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 64
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81
Mrs. David Means was born in Ohio, April 3, 1831, and is still living. At the age of eighty-six her intellect is as clear as a bell, her eye clear and sparkling, and all these years have not whitened her black hair. Mr. Means drove to Springfield to get his bride and took her home in a wagon. She has always been active in church and for many years was a worker in the W. C. T. U. Her home is still at Saybrook, and she and her children have their happy family reunions cach year. It is an impressive as well as happy occasion where are gathered together four generations, the mother with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The presence of many descendants has been her chief source of solace and comfort in her declining years.
Frank B. Mcans grew up on the old homestead farm in McLean County, and besides the country school he attended tlie Saybrook High School. Later he took the full course in the Parsons Horological School at Peoria,
951
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
graduating with the class of 1896-97 as an expert watchmaker. To the age of twenty-two Mr. Means had lived on the home farm. In 1897 he took up the work of his profession in the watch and jewelry trades at Saybrook. He also was employed as a clerk in a local drug store, and there he gained his first practical knowledge as a pharmacist and subse- quently became a licensed or registered pharmacist. In 1899 he went to Monticello, Illinois, was employed as a salesman for several years, in 1903 removed to Lovington, Illinois, which was his home and place of business for six years, and in 1909 he took charge of the store at Windsor, Illinois. In 1911 he removed to Sheldon, Illinois, where he spent one year in a drug establishment, and in 1912 he located in Fisher.
He began in this town as a salesman and at the present time he and his wife own one of the most complete stocks of pure drugs and other goods found in similar stores in towns of 3,000 population. In fact his store is classed as No. 1 among the 7,000 drug stores of Illinois. His goods are carefully purchased from some of the best wholesale houses in the United States. Since 1912 he and his wife have filled 11,096 prescriptions. Their store is the local distributing agency for the celebrated Rexall reme- dies, and they also carry a complete stock of toilet articles and have the agency of the Eastman Kodak, the National cigar stand and the veterinary remedies of . Doctor Roberts.
On May 3, 1898, Mr. Means found his capable helpmate in his marriage to Miss Dora C. Short, daughter of Robert and Lucinda (Russell) Short. Mrs. Means was one of seven children, three sons and four daughters, all of whom are living in Illinois except their brother Alva, a farmer at Lake City, Iowa. Robert Short was a native of Washington County, Indiana, and always followed agriculture as his chief vocation. His death occurred in February, 1914, at the age of sixty-nine, and he is buried at Bellflower, Illinois. He removed to McLean County, Illinois, in 1886, when Mrs. Means was eight years of age. Politically he was a Democrat. Mrs. Short was born in Washington County, Indiana, and is still living at the age of seventy-three. She is an active member of the Christian Church, to which her husband also gave his affiliation.
Mrs. Means was well educated, having attended the common schools and Leroy High School. She was in the Leroy High School when Frank Blair was its principal. Frank Blair is now superintendent of public instruction of the State of Illinois. Mrs. Means' favorite study was mathe- matics, and her mathematical mind and her energy have made her an important factor in the success of the business now carried on by herself and husband. Mr. and Mrs. Means are active members of the Christian Church at Fisher. She belongs to the Domestic Science Club. Politically Mr. Means is a Democrat and cast his first vote for Bryan. He has also gone the route of York Rite Masonry, being a member of Cheney's Grove Lodge No. 468, A. F. & A. M., at Saybrook, Sullivan Chapter No. 68, R. A. M., at Sullivan, Maleta Commandery No. 37, K. T., at Tuscola, and Mohammed Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Peoria. He is also a member of the Oriental Shrine Band at Peoria and was with the Shriners at the Imperial Council at Buffalo, New York, in 1916.
FRANK MORTON CONKEY has for more than a quarter of a century been identified with the town of Homer in his profession as a dentist. He is one of the most progressive men in his calling in the county, and began his work with a splendid equipment and has always kept up with every advance and improvement in the profession.
Doctor Conkey was born at Homer, Illinois, May 3, 1868. He is a son of William Alexander and Sarah Virginia (Sadler) Conkey, his
952
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
father a native of Pelham, Massachusetts, and his mother of Wheeling, West Virginia. The Sadler family were early settlers in Champaign County and Sarah Virginia came with her family when about twelve years of age, and rode into the county on horseback. William A. Conkey was graduated from the Louisville Medical College at Louisville, Ken- tucky, in 1856. In 1840 his family had located at Cayuga, Indiana, when he was ten years of age, and he lived in that vicinity until about twenty-two or twenty-five, when he removed to the district east of Cham- paign County on Salt Fork River, where a town was named for him
Conkeytown. From there he removed to the old town of Homer, lived there about ten years and when the Wabash Railroad was built, causing a change in the location and the founding of the new town of Homer, he bought farming land a mile and a quarter west of the village and spent the rest of his days in the quiet vocation of agriculture. His death occurred December 2, 1908, and his wife passed away March 4, 1906. They were the parents of ten children: Aubert J., a retired farmer at Homer; the second, third and fourth children died in infancy; Lucy, wife of M. J. Spencer, now living retired at Homer; Bruce T., who died Janu- ary 5, 1915; Carl A., a hardware merchant at Homer; Emma, wife of E. P. Babb, of Champaign; Frank M., of Homer; and Fred B., of Howe, Indiana.
Frank M. Conkey grew up in his father's home at Homer, graduated from the high school there and spent one year in the University of Illinois. For two years he worked and studied in a dentist's office at Crawfordsville, Indiana, and then spent two years in a dental school, one year at Indianapolis and in March, 1891, graduated from à dental college at Baltimore, Maryland. He at once returned to his old home town and has been steadily practicing here ever since.
Doctor Conkey married Laura V. Shepherd, who was also born in Homer, daughter of Parker E. and Lucinda (Thompson) Shepherd. Her father was born in Ohio and her mother at Homer, and both are now deceased. Her father was a farmer. Mrs. Conkey was the oldest of four children, the other three being: Bertha J., wife of J. M. Cooley ; John A., who lives at New Orleans; and Ralph W., a resident of Yakima, Wash- ington.
Dr. and Mrs. Conkey have one son, William Harold, who was born November 27, 1900. Doctor Conkey is a Republican in politics, a member of the Masonic Order and he and his wife belong to the Presbyterian Church.
COLUMBUS CLINTON MCELWEE is one of Champaign County's successful farmers and cattle feeders, and has come up from the bottom round of the ladder to a most successful position. The best type of success is that which depends upon personal energy and initiative in acquiring those things which a worthy ambition craves, and in this respect Mr. McElwee is one of the truly successful men of Champaign County.
He was born at Wallace, Indiana, June 4, 1873, a son of David and Melissa Jane (Harlow) McElwee. His father was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Indiana. His father enlisted in the Sixty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served throughout the war, being wounded three times. He died in Indiana, October 8, 1882, while his wife passed away August 6, 1881. They had a family of five children : Charles and James, both deceased; Everett of Dear Station in St. Joseph Township, Cham- paign County ; Columbus C .; and Rachel, wife of Charles Rush of St. Joseph Township.
Columbus C. McElwee was nine years old when the death of his father
953
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
and mother left him an orphan. He had little chance to gain an educa- tion by regular attendance at school, and has made the most profit possible from circumstances and his opportunities of observation and contact with men and affairs. In 1884, the year that Cleveland was first nominated for the presidency and when Mr. McElwee was eleven years of age, he borrowed 35 cents to get from Indiana to St. Joseph, Illinois. He earned that money by cording wood. For four years he worked on a farm for board and clothes, and after that was paid steadily increasing wages as a farm hand. With growing experience and proficiency, he rented land and farmed it for two and a half years, and about that time he established a home of his own by his marriage. He took charge of his father-in-law's place and at the present time is engaged in farming 350 acres. He has acquired under his individual ownership 160 acres in Sidney Township and . has been thoroughly progressive in all his methods.
Mr. McElwee built the first silo in Sidney Township. He now has four silos on his farm, and these he considers invaluable adjuncts to the cattle feeder.
Mr. McElwee married Ressie Olive Johnston. She is a daughter of James M. and Lucinda (Corry) Johnston, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Somers Township of Champaign County. Her father is still living, and for years has made a specialty of raising fine draft horses. Mrs. McElwee was eight years of age when her mother died. There were four children, Mrs. McElwee and her sister Daisy Ann being twins. The latter is the wife of James Rudisell of St. Joseph Township. The other two children, sisters of Mrs. McElwee, are Laura, wife of Jesse Furst of Grover Hill, Ohio, and Nellie, wife of Charles H. Greenwood of Chicago. Mrs. McElwee's father married for his second wife Millie Stewart, and by that union there are three children: Owen of Indiana; Fannie, wife of Lloyd Patch of Chicago; and Vern I., who is now in the United States navy.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. McElwee were born seven children. The first, a son, died in infancy ; Guy C., still at home; Maude Esther, at home; Ermel James; Norma F .; Claude Martin; and Laverne Roy.
In 1901 Mr. McElwee organized the local telephone exchange in Sidney Township, getting a few neighbors to co-operate with him and installing a switchboard. Later he took over the interests of the other parties and incorporated the Sidney Home Telephone Company. Mr. McElwee is president of the Sidney Grain Company, is a Republican, a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, a Knight of Pythias and active in the Christian Church. He has served as school director, as supervisor, as deputy sheriff, and was on the building committee when the Knights of Pythias Hall and the town hall were erected in Sidney Township.
SCOTT WILSON BLAINE is one of the fortunate younger men of Cham- paign County who elected to remain on the land where they grew up as children and have prospered exceedingly by the increasing fruitage and value of farm productive efforts.
Mr. Blaine was born September 15, 1874, on his father's farm in sec- tion 27 of Champaign Township. That is his present home and by due diligence and 'careful management he has surrounded himself with many of the best comforts and conveniences of modern rural life in this rich and prosperous section of eastern Illinois.
His parents were Edward W. and Sarah (Wilson) Blaine, both natives of Pennsylvania. His parents came out to Champaign County in 1865, and at that date located in section 27 of Champaign Township. Here the father died September 15, 1914, and the mother passed away in 1899.
954
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
They were the parents of five children: Shield, of Champaign; Walter, a physician now practicing at Tuscola; Scott W .; Edith, wife of Harvey English, of Champaign ; Edna, wife of Myrl Deck, of Peoria.
With brief exceptions Scott Wilson Blaine has lived his entire lifetime so far on the place with which his first conscious recollections are associ- ated. The country schools in that vicinity gave him his education and by his early training he was well fitted when he arrived at his majority to compete for success with the other farmers of the community. He now owns 100 acres of the old homestead and has it well improved. His home is located on rural route No. 1 out of Champaign. Mr. Blaine is a Republican, is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is now serving as a director of the school board.
On February 24, 1904, he married Miss Sadie Dunn, a native of Michigan. They are the parents of three children : Irma, Edward Wilson and Mary Edith.
CHARLES W. WITT. Prominently known in Champaign County, and especially at Sidney, Mr. Witt is a native of that section and has made his years count for usefulness and service in different lines. He is now serving as postmaster of Sidney.
He was born in that village February 25, 1871, a son of William and Mary (Wilson) Witt. His father was a native of Germany, but his mother was born in Champaign County. William Witt followed farming for a number of years, afterwards was a railroad man, and he died at Sidney, February 25, 1912, on Charles Witt's forty-first birthday. The mother died in 1882. They have three children: Luther C. of Sidney Township; Charles W .; and George M., who resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Charles W. Witt attended the public schools at Sidney, and had his first experience in business as a restaurant man. For about a year and a half he conducted a restaurant at Tilton, Illinois, and then went to farming, which he followed twelve years.
In an official capacity Mr. Witt served as supervisor of his township, and on December 25, 1915, was appointed postmaster of Sidney. That office has recently been created a third class office, and Mr. Witt was reap- pointed his own successor by President Wilson on January 29, 1917. He has given a capable administration and has made stanch friends in this community irrespective of party affiliations.
On June 28, 1899, Mr. Witt married Hulda A. Mandeville. She was also born at Sidney and is a daughter of Samuel D. and Mary A. (Coffeen) Mandeville. Her father was born in Seneca County, New York, and her mother in Champaign County. Samuel Mandeville was at one time pro- prietor of the old Kelly Tavern, in partnership with Orton Woodward. The Kelly Tavern is historic because Abraham Lincoln, when a young Illinois lawyer, often stopped there. Mr. Mandeville is still living on his home farm, but his wife is deceased. In their family were seven children: Ira F .; Ollie, deceased; Hulda, Mrs. Witt ; Ethel G., deceased; Anna B., wife of William H. Lehman of Decatur, Illinois; Paris R., an engineer of the Missouri Pacific Railway, living at Atchison, Kansas; Carrie, deceased. The last two are twins. Mr. and Mrs. Witt have one child, Ralph D., who was born July 5, 1902, and is now in the public schools at Sidney. Politically Mr. Witt is a Democrat, is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and his church is the Christian, while Mrs. Witt is a Presbyterian.
CARL ODEBRECHT. Some of the finest farms in Illinois are to be found in Philo Township of Champaign County. This also means that some of the ablest exponents of the art of agriculture are in the same
Prairie View Farm.
Fraud B. Glancoch.
MartaM.Glascock
Desse Pr. Glascock
955
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
locality. One of the men who have been especially successful in trans- mitting the resources of the soil into material benefit is Carl Odebrecht, whose operations as a farmer are carried on in section 28 of that township.
His entire life has been spent in Champaign County. He was born in Raymond Township, August 20, 1877, and is a son of Charles and Sophie (Raver) Odebrecht. His parents were both born in Germany. His father arrived in America December 1, 1873, and for several years lived near Winchester, Ohio. In 1877 he came to Champaign County. He was at that time poor in purse though with experience and a steadfast ambition. Locating in Raymond Township, he lived there as a renter one year and for six years rented land in Philo Township. The slow accumu- lations of his industry then bore fruit in the purchase of eighty acres in section 28 of Philo Township. His prosperity has been steadily on the increase. He bought 120 acres more in the same locality, acquired forty acres in Ohio and finally forty acres in section 28 of Philo Township. The home farm has been brought under cultivation and has been put in a measure in a magnificent state of improvement. The good wife and mother died here October 20, 1910. She was the mother of three children: Effie, wife of Herbert Krumm, of Philo Township; Carl F .; and Albert J., also of Philo Township.
Carl F. Odebrecht attended the district schools and secured his educa- tion partly from books and partly from practical experience. He worked with his father until 1904, and then after his marriage began life inde- pendently by renting half of the homestead. Two years later he took charge of the entire home place of 200 acres and is now working it to profit and advantage. He is owner of 103 acres of the rich farm land of Putnam County, Ohio, and also has forty acres in section 28 of Philo Township.
Mr. Odebrecht was married February 24, 1904, to Miss Edith N. Porterfield, a daughter of Lemuel C. and Mary (Toy) Porterfield. Five children have been born to their marriage, and these constitute a happy household of young people, though the two oldest are now deceased. record of the children is: Walter E., born September 11, 1907, and died September 18, 1909 ; Lyman C. born December 11, 1910, and died March 7, 1911; Helen K., born March 2, 1912; Melba Frances, born December 16, 1913; and Mary Agnes, born January 23, 1917.
Mr. Odebrecht is a Republican and he and his family are members of the Lutheran Church. His fellow citizens have called on him to act as road commissioner and also as drainage commissioner, and he has sup- ported. the public schools both privately and through his work as a school director.
JESSE R. GLASCOCK. Champaign County as a whole attests the truth of the observation that "Our civilization rests at bottom on the whole- someness, the attractiveness and the completeness, as well as the prosperity of life in the country." It is surely the men of the open country who com- pose the stay and strength of the nation in time of war and its guiding and controlling spirit in time of peace.
This county has a number of men who measure up to the standards set in these words, and one of them is Mr. J. R. Glascock of St. Joseph Town- ship. Mr. Glascock was born in that township, a son of Mahlon and Mary (Strong) Glascock, his father a native of Virginia and his mother of Illinois. His father was a pioneer farmer in Champaign County and went through many trials and privations to establish a home here in the early days. Mahlon Glascock was three times married, and his wife, Mary Strong, had four children, two sons and two daughters, Jesse being the youngest son.
.
956
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
With his brothers and sisters he received his education in the local schools, and on April 12, 1899, married Miss Myrta Curry. Mrs. Glas- cock was born in Edgar County, Illinois, a daughter of Joseph W. and Alice (Hickman) Curry. Her father was born in Indiana and her mother in Virginia, but they were married in Illinois, and Mrs. Glascock was one of their family of six children, three sons and three daughters.
After his marriage Mr. Glascock settled on part of his father's estate, having been given 115 acres. Later he bought fifty-three acres more, of unimproved land, and all of this has since responded to his faithful and intelligent endeavors as an agriculturist. Good buildings have been erected and Mr. and Mrs. Glascock have one of the most complete and attractive country homes of the township.
In the files of the St. Joseph village paper of eighteen years ago is found the following account of their marriage: "Mr. Jesse Glascock and Miss Myrta Curry surprised friends from the city by going to the parsonage after prayer meeting, where their wedding was solemnized by Rev. Eninger. Mr. and Mrs. Glascock are two highly respected young people of this com- munity and have a large circle of acquaintances and scores of friends who wish them unbounded happiness. They start out in life under favorable circumstances, as the groom is possessed of a good farm three miles south- east of here and has just completed a beautiful modern residence, already furnished, to receive his lovely bride. Miss Curry, the bride, is a daughter of Joseph Curry and wife. She was a popular teacher in Champaign County for a number of years and possesses the accomplishments that elicit the love and admiration of a host of friends, who unite in wishing her an exceedingly happy voyage."
Mrs. Glascock was educated in the district schools and fitted herself for teaching, which she followed most successfully, her field of labor embracing the Bowers School, Districts No. 7 and No. 9, Hunt School, Pleasant Ridge and Science Point School. She was teaching at the latter place when she married. If the number of her students could all be gath- ered together and could relate the most impressive lessons they learned from her it would make a large assemblage and would be an occasion worth hearing and recording. One of Mrs. Glascock's former students was Elmer Eckblau, who gained fame for himself in the noted Alaskan expedition. He always said that he owed his early success to Miss Curry's careful training.
Mr. Glascock has proved himself one of Champaign County's most progressive farmers. He has interested himself extensively in grain and stock, for ten years kept a number of Holstein cattle and managed a fine dairy, handling only registered stock and shipping cream to market. He now specializes chiefly in the Duroc Jersey hogs and has also raised many Berkshires.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Glascock was born one son, Harold B. Glascock. He has attended the district schools, the St. Joseph High School, took a course in Brown's Business College at Urbana and graduated there- from, and is a student for the year 1917-18 in the Urbana High School, preparatory to entering the University of Illinois. He is a good student and a popular young man.
Mr. and Mrs. Glascock are attentive members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at St. Joseph and have contributed liberally of their means to its various causes. In politics Mr. Glascock was born a Republican and has always found that party the most reliable expression of his views on political and economic questions.
Even to the casual observer the Glascock farm indicates the industry and intelligent care that has been expended upon its broad and rich acres.
957
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
The home is set in an attractive grove of fruit and shade trees, and one might travel far and never find a better managed farm in this part of Illinois. Recently Mr. Glascock threshed from a field of oats eighty-six bushels to the acre. His home is lighted with acetylene light, he has Uncle Sam's mail service every day in the week, telephone, and he and his wife enjoy life with a fine Hupmobile car. Mr. Glascock generously awards his wife much praise for their success, since she has always been by his side as a Christian counselor and good home maker, and her former experience as a teacher has spread an atmosphere of culture over all their undertakings. Mr. Glascock finds many ties that bind him to his present home, since it was the place where he grew up as a boy, and the associa- tions of the Glascock family have centered there for two generations.
Mr. and Mrs. Glascock have been factors in the improvement of the standards of country life, and in 1913 Mrs. Glascock organized the Country Improvement Club of her neighborhood. The object of this is to pro- mote culture, intellectual and social commingling and an interchange of ideas which will go far to enrich the lives of all participants. Beginning in the month of September, the association holds meetings every two weeks until spring. Once a month there is a special social feature, and at other times during the year papers are read and vital matters and current events are discussed. There are seventeen members in the organization, and it has already done much to promote mutual interest and good will in the rural district.
CHARLIE N. COTTON has lived in Champaign County over fifty years, and is rated as one of the enterprising and progressive agriculturists of Sidney Township. His well improved farmstead is on Rural Route No. 61 out of Homer.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.