History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 99

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 99
USA > Illinois > Pulaski County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 99
USA > Illinois > Alexander County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 99

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).

go to pieces, crushed by the flood. By this wife Mr. R. has four children, two sons and two daughters. In 1838, he moved to his present farm, and in 1840 built the house he still lives in. Mr. R. is a strong temperance man.

JOHN RENDLEMAN, farmer, P. O. Alto Pass, was born in this county December 23, 1844, to Henry and Mary (Hess) Rendleman. He was born in 1805, to Jacob Rendleman, and came to this county, from North Carolina, in 1818, and died here in 1873. She was born in North Carolina also, and came with her parents to this county about the same time as the Rendlemans. She is still living, but over seventy years of age. Our subject is one of a family of seventeen, eight of whom died when small; the remaining nine are now living in this county. He was edu: cated in the schools of this county, and has always been engaged in the same occupation as his father, that of farming; but he has not confined him self to farming alone, but has engaged in other business in connection with his farm. For three years, he was in the mercantile business, in Alto Pass, but in 1881, he sold his stock of goods to James Harreld, but this present year has again put in a stock of groceries, but leaves the business in the hands of clerks. For three years Mr. Rendleman has been in the employ of F. Nickerson & Son, fruit commission, 91 South Water street, Chicago. December 28, 1865, he was married to Miss Isabel [ Keith. She was born in this county, to Abner and Louisa Keith. He was also a native of this county, and died here; she, however, is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Rendleman have five children --- William Arthur, Herbert, Maud, May and Mamie. In politics, he has always been De- mocratic.

A. J. RENDLEMAN, general merchan- dise, Alto Pass, was born in Union County,

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Ill., April 6, 1848, and is the son of J. S. Rendleman (see sketch), his mother dying during his infancy. Our subject attended the schools of this county, and remained on the farm till 1860, when he went to Cobden and clerked in the store owned by his father and James Fowley. Here he remained as clerk till he was about of age, and then en- gaged in business as Mr. Fowley's partner. He continued in the store till 1875, when his health failed and he went to Cailfornia, where lie remained for about eight months, then returned to Cobden, and in 1876 sold his interest in the store and went to Dallas, Tex. : but losing a little child by death, and his wife's health failing, he again returned to Cobden. Here his remaining child died, April 20, 1877, and May 22, following, his wife. also, passed away. Mrs. Emma M. (Stearns) Rendleman was born in Bangor, Me., May 12, 1856, and was married to Mr. A. J. Rendleman April 15, 1873. She was the daughter of Osborn R. Stearns, who settled in Cobden in 1867, and died Decem- ber 22, 1873. After the loss of his family, Mr. R. went to Iowa, and engaged in the commission business, but in 1878, he again returned to Union County and bought a fruit farm, which he still owns. In 1879, he engaged in mercantile business at Alto Pass, and has continued here since, doing a general merchandise business, his store building being 48x60 feet. He carries a stock of about $10,000, and his annual sales amount to about $35,000. Mr. Rendleman is a member of the I. O. O. F., of Alto Pass, and is also Democratic in politics.

C. C. RENDLEMAN, general merchan- dise, Alto Pass, was born in Union County, Ill., December 18, 1854, and is the oldest son of J. S. Rendleman, by second marriage (see sketch of J. S. R.). He remained on the farm till he was sixteen years old, when he

began clerking in the store of Fowley & Rendleman, of Cobden. He continued in this store till 1879, when he went into partnership in general merchandising, in Alto Pass, with his brother A. J. His health failing, in the spring of 1882, he sold his interest in the store to his brother, and for the succeeding year avoided all confine- ment, and so regained health. During the year, he was engaged collecting and straight- ening up the old store accounts of Rendleman Bros. Now, however, he has again opened a $5,000 stock of general merchandise. In October, 1881, he was married, in this coun- ty, to Miss Adelia Rich, who was also born and raised in this county, daughter of John M. Rich. Mr. and Mrs. Rendleman have two little girls-Ara and Villa. Mr. R. is a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F., and a Democrat in politics.

E. R. SKIMLAND, farmer, P. O. Cob- den, was born in Norway May 16, 1832, to - Richard and Karey (Knotson) Skimland. They were both natives of Norway. He was a farmer, but through misfortune lost his farm when our subject- was but a small boy, and after that he held a position in Norway called Skafer, it being one in which, if a traveler came along, and wished to be car- ried to a certain point, he would have to find the conveyance for him, and generally, in that place, they traveled in row boats, so Mr. Skimland would have to see to getting the rowers. He, however, died when our subject was but sixteen. His widow, the mother of our subject, is still living, and in this country with a daughter, and is eighty-two years of age. She came to America in 1872. They were the parents of nine children, all but one of whom are still living, and that one died in 1882, at the age of sixty years. To follow the changes, and to give all the incidents of importance in the life of our subject would

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make a volume in itself; so we will mention but a few. As soon as he was able to earn his board, he was taken on a vessel with his uncle as waiter. He continued here except what time he was compelled, by the laws of Norway, to attend school, till he had passed his last examination at school. From that time till he was twenty-two years old, he was a sailor on a coasting vessel, going to the German, English and neighboring coasts. In 1856, he came to America, and settled at Ottawa, Ill., where he remained until 1858. when he went to Texas. Here he was, at work on a railroad, when the war broke out, and was compelled to enter the Southern service; but as soon as he could, he deserted and fled to Mexico, where he remained most of the time till he heard that Lincoln was killed, and also that there were Union troops at the mouth of the Rio Grande River, to whom he made his way, and after a great deal of hardship he joined them, and took the oath of allegiance. They then started for the North, and while at Cairo the war was declared over, but Mr. Skimland was without transportation or money with which to reach his friends at Ottawa; but he started out, and went to Cobden, and here he stopped to work for money to carry him on, not having food, clothing or money-his only shirt was one he had worn from March 7, still he got to Cobden, June 29 following. Going into the store of Henry Blumenthall, Mr. B. saw his need, and gave him a new shirt. By the time Mr. Skimland had made money enough to carry him on to his friends, he had decided that he would try raising strawberries for a year or so -- and the result is that he is still here, in Union County, and one of the most successful fruit-raisers in the precinct. From the time of his arrival here till 1873, he had various reverses of fortune. After making some money, he went into a

mill, on which he lost all that he had, and still found himself about $800 in debt; but. nothing daunted, he bought his present place that year, and paid $62 down, but in a few years he paid off all his debts and built a good residence, and made other improve- ments. December 18, 1867, he was married, in this county, to Elizabeth Haup, of Balti- more, Md. In politics, Mr. Skimland is Re- publican.

S. H. SPANN, farmer, P. O. Alto Pass. was born in North Carolina August 3, 1811, to William and Hannah (Flack) Spann. She was born in North Carolina and died there, but he was born in South Carolina, and went to North Carolina when a young man, but moved to Alabama and died there. They were the parents of thirteen children; three sons and one daughter are still living. Our subject was raised and educated in his na- tive State, and learned the same trade as his father-that of carpentering. He followed his trade for several years, but most of his life he has been engaged in farming. In 1851, he moved to this State, and settled in Jonesboro, where he remained till 1876, when he moved to his present home at Alto Pass. For some years, while in Jonesboro, and also for three years in Alto Pass, he was engaged in the mercantile business. He now, however, gives his attention to his farm. Mr. Spann has always been Demo- cratic in politics, and while in Jonesboro he served one term as Justice of the Peace. He is now Police Magistrate of Alto Pass. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity; also of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Spann is now living with his fourth wife, and is the father of fifteen children, ten of whom are still living, and all are in this county, except one son, who is a lawyer in Vienna, Ill., and one son in St. Louis, Mo. HENRY STONE, farmer, P. O. Alto Pass,

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was born in Kentucky November 13, 1813, to John and Elizabeth (Williams) Stone. They were both natives of North Carolina, but moved to Kentucky after they were married, and had one child. Soon after the birth of our subject, they moved to Alabama, where they resided till moving to this county, when our subject was about fifteen years old. They settled near the present home of our subject, and died on the old homestead. They were the parents of nine children, four of whom are still living. When our subject was first married, which.was on his twenty-third birth- day, he settled on his present farm, and has resided here since. His first wife was Eliza- beth Langley. She died March 7, 1862. By her, he had seven children, six of whom are still living. Soon after his wife's death, he was again married, to Mrs. Nancy Under- wood, daughter of John Childress. By this wife, he has but one child-a son. Or bis farm, Mr. Stone does general farming, rais- ing corn, wheat, berries, etc. In politics. he has always been Republican.

J. M. TWEEDY, farmer, P. O. Cobden, was born March 22, 1817, on the banks of the Mississippi River, in this county, just below Preston. He is one of the oldest men now living in the county who were born here. He is the son of John and Mary (Craft) Tweedy. John Tweedy was born in South Carolina, but came to this county when young, coming with his father, who built the first horse mill in the county. His wife, by birth, was a Pennsylvanian, but her parents moved to Kentucky, and from Kentucky to this county. Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy both died in this county. They were the parents of eleven children, only two of whom are now living, our subject and his brother, S. P., who is a resident of Cobden. Our sub- ject was quite a large boy before he ever heard of a scholar or teacher, but after the

first school was opened they had a school of about three months every winter, and as there was quite a settlement near his father's the school was well attended. August 30, 1838, he was married to Mrs. Charlotte (Biz- zel) Craig, daughter of Isaac Bizzel, who was from Tennessee, and lived near where Anna now stands. Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy have raised a family of twelve children; one daughter, however, died after she had a family of her own. Mr. Tweedy's family has been a remarkably healthy one, he himself never having had but one spell of sickness in his life. So, for forty-three years, since first learning to swing the cradle, he has never missed a harvest. His farm consists of 258 acres, about 200 being under fence. His farming is mostly grain and stock-rais- ing, but still raises some fruits, but does not make them a specialty. The first farm Mr. Tweedy opened up was in the Mississippi River bottom. He had entered the land be- fore his marriage, and lived on it till the flood of 1844, when he had to move off, and never again returned to make it his home .. In politics Mr. Tweedy has always been Demo- cratic.

W. K. UNDERWOOD, farmer, P. O. Alto Pass, was born in Tennessee November 20, 1841, to Jesse and Mary (Ledbetter) Under- wood. Both were born in North Carolina, and moved to Tennessee after their marriage, and then to this county in 1847. He died here in 1851; she, however, is still living, and was eighty years old her last birthday, July 23, 1882. They were the parents of fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters, all of whom lived to have families of their own, and all were members of the Baptist Church, their father being a Baptist minister. Nine of the fourteen are still liv- ing. Our subject was raised on a farm, and received his education in this county. Most

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of his life has been spent in farming. His attention is given now, almost exclusively, to the raising of strawberries and raspberries. He was married, in this county, February 1, 1863, to Caroline Nipper, who was born in Tennessee to James and Mary Ann (Smith) Nipper. Mr. and Mrs. Underwood have five children living-Mary Annabel, Frank M., Lenora Alice, Arthur Calvin, Minnie Effie. They also have had five sons who died when young. Mr. Underwood has lived on his present farm since November, 1868. May 9, 1871, he met with quite a serious accident, in which he lost his right hand, by catching it in the machinery of a saw mill. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., of Alto Pass Lodge. Is also a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife are members of Ridge Bap- tist Church, of Alto Pass. Five of Mr. Un- derwood's brothers were in the civil war, one of them dying in Andersonville Prison. Four of the five were in the Federal army, but one went from Missouri to the Confederate army.

DANIEL WILLIAMS, farmer, P. O. Alto Pass, was born in Lafayette County, Penn., June 20, 1800, to Charles and Mary (McLain) Williams. He was born in Goshen, N. Y .; she in Fredericksburg, Va. Both saw many of the exciting times of the Rev- olutionary war, but were small at the time. In 1817, they moved to Bracken County, Ky., then to Ohio, and finally to Henry

County, Ind., where they died. They were the parents of thirteen children, three of whom are still living. Our subject moved to Ohio with (his parents, but from there to Madison County, Ind. ; then to Allen Coun- ty; from there to Miami County; thence to Cass; from Cass to Tippecanoe County, and then, again, to Madison County, where he remained till 1846, when he came to Union County, Ill., and settled on his present farm. Most of the time when in Indiana, he was contracting on the Wabash & Erie Canal, and on the Indiana Central Canal. By trade. however, he is a blacksmith, but has not followed it scarcely any since coming to Illinois, but has followed farming. He was married, in Indiana, February 15, 1836, to Rebecca Peugh, daughter of Even and Sarah Peugh. She was born in Licking County, Ohio, January 31, 1811, and he is still living. Her parents were from Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have had seven chil- dren, five of whom are still living, three in this county, one in California and one in Arizona-Lester, Joseph A., 'John A., Mary E. and Caroline R .; Philander K. and Sarah J., deceased. Lester and Joseph were both in the civil war; Lester for four years, and Joseph for some time over three years. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are members of the Bap- tist Church. In politics, he has been Re- publican since the party started, voting for John C. Fremont.

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DONGOLA PRECINCT.

J. W. BARNHART, farmer, P. O. Spring- ville, was born December 15, 1840, in Ca- barrus County, N. C., son of John Barnhart, who was also born in North Carolina, and died there in 1869; his occupation was that of a farmer. The mother of our subject was Deliah Duke, born 1818, in Rowan County, N. C. She died in May, 1876. She was the mother of five boys and two girls, of whom only Cyrus and our subject, Jacob W., are now living- the former on the old home farm in Rowan County. The latter spent his youth in Cabarrus and Rowan Counties, N. C., where he farmed and received the rudiments of a common school education. At the age of twenty-two, he was conscripted for the Southern army, as was also his brother Julius, who died about a year afterward. He served almost three years, of which the last three months were spent at Point Look- out, as a prisoner of war. After the war, he worked one year and a half on the farm for his father, and then came West, locating in Union County, where he worked almost one year for M. A. Goodman in a saw mill. After- ward, he worked for different men in this county. He was joined in matrimony, April 27, 1871, to Miss Sarah M. Mowery, born November 3, 1850, in Union County, Ill. She was a daughter of George and Margaret (Dillow) Mowery. Mrs. Barnhart has three children now living, viz., Maggie V., born November 26, 1872; Charles H., born Janu- ary 31, 1877, and Jennie J., born November 10, 1879. Mr. Barnhart is a self-made man. When he first commenced to farm for him- self, he rented land for five years, and then bought 160 acres of land for $3,300; of the

160 acres, he partly sold and donated one and a half acres to the St. John's Cemetery. His farm has good improvements. He has served his neighbors in the capacity of School Director. In politics, he is a Demo- crat, and a thorough, energetic prohibition- ist. Mr. and Mrs. Barnhart are members of the Reformed Church.

MOSES CASPER, farmer, P. O. Wetang, Ill., is a son of Peter and Catharine (Frick) Casper, and was born January 5, 1833, in Rowan County, N. C. His father was a farmer, born also in North Carolina, January 12, 1797, and died February 25, 1855. The mother was born February 3, 1804, and died March 26, 1864. The parents' family con- sisted of ten children, only two of whom are living-Eve Caroline, born June 26, 1841, the wife of Nathaniel Earnhart, of this county, and our subject. The latter received his early education in the old time schools of his native county, and he afterward attended a little in Union County, his parents remov- ing here in the fall of 1853. He started in life as a farm hand, assisting his father till the latter's death. He afterward purchased the home place from the other heirs, and now has 175 acres, which is given to general farming. For a few years past he has run a distillery on the place, which turns out ap- plejack of an enviable quality. September 27, 1863, our subject was united in marriage to Anna Hoffner, born December 24, 1845, a daughter of Levi and Mary Hoffner. Seven children have blessed the happy union all of whom are living-Malinda, born Sep- tember 22, 1864, wife of J. H. Beaver; Eleanora, March 6, 1867; Matilda, Novem-

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ber 10, 1869; Huldab, March 6, 1872; Silas December 27, 1874; Laura, November 21, 1877, and Flora, August 3, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Casper are members of the German Re- formed Church. In politics, he votes the Democratic ticket.

JACOB M. COSTLEY, farmer, resi- dence Dongola, was born August 8, 1846, in Union County, Ill., a son of Franklin and Catharine (Davault) Costley. His father was a general mechanic, and died when Jacob was small. The parents were blessed with three children, two of whom are living -- Mary C. and our subject. The mother is still living, and was married a second time, to Frederick Allbright, by whom she had four children, two living-Malinda and George W. The only schooling our subject received was in the common schools of Union County. Farming has always been his occu- pation. He at present owns 120 acres of land, forty of which lie within the corpora- tion of Dongola. He was first married, in 1868, to Sarah E. Childers, a daughter of George W. and Caroline Childers. She died in 1876, the mother of two children, one liv- ing-Charles, born February 28, 1871. He was married again, in 1879, to Emaline An- drew, a daughter of James Andrew, of this county. She died shortly afterward, the mother of one child, who died in infancy. In politics, Mr. Costley is a Democrat.

· ANDREW J. DALE, residence Dongola, was born in Wilson County, Tenn., July 14, 1832, a son of James P. and Nancy (Avant) Dale. The father was a native of Maryland, born July 15, 1804, a son of William Dale. The mother was born in North Carolina Jan- uary 7, 1811. Both of the parents are living, and have been blessed with eleven children, nine of whom are living. The early educa- tion of our subject was received in his native county. At the age of nineteen, he came to

Illinois, locating in Jefferson County, and was variously engaged up to the opening of the war. In July, 1861, he enlisted for three years in the Second Illinois Cavalry, Col. Noble, which, during the term of its enlist- ment, did mostly detached service, scouting up and down the Mississippi. They were engaged in several hot skirmishes, and at Hudson, Miss., our subject was taken prisoner and sent to Oxford, and thence to Cahaba, Ala. He was successively removed to Andersonville, Milan and Savannah, at which latter place he remained until Febru- ary, 1865. He was first married, December 1. 1867, to Eliza J. Riddle, widow of David Riddle. She died March 12, 1874, leaving two children -- James H., born September 6, 1868, and Ida May, March 17, 1873. He was married a second time, February 24, 1876, to Charlotte F. Davis, born July 27, 1844, a daughter of Solomon and Nancy Davis. Mr. and Mrs. Dale are the parents of four chil- dren, three of whom are living-Alonzo S., born March 1, 1877; Luella, August 25, 1878; Charles A., deceased; and Arley, July 9, 1882. Mr. Dale is a member of the I. O. O. F., Dongola Lodge, No. 343. Politically, he is a Republican.

GEORGE W. EDIE, saloon, Dongola, is a native of Hancock County, W. Va., born September 2, 1844, the eldest child of Samuel and Elizabeth L. (Pugh) Edie, both natives of the same county. The father was a car- penter, and died in 1863, aged fifty-four years. The mother is still living at the old home in West Virginia, aged seventy-two years. They were the parents of eight chil- dren, five of whom are living. The early schooling of our subject was obtained in the common schools of his native county, and in later years he attended the Iron Mountain Commercial College of Pittsburgh, Penn. April 16, 1861, he enlisted in the First Vir-

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ginia Infantry, Col. Kelley, and was engaged in several active skirmishes. In the follow- ing August, he re-enlisted in the same regi- ment, Col. Thoburn, and took an active part in the principal battles of the Virginia cam- paign. Before his three years of enlistment had expired, the First and Fourth Virginia were consolidated. and named the Second West Virginia Veteran Volunteer Infantry, Col. Thoburn. Our subject re-enlisted in this regiment, which, till the close of the war, . did valuable service in the Shenandoah Val- lay, their brave Colonel being killed in the engagement at Cedar Creek, made memorable as the point to which Sheridan made his famous ride from Winchester. Our subject was mustered out in August, 1865, at Wheel- ing, W. Va. During his long service he sus- tained but two wounds, one a saber cut in the head, the other caused by an ounce ball passing through his right thigh. In the spring of 1866, he went to Cairo, Ill., and for a short period was engaged in boating between that point and St. Louis. Since then he has worked in, owned and operated several saw mills in Pulaski and Union Counties, Ill. He was married. July 5, 1868, in Anna, Union County, to Emma P. Sackett, and by her has two children -- Lillie May, born July 19, 1870, and Arthur Hugh, November 1, 1872. August 1, 1882, our subject opened a saloon in Dongola, which he has since run. He belongs to the I. O. O. F., Dongola Lodge, No. 343, and is a Republican in poli- tics.

SAMUEL J. FITE, cooper, Dongola, is a native of Rowan County, N. C. He was born in September, 1840, a son of Henry and Susan (Lemly) Fite, both natives of Rowan County, and both died when Samuel was small. The father was a farmer, and had been twice married, his first wife being a Miss Fraley, by whom he had three children,

all deceased. The parents of our subject were blessed with six children, three of whom are living. Mary Ann, Henry and Samuel. Being deprived of parental care at an early age, a Mr. Solomon Peeler was ap- pointed his guardian, but Samuel preferred going to his uncle, who kindly permitted him to attend school every winter for a period of about four years. He afterward lived, for about seven years, with Samuel Rothrock, a Lutheran minister. In the meantime, his guardian, to whom was intrusted a large amount of property, invested the same in Confederate bonds, etc., and becoming finally embarrassed fled the country, thereby causing a total loss to Samuel of over $8,000, which was the latter's share of his father's estate. In July, 1861, our subject enlisted in the Fifth North Carolina Volunteer Infantry, Col. McRae. The regiment participated in the first battle of Bull Run, and went through the entire war. At Gettysburg, Mr Fite was taken prisoner, and held as such un til released some eighteen months later. He sustained several slight wounds during his long service. He had been promoted from private to Second Lieutenant. In the fall of 1866, he came West, and located in Dongola two years later. Here he was married, Octo- ber 11, 1868, to Malinda Peeler, born April 28, 1849, a daughter of Alexander and Melissa (Freeze) Peeler, and by her has five children, four of whom are living -- Nellie, born June 15, 1870; Albion, March 21, 1872; Wendon, January 25, 1874, and Alexander, October 7, 1882. Mr. Fite picked up the cooper's trade himself, and ran a shop in Dongola for about eight years. He is at pres- ent employed in the shop of Frank Neibauer. He and wife are members of the Lutheran Church, and in politics he votes the Demo- cratic ticket.

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History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 99

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