USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois : biographical and pictorial, Volume II > Part 28
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In politics Mr. Ewin gives his support to the republican party, being a firm believer in the centralization of authority and the protection of home industries. He and his family are members of the Methodist church, and fraternally he is identified with Lodge No. 954, B. P. O. E., of Jerseyville. A lover of country life, he has made many valuable improvements on his place, including a handsome modern residence, so that it is now a model country home and a center of hos-
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pitality, where friends and acquaintances are assured of a cordial greeting. As a stock breeder Mr. Ewin has gained a wide reputation. It is men like him who add honor and dignity to the calling, and have revolutionized the live-stock busi- ness by increasing the value of farm animals many fold. The people of Macoupin county justly regard Mr. Ewin as one of the most valued and progressive citizens of this section, and he is accorded the respect that rightfully belongs to one who has ever faithfully attempted to discharge his duty to his fellow men.
THOMAS P. HUGHES.
It has often been demonstrated that responsibility develops character and many of the noblest men and women of America are those who were obliged early to assume burdens usually borne by older shoulders. Thomas P. Hughes who is now a prominent business man of Carlinville, owes much of his success perhaps to the fact that in his boyhood, owing to the death of his father, he was brought directly into contact with the realities of the world and thus learned lessons which under ordinary circumstances are deferred until maturer years. He was born in Western Mound township October 10, 1845, a son of Pinckney and Eliza Jane (Campbell) Hughes, both of whom were born in Kentucky.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was Andrew Hughes. He was born in North Carolina and came from Kentucky to Macoupin county, Illinois, at an early day, settling in Western Mound township where he took up government land and farmed and ran a horse-mill. His wife was Elizabeth Cruse, a native of Crittenden county, Kentucky. She died when about fifty-two years of age. Mr. Hughes was accidentally killed in a runaway accident, at the age of seventy-five, in Shelby county, while hauling sugar cane. In his family were four children ; Pinckney ; Thomas and Nancy, twins ; and Isaac, who now lives in Moultrie coun- ty, Illinois, and has arrived at the age of eighty-seven years. The grandfather of our subject on the maternal side was Thomas Campbell who died in Sangamon county, Illinois, in 1850, having lived there for twenty-seven years. He was a farmer and a preacher of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. His wife was Elizabeth Robison and she lived to be eighty-eight years old. They had ten children, James R., Annie, Eliza, Narcissa, William B., Julia, Mary and Dorothy, twins ; Edward, and Thomas.
Pinckney Hughes, the father of our subject, came to Macoupin county with his parents in 1835 and was a carpenter, trader and farmer. The family moved to Greene county but later returned to Macoupin county where the father entered land. The mother of our subject came to Illinois in 1823 with her father, Rev. Thomas Campbell, and they settled on government land ten miles west of Spring- field. Pinckney Hughes lived at Fayette and Greenfield, finally settling at Nil- wood where he died in January, 1861, at the age of forty-one years. His wife died in 1886, at the age of seventy-one. They were both members of the Cum- berland Presbyterian church. Mr. Hughes was an intelligent and progressive man and served as justice of the peace, being also a captain in the state militia. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Hughes were six children, four of whom grew to
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maturity : Mary E., who married Thomas Baker and is deceased; Thomas P .; Annie M., the wife of L. P. Lowry, of Sac City, Iowa ; and Nettie J., who married William Poland, also of Sac City.
Thomas P. Hughes lived in Greene county until fifteen years of age and pos- sessed only limited advantages of early education. He worked on a farm by the month and at the age of fifteen, on account of the death of his father, was obliged to take charge of the affairs of the family. In 1870 he entered the grain business at Nilwood and for twenty years engaged successfully in buying grain and live stock. He then came to Carlinville and for four years served as deputy sheriff. After retiring from this office he entered the insurance business to which he de- voted his attention for four years. He was twice nominated upon the democratic ticket as sheriff of the county but was defeated. However, in 1898 he was nomi- nated for county treasurer and was successful in the election, filling the office with great credit to himself and his party for four years. Since 1902 he has concentrated his attention with very satisfactory results on the real-estate and insurance business.
On the 19th of September, 1871, Mr. Hughes was married to Miss A. E. Ross, a daughter of the late M. H. and Nancy (McMullen) Ross, and to this union two children were born: Walter L., who is a clerk in the Nathan Clothing Store at Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Charles E., who was connected with the editorial de- partment of the Chicago Tribune for four years and is now a member of the edi- torial staff of the Philadelphia Evening Times. The mother of these children died April 3. 1909, and her departure was the occasion of profound regret not only on the part of her family but of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. She was an earnest member of the Baptist church and a true exemplar of the highest virtues of wife and mother. Her father was a native of Tennessee and lived near "The Hermitage"-the old home of Andrew Jackson.
Mr. Hughes is a member of the Baptist church, and fraternally is identified with Mount Nebo Lodge, No. 76, A. F. & A. M. He has at all times been actuated by a desire to advance the general welfare and in business and social relations has so discharged his responsibilities as to merit the confidence of all who know him.
WILLIAM ALBERT TATE.
For nearly forty-seven years William Albert Tate has resided on the place which he now owns, in Cahokia township, and in the time named he has wit- nessed many important changes in the methods of farming and stock-raising. He has also been a witness of the great influx of population from other states and countries to the fertile lands of Illinois and has noted the beautiful and well furnished homes which have taken the places of the simple habitations of the pioneers. He is a native of Illinois, born in St. Clair county, December 19, 1831, a son of John and Rhoda (Badgley) Tate. The father was born in Pennsylvania and the mother in Virginia. They came to Illinois in their child- hood with their respective parents and were reared and married in St. Clair county where they continued during the remainder of their lives. Mr. Tate was
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one of the successful farmers of the county and became the owner of six hun- dred acres of land.
William A. Tate secured his education in a little log schoolhouse which stood on his father's farm and as a boy showed an interest in his studies and also in his work about the home place which gave bright promise as to his future .. - After his marriage he cultivated land belonging to his father and later had charge of his father-in-law's farm. In 1864, at the age of thirty-three years, he came to Macoupin county and purchased eighty acres upon which he has since resided. He is the owner of a well improved property, including a com- fortable residence, good barns and other outbuildings, and all the conveniences required to facilitate the work of agriculture and stock-raising. He has always been prompt and reliable in his business and his success has, therefore, been well deserved.
In 1859 Mr. Tate was married to Miss Lucy A. Potter, a daughter of Mat- thew Potter, who was a native of Maine and located in St. Clair county, Illi- nois, after having spent a number of years upon the sea. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Tate, five of whom survive, namely: Charles, who is engaged in the coal business at Gillespie; Laura, the wife of Albert Mercer, of Gillespie; Clara, who married Ira Greenwalt, of Honey Point township : George, who is now engaged in mining at Gillespie; and Lulu, who married Walter Wilhite, now serving as postmaster of Hornsby.
The life of Mr. Tate has been an active and useful one, devoted in a large measure to the welfare of his family and also to the advancement of the region which he adopted as his home. During the long years of his residence in Ma- coupin county he has gained a wide acquaintance and the esteem in which he is held by the community is a just tribute to his personal worth. In politics he adheres to the democratic party. He has never aspired to public office. preferring the quiet of private life to the turmoil of political campaigns. As a genuine friend of education he has served for a number of years as treasurer and director of the school board. He is now in his eightieth year and may truly be designated as one of the most worthy living representatives of the agricul- tural interests of Macoupin county.
HENRY W. BEHRENS.
The years immediately following the Civil war witnessed the arrival in America of thousands of ambitious young men of German birth who felt that under the stars and stripes they could find better opportunity for the exercise of their energy. Many of them succeeded even beyond their early dreams and in this number may be named Henry W. Behrens, who for thirty-six years has been a resident of Mount Olive. He was born in Gross Herzogthum, Old- enburg. Germany, April 30, 1847, a son of William and Talke Catherine ( Hans- sen) Behrens, both of whom passed their entire lives in Germany. The father was a weaver by trade.
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Mr. Behrens of this review was reared at home and acquired his preliminary education in the excellent schools of his native land. In 1866, at the age of nineteen, ambitious to secure the advantages which are denied poor men in the long settled countries of Europe, he went aboard a vessel bound for the new world and landed at New York city about the middle of September. He came directly west to Macoupin county, Illinois, and found employment on a farm near Gillespie, where he continued for six or seven years. In 1871 he associated with Weye Schmidt and they purchased a steam thresher, which was one of the first machines of the kind seen in Macoupin county. They operated the thresher for four seasons and then disposed of it. In 1873 Mr. Behrens entered the liquor business at Gillespie and continued there until May 1, 1875, when he re- moved to Mount Olive, where he has ever since been engaged in the same line.
In 1872 Mr. Behrens was married to Miss Martha Arkebauer, a daughter of George Arkebauer, a pioneer settler of Mount Olive. Three children were born to this union, two of whom survive: William J., who is now engaged in farm- ing in South Dakota; and Gretha, who is the wife of Fred Backer, of Spring- field, Illinois. The mother of these children died October 24, 1881, and in 1883 Mr. Behrens was married to Miss Mary Tobias, of Bunker Hill. Two children were born to them, both of whom died from diphtheria and were buried at the same time. Mrs. Mary Behrens died August 30, 1887, and Mr. Behrens was married in February, 1889, to Miss Louisa Kuehne, who is a daughter of Henry Kuehne, a retired farmer of Mount Olive. To this union four children have been born, Mathilda, Flora, Arthur and Theodore, all of whom are at home.
Politically Mr. Behrens is independent, preferring to cast his ballot for the individual rather than in support of any party. He has not been a seeker for public office but served for two terms most acceptably as member of the town council. A man of pleasing address and generous nature, he has a host of. friends in Mount Olive and Macoupin county. He was reared in the faith of the Evangelical Lutheran church and holds membership in that denomination, being one of its most liberal supporters.
SAMUEL OWEN SMITH.
Samuel Owen Smith, president of the People's Bank of Girard, was born in Macoupin county on the 17th of January, 1860, and is a son of Samuel A. and Elizabeth (Harlan) Smith. His father, who passed away in 1874, was a native of Tennessee as was also his grandfather, Moses Smith. The mother of our subject was born in Kentucky and was a daughter of Matthew Harlan and granddaughter of James Harlan, being a representative of one of the pioneer families of that state.
Samuel Owen Smith was only a lad of fourteen years when his father passed away, and after the completion of his education in the public and high schools of Girard, in 1879, he returned to the home farm. He assumed the management of the same at the age of nineteen, and for eleven years thereafter engaged in general farming, in connection with which he also dealt in live stock.
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S. O. SMITH
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In 1900 he left the farm and removed to Girard, where he has since continuously resided. In 1893 he became a stockholder in the People's Bank, of which insti- tution he was made cashier in 1895, and after holding that position for five years he was elected vice president. In 1902 he became president and is still serving in that capacity.
Alton, Illinois, was the scene of the marriage of Mr. Smith and Miss Vir- ginia B. Christoe in the month of October, 1901. Mrs. Smith is a daughter of James and Melissa (Anderson) Christoe, the father a native of England and the mother a member of one of Macoupin county's pioneer families. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have three sons and one daughter: Samuel Owen, Jr., Nelson Chris- toe, Virginia Elizabeth and Nelson A. Smith.
The family attend the Presbyterian church, in the work of which organiza- tion the parents take an earnest and helpful interest. Mr. Smith has been an elder of the church for the past six years, while for four years he was a deacon and a trustee for fifteen. His political support is given the men and measures of the republican party, and he has been chairman of the county central com- mittee and also township chairman. He was a school director for eighteen years, while for the past six years he has been a school trustee. In matters of citizenship Mr. Smith is public spirited and progressive, always ready to take the initiative in any movement the adoption of which promises to advance the interests of the community. He is one of the leading business men of the town and is widely and favorably known throughout the county.
DANIEL NEWTON BLODGET.
Daniel Newton Blodget, president of the bank of Blodget Brothers & Com- pany at Brighton, has gained a high position in financial and business circles of Macoupin county, and has shown a discrimination and progressiveness that give brilliant promise as to his future. A native of Brighton, he was born May 26, 1860, a son of Daniel and Isabelle Ann (Peter) Blodget, the former of whom. was born in New Hampshire and the latter in Kentucky. The father came west when he was a young man and was one of the early settlers at Brighton. He was a pioneer merchant of the town and also was its first postmaster, and was one of the leaders in the platting of Brighton. He lost his hearing when he was about fifty years of age and severed his connection with the mercantile business, being identified prominently in his later years with the real-estate business. He was the first treasurer of the school board of Brighton and was for a number of terms a member of the board, taking great interest in educational affairs of the growing community. The mother of our subject came to Macoupin county with her parents in her girlhood. She was a daughter of Rev. Samuel Peter, a well known Methodist Episcopal minister, who was in charge of a circuit in this section of the state for many years in pioneer times. Mrs. Blodget was an active and efficient member of the denomination in which her father was one of the leaders. Mr. Blodget died in 1889, being then in his eightieth year, and his wife passed away in 1904, at the age of seventy-nine. He was twice married.
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the maiden name of his first wife being Ellen Jones; who came to Brighton from England. There were no children by this union.
In the public schools of Brighton Daniel N. Blodget secured his preliminary education. Later he attended Brown's Business College of Jacksonville, com- pleting the course at that institution in the spring of 1882. Upon returning home from Jacksonville he associated with his brother Samuel P. in the mercan- tile business at Brighton, with which they were successfully connected for ten years. They disposed of their store in 1892 and organized the bank of Blodget Brothers & Company, which has now been established for nineteen years and is one of the well known financial institutions of Macoupin county. The bank was originally founded in 1868 by Stratton & Amass and was reorganized as the bank of Blodget Brothers & Company, with Daniel N. Blodget as president and Edwin Amass as cashier. This bank has been largely instrumental in pro- moting the welfare of the city and of the wide region which is tributary to Brighton. In 1910 Mr. Blodget and his brother became actively connected with the real-estate business, and in the same year Mr. Blodget established the Brigh- ton Grain, Flour & Feed Company, which gives promise of good returns upon the investment. He has displayed remarkable judgment in his business affairs and enjoys the confidence of the people throughout this section.
In 1888 he was married to Miss Jennie M. Flanagan, who was born in Iowa and came with her parents to Brighton in 1876. Of their seven children five survive, Daniel Francis, Jennie Marguerite, Delmar. Darrell Raymond and Esther Melburn, all of whom are living at home.
Politically Mr. Blodget supports the republican party but has never sought the honors or emoluments of public office. Fraternally he is a valued member of Hibbard Lodge, No. 249. A. F. & A. M. His name is not carried upon the rolls of any religious denomination but his wife is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a liberal supporter of all worthy causes that aim to lighten the burdens of humanity. Throughout his life he has been actuated by high and honorable purposes and no man in Macoupin county can claim in a greater degree the good will of the entire community.
DAVID B. FREY.
Diligence and good judgment have been important elements, in the success of David B. Frey, who is prominently identified with the drug business at Gil- lespie, where his birth occurred in 1883. He is a son of Abraham and Arminda (Grant) Frey. The father, who is now deceased, was for a number of years a leading citizen of Macoupin county. He was the eldest of five children and was born at Oggersheim, Bavaria, Germany, August 8, 1833. His father, Jacob Wilhelm Frey, was born at Donnast, Bavaria, and learned the butcher's trade at which he worked in connection with farming. In April, 1847, he went aboard a steamer at Mannheim with his family and after arriving at Havre embarked on a sailing vessel for America, landing at New Orleans after a voyage of sixty-two days. They came up the river to St. Louis and, as Mr. Frey was
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practically without money when they arrived in that city, their first meal was eaten on a dry-goods box. The mother died ten days later and the father, hear- ing of a small German settlement at Staunton, Illinois, left the children in the care of their uncles, Jacob and John Hanson, and came to Staunton to look for work. He died shortly afterwards, leaving his family of five children to be reared by relatives or strangers. At the time of his father's death, Abraham Frey was fourteen years of age, but he did not hesitate in assuming the responsibility of finding homes for his younger brothers and sisters. He secured employ- ment upon a farm at four dollars per month, but at the end of two years appren- ticed himself to the harness-making trade at Alton, Illinois, where he continued for two and one-half years. At the end of the time named he returned to farm- ing but at the outbreak of the Civil war resumed work at his trade and for two years was employed as journeyman harness maker at Staunton. He then opened a shop on his own account at Gillespie and gained a wide reputation as an expert workman and good business man, also becoming known throughout the county as a public-spirited citizen. In 1890 he was elected county treasurer and removed to Carlinville, serving in the office to the general satisfaction of the people for four years.
In 1864 Mr. Frey was married to Miss Arminda Grant, who was born in Madison county, Illinois, in 1843. She was a daughter of Thomas Grant, who was one of the pioneers of the county. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Frey five children were born, Emma, Edward, Charles, Lewis and David B. Mr. Frey gave his support to the democratic party and was an influential factor in its councils. He was a member of Lodge No. 214, A. F. & A. M., and Lodge No. 220, I. O. O. F., of Gillespie. He was successful in his business affairs and at his death, in 1906, left a competency for his family. It is not, however, on account of his material acquisitions that his memory is revered but because of his fidelity to principle and his trustworthiness as a man and citizen. He dis- played many sterling traits of character, and it may truly be said that in his life he measured up to the full standard of honorable manhood.
David B. Frey, whose name stands at the head of this review, was reared under the favorable conditions of a peaceful home. He acquired his prelimi- nary education in the public schools of Gillespie and Carlinville, later carrying his studies forward in Blackburn University. At the age of seventeen he en- tered a drug store in Carlinville, where he began the study of pharmacy, and in the fall of 1904 matriculated in the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, from which he was graduated after pursuing the regular course, in 1906, with the degree of Ph. G. Shortly afterward he became connected with Steinmeyer's Pharmacy at Carlinville and continued there until 1909. He then bought out the Behrens Drug and Mercantile Company of Gillespie and has since conducted one of the up-to-date pharmacies of Macoupin county. Under his management the pat- ronage has steadily increased and the appearance of the establishment indi- cates the careful supervision of a practical and progressive owner. As he pos- sesses a thorough knowledge of his business and is in close touch with the latest developments in his calling, there is no doubt as to his continued prosperity.
On October 12, 1909, Mr. Frey was married to Miss Bonniebel Blackburn. of Palmyra, Illinois. Fraternally he is connected with Mount Nebo Lodge, No. 76, A. F. & A. M., of Carlinville; the Lodge of Perfection, No. 114, of Spring-
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field ; and Carlinville Lodge, I. O. O. F. He is not a member of any religious denomination but Mrs. Frey is identified with the Christian church, in which she is an active worker. He is thoroughly alive as to the importance of promoting the business interests of Gillespie, and holds membership in the Commercial Club. Being blessed with genial social qualities, he has made many friends who also admire him for his straightforward and honorable business methods.
HENRY JACOB THEODORE RIEFENBERG.
The firm of Riefenberg & Son is one of the well known business establish- ments of Carlinville and the head of the firm, whose name introduces this sketch, is one of the representative men of the city. He was born in Brunswick, Ger- many, May 17, 1839, a son of John Riefenberg, who was a miller and ran an old-fashioned water mill there. The mother of our subject died when he was two and one-half years old. There were four children in the family, two sons and two daughters, Henry being the only one now living. The father married again and in 1847 emigrated to America with his wife and one daughter and two sons by his former marriage. He lived retired at St. Louis for eighteen years and then came to Carlinville, where he remained for nine years, at the close of which time he went to Chatsworth, Illinois. He died in 1889, at the age of eighty-three. The three children were: John, deceased; Dorothea, who married Joseph Wealing, of Quincy, Illinois, and is now deceased; and Henry J. T.
At the age of eight years Henry J. T. Riefenberg crossed the ocean with his parents to the new world. The trip was made in a sailing vessel and required ninety days. They landed at New Orleans and went aboard a steamboat for St. Louis. The boat was in bad condition and it was fourteen days before they reached the end of their journey. The son Henry attended the public schools and later learned the upholstering, paper-hanging and steamboat-furnishing business, also becoming proficient in making mattresses and household furniture of all kinds. In 1865, at the age of twenty-six years, he came to Carlinville and engaged in the upholstering and paper-hanging business. Subsequently he went into partnership with George Schoenherr and John Junghans in the furniture and undertaking business, the title of the firm being Schoenherr, Junghans & Riefenberg, Mr. Riefenberg having purchased the interest of a Mr. Berry in the old firm. The business prospered for eight years, when the establishment was destroyed by fire, but the house was soon afterward rebuilt. In 1880 Mr. Rief- enberg entered the furniture business on his own account at the location which he now occupies and by close attention to the wants of patrons has acquired an enviable reputation and has greatly prospered. He has now been at the head of the business which he established himself for thirty-one years and for forty- six years has been actively interested in the growth of Carlinville. He is ably assisted by his son, and each year gives new evidence of their prosperity.
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