History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 78

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 78
USA > Illinois > Pulaski County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 78
USA > Illinois > Alexander County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 78

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

PETER NEFF, retired, Cairo, was born on the 18th of July, 1826, in the kingdom of Hesse- Darmstadt, Germany. His parents, Bernhard Neffand Barbara Bæhm, were natives of same place and reared a family of six sons, Peter being the youngest. The family have been repre- sented in the United States by the three sons, Adam, George A. and Peter ; the former died in Cairo, Ill., in 1867, leaving a family consist- ing of wife and two daughters, who are now residents of Cairo. George A. is a resident of St. Louis, Mo. The subject of these lines was reared and educated in the old country, where he learned the trade of merchant tailor. He came to the United States in 1847, and that year located in the city of St. Louis, where, for four years, he worked at his trade. In Sep- tember, 1851, he removed to Jonesboro, Ill., where he made his first independent business venture in the way of a small stock of cloth- ing. He remained in Jonesboro until 1854 (spring), at which time he removed his stock to Cairo, where he has since lived. Here he soon merged into an extensive trade in clothing and furnishing goods, and for many years enjoyed an immense patronage. In 1878, he sold his entire stock of clothing to A. Marx, but con- tinued in the tailoring business until 1881, when he retired. He has erected several bus- iness houses and controls a large interest in city real estate. At present he is Vice Presi- dent of the Alexander County Bank. He has a family of four children, of whom one is de- ceased, those living being Calvin, Alexander W. and Effie Neff. The maiden name of his present wife was Rachel Lence, who was born at Jonesboro, Ill., in 1841.

GEORGE F. ORT, general merchant, on the corner of Commercial avenue and Twenty- eighth street, Cairo, Ill., is a native of Am- sterdam, Holland, and was born November 27, 1842; son of G. F. Ort and Elizabeth De L'Etang, both natives of Holland, the former of German descent and the latter of French

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origin. The father was born in 1812 and the mother in 1807; both are living and are the parents of five children, of whom George F. is the second. Names of children are as follows: Elizabeth, resident of Amsterdam; George F., of Cairo ; Charles P., of Amsterdam ; Jeanette, wife of Jolin Vergonue, of Holland ; John G. N., present book-keeper for the City National Bank at Cairo. George F. was reared and educated in his native country, and took a practical business training in the mer- cantile line in the old country. He came to United States, and in the fall of 1860 located in Eastern Iowa, where, for three years he en- gaged in agricultural pursuists. He came to Cairo, in June, 1864, and engaged in market gardening, associated with Mr. Smallenburg, but after returning from a visit to the scenes of his boyhood, in 1867, he engaged alone in the same business, and continues the bus- iness still. In connection with this in the spring of 1882, he opened a general store, where he is now located. He employs regularly three salesmen. He was married in Cairo, Ill., on the 6th of November, 1874, to Miss Ellen DeGelder, of Holland, where she was born, September 7, 1850. She came to the United States with her parents, Matthew and Gertrude (Vermazen) De Gelder, in the year 1856. The parents are now residents of Alex- ander County, Ill.

CHRISTOPHER M. OSTERLOH, dealer in hay, corn, oats, and proprietor of general feed store on Commercial avenue, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets, Cairo, Ill., was born April 27, 1823, in Brunswick, Germany. His father, John H. Osterloh, was a native of the same dukedom, where he was reared and married, and died in 1845, leaving a family of six children, Christopher M. being the third. The family was first represented in the United States by the oldest son, Henry, who came and located in Missouri in 1845 soon after the 'death of his father. In 1848,

the mother and four children came, and also settled in Missouri, where, in the fall of 1852, the mother, Mary Osterloh, died. Christopher M. remained in Germany until 1850, when he, too, came to this country, but made his first permanent location at Yazoo City, in Mississipi, where he opened a barber shop, having learned the "art tonsorial " in the old country. He was afterward employed as barber on a steam- boat, and thus he came to Cairo, Ill., in 1852, and was induced by its people to open a barber shop, which he did, first on a wharf-boat, but soon after removed upon the levee. He continued to be a " knight of the razor " until 1864, in the fall of which year he sold out ; the year following he built the brick storehouse which he now occupies, located on Commercial avenue, where he has done a general grain and feed business ever since. On the 3d of Octo- ber, 1858, in Cairo, Ill., he was married to Miss Catharine Wagner, of Germany, where she was born April 7, 1838, coming to St. Louis in 1847. Their union has been blest with eight children, all born in Cairo, viz .: Charles, born Novem- ber 22, 1859 ; Louisa, born November 30. 1861, and died January 5, 1863 ; Amelia, born De- cember 31, 1863 ; Ernest, born October 3, 1866 ; Ada, born December 20, 1868; August, born September 28, 1871 ; Louisa J., born April 1, 1874, and Frank Osterloh, born July 14, 1876. Mr. Osterloh is a Republican, has served four years on Board of City Councilmen, and for twenty-seven years a member of the I. O. O. F.

MILES W. PARKER, Treasurer and Asses- sor of Alexander County, was born June 12, 1826, near the site of the village of Sandusky, in Alexander County, Ill. His father was born about 1772, in the State of Maryland, where he grew to manhood, and married Ellen Guerten, who was also a native of same State, and was born perhaps in 1782. After a brief residence, they moved to Virginia, thence to Kentucky, and in 1818 removed from Kentucky to Illi- nois and settled in the western part of Alex-

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ander County.' The father died in Pulaski County, Ill., in 1833, and the mother in Alex- ander County in 1837. They had a family of sixteen children ; of these Miles W. is the fif- teenth. Through force of circumstances, he received but a limited common school educa- tion, being reared under the influences incident to pioneer life. He possessed however a natural business ability, which he took opportunity to develop as soon as he became of age, coming to Cairo in 1847, to engage in the steamboat wood trade, continuing it until 1852, when he embarked in the grocery trade. He continued in the grocery business until 1863, and some time later invested his means in the livery business. In 1875, he was reduced to "first principles " by the burning of his stable and contents, which, being uninsured, was a total loss in less time than is required to pen this sketch. His loss is better described in his own words : "I saved nothing but a set of broken bug- gy shafts, which I turned over as a part pay on a blacksmith's bill." He is now engaged in busi- ness on Washington avenue, near Tenth street. In 1879, he was elected to the office of County Treasurer and re-elected in 1882 and now fills that office. He cannot be termed in any sense a politician, but has acted with the Democratie party. He was married in 1852, to Mrs. Eliza- beth Fisher, who was born in Pennsylvania on the 24th of September, 1826. She came to Illinois with her parents when a child. Their family consists of six children, of whom three are deceased-Mary, wife of W. F. Axley, of Cairo ; Gilbert Parker, deceased ; Emma, de- ceased wife of H. A. Harrell ; Nellie, wife of William Winter, and Lizzie Parker. Mr. Parker is a member of the Knights of Honor.

CHARLES O. PATIER, wholesale and re- tail merchant, Cairo. The subject of this sketch is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born Jan- uary 1, 1839. He is of French descent, his fa- ther having emigrated to this country in 1820, and located at Easton, Penn., where Charles O.

was born. He was educated in the public schools until twelve years of age, when he was sent to Williamsport, Penn., to learn the mer- cantile business with Adam Follmer, then a leading merchant of that place, and while a resi- dent there, took a course of instruction in the Commercial College of that city. At an early age, he became noted for his great energy and success as a salesman, to which he seemed peculiarly adapted. At the age of eighteen, he came .West, and stopped at Freeport, Ill., where he was employed as salesman for William Allen, and soon established for himself a reputation for ability and efficiency equaled by few men of his age. He had always been a strong Re- publican, in all the political issues of the time, and immediately upon the breaking-out of the late civil war, he went to St. Louis, and there aided in raising a company of volunteers, and joined the Sixth Missouri Regiment, under the first call of President Lincoln for troops. He was mustered into the United States service as First Lieutenant of Company D, of the Sixth, and took part in the march to Southeastern Mis- souri after the Confederate Gen. Price. After- ward he was appointed Provost Marshal of Jefferson City, in which capacity he remained about two years, and became noted for his patriotism and the able manner in which he discharged the duties of this office. After this, he again joined his command ; took part in the siege and capture of Vieksburg, and the battles following; participated in Sherman's march to the sea ; was seriously wounded in the right breast, at Goldsboro, N. C. After which he was sent to David's Island, New York Harbor, to be cured, and after four months was again with his command, which was then on duty at Little Rock, Ark., and there remained until the close of the war. He was promoted to the rank of Captain, and mustered out with his regiment in June, 1865, having served his country faithfully and nobly-not from a taste for the profession of arms, or for official po-

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sition, but from a strict sense of duty. He settled in Cairo in 1866, and was engaged as salesman, by William HI. Purcell, whose stock of merchandise at the time consisted of a rem- nant of sutler's goods, not exceeding $1,000 in value, but under the stimulus of Mr. Patier's activity, the business rapidly increased, and the house assumed the style of the " New York Store." In 1868, he bought a half interest in the firm, which continued to prosper and grow in favor with the public. In March, 1872, Mr. Patier bought the remaining interest of the firm and became sole proprietor, and taking into partnership with him Mr. William Wolf, the former book-keeper of the house. The new firm now entered upon a career which, for suc- cess and rapidity of growth, has had but few equals, and still fewer superiors in the annals of commerce. They commenced business in a small frame house, with a small stock of mis- cellaneous goods, valued at $5,000, while to- day they have a stock embracing every va- riety of articles needed in the economy of home, person or farm. From the little ham- pered room in which they commenced busi- ness, they have enlarged and expanded their trade, until in 1875 their present magnificent brick and iron store was erected. It is 175 feet deep and seventy feet front, three stories high, every floor of which is packed with goods. The house began with two salesmen, the pro- prietors ; and now they employ a full force of clerks, with several salesmen on the road. A quarter of a century ago, Mr. Patier was an obscure clerk, in an interior town in Pennsyl- vania. Through his own efforts, firm business integrity, and tireless industry, he has risen to the proud distinction of a leading merchant and capitalist of Illinois. He has achieved this success fairly and honorably, and truth, candor and inflexible uprightness have characterized all of his transactions. Mr. Patier was married on the 27th of November, 1874, to Miss Mary Toomy, of Chicago. They have two children- a son and a daughter.

ALMANZER O. PHELPS, artist, Cairo, Ill., a native of Natchez, Miss., was born on the 6th of October, 1842, soon after which date, the parents, Clark L. and Pascalena (Paul) Phelps, removed to Muscatine, Iowa, where he was reared and educated. The father was born near Hartford, Conn., in 1816, where he resided until grown to manhood, going thence to Natchez, where he married Miss Pascalena Paul. She was born in Natchez in 1819, though of French ancestry, and died in Mus- catine, Iowa, on the 12th of June, 1880. The father in early life was an extensive trader and speculator, and later in life was engaged in the interest of steamboating, being for thirty years the Captain and owner of a steamboat on the Upper Mississippi and tributaries. He is still living and a resident of Cairo, Ill. He reared a family of seven children, of whom Lorenzo A. is the eldest, and subject the second. Two sons and one daughter-Charles F., Joseph P. and Nancy C. Phelps, are residents of Muscatine, Iowa; one son and daughter, Clark L. and Flora Phelps, are deceased. A. O. Phelps began life as an engineer and be- came a regularly licensed engineer on river and ocean steamers, but becoming wearied of this life determined to turn his attention to photography, for which the family appear to develop a natural fitness, the four brothers being each skilled artists. He came to Cairo, Ill., in 1876, and at once engaged in this work, and now has two galleries, one on Eighth street, and one on Sixth street, under the management of his brother, L. A. Phelps. They are pre- pared to execute all kinds of artistic work coming within the range of their profession. A. O. Phelps was married in Quincy, Ill., on the 15th of August, 1868, to Miss Ella Vance, daughter of John and Mary (Kreel) Vance, the former deceased, the latter of Keokuk, lowa. She was born at Steubenville, Ohio, on the 11th of May, 1853. They have one son, viz .: Almanzer O. Phelps, Jr., born in Muscatine, Iowa,

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on the 11th of July, 1871. Lorenzo A. Phelps was born in Natchez, Miss., on June 11, 1840, was educated in Muscatine. Iowa, and spent his early life as pilot on the Upper Mississippi River. He began the trade of photographer in 1871, at which he engaged in Muscatine until coming to Cairo in the fall of 1881. He was married in Muscatine, on the 16th of October, 1874. to Miss Lillian S. Perkins, daughter of Capt. T. P. Perkins, a well-known steamboat man and owner of the vessel " Mongolia," which burned several years since at St. Louis, Mo. Both the father and mother-Annie Perkins- were natives of New England, and are now de- ceased. She was born in St. Louis, September 29, 1855. They have a family consisting of Lillian A., born August 8, 1875 ; Frederick L., born February 22, 1877 ; Ada P., born October 18, 1878, and Frank S. Phelps, born December 22, 1881. Mr. L. A. Phelps is a member of the American Legion of Honor and one of the board of managers of the Widow's and Orphan's Mutual Aid Society. The grandfather on the mother's side was Paul Pascaline a relative and body guard to Napoleon Bonaparte, after whose defeat he fled to the United States, dropping the name Pascaline, and was afterward known as Mr. Paul.

GEORGE B. POOR, present Wharfmaster at Cairo and one of the oldest of its inhabitants, is a native of Steuben County, N. Y. He was born on the " old Holland Purchase " Feb- ruary 29, 1828, and when eight years old his parents, Samuel Poor and Elnora Begole, re- moved to Michigan. The father was a native of Massachusetts, and was born about 1782; was a soldier under Gen. Harrison in the war of 1812, and was wounded at the battle of Black Rock. He was married in Steuben County, N. Y., about 1822, to Miss Elnora Be- gole. She was born in Maryland, and descends from French origin, and was a first cousin to Hon. Josiah Begole, present Governor of Michi- gan. She died in Michigan May 9, 1848. They

had a family of nine children, of whom George P. is the second ; Elizabeth, widow of Daniel Fenn, of Jackson, Mich. ; Jane, deceased wife of M. Powel, of Grass Lake, Mich. ; Hannah, wife of Aaron Morfort, of Barry County, Mich., William, deceased ; Samuel B., of Dongola, Ill., married to Nettie Hite, of Pulaski County, Ill ; David M. Poor, Methodist Episcopal minister, of Kansas ; Evan J., of Barry County, Mich .; and Harlan Poor, killed in the battle of Spott-

sylvania Court House in Virginia. George B. grew to manhood in Michigan, and took the trade of millwright, which he followed until the fall of 1850, at which time he commenced laying railroad track for the Michigan Central Company. In 1854, on the 9th of April, he arrived at Cairo, where he took charge of the track-laying for the Illinois Central Railroad Company, putting down the first rail in Cairo on the following day, April 10. He remained in the employment of the company until July, 1861, as the supervisor of their track from Cairo to Jonesboro. On the 26th of July, 1861, he was mustered into military service as Captain of Company K, Ninth Illinois Volun- teers, in which he served until December of the same year, when he resigned on account of the ill health of his wife, who died on the 30th of April, 1862. He afterward took command of a dispatch boat from Cairo southward. In November, 1865, he became Captain of the boat " Ike Hammitt," and held the position until August, 1875, since which time he has de- voted his attention to the interests of his farm in Union County, Ill., until November, 1882, at which time he took the office of Wharfmaster at Cairo. He was first married in Cairo, June 14, 1855, to Miss Julia Clerry, who was born at Jacksonville, Ill., in 1838, and died as above stated. Married to his present wife, Addie Osborn, daughter of Otis A. Osborn, of Cairo, Ill., on the 17th of September, 1863. She was born in Hartford, Conn., December 17, 1839. Their family consists of six children, only two

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of whom are living, viz. : Lewis C. Poor, born January 24, 1869, and Vida V. D. Poor, born November 29, 1877. Mr. Poor is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Dongola Lodge, No. 581.

THOMAS PORTER, a pioneer of Cairo, III., was born on the 11th day of April, 1820, in Stokes County, N. C. His father, whose name was also Thomas, was born in the same county, and married Miss Elizabeth Brand, by whom he had two children-Thomas Porter, of Cairo, and James Porter. The parents died in North Carolina while Thomas was yet a child, and he removed with an uncle to Tennessee when twelve years old. There he grew to manhood, and married in 1848 to Miss Martha Ely, of Kentucky. She died in Cairo in 1859, leaving a family of four children, three of whom are still living. Came to Cairo in January, 1856, and has been a resident ever since. His pres- ent wife was Mrs. Mesnier Knight, daughter of William and Sarah Knight. She was born in Kentucky, March 26, 1840. Their union has been blest with five children, two of whom are deceased-Henry B. and Edward Porter, are deceased ; John W., William E. and Addie D. Porter are hving with the parents. Of the first family, there are living Mary, wife of Harry Clifton, of New York City ; Julia, wife of Fred- erick Lawton, of New York City, and Thomas B. Porter. Family residence on corner of Twenty-first street and Commercial avenue, Cairo.

NATHANIEL PROUTY, of Cairo, Ill., was born near Boston, Mass., June 3, 1830. The father, Elijah Prouty, was born in the same State, and there married to Mary Stoddard, of Massachusetts. To these were born six chil- dren, Nathaniel being the oldest. The parents and three of the children are deceased. Na- thaniel left the parental roof at the age of twelve years, and when seventeen went to Boston, and there took the trade of house-car- penter, at which he worked until 1875, with the

exception of three and a half years-while he was connected with Company I, of the Second Kentucky Cavalry. He left Massachusetts in the summer of 1857, and the same year located at Cairo, which has been his permanent home since. During his military service, he was taken prisoner at Newnan, Ga., and for five months was a prisoner of war in Andersonville and Florence Prisons. He participated in the battles of Perryville, Chickamauga, Stone River and several others of minor importance. He was mustered in at Mound City, Ill., in October, 1861, and discharged with the rank of Ser- geant, at Louisville, Ky., April, 1865.' He re- turned to Cairo and pursued his trade until 1875. On the 12th of May, 1876, he was mar- ried to Elizabeth Dinkle, widow of Henry Din- kle. Mr. Prouty, for more than twenty years has been a member of the Arab Fire Depart- ment. Since 1875, he has been the proprietor of a saloon on Commercial avenue, No. 92, with family residence connected.

JOHN T. RENNIE, manufacturer, Cairo, was born in Ayr, Scotland, May 20, 1819, where he grew to manhood, and remained until coming to the United States in 1840. Being a blacksmith by trade, he worked at various places in this country before coming to Illinois. He was married, in Pittsburgh, Penn., in 1845, to Mar- garet J. McFarrel, a native of Pennsylvania, but of Irish parentage. She died in Cairo, Ill., in 1876, leaving eight children. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Rennie went South and located in Louisiana, where, until 1852, he car- ried on a shop ; but, owing to the prevalence of the cholera, returned North, and, in 1852, located at Metropolis, in Massac County, Ill. There he engaged in the dry goods business until 1862, when he came to Cairo and estab- lished his present business, though on a limited scale. In 1878, he sustained a very severe loss in the destruction by fire of his entire foundry and shops, but rebuilt, and was in active operation in less than one month from

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the time of the fire, a fact which speaks much for the business energy of Mr. Rennie. His business location is between Eighth and Tenth streets, on the Ohio levee. Family residence on Walnut street. He is a member of the Masonic order and of the I. O. O. F. He was married to his present wife. Jane K. (Davison) Kennedy in June, 1877.

WOOD RITTENHOUSE, merchant, Cairo, is a native of Hamilton County, Ohio, and was born June 21, 1835. His father, Joseph Rit- tenhouse, was born in the same county in 1808, and, in 1828, married Miss Sarah J. Ewing, who was born in 1812 in Hamilton County, Ohio. To these parents were born five sons- William E. John H., Wood, James A. and Joseph H. Rittenhouse. Their father died in 1842, and the mother was subsequently mar- ried to Thomas Lind. She is now living on the old Rittenhouse homestead in Ohio, though enfeebled by age. Wood Rittenhouse received a common school education in his native State, to which he added a course in the Evansville Commercial College of Indiana. In 1858, he came to Cairo, Ill., and for four or five years was employed in the capacity of salesman for B. S. Harrell and William White. At the death of Mr. White, Mr. Rittenhouse and C. Hanny, another clerk, became his successors, and continued their business for a term of eight years, the last five years of which time they occupied the building now used for the Alexander County Bank, which they erected in 1865. At the termination of this partnership, Mr. R., in 1870, began his present line of trade, that of flour and commission business, locating on the Ohio levee. In 1872, he associated with him in business his brother, Joseph H. Rittenhouse, which partnership still exists, and is one of the standard firms of Cairo. Mr. R., for several years past, has been and now is President of the Chamber of Commerce. He has served the city for several years as a mem- ber of its Council, and also of the Board of

Education. He is a member of the Masonic order, and a Republican in politics, and morally and socially he exerts an extensive influence for good. He was married, in Pulaski County, Ill., December 31, 1863, to Miss Laura J. Arter, daughter of Dr. Daniel Arter, whose biography and portrait appear elsewhere. She was born in Pulaski County April 30, 1841. Their family consists of Isabella Maud. Wood Arter, Harry H., Fred M. and Robin C. Ritten- house.

JOSEPH H. RITTENHOUSE, junior part- ner of the firm of Rittenhouse & Bro., was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, on the 7th of November, 1840, and grew up to manhood in his native State, receiving in the meantime the benefits of a common school education. On the 29th of August, 1862, he became a member of Company D, Fifth Ohio Cavalry, in which he served for the time of his enlistment, or to the close of the war, being discharged June 26, 1865, and was mustered out at Raleigh, N. C. Until May, 1864, he was employed principally on detached duty in Tennessee and Mississippi, but at the latter date was connected with the Atlanta campaign, and was with Sherman on his memorable march to the sea. He came to Cairo in October, 1865, and entered the custom house as Deputy Surveyor of Customs under Dr. Daniel Arter, in which office he continued until May, 1869. In 1872, he became a mem- ber of the firm of Rittenhouse & Bro., and has continued a member of that firm since. He was married, October 15, 1874, in Hamilton County, Ohio, to Miss Martha E. McIntyre, daughter of Peter and Mary McIntyre, the former a native of Scotland, and the latter of Virginia. Mrs. Rittenhouse was born in Hamil- ton County, Ohio, on the 18th of October, 1852. Their family consists of two children, of whom one died in infancy, the other, Archie M. Ritten- house, was born in Cairo December 7, 1875. The family residence is on Walnut street, between Seventh and Eighth streets, Cairo.

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History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 78

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