USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois : biographical and pictorial, Volume II > Part 31
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Mr. Tietsort, whose name stands at the head of this sketch, is well known in fraternal circles and holds membership in the Odd Fellows and in Fidelity Lodge, No. 152, A. F. & A. M., of Medora, being secretary of the latter organization. He has for many years been connected with the Illinois State Press Association and has several times been sent as a delegate to the National Press Association. His study of political and social conditions has made him a prohibitionist but he has never sought public office, preferring to devote his attention to private busi- ness affairs. He is recognized as a man of unusual intelligence, thoroughly com- petent in the discharge of every responsibility to which he may aspire and one who always has at heart the best interests of the community. Successful finan- cially, he is now enjoying the results of many years of wisely applied effort and at the same time possesses the respect and confidence of the people to an extent accorded to few men in Macoupin county.
ROBERT WHITELEY, JR.
Robert Whiteley, Jr., a member of one of the well known families of Ma- coupin county and actively connected with the business interests of Carlinville, was born in Bird township December 8, 1869. He is a son of Robert and Ade- laide (Morris) Whiteley, the former of whom was born in England and the latter at Chesterfield, Illinois. The father was reared in his native country and received advantages of education in the common schools. He emigrated to America in 1844 and landed at New Orleans where he secured employment as a drayman. In the same year he came to Macoupin county, Illinois, and worked by the month during the summer seasons, spending his winters for several years at New Orleans. About 1850 he located in Bird township, having ac-
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quired a farm of one hundred and eighty-five acres which he greatly improved. He was very successful in farming and stock-raising and acquired seven hundred and sixty-five acres of land in this and adjoining counties. In 1896 he moved to Carlinville where he is now living retired with his son Robert, having reached the age of ninety-two years. His wife died in December, 1869, when the son Robert was two weeks old. She was an Episcopalian as is also Mr. Whiteley. While living upon his farm he held most of the township offices including those of supervisor and road commissioner. He was the father of ten children, three of whom are now living: Mary A., the widow of George C. Tunison, of White Hall, Illinois; Sarah Oello, the wife of J. E. McAliney, of Donnellson, Illinois ; and Robert, Jr.
In the district schools of Bird township Robert Whiteley, Jr., gained his first knowledge of books. He continued at home until he reached his majority and then had charge of his father's place for several years, at the end of which time he farmed on his own account and now owns about one hundred acres in South Palmyra and Carlinville townships. In 1896 he rented his land and took up his residence in Carlinville, engaging in the live-stock business for three years. He then entered the implement business and in 1905 associated with A. F. Weiss in the sale of implements and hardware. The firm is conducted under the title of Weiss & Whiteley. They carry a large and well selected stock and by honorable business methods have developed a liberal patronage.
On the 25th of February, 1891, Mr. Whiteley was married to Miss Laura Denby. a daughter of Peter L. Denby. Mrs. Whiteley was born in South Palmyra township, her father having been born on the same farm. Both parents were of English descent. The mother died in 1876 but the father is still living and resides in Carlinville. They had six children, namely: Mrs. T. P. Ross ; Laura, the wife of our subject ; Charles ; John; Walter; and Clara, the wife of E. B. Peebles. Mr. Denby was again married, his second wife being Miss Clara Johnson, and to this union two children were born: Zoe, who married S. W. Ayers; and Fred L.
Mr. Whiteley has taken the interest of a patriotic and wide-awake citizen in politics, local, state and national, and is in hearty sympathy with the republi- can party. He served as collector of Bird township in 1893 and is now holding the office of alderman of the first ward. He is a stanch believer in the prin- ciples of charity and brotherhood as enunciated by the Knights of Pythias and is a member of Orient Lodge, No. 95, of that order of Carlinville. A man of pleasing address and marked business ability, he is greatly esteemed by many friends who admire him for his generous and unselfish qualities.
JOHN ROSCOE ASH, M. D.
Dr. John Roscoe Ash, of Brighton, comes naturally by his talents as a physi- cian and surgeon, being the son and great-grandson of physicians, concerning whose ability and skill there was no question. He was born November 27, 1867, in the house in which he now resides, his parents being Dr. John and Mary Eliza-
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beth (Loveland) Ash. The father was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and was of German descent, the founder of the family in this country, Dr. Heinrich Esche, the great-grandfather of our subject, having been physician to royalty in Germany. On account of his political opinions he was obliged to seek safety in the United States, which has been a refuge to thousands of his countrymen who preferred the republic to a monarchy. He located at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he married an English lady named Whitaker, and to this union several children were born. After spending a number of years in this country Dr. Esche went aboard a vessel bound for Europe with the intention of visiting his native land. The ship was lost at sea and none of its passengers were ever afterward heard from. John Ash, the father of our subject, graduated in medicine at one of the eastern colleges, and in 1851 came to Illinois and began practice at Delhi, Jersey county. Soon after he arrived in this state there was an outbreak of chol- era, and while victims died in various parts of the country, Dr. Ash never lost a case, thus establishing an enviable reputation in his practice. In 1852 he went to Piasa but after a short time took up his residence at Brighton, where he con- tinued during the remainder of his life. He was married to Mary Elizabeth Love- land, a native of Massachusetts and a direct descendant of Lord Loveland of England. Her father was for many years a sea captain but gave up life upon the ocean and came with his family in the '4os to Illinois, locating on a farm three miles east of Brighton. At the outbreak of the Civil war Dr. Ash was appointed contract surgeon for the Union cause and was sent to Memphis, Tennessee. Later he joined General Elliott's naval flotilla plying on the Mississippi river and after the organization of the home guards to resist the encroachment of the enemy in the northern states he was commissioned captain of a company at Brighton. He engaged in active practice for more than fifty years and was one of the best known physicians in this section of the state. He died at the advanced age of eighty-five years, in 1903, and his wife passed away about three years previously. Politically he was an earnest supporter of the republican party and for many years was a close personal friend of Senator Cullom. His religious faith was indicated by membership in the Baptist church but his wife adhered to the Methodist faith. They will long be remembered as two of the most worthy residents that Brighton has known and especially for their kindly acts and generous deeds.
Dr. Ash of this review was reared under highly favorable circumstances and has never been obliged to fight the battle for sustenance, having always possessed an abundance of the good things of life. He attended the public schools, the Brighton high school and the old Brighton Academy, and early turned his atten- tion to the healing art as his life work. He carried forward his preliminary stud- ies under his father and in the fall of 1887, being then about twenty years of age, he entered the Beaumont Hospital Medical College of St. Louis and was gradu- ated from that well known institution with the degree of M. D. in 1889. He prac- ticed for three years with his father and then was appointed chief of the nose and throat clinic of the Marion-Sims Medical School of St. Louis, serving in that capacity to the general satisfaction of the officers and students for three sessions. He then returned to Brighton and resumed practice with his father, having now been engaged in the pursuit of his profession at this place for twenty-two years. He fully deserves the high reputation he has gained in his chosen calling. His
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relations with his medical brethren and his interest in promoting the cause to which he devotes his life are indicated by membership in the Illinois State Medical Society, the Macoupin County Medical Society, the Medical and Surgical Society of Western Illinois, the Tri-State Medical Society and the Alton Medical Society. He is greatly esteemed by his brethren and has served as president of the Macoupin County Medical Society.
In September, 1896, Dr. Ash was married to Miss Mabel Martin, a daughter of Dr. Frank Martin, who was reared at Brighton but after completing his medical studies located at Greenfield, Illinois, and engaged in successful practice. Three children have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Ash, John L., Eugene R. and Harriet Louise. Dr. Ash is an active worker in the Masonic order and is a member of Hibbard Lodge, No. 249, A. F. & A. M., in which he has served as master for three terms, he and his wife also holding membership in the Order of the East- ern Star. He is a member of Brighton Camp, No. 1688, M. W. A., and filled the office of president of the Macoupin County Woodmen's Picnic Association for three years. In politics he is an adherent of the republican party. By many years of earnest and successful application to his profession, and also to his duties as a citizen, he has won the respect of the people of this section and today ranks as one of the most popular men of Macoupin county.
H. O. PINKERTON.
There are some men who seem born for success and advance steadily in any vocation to which they devote their attention. They are blessed with clear judg- ment and are incited to effort by an ambition which is satisfied with nothing short of the full accomplishment of worthy objects. H. O. Pinkerton, who is iden- tified with the clothing and men's outfitting business at Gillespie, belongs to the class thus briefly outlined. Born at Indianapolis, Indiana, September 25, 1875, he is a son of Thomas and Lucy (Russell) Pinkerton, the former of whom was born at Coshocton, Ohio, and the latter in Montgomery county, Illinois. The father came to Nokomis, Montgomery county, Illinois, when he was a young man and engaged as a barber in that place where he resided for a number of years. There he was married to Miss Lucy Russell and in 1884 or 1885 he re- moved with his family to Kingman, Kansas, where he continued about ten years. He then went to El Reno, Oklahoma, and was a citizen of that place at the time of his death, about 1901. The mother was married in 1909 to A. S. Hollings- worth and is now living with her husband in Pasadena, California.
H. O. Pinkerton secured his education in the common schools of Nokomis and at the age of fifteen he began his business experience as a clerk in the store of J. W. Russell, of Nokomis, an uncle on his mother's side. Mr. Russell is one of the old merchants of the town and has been in business there since 1870. For eight years Mr. Pinkerton continued with his uncle, during which time he gained a practical knowledge of mercantile affairs. He was then placed in charge of a branch store of his uncle, at Hillsboro, but after a little over a year gave up his position in order to become traveling salesman for a Chicago fur-
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nishing goods house. He represented this concern to the satisfaction of his em- ployers, in northern Illinois and the state of Iowa, for a period of four years, making an extensive acquaintance among some of the most flourishing business men throughout the region in which he traveled. In 1904, having decided to begin business on his own account, he retired from the road and opened a cloth- ing and gents' furnishing establishment at Gillespie, since which time he has been prominently identified with the business interests of the community and is recognized as one of its reliable and progressive citizens.
In October, 1903, Mr. Pinkerton was married to Miss Isa ยท Miller, a daugh- ter of Judge Amos Miller, of Hillsboro, and a granddaughter of Judge J. E. Rice, who for many years presided upon the district bench at Carlinville. One child, Amos Miller, has been born to this union.
Mr. and Mrs. Pinkerton are valued members of the Lutheran church and are well known socially in this city. Mr. Pinkerton gives his support to the democratic party and served for three years as a member of the school board, being also a member of the building committee at the time the new schoolhouse was erected. He is actively connected with the Knights of Pythias of Gillespie and also with the Commercial Club, being vice-president of that body, and he can claim a large and increasing circle of acquaintances who admire him for his upright character and friendly disposition. He has been from his youth active and capable in business and prosperity has come to him as the direct result of his untiring industry and sound business judgment.
JOHN GWILLIM.
Few successful men of Macoupin county deserve greater credit for what they have accomplished than John Gwillim, who came to America from a foreign land as a boy of seventeen and in the face of many difficulties has won his way to a place of large responsibility. His farm is one of the most attractive proper- ties of its size in the county and he has just cause to take pride in its neat and thrifty apearance, representing as it does many years of patience and energetic application. He is a native of Llangwm, Monmouthshire, England, born August 31, 1853, and is a son of James Gwillim, who was born on the C. W. M. farm, in the parish of Abbeydoor, Herefordshire, in 1825, and died February 28, 1901. The mother, whose maiden name was Temperance Griffiths, was born in Tylloydd, Llansoy Parish, Monmouthshire, in 1829. The Gwillim and Griffiths families were both long established in Wales, but lived for many generations in England.
James Gwillim, the father of our subject, received his education in the public schools and continued on his father's farm until twenty-one years of age. He then engaged in work upon a farm with his brother and two years later was married to Temperance Griffiths. After his marriage he farmed on his own ac- count and, being a man of unusual energy and good business judgment, he was remarkably successful. In 1881 he purchased twenty-five acres of land for which he paid about seven hundred and fifty dollars an acre. In 1895 he in- creased his holdings by seventy acres, being also the owner of two cottages. He
JOHN GWILLIM
MRS. JOHN GWILLIM
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was a deacon in the Episcopal church at Llansoy and was a man of high stand- ing and wide influence. In his family were ten children: Elizabeth, who died at the age of eighteen years; Julia Temperance, who is now living near Ross, in Herefordshire; John, of this review; Alfred, who held the trophy as champion plowman of England for twenty years and is now living near Ross, in Here- fordshire ; Clara, who married Caleb Madley and lives on the Pill farm, at Magor, Monmouthshire; Sarah, who was a school-teacher and died at the age of thirty ; Ellen, who died at the age of five years ; Percy, who died in infancy ; George, who is a farmer of Shipman township, Macoupin county ; and Arthur, who lives at Magor, Monmouthshire.
John Gwillim was reared under the paternal roof and received his education at Raglan, which he obtained under some difficulties, as he was obliged to walk four miles to school. He continued with his parents until seventeen years of age and then came alone to America, being desirous of finding out for himself concerning the possibilities in this country for an ambitious young man. He spent three months at Penn Yan, New York, and then returned home where he remained until March, 1871, when he crossed the ocean once more, going direct to Virden, Illinois. He worked for several months on a farm and then secured employment in a grain elevator at Virden. During the winter following he engaged in coal mining. He next turned his attention to farming and well repairing and applied himself industriously until 1874, when he returned to his old home in England and engaged in farming on his own account in Monmouth- shire for seven years, carrying on his operations on the Pencarrig farm, in Rag- lan Parish. He returned to Virden with his wife and son in 1881 and went to work in a meat market, also engaging in mining coal during the winter. As an evidence of his frugality at this time it may be stated that in eighteen month's as a laborer he saved seven hundred and seventy-five dollars besides supporting his family. In 1883 he removed to Wahoo, Saunders county, Nebraska, and leased school land which he purchased in 1885. He was a resident of Nebraska for nine years, during which time he engaged in farming and also in operating a threshing machine. He disposed of his land in 1891 and returned to Virden, purchasing eighty acres on section 24, Virden township. Later he acquired more land, until he became the owner of two hundred and forty acres in one tract. His land was underlaid with coal and proved a highly profitable investment, as he disposed of the mining privileges for twenty dollars per acre. In 1905 he sold his farm and purchased two hundred and twenty-five acres in Shipman township, later acquiring eighty acres adjoining, so that he owned three hundred and five acres on sections 7, 8 and 9; he disposed of eighty acres in 1911 and purchased 155 acres in Missouri, so that he now owns three hundred and eighty acres. He has greatly improved the place by tiling and remodeling and erecting buildings and fences, setting out shade and ornamental trees, etc., making it one of the most attractive homesteads in the township. He is an extensive stock- feeder and also raises Poland China hogs and Polled Angus cattle.
On January 10, 1874, Mr. Gwillim was married to Miss Anna Williams, whose father lived upon the Dufferin farm at Llansoy, England, and was a member of an old Welsh family. Two children were born to this union: John Alfred, who married Selina Mortimer and is engaged in the real-estate business Vol. II-16
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at Shipman ; and Thomas Albert, who is living at home. The mother of these children died July 5, 1892, at the age of forty-six years, and is buried in the cemetery at Virden. Early in 1894 Mr. Gwillim went to England and on April 4 of the same year was married to Mrs. Elizabeth (Shepard) Pullen, widow of Philip Pullen and a daughter of Richard and Susan (Green) Shepard, of Magor, Monmouthshire, both of whom are now deceased. The father was a farmer and belonged to a well known family whose members had lived in Monmouth- shire for many generations.
Mr. Gwillim is identified with the Mount Pleasant Baptist church at Medora and takes an active interest in the Sunday school, being one of its most efficient and valued workers. Politically he is an advocate of the principles of the republican party in national elections, but in local affairs he votes irrespective of party, se- lecting candidates that are in his opinion best qualified to fill the offices irrespec- tive of party ties. He has never aspired to the honors or emoluments of public office, but served efficiently for nine years as a member of the school board in Girard township. Thoroughly honest in all his dealings, he is fully entitled to the high esteem in which he is held by his friends and by all who know him in Macoupin county.
HERMAN WEISE.
Many of the most successful and progressive citizens of Macoupin county are of German parentage. Endowed with those sterling traits of industry, economy and will power which are distinguishing characteristics of the Teutonic race, they have resolutely persevered in the struggle for financial independence and it is a pleasure to note that their efforts have in a number of instances met with deserved reward. Among the fortunate ones is Herman Weise, a cigar manu- facturer of Carlinville. Born in Hanover, Germany, May 9, 1851, he is a son of Henry and Mina Weise, both of whom were natives of Germany. In their family were four children: Mina, who is now a widow and was twice married, her hus- bands having been William Wagner and William Piertner; Herman, of this re- view ; Charles, who died at the age of eleven years ; and Henry, who died when he was four years old.
Henry Weise, the father of our subject, was a laborer in Germany. He came to America with his family in 1852 and engaged in farm work in Macoupin county, Illinois. Before the close of his first year in this country he located at Carlinville, where he followed various pursuits. He died about 1876, at the age of fifty years, but was survived many years by his wife, who died in 1908, aged eighty-three years. They were both members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Weise showed his love for his adopted country by enlisting in the Union army at the time of the Civil war. He went to the field, but was honorably discharged without seeing active service.
Arriving in America in his infancy, Herman Weise has practically spent his entire life at Carlinville. He attended the common schools and also the German parochial school, where he gained the foundation of a good education. In his
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boyhood he worked at anything he could find to do and at the age of fifteen began learning the cigarmaker's trade, with which he has ever since been identi- fied. He has engaged in business on his own account at Carlinville for thirty- seven years and by upright dealing and close study of the wants of patrons be- came well established in his business many years ago. He owns a good home on West First North street and his shop on the east side of the public square. He manufactures special brands of cigars, such as the Lord Chancellor, the La Rosa, the Perfecto and others, and gives steady employment to several persons.
Mr. Weise was married to Mrs. Mildred ( Perrin) Mason, a daughter of Sam- uel Perrin. Her former husband was William Mason and to their union three children were born: Clara, who married William Rowe; Lint E., who is 110W living in Carlinville ; and Sue, who became the wife of George Schoenher. While Mr. Weise has never had any children of his own, he has reared two children in addition to those of his wife and given all of them excellent advantages of education. The names of the two were Mildred Rowe and Herman Rowe. Mrs. Weise was born in Kentucky and came to Illinois with her parents in her child- hood. Her father was a slaveholder in the south, but liberated his slaves before the Civil war. He lived in Rockbridge and other towns in Greene county, Illi- nois, but now makes his home at Medora, Illinois. His wife is deceased.
Politically Mr. Weise is an adherent of the democratic party, whose princi- ples and candidates he heartily espouses. He is a member of the Lutheran church, while Mrs. Weise belonged to the Christian church. He is a true admirer and supporter of the republic and is known as a man of kindly and benevolent principles, who aims at all times to perform his part in promoting the general welfare. He has a very extensive acquaintance throughout this section and is held in high esteem by all who know him.
JOHN DAVID O'DONNELL.
John David O'Donnell who is one of the prominent farmers an'l stockmen of Macoupin county, his home being on section II, Honey Point township, is a native of Illinois and was born in Jersey county, February 4, 1869. He is a son of Thomas and Maria (Moore) O'Donnell, the former of whom was born in Ireland and the latter in Jersey county, Illinois. The father came to America with his parents in 1851, when he was seven years of age, the family first taking up their residence at Hannibal, Missouri. Later they located in Jersey county and the grandfather became the owner of a good farm in that county. Thomas O'Donnell continued in Jersey county until 1876 and then came with his family to Macoupin county and purchased a farm on section II, Honey Point township. He was suc- cessful in his labors and gained a high standing as a substantial and progressive member of the community. In 1910 he sold one hundred and sixty acres to T. T. Lackey and moved to Barnett, where he is now living with his daughter Grace. Mrs. O'Donnell is deceased, having passed away in 1902. There were nine chil- dren in the family of Mr. and Mrs. O'Donnell : Mary, the wife of Robert Plain, a farmer of Shaws Point township; John David, of this review; Lyda, who re-
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