USA > Illinois > Henry County > History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 68
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On the 16th of October, 1893, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Stewart and Miss Florence Van Valkenburg, a native of Ohio. Mr. Stewart belongs to Stewart Lodge, No. 92, A. F. & A. M., which was named in honor of his great- uncle, Roderick Stewart. He likewise belongs to Geneseo Chapter, No. 12, R. A. M., Rock Island Commandery, No. 18, K. T. and Kaaba Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Davenport, Iowa. He is in thorough sympathy with the teachings and purposes of the craft, which is based upon mutual helpfulness and recognizes the useful brotherhood of mankind. His political views are in accord with the prin- ciples of the republican party but, while he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, he does not seek office, preferring to concentrate his ener- gies upon his constantly increasing business cares, which are of a most onerous and important nature.
SAMUEL E. ROBB.
The dealer in real estate is a public benefactor for through him are the greater portion of improvements inaugurated and because of his efforts new capital is attracted to the community in which he is interested. Perhaps no one man has done more to advance the material interests of Kewanee and Wethersfield than Samuel E. Robb, now of Kewanee, which has been his home since 1899. His birth occurred five miles south of the city, February 1, 1859, and he is a son of Joseph and Martha (McLaughlin) Robb. His father was born in Ireland in 1825 and came to America when but eleven years old, landing in New York city, which continued his home until he was twenty-one. At that time he came west to Henry county, Illinois, and operated a sawmill for some time, but later took up govern-
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ment land and farmed it until his demise at the age of seventy-two years, April 4, 1897, in Knox county, to which he had retired. His widow still lives in that county.
Samuel E. Robb was educated in the public schools of Kewanee township and the Wethersfield high school and engaged in farming until 1899 with the excep- tion of two years, when he was engaged in a butchering business in Kewanee. Upon locating permanently here, he engaged in the insurance business for a year and then embarked in the real-estate business. Almost immediately he began to see the possibilities of a street railroad and later promoted the line running from Kewanee and Galva. He wrote the first article that appeared in a financial paper to attract capital and later was very active in developing the street-car system of Kewanee and the interurban service. Later he was made vice president of the company and held the office for three years, when the line was sold. For a long time he was the only Kewanee man officially connected with the Kewanee & Gales- burg Railway Company. The first dirt for the line was dug August 23, 1903. It is now a paying line and will form the basis of an interurban system with Ke- wanee as headquarters. While his business interests are in Kewanee, Mr. Robb's home is at Wethersfield and he was one of the board of trustees and worked hard for the village system for the place.
On September 20, 1882, occurred the marriage of Mr Robb and Carrie An- derson, of Kewanee, a daughter of the late Robert Anderson and his wife Mar- garet. Her father was proprietor of a large flourmill, but died in 1874. His widow survives, making her home in Kewanee. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Robb, namely : Mabel, who married Charles Hill, of Kewanee, as- sistant manager of the pipe department of the National Tube Company; Lalla, who married John T. Ellis, a son of Captain John Ellis; Edward E .; and Clair J.
Mr. Robb is a member of the Congregational church. He is a keen, shrewd business man, who possesses remarkable foresight and more than the average executive ability. Public-spirited, he has always had the interests of Henry county at heart and is proud of his locality and very confident as to its future.
GEORGE D. GERMAN.
George D. German, the owner of a valuable and well improved farm of four hundred acres on sections 5 and 8, Burns township, in the operation of which he is actively engaged, is also serving in the capacity of township supervisor at the present time. He was born in Peoria county, Illinois, on the 25th of April, 1863, his parents being George S. and Sarah Ella (Carl) German, who are mentioned at greater length on another page of this work. He was still but a child when brought to this county by his father and mother and obtained his early education in the district schools of Burns township, while later he spent a year in Knox College. After putting aside his text-books he worked on his father's farm for a period of three years and then purchased a tract of eighty acres on section 32, Cornwall township, devoting his time and energies to its further cultivation and improve- ment for ten years. At the end of that time, owing to his father's retirement, he
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took charge of the old homestead farm of four hundred acres on sections 5 and 8, Burns township, and subsequently purchased the property. It has since remained in his possession, and he has placed many substantial improvements thereon, remodeling and adding to the house and barn and also erecting a new barn and corn crib on his land just across the road. His home is one of the most attractive in Burns township, and he has recently set out an orchard of about sixty trees, including the various fruits grown in this part of the country. In addition to cultivating the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he raises a few shorthorn cattle and in the past has raised many hogs, both Poland China and Jersey Red. In the spring of 1909 he bought some Berkshire hogs and now has a number of thoroughbreds. He likewise raises a few colts each year and in both his farming and live-stock interests has met with a gratifying and well merited measure of success. He is a stockholder in the Kewanee National Bank and the Henry County Telephone Company and is numbered among the enterprising and respected citizens of the community.
On the 14th of February, 1886, in Bureau county, Mr. German was joined in wedlock to Miss Ella M. Bunn, a daughter of Denton and Nancy (Fritz) Bunn, who were born in Pennsylvania and made their way to this state in an early day. They remained residents of Bureau county until about 1900, since which time they have made their home in Kewanee. Unto Mr. and Mrs. German have been born six children, namely : S. Ethel, whose birth occurred December 24, 1886, and who is now the wife of Asa M. Corwin, a farmer of Burns township; N. Edna, born July 24, 1888, who gave her hand in marriage to W. B. Warner, likewise an agriculturist of Burns township; Floyd D., whose natal day was December 15, 1890; Leslie, whose birth occurred September 29, 1892; Eva M., who first opened her eyes to the light of day on the 29th of November, 1897; and George D., who was born February 12, 1903.
In his political views Mr. German is an unfaltering republican and an active worker in the local ranks of the party. He is now capably discharging the duties devolving upon him in the office of township supervisor and in the past has served as school director, while for one year he acted as township assessor. His relig- ious faith is indicated by his membership in the Burns Congregational church, in the work of which he is deeply and helpfully interested. He has an extensive circle of friends throughout the county, in which he has resided since early boy- hood, and in the various relations of life in which he has been found has shown himself fully worthy the confidence and trust which are uniformly given him.
ROBERT PYLE.
Robert Pyle, whose success as a farmer has placed him in the front rank of Henry county farmers, has proven to his own satisfaction the value of intelligent effort along agricultural lines. He was born in Knox county, Illinois, October 8, 1857, and is a son of Richard and Sarah (Collinwood) Pyle. The father, who was a coal miner and operator, came to Henry county in 1868, and here our sub- ject grew to manhood, receiving a country-school education. Richard Pyle owned
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a farm and on it the son was reared and learned the rudiments of farming. This early instruction served him in good stead when he began to operate his own farm in Kewanee township. He owns farming property in Kansas, where he spent some years, residing there and in Nebraska for about nine years in all, engaged in farming operations, but he finally returned to Henry county.
On November 13, 1879, occurred the marriage of Mr. Pyle and Elizabeth Cro- nan, who was born in Kewanee, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Cronan. Her father is a retired farmer of Kewanee and a most highly esteemed man. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pyle, namely: Tessa A., wife of G. F. Quart, who is connected with the National Tube Company; Nellie E., who mar- ried Carl Custer, also connected with the National Tube Company ; John C., who is with his father on the farm; Emma E., who married Otto Kuster, a farmer; Mable G., Frank R. and Raymond L., who are all at home.
Mr. Pyle is very active in the ranks of the republican party and in 1902 he was elected highway commissioner and was returned to the office in 1905 and for a third time in 1908. He has done much for the good of the township in inaugurat- ing changes and improvements, and his efforts are appreciated by his neighbors and associates. For a number of years Mrs. Pyle has been a member of the Ger- man Evangelical church and her work in this body is very effective. Taking him all in all he is one of the representative men of his locality and he is making his- tory today that tomorrow will have a profound influence upon the future, for every improvement is a big step forward in the development of the community, especially when directed by such a man as Mr. Pyle.
CHARLES B. BLISH.
Of no one could it be said more truly than of Charles B. Blish, deceased, that "to live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." Although a citizen of Kewanee for a number of years, his birthplace was in Wethersfield and the date of his birth February 25, 1871. His father, Matthew B. Blish, was also a native of Wethers- field, who engaged in agriculture and dealt in thoroughbred cattle until his removal to Kewanee. The mother, before her marriage, Martha F. Morrill, came origin- ally from Missouri. This worthy couple now reside in Citronelle, Alabama, the husband being sixty-one years of age and the wife sixty.
The education of Charles B. Blish was obtained in the public schools of Weth- ei sfield and the high school of Kewanee. He subsequently returned to his father's farın, where he lent valuable assistance in the cattle business for the space of four years. In 1891 he returned to Kewanee and engaged in the furniture and undertaking business, which he abandoned in a very short while. A very respon- sible position in the Western Tube Company was offered him and in this capacity he gave efficient service for a number of years. He and his father then formed a partnership in the bakery business and in this Mr. Blish continued for three years or until his death, March 16, 1905.
The subject of the sketch, who enjoyed an ideal home life, was married May 18, 1892, in Chicago, to Miss Sarah A. Jones, a daughter of Thomas Jones, of
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the Western Tube Company of Kewanee. Since the death of his wife, Alice Crow (Morrill) Jones, which took place in Kewanee, January 27, 1909, at the age of fifty-eight years, Mr. Jones has made his home with his widowed daughter. Mr. Blish left one child, a daughter, Florence E., now sixteen years of age, who attends the high school.
Mr. Bliss was a loyal republican and, exceptionally well versed as he was in public matters, took an active part in local politics. He belonged to the Masonic body, holding membership in the Knights Templars, in which he held office at the time of his demise. He was further identified with the Elks, the Mystic Workers and the Maccabees. He was also a consistent member of the Baptist church of Kewanee. Well known, Mr. Blish was everywhere held in sincere affection, being one of those rare characters of whom it could be truly said that he had not a known enemy in the world. In anything pertaining to the good of the community Mr. Blish could always be counted upon to give his support.
BYRON JORDAN.
Byron Jordan, who stands for progress in all things and was recognized as a leader among the stock raisers and shippers of Henry county, but is now re- tired, also has a notable record as a soldier of the Civil war. A native son of Illinois, he was born in Richland Grove, Mercer county, June 1I, 1842. His ancestry is traced back to Rev. Robert Jordan, who was a clergyman of the Church of England and as early as 1641 presided over the church at Richmond island, off the coast of Maine. He married Sarah Winter, and that he was a man of more than average intelligence is indicated by the fact that he opposed the prevalent superstition of witchcraft. He died in 1678 at the age of sixty- eight years. In his family were six children, John, Robert, Dominicus, Jedediah, Samuel and Jeremiah. The line of ancestry is traced down through Dominicus, Nathaniel, Israel, and Robert Jordan, to Captain John A. Jordan, the father of our subject. The Rev. Robert Jordan belonged to a family that originated in Ireland, but religious persecution drove them to Scotland, and as indicated, it was early in the seventeenth century when the family was founded in America.
The grandfather of Byron Jordan was Robert Jordan, who in 1800 married Hannah Keating. They resided for a time in Rockland, Maine, and in 1832 removed to Seneca county, Ohio, where four days later Robert Jordan passed away. His widow there resided until 1845, when she went to live with a son in Wisconsin, but finally took up her abode with Captain John A. Jordan, passing away in his home in 1854. In the family were fourteen children, of whom seven became seafaring men.
John A. Jordan, the tenth child, was born in Camden, Maine, in 1819, and was a youth of fourteen at the time of the removal of the family to Ohio. After the death of his father he continued to live with his mother for five years, and in company with his twin brother, Thomas J. Jordan, he arrived at Richland Grove, Mercer county, Illinois, November 9, 1839. There he entered and pur- chased land to the extent of one hundred and sixty acres. At Richland Grove
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he was married to Miss Rachel Metzler, and all of their children were there born including Byron, of this review; Edwin T., now residing in Montezuma, Iowa; William H., a government clerk living at Rock Island; and Olive M .. who died at the age of seventeen years. In the spring of 1856 the father sold his farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Mercer county and removed to Rock Island county, where he purchased a like amount of land in Rural township, then called Coal Valley. As his financial resources increased he added to his landed possessions until at one time he owned five hundred and twenty acres, of which one hundred and sixty acres were located in Iowa. At the time of the Civil war he was commissioned a captain of Company A, Thirty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but after five months' service was stricken with paralysis, which ultimately caused his death in 1886, when he was sixty-seven years of age. His widow died in 1903 at the age of eighty-one years. Both were active Methodists and in politics John A. Jordan was an earnest republican, unfaltering and loyal in his allegiance to the party. He served as supervisor for one term and as justice of the peace for several terms, discharging the duties of both positions in a prompt and able manner. His decisions in the justice court were strictly fair and impartial and won him a high place in the regard of those who are loyal to the principles of righteousness and justice.
Byron Jordan spent the first fourteen years of his life in Mercer county and from 1856 until 1867 was a resident of Rock Island county, Illinois. He then lived in Henry county until 1876, after which he returned to Rock Island county, where he remained until 1902. He then again became a resident of Henry county, taking up his abode in Orion. His early education was acquired in the public schools while after his return from the war he attended the Western high school for a time. Throughout his entire business career he has successfully fol- lowed agricultural pursuits and in the last few years he has put into practical operation advanced theories on the erection of buildings for the feeding and protection of stock and poultry. In the spring of 1877 he planted five acres in white pine, sugar maple, white ash and black walnut. A splendid growth of these trees demonstrates what can be accomplished in the interests of forestry in this section. He is greatly interested in the subject of the preservation of for- ests and his opinions on the subject are worthy of attention.
The military chapter in the life history of Mr. Jordan is an interesting one. In 1862 he laid aside his text-books and joined Company C, of the One Hundred and Second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued to serve for almost three years, being honorably discharged in June, 1865, at the close of the war. He participated in the battle of Resaca, was with Sherman on the march to the sea, participated in the entire Carolina campaign and was altogether in twenty engagements. Upon his enlistment he was made sergeant, afterward becoming second lieutenant and during the last year of his service was in com- mand of his company, his promotion coming to him in recognition of his bravery and fidelity.
On the 17th of November, 1867, Mr. Jordan was married to Miss Mary Anna Blackfan, a daughter of William and Elizabeth K. (Trego) Blackfan. Mrs. Jordan was the first white female child born in Western township, her natal day being October 22, 1841. She is a descendant of Edward Blackfan, who was
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persecuted in England because of his religious belief and came to America about the time of William Penn. Tradition says that he was a cousin of the founder of the Penn colony and from him secured a grant to a large tract of land in what is now Bucks county, Pennsylvania. The title of most of this property remained in the family until 1859. William Blackfan with his wife and son, William, and daughter, Elizabeth, arrived at Stevenson, now Rock Island, May 3, 1841, after three weeks' journey by stage and canal boat to Pittsburg, thence by steam boat down the Ohio and up the Mississippi rivers. He purchased a forty-acre tract of land in Western township upon a part of which the town of Orion now stands. Mr. Blackfan died November 10, 1843, leaving a widow and four children, a son, Samuel, having been born in the previous July. One daughter, Mary Anna, had been born after the arrival of the family in this section. Mrs. Blackfan toiled nobly and by strict economy and indomitable energy succeeded in keeping her little family together, and as the years passed and the children grew and added their strength to hers, she was able to extend the boundaries of her lit- tle farm by the additional purchase of sixty acres, making a good farm of one hundred acres. It was twelve years after the death of her husband before pub- lic schools were opened, during which time a teacher was hired to train the chil- dren. In 1855 the public school system was inaugurated and all of the children attended, and later Mrs. Jordan became a pupil of the Rock Island high school. She taught for six months in the local schools, afterward attended Lombard College at Galesburg, Illinois, and later again engaged in teaching.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jordan were born four children: Roland B .; Elmer H .; Samuel Lester, deceased; and Erwin B. The eldest son, who lives in Roseville, Illinois, is a carpenter by trade and married Miss Linnie Davis, who died when their daughter Edith was only twelve days old. He afterward wedded Miss Sophia Davenport. Elmer is in business at Winfield, Kansas, and Erwin is a civil engineer.
On attaining his majority Mr. Jordan became a republican, but for the past few years has supported the men and measures of the prohibition party, and has served as county chairman. He has been a delegate to numerous state con- ventions of his party and in 1896 attended as a delegate the national prohibition convention at Pittsburg. In 1894 he ran as the prohibition candidate for state senator in the twenty-third senatorial district, and received a fair vote. He is a faithful member of the Methodist church in which he is now filling the position of steward, trustee and teacher in the Sunday school. He is very prominent in the Rock Island Camp Meeting Association, having been a member of its exec- utive committee for a number of years, and is now its vice president. Mrs. Jordan was also a member of the Methodist church and during her life had taken special interest in philanthropic and charitable work, building and furn- ishing a room at the Deaconess Hospital at Peoria, and also furnishing a room in a school for poor white girls in the south, and was actively engaged in various other lines of religious and charitable work. She passed away January 16, 1910. Mr. Jordan is a visiting member of Heding College at Abingdon, Illinois, and fraternally holds membership in Edgar Trego Post, No. 394, G. A. R. Kind hearted and generous, he allows the use of his grove for picnics, and it has be- come a very popular place among pleasure seekers. Genial and kindly in nature,
MRS. BYRON JORDAN
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he fully appreciates his obligations to his fellowmen, and his honorable prin- ciples and upright manhood have won for him the high regard, confidence and good will of all with whom he has come in contact, while the consensus of public opinion accords him prominence among the valued and representative citizens of Western township.
WILLIAM L. STITT.
Among the more successful and prominent agriculturists of Oxford township is William L. Stitt, who is carrying on the work begun by his father, James Stitt, with most gratifying results. The family is of remotely Irish descent, a great- grandfather of our subject having come from County Down, Ireland, in 1791. He settled in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, whence his descendants have come to Illinois. His son, William Stitt, was a successful agriculturist there until 1856, when he came with his son James, to Oxford township, this county. Here he lived until his death, in 1873. His wife, who was Margaret Harmonni before her marriage, was of German parentage but Pennsylvanian birth and survived him about six years.
James Stitt, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, October 4, 1827. In his youth he learned the tailor's trade. which he followed until the news of the gold discovery in California having reached him he set out to make his fortunes there. In 1850 he joined an overland wagon train, and after spending about two years in the western state, prospecting and mining in the gold country, he returned home by way of the isthmus of Panama and New York city. In 1853 he married and removed to Stockbridge, Michigan, where he followed his trade and engaged in farming. The next year, however, he came to Henry county, Illinois, and, arriving here July 4, 1854, secured the tract upon which his son is living today. . After the inauguration of the Civil war, Mr. Stitt enlisted in 1862, in Company D, One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, spending the next three years in active service upon the battlefield. During that time he participated in a large number of important engagements, among them being the battles of Knoxville, Resaca, the Atlanta campaign, Frank- lin, Nashville and Wilmington. He was also present during the raiding of east- ern Tennessee. In a large number of lesser fights he proved his valor and was twice wounded at Knoxville and once seriously at Wilmington, North Carolina. After the close of the war, having received an honorable discharge June 20, 1865, Mr. Stitt returned to his family in Henry county, taking up farming. He made a number of improvements on his place, and as his enterprises prospered invested extensively in land in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. He was also widely known as a stockman of importance, whose operations were ever attended with profit.
James Stitt was twice married. Before he left his native home he was united, in 1853, to Miss Elizabeth Hammond, who died in 1869, leaving five of the seven children born to them, namely : Lawrence, who is married and lives in Colorado; Frank E., who is married and lives in St. Charles, South Dakota; Amanda, who became the wife of W. C. Cole, December 9, 1885, and died September 9, 1896;
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