USA > Illinois > Piatt County > History of Piatt County; together with a brief history of Illinois from the discovery of the upper Mississippi to the present time > Part 46
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MR. ALEXANDER MCKINNEY (deceased) was a native of Kentucky. He moved to Indiana, and then to Illinois, thus being a pioneer of three states, as it were. He married Mary Orchard, who died in 1881, and the following are the names of their children : Eliza J. (Mrs. A. Funk), William, Andrew, John, Samuel, Isaac, Mary, T. N. and Martha (Mrs. Starr), who died, leaving two children. Mr. Alexander Mckinney died about 1878.
MR. ISAAC MCKINNEY (deceased), formerly a native of Washington county, came to Piatt county about 1848, and in 1856 to Cerro Gordo, where he died in 1862 or 1863. He was united in marriage to Harriet Campbell, who died, leaving two children, one of whom, Miss Lillie Mckinney, a student of Jacksonville, has been in the present county clerk's office several summers.
MR. T. N. MCKINNEY, came to Piatt county about 1848, located
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near Cerro Gordo, has been a farmer ever since, and now owns 120 acres of land. He is married, and has three children : Claude, Pearl and an infant. Mr. Mckinney was sergeant in Co. K of the 107th Ill. Inf.
MR. JOHN MCKINNEY, farmer, Cerro Gordo, is a native of Bourbon county, Kentucky, born in 1800, and moved from there to Indiana, in 1814. During the war of 1812 he was mail boy for the neighborhood and had great fear of encountering an Indian, but with all liis constant fear and dread, he never met with a wild Indian. He had, five uncles in the revolutionary war. Mr. Mckinney moved to Macon county, Illinois, in 1849, came to Piatt county in 1852 and settled six miles nortlı of Cerro Gordo. He came to Cerro Gordo about 1865, and lives just outside the corporation. He owns his residence and seven and a half acres of land. He has been an elder in the Presbyterian church since 1853. Mr. Mckinney was married in 1824, to Jane Orchard, who died about 1840, leaving four children : Isaac N., who married Cynthia Hollingworth, who died, leaving two children : Raymond E. married Clara Moyer, lives in Monticello and has three children ; and Alice, who lives with her mother in Cerro Gordo ; Emily Mckinney married Chas. McKay, lives near Cisco and has three children, Jennie, Mollie and Edward. Mr. Mckay owns a farm, part of which is in this county ; Sarah is the wife of Joseph Auten (see liis sketch) ; Mat- tie J. is the wife of Sam'l Mckay, who was a soldier in the late war and lives two miles south of Cerro Gordo. Mr. John Mckinney mar- ried his second wife, Mrs. Andrew Rodgers, née Eliza McClung, in Mount Tabor, Indiana, in 1843. She was a native of Virginia and liad three children : Mary, who is the wife of Andrew Mckinney ; Nannie married Josiah Fairchild, lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and has eight children ; A. L. Rodgers (see his sketch).
MR. J. H. MOYER, baggage and yard-master on Wabash railroad, Cerro Gordo, is a native of Ohio, where his father still lives, near Cir- cleville. He came to Illinois in 1867 and began working for the Wabashı road in 1869, where he lias been ever since and has not lost a day or a month's pay since. Mr. Moyer was married in 1867, to Jose- pline Brandom, and has liad five children, three of whom are living, Harley E., Winnifred and Charlie. He has been town collector two years, member of town board one year, superintendent of M. E. Sun- day school two years. Mr. Moyer remembers that John Hoffman, the murderer, was in his company in the army. He says he was always ready for duty, was never sick, and was always ready to make a raid or
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to go to the front. He was considered one of the best soldiers in the service.
MR. WILLIAM MITCHELL, merchant and insurance agent, Milmine, is a native of Ohio. From there his father and family moved to Illi- nois, and now four of his brothers are living in Piatt county : John, who married Miss Tatman ; Jacob, Joseph and George. The subject of our sketch came to Piatt county in- 1865, and in 1874 located in Milmine, where he owns four houses, twelve lots, and built a store- building in 1876. He was married in 1879, to Lillie Taylor, and lias one child, W. H. Mitchell.
MR. JAMES MILLER, blacksmith, Cerro Gordo, is a native of Indiana, from which state he moved to Macon county in 1856, and thence came to Piatt county in 1870. He owns a house and lot, besides a share in the blacksmith shop in the town. He was married in 1870, to Hester A. Long, and has had four children, three of whom, Frank C., Lillie and Willie, are living.
MR. W. O. McCRUM, druggist, Cerro Gordo, is a native of Ohio, from which state he moved to Piatt county, Illinois, in 1868. On the . first of October, 1881, he moved in Cerro Gordo, where at present he is a partner in the firm of "Harsha & McCrum." He has been master of the Masonic lodge for one year. He was married in 1872, to Clara A. Cook, and has had two children, Frank and Millard.
MR. L. D. NOBLE moved from Ross county, Ohio, his native place, to Cerro Gordo, in 1865. Previous to coming here he had been car- rying on the saddling business in Chillicothe, Ohio. After coming to this county he improved 840 acres of land and now lie owns 360 acres. The improvements consisted in breaking up the largest portion of it, the building of four houses, the making of seven miles of plank and wire fence and the planting of eight miles of hedge. He has also built three houses and a hay-barn in Cerro Gordo. He was left alone in 1870, having previously lost a baby daughter at Chillicothe, Ohio, and about five years ago an only daughter which was five years old.
MR. AMOS PECK (deceased) was born March 7, 1820, in Pickaway county, Ohio. He moved to Macon county, Illinois, in 1852, and lo- cated in the house his widow lives in July 26, 1857. He was married December 31, 1840, to Nancy Hathaway, who was born in Ohio in 1820. They had eleven children, eight of whom are living. Rebecca, the wife of Isaac C. Carpenter, has one child and lives in Decatur; Ellen married Isaac Wilson, and lives in Emporia, Kansas ; Jerome, a farmer of Cerro Gordo township, married Mary Hays, and has one
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child, Pearl May ; George, who married Mrs. Sally Yount, is a barber in Decatur; Allison, who married Sarah E. Lettington, has three children, Ollie, Otto W. and Eldo ; Benton married Elizabeth Snyder, has one child, and lives in Nevada. "Cyrene is a dress-maker in Cerro Gordo ; Amos Ezra is living in Nevada. Mr. Amos Peck went to the late war in Co. K of the 107th Ill. Inf., and his sons Jerome and George were also in the war. Mrs. Peck had a husband, two sons and four brothers in the army, and all reached home safely except a brother who was killed at Fort Donelson. Mr. Peck died of small-pox in Cerro Gordo January 25, 1865.
MR. ISAAC PECK, grain merchant, Milmine, is a native of Ohio, and moved to Pike county, Illinois, in 1845. In 1856 he came to Piatt county and located in Willow Branch township, where he improved a farm, but sold it, and moved in 1872 to Milmine, where he now owns a house and two lots. He was married in 1839, to Mary A. Shanton, and they have four children ; Sarah J. became the wife of Henry Peck, but died, leaving seven children ; Elizabeth, the wife of Isaac LeFever, . has six children and lives in Champaign county ; Angeline first mar- ried B. F. Crook, who died, leaving two children, and she then married George Dobson, and is now living in Cerro Gordo township; Melissa, the wife of Charles C. Weible, and mother of one child, lives in Iowa.
MR. PETER PECK, a farmer of Cerro Gordo township, is a native of Ohio. His father, Adinijah Peck, settled in Willow Branch about 1838, when Peter was a boy, and lived there till his death in 1861. Peter was married in 1858 to Rachel E. Shuman, a native of Willow Branch township. Her father, Matthias Shuman, married andmettled in this township at an early day. Her mother died there, and her father moved to Kansas where he died. Mr. and Mrs. Peck have had three children, all of whom are living. Janetta, the wife of William E. Hickman, has one child, Gertrude M., and lives in Cerro Gordo township. Franklin, Delia, Charles, Peter and Mendota are at home. Mr. Peck moved into Cerro Gordo township in 1861. - He owns a place of 160 acres, upon which he has made most of the improvements, including the building of an eight-room brick house in 1875. He also owns some land in Macon county. Mr. Peck held the office of school- director for nine consecutive years, and has also been road commis- sioner.
MR. WILLIAM H. PECK, a farmer near Cerro Gordo, is a native of Ohio, from which state he moved in 1869 direct to Piatt county, where he now owns a farm of 100 acres, upon which he has made most of the
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improvements. He was married in 1868, to Hager Peck, and has had one daughter, Mary. Mrs. Peck met with quite a serious accident October 18, 1880. Ever since she was a child she has been afraid of an engine, and once fainted when simply crossing a railroad track when the train was a mile distant. On the day previously referred to, Mrs. Peck and Miss Ida Frydenger attempted to cross the railroad track at Cerro Gordo. They heard no whistle, and did not see the approaching engine, which struck the hub of one of the back wheels of the buggy, throwing Mrs. Peck from the buggy and as "high as the top of the telegraph pole." The buggy was thrown fifty-two feet, and the mules, though so suddenly torn loose from the buggy, were neither frightened nor injured. Miss Frydenger fell quite near the railroad crossing and was but slightly injured. Soon about three hundred people had con- gregated, and it was found that Mrs. Peck's nose and one of her arms were broken. She was unconscious for three days, but finally recov- ered from the effects of the accident. The railroad company paid for the repairing of the buggy, paid the physician's bill and gave Mrs. Peck $800 in money.
MR. W. L. PITrs, grain merchant, Cerro Gordo, was born in Wash- ington, Indiana, moved from there to Illinois in 1861, and located near Cerro Gordo. His father was in the war of 1812, got land warrant, and moved to Indiana in 1859. Mr. Pitts has been principally in the grain business since he came to Cerro Gordo. He occupies the mill and elevator which was built about 1859, and owns one half of each. He also owns his residence and one and one-half acres. Mr. Pitts was married in Minnesota, in 1856, to Julia Curtiss, and has five chil- dren, Arthur L., Chas. L., Cora A., Minnie L. and Jessie F. Mr. Pitts is an earnest temperance worker, and is at present supervisor of township.
MR. ALPHEUS B. PARMENTER, farmer, of Cerro Gordo township, was born in Ohio in 1822, and in 1868 moved from that state direct to Piatt county. He was married in Ohio, to Eleanor J. Wood, and has had three children, only one of whom is living. Win. married Ida Rhinehart, has one child, and is living with his father. Mr. Parmenter went to the Mexican war in the 4th Ohio reg., was gone about sixteen months. He served as first lieutenant for four months in the late war, in the 32d Ohio reg., and in 1864 he went out as captain in the 136th Ohio reg., and was once placed in charge of a fort at Washington. He was a captain and a major in the state militia before the rebellion. He still has the swords which he used in the Mexican and in the late
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war. Mr. Parmenter was never wounded in either of the wars, but has suffered ill health caused by the exposure he endured.
MR. J. P. REPLOGLE, farmer, druggist and banker, Cerro Gordo, is a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, from which state he moved to Indiana in 1828, and in 1854 he went to Iowa, coming to Piatt county in 1858. He moved into Cerro Gordo in 1880, and owns one of the finest residences of the county in addition to another dwelling, a business house and ten acres of land. Mr. Replogle was married in 1845, to Susan Spidle, a native of Ohio, and has eight children. For Dr. P. S. Replogle, see his sketch ; Lydia was married in 1868, to Sam'l Marker, a native of Ohio, lives in La Place, and has three chil- dren, William, Ella and Ora ; Samuel married Della Hickman, has three children, and lives in Moultrie county ; Barbara graduated in 1882, in the National School of Elocution and Oratory in Philadelphia ; Benj. Frank has charge of, and is partner in, a drug store ; Lizzie is the wife of Chas. E. Bright, of Cerro Gordo; and the names of the other children are Sarah and Lucinda.
DR. P. S. REPLOGLE, Cerro Gordo, is a native of Carroll county, Indiana. After moving to Iowa he located in Piatt county in 1859, living in this county most of the time since. He obtained his medical education at the Bennett College, graduating in 1874, and after first practicing in Fayette county located as a physician in Cerro Gordo about three years ago. Dr. W. W. Hartsell, a graduate of the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, is his partner. Dr. Replogle and Julia McClellan, of Delphi, Indiana, were united in marriage in October, 1879. Mrs. Replogle has been a successful teacher in the Cerro Gordo schools.
MR. JAMES RYAN, farmer, is a native of Ireland. He landed in New York in 1848, and in 1865 settled in Piatt county. After living for a time in Unity township he went to Kansas, but returned, and in 1873 bought his present home-place of eighty acres, which he has since improved. He married Sabina Glynn, a native of Ireland. Six of their eight children are still living : John, Bridget, who is married and lives in Ohio, Mattie, Pierce, Archibald and Mary. Mr. Ryan has been commissioner of highways for seven years.
MR. G. W. STONER, a farmer and stock dealer of La Place, is a native of Kentucky. He moved to Macon county, Illinois, and then returned to Kentucky, after which, in 1874, he settled in Cerro Gordo township, where he owns 420 acres of land that was bought in 1864. He has improved this place quite extensively, and it is known as the
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Bonnie Brook Stock Farm, upon which stock has been raised ever since he has been in the county. He was the first to introduce the Jersey red hogs in that section of the county. He also has well-bred cattle and horses and was probably the first person who introduced the well-bred trotting horses into the county. Mr. Stoner was married in Kentucky, to R. Ann Grimes, who died in 1864, leaving one daughter, Kate, who married James L. Butler, and has two children, Anna W. and Minnie H. She is now the wife of Victor Hawthorne, a grain dealer of La Place, and has one child, Bessie L.
MR. JAMES SCHOOLCRAFT, farmer, Cerro Gordo, was born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1810. He moved to Indiana in 1828, and from there to Illinois in 1864, and settled where he now resides, one mile north of Cerro Gordo. He owns 120 acres, put up house, barn and most of improvements on it, a good orchard, other trees, and has it well ledged and drained. Mr. Schoolcraft was married in 1836, to Nancy Ann Franklin, who died in 1838. In 1844 he was united in marriage to Catharine Miller, and five of their eiglit children are living. Melinda is the wife of Andrew Heinmenger, lives in Cerro Gordo township, and has one child, Maud ; Henry married Frances McCarty, lives on home-place, and lias one boy, Charles Earnest, Isaac married Ida Sayler, lives in Cerro Gordo township, has one child, Nora ; Mary is the wife of Levi Meisenhelter, lives in Cerro Gordo township, and has three children, Edith, Ethyl and Mildred ; Jennie married Orlando Mckinney, and lives in Willow Branch township.
MR. D. C. SAYLER, undertaker and furniture dealer, Cerro Gordo, was born in Indiana, moved from there direct to Illinois, Piatt county, in 1867, and came to Cerro Gordo in 1870. At first he was a carpenter, then he opened a furniture store. He owns his residence, a lot and one-half, and business house. ,Mr. Sayler was married in 1876, to Ellen Buck, and has two children, Gertie A. and Clyde L. The subject of our sketch was assessor four years ago, and has been village clerk for six years.
MR. JOHN SMITH (deceased), formerly undertaker and cabinet maker, Cerro Gordo, was a native of Pennsylvania, from which state he moved to Ohio, and from there to Macon county, and thence to Piatt county about 1855. He moved into the house Mrs. Smith lives in 1858, and died here in 1878. He was married in 1845, to Sarah Cole, and had eight children, six of whom are living: Eva married Mr. E. Stewart, and has three children, Alma, George and Bert ; Llewellyn lives in Georgetown, Colorado; Maggie, the wife of Albert Mcclintock, lives in Cerro
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Gordo, and has two children, Nellie and Maud. The names of the other children are Alma, Ezra and Eliner. ] Mr. Smith was a carpenter and did a good deal of work in about Cerro Gordo, helping to erect the Methodist Episcopal church and other buildings.
MR. B. F. STOCKS, principal of Cerro Gordo public school, is a native of Morgan county, Ohio. He moved from Ross county, Ohio to Macon county in 1863. He graduated at the State Normal University in 1875, and also graduated at the Wesleyan law school in 1881. He has taught as principal of schools for about eight years, but anticipates beginning the practice of law soon. He was married in 1875, to M. Alice Pargeon, who was also a student of Normal, and . a teacher in the state. They have had three children, two of whom, Herbert and Ralph, are living.
MR. JOHN K. SHIVELY, a farmer of Cerro Gordo township, is a native of Indiana. He moved to Macon county, Illinois, in 1868, and in 1871 settled in Piatt county, where he owns a place of forty acres, upon which he has made some improvements. He was married in Indiana, to Elizabeth Henricks, and has had three children, Simon H., Samuel and Lydia, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Shively are members of the German Baptist church.
MR. D. W. SEITZ, farmer, was born in Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. He moved to Macon county, Illinois, where his father still lives, in 1855. In 1875 he moved onto a place in Piatt county, owned by Mr. W. Ennis, of Decatur. He has lived on this place ever since, has put up fences and buildings on it, has made ditches, and has planted out trees. He was married in 1872, to N. J. Williams, a native of Illinois. They have had four children, Cora, William E., Frankie and Jesse. Mr. Seitz has been school trustee in township 16 ever since he lias lived at his present home.
MR. SAMUEL K. THOMPSON (deceased) was a native of Connecticut, from which state he moved to Ohio, and from there to Macon county, Illinois. His next move was to Piatt county, where, at the time of his death in 1868, he owned about 400 acres of land. He had begun making many improvements on his farm. He began quite a good system of drainage for his farm, by which he drained a large pond sit- uated near his house. At one time lie owned quite a good deal of property in Macon county. Mr. Thompson married Mrs. Smithi Stuart, a native of Connecticut. Her first husband died in the east, leaving six children, four of whom are now living : Harvey married Ellen Wilson, has four children and lives in Kansas ; Eliada married Eva-
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line Smith, and died, leaving three children, Alma, George E. and Bert ; Flora, the wife of Aaron Cole. has seven children, John, Dai- sy, Georgia, Mary, Anna, Roy and Hattie, and lives with her mother on the home place ; Mary is the wife of Eli Drum, an editor of Be- ment, and has five children, Stuart, Lillie, Arthur, Hattie and Bennie. Mrs. Thompson now lives on hier large farm near Cerro Gordo, and is a very shrewd business woman.
MR. GEORGE WALLIS, grocer, Cerro Gordo, was born in Cambridge- shire, England, and first came to America to stay about twenty-four years ago. Previous to this lie had for some time followed the sea. He came from Wisconsin to Illinois, then to Piatt county, about twenty- two years ago. He was a blacksmith until seven or eight years ago, when he went into the grocery business. Mr. Wallis was the first journeyman blacksmith in Cerro Gordo, where he now owns his house, three lots and business buildings. Mr. Wallis was married in 1861, to Mrs. Kemp, who had four children.
MR. M. H. WILSON, a merchant of Lintner, is a native of Macon county. He was married in Cass county, to Miss Clara Jones, a native of Kentucky, and has one daughter, Ada E. In 1878 he moved to Piatt county and went into the merchandise business at Lintner.
MR. WILLIAM VOORHIES, a resident of Cerro Gordo township, is a na- tive of Kentucky. His great-grandfather came to Kentucky with Daniel Boone and was killed at the battle of Boonesborough. His grand- father was one of the early settlers of Kentucky, and his old home place still belongs to the family. He took an active part in the war of 1812 with Gen. Harrison and with Gov. Shelby, the first governor of Kentucky. Mr. William Voorhies, Sr., a very active gentleman of near eighty years of age, spends a portion of each year at " Breeze- land," his son's residence in Piatt county. Mr. William Voorhies, pre- vious to coming to Illinois, spent about four years in study and travel in Europe. The most of this time was spent in Germany. He was married in Kentucky in 1865, to Miss Ellen Duncan, the daughter of a prominent citizen of that state. They have had four children, Mary, Elizabeth, Lilly and Ida. Mr. Voorhies came from Lexington to Illi- nois in 1865. At this time the place (the portion on which he now lives) of 3,200 acres was bought. This land was a part of the seven or eight thousand acres of land which Gen. John S. Williams, who was prominent in the battle of Cerro Gordo and who is now United States senator from Kentucky, owned at one time. Mr. Samuel Aller- ton, of Chicago, lately bought 2,000 acres of Mr. Voorhies' land. 31
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The whole tract of land is under cultivation and is still under Mr. Voorhies' control. The residence at " Breezeland " is somewhat in the style of Southern houses. It is a fine country seat, and at the time it was built was the only settlement south of the railroad.
MR. GEORGE C. WAGNER, grain dealer, La Place, was born in San- gamon county, Illinois. He moved to Piatt county in 1862 and to . La Place about 1873. He owns a residence, barn, and six and one- half lots in this town. His residence, of eight or nine rooms, is in a fine location and is the largest house in town. He also has an interest in some business houses in La Place, and owns a 190-acre farm in Moul- trie county. Mr. Wagner was married in 1861, to Louise Fuller, a native of New York.
CHAPTER XIX.
WILLOW BRANCH TOWNSHIP.
P ART of this township is situated just west of Monticello town- ship. It contains fifty-nine and one-half sections of land, and is one of the finest townships in the county. The land is part rolling, and there is a good portion of prairie and timber land. The San- gamon river, which runs diagonally from northeast to southwest through about the middle of the township, drains the entire township. The ridge, which has been before alluded to, crosses the lower part of the township. Mr. Elijah Taylor says that a point of this ridge, not far from his home, is considered the highest point of land along the Wabash railroad, between the Wabash river and the Illinois river. The bluffs along the Sangamon in this township are in some places of good size. Those known as Cedar Bluffs contain, as far as we liave heard, the only cedar trees in the county. In addition to the well- timbered land which borders the streams there is a goodly portion of fine farming land. The northwestern part of the township for a num- ber of years was swampy, but of late years the draining done by the farmers is fast making every foot of land tillable.
Wolf run and Wild Cat creek are the principal tributaries to the Sangamen from the north. It is supposed that Wolf run obtained its name from the fact that wolf dens were frequently found in its banks,
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WILLOW BRANCH TOWNSHIP.
and because several wild cats were found near the other stream it thus received its name. Willow branch is the main tributary from the south and it is supposed that it received its name from the fact that a large willow tree used to stand near the place where the stream was most frequently forded. It is supposed that the township took its name from this stream.
Willow Branch township has but one railroad-that which was until lately known as the Champlain & Decatur road. There are two stations on this road, Allerton and Cisco. The former is but a small station on the land owned by Mr. Samuel Allerton, of Chicago. There is also a switch on the road known as the Wild Cat switch, from which point grain is shipped.
In regard to the early settlers of Willow Branch we will simply mention the names. Further particulars will, in general, be found in their personal sketches. The Aters and Pecks, Armsworths, Wm. Madden, Jno. West, Sam'l D. Havely, Michael Dillow, George Widick, Peter Croninger, Henry Adams, and a number of others. Mr. Edward Ater taught the first school in the township. Mr. Geo. Widick made brick near Monticello as early as 1842, and Willow Branch has the first brick house, owned by one of the Aters, built in the county.
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