USA > Illinois > LaSalle County > Biographical and genealogical record of La Salle County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 32
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The subject of our sketch has in his veins a mixture of Danish and German blood, the former coming through his paternal ancestors and the latter through his maternal. Grandfather Lewis Winans was a native of Canaan, Massachusetts, and was by occupation a farmer. He died in New York state, over seventy years of age. His family comprised four sons and two daughters. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Winans, Andrew Hover, was a native of New York, and although a farmer by occupation was a man of considerable education and was well versed in law. Being of German descent and a German scholar, he was frequently called upon by his German neighbors to draw up papers of various kinds for them. He was drowned in the Hudson river, when over seventy years of age. He was in a row
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boat with two other men and three women, when they were run into by an old scow, and all the lives in the row boat were lost. Mr. Hover was the father of fourteen children.
Alva Winans was reared to farm life in Columbia and Monroe counties, New York, and also for a time lived in Greene county, that state. He spent three years on the river and Atlantic ocean; ran from New York to Phila- delphia on the steamer Kennebeck, and was one year on the steamer Roan- oke. Then he spent another year as a farmer in New York, and in 1853 came west to Illinois. Buying a yoke of cattle, he began breaking prairie in Marshall county, having bought eighty acres of land in La Prairie township, this state. This land he sold not long afterward, and in 1856 he came to LaSalle county and bought one hundred and fifty-seven acres in the north- west quarter of section 2, Groveland township, which he improved from raw prairie and which he still owns, it now being operated by his youngest son. Mr. Winans resided upon his farm until March, 1898, when he re- tired from the active duties of life and has since been living quietly in a pleasant home in Dana.
He was married January 1, 1853, to Miss Delia Sickles, a daughter of Christopher and Julia (Jenks) Sickles, natives of New York state. She is one of a family of six children, four of whom are now living, the other three being Emeline, the wife of John Phillips, of La Prairie township, Marshall county, Illinois; Edward, of Chillicothe, Illinois; and Julia, the wife of Porter La Zelle. Mrs. Winans' maternal grandfather was Thomas Jenks. He was a native of New York, was a farmer by occupation, and lived to a ripe old age. He was the father of twelve children, of whom Mrs. Winans' mother was the eldest. Mrs. Winans came with her parents to Illinois in 1850, the family settling in Marshall county, where she was reared. Her father died in Chillicothe, Illinois, October 10, 1889, on his eighty-fifth birthday. Her mother died in February, 1887, at the age of eighty-two years. They were members of the Baptist church.
Mr. and Mrs. Winans have had twelve children, six sons and six daugh- ters, three of whom died in infancy. The following is a brief record of the other members of the family: Daniel married Mary White, lives in Grove- land township, LaSalle county, and has three children-Cassie, Dio and Belle: Ira, unmarried, is the proprietor of a livery stable in Dana; Ellsworth married Ida Cox and lives on a farm in Groveland township; Eva, wife of James Hayter, of Newton, Jasper county, Iowa, has two children-Lulu and Beryl; Julia, wife of Richard White, of Pocahontas county, Iowa, has eight children-Ernest, Chloe, Ethel, Pearl, Harvey, and Leo, Lila and Lela (triplets); Belle, a resident of Newton, Iowa, has been twice married, by her first husband, George Griffin, having two children, Amy and Alva, hier pres-
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ent husband being William J. Crawford; Ida, the wife of James Justice, of Newton, Iowa, has two children-Guy and Bernice; Ella, the wife of Allen Martin, of Dana, has six children-Edna, Alva. John, William, Agnes and Doris; and Bernice, the wife of William Mathis, of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia.
Politically Mr. Winans is a Democrat. He has filled some local offices, such as roadmaster and school trustee.
JAMES S. FOOTE.
Owning and occupying one of the fine farms of LaSalle county, located on section II, Hope township, is found the subject of this sketch, James S. Foote, one of the substantial and highly respected farmers of the county. For a period of fifty years Mr. Foote has been identified with LaSalle county, and as one of its representative citizens it is fitting therefore that some per- sonal mention should be made of him in this work.
James S. Foote was born in the town of Milton, Saratoga county, New York, May 6, 1833, and is a son of Daniel A. and Mary D. (Prior) Foote, natives of Connecticut, and Massachusetts respectively. He is one of six children-four sons and two daughters, three of whom are now living, the other two being Caroline P., the widow of Elijah Dimmick, of Dimmick Station, Illinois; and Dauphin K .. of Downer's Grove, Illinois. Daniel A .. the father, was boss carpenter and farmer, owning two or three farms in Saratoga county. New York. He died in that state in July, 1849, at the age of sixty-six years. His widow survived him some years and came out west to Illinois, with her son James S. She died in Tonica, Illinois, about 1861, at the age of sixty-eight years. Both parents were members of the Presbyterian church.
On both the maternal and paternal side Mr. Foote is of English descent. His grandfather. David Foote, of Washington. Connecticut, married Esther Averill, of Preston, that state, and was a lieutenant colonel in the army of the Revolution, engaging in the battles of Stillwater, New York and Dan- bury, Connecticut. He died June 13, 1806. The maternal grandfather of our subject, John Prior, was a soldier in the war of 1812, serving also as a lieutenant colonel. Both these men were farmers in their vocation, and reared large families of children. Nathaniel Foote, the original ancestor of the Foote family in America, landed in this country as a passenger from the famous Mayflower.
James S. Foote spent the first sixteen years of his life in Saratoga
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county, New York, his days being passed not unlike those of other farmer boys, assisting in the farm work in summer and in winter attending the dis- trict school. Farming has been his life occupation. In September, 1849, he came to Illinois and located in Eden township, LaSalle county. Here for two years he was a wage worker, employed by the month. At the end of that time he purchased a team and began farming operations of his own. Buying one hundred and eight acres, on time, at the rate of thirty dollars an acre, he built a small house and gave his diligent efforts to the improve- ment of his property. This farm he subsequently sold and then bought eighty acres in Hope township, which he improved and which he still owns. Also, he has from time to time invested in other land and at this writing has four other farms, containing respectively eighty, fifty-eight, one hundred and twenty-nine and one hundred and forty acres, the last named tract being south of Lostant.
Mr. Foote is a man of a family. Mrs. Foote, formerly Miss Caroline A. Crandall, is a daughter of Otis and Eliza (Lake) Crandall. Mr. and Mrs. Foote have four children, namely: Edward J., Hettie E., Emma M. and Fred L. Edward J. married Miss Luella Bailey, lives south of Lostant, and has four children, Jay, Celia, Elmer and Ralph. Emma M. married Clarence Oug, of Eden township, LaSalle county, and they have three children, Ralph, Fred and Harry. Hettie E. and Fred L. are at home. Mrs. Foote is a member of the Baptist church.
Politically Mr. Foote is a Republican and has served a number of years in local offices. He was a school director many years, nine years was road commissioner, and is now serving his fourth term as a justice of the peace. Fraternally he is identified with the A. O. U. W.
JEFFERSON W. LEININGER.
The well known and much esteemed citizen whose name heads this sketch and who is a retired farmer of Tonica, Illinois, has been a resident of LaSalle county for a period of forty-two years, and has maintained his home in Tonica since the spring of 1884. A sketch of his life is of interest in this connection, and briefly is as follows:
Jefferson W. Leininger was born in Stark county, Ohio, August 4, 1837, the son of pioneers of the Western Reserve. His parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Slusser) Leininger, were natives of Pennsylvania. In their family were eleven children, nine sons and two daughters, of which number three are now living: George, of Stark county, Ohio; Jefferson, whose name
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heads this review; and Henry, of Ford county, Illinois. The father was by occupation a farmer. He went from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1812 and settled in Stark county, where he lived until 1857, when he came with his family to Illinois and located at Cedar Point, Eden township, LaSalle county. At this last named place he was engaged in farming until the time of his death. His first purchase of land in Eden township was two hundred and twenty-four acres. Afterward he bought three hundred and twenty acres in the same township, three hundred and twenty acres in Mendota township and three hundred and twenty acres in Lee county. He made his home on the original farm he bought in Eden township until his death, which occurred in 1872, when he had attained the age of seventy-four years. He was a self-made man. In his youth he had no educational advantages. three days being the extent of his schooling. His widow died in 1896, at the age of eighty-eight years. Both were Methodists.
Of the grandparents of our subject, we record that his paternal grand- father was George Leininger, a native of Pennsylvania and a descendant of German ancestors. He died in Stark county, Ohio, over seventy years of age. In his family were four sons and four daughters. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Leininger was John Slusser. likewise a native of Penn- sylvania. He was one of twelve men who came with their families from Pennsylvania to Stark county, Ohio, in 1812, all making the western journey together. John Slusser passed the rest of his life and died in Stark county. He was the father of several children.
Jefferson W. Leininger spent the first twenty years of his life in his native county, reared on his father's farm and educated in the district schools. Then in 1857 he accompanied his parents on their removal to Illinois, and he remained a member of the home circle until he was twenty-three. After his marriage, which event occurred in 1861, his father gave him a little start in a piece of land, a part of an eighty-acre tract. To this the young man added by the purchase of an adjoining tract, making in all one hundred and sixty acres, which he improved and on which he made his home for thirty-two years. He still owns this farm. Also he owns one hundred and sixty acres in Dakota, and a like amount in Nebraska. He carried on farming operations, meeting with success in his undertakings, until he retired in March, 1884, and moved to Tonica. Here he has seventeen acres, on which he built a comfortable and attractive home, and where he and his good wife are living surrounded with all the comforts of life.
Mr. Leininger was first married September 17, 1861. to Miss Harriet Rank. daughter of John and Elizabeth (Hull) Rank. She died in 1892, at the age of fifty-two years, leaving no children. His present wife, whose maiden name was Alcena Early, he wedded October 1, 1896. She was born
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in Van Buren county, Iowa, and her parents, James C. and Susanna (Mc- Daniel) Early, were both natives of Indiana, and the parents of nine children, three of whom are deceased. The parents removed to Iowa at an early day, but later returned to Indiana and there Mrs. Leininger was reared; but in after years her parents returned to Iowa, she accompanying them. Her mother died in 1882, aged fifty-three, and her father, now seventy- eight, resides in Iowa with a daughter. Mrs. Leininger taught school seven years in Indiana, and then thirteen years in the graded schools of Iowa, teaching mostly in Farmington and West Branch, that state. She and Mr. Leininger were married near Bonaparte, Iowa. She has been a member of the Baptist church since the age of sixteen, her people being adherents to the faith of this church. Mr. Leininger is a member of the Methodist church, and in politics a Republican.
GEORGE W. FORD.
George W. Ford, the son of the late pioneer Joseph F. Ford, was born in Freedom township, LaSalle county, Illinois, in 1848, his birthplace being the Swenson farm, five miles southwest of the village of Harding. He had the advantage of a common school education, and at the age of twenty years began life on his own account. For three years he rented land of his brother Frank and afterward lived on rented farms in Waltham, Ophir and Freedom townships, renting of different parties, for about twenty years. His accumulations were slowly made and it was not until 1891 that he decided to purchase a farm. He then selected a tract of land a short distance east of the village of Prairie Center, which he has since owned and occupied.
Joseph F. Ford, the father of George W., was born in the state of Maine; was a wheelwright by trade and helped to make the first water wheel used in Lowell, Massachusetts. Also he helped to build the first trucks that were used under the first cars on the Boston & Maine Railway. Having a brother in the west, he was induced to come to Illinois, and on his arrival here he settled on the farm above mentioned in Freedom township, LaSalle county, where he passed the rest of his life and died, his death occur- ring in 1867, at the age of sixty-three years. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth. Whitcomb, bore him eleven children, and is now deceased. Their children in order of birth were as follows: Frank, who died in 1892; Emma, the wife of Milton Courtright, of Sheridan, Illinois; Josephine, the wife of Daniel Beckwith, of Ottawa, Illinois; Eugene Q., a prominent farmer of Freedom, Illinois; George W .; Mary E., Eva and Nina-the last three of Ottawa.
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George W. Ford was married December 25, 1871, to Miss Sophia But- ler, daughter of the well known Captain Ed Butler, a soldier of the Mexican war, and a sister of the prominent and prosperous farmer, Benjamin J. Butler, of LaSalle county. The Butlers came from the state of Maine and settled in LaSalle county, Illinois, some years after the arrival of the Fords. Mr. and Mrs. George W. Ford have four children: Gordon C., Sarah, Nettie and Ben Jack.
The Fords have affiliated with the Republican party, and while they have filled some of the town offices when called upon to do so they have not gone out of their way to become candidates for any office, preferring to remain private citizens and devote their energy to their own chosen. vocations.
ALFRED I. HARTSHORN.
On the roll of LaSalle county's pioneers we find the name of this gentleman, who since an early period in the development of this section of the state has been a resident of the county and has borne an important part in the work of upbuilding and progress. In mercantile circles and agri- cultural lines he has not only won individual success, but has also advanced the general welfare, and at all times has commanded the respect and esteem of his fellowmen by reason of his upright and honorable life. Mr. Hartshorn. is a representative of one of the oldest American families, for his ancestry may be traced back to 1633, when a representative of the family came from England, taking up his abode in Connecticut. Oliver Hartshorn was a. Revolutionary soldier and valiantly aided in the cause of American inde- pendence. He was born November 1, 1760, and his wife, whose maiden name was Pettengill, was born May 2, 1759. They were farming people, who reared sons and daughters named Oliver, Royal, Ira, Asa, Mrs. Clarissa Armstrong, Miranda, Sophronia, wife of John White, and Eliza.
Of this family Ira Hartshorn was the father of our subject. He was born in Lisbon, New London county, Connecticut, June 3, 1793, and died in LaSalle county, Illinois, September 17, 1859. He served for a short time in the war of 1812 in his native state, and was connected with business affairs there as a merchant and hotel proprietor, and in New York was the manager of a stage route. February 4, 1818, he was united in mar- riage to Joanna Burnham, a native of Lisbon, Connecticut, who was born July 30, 1796. They located in Cazenovia, Madison county, New York, but a year or so later removed to Lebanon, that state. In 1836 Mr. Hartshorn made a prospecting tour through the west, and in 1837 brought his family:
A.d. Martshorn
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"to Illinois. He was first a resident of Joliet, where he secured employment in a sawmill, but in 1837 he entered a claim of government land, which he afterward developed into a fine farm, making his home there for two dec- ades. That property is now owned by his son, Alfred. Mr. Hartshorn died September 17. 1859, at the age of sixty-six, from disease contracted that year while on a prospecting tour at Pike's Peak. His wife was a lady of strong character and many virtues. She remained on the old homestead until 1866, and afterward lived with her children until her death, which · occurred February 14, 1875. In his political views Mr. Hartshorn was a Democrat in early life, but after his removal to Illinois became a supporter of the Free-soil party. He was well known to the pioneer settlers of LaSalle county and performed an important part in transforming its wild prairie land into a tract of rich fertility. Ira and Joanna (Burnham) Harts- horn became the parents of nine children: Joshua P., who was born December 10, 1818, is now a resident of Cass county, Iowa; Erasmus Dar- win, born June 4, 1821, resides in California; Alfred I. is the next in order of birth; Pliny, born August 26, 1825, is living in LaSalle: Calvert, born July 25, 1827, is a resident of Ouarga, Illinois; Mary, born March 1, 1830, is the widow of Eli Strawn and resides in Chicago; Lucy, who was born March 17, 1832, is the widow of A. M. Niles and lives in Ulysses, Nebraska; Lydia, born November 28, 1835, is the wife of R. V. Downing, of David City, Nebraska; and Charles Bishop, born June 23, 1838, died at Shiloh, Tennessee, during the civil war, while serving as a member of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry. Of these children the youngest one was born in LaSalle · county, the others having been born in New York.
Alfred Ira Hartshorn is a native of the Empire state, his birth having · occurred in Lebanon, Madison county, on the 22d of May, 1823. He came with his father's family to LaSalle county in 1837, when fourteen years of age, and there are few residents of the county who have lived longer within its borders than he. His educational advantages were limited, but in 1840 he spent about six months as a student in an advanced school in Princeton, Illinois, paying his way by the expenditure of his savings from the proceeds of farm work, at which he was employed in 1838-9. In 1841 he and two brothers secured a claim of canal land, which was subsequently purchased at a sale of canal lands, and is still the property of him whose name introduces this review. By other acquisitions from time to time Mr. Hartshorn became the possessor of much property, principally farming land, the total aggre- gating one thousand and four acres. His old homestead embraces five hun- dred and sixty acres, all in one body. In 1854 he rented his farm and en- "gaged in the coal trade, shipping the first car-load of coal that was sent on "the Illinois Central Railroad from LaSalle, which fact is of interest from an
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historical point of view. He continued in that business successfully until 1860, when he returned to his farm and devoted himself to agriculture and stock-raising. Progressive methods characterize the management of the place, and the neatness and thrift which pervades the home farm is an indica- tion of the careful supervision of the owner.
Mr. Hartshorn had been three times married. On the Ist of January, 1849, he wedded Miss Teressa Culver, a native of New York, who died in 1850, leaving one child, that died in infancy. On the 10th of December, 1856, he married Amelia A. Dean, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Alfred Dean. She died in November, 1869, leaving three children,-George A., Frederick P. and Teressa, wife of Charles L. Diesterwey, of LaSalle. In 1897 Mr. Hartshorn was again married, Miss Mary Watson becoming his wife, and they have one son, Asa.
George A. Hartshorn, the eldest son, is numbered among the native residents of LaSalle county, his birth having occurred here in October, 1857. He acquired a high-school education in the town of LaSalle and then pur- sued a commercial course in Bryant & Stratton's Business College, of Chi- cago. Since attaining his majority he has devoted his energies to the opera- tion of the Hartshorn homestead in Waltham township, and is one of the en- terprising and progressive agriculturists of the community. He was mar- ried July 5, 1885, to Miss Minnie Mitchell, daughter of William Mitchell, and they now have four interesting children,-Amelia, Ira, Floyd and Wal- ter. In his political views George Hartshorn is a stalwart Democrat, and has several times been honored with local positions of trust and responsibil- ity. The first township office he held was that of school trustee, in which capacity he served for fifteen years. He has also filled the position of justice of the peace and town collector, and in the spring of 1896 he was elected to his present position, that of supervisor, to succeed the Hon. John Wylie. He is now acting as a member and chairman of the county asylum commit- tee on the board of supervisors, and exercises his official prerogative to sup- port all measures and movements which are calculated to benefit the entire community. He is known as a valued citizen and a progressive young busi- ness man, and in LaSalle county has many warm friends.
In his political views Alfred I. Hartshorn has been a lifelong Democrat, loyal to his party and holding its traditions sacred; but from the financial principles of that branch of the party which advocates a free coinage of silver he is a dissenter. He has been one of the prominent gold Democrats of his part of the state, and in 1896 was a delegate to a convention at Chicago which led to the national convention at Indianapolis that nominated Hon. John M. Palmer for the presidency on the sound-money platform. Though he has always been actuated by motives purely patriotic and borne an active
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part in public affairs, he has never sought political preferment or accepted any political office. His ability as a man of affairs is of a high order and his advice has often been sought in matters involving very important interests ..
RUSSELL E. STANFORD.
Russell E. Stanford, who is well and favorably known throughout LaSalle county, is a worthy representative of two of the pioneer families of this county. His father, Emory Stanford, a native of New York state, located at Lowell in 1838, and constructed the old water-power mill at that. point. In his early manhood he was engaged in contracting and building, but his later years were devoted to agriculture. About 1849 he purchased a farm situated four miles south of Lowell, and there he spent the remainder of his days, dying when in his seventy-second year. He was much honored and looked up to in his community, was the first supervisor of Vermillion township, at one time was the trustee of the school fund and a member of the local school board. Politically he was a stanch Republican, and prior to the civil war was a strong Abolitionist. His father, Jonathan Stanford, was a native of Vermont and of English extraction. He supported the American cause, however, and served in the army for supremacy of the. young republic on this continent. He removed to the state of New York, where his death some years subsequently occurred, after he had reached the age of three-score years.
The first wife of Emory Stanford was a Miss Emeline Cantine, and their only child, Susan, married Henry Loomis, now of Dakota county, Nebraska. The mother of the subject of this article was Mary, the daughter of Jacob Elliott, who came from one of the early colonial families of Massa- chusetts, in which state his own birth took place. He removed to the Empire state, and at an early period came to LaSalle county, in company with a man by the name of Seeley. They bought the water-power mill at Lowell' and were interested in various local industries here. Mr. Elliott died when in his prime, leaving several children. Mrs. Mary L. Stanford was born in New York state, and by her marriage to Emory Stanford she became. the mother of seven sons and a daughter, of whom but three survive, Russell E., Sarah M., wife of Justin Hall, of Urbana, Illinois; and John Franklin, who resides near Chatsworth, this state.
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