USA > Illinois > Brown County > Biographical review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing biographical sketches of pioneers and leading citizens > Part 71
USA > Illinois > Cass County > Biographical review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing biographical sketches of pioneers and leading citizens > Part 71
USA > Illinois > Schuyler County > Biographical review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing biographical sketches of pioneers and leading citizens > Part 71
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EV. JOHN W. HAYES, general fariner on section 7, township 17, range 11, was born in Clark county, Missouri, but was reared in Schuyler county, Illinois. He is the son of George W. Hayes, a native of Kentucky, and own cousin of ex-President Hayes. His mother was a relation of J. Q. Adams. Mr. George Hayes came to Indi- ana when a young inan, and followed his trade of general mechauic and cooper carpenter. Here he was married to Martha Fifier, of Jennings county. Here he lived for a few years, and then moved to Missouri, coming to Schuyler county, Illinois, in 1862, and began life as a farmer. Later he settled in Rushville, and there the wife and mother died, in 1886, when in middle life. Mr. Hayes still lives in Rushville, and is sixty- six years of age. He is a Methodist, as is his
wife. He was a Democrat. He has three living children: Nancy, wife of Mr. Lee of Rushville; L. Jennie, wife of M. B. Woods, living at Havana, Illinois, and John W.
John W. Hayes has been in this place only a short time, formerly living in Schuy- ler county, Illinois, where he had lived the most of his life after lie was five years old.
He was married in Schuyler county, to Annie Horton, who bore hin no children. He was married a second time, in Cass county, to Mrs. Martha E. Buck, nee Wegle, born in Cass county, where she has since lived. She is the daughter of Jeptha and Phebe (Tood) Wegle, natives of Kentucky, where they were reared and married. They came to Illinois in the '30s and settled in Brown county. Later they came to Cass county, and settled on a farm, where Mr. Wegle died, in 1861, in middle life, being born in 1812. He was a farmer, a Republi- can, and a member of the Union Baptist Church. His wife makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. John Hayes. She is quite old, being born in 1812. She is a Baptist, and was tlic inother of twelve children. Mrs. Hayes is the youngest of the nine now living, all inarried with families.
Mrs. Hayes was married for the first time in Cass county, to Stephen D. Buck, who was born on the farm he lived to own and im- prove. Here he died, September 16, 1890. He was then fifty-seven years old, being born of a family of pioncers, who came here at an early date from North Carolina. Mr. Buck was a kind husband and a good citizen, a Democrat in politics, but not an office seeker. He was the father of ten children, two de- ceased. Those living are: Flora, wife of Elza Merrot, of Cass county, a farmer; Julius H. works for a farmer in this county; Ste- phen D. and Ella, at home. Edith M., Lillian
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M., and Walter A. are triplets, and are briglit healthy children. Mr. Hayes is a minister of the Church of God, and has been the pastor of the church for several years. He is a forcible speaker, and prominent minister. His wife is a ineinber of the Baptist Churchi. Both are worthy people.
EORGE W. BARNEYCASTLE, Alder- man of the First Ward, Beardstown, and blacksmith for the Quincy railroad, was born in Bertie county, North Carolina, October 1, 1844. His father, 'George W. Barneycastle was born and spent all lıis life in Bertie county. He spent his life in farm- ing, and died at the age of seventy years. His wife died when little George was twelve years old. At the death of his mother, little George was taken by an uncle and aunt, James and Saralı Wilson, and taken by them to Cass
county, Illinois. They settled on a farm in Arenzville precinct. Here George was raised and his uncle and aunt lived and died. He learned liis trade in Beardstown under the oldest firm in the city, Jolin Webb & Co., and completed his trade a little before he was twenty-one. He then tried his hand at farming for three years, but finally entered the Quincy shops, and has since been engaged there. He has been on their pay rolls ever since 1878.
When George was eighteen, he enlisted in Company I, Third Illinois Cavalry, Captain Samuel Shelenberger in command. They went as a regiment to the front in 1864, and engaged in many small battles in the Cum- berland mountains and Mississippi, under General Hatch. After serving for about one year he was mustered out at Snelling, Min- nesota, October 20, 1865. He escaped un-
hurt and was never captured. He was always on duty and never was sick. Since the war he has lived in Beardstown most of the time and has been an enterprising citizen. He is a member of the G. A. R., McLane Post, 97, also a member of the subordinate lodge I. O. O. F., and is Past Grand Commander, having filled all the chairs. He takes an act- ive part in local politics and serves his party, Democratic, in a very proficient manner. He has been closely associated with the best in- terests of the city.
He was married in this city, to Miss Eliza- beth Dengler of Schuylkill county, Pennsyl- vania, born in 1845. She came West witlı her parents when very young, the family set- tling in Bath, Mason county. Her father and mother died when quite old, Mr. Deng- ler being an engineer.
Mr. and Mrs. Barneycastle attend the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Mrs. Barneycastle is a member. They have three children besides the one child, William, who died when young. The living children are: Lillie M., a type-writer in the office of the " Star of the West;" Clyde, at home.
OBERT ANDERSON, the capable and enterprising manager of the lumber business of J. S. & G. S. Russell, and a popular citizen of Ashland, Illinois, was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, December 22, 1842. His parents were William and Mar- tha (Kinipston) Anderson, both of whom were natives of county Tyrone, where they were married and where all of their children were born. In 1847, they came to America, and located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where both parents afterward died. This worthy couple were the parents of five chil-
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SCHUYLER AND BROWN COUNTIES.
dren, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first son. Jane, the first in order of birth, died in young womanhood, in Philadelphia; next in order was our subject; Kate, the third child, resides in Bucks county, Pennsylvania; Sarah, now Mrs. Finley, lives in Philadelphia where her husband is a carpet manufacturer; Willie was born in Philadelphia, but died in infancy.
Mr. Anderson lived with his maternal grandfather in Ireland, until he was twenty- two years of age, when, in June, 1865, lie caine to Philadelphia. He remained in the city of Brotherly Love until the fall of 1872, and was, in the meantime, on May 2, 1868, inarried there, to Miss Mary A. Lucas, who was born in his native county, in Ireland, and who had been a schoolmate of his in the beautiful Emerald Isle, in which country her parents spent their entire lives.
In 1872, Mr. Anderson came to Jackson- ville, Illinois, where he entered the employ of Russell Brothers, with whoin he has been connected ever since. In 1876, he started the business in Ashland, which he now oper- ates, which is the only lumber-yard in that city, and they enjoy a large and lucrative trade. The entire management of this large enterprise is vested in Mr. Anderson's hands. It is he who pays the men, does all the col- lecting, and handles all the money, and is, in fact, a trusted employee, whose integrity is unimpeachable and his faithfulness unsur- passed.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have four children: Robert L., twenty-four years of ageand unmar- ried, is the manager of a lumber business in Virginia, Illinois; Henrietta, is the wife of Ferdinand L. Strawn, a prominent and suc- cessful young farmer near Jacksonville, Illi- nois, to whom she was married January 6, 1892; Sarah E. and Willie Johnson are still
under the parental roof: the former, now past eighteen years of age, is an efficient teacher in the public schools of Sangamnon county; the latter is employed, during vacation, about the lumber-yard or on the farin belonging to the Russell Brothers. All of the children have liad excellent educational opportunities in the common and high schools of Ashland. Robert L., the oldest son, is a graduate of the Jacksonville Business College, and Henrietta graduated in music at the Jacksonville Con- servatory of Music, and taught that beautiful art in Ashland for several years, being very successful.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Anderson is a stanch Republican, advocating most thoroughly the principles of that party. He abhors free-trade England, and deeply sym- pathizes with his oppressed countrymen across the water. Socially, he affiliates with the I. O. O. F., Knights of Pythias and with the A. O. U. W. The entire family are earnest and useful members of Pleasant Plaius Presbyterian Church, contributing liberally to its support and advancement.
Ireland and America being such friends, it is natural that their respective countryinen should entertain the kindest regard for each other, especially if, as in Mr. Anderson's case, they are irreproachable in business and social life, inspiring all worthy men with the decpest respect and esteem.
SAAC R. GARNER, a prominent and esteeined citizen of Ashland, Illinois, and an honored veteran of the late war, was born in Cass county, Illinois, February 21, 1846. His parents were Greenberry and Mary J. (Redman) Garner, his father being a na- tive of Indiana, while his mother was born in
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BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF CASS,
Morgan county, Illinois, in which latter county their marriage took place in 1837. The father was a prominent and useful min- ister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was an active member of the Illinois confer- ence for more than forty years. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Rev. James Garner, was also an able minister of the same denomination, while four brothers of our subject's father were also ministers of the same churchi. The family was originally from Hollaad, but have been established in America since an early day. The subject of this notice was one of ten children, seven of whom are now living. Hannah E., the old- est, is the wife of Rev. G. B. Wolfe, an itinerant minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church in the Illinois Conference; Charles W., mar- ried, is a farmer in Pike county, Illinois; Isaac R., the subject of this biography; Mary A., widow of J. Bagby, resides in Ashland; Hattie E., wife of Ross Ister, lives on a farm in Pike county, Illinois; George, unmarried, is a horse trainer in Virginia, Illinois; Min- nie Lee, wife of Jerry Ritter, lives in Ash- laud; James died in childhood; William N. died aged eight years; and Elina Bell aged thirteen.
The early life of our subject was spent in school and in working in a store, up to the time of his enlistment in the army. He offered his services to the Twenty-first Illi- nois Regiment, under General Grant, but was rejected on account of his youth; a year later, however, he was accepted in Company I of the Sixty-second Illinois Infantry, and was assigned to duty in the Army of the West. For a time he served in the Sixteenth Army Corps, aud was afterward under Gen- eral Steele in the Seventeenth Corps. Mr. Garner was appointed Drum-major of his regiment, serving in that capacity most of
his army life. His duties were to drill his own band, and he was afterward detached and placed in charge of the bands of new regi- ments as drillmaster. He participated with his regiment in several skirmishes, and took part in the battle of Little Rock. It was while on board a boat, in the spring of 1864, that he met with a distressing accident, whichi destroyed his siglit, and he has been totally blind since the spring of 1866. The angnish occasioned by the deprivation of sight las been intense, and for twenty-six years he has never looked npon the face of his wife and cliildren. On May 2, 1865, he was honor- ably discharged, and at once returned to his parental home in Cass county, Illinois. He afterward entered the Blind Institution at Jacksonville, where he remained four years, taking the entire five years' course. He then engaged in selling musical instruments, in which business he continued for seven years. After this, he was for two years in the livery business at Plymouth, Hancock county. Later, he followed trading for a time, but, since coming to Ashland, about twelve years ago, he has retired from active business. He receives a liberal pension on account of his misfortunes.
Mr. Garner was married November 10, 1885, to Miss Grace E. Donglass,'a highly es- teemed lady and a daughter of W. S. and Vir- ginia (Job) Douglass, lionored pioneers of Cass county, Illinois, who now own and operate the Central Hotel, in Ashland. Mrs. Garner is the second of five children, of wliom Charles, the eldest, is unmarried, and is in the insurance business in Ashland; Edward, died in infancy; Ellen is the wife of Dr. William Bane, a practicing physician of Springfield, Illinois; William is employed in a drug store in Ashland, and is uumarried.
Mr. and Mrs. Garner have two children,
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SCHUYLER AND BROWN COUNTIES.
Harold D., born in Ashland, September 10, 1886; and Helen Lee, born September 2, 1888.
Politically, Mr. Garner is a straight Re- publican, and takes a deep interest in the affairs of his country. Socially, he is a prom- inent member of Douglass Post, No. 592, G. A. R., in Ashland.
He is a devout and useful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is active in forwarding the interests of the church, Sun- day-school and other religious and charitable enterprises.
Thus, notwithstanding his deep affliction, he does more for his fellow-men than inany others who have nothing of that kind witlı which to contend. In the inidst of all his sorrow, he is buoyed up with the sense of a duty done by which he is assisted in liberat- ing thousands of suffering humanity, who inight yet begroaning in bondage. This and the universal esteem of his associates and friends tend to brighten his otherwise dark pathway through life.
ILLIAM HARVEY MCCASKILL is one of the oldest of the native-born citizens of Illinois now residing in Brown county. He was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, July 23, 1826. His father, Daniel McCaskill, was born in North Caro- lina, and his father, John McCaskill, was born in Scotland, coming to America when a young man, locating in North Carolina, where he married a lady of Scotch birth, and spent the remainder of his days there. His son was reared and educated in his native State, but came North when a young man and engaged in teaching. He married in Indi- ana, at the age of thirty-four, and either in
the fall of 1825 or the spring of 1826 came to Illinois, making the journey overland with teams. He located in Sangamon county. At that time the State capital was at Van- dalia; Springfield was but a hamlet, and the surrounding country was sparsely settled. He engaged in teaching, and resided there until 1834, when he einigrated to Schuyler county, settling in that part now included in Pea Ridge township, Brown county. He entered a tract of Government land, aud at once built on the place. He was one of the first teachers in the county, and followed his profession for many years. Hc superin- tended the improvement of his farm, which he occupied until his death in 1851. His wife was Esther Turner, daughter of Archi- bald Turner, of Ireland, of Scottish descent.
William has been a resident of this county since his eighth year, and has witnessed the improvement and development of this sec- tion of country. Deer, wild turkeys and other game were plentiful. There were no railroads for years, and the people were obliged to convey their grain by team to a distant inarket. The people lived principally off of the products of their own farms. His father used to raise flax and sheep, and his mother manufactured all the cloth used in the family, dressing the children in home- spun made by her own hands.
William received an ordinary education, but began when very young to assist his father on the farm. After his inarriage he settled on a farın on section 1, where he re- sided until 1864, when he settled on the old homestead, which he had bought from the other heirs. The farm, which is well im- proved, contains 240 acres; besides this he has a farm of ninety acres in Bates county, Missouri.
He was married in October, 1851, to Jane
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BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF CASS,
Crooks. She was born in England, and came to America with her parents when an infant. Mr. and Mrs. McCaskill have eight children living: Daniel Morgan, Mary, William H., Thomas L., Ella, Esther, Cora and Kate.
Mr. McCaskill is a Republican in politics, and he and his wife are highly respected members of society.
INIS E. DOWNING, the present Clerk of the Circuit Court, and a resident of Virginia, was born in Virginia, Cass county, Illinois, August 24, 1846. Of his life and ancestry we record the following facts:
Rev. Nathan H. Downing, his father, was the son of John Downing, son of William Downing. The father of William was a native of Scotland or Ireland, of Scotch an- cestry, and was one of three brothers who came to America in early Colonial times. He settled in Virginia and there spent his last years. William Downing was born, reared and married in Virginia, and about 1784 moved to Kentucky, becoming one of the first settlers of Garrard county. For some years after his settlement there the Indians were numerous and troublesome, and the whites lived in block-houses. He cleared and de- veloped a farm, and resided there till his death. John Downing was about eight years old when the family moved to Kentucky. He resided there till 1828, when, with his wife and ten children, he moved to Missouri and settled in Marion county. He entered a tract of Government land, twenty miles from Han- nibal, erected a log cabin, and there spent the remainder of his days, dying in his fron- tier home on the 7th of June, in 1832. The maiden name of his wife, grandmother of the|
subject of our sketch, was Susanna Hall. She was born in Virginia, daughter of Ran- dolph and Sally (Woodson) Hall. Her death occurred at Newark, Knox county, Missouri, March 4, 1861. She reared nine of her twelve children.
While John was a resident of Garrard county, Kentucky, his son Nathan H. was born there, November 11, 1811. The latter was seventeen years old when the family inoved to Missouri. His youthful days were spent in assisting his father on the farm, and when he was twenty-one he entered Marion College, Marion county, Missouri, and worked his way through college. Before leaving Kentucky he was converted, and while a col- lege student joined the Presbyterian Church. After completing his studies he was employed at various kinds of work. He subsequently bought an interest in a sawmill at Hannibal, which he operated six or seven years. In 1842 he came to Virginia. During this time he had severed his connection with the Pres- byterian Church and had joined the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church, and was ordained as preacher of the Salt River Presbytery. He came to Virginia to accept the pastorate over a small society here and other charges in this vicinity. He was instrumental in building a church and having a college located liere. His death occurred in Virginia, November 30, 1853. On March 16, 1836, he was united in marriage with Eliza J. Head, who was born in Boone county, Missouri, July 16, 1821, a daughter of Alfred R. Head, a native of Vir- ginia. Her grandfather, William Head, was born in England; came to America and served in the Revolutionary war. After residing in Virginia some years, he moved to Missouri long before it was a State. He erected a block-house on his place, four miles from Rocheport, which is now known
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SCHUYLER AND BROWN COUNTIES.
as Head's Fort. He resided there till death. His son Alfred, grandfather of Mr. Downing, went to Missouri with his parents, and on their frontier farm he was reared. All his life he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. He bought a tract of land near the old honie in Boone county, and lived on it till liis death. His wife, nee Margaret Heard, a native of Garrard county, Kentucky, was a daughter of John and Jane (Stevenson) Heard, pioneers of Howard county, Missouri. Her second husband was John Arnold, and her death oc- curred at the home of her son, Jesse Arnold, near Los Angeles, California. The mother of Mr. Downing is now a resident of Vir- ginia. She reared three children, viz: John C., who served in the One Hundred and Four- teenth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, and died in the service at Memphis, in 1863; Finis E .; and Lucy J., who married Russel G. Middleton.
The subject of our sketch was seven years old when his father died. He continued to reside with his mother, attending the public schools and working on the farmn. When he was twenty years old he was employed as clerk in a dry-goods store in Virginia, re- maining as such five years. Then he engaged in the mercantile business on his own account in Virginia, and conducted the same until 1869. Next we find him at Butler, Missouri, where he clerked till 1874, after which he re- turned to Virginia, and continued clerking liere till 1880. That year he was elected to his present position; has since been re-elected twice, and is now serving his third term. He has been quite an extensive dealer in real estate, both in city property and farm lands.
In 1868 Mr. Downing was united in mar- riage with Sue H. Payne, who was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, daughter of Will- iam B. and H. E. Payne. They liave one
son, Harry F., who graduated from Knox College in the class of'90, and from the law department of the University of Michigan in 1891.
Soon after Mr. Downing was elected to his present office he commenced the study of law, and in Jannary, 1887, was adınitted to the bar.
Politically, he has always affiliated with the Democratic party. He has served as a member of the City Council, and has been a inember of the Senatorial and Congressional committees.
Fraternally, Mr. Downing is associated with the Virginia Lodge, No. 544, A. F. & A. M; Clark Chapter, No. 29, R. A. M .; Hospitaller Commandery, No. 31, K. T .; Saxon Lodge, No. 68, I. O. O. F., and Vir- ginia Camp, M. W. A.
RANCIS MUHLERT, now deceased, was born in the kingdom of Hanover, Germany, April 4, 1820. He grew up there and obtained a good German education. Ilis father was a professor of mathematics in Hildesheim University, and as a linguist he could speak five different languages. He had three brothers and two sisters. Fred- erick, the eldest brother, and Ferdinand, the youngest, are professors in the University of Göthingen. Herman went to the East In- dies, where he became head physician of the East India hospitals. The two sisters, Bertha and Amelia, are still in their native country, married. All are members of the Lutheran Church. His parents lived and died in their native province and he was the only one of the family to come to the United States. When twenty-eight years of age lie embarked on a sailing vessel from Hamburg to New
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BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF CASS,
Orleans, and after the usual tedious trip arrived in Beardstown, February, 1848. In Germany Mr. Muhlert had been overseer of a large farm, but after liis arrival here he be- came for two years a merchant in Arenzville. About this time he was married to Panlina Winhold, born in Kurhessen, Germany, Jan- uary 4, 1831. She was the daughter of William and Barbara (Weber) Winhold, who were born in the same place in Germany and came to the United States after the birth of their two children. This was in 1834. They landed in Baltimore, Maryland, after a seven weeks' voyage and afterward settled near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Seven years later they came to Illinois, and settled on a farm in Cass county, township 17, range 11, and here they lived and died, the father aged seventy-seven, and the mother eighty-two. They were good, hard-working people, mem- bers of the Catholie Chnreli.
Mrs. Muhlert is the eldest of a family of which seven are still living.
Mr. and Mrs. Muhlert purchased a good farm after their marriage in section 4, town- ship 17, range 11, and there Mr. Muhlert spent the remainder of his life. He was a well respected and favorably known eitizen. His widow now lives on and owns a fine prop- erty of sixty aeres of land, all highly im- proved. She is a noble, good, kind woman and has many friends here. She attends the German Lutheran Church, as did her hus- band. She is the mother of eleven eliildren, one having died young. The living ehildren are: Sophia, wife of Jacob Heinen, now · farmers in Kansas; William, living with his mothier on the home place; Amelia, wife of William Meyer, farmer in this county; Ed- ward is a farmer in Kansas and he married Matilda Heinen; Henry is a earpenter and lives with his mother; Herman is a fariner
in Kansas and lives with his sister; Lena is the wife of John Parish, a railroad engineer at Jacksonville, Illinois; Charles, Frank and Ernest are at home.
OHN WEBB, who was for many years prominently identified with the manu- faeturing interests of Beardstown, Illi- nois, is now a resident of Bainbridge town- ship, Schuyler county. He was born in Lancashire, England, December 9, 1813, a son of Samuel Webb, who was a native of the same shire; the paternal grandfather, John Webb, was a manufacturer of eotton goods, and operated in Lancashire, where he spent his entire life. Samuel Webb learned the trade in his father's factory, and became a skilled workman. In 1817 he determined to come to America, and, as it was at that time time against the law for expert mechanics to leave Great Britain, he sailed under an as- sumed name. He located in Baltimore, and there secnred a situation as foreman in a cotton factory three miles from the eity ; after a few years he took the same position in another mill, where he continued until 1827. He then went to Mereer county, Pennsyl- vania, and leased a mill, engaging in the manufacture of elotb. He afterward returned to Baltimore, and in 1842 he came to Illi- nois; he was foreman of a woolen faetory at Petersburg, Menard eonnty, several years, and then purelased a farm near Mason City, on which he resided until death. He mar- ried Ellen Fleteher, a native of Manchester, England and a daughter of James Fletcher, a soldier in the British army and a participant in the battle of Waterloo: she died at Peters- burg about 1848. The family consisted of ten children: Mary, Ellen, Olive, Sarah, John, James, Samuel, Nathaniel, Thomas
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