USA > Illinois > LaSalle County > Biographical and genealogical record of La Salle County, Illinois. Volume I > Part 3
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Subsequent to leaving the common schools Samuel Heidler spent three years in the training school at Millersville, the first state normal in the state of Pennsylvania. Then he taught for two years in his native county, after which he went to Springfield, Illinois, and there pursued special lines of study for a year. At the expiration of that period he accepted a position in the schools of Cantrall, a town situated some ten miles from the state capital of Illinois, and there he remained two years. His next position was
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in Pleasant Plains, where he taught until 1889, at that time being offered the principalship of the Stuart school in Springfield, at a salary of twelve hundred dollars a year. This amount was later increased to fourteen hundred dollars a year, the highest salary that had ever been paid to any ward-school principal in the city. In 1893 the Professor went to California, and for two years devoted himself to special study in the State university. Returning, he at once entered upon his work as superintendent of the public schools of Ottawa. Keen in intellect, quick to grasp and deal with the difficulties of any situation, thoroughly posted in his chosen profession, he is just the man for the responsible position he holds. Fraternally he stands high in the Masonic order, and politically he is independent in his attitude.
In 1893 Professor Heidler was married in Springfield, Illinois, to Miss Delia Bunn, a daughter of Henry and Mary Bunn, of that city. Mrs. Heidler is a lady of superior educational and social attainments, and enjoys the friendship of a large circle of acquaintances. She is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, and, in company with her husband, is a regular attendant at the services of the Lutheran church.
The Ottawa board of education was organized under a special law passed in the winter of 1854-5, and in the spring of the year last mentioned the people empowered the board to levy a special tax of one per cent. for the purpose of building school-houses and paying needed expenses. After much discussion two large buildings were erected, at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars. One of these, now known as the Columbus school, is in the third ward, and the other, now the Lincoln school, is in the fifth ward. Up to that time only one hundred and twenty-five children had been enrolled as public-school pupils, but from the day that the new, well equipped buildings were opened a marked change was observed, and in a short time additional accommodations were required. The intervening years have witnessed many great and notable improvements in our school facilities and educational methods, and each year rapid strides are made toward per- fection.
CLARENCE GRIGGS.
In no profession is there a career more open to talent than in that of the law, and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful preparation, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life, or of the underlying principles which form the basis of all human rights and privileges. Unflagging application and the intuitive wisdom and a determi- nation to fully utilize the means at hand are the concomitants which insure
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personal success and prestige in this great profession, which stands as the stern conservator of justice; and it is one into which none should enter without a recognition of the obstacles to be overcome and the battles to be won; for success does not perch on the falchion of every person who enters the competitive fray, but comes only as the direct result of capacity and unmistakable ability. Possessing all of the essential qualities of the able lawyer, Clarence Griggs is accounted a leading member of the Ottawa bar.
He is the youngest son of Edward Young Griggs, who traced his ancestry back to Dr. William Griggs, a resident of Salem, Massachusetts, who died in 1698. His will, approved on the 18th day of July of that year, mentions a son Jacob, who resided in Salem and in Beverly, Massachusetts. Among the children of Jacob Griggs' family was Isaac, who was born on the 27th of June, 1699, and died in New Haven, Connecticut, January 27, 1768. His son Solomon, who resided in Waterbury, Connecticut, married Elizabeth Gridley on the 19th of February, 1778. He served as a soldier in the colonial wars, and at Waterbury, Connecticut, enlisted for service in the Revolution, loyally aiding in the cause of independence until the English power in the colonies was overthrown. One of his children was Ebenezer Griggs, who was born September 26. 1789. and resided in Waterbury and Southington, Connecticut. He married Hepzibah Bartholomew in 1811. and died July 4, 1823, at Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the grandfather of our subject. His wife was descended from William Bartholomew, who was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1640, and died in 1697, leaving a son Andrew. whose birth occurred on the IIth of December, 1670, and who died in Wallingford, Connecticut, in 1752. The last named was the father of William Bartholomew, who was born February 2. 1699, was married in New Haven, Connecticut, on the 25th of January, 1721, and died in Northford. Connecticut. His son, Seth Bartholomew, was born on the 6th of March, 1729, and died in Waterbury, Connecticut. One of his children was Osea Bartholomew, whose birth occurred on the 7th of November, 1755. and was married in Waterbury, Connecticut, November 16, 1778, and his daugh- ter, Hepzibah, was the mother of Edward Young Griggs. She was born on the 6th of September, 1798, and died in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the summer of 1823.
Edward Young Griggs, father of our subject, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on the 24th of October, 1818. He wedded Mary Philbene Bar- nett, on the 5th of August, 1847. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky, May 9, 1827. The ancestry of the Barnett family can be traced back to John Barnett, who was born near Londonderry, Ireland, in 1678, and emi- grated with his family to Pennsylvania prior to, 1730, making a location in Lancaster, now Hanover county. He died in September, 1734, and among
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his children was John Barnett, who was born in county Derry, Ireland, in 1705, and with his father came to America, his death occurring in Hanover in 1738. His son Joseph was born in county Derry in 1727, and died in Hanover in 1788, leaving, among other children, a son James, whose birth occurred in 1756, and whose death occurred in 1805. The last named was the father of Allen Barnett, who was born in 1796 and was married February 9, 1826, to Elizabeth Shaffer. His death occurred September 19, 1879, and his wife passed away on the 20th of December, 1841. Among the children who survived them was Mrs. E. Y. Griggs. On the 17th of April, 1849, the parents of our subject left Springfield, Ohio, and after traveling for five days reached Ottawa, Illinois, by canal boat, on Sunday morning. Mr. Griggs secured a clerkship in the employ of J. G. Nattinger, with whom he remained until September. 1850. and then opened a drug and book store in the three-story brick building where the National City Bank now stands. In 1853 he opened his drug store where he is now doing business, and has since been one of the leading merchants of the place.
Clarence Griggs, youngest son of Edward Young Griggs, was born on the 2d of January, 1857, and attended the common schools of Ottawa, being afterward graduated in the literary department of the University of Michigan, with the class of 1878. Determining to become a member of the bar, he took up the study of law under the direction of Mayo & Weidmer, and in 1880 was licensed to practice, and opened an office in the spring of 1881. He has since devoted his energies successfully to the work of a legal practitioner, and has held the office of master in chancery and county attorney, having been elected to the latter position for four successive terms. He is very conscientious and painstaking in the preparation of his cases, and is thoroughly devoted to his clients' interests. He is also a director of the First National Bank of Ottawa, having succeeded his father in that position in January. 1897.
On the 6th of September, 1883, Mr. Griggs was united in marriage to Lura Nash, eldest daughter of John F. Nash, who traces his ancestry back to Thomas Nash, who came from Lancashire, England, to America, landing at Boston July 26, 1637. He died in New Haven, Connecticut, on the 12th of May, 1658. His youngest son, Timothy Nash, was born in 1626, and died March 13, 1699, at Hadley, Massachusetts. Lieutenant Timothy Nash settled on a lot designated on the original plat of the town of Hadley, and his will is recorded in the probate-court records of Northampton, Massa- chusetts, and mentions his son Thomas. He was born at Hartford, Con- necticut, in 1661, and died January 8, 1727. This Thomas Nash had a son Thomas, who was born February 26, 1692, and died March 12, 1783. John Nash, son of Thomas Nash. Jr., was born October 20, 1736, in Williamsburg,
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Massachusetts, and had a son, John, Jr., whose birth occurred November 12, 1764, and who died October 17, 1824. Among his sons was Almerin Nash, who was born February 25, 1801, and married Mandana Warner, a descendant of Jonathan Warner, a captain in the war of the Revolution. They removed to Granville, Putnam county, Illinois, in 1840, where Mrs. Nash died January 25, 1844. John Fiske Nash, son of Almerin, was born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, December 16, 1824, and came west with his parents. He taught school in Putnam county in 1846, edited a paper at Hennepin, and on the 2d of April, 1847, came to Ottawa, entering the law office of Dickey & Leland, being admitted to the bar in October, 1849. He served as deputy clerk under Philo Lindley and was elected to the office of clerk in 1856, serving six years in all. In 1861 he opened a law office in partnership with E. F. Bull, but in 1865, on the organization of the First National Bank of Ottawa, Illinois, became assistant cashier, and at the beginning of the new year was made cashier. He is one of the prominent Masons of the state, having served, in 1878, as grand commander of the Grand Commandery of the Knights Templar of Illinois. On the 26th of November, 1849, was celebrated his marriage to Lura M. Pennell, and her ancestry can be traced back to John Pennell, who, in 1728, left his home in Yorkshire, England, and crossed the Atlantic to America, taking up his abode in Colerain, Massachusetts. Among his sons was John Pennell, who served in the colonial wars and was a captain in the war of the Revolution. He was born in 1721, and died in Halifax, Vermont, October 21, 1797. Among his sons was John Pennell, who was born in 1758 and died June 23, 1793. He was the father of John Pennell, Jr., whose birth occurred in Halifax, Vermont, April 8, 1787, and died in Granville, Illinois, June 15, 1858. His wife bore the maiden name of Betsey Gaines, and with their family they came to the Prairie state, bringing with them their daughter, Lura M., who became the wife of John Fiske Nash. She was born at Heath, Massachusetts, January 7, 1826, and spent her girlhood in Bennington, Vermont, coming west with the family. Among her children was Lura Nash Griggs, wife of our subject. Mrs. Griggs was born August 27, 1858, and acquired her education in the common and high schools of Ottawa and in Mount Vernon Seminary, at Washington, D. C. She is particularly inter- ested along musical lines, and for three years served as the president of the Amateur Musical Club. She is also a charter member of the Monday Club and was its secretary for a number of years. She also held the same position in connection with the board of lady managers of the Ryburn Memorial Hospital from the second year of its organization until her resignation in 1899, and is a charter member of the Illini Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 1
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Unto Mr. and Mrs. Griggs has been born but one child, Lura Florence, whose birth occurred May 26, 1890. Their home is the center of a cultured society circle and many friends enjoy its gracious hospitality. Both Mr. and Mrs. Griggs arc communicants of the Episcopal church. Our subject is prominent in political affairs, and has labored earnestly for the success and welfare of his party, having through several campaigns served as secre- tary of the Republican county central committee. He is a member of the Occidental Lodge, No. 40, F. & A. M., Shabbona Chapter, No. 37, R. A. M., and Ottawa Commandery, No. 10, K. T. He inspires personal friendship of great strength and has the happy faculty of drawing his friends closer to him with the passing years. In his profession he has gained respect, and his reputation in legal circles is no more enviable than is the high regard in which he is held among his acquaintances in social life.
REV. ALBERT ETHRIDGE.
Rev. Albert Ethridge, formerly the beloved pastor of the Congrega- tional church of Marseilles, LaSalle county, Illinois, now retired from active service, was born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, January 19, 1829. His parents were Samuel and Lydia (Cook) Ethridge, both natives of the state of New Hampshire and of English ancestry. The grandfather, Stephen Ethridge, was a farmer, who married Jane McGaffee, and a son of Stephen Ethridge, a soldier of the Revolution. The family was founded in America in 1636. The maternal grandfather was Joel Cook, who married Betsy Max- field, a native of Massachusetts.
Albert Ethridge lived on a farm during his earlier life and was a student in the public schools. He then entered the home seminary, and later became a student in the New Hampshire Conference Seminary, where he prepared for college. He then entered the Wesleyan University of Middletown, Connecticut, graduating with the degree of A. M. After leaving college he devoted several years to teaching in the high school of Sandwich and then came west, stopping in Henry county, Illinois, and then in LaSalle county. He took charge of the Congregational church at Deer Park, where he remained two years, and then went to Dover, Bureau county, this state, where he was in charge of the Dover Academy six years,-from 1859 to 1864. The following year he was elected principal of the public schools of Princeton, Bureau county, and two years later was appointed by the board of supervisors to fill the vacancy in the office of county superintendent of schools, caused by the death of the incumbent. He held this office until 1872, when, much to the regret of those associated with him, he resigned
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to accept a position in Chicago with Harper & Brothers, where he was in charge of the school-book department. He was with them until 1876, when he resigned and came to Marseilles to assume the pastorate of the Congre- gational church. His labors here were attended with the most flattering re- sults, but were discontinued three years later that he might accept a charge at Normal, this state. He remained there until 1880, when he was recalled to Marseilles, but at the expiration of two years resigned. He then supplied the pulpit of the Decorah (Iowa) church for six months, when he moved to Des Moines and supplied the North Park Congregational church. In 1885 he took charge of the Congregational church at Streator, Illinois, and one year later was commissioned to act as evangelist under the direction of the Illinois Home Missionary Society. He was thus engaged two years, when he was called to Marseilles for a third time to fill the pulpit of the Congregational church. He was with the organization as pastor six years, and then tendered his resignation and retired from active ministerial duties. He now occasionally supplies the pulpit, performs weddings and pays the last tribute to the memory of the departed. He is a pleasant, sympathetic speaker, and has been an earnest worker in the cause of Christianity.
Rev. Mr. Ethridge was married in November, 1852, to Miss Marcia A. Forrest, of Northfield. New Hampshire, a daughter of John and Marcia (Eastman) Forrest and a distant relative of Daniel Webster. They had three daughters : Lenora, who married Dr. C. A. Weerick, now a prominent physician of Chicago; Marcia S. and Carrie E., all of whom are deceased; Mrs. Weerick died July 22, 1888, leaving two children. Mrs. Ethridge hav- ing died. Rev. Mr. Ethridge again contracted marriage, on June 16, 1875. this time with Miss Arzella M. Lovejoy, of Ottawa, Illinois, and by this marriage there is one son, Albert, a student in the Ottawa Business College.
SAMUEL PLUMB.
The man who has been born a financier is as truly a genius as the man born a poet or a painter. If he be a man of honor and loves mankind, his work will be useful to many other men who have not his talent for money- making. He may even be a philanthropist by attending strictly to his own business. Hon. Samuel Plumb, of Streator, Illinois, went further than that. He took an interest in the affairs of his townsmen that inured greatly to the public good and made him loved and trusted by many.
Mr. Plumb was born in New York, January 15. 1812, and died at Colorado Springs, June 23, 1882. He was a son of Theron and Harriet (Merry) Plumb. He gained his primary education in the public schools near
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his home in New York state, but the greater part of his education was obtained by study while at his work-bench. He was the president of a bank at Oberlin and later became identified in a prominent way with Ohio business and politics, and being an abolitionist (a Whig and later a Republican) he had as personal friends such men as Hon. Benjamin Wade, Hon. Joshua R. Giddings, Governor Salmon P. Chase and many others of prominence in different parts of the state. He represented Ashtabula county in the Ohio legislature and was active and influential in public affairs generally. At the time of the civil war his sympathies were enlisted by the needs of the soldiers in the field and of their families left at home. and he did much to better the condition of both classes. He was a member of a committee appointed by the governor of Ohio to go south to investigate the condition of Ohio troops after the first battle of Bull Run and to devise and suggest means for its improvement.
After the war Mr. Plumb and others established a bank at Oberlin and he was connected with the enterprise officially until 1869, when he removed to Streator, Illinois. A recent writer said : "Streator is not a beautiful city. It is a town in the making .- not yet a finished product. Its wealth and energies are devoted to deepening and broadening the foundations of its industrial life, rather than to smoothing out the wrinkles of toil from its face or adorning itself with the fruits of its labor. It is still in its iron age: its golden age is yet to come. The rude framework that supports the social fabric stands out bare and grim, as yet uncovered by the accretions which in older cities soften and mellow, if they do not conceal, the rough beams which knit the structure together; and the play of those elemental energies which propel the industrial mechanism, and thereby vivify and vitalize the social life, is still plainly visible." Thus was Streator described in a popular magazine in 1898. Perhaps the writer was too aesthetic. What would he have thought of the Streator of 1869, as Mr. Plumb first beheld it? Then it was a crude, unsightly, embryo village of small wooden buildings, and not many of them, and was familiarly known as Hardscrabble. In that year Mr. Plumb opened a private bank and later associated others with himself and organized the Union National Bank of Streator, of which he was presi- dent for quite a number of years and until his death. He took an interest in Streator and was influential in promoting, and generous in supporting financially, all measures and enterprises which in his judgment promised to benefit the town and its people.
He was a member of the Congregational church of Streator, and was interested in a helpful way in furthering all religious work without much question as to what Christian sects had it in hand.
Miss Levancia Holcomb, who married Mr. Plumb, and survives him,
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was born in the state of New York, a daughter of Hiram and Jane (Richards) Holcomb, and was brought to Ohio by her parents on their removal to that state when she was twelve years old. She was graduated at Oberlin College in 1861, and while a student there met her future husband, whom she mar- ried in 1865. They had children thus named: May E., wife of R. A. Harris, M. D., of Redlands, California; Jessie, who married H. A. Schryver of Wheaton, Illinois; S. Walter, vice-president of the Union National Bank of Streator; and Bertha M., wife of L. B. Frazier of Aurora, Illinois. The grandchildren are: Harold R. Harris, son of R. A. and May E. (Plumb) Harris; S. Walter Plumb, Jr., son of S. Walter and Anna D. Plumb; Donald Plumb Frazier, son of L. B. and Bertha (Plumb) Frazier. Mrs. Plumb occu- pies the position as president of the Union National Bank of Streator, and has one of the handsome residences of Streator and dispenses a refined hospitality as becomes a lady of such culture as hers. She is a member of the Presbyterian church of Streator and is liberal in its support and in assist- ing in the charitable work of the town.
AMOS ROBERTSON.
Amos Robertson is now living a retired life in Sheridan, but for many years was actively identified with its industrial interests. He is a loyal and public-spirited citizen, who during the civil war manifested his fidelity to his country by entering the service and fighting for the Union. Therefore as an honored veteran, a straightforward business man and a reliable friend, he well deserves representation in this volume.
He was born on his father's farm in Cass county, Illinois, March 7, 1845, his parents being Rev. William H. and Nancy (Stockton) Robertson. The former was born near Greencastle, Indiana, in 1820, and was a son of Amos Robertson, who for several years represented Putnam county in the state legislature of Indiana. The great-grandfather of our subject, Robert Robertson, was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, and served under General Anthony Wayne in the Indian war of 1794. In an early day he removed to Clark county, Indiana. Amos Robertson became a resident of Putnam county, Indiana, in 1820, and in 1831 became a resident of Illinois, his death occurring in Morgan county, in January, 1832. In the fall of that year his widow settled on land which is now the site of Camp Point, Illinois. The maternal ancestry of our subject was Irish and the great- grandfather Warnock served for seven years in the Revolutionary war. Two of his sons, Joseph and James, served in the war of 1812, and the former was killed in the battle of Tippecanoe. Having arrived at years of maturity,
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W. H. Robertson, the father of our subject, was married, in 1840, to Nancy Stockton, and they had five children, two of whom died in infancy, while George, Saralı and Amos grew to years of maturity; but George died in his twentieth year. The sister became the wife of George Sprague, who served for three years in the One Hundred and Sixtieth Illinois Infantry, and died from disease contracted in the army in 1871. His wife died in March, 1874. In the spring of 1847 Mrs. Robertson died, and in September, 1848, Mr. Robertson married Martha A. Lindsey, of Hancock county, where they lived until 1855. He then joined the ministry of the Methodist Protestant church and for many years preached the gospel, his labors resulting in great good. He was located at various points in Illinois, and in September, 1864, was elected the president of the Illinois conference, and in 1865 was again appointed to the Clinton circuit. In 1866 he became a minister of the Bloomington circuit, which he traveled three years. Later he had charge of various churches in the state, coming to Sheridan in 1875. The following year he was elected president of the North Illinois conference. His influence in the church was most marked and his forceful, persuasive and logical utterances led many to a knowledge of the better life. As a citizen he was public-spirited, progressive and loyal, and in Sheridan he served for a number of years as justice of the peace, being first elected to the office in 1881. He also served as the president of the board of village trustees, and did all in his power to promote the best interests and the upbuilding of the town. He died in Sheridan in 1895, respected by all who knew him.
Amos Robertson, whose name introduces this review, accompanied his father on his various removals, and enjoyed such educational privileges as the schools of the neighborhood afforded, but after the inauguration of the civil war he put aside his text-books in order to battle for the Union, enlist- ing on the 13th of August, 1862, at the age of seventeen years. He became a private of Company D, One Hundred and Sixteenth Illinois Infantry, and the first engagement in which he participated was at Chickasaw Bayou, four miles from Vicksburg, in December of that year. In January, 1863, he took part in the battle of Arkansas Post, and was at Champion Hills, a hotly contested engagement in the rear of Vicksburg. He also aided in besieging Vicksburg from the 19th of May until the 4th of July, when the city sur- rendered, and later he took part in the battles of Jackson, Mississippi, Mis- sion Ridge, the Atlanta campaign and the siege of Atlanta, followed by the celebrated march with Sherman to the sea. His was one of the nine regi- ments selected at Savannah to capture Fort McAllister and open up a con- nection with the fleet. It was a difficult and arduous task, but the work was accomplished, and Mr. Robertson was the first man to surmount the walls of the fort. with the exception of two color-bearers. Subsequently he par-
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