USA > Illinois > Henry County > History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 69
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Wesley K., who is married and lives in Marcus, Iowa; and Elmer M., who makes his home in Clarinda, Iowa. On the 19th of August, 1869, Mr. Stitt married a second time, his wife being Miss Mary J. Paden, who was born in Knox county, Illinois, and was a daughter of D. J. Paden. She was reared in Henry county and, having received a good education, was engaged in teaching for a number of years before her marriage. She was a woman of ability, who directed the man- agement of the Stitt homestead for several years after her husband's death. Through her union with James Stitt she became the mother of five children: Charles, who is married and lives in Wichita, Kansas; James H., of Gary, In- diana ; William L., the subject of this sketch ; Lucia, who was one of the successful teachers of Henry county; and Harry W., who attended the University of Illi- nois at Champaign and is now in Wallace county, Kansas.
The father was intimately connected with the public life of Oxford township, for he had served as school trustee and filled other offices of responsibilty. In early years he was an adherent of the republican party, but later, being a strong temperance man, he supported the principles of the prohibition party. For more than forty years he was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his honorable and upright life gained for him the esteem of all who knew him. His death occurred April 25, 1896.
William L. Stitt, a worthy son of so noble a father, was born upon the farm upon which he now lives, March 12, 1877. Upon it also he grew to maturity, as- sisting in the general work that was carried on there, while he received a fair education in the public schools of Alpha, which served as foundation for later intellectual attainments. Subsequently he attended college at Valparaiso, Indi- ana, taking the business and teachers course, for he looked forward to making teaching his profession. His father's death, however, compelled him to change his plans, as he was called home to assume the management of the farm in con- junction with his brother, James H. In 1903 he married, and while he continued farming in Oxford township, it was not until 1906 that he finally made the Stitt place his permanent residence when his mother and sister removed to Abingdon, Illinois. It is one of the splendid tracts of arable land in that township, is all under a high state of cultivation and well improved, the son maintaining his father's reputation as a first-class farmer. Like the latter he has engaged in stock raising and feeding to some extent, although he has not devoted to it the time or attention that his father did. Progressive and energetic, he has won a success that may compare favorably with that attained by the other, even without considering the disparity of their ages and the difference in the amount of their experience.
It was on the IIth of February, 1903, that Mr. Stitt was united in marriage to Miss Ella J. Cederberg, who was living in the vicinity of Galva but had previ- ously made her home at Woodhull. Her parents had come from Sweden to America as young people and were married after they arrived here. Mr. and Mrs. Stitt have one son and one daughter : Lloyd L. and Mary.
He is a prohibitionist in his political views and is actively concerned in advo- cating its cause throughout the county. His influence is also felt in local affairs, for he is serving as road commissioner, a position to which he was elected two years ago, and is a member of the Alpha board of education. Deeply interested
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in the maintenance of first class public schools, he has spared no effort to make the local institutions among the most successful of the county. Fraternally he enjoys pleasant relations with the Modern Woodmen, and with his wife belongs to the Mystic Workers. They are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church, active in its work and in its Sunday school, Mr. Stitt being one of the trustees. A young man of progressive ideas, of proved integrity and high charac- ter, he enjoys an enviable reputation in the community to whose advancement he has contributed so much.
SAMUEL C. McBRIDE.
Samuel C. McBride, his father, John McBride, and his grandfather, William McBride, were all three of them born in Mount Joy, Lancaster county, Pennsyl- vania, a somewhat unusual occurrence. Possessing a love for their native land, they were without exception good citizens and their record in patriotism is both interesting and inspiring. The grandfather, who was a lime burner by trade, served in the war of 1812 and received as a compensation one hundred and sixty acres of land, upon a part of which the town of Keokuk, Iowa, now stands. He passed on to his reward about 1861 in the county of his birth, having attained to the advanced age of ninety-eight years. The father, born near the beginning of the nineteenth century, was a distiller, who in his later life abandoned that occu- pation for agriculture. He also died in Lancaster county at the age of ninety- eight. The mother of our subject, Sarah (Meldrom) McBride, was born near Columbia, Lancaster county, and ended a useful and virtuous life on the old home place, she too, having achieved more than the psalmist's allotted time of life, being eighty-seven years old when called away.
The date of the birth of Samuel C. McBride, the subject of the sketch, was May 9, 1829. He became well grounded in the "Three R's" and such other knowl- edge as the district schools of that day afforded. He worked on his father's farm until December 25, 1850, when fearing with Shakespeare that "Homekeeping youth have ever homely wits," he bade adieu to the family circle and went to Cambridge, Ohio, where he remained with an uncle for the three years follow- ing. His uncle was a cattle dealer and he improved the opportunity to become thoroughly acquainted with that line of business. Thus equipped he secured a position with Adams Brothers, cattle dealers of Dresden, Ohio, and continued with them for six months, and then removed to Coshocton county, Ohio, where for some time he worked as a farm hand and on the canal. On March 1, 1865, he arrived in Kewanee and spent the first six months of his residence in Henry county in the employ of Samuel Brown, who operated the Tenny farm. The winter following he made his living as a wood chopper. During the next three years he spent the winters in Kewanee as a coal miner and the open seasons in Bureau county breaking prairie. The regular course of his life was interrupted by the breaking out of the Civil war when he gave three years service to his country, enlisting August 9, 1862. He was duly mustered out and returned home in Sep-
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tember, 1865. Later he engaged in mining and well drilling and, having pros- pered, he retired in 1908 after a busy life.
Mr. McBride was married July 3, 1859, in Kewanee, to Miss Livinia E. Seu- ger, of Ohio, who was originally from the state of New York. They have one son, William J., an artist, who received his training in the Chicago Art Institute and is now a resident of Chicago.
It would be difficult to find in the length and breadth of the land a stancher republican than Samuel C. McBride. It is his practice to vote the straight ticket at presidential elections, and he has been very influential in his championship of his party. He is a prominent member of the Julius A. Pratt Post, No. 162, of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. McBride is a man of undoubted worth and stands high in the regard of his fellow citizens.
OLOF W. JOHNSON.
Olof W. Johnson, who is the proprietor of the only successful harness shop which has been operated in the village of Bishop Hill, is one of its native sons who have attained a fair name and pronounced good fortune. He was born De- cember 4, 1859, his parents being John B. and Brita Johnson. The father was a native of Ongermanland, Sweden, his birth having occurred in 1814. He joined the little band of men and women who joined the Bishop Hill colony in 1850 and was prominently known in its midst, for his physical strength brought him a re- nown that equaled that which he obtained as a workman and a citizen. He was familiarly called the giant of the place, for in his prime he stood six feet and four inches in height, and at one time lifted a dead weight of thirteen hundred and sixty-five pounds. During the existence of the colony he was its wagonmaker, but after it was dissolved he engaged in the cultivation of the soil, to which he devoted his energies until his death. This occurred in 1891, when he was in the seventy-seventh year of his age. The mother of our subject, who was born in Bolnas, Helsingland, Sweden, in 1827, came to Henry county and to the Bishop Hill colony at the same time as did her husband. She lived until 1904 and was also seventy-seven years old when her life was ended.
Olof W. Johnson attended the Bishop Hill school and that of district 23, Wel- ler township, and grew to manhood upon the old homestead about a mile and a half west of the village. He devoted himself to agricultural pursuits until 1905, when he went to Cody, Wyoming, and there engaged in irrigating. After two years experience he sold his interests and returned to Bishop Hill, where shortly after he established himself in the harnessmaking business. In addition to being the first successful enterprise of its kind here, the shop contains a com- plete line of harness and harness supplies, while Mr. Johnson will make to order anything that is requested of him. He also carries a large stock of carriage and wagon woods and hardware and conducts a general repair shop. As his store is furnished with almost all the necessities of its kind and the shop equipped with the most modern machinery, it supplies a long-felt want in the village. The effi- ciency of its proprietor, his skill in workmanship and the high principles which
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have guided his relations with his fellow townsmen have placed him in a position where he commands their highest regard.
In Council Bluffs, Iowa, June 30, 1908, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Johnson and Miss Katherine Johnson, a school teacher at Loomis, Nebraska, and is a daughter of Olof Johnson, a prominent physician of that place. His father was a republican in his political affiliations, but in his youth our subject gave his allegiance to the democrats and since attaining his majority votes the prohibition ticket. However, he has always put men and measures before parties and adherence to them, so that the candidate who represents the best interests of the community may count upon his support. He has taken some part in local affairs, for he has served one term each as township assessor and collector, and for two years was on the village police force. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Good Templars, among whose members he has many stanch friends. For his recreation he plays upon the violin, and with the spirit of the true musician, combined with his ability as a workman, he has in his possession several instruments which he has himself made. The house in which he lives was built by him two years ago, and there is dispensed that gracious hospitality which make welcome friends and worthy strangers alike.
WILLIAM ELMER WEIDLEIN.
William Elmer Weidlein, who has won success as a farmer and stockman, was born February 27, 1865, in Edford township, about a mile north of his present home which is on section 6, Osco township. His parents are Andrew and Sarah (Conrad) Weidlein, who are now living in retirement in Geneseo. About 1869 Mr. Weidlein sold the tract of land on which his son had been born and moved to Osco township, purchasing the farm on which William E. Weidlein is living today. For more than a quarter of a century he followed general agri- cultural pursuits, deriving an income which seemed to justify his relinquishing, in 1895, the heavier of life's cares and enjoying the rest from toil he so richly deserved.
As he was but four years old when his father came to Osco township, Wil- liam E. Weidlein has passed almost his whole life upon the farm, from which he now obtains his comfortable income. He attended the district school of his locality, and, having completed the prescribed course, at the age of sixteen went to the high school in Geneseo. After one year spent at that institution he en- tered the Northwestern Normal, from which he was graduated with the class of 1886. Then he returned to the agricultural life which had not been inter- rupted seriously during the time he was a student for he took a full part in it in the summer months and at such other periods as were not given to the pur- suit of his lessons. A few years later he embarked in the hardware business in Geneseo, but the venture proved rather unsuccessful than otherwise, and Mr. Weidlein sold his interests and stock, returning to his father's farm which he has tilled ever since. Its four hundred and eighty acres are sufficient in their
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extent to require a man's whole attention, if he is to derive from them the best returns for his labor.
At Clinton, Illinois, February 15, 1887, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Weidlein and Miss Kittie Marlatt, of Clinton. She was born in Munson town- ship, her parents being George H. and Jennie (Calhoun) Marlatt, but at the age of ten she went to live with a maternal uncle, Hon. W. F. Calhoun, at whose home she grew to womanhood. She received a good common school education and was attending the Northwestern Normal for voice culture when she met Mr. Weidlein. Of their union four children have been born. Max Andrew died in infancy. Eunice Grace, after completing the course of the county school, attended Knox College, Galesburg, where she took both an English course and one in music. Vera Cleone is now a student in the Geneseo high school. Lyle Marlatt, the youngest died at the age of five.
Mr. Weidlein has steadfastly given his support to the republican party, but although he has played no small part in local affairs, he cannot be called an office seeker in any sense of the word. The capacities in which he has served the people are those of highway commissioner, assessor and school director, and in every case he has proved himself to be a man who was ever ready to exert himself for the advancement of his people, who was just and honorable and endowed with good judgment. He is also well known in the fraternal circles of his township, for he is a member of Stewart Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and Lodge, No. 172, I. O. O. F., while with Mrs. Weidlein he belongs to the Eastern Star, the Daughters of Rebekah, and the Royal Neighbors of Geneseo In the meetings of these bodies he has proved that he is a man of social qualities as well of high business ability.
EDWARD LINDQUIST.
Edward Lindquist, one of Lynn township's valued citizens, was born within its limits February 23, 1870. His parents were Gustaf and Caroline (Marsh) Lindquist, early settlers in this section. Both of them were born in Sweden, the mother coming to the United States when very young with her father and other members of the family, her mother having died in their native land. Gustaf Lindquist came alone, his parents never having emigrated to America. He was possessed of energy and thrift and became a successful farmer and large land- owner, as well as a man of high standing in the neighborhood on account of his unimpeachable character. He and his wife were the parents of six children, three of whom died in infancy, while a son named Theodore died when about twenty years of age. Those surviving are Edward, the subject of this sketch; and Amanda, now the wife of S. P. Neystrom, a prominent farmer of Lynn township, whose sketch appears in another part of this work. The father was a member of the Lutheran church of Andover. His death occurred in 1900, but his widow, a most estimable woman, still survives.
Edward Lindquist was reared upon the home farm and as soon as old enough assisted in the work. In the winter, when there was a slackening in
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agricultural activity, he obtained his education in the district schools. After his marriage in 1893 he took possession of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of fine land in Lynn township, where he and his family reside. This Mr. Lind- quist has improved and brought to the high state of perfection made possible by modern methods. In addition to the splendid crops for which he is noted, he is a successful breeder of thoroughbred Shire draught horses, his fine animals commanding a high price.
On March 22, 1893, Mr. Lindquist was married to Miss Cordelia Anderson, a daughter of John O. and Anna (Joungquist) Anderson, both of whom were born in Sweden. . Their parents were not among those who were caught in the current of emigration, the two young people coming to the new world with friends. They were married in the United States and settled in Henry county, Illinois. Fortune smiled upon Mr. Anderson's agricultural endeavor and he gained a competence which he enjoyed together with the esteem of his friends. He is now living a retired life at Orion. His wife died May 20, 1898, and her remains were interred in Orion cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson had a family of nine children as follows: Anna, deceased; John W., of North Dakota; Charles and Henry, both deceased; Lottie, now Mrs. Peter Samuelson, of Orion, Illinois ; Carl Alfred, of North Dakota; Albert, deceased; Amanda A., now Mrs. Albert Jacobson of Lynn township; and Cordelia, the wife of the subject of the sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Lindquist have a family of three sons named Archie, Cyrus and Russell.
Mr. Lindquist upholds the tenets of republicanism and is active in party and public affairs. His wisdom in matters of public welfare has caused his fellow citizens to repose in him numerous trusts. He served for a number of years as a member of the republican county central committee and many times as dele- gate to county and district conventions. He has been a member of the Lynn township board of elections and has held the office of township assessor. For no less than fourteen years he was a valued member of the school board and at the present time serves as township school trustee. He is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and his wife are members of the Luth- eran church of Andover. In this same church his father was a trustee and active worker for many years, which gives the son's association with it a still deeper meaning. Mr. Lindquist is a fine man and a public-spirited citizen, an advocate of progress, especially as applied to good roads and good public schools. All measures that have in view substantial progress and all honest efforts to accomplish this have his hearty cooperation.
ST. FRANCIS HOSPITAL.
The St. Francis Hospital at Kewanee was founded in the following manner. On January 10, 1902, Rev. D. L. Crowe wrote to the Mother Superior at St. Anthony's Hospital, Rock Island, Illinois, for three or four Sisters to open a hospital at Kewanee. On January 14 of that same year, Mother Mary Michael and Sister Mary Bernardine visited Kewanee and after the matter was talked
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over with Rev. D. L. Crowe, and representatives of the physicians' club, the Sisters decided to accept the work.
On January 17, 1902, Rev. D. L. Crowe purchased the Scott property on the corner of Tremont and South streets for the sum of forty-eight hundred dol- lars. Father Crowe paying fifteen hundred dollars on the property as a donation to the hospital, but the Sisters afterward sold the place to the Baptists for sixty- five hundred dollars. Rt. Rev. Bishop Spalding and the Mother Superior at Rock Island appointed Sister Mary Bernardine to take charge of the work. She with two other Sisters made arrangements at once to meet a committee of the citizens of Kewanee, among whom were J. H. Pierce, president of the Western Tube Company; C. I. Pierce; E. E. Baker, president of the Boiler Company; B. F. Baker; James Quirk; John Fischer ; Will Lyman; and A. M. Hewlett, the successor to J. H. Pierce, benefactor of the hospital.
It was decided at once that the Sisters should begin collecting funds for the hospital, and they met with unexpected success, overcoming all obstacles. On February 15, 1902, they took charge of the house and began making improve- ments as many changes were necessary. Partitions were put in, hard wood floors laid and a bathroom and electricity installed. The kitchen was made over into an operating room; the dining room was made the male ward; the front parlor a private room, and the other rooms were arranged as was most conven- ient. The basement was fitted up as a kitchen, dining room, store room and laundry. There were eleven beds for hospital use and later as many as eighteen patients were accommodated by crowding beds in the halls and elsewhere.
The hospital was opened to receive patients March 19, 1902, and the first patient received was a charity patient who was coming down with lagrippe, James Stokes, of Kewanee. The first surgical operation was performed March 20, 1902, by Drs. Oliver, Hiflin and Russell. Dr. Russell died in 1904, and his loss was deeply felt by the hospital for he had a promising career ahead of him and was faithful to his charges.
During the first year three hundred and twenty-five patients were received, and of these but fourteen died. One hundred and ninety-seven days were given to charity. On May 20, 1902, Mr. and Mrs. Elias Lyman donated a site for a new hospital at the corner of Elliott and Prospect streets, valued at eight thou- sand dollars. The Sisters at once had plans drawn for a new hospital by Doerr Brothers, of Chicago, the cost of the building to be fifty thousand dollars. The plans were examined by Rt. Rev. Bishop Spalding, Father Crowe, the physicians and the committee of citizens having the work in charge, all were satisfied, and the contract was let without delay and the cornerstone was laid December 8, 1903.
The dedication of the hospital took place July 24, 1904. The advisory com- mittee was composed of the following: Father Crowe, pastor of Visita- tion church; A. M. Hewlett, president of the Western Tube Company; B. F. Baker, vice president of the Kewanee Boiler Company; Charles I. Pierce, pres- ident of the Big Creek Coal Company; John Fischer, president the Kewanee Savings Bank; and E. C. O'Connor, mayor of Kewanee. The principal speaker was the Rt. Rev. Bishop Spalding and he spoke eloquently and touchingly of the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Lyman and the grand work of the hospital Sis- .
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ters. Music was furnished by the Visitation church choir and Kewanee military band. The parade was headed by mounted police and the military company. Bishop Spalding gave a second address and Dean Mackin, of Rock Island, and Rev. W. D. McLean, rector of St. John's church, also made addresses.
The new hospital has a capacity of fifty-two rooms and nearly all of them were furnished by individuals and societies of every denomination. The first patients were received August 12, 1904. On May 24, 1906, the Lyman-Lay Company donated a lot of ground north of the hospital as a training school for nurses, which was opened in March of that year. Sister Mary Bernardine died November 28 of this same year. Her successor is Sister Mary Bernadetta, one of the first Sisters to come to Kewanee in 1902. The first class of nurses grad- uated April 21, 1908.
St. Francis Hospital is one of the institutions of which Kewanee is justly proud for it represents the public-spirit and warm-hearted charity of all the peo- ple irrespective of religious views. It is truly a great work and worthy the peo- ple who have fathered it.
FRANK H. BROWN.
Frank H. Brown, a progressive young agriculturist of Henry county, Illinois, who, in connection with his brother, has recently begun to deal in automobiles manufactured at Lansing, Michigan, was born here July 29, 1882, in the house where he now makes his home on section 15, Osco township, and is the son of James M. and Martha E. (Myers) Brown. Both were natives of Fulton county, Illinois, where they grew to years of maturity and after their marriage came to Henry county, where the father bought land and on this farm spent his remaining days. His time and energies were devoted to the further improve- ment of the place, which he brought under a high state of cultivation, adding from time to time all the modern conveniences and accessories with which to carry on the work by the most advanced methods. Three children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. James M. Brown: May, who makes her home with her mother ; Roy S .; and Frank H. In his political views the father was a republi- can, although he never cared to hold office, preferring to devote his time and attention to his farming interests and his leisure hours with his family, whose comfort and happiness were his chief consideration. His death occurred May 4, 1893.
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