Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Warren County, Volume II, Part 48

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Church, Charles A., 1857-
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 620

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received his English and classical education at the National Normal University of Ohio and was graduated in medicine at the Kentucky School of Medicine at Louisville in 1882. He practiced his profession for seven years in Iowa. He located at Monmouth in 1891, and has since been favored with a very satisfactory practice. He is a member of the Tri-State Med- ical Society; of the Military Tract Medical Society; of the American Medical Association, and of the Iowa State Medical Society, and ex- President of the North Central Iowa Medical Association. For many years he served as Trustee of Monmouth College, in whose success he has shown a deep interest. He is author of

many able professional papers and of a poem, "The Doctor," which he read before a body of physicians at Galesburg, Ill., October 30, 1893. Is now President and General Manager of the United Presbyterian Mutual Benefit Associa- tion. For several years he was President of the Hancock County Sabbath School Associa- tion. He affiliates with the Second United Presbyterian Church of Monmouth and, in pol- itics, is a Republican. Dr. Blair married Melissa McKitrick, at Cambridge, Ohio, May 8, 1883, and has two sons: Clyde McKitrick, and James Stuart.

BRERETON, W. D., is Secretary and Treas. urer of the Monmouth Pottery Company, which was organized in 1893, Wm. Hanna, President. They manufacture all kinds of stoneware, and all sizes from a two-ounce package to one of eighty gallons. The capacity of the plant is 6,000,000 gallons, the largest stoneware pottery in the country, and giving employment to 186 men. The area of the plant covers two blocks. The area of the main build- ing is 256x80 feet, of which 160 feet is four stories high, and the remainder from two to five stories. The company was incorporated in 1892, and Mr. Brereton has been Secretary and Treasurer since its organization. He was born at Chatham, Province of Ontario, in 1858, the son of David and Jemima Brereton, both of whom were born in Dublin, Ireland. The father came to Canada while single and mar- ried there. He was a general surveyor and surveyed the Grand Truuk Railroad through Canada. He died in Chatham, Canada, in 1860. The widow resides in Iowa. W. D. Brereton was reared to farm life in Canada, and edu- cated in the district school, taught in a log school house, to which he walked a distance of two and one-half miles. In 1872 he went to Burlington, Iowa, attended school there and later engaged in the grain business, removing thence to Monmouth in 1886, where he became connected with the Weir Plow Company until 1893. He was married in Monmouth, December 16, 1886, to Miss Mary Hanna, born in Warren County, and daughter of William Hanna, one of the early prominent business men of Mon- mouth (see sketch), who died December 18, 1900, as the result of an accident. (See sketch of William Hanna.) To Mr. Brereton and wife two children have been born: Mary, aged four- teen years, and William, aged ten years. At

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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.

its organization in 1893, the Monmouth Pot- tery Company had but one kiln; now they have fifteen, and the plant is growing each year. They ship goods as far east as Detroit, Mich., north to Winnipeg, south to Galveston and west to San Francisco; have also shipped to Honolulu. They have eight salesmen on the road. Mr. Brereton is one of the thorough, active business men of Monmouth.

BRISTOL, CYRUS B .; retired merchant; Monmouth; was formerly a carpenter, has been Town Clerk of Berwick Township, is a member of Monmouth Lodge, No. 37, A. F. & A. M., is a civil war veteran, and has long been promin- ently identified with McClanahan Post, No. 330, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he was one of the charter members, and is a member of the Illinois Bankers' Association, and an active Republican. He was born in Fairmount, W. Va., February 13, 1840, a son of Cyrus B. and Maria (Henderson) Bristol, natives res- pectively of New Haven, Conn., (1798), and Fayette County, Penn., (1807). His father, a Presbyterian minister, came from Virginia to Armstrong County, Penn., in 1844, from there to Mercer County, Ill., in 1856, and lived on a farm there until he removed to Sac County, Iowa, where he died in 1888, aged ninety years, his wife in 1887, aged eighty years. They had four sons and four daughters. The subject of this sketch was reared and educated in Penn- sylvania and came with his parents to Mercer County in 1856. February 20, 1862, he enlisted at Rock Island, Ill., in Company B, Sixty-fifth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was mustered into the service at Chicago and assigned to the Army of the East. At Harper's Ferry, September 15, 1862, Mr. Bristol's regi- ment was captured by the Confederates and was paroled and returned to Chicago. They were exchanged January, 1863, and went with their company to Lexington, Ky., where it was quarantine a month on account of smallpox. From. Lexington the company was sent to Big Sandy, Tenn. Mr. Bristol participated in the siege of Knoxville and in March, 1864, re-en- listed in his old company and regiment, which became a part of the Twenty-third Army Corps. He saw service on the Atlanta campaign, at Franklin and Nashville, Tenn., and then went to Washington, D. C., and from there by trans- port to Fort Fisher, N. C., whence he went to Wilmington and then to Goldsboro, where his

reginient joined Sherman's command. From Goldsboro his regiment went to Raleigh and thence to Greensboro. Mr. Bristol was hon- orably discharged from the service at Camp Douglas, Chicago, July, 1865, as sergeant-major of the regiment (was commissioned second lieutenant of Company B, but did not muster) when he returned to Mercer county. He came to Monmouth in 1868 and has lived there ex-' cept during three years while he was a citizen of Berwick. He was employed as a carpenter until 1879, when he opened a grocery store, which he conducted successfully until 1892. He was Commander of McClanahan Post in 1889, and is now its Quartermaster. He mar- ried in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, in 1867, Sarah Jane McFarland, who died in Monmouth in 1897. In 1899, he married, at Indianapolis,. Ind., Mrs. Hattie M. Forrest.

BROWN, JOHN (deceased) ; capitalist; Mon- mouth, Ill .; was born in Lycoming County, Penn., November 15, 1807, the seventh son of a family of ten children, all of whom were boys except the youngest. His father, also John Brown, was a native of North Ireland who, coming to America in early life married Eliza- beth Bennett, a lady of German descent born in the State of New Jersey, whom he found a worthy help-mate and with whom he lived until his death, which occurred in 1816, in Clark County, Ohio, whither the family had removed from their home in Pennsylvania a short time previous. Four sons of this couple died in infancy, while the family yet resided in Penn- sylvania. Before the subject of this sketch had reached his twentieth year, an epidemic carried away all the members of his family except himself, including his widowed mother. Left alone without money, without a trade and with such limited education as was common in a comparatively new country possessing meager educational facilities, a heart less brave and a mind less resolute would have been dis- couraged by the outlook. While but few could appreciate as he did the difficulties by which he was confronted, he faced the dark prospect with a cool courage, realizing that the thing to do was to enter vigorously and systematically upon the task of bettering his condition. This he did by setting to work to learn the brick- mason's and plasterer's trade, which he soon mastered, often working for wages which would be regarded as small compared with

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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.

those received by the common day-laborer of today. The evidence of the proficiency in his art is furnished by specimens of his handicraft still in existence in Warren County, which remain in their original strength and beauty, though completed more than sixty years ago- a monument to the skill and pains-taking care of the man, and an exemplification of the adage, that "what is worth doing at all is worth doing well." In 1836 Mr. Brown removed to Monmouth, Ill., arriving there August 20th. He there found several families of whom he had some previous knowledge as former resi- dents of Green and Clark Counties, Ohio, in- cluding the Hollidays, the Junkins and the Garrisons. Bringing with him but little pro- perty, he at once went to work at his trade. Although receiving wages which, at the present day, would be considered ridiculously low, by frugality, industry and judicious investments in lands, goods or anything which promised a return with reasonable profit, he soon began to accumulate, and before many years was able to command a snug competency. He served for a number of years as Sheriff of Warren County, discharging the duties of the office with marked ability and to the satisfaction of his constituents, as was shown by the zeal with which men of all parties supported him for office whenever he was a candidate. He was a member of the Warren County Board of Super- visors for some years; early became known as a man of substance and a money-lender; served as a bank President; at the time of his death was a director in the Second National Bank, and had been a stockholder and director in other banks previously organized. Of sound, conservative judgment, he acted with careful and cautious discrimination in matters of business, and although sometimes regarded as carrying his prudence to excess, his conclusions were always conceded to be based on safe grounds. The accuracy of his judgment in this respect was shown by his success in acquiring and sagely managing both money and property, which resulted in his accumulating a large es- tate. Of an affectionate and domestic tempera- ment, he found his chief happiness in the soci- ety of his family and friends. Rather late in life he was married to Miss Mattie B. Pittenger, who was considerably his junior, and a daughter of his friend, Andrew Pittenger. They had two sons, John S. and Harry H. Brown, who were still in their minority at the date of their

father's death, which occurred September 26, 1888, in the eighty-first year of his age. By will the management of Mr. Brown's estate was left to the management of his executors-con- sisting of his wife, Mr. Fred E. Harding and Judge William C. Norcross-until his youngest son should attain his majority. Mr. Harding had been his most trusted banker and Judge Nor- cross his chief legal advisor during the latter years of his business career. By the terms of the will the bulk of the property passed into the hands of his wife and two sons, although some liberal bequests were made for others. In politics Mr. Brown was an earnest Repub- lican. Though not a member of any church, he was an attendant upon the ministrations of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife is a consistent and devoted member. Mr. Brown maintained a high character for honor and integrity in all his relations throughout his long and successful business life.

BROWN, JOHN S.,-a son of John Brown (deceased), who, during his life, was one of the leading capitalists of Warren County-was born in the city of Monmouth, October 14, 1873, and was educated in the city schools and at Monmouth College. Though still a young man, Mr. Brown already occupies a prominent place in the financial and manufacturing circles of his native city. Besides being a director of the Second National Bank of Monmouth, and the owner of large landed interests in Warren County and elsewhere, he has recently entered the manufacturer's field in connection with the Monmouth Plow Company, of which he is the President and one of the largest stockholders. He was active in the organization of the com- pany, and has devoted his personal attention to the construction of the plant and to its oper- ation since the company entered upon the man- ufacture of gang and sulky plows. Mr. Brown was married June 19, 1902, to Miss Martha J. Phares, of Monmouth. He has always been active in the social life of the city, and is inter- ested in military 'and secret society affairs. He served for some time as Second Lieutenant of Company H, Sixth Regiment Illinois National Guard, but on October 6, 1902, was promoted by election to the rank of First Lieutenant, as successor to Lieutenant B. L. Mapes, who declined a re-election. One of the local papers, speaking of his advancement, says:

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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.

"He has made a good record as an officer dur- ing his term of service, and this promotion is a testimonial of the regard in which he is held by the men of his command." He is a member of the Maple City Lodge No. 302, Knights of Pythias, and of Monmouth Lodge No. 397, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is Past Exalted Ruler. Mr. Brown is owner of a large orange ranch in Tulare County, California. While active in politics and a strong believer in the principles of the Republican party, Mr. Brown has never been a candidate for an elective office. During the Republican National Convention of 1900 at Philadelphia, he served as Assistant Sergeant- at-Arms of that body, and was honored by Governor Yates with an appointment as one of the Commissioners from Illinois to the South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposi- tion, held at Charleston, S. C., December, 1901, to June, 1902.

BROWN, HENRY S .; farmer and fruit grow- er; Monmouth; born in 1844, has been Road Commissioner and a member of the School Board in Tompkins Township, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Mon- mouth, has been Senior Deacon in Monmouth Lodge, No. 37, A. F. & A. M., and is a mem- ber of Warren Chapter, No. 30, R. A. M., and is well and widely known as a progressive and prosperous citizen. He settled in Knox County in 1853, three miles from Galesburg, and was educated in the public .schools of Henderson Township and instructed in the details of prac- tical farming. He learned the molder's trade with Purdy, Greenleaf & Company, at Gales- burg, and was employed in the Frost estab- lishment until 1865, when he located in Mon- mouth, where, for a time, he was employed in the foundry of Carr Brothers and later, for eight years, by the Pattee Plow Company, until he began farming in Tompkins Township. He bought his present home in 1899 and erected his residence in 1901. He was married in Monmouth, in 1867, to Harriet M. Fort, who was born in her father's residence, Fourth Avenue, that city, a daughter of Daniel and Catherine (Johnson) Fort, natives respectively of Philadelphia and New York, who settled in Monmouth in 1837, where Mr. Fort was a pioneer brick-contractor. Daniel Fort died in Warren County and his widow, after his death, found a home with Mr. and Mrs. Brown in

Tompkins Township, where she died. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have had children as follows: Fred I., Florence M., Katie and Nettie. Flor- ence, Nettie, Katie, and Mrs. Brown are dead. Fred L. and their father survive them.

BROWN, JOHN; retired farmer and quarry- man; Monmouth; is an Irish-American citi- zen who has in every relation of life proven his personal worth and shed luster on the "Green Isle" of his nativity. He was born in County Tyrone, in 1826, a son of Samuel and Mary (Haggon) Brown, of Scotch-Irish an- cestry, who were born and died there. He was reared and educated in Ireland and, at the age of seventeen years went to Newcastle, England, in the vicinity of which town he re- mained six years. In 1854 he sailed for America from Liverpool and, after a rough voyage of seven weeks, landed at Castle Gar- den, New York. In 1855 he came from New York to Monmouth whence he went to Hale Township, where he bought 160 acres of land and began quarrying stone and burning lime- a business in which he was profitably en- gaged for thirty-five years. He still owns a 125 acre tract in the same township. In 1889 he removed to Monmouth, where he owns conl- siderable property including a residence on North Main Street and two other houses, and where he has since lived in well-earned retire- ment. He is a Republican and a member of the First United Presbyterian Church of Monmouth. He donated liberally toward the erection of the old house of worship and in 1861 furnished stone, lime and sand for the college edifice. He was married in Ireland, in 1848, to Margaret Newbanks, daughter of William and Mary (Perry) Newbanks, who died in Hale Township in 1889, leaving two daughters, Mrs. Jennie Thompson, of Missouri, and Mrs. Margaret Johnson, of Oklahoma. Rebecca, another daugh- ter, died in New York in 1854. Mrs. Brown's brother, William Newbanks, died in Knox County: her sister, Mrs. Cooper, lives in Mon- mouth. James Brown, brother of John, enlisted at New York in the Sixteenth New York Heavy Artillery, for service in the Civil War, and was killed in battle in front of Richmond in 1863.

BROWNING, M. G .; broom manufacturer; Monmouth; was the organizer of the Republi- can party in Adams County, Ill., in 1854, is a veteran of the war of 1861-65, and has been

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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.

prominent as a public official in the city of his adoption. He was born in Licking County, Ohio, February 6, 1829, a son of Jeremiah and Hester (Moore) Browning. His father was born in Maryland, July 26, 1794, his mother in Cadiz, Ohio, February 11, 1807. Jeremiah Browning came to Ohio from Virginia with his parents in 1800, and, in 1851, settled in Adams County, Ill., where he was a farmer, and where he died October, 1872. Hester (Moore) Brown- ing died at West Point, Hancock County, De- cember, 1881. She was Jeremiah Browning's second wife. Dorcas Farmer, his first wife, bore him children named Van F. and Louisa, both of whom are dead. Van F. was a member of the Seventh Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and died of wounds at Birds Point. By his second marriage, which occurred in 1826, he had children as follows: Orrin, born February 9, 1827, served in an Ohio regiment in the Civil war and died in Delaware, Ohio, in 1897; M. G., the subject of this sketch; Cassie, died at Hannibal, Mo .; Dorcas, died at Barry, Pike County, Ill., May 17, 1901; Laura A., died at Barry, Septem- ber 16, 1900; Jeremiah, served eighteen months in the Second Illinois Cavalry, was honorably discharged, re-enlisted in the Fiftieth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, was wounded at Altoona Pass, and is an inmate of the Sol- diers' Home, Sandusky, Ohio; Catherine, is dead; Rena lives at West Point, Hancock County; Henry at New Canton, Pike County. M. G. Browning passed his childhood in Licking County and, when he was nine years old, was taken by his parents to Delaware County, Ohio, where he received a common school edu- cation. In 1850 he came to Adams County, Illinois making the journey from Worthing- ton, Ohio, on foot. He married at Payson, Adams County, November 7, 1852, Fannie E. Morris, who was born in Kentucky, a daughter of Albert F. and Mary (Summers) Morris, Kentuckians who settled in Adams County, about 1830. Mr. Morris, who was a carpenter and farmer, came to Warren County, October 6, 1858, and died in Swan Township, Septem- ber 26, 1888. Mrs. Browning, who died Octo- ber 17, 1900, bore her husband children as fol- lows: Isabelle, who married I. L. Holmes, of Iowa City, Iowa; W. K., of Monmouth; Jen- nie, who married H. H. Hodgens, of Monmouth; Nellie F., who married W. C. Patterson, of Bedford, Iowa. Mr. Browning came to War-

ren County in 1860, locating in Swan Town- ship. In 1861, at Prairie City, McDonough County, he enlisted in the Black Hawk Cav- alry, an independent regiment of eight com- panies, recruited in Illinois, Iowa and Mis- souri, which was consolidated with the Twenty- seventh Missouri Infantry in the organ- ization of the Seventh Missouri Cavalry, which participated in the battles of Lone Jack, Prairie Grove, Arkansas Post and Helena. Mr. Browning was disabled in service and was dis- charged in 1863, and returned to Prairie City, whence he went to Chicago. He had charge of factories there and at Galva for twelve years, and, in 1876, located at Monmouth and en- gaged in the manufacture of brooms. He has been connected with the broom-corn trade dur- ing all his active life and for many years has been local buyer of that commodity at Mon- mouth. He has always taken a lively interest in the advancement of his city and county, and represented the third ward of Monmouth four years in the Common Council, in which he originated the Northwest sewer system, which was installed at a cost of. $30,000.00, and as Chairman of the Committee on Lighting and Water, was instrumental in procuring other local improvements. He is a member of McClanahan Post, No. 330, G. A. R., and of Monmouth Lodge No. 37, A. F. & A. M.

BUCK, CLARENCE F .; Postmaster; Mon- mouth, Warren County; was born in Monmouth June 6, 1870, and is a son of Cyrus L. and Julia A. (Bake) Buck. His father, a native of Vermont and a son of Murray Buck, removed to Illinois in 1850, locating at Little York, in Sumner Township, where he engaged in farm- ing and stock-raising. Mr. Buck traces his descent in the maternal line to Jacob Bake and William Crawford, his grandfathers, both of whom were natives of Ohio. William Crawford married Isabelle McClure, and Jacob Bake married Catharine Reppert, both natives of Ohio. Their children, grandparents of Mr. Buck, were respectively William Crawford and Jeremiah Bake. Clarence F. Buck completed his education at Monmouth College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1890. In that year he read law with Messrs. Porter and MacDill. In the meantime he became connected with the "Monmouth Atlas," and upon the consolidation of the " Atlas" and the " Advance, " in May,

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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.

1892, he became manager of the Republican- Atlas Printing Company, which position he still holds. Early in life he became actively interested in the work of the Republican party. In 1888, before becoming of age, he organized a Blaine Club composed of students of Mon- mouth College, and actively participated in the work of the campaign. In 1890 he was elected Secretary of the Warren County Republican Central Committee, in which capacity he served until 1894, when he was elected Chair- man of that organization, serving four years. Since 1898 he has been Chairman of the execu- tive comittee of that body. In 1900 he was chosen Secretary of the Illinois League of Republican Clubs, and in 1902 was elected President of that body. He was commissioned Postmaster for Monmouth by President Mc- Kinley in February, 1899. In 1896, 1897 and 1898 he was Treasurer of the Illinois State Firemen's Association, and since 1899 has been Chief of the Monmouth Fire Department. Mr. Buck has more than a local reputation as an orator and debater. In the Inter-State Orator- ical contest at Lincoln, Neb., in 1890, he was the delegate representing the State of Illinois; and in 1888 he represented the Eccritean Liter- ary Society as essayist at the Philo-Eccritean contest at Monmouth College. In matters gen- erally pertaining to his alma mater he has taken a deep interest. Personally he is re- garded as one of the strongest of the younger men of Illinois, whose prominence in public affairs in the future will depend almost en- tirely upon his own inclinations. He has given frequent evidence of the possession of a public spirit, and enters heartily into advocacy of those movements calculated to promote the material welfare of the community. Mr. Buck married Lena Staat, of Greenbush, Warren County, June 8, 1898. They have two daugh- ters, Dorothy and Mildred.

BURNS, JAMES C., former Superintendent of the city schools, Monmouth, and present Pro- fessor of History in Western Illinois State Nor- mal School at Macomb, Ill., traces his paternal ancestry through his father, William Burns, born at Graysville, Greene County, Penn., and his grandparents, James and Mary (Johnson) Burns, both natives of Washington County, Penn., to his great-grandparents, Alexander and Elizabeth Burns, the former a native of Ayrshire, Scotland, born in 1739. Professor

Burns was born on a farm near Graysville, Greene County, Penn., September 13, 1850, at the age of fifteen entered Waynesbury College, Pennsylvania, and the next year began teach- ing in a district school near Moundsville, W. Va., being one of the first free schools in that newly organized State. In 1870, he entered Monmouth College at Monmouth, Ill., and con- tinued attending college and teaching alter- nately until 1875, when he was graduated with the degree of A. B. He then began teaching in Southern Illinois, first as Principal of Coul- terville Academy, at Culterville, Randolph County, where he spent one year (1875-76), after which he served six years (1876-82) as Principal of the High School at Sparta, in the same county. Between 1882 and 1884 he was employed as Principal of an academy at Wash- ington, Iowa, but the latter year became Super- intendent of Schools at Greenville, Ill., where he remained four years, when (1888) he was elected Superintendent of Schools of Mon- mouth, serving until 1901-a period of thir- teen years. In 1902 he accepted the Chair of History in the Western Illinois State Normal School at Macomb, which he still occupies. Professor Burns was married at Xenia, Ohio, September 4, 1878, to Miss Ida J. Carey, and they have had four children: Clinton, Deane, Josephine and Ruth. Politically he is identi- fied with the Republican party and in his re- ligious faith is a United Presbyterian. The success achieved by Professor Burns as a prac- tical educator furnishes abundant evidence of personal energy and force of character.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Warren County, Volume II, Part 48

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Church, Charles A., 1857- Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 620

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Church, Charles A., 1857-
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 620