USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, Illinois : a tale of its evolution, settlement, and progress for nearly a century, Volume II > Part 55
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93
In 1878, at Danville, Mr. Yeomans was united in marriage to Miss Kate L. Le Seure, a daughter of Victor Le Seure, of the firm of V. & P. Le Seure, who were numbered among the earliest merchants of Danville, conducting a general store on the corner which is now occupied by Mr. Yeomans' establish- ment. Our subject and his wife have three children. Victor, who is now as- sociated with his father in business, was educated in the public schools of Dan- ville and in Lake Forest College. N. Tracy, who enjoyed the same educational advantages as his brother, is now in the service of the Belden Manufacturing Company of Chicago. Minnette, the youngest child, attended the Bradford Seminary in Massachusetts. After completing their studies all of the children were sent on a European trip, thus being afforded an opportunity to gain the culture and knowledge acquired by travel in foreign lands.
548
HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY
Mr. Yeomans acts as an elder in the First Presbyterian church and has been clerk of sessions for twenty-five years. He is likewise treasurer of the home mission committee of the presbytery and synod. He is not active in poli- tics but is nevertheless a most loyal and public-spirited citizen. His salient characteristics are such as have gained for him the friendly regard and good will of all with whom he has been associated through either business or social relations, and he is well entitled to a foremost place among the representative and respected residents of Danville.
HARRY J. WALZ.
Harry J. Walz was throughout the period of his residence in Danville a pop- ular citizen, having a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance. His business policy gained him the respect of all with whom he came in contact, while his cordial spirit and genial disposition won him the friendship of those whom he met in social circles.
Mr. Walz was born in Danville in 1864, a son of George Walz, a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, born October 1, 1830. The grandfather, Martin Walz, was a farmer of that country and George Walz was reared upon the home farm, where he remained until sixteen years of age. He then began learning the cabinet-maker's trade near his father's home and on attaining his majority en- listed for service in the German army, with which he was connected for three years. In. 1854 he came to America, landing at New York city with but a very limited capital. He believed, however, that the opportunities of the new world were superior to those furnished in the fatherland, and he never had occasion to regret his emigration to the United States. He worked at his trade at dif- ferent times in New York; Philadelphia; Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania; St. Louis, Missouri; and in Pike county, Illinois. It was in Williamsport, that he first engaged in the furniture business on his own account.
Mr. Walz came to Danville in 1864 and here established a furniture store, the stock of which he gradually increased to meet the growing demands of his trade, keeping at all times in touch with the latest improvements in this line. His business gradually advanced until after fourteen years he ranked among the leading merchants of the city. He also conducted an extensive un- dertaking business in addition to the sale of furniture.
In 1864, in Danville, George Walz was united in marriage to Miss Fredericka Steele, of Germany, who was brought to America in her childhood days. Unto Mr. and Mrs. George Walz there were born three sons and two daughters, the brothers of our subject being Albert and George, both residents of Danville, while the sisters are : Mrs. C. T. Woolsey, of this city ; and Mrs. George Renking, of Owensboro, Kentucky.
Harry Walz pursued his education in the schools of Danville and early learned the undertaking business with his father. In 1892 he became his fathers's partner in business and five years later succeeded to the business as sole pro- prietor. Although only a young man at the time, he soon established a large
HARRY J. WALZ
551
HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY
and growing trade, being accorded an extensive patronage that indicated the confidence reposed in him as a business man. He was courteous to everybody and was therefore well liked, and he succeeded because of his kindness of heart and his frankness of manner. During his last illness his wife took hold of the business and since his death has carried it on successfully. She was ever a faithful helpmate to him and assisted him in his various business projects and encouraged him in all that he undertook.
On the 9th of June, 1888, Mr. Walz was united in marriage in Danville to Miss Ethel F. Church, a daughter of G. W. F. and Sarah E. (Jones) Church, of South Hazel, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Walz became the parents of one child, Marie M.
In his political views Mr. Walz was an earnest republican and kept well in- formed on the questions and issues of the day. His fraternal relations were with the Red Men, the Eagles and the Northcott Camp of Modern Woodmen of America. He likewise belonged to the Royal Neighbors, the Loyal Americans, the Liederkranz, the Fraternal Tribunes, the Danville Foresters and other benevolent associations. He was true to the basic teachings of all of those organizations and was ever found loyal in his different relations of life, being devoted in friendship, progressive in citizenship and unfaltering in his efforts to promote the happiness of his wife and child.
ALFRED H. TREGO.
At the age of seventy-two Alfred H. Trego is still a most active factor in the business life of Hoopeston. The exercise of effort has kept him alert and he belongs to that class of men who grow strong mentally and morally as the years pass by, giving out of their rich stores of wisdom and experience for the benefit of others as well as for the advancement of individual interests. The milestones along his life pathway have been inscribed with the word labor, and through the intelligent direction of his effort he has reached a position of dis- tinction of which any man might be proud and yet the most envious cannot grudge him his success so worthily has it been won and so honorably used.
Pennsylvania claims Alfred H. Trego among her native sons, his birth hav- ing occurred in Wrightstown, Bucks county, June 16, 1838. He comes of Quaker ancestry, his parents being Curtis D. and Mary (Gilbert) Trego, who were likewise natives of the Keystone state, the father there devoting his at- tention to agricultural pursuits. In 1843 he started with his family for the middle west, traveling in a covered wagon to Mercer county, Illinois, where he established his home upon a farm. In 1856 he removed to Galesburg, his primary object being to provide his children with better educational opportunities. For several years he carried on a grocery store there and during the period of the Civil war was engaged in purchasing horses for the post at Gallatin, Tennessee. Subsequently he resided for some time at Orion, Henry county, Illinois, but the last ten years of his life were spent in Cass county, Iowa, where both he and his wife passed away. Their family numbered nine children: Elizabeth,
552
HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY
now deceased; Alfred H .; Jacob R., of Cass county, Iowa; Helen R., the wife of Joseph Engel, of the same county; Letitia, the wife of A. Clark, of Earl- ham, Iowa; Lavinia, the wife of D. D. Hall, of Omaha, Nebraska; Fred, of Cass county, Iowa; Frank, who died in Galesburg, Illinois; and Emma, who passed away in Henry county, this state.
Alfred H. Trego was only five years of age when the family made the over- land journey to Mercer county. His early experiences were those which usually fall to the lot of all farmer boys and his preliminary education was acquired in the district schools. Following the removal to Galesburg he continued his educa- tion in Lombard College of that city, from which he was graduated in June, 1862. In the following month, at the age of twenty-four years, he offered his services to the government, joining Company C of the One Hundred and Second Illinois Infantry under Captain Frank Shedd and Colonel McMurty. He served until honorably discharged in June, 1865, doing active duty in Kentucky and Tennessee and participating in the campaign when Cincinnati was threatened. He was afterwards stationed at Gallatin, Tennessee, where he served as aid-de- camp to General E. A. Paine, there continuing until April, 1864, when he joined Sherman's forces at Chattanooga and owing to the absence of his captain on detached duty took command of the company as first lieutenant. He served throughout the Atlanta campaign until the city was captured and later was made adjutant general of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Twen- tieth Army Corps commanded by General Hooker. With that rank he served on the march to sea in the campaign to Savannah and from that point marched through the Carolinas and on to Washington, being mustered out in June, 1865. He was wounded three times.
After the close of the war Mr. Trego returned to Galesburg but soon after- ward removed to Rock Island, Illinois, where he engaged in the retail grocery business with his father for a year. At the end of that time he went to Chicago, where he was employed for a brief period as bookkeeper in a commission house and in 1867 established a produce commission business on his own account on South Water street. He was meeting with success when in October, 1871, his business was destroyed in the general conflagration which swept over the city and he lost therein. While he carried a good insurance the companies were only able to pay ten cents on the dollar. His losses left him so near penniless that he was forced to seek employment and secured a position as dock laborer at a dollar and a half per day, devoting his time to sorting lumber for six months. The firm by which he was employed then gave him a position as shipping clerk and he remained with the firm and their successors until 1877, when he came to Hoopeston. His experience in Chicago had thoroughly acquainted him with the lumber trade and he established a lumberyard in this city, mostly upon borrowed capital. He was very energetic toward the develop- ment and upbuilding of the business and in a short time discharged his financial obligations. He continued in the lumber business until 1888, realizing a hand- some profit through that period and extended the scope of his enterprise by establishing branch yards at Wellington, Illinois, and at Ambia, Indiana. In the meantime he became engaged in the canning business, associated with J. S. McFerren and A. T. Catherwood, the latter now deceased. In 1886 the pre-
553
HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY
sent business, the Hoopeston Canning Company, was established, beginning operations on a small scale. During the first season they canned from thirty to forty thousand cases and their present capacity is from one hundred and seventy-five to two hundred thousand cases, while some seasons they can as high as two hundred and twenty thousand cases, employing during the season from three to four hundred people. Since 1890 Mr. Trego has had the man- agement of the business and the trade extends throughout the United States, this being the largest corn canning factory in the country. Between twenty and twenty-five hundred acres of their own are devoted to the raising of corn and they purchase the corn produced in this section for miles around. The present year, 1910, they will can the product from about thirty-six hundred acres, amounting to about six million cans. The growth of this mammoth en- terprise is attributable in large measure to the business ability, executive force and administrative direction of Mr. Trego. He was one of the eight organizers of the Union Can Company in 1894 and in 1900 this was merged into the Ameri- can Can Company, of which he is a stockholder. Of the former organization he was the president. He is also a director of the First National Bank and the president of the Hoopeston Horse Nail Company. He is equal owner with Mr. McFerren in seventeen hundred acres in Grant township, Vermilion county. His real-estate holdings likewise include Chicago property and eighty- five lots in Hoopeston, and he is president of the Illinois Cuban Land Com- pany, owning twenty thousand acres near Santiago, Cuba. He is likewise president of the Cuba Cattle Company and of the St. Helen's Ore Mill & Power Company, and his sound judgement and enterprising spirit have constituted an impetus for successful management in all those concerns with which he is connected.
The attractive home life of Mr. Trego had its beginning in his marriage in Chicago, in October, 1868, to Miss Frances C. Reed, a native of Fulton county, Illinois. They became the parents of five sons and three daughters: Charles H., who is now living in Texas; Carrie G., deceased; Edward F., who is con- nected with the canning company; Walter; Sidney Reed, deceased; Gilbert C .; and two who died in infancy. The wife and mother passed away April 27, 1897. Mr. Trego was again married on the 8th of November, 1900, when Miss Florence Honywell of Hoopeston became his wife. She is a native of Logans- port, Indiana, and a daughter of Alba Honywell, of whom extended mention is made elsewhere in this volume.
While Mr. Trego has conducted business interests of mammoth propor- tions he has never been unmindful of the duties of citizenship, and Hoopeston has profited much by his cooperation in movements instituted for her unbuild- ing. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party and although he is not now an active worker in its ranks his influence is always on the side of those principles and projects which he believes are essential elements in good government. In former years he has served in local offices, represent- ing his ward on the board of aldermen, and at the time the waterworks system of Hoopeston was inaugurated he was filling the office of chief executive of the city. He is now president of the Hoopeston Public Library, belongs to the Hoopeston Literary Club, is a trustee of Lombard College at Galesburg, Illinois,
554
HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY
and is secretary of the board of trustees of Greer College. In Masonry he has attained the Knight Templar degree and belongs to the Grand Army post, of which he was the first commander, serving in that office for a number of years.
In religious faith Mr. Trego is a Universalist and for more than a third of a century served as superintendent of the Sunday school. For long years he was chairman of the board of trustees of the church, has been one of its most liberal contributors to its support and has given equally of time and labor for the benefit of the church. He has been a splendid figure on the stage of action in Hoopeston and many activities, material, intellectual and moral have been quickened by his touch.
ROCHESTER SANDUSKY.
The name of Sandusky is well known in Vermilion county. It represents a noted family which has been closely identified with eastern and central Illinois for nearly eighty years and is synonymous with prosperity in all departments of farming, especially in the breeding of live stock. Members of the family introduced the first carload of shorthorn cattle in Vermilion county as early as 1862. The family has also bred some of the most celebrated racing horses of the country and the name is known wherever lovers of pure blooded horses are to be found. In addition to paying great attention to the breeding of cattle and horses the Sanduskys have accomplished a great deal in the introduction of the best strains of swine, poultry and Merino sheep, thus raising the standard of live stock in the state and developing a taste for the higher graded animals, which is always an encouraging sign of advancement in any agricultural com- munity.
Rochester Sandusky was born on the farm where he now lives, October 18, 1853. He is the son of William Sandusky, a record of whom appears else- where in this work, and Mary E. (Baum) Sandusky. The Sandusky family receives its name from a progenitor who came to America from Poland as an exile previous to the Revolutionary war. The name was originally Sodowsky, but the Anglicized spelling was adopted and has been retained by nearly all the members of the family to the present time. One of the early progenitors was killed by the Indians in northern Ohio and the bay of Sandusky and the city of Sandusky received their names from this brave pioneer. William San- dusky came to Vermilion county with his parents when he was three years of age and became one of its most prominent agriculturists and stockmen. To him and his wife five children were born: Sarah J., who died at two years of age; Caroline, the wife of James Snapp; Rochester, of this review ; Adeline, the wife of Thompson McMillan, of Danville, Illinois; and Belle, the wife of William H. James, of Rossville, Illinois. The father departed this life after a long and highly successful career, January 24, 1910, and will be remembered as a pioneer who worthily assisted in the great work of redeeming the wilder- ness to the use and permanent occupation of man.
555
HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY
Rochester Sandusky grew up upon the farm and acquired his education in the public schools, later pursuing a course of study at Bryant & Stratton Busi- ness College, Chicago. From his early boyhood he exhibited a decided talent for agricultural pursuits and for many years he has been closely associated with his father in farming and stock-raising, the business being carried on under the title of William Sandusky & Son, the subject of this review having charge of the breeding of horses, and in this respect he gained an enviable repu- tation among the best horse breeders of the country and developed his busi- ness upon an extensive scale. Since the death of his father he has continued actively in the same line and is known as a breeder of standard bred trotting horses which are being received with great favor in Illinois and other states. He was the breeder of Riola and Bourbon, the former with a record of 2:1514 and the latter with a record of 2:1314. Both of these remarkable animals were bred and raised entirely under the direction of Mr. Sandusky. For many years he and his father were the heaviest cattle feeders in this section of the country, feeding as many as eight carloads a year, which they were able to deliver at the market in prime condition. The proceds of operations upon the farm were largely invested in land and the area was increased from the original two hundred and forty acres to eighteen hundred and thirty acres of land as valuable as any that is to be found in Vermilion county. This great farm now comprises the family estate. Mr. Sandusky also owns a tract of fourteen acres of land adjoining the town of Georgetown.
In politics he is identified with the republican party and although he is unmarried he has for many years been greatly interested in the public schools and for more than twenty-five years has been a member of the school board. His reputation as a farmer and scientific breeder extends far beyond the limits of Vermilion county and the state of Illinois and by years of industry, integrity and close application to all matters pertaining to the advancement of farming interests, he has gained the respect and good-will of a host of friends and acquaintances. As a breeder Mr. Sandusky has attained a position in the his- tory of the development of the standard road horse in America which any man might justly envy; his name will always be recognized by lovers of the horse as an honored representative of one of the great industries that have contributed so largely to the pleasures of farm and city life not only in this country but in all the civilized countries of the world.
RAY FORREST BARNETT.
Although one of the younger representatives of the legal fraternity in Ver- milion county, Ray Forrest Barnett has already met with enviable success in his chosen profession. He was born on the 15th of April, 1881, near Indianola, and belongs to a very old and prominent family of this county, his parents being F. Robert and Mary E. (Martin) Barnett. His father was also a native of this county, where his grandfather, James Barnett, located at an early day in the development of this region, erecting the house where our subject was.
556
HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY
born and which is today over one hundred years old. The farm which James Barnett occupied was inherited by his wife from her father, David Yarnall. This place is still in the possession of the family, being now occupied by our subject and his brother and sister, who are the fourth generation to live thereon. For many years the father was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits but during the latter part of his life lived retired and on the 7th of July, 1896, passed away, honored and respected by all who knew him. His widow is still living and is now a resident of Jamaica, Illinois. In their family were three children, namely : Daniel E., who was born July 10, 1875, and is now a physi- cian engaged in practice at Homer, Indiana; Ray F .; and Ella B., who was born April 18, 1877, and is now the wife of J. A. Seybold, owner and manager of the Sidell Telephone Company.
On the old homestead Ray F. Barnett passed the days of his boyhood and youth and began his education in the public schools of Indianola, later attend- ing the Sidell high school, and also the Ann Arbor high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1903. Desiring to enter the legal profession, he then began the study of law at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and was graduated from the law department in 1906 with the degree of LL. B. After leaving the university he began practicing at Danville, being first asso- ciated with William M. Acton until July, 1907, after which he practiced alone for a time, but is now in partnership with J. M. Boyle, having offices at No. 412-414 Temple building. He has never made a specialty of any department of legal work but has engaged in general practice in all of the county, state and federal courts. He is a deep student of his profession and although he has been in practice for only about four years, he has already succeeded in winning a desirable clientage and stands deservedly high in the esteem of his profes- sional brethren. In politics he is practically independent, though he favors the democracy in national affairs but at local elections endeavors to vote for the right man regardless of party. In social as well as professional circles he has made a host of warm friends.
JAMES G. RICE.
James G. Rice, a well known farmer and breeder of Percheron horses of Sidell township, Vermilion county, was born in Carter county, Kentucky, Octo- ber 23, 1857. He is a son of Daniel and Flora Ann (Jordan) Rice, a record of whom appears elsewhere in this work, and he is a descendant on the paternal side of stanch English ancestry, some of the earlier members of the family in this country being prominently known as pioneers and Indian fighters. James Rice, the founder of the family, was an early settler of Centerville, Ohio, and it is said that he lived to be one hundred and thirty years of age, although he was entirely blind during the last fourteen years of his life.
The father of our subject was a native of Kentucky and the mother of Greenup county, the same state. She removed with her parents to Lawrence county, Kentucky, and was married to Mr. Rice when she was eighteen years
557
HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY
of age. Six children were born to them: William J .; Mary E., deceased ; Albert R. U .; James G .; Edward A .; and Lemuel, deceased. Daniel Rice removed his family to this county in 1863. He was a valiant soldier for the Union cause, enlisting October 21, 1861, in Company D, Twenty-second Kentucky Infantry, for a period of three years. Having been taken severely ill with measles, he was sent home on a furlough in 1863, but returned to his regiment at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, February 6, 1864. On May 10 following, because of con- tinued ill health, he was given an honorable discharge. In selecting a home for his family Mr. Rice visited Arkansas after the close of the war but finally de- cided to remain permanently in this county. His first wife having died, he married Mrs. Eliza Jane Moore, a daughter of William J. and Susan (Rawlings) Robertson. She was a native of Parke county, Indiana, and at seventeen years of age was married to William H. Moore. She was the mother of five children by her second union : Mary E., Charles A., Millie S., Reuben H. and William W. Daniel Rice was reared in the Cumberland mountains of Kentucky and became a farmer, attaining a position as one of the most energetic and capable agriculturists and stock-raisers in his part of Vermilion county. He was a man of sturdy character and of cheerful disposition and was greatly respected by his friends and neighbors. He died, sincerely regretted by the entire com- munity, January 31, 1908.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.