USA > Illinois > A history of southern Illinois; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests > Part 9
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In March, 1908, Mr. Allio was united in marriage with Bertha Walker, a daughter of Cyrus and Sarah D. Walker, of Mulberry Grove, where Mr. Walker is a prosperous farmer and stock grower. Two chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Allio, Joseph H. Allio and Grace Esther Allio. Politically Mr. Allio is a zealons worker in the Republi- can ranks, and fraternally he is a member of the Ancient Free and Ae- cepted Order of Masons; of the Court of Honor; and of the Knights of the Maccabees. He also belongs to the American Insurance Association. Religiously both Mr. and Mrs. Allio are trustworthy members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
WALTER J. CASPER. Many of the more progressive farmers of Southern Illinois are specializing in their work, realizing that there is more money in this method than in merely carrying on general farm- ing, and one who has demonstrated the practicability of his ideas is Walter J. Casper, who owns one of the finest tracts of land in John- son county, located near New Burnside, and whose specialty has been the growing of fruit. Mr. Casper was eminently fitted in his youth to carry on his present vocation, his father, a half century ago, having laid the foundations for the present great fruit industry of the Prairie state. Walter J. Casper was born September 23, 1850, on a farm near Anna, Union county, Illinois, and is a son of Peter H. and Elizabeth A. (IIenderson) Casper.
Peter Casper. the grandfather of Walter J., was born in Rowan county, North Carolina, of German aneestry, and was one of the first pioneer settlers of Union county, coming to this section during the early twenties, when this part of the country was a vast wilderness. Ile had been married in his native state to a Miss Fullenwider, and brought his family to a little log cabin, around which he made a clear- ing, and here engaged in agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his life. He and his wife had a family of four sons and three dangli- ters, namely : Caleb, Stephen. Henry, Peter II., Mrs. Elinor Miller, Mrs. Katherine Miller and Mrs. Esther Davis.
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Peter H. Casper was born on the wilderness farm in Union county, in 1823, and there grew to manhood. At the outbreak of the Mexican war he enlisted in the United States army, under Colonel Bissell, and served throughout that struggle, after which he returned to U'nion county and secured two tracts of land from the Government, to which he later added from time to time until he owned six hundred acres of tillable land. In 1846 or 1847 he was married to Elizabeth A. Hender- son, and they had a family of ten children, of whom seven grew to ma- turity, namely : Walter J .; Mrs. America JJosephine Yost, of Danville, Illinois ; Stephen Douglass, residing in Anna; Mrs. Addie Laura Appell, living at the old homestead in Anna ; Lincoln L., who resides on a farm in Union county : John R., a hospital attendant at Watertown, Illinois; and Osear H., living at Anna. The father of these children died Oc- tober 12, 1878, and his widow survived him until October, 1893, when she passed away. Mr. Casper was the pioneer orchardist of Union county, and in the face of the ridicule of his neighbors, who were con- tent to farm along in the old way, planted five hundred trees, demon- strating by his success that Hlinois was an ideal spot for the growing of fruit. Always an active citizen and great patriot, during the Civil war Mr. Casper assisted the United States marshal in many ways, be- ing especially active in preserving order and raising troops, although. owing to an infirm limb, his enlistment was barred. The respect and esteem in which he was universally held proved his worth to his com- munity, and in his death Union county lost one of its able agrieulturists and public-spirited citizens.
Walter J. Casper received his education in the district schools in the vicinity of his father's farm and the Anna high school. and con- tinned to work with his father until he was twenty-one years old. Dur- ing the next three years he was engaged in the mercantile business, and ran a confectionery store and news stand at. Vienna and Anna, but eventually returned to the farm, where he continued until January 15. 1879. Ile had previously, in 1878, bought a small farm of six acres, on which was a little house and barn, and at the time of his father's death he received forty-seven aeres from the estate. This land he sold in 1888. and November 13th of that year came to New Burnside and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land, only partially cleared at that time, but which is now in a high state of cultivation, and on which are situated a fine residence and large barns and ontbuildings. Since that time he has bought more land, but after improving it has disposed of it, and he now owns the original tract. On first locating here he immedi- ately began planting fruit trees, starting with apples and peaches, and he was so successful with the former that he has continued with them until he now has fifty solid acres of apple trees just coming into bearing. His orchard contains four thousand trees in all, and he has about sixty varieties of apples, thirty-five varieties being displayed by bim at the Horticultural Exhibit at Anna in 1911. He has more varieties than any other grower in Southern Illinois, and is an experimenter and pro ficient horticulturist. A frequent exhibitor at horticultural fairs, he has secured many prizes for the excellence of his fruit, and is one of the leading members of the Illinois State Horticultural Society. Years of careful study in his business have made Mr. Casper an absolute au- thority on fruit culture, and his advice is constantly being sought on matters of this nature.
On January 15. 1879. Mr. Casper was united in marriage with Miss Marie C. Miles, daughter of William T. and F'yla ;Marshall Miles, natives of New York state, who emigrated to Cohden. Union county, Ili- nois, in 1867, and the former of whom died in 1s81, while the latter still
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survives. Mr. and Mrs. Miles had three children : Cyrus A., who died in 1887; Arthur O., who makes his home at New Burnside; and Marie C. Mrs. Casper was educated in the Southern Illinois State Normal Uni- versity, at Carbondale, and taught the graded schools of Cobden, Anna and Jonesboro, in Union county, for five years. She and her husband have had three children : Norman Walter, Roscoe (who died in infancy ), and Ivo Marie.
JAMES FINIS JOHNSTON. A prosperous business man and prominent citizen of Greenville, James F. Johnston is now rendering appreciated service as eireuit clerk of Bond county, and is widely known in indus- trial, fraternal and social circles. He was born February 20, 1879, in Miltonvale, Kansas, where his boyhood days were spent. ITis father, - William II. Johnston, was born in Bond county, Illinois, in 1843, of pioneer stock, and grew to man's estate on his father's farm. At the out- break of the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army for a period of ninety days, and was commissioned second lieutenant of his company. Locating in Cloud county, Kansas, after the war, he was busily engaged in farming, stock raising and as a general merchant until his death, in 1888, when but forty-five years of age. He was a man of great intelli- gence and excellent business capacity, and took mueh interest in the af- fairs of the community in which he resided. He was a Republican in polities ; a member of the Grand Army of the Republic; and belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterian church, to which his widow, now a resi- dent of Mulberry Grove, Illinois, belongs. He married, in 1866, Leonora Emeline Reeves, of Bond county, Illinois, and of the seven children born of their union five are now living, James F. being the youngest child.
Living in Kansas until eleven years old, James F. Johnston obtained his first knowledge of books in the rural schools of Miltonvale, and after returning to Illinois he continued his studies in the public schools of Bond county, later taking a course in the commercial department of Greenville College. Thus equipped, he began his active career as book- keeper for the Smithboro Mine, holding the position until the follow- ing year, when the mine suspended operations. IIe subsequently clerked three years for the MeLain and Cable Grocery Company, and was after- wards similarly employed in the clothing department of the store owned by Weise & Bradford. In 1905 Mr. Johnston was elected city clerk of Greenville, and in 1907 was re-elected to the same office. From 1906 until 1909 he carried on a substantial business as junior member of the firm of Mitchell & Johnston, real estate dealers, the partnership being dissolved when Mr. Johnston assumed the office of circuit clerk of Bond county, to which he was elected, by the Republican party, in the fall of 1908, and in which he has sinee served with credit to himself and to the honor of his constituents. Mr. Johnston is secretary and treasurer of the Cyclone Hose Company, also secretary and treasurer of the Old Settlers' Association of Bond county, and is actively interested in the real estate and insurance business, in addition to which he makes a spe- eialty of loaning money.
Mr. Johnston married, in 1900, Georgia N. Perryman, a daughter of George and Alice Perryman, her father being editor of the Greenville Item. Four children have been born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Johnston, namely: William Carl, Floyd Perryman, Margaret Elizabeth (who died in childhood), and Alice Leonora.
Mr. Johnston is an active member of the Republican party, and both he and his wife are members of the Christian church. Fraternally Mr. Johnston is a member of Greenville Lodge, No. 245, Ancient Free and
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Accepted Order of Masons; of Clark Lodge, No. 3, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and of Browning Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He is an enthusiastic lodge worker, and at different times has served as a dele- gate to the Grand Lodges of his Orders.
WILLIAM H. FORD, M. D. If those who claim that fortune has fa- vored certain individuals above others will but investigate the cause of success and failure it will be found that the former is largely due to the improvement of opportunity, the latter to the neglect of it. For- tunate environments encompass nearly every man at some stage of his eareer, but the strong man and the successful man is he who realizes that proper moment has come, that the present and not the future holds his opportunity. The man who makes use of the Now and not the To Be is the one who passes on the highway of life others who started out ahead of him, and reaches the goal of prosperity in advance of them. It is this quality that has made William H. Ford a leader in the busi- ness world at Herrin, where he has gained distinctive prestige as a real-estate man and as a booster of the town.
Dr. Ford was born in Jackson county, Ilinois, the date of his na- tivity being the 10th of March, 1878. He is a son of the late Wiley N. Ford, who passed away in Herrin, May 3, 1909. Jesse Ford, grand- father of the Doetor, was a native of Pennsylvania, whence he came to Southern Illinois as a pioneer settler. He located in Jackson county and for a number of years prior to his demise was a prominent mer- chant at Carbondale. Jesse Ford was twice married, his first wife hav- ing been a Miss Greathouse. She died, the mother of Wiley N. and William, the former the father of Dr. Ford and the latter a farmer in Williamson county, Illinois. Mr. Ford's second wife was Miss Brandon. They had no children.
Wiley N. Ford was born near Carbondale, Illinois, in 1853, and as a youth he attended the district schools of his native place. After reach- ing years of maturity he was for a time engaged in farming and stock- raising but later became interested in the real-estate business, the scene of his operations in that connection being in Williamson county. He platted and sold the town of Fordville, an incorporated village of some seven hundred inhabitants, the same covering a tract of two hundred acres of land. With the passage of time his interests in the vicinity of Herrin became considerable and he laid off and sold several "out lots" to the city. He bought and sold property of every description and was an aid in the organization of the City National Bank of Herrin, being a member of its board of directors at the time of his death. In politics he was a Democrat and served his party simply as a counselor. He was averse to public office for himself, held aloof from all fraternities and life insurance companies and owned allegiance to no church or creed. He was married, in Jackson county, Illinois, to Miss Amanda Phemister. a daughter of Henry and Margaret (Tygelt, Phemister. Mrs. Ford was born in Jackson county, in 1859, and she had three sisters, namely, Mary, who died as the wife of John Borne; Ettie, who is the wife of William Rushing, of Jackson county, Ilinois; and Martha, widow of Albert Presson, of Osage, Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Wiley N. Ford le came the parents of two children,-Dr. William I, of this notice ; and Roy Ford. a farmer near Herrin, who married Cora Tilson at Val- paraiso, Indiana, while he was a college student in that place.
In the public schools of Jekson county Dr. William II Ford re- ceived his rudimentary educational training and later he supplemented that discipline by a course of study in the Southern Illinois Normal I'ni- versity. at Carbondale. As a young man he derided upon mechicine as his
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profession and in 1894 was matriculated as a student in the St. Louis Medical College, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1898, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Immediately after leaving college he came to Herrin, where he was engaged in the active practice of his profession for a number of years. The press of business matters consequent upon the substantial investment of both his father and himself made such demands upon his time, however, that he finally gave up his profession and joined his father in the varied phases of town building and urban development generally. For the past seven years he has been interested in the real-estate business. As a young doctor he became a valued member of the Southern Illinois, the Tri- State and the American Medical Associations and although now out of practice he still keeps in touch with matters pertaining to the advance of medical science and professional doings.
In connection with his real-estate interests at Herrin, Dr. Ford was originally associated with his father, they having laid off the Ford and Stotlar additions to this eity. He was also interested in the Fordville enterprise, mentioned above. The Doctor has manifested his faith in Herrin by ereeting a substantial business bloek here and by putting up a number of cottages throughout the residence district. It is probable that through his real-estate dealings he has added more to the city's development and improvement during the few short years he has been a resident of this place than any other man in Herrin. He became a stockholder in the City National Bank at the time of its inception and is a member of the board of directors of both it and the Herrin State & Savings Bank. In politics he is a Democrat and his fraternal affiliations are with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
On January 10, 1900, Dr. Ford married Miss Nora Stotlar, a daugh- ter of Thomas and Louisa (Cox) Stotlar, pioneers of Williamson county. Mrs. Stotlar died in 1900, and her husband died March 8, 1912. Dr. and Mrs. Ford have one daughter, Louane, whose birth oc- eurred October 5, 1908.
JOSEPH MARION BROWN. A man of good financial ability and of strict integrity, Joseph Marion Brown, of Greenville, county treasurer of Bond county, is filling the responsible position to which he has been chosen to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen to a high degree. He was born March 26, 1868, in Bond county, on the same homestead farm that his father, the late Robert Brown, spent his entire life.
A son of Wilson Brown, Robert Brown was born in 1834, and died on the home farm, which became his by inheritance, in 1874, while yet in the prime of a vigorous manhood. He married Mary Ann Moore, who was born in Bond county, Illinois, where her father, Joseph Moore located when coming to this state from Tennessee. Of their union seven children were born, Joseph M. being the fifth child in suc- cession of birth. The mother is now living in Greenville with her son Joseph. The father was a sturdy adherent of the Democratic party, and belonged to the Christian church.
Brought up on the old homestead. Joseph M. Brown received a practical education in the common schools, and during all of his earlier life was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits, living and labor- ing on the old home farm. An active and enthusiastic worker in political fields, Mr. Brown is a recognized leader in Democratie ranks, and has never shirked the responsibilities connected with public office. In 1898 he was the Democratic candidate for sheriff of Bond county,
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but made an unsuccessful run, being defeated at the polls by only one hundred and twenty-six votes. In 1905 he was elected to the same office, and served as sheriff of the county for four years. lle was then eleeted eounty treasurer, and is serving in that capacity with ability and fidelity.
Mr. Brown married, in 1898, Emaline Jane Rogers, of Bond county, and they are the parents of two children, Marion Robert and William Joseph. Fraternally Mr. Brown is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and religiously he belongs to the Baptist church.
JOHN SWEITZER. Given the history of any representative county or community, the careful observer can not fail to find manifold instances of men who have made judicious use of their every opportunity, be- ginning life with a good head and a strong pair of hands as their chicť assets, and who have in middle age attained to that place in lite where they are independent beings in the largest meaning of the phrase, all as a result of their own well directed, honest and whole-hearted en- deavors. John Sweitzer is the specific illustration of the truth of the above statement. His life in Cobden has been a model of industry, and his attainments worthy of emulation. As an orchardist and general farmer he ranks high among the producers of his locality, and has done mueh to establish this particular section of Union county in popular esteem as a fruit producing community.
John Sweitzer was born July 17, 1844, in Baden, Germany. He was the son of John and Theresa ( Witz) Sweitzer. When he was but four years of age his father died, and the mother had the full care of her little brood of five children, of which John Sweitzer was the young- est. The others were named Barbara, Mamie, Sebastian and Frank. John Sweitzer was educated in Germany. His schooling was limited. owing to the circumstances, and when he was twenty years of age he and his brother Frank emigrated to America. They came direct to Cincinnati and located there, where they lived for some little time. Frank Sweitzer had paid a previous visit to America, being here at the breaking out of the Civil war, and he enlisted and served during the war. Following that he lived for a time in C'obden, Illinois, and then returned to Germany, being accompanied by his brother John on his return trip, as mentioned above. Leaving Cincinnati, they came direct to Cobden, where Frank Sweitzer had established a home and family. For some time John Sweitzer worked at Anna, Illinois, in the lime-kilns. Then he entered the employ of James Bell, an extensive fruit grower of Cobden, and, the work appealing to him, he remained in that berth for sixteen and a half years.
In 1882, at the close of his period of service with James Bell, he was able to purchase with his savings ninety acres of fertile land in Cobden vicinity. His long and faithful labors with Mr. Bell had thoroughly trained him in the mysteries of fruit growing, and when he entered busi- ness on his own responsibility he was relieved of the necessity of under going the experimental stage, and from the inception of the business his affairs prospered. He has added to his original hollings until now he is the owner of one hundred and seventy-right acres of valuable fruit land, has a handsome residence and good. commodious farm buildings In 1911 he shipped from a twelve acre apple orchard seven hundred bushels of apples. From his six acres of peaches the erop was light. netting only about two hundred bushels. He also shipped about the same quantity of pears. From a seven aere field of sweet potatoes he shipped one thousand bushels. His six nere field of asparagus yielded eighteen hundred boxes, and he soll about five hundred bushels of
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rhubarb. In addition to his fruit growing Mr. Sweitzer has delved into general farming, and is a producer of considerable hay and wheat. Ile has on his place seventeen head of cattle, eight horses and thirty-five tine hogs, and is also the owner of two business blocks in Cobden, one the post office building and a store building.
Mr. Sweitzer has been twice married. In 1870 he married Miss Mamie E. Caising, who passed away in 1874, leaving him three sons; Edward, Harry and Fred. ITis second marriage occurred in 1879, when he was united with Annie Bigler, a daughter of Joseph Bigler, a native of Switzerland. She has borne him eight sturdy children, all of whom are graduates of the Cobden high school. They are named as follows: Joseph, Annie, John, Mary, Josie, Charles, Frances and Emma. Mr. Sweitzer is the grandfather of eighteen children.
JONATHAN SEAMAN. Occupying a conspicuous position among the highly respected citizens of Greenville, Jonathan Seaman is numbered among the sound business men who are contributing so much toward the city's reputation as a desirable place of residence, both in a social and a financial point of view. A native of Bond county, he was born October 5. 1851. near Greenville, where his father, the late Jonathan Seaman, Sr., settled on coming to Illinois to live.
ITis grandfather. Jonah Seaman, resided in Frederick county, Vir- ginia, which was a slave state. He was not a slave owner, and as he had very decided views on the slave question, being, in faet, a "black aboli- tionist." he moved with his family to Ohio in the very early part of the eighteenth century, and there reared his sons to a sturdy manhood.
Born in Frederick county. Virginia. January 22, 1799, Jonathan Seaman, Sr., was a young man when his parents migrated to Ohio, where he assisted his father in clearing and improving a farm. In March. 1851, accompanied by his wife and children, he came to Illinois, locating in Bond county in September of that year. Taking up land lying two miles east of Greenville, in Hall's Grove, on the homestead which he improved, he spent his remaining days, passing away January 13, 1868. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and having in- herited to a marked degree the political views of his father, was opposed to slavery in any form, and was a stanch and loyal member of the Repub- lican party from the time of its formation. Ile was twice married. He married first, when abont twenty-four years old, in Xenia, Ohio. Sarah E. Smith, who died in 1846, leaving nine children. He married in 1848 Mary N. Miller, a daughter of Thomas and Jane Miller, of Ohio, where her father was a cabinet maker for many years. She survived him four years, her death occurring September 30, 1872. Five children were born of his second marriage, of whom -Jonathan, the subject of this sketch, was the second child, and one of these five children is deceased.
Brought up on the home farm, Jonathan Seaman attended the dis- triet schools of Hall's Grove, and was there actively engaged in agricul- tural pursuits for many years. About a month after the death of his first wife who was Mary E. Owen, of Wihnot, Wisconsin, where they were married December 15, 1874. She died September 22. 1880, and the one child by this marriage. Albert Owen Seaman, is Captain of the Fifteenth Infantry, U. S. A. Mr. Seaman, on October 23, 1880, moved to Greenville, and for a year was engaged in the drug business with his brother, George W. Seaman. Buying out the mercantile interests of Ellhart & Guller in February, 1882, Mr. Seaman has since carried on an extensive and profitable business as a hardware merchant, having a wide trade in Greenville and vicinity. He is one of the directors of the Bradford State Bank, and likewise of the Greenville Public Library.
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Mr. Seaman married, in 1883, Jennie H. Hull, a daughter of John Hull, of Bond county, and they have one child, J. Ralph Seaman. Iden- tified in polities with the Prohibition party, Mr. Seaman has taken a prominent part in the management of municipal affairs, having served the city as mayor four years ; as alderman six years; and having been a school director many terms. He is a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is now serving as president of its Board of Trus- tees. Fraternally Mr. Seaman is a member of the Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Order of Masons and of the Knights of Pythias.
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