USA > Illinois > Shelby County > Combined history of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois : with illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 55
USA > Illinois > Moultrie County > Combined history of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois : with illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 55
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Capt. A. C. Campbell, now a prominent resident of Moawequa, is a native of Sangamon county, Illinois. He first settled in the north part of Flat Branch township in 1851. At that time the settle- ments were mostly in the timber or at the timber's edge. Mr. Campbell improved a farm in that township, now known as the Jo- seph Duncan place.
Mr. Campbell was a soldier of the Mexican war, and went out as lieutenant of Co. D, 4th Regt. Ill. Volunteers, Col. E. D. Baker, in command. Captain Morris of Company D, died at Tampico, and Lieutenant Campbell took command of the company. He participated in all the engagements, in which the 4th regiment bore a part, and it was one of the Illinois Regiments which distinguished itself On the breaking out of the late Rebellion, Capt. Campbell enlisted and was made Captain of Co. E, 32d Regt., Ill. Vol. under command of the brave and gallant John A. Logan, now one of the distinguished United States Senators of Illinois. This regiment achieved a record for bravery and valor excelled by few if any other regiments in the late war.
Captain Campbell is one of the enterprising men of Moawequa, and is now one of the representatives from this district in the legis- lature of this state.
The first death was that of William Morris, who came here in 1831 ; living only a year or two.
Drainage .- Moawequa is drained by Long Grove Branch, running south-west, entering the township and county on the north-east eorner of section 20, passing out on the south-west corner of section 19, and by tributaries of Flat Branch, one running south from section 25, through section 36, and one from section 26, through 27 and 34, passing out on section 33, furnishing a supply of water for stock and farm purposes. This township is bounded on the north by Macon county, on the east by Penn, on the south by Flat Branch, on the west by Christian county, containing 18 square miles, or 11,520 acres ; it comprises the south half of township 14-2. The Illinois Central Railroad passes along the west por- tion of the township, running north-east, furnishing transportation 199
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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
for all commodities. The building of this road gave a rapid impetus to the settlement and improvement of the township, and has done much toward increasing its material wealth.
Land entries from the general government. The first land entry made in the south half of the Congressional township, fourteen range, two east, was eighty acres in section 31, by Elizabeth Troughter, on the thirty-first of July, 1834. The second entry was made November fifth, 1835, of forty acres, in section twenty-four, by Isaac D. Vice.
Henry Armstrong entered eighty acres in section thirty-six, January 18th, 1836, which was the third entry.
Supervisors .- The following gentlemen have represented the township in the Board of Supervisors :
John Freeman, elected in 1860, re-elected in 1861; F. M. Chamberlain, elected in 1862 ; J. M. Friedley, elected in 1863; re- elected in 1864, 1865 ; J. M. Chamberlain, elected in 1866; J M. Friedley, elected in 1867 ; re-elected in 1868, 1869, 1870, and 1871 ; J. Donnell, elected in 1872; John Freeman, elected in 1873. 1874, and 1875; W. Humphrey, elected in 1876; R. A. Patten, elected in 1877, re-elected in 1878 ; Dr. A. P Hoxsey, elected in 1879, re-elected in 1880, and is the present incumbent.
THE TOWN OF MOAWEQUA.
This thriving and enterprising place is situated on the line of the Illinois Central railroad, and is the most important distributing point on that line in Shelby county. From this station is annually shipped large quantities of live stock, grain and other products. The town is delightfully located, in the midst of a rich and fertile prairie country, and surrounded by an intelligent and thrifty class of farmers; its broad well-shaded streets, commodious business houses-and handsome private dwellings, add much beauty to the place. The mercantile, banking, and other interests of the town, are in a prosperous and growing condition.
It was laid out by Michael Snyder, in the fall of 1852. In 1852 Chester Wells built a saw-mill, and sawed ties for the Illinois Central railroad company. Mr. Michael Snyder erected the first store building, immediately after the town was laid out. John Middleton and Son put in the first stock of general merchandize. The building stood in the rear of the brick store, now occupied by B. F. Ribelin, and this was the first brick store in the town; it was built by W. G Hayden & Co., in the summer of 1854. E. Prescott erected the first brick residence in the spring of 1854. The second saw-mill erected, was by Bacon and Smith, in 1874. They soon after added an elevator, and in 1875 they fitted up a corn bur in the same, and in 1876, they built another addition, and put in a wheat bur. They manufacture a good quality of flour. The eleva- tor in connection with the mill does a fair business. It has facili ties for handling about 1,752,000 bushels of grain per annumn, and at this time of writing, is operated to its full capacity.
The first flouring mill was erected by Wells & Reed, in 1854 ; the brick addition was built by Simon Spear in '56 or '57. It is now used by Housh & Duncan, and is operated as a custom mill.
The first blacksmith shop was built in 1853, and carried on by E. Prescott ; he is the oldest settler now living in the town. When Mr. P. came to Moawequa there were but four houses in the place, two log and two small frames. Mr. C. Wells and Phillip Ennis occupied the log house. R. Smith and Simon Spowler lived in the frame building.
BUSINESS OF MOAWEQUA.
The Moawequa Bank, under the firm name of V. Snyder & Co., was established in 1874. At the time of its organization, V. Sny- der, G. A. Kautz and J. M. Friedley were the stockholders. V.
Snyder and G. A. Kautz are now the owners. The bank does quite an extensive business, and is a great convenience to the thriving town in which it is situated.
Among those engaged in merchandizing are :
C. H. Bridges, who has a double store of clothing, boots and shoes in one, and dry goods and groceries in the other.
W. Gregory, dry goods, boots and shoes.
James H. Elsum. groceries.
Melsher & Stine, groceries.
B. F. Ribelin, dry goods, boots and shoes, clothing, hats and caps. George M. Keiser, drugs.
J. C. & S. D. Myers, drugs and groceries.
William Henry, drugs and groceries ; also, post-master.
R. J. Smith & Co., harness and saddles.
H. F. Day, groceries, hardware, agricultural implements, boots, shoes and clothing ; his stores occupy four rooms.
Gregory & Combs, groceries
W. Gregory, hardware.
S. G. Travis, hardware, glassware, queensware, woodenware, tin- ware, pumps, furniture and agricultural implements.
Millinery .- Mrs. E. A. Wilson.
Leading Physicians .- A. P. Hoxsey, W. P. Buck, and W. H. Sparling.
Tin and Stoves .- Michael Erpelding.
Barber and Jeweler .- Sidney Stocking.
Churches .- Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian.
Moawequa Register .- F. M. Hughes, editor.
Lumber Dealer .- N. Francis.
Restaurants .- Samuel Casey, W. R. Swaer, and I. C. Morris.
Hotel and Livery .- I. H. Potter. Mr Potter has kept hotel in Moawequa since 1854, and is one of the oldest settlers of the place. Shoemakers .- John Fahrner and Samuel Worsham.
Meat Market .- Sidney Deadman.
Undertakers. - Melcher & Riley.
Blacksmiths .- S. D. West, Snow & Mausell, Tillman Weekly.
Wagon Makers .- L. D. Smith, John Millington, A. A. Smith.
Paul Beck was the first regular hotel keeper ; he built what is now known as the Potter house in 1853.
Dr. Rice was the first physician in this place.
John M. Lowery was one of the early merchants, and the first post-master.
BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES.
* F. & A. M .- The charter was granted Oct. 3, A. L. 5855, A. D. 1855, to Moawequa Lodge, No 180. Charter members : Joseph Lane, E. J. Rice, Thomas L. Catherwood and others. Present officers : B. Scarlette, W. M. ; B F. Riblir, S. W .; Judson Combs, J. W .; J. M. Friedley, T .; J. H. Kirkman, sec .; J. W. Smith, S. D .; S. F. Pease, J. W .; J. W. Hughes, chap .; S. D. West, S. S .; Thomas Smith, J. S .; B. F. Nugent, tyler. Present membership, forty-eight.
+ Odd Fellows .- Shelby Lodge No. 274 I. O. O. F., Moawequa, was instituted on the 8th day of June, 1858, with the following named persons as charter members : Geo. T. Williams, Thomas L. Catherwood, C. B. Gailord, Wm. I. Usry and J. E. Hoagland. The present officers are : James R Smith, N. G .; W. R. Smith, V. G .; James H. Elsun, Sec .; Wm M. Smith, Treas; James G. Stewart, P. S .; H. F. Day, Rep .-; W. F. Elledge, Conductor ; W.F. Day, I. G .; Judson Combs, OG .; B. F. Nugent, R. S. N. G .; G. W. Bacon, L. S. N. G .; Geo. P. Shepherd, R. S. V. G .; D. N.
* Data furnished by Secretary.
¿ For the data of the Societies we are indebted to the Secretaries of the same
HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
201
Mccluskey, L. S. V. S., Charles Beudsley, R. S. S. ; F. Armstrong, L. S. S .; T. T. Snyder, Chaplain ; J M. Friedley, Host; John W. Smith. Present members forty.
Knights of Honor .- Moawequa Lodge No. 1013, was instituted April 3, 1878, by J. F. Drish, with the following persons as charter members : Chas. W. March, H. F. Day, W. R. Oliver, A. P. Hoxsey, Chas. F. Hardy, James H. Kirkman, James H. Elsum, A. M. Phil- lipson, W. M. Smith, F. Arnistrong, E. E. Pennypacker, Geo. W. Bacon, D N. Mccluskey.
Officers for term ending December 31, 1880: Dictator, F. G. Penn ; Vice Dictator, Geo. M. Keiser ; Assistant Dictator, James H. Elsum ; Guide, Sidney Stocking; Reporter, Chas. W. March; Financial Reporter, H. F. Day ; Chaplain, James G. Stewart ; Treasurer, James H. Kirkman ; Guardian, F. Armstrong ; Sentinel, Geo. W. Bacon; Sitting Past Dictator, Robert A. Patton. The Past Dictators are : C. W. March, H. F. Day, James H. Kirkman, James G. Stewart. Representative to Grand Lodge, H. F. Day. Number of members September 1, 1880, nineteen.
Independent Order of Foresters .- Instituted February 14, 1880. Charter members, the present Officers : Francis Armstrong, Chief Ranger ; James R. Smith, Vice Chief Ranger; Henry F. Day, Rec. Sec .; James W. Gregory, Gen. Sec .; D. Shepherd, Senior Wood- man ; Silas Mitchell, Junior Woodman; John W. Smith, Senior Beadle ; Frank Ayers, Junior Beadle ; James H. Elsum, James G. Stewart, Henry F. Day, T. Weekly, Past Chief Rangers ; Dr. A. P. Hoxsey, Medical Examiner. Meets in Day's Hall 2d and 4th Mondays of each month.
Royal Templars of Temperance .- Organized August 27, 1879. Present Officers : Select Councilor, Geo. P. Shepherd ; Past Coun-
cilor, Dr. W. H. Sparling ; Vice Councilor, S. D. West ; Chaplain, C. H. Bridges ; Sec., J. T. Haslam ; Treas., S. G. Travis ; Herald, Miss Jennie West ; Guard, John P. Millington ; Sentinel, W. M. Smith. Number of members twenty-seven.
When the township was first settled, deer were plentiful, and wolves more than plentiful. The citizens were forced, in order to save their pigs, to pen them up at night, at the end of the house. Turkeys were thick, and many persons could imitate the call to perfection, and hence they were very successful in hunting them. All the soil of Moawequa is susceptible of cultivation. You have but to "tickle it with a hoe and it will laugh with a harvest." Five times her population may draw sustenance from her bosom. There is no need for young men to journey toward the setting sun in quest of homes ; let them look around them in Shelby county- which is a fair land-and they may find good homesteads, which can be purchased at cheap rates, and which need only resolute pur- poses and strong muscle to convert them into fields of yellow grain. The citizens of this township will compare favorably in integrity, morality, education and religion with those of any other section of the county. Vice and gross immorality are almost unknown. They believe in schools ; they have churches in their midst, to which they resort to hear of that other country to which all men are hasten- ing. A bright future is before her ; her population is increasing, and improvements are going on rapidly on all sides Commodious and substantial farm-houses are being multiplied, and many most ex- cellent farms appear where a little more than a half-century ago the savage roamed at will. The staple products of this township are corn and wheat. The soil is not surpassed in depth and richness by any portion of the township.
26
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
9
MA
falar 1. Fissedley
AMONG the men who have been closely identified with the busi- ness interests of Shelby county, is John M. Friedley, of Moawequa. On his father's side he is descended from a family of German origin. His ancestors emigrated from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania at a period previous to the Revolutionary war. His grandfather Friedley was born in Pennsylvania and served in the war of the Revolution. Ludwick Friedley, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Sugar valley, near Bellefonte, Centre county, Pennsylvania, and was raised in the same locality. He was mar- ried in Beaver (now Snyder) county, Pennsylvania, to Rebecca Mid- dlesworth, daughter of John Middlesworth, a resident of New Jer- sey, and a soldier under Washington in the seven years' struggle of the thirteen colonies for independence. Mr. Friedley's mother was born in New Jersey, and was a girl three years old when her family moved to Pennsylvania. After their marriage one child was born to Ludwick and Rebecca Friedley in Pennsylvania, and they then 202
moved to Seneca county, New York, where the birth of John M. Friedley, the next to the oldest child, took place. The date of the settlement of the family in Seneca county, New York, was about 1820, and they resided there till the fall of 1838. Eight children were born in New York. His father then moved with the family to Seneca county, Ohio, where the youngest of the ten children was born. Five are now living. With the exception of John M. Friedley they reside in Seneca county, Ohio.
Mr. Friedley first saw the light of day on the 12th of January, 1821. His birth-place was six miles south of Seneca falls, in Sen- eca county, New York. His boyhood was spent in the same neigh- borhood At that time free schools had not been established. Only subscription, or pay schools were in existence, but these, in that part of the state, were well organized, and afforded good educational ad- vantages. He had opportunity for going to school only in the win- ter. His early education has been supplemented by much practical
RESIDENCE OF J.M. FRIEDLEY MOAWEQUA. ILLINOIS.
STOCK FARM OF J. M. FRIEDLEY, (KNOWN AS THE STEVENS FARM) SEC. 27,T.1 4, P.2, MOAWEQUA TP. SHELBY CO./ LL.
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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
experience with business affairs, and by information which he has acquired by habits of keen observation. From an early age he was accustomed to work on the farm, and learned those habits of indus- try which have contributed not a little to his success in life. On the 15th of October, 1838, the family left their home in New York to find a new location in Ohio. They settled in Seneca county, in the midst of a new and heavily timbered country. His father purchased one hundred and thirty-six acres of land covered with heavy timber, and it required a vast amount of hard labor to bring a farm under cultivation. Of this work Mr. Friedley did his full share. His father lived on this farm till his death, in 1872, at the age of seventy- eight. He had accumulated considerable property, and died in good circumstances. His mother died in the same neighborhood in 1875.
The subject of this sketch lived at home till he was about twenty- four years of age. He was of an enterprising and energetic turn of mind, and finally concluded that he could obtain a better start in the world by coming to Illinois. He had lived part of one summer with an uncle, Abraham Middlesworth, who then resided in Fairfield county, Ohio, but who afterward emigrated to Shelby county, in this state. From the time his uncle left Ohio, he felt a great desire to come to Illinois, and in September, 1845, in company with his next younger brother, Ner D. Friedley, he proceeded to carry out his long cherished undertaking. Taking a boat at Huron, Ohio, he came by way of the lakes to Chicago. While it was his intention to come to Shelby county, he wished first to take advantage of the rapid means of making money which were then supposed to exist in the lead mines of north-western Illinois. These mines in those days were a popular resort for energetic young men anxious to get possession of a little capital. From Chicago, in company with some teamsters, he made his way westward in the di- rection of Galena. He found it was too early in the fall to find profitable work at the mines, and in traveling through Winnebago county, he stopped at Twelve Mile Grove, about half way between Rockford and Freeport, and for about six weeks was employed at a stage stand. This was during the months of September and Octo- ber, 1845, and this was the first work Mr. Friedley ever did in Illi- nois. He then went on to Galena, and was employed in the mines during the winter of 1845-6. His brother left in March and came to Shelbyville but Mr. Friedley remained till the approach of warm weather made it impossible to work in the mines, and he then ob- tained a situation to drive a team for a pedler -- the most remunera- tive employment he could find at the time-till the weather became cold enough to permit of his going to work again at mining. The money he had earned by his first winter's work in the mines he had given to his brother, who on coming to Shelby county had bought, for $320, one hundred and sixty acres of land in Holland township, in which Mr. Friedley owned a half interest. He was employed in the mines during the winter of 1846-7, and the next spring came to Shelby county, reaching Shelbyville the latter part of March, 1847, the first time he had ever been in this part of the state. Here he met his brother, who had spent the summer of 1846 in Ohio, and had returned to Shelby county in the fall.
During the summer of 1847 the brothers raised a crop together, having twenty-two acres in oats, and forty-five in corn. In the fall of 1847 his brother determined to return to the inines. Toward spring he was taken sick, and in May, 1848, died, finding a grave in Wisconsin, eight miles from Galena. During the winter of 1847-8 and the next summer, he carried out a contract to cut the rails and fence three sides of a half-section of land. Every two hundred rails paid for an acre of ground ; and in that way part of the debt incurred in the purchase of the one hundred and sixty aeres
was liquidated. To his brother's interest in this land Mr. Friedley fell heir, and he soon had it free from incumbrance. This was the first land ever owned by him in Shelby county, though hundreds of acres of valuable land have since passed through his hands. After finishing the contract to fence the land, during the remaining part of the summer of 1848 he worked by the month at lierding cattle, and the next winter was employed on a farm in Windsor township. He was married on the 18th of January, 1849, to Miss Julia F. Stuart, who was born in Robertson county, Tennessee, on the 9th of October, 1829. Her parents, Dempsey Stuart and Mary Folis, were both natives of South Carolina. Her ancestors were of Scotch de. scent. Her father moved with the family to Shelby county in 1842, and settled seven miles east of Shelbyville, in Windsor township. Both her father and mother died in this county. During the win- ter he was married Mr. Friedley was receiving only eight dollars a month wages. This was not a heavy capital on which to embark in matrimony, but he and his wife were both hopeful and willing to make the best of circumstances. At that time there was conipara- tively little wealth in the country. His highest expectations then were to own a tract of forty acres of good land, in some favored part of the county, with a little convenient timber, and a comfortable house in which to live.
After his marriage till the fall of 1854 he was engaged in farm- ing on rented land in Windsor and Richland townships. He still owned the original one hundred and sixty acres in Holland town- ship, to which he had added twenty-eight acres of timber, and in the fall of 1854 he moved on this land, built a round log house and other buildings, dug a well, and settled down on his own possessions with the purpose of improving a farm. In the summer of 1855 he planted twenty-three acres in corn, but the chinch bugs, which that season put in an appearance for the first time in Shelby county, ate up his entire crop. The next year he was more fortunate. He raised a good crop of corn, and in the fall had an opportunity of selling his farm to a good advantage. He was glad to get it off his hands. He was naturally endowed with the faculty of distinguishing on sight, good land from bad, and when he first came to Shelby county and his eye rested on the quarter section in which his brother had invested his first earnings, his feeling was one of great disappoint- ment. It was his ambition to own a farm on Robinson creek, where he had a cousin living, and where he considered the soil to be greatly superior to that of his own farm. So he gladly accepted a chance to sell his Holland township farm for $2,100. But passing by, after all, the land on Robinson creek, which was held at high prices, he came to the north-western part of the county and selected a quarter section three miles east of Moawequa, for which, with ten acres of good timber, and twenty of brush, he paid $2,000. The improve- ments consisted of a housc about sixteen feet square built of round logs, and about thirty-six acres which had been placed in cultiva- tion. Four thousand rails were also on the place. With character- istic energy he commenced the work of improvement, and during the next four or five ycars performed about as much hard labor as is usually gone through with by any one man in a like period. In 1859 the old log house, in which his family had found somewhat uncomfortable quarters since the spring of 1856, gave place to a new frame residence, twenty-eight feet square, which now stands on the property. This is the farm now owned by James G. Stewart an illustration of which appears elsewhere.
He soon reached a position where lie was able to increase his means rapidly. After the war of the rebellion began, land dropped in value, and in 1862 he bought another quarter section cornering with the other, the cheapest land he ever purchased in Shelby County. In 1864 he purchased eighty acres adjoining his farm
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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
on the south, which lie still owns. The period of speculation and high prices during the latter part of the rebellion, and after its close, gave ample opportunity for making money to men of enter- prise, capital, and good business judgment. In the spring of 1866 he formed a partnership with John Hudson to deal in stock. Dur- ing the three or four years the partnership lasted, the business was carried on very successfully, and he made money more rapidly than at any other period of his life. He was wise enough, too, to aban- don it when it proved no longer profitable. In the year 1870, he was engaged in the grain business at Moawequa in partnership with E. W. Stevens. On account of the poor state of his wife's health he had rented his farm, and moved to Moawequa in the spring of 1867. In July, 1874, with Valentine Snyder and George A. Kautz as his partners, he established the bank at Moawequa-the first in- stitution of the kind ever started in the town. He attended to all the outside business connected with the bank and contributed to make it a prosperous and successful institution, and to give it a reputation for sound financial standing second to no bank in this part of the state. He closed his connection with the bank in July, 1880. He is now the owner of five hundred and forty-eight acres of land in Shelby county and fifty in Christian county. These farms are among the best to be found in this part of the state. In the spring of 1877 he moved to his present residence, which he has since improved, and a view. of which is shown in this work. It is one of the choicest pieces of residence property in Moawe- qua.
Martha Elizabeth, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Friedley, was born on the 1st of March, 1850. She was educated at the seininary at Shelbyville, and qualified herself as a teacher though she never attended but one term of school. On the 5th of November, 1868, she was married to James G. Stewart. After her marriage, she and her husband went to live on the farm in Moawequa township, the former residence of Mr. Friedley, of which they afterwards be- came the owners. A violent cold brought on the consumption, and everything possible was done for her restoration to health. She was taken to Florida by her husband in the fall of 1876, and, after spending the winter there returned to Moawequa the last of May. After an illness of about eighteen months, she died on the 12th of August, 1877. She was the mother of three children. John A., the oldest child, died at the age of fourteen months, and another died in infancy. Jessie May is the only child living. She and her father have their home with Mr. and Mrs. Friedley.
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