USA > Illinois > A history of southern Illinois; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests > Part 23
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 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94
HIRAM M. AIKEN. One of the most prosperous agricultorists of Franklin county, Hiram M. Aiken is an exeellent example of the self- made man, having started in life as a poor boy, without educational or finaneial advantages, and his present position in life has been attained solely through his own efforts. Mr. Aiken belongs to one of Franklin county's oldest and most honored families, members of which have been identified with the agrienltural interests of Southern Illinois for more than eighty-five years. He was born on a farm eight miles from Benton, August 17, 1867, and is a son of Robert M. and Teresa (Atehinson) Aiken.
William Aiken, the great-grandfather of Hiram M., was a native of Ireland, and after the battle of Culloden, where his family met with defeat and their goods were confiseated, he came to America, being then eighteen years of age. He joined General Washington's army at Philadelphia, served throughout the Revolutionary war, and moved to Sonth Carolina, where he died. His father, the first Wil- liam Aiken to come to America, and from whom there have been over three thousand descendants, was one of the richest planters of South Carolina, and his unele, also named William Aiken, was governor of that state in 1860. James Aiken, the grandfather of Hiram M., was born in South Carolina, and came to Illinois in 1816, settling in Franklin county, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death in 1863. Ile married Jane MeLean, and among their children was Robert M. Aiken, who was born in Franklin county, May 5, 1822. Reared to agricultural pursuits, Robert MI. Aiken on attaining his majority took up and cleared a large tract of land, became one of the well-to-do agriculturists of his day, and died August 25. 1901. Ile was a Democrat until 1861, at which time he joined the ranks of the Republican party. Mr. Aiken married Teresa Atchinson, who was born in Hamilton county. Ilinois, Dp- cember 20, 1826. danghter of Thompson Atchinson, who was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and moved to Tennessee in later years participated in the War of 1812, and soon after the battle of New Orleans eame to Hamilton county in search of a Mr. Moore, who had come to the Salt Wells and had never returned. After searching for some time. Mr. Atchison discovered a skull, which he took back to
1234
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Tennessee, and which was identified as that of Mr. Moore by means of the teeth. Having become impressed with the opportunities of- fered the agriculturist in Hamilton county, Mr. Atchison came back to this section, where he spent the rest of his life in farming. He belonged to one of the distinguished families of Tennessee, being a nephew of General Montgomery, of Revolutionary fame, and a son of Arnold Atchinson who served during that struggle. Mrs. Teresa (Atchinson) Aiken died December 3, 1906, aged eighty years, the mother of eleven children.
Hiram M. Aiken attended Ewing College and the State Normal School at Carbondale, and in 1894, while still a student in that in- stitution, was elected to the office of county superintendent, receiv- ing the re-election in 1902. He is a Republican in politics, and recog- nized as a leader in his community, where he has worked faithfully in the cause of education. For about fifteen years he taught school. but he now gives his attention to farming, owning his father's old es tate and four hundred and forty acres of some of the best land in this part of the county. He also is engaged in the hay and grain busi- ness in Benton. For years he has served as secretary of the Farmer Institute, and he is widely and favorably known among agriculturists in Franklin county, although he resides in a beautiful residence in Benton. He and his wife are consistent members of the Missionary Baptist church, and fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows the Knights of Pythias, the Court of Honor and the Modern Woodmen.
In 1892 Mr. Aiken was married to Miss Cora Johnson, daughter of Robert H. Johnson, an early settler of Franklin county, whose people, natives of Tennessee, founded the town of Macedonia. Mr. Johnson, who is closely related to Andrew Johnson, served in the Civil war, and now resides in Macedonia. Mr. and Mrs. Aiken have had ten children: Robert, James, John, Lucille, Paul, Ruby, Marion, Edith, William F. and Hiram M. Jr., all of whom are attending school with the exception of the last three. Mr. Aiken has an ex- cellent record as a public official, enterprising agriculturist and highly esteemed private citizen, and it is all the more gratifying to him in that it has come as a result of his own individual efforts. Progressive in all things and possessed of much civic pride, he has been a leader in organizing movements to advance the welfare of Franklin county, where the family name has been known and honored for so many years.
JUDGE LOUIS BERNREUTER, one of the judges of the third judicial circuit of the state of Illinois, has been a resident of this state since the year of his birth. Since his early manhood he has been actively connected with the politics of his section of the state, and he has held 'many important offices and been prominent in the affairs of his city, county and district. A man of upright and sterling character, his influence has ever been of an order eminently calculated to advance the best interests of the community, and as such his career has been valuable and praiseworthy.
Born at St. Charles, Missouri, on the 11th of April, 1863, he is the son of Conrad and Catherine (Stulken) Bernreuter, the former a native of Bavaria and the latter of Oldenburg, Germany. Conrad Bernreuter was born in Bavaria, in 1826, the son of well-to-do par- ents. He was given the advantage of a liberal education there, and when he immigrated to America he was accompanied by his father, Jacob Bernreuter, who settled on a farm in Madison county, Illinois, and passed the remaindler of his days thereon. He died in 1871,
1235
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
when he was more than eighty years of age. He was the father of two sons: George, who died in Bond county, Hlinois, as a farmer, and left a family, and Dr. Conrad, the father of Louis Bernreuter, of this sketeh. Dr. Bernreuter had just arrived at the age of eight- een when the Mexican war broke out, and he joined Captain Wheeler's company, with Colonel Bissell in command of the regiment, and he saw service under General Taylor in the routing of Santa Anna's army of Mexicans at Buena Vista, Saltillo and other historic places near the Rio Grande border. After returning with the victorious troops from Mexico, Dr. Bernreuter experienced a call to preach the gospel, and for eight years he filled the pulpit of the Methodist church in Madison county and other places in fowa and Wisconsin, giving up the work at the end of that time owing to his impaired physical health. After this he studied medieine and remained in active praetiec until the time of his death, in 1888. He was a Re- publiean in his political sympathies, but gave voice to his opinions and aid to the party only as a voter at the polls, and never as a politician.
On September 9, 1851. Dr. Bernrenter married Catherine Stulken in Madison county, Ilinois. Her father, John Stulken, and her mother, Margaret Stoffleman, were born in Oldenburg, Germany, and were pioneers in Madison county. Mrs. Bernrenter was born May 18, 1830, and died in 1893, while her husband passed away in 1898. Their children were: Lydia, residing in Bison, Kansas: Esther and Amelia, who died in childhood; Dr. Edward, who graduated from the Missouri Medical College, took a post graduate course in Berlin. Germany, and who took up the practice of his profession in Mt. Olive. Illinois, dying there in 1893, leaving a family; Reverend George, a graduate of MeKendree College and of the Boston University, and was a Methodist minister at Compton, Illinois, when he died in 1903; Lonis, of Nashville, Illinois, the subject of this sketch; Helen, who married George Fieken and resides at Bison, Kansas; Emma, who passed away at that place as the wife of Fred Humberg: and Matilda. the wife of Fred Krumsiek, of Nashville, Illinois.
Louis Bernreuter passed through the public schools of Nashville and took up the profession of teaching. He followed that work in both the country and the graded schools of the county and gave it np eventually to pursue the study of the law. He began his studies in the office and under the direction and preceptorship of Judge Charles T. Moore, of Nashville, and was admitted to the bar upon examination in 1894. Of the Republican Faith he soon became a figure in the politics of that party in his district, and in 1896 became a candidate for state's attorney. He was declared elected by a ma- jority of two votes on the face of the returns, but lost the decision on a recount. In 1901 ho was elected city attorney of Nashville. In 1902 he was elected county judge as the successor of Judge Vernor. and in 1906 was again eleeted, by an increased majority. In 1906 he was elected circuit judge on the Republican ticket with Judges Hadley and Crow. by a majority of over four thousand from the con- ties of Washington, Madison, Bond, St. Clair, Monroe, Perry and Randolph. His politieal record has been one in which he may justly show pride, and which is eloquent evidence of the regard of his fel- low citizens for him.
On June 15, 1892, Judge Bernrenter was married in Washington county to Miss Minnie Krughoff, a daughter of Fred Krughoff. The wife of Fred Krughoff was Miss Wilhelmina Peithman, who bore him
1236
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
ten children. Judge and Mrs. Bernreuter are the parents of two children: Ruth Ada and Edward Louis.
JAMES MCDONALD JOPLIN. In the death of James McDonald Joplin on February 17, 1911, Benton, Franklin county, Illinois, and in fact the whole of this section of the state, suffered an irreparable loss, his demise marking the passing of a man who was at all times during his life in the forefront in all affairs which tended to make for the highest development and upbuilding of this section. In a professional way Mr. Joplin was known as one of this locality's most talented and successful attorneys-at-law, while his long and faithful service in various official capacities in the city and county served to still further enhance his fame and he was known to thousands of people in his part of the state as a man of comprehensive talents and unimpeachable personal in- tegrity.
James McDonald Joplin was a native of Franklin county, Illinois, his birth having oeeurred near Benton on December 3, 1866. The Jop- lins were carly pioneers in Southern Illinois, the parents of James Mc- Donald, whose names were Howell T. and Anna (Dial) Joplin, hav- ing come from their native state of Tennessee to Franklin county in an early day, living here until the time of their death. Mr. Joplin, senior, was a veteran of the Civil war. The son James spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, attending school and participating in such work and amusements as ordinarily fell to the lot of the farmer's boy in those days.
After his student days were over. Mr. Joplin became a teacher in Franklin county schools, pursuing that profession for several years. He gave up that work finally, however, to discharge the duties of clerk of the county court of Franklin county, to which office he was elected in November, 1890. He filled that office with great efficiency for a period of four years and after retiring from the position took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar of Illinois in 1897. A year later Mr. Joplin formed a partnership with D. F. Moore at Benton, and the firm handled a lucrative legal business for two years. Mr. Joplin then pur- ehased an interest in the real estate and abstract business of Judge W. F. Dillon, and these two gentlemen continued to conduct the office for two years, when Judge Dillon retired from the firm, selling his interest to W. F. Spiller the business was accordingly eondueted until 1909 under the firm name of Joplin & Spiller.
In 1906 Mr. Joplin became the Democratic candidate for Congress in the Twenty-fifth Congressional District of Illinois, and notwith- standing the district was very largely Republican in sentiment, he ran far ahead of his ticket, and, although defeated, was stronger in the affeetion and esteem of his friends than before entering the campaign. In 1907 Mr. Joplin accepted the nomination for mayor of Benton, was elected and made one of the most efficient officials the city ever had in that position. One of the practical monuments of his term as mayor is Benton's excellent sewer system, for the securing of which the eity is directly indebted to him more than any other individual. In the May, 1909, term of the circuit court Mr. Joplin was appointed by judge Creighton as master in chancery, which position he held at the time of his death. Mr. Joplin was an indefatigable worker, an interesting and forceful speaker, true to a trust, competent and courteous and dis- charged his duties in every official position he ever held with great credit to himself and entire satisfaction to his constituents and the public at large.
He was a man of large sympathies and broad interests, and was
Q
1207
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
always a potent factor in movements of every description inaugurated to serve the public good. In 1898 Mr. Joplin was elected captain of Company F, Ninth Regiment, Illinois Volunteers, in the Spanish-AAmer- iean war. Hle accumulated a considerable fortune during his life and at his death bequeathed a large estate to his family.
On November 20, 1889, occurred the marriage of Mr. Joplin and Miss Mattie Taylor, a daughter of Richard Il. Taylor. Mr. Taylor was born at Taylor Hill, Franklin county, and died from the effects of a wound which he received in the Civil war, he having been a member of Com- pany F, Eighteenth Regiment. Mr. and Mrs. JJoplin became the parents of six children: Clarence D. is engaged in the farm loan business; Perna C. in high school here; Percy M. attends a business college at Marion; Ruth E. is a schoolgirl, as is also Anna, while the youngest, Jama Marie, is not of school age. Mrs. Joplin is one of the leaders of social and religious life liere. She is a member of the Primitive Baptist church, and belongs to the Eastern Star, Rebekah and White Shriner lodges.
JOIIN D. HIRONS. Noteworthy among the enterprising and success- ful business men of Jefferson county is John D. Hirons, cashier of the Farmers' Bank of Waltonville. The great-grandson of John Hirons, who settled in Jefferson county, Illinois, in 1829, he comes of substantial pioneer stock, and is numbered among the native born citizens of the county, his birth having oeeurred near Waltonville, July 25, 1879, on the farm of his father, the late Sidney T. Hirons.
His paternal grandfather, Benjamin L. Hirons, was born in Ohio, and eame to Jefferson county, Illinois, with his parents in 1829. Ile subsequently purchased government land in the vieinity of Walton- ville, at one dollar and twenty-five eents and aere, and in course of time became on of the large landholders of this part of the county. and a most prosperous farmer. He died at Waltonville, Illinois, in the year 1891, and his widow, whose maiden name was Emily Place, afterwards married a Mr. Gilbert and is now living, a bright and active woman of four seore and four years.
Sidney T. Ilirons, the father of John D. Hirons, spent his entire life of sixty years in Jefferson county, his birth occurring in 1550 and his death in June, 1910. He married Susan Dodds, who is still living, and to them four children were born, as follows: Mrs. Ruth Davis; John D., the special subjeet of this brief sketch ; Hughs, living on the parental farm, one and one-half miles east of Waltonville; and Euterpe, wife of Ray Mannen.
Receiving his elementary education in the common schools of his native distriet, John D. Ilirons afterwards continued his studies for a time at the MeKendree College, in Lebanon, Illinois. Having acquired a thorough knowledge of agriculture during his youthful days, he afterwards followed farming for awhile, and from 1903 until 1907 was engaged in mercantile business in Waltonville. In the latter year the Farmers' Bank of Waltonville was organized by the farmers of the community, and Mr. Hirons accepted a position as cashier of the institution, an office for which he is admirably qualified, and in which he has since served most efficiently and satisfactorily. The officers of the bank are men of integrity and worth, and include the following named officers and directors: President. T. II. Mannen . vice president, Dr. J. W. Jeffries: cashier. John D. Hirons; assistant cashier. W. J. Gilbert. The directors are as follows: 1. F. Allen. H. P. Daniels, W. J. Gilbert, Jarret MeCowan, Henry Pero, T 1 Mannen, J. D. Dodds. H. H. Davis, J. W. Jeffries. W. R Shurtz and
1238
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
John F. Walker. The bank has a capital stoek of fifteen thousand dol- lars, its list of stockholders comprising about forty-five of the leading farmers of this section of Jefferson county, with an individual liability of five hundred thousand dollars.
On April 14, 1903, Mr. Hirons was united in marriage with Lela MeConaughey, of Waltonville, a daughter of Andrew J. MeConaughey, and into their pleasant home two children have made their advent, namely : Lucille, born February 5, 1904, and Margaret, born Decem- ber 9, 1905. Fraternally Mr. Hirons is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of America.
JAMES W. TURNER. Noted as a scholar and an educator, James W. Turner, superintendent of the public schools at Carrier Mills, is ad- ministering the affairs of his important position with a zeal and effi- ciency that is widely recognized and highly appreciated by parents, pupils and the community in general. He was born February 20, 1848, near Nashville, Tennessee, of honored patriotic ancestry, his great-grandfather, John Turner, a resident of North Carolina, having served as an offieer in the Revolutionary war, enlisting for service in that state.
Elijah Turner, Mr. Turner's father, was born in Simpson county, Kentucky, but early in the '60s bought land in Williamson county, Illinois, and was there engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, at the age of four score years. He served as sutler of a regi- ment in the Civil war, but was never identified with any political office. He married Matilda MeDole, who was born in Simpson county, Kentucky, and died on the home farm in Williamson county, Illinois, when but sixty-five years old. Ile belonged to a family of some note, two of his uncles, Jackson Williams and Thomas Williams, having served in the War of 1812, at the battle of New Orleans fighting under General Jackson.
After leaving the public schools, James W. Turner attended Bor- dean Academy, a branch of Vanderbilt University. When seventeen years old he came with the family to Williamson county, Illinois, and soon after the opening of the Southern Illinois Normal School, at Carbondale. entered that institution, and there continued his early studies. Thus well equipped, Mr. Turner has pursued his profes- sional career, begun in 1866, and for well-nigh a half century has been an active and successful worker in educational fields, in the ad- vaneement of the public school system, having contributed his full share. For nine years he taught in the rural schools of Williamson county, being afterwards principal of the Crab Orchard schools seven years and of the Marion schools in 1883 and 1884. Subsequently founding Crab Orchard Academy, Mr. Turner served as its princi- pal twenty years. He was superintendent for eight years of the Stone Fort high school, which he organized and for five years was at the head of the Carterville high school as its superintendent. Go- ing then to Creal Springs, he organized a high school at that place, and after serving as its superintendent four years, came in 1910, to Carrier Mills, where he organized the high school of which he is now the superintendent, this being his second year in that position.
For the benefit of teachers and advanced pupils desirous of tak- ing a practical and thorough review of all branches of study on which they may be examined for a certificate, Mr. Turner established the Carrier Mills Select School. the first annual term of which was opened in the Carrier Mills high school building April 5, 1911, with an aea- demie and normal department, both of which are well patronized con-
1239
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
sidering the brief time in which they have been in existence. Espe- eial attention is given to the special studies of the " Illinois Teachers' Reading Circle," "Methods of Teaching" and to the State Course of Study," subjects in which the average student and many teachers are deficient and likewise those branches of arithmetie and history which are not very thoroughly taught.
Mr. Turner is prominent in institute work, and has served as presi- dent of the Tri-county Teachers' Association. Nearly one hundred scholars have been graduated from schools which Mr. Turner has had in charge. and of these seventy-six have entered the teacher's profession. while upwards of three hundred of his pupils have become school teachers, and several have become sehool superintendents. Un- der Mr. Turner's efficient management the Carrier Mills schools are in a flourishing condition, being located in a magnificent new build- ing, with over four hundred pupils in the grades, and as intelligent and capable a corps of teachers as can be found in Southern Illinois. The high school is well equipped and oeeupies class rooms in the same building.
Mr. Turner married. in 1874, Millie Cunningham, who was born in Marshall county, Mississippi, in 1844, a daughter of William and Catherine Cunningham, and a relative of Mrs. John A. Logan. Six children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Turner, namely : Rev. James W. Turner, of Edgewood, lowa, a prominent minister in the Methodist Episcopal church, belonging to the Northern Iowa Con- ferenee; Gus H., a printer at Taylorville, Illinois; Richard F. and Elijah H., who died in infaney ; Charles H., a printer at Carrier Mills ; and Millie R., a teacher.
In his political affiliations Mr. Turner is a steadfast Demoerat. Fraternally he has been a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows sinee attaining his majority, and has passed all the chairs in the lodges of each organization. He was made a Royal Arch Mason in Marion, Illinois, and holds his Chapter membership there. Blazing Star Lodge, at Crab Orehard, in which he took the initiatory degrees of Masonry, was for a time inactive, but recently, under the efforts of Mr. Turner, it has been revived, and since its removal to Carrier Mills is in an exceedingly prosperous condition, with fair prospeets of becoming a strong and vigorous organization. Mr. Turner is a strong advocate of the principles of Christianity and morality, and always puts forth his best efforts to kindle a spark of inspiration in the life of his pupils. Ile is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is an active worker in the Epworth League and Sunday-school.
LOUIS FALLER. As a representative business man and one of Jasper county's most publie-spirited citizens, Louis Faller, of the large mill- ing firm of Faller Brothers, has been prominently identified with the development and material prosperity of the city of Newton. Ile is a native of this eity, and was born February 5, 1864. a son of Bernard and Elizabeth (Theriach) Faller.
Bernard Faller was born at Barr, AAlsace, France (now Germany , July 13, 1822, and in 1839 aceompanied his five brothers to the United States, settling first on a farm in Fox township, Jasper county, Illi- nois. After a short period he removed to Chicago and obtained em- ployment as a tanner, a trade he had learned in his native country, and subsequently sought to enlist in the army for service during the Mexican war, but on arriving at St. Louis found that the war had elosed, and instead joined a party which was en route for the gold
1240
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
fields of California. After remaining in that state for about four years, during which he met with gratifying success, Mr. Faller eame back to Newton, where he was married in 1854 to Miss Elizabeth Theriach, a lady of Vincennes, Indiana, of French descent, whose people were among the first settlers of that old eity. Fourteen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Faller, namely: Anthony, M. D., who is deceased; James, a retired citizen of Newton; Frank, who died in infancy ; Henry, who is engaged in the real estate business at Newton; Thomas, who is deceased; Florent, a prosperous grocer of Newton; Louis; Franeis, who is the manager of a sawmill in Arkansas; Joseph- ine, residing at home; Helena, who is a sister, known as Sister Franeis DeSales, in St. Joseph's Hospital, at Kansas City, Missouri; Bernard, who is deceased; Stella, residing at home; Hubert, a barber of New- ton; and Charles, who is a member of the firm of Faller Brothers. After his marriage Bernard Faller resided for a short time on a farm, and in 1858 came to Newton and organized the Newton Steam Mill, which he ereeted. Two years later the Newton Water Mills was built and the mill is still in operation, although the original building burned in 1877 and was rebuilt the same year by Mr. Faller. This business elaimed Mr. Faller's activities until his death in 1888. He was widely known, and held various positions of importance in Newton, serving capably on the village and school boards and in other capacities. Squire Faller was a Demoerat, and was a stockholder in the People's Bank of Newton, of which he was for some time president. He died in the faith of the Roman Catholic church, of which his widow, who survives him and is seventy-three years of age, is also a member.
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.