USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, Illinois : a tale of its evolution, settlement, and progress for nearly a century, Volume II > Part 24
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Reared in the city of his nativity George F. Rearick attended the public and high school there and for years was a student at Ohio Wesleyan Uni- versity at Delaware, Ohio. He began his business career by learning the tin- ner's trade at which he worked for some years, but desiring to enter upon a professional career, he began the study of law in 1885 at Danville under the direction of Hon. William J. Calhoun, now minister to China. In 1888 he was admitted to the bar and after practicing alone for about a year was made as- sistant state's attorney under Hiram P. Blackburn, holding that position for four years. In 1893 he was elected city attorney and so acceptably did he fill that position that he was reelected, serving in all six years. He then became a member of the firm of Winter & Rearick, which connection continued several years, and he has since been in partnership with James A. Meeks under the firm style of Rearick & Meeks. He is well versed in the various departments of the law, is thoroughly devoted to the interests of his clients, and his conscientious
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and careful preparation of his cases and their clear presentation in the courts are strong elements in what is termed a successful legal career.
On the 27th of September, 1893, Mr. Rearick was married to Miss Grace Haggard of Danville and they have become the parents of five children, namely : Walter, Elizabeth, Francis, Edward and Harold. They hold membership in the First Methodist Episcopal church of Danville and Mr. Rearick is also connected with the Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a director of the Vermilion County Abstract Company and a member of the public library board. He is now at the head of a large and constantly in- creasing practice and his success is the merited reward of his own labor.
CAPTAIN ROBERT C. LANE.
Captain Robert C. Lane, now carrying on business as a retail hardware dealer at No. 826 North Vermilion street, was born August 15, 1841, near Cin- cinnati, in Hamilton county, Ohio, and is a representative of one of the pioneer families of that city. His father, Abraham C. Lane, was also a native of Hamilton county and on leaving Ohio removed to Indiana, his death occurring in White county of the latter state on the 8th of August, 1908, when he had reached the very advanced age of ninety-one years. He married Miss Eliza R. Wooley, who died in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, February 15, 1857. She was an aunt of Hon. John G. Woolley, the temperance lecturer who was the presidential candidate on the prohibition ticket in 1904. To Abraham C. and Eliza R. (Wooley) Lane were born three children: Augustus W .; Emma B., now the wife of Bernard G. Smith, a banker of Monticello, Indiana; and Robert C., of this review.
The last named obtained his primary education in the district schools of Butler county, Ohio, and he supplemented the knowledge there acquired by a course at Stockwell Collegiate Institute in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, leaving school at the age of twenty years. The Civil war having broken out, he decided to enter the service, a company being formed at the school which he was at- tending, and on the 7th of September, 1861, he was mustered in for three years' service. Although he enlisted as a private he rose to the rank of captain of Company H, Fortieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. In the fall of 1862 he was promoted to sergeant major, in which capacity he served until December 14, 1864, when he was made first lieutenant of his company, and on the 14th of June, 1865, was commissioned captain. He served as post commissary and brigade inspector and participated in many notable engagements, never missing a battle or a skirmish in which his command took part. He followed the regi- ment all through Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. He was never ill for a single day, was never wounded nor taken prisoner and at the close of the war was honorably discharged in January, 1866, and mustered out at Indianapolis, Indiana. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Franklin and Nashville, the last named being the last battle
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fought in the west. On receiving his discharge he returned home with a war record of which he may be justly proud.
On resuming the duties of civil life Captain Lane served for one year as deputy county clerk in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, but in 1868 removed to Paris, Illinois, where he accepted a position in the general store of an uncle, with whom he remained for three years. In 1871 he embarked in business on his own account as a hardware dealer and was thus employed for a number of years, or until 1888, which year witnessed his removal to Bloomington, Illinois. At that place he accepted a position with the firm of D. B. Harwood, whole- sale and retail hardware merchants, and on coming to Danville in 1891 was con- nected with the Yeomans & Shedd Hardware Company as a traveling repre- sentative for almost twenty years. In April, 1910, he opened his present store at No. 826 North Vermilion street and has already built up a good trade. He carries a large and complete line of shelf and heavy hardware and his fair and honorable dealing has commended him to the confidence of those with whom he has been brought in contact.
Captain Lane was married in Paris, Illinois, October 20, 1870, to Miss Frances A. Nelson, a native of Indiana, and they have become the parents of four children, namely, Willard C., Marie, Robert N. and Anna, all born in Paris. The second son is now a physician, engaged in practice at Gibson City, Illinois.
Captain Lane gives his political allegiance to the republican party and its principles and, although he takes an active interest in public affairs, has never sought or desired official preferment. He is an honored member of Kenesaw Post, G. A. R., and also belongs to the Masonic Lodge, No. 268, in Paris. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian and is a man whose many sterling character- istics have gained him a host of warm friends wherever known.
DANIEL C. JONES, M. D.
In the history of the medical profession in Danville it is imperative that mention be made of Dr. Daniel C. Jones, because of his prominence and his ability. Since 1899 he has been surgeon for the Danville branch of the home for disabled soldiers, and in this connection has done excellent work. He was born in Athens county, Ohio, on the 5th of January, 1838, and has therefore passed the seventy-second milestone on life's journey. His father, Ephraim B. Jones, was born in Virginia and remained a resident of the Old Dominion until about thirty years of age, when he removed to Ohio, where he engaged in farm- ing. In 1850 he came to Illinois, settling in Douglas county and his last days were spent in Paris, where he died in 1876. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Martha Clark, was a native of Virginia and died in 1873.
Daniel C. Jones was educated in the public schools of Ohio and of Illinois and in the academy at Paris. He thus laid a good foundation upon which to build the superstructure of professional learning and after leaving the academy took up the study of medicine in 1858 and was graduated from Rush Medical College
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of Chicago with the class of 1862. He has always been a close and discrimi- nating student of his profession and in 1866 he completed further college train- ing by graduation from the Ohio Medical College. Throughout his life he has closely investigated the questions bearing upon the complex mystery which we call life and has eagerly embraced every opportunity for promoting his skill and ability that his labors might be an effective element in restoring health and checking the ravages of disease.
In 1861 Dr. Jones responded to the country's call for aid and served as army surgeon of the Second Illinois Cavalry from the opening year of the war until 1866. He afterward practiced medicine in Paris for two years and in 1868 removed to Junction City, Kansas. In 1875 he became a resident of Topeka, Kansas, where he continued in active and successful practice until 1893, when he was appointed surgeon of the western branch of the home for disabled soldiers, located at Leavenworth, Kansas. There he remained for six years, when in 1899 he came to Danville as surgeon of the Danville branch and for eleven years has occupied this position for which his ability well qualifies him.
On the 18th of January, 1864, Dr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Jane E. Austin, a native of New York. They have two daughters: Martha C., who was born in Paris, Illinois; and Adela A., who was born in Kansas. The latter is now the wife of W. F. Hixon.
Dr. Jones has not only manifested great professional efficiency and ability, but has also rendered faithful public service in various connections. He was surgeon general of Kansas and a member of the state board of health there. While living in Topeka he served as mayor for one term, but resigned the posi- tion in order to accept his appointment at Leavenworth. His official prerogatives have ever been exercised for the benefit of his fellowmen in the communities where he has lived and over the record of his public career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicions of evil. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for a considerable period, taking the degrees of the lodge and the chapter at Topeka, Kansas. He also belongs to the commandery at Paris, Illinois, and is an exemplary representative of the teachings of the fraternity. Those who meet him in social and business or professional relations find him a genial, courteous gentleman, whose life conforms to a high standard of upright man- hood. He is ably filling the position to which he has been called and his ready sympathy and cheery words make him a favorite with the patients under his care.
HANNIBAL H. KIDD.
No history of Catlin would be complete without mention of Hannibal H. Kidd, who, in connection with his son, is now conducting the most extensive and important real-estate and insurance business in the city, and who has also for a number of years been one of the most prominent and influential figures in the public life of the community. Born near Georgetown, Illinois, on the 27th of October, 1860, he is a son of Willis N. and Nancy (Parks) Kidd, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Indiana. The father came with
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his parents to Vermilion county, Illinois, in 1829, their home being established on a tract of land entered from the government by him, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres four miles northwest of Georgetown. A log cabin was built in which the family lived for a number of years, and there Willis N. Kidd reared his family among pioneer conditions and hardships. It was in this county that he was married to Miss Nancy Parks, and here their remaining days were spent, Mr. Kidd passing away in 1875, having survived his wife for more than a decade, her death occurring in 1864. Of their family of ten children but five are still living.
The early educational advantages enjoyed by Hannibal H. Kidd were those offered by the common schools near his father's home, in which he mastered all the elementary branches of learning, and he also attended college at Valparaiso, Indiana, one semester of three months. But he is largely, however, a self- educated man, gaining through extensive outside reading and study a general knowledge far exceeding that covered by the usual public school curriculum. Upon attaining his majority he taught school during the winter months, proving a most capable and satisfactory instructor, and during the summer months operated a tract of forty acres of the old homestead which he had purchased. He continued in this dual occupation for about seven years, when he sold his property and in 1891 came to Catlin, where he was appointed to the position of principal of the school. He filled that office for several years, his identifi- cation with the educational interests of the community being a source of benefit, for he ever performed his professional service with a sense of conscientious obligation, realizing how important is the training of the young as a preparation for life's work. In the meantime, in 1901, he became identified with the real- estate and insurance business, to which he later gave his entire attention, and now, in connection with his son, is conducting the largest and most important enterprise of this character in the county, handling many large realty transfers and writing much important insurance.
On the 22d of October, 1884, Mr. Kidd was united in marriage to Miss Mattie I. Hartley, who was born on a farm in Catlin township on the 4th of July, 1865, and is a daughter of A. A. and Elizabeth (McMillan) Hartley, na- tives of Vermilion county. The father passed away in January, 1910, and the mother still survives, making her home in Catlin, while of the eight children born unto them three have passed away. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kidd have been born four children, as follows: St. Elmo E., who is now married and resides in Catlin; Forrest F., who passed away at the age of four years; Eva Gladys, a student in the high school; and Harlan H., yet at home.
Mr. Kidd and his wife both hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, the teachings of which form the guiding influences of their lives. Identi- fied with the Masonic fraternity, Mr. Kidd holds membership in the blue lodge, No. 632, A. F. & A. M., at Ridge Farm. He also is a member of Mayfield Lodge, No. 635, K. P., in which he has filled all of the chairs, and belongs to the Modern Woodmen Camp, No. 431, at Catlin, having passed through all of the chairs of that body also. A life-long republican, he has ever been active in local party ranks, and that his personal worth and ability were recog- nized by his fellow citizens is indicated by the fact that in 1901 he was called
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to the highest office in the city, his service as mayor continuing for several years. He made an excellent executive, giving to the people and the public a business- like administration characterized by progress and advancement, in which he in- augurated many needed reforms and improvements. His is a splendid ex- · ample of the power and force of honorable manhood, of earnest effort and of high principle. Successful in business and political life as well, his salient char- acteristics are such as make for good citizenship in any community and which win the esteem, confidence and good will of all.
ZARAH S. SAYLOR.
Zarah S. Saylor, who has for eighteen years been engaged in the general mercantile business at Oakwood and is a deservedly popular citizen of Ver- milion county, was born in Indiana, July 10, 1863. He is a son of John A. and Priscilla (Donaldson) Saylor, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Ohio. Mr. Saylor came to Illinois in 1852 and remained only a short time, when he returned to Fairfield county, Ohio, and from there in 1854 went to Indiana, engaging as a cooper. He later bought and operated a hotel, but disposed of it and purchased a farm in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, which he conducted for eleven years. In 1872 he sold his Indiana farm and located at Oakwood, where he engaged in the mercantile business, continuing until 1892. He lived retired for a number of years and died at the advanced age of ninety years, August 6, 1908. Mrs. Saylor departed this life February II, 1909, at the age of eighty-three years. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Saylor: Perry, who died at the age of three years; Lenora, who lived to the age of fifty-five years; Samuel, who died at thirteen years of age; John W., of Vermilion county; Susan, who died at the age of seven years; Aaron, who died at the age of twenty-nine years ; and Zarah S. and P. M., twins, both living in Oakwood.
Zarah S. Saylor was educated in the district schools and remained with his parents until he was eighteen years of age. He began his active career in the employ of the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad and for ten years filled the position of telegraph operator upon that line. However, being in- clined toward a mercantile career, he bought his father's interest in a store at Oakwood in 1892 and has since successfully conducted it, carrying a well se- lected stock of general mercantile supplies.
On March 27, 1892, Mr. Saylor was united in marriage to Miss Frances Truax, a native of Vermilion county and a daughter of Captain Joseph Truax, of the Thirty-fifth Illinois Regiment of Volunteers, and Mary (Helmick) Truax. One child, Harry Truax, was born of this union March 22, 1893, and is a grad- uate of the high school of Oakwood. Mrs. Saylor was called from earthly cares March 28, 1893, and is buried in Oakwood cemetery. In 1909 Mr. Saylor was again married, the lady of his choice being Miss Ada Barkman, a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Collings) Barkman, natives of Illinois. The father departed this life in 1909 and the mother is now living with her daughter, the wife of our
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subject. Mrs. Saylor is one of four children born to her parents, the others being: Bruce, who died at the age of three years; Albert, of Catlin, Illinois ; Laura, now Mrs. C. F. Stanner, of Oakwood.
Mr. Saylor is politically identified with the democratic party, but sometimes votes for the candidates of other parties, being liberal in his political views. He has served in several public offices and has always discharged his responsi- bilities with conscientious care. For four years he filled the office of postmaster at Oakwood, under President Cleveland. He acted as township collector for one term and is at present president of the board of trustees of the village of Oakwood. He is a member of Free Will Lodge, No. 872, A. F. & A. M., of Oakwood, and in all his duties has acquitted himself honorably as behooves a man who endeavors to be guided by principles of justice and truth.
JOHN ALLEN DANIELS.
John Allen Daniels left a deep impress upon the history of Danville, where for twenty-one years he made his home. Through a longer period he had been identified with this section of the state and as the years passed on he proved his worth as a pubilc-spirited man who never sacrificed the general good to individual interests. His honesty and enterprise in business, fidelity in friendship and his devotion to his family were qualities which made him one of the honored residents of Danville. He was born in Beverly, West Virginia, in 1845, a son of James Madison Daniels, who was a native of the same state and spent his entire life there. In the public schools of West Virginia John Allen Daniels pursued his education and in 1866, when a young man of twenty- one years, came west to Vermilion county. During the succeeding five years · he followed farming in Vermilion and Iroquois counties and was recognized as one of the representative agriculturists of the community, following methods which made his fields very productive and his labors resultant. In 1880, how- ever, he took up his abode in Danville, where he established a furniture busi- ness, which he conducted under his own name for a time, and later under the name of the Danville Furniture Company. The beginning was small and the stock somewhat limited, but as time passed on he increased his stock to meet the demands of the trade. He worked diligently and persistently to build up the business and his earnest desire to please his patrons and his honorable methods at length brought the reward which he desired. His patronage steadily grew and in the later years of his life had one of the leading furniture estab- lishments of the city with a trade that justified him in carrying the large stock which he handled.
In Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1871, Mr. Daniels was united in marriage to Miss Marcia W. Hobart, a native of that city. Theirs was a happy married life, a most cengenial companionship characterizing the home which was blessed with the presence of four children who reached maturity, namely: Lucretia E., now the wife of J. P. Pearson; Stanley H .; Edna E., the wife of George S. Murray, of Columbus, Georgia; and Mitchell T., who is attending the Chicago
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University. The death of the husband and father occurred June 8, 1902, after which the business was incorporated under the name of the Danville Furniture & Carpet Company, with Mrs. Daniels as the president, Stanley H. Daniels as vice president and Mrs. Murray, treasurer. They have remodeled the build- ing and have one of the finest stores of the kind to be seen anywhere, carrying a stock that would be a credit to a city of much larger size.
In relation to affairs of the city Mr. Daniels always manifested a public- spirited interest and cooperated in many movements for the general welfare. His friends termed him "a thoroughly good man." He was charitable, gener- ously aiding those in need; was kindly, doing good everywhere possible; and was ever upright, never taking advantage of the necessities of his fellowmen in any business transaction. The long years of his residence in Danville proved his sterling worth and caused his death to be deeply regretted by all with whom he came in contact.
JAMES DAVIS.
It is evident from the great work accomplished by the early settlers of Illinois that they were equipped in a remarkable degree to cope with the dan- gers and difficulties inseparable from pioneer life. With scarcely no resources except their sinewy arms and their invincible will, they accomplished a work which has been the admiration of all succeeding times. The pioneers were brave, strong and resolute. The dark forest or the boundless, untrodden prairie had no terrors for these fearless souls. They were bent on a mighty mission-the founding of a home-and no obstacle could long delay them in their divinely appointed work, resulting as it has in the firm establishment of a govern- ment that is the wonder of all thinking men-the greatest monument to human enterprise and genius that the world has ever known.
To James Davis belongs the honor of being one of the oldest residents of Vermilion county. Seventy-four years ago his eyes first rested on the region which, through the efforts of men like himself, has been converted into productive farms with beautiful homes, provided with all the comforts and conveniences of modern life. The country was then largely unbroken prairie and dense woods with heavy undergrowth occupied the valley. Little did the early arrivals dream of the great changes that were to take place on the face of nature, nor did they dream of the numberless improvements that the later generation would introduce.
The subject of this review was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, January 21, 1828, and is a son of Henry and Rachel (Pollack) Davis, both natives of western Pennsylvania. The father, who was a farmer, removed to Guernsey county, Ohio, in 1808, one year after his marriage, remaining there until the fall of 1836, when he came to Vermilion county, Illinois, locating on the farm where our subject now lives. This land was originally entered by a man named Cozad, who sold it to a Mr. Elliott, from whom it was purchased by Mr. Davis. Upon it stood a log house a story and a half in height, with a puncheon floor, wherein the
JAMES DAVIS
MRS. JAMES DAVIS
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family lived for four or five years, at the end of which time Mr. Davis erected a better residence. A part of the barn built by the pioneer in 1838 is still stand- ing and is one of the historic fragments of this region. In this barn it was customary to tramp out the wheat with horses and in 1842 the wheat from the farm was hauled to Chicago, our subject, although merely a lad at that time, driving one of the wagons. In 1848 the first threshing machine was seen upon the farm and in the fall of the same year our subject and his brother drove to Chicago with a load of apples, for which they received from fifty to seventy-five cents a bushel. The family home was on the old state road and here many travelers passing through the country were entertained, the charge for a meal being twelve and a half cents, which was considered a fair price in those days. Henry Davis departed this life in November, 1855, his wife having been called to her final rest in November, 1848.
James Davis was the youngest of their ten children. He received his educa- tion in a log schoolhouse and as he grew up became thoroughly familiar with the operations on the farm. At twenty-two years of age he took unto himself a life companion and his father made him a present of a fine tract of land, which he proceeded to cultivate and which he has greatly improved and brought to a high state of productiveness. He is now the owner of one of the richest farms in this portion of the county, embracing three hundred and fifty-two acres and provided with a handsome residence and all the conveniences that are known to the up-to-date farmer. He is also the owner of property in Danville and has for many years been recognized as a thorough agriculturist and stock-raiser, hav- ing bred stock on an extensive scale, including cattle, horses, sheep and hogs.
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