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 33
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for the third time. He stood this trial before the judge of the Circuit Court and it lasted from 8:00 A. M. until 5:00 P. M. The judge took it under advisement for two weeks before making his decision, and during those two weeks the case was thrown out of court. It was at the instiga- tion of the State Board of Physicians that he was arrested, and after his final acquittal Doctor Hartford sued this board for $10,000 damages, but the matter was compromised by leaving him to practice in peace thereafter.
A little later Doctor Hartford returned to Illinois, where he learned a law also existed against the practice of osteopathy. Later he went to Iowa and was instrumental in securing the passage of a law permitting the practice of osteopathy in that and other states, and in 1899 came to Cham- paign, Illinois, where he passed the examination of the State Board of Health. He opened an office in the annex of the Beardsley Hotel January 1, 1900, and remained in that office for three years, at the end of which time he removed to the Illinois Building. In 1912 he came to his present offices, in the First National Bank Building, where he is enjoying a large practice. His office is unexcelled in equipment, containing the most practical apparatus thus far discovered, as well as the latest periodi- cals and books bearing upon the subject which is enlisting his best energy and thought.
Doctor Hartford was married March 26, 1882, to Miss Hattie Sterrett, a native of Putnam County, Missouri, and to this union there have been born two children. The first, Dr. William Scott Hartford, of Los Angeles, California, is a graduate of the Chicago College of Osteopathy and Herring Homeopathic College of Chicago. In 1906 he located at Urbana, Illinois, where he had a large practice until 1916, and in that year disposed of his property interests and went to Los Angeles, California, where he is now located at No. 310 Story Building. Naoma Rebekah, the only daughter of Doctor and Mrs. Hartford, is a graduate of the Cham- paign High School, of the National Park Seminary, Washington, D. C., and of the University of Illinois, and for two years before her marriage was a teacher in the city schools of Champaign. She is now the wife of William L. Ashbeck, of Chicago, Illinois.
Politically Doctor Hartford is a Republican. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Guardians of Liberty, and, with the members of his family, he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
FELIX G. CAMPBELL was a thoroughly practical and successful farmer before he took up the business of real estate, loans and insurance at Cham- paign, and in both lines his success has been noteworthy. He is' still a farmer through ownership, though no longer a worker in the fields, and he now gives all his time to an extensive clientage in real estate and insurance.
Mr. Campbell was born in Preble County, Ohio, November 11, 1848, and was four years of age when his parents, John W. and Margaret N. (Dooley) Campbell, moved to Peoria, Illinois. His father was a native of Kentucky and his mother of Illinois. John W. Campbell spent his active career as a farmer, largely in Peoria County, and finally, when he and his wife retired, they went to live with their daughter Addie, at that time in Burton, Kansas, where both of them died. They were the parents of seven children: Mary E., David O., Charles L., Samuel, all deceased ; Addie, wife of William H. Wilson of Wichita, Kansas; Felix G .; and George W. of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Felix G. Campbell grew up on an Illinois farm, attended district schools, and remained at home' until he was twenty-four. At that date
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he left home and lived on rented farms for about five years, when he bought eighty acres of his own and subsequently another eighty acres, this 160 acres constituting a very fine improved farm in Peoria County. Later Mr. Campbell bought 160 acres in Champaign County. He still owns both farms. In 1892 he removed to Champaign and for a quarter of a century has been handling real estate, insurance and loans. Mr. Campbell is an active Republican and a member of the Presbyterian Church.
On September 4, 1872, he married Miss Alice Gilbert, a native of Peoria County. They are the parents of four children: Walter G., deceased; Maude, at home; Ralph M., associated with his father in busi- ness ; and Leland L. of Champaign.
CHARLES GORDON. Now enjoying the comforts of a home in Rantoul that is one of the best residences of that town, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon are able to look back with pardonable pride upon a long and active career spent in Champaign County. Mr. Gordon gained his success as a farmer. Indus- try, combined with good judgment, gave him a competency many years ago, and he is looked upon as one of the large land holders and substantial citizens of this section.
A native of Ireland, he was born in Wexford County, a son of John and Mary (Whalen) Gordon. A year and a half after his birth his parents came to America in 1857, and for the first nine years lived in Aurora, Illinois. From there they moved to Shabbona Grove in DeKalb County, and three years later, in 1869, came to Champaign County. Charles Gordon was the fourth. in a family of five sons and three daughters. These children were all educated in the district schools of Compromise Township in this county.
Charles Gordon as he grew to manhood assisted his father on the farm and in 1886 he established a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Hanora Jackson. Mrs. Gordon was born in Morris, Ripley County, Indiana, fifth in a family of five daughters and four sons of John and Anna (Molloy) Jackson. She was educated in the high school at Rantoul.
Having · inherited 160 acres of land from his father, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon located on that farm in Kerr Township after their marriage and put to the test the qualifications they had as industrious and economical young people. Their prosperity grew and in time they found themselves the possessors of a fine estate of splendid land, 640 acres. Mr. Gordon has often succeeded in his agricultural efforts where others have failed, and his friends say that he has a genius for making mother earth yield bounti- fully to every effort he puts forth.
In time there came into their home seven children, two sons and five daughters : John F., Joseph A., Alice M., Theresa M., Clara A., Rose A. and Nona M. From the first Mr. and Mrs. Gordon were ambitious that their children should have the best of educational opportunities. They first attended the Gordon district schools. Alice and Theresa were students in the St. Mary of the Woods at Terre Haute, which is one of the finest schools of culture and training in the Middle West. Theresa graduated with honors from that institution. John F. studied three years in St. Viator's College at Kankakee. Joseph Gordon began his higher studies in St. Bede's College at Peru, Illinois, and graduated from the college course at St. Viator's, and spent four years in St. Paul's Seminary at St. Paul, Minnesota. On finishing his philosophical and theological studies he was ordained a priest at Peoria, June 17, 1916, by Bishop Edmund Dunne. He was then appointed assistant pastor of St. Mark's Parish in Peoria under Father Burke. He has distinguished himself as a studious and con- secrated young priest and has a large circle of friends. Clara and Rose
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became students in the Villa de Chantal College of Rock Island and Clara graduated with the class of 1914. This class contained ten graduates. The daughter Nona is now a student in the Donovan Memorial School at Ran- toul. Thus Mr. and Mrs. Gordon have largely succeeded in their task of educating their children and of preparing them for true and useful citi- zenship. Alice M. Gordon married Francis J. Klein, and they reside on part of the Gordon estate.
The Gordon family are active members of St. Malachi's Catholic Church at Rantoul. For twenty-seven years Mr. Gordon served as treas- urer of his home school district and that old school has taken the name of the family and is now known as the Gordon School, the land having been donated by Mr. Gordon for school purposes.
In February, 1916, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon gave up the active responsi- bilities of managing their extensive landed property, and removing to Ran- toul, built a fine residence at the corner of Belle Avenue and High Street. Here they have every comfort and convenience, and are also in close touch with their large circle of friends. Their son John F. Gordon has now . assumed the chief responsibilities of managing the homestead farm in Kerr Township. He married Emma McEvelly of Minooka, Illinois. They have a young daughter four years old named Vivian Gordon.
JOHN C. KRUSE is one of Champaign's oldest business men in point of continuous service, having lived in that city for almost half a century. He has been an independent merchant for over forty-five years, and he has · wisely looked after and directed the business training of his sons and assisted each one to get established in business.
Mr. Kruse is a native of Germany, where he was born July 23, 1840, son of John C. and Minnie (Martens) Kruse. His parents spent all their lives in Germany. John C. Kruse had that substantial training afforded by the public school system of Germany. His father intended that he should go to a seminary and qualify for the profession of teacher. His father was a cabinetmaker, and before the plan had been carried out with respect to the son's education he became so deaf that his son had to leave school and take charge of the business.
Thus when Mr. Kruse came to the United States in 1867 he had mas- tered a trade and had considerable business experience. He first located in Cleveland, Ohio, but after a year there moved to Champaign, Illinois. Being an expert workman, he found employment in the furniture factory of Walker Brothers, with whom he remained four years. Out of his modest savings he then engaged in a business for himself and has been one of the leading furniture dealers and undertakers in Champaign for so many years that few residents of the city can recollect when the name of John C. Kruse was not in the business directory. In politics Mr. Kruse has main- tained an independent attitude for a number of years. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
On December .6, 1869, he married Miss Doris Busch. Nine children have been born to their union: Minnie and Otto, both deceased; Valde- mar, in the furniture business at Champaign ; Emil, deceased; Paul, in the electrical business at Champaign; Edgar, in the automobile business there; Carl, an electrician; Robert, deceased; and Albert, associated with his father in the furniture business. Each of these sons remained with their father until twenty-one years of age, receiving no pay except board and keep. On reaching manhood the father started each one in a separate
. business for himself, though retaining some financial interest in the ven- ture. It was a splendid way to do and the results have well justified the plan.
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
ENGWARD BENGTSON. While good Americans today find it entirely unnecessary to refer to other countries in order to establish honorable standing, it is but natural that a kind feeling should ever be preserved for the land of one's ancestors, and especially may this be the case when attention can be centered on Sweden. That country has contributed nobly to the good citizenship of America, and in every part of the United States may be found men of Swedish extraction who have proved their dependable qualities. They are found in Champaign County among the representative citizens and progressive farmers. Here the Bengtson and Gilburg names have been held in the highest regard for very many years.
Engward Bengtson, one of the large farmers and successful cattle grow- ers of Champaign County, was born in Ford County, Illinois, and is a son of Charles and Clara Bengtson. They were born in Sweden and came early to Illinois. They endured many hardships, as did all the carly settlers, but they acquired property through their perseverance and industry and the father still lives to enjoy the comfortable surroundings which seem to be the rightful accompaniments of age. About 1900 they removed from their farm of 245 acres, situated in Harwood Township, to Paxton, Illinois, where the beloved mother passed away April 15, 1917, attended carefully, tenderly and scientifically by their daughter, Tillie Bengtson, who is a graduate nurse of Wesley Hospital, Chicago. She still maintains a home at Paxton to care for her venerable father. To Charles Bengtson and wife the following children were born: Alfred, George (who died December 3, 1916), Engward, Tillie and Carl.
Engward Bengtson attended the public schools and was a student in the Ludlow High School. He gave his father assistance on the farm, as was natural and proper, taking a deep interest in all the industries and advocating improvements when he found them desirable. When his parents left the farm and moved to Paxton he and his brother George took entire charge and Tillie became the housekeeper. The death of his brother and his own marriage made some change in the domestic arrangements, but he has continued to operate the land and has been exceedingly successful in this undertaking. Under his management the Bengtson farm has retained its old reputation for fine cattle, and perhaps no finer herds of Durham can be found in the county. He has had a continuous record for large yields, particularly in corn and oats, eighty bushels to the acre not being unusual in corn, and in 1915 he harvested 5,340 bushels of oats. He keeps well posted on agricultural matters and is not afraid of new ventures and has met with some success in his experiments with alfalfa. Although he has niet with a gratifying amount of prosperity in his agricultural industries in Champaign County, as a good business man he thought it desirable to look over some other agricultural sections and in 1907 spent some time in the vicinity of Spokane Falls, Washington. It resulted in his contented return to Champaign County, firm in the opinion that this is, indeed, the garden spot of the world, a section that cannot be surpassed for rich farming land, equable climate and good neighbors.
In 1912 Mr. Bengtson was married to Miss Sylvia Gilburg, who was born in Benton County, Indiana, and is a daughter of Carl Oscar and Louise (Anderson) Gilburg, both of whom came early to Indiana and were married at Attica. They had the following children: Sylvia, Lena, George, Emma and John, all of whom were educated in the public schools of Fowler, Indiana. Even before the marriage of the son and daughter, the Bengtson and Gilburg families were very friendly and frequently visited each other. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bengtson settled on the old Bengtson homestead and have resided here ever since. They have one son, Edward Charles Bengtson, a handsome, sturdy little fellow of whom
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parents and grandparents are justly proud. Mr. and Mrs. Bengtson attend the Swedish Mission Church at Paxton, Illinois. In politics Mr. Bengtson. is a Democrat and a great admirer of President Woodrow Wilson, believing that he is the providentially selected man of the hour for the great responsi- bilities now resting upon him.
CHARLES B. WIGGINS. So indispensable has the automobile become to modern life that one is led to marvel that such great progress in manu- facture and use could have been made in comparatively so short a time. Although the idea of self-propelled vehicles was entertained and to some extent proved possible long before 1886, when the first horseless carriage as a practical conveyance appeared on the boulevards of Paris, France, it presented so many impossible features that for years the venture was not regarded as feasible. When other motive power than steam became known to the industries, it required only the application of inventive minds to evolve the automobile, a rather crude affair even in the summer of 1898, when in the entire United States there were only eighty of thesc new vehicles. In comparison with the present the record is astounding, not only in the volume of automobile output, but in the improvements that each year adds to the utility, beauty, use and comfort of this wonderful invention. With the increased use of the automobile dawned a new pros- perity in every land, business methods have been revolutionized, agriculture is carried on along new lines, social life has been pleasantly stimulated and even war is prosecuted with unheard of vigor because of automobile inventions. Thousands of far-seeing business men find profit in handling one or another of the special type of cars, and along this line an immense business is being transacted at Champaign by Charles B. Wiggins, who is the local agent for the well known Cadillac cars.
Although numbered with Champaign's most representative and solid business men, Charles B. Wiggins is not a native of Illinois. He was born near Circleville, Ohio, January 16, 1872. His parents are Henry J. and Rosalie (Eggleston) Wiggins, both of whom were born in Ohio. They now reside at Homer, in Champaign County, Illinois, where the father is engaged in a banking business. Three sons made up the family: Perley, who is associated with his father in the bank; Charles B., who belongs to Champaign ; and Henry, who is deceased.
Completing his public school course by the age of sixteen years, Charles B. Wiggins for a time was connected with his father's bank. Later he went to the Arkansas Valley in Colorado, and near Rocky Ford bought a large farm and went into the business of raising sugar beets, an industry he continued for four years, and then took advantage of an excellent offer and sold out. He returned then to Illinois and re-entered his father's banking establishment and in the course of time became vice president of the bank and continued in the financial field until 1912, when he sold his interest and came then to Champaign.
In coming to this city Mr. Wiggins had a very definite plan in view and immediately set about putting it into execution. He immediately invested in valuable vacant property, on which he erected one of the finest business structures in this city, a four-story fireproof building which has a frontage of forty-six feet on Hickory Street and forty-six feet on Ncil Street, with a depth of 100 feet. The entire building is devoted to the exhibition of the Cadillac cars. Out of the numberless makes of automobiles, each with special claims to attention, Mr. Wiggins selected the Cadillac, assuring himself first concerning the superiority which he has no difficulty in impressing on buyers when they view and investigate the merits of the magnificent display of cars provided in such an admirable setting by Mr. Wiggins.
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On September 16, 1901, Mr. Wiggins was united in marriage with Miss Daisy Morrison, who is a daughter of Elisha A. Morrison, a well known resident of Homer, Illinois, and one daughter was born to them, Marion, who did not survive infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Mrs. Wiggins taking an active part in the benevolent work for which this religious body is notable.
Not only is Mr. Wiggins an alert and progressive business man, but is active also in all that pertains to public affairs, especially in his own city, and, elected on the Republican ticket, he effectively served as alder- man of the Sixth Ward until May, 1917, when a commission form of gov- ernment was adopted. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons and the Elks.
THOMAS B. WELLES, whose fine country home is in section 7 of Com- promise Township, in the Penfield community, has gained an enviable position among the progressive and successful farmer citizens of Cham- paign County. The passing years have brought him a large degree of that material prosperity which is characteristic of this rich section of Illi- nois, the esteem of the community has increased in proportion to the length of his residence, and his fellow citizens have come to rely upon him as a leader in many of those movements which mark the enlightened progress of any locality.
Mr. Welles was born in Compromise Township and is a son of J. H. and Ann Sarah (Jones) Welles. His father was born in Connecticut and his mother in the State of Maine. They were industrious and thrifty people of Yankee stock, and were pioneers in Champaign County, moving here from Ohio in 1863. When they first located in Compromise Town- ship all the surrounding country was a bare prairie and only four houses could be seen between their home and Rantoul. They had the character- istics of the real pioneers, and in the course of time they had their land under the plow, commodious buildings erected, many fruit and slade trees set out and much of their effort is represented in the present value and attractiveness of the old homestead.
Thomas B. Welles was the youngest in a family of eight children, two sons and six daughters. He grew up on the home farm, and secured his education from the nearby country schools. He gained a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Emma McHenry. Mrs. Welles was born in Vermilion County, Illinois, daughter of Josepli and Nancy (Watson) McHenry. Mrs. Welles was also well educated in the local schools. After their marriage they located on the old Welles homestead, and with 160 acres under his management Mr. Welles has made more than a comfortable living for himself and family and his farm shows the evidences of expert study and handling. For a number of years he has been noted among the breeders and raisers of Percheron horses in this county.
Mr. and Mrs. Welles are the parents of six children: T. Maxwell, Ralph J., Marian Frances, Margaret Alice, Helen Louise and Kate Eliza- beth.
It has been Mr. Welles' desire to give his own children good educations, and with this object in view he has striven to raise the standards of the local schools and has served as a member of the board of directors. In politics he follows the example of his honored father and is a Republican. Mrs. Welles is a member of the Christian Church, but all the family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church at Penfield, where the children are in the Sunday school. Thus Mr. and Mrs. Welles with their family live on an old homestead which has a host of associations centering around the nanic and there they enjoy the good things of life and the years that are past are as grateful in recollection as the future is bright before them.
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JOHN FREDERIC HESSEL. There are many avenues of honorable busi- ness open to men of education, initiative and talent, and it is a claim proudly made by the great University of Illinois that from her halls go out graduates thoroughly prepared for any career. Many of these young men of the thousands who have hopefully crossed her doorsill undoubtedly have proved the truth of this claim, and many have settled down under her walls, as it were, and through their achievements have reflected credit on their alma mater. In this connection may be mentioned a prominent business man of Champaign, John Frederic Hessel, who is a worthy repre- sentative of one of the sterling old pioneer families of Champaign County.
John Frederic Hessel was born at Champaign, Illinois, September 18, 1866. His parents were Gustavus Edward and Mary (Davorn-Dixon) Hessel, the latter of whom survives. She was born in Dublin, Ireland, of Irish and Scotch parentage, on April 4, 1841. In 1856 she was married to Gustavus Edward Hessel at Brooklyn, New York, and five children were born to them, of whom John Frederic is the only survivor. The others, who bore the names of Frank L., Cora Mae and Emma H., all died of scarlet fever on April 24, 1878, aged respectively six, ten and fourteen years. This heart-breaking domestic affliction was one that from lack of medical knowledge at the time was repeated in many a bereaved home.
Gustavus Edward Hessel was born at Freiburg, in the province of Saxony, Germany, October 6, 1836, and died in Illinois, August 10, 1881. His father, Frederick Hessel, owned vineyards and followed an agricul- tural life. Gustavus Edward came to the United States at the age of sixteen years and he found employment on a farm in the northern part of Champaign County. He found but little time to attend the public schools, but studied at night and found teachers to help him, and in that way acquired a fair knowledge of the English language. In 1855 he began the business of manufacturing harness and saddles at Champaign, then known as West Urbana, and through his industry, enterprise and good judgment developed a large concern that was known all over central Illi- nois. He was an active member of the Republican party in the county and always gave support to worthy movements of all kinds. He was one of the early members of the Order of Odd Fellows in this section and was a devout and generous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
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