USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois : biographical and pictorial, Volume II > Part 11
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Mr. Keiser has also been instrumental in securing excellent railroad facilities for Mount Olive. It was largely due to his efforts that a branch of the Peoria & St. Louis Railroad was built from Mount Olive to Alhambra, Illinois, where it connects with the Clover Leaf, running into St. Louis. The undertaking in- curred large expenditures of time and money and its successful completion indi- cates the business ability and energy which have marked the career of Mr. Keiser through life. When the Jackson & Southeastern Railway Company decided to run a branch through Mount Olive they found Mr. Keiser ready to give financial aid. He donated valuable lots for depot purposes and in other ways assisted in establishing the road. The lots on which the city hall and public library are located were his gifts to the city.
On the 9th of November, 1867, Mr. Keiser was united in marriage. to Miss Mary C. Niemann, a daughter of John C. Niemann. Their union was blessed with nine children, of whom the following still survive : Pauline, Amanda, Adolph H., Edward A. W. and Bertha. Four died in infancy. The children have enjoyed excellent educational advantages and have also received financial assistance from their parents.
In politics Mr. Keiser is a republican and he has long been a leader in the local ranks of his party. For seventeen years he served as postmaster of Mount Olive and for a number of years acted as president of the town board. In 1883, when the new township was formed, he was elected its first supervisor, holding the office until 1891 and doing much to reduce the enormous courthouse debt Vol. II-6
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during that period. Both he and his wife are devoted and consistent members of the Lutheran church, exemplifying its teachings in their daily lives. Mr. Keiser acted as superintendent of the Sunday school for a time and served the church in one official capacity or another for a number of years. Generous and liberal in disposition, no worthy cause or needy individual seeks his aid in vain. When was proposed the erection of the present handsome Lutheran church, which is the finest edifice in the city and one of the largest in the county, he donated the lots and three thousand dollars in money.
The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments but rather to leave the perpetual record establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his fellowmen. Throughout Macoupin county Mr. Keiser is spoken of in terms of admiration and respect. His life has been so varied in its activity, so honorable in its purposes, so far reaching and beneficial in its effects that it has become an integral part of the history of the county and has also left an impress upon the annals of the state. He has exerted an immeasureable influence on the city of his residence: in business life as a financier and promoter of extensive industrial and commercial enterprises ; in social circles by reason of a charming personality and unfeigned cordiality ; in politics by reason of his public spirit and devotion to the general good as well as his comprehensive understanding of the questions affecting state and national welfare; and in those departments of activity which ameliorate hard conditions of life for the unfortunate by his benevolence and his liberality.
JOHN W. DELAPP.
The mercantile interests of Medora are worthily represented by John W. Delapp, whose practical knowledge of business, acquired by years of close application, has gained for him recognition as one of the leaders in commercial circles of Macoupin county. He is a member of a prominent southern family and was born near Maynardville, Tennessee, October 12, 1865, a son of John and Margiannah (Childress) Delapp, the former of whom was born in 1836.
The grandfather of our subject was William Delapp. He was born upon a plantation near Richmond, Virginia, and during the '30s removed to Tennessee, settling on a farm six miles west of Maynardville. His wife was a Miss Rich- ards, also of a Virginia family. Mr. Delapp was one of the pioneers of May- nardville and raised the first crop in that neighborhood. He was very suc- cessful as a farmer and became the owner of about twelve hundred acres of land. He died about 1859. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Delapp were eight children : Susan, who married George Graves, of Maynardville, now deceased ; Rosannalı, who became the wife of McHenry Butcher, of Maynardville, also deceased: Margaret, who married Elliott Ledgerwood, of Maynardville, de- ceased; Samuel, who lived near Maynardville and is also deceased; John, the father of our subject; George, now living near Loudon, Tennessee; Jane, the
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deceased wife of Martin Gentry, of Maynardville; and Joseph, who lived at Oakdale, Tennessee, and is deceased.
John Delapp, the father of our subject, was educated in the public schools and applied himself to agriculture and stock-raising upon the old home farm in Tennessee for many years. About five years before his death he moved to a place five miles north of the home farm and there passed away July 21, 1891. He was three times married, his first wife being Susan Jane Butcher. There were five children born to this union: Susan Catharine, who is the wife of George W. Gentry, of Lamar, Colorado; Lafayette, who died in infancy ; Nancy Jane, who married John Caldwell, of Sherman, Texas, and is now deceased ; Alva, who was the wife of Reuben Ridenour, of Maynardville, and is also deceased ; and James McHenry, who died in infancy. The second wife of Mr. Delapp was the mother of our subject. There was one other child by this union, Hannah Rosannah Elizabeth, who married Henry Graves, of Maynard- ville. The third wife of Mr. Delapp was Jane Crawford, and she was the mother of five children: Martin Brazil, now living near Maynardville; Sarah 'A'nn, who died at the age of sixteen years; Samuel, who passed away at the age of eighteen years ; Amanda, who also died at sixteen ; and Mary, now living at Maynardville and the wife of Sterling Smith.
Mr. Delapp of this review was reared on his father's farm and in the public schools of his native state secured the foundation of an education. At the age of nineteen, being desirous of seeing the world, he came to Illinois and for two years worked on a farm in Greene county. He then returned to Tennessee, where he remained six years, engaging in the general merchandise and lumber business. In 1893 he arrived once more in Illinois and settled upon a farm on Hawkins Prairie, six miles west of Medora. In 1898 he went to Maynard- ville, Tennessee, on a visit and on account of his wife's health took up his residence at Snoderly, Knox county, Tennessee, where he engaged in the gen- eral merchandise business. After two years in his native state he sold out and returned to Hawkins Prairie, Illinois, where he erected a store building and secured the establishment of a postoffice, now known as Ruyle. He engaged in the general merchandise business there for four years and then, in 1905, settled at Medora, buying out the mercantile establishment of William Cook. The business is conducted under the title of Delapp & Gilworth. The firm handles vehicles, harness, implements and an extensive line of goods in demand by farmers. As the business is well managed the patronage has steadily increased and the house is one of the flourishing concerns of Medora.
On the 2d of October, 1895, Mr. Delapp was married to Miss Delia Jane Gilworth, who was born May 10, 1873, a daughter of Harvey and Mary Ann (Pritchett) Gilworth. Mrs. Delapp died March 26, 1908, leaving one son, Harvey Earl, a highly promising boy who was born August 29, 1901.
Harvey Gilworth was born in Jersey county, near Medora, August 4, 1853, a son of John and Nancy (Henry) Gilworth, in whose family were ten children, namely: Lewis, of Jerseyville, deceased; Jolin, who lived at Medora and is also deceased; Green, of Montgomery county, who has also passed away ; George, who made his home at Brighton, and is deceased; Reed, now living near Medora; Perry, who died at Courtland, Kansas; William, also living in
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Medora; Harvey, of Medora; Eliza Ann, who married William Pegg, of East St. Louis, and is deceased; and Martha, the widow of John Higgins, of Kemper. Harvey Gilworth passed most of his life as a farmer in Jersey county but retired in 1905 and has since made his home at Medora. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Ann Pritchett, is a daughter of Jacob Harrison and Rebecca Ann (Smith) Pritchett, the parents of the latter having come from Kentucky and settled in Jersey county in the '20s. They had five children: John Harri- son; Hannah Elizabeth, the deceased wife of John Hinkle, of Jersey county ; Mary Ann and Rebecca Jane, twins, the former of whom was the mother of Mrs. Delapp and the latter the wife of John Hindman, of Flora, Clay county ; and Sarah Emily, the wife of John Gross, of Jersey county. To Harvey Gil- worth and wife were born eight children: John Henry, who died in infancy ; Edward, now living at Medora; Ida May, the wife of French Farrow, of St. Louis, Missouri; Delia Jane, who married John W. Delapp and is deceased ; Lottie Bell, at home; Nellie Brown, who died at the age of thirty years; Elmer Claude, who makes his home in Jersey county; and Walter Rolla, who died at the age of five years.
Mr. Delapp, whose name stands at the head of this sketch, has been for many years an active worker in the democratic party. He is now serving as mayor of Medora and has also occupied a chair on the village board. He was elected justice of the peace several times but declined to serve. In religious belief he affiliates with the Baptist church. He is highly energetic in his busi- ness affairs and in everything he undertakes and his success has been truly merited. He possesses a genial and kindly temperament, an inviting appear- , ance and the manners of a man who intelligently views the world and can ably perform his part in any responsibility which he may assume. It is to men of this character that the advancement in modern business is due.
FRANK P. BABBITT.
Frank P. Babbitt, of Virden township, who is recognized as a highly com- petent general farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Macoupin, March 12, 1862. He is a son of F. C. and Henrietta (Purdy) Babbitt, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of New York state. The father died in 1906 in Florida, where he had gone to spend the winter, but the mother is now living and makes her home at South Bend, Indiana. In their family were eight children, namely : Allie, deceased; Frank P .; Fannie E., of South Bend; Jennie G., who is the wife of L. P. Hardy, of South Bend; Bertha and Grace, both of whom are living in South Bend, the latter being a teacher in the public schools; C. L., a resident of Virden; and Henrietta, who died in infancy.
Mr. Babbitt of this review received the advantages of a common-school education and continued with his parents until twenty-one years of age. Hav- ing decided to devote his attention to farming he rented eighty acres of land and succeeded so well in his venture that he increased the number to one hundred and sixty acres the second year, and has continued to assume larger
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responsibilities until at the present time he is cultivating three hundred and twenty acres on section I, Virden township. Having early become thoroughly acquainted with the various details of agriculture and stock-raising, to which he has devoted his best ability with very gratifying results, his continued advancement is assured.
On the 28th of January, 1885, Mr. Babbitt was married to Miss Laura C. Clemmons, a daughter of John R. and Elizabeth Ann Clemmons, record of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Four children were born to this union, namely: John F., who is now living at Virden; and Clarence E., George M. and Harry C., all of whom are at home.
Fraternally Mr. Babbitt is identified with the Woodmen and the Anti-Horse Thief Association ; religiously he is in full sympathy with the Christian church, of which he is an earnest member. He is a stalwart republican in politics and is now serving as school trustee. He has spent his entire life in Macoupin county and can claim a wide circle of friends and acquaintances who have found him reliable in all the relations of life and recognize in him one who ably performs his duty as a progressive and patriotic citizen.
A. D. LOVELESS. -
The native sons of Macoupin county have been largely instrumental in the upbuilding of this section of the state and many of the most successful citizens the county has known were born within its limits. A. D. Loveless whose eyes opened to the light June 8, 1860, on his father's farm in Bird township, belongs among those who have through life made Macoupin county their home. His father, Samuel Loveless, a native of Tennessee, for many years engaged in farming in Bird township and was one of the respected men of this section. He died at an advanced age, August 3, 1907. The mother, whose maiden name was Almira Comer, was also born in Tennessee and resides in Carlinville. In their family were the following children: Angeline, now deceased; A. D., of this review; Arthur, who makes his home in Carlinville; M. J., of Seattle, Washington; and Hattie, who married Claude Bates, of Bird township.
A. D. Loveless attended the district schools where he secured good advan- tages of education and continued under the parental roof until twenty-one years of age. He then moved to the place he has since owned, in Bird township, and by systematic application developed the farm until it became highly productive. He made all the improvements, applying modern ideas and methods, so that the property is today supplied with all desirable conveniences. The farm em- braces one hundred and eighty-five acres and as a large part of the land is under cultivation it yields a handsome annual revenue. Four years ago Mr. Loveless purchased an attractive home on First West street, in Carlinville, where he has since resided. He has not, however, given up his farming interests and the home place is being cultivated by his son.
In 1881 he was married to Miss Anna E. Duckels, a sister of George Duckels, record of whom appears elsewhere in this work, and they have two children :
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Myrtle, who is living with her parents; and T. A., who makes his home upon his father's farm. Politically Mr. Loveless is a republican and never fails to support the national ticket of his party. He has never cared for public office but has served as school director. Fraternally he is identified with the camp of Modern Woodmen of America of Carlinville. He belongs to the Baptist church while his wife holds membership in the Methodist church. Having been animated early in life with the desire to discharge his responsibilities bravely and efficiently, he has ably performed his part and established a repu- tation as one of the reliable men of this region. That he is eminently practical has been demonstrated, not only in his business undertakings, but in his social relations, and he is held in high regard wherever he is known.
GRANT DUCKELS.
Grant Duckels, a representative agriculturist and well known citizen of Ma- coupin county, is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 5, Chesterfield township. His birth occurred in that township on the 28th of October, 1863, his parents being Richard and Elizabeth (Morris) Duck- els, of whom more extended mention is made on another page of this work in connection with the sketch of John H. Duckels, a brother of our subject.
Grant Duckels obtained his education in the public schools and was reared to manhood on his father's farm. He has lived on the home place from his · birth to the present time, for when his father died the property came into his possession. It comprises one hundred and sixty acres of land and has been brought under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Duckels has erected several out- buildings and his place is lacking in none of the improvements and conveniences of a model farm of the twentieth century. The residence, built sixty years ago, is a large red brick structure of colonial style and is surrounded by shrubbery and trees. Mr. Duckels raises the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and also feeds stock, the latter branch of his business adding materially to his annual income. He is an industrious, energetic and enterprising agriculturist who takes pride in enhancing the value and productiveness of the old family homestead.
On the 18th of February, 1900, Mr. Duckels was united in marriage to Miss Mabel Lyon, a daughter of Charles and Emma (Harlan) Lyon. Her paternal grandparents, Dr. Samuel and Rebecca Lyon, came from Boston, Massachu- setts, to Jersey county, Illinois, settling at Delhi, where the grandfather prac- ticed medicine throughout the remainder of his life. His son, Charles Lyon, the father of Mrs. Duckels, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on the 17th of April, 1854. After his marriage he followed farming in Macoupin county. Illinois, subsequently removing to Jersey county. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Emma Harlan, is a daughter of George and Sarah Harlan. George Harlan conducted a store at Kemper, Illinois, and was the son of Rev. Levin Harlan, a member of the famous Harlan family of Kentucky, who came to Macoupin county in an early day and entered government land. Rev. Harlan was a Meth- odist preacher and at one time also conducted a store at Chesterfield, Illinois.
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A few years ago a great reunion of the Harlan family was held in Kentucky, and the Illinois branch, including Mrs. Duckels, was invited to attend. Mr. and Mrs. Duckels have five children, namely: Emma, Richard, Mildred, Theo- dore and Delbert, all still at home.
In politics Mr. Duckels is a republican but his aspirations have not been in the line of office holding. Fraternally he is identified with the Modern Wood- men of America. He is a man of exemplary habits and strict integrity, in man- ner unassuming, and all who know him entertain for him the highest regard and esteem.
JOHN C. NIXON.
The possibilities of agriculture in Macoupin county are well understood by John C. Nixon, who has been engaged in farming in this county ever since his boyhood. He was born in Bird township, October 22, 1863, and is a son of George and Mary (Womack) Nixon, the former of whom was a native of Ohio and the latter of Macoupin county. The father grew to manhood in the Buckeye state and engaged in farming there, but in 1861, about the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, came to Macoupin county, Illinois, and rented a farm. He was married to Miss Mary Womack in this county and shortly after that event purchased sixty acres of land in Bird township, which he cleared and improved. He continued upon this place for twenty-two years, when he sold it and rented a large farm, being assisted in his work by a family of eight boys. He died October 9, 1909. The mother is still living on the old Scotch Carr farm, where her husband spent his last days, and is now sixty-seven years of age, being one of the honored residents of the community.
John C. Nixon was reared in Macoupin county and in the district schools he secured his introduction to education, which he has greatly widened by reading and observation. He assisted his father in farm work until twenty-six years of age, and was then married and rented land, which he cultivated on his own account. He is now renting the Dr. Mathews farm of eighty-six and two- thirds acres in Carlinville township and meets with well merited success. He raises fifty head of hogs each year and also keeps thirty head of sheep, nine head of cattle and nine head of horses, his income each year showing a gratify- ing increase.
On the 4th of September, 1889, Mr. Nixon was married to Miss Emma J. Bown, a daughter of John and Charlotte (Sawtell) Bown, both of whom were born in England. The father came to Ilinois many years ago and engaged in farming in Macoupin county but later removed to Kansas, and is now living retired having reached the age of seventy-four years. The mother died in June. 1899. Mrs. Emma J. Nixon was called away March 25, 1905, and on January 4, 1907, Mr. Nixon was again married, his second union being with Miss Bessie Thompson, a daughter of Richard and Clara (Bown) Thompson, both of whom were born in Illinois. The father is engaged in farming in Macoupin county and is now fifty-four years old. The mother died in July, 1906. Three chil-
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dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Nixon: Clara M., who is four years of age; Annetta May, aged two years; and Harold C., who is one year old.
Fraternally Mr. Nixon is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and politically he gives his adherence to the republican party. He has never aspired to public office but has served as school director, a position he filled to the general satisfaction of the people. In religious belief he is a Methodist and is an active church member, his wife also belonging to this denomination. He has taken advantage of modern ideas in the conduct of his business and the results have been uniformly satisfactory.
WILLIAM ANDERSON.
William Anderson, president of the Gillespie Mutual Insurance Company and for many years a leading agriculturist of Macoupin county, whose farm is located on section 5, Cahokia township, is a native of Putnam county, Indiana. He was born February 14, 1832, a son of Thomas and Mary (Scott) Anderson. The grandfather of our subject on the paternal side was James Anderson, a native of Virginia, who moved to Tennessee and later took up his abode in In- diana. He had good fighting blood in his veins and was one of the active par- ticipants in the Black Hawk war. . He lived to the advanced age of eighty years.
Thomas Anderson, the father of our subject, was the eldest son of James Anderson. He was born in Tennessee and removed with his parents to Indiana early in life, continuing there until 1834. Believing that more favorable oppor- tunities lay westward, he came to Macoupin county, Illinois, and entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in Honey Point township. He died just as he was entering upon the prime of a useful career, at the age of thirty-five years. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Scott, and she came to Macoupin county in 1834. There were four children in their family, namely: William, of this review ; James M., who was a resident of Terre Haute, Indiana, and is now deceased; Jesse F., of Portland, Oregon ; and Joseph M., who was a resident of Missouri and is also deceased.
William Anderson has been a resident of Macoupin county since 1834, a period of seventy-seven years, and there are few men within its borders who can claim a better acquaintance with its development during the period named. He possessed very limited advantages of school training, as he was left an or- phan in his boyhood, but he has been an apt student in the great school of ex- perience. He early became acquainted with farm work and found employment on farms and in sawmills, working for nine years in mills on Honey creek. În the years when it was necessary he carefully saved his money and he was thus enabled to purchase eighty acres of land, later becoming the owner of one hun- dred acres on section 35, Brushy Mound township. He was diligent and enter- prising in his business, as is proven by the fact that he now owns two hundred and forty acres in Cahokia township and forty acres on section 20, Honey Point township. he and his wife being also the owners of valuable properties in Gilles- pie. His place, known as the Walnut Lawn Farm, is highly improved with
WILLIAM ANDERSON
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modern buildings and fruit, shade and ornamental trees and is one of the most pleasing features of the landscape in that part of the county. He has given con- siderable attention to breeding and raising high grade stock and his income from this source has added largely to his fortune. Although not actively engaged in farming for several years past, he takes a great interest in everything pertaining to agriculture and stock-raising and enjoys thoroughly the fruits of his wisely directed labors. He is president of the Gillespie Mutual Insurance Company, which carries two million, five hundred thousand dollars worth of written insur- ance and is one of the most firmly established organizations of the kind in this part of the country. Its success has been largely due to the good judgment and unquestioned business ability of its president.
In 1856 Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Lydia J. Huddleston, a native of Brushy Mound township. The following children were born to this union : John T., the eldest, lives at Terre Haute, Indiana, and has one child, Edna. Samuel F., a farmer of Cahokia township, has six children, Hazel, Audrey, George, Owen, Chester and Clarence. Clara is the wife of J. M. McGovern, of Bates county, Missouri. William Luther, who lives in Montgomery county, Illinois, has ten children. Ida married J. D. McReynolds, of Honey Point township, and they have three living children, William H., John M. and May, and two deceased. Charles, who married Tena Walschleger and is now in charge of the home farm, lost two children in infancy. The mother of these children died April 9, 1881, and in 1891 Mr. Anderson was married to Mrs. Sarah J. Miller, formerly Sarah J. Sanders and the widow of George Miller. By her first mar- riage she had three children, one of whom, Dora, still survives. This daughter is the wife of Samuel F. Anderson, one of the sons of Mr. Anderson of this review.
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