History of Effingham county, Illinois, Part 47

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? ed
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, O. L. Baskin & co.
Number of Pages: 650

USA > Illinois > Effingham County > History of Effingham county, Illinois > Part 47

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CORNELIUS A. VAN ALLEN, County Surveyor, Effingham, was born in Jefferson County, N. Y., September 20, 1837. He came West in 1855, having charge of a party of land examiners for the Illinois Central Railroad. There were eight Division Engi- neers, and each man had two chain carriers. Subject with two men made surveys and notes describing lands to prepare them for the market. He was employed in this work from Decatur to Cairo, and remained until

EFFINGHAM CITY AND DOUGLAS TOWNSIHP.

all the railroad lands of the Central were ex- amined. He made his home with his brother here, who had the land office, selling Central lands. In the fall of 1856, he entered the employ of the Government as chief surveyor, making original survey of lands in Northern Wisconsin for nearly a year, and returned in the fall of 1857, and laid out the town of Edgewood and Farina. In the fall of 1857, he made a visit home, and returned here in March, 1858, and located permanently and became Deputy Surveyor for Allen Howard until his term expired. He began farming in Bishop Township in the fall of 1858, and broke the first prairie farm in that township, continu- ing until the war broke out. He enlisted in the Fifty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in October, 1861, and served until the spring of 1862, when he was wounded by the acci- dental explosion of a shell at Columbus, Ky., which made a compound fracture of limb, and he was discharged and returned home, and entered the employ of J. F. Waschefort, as foreman at the mill until the spring of 1866, when he purchased an interest in a stock of goods with Judge Gillenwaters, and continued in the store here until he was elected County Surveyor of Effingham Coun- ty, in the fall of 1867, and closed out the mercantile interest as soon as expedient. He served as surveyor for a term of two years and laid out the town of Altamont in July, 1870, and took charge of the agency of Vandalia, and was the first agent of that road; also of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad and the Wabash Railroad. Hethen traveled as Lost Car Agent for Evansville, Terre Haute & Chi- cago Railroad, for two years, and at the so- licitation of J. W. Conlogue, proprietor of Altamont, took his real estate interests there. and was shortly after appointed agent of the Paducah Railroad, which he held three and a half years. In the spring of 1878, he was

elected to re-survey Bishop Township, which he did during that summer, and in the fall surveyed St. Francis and Lucas Townships. In the fall of 1879, he was elected County Surveyor of Effingham. Ho was educated at Falley Seminary, at Fulton, N. Y., where he took an engineering course, which he com- pleted in March, 1855. He was married, September 23, 1858, to Miss Laura Sethman, of Tentopolis, Ill. He has three children living and three dead.

THOMAS G. VANDEVEER, physician and druggist, Effingham, was born in Orange County, Ind., September 21, 1834. He came West when in his ninth year with his par- ents, who settled in Clay County, Ill. The father died the same year of his arrival, and the mother died about four years after set- tling in Clay County. Our subject went to live with a brother-in-law, Hartwig Samuel- son, who settled in Union Township, this county, about 1850. His brother-in-law was a millwright and built a mill at Flensburg, and subject worked in the mill until 1853. He then came to Mason, Ill., and after some time as clerk in a store there, he began read- ing medicine, in August, 1853, with Dr. J. H. Robinson, of Mason, and, reading one year with him, then went to Louisville, Clay Co.,Ill., where he read with Drs. Hull and Bar- bre, until the fall of 1855. He also attended the session of 1855-56 in the Rush Medical College, Chicago, and practiced for six months in Georgetown, Clay Co., Ill., when he came to Mason, this county, in the "fall of 1856, and practiced there till the fall of 1859, when he relinquished practice, and has since been almost continually in the drug business. In December, 1860, he entered the Circuit Clerk's office as Deputy and brought the rec- ords from Ewington to Effingham. In 1862, he was for three months Surgeon under con- tract to Companies I and K. of the Seventy-

BIOGRAPHICAL:

first Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. They were assigned to the duty of guarding Big Muddy Bridge, ou the Illinois Central. In 1864, he entered the employ of R. Gil- bert, of Effingham, and remained until 1876 as clerk in his drug store. In September, 1877, he took charge of the present drug store for W. T. Pape, and has conducted the busi- ness for him since. Our subject married, May 3, 1865, Miss Martha Jackson, daughter of John Jackson, of this county, one of the early pioneers. The Doctor has always been a Democrat, and has been named for several county offices, and has served four years as Coroner of the county.

EDWARD C. VAN HORN, carpenter and joiner, Effingham, is a native of Pennsylva- nia, born August 15, 1832, son of W. D. and Lydia (Griswold) Van Horn; he, born in Bradford County, Penn., December 27, 1803, is a carpenter and joiner in Ottawa County, Ohio; she died in Huron County, Ohio, in 1846. Our subject is one of thirteen chil- dren, eight of whom were full brothers and sisters. He received his education in Huron County, Ohio, and learned the carpenter's trade when quite young, and at the age of twenty, went to Michigan City, Ind., from there to Galesburg, and afterward to Cairo, this State, and finally, to this county, where he was in the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad for one year, being engaged in building and repairing bridges. He was married, December 5, 1856, to Christina Statts, born in Wayne County, this State, in 1837, daughter of Hiram and Jessie Statts. Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn have three children living-Lydia, Mollie and Edward. Our subject enlisted in the Thirty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company K, Capt. Dobbs; was afterward made Sergeant and detailed to the Pioneer Corps. He was engaged in the battles of Perryville, Stone River, Mission

Ridge and Corinth, but was not under fire at the latter place. He came to this county after the war, and helped to lay out into lots a part of Bruffton, which name was changed to Effingham. He has erected some of the finest buildings in the latter city. He has held the offices of Alderman and Marshal; is a temper- ance man and a highly respected citizen. He is an A., F. & A. M., Effingham Lodge, No. 149, and is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Yates Post, No. 88. In politics, he is a Democrat.

JOSEPH VENEMANN, merchant, Effing- ham, was born in Teutopolis, Effingham County, June 11, 1857. He began as clerk in Evansville, 'Ind., at the age of thirteen, remaining two years and then returned to this county, and lived on a farm for four years. He then went to St. Louis for one and one-half years, where he was engaged in a retail dry goods store, on Franklin avenue, in partnership with his brothers, August and John. In the spring of 1881, August and Joseph sold out to John, and came to Effing- ham, and opened a store in the Dennis build- ing, on Jefferson street, where they have since conducted a good business in dry goods, notions and gents' furnishing goods. His father, Anthony Venemann, was a native of Germany; was born in the year 1812; was raised to the occupation of farming, and at the age of twenty-one he emigrated to the United States, settling at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he married Mary Bietenhorn, and came to this county about 1846. first locating ou a farm in Watson Township, where they lived in a rail-pen until they could build a cabin. He remained on the farm and made improve- ments during three or four years, then moved to Teutopolis Township, where he farmed about three years, then moved to the village and started a dry goods and grocery store and continued in business until about 1871,

EFFINGHAM CITY AND DOUGLAS TOWNSHIP.

when he moved back to his original farm, which he owned until his death, a fine tract of 360 acres, about 140 acres of which was in cultivation. He died December 2, 1881. His wife died in the fall of 1864. Ho was a strong and influential Democrat. He had four sons and two daughters living at the time of his death, one having died since. Those living are Mary, Lizzie, John, August and Joseph. Anthony died May 7, 1882.

AUGUST VENEMANN was born in Effing- ham County July 28, 1854. He received his early education in the neighborhood schools, and after having graduated at St. Joseph's College, at Tentopolis, he assisted his father about the farm for one year, aftor which he engaged, for two years, as clerk in Effingham. He returned to farming again, for seven years, or until 1880, when he en- tered the dry goods business at St. Louis, in company with his brother John, under the firm name of J. &. A. Venemann. They continued the business together for one year, when our subject sold his interest in the business to his brother John, and, returning to Effingham, there entered the dry goods business with his brother Joseph. He was married, October 2, 1882, to Miss Mary Wern- sing, formerly of Ohio.

W. F. VICORY, lightning rods and pumps, Effingham, son of Anson and Hannah (Treat) Vicory, was born in Springfield, Clark Co., Ohio, September 19, 1816, and is the second child of a family of seven children, all of whom are now living, with the exception of Herick, namesake of Gen. Herick, the re- nowned Indian fighter of that day, and Theo- dore, who was drowned at the age of six, and Elizabeth, formerly the wife of Hiram Mike- sell, a farmer. Levi resides in Arkansas, Hiram in Marshall County, Ind., and Joseph is a resident of Idaho. His parents on both sides were of English extraction, their grand-

parents having emigrated to America in an early day and settled in Vermont. The fa- ther of our subject was a millwright by trade, and having removed to or near Saratoga, N. Y., was there married, it is supposed, at a date not known. Soon after the war of 1812 or 1813, he removed to Ohio, where our sub- ject was born. Here he followed his occupa- tion, building mills all through that State and Indiana up to the time of his death, about 1852 or 1853; provious to his death, he removed from Ohio to La Porte, Ind. Mr. Vicory was educated in the common schools of Ohio and Indiana, after which he learned the millwright trade with his father and worked with him up to the time he was thirty- four years of age. In 1850, ho removed to Effingham County. Ill., where, in 1851. he was married to Miss Cynthia Glazner, of Cumberland County, Ill. By this union they have had seven children, as follows: Mary, Frank, George, Jesse, Freeman, Evie and Ettie. Mr. Vicory's father and mother were natives of Ohio. Her father is deceased, her mother is still living. Our subject's great- grandfather had fifteen boys who all grew up to manhood and scattered all through the United States, the youngest of which was our subject's grandfather, who served through the Revolutionary war, and during his lifetime his house was a favorite resort for the old Revolutionary soldiers. During his life he predicted the great war of the rebellion.

BERNARD VOGT, shoe store and custom shop, Effingham, was born in Douglas Town- ship, this county, June 10, 1843. At the age of eighteen, he began to learn shoe-mak- ing with B. Hodebecke, serving two years' apprenticeship, and afterward worked about six years as a journeyman. He started a shop for himself here about 1868, and has continued ever since, and for the last seven years has conducted a shoe store in connec-

BIOGRAPHICAL:

tion with the shop, on Jefferson street. Mr. Vogt employs three men in the custom depart- ment, and carries a full stock of boots and shoes. He was married, in 1867, to Miss Lizzie Feldhake. They have seven children living. Our subject's father, Barney Vogt, was born in Germany, and came to Cincin- nati, Ohio, when a young man, and was mar- ried to Miss Mary Brown, by whom he had nine children. He settled on a farm in Doug- las Township about 1840.

GODFREY F. VOLKMAN, saloon. Effing- ham, was born in Utica, N. Y., April 5, 1846. His father's name was John M. Volk- man. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1816. His occupation was that of farming. His mother's name was Margaret Looer, born in the same place in Germany. She is still living; they had twelve children. Our subject was educated in Chicago. He was married, in 1867. to Miss Sofa Werndroff; they have four children by the union, she having died. He was married a second time, in 1875, to Mrs. Mary Bering; by this union they have had four children. He was a mem- ber of Battery B, First Illinois Artillery; during his service, he participated in twenty- nine battles, among some of which was Stone River, Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Ringgold, Resaca, New Hope Church, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Columbia, Franklin, Chattahoo- chie and others. He was wounded at Chicka- mauga an l again at Resaca, both times in the same leg. On arriving in this country, his father settled in Utica, N. Y., where he was married. He removed to McHenry County, Ill., where he remained one year; from there he went to Chicago. His children were Conrad, Charles, Annie, Emma, Lizzie, Frank, Peter, Maggie and Mary. Annie mar- ried John Giesler, a resident of Shelby County, Ill .; Emma, wife of J. Folk, resides

in Shelby County also; Lizzie, wife of John Shultice, resides at Streator, Ill.

FRANCIS A. VON GASSY, banker, Effingham, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, October 4, 1833, son of Alexander N. Von Gassy, also a native of Russia. Our subject received his education in the Univer- sity of Berlin, Prussia, which he left when twenty-one years of age, and afterward trav- eled extensively in Europe and Asia, making a tour through Italy, Greece and Turkey for observation. He came to the United States in 1856, and was married, January 10, 1865, to Lucy I. Catterlin, a native of Frankfort, Ind. In 1860, our subject joined the army, and was in the Western Division under Gen. Grant. He was mustered out in 1865 and received a civil appointment in the War De- partment. He came to Effingham in 1869, and established a grocery-store. In 1876, he established the Effingham Bank, of which he is the sole proprietor, and which has since been conducted with good success, and in which business he is at present engaged. He is a Protestant in religion, and in politics is a Democrat.

SIDNEY B. WADE, agent Vandalia Rail- road, Effingham, was born in Jasper County, Ill., March 11, 1841. He spent the first twenty years of his life in Jasper County, in the town of Newton, where he received a public school education. At eighteen, he be- came part owner of a local Republican paper, published at Newton, called the Western Star, which he ran during 1859 and 1860. He enlisted, in April, 1861, in the Twenty-first Regiment Volunteer Infantry, and went into camp at Mattoon, Ill., under Col. Good, of Decatur. On the 11th day of June, 1861, the regiment, 1,000 strong, re-enlisted for three years, retaining the old number, Twen- ty-first. Subject was a member of Company K, and the regiment went into service under

EFFINGHAM CITY AND DOUGLAS TOWNSHIP.

Col. U. S. Grant, and saw service in Mis- souri; was in the battle of Fredericktown, Mo., and marched into Arkansas under Gen. Steele, to Jacksonport, Ark., and were or- dered back by forced marches, to Capo Girar- deau, Mo., where they took boat to Pittsburg Landing, where they joined Gen. Jeff C. Da- vis, and were under his command from that time forth, and were in the siege of Corinth. They went into camp at Jacinto, Miss., crossed the river at Iuka, and were on the Bragg raid in Kentucky and at the battle of Perryville, Ky., when they went to Nashville, Tenn., when the Army of the Cumberland was formed, and the Twenty-first did service at Stone River, Chickamauga and all of the principal battles of the Atlanta campaign, including the siege of Atlanta and Jones- boro, and returned to Nashville to intercept Hood and fought desperately at Franklin, Tenn, and the battle of Nashville, after which they were transferred to Texas, via of New Orleans, and received their first muster-out papers in December, 1865, and were finally mustered out at Springfield. Ill., in Febru- ary, 1866, having served four years and eight months. Of the original members of Com- pany K, about twenty men were mustered out at the close of the war. After his return, Mr. Wade located at Newton, Ill., and for six months published the Jasper County Union, and then went to Mt. Carmel, Ill., and revived the Mt. Carmel Register, which he ran a short time, five months, when he sold out and became a compositor on various papers in St. Louis during 1869 and 1870. In January, 1871, he came to Effingham, Ill., and entered the employ of the Vandalia Rail- road, then recently opened. He first became clerk in the freight and ticket office. He be- came agent at Altamont in 1874, and con- ducted that office about three years. In Au- gust, 1877, he became freight and ticket

agent at Effingham, where he has since con- tinued. Mr. Wade was married, September 27, 1869, to Sarah E. Fleming, of Effingham, by whom he has a son and daughter. His father, Hiram Wade, was born in Kentucky, and came to Indiana in 1816, and in the fall of the same year to Illinois, and settled first in Lawrence County, Ill., where he lived for some years and served as Sheriff of Law- rence, and came to Jasper County, Ill., when the Cherokee Indians still lived there. He was Circuit and County Clerk of Jasper County for sixteen years, and held the office of Circuit Clerk in all twenty years. He died in March, 1861. He was a Republican, and was elected the last timo as a Republican in a strong Democratic County; had twelve children; his wife's maiden name was Lucin- da Neal, a native of Maryland. Of their twelve children but three sons are living, all of whom served in the army.

THOMAS C. WADE, traveling salesman, Effingham, was born in Perry County, Ohio, near Somerset, March 27, 1851, and was raised on a farm. At the age of twenty, he became clerk in a retail grocery store at Som- erset, Ohio, remaining in that capacity for a year. In 1872, he came to Effingham, and opened a grocery store of his own, and con- ducted it three years. He was agent of the Adams Express Company here during the last two years (1874 and 1875). He sold out his stock of groceries in January, 1876, and engaged his services to Hulman & Co., whole- sale grocers, Terra Haute, Ind., as traveling salesman, and has been with that house ever since, its present name being H. Hulman. He represents the interests of his house in Southern Illinois. He is a Democrat and exerts a strong influence in his party. He was married, in August, 1874, to Miss Lin- nie Moller, Effingham.

BERNARD H. WERNSING, County Treasurer, Effingham, was born in Cincin-

BIOGRAPHICAL:

nati, Ohio, May 6, 1840. He came with his parents to this county in 1850, and set- tled in St. Francis Township, near Teutopo- lis. In 1851, he was sent back to Cincinnati, Ohio, to school, where he spent about four and a half years in the St. Francis College, grad- uating in the fall of 1855. He began teach- ing in 1856 in the Effingham town schools, which only had one department, and was held in a log schoolhouse, and his compensation was $25 per month. He taught four months here, when he took a school in Bishop Town- ship, where he taught for three years in sue- cession, and, after teaching one term in Teu- topolis, he began farming in St. Francis Township, and continued until the fall of 1879, when he was elected County Treasurer of Effingham County, and is serving his third year, and was renominated for a term of four years by the Democratic Primary of 1882. In his township, he has held important offices of trust, being Supervisor for twelve years and Chairman of the board. He has always been a Democrat in politics. He was married first to Mary A. Vogt, in May, 1859, and had seven children, all living. His wife died in June, 1876. He remarried, in May, 1881, to Elizabeth B. Miller, of this county. Our subject's father, John H. Wern . sing, was born in Hanover, Germany, about 1803; was a farmer in Hanover, and married Elizabeth Huckmann, of Hanover, and came to the United States in 1839, with his family of four sons and two daughters -- John Henry, Jr., Frederick, Herman, Kate (now Mrs. Henry Eggerman, of Teutopolis), Theresia (deceased, was the wife of Henry Hatrup, of Teutopolis), and our subject, who was the only one born in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his father settled in 1839, and was engineer in a fonn- dry there till 1850, when he moved to this county, where he resided until his death, which occurred February 25, 1876.

JOHN C. WHITE, attorney, Effingham, was born near Forestville, Wake Co., N. C., May 21, 1846. His father moved from there to Brownsville, Tenn., when subject was five or six years old, and lived there with his family about two years, and from there re- moved to Illinois, and, in 1855, settled per- manently at Greenville, Ill., and has lived there almost continuously ever since. Our subject grew up in Greenville and attended a private school taught by S. W. Marston, and also recited in class in Elmira College, then presided over by his father. He en- tered the Model Department of the State University, at Normal, Ill., in 1863, for a year, and the following year entered the Pre- paratory Department of Chicago University, and, in the fall of 1865, he entered Shurtleff College, at Upper Alton, Ill., and at the end of his junior year entered the Brown Uni- versity, at Providence, R. I., from which he graduated in 1869 He came back to St. Louis, Mo., and read law with Judge Samuel Reber, of St. Louis, until February, 1871, when he came to Effingham and read law with J. N. Gwin and W. B. Cooper for a time, and was admitted to the bar in Janu- ary, 1872, forming a partnership with E. N. Rhinehart, which continued until August, 1873, when he formed his present partnership with Judge Gilmore. In addition to profes- sional labors, Mr. White devotes considerable attention to the breeding of fine cattle. He married Miss Nellie J., daughter of Rev. Al- fred Bliss, of Fillmore Township, Montgom- ery Co., Ill., on August 25, 1875. They have two children-Bliss and Nellie K.

BYROM WHITFIELD, Deputy County Clerk, Effingham, was born in Nash County, N. C., July 30, 1850. He came with his parents to Effingham in 1856, and has lived here ever since. He entered the drug store of Dr. McCoy, at the age of sixteen, and was

EFFINGHAM CITY AND DOUGLAS TOWNSHIP.

clerk in that business until 1876, excepting one year, in which he was in the hardware trade. He entered the County Clerk's office as Dep- uty in March, 1876, and has served in that office ever since, under Collector Filler, and has served one term as City Treasurer, serv- ing from 1879 to 1881. His father, Archi- bald F., was a native of North Carolina, and in early manhood learned the trade of carpenter and builder, which he followed until he came here, in 1856, when he engaged in cabinet- making and showed remarkable skill at his trade, at which, he worked until about 1878, when he was taken ill and died in March, 1SS1, in his fifty-eighth year. Our subject is his only child.

VIRGIL WOOD, attorney at law, Effingham City, was born in Susquehanna County, Penn., April 10, 1836. He was educated in the com- mon schools and the Susquehanna County Academy, and, at the age of twenty-seven, he began reading law in his native connty. In 1864, he went to Grant County, Wis., where he taught in the public schools and was for two years Principal of one in Plattsville, Wis., graded school, and continued his law studies at intervals there, and came to Effing- ham in July, 1867, and read with his brother one year, being admitted to the bar here in the fall of 1868, and has since been in active practice of his profession. He was associated with his brother and W. H. Barlow until De- cember, 1875, since which the firm has been Wood Bros.

BENSON WOOD, Mayor and attorney at law, Effingham City, was born in Susquehan- na County, Penn., March 31, 1839. He re- ceived a common school and academic educa- tion in his native State. He came alone to Illinois in 1859, and located in Lee County, in the town of Franklin Grove, where he taught in the public schools for two years. In August, 1861, he enlisted in the Thirty-

fourth Illinois Infantry, and served in the Army of the Cumberland until February, 1863. He entered as First Lieutenant of Company C and was promoted to the rank of Captain, April 7, 1862. He was at Shiloh, the siege of Corinth, Stone River and other minor engage- ments. He resigned, in February, 1863, on account of ill health, and, in the summer of 1863, entered the Chicago Law School, from which he graduated in June, 1864, and locat- ed at Effingham in July following, where he has since been in active practice. He was elected to the Legislature in 1872 from the Thirty-third Senatorial District. He was elected Mayor of Effingham in 1881, for two years. He has always been a Republican in politics.

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History of Effingham county, Illinois, Part 47

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? ed Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, O. L. Baskin & co. Number of Pages: 650

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? ed
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, O. L. Baskin & co.
Number of Pages: 650