USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois : biographical and pictorial, Volume II > Part 37
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JOHN EMMERSON.
John Emmerson, long identified with the agricultural pursuits of Macoupin county, was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England, on the 5th of July, 1845. His parents were William and Elizabeth (Hill) Emmerson, also natives of England, whence they emigrated to the United States, locating in Greene county, Illinois. in 1850. After seven years residence there they removed to Macoupin county, and the following year the father acquired forty acres of land, which formed the nucleus of his homestead. As he was able he extended the boundaries of his farm until, at the time of his demise, he owned one hundred and sixty acres of well improved land. He passed away on the 27th of March, 1904, while the mother had died in 1896. Their union was blessed with two children: John, our subject ; and Mary Ann, the wife of J. J. Cox, of Virden.
John Emmerson was only a lad of five years when his parents settled in America, and he attended the district schools of Greene and Macoupin counties in the acquirement of his education. After laying aside his studies he applied himself to painting and wagon making for a time but later devoted his atten-
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tion to farming in which he has ever since been engaged. He has been quite successful in his agricultural enterprises and now owns eighty acres of land in Sangamon county and forty acres of the old homestead.
Mr. Emmerson established a home for himself by his marriage on the 12th of April, 1870, to Miss Martha Utt, who passed away on the 27th of April, 1901, and was laid to rest in the Virden cemetery. Mrs. Emmerson was a daugh- ter of Jacob and Polly Utt, who were the parents of nine children : James, who is a resident of Kansas; Ruben, a veteran of the Civil war, now residing in Pike county, Illinois; Winfield, who is deceased; George, a color bearer in the Civil war, killed on the battle field while carrying the flag; Catherine, the wife of Nathan Dotson, of Greene county; Martha, the deceased wife of John Emmer- son; Lizzie, the wife of Oscar Drew, general freight agent for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad at St. Louis; Sophia, the wife of the Rev. Mr. Sham- beau, of Washington; and Mary, who is living in Parsons, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Emmerson were the parents of three children; William A., who is living in Virden; Lizzie, the wife of Frank Conetis, of Virden; and George C., a physi- cian, practicing in Marshall, Missouri.
Mr. Emmerson affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife was also a member. His political allegiance he accords to the republican , party, but he has never been an office seeker, having preferred to devote his energies to the development of personal interests.
HENRY G. STALL.
One of the best known residents of Brighton is Henry G. Stall, who has reached the venerable age of four score years and is recognized as one of the most successful business men this section has known. He is a native of York, Pennsylvania, born January 7, 1831, a son of John and Mary (Albright) Stall, both of whom were born in York county, Pennsylvania. The mother died in 1848 and the father later went to Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and at the outbreak of the Civil war enlisted in the Union service, becoming a member of the famous Mississippi River Marine Brigade. On account of the exertion and exposure incident to military life he was taken ill while at the post of duty and died at Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he was buried.
Henry G. Stall was reared at home until his seventeenth year, but. possessed very limited advantages of attendance at school, being obliged to withdraw from school in his ninth year. His education, therefore, has been almost wholly self- acquired. Upon the death of the mother the family was broken up and the son secured employment as clerk in a hotel at Baltimore, Maryland, continuing in that position in 1849 and 1850. In the spring of 1851 he came west to St. Louis and in the following fall went to New Orleans where he sought in vain for work for which he was adapted. Subsequently, however, he secured a position as clerk in a mercantile establishment at Warrington, Florida, and continued there until 1854. He narrowly escaped death from an attack of yellow fever in 1853. After recovering from his illness he came to Alton, Illinois, and in 1854 secured a clerk-
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ship in the freight office of the Chicago & Alton Railway. In the summer of 1856 he filled the position of clerk on the steamer Baltimore, plying between St. Louis and Alton and carrying passengers for the Chicago & Alton Railway.
Mr. Stall arrived in Brighton, Macoupin county, in the spring of 1857 and served as station agent for the Chicago & Alton road, also filling the position of telegraph operator. In 1881 he engaged in the mercantile business at Virden, but after seven months transferred his headquarters to Brighton, where he suc- cessfully continued his business for two years. He sold out in 1883 and moved to Birmingham, Alabama, but an epidemic of yellow fever visited the place and, his wife becoming frightened, they went to Little Rock, Arkansas, and thence to De Soto, Missouri, where Mr. Stall again engaged in the mercantile business with which he was successfully identified for five years. He was one of the lead- ing citizens of the town and served very acceptably as its mayor. In 1889 he returned to Brighton and for several years was engaged in farming, but in 1893 or 1894 removed from his farm to this place, where he has since resided. He has actively engaged in building houses for sale and proved one of the most successful men in that line that this part of the county has known.
In 1854 Mr. Stall was married to Miss Martha Walker at New Orleans, Louisiana, where they first met and became acquainted. She died in November, 1910, having arrived at the age of eighty-four years. One child, Harry E., was . born to this union. He is now living with his father. Mr. Stall has adhered to the democratic party ever since he cast his first ballot and served several terms as police magistrate and also as justice of the peace, showing a discrimination and clear judgment that met the hearty approval of the people. He is identified with Hibbard Lodge No. 249, A. F. & A. M., and is the oldest member of this organ- ization, having been made a Mason in 1858. He looks back on a long and useful life crowned with many happy recollections and cheered with warm friendships. He ranks today among the most honored citizens of Macoupin county.
LESTER D. SMITH.
Lester D. Smith, who is the owner of an ideal home at Shipman and is now living practically retired, having gained a competence, was born at Gray. Herkimer county, New York, October 19, 1854. He is a descendant of Irish and Scotch ancestry and is a son of Phineas H. and Mary ( McCombs) Smith, the former of whom was born about 1831, in Herkimer county, and the latter in Oneicia county, New York, in 1834. The great-grandfather of our subject, on the paternal side, came from Ireland to America in the eighteenth century and settled in Rhode Island. John Smith, the grandfather, was born in Rhode Island in 1801. After growing to maturity he moved to Herkimer county, New York, and was married to Mary Hemingway, a native of that county. He engaged in the lumber business at Gray but subsequently gave his attention to farming. In his old age, after the death of his wife, he came to Illinois, having been preceded to this state by his children, and died at Shipman about 1886. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Smith consisted of ten children, six of whom grew
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to maturity : Phineas H., the father of our subject; Charles, of Iowa, now deceased ; Orrin, who resides at Los Angeles, California; Matilda, who married Peter Valentine, of Iowa, and is also deceased; Laura, who became the wife of Wallace Bullock, of Gray, New York, and is now deceased; and Mary, the widow of Charles Bingham, of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Phineas H. Smith possessed advantages of education in the public schools of New York state and grew to maturity under the paternal roof. In 1853 he married Mary McCombs, a descendant of a Scotch family that settled near Utica, New York, and for a number of years engaged in the manufacture of cheese at Dolgeville, Herkimer county. In 1855 he disposed of his factory and came to Illinois, locating on a farm in Shipman township, Macoupin county, which he cultivated to good advantage. Owing to the encroachment of age he retired at Shipman and died here about 1901. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, namely: Lester D., of this review; Hattie M., who married C. M. Stanley, of Cazenovia, New York, and is now deceased; Irving P., a resident of Shipman ; Winifred, the wife of Herman Shultz, of Shipman, record of whom appears elsewhere in this work; and Mabel, who died at the age of twenty-three.
In the public schools of New York state Lester D. Smith secured his early education and later attended a business college at New Haven, Connecticut. At the age of twenty-one, like thousands of ambitious young men, he decided that the great west offered a field more inviting than the long-settled states of the east and he emigrated to Warren county, Missouri, where he found employ- ment as manager of a creamery, a business which he had thoroughly learned under his father. In 1877 he came to Shipman and established a creamery in his own name. The business prospered and subsequently he opened a store in connection with his creamery. In 1891 he sold out and bought three hundred acres of land in Shipman and Hilyard townships, which he improved by the erection of buildings and the planting of shade trees and a fine orchard of ten acres. He became the owner of the first herd of pure blooded Holstein-Friesian cattle in this section but disposed of his cattle in 1896 and concentrated his attention upon stock-breeding, making a specialty of pure blooded Shropshire sheep, which he disposed of for breeding purposes. In 1909 he sold his farm and purchased seventy acres within the corporate limits of Shipman. He has greatly improved his place by erecting a modern residence of nine rooms, and other buildings, and has one of the most attractive homes in Macoupin county. Having attained a position of comparative financial independence, he nowv enjoys the comforts of many years of earnest and well directed application.
On December 20, 1877, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Inez Timmerman, a daughter of John and Mary (Lankton) Timmerman, and they are the parents of four children: Harry C., who married Eunice Hoff and resides at Los Angeles, California; Florence, of St. Louis, Missouri; Gilbert L., who died at the age of twenty-three ; and Edna Agnes, at home. The Timmerman family is of German descent and the progenitors in this country settled in Mohawk Valley, New York, before the Revolutionary war. Several of the ancestors of Mrs. Smith served in the patriot army and she and her daughters are entitled to membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution. A younger
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brother of her grandmother served as mail carrier in the Revolutionary war. Her grandfather was Abraham Timmerman and he was the father of nine children, namely : Henry, now deceased, who made his home in Steuben county, New York ; Solomon, also deceased, who resided in Herkimer county; Levi, of Steuben county ; John, the father of Mrs. Smith; Marcus, now deceased, who made his home in Steuben county; David, who was a resident of Herkimer county, and is now deceased; Adeline, also deceased; Charlotte, who is the widow of Sandford Canute; and Elizabeth, who married William Morgan, of Herkimer county, and is now deceased. John Timmerman was reared on his father's farm in Herkimer county and received his education in the public schools. He gave his attention to agriculture and stock-raising for many years and is now living retired at the age of eighty, at Little Falls, New York. In his family were four children: Inez, now Mrs. Lester D. Smith ; and Margaret, Elizabeth and John, all of whom are deceased.
Lester D. Smith has for many years made a close study of Free Masonry and has taken the York and Scottish Rite degrees. He is a member of the chapter at Carlinville, the commandery at Alton, the S. R. Lodge of Perfection of East St. Louis, and the Oriental Consistory of Chicago. He also holds membership in the Methodist church of Shipman, in which he is serving as trustee and recording secretary. He is active in church work and in all move- ments which seek to promote brotherhood and a kindly feeling among men. In politics he adheres to the republican party. He has served as school trustee and was president of the village of Shipman in 1887. As a successful business man and an energetic and progressive citizen he ranks among the leaders in the county and he can claim an extensive circle of warm personal friends through- out a region where he has been favorably known for more than a third of a century.
HENRY J. GEHNER, JR.
Henry J. Gehner, Jr .. has been a resident of Macoupin county ever since his early childhood and the history of the agricultural interests of this section would be incomplete without adequate mention of the work he has accomplished. He was born in Morgan county, Illinois, April 18, 1861, and is now in the fifty-first year of his age. He can claim sturdy German ancestry on both sides of the house, being a son of Henry and Wilhelmina Mary (Schweppe) Gehner, both of whom were born in Germany. The father is now living on the home farm in Cahokia township and an interesting sketch of his career appears elsewhere in this work. The mother died in 1878, when the subject of this review was seven- teen years of age.
As a member of a large family of children Henry J. Gehner, Jr., early learned lessons of industry and self-denial that proved of inestimable value to him in his maturer years. He received his preliminary education in the district schools and the Lutheran parochial schools of Mount Olive, and continued at home assisting in work upon the farm until after reaching his maturity. At the age of twenty- four years he was married and then purchased eighty acres of land in Cahokia
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township, upon which he took up his residence. During the time that has since passed he acquired more land and is now the owner of a farm of two hundred acres, which is one of the most highly improved places in the township. He also owns eighty acres in Mount Olive township and several town lots and three resi- dences in Mount Olive. In addition to engaging in general farming he makes a specialty of breeding and raising fine horses and, as he is a good' judge of animals and aims to keep fully abreast of the times, he ranks very high as a breeder. He has persistently and energetically followed his work and has met with merited recompense for his labors.
On the 19th of April, 1885, Mr. Gehner was married to Miss Harmina Arke- bauer, a daughter of the late Meint Arkebauer, who was born in Germany and was one of the early settlers of Mount Olive township, Macoupin county. To Mr. and Mrs. Gehner eight children were born, Lydia, Rosina, Amanda, Theodore, Paulina, Clara, Ida and Walter. All of the children are still living at home. The deepest sorrow that Mr. Gehner has known was occasioned by the death of his beloved wife, which occurred January 13, 1911. She was a woman of the most admirable traits of mind and character, and was greatly respected wherever she was known.
Politically Mr. Gehner adheres to the democratic party. He has served as road commissioner and also for several terms as member of the school board. He and his children are actively identified with the Evangelical Lutheran church, of which he is one of the prominent supporters. His success has been gained by strictly legitimate and honorable methods and never in such a way as to injure others. Hence, he is greatly esteemed and his influence for good is felt through- out the region in which he has almost since his earliest recollection been a resident.
HENRY J. HEYEN.
The agricultural interests of Cahokia township can claim no more worthy representative than Henry J. Heyen, who for twenty years past has been living retired from active labor, having acquired through energy and ability one of the richest and most productive farms in this section of the state. He was born in Germany, September 24, 1832, a son of John and Anna (Klein) Heyen, both of whom passed their entire lives in the old country.
Henry J. Heyen received his early education in the common schools of Ger- many and as a boy he was instructed by his father in the details pertaining to agriculture and stock-raising. He continued in his native land until several years after reaching his majority and then, on September 4, 1858, embarked at Bremen in a sailing vessel which was bound for New Orleans. The voyage required eleven weeks and the ship arrived in port November 20. Mr. Heyen came up the Mississippi river in a steamboat to St. Louis and thence to Alton where he spent about a week. At the end of the time named he came to Macoupin county and secured employment as a farm hand, continuing in that capacity for about fifteen months. He then rented land from his brother, Heye Heyen, who had preceded him to Illinois, and proved unusually successful as
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a corn raiser. The brother died the year following, and Mr. Heyen associated with another brother, William, who came to America in 1851 and rented the same farm which had been in charge of their brother Heye, continuing in partnership for five years. Mr. Heyen of this review then farmed upon his own account until 1872, when he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Cahokia township which became the nucleus of his present farm. He labored diligently and persistently at all seasons of the year, and as opportunity offered acquired more land until today he owns four hundred and eighty-five acres of as good land as can be found in Macoupin county. He bent every energy to his work and his success is evidence of his sound, practical judgment.
In 1866 Mr. Heyen was married to Miss Tillie Lambertus, who was born in Germany and came to America in 1865. They are the parents of thirteen children, eleven of whom survive, namely: Albert, who is engaged in stock- buying and r akes his home at Gillespie; John, a farmer of Cahokia township; William, who is associated with his brother Albert in stock-buying; George, also a farmer of Gillespie township; Heye, record of whom appears elsewhere in this work, at home; Lena, who married Edward Meyer, of Cahokia township : Laura, the wife of Charles Young, of Cahokia township; Jessie, who married Elmer Burge, of Montgomery county; Frederica, who became the wife of Ambrose Burge, of Gillespie; and Tillie and Cora, both of whom are at home.
In politics Mr. Heyen gives his support to the democratic party. He has never been a seeker for public office but served for six years most creditably as a member of the school board. He and his family are actively identified with the Evangelical Lutheran church. When he landed in America his cash capital amounted to seventy dollars, but he bravely faced the problems which were presented in a new country and for many years he has been known as one of the wealthy men of Macoupin county. It would be difficult to find a more striking illustration in the United States for ambitious young men than is presented in the record of Henry J. Heyen. He is deeply respected by the people of the township, as he has fairly earned the comforts he enjoys, through his thrift and business sagacity.
ALFRED DAVIS.
The family of which Alfred Davis is a representative is an old and well known one in Macoupin county, where the family was established only a few years after the admission of Illinois into the Union. Mr. Davis was born in Brighton township, on the 8th of December, 1840, and within the borders of the county he has since continued to make his home He is a son of William J. and Mar- garet (McPeak) Davis, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee respectively. The father came to Macoupin county in 1829, locating in Brighton township, and here engaged in farming until 1844, when he took up his abode near Wood- burn, where he continued to reside until his death, on the 24th of February, 1865. His wife had passed away in 1860. In their family were seven children, as follows: Elizabeth, Cynthia and Barbara, all deceased; Alfred, of this re-
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ALFRED DAVIS
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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY
view ; Martha, also deceased ; David, a resident of Beaver Dam Lake; and Mary, who has likewise passed away.
Alfred Davis acquired a good education in the common schools of Bunker Hill township and after putting aside his text-books learned the blacksmith's trade, which he continued to follow, while residing at home, until the outbreak of the Civil war. He then offered his services to the Union and for nine months served as a private in the One Hundred and Fifty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry. After returning home he purchased his father's farm near Woodburn in 1866, and later removed to Brighton township, where he carried on agricul- tural pursuits until four years ago, when he sold his farm to his son and, with a substantial competence which he had been able to acquire, he took up his abode in Woodburn, where he now owns a comfortable home and six town lots. He has now put aside all business cares and is living retired, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former years of toil.
In 1862 Mr. Davis was married to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Goodman, and by this union were born ten children, namely: Margaret and Alfred, both of whom are deceased; James J., who owns the old homestead farm; John, a resident of Beaver Dam Lake; Amos, of Edwardsville; Addie, the wife of Herman Elles, of Woodburn; George, who lives in Nebraska; Hattie W., residing at Bethalto, Illinois; Ida, who married Hiram Eddington, of Brighton, Illinois; and Minar A., deceased. Mrs. Davis died February 3, 1895.
The religious faith of Mr. Davis is indicated by his membership in the Con- gregational church, while politically he supports the republican party. Having spent his entire life within the boundaries of Macoupin county he is widely and favorably known here and is recognized by his fellowmen as a worthy representa- tive of an honored pioneer family.
SPENCER G. BROWN.
The advantages possessed by one who makes thorough preparation for his life pursuit are strikingly exemplified in the experience of Spencer G. Brown who is successfully engaged in the practice of law at Brighton. Although he began practice only four years ago, he has secured a lucrative clientage and has demonstrated a natural ability and a knowledge of the principles of law which have gained for him a high standing as a member of the bar of Macoupin county. He is a native of Brighton, born in 1881, a son of M. Spencer and Mary Frances (Gilson) Brown, both of whom were also born at Brighton. The father is postmaster of Brighton and an interesting sketch of his career appears elsewhere in this work. Michael Brown, grandfather of our subject on the paternal side, was born in Ohio in 1810 and in 1825 came with an uncle to Upper Alton, Illinois. In 1826 he assisted his uncle, Oliver Brown, in erect- ing the first house at Brighton and four years later became a resident of this region, locating on a farm which is still in possession of the family, adjoining the town of Brighton, and is known as the Brown homestead. James W. Gil- son, grandfather on the maternal side, was a native of Westmoreland county, Vol. II-19
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Pennsylvania. He came to Macoupin county about 1840 and acquired a farm adjoining Brighton, which is now the homestead of the parents of our subject. This farm is now under lease and Mr. Brown is giving his attention mainly to his duties as postmaster.
In the public schools of Brighton Spencer G. Brown gained the rudiments of an education, which he has greatly broadened by study and contact with the world. He was graduated from the Brighton high school in 1898 and soon afterward entered Blackburn University at Carlinville, from which, in 1903, he received the degree of A. B. Desiring to secure the very best education avail- able, he entered the post-graduate department of Princeton University and in 1904 received the degree of A. M. from that noted institution. Having decided to devote his life to the practice of law he became a student in the Yale Law School from which he was graduated in 1907 with the degree of LL. B. He immediately began practice at Brighton and from the start showed an interest in his clients and an adaptability to his chosen calling which gave assurance of marked success.
On the 22d of March, 1910, Mr. Brown was married to Miss Nellie R. Messick, of Carlinville. In politics he adheres to the republican party and in 1910 was a candidate for county judge. It proved one of the "off" years and the entire ticket was defeated. He is greatly interested in the cause of educa- tion and is now serving as a member of the school board of Brighton. Frater- nally Mr. Brown is identified with Hibbard Lodge No. 249, A. F. & A. M., and Brighton Camp No. 1688, M. W. A. He holds membership in the Presbyterian church of which he is an elder. Possessing a genial manner and a pleasing personality, he has won the respect and confidence of all with whom he has had business or social relations and is one of the popular young men of the county. He is a careful and conscientious student and spares no time or labor in the study of principles and authorities pertaining to cases entrusted to his hands. Being a clear and convincing speaker he has no difficulty in arousing the interest and holding the undivided attention of his hearers. He is also highly effective as a popular platform speaker and, judged by what he has ac- complished, there is every reason to prophesy that he will gain an enviable repu- tation as an attorney and counselor in the years that are to come.
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