History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 139

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. Geraghty is a member of Lawndale lodge, No. 519, K. P., in which he has served as chan- cellor commander, while for three years he was treasurer. He also belongs to the Elks lodge, No. 4, at Chicago, and to General Shields lodge, K. C. He is likewise a member of the Royal League, No. 80; North American Union, No. 3. at Lawndale, and to various Irish societies, while he and his family are communicants of St. Pat- rick's Roman Catholic church. He is a busi- ness man of marked enterprise and capacity and belongs to that class of La Salle county's citi-

zens who have become prominent and worthy factors in business circles in the metropolis. He is well known in Streator and other portions of La Salle county, where his strong and admirable personal characteristics have gained him many friends, so-that he is well deserving of mention in the history of the county in which portions of his boyhood and early manhood were passed.

L. A. DEOBALD.

L. A. Deobald, residing in a comfortable home at Tonica, where he has lived for the past three years, is still the owner of a quarter section of finely improved land on section 4, Hope town- ship. Numbered among the county's native sons, his birth occurred in Tonica, April 20, 1863. his parents being Jacob and Margaret (Geiger) Deo- bald, both of whom were natives of Germany, the former born in Bavaria and the latter in Wur- temberg. They came to Tonica, La Salle county, in the spring of 1856, and here resided until called to their final rest, the death of the father occurring in 1870, when he was fifty years of age, while his wife died in May, 1874, at the age of forty-nine years. He had followed farm- ing near Tonica and was an industrious and . active agriculturist. In the family were five children, of whom L. A. Deobald and Mrs. Mary Brady, of Eden township, are the only ones now' living in La Salle county. The others are: Car- rie, a resident of Denver, Colorado; Charles, who died at Kendrick, Idaho, where his family now resides ; and Josephine, also of Denver.

L. A. Deobald, who is the youngest, was for several years a student in the schools of Tonica. He afterward continued his studies in Hope township and later completed his education in Tonica, during which time he resided at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Simeon C. Hiltabrand. He has followed farming mainly as a business and is practical in all that he undertakes, ac- complishing much by reason of his indomitable perseverance and indefatigable energy. Some years ago he built his present home in Tonica, to which he removed in 1903. He still owns a quarter section of finely improved land on section 4. Hope township, and the place is splen- didly improved and equipped with modern con- veniences. For a long period he carefully con- ducted his farming interests and in his business affairs brought to bear sound judgment and keen discrimination.

On May 27, 1903. Mr. Deobald was married to Miss Luella Ebner, a daughter of A. J. Eb- ner, of Tonica, and they have a pleasant home

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where true hospitality reigns supreme, while in social circles in the community they occupy an enviable position. Politically Mr. Deobald has always been a Democrat and in religious faith his wife is connected with the Methodist church.

JOHN SCHMITZ.

John Schmitz, who is engaged in farming and stock-raising and also buys and ships stock. mainly cattle and hogs, resides on section 30, Vermillion township, where he owns a farm of one hundred and fifty-three acres, now well improved. Here he has resided continuously since the spring of 1891. As the name indicates. he is of German birth, the place of his nativity being in Prussia, Germany. He was born on the River Rhine between Cologne and Bonn, June 15, 1857, his parents being Bernhard and Ger- trude (Dahlhausen) Schmitz, who came to Amer- ica in 1866 or 1867. They made their way direct to Peru, where they located and where the mother still resides at the age of eighty-six years. The father, however, has departed this life, his death having occurred about 1895, when he was seventy-six or seventy-seven years of age. He was a tradesman, who followed carpentering and cabinet-making, but devoted the greater part of his time to the painter's trade when in America. In the family were four sons, three of whom are now living: Joseph, who is a carpenter by trade and resides in Peru; Frank, of Chicago, who is an inventor and manufacturer of banana cases ; and John. Peter died at about the age of forty- eight years.

Mr. Schmitz of this review was a young lad of about nine years at the time the family bade adieu to friends and native country and sailed for the new world. He was therefore largely reared in Peru, where he attained the common schools, thus becoming acquainted with the Eng- lish language and preparing for the responsible and practical duties of a business life. He be- gan working on a farm by the month when fif- teen years of age and throughout his entire life has been connected with general agricultural pursuits. He purchased his present home farm in the spring of 1891 and has since devoted his attention to stock-dealing, in which he has been very successful. He raises, buys and ships stock, making a specialty of cattle and hogs, and is conducting a large business in this way. He is an excellent judge of stock and therefore makes judicious purchases and profitable sales. His diligence and enterprise, too, have prevented the omission of any business duty and he is to-

day numbered among the active and prosperous representatives of agricultural interests in Ver- million township.

Mr. Schmitz was married in this county to Miss Kate Pflibsen, a daughter of William Pflib- sen, of Richland township, and the union has been blessed with seven children who are yet living, while Conrad died in infancy. Those . who still survive are William, Mary, Nicholas, Bernhard, Frank, Louisa and Leona, all of whom are yet under the parental roof.

In his political views Mr. Schmitz is a dem- ocrat, though he votes independently at local elections. He served for six years as commis- sioner of Vermillion township and proved a capa- ble official. He and his family are members of the Catholic church of Richland township and he is a man who in his business relations has always been found reliable and enterprising, de- manding his just rights, yet according the same to others.

GEORGE I. CALKINS.

George I. Calkins, deceased, who will be re- membered by many residents of Ottawa, where he spent the greater part of his boyhood and youth, was born in Pennsylvania, his parents be- ing Moses and Corintha (Claflin) Calkins. The father was an old settler of La Salle county, hav- ing removed from the Keystone state to Illinois at an early period of its development. He was a farmer by occupation and carried on general ag- ricultural pursuits near Ottawa. He was also proprietor of a hotel in South Ottawa for many years during the earlier existence of the city. Both he and his wife passed away in Ottawa.

George I. Calkins, brought to Illinois in his early youth, pursued his education in the schools of Ottawa, his boyhod days being passed in the usual manner of lads of the period. He entered upon his business career as a clothing merchant at Morris, Grundy county, Illinois, being asso- ciated with his brother, J. H. Calkins. They con- ducted the enterprise for some time and after- ward George I. Calkins went to the Black Hills, where he engaged in mining. Sometime later he sold his interests in that part of the country and went to California, where he met with an acci- dent, resulting in his death.

Mr. Calkins had been married in 1868 to Miss Emma L. Smith, of Ottawa, who was born in that city, a daughter of Aaron B. Smith. She, too, was educated in the public schools of the county seat and yet has many friends there. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Calkins were born three children, two daughters and a son: Blanche E., who was

JOHN SCHMITZ.

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educated in Ottawa and in Chatsworth high school, is now at home. Edith E. was also a student in the Chatsworth high school and is yet with her mother. Guy M., who for twelve years was an employe of the extensive mercan- tile firm of Marshall Field & Company, is now · a traveling salesman for the John V. Farwell dry-goods company. Mrs. Calkins makes her home at No. 301 Winthrop avenue, Chicago. She has devoted her life to rearing her children and much credit is due her. Mr. Calkins was a member of the Masonic fraternity and a man of many excellent traits of character.

SIMEON L. JENKS.

Simeon L. Jenks, whose death occurred in Earlville, March 20, 1906, was for many years a respected and worthy resident of La Salle county and through the exercise of excellent business ability, keen executive force and inde- fatigable industry he achieved a position as one of the substantial citizens of this part of the state. He was a native of Massachusetts, born at Belchertown in 1822, his parents being Jere- miah and Susan (Perry) Jenks, both of whom died in Massachusetts. The families come of English and Scotch ancestry. Simeon L. Jenks was the youngest of seven sons and he had three sisters. One of the sisters, Mrs. Olds, lived for many years at Mendota and is now residing in Chicago at the age of eighty-four years.

Simeon L. Jenks was reared and educated in Massachusetts and having arrived at years of maturity was married there to Miss Sarah Thomas, with whom he traveled life's journey happily for a number of years, but they were separated by death in 1866, when Mrs. Jenks was called to her final rest at the age of forty-one years. Unto them were born two children : John Jenks, who is a native of Massachusetts and for the past twenty-seven or twenty-eight years has resided at Avoca, Iowa; and . Mrs. Idalette Currier, the wife of E. M. Currier.

In the year 1856 Simeon L. Jenks came to Illinois and became a factor in its agricultural development. As the years passed by he made extensive and judicious investments in real estate and became the owner of several farms, em- bracing altogether about one thousand acres. In matters of business judgment he was always sound and reliable, never taking advantage of the necessities of his fellowmen in any trade transaction, but so conducting his business affairs that his labors returned to him a good income. He knew how to invest his money so as to secure

good returns therefrom and he placed much of his capital in the safest of all investments- real estate. He was for years one of the large stockholders and an officer in the First National Bank of Earlville and was justly regarded as a prominent and successful business man of the county. He was quick to recognize an oppor- tunity and to take advantage of it and his under- standing of business conditions, combined with a progressive spirit, kept him in touch with the progress of the times and made him one of the leading residents of his adopted county. He traveled life's journey for eighty-one years and for some time was one of the most venerable as well as most respected citizens of Earlville. All who knew him honored him by reason of the course which he had followed in an active life. He never allowed the accumulation of wealth to effect in any way his relations toward those less fortunate in a financial sense and on the contrary always had a pleasant greeting for those with whom he came in contact and never forgot an old friend.

His daughter Idalette is the only surviving representative of the family in this county. She gave her hand in marriage to E. M. Currier and now resides in Earlville. Mr. Currier was born in Earlville in 1861 and is a son of John Currier, a sketch of whom is given elsewhere in this volume. He was reared upon his father's farm and for two years was engaged in the grocery business in Earlville, since which time his atten- tion and energies have been devoted to the im- provement of his farm. He has managed the estate of Mr. Jenks for a number of years and displays keen business discrimination in all of his movements in the commercial world. Unto him and his wife have been born two sons, Donald and Lawrence, aged respectively thir- teen and nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Currier occupy an enviable social position and their own attractive home is noted for its warm-hearted and gracious hospitality.

J. R. CORBUS, M. D.

Dr. J. R. Corbus, who for more than four decades has been actively engaged in the practice of medicine and is now located at No. 907 West Adams Street, Chicago, is one of La Salle coun- ty's old-time citizens. He was born in Ohio in 1842 and became a resident of La Salle county in the early '70s. His parents took up their abode in that county in 1859, living in Mendota, where the father died. The mother's death oc- curred in Kankakee, Illinois.

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Dr. Corbus was reared and educated in Ohio and was graduated from the Charity Hospital Medical College, Cleveland .. Before his gradu- ation and when not yet twenty-one years of age he entered the army as assistant surgeon and thus served for two years, in 1864 and 1865. Following the completion of his collegiate course he took up his abode in Lee county, Illinois, where he continued in practice nine years and then lo- cated in the city of La Salle, where he was an active representative of the medical fraternity for thirteen years or more. Seeking a still broader field of labor, he removed to Chicago in 1887 and has since engaged successfully in general practice. He has for twenty years been exam- ining surgeon for pensions and is a contributor to medical journals. He belongs to the State Medical Society and through reading as well as through his relations with medical bodies has kept in touch with the uniform and rapid progress of the profession.

Dr. Corbus was married to Miss Sarah Angle, of Stephenson county, Illinois, who died in 1894. There were four children of that marriage : Jo- sephine, the wife of Dr. Howard Corbus, of Kankakee, Illinois; Budd Clarke, who is a grad- uate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and at present associated with Dr. Louis Schmidt in Chicago ; Mrs. Jane Luke, of Ottawa, Canada ; and Mrs. Anna Luke, of Montreal, Canada. The husbands of the two last named are nursery- men.

Dr. Corbus is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degree, and he also belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and to the La Salle County Association of Chicago. He is now six- ty-four years of age, active and successful in practice and with a broad and accurate knowl- edge that comes from wide general experience as well as study and investigation. He still has many friends in La Salle county and there are yet various homes in La Salle wherein he was at one time the family physician.

THOMAS GARDINER.

In a review of the life history of many men it will be found that they owe their success not to any fortunate combination of circumstances or to the kindly interposition of fate, but to diligence and perseverance guided by sound judgment and supplemented by frugality. These are the qualities which have made Mr. Gardiner a pros- perous farmer and now enable him to live re- tired in a pleasant home in the village of Troy

Grove. He is one of the worthy residents that the Emerald Isle has furnished to La Salle coun- ty, his birth having occurred in Mayo county, Ireland. When about twelve years of age he came to America with his parents, who crossed the Atlantic in 1850, settling at Quebec. For about one year he remained a resident of that city and then made his way to La Salle, Illinois, having relatives there. His father was a well- to-do farmer in Ireland, but because of several years of famine there was compelled to leave his native country a poor man. He bore the name of John Gardiner. while his wife was Mrs. Mary Gardiner and both were born in Ireland, where they remained until they crossed the At- lantic to the new world, hoping to better their financial condition. . On coming to La Salle county the father purchased eighty acres of rail- road land in Troy Grove township, which is now in possession of his son Thomas. Later he bought two acres, or one block, in the village of Troy Grove, which is also in possession of Thomas Gardiner and upon which stands the lat- ter's present residence. In the family of John and Mary Gardiner were five children, all born in Ireland: Mary, who is the widow of Richard Maloney and resides in Troy Grove township; Bridget, deceased ; Thomas, of this review ; Eliza, the widow of George Simpson and a resident of Mendota ; and one who died in infancy while the family were crossing the Atlantic to the new world.

Thomas Gardiner spent his early youth in his native country and is self-educated. He went to Canada with his parents and when about fifteen years of age took up his abode iu La Salle coun - ty, where he has since lived. He married Miss Minnie A. Crane, a daughter of Lee Frank Crane and a sister of James and Frank Crane, of Dimmick township. This was one of the early families of the township. Mrs. Gardiner here spent much of her girlhood, remaining under the parental roof until she gave her hand in mar- riage to Thomas Gardiner. She died in the year 1895, having in the meantime become the mother of six children, namely : Royal, who was educated at Columbia University, New York : Pearl, an accomplished young lady at home: Frank and Mabel, both deceased; and Earl and Queenabel, at home.

As the years have gone by Mr. Gardiner has not only won a handsome competence but has become recognized as one of the wealthy resi- dents and large landowners of La Salle coun- ty, his realty holdings now embracing nearly four- teen hundred acres of land in Troy Grove and Dimmick township, La Salle county, all of which is under cultivation. It is drained and im-

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proved, being equipped with good buildings and all modern accessories. Everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance and indi- cates the careful supervision of the owner, who is practical in his methods yet is not slow to adopt the new ideas relating to farming which tend to prove of practical value. In earlier years he was extensively engaged in raising sheep, cattle and horses. He has been very suc- cessful in business operations and although he started out in life empty-handed he is now one of the prosperous residents of this portion of the state. Whatever he undertakes he carries for- ward to successful completion and allows no thought of failure to enter his mind. Determina - tion and persistency of purpose are strong and salient features in success and these are num- bered among the characteristics of Mr. Gardiner, who, coming to America at the age of fourteen years, is now one of the substantial citizens of this portion of the state.

Mr. Gardiner votes with the democracy but has never been an aspirant for public office. He is a member of the Catholic church at La Salle, which he aided in building. In a review of his life record we find that one of the secrets of his success is the fact that he has not dissipated his energies over a wide field of labor, but has con- centrated his efforts upon agricultural pursuits, has thoroughly acquainted himself with the best methods of carrying on the farm and through his determination and labor has achieved a meas- ure of prosperity which shows what may be ac- complished without capital to serve as a founda- tion for future success. He has worked diligently and persistently and with industry as the basis of his advancement he has continually made progress until he is now the possessor of a valua- ble farm and goodly bank account.

ELLMORE H. WHITAKER.

Ellmore H. Whitaker, who follows general farming for the past twenty years has been en- gaged more or less in civil engineering, was born in Franklin county, Indiana, February 17, 1851, his parents being George B. and Sarah (Cunningham) Whitaker. The mother was of Scotch descent, tracing her ancestry back to the first earl of Glencairn in Scotland. George B. Whitaker was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey, while his wife was born in southwestern Ohio. They were married in 1848, George B. Whitaker having removed from New Jersey to Indiana with his parents when they sought a home in the mid- dle west. The young couple resided near Mount

Carmel, that state, for nine years and then went to Acton, Indiana, where they remained until their removal to La Salle county, Illinois, in March, 1866. For a year they resided in Putnam county and then came to La Salle county. Na- thaniel Whitaker, grandfather of our subject, and some of his sons, had located in Putnam county in 1843, but all of the family are now deceased with the exception of Charles Whitaker, uncle of our subject.

Having arrived in La Salle county, George B. Whitaker purchased a farm in Eden township in 1866, his place constituting the west half of the northwest quarter of section 8. There he devoted his time and energies to general ag- ricultural pursuits, making his home there until his death, which occurred, January 26, 1889, when he was sixty-eight years of age. His wife died February 13, 1898, at the age of seventy- one years. At the time of the Civil war George B. Whitaker served nine months as a private in Company D, Twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was detailed for special service, working at the carpenter's trade much of the time while at the front, returning home July 3. 1865. He was also active and prominent in community affairs and served as school director and as road commissioner in Eden township. He was partially disabled while engaged in military duty, but nevertheless led quite an active life.

In the family of George B. and Sarah (Cun- ningham) Whitaker were five children. Arthur C., the eldest, is manager of a lumber business in Ulmer, Iowa, and also owns a farm in that locality. Ellmore H. is the second of the fam- ily. Janette died five weeks after the mother's demise. Mary Isabel is the wife of Frank E. Mudge, of Eden township, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Dick R., of Alvord, Iowa, is cashier and stockholder in a bank there and also owns considerable farm land.

Ellmore H. Whitaker spent eight years of his youth in school in Indiana and afterward at- tended school to some extent during the winter seasons in La Salle county. He came with his parents on their removal to this part of the state and remained upon the home farm until 1888, when he took up his abode on his present farm on section 9, Eden township, having pur- chased the property from the William B. Magee estate in August, 1887. He has lived thereon for eighteen years and has carried on the work of cultivation and improvement until he now has a splendid place. He has good buildings on the farm and it is altogether a well improved property of eighty acres. There is a comfortable residence, in the rear of which stand substantial barns and other outbuildings. The place is

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largely seeded to pasture. In the spring of 1888 he bought the old Methodist Episcopal church of Cedar Point, built fifty-seven years ago, in 1849. He moved this building one-fourth of a mile south from its original location at the north- west corner of his farm and now uses it for a barn, storehouse, etc.

Mr. Whitaker in addition to his other busi- ness interests is a stockholder and active part- ner in the Cedar Point Telephone Company, which connects with all nearby towns where exchanges are established. He is also editor and publisher of the Semi-Occasional Cedar Pointer, having a printing press, type and outfit at his home. He has conducted and published this paper for the past ten years. It is a bright, newsy sheet, devoted to matters of local interest, and now has a large circulation. Mr. Whitaker is a member of the National Amateur Press As- sociation and exchanges with all the other pub- lishers of that membership. He now has a con- siderable local subscription list.

Mr. Whitaker was married to Miss Effie Whit- aker, whose birth occurred in Eden township. Her father, John I. Whitaker, who died De- cember 12, 1904, had located here in 1854 after living for eleven years in Putnam county. His wife died June 9, 1898. Mrs. E. H. Whitaker has three sisters and two brothers, namely : Clara at home ; Sidney, a farmer, who is also con- nected with the telephone business and resides near Granville in Putnam county; Linna, the wife of E. T. James, whose home is at Matte- son, North Dakota; Eugenie, at home; and Charles, a farmer of Zearing, Iowa. The mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker has been blessed with two sons, Herbert Ray and John Irelan, aged respectively sixteen and fourteen years.

In his political views Mr. Whitaker is a re- publican of independent tendencies, never feel- ing himself bound by party ties. He is now serving as school director and for two terms has been road commissioner. Any interests that have bearing upon the welfare and progress of town and county receive his endorsement and co-op- eration and his efforts in citizenship have been of a practical nature, proving of benefit to the community.

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History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 139

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