History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 95

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

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till at present he owns about 500 acres of fine land. Our subject was joined in matrimony February 9, 1853, to Mrs. Frances E. Ed- wards, the widow of Noah H. Edwards. She was born March 5, 1827, in Ontario County, N. Y. Her parents were Luther and Eliza (Hogeboom) Denham; the former was born May 12, 1804, in Conway, Mass .; he died here September 1, 1856; the latter was born July 9, 1806, near New York City; she died here November 19, 1854. Their children were: Frances E., Cornelius, Oliver, Elizabeth A., Lucinda and Butler L. Of these only Mrs. Frances E. Shugart, Cornelius and Oliver are now living. To Mr. and Mrs. Shugart three children were born, viz .: Frances E., born June 23, 1860 (she married Isaac Philips, a banker in Wyanet; they have one child, Mol- lie Frances), William R., born May 19, 1866, and May Belle, born May 9, 1871. Mr. and Mrs. Shugart are active members of the Methodist Protestant Church of Princeton. He is also an A. F. & A. M. In political matters Mr. Shugart is connected with the Republican party. His career has been a success financially and otherwise, and in the evening of life, surrounded by his pleasant family, he can take a retrospective look and be satisfied with the view.

GEORGE W. SISLER, Wyanet, was born June 9, 1814, in Lycoming County, Penn. He is a son of Louis Sisler, who was a na- tive of Pennsylvania. He died in New York. He was a tiller of the soil and reared a large family. The mother of our subject was Margaret (Marsh) Sisler, a native of Penn- sylvania. She died in Ohio. She was the mother of nine children, six of whom are now living. Our subject received a limited school education in Pennsylvania and New York. Early in life he chose farming as his voca- tion. He came to Burean County in 1839, and settled in Princeton Township, where he resided about six years. and then bought a farm in Wyanet Township, where he now re- sides, a part of his farm lying in Princeton Township. Mr. Sisler was married twice. His first wife was Nancy Perkins, who died in 1854. She was the mother of five children, viz .: Elizabeth, deceased; Margaret, who is the wife of Amos Greenamyre; Louis, who married Zilpha Triplett; Lucy, who is the

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wife of Henry Franks, and Mary, deceased. Mr. Sisler's second wife, Mary A. Whit- marsh, was a native of Massachusetts. She died here February 1, 1882. She was the mother of eight children, viz. : Edward, Annie, Houston, Nellie, Mason A., Thomas, Henry L. and Mary E. Mr. Sisler is a member of the Presbyterian Church. In political mat- ters he is connected with the Republican party.

M. SKEFFINGTON, Westfield, was born December 15, 1837, in Ottawa, Canada. His parents, Patrick and Nora (Stackpole) Skeff- ington, were natives of Ireland. They were married in Canada, where they farmed till October 1, 1850, when they came to West- field Township, Bureau Co., Ill., where they died. Here they bought first 160 acres at $2.25 per acre, but bought more land after- ward. They were the parents of eleven chil- dren, viz .: Michael, our subject; Maria; Ann, deceased; Peter; Patrick; William, deceased; John, deceased; Dennis; Joseph; Frank and Martha J. Skeffington. Our subject came to this county with his parents. He received his education in Canada and Bureau County. He has made farming his occupation and has now a fine farm of 240 acres, which is well improved and on which he has just built the finest residence in the township. He was married here March 5, 1867, to Elizabeth Coakley, a daughter of Cornelius Coakley, the old pioneer of Hall Township. She was born October 3, 1850, in Hall Township. She is the mother of seven children, viz .: John, Patrick, Teresa, Elizabeth, Ellen, Joseph and James Skeffington. Mr. and Mrs. Skeffington are members of the Catholic Church at Arlington. Politically Mr. Skeff- ington is identified with the Democratic party; he has filled school offices and been Supervisor five years, filling that office at present with tact and ability.

RICHARD M. SKINNER, Princeton, is a native of New Jersey, where he was born April 13, 1847. He is a son of John C. Skinner, born November 11, 1813, in New Jersey. The latter came West in 1854, settling in Prince- ton Township Bureau Co., Ill., where he farmed till his death, which occurred April 28, 1877. The mother of our subject, Mary (Stephens) Skinner, was born November S, 1815, in

New Jersey, a daughter of Richard Stephens, of English extraction, and is yet living. She is the mother of five children, viz. : Sarah S. Bacon, Richard M., George S., Mary E. Lovejoy and Eliza J. Our subject received his primary education in the common schools of this county, graduating in the first class of the Princeton High School. As an evidence that he had improved his time at the high school here, is the fact that he was enabled to enter the sophomore class at the Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. After one year of study there he made up his mind to enter the legal profession, and subsequently entered the Albany Law School at Albany, N. Y., where he graduated and received the degree of LL. B., and was admitted to the bar. In the summer of 1872 he returned to Princeton, Ill., and in the fall of the same year was admitted to the bar of Illinois. In order to be more able to cope successfully with the intricacies of the law he spent the following year in reading law. In Septem- ber, 1873, he commenced to practice and has been doing a general law business ever since. At present he is in partnership with his brother George S. In 1876 he was elected States Attorney by the Republican party, serving till 1880. Our subject was joined in matrimony June 12, 1878, in Hackettstown, N. J., to Miss Mary E. Sharp, born Decem- ber 1, 1853, in Drakestown, N. J. She is a daughter of John N. and Nancy (McCracken) Sharp. Her father is a nativeof New Jersey and a merchant by occupation. Mrs. Mary E. Skinner is the mother of two children, viz. : DeWitt, born June 20, 1880, and Wal- ter R., born July 30, 1882. Mrs. Skinner is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Skinner has gained for himself an enviable reputation as a successful lawyer, and we predict that he will gain greater laurels in his chosen profession.

HON. BENJAMIN L. SMITH, Prince- ton, was born in western Oneida County, N. Y., September 15, 1806. His father, Benja- min Smith, a tailor by trade, was born in Connecticut, July 18, 1769; immigrated to Oneida County, N. Y., in boyhood. He was married May S, 1790, to Miss Abigail P'latt, who was born August 10, 1770, in Oneida County, N. Y. She was the mother of four

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sons and four daughters; one died in infancy, and the remainder grew to maturity, but all are now deceased except one. Abigail (Platt) Smith died Jnne 20, 1805. Novem- ber 14, 1805, Benjamin Smith married Miss Abigail Lord, who was born in Norwich, Conn., March 7, 1775. She was the daugh- ter of Benjamin Lord, which was also the name of her grandfather and great-grand- father. This union was blessed with four sons and one daughter, Benjamin L. being the oldest; one son died in infancy; Nathan, Caroline L. and Edward reached maturity, and are now deceased. Benjamin Smith died August 11, 1816, and his wife, Abigail (Lord) Smith, died May 1, 1833. Benjamin L Smith was placed on his uncle's farm at the age of twelve years, and worked till the spring of 1826, when he was obliged to seek other employment on account of ill-health. For the following three and one-half years he followed lighter pursuits, and regained something of his lost healtlı, and also added to his limited education by observation and practice. In the autumn of 1829 he engaged in the mercantile and lumber business in Theresa, N. Y., and in 1833 he with his brother Paschal engaged in the manufacture of varnishes in New York City. In 1835 his impaired health necessitated a change of climate, and he arranged for a trip to the western wilds. On the 26th of September he left Sackett's Harbor and came to Detroit by steamboat. There he purchased a French pony, and with a buggy, which he had shipped from Sackett's Harbor, started on his tour through the Western States. He traveled through Michigan, into Illinois as far as LaSalle County, thence into Wiscon- sin, and southward through Princeton to the southern part of Illinois, and into Missouri. Being as well pleased with Princeton and its surroundings as any point examined, he re- turned, arriving here November 26, 1835. A stock of goods purchased before leaving Sackett's Harbor was received in December, and Mr. Smith opened a store, continuing in the business about two years. The follow- ing summer he went East, and September 15, 1836, was joined ir marriage to Miss Sarah C. Seeley in Malone, Franklin Co., N. Y., and the next day the twain started for Prince-

ton, arriving October 11. Sarah C. Seeley was born in Constable, Franklin Co., N. Y., March 26, 1816. Her father, Nathan Wheel- er Seeley, was born in New Haven, Conn., December 22, 1788. He was married in Constable, N. Y., April 16, 1815, to Betsey Erwin, who was born in Fairhaven, Vt .. June 25, 1796. She was the mother of five sons and seven daughters. One son, Alfred Erwin, died in childhood, two sons died in infancy, and the remaining nine grew to maturity. Laura Ann and Clara M. have since died. Mr. and Mrs. B. L. Smith are the parents of four children: Caroline, the eldest daugh- ter, died at the age of four years, four months and six days; the eldest son died in infancy; Laura A. and Selby L. now reside with their parents. Mr. Smith took an active part with others in the division of Old Putnam, and the creation of Bureau County and location of its county seat. In December, 1839, he moved with his family to his farm in Selby Township and commenced farming. He rep- resented Bureau County and part of Stark in the General Assembly during the session of 1844-45. In November, 1849, having been elected Clerk of the County Court, he re- moved to Princeton and entered upon the duties of that office in December, 1849, serv- ing until September, 1853, when he resigned. He was elected Judge of the County Court, and served from December, 1853, until his resignation in June, 1855. Since that time he has been in feeble health, and has retired from active life.

C. L. SMITH, Princeton, was born January 10,1843, in New Berlin, Union Co., Penn. The grandparents of our subject were Philip and Betsey Smith. The former was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and participated in the battle of Brandywine. They reared six chil- dren. Of these, John Smith was the father of our subject. He was born in New Berlin, Penn., where he entered a printer's office when but fourteen years old, and after mastering the business edited the Star. In 1848 he re- moved to Pekin, Ill., where he edited the Mirror till 1856, when he went to Toulon, Stark County, where he started the Prairie Advocate, which was the first paper ever published in that county. After four years' labor in Toulon he returned to Pekin, where

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he edited the Republican till 1862. From Pekin he went to Hennepin, and there pub- lished the Republican till 1863. The same year he bought the Bureau County Patriot, which he edited till 1870, when he sold out and retired from the newspaper business, which he had conducted successfully for many years. His success was owing largely to his thorough knowledge of the business, which enabled him to do much work himself instead of depending upon others. Perhaps another reason for his success was that he never discussed a subject on the street cor- ners which he had handled in his paper. The last ten years of his life were devoted to his farms. He died August, 1880, in Princeton, Ill. He was married May 28, 1836, to Ce- linda Seebold, born 1817 in Union County, Penn., a daughter of Philip Seebold, who lived to be eighty-four years old. She is yet living in Princeton and is the mother of four children: Mrs. Cecelia Grondenberg, of Pe- kin, Ill .; Palmer J., deceased; Charles L., our subject, and Mrs. Mary M. Merriman, of Toulon, Ill. Our subject attended the Tou- lon Seminary, but was principally educated in his father's printing office. In March, 1863, he came to Bureau County with his father. In December, 1872, in partnership with P. D. Winship, now a prominent phy- sician in Marshalltown, Iowa. he bought the Bureau County Tribune of H. W. Mesenkop. The following year Winship sold out to E. K. Mercer, to whom our subject sold out in June, 1881. In December, the same year, Mr. Smith formed a partnership with G. M. Radcliffe, and is now editing the Bureau County News. Our subject was married May 14, 1864, to Charity I. Mercer, born May 14, 1846, daughter of William Mercer, deceased. Four children have blessed this marriage: Charles K., Lora, Mertie A. and John R. Smith.

D. H. SMITH, Princeton, was born December 2, 1835, in Orwell, Vt. He is the son of Joab and Mary D. (Horton) Smith. The father was born November 10, 1805, in Orwell, Vt., and has followed the occupation of a farmer; he now resides at Brandon, Vt. His father's name was also Joab, but he was a native of Massachusetts. The mother of our subject was born August 11, 1815, and

was the daughter of Daniel G. Horton, a native of Vermont, and a farmer and woolen manufacturer by occupation. Mrs. Smith died in Brandon, Vt., August 19, 1881. She was the mother of three sons, but only one- Daniel H. - now survives. His early life was spent on the farm and in attending the com- mon schools and academies of Orwell. At the age of seventeen he was employed in a store at Sheldon, Vt., and remained there two years. In 1855 he came to Princeton, and for two years clerked in a store, then engaged in grain buying at the depot, and continued in the same till December, 1859. with the exception of a short intermission in 1858, when he was in Fort Dodge, Iowa, engaged in the real estate business. From the latter part of December, 1859, till the summer of 1866, Mr. Smith was in Sheldon, Vt., where he was engaged in manufacturing, and also in the mercantile business. In the fall of 1866 he returned to Bureau County, and was soon afterward appointed Deputy Circuit Clerk, serving as Deputy till 1876, when he was elected Circuit Clerk of the county, which office he has since filled. May 27, 1862, in Fairfax, Vt., Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Jane M. Hubbell, who was born February 13, 1834, in Fairfax. Vt., and is the daughter of Homer E. and Maria (Gove) Hubbell, both natives of Ver- mont. Mr. Hubbell is an attorney by pro- fession, but is retired from active practice. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one son-Louis J .- born October 31, 1863, in Sheldon. Vt. He is now in the United States Postal Serv- ice, and is on the fast through mail train, and runs from Chicago to Ottumwa, Iowa. Since 1870 Mr. Smith has been extensively engaged in loaning money on real estate, he being agent for some Eastern capitalists. February, 1882, he was elected President of the First National Bank of Princeton, in which bank he is a large stockholder.

DANIEL P. SMITH, Ohio. Daniel Smith, deceased, father of the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, was born in Boston, Mass., May 10, 1800. In later years he removed to Northampton, Mass., where he was engaged in the boot and shoe business. He was married in Northampton to Electa Pomeroy, born September 15, 1801,

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in that place. In 1831 they immigrated to Bureau County, Ill., coming by water when possible and landing at Naples, Ill., where they stopped for some time, while Mr. Smith and Roland Mosely came on and explored this county. In July the Smith, Musgrove and Mosely families came up the Illinois River and landed at Hennepin about August 1. Mr. Smith then laid claim to what, is now the Col. Austin Bryant farm. August 8, 1831, Mr. Smith died and was buried abont half a mile north of the Princeton depot, and is thought to be the first white man bur- ied in Bureau County. He had three sons: Daniel P., George (deceased), and Dwight, who resides in Ohio Township. Mrs. Smith is still living and resides with her sons. Daniel P. Smith was born in Northampton, Mass., June 27, 1824. He came to this county with his parents and has resided here since 1831, except during the Black Hawk war, when they were in the fort one year at Hennepin and one year at Florid, in Steward's barn. Mr. Smith resided in Princeton Town- ship till 1848, when he moved to Ohio Town- ship. He attended the first school in the county, near the present home of M. Kitter- man. Mr. Smith has given his attention entirely to farming and stock raising. When he came to Ohio Township he went in debt for his first quarter section, but has since been very successful without speculation, and is now one of the largest land-owners in Ohio Township, his farm containing over 1,000 acres in one body. He has been Supervisor of Ohio Township for six terms; is also one of the Directors of the Farmers' National Bank, of Princeton. In early life Mr. Smith was a Whig, but has been identified with the Republican party since its organization. He was married in this county March 15, 1849, to Miss Rachel Matson, who was born Sep- tember 5, 1829, a daughter of Peter Matson, an old settler of Bureau County. Mrs. Smith died October 26, 1874. She was the mother of seven children, six of whom are living, viz. : Mary J., born August 26, 1852, wife of Leander Chambers, of Ohio Township; Pru- dence A., born November 4, 1853, died March 25, 1877; George W., born October 18, 1855; John M., born December 20, 1857; William N., born November 14, 1859; Aaron M., born

July 28, 1863; Daniel E., born August 13, 1867. All of the sons are on the home farm.

EDWARD SMITH, Manlius, was born in Leicestershire, England, March 17, 1820. His parents, Stephen and Sarah (Wesson) Smith, lived and died in England. They were the parents of six boys and five girls, three of whom came to America: Thomas (now deceased), Edward and Mrs. James Her- rick. Edward Smith came to America in 1851, via New Orleans to St Louis. He started at once for Hennepin, but when he reached Alton found the river blocked with ice, so he stayed in Alton that winter and cut wood, as he was penniless. In the spring of 1851 he reached Hennepin, and worked one year for a farmer. He then bought thirty acres of timber land, which he improved and sold in 1866 for $1,000. He then settled on his present farm of eighty acres in Section 13, Manlius Township, which is now in a good state of cultivation and well improved. He has made his property through hard work and economy. Mr. Smith was married in Putnam County, Ill., to Jane Danforth, who was born in Ireland but came to America with her parents when a child. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have eight children living and one dead, viz .: Sarah, wife of F. Taylor; Stephen W., married to Julia Vaughan; Mary Luella, deceased; Eliza A., Rosa, Edward T. William John, Adah M. and Emma A. All are residents of Bureau County. In politics Mr. Smith is a stanch Republican. He cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. He and his wife are members of the Wesleyan Meth- odist Church.

HENRY C. SMITH, Princeton, was born on the old Smith homestead, in this could - ty, September 18, 1846. He is a son of Eli Smith, who was born November 15, 1804, in Massachusetts. He died Ang- ust 30, 1871, in this county, to which he came in 1831, making a part of the journey with an ox team, the rest by water, landing in Bureau County in June. He came here accompanied by his wife, whose maiden name was Clarissa Childs. She was born Octo- ber 5, 1804, in Deerfield, Mass. She is a daughter of David W. and Eunice (Clapp) Childs, natives of Massachusetts, and the parents of five children. Eli Smith and wife

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first halted at Mr. Foristal's cabin, and then lived a short time on Section 5 with Elijah and Sylva (Childs) Smith. The former was a brother of Eli Smith and the latter a sister to Mrs. Eli Smith. Eventually Mr. and Mrs. Eli Smith settled on Section 4, where they afterward entered 240 acres of land. They reared a family of seven children who reached maturity, viz .: Harriet A., Mary A., Lucy, Owen. Allen, Henry C. and Eli. Of these Harriet A. and Lucy are deceased. Henry C., our subject, is the only one that now resides in the county where their parents took such an active part in the pioneer his- tory (see general history). Henry C. Smith yet resides on the old homestead; his mother, who is yet a hale and well-preserved lady, though nearly eighty summers have passed over her head, is living with him. He is a farmer, but the last few years he has been in the stock business, and is now a mem- ber of the firm of Curtis, Warfield & Co. He was married here to Anna M. Cusic, born August 4, 1849. Her parents were Dennis A. and Betsey (Cox) Cusic. She has two chil- dren, viz .: Cora A., born June 12, 1873, and Marshall H., born October 19, 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are active members of the Methodist Protestant Church. He is a Republican, and a K. of H., Guardian Lodge, No. 1123.

JONATHAN SMITH, Berlin, was born in Rockingham County, Va., October 25, 1814. His parents, John and Eleanor (Burnside) Smith. were also natives of Virginia, but re- : moved to Greene County, Ohio, when their son, our subject, was less than one year old. There he was reared and resided until he came to this county, in 1846. He then had barely enough money to bring him here, and for some time rented land in various parts of Berlin Township, until he settled on his pres- ent farm. His efforts here have been success- ful, and he now owns 400 acres of land, and has retired from active life. He was married in Greene County, Ohio, May 14, 1840, to Malumba Ary, who was born in the same county, January 13, 1819. Her parents, Charles and Rosa (Long) Ary, were natives of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have five : children living and one dead, viz .: Charles A., born April 15, 1842; Mark, born January

15, 1845; Lewis, born November 29, 1847; Samantha, born April 12, 1851; Zimri, born February 5, 1858; James, born May 13, 1860, died September 6, 1883. In politics Mr. Smith has been a life-long Democrat.

C. P. SNOW, Princeton, was born Sep- tember 9, 1834, in Boston, Mass. His par- ents, Thomas J. and Caroline (Wilbur) Snow, were natives of the same vicinity. The form- er was a teacher by occupation, and won considerable fame as an instructor in differ- ent States. The first part of his life was spent in teaching in different institutions in his native State, the latter part in Kentucky, where he left a fair record in his chosen pro- fession. He finally came to Peoria, this State, where he taught two years and there died. During his life he spent much of his leisure time in instructing his children, who thus received the benefit of the superior education which he had acquired at Cam- bridge, Mass., being a graduate of that place. The early life of our subject was spent in the school-room, and when a young man he worked a few years on the farm. At the age of eighteen he became an assistant teacher, having inherited from his father a love for the profession. He has been a teacher near- ly thirty years, and almost half of that time in the schools of Princeton, which speaks volumes for his ability as an instructor. His first regular school was taught in Chicago in 1854, where he and his two brothers, Hector O. and Oren T., were employed as teachers in the "Garden City Institute," a private school which was burned in 1860, after which he went to Peoria, Ill., where he was Principal of one of the city schools for eight years. In the spring of 1864 he enlisted as a private in the Fourteenth Regiment Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, Company H. He was promoted to First Lieutenant and served till the close of the war, after which he resumed his school at Peoria. On the Ist of September, 1869, he came to Princeton, Bureau County, where he was appointed Superintendent of city schools, and has filled that position to the present day. Here he was also joined in matrimony, July 23, 1872, to Miss Elizabeth D. Paddock, who was born March 20, 1850. She is a daughter of Solomon A. and Angelica H. (Boyd) Paddock. He was a

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native of Charleston, S. C., and died in Bloomington, Ill. She was a native of Boyds Grove, Ill., named in honor of her par- ents, who were Charles S. and Elizabeth (Dixon) Boyd, both natives of New York and among the first settlers of this county. They came here in company with "Col. John Dix- on" and were forty days on the road from New York to this county. Mrs. Snow is the mother of two children, viz .: Allan P., born April 4, 1881, and Corydon P., born Novem- ber 29, 1883. Mr. Snow is a member of the Swedenborgian Church. He is also a mein- ber of the A. F. & A. M. fraternity, Prince- ton Lodge, No. 587, a Sir Knight of Malta, Temple Commandery, No. 20, and G. A. R. In politics he is a stanch Republican.

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History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 95

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