USA > Illinois > McLean County > History of McLean County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 50
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J. H. Claudon received his education in the public schools of Meadows and is a graduate of Chenoa High School. His first business venture was in the grain business, but after one year he entered the Bank of Meadows, where he served as cashier until 1918. Since that time Mr. Claudon has conducted his coal and grain business at Gridley.
On June 9, 1915, Mr. Claudon was married to Miss Ida L. Frey, a native of Waldo Township, Livingston County, born Jan. 13, 1893, and the daughter of Mathew and Magdalene (Ehling) Frey, the former a native of Germany and the latter of France. Mr. Frey died in 1902 and his widow lives at Flanagan, Ill. They were the parents of 12 children, as follows: Anna, married Joseph E. Rich, lives in Pike Township, Liv- :ingston County ; Emil, a farmer, lives in Waldo Township; Mary, married William Zook, a contractor, lives at Flanagan, Ill .; Julia, married B. E.
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Roth, lives in Minnesota; Tillie, married Arthur Breeze, lives in Livings- ton County ; Andrew, a farmer, lives in Waldo Township; Lena, twin sister of Andrew, married J. E. Rocke, a farmer, lives in Pike Township; Edward, a farmer, lives in Iowa; Emma, married William Harris, Jr., assistant manager of the El Paso Elevator Company, El Paso, Ill .; Lydia, married A. O. Hendricks, a farmer, lives in Waldo Township; Mrs. Claudon; and Albert, a farmer, lives in Waldo Township. Mr. and Mrs. Claudon have two children: Marjorie, born July 9, 1916; and Joseph Herbert, born March 8, 1918.
Mr. Claudon is a Republican and a member of the Methodist Church. He stands high in his community and has many friends and acquaintances.
Simeon H. West, deceased, was among the builders of McLean County and until the time of his death, April 2, 1920, was actively engaged in the management of his interests in California and Montana. He was born in Bourbon County, Ky., Jan. 30, 1827, the son of Henry and Mary (Liter) West.
Simeon and Elizabeth (Hopkins) West, paternal grandparents of Simeon H. West, were of English, Welch and Scotch extraction and natives of Virginia and South Carolina, respectively. After their marriage in South Carolina they removed to Kentucky, where they died. Henry and Catherine Liter, maternal grandparents of our subject, were of German descent, born in Pennsylvania. At an early date they settled in Bourbon * County, Ky., where Mary (Liter) West was born.
Henry West, father of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Mason County, Ky., born Feb. 15, 1804. He learned the blacksmith trade and at the age of 20 years was married to Miss Mary Liter. In 1851 the West family came to Illinois and settled one mile southeast of the old Indian fort at Old Town in McLean County, where Henry West pur- chased a farm. He became an influential citizen and upon the organiza- tion of the township it was named for him, West Township, and he was elected its first supervisor. For many years Mr. West served in this capacity and West Township had no more honored citizen than he. His greatest work for the township during the Civil War was in blocking the sale of its school lands when they were considered cheap property. Through his efforts they were retained and released and now yield the township a large sum of money annually. In 1869 Mr. West removed
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to Bloomington, where he resided until his death, Sept. 10, 1885. He was a large land owner. By his first marriage to Mary Liter eight children were born. No children were born to the second union.
Simeon H. West received his only schooling in the early schools of Kentucky. He was a great reader during his life and acquired practical knowledge in that manner. In 1851 he located in West Township and engaged in general farming. The following year he went to California via New Orleans and Vera Cruz, and at the latter place purchased horses and rode horseback to Acapulco, and from there to San Francisco by steamer. Two years later he returned to Illinois by way of Nicaragua, and while on Lake Nicaragua the party was swamped and nearly drowned. In 1859 Mr. West again went west to the gold region by the Butterfield Overland stage route, nearly 3,000 miles, 1,100 miles of which were through a hostile Indian country, overrun with Commanches and Apaches. He re- turned to McLean County by the Panama route in 1861 and the night before the vessel, the North Star, reached New York it narrowly escaped being run down by another steamer. Of the 600 passengers, Mr. West alone was on deck and knew of the ship's danger. His adventures of travel would make an interesting chapter. He finally settled in West Township and engaged in farming until 1896. In 1902 he built a fine two story brick residence at LeRoy, where he lived a comfortable and quiet life. He owned considerable land over a large scope of territory and most of his McLean County land was deeded to his children.
On June 21, 1863, Mr. West was married to Miss Martha O'Neal, a native of Ohio and the daughter of Eleazer and Margaret (Jones) O'Neal. Her parents came to Arrowsmith Township, McLean County, about 1857. To Mr. and Mrs. West nine children were born, as follows: Rosa L., married George E. Dooley, lives at LeRoy, a sketch of whom appears else- where in this history ; Henry C., married Laura Horine, Harlingen, Texas ; Lawrence J., West Township, McLean County; Mary E., married Fred Horine, LeRoy, Ill .; Carrie E., married Turner Taylor, LeRoy; Marcus, married Nora Gibson, lives in West Township; Parker W., died in infancy ; Charles, deceased; and Luella, married Pearl Reynolds, LeRoy, Ill.
While in Kentucky in 1849, Mr. West voted for emancipation, but after 1858 supported the Democratic party, and like his father, was instru- mental in the preservation of the school lands. He served as school trus- tee, drawing the first contract for the leasing of this public property. In (75)
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1873 he was elected county supervisor of West Township and served for a number of terms. In 1882 he was elected a member of the State Legislature and while in that body introduced a number of important measures, among them being the present hard road law of the state and also the measure now in force for the regulation of traction engines on public highways. At the conclusion of his legislative career he also pre- pared and secured the passage of an important drainage law. Mr. West was known throughout Illinois because of his firm refusal to accept all free passes or other favors from railroad companies and this attitude met with much unfavorable comment among interested parties. His efforts were to conduct the state's business on economical lines. His record was approved by his re-election in 1884. Mr. West's prophecy was that the white and black races in the United States will be separated with the pass- ing years; that not later than 1930 the movement of the final separation of the races in this country will begin and the great mass of blacks will be deported to a region in the Amazon Valley, which will have been acquired for them by the government of the United States, and there, under its protection, will establish a nation of their own.
In September, 1906, Mr. West presented to McLean County, through the board of supervisors, a beautiful grove, 20 acres of the west side of the southwest quarter of section 6, in the north side of West Township. His idea in giving this was to preserve a tract of land in its primitive state to show future generations what kind of timber grew in this part of the county, and it is stipulated in the deed that the board of super- visors for the county must see that not less than five acres shall remain in its natural condition forever. This gift was one greatly appreciated by the residents of McLean County, as was evidenced by the expression of gratitude by the press and many individuals.
W. D. Alexander, a widely known building contractor and lumber dealer of Normal, was born at Warsaw, Wisc., Jan. 12, 1875, and is the son of Walter and Sarah (Strobridge) Alexander.
Walter Alexander was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1850, and came to America in 1860, locating at Warsaw, Wis., where he now lives. He was engaged in the lumber business there for many years and is now living retired. On Feb. 12, 1873, Mr. Alexander was married to Miss Sarah
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Strobridge who was born in 1853. They have four children: W. D., the subject of this sketch; J. S., married Anna McKey, lives at Warsaw, Wis .; Ben, a bachelor, lives at Silverton, Ore .; and Ruth, at home.
W. D. Alexander was reared and educated at Warsaw, Wis., where he spent his boyhood. In 1909 he came to Normal from Lexington, Ill., where he had operated a lumber yard for six years. He purchased the business of H. W. Stillhemer, one of McLean County's pioneer lumber dealers. Mr. Alexander has yards located in the following places: Chenoa, Colfax, Hudson, Anchor, Sibley, Herscher, Cabery and Campus, in Ford County, and Normal. He also does contracting work and carries a complete line of building materials. His place of business in Normal is located at 105 Ash Street.
In 1911, Mr. Alexander was married to Miss Esther Law, of Mil- waukee, Wis. They have one daughter, Helen E.
Mr. Alexander is a Republican, a member of the Methodist Church and belongs to the Masonic lodge, the Elks, Loyal Order of Moose, the Red Men and the Chamber of Commerce. He is a reliable citizen and merits the esteem in which he is held in his community.
John A. Beck, a well known business man of Bloomington, is a native of Canada. He was born at Berlin, Ont., March 4, 1858, and is the son of William and Catherine Beck.
John A. Beck received his education in the public schools at Berlin, and upon reaching his 17th year, entered the employ of the Great Western Railroad as brakeman, on the Wellington, Gray & Bruce division, and was eventually promoted to the position of freight conductor. After six years he went to Toledo, Ohio, where he was employed as brakeman on the Lake Shore and. Michigan Southern Railroad, and was shortly afterwards given charge of a train which he ran for three years. Altogether Mr. Beck was in the employ of the railroad for over ten years.
In 1893 Mr. Beck went to Chicago, where he learned the undertak- ing business, and the following year he returned to Bloomington and since that time has been engaged in the undertaking business.
On Dec. 12, 1886, Mr. Beck was married to Miss Jennie Agnes Owens, a daughter of Mathew Owens, a native of Bloomington. Mr. and Mrs. Beck have one daughter, Grace.
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Mr. Beck and his family are prominent members of the Presbyterian Church. He is a 32nd degree Mason, a Knight Templar, a member of the Shrine, Knights of Pythias, Improved Order of Red Men, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Beck has an excellent standing in Bloomington and is highly esteemed.
Adolph Wochner .- One of the old and substantial families of Bloom- ington and McLean County, who aided in the upbuilding of a great and prosperous community, was the Wochner family, of whom Adolph Woch- ner, the subject of this sketch, is one of the members. He is the cashier of the American State Bank, with which he and two of his brothers have been connected ever since it was founded. The success of the insti- tution from its very beginning is testimony to the business standing of its managers, and the Wochner brothers are not the least of the pillars of this success.
Adolph Wochner was one of the younger children of Francis Xavier Wochner, one of the pioneer residents of Bloomington and for many years one of the city and county's well-known business men. Francis X. Woch- ner was a native of Germany, being born at Baden on Jan. 13, 1832. He came to America when he was eight years of age, accompanying his parents, who landed at New Orleans in January, 1840. The parents made their way up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, whence they took wagon for the journey to Springfield, Ill. The parents located on a farm four miles west of Springfield, and there they remained until their deaths. Francis, the father of our subject, remained upon the farm until he was 23 years of age, when he was married to Miss Amelia Phillips, a resident of Sangamon County. The young couple lived in Sangamon County six years following their marriage, when they removed to Bloomington. Here the elder Mr. Wochner formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Antone Meyer, and for many years they conducted a brewery, which began on a small scale and later became a large and prosperous institution. The partnership continued until the death of the two men. The Wochner family acquired a farm near the city, in addition to several pieces of city property. There were nine children born to Francis X. and Amelia Woch- ner, as follows: Emma, Frank X., Edward A., Pauline R., Albert, Adolph. Herman, Leonard C. and Olga F.
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The American State Bank, with which Adolph, Albert and Herman are now connected, was organized in the year 1902. The late James S. Neville, former mayor of Bloomington, was one of the prime movers in the enterprise, and the directors included from the first a list of some of the principal and most successful business men of the city. The bank has had a steady and substantial growth from the first. For several years it occupied a rented building just two doors south of its present site. In 1922 the building formerly known as the Metropole Hotel was purchased by the bank, and it was remodeled to make it suitable for a banking house on the first floor and basement, with modern office rooms above. The move into the new quarters was made in the fall of 1923, and the bank now occupies one of the most up-to-date homes for a bank to be found anywhere in a city of this size. The officers and directors of the bank are: Albert Wochner, president; Paul F. Beich, vice-president; Charles F. J. Agle, vice-president; Adolph Wochner, cashier; Herman Wochner and Edward P. Doyle, assistant cashiers; board of directors, Paul F. Beich, Henry Oberkoetter, Adolph Wochner, Albert Wochner, Gus Buescher, Edward T. Fahey and Charles F. J. Agle.
Adolph Wochner was born on May 21, 1870. He has spent practically his whole life in Bloomington. He was married on October 3, 1911, to Miss Estella Schierberg, of Cincinnati. They have one son, Leonard C. The Wochner home is at 104 West Wood Street.
The Farmers Bank of Chenoa, one of the leading and dependable banking institutions of McLean County, was organized in 1884 as a private bank, by the J. S. Kelly & Company, and known as The Farmers Bank of Chenoa.
James S. Kelly entered into partnership with A .G. Danforth, of Washington, and this partnership lasted for six years, at the end of which time Mr. Kelly purchased the interest of his partner in the company. In August, 1899, the bank was incorporated as a state bank. It is incor- porated and has a capital stock of $30,000 and at the present time a surplus of $30,000.
James S. Kelly was born at Versailles, Woodford County, Ill., May 23, 1846, the son of Benjamin P. and Anna L. (Saltonstall) Kelly.
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Benjamin P. Kelly, a native of Christian County, Ky., was born Jan. 1, 1811, and died Oct. 7, 1867. His wife, who was born in Scott County, Ky., died Feb. 6, 1890. They were the parents of five children, as follows: Eugene, died at the age of four years; Benjamin P., Jr., lives retired in Utah; James S., the subject of this sketch; Franklin D., a dentist, lives in Peoria, Ill .; and Mary E., who died March 5, 1923.
James S. Kelly was 12 years of age when his family removed from Versailles, Ill., to Washington, Ill. He received his education in the public schools of the latter place and attended the academy there for one year. After being in the employ of his father for four years in a drug store at Washington, Ill., he entered the employ of A. G. Danforth, who was a banker of the same place. After 10 years Messrs. Kelly and Danforth formed a banking partnership at Chenoa, which became known as the Farmers Bank of Chenoa. The first officers of the bank were: James S. Kelly, president; Maurice Monroe, vice president; and O. D. Sanborn, cashier.
Mr. Kelly is identified with the Democratic party in politics and has always been one of the industrious, ambitious and progressive citizens of the town and community.
Dr. Paul Petersen is a sucessful chiropractor of Colfax and a substan- tial citizen of McLean County. He was born in Denmark, March 18, 1901, and is the son of Jens and Andrea (Poulson) Petersen.
Jens Petersen and his wife reside in Denmark and are the parents of three children, as follows: Dr. Paul, the subject of this sketch; Mar- gareta, lives at home ; and Ada, also at home with her parents.
Dr. Paul Petersen came to the United States when he was a young man and received his education in the public schools and attended chiro- practic college at Davenport, Iowa, from which he was graduated on Jan. 10, 1923. Since that time he has practiced his profession at Colfax and thus far he has met with success.
On Aug. 4, 1922, Dr. Petersen was united in marriage with Miss Signa Anderson, a native of Mode, Ill., born March 12, 1896, and the daughter of Emil and Hannah (Dalheim) Anderson, natives of Sweden, and the parents of the following children: Florence, married John Vandergest, lives in Moline, Ill .; Mrs. Petersen; Reuben, lives at Moline, Ill .; Helen,
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lives at Des Moines, Ia .; Burt, attends school; and Ruth, died in infancy. Dr. and Mrs. Petersen have one son, Paul Eugene, born May 1, 1923.
Dr. Petersen is a member of the Methodist Church and an enterprising young citizen of McLean County.
David Wilson, the capable and well known postmaster of Gridley, is a native of Kentucky. He was born in Lincoln County, Jan. 6, 1850, and is a son of William D. and Hannah J. (Daugherty) ) Wilson.
William D. Wilson, who was born in Lincoln County, Ky., Nov. 10, 1824, came to Illinois in 1855 with his family, locating at Bloomington. The following year they removed to Chenoa Township where Mr. Wilson improved 120 acres of land, which he had purchased for $12.50 per acre. He served during the Mexican War as a first lieutenant. Mr. Wilson died Oct. 24, 1866, and his wife, who was born in Kentucky, March 11, 1831, died in 1921. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson had two children: David, the subject of this sketch; and Hiram A., born March 22, 1852, and died May 12, 1864.
David Wilson was reared on his father's farm in Chenoa Township and after having attended the district schools was graduated from Illinois State Normal University. He was among the pioneer school teachers of McLean County and taught for 30 years. Later Mr. Wilson engaged in the real estate business with Elmer Smith of Gridley. He also served as assessor of Waldo Township, Livingston County, for three years. On March 19, 1915, he was appointed postmaster of Gridley by President Woodrow Wilson and reappointed on Aug 29, 1919.
On July 14, 1872, Mr. Wilson was married in Boone County, Mo., to Miss Catherine L. Wilson. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Noah Flood, at that time president of the University of Missouri. Mrs. Wilson was born near Bloomington, Ill., May 12, 1857, the daughter of John A. and Electa A. (Holcomb) Wilson, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of New York. John A. Wilson was born Feb. 5, 1829, and was among the early settlers of Bloomington, having come here in 1851. He served throughout the Civil War and died in 1907. Mrs. Wilson, who was born Sept. 24, 1833, died in May, 1898. There were ten children in the Wilson family as follows: John A., died at Graymont, Ill., in January, 1912 ; Mrs. David Wilson; Anna E., married W. R. Martin, now deceased ;
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Charles B., a retired farmer lives at 613 South Main Street, Bloomington; Mary L., a milliner lives at Paxton, Ill .; Electa Lee, died March 14, 1857; Julia G., married P. C. Baird, lives near Elliott, Ill .; Ida B., married John T. Stewart, retired, was for many years professor of civil engineering in the University of Minnesota, and during the World War was stationed at Washington, D. C., and held the rank of colonel; William H., lives at Paducah, Ky., was captain of the Illinois National Guard during the World War and served in France; and Albert, who died in infancy. To Mr. and Mrs. David Wilson two children have been born; Estella M., born Feb. 28, 1875, was married on July 14, 1901, to Fred Hibbs, assistant post- master of Gridley; and Electa L., born Sept. 5, 1879, died in 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have three grandchildren: Frank Lee, John David, who died in infancy, and Catherine Hibbs.
Mr. Wilson is a Democrat. He is a member of the Christian Church and is ranked among McLean County's substantial citizens.
R. S. Krum, who ranks among the leading and successful business men of McLean County, now lives retired at Arrowsmith. He was born in Green County, N. Y., Sept. 13, 1841, the son of Jonas and Sarah (Rogers) Krum, natives of Massachusetts.
R. S. Krum lived in New York until he was past five years old, when his parents moved to Malden, on the Hudson River, and lived there for some time within a block of where all the steamboats landed, four of them each day, as long as navigation was open. Malden is 110 miles from New York city and Mr. Krum remembers going to that city and returning for the munificent sum of 50 cents. Albany was 50 miles in the oppo- site direction and he remembers making a round trip to that city for 25 cents. When nearly nine years of age his parents moved to Rogers Farm, about six miles southeast of Bloomington. Rogers Farm was the name of the postoffice kept by his uncle, Elihu Rogers. A few years later Mr. Rogers moved into what is now called the Dr. Stipp property, just east of the First Methodist Church.
The trip the Krums made from New York to Illinois would now be considered a novel one. At Malden, New York, they took a steamboat to Albany, where they transferred to the Erie Canal for Buffalo, a distance of 350 miles. They were eight days making this distance. At Buffalo
R. S. KRUM
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they again transferred to a lake boat bound for Chicago, where they took a canal boat for LaSalle, Ill .; here they transferred to an Illinois River steamboat to Pekin, Ill. They were met at Pekin by Elihu Rogers with a team of horses and wagon and made the remainder of the trip in that conveyance. They passed through Bloomington and on to the Rogers farm, arriving there Sept. 30, 1850, and having taken 21 days to make the journey. About two years later Mr. Krum's father improved a farm a quarter of a mile north of Padua, where they lived for quite a number of years.
In September, 1861, R. S. Krum went to Camp Butler and enlisted in Company G, 33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry, from which he was discharged for disability in April, 1862. He again enlisted in August of that year in the 94th Illinois, was made a sergeant and was discharged from the service in February, 1865, having served three years and two months in the Union army.
On Feb. 18, 1869, Mr. Krum was married to Miss Mary Percy, who was born in Belfast, Ireland, Aug. 21, 1846, and lived there until she was six years old. Mr. and Mrs. Krum have four children, as follows: Mrs. George Hart, Santa Monica, Calif .; E. P., a sketch of whom appears in this volume; Guy S., whose life history also appears elsewhere in this volume; and Mrs. Lewis C. Virgiel, Pacific Palisades Station, Los Angeles, Calif.
The early history of the Krum Lumber business runs back to the "wild and wooly" pioneer days. In 1871 Mr. Krum moved to Arrowsmith to manage the lumber and grain business for his brother, I. R. Krum, and Mr. Robinson. At that time there was no structure of any kind in Arrowsmith, and the office of Krum & Robinson was the first building to be erected in the town. Only construction trains were running on what is now the L. E. & W. Railway and the first lumber ever shipped into the village was some white pine sent in on such a train, and was used by Mr. Krum to build corn cribs. He managed the Krum & Robinson yard for 14 years, after which he bought the firm out and ran it under his own name. After another 14 years he sold this yard to the Darlington Lumber Company, and bought one at Reddick, taking in his son, Guy, as a partner, and using the name R. S. Krum & Son. A few years later he sold this, purchasing a yard of McClure & Taylor at Elliott, and con- tinuing to operate it until January, 1923, when he retired from active
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work at the age of 82 years. The yard is now owned by his son, Guy, and operated as the Guy S. Krum Lumber Company. The Guy S. Krum Lumber Company of Elliott is included as one of the yards of the Krum & Krum Lumber Company.
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