USA > Illinois > Henry County > History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 78
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115
Mr. Dirck was born in Chester township, near Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, February 1, 1827, while his wife was born August 15, 1830, in Sugar Loaf township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. They were married October 29, 1851, in Phenix township, to which she had been brought by her parents in the fall of 1838, when eight years old. Mrs. Dirck passed away January 31, 1905, and is survived by one sister, Mrs. Lydia Merriam, of Colorado, and two broth- ers, Freeman Evans, of Geneseo, and George Evans, of Phenix township. Mr. and Mrs. Dirck had four children : Frank, who died when four years old; Mary Latson, who lives in Hanna township; Henry E. and Bert D., who both live in Phenix township.
Mr. Dirck was extremely fond of children, not only his own, but all little ones, and during his last years was affectionately called "grandpa" by the whole neighborhood. He was a man of kindly deeds and warm impulses, strong to stand up for what he believed was right, but never desiring trouble with his neighbors, and when he died, although he had attained to an advanced age and disease had crippled his powers, yet all who knew him felt his loss and mourned him. His wife was a sweet, gentle woman, attached to her home and family, and he never quite recovered from her loss when she died three years before him.
RYAN BROTHERS.
The Ryan family is an old-established one in Henry county, and two of its representatives, Joseph M. and Martin E., brothers, are numbered among the flourishing farmers of Kewanee township. Joseph M. Ryan was born Decem- ber 14, 1864, in Secor, Woodford county, Illinois, a son of Dennis and Bridget (Hunt) Ryan. The father was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and came to America in 1849, while his wife, who was born in County Carlow, came here in 1850. He was a railroad man but, buying land at one dollar and a quarter per acre, he also developed a farm.
When Joseph M. Ryan was seven years old he was brought to Henry county and he came to Kewanee in 1871. Until he attained his majority he remained with his father and then in partnership with his brother Martin E. purchased five hundred acres of rich farming land in Kewanee township, which they oper- ate together. He was educated in the common schools and devoted himself to his studies until he was able to secure a teacher's certificate and for twenty-two years he has taught during the winter months, gaining the affection and respect of his pupils. On June 20, 1899, he married Mary E. McDonald, of Arlington, Illinois, and they have five children: Lawrence D., Mary E., Florence C., John J. and Martin J. The family belong to the Catholic church.
Martin E. Ryan, brother of Joseph M. Ryan, was born August 22, 1866, in Eureka, Woodford county, Illinois. He, too, was educated in the common
742
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY
schools and worked on the farm with his father until he and his brother bought their present property. He is a practical farmer and knows his business thor- oughly. In religious faith he is a Catholic. Both of these farmers are well known in Kewanee township and are recognized as being among the represent- ative citizens in Henry county. Under their able management their farm has increased in value and now yields them excellent returns annually.
JOHN A. LINDBURG.
John A. Lindburg, well known as a representative of real-estate interests in Kewanee, his business enterprise, diligence and keen foresight placing him with the leading men of this city, was born near Gothenburg, Sweden, September 29, 1859. His father, Olaf Lindburg, was also a native of that place and came to America in 1885, six years after the arrival of his son, John, bringing with him his wife and children. He located in Kewanee, where he lived for twenty years, and then removed to Inglewood, California, which is his present place of resi- dence. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna B. Anderson, was also born in Sweden. There they were reared and married and it was in that coun- try that their entire family of ten children were born. All are yet living with the exception of Selma, who became the wife of Edward Lundee of Kewanee and died in 1903. Six of the surviving nine children are now residing in or near Los Angeles, California, while three are in Illinois, namely: John A .; Adolph, of Kewanee; and Mrs. Anna C. Skoog, of Springfield. Mr. and Mrs. Lindburg are now seventy-five years of age and are still very active. On the 7th of August, 1909, they celebrated their golden wedding at their home in Ingle- wood, California, on which occasion seven or their children and twenty grand- children were present. Their two sons, John and Adolph, of Kewanee, were not there but were represented by their wives.
John A. Lindburg was educated in the public schools of Sweden and after coming to the United States attended night school to some extent, and also studied largely by himself in order to acquire a knowledge of the English language and also to better equip himself for life's practical duties. In 1880 he began working for the Haxtun Steam Heater Company of Kewanee, there learn- ing the trade of boiler making. He was employed in that connection until 1888, when his health failing, he went west for a year. Upon his return he again engaged with the Haxtun Company, being employed in the foundry for three years. After leaving the services of that company he traveled extensively throughout the United States for two years, after which he returned to Kewa- nee and in 1894 was elected city treasurer for the term of 1894-95. His official record was a creditable one and on his retirement from office in 1896 he en- gaged in the confectionery business on Second street, but after a year removed to Third street near North Main where he remained for seven years. He built up an extensive trade, carrying on a profitable business until he sold out to A. R. Tuttle. In 1904 he turned his attention to the real-estate business and in December, 1907, opened his office in the McLean building on Second street, his
743
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY
present location. He carries on an extensive business in western and southern lands and also handles some local property. He spent two summers-the sea- sons of 1906 and 1907, in Labrador, where he is interested in the Labrador Min- ing & Development Company.
On the 21st of December, 1893, Mr. Lindburg was married in Kewanee to Miss Ida C. Sandberg, a daughter of John and Charlotte (Josephson) Sand- berg, both of whom were natives of Sweden, where they were reared and mar- ried. They came from Sweden in 1870 and for twenty-four years have been residents of Kewanee. Mr. Sandberg has devoted his entire time to contracting and building, in which business he is still active. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lindburg have been born two sons: George A., fourteen years of age, now attending high school ; and John L., a youth of nine years.
In politics, Mr. Lindburg is a stalwart republican and is much interested in the work of the party and its progress, keeping well informed on all questions and issues of the day and thus supporting his position by intelligent argument. He has held office in the Swedish-American Republican Club of Henry county, of which he has been a member since 1885, and in which he has served as vice president, while at this writing, in the winter of 1909-10, he is treasurer. He also belongs to the Swedish-American Republican State League of Illinois with which he became associated on its organization. He is also a member of Norden Lodge, Independent Order of Svitiod at Kewanee, the lodge being a Swedish secret society with headquarters at Chicago. He has always encouraged his fel- low countrymen to become American citizens as soon as the law would allow and has frequently assisted them in obtaining their naturalization papers. He has also aided them in securing work and acquainting themselves with the ways of this country and has fostered in them a spirit of loyalty to American institu- tions. He holds membership in the Swedish Lutheran church of Kewanee and with his family takes an active part in church work, for a number of years hav- ing been a member of the choir. His business record has been marked by steady progression resulting from the wise and careful use of each opportunity, and as time has gone on the worth of his work and his ideas has been demonstrated in the success which has followed his labors.
FRED B. GAMBLE.
The importance of insurance is being generally recognized and the amount of business done in every branch of this line of commercial activity is enormous, giving employment to the abilities and resources of many of the leading men of today. Kewanee supports several very successful business men whose object is to look after insurance affairs, and one of the most important is Fred B. Gamble, who is general agent for the Union Central Life Insurance Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and district agent for the farm department of the Conti- nental Fire Insurance Company and the Connecticut Fire Insurance Company and also represents a number of other responsible insurance companies. Mr. Gamble was born in Kewanee, May 14, 1868, a son of Joseph R. and Maria P.
744
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY
(Wooley) Gamble. The father is a retired contractor and builder, who came to this city in 1855 and was connected with the erection of some of the best busi- ness and residence property here.
Fred B. Gamble was educated in the Kewanee high school and at Knox Col- lege, where he spent two years. He then became a traveling salesman for the Western Tube Company and continued with them eight years, gaining very val- uable experience. At the expiration of that period, however, he turned his at- tention to the insurance business and during the succeeding years has proven his fitness for this work. He writes an immense amount of insurance annually.
Mr. Gamble has three children, namely: Frederic Russell, Florence Isa- bell and Gertrude Augusta. His fraternal relations are pleasant and his mem- bership embraces the Elks, the Red Men, the Knights of Pythias and the Eagles. His religious connection is with the Baptist church and he is also a member of the Young Men's Christian Association. Socially he belongs to the Commercial Club and the Kewanee Club and is one of the most popular men of Kewanee. He thoroughly understands every detail of the insurance business and because of his experience in it can control a business the proportions of which show a healthy increase with each succeeding year.
In 1909 Mr. Gamble was elected to the common council from the third ward on the labor ticket. While conserving the interests of his constituents, he also displays a broad-guaged policy toward the city at large and will without doubt make a fine record for himself in this office as he already has in business life. .
MORGAN BURGETT MACHESNEY.
Morgan Burgett Machesney, a progressive and enterprising agriculturist re- siding on section 29, Annawan township, was born in the house where he now lives, and the farm which he cultivates has been his place of abode from his birth to the present time. His natal day was July 6, 1874. His parents, James and Selinda (Burgett) Machesney, are mentioned at greater length in connec- tion with the sketch of M. Howard Machesney, a brother of our subject.
Morgan B. Machesney received a good common-school education and grew to manhood under the parental roof. When twenty-one years of age he began to farm a part of his father's land and has thus been actively identified with agricultural interests to the present time, his labors in the fields being annually rewarded by bounteous harvests of golden grain. The neat and attractive ap- pearance of the place indicates his careful supervision and practical and progress- ive methods, and he is widely recognized as one of the energetic and up-to-date farmers of the community.
On the 7th of September, 1898, in Annawan township, Mr. Machesney was united in marriage to Miss Nora Batten, a native of that township and a daughter of James and Julia Ann (Blin) Batten. They now have four children, namely: Lawrence E., who was born on the 6th of March, 1900; Bernice Irene, whose birth occurred July 21, 1901 ; Lewis Glenn, whose natal day was June 24, 1904; and Gladys, born October 4, 1905.
745
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY
Mr. Machesney cast his first presidential ballot for William Mckinley in 1896 and has always supported the men and measures of the republican party. He is now serving as a school director but has not been an office seeker, pre- ferring to concentrate his energies upon his private affairs. Fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias at Annawan. Both he and his wife are widely and favorably known throughout the county in which their entire lives have been spent, the circle of their friends being almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintances.
EDWARD P. LINCOLN.
Edward P. Lincoln, one of the representative farmers and fruit-growers of Kewanee township, has passed through many of the interesting experiences of pioneer life, for he has been a resident of Henry county since 1850. He was born in Sheldon, New York, February 9, 1837, a son of George and Olive (Needham) Lincoln, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Massachusetts. They emigrated to New York state by team in an early day. Dwight D. Needham, a brother of Mrs. Lincoln, at one time owned a tract one and one-half miles long and one-half mile wide north of Kewanee, which ad- joined the city, and he also owned the site of the city at one time, so that the names of Lincoln and Needham are well known in Henry county.
In 1850 the Lincoln family's removal took place. The father was a traveling man and having visited Henry county decided to locate here. The family made the journey by way of the lakes to Chicago and were nearly a week on the trip. From Chicago they went to La Salle by canal, and from there teams conveyed them and their goods to Wethersfield-their destination. The country was almost all open prairie, and as they could not secure a house upon their arrival, they went to the home of a brother-in-law, Richard Dickinson, who lived on the northwest corner of Captain Howard's farm, now a part of Kewanee. Barron Grove, north of the town, was then common property. Wood was used for fuel and much valuable timber was sacrified in this way. George Lincoln went to Dixon, the landoffice, and entered forty acres just west of the present home of Edward P. Lincoln. The father later secured more land and farmed it until his demise in 1876. His widow survived him until 1884.
During his first winter here, Edward P. Lincoln attended school held in a log house on the Bryan farm, and shortly after the Civil war he helped to build the Maunder school, of which he was a director for nearly twenty years. He was always very patriotic. During the war he, E. M. Wail, H. T. Lay, Martin Guillard and others used to meet in an upper room on Second street between Main and Tremont streets and they donated books and laid the foundation for the first public library of Kewanee. He was also a member of the Kewanee Debating Society, which met in the first school building ever erected in Kewa- nee, being located near the block occupied at present by the jewelry firm of Kreig & Giles. The club held several public debates, Lawyer Atwood, General Howe, Austin Sykes and Mr. Lincoln being among the speakers.
746
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY
While he has devoted the better portion of his life to agricultural pursuits, Mr. Lincoln has been engaged in other lines of business. For some years he was a commercial salesman. He also taught school in Kewanee township, and, while he was acting as school director, he was also clerk of the board. He has always been a very strong republican, but has thrown his influence in favor of prohibi- tion. At present Mr. Lincoln is farming and raising fruit on the old homestead and is making a success of his work, for he understands it thoroughly.
In 1866 Mr. Lincoln and Rebecca Aylesbury were married and they have three children, as follows: George D. is a real-estate dealer of Kewanee. Ed- ward A., also a real-estate dealer, married Cherry B. Waggeman, of Bureau county, and they have one son, Edward Ernest. Orlie Dora is at home.
The family belong to the Congregational church, and Mr. Lincoln was an officer in the Sunday school for many years. He also was an official of the cir- culating library for a long time and has always taken a deep interest in anything that promised to prove beneficial to his church or community. He has held many important offices, has never failed in his duty and can look back with pride upon his long years of useful endeavor.
JOHN JACKSON DARIN.
John Jackson Darin, agriculturist and stock raiser, of Phenix township, was born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, February 9, 1825. He was the elder son of John Jackson Darin, Sr., a native of County Tyrone, Ireland. Bidding adieu to the Emerald isle amid the stormy scenes that beset that country during the years just preceding 1800, he sailed for America, stopping for a time at Phil- adelphia before finally settling in the vicinity of Pittsburg, then known as Fort Duquesne on the very border of the wild backwoods. The father was endowed with rugged health and sturdy habits accredited to Erin's sons, and it was well for there was need for health and thrift, for brain and brawn in those early days. He paid several visits to the Darin homestead on Pink Prairie, and at the time of his death was approaching his ninetieth birthday.
And so it was the subject of this sketch began his long and useful life in the Keystone state. Mr. Darin's boyhood was spent not unlike that of other Penn- sylvania boys of that time and region. His education was obtained in the public schools and in the great university of practical experience. He had not yet at- tained his majority when he was given the position of lock tender on the Pennsyl- vania canal, between Apollo and Saltsburg, near his home. This place he filled until promoted to a clerkship in the canal warehouses of Leech & Company, at Pittsburg. It was while engaged in this work that he became acquainted with Miss Eleanor Clarke, who had just finished a course in the public schools of Allegheny.
Early in the '50s Mr. Darin became enthused with the reports coming from the New Eldorado, in the land by the Golden Gate, and early in 1852 he joined a party of young men who planned to make the voyage to California by sailing vessel via Cape Horn. When they reached New York, the company became sep-
ELEANOR CLARKE DARIN
JOHN JACKSON DARIN
749
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY
arated, and Mr. Darin finally went without his companions, making the trip via the isthmus of Panama. From the isthmus to San Francisco he suffered greatly from exposure and privation. The vessel on which he had engaged passage proved to be old, poorly manned, and but scantily provisioned, while the greedy captain took on board double the number of passengers he could feed and quar- ter. When Mr. Darin bought his ticket he was assured that first class meals and a comfortable berth would be provided throughout the voyage. Once out at sea, however, the only fare provided consisted of "salt horse," sour beans and hard- tack, while his "stateroom berth" was on top of the crates and boxes on the upper deck, with the sky for a roof. The protests of passengers and crew finally bordered on mutiny and rebellion, and the captain was compelled to put in at a Mexican port and take on a store of provisions. Upon arrival at San Francisco Mr. Darin lost no time in getting to the heart of the section where placer mining was yielding good returns. Here for two years his rugged constitution enabled him to endure the homely fare and hard work of the mining camp without feel- ing any great hardship, and in that time he collected a goodly quantity of the precious yellow metal.
Early in the autumn of 1854 he returned to Pittsburg, where for a short time he tarried with his father, before hurrying on to Rushville in the Prairie state, to which point the Clarke family had removed from Allegheny. Coming first to Henry county, he purchased a farm on Pink Prairie, in Phenix township, then journeyed on to Schuyler county, where, on September 21, 1854, he was united in marriage to Miss Eleanor Clarke, who for nearly fifty years following was spared to be his faithful helpmeet, guide and counsellor. Mr. Darin resided on the old homestead up to the time of his death, thus rounding out a full half cen- tury in the one home. Often, when in a reminiscent mood, he would refer to his lack of practical farming experience when he settled in Henry county, and said he had to ask his wife and an obliging neighbor to teach him how to harness and hitch his team. Yet being endowed with that valuable quality "stickability" he steadily persevered, and by the practice of economy and frugality, he became one of the foremost farmers and stock raisers in Henry county, and from time to time farm after farm was added to the original homestead. In manner Mr. Darin was a man of quiet reserved habits and enjoyed excellent health. He was proud of the fact that he had rounded out a full three-quarters of a century be- fore suffering an illness of sufficient severity to require the attendance of a phy- sician at his home.
Mr. Darin filled various elective offices in his township. In politics he was a democrat, but in the days when war clouds darkened our country he was a firm believer in the doctrines advocating the abolition of slavery. His brother, Thomas H. Darin, was associated with him in farming when the Rebellion broke out, and enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Volunteers, and died while suffering in the Rebel prison at Andersonville.
Mr. Darin several times journeyed back to visit his old Pennsylvania home, and in 1901, accompanied by his wife, he made a tour of the Pacific states, to view again the scenes of his experiences in the mining camps, and to visit rela- tives in California and Oregon, and this journey furnished them many pleasant thoughts during the remainder of their days. Mr. Darin gave substantial sup-
750
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY
port to both church and school. He was a kind neighbor, an honorable, upright citizen, and a notable example of Henry county's self-made men,-one whose willing hands and determined head together with good habits and clean life made it but a natural consequence that he should succeed in his chosen field of labor.
When Mr. Darin came to Henry county, he found surrounding his new home a broad expanse of wild, virgin prairie carpeted thick with a luxuriant growth of wild blossoms of a pink hue nodding a welcome in the sunshine and breeze-a veritable "Pink Prairie." During his fifty years on the original farm he wit- nessed the laying off of this same expanse of prairie into a checkerboard of farms, and hundreds of beautiful homes, and bulging cribs and granaries and big red barns crowd the landscape where in 1854 the straggling log cabins of the settlers in the same region could readily be numbered on the fingers of one hand.
On the morning of October 8, 1904, Mr. Darin was called from earth to enjoy forever the Home not made by earthly hands, whither his good wife had pre- ceded him, and where only the joys and noble thoughts and acts of this life can be remembered. Four sons and three daughters were left to honor his memory. But in a brief two weeks the eldest son, Clarke James, was called to rejoin the parents gone before.
He who has lived to labor and love has not lived in vain.
ELEANOR CLARKE DARIN.
(A SON'S TRIBUTE.)
When our infancy is almost forgotten and our boyhood long departed, though it seems but as yesterday ; when life settles down upon us and we doubt whether to call ourselves young any more, then it is good to steal away occasionally from all society and let the mind dwell upon the blessings of our golden yesterday. Far on the blue mountains of our dim childhood, toward which we ever turn and look, stand the mothers who marked out to us from thence our life ;- the most blessed age must be forgotten ere we can forget the warmest heart. But, though we gather up all the tender memories, all the lights and shades of the heart, all the greetings, reunions, and home affections, yet we cannot paint a word-picture of that loving mother who is the subject of this sketch.
The records of the Clarke "Family Tree" trace back to the years preceding the discovery of America by Columbus. The Clarke annals previous to this are lost in the mist of the unrecorded history of Scotland.
About the year 1500 two of the Clarke brothers emigrated from Scotland to Ireland; one settled in Dublin, the other in County Tyrone Doctor Adam Clarke, the celebrated commentator, theological writer and pioneer Wesleyan preacher, was a descendant of the former brother, and James Clarke, who was born in County Tyrone, in 1800, and came to America in 1801, father of Eleanor Clarke Darin, was a descendant of the other brother.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.