History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 53

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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Ottawa. -

In his political views Mr. Pearce is a democrat and upholds the gold standard. In his religious views he is a Catholic. He married Miss Neenan

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and they have an attractive home at No. 1019 Ottawa avenue. Their family numbers four daughters and a son. Mrs. James D. Walsh, the eldest, is living in La Salle. Catherine is now a member of the Sisters of Mercy in the convent at Ottawa. Celia and Margaret are at home, and Joseph, after attending school here, spent three years at Niagara University and has since been associated in business with his father. He married Miss Nellie Morrissey, of this city, a daughter of ex-Sheriff Morrissey, of La Salle county, who is now superintendent of the county house.

Mr. Pearce is a man who through his indomi- table perseverance and strong individuality and the breadth of his wisdom has won a prominent position in trade circles in the middle west. His entire life accomplishment represents the result of the fit utilization of the innate talent which is his and the directing of his efforts in those lines where matured judgment and rare discrimination lead the way. There is in him a weight of character, a native sagacity and a fidelity of purpose that command the respect of all. A man of indefatigable enterprise he has carved his name deeply on the records of the industrial history of La Salle county, which owes much of its advancement to his efforts.

JUDGE ISAAC DIMMICK.

Judge Isaac Dimmick, who has long since passed from this life but who was one of the pioneer residents of La Salle county, where he located in 1833, was born at Mansfield, Con- necticut, March 18, 1782. His parents were Eliphalet and Anna (Freeman) Dimmick, the latter a member of a talented family. The father was a farmer by occupation and was a man of mathematical turn of mind, being especially proficient in algebra. Records of the family, which trace the ancestry back through a long period, were destroyed through fire in the United States mail, so that little is known concerning the history of the Dimmicks in earlier generations.

Isaac Dimmick was liberally educated and in 1797 his scholarship qualified him for the pro- fession of teaching, which he followed for some time. He, too, was particularly proficient in mathematics in its various forms and branches. On leaving New England he removed to Bethany, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, where he purchased land and other property. . He was prominent and influential in public life there and for years served as county recorder. He

also represented his district in the state legis- lature of Pennsylvania and was serving as judge of the circuit court at the time when he resigned and left Bethany, removing to the west. In all public offices he was a most faithful, prompt and capable official, discharging his duties with a sense of conscientious obligation. He was commissioned a colonel for service in the war of 1812 and his regiment was in readiness, waiting to be called out for action, but before his command was needed the war was brought to a successful termination.

In the spring of 1833 Judge Dimmick, re- signing his position on the bench and closing out his business affairs in the east, came to Illinois in company with his son Lawrence to inspect the country with a view to settlement. He decided on a location of a section of land now in the township of Deer Park, La Salle county, and, leaving his son Lawrence to sup- erintend the building of a house, he returned to the east and in the fall of the same year brought his family to his new home. Here he again became a prominent and influential factor in public life. He laid out the town of Vermillion- ville and in large measure contributed to general progress and improvement. His farm produced cattle and hogs as well as grain and he kept many cows for the manufacture of cheese. His attention was given to his agricultural interests until 1864, when he removed to Ottawa. He was very fond of music and of flowers, traits of character which showed the gentler side of his nature. He also manifested a great fondness for children and to their delight often assisted them in games of various kinds. He was always tender and helpful toward anything that needed shielding or care and at the same time he was a strong man, strong in his individuality, in his support of his honest convictions and strong in his honor and his good name. His public spirit and devotion to the general good were manifest to an extent that proved detrimental to his pri- vate interests. Many were the calls for aid in the new country and he withheld his support from no movement or measure which he deemed would prove of advantage to his community and county. He proved an efficient officer in selecting competent teachers to conduct good schools and the cause of education found in him a warm and stalwart friend. He also served as county commissioner for several terms and did able and effective service in that office.

Judge Dimmick was married twice. In 1810, at Bethany, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, he married Sally Woodward, whose brother, George Woodward, became supreme judge of the state of Pennsylvania. Of the six children

ISAAC DIMMICK.

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born of this marriage two survived infancy : Esther Freeman Dimmick, who became the wife of John W. Wood in 1833 at Bethany, Penn- sylvania; and Lawrence Woodward, who was born in Bethany, August 3, 1813, and was edu- cated for the profession of surveying. He came with his father to the west as a pioneer settler of La Salle county and was married in Vermil- lionville in 1839 to Miss Cynthia B. Jenks. Having lost his first wife on the 5th of February, 1821, Judge Dimmick was again married when in Bethany, Pennsylvania, in October, 1822, he wedded Clarissa Norton. The children of this marriage were: L. Norton, who married Elsa J. Nelson; Anna; Philo J., who married Sarah A. Yost; Olive Maria, the wife of James Van Doren; and Clarissa Jane, who died when about four years of age.

Judge Dimmick was not only interested in the material development and political progress of his county but also took an active and helpful part in the work of moral progress here. Almost unaided he built a church, which was probably the first in the county and at all events could have had but one or two predecessors. He had an abhorrence of lying, dishonesty or deceit in any form. His religious views and belief were strong in the efficacy of Christ's atonement. He believed that salvation and immortality come only through Christ and His resurrection and that unbelievers were finally destroyed. He pub- lished a pamphlet setting forth his belief under the title of Bible Teachings. Following his re- moval to Ottawa he spent the most of his time in reading and writing until his eyesight became so badly impaired that this was no longer pos- sible. He read broadly and was an independent thinker, who formed his own conclusions from what he read and learned as well as from per- sonal observation and experience. He was a broad-minded man, whose humanitarianism was one of the strong elements in his career and each- community in which he lived for any length of time was benefited by his connection there- with. He died March 26, 1864, at the very venerable age of ninety-one years and was sur- vived by his second wife until February 14, 1879.

CYRUS L. STAMATE.

Cyrus L. Stamate, who for twenty years has been a traveling salesman representing the house of Alburger Stoer & Company, of Philadelphia, was born in Roundhead, Hardin county, Ohio, April 23, 1845. He is a son of Phillip B. and Ary (Fyffe) Stamate, both of whom were na-

tives of Ohio. The father died when the son was a small boy, and the mother passed away in May, 1906, in Missouri in her eighty-third year. They were married in Ohio and removed to Sac City, Wisconsin, where Mr. Stamate was engaged in the hotel business, also carried on merchandising and followed farming in Wiscon- sin. Subsequently he removed to Magnolia, Putnam county, Illinois, in 1855. He was a Jacksonian democrat in his political belief up to the time Fremont became the first presiden- tial candidate of the republican party. Frater- nally he was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In his family were four children, all of whom are yet living, namely : Cyrus L .; Milton, who resides in Missouri; Mary A., who is married and is living in Mis- souri; and Elizabeth, who is married and also lives in Missouri.

Cyrus L. Stamate acquired his early educa- tion in the public schools of Wisconsin and Illinois. In 1860 he came to Ottawa, where he continued his studies in the high school, of which Professor Thomas Clark was then the principal. During the period of the Civil war he was for six months with Mr. Lindly, quar- termaster with the Fifty-third Illinois Infantry, after which he returned to Ottawa and engaged in clerking for Charles Stout. Later he was in the employ of the firm of Bean & Morgan and subsequently with Keeler & Gaylord. He was afterward employed by John Stout for a number of years and then removed to Dade county, Mis- souri, where he engaged in teaching school. Following his return to Illinois he worked for Fisk & Beem in the tailoring business as a traveling salesman, his territory being Colorado for a number of years. He then became travel- ing representative for Chapman, Frost & Com- pany, of Denver, Colorado, with whom he con- tinued for two years, after which he returned to Ottawa and conducted a merchant tailoring es- tablishment on his own account for five years. On the expiration of that period he again went upon the road, selling tailors' trimmings for Alburger Stoer & Company, of Philadelphia, whom he has now represented for twenty years, being one of the oldest and most valued em- ployes of the house.

On the Ist of December, 1868, Mr. Stamate was married to Miss Medora Hall, who was born in Ottawa, March 25, 1843. Her entire life has been passed in the house in which she was born. It was built in 1840 and was formerly the property of her parents, Josiah and Eliza- beth (Arnold) Hall. Her father, who was born in Connecticut, March 25, 1801, passed away

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March 12, 1876, while the mother, who was born in Arlington, Vermont, April 22, 1806, died in 1890. Mr. Hall came to Illinois in 1838, set- tling in Ottawa, where he was engaged in black- smithing until 1849. He then made the over- land trip to California in company with Jesse Green, who organized a party of man for that purpose. They left La Salle county in the month of April, going by boat to St. Louis, Missouri, where the purchased supplies, then proceeded up the Missouri river to St. Joseph, where they purchased their oxen, after which they started overland. Mr. Hall, however, walked all the way to California. Members of the party tried to induce him to ride some of the distance, but he declined. They were three months on the way and the family never heard a word from him for six months after he left home because there was no method of communi- cation save the slow and tedious travel across the plains or by way of the water route. At length he returned to Ottawa in the month of September, 1850, and was engaged in farming un- til 1855, when he again went to California, where he spent seven years. Once more he returned to Ottawa, after which he lived retired in this city until called to his final rest. In the family were six children, of whom three are now living. Wesley B., who was in the navy as an engineer on the gunboat Banshee at the time of the cele- brated naval battle between the Merrimac and the Monitor, returned to Ottawa after the war and died in this city in 1891. Hannah died in 1886. Peleg A. died in 1901. David M., is a resident farmer of Ottawa township, Mrs. Sta- mate is the next younger. Fannie is living with her sister Medora. The father was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Sons of Temperance and also belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church, his connection with these organizations indicating the character of the man and the high principles which permeated his life. He was devoted to all that tended to promote moral progress and uplift humanity. His political allegiance was given to the whig party.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stamate have been born two children : Dora H., who is the wife of Jo- seph M. Megaffin, a resident of Ottawa; and Edith F., who is studying to be a trained nurse in Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Stamate have a wide and favorable acquaintance in Ottawa and the hospitality of their own home is greatly en- joyed by their many friends. Mr. Stamate be- longs to the Modern Woodmen camp and in politics is an earnest republican. He has a wide acquaintance on the road and has gained many warm friends through his business interests. He

possesses a genial, courteous manner, has con- siderable ability in reading men, and his thorough understanding of the trade has made him a most capable salesman.

PLINY HARTSHORN.

Away back in pioneer times came the Harts- horn family to La Salle county, and for seventy years Pliny Hartshorn, whose name introduces this record, has been a resident of this part of the state. His memory forms a connecting link between the past with its many evidences of frontier life and the present with its evidences of modern civilization, and in the years that have come and gone he has borne his full share in the work of development and progress, being espe- cially prominent in the agricultural advancement of the county. His labors have resulted in win- ning a large measure of success and he is now one of the most extensive and prosperous farmers of Waltham township. He represents one of the oldest American families, the ancestry of which can be traced back to early colonial days. It was in the year 1633 that a representative of the fam- ily came from England, taking up his abode in Connecticut. Oliver Hartshorn was a revolution- ary soldier and valiantly aided in the cause of American independence. He was born November I. 1760, and his wife, whose maiden name was Pettengill, was born May 2, 1759. They were farming people and were the grandparents of Pliny Hartshorn of this review. Their sons and daughters were named as follows: Oliver; Royal; Ira; Asa: Mrs. Clarissa Armstrong; Miranda; Sophronia, the wife of John White; and Eliza.

Of this family Ira Hartshorn was the father of our subject. His birth occurred in Lisbon, New London county, Connecticut, on the 3d of June, 1793, and he passed away in La Salle county, Illinois, September 17, 1859. He served for a short time in the war of 1812 in his native state, and was connected with business affairs there as a merchant and hotel proprietor, and in New York was the manager of a stage route. Feb- ruary 4, 1818, he was united in marriage to Joanna Burnham, a native of Lisbon, Connecti- cut, who was born July 30. 1796. They located in Cazenovia, Madison county, New York, but a year or so later removed to Lebanon, that state. In 1836 Mr. Hartshorn made a prospecting tour through the west, and in 1837 brought his family to Illinois. He was first a resident of Joliet, where he secured employment in a sawmill, but in 1837 he entered a claim of government land,

Ony Hartshown

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which he afterward developed into a fine farm, making his home there for two decades. That property is now owned by his son Alfred. Mr. Hartshorn died September 17, 1859, at the age of sixty-six, from disease contracted that year while on a prospecting tour at Pike's Peak. His wife was a lady of strong character and many virtues. She remained on the old homestead until 1866, and afterward lived with her children until her death, which occurred February 14, 1875. In his political views Mr. Hartshorn was a democrat in early life but after his removal to Illinois became a supporter of the freesoil party. He was well known to the pioneer settlers of La Salle county and performed an important part in transforming its wild prairie land into a tract of rich fertility. Ira and Joanna ( Burn- ham) Hartshorn became the parents of nine children. Joshua P., who was born December 10, 1818, is now a resident of Cass county, Iowa. Erasmus Darwin, born June 4, 1821, resides in California. Alfred I. is a resident of La Salle and is represented elsewhere in this work. Pliny is the subject of this review. Calvert, born July 25, 1827, is a resident of Onarga, Illinois. Mary, born March 1, 1830, is the widow of Eli Strawn and resides in Chicago. Lucy, who was born March 17, 1832, is the widow of A. M. Niles and lives in Ulysses, Nebraska. Lydia, born Novem- ber 28, 1835, is the wife of R. V. Downing, of David City, Nebraska. Charles Bishop, born June 23, 1838, died at Shiloh, Tennessee, during the Civil war, while serving as a member of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry. Of these children the youngest was born in La Salle county, and the others have been born in New York.

Pliny Hartshorn was born on the 26th of August, 1825, in Lebanon, Madison county, New York, and was therefore in his eleventh year when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Illinois, the family home being estab- lished in La Salle county in 1836. The father purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, constituting the notheast quarter of section 6, Utica township, and this property is now owned by Alfred I. Hartshorn, having continuously remained in possession of the family. A picture of pioneer life indicates the condition amid which the boyhood days of Pliny Hartshorn were passed. The family lived in true pioneer style in a little cabin amid frontier environments. Much of the land was still unclaimed, and being in possession of the government, not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made on many an acre of broad prairie that now consti- tutes richly cultivated fields. Wolves were fre- quently heard howling at night and it was no unusual thing to see deer in this part of the state, while turkeys, prairie chickens and other

game was to be had in abundance. One could ride for miles across the country without coming to a fence or house to impede his progress. The land was new but capable of rich cultivation and the enterprise and keen discernment of the early settlers enabled them to recognize possibili- ties here and secure claims, which, as the years passed, they converted into very productive and valuable farms.

Pliny Hartshorn, spending his boyhood days under the parental roof, shared in the hardships and privations incident to frontier life, and as opportunity afforded he attended the common schools, where little was taught save the "three R's." He continued at home until nineteen years of age, when better educational facilities were afforded him, for in 1844, he went to Hamilton, Madison county, New York, to attend school, remaining for two years. In his youth, when not busy in school, he aided in the arduous task of developing new land and as the years have gone by he has continued his work as a farmer. As the years brought him to maturity he determined to engage in farming on his own account. In 1841 he and two brothers secured a claim of canal land, which was subsequently purchased at a sale of the canal lands. From time to time Mr. Hartshorn has added to his possessions until he is today the owner of five hundred and sixty acres of very valuable land in La Salle county. His residence is situated on section 31, Waltham township. His farm is splendidly improved, being equipped with large and substantial buildings, including an attractive residence and good barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock. He has kept in touch with the trend of modern progress along agricultural lines, having secured the machinery that has been invented and introduced for the facilitation of farm work. Everything about his place is kept in first class condition and the farm presents an air of neatness and thrift unsur- passed by any farming property of this part of the county. In all his business affairs Mr. Harts- horn shows keen discernment, marked enterprise and sound judgment, and moreover, he has been strictly fair and upright in his dealings, never taking advantage of the necessities of his fellow- men in any trade transaction. He has thus gained for himself an honorable name as well as a handsome competence, his valuable farming interests being the visible evidence of his life of activity. In addition to his home property in La Salle county he owns one hundred and sixty acres of improved land in South Dakota.

On the 26th of September, 1856, Mr. Harts- horn was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Simonton, a daughter of Ben- jamin and Anna (Buck) Simonton and a

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native of the Empire state. Three chil- dren were born of this union but the daugh- ter, Anna M., is now deceased. The sons are Herbert and Eugene. The latter is a resi- dent of Oklahoma, while the former is a resident of La Salle county, widely and favorably known in this portion of the state.

Mr. and Mrs. Hartshorn are members of the Baptist church and have lived lives of uprightness in harmony with their professions. Few indeed are the residents who have remained for so long a period in La Salle county. The name Harts- horn has figured prominently and honorably in this section of the state, and Pliny Hartshorn has been a worthy representative of the family. The course which he has marked out and followed in his life has made him an honorable and honored man and wherever known-and his acquaintance is very wide-he has enjoyed the respect of all with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact. He has taken just pride in what has been accomplished in the county and as a public-spirited citizen has borne his full share in the work of general improvement. His memory goes back to the time when the homes of the settlers were widely scattered, a little log cabin here and there showing that the seeds of civilization had been planted and that the work of development had been begun. Cooking was done over the old fireplace and the scythe had its place in the fields. Household utensils and farm implements were both primitive and crude compared with those of the present time, and as the years have gone by Mr. Hartshorn has rejoiced in the advancement and has never been slow to adopt modern improvements relative to his own business interests or to the welfare of the county at large.

WALLACE DOUDANVILLE.

Wallace Doudanville is one of the prosperous farmers of Serena township, whose methods are thoroughly practical and resultant and thereby he has become the owner of one hundred and sixty- five acres of rich and productive land, to the further improvement and development of which he is now giving his time and energies. More- over he is numbered among the old settlers of the county, dating his residence here from the fall of 1850. He was a youth of only eight years at the time of his arrival, his birth having occurred in Alsace, France, on the 30th of March, 1842. His father was Ludwig Doudanville, also a native of Alsace, in which country he was reared and there he married Miss Clara Brunt, who

was born in the same locality. Mr. Doudanville was a wine merchant of Alsace and served as a soldier in the Napoleonic wars, being for four- teen years connected with the army. There were six children in the Doudanville family, and in 1850 the father with his wife and children emigrated to the United States, making his way direct to La Salle county, Illinois. He settled in Northville township, where he joined friends and his remaining days were spent in that locality. In the family were eight children, seven of whom, four sons and three daughters, are now living : Joseph, a resident of Grundy county ; Wallace, of this review .; Mary, the wife of Lester Benoit, a resident of Hamilton county, Iowa; Josephine, the wife of Joseph Ulrich, also of Iowa; Frances, the wife of Charles Chalus, of Iowa; Louis, who is living in Sheridan; and Daniel, also of Sheri- dan. All of the brothers are men of prominence in the various communities where they reside, having become men of business ability whose en- terprise contributes to the general prosperity as well as to individual success.

Wallace Doudanville acquired his education in the public schools and through reading and research in his leisure hours. He has also learned many valuable lessons in the school of experience. Having arrived at years of maturity he chose as a companion and helpmate for life's journey Miss Elizabeth Sherman, to whom he was married in Somonauk, in June, 1870. She was born in Northville township and is a daugh- ter of Stephen Sherman. Following their mar- riage the young couple located on a farm, where they now reside. Mr. Doudanville began his farming operations with eighty acres of land, which he at once began to cultivate and improve. He bought more land from time to time and now has one hundred and sixty-five acres. He has rebuilt and improved the house, has also built a good barn and corn cribs and has set out fruit trees. He has fenced and cross-fenced the place, divided it into fields of convenient size, has tiled the land and made the farm a good property. He is very industrious and his perseverance and energy stand as strong features in his business career, being a source of success which is as honorable as it is gratifying.

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History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 53

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