USA > Illinois > Ford County > History of Ford County, Illinois : from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. II > Part 20
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In 1855 Mr. Trigger was married to Miss Elizabeth Ann Stoves, who was born in Durham county, England, in 1837 and died here in August, 1906. She came with her parents, Jacob and Mary Stoves, to America just prior to the emigration of Mr. Trigger. Mr. and Mrs. Trigger have the following named sons and daughters : Thomas, who is with his father; John, living in Wall township; Jacob, a resident of Oklahoma ; Mary, the wife of William Ramshaw, of Wall township; Phoebe, the wife of Jacob Giep of Rantoul, Illinois; Helen, the wife of Clarence Patten, of Wall township; Alice, the wife of Orvil Andrews of Wall township; Mabel, the wife of Henry Irving, of the same township; and Lonis, also of Wall township. They also lost three children, two dying in infancy, while Elizabeth passed away at the age of eight years.
Politically Mr. Trigger is independent. He has supported candidates of both the democratic and republican parties. He cast his first presidential bal- lot for Abraham Lincoln and has always supported the measures which he deemed would prove of greatest benefit to locality, state or nation. For twenty- four years he served as highway commissioner and for six years was assessor of the township. Ile has been school director for thirty-six years, and his official duties are always discharged in prompt and able manner. Always mindful of responsibilities that devolve upon him as a citizen, he has given unfaltering allegiance to those interests which tend to promote public progress and in his business life has conducted his affairs so actively and honorably that he has gained success and also the respect of his fellowmen.
JAMES O. SULLIVAN.
James O. Sullivan, who was born in County Clare, Ireland, in 1826, died on the 16th of June, 1898, upon his farm on section 27, Mona township. His life record therefore covered seventy-two years-years that were fraught with successful accomplishments proving the strength of his character and his business ability. Although he had no special advantages in youth, he became one of the extensive landowners of Ford county, winning his success through judicious investments and honorable methods. His youth and early manhood were spent in the land of his birth, and in 1850 he came to America with his father, Lott Sullivan, and his two brothers, Ed and bott Sullivan, Jr. They made their way to Reading, Pennsylvania, where they worked by the month as farm hands. The year 1853, however, witnessed their arrival in Peoria
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county, Illinois, all of the family coming at that time. They rented a farm and the family have since been closely associated with the agricultural interests of this state. The mother died in Ireland previous to the emigration of the family to the new world. One brother of our subject, Michael Sullivan, died in La Salle county, and William is still living there. Lott is a resident of Minonk, Illinois. John, now deceased, reared a family of sixteen children. Dennis is also living in La Salle county. Michael. the eldest of the brothers, reared five families, having two sets of children by different marriages, and died in La Salle county in 1905, when more than one hundred years of age. He was widely known as a horseman and raised some of the finest horses ever seen in La Salle county. He lived five miles from Minonk. and such was his physical vigor and activity that at the age of eighty years he would prefer walking to riding into town.
James O. Sullivan was identified with agricultural interests in Peoria county until his removal to La Salle county, where he again carried on general agricultural pursuits. Some time later he sold out there and in 1873 came to Ford county, where his remaining days were passed. He located on seetion 27, Mona township, and made it his place of abode until he was called to the home beyond. His purchase embraced one-half of the section and for this property he paid thirty dollars per acre. There were only four or five families in the vicinity at that time and the country was wild and proved an excellent hunting ground. Many people visited the region in order to engage in hunting, and Mr. Sullivan's home was frequently the place of entertainment for them. Professional men, statesmen and various distinguished citizens sought shelter in his hospitable home while as disciples of Nimrod they engaged in the chase in this section of the state. Mr. Sullivan himself cared little for hunting, but his son became quite expert in bringing down game with the rifle.
When Mr. Sullivan took up his abode upon this farm there was a story-and-a-half house upon it, sixteen by twenty-four feet. In 1880 he rebuilt this, converting it into a residence of eight rooms, which was later used as a tenant house. Two families had occupied the little story-and-a-half dwelling before the Sullivan family took up their abode there. Five years ago the present beautiful home was erected. It is a palatial dwelling of fifteen rooms, being the largest and finest residence in Mona township. As the years passed Mr. Sullivan continued the work of cultivating and improving his farm, and as his financial resources increased he added to the property from time to time, his second purchase bringing him one hundred and twenty aeres on section 32. Subsequently he bought eighty acres on the same section and later one
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hundred and sixty acres on section 33. He also owned one hundred and sixty acres in La Salle county before his removal to Ford county. At one time he had twelve hundred head of cattle which he took to herd, utilizing the land east of him as pasturage, while his home place was largely devoted to the raising of grain. His business methods measure up to the full standard of upright dealing and the secret of his success lay in his close application, his unremitting industry and his keen business discernment.
In the fall of 1856 Mr. Sullivan was married, in Peoria, Illinois, to Miss Sarah Dawes, who was born in Ireland about forty miles from Dublin on the 20th of December, 1830. In 1849 she crossed the Atlantic to New Orleans, thence proceeded up the river to St. Louis and on to Peoria, making the journey with her parents, Michael and Bridget (McCort) Dawes. Her father died in New Orleans of ship fever the night after the family landed, leaving six daughters and two sons, the latter being ten and five years of age respectively. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan were born eight children: Bernard, residing at home; William, who was born in 1859 and died on the home farm in March, 1892, at the age of thirty-two years; Maggie, at home; Sarah, the wife of George Koerner, who resides in Mona township; Rose, James and Mary. all at home; and Kittie, the wife of R. A. Fruin of Ashton, Illinois. Mrs. Sullivan died in March, 1908.
The family own ten hundred and eighty acres, all in Mona township, and are numbered among the prominent and leading representatives of agricultural life in Ford county. To his family Mr. Sullivan left not only a good property. but also an untarnished name. For the greater part of a century he lived in the county and those who knew him respected him for his many good traits of character. His sons are carrying on the work which he began and the Sullivan property is classed with the valuable real estate of this part of Illinois.
DELOSS P. FARLEY.
An excellent farm property of three hundred and twenty aeres, comprising the half of section 23, Rogers township, is the property of Deloss P. Farley, who is well known as a successful raiser of grain and stock. His life record began in Somonauk township, De Kalb county, Illinois, September 7, 1852. ITis paternal grandfather, Samuel Chandler Farley, was a native of Pennsylvania,
MR. AND MRS. D. P. FARLEY
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devoting his life to farming, and died in Illinois. His family numbered four sons and two daughters, including Isaac Perry Farley, who was born in Craw- ford county, Pennsylvania, November 22, 1829, and died in Chicago, Illinois, November 1, 1892, when in the sixty-third year of his age. He accompanied his parents on their removal westward from Pennsylvania to La Salle county, Illinois, and his remaining days were spent in this state. Throughout his active business career he followed farming and when he retired he took up his abode in Chicago. At one time he owned all of section 23, Rogers township, except eighty acres, and he also had two hundred and forty acres two miles to the north in Norton township, Kankakee county. His property interests likewise included two large flat buildings in Chicago. His success, which was creditable and enviable, was all acquired through his farming operations and his judicious investments, and as a business man his life was characterized by high standards of commercial integrity. Ilis religions faith was that of the Baptist church, and politically he was a republican. In early manhood he married Balinda Eddy, of Utica, New York, who died at Waterman, Illinois, although her home was in Chicago at that time. She passed away in 1903, at the age of sixty years. Her parents were Henry and Eunice Eddy, who came to Illinois from New York and died in De Kalb county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Farley were born five children: William K., a resident of Fulton, Illinois; Deloss P .; Eugene V., who died in Chicago; Herford E., also deceased; and Mrs. Elnora Sapp, who has likewise passed away.
Deloss P. Farley remained with his father through the period of his minority, his time being divided between the work of the fields, the duties of the schoolroom and the pleasures of the playground. When twenty-one years of age he came to Mona township, Ford county, and resided on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres given him by his father. There he lived for five years, after which he sold that property and took up his abode in Rogers township. IIe has lived most of the time in this part of the state although nine years ago he went to De Kalb county, where he resided for a year and a half. He afterward spent two years in Chicago in the clamp and nail business in connection with his brother Eugene V., under the firm name of E. V. Farley & Company. On the expiration of that period he became a resident of HIerscher, Kankakee county, Illinois, where he resided until the spring of 1905, when he came to the farm upon which he now makes his home. He has owned this property for fifteen years and it is a valuable tract of land of three hundred and twenty acres, comprising the west half of section 23, Rogers township. He also yet owns his residence property in Herscher. Ilis
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farm is well cultivated and in the pastures are found good grades of stock, while the fields annually produce rich harvests.
On the 8th of July 1874, Mr. Farley was married to Miss Adelia N. Townsend, of DeKalb county, Illinois, born April 20, 1857, her parents being Silas and Augusta (Culver) Townsend, who are now residents of Herscher. Her grandfather, Avery Townsend, was a soldier of the war of 1812, and her great-grandfather was in the Revolutionary war. Mr. and Mrs. Farley have three children, Alida, Eugene and Edmur. The last two are at home, while Alida is the wife of Edward Bartlett, living near Roswell, New Mexico. They have two children, Walter and Blanche. Mr. and Mrs. Farley lost two children in August, 1880: Perry S., who died at the age of five years; and Edith, at the age of two years.
On Sunday night, August 26, 1907, Mr. Farley's barn, a structure forty- two by forty-four feet, with twenty-two feet posts, was destroyed by fire, together with all its contents, including thirty tons of hay, five sets of harness and five head of horses. There was also a corn barn destroyed, twenty-eight by forty-two feet, containing sixteen hundred bushels of oats. The cause of the fire has never been ascertained. The loss was partially covered by insurance and Mr. Farley is now engaged in the erection of new buildings.
In his political views Mr. Farley is an earnest republican believing thoroughly in the principles of the party, yet without desire for office. IIe belongs to the Mystic Workers and the Modern Woodmen Camp, and is a valued member of the Presbyterian church at Cabery, in which he is now serving as a trustee. ITis business interests have been carefully conducted, his duties of citizenship capably performed and at all times he has been true to the obligations and responsibilities that have devolved upon him in every relation of life, making him one of the worthy and much respected citizens of Rogers township.
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JUDGE J. II. MOFFETT.
Illinois has always been distinguished for the high rank of her bench and bar. Perhaps none of the middle west states can boast of abler jurists or attorneys. Among those who have conferred honor and dignity upon the bar of the eleventh circuit none are more entitled to mention than Judge John II. Moffett, in whom were united many of the rare qualities which go to make up
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the successful lawyer and jurist. As a practitioner and upon the bench he displayed not only a high order of ability but also a rare combination of talent, learning, tact, patience and industry. Moreover he held to high ideals in citizenship and in private life, winning the love of family and friends and the respect and honor of all with whom he came in contact.
Judge Moffett was a native son of Illinois, having been born in Clayton, Adams county, on the 25th of February, 1856. His parents were Samuel R. and Mary (Strong) Moffett, who were natives of South Carolina, and in 1834 left that state, removing to Monroe county, Indiana, where they resided until 1855. That year witnessed their arrival in Adams county, Illinois, and ten years later they became residents of Paxton, where the father made his home until called to his final rest in 1879.
Judge Moffett was a youth of nine summers at the time of the removal of the family from Adams county to Paxton, and there in the public schools he continued his education until he had mastered the common branches of learn- ing, while later he pursued a more advanced course of two years in the college at Monmouth, Illinois. His choice of a profession fell upon the law, and he began studying in the office of John R. Kinnear, under whose direction he thoroughly acquainted himself with many of the basic principles of juris- prudence and was admitted to the bar in 1880. Such was the esteem which his preceptor had for him, both personally and professionally, that he admitted him to a partnership and thus he entered upon the active practice of his chosen profession. At a later date Judge Moffett became a member of the firm of Tipton, Moffett & Day, which relation was maintained until JJudge Tipton was called to the bench. The other gentlemen continued their partnership relations for several years and upon the dissolution of the firm Mr. Moffett was joined by M. L. MeQuiston in a partnership which continued until Judge Moffett's election to the bench in 1897. The successful lawyer and the competent judge must be a man of well balanced intellect, thoroughly familiar with the law and practice, of comprehensive general information, possessed of an analytical mind and a self-control that will enable him to lose his individuality, his personal feelings, his prejudices and his peculiarities of disposition in the dignity, impartiality and equity of the office to which life, property, right and liberty must look for protection. Possessing these qualities, Judge Moffett justly merited the high honor which was conferred upon him by his elevation to the bench and his decisions were proof that the confidence reposed in him was well placed. That the publie endorsed his course was indicated by his reelection in 1903 by the largest majority given to a republican candidate.
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On the 16th of May, 1878, occurred the marriage of Judge Moffett and Miss Martha S. Gray, of Loda, Illinois, a daughter of Samuel and Mary J. Gray. They became the parents of five children but two died in infancy, while the sons, Claude, Carl and Donald, are still at home with their mother. Judge Moffett was devoted to the welfare of his wife and children, theirs being largely an ideal family relation. His interest centered in his home and he regarded no personal sacrifice on his part too great if it would promote the happiness or enhance the best interests of those who were nearest and dearest to him. His life span covered less than fifty years, and yet it may well be termed a life of successful accomplishment. He lived to attain an honored and prominent place in his profession and to enjoy the highest regard and respect of his fellowmen. One who knew him well said of him: "We are able to bear testimony to his manliness of character, his indomitable industry and sterling integrity. As a citizen he always showed commendable enterprise and as a husband and father was a model of all domestic virtues. To the bench and bar his death comes as a distinct loss. His knowledge of the law impelled the highest respect for his decisions and his fairness and courtesy endeared him to all with whom he was brought into personal relations. Probably no other judge in this district ever possessed the confidence and esteem of the bar to a greater degree."
AMOS ROBBINS THOMPSON.
Amos R. Thompson, who spent his last years in Ford county, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Mercer county, in 1829, his father being a miller of that state. It was during the boyhood of our subject that he left there and went to Washington, Kentucky, where he worked at the cabinet maker's trade for about nine or ten years, and in 1849 came to Illinois.
For some time Mr. Thompson made his home in Schuyler county and there he was married in 1852 to Miss Martha Winslow Smith, who was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1832 and was a representative of an old Virginia family. They became the parents of nine children, of whom seven still survive, namely: Mary, the wife of Thomas Reed, now living in Indian Territory; A. C. and John A., both farmers of Pella township, Ford county; Ruth I., the wife of William Sullivan, of Oklahoma; Clarissa; Benjamin S.,
MR. AND MRS. A. R. THOMPSON
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who is also a farmer of Pella township; and Charlotte Columbia, who became the wife of J. P. Glass. James is deceased.
After leaving Schuyler county, Mr. Thompson was engaged in farming in Woodford county, Illinois, for five years, and from there removed to MeLean county. In 1859 he sold his property in this state and went to Utah, where he made his home for eighteen months, and on the expiration of that period returned to MeLean county, Illinois, locating on a farm, which he cultivated for about fifteen years. On selling that place he removed to Iroquois county in 1874 and ten years later came to Ford county, where his remaining days were passed. During his residence here, however, he was in poor health most of the time and he died in 1894.
By his ballot Mr. Thompson supported the men and measures of the democratic party, and he was a faithful and consistent member of the Christian church. Upright and honorable in all that he did, he gained the confidence and respect of those with whom he came in contact and his death was widely and sincerely mourned.
SVEN A. LUNDGREN, M. D.
Dr. Sven Adolph Lundgren, a successful practitioner in Paxton, was born in Westergotland near the town of Skara, Sweden, June 23, 1858. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of life for him in his boyhood and youth, which were largely devoted to the acquirement of a public-school education. At fifteen years of age he went to Stockholm, Sweden, where he began providing for his own support as an employe in a drug store, learning the business and becoming eventually a pharmacist, taking his first examination in 1877. Three years were passed in that way, after which he went to the town of Soleftig in the northern part of Sweden, where he was identified with the drug business for three years and there finished his laboratory work. Ambitious to make rapid progress in the business world and feeling that broader opportunities were offered in the United States, he crossed the Atlantic to America, settling in Chicago, where he immediately took up the study of medicine.
His brother, Dr. Leonard Lundgren, had come to this country eight years before and was a graduate of the Chicago Homeopathie Medical College. It was through his influence that Dr. Lundgren of this review determined to
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adopt the medical profession as a life work and therefore entered the same institution in which his brother had pursued his professional education. He was graduated therefrom as a member of the class of 1883 and began practice in Chicago, opening an office at No. 210 Oak street on the north side, where he remained for two or three years. He then removed his office down town in the old Central Music Hall and conducted a successful practice for five years. In 1891 he established his office and residence in Englewood, where he continued in practice for thirteen years or until April, 1904, when he removed to Paxton, having in the succeeding four years built up a lucrative practice here, so that he is now numbered among the leading physicians of the city.
Dr. Lundgren was married in 1885 to Miss Aleda J. Lamblee, of Chicago. They have three children : Anna, deceased ; Henry Adolph, who is a graduate of the Paxton high school and is now employed in the Nordgren hardware store, of this city; and Charles Theodore.
Dr. Lundgren gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He belongs to the Congregational church, of which he is now serving as trustee and treasurer, and in the work of the church is deeply and actively interested. Hle belongs to the Paxton Club, of which he is a trustee, and he is also a valued representative of Paxton Lodge, No. 418, I. O. O. F., and Paxton Lodge of the Court of Honor. In professional lines he is connected with the Bi-County Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and is interested in all that promotes a knowledge of the human body-the onslaughts made upon it by disease and the possibilities for recovery through the use of remedial agencies. He is conscientious and faithful in the discharge of his professional duties and in his practice conforms closely to a high standard of professional ethics.
MRS. JANE E. DIXON.
Mrs. Jane E. Dixon, well known in Ford county, where she has many warm friends, is a native of Marshall county, Illinois, born June 12, 1838. Her parents were Cornelius and Ann (Sidell) Hunt, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume in connection with the sketch of her brother. John S. ITunt. She is the widow of James Dixon, who was born in Manchester, England, June 9, 1836, and died at his home in Melvin, Illinois, May 12, 1904, at the age of sixty-seven years, eleven months and three days. He came to
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America with his parents when five years of age, the family home being established in Putnam county, Illinois, where they resided for a number of years. They afterward removed to Connectient, but remained there for only a year and then took up their abode in Wisconsin. Another year passed and they returned to Illinois, settling in La Salle county, where James Dixon was reared to manhood. During the period of his youth he aided in the work of the farm as his age and strength permitted, and received practical training in the labors that thus devolved upon him, becoming well qualified for future work of that character. At the time of the Civil war, however, he put aside all personal considerations and joined the army, enlisting in 1861, in response to the first call for volunteers. He was assigned to duty with Company G, Seventeenth Illinois Infantry, and after serving for one year was transferred to the navy under Commodore Foote as a member of the crew of the flagship Brenton. His position was in this regard often a most perilous one, and because of the greater danger a year was dedneted from his term of enlistment. When his term had expired he returned to his home with a creditable military record, having done faithful, loyal service as a soldier.
On the 8th of October, 1865, Mr. Dixon was united in marriage to Miss Jane E. Hunt, and as the years passed seven children were added to the household, namely: Mary S., now the wife of George Worthington, who is living in Melvin, Illinois; C. H., a resident of California; James B., who is located in Ford county; Laura, the wife of James Cooper, whose home is in Livingston county, this state; Adelaide, the wife of C. A. Hildreth, whose home is in Ford county; J. M., who is located in Bloomington; and Grace, deceased.
In the year 1886 Mr. and Mrs. Dixon removed to Ford county, Illinois, where he resided until his death, with the exception of two years spent in Saybrook, this state. While there located he conducted a meat market and was among those who suffered heavy losses through the great fire which swept over that town several years ago. At the time of his death he was the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of valuable land in Peach Orchard township, Ford county, but since his demise his widow has disposed of that property. Mr. Dixon was a devoted and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a man whose life was at all times actuated by high and honorable principles. He enjoyed the respect and confidence of those who knew him, and was ever worthy of the trust which was given him. In the work of the church he was deeply and actively interested and was serving as one of the church trustees at the time of his demise. In polities he was a republican, interested in the work of the party and doing all he could to
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