USA > Illinois > Douglas County > Historical and biographical record of Douglas County, Illinois > Part 26
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Charles MeCarty, brother of Joseph Me- Carty, was born at Morristown, New Jersey. 11 1776, and died in Montour. Schuyler conn- ty. New York, November 15. 1858, in his eighty-third year. Joseph MeCarty (grandfa- ther ) was the father of John. Charles, William and David, was born January 9. 1778, and died July 25. 1845. His wife. Mary Harnerd Me- Carty, was born August 15. 1774, and died January 20. 1846. John McCarty ( father ). son of Joseph, was born May 15, 1805, and died January 14. 1875. Joseph Frost (grandia- ther ) was born June 4. 1797, married Sallie Mccarty, and died October 27. 1847. He was a son of Joseph Frost, a soldier of the Revolu- tion, who was born May 22. 1754, and died May 28, 1844. at Catherine, New York. Ile married Lucy Couch, a daughter of Jonathan Couch, who was married September 19. 1781. lied April 8, 1843. and was buried at Cather- ine, New York. Appended herewith is a cer- tificate from the Adjutant General's office of the state of Connecticut : "Hartford. Septem- er 11, 1805. This is to certify that Joseph Frost (grandfather of Francis .\. McCarty) served in the war of the Revolution, and the fol- lowing is his service according to the records of this office ; Private in Colonel Benjamin Hlin- man's regiment. Discharged in northern de- partment September 11, 1775. Private in Cap- tain Elijah Able's company. Colonel Philip Burr. Bradley's regiment. Enlisted June 16, 1776. Dicharged November 16, 1777. Pris- oner at Fort Washington." He was a resi- dent until 1803 of Redding. Fairfieldl county, Connecticut, when with his family he removed to Schuyler county, New York, where he re- sided until his death. He and two of his
brothers were made prisoners when Lord Howe captured Fort Washington, in November. 1776. They suffered great hardship in a British prison hulk in New York bay, and the two brothers died while prisoners. Joseph Frost was wound- ed in battle and received a pension up until the time of his death.
Francis A. McCarty was reared and edu- cated at Catherine. New York, and also at- tended Lima ( New York ) Seminary. Febru- ary 12, 1879, he married Miss Emma Young. of Binghamton. New York, who was a daugh- ter of William and Caroline B. ( Munder ) Young. They were both natives of Germany. Mrs. McCarty has in her possession a medal given her grandfather, Jacob Munder, by the King of Wurtemberg for faithful services in the field. To Mr. and Mrs. McCarty were born five children, all living: John William Fred. Laura Frost. Carrie Louise and Fran- ces E.
In 1879 Mr. McCarty came to Doug- las county and settled in Arcola township. where he bought a tract of land where he re- sided on the farm until 1894. when he lo- cated in Tuscola. Ile had great energy and talent for organizing and conducting business affairs, and by his great natural ability and indomitable perseverance attained a high prom- inence in the industrial and financial affairs of Douglas county. At the time of his death he owned two thousand acres of land in Douglas county, five hundred acres in Marion county, Illinois, and eight hundred acres in Missouri. These large estates are looked after by his widow. Mrs. McCarty, who possesses in a large degree great business tact, fine intelligence, and is a highly educated lady.
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GEORGE WHITE.
George White, the well known implement dealer and auctioneer of Newman, was born near Glasgow, Barren county, Kentucky. August 18. 1842. and is a son of M. L. and Mary ( Biby) White. Middleton White was born in Barren county, Kentucky, and moved to Edgar county, Illinois, where he was married. His wife was also from near Glasgow, Kentucky. They are both dead and buried in the Paris cemetery.
George White came to Newman and located in business in about 1874. since which
time his business has steadily grown until he is known as one of the most successful and extensive implement dealers in the entire county. He also handles the Mitchell wagon and several makes of buggies and carriages. His sales run from $25,000 to $35,000 annu- ally.
In 1844 Mr. White was united in marriage
to Miss Della Clark, who is a native of Ken- tucky. They have two children: Henry W .. who will graduate from the Chicago Home- opathic School of Medicine in March, 1901. and Fred, who is in business with his father. George White has here held the office of town- ship supervisor and while he resided in Edgar county held the same office. In 1861 he vol- unteered in Company E. Twelfth Illinois In- fantry, and served through the entire Civil war. During the month of February especially his services are in great demand as a public auc- tioneer. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and also the Grand Army of the Re- public. He has a pleasant home in Newman and is classed among that town's best business men.
JUDGE JOHN BROWN.
Judge John Brown has been for over sixty years identified with the best interests of Dong- las county. He was born in Ross county. Ohio, May 7. 1822, on a farm, where he re- mained until the age of seventeen. This farm was located on Paint creek, two miles from Chillicothe, the county seat of Ross county. Our subject is a son of Nimrod Brown, who was a native of Augusta county, Virginia, and who served in the war of 1812. His mother was, before her marriage. Elizabeth Eigel- bright, and was born in Monroe county, Vir- ginia. When our subject was but seven years old his father died, and his mother, with three sons and four daughters, emigrated to what is now Douglas county, in about 1838, and set- tled in what is now Sargent township. The
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL.
Judge's paternal grandfather. Washington Brown, was a Virginian by birth. At the time his mother located in Sargent township she was very poor, the oldest son, Washington, manag- ing the business, Land at that time sold for from four to six dollars an acre, but money was very scarce. This was in September. 1838. the date of his mother's settlement in Sargent township.
Judge Brown married, in 1844. Sally Ann Barnett, who was a daughter of William and Mary Barnett. natives of Kentucky and early
settlers in Vermilion county. Mrs. Brown died in 1853, leaving one child. William R. Brown, who is a farmer residing in Jasper county, Indiana. Judge Brown subsequently married Mary Barnett, a double cousin to his first wife and a daughter of John M. and Ana Barnett, of Vermilion county, Mary having been born. however, in Bowdre township. Their family consisted of six children, four of whom are living: Bright resides in Bowdre township: Charles F., in Camargo township;
Ella, who is at home: and Kate is the wife of V. S. Burgett.
Mr. Brown was elected county judge dur- ing the war of the Rebellion and served in that office for four years. He is a stanch Republic- an, and the owner of about nine hundred acres of fine land. Hle is the oldest living settler in the five eastern townships. Among some of the early settlers whom he intimately knew were Andy Guinn, Henry and Snowden Sargent. James and Stephen Redden. Ambrose and John Martin and their father John. Washington Boyce. Rev. William Watson, a Methodist preacher, and his brother, Parmenus.
1. W. BURGETT.
1. W. Burgett. deceased. was, during his residence in Douglas county, one of its leading and most successful farmers. From the time he was ten years old he spent the whole of his eventful life in Sargent township. He is a descendant of English and German ancestors. who were among the early residents of Ohio. llis grand father was in the war of 1812. His father, Abraham Burgett, lived in Pickaway county and there married Eliza Wells, a native of Ohio. Ile and his wife continued to live in that county, and there Isaac W. Burgett was born. The family shortly afterward removed to Indiana and settled in Vermillion county, near Perrysville, on the Wabash river. Here Abraham Burgett followed the occupations of cooper and farmer. He died in 1840. leaving Eve children.
Isaac W. Burgett was born June 18, 1829.
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When the family removed to Douglas county they settled near the mouth of Brushy Fork. He went to school in the Sargent neighborhood and in the vicinity of Newman. On coming
to Douglas county hi's mother remed land, and when a mere boy he had charge of the farm and with a younger brother performed nearly all the labor. This continued until his mother's second marriage. In the summer he worked at home and in the winter went to school. When about eighteen years of age hie started out for himself and worked on a farm for from eight to ten dollars a month. Two or three years were spent in this way.
December 28, 1848, he was married to Telitha Howard, a native of Jackson, Ohio, whose parents had emigrated to Vermillion county, Indiana, and then to Douglas county, Illinois. At this time his capital consisted of twenty-five dollars in money and one horse, and on this he rented land on Brushy Fork and began farming, renting land for two years. Hle afterward bought, on credit, twenty acres
of timber and entered eighty acres on which he moved in the spring of 1853, and at the time of his death owned over one thousand and six hundred acres of land. He became not only prominent in farming, but also an extensive dealer in live stock. Mr. and Mrs. Burgett had eleven children : William B., Margery A., John Wesley. Hezekiah W., Eliza Ellen, Sarah Elizabeth, Scott. Wilson S., Maud L., Carl S. and Thomas P'.
WILLIAM H. NEWPORT.
William H. Newport. of the neighborhood of West Ridge, and one of the most successful farmers in Douglas county, was born in Tus- carawas county, Ohio, February 9, 1840, a son
of John and Susanna ( Rensberger) Newport, natives of Ohio. He has resided on his farm of several hundred acres for thirteen years,
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and while he has always been a tenant he has been most successful.
In 1802 he was married to Miss Fannie Mishler, who was born in Tuscaraivas county. Ohio. To their marriage have been born five children, Charley. Israel. Eli. Otis and Grover Newport. Mr. Newport is a member of the 1. O. O. F. fraternity, and is now serving as one of the road commissioners of his town- ship. He is liberal and benevolent toward all enterprises for the betterment of the commun- ity in which he lives.
ROBERT M. BLACK.
Robert M. Black. the subject of this memoir. came from an ancestry of more than ordinary importance and prominence.
His great-grandfather, with his family. re- moved from Scotland and settled in Virginia some years before the Revolutionary war, passed through the terrors and excitement caused by the traitor Arnold in portions of Vir- ginia. volunteered, though far past the age of liability, for military service, and was one of the soldiers, who. under Lafayette and Gen. Wayne. turned and drove back Lord Cornwal- lis. He was intimately acquainted with La- fayette. Gen. Wayne and Gen. Lord Sterling. who were frequent guests at his house. 1lis youngest son, George Black, the grandfather of our subject, was born on the 8th of July. 1707. He was nine years old when the Declaration of Independence was issued. He was a son of the Revolution and saw and caught the spirit of most of the stirring scenes of that eventful
period. George Black, with his family. re- moved from Virginia and settled in Kentucky, some time before the war of 1812. Ile became a soldier of this war in a regiment of mounted rifleman and rendered important service under the command of Gen. Harrison.
With such an ancestry, whose character and qualities he reproduced and reflected. together
with his own individual traits, we may under- stand the life of Robert M. Black, who was the ninth in a family of thirteen children born to Andrew and Margaret ( Lockridge ) Black. Andrew Black and his family left their home in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, and went to Green- castle. Indiana, in 1850. The life of Robert M. Black dates from December 13. 1845. to June 11. 1899. a period of fifty-three years of great activity and success. His Scotch blood. fired with the spirit of the Revolution, produced a fine type of American patriot and citizen. In his boyhood days the future man already ap- peared. Obedient to parents, kind in disposi- tion, solicitous about the welfare and happiness
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of his brothers and sisters, and loyal and un- selfish toward his playmates, he early developed into a true man, who was willing and anxious to contribute his part to the world's progress as a man and citizen. At the age of sixteen he enlisted in the Seventy-eighth Indiana Regi- ment and in his first battle, at Union City, Ken- tucky, was wounded in the knee in the midst of a display of uncommon bravery. Yet his bravery probably saved his life, since, while he was facing the enemy alone, his company being in full retreat, the rebel commander ordered his men "not to shoot so brave a boy." Thus early in life, under the most trying circumstances, appeared those sterling qualities which made him prominent throughout his entire life and endeared him with peculiar strength to his comrades, friends and acquaintances. The wound received shortly after his enlistment greatly hindered him the rest of his days, but was borne with the same cheerful bravery with which it was received.
In 1873 he was married to Miss Mary Hutchings, who lived but two years afterward. In 1889 he married Miss Laura Moore, whom, with their four children, he left at his death well provided for. He was engaged in farming and stock business, which took him out over the country and into the neighboring states and caused him to handle a vast amount of money. His business brought him in contact with men, and, on account of his fair dealings and sturdy sociability. he made many friends and exerted a great influence. He was interested in poli- tics and was a stanch Republican. In religion he was a Presbyterian, was for many years a member of the church, and as a father care- fully brought up his children. His religion was not too sacred to be used in every-day affairs
and it was the real foundation of his many ex- cellent qualities shown in touch with his fel- low men. His loyalty to his friends knew no bounds. Every true man found in him a worthy and constant companion, and friend- ships, formed upon manly qualities, were never broken. Ilis large heart found pleasure in re- sponding, in a substantial way, to the poor or those in temporary distress. To help others was a real pleasure to him, and being interested in those battling with adversity he was inter- ested in all. He was progressive and public spirited. and in no sense lived for himself alone. Cheerfulness was his constant com- panion and it never forsook him, although all others were gloomy. He had a source of ra- diance and sunshine that seemed denied to many of his fellows. Some four years before his demise he moved to this county on a large tarm four miles north of Oakland City, and be- ing a careful business man he made money and friends in his new home, and he and his family were soon holding a large place in the affections and good-will of the entire commun- ity. A community may with pardonable pride record the name of so true and noble-hearted a citizen in its county history.
C. D. GREVE.
C. D. Greve, one of the successful young business men of the county and the leading grain buyer at Garrett, was born one mile west of the village September 27. 1868, and is a son of Thomas Greve, who emigrated to this country from Germany at the age of twenty-
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one and settled in Garrett township. His wife a thorough business man, enterprising, and was Catherine Ritz. Thomas Greve has lived promises to become one of Garrett's most useful citizens. in Garrett township for forty years, engaged in farming, and at present owns four hundred
ISAAC SKINNER.
Isaac Skinner was born in Vermillion com- ty. Indiana. January 5. 1829, and is a son of Joseph Skinner, who was among the earliest settlers in the neighborhood of Newman. com- ing. in 1839. from Vermillion county, Indiana. and settling along the timber a mile and a half southwest of where Newman now is. There were no schools in the vicinity when he first came to the county. He worked for his father until of age and then engaged in farming on rented land. In about 1853 he had saved money enough to enter one hundred and sixty acres of land. His mother, whose maiden
and fifty acres of land. Both he and his wife are members of the Evangelical church.
C. D. Greve was reared on a farm, and after leaving the common schools spent two years in the Valparaiso ( Indiana ) Normal. After leaving school he engaged in the hardware and implement business and continued in the same for seven years. In 1898 and 1899 he was elected assessor.
In March. 1894, Mr. Greve was married to Miss Katie Frahm, a daughter of Jacob Frahm. They have four children: Victor. Hilda, Roy and Paulina. Mr. Greve is one of the charter members of the Knights of Pythias lodge that was recently organized at Garrett. He owns nine acres of land in the corporate limits of name was Polly Gaston, was a daughter of Garrett, and also a very fine home in the vil- Thomas Gaston, who lived in Meigs county. lage, besides some other town property. He is Ohio, and probably was a native of Canada.
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His father, Joseph, was born in Maine. His grandmother, Sarah Gaston, was born on the St. Lawrence river, while her parents were held captives by the Indians.
Isaac Skinner was reared on a farm and re- ceived the limited school advantages that were common in that day. He was first a Whig and since the birth of the Republican party has been identified with that organization. He has been three times married. First, in February, 1859. he married Miss Mahala Drake, who died in 1865. His second wife was Mrs. Mary Hill, whose maiden name was Lewis; her death oc- curred in 1869. His third wife was Mrs. Catherine Barnes, whose maiden name was Bell. He has five children, one, Robert, born of the first union, and four. Katie, Margaret, Elvin and Arthur, by the last marriage. Mr. Skinner owns three hundred and twenty acres of land adjoining the city of Newman, and has about retired from active business pursuits. He joined the Methodist church in 1858. As a christian gentleman and public-spirited citi- zen, Mr. Skinner has an enviable record, one upon which he and his friends can look with pride and satisfaction.
ALEXANDER HANCE.
Alexander Hance, who is one of the ideal farmers of Douglas county, came to Newman township in 1871 and engaged as an ordinary farm hand, at which he continued for some seven or eight years. His career is a fine ex- ample of what a man can do with a determined purpose in life. From the ordinary walks of
life he has gradually risen to the front rank as a farmer, stock-raiser and a business man.
Mr. Hance was born in Washington coun- ty, Tennessee, February 19, 1850, and there he remained until he came to Douglas county. He purchased his first land of three hundred and twenty acres in 1880, paying thirty dollars per acre for it, and has since added one hundred and sixty acres. lle is a son of Mordecai and
Millie ( Lackey) Hance, who were born re- spectively in North Carolina and east Tennes- see. His father, who resided at Tompkins- ville, Kentucky, volunteered in 1861 in the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, and remained out tin- til the close of the war. He was with Sherman mostly, and was with him from Atlanta to the sea. He was a son of Samuel Hance, who was born in England. Alexander Lackey was Mr. Hance's maternal grandfather. Alexander Hance carries on farming on a very extensive scale and feeds regularly about one or two hun- dred head of cattle.
In 1874 our subject was united in marriage
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to Miss Nancy, a daughter of John H. Biggs, who came to north Newman township from Edgar county in about 1855. His wife died in 1895. To them were born seven children : Bur- nette, Robert, Myrtle, Jay and Joseph, living : and Glenn and an infant, deceased. ITis sec- ond and present wife was Miss Generva, a daughter of W. 11. Holton, of near Jefferson- ville, Indiana. Two children have blessed this union : Leon and Leonard. Mr. Hance has served as commissioner of highways and has been a ruling elder of the Cumberland Preshy. terian church, at Fairfield, since 1872.
JOSEPH ASHURST.
Joseph Ashurst, principal and superintend- ent of the Camargo public schools and present nominee of the Democratic party for the office of county superintendent of schools, has been a leading educator in the county for several years. He was born in Somerset, Pulaski coun . ty. Kentucky. April 16, 1872, and is a son of Henry Clay and Elizabeth ( Thurman ) .As- hurst, who were both born in Pulaski county, Kentucky. llis grandfathers, Henry Ashurst and Joseph Thurman, were natives of Vir- ginia and early settlers in Pulaski county, where they were engaged in agricultural pur- suits. His father, Henry C. Ashurst, was one time sheriff of his native county.
Joseph Ashurst attended the common school and afterward the high school, and is largely self educated. In Douglas county he stands at the very front rank as a successful educator
and teaches in his schools at Camargo, beside the common branches, botany, philosophy, zoology and algebra. Prior to his coming to Camargo, which was in September, 1899, he re- sided at Arthur, where he located in 1890 and taught school in the country and subsequently was grammar teacher in the Arthur schools, which position he resigned to accept his present one. In 1894 he was united in marriage to Miss Lucy B., a daughter of Henry C. Wood.
a retired farmer, of Arthur, but formerly of Moultrie county. Mr. Wood was born near Vincennes, Indiana, in 1845, and is a son of Eli Wood, who was an early settler in Knox county, migrating from North Carolina. He was a soldier in Company F. Eighteenth In- fantry, and served until the close of the war. llis wife was Miss Ann Shultz, of Piatt county.
Joseph Ashurst, because of his high merit as an educator and general popularity as a gentleman, was chosen by the Democratic
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL.
party to make the race for county superintend- ent in the next election, and it is conceded that lie has most excellent chances of being elected. He owns eighty-five acres of land just south of Arcola; is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities and of the Woodmen. He has been retained in the Camargo schools for another year at quite a good increase in salary. thereby showing to the people of Camargo and Douglas county that his work is appreci- ated. Although the majority in the fall elec- tion is against him he has a better show for election than any other candidate that the Den- ocratic party has put out in several years.
GEORGE H. MOSER.
George II. Moser, a well known and suc- cessful homeopathic physician of Arcola, was born in Auburn, Schuylkill county, Pennsyl- vania, December 19, 1859, and is the son of John Moser, a native of the same state. His mother was Alvinia Hellig, who was a de- scendant of Quaker ancestry. The Moser fam- ily are descendants of the Dutch, whose lineage is traced back by some of the members to Daniel Moser, who made his settlement in Pennsylvania in the year 1799.
Doctor Moser came west and early in life turned his attention to the study of medicine. After a thorough preparation he entered the Homeopathic Medical College of Missouri, at St. Louis, which is one of the leading medical institutions of the west, and was graduated with distinguished honors in the class of 1889- 16
90. He immediately entered upon the practice of his profession at Belleville, Illinois, where he remained in active practice for two years. Then he removed to Bond county, where he was located until 1895. when, on the 12th of October, in the same year, he came to Arcola. He came here with a fixed purpose of making Arcola and vicinity his field of work, and time has proven that he has made no mistake in his location. He almost immediately got into a paying practice, and within the last year he has all the business that he could possibly attend to.
Dr. Moser is a splendid judge of human nature, a close observer and skilled in the diag- nosis of his patients. Affable and approach- able, he has within a very short time made a host of substantial friends. On December 10. 1881. he was united in marriage and has three children: Lola, Viola and Hattie.
J. A. McGOWN.
J. A. McGown, a most successful business man and a typical farmer residing in New- man township, was born in Edgar county, Illi- nois, March 30. 1832, and is a son of John and Olive Blackman, who were natives of Ken- tucky and New York respectively. His father emigrated to Edgar county, where he resided up to his death, which occurred April 18. 1882 His mother died in 1892.
J. A. McGown was reared to manhood on a farm in his native county and in about 1875 located in Newman township, where he now re- sides. He owns four hundred and seventy -
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