History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 87

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

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P. J. NEWELL, Princeton, was born in Princeton, Ill., April 12, 1836, and is proba- bly the oldest man now living in the city who was born within the corporate limits. He is the son of Benjamin and Harriet (White) Newell. The former was born in Concord, N. H., the latter in Alden, N. Y. They were married in Alden in 1835 and came to Princeton, Ill., the same year, and Mr. Newell engaged in the dry goods business and continued in the same for thirty-five years. In 1881 he moved to Denver, Col .. and in 1883 to Topeka, Kan., where he now resides. In 1856 our subject began learning the hardware business in the store of A. S. & E. C. Chapman, and with the exception of short intermissions he was employed in this store for nine years. During the time in 1860 he went to Pike's Peak, where he remained some months. April 17, 1861, he entered the ninety days' service in the army and went to Springfield, but all the troops not being required at the time, he was sent home. October 13, 1863, Mr. Newell was united in marriage to Miss Helen S. Part- ridge, a native of Oswego, N. Y., who had come to Peoria, Ill., about 1846, and for some years before marriage had been engaged in teach- ing there. Mr. and Mrs. Newell have two sons and two daughters living and also one son and daughter dead. The living are: Frank, Henry, Hattie and Minnie. The old- est son has been in Peoria, Ill., for three years where he is a book-keeper. August 31, 1864. Mr. Newell engaged in the hardware busi- ness for himself in Princeton, but sold out after eleven months, during which time he had cleared above all expenses $1,500. For three years he worked at his trade in Gales- burg, Ill., but in 1869 came back to Prince- ton and again went into business, this time in connection with Thompson Bros., Mr. Newell having charge of the tinware depart- meut and the Thompsons of the hardware. In 1871 heopened a stock of hardware in the old stand where he had learned his trade. In 1873 he sold an interest in the business and the firm was then Newell & Thompson, but in 1877 he sold the entire stock to Mr. Thompson. April 12, 1881. he bought out the furniture and undertaking business of E. Strong Phelps, paying for the same $4,250

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but sold the building in which he has his store to Mr. Phelps for $3,500. At that time Mr. Newell knew nothing of his pres- ent business, but he applied himself closely to business and has been very successful as an undertaker. October, 1881, at the organ- ization of the Illinois Undertakers' Associa- tion he was appointed one of the Executive Committee, and in the October meeting, 1882, he was appointed a member of the Finance Committee. Since 1875 Mr. N. has paid over $6,000 security debts, but his energy has carried him through and now he carries a stock of goods valued at between $6,000 and $7,000, and is a stock-holder in the Princeton Homestead & Loan Association and also in the Town Hall Company. Mr. Newell is a member of the Knights of Py- thias and takes an active interest in all mat- ters concerning the order and has held various offices in the society. In politics he is iden- titied with the Republican party.

D. T. NICHOLS, Wyanet, was born in Broadalbin, N. Y., August 3, 1812. In 1829 he removed to Livingston County, N. Y. In early life he learned the harness-maker's trade and followed that occupation in the State of New York and also in Chicago, Ill., where he landed October 8, 1839. when the city claimed a population of 3,000. He re- mained in Chicago for seven years and then removed to Kane County, but still later pur- chased land in Winnebago County, Ill., at 60 cents per acre. In 1850 Mr. Nichols was one who crossed the plains to seek his fort- une in the gold fields of California. He spent one successful year in California and then returned to Illinois, riding on mule-back from Sacramento to Illinois. In 1853 he came to Bureau County and purchased a farm in Wyanet Township, and since that time he has been a resident of Bureau County. In 1854, when the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad had been completed in this county, he was at Wyanet Station as the train was passing through, when Col. C. G. Hammond invited him to take a ride to Mendota, which he did, and while on the way Col. Hammond proposed that he should take the position of Station Agent at Wyanet. His answer was that he knew nothing of railroading, nor did he caro to; however, he was prevailed upon

to take the place, and since 1854 Mr. Nichols has been in the employ of the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy Railroad, and all this time he has been agent at Wyanet, except two years at Buda, and with the exception of J. W. Cothrin, of Galesburg, he is the oldest employe of the road. When first begin- ning he knew nothing about the business, but he spent one-half day with the agent at Princeton, and then studied out the remain- der for himself. When first appointed agent there was no depot, and as there were only day trains, he drove into the station from his farm, and in the evening out again. After- ward he had a box car as a depot, till the present building was erected. Once dur- ing the war, several car-loads of soldiers had to be supplied with tickets, and his were all used, so he took the power upon himself to manufacture tickets, sign his name and sell them. They were accepted by the conductor, and afterward Mr. Nichols received the com- pliments of the Superintendent for this pro- cedure. Mr. Nichols has grown old in the service of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, but has grown iu the esteem of the officials, and all having business with the line at this point. November 20, 1834, Mr. Nichols was united in marriage to Miss Clar- issa Watkins, of Onondaga County, N. Y. She died in 1845, leaving three children, viz. : W. I., of Burlington, Iowa; Minerva, wife of Andrew Garrett, of Claremont, Mo .; and Horace, who died in Herne, Tex., in 1880 In 1846 Mr. Nichols was married to Miss H. G. Barry, of Madison, N. Y., who is the mother of six children, viz .: Clarissa, widow of J. Crawford; S. E., wife of E. J. Engle: Emma, wife of W. A. Yearnshaw, and C. L., of Topeka, Kan., train-master on the Santa Fé Railroad, also two children, deceased.

ISAAC H. NORRIS, Lamoille. The Nor. ris family is of English extraction, and its genealogy is brief. Whether the family de- scends from some branch of the British no- bility, or the more humble Puritan stock, we do not know, yet the strong traits of character and nobility which shine forth in the progenitors of our subject leads the genealogist and biographer of these lines to wish he knew more of their past.

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The grandparents of our subject, William and Mary (Hays) Norris, were natives of Frederick County, Md., where they owned a large plantation which, as was quite custom- ary in those days and in that State, was worked by slaves. Mr. and Mrs. Norris were members of the Episcopal Church, and were reared to believe that slavery was a lawful institution. Upon reaching maturity they began to doubt this belief and formed reso- lutions to free the slaves and incur all the risk and criticism which such an action would lead to from their friends and relatives. Over- hearing the prayer of a slave, they put their resolution into execution by liberating all of them that were twenty-seven years old, this being the provision of the law: and when a further stay in the old home became disa- greeable they emigrated to Belmont County, Ohio, in 1808, where William Norris died the following year. They were among the pioneers of Belmont County, and though not inured to the privation of border life, nor even accustomed to light work, they yet bravely faced all for the sake of principle. In the wilderness they became members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Mary Norris, not, content with what she had a !- ready done for her former servants, and per- haps knowing the danger of their again fall- ing into slavery, went back twice to her old home in Maryland, through the wilderness on horseback and alone, to see that all papers were made out properly, and that all slaves were freed as soon as they reached their ma- jority. We deplore lack of space for a more just tribute to the memory of this noble woman who has set such a grand example to ber posterity. She who had every wish grat- ified, and who after coming to Ohio had to learn the simplest kind of work and do it herself, sacrificed all for the sake of justice. Of her eleven children, all except four died of consumption. She attained a green old age and died surrounded by her many friends.

All honor to Mother Norris ! hail and fare- well. Luther M. Norris, a son of William and Mary (Hays) Norris, was born February 4, 1793, in Frederick County, Md. He was a farmer by occupation and quite a public man in Ohio, a great admirer of Henry Clay and an advocate of the Whig and afterward

the Republican party. He was married Feb- ruary, 1817, to Pleasant Hoge, who was born June 9, 1796, and was a Quaker lady, a daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Nicholas) Hoge, the former of Scotch descent, and with her parents was a native of Loudoun County, Va. She was a domestic, intelligent woman, a friend to all humanity; she was the mother of the following children: Isaac H. (our subject), Mrs. Sarah M. McMillan, William, Mrs. M. Elizabeth Mogus and Joshua H. Nor- ris, the latter deceased. Mrs. Pleasant Nor- ris died in Belmont County, Ohio, April 14, 1833, aged thirty-seven years. Luther M. Norris was married a second time January 23, 1836, to Jane Rawlings, born 1792. She died here July 9, 1870. He came to Bu- reau County, Ill .. in 1853, and died here March 20, 1869 The first American ances- tors of the Hoge family were William and Barbara (Hume) Hoge. The former was a native of Musselburg, Scotland, where the family is traced back to the twelfth century; his father was a Baron, related to the royal house of Stewart of Scotland. The latter

was a daughter of Sir James Hume, a rela- tive of Hume the historian. William Hoge, aged eighteen years, and Barbara Hume, the latter accompanied by her parents, immigrated to America at the same time. Sir James Hume and wife died on the voyage, leaving their little daughter in charge of William Hoge, who conducted her safely to her rela-

tives in New York. The memory of his lit- tle charge seems to have clung to him, for he returned when she had arrived at womanhood and made her his wife. The result of this romantic marriage was five sons. The family lived many years in Chester County. Penn. Their oldest son, John Hoge, removed to the Cumberland Valley, where he died in 1752. In 1735 the family removed to the Shenan- doah Valley, where the parents died. The second son, William, became a Quaker and married a Quakeress, and was the father of Solomon Hoge, who married Ann Rawlings about 1750; they were the parents of eleven children. Solomon Hoge was married a sec- ond time and seven children were the result of that union. Of the eleven children, the seventh child, Isaac Hoge, born January, 1763, married Elizabeth Nichols. She was

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the mother of ten children, of whom Pleasant Hoge married Luther M. Norris, who was the father of Isaac H. Norris. Among the an- cestors of the Hoge family were many dis- tinguished men, members of Congress, law- yers, and for five generations Doctors of Di- vinity of the Presbyterian Church. Among the Congressmen William Hoge served dur- ing Thomas Jefferson's entire administration. His brother John, who was also a Congress- man, held many offices of trust in Washing- ton, Penn. The Hoge and Blaine families intermarried at different times in the latter place. Isaac H. Norris, whose name heads this sketch, was boru April 13, 1818, in Bel- mont County, Ohio, where he was reared on a farm and also received a limited education in a pioneer school held in a log-cabin con- ducted on the subscription plan. Mr. Norris came to Bureau County, Ill., December 13, 1846, and worked a rented farm in Lamoille Township, where he bought 400 acres of raw prairie the next year, which he improved and on which he commenced to raise stock, which occupation he has followed with such emi- nent success that to-day he is at the head of the business, and on his farm of over 2,000 acres has imported cattle and horses, import- ing of the latter as high as fifty head per annum. Our subject is a self-made man in every respect; he is no office seeker, but takes a great interest in public affairs, being iden- titied with the Republican party. He was married June 16, 1840, in Belmont County, Ohio, to Elizabeth D. Maus, who was born in February, 1812, in Bucks County, Penn. She died here December 13, 1859. She was a daughter of William and Ann (Rawlings) Maus, natives of Philadelphia; he was a jew- eler by occupation; his father was of German and his mother was of English descent. To Mr. and Mrs. Isaac H. Norris seven children were born. Of these only Clarkson Norris and Mrs. Anna N. Kendall (nee Norris), reached maturity; of the other children William and Pleasant died in infancy; Sarah M. died aged fifteen years; Jane was six years and Isaac five years old when they died. Clarkson Nor- ris was born August 23, 1850. To some ex- tent he is following in the footsteps of his enterprising father, devoting all his attention to the stock business. He was married the

first time to Miss Lucy C. Frary, who died soon after marriage. He is married now to Margaretta Hoge, born February, 1851, a daughter of Isaac and Rachel (Shoefield) Hoge, and a native of Loudoun County, Va. She is the mother of Elizabeth D. and Josephine H. Norris. Mrs. Anna N. Kendall, born October 11, 1844, is the widow of James Lyman Kendall, who was born August 30, 1840, in Passumpsic, Vt. He was a son of James E. and Relief (Wilder) Kendall, and was well-known in this county as one of our brightest young men, the sun of whose gen- ius set only too soon. He studied law with Milo Kendall, was admitted to the bar in April, 1865, and after practicing law success- fully two years in Des Moines, Iowa, was married June 16, 1867, to Miss Anna Nor- ris. June 16, 1868, their only child Isaac Norris Kendall, was born. Mr. Kendall fol- lowed his profession in Des Moines till his death, which occurred October 16, 1869.

WILLIAM NORRIS, Clarion, was born May 20, 1825, in Belmont County, Ohio. He is a son of Luther M. and Pleasant (Hoge Norris, (see preceding sketch). Our subject was reared in his native State, where he farmed with his father till he attained his majority. In October, 1846, he arrived in Princeton, Bureau Co., Ill., where he rented land in Lamoille Township, and worked in partnership with his brother. The next year he bought 160 acres of land in Section 31, Clarion Township, where he yet resides. In 1852, he crossed the plains with an ox team in company with a party of four men. It took them 100 days to go from Omaha to Sacramento. Cal., where he mined some, and returned to Bureau County the next year, via Central America. About 1854 he dissolved partnership with his brother, and moved onto his farm, which he improved, and devoted his attention to farming and stock-raising with good success. He owns now a farm of 1,250 acres of land, the result of his industry and economy. Since 1860 he has been raising blooded stock, and has one of the largest herds in the county; of these over eighty are recorded. He has on his farm an average of 350 head of cattle and fifty head of horses. Of the latter five are imported Percherons. Mr. Norris was married, Angust 6, 1854, to

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Mary W. Maus, a daughter of William ' and who were the first settlers in Neponset Mans. She was born April 19, 1828, in Township. Mrs. Ann Norton is the mother of ten children, viz. : Mrs. Sarah A. Hood, Mrs. Eliza Sadler, Thomas N., Mrs. Emma Scaife, Levi G., Mrs. Addie J. Pratt, Moses J., Fannie E., Edwin F., and Irena C. Mr. Norton is identified with the Republican party, and interested in every good cause. He and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Bucks County, Penn., and died January 4, 1879. She was well known for her many good qualities . She was the mother of six children, viz. : William L., Alfred, Isaac H., Lundy, Pleasant J., and Luther, the last three deceased. Of the above, William L. was born April 20, 1859; Alfred, born March 20, 1863; and Isaac H., born July 4, 1866; Pleas- ant J., born May 7, 1856, died June 20, 1877. Her memory will ever be cherished by all who knew her. William Norris has met with many trials in life, but has borne up bravely, and as the evening shadows of life gather about him, looks hopefully to the beyond where dear ones await him. He is a quiet, unostentatious man, whose word is regarded as good as his bond. Among his many vir- tues temperance takes a prominent place, he using neither stimulants nor tobacco in any form. Politically he was formerly a Whig, but is now identified with the Republican party.

GEORGE NORTON, Neponset, was born March 24, 1817, in Brawby, Yorkshire, Eng- land. He is a son of John and Sarah (Noble) Norton, both natives of England. They were the parents of six children who reached matur- ity, viz .: Robert, William, Thomas, George, our subject ; Ann and Fannie, the last two deceased. The oldest child, Robert, was killed in Bar- ren Grove by a tree falling ou him; he left a wife, Mary (Robinson) Norton, and nine children. Jonn and Sarah (Noble) Norton came here November 1, 1840, and died here; they were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are well remembered by our old settlers. George Norton, the sub- ject of this biography, came to Neponset in the spring of 1841. About 1844 he entered some land where he now resides, and to this he added from time to time till at present he has accumulated a handsome property of 320 acres of good land. His success in life may be attributed to his own perseverance and industry, as he started in life without any parental aid. Mr. Norton was married here, April 13. 1847, to Miss Ann Studley, born January 6, 1827, in England. She came to Morgan County, Ill., about 1836, with her parents, William and Annie (Chapman) Stud- ley, who were the parents of eight children,

H. H. OBERSHALP, Princeton, was born August 20, 1820, in Bielefeld, West- phalia, Germany. His father, Bernhart Obershalp, died in Germany. His mother died in St. Louis, Mo. Of her eight chil- dren the following came to America: Cas- per Oberlohman, Mrs. Anna Bent (nee Oberlohman), Herman H. (our subject) and John H. Obershalp. The first two chil- dren are by a former marriage. Mr. Obershalp and his brother John came to America in 1846. They landed in New Or leans, and worked two winters and one sum- mer in the South. In March, 1848, he came to St. Louis, where he worked in a brickyard. In 1856 he came to Bureau County, and after working one year at brick- making bought twenty acres and started a brickyard of his own, and yet follows that business. He had to borrow money to come to America with, but to-day is quite well off. He has ninety-three acres of land near Princeton, with good improvements, and 240 acres in Kansas, the result of his industry. He was married January 16, 1850, in St. Lonis, Mo., to Catharina Draman, born in Hanover, Germany. She is the mother of the following children: Louis H., Gotlieb, Anna, William, John, Mary and Henry. Mr. and Mrs. Obershalp are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Politically he is a Democrat. He stores and sells 450 tons of ice annually, and also raises fish.

PHILIP OGAN, Dover, was born in Green County, Ohio, April 22, 1829, a son of Evan and Susan (Wycle) Ogan. His father was a native of Greenbrier County, Va., and re- moved with his parents to Ohio when small. He was a son of Peter Ogan, of Welsh de- scent, who lived to the age of ninety-six years. The mother of our subject, Susan Ogan, was of German descent. She was

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born in Ohio, but died in this county. They were the parents of eighteen children-ten sons and eight daughters-all of whom are still living, except one daughter, who died in September, 1881. The others are scattered through several States. Four of the sons went through the war with Grant and Sher. man, and, though wounded, all survive. Evan Ogan came to this county with his fam ily in 1848, and settled on the farm now owned by his son Philip. He lived here un- til the fall of 1867, when he removed to Missouri, and died there in the spring of 1868. He was killed by a runaway horse, that being the fourth time he had met with similar accidents which had proved nearly fatal. Philip Ogan now owns and resides on the farm first settled by his father in 1848. It contains eighty acres of land. Oc- tober 18, 1875, Mr. Ogan's house and con- tents were destroyed by fire, the family bare- ly escaping with their lives. He was mar- ried in this county February 17, 1853, to Miss Mary J. Ross, who was born in Tusca- rawas County, Ohio, November 10, 1835, a daughter of James Ross, one of the most suc- cessful farmers of Ohio Township. They are the parents of nine children, six of whom are now living; viz .: Lizzie, born November 5, 1853; George W .. born January 5, 1855, now living in Iowa; Clara O., born March 1858, died January 2, 1883; Mary M., March 27, 1860, died in infancy; Nellie R., June 1, 1862, wife of Lincoln Lamb, of Iowa; Joel R., born February 11, 1867; Rebecca A., born September 11, 1870; James W., born November 26, 1873; John W., born July 8, 1875, died January 18, 1877. Mr. Ogan is a Republican in politics. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Prot- estant Church of Limerick.

ANDREW OLOFFSON, Manlius. was born in Sweden, September 23, 1831. He is the son of Oloff Johnson. Our subject was reared on a farm in his native country, and educated in the common schools. June 8, 1854, he landed at Princeton, Ill., and has lived in this county since, except 1867, when he went to Iowa, where he remained one year. In the spring of 1869 he came to his present farm of 140 acres, in Section 25, Man- lius Township. Mr. Oloffson has always fol-

lowed farming. In politics he is Republican. He is a member of the United Brethren Church. August 26. 1866, he was married to Mrs. Rachel (Hosier) Clary, who was born in Feb- ruary, 1836, in Indiana. She is the daugh- ter of John and Rebecca Hosier. Mrs. Oloff- son's first husband, Sylvester Clary, was a native of Ohio. He died in Indianapolis, Ind., in 1863, being at that time a member of Company G, Forty-seventh Indiana Infant- ry. He left two children, viz. : John Clary, born June 12, 1858, and Sylvester, born April 19, 1862. By her present husband Mrs. Oloffson has four children, viz. : Fran- cis A., born June 27, 1867; Minnie A., Sep- tember 8, 1871; William A., January 1, 1877, and Ora J. Garfield, September 29, 1880.

ANDREW F. B. OLSON, Concord, was born in the southern part of Sweden, at Christianstad, February 6, 1832. He was reared on a farm, and as his parents were poor he had to earn his own living. At the age of seven or eight he tended the geese and sheep. and as soon as he was old enough drove a team on the farm, but for his work received only his living. His oldest brother loaned him money enough to come to Amer- ica, and he reached Princeton July 11, 1857, and since that time has lived in the county. The first year he worked for S. S. Newton at $14 per month, then two years for Amos Ba- con, of Princeton Township, after which he rented land and began farming for himself. In 1864 he ran in debt for eighty acres of land, and has since added to it, till he now owns 160 acres, besides a recent purchase of 160 more. Although he started with noth- ing, he has been very successful in his work. In politics he is an independent Republican. He was married at Princeton, January 31. 1862, to Mary Johnson. They are the parents of nine children, viz. : Ellen H., Nels G., Al- bert O., Edward C., Nettie E., Esther B. V., Fredolph R., Jennie E. and Julia J.

DANIEL O'SHEA, Hall, was born No vember 29, 1790, in County Kerry, Ireland. His parents, John and Julia (Doyle) O'Shea, lived and died in the old country. They had eight children, four boys and four girls, none of whom came to America except our subject. Daniel O'Shea came to the United States in

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1834, traveled in the South till 1838, when he came to Peru, Ill., and worked on the Illinois and Michigan Canal till it was com- pleted. In 1843 he bought eighty-two acres of land at $1.92 per acre in Hall Township, Bureau County. He now owns 242 acres as the result of industry and hard work. He was married in LaSalle County, Ill., to Mrs. Elizabeth Harrington (nee Cahill), a native of County Kerry, Ireland. She is the mother of the following children: Mary and Johanna Harrington, Mrs. Julia Garvay (nee O'Shea), John (deceased), Allen and Eliza- beth. Mr. and Mrs. O'Shea are members of the Catholic Church. Politically he votes with the Democratic party.

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History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 87

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