History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc, Part 96

Author: Mercer County Historical Society (Ill.); Henderson County Historical Society (Ill.)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co.
Number of Pages: 1424

USA > Illinois > Mercer County > History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc > Part 96
USA > Illinois > Henderson County > History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc > Part 96

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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Their children are Genevieve, James, and Sadie. Mr. Peterson's parents, John P. and Agnes (Moir) Peterson, were both natives of Forres, Scotland, and emigrated in early life to New York City. John P. Peterson had studied medicine ten years in the colleges of Edinburgh and Glasgow. He also spent one year as surgeon on a fleet to Greenland. He graduated an M.D. Upon coming to America he was so disgusted in finding that a drug clerk was allowed to practice medicine, or that so little attainment was required by the profession, that he abandoned his profession and embarked in the hardware merchandising in New York City. In about 1843 he located in Berlin, Wisconsin, in business, where he died in 1854, aged little more than fifty years. His wife survived, and came to Oquawka in April, 1852; but when visiting New York she succumbed to deatlı, and was buried in Greenwood cemetery. In the family were five girls and one boy: Amelia, Agnes, Emma, Elizabeth, Georgiana, and James.

JAMES M. AKIN, superintendent of schools of Henderson county, is the oldest in a family of ten children. His parents, John G. and Eliza (Connell) Akin, are natives of Columbiana, but reside in Mus- kingum county. The Akin family, four generations ago, came from Ireland, but were more remotely Scotch. They are a long lived people, the mother of John G., and grandmother of James M., vet living and active, at nearly a hundred years of age. James M., the principal subject of these memoirs, was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, February 14, 1845. His educational training was acquired in the common schools near his home, and in the academy of Cam- bridge, Guernsey county, Ohio. Before seventeen years of age he began teaching in the common schools of the country. He was a pupil when the directors, for cause, dismissed the teacher, and requested James to finish the term of school. James hesitated, and sent them to his father, who allowed the youth to choose for himself. The school was taught successfully five months. He continued his school work, and in 1866 came to Warren county, Illinois, where he taught till 1870. He then became principal of the Biggsville schools, retaining the position for three years. He then taught at Olena, and in 1875 was elected principal of the Oquawka public schools. In 1877 Mr. Akin was elected to the county superintendency, for the duties of which he is eminently fitted. Mr. Akin was married August 3, 1871, to Miss Lizzie, daughter of Samuel and Ortha (Callahan) Arthurs, and a native of Pennsylvania. They have one child, Orlando H. Mr. and Mrs. Akin are connected with the Presbyterian church. He is a mem- ber of the order of Odd-Fellows.

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WILLIAM C. RICE was born July 9, 1815, in Greenup county, Ken- tueky, whither his parents had moved from their native county of Rock- ingham, Virginia, about the year 1807. On the banks of the Ohio and Big Sandy rivers, his earliest childhood was spent, until the spring of 1820, when (his father having been drowned in the Ohio, in March, 1815) his mother removed with her six children to Christian county, Kentucky, by flat-boat on the Ohio, that being the usual and almost the only mode of traveling at that time. Here in Christian county he spent his youth, working on his mother's farm during the summer months, and in the winter attending one of the traditional log-cabin school-houses, for which kind of educational institution Kentucky and other southwesterr states have become famous. Having attended these schools several years, he entered the Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Seminary, at that time under the principalship of James D. Rumsey, where he acquired a knowledge of the Latin language and of some of the branches of higher mathematics, trigonometry, surveying, etc. About this time the so-called " Illinois fever " struck Kentucky with its full force, and in company with several others he left his native state for the then new country of Illinois, arriving in Warren county (now Henderson) in the spring of 1835, being at that time nineteen years old. After living here about a year, during which time he re- visited Kentucky, he spent two years in southern Iowa, (at that time a part of the territory of Wisconsin and known as Van Buren county),

occupied in surveying, having obtained from Gen. Henry Dodge, the territorial governor of Wisconsin, an appointment as district surveyor of Van Buren county in December, 1837. Iowa, at that time, was mostly in the possession of the Indians, there being few settlements of white men except those along the river, at Dubuque, Fort Madison, etc., and at Burlington, then the territorial capital of Wisconsin and known as the "Flint Hills." While thus engaged in surveying he became acquainted with the chiefs Black Hawk, Keokuk, and Wapello, the last two of whom lived near the sites of the towns which now bear their names. In 1838 he returned to Henderson county (then a part of Warren), Illinois, and has lived here ever since. Being elected first county surveyor of Henderson county at its separation from Warren, in April, 1841, he discharged the duties of this office until the winter of the same year, when he went to Macomb, Illinois, where, for the two following winters, he read law in the office of Cyrus Walker, then one of the prominent lawyers of the Illinois and Iowa bars. Having obtained license to practice law in 1843, he returned to Henderson county, and in August of the same year was elected probate justice, and in November, 1849, county judge. Elected by whigs, or "anti-

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Nebraska" party, he went, in 1854, as the representative of the fortieth district (Henderson and Warren counties) to the legislature, at which Trumbull was elected to the United States senate, over Lincoln and Shields, although Lincoln was really the first choice of the major- ity of the anti-Nebraska party. Being returned to the legislature in 1858, on the same ticket, he was present at the election of Stephen A. Douglas, over Lincoln, to the senate of the United States. Upon the expiration of this office he returned to Henderson county and re- sumed the practice of law, and in 1873 was elected county judge, which office he now (1882) holds, being re-elected in 1877. Politically Judge Rice was always a whig until the practical dissolution of this old party, when he became an anti-Nebraska man, and when the necessities of the times gave birth to the republican party, he, in com- mon with most of the old anti-Nebraska men, joined the new political organization, in which he has always remained constant. In May, 1844, he married Mary M., daughter of Cyrus Walker, of Macomb, by whom he had four children, the oldest two of whom died in infancy, and in 1872, his first wife having died in 1871, he married Mrs. Salina Hopkins.

THADEUS EAMES, the subject of this sketch, came to Henderson county an old man and is now ninety-four years of age, being the oldest man but one in the county. He is the son of Joseph and Mary (Rice) Eames, and was born in 1790, in Worcester county, Massachusetts. His ancestry was English, having come over before the revolutionary war, in which his father fought as a private soldier. When he was about one year old his parents removed to Oneida county, New York, where he received his education in the common school. In 1835 he emigrated to Henderson county, Illinois. Mr. Eames was married on January 4. 1814, to Miss Orinda Cooper. To them were born five sons, of whom but one, Albert, is living. The eldest, Franklin, died of consumption in 1848 ; the second, Joseph, a grocer of Oquawka, died of cholera on a boat on the Mississippi coming home from St. Louis, where he had been buying goods ; the fourth son, Obadiah, of Red Wing, Minnesota, died in 1880, leaving to his family a very large estate ; the youngest son, O. H. Perry, was also a victim of consump- tion. In 1853, five years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Eames was married again to Mary Elizabeth Sumner. Mr. Eames began life with nothing ; he has now two beautiful farms of 320 acres each, on one of which he resides.

ELEAZER POGUE, son of John and Jane (Welch) Pogue, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, on December 7, 1813. On his mother's side his ancestry was Scotch, while his father was a native of Ireland.

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While on the passage over to America he was taken ill and was so near death that a shroud was prepared for him, ready for his death. Mr. Pogue passed his early life in the county of his birth, receiving a good practical education in the common schools. He was greatly blessed in the fact that his were thoroughly, christian parents, his father having been an elder in the church of Seceders for many years, while all his mother's folks were Presbyterians in faith and practice. His father died in 1872 and his mother in 1874. The loving hands of his children have erected over his remains a beautiful monument, cost- ing over $600. Mr. Pogue emigrated to Warren county, Illinois, in 1838, and then to Henderson county. He was married to Amelia Paden in May, 1836, in Franklin county, Pennsylvania. Of this marriage seven children were born, two of whom are still living. John W. is now married and resides at Red Oak, Iowa, where he is now engaged in farming ; Elizabeth, the younger of the two living children of this marriage, is the wife of John Terrill, a farmer of Keo- kuk county, Iowa. In January of 1849 Mr. Pogue was bereaved of his wife, and in the following May he married Miss Ann McDermit. To them have been born seven boys and three girls. Four of the sons and all of the daughters are now (1882) living. George W. and James B. are now engaged in farming near Red Oak, Iowa; Smiley E. is now farming near Gladstone ; Leander W. is at home with his parents ; two of his daughters, Jennie S. and Mary A., are engaged in teaching school, the former in Red Oak, Iowa, and the latter in Gladstone, Illinois ; the youngest, Emily M., is now at home with her parents. In his family relations Mr. Pogue has been greatly blessed. Though he began life with nothing and has met with some severe misfortunes, yet he has now some 400 acres of land, part lying in township 10, range 5, and part in township 11, range 5.

The subject of this sketch, MITCHELL M. FINDLEY, son of Matthew and Elizabeth (Blackburn) Findley, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, August 27, 1823. His father, who was a native of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in which state he passed his early youth, emi- grated to Muskingum county, Ohio, when about twenty years of age, and there married. In 1835 he removed with his family of six chil- dren to Warren county, Illinois, near where Kirkwood now stands. At this time there were but four houses in the town of Monmouth. Our subject received his education in the schools of Oquawka and vicinity. He has been engaged for many years in tilling the soil on his farm of 240 acres, which lies in Sec. 26, T. 11, R. 5. Mr. Findley has been, from the beginning of its organization, a firm believer in the principles of the republican party, though he has never gone into

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polities. His political preference may probably be traced to the fact that his father before him was a whig, and voted with the republicans at the first chance.

DAVIS S. BRAINARD was born in the state of Connecticut, March 26, 1821. When about four years of age his father died, leaving him to the care of a cold and indifferent world. In 1838 he came to Oqnawka and here soon became engaged to Mr. S. S. Phelps, accom- panying him on his trading expeditions among the Indians. He also worked for Col. J. B. Patterson a number of years, and for a short time was a student in one of the early schools here, taught by Rev. Mr. Stebbins. Mr. Brainard took an active part in the Methodist Episcopal church in its early history, having come here as a licensed exhorter. He filled that position for many years, as well as class leader and superintendent of Sabbath school.

JUSTICE SCHLOTZ, Oquawka, was born in the Province of Hesse, Germany, in 1832. In 1852 he was married to Eleonore Wiegand, who was also a native of the same province. In 1857 they left the home of their birth and sailed for America. Soon after their arrival they came to this place and permanently located, and here Mr. Schlotz engaged in the wagon and carriage manufacture. He has now ten children, whose names in the order of their birth are : Charles (born in Germany, December, 1852, is now in the livery business in Oquaw- ka), Sophia (wife of Fredrick Harbus, now of Peoria, Illinois), Cassie, Mary (wife of Charles Linsenmier, of Burlington), Annie, Christena, Emma, Henry, William, and August.

THOMAS C. SMITH, proprietor of the Smith House, Oquawka, was born at Lebanon, Ohio, June 1, 1829. He was principally brought up on a farm, and at the age of twenty years engaged at learning the trade of coach maker. In 1851 he came to Illinois, spent some time in Oquawka and Chicago, and in 1854 made a trip to California, returning home again the same year. December 31, 1857, he married Miss Cordelia F. Richards. She was born in Henderson county, Illi- nois, September 25, 1838, and is a daughter of Jonas and Eliza (Fouts) Richards, who came from Pennsylvania to this county at an early day, being among the very earliest pioneers. In 1858 Mr. Smith perma- nently located in Oquawka, and to some considerable extent engaged in the manufacture of carriages and wagons. In 1871 Mr. Smith turned all his attention to the business of running hotel, making it a snecess. He has two children, Arthur H., and Effie A.

HERMAN SCHIRMER, merchant, Oquawka, was born May 22, 1827, in Saxony, Germany. Early in life he learned the trade of basket maker, and followed the business in the land of his birth till 1854,

D. Remkin

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when he emigrated to America, sailing in the ship H. von Gagern. He located in St. Louis, Missouri, and there followed his trade till 1861 when he nobly responded to the call of his adopted country for soldiers. He enlisted in Co. F. 2d Mo. Inf., and for nearly four years suffered all the horrors of border warfare, incident to the western part of the great struggle. After being honorably discharged, he came to Oquawka, where he settled and engaged in the mercantile trade, at the same time carrying on his old business, that of basket making. Mr. Schirmer has been twice married, but has no children. His present wife was Mrs. Fredricka Kom, a daughter of George Altrenther. She is a native of the kingdom of Bavaria, in Germany.

FREDRICK ODENDAHL, deceased, was born in Cologne, Prussia, February 11, 1822. In the summer of 1847 he left his native home, sailing for America, and landing in August of the same year. On April 14, 1849, he was united in marriage with Miss Ernestine Froeh- lich, at Nauvoo, Illinois. Here their first son was born July 16, 1850, and they called his name William. In the fall of the same year they came to Oquawka and engaged in merchandising in the grocery and provision line, following the business until the outbreak of the rebel- lion. At that time he at once responded to the call of his adopted country for troops, and enlisted in Co. D, 10th Ill. Vol. Inf., April 23,

1861. to serve three months. He was discharged at the close of the time for which he enlisted and joined the 17th reg. Mo. Inf. as a mem- ber of company D, where he faithfully served his country till dis- charged on account of disability caused by inflammatory rheumatism. He participated in the battles of Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, and many others during that stirring campaing under Gen. Austerhaus. He died August 24, 1877, and his venerable widow is still living, with her son William, who is now in the mercantile trade in Oquawka. They have one other son, Carl Julius, born in Oquawka September 16, 1853, and married to Miss Viola Rossiter. He is now in Loup City, Nebraska, in the drug business, and has one child, Fredrick E.

Prominent among the business men of Oquawka, since 1854, may be mentioned MR. JAMES A. CASWELL. About that time he bought out the store of Dr. Park & Co., and under the firm name of Caswell & Pearce engaged in the drug business. In 1858 they associated with them Mr. R. Hodson, and added a full line of groceries. In 1868 he withdrew from the above mentioned firm. He has ever since been in business here, with the exception of two. years that he was a drug dealer in Burlington, Iowa. He is now doing a drug and grocery business, between Third and Fourth streets on Schuyler. Mr. Caswell was born in Saratoga county, New York, February 13, 1824. His 57

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father's name was Ezra H. Caswell, a merchant. Mr. Caswell was was brought up to the business of his father, and received a common school education. He was married July 21. 1850, to Miss Arminda Decker, the danghter of Seymour Decker, Esq. Mrs. Caswell is a native of Oneida county, New York. They are the parents of five children : Ada (wife of C. H. Rew, of Wilmington. Will county, Illi- nois), Mary R., Martha M., Blanche E., and James W. Mr. Caswell is a member of the masonic fraternity, and of the Knights Templar. Mr. Caswell has ever been straightforward in business, and has the confidence of all, in business and social circles.

CHARLES ILAFFNER, cabinet maker and dealer in furniture was born in Ulm, Germany, January 22, 1826. His early life, until the age of fourteen, was spent mostly in school. He was then sent to learn the trade of cabinet maker, which he completed in three years, and for the four years following he worked at the trade as journeyman. In Octo- ber, 1851, he left his native home for America, in the sailing ship Saint Dennis. After an uneventful voyage he reached New York, and at once moved westward, reaching Oquawka in 1852, and here he permanently located and engaged in the manufacture and sale of furni- ture. In 1854 he was married to Miss Mary Goempler, a native of Germany, by whom he has nine children, whose names in the order of their birth are as follows : Joseph, William, Charles, Rickley, Caro- line, Paul, Mollie, Christena, and John. They are members of the German Lutheran church.

JAMES CUNNINGHAM was born in 1816, in the county of Monaghan, Ireland, but when he was only four years old his parents emigrated to the United States. They settled in New Jersey, where they made their home for many years. During his early life James, by industry, obtained a fair common school education, and while yet a young man, had learned the trade of a blacksmith. In 1840 he was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary S. Watson, of Washington county, New York. In 1841 their first child was born, and in 1842 Mrs. Cunningham was prostrated by a stroke of paralysis, entirely losing the use of one side, eye, ear, and limbs, and from which she has never recovered. In 1845 Mr. Cunningham emigrated to Illinois and settled at Oquawka, where he remained till 1850, when he left his family provided for, and went to California in search of gold. Not being as successful as he had hoped, in the fall of 1851 he went to Australia, where he prosper- ously engaged in gold mining till February 2, 1853, when he determined to return with what he had to his family, and at once left for home via London, England, arriving at the latter place May 1. From there he sailed for Philadelphia, where he landed early in the summer. There he

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had his gold minted and came on to Oquawka, and at once prepared a home and completed arrangements and went back east for his parents, whom he brought out to this place. Here they lived till the time of their death. Mr. Cunningham is a member of the masonic and odd- fellow fraternities. He is one of Oquawka's old and respected citizens.

JOHN CUMMING, manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes, Oquawka, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in October, 1830. His youth, up to the age of about nineteen, was spent attending school and learning the shoemaker's trade. In 1849 he and his parents, John and Mary (Harkins) Cumming, emigrated to the United States, sailing in the ship Brooklyn. Our subject followed his trade in the state of New York until 1856, when he came to Illinois and perma- nently located at Oquawka, and here has since devoted his time to the manufacture and sale of boots and shoes. In 1856 he built his brick store, which does credit to the south side of Schuyler street. In 1853 at Troy, New York, Mr. Cumming was united in marriage with Miss Jane King, a native of Ireland. His father died in New York in 1873, and his mother is still living and is a resident of Hamilton, On- tario, Canada.

JAMES R. WHITE, one of Oquawka's esteemed citizens, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, in 1818. His early life was spent on a farm and he obtained what in those days was called a good common school education. In his younger years he had given some little atten- tion to the study of civil engineering, and after coming to Henderson county, in 1853, he was employed as deputy county surveyor, and soon after was elected as surveyor of Henderson county. This, how- ever, he abandoned in 1859 and went to the Colorado mountains, where he engaged in mining. It was while there that the war of 1861-5 broke out, and he enlisted in Co. C, 2d Colo. Cav., and went south in defense of his country's flag. After following the fortunes of war over three years, making many tedious marches and running many narrow escapes, he was honorably discharged and returned to Oquawka, and has since been constantly engaged as salesman and book-keeper for R. Hodson, Esq. His first wife Lydia (Jacoby) White, died in 1868. She was the mother of his only child, a son, Albert B., now of Kan- sas City, Missouri. His second marriage was with Mrs. Mary J. Bige- low, whose companionship he still enjoys.

JEDEDIAH E. BARNES, Kirkwood, Illinois, who was for many years a prominent citizen and able educator of Henderson county, Illinois, was born in Rensselaer county, New York, in 1829. His youth was spent on the farm engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was also, dur-

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ing boyhood's years, an attentive student in the common schools, fin- ishing his education, however, in East Hampton, Massachusetts. The seven years previous to 1853 was spent in teaching school in the State of New Jersey. In that year he emigrated to Henderson county, Illi- nois, and for the next twelve years devoted his time largely to teach- ing. In 1858 he was elected county superintendent of schools. In 1865 he removed to Kirkwood, Warren county, Illinois, where he is now engaged in the nursery business. December 26, 1856, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth A. Ewing, a native of Indiana, by whom he has two children. The elder, William, is now in the

railroad office, at Galesburg, and a daughter Olive is a student at Knox College. Mr. Barnes' parents were Jedediah P. and Elizabeth (Eldridge) Barnes; the former a native of Connecticut, and the latter of Massachusetts. They both died at Troy, New York. Mr. Barnes enjoys the esteem and respect of the best citizens of Henderson county.

WILLIAM A. FINDLEY, farmer, Oquawka, was born in Muskingum county, near Zanesville, Ohio, September 1, 1819. In the fall of 1835 his parents, Matthew and Elizabeth (Blackburn) Findley, with a family of six children, emigrated to Warren county, Illinois, and remained the first winter near Kirkwood. The following spring they perma- nently located in what was since organized as Henderson county, on Sec. 36, T. 11 N .. 5 R. W., where they lived till the time of his death in the spring of 1863. He was born in Allegheny county, Pennsyl- vania, January 11, 1793. IIe was a son of David Findley, who emigrated with his father, David Findley, Sr., and family, from the north of Ireland to America, about 1770. The sons of David Findley, Sr., took an active part in the revolutionary war, and one of them was for many years a member of congress. William A., the subject of this sketch, was early identified with the interests of the first settling of this county, and struggled hard against disadvantages to get a start. and honest labor has finally been rewarded with success. October 25, 1849, he was married in Perry county, Indiana, to Miss Sarah J. Law- rence, a daughter of James and Esther (Jamison) Lawrence, born in Perry county, Indiana, November 20, 1824. Their children are : William H., Isabel (wife of W. C. Sloan), Caroline, Ida J. (now Mrs. Samuel R. Jamison), Elizabeth, and Hettie May. They are members of the United Presbyterian church. Mr. Findley's membership dates back to 1837, and he has been an elder since 1866. He has ever been very liberal in supporting and building up the church.

LEWIS H. HAND was born at Mt. Gilead, Ohio, May 24, 1848, and came with his parents to Oquawka in 1851. He was for many years connected with the Presbyterian Sunday school, and is the only

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History of Mercer and Henderson Counties : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc, Part 96

Author: Mercer County Historical Society (Ill.); Henderson County Historical Society (Ill.) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co. Number of Pages: 1424

Author: Mercer County Historical Society (Ill.); Henderson County Historical Society (Ill.)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co.
Number of Pages: 1424