History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II, Part 99

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

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For the past year Mr. McDonald has operated the home place of two hundred and forty acres and in addition to doing general farming he also raises and feeds stock, which he ships to the city markets. He is ever watchful of opportunities pointing to success and conducts his business in a straightforward and honorable manner.

Mr. McDonald was reared in the faith of the democratic party but he now votes the prohibition ticket, being a strong advocate of the temperance question. He is a Baptist in religious faith, while his wife is a member of the United Pres- byterian church. They attend and support the church at Orion.

WILLIAM C. COLE.

William C. Cole, one of the native farmers of Oxford township who has at- tained success in the calling to which he has devoted himself, was born Novem- ber 3, 1863, on the farm on which he now lives and on which he has passed his entire life, and is a son of Festus C. and Elizabeth (Taze) Cole. His paternal grandfather, Amos Cole, came from Madison county, New York, in 1839 and settled in Oxford township when there were but few families here and when the house which he built and occupied was one of the four then standing in the township. The most primitive conditions prevailed at the time. The forests were dense and haunted by large game, wolves being not infrequently seen. In fact these often invaded the settled portions and many a struggling pioneer lost his young stock through a night's raid by these animals. At that time, too, there was no mill nearer than Peoria and the families had no wheat flour, but hominy and cakes made of corn which had been cracked or ground by such rude means as the home provided. A trip to Chicago in those days was an event of general interest,

AMOS COLE

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for it was made but once a year. On such an occasion the great ox-team would be hitched to the wagon which wheeled off leaving a gathering that would eagerly await its return, for a full year would elapse before a similar journey would be undertaken and the articles and supplies which the wagon would bring would have to suffice for that period. To such a country did Amos Cole come when he established his family on the little tract of land he had procured in Oxford town- ship. He was a pioneer, if ever there was one, and more than that he had the distinction of having been the first to follow the trade of a blacksmith here and his was the first shop where a horse might be shod or any heavy iron work done. Also he was the first postmaster, the mail being carried once a week on horseback by relays to Peoria. Where the Indians were more numerous than the white settlers Amos Cole reared his family, and as his sons grew to maturity he engaged more and more in farming, though the life of a tradesman always ap- pealed more strongly and for many years before his death he conducted a hard- ware store in the village of Alpha. A man of rugged constitution and positive character, he was one of those strong men who did much to mold the public opinion of the time and direct the action of a people who only needed someone to express their ideas for them. Among them he was highly respected as a man of honor and ability. When he died, in February, 1897, the conditions of the past were no more than memories, well tilled farms and commodious homes had taken the place of the primitive forests, and the mode of life of the citizens as well as their habits had changed likewise. His wife had preceded him to the grave, her death having occurred in August, 1877, and both were buried in Sum- mit Level cemetery. Five children were born to them, four of whom grew to maturity, although Festus C. and Lucy, who is the wife of William Shacklee, of Clover township, are the only ones now living.

Festus C. Cole, the father of the subject of this sketch, was five years of age when his father came to Oxford township, and all his life he has been a farmer in this locality. Prosperous, he has also won the high regard of his fellow citi- zens and is now enjoying many of the comforts of life. More than ten years ago he was deprived of the companionship of his wife, whose death occurred January 1, 1898, and she was buried in Summit Level cemetery, where all the other deceased members of his family lie. Four children were born to them and were reared upon the home farm: Cynthia J., deceased; William C., the subject of this sketch ; Ruby E., who is the wife of Otis B. Timberlake, a farmer of Ox- ford township; and Leroy, deceased. All were given the best educational ad- vantages afforded by the schools of the vicinity and the surviving are living lives of great utility, the result of the invaluable lessons of honesty, industry and economy taught them in their youth.

William C. Cole grew up on his father's farm, attending the district schools during the winter months and in the summer assisting in the work that was car- ried on in the fields. From the time he was able to handle the lightest agricul- tural implement he has been engaged in farming and always on the land which was his birthplace. The farm of two hundred and eighty acres has been large enough not only to give him plentiful harvests but also to afford an extensive pasturage for his large herds of cattle, which he raises for market. Progressive in his ideas, he has spared no effort to make his farming conform to the most re-

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cent advances in his vocation and has followed modern ideas in the construction and maintenance of his buildings.

Mr. Cole has been married twice. On the 9th of December, 1885, he wedded Miss Martha Stitt, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Homman) Stitt, who came from Pennsylvania and settled in this county among the early pioneers. To this union were born five children: May E .; a son who died in infancy ; William Clinton ; Emma B .; and Robert K. Mrs. Cole died September 9, 1896, and like her infant son was buried in the cemetery on Summit Level. On the 30th of December, 1899, Mr. Cole married Miss Sarah J. Welch, whose parents, James and Isabelle (Paul) Welch, came from Ireland and for a time lived in Gales- burg, Illinois, later removing to Oxford township, Henry county, where Mr. Welch followed farming. He is still living, but his wife died in 1904. Mr. Cole's second marriage has been blessed with one child, Richard, who was born Feb- ruary 8, 1909.

A strict member of the Methodist Episcopal church, he has reared his family in that faith, and his wife is equally as conscientious in her adherence to the Catholic creed. A democrat in his political views, he is a man who has always kept informed on matters of general interest and is well able to demonstrate his position. He has naturally evinced a strong interest in local affairs and has ren- dered the township valuable service as a member of the school board, during a period of twelve years, as assessor for Oxford for one year, and in April, 1909, was elected a member of the county board of supervisors. He has since been placed upon the important financial committee. A progressive and successful farmer and a tried servant of the people, Mr. Cole stands high in the esteem of all and is in fact a splendid citizen in every sense of the word.

CAPTAIN JOHN ELLIS.

The life record of Captain John Ellis was an eventful one. With no special advantages in his youth he started out for himself at the age of thirteen years and at different times met with various hardships and difficulties, but with per-, sistent purpose he continued on his way until success crowned his efforts in the fields in which he labored. He became one of the foremost representatives of industrial and financial circles in this part of the state and as a capitalist was widely known, not only in Kewanee but in other portions of the middle west. He was born of Welsh parentage in Bolton, England, September 23, 1825. His father, John Ellis, was a native of Denbigh, a town in the north of Wales, where his birth occurred in 1796. He became a noted Welsh preacher and later lived in Manchester, England, where he resided until his death, which occurred when he was in his eightieth year. The grandfather, the Rev. John Ellis, Sr., was also born in the little rock ribbed country of Wales and became a minister of Man- chester. The mother of Captain Ellis bore the maiden name of Mary Pierce and was born in Denbigh, North Wales, in 1796. She passed away in Man- chester in July, 1861, at the age of sixty-one years.

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Captain Ellis had very little opportunity to acquire an education, his knowl- edge being largely obtained by hard study in evenings after the day's work was done, and through the experiences which came to him in life. He was a lad of thirteen years when he started out to earn his own living, being first em- ployed in setting patterns for carpets and in printing them. When a youth of fourteen he entered upon an apprenticeship in an iron foundry at Bury, Eng- land. Self-reliant, energetic and of strong purpose, he left Bury for Liverpool, where he was successful in securing immediate employment. After a time he was appointed engineer in the iron works at Burnley, but still he was not satisfied that he was doing the best for himself, for the reports which he heard con- cerning America and her opportunities convinced him that he might make more rapid progress on the western continent.

Accordingly, in 1848, he came to the United States, landing at New York, where he found employment in the largest engine works in this country. In March, 1849, he went to New Haven, Connecticut, where he purchased an in- terest in a sailing vessel and then started for the gold fields of California by way of Cape Horn. It required eight months to complete the journey but at length he landed at San Francisco and at once proceeded direct to the mines. He went through the usual experiences and hardships of those who sought to make their fortunes on the Pacific coast at that early day. In 1851 he returned to the east and accepted a position as engineer on the New York & New Haven Railroad. He later went to Aurora, Illinois, and in that city first engaged in business for himself, establishing iron works, which he afterward removed to Batavia, Illinois. In 1852 he was married to Mary Mighell, of Aurora, who died in 1874. The only survival of said marriage is a grandchild, Mrs. Harry Young, now re- siding in Denver, Colorado. He developed an important industry and employed forty men, securing the contract for the manufacture of frogs and switches for the tracks of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad system. Not long after, however, he had the misfortune of having his foundry destroyed by fire and in that way lost everything he had.

In 1859 Captain Ellis started with a party for Pikes Peak, but by the time they reached their destination the gold fever had subsided so that they were forced to seek other employment. They were not successful in that and all started back except Captain Ellis, who continued his journey on a pack mule to Sac- remento, California. There he was employed in various ways for some time, but mostly in a foundry. During that period he installed an engine in one of the river steamers there and afterward was engaged as chief engineer on the steamer Henrietta on the Sacremento river.

When the Civil war broke out he purchased a pack mule and returned across the mountains alone to the Mississippi valley, at length reaching Aurora, Illinois. He was there urged to take a company of soldiers to the front but declined to do so and instead enlisted as a private. He was soon appointed orderly sergeant, the highest con-commissioned officer. Subsequently, he organized a volunteer company of one hundred men and was soon promoted to the first lieutenancy of Company K, One Hundred and Fifth Regiment of Illinois Infantry. He was also given the command of Company G, with the rank of captain. He partici- pated in all engagements with his regiment and went with Sherman on the mem-

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orable march to the sea and remained in the service until the close of the war. When the country no longer needed his aid, Captain Ellis returned to Aurora, where he was engaged in the hardware and implement business with Henry Judd as partner. When the Haxton Steam Heating Company of Kewanee opened a Chicago office he was placed in charge. In 1876 he came to Kewanee and there engaged in the drug business with George Brown. Later they erected the brick building now occupied by Hill & King, druggists. After some years Captain Ellis purchased Mr. Brown's interest, carrying on the business alone until No- vember, 1890, when he sold out to Dr. W. H. Day.

He then turned his attention to the banking business and was made president of the First National Bank, which was then located on the present site of the town hall. While he remained chief executive officer the new bank building was erected in 1893. At the November meeting of the board in 1894 he resigned in favor of James K. Blish, who was then vice-president. In 1893, when the great financial panic came, he joined with bankers from twenty-one of the states in forming the Credits Commutation Company of Sioux City, Iowa. He was at once made chairman of the board of directors and was thus active in the step which proved of substantial worth in holding financial interests steady. Some years previous to this, about 1889, the Pacific Short Line Bridge Company had been organized at Sioux City, but after strenuous efforts by the strongest local and a number of other wealthy outside men the company finally failed as the re- sult of the bankruptcy of the Union Loan & Trust Company of that place. The stockholders of the Credits Commutation Company then took hold of the project and renewed the charter under the name of the Combination Bridge Company, of which Captain John Ellis was made president. Upon the completion of the bridge early in the fall of 1895, Captain Ellis, after attending the formal opening of the bridge and the banquet which was given January 21, 1896, by the Sioux City Commercial Association to the Bridge Company, returned to his home and family in Kewanee. In May, 1902, he was recalled to Sioux City on important business of the Bridge Company, where he became ill. His condition grew se- rious rapidly until the 16th day of May, when he passed away in his apartments at the Garretson Hotel. His remains were brought back to Kewanee for inter- ment and the funeral, which was held May 20, 1906, was one of the most largely attended in Kewanee.

On the 17th of October, 1876, Captain Ellis was married in Kewanee to Miss Alice L. Talcott, a daughter of Joseph A. Talcott, who was born in Coventry, Connecticut, May 12, 1810, and came to this county in 1846, locating in Weth- ersfield, where he was one of the first settlers and teacher in the public schools. Moving to Kewanee, he for many years served as notary public and was well known and liked by all. Unto Captain and Mrs. Ellis was born one son, John T., whose birth occurred March 13, 1881. He was for ten years in the First Na- tional Bank of Kewanee, of which his father was formerly president, but in January, 1908, he resigned his position there. He still occupies the old home with his mother, wife and one child at No. 105 South Tremont street.

Captain Ellis was a stanch republican and in 1856 was appointed delegate to the first republican convention held in Kane county. He was often urged to be come a candidate for office but always refused. In 1886 he was made president

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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY

of the Kewanee school board and continued to hold that office and serve on the building committee during the erection of the Central building. He held mem- bership in the Masonic fraternity, which had charge of his funeral services. He also belonged to the First Congregational church and took an active part in the business and social affairs of the city in which he lived. He was a man of kindly spirit, liberal and generous, contributing freely to the support of the church and for the promotion of the public welfare. He always took a keen and sincere interest in everything pertaining to the upbuilding and betterment of the city which he called his home and such was his connection with Kewanee that his death brought a sense of personal bereavement to the great majority of the citizens.

HENRY BESTOR.

Henry Bestor, an agriculturist of Henry county, Illinois, who also engages extensively in the raising, feeding and shipping of stock, owning a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Osco township, was born June 19, 1864, a son of Harmon and Sophia (Combs) Bestor, the former a son of Daniel Bestor. When a young man, Harmon Bestor came to Henry county from Ohio and was mar- ried in Osco township, where his wife passed away when their only child, Henry Bestor, was but nine months old. The father, however, is still living and now makes his home in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, where he has married a second time and has four sons.

Henry Bestor, upon the death of his mother, was entrusted to the care of her sister, Mrs. Susan Hinman, in whose home in Osco township he was reared and resided until his marriage. His preliminary education was acquired in the common schools, while later he attended the Davenport Business College for two winters. Dutifully appreciative of the home furnished him by his uncle dur- ing his earlier boyhood and youth, while not busily engaged with the tasks as- signed him in the schoolroom, he industriously devoted his time and energies in the service of his uncle until he reached his eighteenth year, when Mr. Hin- man began to pay him wages. Thus he gained a broad and practical knowledge that stood him well in later years when he engaged in the same business on his own account.

Pleasantly situated in his home life, Henry Bestor was married on the 19th of October, 1887, to Miss Nellie Purviance, a daughter of David and Hannah (Morton) Purviance, of Osco township, where she was born and reared. For fifteen years they rented a farm, on the expiration of which period, in 1892, Mr. Bestor purchased the home where they now reside. It is situated on section 28, Osco township, this county, and contains one hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive land, which at that time cost him one hundred and fifteen dollars per acre. A good comfortable house now stands in the midst of well cultivated fields and Mr. Bestor has also erected some of the smaller outbuildings, and al- together the farm presents to the passerby a neat and attractive appearance.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bestor has been blessed with two sons: Clyde A., who has attended the Davenport Business College, the same institution where-

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in his father acquired a commercial course; and Albert Leo. Always interested in the cause of education, Mr. Bestor served on the school board for thirteen years, and his cooperation is never withheld from any movement for the better- ment of the community at large along the line of public-school instruction. A republican in politics, while he never fails to give his support to the party at the polls and exert his influence in behalf of its principles, he is not a politician in the sense of an office-seeker and, with the exception of two years during which time he served as assessor, he has not been active in party ranks. Both he and his wife are members of Grace Episcopal church of Osco, in which he is now serving as vestryman, and have many warm friends in this county, where they have spent their entire lives. Mr. Bestor is also a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, having his membership in Stewart Lodge, No. 535, A. F. & A. M., while both he and his wife are connected with the Order of the Eastern Star, Mrs. Bes- tor also being a member of the Royal Neighbors.

JAMES YOUNG.

James Young, who for the past fourteen years has successfully engaged in farming in Munson township, was born in Ogle county, Illinois, October 18, 1850. and is a son of James and Ann (McCune) Young. The father was born in Ar- broath, Scotland, about 1819, and in 1848 came to the United States, bringing his wife and oldest child with him. He located first in Ogle county, Illinois, then removed to Bureau county, and then in 1853 purchased from his sister the one hundred and twenty-seven acres of land in Munson township, Henry county, on which his son lives today. It was a part of a quarter section of land his sister had secured, but was unbroken prairie when he located thereon. He prepared it for the reception of seed, and it remained his home until his death, and the home of his children in their young years. Mrs. Young was also in Arbroath, Scot- land, in 1823, and became the mother of eight children: Jane, James, Mary Ann, John, Charles, Margaret, William and Anna. The eldest was born in Scotland, and the fifth has passed away. The father died May 17, 1894, but the mother survived until June 24, 1905.

James Young of this review received a fair education in the country schools and under the guidance of his parents grew to manhood. Until he was twenty- five years of age he worked for his father on the farm, and then, in 1875, went to Wichita, Kansas, to improve a quarter of a section of land which his father had purchased there. After one year he returned to Illinois, to get his bride, and then went again to the Kansas farm, which remained his home for about eighteen years. A year after the death of his father he returned to the home place, which he bought at the administrator's sale. This, since 1895 has been his home and the scene of his labors. Aware of the necessity for hard work he has been well repaid for the time he has spent in cultivating the soil. From long experience he knows the best means of getting results, and the farm which his father first improved has continued to increase in value and fertility in the years it has been in his possession.

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On the 25th of November, 1876, Mr. Young married Miss Lizzie Hiser, who was born in Missouri, March 6, 1857, and is a daughter of Joseph and Fanny (Perry) Hiser. The father enlisted in the Union army and died in an army hospital near the close of the war as the result of exposure. The mother also died when her daughter was very young and Mrs. Young was brought up in the Soldiers' Orphan's Home. She was the third in the family of four daughters. Mary, the oldest, married Thomas Coghan, and lives in Davenport, Iowa. Louie died young and Mattie has also passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Young have four sons and two daughters, all born in Wichita, Kansas. They are Charles, who was born December 15, 1877, and died July 8, 1879; Oliver, born December 9, 1881 ; Callie Beatrice, born April 3, 1885; Olie Belle, born December 15, 1888; John William, born July 15, 1890; and Joseph Lee, born February 7, 1893.

Mr. Young is interested in all that concerns the welfare of his fellow citizens and though he has not sought for public preferment at their hands, for seven years he filled the position of road commissioner with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. He has made a name as a diligent man, a good citizen, and has the respect and confidence of his many friends and neighbors.

PETER A. SAMUELSON.

One of the native sons of Western township, who has won a pronounced success from his farming and the raising and feeding of stock, is Peter A. Sam- uelson, who owns three farms in different parts of section 26. He was born November 6, 1858, and is a son of Charles M. and Hannah M. (Swanson) Samuelson, both of Swedish birth and both having reached maturity when with their parents they came to this country. Samuel Johnson, the paternal grand- father of our subject, left his Swedish home in 1851 and after having landed in New York went to Buffalo, where he spent the winter. His destination, how- ever, was Andover, this county. Although he came here a poor man, in the course of years he acquired eighty acres of land and a comfortable competence. The maternal grandfather, John Swanson, also became the owner of eighty acres after his advent here. Charles M. Samuelson and his wife began their married life with empty hands, but they were of a race that through genera- tions had learned the necessity for incessant exertion and frugality, so that it is not surprising to know that before the end of his career Mr. Samuel- son owned seven-eighths of a section in Western township. Eight children were born to him and his wife and all but one reached maturity. They were: Albert J., who lives in Western township; Peter A., the subject of this sketch; Edward C., of Peculiar, Cass county, Missouri, who married Miss Mary Youngquist and is now the father of three children; Victor J., who died at the age of thirty years; Sophia, who passed away when one year old; Oscar, who lives in Orion and is unmarried; Hannah, who lives in Chicago, where she teaches music; and Minnie, who married William Westerlund, of Chicago, and has three children. The father died February 18, 1904, and the mother in February, 1907. In poli- tics he was ever a republican and held a few of the minor offices of the town-

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History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II, Part 99

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