History of Vermilion County, together with historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources, Part 56

Author: Beckwith, H. W. (Hiram Williams), 1833-1903
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : H. H. Hill and Company
Number of Pages: 1164

USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, together with historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources > Part 56

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).

George Dudenhofer, Danville, cigar manufacturer, was born in Hesse Providence, Germany, in 1834. He learned the trade of a cigar-maker in Germany. In 1856, with his parents, he emigrated to America and landed in New York city. He came west to Indiana, and located in Fort Wayne, where he remained about two years, when he went to La Fayette. and there he remained about one year. Here he was married to Elizabeth Burkley, of Germany, who came to America when she abont eleven years old. By this union they have five chil- dren. In 1859 they went to Alton, and there remained one year and then returned to La Fayette, and in 1865 came to Danville. Here Mr. Dudenhofer has remained ever since. He employs four hands in the manufacture of cigars, and has made as high as twenty thousand in one year, and paid to the government $14,000 taxes on cigars for the same length of time. He finds sale for his goods in this vicinity. Mr. Du- denhofer enlisted in the 76th Indiana, and was in the campaign after the guerrilla John Morgan. His parents were George and Eliza Duden- hofer. His father died in Germany and his mother died in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

J. L. Hill, Danville, contractor and builder, for about twenty-three years a resident of Edgar and this county, is a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania. During his early life he had but little opportu- nity of getting an education, there being nothing but the old subserip-

449

DANVILLE TOWNSHIP.

tion school system then in vogue, and he not having the advantage of even this but about nine months altogether. He, for some time before coming west, was engaged in the mercantile trade. This he gave up on account of ill health. In 1856 he located in Edgar county, Illinois, in what is now Ross township, where for about ten years he was engaged in farming. While a resident of Edgar he was drafted for the army of the war of 1861-65, but on account of disability was rejected, very much against his wishes, as the entreaty of his family and friends had only kept him from enlisting long before. While a resident of Pennsylvania he had learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner. This for several years has been of advantage to him, though it is but for the past year or two that he has built much for other parties, most of his time being occupied by building residences upon his own city property, of which he owns considerable. This, as well as all his property, has been the result of his own energy and good financiering.

S. H. Riggs, Danville, of the firm of Riggs & Menig, woolen man- ufacturers, is now about thirty-five years old, and a wide-awake, shrewd business man. His native place is Gallipolis, Ohio. He has been a resident of this place for about thirteen years, and has thus far been dependent upon his own resources in the accumulating of property, of which, if we may judge by appearances and reports, he has succeeded very well. He is a thoroughly practical man in the manufacture of woolen goods, having had abont ten years' experience in the business. Previous to becoming interested in the Danville mills he was in a mill at Perrysville, Indiana. He first became interested in this mill in con- nection with a brother, in 1875, they renting the mill and running it together for about one year. He then managed it alone for one year, and then formed the partnership now existing. Mr. Riggs spends the most of his time at the factory which he superintends. In connection with the factory they have two well-stocked stores, one located near the mill and the other on West Main street. These come more par- ticularly under the care of Mr. Menig. Their soap business is probably of more importance than many of the citizens of Danville are aware of. They are manufacturing four different brands, and shipping quite large quantities to Indiana, Ohio and through Illinois. They have also shipped some as far as Colorado. They are already classed among the leading business houses of Danville. By their energy, industry and good financiering they have established a business of which they may well be proud.

J. W. Elliott, Danville, bookkeeper, Vermilion County Bank, is a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, though when he was one year old his people moved to Warren county, Ohio. This was in 1831. In 29

450

HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.

1842 he went to Shelby county, Indiana, and from there to Indianapo- lis, where he learned the trade of a printer with Messrs. G. A. and J. P. Chapman, state printers, and publishers of the "Sentinel." In 1861 he entered the army as chief clerk of Captain H. H. Boggess, A. Q. M. In 1864 he was appointed paymaster, which position he held until he was mustered out of the service, in August of 1865. In 1866 he engaged in the dry-goods trade in Danville, which he followed until 1871, when he went to the village of Hoopeston. Vermilion county, which was then just being founded. Mr. Elliott erected the third house ever built in that city. He remained there but about one year, when he returned to Danville and engaged in the grocery trade, which he followed until December of 1878. He then sold out and accepted the position of book-keeper in the Vermilion County Bank, where we at present find him, a man whose reputation is above reproach, and whose word is as good as his bond.

John W. Lowell, of Danville, Illinois, although a young man at this time, has an extensive and valuable experience. He was born at Noblesville, Indiana, on the 16th of January, 1846. His parents (Andrew J. and Nancy Lowell) soon afterward removed from thence to their old home in Brown county, Ohio, four miles north of the city of Maysville, Kentucky, where the family resided but a short time, again removing to Bentonville, Adams county, Ohio, for a permanent home. John was about three years old at this time. The most of his boyhood years were spent in school, where he learned rapidly, always being among the first in his class. When the cloud of war burst upon the country he was eager to join the Union forces ; but, being young and delicate, did not find an opportunity to get into the ranks until in 1863, when he joined the 4th Ohio Battalion of Cavalry, under Col. Wheeler. He served in Kentucky and east Tennessee in scouting expeditions until mustered out in 1864, at Cincinnati, Ohio. He was home only a few weeks when he again enlisted in the 173d O. Vol. Inf., and Sep- tember, 1864, the regiment encamped at Nashville, Tennessee. Here he was soon detailed by Gen. Miller, commanding the post, as a clerk in his headquarters. His regiment was afterward ordered to Johnson- ville, on the Tennessee river; he therefore resigned his position at headquarters and went with the regiment, where he received a respon- sible position at the hands of Col. Hurd, which he held until discharged, after the close of the war, at Camp Dennison, Ohio, in July, 1865. After his discharge he spent a few weeks among his friends in Adams county, and then bid adieu to the scenes of childhood, for a home in the west, landing in September of that year in Lafayette, Indiana, where he taught a winter school. He arrived in Danville on the 1st

451

DANVILLE TOWNSHIP.

of March, 1866, and on the same day John C. Short, county clerk, en- gaged his services. The first work he did for Mr. Short was to prepare a set of abstract records of the lands in Vermilion county, and which are now owned by A. Martin, after which Mr. Short appointed him deputy county clerk. He remained in the county clerk's office for nearly three years, afterward serving with Mr. Dillon as his deputy circuit clerk from the 1st of February, 1869, to the 1st of December, 1876. He was a very efficient and accommodating officer, a splendid penman, quick and accurate in his work. Thus has Mr. Lowell served not only his country well, but also the people of his county, devoting to them the most valuable period of a young man's life (that from seventeen to thirty). After leaving the clerk's office he read law in the office of Mr. Townsend, of this city, and was admitted to practice law at Springfield, in January of 1878. In politics Mr. Lowell is a repub- lican, and he cast his first vote for Lincoln, while in the army. He has been a member of the M. E. Church since he was nine years of age. Certain it is that so far Mr. Lowell's life has been full of labor and use- fulness, and the prospects in the future are bright, and we wish him all the success which a young man of talents, character and energy deserves to have. At present he has a law and abstract office opposite the First National Bank, Danville, Illinois.

There are employed in the coal mines of Vermilion county about six hundred men, and John Timm used to be one of this kind of work- men, but by economy and good management he saved money enough to engage in business. He now has a neat little grocery store located on College street, between South and Main, where he is doing a fair business, in connection with which he runs a delivery wagon. He is a native of Prussia. He came to the United States in 1866, and stopped at New York for a short time, and then came west and located at Dan- ville, where he began working in the coal mines, which business he followed for eleven years, being "laid up" one year with the rheu- matism. Nine years of the time he was engaged in laying track in the mines, and the last two years he enjoyed the responsibilities of boss. He was married in 1870. His wife, whose name previous to their mar- riage was Dora Wanderlich, is a native of Germany also.

E. C. Abdill, of the firm of Abdill Bros., hardware dealers, Dan- ville, is a native of Vermilion county, Indiana, his old home being Perrysville, where he was born on the 14th of May, 1840. In 1861, when he was twenty-one years old, he entered the Federal army of the war of 1861-65. He enlisted in Co. B, 11th Ind. Inf., Col. L. Wal- lace. For eighteen months he was with Gen. Grant, he and three other parties having charge of the dispatches and mail. After serving

452

HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.

this length of time he was appointed assistant adjutant-general of the 23d army corps. During his service he passed through many of the heavy battles, among which may be mentioned the battle of Fort Don- elson and those of Vicksburg, Dalton, Buzzard's Roost, Peachtree Creek, Lost Mountain and Kenesaw Mountain, and many others of the Atlanta campaign. He remained in the service a little over three years, when he resigned on account of ill-health. Upon returning from the army he became a resident of Danville for a short time, being engaged in the provost marshal's office. In 1866 he went to Fair- mount, and engaged in the hardware trade. This he continued until 1868, when he came to Danville, and engaged in business with his brother. His wife, who was a Miss Peters, was the daughter of Judge Peters, one of the first judges and early settlers of Vermilion county.

James C. Thompson, Danville, machinist, is a native of Wayne county, Indiana, and was born in 1836. He has had twenty-five years' experience as a machinist. having learned the trade in Logansport, In- diana, serving a three years' apprenticeship. He first came to Vermil- ion county in 1866, coming to accept the position of foreman, which he filled for five years. He then was engaged in the business of gas- fitting for about the same length of time, and in 1877 bonght an inter- est in the Great Western Machine Works. Some time afterward Mr. Pollard became a partner. They are now one of the leading manu- facturing firms of the city. They are still doing an extensive business in the gas-fitting line. though their specialty is steam engines and mill machinery. Their engine is about forty-horse power, and in all they employ about fourteen men. Mr. Thompson is one of the honorable business men of the city, who, by a just and fair treatment of all men, has won for himself a name and reputation that perhaps may outlive him in the memory of the better class of citizens of Danville and Ver- milion county.

There is probably no man engaged in the milling trade in Vermil- ion county who is better or more favorably known in connection with the milling trade than Mr. Samuel Bowers. the subject of this sketch. Since his residence in Danville he has erected two large flouring-mills, known as the Amber and City Mills, an illustration of each appearing in this work. He is a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, though he left there at the age of seven years and went with his people to Richland county, Ohio. This was in 1846. He remained a resi- dent of Ohio until after he had arrived at man's estate. While there he learned the miller's trade. He has made two trips to California, going first by water about the year 1865, and returning via the Platte River route. He went back to Ohio, where he again engaged in the

453

DANVILLE TOWNSHIP.

mill business for a time, and in 1866 came to Danville, where he has since resided, except a short time in 1874, when he, with his family, made a second trip to California, returning the same year. He fin- ished building the City Mills, which he is now running, in 1875. During the four years since it has been completed it has never stood idle a single day for want of work. The mill has four run of stone, with a capacity of five barrels per hour. He gives employment to about six men. He has also built two very fine residence buildings in the city : one corner of Depot and North, and the other where he now resides, corner Franklin and Harrison streets. During the war of 1861-65 he entered the Federal army, enlisting the first time in the 32d Ohio Inf. ; the second time in the 82d.

J. B. Mann, Danville, attorney-at-law, is perhaps known throughout this vicinity as well as any attorney of the Vermilion county bar. He was born in Somerville, New Jersey, on the 9th of November, 1843, and is the son of John M. Mann, who was a native of Pennsylvania, and a prominent attorney of Somerville, New Jersey, where he was elected to the legislature for two terms and refused the nomination for congress. His mother, Eliza (Bonnell) Mann, was a native of New Jersey. Mr. Mann, the subject of our sketch, received his principal education in New Jersey, where he graduated from one of the leading colleges of that state. In 1865 he entered the Michigan University of Ann Arbor, and graduated from the law-school in 1866. IIe then came to Danville, and here entered the office of Judge O. L. Davis. In 1867 he was admitted to practice law at the Illinois state bar. He a'sso- ciated himself with Judge E. S. Terry. When this firm dissolved Mr. Mann formed a partnership with Judge O. L. Davis, and since then he has formed a partnership with W. J. Calhoun and D. C. Frazier, forming the law-firm of Mann, Calhoun & Frazier, which is one of the strongest of Vermilion county. Mr. Mann, in 1867, was elected city attorney of Danville, and was the first that Danville had. His political opinions are democratic. Mr. Mann was married in 1874, to Miss Lucy A. Davis, daughter of Judge O. L. Davis, and by this union they have two children.

David Mayer, Danville, farmer, was born in Wedenburg, Germany, on the 7th of March, 1826. He came to America in 1851 and went to Sandusky, Ohio, where he met a sister. He was married in Sandusky, to Annie Shroder, of Hanover, Germany. With his wife and sister he went to St. Louis, Missouri, where his wife died. He then went to Illinois, and worked at the carpenter's trade. From there he went to Missouri, locating on two hundred acres of land. He returned to Illi- nois, and then went to Kansas and located in Anderson county, near

454

HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.

Greeley. Mr. Mayer was in the late war, and did good service. He enlisted in the 2d Kansas Battery as bugler, and served for three years. This battery did noble service. He remained in Kansas some fifteen and a half years, and had some experience with the grasshoppers, which caused such havoc in Kansas. Mr. Mayer states, however, that the grasshoppers bothered him but little. Mr. Mayer was engaged in farming three hundred and twenty acres of land. He was married the second time, to Rosie Fritz, of Wedenburg, Germany. They have five chil- dren : Rosie, Caroline, Fredericka, David and Annie. Mr. Mayer is bugler of Battery A, 1st Brigade Illinois National Guards.

Charles Hesse, Danville, proprietor of the Hesse House, was born in Germany on the 18th of March, 1833, and came to America and landed in New York city in 1855. Mr. Hesse was engaged in farming in Germany. ITis father, Trangott Hesse, was a very prominent man in Germany. He was assessor and collector. Mr. Hesse came to Amer- ica with abont $500, and came west to Illinois, locating in Scott county, where he had a brother in the confectionery business. Here Mr. Hesse remained about six years, engaged at work in a brickyard, and also learning the trade of a brick-mason. In 1861 he enlisted in the army, and participated in the late war. He enlisted for three years in the 4th Mo. Cav., Co. C, as orderly-sergeant. He participated in twenty- six severe battles, such as Pea Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, siege of Corinth, Inka, Dallas, Resaca, Farmingtown, etc. He never received a wound, but had two horses shot from under him. His brother, Fred Hesse, was a brave soldier. He enlisted in the 129th Ill. Vol. Inf., and was in the battle of Resaca when the 129th was making a charge on the rebels' intrenchments. He was planting the Union flag on the fortifications, and was shot dead. Mr. Hesse, our subject, was honorably mustered out of service. He then went to St. Louis, and at that place and Lincoln, Logan county, Illinois, was engaged at his trade of brickmaker and contractor. He then came to Danville, where he was engaged at his trade and contracting. He has contracted and built some of the finest buildings in Danville. Mr. Hesse was made a member of the I.O.O.F. in 1864 at Lincoln, Illinois, and to-day is one of the leading Odd-Fellows of Illinois. He is a member of the Grand Lodge of the state. He was married in St. Louis, to Lena Dhuernan, of Germany. By this union they have six children.

Mr. A. C. Garland, Danville, proprieter of the Stone Steam Saw- Mill and Tile Factory, was born in New Hampshire, where he learned the trade of a stone-mason. He was engaged east at his trade and was a large bridge contractor on the Erie railroad. He also superintended the stonework in the erection of the water-works reservoir at Brook-

455

DANVILLE TOWNSHIP.

lyn, New York. Mr. Garland came to Danville in 1866, and since his residence here has built and contracted for stonework on some of the prominent bridges in Vermilion county. He in 1875 erected the pres- ent steam stone saw-mill, and since then most of the best business houses and private residences in this vicinity have been furnished with stone from his establishment. Recently Mr. Garland has established a tile factory, size 210 x 20, where he is able to turn out the finest quality of tile at from two to eight inches in size. His capacity in the mann- facture of tile is six thousand per day. He has all the latest improve- ments, and when in full blast employs ten men. He is also engaged in the manufacture of brick of a superior quality. Mr. Garland's son, Ira, is engineer of the steam saw-mill.

Angust Blankenburg, Danville, jeweler, was born in Prussia, Ger- many, on the 12th of October, 1845, and is the son of Frederick W. and Catharine (Torge) Blankenburg, of Germany. When Mr. Blank- enburg was fourteen years old he commenced to learn the jewelry trade in Stettin, Germany, and served an apprenticeship of four years. He followed his profession up to 1866, when he embarked for America. He came direct to Danville, Illinois, and commenced work in the en- ploy of S. N. Monroe. He then went to Kansas and worked abont six years at his trade in Baxter Springs. He returned to Danville in 1874 and commenced the jewelry business in the present establishment, which is located at 60 Vermilion street, where may be found a full line of watches, clocks and jewelry.

In the line of sporting goods Mr. John Schario, the gunsmith of Danville, is the principal dealer. His establishment is located at No. 124 East Main street. Here he has on hand a full line of guns of all descriptions (except cannon), ammunition, fishing tackle, and in fact everything pertaining to his line of trade. He is a native of Dansville, New York. The early part of his life, or until he had become a man, was spent in different parts of the United States and Canada. It was at Waterloo, Canada, that he learned the trade of a locksmith. This being so closely related to the gunsmith trade he very readily mastered the latter. In 1867 he became a resident of Danville, and engaged in the manufacture and sale of sporting goods. His sales will probably ag- gregate $3,000 or $3,500 per year. In 1876 he was elected a member of the city council, and again in 1878 he was called upon to fill the same office. This is the second term and third year that he has been a coun- cilman. He is one of that class of men who do not make so much fuss and noise over their affairs, but go quietly about their own business, but nevertheless a citizen whose word may be depended upon and whose influence is felt.

456

HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.

A. J. Cox, the leading blacksmith of Danville, is a native of La Fayette, Indiana, where he was born on the 12th of February, 1839. At the age of sixteen years he began learning the trade of a blacksmith and wagon manufacturer. This he followed as a business until 1863, when he entered the army, enlisting in Co. A, 76th Ind. Vol. Inf., three-years service. In 1865 he veteranized, which connected him with Co. B, 37th regiment. He remained in the service until the close of the war. He was in many heavy battles, among which we mention the siege of Vicksburg, battle of Jackson, Mississippi, and that of Mo- bile, Alabama. After the close of the war he came to Danville, where he has sinee remained.

The Amber mills were built in 1866 by Bowers & Shellebarger, burned in 1875, and were rebuilt by S. Bowers & Co. In 1878, when it came into the hands of the present proprietor, Mr. D. Gregg, it was what is known as a four-run mill. Mr. Gregg has remodeled and changed the mill to six run of stone, and to what is known as the patent process of manufacturing flour. This patent process is to make as large a quantity of middlings as possible, and these, after regrinding and passing through several processes of purifying, furnish a much finer grade of flour than that obtained by the first grinding. Mr. Gregg is also engaged quite ex- tensively in the grain trade, buying about 250,000 bushels per year. In all he gives employment to about twenty men regularly, sometimes there being more than this number. He pays out to these about $15,000 per annum. Since his residence in Danville he has invested about $20.000 in buildings, the _Etna House block being one which he built. He was born in the north of Ireland in 1831. There he received a good education, and in 1850, when nineteen years old, came to the United States. From this date until 1867 he was engaged in different kinds of business enterprises, and in different states. From 1853 to 1866 he was engaged in the dry-goods trade in Bluffton, Ohio. In 1867 he came to Danville and began buying grain, and has now been running the Amber mills about one year. He is one of the self-made men of Danville, having been dependent upon his own resources in the accu- mulation of property, and is now well known as one of the substantial men of Danville.

D. M. Gurley, Danville, retired, was born in Bennington county, Vermont, in 1808. When he was twelve years old his people moved to what they then termed the western frontier - Oswego county, New York. Here the early part of his life was spent. His chances for schooling were very poor. though by close attention he acquired a good education. In 1853 he moved to Quincy, Michigan. He remained a resident of that place until coming to Danville in 1867. During his

457

DANVILLE TOWNSHIP.

residence in Oswego county he became the first abolitionist of the county, but becoming somewhat disgusted with the political move- ments of the day, he for eleven years refused to cast a vote. His busi- ness for many years was that of a hide and leather dealer. He continued in this until the change in the financial prospects of the country, in 1873, when he closed out, and has not since been actively engaged in business.

Judge J. W. Stansbury, Danville, justice, was born in the city of New York in 1808, where he remained a resident until twelve years old. Then he became a resident of New Haven, and afterward became a graduate of the schools at Schenectady. At the age of twenty-five years he began reading law at Geneva; went to New York city to be examined, and was admitted to the bar, after which he went back to Geneva and practiced his profession for three years. From there he went to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained but a short time, and then went to Livingston county, Michigan, where he remained a resi- dent for about sixteen years. While a resident of this county he was elected to the office of probate judge, which office he filled for four years. From Livingston county he went to New York again, locating at Ithaca, where he resided about fifteen years, and in 1867 came to Danville. Two years after he came he was elected justice of the peace, which office he has now held for ten years. In 1838 he was married to Miss L. Dudgeon, of New Hartford, New York. By this union they have had a family of five children.

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.

History of Vermilion County, together with historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources, Part 56

Author: Beckwith, H. W. (Hiram Williams), 1833-1903 Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Chicago : H. H. Hill and Company Number of Pages: 1164

Author: Beckwith, H. W. (Hiram Williams), 1833-1903
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : H. H. Hill and Company
Number of Pages: 1164