Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Volume 2, Part 55

Author: Dyson, Howard F., 1870- History of Schuyler County. 4n
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1126

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HISTORY OF SCHUYLER COUNTY.

rarely has there existed a more harmonious blending of virile and worth while life purposes.

James Avery was born in Knoxville, III., July 30. 1815, and in 1851 accompanied his parents to Camden Township, Schuyler County, where he was reared on the homestead and educated in the public schools. Ife took naturally to farming, and has had no diverting ambition from the ocen- motion for which he is so well suited. At the age of nineteen, and after thorough drilling in all departments of the farm, he became his fath- er's assistant in buying. selling, shipping and feeding stock, and has been thus employed ever since. Few men in the county or State have a more practical knowledge of the calling. Father and son otten disposed of as many as two hun- dred and seventy-tive head a year, and the busi- ness. as now conducted by James Avery and his son, Lafayette, makes equally ereditable showing. Mr. Avery owns 1.040 acres of land, and there- fore has unlimited opportunity for the promotion of stock-raising. His facilities are the best pos- sible of acquiring, and the general impression conveyed by his farm is of a management which halts only at the best and maintains the highest of business ethics and methods.

Mr. Avery is one of the generally enterprising men of Schuyler Cinnty, and besides the faculty of accumulation, is well fitted for political sery- ice, as demonstrated over a course of many years. lle is a Democrat in politics and has held most of the township offices, cliciting general cominen- dation, irrespective of political creed. With his son he is identified with the Camden Lodge No. GIS A. F. & A. M. On February 25, 1868, James Avery was united in marriage to Martha Dixon, Mrs. Avery being a danghter of Lawson Dixon. and born in Brown County. IN. Of this union there was one son, Lafayette. his father's busi- noss partner. Lafayette Avery married for his first wife, Louise Peters, who died December 25, 1895, leaving a daughter. Ara V. For his sec- ond wife Mr. Avery married Hattie Miller in 1:07, and of this union there is a son, James L. The younger Mr. Avery shares his father's en- thusiasm for stock-raising. and has acquired great understanding and proficiency therein.

AVERY, Philander, ( deceased) .- The establish- ment of the very family in the United States dates back more than one hundred years, to an early period in our country's history when an Irish lad crossed the ocean from his native land to the new world. As he grew to manhood he became a sailor and for some years followed the high seas, Imt eventually returned to land. took up agricultural pursuits, married and reared a large family. After his children had been com- fortably settled in life. he and his wife removed from Ohio to Illinois, settling in Schuyler County, where he died at the age of eigmy-five years. Among his children was a son. David. a native of Pennsylvania but from youth a resident of Ohio, where in 1821 he married Margaret Adams. likewise born in Pennsylvania. Their son, Phli- ander, whose name introduces this article, was

born in Franklin County, Ohio. June 13, 1823. During the year 1832 the family followed the tide of migration drifting toward the Mississippi valley. Settling in Minois, they made a brief sojourn at Colwell. I. thence moved to Rush- ville, and about isto settled in Woodford County, where the father entered a tract of raw land from the Goverment. Later he disposed of that property and moved to Missouri, where he made his home for three years. On his return to il- Ilinois be settled in Schuyler County, where he died in 1 51. Two months after his demise his wife passed away.

I now the return of the family from Missouri to Illinois and the quickly following bereavement occasioned by the father's death, Philander Avery began the struggle of life for himself. As an equipment he had one team and $50 in casb. a small sum, indeed, with which to cope with the difficulties and adversities of the world. Fortu- nately, he possessed energy. indomitable will and tireless perseverance, as well as a robust phy- sique which forms no unimportant part of one's capital. During the fall of 1852 he purchased cigniy aeres of land on Section 27, Camden Town- ship, and with the aid of his team he began to till the soil of his newly-acquired possession. The first taxes which he paid amounted to thirty-tive rents, from which small payment the assess- ments increased with his growing riches until he ranked among the largest tax-payers in the town- ship. At the time of his death he owned 403 acres of land as fertile as any that could he found within the limits of the township, and in addition he left at his death considerable per- somat property.

The acquisition of a large property by no means represented the limit of Mr. Avery's ac- tivities. Indeed, from the standpoint of the hu- manitarian, it was the least important arcom- plishment of his life. Towering far above any worldly success he achieved was his success in the building up of a noble character, in the ae- quisition of those traits which endear a man to his associates and make him a benefactor to the race. Legion is the name of those who bene- fited by his acts of kindness, legion the names of those who remember him as their benefactor. To young men starting out in life he was a wise counselor and practical assistant. His aid was given them when they wished to buy a farm. Money was readily furnished by him to energetic young men whom he knew to be capable and per- severing. When they came to pay him the inter- est. often he would tell them to keep the interest- money and use it in buying a calf or a hog. More than once. when interest and a part of the prin- cipal would be paid. he would return all of the interest and one-half of the principal, with the suggestion that the money be invested in cattle or hogs. Cases were known where he would thus aid a man for more than twenty years, until his financial standing was established and no danger of failure to discourage him. Many a substantial barn and comfortable dwelling house in the town- ship would not have been erected but for his en-

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IHISTORY OF SCHUYLER COUNTY.

conraging aut. When he was convinced of a man's honesty he would loan him money without requiring a note to be signed. Indeed, so broad was his philanthropy, so kind his heart, so open his purse and so generous Ins disposition, that be was beloved wherever known, and there were few men so lost in ingratitude as to repay h's kind- nesses with neglect. On the contrary, few im- posed upon his generosity or took undue advan- tage of his charities. He lived and labored among his neighbors, honored and beloved. and when death came to him, May 9, 1907. the grief was widespread and sincere, and the manifestations of sympathy were many and touchips. It was folt that no citizen would be missed more than he, for none had more indelibly impressed his per- sonality upon his associmies. In the annals of the township his name is worthy of perpetuity. while in the hearts of those whom he aided his memory will be kept green as long as life shall last.

The marriage of Mr. Avery occurred in 1842. uniting him with Mrs. Elizabeth ( Bryant) Meeks. a widow, who was born and reared in Stokes County. N. C., where she was married to her first husband. Of that union three children were born, only one of whom survives. Mrs. Maria Day, of Macomb, Ill. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Avery was blessed with two children. The only daughter of that union. Mary Ann, was drowned at the age of fifteen years in a stream near the old homestead. The son. James, why owns the old home farm, is represented on an- other page of this work. The wife and mother passed from earth November 16. 191. In fra- ternal relations Mr. Avery was identified with Camden Lodge No. 648. A. F. & A. M., and no one better than he exengdified in life the high and ennobling principles of Masonry. The Demo- cratic party received his support and its cand !- dates counted upon his ballot and sympathetic assistance. yet partisanship never entered into his acts, and devotion to his country was more important to him than devotion to any political party. The pioneer type of citizenship found in him a splendid illustration. It is snch men as he who laid the foundations of our Government and who brought to the eyes of the world the bound- less resources of our Central States.

BAGBY, Hon. John C. (deceased) .- For many years the bar of Schuyler County had no more able or distinguished representative than the Hon. John C. Bagby, of Rushville, where he lo- cated in 1816. Mr. Bagby was born in Glas- gow, Barren County. Ky .. Jammery 24. 1919, a son of the Rev. Sylvanus M. Bagby, and grand- son of Richard Bagby, born in Lonisa County, Ya .. where the Boy. Sylvanus was born. Septem- ber 29. 1757. The father of Richard Bagby, Johu Bagby, was born in Scotland, and from there went to Wales, married and made it his home for a number of years, but eventually he emi- grated to America and founded his family in Colonial Virginia. Later he became a wealthy man, owned a number of slaves. as did also his

son. Richard. who married Sarah Kimbrough, a native of Virginia, although of Welsh descent.

Sylvanus M. Bagby was reared by John Basby, his uncle, having been left an orphan at a ten- der age, and after leaving the carpenter trade, he located, in IS2%, in Kentucky, becoming one of the pioneers of Glasgow. In that village, in June. 1MB, he was married to Frances S. Courts, born May 17, 1793, in Caroline County, Vit daughter of John and Frances ( Winn) Courts, natives of England and Culpeper. Va .. respectively. Early in his life, Sylvanus M. Bagby became converted to the Baptist faith. and so strong was his conviction. that he be- came a minister of that church. preaching on Sunday and working as a carpenter during week days. This continued until Ises, when he became convinced that the teachings of Alex- ander Campbell Were more in accordance with his personal views, and he was very active in organizing the hist Christian Church in Bar- ren County, and thereafter was a clergyman of that creed.

Until 1542 he remained at Glasgow and then derided on new fields and, with his wife and eight daughters, came to Rushville. Ill .. where he embarked in a mercantile business, and also engaged in farming upon property the site of the present depot. His career of usefulness and piety terminated. however, in 1848, and his widow only survived him ten years, Their fam- ily was as follows: Albert K., Martha A. Hall. Frances H .. Montgomery, Clara Ramsey, Emily C., Zorelda Van Hosen and the late Hon. John C.

Mr. Bagby had a very liberal education, at- tending not only the schools of his neighbor- hood. but also Bacon College (then at George- town). from which he was graduated in 140 as civil engineer. Upon his return to Glasgow he taught school and studied law, and when he was admitted to the bar in 1846 he located at Rushville and entered upon an active practice. A year later a partnership of a year's standing was formed with William A. Minshall, and ended with the election of Mr. Minshall to the circuit bench.

The political career of Mr. Bagby was varied. He was elected to Congress in 1\74. served as Circuit Judge from 1955 to 1992. was a Whie. voting for William Henry Harrison. then a Republican, helping organize the party, and thus continuing until 1872, when he cast his influence with the Democrats to vote for Horace Greeley. Fraternally, he was a member of the A. F. and A. M .. Rushville Lodge No. D. for forty-six years. and for eleven terms was honored by election as Master. Stapleton Chapter No. 9. R. A. M. was organized by him and several other enthusiastic Masons. Mr. Bagby always was interested in prohibition and belonged to the Sons of Tem- Perance.

His marriage occurred on October 1, 1550. to Miss Mary A. Scripps,

BALL, Amos Willis, M. D .- The qualities which contribute to the rounding of every successful

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HISTORY OF SCHUYLER COUNTY.

career-energy, imlustry, perseverance and a high aim in life-tind conspicuons expression in Dr. Amos Willis Ball. of whose splendid skill and usefulness the city of Rushville has been a witness since 1887. Dr. Ball represents that chiss of scientists who have an ever widening horizon. and who recognize no limit to the possibilities of their inexhaustible calling. His opportunities. largely of his own creating. have been excep- tional, and comparatively few men in the county. and indeed in the Stato, are better equipped for exercising the prerogatives of the art of healing.

Dr. Ball comes honestly by his predilection for medicine, as his father. Joseph T. Ball, who was a native of Morgan County, Ohio, was a practic- ing physician for many years both in his home State and at Ipava. Fulton County, Ill .. where the son was born August 21, 1961. The lad proved an apt and ambitious student, completing his high-school course in Ipava in 1877 at the age of sixteen years, and in connection with his preliminaries studies, absorbing much of medical lore from the books in his father's office. In 1883 he entered upon the three years' course at the Missouri Medical College, St. Louis, and after his graduation in the class of 1546, spent a year as his father's associate in Ipava. During the fall of ISST he came to Rushville, and the people of that place were not slow to recognize the promise and ability of the young practitioner who sought a foothold in the midst of their increasing population and activities. Twenty years of prac- tical experience, of unremitting research, and fixity of purpose have improved a hundred- fold the resources of this successful physician. and he has left no stone unturned to keep abreast of the progress in his line of work, and at what- ever cost. to become familiar with the latest de- velopments of medical science.

From time to time Dr. Ball has pursued post- graduate courses at the foremost centers of pro- fessional activity in this country and Europe. at- tending courses at the St. Louis Post-Graduate School and Hospital. studying also in New York ; in London, England : in Edinburg. Scotland; and In Belfast. Ireland, and during 1897 availing himself of the unrivaled oppuntunities afforded at Heidelberg, Germany. He has attended clin- ies of the most famous physicians and surgeons in all of these places, and it would seem that little remains to tempt his craving for enlighten- ment. The Doctor's office is equipped with the most modern of medical and surgical facilities. including an X-Ray machine and Vibrator outfit : and he engages in a general practice of his pro- fession, leaning. however. towards the universal preference for surgery and. in his case, the dis- eases of women. He is Secretary of the Board of United States Pension Examiners. President of the Schuyler County Medical Association, and a member of the State. Military Tract and Amer- lean Medical Societies. In political atliliation he Is a Republican, is Chairman of the Republican County Central Committee. has served as Alder- man of the First Ward of Rushville, was Prosi- dent of the Board of Education for several years ;

in fact. has held about all of the local offices in the gift of the people. Fraternally he is identi- lied with the Masons, in which he has taken the Bed degree, and is a member of Mohamet Shrine. of Peoria: Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica. the Mutual Protective League and the B. P. 0. E. Beardstown Lodge 1007.

The marriage of Dr. Hall and Anna R. Thomp- son occurred November Is. 10, and of the union there is che son, John Maurice, born October 15, ISUS, The Doctor and his wife are bomber- of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a man of dignified and pleasing personality, possessing tart, consideration, optimism, and many other fine and almost indispensable quali- ties which accompany the rise of the foremost itid most usetul men of his profession.

BALLOU, John Alexander .- - That adversity breaks down the weak and builds up the strong is a truisn emphasized in the career of John Alexander Ballon, than whom Rushville Town- ship has no more honored and dependable farmer and landowner. Cast adrift and at the merey of the multitudinous and conflicting currents of the world at the early age of eight years, having but a dim recollection of the saving grace of a moth- er's love or a father's counsel. breathing an at- mosphere which responded but faintly to the imate nobility and tireless ambition which die- nified even his earliest years, and shut out, by the grind of poverty and labor from even the advantages of a ernde country school. it is not surprising that the advancement of this intrepid landsthan to a position among the wealthy and influential men of his community should belittle the pretensions of many of our supposed self- made men. In the truest and highest sense does this term apply to Mr. Ballon, and the rare and splendid lesson of his life is that what a man expects and wisely works for he almost invaria- bly achieves.

Born in Nashville, Tenn., February 17. 1851, Mr. Ballou is a son of John and Jane Ballou. and when two years of age he was brought overland in a wagon to Brown County, Ill .. settling in Cooperstown, where his father followed his trade of barrel maker. Not finding the desired amount of work. the elder Ballou sought employment in St. Louis in 1556, and upon his return shortly after, was stricken with cholera from which he died during the second night after the attack. and was the second to be buried in the little cemetery at Cooperstown. His wife remained in Brown County until 1SS, when she married William Munnett, moved with him to Frederick. Sehyler County, and there died about 1860. In the meantime, her four sons and four daughters had found homes with the farmers in Brown and other counties, and thus was enacted another tragedy of a broken home and children deprived of all that makes childhood beautiful and worth living. Of those who were destined to survive their responsibility burdened childhood. Bonja- min Ballon is a farmer in Bainbridge Township;

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Mary Lucinda, a resident of Los Angeles, Cal., married first to Smith Wright, and later to Wit- yer; Bettie is the dorrased wife of Capt. W. C. Roberts; and Abijah died in Liberty, Mo., leaving a large family of children.

When John A. Ballon was eight years old he went to work for a Mr. Rire, who considered board and clothes sufficient remmeration tor his services. Hlis working das began with the rising of the sun and often extended until after night- fall, and he was given scarcely any chance at all to acquire even the rudiments of an education. At about the age of fifteen he had a change of employers, and from then until attaining his mia- jority, labored in many places and saw much of the seamy and difficult side of existence. Ilis faith in better things never faltered, however, not even when, in lieu of the horse, saddle and bridle promised him for his long and faithful service, he was given a colt with no trappings, and of little immediate value to him. He then went to work by the month for Jesse Darnell, a man of justice and consideration. and in this way managed to save some money. and to estab- lish a home of his own by marrying, in 1875, Mary Malcomson, daughter of James Malcomson, mention of whom may be found on another page of this work. Mr. Ballou took his wife to a rented farm owned by his former employer. Mr. Darnell, and in 1866, bought sixty acres of land which continued to be his home until 1SS6. Dis- posing of this farm, he bought ninety-six acres in Section 35, Rushville Township, which at that time was practically destitute of improvements. Hlis industry soon worked a transformation in this land, and he added to it until he now owns 136 acres, with as tine improvements as are to be found on any farm in the county. Especially worthy of mention is the two-story frame resi- dence, fifty by thirty-two feet. with modern and comfortable furnishings, and which is one of the delightful and hospitable homes in the township. Nor do the barns, outbuild'nes, machinery and other aids to successful farming. fall below the present standards of excellence, and notwith- standing its general atmosphere of thrift and or- der, the observer is impressec. most of all with the homelikeness and harmony of this valable and profitable farm. Mr. Ballou made a specialty of Poland-China hogs for a number of years, but raises general produce as well, and always bas on hand a number of fine horses and cattle. It is doubtful if any man in the county knows more about threshing and threshing machines than he. for he has operated machines every year since he was about sixteen years old, and at the pres- ent time is provided with the most modern facil- ities for conducting this work.

Politically, Mr. Ballon is a Republican. an.l. with his family, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Pleasantview. He has never been an office seeker, but in his quiet. forceful way, has done much to preserve the local integrity of his party. Mr. and Mrs. Ballon are the parents of four children, the oldest of whom died in infancy. Dr. Jesso, the oldest son, mar-

ried Elizabeth Barnett, and is engaged in medi- cal practice in Lead, S. Dak .; Elizabeth is the wife of Monroe Lenhart, a farmer of Rushville Township: and Chester, who manages the home place, married Florence Caldwell.

BARNES, Franklin E .-- On the farm which he now owns and occupies in Section 21, Rushville Township, Franklin E. Barnes was born Septem- ber 5, 1865. Mr. Barnes represents one of the early families of Schuyler County, and one which has substantially contributed to its agricultural and architectural upbuilding. His parents, James and Amanda P. (Baker) Barnes, were natives of Westmoreland County. Pa., and the former was a carpenter and builder by trade, although the greater part of his active lite was spent in combining building and farming. He was suc- vesstul after locating on the farm now owned by his son, and here his death occurred in 1876, his wife surviving him until 1900. The elder Barnes was a quiet, unassuming man, devoted to his home and friends, and particularly averse to any kind of show or publicity. The county never had a better all around mechanic, and this fact led to his being called upon to erect many of the buildings in Rushville and vicinity, a's well as in other parts of the county. Many residences and barns erected by him in the early days of his career today bear testimony to his skill and thoroughness, his conscientious regard for detail and excellence of material. His patrons always became his friends and well wishers, and it never could be said of him that he built in a slipshod or careless fashion. Of the four sons and one daughter born to himself and wife, Preston, the oldest, was killed while braking for the Bur- lington & Missouri Railroad Company, in Ne- braska, in 1SS2: Jobn A. is a farmer in Morris County, Kan. : George B. is engaged in business in Prowers County, Col .; and Alice is the wife of Fred Kerr, of Los Angeles, Cal.

At the age of fifteen years Franklin E. Barnes left his father's farm and engaged in farm work for neighboring agriculturists, In this way he could live frugally, spending little for his clothes or other necessities. His life drifted back to the old current on his father's farm. however. shortly after his marriage. October 15. 1891. to Carrie B. Bowen, who was born iu Rushville, a daughter of James F. Bowen. a Sehuyler County pioneer of 1830. and now a farmer in Littleton Township. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes are the parents of six children: Ferdinand J .. born October 17. 1892; Oliver E., born January 13, 1896: Hazel M., born October 21, 1 98; Preston D .. born July 7, 1901; Orrin W., born Aug. 9, 1903; and Imo- gone Alice, born April 9, 1905.

To the old farm of eighty acres Mr. Barnes has added until he now owns one hundred and twenty acres devoted to diversified farming and stock raising. He raises a popular grade of all kinds of stock, has an abundance of fruit and shade trees, a fine garden, and well constructed house and barns. He is progressive in his methods, keeps abreast of the times in agricultural im-

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HISTORY OF SCHUYLER COUNTY.

provements and inventions, and has a small for tume sunk in modern machinery. Broad and liberal minded, well posted on current events. he takes a keen interest in the social opportunities of the township, is a popular member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and an active worker and generous contributor to the Christian Church.

BARTLOW, James H .- l'or seventy-four years of its history James II. Bartlow has been identi- fied with the growth of Schuyler County, and in the retirement of his pleasant home in Rushville. he is today one of the most interesting and de- pendable chroniclers of the events of which he has been an enthusiastic and helpful witness. His career evidences the value of homely, sterling qualities, and of grit. determination and patience as means to the practical purposes of life. The setting of his childhood was the wilderness of Buena Vista Township, Schuyler County, where he was born in a log cabin May 10, 1833. IIis father, John Bartlow, was born in the State of Ohio, and his mother, Elizabeth ( Morgan ) Bart- low, was a native of Kentucky. Both came to the Central West with their parents. JJames Bartlow, the father of John, dying in Indiana, and leaving, besides James IT., a daughter, Nancy, who is the deceased wife of Lemuel Sparks, also deceased. John Bartlow left Ohio with an ox-team and wagon, and stopped first in Morgan County, IN .. arriving in Schuyler County in 1828, two years before the winter of the deep snows. Ile located in the midst of the timber in what now is Buena Vista Township. the prairie land at that time being under water, and ne- cessitating draining and breaking the prairie sod before it was available for living and farm- ing purposes. On the level land the wild straw- berries abounded in great numbers and were de- licious in quality, and the wild grass grew bigh enough to hide a man, and was ent for hay by the settlers. Wherever chance directed their footsteps the new arrival staked off a few acres. and there was no quarreling about individual rights and prerogatives, all working in harmony to establish homes and fortunes in the new and untried country. John Bartlow's deed to his 160 aeres of land was made out on sheepskin, and this deed still is a treasured possession of the family. He had the iron of determination in his nature. bore courageously the deprivations and hardships which were the common lot of the settlers, and died in 1834, a typical representative of the rug- ged and resourceful struggler of the log-cabin era.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Volume 2, Part 55

Author: Dyson, Howard F., 1870- History of Schuyler County. 4n Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1126

Author: Dyson, Howard F., 1870- History of Schuyler County. 4n
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1126