History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 111

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 948

USA > Illinois > Union County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 111
USA > Illinois > Pulaski County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 111
USA > Illinois > Alexander County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 111

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hearing. Returning from the war, he took charge of the home place, but did not feel sat- isfied with it. Becoming tired of the farm, he bought another one, and again sold that for a better one. Finally, in 1870, he went to Texas, where he remained only a year. Returning, he purchased a farm of forty acres in Section 32, Township 16, Range 2. He is now renting ninety acres in Section 25, Township 16, Range 2. He was married June 30, 1867, to Mrs. Mary E. Journigan, a daughter of Siforous and Jane Delaney. This lady lived only about seven months after her marriage, and Mr. McKemie was married the second time to Mrs. Mary E. Berry, nee Phillips, on August 16, 1878. She is the daughter of James and Martha Phillips, was born March 27, 1851, and is the mother of one child, Charles Berry, who was born Febru- ary 6. 1873. In politics, Mr. McKemie is a Republican. His wife is a member of the Bap- tist Church.

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LAKE MILLIKIN PRECINCT.

NICHOLAS HUNSAKER, farmer, P. O. Commercial Point. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch was born in Union County, Ill., two miles southwest of Jonesboro, on August 15, 1826. He was a son of Abner and Rachel (Montgomery) Hunsaker. The father was one of the oldest settlers of Union County, was born on Green River, Ky .. 1801, and died at his farm in Jonesboro Precinct in Union County, July 11, 1849. The mother was born near the same place as her husband, in the year 1802, and died two days after her husband. The death of both parents was from cholera, which was then epidemic in that section of the country. Our subject had seven brothers and three sisters, and consequently as he was compelled to assist at home his educa- tion was obtained in the subscription schools

of his county. Soon after his marriage our subject came to Alexander County, and has since become one of the foremost citizens of that county. He has served his county in numerous capacities, was elected Sheriff in 1858, and served two years, and in 1863, was elected to the office of County Treasurer. and served in that capacity two terms and a half. Mr. Hunsaker was married in Union County, on March 22, 1849, to Adelia Worthington, who was born in the southwest part of Union County, December 12, 1824, and was a daugh- ter of Benjamin and Nancy Worthington. This lady is the mother of eight children, viz .: Henry Harrison, Laura Catharine, John Hodges, Julia Alice, William Charles, Ro- sanna May. Florence and Dora. In politics, Mr. Hunsaker is a Democrat.

MOUND CITY PRECINCT.

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PULASKI COUNTY.

MOUND CITY PRECINCT.

GEORGE W. ARMSTRONG, first mate of " H. G. Wright," Mound City. This gentleman is a native of New Albany, Ind., born February 17. 1844. His father, John Armstrong. was born in Shelbyville, Ky., in 1807, and died in New Albany, Ind., October 3. 1863. During his life was principally engaged as a ship car- penter. His wife and subject's mother was Ann (Want) Armstrong. a native of London, England. born in 1812. She is a daughter of John T. Want, who was an officer in the construction department of the British Navy, principally located in Canada; when she was twelve years of age she was brought to Amer- ica by her parents, who settled near Louisville, Ky .. where he had bought land. She was mar- ried in New Albany, the result of the marriage being thirteen children, of whom six are now iving. viz. : James, Jolin W., Mary, Susan, George W., the subject of this biography, and Mrs. Henrietta Colesta. Our subject was edu- cated and reared at New Albany, Ind., and in early life was apprenticed at the carpenter and ship-builder's trade for a term of four years, but, becoming an efficient workman, he was allowed journeyman's wages after the third year. In March. 1862, he removed from New Albany to Mound City, and here engaged work - ing at his trade until February, 1882, when he was appointed first mate of the United States Snag Boat " H. G. Wright," a position he at present fills with tact and ability. In Caledonia, Ill., on the 1st of November, 1863. he married Miss Louisa Conway, a native of

Union County, Ill., born March 20, 1842 ; she is a danghter of Charles and Sarah (Auberts) Conway. This union has been blessed with the following children : Ida R., born February 17. 1865 ; Jolin T., born December 15, 1867; Georgia, born October 6, 1870, who died Outo- ber 14. 1872; Charles, born September 30. 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong are religously connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church ; he is an active member of the order of K. of H., Mound City Lodge, No. 1847, and a self-made man in every respect.

SAMUEL BACK, merchant, Mound City, born November 8, 1838, in Obernitzka, Prussia, Germany. Son of Israel Back, a native of Germany, where he was a baker by occupation. The mother of our subject was Hanna (Saul) Back, also a native of Germany. Our subject was educated in Germany, where he studied the mercantile business, and was engaged in business there till 1866, when he came to the United States. landing in New York City. From there he went to Dubuque, Iowa, and after six months went to Nebraska City ; and, finally, mn 1870 he came to Mound City, where he opened a dry goods store in partnership with his brother-in-law. After one year, they dissolved partnership, and our subject went to Anna, Ill., where he kept a dry goods store, re- turning to this place in 1874, when he opened a dry goods store, in which he has continued till the present time, carrying also a stock of hats, caps, boots and shoes, and a stock worth from $8,000 to $10,000. He was married in

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St. Louis to Miss Fannie Blum, who is a native of Aufhausen, Wurtemberg, Germany. She is the mother of Gabriel Back, who was born December 3. 1873. Mr. Back is a wide-awake business man. He is an active member of the Knights of Honor, Mound City Lodge, No. 1847. In politics, he is a Democrat.

C. N. BELL, merchant. Mound City, was born April 19, 1825, in Virginia ; son of Jacob and Martha (Talliafero) Bell. Jacob Bell emi- grated from Virginia to Todd County, Ky., but died in Graves County, aged sixty-six years. He was a teacher and a minister of the Metli- odist Episcopal Church by profession, follow- ing the ministry exclusively in Virginia. In Kentucky, he followed teaching mainly, al- though he acted as local minister. following the ministry for forty years. His whole life was worthy of imitation. At an early date, three brothers came to the United States from Italy, and the Talliaferos now residing in this coun- try are their descendants. Mrs. Martha Bell died aged sixty-six years ; she was the mother of seven children, of whom our subject and two sisters are now living. Our subject, C. N. Bell, received his education from his father, whose occupation he chose, teaching several years in Massac and Pope Counties. Ill. Our subject was a soldier in the Mexican war, and in Au- gust, 1862, he enlisted in the Fifteenth. Reg- iment Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry, of which he was made Quartermaster Sergeant. While out on a scout, he was captured by Forrest's men, near Spring Creek College, Tenn., and was taken to the Libby Prison pen, where he was one of the last exchanged prisoners, his regiment having been mustered out before his release. His oc- cupation since the war has been varied : teaching, farming, photographing, etc. In 1872, he came to Mound City, and in the fall of 1882 he became engaged in the family grocery business. Before the war, he was a Whig in politics, but since then he has been a Republican. He is now a member of the City

Council in Mound City. Our subject was mar- ried twice ; his first wife was Jane Crotchett, who died in 1867. The following year, he was married to Henrietta C. Stall, a native of Ohio. She is the mother of four children, viz. : Susan T., Sallie A., Nellie E. and Ida K.

LOUIS BLUM, dry goods merchant, Mound City. Of the energetic business men of Mound City who have the interest of the town as well as their own at heart, is he whose name heads this sketch. He was born August 25. 1835, in Wurtemberg, Germany. His father, also a na- tive of Wurtemberg, was born 1803, and is yet living. He was a stock-dealer, and a man whose reputation for honesty and square deal- ing was well known. The mother of our sub- ject was Ida (Neuburger) Blum. She was the mother of five children, of whom Abraham and Sarah Kohn are now living in the old country, and Fannie Back, Joe Blum, of St. Louis, and Louis. our subject, are living in this county. Our subject was educated in Germany. where he engaged in the stock business with his fa- ther till 1854, when he came to the United States, landing in New York City. He mer- chandized in Lebanon, N. J., till 1863, when he came to Cairo, where he commenced to mer- chandise on a small scale, two horses hauling all the goods with which he opened his store. But with that indomitable perseverance com- mon to the race from which he sprung, and through his honesty and energy, he enjoyed in 1865 the best retail trade in Cairo, employing eight clerks. He continued to do business there till 1870, when he came to Mound City, where he has been mostly a general merchant. He now carries principally a stock of dry goods and clothing, including boots, shoes, hats, caps, carpets, oil cloth, wall paper, etc. Our subject was joined in matrimony July 12, 1868, in New York, and took a wedding trip to Europe, returning the same year. He is a member of the " Sons of the Hebrew Brotherhood, " Egypt Lodge, Cairo, Ill. He is also a Knight of

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MOUND CITY PRECINCT.

Honor, Mound City Lodge. No. 1847. In pol- ities, he is a Democrat. Mrs. Blum is a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, where she was born April 13, 1845. Her maiden name was Sophia Hirsh, of a prominent family in Germany. She is the mother of six children now living, viz. : Clara, born November 30, 1870; Jacob, born Sep- tember 14, 1872 ; Samuel, born July 24, 1874; Zilli, born September 17, 1877 ; Benjamin, No- vember 12, 1879, and Ida, born May 13, 1883.

C. L. BOEKENKAMP, merchant, Mound City. This enterprising business man was born May 16, 1853, in Petershagen, Westphalia, Ger- many. He is a son of Prof. Herman Boeken- kamp, who was Superintendent of a deaf and dumb asylum in Minden, Germany. He was born in Brackwede, Germany, and died Octo- ber 10. 1881. The mother of our subject was Emilie (Hoepke) Boekenkamp, born May 21. 1812. in Minden, Germany. She is yet living where our subject was born, and is the daugh- ter of a large and well-known grain buyer in Ger- many. She was the mother of two boys-Au_ gust F. and Charles L., our subject. The former was born March 6. 1848 ; he was Lieutenant in the Prussian army, and died 1870 from wounds received in the war between Prussia and Aus- tria. At the time of his death he was acting as Mayor of Ibbenbneren, Germany. Our subject was educated at Minden, Germany. In 1869 he left his native country and emigrated to the Unit- ed States, landing in New York. After roam- ing one year he clerked in Chicago ; from there he went to St. Louis, and after one year's stay came to Mound City. Here he worked one year and then returned to St. Louis, where he worked for the old firm of Herman Koste till 1872, when he again returned to this place, where he clerked for G. F. Meyer till 1874, when he again went to St. Louis, where, after clerking one year in a brewery, he entered E. Hilger & Co.'s wholesale hardware business, where he clerked two years. In 1878 he once more returned to Mound City, where he worked for Meyer till 1881. when he

went into business for himself in partnership with Ed. Schuler, keeping a general store. He was joined in matrimony January 14, 1879, in this place, to Miss Mary Schuler, who was born December 23. 1856, in Paducah, Ky. She is a daughter of George Schuler. and is the mother of one boy-Herman, born December 23, 1880. Mr. Boekenkamp is a member of the Knights of Honor, and in politics is a Democrat.

C. BOREN, pilot, Mound City. is a native of Pulaski County, Ill., born February 28, 1828, near Fort Wilkinson, and a son of Morgan and Anna (Lathum) Boren, he born in Tennessee in 1795. and died in Pulaski County, Ill., in January, 1851. He was one of the first set- tlers of the county, having emigrated from his native State in 1827, and settled in this county near Fort Wilkinson, where he had been stationed as a soldier in the Black Hawk war, and engaged in farming to the time of his death. His wife (subject's mother) was also a native of Tennessee. She died in this county, leaving twelve children, of whom but three are now living, viz. : Lewis W., Mrs. Mary L. Collins and Coleman. our subject. His early life was spent at home on the farm. and at such time as the work of the farm would permit, he attended the subscription schools, common in his day. At nineteen years of age, he left his home and engaged in boating on the rivers ; he lias since fol- lowed this for a livelihood, and has been principally engaged as Captain and pilot, hav- ing been Captain of the following well known steamers : Pocahontas, Ohio Belle, Alexander Scott, Cumberland, Catawba and St. Louis. At present he is acting as pilot of the Mis- sissippi. from St. Louis to New Orleans, up the Red River to Shreeveport, and on the Ohio from Cairo to Paducah. In Vienna, John- son Co., Ill., on the 8th of August, 1852. he was married to Miss Caroline F. McDon- ald, who was born June 12, 1834. in Ohio. She is a daughter of Richard and Mary J.

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(Craven) McDonald. Mr. and Mrs. Boren have been blessed with six children, of whom five are now living, viz. : Lady A., born January 29. 1854; Mary A., born November 16. 1856, Carrie F., born December 17, 1858 ; Georgia Anna, November 3, 1861 ; she died March 22, 1862 ; Richard M., born May 30, 1868, and Henrietta B .. September 7, 1870. Mr. Boren is an active member of the I. O. O. F., and in politics he is identified with the Republican party.

THOMAS BOYD, attorney at law, Mound City. The Boyd family on the paternal side is of Scotch ancestry, and on the maternal En- glish. William Boyd, the great-grandfather of Thomas, was a native of Ireland, and emigrat- ed to America during the Revolutionary was espoused the cause of the patriots, joined the army under Washington and fought for the in- dependence of his adopted country. After the close of the war. he married and settled in Georgia, where his son John, the grandfather of the present family, was born in 1818. John : Boyd moved to North Carolina, and from thence to Tennessee, and in 1823 came to Il- linois and settled in Washington County, but soon after removed to Randolph County, to a point then known as Heacock's Prairie, now known as Dutch Hill Prairie, and there re- mained till his death, which occurred about 1837. During the war of 1812, he enlisted and was a soldier under Jackson in the Southern army. His son William, father of Thomas, was born in Georgia in 1806, and came with his father to Illinois, and here married Isabel Donglass, daughter of Isaac L. Douglass. She was a native of Scotland, though partially reared in Illinois. She survived her husband, who died in 1854, and she in 1880. By this union there were eight children, five of whom are living. Thomas, the subject of this sketch, was born in Randolph County September 6, 1847. He was reared upon his father's farm, and received his education in the district

schools of his neighborhood. At the age of nineteen, he left home and worked at his trade of carpenter ; subsequently taught school, which he continued till 1870, when he entered the law office of Murphy & Boyd, at Pinkney- ville, and commenced the study of law. He, however, continued to follow teaching in the winter months, returning to his studies during vacation. At the January term of the Supreme Court. held at Springfield in 1875, he passed a successful examination and was admitted to the bar ; he then formed a law partnership with his preceptors, and became a member of the well-known law firm of Murphy & Boyd Bros., which continued until July, 1882, when John Boyd withdrew, and Thomas Boyd remained a law partner with Mr. Murphy until the latter part of November. 1882, when the dissolution of the firm took place by mutual consent. Our subject was joined in matrimony, March 13, 1878, to Mrs. Sarah J. Hight, nee Hughes, daughter of William A. and Sarah (Moore) Hughes, who were counted among our most esteemed citizens. Mrs. Sarah J. Boyd, born August 8, 1852, in this county, at Old Cale- donia, is the mother of three children-Maud S., deceased ; Loren H., born August 15. 1880 ; and Pearl Hope. born February 7, 1<83. Our subject was always a reliable Democrat, true to his principles, and without doubt or shadow of turning. He is an honored member of the A., F. & A. M., and also of the high degree of R. A. M. As a practitioner, he has had reason to be gratified with his success. He brought to the profession studious habits, industry and an earnest desire to excel. While compara- tively on the threshold of his professional life, he has given undoubted evidence of his fitness and ability to cope with the subtle intricacies of the law, and in good time, we hope. will be- come eminent and learned in his chosen pro- fession.

L. M. BRADLEY, attorney at law, Mound City, was born October 14, 1852. in Jackson

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MOUND CITY PRECINCT.

County, Ill. ; grandson of James H. Brad- ley. Sr., whose son, James H., was born August 21, 1821, in Jackson County, Ill. He was a farmer by occupation. He was joined in matrimony to Rutha Culley, born February 28, 1828, in Mount Vernon, Ind. She was a daughter of Josiah and Martha (Hogue) Culley, and is the mother of a large family, of whom seven children are now living-Harriet E. Carter, Cynthia C. Davis, Charles M., Lewis M. (our subject). Samuel U., George B. and Olley. Our subject received a common school education in Jackson County, Ill., and in De Sota. Ill. In 1873, he opened a general store in the latter place with a partner, and con- tinued in the business till 1880, hiring a clerk in his place when he was at school. The store paid his expenses while fitting him- self for his profession. After attending the State Normal School at Carbondale for almost two years, he commenced the study of law with A. R. Pugh, of Murphysboro, as his preceptor. In 1878, he entered the law depart- ment of the Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., never missing a lesson during two years, graduating in 1880. Since then he has followed his profession one year at Murphysboro, and, since the fall of 1881 in Mound City, where he is also Notary Public, one of the publishers of the Pulaski Patriot, and since April 7, 1883, State's Attorney. He is a member of the A., F. & A. M .. De Soto Lodge, No. 287. In poli- tics, he is a Republican.

DANIEL J. BRITT, farmer, P. O. America, was born February 18. 1836. in Chatham County, N. C. Son of Green Britt, born in Chatham County, N. C., a tanner by occupa- tion. He went to Arkansas, where he lived till the fall of 1863, when he came to Pulaski County, Ill., where he now resides. The moth- er was a native of Chatham County, N. C. Her maiden name was Martha Martin, daughter of Henry and Mary Martin. natives of Paducah, Ky. She died in Pulaski County, Ky .. leav-

ing three children, of whom Daniel was the youngest. The names of the children were Julia A. Sanders (deceased), and William A., now living in this county. Daniel enjoyed only about six months of schooling, but through reading and observation he has ac- quired a fund of knowledge. In early life he learned the shoe-maker's trade, following it and farming till the spring of 1862, when he en- listed in the Fourth Regiment of Arkansas Volunteers, Company K. He was promoted a few days before the battle of Cain Hill, to Captain of the Infirmary Corps. Surrendering at Helena, Ark., he came North and settled in Pulaski County. He has been married twice, and is the father of four boys-William R., born June 15, 1862; Middleton H .. born Oc- tober, 1866; Grant, born 1868 ; George W., born August, 1872. Mr. Britt is a member of the A., F. & A. M. fraternity, Caledonia Lodge, No. 47. He has been County Treasurer and Assessor for two years, has filled school offices, and has been Township Trustee for sixteen years. In politics, he is a Republican. The past life of our subject needs no comment, as the confidence the people put in him speaks highly in his favor.

PETER BURGESS, farmer, P. O. Mound City, was born April 6, 1843, in Cheshire, Eng- land, son of Peter Burgess, born July 14, 1803. in England, where he died June 6, 1846, a farmer by occupation. The mother of our sub- ject was Hannah (Reade) Burgess, born Sep- tember 20, 1809, in England, where she died April 7, 1852. daughter of Joseph Reade, a farmer by occupation ; she was the mother of eight children, of whom Maria, Samuel. Ann and Peter are now living. Our subject was educated in England, where he worked in a silk factory till 1863, when he came to the United States, landing in New York June 12. From New York he went to Connecticut, where he farmed till the fall of 1863. He then went to Mound City, where he worked in the ship-yards, and

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then settled down on a farm in Pulaski County. He has now a farm of about 300 acres. He was joined in matrimony May 17, 1865, in this county, to Miss Christina E. Storm. born in Pulaski County. She is a daughter of Dr. Lawrence F. and Elizabeth (Cook) Storm, and is the mother of two children, viz. : Hannah E .. born March 25, 1866 ; Samuel L., infant, de- ceased. Mrs. Burgess died October, 1869, in this county. Mr. Burgess is religiously con- nected with the Episcopalian Church, was for- merly a member of the Ancient Order of Fores- ters of England. In politics he is a Democrat.

HENRY G. CARTER, lawyer, Mound City, was born March 24, 1840, in Versailles, Wood- ford Co., Ky. His father, George W. Carter, was born at Versailles, Ky., January 19, 1819, and died March 2, 1877, in Mound City, Ill. In early life, he was a merchant in Versailles ; was Sher- iff of Woodford County, Ky., for twelve years, and during that time hung five men of whom three were colored. In June, 1856, he came to Mound City, and invested largely in stock of the old " Emporium " Real Estate and Manufactur- ing Company. The same year he removed to Champaign County, and there bought 640 acres of land and engaged in farming and stock-rais- ing, stocking his farm with fine Durham cattle from Kentucky. In 1858, he returned to Mound City, Ill., and engaged in running the Mound City Hotel, and was also President of the Emporium Real Estate Company. About this time, he was a member of the City Council and County Commissioner. He met many ups and downs during his career, and at one time lost by security $22.000. His wife, and mother of our subject. was Rosana (Wallace) Carter, a native of Kentucky, and the mother of ten children, of whom five are now living. Henry G. Carter, our subject, was educated in Ken- tucky ; in early life, was Deputy Sheriff of Woodford County, Ky., and taught school, and in the meantime studied law ; he gradu- ated in Louisville. Ky., in 1860. In the spring

of 1861, he located permanently at Mound City, and engaged in the real estate business, and was manager of the Mound City Railroad for two years, and at the same time continued the practice of his profession. In 1863, he was elected City Attorney, an office he still retains. He was the last President of Emporium Com- pany. In St. Louis, in 1871, he married Miss Maggie Brown, a native of Kentucky. She died in 1880, leaving the following children as the result of their union-Charlotte, born Feb- ruary, 1872 ; Harry, born December, 1874, and Frederick, born in August, 1875. He is a Knight of Honor and a Democrat.

DR. N. R. CASEY, physician and surgeon. Mound City, whose portrait appears in this volume, was born in Jefferson County, Ill., January 27, 1826. His father, Gov. Zadok Casey, was a native of Georgia ; when quite a youth he moved to Tennessee ; there he was married to Rachel King, and in 1817, with his wife and one child six months old, the late Hon. S. K. Casey, moved to what is now Jefferson County, Ill. N. R. Casey's first school teacher was Uncle Neddy Maxey, as he was familiarly called ; he was not a man of much learning, having obtained what he had without a teacher. There were no schools of schoolhouses in that immediate neighborhood. Consequently a room of small dimensions was set apart in his father's house, where the old man taught his two older brothers, and an older sister, with himself. In a few years afterward, a log schoolhouse was built ; one end of the building was taken up by the fire-place, while the floor was the original mother earth. The seats were made of split and hewed timber, their ends resting on blocks. The teacher's name was Tally ; he was a large stout man ; his own education was limited to spelling. reading and writing. His armory. of which he kept a good supply, consisted of long strips of tan oak bark, that had been peeled from oak trees near by, to be used for tanning animals' hides

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History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 111

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 948

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 948