History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II, Part 58

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

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The years of Frank S. Sears' youth passed as did those of the average boy reared upon a farm, the summer months being devoted to plowing, planting and harvesting, and the winter months to acquiring such an education as the district schools afforded. He also attended the high school in Geneseo for a short time. Meanwhile, however, he was gaining a practical knowledge of agricultural methods, was learning the crops best suited to his soil and the means of obtaining the largest results for his labor, so that when he engaged in business for himself he was able to win a substantial success from his undertakings. He inherited one hundred

MRS. JOHN SEARS

JOHN SEARS

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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY

and sixty acres from his father, to which he has added as he had opportunity un- til now he owns a tract of four hundred acres, while he operates eighty acres nore. He has brought his land to a high state of cultivation, and, bending his energies toward raising the best quality of cereals possible, annually gathers and markets good crops. He has also devoted considerable time to raising, feeding and shipping stock, deriving from this enterprise also a gratifying income.

In Cornwall township, April 14, 1898, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Sears and Miss Amy A. Funk, who was born in that township, January 24, 1876, a daughter of George and Rebecca (Funk) Funk. She received a good education, having graduated from the Geneseo Collegiate Institute with the class of 1894, and then taught for a couple of terms. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sears, namely: George, Attie, Charles, Mary, Susie and Frank, but the first died in infancy.

Mr. Sears gives his political supoprt to the republican party, but he never seeks nor desires public office, although his interest in the welfare of his fellow citizens is evident in the able manner in which he has fulfilled the duties of township clerk and school director. His wife is a member of the Congregational church, whose services he attends and in whose support he is liberal. He has had no false stand- ard of life, but aware that earnest and indefatigable labor constitute the basis for advancement in the world's work has been diligent in seeking and winning pros- perity, and that he has lived honorably is manifest in the fact that he enjoys the respect and confidence of those who have known him from boyhood.

JAMES R. BATTEN.

James R. Batten, numbered among the veterans of the Civil war, was born May 21, 1839, in Preble county, Ohio, a son of Eli and Heatha C. (Wilhoit) Batten. The father was born in Madison county, Virginia, in 1801, and the mother's birth occurred in the same place in 1808. Eli Batten was a farmer by occupation and in 1855 arrived in Annawan township, where he carried on general agricul- tural pursuits until about 1880. He then retired from active work and spent his last days on the farm. He died in the spring of 1890 and his wife passed away in 1893, the graves of both being made in Fairview cemetery. They were the parents of ten children, of whom eight are living: William A., who resides in Eureka,-Greenwood county, Kansas; Louisa, who is the widow of Amos Conley and resides in Illinois ; John, whose home is in Wichita, Kansas; James R .; Mary E., who is the wife of Andrew Carroll and resides in Clinton, Iowa; Sarah, the wife of Thomas Dennis, a resident of Denver, Colorado; Eli Gilbert, of Colorado; and Emmeline, the wife of Daniel Bolin, whose home is in Severy, Kansas.

James R. Batten began his education in the schools of Ohio and continued his studies in the district schools of Annawan. The periods of vacation were devoted to farm work, and he remained with his father upon the home farm until 1862, when he enlisted as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He participated in the battles of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Resaca, Georgia, and was in the Atlanta campaign. In the battle of Atlanta, on

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the 6th of August, 1864, he was wounded, being shot through the right forearm. He was in the field hospital for a brief time, after which he was sent to a hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, later to Nashville, then to Jeffersonville, afterward to a hospital in Mound City, Illinois, where he was honorably discharged May 12, 1865. His brother John was also a member of the same regiment, while another brother, William Batten, was a member of an Ohio regiment and was wounded while in the service.

After being mustered out James R. Batten returned to his father's farm but soon made arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage on the 4th of July, 1865, to Miss Julia A. Blin, who was born in Ohio in 1845 and was a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Frye) Blin, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye state. The father occupied the farm on which he was born until his removal to Annawan township, Henry county, Illinois, in 1853. Both he and his wife are now deceased, their remains having been interred in Fairview cemetery. Both were representatives of old Pennsylvania German families. They had four- teen children, of whom four are living: Sarah, a resident of Annawan; Mrs. Batten; and Samuel and Daniel Blin, both of Kansas. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Batten began their domestic life on a farm east of Fairview church, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1902, when he removed to the village of Annawan. He was afflicted with a paralytic stroke in June, 1907. He had suffered more or less from the age of twelve years with a white swelling of the knee, and as a result of wounds in battle he suffered the loss of one eye, which had been hit with a piece of steel. He now engages in no business, living quietly at his home in Annawan, his rest being well deserved. The government for some time granted him a pension of seventeen dollars per month, which has been increased to thirty dollars as the result of a special dispensation being made by congress, the bill passing the house of representatives in 1907, while the in- crease has been paid to Mr. Batten since 1908.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Batten have been born eleven children, ten of whom are yet living: Heatha B. is the wife of John Templeton, of Cornwall township, by whom she has five children : Russell, Mabel, Florence, James and Fayette. John W. lives in Annawan township and has one child, Edna; Mary is the wife of Edward Greenhagen, of Kewanee, by whom she has six children : Bessie, the wife of Pearl Shultz, of Annawan; Fred, Ernest, Scott, Hazel, and Helen Greenhagen, all of Kewanee. Addie is the wife of O. P. George, of Tampico, Illinois, by whom she has one child, La Moine. Howard is living in Tampico, Illinois, and has two children : James O. and Julia. Emma is the wife of Edward Harvey, of Annawan township, by whom she has four children : George, Howard, Grace and Edward. Curtis is a carpenter of Moline and has one child, Edward. George is timekeeper in the tube works of Kewanee and has four children : Earl, Vern, Mil- dred and Glen. Nora is the wife of Morgan Machesney, of Annawan township, by whom she has four children: Lawrence, Bernice, Glen and Gladys. Milo is a mechanic living in Moline, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Batten now have twenty- eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

In his political views Mr. Batten has been a stalwart republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, never faltering in his allegiance to the party. He served for twenty consecutive years as road commissioner and has

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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY

always been as loyal in his duties of citizenship in times of peace as he was when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields. Both he and his wife are members of the United Brethren church and are highly esteemed in the com- munity where they have so long made their home. Since their marriage they have lived continually in Annawan township and has a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance. Mr. Batten is an entirely self- made man, for he had no financial assistance when he started out in life for him- self. Gradually he made progress in the business world, and the success which came to him was the merited reward of his earnest, persistent labor.

WALTER SCOVILLE LAMBERT.

Walter Scoville Lambert, a son of Edward and Sarah Lambert, was born on a farm one and a half miles north of Geneseo, January 22, 1869. He was three years of age when his parents removed to Geneseo, where he now resides. When a youth of twelve years he left the high school to work in the department store of J. H. C. Petersen, of Geneseo, remaining with that house continuously for twelve years, after which he engaged in the retail business for himself. His success is indicated by the fact that he now conducts one of the largest and leading retail department stores in the city under the name of the Lambert Dry Goods Company.

Mr. Lambert is a member of Stewart Lodge, No. 92, A. F. & A. M., Geneseo Chapter, No. 12, R. A. M., and Rock Island Commandery, No. 18, K. T. He is also a noble of Mohammed Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Oasis of Peoria, and like- wise belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp of Geneseo. His family are all of the Methodist faith, holding membership in the Geneseo Methodist church.

Mr. Lambert is of English and French descent. His father, Edward Barton Lambert, a son of William and Avis (Barton) Lambert, was born in 1829 at East Farley, Kent county, England, twenty-six miles from London. When about eight years of age he came to America with his father, mother, sister Anna and his brothers Henry, John and Eph, his brothers William and George having pre- viously come to the United States. They made their way to Rochester, New York, where the father died in 1843, his grave being made at Mount Hope. Edward Barton Lambert afterward removed to Rock Island, Illinois, where he engaged in the manufacture of shoe lasts, while afterward he conducted a brick manufac- turing business at Geneseo, burning the brick which were used in the construction of many of the oldest brick buildings in this city. In 1854 he married Miss Sarah Scoville at Rock Island, Illinois, and to them were born seven children: Edward; Anna, deceased; Flora, also deceased; Frank; Grace; Walter; and Ruby, who has passed away.

Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth (Scoville) Lambert was born in Seymour, Connecticut, March 30, 1836, a daughter of Everette and Elizabeth (Durand) Scoville. The Durands were of French and English lineage, the English name being Hull. Two of the uncles of Mrs. Lambert were French priests. Elizabeth Hull Durand was a niece of General Hull and a cousin of Captain Hull. When she was seven years. of age she made the trip across the wilds of the United States with a minister,

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the Rev. Hitchcock, and his family, to Davenport, Iowa, passing through Chicago en route. In some way, due to lack of proper mail transportation, she lost trace. of her parents and never saw any of her family again until forty years later, when through a similarity of names they were united at Mantua, Ohio. Her mother is still living, also her brothers: Bennett, residing at Naugatuck, Connect- icut ; Charles, living in California; and James, of Mantua, Ohio. The meeting was a most happy one after so many years of separation. The parents, brothers and one sister of Walter S. Lambert now reside at Vallejo, California.

Walter Lambert married Miss Grace Mabel Terpening on the 5th of Feb- ruary, 1890, and they have four children : Ceil Austin, born May 30, 1891 ; Zella Katheryn, May 12, 1895; Homer Kiner, February 25, 1899; and Dale, November 15, 1906.

Mrs. Grace Mabel Lambert was born September 1, 1868, in Munson township, nine miles south of Geneseo, a daughter of Josiah B. and Catherine C. (Kiner) Terpening. Her father was born in Virgil, Cortland county, New York, Decem- ber 13, 1815, and died in Geneseo, Illinois, December 17, 1889. He was a son of Henry and Sarah (Byrom) Terpening, of Holland Dutch descent. Mrs. Lambert's mother, who in her maidenhood was Catherine Kiner, was born March 31, 1825, in Blaine, Perry county, Pennsylvania, and died January I, 1904, in Geneseo. She was a daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Kline) Kiner, the former a soldier of the war of 1812. The Kiner family is one of the oldest on the continent. The original head of the family, Absalom Keinaedt, as the name was then spelled, emigrated from Wurtemburg, Germany, in 1625. He settled in the Old Dominion, as Virginia was then called, on the banks of the James river. The family flourished in Virginia for centuries. About a decade ago, there was a grand family reunion at the grave of the original bearer of the name in Virginia. A magnificent monument was erected over the grave. The great shaft is a pictur- esque feature of the beautiful old-time burial ground on the James. In the course of time scions of the Keinaedt family imbibed the restless spirit which is an element of the true American citizen, and began to scatter out from the Old Dominion. There was quite a delegation which found its way into the wilds of Pennsylvania. The sturdy old Wurtemburg stock contributed greatly toward making the wilderness to "blossom like the rose." The great Keystone state became one of the mightiest commonwealths of the Union. The names of the Keinaedts began to be changed, and were variously spelled, becoming Koerner, Coiner, Keirner, Keiner, Kyner and finally Kiner. This is the accepted spelling at present. The Pennsylvania branches grew restless again and began to emigrate west, some settling in Ohio and a goodly number in Illinois. Thus was founded the branch of the family from which Mrs. Lambert is descended.

Mrs. Lambert's father and mother were married December 27, 1866. Her half brothers and sisters are: William F. Calhoun, who served on General Sheri- dan's staff during the Civil war and is now postmaster of Decatur and editor of the Decatur Herald, while his political service covers four terms as representative in the state legislature, during which time he was twice chairman of the house ; the Rev. Scott Calhoun, who was for four years a soldier of the Civil war and is now living in Tuscola, Illinois; Mrs. Jennie Chamberlin, deceased; Rev. J. Dill Cal- houn, of Winona, Illinois; Mrs. Ella N. Hill, of Des Moines, Iowa; Henry A.

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Terpening, deceased ; Mary E., who has passed away; Mrs. Emma Comstock, deceased; George Terpening, who has also departed this life; Sarah, the wife of Rev. Broom, of Geneseo; and William R. Terpening, of Abingdon, Illinois.

GEORGE ARNETT.

Prominent among the successful farmers and old settlers of Henry county is George Arnett, who for over seventy-two years has been closely identified with the history of this region. He is a man of keen discrimination and sound judg- ment, and his pronounced business ability and excellent management have brought to him a high degree of success, so that now he is one of the wealthiest citizens of Geneseo, where he is now living a retired life.

His birth occurred in Warren county, Pennsylvania, June 6, 1833, his parents being Louis and Clara (Schotte) Arnett, the former a native of France and the latter of Germany. On coming to Illinois, the father settled first in Chicago, which at that time was a mere village, and he was offered a house and lot near the present postoffice for six months' work but refused to accept the proposition. In 1837 he came to Henry county and secured two hundred and forty acres of gov- ernment land in Loraine township. Upon the wild unbroken prairie he built a log house and then began the cultivation of his land. Later he added more land to this farm but finally sold the place and purchased a farm in Whiteside county. There his wife died in March, 1866, and about four years later he disposed of his farm- ing interests and went to live with his son-in-law, David Heller. His lack of a knowledge of the English language at the time he came to America caused him to meet with many hindrances in business transactions but he finally became able to use the tongue of his adopted land and to converse very fluently. He was a' member of the Evangelical church and gave his early political allegiance to the whig party, while later he supported the republican party. He died in January, 1868, honored and respected by all who knew him.

George Arnett was the eleventh in a family of twelve children, eight of whom were born in Germany, while the others were natives of Warren, Pennsylvania, where the parents located after their arrival in the new world. The children were: Louis, who died in Warren, Pennsylvania; Jacob, who died in Geneseo, Illinois, in 1899; Mary, who wedded Samuel Cogswell and both died in the Keystone state; Anthony, a resident of Colorado; Catherine, who married David Heller and lived for some years in Loraine township, this county, but was a resident of Geneseo at the time of her death, which occurred in 1900; Joseph, who died in Geneseo ; John, who died in this county in 1898; Philip, who died in California in 1850; Susan, who married Simeon Heller, both of whom passed away in Henry county ; William, who died in Loraine township in 1898; George, the subject of this review; and Samuel, also a resident of Geneseo.

The educational opportunities which George Arnett was accorded during his boyhood and youth were very meager but, possessing an observant eye and reten- tive memory, he has added much to his knowledge and has also learned many valuable lessons through experience and through reading. He remained on the

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home farm until reaching manhood and on the 28th of March, 1853, started for California with the Hite family, to whom he was to pay fifty dollars for his traveling expenses and to drive a team half of the time. In an uncovered wagon he traveled across the plains and over the mountains and as there were no bridges the rivers had to be forded, and to keep the wagons from pushing against the horses in going down the mountains, trees had to be tied to them and trail behind, thus providing an obstacle to their rapid progress. En route the party with which Mr. Arnett traveled had several encounters with the Indians and their horses were stolen by the red men a number of times but were afterward recaptured. Stopping first in Oregon, he was there employed for a short time as a farm laborer but at the end of six weeks purchased provisions and with one horse started for Cali- fornia, traveling for five hundred miles through unbroken wilderness. On reaching Scott river he found employment with his brother at seventy-five dollars per month and for six months had charge of the pack train in the mountains. At the end of that time he purchased the train and outfit from his brother and engaged in the same business on his own account with good success. During his sojourn in the west he had many thrilling and interesting experiences which, if written in detail, would rival many of the stories of fiction.

After about four years spent in California, Mr. Arnett returned east by water, arriving in Henry county just before Christmas day in 1856. He then took charge of the farm and later made his first purchase of land from his father, becoming owner of one hundred and sixty acres in Loraine township. During the period of the Civil war he had the misfortune to have his house destroyed by fire. In the summer of 1864 when so many men were at the front it was impossible to find men willing to work on the farm and his wife drove the horses of the reaper while he and his hired man bound the grain cut on one hundred and seventy-five acres. Wheat advanced in price to three dollars per bushel and he was thus enabled to get a good start in life. From time to time he made further investment in property until he became the owner of thirteen hundred acres in Henry county and twenty- four hundred acres in Minnesota, thus becoming one of the most extensive land- owners of this part of the state. In connection with general farming he raised and handled live stock, making a specialty of fine Durham cattle.

Mr. Arnett was married November 15, 1857, to Miss Margaret Sieben, a daughter of Joseph and Appolonia (Gabel) Sieben. Mrs. Arnett was born in the village of Abenheim, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, near the city of Worms, and was ten years of age when she came with her parents to America in 1852. They took passage on a Rhine steamboat at Mainz on the 8th of August, 1852, went to Rotterdam and then proceeded to London. As passengers on a sailing vessel they came from the world's metropolis to the United States, reaching New York after a voyage of forty-eight days. The family made their way direct to Chicago and because of the illness of the mother were obliged to remain in that city. The death of Mrs. Sieben occurred in the following January and in February, 1853, Mr. Sieben with six of his seven children, went to Whiteside county and settled on the Rock river bottom near Crandall's Ferry. At that time the father went in debt to the extent of one hundred and seventy-five dollars. He rented a farm and took possession of a vacant cabin, which he made comfortable by chinking it with mud. He then obtained work, for which he received fifty cents per day, while two of his

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sons worked for thirty and twenty-five cents per day, respectively, and had to board themselves. In 1856 the log house was burned and the entire contents were destroyed. It was in that year that the father married a second time and he remained a resident of Whiteside county until his death in 1858.

His daughter, Mrs. Arnett, has been a resident of Henry county since 1857 or for a period of fifty-two years. She has been to her husband a faithful helpmeet and companion on life's journey, standing loyally by him in all of the struggles of his early business career and through her wifely sympathy and wise counsels has helped him to achieve success. She is a lady of refinement and an estimable woman and receives the love of her children and the esteem and confidence of her many friends. By her marriage she became the mother of six children : Harriet M., the eldest, became the wife of William Hudnall and died, leaving a daughter Inez, who married Otis Godfrey, a large sheep man of Montana. Julia is the wife of Lamont Rowe of Washington, Iowa, and they have three children, Wilma, Mar- garet and Catherine. Franklin G., living in Culbertson, Montana, married Elma Brockman and has one daughter, Rowena. Minnie Alberta is the wife of Perry Kempster, of Prophetstown, Illinois, and they have three sons, Cecil, Arnett and Oliver. Perry Adelbert, residing ten miles from Laverne, Minnesota, married Catharine Lynch and has two children, Margaret and George L. Floyd Henry, the youngest of the family, is at home.

Mr. and Mrs. Arnett are devoted members of the Methodist church. Mr. Arnett is a stalwart republican in his political views and has taken an active interest in local politics. He served for twenty years as school director in Phenix town- ship, where he also filled the office of supervisor for eight years. His history is one which is most commendable as it is the record of a man who has wisely placed his dependence upon his own energy and ability. In all of his business affairs he has been thoroughly reliable, and his industry has carried him into important relations with the agricultural and financial interests of the county. He has lived in the county for seventy-two years and his wife for fifty-two years and they are among its most highly esteemed citizens. There is perhaps no resident of this part of the state who can speak in more comprehensive and reliable manner concerning events which marked the early pioneer development, characterized the later growth and have fostered the present progress and upbuilding of the county. He can remember when the greater part of the land was still uncultivated but has lived to see it transformed into rich farms, in the midst of which are beautiful homes. Towns and villages have also sprung up and the work of development and im- provement has been carried steadily forward. Mr. Arnett rejoices in all that has been done on the side of advancement.

JUDGE ALBERT ERIC BERGLAND.

Albert Eric Bergland, judge of the county court of Henry county, has been a practitioner at the Illinois bar since 1894 and in November, 1906, was called to the bench, where his capable service shows him to be a man of comprehensive knowl- edge of legal principles with a mind at once analytical, logical and inductive. A

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resident of Galva, he was born upon a farm near that city November 9, 1869, his parents being Jonas and Helen Bergland, both natives of Sweden. The paternal grandfather, Andrew Bergland, was likewise a native of that country and lived at Helsingland. He came to the new world when his son Jonas was but three years of age, the family being among the first settlers of Weller township, Henry county, Illinois, where they owned a small farm, living in a dug-out until a more commo- dious, comfortable and modern home could be secured. They were among the band of Swedish people who were active in colonizing this part of the state. Andrew Bergland continued a resident of Henry county until called to his final rest at an advanced age, and his wife, Mrs. Britta Bergland, also reached old age. They left several of their children in Sweden but brought three of them to the new world, namely : Jonas, Eric and Christine. The daughter is now the widow of Olaf Olson of Bishop Hill, Illinois. Eric Bergland served through the Civil war, when a very young man, and was afterward sent to West Point. He then remained with the military service of the country until a few years ago, when he was retired with the rank of major. The Petersons, maternal grandparents of Judge Bergland, were also pioneers at Bishop Hill, and they and two of their chil- dren died during a cholera epidemic.

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History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II, Part 58

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