USA > Illinois > Bureau County > Past and present of Bureau County, Illinois : together with biographical sketches of many of its prominent and leading citizens and illustrious dead > Part 21
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His grandfather, George Gunkel was born in Butler county, Ohio, October 16, 1814, and was a son of John and Catherine ( Beakles) Gunkel, who were natives of Pennsylvania and were of Ger- man descent. George Gunkel wis reared upon a farm in Ohio to the age of seventeen years, when he began learning the wheelwright's trade, which he afterward followed for nine years. He then took up carpentering, and was identified with building interests until after he came to this coun- ty. For two years after leaving Ohio he was a resident of Carroll county, Indiana, and subse- quently he resided in Tippecano, county Indiana,
until his removal to Bureau coun y in 1856. The following year he erceted a business house for him- self in Sheffield and established a general mer- cantile store, which he conducted until his death, making him the oldest business man of Sheffield in years of continuous connection with commercial interests. He also conducted a lumber business for a number of years, and was thus an active factor in the trade cireles of the town, while his reputa- tion in business circles placed him among the fore- most of those who have the unqualified confidence of the trading public. Moreover he was both the architect and builder of his own fortunes. for he started out in life empty-handed, placing his de- pendence upon His energy, firm resolution and willingness to work.
George Gunkel was married in Indiana, Febru- ary 24, 1831, to Miss Sarah Isley, who was born near Dayton, Ohio, while her parents were natives of Virginia and of German descent. They had two children : Daniel A. and Catherine, the latter the widow of Charks HI. Boyden and a resident of Sheffield. The mother died May 14, 1985. and the father's death occurred in November of the same year.
Daniel A. Gunkel, who became his father's sue- cessor in business, was born in Indiana, July 24, 1840, and was educated in the public schools of that state and of Sheffield. He then joined his father in business, and after the latter's death conducted the store until his death, maintaining his place as a leading and representative merchant of the city. Ile built a two-story brick block in 1888, twenty-six by one hundred feet, upon the site of his father's store, and he kept in touch with the trend of modern progress along eommer- cial lines. He was a valued and prominent inein- ber of Ames lodge, No. 142, A, F. and A. M., in which he filled all the chair's, and he also held membership with the Modern Woodmen of America.
Daniel A. Gunkel was married January 1, 1865, to Annie A. Blake, of Concord, New Hampshire, who was born December 11, 1845, a daughter of Charles W. Blake, a merchant of Boston, Massa- chusetts, and of Concord, New Hampshire. Mr. Gunkel departed this life February ?3, 1895, and his wife died March 5, 1906.
Charles W. Gunkel, their only son, born Sep- tember 25, 1864, was educated in the Sheffield schools and a business college at Davenport, Iowa, and thus qualifiedl for the responsibilities of a busi- ness career ho joined his father in the store, which they conducted together until the death of Daniel A. Gunkel. Ile was afterward with a partner for two years, at the end of which time the stock was divided and Mr. Gunkel carried on general mer- ehandising alone until 1900, when he retired from the trade, his attention now being devotol to the supervision of his invested interests.
On the 20 of September, 1899, was celebrated the marriage of C. W. Gunkel and Miss Ada
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Sophia Wood, of Sheffield, who was born July 21, 1869, a daughter of Jasper Wood, mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Gunkel now have one child, Woodwar! William, born April 15, 1891. Mr. Gunkel is a Mason, belong- ing to Ames lodge, No. 112. at Sheffield, and to the chapter No. 28 and commandery No. 20, at Princeton. He is now treasurer of the lodge, hav- ing succeeded his father, who had filled the posi- tion for years. Unlike in detail and environment, owing to the changing conditions of the times, there has nevertheless been much that is similar in the lives of the three Gunkels who have been so prominently identified with the commercial ac- tivity and the growth and prosperity of Sheffield. All have been reliable, enterprising business men, interested in the development of the city to the extent of giving hearty co-operation to many move- ments for the public good, and they have wrought along lines worthy of emulation.
JOSEPHI A. BRIGHTAM.
Joseph A. Brigham, now living in Princeton, is a retired farmer and a representative of a pioneer family of 1832. His birth occurred in Dover township, Bureau county, in 1861, his parents being Joseph H. and Jane Elizabeth ( Mercer) Brigham, the former a native of New Hampshire, and the latter of Ohio. In 1832 Joseph MI. Brig- ham with one of his brothers and their father, Joseph Brigham, came to Putnam county, Illi- nois, where they lived until after the Black Hawk war. In 1833 they removed to Bureau county, where Joseph Brigham, Sr., secured a farm of one hundred and sixty acres from the government. This land is still in possession of the family, being now owned by Joseph Brigham of this review. The journey to Illinois from New Hampshire had been made by team and canal, and they were cleven weeks upon the way. Joseph H. Brigham was then a youth of ten years. The country was at that time a vast prairie and wilderness and only here and there had the seeds of civilization been planted, as some venturesome settler or pioneer had made his way through the borders of civiliza- tion in the older cast and taken up his abode upon the frontier to aid in reclaiming it for the uses of the white race. Joseph Brigham, Sr., was at one time a member of the legislature in New Hampshire and was a prominent and influential citizen well fitted for leadership. He left the in- press of his individuality upon the carly develop- ment of this section of the state and through his farming interests contributed to-its material prog- ress. Joseph II. Brigham, reared upon the fron- - tier amid pioneer environments, was educated in the common schools, enjoying such advantages as were to be had at that time. He spent his entire life from the age of ten years upon what is known as the old Brigham homestead and there his death
occurred October 11, 1898, when he was seventy- six years of age, for 1823 was his natal year. IT .. became the owner of the old home farm, where his father settled, and he lived upon that place from 1835, when the house was built there, until his death. He erected the residence which is now standing and also a large brick dwelling, which is one of the finest country homes in the county. The farm is well improved and its boundaries have been extended until it now comprises three hun- dred acres of very rich and productive land, being considered one of the best farms of the county. It lies on sections 22, 21 and 26, Dover township, and no equipment of a model farm is there lack- ing. In his political allegiance Joseph H. Brig- ham was always a republican, unfaltering in his advocacy of the principles of the party, and he held all of the township offices, including that of supervisor. In early manhood he wedded Miss Jane Elizabeth Mercer, who came to Ilinois from Ohio during the pioneer epoch in the history of this state. This union was blessed with seven children, four of whom survive, namely : Sylvester, who is retired and lives in Princeton ; Mrs. Sarah Kissick, whose home is north of Princeton: Jo- seph .A .; and Mrs. Eliza Bartley. of southern Kan- sas. The mother of these children died in 1811 and Mr. Brigham afterward married Carrie Dun- bar, of Bureau county, Ilinois. They became the parents of two children: Charles, now of Iowa ; and Curtis, of Kansas.
Joseph A. Brigham, whose name introduces this record, was reared upon the home farm, completed his education in the Princeton high school and throughout his entire life has followed farming and stock-raising. with the exception of a year or two spent in Chicago, where he was engaged in the real estate business. He is a breeder of fine Hereford cattle, Jersey red hogs and fine draft horses. He employs a man upon the farin, which is located four and a half miles from Princeton, but he gives to the work his personal supervi- sion, and is an active, energetic agriculturist of sound business judgment and progressive spirit.
In January, 1896, Mr. Brigham was married to Miss Martha Virden, a daughter of Edward Rop and Anna (Thompson) Virden. The father was born in Norwich, Muskingum county, Ohio, March 23. 1836, and is a son of Jerome and Sarah ( Fleming) Virden, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The father was for years engaged in the shoe business in his native state but later became a contractor on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. doing work along the hills of the Ohio river. Upon the completion of the contract he removed with his family to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, making the journey by team, and there he and his wife died many years ago. Edward Roe Virdon spont his boyhood and youth in Ohio. anl in 15! ar- companied his parents on their removal to Mount Pleasant. Jowa. After a year. however, he came to Princeton ou a visit to his uncle. B. Laird, a
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druggist of that city, and decided to remain. Ile secured a situation as clerk in the hardware store of A. S. & E. C. Chapman and continued in their employ for six years. Later he purchased an in- terest in the store and afterward became sole proprietor, conducting the business successfully until he sold out in 1866. In 1862 he enlisted in the army for one hundred days' service as a mem- ber of Company A, Sixty-ninth Regiment of Illi- nois Volunteers, and was commissioned lieutenant. On the expiration of that period he returned home but in 1864 he raised a company at Princeton, which became Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers. He was commissioned captain of this company and with the regiment was mustered into service at Peoria in June, 1864. He was actively engaged in duty in Missouri and Kentucky, following Gen- eral Price, who was making a raid through those states. He served out his term of enlistment and returned home, having been mustered out in No- vember, 1861. In 1826 Captain Virden and Cap- tain Clark Grey purchased the controlling interest in the Farmers National Bank at Princeton, which had been organized a year or two before. Mr. Vir- den became president and Captain Grey cashier. The dividends of the bank had about paid for the original stock and Captain Virden surrendered his presidency in 1891. He also dealt in real estate quite largely and was the owner of between five and six thousand acres of land in Kansas and Nebraska, together with about three hundred acres in Bureau county, Illinois. Politically he was a stanch republican and was a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity.
On the 26th of April. 1860, Mr. Virden was married to Miss Anna Thompson, of Cambridge. Ohio, and the marriage was graced with four chil- dren, but their only son, E. L., died at the age of seventeen years. The daughters are: Nellie R., the wife of Charles Sapp. of Wyanet township, Bureau county ; and Martha and Mary, twins, the former the wife of Mr. Brigham. Mr. Virden died July 19, 1901, and his widow is still living with her daughter Mary in Princeton. Ile was a man of excellent business capacity, reliable and straightforward in all his dealings, and in citizen- ship in days of peace he manifested the same loy- alty which he displayed when upon the battlefields of the south.
Mr. and Mrs. Brigham have one daughter, Dor- othy May, born March 18, 1898. They hold mem- bership in the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is acting as an usher, as a member of the church board, as assistant superintendent of the Sunday school and as president of the Epworth League. Hle is an untiring and zealous worker in the church, doing much for its advancement, growth and influence, and his labors are effective and far reaching. In politics he is a republican and is now serving as alderman of the fourth ward in Princeton. He is a man of broad mind
and liberal thought, who recognizes that man's activities should touch the various interests of so- ciety, and he has thus become a factor in the ma- terial, political and moral progress of his com- munity. Ile resides at No. 226 Elm street, in Princeton, where he owns one of the beautiful homes of the city.
ALBERT BONNELL ..
Among the representatives of the farming inter- ests of Bureau county is Albert Bonnell, who was born in La Moille. August 1, 1856. His parents were Silas and Mary Ann (Smith) Bonnell. The father, whose birth occurred in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, came to Bureau county in 1851, bringing with him his family. He had been mar- ried in 1842 to Miss Mary Ann Smith, also a native of Bedford county, and as the years passed ten children were born unto them, of whom Albert is the seventh in order of birth. The father and three of the sons served in the Civil war, and only one returned, the others giving their lives in de- fense of the Union cause upon the altar of their country.
Albert Bonnell, reared in the county of his nativity, is indebted to its publie school system for the educational privileges he enjoyed in his boy- hood and youth. He was early left fatherless, and in his minority his portion was largely that of hard and unremitting labor. After he attained man's estate he sought a companion and helpmate for life's journey, and was married to Miss Julia A. Craft, who was born in Stark county, Illinois, February 15, 1858, and died on the 10th of May, 1881. They became the parents of two children, of whom one died in infancy, while Mrs. Ida Ross still survives.
In order to provide for his family Mr. Bonnell followed farming, and is now the owner of one hundred and fifty and a half acres of choice land, upon which are substantial buildings, standing in the midst of fine shade trees, which add to the value and beauty of the place. His farm com- prises one of the fine locations of the county, and is attractive in its neat and thrifty appearance. Mr. Bonnell is now engaged in raising Poland China hogs, and also buys and feeds cattle, using the products of his fields in this way.
He votes with the republican party, and in re- ligious faith is a Methodist, belonging to the church of that denomination in La Moille. Truly a self-made man, he gained his start in the busi- ness world by working by the month as a farm hand, and after making purchase of land he labored diligently and persistently, allowing no obstacle to bar his path if it could be overthrown by industry and determination. He is today one of the leading and prosperous farmers of the coun- ty, and is a man trusted and esteemed by friends and neighbors. He is assessor of his township at
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the present writing and has been school director for a number of years. The cause of education finds in him a warm and stalwart friend, and he withholds his support from no movement for the general good. He has ably fought life's battles and has come off victor in the strife, and today he possesses not only a good farming property, but also an honorable name, his record being in har- mony with his professions as a member of the church.
JAMES WAUGH.
James Waugh is now living retired in Prince- ton. For many years he was one of the best known stockmen, not only of Bureau county but of cen- tral Illinois as well, and the extent and impor- tance of his business interests in this connection gained him a place among the substantial resi- dents of the county, bringing to him a measure of prosperity that now enables him to leave the more arduous duties of an active business career to others, while he enjoys a well earned rest.
His natal day was November 19, 1833, and the place of his birth Somerset county, Pennsylvania. His parents, James and Elizabeth Jane ( Parks) Waugh, removed from West Virginia to Pennsyl- vania at an early day and the father served as a soldier in the war of 1812, while both the pater- nal and maternal grandfathers of our subject were soldiers of the Revolutionary war. On going to the Keystone state James Waugh, Sr., became in- terested in stage lines there in early days before the era of railroad transportation and was one of the stockholders in the old stage line operating between Philadelphia and Pittsburg. He was con- nected with that business there for several years and on coming to the west he brought with him some of the old stages that had been used in that section of the country. Locating in Springfield, Illinois, he operated a stage line between that eity and Chicago for several years and on selling out he removed to Peru, La Salle county, Illinois, where he purchased the old National Hotel, which he began conducting. At the same time he also operated quite extensively in land, which he bought and sold. He was very successful in both lines of business for several years or until he made a large loan of twenty-two thousand dollars to an old friend, who swindled him out of this amount, so that he lost most of his earnings of former years. He still retained large landed in- terests but, this being unimproved property, he derived no income therefrom. He left Peru and went to Lost Grove in La Salle county, twelve miles from Peru, purchasing all of the land at that grove, where he owned an entire seetion. His house and another dwelling were the only ones in that vicinity and at one time Daniel Webster was entertained at the Waugh home. With character- istic energy Mr. Waugh set to work to retrieve his lost possessions, cleared his land and began
farmning. He also became interested in the old plank road between Peru and Dixon and, making his home at Lost Grove, he carried on general farming and stock-raising there until his death, which oceured in 1862, while his wife survived un- til 1863. There were fourteen children in their family, nine of whom are now deceased. Most of them died in California save one son, who was murdered in this state. Of the five living mem- bers of the family three daughters reside in Los Angeles, California, while Rankin is engaged in the live-stock commission business in Chicago.
James Waugh, whose name introduces this rec- ord, attended the publie schools of Peru, where he acquired a liberal education. After removing to Lost Grove he assisted his father on the farm and when only a boy he began dealing in stock himself, buying and trading and making ship- ments to the Chicago markets. As the years passed by he increased his operations in that line and en- gaged in business in the vicinity of his old home until 1857, when he went west to California, lo- eating in the southern part of that state, where he was engaged in the stock business and in mining for five years. In 1862 he returned to llipois and settled in Princeton, where he began to buy and ship stock. Also noting a good opening for a meat market in Princeton, he established a busi- ness of that character and at one time owned and conducted two markets here, employing several men in the conduet of the business. Ile traveled all over Burean county and this part of the state for many years, buying eatile and other stock, and at one time was regarded as the best judge of stock in Burean county. During this period he also owned two meat markets in Elmwood, Peoria county, Illinois, which he conducted for a few years, carrying on an extensive business in all of his retail establishments.
Mr. Waugh was married in Chicago to Miss Elizabeth Wood, a native of Wyoming county, New York, and a daughter of Lewis and Soph- ronia Wood, who were natives of the Empire state and in 1815 removed to Illinois. For a short time they lived in Chicago and then became residents of Dupage county, Illinois, making the overland trip with ox teams. For four years they resided upon a farm in that county and then came to Bu- reau county, where Mr. Wood purchased a farm in Dover township, carrying on general agricul- tural pursuits there until his death in 1863, at. the age of forty-seven years. Mrs. Wood died in Malden at the advanced age of eighty years. She had two sons in the army, one of whom was in- jured at he front and died while in the hospital at Covington, Kentucky. Mrs. Wood went south to care for him, remaining across the river from Covington at Cincinnati, and while there she boarded in General Grant's home.
Mr. and Mrs. Waugh became the parents of six children, of whom two are now living. Fred, who married Ida Burns of Kankakee, Illinois. now
JAMES WAUGIL.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF BUREAU COUNTY.
lives in Davenport, Iowa, where he is manager of the T. A. Wood creamery. Gertrude is the wife of Henry A. Mead, manager for the Interna- tional Salt Company in Chicago. Those deceased are: Grace, who died at the age of eighteen years and six months; one who died unnamed in in- fancy ; Bertha, who passed away when eight months ohl; and Katie when four months ohl.
Mr. Waugh continued to engage in the stock business in this county until 1900, when he de- termined to put aside the arduous duties and la- bors of an active business career and live retired, but indolence and idleness are utterly foreign to his nature and he cannot content himself without some business interests. Hle therefore travels to some extent over the county and does a little buy- ing and selling. He has never cared for public office nor has he held positions of political prefer- ment. He votes with the democracy where na- tional questions are involved, but at local elections casts an independent ballot. This work would be incomplete without the record of the Waugh fam- ily, one of the most prominent of Bureau county, for during many years Mr. Waugh has been a most successful business man and a recognized leader in live-stock interests. He owns a nice home at No. 404 South Pleasant street, where he and his wife reside, and the labors of his former years make it possible for him to enjoy all of life's comforts and many of its luxurics, while his career demonstrates the possibilities of the simultaneous attainment of success and an hon- ored name.
ILARMON E. CURTIS.
Conducting business interests in harmony with modern ideas of commercial progress, watchful of every opportunity pointing to success, and utilizing every honorable means at hand for the develop- ment of his trade interests, Harmon E. Curtis is now meeting with merited prosperity as a dealer in lumber, building materials and coal in Tiskila. He has thus been identified with the commercial interests of the town since December, 1899, and is the only lumber dealer here.
One of Bureau county's native sons, his birth occurred in Sheffield in 1851, his father being James M. Curtis, now deceased. He was born at Schaghticoke, Renuselaer county, New York, An- gust 2, 1822, a son of Daniel and Mehitable ( Mas- ters) Curtis, also natives of the Empire state. They removed to Otsego county, New York, about 1823, but in 1837 returned to the vicinity of their old home in Rensselaer county. A farmer by oc- cupation, Daniel Curtis followed that pursuit in order to provide a livelihood for his family, con- tinuously carrying on the work of the fields save for the period of his service as a soldier of the war of 1812. He died in New York, while his wife passed away in Davenport. Fowa, when nearly eighty-seven years of age. In their family were
nine children: Erastus, Abraham, James MI., Mark D., Harmon H., Phineas, Robert C., Maria and Cynthia C.
James M. Curtis was reared upon a farm in the Empire state, and at the age of sixteen years began working for others at a salary of seven dollars per month, which was given for the support of the family. Hle afterward returned to the home place and assisted in the cultivation of his father's farm until he reached the age of twenty years. His ed- ucation was acquired in the public schools of New York and in the academy at West Poultney, Ver- mont, so that he was well fitted for teaching. which occupation he began following when nineteen years of age. The year 1818 witnessed his arrival in Illinois, at which time he located in Adams county, where he had two uncles living. For three winter seasons and one summer he was engaged in teach- ing school there, and in the fall of 1849 joined his brother Mark on a prospecting tour for land. They proceeded by steamboat from Quincy to St. Louis and thence to Peoria, where they started on foot for a trip through Burcan county, and after choos- ing a location they walked to Dixon, where the government land office was located. They made their entries and thence proceeded in the same manner of travel to Quincy. Their selection was a section of land in Concord township, the claim of James Curtis covering the southeast quarter of section 18 and the southwest quarter of section 17, while his brother secured the northeast and north- west quarters of the same sections. In the spring of 1849 they had taken a trip into Iowa to see the country, walking from Quincy to Nauvoo, where they crossed the river and thence proceeded on foot to Muscatine, where they embarked on a steamer for Quincy.
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