Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II, Part 88

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897, ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913, ed. cn; Strange, Alexander T., ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 810

USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II > Part 88

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JOHNSON, Charles Warren, M. D., now deceased, was one of the eminent physicians and surgeons of Montgomery County, with residence at Litch- field. He was born at Hong Kong. China. June 10. 1845, a son of Rev. John Johnson, a Baptist minister and missionary in China. When he was fourteen years old Dr. Johnson was sent home to the United States in care of a Miss

Williams, and on the voyage was captured by a pirate boat crew and kept in captivity for some time. After his release, he went to live with an uncle, Rev. Ryarson, a Baptist minister of . East Vachars. Me. After being carefully edu- cated in some of the leading eastern medical colleges. he returnd to Maine, and there was engaged in an active practice. There he was married to a lady who later died leaving one son, Dr. Simeon Johnson, of Divernon, Ill. Soon after his first marriage, Dr. Johnson moved to Litchfield and was there engaged in practice until his death January 23, 1915.

In February, 1907, Dr. Johnson was married (second) to Mrs. Bell (Long) Hayes, a daughter of Alvin W. and Sarah A. (Norton) Long, natives of Ohio and Bond County, Ill., res- pectively. Mrs. Johnson at the time of her mar- riage to Dr. Johnson was the widow of Orrin Hayes. born at St. Louis, Mo., of English parent- age. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes had one danghter, Ada. who became Mrs. A. W. Coddington, but is now deceased. Dr. and Mrs. Johnson had no children. Mrs. Johnson was born at Litchfield, where she now resides, having in her charge the infant daughter. Mary Bell. of her own daughter. Mrs. Coddington. Dr. Johnson was a member of the Christian Church. Politically he was a Republican, while fraternally he was a Mason, having been raised to the Thirty- second degree. A skilled physician and upright man. Litchfield suffered in his death, a loss not easily replaced, and his memory is held in high esteem.

JANSSEN, Frank, grower of Shorthorn cattle and owner of 240 acres of as fine land as can he found in Montgomery County, is located on Section 26 Rountree Township. He was born on this farm. October 23. 1874, a son of John E. and Emma (Walters) Janssen. John E. Janssen was born in Court-leer. Germany. and there he grew to manhood, attending the public schools and learning how to cultivate the soil. After coming to the United States. he found employment on farms. working by the day in the vicinity of Mt. Olive, Macoupin Connty, Ill .. and then came to Montgomery County. After his arrival. he met and was married to Emma Walters. She was born in the same neighbor- hood as he in Germany, and was brought to Montgomery County by her parents. After their marriage. John E. Janssen and his wife rented land for four years. and then bought eighty acres of land in Rountree Township. and to his original farm of eighty acres added to his hold- ings until at the time of his death he owned 240 acres of land. He died, October 11. 1897, she surviving until June 6. 1913. They had five children. namely: Sarah, who was married to Henry Schlachter of Nokomis Township; Fran- ces, who died in childhood ; Frank ; Minnie. who is deceased; and Mary, who was married to August Meier of Rountree Township. They were members of the German Lutheran Church. In politics he was a Democrat.

Frank Janssen was reared in his native town- ship, and attended both the public and German

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

private schools. He remained at home and on March 21, 1909. he was united in marriage with Miss Tillie Mindrup of Rountree Township. Her parents were natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Janssen have four children, namely : John E., who was born February 10, 1910; Emma, who was born March 17, 1912; Martha, who was born October 11, 1913; and F'reida, who was born July 31, 1915. The family be- long to St. Paul's German Lutheran Church, and Mr. Janssen is a member of the official board of the church and is one of its elders. When he took charge of the homestead in 1909. MIr. Janssen started specializing on Shorthorn cattle of good grade, and he raises a number of theni annually. Understanding thoroughly every detail of his work, he has forged ahead, and is one of the leading agriculturalists of this sec- tion, and because he has been so devoted to his business he has had no time for public office. MIe votes the Democratie ticket.

JONES, Alva W., supervisor of Raymond Township, and a man widely known and uni- versally respected, is living on his valuable farm on Section 10, Raymond Township. Ilc was born on this farm, January 17, 1872, a son of Joel and Mary C. ( Blackwelder) Jones. Joel Jones was born at Bunker Hill. Maconpin County, Ill .. April 11, IS36. a son of Simeon Jones, who organized the JJones settlement in Macoupin Comty.

Joel Jones grew to manhood in his native county, living there until 1868, when he came to Raymond Township, settling here before the railroads were built. His original purchase was sixty acres of land and he soon afterwards bought eighty acres of land on Section 11. and on this he made his home. Subsequently ho bonght a forty and a fifty-acre tract, so that he owned 230 acres of excellent land, and it is still kept intact in the family. not having been divided. His wife, who was born in Cabarrus County, N. C., came to Montgomery County with her family, settling near St. Johns, in Irving Township. After their marriage. Joel Jones and his wife spent the remainder of their lives in Montgomery County, with the exception of a few years when he was in Idaho. They had seven children. of whom four grew to maturity : Alva W .; Jesse V., who died at the age of twenty-seven years; Charles E., who died at the age of eighteen years; Eugene Daniel, who died at Boise City, Idaho, at the age of twenty-seven years ; Emily A., who is the wife of Wesley W. Briggs, of Boise City, Idaho; Willis M., who died at the age of six years; and one who died in infaney. Joel Jones was a member of Blue Mound Baptist Church, and took an active interest in it. In politics he was a Democrat.

Alva W. Jones attended the schools of Ray- mond Township until he was twenty-one years old. For a year prior to his marriage, he was engaged in farming for himself, and lived in Hillsboro Township on a farm of 100 acres for some six years more, and then returned to the homestead which he now owns. On it lie is

engaged in raising Shorthorn cattle and other high grade stock. In addition to his farm inter- ests, he owns stock in the Farmers' Grain and Supply Company of Raymond, which he is serv- ing as secretary and treasurer.

In April, 1800, Mr. Jones was married to Mary F. Hamilton, of Atwater, Macoupin County. f., and they became the parents of five children, as follows: Mary Ruth, who was graduated from the Raymond High school in 1915: Joel Ross, who was graduated from the Raymond High school in 1916; Alva Eldon, who was graduated from the Raymond High school in 1917; Gladys Elizabeth, who is attending the Raymond High school; and Daniel Emmett, who is the youngest. Mr. Jones belongs to Raymond Lodge No. 692. A. F. & A. M .: Elliott Chapter No. 120. R. A. M., of Litchfield : Staun- ton Conneil No. 99. R. & S. M .: St. Omar Com- mandery No. 30, K. T .. of Litchfield, and he is past master of the Blue Lodge. He also belongs to the Raymond Chapter of the O. E. S., and his daughter Ruth is a member of this order. Politically he is a Democrat, being very promi- ment in his party, and was chairman of the county board of supervisors in 1915, and is now serving his third ferm as a member of this board.

JORDAN, Alpheus C., proprietor of Maple Grove Farm, on Section G, Harvel Township, is one of the substantial farmers of Montgomery County. He was born in Trumbull County. Ohio, January 10, 1841, a son of William and Catherine (Rummel) Jordan. The father was born near Philadelphia, and the mother in Maryland, and they were married in the latter state, later migrating to Trumbull County. Ohio. In 1844 the father came to Illinois and engaged in farming in Greene County on rented land, and on leaving Greene County, he spent a year in Maeonpin County, and in the spring of 1852 he entered land in Ilarvel Township. Mont- gomery County, moved on it in 1854, on which he lived until his death. The mother is also deceased, passing away at the home of her son. A. C. Jordan. Of the ten children born to the parents. A. C. Jordan is the only survivor.

Alpheus C. Jordan grew up amid rural sur- roundings, and remained at home until he enlisted for service in Company D. Thirty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry in response to Presi- dent Lincoln's first eall for 300,000 soldiers at the outbreak of the Civil War, for three years. and was assigned to the southwestern army. In 1864 he was honorably discharged at Washing- ton. D. C. During his period of service he was wounded first at Port Gibson, and again in a charge against Vicksburg in May, 1863. both being only slight wounds. After his discharge Mr. Jordan returned to his old home and resumed his farming.

On August 6, 1873, Mr. Jordan was married to Martha C. Cresswell, who was born in Cal- houn County, Ill .. August 8. 1855. Mrs. Jordan was reared in Calhonn and Macoupin counties, her parents living in both counties. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Jordan located on the

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

160-acre farm he had bought, which has con- tinued to be their home ever since. Mr. Jordan continues to look after his farm, and is recog- nized as one of the leading agriculturalists of this section. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Jordan have been as follows : Alpheus C., Jr., who is a farmer of North Dakota, married Mary Huber and they have two children, Cordelia and Huber ; Robert P. who is at home; Dott E .. who married F. W. Kastern, who is a hardware merchant at Morrisonville, Ill. has one son, Keith J .; Alice C., who married Stephen F. Bonnett has one child, Merl L .; Fred, who is on a farm in North Dakota ; Blanche F., who was graduated from the Morrisonville High school, is a school teacher, of Hillsboro, Ill .; Grace J., who was also graduated from the Morrisonville High school is a student of Domestic Art in a Normal school, although she has already taught school ; Lulu I., who is attending a high school ; and Mattie E., who is a graduate from the com- mon schools, resides at home.

During the Civil War Mr. Jordan was a Republican but later became identified with the Greenback party, and is now independent in politics. He lias served as a school director for twenty-five years, was supervisor of Harvel Township in 1869. and highway commissioner, and always has been a capable and conscien- tious official. Mr. and Mrs. Jordan are quiet, un- assuming people of solid worth, and Mrs. Jordan and her daughters are members of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church.

KABURICK, Edward C., one of the represent- ative attorneys of Montgomery County, who is actively engaged in a general practice at Hills- boro, is recognized as one of the ablest lawyers of this part of the state. He was born in East Fork Township, this county, April 16, 1879, a son of William and Margaret (Klein) Kaburick. The father was born in Bohemia, and the mother near Crown Point, Lake County, Ind. They had nine children, as follows: Edward C., who lives at Hillsboro; Mary, who is the wife of Ferdinand Schaubert, of Hillsboro ; Matilda, who is the wife of Eugene Fath of Fillmore Township; Lucy, who is the wife of Henry Huber, of East Fork Township; Margaret, who is the wife of Shirley Saunders of Fillmore Township; Theressa, who is at home; Frank, who is also at home, and two who died when young.

William Kaburick has been a farmer since coming to America when only fourteen years old. with his parents. He spent a few years in St. Clair County, Ill., and then removal was made to Montgomery County, soon after the close of the Civil War. Until he attained his majority, William Kaburick remained at home, and after his parents' death, he inherited an undivided one-fourth of the old homestead. con- sisting of 160 acres. He bought the interests of the other heirs, and still resides on his farm. Both he and his wife are Catholics. The pater- nal grandfather was Jacob Kaburick, being a native of Bohemia. Jacob Kaburick was a farmer in Bohemia, and also a police magis-

trate, and after coming to America he continued to farm. He was killed by a street car when about eighty-four years old, his wife having died prior to that time, when either seventy- . two or seventy-four years old. They had four children, namely ; Catherine, Mary, Frank and William. The maternal grandparents. Jacob and Margaret Klein were natives of Germany, being born near the Rhine River. They lived in Lake County, Ind., for many years, and died there well advanced in years. Their family was as follows : Jacob, Jr., Joseph, Peter, Philip, Bernard. Louis, Margaret, Mary, Matilda, Theressa, Catherine. Frank and several others whose names are not known.

Edward C. Kaburick was reared on his father's farm and sent to the district schools, and Jacob Taylor's Academy at Coffeen, Ill., and also to the public schools. Later he attended the law department of Dixon College, and sub- sequently the Kansas City (Mo.) School of Law, from which he was graduated in 1903, and was admitted to the bar that same year. He prac- ticed at Chillicothe, Mo., for about eight years, and then came to Hillsboro, and has continued in an active practice ever since. Mr. Kaburick is a Catholic and a member of the Knights of Columbus. In politics he is a Democrat. Scholarly. able. and an excellent judge of human nature, Mr. Kaburick has forged to the front in his profession and is held in the highest esteem by all who have the. honor of his acquaintance.

KARNES, Thomas Frederick, one of the pros- perous general merchants of Hillsboro, is a man widely known in Montgomery County as he has been a merchant in this section for a number of years. He was born at Litchfield, Ill., June 30, 1872, a son of William and Caro- line (Garver) Karnes, he born in 182S in Macoupin County, Ill., and she in South Carolina, from whence she was brought in child- hood to Macoupin County. Ill. After their marriage in Macoupin County, William Karnes and his wife moved to Montgomery County, and there he worked as a painter for some time, but they later moved back to Macoupin County, and there he died in 1SS4. His widow survives and makes her home at Hillsboro.

Thomas Frederick Karnes attended the com- mon schools of Macoupin County until he was nineteen years old, at which time he moved to Walshville and handled agricultural implements for several years. then he embarked in a grocery business and continued it from 1901 to 1911. when he moved to Hillsboro, and bought an old established general merchandise business and has operated it ever since, building up a very desirable trade and valuable connections.

In March, 1908. Mr. Karnes was married to Emma C. Ferguson, born in Walshville Town- ship, a daughter of Thomas and Mary E. (Cuber- ley) Ferguson, she having been born at Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Karnes have two children, namely : Charles A. and Russell E. In 1914 Mr. Karnes was elected one of the Hillsboro commissioners under the city commission form

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

of government on the Democratic ticket. He is a Baptist and belongs to Walshville Lodge No. 475, A. F. & A. M. A man of high principles, he stauds well in his community, and his rating is an enviable one.

KEESE, Pilcher Goldsmith, the leading brick contractor of Montgomery County, with head- quarters at Litchfield, is one of the substantial men of this section. He was born at Hillsboro, Jannary 9, 1861, a son of Albert Charles and Victoria Viola (Simmons) Keese, natives of New York City and Hillsboro, respectively. The paternal grandfather, Capt. James Keese, was born in England, while the maternal grand- parents. Wesley and Elizabeth (Nelson) Sim- mons, were natives of Kentucky and Ohlo, res- pectively, and very early settlers of Hillsboro. Ilere Wesley Simmons was a farmer and hotel- keeper.

Albert Charles Keese was a carriage bilder. He died in 1861, the father of two children : Charles, who died in infancy, and Pilcher Gold- smith. The mother of Pilcher Goldsmith Keese. after the death of Albert Charles Keese, was married to John W. Chamberlain and they moved to Litchfield where he was a brick contractor and there he died in 1907, Mrs. Chamberlain still surviving him and living at Litchfield. By her second marriage she had four children, namely : William S., who is deceased ; Anna, who is Mrs. Marshall Titsworth of Los Animas, Cal. ; Lncy, who is Mrs. William Wallace of Lincoln, Cal .; and Nathaniel. who lives at Litchfield.

Pilcher G. Keese learned his step-father's trade of a brick mason, beginning his appren- ticeship when seventeen years old, and when he was twenty-two years old he became his partner, this association continuing until Mr. Chamber- lain's death. when his step-brothers Willian and Nathaniel, became his partners, the firm name being Keeso & Chamberlain Bros., and $0 continued until William Chamberlain's death. the firm doing brick contract work in a territory that reaches ont from Litchfield for many miles in every direction. The present firm name is Keese & Chamberlain. This firm is the oldest in its line in the connty, and has done the brick work on nearly all of Litchfield's build- ings.

On June 22, 1887. Mr. Keese was married to Frances S. Holbrook, born in Macoupin County, Ill .. a daughter of William and Glaphasia (Spillman) Holbrook. Mr. and Mrs. Keese have the following children : Frances Alberta. who is a public school teacher and is principal of the Madison Park School; Mabel, who is at home; Albert William, who lives at Cleveland, Ohio; and Homer Goldsmith who lives at Litchfield, married Victoria May and they have one dangh- ter Elizabeth May, born August 27, 1917.

Mr. Keese is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, having been trustee of his church for twelve years, and a member of its official board for over thirty years and Mrs. Keese is a member of all the church societies and is secre- tary of the official board of the church. She has been a teacher in the Sunday school since 1890,

and both she and Mr. Keese are very active in all kinds of church work. She belongs to the Woman's Club, and is president of the Litchfield High School Alumni Association, having held that office for many years. In politics Mr. Keese is a Republican, and has served on the school board for two years, and as alderman from the Third Ward two terms. He belongs to the Masonic order, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Lincoln Fraternal Union.

KELLENBERGER, August, now deceased, was a retired farmer of Litchfield, and was highly respected in the section where he had lived for so many years. He was born in Lucerne, Switz- erland, Angust 8, 1863, where his parents died. He attended the schools of his native land and learned the carpenter trade, but after coming to the United States, he worked on a farm in Ilarvel Township, Montgomery County for an uncle. Joseph Bowri. On August 21, 1882, he was married to Maria Lange, born in Westpha- lia, Germany, a daughter of Frank and Louise ( Wolterman) Lange. Mrs. Lange died in Ger- many, and Mr. Lange bronght his family of fonr children. to Montgomery County, Ill., later spending two years in Christian County, Ill.

After marriage, August Kellenberger and wife lived on rented land near Harvel, Ill., until they could bny eighty acres of land near Harvel, on which they resided for eight years. The next purchase of land was a 120-acre farm in North Litchfield Township, and there Mr. Kellenberger farmed until 1903. In 1913 he bought a resi- dence at Litchfield, and renting the farm, moved to the city and lived there in comfortable retire- ment nutil his death.

Mr. and Mrs. Kellenberger had the following children: August, who lives in North Litchfield Township: Joseph. who lives in Macoupin County. Ill. ; Auna, who is Mrs. Benjamin Mathi of North Litchfield Township: Frank, who is on the homestead: Christina, who is Mrs. Ellis Hess of Macoupin County, Il .; John, who is also of Macoupin County; Minnie, who is Mrs. Kenneth Smith of Thomasville, IN .; and William. Cecelia and Benjamin, who are at home. Mr. Kellenberger was a Catholic. He belonged to the Elks, Red Men and Modern Woodmen of America. In April, 1913, he was elected a justice of the peace. For three years served as manager of the Mutual Telephone Company, and was a very capable business man and public-spirited citizen. His death, which occurred March 20. 1916. took from Litchfield he served as deputy sheriff. For several years he one of its most respected and trustworthy men.

KELLOGG, William, manager of the O. H. Pad- dock Lumber Yard at Ohlman, and one of the substantial men of Andubon Township, was born in this township, July 6, 1865, a son of Reuben L. and Rachael (Cottingham) Kellogg, the former born in Sciota County, Ohio, near Portsmouth. There he grew to manhood, and came to Audubon Township, Montgomery County. Ill., in 1856. In 1860 he bought eighty acres of government land and located on that

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

farm. In 1862 he enlisted for service during the Civil War, in the One Hundred and Twenty- sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war, being mustered out in 1865. Returning home he resumed farming, , and lived on his Audubon property until his death June 22, 1893, his wife having died in 1878. They were the parents of three children, all of whom survive: Ella, who lives at Noko- mis, Ill .; William; and Fred, who lives at Assumption, where he is manager of the O. H. Paddock Lumber Company at that place. The father was a Republican in politics, and a quiet, unassuming man personally, not much given to public demonstration.

William Kellogg attended the district schools of Audubon Township, and lived at home until he was twenty-two years old, at which time he began working for himself. In 1889 he went to Kansas and from December of that year until 1901 he was in southern Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico, working for the Santa Fe and the Rock Island railroads. He filed a homestead in Comanche County, Okla., and proved it up in 1902, it comprising 160 acres of land. Returning to the Rock Island Railroad in 1902, he remained with it until 1904, when he came back to Illinois and in August of that year went to Assumption to engage with the O. H. Paddock Lumber Company, and was at that point until 1907, when he was sent to Arkansas by the company, and in December, 1911, he was put in charge of the company yards at Kin- mundy, Marion County, Ill., where he remained until March, 1914, at which time he was made manager of the Ohlman yards, where he has since remained.

On March 6, 1907, he was married to Clara M. Huckins, a daughter of George and Lydia Huckins, of Horton, Kas. Mr. Kellogg is a member of Kinmundy Lodge No. 398, A. F. & A. M. In politics he is a Republican. Not only is he a sincere member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, but he has been superintendent of the Sunday school for the past year, and is a member of the official board and a steward of the church.

KELMEL, Charles, one of the prosperous farmers of Raymond Township, owns 530 acres in Montgomery County, and is one of its leading men. He was born in Bois D'Arc Township, this county, May 30, 1863, a son of Philip and Elizabeth (Rice) Kelmel, the former of whom was born in Germany. He came to the United States in 1846, and after a year or two located in Jersey County, Ill., where he remained until 1854. In that year he sold his farm and went to California, and worked there for three years. He then returned to Illinois and located on a farm in Bois D'Arc Township, which comprised 240 acres of land entered from the government, and on it he lived until his death in April 1, 1904. In the meanwhile he had bought eighty acres more, all of which he made very valuable through his own efforts. In the spring of 1860, Philip Kelmel was married to Elizabeth Rice, a daughter of Solomon Rice, a pioneer of Jersey

County. They had four children, namely : Charles ; Edward, who is a retired farmer of Morrisonville, 'Ill .; Mary, who is the wife of William Fettig of Tacoma, Wash .; and one who died in infancy.

Charles Kelmel spent his boyhood on the farm where he was born, and he attended the district schools when he had the opportunity. After he was twenty-two years old he rented land. He had about $200 in cash when he was married, and he now owns 530 acres of land, having made all his property himself, excepting 160 acres he inherited. He helped to organize the Farmers Grain and Supply Company at Raymond, Ill., serving as its first treasurer, and is one of its directors at present, and he is also a stock- holder in the Harvel Elevator Company.

On November 16, 1886, Mr. Kelmel was mar- ried to Miss Lugard Beeler, a daughter of Valentine Beeler. She was born in Macon County, Ill., April 9, 1868, where she was reared and attended the district schools.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Montgomery County, Volume II, Part 88

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897, ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913, ed. cn; Strange, Alexander T., ed Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 810

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897, ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913, ed. cn; Strange, Alexander T., ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 810