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Mr. Roth was admitted to the bar at Mt. Vernon, Ill., June, 1874, and at the suggestion of the late Col. J. S. Wolfe, on July 13, 1874, he located at Rantoul, where he entered into the practice of his profession. He formed a partnership with Hon. Benjamin J. Gifford, which continued for eighteen months, when Mr. Gifford abandoned the profession. Although Mr. Roth has had several offers of partnership practice with some of the leading attorneys of Champaign and Urbana, he has always deemed
it advisable to remain in Rantoul, where, for the past thirty years, he has been one of the leading practitioners of Champaign County.
In political views Mr. Roth is a Democrat, and in religious faith a Congregationalist. So- cially he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America.
On June 24, 1875, Mr. Roth was married to Miss Anna M. Eubank, who was born in Cov- ington, Ky., April 14, 1848, and of this union, there are two children-Sidney R. and Harold Denio-both of whom are graduates of the law department of the University of Nebraska. Mrs. Roth has been prominent socially in the communities in which she has lived, and for about twelve consecutive years, was a lead- ing member of the Board of Education of the Village of Rantoul.
JOHN ROUGHTON, a venerable and highly respected citizen of Ludlow Township, Cham- paign County, Ill., still maintains his residence on the spot where he secured homestead rights half a century ago. He is a native of England, where he was born April 5, 1819, his parents, Gervaise and Ann (Pymm) Roughton, also be- ing born in that country, the former in Derby- shire, and the latter in Leicestershire. Derby- shire was the birthplace of the paternal grand- parents, John and Ann (Wilson) Roughton, while John and Ann (Hall) Gilbert, the grand- parents on the maternal side, were born in Leicestershire.
The subject of this sketch received his early mental training in the schools of his native country, where in his youth he learned the blacksmith's trade, and followed that occupa- tion for a long period. He left England and came to the United States, landing in New York City, in April, 1850. In the spring of 1854 he came to Illinois, soon after locating in Urbana. He became a citizen of the United States in the fall of the following year, and filed a declaration for pre-emption on the north- east quarter of Section 27, in Ludlow (then Pera) Township, on which he made good im- provements, and has lived up to the present writing. He is known to all the people of the township, and to him is freely accorded the homage due to advanced age when it is crown- ed with the dignity of a virtuous and beneficent life.
In 1862 Mr. Roughton enlisted in the Union
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
Army and served for three years in the Seven- ty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out of the service at Galveston, Tex., and was paid off and discharged in Chicago on August 4, 1865.
On November 8, 1842, Mr. Roughton was married to Eliza Gilbert, who was born in Leicestershire, England, where, in youth, she received her mental training in the schools of her neighborhood. Of the nine children who were born of this union, but one-Reuben- survives.
In religious belief, Mr. Roughton accepts the doctrine of the Universalist Church. Politi- cally he has rendered unswerving allegiance to the Republican party since voting for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. In 1880, he acted as census enumerator for the Township of Ludlow. In this township, he also served ten years as Justice of the Peace, five years as Road Com- missioner, and several years as Overseer of Highways. Aside from public office, he has acted continuously, since 1885, as Secretary and Superintendent of the Rantoul Maplewood Cemetery Association. Fraternally, Mr. Rough- ton is identified with the A. F. & A. M., I. O. O. F., and G. A. R.
REUBEN ROUGHTON, well-known farmer of Ludlow Township, Champaign County, Ill., was born in Yorkshire, England, December 25, 1848, the son of John and Eliza (Gilbert) Roughton, natives, respectively, of Derbyshire and Leicestershire, England. His grandpar- ents, Gervaise and Ann (Gilbert) Roughton, were born, resepectively, in Derbyshire and Leicestershire. His great-grandparents on the paternal side, John and Ann (Wilson) Rough- ton, were natives of Derbyshire, and the ma- ternal great-grandparents, John and Ann (Hall) Gilbert, were of Leicestershire origin.
When two years of age Reuben Roughton was brought to this county by his parents, who, after spending some time in New Jersey and Ohio, moved to Illinois and located at Urbana in 1854. In his youth Reuben Roughton at- tended public school and, when verging on manhood, was a pupil in the Urbana high school and later the Industrial University. Be- fore entering the university (in 1864) he went to Memphis, Tenn., where his father, who was a soldier in the Union Army, was serving in the Ordnance Department, under a special de-
tail from General Grant, and his mother was attending to the cooking for a mess of gun- smiths. Here he attended public school for several months. When the fact became known in the school that he was the son of a Union soldier, he was subjected to a system of per- secution which compelled him to abandon his class there and seek work. Captain Price, commanding the Ordnance Department, gave him employment at the bench in the arsenal, repairing arms, at which he continued until the close of the war.
In 1865, he returned to Urbana, and after spending some time in the university and work- ing as machinist, went back to the old home- stead, pre-empted by his father in 1855. His latter years have been devoted to farming here, in conjunction with his father (until the latter became incapacitated for work) and with his son, Roy.
On January 27, 1876, Mr. Roughton was mar- ried to Eliza H. Genung, who was born and educated in Rantoul, Ill. Three children have blessed this union, namely: Ada Maude, Roy John and Hazel M. Mrs. Roughton is a daugh- ter of E. N. and Julia A. (Shank) Genung, the latter a native of Virginia. Mrs. Roughton's grandparents, Wesley W. and Eliza (Marsh) Genung, were natives of New Jersey.
In religious belief, Mr. Roughton is an ad- herent of the Christian Church, and politically is identified with the Republican party. He has served his township in the capacity of Con- stable, and has held the office of School Trus- tee. Fraternally he is associated with the Order of Good Templars. For a number of years Mr. Roughton has been a member and President of the Board of Directors of the Rantoul Maplewood Cemetery Association.
It is a peculiar incident in connection with the life of Mr. Roughton, that, under the roof which shelters him, dwell four generations of the Roughton family.
LAWRENCE C. RUDICIL was born in Sid- ney Township, Champaign County, Ill., Decem- ber 23, 1850, the son of Henry and Mary (Zornes) Rudicil, the former a native of Penn- sylvania, and the latter, of Ohio. They were married in Champaign County, in 1848, and the father followed farming in St. Joe Town. ship until his death in 1883. His wife departed this life in 1854. Henry Rudicil was married"
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
three times, Lawrence C. being a child of the first marriage.
The subject of this sketch was reared to farming, and obtained his mental training in the public schools. His farm consists of 186 acres of valuable land, located on Section 10, Sidney Township, where he follows general farming and stock-raising. He has a pleasant home, and all the improvements on the estate were made by himself.
In politics Mr. Rudicil is a Republican, and socially, is affiliated with the Home Circle, be- sides which he and his wife are members of the Court of Honor. In religion they are ad- herents of the Presbyterian faith.
On January 14, 1873, Mr. Rudicil was mar- ried to Virginia Bloxsam, a daughter of Richard and Louisa Bloxsam, who came to Champaign County in 1849. Mrs. Bloxsam survives her husband, who died May 4, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Rudicil have no children of their own, but have reared two girls and one boy, who reside with them.
Mrs. Rudicil has been Superintendent of the Sunday school for the past seventeen years.
DANIEL RUGG (deceased) was born May 30, 1830, in the good old town of Heath, Frank- lin County, Mass., the centennial of which was celebrated with imposing ceremonies in 1885, many prominent citizens of the country who had been born there returning to their birth- place to join in commemoration of the event. In his youth the subject of this sketch was a pupil in the country schools and later in Shel- burne Falls (Mass.) Academy, after which he was engaged in teaching for a time.
In 1855 Mr. Rugg was married at Shelburne, Mass., to Philena Dole Kellogg, who was born in Shelburne, and during the following year they removed to Bloomington, Ill., where Mr. Rugg entered the boot and shoe business, in which he was successfully engaged during the remainder of his life. In 1858 he removed to Champaign (then known as West Urbana) and there opened the first shoe store in Cham- paign County. On coming to Champaign he bought the desirable lot at the head of Main Street upon which, in after years, in conjunc- tion with David Bailey and Frank T. Walker, he built the three-story brick block known as the "Metropolitan," in which for many years he conducted his shoe business. On October
7, 1877, the happy home was broken up by the death of Mrs. Rugg, who was beloved by all who knew her. Six children were born of their union, of whom three died in infancy. The others were: Carrie A. (Mrs. James P. Hub- bell), who died in Dallas, Tex., in November, 1902, leaving an infant daughter, Eleanor Rugg Hubbell, who survives her mother; Frederick Daniel Rugg, of Champaign, Ill .; and Mary E. (Mrs. Charles F. Hamilton), who now resides in Los Angeles, Cal. On February 22, 1882, Mr. Rugg married, as his second wife, Maria
DANIEL RUGG.
Thatcher Fairbank, of North Brookfield, Mass., who was left a widow by his death, which oc- curred July 28, 1888.
At the time of his location in Champaign, in 1858, Mr. Rugg was the possessor of but mod- erate means, but was endowed with those traits of mind and character which enabled him to build up a large and lucrative busi- ness.
Politically Mr. Rugg was a Republican and served for several years as Alderman of Cham- paign City. His religious association was with the Congregational Church of Cham- paign, of which he was one of the founders and served as treasurer and member of its Board of Trustees for many years. He was an
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
exemplary, high-minded and public-spirited citizen, and his death, in the prime of manhood and in the midst of a successful business life, was deeply deplored by a large circle of friends.
FREDERICK DANIEL RUGG, General Agent Life Insurance Company and lecturer, Cham- paign, Ill., was born in the city where he now resides, December 22, 1860, the son of Daniel and Philena Dole (Kellogg) Rugg, both natives of Massachusetts. (See sketch of Daniel Rugg, preceding.) The son was educated in the
.
FREDERICK DANIEL RUGG.
Champaign high school and at the University of Illinois, graduating from the latter in the class of 1882. While a student at the univer- sity he became a charter member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and after graduating studied vocal music in Chicago and sang in concert one season with his cousin Mme. Arabella Root, who wrote, "Bonnie Sweet Bessie, the Maid of Dundee." He then entered into the shoe business with his father, Daniel Rugg- first as clerk and later as partner-at Cham- paign, in which he continued until his father's death, when he carried on the business alone
for a number of years, later having associated with him, as a partner, his cousin, W. A. Rugg, of Greenfield, Mass.
Having a predilection for life insurance work, Mr. Rugg sold out his interest in the shoe business and turned his attention to the former line of occupation, finally becoming President and general manager of a life insurance com- pany. While associated with his father he or- ganized the Champaign Commercial Associa- tion, of which he was Secretary and Treasurer for a number of years, serving until he sold out his shoe business in Champaign, when he re- moved to Oak Park, Ill., where he resided for several years. He later returned to Champaign, which has been his home continuously ever since. Besides devoting his attention to life insurance, Mr. Rugg has spent a number of months each year, for the past few years, in giving lectures and demonstrations on the mys- teries of that marvelous new discovery, "Liquid Air," visiting many of the principal cities of the country, from Boston as far west as the Pacific Coast, and giving his exhibitions before large and interested audiences. On the lecture, platform, as well as in his insur- ance work, Mr. Rugg has been especially suc- cessful.
In 1887 Mr. Rugg was married to Miss Cora M. Maltby, who was born in Bristol, Ohio, and educated in the University of Illinois, and two children have been born to them: Daniel Malt_ by and Helen Caroline. He is a member of the Congregational Church, which he has served as treasurer, succeeding his father in this posi- tion. He has also been interested in promot- ing the interests and growth of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, and has served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Illinois State Endeavor Union.
In politics Mr. Rugg is a Republican, and is identified with the leading fraternal organiza- tions of Champaign, including the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Modern Wood- inen of America, Tribe of Ben Hur, Court of Honor, Knights of Maccabees, Royal League, Loyal Americans and American Home Circle -- in some of these organizations being a charter member, and in most of them having held im- portant and responsible positions.
DANIEL P. RUNDLE, retired farmer, Cham- paign, was born in Hocking County, Ohio,
1
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
April 28, 1850, the son of Charles and Annie (Young) Rundle, natives of New York and Maryland, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Rundle left Ohio in the year 1858, and came to Illinois, settling in Logan County, whence in 1870, they removed to Mitchell County, Kans. They were the parents of ten children, all of whom grew to maturity, save Ellen, who died when in her youth. Mr. and Mrs. Rundle are both deceased, each having lived to reach the ripe age of eighty years. The former passed away in 1896; the latter, two years later.
Daniel P. Rundle was the fifth child of this family. He received a common school educa- tion, and then, having decided to become a farmer, worked on the home place until, 1873, when he left Logan County and came to Champaign County. Here, too, for a time, he followed agricultural pursuits, but at length decided to erect a modern residence in town, and live a retired life.
On March 30, 1887, Mr Rundle was married to Mrs. Sarah E. Duvall, of Rantoul, Ill. Mrs. Duvall, by her first marriage, became the mother of three children. In political affilia- tions, Mr. Rundle is a Prohibitionist. Mr. Rundle and his wife are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church.
HENRY M. RUSSELL, pioneer and real- estate operator, was born in Genesee County, N. Y., November 18, 1826, a son of Nathaniel Russell. . The first twelve years of his life were passed in New York State, and he there obtained the foundation of his education, which was supplemented later by attendance at the pioneer schools of Clark County, Ill. He came west with his father's family and helped to cultivate the tract of prairie land on which they made their home in Clark County. in 1847, shortly before attaining his majority, he came to Urbana, and during the following win- ter taught a country school. The next year he was in the employ of his uncle, James Gere, assisting him in conducting the old time "Champaign Hotel," and in farm work.
In July, 1848, Mr. Russell began driving a stage on the line running east from Urbana, and followed that business for about eighteen months. In the meantime he became a part- ner in a grocery store in Urbana and, retiring from the stage line, turned his attention to the grocery business. Shortly afterward, hav-
ing purchased his partner's interest, he con- tinued in the grocery trade until 1860, when he sold out his stock, retaining the building which he had erected and in which the busi- ness had been carried on for three years. When the Civil War began he took a promi- nent part in raising, equipping and sending uni- formed troops into the field, and was in the secret service of the Government during a large portion of the time until the war ended. From the spring of 1864 to the spring of 1865
HENRY M. RUSSELL.
he was chief of the military and detective police of the district of Natchez, with head- quarters at that place. For some time he was also interested in a bakery establishment at Cairo, Ill., which was chiefly engaged in fur- nishing supplies to the army. After the war Mr. Russell returned to Urbana and became interested as a promoter and stockholder in the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Rail- road, and for a time was right of way commis- sioner of this company, and was closely identi- fied in various ways with the construction of this line.
Later Mr. Russell became a storekeeper in Wilson's distillery at Urbana until 1874, when he established what is now the pioneer real-
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
estate and insurance agency of Champaign County. He has become widely known in this connection, and perhaps still more widely known as a United States pension agent, his clientage in this field extending over several States. He was a member of the first Board of Aldermen of Urbana, and has served in all eighteen years as a member of this Board. During the years 1900 and 1901 he was City Treasurer of Urbana. Since the Citizens' Building Association was organized, in 1887, he has been a member of its board of directors, and he has been President of the Board of Trustees of the Urbana Free Library since the . organization of that institution, of which he was one of the founders. He has been a mem- ber of the Universalist Church in Urbana since 1871, and has aided materially in building up this church.
Mr. Russell married, in 1853, Miss Anna M. Waters, a daughter of Samuel Waters, who came from Pennsylvania to Urbana in 1851. Their living descendants are two grandchil- dren, Blanche and Harry M. Russell, children of Charles M. Russell, who lost his life by acci- dent in 1900. Mrs. Russell was born in Bed- ford County, Pa., March 23, 1833. Her father was born in Chambersburg, Pa., in 1800, and her mother in Strasburg, in the same State, in 1808. Both died in Urbana in 1868.
NATHANIEL RUSSELL was born in Massa- chusetts, December 11, 1803, and passed his boyhood in that State. He came west to Ashta- bula County, Ohio, in his young manhood, but soon returned east as far as Genesee County, N. Y., where he married Miss Hannah Gere January 15, 1826, and in 1839 came to Illinois, settling on Walnut Prairie, three miles south of Darwin, in Clark County. He followed agri- cultural pursuits among the pioneers of that region until 1856, when he came to Urbana, where he passed the remainder of his life. He was interested here in farming and various other enterprises, included among which was running the first passenger conveyance be- tween Urbana and Champaign. He held minor city offices at one time and another, and was esteemed for his probity and sturdiness of char- acter.
Reared in the Whig political faith, Mr. Rus- sell was affiliated with that party until it passed out of existence, and then with the Republican
party during the rest of his life. His religious connections were with the Methodist Church. He died March 20, 1893, at the age of nearly ninety years. Of his family of six children H. M. Russell, of Urbana, was the only survivor in 1904.
WILLIAM RYAN was born in Ireland, in 1838, where he attended the common schools, and was reared on a farm. In 1858 he came to America and settled in Sangamon County, Ill., near Springfield. In 1866 he inoved to Champaign County, settling in Pesotum Town- ship. In 1876 he bought a farm of 148 acres in Tolono Township, near Tolono, at which place he is now living. His is one of the few farms in this county that furnish natural gas for heating and lighting purposes.
In 1866 the subject of this sketch was mar- ried, in Ireland, to Margaret Fogarty, a native of that country. Six children were born to them, namely: James, Mary, Ellen, Margaret, Hannah and Dennis. Of these, three are de- ceased. The parents of Mr. Ryan were James and Mary (Davarn) Ryan, natives of Ireland. In religion Mr. Ryan is an adherent of the Catholic faitil.
ALLEN M. SADORUS was born in Rush County, Ind., March 13, 1821, the son of the pioneer, Henry Sadorus, and was but little past three years of age when, on April 14, 1824, the family settled in the upper timber groves of the Okaw River, in what is now known as Sadorus Grove, which afterwards became a part of Champaign County. Here Mr. Sadorus spent his childhood and early, manhood, the particulars of which constitute a part of the preceding chapters of this volume.
In 1847, Mr. Sadorus was married to Mar- garet Hamilton, a daughter of the well-known pioneer, John Hamilton, who was among the early school teachers of the county, and whose home at the uppermost limit of the Okaw tim- ber, was for many years a landmark to trav- elers as well as a hospitable place of enter- tainment for well-disposed visitors.
In 1850, with his wife and one child, Mr. Sadorus joined a large company on their way to California. This journey occupied many months and was attended with hardships of the most extreme character, as well as perils from Indians, who hung upon the skirts of the
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
wagon train all the way from the frontier set- tlements of Missouri until it came within sight of the waters of the Pacific. In describing this journey Mr. Sadorus becomes grave and em- phatic, and says that no consideration would induce him to expose himself and family again to these hardships and dangers.
Arrived in California he engaged in ranching and stock-raising, which he followed there and in other locations not far away, until about 1890, when his wife having died, he returned to the home of his boyhood in Champaign County. Here he is quietly spending his de- clining years, as did his father and other mem- bers of his family before him.
The life of Mr. Sadorus as a pioneer of Champaign County, and as a pioneer in Cali- fornia for many years, is only one out of many which might be described. His early experi- ence and his later life have been full of priva- tions and perils, such as few have undergone. His store of frontier knowledge and frontier anecdotes is large and he loves, in his old age, to sit among his friends and unfold reminis- cences of his father and family in Champaign County, to recite the experiences of other pioneers here, to tell of the dangers from Indians for many months in the Rocky Moun- tain region, and to recount his adventures as a rancher in California.
His biography, if written fully, would consti- tute as exciting a tale as is ever narrated in fiction, for the admiration of wondering youth. His personal recollection of Champaign County goes further back than that of any other living person, and makes him one of the most inter- esting characters to be met with in the county.
In politics Mr. Sadorus, like his father, has always been a Democrat.
E. W. SAMPSON, a dealer in carriages, buggies and harness, residing at Nos. 119-121 North Race Street, Urbana, Champaign County, Ill., was born March 20, 1858, in Shelbyville, Ill., the son of William and Sarah B. (Perry- man) Sampson, natives, respectively, of Cin- cinnati, Ohio, and Richmond, Va. Willianı Sampson, the father, came to Shelbyville soon after his marriage, and was a carriage-maker most of his life: He enlisted in the Fourteenth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was Orderly Sergeant of his company. When lie had served about one year, he was injured by
being trampled upon in a boat, while sick. This occurred during a time of exsitement, when his comrades thought they were en- countering Confederates, but the boat had merely struck a snag. From this he never fully recovered, being ever after unable to do much work. William Sampson was Coroner of Shelby County for twenty-four consecutive years. He was a zealous Mason, taking great interest in the order, and was the best posted man on Masonry in Shelby County. He was highly respected and a great favorite among his fellow citizens. His death occurred in Shelbyville, March 22, 1886, at the age of sixty-two years. He and his wife were mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he held the office of trustee. His widow died in 1883, when fifty-eight years old. She was one of a large family.
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