USA > Illinois > LaSalle County > Biographical and genealogical record of La Salle County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 35
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October 22, 1868, he married Margaret, daughter of James Cowie, a prominent pioneer in the coal business in LaSalle. Mr. Cowie was a native of England, born in 1805; came to the United States in 1840; once resided in West Virginia, and later in LaSalle, Illinois, for several years, and died in West Virginia in 1886. He was a competent business man and an esteemed citizen, and to him much of the development of the LaSalle coal fields is to be attributed. To Mr. and Mrs. William C. Brown the following children were born: Annie (deceased), James C., Margaret (a teacher), Mabel and William C., Jr.
Mr. Brown and family are communicants of the Congregational church, and in politics he is a Republican.
CHRISTIAN G. SAUER.
Christian G. Sauer, a grain dealer and one of the representative business men of Dana, Illinois, is a native of this state, born in Bureau county, July 19, 1851. He is of German and French descent, his father, George A. Sauer, having been born in Germany; his mother, whose maiden name was Dorothy Swartz, in Strassburg, France. In their family were ten children, seven of whom are now living: Rudolph G., of George, Iowa; Louisa, wife of The- odore Monk, of Livingston county, Illinois; Christian G., whose name heads this sketch; George A., of Rutland, Illinois; Lizzie, wife of L. M. Holland, of Washington, Illinois; William, of Hartley, Iowa; and Mary, the wife of J. A. Mingers, of Minonk, Illinois. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sauer came to America in childhood and were reared and married here. It was in 1836 that he landed in this country, with his father and family, their settlement being in Bureau county, where he grew up and where, later, he bought a farm of eighty acres, for which he paid one hundred dollars. He afterward owned
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at one time about two or three thousand acres in Illinois and Iowa. He moved to Livingston county, Illinois, in 1865, lived there until 1884, and then moved to LaSalle county, settling in Groveland township, one mile west of Dana, where he still lives. His first wife, the mother of our sub- ject, died about 1883, at the age of fifty-seven years. She was a devoted Christian and a member of the German Lutheran church, to which he also belongs. He married for his second wife Miss Lottie Strasburg, and by her has three children-Lillie, Rosie and Minnie. Politically the senior Mr. Sauer has always affiliated with the Democratic party, to which his son, Christian G., has also given support.
The paternal grandfather of Christian G. Sauer was Rudolph Sauer. He came to America, as already stated, in 1836, bringing with him his family and coming in company with his brother George. In the old coun- try he was a shoemaker and dealer, but after his settlement in Bureau county, Illinois, he turned his attention to farming. He died in that county, at the age of seventy-seven years. To him belonged the distinction of serv- ing in the army under Napoleon. Of his family, two sons and two daughters reached adult age. Grandfather Swartz, Mr. Sauer's grandfather on his mother's side, was a native of France. He was one of the pioneer settlers of Lacon, Illinois, where he reared his family of ten children. He was eighty-four years of age at the time of his death.
Turning now to the direct subject of this sketch, Christian G. Sauer, we record that he was reared on his father's farm in Bureau county, in summer passing his boyhood days in assisting in the farm work and in winter attending the district school, held in a log house. When he became a man and engaged in farming for himself it was on a rented farm in Livingston county. About 1882 he bought three hundred and twenty acres in Lyon county, Iowa; afterward purchased another three hundred and twenty acres in that county-six hundred and forty in all-which he still owns. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres in Groveland township, LaSalle county, and has some land in Kansas. Since 1877, with the exception of four years, he has been in the grain business in Dana. His first home in Dana he built in 1882, in the northern part of town, and in 1898 he rebuilt on the same location, his present home being a delightful and attractive one.
January 13, 1879, Mr. Sauer married Miss Matilda Gingerich, a daugh- ter of Joseph Gingerich, and they have three children-Charles B., Jessie M. and Clark.
Mrs. Sauer is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. As already indicated, Mr. Sauer clings to the political faith in which he was reared, and from time to time he has filled numerous local positions of prominence and trust. He was the supervisor of Groveland township eight years, and
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for a number of years he was a school director. He has long been a mem- ber of the village board of Dana, and for about ten years has been the president of the board. His residence in LaSalle county covers a period of twenty-three years, and few men throughout the county are better known or more highly respected than he.
HENRY F. HARTENBOWER.
The gentleman whose name appears above is a leading business man of Tonica, dealing in agricultural implements, threshers and engines. He was born in Magnolia township, Putnam county, Illinois, April II, 1849, a son of Christian and Jerusha (Hiltabrand) Hartenbower. His father was a native of Wittenberg, Germany, and his mother was born in Tennessee. They had seven children, six of whom are living, namely: Henry F., George F., Emily, wife of G. J. Williams, of Eagle Grove, Iowa, William F., John E., of Tonica, Illinois, and Catherine, the wife of Albert Grant. The father of these children, a farmer by occupation, emigrated to America in 1836, locating in Putnam county, where he followed agricultural pursuits until 1852, and then moved to Hope township, LaSalle county, settling upon a quarter section which he had purchased. To this he subsequently added by further purchases until he had at one time five hundred and seventy acres. It was here that he reared his children and lived until 1886, when he moved to Tonica, where he now lives retired, his son William cultivating the old farm. In his political sympathies he has always been a Democrat, and in public position he has been road commissioner for many years. In religion he and his wife are Baptists.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, Christian Hartenbower, a native of the fatherland, was a shoemaker by trade, and came to America in 1836, settling in Putnam county, in Magnolia township, where he fol- lowed his trade. He finally died in LaSalle county, at the home of his son, aged about seventy-six years. He had seven children. The maternal grand- father of Mr. Hartenbower, George Hiltabrand, was a native of North Carolina, of German descent, and a farmer by occupation. He emigrated to Illinois in 1829, settling in Putnam county, had a large number of chil- dren, and died at the old homestead, aged about sixty-eight years.
Mr. Hartenbower, the subject of this sketch, was brought up in La- Salle county from the year 1852, reared to the heavy duties of the farm, attending the public schools in the winter. When a grown man he rented for himself a farm of one hundred and seventy acres, for six years, and then bought a hundred acres in Hope township, which he cultivated till 1889,
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then sold it and moved into Tonica, where he has since made his home. Here he began work in the employ of the firm of R. A. Radle & Company, in their implement store, and afterward for J. E. Morris, and in 1893 he bought out the stock of Mr. Morris and ran business alone until 1896, when he asso- ciated with himself G. W. Hartenbower, since which time the firm name has been H. F. & G. W. Hartenbower. These men have a fine reputation as honest and reliable dealers and industrious and enterprising citizens of their chosen town.
Politically Mr. Hartenbower, our subject, has always been a Democrat, and in fraternal relations he is a member of Tonica Lodge, No. 364, A. F. & A. M.
He was married on the 15th of February, 1872, to Miss Mary Hutch- ings, a daughter of Martin and Mary (Bolton) Hutchings, and they have been blessed with five sons and five daughters, whose names are, in order, Mary J., Charles F., Clara J., Edna, Roy B., Fred, Ella, Nell. Harold and Marion. Mary J. became the wife of Ozer Keller, lives in Coffeyville, Kan- sas, and has two children; Charles F. was a soldier in the Spanish-American war, a member of the Fifth Illinois Volunteers, and is unmarried; Edna married Burton Thompson and resides in Henry, this state; and the other children are at their parental home.
GEORGE L. AUSTIN.
The town of Rutland. LaSalle county, has a no more enterprising busi- ness man and public spirited citizen than George L. Austin, who has served in various local positions of responsibility and trust, always acquitting himself of the duties devolving upon him and meriting the approbation of every one concerned.
He is a son of Seneca S. and Sarah H. Austin, who are represented elsewhere in this work. He was born in Greene county, New York, July 25, 1847, and spent eight years of his life there. In 1855, he came to Illinois with his parents, and for the succeeding five years he lived in Stark and Bureau counties. Then returning to the Empire state, he remained there for several years, completing his education. In 1868 he again came to this state and resided in Bureau and LaSalle counties, assisting his father in farming a portion of the time for several years. He had learned the machinist's trade at Albany, New York, in 1866, and for seven years he was occupied in work along this line of endeavor, with good results. In 1876 he purchased an interest in his father's general store at Rutland, tlie
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firm being Austin & Son, for thirteen years or more. At the end of that period the young man purchased his father's share of the enterprise, and since then has conducted it alone. On the 15th of April, 1899, his store and nearly all of his stock of goods were destroyed by fire, but, nothing daunted, the energetic proprietor opened a store in temporary quarters, within a week after the unfortunate occurrence, and is now building a handsome brick block, of two stories and basement, an opera-house being above the stores.
In company with his brother, Chester Y. Austin, Mr. G. L. Austin owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, two miles and a half from Rexford, Sheridan county, Kansas. He is very successful as a business man, and is on the high road leading to assured wealth. He is looked up to and his judgment relied upon in financial and public matters, and after serving as a member of the village board of trustees for some time, he acted in the capacity of president of the same for a year. He also was the treas- urer of the township for some four years. Formerly he was active in the Masonic order, but has a letter of demittance from the lodge, and still keeps his membership in the Odd Fellows society. Politically he uses his fran- chise in behalf of the Republican party.
On the 13th of February, 1881, Mr. Austin married Miss Kate D. Shull, daughter of Frederick A. and Sarah M. (Barger) Shull. They have be- come the parents of three daughters and a son, namely: Leslie, Fern, Caro and Ruth. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, he being one of the trustees, and is one of the most zealous workers in the cause.
CYRUS H. SMITH, M. D.
The successful physician to-day must possess not only a peculiar fitness for the profession in innate qualities of mind and heart, but also must be thoroughly equipped for his calling by a long, systematic course of study and training under the tutelage of old, experienced medical men, who have been chosen for the responsible task on account of their prominence and success in the treatment of some particular form of disease. The public is to be congratulated that the lines are constantly tightening around the profession, to the end that only thoroughly competent physicians and sur- geons will be permitted to minister to the sick and suffering in the near future. Already noticeable reforms have been inaugurated-the years of preparation required have been increased and rigorous examinations must be passed ere a diploma is awarded the student. Thus the young physician
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of this decade possesses a much better foundation for future success than did his predecessors, being conversant with modern discoveries in the science of disease and its treatment.
Dr. Cyrus H. Smith, a well known physician, surgeon and druggist of Tonica, comes of an old and respected Kentucky family, his paternal grand- father, William F. Smith, having been born in Warren county, that state. He was of Scotch-Irish extraction, and during the war of 1812 fought in the army of this young republic against the mother country. He owned a large plantation and was a slaveholder, like the most of his neighbors. His entire life was spent in his native county, where he died at an advanced age, leaving several sons and daughters.
James B. Smith, the father of the Doctor, was born in the Blue Grass state and in 1839 came to Illinois. For a year or two he resided in Warren county, but in 1841 he settled in Knox county, where he passed the rest of his days, engaged in farming. He was summoned to the silent land in 1887, when in his seventy-seventh year. His devoted wife, Elizabeth A., a native of Pennsylvania, survived him a few years, dying in January, 1898, when sixty-five years of age. She was one of the two daughters of Isaac Burns, whose home was near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. For a time he was a stage-driver, running between Baltimore and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and few men in that part of the country were better known or more thoroughly respected.
Dr. Cyrus H. Smith, who was born on his father's farm in Knox county, this state, April 3, 1869, is one of the younger children of the parental fam- ily. Of his six brothers and three sisters, nine are yet living, Hattie, the youngest, having died at the age of eight years. John L. and Robert M. are citizens of Superior, Nebraska; Henry F., of Abingdon, Illinois; James B., of Knoxville, Illinois; George W. and Charles E., of Galesburg, Illinois; and Mary A., the wife of Albert Kennedy, and Laura R., Mrs. Frank R. Rey- nolds, reside in Abingdon, this state.
The boyhood and youth of the Doctor were quietly spent on his father's farm, his early education being gained in the district school. At nineteen he entered Hedding College, at Abingdon, where he pursued the higher branches of knowledge for four years, after which he went to Chicago and in 1890 was graduated in the Illinois College of Pharmacy. During the following year he was engaged in the drug business at North Henderson, Illinois, in the meantime taking up the study of medicine. Going to Chicago in 1892, he was graduated in Rush Medical College three years later, since which time he has practiced his profession at Tonica. In 1898 he opened a drug store here, which he conducts in connection with his professional practice. He has been very successful in his undertakings, and enjoys the
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high opinion of his medical brethren, as well as that of his patients and the general public. He belongs to the county and state medical societies, and in every possible manner keeps himself posted in the progress of his profession. Socially he is a member of Tonica Lodge, No. 364, F. & A. M., and belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. In his political creed he is a true-blue Republican.
The marriage of Dr. Smith and Miss Glenna Peabody was celebrated January 28, 1892. The young couple have three charming little daughters, named respectively Dorothy, Agnes and Glenna. Mrs. Smith, who is a daughter of William and Mary (Rogers) Peabody, is a lady of attractive personality, refined and well educated, and an active member of the Baptist church.
SAMUEL PATTERSON.
Among the prominent early settlers and well-to-do farmers of LaSalle county is Samuel Patterson, who resides on his farm on section 36, Vermilion township. A resume of his life is as follows:
Samuel Patterson was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, No- vember 10, 1839, a son of Stephen and Elizabeth (Bane) Patterson, natives of Pennsylvania; and of their three daughters and one son he is the only one now living. Stephen Patterson, the father, was a farmer. He came from Pennsylvania to Illinois in 1857 and located in Vermilion township, LaSalle county, where he bought three hundred and ten acres of land, partly improved, and where he passed the rest of his life and died, his death occur- ring here May 25, 1874, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife, a member of the Presbyterian church, died in 1845, aged about thirty-five. Politically he was a Democrat, and at different times filled acceptably a number of township offices.
The Pattersons are of Irish origin and the family was represented in this country at an early day. William Patterson, the grandfather of Samuel, was born in Pennsylvania and passed his life in that state, engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, with the rank of captain. He died at the age of seventy-five years. In his family were five children. Mr. Patterson traces his ancestry on the maternal side to Germany. His grandfather, Jacob Bane. was a native of Pennsylvania: by occupation was a farmer and miller: was the father of twelve children; and died when past middle life.
Samuel Patterson spent the first eighteen years of his life on his father's farm in Washington county. Pennsylvania, receiving his education in the dis-
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trict schools, and in 1857 came with his parents to Illinois. He has lived in LaSalle county ever since. After his marriage, which event occurred in the early part of 1867, he rented land of his father and carried on opera- tions in that way for a few years. He then bought sixty acres in Eagle town- ship, which he afterward sold, investing the proceeds in one hundred and sixty acres in Vermilion township, his present place, where he has lived since 1876.
February 14, 1867, was consummated the marriage of Samuel Patter- son and Harriet Geer. Mrs. Patterson is a daughter of Nathaniel and Eliza Maria (Clark) Geer, natives of Connecticut. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Patterson-two sons and five daughters, namely: Nellie, Elizabeth, Charlotte, James, Roy Stephen, Evaline and Bertha Lou- isa. Nellie is the wife of Frank Leslie, of Eldora, Iowa, and they have three children-Warren, Nina and Cora. Elizabeth married B. U. Hiester, of Farm Ridge township, LaSalle county, and they have one child, John Paul. The other children are still members of the home circle. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson are members of the Episcopal church, of which he is a vestry- man, an office he has filled for sixteen years.
Politically he is a Democrat. For about twenty years he has served as school director, and was at one time elected a justice of the peace, but did not accept the office.
Of Mrs. Patterson's parents, Nathaniel and Eliza Maria (Clark) Geer, it has already been stated that they were born in Connecticut. The history of the Geer family can be traced back to the Mayflower, when two brothers came over from England, one of them. David, being the great-grandsire of Mrs. Patterson. He was known as Deacon David Geer. He settled in Kent township, Litchfield county, Connecticut. Of him it is recorded that "he was gentle in spirit, of suave manner, and secured the strong affection of all who knew him." He was a Congregationalist and a zealous and de- voted Christian. Among the Geers of this country were Jarvis Geer, of New York city, a high churchman in the Episcopal church, and his cousin, Wel- come Geer. The latter died in Litchfield county, Connecticut, in 1833. He was by occupation a surveyor, and was at one time a captain in the state militia.
Mrs. Patterson's father's mother was Sylvia (Bishop) Brown. The Browns were represented in the Revolutionary war, and John Brown, of Rehoboth, the founder of the family in this country, was prominent in the government of Plymouth colony. His son James married Lydia, a daughter of John Howland, of the Mayflower, a copy of whose will, as well as that of his son Jabez, is in the Yale library at New Haven. Nathaniel Brown's birth is also recorded in the Rhode Island record as the son of Hezekiah
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Brown, who was born in Barrington, Rhode Island, in 1739. Thus Mrs. Patterson belongs to the ninth generation of the family in this country. The Bishops came from John Bishop, of Guilford, Connecticut, who came to this country with the Whitfields.
JOHN E. HARTENBOWER.
LaSalle county is to be congratulated on the possession of business men and financiers whose enterprise, ability and integrity have contributed in a large measure to the prosperity which this section of the state enjoys. Of this class John E. Hartenbower is a prominent representative. He is one of the leading citizens of Tonica, who not only stands high in the financial world here, but is equally esteemed in the social, political and official circles of the town and locality.
On both the paternal and maternal sides our subject is of German descent and has inherited many of the sterling and reliable qualities of the Teutonic race. His grandfather, Christian Hartenbower, came to the United States from Wertemburg, Germany, and settled in Putnam county, Illinois, but died in LaSalle county, about 1875, when almost four-score years of age. He followed the shoemaker's trade in Germany, and in America he gave his attention chiefly to agricultural pursuits. His wife, Catherine Kolbin, died when Christian, Jr., the father of our subject, was two years old. When he was thirteen years of age his parents left their home at Kirchheim, on the Neckar river, in Wertemburg, and came to the New World. He was born February 4, 1825, and on their emigration he accompanied the family and with them became a resident of Putnam county, where he resided for fifteen years. On the expiration of that period he came to LaSalle county, where he purchased eighty acres of land in Hope township, and as the years passed by he added to his possessions until at one time he owned nearly eight hundred acres of excellent farming property. For the past seventeen years he has made his home in Tonica, and for ten years has lived retired from business cares. In former days he was not only engaged in general farming, but also bought and shipped livestock. He chose for his wife Miss Jerusha G. Hiltabrand, who was born in Ten- nessee, August 22, 1825, and was the eldest of twelve children of George and Elizabeth (Gunn) Hiltabrand. Her father was born near Camden, Pennsylvania, in June, 1799, and was of German lineage. He was reared in North Carolina until 1818, when he removed to Robinson county, Ten- nessee, and in 1828 he came to Tazewell county, Illinois. The following spring, however, he settled in what is known as Ox Bow, Putnam county.
Warten fourer
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During the Black Hawk war he served as a sergeant in Captain William Haws' company of mounted volunteers, belonging to the Fortieth Regi- ment, Fourth Brigade and First Division of the Illinois militia. He was mustered out of the service at Hennepin on the 28th of June, 1832. At one time he purchased four quarter-sections of government land, for which he paid a dollar and a quarter per acre, and by the aid of his sons improved the property which is now estimated to be worth one hundred dollars per acre. Long before his death he was a wealthy man and an extensive land- owner, and, although he suffered many hardships and privations in the first years of his residence in this state, in his last years he was enabled to secure all the necessaries and many of the comforts and luxuries of life. He died October 20, 1870, aged seventy-one years.
Seven children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hartenbower, namely: Henry F .; George F .; William F .; Emily, who is the wife of G. J. Williams, of Eagle Grove, Iowa; John E .; Catherine C., wife of A. B. Grant, of LaSalle county; and Simeon, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Harten- bower are members of the Baptist church and are held in the highest regard by all who know them.
The birth of J. E. Hartenbower occurred on the parental farm in this county, March 18, 1864, and his childhood and young manhood were passed within five miles of Tonica. He supplemented a district school education by a course at Eureka College, in Woodford county, this state, and subse- quently was occupied in teaching for some four years. Later he clerked in a drug store, and in 1887 his connection with the Tonica Exchange Bank began. After acting as a clerk for a period, he became the cashier, and is now the senior member of the firm of Hartenbower & Hiltabrand, owners of this popular banking institution. Austin Hiltabrand was the junior partner for a few years, but since 1896 George D. Hiltabrand has occupied that position in the firm. The Tonica Exchange Bank has transacted busi- ness under that title for the past twenty years, and possesses the confidence of the community, as the policy of the gentlemen at its head is conservative, methodical and eminently trustworthy.
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