Illinois, Crawford County historical and biographical, Part 136

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1058

USA > Illinois > Crawford County > Illinois, Crawford County historical and biographical > Part 136

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Mr. Hutson kept his vow of revenge, for many a redskin fell before his unerring musket. The memory of his wife and children, at sight of an Indian, rendered him a dangerous, daring and reckless foe. How could it be otherwise? Human endurance has its limits, and, driven to desperation, hopeless madness, no wonder that life itself became an offering of small consid- eration.

BIOGRAPHICAL

CHAPTER XVII.

THE PART OF BIOGRAPHY IN GENERAL HISTORY- CITIZENS OF CRAWFORD COUNTY AND OUTLINES OF PERSONAL HISTORY-PERSONAL SKETCHES AR- RANGED IN ENCYCLOPEDIC ORDER.

The verdict of mankind has awarded to the Muse of History the highest place among the Classic Nine. The extent of her office, however, appears to be, by many minds, but imperfectly understood. The task of the historian is compre- hensive and exacting. True history reaches be- yond the doings of court or camp, beyond the is- sues of battles or the effects of treaties, and re- cords the trials and the triumphs, the failures and the successes of the men who make history. It is but an imperfect conception of the philoso- phy of events that fails to accord to portraiture and biography its rightful position as a part- and no unimportant part-of historic narrative. Behind and beneath the activities of outward life the motive power lies out of sight, just as the furnace fires that work the piston and keep the ponderous screw revolving down in the darkness of the hold. So, the impulsive power which shapes the course of communities may be found in the molding influences which form its citizens.

It is no mere idle curiosity that prompts men to wish to learn the private, as well as the public, lives of their fellows. Rather is it true that such desire tends to prove universal brotherhood ; and the interest in personality and biography is not confined to men of any particular caste or voca- tion.

The list of those, to whose lot it falls to play a conspicuous part in the great drama of life, is comparatively short ; yet communities are made up of individuals, and the aggregate of achieve- ments-no less than the sum total of human hap- piness-is made up of the deeds of those men and women whose primary aim, through life, is faith- fully to perform the duty that comes nearest to hand. Individual influences upon human affairs will be considered potent or insignificant, accord- ing to the standpoint from which it is viewed. To him who, standing upon the seashore, notes the ebb and flow of the tides and listens to the sullen roar of the waves, as they break upon the beachi in seething foam, seemingly chafing at their lim- itations, the ocean appears so vast as to need no tributaries. Yet, without the smallest rill that

helps to swell the "Father of Waters," the mighty torrent of the Mississippi would be lessened, and the beneficent influence of the Gulf Stream di- minished. Countless streams, currents and coun- ter currents-sometimes mingling, sometimes counteracting each other-collectively combine to give motion to the accumulated mass of waters. So is it-and so must it ever be-in the ocean of human action, which is formed by the blending and repulsion of currents of thought, of influence and of life, yet more numerous and more tortu- ous than those which form the "fountains of the deep." The acts and characters of men, like the several faces that compose a composite picture, are wrought together into a compact or hetero- geneous whole. History is condensed biography ; "Biography is History teaching by example."

It is both interesting and instructive to rise above the generalization of history and trace, in the personality and careers of the men from whom it sprang, the principles and influences, the impulses and ambitions, the labors, struggles and triumphs that engross their lives.

Here are recorded the careers and achieve. ments of pioneers who, "when the fulness of time had come," came from widely separated sources, some from beyond the sea, impelled by divers motives, little conscious of the import of their acts, and but dimly anticipating the harvest which would spring from the sowing. They built their primitive homes, toiling for a present sub- sistence while laying the foundations of private fortunes and future advancement.

Most of these have passed away, but not before they beheld a development of business and popu- lation surpassing the wildest dreams of fancy or expectation. A few yet remain whose years have passed the allotted three-score and ten, and who love to recount, among the cherished memories of their lives, their reminiscences of early days.

[The following items of personal and family history, having been arranged in encyclopedic (or alphabetical) order as to names of the individual subjects, no special index to this part of the work will be found necessary.]

ADAMS, William C. (deceased), for many years successfully engaged in farming in Mont- gomery Township, Crawford County, was born February 12, 1824, son of Eli Adams, who came of Kentucky pioneer stock, his father William Adanis having settled where Elizabethtown in that State now stands. Eli Adams and his uncle. James Baird, who was later killed by the Indians, came to Crawford County, Ill., in 1810.

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when there were very few settlements, and the Indians and wild beasts were plentiful. Here he married Elizabeth Shaw, who became the mother of thirteen children, all born in Craw- ford County. William C. Adams was educated in the county in the pioneer schools. On March 14, 1850, he married Lowduskey Johnson, born July 27, 1829, daughter of pioneer parents. Mr. and Mrs. Adams became the parents of the fol- lowing children : Sarah E., Elisha Goodwin, Augustus, John Franklin, Sue. Philander and Ida D. Mr. and Mrs. Adams early united with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Adams became the owner of 55S acres of excellent farm- ing land, and operated his property for many years. In politics he was a Democrat and served as School Treasurer for a long period.

ANDERSON, Alexander .- The quota sent by Il- linois to serve in defense of the country during the Civil War was one of the largest of any of the States, in proportion to the population. Thou- sands were literally poured out, and many never returned, but those who did remain to be held in grateful reverence by those who have come after and enjoy the results of the bravery of the veterans. Alexander Anderson is one of those who so risked his life, although he was little more than a lad when he enlisted. He was born in Paris, Edgar County, Ill., April 24, 1844, a son of Jonathan Alexander Anderson, who died in Craw- ford County in 1845, when Alexander Anderson was about a year old. The father was a farmer, and the boy was left an orphan as his mother had died when he was only four weeks old, in Edgar County, in May, 1845. In May, 1844, Jon- athan A. Anderson came to Crawford County, where he remained until his death in the fol- lowing year.

Alexander Anderson attended school in La Motte Township, and on the farm of his brother- in-law in Robinson Township, earned his own living from the time he was twelve years old. On February 18, 1866, Mr. Anderson married Mary E. Donnell, born in Crawford County in 1846, a daughter of Jesse and Rebecca (Harris) Donnell, natives of Tennessee and Illinois, re- spectively. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson had two chil- dren : Alma, born August 30, 1869, died April 17, 1887, in Portland, Oregon, unmarried; Harley, born October 4, 1872, died June 1, 1874, in Robin- son Township. Mrs. Anderson died November 26, 1891. Mr. Anderson married a second time, January 18, 1893, taking as his wife, Rebecca Folck, the Rev. Jackson officiating, the ceremony being performed in the Methodist church. Mrs. Anderson is a daughter of A. S. and Sarah (Fog- well) Folck, natives of Greene County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have had two children : Mary, born March 5, 1897, and Harold Raymond, born September 12, 1901. Mr. Anderson is a Repub- lican, a Methodist in religious belief and has been a member of that denomination for fourteen years, while his wife has belonged to it for twenty-six years. Fraternally he is a member of the I. O. O. F., and of the G. A. R .. Longenecker

Post of Robinson. Mr. Anderson owns three fine farms, consisting of 360 acres, situated in Robin- son and Honey Creek Townships, and he has two substantial houses on his farms. In addition to his residence in Robinson, which is a modern house of eleven rooms on Jefferson Street, he owns two other residences on North Cross Street.

On August 12, 1861, Mr. Anderson enlisted at Robinson. Crawford County, in Company D, Thir- tieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Capt. Thomas Markley commanding. Among the engagements in which he participated were the following: Fort Donelson, Siege of Vicksburg, Kenesaw Mountain, and was in the Siege of Atlanta. He was wounded at Fort Donelson, and was in the Paducah, Ky., hospital : also wounded at Siege of Atlanta, and sent to hospital at Rome, Ga. His service was a gallant one, and he was mus- tered out at Springfield, Ill., in 1865. While he was brave on the battle field, he was equally brave in his battle with life, and has come out a conqueror. Commencing life with absolutely nothing, an orphan, he has gradually worked himself up until he now is a wealthy man, and enjoys in marked degree the confidence and re- spect of his neighbors and friends.

ARMSTRONG, John W .-- The debt owed by the Government and the American people to the vet- eran of the Civil War can never be adequately discharged, for it is one that cannot be over- estimated. But for the loyalty, the patriotism and the bravery of those who never stopped to think of personal safety, there would be no Union, and this country would not to-day rank among the foremost powers of the world. All honor and glory should be given to the veterans of the Civil War. It will not be long that we have any left with us. The ranks are rapidly thin- ning, and while the opportunity is given us to show our reverence and admiration, we ought not to stint either.

Among the veterans of Crawford County is John W. Armstrong, of Section 34, Montgomery Township, who was born in Seneca County, Ohio, February 16, 1839. He is a son of, William Arm- strong, a native of Ireland, who was brought to this country when three years old. His parents and four brothers composed the little party that located in Pennsylvania, where his parents died, and William was adopted by a family in that State and reared to maturity. He came to Sen- eca County, Ohio, after being married in Penn- sylvania, and had a large family. He lived there several years before his death. The eldest of the family worked to keep the family together, and sent the younger to school. When the mother married Joseph Coffelt. April 11, 1856, times were easier. for the step-father took the three younger children with him to Warren County, Ind., and there George, Frances and Jane were reared. Later John W. went to Philo, Ill., where a brother had located. remained one summer, and then returned to Ohio. from whence he en- listed, August 14, 1862, in the One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Leander Steem, with Captain Noble in

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Yours Truly, William l. Jones. 1

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command of his company, which was Company K. From Tiffin, where he enlisted, they were sent to Monroeville, where they were in camp. After three weeks they were ordered to Covington, Ky., where they spent three weeks more, and then went to Louisville, Ky. From there the command followed General Bragg to Chicka- mauga. At the battle of Chickamauga, Mr. Arm- strong was captured and sent to Belle Isle, Rich- mond. where he remained from October 1 to De- cember 20, 1863, and was then sent to the prison at Danvllle, Va., where he was detained until March 16, 1864. On that date he was sent to Andersonville, Ga., and there remained until No- vember, 1864, when he was exchanged and sent to Annapolis, Md., and from there to Camp Chase, Ohio, where he was honorably discharged, June 29, 1865, and was mustered out after his gallant and trying service. During his active service, Mr. Armstrong participated in the following bat- tles : Perryville and Hoover's Gap, Ky .; Stone River, Tenn .; Chickamauga and numerous skir- mishes.

. Mr. Armstrong spent the year following his discharge in Seneca County, Ohio, and then en- gaged in farming on 130 acres of rented land in that county. On February 5. 1867, he married Sarah Ann Feasel, a daughter of George and Jane (Anderson) Feasel, farmers of Seneca County, Ohio. After marriage Mr. Armstrong remained on the same farm, but later bought eighty acres and engaged in farming in conjunc- tion with his rented property. He continued there until 1886 when he came to Montgomery Township, Crawford County, and purchased his present farm. His first farm consisted of 156 acres, 25 acres of which he has cleared. The barn was built by him and he has put enough repairs and improvements on his house to have built a new one, but the result is very satis- factory. He has added 74 acres to his home- stead, which is a very valuable property. Having earned all he owns through his own efforts, Mr. Armstrong naturally is proud of the results he has attained, and takes a great deal of pleasure out of his fine farm and comfortable home. He and his wife dispense a cheery hospitality, and their many friends delight to visit them. Mr. Armstrong has been a hearty supporter of Re- publican principles ever since the formation of the party. His first vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln, and he has voted for the candidates of his party ever since and rejoices in every triumph it achieves. While in Ohio he was Township Trustee for three years and made a good official. He takes great pleasure in recalling the stirring events of his . war experience, and he has every reason to be proud of what he did. His service was faithful ; he never shirked a duty or showed the white feather but was as good a soldier as he has been a private citizen. Such men as he are too few and his type are dying out, but there are still some left to share with him the respect and confidence of a grateful country.

Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong have had two chil- dren : Orville F., whose farm joins his father's

on the north; and Amanda, who died when five months old. Orville F. married Nora Iliff and they have three children, one boy and two girls.

ARNOLD, William Wright .- It is always grati- fying to a man to come to the realization that he is ranked among the foremost members of his chosen profession, but to attain that position by the time he has reached his thirtieth year is an honor which comes to but few. Such, however, has been the case with William Wright Arnold, a well known member of the Crawford County Bar, practicing at Robinson, Ill., where he is also prominent in business and financial circles. Mr. Arnold was born October 14, 1878, at Oblong, Crawford County, son of Berzelius Mitchell and Mary Catherine (Baker) Arnold, who emigrated to Crawford County, Ill., from Perry County, Ohio, about 1870, in a prairie schooner. Ber- zelius M. Arnold was born in 1849 near Reading, Ohio, and died at Oblong, Ill .. July 22, 1888, his life having been spent as a merchant and stock dealer. Mr. Arnold's mother, who was born in Perry County, Ohio, in 1849, is now residing at Robinson, Ill.

William Wright Arnold first attended the pub- lic schools of his native place, and then entered the Robinson High School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1898, although in the meantime he had spent about one year at Austin College, Effingham, Ill. Subsequently he entered the University of Illinois, and in 1901 graduated from the Law Department of that institution with the degree of LL. B. For one year he taught a public school in Crawford County and read law in the office of W. C. Jones during the vacation months, and in October, 1901. was ad- mitted to the Illinois Bar, beginning practice the first of the following month as a member of the firm of Jones, McCarty & Arnold. He ranks high among the members of his profession in this sec- tion, and is regarded as a public-spirited citizen, ready at all times to give of his best efforts to movements calculated to benefit the community. In business circles he is also well known, being a member of the Robinson Chamber of Commerce, of which he is a Director, and holding a Ilke po- sition with the Farmers' and Producers' Bank. His polities are those of the Democratic party and he is a member of the Democratie County Central Committee. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church and fraternally Is a member of the following Masonic bodies : Robinson Lodge, No. 250, Harmony Chapter, R. A. M .; Gorin Com- mandery, No. 14, Knights Templar. Olney ; Ori- ental Consistory. Chicago, and Medinah Temple, Mystic Shrine, Chieago. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows, Robin- son Lodge, and is a member of his college fra- ternity. the Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

ATHEY, J. T. (deceased), for many years well known in Crawford County. Ill., as one of the farmers and stockmen of Licking Township. was born in Frederick County. Md., son of Rob- ert and Louisa (Smith) Athey. in 1831. His

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father was born in Prince William County, Md., in 1801, and the latter probably in the same county, in 1810. They removed to Licking County, Ohio, where the mother died in 1835. They had three children : James T., William and Milton. In 18SS the father married Mary Roberts and they had seven children. In 1850 the father moved to Illinois, settling in Hutsonville Town- ship, Crawford County, where he bought 200 acres of land. Coming to Illinois when a young man, James T. Athey was married in 1855 to Uretta S. Baker, by whom he had the follow- ing family : George, Henry, Clarissa, Mary and an infant who died unnamed. Mrs. Athey dying, in July, 1882, Mr. Athey married Elvina Simms, daughter of Conrad and Charity (Shook) Simms. Mr. and Mrs. Simms had four sons and four daughters who settled in the vicinity of their parents. Mr. Athey became the owner of 220 acres of land in Licking Township, and was one of the substantial men of his community.

ATHEY, Robert D .- Farming and stock-raising have always been kindred and very profitable lines of business activity, especially in those states fitted by location, soil and climatic conditions for the successful prosecution of them. Crawford County, Ill., located as it is in the Wabash Valley, is particularly fitted for the development of exten- sive agricultural interests, and many of the lead- ing men of this locality are thus engaged. Among those who have been particularly successful in this line may well be mentioned Robert D. Athey, farmer and stockman of Section 18, Crawford County. He was born in Licking County, Ohio, March 12, 1848, a son of Thomas Lewis Athey, who was born May 16, 1803, in Fauquier County, Va., where he was reared and educated and where he married Mary Elizabeth Thompson.

Thomas L. Athey, son of Elijah Athey, and father of Robert D., was a cooper by trade, and worked at that occupation in Virginia until he was about thirty years old. He then moved to Licking County, Ohio, and there continued to follow his trade for seventeen years. He had been married in Virginia in 1831 to Mary Eliza- beth Thompson, and they became the parents of the following children : Franklin, born August 19, 1836, died in 1903; William H., born in De- cember, 1839; Thomas George,, born October 16, 1841; Jane, born January 23, 1835; Minerva, born August 12, 1845; Robert D., born March 12, 1848. The mother of these children died in Ohio just before her husband removed to Illinois. Thomas Athey married in 1856, Mrs. Virginia Lichliter, widow of William Lichliter, and they became the parents of three sons : Alpheus L., born December 16, 1856; Marshall E., born July 28, 1858, and Willis Riley, born June 18, 1863. The last named was killed by a falling tree. His brother, Robert D. Athey heard him cry out, and hurried to his assistance, but was hor- rified to find him lying beneath the tree, badly injured, and he died three days later as the re- sult of his injuries.

Thomas Athey came to Crawford County, Ill.,

in 1851, first locating at Eaton, that county, where he bought 100 acres of unimproved land, upon which he first built a log house 18 x 20 feet. After living there about three years, the elder son, Franklin, sold the farm to David Urnstat.

Robert D. Athey was about three years old when his father came to Crawford County, and attended school for about six months in his lite, being forced to begin working as soon as he was old enough to be useful. He remained with his father until he was sixteen, and then worked by the month for his cousin, W. F. Athey, with whom he remained until his marriage, November 9, 1871, to Felicia Bennett, a daughter of James Bennett, and a native of Crawford County, to which locality her father had come from New York State at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Athey have had two children: Walter Scott and an infant who died at birtb, the mother dying at the same time. Mrs. Athey was born January 21, 1851, her death occurring June 5, 1878. Mr. Athey had rented a farm from his cousin when he married, and on it his first wife died. This cousin built a house on the property for Mr. Athey. For two years following his wife's death, Mr. Athey lived on this farm. He was then married to Emily J. Steinbaugh, widow of Henry Steinbaugh, and a daughter of John and Elizabeth Newlin. Mr. and Mrs. Athey (second) became the parents of the following children : Mary E., born January 9, 1881 ; Rob- ert David, born January 4, 1883, died October 12, 1889; Valmore, born March 19, 1885; Laura, born June 4, 1887; Catherine, born December 10, 1889, and an infant, born January 9, 1891, died January 17, 1891. The second Mrs. Atbey died November 11, 1902, and in 1903 he married a sister of his second wife, and now Mrs. Ada- line Athey.

Since his last marriage Mr. Athey has re- sided upon the farm belonging to his pres- ent wife. It is located in Prairie Township, and on it the first oil well in Crawford County was opened. The event drew crowds from a wide extent of country. There are now seven oil wells on the place in addition to three gas wells that supply the city of Robinson with gas. .

Besides being the place on which oil was first discovered in Crawford County, this farm has been the scene of a number of remarkable events. On one occasion it was visited by a cyclone which took off the root of the house, but left the family sitting inside unharmed. It also tore off a shingle and drove it through the limb of a tree about an inch in diameter, which is still pre- served as a curiosity at Annapolis.

Mr. Athey has been a member of the Chris- tian Church for twenty-seven years, and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows of Annapolis, Ill. He has always been a Democrat, and held the office of Supervisor of Crawford County for four years. He had charge of the county farm during the latter part of his administration, and was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for two years. He is one

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of the most substantial and reliable men of Crawford County, and is highly respected by all who know him.

A matter of interest in connection with the history of the Athey family, is the fact that Thomas Athey was a member of the band which he helped to organize and which welcomed Lafayette when he visited Illinois and portions of the East and South in 1825.

ATHEY, Thomas George .- The farming inter- ests of Crawford County, Ill., are very strong, for it is located in a very fertile part of the State, and the results of farming operations are very satisfactory. Illinois is a great agricul- tural State so that there are very many of its citizens engaged in farming, and they are num- bered among the most intelligent, as well as most progressive of its men.

Thomas George Athey of Section 6, Prairie Township, Crawford County, is an excellent example of the prosperous Illinois farmer of today. He was born in Licking County, Ohio, October 16, 1841, and was ten years old when his father came to Crawford County. He had entered school in Ohio, and continued to at- tend school in his new home. The name of the old school house, built of logs, to which he first went in Crawford County, was the Thompson School. This was burned and a new one was erected within forty rods of his father's farm. He had to walk a mile to attend the first school, but the new one was very convenient. During his vacations and after school he helped his father until he was fourteen years old, and then began working for Holliday Newlin, with whom he continued four months, when he was taken ill and returned home to recover. His next employer was Dr. Hill, who was also a farmer. Mr. Athey remained at this place through the winter, then worked at home, cutting timber and hauling logs six miles, delivering them along the line of a proposed fence. In the spring these logs were split and the fences made,

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Illinois, Crawford County historical and biographical, Part 136

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1058

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1058