USA > Illinois > Douglas County > Historical and biographical record of Douglas County, Illinois > Part 20
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HENRY C. NILES.
Henry Clay Niles, master in chancery, local historian and an old and well known resi- dent of Tuscola, is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and a son of Ilezikiah and Sally Ann ( Warner ) Niles, the former was born near Wilmington. Delaware, and the latter being of Quaker extraction and the daughter of John Warner, one of the leading Quakers of that state. Ilezikiah Niles was an intimate friend of Henry Clay, and prominent in Whig pol- ities of his day: in 18it he was editor and proprietor of the Niles Register, which was a strong Whig and pro-slavery paper and always supported the candidacy of Clay. It was one of the most influential newspapers in the east - ern country, being one of the acknowledged organs of the Whig party. The International Cyclopedia says of him that he was born in
1777. in Pennsylvania, received an ordinary education and became a member of Bonsal & Niles in the newspaper business at Wilming-
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ton, Delaware, which was not a success. He then became a newspaper correspondent and in ISH founded Niles Register at Baltimore, and died in 1839.
H. C. Niles was reared to manhood in the city of Baltimore where he attended school up to the age of fourteen years. He then became a clerk in a wholesale drug store and later was a clerk in the Baltimore postoffice for seven years. He was then engaged in the drug busi- ness up to 1856, when he came to what is now Douglas county and located at Bourbon, where he became a salesman for his brother- in-law, L. C. Rust, who was one of the early merchants of the county, and with whom he remained for two years. After Douglas county was formed in 1859, he was elected to the office of county surveyor, since which time he has served several terms in this office, and is one of the best known surveyors in central Illinois. He is still actively engaged in the business. Various acts of the legislature mak- ing any correct survey by a competent surveyor perfectly legal ( thus destroying all induce- ments to hold the office ), he, like many other experienced surveyors in the state, has since refused the position. In 1881, he was ap- pointed master in chancery of the Douglas county circuit court, which position he has con- tinuously held, thus attesting his popularity witth all classes of people who have business in his court.
of DeWitt county, Illinois. They have five children, four of whom are living. Mr. Niles was made a Mason, in Baltimore, in 1854, and is one of the oldest members of that craft in the county. He has materially assisted in the making of both county atlases and is the author
of the old Douglas county history, published in 1884, and in this compilation of this volume I am under permanent obligations to Mr. Niles for his unselfish help.
JOSEPH II. FINNEY.
Joseph II. Finney, late of Newman, was born in Parke county, Indiana, January 10. 1849, and died September 9, 1897. In 1873 he was married to Miss Kate Porter and after her death married Miss AAgnes Valodin. For twenty-three years Mr. Finney was in business at Newman at which he successfully continued up to the time of his death. He left a wife
In 1858 he married Miss Rebecca Brown, and two sons: Porter and Everett; also two sisters, Mrs. W. P. Miller and Mrs. W. D. Goldman, and four brothers; E. C., Daniel, David W., and Robert. For several years Mr. Finney was an active and influential member of the M. E. church at Newman, and at his funeral in speaking of the deceased, the pastor
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spoke in substance as follows: "Joseph Fin- like every other man he may sometimes have ney did not lack in noble habits. He was a erred, yet, like David, he knew how to rise above difficulty and even defeat. His frank :- ness was striking. He was never afraid to do the manly thing. true friend. Friendship to him was not an ideal something, but a living reality. He had no enemies, for he let his life cast true friend- ship on every other life. No envy or malice "To his pastor he spoke with Christian con- fidence during his illness of his trust in God. and conscions peace at heart. He was the kind of man that God loves,-humble, sin- cere, trustful, penitent. could grow in his nature. He was benevolent to a fault, if it is ever a fault to be benevolent. Some man who knew him well, said, 'If Jos- eph Finney only had twenty dollars in the world and someone in need were to ask him for aid, he would give nineteen of the twenty to the destitute.' Such was his nature.
"Gentleness was a marked characteristic of his nature. No unkind words would Mr. Finney say of those who may deserve them.
"lle understood human nature well and because he knew the need of sympathy he understood now to look with charity on the failings of others.
"No man was ever discouraged or weak- ened by associating with Joseph Finney. On the other hand, all who knew him felt the influence of an honest, gentle, manly spirit. Probably none have felt natural weakness more, but none have shown more truly than the deceased a strong heart and an irreproachable character. If ever a man was worthy of charity, that man was Mr. Finney.
"In his home, in social life, and in business relations he was ever the same. No harshness, po sharp criticism, no fault finding marred his intercourse with others.
"He was ever a man of noble aspirations. Hle was never satisfied with present experience or achievements. His testimonies in class taceting anl prayer meeting always spoke humility and resolution and noble desire.
"Hle knew how to struggle. And though
"The words of Shakespeare may be truly said of him: 'Ilis life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him, that nature might stand up and say to all the world. This was a
lle was buried at Tuscola, the funeral cer- emonies being conducted by Rev. J. M. Oak- wood, assisted by Revs. Calhoun and Piper. Mr. Finney was a Mason and was a member of Melita Commandery at Tuscola, the members of which had charge of his remains; he was also a member of the Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen. His widow. Mrs. Finney. resides at Newman and before her marriage was a Miss Valodin, of Oakland. She was a daughter of M. B. and Sarah Ann ( Red- den ) Valodin. Her father was born in Ohio and her mother in Illinois. Mrs. Finney is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Newman and highly interests herself in church work, being one of the class leaders.
SAMUEL HAWKINS.
Samuel Hawkins, a member of one of the earliest settled in Douglas county families and a soklier in the Civil war, was born in Pick-
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away county, Ohio, October 12, 1836, and is a son of John Hawkins who was born in Lou- doun county, Virginia. His mother, who was Margaret Cassady, was also born in Virginia. In October, 1851, Samuel's father, with a family of several sons, came and settled in what is now Douglas county, two miles and a half southwest of Newman. After he had located his children urged him to enter a large body of land which he could have done at one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre, but it was his opinion at that time that the prairie land would never be settled, and consequently he
did not do so. But later on he bought a farm of seventy-two acres along the Brushy Fork timber, where he resided until his death, No- vember 10, 1880.
Samuel Hawkins remained on a farm in Ohio until he arrived in Douglas county with his father. He has been twice married, the first time on October 23, 1858, to Miss Eliza- beth, a daughter of Robert Hopkins, who emi- grated from Pickaway county, Ohio, and set- tled in Newman township before the Hawkins 12
family, and by this marriage he has two chil- dren living : W. S. and Mrs. Mary E. Busby. His first wife died August 12, 1866. In 1870 he wedded Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Will- iam Hopkins, who was a brother of Robert, and was among the pioneer settlers in what is now known as the Hopkins and Hawkins neighborhood. Mrs. Hawkins is a grand- daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Winkler, who came to this county in a very early day. Both died in 1836, and were among the very earliest buried in the Albin cemetery. Mr. I lawkins by his second wife has two children : Eva B., wife of Harrison Hawkins, and bu- ther B., unmarried.
On July 30, 1862, our subject volunteered in the Seventy-ninth Ilinois, and became a corporal in Company E, W. A. Lowe's com- pany. Mr. Lowe was an old and prominent carly settler in Newman township, and for him the Newman Grand AArmy post was named : before the end of the war he became lieutenant-colonel. Mr. Hawkins was at the battle of Chickamauga, but was captured the first day of the fight and was sent to Rich- mond and later to Danville. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, of the Masonic fraternity, and the Wesley Chapel Methodist church. lle owns eighty acres of land and is one of the substantial and highly respected citizens of Newman township.
FRANK C. DEVER.
Frank C. Dever, present principal of the . Hindsboro public schools, and the editor and proprietor of the Hindsboro News, was born
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in Clark county, Illinois, January 20, 1860, and is a son of F. C. and Eliza ( English) Dever, natives of Ohio. The parents re- moved to Camargo township in 1868, thence to Bowdre township in 1870. and the father at present resides in Missouri, the mother having died May 31, 1900. Frank C. Dever attended Lee's academy at Loxe, Coles coun- ty, and later at the Danville normal. He has
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been teaching since 1880, and was superintend ent of the public schools at Anna, Illinois, for four years, and of Barry, Illinois, for two years. Since 1897 he has held his present position in the Hindsboro public schools. in 1892 he was married to Miss Eva Worley, of Anna. They have two children: Lena and Wesley Collins.
gave their united support to Mr. Dever for twenty-three ballots, the board being a tie politically. The deadlock, which had held the Hoard of supervisors for several weeks, was broken by both parties meeting on neutral ground and giving their united support to Miss Blanche Caraway, the present incumbent.
The Hindsboro News, which is in the line politically with the Chicago platform, was founded by Sisson & Miller in 1896. Mr. Sisson soon withdrew, and the paper was man- aged by Charles B. Miller until the summer of 1807, when he was succeeded by Monroe Melntyre, known as the "fighting editor" of the News, and who sold the paper to Mr. Dever in March, 1898. The paper has a cir- culation of about five hundred, comes out of Fridays and is a six-column folio. Since October. 1899, C. L. Watson, the present supervisor of Bowdre township, has been as- sociated with Mr. Dever in business, under the following names: Dever & Watson, pub- lishers ; and C. L. Watson & Co., real estate. Mr. Dever is president of the village board of trustees of Hindsboro, and is ident hed with all movements which aim toward the advance- ment of the best interests of Hindsboro and its vicinity.
GEORGE W. SIDERS.
In 1898 our subject was the Democratic nominee for superintendent of the Douglas George W. Siders is one of the early and prominent settlers of Camargo township still living. He settled in the northeast part of Camargo township in 1852. Ile is a son of county schools, but was defeated. The Demo- cratic side of the board of supervisors in the contest to fill the vacancy in that office caused by the death of Thomas M. Wells, in 1899, Jacob and Susan (Clark) Siders, who were
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natives respectively of Virginia and Maryland. After their marriage they emigrated from Virginia to Fairfield county, Ohio, thence to Pickaway county, Ohio, and from there to Douglas county, Illinois. In the year above mentioned Jacob Siders was a renter and never owned but twenty acres of land. He died in this county in the sixty-third year of his age, and was buried at Camargo. His wife, who was born in 1811 near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, is still living. Jacob Siders was a son of Solomon Siders, who was a sol-
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dier in the war of 1812 and the Horse-shoe war against the Indians. The father of Solo- mon Siders was also named Solomon ; he was in the war of the Revolution and according to the traditions of the family lived to be one hundred and fifteen years old. James Clark, the maternal grandfather, was born in Dublin, Ireland, was a weaver by trade, and when he came to Ohio was one of the pioneer school teachers.
George W. Siders was born February 10. 1836, in Pickaway county, Ohio, and was six- teen years old when his father came to Doug- las county. In 1869 he settled on his present farm, which contains one hundred and twenty acres. In 1862 he was united in marriage to Eliza Ann Hughes, who was born and reared in Logan county, Ohio. Her death occurred on Sunday, April 27, 1900. To this mar- riage were born five children, four of whom are now living: Mary, who is the wife of Charles Reynolds; Ella, wife of John Huls ; Alice, wife of Thomas Huls; and Milo, who is at home; he married Miss Maud Grimes, of Indianola. . Robert Eldon, who died in April, 1900, aged thirty-seven years and five days, was much attached to his family. Mr. Siders has been school director for three years, a member of the Grange and F. M. B. . 1. order. Among Mr. Siders' neighbors when he first came to the county were Jack Rich- man and his brother Jim, and George Ritter, now postmaster at Villa Grove, and among the carly ministers were Arthur Bradshaw, Peter Wallace, who was the presiding elder of the district, and Rev. Saulsbury.
WILLIAM H. BUSH.
William H. Bush, a well-known auction- cer and respected citizen of Hindsboro, was born in Bowdre township, Douglas coun- ty, Illinois, April 1, 1859. He is a son of E. B. and Margaret Ann ( Moyer) Bush. His father was one of the earliest settlers in Bowdre township. He was a native of Har-
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din county, Kentucky, and came to the county when seventeen years of age. At present he resides at Galesburg, Illinois, in the sixty- second year of his age. Ile is a son of John Bush, who was born in Elizabethtown, Hardin county, Kentucky. April 1. 1802, and died July 5, 1852. Our subject's mother, Mar- garet .Ann Moyer, was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, and was the daughter of John Phillip Moyer, who was of German ex-
traction, and who came to the county a year previous to the coming of the Bush family.
William H. Bush was reared on the farm and educated at the country schools of Bow- dre township, Douglas county, Ilinois. In 1882 he was united in marriage to Miss Lola E. Mulliken, of Champaign county, a grand- daughter of Samuel F. Miller, who has ever since he was a young man been a prominent light in the ministry of the Christian church. Mr. Miller is still living, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. He was born in Kentucky, April 26, 1815. His wife, Bertha M. Jean,
was born in Illinois, May 7. 1817, and died July 8, 1838. ( See sketch of 1. M. Mulliken, of Newman. ) To Mr. and Mrs. Bush have been born eight children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Zella M .. Sep- tember 3. 1882: Clarence E .. December 7. 1883: Stella F., September 12, 1887: Gertie B., June 22, 1889 (died September 14. 1898) ; Waldo H., August 17. 1890; Vieva M .. Feb- ruary 26, 1893: one which died at birth un- named, May 19. 1895: Frederick E., Novem- ber 23. 1899. Mr. Bush has in addition to his work as auctioneer dealt in broomcorn with Duncan & Tarbox, of AArcola, since 1888. He has also been in the undertaking business in Hindsboro since June 10, 1897. He was one of the principal organizers of the Court of Honor at that place on March 1, 1899, of which order he has been the worthy chancel- lor since its organization. This order is in a flourishing condition, having initiated about one hundred members. He was elected dele- gate to the county convention of the Court of Honor January 9. 1900: from there he was elected delegate to the State meeting at Springfield for February 14, 1900: and at the state convention he was elected delegate to the supreme session, which was held in Peoria on May 22-25, 1900. William II. Bush is also a member of the Masonic and 1. O. O. F. fra- ternities and of the Modern Woodmen of America. Ile stands high in his community. and is recognized as a man of good business ability; he has filled all the principal offices in the Odd Fellow's lodge of Hindsboro, as well as deputy of the lodge for several terms. He also represented his lodge in the Grand Lodge at Springfield in 1893 and 1894. At present he is senior deacon in the A. F. & A.
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M. lodge at Hindsboro ; has also been the ven- erable consul of Hindsboro Camp No. 968, M. W. of A., and served as worthy banker of this camp for four successive years. He has in- terested himself in politics, having been elected constable of Bowdre township three times; has also served as trustee of the village. Mr. Bush has the management of the Douglas . County Telephone Exchange, located in his residence at Hindsboro, which is operated by his eldest daughter, Zella M. Bush.
JAMES BARR.
Among the many successful men noted for their fair dealing with the public and their up- rightness in character, who have made the city of Newman famous, none deserve more credit than James Barr. Our subject was born in Clermont county, Ohio, April 7, 1839. and in 1852 moved with his parents to Char- leston, Coles county, Illinois, where he was reared and schooled. At the age of sixteen he began the trade of a tinner, which he mas- tered and has continued to follow through life. When he was but a boy his father died, leaving him to do for himself. His educa- tional advantages were, as was the case with many of the pioneers, very limited, although he received a fair business education. Being of a mechanical turn of mind, he soon became an expert workman. During the first call of the Civil war he enlisted in the Eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and remained out until the end of his term of service, after which he returned to Charleston.
In 1864 Mr. Barr married Miss Eliza E.
Harmon, of Clermont county, Ohio. In 1865 he started in business at Oakland and con- tinued until 1887, when he moved to Kansas and entered into partnership with his brother, W. W. Barr, under the firm name of W. W. Barr & Brother.
His wife passed away April 2, 1878, leav- ing two children, Stella and George 11.
In 1879 he started in business in Newman and one year later sold his interest in the store at Kansas to his brother and bought the lat- ter's interest in Newman.
In 1881 he married Miss May W. Curd.
of Newman, and to this union one son, Clay- ton C., was born.
In 1890 he sold a half interest in his busi- ness to W. F. Summers. They conducted the business under the name of Barr & Summers until 1893, when Mr. Barr bought Mr. Sum- mers' interest. On the 8th of October, 1895, our subject's son, George H. Barr, died at the age of twenty-one years, four months and fourteen days.
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In ISon he sold a half interest to 1. M. £ Mulliken, of Charleston. The firm runs un- der the head of Barr & Mulliken. They own two of the largest stores in the city, one, hard- ware, stoves and tinware, and the other, fur- niture and undertaking, where a full line of each can always be found on hand. James Barr is a stanch Republican and has been elected mayor of Newman three times, always making a good executive officer. He is a great believer in secret orders and is ever ready to further their interests. He is a prominent Odd Fellow and Mason : is a Knight Templar, being a member of the Melita Com- mandery No. 37, at Tuscola. He is Eminent Iligh Priest in Newman Chapter, No. 72, and is the president of the Odd Fellows Benefit Association of Douglas county. He is the son of Samuel and Sarah ( Wise) Barr. The former was born in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1800, and died in 1856. The latter was born in Pennsylvania in 1803 and died in 1880. Mr. Barr's present wife is the daughter of Daniel and Evaline Curd, of near Frankfort. Kentucky. Daniel Curd was born in 1808 and Evaline in 1801.
Mr. Barr is a member of the M. E. church and his wife is a member and worker in the O. E. S. and Rebekah lodges of Newman, and is a leading worker in the Christian church.
ADOLPH HAPKE.
Adolph Hapke, the leading jeweler and optician and one of the rising and successful young business men of Newman, was born in
the province of West Prussia, Germany, May 30. 1869, and is a son of Christ and Christian (Schlack ) Hapke, who were natives of the same province. His father was a blacksmith by trade, who emigrated to this country in 1871 and located in Michigan City. Laporte county, Indiana, where he followed his trade and also engaged in farming. He resides at present four and one-half miles east of Michi- gan City. He served in the war of Germany against Austria in 1866.
Adolph Hapke received a common school education and at the age of seventeen went to Michigan City, where he served an apprentice- ship of four years at his trade. In 1898 he located at Newman, having previously taken a course in optics at the Chicago Ophthal- mology College.
On October 11, 1899, he was married to Miss Josephine, a daughter of Enoch Gordon, of Newman. After his marriage he pur- chased the residence of C. E. Eagler, and it is one of the elegantly furnished homes of New-
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man. After his marriage the Newman In- dependent spoke of him as follows: "Mr. Hapke came to Newman about two years ago, and since then his dealings with our people have been honorable, and he has formed ties of friendship that will always last. The bride is one of Newman's most deserving young ladies, who was graduated in the spring of 1899 from the high school of Newman with honors."
Mr. Hapke carries a large stock of jew- elry, and by his honest and upright mode of doing business has put himself on the road to building up a most prosperous business.
J. M. HAWKINS.
J. M. Hawkins, an intelligent farmer, who saw three years of service in the war of the Rebellion, is a son of John Hawkins, who was born near Harper's Ferry, Virginia. and who came to Douglas county in 1851, and settled on a farm three miles south of New- man, where he resided and was prominent in his neighborhood up until his death, which occurred in the year 1880. Among some more of the earlier settlers are mentioned Cornelius, Robert and James Hopkins, Robert Albin and Enoch Newell, who are all early settlers from Indiana. John Hawkins wedded Margaret Cassady, of Ohio, but a native of Virginia.
J. M. Hawkins was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, February 5, 1839, and came to Douglas county in the fall of the year above
mentioned. In February, 1862, he volun- teered in the First Missouri Regiment of In- fantry and participated in many of the princi- pal battles of the war, remaining out until its close. He afterward returned home and en- gaged in farming, and succeeded in making an honest living and securing the good opinion of his neighbors. His farm contains only forty-four acres, but he is satisfied with it.
In 1867 our subject was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Johnson, a daughter of J. T.
Johnson, who practiced medicine at Bourbon up to 1871, when he removed to Barton coun- ty, Missouri, where he died some sixteen years ago at the age of sixty-four years. He was a native of Ohio. Mr. Hawkins is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Masonic fraternity and Knights of Pythias. He is unassuming in his manner and gentle in his conduct toward his fellow men.
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ABRAM 11. MOORE.
Abram 11. Moore, deceased, father of Edward M. and Morris L. Moore, was born in Bourbon township. Douglas county, Illinois.
December 7. 1838. and was of old Virginia ancestry. He died May 11. 1883, at the age of forty-four years. His father was Jacob Rice Moore and his mother Amanda Moore ( see sketches of Wm. F .. Jacob R., Jr., and others. ) AAbram 11. Moore was married to Mary E. Miller, of Mattoon, Illinois, January 31, 1865. To their union were born three children: Edward MeClellan. Morris Logan. and Mary Catherine, Morris and Kate being twins. Mary Catherine died September 18. 1890. and Mary E. died October 20, 1894. Abram H. at his death owned a farm of three Inindred and twenty acres in Bourbon town- shp, adjoining the old Moore homestead. He was of a sober. industrious disposition an.l was highly respected by his large cirde of friends and neighbors. He was an invalid for five years prior to his death.
EDW. MeC. MOORE.
Edw. MeC. Moore, the oldest son of Abram 11. and Mary E. Moore was born at the home of his father, three miles west of Arcola. Bour- bon township. Douglas county, Illinois, Octo- ber 20, 1865. He secured his education in the neighborhood schools. At the age of sixteer. years Mr. Moore left school on account of the death of his father and took charge of the farm, and he has been successful as a farmer. stock raiser and feeder. In 1893 he was mar- ried to Miss Lena Kelley, a daughter of Mr. Benjamin Kelley, who was an early settler in Moultrie county, from Kentucky. At present he spends most of his time among his children. in Florida, California, Kansas, Washington, Nebraska and Illinois. To Mr. and Mrs. Moore two very interesting children have been born : Albert Henry and Mary Vivian. Mr. Moore owns two hundred and sixty acres of
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