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LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
977.382 T69p
I.H.S
PAST AND PRESENT
OF
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
ILLINOIS
By JACOB L. TRAYLOR
ILLUSTRATED
"A People that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote generations."-MACAULAY.
CHICAGO : THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1904
Dedicated to the Pioneers of Montgomery County
PREFACE
Montgomery County has had history in which the people may take just pride. In securing the services of Hon. Jacob L. Traylor in the compilation of the history, the publishers feel that they have secured the one man well qualified to do justice to the work, and the citizens of the county may well be congratulated on the result.
The biographical sketches incorporated with the work are of special interest, our corps of writers having gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their enterprise and indus- try. brought this country to a rank second to none among those comprising this great and noble state, and from their lips have the story of their life struggles. No more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelligent public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of coming generations. It tells how some. commencing life in poverty, by industry and economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited advantages for securing an education, have become learned men and wom- en. with an influence extending throughout the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and records how that success has usually crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very many, who, not seeking the applause of the world. have pursued the "oven tenor of their way." content to have it said of them, as Christ said of the woman performing a deed of mercy-"They have done what they could." It tells how many, in the pride and strength of young manhood, left the plow and the anvil, the lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's call went forth valiantly "to do or die." and how through their efforts the Union was restored and peace once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after.
Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records and which would otherwise be inaccessible. Great care has been taken in the compilation of the work and every opportunity possible given to those represented to insure correctness in what has been written : and the publishers flatter themselves that they give to their readers a work with few errors of consequence. In addition to biographical sketches, portraits of a number of repre- sentative citizens are given.
The faces of some. and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume. For this the publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper conception of the work. some refused to give the information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent. Occasion- ally some member of the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such opposition the support of the interested one would be withheld. In a few instances men never could be found, though repeated calls were made at their residence or place of business.
December, 1904.
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO.
1109480
UNICE
J.M. Brutos
BIOGRAPHICAL
SAMUEL MOODY GRUBBS.
Samuel Moody Grubbs. for many years one of the forceful and honored factors in financial circles in Litchfield, and one whose influence has not been a minor element among the finan- ciers of Montgomery county, attained to promi- nence through the inherent force of his char- acter, the exercise of his native talent and the utilization of surrounding opportunity. Ile has become a capitalist whose business career excites the admiration and has won the respect of his contemporaries, yet it is not this alone that entitkos him to rank as one of the fore- most men of his day in his portion of Illinois. His connection with the public interests of his city has been far-reaching and beneficial, for he has aided in shaping the municipal policy. his patriotic citizenship and his interest in community affairs taking tangible form in his zealous labor for improvement while the in- cumbent in various city offices.
Mr. Grubbs was born in Hillsboro in 1835, a son of Moody and Cynthia Anna (Boone) Grubbs. His father, a native of Kentucky, came to Montgomery county in 1834. locating in Ilillsboro. where he died about 1838. He was a briek-mason by trade, and was a member of the Baptist church. His wife, who was born in Kentucky in 1795, died in 1887 when nearly ninety-two years of age. Her father was Squire Boone, a nephew of Daniel Boone, the explorer and pioneer. Squire Boone was one of the valiant heroes of the Revolutionary war and was shot in the thigh by a musket ball. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Grubbs were born ten children, eight sons and two daughters, of whom Samuel
M. Grubbs is the youngest. The others still living are Thomas Boone, who is a brick-mason at Lemar, Missouri ; and Mary L., the widow of Allison Corlew. of Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Grubbs of this review acquired his early education in the common schools of Hillsboro and afterward attended the academy there. He entered upon his business career as an employe in the store of W. II. Brewer, of Hillsboro, for whom he clerked for three years. He after- ward accepted a similar position in the store at Litchfield which stood on the site now occupied by the First National Bank. Its proprietors were McWilliams & Paden, and there Mr. Grubbs remained until the fall of 1856, when he returned to Hillsboro and opened a drug store, which he conducted for two years. On the expiration of that period he purchased a general store of W. II. Brewer and carried on business in that line until the spring of 1865, when he again came to Litchfield and entered into partnership with R. H. Peal, as proprietor of a general store, in which he continued for three years. In 1868 he became interested in the banking business of Davis, Haskell & Com- pany, predecessors of the firm of Brewer, Sey- mour & Company, Mr. Grubbs being the silent partner in the latter. Upon the retirement of Mr. Seymour the firm became Brewer & Grubbs. and this relation was maintained untin 1883. when Judge Brewer died and the firm name was changed to S. M. Grubbs & Company. Under that style the banking business was con- tinued until January, 1889, when it was merged into the First National Bank and the institu- tion was capitalized for one hundred thousand
PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
dollars. During the first year Mr. Grubbs was vice-president. and since that time has been president. Under his administration this has become one of the strong and reliable financial concerns of this part of the state, following a very conservative policy that awakens uniform confidence and yet adopting such progressive measures as result to the benefit of the institu- tion and to the stockholders and depositors as well.
Mr. Grubbs is a man of resourceful business ability, alert and enterprising, and his ready recognition of opportunity has made him a val- ned factor in business cireles, while his wise council and sound judgment have contributed in large measure to the successful conduct of various interests. He is connected financially with the Litchfield Marble & Granite Works, has been treasurer of the Oil City Building & Loan Association since 1883, is interested in the Litchfieldl Water Supply Company and is a member of the firm owning the Gillespie Bank, his partners being E. R. Miller and R. H. Isaacs. He is also a stockholder in the Hillsboro National Bank.
In 185% Mr. Grubbs was united in marriage to Miss Mary Brewer, a daughter of Judge William and Delilah ( Huff) Brewer. Mrs. Grubbs was born in Palestine, Illinois, and died in 1888 at the age of forty-nine years. They were the parents of seven children, but the sons all died in infancy. Those living are Mary G .. the wife of Edward R. Davis, formerly of Liteh- field, but now cashier of the First National Bank at Chicago Heights; and Delilah A., the wife of Edwin R. Elliott, a traveling salesman of Litchfield. The eldest daughter, Ella B. became the wife of George W. Atterbury and is now deceased. In 1890 Mr. Grubbs was again married, his second mion being with Mrs. Betty A. White, the widow of Gustavus L. White and a daughter of Samuel Beach. She was born in Gowonda, New York. in 1838.
Mr. Grubbs is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for almost fifty years has taken a very helpful part in various church industries. He is now president of the board of trustees and has long been a loyal worker in the Sunday-school. Socially he is connected with the Masonic fraternity. Ile votes with
the Republican party and has been honored with public office, serving both a streasurer and as mayor of the city. He is a man of action rather than theory. Through the whole course of his career the prime moving spirit that has prompted all his actions seems to have been improvement and advancement. He is a very busy man, yet he is ever ready to pause in the midst of his business duties to promote the welfare and progress of the city. lle is held worthy of the respect which is accorded him, for his name is synonymous with honorable dealing and with all that is elevating to the city and to the individual.
C. W. BLISS.
C. W. Bliss, former president of the Illinois Press Association, and a leading journalist of the central section of the state, is the owner and publisher of the Montgomery News, the leading Democratie paper of the county. Ile was born in Fillmore township, where the vil- lage of Fillmore now stands, January 8. 1846. His father, the Rev. Alfred Bliss, was a pio- neer Methodist preacher of central illinois long connected with the southern Illinois Methodist Episcopal conference. His mother, who bore the maiden name of Direxia Haines Knowles, was married to Alfred Bliss in New Hampshire, March 4, 1834. in 1838 Alfred Bliss and his wife, accompanied by their two children, sis- ters of our subject. came to Illinois, settling in Fillmore township. Montgomery county, where he had purchased land. The trip was made by wagon, and they reached their desti- nation on the 24th of September, 1838. Rev. Bliss afterward acquired a large body of land in Fillmore township, and was not only ex- tensively engaged in farming, but was also prominent in public affairs and assisted in the substantial. intellectual and moral development of his community. He was for two terms one of the associate judges of the county court of Montgomery county, and in 1853 he began preaching, devoting the remainder of his life to the itinerary, Ixing sent to a number of charges in central and southern Illinois. His wife died in 1894. but he passed away in 1899.
C. W. BLISS
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
C. W. Bliss attended the public schools of Fillmore and in 1864 entered MeRendree Col- lege at Lebanon, Ilinois, where he was gradu- ated on the completion of the classical course in 1869 with salutatorian honors of his class. The degree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred upon him, and in 1824 he received the hon- orary degree of Master of Arts from the same institution.
Mr. Bliss entered upon his business career as a school teacher and followed that profes- sion for two years, during which time his lei- sure moments were devoted to the reading of law. He was admitted to the bar at Edwards- ville, Illinois, in the fall of 1811 and located for practice in Hillsboro, where for two terms he held the office of city attorney, and in addi- tion enjoyed a good private practice. He has been master in chancery in Montgomery county for three terms and has performed other official service, having in 1892 been appointed by Gov- ernor John P. Altgeld a trustee of the South- ern Illinois Normal University at Carbondale, serving for four years as president of that board.
In February, 1892, Mr. Bliss purchased the Montgomery News, the leading Democratic paper of the county, and has devoted his time and energies to newspaper work since then, having secured the largest subscription list of any paper the county has ever had and larger than any other in this part of the state. The News is a sixteen-page journal, all home print, and the office is one of the best equipped news- paper plants in the central section of the state. The building, a large brick structure, was crected by Mr. Bliss in 1894 as a home for the News, and is furnished with a large power press, job presses, folders and other equipments all operated by electricity. His standing as a representative of the profession is indicated by the fact that he was chosen president of the Illinois Press Association for the year 1902-3. His business interests have not been confined entirely to the law or to his newspaper work. He is a director of the First National Bank of Litchfield, also of the Hillsboro National Bank and of the Hillsboro Building & Improvement Association, and he is the president of the Montgomery County Telephone Company. Ile
OWIIs about five hundred acres of land in Fill- more township.
Mr. Bliss was married October 15, 1872, to Miss Elizabeth W. Phillips, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Burrell Phillips, of Hillsboro, and a niece of Judge Jesse James Phillips of the supreme court. To this union three children were born: Noi Celeeta, born July 25, 1873, is the wife of Dr. H. A. Seymour. of Hillsboro; Clinton P., who was born July 30, 1875, is pri- vate secretary to Congressman Bon F. Caldwell, of the twenty-first Illinois district: and Mar- gnerite was born May 23, 1890.
Mr. Bliss is a Mason, a member of Litchfield Commandery, K. T., and is also identified with the Knights of Pythias lodge and with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He holds membership relations with the Methodist Episcopal church of Hillsboro, and is a liberal contributor to every public enterprise.
JOHN M. SHOEMAKER.
John M. Shoemaker, prominent and in- fluential in community interests and in busi- ness life, is well known in Montgomery county, and his efforts have been effective and far- reaching in behalf of public welfare. He stands as a high type of American citizenship, one devoted to the general good, and whose life history demonstrates possibilities that are open to ambitious, purposeful and determined young men in America, for he started out empty-handed and through capable manage- ment and untiring perseverance has worked his way up to success.
Mr. Shoemaker was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on the 21st of August. 1860. Ilis father. Jacob Shoemaker, also a native of Lancaster county. Pennsylvania, was of Ger- man lineage, and throughout his active busi- ness career carried on the occupation of farm- ing. Hle held membership in the Lutheran church and gave his political allegiance to the Democracy. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rebecca MeQueeney, was of Scotch- Irish descent and was likewise a native of Lancaster county. Pennsylvania. She, too. hold membership in the Lutheran church and
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
lived a consistent Christian life. In the fam- ily were four children. but only two are now living: John L., of this review ; and Elizabeth, who resides in Pennsylvania.
After acquiring his preliminary education in the common schools of his native city. John L. Shoemaker pursued the high school course in Lancaster. Pennsylvania. and later attended the Millersville State Normal School of Penn- sylvania. On putting aside his textbooks he turned his attention to the business of manu- facturing cigars at Manheim. Pennsylvania, where he remained for about fifteen years, and in 1890 removed to Illinois, settling in De- catur. where he worked at the cigar trade. After a short period there passed. however, he took up his abode in AAssumption, Illinois, where he engaged in the same business. and in the fall of 1891 he removed to Nokomis, Illi- nois, where he established a cigar factory of his own. The success he has achieved in busi- ness has resulted entirely from his close ap- plication, thorough knowledge of his trade and careful management.
Mr. Shoemaker has been prominent and in- finential in political circles in the various communities in which he has resided. While residing in Manheim. Pennsylvania. he served as a member of the Democratic central com- mittee, and in Nokomis he filled the position of city clerk for two terms. In 1898 he was elected to the office of county clerk of Mont- gomery county. and during the four years' term discharged his duties with such faith- fulness and capability that in 1902 he was re- elected. so that he is now serving for the sec- ond term. He is systematic and methodical in the discharge of his official duties, prompt and reliable, and over his public career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. He was chairman of the county Democratic committee of 1900 and he has done much to promote the success of his party in this por- tion of the state. After his election to office he removed to Hillsboro in the spring of 1899. and is well known in the county seat as a pub- lic official and as a representative business man.
In 1895 occurred the marriage of John L. Shoemaker and Miss Della A. Morgan. a
daughter of Daniel and Martha E. Morgan, in whose family were eleven children. ller father was a farmer by occupation Mrs. Shoemaker was born in Wabash. Indiana, in 1820, and has become the mother of three chil- dren : Ophelia, Frances and Alice. Fraternally Mr. Shoemaker is connected with the Masonic lodge and is a charter member of Blue Cross lodge. K. P .. of Assumption. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp and the Court of Honor, and his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. Ilis genial manner, un- failing courtesy and kindly disposition have made him a popular citizen, and his influence in public affairs has been a beneficial factor, contributing to the substantial progress and up- building of the community.
EDWARD LANE.
A well-known jurist of Illinois has said: "In the American state the great and good lawyer must always be prominent, for he is one of the forces that move and control society. Pub- lic confidence has generally been reposed in the legal profession. It has ever been the de- fender of public rights, the champion of free- dom. regulated by law, and the firm support of good government. No political preferment, no mere place can add to the power or increase the honor which belongs to the educated law- ver." Judge Lane is one who has been honored ly and is an honor to the legal fraternity of Montgomery county. He stands to-day promi- nent among the leading members of the bar of this portion of the state. a position to which he has attained through marked ability.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he was born on the 9th of March, 1842. Ilis father, John Lane, also a native of Ohio, was a merchant and in his political afliliations was a Democrat. He married Catherine Barry, who was of Scotch-Irish descent. and they became the par- ents of five children. but Judge Lane is the only one now living. The father died during the infancy of his son and the mother's death occurred during his boyhood.
Edward Lane was only sixteen years old when he came to Hillsboro, Illinois. Here he
C
Edward fund
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
worked at any occupation that would yield him an honest living. Desirous of obtaining an education he entered the academy, in which he spent five years as a student. meeting his ex- penses through his earnest, persistent labor. Hardships and difficulties confronted him, but it is only through the pressure of adversity and the stimulus of opposition that the best and strongest in man is brought out and developed and the latent powers of Judge Lane were called into use and the foundation of a self- reliant character was laid. Ile pursued a full academie course, including languages, and, leav- ing that institution, he engaged in teaching for one term, but he had become imbued with a desire to enter the legal profession and made arrangements whereby he entered the law office of Davis & Kingsbury as a student. In the fall of 1864 he was admitted to the bar and entered upon practice with his former precep- tor. Mr. Davis, this association being main- tained until the death of the senior member two years afterward. Judge Lane then began practice alone, in which he continued until 1882, when he formed a partnership with George R. Cooper, with whom he is still asso- ciated. The political positions which he has filled have all been in direct line with the law. In 1866 he was chosen as city attorney for a term of two years, and when but twenty-seven years of age he was elected county judge of Montgomery county, entering upon the duties of the office in 1869 for a four years' term. In 1886 he was elected to congress, where he served for eight years, during which period he was a member of the judiciary committee and was widely recognized as one of the most active working members of that body. He gave close and carnest attention to every question which came up for consideration and supported with unfaltering loyalty the measures in which he believed. On his return from the legislative halls of the nation he resumed the active prac- tice of law in Hillsboro, where he has since remained. This has been his real life work. and at the bar and on the bench he has won distinction. ITis preparation of cases is most thorough and exhaustive and he seems almost intuitively to grasp the strong points of law and fact.
To other fields of activity Judge Lane has extended his efforts and with equal success. IIe is an agriculturist, giving personal supervision to his farming interests. IIe is also a director of the Hillsboro National Bank, of which he was one of the organizers, and is a stockholder in the Montgomery Loan & Trust Company. He likewise has a beautiful home in Hillsboro, which is numbered among his valuable realty possessions.
In 1820 Judge Lane was united in marriage to Miss Tucie Miller, a daughter of Samuel K. Miller, of Lawrenceville, Illinois. Mrs. Lane was born there in 1850, and is descended from a Kentucky ancestry. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children: Guy C., who is a graduate of Yale College and is now a practicing attorney connected with his father; and Bessie, the wife of Howard Boogher, an attorney of St. Louis. Judge and Mrs. Lane hold membership in the Lutheran church. HIe is a man of strong intellectual endowments and of high character, standing at the head of his profession in Montgomery county. In his habits he is temperate and disposition kindly, and as a judge and statesman he made a repu- tation which ranks him with the distinguished residents of central Illinois.
JOHN W. ANDERSON.
John W. Anderson was born April 28, 1872, upon the farm on which he now resides, near the town of Nokomis. His parents were Ilenry Clay and Ellen T. ( Holmes) Anderson, and the former was born in Effingham county. Illi- nois, while the latter was a native of Yorkshire, England. Mr. Anderson carried on farming in St. Clair county. Illinois, for a number of years and removed to Montgomery county about 1867. settling in Wilt township. Later he took up his abode on section 29. Nokomis township, purchasing one hundred and twenty acres of land. to which he afterward added a tract of forty acres, making a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which he lived imtil his death in 1878. His widow still sur- vives him and is now living in Witt at the age of sixty-six years. In their family were
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
four children: Minnie, the wife of Mercer Itargitt, whose home is in Witt; James HI., who is in the employ of a mining company in the Black Hills of South Dakota; John W., of this review; and Lewis Clay, who died in infancy.
John W. Anderson acquired his preliminary education in the district schools and supple- mented it by a short period of study in Witt. He put aside his textbooks at the age of six- teen and began work as a farmer. In 1895 he began farming on his own account on the Mitchell farm, one mile southwest of Witt, and in 1896 he removed to his present location, where he has since resided, having here an ex- cellent tract of land, which he has cultivated and improved until it is now a valuable prop- orty. his well tilled fields yielding to him golden harvests. He is also one of the dirce- tors of the Central Illinois Creamery Company of Nokomis.
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