USA > Illinois > Macon County > Decatur > City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, volume II > Part 75
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77
The parents of our subject, Abraham and Martha Funk, were natives of Ohio. The family emigrated to Illinois in 1863 and came to Macon county, where the father in 1864 bought the land which became the homestead. This was then raw prairie and required a great deal of labor to reduce it to productive- ness. The father continued on the farm for many years and was actively en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, departing this life December 21, 1891, at the age of eighty-three. In 1865 he erected the family residence and also a commo- dious barn and since that time many improvements have been made, so that the farm has become one of the valuable properties of the township. The be- loved mother was called to her final rest in the seventy-third year of her age, passing away January 22, 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Funk were typical of the men and women who form the basis of the republic and embody the elements that contribute most to the advancement and prosperity of our civilization. The father was a man of great industry, strong common sense and unimpeachable character. He was a good husband and a kind father and won the respect of the entire community of which he was an honored member for nearly thirty years."
The youngest in a family of ten children, John Funk was educated in the district schools and from his earliest recollection has been identified with the farm on which he was born. After the death of his father he purchased the interests of the other heirs and by the application of sound principles has been highly successful in his agricultural and stock-raising operations.
In 1878 Mr. Funk was united in marriage to Miss Adaline King, a daughter of Daniel and Elvira King, of Shelby county, this state, in whose family were nine children. She was born July 21, 1855. One son has come to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Funk, Rufus H., who was born November 3, 1883, and was married November 15, 1905, to Miss Nannie Black. She was born May 6, 1884, a daughter of Robert and Susanna E. Black, natives of Illinois and Ohio respectively.
Mr. Funk since arriving at voting age has exercised the right of casting his ballot independently of any party and therefore he votes according to the conditions or necessities of the times. He cast his first ballot for Peter Cooper
708
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
for president of the United States and is at present a strong advocate of pro- hibition, believing that one of the greatest dangers that threaten the country is the general use of alcoholic liquors. Mr. Funk inherited many of the traits of his father and has good business ability, a strong will and a stable character, the last being of great practical benefit to him on more than one occasion. His friends have found that he is straightforward, earnest and conscientious and may always be depended upon to do exactly as he promises. No higher com- mendation could be pronounced upon any man.
RICHARD E. OLIVER.
Among the valiant defenders of the Union in the Civil war who have attained deserved success as farmers in Macon county is Richard E. Oliver, whose farm burg, Sangamon county, Illinois, February II, 1840, a son of Burrell and Maria is on section 19, Harristown township. He was born in the village of Mechanics- Oliver. His father was a distiller by occupation but he quit the business and removed to a farm where he engaged successfully as an agriculturist.
The subject of this review was educated in the common schools and assisted his father upon the farm, continuing there until twenty-one years of age, when in 1862 he proffered his services to his country and enlisted in Company H, Seventy-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in which he served with great credit until the close of the war. He engaged in many battles, the first of which was at Perryville, Kentucky, while he was a new recruit, this being a severe test for a young soldier, but he soon learned to stand in the firing line and to participate boldly in the charge. He was in the battles of Stone River, Chat- tanooga, Lookout Mountain, Atlanta, Lexington, Kentucky, and in many lesser engagements, learning lessons of patience and devotion to duty which have been of the greatest value to him during all the years that have elapsed since the close of the dreadful conflict. In June, 1865, he was honorably discharged from the service and, reentering the pursuits of peace, continued as a farmer in Sangamon county until he was twenty-seven years of age, when he came to Blue Mound township, Macon county, where he farmed for seventeen years. He next engaged upon a farm north of Niantic, continuing for twelve years, and on March 27, 1898, removed to his present home. He has brought his farm to a high state of cultivation and occupies a comfortable, well appointed residence which, with the evidences of foresight and good judgment to be seen in other parts of the farm, is a fair index of the thoughtful attention he bestows upon his business.
On May 9, 1867, at Decatur, this state, Mr. Oliver was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane Kitch, a daughter of Frederick and Sarah Jane (Ryan) Kitch. Three children have blessed their union: Lewis Edward, who was married in Harristown, March 12, 1906, to Miss Eva Miller, of Niantic town- ship, and is the father of two children, Margaret Rebecca and Helen; Pierce M., who married Maggie Gumner and is the father of three children, Verne, Clarence and Hallie A .; Robert E., who married Miss Rose Warburton, of Harristown township, and has three children, Merle, Dorothy and Robert.
709
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
On September 21, 1908, the angel of death visited the household and called away the beloved wife and mother who for forty-one years had been an inspira- tion and support to her husband. Her remains were interred in Long Point cemetery. She was an earnest and sincere follower of the great Master and an active member of the Christian church. Mr. Oliver holds membership in the same church and is a charter member of the Modern Woodmen of America, of Harristown. Politically he is identified with the republican party and cast his first ballot in 1868 for U. S. Grant for president of the United States. His sons are supporters of the same party. Mr. Oliver has never aspired to public office but served for nine years with great acceptance to the entire community upon the board of school directors. As a faithful soldier he gained an education not laid down in the curriculum of any school or college-an education which has been one of the controlling elements of his life. It taught him courage, fidelity to every trust, confidence in the success of any worthy undertaking and gave him an insight into human nature which is so important in interpreting the actions of others. As an upright citizen Mr. Oliver has creditably performed his part and he is justly held in high esteem by all who know him.
SAMUEL HUGH PROCTOR.
It would be difficult to name any branch of business pertaining to the farm that is of more importance to the permanency of agricultural interests than the breeding of live-stock. The improvement of the breed, whether of horses, cattle, sheep or hogs, is one of the great studies of modern times-in fact it marks an era in civilization, for it has been observed that as civilization moves forward, the higher bred farm animals come into evidence, and never was this fact more evident than in the first decade of the twentieth century. Among the successful breeders of horses in Macon county is Samuel H. Proctor, the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this review.
His eyes first opened to the light of day in this county, May, 10, 1868. He is a son of Hugh and Dorcas (Smith) Proctor, the former a native of Lancashire county, England, and the latter of Belleville, Illinois, where she was born in 1826. Hugh Proctor, at ten years of age came to America with his parents, who settled in Monroe county, this state. At the age of sixteen he was deprived of both parents by death. This was indeed a heavy blow and at first almost overwhelming, but at that time he was young and the world looked bright and cheerful. He succeeded in finding a friend in a farmer of Monroe county and he made his home with him for five years, at the end of which time, having reached manhood, his friend presented him with a horse, bridle and saddle as a capital with which to begin life for himself. After a few years he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of unimproved land, which he cleared himself, and turned his attention to the breeding and rearing of Green Mountain Morgan horses, which he exhibited at fairs in different parts of the state and which won for him many prizes. In 1865 Mr. Proctor came to Macon county and purchased two hundred and forty acres of land which became the family homestead, and
710
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
there he carried on general farming and stock-raising until he retired to Decatur in 1893. Mr. Proctor, as a result of his study of social and political conditions, became a prohibitionist thirty years ago and always adhered strictly to that party. There were twelve children in his family, the subject of this review being the eleventh in order of birth.
Samuel H. Proctor was reared upon the farm and received his education in the common schools, remaining at home until 1893, when he went to Kansas, where he lived for three years and engaged in buying and feeding live stock and in breeding race horses and pure bred cattle. In 1896 he returned to Macon county and lived for two years on a farm formerly occupied by his grandfather, at the end of which time he went to Crowley, Louisiana, and engaged in rice farming, operating four hundred acres for fourteen months. However, he came to the conclusion that Macon county presented more favorable inducements than he had seen elsewhere and he once more returned to his native county and has since lived upon his father's farm. Here he has charge of three hundred and twenty acres of land and is engaged in breeding standard bred horses and has attained the success to which he is entitled, having given the subject many years of study, so that the beautiful animals raised under his supervision represent in an important degree the result of the most careful thought along scientific lines.
In 1895 Mr. Proctor was united in marriage to Miss Ada L. Miller, a daughter of John and Charlotte Miller of this state. She was born in 1877 and was the third child of the family of five children. Mrs. Proctor departed this life May 29, 1908. She was a member of the Presbyterian church of Shady Grove and a woman of most estimable character, a faithful wife and a devoted mother, whose memory is reverenced by all who knew her. She was the mother of two children: Charlotte Dorcas, born December 27, 1896; and Hugh Miller, born April 26, 1903.
Mr. Proctor is a supporter of the democratic party, believing that the princi- ples of this party represent in a higher degree than those of any other, the teachings upon which the American republic is founded. He is a public-spirited man and always favors reasonable plans for the advancement of the township or county, recognizing that eternal vigilance is as necessary in local affairs as in national.
CLINTON W. HIGGINS.
Clinton W. Higgins, who is a well known and highly respected citizen of Niantic, Illinois, was born in the village of Burlington, near Cincinnati, Ohio August 29, 1851, a son of William and Maria (Randall) Higgins. The father was a carpenter and a native of Cincinnati and the mother was born in the same house in which our subject first opened his eyes to the light of day. About 1854 the family removed to Rockport, Indiana, where the father soon afterward died, leaving a wife and two children, a son and daughter. The latter grew to maturity and departed this life at the age of twenty-one years. In 1858 the
711
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
mother took up her residence at Bethel, Morgan county, this state, where she had a brother who built her a residence. However, after about a year's residence in this county she was married to James Mansfield and four children were born to them, two of whom, James and Clara Luella, died in infancy. Nelson A. Mansfield, who was born March 30, 1861, was educated in the common schools and began early as a farmer upon rented land. At the age of nineteen he was married to Miss Catharine Dingman. He was identified with the mercantile business as a clerk for some years, but later became a landowner in Niantic township and finally entered the grain business, in which he accumulated con- siderable wealth. He also became interested in the grain elevator business and was one of the successful men in the community. Accompanied by his wife and two friends, Mr. Farris and his son, he was riding in an automobile when the vehicle was struck by an interurban electric car and Mrs. Mansfield was instantly killed, while her husband was injured so seriously that he died three days later. Charles A. Mansfield was also born in Morgan county and educated in the common schools. He came with his mother to Macon county in 1878, the father having died before this time, and here he engaged with marked success in agricultural pursuits and became the owner of a farm of one hundred and twenty-two acres in Niantic township. He was never married and departed this life at the age of thirty-one. The stepfather of our subject had been married previous to his union with Mrs. Higgins. His first wife was a Miss McDaniel and she was the mother of five children: William H., who died at the age of forty-five or fifty years; Alexander, who married Miss Kate Goodpaster and became quite wealthy, dying at Pueblo, Colorado; Susan Jane, now Mrs. C. H. Finson ; Sarah E., deceased; and Melissa E., the wife of J. E. York, of Spring- field, Illinois.
Clinton W. Higgins came to Morgan county with his mother after her second marriage and here he was educated in the public schools, and at seventeen began working for himself. After arriving at twenty-one or twenty-two years of age he left the farm and began working in shops and also in the railway service.
On August 28, 1894, in Wills county, Illinois, where he was working at the time, Mr. Higgins married Miss Nancy E. Noel, who was born in Effingham county, Illinois, a daughter of Paul and Sarah (Rowlands) Noel. Her parents came to Champaign county during her infancy and later moved to Chicago, but finally settled in Piatt county, Illinois, where they continued until their death. Soon after his marriage Mr. Higgins came to Niantic township, where he lived for a few months and then removed to Decatur. He became an employe of Pratt & Company, but has since returned to Niantic, where he now resides. The mother of Mr. Higgins departed this life at his home August 12, 1908, having reached the advanced age of eighty-three years. She was a woman possessing many excellent qualities that greatly endeared her to her children and friends.
Mr. Higgins and his wife were reared in the faith of the Christian church, in which she has long held membership, but of which he did not become a member until 1909, since which time he has been an active worker, lending his assistance to every good cause with which the church is identified. He has been a lifelong democrat and is a stanch supporter of the party, accepting its principles as the
712
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
best basis yet enunciated for the perpetuation of the republic. He is a valued member of Niantic Lodge, No. 318, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has filled all the chairs in this lodge, and among the brethren as well as in the community generally, he has many friends who are acquainted with his honorable career and esteem him as one of the useful and worthy citizens of this region.
WILLIAM JOSTES.
The owner of two hundred and forty acres of good Macon county land, William Jostes may justly be designated among the prosperous citizens of Illi- nois. He was born in Blue Mound township, this county, September 28, 1869, and is a son of Henry and Julia (Shoop) Jostes. The father was born in Han- over, Germany, in March, 1838, and came to this country, settling in Macon county, Illinois, where he was for many years closely identified with farming interests. He was a valiant soldier of the Union at the time of the Civil war, serving in the Forty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry until after the surrender of General Lee. The mother was born in Macon county in 1841 surrounded by pioneer conditions. She was educated in a rude log schoolhouse and in her childhood was often awakened from sleep by the howling of wolves in the neigh- boring forest. There were nine children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Jostes, of whom the following are now living: Emma, the wife of William Fedder- man, of Shelby county, this state; William, our subject; Mary, the wife of Richard Dorsey, of Christian county; Frederick, of Pleasant View township, Macon county ; Lena, the wife of Frank Phillips, of Macon; and Lilly and Effie, at home.
William Jostes was educated in the common schools and remained upon the home farm where he assisted his father, later renting land from the latter, a sister keeping house for him for one year. At twenty-five years of age, he was married and settled on a farm in Pleasant View township, which he rented for fifteen years. In 1909 he purchased his present place on section 26, Pleasant View township, where he carries on general farming and stock-raising. He is one of the large corn growers of the county. He cultivates the land according to modern ideas and his farm is known as one of the best managed places in Macon county, the annual harvests yielding abundant returns for the time and labor expended.
On the 5th of June, 1894, Mr. Jostes was united in marriage to Miss Flora Bowman, who was born in Miami county, Indiana, January 24, 1864, a daugh- ter of Andrew and Frederica (Manecke) Bowman. Her father was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1836, and her mother in the same state in 1840. They settled in Macon county in 1868 and are now making their home in Decatur. To them were born nine children, seven of whom are now living: Flora, now Mrs. Jostes; Ida, the wife of Melville Boyer, of Macon county; Emma, now Mrs. George Fisher, of Decatur; Olive, the wife of Charles Borchers, of De- catur; Leona and William, of Decatur; and Myrtle, now the wife of Reverdy Miller, who lives in Macon county. Six of the Bowman sisters taught school,
713
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
Flora having had ten years' experience as a teacher in the schools of Macon county ; Emma taught in Macon and De Witt counties for three years; Ida, in Piatt and Macon counties for five years, Myrtle, in Macon county for five years; and Leona and Alice for sixteen years in Macon county, Miss Leona Bowman is at present county superintendent of this county and is recognized as one of the most talented teachers of the state. Charles Borchers, a brother- in-law of Mrs. Jostes, is serving as mayor of Decatur. William Manecke, her uncle on the maternal side, enlisted in an Ohio regiment at the time of the Civil war. Reverdy Miller, a brother-in-law, participated in the Spanish-Ameri- can war, and John Roller, an uncle of our subject, was a soldier in the Civil war and was confined in Andersonville prison. He is now living in Shelby county, this state. Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Jostes, Leona Helen, born April 20, 1899; and Beatrice Myrtle, born August 28, 1901.
Mr. Jostes by his genial and pleasing manner has attracted many warm friends, and he and his estimable wife are prime favorites in the community. He is recognized as a wide-awake, capable, progressive and generous man who as the head of an interesting family or as a business man or citizen is always equal to any emergency and is in every respect a worthy representative of farm- ing interests.
MRS. KATE E. CLARK.
Mrs. Kate E. Clark, who is now living on the family homestead in Decatur township, this county, is a native of Macon county, born in Decatur, April 30, 1857. She is a daughter of John and Catherine Collins, who were both natives of Ireland and came to Illinois in the fall of 1856, locating in Decatur. The father entered the service of the Illinois Central Railroad and continued so faithfully that he was in the employ of the road until a few years before his death, which occurred in his eighty-third year. The mother departed this life in 1893 at the age of sixty-eight years. Their lives of industry and sincerity gained for them the unqualified respect of their friends and neighbors.
Mrs. Clark is the fourth in order of birth in a family of eleven children. She was educated in the public schools of Decatur, completing her training at the Convent of St. Theresa, her parents being devout Catholics. In 1874 she was happily united in marriage to Michael Clark, a son of Michael and Ellen Clark, of Ohio, who came to Decatur in 1861. The father enlisted in the cause of the Union during the Civil war and lost his life from disease contracted in the service, never returning home.
Michael Clark, Jr., was born in 1854 and educated in the public schools, be- coming an engineer upon the Wabash Railroad. In 1886 he took up his residence on a farm in Decatur township, which he inherited from his mother, and where he engaged in general farming until his death, which occurred in June, 1903. He was a stanch advocate of the democratic party and a strong believer in the teachings of the Catholic church. Mr. Clark was a man of noble characteristics and inade many friends who sincerely regretted his departure at the time when
714
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
he was in the height of his career, giving every evidence, if he had been spared, of many years of added usefulness.
Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Clark: Nellie, who was born Octo- ber 6, 1875, and is now living at home; Laura, born August 30, 1877, who was married, April 22, 1902, to William Bowman of Oakley, a carpenter by trade and is now living at Decatur; John, born February 17, 1883, who married, June 7, 1905, Norah Schultz of Decatur, and is now a dairyman living in Macon county ; William, who was born July 6, 1885, and is living at home; Mabel, born Jan- uary 26, 1888, who married Louis Garver of Decatur, February 8, 1910, and is living in Whitmore township; and Ruby, who was born December 5, 1894, and is living at home.
Mrs. Clark and her son William are operating the home farm and are meet- ing with success, bringing to bear principles of industry and good judgment that result in success in any legitimate undertaking. Mrs. Clark stands high in the regard of her neighbors, who have always found her to be kind and obliging, generously assisting in any laudable undertaking to advance the permanent interests of the community.
JOHN WASHBURN.
All Decatur knows and respects John Washburn, who since 1855 has been identified with mercantile interests in this city. He came here when Decatur was a village and with its upbuilding and improvement has been closely associated, contributing at all times to its progress and advancement. His life has indeed been honorable and worthy of emulation, and although he is now eighty-one years of age he still remains a factor in the world's work, being proprietor of one of the oldest established mercantile enterprises of the city.
His birth occurred in Lyme, Grafton county, New Hampshire, June 1, 1829, his parents being John and Sarah (Tucker) Washburn, the latter a grand- daughter of one of the soldiers who fought under the immediate command of General George Washington from the beginning until the close of the Revolu- tionary war. He was a member of a Massachusetts regiment and participated in the battle of Bunker Hill. He was also one of the famous Boston tea party and aided in throwing the tea overboard into the sea, thus showing open resistance to the tea tax. John Washburn remembers the stories which his grandfather told concerning the Revolutionary war and of hearing him sing the old song of the British soldiers, the tenor of which was:
"Indian pudding and pumpkin pie;
Hurrah! how that will make the Yankees fly."
Three brothers named Washburn were founders of the family in the new world. They left England on one of the old time sailing vessels and settled at Bridgeport, Massachusetts, near Boston, arriving soon after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. For generations representatives of the name lived and died there. The old home place was in possession of the family for one hundred and forty years but changed ownership about a year ago.
John Washburn, the father of him whose name introduces this review, was born June 29, 1795, and died January 6, 1872. He was a New Hampshire
JOHN WASHBURN
717
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
farmer, devoting his entire life to general agricultural pursuits. His wife, who was born September 13, 1794, died January 9, 1874. The family is noted for longevity. A sister of Mr. Washburn, Mrs. Mary E. Richardson, is living in Westfield, Massachusetts, at the age of eighty-three years, and a cousin and other relatives of the family remain residents of the eastern states. A brother, Ben- jamin T. Washburn, was born July 6, 1832, and died June 1I, 1908. John Sloan, a great-uncle of Mr. Washburn, on the paternal side, died in June, 1824, at the remarkable old age of ninety-six years, while his wife, Esther, passed away in December, 1828, also ninety-six years of age. These were the first white settlers of Lyme, New Hampshire.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.