History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 98

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 98
USA > Illinois > Pulaski County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 98
USA > Illinois > Alexander County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 98

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).

MONTGOMERY HUNSAKER, farmer, P. O. Cobden, was born in Union County, Ill., July 7, 1827. He is the son of Nicholas and grandson of Abraham Hunsaker, who came to this county at an early date in its settlement. Abraham Hunsaker and his wife, Mary Snyder, were both born in Pennsyl- vania, and resided there until after they had a family, and then came to this county, where. one son-George-was the first Sheriff. They were the parents of six sons and three daughters. Nicholas Hunsaker was married, in this county, to Olivia Montgomery. She was the daughter of John Montgouery, a surveyor, who surveyed a great part of Ken- tucky, and died there. His widow moved to this county, and settled near Saratoga, when Mrs. Hunsaker was but a small girl. Mrs. Hunsaker died near Jonesboro April 4, 1836, and he soon afterward moved to the present homestead of our subject, on Hutchins' Creek, and died there October 6, 1860. They were the parents of five children, two sons and three daughters. Two of the daughters died after having families of their own. Our subject is the oldest of the family. His occupation has always been that of farming, grain and stock-raising occupying his at tention. June 24, 1863, he was married, in Jackson County, Ill., to Emily R. Woods, daughter of Samuel and Christiana (Young) Woods. They were from North Carolina, and settled in Cape Girardeau County, Mo., and she died there. He, however, died in Texas, March 10, 1883, at the age of eighty- three years. Mr. and Mrs. Hunsaker have eight children-Beatrice Christiana, Mary Ellen, Mortimor, Florence M., Emily Belle, Olivia Bernice, Roxana Roseland and Dana G. In politics, Mr. Hunsaker has always been Democratic.

JOHN F. HUNSAKER, farmer, P. O. Cob- den, was born in this county September 28,

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1843, to A. F. and Elvina (Holmes) Hun- saker, and is a descendant of the original Hunsakers who settled in this county at an early date. This county has been the home . of vur subject all his life, although he was in the service during almost the entire war, being mustered in in September, 1861, and was not mustered out till the close of the war. He enlisted in Company H, Twenty-ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. Jacent B. Sprague. He entered as a private, but, after the engagement at Fort Donelson, he was made Corporal, and at the close of the war was First Sergeant. Mr. Hunsaker found what active service in the West meant, as he passed through all the leading engagements: Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Spanish Fort, Mobile, etc. He was in the infantry during all the time, except about six months, just before and just after the capture of Vicksburg; during that six months he was on the Mississippi River Squadron, on the Mis- sissippi and Red Rivers. Mr. Hunsaker passed through the service without being captured or taken to the hospital. He re- ceived two or three flesh wounds, but they never were noticed when so many others were so badly mangled. Mr. Hunsaker's opportunities for an education, before en- tering the army, were quite limited, so he and a number of comrades put in most of their spare time studying. When returning home, he again went to farming, and in 1866 was married to Miss Martha Anderson, who was born in this county to C. Anderson, who is still a resident of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Hunsaker have five children-Minnie, Edith, Oscar, Erwin and Andrew. His farm- ing is mostly raising corn and wheat, but raises some fruits. He, wife and oldest daughter are members of the Christian Church. In politics, Mr. Hunsaker is Re- publican; the only one by the name, to his

knowledge, who belongs to the Republican party.

G. W. JAMES, P. O. Cobden, was born in this county October 6, 1847, to Wilson J. and Huldah Ann (Abernathie) James, both of whom were born and raised in this county. Wilson J. was born March 2, 1816, just a few months after his parents came to the State from South Carolina. He settled on the present homestead of our subject about 1853, and died there of the small-pox June 25, 1866; his wife died April 8, 1862. They were the parents of six children, all of whom are living, our subject being the oldest of the family. Mr. James was raised on his parents' farm, and educated in the district schools, but mathematics has always been a specialty with him. For some years after his father's death, life was a struggle with him. His father, having some security debts to pay, died and left his farm of eighty acres covered to its full value. However, through his uncle, Gov. Dougherty, who was also his guardian, our subject leased the old home place, and so saved the farm, and made a start in life. When he was twenty- one years of age, he was elected Constable, which office he held for eight years. He would also work at anything which would make him money; clerked in stores when not too busy on the farm, and so struggled on till he bought all of the home farm, besides adding another forty to it. On this 120 acres now he has about one hundred acres in fruits and vegetables. But he also has two other farms, of 160 and 135 acres, near Alto Pass, on which he raises more grain, but some fruits. So in life he has been very successful, but not without hard work for it. Some of his- best fields he helped to clear and put in cul- tivation when a boy. He also has had to take his sack of corn, put [it on a horse, and start to the horse mill, but frequently would

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have to wait all day for his turn to come. In politics, Mr. James has always been I emo- cratic. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. of Alto Pass, and is now Vice Grand. As most other members of the James family have done before him, so our subject has re- mained single till he is almost of middle age.

C. JESSEN-TVILSTEDGUARD, saw mill, Alto Pass. The subject of this sketch was born in Denmark April 28, 1844, to J. J. Tvilstedguard and Mary (Jessen) Tvilsted- guard. His parents, and two sisters and a brother, are still living in their native coun- try. Our subject was given his mother's maiden name as a given name, and after coming to America he dropped his father's name, except in deeds and private matters, and is known as C. Jessen. He was edu- cated in his native land, attending the high school, commercial school, and then received private instruction from his father. So when he came to this country, he not only was well versed in his own language, but could speak and write the German, Swedish and English languages. Mathematics were almost natural to him, so that he is a rapid and accurate ac- countant. When he was thirteen years old, he was put behind the counter in a store, and clerked for five years. For the three years previous to his coming to America, he was in the employ of the Government. In 1867, he came to America, and during the? next three years he traveled almost all over the United States: but part of the time would work on railroads, or do farm work, and for a short time was in the furniture business on Clark street, Chicago, but while away for a short time his partner sold out and took all the money, leaving him [with nothing. In 1870, he bought a team, and went into the pineries of Wisconsin, where he remained for four years, working in summer farming, but in the winter would work in the woods. Most

of the time, he would hire some one to drive his team, while he would do scaling, etc. For one season he was in the employ of the Rochester 'Nursery Company, selling and de- livering fruit trees. In 1876, he came to Cairo, Ill., and took the position of clerk in Halladay & Bell's box mill, but remained there only for about three months, when, in the fall of 1876, he, in partnership with W. P. Messler, engaged in the box mill enter- prise, 'starting near Cobden. He remained in partnership with Mr. Messler for four years, and then sold his interest to James Bell, of Cobden, and bought a store and farm near the box mill. These he sold in 1882, and engaged in his present business of saw milling, under the firm name of C. Jessen & Co. (see sketch of James Massie). In con- nection with their 'saw mill, they have en- gaged in the box manufacturing, and during the season employ about twenty hands in the two box manufacturing establishments at Alto Pass. October 31, 1877, in Cobden, he was married to [Miss Mary Buck, daughter of Adam Buck, of Cobden. Mrs. Jessen was born February 5, 1856, and died April 6, 1883. The result of this union was three children-Meta, Leopold and Scott. Mr. Jessen is a member of the Masonic fraternity of "Cobden, also the I. O. O. F., and is Re- publican in politics.

J. J. KEITH, farmer, P. O. Alto Pass, was born in this county February 6, 1840, to Samson and Lucinda (Parmley) Keith. He came to this county, while still a boy, from Kentucky, but when his father (the grandfather of our subject) came, he was left in Kentucky as an apprentice to a black- smith, but as soon as his time was out he also came to this county, but never followed his trade to any extent, but gave most of his attention to farming, he having entered part of the farm now owned by our subject. He

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died in 1855, and she in 1869. They were the parents of ten children, five of whom are still living. Our subject received his edu- cation in the schools of this county. and has always followed farming, and on the farm he now owns, it being the oldest homestead. In March, 1860, he was married to Miss Eliza- beth Rendleman, a daughter of J. S. Rendle- man (see sketch). Mr. and Mrs. Keith have four children-Benjamin Franklin, Harry Everett, Leroy Guy and Bertha Elizabeth. Mr. Keith has one of the best improved farms in the precinct. It consists of 210 acres, and about eighty acres are in apple and peach orchards. In 1877, he shipped 12,600 boxes of peaches, grown on his farm and from trees most of which he had grafted with his own hands. In politics, he has always' been Democratic. He has served as Constable, Justice of the Peace, and is now one of the County Com. missioners. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F.

MRS. ELIZABETH (SUMNER) LAM- ER, P. O. Cobden, was born in Kentucky No- vember 22, 1825, but her parents moved to Tennessee when she was very small, and in 1828 they came to this county and settled about two miles northwest of Cobden. From this time on she experienced the life of the frontier woman. They made their clothing themselves, from the cotton, flax and wool that they raised, taking each through its complete process of manufacture, and till the time she was fifteen years old she had not seen a wagon, only the rude concerns which they manufactured themselves. As they had no markets, they did not try raising anything for sale, so had no money with which to buy any of the luxuries of life. November 2, 1847, she was married to William Jackson Lamer. He was born in Kentucky April 19, 1818, to Joseph and Elizabeth Lamer. Mr. William Lamer died April 9, 1855. Mr. and

Mrs. Lamer had two sons and two daughters, now living. During the war, when prices were so high, Mrs. Lamer, having her fam- ily to support, again resorted to her carding, spinning and weaving. Up to the time of the Illinois Central Railroad coming through the county, they did not think of raising fruit as a means of money-making, and the first apples that Mrs. Lamer shipped were some that she did not consider worth any. thing, but some friend, seeing them, told her where and how to ship; so she gathered up the apples from under a few trees and sent them, and from these she realized $25. The next year, she sold the chance of her peach orchard, of 150 trees, for $125. So, from this time out, she increased the business, at least, making it her main support. Mrs. Lamer is a member of the Baptist Church.

WILLIS LAMER, farmer, P. O. Cobden, was born in Union County. Ill., August 23, 1848, to William Jackson and Elizabeth (Sumner) Lamer. (See sketch of Mrs. Eliza- beth Lamer). Our subject was raised on a farm, and received his education in the dis- trict schools of this county. Except one year, when he was engaged in the mercantile busi- ness in Alto Pass, his whole life has been given to fruit and vegetable farming, and he has made a success of it, as his farm and im- provements show. In 1882, he erected a handsome residence, the main building being 18x40 feet, an L in front, 16x16, and a T behind, 20x24 feet, costing $3,200. April, 1874, he was married to Miss Mary Ann Lovelace, who was born in Johnson County, to R. Lovelace, who died when she was small. She was mostly raised in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Lamer have three children- Charles Roy, Hewitt Hugh and a little daughter, Gertie. In politics, Mr. Lamer has always been Democratic. He is also a member of the Cobden Masonic fraternity.

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WALTER S. LAMER, P. O. Cobden, was born in this county January 19, 1854, to Will- iam J. and Elizabeth (Sumner) Lamer. (See sketch of Mrs. Elizabeth Lamer.) His educa- tion was obtained in the district schools of this county. His life, so far, has been spent on the farm on which he was born; however, he has a farm of his own, which is well im- proved. His attention has always been given to the raising of fruits, about all kinds of which he raises. October 25, 1877, he was married, in this county, to Miss Laura Har- bangh, daughter of Frank Harbaugh. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and came to this county with her parents in the fall of 1865. He died in 1876; Mrs. Harbaugh, however, is still living in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Lamer have two little boys -- Ray- mond S. and Fred M. He is Democratic in politics, and is a member of the Masonic fraternity of Cobden.

J. LANDRITH, farmer and mill owner, P. O. Cobden, was born in Union County, Ill., July 15, 1842, to McKindley and Eliza (Stone) Landrith. They both came to this county with their parents when they were still small, and this county has been their home ever since. He died July, 1852; she, however, is still living. They were the parents of six children, five of whom are still living. Our subject received his early edu- cation in the district schools of the county, and has always been engaged in farming. He now owns the farm which his grandfather Landrith settled, and which his father also owned before him. Of his 400 acres of land, about 200 are in cultivation. Grain and stock are his main dependence, but he is en- gaged in fruit-raising to some extent. In 1882, Mr Landrith, in partnership with Mr. B. F. Rethey, started a saw mill, and now has it in complete running order, and has a capacity for sawing about 3,500 feet of

lumber daily. June, 1866, be was married. in this county, to Miss Elizabeth Lilly, daughter of Boston and Malinda (Corbitt) Lilly. They were both born in Tennessee, and are still living, coming to this county when small. Mr. Lilly is the son of William and Elizabeth Lilly, and one of a family of seven children, only two of whom are still living. Mr. Lilly has always been engaged in farming. Mr. and Mrs. Landrith had three children, to die when young, but have two daughters and one son living-Fannie, Minnie and John. In politics he has always voted with the Democratic party, and has served one term as Justice of the Peace. His wife and mother are members of the New Hope Methodist Church.

JOSHUA LEWIS, P.O. Cobden, was born in Dearborn County, Ind., July 5, 1812, to George and Elizabeth (Johnson) Lewis. He was born one mile from Reading, Penn., 1769, but when he was ten years old, removed with his parents to Eastern Tennessee, where his father bought a mill site in Sullivan County. In the then wilderness of Tennessee he was reared and remained till 1809, but during that time he had served in two or three local campaigns against the Indians. Before moving from Tennessee to Dearborn County, Ind., in 1809, he was married to the mother of our subject. They were the par ents of seventeen children, all of whom, ex- cept one, reached the age of maturity, and nine are now living, the youngest being fifty- eight years of age. George Lewis died in his seventy third year, but his wife reached the age of eighty-five, and retained all of her mental faculties till the last; she, however, was of a long-lived family, her father reach- ing the great age of one hundred and nine, in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee. The grandfather of our subject came from Wales, but his grandmother was an English-

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woman, both coming to this country while young. Our subject was raised in Dearborn County, Ind. He had but small opportunities to attend school, but he applied himself, out- side of the schoolroom, and so qualified him- self that he made a successful school teacher for several terms. From the time that he was eighteen years of age till he was thirty, he was mostly engaged on public works; first on the Cincinnati & Harrison Turnpike, then on the Cincinnati & Colerain Turnpike. On these he was partof the time Contractor, and part Superintendent. He was afterward Superintendent of the White Water Canal, in Indiana, and again of the Cincinnati & White Water Canal. In 1844, he removed to La Salle County, Ill., where he remained till the spring of 1859, when he moved to his present home, near Cobden. Since com- ing here, he has been engaged in farming and fruit-growing. February 22, 1844, he was married to Ellen Kelso, a native of his native county, in Indiana. She was born November 29, 1821. Her parents both came from the old country; he from Ireland, but of Scotch parents, and she from Scotland. They were married in New York, and were the parents of six children, of whom Mrs. Lewis was the only daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have five children living-Charlotte, Thomas, John, George and Mary. Mr. Lewis' life has been far from a failure, both financially and in the esteem of his fellow- men. He has been a Republican in politics since the party was first organized, and although living in a strongly Democratic county, he has twice been elected as one of the County Commissioners, because both Democrats and Republicans recognized in him a man whom they could trust. Mr. Lewis now possesses a curiosity, in the shape of an old rifle made in Germany, and one which has been in the family

and in use ever since. A man by the name of Adam Stump could not shoot except with what they called a " left-handed" gun, so he sent to his native country, Germany, and had one made for him; but before the gun arrived, Stump had killed some Indians in the colony, and had to flee to escape ar- rest, so our subject's grandfather bought the gun when it arrived. It has the same lock and stock that it first had, and is in good condition for shooting; the only change is that it has been changed so as to use per- cussion caps.

JAMES MASSIE, engineer and saw mili- er, Alto Pass, was born in Forfarshire, Scot- land, at the foot of the Grampian Hills, about 1842. He is the son of Peter Massie, who was a miller. He died about 1874. Our subject's mother, however, is still living, in her native land. They were the parents of ten children, eight sons and two daugh- ters. Seven sons and one daughter are now living, but our subject is the only one living in this country. Mr. Massie received his education in his native country, and served an apprenticeship of seven years to learn his trade of machinist and engineer, getting only 25 cents per week during the time. While re- siding in his native country, his work was on steam engines, and he made several sea voyages as engineer. It was not until coming to this Country that he learned the saw mill busi-

ness. April 20, 1866, in Scotland, he was married to Miss Susan Simpson, daughter of George Simpson, who died in 1873, but his widow is still living. By trade, he was a stone-mason. They were natives of the same county as our subject, and were the parents of three sons and three daughters, all of whom are still living, Mrs. Massie and her eldest brother being the only ones in this country. He came to New York City in 1873, and for some time clerked for A. T. Stewart

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& Co., and then was sent to one of Stewart's woolen mills on the Hudson River, and at last accounts he was still there. In 1869, our subject came to America, to Cairo, Ill., and for five years worked in the Cairo Box Mill, and was the first one to successfully work the " box machine." After being here for five years, he returned to the old country for his wife, whom he did not bring at first. In July, 1875, Mr. and Mrs. Massie again came to Cairo, Ill., where he worked in the box mill for three years longer. They then returned to Scotland, where he remained for nearly eighteen months, and then came to Messler's Box Mill, near Cobden. Mrs. Massie did not return to this country till about eight months later than her husband. Mr. Massie remained at Messler's Box Mill from March, 1880, till March, 1882, when he started into his present mill. Mr. and Mrs. Massie have no child living, but there was one son, who died. They are both mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. While in Scotland the last time, Mr. Massie joined the Lour Lodge of Masons. Our sub- ject is partner in the saw mill firm of Jessen & Massie. The mill is located on Section 7, Township 11, Range 2, and was built in 1882. Commencing in March, Messrs. Jes- sen & Massie did the work themselves, but the mill was soon in running order. They bought most of the machinery of C. Harreld. After it had passed through a fire, Mr. Massie worked the machinery all over and put it in good condition. Their mill is now complete in all the necessary details, so that they are prepared to saw all kinds of lumber, barrel heads, staves, fruit boxes, etc. When running with full force, they can saw from 6,000 to 10,000 feet of lumber daily. They keep four teams of their own running all the time. They also have a lumber yard in Alto Pass.

JOHN McCAFFREY, farmer, P. O. Cob-

den, was born in County Fermanagh, Ire- land, to Thomas and Bridget (McMahon) McCaffrey. They were natives of the same county as our subject, but came to America when he was but three years old, and settled in Galena, Ill. In 1856, Mrs. McCaffrey died in Chicago, of the cholera; Mr. Mc- Caffrey, however, died in Galena in 1858. They were the parents of seven children, two . sons and five daughters. Our subject is the only son living now, but all the daughters are still alive. Our subject attended the pub- lic schools of Galena, till he was about nineteen years old, when 'he quit school and went to Chicago, where, for five years, he was engaged in the drug business -- two years being in business for himself. He sold out, and in the fall of 1870 came to his present farm, having traded Chicago real estate for it before coming here, His home place con- sists of forty acres, on which he is engaged in fruit and vegetable raising. But he also owns 300 acres in Jackson County, Ill., on the Big Muddy River. He also has property in Alto Pass Village. April 10, 1867, he was married, in this county, to Cora Wal- cott, daughter of George and Elizabeth Wal- cott. Mr. McCaffrey is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Cobden Lodge, No. 466. In [politics, he is Democrat, and was raised up in the Roman Catholic faith, but in both politics and religion he is very liberal.

J. S. RENDLEMAN, farmer, P. O. Alto Pass, was born in Rowan County, N. C., October 26, 1811. In October, 1816, his father, Jacob Rendleman, came to this county, and settled three miles northwest of Jonesboro, and was a member of the first Board of County Commissioners, with George Hunsaker and William Thornton. The history of the Rendleman family would include a great many incidents of hardships; such as going to New Madrid, Mo., for cot-

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ton, from which they would manufacture their own clothes, and of going to Saline, Ill., for salt and packing it on horses, having only an Indian trail to follow. At first, their milling was done by pounding corn in a hol- lowed stump or block, with a wooden pestle attached to a sweep. Their sugar was made from the sugar maple, and instead of tea and coffee they used sassafras and sycamore chips. However, the children of the family grew up strong and robust. Frequently, while a young man, our subject has gone to a house- raising in the morning, where by evening they would have the puncheons split and laid for a floor, the roof on, and then be ready for a dance that night, and in this sport Gov. Reynolds would frequently take a hand with them. The second school that Mr. Rendle- man attended was taught by Gov. Dougherty, and the last by Winston Davie. In 1832, he enlisted and served through the Black Hawk war, B. B. Craig being Captain. While out on the campaign, he cast his first Presiden- tial vote for Jackson, and has been voting for a Jackson man ever since. Of the 100 men who went out under Capt. Craig, only six are now living-John Corgan, James Morgan, Wilson Lingle, H. E. Hodges, Solo- mon Miller and our subject. For four years after coming out of the army, Mr. Rendle- man taught subscription schools. In 1838, he was married, in this county, to Margaret Hartline, her family, also, being one of the earliest families in the county, coming from North Carolina. By this marriage Mr. R. had five children; two sons and two dangh- ters now living. In 1848, his wife died, and some time after this he was married to Eliza- beth Donovan, who was born in Missouri but came to Union County when but a small girl, being here during the flood of 1844, and only escaping by being taken out of the second story window just as the house was about to

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History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 98

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