History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 128

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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HERMAN KUTTER.

Herman Kutter is a progressive farmer who is not a follower but a leader in the advanced movement which has made such marvelous and gratifying changes in agriculture in the last quarter of a century. He has a nice home pleas- antly situated about a quarter of a mile south of Mendota on section 4, Troy Grove township. His parents, Godfrey and Johanna Kutter, were both born near Gerlitz, in the province of Schles- sing, Prussia, and in the year 1849 boarded a sailing vessel, which after a voyage of fifty-four days, in which they encountered stormy weather, dropped anchor in the harbor of New York. They proceeded westward by rail to Peru, Illi- nois, and soon afterward Mr. Kutter purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land near Comp- ton, Lee county, on which he remained for about a year. He then returned to Peru, where he was employed for about a year, after which he again located on his farm in Lee county, where he reared his family. The farm is still in posses- sion of his children. He came to America empty- handed but his persistent labor and energy wrought a change in his financial condition and he was the possessor of a comfortable compe- tence at the time of his demise. In fact, he ac- cumulated quite a large and valuable estate and his life record was a splendid illustration of the fact that labor and enterprise bring a sure re- ward in this country where effort is not ham- pered by caste or class. His death occurred in Lee county, February 22, 1879. In the family were five children: Augusta, now deceased ; William, who is living in Peru ; Henry ; Herman,

of this review ; and Louis, who resides upon the old home farm in Lee county.

Herman Kutter acquired his education in Peru, where he was married to Miss Minnie Schwichtenberg, a daughter of Fred Schwichten- berg, and a representative of one of the old Ger- man families who came to this country in 1865, Following his marriage Mr. Kutter rented the old home farm where his mother lived until 1890. and then removed to his present place. He is a successful agriculturist and has valuable property interests, owning one hundred and forty acres of land on section 4, Troy Grove town- ship, in the midst of which stands his residence, and one hundred and sixty acres on section 2, Mendota township. His land is devoted to gen- eral farming and stock-raising and he has fed cattle, sheep and hogs, meeting with success in both departments of his business. In addition to the property in this county he owns a half section of land in Canada near Winnipeg.

Unto Mr. Kutter and his wife have been born nine children : Arthur, Laura, Lydia, Hilda, Ber- tha, Irma, Minnie, Herman and Dorothy. The family is well known in this community and the members of the household occupy an enviable position in the social circles in which they move. Mr. Kutter is a republican in his political belief and has served as school director of his district. He and his family belong to the German Lu- theran church at Mendota. He is a progressive farmer, who uses thoroughly up-to-date busi- ness methods in his work. He has made invest- ments in northern land and there is every in- dication that it will rise in value. His home place is splendidly improved and his enterprise and progressive spirit stand as salient features in his life work.

PATRICK H. CLARK.

Patrick H. Clark devotes his energies to farm- ing and is also engaged in the silica sand business, having a bed of silica sand on his farm, which lies on sections 17 and 19, Ottawa township. Here he owns one hundred and eighty-four acres of land well improved and constituting one of the valuable farm properties of the locality. The owner was born in Ophir township, La Salle county, June 8, 1867, his parents being Joseph and Eliza (Thompson) Clark, who crossed the Atlantic from Europe, settling in Providence, Rhode Island, about 1844. Both were natives of the north of Ireland and after coming to the new world they lived for several years in Providence, whence they removed to Ottawa in the '50s. In

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the county seat Joseph Clark engaged in farm- ing and purchased a tract of land four miles north of the city, giving his time and energies to its cultivation and improvement until he retired from active business life and took up his abode in Ottawa, in 1891. There he spent his remain- ing days in the enjoyment of a well earned rest, his death occurring in February, 1905, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-two years and six months. In politics he was a demo- crat but did not seek or desire office, preferring to devote his attention to his business affairs, in which he was quite successful, so that with a comfortable competence he retired to private life, there to enjoy the fruits of former toil. His wife passed away in Ottawa, in March, 1896, when sixty-six years of age. In their family were eight children: Mrs. Eliza Coyle and Mrs. Annie Weible, both of Ottawa; Joseph, of Chi- cago, who is the patentee of a ditching machine used for excavating, sewerage, etc .; Patrick H., of this review; Mrs. Mary McGowan, of Koko- mo, Indiana; George and Margaret, both resi- dents of Ottawa; and Mrs. Emma Cronley, of Streator, Illinois.

Patrick H. Clark was reared in Ottawa town- ship, where he has always resided, and the pub- lic schools afforded him his educational privi- leges. He has engaged in operating a stone quarry for eighteen years, having opened one where the Seiberling factory is now located. He established that quarry twenty-one years ago and in 1903 he purchased the silica sand plat, when he bought his present farm. He has been engaged in the sand business for a number of months, furnishing sand which is used for glass, mold- ing, polishing, grinding and for foundry work. He employs about a dozen men in the operation of his sand beds and in addition to the manage- ment of this business he is carrying on general farming, having his land well developed, while the fields yield to him rich and abundant har- vests as the years go by. He is a man of marked business enterprise and energy in whom indolence and idleness find no part and as the years have passed he has made a creditable record as a dili- gent, reliable and successful business man.

ERNEST PANCAKE.

Ernest Pancake, one of the young and enter- prising farmers of Allen township, living on sec- tion 13, was born on the 20th of August, 1875, in Ironton, Ohio. His father, Andrew J. Pancake, is also a native of Ohio and a farmer by occu- pation. He devoted many years to agricultural

pursuits but is now living retired, his home be- ing about six miles east of Ironton, Ohio. Dur- ing the Civil war he served for three years under Captain John Brown in the Fifth Virginia Cav- alry and was twice shot through the body and they were able to draw a silk handkerchief through the wounds.

Upon the old homestead farm in Ohio Ernest Pancake was reared, his time being occupied with the duties and pleasures consistent with his years. He worked at home until sixteen years of age and then supplemented his early ed- ucational privileges, acquired in the common schools, by study in Lebanon (Ohio) University. He afterward engaged in farming for a year in the Buckeye state and later removed to West Virginia, where he was employed in a sawmill for six months. He then worked in the Sunny- side coal mine at a place called Hawk's Nest, and when a year had passed he returned to Ohio, where he engaged in the butchering business for about a year.

On the expiration of that period he came to Illinois and bought a half interest in a harness shop in Ransom, his partner being B. T. Seguin. This relation was maintained for two years, when he sold out to his partner and through the succeeding year was employed as a farm hand by George Berge, whose daughter he aft- erward married. He then purchased the land whereon he now resides and began the im- provement of the farm, building fences and cultivating the fields and adding modern ac- cessories and equipments which are always found upon a model farm. He owns altogether one hundred and sixty acres of good land on section 13, Allen township, and in addition to the tilling of the soil he is interested in raising pure blooded Duroc Jersey hogs, having at present about one hundred and ninety head upon his place. He built a hog house that cost fifteen hundred dol- lars and he belongs to the Duroc Breeders Asso- ciation. At the head of his drove of hogs is a male, Kant Top Notch, that cost four hundred dollars, the registered number being 47,327. The sire of this hog, which sold for five thousand dol- lars, and also the sire of his mother took first grand champion prize at the St. Louis World's Fair. Mr. Pancake is well known as a breeder and raiser of high grade swine and his business ranks him with the leading stock feeders of this section of the state.

In 1897 Mr. Pancake was united in marriage to Miss Marie Berge, who was born on the old farm homestead on section 27, Allen township. Her father, George Berge, was a native of Ger- many and married Miss Christina Rosenkrantz, also born in that land. The father came to this

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country about a half century ago and engaged in farming near Streator for a number of years but eventually removed to the farm which he now makes his home, on section 27, Allen town- ship, having here two hundred and eighty acres of rich and productive land. Unto him and his wife have been born nine children: George, who married Alice Kime and is engaged in farming in Iowa; Elizabeth, the wife of John Lehi, a resi- dent farmer of Allen township; August, who married Lottie Linford and follows farming in South Dakota ; Carrie, the wife of William Baker, who is engaged in farming near Budd, Illinois ; Christina, at home; Emma, the wife of Henry Seidentop, who is engaged in farming in Living- ston county, Illinois; Mrs. Marie Pancake; Adam, who married Lizzie Baker and is farming near Ransom, Illinois; and Willie, who wedded Mary Ramey and operates the old home place.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Pancake has been blessed with one child, Adam, who was seven years of age on the 16th of September, 1906. Mr. Pancake is a republican in his political views. His wife belongs to the Evangelical church. They are both widely known in this community and have a pleasant home noted for its hospitality and good cheer.

ROBERT MORRISON.

Robert Morrison has reached the eighty-third milestone on life's journey and is therefore one of the venerable citizens of La Salle county. He was born in Dumbarton, on the Clyde, in Scot- land, December 8, 1822, and is a son of James and Mary Morrison, further mention of whom is made in connection with the sketch of Adam Morrison on another page of this work. His boyhood days were spent in his native country, and his education was acquired in the schools there. He remained at home to the age of eight- een years, when, attracted by the broader op- portunities and business advantages of the new world, he came to the United States as a pas- senger on a sailing vessel in 1840. Landing at Boston after a voyage of six weeks, in which the ship encountered some severe storms, he spent the succeeding year in Cambridge, Massachu- setts, and then went to Fall River, that state, where he worked as a block printer for several years in a cloth manufacturing establishment. In 1848, however, Mr. Morrison sought a home in the middle west and came to La Salle county, which to a large extent was a frontier district. Here he turned his attention to farming, securing a tract of land in Otter Creek township. He

first built a little cabin or shack which stood in the midst of a wild prairie and timber coun- try. The task of developing this region and reclaiming it for the purposes of cultivation and civilization had scarcely been begun. Game of various kinds was plentiful and there were many evidences of frontier life. Mr. Morrison with characteristic energy began developing his prop- erty and in the course of years transformed his land into a very valuable farm, the rich fields returning him golden harvests annually. He now owns two hundred and forty acres of fine farming land and all of the improvements upon this property stand as monuments to his thrift and labor. His market in the early days was Ottawa and at that time there was only one house between his home and the county seat, a distance of fifteen miles, it being the property of Joseph Ebersol. Mr. Morrison broke wild prairie with ox teams, planted his seed and culti- vated crops which brought him a substantial financial return. He also added good buildings to his place and he still lives upon the old home- stead where for many years he labored earnestly and persistently in the care of the fields. At the present time the work of the farm is done by others.

It was after Mr. Morrison came to this county that he was married in Bruce township, in 1851, to Miss Amanda Seaman. The marriage, how- ever, was celebrated in that district, which is now a part of Otter Creek township. Mrs. Morrison was a daughter of Ezra and Mary ( Mackey ) Sea- man, and died January 29, 1899, at the age of sixty-seven years. There had been six children born of this marriage, of whom four still sur- vive: Mary, the wife of Robert Pool, a resident of Ottawa; Ezra, who is living in Iowa; Robert, who resides in Otter Creek township ; and Carrie, who married E. Wagnor and is residing in Omaha, Nebraska.

Mr. Morrison has served as school director for many years and has also been pathmaster, and no public duty devolving upon him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree. In fact, he has always been loyal to every trust reposed in him and his interest in the public welfare has been. manifest by active co-operation in many move- ments for the general good. He has long voted with the democracy, being a stanch champion of its principles. As one of the early settlers of the county he certainly deserves mention in this volume and moreover is entitled to representation as one of the oldest citizens of the county. A picture of pioneer life fifty or sixty years ago would present his method of living at that time, for he came to the west when it was a frontier district and shared in the usual hardships and

MR. AND MRS. ROBERT MORRISON.

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privations of frontier life, together with the years of his life. Thinking to enjoy better busi- pleasures and privileges which were known in early days, when the settlers for miles around were considered neighbors and when a most fra- ternal spirit existed.

AARON B. SEARING.

Aaron B. Searing, a member of the Chicago board of trade residing at 6212 Greenwood ave- nue, is a native of Auburn, New York, where he was born about sixty-two years ago. He came west about 1866, making his way to Chicago, where he turned his attention to the provision business, being associated therewith for several years. He then went to Chatsworth, where he purchased an elevator and has since been con- nected with the grain trade. He has been a mem- ber of the board of trade of Chicago for thirty years and now has no other business interests, concentrating his energies upon his operations on the board. At one time he owned three elevators.

In 1872 Mr. Searing was married to Miss Anna E. Smith, of Ottawa, a daughter of Aaron Smith, one of the old settlers of that city and a sister of C. Kinney Smith, of Ottawa. Mrs. Searing was born in Ohio and became a resident of La Salle county in early girlhood, acquiring her edu- cation in the public schools of Ottawa. Three children have been born of this marriage: Edna Josephine, who is now a kindergarten teacher in Chicago; Charles, who is engaged in manufac- turing interests in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania ; and Virginia, living at home.

Mr. Searing votes with the republican party and keeps well informed on questions and issues of the day but has never been an aspirant for public office. For eighteen years he has lived in Chicago and is a member of various social clubs, while he and his family are communicants of the Episcopal church. Few men have wider knowledge of conditions in the grain market than Mr. Searing and his operations have been carefully conducted, yielding a good return in a comfortable competence.

JAMES GAHAN.

James Gahan, who carries on general farming on sections 16 and 17, Wallace township, was born in Grundy county, Illinois, about 1860. His father, James Gahan, was born in County Lim- erick, Ireland, where he spent the first thirty

ness opportunities in the new world and to more readily acquire a competence, he then came to America and for eight years was en- gaged on construction work on the Chicago, Rock Island - & Pacific Railroad. He then then went to Grundy county, where he en- gaged in farming, and when his son James was two years old he came to La Salle county, settling in Wallace township, where he purchased the farm upon which our subject now resides. There were old buildings upon the place and at a later day James Gahan, Sr., built the house which is now standing. He made it his home until his demise, which occurred Jaunary 6, 1890, when he was about sixty-five years of age. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Keating, and was born in County Tipperary, Ireland. Coming to the United States when about eighteen years of age. she took up her abode in Ottawa and there gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Gahan. She, too, lived to be about sixty-five years of age and died on the old homestead in 1899. Mr. Gahan was one of the early residents of Wallace township, locating here when the country was wild and uncultivated, the work of development having scarcely been begun. His financial circumstances were very limited but he was a most industrious man and energetic worker. Through reverses, however. he lost a part of his farm. In his political affiliation he was a democrat but never sought or desired office or took any part in political work. He belonged to the Roman Catholic church. In his family were nine children but only four are now living, namely: Johanna, the wife of M. Kiley, residing upon a farm in Wallace town- ship: Ellen, the wife of Joseph Quinn, a farmer of the same township; and Mary, the wife of Thomas White. of Ottawa.

James Gahan, the other member of the family, has always resided upon the farm which is still his home and from an early age he assisted in the work of the fields, becoming familiar with the best methods of plowing, planting and har- vesting. He was married at the age of twenty- seven years to Miss Katherine Kiley, who was born in Ottawa and is a daughter of Cornelius Kiley, now deceased. Following his marriage James Gahan worked his father's place and also rented land for a time, while subsequently he purchased the old home farm. He now owns one hundred and twenty acres of rich and cultivable land on which are fair buildings. His fields are under a high state of cultivation and have been brought to a standard of improvement through the efforts and labors of the present owner. Day after day, week after week and

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year after year he has labored at farm work and his persistency of purpose and unfaltering diligence constitute the basis of a desirable and enviable success. He raises corn and oats and keeps his land in good condition through the rotation of crops. He also raises stock to some extent.

In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Gahan are six children, all of whom are living, namely: Mary, James, Cornelius, Michael, William and Helen. Mr. Gahan votes with the democracy but has no desire for office. He belongs to the Catholic church and is interested in matters of citizenship to the extent of giving his co-operation to many movements which are of benefit to the community.

REV. THOMAS WILSON McVETY.

Rev. Thomas Wilson McVety, pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Streator, was born on the 12th of May, 1849. His par- ents, John and Letitia ( Brandon) McVety, were both natives of the north of Ireland and, cross- ing the Atlantic, became residents of Canada, where the father followed the occupation of farm- ing until his death. Their son Thomas attended the high school in Kingston, Ontario, and won his Bachelor of Arts degree from Albert College at Belleville, Ontario, in 1875. He gained the degree of Bachelor of Divinity from Victoria College, Ontario, in 1877, while his Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees were conferred upon him by the Wesleyan University at Bloomington, Illinois.

Two years after leaving school he entered the active work of the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church. For ten years he engaged in preaching the gospel in Canada, serving the churches at Prince Edward, Odessa, Winchester and Belleville. Coming to Illinois in 1885, he joined the central Illinois conference and for three years was pastor of the First Methodist church at Pontiac, for a similar period at the First Meth- odist Episcopal church at Normal and was then called to the church at Kankakee, where he like- wise remained for three years. He was for four years pastor of the First Methodist church at Peoria and for six years of the First Methodist church at Galesburg, Illinois, and is now in his third year as pastor of the First Methodist church at Streator. He became a member of the church when nineteen years of age and his zeal and con- secration to the work have been manifest throughout the passing years with the result that his labors have been effective in the up-

building of the denomination and the extension of its influence.

In 1876, in Napanee, Ontario, Rev. McV'ety was united in marriage to Miss Amelia C. Lucas, who died in Peoria, Illinois, on the 29th of March, 1897, leaving a daughter, Edith Lucille. In No- vember, 1898, Rev. McVety wedded Rebecca E. Wilson, of Normal, Illinois, a well known teacher in the public schools of Bloomington. They be- came the parents of two children, of whom one died in infancy, while the other, Thomas Wilson, is now in his first year.

In his political views Rev. McVety has always been a stalwart republican. He has made his own way in life, providing for the expenses of a college course and when his funds became ex- hausted he left school and earned more. In that way he completed his education and at the final examination he scored the highest and thus earned the valedictory. He also received first class honors in Hebrew, Chaldee and Syriac and in metaphysics and political economy. The ele- mental strength of his character which he thus displayed in securing an education and ranking first in his class has been manifest throughout his entire life. He has been a broad reader, a deep student and a logical thinker, and added to these strong intellectual traits is a devotion to his holy calling which has made him one of the able divines of the Illinois conference.

EDMUND KENT AYLING, M. D.

Dr. Edmund Kent Ayling, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Tonica, was born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1871. His father, Charles Wesley Ayling, was a native of Canada and of English descent. His parents removed from England to Canada in early life and there Charles W. Ayling spent the days of his boyhood and youth. He afterward attended the North- western University at Evanston, Illinois, and the Garrett Biblical Institute and was ordained for the Methodist ministry in 1870. He came to Illinois in the '50s and since his ordination of the ministry has occupied various charges in different parts of the state, including Peoria, Geneseo, Onarga, Normal and other cities. In 1902 he was assigned to the church at Tonica, where he has since remained as pastor. He is one of the strong and able representatives of the Methodist ministry and has devoted almost his entire life to its work. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and his political al- legiance is given to the republican party. He was a soldier of the Union army during the

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Civil war and has ever manifested a patriotic citizenship as well as unfaltering zeal in his chosen calling. He married Miss Elizabeth Brown, who was born in England in 1844 and came to the United States with her parents from Canada in 1850, locating at Chillicothe, Illinois. Unto Rev. and Mrs. C. W. Ayling have been born four children : Charles H., a practicing physician residing at Gridley, Illinois ; Edmund K., of this review; Arthur, deceased; and Gil- bert H., who is attending Northwestern Univer- sity Medical School.

Dr. Ayling of this review accompanied his parents on their various removals necessitated by the laws of the church of which the father is a minister and therefore acquired his education in various public schools. He was also a student in the Illinois Wesleyan College at Blooming- ton and, determining upon the practice of medi- cine as a life work, he entered the medical de- partment of the Northwestern University, where he pursued a course. In 1900 he returned to that school and was graduated in 1903. In the meantime he had acted as nurse in prominent hospitals and had gained broad and valuable knowledge of the practical work of the profes- sion. He located in Tonica in 1903 and a lib- eral patronage has been accorded him as he has carried on the work of alleviating human suf- fering. He is a member of the County and State Medical Associations and thus keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the profession. He is an earnest and discriminating student with conscientious regard for the great obliga- tions and responsibilities that devolve upon the medical fraternity and is practicing along modern scientific lines.

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History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 128

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