USA > Illinois > Henry County > History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 113
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Mr. Weimer is a republican in politics and is now serving as a school director, the cause of education ever finding in him a stanch champion. Fraternally he is identified with the Woodmen and the Knights of the Globe. Both he and his wife belong to the Grace Evangelical church and exemplify its teachings in their daily lives. They have a host of warm friends throughout the county in which they have always resided and are widely recognized as people of genuine per- sonal worth. Mr. Weimer well merits the proud American title of a self-made man, for the success which he now enjoys is directly attributable to his own enterprise and energy.
H. J. VANCE.
In the few months that he has been in Atkinson H. J. Vance has proved him- self one of the most energetic young business men of the town and under his management the store of Frank Hyman & Company, clothiers, bids fair to be- come one of the best of its kind in the county. He was born in La Salle county, Illinois, April 26, 1876, and is a son of J. R. and Anna (Jones) Vance. The father, who was of Pennsylvanian nativity, came to Illinois about forty years ago, locating in Ottawa, where he pursued farming. He died in 1896, four years after his wife had passed away. Only two children were born to them. The daughter, Sarah, is the wife of William J. Bigger, of Kansas City, Missouri.
H. J. Vance received a good education, for after he had completed the course in the public schools, he attended the Ottawa Business College. His lessons over, he embarked upon his commercial career. For three years he clerked in the clothing store of Fisk & Beem in Ottawa, and then, in 1898, he went to
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Streator, Illinois, where he obtained employment in Stauber's pants factory. He next went to Kewanee as a clerk in a clothing store. His abilities recommended him to the clothing firm of Frank Hyman & Company, of Kewanee, and they sent him, in January, 1908, to open and manage their branch store in Atkinson. It is the only concern here which handles exclusively men's furnishings, and it aims to meet the requirements of the most fastidious tastes. They carry a com- plete line of everything that is necessary for perfect masculine attire and keep abreast of the styles popular in the large cities. The stock is kept fresh and re- plenished and the manager is untiring in procuring the satisfaction of every cus- tomer.
On the 15th of September, 1905, Mr. Vance wedded Miss Mary Carlson, of Princeton, Illinois, a daughter of Magnus and Christine Carlson. The father had passed away, but the mother is still living in Princeton. They were the parents of six other children : Minnie, now Mrs. Honstehan, of Joliet, Illinois ; Esther, the wife of Ed Thore, of Princeton; Albert, who also lives in Princeton; August, engaged in railroad construction in Montana; Lee, who lives in Seattle, Washington; and Arthur, who is in a clothing business in Princeton, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Vance have two daughters: Frances, who was born in Kewanee, August 27, 1907; and Margaret, born April 27, 1909.
Of tried experience before he assumed his present position, Mr. Vance gives every indication of living up to the high hopes that were placed in him by the firm that has established a branch of their business here. The store fills a long felt want in the community and seems in every way fitted to meet the demands made upon it. These are constantly increasing, due both to the up-to-date meth- ods of the manager and the spread of its fame by well pleased patrons.
HUGH WALLACE BAILEY, M. D. V.
Dr. Hugh Wallace Bailey, a veterinary surgeon of Orion, has become recog- nized as a man of ability in his chosen calling, who through the exercise of his native talents has become very successful in the practice of his profession. One of Illinois' native sons, he was born near Coal Valley, Rock Island county, on the 26th of January, 1872, and is a son of James and Margaret (Warnock) Bailey. Both parents were born in County Down, Ireland, and came to America with their parents in the year 1849. The Bailey and Warnock families sailed on the same vessel from the old country, landing in New York after a voyage of eleven weeks, and then together went to Buffalo by way of the Erie canal and thence to Chicago by the lakes. From that city they traveled overland to Rock Island county, where the homes of both families were established, and where the grand- fathers of our subject, Robert Bailey and John Warnock, were both engaged in the occupation of farming. In the Warnock family were six sons and two daughters, while the Bailey family consisted of three sons and one daughter who grew to maturity and twin daughters who passed away in infancy.
James Bailey, the father of Dr. Bailey, also engaged in farming in Rock Is- land county, in which line of activity he was very successful, becoming a large
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landowner. He and his father-in-law, John Warnock, were the first to introduce into that county thoroughbred Durham cattle, and both became very extensive breeders, their stock becoming widely known throughout the district, being in great demand for breeding purposes. They were both republicans in politics and were very active and prominent in community affairs, especially Mr. Warnock, who was supervisor of Rural township for many years. Mr. Bailey was a prom- inent and faithful member of the United Presbyterian church, in which he served as elder for a number of years, and was also an active worker in the Sunday school, being a man of excellent character and high and honorable principles, who enjoyed the unqualified respect and regard of all who were associated with him in business or private life. He passed away on the 16th of August, 1897, his remains being interred in the Homestead church cemetery near his old home. His widow still survives and is a most estimable lady, greatly admired and loved by all who know her. In their family were eight children, all of whom still sur- vive, namely: Mary E., at home; Anna, principal of a school at Moline, Illi- nois; William W., practicing medicine at LeClaire, Iowa; Jennie, who married Rolland Metzler and makes her home on the old home farm in Rock Island county ; John W., who is married and carries on farming near Coal Valley ; Hugh Wallace, of this review; Ella, the wife of Roy Ferguson, a prominent farmer of Western township; and Bessie, a teacher in the Henry county schools.
No event of special importance came to vary the routine of life for Hugh Wallace Bailey during the period of his boyhood and youth, which was spent in Rock Island county, amid the scenes and environments of rural life. He spent his time in the usual manner of the country lads of that day, acquiring his early education in the district schools near his home. He remained under the parental roof, giving his father the benefit of his assistance in the work of the home farm, until he attained his majority, when he started out in business life on his own account as a farmer. He was married when about twenty-five years of age, after which he purchased a farm in Rural township, Rock Island county, and there carried on general farming for a number of years. He also became an extensive raiser and breeder of thoroughbred Hereford cattle, in which he was eminently successful. He was thus engaged until 1906 when, thinking a pro- fessional life would be more congenial if not more profitable, he went to Chicago, where he became a student in the McKillip Veterinary College. During the periods of vacation he established himself in his profession in Orion, Henry county, and immediately upon his graduation, which occurred in March, 1909, took up a permanent location in this city and has since been engaged in the prac- tice of his chosen calling here. He maintains a hospital for the treatment of all kinds of animal diseases and although he has been here but a short time. he has already built up a large practice among the farmers and stockmen of the community in Henry, Mercer, and Rock Island counties, which is constantly growing in volume and importance. He makes a specialty of animal dentistry and in this line has been very successful, his reputation as a careful, capable and efficient practitioner extending over a wide territory.
On the 25th of August, 1897, Dr. Bailey was united in marriage to Miss Jennie S. Wilson, a daughter of John A. and Jennie (Scott) Wilson, of Rock Island county, Illinois, both parents being natives of the Prairie state. The
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father is a son of Judge Wilson, who for many years was judge of Rock Island county and a most benevolent gentleman, befriending the wives and widows of the soldiers during the time of the Civil war. John A. Wilson was for a num- ber of years an extensive and successful farmer of Rock Island county, also carrying on stock-raising on a very large scale. He was well known in public circles, being a very prominent and influential factor in community affairs. A democrat in politics, he was surpervisor of Rural township for a longer time than any other man. He and his wife still survive and make their home on their ranch near Emmet, Nebraska. They are the parents of four daughters and two sons, Jennie Saria, the wife of Dr. Bailey, being the only member of the family living in Henry county. The entire Wilson family are musical in their taste, Mrs. Wilson being a very accomplished musician, while a daughter, Alma E., is an instructor of music in the Leonard-Wilson School of Music in Chicago and also a vocal teacher in the Cosmopolitan School of Music & Dramatic Art in that city. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Bailey have been born three daughters, Elta M., Jennie Lucille and Helen W., all of whom are yet in school. They all seem to inherit considerable musical ability from their mother, who is very proficient in that art, and they will be given thorough advanced training in both music and literature.
Dr. Bailey and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, the latter being very active in the work of both the church and Sunday school. Fraternally he belongs to Valley Lodge, No. 547, A. F. & A. M., at Coal Valley, and also to the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he supports both parties, doing all in his power to further the best interests of the community but has never desired nor held public office himself. He has not, however, been remiss in his duties of citizenship, but on the other hand has been actively and helpfully interested in community affairs, always keeping thoroughly posted in all matters of public moment. He is very strong in his advocacy of all meas- ures which are calculated to conserve and promote the public welfare and his influence at all times is on the side of progress, advancement and reform. Early trained to habits of industry and diligence, those qualities have been manifest throughout his entire business career and have been salient elements in the grat- ifying measure of success which he today enjoys. He also inherited from his parents their high ideals of life and his record has ever been in harmony with those things which go to make up honorable and upright manhood, so that he ranks foremost among Orion's representative and valued citizens.
IRVING J. TURNBULL.
Irving J. Turnbull, the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 17, Wethersfield township, devotes his energies to that line of activity which George Washington designated as "the most useful as well as the most honorable occupation of man." He is numbered among the worthy native sons of Illinois, his birth having occurred in Stark county on the 14th of Decem- ber, 1878. His paternal grandparents, Robert and Margaret (Graham) Turn-
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bull, who were natives of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, crossed the Atlantic to the United States and took up their abode among the earliest settlers of Elmira, Stark county. John G. Turnbull, the father of our subject, was but eight years of age when he came to this state with his parents and here he continued to re- side until called to his final rest in 1894. The demise of his wife occurred at Kewanee in June, 1903.
Irving J. Turnbull supplemented his preliminary education, obtained in the district schools of Stark county, by a course of study in the Kewanee high school and later spent a year in the Iowa City Commercial College. He then returned to the home farm in Stark county and there remained until sixteen years of age, when he lost his father and removed to Kewanee with his widowed mother. In the spring of 1900 he took up his abode on the farm left him by his father-a tract of land comprising one hundred and sixty acres situated four miles south- west of Kewanee. Here he has since carried on his agricultural interests with excellent success, the land being some of the best to be found in Wethersfield township. It is all very level and under a high state of cultivation and improve- ment. With the exception of the house and one shed, he has erected all of the buildings which now stand upon the place and has built a new windmill and water system that furnishes all the barns and even the house with a constant supply of water. He has the assistance of but one hired man in the active work of the fields and in the conduct of his farming interests has won a measure of prosperity that entitles him to recognition among the successful and representa- tive citizens of the community.
On the 22d of June, 1899, in Elmira, Stark county, Mr. Turnbull was united in marriage to Miss Myrtle McLeod, a daughter of Kenneth McLeod, an early settler of that county. They now have three children, namely: Helen C., seven years old, who is now attending school; and Ivan K. and Linus C., who are five and three years of age respectively.
At the polls Mr. Turnbull casts his ballot in support of the men and meas- ures of the republican party, believing that its principles are most conducive to good government. He has capably served in the capacity of school director for one term. He and his wife are a highly esteemed young couple of the commun- ity in which they reside, having ever displayed those sterling traits of character which in every land and clime awaken confidence and regard.
JOHN SAMUELSON.
Not only has the life of John Samuelson been productive of such good for- tune for himself that warranted his relinquishing his heavier cares, but his rec- ord is one which in more ways than one is an inspiration to those younger men about him to exert themselves to nobler manhood, for although he was of Swe- dish birth, he did not hesitate to offer himself in support of the country of his adoption, when there was need of his loyalty to it. He is now living on Orchard street, Orion, but for a number of years he cultivated three hundred and twenty acres of land on section 25, Western township, which is still in his possession
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and is operated by his son. He was born November 25, 1835, and was about fifteen when, in 1851, his parents, Samuel and Anna (Nelson) Johnson, brought their family to America. They stayed about six months in the city of Buffalo, New York, whence they traveled by boat to Chicago, traversing the distance from there to Henry county with horse and wagon. Here the father entered eighty acres of government land, on which he made his home until his death.
In his native land John Samuelson received a very limited education, and when he came to the United States he had no knowledge of or acquaintance with our language. Nor were there any schools here then, so that he was compelled to make his way as best he could. That he surmounted all obstacles valiantly none can deny. At the age of twenty-one years, when he began to assume re- sponsibilities, he secured an interest in a threshing outfit which he operated throughout the township with a success that promised well for subsequent years.
His agricultural pursuits, however, were interrupted by the inauguration of the Civil war, in which he determined to participate. Accordingly, in August, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Forty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was sent first to St. Louis, from there through Missouri, and after returning to St. Louis was sent south. At the battle at Pittsburg Landing his regiment lost heavily, although he came from the fray unwounded. That was his good for- tune throughout the course of the war, for although in a number of hotly con- tested engagements, like Shiloh, the siege of Corinth and Salem Cemetery, he was never wounded, was never in a hospital and never fell into the hands of the enemy. In the battles of Somerville, Tennessee, Vicksburg, Little Rock, Prai- rie Den and Jenkins Ferry, he also proved his valor, winning promotion to the rank of corporal and later to that of sergeant. After more than three years of service, he was honorably discharged and returned to his home in Henry county, where he immediately took up the occupation to which he had devoted himself before the war. He bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Western township, for which he paid fifteen dollars an acre, and later bought a farm of like area for which he paid more than four times as much, buying it at the rate of sixty-five dollars an acre. This large tract, which he still owns, has greatly improved through the course of years, for his ideas of progress and his good management, which has been guided by keen foresight, have played quite as conspicuous a part in his success as has the industry which has been one of his conspicuous characteristics. For about thirty years it was his home, until 1897, when he removed to the village of Orion, where he has since resided in the en- joyment of a generous income and in the memory of a life well spent in earnest endeavor.
In Andover, in June, 1867, Mr. Samuelson wedded Miss Mary Lawrence, a native of Sweden, who came to this country when she was about eighteen years of age. Her parents Mr. and Mrs. Lawson Lawrence, never left their native land, in which the last years of their lives were passed. All of the family of six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Samuelson are living. John, who has remained a bachelor, took a course of study in Augustana College and later in Davenport. Arthur, who has also stayed single, attended the Geneseo Collegiate Institute, later the business college in Davenport and is now in the state of Washington.
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William was a pupil in the common schools, later continuing his education at Abigdon, Illinois, and is now a farmer at Ponca, Oklahoma. He married Miss Della Johnson and they have four children. A sketch of Guy follows this. Mabel attended the high school at Orion. Esther, the youngest, was graduated from that instittuion with the class of 1907. The two daughters have also had a musical education, for Mr. Samuelson, having experienced the hardships at- tendant upon little schooling, has made every endeavor to give his children the advantages of a thorough preparation for life which he did not enjoy. Mrs. Samuelson died March 17, 1904.
When he was admitted to citizenship in this republic Mr. Samuelson decided to look to the republican party for guidance in political matters and cast his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Since that time his alle- giance to the party which supported the Union has been unswerving, and it was upon its ticket that he was elected to the positions of school director and trustee and highway commissioner, in which capacities he served efficiently through a long period of years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in harmony with whose teachings he has lived. When Trego Post, G. A. R., was organized he joined it as a charter member, and in the course of years has attended the reunions of his fellow soldiers and the national reunion at Mil- waukee.
GUY ERNEST SAMUELSON.
Among the enterprising young farmers of Western township is Guy Ernest Samuelson, the third son of John Samuelson, who operates his father's large tract of land. Born in the house in which he now lives, September 11, 1882, almost his whole life has been passed in agricultural pursuits upon the half sec- tion of land which is now the scene of his labors. As a boy he was early ini- tiated by his father into the secrets of farming, while he attended the common schools of his locality, to obtain a good practical education. At the expiration of his school days he engaged in clerking in a store in Orion, an occupation he followed for two years, and then worked upon a farm during the summer months and teamed in the village during the winter. Shortly after his father retired from active life, he and his two older brothers undertook the manage- ment of the home place, and about 1902 he bought the interests of the others and has since conducted it alone. While a large part of his land is devoted to gen- eral farming, he has made a specialty of stock raising and feeding. He breeds pure blooded Clydesdale horses and pastures a large number of cattle which he ships to the market annually. These interests have brought him an income com- mensurate with that obtained from his agriculture, so that he is rapidly ad- vancing along the road of success which was traversed in such a remarkable manner by his father. Indeed it is by some of the same strong traits of char- acter observable in the older man, which has won him his good fortune and also the good will and respect of his fellowmen.
After he had proved to himself that he was able to achieve a fair name and fortune for himself, Mr. Samuelson wedded, in Rock Island, January 25, 1905,
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Miss Signa Carlson, of Cambridge. Of Swedish birth, she came to America at the age of seventeen, leaving her parents, John and Christina (Johnson) Carl- son, at Nassgo, Sweden, where they are still living. Having been bred to be- lief in the principles of the republican party from his youth, he has given to it his allegiance, but he has sought no office within the gift of the people. He and his wife are consistent members of the Swedish Lutheran church, while fra- ternally he has allied himself with the Mystic Workers and with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a charter member of a camp of the latter society, and with Mrs. Samuelson belongs to the Royal Neighbors. A young man who has just begun upon his life's career, he may well look forward to many years of prosperity and advancement in his chosen vocation.
FRANK W. PLUMMER.
Frank W. Plummer, who is successfully engaged in business as a florist of Kewanee, is a member of the firm of Hamilton & Plummer, conducting an ex- tensive enterprise of this character. He was born in Bureau county, Illinois, on the 20th of August, 1864. His father, Benjamin Plummer, whose birth occurred in Kentucky on the 5th of July, 1818, went to Indiana with his parents when a boy, was married in that state and there most of his children were born. Removing to Bureau county, Illinois, he there followed farming for a number of years but in 1865 disposed of his property, intending to establish his home in the west. He drove as far as Kewanee, Henry county, and stopped here for the winter. One of his sons, who was at that time serving in the Civil war, was taken sick and returned home to Kewanee, where his demise occurred. Mr. Plummer decided to remain in this county and devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits in Kewanee and Wethersfield townships until the time of his retirement from active life in 1881. He passed away in Princeton, Illinois, in 1892 and was buried in Kewanee. In early manhood he had wedded Miss Elvira Evans, a native of North Carolina, whose father was a large slaveholder prior to the war of the Rebellion. Her demise occurred in 1892 in Princeton, Illinois, and her remains were also interred in Kewanee.
Frank W. Plummer, who was but a year old when brought to this county by his parents, obtained his education in the public schools of Wethersfield and Kewanee. He remained on his father's farm until fifteen years of age and then became identified with his present line of business, securing employment with E. M. Vail, a well known florist and nurseryman of Kewanee. At the end of about six years he went to Minneapolis and there worked as a florist for two years, on the expiration of which period he returned to Kewanee and took charge of the Lake Park Greenhouse. After being thus engaged for four years he became associated with Watson L. and Leroy F. Hamilton in the conduct of a greenhouse on a small scale, catering to the retail trade. This relation was maintained until 1906, in which year Watson L. Hamilton passed away and Leroy F. Hamilton sold his interest in the business to his brother, Claude M. Hamilton, who had been admitted to the firm on the Ist of January, 1900. The
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business has continually grown until the firm of Hamilton & Plummer now con- ducts a large floral establishment, wholesale and retail, supplying not only the local trade but also making sales throughout the surrounding country for a con- siderable radius.
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