USA > Illinois > Brown County > Biographical review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing biographical sketches of pioneers and leading citizens > Part 34
USA > Illinois > Cass County > Biographical review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing biographical sketches of pioneers and leading citizens > Part 34
USA > Illinois > Schuyler County > Biographical review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing biographical sketches of pioneers and leading citizens > Part 34
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1875; Charles H., born April, 1878; George R., born April, 1881, and Dollie, born Marclı, 1884. He married for his second wife, Mrs. Leona Walker. She was a native of Cass county, and the daughter of George and Per- melia (Freeman) Arenat. Mrs. Walker is a member of the Christian Church.
Mr. Walker is a man of representative type,-a distinction among his fellows at- tained by his honest, straightforward busi- ness methods and fine social qualities. His successes in life justly merit for him the ap- probation of business associates and compet- itors, and from the same source he receives warm sympathy for the late reverses which in a degree have temporarily checked his nsual flourishing condition.
OHN F. HUSS, general farmer and stock raiser in section 1, township 17, range 11, has entire charge of his fath- er's homestead of more than 300 acres of fine land, under good improvement. The build- ings are large and comfortable, and the place is well stocked. Mr. Huss has had the place under his personal control for nearly three years, and has shown himself to be a very successful farmer. He was born in this county, May 27, 1866. He was reared and has always lived on the farm where he was born. He received his education in the country schools. He is the fourth son of Christian Huss, who was born in Germany, of German parentage, and came to the United States alone. Mr. Huss, Sr .. emigrated to this country in the '50s, settling in Beards- town. He purchased two other farms before he obtained his present homestead. The lat- ter he conducted himself, until the spring of 1889. He is now about sixty years of age, 21
hale and hearty, has made all of his large property since he has come to this country. He is a member of the Lutheran Church, and a stanchi Democrat. (For further family history, see biography of C. J. Huss.)
Onr subject is one of nine children, seven of whom are still living. Mr. Huss, of this notice, was married in this county to Miss Minnie Buck, born in this county, in 1868, daughter of Jasper J. Buck. (See biography of Mr. Buck for history.) She has no family, is a very smart, intelligent woman, and is one of the kind women of the commu- nity, and is so known everywhere. She and her husband are popular young people, and highly respected by all their neighbors. Mr. Huss takes quite an interest in local politics, and it may be predicted that he will be elected by the Democratic party to fill many of the offices of the county.
LFRED M. THOMPSON, a farmer and stock raiser of township 17 north, range 11 west, section 36, Virginia post office, was born on the farm where he now lives, February 27, 1850. His parents were Oswell and Elizabeth (Henderson) Thompson. Both were born near Chillicothe, Ohio, the father in 1806, and the mother, September 22, 1813. They came to Illinois . with their parents in the same year, 1827. The father's parents located on the farm which Alfred now . owns, and the mother's people located near Arcadia, Illinois. They were married here, in 1829. They had eight children: Ada, wife of I. J. Swibling, a well- to-do farmer and stock raiser near Ashland, Illinois; Mrs. Mary J. Black, the eldest, re- sides in Virginia; she has been married twice, her first husband being Mace Skiles; W.
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Howard resides in Jacksonville, Illinois, and runs a feed and sale stable; he also owns a fine tract of land near that of the subject; Sarah Ellen married Jacob Epler, who died soon after, and she married Mr. Andrew App; her home is now at Seattle, Washington, where she married her second husband; she is now in Europe; Alfred; David; Albert and Abigail; the two latter deceased, the former in childhood, the latter in middle life, leaving a family. The youngest of the family is the first child mentioned, Ada.
Alfred was reared and educated in his na- tive county, and at the State Normal School, which he attended two years. He returned home and resumned farming.
He was married in this county, September 10, 1872, to Meranda L. Payne, daughter of W. B. and Esther (Stevenson) Payne, natives of Kentucky, where Mrs. Thompson was born June 25, 1854. They have had five children : Howard, born in 1876, died in 1883, from scarlet fever; David, born in 1878, at home; Nellie died at the age of three months; Edith, born in 1881, at home; Everett, born in North Dakota, and died in infancy.
In the spring of 1883, Mr. Thompson leased his farm and went to Bismarck, North Dakota, for the purpose of recuperating his health. There he remained seven years, re- turning in a greatly improved condition. He again took possession of the farm upon which he was born, and still operates it with hired assistance. He owns a fine farm of part timber and part prairie, upon which he has made many improvements. He lives in the house in which he was born, which is in a good condition and is a building that does credit to the neighborhood.
· Mr. Thompson is a Democrat in politics, and has been School Director and Road Com- missioner. Served one year as County As-
sessor of Burley county, North Dakota, re- signing that office when he decided to return to Illinois, two years ago. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he takes a deep interest, and also in the Sunday-school work, and he subscribes liberally to the support of same.
The Thompson family were among the first settlers in the county. Few indeed can go back as they, in their residence here. The family were of German origin, though long since established in America.
Mr. Thompson owns 800 acres of land in Burley, North Dakota, which he rents, has 320 acres of wheat on it this year (1892), he furnishing the seed and receiving one-half of the threshed grain.
EORGE GREER was born near Five- mile town, county Tyrone, Ireland, Au- gust 1, 1814. His father was also a native of Ireland and was named Robert. The grandfather, George Greer, it is thought, was born on the same farm, and all were of Scotch ancestry. The grandfather was a farmer by occupation, and was also a promi- nent contractor of public works and improve- ments. He passed away in his native county. His wife, whose maiden name was Jane Mar- tin, was born in county. Fermanagh, and was also of Scotch stock. Both were members of the Methodist Church. The grandfather was an eccentric but able man, with independent views, and erected a stone church in his own yard.
The father of our subject was also a farmer. and a successful contractor and spent his en- tire life on the farm where he was born. His wife was Catherine Lendrum, who was born in the same locality, and was the daughter of
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John and Elizabetlı (Erskine) Lendrum, also of the same connty and also of Scotcli de- scent. The Erskines were very prominent people, not only in Ireland but in England also, where they were connected by ties of blood with nobility and royalty, and boasted a coat of arms, a inotto, and an honored name. Bothı the parents of our subject were Methodists. The mother caine to America at the age of forty-six years, and passed her last days at her home in Rushville. She reared a large family of thirteen children as follows: George, John, Elizabeth, Jane, Joseph, James, Robert, Eleanor, Erskine, Lendrum, Lucinda, Andrew and Alexander. All the members of this family were born in Ireland, and our subject was the first to cross the ocean, sailing from Derry on the 14thı of April, 1832, in the vessel William Ewing, and landing in Philadelphia on the 7th of June.
When our subject reached Philadelphia lie was a stranger and in limited circumstances. He soon found employment in that city, but the cholera broke out with great violence, whereupon he went to Lancaster county and engaged in farming, and there resided until the 13th of February, 1836, when he went by stage to Pittsburg, thence down the Ohio by the steamer Ben Bolt (her first trip), and up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers to Beards- town. Soon afterward he located at Rush- ville, and for some time was engaged in ex- ploring the surrounding country. In the fall of 1836 he returned to Pennsylvania, and in July, 1837, again came to Rushville, where he has since resided. For many years he was a successful merchant and was associated in business with Thomas Wilson, but is now re- tired. He has been one of the most substantial and upright of Rushville's business men.
On the 6th of April, 1837, he was united in marriage to Miss Ann J. Clark, a native
of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Her par- ents were Jolin and Eleanor (Greer) 'Clark. Mr. and Mrs. Greer have two children living, Susanna and Almira D. The former is the wife of Henry Brown, and has three living children: Olie, Eleanor and Lynn; Almira is the wife of Edwin P. McClure, and has two children, George H. and Margaret M. Mr. and Mrs. Greer are Methodists, and he is a straight Republican.
ESSE WIGHT, farmer of township 17, range 10 west, Little Indian post office, was born in Delaware county, New York, February 13, 1828. His parents were Har- vey and Judith (Jenkins) Wight-father born in New Jersey and the mother near Bunker Hill, Massachusetts. Both died the same week in New York State. Of a family of twelve, Jesse was the second youngest. The family has been scattered, some to Micliigan, others to Pennsylvania and one to Illinois.
Jesse came to Beardstown on May 1. 1846, and hired out to work on a farm in this pre- cinet, where lie continued to work in that way for four or five years. He then rented land for several years, and about thirty years ago purchased his first real estate in Illinois. He was raised and educated in ' New York, and left there at twenty-two. Mr. Wight, by industry and economy, has accumulated a snug property, where he now lives in com- parative ease. He owns a fine farm of 107 acres in a good state of cultivation, and raises grain and stock. Mr. Wight has never seen any of his father's relations, and lience knows but little of his family's genealogy.
He was married here in 1851, to Margaret Taylor, of Montgomery county, Ohio, who was born in 1826. Mr. and Mrs. Wight have
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eight children: Abigail, the eldest, married Taylor Berry, and lives in Morgan county; William is a farmer and lives in Nebraska, where also lives John I .; Amos Harvey lives on his father's farın; Lizzie J. Parker is now a widow and resides at home with her father; Mollie is still unmarried and lives at home. Mr. and Mrs. Wight are members of the Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Wight is a member of the Republican party. He has held various positions of trust in the pre- cinct.
Amos Harvey, the youngest son of the above, now managing his father's farm, was born in this precinct, February 14, 1859. He grew to manhood on the farm and at- tended the public schools. He was a farmer one year in Dakota and was otherwise employed there for onc year. He was also one season in Nebraska, herding cattle and running a threshing machine.
He was married, January 15, 1891, to Ollie Gilpin, born in Morgan county, Illinois, June 9, 1871. Her parents were James and Becky Gilpin. Her father was a soldier dur- ing the late war and is a pensioner. Mr. and Mrs. Wight have one child, Nettie May, born January 9, 1892. Mrs. Wight died at their home August 24, 1892. Mr. Wight is a member of the I. O. O. F., and in politics is a Republican.
AMUEL E. ELLIS, a citizen of Little- ton township, is so closely identified with the history of Schuyler county that this volume would not be complete were an outline of his career omitted from its pages. He was born in Oakland township, Schuyler county, Illinois, April 30, 1846, a son of James and Nancy (Harmon) Ellis.
James Ellis was a native of Mason county, Kentucky, a son of Elijah and Phoebe (Pay- ton) Ellis, natives of Virginia; his parents emigrated to Kentucky at an early day and engaged in agricultural pursuits; later they came to Illinois, where they passed the re- maider of their days; both lived to be eighty- four years of age. Their son, James, was reared to the occupation of a farmer, and in 1844 he came to Illinois and settled on the land where Samuel E. was born; he purchased a quarter section for $1,200, and undertook the task of placing it under cultivation; there were few improvements, and the dwelling was a small log-cabin; this furnished them shelter four years, when a frame building was erected, in which Mr. Ellis lived until he passed from this life at the age of seventy-seven years. Politically he supported the Republican party, and took an active part in local affairs ; he was Assessor and Collector, and a member of the School Board for many years. He was one of the leading members of the Christian Church, and did the work of a pioneer in the cause of Christianity. He and Simon Doyle were Trustees of the society. Mr. Ellis was twice married: his first wife, Nancy Harmon, bore him seven children, of whom Samuel E. is the youngest; she was born in Bracken county, Kentucky, and died in Schuyler county, Illinois, at the age of thirty-four years. Her parents, Samnel and Elizabeth Harmon, were natives of Kentucky, and passed their lives in the Blue-grass State. The Harmon family is of German descent, and the Ellis family is of Scotch lineage.
Samuel E. Ellis had superior educational advantages in.his youth, and made the most of his opportunities; he attended the district school, and was a student at Abingdon Col- lege, Knox county, Illinois, after which he entered the teacher's profession, which he
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followed for more than twenty years. He was united in marriage to one of his pupils, March 12, 1874; her maiden name was Julia E. Jones, a native of this county, and a dangh- ter of James W. and Harriet E. Jones; her parents removed from Ohio to Illinois in 1854, and settled in Schuyler county at Pleasant View; the father died at the age of fifty-nine years, but the mother still survives; they had born to them a family of ten chil- dren, only three of whom are living. Tlie father and a son, George W., were soldiers in the late war, and died of disease contracted while in the service.
Mr. Ellis enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, in 1864, and re-enlisted in February, 1865, in Company I, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Although the period of liis service was com- paratively short he was in many important engagements, and at Memphis lost an ear; lie receives a small pension, which is totally inadequate, in consideration of the injury received.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Ellis consists of eight children: Jessie H., Lulu M., Laura G., Emma Z., Fannie L., Anna Belle, Ida M. and Carrie B .; Virgil died in infancy. The parents are members of the Christian Church, and since 1867 Mr. Ellis has been alı Elder of the same; for twelve years he has been superintendent of the Sabbath-school. He and Sinon Doyle were the principals and furnished most of the money to build tlie Christian Church in 1871-'72 He is a member of Colonel Horney Post, G. A. R., and has been an active worker in the organ- ization for years; he belongs to Lodge No. 24, I. O. O. F. Politically he adheres to the principles of the Republican party, and cast his first vote for General Grant's first term.
He was once elected Justice of the Peacc, but did not serve.
In 1888 he purchased the farm on which he now lives with his family; the tract coll- tains over 200 acres, and is one of the most desirable in the township. Of late years Mr. Ellis has abandoned the profession of teach- ing, having made an admirable record as an educator. He now devotes his time to agri- cultural pursuits, and is meeting with gratify- ing success.
ILLIAM T. PRICE, a progressive farmer of Virginia precinct, Cass county, Illinois, was born in Mor- gan county, same State, November 6, 1840. His parents wereAdam and Susan (Ros- enberger) Price, both of German descent, and natives of Rockinghanı county, Virginia, where they lived to maturity and were mar- ried. In 1833 they removed to Morgan county, Illinois, where the fatlier entered and improved a large tract of Government land. In 1852 they moved to Virginia precinct, Cass county, where they settled on a farm on which they passed the remainder of their lives. The greatly esteemed and la- mented father passed away February 1, 1875, his worthy wife surviving him until Septem- ber, 1881. They, with five infant children, are interred in Bethlehem cemetery, the ground of which was donated by them for a public burial place. They were both devout Christians, who rendered valuable service for many years to the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which the father filled, at differ- ent times, all the offices ever conferred on lay members. "Uncle Adam," as he was familiarly known, was a person of marked individuality and strong convictions, whose
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sterling integrity and earnest advocacy of all principles of justice won for him many friends where he was so well known. Of their twelve children, seven attained ma- turity, six now living (1892). John W., the eldest son, is a large landowner in Wilson county, Kansas. He married Maria Ganse, an estimable lady, and botlı are prominent in clinrch and social circles. William T., whose name heads this biography, is the next in order of birth; Anna Eliza married James V. Rawlings, a prosperous farmer of Virginia precinct; Adam C. is a successful farmer of Douglas county, Illinois; Mary E. married Charles E. Strickler, of Sibley, Iowa; Amanda J., unmarried, resides in Virginia; and Sarah E., the youngest, married Alfred Griffin, of Nokomis, Illinois, and died in 1885.
the subject of this sketch spent his boy- hood and early manhood on his father's farm and obtained a rudimentary education in the public schools. Amid these rural, peaceful scenes, he passed his time in the companion- ship of parents and friends until lie attained his majority, when this happy state was rudely broken by the discordant notes of war. With youthful enthusiasmn and patriot- * ism, he enlisted in Company D, One Hun- dred and Fourteenth Illinois Volunteer In- fantry for three years. He participated, with his command in the siege of Vicksburg and in many of the numerous battles which occurred in and around that almost invulner- able stronghold. In the engagement at Guntown, Mississippi, his regiment suffered severely, many being killed or wounded, while the remainder, including the subject of this notice, were captured and incarcer- ated in the prison at Andersonville, where Mr. Price was confined four months. He was eventually transferred to Millen, Georgia,
via Savannah, that State; and, a month later, was sent to Florence, South Carolina, arriv- ing there November 28, and remaining there until February of the following year. He was then sent, with other prisoners, to Richmond, Virginia, there paroled and sent Nortlı, and on arriving in St. Louis was granted thirty days' furlonglı. When in prison, Mr. Price gladly exchanged a valn- able watch for an old, ragged blanket, consid- ering it one of the best trades of his life. He was in the prison at Andersonville when five comrades were hung for stealing from their mates, whom they murdered to con- ceal their theft. A court, organized from among thie prisoners, passed sentence on them and witnessed the execution. It was also while he was in prison that the "Provi- dence" spring burst forth, originating as if by magic and yielding to the famishing prisoners an abundant supply of cold water of clearest crystal.
On the expiration of his furlough, he re- turned to Montgomery, Alabama, and three weeks later the war closed and he returned to his home, resuming the duties which had been interrupted three years before.
On December 29, 1870, he was married to Angusta R., daughter of William and Eliza- beth (Clutch) Marshall, pioneers of Cass county, James Marshall, her grandfather, having located in the county as early as 1825. Her father was of Scotch descent; while her mother was of Welsh ancestry, who emigrated to America in Colonial times, was in Waynesville, Ohio, and reared a Quakeress. Her father entered and im- proved the land on which Mr. Price's house now stands, while the beautiful, towering, maple trees which adorn the place are at- tractive memorials of his taste and enterprise, being planted half a century ago by his
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hands. This was his home until deathı, when liis widow and three children removed to Jacksonville, this State, where Mrs. Price was married. Her mother remained there until her death in 1874. In 1883, Mr. Price was called upon to mourn the death of his wife, which occurred on the old home- stead.
tural pursuits.
ex perience, Mr. Price has followed agricul- With the exception of his three years' war
Politically he affiliates with the Republi- can party. Religionsly, he is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, · and contributes liberally to the advancement of that and all other worthy objects.
AMES A. DAVIS, farmer and stock- grower, post office, Virginia, Illinois, was born one and one-half miles southi of Ashland, Cass county, Illinois, Octo- ber 29, 1824. His parents, James and Elizabeth (Foster) Davis came to Cass county in 1822. The father settled on Indian creek, where he improved a little farm, which he afterward lost by another man " entering him out." He was born in Kentucky in 1796, coming here from Monroe county, and died, March 6, 1856, in this county. Mother was born in Cumberland county, Tennessee, in 1800, and is still living. She resides with her son George, who owns the old homestead in township 17, range 11. She was the mother of fourteen children, eight of whomn are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Davis, Sr, moved from Ashland to the place where the mother now lives, when James, Jr., was four years old. Here he grew to manhood, was taught in the subscription schools of that day and was reared a farmer. At twenty
years of age he learned the house carpenter trade wliich he followed until seven years ago. He worked five years in Beardstown, afterward returned to his home neighborhood, where he worked fifteen years inside five miles of his home, and was never out of a job.
He was married in Beardstown in 1849, to Martha A., daughter of Philip Schaeffer, a farmer wlio had come from Montgomery, Ohio, in 1832. Her birth was September 16, 1830. Mr. Davis has witnessed a won- derful development in Cass county during his sixty-eight years' residence here. His first memory of the country is as a vast wilder- ness, the settlers few and far between, with only occasionally a horse-power mill where the farmers had their grists ground by turns, often remaining all day to get one sack of corn ground. Mr. Davis has seen men reapª ing wheat on ground which is now covered with heavy timber, the early settlers prefer- ring to clear up the timber land, some of which has since gone back to its primitive state. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have six children: Minerva, wife of Richard Way, residing in Cass county; Valentine, residing in Butler county, Nebraska, a farmer: Sarah Ellen, who wedded A. C. Robinson, living near Virginia, Illinois; James Philo, residing three miles south of Virginia; Cyrus Ed- ward resides six miles east of the same place, and Charles L., a farmer living in Donglas county, Illinois. On July 21, 1884, `Mr. Davis suffered the loss of liis estimable wife, to whom he had been married thirty-eight years. A glowing tribute to her memory, as a lady of great worth, appears in a clipping in the local paper, in which appears thie ac- tion of the I. O. O. F. lodge in the premises, of which she and her husband were valued members. She was a worthy member of the
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Union Baptist Church. Mr. Davis was mar. ried to his second wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, March 16, 1887. Her maiden name was Thompson, and she was born in Ohio in 1840, They are both members of the Union Bap- tist Church, in Virginia, and takes an active interest in Sunday-school and church work. He is a member of Saxon Lodge, No. 68, I. O. O. F., and of Advance Encampment, both located at Virginia. He has held vari- ons official positions in this town. Hc voted the Democrat ticket until the nomination of Tilden, when he voted the Greenback ticket for several years, but is now a Prohibitionist and has always advocated temperance and sobriety, and the legal control of the liquor traffic. He joined the Sons of Temperance in 1849, and has worked for the cause all his life. He uses neither tobacco nor liquor, and · is one of the representative men of Cass county, and his family is one of the first established here.
ILLIAM I. LARASH, editor and proprietor of the Rushville Citizen, a weekly newspaper devoted to the interests of the people, is a native of Penn- sylvania, born at Allentown, Lehigh county, October 2, 1851. His father, Isaac Larash, was also a native of the Keystone State, and his grandfather was descended from the French Huguenots; the latter was a planter by -oc cupation, and passed his life in Pennsylvania; the father learned the tailor's trade, and car- ried on that business at Catasauqua, Penu- sylvania; thence he removed to Illinois in 1852, and followed his trade in this State for several years. Hc finally purchased a farm in Spring Lake township, Tazewell county, and still resides there. He married Esther
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