USA > Illinois > Pike County > History of Pike County, Illinois : together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons and biographies of representative citizens > Part 77
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Charles Pinger, lumber dealer, Barry; established in the fall of '76. He furnished the means for the erection of the saw-mill and buildings in 1875, prior to which time the business was carried on in a small yard through his agent. He first began business at Han- nibal on a small capital, and increased until he was enabled to run 6 yards. He shipped over 100 car-loads of lumber to this place. He employs from 12 to 20 men, and fills contracts for furnishing buildings with sash, doors, mouldings, etc., all of which are made at this establishment. Mr. P. is a native of Cincinnati, O., where he was born in 1848. Mr. P. is also engaged in the mercantile business, where he is having a lucrative trade, and is one of the thorough business men of the times. He was married in 1870 to Miss Nettie, daughter of John Rice, a native of Ohio. To them have been born 4 children .- Harry, Leo, Lulu and Pearl.
Charles Roasa, of the firm of Liggett & Roasa, grocers, Barry, is a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1852. He is the son of Charles and Elizabeth Roasa, natives of Germany, who emi- grated to America in 1840, and settled in Pennsylvania, and are at this time living in Lewis county, Mo. The subject of this sketch was married in 1875 to Miss Nora McDonald, a native of this county. To them one child has been born, Paulina. Mr. R. fills the office of City Clerk, and is one of the active young business men of Barry. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and Republican in politics. The firm of which he is a member succeeded A. White in 1880, and they now carry a stock of $2,000 and enjoy a fair trade.
Dr. J. S. Rowand & Son, druggists, Barry. The senior partner of this firm was born in Camden, N. J., in 1813; was married in 1834 to Miss Ellen B. Haines, a native of Philadelphia, where he
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
was engaged in the practice of patent medicine until he came to this county in 1856, and commenced his present business. In 1876 he erected the building he now occupies. It has a frontage of 37 feet and is 120 feet deep. The firm carry a stock of $3,000, and have a large and lucrative trade. He has 3 children living: John, the junior partner of the house, who married Miss MeTucker, of this city; Horace M, and Bathuel H. Mr. and Mrs. R. are mem- bers of the Baptist Church.
G. W. Shields, proprietor of lime kiln; P. O., Barry; was born in Athens county, O., in 1842, and is a son of William and Lydia Selby, natives of Ohio, who emigrated to this State in 1848, and settled north of Quincy, where he lived until he moved to this tp., where he now resides. The subject of this sketch was married in 1868 to Miss Martha Freeman, a native of Illinois. Mr. S. has been engaged in his present business 4 years, and is doing a fair trade. Bessie, Josie and Mabel are his living children. Politics, Democratie.
Eugene Smith, merchant and banker, Barry, is a son of Nathaniel and Sylvania (Sweet) Smith, natives of New York State, who emi- grated to this county and settled in Barry tp. in 1837, where he is at this time living. She died in 1879. The subject of this sketch was born in Pike county, Ill., in 1839, and during the early years of his life engaged in elerking, until called to fill the office of cashier in the Exchange Bank at the time of its organization. In 1872 he was admitted to the concern, forming the present partner- ship of Smith, Davis & Brown. He was married in 1879 to Miss Helen, daughter of Henry Bonnel, a native of Griggsville. Mr. Smith is also a partner of the firm of Crandall & Smith, grocers and grain dealers, which is the largest honse of the kind in Pike county. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and fills the office of Dictator in the Knights of Honor. He and Mrs. S. are members of the Baptist Church. Probably no man is more deserving of success than Mr. Smith, for close attention to business, energy, integrity, and the possession of qualities that have won for him an active and responsible position in this county. His portrait, which appears in this work, was taken at the age of 40 years.
George W. Smith, teacher, is a son of James and Sarah Smith, of Barry, and was born in Belmont county, O., Feb. 8, 1851; was brought by his parents to this county in 1856; was edneated in Barry, where he is now teaching his eighth year in the 2d gram- mar school; he taught his first school at Summer Hill, this county. In 1874 he married Miss Alta C. Blair, daughter of Samuel Blair, of Barry, and they have had 2 children,-George L., deceased, and Ida.
J. J. Smith, dealer in boots and shoes, clothing, hats, caps, and gents' furnishing-goods, established himself in grocery business in 1869. In 1870 Mr. Crandall was admitted and they formed a partnership. The firm dissolved in 1875. The following year he erected the building of his present location, at a cost of $7,500.
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
Being in poor health, he spent one year in the South, and in 1877 returned and opened his present business, where he enjoys a good trade. He is a native of Lynchburg county, Va., where he was born in 1840. He was married in Virginia to Miss Sarah F. Crumpton, a native of that State. They have one adopted son, James Y. Mr. S. is one of the active and enterprising merchants of Barry, and is well and favorably known.
M. Strubinger was born in Delaware in 1833, and is the eldest son of Joseph Strubinger, deceased, whose name is familiar to all of the people of Pike county. The subject of this sketch was brought by his parents to Pike county when he was a boy, and he commenced the battle of life at the age of 21, working on the farm by the month until he was about 30 years of age, at $15 per month. He worked for one man seven years. Mr. Strubinger was married to Miss Mary H. Chamberlain in 1862, and they have.had four children. Mr. Strabinger came'to Barry, where he resided for five or six years, and now resides three-fourths of a mile south, on a farm of 225 acres of highly improved farm lands. He has the past year built him one of the finest farm residences in the county. He has in all about 1,200 acres of land. .. He is a thorough farmer and deals extensively in stock.
Dr. Joseph Jerome Topliff. Dr. Topliff was born in Bridge- water, Windsor county, Vermont, Sept. 12, 1832. He remained at home until the age of 16, receiving his early education at the dis- trict school, working on his father's farm during the summer, and attending school in the winter. He was then sent to Black River Academy, at Ludlow, Vt., where he remained two years, and then entered the Green Mountain Liberal Institute, at South Woodstock, Vt., closing his Academic course at that Institution, where he entered upon the study of medicine, and graduated at Dartmouth College, N. H. In April, 1856, he came to Illinois and located at Pittsfield, Pike county, and the following year was elected School Commissioner of the county, which office he held for two terms. In the spring of 1862 he moved to New Salem, and devoted his attention to the practice of his profession, where his professional and untiring devotion to his patients and his profession, with his accustomed social, courteous, and honorable manner, won for him a large circle of patrons and warm friends. He was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court and Recorder of the county in the fall of 1868, which office he held for 4 years, with ability and entire satisfaction to the peo- ple of the county, and left liis official record withont spot or blem- ish. Preparatory to resuming the practice of his profession he spent the fall and winter of 1875-6 in New York, pursuing his professional studies at Bellevue Hospital Medical College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, when two years ago he asso- ciated himself with one of the oldest and most highly esteemed practitioners of the county, Dr. A. C. Baker, of Barry, Ill., where we find him in the enjoyment of the full confidence of his profes- sional brethren, and a large and increasing demand for his profes-
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
sional services. Dr. Topliff was married to Laura E. Lake, South Woodstock, Vt., in 1856, and they have had 4 children, 1 son and 3 daughters. The son was accidentally shot and killed when 14 years of age; the wife and daughters are all living.
J. L. Underwood, attorney at law, Barry, is a son of Robert and Martha (Onderdonk) Underwood, the former born in New York city, March 7, 1803, and the latter born Aug. 2, 1803. They emigrated to Illinois and settled in Eldara, where he died Feb. 11, 1878; she is still living in this city. The subject of this sketch was born in New York city, May 16, 1826; came to this county in 1836, where he has since made it his home. In 1847 he enlisted in Co. K, 5th Ill. Vol., for the Mexican war, and served nearly two years. In the spring of 1849 he went overland to California; returning the following year he was married to Miss Louisa Lyons, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Lyons, a native of this State. To them were born 10 children, 6 of whom are living, 5 boys and a girl. He began the practice of law in this city in 1862; was appointed under Lincoln Inspector of Coal Oils, Liquors and Tobacco, and served in that capacity until removed by Andy Johnson. He was Justice of the Peace 4 years in Derry, and Police Magistrate 10 years, and Supervisor 2 years. He is a member of the Masonic order, and has always been identified with the interests of the town and county. Mr. U. has traveled extensively through different countries of the East, and is well informed on all subjects. His mother has for 50 years been a member of the Methodist Church.
John Weber, proprietor of the Empire House, was born in St. Louis, Mo., in 1843, and is a son of John and Margaret Weber, natives of Germany, who emigrated to America in 1841 and settled in Pittsburg, Pa., from which State they moved to Adams county, where they at this time reside. Mr. John Weber was married in 1867 to Miss Rosa, daughter of Robert High, a native of Adams county, where Mr. W. was engaged in milling and merchandising until he came to this county in 1877. Here he engaged as sales- man, until he took the Empire House in the winter of the same year. In the brief experience of Mr. W. in catering to the travel- ing public he has won for himself an extended reputation. Court- eons, kind, and obliging at all times, the traveler will find the "Empire " a place of welcome. He is the father of 3 children,- Ralph K., Harry and Nettie. Mr. Weber is an Alderman at pre- sent.
Henry Wendorff, furniture dealer, west side of the Square, Barry, Ill., was born in Germany, June 18, 1828; emigrated to the United States in 1856, stopping at Buffalo one year; he then came and started in business in a small building only 16 by 24 on the west side of the Square in Barry, which building he has greatly en- larged on account of his increasing business. He keeps constantly on hand the best line of goods, selling them at very low rates. His capital stock is now about $3,000. In 1857 he married Caroline
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
Hermon, by whom he has had 7 children: Henry, Louise, Anna, Carrie, Mary, May and Irene.
Alex. White, retired merchant, Barry, is a native of Scotland, where he was born in 1830, and emigrated to America in 1850 with his parents, Thomas and Esther (Watson) White, who settled near Barry and engaged in farming. They afterward moved to Quincy, where they both died. Mr. W. became associated with his brother in the mercantile business in 1864, which was continued until the present year, when the firm dissolved. He was married in 1853 to Miss Mary Ferguson, a native of Scotland, by whom he has one child living, Alexandria R., wife of Albert Hurt, residents of this city. Mr. W. has been School Director 9 years, and is the present Clerk of the Board. He has always taken an active interest in school matters, and other matters pertaining to the welfare of Barry. In politics he is a Republican.
W. F. White, merchant, Barry, Ill., is the son of Thomas and Esther (Watson) White, natives of Scotland; with their family they emigrated to this country in 1850 and located in .Quincy; thence they moved to Barry, on a farm. They were the parents of 12 children, 11 boys and 1 girl, of which W. F. was the seventh son, being about 15 years of age when he came to this city. In his early life he learned the carpenter's trade and superintended the building of many fine houses in the neighborhood; and by strict perseverance and economy, in 1857 he embarked in the mercantile business, of which he has stood at the head (firm of W. F. White & Brother) for 23 years; was a large operator in grain and pork-pack- ing till within the last three years; is now engaged in mercantile business,-dry-goods, boots and shoes, hardware and agricultural implements, and doing a good business. He also holds an interest in the Opera House, which was commenced by his energy, also in- terested in many buildings and dwellings, etc., in the city. He has also held some very prominent positions before the people, as City Treasurer and Alderman; has served the township as Supervisor for several years, with great credit and honor. Is a prominent Free- mason, in which order he has held many offices of prominence; is now M. E. Scribe of Barry Chapter No. 88, R. A. M .; is an un- flinching Democrat in politics, and now a prominent candidate before the people for the nomination of Circuit Clerk of Pike county. He was married in 1862 to Miss Mary A. Rush, daughter of Josiah Rush, and they have had two children, Caroline and William A. Caroline died in 1864, aged 15 months. His wife Mary died in 1866, aged 33 years.
D. J. Wike, farmer, sec. 27; P. O., Barry; was born in Cumber- land county, Pa., in 1821, and is the youngest son of George and Mary (Essig) Wike, natives of Pennsylvania, where his father died in 1825. The subject of this sketch settled in Quincy in 1842, where he engaged in the woolen business for 2 years, when he came to this tp., and with two brothers, George and Joseph, and P. Grubb, erected a woolen factory on sec. 23, where he carried on an
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
extensive business for 5 years; then he sold his interest and pur- chased a farm in New Salem tp. Three years afterward he re- turned to Barry, and in 1847 was married to Drusilla, daughter of Thomas Orr, a native of Randolph county, Ill., where she was born in 1828; settled on his present estate in the spring of 1853, consisting of 200 acres, valued at $75 per acre. Mr. W. has been prominently identified with the interests of the tp., and was the first member initiated in the Masonic Order at Barry, in 1845. He is the father of 7 children, 6 of whom are living,-Thomas O., Dallas, William M., Mary E., Charles S. and Louis L.
Thomas O. Wike, farmer, sec. 34; P. O., Barry; was born in this tp. in 1848, and is a son of David and Drusilla (Orr) Wike, early Barry pioneers. The subject of this sketch was married in 1872 to Miss Elmira Uchran, a native of this county. Two children are the fruits of this marriage,-George H. and Elizabeth E. Mr. Wike has a farm of 40 acres, valued at $75 per acre. He is a mem- ber of I. O. O. F., and one of the pioneer generation of Barry.
J. R. Williams, farmer, sec. 36: P. O., Barry; is the son of John and Margaret (Reno) Williams, natives of Tennessee, who settled in Indiana when it was a Territory, where he died in 1817. She died in 1833. The subject of this sketch was born in Overton county, Tenn., in 1817; in 1834 he went to Iowa, then the Territory of Wisconsin, where he purchased land, which he afterward sold, receiving in payment Illinois State scrip, payable at 6 per cent. Interest, which was never redeemed. This was valuable time and Inber lost, and in 1842 he evacuated that Territory for the growing settlements of Illinois, and rented a farm in Pleasant Vale tp. He was married March 10, 1845, to Miss Elizabeth A. Baldwin, a native of New York State, who died Nov. 15, of the same year. She was born Ang. 6, 1828. His present wife, lately Mrs. Mary Blair, widow of Hon. Wmn. Blair, who died in the State Leg- islature in 1845, was born in New York State Nov. 1, 1814. Mr. W. settled on his present farm in 1845, consisting of 140 acres, valned at $70 per acre. Mr. W. has been prominently identified with the interests of the township in several offices, and the family are members of the Baptist Church. Of their several children 2 are living, John R. and Calvin J. Politically, Mr. W. is a Denio- crat.
PLEASANT VALE TOWNSHIP.
Long before railroads were thought of in the West, and when the red man and wild beasts roamed at will across the prairies and through the forests of Illinois; and when this expanse of country was one vast wilderness, two young men wended their way into this then far West, and took up their dwelling among the treacherous Indians and savage beasts. They pitched their tent first on sec. 16 of what is now Pleasant Vale township. These men, who were then young and sturdy, both won wealth, position and honor, in this great State. They were John Wood and Willard Keyes, both names familiar to almost every man in this part of the State, and the former of whom was chosen Lieutenant Governor, and on the death of Governor Bissell acted as Governor. These two men met about this time and formed a friendship which was never broken until the death of Mr. Keyes in 1872. They lived here in one little cabin; indeed, they had much in common; youth, energy and am- bition,-common aims and sympathies, and for half a century they watched the growth and gradual development of the city they had founded.
Wood and Willard soon moved from sec. 16 to the southwest quarter of sec. 22, where they made the first improvements that were made in the township. They soon afterward, however, sold their possessions here and moved to Quincy and founded that city, where Mr. Wood still resides, and where Mr. Keyes lived until his death.
Amos and Joseph Jackson, David Dutton, Major Hinckley. Par- ley Jackson, Daniel Howard, Mr. Rice, Mr. Mitchell and Andrew Shearer were also very early settlers in this township, and did much for the improvement of the county.
These early settlers endured many hardships and privations in preparing the way for future generations and future prosperity, which the people of to-day know not of. They ground their corn for food on a hand-mill, and at times crushed it in a hominy block. The latter consisted of a hole burnt in a stump or block of wood, in which corn was placed and crushed with an iron wedge or mallet. In a short time, however, these odd and rude pieces of pioneer ma- chinery were replaced by horse-mills. These were generally situ- ated eight or ten miles from the settlers here, and although they were a great, improvement upon the hand-mills and hominy blocks, the process of grinding would be considered very slow, indeed, by
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
the people of this day and age of steam-mills. The boys then went to mill on horseback, and seldom ever returned the same day. They would congregate under the old shed of the horse-mill while waiting for their turn, and there make a fire and parch corn, tell jokes, etc. In this way they would pass the night very pleasantly withont supper or sleep; for the supper could not be had, and there was no place to sleep, save on the sacks of corn.
Then came the days of schools and churches. The first school- honse erected by the settlers was on sec. 22, in 1825. It was a log cabin with a clapboard door, puncheon floor, slab benches for seats and a huge fire-place at one end of the room. The desks consisted of puncheons supported by pins in the wall; the fire-place had no chimney except above the roof; there were two doors, one at each side of the fire-place. The fuel used consisted of huge logs, which were often dragged into the house by a horse coming in at one door
and passing through and out at the other. Around and near the fire-place there was no floor except the ground, the puncheon floor covering the back part of theroom only. The window consisted of a log removed from one side of the room, with greased paper pasted over the aperture. The first teacher here was a Mr. Rankin. The pioneer teacher was of the ox-driver class, and generally carried a large " gad " in his hands, to maintain order in the school.
Religious worship was early instituted in the first settlement of this township. The first sermon was preached by Rev. Mr. Hunter, of the Methodist denomination, and the first regularly organized religious society was also that of the Methodists. This society first worshiped in the house of Mr. Jackson, and afterward in the school- house on sec. 22. The Mormons also figured largely in a Church organization here some years later. They at one time had a soci- ety of about 100 communicants, and erected a house of worship in the northwest part of the township. When the Nauvoo tronble, came, however, they left this neighborhood to join their brethren at that place. The old Mormon church was afterward moved to the Mississippi river, and there used for a warehouse.
The first white child born in the tp. was Andrew J. Stanley, in 1823. The first death was that of Mary Jane McDaniel which occurred in the autumn of the same year. The first parties married were Potter Saxhorn and Matilda Stanley, in the year 1825.
In those early days the wagons, for the most part, were rudely constructed by the settlers themselves, and consisted wholly of wood. The wheels were sawn from large sycamore trees, and holes were bored in the center, in which to insert the axletrees. The farmers often used these wagons in going to mill, hauling their produce to market, and for a conveyance in which to attend Church.
In pioneer times, when there were scarcely any fences, and not land enough under cultivation to stop the great prairie fires which occurred in the fall of the year, they proved very disastrous to those living on the prairie. This township consists, for the most part,
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
of Mississippi river bottom land, a large portion of which is prai- rie. The grass on this bottom land grew to an enormous height, was very thick, and as high as a man's head while on horseback. This grass was so heavy and thick that when the settlers went a-fish- ing in the Sny they would hitch the team to a large brush or tree and drag it through the grass and mash it down, to make a road for them to pass over. In the fall of the year this luxuriant growth of grass would be set on fire by the Indians or hunters, and espe- cially when the wind was high, would sweep resistlessly over the whole country, high and low, destroying a great deal of property.
The pioneers early learned to guard against this destructive ele- ment by plowing wide strips of land around their premises and around their grain and hay. As soon as the alarm of fire was given, each settler would immediately begin to " back fire." This was done by setting the grass on fire next outside the plowed strip, which would burn slowly and meet the rapidly advancing flames that came rolling in majestic grandeur, from 20 to 30 feet in the air.
This bottom land is now under a high state of cultivation, and since the completion of the levee has become one of the richest farming districts of America. The land lying between the Sny and the Mississippi is timber land, and as fertile as the prairie. It is now rapidly being cleared and improved. This district bears the appearance of being a new country, however, for wild animals are quite numerous here, and also the gray and bald eagle.
Most of the land in this township was obtained from the Gov- ernment at $1.25 per acre, and it was very readily paid for. The fur-bearing animals were very plenty here then, and a settler would obtain fur enough during the fall and winter to pay for 160 acres of land. We have it from good authority that it was not an un- common occurrence to see five or six coons in one tree at one time during those pioneer days. Mr. Francis Jackson related to us that he saw at one time nine coons in one tree. Snakes also were very numerous and annoying, and especially the rattlesnake. The Mis -. sissippi bluffs, which extend from the northwest to the southeast, through this township, were a constant den for the timber rattle- snakes, which were from five to eight feet long. The settlers were lasting enemies of these reptiles, and finally adopted a plan which resulted in their almost total extermination. They fastened beard- ed hooks to long poles and thrust these into their dens, drawing the snakes out and killing them, until no more snakes could be found. This was done in the spring of the year, before the snakes could crawl.
Wild cats, wild hogs, foxes, wolves, panthers and other wild ani- mals abounded here when this township was first settled; some of which species remain to this day.
On the N. W. qr. of sec. 29 is a salt spring, which at one time afforded considerable salt water. Mr. Keyes carried water from this spring to his home, on sec. 22, a distance of a mile and a half,
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