USA > Illinois > Henry County > History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 114
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On the 10th of April, 1886, in Kewanee, Mr. Plummer was united in mar- riage to Miss Minnie Avery, a daughter of M. J. and Elizabeth Avery, natives of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Plummer are now the parents of four sons, namely : Edward S., a young man of twenty-three years, who is employed by his father; Frank W., a twin brother of Edward, who also works for his father; Clifford B., who is nineteen years of age and resides at home; and Clarence L., a lad of eleven years, who is attending school.
In his political views Mr. Plummer is a stanch republican, while fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America at Kewanee and also the Red Men. He is a man of good business ability, of exemplary habits and up- right character, is worthy the trust of his fellowmen and fully merits the good will which is uniformly extended him.
JOHN STEPHEN COLLINS.
The late John Stephen Collins, who for many years was one of the substan- tial farmers of Geneseo township, was born in County Clare, Ireland, in 1832, being a son of Stephen and Margaret (Fennel) Collins, also natives of Ireland. The mother died when John S. Collins was but a child, and of her four children but one now survives, Stephen Collins, of Southbury, Connecticut. When about sixteen years old, John S. Collins came to America, having previously secured a common-school education. This was in 1851 and he began working in Southburg, Connecticut, remaining there until his marriage, when he came as far west as In- diana, then newly settled. There he obtained employment by the month but not being satisfied he pushed still further westward and located in Geneseo, where he worked on the railroad for some time. Later he teamed until he began farm- ing, which was his occupation until death claimed him.
The homestead still owned by his widow is a valuable one hundred and sixty acre farm two and one-half miles from the city. He improved this land, build- ing fine barns and a substantial house and he left the property in a model con- dition. Politically he was a democrat and held a number of township offices, although he preferred to attend to his own affairs. He was a member of the Roman Catholic church and died firm in its faith October 26, 1906, his remains being interred in Oakwood cemetery in Geneseo.
Mr. Collins married Miss Catherine Holhen at Southbury, Connecticut, but she died after the birth of their third child in 1858 or 1859. The children were as follows: Stephen A., a farmer of Buffalo, Iowa, who has a coal mine on his property, is married and has four sons: Thomas, a Dakota Farmer ; Francis and John, both Iowa farmers, and William, who is sixteen and at home. Mary Agnes, the wife of James A. Thomas, a railroad man living in Chicago, and
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they have one daughter, Catherine, aged four years. Catherine, the third child of John S. Collins, is the wife of H. S. Wood, of Oskaloosa, Iowa, a blacksmith and repairer, and they have two children: Jerome A .; Edith M., the wife of Dr. Garland of Oskaloosa; and Irene, at home. The father gave to his sons the farm property they now own.
Mr. Collins was again married August 15, 1859, to Catherine Maher, who was born December 25, 1842, in Limerick, Ireland, a daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Lonney) Maher, natives of the same place, where the father farmed, and both spent their lives there. They had one son and three daughters, of whom Mrs. Collins is the only survivor. Mr. and Mrs. Collins became the parents of twelve children, seven of whom are living: J. Collins, born August 31, 1860, is deceased and his remains are buried in Geneseo; Ella, born Febru- ary 6, 1862, died and is also buried in Geneseo; Andrew, born July 8, 1863, is deceased; Thomas, born August 13, 1864, passed away at the age of eighteen, January 27, 1882, and lies with the others in Geneseo; Anna, born December 13, 1867, lives with her mother; Dennis L., born June 8, 1869, was married in 1901 to Catherine Prey, and they live in Munson township and have three children, Catherine, Margaret L. and John; Helen V., born September 27, 1871, was mar- ried April 28, 1897, to Joseph Rink, of Phenix township, and they had seven children, Leo, deceased, Ruth, Anna, Joseph, Helen, Lucy and Mary; John P., born January 13, 1874, married Emma Becker and they live in Atkinson town- ship on a farm; Lucy Edith, born December 10, 1876, married John Murphy, a farmer of Kilkenny, Minnesota, and they have one child, Catherine C .; Francis E. L., born June 12, 1878, lives with his mother and conducts her farm, a very pleasant, agreeable young man; James Vincent, born March 23, 1880, died April 16, 1905, and is buried with the other children; Joseph Sylvestor, born March 28, 1882, married Mary Fenley, January 27, 1908, and they live in Caledonia, Minnesota. The last named is a practicing physician, a graduate from the med- ical college of Iowa City in 1905 and is now in charge of the Caledonia hospital. He had been practicing at Atkinson for three years before going to Minnesota, In 1907 Dr. Collins built the office, residence and operating room on Main street, all of which are thoroughly modern. The family is very proud of his success, especially his mother.
The late John S. Collins was a self-made man in the best sense of the word. He had little or nothing when he began life, but by hard labor, economical habits and the assistance of his wife he was able to accummulate a comfortable prop- erty and leave his family well provided for at his death.
Mrs. Collins and her daughter are members of St. Malachi's church of Ge- neseo, of which Mr. Collins was one of the builders and supporters. The new church was finished in 1908 and Mrs. and Miss Collins presented the altar and a large stained glass window as a memorial of John S. Collins. Frank Collins subscribed five hundred dollars towards the building fund. Dr. Collins was on the building committee of the new Catholic school, known as St. Anthony's, which was completed in 1908, so that the family have been very prominent in church affairs in Henry county. The unmarried daughter and son are nobly devoting themselves to making their beloved mother's declining years happy and keeping her from grieving too much over the loss of her husband to whom she
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was so devotedly attached. It is the hope of them all to return to the home at an early date.
John S. Collins was one of the sturdy, hardy, honest men of Henry county. He was upright in all his dealings; kind-hearted, liberal and generous in forgiv- ing the faults of others, so that when he died the whole community joined the family in mourning his loss.
EDWARD JAMES RAY.
Edward James Ray, who for the past seven years has capably discharged the duties devolving upon him in the capacity of township supervisor, is an enter- prising and progressive farmer and stock raiser of Wethersfield township. He is a native of the state of New York, his birth having occurred in Madrid, St. Lawrence county, on the 27th of August, 1854. His father, Orion L. Ray, who was born in Vermont, removed to Battle Creek, Michigan, about 1857 and there practiced law and taught school. For some years he likewise served as county judge of Barry county and his demise there occurred about 1891, when he had attained the age of sixty-five years. In early manhood he had wedded Miss Harriett D. Shaw, who was a native of St. Lawrence county, New York, and a daughter of Colonel Enis Shaw. She came of Vermont parentage and was a descendent in the fourth generation of Daniel Putnam, a brother of Israel Put- nam. She passed away in Michigan in January, 1859, at the comparative early age of twenty-nine years.
Edward James Ray obtained his education in the public schools of his native county and also of Henry county, Illinois, for he was a lad of thirteen when he came here to make his home with an aunt. When eighteen years of age he had completed the prescribed course of study in the Wethersfield high school, at that time known as the Academy, and then turned his attention to the profession of teaching, following that calling during the fall and winter months for about twenty years. In the summer seasons he worked as a farm hand and after hav- ing been thus employed for five years he purchased a tract of eighty acres on sec- tion 10, Wethersfield township, which remained his home until 1894 and which he still cultivates. He has always operated more or less rented land in connection with his own property and for the past fifteen years has farmed two hundred and forty-five acres, residing on what is known as the M. B. Potter place on sections 9 and 10 Wethersfield township. In addition to cultivating the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he likewise raises considerable stock and breeds many good horses, breeding a number of thoroughbred Percherons some years ago. He is also interested in Wethersfield real estate to some extent and is widely recognized as one of the substantial, respected and representative citizens of the community.
On the 20th of March, 1878, at Wethersfield, Mr. Ray was united in mar- riage to Miss Cynthia M. Kellogg, a daughter of Albert B. and Harriett E. Kel- logg, of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Ray are the parents of four children, namely : Henry K., who is thirty years of age and follows farming in Wethersfield town-
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ship; Enis S., a young man of twenty-seven, who is likewise an agriculturist of Wethersfield township; William E., who is twenty-three years old and still re- sides at home; and Esther M., a young lady of nineteen, who attends the Wheaton school.
Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Ray has supported the men and measures of the republican party and for a number of years past has been an active worker in its local ranks. He acted as town clerk for some years prior to his election to the office of supervisor of Wethersfield township, which position he has held for the past seven years. He is now serving his fourth two years' term and that he has been an able and faithful incumbent in the office is proven by the fact that at the last election he was chosen without opposition. For fifteen consecutive years he has been a member of the Wethers- field board of education and his aid and cooperation can always be counted upon to further any movement or measure instituted to promote the public welfare. He was largely instrumental in securing the commons for the Wethersfield high school. In January, 1908, he was made chairman of a special committee which was appointed to make settlement with the county and ex-county officials who had been found short in their accounts by John Finley, accountant. His relig- ious faith is indicated by his membership in the Kewanee Congregational church, in which he is serving as deacon and of which he acted as a trustee for five years. The period of his residence in this county now covers more than four decades and he is widely and favorably known within its borders.
EUGENIO K. HAYES.
The name of Eugenio K. Hayes is inseparably interwoven with the industrial history of Galva and he was widely known as one of the foremost inventors of agricultural machinery. His ability placed him on a plane far above the major- ity of his fellows and yet in all of those qualities which make for pleasant social ties he was richly endowed and, therefore, enjoyed the warm friendship and kindly regard of all with whom he came in contact. Moreover he held to high ideals of life, believing in and supporting all those measures which work for the betterment of mankind at large.
A native of Stark county, Illinois, he was born May 21, 1848, and was the son of Harry and Harriet Hayes, both of whom were natives of the Empire state. The progenitor of the Hayes family in this country was Nathaniel Hayes, who was one of the founders and one of the original grantors of Nor- walk, Connecticut. He came from England or Ireland but was of Scotch line- age. Harry Hayes, the father of our subject, was born at Galway, New York. and became one of the pioneer residents of Stark county, Illinois, operating a woolen mill at La Fayette. He was always known by the title of Colonel Hayes and was one of the representative men of the community, prominent, active and influential in public affairs. On the 29th of January, 1829, he wedded Harriet Wright and they became parents of four children: Julia A., Mary E., Marga-
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ret T. and Eugenio K. The father, who was born April 17, 1806, passed away. June II, 1888. His wife was born September 24, 1824.
Eugenio K. Hayes was indebted to the public-school system of Stark and Henry counties for the educational opportunities which he enjoyed. He was a man of receptive mind and retentive memory and from the experiences of life learned many valuable lessons which were factors in his later success. In his youthful days he resided upon a farm near Saxon and, taking up agricultural pursuits when he attained his majority, he afterward purchased a farm near Kewanee, where he made his home for six years. In 1881 he removed to Ke- wanee and there entered into partnership with H. A. Perkins in the manufac- ture of shoveling boards. The firm mantained a brief existence and then Mr. Hayes purchased his partner's interest, remaining in the business alone in Ke- wanee until 1886 when he removed to Galva. He was one of the foremost in- ventors of agricultural machinery in the country for his practical experience on the farm had taught him the needs of that life and his inventive genius enabled him to meet these needs. He gave his attention almost wholly to the improvement of corn-raising machinery and took out over sixty patents, securing the first, a patent on a stock cutter, when he was twenty-two years of age. His most noted invention is the corn planter which bears his name. As the years went by he continued experiment and invention until he gave to the world many valuable devices. There was such a demand for his planters and pumps and the other products of his factory that in 1891 he organized a stock company which was capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars, a sum that was afterward in- creased to two hundred thousand dollars. With this increase of capital the facilities for manufacturing were enlarged until the plant of the Hayes Pump & Planter Company became one of the leading institutions of the kind in the country. The business is still conducted and is a monument to his memory as well as to the enterprise of the men who are now at its head. His work was of signal usefulness and value to the world at large and especially to the agricul- tural classes and he well merited the success which crowned his efforts. Not only did he possess inventive ingenuity but had the qualities of successful busi- ness management which are too rarely found in the inventor. He carefully formulated his plans, was determined in their execution and as the years passed enjoyed the rewards of earnest and persistent labor and sound and discriminat- ing judgment.
On the 19th of January, 1871, Mr. Hayes was joined in wedlock to Miss Matilda J. Dack and unto them were born five sons: Ralph W. E., of Galva; A. Leslie, of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Forrest S., Fred D. and Percy E., all of Galva. Mr. Hayes was devoted to the welfare of his family and was ever a stalwart champion of projects and movements for the benefit and betterment of the community. His life was actuated by high and honorable motives that found their rise in his Christian faith and belief. When about twenty years of age he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he re- mained a loyal adherent until called to his final rest. In the various branches of the church work he took deep and helpful interest and contributed generously of his means to its support. He was for several years a member of the official board and for nine years was superintendent of the Sunday school. He be-
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lieved firmly in the early religious instruction of the young, recognized the wis- dom of the Psalmist's utterance, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Mr. Hayes believed, too, in temper- ance and in all those agencies which work for upright, honorable manhood. He not only followed the strict temperance principles himself but endeavored to secure their adoption in the support which he gave to the prohibition party which he represented as a candidate for congress and for state treasurer. He took a very active part in the local campaigns against the saloon when the question of their license was before the public. He was a member of Camp No. 241, M. W. A., but was not particularly active in fraternal organizations, preferring to give his attention outside of business hours to his home, finding his greatest happiness at his own fireside in the midst of his family.
In the later years of his life he retired somewhat from the active manage- ment of the Hayes Pump & Planter Company, resigning from the presidency which he had filled for several years but accepting the office of vice president. He passed away July 25, 1903, and in his death Galva lost one of her most prom- inent and successful men who, however, never made his manufacturing inter- ests the paramount issue of his life. He always had time for those higher, holier duties and fully recognized his obligations to his fellowmen. As an employer he was just; as a friend, kindly and considerate; and as a Christian, thoroughly loyal to the church in which he held his membership.
JOHN WILLIS MORGAN.
John Willis Morgan, third son of John Norris and Mary (Mckinney) Morgan, was born in Galva township, this county, December 6, 1877. The dis- trict school, the Galva high school, Knox College and Brown's Business College contributed to his education. He graduated from the high school in 1896, and entered Knox College the following September. At the end of his sophomore year, he decided to undertake the management of his father's land, and with this end in view, he registered in Brown's Business College at Galesburg for a course in practical business training.
On the 26th of December, 1899, he was married to Miss Ellen Frances Goold, daughter of Henry L. and Florence F. (Hurd) Goold. Both Mr. and Mrs. Goold were natives of Illinois and early settlers in Henry county. Henry L. Goold, born December 26, 1850, was the son of Sylvester and Helen (Mack- lin) Goold. Sylvester Goold, paternal grandfather of Mrs. John Willis Mor- gan, came to Illinois from Maryland, where he was born June 6, 1828. His wife, Helen Macklin, came with her parents to Illinois from Delaware, where she was born January II, 1827. She and Sylvester Goold were married in Ne- ponset, Illinois. Their children were as follows: Henry L., father of Mrs. John Willis Morgan, now a resident of California; Mary, wife of C. S. Went- worth, deceased, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Fred, deceased; Frank, of Cali- fornia; and William, deceased.
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Mrs. Morgan's maternal grandfather, Theodore Frehlinghuysen Hurd, was born in Sparta, New Jersey, July 22, 1814. He died in Galva, Illinois, January 2, 1898. He came as a young man to Lafayette, Stark county, Illinois, where he bought land and opened a store. He was married October 11, 1840, to Cath- arine Driscoll, born in Goshen, Connecticut, July 24, 1824. She died in Galva, April 8, 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Hurd had five children: Frances A., deceased ; George Willis, of Abilene, Kansas; Albert Arthur of Topeka, Kansas, attorney for the Sante Fe Railway ; Florence F., who became the wife of Henry L. Goold and the mother of Mrs. Morgan; and Charles L., deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Goold were married April 1, 1875, and went to Kewanee to live. Two sons and a daughter were born to them there, as follows: Ellen Frances, now Mrs. John Willis Morgan, was born July 27, 1876. Theodore F., born December 25, 1877, was married September 26, 1908, to Miss Jennie Smith of Ogalalla, Nebraska, where they live. There is one child, Almeda, born December 30, 1909. Harry W., was born March 28, 1880, and is now living in California. After the death of his first wife in Kewanee, March 21, 1881, Mr. Goold, Mrs. John Willis Morgan's father, was married to Miss Matilda Went- worth, of Kewanee, by whom he has two daughters: Eugenia, born February 19, 1889, and Harriet, born March 15, 1891.
Mr. and Mrs. John Willis Morgan went directly after their marriage to the farm two and one half miles north of Galva, where they have since lived. To them have been born four children, namely: Florence B., September 27, 1900; Norris G., December 4, 1901 ; Mary C., March 14, 1904; and John T., June 10, 1906.
In carrying out the family principle of good citizenship, Mr. Morgan holds school, township and church offices. He likewise follows the family traditions in his choice of religious denominations and political parties, worshiping as a Meth- odist and voting as a republican. In the management of the farms, too, he has adopted his father's plan of applying principles and methods that are business- like, scientific, and progressive.
John Willis Morgan's father was John Norris Morgan, born in Chardon, Ohio, July 5, 1830, the only son and youngest child of Gideon and Ruth (Norris) Morgan. Gideon Morgan was born in Massachusetts in 1788. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, going from Ohio, where he was then living. In 1817 he and Ruth Norris were married in Windsor, Ohio, and went to Chardon, Ohio, to live. Ruth Norris, John Norris Morgan's mother, was born in Tolland, Connec- ticut, January 24, 1790, and was the oldest child of John Norris, Jr., and Ruth Ladd. John Norris, Jr., John Norris Morgan's grandfather, was born in Ply- mouth, Massachusetts, in 1765. He was the son of John Norris, Sr., and Hopee Benson Norris, both of Plymouth. John Norris, Sr., was born in 1740. In 1768 he moved his family to Tolland, Connecticut, from which place John, Jr., went, as a mere lad, to serve in the Revolutionary army. He was in Washington's army during part of his time of service. After the war, he returned to Tolland, where he was married March 12, 1789, to Ruth Ladd. In 1812 he traded his land in Connecticut for a thousand acres of government land in New Connecti- cut, or the Western Reserve. He loaded his household effects upon a large wagon drawn by two yokes of oxen and a span of horses, and with his wife and
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his eight children, started for the new home. The route was through New York state, and through Pennsylvania by way of Carlisle, Pittsburg and Beaver to Warren, Ohio, and thence to Windsor, Ohio. It was a six weeks' journey. John Norris was a local preacher of the Methodist church; and he held meetings and preached in Windsor and in the surrounding settlements. He was an excellent shot as well as a vigorous preacher and farmer. During the terrible winter of 1812, after General Hull surrendered Detroit, when provisions were so scarce in the Western Reserve his gun kept the family in venison. All but two of his eight children stayed in Ohio. The oldest, Ruth, (John Norris Morgan's mother,) who, as the record says, had a superior faculty for keeping and governing a school of large scholars, and who was actively interested in politics; and Ira, the youngest, clergyman and editor, came west in time to Illinois.
When John Norris Morgan was six years old, his parents, Gideon and Ruth (Norris) Morgan, moved to Illinois. They traveled partly by land and partly by water, enduring with pioneer hopefulness the slow river boat and the rough wagon trip through the wilderness. Jacksonville, Illinois, was the home at first. Later, the family moved to Exeter, Scott county. There were misfortunes here; Seymour, Gideon Morgan's son by a former marriage, was robbed and killed on his way to invest his father's money, and Gideon Morgan died in 1845. The next year found Mrs. Morgan with her son John and her two daughters in Peoria county. "There is a Presbyterian Missionary station, with a clergy- man established, a new meeting-house building, and a postoffice. They call it Brunswick, Peoria county," explains Mrs. Morgan to her Ohio friends. The daughters, Juliana and Ann, taught school, and made dresses and hats for the neighbors between times. They were paid in produce. The son, John, found work, too, among the neighboring farmers, and was paid, as his sisters were paid, in produce. "If John had a team, we should get along very well," writes his mother. A year or two later, the family moved three miles to Farmington, Fulton county. The daughters married, and the tax receipts dating from these years, show that the son John was accumulating a little property.
In 1849, a party was made up in Henry, Illinois, to go to California. John Norris Morgan was living then with his sister, Mrs. P. H. Green, whose husband was in business there. All three joined the California party. A start was made but the travelers went no farther than Farmington. At that point there were various accidents, rain fell persistently, and the party broke up.
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