USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, Illinois : a tale of its evolution, settlement, and progress for nearly a century, Volume II > Part 68
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Colonel W. R. Jewell has thus written of him (and perhaps no one is better qualified to speak of Mr. Cannon) :
"The main elements of his strength are: Ist, his hard common sense. He is a genius of this type of men. He sees things as they are and knows how to meet them. 2d his steadfast integrity. He never falsifies, prevaricates or shuffles. He makes few promises ; he keeps those he makes. He never makes promises during a campaign. 3d, his knowledge of men. He knows men as the most skilled merchant knows fabrics by the slightest touch. 4th, his steadfast- ness to tried friends. He never uses a man to neglect him afterward. No man
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remembers services better and reciprocates more fully. 5th, by his fairness and kindness to opponents. He has no feuds with any who desire to be friendly. One has to be a fussy man and fuss by himself who continues to fuss with Mr. Cannon. He prefers to have men with him this year who were against him last year. 6th, by his natural democratic manners, which are ingrained. He is one of the people in act and speech. His conversation is full of homely illus- trations from the fireside, the wayside, the shop. He enjoys a good joke and has a fund of anecdote rich and rare, which he tells as well as Joe Jefferson acted Rip Van Winkle. 7th, his power as a speaker. While not eloquent in word painting, yet he pours forth sound facts as a threshing machine pours forth clean golden grain where the yield has been an hundred fold. The sub- stantial people who do the thinking and mold sentiment hear him with rapt at- tention. His clear cut facts gleam like new golden coin in their minds. He will no more misquote statistics or facts than the pious preacher would misquote holy writ. Now and then in his speeches he will tell a funny anecdote, but the great body of what he has to say is solid, sound and goes to the soul of affairs. 'What does Cannon say about it ?' is in the mouths of his constituents when a new question of importance arises. Long since they have come to trust in his knowl- edge and integrity, for they know he is no demagogue or trifler but a real states- man. 8th, his eminent ability as a legislator. It is useless to enlarge on this. He is honest, faithful, forceful in congress. His political opponents acknowledge this. Mr. Cannon does not speak often in congress ; but when he speaks he has the closest attention on account of the matter of what he says. He is one of the few members in the house who instruct the members and in whose statements they have confidence. 'He is the ablest man in either branch on business statis- tics,' is what Speaker Reed and other members have said. During the stormy days of the '80s and '90s Reed, Mckinley and Cannon were the big three who, as committee on rules and as leaders, fought and won great parliamentary battles. His long and able service, his generous nature and his eminent ability as a parlia- mentarian, has made him speaker of the next house (the fifty-eighth congress) by the unanimous choice of the republican members."
True history gives all facts and this record would be incomplete without reference to the division that has been manifest in republican ranks and which perhaps might be termed a contest between the conservative and the ultra aggres- sive. Those who oppose Mr. Cannon are ineflxible in their opposition but his adherents-and they are many-are equally strong and stalwart in his support. A leader must always expect opposition. There is never any personal attack, however, aside from politics made upon Mr. Cannon and he has commanded the respect of even his opponents by the calm and unruffled manner which he has maintained, greeting much of the opposition with a golden silence that shows that the wisdom of age has placed him above and beyond the bickerings of po- litical strife. There is after all no better criterion of the real man than the opinions of his neighbors, and Mr. Cannon's recent reelection from his home district shows how he is held among those who have known him since he entered upon the struggle for a livelihood as a poor young lawyer down to the present time, when national fame and honors are his. One of his admirable character- istics is that he never forgets a friend and he has as cheery a greeting for the
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associates of his early manhood when he was unknown to fame as for the most distinguished men of the nation.
'Again we quote from Mr. Jewell, who says: "Mr. Cannon is strictly domes- tic. His house is a large, substantial brick, 418 North Vermilion street, Dan- ville, presided over by his stately daughter, Mrs. Ernest X. LeSeure. Here, in his great library, he spends much of his leisure time and with his two beau- tiful grandchildren whom he loves and spoils, Virginia and Helen LeSeure, while from its golden frame, with love-lit smile of wife and grandmother, looks down the gracious face of the noble woman with whom he made life's morning march, when their bosoms were young, and whom he often sees in his visions and dreams."
WILLIAM S. HAZZARD.
Among the native sons of the neighboring state of Indiana who have estab- lished a permanent home in Illinois and prospered as a farmer may be named William S. Hazzard. He is now in the prime of life, a successful farmer and a man who is highly respected as a representative of the leading interests of this county. He was born in Parke county, Indiana, November 26, 1868, and is a son of John F. and Caroline M. (Evers) Hazzard, the former also a native of Parke county, and the latter of Henry county, that state. John F. Hazzard was a farmer and came to Vermilion county in 1879 and here rented land for six years, at the end of which time he bought the farm where our subject now resides and engaged with a goodly measure of success in agricultural pursuits. As a patriotic citizen and a supporter of the Union he proffered his services to the Federal government at the time of the Civil war and became a member of Company E, One Hundred and Fifteenth Indiana Regiment of Volunteers. Having been discharged from this company on account of the expiration of the time of enlistment, he again enlisted, serving in the One Hundred and Forty- ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry until the close of the war. He participated in a number of great battles and, although he was a brave man and on more than one occasion was in imminent danger, he never received an injury while in the service of his country. He was a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln and a stanch advocate of the republican party. He was essentially a self-made man and possessed those characteristics which attract friends, so that he was a pop- ular man wherever he was known. He departed this life after many years of usefulness, April 25, 1905, and his remains were deposited in Crown Hill ceme- tery. The faithful wife and mother still survives and is living on the old home place, which embraces three hundred and forty-two acres on section 15, Love township.
William S. Hazzard was reared at home and educated in the common schools, remaining with his father, who gave him a thorough training in all matters pertaining to agriculture and stock-raising. He still continues at the old homestead, where he has had charge of the farm, making a specialty of raising and feeding live stock and gaining a reputation as one of the progressive and energetic men in his line.
MR. AND MRS. JOHN F. HAZZARD
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Millard F. Porterfield was reared at home, acquiring his education in the common schools and in the Illinois State University. He was a member of the first class, numbering sixty-five students, and for three years attended that in- stitution. After finishing his studies he remained at home, assisting in the cul- tivation and improvement of the farm until about twenty-five years of age when he took charge of a farm of his own, comprising two hundred acres of land in Champaign county, and was actively engaged in its further cultivation and im- provement until 1889 when he put aside general agricultural pursuits and re- moved to Sidney where he turned his attention to general merchandising in which he continued for two years. In 1891 he removed to Fairmount, Vermilion county, where he established a private bank that he has since conducted. This meets a long felt want in the community, facilitating business interests at this point. All departments of the banking business are here conducted and the institution is regarded as one of the most reliable and substantial financial con- cerns in this part of the state.
In 1885 Mr. Porterfield was married to Miss Belle J. Cole of Philo, Illinois, and they have become the parents of three children: Raymond, who graduated from the civil engineering school of the State University of Illinois in 1906, is now employed in the office of the chief engineer of the Delaware & Lackawanna Railroad at Hoboken, New Jersey; N. Mildred, who is a graduate in literature and art of the State University of the class of 1908; and Willard B., who is now a student in the University of Illinois.
The attractive home of the family is the abode of warm-hearted hospitality and the scene of many pleasant social functions. Mr. Porterfield, his wife and children are members of the Presbyterian church and he is serving as church treasurer, while to its support he makes generous contributions. He belongs to Fairmount Lodge, No. 590, A. F. & A. M., to the Modern Woodmen Camp and to the Court of Honor. His political support is given to the republican party and he has served at various times as a member of the town council of Fairmount, while for a number of years he has been a member of the school board. His labors in this connection are practical and far-reaching and in every field to which he turns his activities it is found that his ideals and labors are both resultant. He has sought success in the legitimate lines of trade and by the pursuit of a persistent purpose has gained a most satisfactory reward.
B. F. CANADAY.
The name of Canaday is well known in Vermilion county, as it represents a family which was among the first to brave the terrors of the wilderness and prepare this region for the possible occupation of the white race. There was but one cabin within the limits of what is now known as Elwood township when those brave men established themselves here, and the beautiful farms now to be seen all over the county are in a great measure the results of the priva- tions and toil inseparably connected with a life such as the earlier men of the family were obliged to endure. Many of the pioneers were far-sighted, but
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they builded even better than they knew, and the years that have passed have witnessed changes which no man could have prophesied when two strong and sturdy members of the Canaday family erected in 1820 a log cabin near the spot in Elwood township which became their permanent home.
B. F. Canaday, whose name appears at the head of this review, belongs to the younger generation. He was born in Vermilion county, July 19, 1845, and is a son of William and Mary (Hayworth) Canaday, both natives of Ten- nessee. On the paternal side the family is descended from Henry Canaday, of North Carolina, who removed to Wayne county, Indiana, in 1820, sending his two sons ahead to prepare a home further west in the primeval wilderness. In 1821 the family took posession of the rude cabin heretofore mentioned and from this spot they have gone forth for almost a century to the work which each has felt appointed to do. Here the pioneer lived under the simplest conditions, felling the forest and tilling the soil, until in this region are found the most productive farms in Illinois. The mother died in 1854, her com- panion surviving fifty-one years and departing this life at the age of ninety, in 1905. By diligence and good judgment he acquired more than one thousand acres of land, giving a goodly heritage to each of his seven children: Julia A., G. F., Richard H., James A., Matilda, Benjamin F. and Alice.
B. F. Canaday was reared on the family homestead and received his educa- tion in the neighboring district schools. He readily acquired a practical knowl- edge of the details of farming and after arriving at manhood he went to Cham- paign county, Illinois, where he assumed charge of the farm which his father had given him and conducted the same with very favorable results for twenty- three years. He then disposed of his farm and purchased the homestead of one hundred and twenty acres in Elwood township, where he now lives, and also has become the owner of a promising section of land in western Canada. In addition to the regular operations of the farm Mr. Canaday makes a prac- tice of raising stock and feeds to his own cattle, horses and hogs the grain which he produces. He has always been a man of good judgment in business affairs and is recognized by his neighbors as one of the thoroughly energetic and efficient farmers of this region, who not only understands how to till the soil so as to produce the best results but also keeps thoroughly posted as to markets, and the live stock shipped from his farm is usually in the best possible condition and commands the highest prices. In the spring of 1874 Mr. Cana- day laid aside the cares of the farm and made an extensive trip for observa- tion and pleasure through the various cities of the west, going as far as the Pacific coast in California. He was absent for a year and returned with many new ideas as to the extent and resources of the country and also as to the application of principles in farming which he has successfully demonstrated for many years.
In 1875 Mr. Canaday was united in marriage to Miss Cornelia Green, who was born in Ohio and became the mother of seven children: Howard, at home; Richard, deceased; Anna, now Mrs. Clyde Long; Jessie, at home; and the trip- lets-Mark, deceased; Martha, the wife of P. Freeman; and Mary, now Mrs. Earl Plotner. The family was called to mourn the death of the mother in
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1895 and Mr. Canaday was again married, the lady of his choice being Miss Effa Holaday, a daughter of Dr. H. Holaday, a native of Indiana.
Mr. Canaday is a stanch republican and for ten years past has been a mem- ber of the county commissioner of highways and treasurer of the board. He has devoted a great deal of time to forwarding the interests of the party of which he is a most earnest advocate. For twenty-five years he has served as school director and for forty-two years he has been an honored member of Lodge No. 632, A. F. & A. M., at Ridge Farm. Mr. Canaday and his wife were reared in the Quaker faith and their lives have been controlled in a large de- gree by the simple teachings of a faith which regards all men as brothers and literally accepts the golden rule as the main guidance in all the changing cir- cumstances of our earthly career. As the result Mr. and Mrs. Canaday are respected by the entire community where they have spent many years and have wrought not entirely for their own advancement but unselfishly have assisted in the development of the permanent welfare of all with whom they have as- sociated.
ARTHUR E. VANSICKLE.
Arthur E. Vansickle, who operates a flourishing horseshoeing establishment at Danville, which he has conducted most of the time for the past twelve years, was born in Indiana, April 6, 1870. He is the son of Andrew Vansickle, who was an expert horseshoer, and Wilhelmina (Howalt) Vansickle, the father being a native of Canada and the mother of Germany. Mrs. Vansickle was left an orphan in her girlhood and came to America at fourteen years of age. Mr. Vansickle, the father, is a descendant of Dutch ancestry, the earlier mem- bers of the family coming from Holland. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Vansickle: Arthur E., our subject ; Jeremiah, of Colorado; and Mareno E., the wife of Richard Mulvane, of Fairmount, Illinois.
The subject of this review grew up under the parental roof and was edu- cated in the common schools. He learned under his father the horseshoeing trade and worked at this occupation for some time while still living at home. However, at twenty years of age his aspirations for independence began to mani- fest themselves and he entered the employ of strangers, continuing until 1898, when he began business on his own account in Danville, at the corner of Frank- lin and Main streets, and he is now operating one of the two most prosperous horseshoeing shops in the city, having by close application to his calling built up a reputation which attracts the best class of patrons in the entire region.
On August 4, 1896, Mr. Vansickle was united in marriage to Miss Effie Martin, a daughter of Jacob I. and Corona (Lawless) Martin, who were natives of Vermilion county. Her parents were among the pioneers of this county but retired in 1899 and lived in Indiana for nine years, at the end of which time they returned to Danville where they now reside. Mr. Martin is sixty-two years of age and his wife fifty-six, and unto them were born eight children: Effie; Wilder, of Danville, Illinois; Harry, a resident of Perrysville, Indiana; Will-
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lam, who died at the age of twenty-seven years; Viola, deceased at twenty-five years of age; and Franklin, Mary and Zella, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have always been strong advocates of education and have provided each of their children with good school advantages. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Vansickle four children were born : Leona and Leota, twins, born March 5, 1897, the former of whom passed away July 21, 1897, and the latter October 9, 1909; Fred A., born August 13, 1901 ; and Nellie J., born May 25, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Van- sickle are active members of Yeoman Lodge, No. 260, of Danville, and their home is at No. 208 West North street.
Mr. Vansickle is politically in sympathy with the principles of the republican party, but has never been an active political worker, as his business has required his entire attention. He has since the beginning of his active career shown those traits of energy, industry and perseverance that seldom fail to accom- plish gratifying results, and he is now established in a substantial business of which he is the head and which each year shows more satisfactory returns.
5
BENJAMIN F. BLAISDELL.
Benjamin F. Blaisdell, an enterprising and progressive farmer and stock- man of Sidell township, was born in Ripley county, Indiana, on the 4th of July, 1841, his parents being Isaac N. and Mary (Sutton) Blaisdell, who were na- tives of Indiana and New Jersey respectively. The mother, who accompanied her parents on their removal to the Hoosier state when a small child, was reared and married in Ripley county and there continued to reside throughout the remainder of her life. She passed away when seventy-two years of age, while Mr. Blaisdell was called to his final rest when in the eighty-sixth year of his age.
Benjamin F. Blaisdell was reared under the parental roof and attended the common schools in the acquirement of an education. On the 19th of April, 1861, he enlisted in the Union army, joining Company I, Thirteenth Indiana In- fantry, with which he served for eighteen months, when illness necessitated his discharge. He was married on returning home and in October, 1862, became a member of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, serving with that command for two years and eight months. In the spring of 1866 he was honorably discharged at Austin, Texas, his regiment having been sent to that city subsequent to the sur- render of Lee.
After again returning home he took up farming in Shelby county, Illinois, there carrying on agricultural pursuits for about eight years. On the expiration of that period he went to Champaign county, which remained his home for seven or eight years. In 1892 he took up his abode in Sidell township, Vermilion county, and became a tenant on the Sam Allerton farm, cultivating about three hundred acres of land for three years. At the end of that time he removed to his present place in Sidell township, the property being owned by John N. Burr, of Philo. Ilinois. He farms two tracts of land aggregating two hundred and thirty acres and pays a cash rent. In connection with the tilling of the soil he
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handles the best grades of cattle and horses, his labors being rewarded with success in both branches of activity. For many years he has been a student of corn and small grain culture and in the past season he sowed eight acres of oats, paying thirty dollars for the seed. He has frequently exhibited corn at the local corn shows and has never failed to take either the first or second premium. He won first prize at Allerton on twenty-five bushels of corn, the prize being a one hundred dollar buggy. This fall he will probably exhibit at the National Corn Show at Columbus, Ohio.
In 1862 Mr. Blaisdell was united in marriage to Miss Lorinda Allen, of Rip- ley county, Indiana, by whom he had twelve children. Ten still survive, as fol- lows : Lilly, at home; Mary, the wife of Lew Heiner, of Sidell township; Carrie, who gave her hand in marriage to G. I. Baxter, of Edgar county, Illinois ; Maud, the wife of William Mast, of Edgar county, Illinois; Pearl, who is the wife of Paul Gray and resides in Sidell township, this county; Jessie, who is the wife of Harry Wingfield, of Edgar county, Illinois; Helen, at home; Newton, living in Danville. Illinois; John, an agriculturist of Sidell township, this county; and Elbert, who is also yet under the parental roof.
Politically Mr. Blaisdell has always been a stanch advocate and supporter of the republican party, believing that its principles are most conducive to good government. He has been a member of the board of road commissioners of Sidell township for four years and now acts as its president, having done valu- able service in this connection. The cause of education also finds in him a stal- wart champion and for nine years he served as a member of the school board. For the past twenty-two years he has been identified with the Modern Wood- men of America and for nine years he acted as venerable counsel of the Aller- ton camp, while for the past year he has held the same office in the Sidell camp. He belongs to the following camps: Woodbine Camp, No. 103, at Philo; Aller- ton Camp, No. 119, at Allerton ; and Sidell Camp, No. 405, at Sidell. An ex- cellent farmer, good business man and public-spirited citizen, Mr. Blaisdell has not only succeeded in material things but has also won the confidence and friendship of those with whom he has been brought in contact and is admitted to be one of the representative residents of Sidell township.
ARTHUR H. GUNDER.
Arthur H. Gunder, a well known farmer of Vance township, was born on the old family homestead, which he now owns, November 16, 1873. He is a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Hudghel) Gunder, the former a native of Fayette county, Ohio, and the latter of Madison county, Indiana. They were married at Anderson, Indiana, and came to Vermilion county, where they settled upon the land in Vance township, about one and a quarter miles west of Fairmount, which has since been in possession of the family. Mr. Gunder bought three hundred and twenty acres of land, making further acquisitions later until he be- came the owner of a fine farm of four hundred acres, where he conducted gen- eral agricultural operations. In 1892 he rented his farm and moved to Fair-
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mount, where the father and mother both departed this life in 1899. Mr. Gun- der was actively identified with the democratic party and served as county su- pervisor and also as road commissioner, displaying the same interest and judg- ment in public affairs that he exercised in his own business. He was a charter member of the Masonic lodge at Fairmount and was known as one of the most enterprising and public-spirited citizens of the county. He and his wife were firm believers in the Christian religion and held membership in the Baptist church, which they accepted as presenting most clearly the teachings of the Great Master. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Gunder, seven of whom are now living: Jasper N., who was educated at the University of Illinois and is now living in Chicago; James H., a graduate in civil engineering of the Uni- versity of Illinois and now a resident of Worland, Wyoming; Samuel H., who graduated from the University of Michigan and now lives in Chicago; Alice A'., who was educated at St. Mary's Academy in Indiana and is the wife of Joseph Howard, of Vance township; Mary A., who graduated in vocal and instrumental music from the Jacksonville Female Academy and was married to Peter Beyer, of Danville, Illinois, now deceased; Julia C., also a graduate of the Jackson- ville Female Academy and the wife of Frank Godwin, of Decatur, Illinois; and Arthur H., the subject of this review.
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