USA > Illinois > Macon County > Decatur > City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, volume II > Part 54
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It was on the 6th of February, 1895, that Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Miss Cleo Clyde Taylor, who was born in Macon county, July, 1878, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Taylor, farming people of Macon county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hill were born five children, Bonnie, Hattie, Edna, Freda and Clarence, Jr., ages respectively fourteen, twelve, ten, seven and four years.
In politics Mr. Hill gave his allegiance to the democracy, doing all in his power to further the influence of that party in the community although he neither sought nor desired public office for himself, preferring to concentrate his energies upon the conduct of his business affairs. He was not remiss, how- ever, in the duties of citizenship, for his influence was ever upon the side of progress, improvement, reform and advancement. He was a consistent mem- ber of the Bethlehem Presbyterian church. He passed away April 19, 1907, at the early age of thirty-four years, and his death was the occasion of deep regret among the many warm friends whom he had gained in Macon county and who entertained for him high regard because of his many sterling qualities.
GEORGE S. CONNARD.
A resident of Decatur for seventeen years, George S. Connard has become well known here, and the ability that he has displayed in business has gained him wide and favorable recognition. He is now cashier of the Citizens Na- tional Bank, to which position he was called in January, 1905. Macon county numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred within her bor- ders March 15, 1856. His parents were Charles E. and Nancy M. (Agur) Con- nard. The father's family were Pennsylvania people, while the mother's an- cestors were Scotch-Irish. Charles E. Connard arrived in Macon county in 1842 and settled on a farm in South Wheatland township, where he was one of the pioneers, aiding in the development of that part of the county, especially along agricultural lines. He there resided until his death, which occurred Sep- tember 27, 1909. For more than three decades he had survived his wife, who
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passed away on the 30th of September, 1878. He was not only a prominent farmer of the community, but was active in public affairs, serving in several township offices. He was a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church in his township for many years, his influence always being found on the side of right, truth and progress. His was an honored old age, and he passed to his reward in his eightieth year.
George S. Connard was reared on the home farm to the age of seventeen years, during which period he attended the district schools, while later he pur- sued a commercial course in Eastman's National Business College at Pough- keepsie, New York. In 1875 he became agent for the Illinois Central Railroad, which he thus represented for three years, and on the expiration of that period he began farming on his own account, devoting the succeeding twelve years to general agricultural pursuits. In 1893 he came to Decatur and for nine years was with the National Bank of this city, holding different positions that brought him broad experience in connection with the different phases of the banking business. In January, 1905, he entered the Citizens National Bank as assist- ant cashier, and was chosen cashier in July, 1906. He is proving a popular officer, courteous and obliging to the patrons of the bank, and at the same time thoroughly loyal to the institution which he represents. Recognizing the fact that capability and fidelity constitute the best recommendation for promotion, he has thus worked his way upward and is well known in financial circles in this city.
On the IIth of October, 1898, Mr. Connard was married to Miss Laura Ebert, of Decatur, and they have one child, Theodora. Fraternally Mr. Con- nard is connected with the Knights of Pythias, and since 1876 has been a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church of Elwin. He endeavors to conform his life to its teachings and at all times has held himself closely to a rule of con- duct that commands for him respect and honor.
SAMUEL O. HILBRANT.
Samuel O. Hilbrant, occupying the responsible position of cashier of the Argenta Bank, in which connection he has proven his ability to solve the in- tricate problems of finance, has been connected with the bank since 1898. He has long been well known in that part of Macon county, however, for he came to the county in 1876 when a lad of twelve years. He is the son of Samuel Hilbrant, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Upon the home farm he was reared and the common schools afforded him his early educational privi- leges, while subsequently he attended the high school of Argenta and also had the benefit of two years' instruction in the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso. When his school days were ended he took up the occupation of farming, to which he had been reared, and devoted two years to the tilling of the soil. He then accepted a position in a bank in Medaryville, Indiana, where he remained for two years, and thus with knowledge derived from practical experience he undertook the work to which he now devotes his energies, be-
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coming cashier of the Argenta Bank in 1898. He is not only an efficient but also a popular officer of the institution, courteous and obliging to the patrons, and at the same time carefully safeguarding the interests of the stockholders. He was also for a time connected with the Argenta Telephone Company, acting as secretary, treasurer and general manager, but later sold his interest in that business.
On the 29th of June, 1898, Mr. Hilbrant was married in Medaryville, Indi- ana, to Miss Minnie Sternberg, a native of that state, reared and educated there. They are the parents of two sons and two daughters: May, Lucille, Robert and William. Mr. Hilbrant has purchased a lot and erected a neat residence in Argenta, which the family now occupy, and it is one of the hospitable homes of the city, extending good cheer and cordial welcome to many friends.
Politically Mr. Hilbrant is a republican and for two years filled the office of township collector. He has also served as clerk of the village board and is interested in everything pertaining to the substantial development and prog- ress of the community. He is not neglectful of the higher and holier duties of life as is evidenced in his membership in the Argenta Presbyterian church, to which Mrs. Hilbrant also belongs. With various branches of Masonry he is identified including Argenta Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Decatur Chapter, R. A. M .; Decatur Commandery, K. T .; and the Mystic Shrine of Peoria. He has served through all the chairs in the blue lodge and is a past master. He has also filled all of the offices in the Odd Fellows lodge of Argenta, of which he is a past grand, and he has represented both the Masonic and Odd Fellows fra- ternities in their respective grand lodges of the state. He is indeed a prominent and leading citizen of Argenta and a well known business man whose activity has been an element in the growth and progress of the town and county. His spirit of undaunted enterprise promises well for a successful future and has al- ready established him in a creditable position at the present time.
OSCAR LACEY ERISMAN.
Oscar Lacey Erisman, a prosperous farmer of Macon county, whose home is in section 10, Niantic township, was born on the farm where he now lives, February 20, 1886. He is a son of William H. and Lillie (Buck) Erisman, both of whom are now living in Sangamon county, this state. There were five children in their family, Garland, Oscar Lacey, Estella, Iva and Sadie.
The subject of this review was reared upon the home farm until he was six- teen years of age, when he removed with his parents to Sangamon county. He was educated in the common schools and under his father became thoroughly familiar with the various operations of agriculture and stock-raising, showing an adaptability to farming pursuits that gave bright promise for his future ca- reer. At twenty-three years of age he was married and brought his bride to the home farm, where he has since continued. Here he cultivates sixty-seven acres in section 10 and eighty-eight acres in section 3, Niantic township, making a total of one hundred and fifty-five acres, all of which is productive and yields handsome annual returns for labor and time expended.
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On the 17th of February, 1909, Mr. Erisman was united in marriage, at Illiopolis, Illinois, to Miss Anna Fried, a native of Logan county and a daughter of Jacob and Catharine Fried, who are identified with farming interests. One child, Lillie Catharine, born April 23, 1910, has blessed this union.
Mr. Erisman cast his first vote for the democratic ticket and is a stanch up- holder of that party. He and his wife are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Illiopolis and he is identified fraternally with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias, being at the present time chancellor commander of the local lodge of the latter order in Illiopolis. He was reared under favorable circumstances and, although just fairly launched in the business to which he expects to devote his life, has made an excellent start, being thoroughly acquainted with all branches of farming. He is active, ener- getic, wide-awake and ambitious to keep step with the progress of the twentieth century. His friends prophesy for him a prosperous and useful career.
ROLLAND E. PERSINGER.
Rolland E. Persinger, alert and enterprising, with aptitude for successful management, has been one of the forceful elements in the prosperity which has attended the Leader Iron Works since the organization of the business. Through- out his connection therewith he has been secretary and treasurer of the company that, operating along progressive lines, has become one of the extensive and im- portant business enterprises of Decatur. He is still a young man and the qual- ities which have brought him success argue for a still more prosperous future. Macon county numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Maroa on the 23d of September, 1870.
His father, Captain J. M. Persinger, was a native of Shelby county, Ohio, and in Centerville, that state, he wedded Miss Sarah Beck, who was born in that place. Following their marriage they removed to De Witt county, Illinois, where they lived for a year and then took up their abode in Maroa, where they spent about thirty-three years, Mr. Persinger being engaged in the harness business during that time. In 1880 he established a hardware business, with which he was prominently connected up to the time of his death on the 17th of October, 1900. His widow still survives and is yet a resident of Maroa.
Entering the public schools of his native town at the usual age, Rolland E. Per- singer pursued his studies through consecutive grades until he left the high school to become a student in the University of Illinois. He also attended the U. S. Grant University at Athens, Tennessee. From early youth he was acquainted with the hardware trade, assisting his father in the store while not attending school, and after finishing his studies he became associated with his father in business and thus continued until 1895, when he accepted a position with the Crocker Elevator Company of Maroa. He remained in that connection until 1903, when the business of the Crocker Company was absorbed by the Shella- barger Elevator Company of Decatur. He became a stockholder in the latter and removed to Decatur, where he was made a director and later elected treasurer of
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the company. In that connection he bent his energies to the development and growth of the business and was active in its management until the Ist of August, 1905, when he disposed of his interests in that company and became associated with the Leader Iron Works, which was then practically in the stages of organi- zation. He believed that there was a splendid field for such an enterprise, made investment in the stock and was elected secretary and treasurer of the new com- pany, in which dual capacity he has since served. His efforts in this connection have ably supplemented the labors of the other officers and, working in harmoni- ous union, they have developed an enterprise of large and profitable proportions. Its ramifying trade interests have reached out into all sections of the country and its shipments, covering a wide territory, bring a substantial financial return annually.
On the 8th of March, 1905, Mr. Persinger was married to Miss Leona C. Harkrader, of Decatur, and to them has been born a daughter, Helen Bernice. Mr. Persinger belongs to Macon Lodge, No. 8, A. F. & A. M., and also holds membership in the Decatur and Country Clubs. He and his wife are members of the First Presbyterian church and his study of the political issues and ques- tions of the day has led him to support the republican party, although the cares of business are now too great to allow him to serve in political office. While a resident of Maroa, however, he filled the positions of mayor and city clerk and his influence in matters of citizenship is always on the side of progress, reform and improvement. His attention, however, is now concentrated on the develop- ment of the business which has been so largely promoted through his industry and discrimination. Energetic, prompt and notably reliable, he never stops short of successful accomplishment and the methods which he has employed in the attainment of success are such as conform to the strictest business ethics.
MRS. TABITHA SPORE.
Mrs. Tabitha Spore needs no introduction to the citizens of Friends Creek township, for she is well known there and has an extensive circle of warm friends. She was born in that township and is a daughter of Joseph D. Long, a native of Pennsylvania, in which state she grew to mature years and was mar- ried. He afterward removed westward to Ohio, becoming one of the pioneer settlers of that state, and about 1830 came to Illinois, casting in his lot with the few residents who claimed Macon county as their home. It was then largely a wild, unimproved and undeveloped region. The Indians still lived in the state, for it was two years afterward that the Black Hawk war occurred. The prairies were still covered with their native grasses, the forests were uncut and the streams unbridged. Only here and there had a venturesome spirit established a home on the plains of this part of Illinois and land was to be had almost for the asking. Mr. Long entered several hundred acres in Macon county and developed and im- proved a large farm in Friends Creek township, becoming in time one of the prosperous and well-to-do farmers of Macon county. Upon the place which he developed he reared his family and his life was an active and useful one, his
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industry and progressiveness making him a valued and worthy citizen of the com- munity. He married, lived and died in this county.
Mrs. Spore is one of a family of seven daughters and one son but only three of the number are now living. She was reared in Macon county, attended the public schools and was trained to the duties of the household, so that she was well qualified to take charge of a home of her own when in 1859 she gave her hand in marriage to Seth F. Spore, who was one of the early settlers of Macon county, coming from Ohio. He was a painter by trade and followed that pur- suit for a number of years. At the time of the Civil war he offered his services to the government, enlisting as a member of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served throughout the period of hos- tilities and was then honorably discharged. He took part in a number of im- portant engagements and many skirmishes and his experiences were those which usually fall to the lot of the soldier who takes part in the long hard marches and arduous campaigns.
While Mr. Spore was serving at the front his wife removed to Wisconsin, locating at Oshkosh, where he joined her after being mustered out of the army. There he worked at his trade for fourteen years and it was there that his death occurred. 'After his demise Mrs. Spore returned to Illinois, settling in Macon county and taking up her abode upon the farm in Friends Creek township where she now resides. She inherited one hundred and eighteen acres of land from her father and improved the place with the aid of her sons, so that she now has a neat and well developed farm property, in the midst of which stands a comfort- able residence. There are also good barns and outbuildings that furnish ample shelter for grain and stock, and altogether hers is a valuable place, showing care- ful management and practical judgment on the part of the owner. That she is a lady of excellent business ability is indicated in the fact that she has not only placed valuable improvements upon her land but has also given to each of her children two thousand dollars to aid them in gaining a start in life. All of this was made from the farm. Mrs. Spore has three children, two sons and a daughter: Richard and William, who are carrying on the home farm; and Adelia May, the wife of Abraham Arnett, of Decatur. The sons are industrious and sucessful agriculturists and are men of exemplary character and worth, widely and favorably known in Argenta. The Spore home is a hospitable one and its good cheer is greatly enjoyed by the many friends of the family.
SAMUEL HILBRANT.
Samuel Hilbrant needs no introduction to the readers of this volume and es- pecially to the citizens in the northeastern part of Macon county, for he is most widely and favorably known. He owns a farm of eighty acres within two miles of Argenta and has long been closely, actively and honorably associated with ag- ricultural interests in this locality. He became a resident of the county in Oc- tober, 1875, and in the intervening years has won the high esteem of his fellow- men because of his activity and reliability in business, his progressive spirit in citizenship and his social, genial nature, which everywhere wins him friends.
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His birth occurred in Shelby county, Ohio, May 13, 1844, and he was reared to manhood upon a farm there. He acquired a good common-school education and through the period of his youth remained with his mother, his father having died when the son was a small lad. After arriving at years of maturity Samuel Hilbrant began working by the month as a farm hand and to some extent en- gaged in railroading, in fact his early manhood was a period of unremitting toil, devoted to active duty in the gravel pit, to work on freight trains and to farm labor. He has swung a cradle many a day and borne his full part in the work of the harvest field. He has mowed hay with a scythe and dropped seed by hand in the days of early spring planting. He became familiar with all the departments of farm work at a period when none of the modern farm machin- ery was in use but has lived to see a wonderful transformation in the methods of tilling the fields and caring for the crops.
On the 8th of March, 1868, Mr. Hilbrant was married in Shelby county, Ohio, to Miss Mima Elliott, who was born and reared in Shelby county and was a daughter of Samuel Elliott. After their marriage they began their do- mestic life upon a rented farm in Ohio, which Mr. Hilbrant cultivated for a number of years. Leaving his family there he came to Illinois in 1875 on a prospecting trip and was so well pleased with the country that he established the family home here. Coming to Macon county he first rented land and was soon joined by his family. He afterward purchased eighty acres of land, upon which a few improvements had been made, and with characteristic energy and determined purpose he began the further development and improvement of the farm on which he erected a good residence, a large barn and substantial out- buildings, furnishing ample shelter for grain and stock. He continued farming thereon until 1910, when he rented his land and purchased a residence in Ar- genta, where he took up his abode. He has since added to and remodeled the house and now has a comfortable and attractive home. While upon the farm he made a specialty of raising Poland China hogs, fattening a large number each year for the market. This constituted an important and profitable branch of his business.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hilbrant have been born four sons and a daughter: El- mer E. is married and is employed as a conductor on a freight train on the Illinois Central Railroad; Samuel O. is cashier of the Bank of Argenta and is mentioned elsewhere in this volume; Harvey is married and is carrying on the home farm; Mary is the wife of J. M. Barnes of Sac City, Iowa; and Charles is living in Argenta.
The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr. Hilbrant is serving as a steward. His wife takes a very active part in all branches of the church and is a member of the different auxiliary societies. Of the Odd Fellows lodge of Argenta Mr. Hilbrant is a charter member and has filled all the chairs, being now a past grand, while in the Grand Lodge he has represented the subordinate body. He has served from year to year as the right supporter of the noble grand and he is now a member of the Decatur En- campment. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise he has given his politcal support to the presidential nominees of the democratic party. He was first called to the office of supervisor to fill out an unexpired term and
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was then elected and reelected, serving as a member of the county board for five years. He has also been township school trustee for several terms and has served on the board of education, the cause of the public schools finding in him a stalwart champion, whose efforts in their behalf have been far-reaching and beneficial. He has frequently attended the county and state conventions of his party as a delegate and is a man of considerable local prominence and in- fluence. His labors have been a feature in the attainment of success in the prose- cution of public measures as well as individual business interests, and his life work has been characterized by an unfaltering spirit and a firm determination that no or- dinary difficulties nor obstacles can brook.
FRED HEINLE.
Fred Heinle is the eldest of a family of five brothers, all of whom are na- tives of Macon county and are well known and prosperous farmers here. His home is on section II, Friends Creek township, and practical and progressive methods characterize his farm work, which includes the raising of stock as well as the cultivation of the fields. Like the others of the family his landed possessions are large. He is now cultivating two hundred and forty acres on section II, Friends Creek township, and also another tract of eighty acres a mile to the east. In the midst of his farm stands a large and attractive resi- dence, which he has recently erected. It is modern in all of its appointments, being supplied with furnace heat, hot and cold water, bath and gas. Such a home is indicative of the progressive spirit of him who occupies it. Macon county numbers him among her native sons and it was upon the old homestead that he first saw the light of day on the 4th of June, 1867. His youthful ex- periences were those which usually come to farm lads who vary attendance at school with the work of the fields. He continued with his father until he had attained his majority and then made arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage on the 4th of February, 1891, in Friends Creek township, to Miss Nellie Hankins, who was born and reared in Macon county and is a daughter of Frank Hankins, one of the pioneer settlers of this region.
After his marriage Mr. Heinle farmed for a season on his father's old home- stead and in 1892 located where he now resides. He had eighty acres that had formerly belonged to his father and an adjoining tract of eighty acres, the cultivation and improvement of which claimed his unrelaxing attention until 1897, when he left Macon county and went to Colorado. There he pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres of land in the irrigated district and raised a crop, spending the summer there, but in December of the same year re- turned to Illinois. He made other investment in eighty acres in 1910, so that his present holdings comprise three hundred and twenty acres, making him one of the sucessful and extensive agriculturists of Friends Creek township. He is diligent and persevering in business and his sound judgment and pro- gressiveness are indicated by the fact that he has gradually added to his land
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and enhanced the value of his property by the modern improvements he has put upon it.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Heinle have been born four children who are still liv- ing, Bessie, Walter, Ralph and Mildred, and they also lost a daughter, Helen, who died at the age of three years. The parents hold membership in the Shiloh United Presbyterian church and Mr. Heinle belongs to Argenta Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Argenta Lodge, I. O. O. F .; and to the Modern Woodmen camp. In the Odd Fellows society he has filled some of the chairs. Politically he is a democrat of considerable influence in the local councils of his party and has served as a delegate to county conventions. He has also filled the office of school trustee for some years. He and his brothers are men of ex- emplary habits, of strict integrity and reliability in business and of sterling worth in all of life's relations, and the family name is an honored one in Ma- con county, where his father located many years ago.
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