USA > Illinois > Macon County > Decatur > City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, volume II > Part 70
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born unto Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but Anna Belle, the eldest, who was born De- cember 2, 1892, died July 21, 1904. Lowell E. was born March 12, 1904, and Genevieve on the 27th of June, 1900.
Mr. Smith is a democrat in his political views and his fellow townsmen, appreciating his worth and ability, have called him to the office of collector, commissioner and school director. He was one of the three commissioners for the Milam drainage district, No. 1, in 1901, which was one of the first regularly organized drainage districts of Macon county. He cooperates in all progressive public measures and is deeply interested in the welfare and upbuilding of town and county. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church of Dalton and at all times their influence is cast on the side of right and progress. While Mr. Smith was fortunate in that he inherited property, in the conduct, development and improvement of his farm he has displayed good business abil- ity, has enhanced its value and has extended its boundaries. He is today one of the extensive and prosperous agriculturists of Macon county.
LEWIS STOOKEY.
Lewis Stookey, a representative of the fourth generation of the family in Illinois, is prominently identified with the farming interests of Macon county and is known as one of its most capable and enterprising citizens. He is the owner of one of the most valuable farms of Harristown township, where he carries on general farming and is also greatly interested in the breeding of short- horn cattle, his pure-bred herd having a reputation of containing some of the finest specimens of the kind in the state. Mr. Stookey is a practical man and his success has been due to the application of sound judgment in all departments of his business.
He was born in St. Clair county, October 20, 1848, and is a son of Daniel and Caroline (Goodner) Stookey. The father was also born in St. Clair county, the great-grandfather of our subject, Daniel Stookey, locating there in 1802, therefore being one of the very earliest settlers of Illinois. The family came from Virginia, although Daniel Stookey was a native of Maryland, in which state he was born before the Revolutionary war, in March, 1773. His wife, who before her marriage was Barbara Whetstone, was born in Virginia, April 20, 1774. They were married March 16, 1797, and their eldest son, Simon, was born in Virginia, January 6, 1798. This son was the grandfather of our subject and came with the family to St. Clair county. He and his father were pioneer farm- ers and they took up land from the government in that county, some of which is still in possession of the family. Daniel Stookey, the father, was born March 6, 1820, while his wife was born June 26, 1825, in St. Clair county, and there they were married December 4, 1845. He was a farmer and sawmill owner. In 1855, ten years after his marriage, he sold out and removed to Bloomington, Il- linois, becoming interested in the manufacture of Pennock's wheat drills, but the call of the farm drew him back to the soil and after a few years he came to Har- ristown township, Macon county, where he had acquired forty acres of land and
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also owned one hundred and sixty acres in Illini township. Later he became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres where the family homestead is now lo- cated. This land at the time of his purchase was wild prairie, with no trees or fences, and upon it there stood a small cabin one and one-half stories high, which was propped up so that it could not be blown down by the wind. The prospect was not very alluring but Daniel Stookey builded wiser perhaps than he knew and became one of the wealthy landowners of the county and one of its most esteemed citizens. To him and his wife there were born seven children: Adaline, who died in childhood; Lewis, our subject; Cornelius, deceased; Daniel W., who married Angie Dunnuck and lives at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he being a manufacturer of drain tile; Mary Caroline, now the wife of Rev. E. B. Randle, of Springfield; W. James, who died at nineteen years; and Florence H., the wife of S. M. Lutz, of Decatur.
In 1872 Daniel Stookey built a good brick house from brick burned under his own supervision, one of the first houses of the kind in this region. The residence was remodeled in 1906 by Lewis Stookey, a hot water plant and acetylene gas apparatus being installed. In 1909 a commodious porch was added, the building now being one of the most pleasing landmarks in the township. Daniel Stookey was a member of the Baptist church of Decatur, and he was an active supporter of that denomination. He was reared in the democratic party but at the time of the war was a patriotic Union man and from that time forward voted the republican ticket. He served in several minor public offices in the township but he was es- sentially a man of business and not a seeker for political honors. He was a man of wide influence and worthily did he perform his part in assisting toward the growth and prosperity of the county with which he was long closely identified.
Lewis Stookey was fifteen years of age when his parents took up their resi- dence in Harristown township. He received his early education in the country schools and later became a student at Shurtleff College, where he continued for three years. Returning to the farm, he devoted his attention to its interests, lo- cating for a time on the farm in Illini township, of which he later became owner. In 1893 he removed to the old homestead and he is now the owner of four hun- dred and forty acres, most of it in the home farm. Mr. Stookey has shown good judgment in his farming operations and the results are to be seen in the orderly arrangement of the buildings, the modern farm appliances and the up-to-date con- dition of everything about the farm. It is hardly necessary to say that he has been greatly blessed in his operations.
On September 1I, 1879, Mr. Stookey was married in Illini township to Miss Leona Childs, a native of Sangamon county, born February 26, 1856, and a daughter of John S. and Catharine (Brown) Childs. Her father was a native of New Jersey and grew to manhood there, coming to Illinois and living for a time at Galena and Springfield, where he followed the occupation of carpentering. His wife was born in Sangamon county, where her father was engaged in farming. He came to Macon county and acquired land in Illini township. He was of Eng- lish Quaker ancestry. The American ancestors of the family have been traced to James Childs, born in 1697. John S. Childs acquired six hundred and forty acres of land in this county. He was called to his reward May 10, 1905, and his beloved wife departed this life October 23, 1909. He was identified with the dem-
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ocratic party for many years but in 1896 he changed his allegiance and voted for Mr. Mckinley. He was a man greatly esteemed by his neighbors and held at vari- ous times all the important township offices, being for a number of years super- visor and displaying a cool judgment in public and private affairs that always re- flected upon him and those with whom he was associated the highest credit.
Three children have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Stookey. Marshall C., who was graduated from the school of civil engineering of the University of Illinois in 1907, entered the engineering department of the Chicago & North- western Railroad Company at Chicago and later assisted in overseeing con- struction work on the line. He is now at home assisting his father upon the farm. Helen S. is also a graduate of the University of Illinois, receiving the degree of A. B. in 1904. On June 15, 1907, she was married to Nathan Wilkin- son, of Emporia, Kansas, who is an electric engineer and is connected with the Allis-Chalmers Company, now making his headquarters in Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson: Helen Jean, born October 29, 1908; and Nathan III, February 13, 1910. The third child of Mr. and Mrs. Stookey was named Annis and departed this life at the age of two years, August 6, 1885.
Mr. Stookey cast his first presidential ballot in 1872 for U. S. Grant for president of the United States and has ever since continued a stanch republican. He has never aspired to political honors but has served with great acceptance as school trustee. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Harristown, of which Mr. Stookey is steward and has acted as Sun- day school superintendent and in other capacities. He has found in his wife one who has been, indeed, to her husband a helpmeet and to the community a blessing, whose influence for good has increased with the passage of years. As a man of mark, Mr. Stookey's advice is often sought by his friends in business and other affairs and when it is followed the result is almost invariably satis- factory. He has gained recognition as a reliable breeder of live stock and his reputation is not confined to Macon county. He has always had an inclination to agricultural pursuits and to this has been added lifelong habits of application and industry and an integrity which has never been questioned. It is plain that no record of Macon county would be complete without proper mention of the subject of this sketch and his worthy ancestry.
WILLAM A. SHORB. .
William A. Shorb, president of the Leader Iron Works, was born in Cerro Gordo, Illinois, June 3, 1871. His parents, William H. and Elizabeth (Zorger) Shorb, were natives of Pennsylvania and, coming to Macon county at an early day, were identified for a time with farming interests. At length the father put aside the work of the fields and, coming to Decatur, was connected with the public life of the city for a number of years. He also engaged in business as a carpenter and contractor and later was superintendent of streets at Decatur for about a decade. He also filled the office of justice of the peace and his
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decisions were strictly fair and impartial. As a veteran of the Civil war he was entitled to wear the Grand Army button, for he had served as a first lieu- tenant in the Fifty-fifth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers and while with that command was wounded by a shell in a skirmish near Charleston, South Carolina. He belonged to the Decatur Grand Army post and to the Knights of Pythias lodge. His death occurred in the United States hospital at Washington, D. C., and his wife passed away in 1877.
The removal of the family to Decatur during his early boyhood enabled William A. Shorb to pursue his education in the public schools of this city, after which he began learning the plumber's trade and followed it for a number of years. He engaged in the plumbing business in partnership with Oscar Zim- merman for five years, from 1893 until 1898, when he purchased his partner's interest and consolidated with W. C. Field, formerly of the firm of Field & Wilson. Mr. Field had also purchased his partner's interest and the new firm became Field & Shorb. This relationship was maintained for two years as a partnership and then the business was incorporated under the name of the Field & Shorb Company. A retail plumbing business was carried on until Jan- uary, 1910, and is now continued as a wholesale establishment, selling only to the trade.
In 1903 Mr. Shorb, in company with W. C. Field, purchased the stock and equipment of the Leader Manufacturing Company, which was at that time a very small concern engaged in the manufacture of brickmaking machinery and was located just west of the present Millikin University. They reorganized the busi- ness under the name of the Leader Iron Works, placing some of the stock with others and adding largely to the plant equipment for making boilers, tanks, etc. They also continued the brick machine business and a general machine jobbing business. After operating for about two years at that location they removed to the new Chamber of Commerce addition, having been donated a site there, on which they erected suitable buildings, enlarging that portion of the business devoted to the tank industry and concentrating their efforts on pneumatic waterworks systems almost to the exclusion of the other lines in which they had formerly engaged. After about a year in the new location they sold all the patterns and machinery of the brickmaking interest and have since devoted their entire attention to the manufacture and sale of Leader water systems. Their business has grown to be the largest of the kind in the middle west.
Mr. Shorb is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Wood- men camp. He also belongs to the Decatur Fishing Club and to the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers. On the 16th of June, 1896, he married Miss Lucille Pearl Myers, of Decatur, and they have a son and daugh- ter, Dorothy Lucille and William Myers. The family are well known socially in the city and their own home is celebrated for its warm-hearted and generous hospitality.
In matters of citizenship Mr. Shorb is progressive and gives earnest support to the men and measures of the republican party, deeming that its principles are essential factors in good government. There has been no esoteric phase in his whole business career, which has been characterized by an orderly progres-
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sion that has led him from a humble place to a prominent position among the representatives of industrial and manufacturing interests in Decatur. He has carefully watched his opportunities and, his business powers increasing through the exercise of activity, he is today recognized as a strong and forceful factor in manufacturing circles.
HON. EDWARD O. SMITH.
The name of Hon. Edward O. Smith is written large on the pages of Macon county's history. In him business ability, which brought him substantial suc- cess, was evenly balanced with the public spirit that prompted earnest and effective effort in behalf of the general welfare. His labors were an essential element in the upbuilding of this part of the state and, moreover, he aided at one time in shaping the legislation of Illinois, the weight of his influence being cast on the side of reform, improvement and progress.
Mr. Smith was born in Montgomery county, Maryland, on the 15th of April, 1817. His father, the Rev. James Smith, was a native of Virginia and became a distinguished minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, preaching in Balti- more, Philadelphia and other cities. He wedded Rachel Owen, who was born in Montgomery county, Maryland, and both have long since passed away, the former dying in 1825 and the latter a few years later.
Edward O. Smith was the fourth in a family of six children who, thus early left orphans, were reared by their maternal grandmother, Mrs. Rachel Owen, a woman of large heart and great nobility of character. No unusual events occurred to vary the routine of life for Edward O. Smith in his boyhood and youth. Work and play and the duties of the schoolroom occupied his atten- tion, but his educational privileges were somewhat meager. He started out on his own account when a youth of fifteen, making his way to Washington, D. C., where for two years he occupied a clerkship in a store. His salary, however, was very small but the political atmosphere of the place left a deep impress on his mind and aroused his attention and interest in questions which were and have been of vital importance to the nation. General Andrew Jackson was serving for the first term as president and was opposing the United States Bank in a most strenuous way. At that time-1832-a panic was sweeping over the land, the credit system was crumbling to pieces, and the financiers and business men who understood the situation were strongly denouncing the man who occupied the white house. The threatened nullification of the tariff laws of South Carolina and President Jackson's vehement declaration and stamping out of incipient rebellion also made a vivid impress upon the mind of the young man. Calhoun, Clay, Webster and Benton were then at the height of their power and fame and Edwin O. Smith, then of most impressionable age, had his mind strongly turned to political and constitutional questions. The impress thus made was never forgotten and in future bore fruit in all of his subsequent political opinions.
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The west, too, was attracting wide attention at that time and he was among those who, crossing the Alleghanies, followed the great highway of western travel to become a feature in the upbuilding of the Mississippi valley. In the autumn of 1834, when seventeen years of age, he struck out over the old National road and across the mountains to Ohio, which was then a frontier state. His worldly possessions were carried in a bundle swung across his shoulder, and his entire cash capital of nineteen dollars was in his pocket. He traveled on foot for five hundred miles until he reached Springfield, Ohio, where he began learning the carpenter's trade under Samuel Price. Suffering from throat trouble, he concluded to see how residence upon the open prairie would affect him, and accordingly again traveled westward, working at his trade for a time in Montezuma, Indiana, and for a year in Terre Haute.
The month of May, 1837, witnessed Mr. Smith's arrival in Decatur, a tiny village with but slight trade connections and of little industrial or commercial importance. He at once became a factor, however, in the upbuilding and improvement of the town. Though but twenty years of age, he at once began the erection of a hotel, a mill and other buildings in what was then a heavily timbered district. He was closely connected with building operations and other business pursuits from the first but he never allowed the search for wealth to dominate his life. He used every leisure moment for reading and study and thus greatly broadened his mind and added to his knowledge until he became recognized as one of the best informed men of the district. He kept in close touch with the questions of vital national interest and was ever able to discuss intelligently the problems that confronted the community. His ability and integrity were soon recognized by the people and he became an important factor in state as well as local affairs. He also went quietly on with his building operations, having unshaken faith in the destiny of the state. As his labors brought him prosperity he purchased and improved land, thus demonstrating his faith in the future of Illinois, and for sixteen years he remained actively in business in Decatur, con- nected with various enterprises which were proving not only sources of individual prosperity but also elements in the welfare and progress of the community. At a time when such a thing was regarded as a menace to public morals he built a theater and dedicated it to free speech-a dedication that money could not after- ward induce him to dishonor. He believed that only through education and the understanding of important questions could the public determine upon the best methods to be followed.
In 1843 Mr. Smith was married to Miss Harriet Krone, a native of Lewis- berry, York county, Pennsylvania, born September 11, 1826, and a daughter of David and Ruth (Werley) Krone, who were natives of the Keystone state. In 1839 they removed to Decatur and it was while boarding at the hotel which they conducted that Mr. Smith became acquainted with the lady whom he made his wife. At the time of their marriage Mrs. Smith was but seventeen years of age, yet she proved herself well qualified to take charge of the home and to wisely care for the children that came to them as the years passed. The duties of the household in those days were many. The pioneers depended upon their own labor for nearly everything used in the home. This involved many kinds of work from butchering to the coloring and weaving of cloth. Moreover, the
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workmen on the farm and in the shops usually boarded with their employers and the open hospitality of the homes made them frequently visited by political leaders, preachers, pedlars and friends. All this meant a vast amount of work for the wife, but Mrs. Smith patiently and uncomplainingly met the tasks that devolved upon her, looking well to the ways of her own household and doing everything possible to promote her husband's interests. During his absence in California on two different occasions of three years each, she not only had the care of the large family but also of the property and business interests as well. At the same time she was in constant anxiety and suspense regarding the where- abouts of her husband, for in those days communication was no easy matter. She certainly deserves much credit for the part which she played in rearing the family and aiding her husband in accumulating a competence. Moreover, her life was characterized by many acts of kindness and charity and her spirit of friendliness reached out to all.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith became the parents of four sons and six daughters, all of whom reached adult age. Rachel R., the eldest, is the widow of Judge A. J. Gallagher and resides in Los Angeles, California. James D. is living in Napa, California. Lydia A. married Aquilla Tolland and after his death became the wife of George B. McKee, of San Jose, California. M. Ella is the wife of the Rev. S. S. Hebbard, of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Harriett is the wife of Frank Moore, living in San Jose, California. Laura S. is the wife of E. Lester Brown, of Elmwood, Illinois. Edward resides near Moweaqua, Illinois. Lowell A. follows farming near Dalton City. Gertrude first married George W. Waltz, and afterwards married Eliner Hurff of San Jose, California. Thomas C. died in San Jose, California, at the age of twenty-four years. The mother of these children died January 16, 1867. Mr. Smith was again married on the 15th of April, 1869, his second union being with Mrs. Catherine Hillman, of Elmwood, Illinois, and to them was born a daughter, Kathryne, now living with her mother in San Jose, California.
Mr. Smith's interests and activity in political affairs culminated in his elec- tion in 1847 to the Illinois constitutional conventon as the representative of Piatt and Macon counties. In 1848 he was the whig candidate for state senator and was elected by a flattering majority. One of his first efforts in the senate was to secure through resolutions of the state legislature a donation from the national government of lands for the construction of the Illinois Central and the Northern Cross (now the Wabash) Railroads. This was successful so far as the former was concerned, and to Mr. Smith belongs the credit of taking the first steps in that great project. Moreover, he was active in securing for Macon county sev- eral of her railroads and was an incorporator and original director of one of them. While serving in constitutional convention he was one of the authors of the special provision adopted by a special vote, levying a two mill tax to eliminate the state debt. This proved to be a wise measure for the state bonds, which had fallen to thirty per cent, were soon taken up by eastern capitalists at par.
For the benefit of his health Mr. Smith made a number of overland trips to California, usually taking with him droves of cattle and horses. Such a journey at that time was one of adventure not unmixed with hardships and danger. He first crossed the plains in 1853 and during the few years in which he remained
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on the coast he realized liberal profits from his ventures, which he invested in a number of business buildings upon his returin to Decatur. There was a general depression in business in 1858 following the panic of the previous year, and he then started on a second trip for California, returning in 1861. The same year he was elected mayor of Decatur and because of the outbreak of the Civil war the duties of the office were unusually important. Many regiments of soldiers were fed at the city's expense and new questions were constantly arising which required prompt attention. During the war he did all in his power as an official to assist the Union cause and likewise made liberal contributions from his own means. He supported Lincoln for reelection but after the war acted with the democratic party, making an exception of General R. J. Oglesby, however, sup- porting him at every opportunity, for between these two there existed from their first acquaintance in 1837 a warm and intimate friendship in which politics made no breach. Mr. Smith had a wide acquaintance among the distinguished men of the state, including Lincoln, Douglas, Palmer, Turnbull, Logan and Yates. In 1870 he removed to California and for the remaining years of his life resided in San Jose, enjoying the high esteem of many friends. He became a member of the constitutional convention of that state and as in Illinois bore an important part in shaping the organic laws of California. The many positions of public trust which he filled always found him a capable official, loyal to the best inter- ests of the commonwealth, his patriotism and progressive spirit in public affairs being paramount to all else. He was ever a man of broad and liberal views whose opinions were ever based upon a thorough understanding of the subject.
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