History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 84

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 84
USA > Illinois > Pulaski County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 84
USA > Illinois > Alexander County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 84

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).

BIOGRAPHICAL:

· Mrs. Kate, wife of William Kratzinger, a farm- er of Anna Precinct; he also attends to the pumping of water for the tank of the Illinois Central Railroad at Anna, and is one of the oldest men in the employ of the road. Dr. Finch was educated at the common schools, and at Hillsdale College of Michigan, and afterward studied dentistry. He enlisted April 23, 1861, in Battery A of the First Ohio Volunteers, under the first call for troops. He re-enlisted for three years, and in 1864 veter- anized, serving until the close of the war in 1865. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, the Atlanta cam- paign, Nashville and many others. He was taken prisoner at Stone River, and spent a time in Libby Prison, but was soon paroled at Annapolis, and with four others walked from there to Cleveland, Ohio, in sixteen days, in the month of March. Upon his return home after the close of the war, he commenced the practice of dentistry in Medina, Ohio, and re- mained there until April, 1867, when he came to Illinois, and located at Anna, where he has practiced his profession ever since. He owns a good farm within the corporate limits of the town, which he operates for his amusement and recreation of mornings and evenings, and not allowing it to interfere with the practice of his profession. He was married in 1857 to Miss Ruth Damon, a sister of Rev. J. H. Damon, of Medina, Ohio ; she died in July, 1866, leaving two children, viz .: Addie B., wife of D. W. Goodman, a merchant of Anna, and Nettie R. He was married a second time, in 1868, to Miss Mary Bowman, a native of Medina County Ohio. The result of this union is five chil- dren-Carrie L., George L., Nannie L., Flora E. and Andrew M. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Knights of Honor.

E. A. FINCH, clerk at Insane Hospital, An- na, was born April 27, 1841, in Orleans Coun- ty, N. Y., and is a son of Mr. E. H. Finch, the

President of the Board of Trustees of the South- ern Illinois Insane Asylum. He was educated principally at Adrian, Mich., and in May, 1855, came to Anna, Ill., where his parents were liv- ing. In 1861, on the 4th of May, he enlisted in Company I, of the Eighteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. After six months' service, he was transferred to Company M, Sixth Illi- nois Cavalry, commanded by Col. Grierson, afterward Major General. Subject served in the army about twenty-three months, mostly on detached duty. It was his regiment that made the famous raid from Memphis to Baton Rouge. He was a private while in the infan- try service, but was Second Lieutenant in the Cavalry. After his discharge from the army, he returned to this county, where he was ap- pointed Provost Marshal for Union and Palaski Counties. After this he was appointed agent of the Adams Express Company at Anna, and held the position almost five years. In 1869, he entered the Anna City Mills as a partner, in which he remained until 1872, when he sold out and went to Kansas. After remaining there engaged in farming for a year and a half, he returned to Anna in the fall of 1873, and took charge of the express office until 1877, when he farmed for one year, and was then appointed by Superintendent Wardner to the clerkship of the insane hospital, which posi- tion he still holds. He was married, March 29, 1863, in Anna, to Miss Rebecca Dresser, born November 21, 1842, near Springfield, Ill. She is the mother of seven children-Leod G. Nathan D., Eleazer C., Kate, Charles E., Re- becca and Ford S. Mr. Finch is a member of the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Honor, Knights and Ladies of Honor, and is a Republican in politics.

JAMES W. FULLER, farmer, P. O. Anna. This gentleman is a native of Cayuga County, N. Y., born February 6, 1832. His father, Levi Fuller, was a native of one of the New England States, and was born in 1788. He was brought

ANNA PRECINCT.

to New York State by his parents when a boy, and there learned the blacksmith's trade, but worked at the same only for a short time. He went to New Jersey after he became of age, and while there married and soon after removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and subsequently to Jeffer- son County, Ill., in 1843-44. Here he remained actively engaged in farming to the time of his death, which occurred in 1875 ; he was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was at Buffalo, N. Y., at the time the city was taken. His wife, Elizabeth (Wescott) Fuller (subject's mother), was born in New Jersey in 1808, and died in Jef- ferson County, Ill., in 1872. She was the mother of nine children, of whom the following are now living : Maria, widow of Michael Bond, John W., William, Robert, George and James W., who was the second child. John, William and Robert served through the late war; William was wound- ed in the head by a shell at the charge on Tunnel Hill. James W. Fuller remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age and in the meantime received the benefit of the common schools. For eighteen years he was in the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, as track-layer. In the winter of 1852, he came to Union County and located at Anna. He engaged in farming and working at his trade, that of carpentering, which he had learned when a young man. In 1882, he gave np working at his trade, and is now devoting his whole time and attention to his farm which contains 130 acres of good land. On the 30th of July, 1856, he married Miss Emily Mangold, a native of Pennsylvania, who was born July 2, 1835. Her father, Henry Mangold, was born in Germany in 1804, and when he was four years of age he came to America with his pa- rents, who located in Pennsylvania. He was a farmer, carpenter and cooper. He died in 1876. Her mother, Catherine (Gunnold) Mangold, was born in Virginia in 1800 and died in 1849. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller have been blessed with the following children : Laura, wife of I. C. Piercol;

Kittie, wife of H. J. Hileman ; Harry, James L., Franklin and Fred, at home.

D. WEBSTER GOODMAN, merchant, Anna, was born in Union County, Ill., January 8, 1855, and is a son of Moses and Amanda C. (Peeler) Goodman. He was born in Rowan County, N. C., September 27, 1806, and brought up on a farm, and educated in the common schools of the time. When he attained his manhood, he engaged in farming and teaming, in the latter business often making trips from his own county to Charlestown, S. C., and to other distant points. In 1852, he with two sons came to Union County, Ill., and settled at Peru, or the cross roads in Dongola Precinct, where he engaged in merchandising. He re- mained there until about 1868, when he retired from active business, giving his attention only to his farm interests. He is now the owner of 100 acres, mostly in grain and fruit. In 1827, he was married, but his wife died in North Carolina, leaving two children, viz .: Dr. M. M. Goodman, of Jonesboro, and J. V., who died in California about 1878. In 1854, he married in this county Miss Amanda C. Peeler. The re- sult of this union is five children, of whom are living D. W. (subject), Thomas B., Nettie E., Charles H. and William W., who died in 1879, aged nineteen years. The mother of subject was born in Union County, September 22, 1836. She is a daughter of John C. Peeler, a native of North Carolina, and residing now in Anna. Our subject received the benefits of a common school education, and as soon as he was old enough, he worked with his father in the store until he closed out his business, and in 1869 he entered the employ of C. M. Willard, with whom he remained until 1878, when he entered into partnership with Mr. Eaves in his present business. He was married, September 6, 1882, in Anna, to Miss Addie B. Finch, a daughter of Dr. A. D. Finch. Mr. Goodman is identified with the Democratic party.

BIOGRAPHICAL:

HALL FAMILY .- BENJAMIN HALL was born in Maryland, on the coast, and was drowned in the Mississippi River, while engaged in trad- ing by flat-boat on the river. His parents were natives of Charleston, S. C.

GREEN W. HALL, a son of Benjamin Hall, was born in Tennessee, and was educated prin- cipally at Baltimore, Md., where his parents had sent him, and where his education was liberal. At the age of twenty-one years, he left home, and commenced his own business career as a carpenter, a business he had learned from his father, who was a ship builder. He was about six years old when his parents moved from Tennessee to Union County, Ill. Here he has remained ever since, with the ex- ception of about three years he was engaged at the Ferry at Commerce, Mo. He is now en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, which he has followed since 1860. He owns a fruit farm of forty acres, in a fine state of culture. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is identified with the Republican party. In 1834, he was married to Miss Minerva Doug- lass, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of Henry and Nancy (Armstrong) Douglass, both natives of Virginia. Henry Douglass served in the war of 1812 and in the Black-Hawk war. They had twelve children, of whom seven are now living, viz. : Frank H., the oldest ; John W. D., tin and slate business at St. Joe, Mo .; Margaret, wife of Thomas Crews, a bricklayer at Duquoin, Ill .; Eliza J., wife of James R. Kiger, a bricklayer of Jonesboro ; Thomas W. C .; Emma C., at home, and Athena A., wife of Alonzo King.

FRANK H. HALL, a son of Green W. Hall, was born in Comincree, Mo., February 4, 1840. He was educated in the common schools, and learned more from his father and by observa- tion and experience in business, than in any other way. He was raised mostly in Jones- boro, whence his father removed when he was but four years of age. When he was eleven

years of age, he was apprenticed to A. C. Cald- well, a tin-smith of that town, and remained with him for four years, after which he worked for different individuals in Jonesboro and Anna until the year 1861, when he removed to Cairo, and worked for the Government on gunboats until Fremont had the Mississippi fleet ready to sail. He then returned to Vienna, and enlisted in Company A, of the One Hun- dred and Forty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under command of Col. Lackey, serving for about four and a half years, and until the close of the war. He was at the siege of Vicksburg, and with the Army of the Cumberland. After his discharge from the army, he returned to Vienna, and engaged in business for himself- tin and general merchandise. In the fall of 1868, he was burned out, sustaining a loss of all his goods, and was compelled to again go to work, which he did, with his brother at Cin- cinnati, in the tin and slate roofing. In 1874, the year after the panic, he returned to Anna, and has since been here, working at his trade. In the fall of 1866, he was married to Miss Flora A. Elkins, a native of Johnson County, Ill. They have five children-Flora A., Mary C., Adaline, Maggie and Frank. Politically, he is a Republican ; he is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities.

T. W. C. HALL, a brother to Frank H. Hall, whose sketch precedes this, is a native of Union County, and was born April 1, 1850, a son of Green W. and Minerva (Douglass) Hall. His early life was spent on his father's farm, receiving the benefits of a common school edu- cation. At the age of twenty-two years, he went to Cincinnati, Ohio. and engaged in part- nership with his brothers, Frank H. and J. W. D. Hall, in the roofing business. He remained there until 1878, when he returned to Anna, and engaged in the stove, tin and furniture business, in which he has been successful. He was married in Jonesboro, in September, 1875, to Miss Emma A. Hileman, a daughter of

ANNA PRECINCT.

Daniel and Sarah J. (Hargraves) Hileman. They have only one child-Stella, born in Cincinnati June 29, 1876. Mr. Hall is a Republican, but does not take much interest in the political questions of the day.

J. I. HALE, physician, Anna. Among the rising medical practitioners of Anna, and her influential and self-made citizens, is the subject of this sketch, who was born in Union County on the 16th of April, 1844. He is a son of James V. and Susan Hale, who were natives of Kentucky and early settlers in Southern Illi- nois. Mrs. Hale is still living and resides with our subject. She is the mother of three chil- dren, of whom he is the second. When he was six years of age, he was apprenticed to Adam Lentz, a farmer in Saratoga Precinct, and while with him received the benefits of the common schools at such times as the work of the farm would permit, which, to say the least, was very limited. He remained with Mr. Lentz until he was eighteen years of age, when he enlisted in the late civil war, and served in Company C, One Hundred and Ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was principally engaged in hos- pital duty, first as nurse and afterward as hos- pital warden and steward. He was wounded at the siege of Vicksburg, and as a proof of his patriotism now carries the ball in his arm. July 21, 1865, he was mustered out of the service, and immediately returned to his native county, and soon after entered the Southern Illinois College at Carbondale, where he re- mained until the summer of 1867, when he be- gan the study of medicine with Dr. S. S. Cou- don, of Anna. In the fall of 1868, he entered the Chicago Medical College, and after attend- ing a course of lectures he in the spring of 1869 began the practice of his chosen profes- sion at Saratoga, and in the spring of 1870 re- moved to Penninger ; but, in the fall of 1873, he returned to Chicago, and in the same college he had already attended he completed his med- ical studies and graduated in the spring of

1874. Since then he has resided in Anna, where he has, by a faithful attendance to duty, acquired a large and lucrative practice. It be- came so extensive that recently (in the spring of 1883) he took into partnership Dr. Martin, a gentleman of fine ability and an ornament to the medical profession. Dr. Hale was mar- ried in Caledonia, Ill., in 1868, to Miss Mary J. Wilson, a native of Union County. Three children have blessed their union-John Adam, Esculapius V. and Flora Ann. Religiously, they are connected with the Presbyterian Church of Anna, of which he is one of the Eld- ers. Dr. Hale is a member of the American Medical Association, the State Medical Associ- ation and of the Southern Illinois Medical So- ciety ; of the latter body he is Secretary. He is also a member of the Masonic, Odd Fellows and K. of H. orders. He was State Grand Master of the order of Knights of Trinity, an order that is still flourishing in some locations. He has served two years as Postmaster at Pen- ninger, this county. Is now holding his second term as a member of the City Council, and is Coroner of Union County. Politically, he is a Democrat.

REV. ASA HARMON, farmer, P. O. Anna, was born in the town of Rupert, Bennington Co., Vt., July 9, 1830, and is a son of Elijah and Martha (Lamphear) Harmon, both natives of Vermont ; he was a farmer by occupation ; she was born in 1795, and died in Missouri in 1877, and was the mother of six children, five of whom are living. Mr. Harmon, our subject, was raised on the farm, and received but a limited educa- tion in the common schools of the time. When he was six years of age, he removed to New York with his mother, and at seventeen came with her to Michigan, and there lived with and cared for her until he married. In 1856, he was ordained a minister of the Christian Church, and was pastor of a church near Paw- paw, Mich., for five years. In 1861, he en- listed in the Second Michigan Cavalry, and

BIOGRAPHICAL:

stood guard one night, after which he was pro- moted and transferred to Hospital Steward of the Third Regiment. The command went to St. Louis, and he remained in the army until May, 1862, when, owing to failing health, and at the advice of his physician, he was dis- charged and taken to his home by the attend- ing physician. In the fall of the same year, having somewhat recovered his health, he was elected Chaplain of his old regiment, and in February following was commissioned to that office by Gov. Blair. He remained with the regiment until the close of the war, and was mustered out of the service in February, 1866. He then removed to his present residence, bought a farm of forty acres, and since has ad- ded sixty-three acres to it. His success has been good, and his farm which is highly im- proved, shows the care he has bestowed upon it, and his superior judgment as an agricultur- ist. In 1854, he married Miss Lucy Courtright, a native of Ohio. They have had five children, but two of whom are now living-O. E. Har- mon, a lawyer at Chehalis, Lewis Co., W. T .; he married Miss Viola Noyes, a daughter of James A. Noyes, of Missouri, and is doing well; Ulysses who is farming with his father. Mr. Harmon and his family are members of the Christian Church, and he often occupies the pulpits of different churches as his health will permit. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the K. of H. Politically, he is a Republican. He has served one year as President of the Union County Agricultural Fair Association.

JOHN HESS, farmer, P. O. Anna, was born in Union County, Ill., near his present resi- dence, November 21, 1821. His father, Joseph Hess, was among the first settlers of the .county ; he was born in Rowan County, N. C., in 1800, and came to Union County, Ill., in 1818, where he entered eighty acres of land, and later eighty acres additional. He is now residing near our subject, enjoying in his latter years, a life of ease and influence. He is a

son of John Hess, a native of North Carolina, he came to Union County with Joseph in 1818, and lived but a few years afterward. He was of German descent. Mary (Hartline) Hess (subject's mother) was born in Rowan County, . N. C., in 1798, and is still living. She is the mother of the following children : John, Mrs. Rendleman, Silas, Elijah, Isaac J. and Nancy. Our subject spent his early life at home assist- ing till the soil of his father's farm and receiv- ing a limited education in the subscription schools common in his day. At twenty-three years of age, left his home and embarked on life's rugged pathway as a farmer. He com- menced on a forty acre farm and has added to it since, and now is the owner of 265 acres. In 1844, he married Miss Soloma Craver, a native of North Carolina, born August 16, 1824. They are the parents of the following children, James C., Emaline M., wife of Jerry Boyds ; Malinda, wife of Thomas Manees ; Soloma M., wife of John Hileman ; John, Allen V., Dennis and Mollie at home.

JASPER L. HESS, farmer, P. O. Anna, was born in Union County, Ill., four miles southeast of Anna, August 12, 1849. He is a son of Silas and Mary (Hileman) Hess ; he was born in Union County in 1826 ; was raised on a farm and educated in the subscription schools of the county ; he is now engaged in farming and is the owner of 249 acres of land ; he is a son of Joseph Hess (subject's grandfather), a native of North Carolina, born in 1798 ; he came to Union County in 1820, and still living, residing in Anna Precinct. The mother of our subject was born in Union County, Ill., in 1826; she is the mother of the following children : Henry L., Jasper L., Mary E., the wife of Will- iam Boswell, George W., Silas F., Nancy C., John W. and Frances I. Jasper L. Hess was raised on the farm and educated in the com- mon schools of his native county ; he remained with his parents on the farm until 1877, when he married and embarked on his career in life

7.1

ANNA PRECINCT.

as a farmer, upon his present farm, now con- taining 151} acres of the best land in Union County. In 1847, on the 2d of October, he married Miss Clemmie Eaves, a native of the county, born March 8, 1854. Mr. Hess is for the second year President of the Union County Agricultural Fair Association. Politically, he is a Democrat.

JACOB HILEMAN, farmer, P. O. Anna, Anna Township. To mark the progress in the history of Union County during the last half century, one need only compare the condition of the country at the present time with its flourishing villages and growing cities ; its farms, with their waving crops, their blooming orchards, groves and hedges, and substantial dwellings ; its system of schools ; its railroads and its net-work of telegraphic wires, to its con- dition over fifty years ago, when its soil was un- broken by the hand of husbandry, and the still- ness of its forests was undisturbed, save by the noise of the hunter's tread, and the crack of the Indian's rifle. It was at this early day, in 1819, that the Hileman family moved from North Carolina to Union County. Jacob Hile- man, the subject of this sketch, was born in Union County, Ill., on the 21st day of Decem- ber, 1823, and is of German descent. His father, Christian Hileman, was born in North Carolina in 1797, and was brought up on a farm, an occupation he followed during life. In 1819, he came to Union County with his father's family, and settled near St. John's Church, south of Jonesboro. In 1823, he married and settled in Anna Precinct, near where the South- ern Illinois Insane Asylum now stands. He became the owner of about 500 acres of land, and was an excellent farmer. Both he and his wife were members of the Reformed Church ; he died October 18, 1857. His father, Jacob Hileman, was a native of Pennsylvania, but his parents came from Germany prior to the Re- volutionary war, and settled in Pennsylvania. Subject's mother, Nancy (Davis) Hileman was

born in Rowan County, N. C., in 1805, and came with her parents to Illinois in 1817, set- tling about three miles south of Jonesboro; she is still living, and resides in Anna. She was a daughter of George and Catherine (Trexler) Davis, both natives of North Carolina-the former a farmer and tailor, and the first tailor in Union County, having his shop on his farm. The parents of our subject had nine children, of whom he is the oldest; Mary, wife of Charles Barringer, grocer of Jonesboro ; George, a farmer near Duquoin, Ill. ; Thomas, who died from disease contracted while in the late war, his death occurring at home in 1863 or 1864 ; Levi, a farmer of Anna Precinct ; Lavina, wife of John Barringer, a farmer of Anna Pre- cinct ; Caroline, wife of Josiah Bean, a farmer of Anna Precinct ; Christian M., a farmer of Anna Precinct. Subject spent his early life at home, assisting to till the soil of his father's farm, and receiving such an education as could be obtained in the subscription schools of the pioneer period, taught in log-cabin school- houses, with their slab seats, writing desks, etc. He remained at home until he was twenty- three years of age, when he married and went to farming on his own account. He at once located on his present farm, which then com- prised but eighty acres, with only ten acres in cultivation. It now contains 120 acres, with about eighty-five acres in a high state of culti- vation. He erected, in 1870, a handsome brick residence, which he has well and elegantly furnished. Mr. Hileman has been quite suc- cessful in raising sweet potatoes and small fruits, but makes wheat a specialty. In Febru- ary, 1846, he was married to Miss Tena Sif- ford, a native of this county, born in October, 1825, and a daughter of Peter and Leah (Mull) Sifford, natives of North Carolina. They came to Union County in 1819, the Mull fam- ily settling north of Anna, and the Sifford family south of Cobden. Mr. and Mrs. Hile- man have been blessed with eight children,

BIOGRAPHICAL:

viz. : Phillip W., John L., James N., Ellen D., Hamilton J., George T., Charles C. and William W. Both Mr. Hileman and his wife are mem- bers of the Reformed Church ; he is an Elder in the same; is also a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge at Anna. He is a Democrat, and, though not an office seeker, was Sheriff of Union County from 1870 to 1874.

HON. MATTHEW J. INSCORE, attorney at law, Anna, was born at Springfield, Tenn., February 2, 1841. His great-grandfather came from Germany, and settled in North Carolina, where his son William was born. The latter was a farmer, married there, and was the father of five children-Louis, Matilda, William W., Louisa and Joseph, the brother of subject, who was born 1811, in North Carolina. He went to Tennessee with his parents, and there learned the cabinet-maker's trade in Nashville. He came to this county in 1850, and died there in 1854. He was married at Springfield, Tenn., to Mrs. Eliza J. Fyke, who was born in South Carolina, and died at Spring- field, Tenn., in 1846. She was the daugh- ter of William C. and Eliza Powell, whose par- ents came from England. She was the mother of seven children-Matilda, Oliver C., William W., Mary J., Matthew J., Martha A. and John L. Our subject received the full benefit of about thirty days' schooling during a three- months term in a district school in Union County. At the age of fourteen, he commenced to work as an apprentice for Klutts & O'Neal, saddlers and harness-makers at Jonesboro for a three-year term. After the shop had changed to Samuel Flagler, who had bought it and moved it to Anna, our subject continued to work for him. After working two years and seven months, as an apprentice, in 1863 he commenced working for himself, and continued in that until 1869, when he was admitted to the bar. Our subject is a self-educated man, in his youth his books being his dearest companions, and while working at his trade he would have

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History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 84

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