USA > Illinois > Champaign County > A Standard history of Champaign County Illinois : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, civic and social development : a chronicle of the people, with family lineage and memoirs, Volume II > Part 27
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ROGER FRANK LITTLE. An accomplished member of the Champaign bar, Roger Frank Little is a native of Champaign County, acquired his legal education in the University of Illinois, and has been in active and successful practice for the past eight years.
He was born in Crittenden Township October 19, 1885, and is a son of Egbert P. and Matilda (Merry) Little. His father has lived in Cham- paign County since 1868 and for many years was a farmer, but is now living retired in the city of Champaign. Other details of the family history will be found on other pages.
Roger F. Little grew up in the country and was educated in the Tolono High School, where he graduated in 1902, after which he had one year in the preparatory school of the University of Illinois. Mr. Little spent six years in the literary and law department of the state university,
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graduating A. B. in 1907 and LL. B. in 1909. After his admission to the bar he had two years of apprentice experience in the state's attorney's office, and in September, 1911, began practice with Judge Boggs. Their partnership was continued until Judge Boggs was elevated to the bench in the summer of 1914. Since then Mr. Little has practiced with Chancy L. Finfrock.
On March 14, 1911, Mr. Little married Miss Julia Bush, a native of Champaign County and a daughter of Jared D. and Ellen (Royal) Bush. Her parents now live in the State of Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Little have two children : Robert Bush, born May 6, 1915; and Richard Roy, born December 16, 1916.
Besides the attention demanded by his growing law practice, Mr. Little has found time to serve the public interests and spent two years on the city council. He is a Republican, a Mason and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
JAMES ROWLAND. More and more as time goes on American people appreciate the sacrifices and heroism of that host of men who preserved the Union in the dark days of the '60s. It was a wonderful heritage left by them "Much more by far than all the crowns that Europe's monarchs ever wore, the heritage heroes left-a nation free from shore to shore." Comparatively few of the old veterans of that struggle still survive, and wherever they are found they enjoy increasing respect in proportion to their decreasing numbers.
One of them is Mr. James Rowland, whose country home is in section 6 of Harwood Township. Mr. Rowland was born in Washington County, Ohio, the youngest in a family of seven children born to William and Sarah (Chapman) Rowland. His parents' ancestors came from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the Rowland family first had its home in the State of Maine and from there came to Ohio.
James Rowland was only three weeks of age when his mother died and has was reared in the home of a Mr. Fowler. He acquired an education in the Ohio public schools and at the age of nineteen enlisted to serve his country. The date of his enlistment was May, 1864, and he joined Com- pany H of the One Hundred and Sixty-first Ohio Infantry. He enlisted at Hiramsburg in Noble County, Ohio, and went into the Army of the Potomac. He took part in the Lynchburg raid, where the Union troops sustained severe losses, and later was in the hard fighting in the Shenan- doah Valley, where the gallant Sheridan came to the rescue of the hard- pressed Union forces and gained a victory that will always be celebrated in American history. Mr. Rowland remained with the army until the close of the struggle and was mustered out at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio.
Then, at the age of twenty, he came to Illinois with the Fowler family, and his first day in this state will always remain permanent in his memory, since it was the day the news of Lincoln's assassination was flashed over the nation and plunged its entire people into gloom.
At the age of twenty-one, in 1866, Mr. Rowland married Miss Elizabeth Davis, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Jacob Davis. After their marriage they settled on a farm in McLean County, Illinois, living there eighteen years, and then came to Champaign County, where they had their home for over thirty years. In Champaign County Mr. Rowland paid $45 an acre for a farm of 184 acres in Harwood Township. He estab- lished a good home here and by wise management and much hard work has created those circumstances which he now enjoys and which have enabled him to liberally support and provide for his family.
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Five children were born to their marriage, four sons and one daughter. The oldest, Orloff, died at the age of six years. The second, Laura B., is Mrs. E. A. Wood of Gifford, and they have two children, Atha and Edith, the former the wife of Leland Fowler. The third child, Elmer A., is a concrete and monument worker at Champaign, and his children are Morris, Carl, Lola, Donald and Blanche. T. A. Rowland, the next son, is in the barber business at Sidney, Illinois. H. N. Rowland, the youngest child, is in the grocery business at Green Bay, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Rowland took much pains to educate their children properly. Elmer and H. N. both attended the seminary at Onarga, Illinois, and H. N. graduated -from the Wesleyan University at Bloomington. The son Bert was a student in the high school at Farmer City, while Laura completed her · studies in Paxton College.
Mr. James Rowland has for many years been identified with the Grand Army of the Republic and has attended many state and national reunions of that great patriotic organization and has souvenirs of those occasions in many of the badges which he wore. He has also an interesting record of public service besides the part he rendered as a soldier in the war. He served as school trustee, road commissioner, was assessor five years, and at one time was elected to the office of justice of the peace, but declined to fill it on account of other duties. He is a member of the Masonic order. In politics he is a Republican and has given his stanch allegiance to the party which kept the Union intact in the Civil War and has always furnished the country wise and strong government. After experiences of over half a century Mr. Rowland is today well preserved and active, and it is the ardent wish of his many friends in Champaign County that his years may be greatly extended.
LINDSEY CORBLY. The activities of Lindsey Corbly go far back into the pioneer history of Champaign County. He was here over sixty years ago and he endured the ordeals of life on the frontier. The years have visited his efforts with abundant prosperity. Material possessions have been only part of the riches of his experience. He has lived a life of honor, peace and industry, and now in his declining years, in his home at Paxton, he enjoys the esteem of both old and young.
Mr. Corbly was born at Garrard's Fort in Greene County, Pennsylvania, the third son of William and Rebecca (Stephens) Corbly, also natives of Pennsylvania. The records of the Corbly family go far back into pioneer days of the Pennsylvania colony. His grandfather, Rev. John Corbly, was a pioneer Baptist minister along the frontier line of western Penn- sylvania. He was a native of England, but had come to America before the Revolution and first settled in western Virginia and afterwards in Greene County, Pennsylvania. He was instrumental in building the first church at Garrard's Fort. This was a log building and other edifices fol- lowed it, while in 1909 the congregation erected their fourth church home, a brick edifice dedicated that year and named the John Corbly Memorial Church. The name was fittingly bestowed to honor one of the most devoted churchmen of the West. The proposition had been long discussed as to some appropriate memorial to this good and worthy man, and it was finally decided to erect a church which would stand for years and recall his good deeds and unselfish labors.
Rev. John Corbly was three times married. His first wife was a cousin of President Tvler. The fate of his second wife will be mentioned presently. His third wife was a daughter of Colonel Andrew Lynn, who served with that rank in the Revolutionary War. It was his daughter Nancy Ann who married Rev. John Corbly, and she was the grandmother of Mr. Lindsey Corbly of Champaign County.
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Mr. Corbly in his home at Paxton has a book, entitled "Chronicles of. Border Warfare," published at Clarksburg, Virginia, in 1831. The pages of that work contain the record of a tragic incident in which Rev. John Corbly figured. It occurred on Muddy Creek, Pennsylvania, May 10, 1781. He and his wife and five children were on the way to church, the wife and children preceding, when a band of savages sprang up from the roadside and fell upon Mrs. Corbly and the children. The infant in the mother's arms was the first victim. The mother was then struck several severe blows, and not falling, was shot through the body by a savage who had chased her husband. A little son six years old and two girls, two and four years of age, were also victims of the savage onslaught. The oldest daughter concealed herself in a fallen log and witnessed all that transpired. She came out before the Indians had retired, and was caught and slain. . The only survivors of the massacre were the father and the two younger daughters, who by careful nursing were restored. Both of them grew up, though one died later as a result of the horrible treatment she had received. The other lived, married and reared a large family.
From this and other facts it is clear that the Corblys took a prominent part in the early days of western Pennsylvania. During the Centennial year a paper was published devoted to the prominent pioneer families of Pennsylvania and the Corblys were mentioned in the record.
Mr. Lindsey Corbly's parents spent their lives in Pennsylvania and his father died in 1875 and his mother in 1855. Mr. Corbly acquired his edu- cation chiefly in the school of experience, and since the age of sixteen has inade his own way in the world. For a time he worked for an uncle who had extensive interests as a live stock man in Ohio. While there he was paid wages of $7 a monthı. He soon became known as the "boss cattle driver" for his uncle. In those days live stock was never sent by railroad, but always driven overland. One of Mr. Corbly's early experiences was taking a large herd of stock from Missouri to Philadelphia. Much of the country.in the Middle West was then wild and infested with lawless people, and he not only experienced many difficulties in getting his stock safely over the natural difficulties of the road but also had to watch closely against highwaymen who sought his money and life.
Mr. Corbly came to Illinois in 1853, locating in Champaign County, but two years later going to Vermilion County as a farmer. In 1863 he located in Kerr Township of Champaign County and gradually built up a large enterprise as a farmer and stockman. At one time he owned over 1,700 acres of land and his business as a land holder and stockman made his name familiar all over central Illinois.
Mr. Corbly has always manifested a public spirited interest in local affairs. In Kerr Township he served twenty years as township trustee, and was one of the members of the first election board at Gibson City and also a member of the first grand jury of Ford County. He was on the first board of commissioners who divided Ford County into townships and was a member of the board of supervisors when the University of Illinois located at Champaign. Politically he began voting as a Whig and became an original Republican at the formation of that party over sixty years ago. He has always been stanchly aligned with this party and has been convinced that the best and most enduring principles of real democracy are expressed through the Republican party. Mr. Corbly has had many notable friend- ships with leading statesmen and many prominent Republicans, including Joe Cannon, have visited his home. He has always been a great admirer of Lincoln and has had personal acquaintance with Generals Sherman, Sheridan and Halleck. The spicy sayings of Lincoln have been treasured by him and have no doubt had their influence upon his life. One of these
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maxims which he has often quoted is "never trade horses while crossing the river."
On moving to Kerr Township Mr. Corbly selected land which would be especially available for his stock interests. There he reared his family, built fine farm buildings, planted shade trees, and many improvements in that section stand as a monument to his labors and early enterprise.
Since December, 1875, Mr. Corbly has been an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He entered church work through the influ- ence of J. D. Bodkin, now secretary of the State of Kansas, and Rev. James Goodspeed.
On February 24, 1856, Mr. Corbly married for his first wife Sarah Wood. She was born and reared in Vermilion County, Illinois, a daughter of Henry and Nancy Wood. Six children were born to this union, three of whom died in infancy. Those living are Henry L., William Sherman and James L. Henry L. Corbly married Julia B. Webber. He is now a retired farmer living at Paxton and his children are Mrs. Fay Flagg, Lindsey R. and Gladys. Lindsey Ross Corbly lives in Haywood Township and married Fay Goodwin of Ford County. Gladys Corbly is a sophomore in the Woman's College of Jacksonville, Illinois.
William Sherman Corbly married Mary A. Yule of Saybrook, McLean County, Illinois, and they reside at Paxton. Their children are : George Y. and Lynn S. George Y. is a farmer in Button Township of Ford County and by his marriage to Jessie Jenkinson has a daughter, Virginia. Lynn S. Corbly is a graduate of the University of Illinois, a successful practicing attorney in Champaign County, and married Marguerite Clark of Paxton.
James L. Corbly married Ellen Sheehan of Ludlow. Their children are Frank, Ralph, "Jimmie Lee," Owen, Ray, Elmer, Marguerite and Pauline (twins), and Irene. Of these Frank married Belle Jackson and they reside on a farm adjoining his father. Owen Corbly married Vesta Wampler and is also a farmer living near his father.
The mother of these children and first wife of Mr. Corbly entered into rest January 17, 1866, after ten years of married life. She was a good woman, a kind neighbor and a loving wife and mother. For his second wife Mr. Corbly married Mary A. Scholl. She was born near Saegerstown, Pennsylvania, daughter of Dr. Peter Scholl and Elizabeth (Woodring) Scholl of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. By Mr. Corbly's second mar- riage the children are Fred M., Laura F. and Evelyn. Evelyn is the wife of P. A. Kemp of Los Angeles, California, who is a state officer of the Court of Honor. They have one son, Lynn, twelve years old. The mother of these children passed away March 10, 1907. On June 24, 1909, Mr. Corbly married Mrs. Emily Wait. She was born and reared in Vermilion County, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Copeland, natives of Ohio.
The daughter Laura F. married Oscar H. Wylic, a prominent Ford County lawyer, at Paxton, Illinois, who' has filled numerous important public offices and for eight years was prosecuting attorney of Ford County, proving to be a fearless, honest public official. For four years he was Circuit Court clerk and recorder, at the time being one of the youngest officials in the state. Mr. and Mrs. Wylie have the following children : Mac, Howard, Evelyn, Emily and Francis. Mac, Howard and. Evelyn are all graduates of the Paxton High School, and Mac is a student in the law department of the Northwestern University and also spent three years in DePauw University, in which latter institution Howard is a student, and in the fall of 1917 Miss Evelyn proposes. to enter. The two younger daughters attend the grade schools.
Ever since Mr. Corbly's eightieth birthday it has been made an occa- sion of great family interest, one feature being the presentation of an
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immense bouquet of roses and chrysanthemums, his favorite flower, a blossom for every year, and another being the reading of a birthday poem composed by Mrs. Wylie. On the occasion of his eighty-fourth birthday, this tribute was so beautifully expressed and tenderly conceived that it deserves the prominence of an insertion in this history. In the midst of the loving family circle and with other friends present, Mr. Corbly listened to the following :
"Dear old father, with your bcaming face, Your kindly heart and wholc-souled grace, Your sterling worth as pioncer Facing hardships without fear, Always honest and square with the world, Your banner for good ever unfurlcd, That's a record worth while, I say, For this, your eighty-fourth birthday.
"Also, dear father, sweet is to me The memory of thy charity; Thy childlike faith in God and man, Surprised at evil where thou didst find; Hating deceit with all thy heart Because for you was the honest part, That's a record worth while, I say, For this, your eighty-fourth birthday.
"Again, dear father, I'll say to thee, That when you face eternity, I would thy mantle of Christian love Of charity like that above, Should descend on those you love the best, That our lives with good decds may be blest, And that our children may also say Our records were good on each birthday."
The record of Mr. Corbly has been such that no history of Champaign County would be complete without its incorporation. He has stood for the sound and worthy things of life in every relationship. On every side may be found witnesses to his unimpeachable integrity and financial responsibility. Some years ago after a fire in Paxton a few scattered leaves from the reports of the Dun and Bradstreet Mercantile Credit Agency were picked up. These gave commercial ratings of different citi- zens with credit attached of so many thousands of dollars to each one, and when the name of Mr. Corbly was mentioned the rating was fixed in the following significant language: "Good for anything he asks for." That his word has always been as good as his bond is not only expressive of his business integrity but to all those other qualities which are sum and substance of human character.
Mr. and Mrs. Corbly now occupy a pleasant and comfortable home on West State Street in Paxton. There they enjoy the confidence and esteem of a host of friends, and. in the setting sun of his life Mr. Corbly has his good wife by his side, also has the solace of his children and the memory of a just and worthy carecr. It is an unusual retrospect which he enjoys. He has seen a great and magnificent country develop before his eyes and
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with a most creditable share in its making on his own part. He has pros- pered, and at the same time has solved the intricate problems of experience, has reared and educated his children and has given them his own example as a guide to true and loyal citizenship.
ALEXANDER MAHAFFIE. An honored survivor of the great Civil War and a substantial retired farmer of Harwood Township is found in Alexander Mahaffie, who was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, in 1835. For many years Mr. Mahaffie has been a respected and esteemed resident of Champaign County and he has been identified with many of the things which have been beneficial to this section.
The parents of Alexander Mahaffie were William and Elizabeth Mahaffie, who moved from Ohio to Indiana when he was eighteen months old. There he grew to manhood and obtained a district school education. When the Civil War came on he demonstrated the sincerity of his patriotism by enlist- ing, at Loganstown, Indiana, and was mustered in at Laporte as a member of Company F, One Hundred Fifty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which regiment soon marched southward and took station at Nashville, Tennessee. During the time the regiment remained at Nashville Mr. Mahaffie, with many other soldiers, contracted measles, and as it prevailed in a malignant form in his case he was sent to the hospital at Nashville for treatment, but when able to return home was found incapacitated for further military service. When he enlisted he was a robust young man weighing 145 pounds, but when returned to his people he was almost a shadow of his former self and weighed but eighty pounds.
Before entering the army Mr. Mahaffie had visited Champaign County, Illinois, and also Ford County, and in the latter had invested in land, pur- chasing eighty acres, at $8.50 an acre. After coming back from the army he settled with his family on this place, having married in 1861, but later moved to Middletown in Logan County, and there his first wife died in 1866, and he returned to Indiana. After his second marriage he came back to Illinois and for many years has been a resident of Harwood Township, Champaign County.
In 1861 Mr. Mahaffie was married to Catherine Ann Foster, who died in 1866. They had two sons, Hiram Ellsworth and William Edgar. The former was named for the gallant young officer who was one of the early victims of the bitter feeling engendered by the Civil War and whose tragic death aroused the whole country and made of him a hero. Hiram Ellsworth grew to sturdy manhood, brave and resourceful like the gallant young Colonel Ellsworth, but met an accidental death on the railroad on which he was employed. William Edgar died at the age of twenty-two years. Mr. Mahaffie was married in 1874 to Elizabeth A. Scott, who died in 1905. They had one daughter, Sadie, who was born in Ford County, Illinois. She was educated in the public schools of Hoopeston and was graduated from Greer College in 1896. She returned home to take upon herself the direc- tion of the household, as her mother was in failing health, and ever since has been a devoted daughter to her father as she was to her mother until the former's death. She married Robert M. Hodam, who was born in Ford County, Illinois, and is a son of James and Sarah (Harshbarger) Hodam, natives of Virginia, who came early to Illinois. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hodam : Lowell, Florence, Harold, Gladys, Claud and Helen, all of whom are being afforded the best of educational advantages. The family occupies a beautiful home, the comfortable residence being sur- rounded by fine old trees that were set out many years ago by Mr. Burbank.
Robert M. Hodam was educated in the public schools and educational institutions at Normal and Valparaiso. He is a man of large business inter- ests, being manager of the Ludlow Elevator Company for seven years and
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an experienced man in the grain trade. He is prominent also in public matters, has served as treasurer of Harwood Township and is also a member of the school board. Mr. and Mrs. Hodam are active members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church and for the last three years Mr. Hodam has served as superintendent of the Sunday school. He is identified fraternally with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias. Mrs. Hodam is an enthusiastic worker in the Woman's Temperance Union ranks, an earnest and helpful member. She rejoices that a brighter day seems approaching because of the untiring labor of this great body of unselfish women, who have succeeded in encircling the world with the white ribbon of temperance. Mr. Mahaffie and his first wife were members of the Presbyterian Church, and he and his second wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He worships with the Methodists at present.
HON. THOMAS J. ROTH. . Since 1906 the legal profession of Champaign County has been capably and honorably represented at Urbana by Hon. 'l'homas J. Roth, former judge of the County Court and a legist of the county for forty-three years. For the greater part of this period Judge Roth was located at Rantoul, but came to Urbana to assume the dutics of his judicial office, and upon the expiration of his term remained at the county seat in the enjoyment of a constantly increasing practice.
Hon. Thomas J. Roth was born at Circleville, Pickaway County, Ohio, December 3, 1846. and is a son of Thomas B. and Esther (Ghrist) Roth. His paternal grandfather was a native of Holland who immigrated to the United States as a young man and located with his wife in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Thomas B. Roth, however, was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. Mr. Roth's mother's maternal grandfather, Charles R. Morris, was born in Maryland and his wife in New Jersey, and Mr. Roth's maternal grandparents, Jonathan and Mary (Morris) Ghrist, were both natives of Maryland, from which it will be seen that on the maternal side Mr. Roth's ancestry is distinctively American for several generations. As a young man Thomas B. Roth removed to Pickaway County, Ohio, where he lived for a number of years, but in 1856 removed to a farm near Oakland, Coles County, Illinois, making the trip in covered wagons which carried the household goods as well as members of the family, while Mr. and Mrs. Roth, with their youngest daughter, followed with a horse and buggy. From there the family moved to the Joseph Bradbury farm in Edgar County, Illinois, remaining there about twelve years.
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