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 9
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
In 1868 Mr. Morris laid the foundation of his own home by his mar- riage to Miss Harriet Myers. Mrs. Morris was born at Dansville in Liv- ingston County, New York, daughter of Peter and Theresa (Gardner) Mycrs. In 1856 the Myers family came to Illinois. The family consisted of two sons and two daughters, Horatio, Charles, Helen and Harriet. Horatio Myers was one of the ardent young patriotic citizens of Champaign County, and in the fall of 1860 he was employed in the Gazette office at Champaign and had enrolled as a member of the "Wide Awakes" organiza- tion for the defense of the Union and as factors in the campaign in which Mr. Lincoln was elected for the presidency. - While attending a mass meet- ing at Middletown (now Mahonict) a great flag pole was raised and when it fell he was struck down and killed, and thus the candle of life of a brave and enthusiastic young eitizen was extinguished. The other son of Mr. Myers, Charles, died of brain fever at the age of sixteen. Peter Myers
581
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
was a prominent and influential man in Champaign County, especially before and during the war. He was a stanch abolitionist and used his influence to keep up and maintain Union sentiments. Mrs. Morris' sister Helen married George Condit, and her death occurred about ten years ago.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Morris located at Rantoul, where he was employed by his father-in-law, Peter Myers, in the lumber and grain business. The young people had the qualities of thrift and enterprise and as rapidly as possible assembled about themselves the things which have given them independence, comfort and opportunity to serve others and the community as well as themselves. Mr. Morris was for seven years postmaster of Rantoul.
Some years ago he secured his present home on Ohio Street on the north side of the village, and there erected the commodious greenhouses by which his enterprise is chiefly known throughout his large community. He raises flowers and fruits and for twenty years has conducted a very successful business in that line. His home is a most attractive place, com- bining the facilities of country and town. In their dooryard stand some large shade trees, rare shrubs and flowers.
To Mr. and Mrs. Morris were born seven children, Charles, Roy, Mabel, Keith, Helen and two daughters, Fern and Rose, who died early. The children that grew up were educated in the Rantoul High School, Charles, Keith and Helen graduating. Charles, Mabel and Keith were successful teachers in Champaign County and Charles taught in several other coun- ties of the state. Mabel became a student at Normal, Illinois, and Roy was for a time in Oberlin College in Ohio. Charles Morris married Mary Lindsey and now lives at Kilbourn, Wisconsin. Their three children are named Claud, Keith and Wendland. The son Claud is married and has three children, great-grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Morris, they are named Robert, Geraldine and Mary.
Roy Morris is an ice cream manufacturer at Havana, Illinois. He mar- ried Miss Eleanor Ray of Arcola.
Mabel Morris is the wife of Prof. H. P. Little, a graduate of the University of Illinois and former superintendent of schools at Momence. Professor Little died, leaving his widow and six children. These children are Elizabeth, Morris, Harriet, Harold, Edith and Florence. Harriet is deceased, dying before her father. The oldest, Elizabeth, is the wife of Samuel Yates and has a son, Philip.
Keith Morris is employed by the Short Line Railroad and lives at Ran- toul. He married Frances Lindsey and has two sons, Lindsey and Richard.
Helen Morris married Stafford Miller, a railway conductor living in Chicago. Their four children are Robert, Jeannette, Merritt and Staf- ford, Jr.
Mr. Morris has always been a member of the Congregational Church. Mrs. Morris is a very able and enthusiastic devotee of the Church of Christ Scientist of Boston, and has studied thoroughly and mastered the principles of that faith and practiced it most intelligently. She has won her children to the same views and her daughter and daughter-in-law are Science prac- titioners.
Politically Mr. and Mrs. Morris support the Republican party, but both have voted the Progressive ticket. Mrs. Morris believes in the progressive- ness of the human family and it is her opinion that an age which has con- tributed so many splendid figures to science and industry should not be deficient in men of leadership in politics. Mr. and Mrs. Morris have always endeavored to fill their places as true and honorable citizens and their lives have consequently meant much in the community. Both now and in gen- erations to come the descendants will always be proud of the record Mr.
·
582
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
Morris made as a boy soldier of the Union. His subsequent life has been equally creditable and honorable and the record in detail of Mr. and Mrs. Morris would show countless duties well performed and responsibilities faithfully and unselfishly borne by each.
CHARLES F. HAMILTON. The business life of Champaign owes much to the enterprise and energy of Charles F. Hamilton. He first became identified with the city in the lumber trade, and while he has numerous interests elsewhere he has always remained loyal to this city and it is not only to him a home but a place where his many well considered investments have contributed much to local improvement and benefit.
Mr. Hamilton is a native of Macoupin County, Illinois, where he was born November 26, 1864, a son of Julius and Virginia L. (VanDeventer) Hamilton. His parents were both natives of Virginia and of old Colonial stock. Julius Hamilton came out to Illinois in 1856, first locating in Cass County, and in 1861 establishing a home in Macoupin County. For many years he was one of the most extensive lumber dealers in the state, operating a string of yards throughout the state. In the fall of 1880 he removed to Champaign and from this city he subsequently directed his interests and he died here January 21, 1903. His wife is also deceased and they were the parents of three children : Mary, Lizzie and Charles F.
Charles F. Hamilton acquired a good education, but most of it out of school and by active contact with men and affairs. When only fifteen years of age he started work in his father's lumber yard. In a few years he was able to relieve his father of many of the heavier responsibilities of the business, and they continued actively associated until 1890. In that year Mr. Hamilton went to Watseka, Illinois, and for three years was in the lumber and coal business for himself. Returning to Champaign in 1893, he again became his father's associate as a lumberman. For ten years Mr. Hamilton was manager of the Walker Opera House at Champaign. In later years many of his investments have been made in California. Much of his time has been spent at Los Angeles, where both of his children live. In 1915-16 he erected a large three-story brick building at the corner of Park Avenue and Neil Street.
On July 3, 1884, he married Miss Mary Rugg, daughter of Daniel Rugg, who was one of the pioneers of Champaign County. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have two children: Julius R., a successful young physician, practicing at Los Angeles ; and Florence, wife of Samuel J. Tilden, of Los Angeles.
JOHN FIOCK. Behind every fine farm, home and industry of Cham- paign County lies a story of sacrifice and strenuous personal endeavor. It has required the labors of an army of men and women to make Champaign · County what it is today, and this publication performs its greatest service when appropriate credit may be given to those men who effected some share in the transformation.
Doubtless one of the most interesting of these stories of personal struggle and effort is that of Mr. John Fiock of St. Joseph Township. Mr. Fiock was born in Morgan Township of Harrison County, Indiana, March 6, 1847, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Helfrer) Fiock. His father was born in Germany and his mother in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in which city they married. Soon after their marriage they started to find a new home in the wilderness of southern Indiana. When they first located in Harrison County they had two neighbors, ten miles away. Their home was in the woods, and they had to clear the land for the planting of the first few acres. Charles Fiock put in and cultivated his first five-
.
583
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
acre crop of corn with a grubbing hoe. In the meantime another neighbor located near by, and together, with the use of such crude implements as they had, they fabricated a wheelbarrow. This was the only vehicle they had to transport their produce and bring back supplies from New Albany, a distance of eightecn miles. On the wheelbarrow they loaded a few chickens and a few dozen eggs, a rope was tied to the wheelbarrow, and one of them pulled and the other pushed until they arrived in town, cover- ing a most rugged stretch of land on the way. Later these two men manu- factured by the same toilsome process a wagon. Not a single strip of iron entered into the construction, even the wheels being of wood. Several of the neighbors combined to purchase an old gray mare, and this com- inunity asset was a possession of which all were very proud. This old horse drew the wagon back and forth to market. That is one instance of pioneer difficulty, and the entire story would take a long time to tell.
When John Fiock was three weeks old his mother died, and his father subsequently married again, and by both wives had seven children. When John was a school boy the nearest schoolhouse was three miles away and thic term was usually three months a year. Thus he had limited oppor- tunities to acquire a knowledge of books, but he made the best of them. On Sunday morning the entire family would attend religious services and the afternoons were spent at Sunday school. The boys and girls of the neighborhood up to the age of eighteen would come to the Sunday school barefootcd. The girls wore "cornstalk shakers" and they took a good deal of pride in this simple home-made adornment. The Fiock family were devoted members of the German Evangelical Church, and all the children grew up in that faith.
From early boyhood John Fiock had to struggle with poverty and harsh conditions, and though he grew up in a community of wholesome and neigh- borly people, it was hard work that made existence possible. In 1875 he laid the foundation of his own home by his marriage to Miss Mary Den- hart. She was also a native of Harrison County, Indiana, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Zimmerman) Denhart. Her father was a native of Iowa and her mother of Germany. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Fiock located on forty acres in Blue River Township of Harrison County, having bought that land for $8 an acre. They lived there for ten years. The land was rough and the quality of soil very poor, and after ten years Mr. Fiock found that it was impossible to make a living there.
Seeking the better lands of Illinois, he came to Champaign County and got off the train at St. Joseph August 17, 1875. His entire stock of cash capital consisted of 35 cents. With him came his wife and five children. Fortunate indeed was he in making the acquaintance of Isaac T. Leas, who proved a Lord Bountiful to the Fiock family and vouched for Mr. Fiock when he bought his cook stove and other necessary furniture, and also gave him work and encouraged and helped him in many ways, mani- festing the true spirit of brotherly love. For two years Mr. Fiock rented land of Mr. Lcas. At the end of that time he began looking around for another place to rent. One day in St. Joseph he saw a · bill announcing the sale of seventy-seven acres of unimproved land. Being very anxious to locate in a permanent home, he endcavored to get in touch with the owner of the land. The price fixed for this tract was $26 an acre. Mr. Fiock did not even have the money to buy a postage stamp so that he might write to the land owner at Champaign. In this emergency he gathered some eggs, took them to the village of St. Joseph, and tried to trade them in goods, reserving only 2 cents for a stamp. The mer- chant refused to give him the 2 cents, but for a man of his spirit and determination he refused to let such a small matter as a postage stamp
584
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
stand in his way. He then secured what he calls "a cross tie ticket" and walked the entire twelve miles to Champaign. The owner of the land when interviewed refused to rent, but said that he would make it possible for Mr. Fiock to buy the land. The next thing to do was to raise the first payment. Mr. Fiock returned home, sold a colt, and returning to Cham- paign made his first payment of $60. The agreement was that in thirty days he must pay $40 more or the contract would be void by afternoon of that day.
At 11 o'clock in the morning on the day the contract expired Mr. Fiock again returned to his old friend and benefactor, Isaac Leas. Find- ing Mr. Leas at home, he said: "Mr. Leas, if I do not raise $40 I lose my land today." Mr. Leas was building a fence. He was not a man of many words or of hesitation. "We have not much time," he said, and sticking his ax into a stump, went at once to the house, told his good wife to prepare lunch and directed Mr. Fiock to grease the buggy. The horse was soon hitched up and they drove at full speed to the office of Mr. Mahan, owner of the land. Already a family was waiting to buy the land and offered $100 more than Mr. Fiock was to pay. Mr. Leas told the agent to write out a check, this was was given to Mr. Fiock and he was directed to hand the paper into the window of the bank and he was soon in posses- sion of the coveted $40. The payment was made and the contract secured. This was a red letter day in the history of the Fiock family, and it is not strange that for Mr. Leas' part in the transaction and for numerous other kindnesses they hold his memory in lasting gratitude.
The following day the Fiocks moved to their new possession and thus entered upon a new and better period of existence. In the Fiock family from the oldest to the youngest the name of Leas is spoken with a rever- ence that amounts to a benediction. Another incident of this family's early days in Champaign County is concerned with their first flock of chickens. It consisted of six hens and a rooster, and Mr. Fiock put in a long day of toil to pay for each fowl. Poultry raising has always been a feature of his farm industry and he and his wife still have a large number of chickens at their home.
The contract for the first purchase of his farm provided that $200 should be paid on the principal every year in addition to the interest, and Mr. Fiock worked strenuously to raise that amount, and when he did not have it all his good neighbors loaned it to him, and thus he gradually paid for the land and bought more besides until he had an estate of 133 acres. For some of this he paid as high as $100 an acre. Those days of toil and struggle have long since passed, and the Fiock family have long enjoyed the fruits of prosperity in this garden spot of Illinois. Their land has been transformed by cultivation, by the planting of many trees, the building of a commodious home and the installation of many comforts and conveniences.
Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fiock, and besides the struggle they had in providing a home they deserve the greatest credit for rearing and training this young household to lives of fruitful endeavor and worthy principles. The children were named George, Charles, Lizzie, Eddie, Anna, Mag, Louis, Joseph, Frank, Jacob, who died at the age of two years, and William. These children attended the Argo and Bowers schools. George, a farmer living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, married Viola Gibbink, and their children are Pearl, Earl, Olive, Grace and Mildred. The son Charles married Blanche Mapes, and they have three children, Beulah, Grace and Clyde. Lizzie is the wife of Charles Bartus, and they have a large family, consisting of Gertrude, Clara, John, Russell, Charles, Chester, Floyd, Ernest, Frank, Elmer and Dan. The son Eddie is a
1
585
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
machinist at Indianapolis, and by his marriage to Hattie Mohs has two children, Clarence and Earl. Anna married John Brittenham, and their two children are Marie and Charles. Mag is still living at home with her parents. Louis married Leona Swearingen and has two daughters, Neva and Morine. Josephi married Sadie Denhart and has one child, Verbal. Frank married Anna Worlcy and has a daughter, Gladys. William Fiock, who manages his father's farm, married Cynthia Worley and has a small son, William Virgil.
From the time these children were born Mr. and Mrs. Fiock carefully studied and worked out the problems involved in their rearing and training and have been splendidly rewarded by the upright and honorable men and women who have gone out from their home to the active responsibilities of the world. While Mr. and Mrs. Fiock were reared as German Evangelical Church members, their children all attend the Christian Church in St. Joseph.
In politics Mr. Fiock is a Democrat, and for thirty years has belonged to the Modern Woodmen of America. He has shown much public spirit as a citizen, has served as road supervisor and has done all he could to carry forward community improvement. They are completely justified in enjoying the fruits of their well spent years, and they are most pleasantly located in a home north of St. Joseph. Mention should be made of a most interesting family heirloom possessed by Mr. Fiock. It is a pocketknife which is more than 200 years old and is still in a good state of preserva- tion. It was hand made in Germany near the River Rhine and was given to Mr. Fiock's father by Grandfather. Fiock. It contains a good solid blade, a small saw, a punch and also an instrument resembling a lance, used for bleeding horses. Mr. Fiock's father with this implement carved out all the furniture he used when he began housekeeping in the woods of Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs. Fiock believe in getting all the pleasure of life possible, and in the beautiful month of September, 1917, with one of their sons and wife made a 2,000-mile auto trip through Canada, visiting his sisters and relatives at Ridgeway and Stevensvillc.
J. O. ALEXANDER. It is now nearly half a century since Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Alexander laid the foundation of their home and fortune by their marriage and during all that time they have lived in the vicinity of Ran- toul, have been materially prospered and have also fulfilled that great duty of bearing and rearing children to usefulness and honor in the world's work.
Mr. Alexander is one of the honored old soldiers of Champaign County. He was born near the Sangamon River in Illinois, a son of Henry and Polly Alexander. He grew up on the farm and had a district school edu- cation. He was twenty-four years of age when the war broke out and he soon afterward enlisted in Springfield in the One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois Infantry. He saw three years of active service. He went to the front at Cairo, then to Memphis and on to Vicksburg, and altogether fought in thirty distinct engagements. He was wounded in the breast and wrist and was mustered out at Memphis.
In October, 1868, he married Sarah Hamm. Mrs. Alexander was born in Indiana, a daughter of John and Harriet Hamm. They started house- keeping seven miles west of Rantoul and lived and prospered as farmers until they removed to their present comfortable home on Main Street in the village of Rantoul.
The children born to their marriage are: Charles; Ollie, now Mrs. Schwarts; Mrs. Edith Swayze; Harry; Mabel, deccased (she was Mrs. Mabel Green) ; Mrs. Nettie Thayre; Mrs. Inez Messenger; Gertrude; and
-
586
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
Ada E. The children were well educated, most of them finishing in the Rantoul High School. Ada became a successful teacher, taught two years in the district schools of this county, two years in Mansfield and for the past three years has been connected with the Rantoul High School and is still a member of its faculty of instruction. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander also have the solace and comfort of grandchildren and one great-grandchild. The great-grandchild is Claude Alexander. Their son Charles has three children, Roy, Fay and Lessley. Ollie's children arc Harold, Alton, Freda and Fern, twins. The children of Edith arc Mabel, Gwendolin (deceased), Clyde, James, Eugene, Bernice (deceased), Harry, Evelyn and Melvin. Nettie is the mother of Russell. Inez has one child, Horacc. Don and Dale are sons of Mabel, who is deceased. Harry has two children, Evalyn and Melvin.
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander are active members of the Baptist Church at Rantoul. Politically Mr. Alexander is a Republican. Mrs. Alexander dur- ing her girlhood knew Champaign County's great pioneer Henry Sadorus. She talked with him many times and she thus stands as a link connecting the modern present with the very early times of this section.
BOYD S. BLAINE. A position of public trust is necessarily indicative of the man who fills it. When the duties of an office demanding a keen intellect, a never failing integrity and a capacity for hard and continuous labor are, for years, discharged so satisfactorily that popular vote confers them successively upon the same person, it is to be assumed that the individual thus chosen is possessed of those qualities which make for the best arrangements in our official life. In this connection we may mention the career of Boyd S. Blaine, one of Champaign County's best known officials. When he entered life on his own account it was with the desire to become a leader in the business field, but circumstances so shaped them- selves that he went from one public office to another until he finally disposed of his business ambitions and since 1912 has held the responsible position of circuit clerk and recorder. While it would be interesting to know how far Mr. Blaine would have gone in business circles, the people of Champaign County can be assured that they would have benefited in no greater degree through the work of another man who would have filled the post now occupied by the present efficient clerk and recorder.
Boyd S. Blaine was born on a farm in Champaign Township, Cham- paign County, Illinois, August 20, 1868, being a son of James and Cath- arine Blaine. His parents, natives of Pennsylvania, came to Champaign County in October, 1865, and located on an unimproved farm situated in the township of Champaign, where their son Boyd S. ^was born. The father continued to follow farming and stockraising during the remainder of his active career, and made such a success of his operations that he was able to retire in 1888. Mr. Blaine was known as a good citizen and an industrious agriculturist, and when he dicd, in January, 1913, the com- munity lost one of its representative men. Mrs. Blaine had passed away in 1894. Of their seven children four are still living: J. M., a resident of Champaign ; Ada, who is the wife of John A. Scott; Melda, of Champaign, and Boyd S., of this review.
Boyd S. Blaine was given good educational advantages in his youth which would have fitted him for almost any vocation which he might have cared to follow. After securing his preliminary training he entered the Champaign High School, from which he was duly graduated in 1888, and at that time became a student at the University of Illinois. He attended that institution during 1888 and 1889, and then began to work on his own account as a mail carrier at Champaign. At the same time he was
587
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
devoting his spare time to the carpenter trade, it being his intention to eventually become a builder and contractor. In this trade he spent some six years and had established some standing in the direction of his ambition, when, in December, 1896, he accepted an employment that changed the whole trend of his career. At the time mentioned he began some special work in the recorder's office of the courthouse as a copy clerk, a position which he retained until January 1, 1903. His efficiency and fidelity having attracted attention, he was then appointed deputy circuit clerk, an office which he held until December, 1912, when he was elected circuit clerk and recorder, and his first term proved so satisfactory that in 1916 he received the re-election. As before noted, Mr. Blaine has established an excellent record in handling the affairs of his office and is accounted one of the county's most dependable public servants.
On June 14, 1905, Mr. Blaine was united in marriage with Miss Nelle Griffith, of Rankin, Illinois, daughter of George and Viola (Werts) Griffith, prominent people of Rankin, where Mrs. Blaine's father is serving in the capacity of postmaster. Mr. and Mrs. Blaine have no children. They are members of the Presbyterian Church and have been liberal in their support of its movements. Mr. Blaine's political views make him a Republican, and he has long been considered one of the hard workers in his party's ranks in Champaign County. He is affiliated fraternally with the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Masons, in the last named of which he has reached the thirty-second degree and is a Knight Templar and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine.
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.