USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, Illinois : a tale of its evolution, settlement, and progress for nearly a century, Volume II > Part 10
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settling at the forks of Cold creek, and two years later Hiram Jones purchased the land upon which the town of Rob Roy now stands. He afterward sold that property to J. I. Foster but was for some time there engaged in general agricul- tural pursuits. He lived to witness much of the growth and development of his part of the county and continued a respected and valued resident of the com- munity until his death, which occurred on the 16th of January, 1878. His wife survived him for only a brief period and passed away on the IIth of July of the same year.
Henry B. Jones was born in Fountain county, Indiana, upon the home farm on which he spent the gerater part of his life. He was educated in the schools there and through the periods of vacation worked in the fields, early becoming familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. As the years passed on he began farming on his own account and throughout his active life was identified with the work of tilling the soil and cultivating the crops. He kept in touch with progressive methods of farming and his property gave evidence in its thrifty appearance of his careful supervision and practical methods.
On the 17th of February, 1861, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Joanna D. Meeker, a daughter of Usual H. Meeker. She was born March 18, 1842, and by her marrige became the mother of two sons: Lorenzo, now living in Danville; and Oliver M., who is a graduate of the law department of the Michigan Univer- sity at Ann Arbor. He also lives in this city, with office in the McDonald build- ing.
The father of Mrs. Jones was Usual H. Meeker, a native of Tompkins county, New York, born on the 12th of October, 1811. In the early days he purchased some government land in Fountain county, Indiana, and in 1832 made a trip on horseback to the west to look at his property. In 1836 he removed to that county and as the years passed by invested more and more largely in land until he had extensive property interests. He also became one of the prominent men of the county and was more or less active in public life. For the last twenty years of his life he engaged in loaning money and bought and sold much land, his investments being very judiciously made. On the 27th of November, 1831, he was united in marriage to Miss Sallie Dudley and they reared a large family of children, including Joanna D. Meeker, now the widow of Henry B. Jones.
In his business affairs Henry B. Jones displayed sound judgment and unfal- tering industry and became a very successful farmer and stock-raiser. He owned a productive and valuable tract of land of five hundred and thirty-five acres situated in Shawnee township, Fountain county. There he lived for some time and his carefully controlled interests brought him substantial prosperity. He kept everything upon his place in good repair, had substantial buildings there and utilized the latest improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields. At length he removed to Danville in 1903, retiring from active business, his re- maining days being spent in the enjoyment of well earned rest.
In politics Mr. Jones was ever a stalwart republican, giving unwavering sup- port to the party and its principles, for he believed that its platform contained the best elements of good government. He served as a trustee of Shawnee township from 1870 until 1876 and his duties as such were discharged with
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promptness and fidelity. His fraternal relations were with the Masons and he was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, doing all in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. His life was in many respects exemplary and when he passed away on the 29th of March, 1904, the community felt the loss of a worthy citizen and one who merited the high regard in which he was uniformly held.
GEORGE SANDERSON TALLMAN.
Through a residence of thirty years in and near Hoopeston, George Sander- son Tallman firmly entrenched himself in the affection and regard of those with whom he came in contact, while his business ability gained him a place among the representative and valued residents of the community. He was born near Hamilton, Ontario, on the 4th of January, 1841, a son of Sheppard and Chris- tina (Althouse) Tallman, both of whom were descended from early Pennsyl- vania farmers who in colonial days were established in the Keystone state. The Tallmans were of English descent, while the Althouse family came of Penn- sylvania Dutch ancestry. About 1838 the parents of George S. Tallman re- moved to Canada, and the father became a prominent and influential farmer there.
George Sanderson Tallman acquired his education in his native country, although his opportunities in that direction were somewhat limited, for he was only nine years of age when his father died, after which he assisted his brothers on the farm in order to support the family, attending school only through the winter months when his services were not needed in the work of the fields. He remained upon the old home farm in Canada until twenty-five years of age, when he sold his interest in the place to his eldest brother, Joe Tallman, and came to the middle west with another brother, Sheppard Tallman. Illinois was their destination and they settled in Minonk, Woodford county, in 1868. The subject of this review leased a farm there and continued its cultivation for about eight years, during which period he carefully saved his earnings until his industry and economical expenditure had brought him sufficient capital to enable him to purchase land.
In 1876 Mr. Tallman removed to Vermilion county and invested in a farm near the site of Hoopeston. He there carried on general agricultural pursuits until about a year prior to his death, when he retired from active busi- ness life and removed to Hoopeston, selling his farm. While actively engaged in agricultural pursuits he was known as a diligent, enterprising man, whose labors brought substantial results. Whatever he undertook he carried for- ward to successful completion and he realized that progressive methods were an element in his financial advancement. He practiced the rotation of crops and utilized the latest improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields, which in due time became very productive, returning to him substantial har- vests annually. On his retirement a year prior to his death he removed to Hoopeston, having sold his farm.
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It was on the 13th of December, 1871, that Mr. Tallman was united in marriage in Milford, Illinois, to Miss Sarah J. Peterson, a daughter of Samuel and Jane (Padon) Peterson, who removed to western Indiana from New Jersey in 1856 and later took up their abode in Woodford county, Illinois, her father becoming a well known and wealthy farmer of that locality, but in the latter years of his life lived retired. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Tallman were born two children : Hattie A., the wife of W. J. Willis, a farmer of Vermilion county, by whom she had four children, Muriel W., Fern A., Frank G. and Thena, now deceased; and Alice B., who is at home with her mother.
The death of Mr. Tallman occurred in Hoopeston, February 20, 1906, after a residence of thirty years in this county. He was a republican in his political support for many years but later aided in the prohibition movement. For over twenty-five years he was a member of the Baptist church and conformed his life to its teachings. He was very fond of horses and always kept a number of fine animals. He was a lover of music, that art contributing much to his en- joyment. He had also high appreciation for the social amenities of life but prized above all else his home and the companionship of his wife and daughters. He rejoiced in his success because it enabled him to provide them with the comforts of life, and he ever sought their welfare before his own, regarding no personal sacrifice on his part too great if it would promote the happiness of his family.
WALTER JOHN BOOKWALTER.
Walter John Bookwalter is prominently connected with that profession which has an important bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section or community and one which has long been considered as conserving the public welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual rights. In June, 1906, he entered upon the practice of law at Danville, where his ability has already gained for him a large clientele of an important character.
He is one of Danville's native sons, his birth occurring on the 8th of February, 1882, and his parents are Ferdinand and Hannah M. (Meeker) Bookwalter. During his boyhood days he attended the public schools of this city and was graduated from the high school in 1900. Later he entered Michigan University, where he pursued a literary course of two years and also took up the study of law, being graduated from the latter department in 1906. He was then ad- mitted to the bar and has since engaged in general practice in Danville, where he opened on office in June, 1906, under the firm name of Jones & Bookwalter. He is today regarded as one of the leading attorneys of the city and has estab- lished a very satisfactory practice.
On the 20th of March, 1909, in Danville, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Bookwalter to Miss Grace M. Balsley, a daughter of William A. Balsley, who is now a resident of Chicago but was for many years one of Vermilion county's honored citizens. This union has been blessed by one child, John M. Bookwalter, whose birth occurred February 20, 1910.
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Mr. Bookwalter is a Master Mason and an Elk and is also a member of the One Hundred Thousand Club. Religiously he holds membership in the First Presbyterian church and politically is identified with the republican party. He is interested in community affairs, taking an active and helpful part along many lines of general progress, and is today regarded as one of the leading and public- spirited citizens of his native city. He is, however, preeminently a lawyer with a deep interest in judicial affairs, while his devotion to his client's interests is proverbial.
JAMES M. COOK, JR.
An excellent property of four hundred acres stood as a monument to the in- dustry and well directed efforts of James M. Cook, Jr., when he was called to his final rest after many years devoted to agricultural pursuits. His entire life was spent within the borders of Vermilion county, Illinois, where his birth oc- curred on the Ist of March, 1841. He was a son of James and Susan ( Moyers) Cook, natives of Ohio, who came to Vermilion county at an early day, where they both died. In their family were eleven children.
James M. Cook, Jr., was reared upon the home farm and to the common schools of this county is indebted for the educational advantages enjoyed dur- ing the period of his boyhood and youth. He early became familiar with the tasks that fall to the lot of the country lad as, during the summer months, he assisted in the work of the fields, and he gained thorough and comprehensive training in the various branches of agriculture, so that when he attained his majority he was well equipped for the practical and responsible duties that came to him upon entering the business world on his own account. He chose as his life work the occupation to which he had been reared, and from the beginning he prospered, his success coming to him as the logical result of industry, energy and perseverance. As he was able he added to his property holdings until, at the time of his death, he was the owner of four hundred acres of rich and valu- able farm land which his widow has since sold for one hundred and sixty-five dollars per acre. He early realized the fact that labor is the basis of all success and his close application and sound judgment enabled him to acquire a com- petency which, at the time of his demise, left his family in the comfortable cir- cumstances which they now enjoy.
Mr. Cook was first married March 9, 1862, to Miss Judith McCabe, a native of Indiana, who died May 22, 1876, leaving four children: Minnie, the wife of Ed Richards; Susie, the wife of John Nesbitt; Mollie, the wife of Thomas Ruzie; and Daisy, the wife of Ed Nesbitt. Each of these daughters has two children and all reside in Vermilion county. It was on the 18th of January, 1877, that Mr. Cook was united in marriage to Miss Eliza J. Gerrard, who was born in this county as were also her parents, Jacob and Sarah (Stephens) Ger- rard, who are now deceased. Their family consisted of eight children, which number included Mrs. Cook, who by marriage became the mother of four chil- dren, as follows: Emerson, a resident of New Mexico; Ira, deceased; Ethel
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Othel, the wife of Frank Swann, of Colorado, by whom she has one son, Charles M., and Clarence A., yet at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Cook were members of the Church of Christ, of Catlin, and it was in the faith of that church that Mr. Cook passed away, his death occurring November 4, 1894. He had been a stalwart democrat since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, and had been an active worker in party ranks, at the same time manifesting a deep interest in the public welfare of the community. His influence was ever upon the side of progress and improvement, and his salient qualities were those which make for honorable manhood and good citizen- ship, so that with his passing Vermilion county lost one of her honored and valued representatives. During the dark days of the Civil war he joined the boys in blue, enlisting in August, 1862, in Company K. One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, of which company his brother George W. was captain. He remained in the service until the close of the war and was promoted from corporal to third sergeant and later to orderly sergeant. He participated in the battles of Perryville, Chickamauga, Atlanta, Nashville, Jones- boro and in fact most of the engagements in which his regiment took part.
Since her husband's death Mrs. Cook has proven herself most capable in the management of the estate left by him, and personally conducts all business con- nected therewith. She has sold the property which he had acquired, realizing a handsome sum therefrom, and now makes her home in Catlin. She here owns a beautiful residence on Vermilion street, which is well known by reason of its warm-hearted hospitality. She is a lady of most estimable traits, and during her residence in this city has won a circle of friends which is almost coextensive with the circle of her acquaintances.
R. K. BYERLY.
R. K. Byerly, the proprietor of the Catlin elevator, of which he became the owner in 1909, is in the conduct thereof doing a large shipping business, being one of the extensive grain dealers in this section of the county. Catlin town- ship claims him as a native son, his birth here occurring on the 3d of Septem- ber, 1878. He is a son of I. N. and Dicie (Goff) Byerly, both natives of In- diana, who came to Illinois about 1870. They located in Catlin township, Ver- milion county, and continue to make this their home.
Born and reared within the borders of Catlin township, R. K. Byerly at- tended the public schools here in the acquirement of his education and remained with his parents until attaining his majority, when, seeking the opportunities offered by the city, he left the farm and went to Chicago, where for about two years he was employed by the firm of Sears, Roebuck & Company. At the ex- piration of that period he returned to Catlin township and was here married on the 18th of September, 1902, to Miss Alinna Benson, of Fairmont, Ver- milion county. Mrs. Byerly was one of four children born unto O. C. and Matilda Benson, natives of Sweden, who came to America at an early day. They were married in Danville, Illinois, and later removed to Fairmont, where
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the mother passed away in August, 1907. The father survives and continues to make that city his home.
After his marriage Mr. Byerly came to this city to take charge of the Cat- lin elevator and continued as its manager for two years when, in 1904, in com- pany with his wife, he made a trip to California, remaining upon the western coast for eighteen months. Upon his return he again assumed the manage- ment of the grain business, conducting its interests until 1909, when he pur- chased the elevator and has since become one of the extensive dealers in grain in this locality, shipping about one hundred and fifty thousand bushels each year. He carefully studies grain conditions, keeping in close touch with the market, and thus knows when and where to buy and sell to the best advantage, and his keen business insight and careful management are proving salient ele- ments in a prosperity which is ranking him among the substantial business men of Catlin.
Mr. and Mrs. Byerly hold membership in the Church of Christ at Catlin and occupy a high place in the social circles in which they move. Mr. Byerly is identified with Catlin Lodge, No. 538, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all of the chairs, serving as its present secretary. Politically he is a republican, serving as a member of the village board, of which he was at one time treasurer. Reared amid the busy activities of rural life, his education being merely that covered by the curriculum of the common schools, his record is another illus- tration of the fact that success in the business world is not so much a matter of unusual characteristics or of fortunate circumstances but results rather from the development of one's latent powers and talents and from close application and ready utilization of opportunities such as are met with in the life of al- most every individual. A man of upright character and honorable principles, his dealings with his fellowmen have ever conformed to the highest standard of commercial ethics, and he is honored and respected by all with whom he has come in contact.
PHILIP CADLE.
Philip Cadle is one of the prominent business men of Vermilion county. The owner of landed interests and extensively engaged in stock-raising, he is the proprietor of the Ideal Stock Farm, comprising about one thousand acres on the Attica road, about two and one-half miles from the town of Rossville. No commercial enterprise is more carefully organized or more systematically controlled than are the farming and stock-raising interests of Philip Cadle, upon whose place are a large number of employes, each in charge of especially assigned tasks. In all of his business interests Mr. Cadle displays keen dis- crimination, and his unfaltering energy has enabled him to overcome all the difficulties and obstacles in his path and work his way steadily upward.
A native of England, he was born on the 22d of February, 1849, and is a son of George and Elizabeth (Saunders) Cadle, who came with their family to the new world in 1853 and made their way direct to Attica, Indiana. The
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RESIDENCE OF PHILIP CADLE
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Av. and Mrs. Philip Cadle
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father was a well educated man whose keen intelligence enabled him to recog- nize and take advantage of the opportunities that offered. He was a farmer by occupation and after arriving in this country worked on the Wabash Rail- road for about a year. He afterward purchased land in Vermilion county, Illinois, devoting a considerable period to general agricultural pursuits, after which he retired to private life, enjoying in the evening of his days a well earned rest. His original holdings were one hundred and sixty acres. When he had converted that tract into an improved farm he sold it and invested in two hundred and ten acres of land near Ogden, Illinois. Later he sold that property and removed to Homer, Illinois, where his last days were passed, his death occurring in 1892, while his wife passed away in 1890, at the age of seventy-seven years. During the period of their residence in Illinois their good qualities had gained them many warm friends and they were ranked with the leading and representative citizens of the community.
Philip Cadle, a little lad of four years when brought to the new world, be- gan his education as a pupil in the public schools of Indiana and through the periods of vacation he worked upon the home farm. He accompanied his par- ents on their removal to Illinois and continued his studies in the district schools near his father's home. The training at farm labor was comprehensive, bring- ing him into close touch with all the branches of farm work, so that his practi- cal understanding thereof enables him to wisely direct the labors of those who now serve him. In 1869, when he was twenty years of age, he began operating the home farm on shares, his father giving him a horse which, however, was the only assistance that he received. The following year he left home and rented a tract of land in Ross township, planting two hundred acres to corn. Success attended him in the venture and for four years he remained upon that property, his labors being attended with substantial success. He then turned his attention to the cattle business, purchasing a herd of one hundred head and thus started in a stock-raising enterprise which has become one of extensive proportions. In 1878 he purchased his present home place, comprising three hundred and eighty-one acres of land and by close application and good man- agement since that time he has steadily progressed financially and is today one of the extensive landowners and one of the most successful stock-raisers of the county, his landed possessions aggregating over one thousand, three hundred acres. There are eight tenant houses and nine families upon the farm and Mr. Cadle is recognized as one of the most prominent stock-farmers of Vermilion county. He is also engaged in loaning money and the various branches of his business are proving a source of gratifying profit.
On the 27th of October, 1875, Mr. Cadle was married to Miss America Seymour, a daughter of Hutten Seymour. The family numbers four children : Lilian, now the wife of Hays Ross; Maud, the wife of Samuel Miller; George S., who married Alma Briggs and has one son, John Philip; and Dora, at home. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Cadle has been a member from the age of sixteen years. He has taken an active and helpful part in church work, has guided his life by its principles and for a long period has served as one of the elders in the church. His political endorse- ment is given to the republican party and on several occasions he has been called
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to serve in local offices, acting as supervisor of the county for four years, as clerk and president of the school board for thirteen years and as school trus- tee. He has ever manifested a deep and helpful interest in those projects which are of vital significance to the welfare of the community and his cooperation therein has been far-reaching and beneficial. His is a notable record of a self- made man who, achieving a large measure of success, has in all his life record no esoteric chapters. His course has at all times conformed to strict business principles and honorable methods, his path never being strewn with the wreck of other men's fortunes. His business integrity as well as his prosperity forms the fitting crown of a well spent life.
JOHN WESLEY CREIGHTON.
John Wesley Creighton, a prosperous farmer of Vermilion county and well known for many years as a thresher of grain, also has talents in other lines that have reflected credit upon himself and those with whom he has been associated. He was born in Rochester, Sangamon county, Illinois, February 4, 1858, and is a son of Isaac L. and Comfort Ellen (Cary) Creighton. When he was a year old his parents left Sangamon county and went to Ohio, locating near Marietta, where they remained until 1865. Returning to Illinois, they took up their resi- dence on a farm near Armstrong, where the subject of this review continued until 1882. From that place he went to Hitchcock, Dakota, remaining at the latter place for six years. Becoming convinced that the state of his birth pre- sented better inducemens than any other he had seen, he returned to Illinois, where he has since continued.
Educated in the common schools, Mr. Creighton has also learned a great deal by observation and by reading, and in many respects he is an unusually well in- formed man. For thirty-three years past he has threshed grain in Vermilion county, starting out with an old J. I. Case ground horse power. He next made use of a two-wheel machine, then a machine that traveled on four wheels, but was driven by horse power. He and his brother were the owners of an up-to- date steam thresher and he is known as one of the most active and energetic men in his line to be found in this section of the state. He has been quite suc- cessful in farming and he and his wife own a well improved farm of one hundred and twenty acres, fully supplied with all modern appliances and conducted on the best known principles. Mr. Creighton has devoted a great deal of time to the study of breeding and as a result of his investigations he became the origi- nator of the Black Plymouth Rock chicken. He also specializes along the lines of Percheron horses and Duroc Jersey hogs and has produced some of the finest animals of these breeds that have been seen in Vermilion county. He is a persistent student and investigator and has established a reputation in the specialties which he has chosen.
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