History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 94

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 94
USA > Illinois > Pulaski County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 94
USA > Illinois > Alexander County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 94

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).

She was born in this county, on Hutchins Creek, daughter of Alexander Smith. He is one of the charter members of Cobden Lodge, Knights of Honor, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Cobden. His wife is a member of the Christian Church. In politics, he is a Democrat, but voted for Grant for his first term.

DANIEL KIMMEL, farmer, P. O. Cobden, was born June 7, 1827, to George and Elizabeth (Christy) Kimmel ; George Kimmel was born in Somerset County, Penn., in 1793 ; died in Union County, March 29, 1868 ; his wife was born in Darke County, Ohio, in 1803; she is still living. His occupation during life was that of a farmer and stock dealer; they came to Union County when our subject was but five years of age. He was married three times, and by his first wife had two sons ; but no child by the second ; by his third wife, the mother of our subject, seven sons and five daughters. In religious belief, he and wife were of the Dunkard faith ; with politics, he had but little to do, but was a Douglas Demo- crat, and strongly opposed to the war of the rebellion. He was a man successful in business, and did a good part by his children, giving to cach a farm, and about $1,500 in money. Our subject's opportunity for an edu- cation was very limited, and when he began life for himself, at the age of twenty-one, it was with nothing but a pair of strong hands, and an unconquerable determination to make a success. For six years he rented a farm and kept bachelor's hall, but at the end of that time he had eighty acres of land paid for, and money besides. July 13, 1853, he was married to Miss Mary Ann Green, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Smith) Green. (See sketch.) Mr. and Mrs. Kimmel have the following chil- dren, viz .: Elizabeth Alice, Johana, Eliza, Mary Ann, Carrie Belle, Rolley D., Walter G., David G., Minnie May and Laura Lee; also three children who died in infancy. After mar-

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riage, he settled on his present farm of 225 acres, which is one of the best farms in Cobden Precinct. His wife also has seventy-six acres of land in her own right. Mr. Kimmel does general farming-raising of grain, stock and fruits, and in traiding in stock. During the war. he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was chosen Lieutenant ; he was captured at Holly Springs by Van Dorn's command, and paroled. He then reported to Col. Fry, at Benton Bar- racks, St. Louis. While there the One Hundred and Ninth was consolidated with the Eleventh and he returned home, and again engaged in farming. In politics, he is Republican. Is a member of the A., F. & A. M. of Cobden, be- ing one of the charter members. Mrs. K. is a member of the Cobden Baptist Church. Taken from the Agricultural Report of Illinois for 1856-57, we find that a bushel of white wheat, raised by Mr. Kimmel took the first premium in the Illinois State Fair, held at Alton, and again at the Mississippi Valley Fair, held at St. Louis, and the report goes farther to state that he was considered the best wheat-raiser in the West. if not in the world.

AUG. KOHLER, fruit-grower, P. O. Cob- den, was born at Wyhl, Grand Duchy Baden, Germany, August 25, 1833. From the age of six years till he was fourteen, he attended school without an intermission. He then be- gan in the Government employ on the River Rhine. There he remained till 1851, and then learned the miller's trade, but on account of disease he had to give up milling in 1856. December 22 of the same year, he started for America and landed in New York City March 18, 1857, but went soon afterward to Cin- cinnati, Ohio, then to Freeport, Ill., June 22 of the same year, he came to Jonesboro. January 2, 1858, he was married at Jones- boro. Ill., by Judge Hileman, to Karolina Rethe. They remained at Jonesboro until 1862 ; then sold out and bought a place in

Anna, where they lived till September, 1866. Selling out there they bought a little farn on the east of Cobden. From 1859 till 1881, he was employed at the stone-mason's trade, but since that time has given his entire attention to the raising of fruit, i. e., strawberries, rasp- berries, tomatoes, etc., etc. Mr. and Mrs. Kohler have three children living, viz .: Henry William, nineteen years of age; Charles August, twelve years of age, and Maria Anna, seven years of age. Our subject is the son of Anton and Maria Anna Kohler. They were born in Vogelbach, Germany. In February, 1858, they came direct from the old country to Jonesboro, and in 1863 to one mile below Cob- den, where she died August 29, 1868, at the age of fifty-six years, he at the residence of our subject June 20, 1870, at the age of sixty- six years.

LOUIS KOHLER, liveryman, Cobden, was born in Wyhl, Baden, Germany September 1, 1845, brother of August Kohler (see sketch). He was educated in the schools of his native country, attending until only twelve years of age. Came to this county in 1857, and this has been his home since, but in early life he was for some time in the Western States and Territories. He learned the trade of cooper- ing, and followed it for some years. Was married, on Easter Sunday, 1871, to Elizabeth Kerzenmacher ; she was born in the same town and street as our subject, November 19, 1846; came to America with her sister's family about a year previous to marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Kohler have four children living-William, born October 3, 1875 ; Fanny, his twin sister, died April 27, 1877 ; Josephine and Paulina, twins, born June 30, 1879 ; and Freddie Anton, born September 2, 1882. When first married, our subject kept toll-gate, on the Jonesboro and Willard's Landing road, for one year ; then on account of sickness he left and came near Cobden, and bought his father's old farm, 'but after two years sold out and went to the Mis-

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sissippi River bottom, into farming and stock- raising. There he lost everything by fire ; in the, winter of 1874-75, he moved to Cobden, and has been here since. He engaged in his present business of livery stable, January 15, 1879, buying out O. P. Hill ; spring of 1882, he bought the lot and built his present stable, 30x50 feet, with shed twelve feet in width on one side. He keeps rigs and riding horses to supply the demand of the town ; also does hauling. In religion, he and his wife are Catholics. He is Democratic in politics.

E. D. LAWRENCE, fruit-grower, Cobden, was born in Bangor, Me., January 4, 1842, to Darius A. and Susan R. (Wyatt) Lawrence. He was born in November, 1808, in Castine, Me .; she in July, 1810, at Newburyport, Mass. She died in April, 1865 ; he in Septem- ber, 1882. By trade he was a carpenter, and he made that his business till his death. In May, 1865, he came to Cobden, and made this his home for the remainder of his life. The Lawrence family is of English descent. The first members of the family in this country set- tled in the colony of Massachusetts, and from there have spread to different States of the Union. Our subject had only one sister and one brother who reached maturity-Mrs. Susan E. Weakley, of Nashville, Tenn., and Henry Lawrence, now book-keeper for John Buck, of Cobden. Our subject was educated in the city schools of Bangor, and in early life learned the carpenter's trade of his father. He followed his trade till coming to Union County in March, 1863. He then engaged in farming and car- penter work till he was married December 25, 1865. He then devoted his time almost ex- clusively to fruit and vegetable raising. His farm consists of sixty-three acres, part of which he purchased in 1866, the remainder in 1875. Mr. Lawrence has been making experiments with marble which is found on his farm, and finds that there are three varieties, all of which are susceptible of a high polish, and are of

superior quality. December 25, 1865, he was married to Miss Minnie Wright, adopted daughter of Rev. Paul Wright, now of Santa Barbara, Cal. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence have one son dead and three daughters living-Su- sie E., Grace and Kate L. In 1878, he joined the Cobden Lodge of A., F. & A. M., and is now Master of the lodge. He is also member of Cobden Lodge, Knights of Honor, and is Past Dictator. In politics, he is Democratic.

A. W. LINGLE, farmer, P. O. Cobden, was born in Rowan County, N. C., January 2, 1810, to Anthony and Margaret (Cauble) Lingle, both of whom were born in North Carolina. In the fall of 1817, they emigrated to this State and settled about two miles and a half south of Cobden, on a farm now owned by G. W. Robin- son. They lived there till the time of death, and raised their family, four of whom lived to have families of their own-Polly, Alexander W., John A. and Peggy. A. W. is the only one now living. Mr. Lingle's occupation was always that of a farmer, but he understood the coopering business sufficiently to do his own work. For a short time our subject was in the Black Hawk war. June 19, 1834, Alexander was married in Macon County, Ill., to Leah Dillow. She was also born in North Carolina July 26, 1816, to Michael and Rachael (Cauble) Dillow. They were natives of North Carolina but died in Piatt County, Ill. They came to Illinois in 1817, and settled first seven miles south of Jonesboro, but in 1833 they moved to Macon County, Ill., settling first on Big Creek, then on the Sangamon River, in what is now Piatt County. They were the parents of five children, all of whom lived to maturity ; two daughters and one son now living. Mr. and Mrs. Lingle had eleven children, only five now living-Margaret, John F., J. M., Charles M. and Matilda Alice. Six deceased-James M., Henry W., Rachael Elizabeth, Thomas J. and two infants. All the living are married except J. M., who stays at home and runs the

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farm. When our subject was first married, he settled on Sangamon River, Piatt County, where he remained till 1837. then came again to Union County, and in 1839 settled on present farm, which he entered from the Government. His farm consists of 120 acres, most all in cultivation. In politics, he has ever been Democratic, and is a member of the German Reform Church ; Mrs. Lingle, of the Lutheran Church. Mr. J. M. Lingle was born January 12, 1852, and has resided on the present farm of his father all his life. He was educated in the Cobden schools, and has made farming his occupation, now having charge of his father's farm. He gives most of his attention to grain and small fruits. In politics. he is a Democrat, and is a member of the Lutherian Church.

L. T. LINNELL, banker, real estate, etc., Cobden. Among the live, wide-awake business men of the county may be classed the subject of this sketch. He was born in the State of New York February 13, 1839, and is a son of Samuel and Mahala (Mitchell) Linnell, also na- tives of New York, who emigrated to Illinois in 1848, locating at Rockford, where Mrs. Linnell died the next year. She was the mother of seven children, but three of whom are now living, viz .: Levi and our subject, and one daughter, Laura, the wife of Joel Campbell, a prominent grain dealer of Monticello, Iowa. After the death of his wife some years, Mr. Linnell married Caroline Thorn. He was a Whig; is a Republican. Subject received his education in the common schools of the country, and in the Academy at Delton, Wis., where his parents had removed from Rockford, Ill .. and where he remained four years, finishing up with one year at Wayland University, at Beaver Dam, Wis. He commenced teaching at the age of seventeen years, a profession in which he proved very successful, and which he continued to follow until the storm of war hurst upon us in the spring of 1861, when he enlisted in Company E, Twelfth Wisconsin Volunteer In-

fantry, as Second Lieutenant. He was subse- quently promoted to First Lieutenant, and assigned as Ordnance officer, and as Assistant Quartermaster of the Third Division of the Seventeenth Army Corps, which position he filled until mustered out of the service, in De- cember, 1864. He came to Cobden the next year and bought a small farm near town, which he cultivated for two years, and then went to Battle Creek. Mich., for his health, but returned here in a short time and bought a drug store in Cobden. Soon after he took in as a partner Dr. J. F. McLoney ; he withdrew in 1877, and the next year our subject sold out and turned his attention exclusively to banking and real estate, in which he had been more or less en- gaged for some time. He now carries on a large banking and real estate business, and may very justly be ranked among the solid men of the community. In March, 1873, he was ap- pointed Postmaster of Cobden, and still holds the position ; is also a member of the Board of Town Trustees ; he was married in 1864 to Miss Isabel A. Longley. The result of this union was six children, viz .: B. McPherson, Lewis M., Grace, Florence, Gertrude and Raymond ; the two latter deceased. Mr. Linnell served in Gen. McPherson's Corps during the war, and was in the battle of Atlanta, when this officer was killed ; was a great admirer of the brave and gallant General. He cast his first Presi- dential ballot for Abraham Lincoln, in 1860, also 1864, while in the field-his entire com- pany voting the Republican ticket.

JOHN LOCKARD, farmer, P. O. Makanda, was born in Lawrence County, Tenn., June 20, 1823, to William and Mary (Ayres) Lockard. She was born in North Carolina, but he in Ten- nessee. October, 1837, they came to this

county. They remained here till 1844, when they moved to Missouri. In 1846, they moved to Arkansas, and she died there in 1854. He died in 1865. To them six sons and three daughters were born. Our subject is the old-

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est of the family. He and two brothers are all of the family now living. They are still living in Arkansas. Our subject's parents liv- ing on the frontier all the time, and continu- ally moving, his . early life was full of depri- vations. November 14, 1844, he was married to Sarah Hagler. She was born in this State to Paul and Betsie (Clutts) Hagler. They were both early settlers in this county from North Carolina, and died here. To Mr. and. Mrs. Lockard the following children have been born : Alfred, Mary, William, Adam, James, Catherine, John, Sarah Ann .(deceased), George and Lilly Melvina. Our subject also moved to Missouri, but in 1847 came back to Illinois and settled on his present farm, and has been actively engaged in farming and fruit-raising since. In his farm there are 220 acres, 120 of which are in cultivation. He and wife are members of the Baptist Church. His first vote was cast for James K. Polk. Since voted for Lincoln, etc., but now has adopted the Greenback platform.

WILLIAM F. LONGLEY, retired farmer, P. O. Cobden, was born in Hawley, Mass., August 6, 1814, and is a son of Edmond and Olive (Field) Longley. He was one of three brothers, all of whom served in the war of 1812, and their father, Edmond Longley, was a Revolutionary soldier. He moved to Haw- ley, Mass., when a young man, and lived there until his death, which occurred at the age of ninety-six years. He raised a family, all of whom settled within a mile of the old home- stead. They were of the old Plymouth stock of Longleys. Our subject remained in Massa- chusetts until twenty-one years of age, receiv- ing his education there mostly, and in 1835 going to Ohio for the purpose of taking a full course at Oberlin College ; but his eyesight failed and he was compelled to forego it, and after teaching a couple of terms in Ohio here- turned to Massachusetts and taught there for a term. Engaged in the fall of 1837 in general

merchandising in the town of Hawley, in part- nership with his brother Freeman. He was appointed Postmaster at Hawley, Mass., March 3, 1838, an office he held about six years, be- ing all the time in business there. He sold out and removed to Albany, N. Y., and three or four years Jater to Sterling, N. Y., and after several changes of business he was again ap- pointed as Postmaster, April 27, 1849, at Sterling, N. Y., which he held for four years. His father's age and feebleness called him home, and he sold out his mercantile business and returned, where, for one and a half years he carried on the farm. His father dying, he went to Wisconsin and there bought a farm, remain- ing on it for eleven years. In January, 1866, he came to this county and settled on a farm. He and Mr. Linnell went into partnership in fruit-raising. This was continued, with some changes, until 1879, when Mr. L.'s health failed, and he took his present place as Assist- ant Cashier in the bank of Mr. Linnell, and Assistant Postmaster of Cobden. Mr. Longley was married in Massachusetts, December 5, 1838, to Miss Lydia S. Bassett, a daughter of Thomas Bassett. She was born in Ashfield, Mass., October 19, 1820. She is the mother of four children, all of whom are living-Julia Ellen, now Mrs. David D. Lee, in Pawnee City, Neb. ; Isabella, now Mrs. L. T. Linnell, of Cobden ; Fannie S., now Mrs. Herbert Dwinnell, of Wisconsin, and William E., living in Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. L. are members of the Presbyterian Church of Cobden. In poli- tics, he was a Whig, but is now identified with the Republican party.

W. P. MESLER, box mill, Cobden, was born in Western New York in September, 1842. In 1862, he came to Pulaski County, and was in the employ of James Bell at Ullin until 1870 ; then was in the West for two years. In 1872, he went into the Cairo Box Mill ; was Superin- tendent and also partner in the mill. In 1876, he came to Cobden, and in 1877 started in the

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present box factory three and a half miles west of Cobden, and, as he was well acquainted with the business and the consumers, W. P. Mesler & Co. have been doing a good business since, and one which has rapidly increased. He and his partner, James Bell, also have a box mill in the south part of the county, started in 1882. They manufacture all kinds of fruit and vege- table boxes and baskets not patented. The number of employes of course varies at differ- ent seasons of the year, but through the straw- berry season they require about fifty persons in the mills and in Cobden ; also keep from fif- teen to twenty teams at work all the time. When first starting in business here they could sell the green material. but now all want the seasoned material, so they have to keep a large supply on hand. . They ship to all States west of Pennsylvania, except on the Pacific Slope, and have the largest trade of any other com- pany in the same line in the West. Supply all the largest fruit-growers in the Mississippi Valley-Parker Earle, of Cobden, B. F. Baker & Co., of Chicago, the Drs. McKay, of Madison, Miss., etc. In their work annually they use 3,000 pounds of two-ounce tacks, about 200 kegs of three-penny fine nails, etc. They make material up ready for using when desired, and ship it so. One day's orders for immediate shipment amounted to 275,000 quart boxes, and the sales of quart boxes for 1883 will ex- ceed 4,000,000 boxes, about 1,000,000 being for use in the county. Previous years the sales have been over 3,000,000 quart boxes. This one industry has been a source of great profit to Cobden and Union County, making a demand for all timber fit for boxing material, and giving employment to so many persons.

A. J. MILLER, merchant, Cobden, was born January 8, 1845, in Jonesboro, Ill. His par- ents, Henry Miller, a native of North Caro- lina, and Catharine (Cover) Miller, a native of Maryland, were in comfortable circumstances, and his educational advantages were as good

as could be furnished in the schools of Jones- boro. At the age of seventeen years, he be- gan clerking for Adam Buck, then a merchant of Cobden. From the day of his taking serv- ice to the final withdrawal, he enjoyed the con- fidence of his employers, and to a large extent participated with them in the management of their affairs, and at the age of twenty-six years he was taken as a partner and thus did busi- ness for five years. . In 1878, he formed a partnership under the firm name of Miller & Loomis, which is now recognized as one of the leading enterprises of Cobden. In Febru- ary, 1880, he married Allie, a daughter of Capt. I. N. Phillips, the result of which is two children, viz .: Henry and Nettie A. He is proprietor of Miller's Opera House ; owns his present business room and the adjoining one in which Mr. L. T. Linnell is doing a banking business and keeps the post office. He is a member of the A., F. & A. M. Chapter, of Anna, and of the K. of H. fraternities. His efforts, politically, is with the Democrats. His estimable lady is a member of the Presby- terian Church. The father of our subject is deceased, while the mother survives in a very pleasant home in Anna, blessed with plenty of this world's goods to make her comfortable the remainder of life. She blessed her husband with eleven children, nine of whom are living, viz .: George N., A. J., Alice S. the (wife of Arthur Moss), John C., Frank P., David W., Mary M. (the wife of James Dickerson), Caleb and Kittie. The parents were early identified with the German Reform Church.

WILLIAM E. MOBERLY, retired attorney and real estate, Cobden, was born in Garrard County, Ky., near Lexington, in 1822, to John and Mahala Moberly. He was from Maryland, and died when our subject was young. She afterward married. By first hus- band she had two sons-our subject, and John Moberly, who has been a member of the Georgia Senate for some time. The complete

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history of William E. Moberly would occupy a volume in itself, but a few of the leading facts in his life will be given. He was raised on a farm, and when a young man went to Missouri to seek his fortune; he was educated in the common schools of Kentucky, and after going to Missouri studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1849, and in 1850 commenced the practice of his profession at Brunswick, Mo .; he very soon stood at the head, and for several years had one side of every important case in the county. He continued in his practice until 1860, when he was elected President of the North Missouri Railroad, a road in which he was largely interested. He continued President for over three years, and owned the controlling interest in the road before selling out ; during the time, he platted the town of Moberly, Mo., and it was named in his honor. In 1846, he was elected to the Missouri State Legislature, from Macon County, as a Whig ; he served for two terms, then declined to run for any office afterward if he thought he could be elected, but sev- eral times was a candidate for the sake of keep- ing party alive, although he knew he could not be elected. For three years during the war, he was Colonel of a regiment in Missouri. They were located around the old home of Gen. Price, and their work was to keep down the bush- whackers. Previous to the war, he was a large slave-holder, and although his friends protested, he was ready to uphold his nation, although he knew that in its success he would lose his slaves. Among the slaves in his house was a sister of Senator Bruce, of Mis- sissippi, and it was in his kitchen that the future Senator received his first lessons in read- ing ; for two years, he was the body-guard of our subject. In the latter days of 1864, after quiet had been restored in Missouri, Mr. Mo- berly moved to St. Louis, Mo., and engaged in the real estate business, and has had his office there since. By his keen business faculties, he

added to his already large property. Before the war, he had about twenty-five or thirty thousand acres of land, but when locating in St. Louis he transferred it mostly into city property ; at one time, it was estimated that he was worth half a million dollars, but. he sold his railroad stocks and invested over $300,000 in the North Missouri Insurance Company, thinking that it was in good hands ; he did not give the insurance business the attention that he should, and before he was aware of it the officers had made a blunder, and the credit of the company was lost. He put in $40,000 more to try saving the company, but to no pur- pose, its credit was destroyed, and all was lost; about the same time, other property declined in value, so his losses were great, outside of the insurance. Although Mr. M. had made a suc- cess which but few attain, he lost most of it, but through no fault of his own. In 1880, he bought his present beautiful residence north of Cobden, and will here end his days in quiet, away from the excitement of a busy city life. In 1840, in Missouri, he was married to Martha A. Collins ; she was also a Kentuckian by birth and education ; daughter of Joseph and Mary (Woolfork) Collins, an old and wealthy family of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Moberly never had children of their own, but have adopted and raised a large family, and have well edu- cated them. This is, they consider, the best investment they ever made, for it cannot be taken away. Mr. Moberly is a member of the I. O. O. F., and in early life was Deputy Grand Master of the State of Missouri, and repre- sented the State Lodge in the National Lodge. From early life he and his wife have been members of the Christian Church, but are also Spirtualists ; not those, however, that believe in mediums. He now takes no part in political life

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History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 94

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