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 78
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Ross A. Flatt was born on his father's farm in Somer Township of Champaign County April 10, 1890. He grew up on the farm, attended the common schools and finished his education in the Champaign High School. When his school work was finished he began assisting his father in the business at Leverett, and gradually acquired a thorough and detailed knowledge of general merchandising, grain and farm implement trade. In 1909 he became a partner with his father under the name Flatt & Son, and their store, elevators and other activities constitute a bulk of the business transacted in the community at Leverett.
Mr. Flatt was married to Ella S. Roberts, daughter of Joseph B. and Elizabeth Roberts of Somer Township. They have one son, now three years of age, Ross, Jr. In politics Mr. Flatt is a Republican, and is affiliated with Urbana Lodge No. 991 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
J. B. BENSYL. The Bensyl family came to Champaign County in pioneer times, and one of the number is Mr. J. B. Bensyl, now in business at Ogden. His active career has been spent in the county, and he was born in St. Joseph Township May 9, 1855.
He was the fourth in the family of nine children born to Lewis and Mary (Corray) Bensyl. His parents were both born in Ohio, and each was two years old when their respective families came to Illinois. Lewis Bensyl and wife were married in this state, and Lewis Bensyl was long a prominent figure in the life of this county.
J. B. Bensyl grew up at home and attended with his brothers and sisters the Clark school a mile north of Mayview. When not in school he assisted his father on the farm, and at the age of twenty-two he married Miss Mary
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Braten. Mrs. Bensyl was born in Urbana Township, daughter of August and Anna (Winkleman) Braten. Her father was a native of Germany and her mother of Switzerland, and they married after coming to America. The Bratens acquired a fine farm in Champaign County. Mr. Braten served as constable in Somer Township and for many years as deputy sheriff at Urbana. Mrs. Bensyl was one of nine children, all of whom were educated in the public schools.
Mr. and Mrs. Bensyl after their marriage located in Urbana, where he took the management of some of the land owned by Mrs. Bensyl's father. · Having the qualities of youth, industry and energy, they were soon making good progress and after farming the Braten estate for ten years they removed to Ogden Township and continued as renters in that section of the county for another twelve years. Their accumulations then enabled them to buy eighty acres of their own north of the town of Ogden, and this became their permanent home in the country. While the land had no improvements, they developed it rapidly, put up good buildings, set out trees, and left it a monument to their effective industry and husbandry.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bensyl: Lulu, Amanda, Otis, Ora, Verna and Nora. From the first Mr. and Mrs. Bensyl appreciated the value of training and of education and sent their children to the Central School and so far as possible helped them to acquire a liberal education and fit themselves for positions of usefulness in the world. Amanda and Verna and Nora all became successful teachers and did their work in that vocation in Champaign County and also in Vermilion County. The good they accomplished as teachers during all the years they spent in that vocation can hardly be estimated. Nora Bensyl received her first. certificate in 1916 and is engaged to teach the Cottonwood School in Urbana Township for the year 1917-18. Eighteen years ago the daughter Amanda attended the teachers examination at Danville and was awarded her first certificate. Then after teaching one year she was given a first grade certificate. The daughter Verna took the entire course of Brown's Business College at Urbana, becoming an efficient shorthand operator and also a typist and bookkeeper. The daughter Nora attended the high school at Ogden and later Mrs. Brown's Normal Training School for Teachers at Homer. She taught the Danforth School in Raymond Township, near Sidney. In addition to her literary studies Miss Nora has been an inter- ested student of music under the direction of Professor C. L. Foster in his musical studio at Champaign. The daughter Amanda married Abner Silkey. Mr. Silkey was principal of the St. Joseph High School two years, and principal of the high school at Ogden two years. He is now a well known business man of Urbana, being cashier of the First Trust & Savings Bank. Mr and Mrs. Silkey have two children, Harriet and Mary.
The Bensyl family have not been spared the visitations of death, and on December 2, 1916, the beloved son Otis passed away. He was a young man of much ability and had acquired a large circle of devoted friends. He married Ruth Hool.
The son Ora is successfully managing his father's farm. By his mar- riage to Bessie Bradley he has three children, Mary Elizabeth, Vance Leroy and Ora.
The daughter Verna is now the wife of Ora Hall, who is connected with the Standard Oil Company living at Ogden. The other two daughters, Lulu and Nora, are still at home with their parents.
For the last two years Mr. Bensyl has been engaged in the operation of a livery business at Ogden. His methods of doing business have brought him a large patronage and he is a thorough business man. Mr. and Mrs. Bensyl are active members of the Prospect Christian Church at Ogden
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and in politics he is a Democrat. Progress has always been the keynote of Mr. Bensyl's career, and his industry has brought him success, while during many years he has had a good wife to establish the home and train their children and add to the many pleasant things for which the name Bensyl is noteworthy in Champaign County.
LOUIS V. JURGENSMEYER. In the community of Homer one of the names most significant of large business activities is that of Jurgensmeyer. Mr. Louis V. Jurgensmeyer has spent his life in that town and surround- ing community and it would be difficult to say in what one field his accomplishments are best known. He has been a merchant, has done much to develop Homer as a business town, but he is also an extensive farmer and stock breeder, and has some of the finest hogs found in this section of Illinois.
He was born at Homer May 3, 1876, a son of William and Mary Eliza- beth (Hengst) Jurgensmeyer. His father was born at Logan and his mother at Lancaster, Ohio, and in 1869 they settled on a farm in Vermilion County, Illinois. His father was also a successful stock raiser and farmer. In 1900 the parents removed to Homer, where they spent their last days retired and where the father died January 13, 1907 and the mother Janu- ary 27, 1905. There were only two children, the older being Elizabeth, wife of C. A. M. Smith of Danville.
Louis V. Jurgensmeyer had in addition to a common school education the two years course of Bryant & Stratton College at Chicago. Hc early showed business ability, and is one of the few men who can handle various interests capably and profitable. In 1902 he established a general depart- ment store in the Opera House Block at Homer, and conducted a large business in that location for six years. Hc has also built a garage in Homer, was formerly active in the automobile business and is the owner of several buildings in the town, including his handsome brick residence, the best of the village, which he erected in 1910.
For a number of years Mr. Jurgensmeyer's time has been well taken up with his farming and stock raising. He makes a specialty of the O. I. C. hogs and has over two hundred head of this registered strain. His farming interests are operated on 525 acres in Vermilion County, and he also owns 160 acres in the Province of Ontario, Canada.
Mr. Jurgensmeyer is a Republican, was formerly a member of the town board and is affiliated with the Masonic Order and the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks and attends the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Miss Dollie May Palmer, a native of Homer, daughter of J. T. Palmer of that town. Mr. and Mrs. Jurgensmeyer have two daughters: Hazel Margaret and Marjorie Ellen.
CHARLES W. DALE. Among the citizens of Champaign County who are carrying exceptionally heavy burdens and responsibilities is Charles W. Dale, editor of the St. Joseph Record, the Ogden Courier and the Pythian Herald. Mr. Dale is a newspaper man of long experience and splendid ability and has the valued services and counsel of his capable wife in the management of these papers.
Mr. Dale was born at Mahomet, Illinois, a son of Thomas and Mary (Mead) Dale. His maternal grandfather Mead was the first superintend- ent of schools in Champaign County.
Mr. Dale was educated at Mahomet, and on August 8, 1900, he married Miss Myrta Morehouse. She was also born at Mahomet, a daughter of Heber Judson and Laura (Abbott) Morehouse, her father a native of Michigan and her mother of Illinois. Mrs. Dale was educated in the
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Mahomet High School and before her marriage was a popular teacher, being connected with the Mahomet schools four years and also with the high school at Rantoul.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dale located at St. Joseph, where he was associated with his brother as editor of the local paper. Later, in 1904, he bought his brother's interest and has since conducted and managed the entire business with the assistance in recent years, of Mrs. Dale.
Three bright young children constitute their family circle: Ralph Emerson, Virginia and Kent Morehouse. These children are all now attending the local schools of St. Joseph. Mr. and Mrs. Dalc are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias, the Loyal Americans, the Pythian Sisters and the Eastern Star, while Mrs. Dale is active in both the Eastern Star and the Pythian Sisters, being past worthy matron and at present secretary of the Eastern Star.
Mr. Dale has filled several offices which are indicative of the esteem in which he is held in the community. For two terms he was township supervisor and for thirteen years held the office of town and village clerk. He is known as a man among men and has built up a very successful journalistic enterprise. The three papers published at the St. Joseph office cover a large territory and have a combined circulation of 2,000 ·copies. St. Joseph is fortunate in having these energetic people among its citizens.
Mrs. Dale is a highly cultured woman and of most attractive person- ality. She is president of the Woman's Club at St. Joseph, an organiza- tion for both literary study and general social and public improvement. Mr. and Mrs. Dale are greatly interested in music. For a number of years he was instructor of bands at different places, while Mrs. Dale comes of a family of musicians. They have as a matter of course made music a feature of their home and in the training and education of their children, who take much interest in that study. Mr. Dale is also a composer of some popular airs. One especially worthy of note is a two-step march, dedicated to Company M, Fourth Illinois, which is pronounced by critics a fine piece of music. On the back of the copies is contained the names of members of Company M in Cuba.
VAN B. SWEARINGEN was at once one of the most successful business men and most honored citizens of Champaign County. His name is especially associated with the community of St. Joseph, where the best years of his life were spent.
Mr. Van Swearingen was born in Adams County, Ohio, June 2, 1837, and died January 21, 1901. His father, Andrew J. Swearingen, was a native of Pennsylvania who early migrated to Ohio, where he married Mary Brady. From Ohio he brought his family to Illinois, first locating near Homer and afterwards a mile south of the village of St. Joseph.
Van B. Swearingen was ten years of age when he accompanied his father to Illinois in 1847. He completed his education in the common schools of St. Joseph Township. He was fourteen when his father died and after that he lived with Benjamin Bartley until reaching his majority. Though he had little capital, he possessed that independence which made him willing to venture on his own account and success followed his efforts from the beginning. He first farmed as a renter, and also made an early beginning of buying and selling stock. He possessed natural gifts as a shrewd business man, and two years after he started out for himself he had enough capital to take his place in the ranks of business men.
In 1863 Mr. Swearingen bought his first land near St. Joseph and for a
VB Swearingen
Mrs . COM Swearingen
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number of years followed the business of trading in stock, a pursuit which he made remunerative and profitable. In 1870, with William Shreve as a partner, he engaged in merchandising and established the first store of the village of St. Joseph. That store was conducted on very successful business principles and soon became a popular and favorite trading place for all that section of the country. Though a merchant for many years, his natural inclination was for outdoor life and he always kept in close touch with the farming interests and grew stock and grain on a large scale. He was also an extensive grain buyer, and he made this feature his main business for many years.
In 1861 he married Lydia Bartley, daughter of Benjamin Bartley. She died April 18, 1867, leaving one son, Mr. U. G. Swearingen, whose career is sketched on other pages of this publication. In March, 1871, Van B. Swearingen married Amanda Patterson, daughter of John K. Patterson, of St. Joseph. The only surviving child of that union is Mrs. Doctor Henry E. Davis of St. Joseph, the other daughter, Mattie, being deceased.
The late Mr. Swearingen was an ardent Republican and gave a steady allegiance to that party from the time he cast his first vote for Lincoln in 1861. He was a recognized leader in his township and his influence was instrumental in accomplishing many things that had a direct and vital relationship with the welfare of the community. In 1866 he was elected supervisor of the township. In his private business affairs his success was measured by the accumulation of over a thousand acres of farm land and much valuable property besides, but best of all he left behind a record of unimpeachable integrity and a large circle of friends among the best people of the county, all of them grateful for his associations and glad of the enviable record that clings to his name.
A family that stands for the best in social life as well as representative of the industrial and business affairs of St. Joseph Township is that of Doctor and Mrs. Davis of St. Joseph village. Doctor Davis was for many years actively engaged in the practive of dentistry but gave up that work on account of ill health and is now looking after other business affairs in this locality.
Doctor Davis was born in Mackinaw, Illinois, a son of Henry and Clara (Hittle) Davis. When he was a child his parents moved to Eureka, Illinois, where he spent his early years. He received his literary education in Eureka College, completing it in Ohio College at Cincinnati, where he took up the study of dentistry. He graduated in dentistry and also had practical experience in the office of Doctor Hoover of Washington, Illinois.
In January, 1902, Doctor Davis married Miss Maud Swearingen, a native of St. Joseph Township and a daughter of Van B. and Amanda M. (Pat- terson) Swearingen. The Swearingens are prominent among the pioneer names of Champaign County. The Pattersons were among the very earliest settlers of Champaign County and did much through their aggregate efforts to make this one of the garden spots of the world. Mattic, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Swearingen, died at the age of four years. Doctor Davis and Miss Maud Swearingen were both students in Eureka College. She was taking special instruction in music there. They became acquainted as college mates and this acquaintanceship ended in a happy marriage.
After their marriage they removed to Bloomington, Illinois, where Doctor Davis was in successful practice for nearly a year. On the request of Mrs. Davis' mother they located at St. Joseph, since the mother was lonely and desired her children with her. Doctor Davis then opened an office at the village of St. Joseph and conducted a large practice for some years.
Mrs. Davis' mother joined her husband in the realm beyond in 1913.
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They were splendid people and their lives were intimately associated with the good and welfare of Champaign County. They maintained a most hospitable home, and there are many kindly memories that follow them.
Doctor Davis and wife still remain in the old Swearingen homestead. After giving up his active practice Doctor Davis changed his business and for the past three years has been an automobile dealer in St. Joseph and conducts a first class garage, with all the accessories for supplying auto- mobiles and with a skilled mechanic to make repairs.
Doctor and Mrs. Davis have used their means to enjoy life. They are active members of the Christian Church and very liberal supporters, thus following the example of Mr. and Mrs. Swearingen, who did much to build up that institution in St. Joseph. Mrs. Davis has been a worshiper in the local church since early girlhood. Politically they are ardent Republicans, though Doctor Davis, like many other thinking men, espoused the progressive principles and followed Roosevelt during the campaign of 1912. Fraternally they are active members of the Eastern Star and in 1915 Doctor Davis served as Worshipful Master of the Masonic Lodge in St. Joseph. He has taken thirty-two degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry. Doctor and Mrs. Davis enjoy a beautiful home at the corner of Sherman and Main streets in St. Joseph, and this community is especially endeared to Mrs. Davis by associations from early girlhood to the present.
IRA H. DODSON. Among the families that have been identified with Champaign County for more than half a century are the Dodsons, repre- sented by Mr. Ira H. Dodson, who still has a portion of the old homestead in Urbana Township.
Mr. Dodson was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, August 10, 1855, . a son of John and Elizabeth (McGee) Dodson. His father was born in Ohio and his mother in Indiana. In 1865 the Dodsons came to Illinois, locating in Urbana Township, where the father bought 192 acres of land. John and Elizabeth Dodson had two sons, Edward and Ira, and there was also a half brother, Henry Dodson, who served as a soldier in the Civil War.' John Dodson was a notable character in Champaign County, where he lived for a great many years and where he died at the venerable age of ninety-two in 1908. He was one of the greatest wheat raisers in the county. His wife passed away January 16, 1917, aged eighty-two.
Ten years of age when the family came to Champaign County, Ira Dodson grew up here and attended district school No. 4 in Urbana Town- ship. He remained with his parents, taking a helpful part in the manage- ment of the farm, and was a prosperous agriculturist before he married and set up a home of his own.
March 13, 1889, Mr. Dodson married Miss Carrie Bell Slayback. She was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, daughter of Wilson and Mary Ellen (Vance) Slayback. Her father was a native of Ohio and her mother of Illinois, and Mrs. Dodson was one of five children. She was educated in the public schools of Indiana, at Dayton School No. 4.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dodson settled down and began their wedded life on his father's homestead where he had spent his boyhood days. This homestead has received many pleasing improvements at the hands of Mr. Dodson. It is located on the Interurban Railroad, and while a country home it is accessible to all the advantages and conveniences of the city.
Mr. and Mrs. Dodson are the parents of one daughter, Martha. She was educated in the home district school, where she spent eleven years, and then completed her literary training in the Urbana High School and also took musical instruction.
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The lives of Mr. and Mrs. Dodson have been closely identified witlı Champaign County for many years, and their efforts have contributed to the fulfillment of the old scriptural phrase of making a former desert blossom as a rose. Mr. Dodson has many memories of the time when Champaign County was a region of raw prairie and swamp, and the present condition of the county has been accomplished largely through the miracle of drainage.
The Dodson family located in Champaign County before the Big Four Railway was constructed, and their first home was on the original farm. The old district school was near by, and subsequently the district was divided and a new schoolhouse built on Mr. Knox's land. Mr. Ira Dodson attended both of these schools. Among his early teachers the one best remembered by all the students was a Mr. Cunningham, who was dis- tinguished by the peculiarity of his costume, consisting of a calico gown and slippers. Mr. Dodson attended his last school in the high school at Urbana, under J. W. Hayes.
Mrs. Dodson and her daughter are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics Mr. Dodson has given his undivided support to the Republican party since he was able to cast his first vote. He has done more than merely vote and has used his public spirited efforts to forward the good things of the community. For six years he served as a director of the public schools and has always sought to make the local schools the best possible. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, and his wife is a member of the Royal Neighbors and the Pythian Sisters. Miss Martha Dodson has for years shown special interest in church affairs, her membership being with the Urbana Methodist Episcopal Church. Her working membership is just what is needed for every progressive church in the country.
The industry of Mr. Dodson has brought him abundant success and he now enjoys a large and complete farm of 108 acres. Progress has been the keynote of his life and his well tilled fields are ample evidence of that quality. He is also a very systematic and orderly man in regard to his farm work, and everything is done just at the proper time and in the manner best fitted to accomplish results.
His father, Mr. John Dodson, was for thirty years a successful mechanic in Indiana, being a blacksmith and wagon maker. He worked at his trade before the Civil War. Among other useful things which were made in his shop were the old-fashioned grain cradles. Mr. Ira Dodson has as one of his most prized possessions one of these old fashioned cradles made by his father. John Dodson also employed several hands in conducting his blacksmith shop in Indiana. His home was near a Dunkard settle- ment, and he made the old-fashioned buggies for the Dunkard people to ride in. It was many years before the Dodson family acquired their first self-binder for harvesting grain. Mr. Ira Dodson always associates the purchase of that modern farming implement with the year that General Coxey's army marched to Washington, D. C. The army marched past the Dodson home. One other notable procession went by the Dodson place. At the time of McKinley's inauguration a great horn, six feet across the bell, was made at Decatur, Illinois, and was carried past the Dodson place on the shoulders of six men. It was used in the great inaugural parade at Washington.
After coming to Champaign County John Dodson gave his principal time and attention to farming. He was an excellent manager and at the time of his death possessed 214 acres. He had drained this land, had improved it with good buildings and with trees, and today it stands as a monument to his industry. When he made his will he directed that his
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two sons, Edward and Ira, his sole heirs, should each choose a man, who in turn should choose a third, and this arbitration committee should divide the property equally between the sons. But wisely enough the two sons, working in complete amity and agreement, did the work of division for themselves and thus kept the entire matter out of court, avoiding any litigation or delay and much expense.
CHARLES H. WALLACE. Among the ambitious young men who came to Champaign County somne forty years ago with the intention of making it his future home and has proved his foresight and good judgment in making his selection was Charles H. Wallace, who needs little introduction to the people of Homer, which has always been his place of residence. His present position in the financial field places him among the capitalists of the state, his large possessions make him one of the great landowners. Mr. Wallace is a graduate of the agricultural department of the University of Illinois, and his vast agricultural operations are based on sound scientific knowledge.
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