USA > Illinois > Douglas County > Historical and biographical record of Douglas County, Illinois > Part 23
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in destitute condition, without clothes or money. Here prospects brightened, the gokl panning ont sometimes to the amount of eighty dollars a day. But he coukl only remain two weeks. Iligh water came and Mr. Howe went to California, where he followed "teaming" from Stockton out to the mines and during his eighteen months sojourn here he accumulated some money. In 1853 he decided to return to Illinois, and in February of the same year he left California, taking a vessel from San Fran- cisco, crossing the Isthmus of Panama, sailing from there to New Orleans, then up the Mis- sissippi to his old home in Coles county, as it then was. During his three years stay in Cali- fornia he learned the Spanish language and couldl converse fluently in it.
Mr. Howe now turned his attention to the peaceful pursuit of agriculture, hoping in that 1853. he married Harriett AAnne Lester. a na- 1853. he married Harriett Anne Lister, a na- tive of Douglas, whose ancestors, like those of Mr. Howe, were of English and Kentucky blood and birth. In December he started his long and prosperous career as a farmer, and at the time of his death he was in the possession of almost eighteen hundred acres of land in the neighborhood of his residence. Hunting was his favorite amusement, and every year he made a trip to Kansas, Colorado and Arkansas, where he indulged in the exciting sport. He was celebrated for his skill as a marksman and seldom failed to bring down his game.
He was the father of eight children : James MI., who now resides on a large farm in Ne- braska; John S., living now on the oldl home- stead; Perry N., who lives, also, on part of his father's farm; Mary E., wife of James Drennen, living on an lowa farm; Charles R.,
residing on the Grst farm that Mr. Howe owned: Effie .A., wife of James C. Reed, a lawyer in Kansas City : Leona M., wife of Will- iam Joseph, assistant manager in the firm of Bradley Manufacturing Company; and Lora .A., who lives with her mother in Tuscola. William Howe died January 27, 1892, at his country home near Ficklin.
JAMES DREW.
James Drew one of the earliest pioneers in the western part of Douglas county, and also one of the largest land owners, is a native of the state, having been born in Hamilton county, 11- linois, on the 14th of June. 1819. He came to
the territory now embraced in Douglas county in 1839, and continued to reside on the place of his first location until his death in 1894. The Drew family, from which Mr. Drew has his descent, formerly resided in South Car-
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olina, where John Drew, the father of James Drew, was born. The maiden name of his mother was Tempy Farmer, and she was also a resident of South Carolina. The family after- ward removed to Indiana, and then to Illinois, settling in Hamilton county. Here James Drew was born on the date given above. When about four years old the family moved north to Shelby county. The children were nine in number, five boys and four girls, only two of whom are now dead. After the family had lived in Shelby county about eight years, then moved to Coles county, south of Charleston. The principal part of his education Mr. Drew received in this county. He attended a com- mon country school, held in an old shanty, vith a fire-place occupying nearly all of one end. The most of the children were without hats and went barefoot in winter. Mr. Drew's fa- ther was a farmer, and kept the boys at home a great deal of the time to work on the farm. After a residence in Coles county of some years the family moved back to Shelby, this time making their home in the territory afterward embraced in Moultrie county on its formation. Mr. Drew was now about eighteen years of age. He stayed at home part of two years, one sum- mer going to Galena, and working in the lead mines there. No money could be obtained at this period for farm labor, and the lead mines offered the only opportunity for obtaining ready cash. While employed here he received twenty dollars a month and board. In the year 1839 his father took a job of making rails for one Jacob Taylor, probably the first settler in what is now Garrett township, and James agreed to give his assistance. He was now old enough to do for himself, and with the same foresight and business tact which has marked his subse-
quent career, he was on the lookout to secure land for himself. Land could be obtained in that part of Coles county where Taylor lived, and young Drew embraced the first opportunity of settling. He entered eighty acres of land at the government price of one dollar and twenty- five cents an acre, borrowing one hundred dollars of Taylor to make the purchase, and agreeing to discharge the debt partly in day's labor. Mr. Drew's present house stands on the original land entered. His brother and brother-in-law each entered eighty acres at the same time, and the whole amount came into the possession of Mr. Drew. It was the close of the year 1839 when Mr. Drew first came into the county, and the next spring he bought his land. He put up a split log cabin on the premises and lived with his brother-in- law. All the time he could spare for improv- ing the property he devoted in paying off the debt of one hundred dollars, which was finally accomplished in three years. A good portion was worked out by labor, at fifty cents a day. There were only four families in the neighbor- hood at the time of Mr. Drew's settlement. For thirty miles to the west, in the direction of Decatur, there was not a single house. The prairies were all unoccupied, covered with tall grass and resin weeds, over which roamed deer and prairie wolves.
After living with his brother-in-law for a couple of years, Mr.Drew concluded to go to keeping house for himself, and married Ange- line Waller, a native of Hamilton county, but who at the time of the marriage lived in Shelby. Mr. Drew was then twenty-three and his wife about twenty. Mr. Drew had early learned industrious habits, and from his child- hood knew the meaning of hard work. By
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his industry and frugality he won snecess, in- vesting his surplus capital in land and adding from time to time as opportunity offered. Farming was the pursuit to which he directed his whole energies and ever since his residence in the county he has given considerable atten- tion to raising and feeding stock.
Mr. Drew's first wife died in 1855, and he subsequently married, on the 13th of October, 1857. Miss Martha L. Baker.
EUGENE RICE.
Engene Rice. ex-member of the Legislature and a man of considerable prominence through- out the county, was born in Madison county,
Kentucky, March 22, 1848. He is a son of Martin Rice, who was one of the most widely and favorably known of the early settlers of Camargo, and whose sketch with ancestry of
the family is printed in full on another page. Mr. Rice came to the township with his parents in 1854 and resides at present on the old home- stead. He is extensively engaged in farming and stock raising and is known as one of the most successful farmers in Douglas county. in 1887 and 1889 he was elected to the Legis- lature from the district composed of Coles, Cumberland and Donglas counties, as a Re- publican. He served on several committees- federal relations, agriculture, penitentiaries, fish and game, contingent expenses, drainage, live stock and dairy, printing and others-and dur- ing the extra session helped to pass the World's Fair bill.
Mr. Rice has never married, and resides on his beautiful farm within a half hour's ride from the village of Camargo, where he enter- tains his friends and enjoys life. As a member of the Legislature he was conscientious and a hard worker in the interest especially of the farmer, who it has, it seems, been sadly neg- lected as to legislation in both state and nation.
D. O. ROOT.
D. O. Root, second son and third child of Levi and Polly Root. was born in Decatur township. Washington county, Ohio. Septem- ber 24. 1834. His father was a native of Liv- ingston county, New York, and was born April 9. 1809. Ile came with his mother and step- father to Washington county, Ohio, soon after the close of the second war with the mother country, in which war his own father had been a soldier, and died just at its close. The
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mother of the subject of this sketch, whose maiden name was Stewart, was born upon the farm upon which now stands the village of Stewart, in Athens county, Ohio, March 7. 1809, and her mortal remains are sleeping in a cemetery near that village, upon the old Stew- art farm, less than one-fourth of a mile from the place where she was born. She died in May, 1857. Her father. Daniel Stewart, born in November. 1762. in Litchfield, Connecticut. was a soldier in the continental army in the war of the Revolution. He came to Ohio in 1802, and died upon the farm he then settled upon, in 1859. of an accident, and not of dis- ease or old age, though he was in his ninety-
eighth year. The parents of our subject re- moved from Washington county to Athens county, same state, when he was a mere infant, and settled on the Big Hockhocking (now abbreviated into simply Hocking) river, just below the village of Stewart. Here he spent the first twenty years of his life, except two
years -- 1852-53-during which he was a stu- dent in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Dela- ware, Ohio. Failing health caused him to quit school before graduation.
After arriving at sufficient age, when not in school-the common and select-he was en- gaged in the ordinary farm work. in a woolen factory and as clerk in a country store of gen- cral merchandise. At the age of twenty he left the parental home for good and struck out for himself and for the west as well. He landed in what is now Douglas county-then Coles- October 17, 1854. It may be of some interest to the younger generation, at least, as showing the difference in the mode of travel then an l now, to state that the first thirteen miles of Mr. Root's westward journey-from the home he was just leaving to old Athens-was made in a common road wagon : from Athens to Lan- caster, forty-five miles, in a canal boat, towed by horses, and twenty-three consecutive hours were consumed in making this distance. From Lancaster to Terre Haute, Indiana, via Cin- cinnati and Indianapolis, by rail. And, by the way, it was the only route by which it could, at that time, have been made by rail. From Terre Haute to Paris, Illinois, was on a con- struction train, on the old I. & St. L. R. R., its track having just been completed as far west as that point. From Paris to Oakland the trip was made in an old time "hack" or "stage coach." which was then run from Terre Haute westward, on the old Springfield "trace," pass- ing through Oakland, then locally known as Pinhook. During the winter of 1854-5 Mr. Root taught a term of school at "Catfish Point," near where the village of Isabel, in Edgar county, now stands. For this he re- ceived the sum of twenty-five dollars per
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month, an amount considered rather extra- ordinary for the times.
In the spring of 1855 -AApril 5 he was united in marriage with Mrs. Sarah Winkler. the widow of Charles V. Winkler, who had been a prosperous farmer and an oldl settler on the Brushy Fork timber. He died in June, 1854, leaving, besides his widow, two children, Vashti, who became the wife of L. E. Root, a brother of our subject. and who is now de- ceased. and Luther, who is one of Newmm's enterprising farmers and stock raisers The latter occupies the old farm entered and im- proved by his grandfather and father, te which he has made varions and substantial additions and improvements. After his marriage Mr. Root settled upon this same farm and remained on it until the fall of 1873. after his election to the office of county clerk. To Mr. and Mrs. Root there were born nine children. five sons and four daughters: Harriet E., January 10, 1855: Edward T., November 6, 1857; Ornon 1 ... July 3, 1860; Rosecrans. November 2. 1862; Leula. October 9. 1864: Pitner, Novem- ber 26, 1866, and died September 25. 1867: Isabelle, January 12, 1868: Mary, April 13, 1869; a son, unnamed. September 30. 1873. died October 3, 1873. Edward T., oklest son died December 23, 1892, unmarried, in the thirty-seventh year of his age. Hattie F has licen mistress of her father's house and, as nearly as it is possible for any but a real mother to be, a mother to the other children ever since the death of her mother, in October. 1881. while the family resided in Tuscola.
In July. 1861. Mr. Root entered the serv- ice of his country, in the war of the Rebellion, and became a member of Company HI, Twenty- Fifth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry,
and served until October, 1862. when, his health failing, he was discharged for disability From 1868 to 1873 he was four times elected the assessor of his (Newman) township. In November. 1873. he was elected to the office of county clerk, re-elected in 1877, and, by rea- son of a change in the constitution of the state, an extra year was added to this term, which expired in 1882, making in all nine years Shortly after his retirement from office, and while on the lookout for some permanent busi ness, he entered the store of F. M. Friend & Son, of Tuscola, as a clerk, remaining until February, 1884, at which time he bought a half interest in the large general store of James Gillogly, of Newman, forming the firm of Gillogly & Root. Four years thereafter L. E. Root, a brother of D. O. Root, bought Mr. G.'s interest in the firm and it was changed to Root Bros. The firm is still in business, occu- pying a large two-story brick on the north side of the square, fronting on Yates street and extending north to Mathers street, with a rear entrance on same. It is the leading firm in the city. Mr. Root is a member of the M. E. church of long standing, having entered its fold in January, 1851. He is a Freemason and a Knight Templar; has also taken all the degrees in Odd Fellowship except the uniform rank, and is a member of the K. of HI. and of H. & L. of H. orders.
The family to which Mr. Root belongs is in some respects remarkable. To his parents there were born twelve children, eight boys and four girls, of whom eleven are living, one son having been killed fighting for the flag in the war of 1861-5, at Perryville, Ky., in October, 1862. These children were all born between 1831 and 1852. His mother, as has before
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been noted herein, died in 1857, and in 1862 his father remarried. From this union one son was born, making the family to-day con- sist of the original number, eight boys and four girls, the youngest thirty-seven years of age, the eldest near seventy. Six of the boys were in the Union army during the Rebellion, five returning. All served three full years ex- cept the subject of this sketch. Few families can show such a record.
JOHN QUINN.
Jolın Quinn, private banker, grain dealer, and one of the most successful young business men of the county, located in Fairland in 1884 as a grain agent for the firm of Barnett, Kuhn & Company, of Terre Haute, Indiana. He is
still associated with this firm, handling in the neighborhood of one hundred thousand bush- els per year. 14
Mr. Quinn was born in Union county, Ohio, February 15, 1863, and there he re- mained until he was six years of age, when his parents removed to Champaign county. He is a son of Patrick and Bridget Quinn, who were natives of Ireland. His father is retired from active business and resides at Philo, Illi- nois. John Quinn was reared on the farm and received the advantages only of the neigh- boring schools. In 1899 he founded the Fair- land Exchange Bank, which is his own private institution. As a business man he is known to be careful, safe, and possessed of sterling in- tegrity. In 1890 he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah F. Suddeth, a native of Edgar county and a member of a Kentucky family. They have three children: Otis, Anna and Cecil. Mr. Quinn owns eighty acres of land northeast of Fairland, five miles distant. He is a charter member of the Woodmen, and is also a member of the Court of Honor.
SCOTT BURGETT.
Scott Burgett, the proprietor of the New- man Bank and one of the successful financiers and business men of Illinois, was born in Brushy Fork, this county. September 14, 1857, and is a son of the late I. W. Burgett. whose sketch is found upon another page of this book. During the summer months Scott Burgett worked upon his father's farm and in winter attended the district school. When about seventeen years of age he entered Lee's Academy at Loxa, Illinois, and after leaving that institution went to the state normal at
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Normal, Illinois, where he completed his edu- cation. After returning home he taught three terms of school in the Coffey district. in Sar- gent township, and much of his success as a teacher he claims he owes to his life-long friend, W. 11. Coffey. In March, 1879. he entered the large dry-goods house of James Gillogly in Newman as bookkeeper and head salesman, with whom he remained until 1884. when he, with I. N. Covert, established the Newman Bank. Mr. Covert retired from
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active business in 1888 and was succeeded to the presidency by S. M. Long, who remained president until his death. From that time, August 20, 1898, to the present, it has been the private property of Mr. Burgett. In the bank's management he is assisted by J. W. King and George Moore.
September 2, 1879, he was married to Miss Alice V. Hopkins, daughter of the late James Hopkins, who was one of the prominent pio- neers of Douglas county. They have had six
children, five of whom are living: Jay T .. Bessie M., Eva O., Paul H. and Charles C., and James is deceased.
Scott Burgett's business ventures have been thoroughly successful and he has the absolute confidence of the entire public. He owns some of the fine lands in both Newman and Sargent townships, and his real estate hold- ings in Newman are large. Hle is treasurer of the Newman Building & Loan Association, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, is a Royal Arch Mason and is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias. At present he is erecting what will be the finest residence in Newman, costing some six or eight thousand dollars. Quiet and unassuming in his man- ners, he treats all alike, the poor man as he does his rich neighbors, and counts his ac- quaintances as his friends. In all the relations of life he has been true to his duty as he has seen it, and in business and in society a well-de- served success has come to him as a reward of earnest industry and his upright dealings with his fellow men.
A. HAYWARD.
A. Hayward, who has been the railroad station and ticket agent at Camargo for twen- ty-three years, was born near Belfast, Ireland, November 23, 1849, and was reared to man- hood in the neighborhood of Cranbrook, coun- ty Kent, England, where he attended the or- dinary school of that day. He is a son of Benjamin Hayward, who was a member and organist of the Church of England at Inch,
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Hear Belfast, Ireland. He was a fine musi- cian, playing both organ and violin with great proficiency. His father died in 1855. His mother, who was, before she was married, Margaret Carr, was a native of county Down, Ireland, and was reared near Belfast. His great-grandfather, John Hayward, was an ex- ceedingly wealthy man, and because his sons were of dissolute habits he bequeathed his
wealth to charity, and it is known to th's day as the Hayward charity fund, so much of which is given out each year by the par sh of Cranbrook to the poor of the parish. His maternal grandfather, Edward Carr, was born in Scotland.
A. Hayward came to this country in 1870, and after spending three months in Syracuse came direct to Tuscola, where he followed the painter's trade and remained here six years. He soon afterwards learned the telegraph busi- ness and located in Camargo.
In 1880 our subject was wedded to Miss Julia O'Connor, a step-daughter of . Martin
Cogley. They have one daughter, Mary Elizabeth, who is nineteen years of age. He is a member of the Court of Honor and at present holds the office of chancellor. Mr. Hayward owns a pleasant home in Camargo, besides eighty acres of land in Murdock town- ship. He has been town clerk of Camargo for six years and was secretary of the Douglas county fair for ten years. He was also assist- ant general superintendent of the state fair in 1897-98, and served as delegate to the Court of Honor of Douglas county, which met in Springfield in 1899. Ile has made his own way in the business world and at present occupies an enviable position in the affairs of Douglas county.
CHARLES S. SANDFORD.
Charles S. Sandford, of Tuscola, Illinois, is the son of Isaac and Belinda ( Foster ) Sand- lord. The father was born at Bridgehamton, Long Island, in 1796, and married Belinda Foster, who was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1798. The progenitor of the Sand- tords on Long Island first settled near Boston, Massachusetts, in the year 1640. This branch of the family tree has had numerous descend- ants, identified with important movements at an early day in the history of Long Island. Many of them participated in the battle of Long Island, and some of them were minute men. Isaac Sandford emigrated to Edgar county, Illinois, in 1820. He served as cap- tain in the Black Hawk war and was later commissioned as brigadier-general of the stat :
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militia by Governor Reynolds in 1833. He held that position for fifteen years, after which time he resigned. General Sandford was a man of great financial ability and remarkable
energy. . At the time of his death, in 1853. he was one of the wealthiest men in Edgar county.
Charles S. Sandford's maternal grand- father. Luke Foster, was one of the associate judges of Hamilton county, Ohio. He was born at Riverhead, Long Island. The Fos- ters setttled on Long Island as early as the Sandfords.
C. S. Sandford grew to manhood on the farm; attended school at Edgar Academy, at Paris, Illinois, and afterward for a time at Greencastle ( Indiana ) Asbury University- now known as the DePauw University. In 1855 he was married to Susan J. Judson. a native of Connecticut. ller girlhood home was in Vicksburg, Mississippi, but her later education was received at Steubenville, Ohio. Mrs. Sandford hails from a family of decided literary tastes, her own inclinations and prac-
tice in the several communities where resid- ing being to promote and forward intellectual advancement. To their marriage have been born six children : Walter Alexander died in infancy: Janet J. is the wife of Capt. W'm. T. Wood, who was graduated from West Point in: the class of 1877. and at present is serving as treasurer at Manila, in the Philippine Is- lands, under General Ot's. They have sons . Halsey W., Sheridan C. and Isaac Russell. Sheridan C. has had an extensive experience as a commercial traveler. Grace Foster is the wife of Dr. W. E. Purviance, assistant sur geon in the United States army, with the rank of captain, now stationed at Fort Egbert. Alaska. Isaac Russell. the youngest of the family, is partner with his father in dry-goods and general merchandise at Villa Grove, Illi- nois.
Mr. Sandford's business career has been one of unusual diversity. In 1850 he made the overland route to California and engaged in: mining for two years; afterwards handled cattle in Edgar county and Douglas county. Illinois: made and improved two farms from the virgin soil-one in each of the above coun- ties. He was a partner in the wholesale and retail house of C. C. Smith & Co., Terre Haute, Ind .. in 1893. Came to Tuscola and followed merchandising, in which, since 1863. lie has been actively engaged.
JOHN T. TODD).
John Thomas Todd, who is one of the most active and successful business men of Tuscola and who has been with the exception of two
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near Belfast, Ireland. He was a fine musi- cian, playing both organ and violin with great proficiency. His father died in 1855. Ilis mother, who was, before she was married, Margaret Carr, was a native of county Down, Ireland, and was reared near Belfast. His great-grandfather, John Hayward, was an ex- ceedingly wealthy man, and because his sons were of dissolute habits he bequeathed his
wealth to charity, and it is known to this day as the Hayward charity fund, so much of which is given out each year by the parish of Cranbrook to the poor of the parish. His maternal grandfather, Edward Carr, was born in Scotland.
A. Hayward came to this country in 1870, and after spending three months in Syracuse came direct to Tuscola, where he followed the painter's trade and remained here six years. He soon afterward learned the telegraph busi- ness and located in Camargo.
In 1880 our subject was wedded to Miss Julia O'Connor, a step-daughter of Martin
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