Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical, Part 76

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : F. A. Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 860

USA > Illinois > Cumberland County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 76
USA > Illinois > Richland County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 76
USA > Illinois > Jasper County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 76

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).

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES-RICHLAND COUNTY:

SHADRACH RAWLINGS was born January 3, 1835, in Olney Township, and is the eldest son of the late Lloyd Rawlings, who was one of the earliest settlers of this county. Shadrach enlisted in 1862 in Company H, One Hundred and Thirtieth Illinois Infantry, and served to the end of the war. He participated in the battles of Vicksburg, Champion Hill, and Magnolia Hills; he was taken pris- oner at Mansfield, La., was confined in prison at Tyler, Texas, four- teen months, was then paroled, and returned home, having been promoted to Corporal. He has since been engaged in farming. He was married, May 8, 1856, to Rachel E. Bell, a native of Guernsey County, Ohio. She died in 1869, aged thirty-five years, leaving four children-Sarah C. (now Mrs. Berry ); Mary M. (now Mrs. Whitmer); Eva B. and Charles E. Rose Ida, wife of Mr. Newton, died in Feb- ruary, 1882, aged eighteen years; John A. died in infancy. His

second marriage, in 1870, was to Mary J. Miszer, of Stark County, Ohio. They have two children-Jonathan R. and Mary J. Mr. Rawlings has been school director since his return from the army. CAPTAIN WILLIAM RHODE, clothing, was born in Ger- many, December 6, 1834, and is the fifth of six children born to Conrad and Anna C. (Yackel) Rhode, natives of Germany. Conrad was born January 10, 1796; was educated and married in Germany, and followed the wagon-makers' trade until he died, on May 19, 1866. At the age of sixteen he entered the Prussian army, and served for eight years, which included the wars with Napoleon I. He was with those who occupied Paris in 1813. He served as Tax Col- lector and President of the Council of the village. These offices have never gone out of the family since, and are now held by his eld- est son, Christian H. He and wife belonged to the Lutheran Church, for which body he had filled various official positions. William received a good education in the Fatherland, and at the age of six- teen, in 1851, emigrated to the United States, going first to San- dusky, Ohio. IIe learned the trade of cabinet making, and then went to Tiffin County, where he worked as salesman for three years; then was employed in the grocery and provision business in the same place for one year. October 15, 1861, he received a commission as Second Lieutenant in and helped recruit Company D, Fifty-Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until his discharge, at Column- bus, Ohio, January 15, 1865. In October, 1862, he was promoted First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the regiment, and in June, 1864, was made Captain, and assigned to detached service at Vicksburg, Miss. In April, 1864, he received a gold medal of honor for meri- torious service, on which were inscribed Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, and Vicksburg, by order of Major- General McPherson. In 1865 he came to Olney, followed the hard- ware business until 1877, and in 1878 engaged in the clothing busi- ness, also carrying a stock of hats, caps, boots and shoes, as well as gents' furnishing goods. He has been a Supervisor of Richland County, and for thirteen years past has been one of the Directors of Olney public schools. He married, in February, 1861, Caroline J.

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Rauch, of Tiffin County. Five children were born to them, of whom two sons and one daughter survive. In May, 1883, Mr. Rhode visited his native land, returning in August of the same year. While he was there the medal alluded to served him as a passport to all parts of the German Empire. He belongs to the A. O. U. W., I. O. M. A., and the G. A. R .; is a Democrat in politics, and quite prominent here.

JAMES I. RICHEY, live stock dealer, is a native of Blount County, Tenn., and was born May 5, 1847; a son of James H. and Matilda (Adams) Richey, Tennesseeans, of Scotch and English descent respectively. James H. was educated and married in his native State, and farmed until 1851, when he went to Crawford County, Ill. In 1865 he came to Denver Township, in this county, and lived there till his death, on November 13, 1876. He and wife were Presbyterians, and he was an elder for over thirty years in that body, and belonged to the I. O. O. F. His wife died August 27, 1879. Her father, Isom Adams, was cousin of John Q. Adams. James I. received a limited education, but by his exertions acquired a good business education. He worked upon his father's farm until his thirtieth year, and in 1878 was elected Sheriff of this county, and was re-elected in 1880, serving in all four years. Since 1882 he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits, in which he is succeeding. He is also dealing in live stock in this county. On August 8, 1878, Mr. Richey was married to Emma E. Younge, a native of Indiana, and a member of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Richey belongs to the several Masonic bodies of Olney, viz .: A. F. & A. M., R. A. M., R. & S. M., K. T., and K. of P. In politics he is a firm Democrat.

EDMUND W. RIDGWAY, M. D., was born in Harrisburg, Penn., September 29, 1812, and is the second of ten children born to Richard and Sarah (Cowall) Ridgway, natives of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and of English and Welsh descent respectively. Richard's great-grandfather was among the Quaker colonists who landed with William Penn in 1682. He settled at Egg Harbor. Richard, father of our subject, was well educated and brought up on a farm. He went to Philadelphia, and was employed as a salesman. After a time he removed to Bradford County, there married, and ran a grist mill, in company with his brother. In 1810 he came to Har- risburg, Penn., and took a contract for manufacturing the bricks for the Pennsylvania State House. He followed brick making for many years. In 1820 he moved to Mansfield, this county, and was engaged in the same business for eighteen years. In 1838 he went to Wabash County, Ill., and bought a farm. His wife died there in 1850, and his death occurred in 1855. Edmund W. received a good education, and, when a boy, was bound out to a saddler, where he learned that trade. When his time had expired he began studying medicine in Mansfield, Ohio, and completed the course. In 1844 he attended medical lectures at Willoughby, Ohio, and in 1846 came to Olney, and practiced here with excellent success until January, 1883, when he retired from active practice. In 1872 he received the hon-

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES-RICHLAND COUNTY:

orary degree at the Louisville Medical College. Dr. Ridgway stands high in his profession, and his ability is acknowledged by the profes- sion. He was married in March, 1835, to Mary Carrothers, of Mans- field, Ohio. Ten children blessed this union, only four of whom, two sons and two daughters, survive. Mrs. Ridgway died May 18, 1880, a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which the Doctor belongs. He is a member of Richland Lodge, No. 180, I. O. O. F. In politics he is a Republican, and very prominent in the circles in which he has moved so long.

TOWNSEND H. ROWLAND was born in Long Island, N. Y., September 6, 1805, and was the second in a family of five children born to Tredwell H. and Susan (Arthur) Rowland, natives of Long Island, and of French-Irish and English-German descent, respect- ively. Tredwell H. was educated and married in his native town, and followed the carpenters' trade in New York City until his death, which occurred in 1825. During the war of 1812 he was a Lieutenant in a company of New York militia. Townsend H. received a poor education, and at sixteen years of age was apprenticed to the tailors' trade in New York City, serving for three years, and afterward fol- lowing that trade until 1832, when he was obliged to find some other employment, owing to failing health. He followed teaming, marketing and farming in the vicinity of the metropolis for six or eight years, and then moved, in 1840, to Lawrence County, in this State, farming for two years. In 1842 Mr. Rowland went to Bon- pas Township, this county, and settled on 240 acres of wild land. He erected a cabin, improved the farm, and resided there until 1865, after which he rented it and came to Olney, since which time he has not been engaged in active business. In 1826 Mr. Rowland was united in marriage to Eliza Sands, of Long Island. She has borne her husband eleven children, of whom four sons and six daughters are living. In polities he is a Democrat, and is one of our respected pioneers and valued citizens. Mr. Rowland does not belong to the church, and is very liberal in his views.

HON. ELBERT ROWLAND, M. D., was born in New York City, April 28, 1832, and is eldest of eleven children born to Townsend H. and Eliza (Sands) Rowland, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere. Elbert was educated in a log cabin in this county, as his father moved here in 1840. Our subject, by close application, has acquired a practical education since he reached manhood; and he is an extensive reader and well posted in history, as well as the cur- rent literature of the day. In 1855, he began studying medicine, with Dr. J. L. Flanders, of Olive, Lawrence Co., Ill. After two years here, in 1857, he attended the New York Medical College, graduating from the Department of Chemistry in 1858, and from the Medieal Department one year later. Dr. Rowland then began prac- ticing in New York City, where he remained until 1861, when he was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the One Hundred and Twenty- Seventh Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry. He remained until 1864, when he resigned his position in the army and came to

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Olney. During the last year of his service in the army he was Act- ing Surgeon. Since 1864 he has lived in Olney, and has enjoyed an extensive practice. The Doctor was married, January 23, 1862, to Kate D. Mallary, a native of New York City. Five children, two sons and three daughters, bless this marriage. Dr. Rowland is not a member of the church; he belongs to Olney Lodge, No. 140, A. F. & A. M., Richland Chapter, No. 38, R. A. M., Olney Council, No. 55, R. & S. M., Gorin Commandery, No. 14, K. T., and the G. A. R., Olney Post, No. 92, of which he is at present Surgeon. He is a Dem- ocrat; was chairman of the Central Committee, of this county, for seventeen years, and in 1882 was elected to the lower branch of the State Legislature, receiving a clear majority of 1,219 votes. The Doctor is a member of the Board of Censors, of the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons, at Evansville, Ind., is Health Officer for this city, President of the Board of Examining Surgeons for the Pension Department, and in 1880 was on the committee to examine candi- dates for West Point cadetship. He is an excellent debater, clear, precise and forcible. The Doctor is a pioneer of Richland County, ranks high in his profession, and is respected by all his acquaint- ances.

JOHN C. RUSH was born in Hastings, Barry Co., Mich., June 28, 1838, and is the younger of two children born to Henry H. and Christina (Snell) Rush, the former a native of Hamilton and the latter of Darke County, Ohio, and of German descent. Henry H. Rush received his early education in his native county, where in early life he learned the gunsmith and blacksmith trades. In 1837 he removed to Hastings, Mich., where he followed his trade for a short time, and in 1839 he went to Darke County, Ohio, where he edited a Whig paper for several years. In 1865 he came to Olney, Ill., where he has since lived a retired life. He is a member of the Bap- tist Church, in which church he has been a minister for over forty years. He is also a member of the Masonic Fraternity. John C. Rush, the subject, received a fair common school education in his youth. At the age of eighteen he went to learn the bakers' trade, serving an apprenticeship of four years. In April, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Eighth Indiana Infantry, for the three months sery- ice, and served with that regiment until the expiration of its term of service. In the spring of 1862, he again enlisted in Company A, Fifth Indiana Cavalry, and was appointed Sergeant at the organi- zation of his Company. With this regiment he served in all its marches and engagements until July 30, 1864, when he was taken prisoner, being surrendered by Gen. Stoneman. He was confined in the Andersonville prison until the spring of 1865, when he was removed to Florence, S. C., thence, with others, further north, with the hope of keeping them out of the way of Gen. Sherman's army. Finally, they were paroled at Goldsborough, N. C. He was then a mere skeleton, weighing only from sixty-five to seventy pounds, and unable to walk. When he reached home his parents did not recog- nize him. He was mustered out with his regiment at Indianapolis,

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES-RICHLAND COUNTY:

in July, 1865. In the following fall he came to Olney, Ill., where he bought and operated a bakery, until the spring of 1881, when he retired from active business on account of failing health. He was married, in 1867, to Mattie Clark, a native of Richland County, Ill. Six children blessed their union, five of whom are still living. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. He is also a member of Olney Post, No. 92, G. A. R. In politics he is a Repub- lican.

MATTHEW M. ST. JOHN, farmer, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, December 25, 1826, and is the second of the six children born to Samuel and Sophia (Snell-McClain) St. John, natives of Orange County, N. Y., and of French and Scotch-English descent respect- ively. The ancestors of both were carly Puritan colonists at Bos- ton, Mass., and some of them were hearty participants in the Revo- lutionary war. One branch settled in Pennsylvania and were nearly exterminated at the Wyoming massacre. Samuel was edu- cated in his native State, and in 1816, removed to Brookville, Frank- lin Co., Ind., descending the Alleghany and Ohio rivers on a raft. He married here, and in about 1825 removed to Cincinnati. In 1827 he returned to Franklin County, bought a tract of wild land, built a cabin, and finally sold his farm, in 1832, went to Brookville one year and in 1833 moved to Marion Township. Here he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1837, he went to Johnson County, Ind., and lived upon a farm until 1848, then removed to Olney and lived here until his death, on July 19, 1855. Mrs. St. John died June 28, 1851. Matthew M. was poorly educated, in the log schoolhouses of Indiana, and worked on his father's farm until his nineteenth year, when he went to the West on horseback and alone. He arrived here in 1846, and has lived in this place ever since. He worked for his board and schooling, then engaged in stock-raising and trapping. In 1848 he leased eighty acres, on a part of which the Olney Driving Park is now situated, and afterward bought the same. He has lived upon this place ever since, but has added more land from time to time until his farm consists of 1,200 acres, in Jasper and this county. He also owns valuable residence property in this city. From 1854 to 1861, he was traveling purchasing agent for the American Fur Company, in Southern Illinois. From 1859 to 1868, he was engaged in butchering, and also in shipping stock, and for the past six years . in the pump business. He has served two years as Sheriff of the county, having been elected in 1868, and was Marshal of the city. He also followed the livery business. Mr. St. John has been married three times. On March 21, 1847, he married Phenicia Cobleigh, of Vermont. To this union succeeded one daughter, Emeline (now Mrs. George Glossbrenner), Mrs. St. John died August 25, 1855, and Mr. St John married, on October 23, 1856, Emeline D. Cralle, of Posey County, Ind. Three children were born to them, of whom one, Mary (Fleming), is living. Mrs. St. John died May 27, 1863. For his third wife Mr. St. John married Mariah L. Cralle, also of Posey County, on April 10, 1864. Five children bless the last

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union. He is a member of all the Masonic bodies in Olney, viz .: A. F. & A. M., R. A. M., R. & S. M., and K. T. Our subject is a brother of Gov. J. P. St. John, of Kansas, and his mother was second cousin to John Q. Adams. Mr. St. John is a Republican, an old settler, and a respected citizen of the county.

HENRY C. SANDS, breeder and trainer of trotting and pac- ing horses, and owner of "Meadow Brook" stock and training farm, near Olney, was born in Lawrence County, Ill., October 31, 1848, and is the elder of two living children born to Elbert and Susan A. (Gadd) Sands, natives of Long Island, N. Y., and Mary- land, respectively, and of Scotch and English descent. Elbert and his brother were showmen when very young, being accrobats and wire-walkers, and Elbert was engaged in various companies for more than twenty years. Mr. Sands was the first bareback rider in the United States. He retired in 1843, and was engaged in farming until 1860, then went to New York City, and followed the real estate business. In 1865 he came to Olney, and followed the same until 1880, at which time he retired from business, but still lives here. Henry C. graduated from the New York Academy, in 1866. In 1863 he was employed in the United States secret service for two or three months, and was stationed then at Richmond, Va. During the last of his academic course Mr. Sands read law with Judge Cardja and J. J. Morrin, of New York City. In 1866 he came to Olney, studied for a time, and in 1869 was admitted to practice law. He practiced here until 1875, when he began his present business, and breeds fine horses very extensively. In 1879 he bought the " Meadow Brook" stock and training farm, and now owns some thirty or more of the finest bred Hambletonian and Mambrino trotters in southern Illinois. Mr. Sands married, in 1875, Amelia T. Hoover, of Olney, Ill. They have had four children, of whom three, two sons and a daughter, survive. Mr. Sands belongs to the K. of P., the I. O. O. F. and the Democratic party.

AMBROSE SCHNEIDER, book-keeper, was born in German Township, Richland Co., Ill., January 12, 1851, and is the second of six living children born to Joseph and Theresa Schneider, of Ger- man ancestry. Joseph was reared and married in Germany, and followed agriculture. In about 1847 or 1848 he came to the United States, settling at the place of our subject's birth. In 1853 he went to Saint Marie, Jasper County, and followed the brewery business until 1878, when Ambrose took charge of the brewery for two years. Joseph, the father, was in mercantile trade and saloon. In August, 1882, he visited Germany, and returned in March, 1883, to Saint Marie, and is now a grocer. He is a member of the Catholic Church. Ambrose received a good common school and academic education, and in 1874 he engaged in the saloon business at Saint Marie for one year. He then came to Olney, and was railroading for a time. In February, 1877, he was engaged by Scott & Brock- man as salesman, and then as book-keeper, which position he still holds. Mr. Schneider was a tax-collector three terms in Jas-

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BIOGRAPHIICAL SKETCHES-RICHLAND COUNTY:

per County and two in Richland. He was married in October, 1874, to Anna B. Brockman, who died on January 16, 1876, leaving one child-Edith L., and departing in the Catholic faith. In Octo- ber, 1878, Mr. Schneider married Caroline Brockman, sister of his first wife. Two children bless this union-Anna and Caroline. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider are faithful communicants of the Catholic Church. He belongs to Olney Branch, No. 173, C. K. of A., being one of the first members. He belonged originally to Branch No. 50, at Trenton, Ill.

G. SCHNEPPER was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, March 26, 1836. He served in the war in 1848-49, in his native country, and was in many of the hardest-fought battles. In 1854 he came to America, and first settled at Evansville, Ind., where he remained two years. In 1858 he moved to Clay County, Ill., where he began farming, and by hard work he has come in possession of a fine farm of 200 acres in that county, and forty acres in Jasper County, although he has at times worked for wages as low as thirty cents per day. He married, in his native country, Anna A. Martin, born in 1838 ; she died at Lanesville, Ind., in 1860 ; she was the mother of four children-Frederick, John, Elizabeth and Gottfried (de- ceased). He next married, in 1862, Margaret Rhuppert, born in Germany, in 1838. By this union there were born six children- Charles, Barbara, Louis, Henry, Lena and Maggie. Mr. Schnepper is a member of the I. O. O. F., Lodge 162, at Noble ; also of Olney Lodge, 141, of Masonry, and in politics he is a Democrat.

JOHN SCHWEBEL, farmer, was born August 28, 1838, in Prussia, and there he followed teaming ; in 1858 he came to New Jersey, there worked at the blacksmiths' trade, and in 1861 he moved to Olney, following his trade about four years, and then opened a grocery, and, with the exception of six years, continued this business till 1883, when he sold out and moved to a farm which he owns, consisting of seventy-four acres, which joins the corporation. He also owns two store buildings in Olney. He was married, in 1861, to Minnie Bohren, who was born in Switzerland, and at the age of cleven she came with her parents to Richland County.

DAVID SCOTT, Mayor of Olney, was born in County Ar- magh, Ireland, February 7, 1833, and is one of nine children born to James and Jane (Lyster) Scott, both natives of Ireland. James Scott was educated and married in his native land, where he learned the carriage makers' trade, and followed the same until 1847, when he emigrated to the United States, first settling in New York City, where he was employed at his trade until the fall of 1850, when he removed to Terre Haute, Ind. Here he continued to follow his trade until his death, which occurred in 1857. He was a member of the Congregational Church, and was also a prominent member of the Masonic Fraternity, having advanced to the degree of Knight Templar. David Scott received a fair education in Ireland. Soon after the arrival of the family in the United States, he clerked in a

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dry goods store in New York City, where he remained for three years, when he was employed in a store at Terre Haute for a time. In 1881 he went to Newton, Ill., where he worked in the same capacity in a store there for some five years, when he opened a general store for himself at the same place, and remained there until the spring of 1862, when he went into the army. He was a sutler, and served as such until the close of the war. In May, 1866, he came to Olney, and engaged again in the general merean- tile business, which he has continued with excellent success ever since. For a time the firm name was D. Scott & Co., but since 1875 the firm name has been Scott & Broekman. Mr. Scott was married, April 16, 1856, to Mary E. Harris, a native of Jasper County, Ill. To this union were born six children, two of whom are yet living. Mrs. Scott died January 31, 1868. Mr. Scott next married, January 4, 1881, Mrs. Lizzie (Clubb) McLean, a native of this county. She is a member of the Congregational Church. In April, 1883, Mr. Scott was elected Mayor of the City of Olney, and still holds that office. He is a member of Olney Lodge, No. 140, A. F. & A. M., and also of Olney Lodge, A. O. U. W.

AARON SHAW, of Olney, was born in Orange County, N. Y., in 1811 ; he was educated at Montgomery Academy, New York, and subsequently studied law with Judge Morrell at Goshen. In 1833 he removed to Lawrence County, Ill. He was a delegate to the first Internal Improvement Convention of Illinois ; was elected State's Attorney by the Legislature of Illinois ; was three times a member of the Illinois State Legislature ; was elected Circuit Judge of the Fourth Judicial District of Illinois, and served six years ; was elected to the Thirty-Fifth Congress, and was elected to the Forty-Eighth Congress, as a Democrat, receiving 14,557 votes against 13,689 votes for Green, Republican, 471 votes for Turney, Prohibitionist, and 129 scattering. The Sixteenth Congressional District of Illinois, of which he is the present Representative, con- sists of the counties of Clark, Clay, Crawford, Cumberland, Ed- wards, Jasper, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash and Wayne.

PARMENAS SHAW, jeweler, was born in Alleghany County, Md., on June 22, 1822, being one of the ten children born to JJohn and Charity (Ricketts) Shaw, natives of Maryland, and of English and Scotch descent respectively. John was brought up in Mary- land, there married, and there farmed until 1832, in which year he came to Knox County, Ohio. Here he was engaged in farming for some time, but during the last year of his life kept a hotel at Danville. He died on August 2, 1842. He was Justice of the Peace for more than forty years, and was a soldier of 1812. Parmenas education was not very thorough, and at sixteen he began learning the tailors' trade, at which he worked for twelve years. In 1850 he opened a jewelry store at Sarahsville, Noble Co., Ohio, and has been engaged in that business since that time. In 1852 Mr. Shaw came to Olney, and opened the first jewelry store here, for several years combining the book trade with it. On August 29, 1843, he

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Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical, Part 76

Author: Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : F. A. Battey & Co. Number of Pages: 860

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : F. A. Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 860