History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois, Part 88

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : O. L. Baskin
Number of Pages: 758

USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois > Part 88
USA > Illinois > Bond County > History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois > Part 88

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).

JAMES ROGERS, farmer, P. O. McVey, was born in Macoupin County, Ill., January 11, 1838; his early life was spent in receiv- ing such an education as the common schools of his native county afforded, and assisting in tilling the soil of his father's farm. At the age of fourteen years. he was brought to

1 Montgomery County by his parents, who set- tled on the same farm he is now residing on; he remained with his parents to the age of twenty-four, when he married and entered upon his career in life as a farmer, at which he still continues, having, by his industry and business habits, succeeded in accumulat- ing ninety-five acres of land, all of which ing about two hundred head. He is now the | (eighty-five improved and ten acres of tim- owner of eighty acres of land, but generally works about three hundred; his farm is well improved, and under a high state of cultiva- tion. At St. Louis, October 25, 1864, he mar- ried Miss Hannah P. Houck, a native of Ma- coupin County, Ill., who was born June 14, 1839; she is the daughter of Ross and Lu- cinda A. (Gunterman) Houck; he was a native of Pennsylvania; she was of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Richards are the parents of one child. Frank Claud; he was born March 9, 1882. Mr. Richards is now serving the peo- , spent in following the occupation of farming; ple on his second term as Justice of the Peace; he also has been School Director for a number of years. Mr. Richards is a mem- ber of the fraternity of A., F. & A. M., No. 166, at Rockford; of the Grangers' Lodge, Maple Grove Grange, at Pitman Township; was Master of the same for several years, and Sec- retary of County Council for several years; in poilties, is identified with the Republican party; he and wife are religiously connected ber) is under a high state of cultivation; in 1878, upon his farm he erected, by his own design, a handsome frame cottage; upon his farm he makes stock-raising and all general crops a specialty; his farm is located mostly in Montgomery County, his timber land be- ing in Macoupin County. The father of this gentleman, Benjamin K. Rogers, was born in Greene County, Ky., January 30, 1815; emi- grated with his parents to Montgomery County, Ill., in the fall of 1830; his life was was a man who stood high in the estimation of his fellow-men; at the time of his death, he was holding the office of School Treasurer, and, in Macoupin County, served several terms as Justice of the Peace, and as many terms in Montgomery. County; he joined the M. E. Church in 1850, and, at the time of his death, was a faithful member; he lived to see all his children but one in the church; his death occurred December 11, 1868; dur

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ing his life, he succeeded in accumulating a good farm, all of which he improved; his wife, and mother of our subject, was Lydia Snow, who was born in Simpson County, Ky., May 26, 1816, and died January 19, 1850; she was the mother of eight children, seven of whom are now living, James Rogers being the third child. He was married, in Green- field, Greene County, November 13, 1861, to Eglantine, the daughter of Valentine and Louisa (Madison) Caswell; Mrs. Rogers was born in Greene County, Ill., December 29, 1843; her father was born in Shawneetown, Ill., June 12, 1820; he has, during his life, been engaged in farming, but is now retired, and residing in Greenfield, Ill .; his wife was born in Ohio June 8, 1824, and died March 7, 1853. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are the par- ents of four children-Rollie B. is now the wife of Edgar Massa, of Macoupin County; Dora M., Frederick O., Grant V., at home. Mr. Rogers is now serving the people as School Director of the township; self and family are members of the Methodist Church ; politically, he is identified with the Repub- licaus.

he returned, and, to keep from starving, used a coffee-mill to grind corn enough to live on. In 1847, he returned to Macoupin County and engaged in farming, which he followed for about one year, after which he again worked by the month, or day, at carpentering, and, in fact, at anything he could find to do and receive a compensation for his labors. In 1856, he went to Texas, where he followed hunting; while there, he bought 600 acres of land, but was defrauded out of it by the last rebellion; he returned to Montgomery County, Ill., in 1857, and, in 1861, bought 120 acres of unimproved land in Pitman Township, upon which he removed his family in 1862; here he has since remained, engaged princi- pally in raising stock; his farm now consists of 231 acres of land, all of which is under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Street com- menced life a poor man; by his honesty, in- dustry and economy, he has succeeded in ac- cumulating a good property now, in the later years of his life, he is surrounded with those comforts and enjoying those pleasures that are ever the result of honesty, industry and economy. Mr. Street was married, April 3. Illinois in 1838; she was the mother of seven children, of whom six are now living -- An- drew T., Sarah C., John W., Jennie A .. Charles M., Antoinette G. and Bessie Lula, all of whom are at home. The father of Mr. Street was born in Virginia in 1785, and died in 1855; he was a farmer and stone-mason; he was among the early settlers of Kentucky, and also of Illinois; his wife, and mother of J. D. Street, was born in Virginia August 26, 1788; was brought to Kentucky by her parents when quite a small child; she died November 4, 1836; she was the mother of eleven children, of whom our subject was the sixth child. In politics, Mr. Street is a Re- publican ; is a member of Washington

JOHN D STREET, retired farmer, Girard, 1862, to Mary E. Banning; she was born in was born in Shelby County, Ky., August 10, 1820, to David and Catharine (Duncan) Street: his early life was spent in receiving a common-school education and assisting in tilling the soil of his father's farm; he was brought to Illinois, Macoupin County, by his parents, in 1831; in 1841, he left home and embarked on his career in life as a hired hand; in 1842, he moved to Iowa, where he remained four years, and, while there, exper ienced many hardships, such as are found in a pioneer life; one instance he remembers of going sixty miles to a mill to get his corn ground, and, after making the trip, found it. impossible to get his grist, as the water was so high as to prevent the running of the mill;

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Grange, Lodge No. 970, of Pitman Town- ship; in the lodge, he has acted as Treasurer; he and wife are members of the Christian Church.

PETER STUMP, farmer, P. O. Girard, was born in Hocking County, Ohio, June 1, 1819, to John and Catharine (Fouster) Stump; he was born in Pennsylvania in 1797; was brought to Hocking County, Ohio, by his par- ents when a child; here he remained until 1857, when he removed to Illinois: during his life, followed the occupation of a farmer, and died in Montgomery County in 1872; was of German parentage; she was born in Pennsylvania in 1807; her parents were na- tives of Germany; she died in 1852. They were the parents of twelve children-six boys and six girls-of whom Peter was the third child. His early life was spent in receiving such an education as the common schools of Hocking County, Ohio, afforded, and assist- ing in tilling the soil of his father's farm; he remained at home until he was twenty-five years of age, when he embarked on his career in life as a hired hand in a saw-mill. In I852, he removed to Knox County, III .. where he remained two years, following farming and working in a saw-mill; in 1854. he re- moved to Maconpin County, where he com- menced farming on rented property; by his honesty, industry and economy, he succeeded in saving some money, with which, in 1862. he bought 160 acres of partially improved land; here he has since remained. engaged in agricultural pursuits; he is now the owner of 210 acres of land, all of which is under a high state of cultivation. In 1845, in Hock- ing County, Ohio, he married Miss Samancy Bushy, a native of Ohio; she died in 1857; she was the mother of four children-John, married, living in Missouri; Daniel, married, near Harvel, Ill .; Catharine, wife of Rutledge Fox, of Pitman; Luelza, dead. In 1860, he

married Mrs. Nancy Mays: she was born in Greene County, Ill .; she is the mother of one child. Lydia Ann, now at home. Politically, he is a Democrat; himself and wife are re- ligiously connected with the Methodist Church. When he first commenced life as a hired hand in the saw-mill, he worked three years and only missed seven days; worked a portion of the nights; he worked very hard to make a living.

GEORGE W. WAGGONER, deceased, was born in Hardin County, Ky., October S, 1826, to Adam and Mary Ann (Terry) Wag- goner, natives of Kentucky. The Waggoner family is of German extraction, but came to America before the war of the Revolution; in the struggle, they espoused the patriot cause, and bore their part in the struggle to throw off the yoke of British oppression. David, Adam Waggoner's father, was a soldier in the war, and he was the fortunate father of a family who have ever been loyal to the calls of their country. Adam Waggoner was born January 30, 1800, and died August 8, 1860; his wife was born August 11, 1800, and died January 26, 1874: she was the daughter of Jasper and Sarah Terry; this family is of English descent, and has a history running back to the period of the earliest settlements of this country. George Waggoner was brought to Jersey County, Ili., in 1830, by his parents, who were among the first to en- ter upon pioneer life in the then far West; his early life was spent upon the homestead farm, assisting in improvements and in all the agricultural pursuits incident to early pioneer industries; his educational privileges were limited to the common schools at that early day. In 1849, he entered 480 acres of wild prairie land in Montgomery County, which he eventually increased until he had in his possession about eight hundred acres of land, nearly all of which he improved, and

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which, as a practical farmer, he kept in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Waggoner was one of the few men possessing all the energy and enterprise of a man bound to make his mark in the world; he entered upon his career in life comparatively a poor man, and his subse- quent possessions represented the dollars earned by himself, and through the result of his good management and thorough and prac- tical business ability; he was a public-spirited man, always interested in all public improve- ments and enterprises, and generous in his donations for the advancement of educational and church privileges; he was for a number of years prior to his death an active member of the Baptist Church, and, in his daily walk in life, emulated the principles of Christian- ity. He was married. in Macoupin County, Ill., December 2, 1851, to Elizabeth J. Mc- Collough, and. during the fifteen years of married life, Mr. Waggoner proved himself to be a kind father and devoted husband; his death occurred September 29, 1866; he was the father of four children, viz .: Horace G., George B., Henry Q. and John M., all of whom have grown to maturity. Mrs. Wag- goner was born in Rockingham County, Va .; March 22, 1827; at the death of her husband, she was left with a family of small children, the oldest of whom was but eleven years of age; she took upon herself the management of the property and support of her children; she is a lady possessing all the womanly graces, combined with energy and enterprise, and she also has the faculty of managing bus- iness affairs with a shrewdness and ability which but few women possess, whether thrown upon their own resources through misfortune or otherwise; she has added to the property, left by her husband, about twelve hundred acres of land, and most of which is now rented, but all of which has been under her own management: she is now surrounded by her

children, in the declining days of her life, which to her is a comfort and a blessing; the farm lands now consist of about twenty-two hundred acres of land, which Mrs. Waggoner and her sons have mutually decided to divide the property without the assistance of admin- istrators or otherwise. Mrs. Waggoner was a daughter of John and Sarah (McCrea) Mc- Collough; he was a native of Belfast, Ireland, born September 24, 1791, and was one of the early settlers of Macoupin County; he was a farmer by occupation; his death occurred An- gnst 30, 1844; his wife was born in Pendle- ton County, Va., March 27, 1799; she died April 30, 1851; she was the mother of eight children, of whom Mrs. Waggoner was the second child; she was educated in the com- mon schools of Macoupin County. Mrs. Waggoner may well be proud of her family of boys, all of whom are steady and indus- trious, following business in a manner like their father; her father was in the war of 1812.

WINTER P. WAGGONER, stock-raiser, P. O. Decatur, was born in Pitman Town- ship, Montgomery Co., Ill., April 8, 1861, to William R. and Sarah R. (MeCollough) Wag- goner; he was born in Jersey County, III., September 9, 1833, where he received his education; he remained in his native county with his parents, assisting in tilling the soil of his father's farm until he was twenty-one years of age, when he removed to Pitman Township, Montgomery County, and entered a small tract of land; here he remained, en- gaged in farming and stock-raising, during his life, and succeeded in accumulating 1,300 acres of land, all of which he improved and put under a high state of cultivation; in con- nection with his farming and stock-raising, he shipped a great deal of stock, finding a market in St. Louis for the same; for about five years previous to his death, which oc-

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curred January 20, 1871, he followed the lat- ter business alone; was a member of the Bap- tist Church; his father was Adam Waggoner, who was of German descent; his mother, was Mary A. (Terry) Waggoner, who was of En- glish descent. Adam Waggoner served through the Black Hawk war as Captain; in the possession of our subject is a rifle used by his grandfather. Adam Waggoner came from Kentucky, his native place. William Waggoner was married, in Macoupin County, April 16, 1857, to Sarah R. McCollough; she was born in Virginia December 3, 1832, and died June 2. 1866; she was the mother of four children, two of whom died in infancy ; our subject, Winter P., and E. Leroy, are now living; E. Leroy was born September 23, 1863; is now clerking in dry goods store of W. C. Miller & Co., of Hillsboro. In 1867, in Greene County, Mr. Waggoner married a second time, Susan C. Race, a native of Vir- ginia; she died in 1880, aged thirty eight years; she was the mother of one child. S. Colfax Waggoner, who is following the occupation of a farmer. Adam Waggoner was born January 30, 1800, in Hardin Coun- ty, Ky .; emigrated to Illinois in the year IS30; he died August 8, 1860; he was a farmer; his wife, and grandmother of our subject, was Mary A. (Terry) Waggoner, born August 11, 1800, in Virginia; she died in January, 1874; they had seven children, of whom Winter was the third child. Our sub- ject received his education at Valparaiso, Ind., at the Northern Normal School, and the Blackburn University, at Carlinville, in con- nection with his common-school education; his father died when he was ten years old, when he made his home with William Sew- ard, and remained there four years, when he made his home in Pitman Township. In the fall of 1879, he commenced farming, and con- tinued the same until the fall of 1981, when

he removed to Decatur, where he has since re- mained, enjoying himself. He was married, March 7, 1850, in Carlinville, to Miss Cora B. Renshaw, a native of Decatur, Ill .; she was born January 20, 1861; is the danghter of Lucius and Martha J. (Walker) Renshaw, he born in Nashville, Tenn., October 27. 1824, died December 27, 1862; he was a contractor, and was the owner of about four hundred acres of land near Decatur; she was born October 22, 1838, in Carlinville, Ill .; she is now residing in Decatur, and is now the wife of William Taggart. Mr. and Mrs. Waggoner are the parents of one child, Win- ter Preston, Jr .; he was born January 7, 1SS1; in politics, is identified with the Republican party. Mr. Waggoner is the owner of 540 acres of land, lying principally in Pitman and Zanesville Townships, it being one of the finest farms of the townships; upon his farm he has all modern improvements, and it is under a high state of cultivation, upon which he intends to remove in the spring of 1883. and engage in stock-raising; he and wife ex- pect to spend the summer at Eureka Springs, in Arkansas.

WILLIAM B. WOOD, farmer, P. O. Mc- Vey. The father of this gentleman, Alfred Wood, was born in Tennessee in about 1817; emigrated to Montgomery County with his parents in about 1820; during his life, he followed the occupation of a farmer; he died in about 1847; his wife, and mother of our subject, was Malinda Baker; she was born in Arkansas in about 1812, and died in about 1852; she was the mother of seven children, of whom William B. Wood was the oldest child. He was born in Montgomery County April 2, 1842; his early life was spent in re- ceiving such an education as the common schools of his native county afforded, and in assisting in tilling the soil of his father's farm; he remained at home to the age of

PITMAN TOWNSHIP.

nineteen, when he embarked on his career in life as a farm hand; he continued as a hired hand until he was twenty years of age, when he rented a farm of forty acres in Pitman Township, where he commenced farming on his own account; he remained here about six months, and removed to Honey Bend and commenced farming on the old homestead farm; in 1862, he bought thirty-five acres in Pitman Township, of timber land; upon this farm he remained only about one year, when he sold out and bought forty acres of the same farm he is now residing on; here he has since remained, engaged in farming. In 1862, February 27, he married Miss Mary E. Miller; she was born in Montgomery County March 18, 1845, and died June 11, 1864; she

was the mother of one child, Julia A .; she was born August 16, 1863; is at home. On March 15, 1866, he married Miss Hiley A. Rogers; she was born in Macoupin County September 15, 1843; she is the mother of four children-Nancy M., born May 4, 1867; Alfred B., born October 13, 1869; William E., born February 24, 1872; Nellie, born Feb- ruary 10, 1876. Mr. Wood is now serving the people in his third term as Justice of the Peace; himself and wife are members of the Methodist Church; politically, is identified with the Republican party. In 1865, he en- listed in Company A, One Hundred and Forty-ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteer In- fantry; he served one year and twelve days.

com

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BOIS D'ARC TOWNSHIP.

GEORGE H. BROWNING, farmer, P. O. Girard, was born in Greene County, Ill., April 22, 1834; his education was obtained in the common schools of his native county, where his early life was spent in assisting his grand- father upon a farm. At the age of eighteen, he returned home and took upon himself the support of his mother and her family, which duties he performed until he reached the age of twenty-five years, when he embarked upon his career in life as a farmer. and has fol- lowed that occupation up to the present time; his first purchase of real estate was in Greene County, and consisted of forty acres of land, which he improved, added to and eventually sold; in 1866, he purchased the property he now owns, and has built most of the build- ings and made all other improvements which are usually found upon a well-regulated farm, and everything about the premises confirms the reputation Mr. Browning bears as being a successful and enterprising farmer; he has. by his energy and industry, accumulated a large property, and now owns 200 acres of choice prairie farm land, all of which, as a practical farmer, he keeps in a high state of cultivation, and upon which he grows all of the usual farm crops; he also raises all the stock he handles upon his place. He was married, in Greene County, December 20, 1860, to Lonisa E. Adcock, who was born in Greene County April 15, 1838; she has borne him twelve children, viz .: Maxie J. (wife of George Simon), Edward M., William A., Cora L. (deceased), George C., Lena L., John W., Jacob O., Sarah E., Aquilla E., Perry L., Myrtle (an infant). Mrs. Browning was a

daughter of Issan and Rachael (Stinnet) Ad- cock, natives of Kentucky, he deceased, she still living. Matiac Browning, the father of George, was a native of Kentucky, and was one of the early settlers of Greene County ; he was a preacher by profession; his death oc- curred in 1842; his wife, Maxie Wood, was also a native of Kentucky; she died in 1860; she was the mother of nine children, of whom George, our subject, was the fourth. Polit- ically, he is identified with the Democratic party. Mrs. Browning is connected with the Baptist Church.

WILLIAM EVANS, farmer, P. O. Vir- den, was born in Pittsburgh, Penn., February 12, 1828, and was brought to Illinois when but nine years of age; his father, Henry Evans, settled in Alton when there were but three log houses in the town; he remained there about twenty years, engaged in blacksmith- ing. and his was the first shop in the town; he was a native of Ireland, and, when twenty- four years of age, emigrated to America with his wife and one child; he died in 1861, aged sixty-five years; his wife, Isabella Gordon, was also a native of Ireland; she died in 1854, aged fifty-seven years; she was the mother of nine children, of whom William was the sec- ond child. He assisted his father in his. shop until he was nineteen years of age, when the family removed from Alton and settled upon a farm, where the father of our subject remained, engaged in agricultural pursuits up to the time of his death. William re- mained upon the farm until he reached the age of twenty-three years, when he entered upon his career in life, following in the foot-

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steps of his father, as a blacksmith; he con- tinued in that occupation at Otter Creek, Jer- sey County, about twenty years, at the end of which time he again took upon himself the duties of a farm life, purchased the prop- erty upon which he now resides, and upon which he has made all the improvements, which denote his energy and enterprise as a man, and show him to be a practical farmer; his farm consists of 160 acres of choice land, all of which is under cultivation; although he grows all of the usual farm crops, he makes a specialty of grain. He was married, in Jersey County, April 7, 1847, to Miss Louisiana Noble, who was born in Missis- sippi July 4, 1829; she has borne him eight children, viz .: Henry (deceased), Isabella, Martha Ann, Albert, Kate, Benjamin, Hattie, William (deceased). Mrs. Evans was a daughter of Solomon and Louisiana (So- journer) Noble, natives of Mississippi. Mr. Evans has served the people as Supervisor two years: was once elected Justice of the Peace, but declined to serve; politically, he is identitied with the Republican party; he has been a member of the I. O. O. F. for a number of years, and is also an active member of the A., F. & A. M. at Virden. So- cially, he ranks high in the community, and in him are found the elements which, com- bined, make a man a good neighbor, a kind husband and an indulgent father.

CHARLES T. HOPPIN, farmer, P. O. White Oak, was born in Madison County, N. Y., June 8, 1817, where he received his edu- cation in the common schools, and assisted his father upon the old homestead until he was twenty-five years of age, when he married and engaged in farming for himself. He remained in New York three years, and then concluded to try the pioneer life in the then far West, and settled in Sangamon County, Ill, where he began handling sheep upon

the prairies, and was at one time one of the largest sheep and wool dealers in the State; by his energy, he also accumulated a large amount of land in Sangamon and Montgomery Counties, which he improved and cultivated himself, and held a position as one of the practical farmers of the day. He was mar- ried, in 1842, to Eliza McConnell, who bore him three children, who grew to manhood and womanhood; she died in 1853, and, two years later, he was again married, to Phinett Parmeter, who is still living, and is the mother of eight children, all of whom are living, and all at home. Politically, Mr. Hoppin is a Republican.

WILLIAM A. KNOCK, farmer, P. O. Vir- den, was born in Fulton Connty, Ill., August 27, 1833: his education was limited to such as could be obtained in the common schools of his native county; during his school days, and up to the time he was twenty-nine years of age, assisted his father upon the old home- stead; at the breaking-out of the war, he en- tered the service in Company F, Eighty- fourth Illinois Infantry, with Capt. C. B. Cox, his regiment commanded by Col. Wa- ters; he remained in the service until the close of the war, and then purchased the prop- erty he now owns, and once again took npon himself the duties of a farm life; he erected a fine farm dwelling, which does honor to the county and to Mr. Knock as an architect; he has also made all the other improvements that are necessary on a well-regulated farm, such as outbuildings, orchards, fences, etc. ; his farm consists of 120 acres of fine tarm land, which, as a practical farmer, he keeps in a high state of cultivation, and which denotes his energy and enterprise, and makes him worthy of the position he holds as one of the leading agriculturists of the county; he has always taken a leading part in all public im- provements and in educational privileges; so-

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History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois, Part 88

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago : O. L. Baskin Number of Pages: 758

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : O. L. Baskin
Number of Pages: 758