USA > Illinois > Macon County > Decatur > City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, volume II > Part 49
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where he now makes his home, this being prior to the death of Mr. Childs. He had eighty acres of his own in the northern part of Illini township but sold after three years and purchased one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the Childs farm. Later he disposed of that property and came to the farm which he now occupies, his time being devoted to its cultivation. The land is very rich and responds readily to the care and labor which he bestows upon it. In his farm work he is determined and energetic and the years are bringing to him a sub- stantial measure of success.
On the 4th of February, 1877, Mr. Williams was married to Miss Elizabeth Whiteside, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Pulliam) Whiteside, who came from North Carolina. Her father was born in Rutherford county, that state, and was there educated. In 1859 he came to Illinois, settling in Madison county, while later he became a resident of Logan county. He was one of the early settlers and landowners, his farm comprising one hundred and thirty acres of arable land, which he brought under a high state of cultivation. His death occurred February 20, 1892, and in his demise this community lost a valuable and worthy citizen. In early life he had married Elizabeth, daughter of John Pulliam, and they became the parents of five chil- dren, of whom three are yet living: J. Franklin, Louis O. and Mrs. Williams. The second son is married and has six children: Jennie, Sadie, Hilda, Irene, Minnie and Roscoe. Having lost his first wife, Mr. Whiteside was married again, in 1864, his second union being with Mary J. Johnson. He continued a resident of Logan county until his death, which occurred many years later.
Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Williams: Rosie, the wife of Otis Beall and the mother of two children, LaVerne and Glenn; and Ida M., the wife of John Lenhart and the mother of one son, Vernon. The family attend the Christian church and Mr. Williams belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp. He has worked earnestly and labored diligently to attain success and in all of his business affairs has enjoyed the confidence and respect of his fellowmen because of his fidelity to high and honorable principles. His life is a busy one, given to the cultivation of three hundred and sixty acres of land, and his name is known throughout the community as that of one who is as loyal in citizenship as he is straightforward in his business affairs.
CYRUS M. IMBODEN.
In Cyrus M. Imboden we have an example of a self-made man, whose life illustrates clearly the fact that success and an honorable name may be won simultaneously and that energy and perseverance are determining factors in the former. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born in 1845, a son of John Imboden, whose birth occurred in Lebanon county, that state. Believing that he might have better opportunities to provide for his family in the middle west, the father removed to Decatur on the 22d of November, 1855, and a month later opened a meat market, doing his own slaughtering and purchasing his own stock. Success attended him from the beginning and his business rapidly increased with the
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growth of the city. He continued active in its management until the Ist of April, 1880, when he retired to private life, although the business was continued by his two sons, Cyrus M. and John G. In fact, the business has continued with- out interruption from 1855 until the present day, covering a period of fifty-five years, and throughout the entire time the location has never been changed. The first shop, however, was a small frame building, twenty by thirty feet, and one story in height. This was afterward replaced by a brick structure and in the early '6os the father built what is known as the Imboden block, at the corner of South Main and Wood streets. It was erected in modern style of architecture, thoroughly equipped as a market and when located in the new building Mr. Imboden's success was greater than ever before.
In early manhood John Imboden was married, in Pennsylvania, to Miss Sarah Mark, also a native of Lebanon county, that state. They had become parents of four children when, in 1855, they journeyed westward by way of Pittsburg, Cleveland and Chicago, to Macon county. Here both father and mother remained until called to their final rest, Mr. Imboden passing away December 31, 1899, while his wife died March 1, 1894, at the age of seventy-five years. Other chil- dren were added to the family during their residence in this state until the house- hold numbered nine, of whom the following are yet living. These are: Cyrus M .; Adam H., who is married and is a traveling salesman of Wichita, Kansas; Hiram, who is married and makes his home in the same city, conducting a flour- ing mill in Wichita; David C., who is engaged in the brokerage business in New York; John G., who is a farmer and stock-dealer of Macon county, carrying on business extensively ; and Frank W., a Methodist minister located in Colorado. As members of the First Methodist Episcopal church the parents took a very active part in its work, the father serving as president of the board of trustees for many years and contributing generously of his means to the support of the cause.
Cyrus M. Imboden was a lad of ten years when he accompanied his parents on their westward removal to Decatur and here he continued his education, begun in Ohio, as a pupil in the public schools of this city. He made his initial step in the business world as a clerk, being thus employed by different firms of the city, but when seventeen years of age his military spirit dominated all else and in response to the call of his country, then engaged in civil war, he joined Company F, One Hundred and Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, becoming a private under Captain F. L. Hayes and Colonel Jesse H. Moore. He was on active duty until honorably discharged on the 29th of February, 1864, because of severe wounds which he had sustained in the battle of Chickamauga in September, 1863.
Following his return home and the restoration of his health Mr. Imboden engaged in the grocery business and in other commercial pursuits in connection with his brother Adam until July 6, 1870, when he became a partner in the meat market that his father had established fifteen years before. The firm name was then changed to Imboden & Son and C. M. Imboden has since remained an active factor in the business, which is today the oldest establishment of this kind in Decatur. It has ever been regarded as one of the best markets of the city, for it is his endeavor to give to his patrons meat of good quality, and his fair and honorable dealing has brought to him a well merited patronage.
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Mr. Imboden was married on the 9th of August, 1870, to Miss Clara Allison, a daughter of Dr. B. A. and Amanda (Patrick) Allison, natives of Kentucky and Indiana respectively. Their marriage was blessed with seven children, five of whom yet survive: Daisy J., the wife of Ira Fleming, of Crosby, Texas; Sarah, who is a teacher in the public schools of Decatur; Charles A., who is a receiving teller in the Millikin Bank; Benjamin A., also receiving teller with the bank; and Susanna, the wife of Ralph Tenney of Decatur.
The family attend the First Methodist Episcopal church, which Mr. Imboden joined at the age of fourteen years and to which he has ever been most loyal. He has served as church steward and in other offices and his efforts have been of marked value to the church as factors in its progress, growth and influence. He has never sought nor desired political office or honors, however, although in the '8os he served for two terms as assistant supervisor and is now serving as city treasurer of Decatur. He votes with the Republican party and his support thereof is the result of careful consideration of the questions and issues involved. He is well known in Masonic circles, having attained the Knights Templar degree in Beaumanoir Commandery. For fifty-five years he has been a resident of Decatur and there are few more familiar with the history of the city. More- over, his entire life has been in close conformity with the highest principles of honorable manhood and progressive citizenship, and the name of Cyrus M. Imboden is only spoken of in Decatur in terms of respect and confidence.
CHARLES H. HEINLE.
The life record of Charles H. Heinle shows what can be accomplished through diligence and determined purpose. As some one has expressed it "vim and vigor means victory," and this finds exemplification in the life of Charles H. Heinle, one of the active and progressive farmers and stock-raisers of Friends Creek township, living on section 12, where he owns and cultivates a farm of two hundred acres.
He is a native son of Macon county, having been born February 22, 1878, on the farm where he now resides. He is a brother of Samuel, Lewis and Fred Heinle, all of whom are mentioned in this volume. He is the youngest and was reared upon the home farm until the father's death. He then inherited eighty acres of the old place and afterward bought one hundred and twenty acres adjoining. His farm today is one of the well improved properties of the county. He has recently erected a large barn upon the place and has a comfortable modern residence, heated with furnace, supplied with hot and cold water and lighted by gas. Other modern equipments are also features of this attractive home. The farm work, too, is carried on along progressive lines and the latest improved machinery is used to facilitate the work of the fields. He likewise makes a specialty of raising good grades of horses and hogs and his live-stock interests constitute an important branch of his business.
On the 6th of January, 1904, Mr. Heinle was married in Argenta to Miss Clara Edwards, who was born in Illinois and was reared in De Witt county.
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CHARLES H. HEINLE AND FAMILY
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
She is a daughter of William Edwards, now a resident of that county. Mr. and Mrs. Heinle have one son, Kenneth Vernelle. The parents are members of the United Brethren church, loyal to its teachings and generous in its support. Mr. Heinle belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and gives his political allegiance to the democratic party but has never sought nor desired office. Hav- ing spent his entire life in this county, his record is well known to friends and neighbors, and that he enjoys the high regard and good-will of those with whom he has come in contact in an indication that his life has been well spent.
JOSEPH P. FERRY.
Joseph P. Ferry is now a retired farmer who for about sixteen years has lived in Warrensburg, enjoying here the fruits of his former toil in an income which is derived from five valuable farming properties lying in Austin township. His present financial condition is in marked contrast to his financial standing at the time he came to the middle west, for he was then the possessor of two dollars as his entire cash capital. He was born in France on the 30th of June, 1835, and is a son of Joseph and Clara (Marshall) Ferry. The father was a stone mason by trade and never left his native land to become a resident of another country. He was, however, a soldier in the French army, and with his regiment went to Africa during one of the wars which the French waged on that conti- nent. It was subsequent to this time that he took up the stone mason's trade, which he followed throughout his remaining days in France, where both he and his wife passed away.
Joseph P. Ferry was educated in the schools of France and was about twenty years of age when he came to the United States. He had heard very favorable reports concerning America as the land of almost limitless opportunity and, hop- ing to benefit by a change of residence, he sailed for New Orleans. From that point he made his way up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers to Peoria, and then to LaSalle county, where he engaged in farming. The year 1856 witnessed his arrival in Macon county, where he also turned his attention to general agricul- tural pursuits. He had but two dollars when he reached America, but he pos- sessed what is better still-courage, determination and ambition. Carefully sav- ing his earnings, he at length secured a sum sufficient to enable him to buy forty acres at twelve and a half dollars per acre. This constituted the nucleus of his present extensive possessions, and he is today one of the largest landowners of the county. From time to time, as opportunity has offered, he has purchased land until he is now the owner of five farms in Austin township, comprising about five hundred acres of very rich and productive land. All this is under a high state of cultivation and brings to him a substantial annual income. He has recently erected a new business block in Warrensburg, which he rents and which is one of the finest business properties of the town. About sixteen years ago he retired from the active work of the farm and removed to Warrensburg, where he has since lived, resting in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil save for the management which he gives to his property interests.
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On the 7th of September, 1864, Mr. Ferry was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Jane Haywood, a daughter of Jonas and Ann (Harrison) Haywood, rep- resentatives of an old English family who originally lived in the vicinity of Man- chester, England. Mr. and Mrs. Haywood on coming to America first settled in Austin township, Macon county, where they lived for a number of years, but afterward removed to Iowa. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ferry have been born the following children : Clara, who is the wife of Elias Haller and had five children -Joseph, Grace, Ruth, Kenneth and one who died in infancy; Albert, who mar- ried Lou Janvrin and has three children-Howard, Mabel and Lawrence; Emma, who is now the wife of Joe Davis and has four children-Vonna, Cassius, Car- rie and Hazel; James, who married Ethel Walker and has a son, Earl; and Frank, who married Cora Stennett and has three children-Leta, Dorothy and Joseph. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ferry also had three children who died in in- fancy.
The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Ferry has long been a faithful representative, and in the church he is now serving as an elder. His life has been guided by its teachings and has ever been in close conformity to its principles. While he has been very successful in business, over the record of his business career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. His prosperity has been gained in the legitimate channels of trade, and his example of success should serve to inspire and encourage others, showing what may be accomplished when one has the will to dare and to do. He has now passed the seventy-fifth milestone on life's journey, and is one of the most highly re- spected among the venerable citizens of Macon county.
JAMES M. DODD.
A man's reputation is the property of the world. The laws of nature have forbidden isolation. Every human being submits to the controlling influence of others or, as a master spirit, wields a power either for good or evil on the masses of mankind. There can be no impropriety in justly scanning the acts of any man as they affect his public and business relations. From among the ranks of prominent citizens of Decatur-prominent on account of political ser- vice as well as his business success-there is no one more deserving of mention in a volume of this character than James M. Dodd, whose capability, efficiency and loyalty in public office constitute an example well worthy of emulation in this day when so much is heard about trickery and dishonesty among those in public life. James M. Dodd was born in New Albany, Indiana, September 11, 1851, a son of Thomas S. and Lucy M. (Mitchell) Dodd, the former a native of Missouri and the latter of Indiana. For a long period they were residents of New Albany, where both passed away. The father entered the steamboat service when twenty- one years of age and became one of the best known pilots on the river between St. Louis and New Orleans. He took great pride in his calling and continued in active service until about two years prior to his death. While upon the river he became acquainted with many of the great men of the country, who visited
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him in the pilot house as they were going up and down the Mississippi. He died on the 15th of May, 1896, at the age of seventy-two years, his birth having occurred in 1824. His wife, who was born March 6, 1833, died November 15, 1910, when seventy-eight years of age.
James M. Dodd acquired a public-school education during the period of his youth, which was spent in his parents' home. As a boy it was his one ambition to enter the river service and had it not been for the outbreak of the Civil war his life record would probably have been very different from that which is here recorded; but because of the hostilities between the two sections of the country and the consequent danger to any who were upon the river, his parents refused to allow him to take up the calling of his father and at the age of fourteen years he accepted a position as delivery clerk in the postoffice at New Albany. After serving in that capacity for two years he secured a position in the office of an undertaker in his home town, served an apprenticeship and remained with his employer for six years. That was prior to the time when the science of embalm- ing had come into use and all bodies were preserved by packing in ice. In 1880 Mr. Dodd came to Decatur and for three years was retail salesman for the queensware house of E. D. Bartholomew & Company. On the expiration of that period he was promoted to the position of stock man for both the wholesale and retail departments of the business, in which position he served for seven and a half years, so that his connection with that house covered altogether ten and a half years. His close confinement at his work, however, undermined his health and he resigned his position. The two years thereafter were spent in rest and recu- peration and through the succeeding two years he engaged in the real-estate business-more, however, as a diversion than in the hope of gain.
Interested from early boyhood in the political situation of the country and the vital questions of the day, he has always been more or less active in politics and in 1893 he was elected to the city council of Decatur from the third ward on the republican ticket. He had never been an office seeker and was nominated and elected at this time through the wishes and influence of his friends. He filled the position for two years and while serving in that capacity was waited upon by many of the republicans and asked to become the nominee for county clerk. He consented and was elected in 1894. That his course in office was highly commendable and satisfactory to the general public is indicated in the fact that in 1898 he was reelected to the office by the largest majority ever given a republi- can candidate in Macon county. In 1902 he was once more chosen for that position without opposition and the public has ever freely acknowledged the fact of their indebtedness to him for bringing the work of the office to the highest degree of efficiency and perfection ever known in the period of its existence. After three terms' service, covering twelve years, he retired from the position as he had entered it-with the confidence and good will of all concerned.
Following his return to private life in 1906, Mr. Dodd engaged in the under- taking business in Decatur and has since been successfully identified with that business through the intervening period of four years. He has a well appointed establishment and is accorded a liberal patronage.
On the 10th of June, 1870, Mr. Dodd was united in marriage to Miss Addie R. Daniels, of New Albany, who died on the 29th of June, 1908, leaving two
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sons, Frank S. and Earl B. The former, bearing the reputation of being "one of the finest young business men of Decatur," is now manager of the Decatur Herald. The younger son, a licensed embalmer, has attained high skill in his profession and is associated with his father in business. He has been a student in four schools of embalming and has thoroughly mastered the science. On the 30th of December, 1909, Mr. Dodd was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Ida B. Vigus, the widow of D. Vigus, of Decatur.
Prominent in the fraternal circles of the city, Mr. Dodd belongs to Chevalier Bayard Lodge, No. 189, K. P., is a charter member of the Modern Woodmen Camp, No. 144, and is also connected with the Loyal Americans, the Modern Americans, the Knights and Ladies of Security, the Red Men and the Decatur Club. He and his wife and his two sons are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church. He is one of the best known residents of Decatur and socially is much esteemed. Warm-hearted and genial, he has drawn about him a circle of devoted friends.
LOUIS A. MILLS.
While the practice of law chiefly occupies the attention of Louis A. Mills, he is also well known because of his connection with important and successful busi- ness enterprises of Decatur and because of his prominence in Masonic circles. Illinois numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Putnam county on the 15th of October, 1864. His father, Joseph Mills, was a native of Pennsylvania, where he resided until 1845, when he started westward with Illinois as his destination. He secured a tract of land in Putnam county and for many years was identified with its agricultural interests, capably and success- fully managing the affairs of the farm. He wedded Mary E. Merritt, and at his death, in 1884, when forty-three years of age, left a widow and six children, namely : Jessie L .; Louis A .; Mary Arvilla; Mabel, the wife of S. E. Walker, of Decatur; Elizabeth, the wife of O. W. Dawson, of Decatur; and Maud, the wife of C. F. Parker, of Julesburg, Colorado.
The early experiences of Louis A. Mills were those of the farm and his boy- hood training made him familiar with the work of field and meadow. Even when in school he aided daily in performing the chores and other light labor of the farm and thus came to realize the value of industry, enterprise and per- severance. After mastering the branches of learning taught in the rural schools, he attended the Decatur high school and subsequently had the benefit of instruc- tion in Lincoln University, thus becoming well equipped by broad literary knowl- edge for the practical and responsible duties of life. He lived for a time in Decatur and then went to South Dakota to look after his father's interests in that state, for it was there that his father's death occurred, Joseph Mills having made considerable investment in property in that district. The profession of law, however, attracted him and upon his return to Decatur he began reading in the law office of Isaac R. and Andrew H. Mills, who were practicing under the firm style of Mills Brothers. He closely applied himself to his studies and in
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1890 successfully passed the required examination that secured him admission to the bar. That his former preceptors were appreciative of his ability and believed that he would make a valued addition to the firm is indicated by the fact that he was taken into a partnership. Three years later he became a partner in the Columbia Manufacturing Company and on the Ist of May, 1896, he joined J. R. Fitzgerald in a law partnership. Mr. Mills has since continued in the general practice of law and his ability in this connection won him rank with the prominent lawyers of the city. The care and precision with whch he pre- pares his cases, the thoroughness with which he grasps every point of an argu- ment and the clearness and cogency with which he presents his cases have all been factors in winning for him the success which he has enjoyed as a practic- ing attorney of Decatur. In 1898 he was made assignee for the Farmers Bank and closed up its affairs. He owns some farm land and also has general super- vision of several other properties. He has always taken an active interest in the drainage affairs of the county and is a director of the Decatur free public library.
Mr. Mills was married in 1889 to Miss Anna Hill, a granddaughter of H. W. Hill, by whom she was reared. Three children have been born of this union, Margaret, Walker H. and Anna Louise. Mr. Mills is prominent in Masonic circles with which he has been identified since 1896, when he was raised to the Master's degree in Macon Lodge, No. 8, F. & A. M. He also belongs to Macon Chapter, No. 21, R. A. M., Beaumanoir Commandery, No. 9, K. T .; and Peoria Consistory, A. A. S. R. He is now grand junior warden in the Grand Com- mandery Knights Templar of Illinois and in the regular order of succession in that body it is probable that Mr. Mills will be grand commander from this state at the triennial conclave in 1916. If this comes it will be an honor well merited, for no one is more devoted to the order and its high principles. He has a very wide and favorable acquaintance in Masonic circles and in Decatur, where he has lived so many years, he is regarded as a popular and highly respected citizen as well as an able and progressive lawyer.
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