USA > Illinois > Lee County > History of Lee County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 8
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In Mendota township, LaSalle county, Illinois, on the 9th of March, 1892, Mr. Betz was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Nie- bergall, a daughter of John and Catherine Niebergall, the former
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a pioneer in that locality. The father died in 1908 and is buried in Four Mile Grove cemetery, LaSalle county. His wife survives him and makes her home in Mendota. Mr. and Mrs. Betz have three children: Wellington, at home; Roscoe, who was graduated in 1913 from the Compton high school; and Edwin, a student in high school.
Mr. Betz gives his political allegiance to the progressive party and is now president of the board of education and justice of the peace. He attributes the remarkable success which he has met with in his business to the fact that he has specialized in one line since the beginning of his active career, never neglecting any opportunity to increase his knowledge or promote his efficiency.
T. H. STETLER, M. D.
Since 1867 Dr. T. H. Stetler has been a resident of Lee county, coming to this region from Pennsylvania when twenty years of age. During the first few years in this locality he taught school, but later took up the study of medicine and in 1876 established him- self in Paw Paw, where he now has successfully practiced for thirty-seven years, being recognized as one of the foremost phy- sicians and surgeons of the city. He has an extensive and represen- tative practice and by his many patients is considered more in the light of a friend than that of a physician. As the years have passed prosperity has come to him and he has become one of the most influ- ential and substantial men in Paw Paw, where his professional attainments are universally recognized.
Dr. Stetler was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on August 6, 1847, a son of John and Julia (Lazarus) Stetler, the former of whom was engaged along mercantile lines in the Keystone state. He was highly respected in his residential city, where he passed away in 1886, his wife having preceded him thirty years, her death occurring in 1856. Both are buried at Hanover, Pennsylvania. The Stetler family are of German extraction but have been resi- dents of this country for over a century.
T. H. Stetler was reared under the parental roof and the oppor- tunity was given him of attaining a fair education. He attended public school and subsequently the Wilkes-Barre Academy, but when he had attained the age of twenty years, in 1867, he decided to seek the greater opportunities of the then west and removed to
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Lee county, Illinois, where he successfully taught school for five or six years. Inclined, however, toward a professional career, he entered Northwestern University, where he attended the medical school, graduating in 1876. In that year he returned to Lee county and established himself in practice at Paw Paw, which he has since made the field of his labors and where he has attained to a position which places him with the foremost medical men of the county. In point of years of practice he is the oldest doctor in this vicinity. He is careful in diagnosis and there are few if any mistakes which have occurred in the execution of his duties during his long career. His medical standing is fully recognized in the profession and his reputation with the general public bespeaks the confidence which is reposed in him and is only too well merited.
On December 31, 1870, in Paw Paw, Illinois, Dr. Stetler was married to Miss Elizabeth Rosenkrans, a daughter of Abram and Elizabeth Rosenkrans, the former a pioneer agriculturist of Lee county, who settled here in 1855. Her parents are deceased and found their last resting place at Marble Rock, Iowa. Dr. and Mrs. Stetler have one daughter, Orla, a graduate of the Paw Paw high school, formerly a student of Northwestern University and also a graduate of the Chicago Conservatory of Music. She is a highly accomplished young lady and popular in the younger society set.
Dr. Stetler and family occupy a handsome residence which he himself erected and where he has his office. Although his pro- fessional duties are arduous and occupy practically all of his time, the Doctor has taken an active interest in matters of public impor- tance and has served successfully as chairman of the republican central committee, although he has since embraced the principles and ideals of the progressive party. Along fraternal lines he is prominent with the Masons, being a Knight Templar, and has also been worshipful master of the blue lodge at Paw Paw. He is a member of Bethany Commandery. Along more strictly profes- sional lines he is a member of the Lee County and Illinois State Medical Societies, a life member of the North Central Medical Association and a member of the American Medical Association, and through these connections keeps in touch with the latest dis- coveries and ideas which constantly revolutionize the world of medical science. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian denomination and he is a member and trustee of that church at Paw Paw. He is interested in all projects undertaken in the inter- ests of the general public and is ever ready to give his support to worthy public enterprises and to help along measures which make
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for the uplift and betterment of humanity along moral, intellectual and material lines. He is one of the most highly respected citizens of Paw Paw and the esteem and regard which he so freely enjoys are readily given in response to his professional attainments, his disinterested public spirit and those qualities of his character which have made possible his success.
WALLACE C. YENERICH.
Wallace C. Yenerich holds a position of distinctive precedence in financial circles of Lee county as president of the Farmers State Bank of Ashton, an institution which he aided in organizing and which his executive power and ability as a financier has placed among the leading banks in this part of the state. He was born in Buffalo, New York, February 14, 1855, his parents being George H. and Elizabeth Yenerich, natives of Germany.
Wallace C. Yenerich acquired his education in the public schools of Wyoming township, this county, and at Northwestern College at Naperville, Illinois. After completing his studies he turned his attention to farming in Wyoming township and later moved to Ashton township, where he followed agricultural pur- suits until the fall of 1905. At that time, in partnership with his eldest son, E. J. Yenerich, he opened a bank at Whitten, Iowa, and he has since been president of this institution. In April, 1907, with others Mr. Yenerich organized the Farmers State Bank of Ashton, Illinois, and was elected president, an office which he has held continuously since that time. In a responsible and difficult position he has proved capable, farsighted and reliable, promoting the interests of the bank in a progressive and practical manner and winning recognition for himself as a successful financier. He controls valuable property interests, owning nearly one thousand acres of land, most of which lies in Lee county. He has stock in several banks in Minnesota and was at one time the owner of the majority of the stock in the Farmers State Bank of Ashton. He now holds a majority of the stock in the Whitten Bank at Whitten, Iowa.
In Reynolds township, this county, on the 4th of December, 1879, Mr. Yenerich was united in marriage to Miss Catherina Kers- ten, a daughter of John and Christina Kersten, the former a large land holder in that locality. Mr. and Mrs. Yenerich have become
WALLACE C. YENERICH
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the parents of the following children: Erven John; Benjamin G., who married Elma Johnson; Ellen Lizzie, the wife of C. F. Heiben- thal; Charles Otis; Maybelle; and Wesley H.
Mr. Yenerich is a member of the United Evangelical church at Ashton and is active in religious circles, holding the office of Sun- day-school superintendent for many years and being now a teacher of the adult Bible class. He has lived in Lee county since his child- hood and his long residence here has made him widely and favor- ably known. In his early life he was one of the most successful farmers in this part of the state and held the world's record for husking corn and putting it into the crib in the shortest possible time. Mr. Yenerich accomplished this feat on the 24th of Novem- ber, 1879, husking and putting away one hundred and forty-eight and one-quarter bushels at eighty pounds to the bushel between sunrise and sunset. Mr. Yenerich is a progressive republican in his political beliefs and interested in public affairs, although not active as an office seeker. His name stands as a synonym for integ- rity and honor in business circles of Ashton and is held in high esteem and respect wherever it is known.
J. A. ROPER.
Among the more recently established business enterprises of importance in Dixon is the manufacturing plant of the Roper Furniture Company, which was opened in 1910. It is today one of the leading productive industries of the city, contributing in large measure to the material growth and substantial develop- ment of Dixon. At its head is J. A. Roper and associated with him are two of his sons. The Roper family has long been estab- lished in the middle west. The parents of J. A. Roper removed from New York to Michigan in the early '40s. The father was a molder by trade and was a fellow workman on the molding floor with the late James Oliver of South Bend, the multi-million- aire plow manufacturer. J. A. Roper was born in Michigan in 1846 and the same year the family removed from that state to Indiana. His youthful days were devoted to the acquirement of a public school education before the war which was supplemented by a course of study in Asbury University after the war. He was but a lad of fourteen years when he joined the army, enlist- ing the fall of 1861 as a member of Company F, Forty-eighth
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Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war, being first sergeant when mustered out. For a year previous to his discharge he had command of General William T. Clark's body guards, numbering thirty men. He was the young- est member of his company to serve throughout the period of hos- tilities. He participated in many hotly contested engagements which led up to the final victory that crowned the union arms, and he never faltered in the face of danger nor hesitated to respond to the call of duty.
After the close of the war Mr. Roper continued a resident of Indiana for a number of years and in 1868 was married to Miss Ella M. Dowling of that state. Unto them were born five sons: H. D., who is secretary and treasurer of the Roper Furniture Company; C. A., residing at Mishawaka, Indiana, where he is en- gaged in the lumber business; H. C., connected with the Dixon plant; L. E. and J. Gordon, who are residing in Chicago and are engaged in the furniture business there.
During the period of his residence of Mishawaka, Indiana, J. A. Roper established a furniture manufacturing plant, which was conducted by the family for twenty-two years.
Throughout that period the business grew and prospered and it was not until 1910 that it was sold and the family removed to Dixon. Here was established the present plant of the Roper Furniture Company which today has a floor space of thirty-four thousand, four hundred and forty feet. It is a three story fire- proof building with sprinkler equipment, an engine of one hun- dred and twenty-five horse power, with a steam plant and also full electrical equipment. They manufacture high-grade dining room furniture, employ seventy-five people at the factory and three traveling salesmen upon the road. Their product is widely sold and they have salesrooms, warerooms and offices at No. 815 Wabash Avenue, Chicago. The present officers of the company are J. A. Roper, president; H. C. Roper, vice president and H. D. Roper, secretary and treasurer. The business was a valuable ad- dition to the manufacturing interests of Dixon and the partners in the enterprise are all progressive business men who have no patience with underhand methods, but base their success upon de- termination, perseverance and talent. The simple processes are those which win results-not the intricate involved plans-and thus it is that analysis brings to light the fact that the success- ful men are those whose rules of business are simple in plan, even though there be a multiplicity of detail. In the conduct of the
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Roper Furniture Company the efforts of the sons ably supple- ment and round out those of the father and trained through years of painstaking work, they are in every way adequate to assume the discharge of comprehensive duties and guide the interests of one of the most important business concerns in the city.
The family are members of the Episcopal church and in poli- tics father and sons are progressive republicans, believing that in politics as in business, advancement should be continuously made with changes to meet the changing conditions of the times.
R. W. RUCKMAN.
R. W. Ruckman, a successful and popular young citizen of Amboy, has held the position of cashier in the Amboy State Bank since its inception in December, 1912. His birth occurred at Stew- ard, Lee county, Illinois, on the 15th of September, 1890, his par- ents being G. A. and Carrie (Bowles) Ruckman. The father, who came to this county from West Virginia in 1878, embarked in business as a hardware merchant at Steward, where he has con- ducted his enterprise successfully throughout the intervening thirty-five years. He has ably served in the capacity of township treasurer for many years and is widely recognized as one of the substantial and representative citizens of the community. His wife, whose demise occurred in September, 1910, at the age of forty-five years, is buried in the Steward cemetery. The family is of old American stock.
R. W. Ruckman was graduated from the Steward high school in 1907 and then entered Coppin's Commercial College at Dixon. After leaving the latter institution he assumed the duties of as- sistant cashier of the First National bank of Steward and has since remained a stockholder and director thereof. In December, 1912, at the time of the organization of the Amboy State Bank, he entered that institution as cashier, in which position he has already made a creditable record, discharging his important du- ties in an efficient and highly commendable manner.
In his political views Mr. Ruckman is independent, support- ing men and measures rather than party. At the time of his re- moval to Amboy he had served in the office of town clerk for six months. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to the blue lodge at Steward and the chapter at Rochelle, Illinois.
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He has always remained a resident of this county and enjoys an enviable reputation as one of its popular, progressive and enter- prising young men.
LEWIS WOOD.
Lewis Wood, a veteran of the Civil war, living retired after forty-four years in the service of the Northwestern Railroad Com- pany, was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, May 14, 1848. He is a son of James and Melissa (Vosburg) Wood, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Illinois in 1852, and located in Ogle county, where the father served as foreman in the construction of a dam across the Rock river at Oregon, Illinois. Both passed away in this state. To their union were born eleven children, the subject of this review being the eighth in the order of birth.
Lewis Wood remained with his parents until 1864, when he ran away from home and joined the union army, enlisting in the One Hundred and Fortieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry under Captain George Turkenton. He was one of six brothers who served the union during the conflict and all came out of the serv- ice alive. Lewis Wood was mustered out with honorable dis- charge at Chicago, Illinois, and immediately returned home, where he remained until 1867. Two years later he entered the service of the Northwestern Railroad Company and for forty-four years and five months thereafter remained connected with this corpor- ation, rendering his employers efficient, conscientious and capable service. He became known as one of the most reliable men in the employ of the company and in the course of years won the con- fidence and regard of his superiors and the good-will of his as- sociates. Mr. Wood draws a pension of seventeen dollars and seventeen cents a month from the Northwestern Railroad and also fifteen dollars a month from the government, as a veteran of the Civil war. He owns a comfortable residence in the village of Ashton and is here spending his retired life, being widely and favorably known in the community.
In 1867 Mr. Wood was united in marriage to Miss Susan Moot, a native of Canada, and a daughter of Silas and Theresa Moot, also natives of the Dominion. The parents came to the United States in 1863, locating in Lee county, Illinois, where both passed
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away. Mrs. Wood died April 9, 1913, leaving three children: Charles H .; Lily May, the wife of Fred Tilton of Ogle county; and Fred B.
Mr. Wood is connected fraternally with the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows and is a member of the Grand Army Post. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and served for six years as trustee of Ashton township. In matters of citi- zenship he is at all times progressive and public-spirited, being as loyal to his country in times of peace as he was on the southern bat- tle fields during the Civil war.
CITY NATIONAL BANK.
The City National Bank of Dixon is the outgrowth of the first bank of Lee county. It was established in Dixon in 1854 by the firm of Robertson, Eastman & Company as a private bank. In time changes in the partnership led to the adoption of the firm style of Robertson, Eells & Company and since that time the name of Eells has figured in connection with the successful manage- ment and control of the institution. In 1865 a reorganization was effected under the named of the Lee County National Bank and the capital stock was raised to one hundred thousand dol- lars. Two decades later the name was changed to the City Na- tional Bank, the capital stock remaining the same. In this re- organization Joseph Crawford became the president with Samuel C. Eells as the cashier. Subsequent changes led to Mr. Eells be- coming president, in which position he continued to the time of his demise in September, 1913. The present officers are: W. C. Durkes, president; O. J. Downing, vice president; John L. Davies, cashier, and C. E. Chandler, assistant cashier. The capital stock remains at one hundred thousand dollars and the surplus is fifty thousand dollars with undivided profits of thirty-five thousand dollars. The bank had the first safety deposit boxes in Lee county and has ever kept abreast with the advancement made in the banking business. Three per cent interest is paid on savings ac- counts which in this bank amount to one hundred and eighty-eight thousand and seventy-one dollars and fifty-three cents, while the individual deposits subject to check are six hundred and ten thou- sand and two dollars and fifty cents. The bank occupies one of the attractive business blocks of the city. It is a brick and stone
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building with trimmings of Grecian marble and the fixtures are of solid mahogany. The bank is modern in every respect and since its establishment six decades ago it has maintained an un- assailable reputation, the policy of its officers commending it at all times to the confidence and patronage of the general public.
C. W. BREWSTER.
No history of the Dixon bar would be complete without ยท extended reference to C. W. Brewster, who for nineteen years has been in active practice here. He is one of New England's native sons, his birth having occurred in Wilton township, Franklin county, Maine, January 5, 1852. He was but a young lad at the time of the removal of the father's family to Lee county, settlement being made near Lee Center in the latter part of the '50s. The father engaged in farming and the surroundings of rural life became familiar to C. W. Brewster, who divided his time between the duties assigned him by parental authority and the acquirement of a public-school education. For nearly ten years he engaged in teaching school and then, interested in the profession of law, began preparation for the bar, to which he was admitted in 1892. He entered upon active practice in 1895 and came to Dixon, where he joined his brother E. H. Brewster. He is recognized as a popular and prominent member of the Lee county bar, his pro- fessional brethren entertaining for him warm regard by reason of his capability and his close conformity to the ethics of the pro- fession.
GEORGE B. STEPHAN.
George B. Stephan, proprietor of a well appointed furniture and undertaking establishment in Ashton, is a native son of this town, born September 7, 1886. His parents, Henry and Ernestine (Goebel) Stephan, were natives of Germany and came to America in 1884, locating in Ashton, where they still reside. To their union were born six children, all of whom are still living.
George B. Stephan acquired his education in the public schools of his native city, after which he established himself in the fur-
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niture and undertaking business. He carries a large and well selected line of furniture, caskets and funeral supplies and a liberal patronage is accorded to him, for his prices are reasonable and his integrity above question.
In 1909 Mr. Stephan married Miss Elizabeth Trostle, a daugh- ter of C. W. and Mary (Miller) Trostle, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Lee county, Illinois. Mrs. Stephan is a member of the Presbyterian church and well known in religious and social circles of the town.
Mr. Stephan is connected fraternally with Ashton Lodge, No. 997, I. O. O. F .; Dixon Lodge, No. 779, B. P. O. E .; Ashton Lodge, No. 48, M. W. A .; and Ashton Lodge, No. 531, A. F. & A. M. He gives his political allegiance to the progressive party and is now serving as county coroner, having been elected to that office in 1912. He has held steadily to high standards in business and official relations and well merits the esteem and good-will which are uniformly accorded him.
ADAM WENDEL.
Since 1901 Adam Wendel has owned and operated a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Bradford township and he has become known as one of the substantial and progressive farmers of his locality. He was born in Germany, May 11, 1868, and is a son of Ciriacus and Martha Wendel, also natives of that country. The parents came to America in 1869 and located in Lee county, Illinois, where the father engaged in farming, later living retired, his death occurring in 1909. He had survived his wife since 1901. To their union were born seven children, six of whom are still living.
Adam Wendel was one year old when his parents came to Lee county and he was reared upon his father's farm here, acquiring his education in the district schools. When he began his independ- ent career at the age of twenty-one he turned his attention to farm- ing, operating rented land until 1901. He then purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Bradford township and he has since lived upon this property, which reflects everywhere his care- ful supervision and practical methods in its management. Upon it he has erected substantial buildings and he has installed modern
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machinery, neglecting nothing which might add to the appearance or value of the property.
On the 11th of February, 1892, Mr. Wendel married Miss Mary Magdalene Bower, and they have become the parents of five chil- dren: Hannah E., at home; Henry Ray; one who died in infancy; Robert A., deceased; and Roy W. The parents are members of the German Lutheran church. Mr. Wendel gives his political alleg- iance to the republican party, has been school director and school trustee and is now serving as road commissioner. He is a public- spirited and progressive citizen and as such is interested in the growth and development of the county where he has spent prac- tically his entire life.
HENRY VAUPEL.
Among those who contributed in substantial measures to the agricultural development of Lee county Henry Vaupel was num- bered. He settled in this part of Illinois in 1863 and from that time until his death, in 1909, remained an honored and respected resident, his interests extending to many fields and touching closely the business, political and social growth of the community. He was born in Germany, August 23, 1844, and came to America when he was nineteen years of age, settling immediately in Lce county, Illinois, where for six years he worked as a farm laborer. At the end of that time he rented a farm of eighty acres and after two years purchased two hundred and forty acres, upon which he carried on general farming and stock-raising successfully until he retired from active life and moved to Ashton. Later he bought an additional three hundred and fifty-five acres and at the time of his death was an extensive landholder, owning five hundred and ninety-five acres well improved and cultivated. His widow still owns two hundred and forty acres of the homestead and the house in Ashton where she makes her home.
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