USA > Illinois > LaSalle County > Biographical and genealogical record of La Salle County, Illinois. Volume I > Part 29
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After receiving an honorable discharge, in June, 1865, he returned to his home in Macoupin county, Illinois, and in 1869 began railroading on the Chicago & Alton Railroad, with which he was connected for seven years. At the end of that time he accepted a position with the Chicago, Wilmington & Vermilion Coal Company, first as shipping clerk, in which capacity he served for ten years. In 1889 he was promoted to the position he now fills, that of local superintendent. This year is his twenty-sixth in the service of the company.
In January, 1873, Mr. Fletcher married Miss Rachel S. Proctor, of Mason City, Illinois, daughter of Richard and Rachel (Harris) Proctor. To them have been born a son and a daughter. The son, Ralph Proctor Fletcher, is deceased. The daughter, Edna May, is at home.
Mr. Fletcher has always been a stanch Republican and taken a deep interest in the general growth and good of the town in which he lives. For thirteen years he was a member of the school board. He is prominently identified with the Masonic order, maintaining membership in Streator Lodge, No. 607, F. & A. M .; Streator Chapter, No. 168, R. A. M .; and Ottawa Commandery, No. 10, K. T.
EDWARD G. LOEKLE.
Success rarely comes to the undeserving, and when, as in the case of Edward G. Loekle, prosperity and high standing in a community have been achieved, it is always interesting and profitable to trace the successive steps taken toward this desirable goal. During the almost half a century of his
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residence in Peru, LaSalle county, the subject of this article has been closely associated with the commercial interests of the place, and has performed his share of the labors which devolve upon every patriotic citizen.
The ancestors of E. G. Loekle were natives of Germany, and his parents, Heinrich and Louise Loekle, lived and died in the province of Wurtemberg. They were honest, industrious people, and reared their children in the faith of the Lutheran church, to which they belonged. The father, who at one time was a member of a militia company, was a saddler and harness-maker by trade. He died when about forty-two years of age, in 1835 or 1836. and his widow survived him several years. Five sons and four daughters were born to them, and the seven who are yet living are as follows: Charley, of New York city; Paulina, wife of Henry Hartmann, of Lebanon, Pennsyl- vania; Edward G .; Emelia, wife of Lawrence Kronawitter, of Chicago; Henry, of Philadelphia; Ernest, of New York, and Ferdinand, of Stuttgart, Germany.
Edward G. Loekle was born in the city of Ludwigsburg, Wurtemberg, Germany, June 6, 1828. Until he was fourteen years of age he was a pupil in the common schools of his native land, after which he learned the butcher's trade and worked at that for several years. Being an ambitious young man, he decided that he would try his fortunes in the United States, and on the Ist of May, 1849, he arrived in New York city. Very wisely he left the crowded metropolis at once, and going to Lancaster county, Pennsyl- vania, he worked at his trade for two weeks, and then took a position upon a farm, where he gradually mastered the English language and customs. Learning that the west was a more promising place for enterprising men, he came to Illinois, and May 1, 1850, he had his first view of Peru. He has since made his home here, and after the first year, when he worked at his trade for wages, he has been engaged in business for himself. Opening a market, he conducted it successfully for about forty years, but has been retired for the last seven years. Since the Peru State Bank was organized he has been the vice-president of the institution, which is now in a most flourishing condition. He has used his franchise in favor of the Democratic party.
The marriage of Mr. Loekle and Miss Catherine Mather, a daughter of Jacob and Kunigundy Mather, was celebrated September 10, 1851. Twelve children came to bless their home, namely: Edward, Henry, Charley, Bertha, Louise, Paulina, Emma, Frederick, Anna, Carrie, Otto and Minnie. Edward died in infancy and Bertha when fourteen years of age. Henry, who mar- ried Emma Sperber, and had one child, Eduard, died when in his thirty- third year. Charley married Carrie Wolfer, and has three children living- Richard, Florence and Frank. Paulina is the widow of Henry Peters, and
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is the mother of three children,-Willie, Tillie and Edward. Emma wedded Charley Danz, and has a son and daughter, Harry and Viola. Carrie is the widow of Charles Birkenbeuel, by whom she had two children,-Reuben and Clarence. Minnie is the wife of Jolin E. Seepe and is the mother of a son, named Walter. The other children of our subject are unmarried. Otto is the assistant cashier of the Peru State Bank, and is a young man of ability and promise. The parents are members of the German Evangelical church. Their pleasant home at the corner of Putnam and Seventh streets has been occupied by them for almost forty years, and many a happy family reunion has taken place within these sheltering walls. Now in the evening of life, Mr. and Mrs. Loekle, surrounded by their dear ones, may look back with few regrets, feeling that they have ever striven to do their whole duty toward God and man, and knowing that the love and sincere regard of all who know them is theirs without stint.
OTTO J. LOEKLE.
When a man is spoken of only in the highest terms by those who have known him during his entire life, the public may rest assured that he is perfectly trustworthy and deserving of respect, for no more just and compe- tent judges could be found than those who have watched the development of the child into the man, and the gradual building of his character. When, therefore, the citizens of Peru, with one accord, praise the straightforward, manly course which the subject of this sketch has followed from his boyhood no greater tribute could be paid him.
Born in this town, October 9, 1870, in the house which still shelters him, Otto J. Loekle is a son of Edward G. and Katherine (Mather) Loekle, both of whom are natives of Germany. The father, one of the best and most favorably known citizens of Peru, was engaged in business here for forty years and has made his home in this place for almost half a century.
The excellent public schools of Peru afforded Otto J. Loekle the oppor- tunity of obtaining a liberal education, and he was not slow to make the best of his advantages. Being graduated in 1888, he went to Chicago, where he further qualified himself for a commercial career, by taking a course in Bryant & Stratton's Business College. Returning home, he worked in his father's market for about three years, at the end of which time he became connected with the Peru State Bank. Entering upon his new duties on the first of January, 1892, he gradually worked his way upward from the humble position of office boy to that of assistant cashier, and is now acting in that responsible office. He is a young man of marked ability and his future is full of promise.
Ot & Rachele
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Educational affairs and everything affecting the public welfare to a greater or less degree are matters of deep interest to Mr. Loekle, who is a patriotic American citizen, endeavoring to do his whole duty to the state and community in which he lives. In 1893 he was elected as a member of the city school board and worked for three years in that body, and in 1898 he was elected to serve as a school trustee. In the spring of 1897 he was elected city clerk and re-elected in 1899, for a second term of two years; and in 1898 he was elected to the office of township clerk, an office he is now holding. In the spring of 1899 he was appointed deputy tax collector, under Louis Leittl, to attend to the local taxes for the year just ended. Thus it may be readily seen that Mr. Loekle's time and services are in great demand, and, had he not been of so genial and accommodating a dis- position, he would have declined some of the numerous responsibilities thrust upon him. Formerly he was very active in the Democratic party, to which he continues loyal; but a press of other duties is at present keeping him out of politics. For some time he has been a member of the Liberty Fire Com- pany and the Peru fire department.
In his social relations he is deservedly popular, and among the fraterni- ties he is associated with the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Royal Neighbors and the Mystic Workers of the World. He was reared in the faith of the German Evangelical church, and attends the services of the local congregation. December 2, 1899, Mr. Loekle mar- ried Miss Louise Neureuther, daughter of Charles and Louise Neureuther, of Peru, Illinois.
JOHN COLLINGS.
John Collings, a venerable citizen of Ottawa, has been one of her prom- inent business men for many decades. About eighty years ago his birth took place in the northern part of England, the date of the event being June II, 1819. His parents were Thomas and Ann (Jobling) Collings, who had six sons and six daughters.
In early manhood John Collings determined to seek his fortune in America, and accordingly he crossed the Atlantic. His chief business in life has been that of a tailor. He came to Ottawa, where he opened a shop and actively engaged in business. A thorough master of his trade, he commanded the best custom of the town, and can lay claim to having made the wedding suits of many of the older merchants and citizens of this section of the county. He attended strictly to his business, and by uniform courtesy, punctuality and fidelity to his word and agreement, won the confidence and regard of his patrons. In the multiplicity of his private interests, however,
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he never forgot the duties which rested upon him as a citizen of this great republic. He cast his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln, and has ever since been a loyal Republican. At various times he has served as a member of the local school board, and has been a member of the common council. He is a deep student of politics and current events, and is an able speaker and writer on the topics of the times.
In 1854 Mr. Collings married Miss Mary Anne, daughter of James and Lucy (Cox) Fulton. Of the four children born to them, the only son, Henry, died at the age of six months, and Lillian Virginia, a beautiful young lady, died at the age of nineteen years. Two daughters survive, namely: Erminie Rose, wife of Albert Prisler, of Ottawa; and Frances M., who married Farley Swartz, and resides at No. 365 Winchester avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Prisley have three children, Milton, Myron and Ethel; and Mr. and Mrs. Swartz have a little daughter, Daisy.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
For nearly three-score years the Adams family, now represented in Marseilles, LaSalle county, by the subject of this article and his brothers, have been prominently connected with the manufacturing interests of north- ern Illinois, and have a reputation which is world-wide, as the products of their business plant have gone to all parts of the earth.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was Samuel Adams, a native of Cayuga county, New York. The parents of John Q. were the Hon. Augustus and Lydia (Phelps) Adams, the latter a daughter of Joseph Phelps, of the Empire state. The father was born in Genoa, New York, May 10, 1806, and grew to manhood in his native state. In 1840 he removed with his family to Elgin, Illinois, where he speedily became a power in social, business and political circles. He occupied numerous responsible positions, was a member of the constitutional convention of the state in 1848, and served with honor in the house and senate. He was a warm personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, Judge David Davis and General John M. Palmer and many other famous and representative men. In 1857 he removed from Elgin to Sandwich, Illinois, where he organized the Sandwich Manufacturing Company, of which he was the president for many years. He possessed great mechanical ability and was the inventor of the celebrated Adams corn-sheller and other agricultural implements. In 1870 he became the president of the Marseilles Manufacturing Company, which was established here by his sons, and for twenty-two years he was connected with this enter- prise, or until his death, in 1892. His wife, Lydia, born in Homer, Cortland
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county, New York, died at her home in Sandwich, in 1867, when in her fifty- third year. She was the mother of eight children, seven of whom were sons, and all but one of the number survive.
The birth of J. Q. Adams occurred in Greenwood, Steuben county, New York, July 23, 1839, and his youth was spent in Elgin, Illinois, where he was educated in the public schools and academy. He then learned the machinist's trade in his father's shop, and had just fairly started upon his mechanical career when the great civil war came on. He took a very active part in the Lincoln campaign of 1860, being a member of the celebrated Wide Awake Club.
In September, 1861, Mr. Adams enlisted in Company G, Fifty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under the command of Colonel Wilson. After being encamped at Geneva, Illinois, and at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, the regiment was placed on guard duty along the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, and later stationed in Kentucky, at Smithland, where Colonel T. W. Sweeny took command of the regiment. Arriving at Fort Donelson just after the surrender, the regiment was sent north to Camp Douglas, Chicago, with prisoners. Afterward, joining General Grant's army, the regiment took part in the battle of Shiloh and there met with heavy loss, as one hundred and seventy men were killed or wounded of the four hundred and fifty participating in the engagement. Mr. Adams fought in the thickest of the fray both days of the dreadful conflict, and later was engaged in the siege of Corinth under General Halleck, and on October 3 and 4, 1863, in the second battle of Corinth under Rosecrans, in which battle the division with which he was connected lost one thousand and four out of less than three thousand men. General Hackelman, commanding the First Brigade, was killed, and General Oglesby, commanding the Second Brigade, was badly wounded.
In January, 1864, Mr. Adams veteranized. In April of the same year the regiment joined Sherman's army and took part in nearly all the most important battles of the Atlanta campaign, after which they went with Sher- man on his famous march to the sea, and later on his other great campaigns through the Carolinas, which included the burning of Columbia and the battle of Bentonville, ending with the capture of Raleigh and the march to Washington, where they took part in the grand review of the troops. He served with the rank of first lieutenant and regimental quartermaster during the last months of the war, and was discharged as such in July, 1865, when his services were no longer required.
Returning to the peaceful vocations of life, Mr. Adams joined his father and brothers, H. R. and O. R. Adams, in the Marseilles Manufacturing Company, and gradually advanced until he became president of the concern,
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as he is to-day. In this finely equipped factory all kinds of corn-shellers, horse-power pumps, plows, windmills and various implements required in modern farming are manufactured in immense quantities, and sold and shipped to all parts of this and foreign countries. The brothers have perse- vered through many long years in their ambitious endeavor to build up an extensive and remunerative trade, and have succeeded beyond their most sanguine expectations. A large force of men are afforded employment, and in numerous ways the community reaps benefit from this thriving industry.
In December, 1865, John Q. Adams and Miss Helen A. Beardsley, of Carlton, Orleans county, New York, were united in marriage, at Sandwich, DeKalb county, Illinois. They have a very handsome home, situated upon the bluffs overlooking the town and surrounding country. Mr. Adams, it is needless to say, is now, as he has always been, a firm friend to the prin- ciples of the Republican party. He has not been desirous of holding public office, but has served as a member of the town board of trustees. Ever since 1856 he has been a member of the Congregational denomination, and for the past thirty years has been treasurer of the Marseilles church. His life has been conspicuous for integrity, honor and nobility of word and deed; he has been faithful in the discharge of his duty toward his country, his fam- ily and to society in general.
CAPTAIN JOHN L. McCORMICK.
Probably the death of no private citizen has called forth such universal and heartfelt expressions of genuine sorrow as were heard in Peru, Illinois, when the news was received that Captain McCormick had passed away. It was on June 25, 1893, when the earth was clothed with the verdure of spring- time, a fitting season, for this noble life, which had battled with such courage with the world for eighty-five years, to lay down its burdens and begin the morning of a new life. He had resided in Peru for almost half a century, and was known and beloved far and wide for his many good qualities of mind and heart. Many from surrounding cities were present to pay their last tribute of respect, and his remains were followed to their last resting place by a procession of friends that extended a mile in length. The Rev. B. F. Underwood, of Chicago, conducted the brief, but impressive services, speaking eloquently and touchingly of the honesty and integrity of Captain McCormick, and the genial, kindly, charitable nature that won friends in all circumstances and in all classes.
Captain John L. McCormick was born in Lycoming county, Penn- sylvania, on New Year's day, 1808, and was a son of Joseph and Rebecca
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(Quigley) McCormick. The family were originally from Ireland, the great- grandfather of our subject, Joseph McCormick, being a resident of county Antrim, near the famous "Giant's Causeway." After his death his widow with her family came to America, settling in Chester county, Pennsylvania, about the year 1760. John McCormick, the grandfather, was one of two brothers who came to this country with their mother; the brother went west and the grandfather settled in Pennsylvania, and from this source also are sprung the family of that name whose reapers have made their name familiar throughout the United States. John McCormick died in Pennsyl- vania, in 1842, after rounding out his century of life.
Joseph McCormick, the father, was also a Pennsylvanian, as was his wife. He was a farmer and raised his family of two sons and three daughters on his farm of eighty acres. He lived to be about seventy-five years old. None of his family are living. His wife was a daughter of John Quigley, a native of Lycoming county, but a German by descent. He was a farmer in his native state and an active, hard-working man. He had passed his eightieth year when he met an accidental death, being killed by a threshing machine.
Captain McCormick remained on his father's farm in his native state until he attained his majority. He was then appointed, by Governor Wolfe of that state, as foreman of the canal running between the mouth of the Juniata and Northumberland rivers. He held this position three years and then began buying and selling lumber, transporting it on rafts to New York and Port Deposit, Maryland. In 1836 he went to Pittsburg, where he con- tinued in the same business, adding coal and ice to his stock. He remained in this enterprise until the fall of 1847, when he moved to Peru to engage in the ice business, having formed a partnership with William B. Quigley and Victor F. Wilson, the former having an office at Vicksburg and the latter at Natchez. They dealt extensively in ice, which was obtained from the Illinois river and the numerous sloughs in that vicinity. In 1854 Captain McCormick turned his attention to farming and stock-raising. He had, by his own unaided efforts and with no capital except a stout heart and willing hands, been steadily laying up a fortune, and was now the owner of over twelve hundred acres of choice land in the fertile valley of Illinois and it was a source of much pleasure to him during the remainder of his life to attend to its cultivation. He was a shrewd business man and a good man- ager, and in no place was his business ability better displayed than in the management of this large estate.
September 30, 1841, he was married to Miss Anna Jones, a native of Paupack, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Henry and Arabella (Newman) Jones. Her parents were natives of Dublin, Ireland, who came to this
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country and settled in Paupack about the year 1820. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McCormick, namely: Joseph Henry, who married Mrs. Jennie Arnold and has one son, Henry Joseph, who lives in Caledonia on a farm; William Quigley, who left college to take up arms for the Union, serving all through the war; he was promoted for bravery at the battle of Vicksburg, and died February 1, 1881, at the age of thirty-five years, eleven months and four days; John Lowry, Jr., who died November 15, 1891, aged forty-four years, one month and two days; Charles and Douglas who died in infancy; and twin daughters, Rebecca and Arabella, and the youngest child died in infancy. Miss Arabella, who is at home and has charge of her father's extensive business interests, manages the farms and other affairs of the estate with a clearness of perception and a sound judgment sel- dom displayed by a woman. Captain McCormick took an intelligent interest in politics and was active in furthering the interests of the Democratic party. He was elected mayor of Peru in 1855 and discharged the duties devolving upon him in an able and efficient manner. He was a warm personal friend of that eminent statesman, Stephen A. Douglas.
RINALDO M. GALLUP.
Rinaldo Martin Gallup, of Stavanger, Miller township, LaSalle county, was born in Rhode Island, January 26, 1838, and is the son of George S. and Betsey Fuller Gallup, his father being born in Connecticut and his mother in Rhode Island. His grandfather was Martin Gallup whose father came from England when he was a young man and settled in the state of Rhode Island. George S. Gallup married Miss Betsey Fuller, whose ancestors of that name are not unknown to Revolutionary fame. They had three children, whom they reared to adult years. The eldest, Rinaldo Martin, is the subject of this brief biography; Isadora Ruth, the wife of Z. Bourne, living in Ham- ilton county, Iowa; and William Spencer, residing in this township. Their mother died in her seventy-third year, and their father is still living, now in his eighty-fourth year,-both the parents thus reaching a good old age.
Rinaldo M. Gallup attended the public schools and in them received a good common education. He remained at home until his twenty-second year, when he purchased a farm and began to manage for himself. On November 1, 1860, he married Miss Ann Eliza Holley, of Salisbury, Con- necticut, and five children were born to them,-John S., Nettie A., Nellie E., Nina B. and Bessie F. John, the eldest, has been twice married, Miss Cora Lewis becoming his first wife. She died six years after marriage, leaving a daughter, named May. He was afterward married to Mrs. Ade-
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laide Ormsby, of Connecticut. Nettie married Eugene Barker, of Seneca, Illinois, and resides in Morris, this state.
Mr. Gallup is a progressive farmer, who believes in taking advantage of modern ideas to accomplish work in these modern times, and the result is seen in his successful business. Politically he is a supporter of the Republi- can party. He is social and genial by nature and has made many warm friends in this community, who appreciate the sterling worth of the man and the integrity and energy which have contributed to his success.
OWEN W. HUFF.
An honored old resident of Ottawa is Owen W. Huff, who, after a very active and enterprising business career, settled in this place many years ago and has since been retired. Though now in his eighty-fourth year, he is hale and hearty, and is in the complete possession of all of his faculties, bid- ding fair to enjoy life for many years to come. The subjoined sketch of his past will be of interest to his multitudes of friends, both in Ottawa and else- where.
His parents were James and Catherine (Hess) Huff, both of whom were natives of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. The father of James was John Huff, who served under General Washington throughout the greater part of the Revolutionary war. He married Martha Burns and reared a large family. John Huff was a powerfully built man, six feet and six inches in height, and his mental characteristics were no less remarkable than was his physical strength. The Huffs originally came from Scotland, and have been in this country for many generations. The father of our subject's mother was Abraham Hess, a native of Germany, and his wife was a Miss Sarah Wright prior to their marriage. For several years after the birth of Owen W. Huff, January 29, 1816, his parents lived upon a farm near the village of Sunbury, Delaware county, Ohio. The father died there in 1830, and was survived by his wife, who attained the advanced age of ninety-one years.
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