USA > Illinois > LaSalle County > Biographical and genealogical record of La Salle County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 28
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Urbin S. Ellsworth remained a member of his father's household until his twenty-fifth year. He attended Jennings Seminary at Aurora, where he graduated in the classical course at the age of twenty-three, and afterward for a few years taught school in winter and farmed during the summer months. He has been identified with the farming interests of Deer Park and South Ottawa townships for more than a quarter of a century. Early he became recognized as one of the reliable men of the township and during his residence here has been connected with every movement having its wel- fare in view. His safe and conservative views upon public affairs brought him into notice and his services in various official capacities were required. He is a Republican. In his early political experience he filled the offices of township assessor and clerk. In 1875 he was elected a trustee of the schools of the township, and is still serving as such, now rounding out twenty-five years of service in this office. He was elected the supervisor of the township in 1888, and filled the office five years. He was on the committees on equalization, roads and bridges, to settle with the circuit clerk, and on fees and salaries. As the chairman of the committee on drainage and waterways he had much to do with shaping legislation connected with the Chicago drainage channel and always fought strenuously for the rights of the people of the Illinois valley. At this time Mr. Ellsworth was also a member of the committees on contingent expenses of the house, education, corporations, agriculture, fish and game laws and military affairs. In the fall of 1890 he was elected a minority member of the state legislature and succeeded him- self as such in 1892, being the only Republican elected in the county that year. In the fall of 1894 he was elected a majority candidate by a majority
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of two thousand and five hundred votes. During the session referred to he was the chairman of the drainage and waterways committee. He had in 'mind a measure for the improvement of the condition of the insane of the state, during his whole service. out of which the sentiment for the establish- ment of the Hospital for the Insane was developed. The Hospital for the Incurable Insane was also established as a result of the movement thus put under way. Mr. Ellsworth also worked for the revision of the revenue laws of the state, and for the adoption of the Australian ballot law. He was in the fight of the joint session which elected General John M. Palmer to the United States senate and helped disrupt the F. M. B. A. organization by supporting their state president for senator, which the F. M. B. A. members would not do. In the spring of 1899 Mr. Ellsworth was again elected to be the supervisor of his town and is serving on the committees on asylum, rules and settlement with the county treasurer.
Mr. Ellsworth was married December 18, 1876, to Victoria B. Gibbs. Mrs. Ellsworth's father, William T. Gibbs, was born in Chittenango. New York. He was superintendent of a reformatory at Lenox, Massachusetts, in his early life, and in 1855 moved to Aurora. Illinois, where he was for a time engaged in the milk business. In 1862 he enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company H, Sixteenth Illinois Cavalry, and was made the captain of his company. He served through the war as a gallant soldier, and at its close entered the service of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, in their shops at Aurora, where he remained until his retirement from active life in 1877. He died July 5. 1899. at the age of eighty-four years. His wife, before marriage Miss Harriet Dickerson, was born in Ulysses, New York, and their only child is Mrs. Ellsworth. Mr. and Mrs. Ellsworth's children are: William B., born October 21. 1877: Ada A .. September 9, 1883: and Dorothy R., May 31, 1890. Their son was educated in the State University of Illinois.
Mr. Ellsworth has held the position of consul in the camp of the M. W. A. in his township for the past four years.
ELISHA M. MERRITT.
Just half a century ago Elisha M. Merritt, a retired farmer, now living in Troy Grove, LaSalle county, came to this locality from the east, and dur- ing this long period he has made his home within the boundaries of this county, and has been actively connected with its development and progress. He is thoroughly posted in its history and geological formation. having made a special study of the subject for years. Since he retired from active labor
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he has devoted much of his time and attention to collecting, classifying and arranging geological specimens and Indian relics of this region, and few persons can be considered better authority along these lines of research.
The paternal and maternal ancestors of the above-named gentleman were of Holland-Dutch origin. His grandfather Merritt was a native of New Jersey and a farmer by occupation. He lived to attain advanced years. His children were six in number, five sons and one daughter. The maternal grandfather of our subject, Isaac Ray, likewise born in New Jersey, was a farmer and had two daughters, but no sons.
The parents of E. M. Merritt were Henry and Christiana (Ray) Merritt, both of New Jersey and members of the Society of Friends. The father, who followed in the footsteps of his ancestors in the choice of an occupation, removed to New York state, where he died in 1861, aged sixty-four years. Mrs. Christiana Merritt, who was his second wife, departed this life in 1857. There were two sons and two daughters by the previous marriage, but none of them are living now. Of the three sons and three daughters born to our subject's parents, only two survive. Laura P. is the wife of Alonzo Wood- ford, of Victory, Cayuga county, New York.
The birth of Elisha M. Merritt occurred in Auburn, Cayuga county, New York. April 7, 1826. His boyhood was spent upon a farm, and, after finishing his elementary education in the district schools, it was his privilege to attend the local academy. He assisted his father until he was twenty years of age, when he secured employment in a hotel at Little Sodus Bay, for a few months. Then, going to Auburn, New York, he obtained a place as jailer, serving under the command of the sheriff. In 1849 he started to seek a new home in the west, and, coming to LaSalle county, worked by the month in Ophir township for a period, and then bought and improved a forty-acre farm in the same district. A favorable opportunity presenting itself, he sold that place and purchased another. This also he disposed of later, and invested his capital in a quarter-section of land in McLean county. He did not leave this county, however, but leased his farm to responsible tenants, until he sold it, in order to buy stock in the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. For the past twenty-two years he and his estimable wife have made their home in the village of Troy Grove, where they are very highly respected. He is a believer in the Prohibition party, and uses his franchise on behalf of its candidates.
The marriage of Mr. Merritt and Miss Ann L. Searls took place on the 22d of December, 1852. She is a daughter of Captain Gurdon and Eunice (Lathrop) Searls, who were natives of Connecticut. They removed to this state in 1838, and were among the earliest settlers of Rockwell, LaSalle county. there being no house between their own and Ottawa for some time.
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They came west with a colony, by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, taking three weeks to make the trip, and coming over the Alleghany moun- tains in tram-cars, which had stationary engines for motive power. Mr. Searls was a successful farmer and was actively engaged in his chosen voca- tion until his death in 1856, when he was sixty-three years of age. After surviving him for a few years his widow passed away, in 1862, aged sixty- three years and six months. Mr. Searls was generally called by the title of captain, as he held that rank in a cavalry company during the war of 1812, and won lasting honor in that second great conflict of this country with England.
ROBERT GRAF. -
Robert Graf, who for a long term of years was cashier of the Matthies- sen & Hegeler Zinc Company, LaSalle, Illinois, is now living retired in this city. He was born in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, November 16, 1820. In his youth he had excellent educational advantages. He attended the Kreutz-schule and the University of Leipsic, and from 1842 to 1845 studied law. For a short time he was in a law office, engaged in practice. The law, however, was not suited to his taste, and in 1852 he came to America and turned his attention to farming. His first location here was in Illinois, where he farmed one year. In 1853 he went to Wisconsin, located on a tract of land in Iowa county, that state, and there carried on agricultural pursuits for twelve years, at the end of which time he returned to Illinois. In May, 1864, he took up his residence in LaSalle. He had an acquaintance with Mr. Matthiessen, of the Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Company, who offered him a position in that establishment, and as cashier he rendered prompt and faithful service for a period of thirty-four years, until July, 1898, when he resigned. Since then he has been living retired.
Mr. Graf has never married, but has maintained a residence at No. 1207 Sixth street, LaSalle, since 1871. While he has never mingled much in society, he is well and favorably known in LaSalle and is respected for the quiet and faithful business life he has lived. He is a member of the German Lutheran Evangelical church.
JAMES E. SMITH.
James E. Smith, one of the foremost citizens of Troy Grove, is a pioneer of this locality, and has spent about thirty-five years of his busy, enterprising life here, actively engaged in farming and other lines of industry.
R. Graf
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On both sides of the family, Mr. Smith is of German descent, and both of his grandfathers were natives of Pennsylvania and belonged to the agri- cultural class. His paternal grandfather, James Smith, lived to an advanced age, dying in the Keystone state. He had three sons, the eldest of whom was James, the father of our subject. The maternal grandfather of our subject also attained a ripe age, and died on his Pennsylvania homestead, where he had reared his five or six children.
James Smith, the father of J. E. Smith, removed from Pennsylvania, his birthplace, to Ohio, at an early day, and came to Illinois in 1846. Here he settled in LaSalle county, buying one hundred and forty acres of land in Troy Grove township, and this property he continued to cultivate until about seven years prior to his death, when he turned his attention to the coal business. He was called to the home beyond in 1865, when he was in his sixty-fifth year. For several years he had served as supervisor of Troy Grove township, and held other local offices with credit. He favored the platform of the Democratic party, but was in no wise a politician. Both he and his wife were devoted members of the Presbyterian church, and he was an elder for a long time. She was Miss Sarah Eaken prior to their marriage, and she also was born in the Keystone state. She survived her husband sev- eral years, being over three-score and ten years old at the time of her demise.
James E. Smith, born in Wayne county, Ohio, August 25, 1830, is now the only survivor of his parents' family, as his brother and sister have been called to the silent land. He was sixteen years old when he came to Illinois, and he continued to reside with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age. He obtained a district school education and early learned agriculture in its varied forms. In starting upon his independent life he bought an eighty-acre farm in Dimmick township, and later added forty acres to the original tract. He lived there until 1861, when he removed to Mendota, and for about nine years was engaged in buying and selling grain. Then, going to Benton county, Iowa, he carried on a farm for two or three years, after which he was in the grain business at Vinton for four years or more. Then for a short time he resided in Hamilton county, and during the next six or seven years he managed a homestead of two hundred acres. This fine place, situated in Carroll county, Iowa, is still in his possession. In 1883 he returned to this state, and has since been interested in the grain and coal trade at Troy Grove. He has prospered, as he richly deserves, and bears an enviable name for business rectitude and square dealing. In all of his views he is liberal and broad-minded, and in politics he prefers to be independent, voting for the man and measure which he deems worthy of support, regardless of party lines.
The marriage of Mr. Smith and Miss Caroline Matilda, daughter of
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Leonard and Julia (Dewey) Towner, was solemnized December 14, 1853. Five children were born to them, namely: Orlando, who is married and resides in Colorado :. Orange L., who died, unmarried, when about twenty- eight years of age; Harry G., who first married Maggie Boyce, and, after her death, her sister, Bessie; Sarah M., who is deceased; and Tessie M., who is living with her parents. Harry G. has two children by his first marriage, Raymond and Mattie May. He is managing an elevator at Triumph, Illi- nois. The mother of the above-named children departed this life in 1883, aged fifty-one years. The lady who now bears the name of our subject was formerly Celinda, widow of Erastus W. Dewey, and a daughter of William A. and Polly B. (Butler) Hickok. She had two children by her first mar- riage: Horace, who died at the age of sixteen years; and Mattie, who is living with her mother. The pleasant dwelling of the Smith family at Troy Grove was erected by our subject six years ago.
MATHIAS KURSCHEID.
Mathias Kurscheid, the leading merchant of Leonore, Richland town- ship, LaSalle county, has passed the greater portion of his forty years in this county, and, as a citizen of the new town of Leonore and one of her builders. has made his influence felt in a manner conspicuously substantial and public-spirited.
He was born in New York city, in April. 1860, the son of a Rhine- lander who came to the United States late in the '50s, and was killed in New York city a few years afterward, while acting as a foreman in one of the sugar factories of that city. His widow survived the shock of his sudden and terrible death but a short time, and young Mathias was left an orphan. He was taken into the home of a relative, with whom, about 1869, he came west to Illinois and located in LaSalle county. It was on a farm in Richland township, this county, that young Kurscheid obtained his first impressions of the serious side of life. As he approached manhood he turned his atten- tion to work at the carpenter's trade, which he followed as a business for several years. His mercantile career began as a clerk for a Mr. White, and later he was with John Linder, in that capacity. in the village of Leonore. In 1889 he embarked in business alone, on a small scale, and to such an extent has his business increased that to-day he is regarded as the leading merchant of the village.
Mr. Kurscheid has identified himself prominently with the growth and progress of his town. At different times he has served as one of its council- men, and has occupied other places of trust and honor in the management
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of its affairs. In the spring of 1899 he was chosen at the general election to be the president of the village. He was one of the incorporators of the volunteer fire company of Leonore, and is its clerk; and he was a subscriber to the stock of the Leonore Creamery. Fraternally he is identified with the local camp of Modern Woodmen, of which he is the consul.
In February, 1889, Mr. Kurscheid married Miss Mary Brunsbach, a daughter of August Brunsbach, one of the foremost citizens of Vermilion township, this county, having settled here at an early day.
GEORGE W. GREINER.
One of the young, energetic business men of Tonica, LaSalle county, is George W. Greiner, who is well along on the highway leading to fortune. A truly wide-awake, enterprising citizen, he is heart and soul alive to the progress and advancement of this place, and for that reason, if for no other, he would be highly esteemed by the residents of this thriving village
Mr. Greiner is proud of the fact that he is one of the native born sons of Illinois, and that in him two nationalities are united, as his father. Charles Greiner, was born under the French flag, while his mother, Sophia (Ehmler) Greiner, was a native of Prussia. His paternal grandfather lived and died in France, and reared twelve children. The maternal grandfather of our subject emigrated to the United States many years ago, settling in Putnam county, Illinois, where he lived until his death, at the age of about three- score and ten years. Charles Greiner came to America to seek his fortune when he was a young man, and locating in Hennepin, engaged in the bakery and grocery business during most of his active life. He died in that section of the state in 1889. when in his seventieth year, and is survived by his widow, who is a resident of Hennepin. Of their eight children six are living, and all dwell in Putnam county save George W. They are named as follows: Anna. Charles, Jennie. Ida and Charlotte. Anna is the wife of W. E. Eddy; Jennie of John Markley; Ida of W. C. Patterson; and Charlotte of H. B. Zenor.
The birth of George W. Greiner took place in Putnam county, July 18, 1869. The benefits of an excellent public school education were his, and after completing his studies he began clerking in a store. Thus occupied for several years, he gained a practical idea of business methods, and at the same time carefully accumulated a snug little capital, with which to embark in an enterprise of his own when the proper time came. In 1895 lie came to Tonica and purchased the general store owned by the Miller estate, adding a meat market. He keeps a high grade of goods and transacts his business
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in a thoroughly enterprising manner, his store being neat and attractive.
Fraternally Mr. Greiner is a highly esteemed member of Tonica Lodge, No. 364. F. & A. M., at the present time enjoying the honor of being master of the lodge. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he is independent, preferring to use his franchise for the nominees and principles which he deems worthy of support, regardless of party lines. His fellow citizens, respecting his financial ability and excellent judgment. honored him with the position which he still holds, that of village treasurer.
The marriage of Mr. Greiner and Miss Irma Boyle took place Novem- ber 28, 1890. She is a daughter of Albert and Frances (Hartenbower) Boyle. Three children bless the home of our subject and wife, their names being, respectively, Earl, Frances and Veryne.
DAVID RICHEY.
David Richey, a much respected citizen and successful farmer residing on section 10, Eden township. LaSalle county, dates his birth in Muskingum county, Ohio, forty miles east of Columbus, July 31, 1822. He is a son of Nathaniel and Susanna (Kirkpatrick) Richey, natives of Pennsylvania, and one of eleven children, four sons and seven daughters. all of whom grew to maturity except one daughter, who died at the age of five years. Eight of this number are now living, namely: Mary, widow of William Bower. of Tonica; David, whose name initiates this review; Margaret Jane, widow of George B. Holmes, of Topeka, Kansas: James, of Eden township, LaSalle county; Susanna, wife of J. F. Evans, of Los Angeles, California: John, of northern Iowa; Elizabeth, widow of A. P. Landis, of Shell City, Missouri; and Nathaniel, of Redlands, California. Nathaniel Richey, father of the above named. moved about the year 1812 to Ohio, where he made his home until 1830, and that year, again imbued with a spirit of emigration, he came out to Illinois and located at Cedar Point, in Eden township, LaSalle county. where he took claim to two hundred and seventy-nine acres of government land. About 1867 he sold his land and moved to Peru. A few years later he went to Tonica, where he died in 1872, at the age of seventy-seven years and seven months. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, in the volunteer service, under Perry, and was stationed near Erie. His wife survived him a number of years, her age at death being about eighty. He was reared in the Presbyterian faith, but he and his wife, for convenience of worship, joined the Methodist church after coming to LaSalle county. there being no Presbyterian church near them. Politically he was first a Whig. then an Abolitionist and finally a Republican. He served four years as a justice of the peace.
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The Richeys are of Scotch descent. John Richey, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Pennsylvania, and by occupation was a farmer. He served in the Revolutionary war, and lay a prisoner at New York when a man on each side of him was frozen to death. He, low- ever, survived the rigors of war and lived to old age. In his family were fourteen children. The maternal grandfather of David Richey was James Kirkpatrick, a native of Ireland, who on coming to this country settled in Pennsylvania and subsequently removed to Ohio: and he died in Muskingum county, in the latter state, when well advanced in years. He, too, was a farmer, and his family was composed of three daughters and one son.
David Richey was eight years old when he came with his parents to Illinois, and since that time his life has been spent in Eden township. LaSalle county. Since 1850 he has lived on his present farm. Reared on a farm in a frontier locality, his educational advantages were limited. Altogether he attended school only about nine months. He remained a member of his father's household until he was twenty-six years of age, and on starting out in life to do for himself he bought eighty acres of land from the government. paying for it at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. This was wild prairie. He borrowed unbroken cattle, which he trained, and with which he plowed his land, sowing it the first year to wheat. He hauled his crop with oxen to Chicago, a distance of one hundred miles, requiring eight or ten days of good weather to make the round trip. This land he sold in 1850, and that same year bought his present farm, one hundred and sixty- three acres. which he improved, building a substantial house, barns, grana- ries, fences, etc. Also he owns forty acres of timber land. Mr. Richey carries on diversified farming and has always given more or less attention to the stock business, raising horses, cattle, sheep and hogs.
He was married June 28, 1849. to Miss Margaret Elizabeth Evans, a daughter of James F. and Feraby (Elam) Evans; and they are the parents of three children-two sons and one daughter-Frank. Alice and Guy Nathaniel. Frank is a practicing lawyer of St. Louis, Missouri. He married Miss Fannie Lipman and they have two children-Gida and Frederick D. Alice married Jolin I. Salisbury, and died October 21, 1885. Guy Nathaniel died October 23, 1886. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Eva Dent, had one son-Guy Dent Richey.
Mr. Richey is a Democrat, having come to this party from the Green- back party. In early life he took an active interest in political matters. He was a member of the thirty-first general assembly of the Illinois legislature.
Speaking of his early experience in Illinois, Mr. Richey says that during the Black Hawk war they were living peaceably in their log cabin in the woods when they heard that "the Indians were coming." He moved his
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family to Magnolia for a short time and then to Granville, in Putnam county, and later to a block-house near Peru. As he was a cripple he did not par- ticipate in the war. At that time there were three LaSalle county families murdered by the Indians-the Hall, Pettigrew and Davis families. Mr. Richey is one of the oldest settlers in LaSalle county.
ALFRED H. BELL.
Alfred H. Bell, the genial and popular postmaster of Lostant, LaSalle county, is one of the progressive merchants of this thriving town. He has occupied a number of local offices of trust and honor, to the entire satisfac- tion of everyone, and enjoys an enviable reputation for square dealing and public spirit.
John Bell, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Italy and lived to attain an extreme age, dying in Pennsylvania and leaving several children to perpetuate his name. During the war of the Revolution in this country he supplied the army with meat, and was very useful in many ways. He was a ship carpenter by trade. The maternal grandfather of Alfred H. Bell was William Henning, whose birth took place in Ireland. He fought at the great battle of Waterloo, under the Duke of Wellington. being an aide to General Crumy. Subsequently he emigrated to the United States, and after residing in the Keystone state for a number of years came to Putnam county, Illinois, where he was a pioneer. He was industriously engaged in farming until his death, at the age of seventy years. All of his thirteen children lived to maturity, and eleven of the number attended the funeral of their mother, who lived to be eighty-five years of age.
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