Henry Pease, of Albany, becarne a resident of Whiteside County in 1848. He was born April 12, 1800, in Somers, Tolland Co., Conn., where is father, Giles Pease, was born April 13, 1763. Noah Pease, his grandfather, was born in 1740, and his great-grandfather, Robert Pease, was born in 1683. Jerusha Pitkin, mother of Henry and wife of Giles Pease, was born Jan. 27, 1766, in Hebron, Conn. Both families are of unmixed English extraction. Noah Pease was a Captain in the War of the Revolution, and the father of Jerusha Pitkin was Colonel of a cavalry regiment in the same contest.

Mr. Pease was sixth in order of birth of 11 children, and he was reared on the farm until he Was 16 years of age. He went then, in 1816, to Hartford, Conn., and entered general mercantile establishment as a salesman, and operated in that capacity until 1825. In 1818 he enlisted in the Governor's Foot Guard, the oldest military organization now in existence in the United States, with which he was connected until 1825. In that year he went to Nashville, Tenn., taking with him a stock of dry goods. He had a partner in the enterprise and they Succeeded in making sale of their entire stock of in three months. Mr. Pease returned to Hartford, where he remained until 1827, when he started for Missouri. He went to Schenectady by stage, thence by the Erie Canal to Lockport, and from there to Buffalo by stage, going by Niagara Falls. At Buffalo he em­barked on a Stearmboat for Sandusky, whence he crossed the State of Ohio by stage to Cincinnati. He traveled on the Ohio River to Louisville and went thence by stage to St. Louis. which point he reached in 18 days, then considered a quick trip. After a short stay in St. Louis, he went to Richmond Lead Mines, Washington Co., Mo. On this trip he was accompanied by his wife, where he engaged in mercantile operations and as a lead smelter, in which joint business he was occupied three years. He re­turned to St. Louis and soon after went to Potosi in the same State, where he engaged in mercantile affairs seven years. At the expiration of that time he went to Arcadia, in the Iron Mountain district. He entered a claim of 600 acres in the Pilot Knob country, and paid the United States authorities $1.25 per acre. He formed a partnership with Livingston Van Docen, the owner of Iron Mountain. They established a stock company and issued their certificates, but the company never worked the mines. The organization soon came to grief and Mr. Pease lost the whole of his investment. He came to Illinois in 1842 and bought a farm near Rushville, Schuyler County, where he was intersted in agriculture until 1848. In that year he came to Albany , and purchased village property. He engaged in a mercantile enterprise in company with W. Y. Wetzel. Their relations were in existence five years, and at the end of that time, he bought the interest of his partner, and continued the business singly until 1856, when he sold out.

In 1858 he replaced the fixtures in a flouring mill at Albany, which he conducted until June, 1860, when the structure was destroyed by the tornado. Since that time he has not been actively engaged in business to a great extent, but has given some attention to farming and resides in the village of Albany.

Mr. Pease was married Nov. 18, 1823, to Mary A. Warburton. She was born in Vernon, Tolland Co., Conn., July 9, 1803- Her parents were natives of England and came to the United States in 1793. Her father built the first cotton mill at Vernon, which was in fact the first cotton mill built in the United States. She was first cousin to Sir Robert Peel. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Pease num­bered eight. Henry, oldest child, was born in Hart­ford, Conn., where he died when nine months old. Sarah is the wife of Ezekiel Olds, who is a resident of Albany, Henrietta, wife of E. W. Durant, lives in Stillwater, Minn. Giles W. is a resident of Albany, Mary E. and Ed­win H. live at Racine. Fannie A. married W. H. Miller, and died at Albany, Feb. 3, 1884. Celia M., wife of A. W. Gilbert, lives in Racine, Wis.

Mr. and Mrs. Pease celebrated their golden wed­ing on the 50th anniversary, Nov. 18, 1873. The occasion was made memorable by the attendance of a large number of guests, and the venerable pair re­ceived many beautiful and valuable gifts. Mrs. Pease died Feb. 20, 1877.

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