USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, Illinois : a tale of its evolution, settlement, and progress for nearly a century, Volume II > Part 80
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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY
In 1892 Mr. Deamude was united in marriage to Miss Julia M. Happenstall, and seven children have been born unto them, four of whom are now living: Tessa May, Edna Susan, Meddie Clare and Dean, all at home. Mr. Deamude is a stanch advocate of the principles of the republican party, although at local elections he sometimes favors a friend whose name appears under a different designation. He has always been a public-spirited man and as an intelligent member of the community his ability is recognized and he is now serving as a member of the school board. He is active and energetic in his business affairs and has a wide acquaintance in the county, being very popular with the traveling public. In the various relations of life he has always been true to every trust reposed in him and as a result he enjoys the confidence and esteem of all with whom he is associated.
JOHN L. WATTS.
John L. Watts, chief deputy United States marshal at Danville with offices in the Federal building, was born March 17, 1877, at Mulberry Grove, Illinois, and is a son of Joseph F. and Hannah (Strader) Watts. The father was born in Columbus, Ohio, and when a young man devoted his time to farm work in that state. He afterward came to Illinois, settling in Bond county where he carried on farming on his own account, but later put aside agricultural pursuits and gave his attention to general merchandising for about six years. While thus engaged he was appointed postmaster and filled the position for four years. He also engaged in dealing extensively in stock and his business affairs were capably managed, resulting in success. Called to public office, he served as county sheriff one term, also county treasurer for one term. Deeply interested in politics, he was made presidential elector on the Taft ticket and has long been recognized as one of the earnest and able political leaders of his part of the state. He is now living retired.
John L. Watts, the fourth in a family of seven children, was educated in the public schools of Bond county, passing through the consecutive grades until he was graduated from the high school. He filled the office of deputy county treasurer for two years in his early manhood, serving under his father. At the end of that time he secured a position in the state bank of Hoiles & Sons at Greenville, remaining with that firm for three years. He then resigned to accept the position of deputy clerk of the United States district court for the southern district of Illinois, at Springfield, on the 31st of January, 1899, and remained in that position for six years. Following the division of the state into three districts, he was appointed chief deputy United States district and circuit court clerk for the southern district of Illinois, at Peoria, and thus served for two years, after which he resigned to become chief deputy United States marshal for the eastern district of Illinois, with his office in Danville. He has remained here for three years and his record in this as in other positions is characterized by the utmost devotion to duty, together with accuracy and system in the discharge of the tasks that devolve upon him and the obligations which are his in this connection.
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On the 28th of September, 1909, Mr. Watts was married to Miss Mae Davis of Danville, a daughter of Frank S. and Ida (Meeks) Davis. The family are interested in the progress of the city along social, political, intellectual and moral lines. Fraternally Mr. Watts is connected with the Benevolent & Pro- tective Order of Elks. Much of his life has been devoted to public service and as the years have gone by he has never grown careless in the performance of his duties, but, on the contrary, has seemed to take on an added conscientiousness that makes his work in the highest degree creditable and satisfactory.
JOHN G. HARTSHORN.
John G. Hartshorn, one of the representative business men of Danville, was born in Corydon, Iowa, May 17, 1862, his parents being William J. and Mary (Thompson) Hartshorn, both of whom are now deceased. The father died December 13, 1867, and the mother March 10, 1903. William G. Hartshorn was a native of Dublin, Ireland, who came to America in early life and settled in Iowa. He was married, however, in White Hall, Illinois, to Miss Mary Thompson, whose birth occurred in London, England. She emigrated to Amer- ica with her parents in the early '50s and also located in Iowa. Mr. Hartshorn was a prominent newspaper man and his fellow citizens, recognizing his worth and ability, called upon him to fill several positions of honor and trust. He was elected state senator but died before he was able to take his seat. During the Civil war he served as provost marshal and drafted men for his country.
In the state of his nativity John G. Hartshorn grew to manhood, attending the public schools of Corydon, and graduated from the high school in 1878. After putting aside his text-books, he engaged in clerking in a dry goods store in that city with W. S. Richards & Company, where he remained for four years, and during that time gained an excellent knowledge of business methods, which has been of great value in his subsequent career. He next formed a partner- ship with his brother, W. G. Hartshorn, and they opened a general store in Kin- ross, Iowa. This they conducted for one year, at the end of that time removing to Pleasantville, Marion county, Iowa. At the latter place they carried on the business on a much larger scale for ten years and on leaving there went to Dun- reath, Iowa, where in addition to engaging in general merchandise business, they also opened and operated a coal mine. In 1897 they sold their interests in Iowa and came to Danville, Illinois, where they have since engaged in busi- ness, conducting a general store, and also operating three coal mines, known as the Electric, the Mission Field, and the old Munsey mines. Owing to their industrious habits and good management, they have met with more than ordi- nary success and are now numbered among the leading business men of the city. Our subject is now serving as secretary and treasurer of the company, while his brother is president of the same.
On the Ist of March, 1888, at Mount Ayr, Iowa, Mr. Hartshorn was united in marriage to Miss Minnie E. Shepherd, a native of Keosaukua, Iowa, and a daughter of J. S. Shepherd. Two children blessed this union, namely: Harry,
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who was born in Pleasantville, Iowa, February 28, 1892, and Helen, born in Dundee, May 6, 1897. When he became of age Mr. Hartshorn chose the repub- lican party as his guide in political matters and has since voted that ticket, but has never cared for political preferment. He is a faithful member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church and is also connected with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.
THE DANVILLE WATERWORKS.
The Danville Waterworks, of which H. M. Ely is now superintendent, had their beginning in 1883, the original plant being erected by the Danville Water Company when this city had a population of only about nine thousand. The original station consisted of a single brick building, with slate roof, divided about equally into an engine and a boiler room. The plant was located in the valley of the north branch of the Vermilion river, some forty feet below the level of the city, and the water supply is still derived from this stream. The North Vermilion drains a sparsely settled farming country with an area of about two hundred and sixty-seven square miles and only two small towns are located on this water shed. The water used in an unfiltered state has been satisfactory from a sanitary standpoint, no disease of any kind ever having been attributed to this source. During spring freshets, however, the stream is very turbid and some years ago a settling reservoir of about six million gallons capacity was constructed. The waterworks were built under a franchise ordinance passed by the Danville city council November 9, 1882, granting the Danville Water Com- pany the right to construct, maintain and operate waterworks in and near the city for a term of thirty years and fixing its hydrant rentals and water rates. Subsequently a new franchise ordinance covering thirty years, establishing rates, was passed and providing for a readjustment of rates at five-year inter- vals. The growth of the city to a place of twenty-four thousand inhabitants made it necessary to enlarge the waterworks plant about August, 1902, and a new pumping engine and filter system were placed in service, being ready for use on the Ist of June, 1903. Since 1895 the water supply has been impounded and conserved by a low timber dam, which was built across the river near the pumping station. This was done in order to provide a large quantity of water for use during the period of low water and a new dam was constructed and a small hydraulic power plant installed. The new dam was of concrete, with a total height of eleven feet and a height above the river bed of eight feet. To provide for additional storage as well as a greater head for power purposes during times of moderate flow, the dam was arranged for the use of flash boards, which could be removed during high water, or which would be destroyed by flood flow, thus preventing the possible overflow of the adjacent low lands dur- ing such periods. A concrete fishway has been designed and built, for all dams must be provided with fishways according to state law. It was considered eco- nomical to utilize the surplus flow of the stream during moderate water for power which is used to operate the low lift pumps which supply the raw water
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to the coagulation basins and filters. For this purpose a small hydraulic power plant was constructed at the end of the dam next the station. The concrete dam is now being reconstructed and will be three feet higher, which will provide for a greater pondage. Four steel Taintor gates are placed in this dam to control the flood flow. The filters are of the gravity rapid sand filtration type and the rate of filtration is about one hundred and twenty-five million gallons per acre per day. The chemicals are mixed in concrete chemical tanks placed in the base- ment below the floor of the operating room. From these tanks the solutions are pumped into small elevated tanks placed near the roof. The sand beds of the filters are each twenty-five feet in length by ten feet, eight inches in width. Extending entirely around their beds is an iron trough twelve inches wide and eighteen inches deep, through which the water is supplied to the beds to avoid disturbing the sand and by which the wash water is conveyed from the beds without the loss of the filter sand. The filters are eight feet in depth, leaving room for from three to three and a half feet of water above the four foot bed of sand. The strainer system, as well as the air wash and controller, are of the Jewell type. The dirty wash water overflows the trough above the sand and thence flows through special connection to the drains. The washing water is alternated with an air wash which is introduced from a Root blower through an air pipe, from which it is distributed uniformly to the strainers by five ver- tical pipes to the manifold and strainer system. Since the establishment of the Danville Waterworks the plant has shown that which is best and most improved in machinery and equipment and has ever given to the city an adequate supply of pure, fresh water. The present officers of the company are George J. Long, president; R. W. Bingham, vice president; and W. J. McGonigale, secretary and treasurer. All three gentlemen are from Louisville, Kentucky, and H. M. Ely is superintendent.
GEORGE STEELY, M. D.
Dr. George Steely, who has been engaged in the practice of medicine at Danville for the past five years, is numbered among the worthy native sons of Vermilion county, his birth having occurred in Hoopeston on the 30th of Sep- tember, 1879. His parents are Harlan M. and Miriam (Marquess) Steely. The father, likewise a native of this county, is a well known and successful attorney of Danville. George Steely, the paternal grandfather, was an early settler of Grant township, Vermilion county.
George Steely began his education at Hoopeston and later continued his studies in the Danville high school, while subsequently he spent three years at the University of Illinois. He next entered Rush Medical College and while a student there also completed the scientific course at the University of Chicago, being graduated from that institution in 1902 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He continued his professional education in the College of Physicians & Surgeons at Boston and since his graduation therefrom in 1905 he has been continuously and successfully engaged in the practice of medicine at Danville.
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He is a member of Delta Tau Delta, a national college fraternity, and also of the Phi Rho Sigma. His ability and skill have been constantly manifest in the ex- cellent results which have attended his efforts for the alleviation of human suffering and the restoration of health, and he keeps in touch with the advance- ment that is being continually made by the medical fraternity through his mem- bership in the American Medical Association, the County and State Medical Societies, the Electro Therapeutic Association and the Association of Railway Surgeons. He is on the staff of St. Elizabeth's Hospital and also acts as sur- geon for the Danville Street Railroad & Light Company and the Illinois Trac- tion Company. He is a member of the Physicians Club of Danville.
In 1906 Dr. Steely was united in marriage to Miss Edythe Hortense Nims, a native of New Hampshire, who comes of Revolutionary stock. Fraternally the Doctor is identified with the Masons, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the First Church of Christ. His sterling manhood as well as his professional attainments command for him the respect and honor of those with whom he has been associated.
WILLIS D. KILGORE.
Willis D. Kilgore, who is successfully engaged in business as a coal and lum- ber merchant of Danville, was born near Eugene, Vermilion county, Indiana, on the 18th of September, 1880, his parents being James T. and Rebecca Ellen (Barker) Kilgore. The father, a native of Virginia, went to Indiana in early manhood, taking up his abode among the pioneer settlers of Vermilion county, that state. He devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits throughout his active business career and is now living retired with his wife in Vermilion county, Illinois, having come here in 1897. Their children were ten in number, the record of whom is as follows: John M., who resides in Danville; Isaac C., Stevens S. and Alice M., all of whom have passed away; Wiley S., who likewise makes his home in Danville; Flora, the wife of George Keplinger, of Hoopes- ton, Illinois ; Everett, living in this county; Minnie, who is deceased; Willis D., of this review; and Harry, who has likewise passed away.
Willis D. Kilgore attended the district schools of Georgetown and Liberty, Illinois, until seventeen years of age and then spent two years in J. C. Walker's Business College at Danville. After putting aside his text-books he secured a position with A. R. Eader, a bicycle dealer on West North street, by whom he was employed as bookkeeper for a short time. Subsequently he entered the serv- ice of the Sidell Grain & Elevator Company of Sidell in a similar capacity and later accepted a position with the Kelley Coal Company of Danville, remaining with that concern for four years. On the expiration of that period, feeling that his capital and experience justified him in embarking in business on his own account, he began operations as a dealer in coal and lumber in the fall of 1907 and has since conducted a successful enterprise of this character at No. 438 Gilbert street, known as the Union Coal & Timber Company. The business has
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enjoyed a steady growth and Mr. Kilgore is widely recognized as one of the substantial and representative citizens of Danville.
On the IIth of May, 1908, at Rankin, Illinois, Mr. Kilgore was united in marriage to Miss Nora J. Abbott, a native of that place and a daughter of James L. and Maggie Abbott, old residents of Vermilion county. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Kilgore has supported the men and meas- ures of the democracy but he has never sought office as a reward for his party fealty. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the First Meth- odist Episcopal church. A prosperous merchant, an exemplary citizen and a man of high moral standards, he enjoys the respect of all who have come in contact with him.
1 S. B. DEAMUDE.
S. B. Deamude, of Potomac, who is the owner with his son of a well im- proved farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Middle Fork township, a com- modious residence in Potomac and an interest in a flourishing livery business, may justly be numbered among the pioneers of Vermilion county although he is only sixty-three years of age. He was born on a farm twelve miles south of Potomac, July 22, 1847, and here he has passed all of his life. The year of his birth was made memorable by the war with Mexico, which gave a new im- petus to emigration into the western states and territories and from that time the stream has continued to flow with little cessation until millions of people are now to be seen where at the time of Mr. Deamude's birth there were few struggling settlements and wild animals and Indians were the principal inhab- itants of the country. Mr. Deamude has lived to see many wonderful changes and none of them more marked than in his native state of Illinois, which has become one of the most populous states in the Union and one of the richest and most productive regions of the world.
The subject of this review was born July 22, 1847, a son of Samuel and Mary (Bloomfield) Deamude. The father was a farmer, born in the southern part of Ohio, near the Ohio river, and in his boyhood days often crossed the river to Kentucky and there met the slaves and heard from them the tragic stories of their lives. He worked on a farm and also in a foundry but at twenty- two years of age he left Ohio, coming to Illinois in a one-horse wagon and, as he often related, arriving at the termination of his journey with five dollars in money, an axe, a wife and one child. He was born about 1808 and died January 27, 1868. He was twice married, the maiden name of his first wife being Rachel Hillery, and to them three children were born: Hannah, deceased ; Silas, a car- penter of Danville, Illinois; and Clarke, who served in the Union army four years and advanced to the rank of captain and is now deceased. The second wife of Mr. Deamude was Mary Bloomfield, who was born in 1818 and de- parted this life April 29, 1888. She was the mother of six children: Maggie, now the widow of Benjamin Shambaugh, of Champaign, Illinois; Charles, who is living in the West Indies; S. B., the subject of our review; Hattie, the wife
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of Charles Umbarger, a merchant of Rossville, Illinois; and Mary and Lucy, both deceased.
Having successfully devoted his energies to the farm, S. B. Deamude is now in the enjoyment of a competence as the result of many years of well applied industry and the application also of patience and good judgment which are such important elements in every successful career. One of the leading events in the life of Mr. Deamude was his marriage, on the 3d of December, 1868, to Miss Amanda Sperry, a daughter of Erastus and Ruth (Reese) Sperry, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Indiana. The father came to Vermilion county with his parents and here continued the remainder of his life. He died May 14, 1852, at the age of thirty-two years. There were five children in the family, three of whom are now living: Wallace, a merchant of Muncie, Indi- ana ; Arminda, mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume ; and Amanda, the wife of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Deamude have two children: Frank, who was born October 14, 1869, and is now engaged in the livery business and also in farming at Potomac; and Ella, the wife of Frank Montgomery, of Law- renceville, Illinois.
Mr. Deamude holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and is one of its active and earnest supporters. Coming from good pioneer stock, he has shown the traits of courage, persistence and rightly directed effort that enabled the early settlers to clear away the forest and establish permanent homes where today may be seen beautiful residences provided with comforts and lux- uries of which the older generation scarcely dreamed. Mr. Deamude has well performed his duty and has earned the confidence and esteem of friends and acquaintances, who in years past have had definite knowledge of his many ex- cellent qualities not only as head of a family but as a broad-minded citizen and a responsive member of the universal brotherhood of man.
CHARLES MAURICE CRAYTON.
The life of Charles Maurice Crayton, assistant states attorney of Vermilion county, presents a striking illustration of the possibilities under the American republic for any young man who possesses the energy and foresight to take ad- vantage of them. He is a native son of Indiana, born at Hillsboro, November 9, 1872, his parents being George May and Elizabeth Murphy (Guilliams) Cray- ton. The father, who was a merchant of Hillsboro, departed this life in 1880, at the age of fifty-two years. The mother was a native of Fountain county, Indiana, and died August 3, 1910, at the age of seventy-three years. Our sub- ject is of Scotch and Irish ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Cray- ton, was the son of an Irish emigrant who settled in North Carolina and the paternal grandmother, Susan May, was a granddaughter of Captain "Billy" May, and a daughter of George May, one of the early pioneers of Indiana and a member of the Indiana legislature. The former was an officer in the Mexican war and a man of considerable prominence in his time. The maternal grand- father, John L. Guilliams, was a Scotchman who settled in Tennessee and his wife was Jennie Bowman, of the Bowman family of Kentucky and Indiana.
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The subject of this review received his preliminary education in the common schools of Indiana and attended the Indiana Normal College at Covington for two terms. At the age of fifteen he was granted a teacher's certificate in Foun- tain county by James Bingham, now attorney general of the state. His first. experience with the great world, which was now beginning to open before him, was as a teacher in the public schools. At the end of two years, however, he- decided that his destiny lay in other directions. Accordingly he entered the office of the Potomac Rustler, of Potomac, Illinois, and there learned the print- er's trade. After working for a time as journeyman printer, he established sev- eral county newspapers, notably the Hillsboro (Ind.) Clipper and the George- town (Ill.) Herald. He was in the newspaper business when war was declared against Spain and, like thousands of patriotic young men of our country, he- presented himself for enlistment April 20, 1898, and became a member of Bat- tery A, Illinois Volunteer Artillery, serving under General Nelson A. Miles in the invasion of Porto Rico. The war coming to a close, he was honorably dis- charged November 28, 1898.
After laying aside his uniform Mr. Crayton reentered the newspaper busi- ness as a reporter on the Danville (Ill.) Daily Democrat. Shortly afterward he purchased the Potomac (Ill.) Republican, which he edited until April, 1900,. when he sold the paper and accepted a position as city editor of the Poplar Bluff (Mo.) Citizen. From this position he resigned in July, 1902, to become editor of the Potomac Republican. While serving in this position he studied law and in 1906 was admitted to practice by the supreme court of Illinois and entered upon the duties of his profession at Potomac. In November, 1908, he- was appointed assistant states attorney of Vermilion county and removed to- Danville, where he has since resided. In his present position he has acquired an enviable reputation as a capable and wide-awake official who acts upon the principle that a public officer should labor with the same diligence that he brings to bear in his own private business. As a result he has gained the confidence. of the courts and the growing esteem of the people. In a profession that de- mands the best efforts of its followers, he finds full scope for his abilities.
On the IIth of August, 1901, at Covington, Indiana, Mr. Crayton was united in marriage to Miss Minnie B. Parker, of Potomac. Two children have blessed' this union, Kathleen E., now aged eight years, and Lois G., six years of age.
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