USA > Illinois > Douglas County > Historical and biographical record of Douglas County, Illinois > Part 14
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Filson is a station and postoffice situated in the northwest part of section 5. township 14. range 9 east, on the line of the Illinois Mid- land Railway. It has a side track, and is a receiving point for considerable agricultural productions.
NEWMAN TOWNSHIP.
Newman township is nearly all prairie. The country rises toward the north and forms a narrow rise of land generally known as the "Ridge." Being all prairie, this township was one of the latest settled, the first comers seem- ing to prefer the timbered portions as a pro- tection from the bleak winds and also as a means of procuring fuel, building material and fencing. Newman township occupies the north- east portion of Douglas county. In 1882 Mur- dock township was created out of Newman and Camargo townships.
Forty years ago Newman township was one vast unbroken level and it was not supposed at that time that it could ever be settled. Ex- 8
cepting after a rain, a drink of water could not be had between the Embarrass and the Little Vermillion rivers, for upon these boundless prairies no habitation was seen. Yet a few brave and far seeing pioneers ventured to es- tablish homes here, realizing there was a for- tune in the black and loamy soil when they could once get it into proper condition. Some of the land was very low and wet, but they persevered and cut open ditches first, until in course of time a steam dredge was employed which was capable of excavating a ditch ten feet deep and from any width to forty. This afforded an excellent outlet to the lateral tile ditches which the farmers soon had constructed through the low and wet places on their lands, and these farms are among those least affected by drouth. The result of such draining has been to increase the value of land to such an extent that rents within the past five years have increased from three dollars up to as high as seven dollars per acre. What is now the I., D. & W. R. R. was completed through the township in 1872, the first train and engine passing through here July 9, 1873. To this road the township gave twelve thousand dol- lars. Before this was completed the people, especially in the northern part of the township, hauled their grain to Homer, in Champaign county, taking one entire day for the trip. There being no public highways across the prairies, no bridges were constructed and there were numerous sloughs to be avoided, causing an extra amount of travel. With a light load the sloughs could safely be crossed. With the settling up of the country, farms were fenced off, roads laid out, sloughs and streams bridged and the facilities for travel greatly improved. The development of the United States and es-
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pecially the great West, can be traced directly to the railroad system. The equipments upon the road going through this township are probably unsurpassed in the west, and when the intended connections are made, it will be one of the largest passenger, freight and mail routes in the west.
Newman township contains some fine farms, among which was that of C. M. Cul- bertson, lying northwest of Newman, of over two thousand acres, which is the largest con- tiguous body of land in the eastern end of the county. The view from the rolling prairie known as the "Ridge" in the north part of the township is more extensive than can be ob- tained in any other part of the county. This is certainly the garden spot of Illinois. Those who first came here half a century ago, hoped to see the desert "blossom like the rose," and the reality has far surpassed their willest dreams. Struggling settlements have developed mto splendid cities and towns, and no one now considers he is in the far west, but right in the heart and center of this great nation. The west of the present day is away towards the setting sun, beyond the Rockies.
One of the earliest settlers in the township was Enoch Howell, who was ont of the asso- ciate justices of the county at an early day. The Winklers and Hopkins' were also early settlers. Robt. Hopkins was one of the first judges of Coles county in 1859, at the time of the separation of Douglas and Coles counties. He and his brothers, "Uncle Jimmy" and "Col." Hopkins, located here about 1841. Wm. Hancock came in 1839, and in 1847 was made justice of the peace at Camargo, before the county was divided, an office which he held for over thirty years. He was the first county
treasurer and assessor in 1859. In 1867 he was a member of the state board for the equali- zation of assessments, and in 1868 was elected for four years. In 1872 Governor Palmer ap- pointed him notary public. He was delegate to the state convention that nominated Gov. Oglesby, and was also one of the charter mem- bers of the Masonic lodge of this city. Isaac and John Skinner came here in 1839. Isaac Skinner has now three hundred and eighty acres of land, having had nothing when he attained his majority. With one exception he is the oldest living resident in the township. Wm. Shute came here in 1852 and engaged in farming, and was also an extensive contractor and builder. Ile built the Fairfield Cumberland Presbyterian church, the Pleasant Ridge Meth- odist Episcopal and the Cumberland Presbyter- ian church and school building at Fairmount in Vermilion county. He has built in all nine school buildings and many business blocks, among them the large block in this city in which the Newman Bank and other prosperous busi- ness firms are located. He was born in 1817. and has been a member of the Methodist church for forty-two years. "Uncle" Andrew Ash- more settled on the prairie south of town in 1826, but moved in 1890 into Newman. His cousin, Major Sam Ashmore, settled on Brushy Fork in 1830, and was one of the leading spirits in getting the slaves of Bob Matterson started off for Liberia. Matterson, in 1840, brought fifteen slaves into the township from Kentucky. The abolitionists in the vicinity de- termined the "niggers" should be freed, as they had come into a "free" state. Two or three, however, returned to Kentucky with their mas- ter, though one old man named Wilmot re- mained here and was still in 1884 a resident of
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Douglas county. Quite a notable trial grew were among the early settlers in the township. out of the case, in which Abe Lincoln and O. David Todd came to the Ridge in an early day. B. Ficklin were opposing counsel. In 1847 or 1848 Jerry Coffey came to Brushy Fork with his parents. D. O. Root came in 1854 from Ohio, and has been prominently identified with the interests of township and county ever since. Wm. Young, of the Ridge, was the earliest set- tler in that section, coming there in 1853, where he built the first house on these prairies. He died in 1869, leaving three hundred and twenty acres of land to his family. He gave six hun- dred dollars toward building the Fairfield Cum- berland Presbyterian church, and lived long enough to see it erected, and his funeral was the first preached in it. His wife's two brothers, James and John Coolley, came with him and also took up land. When a young man in Indi- ana James split many a lot of rails at fifty cents per hundred. With a cousin of his he one winter split twenty-five thousand rails. His first vote for president was cast for Gen. Win- field Scott. From 1868 to 1872 he was justice of the peace and has been a life long elder of the Fairfield church. He now owns three hun- dred and twenty acres of land. John Coolley also started with nothing but has accumulated a fine property. Rev. Jonathan Coolley, father of James and John, came here late in 1854 and organized the Fairfield Cumberland Presby- terian church in 1855, continuing its pastor until 1872, when his mantel fell upon his son, Rev. C. P. Coolley, now the financial agent of Lincoln University. Josiah Daines came from Pennsylvania in 1854. ยท Ile built a number of houses in the neighborhood. His aged wife, who is a sister of Jas. Gillogly, still survives him. I. N. Covert, James Gillogly, Joseph Dawson, Moses Stickles and a number of others
He was supervisor of the township in 1870, finally moving to Newman, where he engaged in the hardware business. His youngest son is now station agent on the I., D. & W. at Tus- cola. B. W. Hooe was supervisor of the town- ship from 1868 to 1873. He died in 1875. His wife, who was the sister of Isaac Skinner, died in 1892. She had been a resident of Douglas county since 1839. Isaac Wyckoff came about 1858. He kept hotel in Camargo, finally mov- ing to the Ridge near his son-in-law, Jas. Coolley. He was postmaster for many years of Phoenix post office, which was in 1891 dis- continued. Dr. Wm. A. Smith came to New- man in 1860, where he was a successful physi- cian for over a quarter of a century. He was a soldier in the Mexican war, and one of the charter members of the Newman Masonic lodge and its first worshipful master. Jas. McIntyre came from Canada in 1864. He was born in 1805, and died in 1892. Jonathan Mccown came to Edgar county in 1852, but his sons are residents of this township, where J. A. owns a fine farm, and was several years high- way commissioner. Wm. Heaton, who was born in 1815, came to the Ridge some years before the Civil war. Thos. Hull was born in New York state in 1829, coming to Newman about 1866. James Morrow is another old set- tler, whose large farm lies just east of town. though he resides in this city. He also belongs to the G. A. R. and is a Mason.
The majority of the early settlers have passed to the great beyond, while a small ma- jority still survive, whose strong hands bore the heat and burden of the day, and who now, in the evening of their life, are resting and en-
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joying the fruits of their carly toil and labors. Many interesting facts relating to the personal history of various prominent men will be found in the biographical department.
THE CITY OF NEWMAN.
The Newman of to-day is not the Newman of twenty or thirty years ago. A person re- turning here even after an absence of ten years would find but few familiar scenes left, Such a wave of improvement has swept over the town, its boundaries become so extended and the magical wand of enterprise so touched our slothful industries and laggard capital that the progress made through these agencies has so changed the tipographical appearance of the place that old settlers returning on a visit after an absence of some years can scarcely find their bearings. The old home has been replaced by a new Newman which has far outstripped the old one.
The city of Newman, consisting originally of about forty acres, was laid out about 1857 by B. Newman, one of the original proprietors, in honor of whom it was named. Mr. Newman was a son-in-law of Peter Cartwright, the cel- ebrated Methodist itinerant preacher. The progress of the place from the beginning was very slow, the people waiting fifteen years for the railroad to be constructed through it. For very many years it was but a small village con- sisting of one church, two stores, a school house, Masonic hall, blacksmith shop and a dozen or so small dwelling houses, "Uncle" John Stockton, who is the oldest inhabitant of the city and also the township, kept the first grocery store and was the first white man who slept within the limits of the village. The first
dry goods store was kept by John Dicken. First dwelling house was built by Hezekiah Howard, just east of where the Commercial Hotel now stands, no vestige of which remains. His widow, "Grandma" Howard, at the time of her death was the oldest person in the town, living long enough to see the fifth generation of her family in the person of the little daughter of the late Judge Moffit. In 1872 what is now known as the 1., D. & W. Railroad, after nearly sixteen years of preparation, was com- pleted, which runs through the city connect- ing Indianapolis, one hundred miles east, with Decatur, fifty miles west, and the first train rin through here in October, 1873. Newman im- mediately showed the effects of the impetus thus given to business circles. Brick blocks went up like homemade magic. L. J. and S. C. Cash, who for many years had been the sole dry goods firm here, built a fine two-story brick store. Two grain elevators have been erected, a fine flowing well-the equal of any in this part of the state-an elegant two-story brick school building with tower, in which hangs the bell, and a new frame building for the primary de- partment, evidences the fact that the popula- tion is rapidly increasing. Two other churches have since been erected, a bank established, hinber yards, canning and electric light com- pany, till mills, marble works, hay press, broom factory, flour mills and various other industries have been located here. A fine Odd Fellows temple has lately been built and last year an elegant K. of P. hall. The Masonic hall at the time it was built, 1875. was the finest in this part of the state. Other orders have also com- fortable lodge rooms. Newman has reason to be proud of its public well, as an ever-flowing artesian well for the accommodation of the pub-
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lic is to be found at the corner of the public city. Thomas Shaw's addition in the north square.
Newman is beautifully adorned by a lovely park.
The first school house, an ordinary building erected in 1858 at a cost of about five hundred dollars, stood in the center of the park. The upper story was used as a Masonic hall until, in 1875, when they moved to their new hall in the brick block over Finney & Gokhan's store. The old school building was then removed and the park set out in shade trees, the pagoda erected and seats constructed beneath the trees for the accommodation of the public.
In 1874 C. V. Walls established the New- man Independent. It has changed hands oc- casionally, but has come to be, in the hands the present editor, the best local newspaper and the first all-home print established in the coun- ty, and Newman owes much of her prosperity to its untiring zeal in promoting the interests and welfare of the city.
The growth of the town was for a time seriously retarded by destructive fires. In 1876 Gillogly's Hotel, occupied by G. A. Fuller, was burned, and in 1881 a large portion of Yates street was consumed, including Gwinn's Hotel and several stores. Another in 1885 destroyed the entire east side of North Broadway, includ- ing Gwinn's Hotel again, which he rebuilt, the post office, book store, Ed. Cole's music and jewelry store, groceries, restaurants, lawyer's offices, etc. The population has steadily in- creased until it now numbers eighteen hundred. A new canning factory has been built. A new Methodist church is now being built. The town has grown so that buikling lots are at a premium. Geo. White, some few years ago, laid out an addition to the southern part of the
part of the city, and Smith's addition in the southeast part are building up very rapidly. Wealthy farmers are renting their farms and moving into the city. A few years ago I. Streibich established an electric light plant here, patronized only by a few of the merchants. as the terms were exorbitant, and it was finally abandoned. There is to be a plant, however, established in connection with the canning fac- tory that will light the stores, dwellings and streets at more reasonable prices. Newman cemetery lies just west of town, consisting first of ten acres, to which has been added. A good side walk extends from the city to the cem- etery.
Some of the leading men of the county and town were former residents of Newman. New- man has given three county clerks and three county superintendents of schools to the county, and has sent forth several ministers who are making their mark in the work. A number of young men, born and raised here, who have graduated from our schools, and later on from medical colleges, are now successful physicians in other fields. The railroad officials say more business is done in Newman with the I., D. & W. than in any other town on the road. This is a great grain center and also a temperance town, there having been no saloons here since 1875. In 1878 a license was granted to drug- gists to sell liquor for medical purposes. This possibly may have been abused, but there are no legalized licensed establishments for the re- tailing of spirituous drinks in the city. The first hotel was kept by Mrs. Susan Bell, a house comprising a portion of what is now the Maple Hotel, which is a good house in every respect. The City Hotel was built by Thos. Gwinn, after
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his being burned out in two fires. Situated close to the depot it is convenient to traveling men, who patronize it largely. R. Thomas has the largest tile factory in the county, its ship- ments requiring a special railroad switch. The first postmaster of Newman was Frank Wells. who also had a grocery store in an early day. G. W. Smith was his successor. The other "Nasby's" have been Hugh Cook, J. W. King, A. J. Hoover and T. M. Sidenstricker, the pres- ent incumbent.
The vast majority of the citizens of New- man own their homes and there is quite a de- mand here for houses to rent. A number are erecting houses to be rented.
Improvements .- The city of Newman has through the thrift and enterprise of such citi- zens as Culbertson, Roots and other good peo- ple, been placed far in advance of other towns
of its size in the state. Mr. Culbertson has taken deep interest in Newman city and New- man township. The interest he took in the building of over six miles of concrete side walk in Newman and the business blocks he has erected attest his public spiritedness and the love he has for Newman and Newman people.
Society .- I shall be easy on Newman peo- ple, for, as a rule, I found them warm hearted, hospitable, gentlemanly and womanly people. They seem to well understand that the world was not made entirely for their own special benefit, but for others as well. They are far superior in public improvement and in beauti- fying their city and homes to any other com- munity in Douglas county. The village is full of first-class business and professional men. whose standing in church and society is, as the world goes, unimpeachable.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
JAMES P. HEATON.
James P. Heaton, who was a prominent citizen of Newman and a member of its board of education, was born August 16, 1845, and died March 14, 1897, aged fifty-one years, six months and twenty-eight days. He was a na- tive of Greene county, Pennsylvania, where his early youth was passed among the picturesque hills and scenery of that mountainous region. He was a son of William and Mary Heaton. At the age of sixteen years he came to Illi-
nois and located on the Ridge, four miles north of Newman. At that time there was no church building in that section and in 1869 when the Cumberland Presbyterians built their church he contributed liberally toward its construction and helped in the good cause in various ways. In 1872 he joined the Methodist church, and when the M. E. church on the Ridge was built he and his brothers contributed largely toward its erection, upon ground donated by their fa- ther, who located on the Ridge sometime dur- ing the '50s and entered a tract of land of 1,400 acres. He afterwards lived in Edgar county from 1873 until 1885, when he moved to Newman and lived there until his death in 1897.
James Heaton was not long in becoming one of the most influential and prosperous citizens in his neighborhood. In 1871 he bought a tract of land now known as the Spring Branch Stock Farm, locater just over the line in Edgar county. Ilis principal occupation was stock raising, his farm containing 600 acres. In ad- dition he owned a business block and a residence in Newman, whence he removed in 1885. On March 4, 1873, he was wedded to Miss Lottie
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Harris, of Chariton, lowa, a daughter of John and Lucinda Harris. To their marriage were born five children, three of whom are living : Eva E., who is the wife of Joe Walker, a law- yer of Tuscola: Ada May and Boyd H.
Mr. Heaton held several local offices, was four years supervisor and was collector for the same length of time of his township im Edgar county, and at the time of his death was a men- ber of the board of education, and city alder- man of Newman. He was a member of the I. O. O. F., and in the death of Mr. Heaton New- man lost one of her most popular and useful citizens, who was always ready to advance the interests of the community in which he lived for the common good of all.
FRANK E. LOOSE.
Frank E. Loose, one of the leading farmers and business men of the county, residing upon his farm in the north suburb of Tuscola, was born in the city of Springfield, Illinois, in the year 1859. He was reared on the farm ard was educated in Springfield. his father's farm lying just south of the city. His father, Jacob G. Loose, was born in Franklin county, Penn. sylvania, just across from the Maryland line. He sank the first shaft in the vicinity of Spring. field. on his own farm, mortgaging almost everything he had to accomplish this, and his venture was richly rewarded by finding a paying vein of coal. He became quite well to do, and died on his farm in 1874. Mary Elizabeth ( Iles) Loose, his mother, was a native of Ken-
tucky, and a daughter of Washington lles, who was a stock buyer and who was born in Ken- tucky and emigrated to Springfield, Illinois. where he lived until his death.
Frank E. Loose located in Douglas county in about 1880, and on September 3, 1879. he married Miss Fannie, the only daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. John M. Madison ( see
sketch). She died June 25. 1897. She was born in Tuscola, and was nearly thirty-five years old at her death. . At the age of fifteen she united with the Christian church of Tus- cola, in which denomination she was an active church worker throughout the rest of her life. When seventeen years of age she was united in marriage to Frank E. Loose, who survives, with their only child. Jennie, who is about fif- teen years old and was the constant companion of her- mother. In 1898 Mr. Loose married for his second wife Miss M. Estelle, a daughter of Sylvester J. Faris, of Tuscola. Mr. Loose owns two hundred acres of valuable land ad-
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joining the city of Tuscola, and also owns the business block now occupied by Warren & Murphy. About 1892 he joined the Christian church and has been an officer in it ever since. He is the father of one child, a daughter, Jen- nie Elizabeth Loose, who is now in college at Jacksonville. Mr. Loose and wife reside in their beautiful home in the suburb of Tuscola, where they are ever ready to give a hospitable welcome to their many friends.
REV. W. E. MEANS.
Rev. William E. Means, proprietor of the Atwood Herald, was born at Paris, Edgar county, Ilinois, June 28, 1850. He attended the district school during the winter, working on
prepared to enter Paris high school. In 1874 he matriculated at the Northwestern Univer- sity, and was graduated from the theological
department of this well-known institution in the farm during the summer months, until the class of 1879. After graduation he was ad- mitted to the Minnesota conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was appointed pastor of the Rushmore charge, where a hand- some four-thousand-dollar church was built, free from debt. In the middle of the second year he was appointed to Lu Verne, where the church was greatly blessed during his labors with a sweeping revival, the church completed, and the way prepared for the paying off of a crushing debt. Finding the Minnesota winters colder than he liked, he found an opportunity, in the spring of 1884. to transfer to South Kansas conference, where during the year he was instrumental in building two places of worship. a temporary building in Fort Scott, Kansas, which afterward became Grace church, and a beautiful village church at Hiattville, Kansas. The two years following were spent at Moran, Kansas, and were very fruitful. More than a hundred were gathered into the church, and the church thoroughly organized. A pastorate of three and a half years on the Caney charge was likewise fruitful in revivals, debt paying and church building. In October, 1891, Mr. Means was invited to become pas- tor of the Methodist Episcopal church at Sid- ney, Illinois, and the following year passed a prosperous year on the Atwood charge. Fail- ing health compelled him to retire from the pastorate in the fall of 1893, and he has since held a supernumerary relation to the Illinois conference, often rendering efficient service it the ministry, without assuming the responsibili- ties of a pastoral charge. In 1895 he leased the Atwood Herald, and purchased it the follow-
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ing year. The paper was established in 1888. and is independent in politics. It has a good circulation and is an excellent advertising medium.
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