History of Macoupin County, Illinois, Part 52

Author: Brink, McDonough & Co.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 440

USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois > Part 52

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Collectors .- T. H. Simmons, elected in 1871. G. L. Bean, elected in 1872. T. H. Simmons, elected in 1873. G. L. Bean, elected in 1874, 1875, 1876 and 1877. T. L. Keas elected in 1878, and re-elected in 1879.

Justices of the Peace since Township Organization .- Asa Potter and G. G. Eddington, elected in 1871. W. Jones and J. A. Scarrett, elected in 1873. J. A. Scarrett and J. R. Simmons, elected in 1877. J. R. Simmons and Asa Potter, elected in 1878.

Constubles since Township Oganization -J. W. Campbell, elected in 1872. E. A. Dolbew, S. Davidson and P. Brinck, elected in 1873. J. Clark, elected in 1877. J. Delaplain and B. Austin elected in 1878. Ed. Philips, elected in 1879.

Commissioners of Highways -1871, Nathan D. Barber, W. I. H. Clark, J. H. Barber; 1872, Nathan D. Barber ; 1873, J. H. Barber ; 1874, Peter W. Sams, Charles Wagoner, G. G. Eddington ; 1875, Thos. H. Simmons; 1876, Charles Wagoner; 1877, W. R. Eddington ; 1878, T. H. Simmons; 1879, Charles Wagoner, T. A. Jones.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

L. P. STRATTON.

L. P. STRATTON was born at Bedford, then in Hillsboro, now in Merri- mac county, New Hampshire, December 18, 1808. His grandparents lived at Marlboro, Massachusetts, and from there emigrated to New Hampshire. His father, Lemuel Stratton, was born at Marlboro, Massachusetts; was eighteen when the family moved to New Hampshire; and married Phillipe Jackman, who was born in New Hampshire, at Boscawen, the town adjoin- ing Concord. The subject of this sketch was raised in New Hampshire. Leaving home at the age of fourteen he went to Keene, in the same state, and worked for Dr. Charles G. Adams and the Hon. Salma Hale. March, 1827, he went to Salem, Massachusetts, and while there was mostly employed by the Salem Lead Manufacturing Company. August, 1831, he married Sarah B. Johnson, a native of Andover, Massachusetts. Soon afterward he came west, reaching Alton, October 14th, 1831, and remained there working at the trade of a carpenter till March, 1833, when he came to Brown's prai- rie, entering forty acres of land a mile west from Brighton. Finding this location injurious to his health, he returned to Alton in the spring of 1836, where he lived till the spring of 1840, following the carpenter's trade. From 1840 to 1857 he was farming in Jersey county. February, 1857, he bought

two warehouses at Brighton, and began the grain business, to which he afterwards added the lumber business. In 1868 he quit the grain and lum- ber trade to engage in the banking business, which he has since followed, and is now the senior partner in the banking house of Stratton & Amass, a bank- ing firm which stands high in the confidence of the business community for sound financial standing and honorable dealing. His first wife died July 2d, 1865. His second marriage occurred May 25th, 1868, to Mrs. Sarah A. Thompson. He was elected magistrate in Jersey county in 1835, but re- signed the next spring on his removal to Alton. He was again elected, in 1840, and served till he changed his residence to Brighton. He has had five children, four of whom are living. He joined the Congregational church at Salem, Massachusetts, when eighteen. He assisted in forming the Presbyterian congregations both at upper and lower Alton. In the absence of other church facilities, he was a member of the Methodist church at Brigh- ton, and for four years class-leader. He was also connected with the Pres- byterian church at Brighton and for twenty years was an elder in the Brigh- ton and Alton churches. He is now connected with the Congregational church at Brighton of which he is deacon. He is a self-made man ; has won success by his own energy, and bears a blameless private character.

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HOTEL

HOTEL.

BRIGHTWOOD COTTAGE

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north-west quarter of section 9, and orth-east quarter of section 8. The many advantages for the neighbor- mill, a depot and post-ofice, black- À a district school. Much credit is located in the midst of a rich agri-

o have been honored with township

ted in 1871; re-elected in 1872; elected in 1874; and by re-election elected in 1879, and is the present

eted in 1872, and re-elected in 1873; Valdo, elected in 1877, and re-elected

871, and re-elected in 1872, 1873, 1876, and re-elected in 1877. H. elected in 1879.

n 1871. G. L. Bean, elected in 1872 . Bean, elected in 1874, 1875, 1876 , and re-elected in 1879.

Organization. - Asa Potter and G. G. and J. A. Scarrett, elected in 1873. eted in 1877. J. R. Simmons and

n -J. W. Campbell, elected in 1872 Brinck, elected in 1873. J. Clark, Austin elected in 1878. Ed. Philips,

Nathan D. Barber, W. I. H. Clark, er : 1873, J. H. Barber ; 1874, Peter Aldington ; 1875, Thos. H. Simmons; . Eddington; 1878, T. H. Simmons;

ES.

"an the grain business, to which he In 1868 he quit the grain and lun- ness, which he has since followed, and ; house of Stratton & Amass, a bank- lence of the business community for dealing. His first wife died July d May 25th, 1868, to Mrs Sarah A. e in Jersey county in 1835, but re o Alton. He was again elected, in esidence to Brighton. He has had . He joined the Congregational ghteen. He assisted in forming the r and lower Alton. In the absence er of the Methodist church at Brigh- 3 was also connected with the Pres- uty years was an elder in the Brigh- nnected with the Congregational 2. Heis a self-made man ; has won ameless private character.

THE DAIRY & STOCK FARM OF M. BROWN. BRIGHTON , MACOUPIN CO ., ILL.

RESIDENCE & COTTAGE HOTEL OF MRS. KATE B. GLENNY, BRIGHTON , ILL.

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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

M. Brown.

Is the oldest settler now living in Brighton township. He was born in Champaign county, Ohio, two miles south of Mechanicsburg, June 4th, 1810. His grandfather, Jonathan Brown, formerly lived in the state of New York, where his father, whose name was also Jonathan Brown, was born. About the year 1805 his father emigrated from New York to Ohio, and was one of the early settlers of Greene county, where he married in the year 1806 De- lilah Spencer. The Spencer family was of English origin. Mr. Brown's great-grandfather, on his mother's side, settled in Virginia while it was yet a colony of Great Britain. His grandfather, Michael Spencer, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and after the conclusion of that memorable struggle on the part of the colonies for their independence, emigrated to Kentucky, having previously been married in Virginia. Michael Spencer was a man of great strength and activity, and possessed remarkable powers of endurance. He took part in the Indian troubles which marked the first settlement of the whites on " the dark and bloody ground " of Kentucky. His superior bodily strength and courage made him usually the leader in the pursuit of the bands of Indians who would frequently make incursions on the white settlements, stealing horses, carrying off children, and some- times butchering the surprised inhabitants. His home in Kentucky was in Washington county. He afterward removed to Greene county, Ohio. De- lilah Spencer was born in Washington county, Kentucky. About the year 1808, Mr. Brown's father moved with the family to Champaign county, Ohio, and lived there until 1817, and then came to Illinois, settling at Upper Alton; he afterward removed to Brighton, where he died July 4th, 1836.

When his father moved to Alton, Mr. Brown was seven years old. The first school he attended was a little log building which stood about half a mile from his father's house. The rough floor was made of split timber, the door of clap-boards, and a log conveniently left out along the sides an- swered the purpose of a window. There was no fire-place, for school was kept only during the summer months, and then only at irregular intervals. His first teacher, to whom he went three months, was David Rose, a near-

sighted and cross-eyed man, who added to these physical peculiarities a hasty disposition and irregular and eccentric habits. It may be imagined that his proficiency as a teacher was very moderate. His next teacher, two years afterward, was a man named Jencks, who had better educational qualifica- tions. He was a writer of respectable poetry, but had an ungovernable appetite for liquor, and when under the influence of the intoxicating bowl would go to sleep in school, leaving the children to amuse themselves in any manner which suited their fancy. In May, 1828, just befere his eighteenth birthday, Mr. Brown started for the lead mines at Galena. He formed a partnership with Enoch Long, and they bought an interest in the Mineral Point Mining Company, and built the first shanty ever erected at Mineral Point. The enterprise proved fairly remunerative, though the low price of lead prevented large profits. His partner, Mr. Long, was a native of New Hampshire, twenty years older than himself, a man of ability, and is still living at Sebula, Iowa, to which place he removed from Galena. He reached Alton on his return, Christmas, 1829, and spent the next two months at school.

His uncle, Oliver Brown had settled at Brighton in February, 1826, and on the 9th of March, 1830, Mr. Brown also came to Brighton, where he has resided ever since. At that time he was not quite twenty years of age. In partnership with his brother, James Brown, he entered eighty acres of land, the east half of the north-east quarter of section nineteen. The entry was made in his brother's name. The land was partly timber and partly prairie.

At first his home was with his parents, who had moved out from Alton. November 15th, 1836, he married Sarah B. Peter, daughter of John Peter, who settled at Godfrey about the year 1829, and the spring of 1836 removed to Whitehall. After his marriage he changed his residence to where he now lives on the west half of the north-east quarter of section nineteen. Nature had endowed him with abundant energy, a good constitution, and great powers of endurance. He began life without any capital except good health, industrious habits, and a determination to succeed in the world. He put

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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

the land, of which he was owner, under cultivation as rapidly as possible ; and his activity, energy, and ability to undergo exposure and perform a great deal of hard work without detriment, have been the chief instruments of his success in life. He now owns 550 acres of land, part of which lies in McLean and Madison counties. The death of his first wife occurred in July 16th, 1851. His second marriage was on the 3d of March, 1853, to Mrs. Margaret A. Sumner. Her maiden name was Hackney; she was born in the state of New York, and came to Illinois with her father, William Hackney, in 1836, and settled at Delhi, in Jersey county. Mr. Brown has nine children as follows: James McKendree Brown, of McLean county ; George A. Brown and M. Spencer Brown, who live in Brighton township ; Emma J., the wife of James B. Pinckhard, of Venice, Illinois ; Thomas C. Brown, who is in the mercantile business at Greenfield; Charles W. Brown, an attorney at Springfield; Edward B. Brown, who is farming in Mont- gomery county, near Litchfield ; and William H. and Allen R. Brown, whose home is still with their father. The last two named are children by his second marriage. Mrs. Brown also has two children by her first hus- band, Mrs. Mary Simmons, of Jersey county, and John E. Sumner, now residing at St. Charles, Missouri.

Of the personal traits of his character we can speak with the fullest free- dom, knowing well that no man stands higher in the community, nor is more deserving of commendation for a long life, whose influences have all been thrown on the side of religion, morality, and virtue. He is one of the oldest members of the Methodist Church in the county, becoming connected with the church at Alton in 1823, when thirteen years old. He was one of the founders of the Brighton Methodist Church, and its first class-leader. While his sympathies have connected him with the Methodist denomination, he has not loved his creed so much as he has loved the whole Christian church more, and he has been glad to assist other denominations. To the building of every church in Brighton, with the possible exception of the Baptist, which was erected when all his means were taken up in assisting the Methodist Church, he has contributed, the antagonism usually existing between Protestants and Catholics not even being sufficient to induce him to refuse aid for the erection of the Catholic Church. He believed there were good people among the Catholics, and that they should have a house of worship. He was also one of the earliest advocates of the temperance cause about Alton. In February, 1830, he attended the first temperance meeting ever held at Alton, and signed the pledge to abstain from ardent spirits. The pledge was afterward amended to include all intoxicating liquors, and he has kept it. The society formed in 1830, was the first tem- perance organization in existence in Alton. He has been connected with all the temperance organizations which have ever been formed at Brighton, . including the old Washingtonians, the Sons of Temperance, the Good Tem- plars, and the Red Ribbon Society, and has never missed an opportunity of voting for prohibition, and against the sale of intoxicating liquors.

For four years he held the office of justice of the peace, and was the second treasurer of Brighton township, which office he held for twenty-seven consecutive years. He was captain of a militia company during the war, and a member of the Union League. He was originally a member of the Whig party. His sentiments were always strongly opposed to the institu- tion of slavery, and in the early days of the Republican party, when ques- tions concerning slavery were the most important themes of political discus- sion, and during the war of the Rebellion, he was an active and outspoken Republican. Of late years he has occupied an independent and conserva- tive position in politics.

It may be said of Mr. Brown, that an ambition to accumulate money was never a trait of his character. He desired a comfortable abundance, with which to supply the wants of himself and family, but to become rich for the mere sake of money was beyond his wishes. He had natural ability and business sagacity, and had he devoted his energies to that purpose, he might doubtless have been one of the wealthiest men of the community. His expenditures have been liberal in all directions. He has paid ten large security debts, one of which of eight hundred dollars he was called upon to meet the third year after his marriage, when he was just beginning to get a good start in life, and when it seemed impossible for him to raise and spare a sum of such magnitude. He could have managed his property so that the debt could never have been collected, but instead he strained every nerve to meet the obligation. Its payment in the end he regards as a benefit to himself, as his efforts to meet the amount taught him valuable lessons of economy, and his honorable and straight-forward course gave him standing in the community. He has raised a large family of children, and provided for

them liberally, having divided among them about seven thousand dollars. During the recent Rebellion he contributed to the Sanitary Commission and other benevolent objects growing out of the war about $350 annually. He was always an earnest supporter of free schools and all educational enter- prises. Even before he was married, he assisted to carry on the subscrip- tion schools of the neighborhood. The proposition to build a school-house at Brighton was at first defeated at four successive elections, and then the friends of a school determined to accomplish their object by private sub- scriptions. A joint stock company was formed, to which Mr. Brown sub- scribed three different times, and the much-needed building was erected. By a change in the law, however, which authorized school directors to pur- chase property, the building was finally sold to the school district. To other public enterprises, (such as the Rockford and Rock Island railroad, to which he subscribed fifteen hundred dollars, and the Park Hotel company), he has given his means and his influence, and it may with justice be said that Macoupin county possesses few citizens whose lives have been more creditable to themselves, or more useful to their fellow-men.

NATHAN D. BARBER,-(DECEASED),

WHOSE death happened May 31st, 1878, was one of the old residents of Brighton township. He was descended from a family who were residents of New England, from an early date. He was born in the town of Lyman, Grafton county, New Hampshire, January 10th, 1814. He was one of the oldest of a large family of children. His father was a farmer in moderate circumstances, and the opportunities he enjoyed in early life for obtain- ing an education were limited. He went to school but little. and for what education he obtained he was obliged to rely wholly on his own efforts. He grew up to manhood in New Hampshire, but left his native state when past twenty-two years of age, with the purpose of making his home in the west, to which many of the enterprising young men of New Hampshire were then emigrating. He reached Alton in May, 1836. His first stopping-place was at Nathan Scarritt's on Scarritt's prairie, he having known the Scarritt family back in New Hampshire. He came to Brighton in the winter of 1836-7, and made that place his home until he moved on the farm where he lived till his death. This farm is a mile and a half north of Brighton, and at the time he purchased the land it was unimproved, and had on it no buildings or fences. He hauled the first load of rails on the land in February, 1839, and went to work improving it gradually, succeed- ing in bringing it under cultivation, and making a good farm. January 10th, 1841, he married Miss Emeline Moore, daughter of Capt. James and Arethusa Moore. She was born in the town of Lyman, New Hampshire, in September, 1820. The town was afterwards called Monroe. Her father emigra- ted to Illinois, and settled on the Sweetser place, a mile north of Brighton, in the fall of 1837. After he was married, Mr. Barber settled on his farm, and was engaged in carrying it on till his death. He departed this life May 31st, 1878. His wife survived him nearly a year, and died May 7th, 1879. Both died of pneumonia.

He was a man who was universally esteemed as a good man, and a peace- ful citizen. His manners were quiet and unassuming, and he was content to lead the unpretentious life of a simple farmer, without ambition to oc- cupy public station. He was on good terms with all his neighbors, and it is not known that he had a single enemy in the community. He was en- dowed with a retentive and accurate memory, and by reading and observa- tion, had supplemented what he lacked in early education. He came to this state without capital, bought his land on time, and was obliged to rely wholly on his own exertions to make his way in the world. His death was sincerely regretted by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. In politics he had always been a member of the democratic party, though he took no active part in political movements. His character for honesty and integrity was beyond reproach, and in his death Brighton township lost a good citizen. He had three children, all sons, all of whom are now living: John H. Bar- ber, the oldest son, married Mattie E. Simmons, daughter of Samuel C. Simmons, one of the oldest settlers of Jersey county. He has been in business in south-west Missouri and resides at Pierce City, Missouri ; George L. Bar- ber married Minta Simmons, also a daughter of Samuel C. Simmons, and is farming in Brighton township. The youngest son, Charles A. Barber, is living on the old homestead.

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THE RESIDENCE AND OTHER TOWN PROPERTY OF JAMES PALMER , BRIGHTON , MACOUPIN CO., ILL.

THE RESIDENCE OF COL . J. R. MILES , AT MILES STATION , MACOUPIN COUNTY , ILL.

MILES MILL.

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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

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A.R. Mil

THE great-grandfather of Col. Miles was an Englishman named Abraham Miles, who emigrated to America and settled in Maryland while it was yet a British colony. His grandfather, Jacob Miles, was born in Maryland, and subsequently removed to Caswell county, North Carolina, where he was living at the time of the Revolutionary War. He served for a time in the Continental army. He married Nancy Rice, who belonged to a family residing in Halifax county, Virginia, members of which were afterwards among the pioneer settlers of Logan county, Kentucky ;- the birthplace of the subject of this sketch. Col. Miles' father, Alexander Miles, was born in Caswell county, North Carolina, February 8, 1788; and about the year 1808 removed from North Carolina to Tennessee; he was married in Robertson county, Tennessee, to Mary Irvin, who was born and raised in Greene county, Georgia, and was a daughter of William Irvin. William Irvin was a North Carolinian by birth, but had removed to the State of Georgia ; he was seventeen years of age at the breaking out of the Revolu- tionary War, and at once entered the American army, and served during the whole of the long and arduous struggle of the Colonies for their independence. He was in the army commanded by General Gates, during the Campaigns in the South, and also served in the Northern States; and fought as a soldier until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown brought an end to the war. He removed from Georgia to Robertson county, Tennessee, soon after the Revolution, and settled on a tract of six hundred and forty acres of land adjoining the State of Kentucky. Alexander Miles, on his marriage to Miss Irvin, settled on land which he purchased in Logan county, Ken- tucky, adjoining the Tennessee line. Toward the close of the war of 1812 he enlisted in the forces raised by General Coffee for the assistance of General Jackson, and was in the battle of New Orleans. He was farming

in Logan county, Kentucky, till his removal to Illinois in 1832. On com- ing to this state he settled on the north-east quarter of section six, Brighton township, next to the Jersey county line. He lived there engaged in farm- ing, till his death in 1856. During almost his entire life he had been a member of the Methodist church, in which he was deacon. He was a good citizen, and was held in respect for his many excellent qualities as a man and a neighbor. Col. Miles' mother was born about the year 1793, and died November 20, 1874.

Jonathan Rice Miles was the next to the oldest of a family of eight chil- dren. He was born in Logan county, Kentucky, five miles from Russellville, November 17, 1817. He was fourteen or fifteen when his father removed with the family from Kentucky to Illinois. When he first came to Brighton township the nearest school was at Alton, but a year or two after their arri- val a log school-house was erected, in which the children of the neighborhood were taught the elementary branches of an education. He had previously attended school some little time in Kentucky, and when about nineteen, had the benefit of instruction for a short period at Alton ; but for his acquirements in the way of an English education, he is mostly indebted to his own efforts. In 1837, when about twenty years old, he began improving the farm on which he now resides, in section eight of Brighton township; his home, however, was with his father until his marriage, which took place on the 10th of August, 1844, to Eliza A. Stratton, daughter of Robertson Stratton. (Mrs. Miles was born March 28, 1826, in Robertson county, Tennessee, where her father died; her ancesters were from Virginia, and were early settlers of that part of Tennessee.) He was occupied wholly in farming, till 1853, and then embarked in the mercantile business. Soon after the building of the Chicago and Alton railroad, the line of which runs through his farm,

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a station was established opposite his residence, and called Providence; the name has since been changed to Miles' Station. At this point he opened a store, and carried on a large business in selling goods and buying grain ; in a few years his operations were extended still further, and in 1857 the commission firm of Gilbert, Miles & Stanard, was founded, carrying on busi- ness first in St. Louis, and after the breaking out of the war, also in Chicago; his partners were Charles E. Gilbert, (at present a resident of Chicago), and Ex-Gov. E. O. Stanard, now of St. Louis. Stanard & Gilbert at that time possessed but little capital, and the principal part of the means with which the business was first started was furnished by Col. Miles; his partnership with these gentlemen continued till 1862, and then, feeling unwilling to risk the hazards incident to carrying on business while he was absent in the army and unable to give his personal attention to its operations, he withdrew from the firm. Both his partners have since become business men of wide repu. tation and ample means.

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History of Macoupin County, Illinois, Part 52

Author: Brink, McDonough & Co. Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Number of Pages: 440

Author: Brink, McDonough & Co.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 440