USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois : biographical and pictorial, Volume II > Part 34
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
In politics Mr. Hilliard adheres to the republican party but has never been an office seeker and has at various times declined to allow his name to be placed upon the ticket as a candidate for county supervisor. He is a member of Hibbard Lodge, No. 249, A. F. & A. M., and holds a demit from Alton Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M. He and his wife are identified with the Baptist church, in which he has served for many years as trustee. A few years ago he retired from active business affairs and spends about nine months of each year in St. Louis, the remainder of the year being passed amidst familiar scenes on the old family homestead. He is a man of unusual pleasing address, of unquestioned integrity and ability and has now arrived at an age when he can enjoy at ease the results. of many years of activity. He has won an enviable reputation in the business and financial world and is justly honored and esteemed wherever he is known.
JOHN C. DEFFENBAUGH.
The country owes a great debt to the successful farmers and stock breeders who produce food for millions engaged in other occupations and who constitute an indispensable element in American citizenship. In this class is John C. Def- fenbaugh, one of the most successful men along the lines named in Macoupin county. He is a native of Bunker Hill township and was born September 2, 1859, a son of George and Minerva (Clauson) Deffenbaugh. The parents were both born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and were of German descent, the first ancestors of the family in America arriving in Pennsylvania from the old country about two hundred years ago. The grandfather of our subject was David Deffenbaugh, a prominent farmer, who spent his entire life in the Key- stone state. George Deffenbaugh, the father, left Pennsylvania about 1841 and settled on a farm in Bureau county, near Princeton, Illinois. In 1859 he came
354
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
to Macoupin county and located in Polk township on land now known as the Pasturedale Farm, which is owned by the subject of this review. He lived in this county until his death, which occurred May 3, 1888. His body reposes in the Baptist cemetery at Spanish Needle. The mother made her home with the subject of this review after the death of her husband and survived until Jan- uary 8, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Deffenbaugh were greatly respected throughout the community and were worthy representatives of the noble class of pioneer men and women to whom the present generation is indebted for many of the blessings now enjoyed. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Deffenbaugh were eight children: David and Solomon, both of whom are deceased; Margaret, who married Ira R. Lewis and both are now deceased; Annie, who became the wife of Charles S. King and is also deceased; Bertha, who married W. R. Hassett, of Carlinville ; Amos, who resides on the old homestead, in Polk township; Hattie, who became the wife of W. H. Whitlock, and resides on a farm near Medora ; and John C.
John C. Deffenbaugh possessed advantages of attendance at the district schools of Polk township and continued assisting his father upon the home farm until after reaching twenty-one years of age. He then rented land from his father and after four or five years purchased eighty acres in Polk township upon which he took up his home. In 1904 the residence caught fire from a kitchen flue and was burned to the ground. Since that time Mr. Deffenbaugh has lived upon his place, on section 31, Brushy Mound township, which he purchased two years before the fire. He has been very active and energetic in his vocation and owns a farm of one hundred and thirty-two acres which was named by himself and his brother the Edgewood Farm because of its location on the edge of the Polk township mound of timber. He also owns a valuable farm of two hundred and eighty acres in Polk township which is used as pasture land, hence the name Pasturedale, given by Mr. Deffenbaugh to this place. He and his sons are engaged upon an extensive scale in general farming and also as breeders and raisers of registered Hereford cattle, a herd of thirty head being evidence of their ability in this line. Mr. Deffenbaugh also engages as a buyer and feeder of cattle and hogs and ships regularly to the St. Louis market. His farm is one of the best improved properties in Macoupin county and everything about it reflects high credit upon its owner.
Mr. Deffenbaugh was married October 25, 1883, to Miss Sarah E. Wheeler, a daughter of Jehu and Ellen (Huddleston) Wheeler. The mother was born in Brushy Mound township July 18, 1835, and the father in Kentucky, January 18, 1829. He came to Macoupin county in his young manhood and continued here during the remainder of his life, being one of the successful farmers of Gillespie township. He died on the old homestead July 25, 1890, his wife fol- lowing September 24, 1894. There were eleven children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, namely: Laura Anna, who was born December 26, 1853, and died December 15, 1868; Nancy Katharine, who was born in 1855 and died January 14, 1857; Sarah E., who was born May 6, 1857, and married John C. Deffenbaugh; James Robert, who was born November 23, 1858, and died September 16, 1859; Martha E., who was born October 6, 1860, and is now living in Carlinville; Mary E., born July 8, 1863, who married Clarence Rice, a
355
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
farmer, of Gillespie township; Jennie, who was born April 29, 1865, and died September II, 1867; William Colfax, who was born June 26, 1867, and is en- gaged in farming in Cahokia township; Stella May, born December 23, 1870, who married Arthur Bradley, superintendent of train dispatchers at Atlanta, Georgia ; Clara Emma, who was born April 26, 1872, and died June 6, 1896; and Isabelle, born June 27, 1875, who married Horace McBride, a paving con- tractor of Carlinville, Illinois. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Def- fenbaugh. Minerva, the eldest, is living at home. David Clauson attended Black- burn College at Carlinville and is now a student in his second year at Barnes Medical College. Porter P., the third in order of birth, is also at home. Flossie E. died May 7, 1904. John C., Jr., the youngest of the children, is a student in the Carlinville high school.
Mr. Deffenbaugh was for many years a stanch supporter of the republican party but a few years ago changed his views and has since been an advocate of prohibition. He served for six years as township school trustee and for one year as collector of Polk township. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic Lodge and the lodge of Modern Woodmen of America at Plainview and is now holding the office of junior warden in the former organization. His eldest son, D. Clauson, is an active member of the Masonic order, having attained the Royal Arch degree, and is also connected with the Woodmen. Mrs. Deffenbaugh holds membership in the Order of the Eastern Star at Plainview. By a useful and honorable life Mr. Deffenbaugh has established a reputation for integrity and fair dealing which is greatly to be preferred above wealth gained through injustice or misrepresentation. He has shown an efficiency and progressiveness in his business affairs and a promptness in the discharge of his responsibilties that have won him the honor and esteem of all classes of people, hence he is highly deserving of representation in this work.
WILLIAM DWIGHT GRAHAM, M. D.
During his entire life a resident of Carlinville, Dr. William Dwight Graham, now deceased, is remembered as one of the most popular citizens of Macoupin county-a man who never shirked responsibility and who faithfully performed his part as an earnest, conscientious and patriotic citizen. He was born in Car- linville, November 28, 1847, a son of Milo and Hannah (Dugger) Graham. The father was a native of Connecticut and the mother of Kentucky. They both be- longed to pioneer families and were reared at Carlinville.
The father of our subject learned the tailor's trade but went into the drug business at Carlinville and was identified with that business during the remainder of his life. He was three times married, his first wife being Hannah Dugger, who died in 1851. She was the mother of twelve children, three of whom grew to maturity: Susan Savilla, who married Captain George Hunter; Mary, who was twice married, her first husband being Samuel Berry, who died at Carlin- ville, and her second husband, Simon Peter; and William Dwight, of this re- view. The second wife of Mr. Graham was Mrs. Ann (Valentine) Boring, and
-
356
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
there were five or six children born to this union, one of whom survives-Effie F., who is now the wife of Fred Curtis. The third wife of Mr. Graham was Sophia Applegate. He died in 1884, at the age of sixty-three years, and is buried in the cemetery at this city.
William D. Graham grew up under the parental roof and after attending the public schools became a student of Blackburn University. Having deter- mined to devote his energies to the practice of medicine, he pursued the study at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and also in Philadelphia. He practiced success- fully for a time in Carlinville and then entered the drug business with his father, subsequently becoming the owner of the store. He entered into partnership with his step-brother A. M. Boring and the business was conducted under the title of Graham & Boring for a number of years. Dr. Graham then entered the grocery business but later bought out Mr. Boring in the drug business and associated with his son William R. Graham, who still continues in charge of the store. This business has been in the family without interruption for fifty-six years.
On the 29th of July, 1869, Dr. Graham was married to Miss Mary A. Rice, a daughter of Hiram J. and Sarah M. (Andrews) Rice. To this union three children were born. Florence, the eldest, married Howard O. Tally and has one child, Josephine. Frank engaged in the railroad business and died January 30, 1905. He was married to Elizabeth Regelman and they had five children, Frank William, Mary Agnes, Clarence H., Margaret M. and Catharine T. William R., the youngest of the children of Dr. and Mrs. Graham, is a pharmacist and drug- gist and was his father's successor in business. He married Lou Graves and they have two daughters, Irene and Susan L.
Mrs. Mary A. Graham was born on a farm six miles south of Carlinville and made her home there until ten years of age. She then went to Hillsboro and lived with an uncle, Judge Edward Y. Rice. Later she attended the Sacred Heart convent in St. Louis and St. Agnes Hall, a school for young ladies at Terre Haute, Indiana. After her marriage she took up her residence at Car- linville, which has since been her home. Her father died on the old homestead south of Carlinville in 1880, after reaching the age of seventy-two years, and her mother died in 1895, also aged seventy-two. They had four children : Mary A., who became the wife of Dr. William Dwight Graham; Florence M .; Frank A .; and Clarence R. The grandfather of Mrs. Graham on the paternal side was Francis Rice, who was born in North Carolina. He moved to Kentucky and was married in that state, but on account of his disapproval of slavery he came to Illinois in 1833 and settled in Macoupin county. His wife was Mary H. Gooch. They had a family of eleven or twelve children. The grandfather of Mrs. Graham on the maternal side was Robert Andrews. He was a native of Scotland and came to America and settled near Brighton, Illinois, where he spent the remainder of his life.
Dr. Graham died November 16, 1906, having arrived at the age of fifty-nine years lacking twelve days. He served for nearly three years as member of the One Hundred and Twenty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war and in the army as during his entire active life was always found at the post of duty. Socially he belonged to the Court of Honor and the Royal Amer-
357
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
icans and politically he gave his earnest support to the republican party. A man of broad mind, pleasing manners and charitable disposition, he made friends readily and his memory will ever be venerated by all who had the honor of his acquaintance. Mrs. Graham has for over forty-two years been a resident of Carlinville and because of her estimable traits of character enjoys the unquali- fied regard and esteem of the entire community.
WILLIAM H. MEYER.
It is doubtful whether Cahokia township can claim a more industrious or persevering citizen than William H. Meyer, whose farm is visible evidence of his thrift and good judgment. A native of Prussia, Germany, he can claim de- scent from Teutonic ancestry on both sides of the house. He was born Decem- ber 31. 1853, a son of Henry and Mary (Lafemann) Meyer. The father came to the United States with his family in the spring of 1858, landing at New Orleans after a voyage of eleven weeks in a sailing vessel. The trip to St. Louis was made in a river steamer and thence the travelers journeyed to Morgan county, Illinois, and Mr. Meyer found employment on a farm near Jacksonville. He was a man of persistence and energy, and possessed a laudable desire to become financially independent. As soon as conditions permitted he rented a farm on his own account, and in 1864 or 1865 took up his residence on a place in Macoupin county, one and one-half miles northeast of Mount Olive. This land he pur- chased in 1866 and applied himself with such energy and good judgment, that he became the owner of one hundred and eighty acres of well improved 'land. He died in 1874, having attained a position as one of the responsible citizens of the county. Mrs. Meyer survived her husband until 1883.
At the age of five years William H. Meyer arrived with his parents in Ma- coupin county. He received his education in the district schools and early de- cided to devote his life to farming, a business for which he is eminently adapted both by inclination and natural ability. After the death of his father he culti- vated part of the home farm, and later purchased his brother's interest in the estate, becoming the sole owner of the place. He has acquired adjoining land and his home farm now comprises three hundred and thirty-three acres. He also owns one hundred acres two miles southeast of his home place. He possesses essential characteristics of a successful business man and, having made a good start on the road to prosperity, he never turned back. For six years past he has made a specialty of raising thoroughbred Percheron horses, and has pro- duced some of the finest specimens of this breed that have been reared in the county. He takes an active interest in supporting legitimate enterprises and is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Mount Olive.
On June 12, 1879, Mr. Meyer was married to Miss Wilhelmina Gehner, a daughter of Casper Gehner. The father was born in Germany and was one of the early settlers of Macoupin county. He is now deceased. Eleven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Meyer, all of whom survive. Their names are : Charlotte, who is the wife of William Grossenheider, of Montgomery county,
358
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
Illinois; August, who is in charge of his father's one hundred acre farm; Min- nie, who married John Prange, of Washington, Kansas; and William, Emma, Lydia, Lena, Emil, Ella, Clara and Edward, all of whom are living at home.
As a representative man of this section Mr. Meyer has exercised a benefi- cent influence and the value of his life to the community is not to be measured so much by his wealth as by his character. Eminently just in all his dealings and willing to assist in forwarding every movement which aims to secure the advancement of the community, he is accorded the respect that belongs to those who recognize their responsibilities and faithfully attempt to perform their duty.
E. W. HAYES.
A successful member of the Macoupin county bar is E. W. Hayes, who for the past forty-four years has been a resident of Bunker Hill. He was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, on the 30th of January, 1837, and is of Irish extraction, being a direct descendant of David Hayes, who with his brothers em- igrated to America prior to the Revolution. He first settled in the vicinity of Dauphin, Pennsylvania, and some years afterward with his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Wilson, removed to Franklin county, that state. That section, which was then considered far removed from the centers of civilization, was just beginning to be settled by the whites. They located on a farm in South Hampton township, where they spent the remainder of their lives and that property remained in the family for two generations thereafter. It was the birthplace of Wilson Hayes, to whom it descended upon the death of his father. He continued to engage in the cultivation of the land, on which he spent prac- tically his entire life, until his death at the age of seventy-two years. For his wife Wilson Hayes chose Miss Mary Culbertson, who was also of Irish ex- traction and like himself a faithful and earnest member of the Presbyterian church. Six children were born of this union, the old homestead becoming the property of the eldest, David, after the father passed away. He operated the land for many years and then, disposing of it, removed to Shippensbury, Cum- berland county, Pennsylvania, where he was living at the time of his demise at the age of sixty-seven years. He married Nancy Cowell, a native of Cumber- land county, and they became the parents of six sons and two daughters, all of whom lived to attain maturity. The mother also passed away in Cumberland county.
The boyhood and youth of E. W. Hayes were as uneventful and unvaried in their routine as those of the majority of lads who are reared on a farm. He acquired his early education in the common schools of his native state, after the completion of which he entered Lafayette College at Easton, Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated. He then taught two years in an academy at Dickinson, Pennsylvania. When the call came for troops he was one of the first to respond, going to the front as a private in Company A, Seventh Pennsylvania Reserves, which formed a part of the Army of the Potomac. He saw much active serv- ice, participating in both battles of Bull Run, that of Antietam and Fredericks-
E. W. HAYES
361
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
burg, as well as many of lesser importance. Although he was in the thick of many closely contested skirmishes and battles he was never wounded, but he did contract typhoid fever, finally being discharged on account of disability. He returned home much broken in health and after he had recovered sufficiently resumed his law studies, entering the office of R. P. McClure, and was admitted to the bar in 1865. Two years later he took up his residence in Illinois, locating at Bunker Hill, where he has since made his home. He has ever been a credit to his profession, both as a student and in his methods of practice, and is held in high regard by his fellow members of the bar, wherever he is known.
In Franklin county, Pennsylvania, April 13, 1870, Mr. Hayes married Miss Margaret F. Heck, who was born in Shippensbury, Cumberland county, on the 18th of July, 1848. Mrs. Hayes is a daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Stur- geon) Heck, the father of Dutch extraction and the mother of Scotch-Irish. To Mr. and Mrs. Hayes were born six children: Margaret G., Bertha, Edgar 'H., Ralph H. and Joseph A., all living ; and Alma, deceased.
The family were reared in the Congregational faith, of which church both Mr. and Mrs. Hayes are members. He is a stanch republican and was twice nominated for county judge but was defeated because of the overwhelming democratic majority at the time. He is an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic and always takes a helpful interest in all organizations which will in any way improve local conditions or elevate the standard of the com- munity, having nearly always been officially connected with such. He has ever been loyal and public-spirited, his high ideals of citizenship making his influ- ence felt throughout the community.
LEONARD M. DICKERSON.
Leonard M. Dickerson, widely known as a druggist and general merchant of Brighton, was born in this place January 13, 1863, and is one of its most enter- prising citizens. He is a son of Dr. Jacob T. and Amanda M. (Loveland) Dickerson, the former of whom was a native of Delaware. The mother was born in Rhode Island and came to Brighton with her parents in her girlhood, her father, Leonard Loveland, being one of the early settlers of Macoupin county. Dr. Jacob T. Dickerson came to Brighton in 1859, while he was still a student of a medical college in Philadelphia, in which he had spent two terms. He taught school at Bethany during the summer and fall and then returned to Philadelphia where he completed his medical course. In the spring of 1860 he began the prac- tice of his profession at Brighton and became one of the leading physicians and surgeons of this part of the state. He engaged actively in his profession for thirty-eight years and died in 1898, in his seventieth year. In religious faith he was a Methodist and he was one of the prominent supporters of the church at Brighton. Fraternally he was identified with the Odd Fellows and held a number of the principal offices in that organization.
Mr. Dickerson of this sketch acquired his early education in the public schools of Brighton and later attended Brighton Academy under Professor Nathaniel
362
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
Hill, who was for a number of years a member of the faculty of Dartmouth Col- lege. After completing the course at the academy Mr. Dickerson became a stu- dent of Blackburn University at Carlinville. In 1885 he went to Florida where he spent several months planting an orange orchard and also looking about for business opportunities. Not finding any favorable openings, he returned home and associated with his father in the drug business which he later had estab- lished about 1865. Believing that the field was large enough for a new business venture, they opened a general mercantile establishment which is now the lead- ing house of the kind at Brighton. Mr. Dickerson traveled for four years, from 1892 to 1896, as a representative of a wholesale grocery concern, but did not relinquish his interests at Brighton. He has proved one of the reliable men of the community and the business which he has seen grow from its inception is now firmly established and yields a handsome annual revenue upon the capital and labor expended.
On December 15, 1886, Mr. Dickerson was married to Miss Jeannette Rob- ertson, a native of Jersey county, Illinois. Two children have been born to this union, one of whom, Courtney Loveland, survives. Mr. Dickerson has been a close observer and a practical student of men and affairs, being also a progressive and wide-awake business man who aims to keep well abreast of the progress which is a distinguishing characteristic of the twentieth century. He is a valued mem- ber of Hibbard Lodge, No. 249. A. F. & A. M., and Brighton Lodge, No. 366, I. O. O. F. Possessing a kindly heart and a cordial manner, he has readily made friends and today is one of the most popular and respected citizens of Brighton.
JAMES R. BROWN.
James R. Brown, who lives upon an attractive farm on section 21, Western Mound township, where he has made his home for three years past, was born in Clark county, Missouri, October 29, 1871. He is a son of George and Arena (Gully) Brown, the former of whom was of German-Irish descent and was a native of Pike county, Missouri. After arriving at manhood he devoted his attention to farming. The mother was born in Scotland and died when the sub- ject of this review was six years of age. The father passed away four years later. There were two children in the family: Edith, who died at the age of ten years ; and James R.
Having lost his parents in his early boyhood, James R. Brown would have been obliged to seek a home among strangers had it not been for a kind-hearted aunt, in whose household he remained until fifteen years of age. He then started out to meet the world and his first employment was in a brickyard belonging to Hausman Brothers, of Fort Madison, Iowa. He continued with this firm for two years and then went to work in the yards of the Santa Fe Railway at Fort Madison and assisted in car repair work for five years. At the end of the time named he was transferred to New Mexcio, but gave up his position after four years and returned to Missouri. In 1903 he came to Macoupin county, Illinois, and for a year engaged in farm labor in Bird township. He was then married
363
HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
and for two years cultivated a farm belonging to his father-in-law. He next rented the Albert Morris farm in Bird township for one year and, having ac- quired the necessary capital, purchased the place upon which he has since lived in Western Mound township. He moved to his farm in January. 1908, and has since engaged with marked success in general farming and stock-raising. He owns one hundred and sixty acres, five acres of which are in timber, and main- tains a good grade of stock, his milk stock being fully equal to any in this part of the county. He also raises Poland China hogs of such a fine quality that they are subject to register. He is fortunate in owning a well-watered place, which is excellently adapted for stock-raising, and as he uses good judgment in his busi- ness his efforts meet with deserved reward.
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.