USA > Illinois > Henderson County > History of Mercer County : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc., gathered from mattter furnished by the Mercer County Historical Society, interviews with old settlers, county, township and other records, and extracts from files of papers, pamphlets, and such other sources as have been available : containing also a short history of Henderson County > Part 25
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JOSEPH A. DOWNEY is . the son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Wilson) Downey. both of whom are natives of Ireland. He first located in Pennsylvania where he worked upon the railroad for several years. then came to Mercer county where he rented land for a while. and now owns a fine farm of 419 acres in Millersburg township, where he resides. He was married in Philadelphia and has a family of eleven children : Joseph A .. John. Mary (deceased). William. Wilson. Andrew, Martha, Annie (deceased). Moses. George (deceased). and Harry. Joseph, the eldest of his father's family. is a native of Mercer county, born in 1558. He was married in 1881 to Mary McGinnis. of Mercer county, daughter of John J. McGinnis now a resident of Duncan township. Mercer county. Joseph A. lives on the farm of his father
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and keeps a good grade of farm stock. His early educational training- was that of the common school. IIe was reared on the farm and this business he has always followed.
JAMES H. LONGSHORE was formerly from Bucks county, Pennsyl- vania. He first emigrated from his native state to Ohio, Clinton county, where he remained till 1852, then he moved to Indiana, where he remained seven years, when he came to Mercer county and located in Millersburg, where he has since remained, pursuing the trade of his choosing for a livelihood. He was born in 1823. His parents, James and Sarah Longshore, remained in their native state all their lives. His father was a wagon builder by trade. The religion of his parents was that of the Hicksite Quakers. Mr. J. H. Longshore's early educational training was such as the common schools of his time could furnish. When a boy he learned his trade with his father. In 1849 he was married to Sally Hadley, of Clinton county, Ohio, whose birth dates to 1842. She is the daughter of William and Susanna Hadley, both of whom are natives of Virginia. They came to Ohio quite early, where they both departed this life, the former at the age of fifty years, the latter at eighty-seven years. Both were members of the orthodox Friend's church. By this marriage Mr. Longshore has four children : Alvin E., now in California, Emma B., Carrie, and Howard. In polities his principles are those advocated by the republi- can party. He was one of those men who came to Millersburg in the zenith of its prospects of prosperity and yet remains, having secured a good run of trade in his line.
D. A. DAVISON was born in 1833, in the State of Pennsylvania. His parents were Moses and Elizabeth Davison, both of Pennsylvania. They emigrated to Wells county, in 1843. There they died, the former in 1880, aged seventy-seven years ; the latter in 1864, aged fifty-seven years. The former was a farmer, miller and millwright. D. A. came from Pennsylvania to Mercer county in 1859, and located in New Bos- ton township, where he remained two years, then moved to Keithsburg two years. In 1866 he located in Millersburg township, where he now resides, near the south line. He was married in 1860 to Evaline Wolfe, a native of Indiana, born in 1842, and daughter of Solomon and Evaline (Marlatt) Wolfe. They came to Illinois in 1846. They are both natives of Indiana, and are now citizens of Abington township, Mercer county, and members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Davison has by this marriage twelve children : Ida (deceased), May, Cora, Ralph, Walter, Edward (deceased). Albert, Clarence, Morgan, Grace, Rose, and Maud. Mr. Davison enlisted in 1862 in the late war, in company G. 124th Ill. Vol. Inf., served three years, and was.
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in the following engagements: Fort Gibson, Brownsville, Jackson. Champion Hills, Black river, siege of Vicksburg, numerons skirmishes, and at Spanish Fort. Ile lives on a fine farm of 320 acres.
W. W. EGBERT is a native of Stark county, Illinois. His parents, James C. and Catharine (Swank) Egbert, the former a native of New Jersey, the latter of Pennsylvania, came with the early settlers to Stark county, where our subject was born in 1854. There his father departed this life in 1863, aged thirty-six years. W. W. Egbert received a fair common school education and five terms at Hedding college. He first began business for himself as druggist in partnership with Dr. D. J. Perry at West Jersey, Illinois. In 1876 he brought a stock of drugs to Millersburg and opened a store. In 1878 he engaged in general merchandise in which business he is at present. He has a good trade. In 187S his store was burned; loss $2,000, $1.000 of which was paid by the insurance company. He was married in 1877 to Miss Margaret M. Green, native of Illinois, daughter of W. L. and Rebecca E. Green, both of Pennsylvania, and came to Mercer county in 1854. The former was by trade a carver and gilder. He held the office of justice of the peace for several years, was in the mercantile business with H. W. Thornton, and was for a time postmaster at Millersburg. He enlisted in the army in 1861 in the 45th Ill. Vol. Inf., in company I, as second lieutenant. He was in the battle of Shiloh, and died of wounds in 1862, while in the service. He was a member of the I.O.O.F. His widow now receives a pension and resides in Millersburg. She was at one time postmistress at Millers- burg for about fifteen years. W. W. Egbert has by this marriage two children : William C. and Frederick W. He is a member of the I.O.O.F. lodge at Millersburg. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Among the well-to-do citizens and farmers of Millersburg township is JOHN RUBERT, born in New York in 1838, and son of John and Magdalena (Chat) Rubert, the former a native of France, the latter of New York, and of German descent. John Jr.'s father died when he was an infant ; his mother died when he was fourteen years old, aged thirty-seven years. She came to Chicago in 1843, where she resided for a time, when she removed to Peoria county. John's parents were members of the Christian church. Mr. Rubert's early education was limited. He came to Mercer county in 1858 and located near New Windsor, where he remained till 1861, when he enlisted in the army in August of that year, in company A, 30th Ill. Vol. Inf., and served till December, 1862. Ile was in the battle of Belmont and bombard- ment of Fort Henry. At Fort Donelson he was taken prisoner. and
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taken first to Memphis where he remained six weeks, then to Mobile, then to Tuscaloosa, from whence he was sent to parole camp at St. Louis, and discharged December, 1862. He returned home and located in Millersburg township in 1863, where he now resides. In 1863 he was married to Miss R. J. Hughes, of Pennsylvania, born in 1842. and daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Hughes, the former of Pennsylvania, the latter of Ohio. They came to Mercer county in 1857 and located in Millersburg township; where both now reside. He is a wagon maker by trade and carries on a shop in the village of Joy. Both are members of the Seventh Day Advent church at Marsh school-house. John Rubert has by this marriage three children : Bertha E. (deceased). Joseph B., John C., and Jennie E. He and wife are members of the Seventh Day Advent church. He owns a well-improved farm of eighty acres, fairly stocked with a good grade of stock.
One of the early families yet resident in Millersburg towhship is the Dool family. Of that family now resident of this township is JOHN DOOL. His father, Robert Dool, was a native of Ireland (Antrim county), and came to America in 1819, landing in Pennsylvania, where he remained two years when he moved to Ohio, and died in 1829, aged forty-two years, leaving a wife and eight children to mourn his loss. His wife. Margaret (Spears) Dool, was a native of Ireland ; her parents were John and Mary (Hannah) Spears, who came to America in 1824 and settled in Ohio. where they both died. Robert Dool's children were . named as follows : William S .. Henry and Hannah (twins). Rosana, Margaret, Mary, John, Thomas. Robert Dool and wife were farmers both in Ireland and America, and were members of the Presbyterian church. His wife, who still survives, lives with her daughter on the farm of her son John, and is now eighty-eight years old. John Dool was born in 1826 in Harrison county, Ohio, where he remained till 1858, when he came to Mercer county with his mother and her eight children. Here he has since resided. He was married in 1863 to Sarah Haverfield, daughter of James and Mary Haverfield, the former of Ohio, the latter of Ireland. The former died in 1862, aged sixty-two years, while in the service of the 9th Ill. Vol. Inf. The latter died in 1857. They were both members of the United Presby- terian church. By his marriage John Dool has four children : Anna L., James I., William H., and Robert B. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. He has a farm of 120 acres of fine farm- ing land, well improved and fairly stocked, and fifteen acres of timber. In politics he is a democrat.
TIMOTHY NOONAN, farmer and stock raiser. is a native of Tipperary
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county, Ireland, born in 1837, and came to America with his parents, Daniel and Ellen Noonan, both of Tipperary county, Ireland, in 1859. They first located for a time in Massachusetts; then came to Mercer county. Both were members of the Roman Catholic church. The former died in 1878. aged ninety-five years ; the latter, his wife, lives in the village of Millersburg, and is ninety-two years old, hale and hearty for one twenty years her junior. Timothy Noonan learned the trade of his father, which was that of shoemaker. He and his father carried on a shoe shop for a time in the village of Millersburg. In 1859 he made a trip to the Rocky Mountains, and was gone nearly one year, when he returned to Millersburg and opened a shoe shop, but soon left the shop for the farm where he now resides, some three miles west of Aledo. He was married in 1860 to Sarah McGinnis, born in 1839, and daughter of Thomas and Mary McGinnis, both of Ireland. They first located in Pennsylvania ; then moved to Keithsburg, Mercer county, when their daughter Sarah was seven years old. The former died in 1863; the latter in 1872. Both were of the Roman Catholic faith. By this marriage Mr. Noonan has six children : Thomas F., William, John L., Eddy H., Mary J., and an infant. He and wife are members of the same church as their parents. He has a fine farm of 240 acres, well improved and well stocked.
P. D. SHINGLEDECKER, Aledo, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1852, son of John and Sarah Shingledecker, both of Pennsylvania. They emigrated to Mercer county in 1852, remained one year, and returned to their native state, where they spent the remainder of their days. The former died in 1858, at the age of fifty-two; the latter in 1872, aged fifty-one years. They were members of the Presbyterian faith. P. D.'s early education was that of the common school. He came to Illinois in 1862, staid five years and returned to Pennsylvania, where he remained seven years, when he came again to Mercer county, where he now resides. He was married in 1872 to Rachel Richards, of Whitesides county, Illinois, born in 1858. daughter of George and Eliza Richards, both of Illinois. The latter died in 1864, and was a member of the Presbyterian church ; the former is now living in Colo- rado. Mr. Shingledecker is a man of steady habits and industrious turn. He keeps a good grade of farm stock, but raises grain to sell rather than to feed.
JouN BELL, farmer and stock raiser. Aledo, was born in 1805, is a native of Ireland, and came to America in 1841. Ilis parents were Benjamin and Ann Bell. both of whom were Presbyterians. Mr. Bell first landed at Philadelphia, and proceeded to Ohio, where he remained till 1863, when he came and settled in Millersburg township, on the
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farm of 360 acres where he now resides. He was married to Margaret Clifford, native of Ireland, and daughter of John and Mary Clifford, of Ireland. both of whom came to America in 1841. They were farmers and members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Bell by this marriage has six children : Mary. John C., Easter, George, Ann, and Jane. His wife is of the Presbyterian faith. In politics he is strictly a democrat. He keeps on his farm a good grade of farm stock. His farm is the result of his own labor, economy and business ability.
ZACHARIAH JEWEL, the subject of this sketch, is a native of Harrison county. Ohio, born in 1824. He was reared on the farm in his native state, where he resided till 1873 when he came to Mercer county where he now resides. During the late war he was a member of the Harrison County Home Guards, and was called out to drive Morgan from the state. He was married in 1847 to Mary Dool, native of Ohio, daughter of Robert and Margaret Dool. By this marriage he has seven chil- dren : Margaret A., Nancy E., James W., Rebecca J., Hannah L., Mary O .. John W. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian church at Peniel. Mr. Jewel's parents were James and Nancy (Spring) Jewel, both of whom came to Harrison county, Ohio, from their native state. Virginia. They were pioneer settlers of Harrison county, and still reside in Ohio. They are farmers and members of the Baptist church.
Dr. JOHN P. CHOWNING, Millersburg, was born January 21, 1843, in the town of Payson, Adams county, Illinois. His parents. Thomas J. and Louisa (Holman) Chowning, were natives of Tennessee, of Scotch descent. They emigrated to Adams county in 1840, and located on a farm near Payson. In 1850 they removed to Adair county, Mis- souri, but returned to Adams county, after an absence of three years, where they remained till the close of the rebellion. They are at present living in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Chowning was the oldest of nine children, eight of whom are still living. After completing the common school studies he spent two years in the academy of his native town. The rebellion having broken out he enlisted August 7, 1862. in Company E, 84th Ill. Vol., in which he served till the close of the second days' fight at Chickamauga, when he was taken prisoner. He was taken to Richmond, Virginia, and confined in what was known as "Castle Pemberton." for one and one-half months, after which he was removed to Danville, Virginia, where he remained four and one- half months, from thence to Andersonville, Georgia, where for seven months he was subjected to scenes of cruelty and suffering that beggar description. On the night of October 1, 1864, while being transferred from Andersonville to Charleston. South Carolina, he escaped with one
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of his fellow prisoners, by jumping from the train while in motion. Reduced by starvation and disease to a mere skeleton, the tendons of of his limbs contracted till he was literally compelled to walk on tip toe by the aid of a "walking stick." After a perilous journey of eighteen days, through an enemy's country. subsisting on sweet pota- toes and such other edibles as were obtainable, he at last reached the Union lines, then at Atlanta, Georgia. Through the kindness of Gen. Stanley he was at once detailed as a clerk in the division hospital, where he remained till the close of the war. In the fall of 1864 he entered the Iowa Wesleyan University, from which he graduated in 1869, defraying his expenses by teaching during the winter months and working at the carpenter's trade during the summer vacations. In the spring of 1870 he commenced the study of medicine, with Dr. E. L. Marshall, of Keithsburg, Illinois, as preceptor. He con- tinued his medical studies, teaching in the meantime ; was principal of the schools in Keithsburg and Barry, Illinois, respectively. During the winter of 1872-3 he attended lectures at Rush medical college. Locating at Millersburg, he practiced two years and six months, when he again attended lectures at Bellvue hospital medical college, New York, from which he received the degree of M.D. Dr. Chowning was married to Florence, daughter of A. B. and Anna Sheriff, in 1871; her father a native of Pennsylvania, her mother of Ohio. By this marriage they have four children : Florence M., William M., Josephine, and Eva. They are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The doctor is a member of the masonic fraternity ; is also a member of military tract medical society.
JOHN DOWNING, Aledo, is a native of Belmont county, Ohio, born in 1840, son of John and Ellen Downing ; former, native of Pennsylvania, the latter of Ohio. They came to Mercer county in 1864, and located one and a half miles east of where their son John now resides, and where they both died ; the former in 1873, at the age of seventy-two; the latter in 1874, at the age of sixty-eight years. They were members of the Presbyterian church, and their remains repose in the cemetery of the Peniel church. John Downing came to Mercer county with his parents. He was married in 1863 to Rachel J. Campbell, native of Belmont county, Ohio, daughter of John and Jane Campbell, both of Ohio, and are now residents of their native state.' Mr. Downing has by this union five children : Jane E., Maggie L., Robert L .. Birdie S., and John C. Ile and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. He served in company K, 102d Ill. Vol., was mustered into the service in 1862. served six months. and was discharged because of ill health. He moved upon the farm where he now lives in. 1877. His farm con-
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tains 150 acres, which cost $50 ne" acre. It is fairly improved and stocked with a good grade of cattie, hogs and horses.
W. R. LEMON, Aledo, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1837, son of John and Eliza Lemon, both of Pennsylvania. They came to Mercer county in 1867, and located in Aledo, where they resided till 1871. when they moved upon a farm, where the latter died in 1874, at the age of fifty-seven years, when the former returned to Aledo, where he now resides. Having sold his farm he now lives a retired life. He and wife were Presbyterians. W. R. was reared on the farm. His educational training was such as he could get in the district school. During the war he was a member of the home guards in his native state, and was ordered out once. He was married in 1868 to Alice Lair, native of Indiana, and came to Mercer when she was a girl with her parents. She died in 1870, at the age of thirty years. He was married a second time to Julia A. Barcroft, of Ohio, daughter of William and Anna Barcroft, both of Ohio. By this last marriage he has three children : Frank, Lena, and Earl. Mr. Lemon has a fine stock farm of 120 aeres, lying upon both sides of the railroad, three and a half miles west of Aledo. He keeps a high grade of cattle, sheep, hogs and horses, the latter of the Clidesdale and Norman stock. His sheep are of the Merino breed. He is a member of the Presby- terian church at Aledo.
S. A. OLIVER was born in 1855 in Henry county, Illinois, and is the son of Robert R. and Mary E. Oliver, both of Ohio, now citizens of Henry county. By vocation they are farmers. S. A. was reared and educated to the farm, which pursuit he has always followed. His early educational training was such as the common schools of his neighborhood could furnish. He was married in 1874 to Maggie Lyle, native of Henry county, Illinois, born in 1855, daughter of William and Margaret Lyle, both of Scotland. They came to Henry county with its early settlers. By this marriage Mr. Oliver has two children, twins : Marian and Mary. He came to Mercer county and located in 1879, where he now resides. He has a farm of eighty acres, fairly improved and stocked with a good grade of cattle, sheep, hogs and horses.
G. W. PICKUP, the subject of this sketch, is a native of Iowa, born in 1848, and came with his parents, John and Mary E. Pickup, to Burlington, Iowa. . They were natives of England, and emigrated to America in 1838. They both died during the cholera scourge of 1849, the former before G. W. was born. G. W.'s mother was a member of the Episcopal church. In 1861 he enlisted in company D, 7th Ill. Vol., ninety days' men, then re-enlisted in company G, 10th III. Vol., and served till July 4, 1865. He was in the siege of New Madrid; then
JOHN GLAUCEY.
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went to Memphis : was in the battles of Shiloh and Corinth ; with Gen. E. A. Payne, who was sent to reinforce Nashville; in 1863 was placed in Rosecrans' division ; was in the battles of Stone river. Chickamauga. and was with Sherman's division in his march to the sea, at Golds- borough, and then went to Richmond. Washington and Louisville. where he was mustered out of the service July 4, 1865. He was married in 1871 to Mary E. Griffith, of Mercer county, born in 1853, and daughter of Charles and Martha Griffith : the former of Indiana. the latter of Ireland. They came with the early settlers to Mercer county, and located in Millersburg township, where the former now resides, his wife having died in 1879, aged sixty-seven years. Mr. Pickup by this marriage has one child, George A. He resides two miles south of Millersburg, on a farm of eighty acres, which is nicely improved and well stocked. In politics he is a republican.
ELIZA TOWNSIIIP.
This is No. 15, in range 5, of the fourth principal meridian. Rock Island county bounds it on the north, and the Mississippi river on the west. A chain of irregular and abrupt bluff's extends from north to south, through the center of the township, from the sonth line of section 32 to the northern boundary line between Eliza township and Rock Island county, at the northwest corner of section 6. Three creeks run in a southwesterly direction through the town, the principal one of which is Eliza creek, whose source is in the N. E. } of Sec. 12, of Duncan township. Fed by small tributaries on both sides, it runs southwest through that township, crossing the eastern boundary line between the two townships in the N. E. } of Sec. 24; runs southwest to the center of section 23; thence northwest to the north section line between sections 15 and 22 ; thence southwest, crossing the west section line between sections 21 and 22, through sections 21, 29, 30, 25. and 36, and emptying into the head of lower Eliza lake. Winters creek enters the township in the N. E. } of Sec. 25 ; flows southwest through sections 25 and 35. Glancy branch enters the township at the north- ern boundary line between Eliza township and Rock Island county, in section 5, and runs southwest through sections 5 and 7. These streams and their tributaries furnish ample supplies of water for stock at all seasons of the year.
In the western part of the township, below the bluffs and between the river, are nestled numerous small lakes and ponds. The most prominent of the lakes are Upper Eliza, Glancy, and Swan, the largest
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being Swan, part of which extends south into New Boston township: this lake is two and a half miles long and a half mile wide, and, like all the rest, the water in this lake is clear and from four to five feet in depth. Upper Eliza is one mile long and a quarter mile wide, and from three to eight feet deep. Glancy extends north into Rock Island county, and is about two miles long, one-eighth mile in width, and from five to twenty feet in depth. These lakes and their tributaries are mostly skirted with timber and a species of willow commonly called buck brush. The timber consists of the various oaks, hickory, maple, sycamore, hockberry, buckeye, wild honey-locust. ash, walnut, and pecan, of which a fine young growth is now growing. Grape and other wild climbers also abound along the banks of creeks and lakes. These lakes and tributaries abound in game and fish of fine flavor, and the business of fishing is carried on to some extent by parties who lease the grounds for that purpose. Wild ducks and geese are also plentiful in seasons when they migrate from north to south, and vice versa.
The soil of Eliza township is admirably adapted to agricultural purposes. The land lying on the southeast side of Eliza creek is mostly prairie, and is composed of rich black loam, with yellow and brown clay subsoil in places, which produces heavy crops of corn and other agricultural staples. The land lying north of the creek is undu- lating, and, near the bluff, quite hilly ; is mostly covered with timber, and is used for pasture, for which it supplies a fine growth of blue grass.
The land on the bluff and in the vicinity of the river seems to have been the favorite abode of the ancient mound builders, of which race of people we know but little at the present day. All along below and on the summit of these bluff's can be seen these mounds, the most noted of which are on sections 28 and 29, north of Jay Wilson's farm, Martin Bear place, on section 16, now occupied by Edwin Bishop's house, and on the east part of sections 19 and 30, the most prominent of which are on sections 19 and 30. All through the timber on these lands can be seen what appears to have been at one time a line of earth-works, thrown up for a defense, inside of which are hundreds of these mounds. Some of them measure forty feet at the base, and on top large oak trees, four feet in diameter, have grown. Many of these mounds have been opened by scientific men and curiosity seekers. In some of them have been found specimens of several grades of pottery. from the common clay to some artistically decorated and apparently glazed. Some curiously shaped pipes and axes have also been found. among which was a double edged one, having a round hole in the
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