USA > Illinois > Cumberland County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 75
USA > Illinois > Richland County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 75
USA > Illinois > Jasper County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 75
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ing as such until December, 1866. In July, 1867, he was appointed Quartermaster of his regiment, and was brevetted Captain of the United States Army ; about the same time he was brevetted Cap- tain in the United States Army for gallant and meritorious ser- vices at the battle of Chickamauga, and was also brevetted Major in the United States Army for like services at the battle of Mission- ary Ridge. He served with honor and distinction at various western posts until August 31, 1871, when he was commissioned Captain in the Thirteenth United States Infantry. After this he served at various posts in the West and South, when he was sent to Cleveland, Ohio, on recruiting service; afterwards, he served at Atlanta, New Orleans, and other stations, until March 13, 1878, when he was retired, on account of wounds, as Captain and Brevet-Major in the United States Army, since which time he has made his home with his parents, in Olney.
REV. J. W. MERSCHER, pastor of Saint Joseph's Catholic Church, was born December 4, 1853, in Aviston, Clinton Co., Ill. His father, J. A. Merscher, was born in Hanover, Germany, and was there engaged in farming; in 1844, he came to America, located in Clinton County, where he remained engaged in farming till 1882, when he removed to Nodaway County, Mo., where he now resides. The subject of this sketch commenced a regular course of studies, preparatory for the priesthood, in 1866, with the Franciscan Fathers at Tentopolis, Illinois; in June, 1870, he entered the Saint Francis Seminary, near Milwaukee, and prosecuted his studies there till De- cember, 1876, when he was ordained a priest. In January, 1877, he became pastor of this church, which has a membership of about seventy.
AUGUST F. G. MUENCH & SON are manufacturers of boots and shoes. August F. G., was born in Germany, February 22, 1832, and is one of eight children born to John Frederick and Anna E. (Schulz) Muench, of German nationality. John F. was reared and married in the Fatherland, and followed the vocation of tailoring. He served during the Napoleonic wars in the Prussian army, and was engaged at the famous battle of Waterloo, under the command of Gen. Blucher. He died in 1838, having attained the age of sixty. He and wife were of Lutheran faith. August received a good Ger- man education, and at the age sixteen was apprenticed to a shoe- maker, served for three years, then was a journeyman for two years, and finally opened a shop at Pyritz, Germany, and remained there for seven years. He then went to Cunow, and in 1874, came to the United States. Ile came to Olney, and was a journeyman for some two years, and then opened a shop independently, and has succeeded in business ever since. In 1856, Mr. Muench married Anna D. Lemke. They had ten children, all born in the Fatherland. Five only are living The parents belong to the Evangelical Association. His eldest living son, Bernhard A., is a member of the firm. He was born December 27, 1858, and was married in Olney, January 18, 1882, to Sarah Guyot, a native of Edwards County, and of French-
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German descent. One daughther has been born to them-Anna E. The parents belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Association. The youngest son of Mr. A. F. G. Muench is learning the trade with his father and brother.
ELIJAH MURRAY, grocer, was born in Lawrence County, Ind., March 22, 1837, and is the youngest of eight children born to Timothy and Catherine (Finger) Murray, natives, respectively, ot North Carolina and Germany; and the father of Scotch-Irish descent. At the age of sixteen years, Timothy removed with the parents to Lawrence County, Ind., which was then a wilderness, scarcely dis- turbed by white man. Here he attended the common schools, in the log buildings, and also took a wife. Soon after, in 1822, he entered 200 acres of land, erected a log cabin and improved his farm. He lived here until he departed this life on July 13, 1881. He and wife were members of the Baptist Church. Elijah was educated in the rude school-houses of the time, and also assisted in his father's farm work until he attained his majority. In 1858, he came to Noble Township of this county, where he purchased 370 acres, and was employed in agricultural pursuits for fifteen years. In 1873, he came to this city and opened a grocery and provision store. He also ships produce and is carrying a large, well-selected stock in his line, and his business is a thriving one. For some five or six years he was Col- lector of Noble Township, and is at present a Councilman of this city. On February 14, 1858, Mr. Murray married Lucetta, daugh- ter of Col. John Sheeks, a pioneer of Lawrence County. By this union there have been four children, two daughters and two sons. Mr. and Mrs. Murray are members of the Baptist Church. He is a member of Olney Lodge, No. 140, A. F. & A. M., Richland Chapter, No. 38, R. A. M., Olney Council, No. 55, R. & S. M., and Gorin Commandery, No. 14, K. T. In politics he is a Republican, is a pio- neer and one of the most prominent business men and highly respected citizens of Olney.
ELIJAH NELSON, now familiarly known among his old acquaintances as " Uncle Elijah," and earliest living settler in the county, was born on March 15, 1803, and is a native of Abbeville District, S. C. When a child he was taken by his parents to Frank- lin County, Tenn., where they remained until the autumn of 1816, when they moved to Posey County, Ind., where they lived four years. At the end of this time they moved to Watertown, near Olney, where he followed farming and teaming; also cared for the stage- drivers, fed their team, and kept tavern, this being the first tavern ever kept in the county. He also ran the first stage line from Vin- cennes, Ind., to Saint Louis, Mo., via Vandalia, and while thus engaged, formed the acquaintance of Gen. Winfield Scott, Gen. Will- iam H. Harrison, Gen. Zachary Taylor, Gen. Lewis Cass, Hon. Thomas H. Benton, Hon. James Cook, Hon. Zedick Casey, Gov. Bond, Gov. Coles, and many other distinguished men, among whom was the eccentric Lorenzo Dow, who frequently made his house a stopping place. When he came to the county he entered 320 acres
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of land, on which stood his tavern. Of this land he had 240 acres improved. On this farm he lived forty-four years, when, selling out in 1864, he moved to Olney, Richland County, and purchased a house and lot. He also purchased 160 acres of land in Section 29, where he now resides. Mr. Nelson was the second County Commissioner of Richland County; he assisted in hauling the timber to build the first jail in Olney, in 1843; also, hauled the hewed logs which built the first school-house in Olney, in 1842. In this schoolhouse were first held the courts of Wabash, Edwards, Lawrence and Richland counties. At that time the Methodists held their services in this house. He was married on September 16, 1830, to Lucy Bunch, of Shelby County, Ky. She was born in 1812, and died on April 1, 1845. Six children were born to them, four of whom are living, viz .: Will- iam R., who was a soldier in the Confederate army, now living in Arkansas; James R., who, in 1861, enlisted in the Sixty-Third Illinois Infantry, and served during the war; Isabella (now Mrs. Lanier) and Sarah E. (now Mrs. C. Beakman). He was next married on Febru- ary 22, 1850, to Mrs. Minerva J. Lanier, of Posey County, Ind., born March 6, 1819. Three children were born to them, viz .: Lafayette, Martha E. (now Mrs. William Fuitz), and Ellen (now Mrs. Mirraele), of Wayne County). Mr. Nelson is a very hospitable, social and kind- hearted pioneer, and is politically a Democrat.
J. D. NELSON was born May 10, 1832, in Richland County, Ill. His father came to this locality in about 1820. Our subject entered forty acres of land where his house now stands; he now owns over 300 acres, mostly improved; he has a very comfortable house, which was built in 1867, and cost about $1,300; his barn, built in 1875, cost about $500; his granary cost about $100-all of this property and improvements he has acquired by his own industry. He was mar- ried October 30, 1856, to Mary H. Brothers, of Richland County. She died December 28, 1879, in her fortieth year, leaving three chil- dren: Harriet E. (now Mrs. Craig); Stephen A. and John Henry. Mr. Nelson's second marriage was to Maggie Strong; she was born in Ohio, and has borne one daughter, Ruth. Mr. Nelson has held the office of Justice of the Peace, and he is now Township Trustee.
WILLIAM NEWELL, pork packer, and grain, wood and coal dealer, was born in Philadelphia, Penn., December 12, 1817, and is the eldest of three living children born to John and Catherine A. (Donovan) Newell, natives of Philadelphia, and of Irish and Eng- lish descent respectively. John and his wife were brought up in their native city, and he followed the wholesale grocery and provision bus- iness. In about 1830, he went to New York City, and engaged in the same trade the remainder of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Newell died within two years of each other. William was well educated, both in common and academic branches. When he was sixteen years old he entered the store of his uncles, William and Samuel Newell, and remained there some three or four years. In 1840, he went to Vin- cennes, Ind., and engaged in a grain and produce trade, and shipped down the river to New Orleans. In 1845, he removed to Evansville,
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where he was engaged in the dry goods trade for three years, and in 1848, came to Olney and engaged in general merchandise and pork packing combined; also in the grain, coal and wood trade. For many years goods were shipped in a flat boat to New Orleans, by way of the Fox, Little Wabash, Wabash, Ohio and Mississippi riv- ers. Mr. Newell's business career has been very active and success- ful. He has been a member of the County Board of Supervisors and one of the city Aldermen. He was married in 1850, to Catherine A. Mackey, a native of Evansville, Ind. Mr. Newell is not a member of the church, but holds to the Presbyterian doctrine. He is a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F., and was charter member of both branches in Olney. He is a pioneer and Republican, and is highly respected.
O. C. PALMATEER was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, August 22, 1849, and is the sixth of the seven children born to Ben- jamin and Phebe (Johnson ) Palmateer, natives respectively of New York and Ohio, and of French and English extraction. In 1827, when about seventeen years old, Benjamin Palmateer moved to Guernsey County, and was there married December 1, 1836; he was a carpenter, but for a number of years engaged in flat boating; later he moved to Cumberland, Ohio, was engaged in mercantile pursuits there, was elected Constable, and then began the study of law, which for several years he followed as a profession. In 1851, he moved to Crawford County, Ill., where he worked at carpentering and engaged in farming; in April, 1861, he brought his family to Olney. In Crawford County he was licensed to preach in the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, and he proclaimed the gospel until his death, December 31, 1873, in his sixty-fourth year. Oris C. Palmateer, in December, 1863, when but fourteen years of age, enlisted in Com- pany F, Forty-Eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war, and took part in the battles at Resaca, Kene- saw Mountain, Atlanta (where he was wounded in the breast), and elsewhere, and also marched with Sherman to the Atlantic. After the war, Mr. Palmateer, was employed in the United States mail service at Saint Louis, for a time. In 1866, he returned to Olney and worked at painting and carpentering in the summer and attended school in the winter, for a number of years; in 1870, he began teach- ing; in 1875 and 1876, he elerked in Norris City, Ill., and then became local editor of the Olney News; in December, 1877, he was appointed Deputy County Clerk; in 1881, he was elected City Clerk, and re-elected in 1883. September 12, 1871, he married Miss Ella L. Shelby, who bore him three daughters, and died September 4, 1882, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Palmateer is a member of the same church. He is also a member of Parkersburg Lodge, No. 509, F. & A. M .; Oriental Consistory, S. P. R. S., of Chi- cago, Marmion Lodge, No. 52, K. of P .; Olney Lodge. No. 76, A. O. U.W., Olney Legion, No. 18, S. K. A. O. U. W., and Olney Post, No. 92, G. A. R. In politics he is a Republican, although he is at pres- ent local editor on the Olney Times, the Democratic organ of Richland County, and is one of the enterprising and prominent citi- zens of the city and county.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES-RICHLAND COUNTY :
FLETCHER T. PHILLIPS, druggist, was born in Preston Township, in this county, March 3, 1853, and is the third of eight children born to Thomas G. and Margaret (McWilliams) Phillips, natives respectively of White County, Tenn., and of Ohio, and of Welsh and Irish ancestry. Of the family, six children are living. Thomas G. came with his parents at ten years of age, in 1825, to Calhoun Prairie, in territory which is now Richland County, Ill., then an unbroken wilderness. At that time, ten or twelve families were all who lived in the present county. He was educated in rude log schoolhouses, and assisted on his father's farm until twenty-one years of age. In 1842, he entered 200 acres of land in Preston Town- ship, and erected a log cabin and improved a farm upon which he still resides. In about 1849 or 1850, he built the first frame house in the township, the weather-boarding for which was split with a froe, there being no saw mills in the country. Both he and wife are devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Fletcher T. received a good common education at the schools of his native county, and worked at farming until the age of twenty, when he taught awhile, and afterward attended McKendree College, Leb- anon, Ill. He passed the examinations of the Freshman and Soph- omore, beginning at the Junior year. His education was acquired by his own industry alone. After leaving college, Mr. Phillips taught school in this county four winters, reading medicine at his leisure hours, and during the summer following agriculture. In the spring of 1880, he purchased the half interest in a drug store at Olney, in company with Mr. Herron; the business being carried on under the firm name of Herron & Phillips. In January, 1882, Mr. Herron retired; since which time Mr. Phillips has conducted the business alone, and the place is known as the " City Drug Store." He has also dealt in musical instruments for the past nine years, and has been very successful, having sold some sixty organs and pianos dur- ing the first six months of 1883. On June 1, 1876, Mr. Phillips was joined in matrimony to Jennette, daughter of John Elliot, of Olney, They have been given two daughters-Margaret G. and Anna M. Mr. Phillips does not belong to the church. He is a member of the K. of P., of the I. O. O. F., and is a Republican. He is an enterpris- ing and prominent business man.
FINNEY D. PRESTON, County Judge of Richland County, was born in Wabash County, Ill., August 12, 1820. His father, Joseph Preston, a native of Pennsylvania, settled in Ohio, near Cin- cinnati, in 1811, but in the fall of 1815 removed with his family to Illinois and located on the farm where our subject was afterward born. His mother was Abigail Finney, daughter of E. W. Finney, who came from near Albany, N. Y., and settled with his family seven miles north of Cincinnati, in 1800. The former died in 1830 and the latter in 1847. Finney D. Preston worked on a farm until 1839, then served a time at blacksmithing, at Mount Carmel: subsequently he taught school; in 1814, he was elected Engrossing and Enrolling Clerk of the Illinois House of Representatives; in 1846, he was
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chosen Clerk of the Senate; in 1848, he was elected Clerk of the Supreme Court of the Southern District of Illinois; he then read law and was admitted to practice in the spring of 1853. That year he resigned his office and came to Olney, where he still resides. From this county he has twice been elected to the Lower House of the Legislature, and has since served as Secretary to the Senate; in 1857, he was appointed Mail Agent for the Northwestern States, and filled the office two years; he next served as Secretary of the State Senate, and then filled the post of State's Attorney continuously until 1876, excepting from September, 1862, until July, 1865, when he was in the Federal army, on the staff of Gen. Wilder. He then practiced law for several years, at Olney. In 1846, he married Phebe, daughter of Samuel Mundy. In 1878, he was elected County Judge, which position he now holds.
DOUGLASS A. PRESTON, State's Attorney, was born in Olney, Ill., December 19, 1856. In early life he received a good education, and in January, 1876, went into his father's law office for the purpose of preparing for the profession. Douglass A. remained in the office until the month of January, 1878, when he was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Illinois. Being of an independent spirit, on his return home, he opened a law office on his own account. Soon after the establishment of his office, in 1880, Mr. Preston became a candidate for State's Attorney, before the Democratic primary elec- tion, and was nominated over his opponent, G. M. Longenecker, and was elected by over 600 majority. On March 24, 1880, Mr. Preston was married to Florence B. Rhode. He is a popular lawyer and a rising young man of whom the county may well be proud.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM T. PRUNTY was born near Bardstown, Nelson Co., Ky., August 17, 1838, and is the eldest of seven children born to Robert M. and Ann (Heavenhill) Prunty, Kentuckians, of Irish and German-Irish descent, respectively. Robert M. was edu- cated and married in Kentucky, learned the wheelwright trade and followed it there until his death in 1855. He belonged to the Ma- sonic Fraternity. William T. received a fair education, and from twelve to sixteen years dwelt with his grandfather on a farm. He then accompanied an unele to Mississippi, where he followed the stock business two years. In 1857 Mr. Prunty came to Grayville, Ill., and was salesman for some six years. In August, 1862 he assisted in recruiting Company B, Eighty-Seventh Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, and was commissioned First Lieutenant of the com- pany. Lient. Prunty was made Captain in December, 1863, and served until the close of the war, being mustered out with the reg- iment at Helena, Ark., June 16, 1865. From June, 1864, until Feb- ruary, 1865, Capt. Prunty acted as Assistant Inspector General on the staff of Gen. E. J. Davis. After the war our subject was traveling salesman for a wholesale Cincinnati house, until February, 1877, at which period he came to Olney, and engaged in the retail hardware trade with a partner, under the firm name of Prunty & Jolly, until February, 1883, when he abandoned the business on account of
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES-RICHLAND COUNTY:
failing health. He has recently received an appointment in the United States Marshal's office, at Springfield, Ill. He has been City Clerk at Grayville for two or three years, and Mayor of Olney from April, 1881, to April, 1883. IIe belongs to the society of the Army of the Tennessee, and to Olney Post, No. 92, G. A. R., and has just represented his Post in the Department Encampment at Decatur, Ill. He is a Republican.
THOMAS RATCLIFF was born in Kent County, England, April 8, 1824, and is the seventh of thirteen children born to Will- iam and Mary A. (Miller ) Rateliff, both natives of England. Will- iam Ratcliff received an ordinary common school education in his native land, where he was also married, and where he engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years. In 1830 he emigrated to the United States with his family, first settling at Buffalo, N. Y., where he was employed at plastering for two years. In 1833, he removed to Richland County, Ohio, where he bought a farm, and was engaged in farming, in connection with his trade of plastering, for about four years. In 1837 he came to what is now Olney Township, Richland Co., Ill., where he entered 160 acres of land upon which he erected a log house, which he subsequently improved, and upon which he resided until his death, which occurred November 9, 1868. Thomas Rateliff, our subject, received a common school education in youth and was employed on his father's farm until he was eighteen years old, when he went to learn the blacksmiths' trade, serving an apprenticeship of three years. He then went into partnership with the man with whom he learned his trade, at Olney, Ill., and after one year bought him out. He continued to follow the trade in con- nection with the manufacture of wagons and plows and general repairing, for some twenty-five years. He then engaged in the sale of wagons, agricultural machinery and implements at Olney, and at which he has since been doing an extensive business. Mr. Ratcliff has been a member of the Board of County Supervisors for several terms; has also held the office of Alderman of the city, and director of the city schools, and is at present one of the directors of the First National Bank of Olney, having been a stockholder in that corpora- tion ever since its organization. IIe was married on September 19, 1844, to Catharine HI. Ranstead, a native of Vigo County, Ind. Nine children have been born to them, eight of whom are living. Mrs. Rateliff' is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In poli- tics Mr. Ratcliff' is a Republican, and is one of the early settlers and prominent business men of the city and county.
ALBERT RATCLIFF was born in Olney, Richland Co., Ill., Au- gust 7, 1845, and is the oldest of nine children born to Thomas and Catharine H. (Ranstead) Rateliff. Albert Rateliff, the subject, received a good education at the common and select schools of Olney. February 26, 1864 he enlisted in Company B, Ninety-Eighth Illinois (Mounted) Infantry, which formed a part of the famous Gen. Wild- er's Brigade. He served with his regiment in all its marches and engagements until the close of the war, being mustered out with the
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regiment at Nashville, Tenn., September 8, 1865. He participated in the battles of Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Selma, Ala., as well as many other lesser engagements. After his return from the army he attended school for a time, and then learned the black- smiths' trade, which he has followed ever since. In 1878 he engaged in the manufacture of mill-pieks, at Olney, Ill., in connection with following his trade. At this he is and has been doing an extensive business. In 1879 he discovered a new process of working and tem- pering steel, which gave him a decided advantage over other pick manufacturers. His pick became very popular with mill men gen- crally, and finds a market in almost every State and Territory in the Union. Mr. Rateliff was married October 28, 1866, to Emma Flow- ers, a native of New Richmond, Clermont Co., Ohio. Eight chil- dren have blessed their union, six of whom are yet living. Mrs. Rateliff died March 25, 1883. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Mr. Rateliff is also a member of the same church. He is also a member of the I. O. M. A., and of the G. A. R. In pol- ities he is a Republican, and is one of the old settlers and prominent business men of the city and county.
LLOYD RAWLINGS (deceased) was born in Ohio on June 10, 1803, and died on September 26, 1883. At an early day he came to Lawrence County, Ill., which at that time comprehended the castern portion of Richland County. On August 20, 1828, he was married to Matilda Ruark, who was born December 30, 1813, in Indiana. To them were born twelve children, nine of whom survive, viz .: Mary J. (now Mrs. Johnson); Shadrach, farmer; Elizabeth (now Mrs. James Callon ) ; Melinda (now Mrs. W. Proctor); Maria (now Mrs. K. Eggler); Samuel, now a practicing physician at New Harmony, Ind .; George, farmer; Joseph, in Colorado, mining; Levi, living at the homestead and managing the farm. Their sons, John, George, and Shadrach served in the army during the late war. John died on November 27, 1867. Mr. Rawlings' married life extended over the space of fifty-five years, two months and ten days. His widow still survives him. Since 1839 he had been a worthy and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church; was an affectionate husband, a kind father, and honest and upright in all his dealings. The first sermon preached in this section of the country was listened to in his log cabin ou Calhoun Prairie. In April, 1849, Mr. Rawlings, with eleven others, from Richland County, went the overland route to California. ,While there, and while he and a companion were deer-hunting, he, being temporarily separated from his companion, was attacked by a full- grown, savage grizzly bear. The bear came upon him so suddenly that he knocked his gun out of his hand with his paw, and seizing Mr. Rawlings' head in his mouth, proceeded unceremoniously to reduce it to a pulp. With Mr. Rawlings it was a life and death struggle. In the meantime he was calling for help from his absent companion, who, hearing his ery of distress, rushed upon the scene, killed the bear, and saved him. Mr. Rawlings carried the marks of this strug- gle to the grave, but out-lived his rescuer by twenty years.
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