USA > Illinois > Whiteside County > History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. II > Part 64
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CHARLES A. EMMITT.
Charles A. Emmitt is a representative farmer of Hume township, his home being on section 2. He is numbered among Illinois' native sons, his birth having occurred in Lee county on the 4th of June, 1865. His parents were William and Alice (Teats) Emmitt, the former a native of Canada. born in 1844, and the latter a native of Portland township, Whiteside county, Illinois, born in 1853. William Emmitt was but an infant when brought to the United States by his parents, who lived for a time in Michigan. Wil- liam Emmitt was but fifteen years of age when he come to Sterling and was only a lad of eighteen years when he offered his serviees to the country in defense of the Union cause, enlisting in the Seventy-fifth Illinois Infantry, with which he served for three years. He proved himself a brave and loyal soldier, manifesting courage equal to that of many a veteran of twiee .his years. After receiving an honorable discharge he returned to Sterling, where he married, and then began farming in Whiteside county. He rented land east of Rock Falls for two years and then .with the moncy he had earned purchased a farm in Lee county, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1886. In that year he bought a farm in Whiteside county,
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upon which he resided until 1902, when he retired and removed to Rock Falls, where he and his wife are now living in the enjoyment of the fruits of former toil. He derives a good income from his farming property, owning three hundred and twenty acres of land in Lee county and one hundred and twenty acres in Whiteside county, beside town property in Rock Falls. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Emmitt were born six children: Arthur, now a resident of Sterling; Charles, of this review; William, who is living in Lee county; John, also a resident of that eounty; and Ross and Walter, who make their home in Whiteside county.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Charles Emmitt in his boyhood and youth. He acquired a common- school education and during the winter months pursued his studies, while in the summer seasons he worked in the fields. Thus his time passed in the pleasures of the playground, the duties of the schoolroom and the labors of the farm, and when he put aside his text-books his undivided attention was given to farm work on the old homestead until nineteen years of age, when he removed to the city and secured a position in the Keystone shops. He after- ward worked in different factories in Sterling and also in Chicago but resumed the occupation to which he had been reared in 1894 by renting a farm from his father in Lee county. When his earnings justified his purchase of land he bought his present place of two hundred and eighty acres in 1900. It is a fine farm, situated on the banks of the Rock river, and is appropriately styled the Pond Lily farm. It is well improved, being supplied with modern conveniences and accessories, and herc he carries on general agricultural pur- suits and to some extent engages in stock-raising. He keeps abreast with the most advanced ideas of modern farming and his labors are attended with gratifying results.
On the 23d of January, 1894, Mr. Emmitt was married to Miss Lois Van Dusen, who was born in Saginaw, Michigan, December 21, 1869, and is a daughter of James and Mary (Stewart) Van Dusen. Her father, who was born in the state of New York in 1826, died in 1871, while the mother, who was born in 1838, is now living with Mrs. Emmitt. Mr. Van Dusen was a railroad contractor and on coming to Whiteside county settled in Rock Falls in 1870. He had previously served his country as one of the "boys in blue" of the Union Army. Just a month after Fort Sumter was fired upon he offered his aid, enlisting May 13, 1861, as a member of Company F, Third Michigan Infantry. He remained at the front for three years, was promoted from the ranks to the position of first sergeant and was honorably discharged in Detroit, Michigan, in June, 1864. His health had become greatly impaired by the rigors and hardships of war and he only lived for one year . after coming to Whiteside county. Unto him and his wife were born three children: James, now deceased; Mrs. Emmitt; and Walter, a resident of Chieago.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Emmitt has been blessed with one child, Leroy. The parents are well known in this community and occupy an en- viable position in social circles. Mr. Emmitt votes with the republican party, but has never sought nor desired office. He is classed among that type of
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representative American citizens who are termed "self-made men," for his prosperity has been achieved entirely through his own labors and at the cost of hard, self-denying effort. As the years have gone by he has worked per- sistently and unfalteringly, and in the capable conduet of his business af- fairs is to be found the secret of his present substantial position as an agri- eulturist.
JOHN P. BICKERT.
John P. Bickert, who at different times was closely associated with the agricultural interests of Whiteside county and the commercial development of Morrison, passed from this life on the 26th of October, 1891, leaving be- hind many friends who sincerely mourned his loss. He was born in Fulda, Germany, June 22, 1832, and after spending the first seventeen years of his life in the fatherland crossed the Atlantic to the new world, attracted by the broader business opportunities here offered. For a time he worked as a laborer in Virginia and Pennsylvania, and in the latter state he also learned the trade of shoemaking, which he followed for several years before coming to the middle west. In 1856 he made his way to Illinois, and took up his ' abode in Morrison, having spent a brief period in Sterling. Here he began providing for his own support by working at his trade in the employ of S. W. Johnston, with whom he continued until the spring of 1860. In that year he bought out his employer's business and became a shoe merchant on his own account, conducting his store with success and profit until 1874. In that year he withdrew from the field of commercial activity and bought a farm in Union Grove township, after which he turned his attention to the tilling of the soil. In this he also met with success, annually'gathering good erops, but finally he sold his farm and returned to Morrison. In 1883, in partnership with his son-in-law, H. H. Peterson, he again became engaged in the boot and shoe business and continued therein until 1890, when he re- tired permanently from commercial life, having in the meantime acquired a handsome competence, sufficient to supply him with all of the comforts and some of the luxuries of life. His business methods were at all times straight- forward and reliable, and his marked spirit of enterprise constituted an im- portant element in his financial advancement.
On the 22d of April, 1862, Mr. Biekert was married to Miss Mary Ann Blose, who died February 11, 1864, leaving a daughter, Carrie, who is now the wife of H. H. Peterson, of Morrison. They had five children: John B .; Mary J .; Charles F., deceased; Emerson B .; and Frank A. On the 10th of October, 1879, Mr. Bickert was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Jennie Dufour, who was born in Tompkins county, New York, Oeto- ber 8, 1843, a daughter of George and Ruth Hopkins. Her father was born in Conneetieut and was able to trace his ancestry back to a Hopkins who came to this country in the Mayflower. His father, George Hopkins, served as a soldier in the war of 1812. Stephen A. Hopkins, one of the signers of
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tlic Declaration of Independence, was a great-great uncle of Mrs. Bickert. In 1855 Mrs. Bickert came to the middle west with her aunt, Sarah Chand- ler, who died four days after their arrival in Lee county, Illinois. She then lived with her uncle, Thomas Hopkins, for a number of years. Mrs. Bickert is a lady of cheery disposition and keen intellect, and takes an active and prominent part in social affairs, and is also regarded as one of the leading members of the Eastern Star, the Woman's Relief Corps, and similar organi- zations. As indicated by her ancestral history, she is also eligible to mem- bership in the society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
In addition to his town property, Mr. Bickert owned about five hundred acres of valuable farining land at the time of his death. On the 25th of September, 1891, while superintending the tearing down of a building on his farm, he niet with a serious accident, breaking bones in his right leg and his left ankle, from the effects of which he never recovered. He was a man of sterling worth and held in high esteem by those who knew him. He be- longed to the Masonic fraternity and in politics he was a democrat. On the 26th of October, 1891, he was called to his final rest, when in the sixtieth year of his age. As merchant and farmer he was favorably known in the business circles of the county, and those whom he met socially entertained for him the warmest regard. His life was honorable and upright, and his example well worthy of emulation. Mrs. Bickert still makes her home in Morrison and is a favorite in the social circles of the city.
ROBERT WATT.
Robert Watt devotes his time and energies to farming and stock-raising and also raises hogs on quite an extensive scale. His unceasing activity as the years have gone by finds tangible evidence in his present success, for he is today the owner of an excellent farm of two hundred acres on section 24, Union Grove township, to the cultivation and improvement of which he gives personal supervision. In his life he manifests many of the strongly marked characteristics of the Scottish race, including the fidelity to prin- ciple and the stalwart industry which marks those who come from the land of hills and heather. He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, May, 29, 1850.
His father, John Watt, a native of the same locality, was born in No- vember, 1800, and there resided until sixty-seven years of age, when he came to America and made his way direct to the farm in Union Grove township, Whiteside county, Illinois, upon which Robert Watt is now living. The capital which he brought with him to the new world was invested in forty acres of land and to this he added as opportunity offered and his financial re- sources permitted, making his home upon the farm until his life's labors were ended in death in August, 1894. His study of the political situation of the country and of the position of the two great parties led him to give his support to republican principles. An earnest Christian man, he held membership in the Presbyterian church and served as one of its elders. He
JOHN WATT
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married Miss Margaret Young, who was born in Renfrewshire, Seotland, in 1808, and died in February, 1898, in this county. She was a devoted mem- ber of the Presbyterian church.
Robert Watt had one sister, Mary, who died in early womanhood in 1890. He was reared in Scotland and pursued his edueation in its publie schools. When seventeen years of age he came with his parents to Ameriea and has ever followed in the business footsteps of his father, carrying on the work of the farm in the various departments connected with the cultiva- tion of the fields and the raising of stock. He makes a specialty of Poland China hogs, being known as the leading raiser of this breed in Whiteside county, and he annually feeds a carload, finding a ready sale on the market. A lot of spring pigs, about ten months old, which he sold in 1908 averaged three hundred and seventy-four pounds in weight. His farm is splendidly improved and about two-thirds of it is in grass, surrounded by two miles of hog-proof fenee.
Mr. Watt was married to Miss Grace Jurken, who was born in Olden- burg, Germany, in 1875, and is a daughter of Henry and Margaret (Jerders) Jurken, who arrived in Whiteside county in 1885, settling in Galt. Mrs. Watt is one of a family of eight children, all of whom are residents of this county. By her marriage she became the mother of three children: Mar- garet, ten years of age; Harry, a lad of seven years; and James, who was born in 1907.
Politically Mr. Watt is a republican, but has neither time nor inclina- tion for office. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian ehureh and are held in high esteem in the community, having many warm friends liere.
R. N. HELLIER.
R. N. Hellier owns and operates a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Tampico township. He was born in Bureau county, Illinois, October 29, 1876, and is, therefore, but thirty-two years of age. His parents were Robert and Adwilda Hellier, of whom further mention is made in connec- tion with the sketch of Mrs. Mary C. Hellier on another page of this volume.
R. N. Hellier spent the days, of his boyhood and youth upon his father's farm and acquired a good common-school education, graduating from the high school at Tampico. He was carefully trained in the work of the fields and lessons of industry and integrity were early impressed upon his mind. On starting out in life on his own aecount he rented land, which he culti- vated for three years, and during that time his industry and careful ex- penditure brought him eapital sufficient to enable him to purchase a farm of his own. He then invested in one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 22, Tampico township, where he now resides. This was partially improved and he has further continued the work of development and culti- vation, transforming the place into a valuable property by reason of the carc
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and labor he lias bestowed upon the fields. In all of his farm work he is practical and progressive and accomplishes good results.
In 1898 Mr. Hellier was married to Miss Blanche Fell, who was born in La Salle county, Illinois, in 1875, and is a daughter of Mahlon and Jennie Fell, whose family numbered two children. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hellier have been born three children: Eva Deanc, Evelyn and Robert. The par- ents are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the sup- port of which they contribute generously. Mr. Hellier's political views are in accord with the principles of the democratic party, and in his fraternal relations he is a Mason, belonging to Lodge No. 655, at Yorktown. He has worked diligently and persistently throughout his entire life to secure the success which he is now enjoying, and which has gained liim place among the substantial residents of Tampico township.
THOMAS ROBERTSON.
Among those who were formerly representatives of agricultural life in this county but are now living retired is Thomas Robertson, who for a con- siderable period was closely associated with farming interests herc. He was born in Mount Pleasant township on the 11th of May, 1860, and was one of the thirteen children of Robert and Mary (Boyd) Robertson. The father was a native of Ayrshire, Scotland, and his life record was terminated in death December 15, 1890, when he was in his seventieth year. He crossed the Atlantic to the United States in 1842, and first settled at Prophetstown, Illinois, driving to that place across the country from Chicago. After a brief period there passed he removed to Mount Pleasant, where he bought a claim. Hc had made the journey to the new world in company with his father and mother and he and his father first invested in an eighty acre tract of land. He afterward secured a claim, comprising one hundred and sixty acres, and with characteristic energy and diligence improved the latter, making his home thereon until 1885, when he retired to Morrison, where his remaining days were passed. As an agriculturist he knew what it was to labor persistently and earnestly but found in his intense and well directed activity the secret to success. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and a man of strong religious convictions, who took an active and helpful part in church! work and assisted liberally in building the house of worship of that denom- ination in Morrison. His life was cver upright and honorable in consistent harmony with his professions. His political views were embodied in the principles of the republican party and he held a number of local offices. Hc was higlily respected as a man of sterling principles and of genuine per- sonal worth, whose charitable spirit and kindly disposition gained him the good will of all with whom he came in contact. In early inanhood he wedded Mary Boyd, who was born in Stephenson, Ayrshire, Scotland, and died in 1887 in her sixtieth year. She came to the United States to be mar- ried, having been a neighbor of her husband in her native village. They
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were married the year of her arrival and as the years passed thirteen children were added to the family. The mother was a consistent member of the Presbyterian ehureh and her many good traits of heart and mind won for hier the love and confidenee of those with whom she was associated. Her par- ents were William and Mary Boyd. Of the children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Robert Robertson only four reached years of maturity.
Thomas Robertson was reared to farm life, attended the distriet sehools and throughout his business career carried on agricultural pursuits, remain- ing upon the old homestead farm until December 26, 1906, when he retired to Morrison. However, he still owns the farm property, comprising one hundred and sixty aeres of arable land and eleven aeres of timber land. In lis farm work he was energetie and diligent, carefully cultivating his fields, and as the years passed his labors brought him a desirable financial reward, so that he is now enabled to enjoy life without further recourse to the work of the farm.
On the 20th of November, 1890, was celebrated the marriage of Thomas Robertson and Miss Catherine MeLennan, who was born in Rosshire, Seot- land, April 8, 1869, a daughter of John and Catherine (MeLean) MeLennan. Her father was a farmer and both lie and his wife died in Scotland. Mrs. Robertson came to the United States with an unele in 1888 and here met and married Mr. Robertson. The seven children born of this union are as follows: Mary B., born in 1891; Anna C., who was born in 1893; John T., in 1895; Jean M., in 1897; Luey C., in 1900; Donald G., in 1902; and Bur- dette A., in 1906. The mothier, oldest son and three oldest daughters are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Robertson gives his political allegi- anee to the republican party and has held a number of township offices, wherein he has proved faithful to the trust reposed in him. Always a resi- dent of Whiteside county, he is widely and favorably known and the faet that many of his stanehest friends have been his aequaintanees from boyhood indicates that his has been an upright and honorable eareer.
MILEDEN GREEN WONSER.
In a history of the representative citizens of Whiteside county, past and present, it is essential that mention should be made of Mileden Green Won- ser, who departed this life a quarter of a century ago, yet is well remembered by many of the older settlers as a prominent and worthy pioneer resident who contributed in substantial measure to the early development and progress of the county, instituting measures and movements which have proven of value in the development of this part of the state as the years have gone by.
He was born August 27, 1805, in Hancock, Delaware county, New York, and. died in Erie, Illinois, December 1. 1883. His parents were Jared and Katie (Green) Wonser, the former of Holland Dutch deseent, and the latter of English. Their son, Mileden G. Wonser, was reared and educated in the east, and after arriving at years of maturity was married at Summer Hill, Cayuga county, New York, on the 12th of August, 1832, to Miss Ruth M.
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Churchill, who was born March 12, 1813, in Booneville, Oneida county, New York, and resided in the Empire state until she came with her husband to Illinois. She was a daughter of the Rev. Josiah B. and Octavia (Churchill) Churchill, who were natives of Connecticut and were own cousins, descend- ants of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. The "Churchill mansion" of Weathersfield, Connecticut, was built by Solomon Churchill. The ma- ternal grandfather of Mrs. Wonser was Levi Churchill, one of the heroes of thic Revolutionary war. The Churchill mansion played a conspicuous part in that war, for therein shoes were manufactured for the American soldiers, and Solomon Churchill thus incurred the hatred of the British, and had his annuity cut off. This ancestor of Mrs. Wonser is yet well remembered by her. He was a remarkable man, of strong individuality, and left the im- press of his life upon the community in which he lived and labored. The father of Mrs. Wonser was a Methodist minister and kept his daughter busily employed during her girlhood days in studying the Bible. She lost her mother at the age of seven years, but she always found good friends. Liberal educational privileges were afforded her, and for some time she was a stu- dent in the academy in Cayuga county, New York.
As stated, in 1832 she gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Wonser, and they remained residents of the east until after the birth of two of their children. They then started on their westward way with Ellisville, Fulton county, Illinois, as their destination. They traveled by canal to Buffalo, by way of the Great Lakes to Chicago, and thence by the Illinois river and on with ox-teams to their destination, reaching Fulton county at a period in its history when "Each new family was received as a relative." It was a day when the most kindly and generous hospitality pervaded the pioneer communities. Each settler gladly shared with another in whatever way he could, giving him assistance and sympathy in his efforts to establish a home on the frontier. For several years Mr. and Mrs. Wonser remained in Fulton county, and on the 12th of February, 1848, arrived in Eric, Whiteside county, where Mr. Wonser spent his remaining days. Here he established a general store, erceting a building in which to carry on business. This building was destroyed by fire in 1854, after which he purchased the "railroad store," which he conducted for eight or ten years. In 1860, attracted by gold dis- coverics in Colorado, he went to Pike's Peak, but in the fall of the same year returned to Illinois. He then took up the occupation of farming, but lived in Erie, his land being near the village. He was the owner of sixty- five acres, which he cultivated successfully as the years passed, up to the time of his retirement. In the east he had been a fuller in a cloth mill, and later had learned the brick-maker's trade, which he followed in Ellisville, Illinois, . serving there as foreman in a brickyard. His life was always one of activity, and his well directed energy brought to him a fair measure of success. He had no financial assistance at the outset of his carcer, and worked earnestly and untiringly to provide for liis family, and as time passed gained a com- fortable competence.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wonser were born ten children, of whom five are now living. Octavia Lodusca, who was born June 7, 1833, at Milan, Cayuga
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county, New York, was married October 20, 1852, at Erie, Illinois, to Daniel Tift, who died September 7, 1891. On the 7th of June, 1894, his widow became the wife of Joseph Medhurst, and now resides near Galesburg, Illi- nois. Elizabeth Annette, born October 16, 1835, at Summer Hill, New York, was married in St. Louis, Missouri, October 20, 1851, to Edwin Coburn, who died January 17, 1866, and on the 12th of March, 1867, she became the wife of Elwood Fenton. She is now living in Amador City, California. F. J. M., born May 5, 1838, at Ellisville, was married January 1, 1859, at Erie, Illi- nois, to Julia C. Weaver. He now resides at Tama, Iowa, and his son, Charles, is editor of the Tama Herald of that city. Marcia W., born March 7, 1840, in Ellisville, Illinois, was married in Erie, March 14, 1859, to John D. Fenton, and died April 17, 1906. Charles, born in Ellisville, February 16, 1842, dicd there October 20, 1843. Mileden, born May 16, 1844, in Ellisville, died September 27, 1845. Charlotte Eliza, born May 16, 1846, in Ellisville, died September 12, 1850, in Eric. Kate Luella, born April 20, 1848, in Erie, Illinois, became the wife of John Bushee, October 1, 1866, and died May 13, 1870, in Erie. Colonel D., born October 6, 1850, in Erie, was married October 3, 1869, to Maria Kelley, who now resides in Kansas City, Missouri. Ruth R., born January 23, 1853, in Erie, Illinois, resides with her mother.
Mr. Wonser gave his political allegiance to the whig party until Stephen A. Douglas became the leader of the democracy and the new republican party was formed. He then joined its ranks and continued one of its stalwart supporters until his death. He filled the office of justice of the peaee here for many years, and in Fulton county held the office of sheriff. He also served in many official positions in the village of Eric, and his devotion to the publie good was ever above question. At all times her service was actuated by patriotism and loyalty. After coming to this county he secured forty acres of the present site of Erie and donated the site for the building of the original town. He secured the forty acres as a claim, giving to James Mc- Millan, who was going to the land office to enter a similar amount, the money necessary for the purchase of Mr. Wonser's land. Mr. McMillan entered the entire eighty acres in his name, and when he returned gave Mr. Wonser the deed to forty aeres, but the way in which it was entered does not show Mr. Wonser's name upon the record. Later Mr. Wonser donated seven aeres for a school site. ' It was his desire that this amount should be kept for school purposes, that the school house might have a park around it, but the lots were afterward sold off and the money went into the sehool funds of the township-a sum of one thousand dollars-and Eric today shares in the in- terest of that gift. He also stood for progress and improvement, and his labors were an effective force in promoting the welfare and upbuilding of the county. His ideals of life were high, and he conformed. strictly to them in his actions, so that when he was called to his final rest his death was decply regretted. He lived to be more than seventy-eight years of age, and his wife died, on the 3rd day of April, 1908, at the very advanced age of ninety-five years.
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