History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 108

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286

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Mr. and Mrs. Beguin became the parents of seven children, all of whom are yet living, as follows: Mary E., the wife of James Sibert, who resides near Seneca and by whom she has two sons, William and James; Josephine, the wife of William Brown. a farmer of Morris, Illinois, by whom she has eleven living chil- dren-August, Florence, Cora, Stella, Charles Anderson, Iver, Violet, Roy, Fred, Marion and Dorothea; William, a farmer of Cowley county, Kansas, who is married and has three children, Willard, Bessie and Grace; Jennie, the wife of G. Gordon, who resides four miles northeast of Ottawa and has eleven children-Susie E., Charles, Cora, William, Clara and Wylie, twins, Jennie, Samuel, Nettie, Mary and Elsie ; George, who is married and resides upon a farm in South Ottawa township; Herman, a farmer of La Salle county, who is married and has five chil- dren-Ned, Vera, Claude, Evert and Edna ; Cora, the wife of Fred Brown, who is residing with Mrs. Beguin and operates the home farm. They have two children, Cora and Vivian Ruth.

In addition to the home property Mrs. Beguin owns ninety-five acres of pasture land, making two hundred and sixty-one acres altogether in the home place and likewise has fifty-five acres in South Ottawa township and forty acres in Deer Park. In his political views Mr. Beguin

MR. AND MRS. AUGUST BEGUIN.

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was a democrat but was without aspiration for office, preferring to give his attention to his business affairs, in which he prospered, placing the farm under a high state of cultivation. His last days were spent in honorable retirement from labor and he well merited the rest which was vouchsafed him. He served for some time as school director and in community interests was found as a co-operant factor whose efforts were very beneficial. He held membership in the Deer Park Baptist church, of which Mrs. Beguin is also a member. She now makes her home on the farm which at one time was the property of her father, living there with her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Brown.

FREDERICK P. HARTSHORN.

There is no department of labor in which more rapid and radical advance has been made than in agriculture owing to the improved machinery that has been placed upon the market and the scientific investigation which has brought about a knowledge of the needs of soil and nourish- ment needed for different crops and the best con- ditions under which they can be produced. Keep- ing in touch with modern progress, Frederick P. Hartshorn, of La Salle, is recognized as one of the prominent representatives of agricultural interests in this county, operating a farm of four hundred and fifty acres and also extensively en- gaged in raising stock.

Mr. Hartshorn was born in Waltham town- ship, La Salle county, August 17, 1860, a son of Alfred I. and Amelia (Dean) Hartshorn, the former a native of New York and the latter of Connecticut. They came to Illinois in 1837, their location in La Salle county being chosen prob- ably because of the fact that Mr. Hartshorn's aunt, Miss Hannah P. Burnham, had preceded them and made her home in Waltham township. They purchased a farm in the same township and it was upon the old family homestead there that Frederick P. Hartshorn was reared to man- hood, attending the district schools and work- ing in the fields through the summer months. Later he entered the high school in La Salle, graduating with the class of 1880.

It is said that a large percentage of the fail- ures which are constantly occurring in business life is due to the fact that men do not choose the occupation or profession to which nature has best imbued them. This is certainly not so in the case of Mr. Hartshorn, who in his correct judgment and keen discrimination shows that he is well qualified for the work which claims his

time and energies. He gained practical experi- ence through the assistance which he rendered his father in his boyhood days and he has con- tinually promoted his efficiency as the years have gone by. In 1882 the family removed to La Salle township and about thirteen years ago Mr. Hartshorn took charge of his father's large farm, embracing four hundred and fifty acres of rich and productive land. He carries on general farming and raises horses and hogs. He har- vests good crops and everything about his place is indicative of thorough understanding of the business and modern progressive methods. The farm is one of the best improved in La Salle county, which fact is largely due to the intelli- gent and judicious management of Mr. Harts- horn. On June 26, 1906, his house was struck by lightning and it and its contents were totally destroyed.

On the 8th of September, 1885, Mr. Hartshorn was married to Miss Juliet Bushnell, a daugh- ter of Washington and Phoebe (Charles) Bush- nell, of Ottawa. They have one child, Alfred Burnham. The parents are communicants of the Episcopal church and Mr. Hartshorn is a mem- ber of Acacia lodge, No. 67, A. F. & A. M., and Peru chapter, R. A. M., and St. John's com- mandery, No. 26, K. T. He has taken the thirty- second degree in this order and is a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also connected with the Modern Woodmen camp of America. He has been solicited by his friends to accept the candidacy for public office, but has steadily de- clined to do so, preferring to give his time and energies to his business affairs, which, capably di- rected, are bringing to him gratifying success.

JAMES W. STEVENSON.

James W. Stevenson is now living a retired life but still owns valuable farm property in La Salle county. For many years his time and ener- gies were devoted to general agricultural pur- suits. He took up his abode in this county in pio- neer days, dating his residence from 1849 with only a brief interval of absence, during which period he was a resident of Putnam county, Illi- nois, and New Jersey. His parents were John and Hannah (Wilson) Stevenson, the former born in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, May 16, 1801, and the latter in Warren county, New Jersey, October 29, 1803. They were married in the state of their nativity May 24, 1824, and the father followed the occupation of farming throughout his entire life. Both were members of the Society of Friends and his political alle-

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giance was given to the whig party. John Ste- venson passed away in New Jersey, May 12, 1854, and his wife died in Otter Creek town- ship, La Salle county, March 20, 1889, having survived her husband for nearly thirty-five years. They were the parents of eight children, of whom five are now living: Joseph, who resides in Cal- ifornia at the age of eighty-one years ; James W., of this review ; Almira, the wife of Hiram Deach, who resides at Flemington Junction, Hunterdon county, New Jersey ; Daniel W., living in Strea- tor; and Walter, who is living in California at the age of sixty-three years.

James WV. Stevenson acquired his education in the public schools of New Jersey and in the Westown Pennsylvania Boarding School. He came to Illinois in 1849, when a young man of twenty-two years, and cast in his lot with the early settlers of La Salle county, locating in Rut- land township. In 1851 he married and re- moved to Putnam county, Illinois, where he spent two years, after which he returned to New Jer- sey, where he also remained for two years. He then came again to La Salle in 1855, at which time he took up his abode in Otter Creek town- ship, where he has since lived. He owns two hundred and forty acres of fine land well im- proved and he has made all the improvements upon the property himself. It was a tract of wild prairie when it came into his possession but he has converted it into, rich fields and has been one of the most active factors in the agricul- tural progress of this section of the state. At the present writing he is living retired but that he has always been a most active and energetic business man is indicated by the fact that he is today the owner of excellent property interests, including not only his home farm but also a quarter section of land in Grand Rapids township.

On the IIth of February, 1851, Mr. Steven- son was united in marriage to Miss Comfort A. Millikin, who was born in Ohio in 1830, and is a daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Williams) Millikin. Her father, a native of Pennsylvania, died in 1865, at the age of sixty-four years, while his widow survived to the advanced age of eighty-six years, both passing away in Rut- land township. Mr. Millikin came to this county in 1830, being one of its pioneer settlers. He first located in Magnolia, on Sandy creek, and was driven into a fort there by the Indians, who frequently manifested a hostile spirit in those early days, resenting the encroachment of the white men upon their hunt- ing grounds. Mr. Millikin became an exten- sive landowner and his holdings made him one of the prosperous residents of this part of the

state. He first built a log house and broke the wild prairie with ox teams. Later he erected a frame residence; having hauled the lumber from Chicago. He was closely associated with the early development of this part of the state and his labors made him one of the foremost busi- ness men of his locality. His political allegiance was given to the democracy, for he stanchly ad- vocated the principles set forth by Jackson. Unto him and his wife were born eleven chil- dren, of whom four daughters are now living : Mrs. Stevenson, Amanda, Jerusha and Lucy. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson have been born six children, five of whom still survive: Emma ; John; Edward; Byron, who died at the age of thirty years; Ernest; and William.

Mr. Stevenson votes with the republican party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, as every true American citi- zen should do. He was supervisor of Otter Creek township for fourteen years, and for fif- teen years was school treasurer. For thirty-two years he acted as postmaster in Otter Creek township and for over twenty years was secre- tary of the Otter Creek Insurance Company. No trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree. He has always lived to a high ideal of citizenship and his private life has been characterized by many good qualities which have made him a respected and worthy resident of this part of the state. He is now in the eightieth year of his age and he receives from his fellow citizens the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded those who have advanced far on life's journey and who have always been true to a high standard of living.

JOHN J. WOOLLEY.

John J. Woolley, engaged in the laundry business in Streator, was born in Grand Rapids township, La Salle county, March 25, 1859, a son of Milton and Margaret (Dodge) Woolley, men- tion of whom is made elsewhere in this work in connection with the sketch of Myron Woolley. In the public schools John J. Woolley acquired his education and in early manhood engaged in clerking, which business he followed until 1896. He then established the laundry which he has now conducted for ten years and has found it a profitable enterprise because of the excellent workmanship and his promptness and reliability -qualities which have gained for him a large and well merited patronage.

On the 15th of April, 1885, occurred the mar- riage of John J. Woolley and Miss Alice Wes-

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ner, who was born in Reading township, Livings- ton county, Illinois, August 5, 1866, a daughter of Henry K. and Esther (Defenbaugh) Woolley, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Her father came to Illinois in 1846 and first engaged in farming in Livingston county. He afterward carried on merchandising in Reading for a num- ber of years and subsequently removed to Varna, where he also spent several years. In 1880 he be- came a resident of Streator, where he conducted a market, continuing in business with success up to the time of his death, which occurred July 18, 1895, when he was sixty-eight years of age. His wife passed away near Streator on the 5th of August, 1881, when forty-nine years of age. They were the parents of eleven children, nine of whom are now living: Adaline, the wife of James Parkins; Dumha; Ephraim; Andrew ; Ammon ; Mrs. Woolley; Etta, the wife of Willis Flanigan; Nellie, the wife of Peter Jensen; and Lavina, who married Richard Evans. The mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Woolley has been blessed with four children, Nina M., Chauncey J., Ethel M. and Robert D.

Mr. Woolley is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity and of the Modern Woodmen camp. He is likewise connected with the Mystic Workers of the World and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party. Like the vast majority of young men he started upon his business career without capital, placing his dependence upon the sure and substantial qual- ities of business activity and integrity and he has always maintained an excellent reputation in business circles in Streator.

SAMUEL BONNEFOY.

Samuel Bonnefoy, whose home farm is on sec- tion 19, Wallace township, there owns and oper- ates one hundred and sixty acres of land. His life has been one of activity, and in all that he does he is practical, his labors therefore proving resultant factors in his attempt to gain success. He was born in Serena township, this county, July 24, 1862. His father, Esaie Bonnefoy, was a native of France and is now living in Ottawa, at the venerable age of eighty years. He mar- ried Mrs. Eugenia (Prevost) Capsul, who was the widow of John Capsul. She was also born in France and is living in the county seat. By her first marriage she had a son, Louis, who is now living in the Klondike. The year 1855 wit- nessed the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Esaie Benne- foy in La Salle county. They came from France and made their way at once into the interior of

the country, settling at Ottawa, where they were married. Mr. Bonnefoy was in very limited financial circumstances, having only four dollars when he reached Ottawa. Immediate employ- ment was an absolute necessity therefore and he worked as a mechanic. He then started with five yoke of oxen for the gold fields and went as far as Pike's Peak. After being gone for thirteen months he returned to La Salle county and en- gaged in farming. For a few years he rented land and then prospering in his undertakings he purchased eighty acres in Wallace township. He was a successful farmer, and as his financial re- sources increased he added to his property from time to time until he had three hundred and twenty acres. He lived upon his farm until about twenty-three years ago, when he retired to Ottawa, where he has since resided. He worked for fifty cents a day when he first reached Ottawa but he possessed determination and enterprise and eagerly availed himself of every opportunity leading to success. As the years advanced he acquired a handsome compe- tence that enabled him to put aside the more ar- duous duties of an active business career and enjoy a well earned rest. He gives his political support to the democracy but is not an office holder. He belongs to the Congregational church, and in an analyzation of his life work it will be seen that high principles have actuated his conduct, while his honorable dealing has been a strong element in his prosperity. In his family were three children but the second died in infancy. The eldest, Anna, is now the wife of Clement Ledoux, living in Truesdale, Iowa.

Samuel Bonnefoy, the youngest of the family, made his home with his parents until he attained his majority and then sought a companion and helpmate for life's journey, being married on the 9th of January, 1883, to Miss Julia Douvia, a native of this county. The marriage has been blessed with three children: Elmer K., resid- ing upon his father's farm a half mile east of the place upon which Mr. Bonnefoy resides, wedded Mary Thompson, a daughter of Robert J. Thompson, supervisor of Wallace township. Blanche and Dora, aged respectively ten and six years, are at home.

Several years after his marriage Mr. Bonne- foy's father gave him one hundred and sixty acres of land, and he has since carried on gen- eral farming. In 1905 he erected a new house, barn, corn cribs and granaries on the eighty- acre tract where he now resides, while his son Elmer lives upon the other eighty-acre tract, a half mile east of where Samuel Bonnefoy made his home for many years, it being a part of his fa- ther's old place. He has led an active and busy

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life, accomplishing whatever he has undertaken by reason of his force of character, strong prin- ciples and indefatigable diligence. Everything about his place is neat and thrifty in appearance and the well kept fields indicate his careful su- pervision and his practical methods.

In his political views Mr. Bonnefoy is a dem- ocrat where national issues are involved but casts an independent local ballot. He has been justice of the peace and drainage commissioner, also drainage clerk for three years, and whether in office or out of it is a public-spirited citizen whose aid can always be counted upon to fur- ther progressive public measures. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp and the position to which he has attained in the regard of his fel- lowmen is a very enviable one.

GEORGE W. GRAHAM.

George W. Graham, interested in general farm- ing on section 23, Bruce township, was born Feb- ruary 12, 1859, in this township, in what is now Richards addition to Streator. His parents were William and Mary (Jefferson) Graham. The father was born in Ireland and the mother in Canada, and the former died in October, 1858, at the age of forty-five years. After losing her first husband Mrs. Graham became the wife of Frederick Richards, a prominent man of Streator. Mr. Graham was a pioneer of La Salle county, locating south of Streator, and with the early progress and development of that locality was closely associated. He secured from the govern- ment a tract of land of eighty acres upon which not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made, and with characteristic energy he began its cultivation and development, continuing his farming operations there until his death. He was married just south of the city to Miss Mary Jefferson, and they became the parents of four sons and a daughter but only two are now living : George W., of this review; and Emma, the wife of Frank Miller, now of Lamar, Missouri.

In the public schools of the county George W. Graham acquired his education and was reared to farm life upon the old farm homestead. He remained with his mother and stepfather until his marriage, which was celebrated on the 8th of September, 1880, the lady of his choice being Miss Cordelia D. Law, who was born in Bruce township, La Salle county, on the 8th day of July, 1862, her parents being Samuel and Eliza (Hart- man) Law. Both are now deceased, the mother having passed away February 27, 1906, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. They had

thirteen children. Mr. Law came to La Salle county at an early day from Pennsylvania and cast his lot with the pioneer residents of this part of the state. He was a carpenter by trade and built a number of houses in this locality, many of which are still standing as monuments to his enterprise and labor. In politics he was a stanch Jacksonian democrat, unfaltering in his allegiance to the principles in which he believed.

Following his marriage Mr. Graham turned his attention to farming on a tract of land north of Streator and in the spring of 1877, renting his farm, he established a dairy, which he conducted for four years. He has since purchased the old Law homestead of forty acres, which he has splendidly improved, building thereon a large, fine, modern residence. He has also added more modern equipments and the place is one of the attractive country homes of Bruce township. In 1892, associated with Fred Richards under the firm name of Richards & Graham, he embarked in the grain trade at. Richards, in which he has since continued and is now operating successfully along that line, in addition to which he manages his farming interests.

Mr. Graham has been prominent and influential in community affairs. In 1891 he was elected as commissioner of highways and is now serving for the thirteenth consecutive year in that office, a fact which is indicative of the confidence which is reposed in him by his fellow townsmen and the prompt and capable manner in which he discharges the duties devolving upon him. He was school officer for a number of years' and the cause of education found in him a warm friend. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist church at Streator, while his political allegiance has in late years been given to the republican party.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Graham was blessed with three children. Mildred E., who is a grad- uate of St. Xavier's Academy, having spent seven years there as a student, is now a teacher near Streator in her second year. She received a medal for the highest scholarship in general his- tory at St. Xavier's Academy, June 27, 1901, and for good deportment on the 15th of June, 1903. Grace A. is also a graduate of the same school. She posseses considerable natural mu- sical talent, which has been cultivated and she is now studying in Chicago for the profession of a trained nurse. George A. (Jr)., born June I, 1906, died June 15, 1906. The family is one widely and favorably known in Bruce township, where Mr. Graham has spent his entire life and where he has so conducted his business interest as as to win a place among the citizens in comfort-

G. W. GRAHAM.

MRS. GEORGE W. GRAHAM.

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PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

able circumstances and directed his efforts for the public good so as to be recognized as a valued and representative citizen of this portion of the county.

A. J. THURSTON.

A. J. Thurston, a broad-minded, reliable and enterprising business man and citizen, who is now serving as supervisor of Troy Grove town- ship and is living retired on his farm about two miles south of Mendota, is a son of Welcome and Maria (Field) Thurston. In the maternal line he comes of the same family to which belonged Marshall Field, Cyrus W. Field and Chief Jus- tice Field. The original home of the Thurstons in America was in Vermont and the family comes of English ancestry. The grandfather, John Thurston, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war and served under General Green for three and a half years, proving a faithful defender of the cause of liberty. He now lies buried at Chester, Vermont. Welcome Thurston was for some years a resident of Chester, whence he re- moved to Illinois in 1854. He was in limited financial circumstances when he arrived in La Salle county, but he possessed strong determi- nation and energy and these proved an excellent foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of his later success. He first bought eighty acres of wild land in Troy Grove township, which he converted into rich and productive fields and to which he has added from time to time as his financial resources permitted until he is now the owner of three hundred and sixty acres of very valuable land, two hundred and eight acres being in the home farm in Troy Grove township. He still survives at the age of ninety-one years, enjoys good health and reads without glasses. He is one of the remarkable old men of the county and well merits the veneration and respect so uniformly accorded him, while his- business career indicates what may be accomplished through industry and enterprise. In the family were two children, the elder son, Robert F. Thurston, being . now in Texas.

A. J. Thurston, whose name introduces this record, acquired his education in the schools of Vermont and Illinois. He attended Henderson Academy at Mendota and also the Chester Acad- emy in Vermont, and after completing his educa- tion engaged in teaching school. Having arrived at years of maturity he chose as a companion and helpmate for life's journey Miss Kate Blanchard, whose father was a cousin of Judge Blanchard,

of Ottawa. There is one child of this marriage, Alfred W. Thurston, born March 5, 1895.

Mr. Thurston owns and for several years operated three hundred and sixty acres of fine farm land in Troy Grove township, which is devoted to the production of the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and also to stock- raising. His farm presents a neat and attractive appearance, being equipped with all modern con- veniences and accessories. It is the place where his father located on coming to the county and where he still continues to live. He also owns real estate in Louisiana, having an eighth interest in the Jefferson Davis plantation of five thousand seven hundred and fifty acres, purchased by a syndicate in 1903. He also has a fifth interest in six thousand and six hundred acres of land thirty-two miles north of Houston, Texas, situ- ated in the fruit belt and now mostly covered with timber. While born of well-to-do parents, he has not wasted his time but is one of the thoroughly up-to-date farmers of the county, utilizing the latest improved machinery and methods in the care of his place and displaying excellent business ability and executive force in the control of his farming and property interests. Moreover he is thoroughly reliable, his integrity standing as an unquestioned fact in his career.

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History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 108

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855 Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1286

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286