History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 73

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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WILLIAM L. SMITH, M. D.

The rapid advance made by the medical and surgical profession is a matter of marvel and the physician and surgeon of today attempts a suc- cessful accomplishment which he would never have dreamed of undertaking twenty-five years ago. His opportunities for effecting cures and re- ducing the abnormal to the normal in nature seems almost limitless and the men who are fore- most in the profession today are those who have kept abreast with the general progress of the times and have in active practice demontrated correct application of the scientific knowledge to the needs of suffering humanity. Dr. Smith, of Streator, is especially distinguished as a surgeon, possessing an ability which has made him widely known even beyond the borders of Illinois. He maintains an office in Streator, and, practicing along modern scientific lines, his life work, by

reason of the good he has accomplished, partakes of much of the nature of philanthropy.

A native of Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, Dr. Smith was born on the 21st of June, 1853, his parents being Samuel J. and Mary Jane (Robbins) Smith. The father, a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, joined the Union Army in the Civil war, became captain in the One Hundred and Thirtieth Pennsylvania Pioneer Corps and lost his life in the battle of Antietam when fifty-seven years of age. The Smith family, of which the Doctor is a member, has been represented in all the leading wars of the country from colonial days down to the present. Mrs. Smith, surviving her husband for a number of years, passed away at the age of seventy-eight. In their family were two sons and a daughter, of whom the Doctor is the youngest, the others being Moses Robbins and Anna Martha Smith.

Educated in the public schools of Pennsyl- vania, Dr. Smith came to Streator, Illinois, on the 28th of August, 1874, when a young man of twenty years. He took up the study of medicine under the direction of D. L. Wood and subse- quently matriculated in Rush Medical College, Chicago, from which he was graduated in the class of 1878. He was an interne in that col- lege under Dr. E. D. Powell, professor of mili- tary surgery, with whom he continued for eight- een months, and was afterward interne with Pro- fessor Charles T. Cook in anatomy.

Returning to Streator in the fall of 1878 Dr. Smith entered into partnership with his former preceptor, Dr. Wood, with whom he continued for five years, and from 1883 to the present time has been alone in practice. He is now division surgeon for all the railroads in Streator except the Chicago & Alton and for that road was surgeon for eighteen years. He has a very ex- tended acquaintance as one of the leading sur- geons of the middle west. It was through his efforts that St. Mary's Hospital was established in Streator, Mr. Plumb having donated the land for the purpose in 1886. The hospital was opened in what had formerly been a private resi- dence and there were but twelve beds but the work has been extended and enlarged until they now have a modern hospital with eighty-six beds.

For the past twenty years Dr. Smith has served as surgeon, with the rank of major, in the Third, Fourth, Tenth and Twelfth regiments of the Illi- nois National Guard, receiving commissions from every governor of Illinois since 1878 with the exception of Governor Altgeld and he would have received from him a commission had his term expired during the term of office of the chief ex- ecutive of the state. Dr. Smith has also acted

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as president of the board of health for the city of Streator and was deputy county coroner for two terms. He has not sought for office, how- ever, outside of the strict path of his profession and in fact the demands of his practice have been so great as to leave him little leisure time for of- fice even had he the ambition to seek political preferment. His name will always be treas- ured with honor and respect by many who have benefited by his professional skill. He has be- come a recognized authority on surgery, being known as a master of the construction and func- tions of the component parts of the human body, of the changes induced in them by the onslaughts of disease, of the defects cast upon them as a legacy by progenitors, of the vital capacity re- maining in them throughout all vicissitudes of existence. He is wise in human nature, wise in the laws of general science, wise in social amenities, and combining these qualities has at- tained prominence in his chosen field of labor.

Dr. Smith was married to Miss Carrie Plumb, a daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Plumb, and following her death he wedded Miss Annie Shinn, a daughter of William and Kate (Hursh) Shinn. He belongs to Streator lodge, No. 607, A. F. & A. M .; Streator chapter, No. 301, R. A. M .; Streator council, No. 73, R. & S. M .; Streator commandery, No. 70, K. T .; Streator lodge, No. 591, B. P. O. E., of which he is past exalted ruler ; the Mystic Workers ; and the Mod- ern Woodmen camp. Viewed in a personal light he is a man of strong mentality, of many sterling traits of character, unfaltering in his friend- ships and faithful at all times to his duty as he sees it in the home and in public life.

D. H. DEWEY.

D. H. Dewey is the owner of one of the fine farms of La Salle county and is classed with the representative agriculturists, possessing business ability, executive force and keen discrimination, which enable him to carefully conduct his busi- ness affairs with the result that prosperity at- tends his efforts. His residence is located on sec- tion 18, Ophir township, where he has one of the best homes in his part of the county. He also owns land on sections II and 13, Troy Grove township, and sections 19 and 20, Ophir township. . for the crops. His home farm of one hundred

Mr. Dewey was born near his present place of residence on section 13. Troy Grove township, and is a son of Pliny and Luna Dewey. It is probable that he comes from the same ancestry as does Admiral Dewey. The father was born in New York and on leaving the Empire state

settled near Dayton, Ohio, while in 1832 he be- came a resident of La Salle county. That was the year in which the Black Hawk war occurred. The Indians were numerous in the central and northern portions of the state and were a con- stant menace to the pioneers. Every evidence of frontier life was found here at that time. The land was covered with the native prairie grasses or the timber and was cut up with sloughs. Only here and there had the plowshare broken the sod as the work of civilization was commenced. An occasional cabin showed that settlement had been made and that the work of improvement had been inaugurated, but much of the development of the county still lay in the future. Pliny Dewey settled on section 13, Troy Grove township, where his brother Hillier had entered a tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres from the govern- ment. Not a furrow had been turned or an im- provement made upon the place and with char- acteristic energy he began to cultivate it, sharing in the usual hardships and privations of pioneer life as he continued the work of bringing the soil under cultivation. After a time he purchased four hundred and eighty acres of land in Lee county and also one hundred acres more in Troy Grove township, all of which is yet in possession of the family. He was a poor man when he came to the county, but he acquired a large es- tate and left his family in very comfortable cir- cumstances. He possessed great energy and de- termination, never faltering in the performance of any task which he undertook, and as the years went by his labors were attended with a gratify- ing measure of success. In his family were five children : Hillier ; Joseph ; D. H., of this review ; Theodore, who has passed away; and Elizabeth, the wife of Martin Moorhouse, of Ophir town- ship. Both Hillier and Joseph were soldiers of the Civil war and Hillier died in the service.

D. H. Dewey, born upon his father's homestead farm, was reared in the usual manner of farm lads of the period and with the family shared in the difficulties incident to settlement on the fron- tier. He attended a little country school, where he gained the knowledge of books that served as the foundation for his success in later years. His training at farm labor was not meager, for he early became an assistant of his father in the work of the fields and gained practical knowledge of the best methods of tilling the soil and caring

and sixty-five acres was purchased by himself and father in 1866. He inherited some land from his father but acquired most of what he now posssses through his own efforts and is to- day the owner of seven hundred and eighty acres all in one body, lying in Troy Grove and Ophir

D. H. DEWEY.

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townships. The entire place is under a high state of cultivation or else is timber land. The fields are devoted to the raising of grain and he annually harvests large crops of the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and also good crops of hay. He likewise raises stock and keeps good grades of cattle, horses and hogs upon his place. He has put up most of the improve- ments on his farm and has the largest barn in this section of the county. He has also erected other buildings for the shelter of grain and stock and has one of the finest country homes in the county, equipped with modern conveniences, com- modious in its arrangements and attractive in its furnishings.

Mr. Dewey was united in marriage to Mary Worsley, who first married his brother Joseph and is a cousin of Fred Worsley, a prominent and wealthy farmer of Troy Grove township. Their children are three in number, Florence, Cora and Sidney. In his political views Mr. Dewey is a republican, casting his first presi- dential ballot for Abraham Lincoln and for each nominee at the head of the ticket since that time. He has never sought or desired office, however, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. He represents one of the earli- est families and also one of the best known in the county, the name of Dewey having figured prominently and honorably in connection with the development and progress of this portion of the state for more than three score years and ten. Mr. Dewey of this review is numbered among the honored early settlers and prosper- ous citizens and with pleasure we present to our readers the record of his career. His mind bears the impress of the early historic annals of the county and from actual experience he is familiar with many of the incidents of pioneer times as well as with later-day improvement.

GOODMAN L. HAYER.

Goodman L. Hayer, living on section 24, Miller township, where he is engaged in general farm- ing, dates his residence in Illinois from 1851, at which time he arrived with his parents in La Salle county. He has always resided in the middle west and possesses much of the spirit of enter- prise which has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding of this section of the country. He was born in Lee county, Iowa, November 12, 1848, a son of Austin Hayer, a native of Nor- way, who came to the new world when a youth of fifteen years. He afterward went to Iowa, but was married in La Salle county, Illinois, to

Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, also a native of the land of the midnight sun. Mr. Hayer resided for two years in Lee county, Iowa, and while there lost his first wife. He afterward returned to La Salle county, where he married again and located on a farm in Miller township, owning and cultivating a tract of land of one hundred and eighty-one acres. Upon this place he reared his family and continued to make his home until called to his final rest on the 9th of March, 1899. His wife survived him until the spring of 1905.

Goodman L. Hayer is the only surviving child of the father's first marriage. He was reared to manhood in this county, spending his boyhood days on the old home farm, where he worked at such tasks as were assigned him by his father, becoming familiar with the labors of the fields from the time of early spring planting until the crops were gathered in the late autumn. He remained under the parental roof until he had attained his majority and made preparations for having a home of his own by his marriage in Miller township on the 9th of August, 1869, to Miss Melina Hegland, a native of Norway, who came to this country when a child and re- sided in Minnesota for some years. Following his marriage Mr. Hayer rented land, which he cultivated for four years and then purchased the farm upon which he now resides, comprising one hundred and twenty acres on section 24, Miller township. Few improvements had been made upon it and he at once began to bring it under cultivation. He has since erected a good sub- stantial two-story residence, a barn and corn crib. He has also put in a wind pump and feed mill and has tiled his land, making it very productive. None of the equipments of a model farm are now lacking and in connection with the cultivation of the fields he has raised and fed stock, his business interests being carefully directed in both departments of this work. He owned and operated a thresher during the sea- sons for thirty years and also engaged in operat- ing a corn sheller. His life has been one of untiring industry and the success which always comes as the reward of persistent, earnest and unremitting labor is now his.

Mr. and Mrs. Hayer are the parents of six children, of whom four are living: Albert E., who is married and resides upon a farm in Miller township; Zenas M., a resident farmer of the same township; Walter, at home; Bertha, the wife of Oscar H. Johnson, a farmer of Miller township: Minnie Theresa, who died at the age of two and a half years; and one who died in infancy. The parents are members of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, in which he

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is serving as an officer and in the work of the church and Sunday-school they take an active part. For several years he served as superinten- dent of the Sunday-school. He has been a life- long republican and though never an office seeker has kept in touch with the questions and issues of the day. What he possesses has come to him as the reward of his perseverance and diligence. He is known as an active and energetic farmer and has the respect of all with whom he has been associated. His residence in the county covers fifty-five years. His youth was spent amid pioneer surroundings and environments, for when his father returned to La Salle county it was a largely unimproved and unsettled district. Much of the land was still uncultivated and compara- tively few roads had been laid out. The homes of the settlers were widely scattered and all farm work was largely done by hand, the machinery then in use being very crude as compared to that of the present time. Great changes have been wrought as the years have gone by and the farm now owned by Mr. Hayer is a valuable property and in its cultivation he displays a spirit of modern progress that is most commendable.

OLIVER REEDER.

Oliver Reeder is a representative of one of the oldest families of La Salle county. Hardly had this district been reclaimed from the Indian hunt- ing grounds when the Reeder family was estab- lished within its borders and in fact only five years had elapsed from the time of the Black Hawk war when the birth of our subject oc- curred on section 16, Eagle township his natal day being December 15. 1837. His paternal grandparents were David and Sarah (Whittaker) Reeder, who in 1828 came to Illinois, settling near Pekin in Tazewell county. There they lived until after the Black Hawk war and two of their sons, Mitchell and Joseph Reeder, served with the white men in their efforts to subjugate the Indian outbreaks, while Reese Morgan, a son-in-law, was likewise a soldier in that war. Mr. Morgan, upon locating later in La Salle county, built a sawmill in Eagle township on the bank of the Vermillion river. David Reeder and his family removed from Tazewell county to La Salle county in the spring of 1833. the family home being established on section 16, Eagle town- ship, the old home farm being now in possession of John H. Jennings. It was upon this farm that Oliver Reeder was born. His grandfather, David Reeder, died upon the old home place, while the grandmother died in this county near

Dayton. David Reeder was one of the first county commissioners and served as justice of the peace in an early day. He was a well known man and a highly respected citizen and he assisted in laying broad and deep the foundation upon which has been builded the superstructure of the county's present progress and prosperity. He aided in convertirg wild land into cultivable fields and in reclaiming this district for the uses of the white race, the family sharing in the hardships and privations incident to settlement on the frontier.

Jacob Reeder, son of David Reeder and father of our subject, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1815 and was married in Ottawa in 1836 to Miss Jane Lord, whose birth occurred in Ohio near Cincinnati in November, 1822. The young couple began their domestic life in La Salle county and in 1840 Jacob Reeder and his brother, Joseph, removed to Green county, Wisconsin, where they purchased adjoining farms, the latter remaining there until in the '50s, when he returned to La Salle county, and later secured a farm in Livings- ton county, whereon he spent his remaining days. Jacob Reeder returned to La Salle county from Wisconsin in 1848 and bought a farm on sections 8 and 17, Eagle township, now owned by I. N. Jennings: There he lived until his life's labors were ended in death and for a long period was closely associated with the agricultural develop- ment of the community. He served as a school director and was interested in all movements or plans advanced for the welfare, upbuilding and progress of the county. He died August 14, 1896, while his wife survived until March, 1902. In their family were nine children, five sons and four daughters, namely: Oliver ; Juliet, the wife of Benjamin Shafer, of Streator; Cynthia, the wife of John Thornburger, residing in the state of Washington ; J. O., who is living at Kangley, Illinois : William C., who resided in this county but passed away a number of years ago; Mary, the wife of George Quaife, living in Bruce town- ship ; Mitchell N., formerly of Streator, but now of Chicago; Della, the wife of William Head, a resident of Streator ; and Charles L., who makes his home in Kangley.

With the exception of eight years spent in Wisconsin Oliver Reeder has always resided in La Salle county and has made his home continu- ously in Eagle township since 1848. He was educated in the public schools and has success- fully followed farming throughout his entire life, living upon his present place since the spring of 1868. He has made all the modern improvements upon the farm and now has a valuable and richly productive tract of land of eighty acres. It is equipped with all modern accessories and con-

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veniences known to the model farm of the twen- tieth century and yields rich harvests.

In February, 1862, Mr. Reeder was married to Miss Julia Cochran, who was born near Lacon, in Marshall county, Illinois, June 3, 1841, a daughter of Jacob and Priscilla (Feazel) Coch- ran. Her father died in Marshall county in 1846 when the daughter was quite small and the mother afterward married John Lahman and re- moved to La Salle county in February, 1850, lo- cating on a farm on section 17, Eagle township, where they lived until called to their final rest. Mrs. Lahman died in September. 1875, in the fifty-sixth year of her age, having been born in Ohio in 1818, and her second husband passed away in 1899, at the age of eightv-six years. By her first marriage she had six children : Frances, who was born in 1835, is now the widow of Elias Wright, and resides in Kangley. Susan, born in 1836, is the widow of Melford Craft and makes her home in Kangley. John, born in 1839, has resided in California sinee 1864. Julia is now Mrs. Reeder. Jerry, born in 1843, is a farmer residing in South Dakota. Thomas, born in 1845, died in 1875. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lahman were born two children: Jacob, who is residing upon a farm on section 17, Eagle township ; and Eva. the wife of I. N. Jennings, a resident farmer of Eagle township.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Reeder has been blessed with a son and daughter. Professor Ar- thur C. Reeder, born June 26, 1867, was formerly a teacher in the commercial department of the Streator school for ten years and is now book- keeper and secretary for the Streator Tile Company. The daughter, Minnie Irene, is at home.

Politically Mr. Reeder has supported demo- cratic principles for many years and has served as township collector and also as school director for twenty years. Few men have more intimate knowledge of the history of La Salle county or have witnessed its growth and development for so long a period. He can remember back in the early days when much of the land was still un- claimed and uncultivated, when the native timber grew along the streams and the native grasses waved on the prairie. Here and there was seen a clearing, showing that the work of civilization and improvement had been begun. The Reeders have ever borne their full share in the work of general progress and improvement here and from pioneer times the name has been associated with the county's history and yet stands for good citi- zenship and for general improvement in this part of the state. Its representatives, too, have made creditable records in business circles and Oliver Reeder is known as a representative agri-

culturist, whose careful management of his farm- ing interests has resulted in the acquirement of a very excellent farm property.

JOSEPH W. TEMPLE.

Joseph W. Temple, living on section 34, Se- rena township, has conducted a profitable busi- ness as a farmer and stock-raiser and his posses- sions include a farm of two hundred and eighty acres, equipped with modern conveniences and accessories, in addition to which he is a stock- holder in two different banks. The attractive- ness of La Salle county as a place of residence is indicated by the fact that so many of her native sons have continued to make their homes here and have not gone to other districts to find in far distant fields the opportunities for success. Among this number is Mr. Temple, who was born on the old farm homestead in Serena township, July II, 1860. His father, Edward Temple, was a native of England, where he was reared and married, the lady of his choice being Miss Mar- garet Mason, also a native of England. They became the parents of two children while still residing in that country. In 1843 they crossed the Atlantic to the new world, making their way to La Salle county, Illinois. Mr. Temple bought land in Rutland township and was the first one to leave the timber tracts and locate on prairie, for the first settlers believed that the former districts were more advantageous. How- ever, he secured his farm on the prairie, broke the land, developed the fields and continued to re- side there for twelve years. In 1855, he sold that property and bought another farm situated in Serena township. Here he had two hundred ard forty acres, which he placed under cultiva- tion, adding many modern improvements and as his financial resources increased he bought more land from time to time until he owned six hun- dred acres. There he reared his family and spent his remaining days, passing away in April, 1896. His wife died in December of the previous year. He was a respected early settler, whose labors were of direct benefit in promoting the agricul- tural development of the county.

Joseph W. Temple is one of a family of four sons and six daughters, of whom three sons and five daughters reached adult age. His boyhood was passed on the old homestead, where he re- ceived common-school advantages. He helped to work and carry on the farm, residing there un- til his father's death and later he succeeded to a part of the old homestead. He has likewise been connected with agricultural interests and

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his early experience in the fields well qualified him to carry on farm work in later years on his own account.

On the 29th of August, 1889, Mr. Temple was married in Ottawa to Miss Emma Jane Murdock, who was born, reared and educated in the county seat. Her father, D. L. Murdock, was formerly of Pennsylvania and was of Scotch ancestry. The young couple began their domestic life upon the old farm homestead, living with his father for four years, during which time Mr. Temple car- ried on the home place. He later erected a large, neat, two-story residence, also built a big barn and corn cribs, together with sheds for the stock and the machinery and he uses the latest im- proved farm implements in the work of the fields. No equipment of a model farm is lacking upon his place and his progressive spirit and practical methods are manifest in the excellent appearance of the fields, which return him golden harvests as a reward for the care and labor he bestows upon them. He is a stockholder in the Ottawa Bank and Trust Company and also in the Serena Bank, of which he is vice president.

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History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 73

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