USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois : biographical and pictorial, Volume II > Part 39
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JOHN WESLEY BITTER.
Few men in Honey Point township are accorded the confidence and respect of their neighbors in a higher degree than John Wesley Bitter. He was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, January 22, 1862, a son of John and Tracy ( Mulkin) Bitter, both of whom were natives of Germany. The parents were married in the old country and came to America seventy-five years ago, taking up their
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residence on a farm in St. Clair county, Illinois. Subsequently they arrived in Macoupin county where Mr. Bitter continued farming. His wife died in this county about twenty years ago, and later he removed to Montgomery county where he continued until his death, in 1903, being then seventy-three years of age. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Bitter were six children, namely: Will- iam, who is engaged in farming in Montgomery county; John Wesley; Lena, who married Will Roth, a milk dealer of Litchfield; Bertha, who is the wife of Otto Roth, a brother of Will Roth, the former of whom is now in charge of the old Roth homestead in Montgomery county; Louis, who engaged in farm- ing and died in 1904, at the age of thirty years; and Grace, the wife of Will Prince, an electrician of Redlands, California.
John W. Bitter attended the common schools and in his boyhood showed an interest in work pertaining to agriculture and stock-raising which gave bright promise of his success as a farmer. He remained with his father in Montgomery county until after reaching manhood, and began farming on his own account in Macoupin county by renting one hundred and sixty acres in Honey Point township, being associated in this undertaking with his brother William. At the close of three years he was married and took up his residence with his bride on the Guy Snell farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Honey Point township, continuing there for eighteen years. He then purchased eighty acres on section 12 of the same township, upon which he took up his home, also renting one hundred and sixty acres in the neighborhood. He now rents eighty acres of his father-in-law, which he cultivates in addition to his home place, and is the owner of ten acres of valuable natural timber in Cahokia township. He carries on general farming, in which he is assisted by his son, and raises a good grade of stock, paying special attention to the feeding and marketing of hogs.
On the IIth of February, 1887, Mr. Bitter was married to Miss Kate Maude Nail, a daughter of Henry T. and Rose (Leigh) Nail. The father was born in Jerseyville, Jersey county, Illinois, February 1, 1845, and the mother on March 12, 1850. They came to Macoupin county when their daughter, Kate Maude Nail, was eight years of age and located in Honey Point township. Mr. Nail retired from active work six years ago and in April, 1910, moved to Litchfield, where he and his wife are now living. There were four children in their family: Kate Maude, now Mrs. John W. Bitter; D. H., who is superin- tendent of the Electric Power Company of East St. Louis, Illinois; William, a foundryman of Litchfield, Illinois; and Mary Jane, the wife of Fred E. Smith, a representative of the Alaskan Developing Company at Los Angeles, California. Mr. and Mrs. Bitter have three children. Harry Sihler, attended the Litchfield high school and is now eighteen years of age. He assists his father upon the home farm. Bernice M., sixteen years of age, was a student of the Litchfield high school for two years and resides at home. Ilda Maurine is ten years of age and is a student of the district school.
Politically Mr. Bitter is an earnest supporter of the republican party and has served for ten years as a member of the school board. He and his wife affiliate with the German Lutheran church of Litchfield, while Bernice is a member of the Presbyterian church of the same place. Mr. Bitter has shown marked ability in his calling and has concentrated his best energies so as to
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produce practical results. He and his family are now enjoying the rewards of his industry and good judgment. He has won a measure of success even be- yond his early expectations and can confidently look forward to still greater prosperity in years to come. In 1909 he erected a beautiful new home on his place which is one of the finest residences in the township if not in the county.
JAMES B. SEARCY.
James B. Searcy, chairman of the republican county central committee of Macoupin county and for the past twenty-five years a prominent lawyer of central Illinois, is a native of Columbia, Missouri, born August 15, 1858. He is a son of Benjamin P. and Nancy E. (Ridgway) Searcy, both of whom were also natives of Missouri. Of their children three grew to maturity: James B .; Sarah F., who is the wife of Lincoln H. Chiles, of Ellensburg, Washington ; and William N., a lawyer of Silverton, Colorado.
The father of our subject was reared in Boone county, Missouri, and was one of the early students of the State University at Columbia. He was one of the first settlers of Boone Valley, near Watrous, New Mexico, and continued there until his death, in 1868, when he was forty-two years of age. His widow and children came to Illinois and located near Palmyra, in Macoupin county, where the children grew to maturity. The mother died in 1897, at the age of fifty-eight years. In 1879 she had married Captain James S. Chiles, who was an officer in the One Hundred and Twenty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war and died in 1900. She was a member of the Christian church, her husband having been identified with the Baptist denomination.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was Lemuel B. Searcy. He was a native of Kentucky and was of Scotch-Irish and English descent. He moved to Missouri in 1821, but previous to that time served under General Harrison on the Maumee river against the British general, Proctor, in the war of 1812. He was one of one hundred and eighty-seven out of eight hundred in Colonel Dudley's regiment from Kentucky, who escaped ambush through the treachery of a supposed friendly Indian. The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Connelly and her father was John Connelly, a soldier under General Washing- ton at the battle of Yorktown and in other battles. Mr. Searcy died in Boone county at the age of sixty-seven years, his wife being called away at the age of seventy-three. They had seven sons and three daughters, all of whom are deceased. The grandfather on the maternal side was John D. Ridgway. He was a native of Kentucky and removed to Missouri in 1823 and engaged in farming in Boone county. He married Sophia Wigginton whose ancestors were Virginians. Mr. Ridgway came to Illinois with his family in 1861 and located near Palmyra. He died in October, 1893, at the age of eighty-four years, his wife having passed away in September, 1889, at the age of eighty. Of their children two are now living: Zachariah Clay, of Louisiana, Missouri; and John Taylor, of Palmyra, Illinois. There was another son, William H. H., who was with Grant's army at the battle of Shiloh and died at Corinth shortly after
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the battle of Shiloh. At the time of the Civil war the family was divided, two uncles of our subject engaging in behalf of the Confederacy and two uncles for the Union cause. Benton Searcy was a soldier in General Price's army and Jasper Searcy was an adjutant on General Price's staff. William H. H. Ridg- way, heretofore mentioned, was in the Union army and J. Wesley Butcher, another uncle of our subject, marched with Sherman to the sea.
Upon his mother's farm near Palmyra James B. Searcy passed his boyhood and youth from ten years of age. He attended the district schools and later entered Blackburn University from which he was graduated in 1883. After teaching school for two years near Palmyra he began the study of law in the law department of the Illinois Wesleyan University at Bloomington where he spent one term. He then entered the offices of Rinaker & Rinaker at Carlin- ville, pursuing his studies for two years, and in 1885 was admitted to the Illi- nois bar. He at once began practice at Palmyra where he engaged continuously in his profession for fourteen years, during ten years of which he filled the office of village attorney. Since 1900 he has lived at Carlinville. He was elected`to the lower house of the state legislature in 1898 and served as chair- man of the committee on mines and mining, which committee revised the laws on mines and mining in Illinois. He also was the father of the free employ- ment bill which is now in force in this state and has proved of inestimable value, its principal features having already been adopted by other states of the Union. In 1900 he associated with Charles A. Walker in practice and they continued together until 1908, since which time Mr. Searcy has practiced alone. He still retains an interest in his office at Palmyra.
On November 19. 1879, Mr. Searcy was married to Miss Anna Richie, a daughter of Eli W. Richie. A daughter was born to this marriage in August, 1880, and both mother and daughter died in that year. On the 18th of July, 1886, Mr. Searcy was married to Mrs. Mary E. (Fansler) Duncan, widow of Allen Duncan and a daughter of Endimon and Mary (King) Fansler. The father was a prominent farmer of Barr township and in his earlier life served as a soldier in the Mexican war. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Searcy : Earl Benjamin, who was graduated from the Blackburn Univer- sity in 1908 and is now connected with the editorial department of the Illinois State Journal at Springfield; William Endimon, who is now in charge of the farm belonging to his father in this county; Evan Lemuel, who is attending Blackburn University and is a student in the senior class; Lynn Dooley, now attending high school at Carlinville; and Helen Frances, a student in the public schools. Mrs. Mary E. Searcy was born in Barr township. Her parents were natives of Tennessee and came to Macoupin county in 1851. The father died at the age of sixty-seven and the mother at the age of forty-two. They had nine children : William A., deceased; Thomas L., a resident of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania; Henry G., of Barr township; Mary E., now Mrs. James B. Searcy ; James E., who makes his home at Brookings, South Dakota; Hallie, who mar- ried R. M. Fearno and is now deceased; Joseph A., of East St. Louis, Illinois ; Jennie Fansler, who married Luther Ross, of Barr township; and Carroll Fans- ler, also of Barr township.
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Mr. Searcy and his family are members of the Christian church of which he is an elder. Fraternally he is identified with Mount Nebo Lodge No. 76, A. F. & A. M., Castle Lodge No. 95, K. P., of Carlinville, and Carlinville Camp No. 125, M. W. A., having been a member of the latter organization since December, 1885. He takes a great interest in education and was a member of the school board at Palmyra nine years and also served as president of the board at Carlinville one year. He has been very active in behalf of the repub- lican party and is now serving as chairman of the republican county central committee. He is the owner of a well cultivated farm of eighty acres in Car- linville township, three-quarters of a mile from the city limits, and is deeply interested in agriculture and the great advances made in all departments of farmning during recent years. As a representative citizen of the county he takes just pride in its continued advancement. He has throughout his entire profes- sional career been a stanch advocate of justice and fair play, either in the courts or elsewhere, and by his influence and example has assisted in inculcating re- spect for those in authority and reverence for justice and truth. He is a natural leader and commands the entire confidence of his associates and of all with whom he is brought into contact.
JOHN T. PEMBROKE.
John T. Pembroke, who has charge of the grain business of G. B. Carrico at Womac, where he has been residing for the past four years, was born in Jersey county, Illinois, on the 27th of October, 1863. He is a son of Wesley N. and Sarah E. (Sumner) Pembroke, the father being a native of Illinois and the mother of Indiana.
Wesley N. Pembroke was born in Jersey county, this state, and there he was reared and educated. When old enough to begin to work for himself he rented some land in Jersey county that he operated for a few years and then came to Macoupin county. Upon his arrival here he located in Shaws Point township in the vicinity of Atwater, where he rented and cultivated land until 1897, when he withdrew from active work. He has ever since lived retired in Atwater where he owns a very pleasant residence. Seventy-five years have elapsed since the birth of Wesley N. Pembroke, during the last two of which he has been traveling life's journey alone, his wife having passed away on the 9th of January, 1909.
Reared in the country the educational advantages of John T. Pembroke were limited to the district schools, which at that period were both limited and in- efficient. He remained on the farm with his parents, assisting his father in tilling the fields and caring for the crops, until he was nineteen years of age. He then began his career as a wage earner by going out to work by the month as a farm hand, and later he joined a threshing crew. This served to enable him to acquire the means to begin his independent agricultural career, so at the expiration of a few years he went to Butler, Illinois. There he rented a farm that he operated for two years, subsequently returning to Macoupin county
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where he continued to farm as a renter. In 1907 he withdrew from agricul- tural pursuits and came to Womac to take charge of the elevator and grain business of G. B. Carrico, which position he now fills.
On the 22d of November, 1884, occurred the marriage of Mr. Pembroke and Miss Lena K. Henderson, a daughter of John and Carrie (Hill) Hender- son, natives of Indiana. The father was a blacksmith and followed his trade in Indiana for several years. He came from there to Jersey county, Illinois, during the early days and established a shop that he operated for eight or ten years. Disposing of his business at the end of that time he came to Macoupin county, first locating at Medora, but later he removed to Shaws Point town- ship. After conducting a shop there for about eight years he went to Litch- field, where he was actively identified with his trade until 1900, when he re- tired. He has now attained the venerable age of eighty-five years and con- tinues to make his home in Litchfield. The mother, however, passed away on the 22d of December, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Pembroke were the parents of six children : Hallie R., who is twenty-two years old, the wife of Edward Lyons, of St. Louis, Missouri; Alta B., now twenty years of age, who became the wife of H. T. Smith, a farmer of Shaws Point township; Hazel May, eighteen years old; Dale M., a youth of sixteen years; Ross H., of the age of thirteen; and Joy Vernon, who has attained the age of nine years. The four last named are all living at home.
The religious views of the family are manifested through their affiliation with the Christian church, while fraternally Mr. Pembroke is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and is clerk of the camp, in which he holds membership. His political support is given to the republican party and he is serving at the present time as township collector; he has also acted in the ca- pacity of school director. He is very comfortably situated and has a pleasant residence and three and a half lots in Womac.
DAVID R. MANSFIELD.
David R. Mansfield, for many years engaged in agricultural pursuits in this county, still resides upon his farm in Scottville township, but is now living practically retired, several of his grandsons looking after the cultivation of his property. He was born in Morgan county, Illinois, on the 27th of October, 1842, and is a son of Albert and Lucinda (McDonald) Mansfield, the father being a native of Kentucky and the mother of Tennessee. Albert Mansfield, who was a farmer, came from his native state to Illinois in 1829, locating in Morgan county, where he resided until 1856, when he came to Macoupin county and purchased some land. Here he passed away in 1890 at the age of seventy years, when the mother died during the early childhood of her son David R. For his second wife Mr. Mansfield married Maria Price, who died in 1909.
David R. Mansfield was educated in the common schools of his native county, during which time he was also becoming familiar with the best meth- ods of caring for the fields and stock under the direction of his father. When
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he was nineteen years of age he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Twenty-second Illinois Infantry and went to the front for three years. He took part in some of the most notable battles of the war, among them being that of Nashville, and was mustered out at Mobile, Alabama, in August, 1865. After receiving his discharge he returned home and once more resumed the work of the farm, assisting his father in its cultivation until 1867, when he began for himself. In December, 1868, he purchased what has proved to be the nucleus of a fine homestead of two hundred and thirty-three acres, upon which he con- tinues to reside.
In January, 1867, occurred the marriage of Mr. Mansfield and Miss Arena Duggar, a daughter of John H. Duggar, a farmer in this county, who died in August, 1892. To Mr. and Mrs. Mansfield were born ten children: Jesse H., William B., and one who died in infancy; Dora, who married Jesse Hicks, a farmer of this county, by whom she has had four sons: Leonard, Earl, R. Guy and Roy W .; Rose E., who became the wife of James A. Duggar, also a farmer in this county, and they have nine children: Orvil, Daniel, Irvin, David, Alfa, Bassil, Ula, Wayne and one who died in infancy; Alonzo R., who is a farmer in Greene county, married and has one son, Coy H .; Ira A., who is farming in Christian county, married and has four children: Vesper, Troy, Deane and Wayne; James, who is engaged in the oil business in the vicinity of Bakersfield, California, married and has one child, Wayne; Albert E., who was formerly engaged in the undertaking business in Winchester, living at home; and Alvin B., the youngest member of the family, who has never mar- ried and continues to live at home.
Mr. Mansfield is a Baptist and fraternally he is identified with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, being a member of Nortonville Lodge, No. 947, A. F. & A. M., and both he and his wife are affiliated with the Order of Rebeka, belonging to Nortonville Lodge, No. 25. His political allegiance he accords to the democratic party, and has served both as a road commissioner and school director. Mr. Mansfield is known as one of the substantial agri- culturists of the county, the unremitting energy and application of former years having brought him a measure of success that now enables him to live in re- tirement.
ADAM DEAHL.
Adam Deahl, a prominent citizen of Macoupin county, who for several years past has been living retired at Shipman, was born in Allegany county, now Gar- rett county, Maryland, March 18, 1840. He is a son of Andrew and Matilda (Shultz) Deahl, the former of whom was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, near Frank- fort, Germany, in 1809, and the latter in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1820. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Baulshar Deahl who was born in Hesse-Darmstadt about 1764 and was the father of six children, namely : Henry and Conrad, both of whom died in Germany; Baulshar, who came to America and settled in Maryland where his death occurred; Elizabeth, who mar-
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ADAM DEAHL
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MRS, ADAM DEAHL
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ried John Stein, of Hickman, Lancaster county, Nebraska, and is now deceased ; Andrew; and Catharine, who became the wife of John Steivnagel, of Garrett county, Maryland, and is now deceased. Henry and Conrad were soldiers under Napoleon Bonaparte and died after returning home, from the effects of the hard- ships which they underwent in the Napoleonic compaigns.
Andrew Deahl, father of our subject, received his early education in the pub- lic schools of Germany and at the age of twenty-six years came to America, land- ing at Baltimore, Maryland. In 1833 he went to Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and worked on a farm near Pocahontas. Later he removed to Allegany county, Maryland, and assisted Adam Shultz in completing a contract which Mr. Shultz had taken for constructing a section of the National turnpike between Baltimore and Wheeling. After the completion of the work, in 1835, Mr. Deahl was mar- ried to Matilda Shultz, a daughter of his employer, and bought some timber land in Allegany county. He cleared away the timber and made his home there until 1865 when he came west with his children and their families and settled at Ship- man, Illinois. He purchased land which he cultivated for a time but in 1879 dis- posed of his farm and moved to Lancaster, Nebraska, purchasing a section of land near Hickman. After a few years he retired, dying at an advanced age in 1886. Thirteen children were born to Andrew and Matilda Deahl, as follows : Elizabeth, the widow of Casper Martin, of Hickman, Nebraska ; Adam, of this re- view; Katharine, who became the wife of John Martin, of Hickman, and is now deceased ; Henry, who makes his home at St. Louis, Missouri; Sarah, the wife of Ferdinand R. Kahl, of Shipman, Illinois; Mary, who married Thomas Hillier, of Hickman, Nebraska; Huldah, who became the wife of Silas Webster, of Ship- man, Illinois, and is now deceased; Sevilla, who died at the age of six years ; John A., a resident of Caldwell, Kansas; Emma Jane, who passed away at the age of four years; George W., who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah; Chauncey F., of Lincoln, Nebraska; and Nancy Matilda, who died in infancy.
Adam Deahl received his early education in the public schools of Maryland and assisted his father upon the home farm until twenty-one years of age. He then began renting land upon his own account and so continued until 1865, when he came to Shipman, Illinois, to look over the country. In the fall of the same year he moved his family to Shipman and engaged in contracting and building, having learned the carpenter's trade in the east before coming to Illinois. He erected a number of substantial structures in Shipman and vicinity, among which may be named the Evangelical Lutheran church of Shipman. In 1876 he bought one hundred and twenty acres of land of his father and took up his residence on his farm but did not discontinue his contracting business entirely until 1891. In 1885 he purchased a second tract of one hundred and twenty acres and in the year following acquired one hundred and twenty acres additional, the last two purchases being on sections 22 and 14, Shipman township. He still owns his farm of three hundred and sixty acres. He erected new buildings and commo- dious barns and granaries, making his place one of the best equipped farming establishments in Macoupin county. He engaged quite extensively in the dairy business and maintained fifty head of Shorthorn cows, being one of the largest dairymen in this section. In 1906 he retired from active labor and moved to Shipman where he built a beautiful modern residence of thirteen rooms which "ol. II-20
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stands in an entire block of ground. About fourteen years ago he assisted in or- ganizing the Shipman Banking Company and is now serving as vice president of that institution.
On May 19, 1861, Mr. Deahl was married to Miss Elizabeth Simon, who was born in Allegany county, Maryland, April 25, 1845, a daughter of John and Kath- arine (Peck) Simon. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Deahl was George Si- mon, who was born in Frankfort, Germany. He was a member of a distinguished family of landowners, his wife, Elizabeth Ringer, of Frankfort, also belonging to a family of large landowners. Mr. Simon came to America with his wife and four children and settled at Accident, Allegany county, Maryland, in 1831. They were the parents of six children : John, the father of Mrs. Deahl; Carolina, who became the wife of Balsar Fultz, of Iowa, and is now deceased; Katharine, who married John Georg of Accident, Maryland, and is now deceased; Theodore, who lived in Garrett county, Maryland, and is also deceased; Mary, the wife of Sam- uel Rodemer, of West Salisbury, Somerset county, Pennsylvania ; and Huldah, who married Samuel McCrorey, of New York city.
John Simon, the father of Mrs. Deahl, was born in 1825 and was reared on his father's farm. In 1866 he came west with his family and located one and one- half miles north of Farmersville, Montgomery county, Illinois, where he con- tinued during the remainder of his life. The maiden name of his wife was Kath- arine Peck, a native of Somerset county, Pennsylvania. Her father, Henry Peck, was of English descent and her mother, Eva Beachley, was of Pennsylvania Dutch parentage. To the union of John and Katharine (Peck) Simon were born eighteen children, namely: Elizabeth, who married Adam Deahl; Joseph, who died in Allegany county, Maryland; Susanna, now the wife of Chris Segrist, of Humboldt, Nebraska; Benjamin, who also died in Allegany county, Maryland ; Sarah, who married John Huntley, of Morrisonville, Illinois; Sevilla, the wife of Jacob Neff, of Salina, Kansas; George, who made his home at Farmersville, Illi- nois, and is now deceased; Louisa, who married Aaron Lentz, of Adrian, Mis- souri; Henry, of Allegany, Maryland, also deceased ; Jonas, who makes his home at East St. Louis, Illinois; Mary, who died at Allegany, Maryland; Catherine, the wife of Samuel Reber, of Lawrence, Nebraska; Huldah, who lived in Alle- gany county, Maryland, and is now deceased; Julia, now Mrs. Edward Browning, of Waggoner, Illinois; Lucinda, the widow of James Vaughn, of Girard, Illinois ; Alice, the widow of John Didlock, of Wyoming; and John and Adam, both of whom died in infancy. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Deahl, one of whom died in infancy. Matilda married Lafayette Clardy, of Katy, Texas. Perry died very early in life. Susan E. married Samuel Schaefer, of Shipman township, and they have six children living, namely, Charles, Seaman, Walter, Emma, Martha and Stella. Andrew also died early in life. Henry C., is in charge of his father's farm, in Shipman township, and a record of his life is given else- where in this work. Mary Ellen married William Clower, a farmer of Shipman township, and they have three children, William, Gladys and Ann Ellen. Royal A. married Hattie Gillespie and they have four children, Roberta, Toleda, Lorein and Adam Robert. Virginia died when she was sixteen years of age and Lottie, at the age of one year.
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