Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Volume II, part 2, Part 47

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 774

USA > Illinois > Sangamon County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Volume II, part 2 > Part 47

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On May 16. 1867. Mr. Elkin married Maria Regan of Springfield, where her death later oc- curred. Mr. Elkin married (second) Mary Ellen

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Welch, also of Springfield. No Issue. Mr. El- kin is a consisteut meiuber of the G. A. R. aud greatiy enjoys reunion with his old comrades. In politics he is a Republicau. While yet a mere boy he took upon himseif the dutles of a soldier and his record shows that he never failed to discharge themu faithfully and bravely. Many of those who fought by his side ilave joined the Ariuy of the Eteruai, but he has iived to wage battle after battle against physi- cal disabilities incurred during his youth be- cause of the terrible exposure and exacting de- mands made upou his immature body, cheer- fully offered up for his country's defense.

ELKIN, William F. Jr. (deceased) .- Of the men who are responsible for the present prosperity of Springfield, many have passed away from earthiy cares, and among them none was better known or more highly respected than the late William F. Elkin, born near Spring- field, Sangamon County, February 29, 1836, a son of William F. and Elizabeth (Constant) Elkin. The father was for some years a farmer in Sangamon County, but iater held a govern- ment position, and was Sheriff of the county several terms.

William F. Elkin, Jr., attended the country and Springfield schools, and lived on a farm un- til his parents moved to Springfield. When a young man he conducted a large grocery busi- ness, but later in life also lield government of- fices, and at the time of his death was Bailiff at the Court House. His demise occurred July 20, 1890, and his remains are interred in Oak Ridge Cemetery. He was a Mason, a member of the Christian Church, and a Republican.

Mr. Elkin was married In Springfield, on October 16, 1860, to Maria Louisa Harvey, born In Springfield October 13, 1839, daughter of William and Eliza (Rice) Harvey, who came from Maryland to Sangamon County, overland, at an early day. The father passed away in 1855, hls widow surviving him until 1870. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Elkin, of whom the foliowing grew to maturity : Emma Clark, at home; Charles F., Robert R., Louis C., Zach C., Lawton L., Hazel L. Mrs. Elkin resides in a beautiful home at No. 1214 South Fourth Street. She is a delightful conversa- tionalist aud her recollections of the days when Springfield was a village are very interesting. Her father could not find a place for his busi- ness, so built an addition to his house for an office. This house stood in the center of the present business district. They were neighbors of Abraham Lincoln and Mrs. Eikin is proud of her memories of the great man.

ELKIN, William F. (Voi. I, p. 157.)

ELLIOTT, Alexander .- Agriculturai life draws very heavily upon the strength and resources of .a farmer, so that after years devoted to it he feels the necessity of taking life more easily. For this reason many of the most responsible

citizeus of Springfield belong to the retired farmer class, aud the city benefits from their residence there. 'One of these reliable aud hou- orable meu is Alexander Elliott, whose resi- deuce ou the northwest corner of Mapie aud South Fourteenth Streets is one of the most comfortable in the city. Mr. Elliott was born in Clay County, Iii., March 2, 1832, a son of William aud Rebecca (Coates) Eliiott, the former a native of North Carolina, where his wife was also born. At a very early day Wil- liam Elliott came to Clay County, where he en- gaged in farmiug, remaining there until his death. He and his wife had five sons and two daughters. Mr. Elliott and one brother, Wil- liam W., a retired farmer of Taylorvilie, are the only survivors.

After a boyhood spent in Clay County, where he aiternated attending school with working for his father, Mr. Elllott came to Springfield upon attaining his majority, and at Pawnee farmed for seven years. He operated severai farms in the county, until his removai to Springfield in 1904.

On August 7, 1854, Mr. Elliott was married, in Christian County, Ill., to Tabitha Jones, born in Wayne County, daughter of William and Martha (Lilard) Jones, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee. They came to Illinois at a very early day, locating in Wayne County, where the father farmed, but later came to Sangamou County to engage in farmiug, but the father died in Christian County, after his wife had passed away in Sangamon County. Mr. and Mrs. Jones had three sons and four daughters, two sisters of Mrs. Elliott now surviving: Mrs. Temperance Campbell, and Mrs. Nancy Jane Lawley, of Gienarm. Mr. and Mrs. Elliott be- came the parents of children as follows: Isaac and Jacob, of Springfield; James, of Wyoming ; Addie, wife of Fred Hart, of Springfield; Ollie, wife of John Jones, of Chicago; Eugene in the empioy of the Johnston-Hatcher Company, of Springfield; and six who died young. The five grandchildren of the family are: Melvin R. Elliott ; Lesta M., William H. and Helen Jones, and William Hart.

Mr. Elliott is a devout member of the Roman Catholic Church. In . political faith he is a Democrat. He is a man of means and his money has been accumulated through hard work, careful thrift and wise investments. When he located in Springfield he sold a valuable Morgan County farm and bought city realty. He has a high standing in his community, and Is able to look back over his long and useful life with pride.

ELLIS, Joei H .- The Eliis family described be- low is of Welsh extraction and has beeu rep- resented In Sangamon County, Ill., since 1825. They have since been identified with the best interests of the county, and have always done their share to organize and maintain churches and schools. Joel H. Ellis, subject of this re- view, was born in Islaud Grove Township, near

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the present site of old Berlin, January 16, 1828, a son of Henry and Martha (Yates) El- lis. Henry Ellis was born near Lexington, Ky., November 17, 1786, a son of John Ellis, born January 29, 1749, and October 2, 1770, marrled to Sarah Parrish, who was born April 20, 1757. John Ellis and his wife re- moved from Virginia to Kentucky. The father of John Ellis is said to have come from Eng- land to America with the second supply of emni- grants. The wife of Henry Ellis was Martha Marshall Yates, born after the death of her father, in Woodford County, Ky., September 13, 1791, daughter of Abner and Mollie (Hawes) Yates. Abner Yates was a son of Dr. Michael Yates, a native of England, who married Martha Marshall, sister of John Marshall, who afterwards became Chief Justice of the United States. Mrs. Henry Ellis was a sister of Henry Yates, Sr., and aunt of the famous War Governor of Illinois. Henry Ellis, Henry Yates and Colonel Robert Johnson together laid out the town of Fredericksburg, afterward called Warsaw, the county seat of Gallatin County, Ky. Henry Ellis and Martha Yates were married January 29, 1807, at Warsaw, and had ten children there, two of whom died in infancy. They removed to Illinois in 1825, reaching Island Grove, two miles northeast of Berlin, Sangamon County, in September of that year, and three children were born to them there. Henry Ellis died in Berlin, June 13, 1854, and his widow survived him many years. He had learned the trade of hatter in his na- tive State. Upon coming to Illinois he bought government land and erected a log cabin. with a fireplace and a stick and mind chimney. He eventually erected a more comfortable home for his family. All of their children are now deceased except Joel HI. They were: Abner Y., lived many years in Sangamon County, finally removed to Madison County, and there he and his wife both died; Lavina, born In Warsaw, Ky., was there married to Talbot Leonard. and died in Kentucky ; William H. H., died near Berlin, in 1873 ; Molly, married (first) Elias Maxwell and (second) Andrew Scott, and all are now deceased ; Louisa, married Thomas Foster, of Berlin ; Ormasinda, born in Kentucky, died in Illinois; Martha; born in 1822 In Ken- tucky, married Oliver H. Rush, and both are now deceased; Millicent A., born in 1824 In Kentucky, died in young womanhood in Il- linois ; Joel H .; Robert married Delia Pease and both are deceased; Richard Y., born at Island Grove. in 1832, enlisted August 11, 1861, In Company D Twenty-sixth Illinois, for three years, and was killed in a rifle pit at Atlanta, Ga., August 8, 1864, within three days of the expiration of his term of service. Mrs. Ellis, the mother, could never forget his tragic death and the fact that he was buried in an unknown grave, so far from his home, and each year at the anniversary of his death grief would seize her anew.

Henry Ellis and his wife were both devout

Christians and reared their children to strict observance of the principles of their faith. They were all active members of the Chris- tian Church with the exception of the yonng- est child. Mr. Ellis was always ready to per- form his dnty as a Christian and as a citizen, and helped those in distress and gave enconr- agement to those who needed it. In politics he was a Whlg and prominent in public af- fairs. He was one of the honored pioneers of Illinois, as hls ancestors had been in Kentucky, and was descended from one of Virginia's first families.

In boyhood Joel H. Ellis began his education in a log school house where slabs furnished the seats and there was a puncheon floor. This was a subscription school, the parents paying a fixed sum for each child sent, and as the boy often had to remain at home to get np wood, gather corn, or to do some other of the many tasks which conld be performed by a child of his age and size, his education was necessarily ineager. He remained at home until eighteen years of age, then began learning the black- smith trade with his brother-in-law, O. H. Rush, making an agreement that during the three years of his apprenticeship he was to receive his board and clothing and at the end of that term be paid $40 in money. IIe faith- fully fulfilled his part of the bargain and at the end of three years invested his forty dol- lars in bellows and an anvll and became a partner of his former employer, which ar- rangement continued two years, when Mr. Rush died and Mr. Ellis, feeling this loss keenly, decided he would have to close the shop, but first went to seek the advice of his old friend, Edward Pease, a hardware dealer of Spring- field. who advised him to return and continue the business, promising to stand by him with credit for any amount from one to one thon- sand dollars. The young man told his mother of his good fortune and she rejoiced with him, telling him to go ahead and do his best.

May 8, 1852, Mr. Ellis married Caroline Harmon, a native of Sangamon Connty, and they became the parents of one son, but death visited the home and claimed the young inother, in 1854. Mr. Ellis took his little son and went to live with his sister, Mrs. Polly Scott. but five months after the death of his wife his child also passed away. Mr. Ellis then lived with his mother until May 8, 1861, when he . was united in marriage with Martha Ann Simpson, and by this marriage had two daugh- ters, Florence May, at home, and Dora B., widow of Charles Scott, who met hils death by accident in 1900. Mrs. Scott has made her home with her parents since the death of her husband.

In 1848 Mr. Ellis drove hogs to St. Louis and sold them for $1.371% per hundred, but is now able to sell them at home for about $9.50 per hundred. In 1837 hls father hauled corn to Berlin and sold it for 61% cents per bushel, while Mr. Ellls is now able to get 60

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY

cents per bushel for the same grain. As a young man Mr. Ellis used to sharpen the old prairie plows, getting 40 to 50 cents each for the 16 and 24 inch cut, the latter of which weighed about 100 pounds. In 1851 Mr. Ellis was employed by Jacob Flower to drive 92 mules to Philadelphia, and mounting liis mule started on his way, having to swim the Ver- million, Wabash, White, Muskingum and Seloto Rivers, and crossing the Ohio at Wheeling. He stopped one week at London, Ohio, and at Cadiz stopped to shoe the front feet of the mules, having to make his nails and shoes.

He took them to within sixty miles of Phila- delphia, then returned home, having spent five months on the trip. He resumed work at his trade, and for thirty-five years was the village blacksmith at Berlin. He was very successful at his trade, being energetic and industrious, and when work had been promised made it his business to complete it by the appointed time. He was thorough in his work and his patrons were confident he would give them the best service to be obtained. He still has in his possession a shoe he made in 1845 for a race horse of fine Kentucky breed, which is an example of neatness and good workmanship.

Mr. Ellis has witnessed with pleasure the remarkable development that has taken place in Sangamon County during the many years he has made it his home. He well remembers the first matches he ever saw and recalls the days when the old flint-lock and tow were used in starting a fire, and one neighbor often used to borrow coals from another to start a fire. The advent of the oil lamp to replace the tal- low candles was an event to be long wondered at, but Mr. Ellis has seen these replaced by gas and electric lights. He was well and fa- vorably known in a business way and the sound of the anvil was music in his ears, but he finally left his work and retired from business life. He has taken great pleasure in witness- ing the favorable changes that have taken place during his lifetime and has always been the friend of progress and improvement. At the age of eighty-three years he is in excellent health and attributes his fine physical condi- tion to the fact that he has always been tem- perate in his hablts, has never chewed or sinoked tobacco and has never been intoxicated. He has always revered the memory of his mother for her loving care and teaching in early life, and has never forgotten her good advice to him as a boy. After leaving his shop he moved on his farm, living there until 1885, and then, having accumulated a comfortable competency, retired to live In Berlin, where he is surrounded with every comfort.

Mr. Ellis has always been active in church and Sunday School work and can look back with pleasure to the many years he has spent in the good cause. He has been a liberal sup- porter of various public enterprises and has always been interested in the issnes of the day. His eyesight has been failing of late, but he still

delights in hearing the news of the day read to him and takes an active interest in all pub- lic affairs. He is a Republican In principle and has had the pleasure and honor of shaking the hands of Martin Van Buren, Generals Sherman and Grant and Mr. Roosevelt. He has visited eleven States of the Union and has always taken a keen pleasure in the different scenes, but has been glad to return home. He is devoted to his family and has many warm friends in the county, who greatly enjoy liis society and his stories of early days.

ELSHOFF, Anton, of Springfield, one of the leading grocers of this part of the State, was born in that city, May 27, 1867, a son of Henry and Frances Elshoff. In 1864 Henry Elshoff came to Springfield, where his death occurred in January 1900. His wife died in June, 1896, during a pleasure trip in Germany.

Anton Elshoff was educated in the parish school and later graduated from Springfield Business College. After leaving school he entered his father's grocery store, in 1879, and has continued in this line ever since. Gradually he has built up his present business house, located at the corner of Eleventh and Cook Streets, where for thirty-one years he has met the demands of his customers.

On May 25, 1892, Mr. Elshoff was married to Katie E. Morrison, at St. Mauritius Church, by the Rev. George J. Blatter, in Chicago, Il1. Mrs. Elshoff is the daughter of Stephen B. and Margaret (Crowe) Morrison.

In 1893 Mr. Elshoff was elected a member of the Sangamon County Board of Supervisors, serving two years. In 1903 he was appointed a member of the Springfield Board of Educa- tion, serving three years, and in 1906 was re- appointed. serving three more years, and in 1911 he was elected by the people to serve again on the Board of Education.

Mr. Elshoff is a member of the Business Men's Association. He also belongs to the Western Catholic Union, of which organization he was a Supreme Director for several years. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, the Loyal Americans, Lincoln Centennial Asso- ciatlon, and is a popular member of the Knights of Columbus. All his Ilfe he has been a con- sistent member of the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception.

ENGLISH, Benajah R .- An old and highly esteemed farmer of Sangamon County, who is now operating on his fine farm of eighty acres on Section 16, Cooper Township, has been a resident of Buckhart Station for more than forty years. He was born In Cincinnati, Ohio, July 31, 1837, a son of Benajah and Nancy (Ross) English. Benajah English, the father, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., In 1790, served in the War of 1812, and after its close moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he learned the trades of tailoring and bookbinding, and followed these occupations in Cincinnati until his death In

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY

1836. His wife who was born in New Jersey, In 1800, died on the farm of her son in Sanga- mon County, at the age of eighty years. They had two children who lived : Athlina Tunne- cliff, who died in Cincinnati, December 19, 1910, at the age of eighty-three years, and Benajah.

Benajah R. English was educated in Cincin- nati and there learned the trade of stove mold- ing, which he followed until 1869 and then took up farming. He came to Sangamon County and located in Cooper Township, having fallen heir to eighty acres of land there. He continued to carry on his work actively until poor health and advanced years caused his retirement. He is a member of Berry Lodge of Odd Fellows, and his wife is connected with the Rebekahs. He is a Democrat In political views and his religious connection is with the Methodist Church.

On January 28, 1869, Mr. English was mar- ried in Christian County, Ill., to Sarah C. Firey, who was born August 4, 1843, in Sanga- inon County, daughter of Henry and Minerva (Lord) Firey, the former born in Williamsport, Md., in 1815, and the latter in Urbana, Ohio, in 1818. Mr. Firey learned the blacksmith trade as a youth, but in 1836 came to Illinois and settled on a farm in Sangamon County, where he remained several years, then removed to Christian County, where he continued opera- tions until his death, at which time he owned considerable land. His death occurred at Edin- burg, Ill., August 28, 1882, and that of his widow November 9, 1897. In the family of Mrs. English there were three sons and five daughters, of wbom Edwin L. dled October 1, 1881, and the others survive. The oldest Ilving child is Sarah, wife of George Housley, of Springfield; Mrs. English is the next in order of hirth, and the others follow: Anna, the wife of Sherman Gankey, of Mt. Auburn, a re- tired farmer; Joseph, a farmer in Christian County ; Alice, the wife of William Day, a Nebraska farmer: Eliza, the wife of G. W. Milligan, M. D., of Edinburg ; and John H., who is engaged in the real estate business in Aher- deen, S. D.

To Mr. and Mrs. English there have been born two children : Elenora, who died in infancy ; and Athalina, who died July 15, 1908, was the wife of Benjamin F. Stewart, engaged In the implement business at Buckhart, by whom she had three children-Laurel, Bessie and Esther, who now make their bome with their grand- parents.

ENOS, Pascal Paoli. (Vol. I, p. 158.)

ERMANN, Anton .- No man who spends his days working in the mines can stay in active life as long as one whose energies are hetter con- served. Lahoring beneath the earth's surface, these sturdy miners give to their work the best of their beings and finally retire to spend the rest of their years in the comfort they have so faithfully earned. One of those who is an

excellent example of the best class of mining people, is Anton Ermann, of No. 1734 East Car- penter street, Springfield. He was born in Gratz, Austria, January 17, 1852, a son of Joseph and Anna Ermann, both of Austria. The father was a farmer, who operated a big estate in Austria, and there he and his wife lived until their respective deaths. There were six children In the family, represented in Springfield hy Anton and Joseph, the latter be- ing still engaged in mining.

Anton Ermann was educated in Austria, and during his boyhood he learned the trade of a baker, following this until he came to America. He was in the Austrian Army for twelve years, being a member of the Hunters' Regiment, which had charge of the preservation of the for- ests. He was also engaged in hridge bullding, but never abandoned his trade. On April 4, 1891, he set sail for America, from Bremen, ar- riving in New York City, from whence he came to Chicago, but after a short stay, went to Green Bay, Wis. There he worked as a for- ester, but soon went Into the iron inines in northern Michigan. He traveled through six. teen different States, engaging in mining, be- fore coming to Pana, Ill., where he arrived in 1902. After sixteen months there, be came to Springfield, and mined until December 1, 1905, when he retired.

On February 10, 1883, he was married in Hungary, to Mary Retter, horn in that country, July 10, 1863, a daughter of Frank and Joseph- ine (Leinsteln) Retter, both of Hungary. The grandfather was a German, but went to Hungary as a teamster. Later lie moved to the portion of Hungary in which Mrs. Ermaun was horn, making the trip with oxen, a distance of 800 miles. These parents never came to Amer- ica. They had a remarkable family, there he- ing fifteen children among whom were four pairs of twins, and four survive: Mrs. Ermann ; Stephen of Sigimund, Hungary ; Mrs. Christina Soupuch of Lugash, Hungary, and Mrs. Agnes Babiak of Berlin, Germany.

Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ermann. four of whou are now living : Amelia, wife of Alhert Babiak of Milwaukee. a machin- ist ; Josephine, John and Paul, at home. In 1904, Mrs. Ermann attended the Chicago Col- lege of Midwifery, from which she was grad- uated July 18, 1904. For eighteen years, prior to coming to America, she practiced ber profes- sion in Europe, and since coming to Springfield, she has built up a large practice. Since locat- ing in this city she has been called upon in 530 cases of child birth, and has never lost a pa- tient, a most remarkable record. Mr. Ermann Is a Roman Catholic, belonging to SS. Peter and Paul Church, and to the Catholic Order of For- esters. He is a Democrat in political faith. The pleasant home at No. 1734 East Carpenter street, is owned by Mr. Ermann, In addition to other property, for he is in comfortable circum- stances.

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ERNST, John Alexander, a lifelong resident of Sangamon County, was born near Farmingdale, Gardner Township, July 19, 1862, a son of Frank and Sarah Jane (Ross) Ernst, the former a native of Bremen, Germany, and the latter of Adair County, Ky. Frank Ernst, in early youth a cabinet-maker, came to America when about twenty years of age, worked for a time at his trade in the East, and came to Gardner Town- ship a few years later, there engaging in farm- ing. In politics he was a Republican and later a Prohibitionist, and at the time of his death was an eider in the Farmingdale Presbyterian Church. He and his wife, soon after their marriage, located on the farm where she now resides. He passed away March 21, 1898, at the age of sixty-four years. Mrs. Ernst was twice married, her first husband being James Short, by whom she had two children, Addie and Wiiiia. She is a daughter of William and Maria (Willis) Ross, the former of whom was born January 9, 1801, in North Carolina, and was a son of John Ross. John Ross was born in Scotland and came to America before the Revolution, and served from North Carolina In that struggle for five years, being then wounded and disabled for further service. He was mar- ried in North Carolina and moved to Adair County, Ky., when his son William was a child. William Ross there married Maria Willis, in 1827, and four children were born to them in Adair County. They came to Sangamon County, Iii., arriving there in November, 1836, and three children were born to them In Gardner Town- ship. Their second child, Sarah Jane, was born February 14, 1831. Frank Ernst and wife had the following children : John Alexander, whose name stands at the head of this sketch; Rev. Albert F., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, of Grand Island, Neb., married Mabel Gamble; Julia and Jennie, twins, the former wife of W. R. Morris, deceased, and the latter residing with her mother ; Emma, wife of W. H. Eckel, and William F., who married Gertrude Sims and resides on the home farm.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Volume II, part 2, Part 47

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913 Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago, Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 774

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 774