USA > Illinois > LaSalle County > Biographical and genealogical record of La Salle County, Illinois. Volume I > Part 22
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
William Holly, of this sketch, was born in Butler county, Ohio, May I, 1843. When he was twenty-one years of age his father gave him a team of horses, and he began farming a part of the old homestead on shares, and also ran a threshing machine. At the end of four years he went to Gran- ville, Illinois, and clerked in a general store. Within a year the manage- ment failed, and Mr. Holly was chosen to take charge and sell out the stock, which required about a year. Then, going to Chicago, the young man purchased a new, fresh stock of goods, and opened a store of his own in Granville. After spending three years in that enterprise he sold out, at a fair profit, and in the fall of 1875 he joined his brother-in-law, Oscar Brennemann, and started a grocery store in the new building which had just been erected in Peru by the senior Mr. Holly. The firm was known as Holly & Brennemann, and that management was in existence some five years. Mr. Holly then bought out his partner's interest and continued alone in business until 1887, when he finally disposed of his stock. His next enterprise was the Peru Elevator Company, which he organized. Renting the elevator he managed it for three years, from 1890 to 1893, and then sold out.
In 1890 Mr. Holly and five other public-spirited citizens-G. D. Ladd, Theodore Weberling, G. Lassig, H. Bellinghausen and Charles Bruner- sunk an artesian well, and at a depth of about seven hundred feet a fine vein of salt water was struck. They went down further, and, reaching a depth of fourteen hundred feet, found fresh water. Pipes were put in and the well was afterward sold to the city, which built new water-works. In 1893 Mr. Holly went to California, and, stopping in Salt Lake City, he took a few plunges in the briny inland sea, and so thoroughly enjoyed the effects that he returned home with a new idea, which he proceeded to put into suc- cessful operation. Purposing to use the salt water piped from the above- mentioned well, he opened an establishment,-a bath-house for giving hot salt-water baths,-and has since enlarged the capacity of the bath-house, until there are now ten separate rooms, with all approved appliances. The ground floor is devoted to the use of men and the second story to ladies, while the basement contains a fine plunge bath, used chiefly in the summer season. Though the popularity of the bath-house is greatest during the hot weather, it receives a liberal patronage the year round.
Mr. Holly has other business interests. He is a stockholder in the Peru Plow & Wheel Company, and has served on the board of directors for this company, and also as treasurer. He is also a stockholder and director in the Peru Plow & Implement Company, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and is also interested in the Peru Shoe Company, of which he is general manager.
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In politics our subject has been perfectly independent, voting for the nominee or principle in which he believed most thoroughly, and changing from one party to the other as he deemed best under public conditions. He voted for S. J. Tilden in 1876, and had cast his first vote for Lincoln, as nominee for a second term. He supported Cleveland the first time that he ran, but not liking his methods he next used his ballot in favor of Har- rison. Then he reverted to Cleveland, and, lastly, he voted for McKinley, and every time the man for whom he desired the place of chief executive (since 1876) has been elected. Personally Mr. Holly has never aspired to public office. He is a member of the Peru Sharp-shooters' Society, but is not connected with any of the lodges.
In 1888 the marriage of Mr. Holly and Miss Emma Miller was sol- emnized. They have had three children, Arthur, Gertrude and Lillian. The last named, little Lillian, died in 1896, at the age of three years.
AMMON B. MOON.
For many years having followed farming in LaSalle county, Mr. Moon is now living retired in Streator, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. He is one of the extensive land-owners of the com- munity, and his property has all been acquired entirely through his well directed efforts. A native of Eden township, LaSalle county, he was born January 27, 1834, his parents being Albert and Elizabeth Moon. The father was born in Virginia, in 1808, and the mother's birth occurred in Kentucky, January 28, 1818. The Moon family was probably established in the Old Dominion at an early period in its history, for the paternal grandfather of our subject, who was of Scotch and English descent, was a native of that state, and there resided until after his marriage. In 1833 he became one of the pioneer settlers of Illinois, making his home in Reading township, Livingston county, until called to his final rest. Albert Moon, the father of our subject, was reared to manhood in Greene county, Ohio, and when twenty-four years of age cast in his lot with the early settlers of LaSalle county, his home being on a farm near Tonica. At the time of the Indian massacre in the Black Hawk war there was a company of sixteen organized at Ottawa to bury the victims of the savage cruelty, and Mr. Moon was among the number chosen for that purpose. In the winter of 1833 he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Boyle, a daughter of David and Rachel Boyle, who settled in Putnam county, Illinois, in 1829. Four children were born of this union: Ammon B., of this review;
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Salanda, wife of Mr. Sawyer; Matilda, wife of H. B. Schuler, of Chicago, Illinois; and Jacob W., who is living at Iowa Falls, Iowa. In 1834 the father of this family disposed of his property in LaSalle county and the following year purchased a tract of land in Reading township, Livingston county. There he carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred on the 19th of November, 1865.
During his infancy Ammon Moon was taken to Livingston county, where the days of his boyhood and youth were passed upon his father's farm. He assisted in its cultivation, and after acquiring a practical English education in the common schools he began farming on his own account, his early training in the fields then proving of practical value to him. He secured a farm on section 34, Eagle township, erected thereon a frame resi- dence in the fall of 1856, and the following spring took possession of the place and began its development and improvement. Soon the land was transformed into richly cultivated fields, which yielded to the owner a golden tribute. As time passed he extended the boundaries of his place until it comprised four hundred and eighty acres, and he made excellent improvements upon it, erecting substantial buildings and replacing the first residence with a modern and commodious brick structure in 1872. At other times he has purchased property elsewhere, and in addition to the old homestead he has one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 33 and one hundred and sixty on section 27, making an aggregate of eight hundred acres. After a long and active life upon the farm, during which he won most gratifying success, he retired to private life in 1893, taking up his abode in Streator, where he is now living, surrounded with the com- forts which make existence most pleasant.
On the 8th of October, 1856, Mr. Moon was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Lyon, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Mills) Lyon. Her father, who was born in Clinton county, Ohio, in 1818, died in Pontiac, Illinois, in 1892, and her mother, who also was a native of the Buckeye state, passed away in Pontiac, in 1882. To Mr. and Mrs. Moon were born five children, but two are now deceased, namely: Carrie, who died in infancy, and Lillie, who died at the age of five years. The three children now living are Nellie I., William A. and Estelle E. Nellie I. married William Turner and has two children,-Guy F. and Harry. In 1882 Mr. Turner passed away and his widow afterward became the wife of Dr. O. J. Raub, of Abilene, Kansas, and by this marriage there is one boy, named Stanley. Estelle E. became the wife of Dr. O. D. Holland, of Streator, and they have one son, named Parke.
Mr. Moon is one of the oldest native sons of LaSalle county, and through more than six decades he has watched with interest the progress
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and improvement which have marked the onward march of time, ever bearing his part in the same. He has been a citizen loyal and true, and in the management of his business affairs he has accumulated a handsome property, which is the merited reward of his earnest, honest labors.
ROBERT N. CRAWFORD.
Robert N. Crawford, president of the Mendota National Bank, was born on a farm in Bureau county, Illinois, November 28, 1868, and repre- sents a type of business man that is a credit to any community. He has worked his way by patient industry and the faithful discharge of the duties that came to his hand, from the humble career of a farmer lad to the posi- tion of president of one of LaSalle county's most firmly established banks, showing what the American boy is capable of. His parents were Charles and Mary A. (Liscom) Crawford, the former a native of the state of Vermont and the latter born in Massachusetts. They were united in the holy bonds of matrimony in Vermont and came west to seek their fortunes in the broad and fertile prairies of Illinois, settling, in 1849, in Bureau county, where they engaged in farming. They remained in that locality for twenty years and then moved to a farm in LaSalle county, a short distance west of Mendota, where they continued to share the vicissitudes of life until February, 1877, when the grim reaper, Death, entered their home and took from it the husband and father just as he had passed the fifty-sixth mile- stone in his journey of life. Left alone with a family to care for, the mother bent her energies to rearing them to lives of usefulness and honor; and how well she succeeded is well known by the citizens of Mendota, who watched with interest her noble life. She is now in her seventy-fifth year and resides on the old homestead, made dear by years of tender asso- ciations and memories.
Robert N. Crawford was the youngest of seven children and was reared on his father's farm. His love for learning was given scope and after leaving the country schools he completed the high-school course at Mendota. Farm work did not appeal to his nature as did the more exciting and active commercial life, and at the age of nineteen years he bade adieu to the monotony of farm life and took up his residence in this city. He was fortunate in securing a clerkship in the First National Bank and was well adapted to the work, remaining with the institution in that capacity for ten years, when he resigned to become the president of the Mendota National Bank. This bank was organized in July, 1897, and opened for business in September of that year with a capital stock of fifty thousand
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dollars. It is one of the solid institutions of LaSalle county and has a large number of depositors.
Robert N. Crawford was united in marriage, in 1892, to Miss Mary E. Truman, a daughter of William Truman, an extensive farmer of this county. Mr. Crawford keeps intelligently posted on political subjects and renders valuable aid to the Republican cause. He is a Knight of Pythias and also a Knight Templar Mason. He is interested in all municipal mat- ters and has been closely identified with the city's growth during recent years. He is straightforward and upright in all transactions and has won the commendation of all who have had any dealings with him.
GUSTAVE J. KEIM.
When Gustave J. Keim, a man six feet in height and finely proportioned, a man of notable military presence, takes his position at the head of his company,-a captain of the Uniformed Rank of the Knights of Pythias,- he commands the respect of all observers and is looked upon with just pride by those under his orders. He is in the prime of early manhood, as his birth occurred June 12, 1867, and Ottawa was the place of that event. He has grown to maturity in this town, receiving his education in her public schools, and since entering the world of business Ottawa has continued to be his home. The associations of his whole life thus being connected with this immediate locality, he is thoroughly patriotic and genuinely interested in everything relating to the growth and prosperity of the town.
The father of our subject, Martin Keim, was a native of Germany, born August 6, 1836. He was reared on his father's farm and in 1857, when the young man was twenty-one years of age, his senior paid three hundred dollars to the government for the release of the son from the law requiring military service. Soon afterward Martin Keim bade adieu to the Father- land and came to America. During the civil war he enlisted in the defense of the land of his adoption, and participated in some of the worst battles of the conflict, including that of Chickamauga and the siege of Vicksburg. He served in the Twenty-fourth Illinois Infantry, his commanding officer being Colonel Hecker, who was a German and had done valiant service in the Mexican war, with General Thomas. By trade Martin Keim was a cooper, and after the close of the war he settled in Ottawa, where he found employment. Socially he was identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
In 1866 Mr. Keim married Miss Lizzie Gabauer, likewise a native of Germany; and as the years rolled by six children came to bless their
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happy home. One son died at the age of nineteen years, but the other chil- dren are still living, and are named respectively Gustave, Adam, George, Herman and Emma.
Gustave Keim, the first-born, was taken into business with his father as soon as he was old enough to be of service, and was quite young when he had mastered the trade. He has continued in the butcher business and has built up a fine reputation for honor and exactness in all his transactions. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias, St. Elmo Lodge, No. 70; Humboldt Lodge, No. 555, of the Masons, and is a member of the Union Hose Company, which is organized for protection against fire. Politically he uses his franchise in favor of the principles and nominees of the Democratic party.
On the 20th of July, 1897, Mr. Keim married Miss Adeline Meyer, a well known Ottawa lady. The young couple have one child, a son, named Walter M. They have a pleasant, cosy home and have a host of friends in this place.
A. F. NICHOL.
A. F. Nichol, a farmer residing in Rutland township, LaSalle county, was born December 30, 1852, a son of John Tilton and Rebecca (Mickey) Nichol. His great-grandfather was a native of Scotland, where he was united in marriage to a Miss Hilton, by whom he had two sons and three daughters. He emigrated to America about the year 1770. John Tilton Nichol is a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Tilton) Nichol. His father was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1780 and died in 1831. His mother was born in Elizabeth- town, New Jersey, in 1782 and died at her son's residence in 1854. J. T. Nichol was reared a farmer, receiving a common-school education. He left his native county and settled in Wayne county, Ohio, thence he moved to Ashland county, that state, and in June, 1845, came to LaSalle county, Illinois, and settled where he now lives, in Rutland township. He bought eighty acres of land, but has added to these until he now owns four hundred acres, and his improvements are among the best in the township. Mr. Nichol was married February 6, 1840, to Rebecca Mickey, a native of Ashland county, Ohio, born December 25, 1820, a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Woodrow) Mickey. Her father was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and her mother of Maryland. To Mr. and Mrs. Nichol have been born seven children, five of whom are living: Lucius R., a resident of Bates county, Missouri, who was a soldier in the civil war, a member of Ford's Cavalry, Company L, Fifteenth Regiment. He enlisted January,
J.J. Michal
Relacidi Nichol
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1862, and served until the close of the war; Marcia, wife of M. H. Trow- bridge, also of Bates county, Missouri; James E., of Platte county, Nebraska; A. F., our subject; Flora B., of this township; Samantha E .; and John Orr, deceased. In politics Mr. Nichol is a Republican and has served his town- ship as supervisor for seven years. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. Rebecca Nichol was laid to rest February 1, 1890, at the age of seventy years.
A. F. Nichol received his preliminary education in the schools of his native township, also spent one year at the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, and is now taking a course in engineering and surveying, at Scranton, Pennsylvania. On December 30, 1879, he made a journey to Ashland county, Ohio, bringing back with him a wife. This lady was Miss Sadie Riddle, daughter of Samuel and Margaret (Dally) Riddle, born September 24, 1853. Three children have blessed their home, one of whom, Portia, was taken to the heavenly home at the tender age of five years. Ethel was born February 14, 1886. Grace was born December 24, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Nichol are highly respected residents of the community in which they live. He is a Republican and has served his party in places of trust.
SAMUEL C. WILEY.
Samuel C. Wiley, a retired farmer and lumber dealer of Earlville, La- Salle county, Illinois, was born in Somerset county, Maine, November II, 1833, and was a son of Charles and Seraphina (Greenleaf) Wiley. His great-great-grandfather was a native of Scotland, who moved to Ireland, where the great-grandfather was born and when this lad was about twelve years old the family moved to America and settled in Massachusetts. Rob- ert Wiley was the youngest of seven sons, and was born in the state of Maine, where he grew to man's estate and married Hannah Charles, who also was a native of Maine. Her parents came from Sweden.
Charles Wiley was born in Freiburg, Maine, March 15, 1803. He mar- ried Miss Seraphina Greenleaf, by whom he had a family of five children, namely: Samuel C .; Henry, a farmer on the old home in Freedom town- ship; Mary Ann, who died in early life; Laura, who also died young; and Martha, the wife of David Davis, born in LaSalle county. In 1844 Charles Wiley brought his family direct from the state of Maine to Freedom town- ship, LaSalle county, Illinois, where he and his sons developed a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He died in 1875 and was survived by his widow until 1896, who died in her eighty-sixth year. Her parents were English people, who located in Maine in the early days. Charles Wiley was one of
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five brothers who settled in this county, one of whom was Dr. Samuel Wiley, of Mendota. The father also made this his home during his later years and died here. The family were adherents of the Universalist church and were upright, honorable people, highly esteemed.
Samuel C. Wiley was but eleven years of age when his parents moved to this county, which has since been his home. The advantages for obtaining a schooling at that time were very limited, as long distances must be traversed in order to reach a school, which at best was a very primitive affair and the teaching of the crudest sort. As Samuel's life was spent on a farm it was not easy to take advantage of even the opportunity thus offered, so his education was obtained chiefly from observation and reading. He re- mained at home until his marriage, but in the meantime had purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres in Meriden township, which he had developed and placed in a high state of cultivation. He has been one of the most prosperous farmers in Illinois and added to his original farm until to-day he has five hundred acres of as fertile land as can be found in the state. About 1874 he entered into partnership with W. E. Hapeman and opened a lumber-yard, which he conducted eleven years, when he sold out to his partner. For the past fifteen years he has been engaged in buying and shipping live stock and has made it a profitable business.
He was united in marriage, in 1858, to Miss Mary E. Thompson, a native of New York and a daughter of Harvey I. Thompson, who came from that state to Christian county, Illinois, when Mrs. Wiley was a child and later located in this county. Their union was blessed by the birth of eight chil- dren, seven of whom are still living; Laura died when about two years old, and the seven living are Carrie, Mabel, Herbert C., Gilbert, Ruth, Rosa and George S. Mrs. Wiley was spared to her family until her fifty-third year was passed, in 1893, when she was called to enter the life everlasting. Mr. Wiley is a Knight Templar Mason and an adherent of the Democratic party. He has held a number of minor offices, acting as the supervisor of Earl and Meriden townships for seven or eight years, and in 1882 was elected to the house of representatives from this district, and was re-elected two years later.
JOSEPH KOCH, SR.
Seventy-eight years ago the birth of Joseph Koch occurred in Bavaria, Germany, the date of the event being March 21, 1821. He is a son of Michael Koch, who was a native of the same kingdom, where he was occupied in agricultural pursuits until his death, in 1878, when he was about seventy-five years of age. His first wife, the mother of our subject, whose
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maiden name was Barbara Baumann, departed this life in 1832. The father remarried, and his second wife lived to attain three-score and ten years. In their religious belief they were all Catholics. Both of the grandfathers of our subject were farmers, and both were upward of seventy years old at the time of death.
Joseph Koch. of this sketch, is the only survivor of his father's family. He had but one brother, Andrew by name, and one sister, Mary Ann, who married Valentine Redline, of Waterloo, Iowa; and both have passed away. In his youth our subject attended the public schools of his native land and aided in the management of the parental homestead. In 1853 he came to the United States, being accompanied by his wife, Eva Baumann, who died while they were journeying across the country and was buried in Battle Creek, Michigan. Mr. Koch became a resident of Peru, which he has since looked upon as his home. At first he worked at whatever he could find to do, in order to gain an honest livelihood. Nature had endowed him with a marked talent for music, and before very long he had plenty of occupation in teaching various kinds of instrumental music. He organized the first cornet band in Peru, as well as the first orchestra, and for years was a leader in local musical circles. His genius and ability once recognized by the citizens, he had his time fully taken up in meeting the many demands upon it. his pupils being numerous and his evenings being largely occupied in fur- nishing music for balls, receptions and other public occasions. Though near- ing four-score years, his love for music is not a whit abated, and though he does not give lessons as formerly he finds solace and happiness in evoking sweet harmonies. The life of an artist of any profession leads away from what are termed "the practical realities," yet Mr. Koch has never failed in his duty as a citizen, and has always manifested deep interest in the public welfare. He uses his right of franchise in behalf of the Republican party.
The first marriage of Mr. Koch was celebrated in Germany, half a cen- tury ago. the lady of his choice being Miss Eva Baumann. Four children were born to them, but all died at an early age. In February, 1854. Mr. Koch and Miss Mary Ann Keupp, daughter of Kilian and Margaret Keupp, were united in wedlock. Three children blessed their union, of whom Mary, the eldest, became the wife of John Fischer and had five children .- Josie, Annic. Minnie. John and Henry. After the death of Mr. Fischer his widow married George Weber, of Peru. Joseph, the only son of our subject, is a wagon- maker by trade, is unmarried, and at present is a citizen of Leonore, Illinois. Minnie, the youngest daughter, married Frank Zadow, who was killed in a railroad accident. His widow subsequently became the wife of William Fuchs, and they have a little daughter, named Annie. The devoted wife of our subject, Mrs. Mary Ann Koch, was summoned to her reward in Febru-
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ary, 1890, when she was in her seventy-third year. This worthy couple came to Peru in its early days and witnessed its gradual growth and the correspond- ing development of the surrounding country. Their sterling qualities won the love and friendship of those who were associated with them in any manner, and naught but the kindest feelings have always been entertained for them.
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