History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. II, Part 21

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

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LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

HARLOW SMITH.

MRS. HARLOW SMITH.

LIBRARY OF THE "WWIENCITY OF ILLINOIS

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grain to Peoria, Illinois, and to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He would then bring back a load of merchandise and spent about three weeks on the trip. For two years he remained in the employ of that firm, after which he took up the arduous task of breaking prairie, and through his labors the sod was turned on many an acre and the first furrows made in the development of the fields. Desiring to own a farm of his own, he carefully saved his earn- ings and his first investment in property brought to him eighty acres of land in Prophetstown township. With characteristic energy he began its develop- ment and later sold that tract and bought eighty acres in Tampico town- ship. His next purchase made him owner of one hundred and sixty acres, which he broke and developed. About this time wheat went to two dollars per bushel and as there was no money in the county and he had raised no crop, he was forced to give up all of his land but eighty acres, which he sold. Many of the early settlers experienced very hard times owing to the fact that there was little market for their crops and, while prices were very high on many commodities which they were forced to purchase, there was little ready money in the west.

In 1865 Mr. Smith purchased two hundred acres of land on section 34, Hume township, which his son William now owns. As the years passed he speculated quite largely in land and was very successful, at one time own- ing over one thousand acres. He also owned and operated a threshing ma- chine for fifty years and as a thresher conducted a prosperous business, for comparatively few in the county owned threshing machines and his services were in constant demand. When he bought the farm in Hume township there was a small house upon it and a prairie stable, and the land was fenced. Otherwise it was unimproved, but the unfaltering energy and diligence of Mr. Smith wrought a transformation in his home place, which he converted into one of the finest farms of the county. Hc was a large stock-raiser, keeping on hand one hundred and fifty head of cattle and sixty-five head of horses. He also raised hogs to the value of from one to two thousand dol- lars per year.

On the 2d of December, 1855, Mr. Smith was married in Lyndon to Miss Louisa Popc, who was born in Lincolnshire, England, in the village of Spaulding, October 5, 1838. Her parents were Abraham and Sarah (Cramp- ton) Pope. Her father, born in 1808, died in 1892 and her mother, born in 1807, passed away in 1889. They came to America in 1850, crossing the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, which was seven weeks in completing the voyage from England to New Orleans. They thencc came up the Mississippi river to Albany and located at Lyndon, Illinois. The father was a cabinet-maker in England and after coming to the United States worked as a carpenter. He also bought land near Lyndon, but after six years sold that property and removed to Tampico township, where he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of prairie that he cultivated and improved successfully, carrying on farm work there until 1878, when he retired and went to Vancouver Island with his wife. They had a daughter living there and the death of Mr. Pope occurred on that island. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Pope were born eight children, of whom five'arc yet living: Mrs. Emma Turgoose, who is living in Van-

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couver; Mrs. Sarah Mummert, of Waukena, Kansas; Mrs. Smith; Thomas, who resides in Manchester, Iowa; and Aaron, who is living in Tampico, Illinois.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born six children: Carrie L., the wife of Fred Brown, a farmer of Hume township; Ida, the wife of R. B. Smith, of Prophetstown, by whom she had two children, Henry A. and Harlow E .; Sarah E., the wife of James J. Farrell, of Prophetstown township; Wil- liam N., at home; Minnie E., the widow of Dr. T. L. Round and living upon the old homestead; and Herbert H., who married Miss Dolly Teach, residing at Craig, Canada.

Of this family, William N. Smith was born September 14, 1864, and has always remained at home. He now owns the old homestead property in Whiteside county of two hundred aeres and eight hundred acres in Canada. He was his father's able assistant and has made a suceess of life, eapably managing his business affairs so that they bring to him an exeellent financial return. He owns and operates a threshing machine outfit and is greatly interested in stoek-raising, having upon his place some fine bred horses that have shown considerable speed. The management of his father's business interests largely developed upon him as soon as he was old enough to take the responsibility, for his father had received but limited educational priv- ileges in early life and was considerably handicapped thereby. In politics William N. Smith has always been deeply interested and has held several offices in his township, serving also as a member of the county central com- mittee of the republican party. At local elections, however, he believes in supporting eandidates without regard to party affiliation.

Harlow Smith was a stalwart republican in his political views, while for some years he served as school director. He believed in employing good teachers and maintaining efficient sehools, and in fact he advocated progress along various lines that are helpful to the individual and the community at large. As the years passed he won a notable success through his judicious investments and eapable management and at his death left an estate valued at seventy-five thousand dollars. His genuine worth had gained for him á host of warm friends, so that his demise was deeply regretted throughout the entire community. Mrs. Smith is a lady of innate culture and refine- ment, devoted to her family, and in the county has a host warm friends.

THOMAS ALEXANDER GALT.

Honored and respected by all, there is no man who has occupied a more enviable position in the business life of Whiteside eounty than Thomas Alex- ander Galt, and it is therefore imperative that mention be made of him in this volume. As a business man and eitizen he has eontributed in substan- tial measure to the welfare and upbuilding of city and county. His indus- trial and eommereial interests have been so extensive and important that the business development of this section of the state has been greatly enhanced

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thereby, while at the same time his enterprises have proven a source of grati- fying individual profit. The methods that he has employed in his business life are such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny.

Mr. Galt was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, January 13, 1828. The ancestry of the family is traced back to Robert Galt, who came to this country from the north of Ireland and settled in Lancaster county in 1710, there following the occupation of farming. The line of descent comes down through James, Thomas, James and William Galt to Thomas Alexander Galt of this review, all natives of Pennsylvania. The grandfather, James Galt, was also born in Lancaster county, and in connection with farming followed the occupation of milling. He died therc at the age of sixty-five years, while His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Martin, attained a very ad- vanced age. Their family numbered five sons and five daughters, ineluding William Galt, also a native of Lancaster county. He was reared to agricul- tural pursuits, and always gave his attention to the tilling of the soil through- out his business career. He was born in 1794, and his life record covered a · span of forty-eight years. He wedded Mary Ann Thomas, a native of Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania, and daughter of Zaddock Thomas, who was born in the same county, and in early life followed merchandising, while later he became president of the Montgomery County Bank, and for many years remained at the head of that financial institution. He married Ruth Thomas, and both died when about ninety-two years of age. In their family were two daughters and a son: Mary Ann, who became the wife of Williallt Galt; Julia Ann, the wife of James Galt, both now deceased; and Ezeriah Thomas, who spent the greater part of his life in Chester county, Pennsyl- vania.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. William Galt were born ten children, six sons and four daughters:Amanda, the widow of James L. Crawford, of Sterling; Julia, the deceased wife of James T. Lowrey; Thomas A., of this review; Isabella, who became the wife of Alexander McCloy, of Sterling, but is now deceased; Ezeriah Thomas, a resident of Chicago; Dr. William James, who is now deccased; John M., who in early life was a prominent business man of Sterling, but is also deceased; Zaddock Thomas, deceased; Ruth A., the widow of Dr. Pennington, of Sterling; and Francis Randolph, who died in infancy. All were born upon the old home farm in East Earl township, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, which property is still in possession of the Galt family. The mother, long surviving her husband, passed away in Sterling in 1870, at the age of seventy years. Both were devoted members of the Presbyterian church and earnest Christian people.

Thomas A. Galt was reared in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, remain- ing upon the old home farmn until fifteen years of age, and pursuing his edu- cation in the old fashioned roadside school. When a youth of fifteen he began earning his own living as a clerk in Concord, Pennsylvania, and the succeeding year went to Strasburg, Pennsylvania, where he was employed as a salesman from 1845 to 1847, inclusive. In 1848 he accepted a position in a wholesale dry goods store in Philadelphia, where he continued for a year, returning to Strasburg in 1849. There he bought out the business of

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HISTORY OF WHITESIDE COUNTY

his old employer and continued as a merchant of that place for six years. He arranged to purchase the store on credit, and the confidence reposed in him by his former employer is indicated by the fact of this arrangement, and also by the fact that Mr. Galt was not then twenty-one years of age.

The ycar 1855 witnessed the arrival of Thomas Alexander Galt in Ster- ling, and he soon became an active factor in its commercial interests, forming a partnership in the hardware business with David M. Crawford, with whom he was associated for two years under the firm style of Galt & Crawford. He then purchased his partner's interest and admitted his brother, John M. Galt, to the firm under the style of Thomas A. Galt & Brother. They were thus associated for seven or eight years, when they disposed of the hardware store and Thomas A. Galt turned his attention to the manufacture of farm machin- ery in connection with George S. Tracey. They also conducted a planing mill aud sash and door factory, thus extending the scope of their activity and contributing to the industrial enterprise and business development of the county. Their property increased and the business prospered until 1867, when the plant was destroyed by fire, but with undaunted courage they rebuilt on a more extensive scale, and in 1870 incorporated the Keystone Manufac- turing Company, with a capital stock of one hundred and fifty thousand dol- lars. This company manufactured a general line of farin inachinery, which they sold in all parts of the world. In 1870, also in association with Mr. Tracey, Mr. Galt incorporated the Sterling Manufacturing Company for the manufacture of sash, doors, blinds, etc., but this has also been converted into a farm machinery plant. 'Their business developed into one of the largest manufacturing concerns of the country. They. employed several hundred workmen, and thus placed large amounts of money in circula- tion in Sterling, Rock Falls and Whiteside county. They encouraged thrift and industry among their men and induced many of them to build homes in Rock Falls, while others built dwellings in Sterling. The plants were removed to Rock Falls, and the business was continued under the name of the Keystone Manufacturing Company until it was merged into the National Harvester Company. /Mr. Galt was a moving spirit in this enterprise which became one of the foremost industrial concerns of Illinois. In all things he displayed an aptitude for successful management, formed his plans readily and carried them forward to successful completion. For more than forty years he was connected with those business interests which proved not only a valuable clement in his individual success, but contributed so largely to the city's moral development and prosperity. He was also the promoter of the Eureka Manufacturing Company, which was first organized for the manu- facture of school furniture, and was one of the largest of the kind in the west. Since then it has been converted into a carriage manufacturing company, which has grown to be an extensive enterprise, nearly one-half of the product of the factory being shipped to foreign countries, a large amount of this being sent to Buenos Ayres, South America. They also made extensive ship- inents to South Africa until the Boer war, sending direct to Capetown and Port Elizabeth. There are few industrial interests of Sterling or of Rock Falls which have not been promoted or received the assistance of Mr. Galt,

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who is still interested in a number there. He also erected the Galt House in 1876, and it has sinee been the leading hotel of Sterling and this part of the state. In connection with his partner, George S. Traeey, he built the Academy of Musie, and he also built a number of other business blocks of the city and private residences. He erected the handsome building recently donated to the city for a hospital and now known as the Galt-Brookfield Hospital.

Mr. Galt has always been a very busy man and still has large property. interests in Sterling. He owns mueh improved and unimproved property and from his realty interests derives a most gratifying annual ineome. He de- serves all the praise implied in the term, a "self-made man," for he started" out in the business world without capital and without special training. He early came to a realization of the fact that enterprise and unwearied industry constitute a safe basis upon which to build the superstructure of suecess, and thus he has builded up the business interests which are a monument to his active, useful life. His first year's salary when he began for himself was but fifty dollars. He bought but one suit of clothes a year and practiced economy in various ways until his well direeted labor and careful expendi- ture seeured for him capital sufficient to enable him to engage in business on his own aeeount.

Mr. Galt was married in October, 1850, to Miss Sallie Julila Jones, of New Hartford, Conneetieut, who died in 1853. In 1856 he wedded Miss Catherine Anthony, of Borodino, New York, a daughter of Isaac and Per- melia (Phelps) Anthony. There were eight children of that marriage. Elliott LeRoy, the eldest, now engaged in the banking business in Sterling, married Annie Carter, of Worcester, Massachusetts, and they had five chil- dren, of whom four are now living: Thomas Arthur, Margaret Adelia, Helen and Donald Alexander. For his second wife Elliott L. Galt wedded Mary Harvey, of Sterling, Illinois, and they have one son, Robert Harvey. Helen Janc Galt, the second member of the father's family, is the widow of Louis Edwin Brookfield, and they had three children, Emily Catharine, Fannic Harriet and Edwin Galt Brookfield. Mary Permelia is the next of the family. Emily Catharine is the wife of Orville P. Bassett, editor of the Springfield News, and they have one daugliter, Emily Catharine. Ruth Galt became tlie wife of Frank W. Murphy, and they have two children, Catharine Virginia and Edwin Brookfield Murphy. Three of the children of Thomas A. and Catherine (Anthony) Galt died in early childhood. For his third wife Mr. Galt ehosc Mrs. Mary (Holmes) Ross, a daughter of Samuel and Catherine Holmes.

Mr. Galt has always been active in support of public enterprises and has been particularly generous in his contributions to the churches. While he is a Presbyterian in religious faith, he has given substantial encouragement to other denominations and rejoices in what is accomplished in behalf of re- ligion. His ancestors and the later generations of the family sinee the first Galt came to America, in 1710, have never deviated from the Presbyterian faith with the exception of one, who became affiliated with the Episcopal church. Politically Mr. Galt was originally a whig, but upon tlic organiza-

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tion of the new republican party he joined its ranks and has since followed its banners. While in no sense a politician, he has had personal acquaintance with many distinguished party leaders and public men, some of whom have attained national reputation, including Lincoln, Grant, and others. He never held but one office, and that the mayor of Sterling, in which capacity he served for one year, being the first temperance mayor of the city, and filling the office at great sacrifice to himself, as it demanded time and at- tention which should have been given to the furtherance of his business in- terests. His administration was of a most practical, business-like and pro- gressive character, resulting in the achievement of needed reforms and in the advancement of the work of improvement along lines which have been of ut- most benefit. Mr. Galt has today passed the eightieth milestone on life's journey. By the consensus of public opinion he is placed among the fore- most in the ranks of those men whose labors have been of the utmost value to the city and county. His business is widely acknowledged as a factor in the commercial and industrial development of the locality. His example is such as many might profitably heed, following the obvious lessons which it contains, for the course which he marked out for himself and which he has closely followed is such as leads to splendid character development as well as to the acquirement of material prosperity.

JOHN PEPPER.

John Pepper is now living retired in Erie, having passed the eighty-fifth milestone on life's journey. He was born in Wentworth, County York, Eng- land, a son of John and Mary (Pepper) Pepper, who were cousins and spent their entire lives in England. John Pepper of this review was the fifth of that name who resided upon the rented farm in England on which his birth occurred. It was a tract of land of one hundred and ninety-five acres and his father employed five men in its cultivation. The family numbered four sons and two daughters but the subject of this review is the only one who became a resident of America. One brother and one sister, however, arc still living in England. The parents continued to reside in that country until called to their final rest, the death of the father occurring when he was seven- ty-one years of age, while his wife died at the age of eighty-two years. His mother died in the nineties. She had never been ill a day in her life and did her housework on the day that she died. She had reared a family of eleven children and throughout her entire life enjoyed remarkable lıealth.

John Pepper whose name introduces this review remained upon the home farm until fifteen years of age, when he was apprenticed to learn the carpenter's trade, which he followed in his native land until he reached the age of twenty-six years, when he determined to seek a home and fortune in the new world. Accordingly, he bade adieu to friends and native country and sailed for the United States, taking up his abode at Adrian, Michigan, in 1850. He there worked at the carpenter's trade and helped to build the first railroad

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shops at that place. Adrian was at that time a town of about thirty-five hun- dred inhabitants. Mr. Pepper worked at carpentering for two or three years and then assisted in the building of the railroad shops, after which he was employed in the shops. He was afterward engaged in the railroad shops at LaPorte, Indiana, for several years and subsequently removed to Blooming- ton, where he worked for several years in the shops of the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company. His next removal took him to Jackson, Tennessee, where he was again employed in the railroad shops, his effieieney in mechanical pursuits enabling him to readily obtain a position wherever he went. He remained in the south until October, 1861, when he returned to the north, making his way to Whiteside county. Here he located on a farm on the river bottoms, four miles west of the village of Erie, in Erie township, having purchased the property in 1857, when on a visit to this district. He had invested in one hundred aeres of land, which he has owned continuously since, or for a period of more than a half century. Later he extended the original boundaries of his place until he now owns one hundred and eighty aeres in that farm and in addition has seven aeres of timber land. He did not remain long upon the farm after his arrival from Tennessee, however, but went to Clin- ton, Iowa, where he engaged in the building of passenger coaches for the railroad company, having charge of the coach department. He worked there for eleven years, or until the big shops were built at Chicago. In the meantime he had become the owner of a niee home in Clinton, which he erected, but at the time of the transfer of the railroad interests to Chicago he disposed of his house in Clinton and took up his abode upon his farm in Erie township, where he continued to reside until about four years ago, when he put aside agricultural pursuits and became a resident of the village. His life has been a very busy, useful and active one and his untiring industry in industrial and agricultural lines has brought to him the measure of success which he is now enjoying.

On the 8th of November, 1859, oeeurred the marriage of Mr. Pepper and Miss Emily Oakey, a native of Birmingham, England, born July 14, 1841. She came to the United States in 1852, with her parents, Isaae and Anna (Hunt) Pepper, both of whom were natives of England. On erossing the Atlantie they located in Laporte, Indiana, and her father there worked in the railroad shops at the time that Mr. Pepper was thus employed at that point. They afterward removed to Whiteside county and resided upon the farm which is now the property of Mr. Pepper. It was upon this farm that the marriage of our subject and his wife occurred and they have beeomne the parents of three children: Frances, the wife of Joshua Stephenson, of Rock Island county, Illinois, by whom she has three children : Wallace, Harvey and Clara D .; Mrs. Henry Osburn, of Oklahoma, who has one daughter, Mabel, who married Benjamin Fisher, a native of England, and is now living in Oklahoma; and Clara, the wife of James Gray, of Monticello, Illinois. She was previously married to Edward Andrews, who died, leaving a daughter, Doreas.

Sinee becoming a naturalized American citizen Mr. Pepper has given his support to the demoeratie party. He east his first vote for Franklin Pieree, declaring his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States in 1851,

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just in time to secure him the right of franchise for voting at the election in which Pierce was chosen for the president. Mr. Pepper has served as road officer and has been officially connected with the schools. He has ever been a wide reader and has thus kept in touch with the trend of progressive thought. A love of music has ever been one of his salient characteristics and at the age of sixteen years he became a member of a band in England, with which he played until he came to the United States. He also played with a band in Adrian, Michigan, in Clinton, Iowa, and in Fulton, Illinois. His love of music has been a source of great enjoyment to him throughout his entire life and he possesses more than ordinary talent in that direction. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in the new world, for he found here the opportunities he sought and through the improvement of the advantages which opened to him he worked his way steadily upward, making a creditable record as a business man, both in the honorable methods he fol- lowed and in the success he attained. He is now one of the honored and ven- erable citizens of Eric, having reached the eighty-fifth milestone on the journey of life, while the record he has made may well serve as an example and as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others.

ALBERT T. ABBOTT.

. The name of Abbott is an old and familiar one in Whiteside county, for from its very earliest history representatives of the family have been closely identified with its agricultural development and progress. The gen- tleman whose name introduces this record was for many years identified with that field of activity, but his labors in former years now enable him to live retired, although he still retains his residence on his fine farm of two hundred and seventy acres, situated in Garden Plain township, this place constituting the old family homestead.

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History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. II, Part 21

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