USA > Illinois > McLean County > History of McLean County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 37
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James Percy was a native of Belfast, Ireland, as also was his wife. They came to the United States in 1848 and located in New York state. In 1866 the Percy family came to Illinois and located near Benjaminville, where Mr. Percy purchased a farm of 160 acres. He died in 1873 and his wife died in 1896. They were the parents of four children, as follows: James B., born in 1844, married Mary Moore, and he died in 1898; David, born in 1847, married Maggie Mutch, and he died in 1920; Mary, born in 1848, married R. S. Krum, a retired merchant, lives in Arrowsmith Town- ship, McLean County ; and John S., the subject of this sketch.
John S. Percy was educated in the district schools near Benjamin- ville and started life farming with his brother, David, on 160 acres of land in Old Town Township. Mr. Percy still owns his farm but has lived retired since 1919. He resides at 508 South Clayton Street, Bloomington.
On Nov. 29, 1882, Mr. Percy was married to Miss Martha Ann Mutch, a native of Harrisburg, Pa., born in 1862, and the daughter of Samuel and Fannie (Buser) Mutch. Mr. and Mrs. Mutch and their family came to Bloomington in 1878, and he conducted a shoe shop on Main street until the time of his death in 1908. His widow resides with Mr. and Mrs. Percy. Mrs. Percy had one brother, William, who died 14 years ago. To J. S. and Martha (Mutch) Percy four children have been born, as follows: Bertha, born in 1886, married Arthur Goodrich of Gibson City, Ill., and they have three children, Lewis, Pauline and Percy ; Earl Percy,
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born in 1888, married Edna Burke, and they have two children, Helen and John B .; Roy, born in 1889, married Anna Benjamin, and they have one child, Ruth; and Clarence, born in 1901, married Helen Howard, lives in Bloomington, and they have one child, Dorothy Jane.
Mr. Percy is a Republican, has served as road commissioner for three years and has been school trustee for 14 years. He has been a member of the Methodist Church for 42 years, and is a highly respected citizen of McLean County.
· Hiram H. Crumbaugh, president of the First National Bank of LeRoy, now a retired farmer, is among the prominent and successful business men of McLean County. He was born in Empire Township, June 29, 1861, the son of James H. L. and Amanda M. (Buck) Crumbaugh.
James H. L. Crumbaugh was a native of Henderson County, Ky., born May 1, 1826, and the son of Henry and Sarah (Baldock) Crumbaugh. Henry Crumbaugh was born in Frederick County, Md., April 26, 1789, and came to Illinois in 1828, being among the first settlers of the state. He was a farmer during his life and died Oct. 27, 1877. His wife, Sarah (Baldock) Crumbaugh, was a native of Kentucky and they were the par- ents of 12 children. James H. L. Crumbaugh, the subject's father, was a prominent farmer of McLean County for many years and died March 6, 1904. His wife, Amanda M. (Buck) Crumbaugh, was born in Indiana, Feb. 10, 1828, the daughter of Hiram and Mercy (Karr) Buck, natives of New York. She now makes her home with her son, Hiram H. Crumbaugh. Mr. and Mrs. James H. L. Crumbaugh had three children, as follows: Laura E. Lafferty, born Aug. 26, 1852, Clinton, Ill .; Edith May Lafferty, born May 31, 1856, Clinton, Ill and Hiram H., the subject of this sketch.
Hiram H. Crumbaugh received his education in the district schools and then engaged in farming and stock raising with his father. In 1892 he began farming for himself in Empire Township and now owns 753 acres of land in McLean County. He moved to LeRoy in 1904 where he now resides in the east part of the town. He has been president of The First National Bank of LeRoy since its organization in 1907. Mr. Crum- baugh also served as mayor of LeRoy for three years and as alderman for 11 years and as member of the school board.
On Dec. 23, 1891, Mr. Crumbaugh married Miss Grace Shirley, born in DeWitt County, Ill., Aug. 30, 1870. She has lived in McLean County since
IRRARY ١
Amanda Ab brumbaugh
I. H.L. brumbaugh.
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RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. HIRAM H. CRUMBAUGH.
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she was four years of age and is the daughter of William P. and Elizabeth (Cantrell) Shirley. Mr. Shirley was born in Maryland, July 1, 1817, came to Illinois in 1846 and died Sept. 10, 1883. His wife was born in Waynes- ville, Ill., May 9, 1835, and died July 15, 1918. She was the daughter of John M. and Joanna (Jones) Cantrell. Mrs. Shirley was married first to Robert King, on Sept. 21, 1855 and to that union three children were born, as follows: Alice M., wife of W. S. Harold, lives in Clinton, Ill .; Charles, lives in St. Louis and Hattie B., wife of Abe Fry, lives in Brooking, S. D. Mr. King died July 9, 1858, and on March 13, 1866, his widow married William P. Shirley. Two children were born to this union: Nellie, widow of James H. Long, lives in Hobridge, Neb. and Mrs. Crumbaugh. To Hiram H. and Grace (Shirley) Crumbaugh two children have been born, as follows: Clifford Lyle, born July 31, 1894, assistant cashier of The First National Bank at LeRoy, he was married on April 15, 1924 to Emiley Phillips Kim- ler and Nellie May, born Sept. 1, 1902, she was married June 9, 1923 to John Kelly Smith, Rodgers Park, Chicago, Ill.
In politics Mr. Crumbaugh is a Republican and he is a member of the Masonic lodge. He is an energetic and enterprising citizen and well known throughout McLean County.
Jacob Sholty, now living retired in Bloomington, is a well known and highly respected citizen of McLean County. He was born in Dale Town- ship, April 2, 1863, and is a son of Henry C. and Susan (Swinehart) Sholty, natives of Pennsylvania.
Henry C. Sholty was born in Pennsylvania, March 7, 1833, the son of Jacob and Mary (Kauffman) Sholty, and a grandson of William Sholty. His maternal grandparents were Michael and Annie (Funk) Kauffman. William Sholty, who was a native of the Netherlands, emigrated from Holland to the United States when he was a young man, and his son Jacob was born in Pennsylvania in 1805. Jacob Sholty grew to manhood and was married in that state to Mary Kauffman. In 1837 he and his family made their way westward, stopping for a few months in Dayton, Ohio, and later arrived in Delaware County, Ind., where they remained 14 years. At the end of this period they concluded to go further west and ultimately, in 1841, located in McLean County, settling on a farm of 125 acres in Dale Township. To this Jacob Sholty added 375 acres before
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his death, which occurred in October, 1880. He and his wife were the parents of nine children : Christopher, Henry C., Susan, Samuel, Bergonia, Sophia, Levi W., John and Anna M. The mother of this family died in 1893. She and her husband were members of the United Brethren Church. In political matters the father was a believer in the principles of the Republican party.
Henry C. Sholty received his education in the common schools and in early youth learned the carpenter trade. This occupation he followed during his active life. He was four years of age when his parents moved to Indiana and 17 years old when he accompanied his father and mother to Illinois. At the age of 21 years he began to work for himself as a carpenter. In connection with this occupation he settled on a farm in Dale Township in 1854, and followed general farming and stock raising. He engaged in mercantile pursuits in this township in 1868, buying and selling grain, and continued in this line until 1878. In 1895 he retired from active work making his home in Bloomington.
In March, 1859, Henry C. Sholty was married to Susan Swinehart, a native of Montgomery County, Pa., who was born July 30, 1828, the daughter of George and Susanna (Saylor) Swinehart, of German descent. They spent their entire lives in Pennsylvania, dying in York County. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Sholty, as follows: Mary, born Jan. 28, 1860, died Oct. 11, 1880; William L .; Jacob, the subject of this sketch; and Elizabeth. The mother of this family died Oct. 22, 1898, and on Dec. 26, 1899, Mr. Sholty was married to Mrs. August Ziebold, a native of Germany, and the oldest daughter of Charles and Rose Klawitter. By her first marriage, Mrs. Sholty had two chil- dren, Elsie, deceased, and Edna. To his second marriage one son was born, Henry Sholty, born Jan. 8, 1906.
Jacob Sholty received his education in the public schools and in early manhood commenced farming for himself by renting a portion of his father's land. At a later period he bought a farm of 60 acres adjoining this to which he added by successive purchases until he became the owner of 320 acres in Dale Township. He was very successful in general farm- ing and stock raising. Since 1920 Mr. Sholty has lived retired in Bloom- ington, and his farm is operated by his son.
On Jan. 13, 1886, Mr. Sholty was married to Miss Florence Staley, a native of Hagerstown, Md., and the daughter of Andrew and Sarah (Powell) Staley, natives of Maryland. The parents of Mrs. Sholty settled
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in McLean County when she was but three years of age. To Jacob and Florence (Staley) Sholty five children were born, as follows: Henry, mar- ried Leota Searl, lives in Michigan; Elmer H .; Clara, married Joshua Busick, lives in Michigan and they have six children, Myron, Elmer, Florence, Sarah, Dorothy, Leota; Ada Fern, married Howard C. Frink, lives at Centralia, Mo., and they have five children, Jacob, Andrew, Gil- bert, Alice, Pauline and Ruth; Ivan McKinley, married Marietta Fisher, lives in Dale Township, and they have one child, Ivan, Jr.
Mr. Sholty is a Republican and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Shirley, and the Sholty family has always been representative of the best citizenship of McLean County.
Joseph H. Iden, an enterprising and successful business man of LeRoy, was born in Downs Township, McLean County, Feb. 15, 1879, and is the son of Townsend J. and Rebecca Jane (Cochran) Iden.
Townsend J. Iden is a native of Licking County, Ohio, and was born March 10, 1840. He came to Illinois in 1863 and located in Downs Town- ship, where he purchased a farm of 160 acres. He later increased his land holdings until he owned 320 acres of well improved land. He now lives retired at LeRoy. Mrs. Iden was born in Ohio, Jan. 5, 1839. They were the parents of three children, as follows: John William, lives in McLean County; Dr. Edgar H., died June 2, 1901; and Joseph H., the subject of this sketch.
Townsend J. Iden is the son of Thomas Iden, who was born in Vir- ginia and came to Ohio many years ago. He married Elizabeth Hill and their son, Townsend J. Iden, is the only survivor of the family now living. Rebecca Jane (Cochran) Iden died Nov. 26, 1923, and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, LeRoy, Ill. After coming to McLean County many years ago Mrs. Iden taught school in Downs Township before her mar- riage. During the early days Townsend J. Iden sold corn at Bloomington for eight cents per bushel. Mr. and Mrs. Iden were married in 1870 and among McLean's oldest and most highly respected pioneer citizens. He has been a member of the LeRoy Masonic Lodge since 1866 and has be- longed to the Presbyterian Church for many years and an elder of the church for 30 years.
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Joseph H. Iden was reared on his father's farm and attended the district schools and the public schools at Normal. In September, 1898, Mr. Iden attended the Chicago College of Embalming. He then came to LeRoy, Jan. 23, 1901, and engaged in the furniture and undertaking business. He sold out the furniture business in 1914. He then estab- lished, with the undertaking business, a music store and handles pianos and phonographs. He is among the prominent embalmers of McLean County and one of the representative business men of the county.
On June 14, 1900, Mr. Iden married Miss Georgianna Bishop, a native of Heyworth, Ill., born Nov. 18, 1878, and the daughter of John and Mary (Passwater) Bishop, both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Iden have one child, Delmar Townsend, born Feb. 17, 1912.
Mr. Iden is an independent voter. He is a member of the Presby- terian Church and belongs to the Masonic Lodge, the Bloomington Con- sistory and Springfield Shrine, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows No. 149 of LeRoy, and the Red Men. Mr. Iden is an alert business man, and a citizen of high ideals.
Edgar M. Heafer, a prominent citizen of McLean County and former mayor of Bloomington, was born March 20, 1851, in Jamestown, Ky. This town, usually called Jimtown for many years, is now called Dayton. His parents, Napoleon Bonaparte Heafer and Elizabeth Suey Clark, arrived with him and his sister, Lauretta E., in Bloomington, Ill., in 1853. The father was a rapid and artistic bricklayer. He used a trowel larger than the standard and could spread mortar with a single effort for seven and eight bricks.
About 1854 the father established a brickyard on the Bentown road just east of the present Mercer Avenue and south of the Bentown road, which premises were later occupied by the McCart family and now by Mr. Charles Brokaw. Later he established a brickyard south of the Ben- town road yard at what would have been the intersection of Mercer Ave- nue and Cheney's Grove road, if Mercer Avenue had been in existence. Still later he embarked in the brick business just west of the last place mentioned where he built a square brick house which still remains. These premises in 1857, being possessed of the Pike's Peak fever, he disposed of to S. D. Rounds, who made brick on the same premises. On all of these
MRS. EDGAR M. HEAFER.
EDGAR M. HEAFER.
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brick yards Edgar M. Heafer performed some sort of service. When nearly six years old he began attendance at the old Price brick school which lay on the west side of the LeRoy road and in the corner now formed by the LeRoy road and the L. E. & W. R. R., but the latter was not there at that time.
When the father began his journey to Pike's Peak he sent his fam- ily back to Kentucky but having taken sick on the plains he found it neces- sary to give up the trip and make his way to St. Joseph, Mo., where he at once engaged in the brick-making and contracting business, erecting there among other buildings the most presumptuous hotel of that city at that time. Again the subject of this sketch became one of the employes of his father's brickyards at 25 cents at first and later 50 cents per week. In the spring of 1859 Napoleon B. Heafer was stricken with the Pike's Peak fever the second time and with two bob-tail horses, a covered wagon
EDGAR M. HEAFER AND COMPANY.
well laden with flour, salt pork, beans and a sort of cracker-biscuit, dry as Sahara could have made them, he and the family consisting of four children struck out for the giant tempter. The journey was not without excitement for the wild Indians were not always friendly and many times it was a question whether they would not violently show their power. On the last morning they started on the trip they were about two days dis- tance from Denver, but all day long a portion of a tribe, angered at some trifle, followed them and their companions, for there were 12 or 15 wagons in the caravan that day. The travelers counseled toward evening and decided that it would not be safe to camp out another night on the plains, but that they should continue progress until Denver would be reached. This was done and the caravan reached Denver about three o'clock next morning. `Ordinarily some members of this caravan would have gone ahead, that is, those having the fastest horses while others would have
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lagged behind not even having medium fast horses because every one was in a hurry to reach the mountain of gold and no one waited for an- other. The Indians never disturbed Denver and an Indian was seldom, if ever, seen on the mountains.
Besides the Indians, herds of buffalo and antelope constituted an agreeable excitement and both afforded the hungry traveler satisfying food. Sometimes a buffalo herd would number 500 or more and could be seen at a great distance in the dry atmosphere and at first sight presented the appearance of rolling or undulating terra firma. When on a stam- pede and coming toward the wayfarers, it was necessary for the latter to determine just how wide their front line was and to move out of its reach for under such circumstances they stopped for nothing or nobody. They did not seem to look up at all, but followed their leader. The extermination of the buffalo cannot be attributed to these misguided travelers because they did not have time for such devastation. Their aim was Pike's Peak and their slogan, "Pike's Peak or bust." The "bust" member of the slogan was usually realized at some time after the arrival.
The allurements were irresistible but the rewards trivial and for the great majority there were no rewards. Not thoroughly encouraged by mining results the family returned to Bloomington where the father re- gained the old premises with the brick house and did such bricklaying work as he could find until in 1862, he formed a partnership. with James H. McGregor and they embarked in the brick business as well as con- tracting and did a successful business for 21 years when they dissolved partnership, but each independently of the other continued to operate in that line.
Edgar M. Heafer in 1874 embarked in the drain tile business and con- tinued in it until 1914. It was his intention to conduct this business until infirmity or death checked his career, but owing to exhaustion of clay close at hand, the absolutely necessary raw material, and his inability to have it delivered promptly by rail from a distance, it was necessary to discontinue.
During the 40 years, thus engaged in business, that is, the drain tile business, a part of which time he was operating also in the brick business on a large scale as also the natural ice business on a fairly good sized plan. This business was abandoned in 1910 when fire destroyed the ice houses. A peculiarity of the natural ice business was that one could only depend on about every other year to harvest a fair crop. Before the
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artificial production of ice became a success, the natural ice operator could, when there was an abundance of ice produced, harvest enough for two seasons, but when held over it had a strong tendency, rather a sure tend- ency to melt together and in removing it from the houses during the second year it broke more or less as the cakes were separated from one another, so when the artificial ice could be placed on the market in uniform and even sizes the public would not accept irregular pieces of ice as they had done before the advent of artificial ice.
As an individual operator in the manufacture of drain tile, it may be said that probably no other produced and placed more goods in that line on the market than did Edgar M. Heafer. Perhaps no individual did more to remove mortgages on the farms of the country than did he by furnishing the tile and advice for their use for draining the best farm lands of their surplus water. It was up-hill work to awaken the farmer to the advantages to be derived from the use of this article. It was diffi- cult for many to understand how this article could remove the water without at the same time removing so much as to render the soil too dry but, as mysterious as it did seem to some, drain tile did remove water from the soil without making it excessively or injuriously dry, that is, the surplus water was removed by the action of the tile but the soil by means of capillary attraction held enough water to feed the plants with such moisture as was needed. It was excessive water that was an injury to vegetation; it was the water of capillary attraction that was beneficial. At different times his father was a partner in drain tile operations.
At the beginning of the drain tile business he made what was known as flat bottom tile, but later round tile were considered more scientific in their performance than the former, and consequently about the year 1879, he began to produce round tile and continued to do so to the end. Many improvements in machinery, kilns, and other equipments were made dur- ing his career. He and his father were several times patentees them- selves.
In the early days, only small sizes could be sold and for a while nothing above six-inch diameter was produced and then eight-inch was added but it was a long time before ten-inch were in demand. He remembers the first ten-inch he sold. He had tried to make them before but failed to have the proper equipment. An old customer, H. E. Seiberns of Gridley and Peoria, Ill., called on him one day who wanted seven or eight carloads of tile, among which was about one carload of ten-inch, but Mr. Haefer
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pleaded inability to make them and begged for the rest of the order, but it was not forthcoming, and he finally, and it might be said, blindly, ac- cepted the order. That night, it was necessary to run the factory, not for this order, but for others, until midnight, and while he was superin- tending the night force it dawned upon him that he should go to the office and write his friend declining the ten-inch order. But instead he sat down when he had an opportunity and thought out a device that he believed would make that size. He, working with a mechanic the next morning, constructed the equipment and as soon as completed, it was tried out and worked successfully at once without experimentation. Improvements were constantly being made by machinery men and soon he had machinery in- stalled for large sizes and when he quit he was making tile as large as 24 inches in diameter and was just starting to make 27 and 30 inch when discontinuance was decided upon.
He always was zealous in his efforts to produce an article of supe- riority and from the time he began to the end he is confident that he suc- ceeded. Tile on the market were not uniform in length but he main- tained a watchfulness and integrity in his work that prevented any goods going from his factory of less length than advertised. Moreover, the actual bore of the tile was always larger than the nominal bore, that is, for instance, a six-inch tile would measure about six and one-fourth, a ten-inch tile about ten and one-half inches in the bore. When he began there were only two or three drain tile factories in the state and he soon forged be- yond them. His policy was, to sell to the man of small means as cheaply as to the man of large means, and charged the same rate for a handful as for a wagon load. At one time he owned and operated a factory at Lexington, Ill., and was president and majority stockholder in one at Mel- vin. This factory burnt in 1894 and the large factory built in the south- east part of Bloomington burnt with disastrous results in 1888 but a new one was built and in operation in 1889.
On Feb. 17, 1876, Mr. Heafer was united in marriage with Miss Ida May Depew, a native of Bloomington, and the daughter of William S. and Fannie M. (Schaum) Depew, natives of Indiana, now deceased. Mr. Depew died July 29, 1917, and his wife died Aug. 19th of the same year. To Mr. and Mrs. Heafer have been born four children: Stella Pearl, the wife of James C. Riley ; Edgar Napoleon ; Roscoe Lionel; and Harold William.
Mr. Heafer is identified with the Republican party in politics and served as mayor of Bloomington during the year of 1895. He has also
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served as alderman and school trustee. He belongs to the Elks Lodge and is a Knights Templar Mason. Mrs. Heafer is a member of the Metho- dist church.
William M. McConnell, a leading farmer and stockman and large land owner of McLean County, was born in Downs Township, McLean County, Oct. 25, 1866, the son of John and Martha E. (Buck) McConnell.
John McConnell was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, April 9, 1832, the son of William and Catherine A. (LaFever) McConnell, both natives of Pennsylvania. The McConnell family is of Scotch and Irish descent and the first ancestors to come to the United States settled in Pennsylvania. William McConnell was born April 12, 1787, and after his marriage moved to Knox County, Ohio, later returning to Pennsylvania. He operated sev- eral flat boats up and down the Ohio River and was a prominent trader for many years. He served throughout the War of 1812 and later be- came a large land owner, owning 400 acres of land in Wabash County, Ind., besides his other land holdings. He died Oct. 2, 1876, and his wife died in 1835. Mr. and Mrs. William McConnell had 12 children.
John McConnell spent his early days on his father's farm and re- ceived his education in the district schools of Ohio and attended an agricultural college near Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1854 he came to McLean County, Ill., with his father and purchased 160 acres of land in Downs Township. Mr. McConnell then returned to Ohio and remained there until 1885, at which time he returned to Downs Township. He became a prosperous farmer and large land owner of McLean County, and was married on June 17, 1862, to Miss Martha E. Buck, a native of LeRoy, Ill., and the daughter of Squire Hiram Buck, who came to Illinois from Ohio in 1836. To Mr. and Mrs. John McConnell three children were born, as follows: Anna B., died in 1881 at the age of 18 years; William M., the subject of this sketch; and Hiram E., twin brother of William M., died March 12, 1912. William M. McConnell's father owned 800 acres of land at the time of his death and was the owner of some of the finest farms in the county.
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