USA > Illinois > Stark County > Documents and biography pertaining to the settlement and progress of Stark County, Illinois : containing an authentic summary of records, documents, historical works and newspapers > Part 43
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David MeCance, whose name oceurs so frequently in the marriage record, and indeed finds mention in almost every chapter, was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1815, died here February 19. 1854, after a residence in the county since 1847.
C. P. MeCorkle, son of George and Mary (Penny) MeCorkle, was born at Wilmington. Del .. September 10. 1839. His grandfather was William MeCorkle. a native of Londonderry, Ireland, came to the United States when a boy ; was captain in our merchant marine, died years ago, leaving three sons-George, named above, prominent in business life at Wihnington for many years ; Thomas, one of the early successful briek manufacturers of Wilmington, and Lindsay, who worked at the harness trade for his brother George. Charles P .. the subject of this sketeh, is one of a family of twelve children, or the sev- enth son and seventh child of a family of ten sons and two daughters, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, with the exception of three sons deceased in youth. William, the eldest, died at Chattanooga, Tenn., leaving three daughters : George is a farmer of Bureau County, Ill .; Thomas is a dairy-farmer at Troy. N. Y .; Charles P. of Wyoming, Ill .; Sabill, wife of William A. Reed, of St. Louis, Mo .; Henry, hotel- keeper at Chattanooga ; John, of Wyoming. Ill .; Maria, widow of the late Henry Reed, of Burean County. Ill .. and Edward. of Wright County. Iowa. Charles P. McCorkle received a fair education at Wil- mington. and learned the carriage trimmer's trade there. In 1858 he visited Missouri, in 1859 went into business in Lako Providence, La .. which he was compelled to leave early in 1861, owing to the feeling against the North. In 1862 he enlisted in Company F. Thirteenth New York Heavy Artillery, and followed the fortunes of that com- mand, both in its artillery and infantry service to July 18, 1865. After the war he moved to Galva, Ill., (where his father had settled in 1864. on his removal from Missouri), and there married Miss Mary Rocka- fellow, a native of Illinois, daughter of Abram Johnson and Sarah (Newcomb) Rockafellow, natives of New Jersey and New Hampshire,
OF TOULON TOWNSHIP.
respectively. They are the parents of two children -- Harry and May. In 1870 Mr. MeCorkle and family moved to Wyoming, and has been prominently identified with the social and business circles of the town ever since. A reference to the history of Wyoming and Essex Town- ship, points out definitely his connection with the council, school board, agricultural Society, Grand Army Post, Masonic lodge, Congregational church. and other permanent and temporary associations connected with the progress of the town and district. Politically he is a Republican.
Robert Me Keighan, born in the parish of Loughgehil. Antrim county, Treland. June 11, 1818, is the sixth son and eighth child of a family of eight sons and three daughters, born to JJohn and Lily (Gault) Me- Keighan, of whom all but one son came to the United States. Robert passed his boyhood in his native country, obtained a fair education there, and at the age of eighteen years came to our shores - landing at Philadelphia. August 14, 1836-and after spending two years in that city, in obtaining a fair idea of the habits and customs of this country, he joined a young man (John Matthews), then set out for the west, and eventually located in Fulton county, Ill., spent a few years in agricultural work and looking around and then located two and one-half miles southwest of Farmington, where he improved a farm. and married Miss Ellen Tuttle, daughter of Samuel Tuttle. a native of Maryland, an old settler of Ohio, as he was of Fulton county. There Mr. MeKeighan spent twenty-five years. To them six sons and one daughther were born of whom four sons and a daughter are living - namely -John E., attorney of St. Louis, Mo., who married Miss Ellen Cutler of Ann Arbor. Mich .. (whom he met there during his col- lege davs) parents of one son and three daughters. Samuel died in his seventeenth year: Robert H. is a farmer and stock-grower of Toulon ; Ellen is the wife of Levi Silliman ; George died in his twenty-ninth year, leaving widow and son and daughter : Sylvester H. is a farmer of Toulon township, and Matthew a farmer and stock-grower of this township. Mr. and Mrs. McKeighan have seventeen grand children. In 1565 he sold his interest in Fulton county. and moved to Toulon. where he had bought 320 acres in 1863. Here their family grew to manhood and womanhood, and for over twenty years have been prom- inently identified with the social and agricultural progress of this dis- triet.
John Mark Mac Millen, son of William and Ann (Van Devacder) MacMillen, was born near Staunton, Augusta county, Va., May 10, 1813. Ilis father was a native of Pennsylvania, and mother supposed to have been raised there also. In 1821 his father, three sons and one daughter moved to Fayette county, Ohio., where a second daughter was born -thus making a family of five children ; namely : John M .. of Wyoming; Samuel, a farmer of Mclean county, Ill .; James, a far- mer of Mills county, Ia .; Mrs. Elizabeth Cramer, who died in Mills county. Ia .. and Mrs. Phoebe Porter of Lancaster county. Neb. John M. MeMillen spent his boyhood's years in Fayette county, Ohio, where he married Miss Elizabeth McDonald in 1834. a native of Fayette county, whose parents were pioneers of Ohio. In 1850 he moved to the Wyoming neighborhood. and in 1553 settled two miles south of the
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town in Essex, where, in 1853, he built his residence. In 1872 he rented his farm and moved into Wyoming. Of his seven children, Thomas is a farmer of Crawford county, Ia .; William, a soldier of the one-hundred and twelfth Illinois Volunteers, infantry, Company E., is buried at Andersonville prison : Manford W. died at the age of thirteen years ; John A. died in Mills county, Ja., leaving a family of three children ; Charles is a merchant of Wyoming: Mrs. Effie A. Dawson. deceased, died in Holt county, Mo .; Mrs. Mary A. Haines, widow of Booth Haines, lives at Wyoming, Ill .: Mrs. McMillen. a niece of Gov. Duncan MacArthur, died in May, 1885, and was buried in the Wyon- ing Cemetery. Mr. McMillen has served as justice of peace for several years ; as notary public since 1874; on the school board of his distriet many years, and was one of the original members of the Stark County Agricultural Society, carrying off some of the first premiums.
Stephen WI. Maring, son of a revolutionary soldier, who moved to Knox county, Ohio, was born there in 1834; moved with his father to Marshall county, Ill., in 1850 ; served in Company HI, Seventy-seventh Illinois Infantry, from 1862 to close of war; came to Tonlon in 1865, where he married Sarah Porter.
M. F. Meeker, son of Aaron and Lydia (Sollars) Meeker, was born in Ross county, Ohio, May 7, 1848; his grandparents were Wheeler and Sally Meeker, natives of Connecticut, who settled in Ross county in pioneer days, the former serving in the War of 1812, and one of the early millwrights of Ohio. Aaron Meeker was a wagon-maker by trade : of his family of four sons and five daughters, three sons and two daughters are living, the subject of this sketch being the eldest. Hle passed his earlier years in his native county, learned the carpenter trade there, and at the age of twenty-two came to Wyoming, where he has since been engaged as a builder and contractor. £ Ile was married to Miss lennie, a daughter of Edward O'Donnell, of Brimfield, Ill. They are the parents of Floyd H., Ernest A., and Ada D. In business affairs he is a partner of Mr. Geesey, and has taken a full part in building up the town, among other buiklings on which he has been engaged being that of the Central Agricultural Society, A reference to the Masonic history of Wyoming and other pages will point out his close relation with the town since his settlement here.
Major Wheeler K. Seymour Merriman, son of Daniel and Martha (Churchill) Merriman, old Massachusetts families, was born near Pitts- fiekl. Berkshire county, May 20. 1833. Here he received a common school education, which was supplemented by an academic course at Williston Seminary, East Hampton. His father died in 1850. In 1853 he moved to New York state, and in the fall of 1854 to Ilinois, where he entered the service of the C., B. & Q. Railroad company. He was engaged with this company at Galesburg until April 19, 1861, when he enlisted in Company HI, Twelfth Illinois Infantry; in Angust he was elected second lieutenant ; in April, 1862, after the battle of Shiloh, was promoted first lieutenant, and in September, 1862, captain of Com- pany II. which position he held for nearly two years. On the regiment veteranizing, he was elected major, completely filling the position until the close of the war. Ile was, in fact, brigadier in command of the Second
375
OF TOULON TOWNSHIP.
Brigade of the Fourth Division of his Army Corps from September 13 to October 16, 1864. During his term of service he invested funds in paying enterprises, and came out of the war at least financially strong and with a splendid reputation. Subsequently he lost a good deal of capital, returned to service of the C. & Great Eastern, Indiana. until October, 1866, when he located at Princeton as assistant assessor of internal revenue. In February, 1867, he moved to Toulon, engaged in agriculture for three summers and established his present grocery house. Major Merriman married at Princeton in June, 1866, to Miss Mary M .. a daughter of John Smith. They have an adopted child E. Il. Phelps. Both are supporters of the Congregational church. In ad- dition to a large business, Mr. Merriman owns a well-improved farm of 120 aeres. He has been a member of the Town Council and president of the Board for four years, as related in the official history of Toulon. Major Merriman, when at Corinth, Miss., lost a silver half-dollar, in- seribed with his name and rank. In April, 1883. it was handed in as pay for a dinner at Des Moines, Iowa, advertised and thus found its way back to its original owner.
Rev. A. C. Miller, (vide chapter on West Jersey township).
HIon. James Hughes Miller, son of Rev. Allen C. and Mary (Pierson) Miller, was born at Marseilles, Wyandotte county, Ohio. August 29, 1843. His parents were natives of western Pennsylvania, but for about thirty- five years his mother resided in Ohio, of which state his father was a resident for about eleven years. They moved to Roscoe, Winnebago county, Ill., in October, 1851, where Rev. A. C. Miller preached one year; thence to White Rock, Ogle county, where they resided for many years. There James HI. Miller grew to manhood. In the sum- mer of 1861 he was engaged to teach school at La Salle, Ill., and again as clerk in a coal office. In the fall of 1862 he was authorized to recruit a company for the Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry. He sue- ceeded in raising thirty men (after the call for 600,000 had been answered), a task then difficult in the Peoria district. This company was mnstered in with the Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry, January 4, 1863 ; but owing to an accident which befell its organizer in September, 1862, he was not accepted. Mr. Miller then took a position in the McCormick works at Chicago, but in April, 1863. moved to his father's residence in Stark county, (the family coming to West Jersey in 1861), suffering from the hurt received in the fall of 1862. On arriving here he was attacked with hip disease resulting from the accident hitherto men- tioned, and for six years was an invalid, and even up to 1871 used crutches. During the time of his illness he studied law for the inter- est and knowledge such study gave, and was admitted an attorney-at- law in the spring of 1869, before the supreme court of this state. The same year he opened an office at Toulon, and since that time has suc- cessfully practiced here. In 1872 he was elected state's attorney, receiving 453 votes over the Liberal Republican, P. M. Blair. Ile was appointed to this office early in 1872 to fill vacancy. From 1570 to 1877 he served as justice of the peace; was counsel for Toulon village several terms and treasurer of the town in 1874. In 1885-6 he was one of the most energetic workers for his party, and was one
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of the " steering committee" that sneceeded in electing the late John A. Logan United States senator by the Thirty-fourth general assem- bly. He was a member of the judiciary, judicial department and election committees, and on this last one was selected to push the election law applicable to cities, villages and towns by the republican members thereof. and also at the request of the citizens' association of Chicago. The Chicago Legal News, of May 1, 1886, speaks of his action in this matter thus: " Among the many men who aided in the passage of the new election law, none are entitled to more credit than Hon. James II. Miller, of Toulon. by his disinterested efforts put forth in its behalf. He was a member of the house, and by speech, vote and influence did all in his power to seenre its passage. He made the strongest and most eloquent argument in favor of its passage. When the act had become a law, and its validity was assailed in the supreme court, he followed it there, and without a hope of fee or reward made a strong and eloquent appeal to the eonrt in its behalf. Ile concluded his argument as follows: Believing that here in this citadel of truth. law and justice, the rights of every citizen,-be he high or low, rich or poor,-will be protected in all of them, by the immutable laws of jns- tice; that questions affecting the construction of the constitution of this state and the political and civil rights and privileges of the citizens depending upon it, are entitled to the fullest and most deliberate con- sideration when drawn into judicial discussions .- Upon a correct decision of these the security and harmony of our well-balanced sys- tem of free and popular government mainly depends. When that shall have been done here, I believe that this act will be found not wanting, and that it will be construed to be in harmony with our growth, our institutions and the desires of our law-abiding citizens. and will be approved of by the judicial decision of this honorable court ; and that the inequality which now exists in the ballot between the different localities will have been overcome by wise legislation and by plain. simple and just construction, and that . folded leaf will then . become the tongue of justice, a voice of order, a force of impe- rial law ; securing rights, abolishing abuses and erecting new institu- tions of truth and love,' in the great state of Illinois. "" In October, 1870, he was married at Bloomington, III., to Miss Emma M., daughter of Squire John Kearney. of Trumbull county, Ohio, a lady of high social qualities and earnest in the higher duties of women. Their three children are Wilfred D., George G. and Harry II. Their second son, Allen Wayne, lies in the cemetery at Toulon. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are Presbyterians in faith, but regular attendants at Congrega- tional worship. Mr. Miller was reflected in the fall of 1886 to the Thirty-fifth general assembly, receiving 719 more votes than were cast for any other candidate in the district, and his majority over his oppo- nent was 1.658 as shown in the political chapter.
Allen Pierson Miller, born in Crawford county, Ohio. September 16, 1849, is a son of the Rev. Allen Cowen Miller, one of the pioneer preachers of northwestern Ohio, and one of the old settlers of Craw- ford county. In 1861 Rev. Miller came to Stark county, where Allen P. completed his education and entered mercantile life. In 1871 the
OF TOULON TOWNSHIP.
latter moved to Cass county. Neb., where he remained until 1875, when he returned to Toulon and commenced the study of law in the office of his brother. James H. Miller. He was admitted an attorney-at-law January 4, 1877. and appointed Master in Chancery in 1-79, which position he held until the spring of 1586. In addition to a good law practice, he carries on an extensive insurance business. and loans on real estate. During his professional career he has been engaged in some of the important cases brought before the courts within the last eight years, and enjoys well merited confidence. Mr. Miller was mar- ried to Miss Mary S., daughter of William D. and Salome (DeLong) James. They were the parents of seven children of whom four are deceased. Emma F., Cora B. and Clyde L. reside at home. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the Congregational church, zealous in church work, active in literary and social circles, and earnest in every- thing which promises to be beneficial to the community. A reference to the societies of Toulon, to the history of the Congregational church and to the pages of the general history, will point out the places filled by Mr. and Mrs. Miller within this county.
William Miller, born in Jackson county, Ohio. July 14, 1817, is the son of Isaac and Jane (McKean) Miller. natives of Virginia, near Wheeling. They moved to Pike county from Jackson county, Ohio, about 1524. There William Miller received his education, and there also he married Miss Nancy Mitchell, a native of Ohio, born near Cir- cleville. In 1843 he and wife moved from Pike county to Ilinois, lo- cated in Stark county, and rented land there until 1849, when he pur- chased 160 acres in Essex township. Their children, two sons and one daughter. Elizabeth lane, now the wife of Wilson Trickle, of Essex township; Royal Il., a merchant of Wyoming, and True Alvin, a min- ister of the Methodist Episcopal church in lowa. They have eleven grand children. Mr. Miller and wife have been worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal church for many years. Hle has served in school and township offices in Essex township, and even prior to his settlement in this county was interested in the schools of his native county. Originally an old time Whig, he is now a Republican: Ho was active in the establishment of the Central Agricultural Society, and since 1874, when he took up his residence at Wyoming, has been inter- ested in his new home as well as in the township where he made his first home in Illinois.
Royal HI. Miller, born in Essex Township, June 21, 1845, is a son of William and Nancy (Mitehell) Miller, referred to in the history of Es- sex township, and also in this chapter. He passed boyhood's days in Essex township, and there obtained a practical education. He carried on his father's farm until 1881, when he engaged in the grocery trade. lle was married at Toulon in 1865, to Miss Arabella, daughter of JJacob Kissel, of West Jersey township. They have two children, Allie M., and Della P. Mr. Miller is a supporter of the Congregational church. but was originally a member of the U. B. church of Essex. lle has been a member of the Stark county Agricultural Society, was superin- tendent of Sabbath Schools in Essex, and since coming here, has won many testimonials for his earnestness and ability in Sunday School
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work. His establishment at Wyoming is one of the finest stores de- voted to business in this section of the State.
William Miner, son of one of the pioneer Baptist preachers of this section, settled on what is known as the Stewart Moore Farm, moved to Toulon, thence to Wyoming, thence to Chicago, where he invented a mineral detector. Died in Southern Missouri, July 31, 1885.
Rer. John Mitchell, pastor of the Congregational church of Wyom- ing, was born August 15, 1844, at New Milns, Ayreshire, Scotland, of which place his parents, James and Mary (Pollock) Mitchell, were natives and members of the "High" or "Established church of Scotland." The father died in 1849, three years after the death of his wife. Of their four children, John is the youngest. Archibald is still living in Scot- land, James in Canada, and a sister died while quite young. At the death of his parents John was taken under the guardian care of an aunt, and remained with her until her death. Ilis education was such as to prepare him for mercantile life, but he had a stronger desire for literature than for commercial pursuits. At Glasgow, Scotland, he became intimately acquainted with the Rev. J. P. Keeley, who finding his tastes, advised him to study for the ministry. Acting upon this advice he took a further course in literature and eventually a four years' course in theology, and was ordained to the ministry in 1872. He was married June 28, 1869, at St. Martin's church, Worcester, Eng- land, to Miss Elizabeth Burrow, eldest daughter of John Burrow, an engineer residing near Malvern, Worcestershire. Her father was also a local preacher in the Wesleyan body, which position be held until his death, March 26, 1862. Her grandfather, (same name as her father), now in his eighty-seventh year, still carries on the business of engineering, and is one of the most liberal supporters as well as an honored member of the Wesleyan church. In 1872 Rev. John Miller came to this country, and for some years, preached in Mississippi and Kentucky, accepted a call to become pastor of the Congregational church, Vermillion, Ohio, Jannary 16, 1882, and while there he received a call to the pastorate of the Congregational church, Wyoming, Ill .. which he accepted and still fills most satisfactorily. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are the parents of four children : John Alexander, born in Glasgow, Scotland, June 5, 1871 ; Jessie Annie, born in Worcester, England, March 22, 1874; Aggie Maud, born in Vermillion, Ohio, October 10, 1882, and Archie Presdie, born at Wyoming, June 13, 1884. The eldest child died in Kentucky, January 31, 1880, and lies in Greenup cemetery.
Robert Mitchell, died at Toulon, July 14, 1882, aged seventy-one years. He settled in Goshen Township in 1838, and resided there until 1881. He was born in Donegall County. Ireland. Mrs. Stowe, now of Kansas, is his sister.
James Montooth, sheriff of Stark County, son of Samuel and Jane (Winters) Montooth, was born in Tyrone County. Ireland, February 8, 1831. His grandfather James, and grandmother Elizabeth Beatty, were natives of Scotland, who immigrated when young and were mar- ried in Ireland, where he worked at the carpenter's trade. He was one
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of six sons, two of whom came to America and served in the war un- der Anthony Wayne. Sammel was born in 1799, learned his father's trade, and subsequently the weaver's trade. His wife, daughter of Patrick Winters, a farmer, was born in 1806. her mother being a Stu- art of the Scottish family. She married Samuel in 1830, came with him to Philadelphia, Pa., in 1833, and to Elmira in February, 1858. On coming here he ceased to be a tradesman, and devoted his attention to stock-growing and farming until his death in 1885. Of their nine children, six survive. James the subject of this sketch ; Jane, wife of George Reed, of Bradford : Samuel, of Elmira : Rebecca and Mar- garet, twin sisters, the former the wife of Robert, and the latter of Thomas Turnbull of Page County, Iowa, and Charles, residing on old homestead in Occola. James Montooth received his education in Phil- adelphia, learned the weaver's trade there, and from 1845 to 1858 worked at briek-making. In 1853 he married Miss Mary, daughter of John and Mary (Wright) Tomlinson, natives of Ireland. Their chil- dren of this marriage were Jennie, wife of Roger Baker, of Kansas. and an infant who died and was buried with its mother in June, 1857. In 1558 he came to Elmira, and settling in the Leason log cabin, en- gaged at once in agriculture. The following year he began the brick manufacturing industry at where he now lives; in 1860 joined the " Ehnira Rifles" under Captain Stuart, and in June. 1861, entered the United States service, as credited to him in the history of the Nine- teenth and One Hundred and Fifty-first Regiments of Illinois infan- try (vide military chapter). On the march from Nashville to Mur- freesboro. Lieutenant Montooth saved the Colonel of the One Hundred and Fifty-first Ilinois from drowning in the Cumberland river under circumstances that required the highest degree of strength, taet and courage. On returning from the war he married Miss Mary E., daugh- ter of Joel and Dulcina (Young) Wilson, both natives of New Jersey. Her grandfather was Abner M., and grandmother Elizabeth Lundy. The ancestors of the former are said to have come out with Penn's colony. Elizabeth Lundy was sister of Ben Lundy, the Quaker friend of the bondsmen credited to him in Volinne I, Greeley's History of the Rebellion, who gave up all he possessed to aid the cause of negro liberty. To this latter marriage eight children were born. Della E. is wife of William Rennick, of Toulon ; May L., Laura B., James L .. Sarah E., Samuel W., and Charles Stuart, reside at home. Mr. Mon- tooth has been engaged in agriculture and briek manufacture ever since the war. In 1859 he purchased fifty acres on Section 1. Toulon, to which he has since added 111 aeres. From 1856 to the present time he has been a thorough Republican ; but beyond the interest taken by him in schools and township matters, which naturally made him prom- inent in the official life of the township, he did not seek for office. In 1886 he was nominated and elected sheriff. In social and religious matters he is a Royal Arch Mason, a supporter but not a member of the M. P. Church, and commander of flames Jackson Post, G. A. R .. of Elmira. He is practical in all things, and for almost three decades has taken a full share in the advancement of the county.
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