USA > Illinois > Schuyler County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Volume 2 > Part 102
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102
By 1870 the fortunes of Mr. Wilson had as- sumed such substantial proportions that, recog- nizing the need of a conservative banking es- tablishment, in conjunction with James G. Me- Greery, he established the Farmers and Mer- chants Bank of Rushville, which continued un- til 1874, when the business was closed and all accounts paid in full. When the Bank of Schuy- ler County was established in 1890. Mr. Wilson became one of the largest stock-holders and first President, serving until his death in 1SOS.
While merchandising and banking consumed the business energy of Mr. Wilson. he was no less active and influential in church and social matters. He was one of the pillars of the Methodist Church, was a constant attendant and contributed generously of his means to the advancement of church interests. He was a get- erous and public-spirited citizen, and many who were once downeast and discouraged owe their start in life to his sympathy and practical as- sistance. His home was one of the hospitable places in the county, and the friends who visited it and partook of the bounty of the merchant and his whole-souled wife, were legion. Having suf- ficent of this world's goods, no one ever went from his door emptyhanded. There were few local enterprises of a worthy nature which did not, in some way, profit by his connection. and the names of those he helped in his capacity as a
merchant are unnumbered. He was liberal with his credit, and lenient with belated debtors, and his patrons, who were temporarily in hard luck. were sure of at least the necessities of life.
The three children now living of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are: Ama Jane, the wife of James P. Clark. a retired merchant of Springfield ; John (., who is a large land-owner and lives on a farm adjoining Rushville on the cast; and Amelia, the wite of John L. Sweeney, present owner of the dry-goods establishment founded by Mr. Wilson in 1537, and which is still operated under the firm name of Wilson & Company. Eleanor. a gifted and beautiful daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, after completing her education at Monticello Female Seminary, at Godfrey, Ill., re- turned to her home, was taken ill with a baffling disease, and died at the early age of twenty- two. She had been the joy and sunshine of the household. a student of the highest standing at Monticello, and was greatly beloved for her gen- tleness of disposition and sweetness of character. Sarah E., the deceased wife of H. B. Graff, prissed away in 1882, leaving a family of four children, two of whom are now living: Wilbur W .. a mining engineer, of Ishpeming, Mich .. and John C., a partner of Graff & Co., Grain Mer- chants at Rushville, III.
Of this pioncer merchant' of Rushville, 100 much cannot be said in recognition of his noble and generous character. or of the incal- culable benefit to Inananity and the community conferred by his life and work. Sufficient that he left a fragrant and helpful memory, and that his name is enshrined among the real work- ers and the true men of the city of Rushville.
YARBROUGH, James .- The rise from obscurity to wealth and influence of James Yarbrough is represented by the extremes of chopping wood and rafting by the day, and owning, through individual effort and good judgment, 553 acres of splendid land in Schuyler County, Ill., located on Sections 24. 35 and 26. Camden Township, and Section 13. Buena Vista Township. The experiences of this well known and highly hon- ored farmer have been diversified in the extreme. and to say that he has profited by them all is to attribute to him that ambition and resource- fulness which have been the guiding elements of his career. A resident of Selmyler County for the past thirty-four years, Mr. Yarbrough's earliest impressions were received in Trimble County. Ky., where he was born September 7, 1842, and of which his parents, James and Mary (Melike) Yarbrough, were also natives. James Yarbrough. Sr., was born in Kentucky. March 16, 1804. the son of William Yarbrough, also a native of that State and member of a pioneer family. Ile went to Missouri with his son. James (I.) and entered land there, but died in Kentucky in the fifties, his wife dying Inter in the same State.
Mary (Melike) Yarbrough. wife of James Yarbrough, Sr., and mother of the subject of this sketch, was born December 1, 1501, the daugh-
973
HISTORY OF SCHUYLER COUNTY.
-
ter of Edward and Sarah (Van Cleve) Melike, the former born March 15, 1772, and the latter, March 11. 1780. The Yarbroughs were of German descent, while the Mel kes were of Irish ancestry, and both families were closely identified with frontier life in Kentucky. Some of the cousins of Mrs. Mary (Melike) Yarbrough were captured by the Indians and held in bondage for a considerable time. Finally, having been allowed the privilege of bunting and making it a practice to venture a little farther from the camp each day, in time they succeeded in making their escape.
In 1854. the fiouily of James Yarbrough. Sr., moved to the vicinity of Palmyra, Marion County, Mo., and there his death occurred in 1858, only four years after going to that region. llis wife, who survived him until 1863, was the mother of seven children, four of whom are liv- ing : William, in Marion County, Mo .; Mary, widow of John Pryor. of the same locality ; Lucy. widow of William Scott, of Audrain County, Mo .; James, of Schuyler County, Ill .; Sarah, deceased wife of Jeptha Lake, who is also deceased: Thomas, who was killed at a house-raising at the age of fifteen; and Nancy, who died at the age of four years. The father of this family was a man of quiet tastes and dis- position, a lover of home. wife and children. and a friend and pioneer of the sturdy. dependable sort.
James Yarbrough, Jr., was twoleve years of age when he accompanied his parents and the rest of the family to Missouri, and there, as in his native State. he attended the subscription schools until his sixteenth year. He then began to work by the month for farmers in Marion County, and in 1862, 'with a neighbor by the name of Garrett, came to Adams County, Ill .. to ent timber by the day. In the spring of 1863 he came to Schuyler County, and began entting wood for a Mr. Ingles, but later, building a raft just below Ripley, on Crooked Creek. floated the same to the Illinois River. and thence down the Mississippi to St Louis. He continued in this occupation, in connection with Mr. B. HI. Ingles, with fair financial success, until his marriage. November 20, 1864. to Elizabeth J. Ingles, daughter of B. HI. Ingles, his former em- ployer and partner. Mr. Ingles came from Kentucky to Schuyler County, where he was one of the early pioneers. After his marriage, Mr. Yarbrough rented a farm of Chris Briggle. in Woodstock Township, a year later renting an- other farm, and continuing as a renter in Illinois until his removal a second time to Missouri in the summer of 1809. Then purchasing a farm, he tilled the same until disposing of it in 1871, when he returned to Schuyler County and rented land in Camden Township. About 1874. he bought a 100-acre tract of land in Section 26. Camden Township, which was improved. having on it a small frame building. With this insufficient mueleus, he set about creating an ideal country home, and that he succeeded almost beyond reasonable expectations is apparent to
all who stray within its borders. He has con- finned to add to his holdings until he now owns 5.5 acres, all of it tillable and under a high state of cultivation.
The first wife of Mr. Yarbrough died in Sep- tember. 18\], leaving only two of her seven children living: Annie. wife of Charles Unger, of Rushville, and mother of Edna Belle; and Bartlett, a farmer of Camden Township, who married Fannie Greene and has two sons, --- Paul and James. In March 1852, Mr. Yarbrough married J. Edwena U'uger, and of their union there were seyen children: Edward E., Charles W., Lucille, S. Lillian, Lawrence U., Grover and Arthur J. Edward R., married Bertha E. Race, of Camden, IN .. on June 13, 1901. resides on a farm in Camden Township, and nas one child, Elva Edwena; Charles W., is assisting in the management of the home farm; Lucille is a graduate of the Rushville Normal and Business College, and is one of the handsomest and most accomplished young ladies of Sehnyler County, a splendid entertainer and an excellent cook ; Grover died at the age of two years; and Arthur 1. barely survived his second year. In political alliliation, Mr. Yarbrough is a Democrat, and though always averse to office-holding, bas served acceptably as Assessor of Camden Township. He is one of the very active and progressive men of his community, and has done much to promote high class stock-raising and scientific general farming. Ils farm is a model of neatness and thrift. and his standing as a man and farmer Is unexcelled.
YOUNG, James Henry .- James II. Young, as- sistant cashier of the Bank of Rushville, Schuy- ler County, Ill .. is one of the most promising financiers and young business men of the locality, besides being an officer and stock-holder of the institution named, having farming and other in- terests of considerable magnitude. He was born on the home farm near Rushville, Buena Vista Township, Schuyler County, on December 10, 1876, and is a son of John Alexander and Mary (Clark) Young. being the fourth child. llis father was a man of such importance in the de- velopment of the county that a review of his life is published in another part of this work.
The mother, formerly Mary L. Clark, is the youngest of a family of the children born to the Rev. John and Ann (Ohern) Clark, both natives of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The father was an able and prominent minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in 1891 was elected President of the Ohio Conference, which met in Cincinnati in June of that year. lle was sent west to seenre the location of the Dearborn Col- lege, which was finally founded at Lawrenceburg, Ind., and in 1843 came to Rushville, Schuyler County, bought land in the vicinity, and made the locality the headquarters of his work. He remained a highly honored resident of Buena Vista Township for many years, his death or- eurring at Detroit, Mch., and his remains being brought home and buried in the cemetery near
074
HISTORY OF SCHUYLER COUNTY.
Rushville, where also reposed the body of bis wife who had died February 2. 1857.
Rev. John Clark was the son of John and Eleanor Clark, who were natives of County Ty- rone, Ireland, and with their parents were ar- dent adherents of the Reformation under Jolm Wesley. Under its influence their family were raised, and in 1St! the family removed to Pitts- burg, where the son. John, received the most of his education under the careful tutelage of his father, who for several years was a professional teacher. On November 16, 1826. Rev. John Clark married An Obern, and the following year entered the traveling ministry of the Prot- eslant Methodist Church, in which he tilled some of the most important stations, being chosen delegato to each of its General Conferences while he remained identified with that denomina- tion. After locating in Sebuyler County, in 1813, Le united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, continuing to work as a traveling missionary, and for a number of years served as pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church at Rush- ville. On May 15. 1896, he passed to his heav- enly reward, and in his death the church lost one of its strongest members and the county one of its revered citizens.
James II. Young was reared upon the home farm near Rushville. and early attended the dis- triet school, afterwards attending public school at Rushville, and the Normal and Business Col- lege, and graduating from the last named insti- tution in the class of 1895. Immediately there- after he entered the employ of Roach & Tetrick. and cominned in their service and in the employ of their sucressors for five years, resigning then to accept the position of assistant cashier of the Bank of Rushville. In 1905 he was one of the organizers of the Schuyler County Fair Asso- ciation and became its first secretary. He has been an indefatigable worker in matters of miblic interest and few young men have built up a more extended acquaintance.
On September 26. 1591, Mr. Young was united in marriage, at Chicago, Il., to Elizabeth Franees Patterson, daughter of James Marsh and Mary ( Hamilton) Patterson, born at Jacksonville, 11 .. on July 24. 1575. One child resulted from this union. namely : James Rusel Young, born July 10, 1903. The parents are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Young is an accomplished and refined lady, and the pleas- ant family residence on West Washington Street bas in her a presiding mistress who has made it the center of mueh high-minded sociability. Mr. Young is also a cultured and sociable gentleman, as well as careful, honorable and enterprising. He is a Republican in politics, and in 1897-1598. served as Alderman of the First Ward of the city of Rushville this election to this office bo- ing almost muanimons ), and proved a careful and efficient mmblie official. Fraternally. he is iden- tified with Schuyler Lodge. No. 209, K. of P.
YOUNG, John Alexander .-- Fonr generations of the Young family have promoted the industries
and shared in the stimulating life of Schuyler County, Il. The first of the name to believe in the rare possibilities of this part of the State was John Yomer, an ambitions young Irishman who hied away from his verdant isle with a pur- pose both strong and splendhl, and a courase which utterly failed to recognize the ordinary obstacles of life. Landing in New York after a tempestuous voyage, he made his way to Phil .- delphia. and after a brief sojourn there, under- took the long journey by water, stage and ox team to Rushvide, IL., where he found warm welcome from a small number of settlers who had braved the dangers from Indians, game and the terrible cold of long winters. So pleased was he with the prospects in the new country that he sent for his parents in Ireland, and when they arrived went to live with them on the farm which they purchased in Buena Vista Township. The oldest of four children, of whom the others were named William E., Alexander, Margaret and Elizabeth, he helped to till this early tarm with the crude implements known to the general west- ern farming population of the latter 'twenties and was soon united in marriage. at Rushville, 11., to a daughter of Hugh Mccreery, a native of Ireland, who had accompanied him to America. The young people went to housekeeping in a small log cabin with seant furnishings, and with practically none of the comforts and advantages of the present time, planned for a systematic untolding of their dreams and hopes.
It was not given to John Young to realize his expectations to any appreci able extent. for death claimed him February S. 1835, three years after the birth of his son. John Alexander Young, June 14. 1822. Ilis youngest child, James M .. died in infancy.
From early boyhood JJohn Alexander Young was self-sustaining. and in his search for work on various farms belonging to neighbors and relatives, he was often separated from his mother. However, when arrived at about six- teen years of age he was in a position to take his mother back to the okl place upon which his father had settled in 1832. Ambition called him in 1852 to the far western coast. where he lived for six years, and was engaged in mining. agri- culture and merchandising. Ile went to the soll fields in an ox-train, taking about six months to span the distance between the Missouri line and the Mecca of his fortune-making expectations. Ile achieved reasonable success, and remming to the East by way of Panama and New York City, stopped for a visit with his friends and relatives in Philadelphia. Again in Schuyler County, he resumed agricultural pursuits, and made many fine improvements on the time-honored old! farm. Originally consisting of 130 acres, he sold twenty acres to defray his expenses to the coast. but later added to his possessions until he owned as0 acres in one body. The farm was well stocked and housed and under a h'sh & tip of enltivation. Mr. Young devoted much time and study to the breeding of high grade stock. and his farm was the local headquarters for all that was
975
HISTORY OF SCHUYLER COUNTY.
fine and dependable in this department of coun- try activity. Ile had a large herd of Short-horn cattle, fine horses and hogs. and raised besides the general products associated with the soil and climate of the Central West.
Ile was a studious aud ever progressive lands- man, and established and maintained a high standard of country life and work.
October 13, 1869, Mr. Young was united in marriage to Mary L. Clark, daughter of Rev. John Clark, and born in Schuyler County, Ill., April 1, 18447. She was a broad-minded, sympa- thetic, Christian woman, devoted to her family and friends, and of inestimable help to her hus- band in the acquiring of his substantial compe- tence. Iler death, May 15, 1878, was regretted by the entire community, for her hospitality and unfailing kindness bad drawn to her an unusual degree of respect and appreciation. November 24, 1881, Mr. Young married Elizabeth DeWitt, daughter of James DeWitt, an honored pioneer of Schuyler County. Mrs. Young was born in Littleton, Sehmuyler County, May 22. 1855, and had the average advantages of the young people of her time and place. She is the mother of five children : Mary Euphemia. born in Rush- ville, September 19, 1582, wife of Frank Hare, of
Rushville: John DeWitt, born April 5, 1834; Dwight MeCreery, born September 28, 1885; El- len Little, born April 16, 18SS; and William IIngh. born April 26, 1893. By his first marriage Mr. Young had four children : Carl Clark, Anna Florence, Sarah Eleanor, and James Henry. Carl Clark, born August 9. 1870, married Lillian Crandall, May 26, 1897, and is engaged in the real estate business in Kansas City, Mo. ; Anna Florence, born August 3, 1872, was married at Rushville, September 5, 1901, to Joseph Edgar Neff, a graduate of DePauw University and for years assistant principal of schools of Rushville, who died in South Bend, Ind .. March 12, 1905; Sarah Eleanor, born August 23, 1874, was mar- ried May 6. 1896, to James H. Nell. She has three children,-Mary Eleanor Nell, born in Rushville, September 11, 1897; l'lorenee Lillian, born March 18. 1899, and Edna Maxine, born May 6, 1903, James Henry Young. born in Rushville, December 10, 1876, was married in Rushville. September 26, 1901, to Elizabeth Frances Patterson, of Chicago, daughter of James Marsh and Mary ( Ilamilton) Patterson, born July 24, 1875, and mother of James Russell Young, born July 10, 1903.
.
-
939
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.