USA > Illinois > Macon County > Decatur > City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, volume II > Part 11
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On the 22d of August, 1869, Dr. Calhoun was married to Miss Blanche Derthick, a native of Ohio, and unto them have been born five children : Maude, the wife of Rev. E. K. Towle, of Taylorville, Illinois; Nellie, the wife of F. S. .Dodd, manager of the Decatur Herald; John C., a resident of Des Moines, Iowa; Catharine, the wife of Victor R. Lougheed, of Chicago; and Richard B., at home.
Dr. and Mrs. Calhoun are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church and he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and with Dunham Post, No. I4I, G. A. R. of which he has been commander. His life record in all of its as- sociations has won for him honor and regard, being characterized by fidelity to duty and by capability in the discharge of all of the tasks which have devolved upon him, whether in personal, business, political or social relations. His engag- ing personality and genial disposition have won him many friends, and he is justly accounted one of the representative citizens of Decatur.
MAHLON HAWORTH.
Mahlon Haworth, for many years a leading citizen of Decatur, now deceased, was born on a farm in Clinton county, Ohio, August 20, 1809. He was the son of Mahlon and Phoebe (Frazer) Haworth, the latter a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, and of Scotch descent. The Haworth family on the paternal side is of English origin. It is said that the first of the Haworths to come to America were James and Thomas, one of whom settled in Pennsylvania and the other in Virginia early in the history of the American colonies. The Haworths were members of the Society of Friends from the time of its organization in Eng- land. Mahlon Haworth, the grandfather, was a native of Virginia and lived
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there until the Revolutionary war. The father of our subject, who was born near Winchester, Virginia, settled in Pennsylvania but later removed to Knox- ville, Tennessee, where he lived for several years and where two of his children were born. In 1790 he located in Warren county, Ohio, when that region was a wilderness and neighbors were far apart.
Mahlon Haworth was sixth in order of birth in a family of nine children. He received his preliminary education in a log schoolhouse, the school being in session only a few weeks each winter. Being ambitious for further advance- ment, he attended school at Xenia and Wilmington, Ohio, and made such prog- ress that at eighteen years of age he began teaching and continued for four years.
On August 20, 1830, Mr. Haworth was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Woolman, of Clark county, Ohio, a member of the same family as John Wool- man, famous as a Quaker preacher and an early advocate of the abolition of slavery. In 1832 Mr. Haworth went into the mercantile business in Warren county and later at Port William, Clinton county, Ohio. However, being at- tracted in other directions, he sold out his business in 1835 and engaged in farm- ing and in operating a sawmill. He served as justice of the peace and as post- master at Port William and was known as one of the leading citizens in that region. In 1853, believing that more favorable advantages lay westward, he emigrated to Illinois and for three years lived upon a farm in Sangamon county. In 1857 he came to Decatur, where he spent the remainder of his life, being called away April 25, 1893. From 1859 to 1869 he was identified with the grain business, but in the latter year the firm of Haworth & Sons was organized for the manufacture of the Haworth Check Rower, which was used in planting corn and became highly popular in all parts of the country.
There were nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Haworth, two of whom died in infancy. Three sons are now living, L. L., George D. and James W. Uriah, the second son, died in 1852 in his twenty-first year, at St. Joseph, Missouri, while en route for California. Mahlon F. enlisted in 1861 in the Seventh Illinois Cavalry and served in Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi, participat- ing in many of the leading battles of the war. At Colliersville, Tennessee, he was taken prisoner and later was confined at Belle Isle and Andersonville and died in the latter prison on account of hardships and exposure. Annie M. is the wife of Kilburn H. Roby, of Decatur, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mary P. is the wife of George S. Simpson, a record of whom ap- pears elsewhere in this work. The mother of this family passed away De- cember 24, 1891.
The subject of this review was identified with the old line whig party and supported Henry Clay for president in 1832. After the republican party was organized he became a stanch adherent of its principles. Having observed the evils of slavery, he was unalterably opposed to that institution as a constant menace to the republic. Although he did not seek political honors, he served most acceptably as a member of the city council of Decatur. As a business man he attained wide recognition and in the discharge of the various responsibilities of life, displayed a foresight and ability that reflected great credit upon him-
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self and those with whom he was associated. His name justly belongs among those of the leaders who assisted in the upbuilding of Macon county and no history of this county would be complete without adequate mention of Mahlon Haworth as one of the enterprising and progressive men of his day.
GEORGE S. SIMPSON.
For over fifty years a resident of Decatur, George S. Simpson has wit- nessed the growth of the city from the time it was a village and has been closely identified with a region which is now one of the most flourishing portions of the Union. Born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, May 13, 1843, he is the son of Nathaniel and Margaret (Sprankle) Simpson, who were both natives of the Keystone state. The family was founded in America by his grandfather, David Simpson, a farmer and miller, who came from Ireland and located in Indiana county, where he reared a family of three sons and one daughter. The grand- father on the maternal side was Frederick Sprankle, of good Teutonic ances- try, who emigrated from Germany and settled in Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, where he followed farming and milling. The father of our subject engaged in farming in Pennsylvania until 1855, when he removed to Keokuk, Iowa. A year later he went to Assumption, Illinois, and a short time before the Civil war went to Denver, Colorado. He served as a scout in the west under Buffalo Bill and enlisted in the Seventh Colorado Cavalry, showing such capacity that he became major of the regiment but lost his life shortly afterward. He was a man of high character and while living at his home in Pennsylvania served as deacon in the Presbyterian church, his wife also being a member of the same denomination. She lived to the advanced age of ninety-three years and was called to her reward while making her home with our subject at Decatur, March 19, 1909. There were four children in the family: Agnes, the wife of R. C. Cochrane, of Assumption, Illinois; Elizabeth, the wife of Robert C. Laforgee, of Decatur; Emma C., the wife of Elmer R. Culver, of Decatur; and George S., our subject.
Coming with his parents to Illinois at thirteen years of age, the subject of this review possessed meager advantages of education in his boyhood, but he has always been the possessor of large powers of observation and in the years that have passed has in an important degree made up for the unavoidable lack of early training. His education has been gained mainly in the great school of practical experience-a school whose lessons make even a more profound im- pression than those secured from books. He engaged in various business pur- suits until he formed a connection with Haworth & Sons, manufacturers of farm machinery at Decatur, being the originator of improvements in the man- ufacture of the check rower which were still indispensable in its manufacture. He traveled as salesman for this firm, covering a wide territory which included the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Iowa, and he be- came one of the most successful salesman identified with the firm. In his va- rious business affairs Mr. Simpson has used sound judgment and has long since attained a position of comparative financial independence.
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On the 25th day of April, 1866, Mr. Simpson was united in marriage to Miss Mary P. Haworth, a daughter of Mahlon and Sarah J. (Woolman) Ha- worth, a record of whom appears elsewhere in this work. The wife of our sub- ject was the youngest child of her parents and was born in Port William, Clin- ton county, Ohio, coming to Decatur in 1856. Here she was educated in the public schools and grew to womanhood. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Simpson. George H., born September II, 1867, was married December 4, 1889, to Miss Grace Blume, a daughter of George P. Blume, of Decatur, and one son, George B., was born to them. His wife having been called away, George H. Simpson was married, April 25, 1898, at Springfield, Illinois, to Miss Mina Matheney. They are now living in Decatur and have one son, Haworth, born February 28, 1899. Fred was born August 26, 1872, and departed this life February 14, 1896, at the age of twenty-four years, at Los Angeles, California. Mrs. Simpson is a member of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Simpson cast his first vote in 1864 for Abraham Lincoln as president of the United States and has never departed from his allegiance to the republi- can party. He served for six years in the city council of Decatur and during that time was instrumental in securing a number of improvements that have been of practical value to the city. In the course of many years in active busi- ness affairs he has made a host of friends and they have always found him absolutely upright, sincere in the discharge of every obligation and a willing supporter of every worthy cause. That he has met with well deserved success in his undertakings is the opinion of all who know him.
CHARLES A. HECKEL.
Among the residents of Long Creek township, Macon county, it is probable that none holds a higher place in the estimation of the people than Charles A. Heckel, whose name stands at the head of this review. Born in this township, May 5, 1849, his life has been an open book and his character for sincerity and straightforward thinking and living has never been questioned. He is recog- nized as a valued public-spirited citizen, a man whose word is as good as his bond and a scholar of varied accomplishments. He is also a Christian in the full meaning of the word. Although closely identified with the farming inter- est, he is also prominently connected with the Christian church and is one of its most zealous workers, giving fully of his means as well as of his time and tal- ents, and in every way seeking to advance the permanent welfare of those with when he is associated.
Mr. Heckel comes of good German ancestry on his father's side and on his mother's side traces his lineage to the same ancestry as Abraham Lincoln. His father was John Joseph Heckel, who was born at Erfurt, Prussia, May 4, 1810. He was educated at Wittenberg University, and served for three years in the Prussian army. He was a man of fine education and especially versed in the languages. About 1834 he came to America and settled on a small tract of land in Macon county and became one of the prosperous farmers of the county. The
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mother of our subject, Elizabeth Hanks before her marriage, was a native of Hardin county, Kentucky, where she was born April 23, 1822. She was married in Macon county, May 3, 1840. Mrs. Heckel was a second cousin of Abraham Lincoln and a playmate of Mr. Lincoln in his boyhood. She was a woman of many excellent qualities and a faithful wife and mother. She was called from earthly scenes at the age of seventy years, on February 2, 1892, and four days later her husband passed from mortal view. Of the family of Mr. and Mrs. Heckel six children are now living.
The subject of this review was reared upon a farm and early showed a strong inclination for a scholastic career. After advancing as far as possible in the studies available at the district schoolhouse, he became a student of Eureka Col- lege, Woodford county, leaving the college before graduation. After teaching school for six years he learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for ten years. However, he had an irresistible desire for further investigation in the fields of learning and he returned to Eureka College and graduated from that institution with the degrees of A. B. and B. S. in 1895. Accepting a call to the ministry of the Christian church, he occupied for about ten years the pulpits of various churches of the denomination, among which was the home church of Antioch in Long Creek township. He subsequently resigned from the ministry and has since devoted his attention largely to farming. He is the owner of a highly improved farm of eighty acres in section 14, Long Creek township. Here he occupies a comfortable home and has been quite successful as an agricul- turist and live stock raiser.
On July 3, 1879, Mr. Heckel was united in marriage to Miss Ella M. Clark, of Long Creek township, a daughter of Milton and Sarah A. (Lee) Clark. She is a descendant on her mother's side of the noted Lee family of Virginia and was born in Ross county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Clark came to Illinois in 1856 and here the family prospered in the farming industry. Mrs. Clark is now liv- ing retired in Decatur. Two children have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Heckel: Guy C., born July 24, 1880 and Roy A., born August 25, 1893. Mr. Heckel still continues as a zealous worker in his church, although in a private capacity, and is one of the largest contributors toward the construction of the new church building now in course of erection. He has been for a number of years actively identified with the Hanks Family Association and has been one of the principal speakers at the annual gathering of descendants of this family, now numbering over two hundred. He is president of the association, which meets in Fairview Park every summer, and a worker who has contributed very largely toward keeping up the interest of its members.
Mr. Heckel has made a careful study of political and social conditions of the United States and the world and as a result is a strong advocate of prohibition as a cure for many of the evils with which mankind is afflicted. He has never sought political honors but prefers to attend to his own affairs when not working in the vineyard which the Great Master pointed out as one of the most impor- tant fields to which any human being can devote his attention. Thoroughly earnest in whatever he undertakes, Mr. Heckel never does anything by halves and as a result his labors seldom go amiss. He is a good farmer, a generous neighbor and a lover of his family, who never tires in advancing the welfare of
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others and asks no recompense, feeling that it is a duty which all should dis- charge to the extent of their ability. In his wife and family he has been greatly blessed and therefore, he may rightly be designated as fortunate,, especially in having found the "pearl of great price," which after all is worth more than all the riches and honors the world can bestow.
JOSHUA GREEN.
Joshua Green is now one of the venerable citizens of Whitmore township, a man whose well spent life has gained him the honor and respect of those with whom he has come in contact. His home is on section 31 and a good farm prop- erty there returns to him a substantial annual income. During the period of his residence in this section of the state he has become an active and helpful factor in many public matters and has therefore been justly numbered among the enterprising farmers and progressive citizens.
England claims him as a native son, his birth having occurred in Yorkshire on the 3d of October, 1826. There he grew to manhood and was only about twenty-four years of age when he crossed the Atlantic to the new world. He arrived in 1850 and made his way at once into the interior of the country, set- tling in Greene county, Illinois, where later he was married to Miss Hannah Dodson, who was born and reared in this state. His sister afterward joined him in Greene county, where he resided for a few years, and then removed to Christian county, where he entered two hundred and forty acres of land from the government for himself and two hundred and sixty acres for friends. With characteristic energy he began improving and developing his farm, which he continued to cultivate successfully for a number of years. In 1864, however, he sold that property and removed to Macon county, purchasing land in Whit- more township. His first investment made him the owner of a tract of two hundred acres on which improvements had been made, including the planting of an orchard. Subsequently he erected a commodious brick residence and as he prospered in his undertaking he purchased more land from time to time, so that he now owns a farm of three hundred acres which is very valuable and highly developed. None of the equipment of a model farm property is lack- ing and the place today returns a good income to the owner, so that in the even- ing of his days he has all those things which add so much to the comfort of life.
Mr. Green votes with the republican party and has ever been unfaltering in support of its principles. He came to this county in 1864 and the following year was elected supervisor over Whitmore township. Several times he was reelected to that office and was a member of the county board, being reelected four times. He was made a member of various important committees and while acting on both the township and county boards his work constituted an impor- tant element in promoting the welfare of the district which he represented. He has likewise served as asssessor, as highway commissioner and as township school trustee and treasurer for thirty years. Moreover he was the first to dis- cuss and agitate the subject of a township mutual insurance company which
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later was organized with Mr. Green as president, in which position he continued until the charter expired. Then the Macon County Insurance Company was established and he became one of its stockholders and directors, continuing to serve on the board of directors until 1905, when he resigned.
In 1910 Mr. Green was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away on the 25th of February of that year, leaving a son, Charles, who is one of the well known and prominent men of Macon county. He was born in Christian county in 1858, was reared upon the home farm and was educated in the common schools and the high school of Decatur. Later he learned the ma- chinist's trade in Decatur and afterward followed it in Peoria and Ottawa, own- ing an interest in the business in the latter place. He was also a traveling sales- man for several years but in July, 1910, returned home to relieve his father of the care and management of the farm and is today numbered among the active, enterprising and successful men of the community. Edward Wilson Green, another son of Joshua Green, died April 7, 1908, in his fifty-first year.
Mr. Green has made his home in Whitmore township for forty-six years and has long since firmly established himself in the high regard and good will of his fellowmen. His life has ever been upright and honorable and his sterling character has given him firm hold upon the affections and regard of those with whom he has been brought in contact. He is today one of the venerable citi- zens of the community and no record of Whitmore township would be regarded as complete without mention of Joshua Green.
T. J. SCROGGIN.
Among the prominent citizens of Macon county who are now enjoying a hard earned rest from long years of faithful labor in the field of agriculture may be named T. J. Scroggin, whose home is a comfortable residence at No. 666, West Decatur street, Decatur, Illinois. Mr. Scroggin is the owner of twelve or thirteen hundred acres of land in Macon county, pronounced by com- petent authorities as being as good farming land as lies out of doors, nearly all of which he has accumulated through his own exertions. He also identified with various other interests and is rightfully accounted one of the substantial men of the county with whose interests he has been intimately connected for many years.
Mr. Scroggin comes of an old Kentucky family and was born on a farm near Mt. Pulaski, Logan county, this state, August 13, 1838, and may there- fore be justly classed among the pioneers of Illinois. He is the son of Carter T. and Phoebe (Shelby) Scroggin. The father was born in Kentucky and was a son of Humphrey and Miss (Kirby) Scroggin and grew to manhood in Kentucky. As a young man he crossed the Ohio river into Gallatin county, Illinois, when Illinois was a territory, coming there with the lady to whom he was subsequently married and who became the mother of the subject of our review. She was a native of North Carolina and came to southern Illinois with her parents, continuing there for some years after her marriage, the family
T. J. SCROGGIN
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moving to Logan county, this state, about 1825 or 1826-at least in some year previous to the "big snow" which is referred to by the early inhabitants as one of the remarkable occurrences in the pioneer history of Illinois. It is be- lieved that the family first located on eighty acres of land. Here Mr. Scroggin continued until he was the owner of a farm of six hundred acres, all of which is still in possession of the family. He was a man of good business ability, possessing many of the interesting characteristics of the early southern gentle- men who founded homes in the wilderness north of the Ohio river. He was an uncompromising democrat but never an aspirant for public office, although he figured to a considerable extent in politics while assisting friends to secure coveted positions. He was an oid school Baptist and his home was a popular stopping place for the old time ministers and also the center for many gather- ings of the brethren. Mr. Scroggin departed this life at the age of sixty- five and his venerated wife at the age of seventy-six. Their remains lie side by side in the Steanbergen cemetery. Ten children came to bless the house- hold of Mr. and Mrs. Scroggin: Leonard K., born in January, 1819, and a resident of Logan county; Margaret A., who married William Buckles and be- came the mother of five children, but is now 'deceased; Russell Shelby, now liv- ing at Mt. Pulaski, Logan county; Humphrey, who died at the age of thirty- five years; Jane, who married John Buckles and is now deceased, having left three children; Elizabeth, who married John H. Lucas and is now deceased; Pleasant Marion, who died at the age of sixty-five; Carter F., who is living at Cornland, Logan county; T. J., our subject; and Ellen C., the wife of C. K. Lucas and is now living at Mt. Pulaski.
The subject of our review was reared upon the farm and attended the neighboring school which was conducted for a short period each winter in a log schoolhouse supplied with puncheon seats and planks extending nearly around the room for use as a writing desk. The schoolmaster was usually a stern dis- ciplinarian and hesitated not to make vigorous use of the rod. Under these circumstances some of the pupils made rapid progress. Our subject assisted his father upon the farm for some years after laying his school books aside, but he was ambitious to advance in life and at nineteen years of age he began to operate on his own account on a tract of seventy acres given him by his father, to which he added seventy acres by purchase and later acquired an additional forty acres, on all of which he conducted operations according to the approved methods of the times. In the spring of 1864 he moved to Harris- town township, Macon county, where he had purchased one hundred and sixty acres of wild land at fifteen dollars an acre. Here he concentrated his energies and made many improvements, from time to time increasing the acreage until he acquired about thirteen hundred acres, some of which cost him as much as fifty dollars an acre, and the farm is now one of the most valuable properties in the township. This farm embraces about twenty acres which was the home of Thomas Lincoln, the father of Abraham Lincoln, and here the future presi- dent lived in his boyhood. The cabin that was occupied by the Lincoln family was moved from its original location before Mr. Scroggin bought the land and at present the spot is indicated by a memorial tablet. Before Mr. Scroggin purchased this land it belonged to Brennaman Brothers, who acquired it from
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Richard Whitley, the original owner having been Shelton Whitley, who prob- ably secured a title to the land from the government. Mr. Scroggin is also identified with various business interests and long since reached a point of financial independence and gained an enviable reputation as one of the leading business men of the farming community.
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