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THE
BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
OF
LIVINGSTON COUNTY
ILLINOIS.
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."-MACAULEY.
CHICAGO: THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY.
1900.
ALLARY 071875 L-NOI AND
L
PREFACE.
HE greatest of English historians, MACAULAY, and one of the most brilliant writers of the present century, has said : " The history of a country is best told in a record of the lives of its people." In con- formity with this idea, the BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD has been prepared. Instead of going to musty records, and taking therefrom dry statistical matter that can be appreciated by but few, our corps of writers have gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their enterprise and industry, brought this county 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 women, 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 bas usually crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very many, who, not seeking the applause of the world, have pursued the " even 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 representative 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. Occasionally 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.
October, 1900,
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO.
"Biography is the only true history."-Emerson.
GEORGE W. PATTON.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
ON. GEORGE W. PATTON. At the present time it is sel- dom that one wins prominence in sev- eral lines. It is the tendency of the age to devote one's en- tire energies to a special line, continually working upward and concentrating his efforts toward accomplishing a desired end; yet in the case of Judge Patton it is demonstrated that an exalted position may be reached in more than one line of action. . He is an emi- nent jurist, an able judge and a leader in political circles. For several years he was successfully engaged in the practice of law in Pontiac, and is now serving as judge of the eleventh judicial circuit.
The Judge is a native of Pennsylvania, and during his infancy was brought to Woodford county, Illinois, in 1851, by his parents, Samuel R. and Jane ( Haines ) Pat- ton, who were also natives of the Keystone state. His paternal grandfather was Rev. James Patton, and his great-grandfather, Rev. John Patton, both of whom achieved some local celebrity as Baptist ministers in western Pennsylvania, the latter having been 2
pastor of the church at Smithfield, Fay- ette county, for thirty consecutive years, as the inscription on his monument, erected by his church, still attests. Judge Patton's ma- ternal grandparents were John and Marga- ret (AAnderson) Haines, farming people of western Pennsylvania. The latter was a daughter of James Anderson, a native of Ireland, who carried a musket for six years in General Washington's army during the Revolutionary war. During their entire residence in this state the parents of Judge Patton made their home in Woodford coun- ty, where the mother died in 1873, the father in 1886. He was a Democrat in politics, a successful farmer, a man of great industry, indomitable will and strong common sense, while the mother was a woman of keen wit, remarkable memory and forceful intellect.
Reared on the home farm in Woodford county, Judge Patton attended the common schools of the neighborhood until twenty years of age, and then took a three years' course at Normal, Illinois, completing the same in 1871. During the following two years he taught school in Secor and El Paso, Woodford county, and with the money thus earned he commenced the study of law with Hay, Green & Littler at Springfield, Illinois,
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THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
and was admitted to the bar in 1875. being a member of the same class as W. J. Cal- honn, ex-Senator T. C. Kerrick and George Torrance. Subsequently he again taught school and engaged in other pursuits until 1881, following farming for three years to regain his health. In 1881 he com- menced the practice of law at Fairbury, this county, and two years later located in Pon- tiac, where he formed a partnership with C. C. Strawn, which was dissolved in 1888. . At- ter that time he was alone and succeeded in building up a large and lucrative practice. On the 7th of June, 1897. he was elected one of the judges of the eleventh judicial circuit, composed of Livingston, Woodford. Ford. McLean and Logan counties, and is now most creditably filling that office. His mind ' is analytical, logical and inductive. With a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the fundamental principles of law, he com- bines a familiarity with statutory law and a sober, clear judgment, which makes him not only a formidable adversary in legal combat, but has given him the distinction of being one of the ablest jurists in this sec- tion of the state.
Although reared in a Democratic at- mosphere. Judge Patton has never voted that ticket. but is a stanch Republican. He was a member of the state central commit- tee of his party from 1894 to 1896. He was made a Mason at Fairbury, and is now a member of Pontiac lodge, No. 204. F. & A.M .: Fairbury chapter. R. A. M .: Chenoa council, R. & S. M .: and St. Paul com- mandery, K. T., of Fairbury. He also be- longs to the Odd Fellows lodge and en- campment, and both he and his wife are members of the Pontiac Methodist Episco- pal church, in which he is serving as an offi- cer. The Judge was married, September
20, 1877, to Miss Flo Cook, daughter of James and Lucinda Cook, of Fairbury, and they now have two children. Marie and Proctor.
HAMILTON R. STEWART.
Hamilton R. Stewart, who for the last fifteen years has successfully operated the farm of B. M. Stoddard on section 8. Avocat township. Livingston county, was born in county Derry, Ireland. June 4. 1854. and is the oklest chikl of William and Mary .1. ( MeLaughlin) Stewart. also natives of county Derry, where the father successfully engaged in farming from early manhood un- ti his death in 1868. Subsequently his widow came to America with her family of five sons and one daughter, namely : Ham- ilton R., the subject of this sketch : Joseph, a farmer, who died in Jowa : Samuel, a resi- dent of Avoca township: William, a laborer of Ogden, lowa: John, deceased ; and Han- nah, wife of William Scott, who lives near Rochelle, Ogle county, Illinois. On their emigration to America the family located in Lexington, Illinois, where they made their home for four years, and in 1872 moved to La Salle county, where the following two years were passed, coming to Livingston county at the end of that time. While in lexington the mother married Thomas Clinton, by whom she had one son. Thomas F., now a school teacher in Swygart. Ilinois. Her second husband died in Livingston county and she is now living with our sub- ject at the age of sixty seven years.
Hamilton R. Stewart commenced his education in the common schools of his na- tive land, and after coming to America, at the age of fourteen years, attended school in
II
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Lexington, Illinois, for a short time. Be- ing the oldest of the family he had to go to work on a farm that he might aid in their support. and lived at home until twenty. two. While in La Salle county he worked in a coal mine in Streator for two years. In 1876 he left home and was employed as a farm hand about five years, at the end of which time he rented land and embarked in farming on his own account.
In 1883 Mr. Stewart married Miss Jane Blair, who was born in Tazewell county. this state, in 1862. Her parents. William and Mary (Gillian) Blair, both natives of Ireland, located in Tazewell county on their emigration to the United States, and after residing there for a few years moved to Mc- Lean county, where they now make their home. The father is a successful farmer. In the family were seven children, namely : Thomas, a farmer of McLean county ; Jane. wife of our subject : David, a prosperous farmer of McLean county; Annie, wife of Hi. . Gillian, of the same county ; William, also a resident of McLean county ; and Lydia and Addie, both at home. Of the nine chil- dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, one died ir infancy. The others are as follows: William J. and Mabel M., who passed the central school examinations at the ages of fifteen and thirteen years respectively. be- ing the youngest who ever passed from their school, and standing high in rank in a classof forty: Minnie P .. Litta G., Ira J., lamil- ton G., Geneveive and Morris M. The par- ents are giving their children the best possi- ble educational advantages.
After his marriage Mr. Stewart located on a farm in McLean county, where he suc- cessfully engaged in general farming for two years, and in 1885 moved to the farm of two hundred acres in Avoca township, Living's-
ton county, where he now resides. He is a conscientious man, upright and honorable in all his dealings, as is shown by his re- maining on one farm so long. During his residence here he has been prominently iden- tified with local politics. He was justice of the peace five years, school trustee six years and assessor two years, being re-elected for a third term, and serving in each office to the best of his ability and for the interests of the people he represents. He is a man who does not draw party lines in local af- fairs, but supports those whom he believes best qualified to fill the positions, regardless of party affiliations. For the past twelve years in national elections he has supported the nominees of the Prohibition party and at present is township committeeman of that party. Socially he is a member of Fairbury Camp. No. 6. M. W. A., and religiously is a member and active worker in the Meth- odist Episcopal church and Sunday school, serving as a member of the board of trustees for the past fourteen years. He is a genial gentleman, who is well liked by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
FREDERICK DUCKETT.
Success is determined by one's ability to recognize opportunity, and to pursue this with a resolute and unflagging energy. It results from continued labor and the man who thus accomplishes his purpose usually becomes an important factor in the business circles of the community with which he is connected and also prominent in public life. Through such means Mr. Duckett has at- tained a leading place among the representa- tive men of Livingston county, which he is how serving as county clerk.
12
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
A son of Benjamin and Jane' ( Redmond ) Duckett. he was born November 10, 1840. in Wedmore, Somersetshire, England, which place has been the ancestral home of the family for many generations. There the fa- ther engaged in farming until his death, which occurred when our subject was a boy of five or six years. The mother was left with six chiklren, five sons and one daugh- ter. She spent her entire life in her native land and died in the faith of the Episcopal church. Those of the family who came to America were Francis, now a resident of Des Moines, fowa : Daniel, a physician, who died in: Forrest. this county, in 1890: Sarah, wife of Jesse Arney, of Kent. Washington ; and Frederick, our subject. The youngest son, Gabriel, is a resident of Australia.
Frederick Duckett received a good prac- tical education in the schools of his native land. In 1854, at the age of thirteen years. he came alone to the United States and spent two years in New York state, where he found employment. In 1856 he came to Illinois and first located in Henry, Marshall county, working on a farm near there until fall, when he went to Peoria county and obtained a position, where he worked for his board with the privilege of attending school. He re- mained in that county until the Civil war broke out and in the spring of 1862 enlisted in Company K. Eleventh Illinois Cavalry. Going immediately to the front, he joined his regiment at Memphis, Tennessee, and was first under fire at Lexington, that state. He took part in the second battle of Corinth and the siege of Vicksburg, and remained jn. active service until mustered out Septem- ber 30. 1865, being never off duty a single day. He was serving as second lieutenant at the time of his discharge. Returning to Peoria county he remained there until 1867.
when he removed to Forrest, Livingston county, and entered in the drug business with his brother. Later he became sole proprietor of the store. and though he began in a small way he carried a large and well-selected stock and had built up an excellent trade at the time of disposing of his business.
On the 19th of February. 1866, Mr. Duckett married Miss Mary E. Munhall. of Peoria county, a daughter of Samuel Munhall, and to them have been born six children : Jeanette, now the wife of H. C. Amsbury, of Wellsville New York: Arthur F .. who married Grace Stillwell and resides ir Forrest: Jesse, now serving as deputy county clerk under his father : Nellie M .: Mabel M1 .. wife of Everett Tate, of Pontiac ; and Aldine, at home.
Mr. Duckett attends and supports the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is a member. He is a very active and prominent member of several civic societies. was one of the organizers of Forrest Post, C. A. R., and served as its first commander. He has represented it in the state encamp- ment several times and was a member of the commander's staff one year. He was a charter member of Forrest lodge. No. 614. FF. & A. M., of which he was master about ten years, and is now a member of Pontiac lodge. No. 294. F. & A. M., of which he has been secretary, while at present he is high priest of Pontiac chapter. R. . A. M., and past commander of St. Paul Commandery. K. T., of Fairbury. He also belongs to Chenoa Council. R. & S. M., of Forrest lodge. K. P., of which he is past chancellor. and the Modern Woodmen of America, of which he is past venerable consul.
Since attaining his majority Mr. Duckett has been an active Republican. He served as collector of his township several terms
I 3
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
and was a member of the township board at different times. In 1894 he was elected county clerk by a good majority and after filling that office for four years was renom- inated by acclamation in 1898 and elected by an increasing majority, which speaks well for the estimation in which he is held by the 1.eople of the county, who recognize his abil- ity and fitness for the office. Ilis present term will not expire until December, 1902. As a citizen he has always been found true to every trust reposed in him, so that his loyalty is above question, being manifest in clays of peace as well as when he followed the old flag to victory on southern battle fields. Since he entered upon the duties of his present office he has made his home in Pontiac.
JAMES P. DAHL.
James P. Dahl, who is successfully en- gaged in farming on section 3. Eppards Point township. Livingston county, Illinois, two miles from Pontiac. is a native of Denmark, born on the Baltic Sea March 24, 1839, and is a son of Lars P. and Christina ( Peter- son ) Dahl, who spent their entire lives as farming people in that country.
Our subject was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of his na- tive land. His knowledge of the English language has been acquired through his own unaided efforts. It was in 1860 that he crossed the broad Atlantic, sailing from Liverpool. England, to New York, and land- ing in the latter city on the 25th of May. that year. He came direct to La Salle coun- ty. Illinois, where he had friends living. and where he worked on a farm by the month for some time. Later he was similarly
employed in Putnam county for five years, and from there went to Peru, Illinois, where he formed a partnership with his brother-in- law. John Dixon, and engaged in fruit grow- ing and the milk and dairy business for nine years, selling out on coming to this county.
On the roth of April. 1877. in Peru, Mr. Dahl married Miss Lydia Jensen, a native of Copenhagen. Denmark, and a daughter of Paul and Louisa ( Otto) Jensen, who were also born in that country. The father was a business man of Copenhagen. Mrs. Dahl was well educated in the schools of that city and came to the new workl in 1875. To our subject and his wife have been born six chil- dren, of whom four are living, namely : Anna is a well educated young lady, who is now successfully engaged in teaching music and also serves as organist of the McDowell Methodist Episcopal church : William assists his father in the operation of the farm: and Joseph and Clinton are also at home. Carrie died at the age of ten years; Mary, at the age of six months.
The day after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dahl came to Livingston county and he purchased eighty-four acres of land on sec- tion 3 .. Eppards Point township, where he how resides, and has since -bought forty acres more, making a fine farm of one hun- dred and twenty-four acres, which he has tiled and placed under a high state of cul- tivation. He has remodeled the house, planted an orchard, erected outbuildings and made many other useful and valuable im- provements on the place which add greatly to its attractive appearance. Ile is quite suc- cessfully engaged in general farming and stock raising. Originally he was a Repub- lican in politics, but is now a Prohibitionist, and at local elections votes for the men whom he believes best qualified to fill the offices,
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THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
regardless of party affiliations. He is now an efficient member of the school board and president of his district. Religiously Mr. Dahl and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of MeDowell and are highly respected and esteemed by al: who know them.
JAMES H. GAFF.
James H. Gaff. a prominent old résident of Pontiac, Illinois, who is now serving as justice of the peace and deputy sheriff of Livingston county, was born in Xenia. Greene county, Ohio, March 23. 1827. a son of David M. and Hannah ( Mock) Gaff. His paternal grandparents were John and Martha (Scott) Gaff. natives of Pennsyl- vania and Maryland respectively. the birth place of the former being not far from Get- tysburg and Hagerstown. They were of Scotch-Irish descent and members of the old Covenanter church. The maternal grand- parents were John and Mary ( Horney ). native- of North Carolina. In 1801 they removed from that state to Xenia, Ohio, in a one-horse wagon, resting always on the Sabbath day during the journey. Mr. Mock helped build the first house ever erected in Xena and owned one hundred acres of heav- ily timbered land about five miles south of where that city now stands. This he cleared and transformed into a good farm. Leav- ing his family and several children at home. he enlisted in the war of 1812, and was sta- tioned at MePherson's block house on the line between Indiana and Ohio. He and his wife spent their last days upon a farm which He improved in Fayette county, Ohio. She was of Quaker descent and was a daugh-
ter of James Horney, who had charge of the train of seventeen wagons in which the Mock family moved to Ohio from North Carolina. They became members of the Methodist Episcopal church and old Peter Cartwright preached in their house.
David M. Gaff. the father of our subject. was born in Maryland near the Pennsylvania hne. and was a young man when the family moved to Xenia, Ohio, where he married Hannah Mock. a native of Ohio. He fol- lowed farming, but died at the early age of twenty-seven years, being accidentally killed March 27. 1831. when our subject was only four years old, leaving his widow with three small children to support. This she did by engaging in weaving. Later she married John Calhoun and moved to Montgomery county. Ohio, locating six miles south of Dayton, where the family lived until about 1857. when they came to Illinois and settled near Decatur. Macon county. Mr. Calhoun died in Decatur in 1866 and his wife died near Bloomington, this state. in 1802, at the age of eighty-five years. At an early day John Gaff. our subject's paternal grandfather. who was also a soldier of the war of 1812. floated down the Ohio river on a flat boat to Cin- cinnati, and from there drove across the country to Nenia, where in the midst of the forest he commenced to develop a farm. which was to have been inherited by our subject's father had he not been killed so early in life.
Just before he attained his eighth year James H. Gaff. our subject, went to live with an uncle, with whom he remained for four years, and then made his home with his grandfather Mock. Until eighteen years old he attended school not to exceed thirty days a year, his first books being an elementary speller and testament, which were later sup-
15
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
plemented by the American reader and Smith's arithmetic. The school house where he pursued his studies was a primitive struc- ture built of logs, with puncheon floor and seats and greased paper windows, and the little room often had to accommodate forty pupils.
After leaving school at the age of eight- een years Mr. Gaff learned the blacksmith's trade in Jeffersonville, serving a three-years apprenticeship, and then working as a jour- neyman at that place for a time. While there he was married. December 23. 1850, to Miss Catherine Powell, a native of Fayette coun- ty, Ohio, and a daughter of Harper Powell. a farmer. They have one child, Ann E .. now the wife of Charles Tanquary, of Chi- cago, by whom she has a daughter, Helen G.
On leaving Jeffersonville, Ohio, in the fall of 1851. Mr. Gaff moved to what is now Cooksville. McLean county, Illinois, where he bought eighty acres of land and com- menced breaking prairie with an ox team. In 1854 he moved to Pleasant Hill and opened a blacksmith shop, which he con- ducted for five years and then sold. Coming to Pontiac he was here engaged in general blacksmithing until after the Civil war broke out.
In the fall of 1862 Mr. Gaff enlisted in Company G. One Hundred and Twenty- rinth Illinois Volunteer Infantry and first. went to Louisville, Kentucky. He was at the engagements at Bowling Green, Gallatin and Nashville and later started on the Chat- tanooga and Atlanta campaign, his regi- ment being one of the first to enter Atlanta after the evacuation. They were on the left wing of the army in the march to the sea and up through the Carolinas to Goldsboro and Raleigh. The war having ended they continued their march through Richmond to
Washington, D. C., where they participated in the grand review. They were mustered out at Washington June 8. 1865, and dis- charged at Chicago on the 21st of that month. Mr. Gaff had four half-brothers and one step-brother in the service, not one of whom was ill or wounded while in the army. although their aggregate service amounted to over nineteen years.
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