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 59

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 59

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H. P. Blackburn, Danville, attorney-at-law, was born in Fountain county, Indiana, on the 23d of August, 1850, and is the son of John T. and Mary A. (Powell) Blackburn, both natives of Kentucky, and early settlers of Fountain county, Indiana. Mr. Blackburn received his principal education from the Wesley Academy, near Crawfordsville,

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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.

Indiana, Bloomingdale Academy, near Annapolis, Indiana, and the Illi- nois State University at Champaign. He then entered the Michigan University of Ann Arbor, Michigan, from which he graduated in 1872. He then came to Danville and commenced the practice of law. Since he began here he has associated himself as partner with Wm. H. Mal- lory, B. F. Cook. George W. Gere and General J. C. Black.

E. R. Danforth, dealer in groceries and provisions, No. 36 Ver- milion street, is a native of Wabash, Indiana. He began business in his present location in January, 1879, by buying the grocery establish- ment of J. W. Elliott. He began his mercantile life in his old home, Wabash, Indiana, where he spent several years as a clerk in a general store. In 1869 he left Wabash and located in Homer, Illinois, where he spent three years clerking in a grocery establishment. In 1873 he accepted a situation as clerk with Mr. Wm. Hessey, dry-goods mer- chant of Danville. He remained with Mr. Hessey until he decided to engage in business on his own account. His store is eighteen feet front by one hundred feet deep, located where there is but little doubt of success and stocked with a fine class of groceries and provisions, queens- ware, crockery, tinware, and many other useful and staple lines of goods that experience and good judgment have taught him were necessary for success. For a man who has never been engaged in business for him- self, Mr. Danforth is certainly exhibiting some very good financiering qualities. Should his business in the future be conducted as carefully as it has been in the past, there is but little doubt of his ambition for suc- cess being realized.

C. M. Axtell, Danville, is a native of Washington county, Pennsyl- vania, though at the age of four years he was brought to Iroquois county by his parents, they coming to that county in company with eleven other families from Pennsylvania. There the early part of his life was spent, and an education received from such facilities as the country afforded at that time. He remained a resident of that county until 1873, when he came to Danville. For some time before leaving Iroquois county he had been engaged in business on his own account : in the harness trade for three years, and in the livery business four years. He built the building on the corner of Madison and Pine streets, which he still owns. This he occupied for about four years, engaged in the grocery business, Mr. Sirpless becoming his successor in business. In 1878 he was elected a member of the police force of Danville, but failed to be renominated again in 1879 on account of not supporting the administration, which declared in favor of licensing the sale of liquor.

Gottlieb Maier, Danville, leather and findings, was born in Wur-

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temburg, Germany, on the 28th of April, 1840. He remained a resi- dent of his native country until he had received a good education, and had learned the trade of a tanner. In 1867 he came to the United States, first loeating at Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he remained about one and a half years. He then went to Loudonville, Ohio, for about the same length of time, and then to Augusta, Kentucky, where he was engaged in business on his own account as a tanner. He re- mained in Augusta about three years, and in 1873 came to Danville. Where he is now, on East Main street, he has a store 22 x 70, with basement. He pays out annually abont twenty thousand dollars for hides, furs, tallow, " sheeps," etc., shipping most of these goods to Bos- ton, Mass. He also carries a fine stock of leather and findings. He is a man who pays little attention to anybody's business except his own, but is one of that class of men who are ranked among the best citizens of any community.

G. L. Klugel, Danville, of No. 47 West Main street, dealer in and manufacturer of galvanized-iron work, is probably a better workman, and is engaged more extensively in this business, than many of the citizens of Vermilion county are aware of. He has had sixteen years' experience in this line, first serving an apprenticeship of seven years with his brother. He is a native of Berlin, Prussia, coming to the United States in 1859, when he was six years old, becoming a resident of Day- ton, Ohio. It was there he learned his trade. He has traveled over quite a number of the states, executing large contraets in his line of business. Among these we mention a few. In 1870 he first came to Danville, and did the iron-work of the high-school building: in 1872 he did the cornice-work on Abe Sandusky's residence; in 1877 he did that of the court-house of Washington, Indiana, and in 1878 finished the Ann Arbor court-house; in 1879 he finished the Wabash court- house of Indiana. These are some of the important jobs he has done, and are certainly evidence enough of his ability as a workman and con- tractor. In 1873 he became a resident of Danville, and now gives employment to about four men regularly, and is doing a business, in point of execution, equal to any in the west.

D. C. Vaughn, Danville, saw-mill, is a native of the state of Iowa, and has been a resident of Danville since 1873. He was for five years connected with the 'bus line of S. B. Holloway & Co., the last two years as a partner in the business. In the summer of 1879 they (he and S. B. Holloway) purchased the saw-mill located at the I. B. & W. depot, and formerly run by Noah Wilkins. This business now comes directly under Mr. Vaughn's supervision. Their specialty is hardwood lumber, of which they have a manufacturing capacity of about 6,000

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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.

feet per day. In all they give employment to about twenty men, seven of whom are at work in the mill. Their annual pay-roll amounts to about $4,000. They have an engine of forty-horse power. The mill is new. Mr. Vaughn is a live, energetic business man, and though the enterprise is a new one there is every probability of their success. Mr. Holloway is an old mill man.

Among the few large grocery and bakery establishments of Danville is that of Bredehoft Bros., located at No. 135 East Main street. The elder of the two, George W., has had about six years' experience in the business in Danville, and in that time has become a thoroughly prac- tical business man. In 1873 he engaged in the trade in company with Mr. Charles Stellner, they doing business together until the present firm was organized. Their store-room is twenty-four feet front by eighty feet deep, with basement. In addition to this they have the Lossom bakery, built in the rear of the store. This is 20 x 24. In this line they have acquired a reputation that keeps them very busy deliv- ering goods, their business aggregating now about $50,000 per annum in both lines of trade. They give employment to about four men regu- larly, and should their trade increase in the future as it has in the past they will shortly be the leading house in the city in their line. Their business is a fair illustration of what may be accomplished by pluck and perseverance. They have worked for the trade they now com- inand, both by means of a pleasant and courteous treatment of their customers, supplying them with nice fresh goods, and by keeping their place of business neat and clean.

The largest and most important clothing and gents' furnishing es- tablishment in the city of Danville is that of H. Kahn & Co., the members of the firm being H. Kahn and the subject of our sketch, Mr. Isaac Stern, who was born in 1846 in Wurtemberg, Germany. There he received a good education, and had six years' experience in the clothing trade, and at the age of twenty years came to the United States, locating at Champaign, Illinois, where for four years he was engaged as a clerk in the clothing trade. He then went south and located near Salem, Alabama, where for three years he was engaged in the mercantile trade. Returning north in 1873 he located at Danville and engaged in business, where we now find him one of the most suc- cessful merchants of the city. Their establishment is located at No. 51 Vermilion street, and is known as the Arcade Clothing House. The building is 100 x 24 feet. and they occupy the first floor and basement with a stock of goods not equaled in the city. Mr. Stern, though a resident of the city but a few years, is already well and favorably known both in society and business circles.

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DANVILLE TOWNSHIP.

William P. Cannon, Danville, president of the Vermilion County Bank, was born in Morgan county, Indiana, September 18, 1841, and is the son of Horace F. Cannon, who was born in North Carolina, and was a doctor by profession. He moved to Indiana in 1840. Mr. W. P. Can- non, after receiving his principal education at the Earlem College of In- diana, commenced the study of law with his brother, Joseph G. Cannon. In 1862 he was admitted to practice law at the bar. He entered partner- ship with his brother and commenced practice at Tuscola, Illinois. In 1865 he entered the private banking business with Wyeth, Cannon & Co., and remained there, acting as manager until 1870, when he organ- ized the First National Bank of Tuscola, and was made president, maintaining this position until 1873, when he moved to Danville and organized the Vermilion County Bank, of which he holds the position of president. The other officers are: Thos. S. Parks, cashier; J. W. Elliott, book-keeper, and Chas. Knight, teller. This bank is doing a general banking business, and is in a very flourishing condition. In 1864 Mr. Cannon married Miss Anna M. Wamsley, of Indiana, daugh- ter of William Wamsley, and by this union they have three children.

Frank W. Penwell, Danville, attorney-at-law, was born in St. Jo- seph county, Indiana, on the 14th of September, 1843, and is the son of Enos and Martha (Holloway) Penwell. In 1853 he, with his par- ents, moved to Illinois, and located in Shelbyville, Shelby county. Here his father was engaged in the practice of medicine. Mr. Pen- well received a common school education at Shelbyville. He then completed his studies at South Bend, Indiana. He was a soldier in the late civil war. In 1862 he enlisted for three years as sergeant in the 21st Ind. Battery, Light Artillery. This battery did service with the army of the Cumberland, participating in some of the most severe bat- tles : Chickamauga, Nashville, etc. At the close of the war Mr. Pen- well returned home and commenced the study of law. In 1867 he graduated in the law-school of the Michigan University of Ann Arbor. In 1867 he commenced the practice of law. In 1873 he came to Dan- ville, and associated himself with W. J. Henry, and formed the law- firm of Henry & Penwell, which continned until 1876, when the pres- ent firm was formed of Young & Penwell. His political opinions are republican. He married Miss May Bowman, of New York.

J. E. Field, Danville, merchant tailor, was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, on the 28th of July, 1843. He learned the tailor's trade in Lorain county, Ohio, in 1866 and 1867. He then went to Michigan and located at Three Rivers, where he worked at his trade until 1868, when he came to Illinois, and worked at his trade at Rockford. Here he remained until 1873, when he came to Danville, and has here been

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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.

engaged at his trade ever since. He opened his present merchant- tailor establishment in 1878. He is one of the leading merchant tailors of Danville, having in his employ six hands. Mr. Field, in 1861, en- listed in the late war. He entered. from Lorain county, Ohio. the 2d Ohio Cavalry, Co. H. : he enlisted for three years, and did good ser- vice, being in a number of battles and skirmishes. He served full time and was honorably minstered ont. He reënlisted in the same regiment, and served until the close of the war. He was with Gen. Grant, on his eastern campaign, in the battles of Cold Harbor, the bat- tle of the Wilderness, St. Mary's Church, Fairfax Court House, and other battles and skirmishes. In his first enlistment, on the 9th of September 1861. until his final discharge. on the 20th of September, 1865, he was sick but two weeks, and during these two weeks he remained with his regiment. Neither he nor his horse received the slightest wound. The 2d Ohio started from Lebanon, Kentucky, on the 4th of July, 1863, after the notorious guerrilla John Morgan, at the time he made his raid through Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. The 2d Ohio was in the engagement when Morgan was captured at Colum- bus county, Ohio. The 2d Ohio, during its service in the war, traveled over thirty thousand miles through the various states. This was the greatest distance traveled by any regiment during the war. Mr. Field has a medal that was given to him at the first reunion of the 2d Ohio Cavalry at Cleveland, O. Mr. Field is first lieutenant of Battery A, 1st Brig. Ill. Nat. G., of which he has been a member for over three years.

Among the leading merchants of Danville may be mentioned Wm. Woods, the hatter, who was born in London, England. A number of years ago he came to America, where he has been engaged in differ- ent pursuits. He has had a wide experience in the shirt, hosiery and glove business, having been connected with one of the leading houses of that kind in the country. In 1873 Mr. Woods came to Danville and entered the hat and cap business with his brother, A. Woods, on Main street. Since the retirement of his brother, Mr. Woods has continued in the business alone, and to-day is the oldest hat and cap merchant in Danville. His present new store on Vermilion street is one of the most attractive and finest stores in the city. Here may be found a full line of hats, caps, furs and gents' furnishing goods.

J. C. Helm, Danville, W. U. telegraph agent. is a native of Marion county. Indiana. The early portion of his life was spent in the country. on a farm. He has now for ten years been engaged at telegraphing. Those who are familiar with the business pronounce him a fine oper- ator. IIe began learning telegraphy at Anderson. Indiana, in 1869. In October, 1874. he took charge of the Western Union business at Dan-

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ville, which was then in connection with the railroad, being located at the Wabash depot. In October of 1878 they moved to their present quarters, which is No. 108 East Main. Here Mr. Helm has a very neatly arranged office, having in all seven wires, viz: three of the Wabash, the I. B. & W., P. & D., E. T. H. & C. and C. & E. I. The business is so extensive as to require an assistant, this gentleman being Mr. E. C. Dodge, of Erie county, New York. The aggregate business, strictly commercial, now done by the office is about $250 per month. Though Mr. Helm has been a resident of Danville but a few years, he already is known as a man whose word and promise may be relied upon.

The Arkansas & Texas Railway Land Company, located in the " Times " building, is probably a much more extensive institution than many of the people of this county are aware of. It is a business, too, that would well repay many people who contemplate buying real estate to examine. Mr. E. D. Steen, the gentleman in charge at this point, is a native of the old Keystone State, his birth-place being near the city of Pittsburgh. He has been a resident of the State of Illinois for about twenty-seven years. though of Danville but for five years. When he came to the city he began business in the furniture trade, in company with Mr. J. W. Dove, the firm name being Dove & Steen. This they followed until 1878, when Walker & Staymen became their successors. The land office of the company named was located in Danville in the summer of 1879. They have in Texas 3,000,000 aeres; Arkansas, 30,- 000; Kansas, 10,000 ; and Nebraska 10,000, besides a large number of improved farms in the state of Missouri. There is probably no real- estate firm in the west that offers such inducements as this one. Mr. Steen is treasurer of the Vermilion County Historical Society, and a man having the respect and esteem of a large number of citizens.

Wm. Stewart, Danville, machine and boiler manufacturer, successor to the firm of Reynolds & Stewart, manufacturers of boilers and ma- chinery, is a native of Scotland, where he was born on the 26th of January, 1840. He came to the United States in the fall of 1861. Before leaving his native country he had acquired a good education, and had learned the trade of a machinist. He first located at Fort Wayne, Indiana, where for eleven years he was employed in the shops of the Wabash Railway Company. On the first of January, 1874, he came to Danville and took charge of the shops of the C. D. & V. R. R., where he remained for two years, then in 1877 he became a partner of Mr. Reynolds in the foundry and machine shops, later succeeding Mr. Reynolds in the business. He is a thorough machinist, having, served a five-years apprenticeship in learning the trade in Scotland. He is

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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.

now giving employment to about fifteen men, and is already designing a new boiler factory in addition to his present works, a more complete conception of which may be had by referring to his card in the direc- tory of this work. Mr. Stewart, though a resident of Danville but a few years, has already established a name and reputation of which any man who is a native of a foreign land may well be proud.

H. L. Dunham, Danville, was born on the 12th of March, 1848, at Northfield, Vermont. When he was about fifteen years old he entered the office of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad as clerk. Here he remained for a number of years. He then accepted a position with the Union Pacific railroad as superintendent's clerk, which place he filled about three years. Then, for a time, he was in the employ of the Southern Minnesota railroad. On the 17th of April, 1871, Mr. Dunham entered the service of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois railroad. He was first stationed at Momence as shop-clerk, and from that he was appointed superintendent's clerk, making his headquarters at Chicago. In 1872 he was made paymaster of the same road, which place he filled until 1874, when the company adopted the plan of paying off by checks, and by this system they dispensed with the paymaster. In 1874 Mr. Dunham came to Danville, and was made shop-elerk, which position he has filled since.

To the men who can look back upon the trade in the early days of Danville, the magnitude of some of the present business establishments must look amazing. A few of them, in immensity and in the variety, quality and quantity of goods offered for sale, fully equal the stores in cities of fifty thousand inhabitants. Among them the establishment of Messrs. Hull & Hulce is a notable example of the progress made in the past few years in the agricultural department. Their valuable ex- perience in all matters pertaining to this business ; their keen apprecia- tion of the wants of the farmer ; their promptitude and the completeness with which they meet these wants; their resources and extended facili- ties for supplying every demand of the farm, together with the careful and systematic methods followed in the management of their affairs, afford some little explanation for the prosperity which has attended their business career. This, the largest agricultural establishment in this vicinity, is owned by James G. Hull and Martin H. Hulce. The former, James G. Hull, was born in St. Lawrence county, New York. in 1841. He, with his parents, came west in 1851, and located on a farm in Marshall county, Illinois. Here Mr. Hull was engaged in farming until the breaking out of the late war. He enlisted in the 11th Ill. Cav., Co. H, and participated in some of the most severe bat- tles of the western campaign: Shiloh, Corinth, siege of Vicksburg, etc. ;

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was with the noted Garson raid through to the Gulf. For six months the soldiers of the 11th were never known to have their clothes off. Mr. Hull has had two horses shot from under him. He enlisted in 1861 as private; from that he rose first to corporal, then sergeant, and then to first lieutenant, and finally to captain of Co. H. He served until 1865, the close of the war, when he returned to his home, and embarked in the agricultural business in Henry, Marshall county, Ill- inois. In 1868 Mr. Martin H. Ilulce entered partnership. This gen- tleman was born in New Jersey, having come west when a young man. He is a carriage-maker by trade. In 1874 these gentlemen came to Danville, and commenced business in the present building: size, 48x132, two stories. This establishment is the largest in this section of Illinois, and perhaps sells as much as any other three establishments of the kind in Danville. IIere may be found all kinds of implements that are used on a farm, from a linch-pin up to a steam threshing ma- chine. They keep constantly on hand a fine stock of seeds.

F. W. Button, Danville, manufacturer of boilers, proprietor of the Button Steam Boiler Factory, is a native of the state of New York. Previous to his engaging in the manufacture of this line of goods in Danville, he had for some time had charge of the boiler works of the Wabash railroad, at Springfield. He is a thoroughly practical man in his line of trade and manufacture, having had about twenty years' ex- perience in the manufacture of boilers. In 1866 he came west as far as Chicago, where he remained but a short time. He then made a trip through the southern states during the same year and 1867. Returning north, he spent some time in Galesburg and Springfield, as before men- tioned, and located in Danville in 1875. Here he has established something of a name and reputation, and has a trade established reaching about forty miles around the city. On an average he employs about four men, and is doing his work in such a manner that his trade has been gradually increasing. He is giving his customers such goods as will bear inspection.

C. V. Feldkamp, Danville, dealer in confectionery and fruits, North Vermilion street, is a native of Germany, where he remained a resi- dent until nineteen years of age. There he received a good education and served an apprenticeship of three years learning the wholesale and retail grocery business. In addition to working three years he was obliged to pay the firm $125. He has now been engaged in business in Danville abont four years, though previous to this he had spent three years in Springfield, Illinois, in the same line of trade. When he began here he had a partner in the business, but now is conducting it alone. His place of business is neatly fitted up and well stocked

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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.

with fresh fruits and confectionery. He has an elegant soda fonntain which cost him $1,000. By a pleasant and courteous treatment of his customers he has established the leading business in the city in his line.

Among the business men of Danville who have been dependent upon their own resources we mention Mr. W. A. Clements. He is a native of the District of Columbia, was born in 1827, and while yet a child became a resident of Maryland, where his people remained but a few years, he coming to Shelbyville, Illinois, with his mother in 1836. At the age of nine years he began to support himself. He first worked about four years on a farm, and then began carrying the United States mail between Shelbyville and Vandalia, a distance of forty miles. This he followed for seven years, and then entered the army in the Mexican war, enlisting in Co. G. 1st Ill., Col. E. W. B. Newby. He remained in the army about two years. most of the time on detached duty. Re- turning from the war, he again became a resident of Shelbyville, where he resided until 1875, engaging in different lines of mercantile business. In January, 1875, he came to Danville and embarked in the grocery trade, in which business he is still engaged, located at old No. 54 Ver- milion street, where he has a good establishment, well stocked with everything pertaining to a general line of groceries. This has been the result of his own energy and industry. He can certainly be classed among the self-made men of Danville.

Wm. Balls, Danville, dealer in and manufacturer of boots and shoes, is a native of Prussia, and came to the United States in 1854. When he was seventeen years old be began railroading, which he followed for a time. He then served a three years' apprenticeship in La Fayette, Indiana, in learning the trade of a boot and shoe maker. He has now been in the business about ten years, the last four of which have been in an establishment of his own. His specialty is fine sewed work. He has now established a trade that requires the employment of three men ; and in connection with his manufacturing, he carries a stock of ready-made goods, and has a trade now established amounting to about $6,000 per year. Though he does not claim to do the largest business in the city, he has succeeded in doing one that gives satisfaction to his customers.

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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 59

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