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REV. JOHN H. CANNON was born in Henry, Marshall County, Ill., January 20, 1868. A few years later his family moved to Joliet, Ill., where he spent his boyhood. He was educated at St. Ignatius College, Chicago; Niagara Uni- versity, Niagara Falls, N. Y., and St. Viateurs College, Bourbonnais Grove, Kankakee, Ill., finishing his classical course at Niagara and his course in philosophy at St. Viateurs. He studied theology at St. Mary's Seminary, Balti. more, Md., and was ordained to the priesthood by the most Rev. P. A. Feehan, late Archbishop of Chicago, June 25, 1894. He was first as- signed as assistant rector to the Rev. Thomas Mackin, of St. Joseph's Church, Rock Island,
Ill., until 1898, when he was appointed rector of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, at Gibson City, Ill., and while filling this pastorate he built St. John's Church at Belle Flower, and the Sacred Heart Church at Farmer City, organiz- ing the church congregation at the first named place. In 1901 Rev. Father Cannon was as- signed to the work of organizing a church in Urbana, the Catholic citizens of that city hav- ing previously attended services at Champaign. In St. Mary's Church, on Sunday, June 30, 1901, Father Cannon preached what was, to them, his first sermon. At the service he prom- ised that they should attend Mass in their own church the following Sunday. True to his promise, thirty-seven hours after commencing the work, he had a temporary edifice completed in which the parish was organized the next Sunday, and in which services were held until the present church, St. Patrick's, was com- pleted. His pastorate has continued until the present time (1905), and during this period he has firmly established his parish, having erected what is conceded to be the finest church in either Champaign or Urbana. The results achieved by him during his brief pas- torate are a sufficient evidence of his construc- tive ability, his force of character, and tenacity of purpose. While a stanch Catholic church- man, his broad liberality has brought to him the friendship of all classes and the generous assistance of citizens of all denominations. He has projected and made church improvements costing, in all, more than $49,000, and has col- lected and paid out over $30,000.
MARK CARLEY (deceased), pioneer, was born August 24, 1799, in Hancock, Hillsboro, County, N. H., near the birth place of the great American journalist, Horace Greeley, whom he knew in boyhood. His father was Elijah Carley, and his mother, who came of an old New Hampshire family, was Agnes Gra- ham before her marriage. His paternal grand- parents were Joseph and' Sarah Washburn Carley, the grandmother being a member of the noted Washburn family, one of the most distinguished in American history. These New England Carleys came of renowned Scotch-Irish ancestry, of ancient lineage, their coat of arms, shown in the accompanying illus- tration, having been handed down to the present generation of the family.
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893
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
The earliest representatives of the family in America came here prior to the Revolution, and were participants in the War for American Independence. A cherished family paper is the discharge from the Continental army- signed by General George Washington-of Jonathan Carley, an uncle of Mark Carley.
MARK CARLEY.
Distinguished in many walks of life themselves, the Carleys have also been closely allied with leading families of New England, New York, Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois. Among these noted families, besides the Washburns before mentioned, have been the Stevensss of Ver- mont, who were prominent in colonial and Revolutionary times; the Harrimans, Fiskes, Lawsons and Kendalls of New York; the Car- ley Chess family, of Kentucky; and the Goulds and Boutons of Chicago. Louise Carley Law- son, of Cincinnati, who acquired marked dis- tinction as an artist a generation ago, and who was the wife of Prof. L. M. Lawson, Dean of the Medical College of Ohio and of the Medical College at Lexington, Ky., was a sis- ter of Mark Carley.
When Mark Carley was eleven years of age, his parents removed from New Hampshire to Vermont and he grew up in the latter State. He made the most of his early educational
advantages, and his later education, which was broadly practical, was gained in a school of experience which extended over a long per- iod and covered a wide field. As a youth he learned the trade of carpenter and millwright, and having mastered these callings, he felt himself equal to any emergency he might be called upon to face in a business career. He had a strong, self-reliant nature, and, when twenty years of age, demonstrated that he was a true son of New England by setting out to see something of the world before permanently establishing himself in business. He went first to New Brunswick, and, after remaining there a short time, sailed for New Orleans. He encountered a tempestuous voyage, was ship- wrecked, and finally landed at Savannah, Ga. There he got aboard a vessel which carried him to Havana, and gave him an opportunity to see something of the southern islands, now so
MRS. ABIGAIL, S. CARLEY.
closely related to the United States. From Havana he proceeded to New Orleans, reaching there on the 24th of April, 1820, after having a narrow escape from drowning at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Soon afterward he engaged in building mills and cotton gins in La Fourche Parish, La., and was thus engaged
894
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
for several years, spending his winters in New Orleans. Later he went to Feliciana Parish, where he continued his building operations, until 1837, living much among the French Cre- oles and learning their language, which he spoke with ease and fluency. During the sev- enteen years of his residence in Louisiana he made occasional visits to the Northern and Eastern States, and while on one of these visits, in 1830, he married Miss Abigail Wether- bee Stevens, daughter of Silsby Stevens of Springfield, Vt. In 1837 he established his home in Clermont County, Ohio, where he was extensively engaged in farming, and in boat- ing on the Ohio River until 1850. During the latter year he determined to visit the newly
QUOD
UTILE
ONES
L.M. Lawson.
CARLEY COAT OF ARMS.
discovered gold-mining region of California, and sailed from New York for the Pacific coast. The vessel which carried him thither stopped at Grand Camar Island, in the Carri- bean Sea, inhabited by the descendants of the old Buccaneers, and also touched at Cocos Island, where Mr. Carley saw, chiseled in the rock, the names of the three small vessels commanded by Captain Cook in his voyage around the world, and the date of their arrival at this point. When he reached the mining region, Mr. Carley soon became a conspicuous figure among the gold hunters, was chosen a Judge of the Miners' Court, and took a prom-
inent part in regulating the pubic affairs of the district in which he operated. After spend- ing a year in California, he returned to his home in Ohio, and remained there until 1853. That year brought him to Urbana, Ill., and the following year he became, in a sense, the father of the City of Champaign, inasmuch as he erected the first dwelling house on the site of the present city. He built also the first grain ware-house in the city, and brought in the first steam-engine to operate his elevator and corn-sheller. Other buildings which are still standing as monuments to his early enter- prise in the building line, are the agricul- tural warehouse located on the Illinois Central Railroad at the Main Street crossing, the brick livery stable on Market Street, and the hand- some homestead of his later years, located on West Church Street. The home is now oc- cupied by his daughter, the widow of Dr. S. W. Kincaid, and his granddaughter, Mrs. Mattie Kincaid Weston, He was a moving spirit, also, in the development the town of Tolono, Champaign County, where he built the first grain warehouse, put in railway side- tracks and made other improvements. He be- came a large landowner and left to his family several tracts of land, titles to which came to him direct from the United States Govern- ment. Politically, he was in early life a mem- ber of the Whig party, he was an ardent ad- mirer of Henry Clay, and among his family treasures is a snuff-box, presented to him by the great Kentucky statesman. Later he be- came a Republican and he had a wide acquaint- ance with the founders of the party in Illi- nois, Abraham Lincoln, and other distinguished leaders of that period being frequent visi- tors at his home. As was to be expected of one who had seen so much of the world, and so many varied phases of life, he was broadly liberal in his religious views, and a close stud- ent of the writings of Huxley, Tyndall, Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill and Robert G. Inger- soll. The later years of his life were passed in comparative retirement and in the enjoy- ment of an ample fortune. He died at his home in Champaign, February 3, 1888. Mrs. Carley died November 12, 1871. The surviv- ing children of these pioneer settlers in Cham- paign are Mrs. Mary A. Carley Kincaid, of that city, and Mrs. Isota Carley Mahan of Kenwood, Chicago.
895
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
GRAHAM CARLEY, son of the preceding and deceased capitalist, was born in Clermont County, Ohio, in 1839. Prior to the coming of the family to Illinois, he received careful edu- cational training in the schools of Ohio and later pursued courses of study under private teachers and in the schools of Champaign, which laid the foundation for fine mental at- tainments in later years. He was a youth of unusual promise when a paralytic stroke im- paired his physical energy, although it had no effect on his mental vigor and activity. Inher- iting an ample fortune, he managed important business interests in Champaign and Chicago for many years and, at the same time, was a
GRAHAM CARLEY.
close student of literature and of the arts and sciences. He possessed a large library and his extensive reading made him a man of broad knowledge and varied accomplishments. He bore the ills of life like a true philosopher, and his generous nature and kindly disposition drew about him many warm friends. Prior to the World's Columbian Exposition, he built a handsome residence in Chicago to which he removed in 1893, in order that he might study, at his leisure, the arts and industries exhibi- ted there. He died there in October, 1893, just as the great Exposition was drawing to a
close, and the last World's Fair excursion train returning to Champaign, bore his remains to his old home where they rest beside those of his father.
ROZILLA (RICHARDS) CARTER was born in Norwichfolk, Me., January 1, 1827, and was educated in the public schools of Norwich- folk, in which town she was married, Decem- ber 4, 1846, to Hiram A. Carter, who was born in Brunswick, Me., April 25, 1820. In 1852 Mr. and Mrs. Carter moved to Massachusetts, and after living there five years, removed to Fair- field City, Iowa, where Mr. Carter followed merchandising for six years. Then mov- ing to Mattoon, Ill., he engaged in the grain business there for thirteen years and also in handling lumber. Later Mr. Carter bought two farms in Texas, besides some town real estate, and spent a short time at Gainesville in that State, where he died July 15, 1886. After his death Mrs. Carter spent some time, near her brother, who is most tenderly at- tached to her and desired her to be where he could watch over her welfare. At present (1905) Mrs. Carter is living in Boston, Mass. The pa- rents of Mrs. Carter were Jesse and Susan (Mc- Nelly) Richards, who came from the East in 1872, and located in Champaign, where they re- sided until their death.
HERMAN CHAFFEE, M. D .- The name which begins this sketch is that of one of the oldest physicians in Champaign County, and the first who located at Tolono, Ill., Dr. Chaffee, was born June 28, 1816, at Rutland, Vt., of an old family of the Green Mountain State. His father, Simeon Chaffee, and his mother, Fan- nie (Parsons) Chaffee, were born in Massa- chusetts.
Dr. Chaffee was graduated from the Al- bany Medical College in 1854. This was fol- lowed by a year spent in professional studies at Paris, France. He located at Tolono, in April, 1857, where he at once entered upon a profit- able professional career. He became the first Postmaster of the village, and took a promi- nent part in the upbuilding of the town, erect- ing the third dwelling in the place. He also led in municipal improvements by building the first sidewalk, planting the first street shade- trees, and always did much to make the town an attractive home for all comers.
896
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
Dr. Chaffee was one of a family of fifteen children, and died May 22, 1890, the last sur- vivor of that family. He lived in Tolono forty- four years. His widow now 82 years old, lives with her daughter, Mrs. W. M. Hill, in Tolono. Another daughter married F. M. Wardall, who resides on Illinois Street, in Urbana.
Dr. Chaffee was one of the eleven charter members of the Tolono Baptist Church, and was always foremost in the religious move- ments of the town, as well as in other enter- prises which were calculated to make Tolono a desirable place of residence.
WILLIAM CHERRY (deceased), pioneer and, in his day, one of the most prosperous farmers
WILLIAM CHERRY.
and largest land-owners of Champaign County, Ill., was born in Oxfordshire, England, June 9, 1829, a son of 'Thomas Cherry, for many years gamekeeper on the estate of Lord Ab- ingdon. Mr. Cherry received the average ad- vantages of English country-bred youths, and, after his immigration to America, in 1853, lo- cated in Toledo, Ohio, where he worked on the construction of the Wabash Railroad. Near Attica, Ind., he farmed until 1859, when he settled on land near Armstrong, Ill., and en- gaged in farming until 1866. During the latter
year he came to Champaign County, Ill., and settled on a previously purchased farm in Og- den Township, and on this property he installed the first complete system of drainage in his neighborhood. His example was soon after followed by farmers within a large radius, and thus he was the originator of a system which has done much to make of Illinois one of the finest agricultural sections in the world. His farm became known for the extent and excel- lence of its general improvements, and for the high grade Southdown sheep and Short- horn cattle which reached maturity . in its meadows. He added to his original tract an- other quarter section, living on the latter place until 1888. The following year he bought twenty acres of land on the edge of the town of Champaign, which also he improved, and upon which he lived until 1891. He then located on another tract of land on the edge of the town, which continued to be his home until his death, August 7, 1903. His lands were al- ways under a high state of cultivation.
Mr. Cherry was twice married, first in 1855 to Sarah Lever, of Buckinghamshire, England, who died in 1894. In 1897 he married Nellie Last, daughter of Henry and Mary Last, the parents being natives of England, and at . present residents of Urbana. Having no chil- dren of his own, Mr. Cherry opened his heart and home to five other children, whom he ed- ucated, and who owe their start in life to his far-sightedness and generosity. Mrs. Cherry survives her husband, and since his death has managed the large estate which he left her. He was a member and a steadfast adherent of the First Methodist church of Urbana.
EZRA E. CHESTER, a retired farmer, ex- Mayor of the town of Champaign, and for many years one of the most zealous promoters of scientific agricultural advancement in Cham- paign County, was born on a farm near Colum- bus, Ohio, April 30, 1837, and was educated in the public schools and at Hanover Academy. At an early age Mr. Chester engaged in farm- ing in his native State, and in 1859 came to Champaign County and bought lands, upon which he carried on general farming and stock- raising. About 1870 he began to make a spe- cialty of Shorthorn cattle, and ever since his land has been devoted principally to stock, in- cluding horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. Since his retirement from active management, the
897
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN. COUNTY.
property has been operated by his son, T. P. Chester, under the firm name of E. E. Chester & Son.
Mr. Chester has made a practical study of agriculture and stock-raising, and his advice and opinion regarding these two important branches of farming are sought and valued far beyond the confines of Champaign County. He was Illinois Commissioner to the World's Co- lumbian Exhibition at Chicago, în 1893, having charge of the educational and agricultural ex- hibit. For 14 years he was a member of the State Board of Agriculture, and for twenty years, a member of the County Agricultural Board.
In politics the services of Mr. Chester have been equally conspicuous, and aside from serv- ing as Mayor of Champaign for one term, he has been a member of the County Board of Supervisors for several years. He is one of the pillars of the Presbyterian church, serving as trustee for many years, and contributing generously towards the financial support of the church.
On February 25, 1864, the subject of this sketch married Margaret E. Powell, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth H. (Brown) Powell, and a native of Columbus, Ohio.
J. M. CHURCHILL, farmer on Section 25, Philo Township, Champaign County, III., was born in Cortland County, N. Y., April 2, 1855, a son of Chauncey and Catherine (Merry) Churchill, natives of New York and Vermont, respectively. Mr. Churchill was reared on a farm and educated in the district schools and at an academy of his native State, removing to Champaign County, III., in 1871, where he worked by the month for two years, when he returned to his old home in New York. In 1879 he returned to Illinois, renting land for seven years. In 1886 he bought eighty acres in Critten- den Township, and in 1895 purchased his pres- ent farm of 160 acres. He is engaged in gen- eral farming and cattle and horse raising, and his property is well improved and valuable. September 25, 1878, Mr. Churchill married Jen- nie E. French, who was born in Kansas and reared in the Empire State, and to them have been born three children: Lottie, Agnes E., and Jason Eugene. Mr. Churchill is a Prohibition- ist in politics, and in religion is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
CYRUS N. CLARK, one of the best known and popular business men, politicians, and fra- ternalists in Central Illinois, is the owner and proprietor of one of the most extensive monu- ment concerns in the State. He was elected Sheriff of Champaign County November 4, 1902, by the largest majority given any man on the ticket.
Mr. Clark was born July 9, 1860, in Prince- ton, Ind., and was educated in the public schools of his native town. He came to Cham- paign County, Ill., March 1, 1880, and was em- ployed on a farm in Mahomet Township, until 1883. In that year he entered the employ of Booker & Atkinson, monument dealers, of Champaign, Ill. On September 1, 1886, he pur- chased a small monument concern in Urbana, which he built up and made one of the largest in the State, at the same time training his five brothers to a knowledge of the business, which they eventually followed in other places.
Mr. Clark probably enjoys as large an ac- quaintance as any man in the central part of the State, and his genial manner and wide knowledge of affairs have won him friends throughout this country and Canada, over which he has traveled extensively. He is a pronounced Republican, and his local popularity was best evidenced by his election as Sheriff' of Champaign County, his administration hav- ing been well and favorably received through- out. As a Knight Templar he is identified with Urbana Commandery No. 16, and is Past Mas- ter of Urbana Lodge No. 157, A. F, & A. M. He is also president of the Urbana Shriner's Club, and is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, Mahomed Temple, of Peoria, Ill. Mr. Clark married Emma Bailey, of Mahomet, Ill., Octo- ber 11, 1888.
JOHN GARDNER CLARK was born in Arm- strong County, Pa., November 25, 1828, and was there educated in the public schools. At the age of seventeen years he began teaching in the district schools of Armstrong County, con- tinuing in that vocation for two terms. He was then engaged as bookkeeper and store- keeper at Buffalo Furnace, and acted in that capacity for about three years, when he formed a partnership with Peter Graff in a general store at Worthington. After three years, Mr. Clark sold his interest in the firm and moved to Galesburg, Ill., where he entered into the contracting business in 1856, furnishing lumber
898
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
and car material for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Two years later he became associated with J. B. Porterfield in contracting, and they supplied the Illinois Central Railroad with lumber and ties for more than ten years, during which time they furnished those ma- terials for the entire line.
In 1858 Messrs. Clark and Porterfield moved to Champaign, and together they purchased about 720 acres of land, Mr. Clark's share com- prising 320 acres at the edge of the city limits. He engaged in stock raising for many years, making a specialty of Shorthorn cattie. He has since bought 260 acres within the city limits, and is still superintending his farming interests, although retired from active life. In politics he is a Republican, and in his religious faith a Congregationalist.
Mr. Clark was married December 4, 1851, to Miss Jennie Y. Blaine, a daughter of William and Elizabetlı (Wiggins) Blaine. Three chil- dren have been born to them, as follows: William, who died in infancy; Arthur N., and Leslie B.
The parents of Mr. Clark were John and Katherine (Best) Clark, both of whom were na- tives of Pennsylvania. A number of his ances- tors on the paternal side participated in the War of the Revolution, serving under General Washington, The family was originally Eng- lish, and came to America many years prior to the Revolution.
FIELDING A. COGGESHALL was born in Randolph County, Ind., and moved with his pa- rents to Champaign County, Ill., when a small child. He afterwards worked on a farm, clerked in a store during the summer and at- tended school in the winter. Having completed his course in the high school at the age of nine- teen, he began teaching school in Champaign County, where he continued as an educator for a number of years with marked success, being principal of his home school for the last two years. During vacation he took up a line of special work and also went through a business course at the Northern Indiana Normal Col- lege, at Valparaiso, Ind. He then began the study of law, and was graduated from the Law Department of the Wesleyan University at Bloomington, Ill., in 1896. He immediately began the practice of law at Ogden, but mov- ing to Champaign in 1900, has there made a good record in building up a practice. Mr.
Coggeshall is in every respect a self-made man. He has been a zealous worker in the Republican party for the past fifteen years, and after hav- ing been urged by his many friends in Cham- paign and elsewhere in the county to enter the race for State's Attorney, he decided to seek the nomination. At the convention, held March 19, he was nominated by acclamation after hav- ing received the largest majority in the pri- maries of any candidate ever nominated (for that office) in Champaign County. He was elected at the November election by a majority of over 3,000. Mr. Coggeshall is a member of
F. A. COGGESHALL.
the Masonic Order, the Order of Knights of Pythias, B. P. O. Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America, and of the Royal Arcanum. In 1899, he was united in marriage to Fannie Tay- lor, of Ogden, Ill.
GEORGE COLE, leading merchant of Sidney, Ill., was born in Massachusetts, March 2, 1837, the son of Elijah and Freeda (Cowen) Cole, and a brother of Isaac Cole. Elijah Cole died in Massachusetts in 1851. The subject of this sketch was reared in the East and there ac- quired a good public school education, to which he has since added by coming in close
899
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
contact with the world during a long and suc- cessful business career. His youth was spent on a farm, and there he remained until twenty years old when, in 1857, he accompanied his widowed mother to Champaign County, Ill. Here they located on a farm on Section 32, in Sidney Township, where our subject re- mained for fourteen years, turning his land into a highly improved and valuable estate.
In 1871 Mr. Cole engaged in merchandising at Sidney in partnership with his brother, E. B. Cole. For three years they followed a gen- eral mercantile business and then dissolved partnership, the subject of this sketch continu- ing in business alone for ten or twelve years. He then became associated with his son-in-law, W. P. Jones, and they remained together for ten years, when, in 1897, their partnership was dissolved. Mr. George Cole once more assumed full control of the business, but later took his son, J. W., into the firm, which is now George Cole & Son. Their store is in a handsome double-front building, consisting of four rooms and a basement, in which they carry a very large stock of general merchan- dise,, including dry-goods, carpets, cloaks, etc. Five clerks are regularly employed and both father and son take an active part in the work. The former still owns a farm of ninety-six acres. He has served several years as a mem- ber of the Town Council.
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