USA > Illinois > Jersey County > History of Jersey County, Illinois > Part 49
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CORNS, James Wesley, one of the leading contractors and build- ers of Jerseyville, is a man whose ability and integrity are unques- tioned. IIe was born at Ironton, Lawrence County, Ohio, March 28, 1855, a son of John Wesley and Elizabeth (Scott) Corns, he born in Vanceburg, Ky., and she in Ohio. A marble cutter by trade, the father conducted the largest yard in the vicinity surrounding Ironton, Ohio. Later he went to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he conducted a yard, but made his home at Wheclersburg, Ohio. In 1889 he took his family to -Jerseyville, where he lived in retirement until his death, which occurred in 1901, when he was eighty-five years old. The mother dicd in 1904 at the age of eighty-five years.
James Wesley Corns attended the grade and high schools in Ohio, and when he was fifteen years old he began working at the carpenter trade, in which he was interested until he came to Jerseyville, at which time he embarked in a contracting and building business, and has so continued ever since. In connection with his contracting business he conducts a repair shop and manufactures sash and doors. He has to his credit the building of some of Jerseyville's most sub- stantial buildings. Mr. Corns has never married. His parents had children as follows: Agnes, who is Mrs. Philip C. Young, of Jersey- ville ; Rhoda and Josephine, who live with their brother, James Wesley ; and William, who lives at Jerseyville. In politics Mr. Corns is a Republican.
CORNWELL, Bert C., a successful farmer and stockman of Jersey County, who operates a valuable farm near Jerseyville, was born in Ohio, July 1, 1875, a son of James H. Cornwell, born in Ohio, who came to Illinois in 1887, and is now living near McClusky, Ill. His wife died when Bert C. Cornwell was only twelve years old. They had two sons and two daughters, namely: E. G., who is a farmer of Jersey County; Bert C .; Nellie M. Chambers, who resides at Alton, Ill. ; and Mary Henderson, who resides at Butte, Mont.
Bert C. Cornwell attended the district schools in his native state until he was thirteen years old, and he came to Illinois in 1894, locat- ing near McClusky, where he worked as a farm hand until 1907, when he began farming for himself. Mr. Cornwell specializes on rais- ing Jersey cows, having a small herd, Poland-China hogs, of which he has a large drove, and draft horses. His stockraising operations have been very successful, and he is regarded as an authority along this line.
In 1903 he was married to Miss Cora E. Briggs, who was born in Jersey County, Ill., and her parents were also born in Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Cornwell have two daughters: Leta M. and Mary Mar-
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garet. Fraternally Mr. Cornwell is a Modern Woodman. His polit- ical faith makes lıim a Republican.
COULTHARD, William H., one of Jerseyville's respected citizens and well known business men, has long been interested in the grain business, and is owner and operator of a grain and feed mill in this city. Ile was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, July 16, 1842. His father, John Coulthard, was born in England and when young was brought to Ottawa, Canada, by his parents. Later he moved to Akron, Ohio, and still later to Tuscarawas County. The maiden name of his wife was Hardisty and she died when their son William was an infant. John Coulthard was a miller by trade and followed the same in the places where he lived, his last residence being in Bour- bon County, Ky.
William H. Coulthard had but meager educational advantages in boyhood, but he was given practical instruction by his father in the milling business. In Bourbon County, Ky., on August 15, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil War, becoming a member of Company A, Fourteenth Kentucky Cavalry, and was honorably discharged September 16, 1863, having served fourteen months, mainly in the dangerous field of scouting, in the Army of the Cumberland. He continued in the service of the government until the close of the war, being connected with the quartermaster's department at Paris, Ky. He then went on a farm near Lima, Ohio, until 1872, when he made a visit to Kansas, and on his return worked as a stationary engineer at Carrollton, Ill., until 1873, when he came to Jerseyville and for ten years afterwards was engincer in a grain elevator. For eighteen months he was foreman of an elevator in East St. Louis, but returned then to Jerseyville, and conducted the old Massy elevator for three years under rental; then had charge of an elevator at Medora, follow- ing which he came back to Jerseyville and with Elias Cockrell pur- chased the Cockrell elevator at Jerseyville. They jointly built the elevator at McClusky, which they conducted together for four years. Mr. Coulthard then bought his partner's interest at McClusky, and sold his interest at Jerseyville. Later he also sold his interest at McClusky, and upon his return to Jerseyville, he bought the old Newton Machine shop, which he has turned into a grain and feed mill.
On December 8, 1864, Mr. Coulthard was married to Miss Elizabeth M. Terry, a daughter of Cranford Terry of Owen County, Ky. She died December 13, 1911, the mother of four children, namely : John, who died at the age of four years ; Howland P., who lives at Oklahoma City, Okla .; Ida, who is a public school teacher; and Eva Ann. In politics Mr. Coulthard is a Democrat. He belong to the Odd Fel- lows and the order of Rebekah, and also the Modern Woodmen of America. He is past commander of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic.
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COWEN, Francis Marion, now deceased, was for many years one of the prosperous farmers of Jersey Township, owning 160 acres of valuable land just outside the corporate limits of Jerseyville. He was born at Jerseyville, February 11, 1839, and he died at Jerseyville, April 24, 1894. He was a son of John Cowen, born in Vermont, February 12, 1807, and Mariah (Corey) Cowen, born in Vermont, April 29, 1810. John Cowen was a farmer who came to Jerscy County at an early day.
Francis Marion Cowen was married (first) at Jerseyville, October 24, 1860, to Mary Sweency, who died in 1866. He was married (second) to Mary Landon, on April 30, 1868. She was born at Jerseyville, January 19, 1847, a daughter of William D. and Alvira (Corey) Landon. Mr. Cowen had the following children : Emma Viola, who is now Mrs. J. M. Bond; Ella Mae, who is Mrs. E. B. Wagoner; Lora Alice, who is Mrs. W. P. Richards; Lela Maria; Frank M .; Oscar, who died in 1872; M. Myrtle; Alvira, who is Mrs. O. R. Randolph; Edna Marian, who died in 1901. Mr. Cowen belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church. A man of industrious habits and successful in his undertakings, he amassed a comfortable fortunc, and firmly established himself in the confidence of his community, which lost a good citizen when he died.
CUMMINGS, Thomas H., one of the retired farmers of Jerseyville, and formerly a successful agriculturist of Jersey County, was born in Mississippi Township, in September, 1863, a son of Christopher C. and Phebe (Hamilton) Cummings, the former of whom was born in Mississippi Township, April 14, 1831, and the latter at Trenton, N. J., in December, 1835. The paternal grandparents were Thomas and Mary Ann (Carroll) Cummings, the former of whom was born in Monroe County, Ill., in 1800. The paternal great-grandparents were natives of Scotland who came to Connecticut, and later overland with ox-teams to Illinois. The maternal grandparents were John G. and Dorothy (Creque) Hamilton, the former of whom was born in New Jersey, of Scotch parentage, and the latter in New Jersey, of Spanish ancestry.
The grandfather, Thomas Cummings, moved from Monroe County, Ill., to Jersey County, Ill., locating in the southern portion. He was born in a blockhouse in Monroe County, about 1800, at a time when his parents had taken refuge in it from the Indians. When he came to Jersey County, about 1820, the land he entered from the govern- ment was partly in the timber and part in the prairie, and he devel- oped it all, and added to his holdings until at the time of his death he owned 3,500 acres of land in Jersey and Macoupin counties. Dur- ing 1845-6 he served in the Illinois General Assembly. His father, Josiah Cummings, was a soldier under General Wade, at the battle of Bennington, Vt., during the American Revolution, and he also served in the Black Hawk War. The maternal grandfather of Thomas H. Cummings, John G. Hamilton, came to Godfrey, Madison County,
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Ill. He served during the War of 1812. He was a son of John Hamil- ton who came from the West Indies. The Hamiltons were mechanics and made scythes and other implements, and did all kinds of repair work.
Christopher C. Cummings and Phebe Hamilton were married in December, 1855, after which they located on a farm in Mississippi Township, and subsequently acquired about 800 acres of land in Jer- sey and Macoupin counties, and he became an extensive farmer and raiser of stock. He died June 20, 1897. In the fall of that same year his widow moved to Jerseyville. Their children were as follows : Thomas H .; John F., who lives at Washington, D. C .; Sarah C., who is Mrs. George H. Van Horne; Harry C., who lives at Morrisonville, Ill., has one son ; and William C., who lives at Alton, Ill.
Thomas H. Cummings has never married, but resides with his widowed mother at Jerseyville. During his boyhood he attended the Black Jack district school, and spent his active years in farming, owning at one time a large amount of land. At present he still owns 240 acres of the old homestead, that he has rented to a tenant, and now enjoys the comfort his industry has provided. Mr. Cummings has no fraternal affiliations, but his father was a charter member of the Jerseyville Masonic lodge. In politics Mr. Cummings is a Re- publican.
CURRY, Arthur B., M. D., one of the efficient and capable physi- cians and surgeons of Grafton, is widely and favorably known all over Jersey County. He was born on a farm in Shelby County, Ill., a son of Frank Curry, who not only was himself born in Illinois, but his parents were also natives of the same state. Frank Curry belonged to the Christian Church, was a Democrat, and fraternally was affiliated with the Court of Honor. He held a number of township offices and was a man of local prominence, who spent his active years in farming. He was married to Ruth Blythe, who was also born in Illinois. She is a grand-niece of the celebrated David Crockett, pioneer, hunter, politician and humorist, and she has the first copy of his autobiography that came off the press, it, having been given into her mother's hands by Mr. Crockett himself. Frank Curry and his wife became the parents of the following children: Arthur B .; Joseph J., who is living on the Curry homestead; Walter, who is now deceased. Frank Curry has passed away, but his widow survives.
Arthur B. Curry after leaving the local schools, entered the State Normal School at Charleston, Ill., and after three years attendance, went into a life insurance business, and was so engaged for about a year. He then took up osteopathy and chiropracticc, later entering the medical department of Loyola University, and was graduated therefrom in 1914, and was admitted to practice by the state author- ities that same year. For the subsequent two years he was engaged in practice at Chicago, and then came to Grafton, where he has since remained.
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Dr. Curry was married to Frances F. Freeman, who was born in Coles County, Ill., and her parents were also born in Illinois. At the time of his death, her father was county treasurer of Coles County. Dr. and Mrs. Curry have two children: Agnes Blythe, who was born September 10, 1915; and Frank Freeman, who was born April 11, 1917. Dr. Curry combines osteopathy and chiropractice with his regular practice, and has been very successful. IIe also specializes on diseases of the eye. Politically he is a Democrat in national matters, but locally prefers to vote for the man rather than be bound by party lines. The Christian Church holds his membership, and he was an elder in the Jackson Boulevard Christian Church of Chicago. Fraternally he is a Mason, and formerly was a member of the Chicago Medical Society and the Illinois Medical Society. A scholarly man, he is thoroughly abreast of the times, and is worthy of the confidence he inspires.
DANIELS, John Andrew, now deceased, was at one time one of the leading agriculturists of Jersey County. He was born in Sanga- mon County, Ill., April 4, 1862, and died on his farm in Jersey County, August 23, 1908. Ile was a son of John A. and Phebe (Moffit) Dan- iels, the former of whom was born in Chester County, Pa., and the latter in New Jersey. After their marriage they located in Jersey County, but later moved to Sangamon County. Still later, they returned to Jersey County where they lived for many years, and then moved to Kansas. There the father died, and the mother. returning to Jersey County, here passed away.
John Andrew Daniels attended the public schools of Jersey County, and lived at home until 1885, when he moved to the farm of his wife's parents, four miles northeast of Jerseyville. This was a farm of over 200 acres, and he not only operated it, but many additional acres, and was a stockraiser upon an extensive scale.
In October, 1885, John Andrew Daniels was married to Laura E. Milton, born in Jersey County, a daughter of Charles and Frances Milton. By his first marriage, Mr. Daniels had three children, namely : Lewis W. and Lilly F., both of whom live. at St. Louis, Mo .; and Ray W. The first Mrs. Daniels died April 20, 1896. On May 26, 1898, Mr. Daniels was married (second) to Margaret McReynolds, born in Jersey County, a daughter of Anderson and Alnora (Van Horn) MeReynolds, he born in Sumner County, Tenn., and she in Delaware County, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels had the following children : George Anderson, John Andrew, Charles Herbert, and Frank Eugene.
After the death of Mr. Daniels, Mrs. Daniels lived on the farm for eighteen months. On November 1, 1909, she bought lots in Woodlawn on the north edge of Jerseyville, on which she had a modern residence erected, and here she has since made her home, renting her portion of the farm. She attended the public and high schools and was graduated from the latter in 1892, and for two years
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taught in the Hickory Log district, and in the Victory district for three years. She belongs to the Domestic Science Association of Jerseyville. Her father came to Jersey County as a boy, with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McReynolds, in 1835.
Mr. Daniels was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in his younger days, but after his second marriage, he united with the Presbyterian Church. A Republican, he served as a member of the school board for a number of years. He was a great reader, and kept very well posted on current events.
DANIELS, Harry S., president of the Jersey Mercantile Company at Jerseyville, is one of the vigorous and enterprising business men of Jersey County and is identified with numerous organizations which have the best interests of community, state and nation at heart. Mr. Daniels was born at Jerseyville, Ill., April 14, 1866, and is a son of James S. and Emily (Jackson) Daniels, the former of whom was born in Chester County, Pa., and the latter in Jersey County. The maternal grandparents were George H. and Elizabeth (Brown) Jack- son the latter of whom was born in Missouri.
James S. Daniels came to Jerseyville before the Civil War, in which he took part serving in an Illinois volunteer regiment. In 1872 he embarked in a hardware business under the name of J. S. Daniels, continuing alone until 1889, when he admitted his son Harry S. to a partnership, under the firm name of J. S. Daniels & Son, which style continued until 1892. He was a man of sterling character and fine business faculty and was so highly estecmed by his fellow citizens that he was elected to the highest municipal office in their gift, being mayor at the time of death, on July 12, 1892.
Harry S. Daniels was reared by careful parents and enjoyed liberal educational advantages. Early displaying business aptitude, when his education was completed, he became his father's partner and has been identified with this same business ever since although in 1914 the concern became a stock company, incorporated for $65,000. Mr. Daniels is president of the same, F. W. Giers is vice president, and F. F. Loellk is secretary and general manager, with Fred Decker as assistant manager. The business is now operated as the Jerscy Mercantile Company and is known all over the state, its activities covering a general department store which does a business of $250,000 per year.
On June 8, 1896, Mr. Daniels was united in marriage with Miss Castelle Derry, who was born at Springfield, Ill., and is a daughter of James II. and Emma (Allyn) Derry. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Daniels was Rev. Norman Allyn, who was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church and one of the early circuit riders of Jersey County. Mrs. Daniels died September 12, 1916, and is sur- vived by two children : Stewart D. and Elizabeth Emily.
In politics Mr. Daniels is an independent Democrat but politics plays a small part in his public-spirited work for he has the real good
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of the city at heart and works unceasingly for betterment along every line. He is a zealous member of the Red Cross and was very helpful in the late effort to raise the Y. M. C. A. quota fund of his district for army relief. A graduate of the city high school, he has always been interested in educational progress and for five terms has been a member of the school board and its president two terms. He has also served as city treasurer, has been a member of the city council a period of fifteen years and served one term as mayor. He is a member of the Baptist Church, of which he is a trustee. He is a liberal contributor and hearty worker on the line of giving encouragement to new busi- ness enterprises and served very efficiently on the committee that raised money for the shoe factory. Mr. Daniels is a member of the Community Club. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and is a Thirty-second degree Mason and has been master of the Jerseyville lodge two terms.
DAY, Ira E., agent for many of the leading automobile concerns of the country, and proprietor of a garage and repair shop at Jersey- ville, is one of the enterprising young men of Jersey County. He was born in Fidelity Township, June 13, 1889, a son of William A. and Elizabeth Day, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.
After attending the Pleasant Hill district school, Ira E. Day resided on the home farm until he was fifteen years old, when he began working in the shoe factory at Jerseyville. Six months later he went to St. Louis, Mo., and was employed for a few months by Swift & Co., in their packing house. Returning to Jersey County, he rented his father's farm and conducted it for eighteen months in partnership with his father, and then operated it alone for six years. Leaving the farm, he came to Jerseyville and worked for Patrick Fleming for six months, going then to Mr. Fleming's farm in Jersey Township where he spent a year. Once more he returned to Jerseyville and was engaged in mixing cement for all the city pavements, and following that was engaged in excavating work at Whitehall, Ill., where he installed nine miles of sewer. For the subsequent five years he was employed in an auto garage owned by Charles Wedding at Jerseyville, and in 1915 embarked in the garage business for himself on the site of Mr. Wedding's establishment, the latter having moved. Mr. Day handles the Grant 6, the Dort & Mitchell 6 and Dodge Bros. cars, and has been agent for Jersey and portions of Macoupin and Greene counties for the Waterloo Boy tractor, having sold eleven in eight months; and also has sold four Austin Road graders, six P. & O. Tractor plows, two Grant 6 cars, four Dodge cars, six Maxwell cars, three Dort cars, three Saxon 6's, and eighteen second-hand Ford cars, and many other second hand makes in the last eight months; also two John Lawsons and one 30-60 Altman Taylor tractors. He also carries on a general garage and repair business, and has been encouragingly successful.
On January 29, 1908, Mr. Day was married to Bertha M. Coyle, born at St. Louis, Mo., September 30, 1892, a daughter of Rufus and
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Fannie Coyle. Mr. and Mrs. Day have one son, William A., who was born November 17, 1909. In politics Mr. Day is a Republican. Mr. Day drove the first automobile that went through Calhoun County.
DAY, William A., a retired farmer of Jerseyville, was formerly one of the progressive farmers of the county, and has always been a man of high standing. Ile was born in Jersey Township, January 25, 1847, a son of Ira E. and Mary (Hudson) Day, he born in Vermont, and she in Greene County, Ill. In an early day, Ira E. Day came to Jersey County, and entered a traet of land one and one-fourth miles west of Jerseyville. David Hudson, the maternal grandfather, a native of Kentucky, was one of the earliest settlers in what is now Greene County, Ill. After their marriage, Ira E. Day and his wife located on a farm five miles east of Jerseyville in Fidelity Township, where he owned and improved 240 aeres of land, clearing off the original timber. Here he died in 1868, his wife surviving him until 1878. Their children were as follows: Stephan, Jane, Ann, all of whom are deceased; William A .; Thomas, David and John, all three of whom arc dceeased; Bell, who is Mrs. Isaae Rhodes of Freeman, Mo., and her twin sister, Eliza, who is deceased.
In 1868 William A. Day was married to Bell Fink, who was born in Ruyle Township, Jersey County, a daughter of John and Caroline (Lumpkins) Fink. For four years, or until the death of Mrs. Day, Mr. Day lived on his father's homestead, and during that period two children were born to him, namely : Herman, who lives at Jerseyville; and Delia, who is Mrs. George Johnson of Medora, Ill. On March 3, 1879, Mr. Day was married (seeond) to Elizabeth Sandidge, born in Jersey County, a daughter of Miles and Mary (Terry) Sandidge, both of whom were born in Jersey County. The grandparents were Henry and Mary (Waggoner) Sandidge, born in Greene County, Ill., and Absolom and Mary Terry, born in Texas. For a time following his second marriage, Mr. Day continued to reside on the family home- stead, and then he bought 120 aeres of land where he resided until 1907, in that year renting his farm and moving to Jerseyville where he had bought a residence on the East Side, and this has continued his home ever sinee. By his second marriage, Mr. Day has three children, namely : Maude, who is Mrs. John Roady of Alton. Ill. ; Jessie, who is Mrs. J. H. Cadwalader of MeClusky, Ill .; and Ira E., who lives at Jerseyville. Mr. Day is a member of the Baptist Church. In politics he is a Demoerat and has served as a sehool director, and in several township offiees, being a man of ability and public spirit.
DECKER, Fred W., bookkeeper, treasurer and auditor of the Jer- seyville Mercantile Company, is a man well versed in business methods, and to his ability and foresightedness is due mueh of the present pros- perity of his company. He was born October 8, 1883, a son of Philip and Emeline (Cope). Decker.
Philip Decker was born in Holland, but came with his family to the
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United States in childhood and was reared to manhood in New Jersey, where he learned the tailoring trade. Later he became interested in the lumber industry, which took him to Missouri, Arkansas and other states. Still later, he engaged in farming in Jersey County, Ill., where he remained until 1905, when he moved to Canada, and he is there very extensively engaged in farming. The mother of Fred W. Decker was born in Jersey County, Ill., in 1844, and her parents were American born. Philip Decker and his wife had three children: Mrs. Richard Powers, who resides in Jersey County ; Mrs. William Schultz, who lives in Jersey County ; and Fred W. Philip Decker is a Mason and while living in the United States was a Republican. In 1917 he paid a visit to his children, and while much interested in the progress made by Jersey County since he had left it, declared that he intended to con- tinue to make his home in Canada. Mrs. Decker's grandmother, Lu- cinda Cope, lived over a century.
Fred W. Decker attended the local schools of the Franklin district and the Jerseyville High School, from which he was graduated in 1902, and he then took a business course. For some time thereafter he alternated teaching school during the winter and attending the State Normal School in the summer, continuing in the educational field for eleven years, during that time being connected with the schools of Otterville, Fieldon, Buena Vista and Franklin, at one time teaching in one of the oldest schoolhouses now standing in the state. He has studied law and is specializing in higher accounting. Mr. Decker was for three years assistant cashier of the Fieldon Bank, a state institu- tion, and after that came to Jerseyville to assume the duties of his present connection.
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