USA > Illinois > Douglas County > Historical and biographical record of Douglas County, Illinois > Part 31
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Mr. Henson was about fifteen years old when he arrived in Douglas county. He has always been engaged in farming and at present owns a beautiful farm of two hundred and eighty acres, part of which is in Douglas county and part in Cham- paign. In 1853 he was united in mar- riage to Miss Nancy E. Williams, who was a native of Vermilion county, Illinois, and a daughter of Elijah Williams, an early settler in Vermilion county. Mrs. Henson was born
in 1830 and died in 1893. Of this marriage there are seven children living: Franklin, who resides just across the road from his father ; Mantie, who is the wife of Dr. E. S. Smith, of Urbana; Lula, wife of Charles Amimon, of Carthage, Missouri; Ward, who resides east of Villa Grove on a farm; Burt, deceased ; Flora, at home, and Kitty B., wife of S. W. Love, of Urbana, editor of the Daily Courier. Mr. Henson is a consistent member of tlie Methodist Episcopal church at Villa Grove, in the affairs of which he takes an active in- terest.
COLEMAN BRIGHT.
Coleman Bright came to Douglas county in 1850 and engaged in retail merchandising, and in about 1860 removed to Tuscola and re- mained a member of the firm of Bright & Jones until his death on July 20. 1881.
W. AVERY HOWARD.
W. Avery Howard, who has recently be- come a partner in the broom corn business with W. H. Hancock, is a native of Fultonville, New York, and was born February 26, 1846. His early years were spent at Fort Hunter and later he engaged in the manufacture of brooms here with his uncle, E. Howard. In 1888 W. A. Howard withdrew and associated himself with Henry Herrick, of Amsterdam, New York, and acted in the capacity of super-
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intendent of factory and broom corn pur- chaser. In 1804 he went to St. Louis and for three years superintended the broom corn business for Cupple's Wood and Willowware Company, the largest in the worldl. In August, 1808. he located in Tuscola and engaged in the broom corn brokerage business.
Ile is a son of Silas and Julia A. ( Avery ) Howard. In 1872 he was wedded to Miss Emma .A. Howe, a daughter of Allen M. Ilowe, who resides in the town of Florida. Montgomery county. New York. Mr. How- ard is a man of culture and education and the city of Tuscola has gained in him a represen- tative citizen and a thorough student in busi- ness affairs.
N. S. MONROE.
N. S. Monroe, of Arthur, and the well- known road-machine manufacturer, is a native of Shelby county. Indiana, having been born eight miles from Shelbyville, the county seat. January 8. 1851. His parents were Andrew J. and Julia Ann ( Huffman ) Monroe, who were also natives of Shelby county. Indiana. His father was a farmer and came to Illinois in 1856 and settled in Richland county, thence in 1866 to Coles county, and three years ago moved to Arcola, where he is living aretired life. N. S. Monroe's grandfathers, Samuel Monroe and Jacob Huffman, were both Virginians by birth and were pioneer settlers in Shelby county. Indiana. His grandfather Monroe resided in Shelbyville sixty years. John Raynes (mater- nal great-grandfather ) was born in Maine. John Monroe ( paternal great-grandfather ) was born
in Virginia and was engaged in the Methodist ministry for about sixty years, living to be ninety-six years old ; he also had several broth- ers who were preachers in the Methodist church. N. S. Monroe grew upon the farm and received only a common-school education. lle removed to Douglas county and in 1876 he located on a farm in Bourbon township, where he continued to farm up till 1896. The farm upon which he resided he still owns; it contains three hundred and seventeen acres.
In 1876 Mr. Monroe was married to Miss Martha A. Leggett, who was born in Terre Haute. Seven children have blessed their union : Charles W .. Andrew J., Margaret M .. George W .. Julia E., Ora B. and Alice J. He is a member of the Methodist church and the Masonic fraternity. In 1894 he founded his present road-machine manufactory at Arthur, and it promises to be one of the leading in- dustries of its kind in the country. His build- ing is 132x35 feet in size. The advantages of the Monroe road-machine when working on a pike are that you do not have to put one horse in the ditch while cutting off a shoulder. as the bars extend out so that the team and machine can travel on the road. The fact that the Mon- roe road-machine will do so much more work than other machines with the same power lies simply in the construction of the machine. The 1 ars acting against each other there is no wide draft and no power lost, and the machine will not slide into the ditch. The bars work in- dependently of the upward and downward ac- tion of the frame caused by the unevenness of the road.
Under date of February 23, 1900, the Ar- thur Graphic copies from the Southern Re- view of Commerce, of Louisville, Kentucky,
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dated February 7, 1900, the following: "As the Review, which is to give credit where credit a result we find that 'The Monroe Road Ma- is due in every investigation that we make for our readers, whose interests alone we seek to serve. The Monroe system of road work should be given careful investigation as it should be adopted to obtain the best results when the machine is used." chine.' a product of N. S. Monroe, Arthur, Illinois, who is the patentee and manufacturer of this machine, is the best on the market. In an editorial like this it is impossible to give all the details of our recent investigation of this subject, but we wish to state that the above named machine is vastly superior to all other makes because it is made of the best material regardless of cost ; it is constructed strictly on scientific and mechanical principles; is strong and durable and every machine sold by Mr. JACOB MOORE. Monroe is fully guaranteed.
"This machine scrapes ten to twenty feet at a time, leaving a perfectly smooth road and one free from all ridges. It is a practical road ma- chine for successful work on either dirt or gravel roads, and those who have used it pro- nounce 'The Monroe Road Machine' the finest that is on the market, while practical mechanics say it is the acme of perfection in this line of invention, and that any man of ordinary judg- mient can operate it with ease and safety and perform perfect work with it. Its efficiency, durability, simplicity and the cheap price at which it is put on the market certainly recom- mend this machine to all who desire to secure perfect roads.
"We advise our inquirers, or all interested readers, to write Mr. Monroe direct for further and detailed information. He is a gentleman well known for his business tact and enter- prise, his commercial rating is of the highest order and all parties dealing with him can rest assured that he will make good every repre- sentation that he may make.
"This unsolicited editorial endorsement is made in strict accordance with the policy of
Jacob Moore, the pioneer of the family of Moores in the county, was a native of Ken- tucky. His wife, Amanda Rice, was also born in Kentucky. They came to Douglas county in the spring of 1834. In the same year he purchased from Sigler Lester forty acres of land. and afterward added about two thousand more. He died in 1860, and his wife in 1863. They had ten children: the eldest of whom, William T. Moore, was born in Park county, Indiana, September 5, 1830.
ALVY J. PARKE.
Alvy J. Parke is one of the hustling, go- ahead. young business men of the county, lo- cated at Hindsboro, engaged in the grain and implement business, was born on a farm in Sargent township March 11, 1876, and is a son of B. F. and Harriet (Wierman) Parke. Both of his parents were born in Champaign county, are living, and for the past year resided
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in Shelby county. Tennessee. Mr. Parke was reared to manhood on the farm and received his education in the high school of Oakland. In 1897 he married Miss Myrtle Lewis.
A. J. Parke started up in his present busi- ness in November, 1898. and is doing an im- mense business solely on his own account. Last year he bought in the neighborhood of eighty thousand bushels of corn. besides other grain. and finds a market at Terre Haute, Indiana. He has just completed a building 32x60 feet. and has it filled with the best grade of the Co- lumbus, Ohio, buggies, the celebrated Mitchell wagon and farm machinery of all descriptions. Mr. Parke's future in the business world seems unusually bright, and his characteristic push and his reputation for square dealing will un- doubtedly bring him just results.
JESSE R. BEGGS.
Jesse R. Beggs, president of the First Na- tional Bank of Arcola, doubtless enjoys the distinction of being the youngest national bank president in the state. He has occupied this im- portant position since the death of his father, whom he succeeded in February. 1895. He was born in Arcola, August 19, 1868, and was edu- cated in the public schools of the village. Ilis father, James Beggs, was born in Clark county, near Charlestown, the old county seat. He came to Arcola in 1858, where he followed a most successful business career up to the time of his death. His wife was Amanda Brentlinger, who was also born in the same town. On the or- ganization of the bank, in 1874, he was chosen
its first president, though he had had banking experience since 1866. The present capital of the bank is fifty thousand dollars, with a sur- plus of ten thousand dollars, and one hundred and twenty thousand dollars average deposits. Under its present management it is doing a flourishing business, and is one of the most sub- stantial banking houses in central Illinois.
In 1892 our subject was married to Miss Florence M. McMillan, of Arcola. Mr. Beggs has many substantial and devoted friends and no young man is more favorably known throughout the county than he.
MARION WATSON.
Marion Watson, of Arthur, after reading law under the instruction of William H. Whit- taker, of Sullivan, was admitted to practice law before the supreme court of the state in 1896. He was born on a farm near Bloom- field. Greene county, Indiana, October 29, 1864. His education was received in the common schools, and he afterward attended a short term at the normal at Danville, Indiana. He remained on the farm in his native county until 1883, when he came to Illinois, locating in Douglas county, and spent two seasons as a common work hand on the farm, working one winter during this time for his board and attending school. Subsequently he taught school for six years in the county. In 1892 Mr. Watson succeeded W. H. H. Reeder in the insurance and real estate business, since which time he has been very success- fully engaged in this business in connection
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with his law practice. He has a most complete law library, and one as varied as those gen- erally found in cities.
On September 5, 1892, he was united in marriage with Miss Ivy J., daughter of James and Belle Gamron, of Edgar county, Illinois. They have four children : Esther Marie, Ralph Waldo, Gladys and Grace.
Marion Watson is the son of Dale and Quintilla (Payne) Watson, who were prob- ably born in Virginia. Dale came to Indiana with his father, John Watson, and they were among the early settlers of Greene county. His maternal grandfather, William Fayne, was a native of North Carolina.
Mr. Watson has served one term as pres- ident of the village board of Arthur ; served a part of a term as justice of the peace, oud one term as assessor of Bourbon township, and is a member and trustee of the Baptist church. Mr. Watson has fought his own way to the front over many obstacles, and occupies at present an enviable and honorable position among his professional brethren of the county, having the confidence of the entire community in which he lives. In political opinion he is a stanch believer in the tenets and principles of the regular Democracy as laid down in the Chi- cago platform of 1896.
SAMUEL W. SMILEY.
Samuel W. Smiley, grain buyer at West Ridge, and member of the firm of Smiley & Watson (B. T. Watson, of Bourbon), is one of the wide-awake and energetic business men of
the county. He came to Douglas county in 1889, and located in Bourbon township, where he was engaged in business. Subsequently he and B. T. Watson formed their partnership. and Mr. Smiley located at West Ridge. This firm bought at this place from July I to No- vember 10. 1899 130,000 bushels of corn and oats.
Samuel W. Smiley was born at Greencastle, Indiana, February 11, 1855, and is the son of Jonathan and Mary (Warner) Smiley. They are both dead. Mr. Smiley's parents removed from Greencastle to Stanford, Kentucky, where he was principally reared and educated. In 1876 lie was married to Miss Elizabeth Hester Has- barger, and six children have been born to their marriage. Mr. Smiley's grandfather, Jona- than Smiley, was a native Virginian ; his ma- ternal grandfather was Samuel Warner. Mr. Smiley is postmaster at West Ridge, owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Camargo township, and is rapidly coming to the front as one of Douglas county's most successful business men.
WILLIAM E. ATWELL.
William E. Atwell was born in Bracken county, Kentucky, in the year A. D. 1831, and there grew to man's estate, when he moved to a farm in Pendleton county in the same state. He wedded Miss Nancy Barrett, of near Cynthiana. She died in June, 1897. They had twelve children, all of whom are living and doing well in the world. Mr. Atwell is a son of William and Ursla ( Fields) Atwell, who were natives of old Virginia. His grand-
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fathers were Hugh Atwell and Leban Fickls. the former born in Virginia and the latter in North Carolina. Mr. Atwell, who is a warm hearted gentleman. for which his state is noted, has for several years made his home with one of his daughters, Mrs. Elizabeth M. Wyeth, in her beautiful country seat in Gar- rett township.
CHARLES A. HAWKINS.
Charles . \. Hawkins, the present gentleman- ly county clerk, was born in Pickaway county. Ohio, May 25. 1860, and is a son of William and Sarah ( Hard) Hawkins, natives of the same state. His father died in 1866. Mr. Hawkins was principally educated at Dan- ville, Indiana, and spent two and a half years teaching. He served his township ( Newman) as tax collector and supervisor, and in Novem- ber. 1898, was elected county clerk.
On October 7. 1884, Mr. Hawkins mar- ried Louisa J. Curtis, of Newman, and they have four children : Claude A., Opal B., Pearl L. and Jay M .. Our subject is a Mason and a Knight of Pythias and is active in Republican politics.
ALEXANDER McNEILL.
Alexander McNeill, farmer, was a son of Alexander and Nancy ( Montgomery) Mc- Neill, and was born in Ireland March 10. 1808. The first twenty-six years of his life he spent in his native land. In 1834 he emigrated to
America, landing in Philadelphia. Thence, two months later. went to Paris, Bourbon coun . ty. Kentucky, where, upon letters of introduc- tion from his uncles in the old country, he ob- tained a situation as clerk in a cotton establish- ment. After a year he accepted a position as clerk in a dry goods store at Owensville, Bath county, Kentucky, where he remained six years, then sold goods on his own account in the same town, having been saving and diligent during his seven years' clerkship, which enabled him to engage in business for himself. Owing to ill health, after about four years in mercantile pursuits, he bought a large farm in Bath coun- ty. Kentucky, and began farming, which has been his principal pursuit since. It is proper to here note the causes which induced his re- moval from Kentucky to Illinois. Soon after coming to America he became a Whig, then a Republican and the breaking out of the Civil war found him a Union man. Bath county, his home, was the constant scene of guerrilla war- fare, and men like Mr. McNeill lived in a state of constant jeopardy. In 1863 his home was invaded by a party of fifteen men, whose en- mity Mr. McNeill had incurred by his out- spoken, patriotic sentiments. The inmates were overpowered, Mr. McNeill shot three times in different parts of the body and left for dead. His wife was shot once through the feet. and the child in the nurse's arms had a bullet sent through its clothing. In conse- quence of this and the intoleration of free speech. in 1864 he sold his farm of five hun- dred and sixty-six acres and came to Douglas county and located on the large farm where he afterward resided, then little developed, but later finely improved, with large two-story resi- dence and surrounding adornments. January
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30, 1844, he married Miss Minerva Iles, of Bath county, Kentucky, an intelligent Chris- tian lady, to whose encouragement and frugal- ity Mr. McNeill largely attributed his success. Mr. and Mrs. McNeill were members of the Methodist church, and had the confidence and esteem of all who knew them.
KIMBALL GLASSCO.
Kimball Glassco was born November 19, 1819, in Hardin county, Kentucky, three miles from the birthplace of Lincoln. His fa- ther, Enoch Glassco, a farmer, moved to Coles county, Illinois, in 1828, and there died in 1835 ; his wife was Rachel Carlton. The fam- ily of Enoch Glassco was the sixth that set- tled in Coles county, and located there while yet the Indians were quite numerous and wolves present by the thousand, and to reach a mill they had to go twenty-eight miles. Kimball Glassco had no school advantages for four years after coming to Illinois; then, with but few books, such as could be borrowed, he at- tended a subscription school and hoed corn to pay tuition. His clothing was one pair of shoes a year, made out of home-tanned leather, buckskin pants and linsey shirt. When Kim- ball was sixteen years old his father died; then he worked out by the month for three years to support the family, he being the eldest son at home. Ile then learned brickmaking and plastering, worked at contracting and building seventeen years in Charleston, then went into mercantile business in Charleston for four years, then went to farming, owning one thou-
sand acres of land. In 1862 he moved to Greencastle, Indiana, to educate his children. His sons enlisting in the war of 1865, he re- turned to Douglas county. Illinois, and again engaged in farming. He was married Febru- ary 1. 1844, to Margaret Reat; she died De- cember 26, 1880. His second wife was Hester Richards, formerly Hester Reat. sister of his first wife. Mr. Glassco was well acquainted with the Lincoln family, and often went to the grist mill belonging to Tom Lincoln, the father of Abe. He knew Abe from the time he was three years old and sat on juries in cases Lin- coln was trying. Although Mr. Glassco was a life-long Democrat, he always voted for Lin- coln when that lamented martyr was a candi- date for office.
JOHN N. OUTCELT.
John N. Ontcelt was born March 4, 1839. in Muskingum county, Ohio, his father, John, being a farmer and a native of Pennsylvania. His grandfather. Jacob Outcelt, came to the United States from Scotland and settled in Bedford county. Pennsylvania. His mother was Mary McClain, of Bedford county, in the same state. He was the youngest child, and at sixteen left home, came to Ilinois and for two years sold lightning rods and saved his earnings, with which he paid tuition and other expenses in attending school one year in St. Louis. Up to the time of leaving home he had constantly attended school. After leaving the St. Louis school he sold tombstones for a St. Louis firm for three years, then worked
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on a farm on Fort Harrison prairie, north of he remained three years. In 1897 he married Terre Haute, for a short time and in July, 1861, Miss Conchita Kelley, of the state of Chi- huahua, Mexico. They have two lovely ba- bies: Helen and Blanche. Jimmie and his family live happily in their beautiful home, which constitutes a part of the okl homestead. came to Douglas county. In February, 1862, he went to St. Louis, enlisted in Company I, First Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and in 1864 veteranized. Five months after veteranizing he went into Company F. Thirteenth Missouri Cavalry, and in December, 1864, was promoted to a lieutenancy and assigned to Company L, same regiment. After the surrender of Lee Mr. Outcelt went on an Indian campaign into THOMAS S. WYATT. Colorado and New Mexico. He received his final discharge from the service in June, 1866. At the battle at Independence, Missouri, he, with four companions, unexpectedly ran on to a masked battery of three cannons and eight or ten confederate soldiers, which they suc- ceeded in capturing, being immediately re-en- forced. For this service he was promoted. At the close of the war he returned to Douglas county and farmed three years. He then was appointed deputy county clerk, which position he held up to 1880, and was then appointed clerk for a term of four years. He was former- ly a Democrat, but at the fall of Fort Sumter became a Republican. He was a Mason and a member of the Christian church.
JAMES R. HAMMETT.
James R. Hammett, named for his father, whose full history and plate is on another page, was born in Camargo township, Donglas county, Illinois, December 26, A. D. 1870. Hle was principally educated in the North- western University at Evanston, Illinois, where
Thomas S. Wyatt, ex-sheriff of Douglas county, was born in Todd county, Kentucky, January 13, 1838. His father, Needham Wyatt, a blacksmith, was born in Tennessee. Thomas Wyatt, the father of Needham, was born in North Carolina ; was a Revolutionary soldier, and was at the surrender of Lord Corn . wallis. The mother of Thomas S. Wyatt was Mrs. Martha A. ( Mann) Wyatt, sister of Rev. William W. Mann, a prominent member of the Methodist church of Kentucky. Thomas S. Wyatt's early life was spent in his father's blacksmith shop. He received but ten months' schooling, yet became a fair scholar through studions habits. At the age of nineteen years he began business for himself as a carpenter, which trade he followed for two years in Muhlenburg county, Kentucky; he next fol- lowed farming; then, in 1865, came to this county and built a blacksmith shop seven miles northeast of Camargo, which he conducted 1In- til 1880, when he was elected sheriff. In 1882 he was re-elected by a majority of six hundred and forty. He had previously, while engaged in his trade, been a justice of the peace for nine years. In youth he united with the Methodist church; has been a class leader and Sunday
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school superintendent, and was licensed as a from Culpeper county, Virginia, to Indiana in preacher in 1875, since when he has preached often. He organized a society in Jordan school- house, Camargo township, which society after- ward built a large church, wherein he preached his first sermon. He is a Mason and a Repub- lican, and voted for Abraham Lincoln in Ken- tucky. December 30, 1857, he married Cas- cinda Smith, of Muhlenburg county, Ken- tucky.
JAMES H. HOWE.
James H. Howe was born June 1, 1832, in Bourbon county, Kentucky. April 5, 1838, he came with his mother to Vermilion county, Illinois ; he was reared and educated in Ver- milion and Champaign counties. In his youth- ful days he traveled considerably, and, in 1854, came to Douglas county ; two years later he bought the Williams farm, which he improved and afterward sold. He was largely engaged in the live stock business, handling as high as one hundred thousand dollars in a year. In the spring of 1882 he was elected justice of the peace and was also highway commissioner. He was married in 1857 to Eliza J. Lester, who was born in Garrett township.
JOIIN C. BARNES.
John C. Barnes, physician and lumber deal- er, was born in Jefferson county, Indiana, Sep- tember 27, 1835. His grandfather, John, came
1800. McGannon Barnes, father of John C., was born in Jefferson county, while his wife, Rebecca Fouts, was a native of Clark county, Indiana. John C. Barnes was the eldest in a family of ten children ; he was given a thorough educational training, attending first the com- mon schools, then Hanover Academy in Jeffer- son county, Indiana, and in 1855 graduated from Scott's Commercial College, Indianapolis. At twenty years of age he began for himself, clerking in a store and post office at Hanover four years. April 24, 1860, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Coombs. After marriage he took a course of lectures at the Eclectic Medical In- stitute, Cincinnati. In 1866 he came to Doug- las county, first landing at the present site of Hindsboro, then a waste prairie, but went direct to Coles county ; after a year there he bought a farm three miles west of Hindsboro, which he improved and superintended in con- nection with his practice of medicine until 1883. when he sold out, came to Hindsboro and en- gaged in keeping a lumber yard in connection with his practice. He is a member of the Ma -. sonic lodge, of Arcola, and Odd Fellows lodge. No. 571, of Hindsboro. Politically, he is a Democrat and in 1882 was candidate for Con- gress on the Greenback ticket : he was a mem- ber of the convention at Indianapolis that noul- inated Benjamin F. Butler for president in 1884. He stands high socially and is one in whose opinions the community has great con- fidence. His charity and generosity are marked traits of his character. Mrs. Barnes was born and reared in Clark county, Indiana, and is a daughter of Absalom and Nancy Bower. Her grandfather, Adam, was born on the ocean while his parents were enroute for America from
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