USA > Illinois > A history of southern Illinois; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests > Part 45
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Born in Tennessee in 1838, H. J. Fuller was but seven years old when brought to Illinois. During the progress of the Civil war he en- listed in Company E, Sixtieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and ere long was advaneed from the ranks to the position of corporal of his company. He took part in many engagements, and on one occa- sion, when in command of a squad of forty men he was detailed to hold a road, but was overwhelmed by a large body of Confederate sol- diers, forty-four of whom were shot down, although he lost but one man from his ranks. He, himself, was taken prisoner, but two days later, meeting a Confederate captain whom he knew, he was paroled instead of being sent to Andersonville prison. Rejoining his regiment, he sub- sequently marched with Sherman to the sea, thence through the Caro- linas to Washington, where he took part in the Grand Review, after which he was honorably discharged from the army, in which he had served bravely for three years. Returning to his farm in Williamson county, he engaged in agricultural pursuits, but also entered the minis- try, and was a very active worker in denominational work, becoming noted as a revivalist and organizing many churches in Williamson connty. He continued his pastoral labors as long as able, but for the past few years has devoted his time to the management of his farm. He married Mary Jane Baker in 1870: she is a woman of much force of character, and has ably assisted him in all of his labors. Their son Remulus, twin brother of R. C. Fuller, is a well known farmer of Will- iamson county, and a successful and popular teacher.
Having received an excellent preliminary educational training in the public schools, H. C. Fuller read medicine for a time under Dr. Denison, and in 1898 was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Saint Lonis, with the degree of M. D. Beginning the prac- tice of his profession, Dr. Fuller remained at his first location four years. Coming to Carriers Mills in 1902, he has won a lucrative prac- tice in this vicinity, and in addition has dealt in real estate to some ex- tent, in his professional life and in his business propositions having met with satisfactory success.
The Doctor is a member of numerous medical societies, and has served most acceptably on the village board of Carriers Mills, and on its board of health. Fraternally he is an active member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to the Modern Woodmen of America and to the
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Royal Neighbors. He married Mattie Ileisser, of Golconda, Pope county, Illinois.
JOSEPH HAMPTON TAYLOR. One of the good, reliable citizens of Johnson county, who has seen the resources of the country grow and develop during his long residence here, is Joseph Hampton Taylor, a veteran of the great Civil war, owner of a tract of two hundred and twenty-four aeres of excellent farming land, and proprietor of a success- ful sawmill business. Mr. Taylor was born on a farm in Bloomfield township, Johnson county, February 25, 1844, and is a son of Giles and Elizabeth (Kuykendall) Taylor, and a grandson of William Taylor, the latter a native of Virginia, who migrated first to South Carolina and then to Williamson county, Ilinois, in 1800, where he was one of the very earliest settlers.
Giles Taylor was born in 1818. in Williamson county. near Creal Springs, and his whole life was spent in agricultural pursuits, being, at the time of his death in 1895, one of the successful and prominent farmers of Johnson county. He married Elizabeth Kuykendall, a sister of Major A. J. Kuykendall, and they had a family of ten children, of whom one, Elizabeth, is deceased, while the survivors, all of whom are residing in the same neighborhood, are as follows: Joseph Hampton, W. C., James M., G. B., Lydia C., Sarah E., John O., A. J. and Louisa Jane.
Joseph Hampton Taylor was educated in the common schools of his native locality, and was working on his father's farm at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. Like other youths of his day he was fired with patriotism and anxious to go to the front in defence of his country's flag, but he was of such youthful appearance that the recruiting offieers refused to accept him on three different occasions, and it was not until May, 1864, that he finally succeeded in becoming a soldier in the Union army. Enlisting in Company A, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regi- ment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under Captain T. Chapman and Colonel George W. Lackey, he saw active service in Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Kansas, being principally engaged in skirmish duty and relieving the old guard, and also participated in a raid through Kansas chasing bushwhackers. After a brave and meritorions service, during which he won a reputation for cheerful and faithful discharge of duty, he received his honorable discharge in November, 1864, and, returning home, secured a farm of eighty aeres situated on the bluff east of Simp- son. He continued to operate this land until 1872. when he sold it and gave all of his attention to the milling business which he had started at Sanburn at the close of the war, and which he subsequently sold in 1885, to engage in the sawmill business, in which he has continued to the present time. In 1880 he became the owner of his present farm, then a partly-improved tract of eighty aeres, to which he has added from time to time until he now has two hundred and twenty-four aeres, all good second bottom land situated in the center of Simpson township. He has large modern barns and outbuildings, and gives a great deal of attention to the raising of stock, having at the present time nine head of eattle, sixteen horses and fourteen hogs. Nine men are employed in his mill and on his farm, but Mr. Taylor still works as hard as any of his employes, being of a robust, hearty constitution which the years have not been able to affect. He is conceded to be an excellent business man, a seientifie farmer and an intelligent judge of stock, and among his fellow townsmen has the reputation of being a public-spirited citizen who will always lend his assistance to any movement that promises to be of bene-
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fit to his community. Mr. Taylor belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic Post at Vienna, and Delta Lodge, No. 717, I. O . O. F.
In 1866 Mr. Taylor was married to Miss Eliza Herell, daughter of John and Jane (Branchomb) Herell, and eleven children have been born to this union, as follows: W. G., who is married and has one child, Walter; John C .; James M., who is married and has three children, Arthur, Oran and Gladys; Mrs. Lydia C. Trigg, who has three children, Alice, Ethel and Hazel; Mrs. Cora Smoot, who has two children, Nora and Elbert; Fred; Bertha; Thomas, who married Lesty Choate and has one child, Thelma; Mrs. Clara Kerley ; Pearl; and Sarah, the last-named being deceased.
JOHN EZRA PHILLIPS, M. D. No profession demands so much of its followers as that of medicine. The life of the physician of today is one of constant study, his spare moments filled with familiarizing himself with the various discoveries being made, his mind alert to take ad- vantage of each opening to defeat disease. In the farming communities conditions for the doctor are not so favorable, for the time consumed in reaching patients, often miles away, gives the physician but little relaxation, and it is often only love for his profession that keeps him actively in its ranks. John Ezra Phillips, M. D., is not only a country physician with a large practice, but is also cultivating an excellent farm of two hundred acres, situated about eight miles northeast of Benton, in Franklin county. Dr. Phillips is a member of a family which settled here when this section was but a vast, heavily timbered forest, with Indians still lurking in ambush and wild game in plenty. He was born October 31, 1872, in Franklin county, and is a son of Horace and Minerva (Estes) Phillips.
Jacob Phillips, Sr., the great-grandfather of Dr. Phillips, was born in North Carolina, a son of a French-Huguenot who was driven from France during the religious troubles, came to America at an early day and participated in the Revolutionary war. Jacob removed from North Carolina to Ohio in 1804, and to Illinois in 1815, settling in White (now Franklin) county, where he was one of the very earliest settlers. Ilis son, Jacob, Jr., was born in Ohio in 1811, and came to Illinois with his parents when four years of age. His life was spent on the farm now operated by Dr. Phillips, where he died at the age of thirty-three years. He served as captain of a company during the Black Hawk war, and the hardships of soldier life undermined his health and hastened his death. Jacob Phillips had two sons: Horace and James, the latter of whom served during the Civil war and now resides in Franklin county. Horace Phillips was born and reared on the old homestead, received three months' schooling in a log school- house, and throughout his life was engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a faithful member of the Christian church. Horace Phillips mar- ried Minerva Estes, also a native of Franklin county, daughter of John Estes, who was born near where Ewing is now located, Franklin county, in 1809. He was a farmer and school teacher, served in the Black Hawk war, and died in Franklin county. He was a son of Joseph and Rita Estes, the former of whom came to Illinois from Kentucky in 1802, and with his horse and axe cleared a place near where Ewing now is, and returned to Kentucky for his family. During the remainder of his life he followed farming in Franklin and Jefferson counties.
John Ezra Phillips received his education in the public schools and took a scientific course at Ewing College, and then spent one year in the medical department of the University of Tennessee, at Nashville. Three years later he was graduated from the St. Louis University of Medicine,
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R.G. Fleming
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in 1903, and after spending three years in a hospital in St. Louis, opened up an office and was engaged in practice for two years at Tenth and Price streets. About this time his father was taken sick and he re- turned home to take charge of the farm, which he has operated since his father's death. Dr. Phillips then settled down to the life of the country doctor, and is now known for miles around among the agriculturists of Franklin county. Giving the best and most sympathetic care to his patients, willing at all times to go to the bedside of the sick, no matter how far removed, he has won the affection of the entire countryside, and his practice is correspondingly large. Dr. Phillips finds time from his professional duties to superintend the farm, and has developed one of the best properties in his township. Ile has never married. In politieal matters he is a Democrat, fraternally he is a member of Ewing Blue Lodge, No. 705, A. F. & A. M., and in his professional capacity holds membership in the state and county medical associations. He has done much to influence public opinion in behalf of movements for the betterment of his community, is highly regarded in his profession, and has the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens, who have rec- ognized and appreciated his many admirable qualities of mind and heart.
RICHARD G. FLEMING. The country in general is recognizing the definite relationship of the farmer to modern civilization, for he is at the foens point of civie forces and the great living currents of life emin- ate from him and his work. Because of the strenuous life a farmer is forced to lead it is necessary for him to provide for an early retirement. on account of the drain made upon his strength during all seasons. For this reason the thrifty farmer makes his arrangements to retire from the scene of his earlier labors, and in his resulting days of leisure goes more deeply into eivie matters than he was able to when the demands of his farm absorbed all of his attention.
One of the men who has worked unceasingly in order to provide for a comfortable old age is Richard G. Fleming, president of the First Na- tional Bank of Johnston City, Illinois, who spent a third of a century on the farm. Ile was born in Logan county, Kentucky. June 26, 1851, but was brought up in Trigg county and educated sparingly in the subserip- tion schools. ITis education was necessarily neglected owing to the rather indigent situation of the family, and also because of lack of facilities for the children of the rural districts in ante-bellum days. In 1871 his father, William A. Fleming, took his family overland to Texas, following a little drift of Kentneky citizenship to the Lone Star state, but condi- tions in the northeast section of that commonwealth, where he had in- tended to locate, were unfavorable and he decided to return to Kentucky. Having a brother in Illinois, he drove through to this state, and while visiting in Franklin county he was induced to stay and make a erop and to rest from his long journey. Farming conditions were then more favor- able in Illinois than in Kentucky, and prospects seemed brighter for the future, and he decided to remain here, and subsequently he spent the rest of his life in this section, dying at the age of sixty-six years, during the seventies. He was a native of Summer county, Tennessee, and when approaching manhood accompanied his father, Beverly Fleming, to Illi- nois, settling in Williamson county, where he enlisted in the army and served during the Black Hawk war, and also was an Indian tighter in Florida. In political matters he was a Democrat, and his religions faith was that of the Methodist church.
Beverly Fleming was born in the state of North Carolina, and died at Crab Orchard, Illinois, in 1867, when more than eighty years of age.
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He married a Miss Aspley, and their children were ten in number, those to raise families being : William A., who died in Johnson county ; John, who passed away in Alabama; Jacob, who spent his life and died near Union City, Tennessee ; Margaret, who married a Mr. Shackelford and died in Kentucky; James, who died at Paducah, Kentucky, in February, 1862, as a Confederate soldier; William A .; Samuel, who died in White county, Illinois; and Rebecca, who became the wife of John Deering and died in Kentucky. William A. Fleming married Mary Byrn, a daugh- ter of John Byrn, of Sumner county, Tennessee, whose people were from North Carolina, and she died in 1896, at the age of eighty-two years. Their children were as follows: John and David, of Johnson county, Illinois; Richard G .; Maggie, who married Dr. Joseph Walker and re- sides at Hot Springs, Arkansas; and James, who is carrying on agrieul- tural operations in Johnson county.
Richard G. Fleming remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-four years of age. He then married and purchased an eighty-six acre farm near the site of Johnston City, and was busy with the various affairs that go to make up a successful life. His efforts were made to prosper and his substance was made to multiply, independence coming to him long before the ground under him was known to contain coal. In 1908 he leased his farm to the Carterville District Coal Company, as a mining proposition, and under their direction it is yielding up its daily output of carbon. Having consented to convert his farm into a coal mine, Mr. Fleming decided to locate in Johnston City, and in 1908 he estab- lished his family here. When the First National Bank was organized Mr. Fleming became a stockholder, and was soon made a member of its official board. In 1909 he was chosen president of the bank, as suceessor to J. S. Lewis, of Carbondale.
On October 27, 1875, Mr. Fleming married, near Marion, Illinois, Miss Mary E. Newton, a daughter of Henry and Sarah A. (Barham) Newton, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Tennessee. The Newton children were Mrs. Fleming, and Thomas, George, John and James Newton. of Williamson county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Fleming are: John, a farmer of this county, who married Ollie Me- Donald. and for his second wife Miss Ora Skaggs; Maggie, who married Samuel Auhls, of Marion; Thomas, who is engaged in farming near Marion, married Lucile Skaggs; and Alice, Minnie, Bessie, Newton and Hugh, all living at home. Mr. Fleming brought up his family under a church influenee, being a member of the Missionary Baptist denomination. Although a Democrat, he has taken no part in practical politics.
HIRAM HART PIATT. An active and prominent business man of Carriers Mills, Hiram Hart Piatt is conspicuously concerned with various industrial enterprises, and as secretary of the H. H. Piatt Brick & Lumber Company is officially identified with one of the most prosperous manufacturing and mercantile firms of Saline county. A son of H. John Piatt, he was born September 6, 1860, at Mount Carmel, Indiana, just on the border of the Ohio state line. He comes of excel- lent French ancestry, being a direet descendant, several generations re- moved of John Woeoff Piatt, whose sons immigrated from France, their native land, to America, settling at Coldwater Run, Pennsylvania, in early colonial days.
Starting forth in boyhood to make his own way in the world, Hiram Hart Piatt secured a very humble position in a saw mill, being at first employed in scraping up saw dust. Ile was so faithful in the performance of his work that he was speedily promoted to more im- portant positions, and ere he had attained his majority he had thor-
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oughly mastered the details connected with the manufacture of lum- ber, and when ready to embark in business on his own account became operator of a saw mill. Coming from Carroll county, Indiana, to Saline county, Illinois, in 1899, Mr. Piatt purchased the land included in his present lumber yard, erected a saw mill, and within six years had sawed ont all the timber in this vicinity, his mill having a capacity of upwards of four million feet a year. Mr. Piatt subsequently added a planing mill to his plant, and carried on a large business, employing from one hundred and twenty-five men to one hundred and thirty men in the manufacture of lumber. When timber became very searce Mr. Piatt began dealing in brick, and finally manufactured briek for two years, although at present he buys what brick he needs for supplying building materials. With an ample supply of first-class building mate- rials always on hand, it was but natural that he should utilize his stock for building purposes, and he become a builder of dwelling houses and business blocks, many of which he has erected in this vieinity.
Mr. Piatt built up a part of the town, having laid out an addition of five and one-half aeres to Carriers Mills, and having assisted in the development of the coal mines in this vicinity, the coal industry alone employing nearly two thousand people, or the supporters of that num- ber of persons. The H. H. Piatt Lumber and Brick Company, of which Mr. Piatt is secretary, is one of the more important enterprises of Carriers Mills. It was capitalized at $25,000, and its annual sales amount to $75,000, in 1910 the company having handled over one hun- dred ear loads of building materials. A man of excellent business qualifications, Mr. Piatt has accumulated considerable property, among which is a valuable farm of eighty aeres lying near Carriers Mills.
Although not a politician, Mr. Piatt uniformly supports the prin- eiples of the Democratie party by voice and vote and for two years has been a member of the town board, of which he is now the president.
lle married in Indiana Amelia Travelbee, of North Manchester, Indiana, and they have one son, John F. Piatt.
FERDINAND SALZMANN. Numbered among the prosperous and eapa- ble business men of Golconda is Ferdinand Salzmann, who as a drug- gist has built up a profitable trade, his patronage being large and lucrative. He was born in 1874, in Germany, the native country of his parents. William and Christina Salzmann. Leaving the Father- land in 1881, William Salzmann came with his family to Illinois, locat- ing in Pope county, where he resided until 1892. Going then to New Jersey, he settled in Newark, where his wife died.
Seven years of age when, with his parents, he crossed the ocean, Ferdinand Salzmann attended the country schools of Pope county until fourteen years old. Beginning life then for himself, he found employment in a drug store, and in the course of a few years he had so mastered the details of the drug trade that he decided to start in business on his account. Looking abont for a favorable investment, he bought in 1891 the drug store of Dr. J. A. Trovillion, and has sinee managed it wisely and well, having through his own unaided efforts built up a fine business.
Mr. Salzmann married in 1904, L. M. Young, who is of Scotch and American parentage. her father. Dr. J. B. Young, having been born in Scotland, while her mother, Mrs. A. M. Young, is a native of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Salzmann have two children, namely : Ferdinand, Jr .. born in 1908; and Mary Louise, born in 1911. In his political affilia- tions Mr. Salzmann is a sound Republican, and fraternally he belongs to Vol. III-20
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the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons. Born and bred in the Lutheran faith, he is a valued member of the Lutheran church.
THOMAS MOFFAT. The coal-mining interests of Randolph county, Illinois; are substantially represented by Thomas Moffat, president of the Moffat Coal Company of Sparta. His connection with the coal in- dustry in Southern Ilinois dates almost from the close of the Civil war and his relation to it as an owner and an employer of men dates from 1870. The Moffats of this section are distinctly Scotch and Thomas is the founder of his branch of the family in America. He was born at Donaldson's Lodge, near Coldstream, Scotland, the date of his nativity being the 14th of January. 1836, and he is a son of Andrew Moffat, who died in 1891, at the age of ninety years. Andrew Moffat was a man of liberal education and he was employed as foreman on the government highways for a third of a century or more. He had some military his- tory as a soldier in her majesty's troops and maintained the honor of the family name as a loyal subject of the British queen. Andrew's father was Robert Moffat, a nurseryman and fruit gardener at Twissel,- "Twissel's Nursery" being widely known during its palmy days. Robert Moffat lived to the patriarchal age of one hundred and four years. He represented a long line of Moffats, whose home was established in the vicinity of Coldstream, Scotland, as far back as fifteen hundred. Industrious and studious habits seemed to prevail among the members of the family, for many of the sons were men of learning and possessed scholarly attainments. Andrew Moffat married Ellen Donaldson, a daughter of Andrew Donaldson, of Donaldson's Lodge. Mr. Donaldson was in the service of Sir Francis Blake as a contractor upon his estate for many years. Mrs. Andrew Moffat died in 1895, at the age of eighty years. She and her husband were the parents of nine children, con- eerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated : John is a gardener at Middlesboro, England; Margaret married Thomas Johnson and resides at Corn Hill, England ; Robert and Andrew are both de- ceased ; Thomas is the subject of this sketch; Roger has passed away ; Jane is the wife of Richard Trumble and lives at Hurst, England ; Wil- liam lives at Corn Hill, England ; and James is yet with the community of Donaldson's Lodge, Scotland.
Thomas Moffat was reared to maturity in his home place, where he received a good common-school education. Leaving the old home at the age of eighteen years, he went to the iron mines at Estes Hill, Mid- dlesboro, England, where he rapidly familiarized himself with the iron industry and where he was made foreman of the Roseland & Ferry Hill Iron Company. In 1864 he made his first trip to the United States, and while he passed most of his time at Pittston, Pennsylvania, he managed to explore the mineral belt west of the Alleghenies before returning to his native heath in 1865. There was so much of promise in the condi- tions in the United States that Mr. Moffat returned to this country in 1869 and established his home at DuQuoin, Illinois. There he entered the employ of Holliday Brothers and later assumed charge of a mine belonging to Henry Horn. In 1873 he came to Sparta as "boss" for R. H. Rosborough and subsequently became the latter's partner in the Rosborough's Coal Company. In 1902 he severed his connections with all other concerns and purchased and leased lands to the extent of one thousand acres, on which he began sinking a shaft for the Moffat Coal Company. This company consisted of Mr. Moffat and his three sons and Mr. Rosborough and the latter's two sons, but the Rosboroughs sold all their interests in the Moffat Coal Company to the Moffats in May. 1910. Mr. Moffat is president of the company, and it is largely to his
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