History of Wayne and Clay counties, Illinois, Part 59

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Globe Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 704

USA > Illinois > Clay County > History of Wayne and Clay counties, Illinois > Part 59
USA > Illinois > Wayne County > History of Wayne and Clay counties, Illinois > Part 59

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JOSEPH G. BARKLEY, deceased, was born in Mercer County, Penn., May 1, 1804, and was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His par- ents removed to Clermont County, Ohio, in 1810. where Joseph grew to mature years, residing there nutil coming to Edgar Coun- ty, Ill., in 1830. He attended school but six months in his life. and that before reaching the age of ten years. His education, however. was much above an average for his day. but almost wholly acquired by the fireside of bis home. He thereby obtained sufficient edu- cation to enable him to teach school. which

he followed in 1831 in Edgar, County. In 1832. he enlisted in the Black Hawk war, serving in the ranks three months. A few years later he was appointed agent for the Commission of Internal Improvements, and in 1838 was Assistant Engineer on the con- struction of the "Old St. Louis trail," the great ante thoroughfare between St. Louis and Cincinnati. In 1839, Mr. Barkley re- moved to Wayne County, where he engaged in merchandising, both on his own account and in partnership with Hon. O. B. Ficklin. He was appointed by Judge Justin Harlan in 1839 to the position of Circuit Clerk of Wayne, County; this appointment was re- newed by Judge Wilson in 1841. He was then elected by the people to the same office, which he acceptably filled by the suffrage of the people until 1856. He also served the county as County Clerk. and later in life as Master in Chancery and Police Magistrate. He was married, April 25, 1841, to Eliza A. Wright, a daughter of David Wright, Sr., a pioneer merchant and miller of Wayne Coun ty. Five children was the result of this union-David W., Caroline R. (wife of R. D. Adams), Orlando F .. Joseph L., and Theo- dosia E. Barkley, the two younger of whom are deceased. Mr. Barkley died December 19, 1871. He was a quiet, modest, unas sumning man, whose correet business habits and unquestioned integrity made him the confidant and the business adviser of many of his fellows. He was a faithful man in all the relations of life, and the memory of his noble life is cherished by hundreds of the pioneers of Wayne County.

DAVID WRIGHT BARKLEY, editor and publisher of the Fairfield Press, was born May 21, 1842, in the village of Fairfield, Ill., and is therefore entitled to all the hon- ors of a pioneer. His early education was obtained under the circumstances which char-

BIOGRAPHICAL:

acterized the pioneer schools, and to draw a pen-picture of the old log schoolhouse, with its puncheon floor and split-log benches, broad, deep fire-place, long, narrow window, wonld be only refreshing the memory of a great portion of our readers with their own ex- periences a few decades gone by. Mr. Bark- ley, however, enjoyed the instruction of Dr. Daniel Wright, a man of no mean ability and surpassing far the average teacher of his day, and who taught at that time in what is now known as the Shiloh District, three miles south of Fairfield, from where it drew a large delegation of students-indeed it was the Wayne County High School. Allowing the imagination a little scope, we can see them seated upon those wooden horses, after the fashion of a clothes-pin, their dinner- basket before them, while with a relish they partake of their noon-day meal, comprised in part of wild meats; this exercise com- pleted, the next, and not less interesting, was their games of foot-racing and " bull pen," which invariably followed. Then when came that day for which, to the mind of the school boy, all other days were made, and the day when every debtor expects to be rich-when Christmas came-we see those same wooden horses brought to bear in barricading the door on the venerable teacher until the prom- ise to " treat " is obtained, said treat often consisting of a whisky stew, or eggnog, for the larger, and apples and candies for the smaller ones. Those days are gone, as are also many of those early teachers, but it is refreshing to know that they performed their mission, and that very many of those

tutored in these humble institutions of learn- ing, have filled and are now filling many of the important positions in the government of our States. Later in life Mr. Barkley spent a few months as a student in MeKen- dree College, and for several years was em-

ployed as a salesman in Fairfield and in Xenia, Ill., after which he became associated with E. A. Johnson in general merchandise, and for some time conducted a similar bus- iness alone. In 1865, he spent several months as a salesman in a wholesale clothing house in Cincinnati, but finding that it was not congenial to his tastes, he came home and in December of that year he purchased the War Democrat, which name, in January, 1866, was changed to the Wayne County Press, of which he has since been the publisher. He has served several years as a momber of the town council, and in 1872 was elected to a seat in the Lower House of the Twenty-eighth General Assembly from the Forty-fourth District. We desire in this connection to preserve a fact, famous in the history of minority representation, and remarkable for the even division of votes between Mr. Bark- ley and his colleague, Hon. I. N. Jaquess, the former receiving a majority of four votes from a poll of 18,385. Space will not per. mit us here to perform the pleasant task of reviewing Mr. Barkley's legislative record, but suffice it to say that he was an active member of some of the most important com- mittees, and his influence was always exerted in support of what he deemed the common good of the State at large. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for several years past has been the Super- intendent of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday School. He was married at Claremont., Ill., March 16, 1870, to Miss Beil Gowdy, daugh- ter of William E. Gowdy, formerly of Miamis. burg, Ohio. Their union has been blest with three children, viz .: Grace G. Bark- ley, born January 7, 1871; Theodosia, born February 4, 1873; and David W. Barkley. Jr., born March 25, 1882.

ORLANDO F. BARKLEY, merchant, Fairfield, and son of Joseph Barkley, was

CITY OF FAIRFIELD.

born in Fairfield, in Wayne County. March 28, 1847. He was educated in the common schools, learned the printer's trade in the office of the Wayne County Press and was for several years connected with his brother, D. W. Barkley, in the publication of that paper, as the firm of Barkley Brothers. Since attaining his majority, however, he has spent much of his time in mercantile pursuits, and is now the active partner in an extensive business under the firm name of O. F. Barkley & Co. He was married, October 8. 1573, to Jessie Dałes. She was born August 30, 1849, in Leicester, N. Y. Their children are Charles E. and Joseph G. Bark- ley. the former born October 22, 1874, and the latter July 23, 1850.

FRANCIS BEAN, physician, Fairfield, III., was born in Athens County, Ohio, February 15, 1845. He is the third of a family of twelve children of Archibald Bean and Ad- eline Woodworth, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Francis Bean was reared upon the farm and educated in the public schools of his native county, where he qualified himself for the profession of teaching. In June of 1862. he enlisted in Company H, of the Eighty seventh Ohio Regiment, and in Sep- tember of the same year was captured at Harper's Ferry, paroled and sent home. Af- ter remaining at home for eighteen months, he again volunteered, this time in the One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment, Com- pany C. from which he was discharged in the fall of 1864. In 1865, he came with his father's family to Wayne County, Ill., and settled in Lamard Township, near Jef- fersonville. In April, 1870, he commenced the study of medicine, performing the usnal preparatory reading under Dr. S. W. Ver- treese at Fairfield, Ill. He graduated from the Medical College of Ohio, and in 1875. having previously practiced two years at Jef-

fersonville. He located at Fairfield in 1875, where he still remains. Dr. Bean was mar- ried in Fairfield, III, November 6, 1867, to Nancy J. Koontz, daughter of Simon P. and Easter Koontz, of Lamard Township. She was born in Wayne County March 19, 1848. They havo a family of four children-Ida May, born January 26, 1869, and died Octo. ber 7. 1873; Ira O. Bean, born August 25, 1872; Charles I. Bean, born August 27, 1876; and Wiłsey R. Bean, born October 28, 1878. George Bean, grandfather of Dr. Bean, was born in 1789, and died on the 15th of May, 1864. His grandmother, Ann Bean, was born in 1794, and died February.1, 1867. His grandparents on his mother's side were Zebina and Mary (Baker) Woodworth, the former born in New Hampshire and died in advanced age in Wayne County, Ill., in the year 1873. The latter was born in Boston and died in this county in 1864. Archibald Bean was born in November, 1815, and died April 3, 1875. Adeline (Woodworth) Bean was born November 26, 1819, and died May 21, 1870. They were married April 16, 1840, and had a family of eleven children, seven of whom are now residents of Wayne County and four of whom are deceased. Dr. Bean is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and both he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Fairfield .

LILBURN D. BENNETT, painter, Fair- field, was born in Ohio County, Ky., September 16, 1830. His father, Asa Bennett, was born in Maryland, and removed to Kentucky while young, where he married Dolilah Woodward, a native of Maryland. She was born in 1798, and died while visiting her son, L. D. Ben- nett. in Fairfield, on January 9, 1881. The father died several years ago in Kentucky. Their family consisted of eleven children, L. D. being the eighth. 1 .. D. Bennett was

BIOGRAPHICAL:

married in Kentucky. August 20, 1853, to Amanda McCall, of that State. She was born May 11, 1837, and died in Fairfield, Ill., November 27, ISSO. His present wife is Rebecca Cochran, whose father was a resi- dent of Clay County, but now deceased. She was born in Clay County, Ill. Mr. Ben- nett's first marriage resulted in the birth of eleven children, five of whom are deceased. In early life, Mr. Bennett learned the trade of house and sign painting, which has been his chief occupation since moving to this county in 1857, excepting eight years, dur- ing which time he was called to fill public offices. He was elected in 1868 to the office of County Sheriff for two years, which duties he discharged with credit to himself, and from 1876 to 1880 was appointed Deputy County Sheriff, and again elected to the of- fice of Sheriff in the fall of 1880 on the Democratic ticket. He is a member of Fair- field Lodge, No. 206, A. F. & A. M., Fair- field Chapter, No. 179, R. A. M., and both he and wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

EDWARD S. BLACK, of Fairfield. and a native of Wayne County, was born June 24, 1834. He is a son of William J. Black and Elizabeth H. Stuart; the former was born in Tennessee February 12, 1806, and came to Wayne County, Ill., with his parents, Robert and Elizabeth Black, in the year 1822. They settled in Barnhill Township. about two miles from Fairfield, where both Robert and Elizabeth died, leaving a family of seven children. About the time of the coming of the Black family, came the family of Hugh and Lucinda Stuart. from Todd County, Ky. Hugh Stuart, however, was a native of South Carolina. They had two children-James S. and Elizabeth Stuart. Hugh Stuart was born in August, 1792, and Lucinda Stuart was born in Virginia in October, 1792.

Hugh died in Wayne County on the 20th of February, 1852, his wife surviving him until November 24, 1866. Too much could not be said in honor of these two persons, had we the space to do them justice. They were re. garded by all as humble Christians, members, and we might say founders, of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Wayne County; pos- sessed of liberal views, and still more liberal hearts, their residence providing a place of worship in the absence of a church, and their door was ever open to the ministers of the Gospel, and their hands extended to assist any one who might need their help. Though no mammoth marble is erected to their mem- ory, their monument is established in the hearts of the people, among whom they lived so long. William J. Black and Eliza - beth Stuart were married February 7, 1829. She was born March 6, 1813, and came here with her parents in 1818. They had a fam- ily of three children-Hugh P., Edward S. and Elzira, wife of John Moffitt. William J. Black was also a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a success- ful farmer until his health failed, which it did several years prior to his death, which oc- curred July 11, 1868. His wife is still liv- ing in Fairfield, her home for the past fifty years. Edward S. Black was chiefly reared by his Grandfather Stuart, and with him learned the trade of blacksmith, at which he has ever since engaged. He was married in Fairfield, July 12, 1859, to Clemence George, daughter of Francis and Lourania George. She was born in White County, Ill , April 16, 1840. They have six children living and two deceased. Their names are as follows: M. Fredonia Black (dead). Sophronia, James E .. Earnest, Francis. Edward (deceased), Lou- rania and Clara I. Black. The parents and eldest daughter are members of the Method- ist Episcopal Church. Mr. Black is a mew-

CITY OF FAIRFIELD.

ber of the A. O. U. W., and an ardent ad- vocato of the cause of temperance.

EDWARD BONHAM, merchant, Fairfield, is one of the old landmarks of Wayne Coun- ty, Ill., coming to Fairfield in: 1843. He was born in Northumberland County, Penn., on the 30th of April, 1826. His father, Thomas T. Bonham, was born in Pennsylva- nia August 16, 1790, and was there married, January 30, 1821, to Miss Elizabeth Jenkins. She was a native of the same State, and was born October 27, 1801. His father was a soldier in the war of 1812, and in later years he became a merchant and contractor in the construction of what is now known as the Air Line Railroad. He came with his family to Illinois in 1838, at which time he located at Mount Carmel. About 1840, he estab- lished a mercantile business in Fairfield, un- der the management of a relative, with whom he was associated. The death of this party, about 1843, was the immediate cause which brought Mr. Bonham to the town of Fair- field. Here he remained until the time of his death, which occurred April 24, 1871, very suddenly, at a time when he was in vig- orons health. He was noted for his business ability and his fidelity to the Methodist Church, of which he was an active and zeal- ous member, as well as for his sterling quali- ties as an advocate of temperance. His wife, who was also one of the pillars of the church, died in Fairfield March 9, 1862. They had a family of four children, Edward being the oldest, and the only one now living. He was educated in the common schools and in the Bloomington, Ind., University. With the exception of a few months, he has been in active mercantile business since sixteen years old. and is now the pioneer merchant of Wayne County. He is now associated with J. T. Fleming in a general mercantile business, and is President of the private bank

of E. Bonham & Co. Though not a politi- cian in all that the term implies, yet he takes an active interest in the issues of the day, and wields no small influence, which is en- joyed by the Republican party. He has served several years as Postmaster at Fair- field. He was married in Fairfield, October 9. 1860, to Berintha E. Woodin, daughter of R. and L. Woodin. She was born in the State of New York March 12, 1842. Their union has been blest with five children, two of whom are deceased-Thomas E. was born August 11, 1861, and died June 26. 1875; and Charles R., born February 15, 1863; Lucretia E .. born April 6, 1865; Mary J., January 3, 1869; and Berintha W., Decem- ber 12, 1880. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bonham are members of the M. E. Church.

GEORGE W. CARROTHERS, physician, Fairfield, descends from Scotch ancestry, who first emigrated to the United States in the latter part of the seventeenth century. They settled in Pennsylvania, where his father was born. He grew to manhood, and was mar- ried in Pennsylvania to Mary Dye. In 1815, they removed to Harrison County, Ohio, and there, in 1816, G. W. Carrothers was born, being the fifth of a family of seven children. He received a common English education. and in 1837, in Richland County, Ohio, mar- ried Catherine Hale. She was born in Rich . land County, Ohio, in 1820. After marriage he began the study of medicine, under Dr. A. Blymier, of Mansfield, Ohio, and later under Dr. J. T. Mitchel, of same place. read- ing with them five years, and attending lect- ures in Willoughby, Ohio. He has been in active practice since 1846. In the fall of 1848, he came to Olney, Ill , where he prac- ticed for thirty-two years, and of course en- dured all the hardship incident to a practice in a pioneer country. He came to Fairfield, Wayne County, in 1880, that they might be

BIOGRAPHICAL:

associated with their children, W. G. Car- rothers and Mary E. Baker. They have had six children, four of whom are deceased. Botlı Mr. and Mrs. Carrothers are members of the M. E. Church.

WILLIAM G. CARROTHERS, Fairfield, Deputy United States Revenue Collector for the Third Division of the Thirteenth District, is a son of Dr. George W. Carrothers, of Fair- field, Ill. He was born in Olney, 111., June 9, 1851, where he was reared to maturity. He was educated at the public schools of Olney, and at the Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio. In 1870, he embarked in the drug business in Olney, and two years later came to Fairfield, where he continued the same trade as a member of the firm of Baker & Carrothers, until 1875, at which time he purchased the interest of Mr. Baker, and continued alone until 1878. He took charge of his present office under Gen. Pav- Fey on the 1st of January, 1883. He was married, in Olney, Ill., September 28, 1871, to Miss Sallie R Walker, daughter of Eben- ezer and Abigail (Reed) Walker. She was born in Mt. Carmel, Ill., on the 25th of Au- gust, 1851. They have five children, viz .. Frank L., born November 29, 1872; Jennie, born May 26, 1875; Mary, born November 5, 1877; Susie, born August 26, 1879; and William, born March 11, 1882. Mr. Car- rothers is a member of the Fairfield Lodge, No. 206. A. F. & A. M., Fairfield Chapter. No. 179, R. A. M., and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In politics, he is a Re- publican. Family residence on corner of Railroad and Division streets.

DR. P. H. CHAMBERS, dental surgeon, Fairfield, is a native of La Fayette County, Mo., and was born March 7, 1855. His par- ents, Paschal H. Chambers and Elizabeth Wal- lace, were born in Kentucky and married in Missouri, where the father now lives. The

mother died in Missouri, leaving a family of four children, Dr. P. H. being the second. He was reared and educated in Missouri, and studied dentistry under Dr. J. S. Hassel!, of Lexington, Mo. He afterward completed his study in the St. Louis Dental College, and practiced for some time previous to com- ing to Fairfield, Ill., in 1879. He has built up a profitable practice here, and is worthy of universal confidence. He was married, on the 6th of March, 1882, to Annie Bennett, daughter of L. 1). Bennett and Amanda (Mc- Call) Bennett. She was born in Fairfield. in December, 1861. Their family residence is on the corner of King and Turney streets.

JAMES A. CREIGHTON, lawyer, Spring- field, was born March 7, 1846, in White County, Ill. His great-grandfather, John Creighton, was born in Ireland, of Scotch parentage, about 1745. He married, in Ire- land, and with his wife came to the colony of South Carolina about 1770, and settled about sixty miles from Charleston, in what was then Dover District, where he became a planter. He had a large family, including eight sons. among the younger of whom was Joseph Creighton, grandfather of James A. He was born in South Carolina about 1788, and was married to Miss Martha Jaggers, · and soon after the war of 1812, moved to the Territory of Illinois, and settled in what is now White County. There the father of James A., John M. Creighton, was born in 1821. He married Miss Mary Ann Crews, in Wayne County. Ill., about the Ist of Jan- uary, 1845. and commenced housekeeping near his father's in White County. His wife was a daughter of James Crews, who was born in Virginia about 1796, and came with his parents to Illinois from Kentucky, some time prior to 1819, and married, in Wayne County, about 1823, to Miss Elizabeth Owens. He then settled in Thom's Prairie,

CITY OF FAIRFIELD.

where Mary A. Crows was born in 1827. John M. and Mary A. Creighton continued to resido in White County until James A. ras seven years old, when they removed to Wayne County, and settled in Jasper Town. ship, on the farm where the mother still lives, and where the father died in 1869. They had a family of eight children, James A. be- ing the eldest. Jacob R. Creighton, of Fairfield; Rev. Charles E. Creighton; Mar- tha J., wife of Dr. W. Borah, of Louisiana; Joseph C. Creighton, of Taylorville, Ill. ; and Milton, John M. and Thomas Creighton, farmers of Wayne County, constitute the fam- ily. James A. Creighton in early life at- tended the common schools of the country. When seventeen years old he became a pupil of the Fairfield school under the instruction of Professor Cooper, to whom he refers with much pleasure as a worthy man in every re- spect, and one who was his friend. In June, 1868, he graduated from the College at Sa- lem, Ill .. after which he devoted some years to teaching, during which time he was prin- cipal of the public schools of Graysville and Fairfield. He read law with Messrs. Beech- er. George & Sailor, of Fairfield, and was admitted to the bar in March, 1871. He then opened an office in l'airfield and prac- ticed in Wayne and adjoining counties until May, 1877, when he removed to Springfield, Ill., and formed a copartnership in practice with Alfred Orendorff. his present partner. He was married, in Fairfield, Wayne Co., Ill., January 1, 1871, to Miss Mary Newman. They have three daughters, viz., Ada, Edna and Eva Creighton.

JACOB R. CREIGHTON, lawyer, of the firm of Creighton & Sibley, Fairfield, III., is a son of John M. and Mary A. Creighton, and was born in White County. He was educated in the public schools of Wayne County, and at the State Normal University,

at Normal, Ill. He read law with his brother, James A. Creighton, and was admitted to practice in June, 1875. Since that date he has practiced in Wayne and adjoining counties. Ho was elected to the office of State's Attorney, in November, ISSO, and is now serving in that capacity with universal acceptance. He is a Democrat, a member of the Masonic order and of the A. O. U. W. [For biography of ancestry see sketch of James A. Creighton. ]

JOSEPH G. CREWS, lawyer, Fairfield, is a representative of one of the oldest fam- ilies in Eastern Illinois. Andrew Crews, his great-grandfather, came from Kentucky and settled in Wayne County in the days of Ter- ritorial government. Some years after, he was followed by his five sons, who are de- scribed as being very tall and erect, and pos- sessed of strong muscular power, and all farmers. The oldest of these was Matthew, who had a family of thirteen childron as the result of two marriages. William, the eld- est of these, married in 1839, to Thurmutis Gillison. William was born in Kentucky, in 1818, coming to this county in 1822. The latter was born in White County, Ill., in 1821. Joseph G. Crows is the oldest of a family born to these parents, and was born in Wayne County, July 16, 1843. William Crews died in 1862, and his wife in 1877. His education is the result of studious ap- plication to books at home, coupled with the advantages of a common school. He early qualified himself for the position of teacher, and tanght successively for a period of nine years. Having decided upon the practice of law, he pursued the necessary roading under the Hon. James McCartney, and was ad- mitted to practice in 1871, since which time he has been a member of the Wayne County bar, at Fairfield. He is an carnest advocate of the temperance reform, and has

BIOGRAPHICAL:

exerted no small influence in perpetuating the good name of Fairfield in that direc- tion. He was married in Fairfield, to Miss Eliza Shaeffer, daughter of Henry and Eliz- abeth Shaeffer. She was born May 10, 1855, in Tusearawas County, Ohio. Both are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Their family consists of four chil- dren, viz .: Lillian, Edith, Carl, and Bertha Crews.

W. H. DICKEY, Constable, Fairfield, was born August 27, 1837, in Bledsoe County, Tenn. His father, who was of Scotch ances- try, was born in North Carolina iu 1814. His grandfather was the first representative of the family in the United States, and was killed by Indians, in the time of the Revo- lution. He left three sons, one of whom settled in Pennsylvania, and the other two in North Carolina. Moses Dickey, one of the latter, reared a large family in North Carolina, his fourth child, David Dickey, being the father of W. H., Diekey, whose name heads these lines. His mother, who is now living in this county, was born in 1816, in North Carolina, married to David Dickey, in Tennessee, and is a daughter of Silas Page, who died in the war of 1812. Soon after the birth of William H., their first child, they removed to Georgia, where they remained until 1865, when they removed to Wayne County, Ill. This removal was ren- dered necessary on account of the part taken by the family in the late war. Here David Dickey died in Jannary, 1867, William H., in 1863, left his Sonthern home, came North, and joined the Union army, and was at once detailed to the secret service, for which he was especially qualified. He was discharged at Chattanooga, Tenn., in April, 1865. For ten years he followed farming in Arrington Township, but in 1875, having been ap- pointed Deputy Sheriff, he removed to Fair-

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History of Wayne and Clay counties, Illinois, Part 59

Author: Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : Globe Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 704

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Globe Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 704