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 44
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In politics Mr. Chenoweth has always been identified with the Repub- lican party. He cast his first presidential vote for James A. Garfield and since then many other noble public men have had his support. He takes an interest in all that concerns his township and neighborhood and is espe- cially active in the matter of public schools and has served as a school director for many years. With his family he belongs to the Shiloh Metho- dist Episcopal Church and all are willing helpers in promoting its various avenues of usefulness.
M. M. HARRY, whose home is on Route No. 5 out of Urbana, is one of the honored veterans, a sergcant, of the Civil War still living in Champaign County, and has made his own career of industry count for a great deal in the development of this section during the past half century.
.Mr. Harry was born in Lewis County, Kentucky, January 8, 1844, the third in a family of sixteen children born to Joseph M. and Lucinda (Ruggles) Harry. His parents were both natives of Kentucky. When M. M. Harry was four years of age he came to Illinois, locating in the town of Urbana, where his father followed the trade of carpenter. Several of the children died young, and of those who attained maturity M. M. Harry had the following brothers and sisters: H. James, who was a soldier in the Civil War; Wilson and Harkness, who own a foundry at Gibson City, Illinois; Oscar; Etna Roby of Danville; Bertha M., who died several years ago; and Francis M., a Methodist Episcopal minister living at Bloomington, Illinois. M. M. Harry received his early education in the public schools of Urbana. He was seventeen years of age when the war broke out, and late in 1862 he responded to the call for troops to put down the rebellion and enlisted with other neighbor boys at Urbana in Company I of the Sixteenth Illinois Cavalry, under Captain Jackson of Kankakee. They were mustcred in at Springfield and kept in training at Camp Butler for a time, then sent to southern Illinois and soon got into action in Kentucky. On one of the scouting raids made . by his regiment through Lee County, Virginia, Mr. Harry and his comrades to the number of 185 were all captured. He was first sent to Lynchburg, Virginia, then to Richmond, and spent two months in the prison camp at Belle Isle in the James River. From there
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they were sent to Andersonville, and in that notorious stockade suffered everything that human beings could be called upon to endurc. For more than eleven months he was a prisoner of war. From Andersonville he was removed to Florence, South Carolina, and as at that time Sherman's army was rapidly advancing aeross the Carolinas the prisoners were kept moving. Finally the order eame to exchange 10,000 sick and convalescent prisoners, and they were paroled at Benton Barracks in St. Louis. Unable to do fur- ther service on account of their weakened condition, they were kept at dif- ferent points and Mr. Harry was finally discharged at Nashville, Tennessee, and mustered out at Chicago. He was in the army nearly three years, from December 3, 1862, until August 2, 1865.
On January 9, 1868, Mr. Harry married Olivine Dilling. She was born in Champaign County, Illinois, daughter of David Dilling. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Harry engaged in farming at Big Grove, Illinois. Two children were born to their marriage: Olivine, who died in infancy; and Effie May. Effie May is now the wife of Samuel Somers. Her children are Harry Kerr, Francis M., Ralph, Joseph and Dorothy.
On March 21, 1873, five years after their marriage, the death angel entered the Harry home and Mrs. Harry entered into rest. On October 30, 1877, Mr. Harry married Mary J. Boyd. She was born in Urbana Township, daughter of James W. and Frances (Rhoades) Boyd, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Illinois. In the Boyd family were the fol- lowing children: John W., deceased; William M., deceased; Sarah E. Strover of Sacramento, California; and Alfred, who died at the age of twenty. Mrs. Harry also had two half sisters and a half brother : Mrs. William Jones of Urbana; Frank Boyd of Alma, Michigan; and Florence Sperling, now deceased.
Mrs. Harry with her brothers and sisters were educated in the publie schools of Urbana Township. Mr. and Mrs. Harry have four children, Franees, Mary Ethel, James Lewis and Daisy E. Realizing the advantages of good training, Mr. and Mrs. Harry gave them a good education, finishing in the high school at Urbana. The daughter Frances is now the wife of Arthur L. Aiken, and they live at San Diego, California, where Mr. Aiken is employed in a furniture store. They have an adopted daughter, Leona. Mary E. married Ralph T. Smith, a practical farmer in Urbana Township, and their family consists of four children. Rollin, Harry, Mary and Rex. The son, James Lewis, is still at home with his parents. Daisy E. married Frank O. Edwards, who is in the baking business at Dayton, Ohio. They have one child, Lois.
Progressiveness has always been the keynote in the career of Mr. Harry. He has gained sufficient material success and all the time has had by liis side a good wife to give him advice and Christian counsel. While they began life as renters, he made his first purchase of twenty-eight acres and used that as a nucleus of a permanent home. Mrs. Harry is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Urbana. Politically Mr. Harry is a Demoerat and has served as school director, supervisor and road commis- sioner. Mrs. Harry is a most energetic woman, and has been enthusi- astically a worker for the cause of temperance and prohibition and has never failed to lift her voice and use her influenee toward the progress of that movement which even now is finding results in an almost total abolition of the liquor traffic. Mrs. Harry's great-grandmother was a cousin of Presi- dent Zachary Taylor. In the passing years Mr. and Mrs. Harry's carcers and work have been closely identified with Champaign County. They have endeared themselves to the community by their neighborly acts of kindness and their home has always been a center of true hospitality.
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CYRUS E. JACKSON. In an enumeration of the magnificent resources of Champaign County too much cannot be said of the banks and the bankers, since without their functions and their power all industry would soon be paralyzed. In this group of live and enterprising business men stands Cyrus E. Jackson, cashier of the Dewey Bank at Dewey. Mr. Jackson has been identified with that center of trade and population for a number of years, and is not only a banker but a merchant and one of the leading men in public affairs.
Though a resident of Champaign County most of his life, Mr. Jackson was born in Piatt County, Illinois, September 4, 1872. He is a son of Isaac A. and Adaline (Smith) Jackson. Of their family of three sons and two daughters, three are still living. Isaac A. Jackson was born in Indiana in 1843 and died very suddenly in 1906. When he was ten years of age he accompanied his parents from Indiana to Illinois, the family locating near Farmer City. Grandfather Jackson was one of the early settlers in that part of central Illinois. Isaac Jackson acquired only a common school education and applied his efforts in a practical and energetic fashion to farming throughout his active career. At the time of his death he owned 260 acres of the splendid soil of Champaign County. This branch of the Jackson family is of English origin, the lineage being traced directly back to old England. Isaac Jackson was reared in the atmosphere of Whig politics when a boy, and on coming of age joined the Republican party and cast his first vote for Lincoln, the great war president. He himself had fought as a gallant soldier in the Civil War for three years, being finally discharged on account of disability. He enlisted with a regiment of Illinois cavalry, and though present and a participant in many hard fought battles was never wounded nor taken prisoner. He and his wife were long active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Champaign, to which city they had retired in 1898. Isaac Jackson was also an honored member of the Grand Army post at Fisher, Illinois. His wife was a native of Indiana and her parents were of English extraction. Both Isaac Jackson and wife are buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery in Champaign.
Cyrus E. Jackson was two years old when his parents removed to Cham- paign County. He is self-educated and early learned to depend on his own exertions as the key to substantial success. Up to the age of twenty- three he remained on his father's farm, and during that time acquired a thoroughly practical experience as a farmer, which has been utilized in his later career in the supervision of his own land. After his marriage he left home but continued farming until the fall of 1901. At that time he became a salesman in the large general store of Mr. Romc at Fisher, but on August 1, 1902, he established a small general store of his own at Dewey. This business he rapidly developed with corresponding increase of trade territory. In January, 1912, the store, containing a stock of $10,000 worth of goods, was destroyed by fire. Though he was protected by insur- ance to the value of $7,500, the fire proved a heavy loss and inconvenience. Since 1903 Mr. Jackson, in connection with his store, has conducted a banking business and after the fire he devoted all his time to banking and gave up his active career as a merchant.
On December 18, 1895, Mr. Jackson married Miss Clara Rome. They have three children: Cecil, who is in the eighth grade of the Dewey schools; Neva, also in the eighth grade and a student of music; and Lyle, the youngest, who is in the first year of the primary schools. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson are taking great pains to give their children thorough and adequate educational advantages.
Mrs. Jackson was born in Bellflower, Illinois, June 6, 1878. She was educated in the public schools. Her parents were Robert and Agnes
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(Brown) Rome. Her father was for many years one of the leading gen- eral merchants at Fisher in Champaign County, and since his death the large store has been continued successfully by his widow and their son. Both of Mrs. Jackson's parents were born in the land of the thistle and heather, Scotland. Mr. Jackson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while his wife belongs to the Christian denomination.
For a number of years Mr. Jackson has been before the public both as a business man and as a citizen, and has gained the complete confidence of all who know him. His banking house at Dewey has been maintained at a high standard, has a notable record of integrity and solidity, and its patrons are among the wealthiest farmers of this locality. In politics Mr. Jackson began voting as a Republican and has continued so to the present time. His first presidential ballot was given to President Mckinley. He has served as supervisor of his township for eleven years and is still in office. He was also one of the main factors in urging his fellow citizens to con- struct good roads, the crying need of the central Illinois farming district today, and especially in the corn belt, where the heavy rich black soil grows a wealth of crops but is not a natural road material.
Fraternally Mr. Jackson is affiliated with Sangamon Lodge No. 801, A. F. & A. M., at Fisher. Besides his bank Mr. Jackson has a fine farm of 120 acres, and he also has the management of 960 acres for non-resident property owners from Chicago. This extensive body of land is situated in East Bend Township of Champaign County.
For several years Mr. Jackson has also been in the automobile business at Dewey, in partnership with Harry Hamm. They conduct the leading garage and are agents for the Ford car. These young gentlemen are doing a fine business and beside's their capital they are known as obliging, cordial and genial men with hosts of warm friends. In 1906 Mr. and Mrs. Jackson crected their modern residence in Dewey. It is a home of comfort, where they extend their hospitality to their many friends.
F. M. FAGALY, a retired resident of St. Joseph, has many interesting distinctions, not least among which is the fact that he served more than three years in the Union Army during the Civil War. Mr. Fagaly and his family are widely known in Champaign County, where through all the years their names have been associated with that industry and good citizen- ship which are the bulwark of American institutions.
Mr. Fagaly was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, not far from the city of Cincinnati, a son of John and Mary (Stewart) Fagaly. His parents were also natives of Ohio. The Fagaly family is of German origin. An interesting story is told concerning his grandfather. He was a German youth who lived in the kingdom of Wuertemberg. He became acquainted with one of the daughters of the king of Wuertemberg and their acquaint- ance ripened into love. All the traditions and customs of the family for centuries prohibited the marriage of a royal daughter out of caste, since Grandfather Fagaly was a commoner. The young people determined to brave the wrath of the king, were married secretly, and eloped to America. The young princess was determined that her lot should be cast with her true love, and she was not afraid of the perils of a new adventure in a strange land. Coming to America, they settled at Cincinnati, where, though possessed of limited means, they had those characteristics which soon brought them a home, comfort, and the substantial honors of citizenship.
Mr. Fagaly's mother, Mary Stewart, was the daughter of a Mrs. MacElroy. This grandmother of Mr. Fagaly lived in Indiana. She was born in what is now a part of New York City. When a girl she was bereft of her parents, was reared by strangers, came to Indiana and lived a long
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and useful life. As old age came on she was comparatively helpless and went to live with her children. One son, William Stewart, in anticipation of his mother's coming, erected a new house with a special room for her convenience and comfort. She had just got located in this house when the building took fire and burned to the ground, and the old lady, who was then one hundred and seven years of age, was unable to escape and was burned to death.
F. M. Fagaly was one of seven children. Hc obtained his early educa- tion in the district schools of Hamilton County, Ohio. He grew to manhood on his father's farm, and had acquired considerable knowledge of that industry before he entered the army .*
He was nineteen years of age when he volunteered and went to Camp Dennison, eighteen miles from Cincinnati, where he was enrolled in Com- pany K of the Eighty-third Ohio Infantry. With this regiment he marched away to the front and first took part in the campaign to protect Cincinnati from the second invasion of Kirby Smith. Kirby Smith had tried to cap- ture and destroy Cincinnati, but the Federal troops gave him a merry chase and caused a complete change in his plan. Mr. Fagaly and his comrades fought at Camp Orchard, were then ordered back to Louisville, took boat to Memphis, and during the year 1862 did much patrol duty up and down the Mississippi from Island No. 10 to Vicksburg. He was part of Sherman's great army in the Vicksburg campaign. It will be recalled that the first plan to reduce that Mississippi stronghold was an expedition up the Yazoo River, allowing the troops to attack the city in the rear. The culmination of this was the battle of Haines Bluff, where the Union troops suffered heavy losses. Sherman was greatly criticized for this part of the campaign, but his troops loved him and, as Mr. Fagaly says, would have waded through fire and blood to follow their leader. After Haines Bluff Mr. Fagaly's regi- ment was ordered back to Arkansas Post and captured that entire garrison of 3,000 prisoners. His next duty was at Young's Point in Indiana and soon afterward he and his comrades were employed in the famous under- taking of digging a canal to divert the waters of the Mississippi. This occurred during the winter of 1862-63. It was an open winter, the waters of the river were very high, and after completing the work within half a mile of the river bank the floods broke through the narrow retaining wall and the next day the main current of the Mississippi River was sweeping down the canal. About 100,000 Federal troops were in the vicinity of Young's Point and thousands of them were working night and day in the digging of the canal, which they considered a pleasant diversion in spite of its actual hardships. The Confederates believed that Vicksburg was so strongly fortified that it could never be taken by the Union troops. Grant dug this canal so as to get his boats and supplies down to New Orleans unimpeded by the fire of the Vicksburg batteries. The canal enabled the boats to pass by the fortress without incurring any material damage from the batteries. The Confederates had only one gun that could reach the forces at work on the canal, and the Union troops called this the "Whistling Dick." Mr. Fagaly was witness, along with thousands of other Union troops, of one of the picturesque incidents of this campaign. A dummy boat was loaded above Vicksburg, consisting of two immense flatboats, piled high with many barrels, in all of which were placed lighted candles. When this grotesque structure floated down in range of the Vicksburg batterics all the guns opened fire. It was a dark night and the illumination from the flashing guns was a spectacle which Mr. Fagaly will never forget. At that time General Pemberton, the commander at Vicksburg, had a great gunboat which the Union forces dreaded more than anything else. Believing that the dummy flatboats were the entire Union fleet, Pemberton ordered
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his gunboat blown up to prevent its falling into the hands of the Federal forces.
In all these exciting adventures Mr. Fagaly continued until April, 1863, when he and his command were sent below Grand Gulf to a place called Hard Times Landing, a shipping point where a great cargo of cotton was stored. On May 1, 1863, he fought in the first battle of the main attack upon Vicksburg and after that was under continuous fire every day until the 4th of July, when Pemberton surrendered his war worn forces and the Union troops entered the city and saw the stars and bars hauled down from the courthouse and the stars and stripes raised instead. Thus he had part in the campaign which even more than Gettysburg broke the back of tlic rebellion. 1
After Vicksburg Mr. Fagaly was at New Orleans, and while there was with the troops ordered to cross Lake Pontchartrain and attack a small fort. They captured this fort with 300 prisoners and returned with them to New Orleans. The troops were then ordered to Pensacola, Florida, and to Fort Blakely, Alabama, which after withstanding an eight day siege, surrendered to the Union forces. This occurred about the time Lee's army surrendered in Virginia, and that was practically the close of the war. From Alabama Mr. Fagaly and his comrades were sent to Galveston, Texas, again to combat the wily Kirby Smith, who was making his last stand in the Southwest. Mr. Fagaly remained in Texas until sent back to Camp Dennison, where he was discharged, after giving three years and ten days of service to the Union. He arrived home in August, 1865.
On August 14, 1866, Mr. Fagaly married Miss Caroline L. Shafer, a girl with whom he had grown up in southern Ohio. They then settled near Cincinnati in Hamilton County, where he engaged in farming for a year, after which he moved to Indiana. Mr. Fagaly enjoyed the companionship of his first wife only four years. She was taken away by death in 1870, the mother of one child, Emma Catherine. This daughter married William Greiser, and they live on a farm near Cincinnati. She is the mother of five sons, Edwin, Clarence, Clifford, Elmer and William.
For his second wife Mr. Fagaly married Elizabeth Buzon. She was born near Loogootee in Daviess County, Indiana, a daughter of George and Drusilla (Perkins) Buzon, who were also natives of Indiana. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Fagaly settled on a farm in Elnora, Indiana, where he combined farming with teaching. For thirteen winters he taught in the district schools.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fagaly: Cora, Arminta, Ella, Callie, Pearl, Roy, William and Edwin. These children were well educated in the high school at Worthington, Indiana. As they grew up they settled down in life for themselves, and a brief account of their family and where- abouts is as follows: Cora is the wife of Frank Locke, and they live on a farm near Fort Wayne, Indiana, and have two children, Nellie and Carl. The latter, Carl Locke, a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Fagaly, is keeping up the record of the family in patriotism and loyalty, and is a volunteer in the United States Army in Company D now drilling at Champaign preparatory for service against Germany. Arminta married William Harris; they live at St. Joseph and have one child, Hallie. Ella is the wife of Charles Locke, a farmer at Bondville in Champaign County, and they have two children, Floyd and Louise. Callie married Benjamin McLoughlin, an undertaker at St. Joseph. Pearl is the wife of Samuel Schofield, a grain merchant at Mahomet, their five children being Edwin, Howard, Dorothy, Donald and Dale. Roy is an extensive stock buyer and shipper and in the retail meat business at Philo, Illinois. He married Hazel Stayton, and their two chil- dren are Helen and James. The son William is proprietor of a grocery
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and meat business at Flat Rock, Illinois, and married Ada Dwyer. Edwin, the youngest child, is a farmer at Philo and married Lois Thompson of Homer.
Mr. and Mrs. Fagaly are active members of the Christian Church at St. Joseph. In politics he votes the straight Republican ticket, and he believes that his political record is almost unique in Champaign County. With his sons and his sons-in-law he constitutes a voting strength of sixteen when the time comes to elect a President or governor. Mr. Fagaly is a charter member of the Grand Army Post at Worthington, Indiana, and has always taken a great interest in army affairs and his old comrades of the war. He was with the Union forces at a time when military life made a strong impress upon his mind and character, and in all the years since he has successfully endeavored to instill in his children the principles of loyalty which he himself exemplified. For many years he has had by his side a good woman, a Christian character, and one who has been in close sympathy with his life and work. Mr. and Mrs. Fagaly now enjoy the comforts of a pleasant home on Sherman Street in the village of St. Joseph.
WILLIAM ALLISON HINTON. There is no better known citizen, nor one whose work and public services are more appreciated, than William A. Hinton of Newcomb Township. His career is significant of that industry and energy which suffice to carry a man from a position among the many into the ranks of the successful few. Champaign County has scores of men who through the domain of agriculture have accumulated a share in such prosperity as few other sections of the United States enjoy, and Mr. Hinton's present position is the more creditable because it has been won not by inheritance but through his own stcady toil.
His loyalty to Champaign County is enhanced by the fact that he is a native of this rich and fertile section of Illinois. He was born November 26, 1857, the third in a large family of thirteen children. Seven of these children are still living and all of them but one have their homes in New- comb Township. His father, Daniel F. G. Hinton, was born in Clinton County, Indiana, was reared there and attended the common schools, and after his marriage he moved in 1854 to Champaign County. This trip was made in true pioneer style, with wagon and team. The father had no capital to begin on and started at the very bottom of the ladder as a renter. After renting for a few years he bought 120 acres in section 18 of Newcomb Township. Not a furrow had been turned in the virgin soil. It was a raw and new neighborhood, and at that time only two other houses were in the locality. A part of the old building he first erected for his home is still standing on the premises. After selling this land to Mr. Buchan he removed to section 16 and bought eighty acres and then another similar tract, and was profitably engaged in its management and cultivation until lie retired into Fisher, where he and his wife spent their last days. The father was a Jeffersonian Democrat. For years he served as township trustee and tax collector, and was a director of the local school twenty-one years. He was a fine type of citizen, one whose example and work brought about increasing betterment. He respected the true Christianity and his career was altogether exemplary. Both he and his wife are now at rest in the Willow Brook Cemetery, where a monument stands sacred to their memory. Mother Hinton was also a native of Indiana, gained her educa- tion there in the common schools, and gave her life to the welfare of her children and her home was her joy.
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