History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 96

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 96

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).

HENRY SNYDER, Hall, was born No- vember 9, 1816, in Hessen-Cassel, Germany. His parents. John and Elizabeth (Hose) Sny- der. were natives of Germany, where the lat- ter died. She was the mother of three chil- dren-Henry, John aud Catharine. Our subject's father was again married to Eva Hemmel, also a native of Germany, and now living in Peru, Ill. She is the mother of nve children, viz .: William and John, of Cal- ifornia; Edward and Mrs. Julia Schafer, of Nebraska, and Mrs. Martha Miller, of Cal- ifornia. Our subject's father came to Bureau County, aud died in Peru, Ill., in March, 1884, aged ninety-one years. Henry Snyder emigrated to Detroit when he was nineteen years old. He afterward went to Chicago, and from there to LaSalle. In the fall of 1839 he came to Hall Township, Bureau County, and worked on a farm. He soon after bought a farm, and pow owns 450 acres of land as the result of industry and hard work. He was Township Supervisor two years during the war, and afterward served twelve years in succession. He has also been Commissioner of Highways at different times, and School Director twenty years. He has always voted with the Democratic party. Mr. Snyder was married in this county to Cecelia Doll, a native of Bavaria, a daughter of Philip Doll, an old settler of Selby Town- ship. She is the mother of nine children, all living, viz .: Jacob, George, William, Mrs. Martha Heintz, Frank, Edward, Flora and

John. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are members of the Lutheran Church.

S. G. SOVERHILL, Indiantown, was born November 28, 1835, in Arcadia, Wayne Co., N. Y. His father, Isaac Soverhill, was born in the same place, and also died there in 1846. He was a blacksmith by occupation in early life, and a farmer in later life. He had also been a soldier in the war of 1812. The grandfather of our subject, Samuel Sov- erhill, Sr., came from Long Island in com- pany with his brother, Isaac Soverhill, and was one of the pioneers of Arcadia, N. Y., where he died. He was a blacksmith by oc- cupation. His wife, Sally (Clark) Soverhill, was the mother of five children, viz .: Isaac, Hiram, Joel, Mrs. Susan Luce and Mrs. Pol- ly Cronise. The mother of our subject was a native of Lyons, Wayne Co., N. Y. She died in Arcadia in 1844, aged forty-five years. She was the mother of six children, viz .: Mrs. Eliza Parks, Mrs. Sarah Rowe, Mrs. Susan Robinson, Mrs. Emma L. Dator, Mar- vin A., and Samuel G., our subject. The latter received a common school education in his native town, where he farmed, rais- ing peppermint principally. In the fall of 1866 he came West, intending to go to Iowa, but was induced to stay in this county. where his brother resided. After a so- journ of two years he visited his old home in Arcadia. Since then he has made this county his home, and at present resides in Indiantown Township, where he first bought eighty acres of land, but owing to good management and success as a farmer he at present owns a farm of 234 acres. For the last eleven years he has been engaged in the dairy business, and was one of the original stockholders and or - ganizers of the Tiskilwa cheese factory. When it burnt down he, in partnership with P. C. Bacon, rebuilt it and carried on the business for two years, when he sold out. At present he is one of the largest patrons that supplies the factory with milk. Mr. Sover-

hill was married twice. His first wife, Jane

Whitback, a native of Arcadia, N. Y., died here October 8, 1875. His second wife, Laura Couch, is a native of Bureau County, and a daughter of B. C. Couch, Esq., of Tiskilwa. She is the mother of three chil-

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dren, viz. : Harvey A., George and Wilber R. Mr. and Mrs. Soverhill are both active mem- bers of the church. He is also a member of the A. F. & M. fraternity, Sharon Lodge. No. 550, and the Princeton Chapter and Commandery. Politically he is identified with the Republican party, has filled township offices, and for the last four years has been an efficient Supervisor.

J. Y. SPANGLER, Greenville, was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, April 11, 1826. His father, George Spangler, was a native of Maryland, and died in Kansas, September, 1882. His wife, Catharine (Anderson) Spangler, was born in Virginia, died June 16, 1845, in Ohio. J. Y. Spangler came to Bureau County, III., October 11, 1847, and settled in Center Grove. In 1852 he moved to Manlius Township, where there were but very few settlers at that time. In 1876 he settled on his present farm of forty acres in Greenville Township. Mr. Spangler was married in this county October 11, 1849, to Jane Clark. She was born in Ohio, June 27, 1830, and came to this county with her father, Thomas Clark, in 1834. Mr. and Mrs. Spangler are the parents of the following children: Theodore and Theory, born July 11, 1850 (Theodore lives in Tabor, Iowa; Theory died March 1, 1877, in Wyoming Territory); Ida May, died at the age of one year and twenty-five days; Ella, born No- vember 19, 1858, wife of E. C. Thompson, of Marne, Cass Co., Neb .; Mary, born No- vember 29, 1879. Mr. Spangler is a stanch Republican, and has always taken an active part in political matters. For about twenty years he has been a delegate from his town- ship to the County Convention. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., No. 142, of Sheffield.

JOHN W. SPRATT, New Bedford. George W. Spratt, deceased, was born in Richland County, Ohio, April 10, 1814. He was married in his native county December 11, 1833, to Mary Ann Hill, who was born in Delaware, February 11, 1814. October 31, 1838, they arrived in Bureau County, Ill., and lived on Green River for one year, afterward removing to Mt. Carroll. A year later they located in Princeton, where Mr. Spratt worked at his trade of tinner for ten

years. They then settled on a farmi in Bureau Township, where Mr. Spratt died February 11, 1876. Mrs. Spratt is still liv- ing, the only surviving member of a family of nine children, most of whom died in this county. She is the mother of nine children, five of whom are living, viz .: John W., born October 31, 1836; James M., born May 7, 1840, is now in the stock business in Wyanet; Nehemiah, born December 2, 1841, a farmer in Gold Township; Samuel R., born July 2, 1846, a farmer in Bureau Township; Le- vicy Ann, born March 26, 1850, wife of Richard Allen, a farmer in Clay County, Neb. John W. Spratt was born in Martinsburg, Knox County, Ohio. He came to this coun- ty with his parents, and received his educa- tion in the schools of Princeton. He was engaged in farming until March, 1880, when he came to New Bedford and entered the mercantile business. He carries a stock of goods valued at about $7,000, with annual sales of from $12,000 to $20,000. In the win- ter of 1864 and 1865 he enlisted in the service of his country in Company I, Four- teenth Illinois Infantry, and was mustered out in June, 1865. Mr. Spratt was married in this county June 11, 1863, to Miss Iantha Mott, who was born in Oneida County, N. Y., August 6, 1845. Her parents, Edward and Catharine (Brower) Mott, are now resi- dents of Harvard, Neb. Mr. and Mrs. Spratt have nine children, viz .: Mary C., born March 18, 1864; William, born Sep- tember 25, 1865; Samuel, born January 16, 1867; Nellie, born October 10, 1869; Milton, born January 31, 1871; Rosa, born Decem- ber 21, 1873, died January 14, 1881; Ed- ward, born December 9, 1875; Franklin, born January 10, 1877; Harry, born March 18, 1881. All are living at home. In po- litical matters Mr. Spratt is independent. He is serving his second term as Supervisor of Greenville Township. He is a strong tem- perance man, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, being a local preacher of that denomination, and an active worker in the Sunday-school.

G. T. SQUIRES, Mineral, was born August 27, 1845, in Mineral Township. He is a son of George W. Squires, who is one of the pioneers of Mineral Township. He was born May 4,

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

1809, in Steuben County, N. Y. His parents, Josiah and Lucinda (Martin) Squires, were natives of Vermont. The latter died in Ohio, and the former in Mineral Township. They were the parents of eleven children. George W. Squires was reared in New York and Ohio. He came to Providence, Bureau County, in 1836; there he resided till about 1840, when he removed to Mineral Township, where he now resides. He married Susan Riley, whose parents, Paul and E. Betsey (Laugh- ery) Riley, were natives of Pennsylvania. They settled in Concord Township, Bureau Co., Ill., in 1835, but died in Mineral Town- ship. Mrs. Susan Squires is the mother of five children, viz .: Riley J., George T., Mary L. (deceased, aged twenty- two), William P. and Mrs. Elizabeth Rollins. George T. Squires, our subject, received a common school education in this county. Here he farmed till March, 1862, when he enlisted in the Sixty-fifth Regiment of Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, Company E, and served till the close of the war, participating in the battles of Harper's Ferry, Knoxville, Atlanta campaign, Franklin, Nashville and minor engagements. He enlisted as a private at the age of sixteen, but was promoted at the age of eighteen to Second Lieutenant. After the war he resumed farming, which he fol- lowed till six years ago, when he removed to Mineral, where he sold agricultural imple- ments three years for Conibear & Son. Since then he has been engaged in that bus- iness for himself, and for six years followed auctioneering. Mr. Squires was married Oc- tober 15, 1865, to Miss Elma F. Rollins, born July 30, 1849, in Manchester, N. H. She is a daughter of Lyman P. and Olive L. (Wadley) Rollins, the latter a native of Maine, yet living, and the mother of four children, viz .: Byron, Ora L., Albert W. and Elma F. Mr. Rollins was formerly an overseer in a woolen-mill. Later in life he farmed. He came to Mineral Township, Bureau County, in 1860, and died here in 1875. To Mr. and Mrs. Squires two children were born, viz. : George O., born January 6, 1868, and Susie O., January 15, 1872. Mrs. Squires is at present Postmistress of Mineral. Mr. Squires is a member of the Tristen T. Dow

Post, No. 290, G. A. R., of Annawan, Ill. Politically he is a Republican.

CHRISTIAN STADLER, Hollowayville, was born in Bavaria, Germany, May 20, 1821. He attended school in his native country, and at the age of fifteen began as an apprentice to learn the trade of wagon- making, and followed that until he came to America in 1846. He came to Bureau County by water via New Orleans, St. Louis and Peoria, and from there by team to Selby Township, where he has since resided. For four years he worked at his trade and farmed on rented land. He then bought a farm of eighty acres, built a shop on it and continued to farm and work at his trade till 1857. He then started a grocery store in Hollowayville, continuing in that till 1860, when he changed to general merchandise, in which business he is still engaged, carrying a complete stock of dry goods, boots and shoes, etc. In 1858 he was appointed Postmaster, and although a Democrat, has held the office, with the ex- ception of a few years, ever since. Altogether he has been Postmaster twenty years. Dur- ing his residence in the village he has also been a landowner. His farm now contains ninety acres. When he came to Bureau County he was $25 in debt, but through in- dustry and perseverance has been successful in his business. He was married in this county in 1848, to Elizabeth Lehrer, who was born in Bavaria, Germany, March 9, 1829, and came to this county in 1846. They are the parents of twelve children, four of whom are living, viz. : Lewis C., born April 17, 1857, married Mary Markel-(he is in the store with his father); Hanna, October 22, 1858; Lizzie, September 13, 1864; Chris- tian G., June 1, 1867. All are at home. Mr. Stadler is a member of the I. O. O. F., Venus Lodge, No. 536, of Hollowayville. He is a member of the Lutheran Church.

CHARLES STAMBERGER, Clarion, was born September 1, 1843, in Beickheim, Bavaria, Germany. He came to America with his parents, Frederick and Elizabeth (Bauer) Stamberger, who settled in Clarion Township, Bureau Co., Ill., June, 1850. They were the parents of the following chil- dren: Charles and Mrs. Elizabeth N. Grosz

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HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY.

are deceased; Charles our subject, Mrs. Cath- arine Geuther, Henry and George. Fred- erick Stamberger first bought 160 acres of N. Edwards. He has been a hard-working man and his wife and children have stood by him and assisted in the accumulation of property. At present he has 882 acres of choice land, most of which his family work. He was born February 17, 1812, in Beickheim, Bavaria. His parents were Henry and Christina (Hoffman) Stamberger. The for- mer was a miller in Germany. Mrs. Eliza- beth Stamberger was born November 6, 1815, in Beickheim. She is a danghter of Andrew and Anna M. Bauer. Charles Stam- berger is working one of his father's farms. He was married here February 17, 1867, to Barbara M. Grosz, who was born July 14, 1843, in Germany. She is a daughter of George Grosz. To Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stamberger six children were born, viz .: George, Paulina C., Emma C., Anna M., Bertha E. and Willie J. Our subject and wife are members of the Lutheran Church. He is one of the most wide-awake Germans in the township, and takes an interest in all public matters.

STILLMAN STANNARD, Clarion, was born September 19, 1813, in Madison County, N. Y. He is a son of Libbeus and Luceba (Fay) Stannard, with whom he came to Bureau County in November, 1840. Libbeus Stannard was born in Vermont, and at the age of twenty-one removed with his father, Libbeus Stannard, Sr., to New York State, where he farmed till he came to Bureau County, where he entered land east of Per- kins' Grove. He died October 10, 1858, aged seventy-three years. The mother of our subject was a native of Massachusetts, born in March, 1793. She died here January 4, 1842. She was the mother of the following children: Cornelia, Stillman, David and Philo (deceased), Newton, Edward (deceased), Emeline, Marrila (wife of Rev. S. Holroyd), Hiram, Oscar, Caroline and Joseph Stannard. Our subject was reared in his native State, where he was also married March 9, 1837, to Mary A. Dean, who was born April 21, 1815, in Eaton, N. Y. She is a daughter of John and Lucinda (Goddard) Dean, who were of English extraction. Mr. and Mrs. Stannard

are the parents of the following children: Mrs. Mary E. Bowman (of Madison County, Iowa), Lavisa A., Mrs. Lucinda J. Johnson (of Winfield, Kan.), Mrs. Julia F. Frost (of Atlantic, Iowa), Harriet L., and Henry A. Stannard (of Madison County, Neb.) Mr. and Mrs. Stannard and children are members of the Baptist Church. Politically he is a Republican. He owns a farm of 150 acres, on which James Kendall had first made a claim. Mr. Stannard then bought the land of Mrs. Maria Kendall.

JOHN STAUFFER, Wheatland, was born September 15, 1854, in Alsace, France. He is a son of Joseph and Anna (Tschantz) Stanffer, both natives of France. They came to the United States in 1855, and farmed in Davis County, Iowa, till 1863, when they came to Arispe Township, Bureau County, where the mother died. They were the pa- rents of sixteen children; of these eleven are yet living. John Stauffer, our subject, is a successful farmer. He owns a farm of 100 acres in Wheatland Township. Mr. Stanffer was married February 28, 1878, to Amelia Schertz, who was born March 1, 1854. She is a daughter of Joseph and Barbara (Ioder) Schertz, who are among our best German citizens. Mrs. Stauffer is the mother of two children, viz .: Clara, born December 5, 1880, and Ada, born February 13, 1884. Mr, and Mrs. Stauffer are religiously connected and are active members of the Mennonite Church. Politically he is Independent.

CAPT. CHARLES STEDMAN, DePue, was born in Suffolk, England, February 24, 1825. He is the son of Barnard and Char- lotte Stedman. The mother was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, but the father was of English birth. When our subject was eight years of age his parents moved to Nova Scotia, and it was there he was reared till he was about fifteen years old. His father died in 1882, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years and six months. The mother died a month later at the age of seventy-five. At the age of fifteen our subject became a sailor and followed that business till 1849, when he came to the United States and has since been engaged in the ice business, first at Peru, Ill., where he was in the employ of Capt. J. L. McCormick, of Peru, who was one of the

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

first to ship ice to the Southern markets. In 1854 he retired from the business, and Capt. Stedman was then with Capt. Bowers till 1858 and would go to Memphis, Vicksburg and Natchez with ice. In 1858 he went into the employ of Hughes, Loomis & Co., of St. Louis. Capt. Stedman was then sent out with the boats as soon as trade opened in the spring, and his business extended from Pern, Ill., to New Orleans. By trade he is a ship-builder, and so as soon as the ship- ping season was over he had charge of the yards at St. Louis, and did repairing and building of boats for the company. In 1876 he began in his present business for William J. Lemp, of the Western Brewery, St. Louis, Mo. The business has grown so that now instead of having the two or three barges with which they commenced, they have four- teen barges, steamboat, etc., and a storing capacity for 50,000 tons of ice, with three steam elevators, and everything complete for the extensive business they carry on. They expend annually at DePue about $27,000 for labor, repairs, etc. Everything is complete for repairing or building of boats. Part of the time they employ 300 men during the winter season. The fourteen barges average 1,000 tons each, and each trip to St. Louis Capt. Stedman takes three barges and aver- ages about one trip a week. Capt. Stedman is the manager of the entire business here and has through his management made a grand success of it. In 1853 he was mar- ried in Peru, III., to Miss Catherine Landers, who was born in Canada West. She is the mother of the following children: Harriet, wife of Warren Sweely, who is mate on the Joseph Flemming, the ice boat; Charles Ed- win, the book-keeper of the ice business at DePue; John, in business at DePne for him- self; Annie, a teacher in the schools here; Burton, clerk on the boat, and Lottie.

A. L. STEELE, Dover, was born in Erie County, N. Y., March 8, 1827. His parents, Danford and Lydia (Abel) Steele, were both natives of Vermont, and were early settlers in Erie County, N. Y. Danford Steele was born April 19, 1797, and his wife, September 11, 1799. They were the parents of three children: Henry D .. a successful merchant of Denver, Col .; our subject, and a daughter

Lydia L., who died in 1850 at Dover. Dan-

ford Steele died December 3, 1830, when our subject was about four years old. His mother being left destitute, he was bound out to a farmer, and his opportunities for an education were of the most meager descrip- tion. When he was ten years old, the wife of the man to whom he was bound died, and he was sent to his grandfather, Simon Abel, and worked at whatever he could find to do till 1848. Simon Abel was a native of Leb- anon, Conn., born October 2, 1767. His wife, Rachel Farnsworth, was born in New Ipswich, N. H., September 9, 1770. In 1848 they came to this county, and our subject and his mother accompanied them. Simon Abel died here September 28, 1851, and his widow March 20, 1857. Mr. Steele's mother died in Dover, January 3, 1861. The first two years in Bureau County, Mr. Steele farmed on rented land, but on account of his health left the farm and clerked in Dover till 1858, for M. W. Abel, and also for Stacy Bros. In 1858 he engaged in business for himself in part- nership with C. D. Hubbard and after four years became sole owner. He still continues in the business and is one of the oldest mer- chants in the county. He began the mercan- tile business with a cash capital of $500, and he and bis partner borrowed $5,000. He now has, besides his mercantile and other inter- ests, 460 acres of land in Dover and Prince- ton Townships. Mr. Steele was married at Dover, November 28, 1852, to Miss Susan Zearing, born April 2, 1829; she is a daugh- ter of Martin Zearing, deceased (see sketch). Mr. and Mrs. Steele have seven children liv- ing: Charles D., born November 16, 1853; George, June 24, 1855; Lydia, April 12, 1857, died October 21, 1858; John A., born August 21, 1859; Dick, November 18, 1861; Louis L., May 18, 1863; Lottie, October 18, 1866; Harry D., June 17, 1869. Mr. Steele is a member of I. O. O. F.

STEVENS FAMILY. Simon Stevens came from England in 1640; landed in Salem, settled in Byfield, Mass. Of his sons, three in number. one went to Andover, one went to Hampstead and one settled in the South. Simon, the son who settled in Hampstead, had a son Simon, who also lived in Hampstead. This Simon had two sons, Asa and Simon.

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HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY.

Asa was slain in the war with the Provinces. He had a son named after him. His widow married Deacon David Morrill, of Canterbury, N. H. Her name was Abigail Emerson. She died June 30, 1833, at the advanced age of ninety-five years and ten months. She had twelve children, eighty-eight grandchildren, one hundred and fifty-two great-grandchil- dren, and fifty-two of the fifth generation. Simon was born March 12, 1754, and died of numb palsy, June 19, 1825. He married Elizabeth Boyenton, who was born Novem- ber 10, 1754, and died February 9, 1846. They lived in Canterbury, N. H. Their chil- dren are: Otho, born July 22, 1776 (had one son who married his cousin, daughter of Abiah); Edmund, born July 3, 1778, died December 13, 1854 (had two children, Will- iam and Eliza; he was the only Whig of Simon's twelve children); David, born Novem- ber 10, 1780, died December 3, 1806; Betsey, born December 8, 1782, married a Sargent of Canterbury; John, born July 29, 1785, died July 8, 1869; Jesse, born September 29, 1788, died of cholera September 2, 1849 (his children were Sylvester and Albert); Pol- ly, born September 13, 1791 (married an Emerson of Newburyport, Mass.); Abiah, born October 12, 1793 (married a Batchelder; settled in Columbus, Ohio: had two sons and one daughter; daughter married Otho's son); Moses, born July 29, 1796 (married Mary Stevens; had two children, Elbridge and David; settled in Bureau County Ill .; died February 18, 1864); Abigail, born Sep- tember 11, 1790 (married a Davis of Canter- bury; had two daughters); Thomas Jefferson, born July 18, 1801 (married twice; had seven children, one died in infancy; settled in Bureau County, Ill .; died in June, 1878); Simon, Jr., born July 18, 1803, died Decem- ber 16, 1806.

JOHN STEVENS was born in Canterbury, N. H., July 29, 1785. He was married to Submit Newcomb in March, 1810. Submit Newcomb was born in Greenwich, Mass., September 3, 1790. They lived in that part of Boscawen which is now called Webster, N. H. The homestead land was purchased of Daniel Webster and the deed is still in possession of the family. John Stevens was a merchant and general business man. His

wife died September 30, 1825, and was bur- ied in the old burying ground in Boscawen. This epitaph is upon her tombstone: "She died lamented as she lived beloved." In 1835 Mr. Stevens entered land in Illinois and moved thither in 1842, settling in Tis- kilwa, Bureau County. Here he carried on a large and prosperous mercantile business in company with his sons. He married Mrs. Mary Campbell Lawyer in Reading, Mass., December 31, 1829. She was born September 16, 1794, and died August 10, 1879. They had no children. John Stevens died in Tis- kilwa, July 8, 1869. The children of John Stevens and Submit Newcomb, his wife, are: David, born January 19, 1811, moved to Illi- nois in 1843 and settled in Buda, Bureau County (he was married to Hannah Loverin, of Springfield, N. H .; they had two sons and one daughter; David Stevens died May 6, 1872); Bradford Newcomb, born January 3, 1813; Adaline, born February 17, 1815 (mar- ried Fitz Henry Boyden; resides in Chicago, Ill. ; five daughters); Calvin, born March 15, 1817 (came to French Grove, Ill., in 1839; afterward settled in Tiskilwa in business with his father and brothers. He married Jane Greeley, of Salisbury, N. H. They had seven children, one dying in infancy. Calvin Stevens died September 7, 1864); Justus, boru January 8, 1819; Louisa, born March 2, 1821, married Edward Sawyer, lived in Tiskilwa, Ill .; (they had ten children); Sub- mit, born March 2, 1823, died September, 23, 1825; Elizabeth Phelps, born February 2, 1825, married John Weeks; lives in Chicago. They had three daughters, two died in in. fancy.

JUSTUS STEVENS was born in Bosca- wen, no w Webster, adjoining Concord on the north, January 18, 1819. He was educated at Franklin Academy and Patridge's Military School at Norwich, Vt. In 1842 he settled in Illinois in the town of Princeton, Bureau County, where he has resided ever since. For nearly twenty years he carried on a large mercantile business, buying grain and shipping all kinds of agricultural products to St. Louis and Chicago. His business extended over four counties and he was one of the best known men in his part of the State. At an early day he entered a large

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History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 96

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