USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, Illinois : a tale of its evolution, settlement, and progress for nearly a century, Volume II > Part 44
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In 1881 Mr. Tilton was united in marriage to Miss Mary Judy, who was called away three years later. She was the mother of two children : Frederick, now a resident of Montana; and Pearl, deceased. On April 1, 1888, Mr. Tilton was again married, the lady of his choice being Miss Florence Clements, a na- tive of La Salle county, Illinois, and a daughter of Hugh and Sarah (Bowlby)
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Clements. By the second marriage six children were born: Ray E., Mary L., Ida M., Grace E., Viola E. and Orlo H.
Mr. Tilton gave his adhesion to the democratic party, believing that its prin- ciples are those most in accordance with the objects of a free government. The only official positions he ever held were minor offices in the township. He was an earnest and devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, accepting the teachings of that church as the doctrines of the New Testament. As a citizen he attempted to perform his duty and in all relations of life his con- stant aim was to be governed by the principles of truth and justice. Mrs. Til- ton now resides with her children on the home farm and as the head of the family is ably discharging the responsibilities that in years past devolved upon her husband. She is identified with the Methodist Episcopal church and is a willing assistant in any cause that seeks to advance the permanent interest of the people of Grant township, where she has passed a large part of her life and where she is recognized as one of its most worthy representatives.
HENRY L. CHACE.
Henry L. Chace, a veteran of the Civil war, whose loyalty in days of peace has been equally pronounced, is now living retired in Hoopeston save for the supervision which he gives to his property interests that are extensive and in- clude both city realty and farm lands. He was born in Newport, Rhode Island, March 7, 1843. His father, Henry C. Chase, was a native of Newport county, Rhode Island, and came of a family long connected with New England and of Quaker faith. He wedded Mary Ann Lyon, whose ancestors were also early New England people but were not Quakers. In his younger days Henry C. Chace was a merchant of Georgetown, South Carolina, being engaged with his father in commercial pursuits. Later, however, he turned his attention to farm- ing and continued in that business until his death, which occurred in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1882. His wife survived him for two years.
Henry L. Chace, whose name introduces this review, pursued his education in the public schools of Newport, passing through consecutive grades until he left the high school at the age of fifteen years to take his place in the business world. He assisted his father on the farm until nineteen years of age, and then, his patriotic spirit being aroused by the attempt of the south to overthrow the Union, he enlisted as a member of Company B, Twelfth Rhode Island Infan- try. He was mustered out ten months later. He fought in the battle of Freder- icksburg and was in other active service under General Burnside, commanding the Army of the Potomac.
Following the close of the war Mr. Chace came to Illinois, settling in La Salle county in 1866, and there engaged in farming until 1877. In that year he took up his abode in Grant township, Vermilion county, where he purchased lands and carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1892. In the latter year he removed to Hoopeston but still retains his farms, employing people to work them. He owns altogether about three-quarters of a section of land in this
H. L. CHACE
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county and also extensive holdings in Michigan farm lands. He has dealt ex- tensively in real estate in the city of Hoopeston, where he still has a large num- ber of properties. His investments have been very judiciously made, showing discriminating business judgment and a marked spirit of enterprise. He was formerly a stockholder and one of the directors of the First National Bank of Hoopeston but is not financially associated with the institution at the present time.
Before his removal to the middle west Mr. Chace was married at Newport, Rhode Island, on the 25th of March, 1866, to Miss Annie E. Coggshall, a native of that city and a daughter of Aaron S. Coggshall. On the 7th of July, 1909, Mr. Chace was again married, his second union being with Miss Frances Arm- strong, a daughter of William Armstrong, an ex-soldier of the Civil war. In 1835 he accompanied his parents on their removal from Ohio to Peoria county, Illinois, the family being pioneer settlers of that section of the state. William Armstrong came to Vermilion county in 1871 and followed farming here. Mrs. Chace was a teacher in the public schools of Hoopeston for twenty-two years or until her marriage to our subject. They hold membership in the Universalist church and are prominent socially in this city, having many warm friends here.
In his political views Mr. Chace is a republican but not an active worker in the party aside from casting his ballot in support of the principles in which he believes and the candidates who represent the party platform. He has, how- ever, served as a member of the Hoopeston council and was school director of Grant township for a number of years. For twenty years he has been a mem- ber of the Owl Club and also belongs to the Commercial Club of Hoopeston. He has led a busy life and his marked enterprise has made him one of the most prosperous residents of his community. He has excellent business ability as an organizer, forms his plans readily and in their execution is determined, prompt and reliable. This has enabled him to overcome obstacles that he has encountered and has been one of the salient features of his success.
BENNETT H. McMILLAN.
Among Danville's citizens who have left the impress of their individuality upon the business life of the city is Bennett H. McMillan, now deceased, who was the organizer of the Fidelity Furniture Company, carrying on business both in Danville and Champaign, Illinois. He was a native of Pennsylvania, his birth occurring in Washington county, July 7, 1868, and his parents were Dr. Leander and Sarah Jane (Hunt) McMillan. The father served three years in the Civil war as a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was a physician by profession and was grad- uated from the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia in 1871 and was then engaged in practice at Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, where he passed away in 1875. The mother of our subject subsequently married Benjamin Dickson, a prominent farmer and stockman of Edgar county, Illinois.
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Coming to this state with his mother, Bennett H. McMillan began his educa- tion in the common schools of Edgar county and later attended the Central Normal College of Danville, Indiana. At the age of fourteen years he learned telegraphy and was only fifteen when placed in charge of a telegraph office, later becoming operator and railroad agent, in which capacity he continued in the railroad service for about twelve years. At the end of that time he ac- cepted the position of bookkeeper with the Golden Rule store of Danville, Illi- nois. He was later connected with Meis Brothers Company for several years and opened a store for Meis & Bear. He was subsequently general manager of the Gus M. Greenbaum & Company stores, remaining with that firm for about ten years. In the meantime he organized the Fidelity Furniture Com- pany, incorporated, of Danville and Champaign, their Danville store being lo- cated at 212 North Vermilion street, but was afterward moved to 433 East Main street, where business was carried on by Mr. McMillan until the summer of 1907, when he was compelled to retire on account of ill health. He then went west in the hope of recuperating but passed away at Colorado Springs, January 27, 1908.
Mr. McMillan was married December 15, 1892, to Miss Edna Terrill, of Danville, Illinois, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Woodcock, who were her mother and stepfather. This union has been blessed with two children: Ralph, now fourteen years of age; and Frank, nine years old.
Mr. McMillan was a prominent member of the Masonic lodge of Danville, in which he held the office of worshipful master, and also a charter member of the Danville lodge of Elks, serving as its secretary and treasurer for a num- ber of years and also as exalted ruler. He was also a member of the Danville Chamber of Commerce and was very prominent both in business and social circles, for he was a man who commanded the confidence and high regard of all with whom he was brought in contact. His political support was given the democratic party and as a public-spirited citizen he took a commendable interest in the welfare of his adopted city.
JOHN H. NELSON.
Analyzing the life record of John H. Nelson it is evident that energy and determination have constituted the potent forces in the success which now crowns his labors. He was born in Denmark, September 22, 1843, and without special advantages at the outset of his career and with only limited education to aid him he has worked his way steadily upward. His parents were James and Carrie (Johnson) Nelson, who spent their entire lives in Denmark. Their son John was reared under the parental roof and to some extent attended the public schools of his native country, but his opportunity in that line was some- what limited and it is in the school of experience that he has learned the valuable lessons which have made him a practical and farsighted business man.
In the spring of 1869 Mr. Nelson came to the United States and for one year was located in Council Bluffs. His first work was on the construction of the Rock Island Railroad and later he followed various other pursuits. For a
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time he was in the employ of a farmer living north of Council Bluffs but, al- though he hired for a year, he only worked for a month, as at the end of that time he went to South Dakota. There he was engaged on the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad for a month and as he received no pay for his services he returned to Council Bluffs and worked on the building of the Rock Island Railroad. In March, 1871, he came to Vermilion county and for four years was employed on the Allerton farms. At the end of that time he went to Chicago, where he found employment as a teamster, remaining in that city for fourteen years. He then returned to Vermilion county and took up his abode on his present home farm of eighty acres, forty acres of which he had acquired before going to Chicago. Two years after his return he pur- chased the other forty-acre tract and is now the owner of a good property, which is well improved. The fields have been brought under a high state of cultivation and good crops are gathered annually. The stock which he handles, too, is of good grades and everything about the place indicates his enterprising spirit and progressive methods.
On the 15th of April, 1875, Mr. Nelson was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Johnson, a native of Sweden, who at that time was a resident of Ver- milion county, where she had made her home for some time. Unto them have been born four children: Carrie, the wife of W. A. Gray, of Hudson, Kansas; Josephine, the wife of Carl F. Gillman, of Chewelah, Washington; Helen, the wife of Thomas Armstrong, of Buckeye, Texas; and Anna, the wife of Harry A. Reed, of Lebanon, Indiana.
The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Nel- son is a republican in his political views. Without any special advantages at the outset of his career, John H. Nelson has steadily worked his way upward and has been both the architect and builder of his own fortunes. He has made good use of his time and opportunities and justly merits the prosperity which has come to him.
JOHN BROWN PECKHAM
While John Brown Peckham was well known as an upright and honorable citizen of Danville it was as a musician that he won distinction and attained to a position of prominence here. He was born in Connecticut in 1833 and was a son of Samuel Peckham, who was a teacher of bookkeeping and spent his last days in the west. Our subject was a lad of sixteen years when he came to the Mississippi valley and settled in St. Louis and there engaged in the teach- ing of music, for which he was admirably qualified by taste and talent. He was in charge of musical instruction in the public schools there for several years and also served as organist of St. George's church of that city.
In 1855 Mr. Peckham was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte W. Clarke in Utica, Illinois, and they became the parents of five children, of whom one died in infancy, while one son and three daughters still survive, namely: Mrs. Anna Gardner, of Utica; James C .; Grace, at home with her mother; and Julia, now Mrs. C. A. Carey, of Utica, Illinois.
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After residing in several other cities in Illinois Mr. Peckham came to Dan- ville in 1883 and continued to make his home here throughout the remainder of his life, dying on the 5th of March, 1893. During his residence here he continued to follow his profession as an instructor of music, teaching all kinds of instruments, but the violin was his favorite and the one he played the most. He was a man of even temperament and pleasing manner, who hated all pre- tence and fraud and was ever found upright and honorable in all the relations of life.
Mr. Peckham was an earnest and consistent Christian, serving as vestryman in the Protestant Episcopal church, to which he belonged, but was broad and liberal in his views and frequently attended other churches. In Masonry he attained to the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite and was affiliated with that order from the 30th of December, 1857, when he united with the lodge at La Salle, Illinois. He was honored by various offices, serving as worship- ful master in the blue lodge, as most excellent high priest, as eminent com- mander and as grand sword bearer in the grand commandery of Illinois. He was also a prominent member of the Odd Fellows society and at his death was laid to rest with Masonic honors by the Knights Templar. He was a devoted husband and father and his many admirable traits of character won for him the lasting friendship of a large circle of acquaintances. As a musician his services were in constant demand and his talent was such as to win for him a reputation of which his family may well be proud.
TADE LAYDEN.
Tade Layden, one of the successful farmers of Grant township, owes his prosperity to a laudable ambition which at the very beginning of his career made itself manifest and which has always been directed along channels produc- tive of results that redound to the benefit of its possessor and the community. Mr. Layden has been a resident of Vermilion county for thirty-five years and his progress as an agriculturist is a striking example of what may be accom- plished by one obliged to make his own way in the world, who in his earlier years is willing to practice self-denial in order that later in life he may possess. an abundance.
Mr. Layden is a native of Ireland and was born May 15, 1849. He comes of good Irish stock and his parents were John and Margaret (Stanner) Layden. Desiring to secure more favorable opportunities for themselves and their chil- dren, the parents emigrated to America in 1852, locating in Indiana, where Mr. Layden entered the service of the Wabash Railroad Company and continued. in the employ of that company until he reached seventy-four years of age, when he was called to his final rest. The beloved mother died eleven days before the last summons came for the father, leaving seven children, three of whom are now living.
The subject of this review grew up under the kindly care of a protecting home and received his education in the public schools. After laying his books-
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aside he began farming in Indiana, where he continued until 1877, when he came to Vermilion county and rented a farm, which he conducted so success- fully that in 1885 he bought a farm on section 10, Grant township, where he has since lived. By good management he increased his bank account to gener- ous proportions, adding new acreage to his original farm until at the present time he is the owner of a valuable farm of eight hundred and forty acres in this township and also of two hundred and forty acres in Iroquois county, this state, so that he is the possessor of over one thousand acres of highly improved land and is recognized as one of the largest farmers in this region. An up- right and honorable business man, he has become widely known and his oper- ations have been remarkably successful.
On the 5th of November, 1883, Mr. Layden was united in marriage to Miss Martha Thompson, a native of Kentucky, where she was born November 16, 1855. She is a daughter of James W. and Rebecca (Shields) Thompson, both of whom were natives of Kentucky, belonging to one of the stanch families of that state. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Layden, six of whom are living: John, a lawyer of Hartshorne, Oklahoma; Tade and Thomas, who are twins, the former now in attendance at the State University and the latter engaged in farming on his father's farm; Anna, who is a graduate of the State Normal School and has become a successful teacher; Edward, now a student in the high school at Hoopeston; and Ruth, now a student in a school at Cheney- ville, Illinois.
Mr. Layden and his wife are consistent members of the Catholic church and are always willing contributors toward its many charities. Mr. Layden is a lifelong democrat and an ardent supporter of the principles of that party. He has never sought for public office but has served with general acceptance to the community as a member of the school board. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Layden is one of the most hospitable in Vermilion county. The stranger is here made to feel at ease, and friends and acquaintances are assured of a hearty greeting. In the years Mr. Layden has made this county his home he has be- come closely connected with many of its most progressive people and has gained a reputation as one of its most worthy citizens-one who is ready and willing at all times to do what he can to advance the interests of his adopted county and state.
JOHN G. BAIRD.
John G. Baird, who is probably the oldest native born son of Vermilion county, has lived here continuously from his birth to the present time. He has de- voted his attention to general agricultural pursuits throughout his entire busi- ness career and is now the owner of three hundred and eighty acres of land in Carroll township, constituting one of the valuable farms of this county. His birth occurred on the place where he now resides, his natal day being December 31, 1835.
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His parents, Joseph and Lydia (Mendenhall) Baird, were natives of Mays- ville, Kentucky, and Spring Valley, Ohio, respectively, the former born on the 19th of March, 1801, and the latter on the 6th of March, 1813. The father came to Vermilion county in 1829, when twenty-eight years of age, while the mother was brought here by her parents in 1824, when a maiden of eleven years. They were married in this county and here continued to reside throughout the re- mainder of their lives. Joseph Baird entered two hundred and forty acres of government land, while his wife entered a tract of forty acres. Subsequently he purchased a quarter section of land (now included within the home farm of our subject), erected the brick dwelling which still stands thereon and made the farm his place of abode until the time of his death. He prospered in his undertaking as an agriculturist, accumulating six hundred acres of valuable and productive land. His political allegiance was given to the democracy, but when Lincoln was chosen as the presidential candidate of the republican party for the second time he voted for the great emancipator. His religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Baptist church, to which his wife also be- longed. He passed away in August, 1868, in his sixty-eighth year, while his wife was called to her final rest in 1891, when in the seventy-seventh year of her age.
John G. Baird was reared under the parental roof and obtained his early education in the common schools, while subsequently he spent four winter terms as a student in the Vermilion Academy at what is now Vermilion Grove. On attaining his majority he took charge of the operation of the home farm in as- sociation with his brother David, the two young men managing the place until some years after their father's demise. In 1876 David Baird left the old home- stead and our subject then operated the place in association with his brother Silas, who was about eighteen years old. In the spring of 1885 a division of the estate was made, but prior to that time the three brothers had purchased the interests of their four sisters. The first proposition relative to a division was made on a Saturday night and on the following Monday morning, before ten o'clock, each one took charge of his own land, having come to a satisfactory agreement. The farm of John G. Baird, including his share of the estate to- gether with what he has bought since the division and the land he and his brothers had purchased during the operation of the home place, now embraces three hundred and eighty acres. He likewise own forty acres of valuable coal land in the heart of the horseshoe coal district in Indiana. His farming interests have returned to him a gratifying annual income and he has long been numbered among the most prosperous and respected citizens of his native county.
In 1884 Mr. Baird was united in marriage to Miss Lillian Hayward, of Vermilion Grove, this county, her parents coming here from Indiana when she was a small girl. Unto them have been born five children, namely: Helen, who is now attending the Eastern Illinois Normal School at Charleston, Illinois ; and Bernice, Clarence H., Marian and Hortense, all at home.
Mr. Baird is a republican in politics and has served as a member of the school board for many years, acting in that capacity at the present time. He likewise served as township assessor for one term, ever discharging his official duties in a most prompt and capable manner. Vermilion county has remained
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his home throughout his entire life, or for three-fourths of a century, and he is well known and highly esteemed within its borders. Genial and kindly in nature, he fully appreciates his obligations to his fellowmen, and his honorable principles and upright manhood have won for him the high regard, confidence and good will of all with whom he has come in contact.
ISAAC O. CLARK.
Prominent among the industrious, enterprising and successful farmers of Jamaica township is Isaac O. Clark, the owner of one hundred and ninety-three acres of rich and arable land. His birth occurred in Carroll township (now a part of Jamaica township) on the 19th of May, 1861, his parents being Silas and Nancy (Axtell) Clark, both of whom were natives of Washington county, Pennsylvania. The father, an agriculturist by occupation, removed westward to Ohio early in the '50s, spending a year or two in that state. He then came to Vermilion county, Illinois, and after a short residence here took up his per- manent abode in what is now Jamaica township, then a part of Carroll township. He accumulated two hundred and thirty-three acres of land and lived on his farm until called to his final rest. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and, though not an office seeker, he held the offices of school trustee and school treasurer for a number of years. A Presbyterian in religious faith, he was a consistent Christian gentleman and one whose life was at all times in harmony with his professions. Fraternally he was identified with the Georgetown lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a charter member thereof. Charitable and generous in disposition, the poor and needy never sought his aid in vain, and his many good qualities won him the esteem of all with whom he came in contact. He passed away on the IIth of January, 1894, when in the seventy-second year of his age.
Silas Clark was married three times, his first union being with a Miss Wood- ruff, by whom he had two children, one of whom still survives, namely: Eliz- abeth, the widow of W. S. Douglas, of Catlin, this county. In 1856 or 1857 he wedded Miss Nancy Axtell, by whom he likewise had two children, our subject being the only one living, however. The demise of his second wife occurred on the 8th of May, 1888, and he afterward married Mrs. Ann Fellers, who still survives and now makes her home in Ridge Farm. The mother of our subject was twice married, her first husband being James Rial, by whom she had one child who died in infancy.
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