USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois : biographical and pictorial, Volume II > Part 33
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73
GEORGE F. FANNING.
Among the business men of Macoupin county who have won high standing by years of perseverance and intelligent application George F. Fanning occupies an honored place. During a large part of his life he successfully engaged in farming and he has also evinced marked ability as a merchant and financier, and is recognized as the possessor of keen discrimination and clear judgment, so essential in making headway against obstacles. He was born in Morgan county, Illinois, March 1, 1857, a son of William R. and Nancy (Moore) Fan- ning, both of whom were natives of Morgan county. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Joseph Fanning, a native of Illinois and a pioneer of Morgan county. He assisted in raising the first log cabin on the present site of Jackson- ville. His wife was Susan Nichols. He was one of the useful members of the community and lived to be eighty-six years of age, his wife passing away at the
344
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
age of eighty-five. They had seven children, William R., Lydia, Jane, Mary, George, Agrippa and Frank. The maternal grandparents of our subject both died from cholera in Arkansas about 1848. They had four children, one of whom died in infancy, the others being Ann, Josephus and Nancy.
The father of our subject was reared on a farm in Morgan county and lived in Scottville township, Macoupin county, about fifteen years. He then moved to Melvern, Kansas, and engaged in farming there until his death, which occurred in 1899, when he was sixty-eight years of age. His wife died in 1903, being then about sixty-five years old. They were both members of the Baptist church. Mr. Fanning was. an industrious and public-spirited man and held various township offices while living in Illinois. He and his wife were the parents of fourteen children, twelve of whom grew to maturity: George F., of this review; Huldah Jane, who married James J. Hubbel and died in March, 19II; Robert M., of Delaware, Oklahoma; Anna, who is the wife of John H. Dugger, of Melvern, Kansas; John M., who lives in New Mexico; Hester, who married Thomas Langston, of Mattoon, Illinois; Daniel, of Oklahoma; Helen, of Kansas; Emma, who married Edward Smith, of Melvern, Kansas, and is now deceased; Edward, who is a division superintendent of the Santa Fe Rail- way in New Mexico; Jesse, of Melvern, Kansas; and Amelia, who became the wife of George Bogue, of Wellington, Kansas.
George F. Fanning was reared on his father's farm in Morgan and Macoupin counties. He received his preliminary education in the district schools and later attended Blackburn University. After leaving the university he began teaching school, a vocation in which he engaged for seven years. He then turned his attention to farming and engaged in agriculture and stock-raising until he was thirty-five years of age. In 1892 he came to Carlinville and for eight years was connected with the Cooperative store. He then associated with L. E. Ross, his brother-in-law, in the clothing business under the title of Fanning & Ross, and has continued without interruption in that line. They carry a large and well selected stock, which is constantly replenished according to the demands of the seasons. By reliable methods and close attention to the wants of custom- ers the firm has become one of the prosperous concerns of the city. Mr. Fanning assisted in organizing the Farmers & Merchants Bank in Carlinville in 1904 and is assistant cashier and a member of the board of directors. He is also one of the four general managers of the bank, which is a steadily growing institution. His wife owns a farm of one hundred acres in South Palmyra township.
On the 25th of August, 1881, Mr. Fanning was married to Miss Amelia F. Ross, a daughter of Erastus H. and Elizabeth L. (Pocklington) Ross. To this union three children have been born, one of whom died in infancy, the others being: 'Earl P., who married Miss Flora C. Steinmeyer and has one child, Dorothy Elizabeth; and Lolah F., who is at home. Mrs. Fanning is a native of Macoupin county. Her parents were born in England and were early settlers of this county, locating in South Palmyra township, where they spent the re- mainder of their lives. In their family were five children, Mary Jane, Martha, Amelia, Thomas P. and Leonard. The grandfather of Mrs. Fanning on the
345
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
paternal side was Thomas Ross and there were six children in his family, Erastus H., Jane, William, Joseph, Sarah and Mary.
Mr. and Mrs. Fanning are both earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He belongs to Orient Lodge, No. 95, K. P., his son Earl P. now serving as chancellor commander of this organization. Politically Mr. Fanning gives his support to the democratic party. He served three terms as supervisor for South Palmyra township and one term as member of the school board in Carlin- ville. He has the much desired faculty of making and retaining friends and never hesitates to lend his assistance to any cause that gives evidence of pro- moting the welfare of the community. The enviable reputation which he has gained throughout Macoupin county is convincing evidence of his business integrity and personal worth.
HERMAN J. SHULTZ.
The Elmview Dairy Farm is well known in Macoupin county and its owner, Herman J. Shultz, ranks as one of the prominent dairymen and stock-breeders of Illinois. He was born at Grantsville, Maryland, October 16, 1864, a son of Meshach and Charlotte (Augustine) Shultz. The parents were both born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, the former on May 28, 1831, and the latter April 30, 1835. The family originated in Germany and has been traced as far back as 1760 in Pennsylvania.
Adam Shultz, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Somerset county April 6, 1789, and in middle life located at Grantsville, Maryland, becoming one of the most prominent men of that section. He was twice married and by his first marriage four children were born, namely: Peter, of Garrett county, Maryland, now deceased; Eliza, who married John Royer, of Garrett county, and died in 1910, in her ninety-seventh year; Lydia, who married Mr. Wagner, of Michigan, and is deceased; and Judith, also deceased. The maiden name of the second wife of Mr. Shultz was Nancy Shockey and to this union four- teen children were born. Matilda married Andrew Deahl, of Hickman, Nebraska, and is now deceased. Perry died of cholera in 1866 at St. Louis. Chauncey, who is also deceased, located at St. Louis and served as county judge of St. Louis county about 1870 and was sub-treasurer of the United States at St. Louis under President Cleveland's first administration. Bailey, now deceased, married Catherine Shockey, who is living at Shipman at the advanced age of ninety-two years. Huldah married John Kite, of Shipman, and is also deceased. Alexander made his home at Hutchinson, Kansas, and is deceased. Meshach, the father of our subject. Mary Jane married Andrew Arndt, of Maryland, and died in Shipman. Amanda is the wife of Rev. Isaac N. Augustine, of Grand Island, Nebraska. John A. J., who is also deceased, was president of the Shultz Belting Company and of the St. Louis Manufacturers Association. Van Buren located at Shipman and is now deceased. Sarah Ann, who is also deceased, was the wife of Samuel Brown, of Lexington, Missouri. George M. D. is now living at Kansas City, Missouri, and is engaged in the real-estate
346
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
business. Upton, the youngest of the children, died at Denver, Colorado. The grandmother of our subject was a member of one of the old Pennsylvania Dutch families and was a daughter of Christian and Barbara Shockey. Her father assisted in the patriot cause at the time of the Revolutionary war and spent six years and seven months in the army.
Meshach Shultz grew to manhood at Grantsville, Maryland, and was married to Charlotte Augustine, March 20, 1853. He engaged in various lines of busi- ness until 1869, when he sold out and emigrated with his family to Illinois, settling in Shipman township, Macoupin county. He was highly prosperous as a farmer and business man and became the owner of about six hundred acres of good land in this county. He was one of the organizers of the Shipman Banking Company and was its first president. In 1891 he took up his residence in Shipman and died in this place December 3, 1907. Mrs. Shultz is a daughter of Jacob F. R. and Justinah (Null) Augustine and is a member of a prominent Pennsylvania family. Her father died at the age of forty-one years, leaving ten children, namely: Elizabeth, who married William Starner, of St. Paul, Minnesota, and is now deceased; Isaac, of Grand Island, Nebraska; Charlotte, who married Meshach Shultz; Rebecca, who became the wife of Michael Hoy, of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and is now deceased; Catharine, the wife of Andrew Kramer, of Somerset county; Joseph, who resides in Wisconsin, near St. Paul, Minnesota; Jacob L., of Grantsville, Maryland; Matilda, who became the wife of James Arndt, of Litchfield, Illinois; Diana, who married Fred Gorman, of Oklahoma; and Cornelia, the wife of John Mitchell, of Moberly, Missouri. Eight children were born to Meshach and Charlotte (Augustine) Shultz. Marshall died at the age of four years. Alonzo Meshach is now living at Shipman. Nancy Jane is the wife of William A. Fischer, of St. Louis, Missouri. Franklin S. is a resident of Shipman and a sketch of his career appears elsewhere in this work. Cora May is the wife of Milton Dodson, of Jerseyville, Illinois. Herman J., the sixth in order of birth, is the subject of this review. Alice Lotta married Chester Miller, of Carlinville. Chesty Anna married Rev. Peter B. Fasold and is now deceased.
Herman J. Shultz spent his youthful days acquiring the rudiments of an education in the public schools and later pursued the higher branches in Carthage College at Carthage, Illinois. He taught school for three years, beginning at the age of nineteen, and then went to Kansas City where he engaged in the grocery business and also conducted a meat market and milk depot. In 1894 he sold out, came to Shipman and entered the dairy business in section 24 of Shipman township. Six years later he purchased two hundred and forty-five acres upon which he now lives and in 1910 acquired eighty-two acres additional in section 19 of Hilyard township, being now the owner of three hundred and twenty-seven acres which is practically in one body. He keeps about seventy head of milch cows and in addition to his dairy business he is a breeder of registered Holstein cattle, Duroc Jersey hogs and Shropshire sheep. His farm is known as the Elmview Dairy Farm and is finely located within the corporate limits of Shipman. He has made many improvements including the erection of cow, horse and sheep barns, tool sheds and fences, and also has put in five miles of tiling. He is now the owner of a model dairy farm and also of one of the
347
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
most attractive country homes in the state, which he has acquired through indefatigable industry and sound business judgment. As a breeder of live stock he has gained an established reputation. He is thoroughly alive to the advances made in all branches pertaining to farming and stock-breeding and is a valued member of the National and Illinois Holstein-Friesian Associations and the Duroc Jersey Association.
On the 27th of September, 1887, Mr. Shultz was married to Miss Winifred Maud Smith, a daughter of Phineas H. and Mary (McCombs) Smith, record of whom appears elsewhere in this work, in connection with the sketch of Lester D. Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Shultz are the parents of four children, Clarence M., William Albert, Gladys Winifred and Herman J. Melville, all of whom are living at home.
Mr. Shultz is a member of Lodge No. 212, A. F. & A. M., of Shipman, and also of the Modern Woodmen of America. His religious belief is indicated by membership in the Evangelical Lutheran church of Shipman, in which he is now serving as deacon. Ever since he arrived at manhood he has been an adherent of the democratic party. He was president of the village board of Shipman in 1910 and is now a member of the village board and also of the school board. A genial, courteous and accomplished gentleman, his worth to the community is freely acknowledged and it requires no prophet to foretell that as the years pass his influence and his sphere of usefulness will be largely extended.
GEORGE ASBURY BROWN.
There are few men in Macoupin county who are better informed from per- sonal experience as to pioneer life in this section of the state than George A. Brown, who was born at Brighton October 18, 1839, and has made his home in this city during the greater part of his life. As a young man he witnessed many stirring scenes in various parts of the Mississippi valley and also on the great plains and in the early mining camps of the Rocky Mountains, and his reminis- cences are more interesting than any tale of fiction.
He is a son of Michael and Sarah E. (Peter) Brown and under the parental roof he grew to manhood, his early education being secured in the public schools of his native town. At the age of eighteen he began to work at the carpenter's trade but his plans were interfered with by the gold excitement which followed the discovery of the yellow metal in Cherry Creek, near the base of the Rocky Mountains, where Denver is now located. Early in 1861 he started with William Loveland and drove an ox team across the plains to Golden, Colorado, where Mr. Loveland engaged in the mercantile business. The young man, however, went into the diggings of Clear Creek and Gilpin counties and spent eight months in an eager search for gold in Eureka Gulch, the Twelve-Mile Diggings and Pine Gulch, devoting the remainder of the year to prospecting. He also spent eight months in the general store of Mr. Loveland at Golden.
In January, 1863, Mr. Brown returned east, traveling as far as Poughkeepsie, New York, where he attended the Eastman Business College. Having completed
348
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
a course at that noted institution he came back home and enlisted for the one hundred day service in Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-third Illinois Vol- unteers, under Captain Dugan. He was stationed with his company at Rock Island, Illinois, and assigned to guard Confederate prisoners. After receiving his discharge he went to Alton, Illinois, and secured employment as clerk in the store of Hathaway & Wade, with whom he continued for a year. He then en- gaged as clerk in a clothing store for six or eight months and spent the following summer at his trade as a carpenter in southeastern Missouri. He next associated with his brother, James McKendrie Brown, in cultivating a farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres in McLean county, Illinois, which was owned by their par- ents, and in February, 1869, returned to Macoupin county and for one year cultivated a portion of the home farm. He then entered the grain business at Brighton, in which he was engaged for many years with marked success, and sold out to his son Russell in 1910. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Brighton and was honored by being elected vice president, a position he has filled to the entire satisfaction of officers, directors and depositors of this growing institution.
In 1869 Mr. Brown was married to Miss Mary Lapsley, who was born in Ohio, of Irish descent, and died in 1886. They were the parents of three chil- dren, two of whom survive: Russell S., who is engaged in the grain business at Brighton; and Mary E., the wife of John F. Garber, teacher of botany and physiology in the Yateman high school at St. Louis, Missouri. On the 26th of October, 1892, Mr. Brown was again married, his second union being with Miss Martha R. Fry, a native of Brighton and a daughter of James and Mary E. Fry, who were pioneer settlers of that place.
The name of Mr. Brown is not upon the register of any religious denomina- tion but his wife is an earnest member of the Presbyterian church. Politically he adheres to the republican party whose candidates and principles he has sup- ported for many years. He served as a member of the board of supervisors five years and also as school trustee. For more than four decades he was actively connected with the mercantile interests of Brighton and as a financier ranks among the far-seeing men in this part of the state, his opinion often being sought by persons desiring to make safe and profitable investments. As a result of his good business judgment he occupies a place of large responsibility and is justly held in high esteem.
ROBERT JARMAN.
One of the citizens of Shaws Point township who by the intelligent direction of his affairs has achieved a gratifying degree of success is Robert Jarman, who was born in Devonshire, England, on the Ist of May, 1825. His parents, Philip and Elizabeth (Sloman) Jarman, were natives of the same county. The father, who was a mason by trade, engaged in contracting during the entire period of his active career, his death occurring in 1891. The mother passed away in 1833. Both were members of the Church of England.
MR. AND MRS. ROBERT JARMAN
351
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
Robert Jarman was reared and educated in his native land, where he resided until he was twenty years of age. In 1845 he emigrated to the United States, locating in Lake county, Illinois, where he worked as a laborer. Later he ob- tained employment in a brickyard, and after being identified with this for a time he worked as a farm hand. Having acquired a little capital he then went down the river to Alton, where he bought a horse and wagon and engaged in draying. After devoting three years to that activity he went to Jersey county, where he became associated with a cousin in cultivating a farm for a similar period. At the expiration of that time he came to Macoupin county and bought eighty acres of land in Honey Point township, which he immediately set about improving and cultivating. The operation of this proved so lucrative that four years later he was able to add to his holdings another one hundred and twenty acres. He continued increasing his possessions until he had acquired four hundred acres of land, to the cultivation of which he still gives his personal supervision. His is unquestionably one of the finest farms in Macoupin county. Mr. Jarman is a firm believer in scientific farming and has always made a very careful study of modern agricultural methods. The ideas of the scientist and theorist united with his practical experience, covering a long period, have been productive of most gratifying results. His land, which was always fertile, has been drained and cultivated in accordance with the best approved methods and by means of the rotation of crops each acre has been made to yield the maximum amount, the quality being fully equal to the quantity. His buildings are conveniently arranged and practically and substantially constructed, providing ample room for the shel- ter of both stock and farming implements as well as for the products of his fields. In connection with the cultivation of his land Mr. Jarman has always engaged in the breeding and raising of high grade stock, particularly horses. He at one time kept three high-priced stallions and now owns one named Prince Victor that came from the mews of the late King Edward of England, for which Mr. Jarman paid three thousand dollars. He is a beautiful animal and from him have been raised some very fine colts. Mr. Jarman always keeps about twenty- five head of horses and from eighty to one hundred head of shorthorn cattle, while he annually raises about sixty hogs.
On the 4th of March, 1861, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Jarman and Miss Selinda McDow, who was born in Jersey county, Illinois, on the 28th of April, 1835. She is a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Lindsey) McDow, the father a native of North Carolina and the mother of Kentucky. Mr. McDow located in Jersey county during the pioneer days of Illinois and there he entered land which he improved and cultivated until his death in 1881. The mother passed away in 1861. By the union of Mr. and Mrs. Jarman there were born nine children, only five of whom attained maturity ; Maggie M .; Elmer E .; Carrie E., who died in 1888, at the age of twenty years ; Laura ; and Charles O.
Mr. Jarman, having been reared a conformist, has always preferred the Epis- copal church, but his wife and family affiliate with the Christian denomination. He also belongs to the Farmers Mutual Benefit Association and Shaws Point H. T. D. S. His allegiance to the country of his adoption was shown in a most practical manner in 1864 by his enlisting in Company K, One Hundred and Forty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He went to the front in the autumn Vol. II-17
352
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
under Captain Usted, but was soon taken ill and sent to the hospital. Upon his recovery he was assigned guard duty at Alton and St. Louis, continuing to serve in that capacity until he was mustered out on the 24th of May, 1865. He is now awarded a pension of twenty dollars per month, because of his age, as he is now eighty-six. He maintains relations with his army comrades through the medium of his membership in the local Grand Army of the Republic, to the principles of which organization he has ever been loyal. Mr. Jarman exercises his political rights in support of the men and measures of the republican party, and although ยท he has never prominently participated in governmental affairs, has been town- ship commissioner for several years. Despite his years he is hale and hearty and gives his personal supervision to the work of his farm, where he and his wife, who is now seventy-six, continue to make their home.
GEORGE WELD HILLIARD.
George Weld Hilliard, president of the First National Bank of Brighton and prominent as a capable farmer and business man, is a native of Macoupin county and during a long and active life has been remarkably successful in promoting the permanent interests of this region. Born in Brighton, November 1, 1840, he is a son of Amos Avery and Charlotte (Towne) Hilliard, both of whom were born in New Hampshire. The ancestors of the family were early resi- dents of New England and the name has been well known in New Hampshire for many years. Amos A. Hilliard came west in 1832 and engaged in shipping pork by river to New Orleans. On one occasion he accompanied the cargo down the Mississippi and the boat struck a snag and went to the bottom, all the passengers being drowned except Mr. Hilliard and two others. He returned to New Hampshire but came back again to Illinois in 1834, and from that time during the remainder of his life was identified with Brighton township, becom- ing the owner of a valuable farm of four hundred and twenty-five acres. He was three times married. His first marriage took place on the 30th of Novem- ber, 1857. to Charlotte Towne, who was born August 4, 1802, and came with her brother Rodney to Macoupin county, Illinois, in 1833. To this union two sons were born, one of whom died at the age of four years, the other being George W. of this review. The mother of these children died August 8, 1845. and in 1846 Mr. Hilliard was married to Mrs. Harriet Towne, the widow of Joseph Boutwell Towne, a brother of his first wife. She died in October, 1872. and in the year following Mr. Hilliard was married to Mrs. A. S. Everett. He was a man of good education and of unusual enterprise and business ability, being noted as a fruit grower and also for the production of an excellent quality of vinegar and cider. He possessed unusual public spirit and his death, February 28, 1878, occasioned general regret throughout a section with which he had been actively identified for more than forty years.
George W. Hilliard received his early education in the district schools and later attended Shurtleff College of Upper Alton, being a student of that institu- tion for three years, from 1857 to 1859 inclusive. After leaving college he took
353
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
a course in the Bryant & Stratton Business College at St. Louis. After return- ing home he assisted his father in farm work until the close of the Civil war and then assumed the management of the home farm, which he inherited upon the death of his father. He was one of the first to devote special attention to fruit culture in Macoupin county and gained a national reputation for cider and vinegar produced upon his farm. In April, 1909, he assisted in organizing the First National Bank of Brighton and has since served as its president. He has been unusually fortunate in his investments and in addition to his interests he and his wife are the owners of six hundred and forty acres of land in Brighton township.
In 1864 Mr. Hilliard was married to Miss Celia Adelaide Chase, a daughter of Taylor H. Chase, who was a schoolmate of Amos A. Hilliard in New Hamp- shire and came with him to Macoupin county, Illinois. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hilliard, five of whom survive, namely: Charles Avery, who is in charge of the home farm; Stella, who is the wife of Allen A. Davison, of Morgan Park, Illinois; Leah and Frank Wyman, twins, the former of whom is at home and the latter an electrical engineer in the employ of the General Electric Company of St. Louis; and Gladys, who is at home.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.