USA > Illinois > Brown County > Biographical review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing biographical sketches of pioneers and leading citizens > Part 41
USA > Illinois > Cass County > Biographical review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing biographical sketches of pioneers and leading citizens > Part 41
USA > Illinois > Schuyler County > Biographical review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing biographical sketches of pioneers and leading citizens > Part 41
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Lancaster was honorably discharged with his regiment at Louisville, Kentucky, in Septem- ber, 1865, and returned to his home in Har- rison county, Kentucky. In February, 1866, he came to Cass county, Illinois, and engaged in farming near Ashland, continuing there till December, 1874, when he was appointed Deputy by Sheriff William Epler, and con- tinued as such till December, 1876, the expiration of Mr. Epler's term of office. From that tinie till February, 1890, he was engaged in the livery business. In 1890, he received the appointment of Postmaster, at Virginia, which position he now holds.
In March, 1880, Captain Lancaster niar- ried Miss Sue Heaton, a native of Cass county, Illinois, and a daughter of Jolin and Mary J. Heaton. They have two children, Earl and Iva.
Politically, he has always been a stanch Republican. He is a member of Dawning Post, No. 321, G. A. R., Department of Illi- nois. Mrs. Lancaster is a member of the Christian Church.
HOMAS JONES, a retired farmer of Schuyler county, residing at Rushville, was born in Herefordshire, England, October 7, 1825. His father, John Jones, was a native of Radnorshire, Wales, and wlien a young man removed thence to Here- fordshire, England, where he was married. He remained there until 1850, when he emi- grated to America; for a few months he lived in Pennsylvania, and thence canie to Illinois and located in Brown county; he purchased forty acres of land near Mount Sterling, and for a number of years was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits; later he moved to Mount Sterling, and died tliere, in the ninetieth year
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of his age. His first wife, the mother of the subject of this notice, was Lydia Trull, a na- tive of Herefordshire, England; she died in Brown county, Illinois, having reared a fam- ily of four children, -Eliza, Thomas, John and William,- all of whom emigrated to the United States. Thomas Jones was reared in Herefordshire, and at the age of sixteen years went to learn the carpenter's trade, serving an apprenticeship of three years. In 1850 he crossed the sea to America with luis fani- ily; they sailed front Liverpool in March, on the vessel William Rathbun, and landed at New York city after a voyage of two months. Mr. Jones went directly to Newcastle, Penn- sylvania. His means were exhausted, in fact were worse than exhausted, as he had bor- rowed the money for his passage to America. He worked at his trade in this place until the following year, and then came to Illinois; he traveled by stage and canal to Pittsburg, and thence via the Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois rivers to Meredosia, and thence by team to Mount Sterling. He purchased eighty acres of land in Brown county, the greater portion of which was heavily timbered; there he be- gan his career as a farmer, and has met witlı more than ordinary success; he rented a a house for a time, but finally built on his own place, and as his means increased made additional investments in land until he is now the proprietor of 430 acres; he also owns a residence in Rushville, built after a modern style of architecture and surrounded by beau- tiful grounds. Here Mr. Jones lives a re- tired life, having earned the repose due his years.
He has been three times married: In Here- fordshire, England, at the age of twenty-two years, he was united to Jane Preece, a native of that shire; she died March 27, 1871. The second wife was Minerva Gillenwaters, of
Schuyler county, Illinois, a daugliter of Joel and Margaret Gillen waters, pioneers of the county; she died January 3, 1890. In Sep- tember, 1890, he was united to Ann J, (Nall) Ford, who was born in Rushville township, July 24, 1835, a daughter of Gabriel Nall. Mr. Jones has eleven children living: by tlie first marriage were born; America J., wife of Henry Bartlett; Elmina A., wife of Henry Henhoff; Henry Clay; Walter W .; Thomas P .; Orvilla A .; Susan W. and Lilly May; the children of the second union are, Robert W., John P. and Margaret M. Mrs. Jones has one child by her first marriage, George Will- iamn Tutt. Mr. Jones was reared to the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but in later life he joined the Presbyterian Church. In early days he was a Whig, but for many years past he has affiliated with the Demno- cratic party.
Gabriel Nall, father of Mrs. Jones, was born in Scott county, Kentucky, December 23, 1811, a son of Lewis Nall, a native of Virginia, who was a pioneer of Scott county, Kentucky. Her grandfather purchased land nine miles west of Georgetown, and there passed the remainder of his days; his wife's maiden name was Jane Nall, also a Virginian by birth. Gabriel Nall emigrated from Scott conuty, Kentucky, to Illinois, in 1835, and engaged in agricultural pursuits; he owned different tracts of land, and was very successful; in 1887 he retired from active pur- suits and came to Rushville to live. He was married in 1834, to Catherine Curtis, who was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, April 25, 1818. Four children were born to them: Ann, Drusilla, Marietta and William F. They have twenty-six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Mrs. Jones has been married three times; her first husband was George W. Tutt, a native of Kentucky; he
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died in 1852; the second marriage was to Jared P. Ford, a native of Indiana, who came to Illinois in 1857; he died in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Nall are consistent and worthy members of the Missionary Baptist Church.
ENRY S. SAVAGE was born in Mor- gan county, Illinois, April 22, 1824. His father, John Savage, was a native of New York State. He emigrated from there to Illinois, making the journey with teams, and becoming one of the first settlers of Morgan county. He located at Diamond Grove, near Jacksonville, and worked at the trade of carpenter for some time. Hc built the first frame house ever erected in Jackson- ville. From Morgan le came to Cass county, and settled six miles south west of the present site of Virginia. Here he bought a tract of land, built a log house, and subsequently a frame one, and passed the rest of his life on this farm. In politics he was a Whig until the organization of the Republican party, when he identified himself with it. He served as Sheriff of the county. His wife, Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Guy Smith, Esq., was a native of New York. She died on the home farm. The names of their seven children are as follows: Emily, wife of Hon. John W. Pratt; Spencer; George; Henry; Harriet, wife of O. J. Silverthorn; John W .; and Charles W.
Henry S. was reared and educated in Cass county. He remained on the farm till he was sixteen, when he engaged in clerking in Virginia. He clerked here some years and was then employed in the same capacity in Beardstown. He subsequently purchased a farm south of Virginia, and devoted his time to farming, residing there at the time of
his death, March 29, 1865, meeting deatlı by accident, having been thrown from a horse. Like liis father, he was first a Whig and after- ward a Republican.
January 10, 1844, he married Sarah Frances Ward, who was born in Scott county, Kentucky, August 8, 1828. Her father, Jacob Ward, was born in Kentucky in 1800, his parents being natives of Virginia and pioneers of Scott county, Kentucky. Grand- mother Ward died in Scott county, and grandfather Ward afterward moved to Mis- souri, where he spent his last years. Jacob Ward was reared and married in Kentucky, and came to Illinois in 1830, making the journey overland with teams. He located near the present site of Arcadia, where he engaged in farming for a short time, after whichi he moved into the village of Arcadia and opened a dry-goods and grocery store, at the same time operating a blacksmith and wagon shop and conducting a hotel. Indeed, he was the proprietor of the greater portion of the business there. A number of years later he moved to Cass county, and bought a farm three miles south of the city of Vir- ginia. From this he subsequently moved to a farm on the State road, near Virginia, and was a resident there at the time of his death. He was a prominent and influential man. He served as Associate Judge of the county, having been elected in 1851. The maiden name of his wife was Eliza J. Stevenson. She was born in Kentucky, in 1807, spent her last years in Cass county, Illinois, and died on the farm near Virginia.
Mrs. Savage was small when her parents inoved to Illinois. She remembers well the incidents of their pioneer life here, and vividly describes the primitive log school honses with their rude furnishings. She resided with her parents till her marriage,
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and for some years past has occupied a beauti- ful home in Virginia. She has five children living, viz .: Charles W., Edward E., Lewis L., Ella Belle and Henry S. Charles W. married Kittie Kelly and has five children; Louise, Bertha May, Harriet, Katie and Chase. Edward E. married Alice Heaton and has four children: Henry H., Walter W., Bessie and Zella. Lewis L. married Emma L. Stribling and has five children: Ada F., Charles J., Fred D., Lewis L. and Tom. Ella Belle is the wife of Henry W. Collins, her children being G. Ward and Elizabeth.
Mr. and Mrs. Savage both joined the Christian Church before their marriage.
EV. FATHER MERSCHER, the pop- ular and efficient pastor of St. Augus- tine's Catholic Church, Ashland, Illi- nois, was born in Clinton county, this State, December 4, 1853. His parents were natives of Hanover, Germany, who came to America in 1845, landing in New Orleans, in January of that year. From there they came to Clin- ton county, Illinois, where they located on a farm which the Rev. Merscher's father con- tinued to conduct until about 1882, when lie removed to Nodaway county, Missouri, where he lived until his death, ten years later, Jan- uary 14, 1892. It may be truly said of him that he inherited all of the good qualities for which the inhabitants of the Fatherland are noted, being thoroughly industrious, hon- est, intelligent, and extremely kind-hearted, in consequence of which he was universally esteemed by his associates, who greatly la- mented his death. Three years previous to his death, the family were called upon to mourn the loss of the devoted wife and mother, who expired February 2, 1889. Her
devout spirit, loving heart, and rare Chris- tian virtues, deeply impressed all who knew her, and she enjoyed the esteem of a wide circle of acquaintances and friends. Tlie only brother of the subject of this sketch, B. Henry Merscher, died six months after liis mother's death, August 24, 1889, in the same place, Nodaway, county.
Our subject, whose Christian name is John Williamn, obtained his elementary education in the public schools of Clinton county. He then went to St. Joseph's College, at Tentop- olis, Illinois, entering in 1866, and attend- ing four years. After this, he attended St. Francis' Seminary, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, graduating at that noted institution in 1876. While at this latter center of learning, he enjoyed the tutorage of some of the most distinguished men of the Catholic world, among whom were the late lamented Bishop Flasch, of LaCrosse, and Archbishop Katzer, of Milwaukee.
Thus fully equipped, both by instruction and example, he began his ministerial duties in January 12, 1877, at Olney, Illinois, and conducted the services in three churches in that vicinity, at Olney, Stringtown and Bridgeport, continuing in their charge until February, 1884. He was then transferred to Petersburg, of the same State, and con- ducted services there and at Ashland, with his residence at the former place. In 1885, these churches were placed in separate juris- dictions, and Father Merscher removed to Ashland, where he lias since remained, hav- ing taken charge of the church in February, 1884. Here he has everything to encourage him in his work, a beautiful church and an attractive parsonage, of modern architectural design, both of which are handsomely finished and neatly furnished. He has charge of a large and intelligent congregation, number-
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ing some eighty-five or ninety families, among whom he has many sincere friends and well wishers.
Thus pleasantly situated, and in the steady pursuance of the path of duty as spread out before him, his time is usefully and happily passed, finding in good works a companion- ship for his otherwise lonely life.
ILLIAM H. BRACKENRIDGE. The subject of this sketch was born in Washington county, Ohio, Novem- ber 28, 1835. His father, William, was born , in Scotland, in 1805, and came from his na- tive land to Illinois, in 1829, when twenty- four years of age. He was a farmer, and was married to Margaret Harvey, who died, Feb- ruary 11, 1845, leaving our subject, the only child. She was a native of Scotland, and made a good, faithful wife the short time she lived. Her husband was married a second time, to Ellen Reid, of Virginia, by whom he had three children.
W. H. was reared on the farm, and like hundreds of other farmer boys he received a commnon-school education. At the age of twenty-two he entered a store in Missouri, as a clerk, where he remained four years, and then came to Versailles, May, 1861. Here lie volunteered in defense of his country, August, 1862, entering the One Hundred and Nineteenth Illinois Infantry, Company D, as a Second Lieutenant, being honorably dis- charged after two years and four months of service, on account of failing health. He then returned to Versailles and resumed his clerking, after he had recovered his health.
Mr. Brackenridge was married, October, 1865, to Amanda C. Vandeventer, daughter
of Jethro Vandeventer and Jane Olford, natives of Virginia.
Mr. Brackenridge began the mercantile business for himself, in 1866, and has con- tinued doing a thriving business most of the time since. In 1884, he was elected to the Legislature, and was one of the immortal 103 who supported John A. Logan, whom lie adinired extremely and whose meinory he re- veres. It is hardly necessary to add that Mr. Brackenridge has been a Republican of the first order, maintaining the principles of that party through thick and thin. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being a Blue Lodge Mason. He and his estimable wife are highly respected and esteemed throughout Versailles.
HRISTIAN DUCHARDT was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, June 25, 1818. Both his parents and grandpar- ents were natives of that country and passed their lives there. His father, Karl Duchardt, was a butcher by trade and carried on that business. Of his eight children, four caine came to America, viz .: John, who settled in Beardstown and died there; Christian; William, a resident of Beardstown; and Mary who was married and died in that place.
Christian Duchardt attended school until he was seventeen years of age, at which time he came to America; sailed from Hamburg in September, 1836, on the Franklin, and six weeks later landed at New York, from whence he came direct to Beardstown, Illinois, land- ing here a poor boy. The journey from New York to this place was made via the Hudson river, Erie canal, the lakes and canal, and the Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois rivers. At that time Beardstown was a small place and
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Cass county was sparsely settled, much of the land being owned by the Government and for sale at $1.25 per acre.
Mr. Duchardt worked at his trade, that of butcher, until his marriage, when he bought eighty acres of land, in section 22, township 18, range 10, covered at the time of purchase with a growth of brush. He bought a log cabin in Virginia, moved it to this place, and commenced at once the work of clearing and improving his farm, and here he has since lived. He has bonght other land at differ- ent times, prosperity has rewarded his efforts and he is now regarded as one of the substan- tial men of his vicinity. Nor has his whole time and attention been given to making money. He devotes much time to reading and is well posted on the general topics of the day; is public-spirited and generous, always supporting those measures that tend to ad- vance the best interests of the community where he lives.
In 1846 Mr. Duchardt married Mary A. Nellsch, a native of Wittenberg, Germany. They have two children, John and Lizzie. Jobn was born February 28, 1851. He has the management of the home farm. Lizzie was married March 21, 1882, to William Needham, and has one child, Mary Anu.
Mr. and Mrs. Duchardt and their daughter, Mrs. Needliam, are members of the Method- ist Episcopal Church.
AUL P. PHILIPPI, one of the leading and successful young farmers of Cass county, lives on a farin consisting of 200 acres on sections 8 and 5, township 17, range 11, where he was born October 16, 1854. Hc was reared here by good parents and educated in the public schools and at a
German institute in St. Louis. He has al- ways been a farmer and also very industrious, and as he is yet a young man the prospect looks very bright for him. He is the young- est of a family of ten children, five yet living. One, Louisa, wife of John E. Fuhr, a farmer of Christian county, Missouri. The eldest, Mrs. Annie Bohemna, is now deceased, and one brother, Victor, fought through the Rebellion for over four years as a private volunteer. He was never wounded or captured, but had a sunstroke in battle and is now dead, leaving a wife and eight children. Herman, a farmer in this. county, married Mary Winhold; Bertha is the wife of Ferdinand Winhold, a farmer in this county; Armeda now lives with Paul. Bertha Amelia died when sinall, and Charles died aged 24.
The father, Pompeius Philippi, was a native of Hamburg, being the eldest of the family of whom the mother and all the children came to the United States, the father having died in Germany. Pompeius Philippi was the inventor of several improvements, which were patented. The last patent issued to him was dated January 24, 1882, for what is now the leading automatic straw-stacker. The family left April 24, 1834, and after a jour- ney of sixty-two days landed in New York. The mother had her three sons, Porupeins, Julius and Victor and her one daughter, Louisa. From New York they came to Cin- cinnati, Ohio, and later joined the twin brothers, Cæsar and Alexander, at Hamilton, where they had settled when they came over some time before. The family all came West in 1834. Cæsar went to New Or- leans, where he was married and where he has since lived, being a book-keeper in the Con- sumers' Ice Company. He is now eighty years old. The other living children are Dr. Julius, who is a widower with two sons and
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is eighty-four years old, and is yet smart and active. Another brother, Alexander, is now eighty years old, is married and in St. Louis. The family is remarkable for its health and activity. They all are free- thinkers. One brother, Victor, noted for civil engineering, died in year 1842. . The mother died when an old lady at Arenzville.
The father of our subject was a faithful inan. He was married in Germany to Caro- line Richelman of Hamburg, Germany. She was a very beloved woman in all respects, who came with her husband to the United States in 1834 and afterward lived in Cass county. Here she and her husband improved a large farın of 200 acres, now owned by our subject and named Fair View. Here the father and mother died, the former in 1887 and the latter eleven months later. The father was eighty-one years old at death. They had been married fifty-four years and the wife was seventy-seven years old at her death. They were good people and Freethinkers. Mr. Philippi was a Re- publican, but not an office seeker. They were recognized as pioneers who helped build up the county.
Our subject and brothers are all Republi- caus in politics. He has never married and is a reliable good farmer of the county.
SRAEL HILL, one of the pioneer farmers of Oakland township, was born in Indi- ana, in 1827, a son of Ishmael Hill, a native of North Carolina, born in October, 1808; when the latter was a child of seven years he was taken to Tennessee, where he lived until a youth of seventeen. The paternal grand- father, Ephraim Hill, was a prosperons farmer and distiller in Tennessee. He re-
moved to Indiana about 1825, and here his son, Ishinael, was married to Miss Elizabeth Wright, a native of Kentucky and a daugh- ter of William and Catherine (Rusher) Wright. This young couple emigrated to Illinois in 1828 with their infant son, Israel; they made the journey overland in the early spring, and came directly to Rushville where they settled on a squatter's claim of 160 acres, eight miles north of the village. Some years later Mr. Hill bought a farın of one hundred and twenty acres in Oakland township. It was wild and heavily tim- bered, but he went to work with a will, and, assisted by lie son, succeeded in making one of the most desirable farmns in this section. He resided here until 1878, when he sold the farm to his son, and bought another tract south of Macomb in McDonough county, where he spent the last years of his life. His wife died in 1875, leaving him with a family of eight children; they buried two infant sons; the names of the other children are as follows: Rhoda, Mary, Sarah, Martha, Margaret, Millie A. and Nancy; all are married and have families. Mr. Hill is the only son.
He was married April 4, 1850, to Miss Lonisiana Pemberton, a daughter of Thomas Pemberton of Kentucky; the mother's maiden name was Deborah Moore, and she was a daughter of Ephraim Moore, also of Ken- tucky. Mr. and Mrs. Hill have had a family of ten children, two of whom died in in- fancy ; Minerva J., wife of Thomas Schroder, died at the age of twenty-one years, leaving one daughter; Amanda is now the wife of Thomas Schroder; Eliza married A. J. Heaton; Columbia A. is at home; Deborah, wife of George W. Young; Cora and John are at home; J. N. married a Miss Smith, and they have three children, Wilmar, aged
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BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF · OASS,
six years, Myrtle, aged four, and Roscoe, aged thirteen months. Mr. Hill bought 120 acres in 1858, to which he added 80 acres in 1871; in 1878 he purchased his father's farın and later added eighty-six acres to the original purchase of 120 acres. InNovember, 1891, lie bought a home in Vermont, where he lives retired from active life.
He has served his town as Supervisor sev- eral terms, and lias held other minor offices. He was in his early days a Whig, but now affiliates with the Democratic party. He has been very successful in business, and from a small beginning he has accumulated a large estate; he owns 415 acres of good [and, well improved, and by a life of honor and integrity has attracted to himself a large number of warm friends, and has won the confidence of the entire community.
IELDS E. DAVIS, who has been for inany years identified with the leading farmers of Schuyler county, is a native of the State of Tennessee, born in Greene county, in 1827, a son of Paul Davis; the paternal grandfather was Fields Davis. Paul Davis was reared in Tennesseee, and there married Saralı Huff, a daughter of Elias Huff. In 1827, accompanied by his wife and child he emigrated to Illinois, and located in what is now Rushville township. He re- mained here a few months and went to In- diana, and lived near New Albany until 1837, and tlien returned to Schuyler county, and rented land on which he passed the last days of his life. Elias Huff removed from Ten- nessee to Illinois in 1827, and settled in Schuyler county; after a few years he re- moved to McDonough county, Illinois,
where he died. Mrs. Sarah H. Davis died in Hancock county, Illinois. Fields E. Davis was an infant when his parents first pene- trated the wilds of Schuyler county, and was a lad of ten when they returned to the State. He received his education in the pioneer schools, and has a vivid recollection of the puncheon floors, puncheon seats and punch- eon desks, the finishings and furnishings be- ing of alınost the same pattern. He re- mained under the parental roof until he was seventeen years old, when he went to learn the cooper trade; this he followed until 1846, when lie enlisted in the Mexican war. He soon fell ill, and was discharged on account of disability; he was in Texas at this time, but returned to his home, and resumed his former occupation. This he pursued until 1851, when he took a trip to the Territory of Minnesota, going via the river to St. Paul which was then a rather straggling village. He returned in the autumn of the same year, worked at his trade, and in the spring of 1855, started for California. This long and weary journey was inade across the plains with ox teams, when there were no settle- ments between the Missouri river and the Pacific coast, excepting the military posts and the Mormons at Salt Lake. He started in March, and reached the Golden State in the following August. He first engaged in min- ing, the all-absorbing occupation, and after- ward followed farmning. In 1857 he returned to the East, coming via the Isthmus of Pan- ama. He worked at his trade for two years, and then purchased a farm consisting of 160 acres; this he has by industry and toil brought to high state of cultivation, and he has made many valuable improvements; he lias erected good, substantial buildings, all conveniently arranged for farming purposes. He is a thoroughly self-made inan, and it is through
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