USA > Illinois > Macon County > Decatur > City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, volume II > Part 47
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In the early boyhood days of William Ridgley the public school system was not well organized in the districts in which he lived and he pursued his educa- tion in the paid schools of that time, his own labors furnishing him the money necessary for his tuition. At the age of seventeen years, he began learning the carpenter's trade, which he followed in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, for about three years, and then sought the opportunities of the growing middle west, mak- ing his way at the age of twenty years to Urbana, Illinois. There he again worked at his trade, but remained at Urbana for only a brief period, after which he re- moved to Piatt county, and for more than a half century has been identified with its farming interests. He took up contracting there and was quite successful in his building operations but after working at his trade for four years, he pur- chased land in the county and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. While he carried on general farming, he also raised some stock, handling good grades of cattle, horses and hogs. His chief business, however, was the cultivation of the cereals best adapted to soil and climate. His methods of tilling the fields were practical and his labors brought him good return.
On the 9th of December, 1857, Mr. Ridgley was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Caster, and unto them were born five children : Franklin L., who married Effie Mitchell and is now deceased; Charles Henry, who married Lena Merri- man; John G., who married Fannie Spear and has three children-Ralph, Her- bert and Ethel; William S .; and Jennie, who died when twenty-six years of age. After losing his first wife, Mr. Ridgley was again married on the 16th of Jan- uary, 1902, his second union being with Mrs. Catharine (Wise) Royer, a widow, who by her former marriage had five children: Charles; Winfield, who is mar-
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ried and has three children; Elizabeth Jane, who is married and has two chil- dren; Silas; and Lee. Mrs. Ridgley is a daughter of William and Catharine (Kline) Wise. Her father removed from Pennsylvania to Summit county, Ohio, and there followed the trades of a mechanic and blacksmith.
Mr. Ridgley continued to reside upon the old home farm in Piatt county until 1891, when he removed to Monticello. In June, 1907, he removed to De- catur and has been prominent in public affairs, aiding largely in promoting the general welfare and upbuilding of the community. He has served on the school board, also as assessor of Piatt county, and in the discharge of his public duties manifests the same spirit of fidelity and integrity which has ever characterized him in private life. His political allegiance is given to the republican party. He has been prominent in the social life of the community and for over a half cen- tury has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Its teachings have guided his actions and he has ever endeavored to conform his life to its prin- ciples. His strict moral worth commends him to the confidence and good will of all, and no one speaks of William Ridgley except in terms of praise and re- gard.
A. WAIT.
The saying that "opportunity knocks but once," has in a measure become cur- rent, but there are hundreds of examples that are a refutation of this statement. The life record of A. Wait is one. Undiscouraged by disasters which overtook him, he has made steady progress toward the goal of prosperity during his resi- dence in Decatur, and when one avenue of opportunity has seemed closed, he has carved out for himself another path eventually bringing him to the goal of his hopes. He is today one of the prominent and honored capitalists of the city and his record stands as a splendid example of what may be accomplished through determination and business ability.
Mr. Wait is numbered among Decatur's citizens who claim New England as the place of nativity or their ancestral home. He was born in Stowe, Ver- mont, June 24, 1840, and his parents, Daniel and Aliphal (Briggs) Wait, were also natives of that state. The father was a farmer by occupation, devoting his life for many years to agricultural pursuits in La Moille county, Vermont, where both he and his wife passed away. He was a school teacher and lived with the Douglas family, Stephen A. going to school to him. He traced his lineage back to England, although representatives of the name have resided in this country since 1616. From the same ancestry is descended Chief Justice Wait, who has taken great pains in having the genealogy of the family prepared. The Briggs family sent several of its members to the front in the Revolutionary war.
In the public schools of Vermont A. Wait pursued his early education and afterward attended Harvard Law School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1862, but he turned his attention to merchandising, which he followed until about 1895. In October, 1876, he came to Decatur and has since resided here. For several years he was connected with mercantile interests in this city, and in 1905 he erected the Wait building, which is a large, fine five-story brick
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structure, occupied by the Gushard Dry Goods Company, with offices in the upper floors. He also erected the Arcade Hotel and the Decatur Hotel, both occupied by business houses and hotels. His labors have been a valuable factor in the upbuilding and improvement of Decatur. He is also the owner of the Bramble House in La Fayette, Indiana, and considerable other property in that state. In fact, he has invested heavily in hotels, hotel sites and other real estate and has been a most successful dealer in those properties. He is a practical thorough-going business man, never seeking political favors but concentrating his energies upon those interests which in legitimate field of business claim his time and attention. His judgment is sound, his discrimination keen, his enter- prise unfaltering, and the combination of these qualities has made him a force- ful figure in Decatur.
In 1863 Mr. Wait was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Ainsworth, of Macon county, and they have three children, Clarence A., Arthur and Fao. In his political views Mr. Wait is independent, exercising his right of franchise as his judgment indicates and not according to party dictation. He has won notable success during the period of his residence in Decatur. Heavy indebtedness was resting upon him when he came to this city, and with resolute spirit he set to work not only to meet every financial obligation but also to pass beyond into the realm of prosperity. This he has accomplished, his energy enabling him to overcome all difficulties and obstacles, while his aptitude for successful manage- ment and his genius for organization have brought him to a prominent place among the successful business men of the city.
JOHN F. GEPFORD.
John F. Gepford, superintendent of the county poor farm of Macon county, is recognized as a man of high character and one who is especially adapted for the position which he has occupied for three years past. He is a native son of Illinois, born in this county, November 14, 1859. His father, Daniel Gep- ford, was born in Pennsylvania in 1830, and came to this state when he was ten years of age. After spending one year in Sangamon county, he removed to Macon county and engaged in farming, acquiring eighty acres of land in this county. In 1892 he removed to Missouri and continued there until his death.
John F. Gepford received his education in the district schools, and in his earlier years became familiar under his father with the operation of the home farm. After his marriage he engaged in farming on his own account, bringing to his work an energy and ability that produced gratifying results. He con- tinued upon the farm until December, 1907, when he was appointed by the board of supervisors county superintendent of the poor farm. In the dis- charge of his duties in this position he has shown good judgment that has met not only with the cordial approval of the board, but also with the approval of the taxpayers and people in all parts of the county who are interested in the administration of this institution.
J. F. GEPFORD
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On the 12th of September, 1887, Mr. Gepford was married to Miss Capi- tola Knight, a daughter of Aaron and Susanna (Will) Knight, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter of Pennsylvania. The mother came to Macon county in her childhood and the father as a young man. Mr. Knight was born in 1821 and departed this life in 1893. His estimable wife was born in 1838 and died in 1907. They were married in this county and were the parents of eight children, seven of whom are now living. To Mr. and Mrs. Gepford four children have been born: Susie, who was born October I, 1888, and died in March, 1909; Helen, born October 4, 1889, now living at home; Harry, born December 14, 1892, also at home; and Sydney, born December 15, 1897.
Mr. Gepford has been for many years identified with the republican party and has taken an active interest in its success, heartily believing that the ad- ministration of county, state and national affairs are more wisely conducted through the channels of this party than by any other means. Hence he is a partisan and regards with grave concern the movement in different parts of the country that aims to disintegrate the long established political organiza- tions. Socially he is connected with the Ionic Lodge of the Masonic Order, and with Lodge No. 1626, Modern Woodmen of America, of Decatur. He has for many years been an active member of the Methodist church, and by an upright and honorable life has gained the esteem of the best people of the county, being ably assisted by his wife, who has proven at all times a worthy helpmeet to her husband.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
John Quincy Adams, at the age of about seventy-three years, is living retired in Decatur, his home being at No. 1157 East Riverside Drive. He is numbered among the veterans of the Civil war and among those who were formerly closely connected with the farming interests of Macon county. Now he is living retired and the fruits of his former labor supply him with all of the comforts and some of the luxuries of life. He was born near Terre Haute, Indiana, on the 13th of April, 1838, his parents being Samuel and Elsie Adams, the former one of the prominent and influential residents of Indiana, where he located at a very early day. He was the son of McDaniel Adams, who came to the middle west from Virginia, where he was well known as a planter.
John Q. Adams spent his youthful days under the parental roof and acquired his education in the schools of Indiana, where he remained until early man- hood, when he came to Illinois. He worked on his father's farm during the time he was acquiring his education and afterward rented land, beginning farm- ing on his own account following his removal to this state. By carefully saving the money which he made upon the rented farm he accumulated a sufficient amount to enable him to purchase a small tract of land and by hard work he was just about to make the final payment when the Civil war broke out. He had watched with interest the progress of events in the south, had noted the threatening attitude of the slaveholding states and resolved that if a blow were 24
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struck to overthrow the union he would stand loyally in its defense. He was therefore one of the very first to volunteer for active duty at the front, becom- ing a member of the Twenty-seventh Regiment of Indiana Infantry. He was wounded at Antietam, being shot through both legs, but was only in the hospital for a short time and when he had recovered he reenlisted as a member of the Eleventh Indiana Infantry, with which he served throughout the remainder of the war. His military record is a creditable one and few among the old soldiers of Decatur are more widely or more favorably known. He is very prominent in Grand Army circles and through his membership in that organization keeps in close touch with his old comrades. He took part in many a sanguinary battle and went on the long, hard marches, but no matter what the task assigned him he never faltered nor failed to give back blow for blow to the enemy.
On the 20th of September, 1864, Mr. Adams was united in marriage to Miss Angeline McCarty and unto them have been born six children. Ella, the eldest, is the wife of Tim McDermott and has six children. Sarah and Samuel have both passed away. Frank married Pearl Dodson and has four children. Ollie is deceased. Mattie is the wife of Isaac Iler and has one child.
After the war Mr. Adams resumed farming and as the years advanced brought his fields under a high state of cultivation, added many modern equip- ments and introduced much modern machinery to facilitate the work of the fields. His methods were at once practical and progressive and his labors brought sub- stantial results. Year after year he was able to add somewhat to his capital and at length felt that his success was sufficient to justify him in putting aside the active work of the farm and retire from business life. In 1890, therefore, he took up his abode in Decatur, where he now makes his home, enjoying in well earnest rest the fruits of his former toil. He is a member of the Congregational church and his life has been spent in harmony with his professions, bringing him the respect and good will of his fellowmen. He has ever been honorable in business and loyal in citizenship and the record which he has made has gained for him the kindly regard of all with whom he has come in contact.
ROBERT ARNOLD HENSON.
Robert Arnold Henson is busily employed in the cultivation and improvement of a farm in Illini township which is a part of the Henson estate. He was born in Macon county on the 17th of December, 1862, and is a representative of one of the old families of Illinois. He was named in honor of his grandfather, Robert Henson, who removed from Kentucky to Macon county. His father, John Hen- son, whose birth occurred in Kentucky, was but a boy when the family came to Illinois. He first settled in Illini township and the place upon which he lived is known as the old Henson homestead. Throughout his life he devoted his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits but retired a short time prior to his death and removed to Decatur, where his remaining days were passed. He was called to his final rest on the Ist of January, 1891, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna Knight, died on the 18th of May, 1882. They were
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long residents of this part of the state and enjoyed the good will and respect of all with whom they came in contact. In their family were six children, of whom Mrs. Mary Gepford, Jane and Mrs. Elizabeth Selby are all now deceased. Those still living are: William, who is yet a resident of Macon county; Aaron, who is now located in the state of Oklahoma; and Robert A., of this review.
The last named was reared in his father's home and pursued his education in the schools of Warrensburg and of Boiling Springs. The periods of vacation were devoted to farm work and he early became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the farm lad. He was diligent and persevering and his early experiences well qualified him for the successful conduct of business affairs in later life. When twenty-one years of age he rented land and started out in life on his own account. He had previously worked by the month as a farm hand and when he began farming for himself his diligence and determina- tion brought immediate results. He is now renting a part of the old Henson place-a valuable farm in Illini township, the soil being rich and productive and responding readily to the care and labor which he bestows upon it. He never falters in what he undertakes but with persistent energy carries his plans for- ward to successful completion.
On the 7th of May, 1894, Mr. Henson was married to Miss Ida Gepford, a daughter of George and Letitia (Shepard) Gepford. Her father came from Pennsylvania and was known as one of the leading and influential residents of this locality. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Henson has been born a son, George Leslie, who is still in school.
The family all belong to the Methodist Episcopal church and take an active part in its work. Mr. Henson is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and is officially connected with the schools of the neighborhood as a director. He is interested in all that pertains to public welfare and progress and cooperates in many movements for the general good. He has been a lifelong resident of the county and has therefore witnessed its growth and development for forty-eight years, during which period he has seen remarkable changes as the county has put aside all of the appearances and evidences of pioneer life and taken on all of the advantages known to older settled communities. Nature was lavish in her gifts to Macon county, for nowhere is there to be found richer land or conditions that more surely result in good crops. Mr. Henson, therefore, is fortunate in having cast in his lot with the farmers of Illini township and as the years have passed on has established himself among the substantial agriculturists of the community.
WILLIAM A. BARNES, M. D.
Only noble lives leave an indelible impress on the localities in which they have lived and labored. It is through high and honorable principles, as exem- plified in daily conduct, that one wins the regard of his fellowmen and makes for himself a place in a community that, when left vacant, is hard to fill. So much of strength and tenderness, so much of honor and fearlessness were inter- woven in the life of Dr. William A. Barnes that aside from his business and pro-
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fessional success, his name deserves a prominent place in the history of Macon county.
New Hampshire claimed him as a native son, his birth having occurred in Claremont, March 15, 1824. He represented a family connected with New Eng- land from the period of its early colonization. His paternal grandfather re- moved from Farmington, Connecticut, to Claremont, New Hampshire, when that section of the state was almost an unbroken wilderness and amid the green hills there he reared his family. His son, Ira N. Barnes, was born in Claremont and after reaching years of maturity devoted his energies to agricultural pur- suits, but an accident caused his death when he was only about thirty years of age. He had married Harriet Eastman, a representative of an old New England family of considerable prominence. Their family numbered five children.
Dr. Barnes, who was only six years of age at the time of his father's death, went to live with his grandfather in 1831, and there remained until he reached the age of fifteen years, devoting much of the time to study in the public schools and in the Claremont Academy. He then left New England, and from 1839 until 1844 resided with a cousin in Dayton, Ohio. There he resumed his studies until qualified for teaching, when he took up the work of the schoolroom in Montgomery county, Ohio, being at that time twenty years of age. He also devoted a portion of his time to teaching music, nature and study having ad- vanced him far in that art, but the study of medicine seemed more attractive to him than either branch of his teaching, and in 1846 he began reading in the office and under the direction of Dr. Van Harlingen, of Centerville, Ohio. His " collegiate course was pursued in the Starling Medical College at Columbus, and in the fall of 1849 he pursued a second course of lectures in the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, and was there graduated with the class of 1850.
Dr. Barnes located for practice in Centerville, Ohio, but in the fall of the same year removed to Valparaiso, Indiana, where he practiced for three years. He then came to Decatur in 1853, and for a short time followed his profession in this city, but extended his efforts into business lines that ultimately monopol- ized his time and energies. His first work aside from his profession was the development and cultivation of a tract of land about four miles from Decatur, which he purchased upon his arrival here. In 1855 he became proprietor of a drug store formerly owned by Drs. King and Chenoweth, conducting it profitably until 1859. During the period of the civil war, his time was largely occupied with official service, and in 1861 he was appointed master in chancery, which position he filled in most creditable and satisfactory manner until 1865, when he resigned.
The name of Dr. Barnes is inseparably interwoven with the development of manufacturing interests in Decatur, and in this manner he contributed much to the upbuilding of the city. In 1860 he became a partner of William Lintner, and they established a factory for the manufacture of hay presses. The under- taking proved profitable, and a department for the manufacture of pumps and agricultural implements was added. From the beginning the business consti- tuted a gratifying source of income, for the excellence of the output and the reliable trade methods of the house soon secured an extensive and growing pa- tronage. Dr. Barnes sold out some years later, having in the meantime, in 1868,
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concentrated his attention and energies largely upon real estate operations, and the improvement of his lands. His remarkable foresight and sagacity had prompted him to invest extensively in lands in Macon, Piatt and Moultrie coun- ties soon after coming to Illinois. The rapid settlement of the Mississippi val- ley led to a quick rise in property values and the sale of his real estate made Dr. Barnes the possessor of a handsome fortune. He displayed remarkable sagacity in placing his investments and seemed always to sell at the most advan- tageous period.
The home life of Dr. Barnes was at all times attractive. He was married in October, 1849, to Miss Eleanor Sawyer, a native of Lebanon county, Penn- sylvania, with whom he had become acquainted while she was residing in Cen- terville, Ohio. The marriage, however, was celebrated in Dauphin county, Penn- sylvania, and it was subsequent to that time that Dr. Barnes pursued his studies in the University of Pennsylvania. Unto them were born four sons and a daughter: Albert, a prominent business man of Decatur, who died in 1909; Charles M., who was successfully engaged in practicing law in Boston, Massa- chusetts, until his death, which occurred March 9, 1893; Mary, the wife of Geo. R. Stanton, of Decatur; William, a physician and surgeon of Decatur; and a son who died in infancy.
Arriving in Decatur when the city was but a small and unimportant village, Dr. Barnes was connected with its public life as well as its business interests and no movement for the welfare and improvement of the city sought his coopera- tion in vain. He became one of the earliest supporters of the republican party in the county and marched under its banners until his death, which occurred in Dansville, New York, August 20, 1897. Being an opponent of the system of slavery, he naturally joined the ranks of the party formed to prevent its further extension into the north. He supported Fremont in the campaign of 1856 and delivered a number of political addresses in that year. Naturally his prominence and ability led to his selection for political office, and prior to the civil war he was elected mayor of Decatur and later served for several terms as a member of the city council. With other prominent men he was influential in securing to the city the system of railroads which has made it an important commercial center, and he was one of the active members of the Citizens Association organized to advance the public interests of Decatur. There was no more loyal friend to the school system than Dr. Barnes, and his interest therein was manifest in tangible measure in his service as a member and president of the board of education. He served as presi- dent of the Decatur public library board from its organization until his death with the exception of a single year.
A contemporary biographer has said of him: "His benevolence was unosten- tatious and genuine, and there is nothing in the story of his life to show that he ever for a moment sought to compass a given end for the purpose of exalting himself. He championed measures and aided men and accepted as his reward that thrill of delight which always accompanies victories achieved. Endowed by nature with a sound judgment and an accurate, discriminating mind, he feared not that laborious attention to the details of business so necessary to achieve suc- cess, and this essential quality was guided by a sense of moral right, which would tolerate the employment only of those means that would bear the most rigid
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examination and by a fairness of intention that neither sought nor required dis- guise. It is but just and merited praise to say of Dr. Barnes that as a business man he ranked with the ablest; as a citizen he was honorable, prompt and true to every engagement; as a man he held the honor and esteem of all classes of people, of all creeds and political proclivities ; as a husband and father he was a model worthy of all imitation; unassuming in his manner, sincere in his friend- ship, steadfast and unswerving in his loyalty to the right. Throughout his ca- reer of continued and far-reaching usefulness his duties were performed with the greatest care, and during a long life his personal honor and integrity were without blemish."
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