History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 67

Author: Bradsby, Henry C., [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago, World publishing company
Number of Pages: 776

USA > Illinois > Bureau County > History of Bureau County, Illinois > Part 67

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).

CYRUS COLTON, Wyanet, was born January 13, 1814, in St. Lawrence County, N. Y. His father, Jonathan S. Colton, was born July 3, 1781, in Bolton, Conn .; he died here December 11, 1854. For a number of years he lived in the State of New York. In the fall of 1835 he came to Bureau County. He served for a short time in the war of 1812. The mother of our subject was Betsey (Donaldson) Colton; she was born February 20, 1784, in Monson, Mass. She died Octo- ber 4, 1846, in this county. She was mar- ried November 15, 1803, iu Butternuts, Otsego Co., N. Y., and is the mother of the following children: Asa S., Heman S. and Elizabeth are deceased; Chauncey D., is now a resident of Bureau County; Cyrus, our subject; Egbert E., deceased; Lewis J., now a resident of Kansas, and Eli R., a resident of Wisconsin. Our subject, Cyrus Colton, received the benefit of a common school edu- cation in New York. Early in life he became

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a farmer, and has followed that vocation ever since. In 1835 he came to this county with his wife and his parents, having been mar- ried just before starting West, August 13, 1835, in Lewis County, N. Y., to Miss Fide- lia L. Pitcher, who died here September 22, 1879. She was the mother of five children: Mrs. Lucretia M. Eastman, deceased; Eve- line L., wife of John T. Conner; Charles P., who enlisted in August, 1861, in the Federal Army, and served faithfully to protect the stars and stripes till the close of the war (he died in 1871, aged thirty years, from disease contracted during the war); Levinia E., wife of E. D. Scott, and Seth W. Colton, who married Miss Lizzie Roberts, who is the mother of one boy-Robert P. Colton. Mr. Cyrus Colton was married a second time Jan- uary 17, 1881, to Mrs. Elizabeth Roberts, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Zearing. She died February, 1882. Mr. Cyrus Colton has been a successful farmer. His home is pleasantly located in Section 13, in Wyanet Township, and is made brighter by the pres- ence of his son and his family. The storms of life, though often severe, have left Mr. Colton a hale old man, although he has passed the allotted three score and ten.

JACOB COLVER, Westfield, was born August 23, 1806, in Lehigh County, Penn. His parents, Jacob and Susan (Miller) Colver, were natives of the same State, where they died. His grand-parents came from New England and are of English descent. His mother is of German descent. Jacob Colver is one of a family of eleven children, who were all married. He is the only one who has made Bureau County his home. He came to Illinois via the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, landing in Rock Island in December, 1845. He remained that winter in Como, Ill., and the next spring came to Princeton. where he followed his trade. In 1849 he went over- land to California, where he worked in the gold mines with moderate success, returning to Hennepin, Ill., via Panama and New Or- leans. He farmed that year near Princeton and in the spring of 1853 removed to West- field Township, where he had made a claim of 160 acres as early as 1847. He improved the land and added to it from time to time till at present he has 551 acres in Hall and West.

field Townships. Mr. Colver has been a very successful farmer and his success is due to his industry and good management. He is now reaping his reward and enjoying his competence. He is fast approaching the good old age of four score years, and to-day, in the evening of life, surrounded by happy children and grandchildren, he can be content with a retrospect of the past and calmly await the future. Religiously he is connected with the Lutheran Church, but also supports other churches. Politically he is identified with the Republican party. Mr. Colver was joined in marriage in Pennsylvania, in April 27, 1830, to Mary A. Hoffman, daughter of Michael and Mary A. (Shirey) Hoffman, na- tives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Colver was born October 23, 1806, in Lehigh County, Penn. She shared her husband's trials in early life and was a faithful helpmeet. She died here

June 4, 1880. Seven children were the re- sult of this union, viz .: Edward; Sarah C., deceased; Emeline S., deceased; Mary A., deceased; Eliza J., Jacob H., and Ellen L. Of the above, Edward Colver, of Leadville, Col., married Hannah Webb, deceased; four children, viz. : Melissa, Clara, Edward, and Lotta. Emeline S. Colver married William Tilden; children, seven: Jacob, William, Eunice, John, Alice, Ettie and Nettie, twins. Mary A. Colver married Owen Beil; one child, Sarah E. Beil. Eliza J. Colver, now a resident of Livingston County, Ill., mar- ried Ethan Jackson. Ellen L. Colver, now of Storm Lake, Iowa, married Charley Ed- wards; children three, viz .: Frank, Elbert and Eldon, the latter deceased. Jacob H. Colver married Anna Miller; children ten, viz .: Howard L., Mary A. G., Ralph W., Jacob M., Laura A., Eliza J., Mabel E., Phœbe, Edward Clyde, deceased, and George Roland. Jacob H. Colver enlisted November 24, 1861, in Company D, of the Fifty-first Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry and served nearly four years. He participated in the battles of New Madrid, Island No. 10, Corinth, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge and Resaca. At the latter battle he was shot through the arm and transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps. Since the war he has been a farmer in Bureau County.

JOSHUA J. COLVER, Hall, was born No-

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vember 24, 1832, in Rittersville, Lehigh Co., Penn. His parents, Charles and Susanna (Kem- merer) Colver, are natives of the same county and are now living near Bethlehem, North. ampton Co., Penn. They are the parents of four children, viz .: Joshua J., Maria, Mrs. Feyetta Schortz (deceased), and Charles. Joshua J. Colver was reared and educated in his native county. He was married at Allen- town, the county seat, on Christmas day, 1866, to Miss Matilda R. Lazarus, who was born August 15, 1839, in Northampton County, Penn. Her parents, Thomas and Polly (Bolliett) Lazarus, were natives of Penusyl- vania, where the former was thrown from a buggy and killed. September, 1871, at the age of sixty-two years. His wife is still liv- ing, and is the mother of nine children, viz. : Catharine, Elizabeth, Caroline, Matilda R., Jonas E., Lovina, James, Richard and Tilgh- man, who died at the age of nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Colver have three sons, viz .: John T., born July 15, 1867, William H., born March 17, 1871, and Franklin B., born July 15, 1880. Mr. Colver came to this county in 1859, and the next year he and his father bought eighty acres of land. He returned to Pennsylvania the same year and in 1867 came to Bureau County to live. His farm contains 160 acres. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Colver are members of the Lutheran Church.

OLIVER COOK, Princeton, was born July 26, 1842, near Racine, Wis. He is a son of John Cook, who was born April 30, 1812; he died here in 1872. Oliver Cook's grandfather was Larkin Cook; he was a native of Maryland and died in Vermillion County, Ill., to which he came about 1825. The Cook family is of Irish extraction. The mother of Oliver Cook was Eveline (Graves) Cook. She was born 1816,in Fayette County, | Ky., and died in 1856, in Vermillion County, Ill. She was a daughter of James and Mar- garet (Blackburn) Graves, who were also natives of Kentucky. She was the mother of ten children. Of these only three are now living, viz. : Dr. F. Cook, now a resident of Sterling, Neb., Mrs. Amanda A. Holbrooks, and Oliver, our subject, who is the oldest of the three living. He was educated princi- pally in and near Danville, Ill. He came to

to this county in 1861; here he farmed one year and then, in 1862, he enlisted in the Ninety-third Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company C. He served about eleven months, when he was honorably dis- charged on account of disability. From the fall of 1864 till the close of the war he served iu the Forty-second Regiment Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, Company K, participating in the battles of Springfield, Franklin and Nashville. After the war Mr. Cook taught school for one term in this county, and then engaged in the insurance business, making his headquarters in Wyanet, Ill. In Sep- tember, 1881, he came to Princeton and at present is engaged in the real estate business, dealing wholly in Western lands in Nebraska, and is agent for the Burlington & Mis- souri Railroad lands. Mr. Cook was mar- ried February 10, 1876, to Miss Mary E. Conkling, who was born February 5, 1851, in this county. She is the daughter of Carl and Ellen (Coulter) Conkling. Four children were the result of their marriage, viz .: Charles W., Laura E., Florence N. and an in- fant boy. Mr. and Mrs. Cook are religiously connected with the Presbyterian Church.

HENRY COOLEY, Fairfield, was born February 19, 1830, in Pittsford, Rutland Co., Vt. His parents, John and Amanda (Cook) Cooley, died in the same State, of which they were natives Our subject's ancestors came to America in the "Mayflower." Henry Cooley resided in Vermont till he was twenty- three years old, and then immigrated to Whiteside County, Ill., where he sold goods for four years. In April, 1858, he came to Bureau County and farmed eleven years, after which he came to Yorktown, where he has been selling goods for the last fourteen years for O. W. Mckenzie, and also keeping the postoffice. Subject was married in Vermont to Frances E. Rowe, who died here Novem- ber 18, 1870, aged thirty five years. She was the mother of four children, viz. : Frank- lin H., who was born August 11, 1859 (he married Jennie Van Drew) ; Mary A., August 21, 1861, wife of A. O. Hunter; John H., March 14, 1867, and Frederick A. Cooley, December 24, 1869. Franklin H. Cooley has two children, viz. : Charles H. and an infant daughter. Mrs. Mary A. Hunter has two

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sons, viz. : Merl D. and Frederick Hunter. Mr. Cooley is one of the standbys in Fairfield Township, having filled the offices of Treas- urer and Clerk for about twenty years. Po- litically he is a Greenbacker. He has 480 acres of land in Bureau County.

CALVIN COOPER, Mineral, is a native of Killingly, Windham Co., Conn., born March 20, 1810. His parents were of English descent, the father being a Baptist clergy- man. Calvin learned the carpenter and joiner trade when a young man, which fur- nished him employment for a number of years. August 26, 1833, he married Miss Harriet Kies, a native also of Windham County. She was born December 23, 1812. They resided in Connecticut until the fall of 1854, when they came to Illinois, stopping in Stephenson County until the following spring, when they settled on a farm in Bureau County. At the expiration of two years they moved to Mineral, which has since been their home. They are the parents of the following children: Daniel C., Josephine E. (deceased in infancy), Mary T., Louisa F., Marie A., Sarah J. and Harriet Emma. All the chil- dren are married and settled in life. Daniel served as a soldier in the defense of his Government against rebellion; enlisting as a private, but afterward was promoted to a Lieutenancy, and is now a prosperous grain merchant in Shelby, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper are members of the Congregational Church, and have always exerted their influ- ence for the moral and religious elevation of mankind. Mr. Cooper is a zealous Repub- lican, and warm in his advocacy of the cause of the people.

HAMILTON F. COREY, Ohio, was born in Cayuga County, N. Y., July 17, 1811, and is the son of John and Lucina Corey, for- merly of Connecticut. Mr. Corey's grand- father, David Rodes, was a soldier of the Revolution, and died in New York at the age of eighty-four. Our subject's father, John Corey, was a soldier of the war of 1812. The subject of this sketch was raised on the farm, where he resided till the spring of 1835, when he came to this State and settled with his sister (now Mrs. Lemuel Carey) in Morgan County, where he remained till he came to this county in 1845, and first settled

in Dover Township in 1846. In 1835 Mr. Corey married Esther Mead, of New York, who was born in 1807, and came to this county with her husband, where she died in 1874. Of this marriage there is a family of six children, four now living: Mrs. Eliz- abeth L. Smith, Ohio, Ill .; Mrs. Almeda Hammer, King City, Mo .; Mrs. Elsa Rainer, of Nebraska; and John H. Corey, who was born October 30, 1843. He enlisted in Company B, Ninety-third Illinois Infantry, August 11, 1862, and served till July 6, 1865; engaged in the following battles: Wyatt, Miss., De- cember 4, 1862; Yazoo Pass, expedition from March 23 to April 7, 1863; Jackson, Miss., May 14, 1863; Champion Hills, Miss., May 16, 1863; charge on Vicksburg, Miss., May 19 to July 4, 1863; Piney Creek, Ala., May 10, 1864; Dalton, Ga., June 28, 1864; Mc- Allister, Ga., July 20, 1864: Allatoona, Sep- tember 3 and 5, 1864; Savannah, Ga., De- cember 10 and 11, 1864; Salkehatchie, S. C., February 2, 1865; Columbia. S. C., Feb- ruary 15, 1865; Lynch's Creek, February 25, 1865; Bentonville, N. C., March 19 and 20, 1865, and Slierman's march to the sea from November 15, 1864, to April 27, 1865. He was wounded May 14, 1863, at Jackson, Miss. September 12, 1865, he married Phebe Rainer, by whom he has one son. In 1874 Mr. H. F. Corey married his second and present wife, Rachel Martin, of this county, by whom he has one son, Harry F. Corey, born September 30, 1876. Mr. Corey owns 320 acres in Ohio and 328 acres in Dover Townships. He was formerly a Whig, and is now a Republican. Mr. Corey is one of the family of seven children-four sons and three daughters-all now living; the youngest, Mrs. J. Lewis, lives at Jack's Riffs, N. Y., aged sixty four. This family (according to Mr. Corey's own statement) is somewhat peculiar, in the fact that they had the poorest of ad- vantages during youth-were not brought up but " came up," all beginning with nothing, and all are now well off, and every one the owner of lands.

MARTIN CORLEY, deceased, was a native of the Parish Ashgraw, County Conard, Ireland, where his parents, Daniel and Mary Moulton, died. Martin Corley came to America when quite young, and became a

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captain of a boat on the Genesee River. He

was married in Rochester, N. Y., to Sarah Biglow, born November 26, 1815, near the Canada line in Berkshire Township, Vt. She is a daughter of Stephen and Phebe (Wing) Biglow, the former a native of Rhode Island and of Welsh extraction, and the latter of Connecticut and of English and Irish descent. Her father commanded one of the vessels under Gen. Wolfe at the taking of Quebec, and participated in the battle on the Plains of Abraham, receiving as reward a large tract of land in the Canadas from the British Government. Her grandfather was an officer and fell at the battle of Bunker Hill. Mr. Martin Corley lived three years in Rochester, N. Y., and then, in 1841, came to LaSalle County, Ill., and in December, the same year. bought 120 acres of Daniel Roth in Westfield Township, Bureau Co., in Section 10, where he died July 18, 1873, aged sixty-seven years. He was a good far- mer and owned 480 acres when he died. He was respected by all who came in contact with him for his many good qualities. Mrs. Corley yet survives and is the mother of ten children, viz. : Mrs. Mary McDonald, Daniel, John, Stephen, Mrs. Phebe A. Bartlett (de- ceased), Martin, Mrs. Miriam Loehr, Frank, Mrs. Emma Grimes and Agnes Corley. Frank Corley and his mother now own the homestead consisting of 120 acres.

CORNELIUS C. CORSS, Bureau. The Corss family was probably among the Puritan settlers of Massachusetts, at least they were residents of Deerfield. Mass., at the time of the French and Indian massacre in 1703 and 1704, and only two of the family escaped, one of whom was the great- grandfather of C. C. Corss. The family still continued to reside in Massachusetts, and at Greenfield, Mass .. our subject was born, October 13, 1807. His grandfather, Asher Corss, was among the early settlers of Greenfield, known as one of the "old proprietors," he having taken up a large tract of land in that vicinity. Asher Corss, Jr., our subject's father, lived and died on the farm which his father had settled. Both he and his wife, Lucy Gren- nell, died in May, 1814. She was born April 7, 1775, and he June 5, 1775. They were the parents of three sons and six

daughters, three of whom are living: Charles C. Corss, a minister of Bradford County, Penn .; Cornelius C., our subject; Sarah, widow of Henry Newton, resides at Green- field, Mass. Christopher G. Corss, another son of Asher Corss, Jr., came to this county previous to the Black Hawk war, and settled southeast of Princeton in Princeton Town-

ship, and lived there until his death, June 9, 1867. Cornelius C. Corss was reared in Greenfield, Mass., and resided in that State till 1833, when he came to Bureau County, Ill., arriving here in October. He first laid claim to what is known as the Deacon Caleb Cook farm in Princeton Township, and re- sided there one year, when he sold his claim to Deacon Cook and then settled on his pres- ent farm in Bureau Township, Section 34, where he has lived since the fall of 1834. He and his sou now own 480 acres. Mr. Corss has helped raise and handle fifty-one crops of corn in Bureau County. He was the first purchaser of any article of merchan- dise in Princeton, when in the spring of 1834 he bought a horse collar at a store opened by a Mr. Haskil. Mr. Corss was married in Peoria County, Ill., June 1, 1837, to Mehitable Hill. She was born in New Hampshire, January 25, 1817, and is the daughter of Isaac and Mehitable (Bancroft) Hill, both of whom were natives of New Hampshire. £ They removed to New York when Mrs. Corss was small, and in 1833 to Peoria County, Ill., afterward to Bureau County in 1838, where they lived until death. Mr. Hill died in 1846 and his wife August 3, 1870. Mr. and Mrs. Corss have one son and two daughters, viz .: Henry, born June 15, 1838, lives in Bureau Township; Mrs. Lucy Thomas, of Princeton, born Janu- ary 27, 1843; Climena, born April 8, 1850. In politics Mr. Corss is Republican, and has held various township offices. He was the first Supervisor of Bureau Township. He is a member of the Congregational Church of Princeton.

JAMES R. COTTLE, Princeton, was born February 26, 1835, in Singapore, East India. His father, Richard Cottle, is a native of England, and yet resides in Bristol. In early life he was a carriage trimmer, but is now Government Inspector of the Great.

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western Railroad. James R. Cottle, Sr., the father of Richard Cottle, was a gentleman of leisure; he was formerly a Government Col- lector. The mother of our subject was Eliza (Betterridge) Cottle, a native of Thatchan, Berkshire. England. She died in Bristol. She was the mother of nine children, of whom six are now living, but none in the United States except our subject. At the age of six his father brought him from Singapore to London, where he received his primary education. When he was twelve years of age he went to Bristol, where he studied engi- neering till he was sixteen, and then visited Ireland, and while there he and his young friend, Joseph H. Watts, resolved to come to the United States, which they did without the knowledge of their parents, landing in New York in 1852. There he remained three months and then was induced to come to Chicago, where he worked for the Michigan Central Railroad Company a short time and then ob- tained a position as mailing clerk in the Chicago Journal office. In 1854 he com- menced to work for the Central Military Tract Railroad, now known as the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He worked for the company until the road was completed to Monmouth, after which he worked as en- gineer for Robins & Lawson, millers of Princeton. In 1864 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company F, serving till the close of the war, acting as Company Clerk, being always on detached service. After the war he operated a mill in Arling- ton, Bureau County, one and one-half years and then started a bakery in Princeton in partnership with two other men. One of them retired after two years; the other one con- tinued till 1881, when his interest was bought out by Mr. Cottle, who has continued the business alone ever since. He started on a small scale, but by dint of persever- ance and strict attention to business he at- tained his present prosperity. He owns the only wholesale confectionery and cracker business in the county, and does a fine whole- sale and retail business. He was married in Princeton, Ill., to Miss Harriet H. Harris, a native of England. She is the mother of two children, viz. : Lida and Jennie. In poli-

tics Mr. Cottle is identified with the Republi- can party.

N. COTTRELL, Dover, was born Decem- ber 8, 1829, in Hampshire County, Mass. His father was Rufus Cottrell, a native of Hampshire County, Mass. He was a farmer by occupation, and died in 1868, aged sev- enty-four years, in Malden, Ill. His grand- father, Nicholas Cottrell, was a native of Massachusetts, where he died; he was a blacksmith by occupation, and a soldier in the Revolutionary war, where he served with distinction. The mother of our subject was Sarah (Odell) Cottrell, a native of Dutchess County, N. Y .; she died in Malden. Ill., in 1872, aged seventy-six years. She was the mother of eight children who reached matur- ity, viz .: Mrs. Eliza Lyman, James H., John V., Mrs. Mary Granger, Frank K., Nicholas, George W. and Giles H. Our subject, Nicholas Cottrell, was educated in his native State, where he followed farming. He came to this county in 1855, and settled in Dover Township, Section 35. He has a fine farm of 190 acres. Mr. Cottrell was married, June 3, 1853, in Worthington, Mass., to Miss Mary Cole, who was born May 7, 1831, in Worthington, Mass. Her parents were Elijah and Freedom (Cowen) Cole. Mrs. Cottrell is the mother of three children, viz .: Junia A., wife of G. J. M. Porter, Cora M. and Herbert J. Mr. and Mrs. Cottrell are active members of the Presbyterian Church. In political matters Mr. Cottrell is connected with the Republican party, and takes an active interest in all matters relating to the affairs of the county in which he resides, and of which he is one of the most wide-awake citizens.

B. C. COUCH, ESQ., Tiskilwa, was born September 19, 1822, in Boscawen, Merrimack Co., N. H. He is a grandson of Benjamin Couch, Sr., a native of New Hampshire, and a soldier in the Revolutionary war, participat- ing in the battle of Bunker Hill, where he had a bullet shot through his ear. He mar- ried a Miss Heath, who was the mother of five children. Of these Benjamin Couch, Jr., was the father of our subject. He was a farmer by occupation, and was a native of New Hampshire, where he died. The mother of our subject, Mrs. Sallie (Morse) Couch,

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was born in Portsmouth, N. H. She died January 24, 1866, aged seventy five years. She was the mother of eight children, viz. : Prescott, James S., Amos A., Plummer, Rachel, Benjamin C. (our subject), Harriman and Caleb K. Of these Prescott, James S., Plummer and Caleb K. are deceased. Squire Couch was educated in his native State. In 1843 he removed to Tazewell County, Ill., and in the winter of 1845 to Henry County. In 1851 he came to this county, and first settled in Wyanet Township. where he fol- lowed the carpenter business till 1853, when he removed to Tiskilwa, where he was a grain and lumber merchant for fifteen years. Since then he has followed various occupations, and filled the office of Township Clerk and Justice of the Peace for many years with tact and ability. Mr. Couch was married in Rhode Island to Martha J. Caleb, who died in Tiskilwa. She was the mother of nine children, viz .: Dion, Cornelia A., Laura and Lucy (twins), Sarah J., Charles S., Ilus, Buel and Bias (twins), the latter deceased. Sub- ject's second wife, Lydia M. Peck, died here leaving two children, viz .: Minnie I. and Hattie B. At present Mr. Couch is married to Emilie Thompson, a daughter of Daniel D. Thompson, of Bath, Steuben Co., N. Y. Politically, Squire Couch comes from the old Underground Abolition stock. At present be is not identified with any party.

JAMES McCREEDY, Westfield, a na- tive of Delaware, came to Bureau County, Ill., in the spring of 1858, and settled in Westfield Township, where he now resides. His wife, whose maiden name was Eva M. McDowell, is the mother of six children, who are now living. Squire McCreedy is an in- dependent Democrat, voting only for the best man. He enjoys the respect of all who know him, and is one of Westfield Township's wealthiest farmers.

WILLIAM CRISMAN, Macon, was born in Bedford County, Penn., June 25, 1825. He is the son of William and Margaret (Wise- garver) Crisman. They were both natives of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. They died in Bedford County. They had eleven children who reached maturity, and of that number six sons and two daughters yet sur- vive. Our subject was reared on a farm, but

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History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 67

Author: Bradsby, Henry C., [from old catalog] ed Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Chicago, World publishing company Number of Pages: 776

Author: Bradsby, Henry C., [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago, World publishing company
Number of Pages: 776