History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 87

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 87
USA > Illinois > Pulaski County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 87
USA > Illinois > Alexander County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 87

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).

THOMAS G. STOKES, farmer, P. O. Anna, is a native of Union County, Ill., born March 6, 1840, to Thomas and Edna (Jennette) Stokes. Thomas Stokes was born in Kentucky in 1809, where he was raised and educated. He came to Union County with his parents, who located in what is now known as the Stokes settlement.

During his life, he engaged in agricultural pur- suits. He died in 1847. He was a son of John Stokes, a native of Virginia, a farmer by occupation, who died about 1854. The mother of our subject was born in North Carolina, in 1811, and in 1825, with her parents, emigrated to Union County and settled in Anna Precinct. She died in 1849. They were the parents of the following children : William B., Mary, the wife of James S. Campbell, and Thomas G. Our subject was thrown upon his own resources after the death of his parents, and struggled hard to gain a livelihood. His education was limited to the common schools of the period. At nine years of age, he apprenticed himself at the tanner's trade, to W. Davis, and remained with him about two years. He afterward learned the cabinet-maker's trade, and subse- quently the milling business, and was thus en- gaged when the war of the rebellion broke out. He enlisted in Company F of the Sixtieth Illi- nois Infantry, under command of Col. S. E. Toler, and was with the regiment to the close of the war, taking part in every engagement. He was wounded once while on a foraging ex- pedition. He was mustered out of the service July 30, 1865, and immediately returned home, and soon after went West and engaged in stock- raising in Iowa and Nebraska, where he re- mained about one year. His time since has been occupied in mercantile pursuits, milling and clerking. In 1880, he removed to his pres- ent residence, where he has since remained en- gaged in farming. In 1871, he married Miss Nettie Springgate, who died in 1873, leaving two children, one of whom is living-Maud. In 1874, he married a second time, Miss Martha A. Eaves, a daughter of Judge Eaves, of Anna. She has borne him five children, of whom four are living, viz .: Stella M., Everett T., William P. and Edna. Mr. Stokes is a member of the A., F. & A. M., and I. O. O. F., and is a Re- publican.

WILLIAM WATSON STOKES, black-

BIOGRAPHICAL:

smith, Anna, was born in Jonesboro Septem- ber 11, 1856, to Matthew J. and Sarah J. (Cruse) Stokes. The senior Stokes was also a native of the county, and during his life worked at the blacksmith's trade. He died in May 1869, his wife, subject's mother, was born in Jonesboro, and is now residing in Anna; she is the mother of eight children, of whom William, our subject, was the oldest. After the death of his father, he was thrown upon his own resources, and engaged in doing such work as his age and strength would permit. His edu- cation was limited to the common schools. At fourteen, he began to learn the blacksmith's trade, with Adam Cruse, and remained with him four years, and then engaged with Lenz, Dewitt & Braiznell, but remained with them only a short time, when he began traveling and working only a short time at a place, continu- ing the same until January, 1879, when he returned to Anna and entered into partnership with James Dewitt. They are both enterpris- ing gentlemen of good standing in the com- munity in which they live, and do a large and lucrative business, it being the most extensive business of the kind in Union County.

J. E. TERPINITZ, who has been a citizen of Union County for over twenty-five years, and is now conducting a jewelry and music store in Anna, is a native of the Empire of Austria, and was born to Sylvester and Jo- sepha (Zettel) Terpinitz, on the 20th of May, 1836, in the city of Penerbach in the province of Upper Austria. The family is of ancient Russian origin, and possess a coat of arms, a family relic, bearing the date 1590. They em- igrated to Silesia, and thence to Linz, the cap- ital of Upper Austria, where the father of our subject carried on a mercantile and drug busi- ness for years. Some of the members of the family have held high positions under the Aus- trian Government, an uncle having been for a time Postmaster General at Vienna, the capital of the Empire, and his father was Mayor of his

city during the troublesome revolutionary times of that then much oppressed country. Mr. Terpinitz received a liberal education, and his father, being an ardent lover of music, placed him, at the age of nine years, in the conserva- tory of Prague, in Bohemia, then as now one of the renowned institutions of that musical coun- try. Subsequently, he entered the Polytechnic Institute at Vienna. The memorable month of October, 1848, found him at the age of thirteen in the ranks of the National Guards as a mem- ber of the band. When the curtain dropped on that unfortunate struggle for liberty, a fort- unate sabre-cut received across his head dur- ing the combat laid him up for months in a hospital and saved him from the sad fate of many of his young comrades, who were led out to the sand hills back of Vienna and executed with powder and lead for their youthful mis- take of yearning for liberty. After regaining his health, the revolutionary storm having sub- sided, through the influence of prominent friends of the family he was allowed to resume his studies. Becoming a member of one of those many musical organizations in that coun- try, he had, at one time, the rather gratifying satisfaction to appear in a concert before the imperial family at the castle of Maximilian, a brother of the present Emperor, in Ebenz- weyer, the same Maximilian who was after- ward the victim of Napoleonic intrigues in Mexico. The yearning for the " land of the free and the home of the brave " becoming very strong, his father concluded to emigrate to the new El Dorado where milk and honey flow, and the pining for freedom from despotie tyranny could be gratified. And so, in the year 1854, the family embarked for foreign shores. After rambling for awhile in the Atlantic States and remaining a time in Cincinnati, the family came farther west, with the idea of engaging in agri- cultural pursuits. A number of farmers, with their families, from Upper Austria, had previ- ously emigrated, and settled three miles south

ANNA PRECINCT.

of Jonesboro, and, being well pleased with the fertility of the country, built a church and schoolhouse and gave the settlement the ap- propriate name of Kornthal (Corndale). Mr. Terpinitz., Sr., was attracted to this settlement, and, procuring the necessary implements, stock, etc., went to work, but the old German adage, "Shoe-maker, remain by your last," proved only too true. Neither the old gentle- man nor any of his sons had the least knowl- edge of practical farming in the West, except what they had read, and so the enterprise proved a miserable failure, not only absorbing all the means in possession of the family, but also sacrificed the oldest son, Sylvester, who succumbed to the then prevailing malarial fevers. Mr. J. E. Terpinitz then returned to his profession and trade, becoming connected with the jewelry establishment of Grear & Co. in Jonesboro, then the largest establishment of that kind in Southern Illinois. In the fall of 1859, he married Miss Marie Dushel, and moved to the infant city of Anna, where he opened the first watch and jewelry establishment in this city. Mr. Terpinitz may be said to be the veteran musician of Southern Illinois, having been more or less connected with the organiza- tion of bands, orchestras and musical societies in this portion of the State for the last twenty- five years. He has mnet with many reverses in his business career, having been burned out of house and home three times, and had his store burglarized to a large amount. Nevertheless, with the proverbial adhesiveness and industry of his nationality, he remained in our city through prosperity and adversity, and is now one of the old citizens of our rapidly growing town.

JOHN M. TOLER, P. O. Anna. The gen- tleman whose name heads this biography is a native of Wayne County, N. C., born July 16, 1806. His father, Stephen Toler was born in the same State in 1762, and was a farmer during his life, which ended in 1818. His

paternal ancestors emigrated, at an early date, to America from Ireland. Elizabeth Powell, the mother of our subject, was born in North Carolina in 1763, and was the daughter of Peter Powell, a native of Scotland. The union of Stephen and Elizabeth resulted in sixteen children, all of whom are deceased, save John M., whose school advantages were very lim- ited. Such education as he did get was ob- tained within the log cabin, with slab seats and writing desks, etc. While yet in his mi- nority, perhaps. when about fifteen years old, he began "paddling his own canoe " as a la- borer on a farm, at a small compensation. At the age of sixteen, he assumed the manage- ment of a store and fishery along the Neuse River for Silas Cox, from which he withdrew in 1829, and immediately came to what is now Stokes Township, where he remained until 1868, in the meantime entering 1,100 acres of land. Here he devoted his entire efforts and time to the labors of the ruralist, and was al- ways well repaid for the same. In the year mentioned above, he removed to his present farm of 125 acres, lying a short distance from Anna, where he gives his attention to horti- culture, especially in small fruits. In 1830, he married Mary Throgmorton, born November 15, 1812, in Kentucky, and who came to this county when quite . young. She died in 1866. Her union with Mr. Toler gave her nine chil- dren, three of whom survive, viz. : Martha, the wife of Ezekiel Bishop ; L. H., born February 15, 1844 (married, March 22, 1868, Amanda Sivea, and has four of six children living, viz .: Ary, A. J., Charles L. and Ed L.) ; J. M., born July 18, 1847 (married, October 13, 1867, Su- san M. Helton, the result being ten children, seven of whom survive, viz. : Isa A., Preston E., Olive B., Ida A. Alice G., John A. and Clarence E.). Three of our subject's sons joined the patriots to defend their country, and lost their lives in the service. Dr. S. E. raised the Sixtieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and

BIOGRAPHICAL:

was commissioned General, but died before the time to take command. John W. was assigned the position as Quartermaster, and Josiah served as Lieutenant. June 17, 1869, Mr. Toler was married to Mary Baker, a daugther of Charles and Celia (Clark) Baker, the former born March 25, 1794, in Alabama, where he died in 1861, and the latter born in North Carolina November 10, 1797, and died in Alabama in 1865. The present Mrs. Toler was born in Georgia November 6, 1824, and belongs to the Methodist Church. Mr. Toler was early iden- tified with the Whig party, and is now a stanch Democrat. He served his township for several years as Treasurer and Trustee, and has held other small offices.

HORACE WARDNER, M. D., Anna, Super- intendent Southern Insane Asylum, was born on the 25th of August, 1829, in Wyoming County, N. Y., and is a son of Philip and Maria (Frisby) Wardner, also natives of New York. The family is of German descent, the name Wardner being from the German "Veidner." Philip Veidner, the original ancestor, came to America about the year 1750. He was a stone- cutter, and was employed in building the old State House in Boston. Our subject's boyhood was spent upon his father's farm, where the foundation of a strong physical organization was built up. He evinced a taste for literature when very young, a taste encouraged by his parents and by his uncle, the Rev. Nathan Wardner, formerly a missionary to China. The desire for knowledge increasing with his years, determined him to gain as liberal an education as possible, and to enter one of the learned professions. His father being of limited means, with a large family to support, was un- able to afford him the desired facilities, and at sixteen years of age he launched out in sup- port of himself. A few months' employment secured to him the means to commence his education, which was pursued at Cayuga Acad- emy and at Alfred University, during the fol-

lowing seven years, except such intervals spent in teaching as became necessary to defray expenses. In 1852, he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. W. B. Alley, at Almond, N. Y., and during the years 1853 and 1854, in Wisconsin, where he was also engaged in teach- ing. In the autumn of the latter year he located in Chicago, and was a pupil of Profs. A. B. Palmer and DeLaskie Miller. He en- tered Rush Medical College at the opening of the lecture course of 1854, and graduated from that institution in the spring of 1856. After spending one year in the Mercy Hospital, where, under excellent instructions, he made a thor- ough study of disease and its treatment, he commenced the practice of his profession at Libertyville, Ill. Here he rapidly made friends and readily commanded a fair practice. In a few months, however, he sold out his business to another physician, and returned to Chicago, where, in 1858, in conjunction with Prof. Ed- mund Andrews, M. D., he opened a private an- atomical room, where classes, consisting of stu- dents, artists and professional men were re- ceived and instructed, in human anatomy. The Chicago Medical College was organized in the spring of 1859, and Dr. Wardner was elected to the position of Demonstrator of Anatomy which he filled with success and acceptance until the breaking-out of the late civil war, when he entered the army as Surgeon of the Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Col. John McArthur commanding. In April, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of Staff-Surgeon, and assigned to duty as a Medical Director in the Army of the Tennessee, under the command of Gen. Grant. He remained with the army in the field until after the battle of Corinth, in October, 1862, having participated in the engagements of Belmont, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Pitts- burg Landing, Iuka and Corinth, rendering services for which he received the highest commendation from his superior officers. He was then assigned to the United States Gen-

ANNA PRECINCT.

eral Hospital at Mound City, Ill. In Febru- ary, 1863, he was ordered forward to Vicks- burg, and while there was Assistant Medical Director on Gen. Grant's staff. He was then re-assigned to the Mound City Hospital, and continued in that extensive establishment until the close of the war, and the discontinuance of the institution in 1865. He was then placed in charge of the medical department of the post of Cairo, which position he occupied until its close in September, 1866. He was five years and four months in the army, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel for meritorious services. Pleased with the mild climate of Southern Illinois, he de- cided to henceforth make it his home, and upon his retirement from the United States service, he resumed the practice of his profession in the city of Cairo. In 1867, he was instrumental in establishing in Cairo St. Mary's Infirmary, and was its chief medical officer for ten years, enjoying at the same time a large and lucrative practice. In 1877, he was appointed by Gov. Cullom to the State Board of Health, a position he filled with abil- ity and satisfaction, and which he resigned in consequence of his increasing duties at the Hos- pital. The last two years he was a member of the board he served as its President. In 1878, he was tendered the superintendency of the Southern Illinois Hospital for the Insane, by the Trustees, under Gov. Cullom. Being urged by his friends, he accepted the position, and has continued in charge of the institution ever since. Dr. Wardner is identified with the Republican party ; is a member of the Southern Illinois Medical So- ciety, the American Medical Association, the Association of Medical Superintendents of In- sane Asylums of the United States and Can- adas, the American Public Health Associa- tion, and for several years previous to entering the Hospital had been Surgeon of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, and Examining

Surgeon for United States Pensioners. He is the author of several able papers valuable to the medical prosession. His successful man- agement of the Government Hospital during the war, his executive and financial ability, and his well-known honor, integrity, humanity and Christian character, were largely the means of securing him the high and responsible posi- tion he now holds in the stead of Dr. Barnes resigned. He and his estimable lady were a valuable acquisition to the Hospital. Dr. Ward- ner was married February 16, 1858, to Miss Delia Louise Rockwood, who was born in Can- ton, N. Y., July 6, 1832. She is a daughter of Capt. Cephas Rockwood, a step-son of Gov. Aaron Leland, of Vermont, and who partici- pated in the war of 1812 against England. Mrs. Wardner's ancestors were of English de- scent (the original English name being Rook- wood), and came from the North of England. They have yet the coat of arms of the family. Mrs. Wardner is a lady of great force of char- acter, and has been an able assistant to her husband in his charge of the Insane Hospital, of which she was for two years Matron. They are members of the Episcopal Church and ex- emplary Christians. The Industrial School for dependent girls at Evanston, Ill., was estab- lished by the suggestion of Mrs. Wardner, and she has been an officer in it since its com- mencement in 1877. She and her husband have educated three young ladies, viz. : Ma- rian, the wife of George Cary Eggleston, a well- known author residing in Brooklyn ; Mary Wardner, a niece of Dr. Wardner, and now the wife of N. W. Hacker, a law student, and son of William A. Hacker, and grandson of Col. Hacker ; and Alice, wife of Fred M. Slack, druggist in Cleveland, Ohio.

JAMES K. WALTON, farmer, P. O. Anna. When we study the life-history of successful men, we find, as a rule, that they are men of fixed purpose and great continuity, who are fortunate enough to be able to choose a voca-

BIOGRAPHICAL :

tion in keeping with their tastes, and for which their native or acquired powers fit them. The great cause of failure, or non-success in busi- ness or professional life, is a lack of continued effort. Of this class of men who succeed in finding the avocation in which their best pow- ers are furnished with ample scope for exer- cise, must be named the subject of this sketch. James K. Walton, a native of Lebanon County, Penn., was born May 18, 1825, and is a son of Isaac and Mary (Brown) Walton. The elder Walton was born in Chester County, Penn., Feb- ruary 9, 1788, and was raised in the State, spent his whole life and died in it, May 28, 1827. He learned the stone-mason's trade in early life, but in later years engaged in mercan- tile business on a small scale. He was married, December 19, 1815, and both he and his wife were exemplary members of the Episcopal Church. She was born in Chester County also, February 28, 1797, and died July 31, 1839. She was the mother of four children, of whom our subject was the youngest-Ellen, widow of John Irvin, now living at Hiawatha, Kan., the other two, William and Augustus, are dead. The former was long engaged in the foundry business in Baltimore and Philadelphia, in the firm of Isaac A. Shepard & Co. ; he died in Philadelphia in February, 1883, aged sixty years ; was quite wealthy, worth some $120,000. Our subject was raised on a farm, and educated in the subscription schools of Pennsylvania. He remained at home until 1853, when he came to Illinois, and located in Union County, entering upon his career in life as a hired hand, grading the Illinois Central Railroad. Before leaving his native State, he had worked on a farm by the month, and the highest wages he ever received was at the rate of $12 per month. He worked on the railroad for one year, and in 1854 embarked in farming upon his present farm. It then contained 240 acres, but he has added to it until now it comprises 440 acres, highly improved, and in an admirable state of

cultivation; he also owns some 1,500 acres in the Mississippi bottoms. He makes a specialty of hay, wheat, corn and fine stock, of which latter he has some excellent and valuable animals. In 1869, he erected from his own designs a large and commodious brick residence, and upon his farm he has large barns, numerous outbuildings, all of substantial character. In- deed, his is a model farm, and displays in every design and improvement the good taste and judgment of its owner. Mr. Walton was mar- ried, March 26, 1854, to Mrs. Serena Walker, a native of Union County, Ill., born in Jones- boro, June 24, 1833. She is a daughter of Hon. Winstead and Anna (Willard) Davie ; he was born in North Carolina, and came to Union County in 1820. His history appears elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Wal- ton have seven children living, and two dead. Anna Ellen, died in infancy ; Winstead Davie, born February 15, 1856, a farmer in the Mis- sissippi bottoms ; Mary Emma, born October 12, 1858, at home ; Clinton B., born March 16, 1861, and died November 12, 1862 ; Ed- ward B., born November 14, 1863, at home ; James K., born February 12, 1866 ; William B., born July 25, 1868 ; Charles A., born De- cember 28, 1870 ; Samuel D., born August 6, 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Walton are members of the Presbyterian Church at Anna-he is a Trustee of the same ; he is also a charter mem- ber of the Knights of Honor at Jonesboro. He is a Democrat in politics, of the old Jackson school.

WILLARD FAMILY, Anna. The Willards are one of the oldest, as well as one of the most numerous families in America, being scattered over many of the older States of the Union. The family is believed to be of French origin, although from a published work entitled "Willard Memoir," which we have perused, we find the family traced back to the reign of Edward III, of England, at which time they were found quite numerous in the British Do-

ANNA PRECINCT.

minion. An extended sketch of this old family is given in the historical part of this volume, and without following it from the time of Edward III, a brief space will be devoted to members of the family who are known to many of our readers.

CHARLES M. WILLARD, a banker in the city of Anna, was born in Sherbrook, Canada, April 17, 1815, and is a son of William R. and Eleanor (Mann) Willard. He was born in Ster- ling, Mass., July 23, 1785, and was raised on a farm. When about eighteen years of age, he went to Chester, Vt., where he learned the trade of tanner with a man named Alfred Onion, who afterward changed his name to Deming. He followed the business of tanner until within twenty years of his death, and ac- cumulated a moderate fortune. He removed to Canada about 1809-10, where he remained until his death, September, 1864. He married Miss Eleanor Mann, of Chester, Vt., who was born April 17, 1787, and died July 24, 1832. Nine children were the fruit of this marriage, of whom Charles M. (our subject), Walter H., and Caroline, widow of William C. Kimball, of Elgin, Ill., are living. Our subject was edu- cated at the American College at Peacham, Vt., and the French schools at La Bais, Nicholet and Sherbrook, Canada. At the age of twenty- one years, he left his home and came to the United States, and to Illinois, locating in Jones- boro, where, during the first summer, he engaged in teaching. In 1837, he commenced merchan- dising with E. A. Willard, Sr., and afterward with Elijah, Sr., Willis and William, under the firm name of Willard & Co. . William died in 1843, and Elijah in 1848, when Walter was ad- mitted, the firm still remaining Willard & Co. In the spring of 1849, Mr. Willard went to California, remaining some twenty-two months, mining and merchandising. Upon his return home, he again went into the goods business with Willis and Walter Willard, a business he continued more or less, with several firm

changes, until 1873, when he added banking. April 22, 1879, he was burned out, and then cliscontinued mercantile business, and has since been engaged in banking business. In Novem- ber, 1853, he was married to Ellen D. Tuthill, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1830. Poli- cally, Mr. Willard is a Democrat.

WALTER H. WILLARD, a merchant of Anna, Ill., was born in Sherbrook, Canada, December 23, 1826, and is a brother of Charles M. Wil- lard, of the preceding sketch. He was the youngest of nine children, and was educated in the common schools, and in Nicholet College, where he took a French course. At the age of twenty years, lie left his home and came to Jonesboro, Ill., where he commenced his busi- ness career as a clerk in the store of Willard & Co., remaining with them for sixteen or seventeen years, and after the first three years taking an interest in the business. In 1851, he came to this city, where he continued the mer- cantile business with his brother, Charles M. Willard, and in 1865 he and Mr. Wilcox be- came partners, which continued five years. He then bought out his partner and has since then conducted the business alone. He was married in 1863 to Miss Lucy Loomis, a native of Sherbrook, Canada, and a daughter of Francis and Mary Loomis, she a native of Vermont, and he of Connecticut. They have five children-two boys and three girls, viz .: Francis W., Walter L., Mary L., Lucy E. and Maud E. He is an active member of the Masonic fraternity.

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History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 87

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