USA > Illinois > Whiteside County > History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. I > Part 56
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le. N. Runde
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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HISTORY OF WHITESIDE COUNTY
and for fifteen hours per day-a condition which would be appalling to the organized labor movements of the present. Ambitious to better his condi- tion, he came west to Illinois and for a year after his arrival in Whiteside county was employed at farm labor. He afterward engaged in teaching school during two successive winter seasons and then again worked as a farm hand for a short time. He afterward made his way to northern Wisconsin with a surveying party, continuing there for a few months, when he again came to Whiteside county and secured a clerkship at Como in the employ of Holmes & Hapgood, with whom he continued for four years, receiving a wage of one hundred and ten dollars for the first year and of three hundred dollars for the last year, this increase coming to him in recognition of his merit, fidelity and worth. Carefully saving his earnings, he engaged in the grocery business on his own account in Como, in partnership with Addison Hapgood, who conducted a department for the sale of tinware in this store. Later they carried on a general store and secured a good patronage. A few ycars afterward Mr. Russell bought out his partner's interest and conducted the business alone for some time. He then sold out and removed to Sterling, where he dealt in dry goods, groceries and furniture during the year 1863. Disposing of that stock, he turned his attention to the clothing business, in which he continued for some time, and upon withdrawing from that depart- ment of commercial activity he put aside business cares and has since lived retired. By his unfaltering diligence and careful management in former years he gained the financial independence which permitted him some years ago to put aside all business cares and responsibilities.
On the 25th of December, 1851, Mr. Russell was united in marriage to Miss Julia T. Sampson, whose parents were Henry B. and Nancy (Turner) Sampson, who were natives of Massachusetts. Her father followed the sea for many years and for a long time commanded a vessel. In 1836 he and ' his wife removed westward to Tremont, Illinois, where they resided until 1839, when they became residents of Como, the father there conducting a hotel for many years. His name was originally Henry Briggs and he was master of the vessel called the brig Sampson. On account of the confusion of his own name with that of his ship he changed his name to Henry B. Sampson. His parents were Captain Job and Betsy (Winsor) Sampson. The death of Mr. Sampson occurred December 30, 1865, when he had reached the age of seventy-eight years and six months, while his wife died in November, 1863, when about seventy-three years of age. Their family numbered eight children, including Mrs. Russell, who by her marriage be- came the mother of four children, but the firstborn died in infancy. The others are: Annie, who is now acting as her father's housekeeper; Charles, who wedded May C. Hubbard; and John, who died in infancy. The wife and mother passed away in April, 1907, at the age of eighty-one years and. seven months. She belonged to the Congregational church and was an earnest, consistent Christian woman, whose many good traits of character won her warm friendships and kindly regards.
Mr. Russell lived with a Unitarian minister between the ages of sixteen and twenty years and his religious views are along that linc. While he has
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no active business interests now he is a stoekholder in the Sterling National Bank and he owns two good store buildings on Third street in Sterling, together with a beautiful home at No. 702 Second avenue, which he erected in 1875. Such in brief is the life history of Charles N. Russell, who has now passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey, and in whatever relation he has been found-in social circles, in business life and in citizenship-he has always been the same honorable and honored gentleman, whose worth well merits the high regard which is uniformly given him.
IRVING L. WEAVER.
The life record of Irving L. Weaver stands in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is never without honor save in his own country, for in Sterling, the city of his nativity, he has attained prominence and success as an able member of the bar, being well known as a leading repre- sentative of the profession which stands as the conservator of human rights and privileges.
His natal day was August 5, 1873, his parents being John S. and Mary A. (Dclp) Weaver, who were natives of Pennsylvania. His paternal grand- father, John Weaver, was born in the Keystone state and was of Swiss and German descent. He followed the occupation of farming and was also a minister of the Reformed Mennonite church. In 1855 he arrived in Ster- ling and purchased land east of the town, securing about a thousand acres, which he improved and cultivated, making his home thereon until about 1888, when he passed away at the age of eighty years. He was twice mar- ried, his first union being with Anna Snavely, who died when about thirty- five years of agc. Unto them were born five children: Benjamin S .; Abram S .; John S .; Frank S., and Elizabeth, the wife of Levi R. Rutt. For his second wife John Weaver, Sr., chose Fannie Hoover, who died when about seventy-five years of age.
The maternal grandfather of Mr. Weaver, of Sterling, was Michael Delp, a native of Pennsylvania and of German and English descent. He followed carpentering and in 1851 came to the middle west, settling in Jor- dan township, Whiteside county, where he purchased a farm. However, he continued to work at his trade for some time, but later took up general agricultural pursuits, in which he continued until 1869, when he retired and removed to Sterling, spending his remaining days in the city in the en- joyment of well earned ease. He died at the age of eighty years, while his wife, Julia A. Grimm, lived to be ninety-four years of age, passing away on the 28th of December, 1904. They were the parents of five sous and five daughters, of whom three arc yet living: Charles Delp, Mrs. Mary Weaver, and Julia Delp. In the maternal line the ancestry of the family can be traced back still farther to Michael Delp, the great-grandfather, who was born in Penn- sylvania and followed farming in Bucks county, that state. He married Christiana Page, who was of English lincage.
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John S. Weaver throughout the greater part of his life followed the occupation of farming. Like his father, he arrived in Illinois about 1855 and established his home east of the city of Sterling, in Sterling township. Forty years were there passed and he was widely recognized as a foremost representative of agricultural interests. He aided in reclaiming wild land for the purposes of cultivation and as the years went by transformed his property into productive fields, adding thereby to the prosperity of the county at large. About thirteen years ago he removed to Sterling, where he and his wife are now living retired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil. Of the eight children in their family five reached adult age: Irving L .; Agnes, the wife of John H. Byers, of Dixon, Illinois; Alice, the wife of Charles A. Byers, of Sterling; Mary Dillon; and Ada J., the wife of Dr. John L. Snavely.
Irving L. Weaver was rearcd upon his father's farm and pursucd his education in thic district schools ncar the home place and in the public schools of Sterling. Desiring to enter upon a professional career, he at- tended the Kent College of Law in Chicago, and was admitted to the bar in 1896. Immediately thereafter he opened an office for practice in Sterling, where he still remains, and his ability is attested by the large and dis- tinctively representative clientage accorded him. For ten years he has held the office of justice of the peace and in this position renders decisions that are strictly fair and impartial. In 1893 he was elected city attorney and served for two terms.
On the 9th of November, 1898, Mr. Weaver was married to Miss Mar- garet L. Boyer, a daughter of Thomas and Susan B. (Dennison). Boyer. Mr. Weaver is a member of Rock River Lodge, No. 612, A. F. & A. M., of the Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he is a stalwart republican, giving loyal support to the party, but the only offices that he has ever filled have been in the direct path of his profession. He is well known in the county where his entire life has been passed and where he has so directed his labors and energies as to gain a creditable position in professional circles and in the public regard.
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PHILIP T. VAN HORNE.
Philip T. Van Horne, who as an architect is conducting a successful business in Sterling, where he is also well known as vice-president of the Whiteside County Building & Loan Association, is a native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Columbia, New York, November 3, 1842. The family home was established in that state in colonial days. The paternal grandfather, Philip Thomas Van Horne, was a Holland Dutchman, born in New York, and followed the occupation of farming as a life work. His labors, however, were interrupted by his service as a soldier in the war for independence, and he lived long to enjoy the fruits of liberty. The original American Van Horne came from Holland during the early cpochi in the colonization of the new world.
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Thomas Van Horne, father of our subject, was born in New York and for some time conducted a lumber mill in Otsego county, but was injured in the mill and his death resulted in 1845. He was then about thirty-seven years of age, his birth having occurred February 10, 1808. His wife, who was born in the Empire state, March 19, 1810, long survived him and died October 28, 1882. She bore the maiden name of Mandana Gamwell, and was a daughter of James and Sarah (Chapin) Gamwell. Her father was a native of Massachusetts and removed to New York, settling in Otsego county. He was an itincrant shoemaker, traveling from house to house and making shoes for the family, as was the custom in those days. He lived to an ad- vanced age and his wife was eighty-three years of age at the time of her death. They rearcd a large family, but all are now deceased. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Van Horne were born four children, of whom three yet survive: Harrison, a resident of Springfield, New York; Philip T., and James W., now living in Los Angeles, California.
Philip T. Van Horne was rcared in Otsego county, New York, remaining upon the home farm until fifteen years of age, and he supplemented his early education, acquired in the district schools, by study in Springfield Academy. At: the age of fifteen he began learning the carpenter's trade, which he followed until about 1870. In the meantime, in 1868, he removed westward to Sterling, and about 1870 began doing contract work, being thus identified with building operations until 1896, since which time he has fol- lowed the profession of an architect alone. Seeing opportunity for judicious investment, he is now the owner of several residence properties in Sterling, which return him a good rental, and he is also vice-president of the White- side County Building & Loan Association and was one of its organizers.
In August, 1862, Mr. Van Horne responded to his country's call for aid and joined the boys in bluc of Company E, One Hundred and Twenty- first New York Volunteer Infantry, and he lacked but one month of serving three years, remaining at the front until after the close of the war. He was commissary sergeant and was wounded in front of Petersburg on the 2d of April, 1865. He participated in many important engagements, in- cluding the battles of Crampton's Pass, Rappahannock, Minc Run, the Wild- erness, Spottsylvania Courthouse, North Anna, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Fort Stevens, Summit Point, Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Newmarket, Cedar Creek. Hatcher's Run, Petersburg and the Siege of Petersburg.
When the war was over Mr. Van Horne returned to his wife, whom he had left a bride of less than a year in order to go to the front. He had been married on the 5th of November, 1861, to Miss Fanny I. Ray, a daughter of Othaniel. L. and Lois (Franklin) Ray. Her father was a native of New York, and her mother of New England. Hc conducted a hotel in the east, dying in Hamilton, New York, November 5, 1882, at the age of sixty-three years, his birth having occurred March 28, 1818. His wife, who was born in 1822, died November 5, 1865, at the age of forty-three years. Their family numbered four sons and six daughters: Franklin Ray; Fanny, who became Mrs. Van Horne; George; Eunice, the widow of Orville Wolcott, of Springfield, Ohio; Ruby, who became the wife of J. M. Reynolds and died in Sterling; Ira, a resident of Hamilton, New York; James, a resident of
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HISTORY OF WHITESIDE COUNTY
Sterling; Mary L., who died in girlhood; Marcella, who died at the age of ten years; and one who died in infancy.
The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Van Horne was William Ray, a na- tive of New York and a farmer by occupation, who served his country as a soldier in the war of 1812. He married Eunice Loos, who died in middle life, while he reached the very venerable age of ninety-two years. The ma- ternal grandfather of Mrs. Van Horne was Edward Franklin, a native of England, who, on coming to America, settled in Herkimer county, New York, where he followed the occupation of farming. He served his adopted country in the Mexican war and died at a very old age.
Mr. and Mrs. Van Horne have one child, Edward Burt, who is time- keeper in the Dillon-Griswold wire mill. He married Miss Lulu M. Kelsey, a daughter of Porter G. and Sophia (Page) Kelsey. There are two children of that marriage, Philip B. and Edward Kelsey. Mr. and Mrs. Van Horne also reared a niece, Maude Ray Reynolds, who came to them when a child of ten years, and who is now the wife of Edward L. Bierman, a resident of Lagrange, Illinois.
Mr. and Mrs. Van Horne attend the Presbyterian church, and he is a member of Sterling Lodge, No. 174, I. O. O. F., the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Knights of the Globe, while of Will Robinson Post, No. 274, G. A. R., he is now the commander. His political allegiance is un- swervingly given to the republican party. He and his wife reside at No. 510 Fifth avenue, where he owns a pleasant home, which was built in 1872. He has lived continuously in this county for forty years, and has been closely associated with the improvement of the city, especially along the line of architectural adornment. Aside from business interests, too, he has manifested a public-spirited devotion to the general good, and his co-opera- ยท tion has been an element in the successful management of various interests that have proven beneficial to the city. He displays all the elements of what in this country we term a "square" man-dependable in any relation and any emergency. Ilis easy dignity, his frankness and cordiality of ad- dress, with a total absence of anything sinister or anything to conceal indi- cate a man who is ready to meet any obligation of life with the confidence and courage that come from conscience, personal ability, right conception of things and an habitual regard for what is best in the exereise of human activities.
CLARENCE L. SHELDON.
Clarence L. Sheldon is the senior partner of the law firni of C. L. & C. E. Sheldon, of Sterling, and in a profession where advancement depends en- "tirely upon individual merit has gained a position of prominence, which is positive proof of his skill and ability as counselor and trial lawyer. He was born at Sennett, Cayuga county, New York, April 21, 1841, his parents being Rufus H. and Mercy E. (Edmunds) Sheldon, both of whom were natives of
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the Empire state. The paternal grandfather, Ira Sheldon, was also born in New York and was a farmer by occupation. He came of English ancestry and died in middle life. He married a Miss Sheldon, a third cousin, and she was quite advanced in years when called to her final rest.
Their son, Rufus H. Sheldon, was born on a farm near Sennett, New York, and followed agricultural pursuits as a life work. In 1847 he made his way westward to Illinois, settling at Yorkton, Bureau county, where he entered a claim of three hundred and forty acres. Upon that farm he resided until 1863 and transformed the hitherto wild prairie into richly cultivated fields. After carrying on his farm work there for twenty-one years he removed to Sterling, where he resided until about 1882, when he took up his abode at Rock Falls and there spent his remaining days, his death occurring in the fall of 1901 when he was eighty-six years of age. His wife died two months later, in December, 1901. Mr. Sheldon served as postmaster of Yorktown for a number of years and was also justice of the peace and a prominent and influential resident of the community. The farm on which he settled on his arrival in the county is situated on the division line between Bureau, Henry and Whiteside counties and is now owned by Clarence L. Sheldon. In the family were five children who reached adult age while four 'are yet living- Irving W., Clarence L., Rufus Harmon and William Chapman. A daughter, Ida M., became the wife of Newton Petrie and is now deceased.
In the maternal line, Clarence L. Sheldon is also of English lineage. His maternal grandfather was a native of the state of New York and followed farming as a life work. Both he and his wife lived to be more than ninety years of age.
Clarence L. Sheldon, whose name introduces this record, was but six years of age when he came to Illinois and upon the home farm he was reared, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He attended the district schools between the ages of six and seventeen years and afterward spent one year as a student in the academy at Princeton, Illinois, prior to entering the Western College in Iowa. There he spent one year, after which he became a student in the Lombard, University at Galesburg, Illinois, where he remained for three years. He prepared for his profession by two years' study in the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and was graduated in 1868.
On the 2d of January of the following ycar he was admitted to the bar and soon after began practice in Sterling, where he has remained to the pres- ent time, covering a period of thirty-nine years. He has won for himself very favorable criticism for the careful and systematic methods which he has followed. He has remarkable powers of concentration and application and his retentive mind has often excited the surprise of his professional colleagues. As an orator he stands high, especially in the discussion of legal matters before the court. where his comprehensive knowledge of the law is manifest, while his application of legal principles demonstrates the wide range of his profes- sional acquirements. The utmost care and precision characterize his prepara- tion of a case and have made him one of the most successful attorneys in Whiteside county. He has served as city attorney for two years and as mas-
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ter in chancery for six years. He was likewise alderman for two terms but has preferred concentrating his energies upon his professional duties rather than participating actively in political circles.
In 1870 Mr. Sheldon was married to Miss Mary Letitia Crawford, a daugh- ter of James H. and Amanda (Galt) Crawford. Five children have been born of this union. Leslie C., the eldest, who was a soldier of the Spanish- American war and also saw military service in the Philippines, died at the age of thirty-one years. Carl Edmund, the second son, is his father's partner in the practice of law. He was graduated in 1899 from the College of Litera- ture and Arts of the University of Illinois and from the law department of the university in 1902. In June of the same year he became a partner of his father under the firm style of C. L. & C. E. Sheldon and in April, 1907, was elected city attorney. He is national vice president of the Sigma Alpha Epsi- lon, a college fraternity, and editor of one of its magazines. John Rufus Sheldon is a practicing physician at Muskogee, Indian Territory. He attended the University of Illinois, Rush Medical College of Chicago, the Jefferson Med- ical School of Philadelphia, and was graduated from the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1904. He married Miss Maranda Page Tur- ner and they have two children, Edith and Clarence. Edith Irene became the wife of Robert S. Butler, son of E. K. Butler, of Chicago, and they reside in Des Moines, Iowa. They have two children, Robert Sheldon and Margaret Letitia. Bertha died when about two years old. The wife and mother, Mrs. Mary L. Sheldon, died May 2, 1903, at the age of fifty-seven years. She was a inember of the Presbyterian church.
On the 2d of September, 1905, Mr. Sheldon wedded Miss Annie McCart- ney, a daughter of David McCartney. She is a member of the Congregational church, and, like Mr. Sheldon, has many friends in Sterling. Always a warm friend of the cause of education, Mr. Sheldon gave to his children good advant- ages in that direction. His daughter, Edith I., having graduated from the Wallace high school of Sterling and later from the Sterling-Coloma township high school, afterward became a student in the Washington Seminary, a girls' school at Washington, D. C., from which she was graduated in 1902. Leslie was a graduate of the Wallace high school of 1889 and Carl E. an alumnus of 1894.
Mr. Sheldon is a member of Rock River Lodge, No. 612, A. F. & A. M .; Sterling Chapter, No. 57, R. A. M., and a charter member of Sterling Com- mandery, No. 57, K. T., of which he is past eminent commander. He also affiliates with Medinah Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Chicago. He has always been interested in matters of progressive citizenship and has been a co-operative factor in many measures for the public good. He was the first man to suggest the location of the fccder line of the Hennepin canal from Dixon to Sterling and was appointed on the committee with C. C. Johnson to go to Washington, where he made the argument in support of the line, which was finally changed. Many other tangible proofs of his devotion to the pub- lic welfare might be given. In his early manhood he taught school at differ- ent times, thus practically earning his way through college. The elementa! strength of his character which he thus displayed gave proof of future possi-
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bilities which have been realized in a successful career. The law firm of C. L. & C. E. Sheldon is now a prominent onc. Added to thic broader experience and learning of the father is the zeal, enthusiasm and energy of the young man and the combination is one which works well in legal circles. Their clientage is of a distinctively representative character and they have won many honorable forensic contests in the courts.
LEWIS EDWIN BROOKFIELD.
The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave the perpetual record establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his fellowmen. Throughout Whiteside county Lewis Edwin Brookfield, now deceased, is spoken of in terms of admiration and respect. His life was so varied in its activity, so honorable in its purposes and so far-reaching and beneficial in its effects that it became an integral part of the history of Sterling and this portion of the state.
He was born in Coleta, Illinois, June 5, 1860, the eldest son of Ephraim and Harriet (Yeger) Brookfield, whose family, however, numbered two daughters: Helen, now the wife of Thomas Crawford, of Clinton, Iowa; and Dorothy, the wife of Dr. Hopkins, of Sterling. The father, an early settler of this state, conducted a store in Coleta and was afterward a banker at Rock Falls. While in Florida for the benefit of his health he died at about the age of thirty-nine years. He is still survived by his wife, who has since married Henry Green, of Sterling.
Lewis E. Brookfield spent his boyhood days in his native city and began his education there, while later he attended the Edward Seminary of Ster- ling, of which he was an alumnus. In his business life he began the manu- facture of caskets and later extended his trade to include the manufac- ture of hearses. He built up a large business and received several medals at different expositions, including a silver medal which was awarded him at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904. It was at the early age of seventeen years that he left school and took charge of the business of the Rock Falls Manufacturing Company, which was organized in August, 1877, and which, directed by his remarkable ability and governed by his keen insight, developed into one of the large enterprises of the kind, becom- ing known throughout the entire country, its output being sold in all parts of the United States. The house aimed at high standards in the character of its materials, in the methods of manufacture and in its service to the public and met competition in the rivalry of merit rather than in a war of prices. Throughout his business carcer Mr. Brookfield was notably reliable as well as determined and energetic. He allowed no obstacle to bar his path if it could be overcome by determined and honorable labor, and in business circles he sustained an unassailable reputation as one whose word was above question, commanding at all times the uniform trust and respect of his col- leagues and the general public. As he prospered in his undertakings he
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