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 75
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 75
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Early Churches .- The first church was built on James Tolly's land, on section twelve, near where he first settled. It was built of hewed logs, and was erected by the Baptist denomination. The congregation subsequently vacated the house, and then erected the substantial edifice which now stands on the north-west corner of section 12.
The first, and only post-office in Flat Branch was established in 1851, at the store of Captain A. C. Campbell, on section 4. He was also post-master. The office was named Flat Branch. He ran the office about two years, and when the office at Moawequa was established, that one was discontinued. This township is well supplied with schools and churches. The Baptist church, situated on section 24, is called Little Flock church. The church on the south west corner of section 26 belongs to the Presbyterian denomi- nation. That edifice is a handsome brick structure, and was erected about four years ago. The German Methodists have a frame church which was built on P. P. Ludwig's farm in 1878.
Supervisors .- G. T. Hutchinson, elected in 1860, re-elected in 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, and 1865; B. W. Kirkman, elected in 1866; James Howse, elected in 1867; A. W. Drake, elected in 1868 ; F. P. Snell, elected in 1869; W. C. Miller, elected in 1870, re-elected in 1871, 1872, and 1873; W. Chadwick, elected in 1874, re-elected in 1875; G. W. Sims, elected in 1876; W. O. Robertson, elected 1877, re-elected in 1878, 1879, and 1880, and is the present incumbent.
TENANT HOUSE
RESIDENCE FROM THE SOUTH-EAST
STOCK FARM & RESIDENCE OF W.J. SNYDER, SEC.8, T.13, R.2, (FLAT BRANCH TP.) SHELBY CO.ILL.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
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GEORGE HODKINSON.
LIKE many of the progressive farmers of Shelby county, Mr. Hodkinson is an Englishman by birth. He was born in Derby- shire, England, on the twenty-first of April, 1837. He was the third of a family of six children of George and Fannie Hodkinson. His father was a farmer, and for several years in England also served as constable. When Mr. Hodkinson was about four years old, his father emigrated with the family to America. Although then of only tender years, he remembers distinctly the passage across the Atlantic, particularly a terrible storm that occurred during the voyage and threatened the crew and passengers with a watery grave. Landing in New York, the family came directly to Scott county, Illinois, and settled near Winchester. When he was eight years old, the death of his father resulted from an accident. While engaged in hauling rails, he was thrown from the wagon and run over. His mother was so affected by the unfortunate death of her husband, that she died a short time afterward. The children, all of whom were young, were thus left to take care of themselves. Mr. Hodkinson was apprenticed to a farmer in Scott county. It was agreed that his apprenticeship should last till he became of age, but a circumstance occurred when he was eighteen which brought it to a close, and he afterward worked on a farm on his own account. It was arranged when he entered into the apprenticeship, that he should receive so much schooling, but his employer kept him at work so that he had no opportunity to attend school except on bad days. He afterward went to school one winter, and gained consid- erable education by his own unaided industry. He was married on the twenty-first of January, 1864, to Maria E. Coultas, who was born on the first of December, 1844, the daughter of Thomas Coultas, and his wife Jane, whose maiden name was Green. Her parents were both natives of England. Her father came to this country when a boy. He settled at an early date in Scott county, living in a little log house, and putting up with great inconveniences, that part of the state then being new and unsettled. Mrs. Hod- kinson was the oldest of ten children, and was born in Scott county. Her father is still living in that county four or five miles north of Winchester. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hod- kinson lived awhile in Scott county, and then moved to Logan county, where they resided eight years, and in 1874 moved on their present farm in Flat Branch township. This farm is well improved, and at one time was considered one of the best farms in Shelby county.
They have six children living. Their names are : Sarah Luella William Thomas, Fanny Jane, Annie May, James Henry and George Wilber. Robert Roy, the next to the youngest child, died
in infancy. Mr. Hodkinson was brought up to believe in the doc- trines of the democratic party, and cast his first vote for President for Douglas, in 1860. He became a republican during the war. voted for Lincoln in 1864, and has since acted with the republican party. He is a man who stands well in the township. He was at one time elected justice of the peace, but was never qualified nor performed the duties of the office.
WILLIAM J. SNYDER
WAS born in Prairieton township, Christian county, half a mile west of Moawequa, on the 28th of May, 1842. He was the fourth of eight children of Michael Snyder and Margaret Kautz. His pa- rents were early settlers of that part of Christian county. He was raised in the same neighborhood. He secured the elements of a good education in the common schools, and for one year was n student in a seminary at Mt. Zion, Macon county. He left school in the spring of 1861, the year of the commencement of the rebel- lion. In June, 1862, he enlisted in Co. L., of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Illinois Infantry. The company was commanded by Capt. J. L. Dobson, and the regiment by Col. Tupper. During his service the regiment was with Sherman and Grant in Tennessee and Mississippi. Toward the latter part of January, 1863, he was taken sick, and after being an inmate of the hospital at Memphis nine weeks, was discharged on account of disability in March, 1863. Having regained his health he re-enlisted at Buffalo, New York, about the 1st of May, 1864, in the Thirteenth New York Heavy Artillery. He served on the United States steamer Parkes till the close of the war. He was first on the James river in Virginia, and took part in the battle of Petersburg, in the summer of 1864. The steamer afterward went to North Carolina and took part in the celebrated attack on Fort Fisher. Returning to the James river the steamer was on duty there for a time, and then went to the Neuse river in North Carolina, where it remained till the close of the war. He was discharged on the 4th of June, 1865, and mustered out at Hart's Island, New York City, on the succeeding 4th of July. He then returned to Christian county. On the 17th of October, 1867, he was married to Eliza Ann Gwinner, a native of Brown county, Ohio, daughter of Frederick and Charlotte Gwinner. November of the same year he moved to his present farm in Section 8 of Flat Branch township, where he has since carried on agricultural opera- tions. He has a farm of 360 acres, the improvements on which arc among the best in the northern part of the county. He has four children : Louella May, Ernest Frederick, Mabel Clare and Wil- 283
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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
liam Rutherford. He was originally a republican in politics. His first vote for President was cast for Abraham Lincoln, in 1864, at Newbern, North Carolina, while he was in the army. He remained a Republican till he came to believe that the principles of that or- ganization in reference to the finances and currency were at variance with the interests of the masses, and since has been a strong sup- porter of the principles of the National Greenback party. Since 1868, he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. An illustration of his residence is given on another page.
WILLIAM C. MILLER,
FORMERLY county treasurer of Shelby county, is a native of the county, and was born on Robinson Creek, in Ridge township, on the sixteenth of February, 1842. He was the fifth of nine chil- dren of Christopher P. Miller and Catharine Speers. His father was married in Fairfield county, Ohio, moved to Shelby county about 1840 and settled in Ridge township, where he still resides. Mr. Miller was raised in Ridge township. He received his elementary education in the common schools. The first school which he at- tended in the Robinson creek timber was held in a log school-house with slab benches, a writing desk, which extended along one side of the room, and a large fire-place, which occupied almost the en- tire end of the building. When in his twenty-second year (on the third of September, 1863) he met with an accident, which resulted in the loss of his right arm just above the elbow. He at once de- termined to secure a more thorough education, and in the fall of 1863, before his arm was entirely healed, entered the seminary at Shelbyville, which he attended one year. In January, 1865, he took charge of a school in Flat Branch township. As soon as the term was out he became teacher of another in Ridge township, in the neighborhood of where he was born and raised. He afterward taught two months in Assumption, and then went back to Ridge township; he put in the time so closely that in the first twelve months he was engaged in teaching he taught twelve school months and two weeks beside. He taught several winters afterward in Ridge, Flat Branch and Tower Hill townships. It is needless to say that he made a good record as a successful and popular teacher. In the summer he engaged in raising hedge plants, a business which he prosecuted with industry and energy, and with profitable results for eight years. He was married on the thirteenth of July, 18,1, to Mary Chadwick, daughter of William Chadwick. She was born in Flat Branch township. The first land which Mr. Miller pur- chased was in Flat Branch township, and he had been a resident of that part of the connty some years previous to his marriage. After he was married he moved on a farm in section thirty-three.
In the summer of 1873 he was nominated by a convention held at Shelbyville, and composed of the supporters of the Farmers' Movement, as county treasurer. No other candidate was named in opposition, and he was of course elected. After fillingt he office two years he was again a candidate on the People's ticket in oppo- sition to the regular democratic nominee. He received a flatter- ing vote and overcame the usual heavy democratic majority, re- ceiving sixty-six votes more than his opponent. He discharged his duties as connty treasurer in a very faithful and satisfactory manner, and in the fall of 1877, at the close of his second term, moved to his present farm, section twenty-four, Flat Branch town. ship. He is engaged in farming and trading in stock. He has an excellent capacity for business, and has always had an inclination for trade and speculation, in which he has been uniformly success- ful. He is the owner of four hundred and ten acres of land. The
death of his wife occurred on the tenth of June, 1878. He has had three children, of whom the youngest, Bertie Sylvan, died after its mother's death at the age of nine months. Those living are named Ada May and Charles Cyrus. In his politics he has always been a democrat. He was identified with the Farmers' movement at the time it exercised its greatest influence in the county. He has generally voted the democratic ticket in State and national elections, though of late years he has inclined to sup- port the views of the national greenback party on questions of finance and currency, and in opposition to monopolies. Mr. Miller is still a comparatively young man, but has made both an energetic business man and a capable public officer. Wherever he is known he is recognized as one of the substantial citizens of the county, while his attractive and genial, personal qualities have made him many friends.
ADDISON G. PIERCE.
ADDISON G. PIERCE, who has been engaged in farming in Flat Branch township since 1865, was born in Fairbanks township, Sul- livan county, Indiana, on the 10th of June, 1834. He is descend- ed from a South Carolina family. His father, Jesse Pierce, was born in South Carolina, and came to Indiana when a small boy. His parents were dead, and he was raised by a man named David Gross, one of the pioneer settlers of Sullivan county, Indiana. On reaching manhood he married Keziah Harris, a native of Ohio. She also came to Indiana at a tender age. Mr. Pierce's parents both died in Indiana. Addison G. Pierce was the seventh of a fami- ly of thirteen children. He was raised in Sullivan county. His mother died when he was nine years old, and his father when he was fifteen, and after that he was obliged to take care of himself, and get along the best he could. In his boyhood the schools were all subscription schools, and he had limited opportunity for acqui- ring anything more than an ordinary education. He succeeded in qualifying himself for the transaction of all kinds of business ; but this was done mostly by his own efforts. He was married on the 11th of September, 1856, to Lucy Ann Clark, who was born in Tur- man township, Sullivan county, Indiana, on the 5th of October, 1832. Her grandfather, Reuben Clark, lived in Saratoga county, New York, and married Agnes McClure, a native of Scotland. IIer father, Justus Clark, was born in Saratoga county, New York, and married Sallie Reed, a native of the same county. In the year 1818, Mrs. Pierce's parents emigrated to the west. From Pitts- burg they came down the Ohio river in a kind of flat boat of their own construction, and after capsizing two or three times, reached Evansville in safety. In 1820 they settled in Sullivan county, In- diana. They were among the pioneer settlers. The county was then full of Indians, and they experienced many inconveniences and hardships. The old house which they first built is still standing in Turman township, Sullivan county, Indiana, four miles from the Wabash river.
After Mr. Pierce was married he went to farming for himself, and lived in Indiana till 1865, and then moved to Shelby county, Illi- nois, and settled on section 35, of Flat Branch township. He bought ninety acres of land, on which there was a small improvement. He has been living there ever since; he now owns one hundred and fifty acres, and is known as one of the progressive farmers of the township He has three children now living. Arthur S. was born on the 22d of August, 1859; Reuben Elmer Ellsworth on the 13th of May, 1866; and Herbert Clark Pierce on the 5th of August, 1874. Two others died in infancy. In his poli- tics he was first a mentber of the democratic party, and in 1856 vo-
FARM RESIDENCE OF M. SNYDER JR. SEC. 17. T13, R.2, (FLAT BRANCH. TP.) SHELBY CO. ILL.
RESIDENCE & STOCKFARM OF FREDERICK NEY, SEC. 16, T.13, R 2, FLAT BRANCH TP.) SHELBY CO. IL.
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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
ted for James Buchanan for president. He continued to be a democrat till of recent years he became convinced that both of the old parties were wrong on finaneial issues, and the currency question. He has since supported the National Greenback party, and in the campaign of 1880, supported James B. Weaver for the presidency. He is a member of the Baptist church. He is a man who stands well as a neighbor and a citizen.
JAMES B. WRIGHT,
ONE of the representative citizens of Flat Branch township, is a native of New York, and was born at Salina, now comprised in the first ward of the city of Syracuse, on the 25th of August, 1821. The family from which he is descended was of Scotch origin. His great-grandfather, whose name was Ebenezer Wright, emigrated to America from the Isle of Wight. He settled in Washington county, New York, where the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, also named Ebenezer Wright was born. The family settled there some years previous to the Revolutionary War, when the colonies werc yet subject to the British Crown. Ou the breaking out of the war of the Revolution his great-grandfather considered that he owed his loyalty to the British Government, and went over to Canada and fought on the British side during the struggle. Ou the other hand, his two sons, one of whom was Mr. Wright's grandfather, enlisted in the American army, and served from the first inauguration of hostilities till the termination of the war. Mr. Wright's great-grandfather was in the force with which the British General Burgoyne invaded the State of New York, and the grand- father aud great-uncle were in the opposing American army under the command of Gates. They all took part in the battle of Sara- toga, and on the surrender of the British troops the father was found by the sons among the prisoners. Mr. Wright's great- grandfather returned to Cauada and settled and died on a tract of land at Windmill Point, which the British Government gave him for his services during the war.
Amos Wright, the father of the subject of this biography, was born at Kingsbury, Washington county, New York. He left his home when a young man and went to Ohio, then the extreme western frontier. He returned to New York in 1809, and lived in Onondaga county till 1812, when he settled on somne land he had purchased in Chautauqua county. He enlisted in the American forces during the war with Great Britain in 1812-14. He was first in the Navy under Commodore Perry, but was subsequently detailed for infantry service, and was at Black Rock, (now the city of Buffalo), when it was burned. After the war was over, he settled in Onondaga county, New York, and was married about the year 1816 to Mary Hudgson, who was born on the shores of Lake Champlain, iu the State of New York. She was of English descent. Her parents settled in New York state on their emigration from England. Hc moved to Illinois in 1839, and settled in Stephenson county where he died in 1869.
The first sixteen years of Mr. Wright's life werc spent in Onon- doga county, New York. Hc was the third of a family of seven chil- dren. When he was about ten his father moved from Salina to the town of Lysander. That county then was but little improved in comparison with what it is at the present time. His father became crippled and involved in the payment of some security debts, and in consequence, Mr. Wright had but little opportunity to obtain an education. He was obliged to remain at home and assist with the work on the farm. The greater part of his education has beeu gained by his own efforts. In the year 1827, the family moved to Cattaraugus county, New York, and after being there two years,
came to Illinois, and settled at Rock Grove, in Stephenson county, arriving there on the 18th of October. Mr. Wright was eighteen when he came to this State. He made his home with his father till his marriage, which occurred on the first of March, 1850, to Sarah L. Davis, a native of Crawford county, Pennsylvania. Her father, Col. Horatio Davis, moved from Pennsylvania to Illinois in 1838, and settled at Rock Run in Stephenson county. When he settled there, the next post-office was twenty-five miles distant. Six months after his arrival he secured the establishment of the Rock Run post- office, of which he had charge for many successive years. He be- came one of the leadiug citizens of Stephenson county, and died at Galena in 1850, while on his way to California. Mr. Wright was engaged in farming till the breaking out of the war of the rebellion. On the fourteenth of August, 1862, he enlisted in Co. F, of the Forty-Sixth Illinois Infantry. After his enlisting he was kept on recruiting service in Stephenson county for oue hundred and five days, and then joined his regiment at Camp Hall, Mississippi.
The regiment spent part of the winter of 1862-3, in camp at Moscow, and while there, he was detailed for service in the quartermaster's department. During part of this winter he was unfitted for duty by reason of sickness. Iu the spring of 1863, the regiment moved down the Mississippi, and joined Grant's army, which was then iuvesting Vicksburg, and took part iu the various movements, which resulted in the capture of that rebel stronghold in July, 1863. After the fall of Vicksburg, he went with his regi- ment to Jackson, Mississippi, and assisted in the taking of that place. The regiment was afterward stationed at Natchez, and next
assisted in the reduction of Harrisburg, Louisiana. From the lat- ter place he returned to Vicksburg, and went into camp at Camp Cowan on Clear creek, nine miles from town. On the fourth of January, 1864, in company with the great part of his regiment, he re-enlisted for three years in the veteran service. The men were then permitted to return to Illinois on a thirty days furlough. The whole regiment, numbering twenty-one officers, and three hundred and thirty-four enlisted men, left for home on the eleventh of Jan- uary, 1864, proceeded to Freeport, and on the second of March left that place for the field again. The regiment having been recruited to nine hundred and eighty-seven men, they went into camp at Camp Hebron, ten miles east of Vicksburg, and were placed in the Second Brigade, Fourth Division of the Seventeenth Army Corps The regiment afterward performed garrison duty at Vicksburg till the fourth of May, and then started on an expedition to Yazoo city. On the thirteenth of July, 1864, they went to Jackson, Mississippi, and took part in the engagement at that place ; the loss of the re- giment being forty-five, the wounded falling into the hands of the enemy. At Morganza Bend, the regiment was placed in the First Brigade, Second Division, Nineteenth Army Corps. The regiment left Morganza Bend for White River in September, 1864; then went to Duvall's Bluff, Arkansas, and reached Memphis on the twenty-eighth of November. In December, 1864, the regiment was organized in the Veteran Reserve Corps, and placed in the Second Brigade. Remaining in the vicinity of Memphis till the thirty-first of December, 1864, they then left for Louisiana, arriving at Kenner- ville, on the second of January, 1865. On the seventh of February, they left for Alabama, and proceeded to Fort Gaiues on Dauphin Islaud. Here the regiment was again recruited to nine hundred and twenty-two mcu. The Reserve Corps was rc-organized into the Thirteenth Army Corps under the command of Gen. Gordon Granger, and the Forty sixth Illinois was placed iu the Second Brigade of the First Division. The regiment marched on Mobile, and on the twenty-second of March, 1865, invested Spanish Fort, which was captured the following eighth of April. The next day
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HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES ,ILLINOIS.
they assisted in the attack on Fort Blakeley, which was captured in one of the finest charges made during the whole war. The siege of Fort Blakely was the last important engagement during the rebellion. On the twelfth of April, the regiment went into camp at Mobile, and on the twenty-seventh of May, left for New Orleans, went into camp near that city, and then went to Alexall- dria. At Shreveport, Louisiana, they were part of the Union force which received the surrender of Gen. Kirby Smith. They next camped at Salubrity Springs, on an old camping ground, which originally had been used by Gen. Taylor, while marching his army to Mexico, during the Mexican war. On the twenty-seventh of De- cember, 1865, the regiment was ordered to Baton Rouge; were mustercd out on the twentieth of January, 1866; arrived at Camp Butler, Springfield, on the twenty-seventh of January, where the men were discharged on the first of February, 1866. During the service over seventeen hundred men had been members of the regiment. Its line of march and travel extended over ten thousand miles. Mr. Wright enlisted as a private. He was appointed quartermaster's sergeant, and transferred to the non-commissioned staff on the first of March, 1864. He was commissioned as quartermaster on the fifth of October, 1864, and served in that capacity till he was must- ered out of the service. While at Natchitoches, Louisiana, he acted as post-quartermaster, and post commandant. His wife's brother, Col. John A. Davis, commanded the regiment at the beginning of the war. He was wounded at Shiloh and died on the tenth of October, 1862, at Bolivar, Tennessee, from wounds received at the battle of Matamora, on the preceding fifth of October.
After his discharge from the service, Mr. Wright returned to Stephenson county. In 1870, he moved to his present farm, section thirty-three, Flat Branch township. He is one of the large and influential farmers of Flat Branch township. He has four children : J. Wright, who is farming for himself in Flat Branch township ; Frank, Charlie and Lottic D. The three youngest are living at home. In his politics he has always been an earnest and consistent democrat. He voted for James K. Polk in 1844, and has voted for every democratic candidate since, except when absent in the army. IIe has a strong and abiding faith in the principles of democracy, and believes that the party of which Jackson and Jefferson were illustrious members, is the organization into whose hands the govern- ment of this country should be intrusted. He believes in restraining, as far as possible, the appointing power of the executive, making all offices outside the cabinet elective. He is a liberal thinker in reli- gions matters. His crced is honesty to one's neighbor, charity to mankind, and the sacred fulfillment of personal obligations. His name deserves a place in this book, as one of the representative men of the western part of the county.
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