USA > Illinois > LaSalle County > Biographical and genealogical record of La Salle County, Illinois. Volume I > Part 9
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On the 12th of October, 1886, Mr. Chapman married Miss Katie H. Ebersol, a daughter of Daniel S. Ebersol, of Ottawa. Socially he belongs to the Masonic order, in which he ranks high, as he is a member of Humboldt Lodge, No. 555, F. & A. M .; Shabbona Chapter, No. 37, R. A. M .; and Ottawa Commandery, No. 10, K. T. In the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he is identified with Ottawa Lodge, No. 41.
SAMUEL WAUGH.
Among the well-known and respected citizens of LaSalle county is numbered the subject of this review, Samuel Waugh, a farmer of Peru. He came to this place more than a half century ago, before the time of rail- roads, when the stage-coach was the only public means of travel overland. Peru at that time was at the head of navigation on the Illinois river, and was an important business point, and the city of LaSalle was regarded as the rival of Chicago as a general market. Mr. Waugh's subsequent active business career was such as to afford him great opportunities to observe the growth and development of this section of Illinois. In the early days trans- portation was by river, later by canal, and subsequently railroads were con- structed across the broad prairies, and business was correspondingly in- creased as time and space were thus annihilated. He witnessed the opening of the Illinois and Michigan canal on the 15th of April, 1848, and was a citizen of Peru during the dreadful Asiatic cholera scourge of 1849, at which time more fatalities occurred in Peru in proportion to the population than in any other city in the United States.
Mr. Waugh was born in the Ligonier Valley of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, January 22, 1828, his parents being James and Jane (Parke) Waugh, who were also natives of the Keystone state. The paternal grand- father, Richard Waugh, was of Scotch descent, was a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and a farmer by occupation. He possessed a very practical turn of mind, and when the war of 1812 broke out he saw an opportunity of bettering his fortunes and at the same time serve the govern- ment. To this end he engaged in the transportation of troops and supplies, a task at once arduous and difficult. William Parke, the maternal grand- father of our subject, was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and was the son of Zebulon Parke, of the same county, who served with
Samuel Maugh
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distinction in the Revolutionary war under General Washington for a period of seven years. William Parke was a farmer by occupation and came west with the Waugh family, spending his last days at Lost Grove, Illinois. He died at the advanced age of eighty-eight years, and left six children. James and Jane (Parke) Waugh were the parents of eleven children, five sons and six daughters, of whom eight are living, namely: William, of Rapid City, South Dakota; Samuel, of this review; Catherine, wife of A. T. Hagan of Los Angeles, California; James, of Princeton, Illinois; Caroline, wife of Nathan Linton of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Mary A., of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia; Martha, of Chicago, Illinois; and Rankin, who is connected with the Union Stockyards in Chicago. In early life James Waugh, the father of our subject, was a member of a stage-coach company in Pennsylvania, and for many years was engaged in carrying United States mail between Phila- delphia and Pittsburg. He was also the proprietor of a hotel in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. In October of 1847 he came with his family to the west, locating in Peru, Illinois, where he conducted the well-known National Hotel, then a leading hostelry in northern Illinois. As many as from ten to fifteen coaches would each morning depart from the hotel carrying their passengers to the various surrounding towns. He conducted the business until the fall of 1849, when he removed to Lost Grove, Bureau county, Illinois, and there purchased a farm, after which he devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits until his death in 1863, in his sixty-fifth year. His wife survived him only about six weeks, and was fifty-five years of age at the time of her death.
Samuel Waugh, of this review, came with his father to Peru in October, 1847, and was associated with him in the conduct of the National Hotel until April, 1849, when he left the parental fireside to engage in business for him- self. His first venture was in buying cattle, a business to which he gave his time for forty-five years. To use his own words, he "spent forty-five years in the saddle, traveling on horseback over a great part of northern Illinois, buying cattle." Thus he became well acquainted throughout this section of the state, and, being a keen and close observer and possessed of a strong, retentive memory, the writer found Mr. Waugh one who could talk in a most interesting manner of the early days, giving very lucid descriptions of the changes that had taken place in the growth and develop- ment of this region. He had acquired a fair education in a select and later the district schools of his native state, and the greater part of his youth had been spent upon the farm. He began his connection with cattle dealing as an employe of a firm of Peru, which also did considerable business in LaSalle. He was connected therewith until the spring of 1853, when, in company with Jesse Dresser, he started with a drove of cattle to California, a very
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arduous undertaking. They left Princeton, Illinois, on the 6th of April, 1853, and reached the Sacramento valley in September of the same year. After disposing of their cattle Mr. Waugh went to the mines of St. Louis, Sierra county, that state, and was engaged in mining and butchering for nine years. In 1862 he returned to Illinois, and until 1871 was interested in the ice business in Peru and in Cairo, Illinois, being associated with his brothers-in-law, A. T. Hagan and Nathan Linton. From the latter date until 1877 he was engaged in farming and stock-raising, after which he conducted a live-stock commission business in Chicago, in company with his brother, Rankin Waugh, until 1894. In April of that year he withdrew from the business and returned to his farm in LaSalle county.
During the early days when he first engaged in buying cattle Mr. Waugh traveled from Peru over as many as a dozen counties in northern Illinois. This wide scope of territory he had to cover in order to purchase sufficient fat cattle, sheep and hogs to supply the markets of Peru and LaSalle, which cities were then enjoying great prosperity on account of the building of canals and railroads and the consequent increase in trade. At that time, too, the country was sparsely settled and the farmers did not, as to-day, engage so extensively in stock-raising. Mr. Waugh was among the first to ship cattle to the Chicago market. As early as November, 1849, in company with W. P. Ankney of Somerset, Pennsylvania, he bought a large number of cattle and drove them to Chicago, selling them to Gurdon S. Hubbard, one of the very first packers of Chicago, which city at that time contained a population of less than thirty thousand. Mr. Waugh's fine farm of five hundred and sixty acres is situated in Peru township, one mile from the city of Peru. As a successful farmer and stock-raiser he ranks among the most prominent in this section of the state. It is well known that Illinois takes the lead as a grain-producing state, and it is safe to say that the farm of Mr. Waugh is among the best and most carefully tended in the heart of the state. In 1894 he erected an attractive modern residence in Peru, which has since been his home.
In politics Mr. Waugh has never been an office-seeker, but he has always been a stalwart Republican and has kept abreast with the advancement in the political and business world. Progressive and aggressive, and by nature energetic and persevering, his success in life has been well merited. In this locality he has long had a wide acquaintance, and his fair dealing with his fellowmen has won for him innumerable friends. For a number of years he has resided in Peru, but has continued actively in agricultural affairs, and his son, Charles L. Waugh, a progressive and successful agriculturist, has charge of his farm.
On the 14th of October, 1868, Mr. Waugh and Miss Elizabeth Maze
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were united in the holy bonds of wedlock. The lady was a daughter of S. N. Maze, of Peru, and is highly respected. Three children have been born to them, namely: Jessie, wife of W. E. Means, of Peru; Charles L .; and Eliza- beth. Mrs. Waugh is a member of the Forty-first Street Presbyterian church of Chicago, and contributes liberally to its support.
BERNARD T. KEATING.
Bernard T. Keating deals largely in real estate and represents several insurance companies in Streator, Illinois. He was born in Bothwell, Scot- land, April 24, 1857, and came to America October 18, 1879, and in all these years has proved himself a most worthy citizen. James and Alice (Cunning- ham) Keating, his parents, were born in Ireland, shortly after marriage moved to Scotland, and came to this country in 1882, locating in Streator. James Keating died in 1897, in his seventy-fifth year, his wife dying three years previously, when she was sixty-five years of age.
Mr. Keating was educated in the common schools of Scotland and when twenty-two years old came to the United States, arriving in New York in 1879. He at once proceeded to this city, where he has since made his home. He worked for several years in the coal mine, beginning as a coal digger, and advanced through the several departments to be superintendent of the mine. In 1883 he began dealing in real estate, handling both city and farm property, and has been quite successful in making trades and sales. He also represents a number of insurance companies, both fire and life, and at present is district manager of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York.
In 1881 Mr. Keating was married to Miss Helen Lafferty, daughter of Frederick and Margaret Lafferty, of Streator. They have five children, Margaret, Bernard, Frederick, Richard and Bessie. For a number of years Mr. Keating has been secretary of the Home Building and Loan Association of this city, using his utmost endeavors to promote the advancement of the city's interests. He was also a member of the board of education for three years. He has taken a decided stand in favor of temperance, and was presi- dent of the Father Mathews Total Abstinence Society of Streator and ex- treasurer of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of Illinois. We wish more such men might be induced to make their homes in America. In the spring of 1899 he was elected secretary of the executive committee of the Citizens' League, an organization combining the memberships of the various churches in the city, for the purpose of seeing that the laws were duly enforced. Largely through his efforts the saloon-keepers were forced to respect the
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law and all gambling devices were removed from the saloons. In recognition of his services in this work the Citizens' League in convention unanimously nominated Mr. Keating for the office of mayor, and although he was pledged the support of the League and a host of other citizens in sympathy with the movement, he respectfully declined the honor.
WALTER B. PALMER.
"The proper study of mankind is man," said Pope; and aside from this, in its broader sense, what base of study and information have we? Genea- logical research, then, has its value,-be it in the tracing of an obscure and broken line, or the following back of a noble and illustrious lineage whose men have been valorous, whose women of gentle refinement. We of this end-of-the-century, democratic type can not afford to scoff at or hold in light esteem the bearing up of a "'scutcheon upon whose fair face appears no sign or blot"; and he should thus be the more honored who honors a noble name and the memory of noble deeds. The lineage of the subject of this review is one of most distinguished and interesting order, and 110 apology need be made in reverting to this in connection with the individual accomplishments of the subject himself.
Justus Palmer, the great-great-grandfather of him whose name intro- duces this review, was a resident of Norwich, Connecticut, where his son Ephraim was born December 17, 1760. On the 27th of August, 1786, the latter married Margaret Force, and on the 30th of June, 1852, he was called to his final rest. During the war of the Revolution he valiantly served in the Continental army, and thus aided in establishing American independence. His eldest son, Thomas Force Palmer, was born June 13, 1787, and on the 30th of May, 1815, married Rebecca Snow. They became the parents of six children, the third child and second son being Ephraim M. Palmer, who was born December 13, 1828, in Cattaraugus county, New York. In 1831 the family removed to Medina county, Ohio, and the succeeding eighteen years of Ephraim Palmer's life were passed on a farm in the Buckeye state. In 1847 he removed to Sugar Grove, Kendall county, Illinois, and in the spring of 1849 came to Freedom township, LaSalle county, having previously purchased a land warrant for one hundred acres. On locating thus in the southwestern corner of Freedom township, securing thereby eighty acres of land, this was the first property he had ever owned. The deed came to him direct from the government, and the land is still a part of his estate. In the fall of 1849 he made a trip across the plains to California, where he remained for nearly eight years, meeting with fair success in his business ventures on
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the Pacific coast. He then returned to Freedom township, and soon after- ward purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Ophir township.
On the 13th of June, 1861, Ephraim Palmer was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Butler, of Ophir township, LaSalle county, the eldest child of Ebenezer and Nancy (Butterfield) Butler. On the father's side of the family they are descendants of Nicholas Butler, who was born at Martha's Vine- yard in 1662. His son, Benjamin Butler, was married in 1769 to Amy Dag- gett, and in 1790 they became the parents of a son, Benjamin, Jr., who was born at Martha's Vineyard, and he married Huldah Bradford, a relative of Governor Bradford, of Massachusetts. They removed to Avon, Maine, where Benjamin, their second son, was born May 18, 1808. There Benjamin Butler married Nancy Butterfield, on the 24th of December, 1833, and on the 16th of November, 1834, they became the parents of a daughter, Sarah, whose birth occurred in Anson, Maine, and who, in 1861, became the wife of Mr. Palmer. On the maternal side Mrs. Palmer traces her ancestry back to Jonas Butterfield, who was born in Dunstable, Massachusetts, September 12, 1742. He was a member of the home guards or minute men, and marched from Dunstable to Cambridge on the alarm of April 19, 1775. Four of his brothers were soldiers in the Revolutionary war, and the military history of the family is one of which the descendants may well be proud. His son, John Butterfield, was born April 16, 1780, and on the 25th of June, 1800, married Sybil Willerd, who was born August 17, 1782. Their daughter, Nancy Butterfield, was born September 25, 1808, and became the wife of Ebenezer Butler and the mother of Mrs. Palmer. To Mr. and Mrs. Ephraim Palmer were born two children,-Carrie, born September 1, 1865, who died on the 30th of September, of the same year, and Walter, the surviving son, who was born June 22, 1868. In the spring of the latter year the father removed to his farm in Freedom township, a tract containing two hundred acres of very valuable land. In 1881 a niece of Mrs. Palmer, then an infant, became an inmate of their home, and has since been a daughter in the house- hold. Her name is Agnes Butler, but she has always been called Agnes Palmer.
In his political views Mr. Palmer was a stanch Republican, unswerving in his advocacy of the principles of the party. He filled a number of positions of public trust, including those of assessor, commissioner and a member of the school board. The cause of education found in him a warm friend. and for nearly thirty years he was regarded as a leader in every movement that tended to advance the educational interests of his community. He was at all times an honest, upright man, whose word was as good as his bond, and over his life record there falls no shadow or wrong or suspicion of evil. In January, 1892, he was attacked by la grippe, which was followed by pneu-
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monia, and on the 30th of that month his life's labors were ended in death. Throughout the community his loss was deeply mourned and his memory is cherished in the hearts of all who knew him.
Walter B. Palmer, his only surviving child, was married in September, 1889, to Miss Ina Lardin, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Lardin and a sister of Judge A. T. Lardin, of Ottawa. She was a lady of culture, who had many warm friends, but in May, 1891, she died of consumption. In Novem- ber, 1893, Walter B. Palmer and his mother came to Ottawa and took up their abode in the beautiful modern residence which they had erected. In December, 1894, he was again married, the lady of his choice being Miss Mary Frances White, a daughter of William and Nellie (Barger) White, formerly of Davenport, Iowa, where her father was a prominent lawyer. Mr. Palmer has always loved a fine horse, and has owned some of the best in the country. He has been very successful in those which have been put upon the race track, and each year he has a number of fine trotters and pacers that are displayed at fairs and upon other race courses. His life has been spent in LaSalle county, where he has a wide acquaintance, and he and his estimable wife enjoy the hospitality of the best homes of Ottawa.
ABRAM C. GODFREY.
For almost half a century the Godfreys, father and son, have been num- bered among the progressive business men of Ottawa. They have been noted for their public spirit and liberality toward all local enterprises of a character that would tend to promote the welfare of the community.
Philip, father of Abram Godfrey, was born in Cork, Ireland, but came to America when young. At eighteen years of age he wedded Miss Mary Avary, a native of New York, and in 1850 this sterling couple came to Ot- tawa. For thirty-seven years Mr. Godfrey was successfully engaged in the grocery business, retiring in 1887. to enjoy the competence which he had won by years of diligence and indefatigable energy. He embarked in mer- chandising with the small capital of eighty dollars in gold, but he possessed much more pluck than money, and in the end this quality proved of even more value, for in time he became well-to-do and respected as a man of up- rightness and fairness in all his dealings.
The birth of Abram C. Godfrey occurred in Ottawa, April 6, 1859, and here he passed his boyhood, working, at intervals, in his father's store, and early acquiring valuable knowledge of the business. Desiring a little wider experience in the commercial world, he went to Chicago in 1884, and for one year was employed by Fairbanks, Morse & Company. He then returned
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to Streator, Illinois, and was with Dennis Fielding in a shoe store for two years. In 1887, upon the occasion of his father's retirement from business, our subject assumed the management of the store, and has continued to enjoy the favor of our leading citizens as his customers.
On the 5th of November, 1894, Mr. Godfrey and Bertha T. Taylor, a daughter of W. W. Taylor, of Ottawa, were united in marriage. They have one child, Margaret Louise, born July 17, 1898. For over ten years Mr. Godfrey has been a member of the Masonic order, and, like his honored father, is actively interested in the success of the Republican party. He has served efficiently as an alderman while Albert F. Schoch was mayor, the administration being known as the "improvement council."
JAMES SEXTON.
The gentleman whose name initiates this sketch is one of the retired farmers of LaSalle county, who makes his home in the town of Streator. He is an Englishman by birth, but has been a resident of America since his elev- enth year. His history in brief is as follows :
James Sexton was born in Norfolk county, England, in 1846, a son of Stephen Sexton, who was born in Norfolk, December 1, 1810, and Mary (Field) Sexton, born in Norfolk, June 1, ISII. He had six sisters and three brothers. In 1857 his father and mother, with all but the oldest daughter, embarked for the New World, and after a stormy voyage of forty-two days landed at Quebec, Canada, whence they came direct to Ottawa, Illinois. set- tling on a farm in Otter Creek township, and there the father engaged in farming until 1874, when he removed to Carroll county, Iowa, where he resided until his death, in 1890. The winter after their arrival the whole family were stricken with typhoid fever, the mother dying in January, 1858, and one boy and one girl later. Of the remainder of the family Margaret is in Norfolk, England; Sarah A. in Otter Creek, this county; Mary A. in Bluffton, Indiana; William, Eliza and Emily are in Carroll county, Iowa; and Fred resides in Everett, Washington.
James Sexton assisted his father in the farm work and remained at home until he was sixteen, when he started out in life on his own account. From that time until he was nineteen he was a farm hand, working by the month. He then rented a farm and afterward bought eighty acres of land in Otter Creek township. After his marriage, about this time, he settled on his father-in-law's farm in Otter Creek township, where he was engaged in farm- ing and stock-raising until 1887, when he moved to Streator and engaged in the hardware business with W. H. Pilcher. Three years later he returned to
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the farm, where he resided until 1897, and since that date he has been retired, residing in Streator.
Mr. Sexton married, in 1867, Miss Elizabeth Wade, a native of LaSalle county, born June 28, 1842, a daughter of Robert Wade and Elizabeth (Wil- son) Wade, both natives of England. The Wade family, on first coming to America, settled in Massachusetts, and it was from Fall River. that state, that they came to Illinois, in 1840. To Mr. and Mrs. Sexton were born two children,-a son and a daughter. Roy, a graduate of Oberlin College, Ohio, and also of Northwestern University Medical College, is a practicing physi- cian in Streator; and Nellie is the wife of Jay Arthur, of Streator. Mrs. Elizabeth Sexton, the wife and mother, died on the 26th of April, 1898.
In his political views Mr. Sexton has always been rather independent, voting for the man he believed best fitted for the office, instead of sticking closely to party lines.
WILLIAM E. PRICHARD.
The owner and manager of Highland Stock Farm, William E. Prichard, is well known throughout LaSalle and adjoining counties. He is an hon- ored veteran of the civil war, as when eighteen years of age, in February, 1863, he enlisted in the Second Ohio Heavy Artillery and served until the close of the conflict between the north and south. He had as his command- ing officers Captains Stevenson, Downey and Tompson, and his record as a brave and trusted soldier is one of which he has just reason to be proud. He is an active worker in the Republican party; is a Grand Army man, and a Mason in high standing.
Born in Licking county. Ohio, in 1845. our subject is a son of David and Ruth (Lewis) Prichard, the former a native of Wales and the latter of New York state. The father died in LaSalle county, Illinois, in 1882. Dur- ing his youth William E. Prichard attended the public schools, and subse- quent to his coming to this state in 1866 he was a student at Fowler's Insti- tute at Newark for some time. Later he taught school for a few terms. Since 1871 he has made his home in Ottawa.
In April, 1871, Mr. Prichard married Miss Harriet Johnson, a daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Statler) Johnson. Jennie. the first child born to our subject and wife, died at the age of four years. Fred S. and Arthur D., twins, were born November 25, 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Prichard are members of the Baptist church, the former having had charge of the music for many years.
For thirty years W. E. Prichard has been engaged in importing, breed- ing and dealing in fine draft horses, particularly Percherons, of which he always keeps a large number on hand. One of the best Percherons ever
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brought over, Napoleon III., came into his possession in 1871. It is said of him that he handles more high-grade horses each year than any other man in the county. His premises are commodious and convenient, his large stables being at South Ottawa and his farm two and a half miles from that point.
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