USA > Illinois > Macon County > Decatur > City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, volume II > Part 65
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Mr. Austin since starting out in life for himself has largely depended upon his own exertions and has thus developed many sterling qualities of mind and heart that under ordinary circumstances might have lain dormant. He has been a highly useful member of the community and has found in his wife a most worthy companion whose unselfish life has endeared her not only to her family but to the entire neighborhood where she has for a number of years been well known.
EDWIN J. ROBERTS.
Edwin J. Roberts is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of fine farm land about two miles west of Warrensburg. The place is a well cultivated tract, improved with modern equipment and all of the accessories that go to make up a model farm of the twentieth century. Its present owner, a practical, progress- ive agriculturist, was born July 5, 1842, in Barnstead, Belknap county, New Hampshire, a son of George S. and Eliza A. (Bunker) Roberts, who were also natives of the Old Granite state. The father was a representative of a very prominent Welsh family and the mother was of English lineage. Throughout his entire life George S. Roberts followed the occupation of farming and in the year 1865 he left New England for Illinois, making his way to Woodford county, where he resided for about two years. Subsequently he purchased the farm upon which his son Edwin now resides, paying thirty-five dollars for one hundred and twenty acres and sixteen and two-thirds dollars for forty. Through-
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out the intervening years until his death, which occurred in 1897, he resided upon that farm, and his labors transformed it into a valuable property, worth many times what he paid for it originally. For about twelve years he had sur- vived his wife, who passed away in 1885. Their children were: Sarah E., now deceased; and three sons, Edwin J., Dr. George F., of Minneapolis, Minnesota ; and Everett L., of Lexington, Nebraska.
Edwin J. Roberts was educated in the public schools of New Hampshire and after finishing his own education he taught for about three years in the east and later for three years in Illinois. In the meantime he had been em- ployed to some extent in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and after coming to the middle west he worked upon a farm. He was about twenty-three years of age when he began farming on his own account, first renting land in Woodford county. He purchased his first land from his father, becoming owner of forty acres. He has always been interested in the farm upon which he now resides but in late years has sold half of his land to his son Harry E. He has been an active, energetic agriculturist, quickly adopting any method which tends to im- prove his place and add to its value and attractive appearance. He has brought the fields under a high state of cultivation and annually large crops are produced. He follows the most modern and scientific methods of farming, rotating his crops, using fertilizers and doing everything in his power to keep his land in good condition and the soil most productive. Moreover, he has been interested in the Illini Insurance Company for twenty years and served as secretary of the State Association of Mutual Insurance Companies for five years. He has also been connected with education interests throughout his entire life and the public- school system has no more stalwart champion than Edwin J. Roberts.
On the 29th of March, 1864, Mr. Roberts was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie S. Daniels, a daughter of Nathaniel and Mary Ann Daniels and a repre- sentative of a prominent New Hampshire family. Her parents always remained residents of that portion of the country. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts had two chil- dren but Ernest E. is now deceased. Harry E., who resides near the old home- stead and operates most of his father's land, married Abbie M. Eaton and they have one child, Laurence B. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts also reared Maggie May Cheeseman, who remained a member of the household up to the time she became the wife of Berry E. Turner, in August, 1906.
Mr. Roberts belongs to the Woodmen camp of Warrensburg, of which he is a charter member and of which he has served as counsel. Throughout the period of his residence here he has been regarded as a public-spirited citizen and was one of those who aided in building the railroad through this section. His political support is given to the democratic party and for ten years he has filled the office of supervisor of his township, his reelection being proof of his ability and fidelity in that connection. He was a delegate to the free silver convention at Springfield and he has ever stood fearlessly in defense of his honest con- victions. He was made chairman of the building committee which had charge of the construction of the courthouse and served as chairman of board of super- visors for two years. In every connection his service has been of an important character. He is now president of the local option club and also of the Men's Christian Association. He is a deacon in the Congregational church and his
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salient principles are those which measure up to a high standard of manhood and Christian fellowship. His life has indeed been well spent and his many sterling characteristics have gained for him the high regard of the citizens among whom he has lived for more than four decades.
JAMES S. CARTER
James S. Carter is now living retired in Decatur and is respected and honored because of his active record in business and because of the faithful service which he gave to his country during the Civil war. He is today one of the oldest resi- dents of Macon county, having resided within its borders for seventy-two years. His birth occurred at what is now the northwest corner of North Main and North street in Decatur, June 13, 1839. His grandfather, Jesse Carter, was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1764 and in 1811 removed to Crab Orchard, Kentucky. He first wedded Mary Haines, who died leaving two chil- dren, and following their mother's death they were sent back to North Carolina. In 1812 he married Sarah Dyhouse and they became the parents of ten chil- dren. The mother died in 1831 and in 1832 Jesse Carter wedded Mary Sword, who lived but a year after their marriage. In 1835 he married Ann Starns and they became the parents of three children. Jesse Carter, the grandfather of our subject, died in Crab Orchard, Kentucky, April 24, 1852.
A son of Jesse Carter's second marriage was Elisha D. Carter, the father of our subject. By his different marriages Jesse Carter had a large family. His son, James D. Carter, born January 25, 1817, died July 25, 1887. His children were Sarah J., John, Eliza A., James, Minerva, Della M. and Maurice A. Vin- cent P. was born in 1819 and died in childhood. Zachariah, born in 1821, also died young. William C., born July 15, 1823, died August 30, 1872. His chil- dren were Eliza S., William S., George N. and Wilson C. Elijah Carter, the next member of the family of Jesse Carter, was born October 26, 1824, and died February 27, 1899. His children were James V., Amanda, Sarah E. and Mary A. The seventh child of Jesse Carter's second marriage was Mary A. Carter, who was born in 1826 and by her marriage had one son, John Peter. Mathew, the eighth member of the family, was born in 1829 and his children were Zach, Andrew, Clara, Mathew, J. Vincent and Alice. Jane Ann, born January 1, 1831, died February 11, 1899. She was married and her children were Albert, Henry, Sarah, Ella, Mary, John R. and Zalpha. The third wife of Jesse Carter, as previously stated, lived for but a year. His fourth wife was Ann Starns and they had three children : John B., born in 1838; Jesse A., born in 1841; and F. Marion, born in 1847. The last named married and had two children, J. D. and D. M .Carter.
Elisha D. Carter, the father of James S. Carter, was born at Crab Orchard, Kentucky, February 2, 1814, and was a cabinet maker by trade. He married Christina Schmick, who was born in Lincoln county, Kentucky, July 18, 1812. They left the Blue Grass state in 1836 and settled first in Shelbyville, Illinois, but after a short time removed to Springfield, Illinois, where they
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resided for two years. On the expiration of that period they came to Decatur, where the father followed his trade until 1854 and then turned his attention to the grocery business, in which he was engaged until 1858. He then sold out and retired from active business the following year, enjoying well earned rest from that date until his death, which occurred July 16, 1881. The Carter and Schmick families both came from Kentucky to Sangamon county, Illinois, and it was there that the parents of our subject were married on the 18th of July, 1837, the wedding ceremony being performed in Springfield by the Rev. Hooper Cruse. The death of Mrs. Carter occurred in Decatur, February 15, 1882, hav- ing survived her husband for less than a year.
James S. Carter spent his youthful days in his father's home and completed his education by attending the high school of Decatur. He then entered his father's store, acting as clerk there, and in 1860 he became a clerk in a dry goods store, where he was employed until 1861. On the 7th of August, 1862, he re- sponded to the country's call for aid, enlisting in Company F, One Hundred and Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, at Decatur. The company was commanded by Captain Frank L. Hayes, still a resident of Decatur. Mr. Carter served until July 12, 1865, and was mustered out at Cincinnati, Ohio. He was mustered in at Camp Butler, Illinois, on the 12th of September, 1862, by Captain Fred E. De Coursey and went to Covington, Kentucky, where he remained for a short time. He was then sent back to Cincinnati on account of illness and was detailed as clerk in the hospital, filling that position until the close of the war. When the country no longer needed his military aid he returned to Decatur and for four years there- after was employed as a clerk in a dry goods store. He afterward engaged in clerking in a cigar store for two years and subsequently accepted a position as timekeeper on the Wabash Railroad, acting in that capacity for two years. He next went into the tax collector's office as assistant, filling that position for a short time, after which he again held the office of assistant collector for many years. In 1884 he was elected collector and in 1897 he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the office. He afterward was assistant to the collector until 1906, since which time he has practically lived retired, now occupying a beautiful home at No. 152 West Prairie avenue.
Mr. Carter was married in Decatur, June 29, 1882, to Mrs. Sarah E. Spons- ler, the wedding ceremony being performed by the Rev. W. H. Moore. She was born in Peoria, Illinois, June 15, 1842, a daughter of William E. and Elizabeth (Taylor) Thompson, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Dela- ware. They removed from Connecticut to Ohio, where the death of the father occurred during the childhood of Mrs. Carter, who was afterward reared by her uncle, Samuel K. Thompson, who removed from Ohio to Decatur, where he engaged in merchandising. He accumulated a great deal of property and was a wealthy man at the time of his death. The mother of Mrs. Carter came to Illinois and died in Bloomington, this state.
Mr. Carter is a prominent and exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Macon Lodge, No. 8, A. F. & A. M .; Macon Chapter, No. 21, R. A. M .; Decatur Council, No. 16, R. & S. M .; and Beaumanoir Commandery, No. 9, K. T. He has served as secretary of the lodge and chapter and as recorder of the commandery and is now recorder of the council, while in Dunham Post.
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No. 141, G. A. R., of which he is a member, he has filled the office of quarter- master. His wife holds membership in St. John's Episcopal church. Mr. Carter has always endeavored to follow the golden rule as his religious precept, doing unto others as he would have them do unto him. In politics he has long been a republican, active and earnest in support of the party and its principles. He is a gentleman of high character and sterling qualities, honored and esteemed by all who know him and most by those who know him best.
R. D. HUDELSON.
R. D. Hudelson, for many years closely identified with the farming interests of Macon county, is known as one of its most patriotic and useful citizens. He was a true soldier for the Union at the time of the Civil war and in private life he had shown the same characteristic of fidelity to principle that gave him courage on the field of battle. His home in Blue Mound township is a center of hospitality, where all are assured of a hearty greeting. He is a native of Indiana, born in Orange county, August 9, 1848, and is a son of Thomas and Lydia (Elrod) Hudelson, the former having been born in Kentucky in 1809 and the latter in Indiana in 1811. Thomas Hudelson was a farmer and a man of fine character who accomplished a noble mission in assisting in clearing away the forest and preparing for the civilization which the country now enjoys. He was called to his reward in 1876, his wife passing away in 1902. They were buried in Bates county, Missouri. There were ten children in their family, four of whom are now living: John, who served in the Twenty-fourth Indiana In- fantry, under General Grant, and is now making his home at Adrian, Missouri; R. D. our subject; William, of Illinois; and Elkana, of Missouri.
R. D. Hudelson was reared on the home farm in Orange county, Indiana, and educated in the district schools. At the age of sixteen he enlisted in the Fifty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry and participated with his regiment in a number of the great battles of the Army of the West and also in innumerable minor engagements. He was with Sherman on his march to the sea and later was present at the grand review at Washington, after which the regiment was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, where he received his honorable discharge. The Civil war was a rude introduction to the realities of life for one so young, but Private Hudelson came out of the conflict unscathed and in the course of his military experience gained many valuable lessons that were to him of greatest benefit in later years. After laying aside the accoutrements of war he worked on a farm in Missouri and in 1870 came to Blue Mound township, Macon county. Here he was married, after which he farmed on rented land in Macon township, locating permanently in Blue Mound township in 1880 upon eighty acres which his wife inherited from her mother. Later he purchased forty acres and has since made further additions until he now owns a beautiful farm of one hundred and sixty-six acres, which is under a high degree of culti- vation. He is a general farmer and stock-raiser and by industry and persever-
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ance has attained a position that makes him practically independent for the re- mainder of his life.
On December 24, 1874, Mr. Hudelson was united in marriage to Miss Mary Meyers, who was born in Blue Mound township, January 21, 1855, a daughter of Hiram and Elmina (Ekel) Meyers. Her father was a native of Germany and her mother of Pennsylvania. They settled in Macon county in the pioneer period and reared a family of three children, all of whom are deceased. The mother died in 1862 and the father passed from earthly scenes twenty-seven years later. Their remains were deposited in the Ekel burying ground, which is lo- cated on the farm of our subject. Mrs. Hudelson was called away November 23, 1888, after a married life of fourteen years, which abounded in acts of un- selfishness. She was an earnest member of the Methodist church and possessed many beautiful traits of heart and character, and her departure was the greatest sorrow Mr. Hudelson has ever known. She was buried in the same cemetery as her parents.
Eight children brightened the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hudelson, seven of whom are now living. Lydia Elmina, born September 25, 1875, married Oliver T. Weatherford and is the mother of one son, Troy. Mr. Weatherford died on the 21st of February, 1896, and Mrs. Weatherford is now living with her father. Clara Estella and Anna Luella are twins. The former is the wife of Harry Warnick and is living at Pana, Illinois. They have five children, Marie, Blanche, Wilma, Irene and Gladys. Anna Luella married S. P. Ross, of Blue Mound township, and they have four children, Myrtle, May, Robert and Glen. Kyner, born February 6, 1880, lives at home. Bertha Gertrude, born September 9, 1881, is the wife of William Smith, a farmer of South Wheatland township. There are two children in their family, Mary and Dean. William Robert, born August 12, 1883, married Goldie Gleason and lives in Oklahoma. They have two children, Dale and Marion. Grover Cleveland, born June 27, 1885, married Edna Bell and is a farmer of Macon township. They have one son, Homer. Alma Edna, born August 14, 1888, married Charles Stickle and was called away October 25, 1909. Mr. Stickle departed this life six weeks after the death of his wife.
Mr. Hudelson is a stanch adherent of the democratic party and, while he has not urged his claims for public office, he has served most acceptably as road overseer, assessor and member of the school board, occupying the latter position for fourteen years. He takes great interest in religious affairs and he and all the members of his family are connected with the Methodist church, in which he has been an active worker for many years, serving as steward, class leader, treasurer, member of the board of trustees of the local church and circuit and also as Sunday school teacher. All his life he has been controlled largely by a desire to advance the comfort and happiness of others. Hence, he has been a valued member of the community and has greatly assisted in promoting the permanent interests of those with whom he has been associated.
The house in which Mr. Hudelson lives is one of the historic buildings of Macon county. Two of its main rooms, in one of which there was formerly a great fireplace, are over eighty years old, having been part of a building erected by Major William Warnick and his neighbors. Major Warnick was the first sheriff of Macon county and a leading man of central Illinois in the early days.
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He was the head of a large family of boys and girls and one of his daughters attracted the attention of a tall young man named Abraham Lincoln, who lived on the opposite side of the Sangamon river. On one of his visits to this home Mr. Lincoln wet his feet and they became frost-bitten so that he was obliged to remain all night at the house. During this stay it is said his interest was aroused by a copy of the statutes of Illinois, which was in the library of Sheriff Warnick, and while looking over those books Lincoln decided to become a student of law. Mr. Hudelson has in his possesion a number of mementos among which is a rail twelve feet long which it is claimed was split by Abraham Lincoln in his early manhood. It has been suggested that the building be purchased and maintained as a memorial to President Lincoln according to a custom well es- tablished in eastern states which has become very popular in recent years.
DAVID HENRY CONKLIN.
While Colonel David Henry Conklin was for many years a resident of De- catur and closely associated with its business and social life, he was even more largely a man of national character in his connection with the development of the telegraph and railway interests in the country. His work in those two fields of activity was of inestimable value and it is said that no other man has rescued from financial ruin so many different railway corporations and placed them upon a paying basis. In the midst of perplexing cares and heavy responsibilities that devolved upon him in these connections he maintained a kindly spirit and a so- cial nature that made him popular with all who knew him and he was spoken of in terms of high regard and personal affection from the humblest employe to the most prominent man with whom he was brought in contact.
Colonel Conklin was born in New York city, October 31, 1831, his parents being Joseph and Marie (Blauvelt) Conklin, who were likewise natives of the Empire state, the former having been born in New York city, where he continued to make his home throughout the greater part of his life. The birth of the mother occurred near Gibson, New York.
During his boyhood David Henry Conklin attended the public schools of the metropolis and though his opportunities for an education were somewhat limited he became a man of wide general information through reading, experience and observation. He possessed an observing eye and retentive memory and from the experiences of life gleaned valuable truths which he used as business affairs brought to him wider and greater responsibilities. As a boy he was employed as "devil" in a printing office, where he worked until his apprenticeship had brought him sufficient knowledge to enable him to become a typesetter. After mastering his trade he set type for Horace Greeley, a distinction which perhaps but few men in the country now living can claim. It was about this time that he ceased his activity in the newspaper field to become connected with the newly develop- ing system of telegraphy. The telegraph had been invented only a few years be- fore and had not been brought into commercial use to any extent. Mr. Conklin was one of the first telegraph operators in the world.
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He became associated with Ezra B. Cornell, who at that time was experi- menting with the practical part of telegraphy, which he had come to recognize would have an important place in the business of the world. Mr. Cornell, per- ceiving the aptitude and intelligence of Mr. Conklin, selected him as a helper and placed him in charge of the telegraph office on the wharf at Jersey City, Mr. Cornell having instituted an experimental line. It was Mr. Conklin who took the initial step leading to the use of the telegraph in the operation of trains throughout the world. He thought of the idea of allowing two belated trains on the Erie to pass by means of using the telegraph and thus he was the pioneer in operating trains by means of the wire. He became an expert operator and years afterward he was fond of telling a story which involved his remembrance of the telegraph code. When he had become prominent in railway circles he was riding on a special train and as it stopped at a station Mr. Conklin alighted just as the telegraph operator sent over the wire the message: "Look out, the old man is coming your way on a special." Mr. Conklin walked at once to the operator's window and said: "Young man, you had better look out for yourself and let the old man take care of himself." That was all there was to the con- versation and the operator never thoroughly understood how Mr. Conklin was quick enough to read the message of warning he had sent.
The Erie Railroad was the first to take up the telegraph for the purpose of running trains and appointed Mr. Conklin as operator at Susquehanna, Penn- sylvania. Subsequently he was made agent at Canisteo, New York, and later was chief dispatcher at Owego. When the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Company adopted the telegraph system in the operation of its trains Mr. Conk- lin was employed as superintendent of the whole system on the road. He built the line and instituted and operated the system of that railroad but later re- turned to the Erie road and for a time was stationed at Port Jervis, New York.
Mr. Conklin's identification with railway interests in the west dates from 1871, when he accepted a position with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road as train despatcher at Galesburg, while later he occupied a similar posi- tion at Aurora. Subsequently he was made superintendent of the Gilman, Clinton & Springfield Railroad with headquarters at Springfield, and subse- quently he became superintendent of the Springfield, Illinois & Southeastern, now a part of the Baltimore & Ohio system, still maintaining his home at Spring- field. His next appointment made him general superintendent of the Chicago & Paducah, now a part of the Wabash, and he was also superintendent of the Chicago, Peoria & Southwestern, now a part of the Sante Fe. He was the super- intendent of construction on the part of the Wabash, then being built from Strawn to Chicago, had headquarters at Bement and was superintendent of the telegraph.
Perhaps Mr. Conklin's most notable work was in the rescue of railways that were a financial wreck. He was made general superintendent of the road that is now the Monon and lived in Indianapolis but was called from that position by the court in his appointment as receiver of the old Illinois Midland. He then removed to Terre Haute, Indiana, but after a short time came to Decatur, carrying on the work from this point. This was in 1882 and he continued to regard this city as his home until his demise, although his duties frequently called him elsewhere. His receivership was highly successful and he was general
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