USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois : biographical and pictorial, Volume II > Part 43
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Charles Warren was reared to manhood on his father's farm and attended the public schools in the vicinity in the acquirement of his education. After the completion of the course he entered Brown's Business College at Jacksonville. where he obtained a more practical understanding of commercial methods. Re- turning home he applied himself to the work of the farm until 1897, when he took the civil service examination for postal clerks, and in July of the follow- ing year received his first appointment. He was on the Big Four between St. Louis and Indianapolis for a year, then transferred to the Chicago. Burlington & Quincy, between St. Louis and Rock Island, where he is still serving. After the death of his father he took possession of the old homestead, which he has ever ·since been cultivating. His fields are almost entirely devoted to cereals, but he is also an extensive fruit grower, having an orchard of twenty acres on which he raises apples, pears and small fruits. He is quite enthusiastic about the raising of poultry, and for this purpose he has most excellent facilities, having one chicken house that will accommodate eleven hundred fowls. His farm is well improved and thoroughly modern in all of its appointments, being one of the
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most attractive places in the entire community. Mr. Black is a man of unusual versatility, his tastes being most varied. He possesses rare mechanical skill and takes great delight in exercising it. He has always been a great reader, being par- ticularly fond of history and also scientific and philosophical works and has a well selected library in which is represented many of the best works of the mas- ter minds.
On the 12th of May, 1904, Mr. Black was married to Miss Eulalie Reno, a native of this county and a daughter of James W. and Jane (Mitchell) Reno. Mr. Black has been identified with the Masonic fraternity for twenty-two years and is affiliated with the Medora Lodge. He is one of the intellectual, broad- minded men of his community, progressive in his ideas and thorough in whatever he does, conscientious efficiency ever having been characteristic of whatever he undertakes, and this unquestionably is the secret of his success in his various activities.
OREN INGOLD.
Oren Ingold, who carries on general farming and stock-raising in Shaws Point township, was born in Montgomery county, Illinois, on the 9th of May, 1870. His parents, Amos and Malinda (Kingsbury) Ingold, were natives, the father of Indiana and the mother of South Carolina. Amos Ingold came . to Illinois in his early manhood, locating in Montgomery county where he farmed as a renter until 1877, when he removed with his wife and family to Macoupin county. Here he continued to lease land for several years, and later bought a small tract in Shaws Point township. He immediately set about im- proving this place and has ever since been engaged in its cultivation, although he has now attained the age of seventy-seven years. The mother passed away on the IIth of April, 1910.
Oren Ingold's first school days were passed in Montgomery county. his education being completed in the district schools of Shaws Point township. He remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age, during which period he was thoroughly trained in the practical methods of agriculture under the capable supervision of his father. Immediately follow- ing his marriage he left the parental roof and rented land for eleven years. Industry, thrift and capable management made him a property owner at the expiration of that time, when he purchased forty acres of land in Shaw's Point township. He cultivated this tract with such success that he was subsequently able to extend his holdings by the addition of another forty acres, and here he has ever since continuously resided. During the period of his occupancy Mr. Ingold has effected many improvements on his property, and now has not only an attractive but a valuable place. He keeps seventy-six head of sheep, six milk cows and four work horses, and annually raises about fifty hogs for the market. Success has attended his efforts and he has acquired a very comfortable competence in addition to his property.
On the 24th of March, 1892, Mr. Ingold was united in marriage to Miss Laura O. Moore, a daughter of James and Melissa (Taggart) Moore. the
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father being a native of Kentucky and the mother of Illinois. Mr. Moore came to Illinois from his native state with his parents, who located on a farm in Macoupin county. Having been reared to agricultural pursuits he adopted the same vocation when old enough to begin his business career and farmed as a renter until the death of his father, when he inherited the place that the same had operated until his death. The mother is still living and continues to make her residence on the old homestead in Carlinville township.
His political allegiance Mr. Ingold accords the democratic party, while both he and his wife manifest their religious beliefs by attending the Methodist Episcopal church, among the membership of which they number many friends.
ENOCH BROWN.
Enoch Brown, who owns a fine farm of one hundred and eighteen and a half acres on section 30, Scottville township, was born in Barr township, Ma- coupin county, on the 28th of August, 1836, a son of Perry P. and Christina J. (Walker) Brown. The father was born in the southern part of Illinois and the mother in Claiborne county, Tennessee. Our subject's maternal grand- father, William Walker, and the latter's father both served in the Revolutionary war, while Edward, a son of William, was in the Mexican war. William Walker is buried near Ottumwa, in Wapello county, Iowa. He was one of the pioneers of Macoupin county and cut the shingles and helped build the first courthouse here, which was erected in 1833. The paternal grandparents of our subject were George and Nancy A. Brown, but the latter having outlived her husband for some years married the second time. Perry P. Brown was reared and educated in Al- ton, Illinois, but in 1830 he removed to Macoupin county, where he was married on the 16th of August, 1835 to Miss Walker. Here he engaged in farming until 1856, when he removed to Union county, Iowa, where he continued to be iden- tified with the same vocation until his death in 1865. His church affiliation was that of the Methodist Episcopal denomination, while fraternally he was identified with the Masonic order being a member of the lodge at Fayette, Illinois. His political allegiance was ever given to the republican party, whose principles he deemed best adapted to subserve the interests of the majority.
The district schools of this country provided Enoch Brown with a thorough knowledge of the common branches, while his father's training well qualified him for an agricultural career. He removed with his parents to Union county and there broke the prairie land of his father's homestead with a team of oxen. When he was twenty-eight years of age, he enlisted in Company H of the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, entering the service at Jack- sonville, Illinois, on the 2d of February, 1865. He was mustered out on the 18th of the following September, at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He saw much guard duty and participated in a number of sharp skirmishes, during the period of his enlistment. Upon his return he acquired seventy-nine acres of government land upon which he located. He added to this at divers times, until he had one hun- dred and eighteen and a half acres of fine land, now being cultivated by his son.
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On the 10th of February, 1859, Mr. Brown was married to Miss Mary S. Van Bebber, of Scottville township, a daughter of James and Nancy A. (Farrell) Van Bebber, of Tennessee originally, but the paternal ancestors were of Dutch extraction. The father was for many years engaged in farming in this county, where the family is well known. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Brown there were born three children: James Perry and Serena Ann, both of whom died in infancy ; and Peter Louis, who is cultivating the homestead of his father. Peter Louis Brown married Anna Leavens, a daughter of Thomas and Sarah A. (Boyd) Leavens, natives of Ireland. One child was born to them which is deceased. Mrs. Enoch Brown passed away on the 24th of March, 1898, at the age of sixty years. She was born in this county on the 16th of May, 1838, and here she spent her entire life. She was a devout Christian woman of noble purpose and goodly intention, having united with the Baptist church in the fall of 1855 and ever after making its principles the guide of her daily life.
Mr. Brown is a member of the Baptist church of Mount Zion, and he has belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1872, being identified with the Scottville lodge, and he was also affiliated with the Grange when that organization was at its zenith. Politically he is a republican and has served as road and school commissioner and township trustee.
WILLIAM LINCOLN MORGAN.
William Lincoln Morgan, a native of South Otter township, who is known as an energetic and progressive farmer, is of English descent and his charac- ter for reliability and persistence may be ascribed to traits inherited from a long line of sturdy ancestry. He has never hesitated to push forward in any business undertaking when a favorable opportunity presented and as a result has gained valuable experience, his efforts being abundantly rewarded.
Born April 29, 1864, he is a son of Thomas and Harriet (Walton) Morgan, the former of whom was born in England and the latter in New York state. The grandfather on the maternal side was George Walton, a native of England. Thomas Morgan, the father, emigrated to the United States and came to Ma- coupin county in 1849, settling on a farm in South Otter township. Here he continued until 1890, when he retired from active labor. He died in 1910. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Morgan were twelve children, five of whom sur- vive, namely : Mrs. Mary E. Cain, of Oklahoma; Mrs. Florence Lawrence, of Carlinville; Mrs. Minnie Johnson, also of Carlinville; Thomas, Jr., who lives at Reno; and William Lincoln.
Mr. Morgan, of this sketch, attended the common schools of South Otter township and grew to manhood with the laudable desire to make the best use of life and attain an honorable name in the world. At the age of nineteen he began farming with his father, but the year following, having a desire to see the world, he went to Kansas. He returned to South Otter township in 1885 and applied himself to farming for a year, at the end of which time he entered the restaurant business at Jacksonville, Illinois, continuing later in the same
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line at Galesburg. In 1890 he returned to Macoupin county and ran a store in Shaws Point township until 1896, when he removed to Racine, Wisconsin, and for two years was identified with the restaurant business in that city. He- spent the following three years in Rochester and Syracuse, New York, and in 1901 returned to the home farm in South Otter township where he has since: remained. He raises the grains adapted to the soil and climate of Macoupin county and also feeds live stock for the market. Under his careful and system- atic management both branches of the business are highly profitable.
On the 15th of September, 1891, Mr. Morgan was married in Girard to Miss Lena McMahan, of South Otter township, a daughter of W. H. and Adeline (Curtis) McMahan, the former of whom was born in Green and the latter in Scott county, Illinois. The grandfathers of Mrs. Morgan were Henry McMa- han, of Illinois, and James Curtis, who was a native of Virginia. To this union of Mr. and Mrs. Morgan three children have been born: Curtis, William C. and Helen.
Fraternally, Mr. Morgan is identified with Peach Tree Lodge, No. 633, M. W. A .; politically, he votes in support of the principles and candidates of the republican party. He takes a lively interest in affairs of the neighborhood and is a good friend of education, having served faithfully for eleven years as a. member of the school board. Although now living on the farm where he was born, he has had an extensive acquaintance with the world and has possessed unusual opportunities for the study of human nature. Always wide-awake, intelligent and willing to learn, he has made practical application of his knowl- edge and is, therefore, one of the highly respected men of the township.
CHARLES G. HEINZ.
A well known and successful business man of Carlinville, who has figured prominently in the political life of the municipality, is Charles G. Heinz, mem- ber of the firm of H. C. Heinz & Bro. He is a native of this city, his birth hav- ing occurred on the 24th of May, 1858, his parents being Peter and Johanna (Knabuer) Heinz, both natives of Bavaria. To them were born seven chil- dren, five of whom are surviving.
Peter Heinz was reared and educated in Bavaria, where he also learned the carpenter's trade, emigrating to the United States in 1852. The first year of his residence here was spent on a farm in the vicinity of Chesterfield where he worked out by the month. At the end of that period he came to Carlinville where he worked as a painter for a time, later engaging in carpentry work and contracting. He was a skillful workman and erected several business blocks as well as residences here, meeting with most excellent success in his work. He later withdrew from contracting work and opened a little shop in which he manufactured furniture and coffins, all hand work; he later extended the scope- of his activities and added to his stock factory products, continuing to be iden- tified with the furniture business until his retirement in 1883. He was succeeded by his sons, Henry C. and Charles G., who later took their brother Gustave into-
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the firm. The father passed away in 1905, at the age of seventy-eight, having survived his wife one year, her demise occurring at the same age. Peter Heinz always found time and inclination to take part in all community affairs and was several times called to positions of trust in the county and township, while he most efficiently served the municipality. He was elected county treasurer for one term, while he served three terms as mayor and filled some of the minor offices of both city and township. His political support was always accorded the democracy, while both he and his wife were communicants of the German Lutheran church.
Charles G. Heinz was given the advantages of a good education, which was begun in the parochial school, where he attended six years. Later he entered the public school for two years and then went to Blackburn University where he remained for a year. At the expiration of that period, considering that he had sufficient knowledge to begin his commercial career, he entered his father's store, which for the past twenty-eight years he and his brothers have been con- ducting. Theirs is one of the oldest and best known business houses in the city, having been established for over a half century. They carry a full and well assorted stock of furniture, in connection with which they also maintain an undertaking department.
Fraternally Mr. Heinz is connected with the Knights of Pythias, while his political support he accords to the democratic party. He has always prominently participated in all political activities and was a delegate to the National Con- ventions held both in Indianapolis and Chicago. At the last municipal election he was chosen a member of the city council from his ward, the duties of which office he will undoubtedly discharge with the same conscientious and scrupulous regard for his responsibilities he has always exhibited in every position of trust. He is one of the affluent citizens of the community and in addition to his other business is secretary of the Carlinville Building & Loan Association of which he was one of the first stockholders.
WILLIS HAYES.
Willis Hayes, who has for many years been engaged in the general mer- cantile business in Scottsville, was born in Clinton county, Kentucky, on the 19th of October, 1859. His parents, Thomas and Mary (Crockett) Hayes, were both born in Clinton county, the father's natal day being the 23d of October, 1818, while that of the mother was in April. 1826. The paternal grandparents were Alexander and Hannah Hayes, who were natives of North Carolina. Thomas Hayes always devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits, acquiring a fine farm of two hundred acres in Kentucky that he cultivated until he with- drew from active life. He is now living retired in Clinton county.
A good common school education was acquired by Willis Hayes in his native state, after the completion of which he gave his undivided attention to agri- cultural pursuits on his father's farm. He came to Macoupin county in 1883. buying seventy acres of land where for several years he engaged in general
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farming. Preferring work that would prove less taxing physically, he came to Scottville with the intention of engaging in business. Here he became asso- ciated with Marshall Wheeler and together they established the enterprise with which Mr. Hayes has ever since been identified. Mr. Marshall withdrew from the business at the end of three years and Mr. Hayes has ever since been con- ducting the business alone. He has a full and well assorted stock of general merchandise and is pleasantly situated as to location, having moved to his present stand in 1898. A man of pleasing personality, gracious and accommodating manner, Mr. Hayes has succeeded in building up an excellent business and is favored with a large patronage. His farm he is now renting.
On the 15th of February, 1885, Mr. Hayes married Martha Decker, a daughter of John and Jane (Van Bebber) Decker. The father, who was a farmer, died during the very early childhood of his daughter. To Mr. and Mrs. Hayes have been born two children: Ethel, who married Bert Followell, a farmer, and has one child, Chester; and Virgil L., who is unmarried and works in the store with his father.
Mr. Hayes' fraternal relations are confined to membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Scottville Lodge, No. 226; and the Modern Woodmen of America, Scottville Camp, No. 506, in both of which organizations he has filled the office of clerk. His political support is given to the democratic party. Mr. Hayes has always led a life of activity, and is accorded the good-will and esteem of those with whom he has been associated.
SALMON TUTTLE HOPSON.
As early as 1847 Salmon Tuttle Hopson, now living retired in Girard town- ship, first cast his eyes on Macoupin county. He has spent all the intervening years in Illinois and is one of the honored pioneers of the state. A native of Herkimer county, New York, he was born November 17, 1824, a son of James and Lucy (Tuttle) Hopson. The father was born in Connecticut in 1789 and the mother was also a native of that state. The grandparents on the paternal and maternal sides were Alvarus Hopson and Zopher Tuttle respectively.
Mr. Hopson of this sketch received his early education in the public schools of Herkimer county and later attended Fairfield Academy, from which he was graduated in 1842. After leaving this institution he went to Akron, Ohio, and engaged in the manufacture of wooden pails. In 1844 he returned to Herkimer county and, being desirous of pursuing his studies further, became a student in the Little Falls Academy. He went to Maryland in 1845 with two brothers and in 1847 taught school in that state. Believing that the great west con- tained inviting possibilities for an ambitious young man, he came to Macoupin county, Illinois, after closing his school in 1847 and began farming at Chester- field. He had learned cheese making in his old home in New York state and for some years he devoted his attention largely to that business, hauling the products of his dairy by wagon to St. Louis, a distance of fifty-four miles. In 1849 he purchased land east of Chesterfield, to which he moved. In 1856 he took
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SALMON T. HOPSON
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up his residence in Jersey county and engaged in the mercantile business, but four years later, having decided that farming was more to his taste, he purchased land in Girard township, east of Girard, and there established his homestead. He retired from active labor in 1895 and his son Byron is now in charge of the farm. He has been one of the active factors in the development of Girard township and was an organizer and officer of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company. He also organized the Grange store at Girard and conducted its affairs with such ability that a dividend of forty-three per cent was divided among the stockholders as a result of his first year's operations.
In 1855, at Chesterfield, Mr. Hopson was married to Miss Susan R. Cundall, a daughter of John and Mary A. (Gelder) Cundall, both of whom were natives of England. Three children were born to this union: John, who lives at Sor- ento, Illinois, and has one son and one daughter; Mamie, who married A. Van- atta, of St. Louis, and has one daughter; and Carrie, who is the wife of James Rice, of Hillsboro, Illinois, and has one son. The mother of these children died in 1864 and in 1866 Mr. Hopson was married, in Carlinville, to Miss Elizabeth Vanarsdale, a daughter of Harrison Vanarsdale, a native of Tennessee, who settled in Macoupin county, Illinois. By his second marriage Mr. Hopson had seven children, namely: Katie, who married Daniel Bell, of Mount Vernon, Illinois, and has four children; Albertus, a farmer of Girard township, who married Cora Cramp and also has four children; Byron, who has charge of the home farm; Charles T., of St. Louis, who married Stella Cramp and has four children; Cora, now Mrs. Jacob Slater, of Iowa; Herbert, of Girard township, who married Lena Jennings, by whom he has two children; and Lotta, who became the wife of Alvin Warner and has one son. Mr. Hopson is justly proud of his descendants and is the father of ten children, grandfather of nineteen children and can also claim one great-grandchild.
Politically he has ever since he arrived at manhood been a supporter of the democratic party. He is an earnest friend of education and served for seven- teen years as member of the school board. Although he has reached the ad- vanced age of eighty-six years, he enjoys a goodly measure of health and strength and takes an active interest in local and world affairs. He has been a witness of great changes in the west and for more than sixty years has been personally identified with the development of Macoupin county. His life has been active, busy and useful and has been characterized by a spirit of helpful- ness and progressiveness that very materially enhanced the happiness of those with whom he associated. It is to men of this class that the country owes the blessings of peace and prosperity so abundantly in evidence today.
REV. WILLIAM H. RIEMEIER.
The Rev. William H. Riemeier, for the past ten years pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical church, was born in Cappeln, St. Charles county, Missouri, on the 19th of October, 1858. He is a son of William Henry and Henrietta (Moen- ning) Riemeier, natives of Hanover, Germany. The father was reared in the Vol. II-22
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old country and there he also married his first wife. In 1850 together with his family he emigrated to the United States, locating in the vicinity of Cappeln, Missouri, where he bought an uncleared and unimproved farm of one hundred and twenty acres. He felled trees and built a cabin which provided his family with a home, then began the cultivation of his land. In 1854 an epidemic of cholera swept through that section of the country and he lost his wife and three of his four children. Later he married Miss Moenning and by this union there were born four sons, all of whom attained maturity. The order of their birth is as follows: John F., a minister of the Evangelical church at Ferguson, Mis- souri; William H., our subject; George W., who is a resident of Foristell, Mis- souri ; and Frank F., who is living in Marthasville, Missouri. The father passed away in 1883, at the age of sixty-five, while the mother survived until 1898, her demise occurring when she was seventy-two years of age. Both were earnest members of the Evangelical church.
The boyhood and youth of William H. Riemeier were spent on the home farm in St. Charles county, in a manner very similar to those of other lads in the community. His preliminary education was obtained in the district and paro- chial schools, and at the age of fourteen he was confirmed and took his first communion in the Evangelical church. When he was eighteen he went to Elm- hurst, Illinois, to attend college, being graduated from this institution with the class of 1880. For twenty years thereafter he taught in parochial schools, his first position of this kind being in Carlinville, where he remained four years. From here he went to Chicago and five years later he took charge of a school in St. Louis with which he was identified until 1899, when he entered the ministry. His first pastorate was at Sulphur Springs, Missouri, where he spent two years in fruitful labor. At the expiration of that time he responded to the unanimous call of the congregation of Carlinville and came here. During the ten years of his service here Mr. Riemeier has done most effective work. The parochial school has been supplied with new furniture, while various substan- tial and minor changes and alterations have been made in the other property of the church. A small and somewhat indifferent congregation has been suc- ceeded by an active and most earnest membership which numbers three hundred and fifty communicants. The development has been slow but steady and per- manent, and today St. Paul's is one of the most enthusiastic and active congre- gations in the town.
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