USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 32
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Mrs. Eaton was formerly Miss E. A. Black- burn, daughter of Samuel and Martha Black- burn, natives of Ireland. Her marriage oc- curred October 4, 1882, and the couple com- menced their wedded life on the old Eaton estate, there passed the remainder of their years together, and there Mrs. Eaton still lives, as mentioned above. In the course of time there came into the hearts and home of this worthy couple six children to gladden the old place with the sunshine of their presence. One, Benjamin P., died in infancy ; the others are living and their names are as follows,- Henry B., William J., Joseph K., Samuel W. and Thomas Marion. Mr. and Mrs. Eaton ever endeavored to instil into the minds of their children the principles of justice and in-
tegrity, thus fitting them to fill important places in the world. As they grew to maturity they have manifested many of the same admirable traits which were so noticeable in their parents.
Henry B. Eaton, born on the 22nd day of August, 1883, was graduated with pleasing honors from the Edwardsville high school, then entered Lebanon college, where he studied for two years. Later he commenced the study of law at the Bloomington Law School of Bloomington, Illinois, from which institution he was graduated in the year 1908. He forth- with commenced the practice of law in Ed- vardsville as a member of the well-known firm of Eaton & Eeck, and his career has been eminently satisfactory from its inception. His clientage is drawn from the families who knew him as a boy and who saw him grow up and develop into the man he is today. In the year 1909 he married Miss Emma King daugh- ter of one of the members of the old King family so notable in Madison county. One little daughter, Mary Elizabeth, now delights the hearts of her parents.
William J. Eaton's birth occurred on the 20th day of December, 1884. His first school- ing other than the common schools was ob- tained in the Illinois State Normal University, at Normal Illinois. Later he, too, attended McKendree College, where he met the lady who is now his wife-Miss Amy A. Pinkerton, a teacher of vocal music at the above named institution ; she hailed from Palmyra, Illinois, and is now the mother of one child, Abigail A. Mr. Eaton, her husband, is engaged in teaching in the High School at Vandalia, Illi- nois.
Joseph K. Eaton, born on the 31st day of December, 1886, remains at home and super- intends the management of the farm. He se- cured his education in the Edwardsville High School and McKendree College.
Samuel W. was born on the 26th day of October, 1889, is a graduate of the Edwards- ville high school and is now finishing his sen- ior year at McKendree College.
Thomas Marion the youngest member of the family, whose birth occurred on the 3rd day of August, 1896, has just completed his grammar school course and is now attending the Edwardsville High School.
Thus each member of the family is filling his niche in the world's economy, some al- ready active in the busy world, others prepar- ing themselves for the work that is before them. Mr. William P. Eaton had reason to feel a satisfaction in his children, who in
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their turn are proud of the memory of their father. He was a member of the Edwardsville lodge, No. 99, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and was for years president of the Old Settlers' Society of Madison county and active in promoting the various enterprises which have been launched by that organiza- tion. If we were to enumerate all the offices held by Mr. Eaton or all the efforts which he exerted for the general betterment of the com- munity in which he lived, we should not have space in these columns. What he was, his many friends and his family can testify and his influence still remains and will continue to remain after the man himself is forgotten.
JOHN B. COPPINGER, probate clerk of Madi- son county, has served in public positions of trust and responsibility almost since reaching manhood. Born at Alton, December 29, 1877, he attended public school there and Shurtleff College. For several years his father was United States consul at Toronto, Canada, and during that period he was a student in Toronto University and in 1896 was appointed vice consul, so that his actual introduction to of- ficial work occurred before he attained his majority. In 1903 he was appointed by Mayor Brueggeman superintendent of streets at Alton and in 1905 was appointed deputy assessor. In 1910 he was elected probate clerk on the Republican ticket. Few men of his age have been so prominently connected with the official life of a community, and his ability and popu- larity have been thoroughly tested.
Mr. Coppinger represents one of the old families of Alton. His gradfather, John E. Coppinger, settled there in 1838, and held sev- eral political offices. The father was the late John W. Coppinger, who died at Alton in De- cember, 1900, and who was for many years an active member of the bar and prominent in public life. He was born at Alton, January 12, 1850, received a liberal education, read law and was graduated from Notre Dame University and from the St. Louis Law School, and was admitted to the bar in 1872 and kept an office at Alton for a number of years. He was elected mayor of Alton in 1885 and was sent to the lower house of the legislature in 1887 and to the state senate in 1890. He was one of John M. Palmer's famous "IOI." In 1893 he was appointed consul at Toronto and performed the consular duties in that city until 1898, when he returned to Alton and lived there until his death, two years later. He was active in politics and served as a mem- ber of the state central committee. He mar-
ried Miss Bridget Biggins, of Alton, and their family consisted of the following children : Thomas, John B., William, Walter, Lucian B., Isabelle, who attends school at New Rochelle, New York; and Victoria, a student in Ursu- line Academy, Alton.
ALFRED L. KINZER. Prominent as a citizen who makes the welfare of the community a matter of personal responsibility and as a busi- ness man whose enterprise and honorable methods are facts of undisputed knowledge, Alfred L. Kinzer is one whose record the biog- rapher views with unusual satisfaction, know- ing that it forebodes much for the general welfare of Madison county.
Alfred L. Kinzer was born in Fulton county, Illinois, May 9, 1868, the son of Amos and Margaret E. (Wilson) Kinzer. He was the grandson of Samuel Kinzer, a sturdy citizen of Pennsylvania, who lived and died in the Keystone state. Amos Kinzer, the father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was also born in Pennsylvania, leaving that state when he was eighteen years of age to settle in Indi- ana, close to the Kentucky line, near Louisville. He later came to Fulton county, Illinois, where he married Miss Margaret E. Wilson. During the clouded epoch of the Civil war he served the Union in the Eighty-fifth Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, and followed the flag until the close of the war. When peace was declared he returned to Fulton county, where he re- mained until 1876, when he took his family to Kansas, where he spent the rest of his days, passing away in the spring of 1893. The mother of Alfred L. continued to make her home in the Sunflower state and was called to her eternal reward in the early summer of IQII.
Alfred L. Kinzer is one of a family of seven children, six of whom are still living and con- cerning whom the following brief data are here inserted. Lovina died in infancy ; Laura V. became the wife of D. W. Rieff, and they make their home in Emporia, Kansas; Lincoln C .; Thomas W .; Ollie M., now the wife of George Fry, and Edward A. Albert L. was engaged on the farm with his father in Kansas until he was twenty-three years old, at which time he located in Sedgwick City, Kansas, and established a confectionery business. In the spring of 1905 he sold that business and removed to New Douglas and engaged with his brother in the lumber business. He has been in New Douglas ever since, making a name for reliability and for himself as well as many warm personal friends.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
On May 6, 1894, Mr. Kinzer led to the altar Miss Goldie M. Snyder, daughter of E. L. and Sarah Snyder, of Kansas. Three children have been born to their union : Wanda N., now sixteen ; Glenn, aged fourteen ; and Jessie Arden, a child of four.
Mr. Kinzer finds his fraternal relations both a pleasure and a profit. Beside belonging to the Ancient Free and Accepted Mason, Lodge No. 560, he is a Knight of Pythias and affili- ated with the Modern Woodmen of America. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist faith, and figure prominently in the activities of that church.
Politically Mr. Kinzer is identified with the Republican party, on whose nomination he was elected to the office of tax collector for the term of two years, giving admirable service in that capacity.
ZEPHIANIAII SILVER. Prominent among the leading citizens of Madison county is Zephan- iah Silver, of East Alton, a wealthy capitalist and extensive landholder, who is now living retired from active business, although for many years he was closely associated with the agricultural interests of this part of the state. He was born March 13, 1839, in Berkeley county, Virginia, now West Virginia, a son of Z. Silver. His great-grandfather settled in Pennsylvania in colonial days, and after the Revolutionary war, in which he served as a soldier, moved with his family to Virginia and there spent his remaining years.
Z. Silver, who was of Scotch descent, was the owner of a plantation in the Shenandoah valley, and managed it with slave labor, having owned a large number of slaves. He married Martha Jane Henshaw, who belonged to a family of prominence, and was of English and Irish ancestry. Nine children were born to them, five of whom are living, as follows : Zephaniah, with whom this brief sketch is chiefly concerned; Hiram H., of Winfield, Kansas; John, of Frederick county, Virginia ; and Anna B. Henshaw and Ruth Ellen O'Rearo, of Frederick county, Virginia.
Having acquired a practical education in the public schools of his native county, Zephaniah Silver worked on the home farm until after the breaking out of the Civil war, when he joined a company of militia. He subsequently enlisted in an independent company of Con- federate scouts, in which he served for three years, taking part in many skirmishes and do- ing valiant service, his regiment being com- manded by Colonel Sensendiver.
Soon after the war, in the fall of 1865, Mr.
Silver came to Madison county, Illinois, in search of a favorable location, and for nine years thereafter was employed as a laborer on the farm of Mr. Job. In 1874 he bought one hundred acres of land on credit, and when he had paid for it he purchased one hundred and sixty acres along the bluffs, and has since been extensively engaged in the buying and selling of land, during his many transactions having owned and sold at least two thousand acres of choice land. Mr. Silver still owns the Mont- gomery farm, and likewise owned a tract of land on Wood river which he sold to the Standard Oil Company as a site for its plant.
In 1907 Mr. Silver purchased six hundred and forty acres of land in Arkansas, and at first engaged in the growing of rice and cot- ton, but later changed it to a stock farm. His health becoming impaired, Mr. Silver, under the advice of his physician, gave up active work and sold a part of liis Arkansas estate, now holding only three hundred and twenty acres of it. He still has title to one hundred and fifteen acres of his original farm property, and to one hundred and seventy-eight acres in the Montgomery tract. Recently he has bought one hundred and seventy acres in the Job and Callahan tracts, and in addition owns four hundred and sixty-three acres in Madison county. In the spring of 1911 he took a trip to California for his health, and received much pleasure and benefit from the journey.
Mr. Silver is an adherent of the Democratic party, but in local matters casts his vote in favor of the men he deems best fitted for the office. He has filled many offices of trust and responsibility, having served as school director and road commissioner in Wood River, and was the first collector of Wood River township. He was three times elected supervisor of that township and in that capacity rendered excel- lent service. He makes his home the greater part of the time in East Alton, although he spends a portion of each year in Alton with Mrs. H. J. Bowman. Mr. Silver is a self- made man in every sense implied by the term, and has always held a high position among the keen-sighted, enterprising and progressive business men of his community.
WILLIAM H. BOHM. Illinois boasts of its agricultural resources, and with reason. It also boasts of the high class of men who are engaged in agricultural pursuits, and with equal reason. Among these agriculturists there is no one who has a higher standing than William H. Bohm, of Edwardsville township. Perhaps the personal trait about him which is most noticeable is his charity of speech. He
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
would rather speak well than ill of anyone. He is the sort of a man whom you instinctive- ly feel is to be trusted. He is deeply interested in the welfare of the county, and has done a great deal towards giving it the high standing it now possesses in the state.
William H. Bohm was born in Collinsville township, July 11, 1858. When he was eleven years old he came with his parents to Ed- wardsville township. He attended the public schools and helped his father on the farm. His brother Louis took a great interest in his younger brother's studies and supplemented the school work with private instructions. He is a firm believer in the value of an education.
On February 8, 1885, he was married to Miss Emma Smith, daughter of the late Chris- tian P. and Frances Smith, who is still living on the old home in Fort Russell township. She was educated in the public schools and was of German descent. The union was blessed with eleven children. The eldest, Louis F., died in the flower of his youth, he being only eighteen when taken away. Two little girls died in infancy. Alvin C., at present home with his parents, received his education in the high school of this city, a business col- lege at Hutchinson, Kansas, and at Central Wesleyan College at Warrenton, Missouri. Wilbur H. is an instructor at the Mexico Mili- tary at Mexico, Missouri ; Elmer E. is at pres- ent attending that institution, and the five youngest are Lydia, Dora, Eddie, Frances and Clarence.
Mr. Bohm belongs to the fraternal order of Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he is a Republican, and deeply interested in all political questions of importance. An evi- dence of his popularity is his election as su- pervisor of Edwardsville township by 425 ma- jority although this township is Demo- cratic by about 250 votes. He is pos- sessed of intelligence of a high order, and has seized every possible opportunity to learn things that are worth knowing. He has a very pleasing personality and is respected in his community. He is the owner of over a thousand acres of Madison county farming lands.
He is of German descent, his father, Frederick Bohm, was born January 25, 1816, at Hanover, Prussia. After attending the common schools of his fatherland he learned the carpenter's trade, at which he became very proficient. The opportunity for advancement was very slow for a young man in his native land, and he decided to come to America.
In the winter of 1838 he embarked on a sailing vessel bound for New Orleans. After a stormy voyage of nine weeks he reached the shores of the new world. With a feeling of relief, which can best be understood by those who have braved the dangers of a long and perilous voyage, he set foot upon solid ground once more. Although it was winter his first impression of the new land was a favorable one. From New Orleans he came up the river by boat to St. Louis, which trip con- sumed three weeks' time, the river being full of floating ice. After landing he sought work, which he finally obtained on the farm of a wealthy planter, named Michael McManaway, at the wages of six dollars a month. Mr. Mc- Manaway was very good to him, and did everything he could towards educating him in the ways of the new world, but the work was not to his liking, and he later obtained employ- ment in the government arsenal under Major W. H. Bell, who afterwards became one of his' truest friends.
While employed in the arsenal he married Miss Sophia Blume, the daughter of Reverend and Mrs. Henry Blume, who came to this country from Germany. The Rev. Henry Blume was both a teacher and preacher in his native land. He lived on a farm at Pleasant Ridge up to the time of his death. His son Louis Blume was the founder of a church on the bluffs near Peters Station. It was a plain log house, in which he would meet the people of his vicinity every Sunday and teach them the word of God. Later, when the congrega- tion became more prosperous, they erected a modern church building on a piece of ground donated to them by the late Henry Brockmeier, which is now commonly called the Brockmeier Church. The descendants of the Reverend Henry Blume are numbered among the pros- perous citizens of the county.
On account of the fact that his parents had a nice little home, but no other means, in the old country, Mr. Bohm did not write very en- couraging letters home, but somehow they heard of his doing very well here, and sold their all and followed him. Frederick provided for them the best he could. He secured em- ployment for his brother, and purchased a farm at Pleasant Ridge for his parents and sisters and moved them thereon. At this place his parents passed the remaining days of their lives in peace and contentment. His brother Louis later married and went to farming on a farm near Marine, where he died leaving to mourn his loss a widow and six small children.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
The aged widow is still living, enjoying the pleasure of having seen all her children grown up to be honorable men and women. The de- scendants of his sisters live in different parts of the county.
After working at the arsenal for seventeen years, during which time he served two enlist- ments of five years each, he moved on the farm at Pleasant Ridge which he had pur- chased for his parents when they came to St. Louis, both of his parents having died in the meantime, his father at the age of sixty-three years, his mother at the age of seventy years. When the Civil war broke out he was one of the organizers of the Union League, and was president of said organization during its ex- istence. After living at Pleasant Ridge for twelve years he bought a farm near Edwards- ville and moved on it.
His marriage was blessed with four chil- dren ; Louis F., a graduate of McKendree Col- lege and later a teacher, died at the age of twenty-four years; William 11., who died at the age of eighteen months ; William II., named after his little dead brother; and Mrs. Sophia M. Stulken, of this city.
Frederick Bohm died on March 5. 1905, his wife having preceded him to the grave on Au- gust 14, 1900.
FARRELL FAMILY. One among the families whose lives and activities have contributed to the development of Madison county, both by increasing its material resources and by en- riching the personnel of its citizenship, the Far- rell family have been long resident in the county and its individual members have been worthy and substantial members of the com- munity of Leef township, which has been their home.
The late Michael Farrell, who died at his home in this township, January 3, 19II, mourned by a large circle of friends, was the founder of the family in this county. A na- tive of Ireland, born in Ballymore parish, Clon- tuskert, Ballinasloe, October 16, 1831, he emi- grated to America when James Buchanan was president of the United States. His parents were John and Mary ( Mullery) Farrell. His wife, whose maiden name was Bridget Quinn, was born in 1841 in county Galway, a daugh- ter of Patrick and Mary (Flannery ) Quinn. When she was twenty years old, in 1862, she emigrated to America, coming alone, a cold, hard voyage of seven weeks. She reached St. Louis on Christmas day.
In 1864 she and Michael Farrell were mar- ried at Highland, and began their wedded life
with industry as their principal capital. For the first ten years they rented a farm, and by saving their earnings, Mrs. Farrell proving a thrifty helpmate, they were able to purchase from Major Prickett their first eighty acres in Leef township, March 9, 1875. This is the old homestead of the Farrell family, endeared to them by its associations of over thirty-five years. The land when they bought it was raw prairie, which their youthful energy began to cultivate and improve. The fine shade trees and choice fruit trees which they planted are still, many of them, flourishing, a grateful re- ward of their earlier labor. In more important ways, also, their work was rewarded, so that they added eighty acres to the first, and the present homestead of one hundred and sixty acres is considered one of the best in the town- ship, and is made attractive by one of the best farm homes in this vicinity.
Into their home there came nine children, two of whom died in infancy, and the others are: Mary, Ellen, Michael, James, Patrick, Anna and Thomas. The parents were careful to give them good educational opportunities, in the Saline and Rockwell district schools and also in the Saline Catholic school. They remained at home assisting in the work of the farm until they married and settled down. Mary became the wife of Patrick Boyle, a farmer of Leef township, and who was the Republican central committeeman for this township and also was census enumerator in 1910. They are the par- ents of John, Mary, Maggie, Joseph, Ella, James and Otto. Ellen, the second daughter, married John Owen, a farmer of Old Ripley township, Bond county, who died ten years ago. They had two children, Edward and John. Michael, the oldest son, is a farmer of Old Ripley township, and served three years as constable, three years as tax collector and three years as town clerk, in Leef township. He married Kate Zeller, and they have three children, Eva, Mary and Lamoine. Patrick, the second son, a farmer of Leef township, married Mary Creane, who was born in New Douglas in 1881, a daughter of John M. and Bridget (Kelley) Creane. They have one child, Joseph. Anna married Philip Leibler, a former business man of Edwardsville, now re- tired. James is unmarried and resides with his sister, Ellen Owen, in Bond county. He served three years as highway commissioner in that county. Thomas Farrell, who is un- married, lives on the old homestead with his widowed mother and superintends the farm.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
He is one of the representative and successful farmers of the township.
Both father and mother of this fine family have been honored members of St. Gertrude's Catholic church of Saline, and brought their children up in this faith and endeavored to equip them with the principles of Christian liv- ing and true citizenship. Mrs. Farrell con- tinues to reside on the homestead in the making of which she had such an important part. She is well preserved for one of her age, is one of the good neighbors and enjoys the confi- dence and esteem of her community, her clos- ing years being cheered by the presence of her son Thomas. In politics the Farrell family have stood for the principles of the Democratic party.
SETH T. SAWYER. Among the early settlers in Alton and Madison county was that fine citi- zen, Seth Thompson Sawyer. He came of honored New England ancestry on both sides of the house, being a lineal descendant on the paternal side of Thomas Sawyer, the immi- grant, his lineage being thus traced: Thomas, James, Joseph, Benjamin and Seth Thompson.
Thomas Sawyer, a native of Lancashire, England, immigrated to America in 1639, and after living for a time in Rowley, Massa- chusetts, became one of the original house- holders of Lancaster, Massachusetts. James Sawyer, born in Massachusetts, March 22, 1653, removed in early manhood to Connecti- cut, and spent his last days in the town of Pomfret. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Prescott, was his cousin. Joseph Saw- yer, born in Pomfret, Connecticut, December 6, 1721, lived in his native state until about 1785, when he migrated to Windsor county, Vermont, locating in the village of South Read- ing, where he resided until his death. He mar- ried Hannah Hutchins, and they became the parents of eight children. Benjamin Sawyer, born at Pomfret, Connecticut, February 3, 1762, was a farmer, and followed that occupa- tion until his death, which occurred in Wind- sor county, Vermont. He married Sally York, who was born in Pomfret, Connecticut, a daughter of Captain John and Anna York. She died in Windsor county, Vermont, April 13, 1835, several years before he did, his death having occurred August 12, 1843. They reared a family of nine children, as follows: John York, who became a pioneer settler of Madi- son county, Illinois, and was very prominent in political affairs ; Anna, Benjamin, Sally, Nathan, Hannah, Thomas Jefferson, Seth Thompson, and Emily.
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