USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, Illinois : a tale of its evolution, settlement, and progress for nearly a century, Volume II > Part 14
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Unto Mr. and Mrs. Voorhees were born five children. These are: Mrs. A. G. P. Dodge, of Danville; Arthur E., of Booneville, Indiana; Daniel, of Peoria; Philip B., of Danville. One daughter, Mrs. Benjamin Crawford, died but a year prior to her mother's demise. Peter Voorhees passed away in 1901 and Mrs. Voorhees died April 7, 1902. While memory lasts to those who knew them this worthy couple will be remembered in Vermilion county and among their many friends. Their lives exemplified their Christian faith and they were worthy and consistent followers of the teachings of the Master. Peter Voorhees is most remembered because of his many kind deeds and his helpful spirit. An old German saying has come down to us: "A man makes three kinds of friends
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in this world-gains he accumulates; the hearts whom he loves; and his good works. The wealth is the first to leave him when death lays its hands upon the form; the loved ones go to the tomb, but his good works follow him through all the years, praising his name and making hallowed his memory." So let it be with Peter Voorhees.
JOHN W. NEWLON.
To practically devote an entire lifetime to public service and yet retain the high regard of the great majority of those with whom one comes in contact, indicates most clearly prompt, capable and efficient service and unfaltering loyalty to duty. Mr. Newlon is numbered among those whose life record has ever contained many commendable elements, chief among which is his fidelity to the trust reposed in him during his long connection with public office. Ver- milion county numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred upon the home farm in Oakwood township, June 13, 1840.
His father, Thomas B. Newlon, was a native of Harrison county, Virginia, and after arriving at years of maturity wedded Mrs. Angeline Griffith Makem- son, who was born in Wayne county, Indiana, and was a daughter of Stephen Griffith, who in 1826 became one of the honored pioneer residents of Vermilion county. At that time Mrs. Newlon was nine years of age. She passed the ninetieth milestone on life's journey, spending her last days in Kansas. The Newlon family was founded in Vermilion county in 1837, when John Newlon, the grandfather of our subject, removed from Champaign county, Ohio, to this state. He settled in Catlin township, and his son, Thomas B., assisted in the development of the home farm. After his marriage to Mrs. Makemson he took up his abode in Oakwood township and there carried on general agri- cultural pursuits for a number of years. In 1866 he removed with his family to Kansas but in 1872 returned to Vermilion county, where he resided until called to his final rest in February, 1877.
John W. Newlon, the eldest of the family of seven children, early became familiar with the usual experiences that fall to the lot of the farm boy, and devoted the summer months to the labors of the field and the winter seasons to the acquirement of an education in the district schools. With an apitude for learning, he devoted his evening hours to study and has ever read broadly and thought deeply. His progress along intellectual lines early qualified him for teaching and for several years he followed that profession. He afterward devoted many years to farming and his attention was largely engaged in buy- ing and shipping stock, his business interests of that character reaching ex- tensive proportions.
Mr. Newlon had scarcely passed his majority when he responded to the country's call for troops to aid in suppressing the rebellion of the south. In July, 1861, he joined the army as a member of Company I, Thirty-fifth Illi- nois Infantry, with which he was connected until 1864. He saw considerable hard service, taking part in the battles of Pea Ridge, Stone River, Corinth,
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Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. He also went with Sherman on the Altanta campaign. At Kenesaw Mountain he was slightly wounded and was twice captured but on both occasions succeeded in making his escape. After three years of faithful service he was mustered out at Springfield with the rank of sergeant and returned to his home with a most creditable military record.
Mr. Newlon at once took up general farming, which he followed in sum- mer months, while the winter seasons were devoted to teaching. On the 19th of September, 1865, he made arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Ivea E. Taylor, a daughter of Thomas A. and Ivea (Allen) Taylor, who on coming to this county in 1853 settled in Catlin township, where Mr. Taylor died on the 19th of September, 1876. His wife survived him for several years, departing this life in 1893 in her seventy-eighth year. Mrs. New- lon, as a girl reached the senior year in the high school of Springfield, Illinois. She was born in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, on the 2d of February, 1845, and following her marriage accompanied her husband to Winterset, Iowa, but a year later returned to Vermilion county. Unto them have been born four daughters and a son: Temperance Jane; Nora, the wife of H. B. Catlett; Mil- dred; Lena; and Lowell T., who is assistant teller of the First National Bank of Danville and married Miss Vera Seed.
Not only has Mr. Newlon been actively connected with farming for many years but is also widely known because of his identification with public interests. His fellow townsmen have manifested their trust in him by calling him to vari- ous public positions. He filled the office of supervisor of Catlin township for three terms and was also collector and assessor there. In 1888 he came to Dan- ville and was appointed deputy sheriff under J. C. Gundy, filling that office for two years. In 1890 he was elected sheriff and during his four years' in- cumbency in that position there occurred the great strike of the American Railway Union and at the same time five thousand miners in Vermilion county went out on a strike. The position that confronted Mr. Newlon was a most difficult one but he was equal to the emergency and carefully, quietly and effi- ciently directed the seven companies of militia who were called into service. It is such crises that test the real merit of a man. At no time did his judg- ment seem hasty, his course unwarranted. He sought the good of all and that his efforts were put forth along the lines of justice is indicated by the fact that when be became a candidate for county treasurer on the expiration of his term as sheriff he was elected without opposition. He served for four years as treasurer and in 1898 became chief deputy sheriff, spending three and a half years in that position under James Sloan. In 1901 he was again in the sheriff's office and in 1902 was appointed commissary of subsistence at the Soldiers' Home and has since held that position.
In his political views Mr. Newlon has ever been an earnest republican and a recognized worker in the ranks of the party. He served as delegate to the county and state conventions and was assistant sergeant-at-arms at the St. Louis convention when William McKinley was nominated for the presidency. For several terms he has served as a central committeeman and has done not a little toward shaping the policy of the party and promoting its success in Ver- milion county. After passing through the degrees of the blue lodge in Masonry,
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he became a member of Vermilion Chapter, No. 89, R. A. M., and took the degrees of Chivalric Masonry in Athelstan Commandery, No. 45, K. T. Both he and his wife are devoted and faithful members of the Presbyterian church, their labors in its behalf proving effective features in its support. As a soldier on the field of battle, as an incumbent in public office and in relations of private life, John Newlon has ever commanded the confidence and regard of his fel- lowmen and is most highly esteemed where best known. His public career has been varied in service and faultless in honor.
BRADFORD W. NEEL.
There is no doubt that in many instances the talents of the father are in- herited by the son. In the case of Bradford W. Neel, whose name stands at the head of this review, this statement is clearly exemplified. His father was a blacksmith and the earliest recollection of the son is the music of the ham- iner and anvil, the hammer being wielded by the sturdy arm of the head of the family. After testing his abilities in various lines, our subject finally settled down to the business of his father and today he is at the head of one of the most completely appointed blacksmith establishments in eastern Illinois.
He was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, July 15, 1860, and is the son of William and Mary (Malcomb) Neel, the former a native of Pennsyl- vania and the latter of Ohio. The father came to Illinois at the close of the Civil war, in 1865, and settled at Conkey Town, Vermilion county, where he engaged in blacksmithing and wagon-making for five years. He then moved to a farm in this county which he operated for five years, afterward locating near Muncie, where he continued farming for another period of five years. Re- turning to the region of Oakwood, he once more engaged as a farmer, but after the death of his wife, in 1890, he returned to his original vocation as a black- smith, his life coming to its close in 1897. He was the father of nine children, six of whom are living: Bradford W., our subject; Silas H., of Vermilion county ; Daniel G., of Catlin; Jennie, of South Dakota; Warren, of Vermilion county ; and Mary, a resident of South Dakota.
Bradford W. Neel remained with his parents and took advantage of such opportunities for education as were presented in the district schools until he was sixteen years of age. In the meantime he had gained some knowledge of the blacksmith's trade and he began his business career by working at that occupation. After a few years he became associated with Charles Baum of Newtown, Ver- milion county, in handling horses, but in 1881 he sold out his interest and rented land, which he farmed for two years. The Kansas fever about this time took possession of many young men in the agricultural states north of the Ohio river and the subject of this sketch yielded to its seductions, but after a short experience on the wind-swept plains of the Sunflower state he retraced his steps to familiar scenes in Illinois and for ten years he engaged in mining coal. At the end of this time he established a blacksmith shop at Oakwood
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and here he has remained, being at the head of a shop of which he is justly proud and which produces satisfactory returns for the labor expended.
On October 12, 1881, Mr. Neel was united in marriage to Miss Laura A. Lemasters, a native of Greene county, Indiana. Three years from the time of her marriage she was called to her final rest departing this life June 10, 1884. A child which was the result of the union died in infancy. On January 1I, 1886, Mr. Neel was again married, selecting as the lady of his choice Mrs. Elizabeth Shock, of Vermilion county, a daughter of Moses and Elizabeth Stevenson of Ohio. Mrs. Neel was the mother of one child by her first marriage, a daughter, who is now Mrs. Charles Andrews, of Elkhart, Indiana.
Mr. Neel has been since reaching his majority an advocate of the republican party and while he has not sought political preferment, he was chosen by his fellow citizens as president of the village board, serving with general accept- ance for four years. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, Lodge No. 564, of Oakwood, and he and his wife are actively connected with the Methodist Episcopal church of Oakwood. As seen by this brief re- view, Mr. Neel is an intelligent, hard-working man and is known as one of the substantial citizens of his community.
GEORGE DUDENHOFER.
George Dudenhofer, a well known business man of Danville, claims Illi- nois as his native state, his birth having occurred in Alton, Madison county, April 3, 1860. His parents, George and Elizabeth (Burkley) Dudenhofer, were both natives of Germany and were people of the highest respectability. The father was born in 1834 and on his emigration to the new world, in 1853, settled in La Fayette, Indiana, where he was married. He was residing in that city when the Civil war broke out and he enlisted in the Union army, serving un- til the close of hostilities. He participated in a number of notable engagements and aided in keeping Morgan from making his raid into the north. During the holiday season of 1865 he removed from La Fayette to Danville, becoming the first cigar manufacturer in this city. He started in business in the old Peter Beyer building on West Main street, where he continued for a number of years and then removed to the Amos S. Williams building on the same street, re- maining there for a period of fourteen years. At the end of that time he lo- cated at No. 123 East Main street, where he carried on operations up to thé time of his death, which occurred in October, 1896. He was an honored mem- ber of Kenesaw Post, No. 77, G. A. R., of Danville and was held in high re- gard by all who knew him. His wife survived him for only a short time, pass- ing away in August, 1897.
On attaining a sufficient age George Dudenhofer entered the public schools of Danville, where he continued his studies until reaching the eighth grade. He then left school and entered his father's shop, where he learned the cigar- maker's trade, later becoming financially interested in the business, which they
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conducted in partnership until the father's death. Our subject was then alone in business until 1901, when he sold out and purchased the James Gilmore Bottling Works at No. 5, Jackson street, where he was engaged in manufactur- ing and bottling soft drinks for some time. He then removed to No. 38 Wash- ington street, and from there to Nos. 110-112 East South street, being obliged at each removal to seek larger quarters on account of his increasing business. It was in 1907 that he began business at his present location and his plant is now fitted up with the latest and most improved machinery known to the trade. He has built up an excellent business, employing on an average of seven men, and ships his products throughout the surrounding country over a radius of from forty to fifty miles.
On the 29th of June, 1881, in Danville, Mr. Dudenhofer was united in marriage to Miss Minnie A. Kearney, a daughter of Patrick Kearney, who was born in Toronto, Canada. They now have three children, as follows : Charles T., who was born in Danville, November 15, 1883, and was married Novem- ber 19, 1908, to Miss Blanche C. Hodges, also a native of Danville; Ida M., born September 28, 1882; and Frank G., born June 15, 1885.
For five years George Dudenhofer served as a member of Battery A, Dan- ville National Guards, and he has always taken a very influential and promi- nent part in public affairs, serving as assistant supervisor for two terms, from 1892 to 1896. He holds membership in Danville Lodge, No. 69, Marsh En- campment, No. 46, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Damascus Lodge, No: 84, Knights of Pythias, Paughcaughnaughsinque Tribe, No. 73, Improved Or- der of Red Men. He is also connected with Aerie, No. 508, Fraternal Order of Eagles. He has taken a prominent part in the work of the Illinois State Bottlers' Association and was elected president of that order in March, 1909, and reelected at the meeting held in Chicago in March, 1910. His family are communicants of the Roman Catholic church and they have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in the city which has now been his home for over forty-five years.
JESSE DAVIS.
Upon the role of Vermilion county's honored dead appears the name of Jesse Davis who, at the time of his demise, was one of the substantial agricul- turists and large landowners of Catlin township. Although he was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, almost his entire life was spent in Illinois, coming here with his parents when a little lad of five years. Shortly after the arrival of the family in Vermilion county the father passed away, and Jesse Davis was reared by his mother, with whom he remained until attaining man's estate.
The period of his boyhood and youth was spent upon a farm, amid the busy activities of rural life, and he attended the common schools near his home in the acquirement of an education. The death of his father, however, made it necessary for him at an early age to assist in the cultivation of the home farm, and so, when still very young, he learned lessons of industry, independence
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and self-reliance. He became thoroughly familiar with the best methods of carrying on the work of the fields, and later, upon entering the business world on his own account, he adopted agriculture as his life work, continuing ac- tively in that connection until his demise. His efforts as an independent farmer were very successful, and with the passing years he prospered materially, mak- ing it possible for him to add to his property holdings until when he passed away he was the owner of four hundred acres in Vermilion county, ranking among the large landowners of this section. An important feature of his farm was the raising and feeding of stock of all kinds, and this branch of his busi- ness proved very successful, returning to him a most gratifying income.
In 1859 Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Melvina Hyatt, who was born in Kentucky on the 24th of November, 1838, a daughter of James and Martha (Roland) Hyatt, both now deceased. She was one of six children born unto her parents, and by her marriage became the mother of five children, four of whom survive their father. They are as follows: Clara J., the wife of Joe Haskins, of Catlin township; Van C. and Scott G., both residents of Ver- milion county ; and Minnie, who wedded David McMellen, of Danville, Illinois, The youngest child passed away in infancy.
Mr. Davis was ever stanch in his support of the republican party and served as school director for many years, doing all in his power to further the educa- tional interests of the community. He was an active member of the Masonic lodge, the high principles upon which that organization is founded being ex- emplified in his daily life. He was public-spirited and loyal in all matters of citizenship, taking a deep interest in those measures and projects which had for their object the upbuilding and development of the county, and thus it was with his passing Vermilion county lost one of its representative and valued citizens. His death occurred on the 3d of May, 1890, and his remains were laid to rest in the beautiful Oakwood cemetery. Mrs. Davis survives her hus- band and lives with her oldest daughter in Catlin. She is a member of the Presbyterian church, to which her husband also belonged, and is. a lady whose many excellent traits of heart and mind have won her the affection and es- teem of all who know her.
ABRAHAM SANDUSKY.
The Sandusky family, as is indicated elsewhere in this work, is one of the noted families of Vermilion county. The older generation of the family in this state is no more; the ruthless progress of years has carried the venerable pioneers away, and no longer are they to be seen in the places that knew them so well. They have passed to their reward, but they left an enduring monu- ment in the beautiful farms and in the history of lives spent in reducing nature to the uses of man. The early pioneer is gone and the modern man of busi- ness is now upon the stage, utilizing the railroad, the telegraph, and the latest improved machinery for operation of the farm and applying the discoveries of science in solving the problems of agriculture and live-stock breeding.
ABRAHAM SANDUSKY
MRS. ABRAHAM SANDUSKY
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Yet there linger upon the scene the sons of the early pioneers and in many instances the sons were pioneers themselves and in their earlier years endured all the trials and difficulties incident to life in a new country. Among this num- ber is Abraham Sandusky, a respected citizen of Vermilion county, now seventy- seven years of age and one of the few living men whose minds carry them back to the conditions on the Illinois frontier in the '30s. Mr. Sandusky is a native of Bourbon county, Kentucky, where he was born March 24, 1833. He is a son of Abraham and Jane (McDowell) Sandusky, both natives of Kentucky, the former born March 29, 1793, and the latter December 16, 1792. The son Abraham was brought to Illinois in the arms of his mother, when he was a babe six months old, and since the year 1833 he has been a resident of Illinois.
It is proper here to state that the Sandusky family is of Polish origin, the original spelling of the name being Sodowsky. The progenitor of the family in America was James Sodowsky, a Polish patriot, who was banished from his native land and sought an asylum in the British colonies. Here he became identi- fied with the leaders of the American revolution and after the close of the war located as a hunter and trader in northern Ohio, where he met his death at the hands of the Indians, although he had been one of their best friends. The bay of Sandusky and the city of Sandusky, Ohio, derive their names from James Sodowsky. Members of the family settled in Kentucky and during the earlier part of the '30s several members of the family came to Vermilion county, bring- ing with them their wives and children. Here they erected their early homes, preempted government land and began the work which assisted so materially in the settlement of this county and the introduction of the comforts of civilization into eastern Illinois.
The subject of this review possessed little opportunity for education in his boyhood days, as the schools were in operation only for two or three months each winter and were generally conducted upon the subscription plan, the teacher boarding round among the patrons. The pioneers, however, were not men of books; they were men of action and hours of labor were long in a new country, where the forests were to be cleared away, the tough prairie sod broken, houses and fences, roads and bridges to be built, swamps to be drained and all these and many other operations to be carried forward in the face of a scarcity of money of which we can form no conception at the present time. Pioneer farmers, who were obliged to deliver the produce of their farms to market over the rough roads of those days, at a distance of fifty or one hundred miles, appreciate the advantages of a macadamized turnpike or a railroad. But times improved and when the Civil war arrived Abraham Sandusky was a prosperous farmer. In 1862 he began purchasing lands and during the years that followed carried on general farming on a large scale, accumulating a fortune of three hundred thousand dollars or more. In the meantime he became interested in the Ex- change Bank, owning one-fourth of its stock. The bank became involved in the failure of a railroad projected from Paris to Danville and in the proceed- ing that followed, the entire fortune of Mr. Sandusky was swept away. Some men are overcome by financial disaster, others lose faith in themselves under such circumstances, but there are those who rise superior to the severest assaults of the unwelcome visitor and emerge from the conflict serene and undismayed.
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Such a man is Abraham Sandusky. Although called upon later to meet even worse discouragements than the loss of money and lands, in the death of those he held most dear, he has never despaired, but with a faith undimmed has continued to trust that in the final summing up all will be well. He returned, after his estate had been settled up, to agricultural pursuits with redoubled energy, and by great diligence recovered six hundred acres of his farm, continuing actively in charge until twenty years ago when he retired, renting the farm to younger men. Shortly before the decease of his beloved wife, which occurred January 15, 1908, he deeded to her three hundred acres of the farm. For many years he was president of the Indianola Fair Association and did more than any other person in the county to keep the association alive, contributing also very largely to its success. As a farmer he has ranked as one of the most progressive in the county and few men in Illinois have done more to promote a better breed of cattle than he, his herd of shorthorns being considered for many years the leading herd in this part of the state.
On December 16, 1869, Mr. Sandusky was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Ellen Baird, a daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Mendenhall) Baird, who were early settlers of Vermilion county. Mrs. Sandusky was for nearly forty years at the side of her husband and she was to him a faithful and helpful assistant. The death of his wife was the greatest loss he has ever known. She was an earnest member of the Baptist church, while Mr. Sandusky has for many years been affiliated with the Cumberland Presbyterian church, but out of deference to his wife's views he usually attended the Baptist church during her life time. He has always been known as a man of most admirable principles, thoroughly loyal to his friends, a liberal giver to all worthy objects and a patriotic and broad-minded citizen, who has assisted in numberless ways in advancing the permanent welfare of the community. Indeed, no record of Vermilion county would be complete without a review of the honorable and useful career of Abra- ham Sandusky, recognized throughout the county as one of its most respected and estimable citizens.
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