USA > Illinois > Jersey County > History of Jersey County, Illinois > Part 52
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After the death of Mr. Ferns, his widow was married (second) to David Fahey, the ceremony taking place in 1870. Mr. Fahey was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Ilis work was in connection with rail- road construction and he continued in this line all of his life. His death occurred at Jerseyville, July 25, 1877. She died January 24, 1897. By her first marriage she had two children, namely : Thomas, who lives at Springfield, Ill .; and Margaret M., who keeps house for her half-brother, William F. Fahey. By her second marriage, Mrs. Fahey had the following children : William F .; Johanna and Catherine who are deceased; and David D., who lives at Jerseyville.
FREIMAN, Albert, member of the city council of Grafton, and night watchman for the Ripley Steel Bolt Manufacturing Company, is one of the reliable and highly esteemed men of Jersey County. He was born at Grafton, May 8, 1866, a son of Herman and Catherine (Faver) Freiman, natives of Germany. Herman Freiman came to the United States in 1856, stopping first in Philadelphia, Pa., and later coming west to Chicago, Ill. During the Civil War he was drafted, but Agne & Staley, the owners of the quarry in which he was employed as foreman, desiring to keep his services, hired a substitute for him. Ile was again drafted, and sent to St. Louis, Mo., but went no further as peace was declared. His wife came to the United States when she was nineteen years old. The children born to Herman Freiman and his wife were as follows: Catherine; Cecelia; Albert and Herman. Upon his return from the war, Herman Freiman resumed his work in the Agne & Stalcy quarry, but later bought a farm, and commenced raising garden truck and grapes, and was so engaged at the time of his death, which occurred about 1905, and his wife passed away in 1915. He was also employed on the mason work on many of the stone buildings at Grafton. His first presidential vote was cast for Stephen A. Douglas, and he was always a Democrat, serving in the city council for fourteen years. He was a member of the Catholic Church.
Until he was seventeen years old, Albert Freiman attended the Grafton schools, when he embarked in the fishing business and operated a market for twenty-two years. He was then interested in the retail liquor business and a pool room for six years, when he bought a con- fectionery business and conducted it for a year, then turning it over to his son and daughter. Mr. Freiman was city marshal for a time, when he was given his present position. At one time he also held the
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office of deputy sheriff, and his past experiences as'marshal and deputy fit him for his present position.
On May 9, 1888, Mr. Freiman was married to Catherine Dougherty, born in Calhoun County, Ill., April 11, 1868. Her father was born in Ireland, and her mother in Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Freiman have had eight children born to them, namely : James C., Robert E., Edith, Ray- mond, Leverne, Zeta, Albert J. and Letitia. James C. Freiman and his sister Zeta operate the confectionery business; Robert E. is at Alton, Ill .; Raymond is a chauffeur; Leverne is in a foundry at Grafton; while Letitia is at home. Mr. Freiman is a Democrat, and has been a member of the city council for thirteen years, and was president of the board for two years. He is a member of the Catholic Church. Fra- ternally, he belongs to the Owls, and the Modern Woodmen of America, which he joined fourteen years ago.
FRITZ, Lestor, who is an electrician employed by the Jerseyville Telephone Company, is one of the skilled men in his line of work in Jersey County. He was born at Jerseyville, November 2, 1886, a son of Charles E. and Lela Fritz, natives of Jerseyville. Mrs. Fritz died when Lestor Fritz was eleven years old. His only sister, Nellie, was married to William Seahousen and they live at Jerseyville. Until he was sixteen years old, Lestor Fritz attended the schools of Jersey- ville, and he then became clerk for George W. Ware & Sons, druggists, remaining with this firm for ten years, when he engaged with the Jerseyville Telephone Company with which he has since remained, being one of its most valued men.
Mr. Fritz was married to Florence Krotzsich, who was born at Jerseyville April 12, 1886. Her father was born at Washington, Mo., and her mother at Garfield, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Fritz have two children, namely : Morris U., who was born July 21, 1908; and Gordon S., who was born April 2, 1915. Mr. Fritz is a Republican. He belongs to the Masons and Odd Fellows. His parents and grandparents were born at Jerseyville, and his grandfather, Godfrey Fritz, has been in the employ of the Chicago and Alton Railroad for the past fifty years, so that the family is one of the oldest and best known in Jersey County.
FROST, Francis Marion, well known in the concrete and cement industry at Jerseyville, is enjoying a trade that extends all over the county. He was born in Monroe County, Mo., October 1, 1852, a son of Charles and Esther J. (Wiggins) Frost, the former of whom was born in New Jersey and the latter in Virginia. The maternal grand- father of Mr. Frost was Labron Wiggins, who served in the Mexican War, and appears to have been a man of courage both in war and peace. Among other proofs the story is told that upon one occasion when he and Colonel Gregory, also of war fame, were crossing the Illinois River in a skiff, the rough waters overturned the craft and it was only through risking his life that Mr. Wiggins saved the lives
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of both. He located at White Hall, Ill., for a while, then moved to Mexico, Mo., and finally to Bates County, Mo.
Charles Frost and Esther J. Wiggins were married at Mansfield, Ohio. He followed the trades of plasterer and bricklayer, and lived in Monroe County, Mo., until after the Civil War, when he moved to Bates County, and later retired to Schell City, in Vernon County, where both he and his wife died.
Francis Marion Frost remained at home, learning his trade under his father during boyhood attending the public schools in Illinois, and later in Missouri, attended night school after the labor of the day was over. Mr. Frost thus gained a very serviceable education. When lie was twenty-one years old he started out for himself and worked at his trade at Troy, Madison County, Ill., and later in Sedalia, Mo., visiting various other points as business calls came. In 1876 he returned to Illinois and during several years of residence at White Hall kept active in contract work, and then moved to Abilene, Kas., where he remained until 1891, when he located at Carrollton, Ill., and there completed large contracts. In the spring of 1903 he came to Jerseyville and since then has built up a large concrete, cement and general construction business. Ilis reputation for reliability has fol- lowed and accompanied him wherever he has lived. He now gives employment to from eight to ten men.
Mr. Frost was married at White Hall, Ill., November 30, 1879, to Miss Ella J. Culbertson, who was born in Montgomery County, Ill., a daughter of John and Rebecca Ann (Clark) Culbertson, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Frost have two sons : Curtis Elmer, who married Alice Wadson, and William Otis, who married Sadie Stout, and they have had three children, Gladys, Gertrude and Virginia, Ger- trude being deccased.
In his political views Mr. Frost is a Republican. He has no desire for public office for himself, being more interested in business, but he gives loyal support to men of high character who, in his opinion, will faithfully serve the country in public capacities. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is every ready to be helpful in its benevolences.
FULKERSON, Col. William Houston, was born September 9, 1834, on the homestead of his father in Claiborne County, Tenn., but comes of excellent Virginia stock. His father, Dr. James Fulkerson, was born in Virginia, a son of Col. Peter Fulkerson, who commanded troops in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Dr. Fulk- erson was married to Miss Frances Patterson of Philadelphia, Pa., in the native city of his bride, and then with her moved to eastern Ten- nessee, where they rounded out useful lives. The Patterson family is a prominent one in Pennsylvania, and its members were very patri- otic. A maternal uncle of Col. Fulkerson, Gen. Robert E. Patterson, was a veteran of three wars. Another uncle, William Chamberlain Patterson, was the second president of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
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Dr. Fulkerson was a medical man of considerable note and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
Col. William Houston Fulkerson was educated in the best schools of Tennessee, and finished his educational training at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. During the trouble with the Mormons, he gave valuable service, during 1858-9, but when the North and South declared war his sympathies led him to espouse the cause of the latter and from the beginning of hostilities until their close he served gallantly as colonel of the Sixty-third Tennessee, although wounded at the battle of Chickamauga. With the close of the war, Colonel Fulk- erson returned to Tennessee, but like so many of those who had fought so bravely for the "Lost Cause" he found that opportunities were lack- ing in his old home, so in 1866, he left Rogersville, where his boyhood and young manhood had been spent, and moved to Jersey County, Ill. Herc he found congenial surroundings and associates, and developed the magnificent stock farm known as "Hazel Dell" and there entered extensively into the business of breeding Shorthorn cattle and met with a very gratifying success. He still resides on this farm where so many useful years have been spent.
On October 17, 1861, at Rogersville, Tenn., Colonel Fulkerson was married to Miss Cornelia T. Russell, born at that place November 16, 1832, a daughter of Joseph and Jane (Richards) Russell. Mrs. Fulk- erson was educated at the Rogersville Seminary and at Salem, N. C., and was a lady of many accomplishments. Her death occurred Octo- ber 31. 1909. Colonel and Mrs. Fulkerson became the parents of the following children : Frances R., James W., Joseph R., Frank E., and Sarah B. Of these James W. is deceased, and Sarah is the wife of Judge Charles S. White.
Colonel Fulkerson was carefully reared in the faith of the Presby- terian Church during his boyhood. His political inclinations and con- victions make him a Democrat, and while he was never active in pol- itics, he served one term as judge of the County court of Jersey County, two terms as president of the Illinois State Board of Agriculture, and was a member of the board of trustees of the University of Illinois. ITe was also a member of the Illinois State Board of World's Fair Commissioners at the time of the World's Fair at Chicago. A man of sterling qualities, Colonel Fulkerson is honored and respected by all who have the honor of his acquaintance. While he has been more or less concerned in business operations, he has never neglected the finer things of life, and enjoys the best in literature, reading extensively and appreciating the productions of his favorite authors. Not only has he traveled extensively in his own country, but also abroad, and is one of the most cultured and well informed men in his section of the state.
GILLHAM, Richard C., a substantial farmer and stockman of Jerscy County, holds the confidence and respect of all who know him. He was born in the county, May 25, 1853, a son of Marcus Gillham.
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Marcus Gillham was born in Madison County, Ill., in 1810, where his parents had settled upon coming to Illinois from North Carolina. In 1818, the family moved to Jersey County and entered land here from the government. Here Marcus Gillham grew to manhood, and when his country had need of him, during the Black Hawk War, he served it as a soldier, and during his period of service was injured by being thrown from his horse, and was sent back home for disability. The remainder of his life he was engaged in merchandising, and he died in 1876. The mother, a native of Tennessee, was brought by her par- ents to Jersey County in her girlhood, and was reared in the vicinity of Newbern. She died in 1882. Their children were as follows: Laura P., who is now Mrs. John W. Dodson, resides in Jersey County ; Wil- liam, who resides in Jersey County; Mary C., who is now Mrs. L. H. Palmer, resides in Jersey County ; and Richard C., whose name heads this review.
Richard C. Gillham attended the schools of his district until he was sixteen years of age, and then he began to put to practical use the lessons in farming he had taken from his father, and proved so efficient that he had been engaged in agricultural pursuits ever since. Mr. Gillham owns 360 acres of land in Mississippi Township, and conducts it in such a manner as to add to his own prosperity, and to the prestige of his township as an agricultural center.
On October 14, 1875, Richard C. Gillham was married to Miss Ida Chappell, born in Macoupin County, Ill., near Carlinville, March 16, 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Gillham have the following children: Charley C., who lives on the farm adjoining his father, married Martha Dempsey of Jersey County, and they have two children, Ruth and Theda I .: Cora M., who is now Mrs. Harry Beatty, lives at Alton, Ill., and has two children, Stewart and Anna Louisa ; Luther M., who lives with his father, married Miss Edna Watson of Alton, Ill., and they have one child, Edith L .; and two who died in infancy.
GILMORE, James, who is engaged in farming and fishing, is one of the men who is well and favorably known at Grafton. He was born in Mason County, Ill., a son of George and Millie (Morgan) Gilmore. George Gilmore was born at Bowling Green, Ky., being of Irish descent. Moving to Jersey County, he engaged in farming, buying a large property. His children were as follows : Joseph, who is deceased ; William, who is deceased ; James ; Sarah, who is deceased ; Mary Jane, who lives at Alton. Ill .; Charles, who lives at Pawnee, Neb., where he owns a farm : Lizzie, who is deccased ; and Martha, who lives at Jersey- ville.
The birth of James Gilmore occurred March 4, 1849, and he went to school until he was sixteen years old, at that time beginning to work for his father. As soon as he attained his majority, he began farming on his own account, and he has been very successful. He has also been engaged in fishing since 1898. When Mr. Gilmore was twenty-five years old, he was married to Sarah Claridge, and their children were as
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follows: Laura, Norah and Roxy, who are deceased; George M., who lives at Grafton; and Rector, who is in the United States Army.
After the death of his first wife, Mr. Gilmore was married (second) to Mary Frances Miller, an old schoolmate, who saved Sarah Claridge from drowning when they were children. Sarah fell into an old mill pond, and Mary Frances, with remarkable presence of mind, pulled her little companion out of the water. Mr. Gilmore is a Baptist. In pol- itics he is a Democrat. A man of sound principles, he stands well with his community.
GILWORTH, Elmer C., one of the extensive landowners of Jersey County, operates about 320 acres of land in Jersey and Ruyle town- ships, and is actively interested in agricultural matters. He was born in Ruyle Township, October 14, 1879, a son of Harvey and Mary Ann (Pritchett) Gilworth, born in Ruyle Township. The grandfathers, John Gilworth and John Harrison Pritchett, were early settlers of Ruyle Township. After their marriage, the parents of Elmer C. Gil- worth settled in Ruyle Township on what was known as Hawkins Prairie, where the father owned 120 acres of land, but in 1905 he moved to Medora, Ill., where he is living retired. His children are as follows : Edward, who lives at Medora, Ill .; Ida, who is Mrs. French Farrow, of St. Louis, Mo .; and Lottie and Elmer C.
During his boyhood Elmer C. Gilworth attended the Hawkins Prairie district school, and when old enough to begin working for him- self, he rented land from F. J. Means of Ruyle Township for a year, and then rented another farm from Preston Randolph for fourteen years, farming 160 acres of that land and eighty acres belonging to his mother, and he still resides on the Randolph farm. In the mean- while he has bought 380 acres and has a half interest in 134 acres, eighty acres being in Jersey Township, and the balance in Ruyle Township. He farms about 320 acres and rents the remainder of his holdings, raising mules, cattle and hogs, and in partnership with V. J. Ruff, buys and ships cattle and hogs.
On February 26, 1902, Mr. Gilworth was married to Alma Arm- strong, born in Fidelity Township, a daughter of William and Rebecca (Price) Armstrong, born in Macoupin County, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Gil- worth have two children, namely : Leo Claude and Walter Dean. Mr. Gilworth attends the Baptist Church. He is a Republican and has served two terms as a school director.
GOODRICH, Ralph C., a contractor and builder of Grafton, who has been connected with some of the best contracts in his line in this part of the county, was born in Quarry Township, January 19, 1869, a son of Ralph C. and Lucinda (Caldwell) Goodrich. Ralph C. Good- rich was a blacksmith, born near New Haven, Conn., who came to lllinois in young manhood, and worked at his trade which he had learned in his native city, in the employ of the New Haven Cutlery Company. He learned how to temper stecl, and his son has a razor
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which his father made a few years prior to his death, that he uses in shaving. Upon coming to Jersey County, the father located in Otter Creek Township, and operated a shop behind Salem Church, continuing actively engaged in his trade until within three years prior to his demise, when he met with an accident, being kicked by a horse which so injured him that he never recovered and that finally caused his death. The family is an old English one, and a maternal grandfather was Lord Churchill, of England. It is a rather remarkable circum- stance that Ralph C. Goodrich, Sr., was one in a family of nine chil- dren : his wife was also one in a family of nine, and they had nine chil- dren of their own. One son, J. C. Goodrich, is head carpenter at the powder mill, Grafton.
Ralph C. Goodrich, Jr., attended the schools of Elsah until he was fourteen years old, and then began working in a stone quarry at Graf- ton, so continuing for twenty years, when he branched out as a con- tractor and builder, and he has secured the contracts for some of the most important building operations at Grafton and in the vicinity, among them being that for the handsome and substantial three-story brick hotel. Mr. Goodrich is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and is deputy grand chancellor of his district. An Odd Fellow, he has passed all the chairs, and he also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. A sound, reliable and enterprising business man, he deserves the prosperity to which he has attained.
GOTTER, Godfrey, one of the heavy landowners and stockraisers of Piasa Township, owns and operates a fine farm on sections 10, 11 and 14. He was born in Prussia, Germany, October 8, 1841, a son of Frederick and Johanna (Scheple) Gotter who in 1858 came to the United States, and after spending a few months at Sheboygan, Wis .. the son went to work in the copper mines of Michigan.
Godfrey Gotter learned the trade of a stonemason, and built many of the stamp houses at different copper mines. He is a good business man. After the close of the Civil War he went to New Orleans, La .. where he bought and sold cotton, and was also interested in various lines of business in Tennessee and St. Louis, Mo., and he also worked at his trade in St. Louis, where he remained for eleven years. While there he bought several picces of property in the central part of the city, which in 1875 he traded for 430 acres of fine land, of which 300 acres were cleared, all located in Piasa Township, Jersey County, Ill. In 1902 he added 140 acres more to his farm, and he is now engaged in raising cattle, horses and hogs upon an extensive scale. Within recent years he has sold 110 acres to his son.
In May, 1867, Godfrey Gotter was married to Sarah Christman of Bavaria, Germany, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Cruse) Christ- man. Mrs. Gotter came to the United States from Germany in 1866, stopping at St. Louis, Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Gotter became the parents of the following children: William, who lives at Sayre, Okla., was married to Elizabeth Schreader, and their children arc Edward, Fred,
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Hazel and Stella; Albert, who lives at St. Louis Mo., was married to Meda Smith, and they have one son, Fletcher; Julia, who is Mrs. Bernard Johnson of St. Louis, Mo., has a son, Godfrey; George, who lives at Sayre, Okla .; Fred, who lives at St. Louis Mo., was married to Paulina Thabenstriet, and their one son, Elmer, is deceased; God- frey ; Clara, who is Mrs. Henry Stamm of Macoupin County, Ill., has two children George and Alvin; Alice, who is Mrs. Henry Thabenstriet of St. Louis, Mo., has a son, Robert; John, who lives in Piasa Township, was married to Olga Weiser, and their children are Erma, Alice and John, Jr .; and Johannalı, who lives at home. Mr. Gotter belongs to the German Evangelical Church. In politics he is a Republican, and he has served as a school director for over thirty-five years. His fra- ternal connections are with the Odd Fellows of St. Louis.
GREEN, Herman, one of the leading general contractors of Jer- scyville, and a man well and widely known throughout Jersey County, was born in Jersey County, January 24, 1872, a son of Lewis and Rhoda (Cope) Green, natives of Madison and Jersey counties, Ill. The mother died about 1913.
While attending school Herman Green made himself useful in his spare time as his age would permit and began to be self supporting at the age of fourteen years working on a farm, so continuing until he attained his majority. He then engaged in farming on his own account and continued as a farmer until 1897, when he embarked in a teaming business. After five years in this line at Jerseyville, lie be- came a cabinetmaker, and in 1910 branched out into general contract- ing, and has executed some very desirable contracts in Jerseyville and the vicinity, and farther away, as some of his contracts have come from as great a distance as Mexico, Mo., where he put up a business block. His work has always been well done and satisfactory. In addition to his contracting business he maintains a fully equipped carpenter shop.
In August, 1893, Mr. Green was married to Ida May Storey, born in Macoupin County, Ill., a daughter of George Storey, a native of England. Mr. and Mrs. Green became the parents of the following children : Jessie Helen, who is Mrs. Josie Hicks of Alton, Ill. ; Ida Vida, who is Mrs. Ray Smith, of Jerseyville; Virgil, who lives at Alton, Ill .; Mildred F., who is at home; Beulah Irene; Velma Fay: Theodore Maurice and Jnanita. The family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically Mr. Green is a Democrat, and fraternally lic be- longs to the Modern Woodmen of America.
GRIMES, Jarret Tramel, now deceased, had the distinction of being the first white child born in what is now Jersey County, and was a very remarkable man in many ways and one who was held in highest respect and even affection by his associates. He was born in what was then Madison, later Greene, but now Jersey County, Ill., January 20, 1820, a son of Phillip and Polly (Boyd) Grimes. He
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was born in Oldtown, Va., and she in Tennessee. They came to Illi- nois in 1818, by way of Missouri, in covered wagons, and entered over 2,000 acres from the government in what later became Jersey County.
In 1839 Jarret Tramel Grimes was married to Charity Brown. who was born at Portage Des Sioux, Mo., May 3, 1829, a daughter of Joseph and Polly (Piper) Brown, natives of Virginia, who located in Missouri. Later Joseph Brown traveled to Grafton, Ill., on a ferry boat, and located in what is now Jersey Township. A southern planter, holding somewhat advanced views with regard to slavery, he freed his slaves when he decided to settle in Missouri. However he was so beloved by them that several of the freed slaves afterward accompanied him to Illinois. The paternal grandfather, Phillip Grimes, served in the Black Hawk War and also in the War of 1812, and the musket he carried is still in possession of the family. He was with the victorious troops at the famons battle of New Orleans, in 1815, under General Jackson.
After his marriage, Jarret Tramel Grimes settled on a farm in a log cabin, and carried on general farming for many years. Here he and his wife had born to them the following children: Philip, who died in Nebraska, November 2, 1910; Edward, who lives at Ray- mond, Montgomery County, Ill .; Joseph, who died at the age of ten years ; James Know, who died at the age of sixty-eight years, Novem- ber 6, 1914; Mary, who is the widow of Uriah Hartwich, of Raymond, Ill. ; Jarret T., who died in infancy; Isabel, who is on the home farm : Robert, who died at the age of eight years; and Florence, who also is the owner of the home farm. Mr. Grimes was practically a self edu- cated man, and certainly was a self made one. In boyhood he walked barefoot a distance of four miles to school until snow came, when his mother made moccasins out of deer hide for him. In his early life he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically he was a Democrat. A Blnc Lodge and Chapter Mason, he took decp interest in his order, and also belonged to the Eastern Star. Mrs. Grimes died July 21, 1876, but Mr. Grimes lived until July 11, 1915. A man of sound principles and high ideals, he lived np to what he believed was right and did unto others much better than he expected them to do to him.
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