galesburg, December 30, 1907. Both
the Doctor and his wife are members of the Central Congregational
church and in various lines of its work are actively interested. Dr.
Ripley is now serving as president of the Men's League of Central
Church and in addition is connected with other societies and
organizations of the city, and the Country and Galesburg Clubs,
serving for several years as a director of the last named.
Politically he is a republican. In local politics he is taking an
active part and served as chairman of central committee of the
peoples party at the time of its greatest successes.
WILBUR F. WILLSIE.
Wilbur F. Willsie, who has been running out of Galesburg as a mail
clerk for the past thirty-eight years, was born in this city on the
6th of April, 1856. He is a son of the late Colonel Horace H. and
Betsey (Nichols) Willsie, the father a native of Canada and the
mother of the state of New York. Horace H. Willsie was reared in his
native country and there he also learned the tanner's trade. He
located in Galesburg about 1853 and became a clerk in J. R. Gordon's
1028 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
clothing store, continuing in this capacity for some years. When the
Civil war broke out he raised three companies and went to the front
in defense of the Union, being mustered out at the close of
hostilities with the rank of colonel. Upon his return to civil life
he was appointed chief of police of Galesburg and he also ran a
livery stable, while later he was elected sheriff. He was one of the
public-spirited, enterprising citizens of the early days and did
much toward developing the city. His death occurred in Galesburg in
1907, at the age of seventy-eight years. The mother, however, is
still living and is now in her seventieth year. The family of
Colonel and Mrs. Willsie numbered five, as follows: Wilbur F., our
subject; Horace M.; Alfred N.; John; and Daisy, the wife of Edward
Kulp. The paternal grandfather was John Willsie, a native of the
state of New York. He was a farmer and subsequently removed to
Minnesota, where he passed away at a ripe old age. In his family
were the following children: Horace H., the father of our subject;
Hiram; Milo; Asa; and George. Mr. and Mrs. Orson Nichols, the
maternal grandparents, had three children: Leila, Betsey and Leroy.
Mr. Nichols was for many years engaged in the livery business. He
was also a veteran of the Civil war, having gone to the front as
fife major to General John A. Logan and remained in the service
until the close of hostilities.
Galesburg has always been the home of Wilbur F. Willsie, who was
educated in the public schools. After laying aside his text-books he
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and for three years
cultivated a piece of land belonging to his father. At the
expiration of that period he entered the government employ as postal
clerk and has been in the service continuously since 1873.
In May, 1879, Mr. Willsie was married to Miss Mary Boyce, a native
of Ohio and a daughter of Henry and Abbie Boyce. The parents early
came to Illinois and thereafter made this state their home, passing
their latter days at Warsaw. They had five daughters and three sons:
Kate; Ella; Mary, now Mrs. Willsie; Hattie; Gussie; Henry; George;
and Fred. Mr. and Mrs. Willsie became the parents of four children:
Maude, the wife of H. Clay Smith, of Galesburg, by whom she has had
two daughters, Loreta and Fern; Wilbur, who died at the age of seven
years; Florence, who is clerking in O. T. Johnson's store; and
Harold, who is still attending school.
Mr. Willsie belongs to Alpha Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and his political
support he accords to the republican party. He is one of the oldest
postal clerks, from the point of years of continuous service, in his
division, and is widely known in Galesburg where he has many
friends, the majority of whom were comrades of his boyhood.
Bottom of page 1128
CHARLES ROBSON
NEELY.
The agricultural interests of Knox county find a worthy
representative in Charles Robson Neely, who is now engaged in
farming in Sparta township. He is one of the native sons of this
locality, having been born May 9, 1849, upon the farm which is now
his home. His father, James Neely, was a native of Cayuga county,
New York, born September 6, 1806. He early began earning his own
livelihood and as a boy drove a horse on the canal. He was about
1031 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY
thirty-two years of age when in 1838 he left the Empire state and
came with his family to Illinois, settling at Log City. Later he
removed to Henderson and was employed at packing pork by J. Gay for
ten years. On the expiration of that period he removed to what is
now the Neely homestead farm, then a tract of wild prairie land
practically destitute of improvements. With characteristic energy he
began to break the sod and till the soil and as the years passed he
converted the place into productive fields which he cultivated up to
the time of his death, on the 27th of June, 1894. It was on November
2, 1836, in New York, that he married Miss Sabrina Arnold, a native
of the Empire state. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. James Neely were
nine children, of whom five are yet living: Mandeville, who is now
retired in Galesburg; Mortimer, who was a soldier of the Civil war
and is now a merchant of Blanchard, Iowa; Hannah, the wife of S. F.
Johnson, now living retired in Galesburg; Lucy, the widow of Dr.
Vivian, of Galesburg; and Charles Robson, of this review. Another
member of the family who reached adult age was Maria.
At the usual age Charles Robson Neely began his education in the
public schools and when his text-books were put aside he devoted all
of his time to the work of the farm, remaining with his parents
until they were called to their final rest. He is busily employed in
the cultivation and development of the fields and is also engaged in
stock-raising on a farm he and his father purchased several years
ago, both branches of his business proving profitable. The farm
presents a neat and attractive appearance, everything about the
place indicating his careful supervision and progressive methods.
On the 5th of October, 1871, Mr. Neely wras united in marriage to
Miss Mary J. DeLong, who was born July 28, 1850, at Center Point
School House, in this county. Her father, Marshall P. DeLong was a
native of Addison county, Vermont, born June 14, 1826, and in 1836,
when a lad of nine years, he came with his parents to Illinois, the
family settling at what was then Log City in Henderson township. For
some time die engaged in teaching school as well as in farming. The
purchase of land made him owner of seventy-seven acres in Sparta
township upon which he resided until 1886, when he took charge of
the county poor farm, there residing to the time of his death, which
occurred in 1892, when he was sixty-six years of age. Fie had been
somewhat prominent in public affairs for many years. For a long
period he had served on the school board and was also postmaster at
Center Point, Illinois. For a quarter of a century he filled the
office of justice of the peace, to which position he was elected in
1S61, his long continuance therein being proof of the thoroughness
and impartiality of his decisions. For many years he held the office
of supervisor and in 1886 he was appointed superintendent of the
Knox county poor farm, which position he filled until his demise.
Fie was also a member of the agricultural board of Knox county for a
number of years and during three years of that time was its
president. In early manhood he had wedded Marv Harding, who was born
April 7, 1831, in the state of New York, a daughter of Jones and
Mary (Rowley) Harding, who removed westward in 1837, settling in
Knox county near Galesburg. Mary Rowley wras born at Westport, New
York, December 20, 1805, and was married to Jones Harding April 21,
1825. Jones Harding was a large land owner of this county and became
one of the prominent farmers of his district. Fie was born at
Rome, New York, December 11, 1799,
1032 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
and died August n, 1896. Marshall P. DeLong was a son of Julius
DeLong, who was a shoemaker and tanner and married Julina Sanford.
Julius DeLong died August 22, 1870, when he was sixty-eight years of
age, and his wife, who was born in 1806, passed away March 6, 1871.
Mr. and Mrs. Marshall P. De-Long were the parents of a son and two
daughters, the brother of Mrs. Neely being Walter DeLong, who is now
in the transfer business in Galesburg. The sister is Hattie, the
wife of Addison Hastie, an attorney of Seattle, Washington. Unto Mr.
and Mrs. Charles R. Neely have been born four children: Arthur M.,
who married Mattie Crandall and is a motorman on the Rock Island
Southern Railway and lives at Monmouth; W. D., who married Henrietta
Newton and is assistant postmaster of Butte, Montana; Cora A., the
wife of Guy D. Root, of Galesburg; and James Ray, who is at home
with his parents.
Charles R. Neely holds membership in Galesburg Camp, No. 667, M. W.
A., and his political support is given to the republican party but
he has never sought nor held political office. He has, however,
served as a member of the school board for fifteen years and is now
acting as its president. His long connection with this office
indicates his deep interest in the cause of education and his
efforts toward advancing the high standard of the schools have been
far-reaching and beneficial. His influence has always been found on
the side of progress and improvement, whether in public affairs or
in private life. The more progressive spirit is manifest in his
business interests and finds tangible evidence in the methods which
he follows in carrying on the work of the farm.
HUGH ENNIS.
Few men who have reached the age of Hugh Ennis are still actively
engaged in business. The great majority prefer to retire but with
him indolence has always been foreign to his nature and he still
gives his attention to business as a dealer in sand. He is today one
of the oldest residents of Galesburg and has witnessed its
development from a village. He was born in County Meath, Ireland, in
1830, a son of William and Nancy (McGovern) Ennis, both of whom were
natives of the Emerald isle. The former was a son of Hugh and Betty
(Killeen) Ennis who were farming people of Ireland, and there reared
their family of five sons and two daughters, William, James, John,
Lawrence, Patrick, Hannah and Margaret. William Ennis also took up
the occupation of farming as- a life work and always remained a
resident of his native land where he died at an advanced age. His
wife, however, passed away in early womanhood in the year 1835. Both
were members of the Catholic church. Their family numbered five
children: Elizabeth, now deceased, who married Patrick Ennis, who,
however, was no relation of the family; Bridget, the deceased wife
of Michael Mooney; Plugh, of this review; Patrick, deceased; and
Mary, who has also passed away.
Hugh Ennis was reared in his native land and acquired his education
there in the parochial schools. He came to America in 1852 and
worked for five months in Brooklyn, New York. He then went to
Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was employed on a construction train on
a railroad extending from Bridge-
1033 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
port to Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The year 1856 witnessed his
arrival in Gales-burg, where he has since made his home. For three
and a half years he was employed in the foundry of J. P. Frost &
Company, after which he began business on his own account as a
dealer in sand, in which line he has since continued. He furnished
sand for all the streets south of Main street from Cherry to the old
Beiderman building, and also for the jail and many of the large
buildings of Galesburg. He has always been accorded a liberal
patronage and his straightforward business methods, promptness in
delivery and his enterprising spirit have constituted the salient
forces of his success.
On the 28th of April, 1858, occurred the marriage of Mr. Ennis and
Miss Margaret Ryan, a daughter of Cornelius and Alice (Ryan) Ryan.
The father died during the early girlhood of Mrs. Ennis and the
mother afterward came to America with her two daughters, settling in
Galesburg where all passed away. The death of Mrs. Ennis occurred
May 28, 1906, when she was sixty-nine years of age. By her marriage
she had become the mother of nine children, six sons and three
daughters: William, who died at the age of forty-two years; Daniel,
who died when about twenty-one years of age; John, at home;
Elizabeth and Alice, both of whom died when but two years old;
Margaret, the wife of Fred Bohnenberger; and three who died in
infancy.
Mr. Ennis has been a life-long communicant of the Catholic church.
He has now reached the age of eighty-one years and yet is a hale and
hearty man, and well preserved mentally. His residence in Galesburg
covers a period of fifty-five years and he has seen it develop from
a small town of little business importance to one of the chief
commercial centers of the state, having important trade and
manufacturing interests. While he has never sought to figure
prominently in any public connection the sterling worth of his
character has gained him the warm regard of those with whom he has
been associated.
WILLIAM ARTHUR
THOMPSON.
Prominent among the industrious and enterprising agriculturists of
Walnut Grove township is William Arthur Thompson, the owner of the
well developed farm which he now cultivates. His birth occurred on
this farm August 4, 1879, his parents being Mr. and Mrs. David
Thompson. David Thompson was born September 11, 1835, in Elkhart,
Indiana, the son of John and Catherine (Livingston) Thompson,
natives of Ohio, who settled in Indiana for a short time and came to
Knox county, Illinois, where they located on a part of what is now
the Thompson farm, near Altona. David Thompson in 1862 enlisted and
served for three years in the Civil war. Being mustered out, he
returned to Altona, where he followed farming and largely engaged in
stock buying until his death on September 11, 1902. In 1868 he
married Catherine Richmond, who was born September 22, 1845, near
Wheeling. West Virginia, and is a daughter of Joseph Richmond and
Susan Thess. She comes of an old family of Virginia, in which state
her grandfather and father followed the occupation of farming, and
the father later entered the ministry of the Methodist church as
circuit rider. William A. Thompson received his early education in
the common school
1034 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
and afterward completed the regular course in the Altona high
school, from which he was graduated previous to his matriculation in
the Gem City Business College at Quincy, in 1899. Thus equipped with
more than an ordinary school training, he returned home to take up
agriculture as his life work. He bought a farm opposite his father's
property and took entire charge of the management of both places,
this being an undertaking which has called for skill, judgment and
constant application. In his general farming pursuits he has made
rapid progress and in stock-raising he has gained more than ordinary
success, having proceeded along well approved scientific lines in
raising registered sheep. His sheep farm is the largest in this
section and is well stocked with recorded pedigree stock.
On the 24th of September, 1903, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage
to Miss Mary E. McMaster, who is the daughter of John McMaster and
whose birth occurred December 12, 1877. John McMaster, a retired
farmer, living now in Altona, was born May 15, 1827, in Sorn,
Ayrshire, Scotland. The family emigrated in 1850 and came down from
Chicago by way of canal to Peoria and by team to Copley township,
where they settled. He followed farming in Walnut Grove township
until 1898, when he retired and is now living in Altona. He married
Lorinda H. Multer, who was born in New York state, May 10, 1832, a
daughter of Joseph and Susan (Becker) Multer, who were of German
descent. She came to Knox county in i860, where she married John
McMaster August 22, 1861. To Mr. and Mrs. William A. Thompson two
children have been born: Helen Augusta, whose birth occurred October
23, 1904; and Mary Maxine, who was born August 7, 1907.
In politics Mr. Thompson is a democrat and has served his party well
by filling the offices of township clerk, clerk of the school board
and judge of election at various campaigns, duties which he
discharged with promptness and fidelity. He and his wife hold
membership in the Presbyterian church. Both Mr. and Mrs. Thompson
are favorably known throughout the township, having gained many
friends during their residence there.
WALTER F. BOYES.
No name is more closely interwoven with the history of the
educational institutions of Knox county than is that of Walter F.
Boyes, who for eighteen years has been connected with the schools as
teacher and superintendent. He was born in Knox county, October 8,
1865, his parents being Robert D. and Emily A. (Bird) Boyes. His
paternal grandfather, Robert Boyes, was a native of England and came
to New York with his family in 1827. Subsequently he removed to
Belleville, Canada, and about 1864 settled in Knox county, Illinois.
His wife was Miss Frances Douglas, who was born in England of Scotch
ancestry. Stephen and Ann Bird, his maternal grandparents, were born
in the north of Ireland and emigrated to Canada while they were
young, subsequently coming to Illinois in 1863. The father was born
in northern New York and the mother in Ontario, Canada, where they
were married. One year after their marriage they removed to Knox
county, arriving here in 1864.
1037 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
Walter F. Boyes acquired his early education in the public schools
of Elm-wood, Illinois. A spirit of thoroughness and diligence was
early manifest and led him constantly forward in his school career.
Recognizing that success is due in largest measure to the individual
and the exercise of his inherent qualities rather than to
environment, Mr. Boyes determined to work his way upward, brooking
no obstacle that could be overcome by persistent and earnest effort.
For more than twenty-five years he has been connected with public
schools as teacher and superintendent. He began teaching because it
seemed the most expedient occupation he could find at the time and
continued it because he found it most congenial and pleasing work.
For four years he was a teacher in the ungraded schools of Peoria
county, for two years served as principal of the Monica public
schools and for three years was principal of the Princeville public
schools and principal of the Yates City high school for eight years
before becoming superintendent of schools of Knox county. Since 1902
he has held this position. That he is industrious, capable and
faithful is indicated by the fact that he has been three times
elected to the office. He is wxatchful of all the details of the
school system and of all indications pointing toward progress and
from the beginning he has had great faith in the ultimate success of
establishing the school system of Knox county, so that it will rank
second to none in the state.
In Princeville, Illinois, in March, 1896, Mr. Boyes was married to
Miss Minnie M. Klinck, a teacher in the schools, and a daughter of
Graham and Sarah (Alexander) Klinck. Pier grandparents were among
the early settlers of Peoria county. Her paternal grandmother died
in Princeville in 1887, at the age of one hundred and five years,
and an aunt, Mrs. Zillah (Klinck) McMurtrie, of Lacon, Illinois,
reached in October, 1911, the age of one hundred years and is still
in good health. Mrs. Klinck, the mother of Mrs. Boyes, is the oldest
person living in Princeville township, who was born there. Mr. and
Mrs. Boyes have two children, Norma Kathleen and Herbert Klinck.
Mr. Boyes' political support is given to the republican party. His
entire . active career has been devoted to pedagogical pursuits and
he has the confidence of those associated with him in school work.
Various honors of a professional nature have come to him, among
these being a service of ten years as member of the Illinois State
Teachers' Reading Circle Board. Geniality, consideration and
kindliness have bound him to his fellowmen and the value of his life
does not consist in the improvement of opportunities for the
attainment of success more than it lies in the attitude which he
maintains toward his fellow citizens and which they in turn hold
toward him. He has been a member of the Masonic order since 1890,
holding membership in the blue lodge and the Royal Arch chapter. In
religious faith he is a Presbyterian.
JOSHUA MAJOR
LAMOREUX.
Dr. Joshua Major Lamoreux is a well known representative of
dentistry in Galesburg and is prominent in the professional circles
where he has been recognized for years as one of the useful men in
the profession in Knox county. He was born in Lehman township,
Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, on the 17th of
1038 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
February, 1842. His parents, Josiah Cease and Ellen (Major)
Lamoreux, were farming people. The mother was born in Yorkshire,
England, and came to America with her parents when she was about
three years of age. The father in addition to carrying on his
agricultural pursuits frequently engaged in carpenter work and at
one time owned and operated a sawmill in Pennsylvania. The family
removed to Ohio in the autumn of i860 and located near Monroe-ville
in Huron county, where Mr. Lamoreux was subsequently engaged in
agricultural pursuits. Family tradition is that the Lamoreux family
came from France, two brothers, Thomas and John, arriving in this
country about the time of the Revolutionary war. They both served in
the American army and were active soldiers until the close of
hostilities. One of these brothers, John, settled in New York state
while the other, Thomas, settled in Jackson township, Luzerne
county, Pennsylvania. It is from this latter branch that Dr.
Lamoreux is descended. The mother's family arrived from England
about 1820. There were eleven children, of whom Mrs. Lamoreux was
the tenth.
Dr. Lamoreux acquired his early education in the schools of Lehman,
Pennsylvania, at the same time giving his father such assistance as
he could in the duties on the farm. He has always been more or less
of a student and was frequently found studying at home. The
opportunities which the district schools in Pennsylvania and
subsequently in Ohio afforded him were meager in that he was able to
take up only the common branches usually taught in country schools.
He continued working on the home farm in Ohio until he enlisted in
Company A of the Hoffman Battalion Prison Guard at Johnson's Island,
Ohio, for service in the Civil war. His enlistment took place in
December, 1862, and he served for two years and three months. The
Hoffman Battalion was later recruited to a full regiment known as
the One LIundred and Twenty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Dr.
Lamoreux was mustered out of service at Columbus, Ohio, in the
spring of 1865. In the summer of that year he removed to Oneida,
Illinois, and entered the service of the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy Railroad Company. He was first made night watchman and caller
with headquarters in the baggage room. Being eager to advance and
having an apt mind, he learned telegraphy during his leisure hours,
having obtained permission from Mr. W. H. Flail, who was at that
time superintendent of the telegraph department. For. about two
years Dr. Lamoreux was employed at different stations on the
railroad and was later made traveling operator with headquarters at
Galesburg. Subsequently he served as train dispatcher and was thus
employed for about twenty years. In 1892, however, he severed his
connections with the railroad company in order to devote more time
to the practice of dentistry. Early in his career he had taken up
for a short time the study of dentistry in the offices of the late
Dr. J. A. W. Davis, of Galesburg. At that time the law did not
require a regular course as obligatory to enter into the profession
and he began to practice in the state of Illinois, opening his first
office in Oneida in 1877. He would go to Oneida in the morning,
returning in the early evening to be ready for his work in the
railroad office. Early in the summer of 1878 he removed his dental
offices to Galesburg, and has since been practicing in this city,
obtaining, about 1882, as soon as a law was passed to that effect,
his registration as a dentist. In his practice he has met with
excellent success, being recognized as one of the able members in
the profession in Galesburg. That his labors have been attended
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 1030, Illinois
with gratifying results when viewed from a professional standpoint
is indicated by his constantly increasing patronage which comes from
the best class of citizens.
In Oneida, February 20, 1869, Dr. Lamoreux was married to Miss Amy
Jane Tracy. To their union five children have been born, four of
whom survive, namely: Daisy Louise, who is married to Frank G.
Matteson, of Galesburg; Olive Ellen, who is the wife of Samuel J.
Hoffheimer, of Decatur, Illinois; Mabel Jane, who is married to
Clement Whittier, of Webster Groves, Missouri; and Philip Major, who
is residing in Kalispell, Montana, and who married Helen Hill, of
Galesburg. The first son, Frederick Tracy, has passed away.
In politics Dr. Lamoreux was a republican when he cast his first
vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. He voted for Grant, Hayes,
Garfield and Harrison, but in 1896 changed his political
affiliations and has since cast his vote for the candidates of the
democracy. He holds membership in the Soangetaha Club.
SWAN PETERSON.
Among the public-spirited and enterprising citizens that Sweden has
contributed to Knoxville must be numbered Swan Peterson, who during
the fifty-nine years of his residence here has always taken an
active interest in promoting and advancing the development of the
community. He is not only one of the pioneer settlers but he was one
of the early school teachers, and he also established one of the
first grocery stores which he conducted for twenty years, and
although for some years he has been living retired he has not lost
his interest in public affairs.
His birth occurred on the 27th of September, 1827, and he is a son
of Peter and Bodel (Johnson) Peterson, both of whom passed their
entire lives in Sweden, where the mother died in 1843 an<^ tne
father in 1863. Their family consisted of five sons and two
daughters, of whom our subject, who is the eldest and Bengt, the
youngest, who is living in Lee county, Illinois, are the only two
now surviving. Those deceased are: Christina, John, Nels, Hannah and
Ola.
Swan Peterson was reared in his native land where he was given the
advantages of a good education. He began his career as a teacher in
the schools of Sweden, continuing to follow this profession for
several years. Early recognizing that the future held little
prospect of his attaining a position commensurate with his abilities
he decided to seek new opportunities in the United States and in
1852 crossed the Atlantic to the new world. He landed in New York
city, after spending twenty-one days on the ocean, and came directly
west, stopping for a time in Chicago and Peoria, this state, after
which he came to Knoxville. During the first two years of his
residence here Mr. Peterson worked on the Chicago, Burlington &
Ouincy Railroad, devoting all of his spare time to perfecting his
knowledge of English. At the expiration of that period he obtained a
position in one of the district schools, and followed teaching
during the winter months of 1855-56 and 57, and in the summer
peddled merchandise in the country. By exercising thrift and
self-denial he managed to accumulate sufficient money to enable him
to embark in business and in
1040 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
1859 he opened a grocery store in Knoxville, that he successfully
operated for twenty years. He then withdrew from commercial
activities and went into the insurance business, which he followed
until his retirement. Mr. Peterson has always been very loyal to his
fellow countrymen and has taken a deep interest in their welfare,
and it is largely due to his efforts that the first Swedish school
was established here.
In Knoxville, on the 10th of February, 1855, Mr. Peterson was united
in marriage to Miss Bengta Nelson, who was born and reared in
Sweden, where her parents always lived. She emigrated to the United
States, in 1854 settling in Knoxville, and here she passed away on
the 2d of January, 1896. Eight children were born unto Mr. and Mrs.
Peterson, all but three of whom are now deceased. Matilda, who is
the eldest, lives at home. Emma, the next in order of birth, married
Nels Larson, who is connected with the grocery of N. Peterson, of
Knoxville. Nicholas, who is engaged in the grocery business in
Knoxville, married Elizabeth Fielding and they have two children,
Herbert and Inez.
Mr. Peterson is affiliated with the Swedish Evangelical church, in
which his wife also held membership, and in politics he is a
republican. He cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, and has ever
since given his unqualified support to the men and measures of that
party. One of the most striking characteristics of Mr. Peterson is
his intense loyalty, particularly in matters of citizenship, as at
all times he has manifested a deep interest in the welfare of the
community toward the development of which he has contributed his
full quota, through his cooperation and endorsement of every
progressive measure. He was one of the founders of the Old Settlers
Society and has held the offices of both president and secretary of
this organization, in the annual meetings of which he takes an
enthusiastic interest. Although Mr. Peterson in all probability has
not realized the dreams of his early manhood in America, he has
never had occasion to regret the transference of his allegiance to
this country, as he has met with a fair degree of prosperity and is
now able to spend his latter days in ease and comfort.
MRS. FRANCES BARRY.
Mrs. Frances Barry, for fifty-nine years a resident of Knox county,
is the widow of James Barry, a wealthy farmer, who was for many
years extensively engaged in stock-raising and later retired. A
native of Sommersetshire, England, born on March 8, 1845, sne was a
daughter of George and Elizabeth (Wagland) Edwards. When she was
seven years of age her parents came to America locating in Ontario
township, Knox county, Illinois, where her father rented a farm and
engaged in agricultural pursuits. When he had become sufficiently
acclimated and had decided upon Knox county as his permanent home he
bought what is known in the vicinity as the old John Tate farm,
which he developed and operated. There he died at the age of
seventy-nine; his wife passing away at the age of sixty-five. They
were the parents of twelve children, of whom eight are now living.
These are: Elizabeth, the widow of James Main, residing
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 1045, Illinois
in Oneida; George, living in Boise City, Idaho; Frances, the subject
of this biography; Edwin, in Cambridge, Nebraska; Albert, a horseman
in Chicago; William, in Nebraska; and Lucy and her sister Mary, both
widows living on the old homestead in Ontario township, Knox county,
Illinois.
Mrs. Barry came of an old family of the substantial English
yeomanry. Her paternal grandparents were George and Elizabeth
Edwards and her maternal grandparents were John and Mary Wagland.
When nineteen years old Frances Edwards was united in marriage to
James Barry the ceremony being performed on December 15, 1864. Mr.
Barry was a native of Limerick, Ireland, born in August, 1838. When
nineteen years of age he came to America hoping to find broader
fields for his activities and larger opportunities open to an
ambitious young man. At the very outset, on landing in New York, he
met with a very disheartening experience. Bent on finding his aunt,
who was living in the city, he walked forty blocks through the
streets of New York only to find his aunt's family and their home
under quarantine for small-pox. He left his luggage with them,
however, and went elsewhere to find a lodging for the night. In the
morning when he returned, he found that every vestige of his
possessions had been burned during his absence. With one dollar in
his pocket he set out and, working his way westward, he arrived at
length in Ontario township, Knox county, Illinois. Here he worked
for seven years at fourteen dollars a month, out of which he saved
enough to enable him to marry and buy a farm of eighty acres. Many
of his sterling qualities which made his rise possible, his splendid
initiative, his undaunted courage and his tireless industry, were
inherited from his sturdy stock of ancestors. His father, who
remained in the enjoyment of all his faculties until his death at
the age of ninety-three, was John Barry, a farmer, son of James
Barry. His mother, whose maiden name was Mary Healey, was a daughter
of Patrick Healey.
James Barry proved to be a very efficient farmer meeting with much
success in his career. Besides general farming he raised stock to a
considerable extent and traded in land, buying and selling farms. He
bought the farm of three hundred and seventy acres, which he
cultivated, in 1884, and left at his death a thousand acres of fine
farm land in Knox county. He passed away November 17, 1910. In his
religious faith he was a Catholic and in his political allegiance he
was an ardent democrat, and represented his district as delegate in
all the conventions of his party. Fie was one of the school
directors for fourteen years and worked earnestly to assist the
community in its desire to improve educational facilities. Mrs.
Frances Barry lives in retirement, cherishing her husband's memory
and continuing his spirit of helpfulness in her relations with the
community in which she lives. The following children were born to
Mr. and Mrs. Barry. John W., married to Julia Bierderman, lives in
Chicago, Illinois. George H., married to Ida Bradley, is a farmer in
Knox county. He is the father of two children, Lloyd and Georgiana.
Lilly C, the widow of George Rockwell, of Galesburg, is the mother
of one child, Frances. Mary E. is the wife of James Barry, retired,
living in Galesburg. Lucy, the wife of H. Welsh, a farmer of Knox
county, is the mother of three children, Morris, Frances, and
Florence. Winefred, the wife of Charles Welsh, a farmer in Sparta
township, has one child, Anna May. Morris J., married to Blanche
McDermott, is the father of one child, James. He is living at home.
1016 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
Mrs. Frances Barry is an active worker in the Catholic church at
Wataga, where she has a large circle of friends who hold her in high
esteem. Devoted to her children and grandchildren her life is a full
and happy one and she finds her true delight in the service of those
who are dear to her.
WILLIAM EDWIN WEST.
William Edwin West, the mayor of Yates City, is a grain dealer and
operates a grain elevator, being the successor to M. W. Thomson from
whom he bought the business in November, 1905. Lie was born in this
town July 10, 1876, his parents being Isaac N. and Eliza Ann (Mason)
West, both natives of Ohio who came to Knox county when children
accompanying their parents hither. Passing his childhood days in
Salem township, William Edwin West obtained his early education in
the common schools of this locality and later attended high school
at Yates City and Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois, after
which he prepared himself for a business career by taking a
commercial course at the Quincy Business College. The first position
that he obtained was as bookkeeper for a firm in Chicago and after
remaining there for two years he found another position at an
increased salary. Two years later he returned to Yates City and has
resided here ever since. He is one of the able business men of the
town, being wide-awake and full of well directed energy, capable of
aiding in the promotion of the public welfare as well as attending
to his private interests. He has served as alderman of Yates City,
being elected on the republican ticket, and in August, 1911, was
appointed mayor of the city to finish out the unexpired term of
former mayor, L. A. Lawrens, who resigned. Although the period since
assuming the responsibilities of his office is a brief one, Mr. West
has already given sufficient proof of the fact that, as a public
official occupying the position of highest honor accorded by the
administration of a municipality to any of its citizens, he is
thoroughly reliable and consicentious in the performance of his
duties, having only the best interests of the community at heart.
In 1899 Mr. West was united in marriage to Miss Vena Ewalt, a
daughter of J. M. and Ella Ewalt of Yates City, the mother being
deceased. Fraternally Mr. West is associated with the Masonic Lodge
of Yates City, in which he holds the office of secretary. In
politics he is a republican and always gives his active and helpful
cooperation to every measure designed to advance the interests of
the people for their moral and material good.
JAMES W. NEALE.
A very notable record of service in the Civil war was made by James
W. Neale, for many years a carpenter in Victoria, Copley township,
who has the distinction of having been in forty-nine engagements
without receiving a wound. To be so favored by fortune at the outset
of one's career is a good omen which, in Mr. Neale's case, has in
the main been borne out in the many years that followed.
1047 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
Born in Springfield, Illinois, October 20, 1840, he is a son of John
M. and Celia A. (Wilson) Neale, the former a native of Boonville,
Kentucky, and the latter of Virginia. The grandfather, James Neale,
was a noted planter in Virginia and the grandmother, whose maiden
name was Martha March, was directly descended from the famous
Scottish Earl of March. John M. Neale, the father of James W. Neale,
was born in 1807. He was educated in the public schools of Kentucky
and after his father's death attended medical school at Lexington,
Kentucky, receiving his M. D. degree from that institution. Later he
enlisted in the Fourth U. S. Corps of Dragoons. During the Indian
war he served as second sergeant, his company being engaged chiefly
with the Comanche Indians. Upon receiving his discharge he settled
in Springfield, Illinois, and there met Abraham Lincoln with whom he
became fast friends. Together they were commissioned to survey Logan
county. James W. Neale was only a baby when the family lived in
Springfield, where they remained two years but in after years he was
often told by his elders of their next-door neighbors, the Lincoln
family, and how the great man had many times dandled him on his
knees. The Neales then removed to Athens, Illinois, and there Dr.
Neale practiced medicine during the years 1839 and 1840. From there
he went to Troy, Knox county, and after a year took up his residence
and practiced in Abingdon, where he remained until 1848. From 1848
to 1856 he practiced in Moore county, coming at the end of this time
to Victoria where he lived until his death in 1885, at the age of
seventy-eight years, continuing in the exercise of his profession
till the last. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and
joined the Masonic lodge at Keithsburg, Illinois. His widow is still
living, being now in her ninety-second year and the oldest woman
residing in this part of the county. She makes her home with her
son, James W. Neale, and not infrequently calls back memories of the
early days in the history of Illinois when her father, Jesse Wilson,
came from Virginia to this state and settled in Sangamon county.
James W. Neale obtained his schooling in Illinois and at the age of
twenty was prepared to enter college, when the war broke out and,
becoming enthusiastic, he enlisted from Victoria, Illinois, in
Captain Clayton Hall's company at Knoxville. lie was the first man
on the roll after Giles Cook, who enlisted in Knox county when the
first rally call was made for service and was introduced as the
first volunteer when the people met to cheer the soldiers. His
company was not assigned, however, and therefore he enlisted in
Knoxville county, Company D, First Illinois Regulars, commanded by
Captain J. B. Smith serving under General Fremont. They departed for
Missouri and there on September 20, 1861, he was captured in the
battle at Lexington. He was discharged on parole by special order
July 14, 1862, and was recalled to drill the company regulars under
Captain Carr of Peoria. Later he came to Victoria, Illinois, and
reenlisted in the Ninth Illinois Cavalry, Company K, at Camp Butler
and was detailed as sergeant major. He joined his regulars at
Memphis at the close of the war when the reorganization of the
government of Alabama was taking place, and soon after retired to
his home in Victoria. Desirous of continuing his interrupted
education, he now entered business college at Monmouth, Illinois,
and upon completing the course engaged in the mercantile business at
Victoria.
1048 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
He remained in this until 1872 when his establishment was entirely
destroyed by fire. For the following three years he engaged in the
manufacture of brushes and at the end of this time took up
carpentering, working at this occupation until the present time.
In 1869 the marriage of James W. Neale and Lydia J. Finch occurred.
She was born October 30, 1848, in Stark county, Illinois, and was a
daughter of Louis and Harriet (Wittier) Finch of Ohio. Three
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. James W. Neale: Frank, living in
North Dakota, who has one child, Kenneth M.; William Arthur, a city
contractor and builder in Los Angeles, California; and Nina E., the
wife of W. A. Stubbins, who lives in Los Angeles, California, and
has one child, Richard C.
Mr. and Mrs. Neale are devoted members of the Congregational church,
in which they take great interest as well as in its affiliated
societies. Mr. Neale is an aggressive prohibitionist and is a strong
adherent of his party. He maintains relations with his comrades of
the great war through his membership in Victoria Post, No. 698, G.
A. R. He is a man of sterling qualities, though unobtrusive in
manner, letting his actions speak for him, instead of proclaiming
his own virtues. He is a man of worth and character, gentle and
kind, and has many warm friends.
MR. and MRS.
DAWSON BURGESS ELLIOTT.
Among the respected citizens and representative agriculturists of
Knox county must be numbered the late Burgess Elliott who, with the
aid of his good wife, and by industry, frugality, and enterprise
acquired a farm of two hundred and fifty acres in Victoria township
together with a very comfortable home and valuable business property
in Williamsfield.
The parents of Burgess Elliott were Thomas, a native of Ohio, born
November 8, 1812, and Hannah (Reece) Elliott, a native of South
Carolina, born March 14, 1818. They were married in Ohio, December
16, 1835, and the next year they came overland, by wagon, there
being no railroads here at that time, and settled in Persifer
township. They were especially attracted to this part of western
Illinois which was then little known, by the glowing accounts of the
beauties of the country and of the fertility of it's soil brought
back to Ohio by an older brother of Thomas Elliott. A few years
previous this brother had visited Illinois and returned to Ohio on
horseback. He reported that when near the Illinois river he had
frozen his legs nearly to his body and had been kept all winter and
nursed back to health by the Indians of a village near where Peoria
now stands. Thomas Elliott, like most of the pioneers, located in a
timbered country near a stream for the conveniences of those two
great necessities, wood and water. From Persifer township he removed
to Victoria township in 1856, remaining there until he moved to
Missouri in 1868. There he died May 30, 1882, and his wife followed
him October 21, 1901. The paternal family consisted of fourteen
children, six of whom are still living. They are George W. Elliott,
Mrs. Elizabeth Robinson, and Mrs. Hannah Fields, all of whom now
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 1051, Illinois
reside in Knox county; and Mrs. Samantha Labar, Mrs. Sarah Marley,
and Thomas Elliott, who are now living in Missouri.
Burgess Elliott was the oldest of the children, being born in
Persifer township August 7, 1837. In the days of his boyhood people
existed with less of the necessities and very few of the luxuries of
the present time. Educational advantages were very limited, there
being no public schools. As more settlers came in, neighborhood
schools were organized, each patron paying in proportion to the
number of pupils sent. These schools were far between and lasted but
a few months in a year. They were held in log buildings in which the
old-fashioned fireplace served as heating system. The furniture
consisted of puncheon benches on which the pupils sat. These benches
were made by splitting out logs similar to slabs of the present day.
To complete them the flat side was made as smooth as possible and on
the opposite side four holes were bored to receive legs of a
suitable length. Among these surroundings Burgess Elliott spent his
youth and gained the rudiments of his early education. In those
early days the cultivation of flax for weaving into cloth came next
to the raising of grain for food. The old loom with which the mother
of Burgess Elliott wove the material to clothe her large family was
in use in Victoria township until 1905. There is still some of this
cloth in the family after over fifty years of use.
There was great rejoicing in the early '50s when it was learned that
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was to be built through
Knox county. Thomas Elliott was among the early ones to profit by
its coming, he having taken a contract to supply several thousand
ties to be delivered between Galva and Altona. At this time Burgess
was too young to cut and hew ties but he did his part in delivering
them. There were few roads and no bridges then, so that teams
hauling across the prairies encountered many difficulties. Whenever
a miry creek or swampy place was reached the line of wagons stopped
and each man took a tie from his load and carried it forward to
improvise a bridge. When all had crossed they loaded up their ties
and continued on their journey. Burgess Elliott remained at home and
assisted his parents until he was twenty-seven years of age. During
the winter he worked in the timber, from whence, by the aid of the
ax and other simple implements, the pioneers derived their
furniture, building material, and other household and farm
necessities. He devoted the warmer months to agricultural labors,
especially to breaking prairie. This he accomplished with oxen,
sometimes driving four yoke of oxen to his breaking plow. He was
married June 14, 1865, to Achsah Ann Rue, who was born in Indiana,
March 29, 1846.
Mrs. Achsah Ann (Rue) Elliott was the daughter of Michael Rue, a
native of Pennsylvania, and Mary (Fudger) Rue, a native of Ohio. The
immediate family consisted of three girls, Lucy, Hannah and Achsah,
who was the youngest. The mother died when Achsah was an infant and
the father followed in 1855. Thus the children were early deprived
of the care and comforts of a home. They were separated and changed
from place to place, Achsah living in Indiana for a while and then
in Ohio. At the age of sixteen she came to Knox county, Illinois,
with a half-sister, Sarah Rhodes, who engaged in school teaching in
Victoria township in the earlv '6os.
Mr. and Mrs. Burgess Elliott were the parents of four children;
William Burgess, born May 20, 1866; Charles Wesley, born June 19,
1867; and Hannah
1052 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
and Mary, who died in infancy. William B. Elliott married Jannette
Armstrong, November 14, 1888. To this union were born six children,
Jennie Achsah, William Burgess, Edward Rue, Robert Montgomery,
Charles Rolland (deceased), and John Kenneth. William B. Elliott and
family now live on the old family homestead in Victoria township.
Charles W. Elliott was married to Marie Johnson, September 5, 1894.
They are the parents of three children, Virgil Donovan, Marie Achsah,
and Maude Arsula. Charles W. Elliott and family live at 89 Arnold
street, Galesburg, Illinois.
Burgess Elliott and wife felt keenly the lack of educational
advantages that surrounded their early days and for that reason they
desired to provide amply for the education of their children.
Accordingly, W. B. Elliott entered Lombard College in 1887,
remaining there until the winter of 1888. Later he entered the State
Normal University at Normal, Illinois, from which school he was
graduated in 1893. Charles W. Elliott entered Lombard College in
1888 and was graduated from that institution in June 1892. In 1893
ne received the degree of M. S. from this school. Later he took up
the study of law and enrolled with the American Correspondence
School of Law, receiving his diploma in 1911.
Mr. and Mrs. Burgess Elliott remained on the farm until the fall of
1895 when they moved to Williamsfield to occupy a new home which
they had purchased there. Here Burgess Eliott spent the remainder of
his life, having died April 7, 1908. Mrs. Elliott now lives here,
still retaining in a large measure that characteristic fortitude,
perserverance, and congeniality which so materially aided her
husband through all the years of their married life. The religious
faith of Mr. and Mrs. Elliott was manifested through the Methodist
Episcopal church, and in political matters Mr. Elliott was generally
in support of the principle of the republican party, his first
presidential vote having been cast for Abraham Lincoln. Lie always
took an active interest in national and local political matters. He
never aspired to political preferment, although he held several
minor offices, the duties of which he discharged with that degree of
efficiency which characterized all his undertakings in life. A man
of clean judgment, high principles, and progressive spirit, he
contributed his quota toward promoting the community welfare along
the highest lines of citizenship.
JOHN THOMAS
DICKINSON.
John Thomas Dickinson, one of Abingdon's prominent citizens and
foremost business men, is the general manager of the Dickinson Drug
Company, which conducts two stores in Abingdon and one at Knoxville.
His birth occurred in Oneida, Illinois, on the 1st of September,
1876, his parents being John Thomas and Elvira (Cleveland)
Dickinson, the former a native of Binghamton, New York, and the
latter of Griggsville, Illinois. Their marriage was celebrated in
Abingdon, where John T. Dickinson, Sr., was president of the college
for a number of years.
John Thomas Dickinson, Jr., was reared under the parental roof and
pursued his.education in the public schools until he was graduated
from the high school
1053 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Subsequently he attended the Iowa Wesleyan
College at Mount Pleasant, from which institution he was graduated
with the class of 1897, winning the degree of Bachelor of Science.
He then returned to Abing-don and began the study of pharmacy in the
drug store of F. P. Foltz, there remaining for three years. In 1900
he went to Des Moines, Iowa, there securing a position as clerk in
the house of representatives. While employed in that capacity he
completed his pharmaceutical studies, passed the required
examination and in 1900 was given his certificate as a graduate
pharmacist in Iowa. In the spring of 1901 he again returned to
Abingdon and passed another examination, receiving his Illinois
certificate as a registered pharmacist in June of that year. For a
year following he clerked for Drs. Creel and Dickinson in the drug
store at this place. In 1902, in association with Dr. Dickinson, he
purchased Dr. Creel's interest in the business and organized the
Dickinson Drug Company, under which style the enterprise has since
been conducted. In March, 1909, they established a branch at
Knoxville, this county, and in December, 1910, purchased the
opposition drug store in Abingdon. In December, 1909, in partnership
with M. R. Hunter, Mr. Dickinson opened a drug store in Avon, Fulton
county, which is conducted under the name of the Flunter Drug
Company. He is a man of keen discrimination and sound judgment and
his executive ability and excellent management have brought to the
concerns with which he is connected a large degree of success.
In October, 1907, Mr. Dickinson was united in marriage to Miss Rose
Mc-Clure, a teacher in the public schools of Abingdon, by whom he
has one child, Leanna Grace. Fie gives his political allegiance to
the republican party and belongs to the following organizations:
Abingdon Lodge, No. 185, A. F. & A. <M.; Abingdon Lodge, No. 373, K.
P.; and Abingdon Lodge, No. 194, I. O. O. F. His religious faith is
indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, to
which his wife also belongs. They are people of the highest
respectability, enjoying in large measure the friendship of those
with whom they have been brought in contact, and well directed
activity has gained Mr. Dickinson a creditable place in business
circles.
WILLIAM D. GODFREY.
William D. Godfrey, a member of the Galesburg bar, who since 1893,
nas Prac-ticed continuously in this city and is now accorded a large
and distinctively representative clientage, was born near Roseville,
Warren county, Illinois, August 11, 1867. The family was founded in
this state at any early period in its development, his grandparents,
Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Godfrey, having been farming people of Warren
county, where they spent their last days. Their family numbered two
sons and four daughters, including David C. Godfrey, the father of
William D. Godfrey. Fie was born in Indiana and on starting out in
life took up the occupation of farming, to which he had been reared.
Later he turned his attention to merchandising. Fie married Miss
Nancy M. Kretzinger, a native of Ohio, who in her girlhood days went
to Warren county, with her parents, Rev. Isaac Kretzinger and wife,
who lived there for some time and afterward in Knoxville, while
subsequently they became residents of Latham, Logan county, where
1054 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
they died when well advanced in years. Their family numbered three
sons and two daughters, George W., Joseph, William, Nancy M. and
Sarah.
Unto David C. and Nancy M. Godfrey there were born five children;
William D.; Nellie, who married L. E. Payne and resides in
Galesburg; August J., of Kansas City, Kansas; David C, Jr., of New
Orleans, Louisiana; and Nae D., of Kansas City, Kansas. It was some
years after their marriage that the parents removed to Missouri
settling near Kirksville, and the father now makes his home in
Kansas City, Kansas, where he is living retired. Both he and his
wife are members of the Methodist church and are ever loyal to their
professions. Mr. Godfrey is a veteran of the Civil war, having for
three years served as a member of the Eighty-third Illinois
Infantry. On one occasion he was wounded in battle. After the war he
returned to his father's farm and subsequently took up his abode on
a farm near Kirksville, Missouri.
William D. Godfrey spent his youth in Missouri and attended the
public schools of Kirksville, and Green City, being graduated from
the high school in the latter place and also from the Green City
College. Later he attended the Kirksville State Normal School, and
seven terms he engaged in teaching, proving a capable educator
because of his ability to impart clearly, readily and concisely to
others the knowledge that he had acquired. He then took up the study
of law in the Northern Indian Law School at Valparaiso and was
graduated in 1893. He was then admitted to the bar and began
practicing in Galesburg in 1893, since which time he has here
followed his profession. He prepares his cases with great
thoroughness and care, and his careful analysis enables him to
present in logical form the salient points bearing upon his cause.
He is also seldom, if ever, at fault in the citation of principle or
precedent and his ability is manifest in the many favorable verdicts
which he has won.
On the 6th of September, 1904, Mr. Godfrey was married to Miss M.
Ada Bubb, a daughter of General J. W. Bubb. They have three
children, Helen, Mary Ada and William D. The parents are members of
the Christian church and Mr. Godfrey also belongs to the Vesper
Lodge, F. & A. M.; Galesburg Chapter, R. A. M.; Galesburg Commandery,
No. 8, K. T.; the Galesburg Club and the Soangetaha Country Club. In
his life professional activity and social and recreative interests
have maintained an even balance that has made him a valued citizen,
and his public spirit has all times prompted his support of the
projects and plans for the public good.
EDWARD P. ROBSON.
Edward P. Robson, who is intimately connected with the agricultural
and financial interests of Knox county, was born on January 5, 1875.
^e ^s tne grandson of John Robson, who was born near Newcastle, in
Northumberland county, England, and who was married to Mary Brown,
and he is a son of William Robson, whose birth occurred in
Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, on the 5th of September, 1831, and who
came to America with his parents when a young man. They located
first at Beaver Point, Pennsylvania, and in the spring of 1850
removed to Knox county, near Rio. After his marriage he
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 1057, Illinois
purchased his present homestead near Wataga and afterward engaged in
stock-raising and general farming. William Robson was twice married.
His first union was to Miss Jane Goff, who was a daughter of Louis
Goff*, one of the early settlers of Rio township. To this union
three children were born, one of whom survives, Cora Alice. Mrs.
Robson passed away in 1867. Mr. Robson's second union occurred in
1871 to Mary E. Gordon, who was born in Victoria, Knox county,
November 7, 1847, and was a daughter of Peter Gordon, a native of
Scotland, who came to America when a young man and settled at
Peoria, where he was employed for three years at six dollars per
month. Later, in 1841, he removed to Victoria and was engaged in
agricultural pursuits throughout his life. He was married to Miss
Mary A. McDowell, who was a daughter of John McDowell, who came to
America in 1838, going directly to Knox county. Mrs. Gordon, who had
been previously married to William Tate, died in 1900, at the age of
eighty-six years. Mrs. Robson is at present sixty-nine years of age
and is residing at the home of her son, E. P. Robson, who was the
second of three children born to his parents, the others being:
Gordon, deceased; and Henry Stewart, whose birth occurred May 18,
1892, and who is residing with his brother. Mrs. Robson is a
graduate of the North Western Normal School of Ohio and is a member
of the Congregational church of Wataga and of its Ladies' Aid and
Missionary Society. Mr. Robson, whose death occurred January 10,
1901, was one of the organizers of the Galesburg National Bank and
at the time of his death was serving in the capacity of vice
president. In politics he gave his support to the republican party
and was one of its active members, among the offices to which he had
been elected being that of school director for several years, of
highway commissioner for two terms and member of the county board of
supervisors for twenty-one years.
Edward P. Robson attended the common schools in his youth and at the
age of thirteen years entered Knox College for a three years'
course, after which he graduated from Brown's Business College in
1895. Having thus completed his education, he returned home and
undertook the management of his father's farm because of the
latter's ill health. In addition to general farming he also engaged
in stock-raising and in both lines met with immediate success. But
he has also interested himself in other undertakings, among these
being the Western Tool Works of Galesburg, in which he became
interested in 1905 and which is now principally owned by him and
known as the Robson Manufacturing Company of Galesburg. Three years
previous he and his brother opened the Bank of Wataga, at Wataga,
and he has since served in the capacity of president. His success in
this financial undertaking was so great that, in 1905, he opened
the Victoria Exchange Bank of Victoria and has always acted as
its president and since his father's death has filled the vacancy
caused thereby in the directorate of the Galesburg National Bank.
Mr. Robson has always had the support and confidence of the
residents of his community and under his able management these banks
have become solid financial institutions. Their policies have ever
been such as to commend them to the public and Mr. Robson has always
surrounded himself with such men as officers that are well-known for
their reliability and trustworthiness.
In 1899 ^r- Robson was married to Miss Helen McCall Sisson. She was
born November 27, 1871, near Galesburg. in Henderson township, and
is a
1058 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
daughter of Henry M. and Elizabeth (.Miller) Sisson, the former
deceased and the latter, who is seventy-three years of age, a
resident of Galesburg. They have become the parents of two children:
William Henry, born February 10, 1902; and Mary Elizabeth, whose
birth occurred on the 29th of July, 1907.
In politics Mr. Robson gives active support to the republican party.
Fie has served as a member of the board of supervisors for nine
years, since 1903 has been a member of the township school board and
has been a delegate to state conventions. In religious faith he is a
Congregationalist and Mrs. Robson also holds membership in the
Congregational church of Wataga. They are both active in its various
departments, Mrs. Robson being at present president of the Ladies'
Aid Society and her husband is acting as church treasurer. In
fraternal circles Mr. Robson is equally prominent, holding
membership in Wataga Lodge, No. 291, A. F. & A. M.; Oneida Chapter,
R. A. M.; Galesburg Commandery, K. T.; and Mohammed Temple of the
Mystic Shrine. lie also belongs to the Galesburg Lodge of Elks and
the Galesburg Business Men's Club. Mr. Robson is constantly working
for the industrial, commercial, financial and social development of
his district and high regard is tendered him by reason of business
enterprise and integrity and his sterling personal worth.
CHARLES B. PENN.
For twenty years Charles B. Penn has been engaged in bricklaying and
plastering in Galesburg, and during much of this time has carried on
business on his own account as a contractor, his success being due
to the fact that he is energetic, industrious and reliable. He was
born in Kirton-Lindsay, Lincolnshire, England, August 11, 1853. His
father, Thomas Penn, a native of England, came to America in 1857
and one year later brought his wife and family to the new world. He
was a shoemaker by trade, and upon his arrival here immediately
secured employment in the town of Knoxville, where he has since made
his home. He began learning his trade when but seven years of age
and followed it continuously until about ten years ago when he
retired. He is now nearly eighty-six years of age and enjoys very
good health for one of his years. Indolence and idleness are utterly
foreign to his nature, and while he no longer engages in shoemaking,
he does give considerable attention to the cultivation of
strawberries, and has as fine a garden of that fruit as anyone in
the town. He is known by all the citizens of Knoxville, and is held
in the highest respect. Throughout the county, too, he has a wide
acquaintance, and his well spent life has gained him warm regard. He
married Susan Oglesby, an English lady, who was also a native of
Lincolnshire. After her husband came to America she remained in
England with the family until 1858, when Mr. Penn felt convinced it
would be advantageous to establish his home in the United States and
made plans for his family to come here. Like her husband, Mrs. Penn
was well known in Knoxville where she passed away in 1910. In their
family were three children, a daughter and two sons, namely: Eliza,
who became the wife of Isaac Gumm of Knoxville, and is now a widow
living in that place; Charles B., of this review; and Henry, who was
a resident of Knoxville but is now deceased.
Charles B. Penn was about six years of age when brought to the
United
1059 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
States by his mother, so practically his entire life has been spent
in Knox county. He attended the public schools, and as soon as old
enough to work secured a position as a farm hand in the vicinity of
his father's home. For a quarter of a century he followed the
occupation of farming and during part of that time was engaged in
the business on his own account. At the expiration of that period he
turned his attention to bricklaying and plastering, which trades he
has now followed through two decades, being still active in this
work. He is a member of Bricklayers' Union No. 12.
Mr. Penn was married at Knoxville, Illinois, June 30, 1876, to Miss
Ella Ingle, a daughter of Asa and Elizabeth (Bershire) Ingle, of
Knoxville. They are the parents of three children: Elvira, now the
wife of Bert Bunker, a well known shoe merchant of Galesburg; Hazel,
who is married to Lloyd McCulluck, an employe of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad, residing in Galesburg; and Edythe, who
is at home.
In all the years of his residence in Knox county, Mr. Penn has
enjoyed the respect and good-will of his fellowmen. Whatever success
he has achieved is due to his own labors, and his life has been a
busy and useful one. He has not sought to figure prominently in any
public connection, being content to faithfully perform his duties
day by day in his relations of citizenship to his country and in his
relations as a man among his fellowmen.
Mr. Penn is the proud possessor of a very unique table. It is
entirely his own work and was done during leisure hours, mostly by
lamp-light. The table contains two hundred and ninety pieces of
wood, all visible and many of them having a historic record. It
contains pieces of handsome black walnut from one of the pioneer
residences of Galesburg, white oak from remains of the first jail in
Knox county, built in 1832, and from the first courthouse, built in
1831. In the center of the beautiful inlaid top appears a star made
from wood cut from the oak tree under which Pemberton surrendered to
General Grant, July 4, 1863, with thirty-three thousand men.
C. H. UPP.
C. Ii. Upp, who engages in general farming and stockraising in Haw
Creek township, of which he has been the supervisor since April,
1910, was born in the township where he now resides on the 15th of
December, 1866. His father, W. C. Upp, was born and reared in
Highland county, Ohio, the son of Milton and Karlitha Upp. The
grandfather passed away in the Buckeye state, after which his widow
with five sons and two daughters removed to Knox county, Illinois,
where she resided for a number of years. For his wife W. C. Upp
chose Miss Emily Sherman, a native of Haw Creek township and a
daughter of Isaac and Eliza Sherman. After their marriage they
located on a farm in Haw Creek township, but subsequently removed to
Persifer township. There Mr. Upp passed away at the age of
seventy-one years and was laid to rest in the cemetery at Gilson. He
was an active member of the United Brethren church to which his
widow also belongs. Although she has attained the age of sixty-seven
Mrs. Upp continues to reside upon her homestead of two hundred and
fifty acres, the cultivation of which she superintends.
1060 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illiinois
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Upp numbered eight children: C. H., our
subject; A. E., who is living in Boone Grove, Indiana; Isaac and
Eliza, both of whom are deceased; Eva, the wife of Hubard Keller,
who resides east of Knoxville; George, who is also living east of
Knoxville; Ella, the wife of Joseph Mastin, now living east of
Knoxville; and Garrold, who is living on the home farm in Persifer
township.
Practically the entire life of C. H. Upp has been devoted to
agricultural pursuits in Haw Creek township. His boyhood and youth
were very like those of other lads of the same period and like
circumstances. In the acquirement of his education he attended the
district schools in the winter until he had mastered the common
branches, his summers being devoted to the mastery of the practical
methods of agriculture, under the supervision of his father. When he
had attained the age of twenty-two he left the parental roof and
started to make his own way in the world. He now owns eighty acres
of land on section 2, Haw Creek township, all of which is in
pasture, while he leases two hundred and fifty acres on the
northeast corner of section 16 that he devotes to general farming.
He makes a specialty of the breeding and raising of Percheron
horses, in which he has engaged for the past ten years.
In 1889 Mr. Upp was married to Miss Ada Houser, who was born in Haw
Creek township, a daughter of Jonathan and Mary Houser. Of this
union there was born one child, Isal, who is still at home. Mr. Upp
is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and politically he is a
republican. He has always been one of the public-spirited citizens
of his community, taking an active interest in all political
matters. He was assessor of the township for eight years, while he
was township supervisor and clerk and member of the township high
school board for a similar period. He is now acting as supervisor,
having succeeded F. M. Lawrence in April, 1910, and during the year
and a half he has been identified with this office has discharged
his duties in a manner to meet with the approval of his constituency
as well as the community at large.
FRED T. DU VON.
Fred T. Du Von, senior partner of the firm of Du Von & Brown,
wholesale bakers, was born in Warren county, Illinois, five miles
west of Galesburg, on the 1st of June, 1877. Fie is a son of the
late Nels T. and Johanna (Linberg) Du Von, natives of Christianstad,
Sweden, the father's birth having occurred on January 27, 1827, and
that of the mother on the 19th of February, 1842. Nels T. Du Von
followed farming in his native land until 1870, when he emigrated to
the United States, locating in Warren county. There he continued to
engage in agricultural pursuits until 1884, when he removed to Knox
county. In 1895 he withdrew from the active work of the fields and
came to Galesburg, where he lived retired until his death, on the
14th of August, 1899. The mother passed away on the 10th of March,
1892. Their marriage occurred in Galesburg in the month of August,
1875, and unto them were born four children: Fred T., our subject;
Jay IT., who is also a resident of this city; Alice", who is a
resident of Peoria, Illinois; and Hannah, who is deceased. Both Mr.
and Mrs. Du Von
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 1063, Illinois
were members of the Swedish Methodist Episcopal church, and his
political support he gave to the republican party.
The public schools of Galesburg provided Fred T. Du Von with an
education, after which he spent two years assisting his father on
the farm. At the expiration of that time he began to make his own
way in the world. His first position was that of a teamster in
Galesburg, but he subsequently entered the employ of N. J.
Gottschall, a baker. Fie remained in his service for two years,
during which time he learned the trade. Fie next found employment in
the establishment of Gust Hawkinson and worked there for a year,
when he went to Chicago. After a year's sojourn in the latter city,
he returned to Galesburg and worked for two and a half years at his
trade as a baker. His next removal was to New Mexico, and after
being employed there for a year he once more became a resident of
Galesburg. Upon his return he bought the business of T. R. Wilson on
Main street, which he operated alone for eight months. On the 20th
of September, 1906, Mr. Brown bought a half interest in the
enterprise which they have ever since conducted under the firm name
of Du Von & Brown, meeting with excellent success. The business was
originally established in 1857 and is one of the oldest concerns of
the kind in the city. They do an exclusive wholesale business in
bread, pies, cakes and cookies, and enjoy an extensive trade, their
products being shipped to practically every town of any size within
a radius of fifty miles. During the five years of their ownership
Messrs. Du Von and Brown have practically revolutionized the
business, having erected a fine new brick building at Nos. 541 to
557 East Main street, that they have occupied since 1910. It is
fully equipped with all modern conveniences and appliances essential
to the operation of a thoroughly modern and sanitary bakery. They
give employment to fifteen people, four of whom are salesmen, and
their business is constantly increasing, each year showing a marked
advance over the one previous.
Mr. Du Von manifests his religious views through his membership in
the Swedish Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which he
takes a deep interest, and is now serving as secretary of the
official board. He is a worthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity,
holding membership in Vesper Lodge, No. 584, A. F. & A. M.;
Galesburg Chapter, No. 46, R. A. M.; Galesburg Com-mandery, No. 8,
K. T.; Illinois Council, No. 1, R. & S. M.; Mohammed Temple, A. A.
O. N. M. S., and also has attained the thirty-second degree in
Peoria Consistory. ITe has served at various times as worshipful
master of the lodge, high priest of the chapter and eminent
commander of the commandery. He also belongs to the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks and the Galesburg and Country Clubs, while
he maintains relations with the business men of the city through his
connection with the Retail Merchants' Association. His political
allegiance Mr. Du Von gives to the democratic party and he is now
serving on the board of supervisors. He is not only a most capable
and progressive business man, but a public-spirited, enterprising
citizen who fully appreciates his obligations to the municipality
and conscientiously strives to discharge them by assisting in every
possible way the city's development. His prominence in trade circles
is indicated by the fact that he has been honored with the
presidency of the Illinois Master Bakers' Association, which
position he filled in the year 1911. He has been very active along
this line, doing much to advance the interests of the trade
1064 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
and to stimulate a desire for a higher standard of service to the
public. His own business ability is manifest in the success which
has crowned his labors in the years which have chronicled his
advancement from a humble position to one of prominence. The
business in which he is now interested as senior partner is today an
extensive enterprise, owing its success in large measure to the
capable management, laudable ambition and enterprising spirit of
Fred T. Du Von.
GEORGE ABNER PERRY.
George Abner Perry, who is business manager of the Galesburg
Printing & Publishing Company, publishers of the
Republican-Register, was born in Payson, Illinois, July 20, 1868,
his parents being William Dodd and Clarissa Fitch (Whitman) Perry.
The father was at one time owner and publisher of the Adams County
News and was also connected with agricultural pursuits. The maternal
grandfather, Charles Whitman, was born in West Hartford,
Connecticut, July 28, 1802, and on the 13th of November, 1833 at
Windham, Connecticut he was married to Miss Henrietta Perkins.
Almost immediately afterward they came to Illinois locating in
Payson, where they resided throughout the remainder of their lives.
Pie was engaged in farming. Mrs. Whitman was born September 4, 1814.
To their union two children were born: Clarissa Fitch, whose birth
occurred in Payson, Illinois, December 8, 1835 ; and Edward Perkins,
who was born August
13, 1837, and died in November of the same year. Mr. Whitman was
married in Salisbury Connecticut, in 1842 to Miss Jane Plolmes and
by this union he had two children, a daughter who died in infancy
and a son, Charles Plolmes, whose birth occurred December 4, 1844.
Mrs. Whitman's death occurred in Payson, June 19, 1874. Charles
Whitman died May 14, 1877, at Payson. William Dodd Perry was born
September 30, 1835, a son of Abner and Adaline (Dodd) Perry, the
former a native of Holden, Massachusetts, and the latter of Rutland,
Massachusetts. Mr. Perry's marriage to Miss Clarissa Fitch Whitman
occurred June
14, 1855. To their union three sons were born: Arthur Henry, born
December 30, 1857; Edward Perkins, whose birth occurred April 13,
1861; and George Abner, who is the subject of this review.
In the common and high schools of Payson, George A. Perry pursued
his early education, which prepared him to enter Knox College in
1887. He completed the full course offered in the scientific
department and was graduated in 1891. Throughout his college career
he found it necessary to aid in his support and he engaged in
newspaper work and advertising soliciting. Early in life he realized
that in newspaper work he would find his most congenial occupation.
After graduating from Knox College he accepted a position in the
business department of the Daily Mail at Galesburg, which was being
started at that time under the management of George W. Colville, W.
R. Colville and W. B. Barnes. For four years he worked on this
paper. In 1895 Ben B. Hampton and D. H. Hampton purchased the stock
in the Daily Mail which had been owned by the Colville brothers and
Mr. Barnes, and for a few months Mr. Perry remained in the employ of
the Messrs. Hampton. At the end of that time, at the request of the
Colville brothers and Mr. Barnes, Mr. Perry purchased an interest in
their
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 1065, Illinois
job printing and binding business. After several months Mr. Barnes
disposed of his holdings to the partners and the firm became known
as Colville Brothers & Perry. Mr. Perry remained interested in the
concern until December, 1902, when, at the unanimous request of the
directors of the Galesburg Printing & Publishing Company, publishers
of the Republican-Register, he became business manager of their
corporation. He also purchased some stock and has since occupied
that position. Mr. Perry's prominence in the community has largely
been due to his connections with newspaper work. In molding public
opinion the power of the newspaper cannot be estimated, but at all
events its influence is greater than that of any other single
agency. The rule is that good papers are found in good towns;
inferior journals in towns of stunted growth and uncertain future,
it being not so much a matter of size as the excellence and
adaptability to the needs of its locality. These conditions given,
in an appreciative and progressive community, the size of the paper
will take care of itself in a way mutually satisfactory to
publishers and patrons. Galesburg is one of the most progressive and
active cities of Illinois and the press which records the items of
its advancement is always a leader in the work of progress and
improvement. As one of its foremost newspaper men Galesburg finds in
Mr. Perry a man worthy of occupying this influential position.
In Chicago, on the nth of September, 1895, Mr. Perry was married to
Miss Marie Louise Gregg, a daughter of Raymond and Mary Elizabeth
(Mason) Gregg. Her grandparents were Aaron Phillip and Annis (Ward)
Mason, of Godfrey, Illinois. Mrs. Perry was educated at Monticello
Seminary, from which she graduated as a member of the class of 1891.
To their union one son, George Mason, was born, his birth occurring
June 30, 1898. In politics Mr. Perry gives his support to the
republican party. He is a member of the Galesburg Club, Soangetaha
Club of Galesburg, the Press Club of Chicago, the Knights of
Pythias, the Young Men's Christian Association and the Central
Congregational church.
JAMES WILLOUGHBY
JONES.
James Willoughby Jones, who is engaged in farming and stock-raising
in Lynn township, was born October 2J, 1867, in the old log house
upon the family homestead, his parents being Walter N. and Addie E.
(James) Jones. The father was born in Wayne county, Ohio, and came
with his wife and two children to Illinois, locating in Galva and
there engaging in the restaurant business. A fire, however,
destroyed his establishment and he removed to a farm in Lynn
township. He lived on this property until he retired fourteen years
ago and again made Galva his home, later removing to St. Joseph,
Missouri. Here he died on September 9, 1908, in his sixty-fifth
year, while his wife, who is surviving him, is now seventy years
old. There were seven children in the family of Walter N. Jones,
beside our subject three sons and three daughters, namely: Edith
Hatha-way, who is deceased; Charley, of Galva, Illinois; George W.
and William, both of St. Joseph, Missouri; and Lottie Jones Mason
and Tensie Jones -Mason, also of St. Joseph, Missouri.
1066 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
J. W. Jones spent his early life attending the common schools and
later received tuition in the old schoolhouse in the winter, and
devoted his summers to farm work. After his marriage he removed to
his present farm, which he purchased at that time and where he has
since been engaged in general farming and stock-raising. But he has
not confined his attention wholly to agricultural pursuits. Business
ability and progressiveness have led him into mercantile pursuits
and he has become a stockholder in the Galva elevator of the Farmers
Grange Company and he is also a stockholder in the La Fayette Fair
Association and in the Farmers Bank of Galva.
On February n, 1896, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Susie Mabel
Shreck, who was born February 1, 1874, and who is a daughter of
Jesse and Mary (Fick-ling) Shreck. The father was an agriculturist
of Henry county until his recent retirement and the mother's death
occurred January 19, 1911. Mrs. Jones attended the Geneseo schools,
after which she taught school until her marriage. Jesse Shreck was
born November 9, 1840, in Vinton county, Ohio, where he farmed until
he came to Illinois at the age of fourteen years with his parents,
Paul and Bethema (Moss) Shreck, and located in Henry county, where
they again took up agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Mary (Fielding)
Shreck was born on the 28th of November, 1850, in Peoria county, and
was a daughter of Jacob and Susan (Draper) Fielding. Mr. Fielding's
birth occurred on the 6th of February, 1812, and he died at the age
of ninety years, while Mrs. Fielding was born near Cincinnati on the
18th of December, 1824, her death occurring on the 19th of January,
1906. Of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Shreck four are
living, of whom Mrs. Jones is the eldest, the others being: Clara
Gertrude, who was born in 1875 and is the wife of Arthur Baltimore,
an agriculturist of La Fayette, by whom she has two children; Frank
Jesse, who is married to Jennie Sellon, by whom he has three
children; and Harry, who was born January 27, 1891, and is residing
at home. To Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Jones were born three children:
Harry, on May 3, 1897; and Arthur and Hazel, both of whom died in
infancy.
In politics Mr. Jones gives his support to the republican party and
he has been a member of the school board for the past seven years.
Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist church of Galva.
Lynn township owes much of its development and of its progressive
business spirit to the activities of Mr. Jones.
MARTIN THISTED.
Among the many thrifty sons of Denmark who have been factors in the
agricultural development of Knox county, must be numbered Martin
Thisted, of, Chestnut township. He was born in Jerslev, on the 20th
of May, 1854, and is a son of Geert Sorenson and Inga Christina (Peterdater)
Thisted. The parents who were farming people spent their entire
lives in Denmark. Unto them were born six children, as follows:
Soren Peter, who is living in Denmark; Martin, our subject; Anna T.,
the wife of Jasper Jones, of Orange township; Martina and Caroline,
both of whom are living in Denmark; and one, who died in infancy.
Reared in the land of his birth, Martin Thisted attended the common
schools in the acquirement of his
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY 1069, Illinois
education, at the same time assisting his father in the work of
their little farm. By the time he had attained the age of
twenty-seven he realized that if he were ever to attain the position
to which he aspired, it would be necessary for him to go to a new
land of greater opportunities, and he took passage for the United
States. He landed at Castle Garden, May 20, 1881, after being one
month en route, having spent a week in England. Upon his arrival
thirteen dollars constituted all his resources and he immediately
made his way inland, in order to find employment in agricultural
lines. He located in Benton county, Indiana, where he resided for
ten years, subsequently coming to Knox county, where he invested his
capital in a farm on sections 8 and 9, Chestnut township. This has
ever since been his home and he has extended his holdings and now
owns two hundred and six acres in this place. Energetic and capable,
Mr. Thisted has so intelligently directed his efforts that he has
met with a most gratifying degree of success. His homestead is well
cultivated and here in connection with his agricultural pursuits he
engages in breeding and raising Polled Angus cattle, and he also
buys and sells horses, making his shipments to the St. Louis market.
Regarding real estate as the most desirable safe and conservative
investment, Mr. Thisted has acquired property as his means permitted
and in addition to his fine homestead now owns seven acres of land
adjoining Galesburg, and a fine residence and property on the corner
of Berrien and Day streets, Galesburg. He also has a store building
and a house and three lots in East Galesburg, the rentals from this
property affording him a very good monthly dividend.
In 1878, while still a resident of his native land, Mr. Thisted was
united in marriage to Miss Johanna Mary Peterdater, and unto them
have been born five children, as follows: Caroline, the wife of
Oscar Freeze, of Rock Island, Illinois; Anna, who married Fred
Sharp, also of Rock Island; Maria, who is unmarried, a resident of
Galesburg; Rena, who married Roy Grabell, of Maquon; and Ida, the
wife of James Stout, of Hermon.
Mr. and Mrs. Thisted are faithful church attendants. Politically he
is a republican and meets the requirements of good citizenship.
Success has attended his efforts as the result of unremitting
energy, business sagacity and thrift.
PETER F. LAWSON.
Peter F. Lawson, managing editor of the Evening Mail of Galesburg,
was born in Bermuda in the British West Indies, September 8, 1875.
Flis father, Thomas Lawson, was a native of Scotland and a son of
Thomas Lawson, Sr., who was also born in the land of hills and
heather. The latter was a weaver by trade, following that business
throughout his entire life. Both he and his wife lived to old age
and reared a large family including Thomas Lawson, Jr., who spent
his youth in his native land but when a young man crossed the
Atlantic to the new world. Fie followed general merchandising in
Grafton, Nova Scotia, afterward residing for a time in Philadelphia
and in Baltimore. Fie still makes his home in Nova Scotia and he and
his wife are faithful members of the Reformed Presbyterian church
there. He wedded Agnes Hearn who was also born in Scotland, as were
her parents, Alexander and Mary (Urquhart) Hearn. Her
1070 HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY, Illinois
father was a ship builder on the Clyde river and both he and his
wife had long traveled life's journey when they were called to their
final rest. They were parents of four children, Alexander, John,
Christina and Agnes. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lawson there were also
born four children, as follows: Thomas, of Ottawa, Canada; Peter F.,
of Galesburg; David A., a resident of Chicago; ana Christina, living
in Grafton, Nova Scotia.
Peter F. Lawson spent his youthful days at his father's home in
Canada until he reached the age of sixteen years, and acquired his
education in the common schools of Nova Scotia. Fie then went to
sea, following the life of a sailor for a year or more, but
realizing the further need and value of education he resumed his
studies as a student in Dalhousie University at Flalifax. Later he
again went to sea and acted as correspondent for a number of Canada
papers and periodicals. At length he crossed the border into the
United States, establishing his home in Chicago in 1905. For over
two years he was associated with the R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company
and on the 1st of June, 1909, came to Galesburg, accepting the
position of managing editor of the Evening Mail. In the meantime his
literary ability had been developed in his business connections as
well as the executive force necessary in his present position.
During the two years of his association with the Mail he has labored
continuously and effectively toward raising the standard of the
paper which is today one of the popular journals published in
central Illinois, having a wide circulation and therefore becoming
an excellent advertising medium.
On the 4th of September, 1908, Mr. Lawson was married to Mrs. Maude
Tryon, who was born in Norwood, Illinois. She was the widow of Frank
A. Tryon and a daughter of Dr. H. T. and Etta (Metcalf) Jones, who
were likewise natives of this state. Her parents are now living in
Alton, Illinois, and their family numbers two children, the elder
being a son, Fred W. Jones. Mr. and Mrs. Lawson have become the
parents of a daughter, Agnes. During the period of their residence
in Galesburg they have won many warm friends and their home is
attractive by reason of its cordial hospitality. Mr. Lawson belongs
to Glace Bay Lodge, at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and in politics is
a republican whose interesting discussions of the questions and
issues of the day through the columns of the Mail show his thorough
understanding of the topics that are now engaging public attention.
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