USA > Illinois > White County > History of White County Illinois > Part 41
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77
Digitized by Google
606
HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
Gordo in the Mexican war. Mr. Ruckle was married in 1850 to Miss Mary Ann Jessup. They have two children-Sophia, now the wife of Charles Miller, of Hillsboro, O .; Mary Ann is single and at home. He is a member of the Masonic order.
John C. Saunders was born in this county Dec. 10, 1846. His parents, Sterling and Eliza Jane Saunders, were from Tennessee, and John C. was an only child. He was raised a farmer, and resides on section 16, Carmi Township. He owns eighty acres, under a good state of cultivation. In November, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Illinois Cavalry, and entered the war of the Rebellion. He participated in several battles; was with Sherman at Atlanta, at the seige of Knoxville, Tenn., also at Nashville; was on the Stoneman raid through Georgia when the latter was captured by the Confederate Wheeler. He was mustered out in August, 1865. March 2, 1873, Mr. Saunders married Letitia Thomas, who died leaving one child-Johnnie T., born Nov. 8, 1876. July 31, 1882, he married Emma Orr, a native of Enfield Township.
Frank Schanzle was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, in October, 1855, and came to America in June, 1881. He landed in New York, and came West to Cincinnati, O., where he remained three weeks, and then came to Carmi, where he worked at shoe-making for eight months. He now has a shop of his own. His father, Con- rad Schanzle, lives in Germany. His mother, Mary (Weideman) Schanzle, died in 1878. He has one brother and sister, Joseph and Mary, still living in Germany. He is a member of the Catholic church.
Louisa Schwaner was born May 1, 1842, in Germany, and came to America in October, 1874, with her adopted parents, Joseph and Catharine Conrad. Her own father died before she was born. They came to White County, Ill., and lived on a farm near Carmi till she was fourteen years old, when her adopted father died. She and adopted mother then came to Carmi, where Louisa remained only two months and then went to Shawneetown and worked out for four years. She then returned to Carmi and lived with her mother five years, when she went to Evansville, Ind., and worked at the milliner's trade and in a shirt factory five years. She was married Oct. 13, 1867, to Robert T. Schwaner, who died Oct. 10, 1881. They lived in Evansville one year after their marriage and then came to Carmi, where she still resides. Her husbandi had a saloon in Carmi thirteen years. She has had
Digitized by Google
607
CARMI TOWNSHIP.
a restaurant since Oct. 10, 1881. She is a member of the Catholic church.
Harriet M. Shipley was born in Gallatin County, Ill., Aug. 9, 1838. Her father, Henry Cusic, was a native of Kentucky and her mother of Tennessee. They came to Illinois, and settled near Shawneetown in 1837. They were the parents of three children- Harriet, now Mrs. Shipley; Willis B. Cusic, now a resident of White County; Dicy Ann, married Mr. Fields, and died in 1873. Mr. Cusic was reared in the Catholic faith, but was never a very firm believer. He died in 1842. Harriet M. Ousic married Will- iam Shipley Feb. 28, 1860, living with him twenty-two years, less two days, when death separated them. He was born May 11, 1811, near Bowling Green, Ky. His father came to Illinois when he was an infant, where he died. Of their seven children six are living-Mary Alice, born Nov. 24, 1860, now Mrs. Wm. Malone; Thomas F., born June 21, 1862; Charles W., April 23, 1864; Mar- garet C., April 13, 1866; William B., Nov. 8, 1868; Eddie M., born May 5, 1871, died Oct. 25, 1871; Lewis O., born Oct. 23, 1873. Thomas F. was married Jan. 1, 1880, to Effie Williams, and is living at home. They have 400 acres of good, well-improved land. Mrs. Shipley is a member of the Christian church.
J. H. Shipley, deceased, was born in what is known as the Big Wabash bottoms, White County, Ill., Dec. 14, 1841. He was reared on a farm and received the advantages of a country educa- tion. After he had grown to be a young man, his father moved to Carmi, and J. H. continued his studies there until he enlisted in the army. After his return from the war he went to work for John Powell in the county clerk's office; was there five or six years and then went into the circuit clerk's office. In 1878 he was elected Treasurer of the county and held the position till the close of the term, when he was elected by the people to the posi- tion of Circuit Clerk. In 1874 he opened a grocery store in Carmi, and continued in that business something over a year. At the time of his death he was Circuit Clerk, but had served only six months of his time. Mr. Shipley was married May 28, 1873, to Mrs. Dora McCallister, widow of Edwin McCallister, who died in 1867, and to whom she was married in 1863. Mr. Shipley was a member of the Masonic order, and Mutual Aid and Workman's societies. Mr. and Mrs. Shipley's children are-Lulla and Harry. aged eight and six years, respectively. Mr. Shipley died July 22,
Digitized by Google
608
HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
1881. Mrs. Shipley is a daughter of Nathan T. Shipley, known as "'Squire Shipley," who came to this county in an early day.
A. J. Sholts, farmer, was born in what is now Marion County, Ind., in 1815. He resided there a number of years and then went to Franklin County, and from there to Decatur, Ind. He came to White County, Ill., in 1865, and settled on section 14, Carmi Township, paying $10 per acre for his land. He owns 150 acres of good, well-improved land, valued now at $75 per acre. He was married to Susan Wadkins, in Indiana, Aug. 31, 1837. There are two children-Phoebe, now Mrs. Jonas Leizure, born in Indiana, April 13, 1844; Sarah E., now Mrs. Wm. Coens, born April 14, 1847. Mrs. Sholts died Oct. 20, 1851, and Feb. 14, 1852, Mr. Sholts married Sarah Ann Suly, who was born in Martin County, Ind., Dec. 2, 1814. They have one child-Susan, now Mrs. James M. Finley, born Feb. 22, 1853. At the time he came to this township, the nearest market was Mt. Vernon or Evansville, Ind. It took two or three days to make the trip, and took a good portion of the proceeds of their grain to pay expenses. Mrs. Sholts is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically he is a Republican. He was never known to turn a hungry man from his door; although hundreds of tramps make application they always get something to eat.
John H. Shoup was born in Franklin County, Pa., Oct. 26, 1843. He was a son of Jacob Shoup, a native of Franklin County, Pa. He moved to Seneca County, O., in 1845, where he still resides, at the age of seventy-six. His family consisted of seven children- three sons and four daughters, all of whom are living except the youngest daughter, who died at the age of twelve. J. H. Shoup was the fourth child. He made his home with his father till he was eighteen years of age, when he enlisted in Company K. One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served his country thirty-four months and ten days. He participated in the battles of Perryville and Nashville, and different skirmishes ; was never wounded or taken prisoner, but was a hospital patient for a time. After his return from the army, he attended and taught school. He taught a summer term in Missouri in the year of 1867. In 1868 he went to Makanda, Jackson Co., Ill., and en- gaged in the manufacture of fruit-boxes, at which he continued about five years with good results. In 1873 he came to Carmi, this county, and, in company with George Tromley, bought a new stock of jewelry. At the end of two years they dissolved, and
Digitized by Google
609
CARMI TOWNSHIP.
divided the stock, Tromley going to Grayville. Mr. Shoup was then in business alone till 1877, when he took his brother-in-law, D. K. Wickenbach, in as partner. They continued together two years, when Mr. Shoup bought his partner's interest. Since then Mr. Shoup has been in business alone. He carries a clean stock of about $4,000, and does an annual business of about $8,600. His is decidedly the finest jewelry store in the county, and is a credit to the city of Carmi. Mr. Shoup was married Dec. 22, 1868, to Margaret A. Myers, a native of Cary, O. They have no family.
Theodore R. Smock was born in Preble County, Ohio, April 20, 1846. He left his native State in 1866, and went to Columbus, Bartholomew Co., Ind., and remained till 1869, when he went to La Crosse, Wis., and lived one year; then went to Minnesota and ived near Minneapolis one year, and in 1871 ran on the Missis- sippi River as second pilot on the steamer Rock Island. In 1872 he came to Wayne County, Ill., and in 1873, to White County, where he has been engaged in farming to the present time. He was married in September, 1878, to Cornelia Cleveland, a native of Posey County, Ind., born Aug. 23, 1851. They have one child -Arthur R., born Dec. 19, 1881. He enlisted in the war of the Rebellion. Nov. 12, 1862, in Company K, Twelfth Ohio Cav- alry, and served three years. He was shot through both hips, the ball passing straight through, at Mt. Sterling, Ky., in an en- gagement with John Morgan. He was mustered out in October, 1865, at Columbus, Ohio. Previous to this enlistment he had en- listed in Company B, Eighty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in the three months' call, and served four months; was captured at Harper's Ferry, Va., in 1861, by Stonewall Jackson, and was pa- roled. There were 22,000 men under Colonel Miles. The Colonel rode out on London Heights with a small escort and put up a white flag and surrendered the whole 22,000. The Eighth Iudiana Bat- tery discovering this, and believing that he had sold them to the rebels, turned their battery of six guns on him and shot both thigh's clean off. He lived four hours, and confessed that he had sold them to the rebels for $40,000.
Charles A. Spicknall was born in Mt. Washington, Feb. 17, 1846. His father moved to Louisville, Ky., where he lived thir- teen years, and removed to Rockport, Ind., and fitted out a trading boat, which he ran two years. Charles went with his father, assist- ing all he could. At the breaking out of the Rebellion they were at Columbus, Ky., and were obliged to leave the boat. They then
Digitized by Google
610
HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
went to Carmi, Oct. 23, 1861, where they have since resided. His father was in the dry-goods business till 1871, since then has been carrying on a tailoring establishment. Charles attended school and traded in country produce till 1871. The next two years he spent in the South, working at the carpenter's trade. While there he had pneumonia, and it was seven months before he was able to come home. He was an invalid three years. Since then he has had a market garden. He began on two and a half acres of ground, and now has twenty acres and raises fruits and vegetables. He supplies Carmi and neighboring towns at wholesale and retail. His is the only market garden in thirty-five or forty miles of Carmi. He has always been a Democrat in his political views.
John. T. Spicknall, M. D., was born in Louisville, Ky., Oct. 24, 1828. He was a son of Richard Spicknall, a native of Washington City, his avocation being the mercantile. Dr. John T. com- menced the study of medicine under Dr. Stewart, of Carmi, in 1869. At the expiration of one year he began the study of dentistry under Dr. E. J. Conger; he studied with him three years when he attended three courses of lectures at the Louisville Medical Col- lege. He then returned to Carmi and resumed the practice of dentistry, which he began in the year 1870. For a couple of years he practiced medicine in connection with dentistry. This he has abandoned now and practices surgery in connection with dentistry. The Doctor was married Jan. 16, 1878, to Emma Staley. She died ten months after their marriage. Jan. 4, 1882, he married Adaline Wilson.
A. A. Staley was born in Carmi, Ill., Jan. 18, 1855. His father, A. S. Staley, was a native of Virginia, and removed to Tennessee in an early day, and in 1832 came to Illinois settling near Carini. He died in 1856, and Mrs. Staley married Thos. S. Hicks and went to New Haven, Gallatin County, to live. In 1868 A. A. left home and went to Evansville, Ind., where he remained till 1872, and then went to Rockport, Ind. While there he was engaged in the grocery business, part of the time in company with J. H. Walker, and part of the time alone. He sold out in 1881 and came to Carmi, and is now carrying on the milling business. He was mar- ried Feb. 24, 1881, to Mrs. Mary M. Allen, daughter of Captain C. O. and Betty (Blunt) Mason,. a native of Grand View, Ind., born Oct. 3, 1855. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Captain Mason was shot in Kentucky while on duty placing pick- ets out, and was brought home and buried in Indiana.
Digitized by Google
611
CARMI TOWNSHIP.
George S. Staley was born in Montgomery County, Tenn., Jan. 31, 1828, and came to White County with his father, A. S. Staley, in the spring of 1832. His mother, Sophia E. (Funk) Staley, died in 1848. His father died in May, 1856. George is their only liv- ing child; he has one half-brother, A. A. Staley. The rest of the children died in infancy. Mr. Staley resided on a farm two miles east of Carmi till he was twenty-two years old, when he went to Grayville and engaged in merchandising four years. Most of the time since then he has been milling. He purchased a mill on the east side of the Little Wabash, at Carmi, that was started by Low- rey Hay, about 1820. It had been owned by several parties pre- vious to Mr. Staley's purchase. It is a fine water-power; the mill is a fine one and has a capacity of 400 to 600 barrels per week. Mr. Staley has recently purchased of James Fackney what was formerly the White Mills, on the west side of the Little Wabash. He changed the name to Carmi City Mills. Mr. Staley says the first milling he ever did was to bolt the flour by hand; while one would put the flour in by hand the other would turn the same as turning a grindstone. He has frequently gone to Lowrey Hay's little horse-mill, taking four horses and working half a day to get his grinding done, paying one-fourth of his corn and doing his own grinding. He was married March 27, 1849, to S. J., daughter of John and Margaret (Loury) Noel, of Mt. Vernon, Ind. They are the parents of eight children, four living-L. L., born in 1850; George A., in 1863; Sarah C., in 1867; Mary S., in 1871. L. L. is the present Sheriff of White County. Mr. Staley is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He also belongs to Carmi Lodge, No. 272, A. F. & A. M. Mrs. Staley's parents were both natives of Ohio. Her mother died in 1880, aged eighty-eight years, and her father is still living, aged ninety years last June.
E. L. Stewart, M. D., was born in Carmi, White County, Nov. 6, 1824. He was a son of Dr. J. Stewart, who emigrated from Livingston County, Ky., in 1816, and practiced in Carmi till his death, which occurred in April, 1865, being seventy-five years of age. Dr. E. L. Stewart seems to be a natural-born doctor. From his infancy he was raised in his father's office. Medical terms and medicines themselves were familiar to him before he grew to be a young man. When but nine years of age he dealt out pre- scriptions in the absence of his father, it being at the time cholera first made its appearance. The Doctor being too young to prac- tice, turned his attention partially to farming in connection with
Digitized by Google
1
612
HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
his medical studies. He was of great service to his father in compounding medicines, as in those days the majority of medi- cines came in their natural state. He well recollects the first ounce of quinine his father purchased in about the year 1831 or 1832, costing $16. Prior to this it had sold for the enormous sum of $20. Dr. Stewart received his medical education of his father, and graduated at Jefferson College, Ky., in 1859. He was offered the position of Surgeon of the navy, but refused, prefer- ring to practice in Carmi, where he resumed his practice, which he had commenced ten years previous. His first patient, Mr. Sam- uel Y. Stokes, is still living in White County. His practice has always been successful, and for three years he was the only phy- sician in Carmi. In August, 1862, Dr. Stewart enlisted as Surgeon in the Eighty-seventh Illinois Infantry; was at the battle of Vicksburg; then at the taking of Jackson. Afterward was on the Red River expedition. He was mustered out in July, 1865. He was the first Mayor of Carmi, and is to-day the oldest living inhabitant born in Carmi. Is a member of the orders of Masons, Odd Fellows and Knights Templars. In 1854 he started Carmi's first drug store This he ran about four years, practicing at the same time. In 1872 he purchased a stock of drugs of a man who was leaving for California. This stock was destroyed by fire Jan. 1, 1881. The following October he was again started in his business. His stock invoices about $5,000. His loss by the fire was about $4,000, he owning the building. Dr. Stewart was mar- ried Oct. 23, 1850, to Margaret Hargrave, who is still living, and th mother of three sons and three daughters, all of whom are still single and at home-Pattie W., Frank L., Charles, Nannie, Mollie and Harry. Dr. Stewart's residence is built upon land that he himself cleared when a boy, it being a corner of his father's old farm.
W. A. St. John was born in Wyoming County, Penn., Nov. 1, 1831, and is a son of Benjamin St. John, a native of New York. When W. A. was six years old he went to New Canaan, Conn., and attended school seven years. In 1846 he came with his father to White County, Ill., and settled on a farm near Carmi, where he remained ten years and then, in 1856, bought a farm three quarters of a mile east of the court-house. which he sold three years later. His father died in the spring of 1857, leaving a large stock of gro- ceries in Carmi, and W. A. came to town and carried on the busi- ness four years. He then sold out to his brother George and went
Digitized by Google
.
613
CARMI TOWNSHIP.
onto his father's farm, and remained four years. Sept. 9, 1864, he came back to town and engaged with his brother in the drug busi- ness, and four years later sold out on account of his brother's poor health, and returned to the farm. He continued farming four years, and came to Carmi and bought an interest in the machine shop, where he remained three years. From Nov. 14, 1879, to March 1, 1882, he had a grist-mill. He then retired from business on account of poor health. He was married March 2, 1852, to M. S. Ary, who was born in White County in 1844. She died leav- ing two children-George T., born March 7, 1854, and Theodore M., Jan. 18, 1856. He married;for his second wife Sarah C. Hood, a native of Tennessee, born Sept. 22, 1841. They have five chil- dren living-Estella M., born Feb. 18, 1868; Benjamin A., Jan. 1, 1870; Joseph M., July 12, 1873; Madaline Pearl, April 19, 1878. He has four children deceased-Emily A., died Sept. 22, 1864; Sallie H., Sept. 24, 1867; Mary Ida, Sept. 10, 1877; William Cary, Nov. 4, 1877. Mr. St. John is a member of Carmi Lodge. No. 272, A. F. & A. M., and Royal Templars of Temperance, Carmi Council, No. 63. He has been an Elder in the Presbyterian church twelve or fourteen years, and Sunday-school Superintend- ent. Politically he is a Democrat.
Hail Storms .- As this well-known citizen is the eldest of the Storms family now residing in White County, we take the liberty of placing under his name so much of their genealogy as might be interesting to the public. His father, John Storms, is sketched in Chapter XIII. On his mother's side we commence with Jarvis Pierce, of the last century, in England, who had sixteen children that grew up and were married. As soon as the youngest, also named Jarvis, was married, they had a family reunion at their old home in Derbyshire, when all the children and their consorts were systematically arranged on either side of the table, with their parents at each head. Some time after this the younger Jarvis Pierce emigrated to America. settling in Craftsbury, Orleans Co., Vt .; and after residing at Manchester, Mass., and Troy, N. Y., he, in 1818, emigrated with his family to the distant West, settling in Gallatin County, on what has since been known as the Pierce farm, about four miles from New Haven. For a short period he was a resi- dent of Carmi, where he followed various mechanical occupations. His wife was Rhoda, nee Derby, a native of Scotland, and they had eleven children, namely: Myra, Eliza, Jarvis, Elmira, Merrick Porter, Julia Ann, Joseph Crawford, Lucy Towle, Mary Clark,
Digitized by Google
614
HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
Henry Ranger and Celinda, all born between 1794 and 1818. Several of these are remembered by the old residents of White County. Lucy T. Pierce was born June 10, 1811, in Craftsbury, Vt., and in 1826, in Carmi, she married David C. Hick, of New York City, who died two years afterward. June 7, 1838, Mrs. Hick married John Storms, before mentioned, and Oct. 7, 1880, she died, a devoted member of the Presbyterian church. Of her six children the following five are now living: Hail, whose sketch is given more fully in this paragraph; Rosetta, who married Sidney M. Rogers and resides at Grayville Ill .; North, a well- known business man in Carmi; Laura, who married Rev. Benj. Land and is now residing temporarily in Texas; and Cuma. The two younger daughters have attended the Female Seminary at Oxford, Ohio, and take great interest in educational matters. Cumna is an artist of considerable merit. Hail Storms was born in Carmi and has lived here all his life; was County Surveyor from 1861 to 1869, and Sheriff, 1871-'4. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he is Deacon. In the fall of 1882 he changed his residence to a cottage in the western portion of the village.
North Storms, referred to above, is the leading business man of Carmi. Formerly he was in the drug business at the old " Storms Place," and in 1874 he commenced dealing in grain and agricultural implements. He is now gradually extending his operations in grain, until he finds it necessary to build a large warehouse and elevator, a description of which is given on a preceding page, among the industries of Carmi. May 7, 1874, in Mt. Carnel, Ill., North Storms was married to Miss Anna Habberton, a cousin of the celebrated John Habberton, author of the story " Helen's Babies," etc., and a relative of the famous Harper Brothers, pub- lishers at New York City. Mrs. Storins is a native of Vincennes, Ind., and passed most of her younger days before married at Mt. Carmel. The children by this marriage are Kathrina and John, -healthy, beautiful, intelligent and interesting. Both the Messrs. Storms referred to in this sketch have made the most of their prop- erty by close attention to business, driving it ahead with a sober steadiness that ought to be an example to every young man in the country. North Storms served a year and a half in the last war, enlisting in 1863, in Company E, Thirteenth Illinois Cavalry, as Orderly Sergeant, and afterward promoted First Lieutenant.
R. J. Thomas, farmer, was born in White County, Ill., July 17, 1838, where he has resided all his life except four months in 1877,
Digitized by Google
615
CARMI TOWNSHIP.
which he spent in Texas County, Mo. He has kept the county poor-farm for the last five years. He was married in 1862 to Eliza Seckers, a native of Ohio. Sept. 6, 1867, he married Mary E. Newman, born in White County in 1830. He has no children. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are members of the regular Baptist church. Politically he is a Democrat. He served three years in the war of the Rebellion, in Company H, Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry, Captain Lord, from near Springfield. He went to Camp Butler and from there to Kentucky. He was with the command when John Morgan was captured in Ohio. From there went to Som- erset, Ky., and to Knoxville, Tenn .; " was in the battle at the latter place; was with Stoneman on his famous raid through Mississippi and thence to Atlanta, Ga. He was one of the twenty who were chosen to go into the rebel works at Atlanta; was one of the first to enter. From there went to Louisville, Ky., to be mounted again and get new uniforms, as they had been cut up badly on the raid through Mississippi. From there went to Nashville, Tenn., where he was in the two days' fight and was captured the second day; was held as prisoner only one day when he was paroled, the rebels having no way of keeping prisoners, the fight being so hot for them. They were then sent to Chattanooga, and there mustered out and sent to Nashville to be discharged and draw their pay.
Walter H. Thompson was born in Maryland, Feb. 16, 1853, and came to White County, Ill., in 1877, and settled in Carmi. He opened a shop as painter and paper-hanger, at which he is still en- gaged. He was married Feb. 19, 1881, to Cora Cortner, a native of Indiana, and a daughter of Peter Cortner, of Carmi. Mr. Thompson's mother died when he was four years old and his father in 1874, in Maryland. He is a member of the Knights of Honor. Politically he is a Democrat. In religious faith he is a Methodist.
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.