History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II, Part 30

Author: Kiner, Henry L., 1851-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago : The Pioneer Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1138

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year when the house was destroyed by fire, together with all of its contents. At that time the father purchased forty acres of land, on which there was an old house, which remained the family home as long as the parents lived.

In his boyhood days Gustav A. Pobanz attended school for only eighteen months, for in his youth he had to work very hard assisting in the cultivation of the home place and in aiding to provide for the family. On the day that he was twenty-one years of age he had a business settlement with his father, and the next day he bought needed materials for which he went in debt. He would work at night in the coal bank and in the daytime attended school, for he had come to realize the need of an education. He was ambitious to prepare himself for farm work on his own account, and at length rented a small tract of land in Edford township where he lived for a year. The following year he purchased forty acres in Osco township, owning the property for a year, and thus he was making steady progress in his business life.

On the 25th of January, 1879, Mr. Pobanz was married to Miss Teresa Hintz, of Edford township, who was also a native of Germany and had come to America in her childhood days with her parents. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pobanz removed to Dodge county, Nebraska, where he purchased two hundred acres of land and at once began to develop and improve the farm. He erected substantial buildings upon the place and carried on general agricultural pursuits there through the summer seasons for six years, while in the winter months he worked at the carpenter trade. He met with success in this way and not only prospered in his undertakings but also became an active factor in the public life of the community. He was elected assessor because he could speak two lan- guages, and because his fellow townsmen knew that he would be loyal to duty. Later he sold his property in Nebraska and began to work in an elevator at Scrib- ner, Dodge county, where he continued for about eighteen months. On the ex- piration of that period he returned to Henry county and bought eighty acres of land in Osco township. Subsequently he purchased one hundred and sixty acres and remained upon that place for ten years, but in 1896 he purchased his present home, comprising one hundred and eighty acres on section 19, Geneseo township. He has put nearly all of the improvements upon this farm and has made it a splendidly developed property, equipped with all the accessories and conveniences of a model farm of the twentieth century.

The parents of Mrs. Pobanz were John and Elizabeth Hintz, who came to America when she was a little maiden and settled in Edford township, Henry county, Illinois. Her father was a farmer and died when about seventy-four or seventy-five years of age, having for several years survived his wife. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Pobanz have been born nine children: Hannah, the wife of Gustav E. Bartz, a resident of Edford township, by whom she has three children; Henry, a farmer of Edford township, who married Minnie Redmond and has two chil- dren ; Bertha, Emma, Ernest, Rudolph, Walter, Elmer and Freddy, all yet at home.

Politically Mr. Pobanz is a republican and keeps well informed on the ques- tions and issues of the day, so that he is able to support his position by intelligent argument. He has worked hard for good schools, the cause of education find- ing in him a stalwart champion. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen Camp No.

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40 and both he and his wife are members of the Evangelical church. His life has been one of continued activity, in which has been accorded due recognition of labor. He early realized the fact that difficulties and obstacles can be over- come by determined and earnest purpose and his diligence and persistency have brought him to a prominent position among the successful farmers and stock raisers of Geneseo township.

HENRY BOLTE.

Henry Bolte, who for fifteen years has been closely associated with the bus- iness development of Geneseo as proprietor of a hardware store and heating and plumbing establishment, was born in the province of Hesse, Germany, Novem- ber 5, 1855, and is the only survivor of a family of three children, whose parents were Henry and Frederica Bolte, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father was a stone mason in that country and died in his native land about 1864. The mother afterward married again, becoming the wife of a Mr. Hegge, by whom she had two children, one of whom is now living, John Hegge, who lives at Drewes, Minnesota. Mr. Hegge, the stepfather of our subject, died in Ger- many, and Mrs. Hegge afterward came with the sons of her second marriage to America, settling in Iowa, where she lived for one year. She died, however, in Chicago at the age of fifty-eight years, passing away in the faith of the Luthe- ran church, of which she was a member.

Henry Bolte lived in Germany until thirteen years of age, acquiring a good common school education and was confirmed in that country. He came to Amer- ica in 1869 and took up his abode at Monee, Will county, Illinois, where he was employed at farm labor for four years. He has never feared work and earnest, honest effort has constituted the basis on which he has builded his success. He afterward learned the tinner's trade in Monee, whence he went to Aurelia, Cher- okee county, Iowa, in 1878. He was in business there for fifteen years and in 1894 came to Geneseo, where he purchased the hardware store of Roy White and has since conducted a well appointed establishment, carrying a large line of both shelf and heavy hardware. He also does a considerable heating, plumbing and spouting business in addition to his sale of hardware, and the extent of his patronage has made him one of the representative merchants of the city.

On the 12th of June, 1879, Mr. Bolte was married to Miss Frederica Miller, who was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, and is a daughter of Carl and Carolina Miller. Unto them were born the following children: Wilhelmina, Lena, Anna, Emma and Frederick. Wilhelmina is the wife of Herman Heldt, of Chicago and has two children, Aurelia and Edna. Lena died at the age of eight years. Anna and Emma are residents of Chicago and Frederick assists his father in the store. The mother of these children passed away in 1894 at the age of thirty-nine years. On the 11th of January, 1895, Mr. Bolte married again, his second union being with Miss Mary Wendt, a daughter of Henry and Anna (Jabs) Wendt. Mrs. Bolte was born in Edward township, Henry county, Illinois, where her parents had located at an early day on coming to the new world from Pomerin, Germany.

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They had two children, but one has passed away, and as the parents are also de- ceased Mrs. Bolte is now the only survivor of the family.

In his political views Mr. Bolte is a democrat, unfaltering in his allegiance to the party and its principles. When living in Aurelia, Iowa, he served for six years as a member of the city council and has also been a member of the city council of Geneseo for six years. He and his wife are members of the German Lutheran church, in which he was secretary and deacon for a number of years, and at the present time he is one of the church trustees. He lives on East Palace Row, where he owns a good home, and this property is the visible evidence of his life of well directed enterprise and thrift. He is a self-made man, who from the age of thirteen years has been dependent entirely upon his own resources. He has sought his sucecss in the legitimate lines of trade, wherein he has given evi- dence of sound judgment, keen sagacity and unfaltering diligence. Moreover, his business integrity has ever been above question and he has proven himself a wise and successful merchant as well as a genial, honorable and highly respected man.

JOSEPH EMANUEL WESTERLUND, M. D.

Joseph Emanuel Westerlund, successfully engaged in the practice of medicine, his work showing familiarity with the most advanced scientific methods, was born in Lynn township, Henry county, Illinois, July 30, 1870. As the name indi- cates he comes of Swedish ancestry. His grandfather, Eric Westerlund, was a farmer of Sweden and after emigrating to America became a resident of Lynn township, this county, where he died when about seventy years of age. His first wife died when they were on the voyage to the new world. Their son, Jonas Westerlund, the father of the Doctor, was born and reared in Sweden and when twenty-one years of age sought a home on this side of the Atlantic. For a time he was employed in the pineries of Minnesota but became one of the early set- tlers of Henry county, establishing his home in Lynn township, where he pur- chased four hundred and forty-five acres of land that he cultivated and improved. He reared his family upon this farm and with the passing years developed a fine property, its value steadily increasing with the improvements he made upon it and with the general rise of realty in this part of the state. He is now living retired, making his home in Orion. He married Elna Nelson, also a native of Sweden, in which country her parents died at an old age. Their daughter Elna was one of three children and in 1853 she came to the United States. Here she gave her hand in marriage to Jonas Westerlund and they traveled life's journey happily together until the 15th of February, 1906, when Mrs. Westerlund passed away at the age of seventy years. Their family numbered nine children, six sons and three daughters, but only four are now living: Henning N., John Edward, Luther Gilbert and Joseph E.

Dr. Westerlund was reared on his father's farm and the district schools af- forded him his early educational privileges which were supplemented by a course of study in Augustina College at Rock Island. There he was graduated in 1895 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and entered upon life's practical duties, well

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equipped for the fray. In early manhood he engaged in teaching school for sev- eral terms and for one year he worked at the printer's trade on the Orion Times. In 1897 he took up the study of medicine and was graduated from the Chicago College of Physicains & Surgeons with the class of 1900. He located for practice in Cambridge in May of the same year and in the period which has since elapsed has established himself in public regard as one of the leading members of the medical profession in this part of the county. He has been very successful in treating diseases, is most careful in the diagnosis of a case and his judgment is seldom, if ever, at error in determining the outcome of disease.

One the 10th of September, 1902, Mr. Westerlund was united in marriage to Miss Emma C. Wahlberg, a native of Moline, Illinois, and a daughter of Carl and Mary Wahlberg. Her father was born in Sweden and her mother in Rock Island county, Illinois. They have four children, including Mrs. Westerlund who by her marriage has become the mother of a daughter and son, Alma Elizabeth and Joseph Allen. Dr. and Mrs. Westerlund hold membership in the Lutheran church and his political allegiance is given to the republican party. He is recog- nized as one of its local leaders and was secretary of the county central commit- tee for one term while at the present writing he is chairman of the township central committee. He filled the office of president of the board of health for several terms and is serving his third term as a member of the board of education. He belongs to the Cambridge lodge of Odd Fellows and in more specifically pro- fessional lines is connected with the county and state medical societies and the American Medical Association. He thus keeps in touch with the advanced thought and purposes of the profession and his constant reading and research have con- tinually promoted his efficiency in the discharge of his daily duties.

HARRY S. WHITE.

Among the young business men of Cambridge Harry S. White is prominent, being of the well known firm of White & Kellogg, grain dealers, who also handle coal, ice and feed. This is his native city, his birth having here occurred Sep- tember 30, 1878. He is a son of Henry and Hattie (Sims) White, who are men- tioned elsewhere in this volume. In his parents' home his youthful days were passed and the public schools afforded him his educational privileges. Advancing through consecutive grades, he was graduated from the high school with the class of 1898, and soon afterward entered upon business life as bookkeeper in the First National Bank, where he continued for a short time. He then went to the First National Bank of Kewanee, Illinois, as teller, and after a brief period accepted a more lucrative and responsible position with the National Tube Com- pany as cashier and paymaster, in which connection there devolved upon him the duty of issuing a pay roll of several thousand dollars per week. He re- mained with the tube company until the Ist of January, 1909, when he returned to Cambridge, and making investment of the capital which he had saved from his earnings in a business in this city, has since been a factor in its commercial life. Forming a partnership with H. C. Kellogg, he purchased the grain ele-

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vator of O. M. Etter & Company, and their business now furnishes an excellent market to the farmers of the community. He handles a large amount of grain each year and also does good business in coal, ice and feed. The trade of the firm is rapidly growing and the enterprise of the partners insures them success.

On the 17th of October, 1906, Mr. White was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Bradley, a daughter of Samuel and Alice Bradley, natives of Kewanee. Theirs is a pleasant and attractive home, where the spirit of warm-hearted hospi- tality abides. Mr. White belongs to the Baptist church, while his wife is a member of the Primitive Methodist church. His political views are in accord with the principles of the republican party, and he keeps well informed on the issues and questions of the day, so that he is able to support his position by intelligent argument. He does not seek nor desire office, however, but prefers to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs.

HENRY WHITE.

Henry White, president of the First National Bank of Cambridge, has been a potent factor in the business interests of this city since 1871, while since 1863 he has made his home in Henry county, having in that year taken up his abode in Geneseo. He was born in Salem, Washington county, New York, July 17, 1836, his parents being James and Jane (Hall) White, the former a native of the north of Ireland and the latter of Argyle, New York. James White chose farming as a life vocation and met death by falling from an apple tree when about forty-eight years of age. His wife long survived him and died in 1871 when almost eighty years of age. He had served his country as a soldier in the war of 1812 and was always a loyal and public-spirited citizen. Both he and his wife adhered to the faith of the Presbyterian church. Their family numbered twelve children, nine sons and three daughters, of whom six are now living: William, a resident of Hebron, New York; Jane A., the wife of Eli Hatch, of West Pawlet, Vermont; Alexander, living in Waterloo, Iowa; Robert, whose home is in Sandwich, Illinois; Henry, subject of this sketch; and Daniel G., living in Rock Island, Illinois.

Henry White remained a resident of Salem, New York, until he had at- tained the age of twenty-one or twenty-two years of age and completed his education in the West Hebron Seminary. After leaving home he learned the patternmaker's trade in Oswego, New York, and followed it for a number of years in the east. From Oswego he removed to Geneseo, Illinois, in 1863, and for eight years continued his residence at that place, coming thence to Cambridge. He had there embarked in business as a member of the firm of White & Tuttle, dealers in hardware, and following his removal to Cambridge in 1871 he con- ducted a hardware and implement business under the firm name of White & Weir. This partnership continued until 1878, when they sold out to Poppleton & Hadley. In 1881 Mr. White assisted in the organization of the First Na- tional Bank and was chosen one of its directors and its first vice president. A year later he was elected cashier, which position he filled for a quarter of a cen-

HENRY WHITE

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tury and on the death of Nathaniel B. Gould, in 1907, he succeeded to the presidency and has since continued as the chief executive officer of this institu- tion, which is recognized as one of the strong financial concerns of the county. His business probity and the spirit of enterprise which has actuated him in all that he has done have constituted important forces in the promotion of the growth and development of the bank. In addition to his other interests Mr. White has been secretary and treasurer of the Armory Hall Company, treasurer of the Cambridge Electric Light & Power Company, and for a number of years was the president of the Henry County Mutual Fire Insurance Company.

On the 4th of October, 1871, Mr. White was united in marriage to Miss Har- riett E. Sims, who was born in Cazenovia, New York, where her parents, James and Sabra (Blodgett) Sims, lived for some time, going there when that part of the country was infested with the Indians and remaining residents of the locality until called to their final rest. The father lived to the remarkable old age of one hundred and two years, while his wife died when about sixty years of age. Mrs. White is the only survivor of their family, which numbered nine or ten children. By her marriage she became the mother of four children but the first born, Frank J., died in infancy. Kate L., the second, married Clyde B. Taylor, cashier of the Farmers National Bank of Cambridge and mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Harry S., who for several years was paymaster at the Western Tube Works in Kewanee, Illinois, where about five thousand names were on the payroll, is now conducting a grain elevator in Cambridge in part- nership with Harry Kellogg. He married Gertrude L. Bradbury. Herbert D., the youngest, is a graduate of the high school and now lives in Cambridge.

Mr. and Mrs. White are members of the Baptist church, in which he is serving as deacon, and the work of the denomination has been greatly forwarded by their cooperation and generous support. Mr. White has long been an ac- tive factor in community affairs, serving for several years as president of the village board of trustees, has also been a member of the board of education, was treasurer of the Old Settlers Association and treasurer of the Henry County Agricultural Society for .a number of years. His political endorsement has al- ways been given to the republican party and it is well known that, while at all times amenable to reason, he never swerves from a course which he believes to be right and just in his relations to the public or in his relations to his fellow- men.

SAMUEL JEFFERSON SHARP, D. D. S.

Dr. Samuel Jefferson Sharp, the dean of the dental profession in Kewanee, was born near Abingdon, Washington county, Virginia, on the 2d of August, 1847, his parents being William C. and Nancy R. (Kelly) Sharp, natives of Vir- ginia. The paternal grandfather was likewise born in the Old Dominion. Wil- liam C. Sharp, who was a planter by occupation, enlisted in the Confederate army at the time of the Civil war and served until taken ill with typhoid fever.

Samuel Jefferson Sharp, who obtained his education under the direction of private tutors, was but fifteen years of age when he was conscripted into the Con-

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federate army as a private in the Thirteenth Virginia Reserves, with which he served until the close of hostilities. He was under command of "Mudwall" Jackson and participated in the battle of Saltville, Virginia, as well as in many skirmishes. When the war was ended he came to the north, securing employ- ment as a farm hand in Indiana, while later he worked at the carpenter's trade. In 1869 he came to Henry county, Illinois, and after working on a farm here for some time removed to Missouri, in which state he also devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits. Subsequently he took up a claim in Kansas but was obliged to abandon it on account of sickness and returned to Virginia, where he re- mained for three years. On the expiration of that period he once more made his way back to Illinois, being employed as a farm hand until 1876. In that year he took up the study of dentistry under the direction of Dr. C. W. Watt, of Galva, and in 1877 located in Kewanee for the practice of his profession in part- nership with his former preceptor. This association was maintained until Dr. Sharp purchased his partner's interest, since which time he has practiced alone, enjoying a lucrative and constantly growing patronage. Dentistry may be said to be almost unique among other occupations, as it is at once a profession, a trade and a business. Such being the case, it follows that in order to attain the highest success in it one must be thoroughly conversant with the theory of the art, must be expert with the many tools and appliances incidental to the practice of modern dentistry and must possess business qualifications adequate to deal with the financial side of the profession. In all of these particulars Dr. Sharp is well qualified and therefore has attained prestige among the able representatives of dentistry in Henry county. Moreover, he takes a deep and helpful interest in all matters pertaining to the general welfare of his community and is now serving as a director of the Kewanee Fair Association, of which he was one of the or- ganizers and also president at one time. He was likewise one of the organizers and for many years the president of the Kewanee Building & Loan Association, which has erected hundreds of homes and was the first association of its kind in this city. He was also a member of the Business Men's Association and has long been numbered among the most substantial, influential and respected citi- zens of the community.

On the 16th of January, 1878, Dr. Sharp was joined in wedlock to Miss Ella J. Kliner, of Kewanee, Illinois, a daughter of George Kliner, who was a mason contractor. Their union has been blessed with two daughters. Mabel G., the elder, is now the wife of Walter L. Herdien by whom she has a son, Walter. She now makes her home in Chicago and is a vocalist of great ability, having had splendid training in this direction from the time she was eighteen years of age. She won a scholarship in the Chicago College of Music from a class of three hundred and for the past six years has been a teacher in that college. She also does a great deal of concert and choral work and sings in the leading churches of Chicago. She has sung in many parts of the United States and Canada and is one of the well known and popular sopranos of America. Ruth Mildred Sharp, the other daughter of Dr. Sharp, is now attending the high school and is still at home. She also displays marked musical talent, possessing a fine soprano voice, and is pursuing her musical education in Chicago.

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Dr. Sharp gives his political allegiance to the republican party, and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to various positions of public trust. He served as alderman from the fourth ward for a period of eight years, covering four terms, and has also acted as mayor pro tem, proving an efficient and highly satisfactory incumbent in these responsible positions. Any movement or measure instituted to promote the public welfare always receives his hearty aid and cooperation, and in fact he is widely recognized as one of the most public-spirited and enterprising citizens of Kewanee. He is an active and valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Fraternal Trib- une and the Yeomen of America. The notable success which he has won as a practitioner of dentistry is all the more creditable by reason of the fact that he had to depend practically upon his own resources in the acquirement of a profes- sional education, for in his early manhood there were comparatively few dental colleges and, moreover, he had neither money nor influential friends to aid him. He is a man of intense and well directed activity, his efforts touching many in- terests bearing upon the welfare of the community, while his personal charac- teristics have gained for him the warm regard and friendship of many, and in professional lines he has attained that eminence which comes only in recognition of merit and ability.

THEODORE BECKER.

Theodore Becker is proprietor of a hardware, heating and plumbing establish- ment at Geneseo. For the past twenty-one years he has been connected with that line of trade and is thoroughly familiar therewith, and his spirit of enterprise enables him to accomplish what he undertakes, where a man of less resolute spirit would fail. He was born in Sigourney, Iowa, September 22, 1862, his parents being Frederick and Julia (Schimmelpfennig) Becker, natives of Prussia and Germany. The former was a baker by trade and was twelve years of age when in 1833 he came to the new world. When a young man he was in Baltimore, Maryland, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and in 1856 he settled in Sigourney, Iowa, where he conducted a bakery. In 1863 he removed to Geneseo, where he con- ducted a similar business for some years, spending his last days in honorable retirement from labor. He held membership in the German Lutheran church, to which his wife also belonged. He was a man of unfaltering honesty and honor in business affairs and of genuine worth in all private relations. He died in 1905 at the age of eighty-three years, while his widow still survives at the age of seventy-five years. Her parents, on coming to America, settled in Sigourney, Iowa, in 1847. Her father was a farmer by occupation and lived to the vener- able age of ninety-four years, while his wife was also well advanced in years when called to her final rest. They were the parents of five children, who are still living: Fred, William, Julia, Mrs. Oberle and Mrs. Bruns.

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History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II, Part 30

Author: Kiner, Henry L., 1851- Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Chicago : The Pioneer Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1138

Author: Kiner, Henry L., 1851-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago : The Pioneer Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1138