History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 49

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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PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

church property, including the great printing house of the denomination located at Cleveland, Ohio; the congressional contest of Steward V. Childs, in which Mr. McDougall represented Mr. Childs in the preparation and taking of the testimony in this district and before the committee on elections at Washington; the O'Brien case in the circuit court of La Salle county, in which O'Brien was indicted for the crime of murder charged to have been committed in one of the parks of the city. The board of supervisors deemed this case of such importance that they employed special counsel to aid in the prose- cution. The trial occupied the court for nearly a month.

Mr. McDougall's position in any public ques- tion is never an equivocal one, for he is a man firm in support of his honest convictions. In politics he is a stalwart republican and has labored untiringly in the interests of his party, addressing the public upon many campaign ques- tions and issues. His services are constantly in demand as a campaign speaker in his own and adjoining districts. He has always made a fair, earnest appeal to the judgments of men, refrain- ing from anything in the nature of abuse of men, measures or parties as well as anything calculated merely to prompt men to act from passion or prejudice, seeking to win by clear and persuasive presentation and contrast of the meas- ures for which the different parties have stood. He prepared his political addresses with the same care that he prepared for the trial of law suits, taking great pains to gather his infor- mation from the latest and most reliable sources. He has also been an active factor in the work of the party con- cerning the details of organizations and has been president of the Young Men's Republican Club of Ottawa during their campaigns, while for eight years he has served as a member of the congressional committee and has twice been chair- man of the republican county central com- mittee. Again and again he has been chosen as a delegate to the district and state conventions and his prominence in the ranks of his party in Illinois is widely acknowledged. His fight as a delegate to the St. Louis national convention gave him wide recognition among the party leaders in national politics and in the eleventh congressional district contest between Henry Mayo and General F. J. Henderson he led the Mayo forces with signal ability notwith- standing he was not made a delegate until the convention was being called to order and was without any special preparation. John Corwin, the noted political writer of the Chicago Tribune, paid Mr. McDougall the highest tribute for his

work in this convention, saying he had never seen in state or national conventions or legislative bodies a more able and well sustained contest. Mr. McDougall has never sought or desired political office and in fact has refused to become a candidate therefor, yet had he desired he might have won high honors in this direction. Only in his home town has he consented to become connected with official service. Here he has served for several terms as a member of the city council and a large part of the time for twenty years has been president of the board of trustees of the Ottawa township high school.

Mr. McDougall has traveled extensively in the United States and Canada, gaining the culture and.knowledge which only travel can bring. He allows nothing, however, to interfere with his faithful performance of his professional duties and in this connection he has gathered a valuable library and now has a distinctively representative clientage, his thorough preparation and excellent qualifications having gained him distinction as a member of the Ottawa bar. He is moreover widely known in connection with fraternal inter- ests, belonging to the lodge, chapter and com- mandery in the Masonic fraternity, while as an Odd Fellow he has a wide acquaintance in this state, having served as a member of the legislative committee of the grand lodge, also of the judi- ciary and appeals committee, while at the present writing, in 1906, he is chairman of the legislative committee as well as a member of the special committee on Revision of the Code. He has twice represented the grand lodge of this state in important appeal cases from its decisions to the sovereign grand lodge, having been success- ful in both cases. At the annual meeting of the State Congregational Association of Illinois in 1905 he was elected moderator by unanimous vote, an honor rarely conferred upon a layman with such unanimity. His life record is a splendid example of what may be acomplished through inherent force of character, laudable ambition and strong and unfaltering determina- tion combined with the qualities of high charac- ter and noble manhood.

WILLIAM HORN.

William Horn, who for the past thirteen years has resided in Ottawa in well earned ease after close connection with agricultural pursuits for many years, dates his residence in La Salle county from 1856 and is therefore numbered among its early settlers. He first located in Farm Ridge township and for a half century has made his home in this part of the state, watching with

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interest its growth and development. He was born. in Schaumberg, Lippe, Germany, March 15, 1833, a son of August and Wilhelmina ( Brey- er) Horn, who in the year 1848 bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed for the new world, their son William being at that time about fifteen years of age. On reaching the shores of America they made their way into the interior of the country and located in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, which was then an almost unbroken wilderness. The Indians were still numerous in that part of the state and there were many wild animals. Pioneer conditions existed all around them and they endured many of the hardships and privations incident to settlement on the frontier. The father's death occurred in Manitowoc county in 1888, while his wife passed away in 1852. A brother and three sisters of our subject came to La Salle county. The for- mer, Henry Horn, died in Iowa in December, 1905, and two of the sisters have passed away, while Mrs. Rohlfing now owns a farm in Grand Rapids township, this county.

William Horn spent the first fifteen years of his life in the country of his nativity and then accompanied his parents on their emigration to the new world, the remainder of his youth being spent in Wisconsin. He was a young man of about twenty-three years when, in the spring of 1856, he came to La Salle county, Illinois, set- tling in Farm Ridge township. In 1857 he went to Peru, Illinois, where he remained for a year, but in 1858 returned to Farm Ridge township and in 1862 went to Grand Rapids township. The same year he enlisted for service in the Civil war as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of hostilities. He was with the regiment in all of its engage- ments, including the Atlanta campaign and the operations in the Carolinas and Virginia. He participated in the siege of Richmond and after- ward went to Washington, D. C., where he was mustered out in June, 1865, at the close of the war. He served as a private for about three years, having joined the army in July, 1862, and throughout that long period proved a loyal and brave soldier, wearing worthily the uniform of the nation.

After his retirement from military life Mr. Horn resided for some time in Bureau county, Illinois, where he carried on farming, but eventu- ally sold his property there and returned to Grand Rapids township, La Salle county, in 1869. There he purchased a farm which he still owns, it being now operated by his two sons, Gustav and

Herman. The farm comprises two hundred and forty acres of land, which has been largely im- proved through the efforts of Mr. Horn, whose practical and enterprising methods soon wrought a marked transformation in the appearance of the place. He brought the fields under a high state of cultivation and as the result of the care and labor which he bestowed upon the farm an- nually harvested good crops. He continued to engage actively in general agricultural pursuits until he removed to Ottawa in 1893.

Mr. Horn was first married to Miss Christian Luchinger of Bureau county, Illinois, who in her girlhood days came from Switzerland to the United States. She died in Grand Rapids town- ship, October 22, 1889, when forty-nine years of age. She left nine children. Charles was born in 1860 and died in 1902 in Nebraska, where he owned two farms. He left a wife and two chil- dren, Eva and Edward, aged eight and nine years respectively. William, born in 1862, is residing in Madison county, Nebraska, where he owns a farm. He is married and has two chil- dren. Albert, born in 1866, is married, has one son, Leonard, and resides in Antelope county, Nebraska, where he owns and operates a farm. Martha, born in 1870, is the wife of Frederick Volk, a farmer living in Madison county, Ne- braska, by whom she has two children, Eleanor and George. Rosa, born in 1872, is the wife of William Morrison, living in Rowe, Illinois, where he has an elevator and is engaged in the grain business. They have two children, Fannie and Willard. Julia, born in 1874, is the wife of Wil- liam Bedei, a farmer of Grand Rapids township, Gustav was born in 1876 and is living on the home farm. Herman, born in 1879, is married, has one son and also lives on the old homestead. Otto, born in 1882, resides in Nebraska.

On the 4th of June, 1890, Mr. Horn was mar- ried to Miss Wilhelmina Weldhauer, who was born in 1861. in Wurtemberg, Germany, and was a daughter of Fred and Louisa Weldhauer. She came to this country in 1886, remaining for three years in Maine. While visiting in Germany she became acquainted with Mr. Horn and they were married in New York. They have four children : Gertrude, born July 4, 1891 : Louise, in 1894: Margaret Elizabeth, in 1898; and Ed- ward, in 1902.

In his political views Mr. Horn is a stalwart republican and in 1850 voted for Fremont. He served as school director and as road overseer and is interested in all that pertains to the general welfare. He attends the German Evangelical church, although he and his wife are members

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of the Methodist German church, but there is no organization of that denomination in Ottawa. In his life Mr. Horn has displayed many of the sterling characteristics of the Teutonic race and as a business man and soldier has made a credit- able record, while in citizenship and home life he has displayed many sterling traits which have gained for him the respect and good will of all with whom he has been associated.

ALBERT H. HATTAN, M. D.

In no profession is success more attributable to individual talent than in the practice of medi- cine, and when the consensus of public opinion is altogether favorable regarding one's ability, skill and professional honor, it stands above ques- tion that he has won the favorable opinion by the possession of talents and qualities that have advanced him beyond mediocrity, enabling him to stand among the successful few. Such is the career of Dr. Hattan, who for about a quarter of a century has practiced successfully in La Salle county, continuing his residence in Peru.

He is one of Illinois' native sons, his birth hav- ing occurred in Marshall county on the 4th of June, 1851. He is a representative of an old southern family that was founded in Maryland during the first half of the sev- enteenth century by Thomas Hattan, who

in Maryland in 1655. in England in 1600 and died was born

He was descended from Sir Christopher Hattan, a lord chan- cellor during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. In 1648 he sailed from London for the new world and establishing his home in Maryland was the trusted friend of Lord Baltimore, who shortly after his arrival appointed him secretary of the province and privy council. He was closely iden- tified with the interests of Lord Baltimore in Maryland and died in battle during the engage- ment of the Severn. His descendants are still found in Maryland, Virginia and Ohio and other western states and have filled many positions of public trust, the name figuring in connection with a cabinet office and with places of high military rank, one representative of the family having been a brigadier general of the volunteers. The great-great-grandfather of Dr. Hattan was a cap- tain in the British army and was serving under General Wolfe when he fell at the battle of Quebec.

The paternal grandfather of Dr. Hattan was Forsyth Hattan, who was born in Vir- ginia and learned and followed the black- smith's trade in that state until 1836, when he came to Illinois. He was a pioneer res-

ident of Marshall county, where for forty years he lived and labored, passing away at the age of seventy-six years. One of his brothers was a soldier in the war of 1812 and participated in the battle of New Orleans.

Andrew Hattan, son of Forsyth Hattan, was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, and having arrived at years of maturity wedded Artemisia Moulton, a native of Tazewell county, Illinois, and a daughter of Levi Moulton, who was born in Kentucky, but became one of the representative early settlers of Tazewell county. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Burns and was a daughter of Garrett Burns. She was born at Rising Sun, Kentucky, in 1801, and her father was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, and was an own cousin of Robert Burns, the well known Scottish bard. In 1786 Garrett Burns came to the United States with his parents, the family locating in eastern Maryland, but soon afterward he started for the western frontier across the Alleghany mountains .and became a pioneer resi- dent of Kentucky, making his home on the Ohio river just opposite Cincinnati. The Indians were still numerous in that section of the country and the pioneers had to constantly be on the alert to protect themselves and their families from the Indian depredations. Mr. Burns accordingly joined the army and through the succeeding seven years was in almost constant service, taking part in many of the hardest fought engagements with the red men in the successive campaigns under General Harmar, St. Clair and Anthony Wayne. In a hand-to-hand fight with the Indian war- rior at the time of St. Clair's defeat his thumb was cut off by a tomahawk stroke, which was aimed at his head but which he parried with his rifle. Making good his escape, he started with two wounded companions through the wild forests for the nearest pioneer settlements. They had no arms except hunting knives, no blankets and no means of making a fire. For three weeks they subsisted on acorns, black cherries and slippery- elm bark and traveled day after day through forests infested by wild animals and still wilder men till they safely arrived at a settlement on the Ohio river. In 1794 Mr. Burns was again under the command of General Wayne in battle near the Maumee river against the Indians under their famous war chief, Little Turtle. This ended in the crushing defeat of the red men and delivered the territory from further depredations by the hostile tribes of Indians. Mr. Burns died in Tazewell county, Illinois, in 1859, at the ad- vanced age of ninety years. Levi Moulton, the maternal grandfather of the subject, came to Tazewell county in 1824, at a time when that section of the state was little better than a verita- ble wilderness, infested by wolves and Indians. He was a farmer and a prominent man in his set-

DR. A. H. HATTAN.

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tlement and for many years served as justice of the peace. He burned the first brick laid at Fort Clark, now Peoria, Illinois. Being an abolition- ist politically, he was active in the underground railway scheme and did all in his power to pro- mote anti-slavery principles. He had a personal acquaintance with Abraham Lincoln when he was an embryo attorney and unknown to fame, and with other prominent men of that day, and was himself regarded as one of the leading citizens in his section of the state. He reared a family of nine children and all four of his sons were soldiers in the Union army during the war of the rebellion.

Andrew Hattan, father of Dr. Hattan, became a resident of Illinois in 1836, when a young lad, and was twenty-five years of age at the time of his death, in 1852. In 1849 he had purchased a farm in Belle Plain township, Marshall county, the former owner having pre-empted it from the government. He then gave his attention to agri- cultural pursuits until his demise. His widow survived him for twenty-four years, passing away in 1876, at the age of forty-six years. She al- ways remained true to his memory, never marry- ing again. In the family were a son and daugh- ter, the latter, Mary Elizabeth, being now the wife of C. A. Reed, of Davenport, Iowa. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hattan held membership in the Christian church, were loyal to its teachings and by upright lives endeared themselves to all with whom they came in contact.

Dr. Hatton spent his youth upon the old home- stead farm and was early trained to the work of the fields, while in the winter scasons he at- tended the district schools, early manifesting a love of study and particular aptitude in his mas- tery of the tasks assigned him. Ambitious for further educational advantages than could be obtained in the home district he afterward became a student in Shattuck grammar school, at Fari- bault, Minnesota, while later he attended Eureka College, at Eureka, Illinois. He began teaching when only seventeen years of age and for five years thereafter devoted his attention to attend- ing or teaching school, but in the meantime he formed the determination to become a member of the medical profession and to this end matricu- lated in the Eclectic Medical Institute, in Cin- cinnati, Ohio. Following the completion of his course in that institution he returned to Marshall county and located for practice at La Rose, where he remained for two years. He afterward con- tinued his studies in St. Louis, Missouri, and on the 22d of January, 1877, was graduated as valedictorian of his class in the American Med- ical College. He then continued in practice at La Rose for a year, after which he spent the

two succeeding years in Peru. The following year was devoted to professional service in Henry county, Illinois, at the end of which time he accepted a call to the professorship of anatomy and physiology in his alma mater in St. Louis, filling the position with credit to himself and satisfaction to the faculty. At the end of a year, however, he resigned the chair and since August, 1882, has practiced continuously in Peru with constantly growing success, his professional labors winning him high praise and a substantial financial reward. He has always been a student of his profession and his investigation and re- searches led him to a belief in the principles of homeopathy. Accordingly in 1893, after thorough study, he was graduated at the Chicago Homeo- pathic Medical College, and has since followed that line of practice. He has had a liberal and lucrative patronage, his comprehensive knowl- edge enabling him to meet and master the intri- cate problems which continually confront the phy- sician in his efforts to restore health and prolong life. He keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the profession through his membership in the Fox River Institute of Homeopathy, the Illinois State Homeopathic Association and the American Institute of Homcopathy.

Dr. Hattan was married on the 4th of March, 1874, to Miss Jennie Bangs, the youngest daugh- tcr of Samuel L. and Margaret (Howard) Bangs. Her father was born in Massachusetts and is a lincal descendant of the Puritan Pilgrim, Edward Bangs, who came to the Plymouth colony on the ship Anne, in 1624. His father and his grandfather were soldiers of the war of the Rev- olution, aiding in establishing American inde- pendence. His wife was born in England and is of the noted English family of Howards. Their daughter. Jennie Bangs, is a native of La Moille, Bureau county, Illinois, born in July, 1851, and prior to her marriage was a successful and able teacher. Four children grace this union, Edward Howard, Fred Hammond, Harry Loo- inis and Arthur Wilson. The parents attend the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Hattan is a member, and to the support of which the Doctor has been a generous contributor. He is, how- ever, a member of the Christian church. His political allegiance is given in unfaltering manner to the republican party, and, though he has never been an aspirant for office, he believes it to be the duty as well as the privilege of every true American citizen to keep well informed on the questions and issues of the day and exercise his right of franchise. He has taken various degrees in Masonry, belonging to St. John's lodge, No. 13, A. F. & A. M., at Peru, and St. John's com- mandery, No. 26, K. T., of which he is a past

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eminent commander. He likewise affiliates with Marshall lodge, No. 63, I. O. O. F., at Henry, Illinois, and De Soto lodge, No. 53, K. P., at La Salle. A contemporary biographer has voiced his salient characteristics in the following: "He is a man of high intellectuality, broad human sympathies and tolerance and imbued with fine sensibilities and clearly defined principles. Honor and integrity are synonymous with his name and he deserves the respect, confidence and high regard of the community."

JOHN B. WAITE.

Among the citizens of La Salle county to whom has been vouchsafed an honorable retirement from labor and the enjoyment of well earned rest in the midst of comforts and luxuries which result from former activity is numbered John B. Waite, who was for many years a prominent farmer, stock raiser, and feeder. He owned and operated a farm of four hundred acres in Brookfield township, La Salle county, and is well known among the early set- tlers of Illinois, dating his residence in this state from the 14th of April, 1856. A native of. New York, he was born in Genesee county on the 5th of November, 1827, his father being Daniel P. Waite, who was born in Cambridge, Wash- ington county, New York. There he was reared and in early manhood he wedded Hannah Anthony, who was a native of Rhode Island, and whose birth occurred in the city of Providence. Mr. Waite was a farmer of Gen- esee county, where he reared his family and spent the greater part of his life. His wife died just previous to his demise. In their family were twelve children, eleven of whom reached years of maturity, while three are now living : Jerome B., of Genesee county, New York; John B .; and William C., who is living in Watertown, South Dakota.

John B. Waite was reared in the county of his nativity, where he acquired a common-school education. His advantages in that direction, however, were somewhat limited and his knowl- edge has been largely acquired by reading and investigation and through the school of experi- ence. He remained with his father during the period of his boyhood and youth, assisting in the labors of the fields, and he afterward worked at the millwright's trade for a time. He walked twelve miles before sunrise on Monday mornings in order to get to work at the designated hour and would cover the same distance on Saturday nights, returning to his home. He worked in

this way for the meager salary of ten dollars per month in the year 1849. He afterward was employed as carpenter and joiner, following that business for seven years, and thus by earnest, persistent labor he gained a start in life, realiz- ing the value of industry as a force in winning success.

Mr. Waite was married in Genesee county, New York, on the Ist of November, 1849, to Miss Mary P. Upton, a native of that county, born at Ba- tavia, August 30, 1827. There she was reared and educated and engaged in teaching prior to her marriage. She was a daughter of Daniel and Electa (Randall) Upton, the former a native of Dublin, New Hampshire, and the latter of Danville, Vermont. Mrs. Waite was the fourth in order of birth in a family of thirteen children, of whom three are still living, the others being Mrs. K. B. Finley, of La Mesa, California, and Mrs. George B. Edwards, of Batavia, New York. While teaching school in the early days prior to her marriage she "boarded round" among her pupils and received a salary of a dollar and a half per week. She also engaged in teaching to some extent after her marriage. The Upton family was one of prominence in the east and among its members was General Emory Upton, who won fame as the author of Upton's Military Tactics.

In 1856 the young couple came westward to Illinois, arriving in this state on the 14th of April. They first located in the town of Granville, Putnam county, and Mr. Waite purchased five acres of land adjoin- ing the town, on which he built a home. That summer, however, he went to Kan- sas with a view of locating and it was subse- quent to his return that he bought the five acres of land and built his residence. In the winter of 1856-7 he purchased land in Brookfield town- ship, on which he took up his abode. Later he bought a half section and sold a part of this at a good advance. He afterward sold the entire tract in 1857 at twenty dollars per acre, having paid twelve dollars and a half per acre for the farm. He next invested in one hundred and twenty acres of land a mile to the south, for which he gave twelve dollars per acre. This he broke and fenced, erected thereon good buildings and transformed the place into a valuable and productive farm. As his financial resources in- creased he added to the property from time to time, making his next purchase in 1860, when he became owner of one hundred and sixty acres, for which he paid twenty dollars per acre. Sub- sequently he bought a tract of one hundred and twenty acres at twenty-seven dollars per acre and was continuously engaged in general farm- ing, developing his fields according to the meth-

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History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 49

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