History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois : together with sketches of the towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent individuals, and biographies of representative men, History of Illinois, Part 116

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical
Number of Pages: 1150

USA > Illinois > Greene County > History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois : together with sketches of the towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent individuals, and biographies of representative men, History of Illinois > Part 116

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Marshall F. Grider, a prominent citi- zen of Athensville township, was born in Morgan county, Ill., Feb. 10, 1834, and is a son of Martin S. and Ava ( Dun- can) Grider, natives of North Carolina. His father was born July 2, 1791, and his mother, Aug. 25, 1795. His parents removed to Kentucky and were there married. Martin was engaged in farm- ing and remained in that state until 1820, when he removed to Illinois and located eight miles southeast of Jack- sonville, in Morgan county, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. He died in 1834, while on a visit in Kentucky, and Mrs. Grider died in 1854. They had a family of five children-Sarah, born Aug. 25, 1815; Emery D., born Dee. 26, 1818; Elijah T., born May 7, 1824; James M., born June 15, 1829; and Marshall F., born Feb. 10, 1834. The family were mem- bers of the Regular Predestinarian Bap- tist church. When Mr. Grider came to Illinois he had nothing but a horse, but at the time of his death he left a com- fortable home for his family. In poli- ties he was a staunch democrat. Mar- shall F. Grider grew to manhood in Morgan county, receiving his education in the common schools of that day. IIe was reared on the farm, his mother hay- ing married again after his father's death, so that at the age of 14, he started out for himself, working out on

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neighboring farms until 1853, when he 1871; and Albin L., born March 21, rented land there until 1855. On April 1868. Mr. Grider professed religion in 1866, and united with the Primitive Baptist church in 1869, and is still a consistent member. He is a democrat, politically, his first vote having been cast for James Buchanan, his last for Cleveland. He is a highly esteemed citizen of that community.

13, 1853, he was married to Martha Sheppard, a native of Russell county, Ky., born Nov. 14, 1825. She is a (laughter of Elder Thornton Sheppard, a native of North Carolina, born in 1796, who removed with his parents to Russell county, Ky., where he grew to manhood and married Elender Hopper, also a native of North Carolina, born in 1803, and who removed to Russell county, Ky., with her parents. Mr. Sheppard engaged in farming there until 1830, when he came to Illinois, settling in Morgan county, where he bought and entered land, on which he and his wife resided until their deaths. They had a family of 12 children, 11 of whom grew to manhood and woman- hood. They came to Illinois with only ox teams, but left a farm of 200 acres at their death. Mr. Sheppard was an elder in the Baptist church, of which his wife was also a member. After mar- riage Mr. Grider rented land for awhile and then purchased 80 acres of timber land, south of Jacksonville, which he cleared and on which he remained until Oet., 1866, when he bought 120 acres on sections 14 and 23, in Athensville town- ship, Greene county, where he has sinee resided. He has by thrift and industry added to this until he now has 289 acres under a good state of cultivation, and good, comfortable buildings thereon. Mr. and Mrs. Grider have had a family of six children-Sarah M., born July 1, 1854, now the wife of Samuel Hicks; Sidney S., born Dec. 9, 1856, died Oct. 23, 1877; Emery H., born Feb. 4, 1860; Clinton A., born Ang. 10, 1862; Rachel J., born Feb. 28, 1865, died Sept. 18,

Thomas Wilson was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, Dec. 5, 1840, his parents being Benjamin and Sarah (God- ding) Wilson. When he was 11 years old, his parents left their native country and immigrated to America, landing at New Orleans in the fall of 1851. They sailed from Liverpool, and were nine weeks making the trip. Mrs. Wilson died while they were in New Orleans, and Thomas came up to St. Louis with his father, who there engaged in teaming. They remained there about two years, and then Thomas entered the employ of the Pacific Railroad Company, and his father became foreman of a gang of men who built the tunnel near Jefferson City, on that road. The latter after- ward moved to Warrington, Mo., where he entered the employ of the North Missouri Railroad Company, being en- gaged in grading. He remained there one year, and in the spring of 1857, came to Illinois, and took a contract to build the second and third sections of road south of Jacksonville. He then came to Greene county, and purchased land on Sec. 2, T. 12, R. 10, where he lived about 10 years, and then moved to Mur- rayville. While engaged in digging a well there, in 1873, he was killed by a rock falling on him, and was buried at the Youngblood cemetery. Thomas, the subject of our sketch, was married

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

Feb. 7, 1860, to Euphemia Cruthers, a daughter of Peter and Jeannette Cruth- ers. By this marriage there were six children, two of whom are living-David, born Jan. 10, 1863; Laura E., born March 31, 1871. Those deceased are- Luey L. B., born July 24, 1865, died June 23, 1883; two infants, unnamed, and Sarah Jane, born Feb. 25, 1861, died July 24, 1862. Mrs. Wilson died Aug. 11, 1878,and is buried at the Youngblood cemetery. Mr. Wilson was again mar- ried to Mary E. Palmer, wife of the late George Palmer, and daughter of James and Naney (Osborne) Evans. By this union there are three children living- Thomas J., John R. and Mary N. The ones deceased are-Nellie, born April 25, 1882, died Sept. 12, 1882, and Oliver A. Mr. Wilson owns 229 acres of land on section 1, in this township, on which he resides, and has it well improved. He has a fine dwelling and barn, with comfortable and pleasant surroundings. He is engaged in general farming and stoek-raising, in which he is very sue- eessful. He has held the office of school director for a number of terms, and is at present road supervisor. He is an enterprising citizen. and commands the respect of all who know him. In 1863, while living in Morgan county, he was drafted into the army, but furnished a substitute.

Thomas Neighbours, deceased, was born in December, 1799, in the state of Tennessee, being a son of Bluford Neigh- bours. He came to Jacksonville, Ill., in 1831, and April 15, 1834, he was married to Mrs. Mary McGill, whose maiden name was Gordon, In 1847 they removed to Greene county and located on Sec. 4, T. 12, R. 10, where he resided until his

death. Mr. and Mrs. Neighbours were the parents of six children, four now liv- ing-Elizabeth, wife of Edward Burrill; William T., married Julia A. Shaunce; Josiah, married Elizabeth Jane Spencer, and John, whose sketeh follows this. Mrs. Neighbours had one child by her former marriage, which is now deccased. She now makes her home with her son John, having reached her 84th year, Aug. 15, 1885. Mr. Neighbours was a consistent member of the Mt. Zion M. E. church. He started in life a poor boy, but by industry and economy, he sueceeded in accumulating 240 acres of land. He was a soldier in the Black Hawk war, but arrived home safe and sound at the close of it.

John Neighbours, youngest child of Thomas Neighbours, deceased, was born near Jacksonville, Morgan county, III., June 14, 1845. He remained with his pa- rents during their lifetime, and when his father arrived at a good old age, John took charge of the farm and pur- chased the land of his father, who divided the proceeds among the other children. John still resides on the old home place. He was united in marriage Nov. 31, 1865, with Nancy Jane Baines, a daughter of Sullivan and Caroline S. (VanGuisen) Baines. Mr. and Mrs. Neighbours are the parents of five chil- dren, all of whom are now living-Wil- liam II., Lizzie A., James E., Perry O., and Jacob G. Mr. Neighbours is at present school director in distriet No. 1, this being his second term. lle owns 270 acres of good land, on which he car- ries on farming and stock-raising, and through his industry and good manage- ment, has been very successful. In pol- itics he is a republican. Mr. and Mrs.

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

Neighbours, and three of the children, are members of the Mt. Zion M. E. church. Mr. Neighbours is also class leader in the church, having held that position for 10 years, and was also, for three years, superintendant of the Sun- day school.

William Heywood, a native of Old- ham, Lancashire, England, was born Sept. 30, 1831, his parents being Ed- mund and Mary (Hilton) Heywood. William remained at home with his parents until he was 21 years of age. In June, 1853, he was united in mar- riage with Bettie Holt, a daughter of John and Bettie Holt. In the year 1855 they sailed from America, and landed at New York city, on the 4th of July. From there they came west as far as Illinois, and settled in Athensville township, Greene county, where his father had previously, come. Here William engaged at farming, working by the month for about five years, when he purchased 80 acres of land from his father, on section 9. Mr. and Mrs. Heywood were the parents of two chil- dren, one of whom, James, is now liv- ing with his father. The one deceased is George Henry, died Oct. 15, 1875. Mrs. Heywood afterwards died, and he was again married, Dee. 30, 1875, to Amelia Robinson, daughter of Jackson and Elizabeth (Anderson) Robinson, natives of Virginia. Mr. Heywood owns a nice farm of 175 acres, on which he resides, and which is all under good cultivation. The family are members of the Union Grove Baptist church. In Aug., 1862, Mr. Heywood enlisted in the Jacksonville Reg., 101st IN. Inf., and served three years under General Sherman. He participated in the bat-

tles at Lookout Mountain, Dallas, Col- umbia, Peach Tree Creek, Goldsboro and Big Shanty.

Stephen D. Hopper was born in Greene county, Il., in 1830, and made this county his home until 1869, when he removed to Forsythe, Mo .. where he re- mained one year. He then removed to Arkansas, where he resided two years, and then he returned to Greene county, HI., where he remained three years, and again removed to Missouri, settling at Howell, where he now resides. He was a son of Calvin and Polly (Spencer) Hopper, both natives of Kentucky. In 1857, Stephen was united in marriage with Sarah J. Florence, a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Griffith) Florence. This union was blessed with seven chil- dren, six of whom are now living. Hat- tie, wife of William M. Smith, of this township ; James M., of this town- ship; John T., also residing here ; Henrietta, the widow of Silas Ruyle, now residing with her brothers, James M. and John T; Jasper N., living in this township; Mary Anna, at home, and Albert, deceased. In 1862, Mr. Hopper enlisted in Co. H, 61st F]. Inf., and gallantly served until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged. While in the service, his eyesight was injured by a cannon being fired over him, he being ordered to lie down just as it was fired, and he has never since recovered the full use of his eyes. James M. and John T., his two sons, now own the home place, he deeding it to them on his departure for the war. James was born August 2, 1861, and John, May 12, 1863. Both are still single and are en- gaged in general farming on Sec. 16, T.

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

12, R. 10. They are careful, industrious young men, and hence their undertak- ings can not fail to meet with success. In politics, they are republicans.

James F. Cannedy, the present com- petent clerk of the Richwoods United Baptist church, was born in Rockbridge township, Greene county, III., Jan. 15, 1846, and is a son of W. H. Cannedy, of Rockbridge township. James was reared to agricultural pursuits, and re- ceived a liberal education in the schools of this county. On March 21, 1866, he was united in marriage with Martha J. Jones, a native of this county, and a daughter of Noah and Elizabeth Jones. She was born in Patterson township, June 25, 1848. They were the happy parents of seven children, but one of them have been called to that far away home-William J. W., born Oct. 9, 1867; Mary E., born Jan. 18, 1870, died March 5, 1870, aged two months and five days; Fannie L., born Feb. 26, 1871; Thomas E., born April 9, 1875; John O., born Aug. 25, 1877; Ada May, born Feb. 19, 1881; and Lillie L. B., born March 16, 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Cannedy are consistent members of the Richwoods Baptist church, of which he is the present clerk. He isalso a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F., of which organi- zation he has been a member for the past 12 years, and has held the office of noble grand for several terms. Ile was initiated in Greenfield lodge, No. 195, I. O. O. F., July 5, 1873, and was a charter member of Rockbridge lodge, No. 688, of which he was past grand, at the time of his withdrawal. He with- drew from the latter lodge, in 1882, in order to join Athensville lodge, No. 368, and was made past grand of that

lodge, and was elected, the next term, to noble grand. Mr. Cannedy was elected constable, in the fall of 1873, and served four years, giving entire satis- faction to his constituents. He now re- sides on section 20, Athensville town- ship; his postoffice address is Felter. He is engaged in agricultural pursuits, and is much respected in the neighbor- hood in which he resides.

Edward Burrill was born July 6, 1823, in Lincolnshire, England, his parents being Henry and Mary (Freschner) Burrill, of Welton, England. His father died there in 1839, and his mother in 1828. Edward is the youngest of a fam- ily of nine children, there being eight boys and one girl. In 1851 he decided to come to America, and going to Hull took passage on the ship Margaretta, a cotton trading vessel, November 22, sail- ing for New Orleans, which port he reached after a voyage of ten weeks. IIe remained there but one week and then sailed on one of the William Ken- dall boats, for Cincinnati, where he arrived after a three weeks' trip, being delayed on account of the floods in the Mississippi river. He immediately left Cincinnati for Newport, where he was employed at gardening for three and one-half months, receiving therefor $12 a month. In July, 1852, he came to Chicago, his objeet being to view the Prairie State, and since that he has lived in the state almost continuously, except a short time spent in Michigan, and six months of the year 1852, in Missouri. In the latter part of that year he came down to Morgan county, where he worked for William Delaney, Daniel Holmes, and others, for over four years, and then came to Greene county and pur-

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chased 40 acres of land in Richwoods, Athensville township. He was married Sept. 15, 1854, to Mary A. E. Delaney, daughter of William and Catherine Delaney. She only lived about one year, dying with fever. By that mar- riage there was one child, now deceased. Mrs. Burrill was buried in the Holmes cemetery. On May, 15, 1856, Mr. Burrill was again married to Elizabeth Neigh- bours, a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Gordon) Neighbours, who are also men- tioned in this volume. Ten children have been born to them, five of whom are living-Thomas H., married Ellen Prather; Rebecca, wife of Greenup Spencer; Susie, George, and Norah. Those deceased are-Sarah A., Mary J., France, and two infants. Mr. Burrill eame to his present location on Sec. 5, T. 12, R. 10, in 1856, where he now owns 200 acres of good land. He has been road supervisor nine years and school director for seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Burrill are members of the Methodist church.

J. Garland Pennell was born Jan. 22, 1840, his parents being Bluford and Charlotte (Overton) Pennell, natives of Indiana. He remained with his parents until he had reached the age of 19 years, when he took a trip to California, where he staid one year, and then returned to Greene county, Ill., where he has since been engaged in farming. He was united in marriage, March 1, 1858, with Mary Gilmore, daughter of John M. and Rachel (Stockton) Gilmore, natives of Tennessee. This union has been blessed with nine children-Sarah Eliz- abeth, Laura, John, Bluford, Everett, Charles, Cora, Ernest and Lulu. Mr. Pennell has 195 acres of land, 80 acres

of which is on section 9, and 115 acres on section 15, on which he resides. He was at one time connected with a saw- mill at Richwoods, which he ran for one year, and then sold out to William Tur- ner. He divides his attention between the raising of stock and grain, and stock buying. He is a member of the Athens- ville lodge, No. 368, I. O. O. F. Mr. Pennell is a steady, industrious farmer, and is highly respected by neighbors and friends.

George W. Fanning was born near St. Joseph, DeKalb county, Mo., Dec. 7, 1842, and is a son of Joseph and Susan (Nichols) Fanning. In the third year of his age, his parents removed to Carroll county, Ark., where they resid- ed 12 years, and then moved to Greene county, Ill. George lived with his father until he was 21 years of age, when the latter returned to Arkansas. George remained here, and on March 22, 1867, was united in marriage with Ledosia Nichols, widow of the late John Niehols. This union was blessed with one child -Dora May. Mrs. Fanning died, and was buried in the Youngblood cemetery. Mr. Fanning was again married, Dec. 14, 1884, to Mrs. Mary C. Goacher, whose maiden name was Spencer, she being a daughter of James R. and Eliza- beth Spencer. Mr. Fanning owns 123: acres of land, 837 acres of which is in Greene county, and 40 aeres in Morgan county. He is engaged in farming and stock-raising, and is meeting with sue- cess, through his industry and perse- veranee. Mrs. Fanning is a member of the Union Baptist church, and he of the Youngblood Baptist church. In polities he is a Union democrat.

Albert Goacher, deceased, was born

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

in Alabama, Oct., 18, 1824, and was a son of Henry Goacher. He came with his father to Jersey county, Il., about 1834, where he resided until his mar- riage, March 20, 1851, to Mary C. Spen- cer, daughter of James R. and Elizabeth (Gilmore) Spencer, now the wife of Geo. W. Fanning. He then removed to Sec. 5, T. 12, R. 10, where he re- mained until Jan., 1868, when he moved on to the place where he resided at the time of his death, Jan. 28, 1881. They had a family of four children, three now living-Sarah E., wife of Jas. L. West- rope; James H .; A. I., deceased; and Clarnettie. When they first began house- keeping, not having anything but cloth- ing, her father gave them a start with geese, chickens, a hog and a cow, and a year afterward gave them 40 acres of timber land, which Mr. Goacher cleared. By industry, perseverance and good management, he succeeded in accumu- lating 120 acres for himself, besides giving each of his children 80 acres apiece, when they were married, and also set them up in housekeeping. The first child was three years old before they owned a stove, the cooking being done in a fire-place. Mr. Goacher was a man much respected, and his word was considered as good as his bond. He instilled the same principles of honesty into his children.

James Barnard was born Dec. 3, 1832, in Sumner county, Tenn., his parents being Elisha and Mahala (Mayberry) Barnard. With his parents, James came to Greene county, Ill., in 1835, and located in Carrollton township, in the Black and Hobson settlement. Mr. Barnard, Sr., died about 1842, and was buried in the Jackson cemetery, in

Athensville township. James, the sub- ject of our sketch, was united in mar- riage, Sept. 9, 1852, with Mary Jane Raffety, a daughter of William M. Raf- fety, of Roodhouse. Seven children were born to them, only two of whom are now living-Mahala A., wife of Philip Prather; Laura P., at home. The deceased children were-John O., Sarah E., Nancy M., William E. and Isabella F. Mrs. Barnard departed this life in July, 1884, and was burried in Prather's cemetery. She was a con- sistent member of the Christian church having been a member 28 years. Mr. Barnard was again married, Dec. 6, 1877, to Mrs. Mary L. Day, a daughter of Noah and Elizabeth (Thomas) Day. Three childen were born to them- Charles E., at home, and Nora and Dora, (twins) deceased. Mr. Barnard moved to his present location, on sec- tion 20, 20 years ago this fall. He now owns 60 acres of land, and is engaged in farming and stock-raising. In poli- tics he is a " dyed-in-the-wool " demo- erat, but has had no ambition for polit- ical preferment.

James Preston, a son of James and Silence (Chamberlain) Preston, was born in Trenton, N. J., Oct. 12, 1826. When he was nine years of age his par- ents removed to Indiana, and five years later to St. Louis, Mo. Thence, three years later, to Morgan county, Ill., where James resided 15 years. He then removed to Athensville township, this county, and bought land on section 8, where he now lives, engaged in farming. He enlisted in the service of his coun- try, Aug. 6, 1862, in Co. A., under Capt. B. LaSage. His enlistment was for a term of three years, but, May 25, 1864,

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

he received a wound in the right thigh, which disabled him, and he was honora- bly discharged. He has never recov- ered from his wound, and is not able to do manual labor. He now receives a small pension, but has applied for an inerease, and it will be no more than justice that the department should allow his claim. He followed engineering on the Mississippi for some 15 years. James Preston and Margaret Ruyle were married May 7, 1848. She was a daughter of John and Anna (Gilpin) Ruyle. Sixteen children have been born to them-James W., Joseph A., John W., William R., Margaret E., Sarah A., Thomas B., Wesley E., all liv- ing ; Gabriel, Charles Edward, Silence Ann, and Rachel E., are deceased, also, four died in infancy. He owns a small farm on section 8, where he now resides. In politics, he is a republican, and is also a member of the United Baptist church.

James G. Hubbell was born in Peoria county, Ill., April 12, 1852, his parents being John and Clara (Billings) Hub- bell, natives of Illinois. His mother died in Peoria county, in 1861. His father then moved with his family of four children to Greene county, locating near the Richwoods church, in Athens- ville township. He afterward removed to Morgan county, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1865. James was reared on a farm, having gone to live with Jackson G. Mitchell when only nine years of age, with whom he remained until he was 16 years of age. He then returned to Peoria county, where he resided until he reached the age of 25 years, when he removed to Macoupin county, and was there mar-

ried, Jan. 28, 1876, to Jane Fanning, daughter of William R. and Nancy Fan- ning. By this union there are five chil- dren-Mary, John W., Lyman T., Mil- lie and Orna. Mr. Hubbell resided in Macoupin county until 1883, when he moved to Greene county and purchased 80 acres of land on Sec. 1, T. 12, R. 10, where he has since resided and where he is engaged in general farming. Mr. Hubbell is a member of the Baptist church.

FIRST THINGS.

The first saw-mill in this township was built about 1840, by Andrew Downs, on what was then called Marks creek. He ran this until 1863, when a freshet in the stream tore out the dam, where- upon, he sold the machinery, and the building rotted away.

FELTER POSTOFFICE.

This was established in 1880, on sec- tion 17, in a building on the farm of W. F. Hicks, who was the first post- master. He continued until Oct., 1883, when Syrrel Whitaker, the present in- cumbent, took charge. Mr. Whitaker has the office in a store which he has opened at this point, and is doing a very nice business, and by attention to his patrons, keeping the postoffice every day, Sunday morning included, he has gained many friends in business Mr. Whitaker has appointed a deputy post- master, Lewis Sheppard, and he is now in the merchandise business in Athens- ville.

RICHWOODS CEMETERY.

This city of the dead was laid out in in 1861, on an acre of ground that was donated for the purpose by W.F. Hicks. Paul Castleberry and his wife are he-

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

lieved to have been the first interments here, or at any rate, among the very first.

SAW MILL.

In 1876, the firm of Morrow, Rigg,, & Whitaker, built a saw mill on the southeast quarter of the northwest quar- ter of section 20, into which they re- moved most of the machinery of an older mill, they owned south of the creek. On putting this one up, they put in some new parts of machinery, among other improvements, a new boiler. Hardly had they got in opera- tion, when Syrrel Whitaker retired from the firm, leaving William P. Rigg and William M. Morrow, to carry it on. About 1880, these gentlemen sold out to Samuel J. Rigg, who continued to ope- rate it for over a year, when it was pur- chased by W. M. Morrow. In the spring of 1882. Syrrel Whitaker, James Rouett and John Whitaker purchased the mill, and ran it until Feb. 19, 1883, when W. P. Rigg bought out two of the partners, and the firm changed to Whitaker & Rigg. This partnership continued until July, 1884. when Mr. Rigg retired, and a new firm was formed, consisting of Messrs. Prather, Sheppard & Whitaker. In Oct., 1884, Mr. Whitaker retired, and the mill is now owned and operated by Prather & Sheppard.

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History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois : together with sketches of the towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent individuals, and biographies of representative men, History of Illinois, Part 116

Author: Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical Number of Pages: 1150

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical
Number of Pages: 1150