USA > Illinois > Hancock County > History of Hancock County, Illinois, together with an outline history of the State, and a digest of State laws > Part 61
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Werner Bruckman, a native of Prussia, was born in 1829, and came to America in 1849, settling in New York; in 1874 he came to this city, Warsaw, where he has since resided. Our subject was married in 1853 to Catharine Beiesle. They have had one child; viz., Elizabeth. Mr. Bruckman owns a house and about five acres surrounding it.
W. W. Chittenden came from Oxford, Ohio (the place of his birth), to Adams county, Ill., in 1834, where he remained until 1839, when he removed to Warsaw. He has resided here since that time, save eight years he was engaged in the mercantile business in Montrose, Iowa In early days Mr. Chittenden endured hardships and privations in this then wild country, even though he was but a boy when he first came. He hauled beef to Carthage, a distance of 35 miles, selling it for $1.50 a quarter, which was something over 12 cts. per pound. He relates an incident that would be well enough for the boys of to-day to notice. On one occasion, when on his way to Carthage with a load of beef, he encountered a fearful snow storm. It grew dark, and he was compelled to get out and grope along on his hands and knees to find the road, while a min- ister who was with him drove the horses after him. Mr. C. states that the preacher was very much cast down, and very frequently almost gave up in despair, saying that they must perish there in the blinding storm; but Mr. Chittenden, then about 17 years old and not a Christian, reprimanded him severely for not having more faith in his God and religion than that. But they arrived at a farm house not long after, and were safely housed until the next morning, when they very readily made their way to Carthage, and there dis-
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James & Johnson WILCOX Tp.
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posed of their beef. This incident occurred upon the Big Meadow south of Carthage. Mr. Chittenden sold flour in Keokuk when there were but four honses in that place, besides the Government buildings. He states that the Government officers guarded their money with pistols and " Arkansas tooth-picks." Mr. Chittenden took an active part in driving the Mormons from Illinois, and was present when Smith, the Mormon prophet, was killed. He knew the men who fired the fatal shots-there were four of them. Our subject was married Feb. 3, 1842, to Miss Helen M. Aldrich, by whom he has 6 children; viz., Mary C., William W., Isla J., Helen M., Arthur W. and Clara E. Mr. and Mrs. Chittenden are both members of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. C. is engaged in fruit- growing in Warsaw, and has also recently planted a vineyard. He was born in Oxford, Ohio, Feb. 28, 1818, where he was reared and educated in the Oxford University.
E. R. Clemens was born April 23, 1818, in Kentucky. He is a son of David Clemens, who was a native of Virginia, and is of Scotch ancestry. Our subject came to this county in 1843, where he has since made his home; engaged as an engineer on a boat ply- ing the Mississippi. During the last war he was engineer on the gun-boat " Mound City," of a Mississippi squadron of the United States navy. This boat, with the full fleet, participated in the battle of Vicksburg, which lasted for the space of five hours. The fleet also fought at Greenville, the mouth of the Yazoo river and Red river. At the last named place Mr. Clemens was discharged on account of his inability to perform his duty; and when on his way home, he happened at Fort Pillow when General Forest made a raid on the soldiers and inhabitants there, and massacred them. Mr. Clemens was married June 5, 1843, to Mary J. Monday, by whom he has had 4 children. Of these only one is living, Endora.
D. H. Cox, agent for the St. Louis & Keokuk Packet Co., at Warsaw, Ill., was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, June 7, 1824, and is a son of John Cox, deceased. He was educated at Delaware College, Delaware, O., and at A. C. Cumming's select school, in Pickaway county, O. He engaged for the most part in the mer- cantile business, until October, 1849, when he came to Warsaw, where he again followed merchandising for three years; since that time, with the exception of two years, he has been in the commission business, at Warsaw, and also agent for the Packet Company, as above stated. Ile was married in 1852, to Miss Eliza J. Armstrong, daughter of the late Reed Armstrong, a native of Ohio, who came to this county in 1851, and they have had S children, of whom 6 are living; viz., Dan M., Edward V., Cora A., Anna B., Fannie and Harry R.
Philip Dallam, editor of the Warsaw Bulletin, was born in St. Louis, Mo., May 22, 1853, and is a son of Francis A. and Anna M. Dallam, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter of New York. Our subject was educated for the most part in Quincy, Ill. He began to learn the printer's trade in 1868, under his father, at
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Warsaw. In the year 1870, he was employed as a proof-reader in the U. S. proof-reading room at Washington, but his health fail- ing him he returned in the autumn of the same year. He took charge of the Warsaw Bulletin in 1875, which he is now success- fully operating. He was married Mar. 17, 1880, to Miss Eugenia, daughter of M. T. Hunt, deceased.
Charles R. Davis, an enterprising young Pennsylvanian, from the region of Philadelphia, came to Warsaw say thirty years ago, and settled; finally engaged in the milling business, which he fol- lowed successfully several years. He married Miss Beta Wood, a sister to James H. Wood, Esq. Some ten years since they each emigrated to Denver, Colorado, where Mr. Wood since died. Mr. D. engaged there also in the business of milling, and has a fine establishment there known as the " West Denver Flouring Mills." We are glad to learn that Mr. D. has been quite successful as a business man, and is now ranked among Denver's many successful men, and is a subscriber to this history of his old home county.
O. C. Du Sowchet, of the firm of Du Sowchet & Sons, is a native of Cambridge, Ohio, and was born Aug. 8, 1828; he re- moved to Mt. Vernon, Ind., where he remained until the spring of 1863. He then came to Warsaw and engaged in the lumber busi- ness with Hill, Knox & Co., for whom he worked two or three years. The firm then changed to Hill & Co., and continned by that name until the spring of 1879, when Mr. Du Sowchet and his sons purchased the entire stock, and are now selling at wholesale and retail with unlimited success. They carry a stock of about $30,000, consisting of lumber, lath, shingles, doors, sash and blinds. Their annual sales amount to about $25,000. They are men of per- severence and enterprise; consequently their business will increase surely and steadily.
Briggs J. Fuller, dentist, Warsaw, Ill., is a native of Lee, Mass., and was born Dec. S, 1845. His father was the late Albert Fuller, and the family are descendants of Dr. Win. Fuller, one of the pilgrims who came to America in the Mayflower, The subject of this sketch came to Illinois with his parents in 1856, and settled in Warsaw, where he was educated. He is a graduate of the Missouri Dental College, of St. Louis. He began the prac- tice of dentistry in Warsaw in 1874, and has been very successful, and has a large run of custom.
John H. Finlay. Mr. Finlay would not give his consent for us to insert his biography in this work, but we will just say (without his knowledge) that Mr. Finlay is one of the most prominent law- yers of Warsaw, and has a large practice.
First National Bank of Warsaw was established in 1864, by William Hill and others, with a cash capital of $100,000; first President, Wm. Hill; first Cashier, C. H. Mellen; first Board of Directors, Wm. Hill, C. H. Mellen, Henry Hill, J. W. Knox, John and James B. Hill and James H. Wood. Mr. Mellen resigned his position as Cashier March 1, 1869, and James B. Dodge was
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elected in his place, who still holds that position. June 14, 1875, on account of high local taxes, the company reduced their capital stock to $50,000, which is the present amount. At a meeting of the stock-holders June 10, 1871, the number of Directors was re- duced from seven to five.
Christian Green was born Aug. 25, 1822, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Jacob and Catharine Green, who came to this city with them in 1854, and is a partner in the firm of Rie- inan & Green, millers (see Rieman's biography). He was married three times, and is the father of 12 children, 7 of whom are living, as follows: Sarah, Thos., Daniel, Laura, Edward, Reuben and Cora.
Daniel A. Gardner, deceased, was a native of New York, and was born in 1817. He received a common-school education in New York, and came to Illinois in an early day. He was married in 1853 to Miss L. T. Ingersoll, by whom he had 4 children ; of these, 2 are living, Charles H. and George W. Mrs. Gardner is a daugh- ter of Moses Ingersoll, deceased, who was a relative of the cele- brated orator, Robert G. Ingersoll. Mr. Gardner removed to War- saw the same year of his marriage, where he engaged in the lumber trade until about the year 1861, when he retired. He resided in Warsaw until his death, which occurred May 2, 1868. His re- mains were consigned to the narrow limits of the grave in Oakland cemetery, Warsaw, Ill.
Dr. Charles Hay was born in Fayette county, Ky., in 1801. His father's name was John Hay, born in Berkeley county, Va., and his mother's name was Jemima Coulter, who was born at Red Stone old fort, in Pennsylvania. Mr. Hay's parents located in Kentucky in 1794, with whom he lived during his youth, working on the farm and attending school. Charles attended Transylvania Medical College, located at Lexington, Ky. He graduated in 1829 with a record admired by class-mates and faculty. The Doctor has had great success in his chosen profession, ranking among the first physicians in the States where he has practiced. He was examin- ing pension physician for the United States at Warsaw from 1864 to 1879, when, from his own choice, he resigned, being too old to attend to his many duties. Mr. Hay was married in 1831 to Helen Leonard, and their children are Edward L. (deceased), Augustus L. (now a Captain in the 9th U. S. Vol. Infantry, stationed in Wyom- ing Territory), Mary P. (widow of Major Austin Woolfolk), John, Charles E. and Helen J. (deceased). John Hay is a graduate of Brown University, at Providence, R. I. While reading law in Springfield he became acquainted with Abraham Lincoln, who afterward appointed him as his private secretary, which position he held about four years, during the late war. Mr. Lincoln in 1865 appointed him as Adjutant General, with the rank of Major, upon Gen. Gilmore's staff. He also received an appointment from Lin- coln as Secretary of the Legation that went to Paris in 1865. He was present at Lincoln's assassination. John was also "leader editor"
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of the New York Tribune for four years, and is now 1st Assistant Secretary of State at Washington. Charles E. Hay was an aid-de- camp to Gen. Hunter during the late war, and is at present a lead- ing grocer in Springfield, Ill. Dr. Hay came to Warsaw in 1841, and by his integrity and untiring energy has amassed considerable property. His residence is one of the finest in the city, and is furnished with all the luxuries necessary to make old age comfort- able and happy. When he came to Warsaw the census showed a population of about 400. Most of the land on which the city now stands was covered with heavy timber, principally oak. The ground on which Mr. Hay's house now stands was known as Fort Fraction, intended for hospital purposes. Fort Edwards, of historical impor- tance, was built by Zachary Taylor, afterward President of the U. S. The fort was located at the head of Fort street.
John Hay .- Hon. John Hay, present Assistant Secretary of the Treasury at Washington, though for years residing abroad, is claimed as a Hancock county boy. He was born in Indiana in Oct., 1838, two or three years before his father, Dr. Charles Hay, emi- grated to Warsaw. In Warsaw he received a common-school edu- cation, and was sent to the State University at Springfield, and afterward to Brown University, at Providence, R. I., where he graduated with honor. He chose the profession of law, and studied with his Uncle Milton in Springfield, of the then firm of Hay, Cullom & Campbell. The election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency necessitated the employment of private secretaries, and he chose John Hay as one of them, and then commenced that course of public life which has resulted in giving to young Hay a national reputation as a diplomatist and statesman. He seems to have been throughout the honored confidant of the President, and was placed by him in many positions of trust, in all of which he ac- quitted himself with credit. He was sent to Paris as Secretary of Legation under Minister Bigelow; afterward to Austria as Charge d' Affaires; and again as Secretary of Legation to Spain under Gen. Sickles. He was, also, for a period during the war, on Gens. Hunter and Gilmore's staff as Adjutant, with the rank of Major.
Afterward, in an effort to start a new Republican paper in Chi- cago, Dana, now of the New York Sun, was engaged as editor-in- chief at an excessive salary; and on his failure, Col. Hay, with his friend and former associate, Private Secretary Nicolay, were put in charge. But the venture proved nnsuccessful, and the Chicago Republican ceased to exist. Mr. Hay also served for four years as one of the chief editorial writers on the New York Tribune, a position he was compelled reluctantly to resign on account of fail- ing health. Since his marriage he has been residing chiefly in Cleveland, Ohio, until elected by President Hayes and Secretary Evarts to fill the post of Assistant Secretary, in Oct., 1879.
Notwithstanding Col. Hay's brilliant public career, he is, per- haps, most widely known as a writer. He has been from his youth a well-read historian and scholar; and his long residence ' abroad
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gave him extraordinary advantages in his literary studies. As a prose writer he has few superiors, and his reputation as poet is equal to that of any other of the later American poets. His scholarship, his fine literary taste, his extensive knowledge of his- tory and general literature, and his European experiences have made him a most agreeable and fascinating writer. The regret is lately felt that the cares of public and private life are drawing him away from literary pursuits, for which he has such eminent quali- fications, and in which he would achieve an exalted and enduring reputation.
It is understood the Messrs. Hay and Nicolay have been for years engaged on a Life of President Lincoln, a work which is anxiously looked for, and one which will, doubtless, occupy a high place among American biographies.
This tribute to a Warsaw boy is given-without his knowledge -by one who has known and esteemed him from his childhood up, and who takes pride in being thus able to write truthfully of his most successful career.
Charles Hilker is a native of the province of Westphalen, Prus- sia, and was born in 1810. He came to America in January, 1844, locating in Augusta, Mo., where he resided until 1850, and was a carpenter and cabinet-maker. In 1850 he removed to Warsaw, where also he engaged in his trade for about 14 years, when. in 1864, he was elected to the office of Police Magistrate, which office he held for 12 years, being re-elected twice. He was then elected City Clerk, which office he held one year, having had the same office in connection with that of Police Magistrate the year previous. Was again elected to the office of City Clerk in 1879. He was married in 1833, to Dorothy Koch, by whom he has had 11 chil- dren, of whom but 3 are living, Gottlieb, Wilhelmina, in Kansas, and William, of St. Louis.
James B. Hill, deceased, was a native of England, and was born May 12, 1830. Ilis parents emigrated with their family to Amer- ica in 1834, and located in Pennsylvania. They were John and Harriet Hill. . They brought their family to Warsaw in 1835. James B. was educated in Warsaw. and was married May 25, 1850, to Miss Charlotte Ellis, by whom he had 9 children; of these, 7 are living; viz., Cora, Willis, Belle, Harry, Lottie, Frances and James Etta. Cora has been married, and has 2 children,-Frank and Guy. Mr. Hill was a machinist, and was engineer on the Mississippi river the greater part of his life. He died Febuary 4, 1869, much loved and esteemed by the citizens of Warsaw. He was a very gen- erous man, always lending a helping hand to the needy. He took seven orphan children under his charge, educating and otherwise caring for them as he did for his own children. He was a soldier in the Mormon war.
Geo. S. Knox, deceased, was born in Steuben county, N. Y., March 9, 1828, and was a son of Wm. D. and Sally Ann ( Winters) Knox. He was educated in New York State, and came with his
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parents to this county in 1844. He afterward went to Galena, Ill., where he engaged in mining a few years. In 1852 he returned to Warsaw, where he was identified with business enterprises that helped to develop the place. He was interested in the Warsaw woolen mills also. By enterprise, keen foresight and close atten- tion to business he amassed a large fortune. In later years he lived a retired life. He was married May 6, 1857, to Miss Emily A. Hill, daughter of John Hill (deceased), so well known in the early history of Warsaw, and a sister of the popular banker of Warsaw, Mr. William Hill. This union was blessed with 3 children, of whom but one, Clara E., is living. Mr. Knox died in Chicago, Oct. 28, 1879, while located temporarily there for his health.
Benjamin Franklin Marsh, the present efficient member of Congress for the 10th Illinois district, is a native of Hancock county, born on his father's farm four miles east of Warsaw, and is now abont 40 years old. We have no particulars of his early life, and only know that his boyhood days were spent on the farm, that many of them were employed in driving an ox-team in turning over the prairie sod, in plowing corn and potatoes, making fence, and feeding hogs and cattle,and in other laborious and exacting farm labor. At home the facilities for acquiring the ru- diments of an education were very limited so at times he was sent to the village to school. In time he reached college, where, we do not remember, nor for how long a period. From college he went into a law office, and afterward to the practice of law, chiefly with his brother John W., at Warsaw. When the Rebell- ion broke out, Frank took up arms for the Union, as did also his brother Arthur (whose life was sacrificed in the cause). For his career in the army the reader is referred to the report in another chapter.
In 1876 he received the Republican nomination for Congress and was elected, and returned again in 1878, in both of which terms he served his constituents faithfully and with honor, and acquired a prominent standing with his fellow members. And at the late Republican Convention (1880) he received a unanimous vote for a third term, a compliment seldom extended to a candi- date.
This meager account of "our member" is hastily thrown together from the recollection of the writer, without data before him from which to make a more extended report.
Thomas McDougal was born in Jackson county, Ohio, Sept. 4, 1833, and is a son of Richard and Mary McDongal. He came to Warsaw in 1856, where, in 1866 he engaged in the livery business, which he is still pursuing with prosperity. He was married in 1856 to Miss Mary F. Lewis, by whom he has 2 children, Jennie (dec.) and Donald.
George S. McFerran was born in Beaver county, Pa., May 10, 1827. He was reared and educated in Hookstown, Pa., and came to Warsaw in 1859, where he has since resided. He is a mechanic,
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and is employed as bridge-builder, on the T., P. & W. R. R. He helped erect this road in the winter of 1867-'S. He has been mar- ried twice, and is the father of 5 children, of whom 2 are living, George M. and Willy D. George is a member of the graduating class in the Warsaw high school (April, 1880). Mr. McFerran's present wife was Miss Mary J. Mackey. She came to America on a visit to her sister in 1859, and has prolonged her visit until the present. She became the wife of Mr. McFerran in 1862.
Lemuel Mussetter was born in Frederick county, Md., Nov. 11, 1806, and was raised on a farın, on which the principal crops were tobacco. His father was the first man in the United States to sell tobacco at $25 per cwt. after the war of 1812. When Lemuel was 23 years of age he was employed by the Baltimore & Ohio R. R. Company; in about a year and a half he was taken sick, and after recovery he commenced in the grocery business at a new town called Ijamsville, and was appointed Postmaster at that place by the in- fluence of George C. Washington, a nephew of the old General, the " Father of our Country," and soon added dry goods to his line of trade. June 7, 1836, he left for the West; spent the summer in Ohio, and the last day of September arrived in this State, where his first employment was to assist James Brattle, the County Sur- veyor, in the survey of lots of the town of Warsaw, for public sale. He boarded with Mr. Newberry at the old Fort Edwards. From that time until 1843 Mr. M. followed various kinds of business; he then bought the grocery of John Swett, situated on the river. When Mr. M. first landed at Warsaw there were more Indians than white people in the vicinity. In 1845 he was appointed Postmaster, and in this capacity served until the inauguration of President Taylor, when he was removed on political grounds. Then Mr. M. moved to the hill and added dry goods, etc., to his business, and continued until 1859, when he sold out to Wm. Cooper and lost $3,000 by the operation.
In 1845 Mr. Mussetter married Miss Hannah Aegus, and they have had 10 children. In 1859 Mr. M. made a trip to the Rocky Mountains, spending a summer there; that region is now Colorado. He has been Trustee, Councilman, Magistrate, Member of the Legislature, etc. Was elected Supervisor on the first adoption of tp. organization. He has seen this county develop from its original wild condition to that of wealth and refinement, and has been prominently identified with that progress.
E. W. Oliver is a native of Adams county, Ill., and was born, Nov. 2, 1836. His father, Elias Oliver, of Decatur, was among the first pioneers who settled in Adams county. He was tendered 20 acres of land where Quincy now stands, as payment for three months' work. They came to this county about 1847, where Mr. E. W. Oliver still resides, the popular artist of Warsaw. He en- gaged in photography in the autumn of 1863, in Warsaw, having learned the art in Quincy; traveled some throughout the country. He has since remained in Warsaw, except two years of this time,
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which he spent in St. Louis and Quincy. He was married in the fall of 1860, to Miss Mary J. Walker, daughter of John Walker (dec.), of Breckenridge, Ill. This union has been blessed with 4 children, of whom 3 are living; viz., Warren M., Rufus W. and Cora A. Mr. Oliver's reputation as a photographer is well known in this locality, and he deserves the patronage of the people.
David Ogden, a native of Buffalo city, N. Y., was born Apr. 27, 1823, a son of Jesse B. and Charlotte Ogden, both natives of that State. He came to this (Hancock) county in 1856. He is a machinist by occupation, having learned his art in the Buffalo city steam engine works; is now the engineer of the Grace Mill, of War- saw. He was married Aug. 14, 1858, to Miss Sarah E. Dorsey, by whom he has had 7 children; of these, 4 are living: Lurenda, Lilly, George, Eudora.
Rev. John G. Rankin, a native of East Tennessee, was born March 31, 1821, and is a son of Rev. Wm. C. Rankin, a Presbyte- rian minister, who removed with his family to Southern Indiana in 1837, where he engaged in the ministry for about 5 years, when he removed to Des Moines county, Iowa; here he took charge of the Yellow Springs (now Kossuth) Church. He remained there but two or three years, when he removed to this county and engaged in the missionary work for the most part, until 1870. He now lives a retired life at Fort Madison, Iowa, at the age of 85 years.
Our subject, Rev. John G. Rankin, graduated at Mission Insti- tute, near Quincy, Ill., in 1845, and at Lane Theological Seminary, Cincinnati, O., May 5, 1847. He was ordained by the Schuyler Presbytery, Sept. 13, 1849. He commenced laboring with the First Presbyterian Church, of Warsaw, Ill., Sept. 10, 1848; resigned in March, 1850. In March, 1851, he took charge of Carrollton Church, Greene Co., Ill., where he remained 10 years. In March, 1861, he returned to Warsaw and continued until December, 1868; he then took charge of Monticello Church, Madison Co., Ill., and was Chaplain of Monticello Seminary. In 1872 he was with the Ferguson Church, St. Louis county, Mo. His next field was Cen- tralia, Ill., from whence he returned to his old field, Warsaw, Ill., where he still remains the Pastor of the Church. He was married in Quincy, Ill., to Miss Philomela Prentiss, April 3, 1851. Her native place is Prattsburg, Steuben county, N. Y. Her father, Harvey P. Prentiss, still resides in Quincy. Her mother was Livonia Loomis, daughter of Deacon Gamaliel Loomis, of Pratts .. burg, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Rankin have no children.
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