History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. II, Part 2

Author: Davis, William W
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : Pioneer Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 882

USA > Illinois > Whiteside County > History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. II > Part 2

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Elmer E. Mensch was but two and a half years old when his father died. He was then placed in the eare of his eousin, Jesse Mensch, with whom he remained until he was eleven years of age. During the last two years of that time the cousin lived in town and his daughter, having married A. D. Keefer, settled upon the farm which her father had forinerly occupied and Mr. Menseh, then a boy of nine years, went to live on the farm. He con- tinued with Mr. and Mrs. Keefer until the winter of 1880, when he came to Whiteside county, settling first in Jordan township. For the first few years after his arrival here he was employed as a farm hand and thus provided for his support and laid the foundation for his present prosperity.

On the 8th of October, 1885, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Menseh and Miss Maggie Wilger, a daughter of Joseph and Marie (Grubb) Wilger, who were natives of Germany and came to Pennsylvania in early life. After spending a few years there they removed westward to Whiteside eounty and took up their abode in Jordan township. Mr. Wilger died December 10, 1867, when about sixty-one years of age. The mother survives at the age of seventy-six years and is a remarkably well preserved woman.

Following their marriage Mr. Mensch rented a farm of eighty acres in Palmyra township, but that did not prove a profitable venture and a year later he removed to the A. C. John place, where he cultivated one hundred and thirty acres of land, residing thereon for four years. He next located on the John Kratz plaee, of two hundred and eight aeres, where he made his home for nine years, and on the 1st of March, 1898, he bought the present place of seventy-six acres. It had very few improvements upon it at that time but is now a beautiful farm property, in the midst of which stands a pretty home, while in the rear are fine barns and outbuildings and everything about the place is in excellent condition-made so by the efforts of Mr. Mensch. His life has been characterized by unfaltering industry guided by sound judgment. He early came to realize the value of untiring labor and as the years have gone by he has achieved the measure of success which ever crowns earnest, persistent labor.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mensch have been born two children: Omer E .; who is now nineteen years of age and is attending business eollege at Ster- ling in preparation for a commercial career; and Marie, a bright and inter- esting little daughter of four years. The parents are well known in the eom- munity and have an extensive circle of friends.

Mr. Mensch has always been deeply interested in politics and in public matters relating to the welfare and upbuilding of the county. He votes with the republican party and in 1896-7 filled the office of eollector. He has served for many years on the school board, was assessor for seven years and in the spring of 1906 was elected supervisor of his county. The offices that 1

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he has filled have found in hini a faithful ineumbent, ever loyal to the inter- ests of the publie and promoting general progress by practical, enterprising methods. In 1906 he was one of the federal grand jury summoned for the celebrated Standard Oil cases.

Mr. Menseh is a charter member of Penrose Camp, No. 2203, M. W. A., in which organization he held the office of clerk for nine years. Two years later he filled the office of councilor and was cleeted to represent the local lodge in the county organization and then eleeted to the state convention. He commeneed life a poor boy and his record shows what can be accomplished when one has the will to dare and to do. He is now pleasantly situated in life and, moreover, he enjoys the esteem and confidenee of his fellowmen by reason of the straightforward, honorable methods that lie has followed in his business career, in publie office and in faet in every relation of life.

HENRY BRESSLER.

Henry Bressler, who for more than a half century was a resident of Whiteside county, was closely associated with its agricultural development and at all times upheld its political and legal status. He stood for high standards in citizenship and in private life as well and the energy and dili- gence which he displayed enabled him to rise from a comparatively humble position in the business world to one of prominence and affluence.

He was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, May 3, 1826, his parents being Isaac and Frances (Neff) Bressler, also natives of the Keystone state. The former was a son of Peter Bressler, who came from Bressler, Germany, with his parents in his boyhood days, the family home being established in Pennsylvania. During his active business life he followed blacksmithing and farming. The maternal grandfather, Henry Neff, also a farmer by occupation, died in Laneaster county, Pennsylvania. Their daughter, Frances, one of a large family, gave her hand in marriage to Isaac Bressler, son of Peter and Elizabeth Bressler.

After following farming for some time in Laneaster county, Pennsyl- vania, Isaac Bressler removed westward to Whiteside county, Illinois, in 1856 and settled on a tract of land in Jordan township, where he made his home until ealled to his final rest when about seventy-cight years of age. His wife survived him and was more than ninety-two years of age at the time of her death. Both were menibers of the Mennonite church and were people of the highest respectability. Their family numbered twelve children, eleven of whom reached adult age, while seven are now living: Eliza, the widow of Henry Bush, of Sterling; Annie, the widow of Jacob Meyers, who makes her home in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania; Catharine, who is the widow of John Stauffer and resides in Roseland, Nebraska; Peter, of Spokane, Washington; Isaac, living in Sterling; Benjamin, also of Sterling; Mary, the widow of Weidler Greybill, who likewise resides in Roseland, Nebraska. Those who have passed away are: Levi; Lydia, the wife of John Buekwalter;

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Fannie, the wife of William Echternach; Henry; and Susan, who departed this life when two years of age.

The personal history of Henry Bressler is the record of a man who in all life's relations was found trustworthy, whose ideals were high and who ever made earnest effort to live up to the standard which he set before him. He was reared in the east, remaining upon a farm in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, during the period of his boyhood and youth, while the public schools of that locality afforded him his educational advantages. He was a young man of about twenty-five years when he first sought the opportunities of the west, thinking to improve his finaneial condition by a removal to this less thiekly settled but more rapidly developing region. Aeeordingly he arrived in Whiteside county in 1851, accompanied by his wife, and pur- chased one hundred and sixty aeres of land in Jordan township at the usual government priee.

On the 21st of December, 1848, Mr. Bressler had married Miss Margaret Stauffer, who was born in Pennsylvania, April 8, 1830, a daughter of John and Barbara (Eby) Stauffer. Her parents were also natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Her paternal grandparents were Christian and Fan- nie Stauffer. The former was born in the Keystone state, of German descent, and was a miller by trade. He owned a large farm, which he cultivated for many years and at the age of seventy-seven he passed to his final rest, while his wife was sixty-five years of age at the time of her demise. Their family numbered seven children, who reached years of maturity: John, Maria, Benjamin, Annie, Betsey, Jacob and Barbara. The maternal grand- father of Mrs. Bressler was Peter Eby, a native of Pennsylvania, who followed the oceupation of farming and was also a Mennonite preacher. He wedded Margaret Hess and both lived to an advanced age, rearing a large family, which included Peter, Christ, John, Henry, Ann Susan, Barbara, Elizabeth, Annie and Maria. The children of Mr. and Mrs. John Stauffer were eight in number: Benjamin, Fannie, Peter, Christ, John, Margaret, Annie and Bar- bara, and the only one now living is Mrs. Bressler.

Following the removal of Mr. and Mrs. Bressler to Whiteside county he concentrated his time and energies upon his business interests in connection with the development and improvement of his farm and as the years passed by he extended its boundaries by the purchase of an additional sixty aeres. Upon that plaee he resided for thirty-two years, bringing it under a high state of cultivation. In 1885 they removed to Sterling, where Mr. Bressler spent his remaining days in honorable retirement from labor.

They reared a family of nine ehildren, who are a eredit and honor to their name. Elizabeth, the eldest, is the wife of Martin Overholser, a resident of California, and they have four children: Ida, the wife of Walter McCaskill; May, the wife of Lewis Seibert; Grace, the wife of George Clem- ents; and Lola, the wife of Walter Osterhoudt. Isaae Bressler, the second of the family, operating the old home farm in Jordan township, married Delora Brewer and they have three children, Fred, George and Carrie, the last named the wife of Frank Weatherwax. John Bressler, a farmer residing west of Sterling, married Ora Brewer and they have one son, Harry. Henry

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Bressler is living at home with his mother. Marcus, who follows farming in the state of Washington, married Leah Rutt and they have three children : Lura, the wife of Roy Kellogg; Floyd; and Margaret. Ida became the wife of Stephen Stiles and died leaving two children, Walter and Robert. Frank, a practicing physician of Chicago, married Maude Sheppard and they have a daughter, Helen. Adelia is the wife of Lorenzo Osterhoudt, a farmer residing east of Sterling, and they have two sons, Walter and Henry. Irving, the youngest of the family, died in infancy.

The father of this family died on Christmas day of 1905 and thus passed away one of the prominent and honored pioneer settlers. Hc held various township offices, the duties of which lie discharged with promptness, capa- bility and fidelity. He did not seek to figure prominently in public life, however, as he found in his active business career that his farming interests claimed the greater part of his time and attention. He worked diligently year by year to attain success and eventually became possessed of a valu- able property that enabled him in his later years to live retired and to leave his family in comfortable financial circumstances. He was devoted to the welfare and happiness of her who traveled life's journey by his side for many years as a devoted and loving wife. His many good traits of char- acter gained him the respect of his fellowmen and his death was the occasion of wide-spread regret to all who knew him.

AMOS W. HARDY.

Amnos W. Hardy has been a life-long resident of Mount Pleasant town- ship, Whiteside county. His natal day was June 27, 1854, and from early boyhood to the present time he has been identified with agricultural interests here. His father, William Hardy, who carries on general farming on section 13, Ustick township, has made his home in the county since 1853 and was a resident of Mount Pleasant township until 1877, when he removed to Morri- son. In 1879 he became a landholder of Ustick township by his purchase of one hundred and sixty-two acres, which he still owns. He has since added about sixty acres by a later purchase and almost the entire tract is now under a high state of cultivation, comprising one of the rich farming properties of Whiteside county. Mr. Hardy was a young man of twenty-one years when he arrived here, his birth having occurred in Lincolnshire, England, January 27, 1832. His parents were Isaac and Sarah Hardy, both of whom died in England. William Hardy is their fifth child and has seven brothers and sisters. He was reared to farm life and remained a resident of his native land until 1852, when he came to the United States, spending a year in New York city, whence he removed to Whiteside county in 1853. He has been a stal- wart republican since becoming a naturalized American citizen and has served as school trustee but has never been active as an office sceker. In carly man- hood he married Keziah Richardson, at Unionville, Illinois, and to them were born seven children: Amos W., Richardson I., Wingfield J., Horace G.,

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Olive, Alice J., and Ruby K. Mrs. William Hardy had been previously mar- ried, her first husband being Thomas Hardy, who died in Mount Pleasant township. Her death occurred in August, 1869, and William Hardy after- ward wedded Alicia Richardson, the widow of William Kennen, who passed away in Mount Pleasant township. The death of Mrs. Alicia Hardy occurred April 2, 1885, in Ustick township.

Amos W. Hardy, whose name introduces this record, was rcared to the occupation of farming and in his youth acquired a good English education in the public schools. He was married on the 27th of November, 1878, to Miss Harriet Bowen, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Bowen. Her father was born September 8, 1805, and came to Illinois in 1853. Here his death occurred November 16, 1876. His wife, who was born May 1, 1817, died February 8, 1889. They were the parents of five children: Randall, who is married and lives in Lyndon; William, of Denison, Iowa, who is married and has five chil- dren; Mrs. Myra Loucks, of Traverse City, Michigan, who has one daughter; Mrs. Helen Tuller, who died leaving a daughter, who is now a resident of Lyndon ; and Mrs. Hardy. Mr. and Mrs. Bowen were carnest, consistent Chris- tian people and held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hardy has been blessed with four chil- dren: Ralph W., born September 1, 1879, resides at home and follows the machinist's trade. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen. R. Alice, born October 24, 1881, is now teaching in Mount Pleasant township and she belongs to the Royal Neighbors. Sylvia K., born November 20, 1883, is at home. Ross L., born December 20, 1886, is an engineer. All the children yet remain under the parental roof.

The family home is a fine farm of one hundred and ten acres situated in Mount Pleasant township. It belongs to his father, but A. W. Hardy has en- tire management of the place and in the cultivation of the fields is meeting with good success. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen Camp and his wife is a member of the Royal Neighbors and also of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Hardy gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has served in several of the township offices, wherein he has discharged his duties with a promptness and fidelity that have won him high encomiums. lems that continually confront the physician.

J. M. WINKEY.

J. M. Winkcy is the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and fif- teen acres situated on" section 7, Genesee township, and its neat and thrifty appearance indicates his progressive spirit and unwcaried industry. It was in this township that his birth occurred July 13, 1871. His parents, William and Pauline (Larke) Winkey, were both natives of Germany and in 1867 came to America, at which time they established their home in Carroll county, Illi- nois. After a year there passed, however, they removed to Genesee township, Whiteside county, where Mr. Winkey purchased a tract of land and carried on general farming. He was thus engaged until his life's labors were ended

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in death in 1874. His widow still survives and is yet residing upon the old ' homestead in this county. Their family numbered seven children: William, of this county; Gustave, who resides in Carroll county, Illinois; Emma, the wife of Christ Schultz, of Whiteside county; J. M., of this review; Lena, the wife of Herman Heide, of Carroll county, Illinois; and two who have passed away.

No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for J. M. Winkey in his boyhood and youth. He remained at home until twenty-seven years of age. He was only eighteen months old at the time of his father's death but he continued with his mother and as his age and strength increased aided more and more largely in the work of the fields. He was a student in the public schools but through the months of summer worked on the farin until he reached the age of twenty-seven, when he rented land and thus started out in life on his own account. For six years he thus engaged in farming, after which he purchased one hundred and fifteen acres of land on section 7, Genesee township, where he now resides. Here he carries on general agricultural pursuits and has a well developed property, nis careful conduct of its interests bringing to him a goodly return in large crops, for which he finds a ready sale on the market.

In 1897 Mr. Winkey was married to Miss Ottilie Appold, who was born in Germany, July 9, 1878. Her father died in that country and the daugh- ter afterward came to America with her mother in 1891. She was an only child but by her marriage has become the mother of four children: Walter H., Irma O., Marie T. and Bertha E. The parents are both members of the German Lutheran church and as such are highly estcemed because of their fidelity to their principles. Mr. Winkey votes with the republican party and is loyal to its interests but has no desire for public office, as he prefers to give undivided attention to his business.

EDWARD A. SMITH.

Edward A. Smith, well known in the business circles of Morrison as president of the First National Bank, was born in Fulton, Illinois, June 27, 1865, and was a student in the schools of this city in his boyhood days and afterward attended Cornell College at Mount Vernon, Iowa, for a short time. He put aside his text-books in order to assist his father in the bank, a brother having died in 1887, so that there was a vacancy left in the elcrical force of the institution. At intervals from 1884 he had assisted in the bank, so that the business was not entirely unfamiliar to him. The institution is known under the firm style of the Leander Smith & Son Bank, Edward A. Smith having been admitted to a partnership on the retirement of Duncan Mackay. Since the death of his father he has been at the head of the bank and in its conduct is associated with a younger brother, Harry W., who came into the bank as an equal partner, but the name of Leander Smith & Son has been retained. They do a general banking and also a mortgage loan business on

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HISTORY OF WHITESIDE COUNTY

real estate. Edward A. Smith is also president of the First National Bank at Morrison and of the Illinois Refrigerator Company. He is likewise inter- ested in lands in Union Grove, Mount Pleasant, Newton and Ustick town- ships, in Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas and Iowa, and likewise in real estate in Morrison.

In 1889 Mr. Smith was married to Miss Ellen M. Sprague, who was born in Monmouth, Illinois, in 1867, a daughter of Henry T. and Caroline Sprague. Her father following farming in Warren county, Illinois, for a short time and then returned to New York. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have five children : Eleanor A., who is attending the Emma Willard School for Girls at Troy, New York; Marion L. and Frank L., who are students in the high school at Morrison; Dorothy C., also in school; and Edward A., who eom- pletes the family.

Mr. Smith is a Mason and also belongs to the State Bankers' Association. In polities he is an carnest republican and is interested in community affairs. For more than a half century the Smith family, of which Edward A. Smith is a representative, has figured in connection with the history, the develop- ment and the upbuilding of this part of the state and Mr. Smith is a worthy seion of his raee, earefully conducting the business interests which were estab- lished by his father and extending the scope of his activity through personal investment and enterprise.

EDWIN MALTVA COE.

Among the representatives of farming interests in Hopkins township who by consecutive and well directed efforts have gained prominence and sue- cess, is numbered Edwin Maltva Coe, who owns and cultivates an excellent farm'on seetion 33, Hopkins township. He was born January 5, 1858, in Jordan township, Whiteside county, Illinois, a son of Mortimer Strong and Rachel (Penrose) Coe, who were natives of New York and Ohio respectively. The father was one of Whiteside county's prominent old settlers. His parents were Simeon M. and Mary (Miles) Coe, pioneers of Whiteside county. Simeon Maltva Coe, the grandfather of our subjeet, was born March 12, 1810, in Paris township, Oneida county, New York, and was a son of Simeon Maltva Coe, Sr., whose birth occurred in Litchfield, Connecticut, October 29, 1784. His immediate aneestors were descended from one of several brothers who eame from England. Throughout succeeding generations the representatives of the family followed the occupation of farming and all have sustained the prestige of an honored name. Simeon Coe and Joshua Miles, the paternal and maternal grandfathers of Mortimer S. Coe, were both soldiers of the Revolutionary war and the latter became a captain in the army under General Putnam. As the family has grown and seattered, differ- ent branches have located in New England, New York and Ohio.

Simeon M. Coe, the grandfather of Edwin M. Coe, was descended from the New England branch of the family and was married, September 1, 1807,

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to Mary Miles, a native of Connecticut. . After their, marriage they removed to Oneida county, New York, locating near the site of the city of Utica, although the town had not then been founded. They were pioneers of that locality and Mr. Coe cleared and otherwise improved two farms in that dis- trict. The maternal grandfather of Edwin M. Coe was Edwin Penrose, who was of English descent and of Canadian parentage. He was born in Pennsyl- vania but in early life became a resident of Ohio and was married in that state.

The father, Mortimer S. Coe, was born in Rush, Monroe county, New York, September 21, 1832, and was but a child when the removal of the family to Illinois made hin a resident of Whiteside county. He was but a lad when his father died and he remained the companion and helper of his mother and sister until he had almost attained his majority. He started out in life on his own account as a day laborer and from a humble position in the business world steadily worked his way upward to affluence and promi- nence. He was married March 28, 1855, to Miss Rachel Penrose, a daughter of Edwin and Mary (Spencer) Penrose. They immediately afterward located upon a farm in Jordan township and he brought the fields under a high state of cultivation, residing there until about 1869. He then sold that property and subsequently purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres in Hume township, five miles west of Rock Falls. He made this one of the best improved and most valuable farms in the township, erecting a beautiful home in the midst of attractive surroundings. The farm presented a well kept appearance, indicating the careful supervision of the owner, neatness and thrift characterizing every department of the farm. He raised stock of the highest grades and annually gathered rich harvests. Upon the farm he remained until 1893, when he retired from active work and re- moved to Rock Falls, spending his remaining days in the enjoyment of well earned rest. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Coe were born two children: Edwin M., of this review; and Albert L., who is living in Rock Falls. The father had eight brothers and three sisters, namely: Mrs. Lucy M. Stull, Simeon M., George A., Frederick M., Henry A., Albert S., Jonathan F., Decius O., Ade- line E., Marcus L., and Mrs. Helen A. Stevens. The last named is the only surviving members of this large family of children and now lives in Sterling. Mortimer S. Coe was a good man and true. He was quiet and unassuming in manner but the sterling traits of his character were widely recognized and he was beloved by all who knew him. In his family he was a kind and indulgent father and a loving and helpful husband and in the community was known as a loyal neighbor and friend. He belonged to the Rock Falls Methodist church and was a consistent Christian gentleman and a man of great moral strength. He stood as an uncompromising republican, believing firmly in the principles of the party and proving especially stanch in his support of the party during the early days when it stood for the suppression of slavery in the north.

Edwin M. Coe was educated in the common schools and assisted in the work of the home farm until about twenty-five years of age. He thus early gained intimate knowledge of the best methods of tilling the soil and caring

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for the erops. He was married December 22, 1881, to Miss Adelia Mangan, a daughter of Richard L. and Naomi J. (Thoman) Mangan. Her father was born July 13, 1821, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in which eity his early youth was passed. He was married September 16, 1843, to Miss Naomi J. Thoman and to provide for his family followed the stone-mason's trade. About 1854, however, he left the east and removed to Whiteside county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming to some extent and at the same time worked at his trade. For thirty-two years he made his home in Sterling, where his death oeeurred on May 16, 1887. In August, 1862, he responded to the country's eall for troops, enlisting as a member of Company D, Seventy- fifth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers. He was with that command in all of its engagements until he was wounded on the 29th of July, 1862. He was made corporal on the 8th of April, 1863; first sergeant on the 17th of April, 1863; and was afterward promoted to the second lieutenancy, which rank he held at the time of his discharge. He was wounded before Kenesaw Moun- tain, Georgia, in June, 1864, by a musket ball, which struek the upper part of his foot. He was carried to the rear and his foot amputated but gangrene set in and a second amputation was necessary. As this did not eheek the gangrene a third amputation followed, until the leg was off almost to the knee. He arrived home in September, 1864, and although he afterward went to Philadelphia and got a regular patent government leg and foot, he always suffered from his injury, many times being in severe pain. He was a good eitizen and brave soldier and proved his loyalty to the country in days of peace as he did in days of war. He rendered eapable service to his fellow townsmen as a member of the eity eouneil, also as justiee of the peace, and again as eity treasurer. For many years he served as justiee of the peace and his decisions were strictly fair and impartial. Mrs. Coe is one of a family of eleven children, namely: Mrs. Mary L. King, a widow, residing in Chicago; Samuel Thomnan, who is living in Sterling; William F., also a resident of Sterling; Mrs. Emily Hoyt, a resident of Pennsylvania; George K., deceased; Mrs. Caroline Stevens; Richard L., and Cyrus, all resi- dents of Sterling; Mrs. Coe; Irwin J., living in Harris, Iowa; and Mrs. Clara Shaw, of Chicago.

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History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. II, Part 2

Author: Davis, William W Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago : Pioneer Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 882

Author: Davis, William W
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : Pioneer Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 882