USA > Illinois > Schuyler County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Volume 2 > Part 95
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Judge Teel evidences a marked predilection for the social and general. as well as profes- sional, opportunities of life, and is a prominent member of the Independent order of Odd Fel- lows, Modern Woodmen of America. Knights of Pythias and Mutual Protective League. Ile is also one of the directors of the Bank of Rush- ville. To him have filtered the ambition word purpose which animated the pilgrimage of his pioneer ancestors and which, exercised in widely differing grooves of human achievement. al- ready are maintaining their mission of scouring the greatest justice and the greatest liberty to the society of mankind.
The basic principle of Herschel Teel's char- neter is integrity. not only of thought but of word and deed as well. Ile is known for his sturdy independence of character, his devotion to his friends and his recognition of the equality of all men who are honest and upright, without re- gard to their social position; no man so low but feels he is a brother, and none so high but feels be is a peer.
TEEL, James A .- During his many years of association with Schuyler County. James A. Teel was known as an increasingly prosperous farmer, and as a man who had sufficient breadth and ability to reach out and utilize many oppor- tunities not immediately at hand. More than the average. he seemed to realize the respon- sibility of the agriculturist as a factor in the world's progress, and evidently believed that the greatest development came through participa- tion in the general affairs and responsibilities of the community. Ile was particularly zealous and successful in promoting the breeding of fine eattle, and during the years of his greatest activity in this line his profits were unusually satisfying to himself and encouraging to those similarly employed.
James Alexander Teel was born in Wash- ington County, Pa. July 19, 1830, and was a great-grandson of Captain John Toel, a native of Ireland who settled in New Jersey, and after
commanding a company in the Revolutionary War, was buried with the military honors due his rank. John Teel, son of Captain Teel, and grandfather of James A., was born in New Jersey, served five years in the regular army, and participated in the War of 1812. His son, Henry I'. the next in line of succession, also was a native of New Jersey, and it was his energy and courage that shifted the family for- tunes to Pennsylvania, where he engaged in farming in Washington County and whence he finally pushed still further westward to the out- post of civilization in Schuyler County in 1833. Two years later be removed to the Territory of Iowa, and after a year spont at Fort Madison, returned to Schuyler County, in 1915, locating on Section 16. Rushville Township, where Calviu Hobart bad ervoted the first cabin in the county. Martha Ann Mathews, wife of Henry P. Teel, was a daughter of James Mathews, whose father, Thomas Mathews, was a native of Ireland.
Three years old when his father arrived in Schuyler County, James A. Teel bad meager edu- eational or other advantages, but he bad the pioneerine instinct of his sire deeply implanted in his nature, with the purpose and determina- tion te make his dream come true. In this he proved himself one of the bardy and bold spirits of his town, as against the cautious and timid class who were not equal to the hazards of penetration to the Pacific Coast; an outdoor man, an adventurer. who wanted something to conquer and who followed the star of empire to the continent's rim. Arriving at the Mecca of his desires, he became a part of that unwritten chapter of romantic history which thrilled the country, and for two years lived in the ribald camps of the Argonauts, taking something from the earth in reward for his toil and self-sacrifice. Again he journeyed westward in 1853. participa- ting for several months in the pagan pleasure of life and the romantie zest for adventure which characterized the surroundings of the fortune seekers.
As before, his good fortune was in no way ex- ceptional, adding but little to his financial re- sources, Farming rather than mining was his life-work, and when again on the old place in Schuyler County, be devoted practically all bis time and the rest of his life to this pursnit. He engaged extensively in general farming and stock-raising. attaining to special prominence as a Short-horn cattle breeder, in which he first be- came interested before the Civil War. For a number of years he was President of the Schuy- ler County Farmers' Institute, and took a keen interest in its affairs. With the founding of the Bank of Schuyler in 1590, he became one of the stock-holders, and later was elected Vice-Pr: s- ident of that institution. On his death. October 22, 1002, at the age of seventy-two years. he was the owner of 1.200 acres of farm land. besides various town properties in Rushyilo. Ilness somewhat changed the current of the Chter years of his life, but he bore all physics! trhds with rare patience, and applied that tine philosophy
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which had made light of many obstacles and helped him over many of the rough places in bis career.
In 1556 Mr. Teel married Elizabeth Smith, of Rushville Township, and of this union there were the following named children: Everett Lee, a young man of exceptional promise who had just been admitted to the bar and com- menced the practice of bis profession at Gale burg, Ill., where, on returning from a visit to his parents, he was accidentally killed, being run over by an express train ; Judge H. V. Teel, mention of whom may be found elsewhere jn this work ; Mrs. Neosha M. Mills; Marshall E .; Hulda, deceased ; and Walter HI. A stanch Dem- oerat in politics, he was Supervisor of his town- ship several terms, and in 1894 was elected 10 the State Legislature, his representation of the people reflecting his broad sense of justice. his intolerance of fraud and deception, and his fear- lessness in insisting upon fair and above-board legislation. He was an agreeable and approach- able man, loyal to the public interests and friends, and he possessed the faculty of inter- esting other people in his projects and securing their support and co-operation. His life gave en- couragement to the faint hearted, and was an ex- pression of force, determination and successful achievement.
TEEL, Walter H .- An industry of incaleu- lable benetit to the stock raiser of the United States, yet one which in earlier years was neg- lected to a deplorable degree. is that of the breed- ing of thoroughbred stock. While countries in th". old world have made a specialty of this busi- ness for years, our own country failed until ro- cently to grasp the opportunity thus presented. It is a source of gratification to all concerned that the twentieth century has witnessed a ro- markable change in the + pinion of agriculturists concerning grades of stock, and now thousands are spent to bring up herds where formerly hun- dreds were denied. No stock breeder of Schny- ter County attained more widespread fame for the superior quality of his importations and the fine points of his herds than did James A. Teel. whose death deprived the State of one of its most influential stockmen. Fortunately, under his experienced oversigt, a son. Walter II., had been trained to a careful and thorough knowledge of stock, and the latter has success- fully carried on the business of raising and sell- ing thoroughbred Short-horn cattle so well es- tablished by the father.
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Born on the home farm, March 2S. 1877, Walter H. Teel received his education in the district schools and the Rushville Union School. supplemented by attendance at the Rushy:le Normal. from which he was graduated in 1598. Meanwhile he had devoted his summer months to aiding his father on the farm, and thus cariy in life had gained a practical knowledge of the stock business, which is now of invaluable as- sistance to him. His father had been one of the first to import stock and. for forty years,
had stood at the head of the Short-horn industry in the State, so that a study of the business un- der him was in itself an chuication. Under his supervision were more than fourteen hundred aeres in Rushville and Buena Vista Townships, the family residence being situated on Section 18, Rushville Township. After the death of the father in 1902. the son assumed the entire management of the stock, and since then he has added to the fame of the herd, in which at times he has had as many as one hundred and twenty- tive head of registered cattle. The part of the home farm, which now bel mes to the subject of this sketch, consisting of #20 acres on Sections 17 and 15, Rushville Township, is one of the finest estates in Schuyler County. Since the present owner assumed control in 1902 many im- frovements have been made, chief among which is a hay and stock barn, sixty feet square, furn- ishine ample accommodations for hay, stock and machinery.
The determination of Mr. Teel to establish and sustain a stock industry surpassed by none in this part of the State has kept him busily en- gaged in the work on the home farm aud left him little leisure for participation in outside matters, in which. indec 1, he takes no part aside from voting the ticket of the Democratic party and identifying himself with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Among acquaintance- he is respected for tho' qualities that win the ad- miration of all, while in stock raising circles he is regarded as an export judge and an authority concerning Short-borus. His pleasant country home is presided over ly Mrs. Teel, whom he married January 5, 1509, and who was Miss Josephine Knock, daughter of Daniel Knock, one of the early settlers of Schuyler County.
THARP, Jonathan .- In the possession of 100 acres of land in Section 15. Woodstock Township, Jonathan Tharp finds the realization of a meri- torious early ambition. While the owner and occupant of his present farm only since 1SS0, he is by no means the establisher of Tharp activ- ity in Schuyler County, as his father, Jonathan Tharp. Sr .. came here in the log cabin era, es- tablishing a precedent for faithful and practical general service, which since has been maintained by his large family of children. Jonathan Tharp, the elder, was born in South Carolina, and married Anna Manlove, a native of the same State. The Manlove family has been no less important in the development of this Sec- tion than the Tharp family, as Jonathan D. Manlove, father of Mrs. Tharp, came to Schuyler County in 1824, settling on land where, in 1826. he laid out and platted what afterward was valled the town of Rushville. The Manloves were of the Quaker faith, and descendants of the pioneer never have departed from these traclines
Jonathan Tharp, Sr., located in Rushville Township, and endured all of the privations inel- dent to the earliest of pioneering. For their sub- stantial food the family subsisted chiefly on
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HISTORY OF SCHUYLER COUNTY.
game, and for several years the log cabin was in danger of attack by the wild denizens of the plains, both human and animal. When the head of the house used to take his grist to Quincy to be ground, his wire would nail elap-boards over the door that wolves might not enter the cabin. Around this couple grew up a family of s.x sons and three daughters, all of whom reached maturity, and three of whom were soldiers in the Civil War. The father dying in 1854. the mother was left with the care of the fan- ily, and it is to lici everlasting credit that she kept her children together. educated them to the best of her ability, and instilled into them ideals of useful citizenship. The oklest son. James, of Astoria Township, Fulton County, served three years in the Union army ; John was a soldier, serving as a hundred-day man first. and then in the One Hundred and Fifty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry for one year. re- turned to his home in January, 1866, and died in 1872: Jonathan, Jr. ; James served three years in the One Hundred and Nineteenth Ilinois Vol- unteer Infantry ; Marion was a member of the the Seventh Missouri Cavalry. and was killed July 3, 1863, by a shot fired from ambush ; Stephen is a farmer in Woodstock Township; Louzania, married Philo Morris, and both are deceased : Bettie became the wife of L. G. Per- singer, and both are deceased; Dli died in Montana : and Mary is the deceased wife of Philip Skiles. The mother of this family lived to see all of her children well established in' life, her death occurring in 1886. at the age of eighty- three years,
Jonathan Tharp. Jr., attended the log school house in Buena Vista Township, near where he was born January 26. 1548. He remained on the old place until 1871, when, because of the sale of the old place. he went to Butler County, Kan., where hard times prevailed to an unsual exiont. In consequence he returned to Schuy- ler County, the same year, and with his brother. Stephen, worked at farming until 1873. He then rented eighty acres of land of old Dr. Leach. operated the same until 1881. and that year bought 104 aeres in Bainbridge Township. Later he traded his farm for eighty acres in another part of the township, and in 1889 sold thar and bought 100 acres of his present farm, to which he since has added sixty acres. This land was in very unsatisfactory condition. and its improve- ment has entailed mich arduous labor. Today it is one of the finest properties in the township. and Its improvements compare well with any to be found in the State. Mr. Tharp makes a specialty' of registered Poland-China hogs, and his hog honse, sixty-four by sixteen feet in dimensions, affords ample space for the care of these valuable animals. He also, raises a high grade of Short-horn cattle.
While a stanch Republican. Mr. Tharp has never solicited or heen willing to accept local office. He is not a member of any church, but contributes generously towards church and charitable undertakings, giving his encourage-
ment also to the cause of education and good roads. He is a broad-minded and well posted farmer, and by the purity and usefulness of his life sets an example of worth to the rising generation. To himself and wife have been born seven children, four of whom are living: Loren. George W .. Dora and May. Eli Franklin died at the age of seventeen years, and Ela F. and John died in infancy.
THARP, Stephen .--- As different members of the Tharp family have been identified with the most substantial progress of Woodstock Town- ship for nearly eighty years, it requires no stretch of propriety to place them in the fore ranks .of Schuyler County pioneers, and to ac- cord them a prominent position in a history which aims to trace the advanced and teeming life of the present back to the primitive poverty of the past.
Stephen Tharp was born October 14, 1841, on the Harvey place. later known as the old Tharp farm, north of Rushville in Section 14, Wood- stock Township. Schuyler County. He is the son of Jonathan and Anna (Manlove) Tharp, both natives of North Carolina, who came to Illinois in 1829. They made the long trip by ox-team. in the fall of that wear reaching their destination on the present site of Rushville. One of the first acts of the husbandman was to sow wheat on the land which he had entered. and which is now occupied by the "Little Chicago Store." owned by A. J. Lashmett. This first sowing. however, was not accomplished until Mr. Tharp had journeyed to Pike County in order to obtain his seed, and his first erop was eut with a reaper hook and threshed with a flail. This place was the family home for two years, after which successive removals were made to Round Prairie and Burnham Township. and finally Stephen Tharp entered land and bought the interest of the Manlove heirs in the farm now owned by the Chadsey estate, Sec- tion 14. Woodstock Township.
The first years of their residence in Schny- ler County constituted a trying period in the lives of the Tharp family. but in the after period. when all was comfortable and serene. they dearly loved to recount their experiences. and their children have passed many enjoyable hours in listening to the stories of their parents. In common with their neighbors they had many tales to tell regarding the ""Deep Snow of 1820." Over the prodignous fall of snow came a driving storm of sleet, and the men and larger boys were obliged to tie boards to their feet, so that they could get to the corn, dig it out of the snow drifts and feed the live-stock. Woman- like. . Mrs. Tharp took great pride in telling how she had dressed the first white male chi'd boru in Schuyler County-Jack Dyse by name. who grew up a reminder of that place.
In those days the great pests of the settlers were wolves and spakes, and hunts were often organized to exterminate both. The enstomary plan of a snake raid was to first burn a clear
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HISTORY OF SCHUYLER COUNTY.
space around the den of the reptiles, and then start a fire some distance beyond : as the sunkes were thus driven into the clear spare around their den, they were attacked by dogs and men. At one famous snake hunt. in which the Tharps participated, four hundred reptiles were vic- tims of the slaughter. But the good mother was permitted to see wolves, shakes and Indians re- placed by more agreeable neighbors, their log house by a fine home, the wigwam by the church and school, and the wheat hook and the flail by the gigantic harvester. with other evidences of a new civilization for which she and her asso- ciates had prepared the way. She passed away July 7. 1877, at the age of seventy-four years. after surviving her husband for more than twen- ty-two years, his demise having occurred in . April. 1835. The father, therefore, although he had witnessed many and great changes, bad not lived to see so remarkable a contrast between the past and the present as his good wife. The remains of both repose in the cemetery near Rushville.
Stephen Tharp was reared on the old home farm and received his education in the old log school house at the Cross Roads. His first mar- riage on April 24. 1964. was to Miss Snsami Smith, daughter of William Smith, an Ohio man and a Schuyler County pioneer. He made his home on the old farm until 1873. when he pur- chased 120 acres of land in Section 14. Wood- stock Township, and commenced its cultivation and improvement. Among other valuable and ' - attractive additions was a fine frame residence. in which the widowed mother resided for sex- eral years. By his first marriage Mr. Tharp had the following named children: Nora, who was born in Woodstock Township and is the wife of O. JI. Kelly, a farmer; Emma. who married William Lawler. also a farmer of Woodstock Township; Sheridan, who married Lillie War- dell. and is farming on the home place: Lydia. wife of Stewart Gaddis, a farmer of Bainbridge Township, and William. a twin brother of Lydia. The mother of this family died in November. 1873. and the father was married. in 1877. to Mrs. Isabelle Goodwin, widow of John P. Good- win. The present Mrs. Tharp was born in Rush- ville, Ill .. on the 9th of December. 184S. and is a daughter of Daniel Anderson, who was a native of Ohio. and came to Schuyler County in 1838. The offspring of the second union are: Cora. now the wife of Vernon Dace, a resident of Huntsville. Ill. : Jesse, who is a clerk in Runkel's store. at Rushville, and married Anna Landon : Susan, wife of James Wardell. a farmer : Lilly. who married James Rodson, a painter living at Mount Sterling. Ill .: Nettie, wife of Everett Kronse, her husband being a farmer of Bain- bridge Township: Ettie, a twin sister of Nettie. * . who is now living at home; and Elizabeth and Mabel, both also living with their parents. Mr. and , Mrs. Tharp have thirteen children and -thirty-two grandchildren now living. and the family is among the most substantial and hon- ored of the true pioneer stock. The parents have
always been earnest Methodists and devout Chris- tions in the highest sense of the word. In poli- ties, Mr. Tharp is stid a Republican of the Lin- coln type.
THOMPSON, Charles W .- In response to the demand, in order to meet the agricultural emer- gencies of the present for a different class of men from those who had to deal with crude pio- neer conditions, there have arisen in Schuyler County many intelligent and progressive lands- men, recruited from the inst families, whose in- influence tends to the advancement of science and enlightenment. In this category belongs Charles W. Thompson, son of James D. Thomp- son. mention of whom will be found in an ad- joining section of this work. Mr. Thompson was born on the old Thompson homestead Jammary 19, 1861, and received his preliminary education in what was known as the Fey school district. Ilis youth was uneventful, and tilled with the duties and diversions which go to make up the life of the average farm-reared boy. He deyel- oped, however, more than average business abil- ity, and this has been of great use to him as one of the most extensive breeders and marketers of Aberdeen-Angus cattle in Schuyler County.
A turning point in the life of Mr. Thompson was his marriage, December 23. 1$91, to Della K. Campbell, a native of Bainbridge Township. Schuyler County, and daughter of George W. Campbell, one of the pioneers of the county. The young people started housekeeping on Section 25, Woodstock Township, but in ISDS. after the death of the elder Thompson, they returned to the old place and lived there until 1902. In the spring of that year Mr. Thompson opened a gen- eral store in what now is called Layton. in Woodstock Township. and from a small begin- ning has worked up a large and prosperous trade. Ilis farm of 260 acres represents nich that is progressive and scientific in the agricultural world, and no better Aberdeen-Angus cattle roam the prairie of the Central West than here find a home. There are also high grades of hoss and horses on the farm, and corn and general prodnee are raised in large quantities. Mr. Thompson has a large and commodious home. and his stock have warm and comfortable win- ter quarters. He is one of the busiest, as well as most suecessful men of the township, and few are doing so much to maintain the higher stan- dards of country life and practice.
In politics, Mr. Thompson is an uncompromis- ing Democrat. but has always been too busy either to seek or to accept office. In faith he is - a believer in the Universal Doctrine and is a member of the Grange. for whose interests he has been a faithful and consistent worker. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have three children: Mars Margaret, born November 12. 19: Lanma c .. horn January 3. 1902: and Georgia W. tooth August 18, 1903. Mr. Thompson - a well i formed, agreeable and popular contientin trust- worthy and respected in his business and social relations.
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THOMPSON, J. Arthur, a native of Woodstock Township, Sebuyler County, Ill., and one of the brightest and most worthy of the young men who have been reared in that locality, was born January 18, 1SS3, the son of William J. and Margaret J. ( Arthur) Thompson, a narrative of whose career, with details of the family history, appears elsewhere in this connection. The sub- ject of this sketch attended the district schools in the vicinity of his home, and then taking the regular examination. received a scholarship in the Illinois State University, in which he was a student for five years, the degree of B. S. being conferred upon him at the end of that period. In August, 1907, he was recommended by the Board of Trustees of that institution for a position as teacher of agriculture in Corea. He passed the final examination at Nashville, Tonn., with honor, and on the 27th of the above mentioned month, starled from Vancouver, B. C., stopping briefly in Japan, after touching at several for- eign ports, during the voyage thither, reached his destination on September 12th next following. Since assuming charge of his work in Corea, he bas met with remarkable success. His school is a one-story, thatched structure. covered with straw, a glimpse of which would be an interesting revelation to many of his former "chums," ac- eustomed as they are to the superior facilities afforded by school cdifices in Illinois.
While at home, Mr. Thor pon was a member of the Grange, and when a student, was Presi- dent of the Agricultural Club of the Illinois State University, as well as of the Y. M. C. 1.
On September 15, 1005, Mr. Thompson will be married to Miss Anna Right, of Alton, IH., who sails on August 15, to meet him at Songdo, where he is carrying on his labors with such gratifying results. His religious connection was with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which he acted in the capacity of class leader, and olli- ciated as Sunday School Superintendent. On political issues, he was a supporter of the Demo- cratie party.
THOMPSON, James D .- With the passing of James D. Thompson. July 30. 1597. a busy and useful life came to its conclusion, leaving in its wake, for the guidance of the workers of a later day, many lessons in courage, perseverance and sound judgment. Mr. Thompson had to his credit seventy-four years, having been born in Craw- ford County, Pa., March 30. 1823. He was heir to the best traits of the Irish-Gorman-Englis' peoples, the men on both sides of his family for the most part following either farming or such staple trades as earpentering and millwrighting. His paternal grandfather. William Thompson, was born in Ireland, in his boyhood crossing the sea to America, where he followed his trade of earpenter for the remainder of his life. Both he and his wife reached the age of three sure years and ten. living for the most part in Penn- sylvania, which know him first as a lad with a rich Fish brogue and but few firmeial assets.
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