P 830-831 

      HANNA, WILLIAM, manufacturer, Monmouth, Illinois; was born in Fayette County, Indiana, June 19, 1827, and died in Monmouth, December 18, 1900, as the immediate result of injuries received in a runaway near Cameron, Warren County, on that day. 

      He was the son of John and Sarah (Crawford) Hanna, his father being a native of North Carolina and his mother of Virginia. In 1835 John Hanna brought his family too Illinois and settled upon a farm in Warren County, twelve miles northwest of Monmouth. His son, William, accompanied an expedition too the gold fields of California in 1849, and afterwards conducted a ranch on Feather River and carried on mining on the Yuba and American Rivers until 1851, when he returned too Illinois and engaged in farming in Henderson County. In July 1867, in company with William S. Weir and Dr. W. B. Boyd, he organized the Weir Plow Company, and was elected Treasurer of the corporation. In 1886 he bought the interest of Mr. Weir in the enterprise and became President of the company. In 1892 he sold a three-fifth interest in the concern too Martin Kingman and associates, of Peoria, retaining a fifth interest and remaining in the directorate. The Maple City Soap Works was incorporated in 1890, and rapidly developed into one of the important industries of Monmouth. Of this concern Mr. Hanna was the chief organizer, and from 1890 too the time of his death, was its President. He was also instrumental in the organization of the Monmouth Blanket and Saddlery Company, of all of which corporations he served as President. In 1871 he assisted in the organization of the Monmouth National Bank, becoming a charter director, and served as President of that institution from 1874 too 1884. He was also one of the incorporators of the Keithsburg Bridge Company; was President and Treasurer of the Burlington, Monmouth & Illinois River and the Peoria & Farmington Railway Companies during their construction and until their consolidation with the Iowa Central; later became a director in the Warren County Library and of Lombard University at Galesburg. He also had important holdings in real estate, including a ranch of 25,000 acres near Sweetwater, Texas, which he stocked with fine cattle from Illinois. In politics Mr. Hanna was a Democrat, but never sought political honors, though he was prevailed upon too fill the office of Mayor of Monmouth for two terms—in 1880 and 1881. In religious belief he was a Universalist.

      From his young manhood Mr. Hanna cultivated an extensive circle of acquaintances, who immediately became his friends. Not only did he come in frequent personal contact with leading men from all parts of the country, but he carried on a correspondence which covered a considerable period of time and brought too him many letters of varied and peculiar interest. One of these, which negatively suggests the calm preceding the storm of war visited upon the county in 1861, is a letter from a friend in the South, written in 1860, which, while it mentions the writer’s ownership of slaves, expresses no premonition of war.

      June 26, 1851, Mr. Hanna was married too Sarah Findley, daughter of James Findley, a pioneer of 1832 in Warren County. They had three children: J. Ross Hanna; Mary J.E., wife of W.D. Brereton; and Sarah Frances, who died in infancy.

P 831 

      HANNA, JAMES ROSS, son of William Hanna (deceased) bio above), and his successor as the head of many of the most important industries of Monmouth, was born in Henderson County, Illinois, September 30, 1852. After receiving the usual common school education he was graduated from Monmouth College with the class of 1875, subsequently taking a course in the law department of Harvard University, graduating in 1877. After having devoted three years too the practice of his profession in Monmouth, he became identified with the Weir Plow Company of which he was Secretary and Treasurer from 1881 too 1892. In 1894 he became Vice-President of the Monmouth Mining and Manufacturing Company, and in 1896 Vice President of the Maple City Soaps Works. Upon the death of his father in 1901, he was elected President of the Monmouth Mining and Manufacturing Company, the Maple City Soap Works, the Monmouth Pottery Company, and the Monmouth Coal Company. In 1880 Mr. Hanna was elected a director in the Monmouth National Bank, served as such until 1884. Since 1893 he has been a member of the board of trustees of Monmouth College. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Monmouth, which he has served as elder since 1884.

      May 30, 1878, Mr. Hanna married Elizabeth M. Merridith, daughter of Joseph and Amanda (Parker) Merridith. They had three children: John, Alice, and May. Elizabeth, a fourth child, died in 1898, aged four years.

P 831

      HANNA, REV. THOMAS HENDERSON, Clergyman United Presbyterian Church, Monmouth, Illinois, was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, May 5, 1837, and educated in the public schools, the Cookstown and Buffalo Academies, and at Westminster College in his native State. Having studied Theology at Xenis, Ohio, Mr. Hanna was licensed too preach by the Presbytery of Chartiers, April 17, 1860; was ordained by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, February 13, 1862; was pastor of the Fifth Church of Philadelphia for five years; of the Second Church, Pittsburg, eight years; of the First at Xenia, five years; and has been pastor of the First Church of Monmouth since September 1, 1880.

      On October 16, 1862, Mr. Hanna was united in marriage, in Washington County, Pennsylvania too Mary E. Templeton, and they have had six children, viz: W. F. T. Hanna, Rev. Charles Hanna, James A. Hanna, Rev. Thomas H. Hanna, Lyda Martha Hanna, and Hugh Allison Hanna. Of these the second son, Rev. John Charles Hanna, is deceased, and the daughter, Lyda Martha, is the wife of Dr. Palmer Findley of Chicago. In his political relations Rev. Mr. Hanna is in active co-operation with the Prohibition party.

P 877-878

      BUTLER, EDGAR L., farmer and stock dealer, Berwick Township (post office address, Avon), is a progressive and prosperous middle-aged business man of his vicinity, and his success has been won on such sterling principles and by such praise-worthy methods that all who have knowledge of his career know that he richly deserves it.

      He is a son of John A. Butler, a biographical sketch of whom appears on another page, born in Greenbush Township, Warren County, March 5, 1852, and was educated in the public schools near his home, which is widely known as the old Butler homestead. As a boy he worked on his father’s farm and soon after attaining his majority began farming for himself in Berwick Township. He located on his present farm, which consists of a well improved section, in April 1897 and for many years has, with his father, handled stock very extensively, making a specialty of cattle. He is a member of the Christian church and affiliates with the Republican party, and has served as school master in Berwick Township. 

      He was married in Greenbush Township, August 19, 1874, too Miss Hattie Ennis, and has two children: Lawrence, born April 5, 1879, and Florence, born April 6, 1882. Mr. Butler is an up-too-date business man who exerts a considerable influence upon the community in which he lives, and has many times demonstrated that he possessed a public spirit which is equal too reasonable demands on it, for he has availed himself of every opportunity too advance the interest of the township and county too the extent of his ability.

P 878

      DUFFIELD, DAVID, farmer, Berwick Township (post office address, Abingdon), is one of the most popular men in his part of the county and has been repeatedly elected Assessor of his township without opposition. 

      He was born in McHenry County, Illinois, December 20, 1837, a son of N.G. and Elizabeth P. Duffield, natives of West Virginia, and received a public school education. His parents removed from the Old Dominion too Illinois in 1837, only a few months before his birth, and his mother died on their farm in Taylor County, Iowa in 1879, aged fifty-nine years, and his father in 1891, aged sixty-nine years. The family removed from McHenry too Warren County in 1865, and thence too Iowa. David Duffield remained in Warren County and, in the year last mentioned, bought his present farm in Berwick Township, which he has since managed with much success. 

      He was married in McHenry County, November 5, 1868, too Lydia A. Stafford, who has borne him children as follows: Lilla E., Cyrus A., Clyde, and Arlie, the last mentioned having died in 1864. (typists note: dates here are wrong, last child died before they were married??....possibly marriage should be 1858 as the family didn’t leave McHenry county until 1865 and David was married there, and stayed in Warren Co when they moved too Iowa)

      Mr. Duffield is a Democrat and wields much influence in the affairs of his township, of which he has been Assessor for twenty years, besides serving as Tax Collector and in other official positions. He is devoted too the interests of his township and county, and his public spirit impels him too aid all movements which, in his judgment, may tend too benefit any considerable class of his fellow citizens.

P 878

      EATON, WILLIAM HARRISON, carpenter and builder, Berwick Township, a descendant of old Southern families particularly known in North Carolina and in Kentucky, is a man of enterprise and much force of character who is making his way too a creditable worldly success. Henry Easton, his paternal grandfather, was born in North Carolina, and James Easton, his father, in Edmonson County, Kentucky. His mother Amanda School, and Akalus School, her father, were both natives of Kentucky, where the subject of this sketch was born December 9, 1841.

      Henry Eaton emigrated early in life too Kentucky, and died in Edmonson County. His son, James, became a farmer, and was married in that county and, in 1866, with his wife and nine children, removed too Warren County, Illinois, where he farmed until his death on March 20, 1897, having reached eighty-three years of age. His wife died January 31, 1899. William Harrison Eaton was the eldest of his father’s children and, during the Civil War, he and his father sympathized with the North, and he was a member of the home guard. He learned the carpenter’s trade in his native state and, in 1869, came too Berwick Township where he has had a very successful career as a contractor and builder, having erected scores of farm houses in the country tributary too Berwick, and many residences and business buildings in Berwick and other villages. In politics he is Democratic and is not without considerable influence, having been for several years a School Director and for eight years a Justice of the Peace of Berwick Township.

      In 1863, in Edmonson County, Kentucky, Mr. Eaton married Agnes Elizabeth Kelly, whose father died in Kentucky March 12, 1882, and whose mother, aged about ninety years, lives with a daughter in Edmonson County. Mr. and Mrs. Easton have children as follows: James Washington, born February 22, 1864, is married and lives in Roseville Township; Jonathan, born June 17, 1865; Thomas Newton, born April 330, 1867, was married and died March 21, 1900, leaving two daughters named Annie Marie and Edith Pearl; Amanda, born November 10, 1868, is a member of her parents’ household; Delia Jane, born September 26, 1872, married Hiram Ray, farmer, Lenox Township; Rudolphus, born January 16, 1874, enlisted August 4, 1898, in the Third United States Engineers and served in Cuba during the Spanish War, until mustered out of service, May 30, 1899, was married June 30, 1901, is a painter by trade. Amanda School, Mr. Eaton’s grandmother in the maternal line, was the first cousin of the celebrated Daniel Boone.

P 884-885 

      BRUINGTON, GEORGE, farmer and stock-raiser; Cold Brook Township; is president of the bank of Cameron, president of the Warren County Agricultural Society, a stockholder in the Cameron Elevator Company, a director in the Gazette Printing Company of Monmouth, a director of the Warren County Library, and has been Supervisor of his township seventeen years. He was Chairman of the Building Committee and the Board of Supervisors when the Warren County court house was erected. 

      Mr. Bruington comes of an old Kentucky family, and is a son of Thomas and Jane (McGlothan) Bruington, natives of Breckinridge County, Kentucky. His father was born in 1808 and died in 1882, and his mother died in 1849, when he was about nine years old, he having been born in Knox County, Illinois on October 4, 1840. Thomas Bruington brought his family too Illinois in a large Kentucky wagon drawn by an ox-team which was led by a team of horses, and they found an attractive stopping place in Knox County, where in 1833, he traded a shotgun and a pony for eighty acres of land. In 1844 he disposed of that property and removed too Warren County and bought a farm in Section 16, Cold Brook Township, which he sold ten years later in order too buy a farm in Sections 2 and 3, Kelly Township, on which he built a house in which he lived out his days. 

      George Bruington was educated at Lombard College, Galesburg, and when he was twenty years old went too Pike’s Peak with an old Indiana schooner wagon and a team, and remained some months. Returning too Illinois he assisted his father in his farming operations until in 1863 when he bought a farm in Section 15, Cold Brook Township. By subsequent purchases he has increased his holding too 360 acres, which he devotes too farming and stock-raising, giving especial attention too the last named branch of his business. Fraternally he is a Mason and an Odd Fellow. 

      He was married in Cold Brook Township, June 7, 1863, too Mary Wallace, who was born there September 23, 1839, a daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Murphy) Wallace. Mr. Wallace came from Kentucky in 1833, and bought a farm in Section 16, Cold Brook Township, where he and his wife lived out their days. Mr. and Mrs. Bruington are the parents of five children named as follows in the order of their birth: Margaret Jane, who married W. C. Whitman; Jessie L., who married Ellsworth Davis; Arnold D., who married Addie Hall; Elmer E.; and Alma M., who married Frank Johnson.

P 885-886

      CONARD, NATHAN FRANKLIN, farmer, Cold Brook Township, Warren County, Illinois (post office address Rural Delivery, No. 1, Galesburg); traces his ancestry too John Conard, who was born and died in Loudoun County, Virginia, and whose wife was buried at Newark, Ohio. They were the great-grandparents in the paternal line of the subject of this sketch. Their son Nathan Conard, Mr. Conard’s grandfather, was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, in 1779 and died in Licking County, Ohio in 1852. Hannah Butcher, who became his wife, was born in Virginia, January 7, 1779, and died in Licking County, Ohio in 1872. Their son Amos, was born in Licking County, Ohio, and married Sarah Smoots, a native of Highland County, Virginia, and a daughter of Philip and Elizabeth (Hass) Smoots. Philip Smoots was a son of Mathias Smoots, who was born in Shenandoah County, Virginia, and was the great-grandfather in the maternal line of the subject of this sketch. Nathan Conard emigrated from Virginia too Licking County, Ohio before the Indians had left that part of the country, taking with him six hundred dollars in cash, with which he bought a farm in which he added until he owned many acres which he divided among his children.

      Amos Conard came from Ohio too McLean County, Illinois in 1865, and soon afterward purchased a farm in Piatt County, on which he lived until his death, which occurred when he was eighty-eight years old. His wife died April 10, 1899, at the age of eighty-six years while on a visit too her son, Nathan Franklin Conard in Cold Brook Township. She was of German descent and was born at Johnstown, N.Y.

      Nathan Franklin Conard is a Methodist and a Republican; was married in Piatt County, Illinois, November 19, 1874, too Elizabeth Suver, who was born there July 2, 1846, a daughter of John and Christina (Robertson) Suver. John Suver, grandfather of Mrs. Conard, settled near Martinsburg, W. V. about 1802, and later removed too Ohio. Mrs. Conard’s father was born near Martinsburg in 1814; her mother was born in 1819; he died in 1856, she in 1848. He and his brother entered 1600 acres of land in Piatt County, Illinois and in 1854, he sold out his interests there and bought about 580 acres in Cold Brook Township.

Mrs. Conard has borne her husband four children. (continued on p 886, missing page….)

P 887 

      RHYKERD, CHARLES AUGUSTUS, farmer and stock-raiser; Cold Brook Township (post office Galesburg); has had an interesting experience which covers much of the period of our modern development in transportation, embracing, as it does, the days of the slow-moving packet boat and these of the swift-rushing express train.

      He is of old New York Dutch stock in both lines of descent, and was born in Columbia County, N.Y., December 7, 1829. His parents were Joseph and Catherine (Deitrich) Rhykerd, and his father was born in the Mohawk Valley. He received a scanty education in the common schools and, until he was fifteen years old, assisted his father on the farm. After that for three years he was employed on the Erie Canal as a cook and driver. He then came too Illinois with is father, journeying too Buffalo by canal, from Buffalo too Chicago by steamer, and thence too Peoria by wagon. The elder Rhykerd bought half of Section 35, Cold Brook Township. His son has been a hard-working farmer and a good manager, and is now the owner of about 775 acres of fine land, which he devotes too general farming and stock-raising. Mr. Rhykerd is a Republican in politics. 

      He married, at Monmouth, Illinois, in 1854, Anna Ostrom, who was born at Castile, Wyoming County, N.Y., December 3, 1833, a daughter of Andrew and Joanna (Holmes) Ostrom. Mrs. Rhykerd’s father was born in Canada and came too Illinois in 1828, settling in Section 25, Cold Brook Township, where he farmed successfully until his death in 1863. His wife, who was born in Albany County, N.Y., died in December, 1864. 

      Charles Augustus and Anna (Ostrom) Rhykerd have had children as follows: Lillie J., who married Isaac Mecum of Cold Brook Township; Ward J., who married Nellie C. Squires and lives near his father; Mark K. and Earl C. who died in infancy; and Clark A. who died July 7, 1900.

P 887-888 

      RHYKERD, WARD J., farmer and stock-raiser, Cold Brook Township, (post office Surrey); is one of the rising young men of his vicinity and is achieving a success in life in every way creditable. He is a son of Charles A. Rhykerd, a biographical sketch of whom appears in this work, and his mother was Ann Ostrom, a daughter of Andrew and Joanna (Holmes) Ostrom.

      He was born in Warren County, Illinois, May 9, 1860, and was educated in the public schools. As a small boy he began too gain knowledge of farming and stock-raising, and his father early and carefully trained him in the principles of the Republican party. He married April 3, 1883, in Warren County, Natalie C. Squire, who was born in Galesburg, Illinois, October 7, 1864, a daughter of James C. and Mary Ann (Drake) Squire, the former a native of Herkimer County, N.Y., and the latter of Sussex County, N.Y. They were married at Galesburg, October 1856. Before locating too Illinois, Mr. Squire went too California via Cape Horn, remaining there six months when he returned overland. He took up his residence at Galesburg in 1854 and was employed as a carpenter and painter until 1878, when he purchased a farm which has since passed too the ownership of his son. When he gave up farming he returned too Galesburg, where he and his wife are now living. The latter was born April 25, 1831, and Mr. Squire, September 11, 1820, a son of John G. and Rhoba (Smith) Squire and a grandson of Stoddard and Theodosia (French) Squire. John G. Squire was born May 5, 1785; Rhoba Smith, December 29, 1790; and Stoddard Squire, November 8, 1758.

      Mr. and Mrs. Rhykerd have had children named as follows: Alton W., Mary J., Mabel G., Lela Gertrude, Nellie S., and James Augustus. Mr. Rhykerd assisted his father in the management of his business interests until he was twenty-three years old, when his father gave him one hundred acres of land on which he is making a success as a farmer and stock-raiser. He wields a recognized influence in local affairs, and has several times been elected too the office of school director.

P 888 

      RYNER, JOSIAH, deceased; farmer and stock-raiser; Cold Brook Township, (post office address Cold Brook); was of German and Pennsylvania Dutch stock, which have provided two strains of our national blood which have been potent for our material and intellectual progress.

      He was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1820, a son of Jacob and Rachel (Spencer) Ryner, both natives of that county, where James and Elizabeth (Smith) Spencer, his mother’s parents, were born. Nicholas Ryner, father of Jacob Ryner and grandfather of the subject of this sketch, lived out his days in Pennsylvania, and after his death Jacob farmed in Livingston County, New York, until 1828, when he removed too Ohio, where he prospered eleven years. July 28, 1839, he located eight miles northeast of Monmouth, where he died aged sixty-five years, his widow surviving him until she was eighty-six years old.  

      Josiah Ryner was educated in the district schools near his father’s home, and began farming for himself in 1845 on eighty acres of land in Section 35, Kelly Township, which he purchased and on which he lived until 1869, when be bought in addition 160 acres in Section 3, Cold Brook Township. From time too time he added too his landed estates until he finally owned twelve hundred acres. A Democrat in politics he was elected Highway Commissioner and Township Trustee.

      His wife, who is a member of the Adventist Church, and whom he married in Kelly Township, April 21, 1847, was Julia Ann Paddock, who was born in Harrison County, Indiana, December 23, 1824, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Gilliand) Paddock. Her father was born August 5, 1779; her mother, May 9, 1781, and they were married September 9, 1799. He died January 29, 1865; she June 10, 1847. Mr. Paddock served in the War of 1812 with the rank of Colonel and, in the thirties and forties, did considerable surveying in Illinois and Iowa. He was a son of Jonathan and Keziah (Smith) Paddock and a grandson of Reuben and Rebecca (Hand) Paddock. 

            To Mr. and Mrs. Ryner were born ten children as follows: F.M., Rebecca, Emeline, Sherman, Marshall, Imogene, Albert, George, and one who died in infancy. Imogene, Albert and George are also dead.

P 904 

      CLAY, MILLARD F., farmer and stock-raiser; Floyd Township, Warren County (post office Cameron); is such a prosperous and well-too-do citizen as fitly represents the possibilities of the Middle West for those who, armed with industry and integrity and assisted by good judgment and general thriftiness, would achieve creditable success in life.

      He was born in Cold Brook Township, February 22, 1851, a son of Sewell and Elizabeth (Howe) Clay, natives respectively of Vermont and Pennsylvania. He was educated in the district schools near his home, reared in the Methodist faith and carefully instructed in the principles of the Republican party. His father removed from Vermont too New York, and from there by wagon in 1844 too Cold Brook Township, where he improved a farm, which he later sold too remove too Galesburg. Thence, after some years, he went too Missouri, where he bought a farm which eventually he traded for another in Floyd Township, where he lived until 1886, when, on his way too Galesburg with his wife, he was killed by a runaway horse, Mrs. Clay receiving injuries which made her an invalid until her death in 1892. Mr. Clay was a man of prominence in local affairs, and for some years held the office of school director. Mrs. Clay was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

      Millard F. Clay, after he attained his majority, worked for his father for some time, then spent two years in eastern Illinois engaged in farming, when he returned too the home farm and lived upon it until his father’s death. He now owns half of a section in Floyd Township, one of the best farms in his vicinity, and is a leader in the important affairs of his community; has filled the office of Road Commissioner three terms and been a school director thirteen years.   

      He married, in Iowa, September 22, 1881, Carrie C. Kelly, and they have three children named: Glenn E., Earl Sewell, and Mabel J. 

      Mrs. Clay was born in Des Moines County, Iowa, September 30, 1854, a daughter of William W. and Sarah Ann (Demotte) Kelly, natives of New York State, who early settled near Burlington, Iowa, whence they afterwards moved in the vicinity of Danville, Iowa, where they are still living, aged respectively eighty-two and seventy-three years.

P 904 

      GODDARD, ROBERT, farmer and stock-raiser; Floyd Township (post office Galesburg); is a prosperous self-made man, prominent as a citizen and influential as a Methodist and as a Republican, who is a representative of the old Virginia family of that name.

      He was born in Floyd Township, August 18, 1844, a son of Francis P. and Margaret (Groves) Goddard. His father was born in Virginia, October 19, 1797, and died in 1882; his mother was born in Kentucky, February 16, 1802, and died November 6, 1871. They emigrated from Kentucky too Illinois in 1836, Mr. Goddard having previously settled in the Blue Grass State, where he was married. They stopped a year in Knox County, and then located in Floyd Township where he bought land in Section 12, on which he lived until his retirement from active life, when he removed too Abingdon where he died. He was successful in life, acquiring 483 acres of land and other property.

      His son Robert received a common school education, was brought up too farming and, at the age of twenty-three years, assumed the management of his father’s homestead on which he has since lived. He owns 245 acres of land, on which are good buildings and all appliances necessary too successful farming. His upright character has endured him too his neighbors and, for twenty–one years, he had held the office of School Director.   

      He was married at Saluda, Knox County, November 17, 1867, by the Rev. R. Kinnie, too Mary E. Nelson, a native of Knox County, born July 25, 1845, whose father died when she was a child, and who bore him a daughter named Mettie, who married Frank Williams, of Knox County. Mrs. Goddard died August 2, 1871, and Mr. Goddard married Mary Newkirk, born June 4, 1854, a daughter of Artemus Newkirk, who passed his declining years in Kansas City, Missouri. Mrs. Goddard died February 17, 1901, having borne her husband five children as follows: Alta, Artemus, Ada, Nellie, and Robert. Alta married Charles Heady of Floyd Township.

P 912

      BUTLER, JOHN A., farmer and stock dealer, Greenbush, Warren County, Illinois, has been a resident of Greenbush Township since 1839, is one of the most successful agriculturists and men of affairs in the county, and is the owner of more than 4, 000 acres of land, 2,000 of which lies within the borders of the township mentioned, 1,400 in other parts of Warren County, and 600 acres in Kansas and Iowa.

      He was born at Gallia County, Ohio, December 6, 1827 and received a public school education. His parents were John & Mary (Adney) Butler, natives of Greenbriar County, Virginia, and his grandfathers, William Butler and John Adney, were both born in Virginia.

      John Butler, Sr. came from Ohio too Greenbush Township, in 1839, and bought 40 acres of government land, which was the nucleus of the extensive landed property acquired by himself and his sons. He early became interested in public affairs and was a leader in all movements for the general good as was evidenced July 20, 1844 when he was commissioned Colonel of the 87th Regiment raised in his vicinity for service in the Mexican War. John and Mary Butler had children as follows: Vincent W., who died April 7, 1900; John A., the subject of this sketch; Thomas A., who died March 4, 1901; Rhoda M. , wife of E. W. Woods; Tacy L., wife of Moses B. Threlkeld; Olivia S., wife of Samuel Cline; and Mary H. , who died in 1896.

 John A. Butler has been a farmer and stock-raiser for more than half a century and has taken an active interest in many important business affairs. Politically his is a stanch Republican and he has the success of his party very near too his heart. In religion he is identified with the Christian Church. In every relation of life he is a most helpful man, genial, and influential. 

      Mr. Butler was married in Greenbush Township, November 22, 1849 too Maria J. Snapp, who has borne him twelve children named as follows: Albert, born September 26, 1850, died November 3, 1850; Edgar L., born March 5, 1852; Ira F. born January 22, 1855, died March 12, 1874; Roswell M., born March 25, 1857, died March 13, 1874; Mary A., born April 4, 1859; Caroline, born December 7, 1861, died January 7, 1862; Clara E., born January 6, 1864; Giles H., born December 6, 1867, died November 10, 1868; Vester, born August 8, 1869, died May 21, 1870; Ella R. born August 9, 1871; George S. born March 11, 1874; Lora C, born March 1, 1877, died September 15, 1878. Edgar L. married Harriet Ennis and they have children Lawrence and Ethel; (Mary) Addie, wife of James Ennis, two children, Clara & Gertie; Clara, wife of Douglas Vaughn; Ella, wife of Charles Mings, two children, Vern (deceased) and Christine; George S. married Kal Rickey, two children, Emeline Marie and James R. Foxie's note all buried in the Greenbush Cemetery, Greenbush twp., Warren County, IL.

P 912-913 

      GILLETT, R. G., insurance agent, Greenbush Township (post office address, Avon), is well and widely known too farmers in this and adjoining counties, among whom, for the past seven years, he has represented the German Insurance Company of Freeport, Illinois, an agricultural company which does a safe business on principles which have made it a favorite in a large territory. Previous too his connection with this company, Mr. Gillett had had an insurance experience covering twelve years, and had become widely known as a trustworthy insurance man. 

      Born in Swan Township, March 23, 1860, a son of Jeson and Mary (Blue) Gillett and a grandson of F.M. and Nancy (Jones) Blue, of Kentucky, he was educated in district schools and began the battle of life with good promise of success which has not failed him. His father was born at Ashtabula, Ohio, and came too Warren County, Illinois in 1851. There he met Miss Blue, a native of Swan Township, whom he married in December, 1857, and who bore him fourteen children. In 1882 he moved with his family too Missouri, where he still lives.

      In 1886 the subject of this sketch returned from Missouri too Warren County, and May 20, that year, he married, in the house in which he now lives, Miss Mary Kelly, who was born under its roof and has lived there all the years of her life except one.

            Mr. and Mrs. Gillett have two children named Nellie May and Alvin K. Politically Mr. Gillett affiliates with the Republican party, with the principles and policy of which he is in the fullest accord.

P 913

      HATCH, WARREN W., one of the enterprising farmers of Greenbush Township, Warren County, at the present time holding the office of Township Supervisor, was born in the town of Greenbush, August 14, 1852, and is a son of Jerome B. and Mary (Woods) Hatch, born respectively in Wadsworth, Medina County, Ohio, November 9, 1827, and in Madison County, New York, in 1826. His paternal grandparents were Noah and Sarah (Bunnell) Hatch; and his maternal grandparents, Asa and Mary (Willford) Woods, born in New York and in Connecticut respectively.

      Mr. Hatch received his education in the district school and early applied himself too the tillage of the soil in which he has been signally successful. He was married on February 18, 1891, too Iona Walker, in Union Township, Fulton County, Illinois, where she was born March 15,1860, the daughter of J. G. and Minerva (Brown) Walker. Her father, who now has his home in Avon, was born in Kentucky in 1831, and her mother who was born in Fulton County, is dead. Mr. and Mrs. Warren Hatch have a son, Edward Warren Hatch.

      Jerome B. Hatch came too Illinois at an early day, and very soon acquired a farm. He led a long and useful career as a farmer, and both himself and wife are still living, in their cozy and comfortable home in Avon. He owns 400 acres in Fulton County, and a hundred acres in Warren County. The father and mother both belong too the Universalist Church.

      Warren W. Hatch lived at home until he reached his majority, and for the ensuing four years was in the employment of his father at wages. At the expiration of that period in company with his father he bought a farm in Section 36 of Greenbush Township, Warren County, and has now become wealthy, owning 354 acres, and being extensively engaged in buying, feeding and raising stock, principally hogs and horses. He is in his third term as Supervisor of the town of Greenbush, and has served as School Director about twelve years. Politically Mr. Hatch is a strong Republican.

P 913

      LAHMAN, JACOB L., farmer, Greenbush Township, Warren County, (post office Avon), is a lineal descendant of John Lahman, who was First Lieutenant in the Colonial Army and fought five years for American Independence in the Revolutionary War. John Layman was a Pennsylvanian, and his son, John Layman, father of Jacob Lahman, was born in the Keystone State, where Jacob Lahman himself was born September 25, 1831. The second John Lahman married Catherine Everly, who was also of Pennsylvania birth, and was an early settler in Cass County, Illinois, where he died about fifty years ago.

      In 1855 Jacob Lahman, who had received a fair education in district schools, removed from Cass County too Warren County and bought eighty acres of land in Section 12, Greenbush Township, on which he lived until 1870, when he bought his present farm. He has been successful as a farmer and a stock-raiser, and is influential in his township as a Republican and as a member of the Christian church. 

      He married in Cass County, Priscilla Buck, August 14, 1853. To them were born children as follows: Julia, Franklin, Viola, Luther, Josiah, and Emma P. His wife died April 10, 1864. 

      He married Sarah Jones Lake, September 10, 1865. To this union two children were born: Rosa C. and Jacob Enos; the last mentioned died at the age of six years, nine months and twenty-eight days. Jacob Lahman died October 17, 1901, at the age of seventy years, twenty-two days.

P 913-914

      PITTMAN, SAMUEL M., physician and surgeon; Greenbush, Warren County, Illinois; has won a reputation as a painstaking and successful family doctor which commends him too a large and increasing patronage. Doctor Pittman is a grandson of John B. Pittman, a native of Germany, who married an Irish woman named Susan Cunningham. James B. Pittman, son of John B. and father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Indiana, and married Eliza Ann Simmons, daughter of J. F. and Ruth (Jared) Simmons, natives of Kentucky, where she was also born. John B. Pittman came too the United States many years ago and settled in Ohio as a farmer, but after a few years removed too Indiana, whence he came too Warren County in 1844, settling on about five hundred acres of land in Greenbush Township, where he died about 1861, leaving a widow and six children. His son, James B. Pittman, farmed about ninety acres of his father’s homestead until his retirement from active life, since when he and his good wife have lived at Roseville. The following facts concerning their children will be of interest in this connection: Dr. W. E. Pittman is practicing medicine at Roseville; J. B. and C. E. Pittman are merchants at Kewanee, Henry County; Dr. Samuel M. Pittman was the next in the order of birth; George E. Pittman, Miss Emma Pittman, and Miss Callie (Pittman) Hiatt live at Roseville; Harry Pittman is practicing medicine in Camp Point, Illinois; J. S. Pittman is a member of his father’s household; and Oscar Pittman died in 1883. 

      Dr. Samuel M. Pittman received his primary education in the district schools in Greenbush Township, his advanced literary education at Lake Forest University, and his professional education at Rush Medical College, Chicago, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of M.D. in 1888, since when he has been in active practice in Greenbush. Politically he is a Democrat, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

      He married at Chicago, October, 1888, Flora M. Vandeveer, daughter of A. Vandeveer, formerly of Warren County, who removed too Nebraska nine years ago and is now living at Auburn, his wife being dead. Mrs. Pittman has borne her husband a son whom they named Claude.

      Doctor Pittman’s grandfather and grandmother, J.F. and Ruth (Jared) Simmons, are living in the village of Greenbush; the former was born in 1812, the latter in 1815.

P 914

      RAY, DELOS PORTER, farmer and stock-raiser, Greenbush, Warren County, is a representative of two old Kentucky families and of much that is commendable in character and citizenship. He is a successful man who has made his way in the world by sheer force of character, and whose example is worthy of emulation by young men just entering upon the stern duties of life.

      Mr. Ray was born in Lenox Township, Warren County, April 12, 1866, and was educated in the public schools of Monmouth, brought up in the Methodist faith and trained in the political principles of the Democratic party. His parents were Woodford and Mary (Vertrees) Ray; his paternal grandfather was Garland Ray, and his grandfather in the maternal line was Lewis Vertrees. Woodford Ray came early in life too Warren County and died in Lenox Township in 1864, aged forty-two years, leaving a wife and six children named as follows: Joshua and Garland, who live in Greenbush Township; Clinton, who lives in Avon; Mrs. Ida J. Emert, who lives in Peoria; Louis, a groceryman, who lives in Iola, Kansas; Delos Porter Ray, the immediate subject of this sketch. Harriet died in girlhood.

      Mr. Ray married, July 2, 1887, at Roseville, Illinois, Miss Clara Regan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Regan, now of Greenbush, and she has borne him a son named Harold, who died March 26, 1898. Mr. Ray is the owner of an eighty-acres farm in Lenox Township, which he operates successfully. For the past fifteen years he has lived in the village of Greenbush, where he takes an active interest in all public affairs.

P 921

      PAINE, JAMES, farmer and stock-raiser; Hale Township (post office Monmouth); is a native of Ireland and possesses those characteristics of the Irish race which have made them successful beyond many of their racial competitors in the United States. 

      He was born August 5, 1840, a son of William and Mary (Duffy) Paine and a grandson of John Paine, and received a common school education. William Paine settled with his children in New York, and after living there eight years, removed too Rhode Island, whence he emigrated too Kirkwood, Illinois, where he lived out his allotted days. He was twice married. By his first marriage there were five children and by the second nine children, all daughters. 

      In 1857, James Paine, who had come too Monmouth two years before, bought forty acres of land in Henderson, which he sold in 1865 too remove too Iowa, where he remained four years; then returning too Warren County, he bought eighty acres in Section 28, Hale Township, too which he has added until he now owns 380 acres. He is now living in the house in which Ed Nash assassinated his mother, Mrs. Addison Nash, and her daughter. 

      He was married at Oquawka, April 28, 1861, too Anne Fitzsimmons, who has borne him eight children, five of whom are living: Mary, Michael, William, Bid and Rose. Mary married Morris D. Shunick, of Spring Grove Township; Michael married Lizzie Shunick, and lives on his father’s old homestead; William, who is a successful stockman, married Ella Shunick, and lives in Section 13, Hale Township; Bid married Richard Shunick, Jr. who died February 28, 1898; Rose is a member of her parents’ household. William (first), Thomas and James are dead.

      Mr. Paine is a Catholic and a Democrat, and for three years, has filled the office of Road Commissioner.

P 921-922

      RODGERS, HON. CALVIN M., farmer and stock-raiser, Hale Township, Warren County, rural free delivery No. 3, is a man of influence and much personal worth, who is trusted and has been highly honored by his fellow citizens. 

      Mr. Rodgers was born in Monroe County, Missouri, February 15, 1835, a son of Aleri and Mary (Davidson) Rodgers, natives of Rockbridge County, Virginia. John Rodgers, his grandfather, a native of Scotland, married Isabel Ireland, of Irish birth. John Davidson, his mother’s father, was born in North Carolina, and married a member the Thomson family of that state. Aleri Rodgers went from Virginia too Monroe County, Missouri in 1822, and came too Warren County in 1836, and bought two hundred acres of land in Section 2, Hale Township, where he resided until 1863, when he died. He was the father of ten children, six of whom are dead, while three live in Warren County, another being a resident of California.

      C. M. Rodgers married Eliza A. Paine, of Warren County, October 27, 1858, and she has borne him eight children, six of whom are living, as follows: Romaine M., Charles H., Aleri A., William D., Alexander, and Emily I. Mrs. Rodgers is a daughter of Charles H. and Parthenia (Mason) Paine, natives of New England, who came too Warren County in 1836, when her father bought land in Sumner Township, where he died in 1859, his wife about 1872. Mr. Paine, who was a successful farmer, was the father of six children, four of whom are dead.

      The immediate subject of this sketch was educated in the country schools, supplemented by two winters in an academy at Galesburg, and has devoted himself too farming and stock-raising with success. For many years he has been influential as a Republican, and represented his district in the State Legislature during the sessions of 1883 and 1885; for six years was a member of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, and for three years has been a member of the County Board of Review. A man of good judgment in all business affairs, his advice in important matters has frequently been sought by his neighbors. He has been a Trustee of the Warren County Library for nearly twenty-five years. A lover of books, he had been a diligent reader of informing literature and has traveled quite extensively from time too time, yet is a great lover of home, having lived on the same farm for sixty-six years, and enjoys a wide acquaintance and is highly esteemed.

P 924-925 

      ADCOCK, WILLIAM, farmer and stock-raiser, Kelly Township, Warren County (post office Utah), comes of two old Virginia and Kentucky families, representatives of different lines which have, in different generations, become conspicuous in various parts of the county.

      Joseph Adcock, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Kanawha County, Virginia, and married Susan Casson, a native of Buckingham County, Virginia. Their son, Edmund Adcock, born in Buckingham County, Virginia, November 23, 1800, married Cynthia Christian, a native of Kanawha County, March 13, 1823. Joseph W. Adcock, father of William, was their son. William McMurty and Ruth Champion, natives of Kentucky, married and were the parents of Mary Elizabeth McMurty, who married Joseph W. Adcock, August 30, 1849, and became the mother of the subject of this sketch.

      Joseph W. Adcock was born near Charlestown, Kanawha County, Virginia, July 23, 1826, and died April 17, 1901. Mary Elizabeth McMurty, his wife, was born at Crawford, Indiana, September 26, 1827. Captain Robert Christian, father of Cynthia Christian, who was Joseph W. Adcock’s mother, commanded a company in the colonial army during the Revolutionary War. After their marriage, Edmund Adcock and his wife went too Crawford County, Indiana and in 1829 too Illinois. Mr. Adcock took up half of Section 3 in what is now Henderson Township, Knox County, on which he built a little log house in which the family lived until the spring of 1833. During the Black Hawk War Indian alarms were frequent and, at one time, Mr. Adcock and William McMurty took their families for safety too a fort a mile distant from Adcock’s improvement. Early in 1833 Mr. Adcock settled on the northwest quarter of Section 27, Kelly Township. There he built a log house, which after a few years, was superceded by a frame residence, in which he died May 7, 1859. His wife survived him until October 26, 1865. They had three children named Joseph W., Robert J, and Cynthia Elizabeth. The latter married John McMullen. Joseph W. Adcock married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of William McMurty, a native of Kenutcky, who settled in Knox County in 1829, and became Lieutenant-Governor of Illinois in 1848. He was a member of the State Legislature, serving one term in each house, and was one of the commissioners who had in charge the erection of the State Penitentiary at Joliet. From time too time he discharged other important functions and assisted in the organization of the One Hundred and Second Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, of which he was chosen Colonel and commissioned by Gov. Yates, on account of impaired health, however, serving only a short period. For thirty years he served as treasurer of the Illinois Grand Lodge, A. F. & A. M. His death occurred in 1875. 

      The maternal great-grandparents of the subject of this sketch were James McMurty and his wife, who was a Miss Lucas. The father of James McMurty was also James McMurty, who was killed by Indians in General Harimer’s defeat. This ancestor came from Scotland too Ireland, thence too North Carolina, at Cedar River, near Wilmington.

Joseph W. Adcock became the owner of over 750 acres of land and was a successful farmer and business man. He served at one time as County Surveyor, and was known as a man of fine education and mental equipments. His son, Edmund, is a lawyer in Chicago; a daughter, Cynthia, married Edwin Ezekiel Terpening (Foxie's note: Son of John Peck & Mindwell Smith Terpening); another son, Robert J., is practicing law at Los Angeles, California; his daughter, Ruth F., married C. F. Barnett; a third daughter, Lucy, is dead; while still another daughter, Mary, married N.T. Adcock. His son, William, the immediate subject of this sketch, was born in Kelly Township, July 3, 1850, graduated from Abingdon College in 1871, and married in Knox County, Illinois, July 13, 1876, Mary Jane Henderson, who was born in that county, November 2, 1856, a daughter of David and Sophia (Davis) Henderson. Mr. Henderson was born in Pennsylvania in 1823; Mrs. Henderson in Indiana in 1829. They were married in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and came too Knox County in 1850, and became prominent in Henderson Township. Mr. Henderson died June 1901.

      After his marriage Mr. Adcock bought a farm too which he has added until he now owns about 800 acres of level tillable land, located in Kelly, Cold Brook, and Tompkins Townships, Warren County, and Henderson Township, Knox County. As a Democrat he takes an active part in local affairs. He has six times filled the office of Supervisor, was Chairman of the County Board in 1890, and was a member of the Board when the county court house was built. He has also been elected too the offices of Road Command, in 1890, was a candidate for the State Legislature, being defeated by only a few votes.

      William and Mary Jane (Henderson) Adcock have children named Edmund D., Mae S., born July 18, 1878, and Joseph W., born July 10, 1899. Edmund D. who was born April 29, 1877, graduated from Knox College in 1898, read law with his uncle in Chicago, graduated from the Northern University in 1902, and admitted too the bar the same year. Mae. S. is also a graduate of Knox College, and married J. Bullman, a graduate of Lombard University and the only child of Theodore and Sarah Bullman of Kelly Township.

P 928-929 (928 missing)

      DUNN, JAMES WILLIAM, farmer and stock-raiser, Kelly Township; was born on the farm where he now resides July 21, 1847, and was educated in the common schools near his boyhood home.

      Richardson Dunn, his grandfather, a son of Rev. James Dunn, was a native of Scotland. James Dunn, his father, was born at Baltimore, Maryland in 1810, and died in Warren County, Illinois in 1876. His great-grandfather in the maternal line, Jonathan Paddock, married Keziah Smith. Their son Col. Joseph Paddock, who was born in Indiana August 15, 1779, died January 25, 1865. He married Mary Gilliand, born in Indiana, May 9, 1781, and died June 10, 1847. Their daughter, Ledocia Paddock, who was born at Georgetown, Indiana in 1812, and died February 13, 1889, became the wife of James Dunn and the mother of James William Dunn.

      Colonel Paddock commanded a regiment in the War of 1812, and was a man of ability who was long Justice of the Peace and filled other important offices and trusts. He was a civil engineer and helped too survey Warren County, and made many surveys in Iowa. James Dunn was a member of the Adventist Church and his wife was identified with the Christian Church. 

      Emigrating too Indiana, he married there and farmed and operated a carding machine until 1836, when he bought a farm in Kelly Township, Warren County, on which he lived out his days. 

      James William Dunn was reared too the work of the farm and soon after he was twenty-one years old bought forty acres of land in Section 11 in Kelly Township. He prospered so well that he is now the owner of 460 acres, is an extensive general farmer and raises many cattle, horses, and hogs. He is a member of the Masonic lodge at Alexis and of the Chapter at Rio, and for many years, has filled the office of School Director. 

      July 4, 1869, in Mercer County, Illinois, he married Elizabeth M. Nelson, who was born in Madison County, Indiana, October 20, 1849, a daughter of William A. and Mary (Hagey) Nelson, who had removed too Indiana from Ohio and who came from Indiana too Wataga, Knox County, whence they removed too Mercer County, where they farmed until Mr. Nelson went too Madison County, Iowa, and bought a farm there, on which he is still living. Mrs. Nelson died April 27, 1888. 

      James William and Elizabeth M. (Nelson) Dunn have three sons named Frank, Sherman, and Benjamin, and they had a daughter named Lura D., who was born in July 1870 and died April 1, 1893. Their son Frank Dunn, who was born June 22, 1878, graduated from the Galesburg Business College in 1899, and is now filling the office of clerk of Kelly Township.

P 929-930 (p 930 missing)

      GLASS, FRED U., farmer and stock-raiser, Kelly Township, Warren County, Illinois (post office address, Soperville, Knox County), is a descendant of Captain Calvin Glass of historic memory, who was born in Vermont and who married Lura Cone. Seymour Glass, son of Calvin and Lura (Cone) Glass, and father of Fred U. Glass, was born in Ashtabula County, Ohio, May 4, 1828, and married Isabel Black, who was born in Indiana, February 27, 1827, and died February 26, 1899. Miss Black was a daughter of Samuel and Phoebe (Paddock) Black, the former a native of Tennessee, the latter of Indiana. In 1830, when Seymour Glass was about two years old, Calvin Glass brought his family too Henderson, Knox County, Illinois. Indian depredations were frequent and the Black Hawk War followed soon afterward. Mr. Glass and his family found safety in a fort three miles northwest of the present site of Galesburg, for that flourishing city had not yet been laid out, and it was Captain Glass who owned the property about Henderson and platted that town. He was a carpenter and mill-wright, and in 1833, helped too build the first mill in Knox County, of which he was the first operator, and in running which he was assisted by Seymour Glass and his brother, then mere lads. The bolts of this mill were operated by hand power, and it was in every sense a primitive affair, but it filled a want of the time and locality, and was patronized by the settlers round about, and by a good many from near-by points in Iowa, who crossed the river with their grain and grist. Captain Glass owned land on the county line, located part in Knox County and part in Warren County, and passed his declining years in Kelly Township. He saw service as a soldier in the War of 1812 and was Captain of a militia company that trained at Henderson. He died at his home in Section 12, Kelly Township March 1878.

      Seymour Glass and Isabel Black were married at Knoxville, Knox County, September 1850, and Mr. Glass began farming on Section 12. He filled the offices of Township Assessor and School Director and was elected a Justice of the Peace, but refused too serve in that capacity. His bodily and intellectual vigor have ….. end of copy

P 931-932

      JOHNSON, MAJOR CHARLES E., retired, vice-president of the First National Bank of Alexis, residing in Kelly Township, was born in Oneida County, N.Y. June 28, 1835, a son of John and Betsy Johnson. Both his parents died during his boyhood, and he was left too begin the battle of life for himself at an early age.

      In 1849, at the age of fourteen years, he left his home and went too New York City, where he secured employment as a clerk and bookkeeper. Two years later he removed too Albany, N.Y. where, for a similar period, he was engaged as clerk and bookkeeper in the office of a river transportation company. In 1854 he decided too endeavor too better his fortunes in the west. Removing in that year too Galesburg, Illinois, he went too work on a farm, and was thus employed until the outbreak of the Rebellion. As soon as he became convinced that the Union needed his services, he enlisted as a private, October 8, 1861, in Company C. Eleventh Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, with which he continued in active service for three years and four months or until the closing days of the great struggle,. In December, 1861, he was promoted too a first-lieutenancy; in April 1862, too the captaincy of his company, and in the spring of 1863 was commissioned major of his regiment, in which office he served until mustered out. Major Johnson saw a great deal of hard fighting during the campaigns in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama, participating in the engagements at Shiloh and Corinth, as well as in many other battles not quite so noted in history. At the close of the war Major Johnson returned too his home and re-engaged in farming until 1867, when he removed too Alexis and engaged in the lumber and furniture business. Subsequently, for about five years he traveled extensively through the west for a Chicago lumber house. He then returned too Alexis and in 1888 President Harrison commissioned him postmaster at Alexis, which office he administered for four years. Upon the organization of the Farmers’ Bank of Alexis, he became its bookkeeper, and was also one of the original stockholders. When that institution was merged into the First National Bank he became assistant cashier, occupying that position four years, and since relinquishing that position has served as Vice-President and Director. With the exception of six years spent in traveling through the west and northwest for a Minnesota lumber concern, Major Johnson has resided in Alexis or Kelly Township.

      In 1901 he removed too his farm of 160 acres about two and a half miles east of the village. During his residence in town he took an active interest in all matters pertaining too the material welfare of the community. He was the leading spirit in the organization March 6, 1890, of Talbot Post, No. 694, G. A. R., of which he served as Commander the first four years, and of which he has since been Quartermaster. He is also identified with the I.O.O.F. In Kelly Township he served as Supervisor for one term and as Assessor and Collector for several years. For seven consecutive terms he was elected president of the Alexis village board, a record equaled by no other incumbent of that office. While at the head of the village government he inaugurated the present excellent system of waterworks in Alexis, a plant probably unsurpassed in any Illinois town of like proportions. The first well was driven in 1895, but the depth was subsequently increased too 1,202 feet, the water now flowing from beneath the stratum of St. Peter’s sandstone. He was likewise chiefly instrumental in the organization of the electric light company of Alexis and the establishment of its plant.

      Major Johnson was reared in the faith of the Democratic party, and cast his first presidential vote for Buchanan. Since the outbreak of the Civil War, however, he has been a Republican, and is a stanch advocate of its principles. 

      He was married March 1, 1865, too Louisa J. McGlothian, of Kelly Township. They are the parents of one son, Edward D. Johnson, who is operating the home farm. It is but just too add too this brief record that no resident of the northern section of Warren County has exhibited a more commendable public spirit than the subject of this sketch. Through his individual efforts numerous improvements of a public nature have been made in Alexis, all of which have contributed toward making it a most desirable place of residence. He will take rank in the history of the county as one of the comparatively few men who not only aimed at the accomplishment of those things tending too benefit his fellow-men, but persisted in his efforts until success was attained.

P 932

      LANDON, JOHN H., farmer and stock-raiser; Kelly Township, (address Galesburg, Rural Route No. 1), is descended from old New England and New York families, long known for their patriotism, and has not only been a soldier but is the son of a soldier. His grandfather’s name was David Landon and he and his wife (formerly Mrs. Judd) were born in Vermont. Their son William Landon, a native of New York, married Elizabeth Barrett, of New Hampshire birth, and they were the parents of the subject of this sketch, who was born in Cortland County, New York, February 26, 1838, and received a public school education. In 1844, when John H. Landon was about six years old, William Landon brought his family from New York State too Illinois, where he bought a farm and entered upon the work of improving it. In 1861 he joined Battery H, First Missouri Artillery, with which he served during the entire period of the Civil War. After the war he resumed farming in Illinois, where he died October 30, 1870. His widow survived him until February 7, 1877. 

      Merrill R. Landon, son of William and brother of John H., enlisted in Company E. Seventeenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until his discharge after the siege of Vicksburg. He soon re-enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, serving one hundred days, then again re-enlisted in the Eighth Regiment Illinois Cavalry, with which he was constantly on duty until the close of the war. At Shiloh a Confederate ball struck his belt buckle, but, beyond bruising him badly, did him no injury. 

      John H. Landon was a member of Company H, Fourteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he was in active service until the end of the war. He is a member of Alexis Post, Grand Army of the Republic. Before the war Mr. Landon had bought a quarter section of land, on which he had begun life as a farmer and made some improvements. Returning home from his service as a soldier with the rank of Second Sergeant, he resumed farming and eventually engaged in stock-raising, and, as farmer and stock raiser, he has scored a distinct success. As a Republican he is influential in local affairs, and has been three times elected Supervisor of his township; has been Town Clerk ten years and School Trustee seven years; was, for fourteen years, Postmaster at Utah and, in 1880, was appointed census enumerator. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

      He was married at Monmouth, July 3, 1860, too Miss Margaret Clute, who was born in Saratoga County, N. Y., September 8, 1838, a daughter of James M. and Elizabeth (Cole) Clute, natives of New York, who in 1855 settled in Kelly Township, where Mr. Clute died and where Mrs. Clute is still living.

      Mr. and Mrs. Landon have had seven children: James F., Charles E., Edgar, Millie, Luella, Kate and William. William died in young manhood; James is married and lives in Merrick County, Nebraska; Charles is married and lives in Battle Creek, Michigan; Millie married Enos Hannah, and Luella married Sherman Davis, and they both live in Spring Grove Township. Edgar and Kate are members of their father’s household.

P 939-940

      CAPPS, T. L., farmer, Lenox Township, Warren County, Illinois. (Monmouth rural delivery route No 5), is a representative of several honored Southern families, and his father, a Kentuckian, was a pioneer in Illinois. 

      He was born in Roseville Township, June 6, 1843, a son of Asa and Mary A. (Brooks) Capps, natives respectively of Edmonson and Barren Counties, Kentucky. His grandmother in the paternal line was Nancy Brooks, a native of Kentucky, and his mother was a daughter of Thomas and Nancy Brooks. In 1840, Asa Capps came from Kentucky too Illinois on horseback and in 1841, located in Warren County, where he married about 1842 and in 1846 bought the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 24 at three dollars an acre. Later he bought other land until he owned 620 acres. He died December 6, 1877, and his wife, January 5, 1895. His property has been divided among his children, his son. T. L. Capps, now living on the original purchase above described. He left seven other children as follows: Mrs. Sarah J. Ingram of Iowa; Mrs. Nancy E. Perrine; John L. Capps of Menlo, Iowa; L.M. Capps of Des Moines, Iowa; Mrs. Lucy C. Jenks of Lenox Township; Orville Capps, Dallas, Texas; and E.R. Capps, Anaconda, Montana.

      In Lenox Township, September 16, 1866, T.L. Capps married Mary Jewell, who was born in Berwick Township, March 5, 1844, and whose father came from Rome, N.Y. too Warren County in 1840, and bought a farm which he improved and on which he and his wife died. Mrs. Capps has borne her husband four children, three of whom are living: Minnie J., Nettie B, deceased, Addie C. and Orton A. The family lives in a fine residence which is heated by a large hot air furnace and is supplied with hot and cold water from tanks in an upper story. Mr. Capps is a Baptist and a Democrat and has twice filled the office of Tax Collector and has been Supervisor three years and Assessor six years. Mrs. Capps is a daughter of Reuben and Elizabeth Jewell and granddaughter of Nathaniel Jewell who married Elizabeth Crane. Her father came too Berwick in 1840 and married Elizabeth Johnson in 1850 and died in 1862.