USA > Illinois > Cumberland County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 79
USA > Illinois > Richland County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 79
USA > Illinois > Jasper County > Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois. Historical and biographical > Part 79
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794
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES-RICHLAND COUNTY:
NOBLE TOWNSHIP.
PETER BILLINGS, a leading farmer of this township, is a native of Tennessee, was born in 1825, and is the son of William and Mary ( Davis) Billings ; the former a native of Tennessee, the latter of Wales ; they were engaged in farming. Grandfather Billings was a Captain in the army of the Revolution, and once, in a severe personal encounter, had his horse shot under him. Swords were used, and Captain Billings, having broken that of his antagonist, knocked the second one from his hand. Peter Bil- lings was married, November 24, 1842, to Miss Mary, daughter of Timothy Murry, and a native of Lawrence County, Ind .; this union was productive of five children-Timothy, John W. (deceased) Catherine (deceased), Louis E. and James M. Mr. Billings has served his township as Justice of the Peace. He located here in April, 1852, and entered 1825 acres of Government land, on which he lived about six years ; he afterward entered an additional forty acres, and about 1857, purchased another forty acres, to which he moved in October, 1858, and on which he has since lived. To these he has added by times, and now owns 479 acres, well culti- vated, and improved, which contains perhaps the finest residence ill the county, together with 105 acres of orchard. He is also a con- siderable dealer in produce, as well as all varieties of stock, and is an esteemed citizen.
W. B. BOLDING, postmaster at Noble since November, 1880, is a native of Hardin County, Ky., born in 1819, and is the sixth of the eight children of William and Elizabeth (Alphin ) Bolding ; the former a native of Virginia, the latter of South Carolina. William Bolding was a Methodist minister, and died in Coles County, Ill., in 1840 ; Mrs. Bolding died in this county, about 1858. Our subject remained in Kentucky until he was thirteen years old, at which time his parents came to this State, and settled in this county ; he received but very little education. In 1840, in Coles County, Ill., he married Miss Nancy, daughter of Daniel Drake, a pioneer farmer of said county. Some time after his marriage, Mr. Bolding engaged in merchandising in Iowa. He was a school teacher from 1838 to 1847. He remained in Iowa twenty-six years, when he removed to Crawford County, Ill., and engaged in the management of a grist-mill for two years, then, in 1875, located in Olney, where he embarked in the hotel business, then farmed for a time, and finally located in Noble, and gave his attention to merchandising. Mr. Bolding has given much attention to politics; he served three terms as Justice of the Peace in Iowa, and as Supervisor of Crawford County one year ; he was also in the Government service in Iowa, as Postmaster, from 1853 to 1857, and as deputy Marshal, in 1860. Mr. and Mrs. Bolding are members
795
NOBLE TOWNSHIP.
of the Universalist Church, and the parents of eleven children- Elizabeth J., William R., John L., Parmelia, James M. (deceased ), Charles W. (deceased), Daniel D., Alice M., Erastus M., Clara E. and S. Dora.
W. O. BOYLE, saloon keeper, is a native of Brown County, Ohio, was born in the year 1853, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Hix ) Boyle. William Boyle was an attorney-at-law, at Georgetown, Ohio, came to Illinois in 1861, and engaged in merchandising at Noble, and also managed a large farm, which he owned, in connection with his practice. Mr. Boyle read law with Gen. Hamer, and was a soldier of the Mexican war. W. O. Boyle, our subject, came to Noble with his parents when he was eight years old, and here he has since resided. November 18, 1882, he married Miss Annie Milton, a native of the State of Indiana, by which union was vouchsafed to them one child, which is named Harry E. Mr. Boyleis a generally respected citizen.
JAMES N. CHAILLE is a native of Kentucky, was born in 1827, and is a son of John and Jane Chaille. John Chaille was a native of Maryland, and a shoemaker by occupation, who emi- grated to Kentucky with his family, and there resided until about 1831, when they removed to Indiana, and there ended their lives. James N. is the youngest of the seven children comprising his father's family, was reared on the home farm, and received some education from the common schools. In January, 1849, he married Miss Sarah, daughter of Thomas Stribling, of Jefferson County, Ind., who died in 1880, leaving four children-Uriah, Jessie, John and Jennie. His second wife was Miss Jennie Stott, by which marriage he is the father of one child, Bertha E. The first land owned by our subject was 340 acres in Tennessee, which he occupied in 1852, and for three years thereafter. His next purchase was forty, and then 120 acres, in Indiana; later he purchased 156 acres in Bartholomew County, Ind., on which he lived twelve years ; this he likewise sold, and finally purchased his present farm, in 1880, comprising 320 acres of prairie land, which is under a good condition of cultivation and improvement, making a desirable property and comfortable home.
DR. J. A. CLUTTER, physician and surgeon, was born in Bourbon County, Ky., March 1, 1847. When he was seven years old his parents emigrated to Greencastle, Ind., where he received the major part of his education. In 1863, said parents removed to Indianapolis, where he attended school six months before he entered the store of J. E. Marott, 233 East Washington Street, as salesman. In this engagement he was active and successful, and after one year and a half the proprietor offered him an interest in his business, his salary being $75 per month. Our subject, how- ever, demanded something more permanent, and read medicine with his brother, Dr. W. H. Clutter, Surgeon of the Sixty-Fourth United States Volunteer Infantry. Subsequently he attended the Rush Medical College of Chicago, in 1866-67, and completed his
796
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES-RICHLAND COUNTY:
professional course at the Missouri Medical College, Saint Louis. Dr. Clutter, on June 20, 1869, married Christena, eldest daughter of Dr. H. M. Sanderson, and a native of this township, to which union were vouchsafed three daughters-Flora M., Mollie H. and JJessic. Dr. Clutter has served several terms as member of the Town Council and as Health Officer ; he was also a member of the Board of Supervisors of this county, and is a member of Noble Lodge, No. 482, I. O. O. F.
MICHAEL C. DONOVAN, farmer, is a native of Ireland. was born in 1842, and is a son of Patrick and Mary C. Donovan. both natives of Ireland, where the former died, aged sixty-five years. The latter came to America, about 1863, and died in Craw- fordsville, Ind., aged nearly eighty-seven years. Michael C. Don- ovan came to America when fifteen years old, and served an appren- ticeship to the carpenters' trade, at Crawfordsville, which he fol- lowed about fifteen years, and thereafter purchased forty acres of unimproved land in Montgomery County. This he cultivated, and in the spring of 1883 sold the same and purchased 140 acres of his present farm, which is situated about one and one-fourth miles from Noble, and which is a most desirable property. This pos- session is wholly due to the energy and thrift of our subject. In 1875 he married Miss Susan, daughter of William Bressie. of Wash- ington County, Ind. Mr. Donovan is a generally respected citizen. and a prosperous farmer.
D. C. EDMONDSON, of the firm of Edmondson & Co., grocer- ies, provisions, notions, etc., is a native of Vincennes. Ind., was born March 26, 1853, and is a son of Joseph and Miriam ( Mitchell) Ed- mondson, natives respectively of Virginia and Tennessee. Our sub- jeet's early education was such as could be secured in the common schools. At the place of his nativity he learned the machinist trade. and followed the same until 1882. March 15. 1876, at Olney, he married Miss Tillie, daughter of Dr. Sanderson. and a native of Hills- boro, Ohio. This union has been favored with one child, Bertie. Mrs. Edmondson is a member of the Christian Church. The firm of Edmondson & Co., has been established since January 1. 1883. Their promise of patronage is as large as their stock of goods, and as a consequence of their urbanity and energy are destined to success and prosperity.
R. N. MCCAULEY, attorney-at-law. was born in this county. October 19, 1843, and is the seventh of the ten children of Daniel and Mary A. (Jeffreys) MeCauley, the former a native Kentucky, the latter of Maryland. Daniel McCauley followed the profession of school teacher until he was twenty-seven years of age, after which he devoted his time to farming in this county, where he located in 1836, and where he now resides at the advanced age of eighty-one. his wife being seventy-one years of age. The boyhood of our sub- jeet was divided between farm work and schooling; he was a great lover of learning, and was notably proficient in mathematics, the most so of any one in the county. He afterward read law with Mr.
797
NOBLE TOWNSHIP.
Longnecker, prior to entering the law school at Ann Arbor, Mich., from which he graduated in the spring of 1880, since which time he has lived at Noble, and practiced in this, Clay and other counties, with much satisfaction and profit, being the only licensed attorney in the town- ship. In 1870, he married Hattie E., daughter of Ira Mendenhall, of Peru, Ind., to which union were born four children-Myrtle B., Mattie C., Edward and William. Mr. MeCauley was a candidate for judgeship in 1882, also Commander of Noble Post, G. A. R. Mrs. McCauley is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
J. L. McMURTRY, merchant at Noble, is a native of Warwick County, Ind., was born January, 1848, and is the third of the five children of J. U. and Elizabeth C. ( Angel) McMurtry, the former a native of Kentucky, the latter of Ohio. The father of our subject was a pioneer farmer of this county, where he located about the vear 1851, rich in the experiences of trials and privations so common to those early comers. Both parents now reside in Noble-the father aged seventy, the mother, fifty-seven. J. L. MeMurtry was reared on the paternal farm, on which he labored in the sun- mer and went to the common schools in the winter, and by which he acquired a good education for the times. In 1880, at Noble, he mar- ried Mrs. Stewart, a native of Ohio, a union which has been cemented by the birth of two children, named Lettie and Clyde. Mr. Mc- Murtry was Collector for two years, and has served several terms on the Town Board. He commenced the general merchandise business in April, 1883, and carries a stock of about $6,000. He is an active tradesman and an esteemed citizen.
J. D. NICHOLS, of the firm of J. D. Nichols & Co., grocers, was born at Malone, Franklin Co., N. Y., in 1828, and is the second of the family of John S. and Maria (Smith) Nichols. John S. Nich- ols was a pioneer farmer of northern New York, and is yet in appar- ently active life at the age of eighty-one years, and his wife at the age of seventy-eight, both residing in this county. J. D. Nichols received an academical education, and afterward taught the higher branches for four terms. In 1858 he married Miss Esther A. Curtis, a native of New York. After an engagement of two years in Saint Louis, at telegraphy, he removed to Clinton County, Il !. , where he purchased fifty-two acres and remained thereon for two years; this he afterward sold and purchased 320 acres, near Noble, where he resided from 1862 to 1881, when he rented said farm and moved to the town. Mr. Nichols is a successful business man; he commenced his present business in 1881, and took a partner in December, 1882; they have a large stock and promise to do well. Mr. Nichols has served one year as Township Supervisor, and is a member of the I. O. O. F. Mrs. and Mrs. Nichols have had five children-William (deceased), Mary (deceased). Frank (deceased), John and Nellie (deceased ).
J. F. PALMER, M. D., was born in Neville, Clermont Co., Ohio, February 9, 1829, and is the sixth of the eleven children of Jacob and Polly (Stark) Palmer, natives of New York. Jacob Pal-
.
798
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES-RICHLAND COUNTY:
mer was a physician and came to Ohio in 1817, removed to Richland County, Ill., in 1866, and died in 1876, aged eighty-two years, and Mrs. Palmer, Angust 6, 1883, aged eighty-five. Our subject received such advantages of instruction as the schools of that day afforded, and began reading medicine in 1852, under Dr. Weaver, of high repute in Brown County, Ohio, for two years, after which he attended lect- ures in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated there in 1868, having prac- tired some years previously. He first practiced in Ohio, then came to Noble, Richland Co., III., Angust, 1856, where he has since re- mained, and is the oldest physician and surgeon in this region, being now associated with his son, Dr. E. L. Palmer, who attended three terms at McKendrie College, and graduated from the Eclectic Medi- cal College of Cincinnati, in 1877, a native of Ohio, born JJuly 13, 1855, and, in 1881, in Saint Louis, married Miss Mary E. Flanders. Dr. J. F. Palmer, married Miss M. C. Danbury, a native of Ohio, October 23, 1853, a union to which were born four children-E. L., Charles E., Lillie M. and Franklin E. (deceased). Our subject has been Trustee of the township for the past twenty-three years, and for the first twelve years after the incorporation of the town.
CHARLES E. PALMER, counselor-at-law, is a native of this township, was born October 14, 1859, and is a son of J. F. and M. C. Palmer. His early education was obtained at the common schools, which he attended until the year 1879, which gave him the advan- tage of a good education. In the autumn of 1881, he made a visit to California, and remained there until the spring of 1882, where he was engaged in various employments, a portion of the time being in a drug store. After his return from California he was elected Town- ship Assessor on the Republican ticket, having to overcome a Demo- cratic majority of forty, which bespeaks his popularity. On his twenty-first birth day he was made a Mason, and is at present secre- tary of his Lodge, No. 362; he is also a member of the I. O. O. F. In May, 1883, he married Miss Mollie Philhower, a daughter of .J. B. Philhower, by which union he became the father of one child, Benlah M.
J. ROBERTS, merchant, of the firm of J. Roberts & Son, deal- ers in hardware, staple and fancy groceries, provisions, etc., was born in Ohio in 1829, and is the third of the ten children of John and Sarah (Sargent) Roberts, the former a native of Wales, the latter of Virginia. John Roberts was in carly life a sailor, later a farmer; he died in Ohio at the age of eighty-three, his wife being yet alive, aged seventy-nine. Our subject resided at home until he was twenty-five years of age. In 1855, he married Miss Zimrode, daughter of Nehe- miah Bicknell, and a native of Ohio. After marriage, Mr. Rob- erts purchased 170 acres in West Virginia, on which he remained nine years; this he then sold and removed to Noble Township, pur- chased 320 acres and remained two years; he afterward removed to Ohio, where his wife died in 1870, leaving three children-Arthur B., Z. Ella and Albert. He next married Miss Fannie V., daughter of N. R. Nye, and a native of Ohio. This union gave issue to four
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NOBLE TOWNSHIP.
children-Alma, Frank HI., Willie G. and Charlie N. After this marriage Mr. Roberts returned to Richland County, and lived on his previously occupied farm until he began his present business, which he managed in connection with farming, having a good farm of 320 acres. Mr. Roberts was township Supervisor in 1872, and has been school trustee for five years. He is a Knight Templar Ma- son, and he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
J. SLATE, of the firm of Slate & Fay, general merchants, is a native of Massachusetts, and a son of Henry and Sylvia (Hale) Slate, also natives of Massachusetts. Henry Slate was a farmer, and lived on the homestead which had been in the family 125 years. Grandfather Slate was a Revolutionary soldier. Henry Slate is yet living on the family farm, aged seventy-one years, where his wife died in 1849. Our subject had a regular course of study and gradu- ated at Powers' Institute, in his native State, in 1862, after which he became a teacher in the East, and later taught six months in Warren County, and six months in Richland County, III. In 1871, in Cin- cinnati, he married Miss Clara L., daughter of L. Fay, a Baptist minister, and a native of Athol, Mass .; this union was graced by three children-Fay, Ernest and Bertha. Mr. Slate commenced his business in 1878; the firm carries a stock of $10,000, the trade rang- ing from $35,000 to $50,000 a year. Mr. Slate has served as Supervi- sor, Collector, Postmaster and Trustee. He is a member of the Town Council, of the I. O. O. F., and he and wife belong to the Baptist Church.
W. G. TOLIVER, farmer, is a native of Lawrence County, Ind., was born December 25, 1837, and is a son of William and Delana (Burton) Toliver. William Toliver was a farmer, who emi- grated from North Carolina to Indiana, in his early life, and where he resided until his death. W. G. Toliver received a good education in youth, and was reared to his father's business of farming; he also taught school for a time, and in 1858, came to this State, where he began teaching, and found a wife among his pupils-Miss Eliza .1. Scott, whom he married in 1859; she was a daughter of Robert and Margaret Scott, who located in this county in 1840, and a portion of whose land was given to Mrs. Toliver by her father. After mar- riage, Mr. Toliver gave his attention to farming and continued so to do until his death, January 15, 1874, having increased his farm and estab- lished for his family a comfortable independence, the farm now em- bracing 460 acres. Mr. Toliver left five children-William R. JJohn A., Margaret D., Clara and Charles H. February 11, 1876, Mrs. Toliver was married to Mr. F. C. Madding, who died August 15, 1880, to which union succeeded one child, who is named Louanna. Mrs. Madding is a member of the Christian Church.
800
BIOGRAPHICAL, SKETCHES-RICHLAND COUNTY:
CLAREMONT TOWNSHIP.
N. B. ALLEN, M. D., was born November 8, 1852, in Owensboro, Ky., and is the son of N. B. Allen, Sr., also a native of Owensboro, and, since 1862, in the employ of the United States Government as gauger, in his native town. The subject of this sketch came to Olney in 1873, and commenced the study of medi- cine with Dr. E. Boyer ; in 1874-75 he attended his first course of lectures at the Medical College of Ohio; March, 1877, he came to Claremont, where he has since been actively engaged at his pro- fession ; in the spring of 1878 he graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Keokuk, Iowa. He was married, Sep- tember 1, 1874, to Cecelia, daughter of the Rev. W. E. Ravenscraft, of Olney ; two sons bless this union. The Doctor's mother was a niece of Gen. Joseph H. Daviess, who was a prominent lawyer of Owensboro, Ky. He was killed at the battle of Tippecanoe, in 1814.
EARLY BEADLE was born February 22, 1848, in Lawrence County, Ill., and was the son of Amos Beadle, who came to Law- rence County when a boy. He first followed stage-driving, contin- ved this for several years, and later took up farming, which he con- tinued till his death, which occurred May 27, 1880, aged fifty- four years. His father, William, when young joined the Method- ist Church, and engaged in preaching. This profession he followed through life. The subject of this sketch enlisted in 1864 in Company E. Eleventh Missouri Infantry, and served to the end of the war. He participated in the battles of Tupela, Tenn., Nash- ville, Tenn., siege of Mobile, and others. At the close of the war he returned here, and has since been engaged in farming. He owns one hundred acres of land, which he inherited from his father's estate. Mr. Beadle was married, in 1870, to Maria E. Fenis, of Indiana.
WILLIAM E. COLVIN, farmer, was born October 8, 1848, in Highland County, Ohio, and was the son of Peter Colvin, also a native of Ohio, and in 1854 the family came to Richland County and bought Thomas Gardner's farm, which is the oldest settled of any farm in that locality. On this place William E. was reared, and at the age of twenty-two he married Lydia J. Jackson. She was born in 1857, in Clinton County, Ohio. Four sons bless this union. Soon after marriage, Mr. Colvin bought a farm of forty acres in Section 18. He afterwards traded farms, and in 1881 removed to his present farm, consisting of eighty acres, and improved with a very comfort- able house, good barn and other improvements. In 1879 he was elected Commissioner of Highways, and still holds this office.
ELIJAH CONNER, general merchant, was born November 12, 1824, in Spencer County, Ind., and when quite small lost his
801
CLAREMONT TOWNSHIP.
father. In 1831 the family emigrated to Illinois and located in what was then Lawrence County. There he was reared. Since then, he has lived within four miles of this locality, and is one of the oldest settlers of the county. In 1844 he was married to JJane Utterback, a native of Kentucky. They have four children, one son and three daughters. In 1856 he was elected Constable, and attended the first and second courts held in Richland County. Soon after, he moved to Claremont, and opened a general store. This he con- tinued till 1862, when he enlisted in Company HI, One Hundred and Thirtieth Illinois Infantry, and was promoted to Second Lieutenant. This commission he held till the close of the war. He then returned to Claremont, and has since been engaged at merchandising. Mr. Conner holds the office of Justice of the Peace, having been elected in April, 1867.
A. W. FRITCHEY, druggist, was born June 4, 1839, in Dau- phin County, Penn. At about the age of seven he lost his father. He was then taken and reared by his uncle. Benjamin Brightbill. At the age of sixteen he commenced to learn the carpenters' trade. This he followed there till the age of twenty-one. In 1859 he came to Richland County, and continued this business until he enlisted, in April, 1861, in Company D. Eighth Illinois Infantry. He served three months, then enlisted in Company A. Twenty-Sixth Mis- souri Infantry, and was promoted to First Lieutenant, in 1862. He served in this capacity till the end of the war, and was hon orably discharged at Saint Louis, June 15. 1865. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Mission Ridge, November 26, 1863, and confined in Libby Prison till May 7, 1864, then taken to Danville Prison, and there confined till June. 1864. He was then shipped to Mac on, Ga., from there he made his escape, and unfortunately was recaptured at Lexington, N. C., by the bloodhounds, and returned to Macon. Ga. He was then sent to Charleston. S. C., and there placed under the fire of our guns. After remaining there about four months he was shipped to Columbus, S. C., where he again escaped. After being out about six weeks he wasagain recaptured, at Fayetteville. N. C., and shipped back to Libby Prison, where he was held till April, 1865, when he was released and honorably discharged. Ho then returned to Richland County, continued the carpenters' trade till May, 1881, when he opened a drug store at Claremont. This business he still continues. lle was married, in 1867. to Mary J. Taylor, of Ohio. Two children bless this union, one son and one danghter.
ISAAC FRITSCHLE was born, April 8, 1844, in Richland County, Ill., and was the son of JJacob Fritschle, an early settler of Olney Township. Isaac was reared on his father's farm, and in 1869 he married Susanna Mason. She was born in Richland County, and died in 1877, aged twenty-six years, She left two children, one son and one daughter. Mr. Fritschle's second mar- riage took place in the spring of 1878, to Mrs. Hagerman, a native of Richland County. They have two sons. She has one son by
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES-RICHLAND COUNTY:
her former marriage. The couple own 200 acres of land, which is well improved.
G. W. FULK was born March 5, 1833, in Washington County, Ind., and was the son of Jacob Fulk, who was born in North Carolina. When he was about the age of eighteen years, Jacob moved to Indiana, where he followed farming, and in 1838 the family came to Clay County, Ill. George, in 1849, returned to Indiana, and there was married to Catharine Boss, who was born in Indiana. She died in 1861, aged twenty-six years. This union was blessed with three children, two daughters and one son. Mr. Fulk's second marriage took place in 1862, to Sarah Harmon, who was born in Richland County. They have nine children, five sons and four daughters. In 1857 Mr. Fulk returned to Illinois, and settled in Claremont Township. When in Indiana he learned the trade of blacksmith and wagon-maker, and this trade he has since followed. Mr. Fulk owns thirty acres of land where he resides. He enlisted, in 1862, in Company H, One Hundred and Thirtieth Illinois Infantry, and served till June of 1864. He par- ticipated in the battle at Saint Joseph's Lake, also the siege of Vicksburg and others.
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