USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois > Part 75
USA > Illinois > Bond County > History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois > Part 75
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96
WILLIAM S. LEA, grocer, Litchfield, was born in Yorkshire, England, in Febru- ary, 1830, and came to the United States in 1848; he learned the trade of stone-cutter and mason at Spofforth, England, beginning at the age of thirteen years and serving nearly six years' apprenticeship. In the United States he was contractor and bridge-builder on several railroads until 1859, first working on the Des Moines Canal, in Iowa and Mis- souri, and afterward on the Alton & Chicago Railroad with his two brothers, building the masonry from Alton to Carlinville; on the Pacific Railroad he constructed the bridge across the Des Pres River; he was employed on the masonry of the Illinois Central Rail- road bridge spanning the Little Wabash, and the Iron Mountain bridge across the Merri-
171
LITCHFIELD.
mac River; in 1857, he took contract for grading and masonry of five miles on the West Branch of the Pacific Railroad, at the completion of which, in 1859, he settled on a farm in Macoupin County, Ill., which he operated until 1866, when he removed to Litchfield. Ill., and for two years was a con- tractor on the North Missouri Railroad. In 1568, he embarked in the grocery business in Litchfield, continuing until 1876, when a fire destroyed the entire stock and building, cov- ered by only partial insurance; from that pe- riod until 1881, he managed his farm and other interests, and in the latter year again opened a grocery on State street, in which he is still doing a good business. Samuel Lea, the father of William S., was a surveyor and civil engineer, and came to Illinois in 1850, and for two years resided in Alton, then re- moved to Centralia, where both parents died in 1857, of milk sickness. Our subject mar- ried, April 30, 1852, Miss Caroline Barrett, youngest daughter of Elisha Barrett, one of the early settlers of Greene County, Ill. Eli- sha Barrett was born in the State of Virginia, of Scotch-Irish parentage, somewhere about the year 1779; he came to Kentucky when small, with his parents, who settled near Lex- ington, where, on reaching manhood, he mar- ried Mary Jenkins, an English lady, by whom he had twelve children, five of whom are still living; he became the owner of a large landed estate in Oldham County, Ky., on which he farmed until about 1836, when he was dis- possessed of his property by a prior French claim, and sought a home in the West, set- tling in Greene County, this State, where he resided until his death, in January, 1845; his widow, left with a large family, subse- quently removed to Alton, Ill., where she died in 1851. Mr. and Mrs. Lea are the parents of eight children, three of whom died in in- fancy, and four are living-Edwin, a farmer
of this county; Charlie; Harry, who died at the age of seventeen; Jennie and Sammy.
PRESTON SHEPHERD, farmer, P. O. Litchfield, was born in Kentucky on Novem- ber 7, 1832. When an infant, he was brought to Illinois by his parents, who settled east of Hillsboro, Montgomery County, but, after a few years, removed to Section 15, North Litchfield Township; his father owned 120 acres of timber land there, and died on the farm where Bluford Bandy now lives, leaving a wife and four children, two of whom are deceased. Hiram Shepherd, the only brother of our subject, lives in the eastern part of Montgomery County. The widowed mother, Mrs. Anna (Brown) Shepherd, died in 1846, leaving our subject at the age of fourteen, an orphan without means; she had been pre- viously married to Mr. Henry Hill, and had two children of that marriage. When thrown upon his own resources at so early an age, Mr. Shepherd worked by the month, doing different kinds of work; he was frugal, and, with his savings, purchased his brothers' and sisters' interests in their father's estate; hav- ing gotten that in his possession, he farmed it until 1862, when he exchanged it for his present farm in Section 16, of 120 acres, to which he since has added largely. Mr. Shep- herd has lived here just twenty years, during which period he has been very successful rais- ing grain; he has now 330 acres of land, all earned by his own labor and perseverance, except the one-fourth interest bequeathed him of his father's farm of 120 acres. In 1857, he married Miss Sarah A. Thompson, daughter of Peter Thompson, a farmer of this county; he is the father of eight children, three of whom are deceased.
JOSEPH STREHLE, retired, Litchfield, was born in the town of Aeffingen, Wurtem- berg, Germany, on June 10, 1835; he attended school until he attained the age of fourteen
172
BIOGRAPHICAL:
years, and then served three years' apprentice- ship to the trade of wood-turning. In 1854, he came to the United States, locating in New York City, where he entered a bakery, re- maining one year; the following year. he came to Alton, Ill., and conducted a confec- tionery and restaurant business there until 1866, when he came to Litchfield, Ill .; here he established a bakery, which he conducted until 1880 with fair success, and then sold out on account of feeble health. At Alton. in 1860, he married Miss Mary Eiter, who died five years later, leaving two daughters. He married Miss Minnie Weipert, of Litch- field, in 1868, which union has been blessed with one son. His father, John Strehle, was a farmer and baker, and died when our sub- ject was but nine years old; his mother's maiden name was Barbara Menne: he has two brothers living in Wurtemberg.
EDWARD SUMMERFIELD, merchant tailor and clothier, Litchfield, was born in Posen, Prussia, on August 5, 1829; his an- cestors for several generations were mer- chants. He received his education in the common schools of Posen, and from private instruction in his father's home, which, at the age of sixteen years, he left, and traveled in England, selling merchandise until 1856, when he came to the United States, landing in New York in September. From there by ocean route he went to New Orleans, thence to St. Louis, Mo., which place he reached in March, 1857, with small means; he traveled thence into Illinois for one year, with mer- chandise, and, during that period, decided to locate here, which he did on March 13, 1858; he opened a stock of clothing, and was the first regular clothier to locate here; his first stock cost $850, and his business has grown steadily from year to year: by close attention to buisness, he has built up a large trade; for several years he conducted the business
personally, until it largely increased, and, since 1870, has admitted some of his employes into partnership, and at the marriage of his daughter, in 1880, the present firm, Summer- field & Co., consisting of Mr. Summerfield and his son-in-law. I. L. Mossler, formerly of Indianapolis, Ind .. was formed. During his twenty-four years' experience here, he has educated a goodly number of young men in the clothing trade, many of whom are now very successful business men; in 1867. he added a merchant tailoring department, and now occupies two large business rooms; in his business and manufacturing department, he employs twenty men. In 1880, Mr. Sum- merfield began the manufacture of gas for the purpose of lighting his business rooms, which are illuminated by fifty-four jets; his stock has grown with consecutive years of active labor and constantly increasing sales, from $850 to $50,000 per year.
C. R. STEVENSON, passenger and freight agent of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad. Litchfield, was born in Lawrence- burg, Ind., July 6, 1856; when quite young, he went with his parents to Indianapolis, Ind., where he lived until he was nine years old; the family then removed to New York City, where they lived until 1878. Mr. Stevenson was educated in the public schools of New York City, and in private schools in New En- gland. In the spring of 1871, he went to Europe, where he attended a preparatory school at Dresden one year, and another at Munich, Bavaria, for the same length of time, after which he spent three years there in the study of engineering in the Polytechnic In- stitute. In July, 1876. he returned, and worked on the architecture of the Coney Isl- and and Manhattan Beach Hotel, where for a time he remained as clerk. In January, 1878, he was made a clerk in the general freight office of the Wabash Railroad at Toledo,
173
LITCHFIELD.
Ohio, remaining one and a half years. He then came to Litchfield, in July, 1879, where he sinee has been passenger and freight agent of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad. His father, Columbus S. Stevenson, was born in New Orleans, La., in 1817, but moved to Kentucky when young, and lived in that State and in Indiana until after the late war, in which he served, being Paymaster; later, he was Cashier of the State National Bank of Indiana, at Indianapolis; he is now Inspector of the Manhattan Elevated Railroad. He married, in New York City, Miss Julia Ellis, a native of that city.
F. M. STRATTON, physician Litchfield, was born in Jefferson County, Ind., Septem- ber 22, 1829, and, being left an orphan at an early age, he began, when nine years old, to earn a living and secure an education for himself; he was employed in a drug store at that place for a period of one and a half years; at the age of thirteen, he removed to Jefferson County, Ky., thence to Henry County, Ky., where, at the age of seventeen, he began to learn the trade of carpentering, at which he hoped to earn means to pay for an education; he served as apprentice three years, and then began taking contracts. In the evening, after his work by the fire- light he studied medicine, being without a tutor; his early education was obtained through many difficulties, and all his spare hours were devoted to earnest study of the profession he has since adopted and now practices with marked success. At the age of twenty-two years, he married, in Kentucky, and in 1852, removed to Morgan County, Ind., taking some large contracts at Morgantown, which he completed with good success. In August of the following year, he returned to Kentucky, and there his wife died in June, 1854. In the fall of that year, he entered the Medical Department of Michigan Univer-
sity at Ann Arbor, taking a six-months' course, at the close of which he entered the office of Dr. O. B. Payne, at Columbus, Adams Co., Ill. In the fall of 1855, he entered the Iowa University at Keokuk, and graduated in medicine in March, 1856. He located at Ashland, Iowa, where he practiced a short time; he then removed to Mill River, Mass., and practiced among the old Berkshire hills eighteen months, and again, in 1858, removed to Fort Madison, Iowa, where he practiced three years, leaving, in May, 1861, for Louis- ville, Ky., where, with his brother, he en- gaged in the drug business. The war coming on and cutting off Southern trade made it expedient for them to sell out their stock of drugs, which they did in less than a year, and the following winter, he took a partial course of lectures in the University of Louis- ville. In May, 1862, he landed in Hillsboro, Ill., and there became the medical partner of Dr. Owen; here he continued two years, and, in April, 1864, he started overland for Mon- tana Territory, in search of adventure, gold and health; he spent nearly two years in the mines, and returned to Illinois in July, 1866, loeating permanently in Litchfield, where he has practiced ever since, except during a por- tiou of the years 1877 and 1878, which he spent in Kentucky and Texas. Mr. Stratton's children are John A., Owen T. and Francis M. Dr. Owen was for over seventeen years in the same office with our subject.
MOSES B. SAVAGE, merchant, Litchfield, was born in Granville, Washington Co., N. Y., on June 8, 1803, and, at the age of one year, was removed by his parents to Onon- daga County; he received a good common- school education, and remained with his fa- ther until he was thirty years of age, assist- ing him on the farm and in his mills and shops. He was married, at Delphi, N. Y., in February, 1828, to a Miss Clark, who died
174
BIOGRAPHICAL:
March 12, 1830. October 23, 1835, he mar- ried Mrs. Sophia Cobb, a native of Greenville, N. Y., daughter of Aaron and Rebecca (Tut- tle) Lake. Mr. Savage had the following children: Lucia M., deceased, Marcia Ade- line, Sophia Lake and Moses. In 1833, he went to Michigan, and lived in Monroe eleven years, engaged in mercantile business; he then went back to New York, and was two years in Onondaga County; he hoped thus to regain his health, which became impaired in Michigan. In 1847, he went to New York City: residing in Brooklyn, he was Superin- tendent of a large manufacturing establish- ment for a period of ten years. He came to Litchfield in March, 1857, and formed a part ership with E. E. Litchfield in the hardware business, continuing two years; he next engaged in the dry goods business, and continued two years, after which he was a partner in mercantile business with Mr. Pal- mer, with whom, under the firm name of Palmer & Co., he was connected from 1869 to 1879, since which time he has been salesman for Mr. Towey. Mr. Savage has been in ac- tive business for nearly fifty years; he was the third Mayor of the city of Litchfield; po- litically, he was a Whig, and is a Republican.
WILLIAM B. SCHOEN, merchant, Litch- field, was born in Bavaria, Germany, on Oc- tober 13, 1843. He was in his fifth year when he came with his parents to the United States; they settled in Franklin County, Mo., and his father carried on a shoe shop there until 1853, when they removed to Baltimore, Md .; there our subject lived with them until 1857, when he came to St. Louis, Mo., and lived with an uncle, entering his employ in a gun and jewelry store, and continuing until the war broke out, when his uncle became a Sutler, attached to the Fifteenth Army Corps, and Mr. Schoen became its manager, acting as such until 1864, when he was employed in
Little Rock, Ark., for a year, as clerk; he next opened a dry goods and clothing house in Mattoon, Ill., and conducted business therein until March, 1866, when he engaged in the clothing and gents' furnishing business in Kansas City, Mo., until October, 1868, when he went to Omaha, Neb., remaining until 1870, in the clothing trade. In February, 1870, he came to Litchfield, Ill., and here became a member of the firm Levy & Schoen, J. Levy being the senior partner in the house until September 1, 1875, when he sold to his brother, S. Levy, and the new firm continued under the same name until February 18, 1878, when it was dissolved, and Mr. Schoen has since continued the business in his own name. He located at No. 45 State street, and there does a prosperous business in dry goods, millinery and fancy goods; he employs six persons, exclusive of the dress-making depart- ment, which employs from ten to fifteen la- dies. Mr. Schoen was married, in Baltimore, Md .. December 4, 1873, to Rose Mandelbaum, a native of Winchester, Va., born February 4, 1856; they have one child, Ira D.
EZRA TYLER, deceased, was born in Bos- ton, Mass., in 1793, and lived near his birth- place during his youth, receiving a good common-school education, after which he en- gaged his services as clerk until he reached manhood, when he came West to Indiana and settled on a farm near Michigan City, where he married Miss Maria Connaway; in a few years, he removed to Aurora, Ind., and there conducted a farm until 1846, when he sold out and came to Montgomery County, Ill., where he bought a farm of about five hundred acres in different sections in South Litchfield Township, about one hundred and sixty acres of which comprised that part of Litchfield City south of the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad. This portion of the county was but sparsely settled when he came, and he
175
LITCHFIELD.
was obliged to find market and trading points at Hillsboro, Carlinville and St. Louis. He erected a log cabin near the southeast corner of the city limits, now known as Tyler's Third Addition, where he lived five years, and then built the house now occupied by his son, Larkin, whose sketch is hereunto appended. Until the completion of the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad, he devoted his attention to farming, and afterward, in addition to his farming interests, he bought and enlarged a steam flouring-mill, located on the site of the present Planet Mills, and ran it several years; he then engaged in the manufacture of brick, and sold to different parties tracts of land, out of which three additions were made to the city. In politics, he was a Whig, and subse- quently a Republican, and took an active part in public affairs. He died in the fall of 1872. He was the father of twelve children, all but one born in Indiana; but three are deceased; those living are, viz .: Mrs. James Parmlee, now near Los Angelos, Cal .; Jesse, John and Shelby, residents of Kansas; Mrs. Ed C. Thorpe and Mrs. James Thalls. Those who reside in this county are Miss Almira Tyler, William and Larkin G. Larkin G. Tyler was born near Aurora, Ind., in October, 1845, and was but one year old when his parents moved to this county, where he has since resided, receiving his education here in the public schools. At the age of fifteen years, he en- gaged his services as clerk in the clothing house of A. R. Monforte, continuing his serv- ices one year, when the firm of Ludden & Forrester came here, and he engaged his serv- ices to them; the firm afterward became Lud- den & Taylor; he remained in that house some three years. In 1866, he engaged in the grocery business on Jackson street, and for eight years conducted business there. In June, 1877, he became Assistant Postmaster, serving for a short time, when he became
agent for the American and the United States Express Companies, which agencies he re- tained until the latter was superseded by the Pacific Express Company, since which time he has conducted the agency of the American Express Company exclusively. He represents several fire insurance companies. He is a staneh Republican, and served as Alderman of Litchfield. In 1873, he married Miss Lytle, of Carlinville.
LUKE TERRY was born in 1833, in Har - rison County, Old Virginia (now West Vir ginia). He received a fair education in the schools of his native State, which he im- proved by his own personal efforts. On at- taining his majority, he engaged in merchan- dising, and speculating in various enterprises. In the fall of 1865, he came to Illinois, and purchased 190 acres of land in North Litch- field Township where he has since resided, engaged in farming and the raising of stock of a fine grade; he has a fine orchard on his farm. In 1857, he married Ann Eliza Mc- Kinney, a native of West Virginia, who bore him seven sons, of whom five are living. Mr. Terry lived near the West Virginia oil region, and, previous to and during the war, operated in oil and oil lands; he also dealt in horses.
J. W. THYNNE was born in Dublin, Ire- land, in 1842; his parents were of Scotch de- scent. He received his education in a paro- chial school about seventeen miles south of Dublin, having moved from the city when nine years old; left school at the age of fif- teen and worked at farming; clerked in a store for a time, and also followed the occu- pation of a fisherman. In 1862, he emigrated to the United States, and came to St. Louis, Mo, in November of that year, where he lived with his step-father, a merchant tailor of that city, until August 3, 1863, when he enlisted in Company K, Eleventh Missouri
176
BIOGRAPHICAL:
Cavalry, and served until the close of the war, in Third Brigade, Second Division of the Seventh Corps, which operated in Arkan- sas until they were ordered to New Orleans, La., where they were mustered out in 1865; he first served as private; was promoted to a Sergeancy, and afterward commissioned Sec- ond Lieutenant of his company. At the close of the war. he returned to St. Louis and en- gaged in tailoring with his step-father until 1868, studying, meanwhile, in his spare hours, at the Rohrer Commercial College of St. Louis, from which he graduated; he held the position of clerk in the office of the Chief Commissary of the Military Division of Mis- souri for thirteen months; was engaged as clerk and book-keeper in Alton, Ill., and Cleveland, Ohio, for twenty months; he was employed as book-keeper with George S. Shryock & Co., tobacco manufacturers, three years, and afterward at Victoria, Ark., as clerk, for nearly a year; he then returned to St. Louis, where he held the position of book- keeper for the Home Bitters Company six years; afterward, book-keeper in the office of the Atlantic Milling Company from Febru- ary, 1881, until August of the same year, when he came to Litchfield and bought the B. B. B. Mills, which he has since conducted under the firm name of J. W. Thynne & Co. Mr. Thynne married, in Litchfield, in 1878, Emma, daughter of Peter Boxberger, of Litchfield; the mills (old process) are situat- ed on the Bee Line; they have a capacity of about eighty barrels a day, and do a good custom and merchant business.
CHARLES T. TOBIN was born in New Orleans, La., August 25, 1849. His father, who was a grocer, moved to St. Louis when subject was two years old, and remained there three years, during which time four of subject's brothers died of cholera. The family then removed to Peoria County, Ill., in 1854,
where the father died about four years after- ward, leaving five small children. Charles T. being the second son living. The mother then moved with her family to Brimfield, Peoria County, where the boys worked at anything they could find to do for the sup- port of the family. Charles T. worked on a farm in summer and attended the town school in winter. At the age of seventeen. he en- tered the office of the Carlinville Democrat, where he remained four years, and thoroughly mastered the business in its various branches; he then obtained a position as foreman on the Cape Girardeau News: stayed about a year. and came to Hillsboro, Ill., in March, 1870; became foreman of the Hillsboro News Letter, working half time in the office. attending the remainder of the day the Hillsboro Academy, and pursuing his studies at night; he pur- chased the News Letter September 11, 1874, and, in partnership with James L. Slack. published the Hillsboro Journal, the succes- sor of the News Letter. After six months, he sold out his interest in the paper to Mr. Slack, and became foreman of the Illinois Sentinel, of Jacksonville, remaining in that position three months. He then went to Springfield, Mo., where he had been engaged as foreman in the office of the Springfield Leader. There he remained six months; was afterward foreman of the Shelbyville Leader for a short time, and, July 30, 1875, pur- chased the Hillsboro Journal, changed the name to that of the Montgomery News, and. after eight months, sold a half interest in the paper to Ben A. Johnson. After this firm had published the paper a year, George W. Pais- ley, on August 11, 1876, bought out Johnson's interest in the business; this new firm then managed the paper till February 23, 1852, when they sold out to Col. Johnson. Pais- ley & Tobin then purchased the Litchfield Democrat, changed the name to the Litchfield
177
LITCHFIELD.
Advocate, and have since conducted it under that name.
JAMES TOBIN, foreman machinery de- partment car and machine shops, Litchfield, a native of County Clare, Ireland, was born in 1838. Coming alone to America in 1850, he was for a year a student in Burr Semi- nary, Vermont, and then went to sea, sailing to Cadiz via New Orleans, and then making several voyages between New York and Liv- erpool, going next around the Horn to San Francisco; on the return voyage, he visited Callao and Lima, and then the Chincha Isl- ands; doubling Cape Horn, he sailed to En- gland, and then on order to New York. After six years of seafaring, and reaching the posi- tion of Second Mate, he abandoned nautical life and entered a machine shop under in- struction. In December, 1857, he began work here for the Terre Haute & Alton Rail- road, first as a fireman, then as clerk in the storeroom, and then for ten years as time- taker in the shops, until, in 1870, they were removed to Mattoon. When the Litchfield Car Works were opened, in 1872. he entered their service, and, in March, 1881, was fore- man of the machinery department. He mar- ried, in May, 1859, Miss Eliza Moon, a daughter of his native isle.
JOHN H. TILDEN, M. D., Litchfield. Joseph G. Tilden was born in Norwich, Windsor Co., Vt., on May 19, 1810; he was the son of John Tilden, a New Hampshire farmer; his mother's maiden name was Grace Goodrich, of Vermont, where John Tilden ultimately settled and raised his family, con- sisting of five boys and one girl. Joseph G. began his education in the common schools of Vermont, and, in that State and in Mas- sachusetts, he taught school, at the same time pursuing his medical studies; he attended lectures in the medical schools of Castleton and Woodstock, graduating at the University
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.