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 45
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To his first purchase of land James G. Lord has added from time to time until he now owns two hundred and forty acres, constituting a splendid-
ly improved property. Ile has engaged extensive- ly in raising cattle and hogs and has always been very successful in this work. Ile is now practi- cally retired, while his sons carry on the labor of the farm.
In 1832 Mr. Lord was married to Miss Harriet Parr, who was born in England in 1826, a daugh- ter of Thomas Parr. They have four children : Eliza, the wife of B. A. Labryn, of Chicago, by whom she has a son and daughter; James, who is the owner of a fine orange ranch in California; George, who is living near his father and has four daughters and an adopted son ; and Lawrence, who also lives near the old homestead and has two sons and three daughters.
Mr. Lord votes with the republican party, of which he has been a stalwart advocate since cast- ing his first presidential vote for Fremont. He has been school director and clerk for twenty-five years and the cause of education finds in him a warm and helpful friend. Ile was also commis- sioner of public highways for many years and has been solicited to hold other offices but would never aecept, his ambition not being in the line of office holding. He and his wife have led a very active life and as the result of their former toil and capable management they are now most comforta- bly situated upon their farm, which is four miles from Bradford. They have seen many changes since first coming here and Mr. Lord is one of the few old settlers who ean tell from personal cx- perience events which have left their impress upon the history of the county and have aided in mold- ing its destiny. He has now passed the seventy- sixth milestone on life's journey and he enjoys the respeet of young and old, rich and poor.
GEORGE OTTOSON.
Among the representatives of Scandinavian race to whose efforts may be largely attributed the growth, development, progress and prosperity of Manlius township, is numbered George Ottoson, who was born in Denmark, January 12, 1844. His parents were Otto and Hannah (Jenson) Otto- son, who spent their entire lives in Denmark. There their son George was reared and educated and, attraeted by the opportunities of the new world, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States in 1872, when twenty-eight years of age, coming direct to Bureau county. He first located at Shef- field, and for about eight years was employed at farm labor in this county, during which time he saved from his earnings a sum sufficient to justify his purchase of eighty acres of land in Manlius township. Hle then began farming on his own ae- count and now has a good property.
Mr. Ottoson was married February 8, 1880, to Miss Anna Jacobson, a daughter of John and Lena Johnson, of Lolland, Denmark, the former a mil- ler by occupation. Mrs. Ottoson came to America
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in 1818 and following their marriage the young couple began their domestie life upon the farmn which has since been their home. The union has been blessed with two children but they lost their son, John Charles, who was born on the 13th of January, 1881, and died on the 18th of February of the same year. Their daughter, Hannah II., was married February 14, 1906, to Peter D. Han- son, of Fairfield township.
Mr. and Mrs. Ottoson hold membership in the Danish Lutheran church of Sheffield and are well known farming people of the community, living a quiet life, yet through the conduet of his busi- ness interests and the faithful performance of each day's duties Mr. Ottoson is making a eredita- ble record and contributing to that general stabili- ty and progress which results from the eoneerted efforts of the business men of the county.
PETER NELSON.
An important element in the citizenship of Manlius township and this part of the county is that which has been furnished by Sweden, "the home of the honest man." The sons of that country have always been noted for their industry and therefore prove important factors in devel- oping the natural resources of any locality where they chance to settle. Mr. Nelson was born in Hesslehohm, Sweden, September 22, 1846, his parents being Nels and Mary (Olson) Peterson. The father, a farmer by occupation, always fol- lowing that pursuit in order to provide for his family, was born in 1818 and died in 1899, while his wife, whose birth also occurred in 1818. passed away in 1901.
Their son Peter spent his boyhood days in his native country and retained his residence there to the age of twenty-three years, when in 1869 he erossed the briny deep to the new world and made his way at once into the interior of the country. reaching Moline, Illinois, on the 2d of June. Here he was first employed at laying the founda- tion for the Moline Wagon Works and subsequently he secured work on the eanal at Keokuk, Iowa. On the 15th of October, 1869, he began laying track on the Buda and Elmwood branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quiney Railroad, and on the 26th of January. 1870, he turned his atten- tion to farm labor and to the task of hauling Inm- ber and logs, being thus engaged for three years. He next removed to Manlius township, where he rented land and began farming on his own ae- count, remaining on that place for three years. In 1875, having carefully saved his earnings, he made purchase of eighty acres in Manlius township and in 1882 purchased his present homestead of one hundred and sixty aeres adjoining his original tract, so that he owns altogether two hundred and forty aeres of rich land in one body. He is in- terested in fine stock, raising full blooded eattle
of the shorthorn variety and also Poland China and Duroe Jersey hogs, of which he has many head of registered stock. He likewise has good horses upon his place and his stock-raising inter- ests are an important source of revenue to him, for their high grade insures a ready sale on the mar- ket and enables him to command the highest mar- het price.
On the 10th of March, 1872, Mr. Nelson was married to Miss Ellen Gustavason, a native of Jonkling, Sweden, in which country her parents were farming people. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have been born eight children, of whom six are yet living: Mary Ida, at home: Freada Olellea, who is employed in the county clerk's office in Princeton: Sadie, who was graduated from the Prinecton high school in the elas, of 1906 and won a scholarship to the State University at Cham- paign : Albert, who is operating a rented farm of three hundred and twenty-seven acres and mar- ried Miss Maud Siebel, of Manlius township, by whom he has two children, Perry and Fay: Ed- ward L., who is at home with his father ; and Alma Nathlie, the wife of Claud Brown, county super- intendent of schools. Those deceased are: Emma E., who became the wife of Max P. Siebel and died leaving one child, Glee Page; and Frederick, who died in 1817, at the age of six months.
Mr. Nelson and the family attend the Christian church in Greenville township. He has served as school director for fifteen years and in politics is a very active republican, earnestly desiring the growth and success of his party. yet never scek- ing office for himself. When he landed in Ameri- ea he had a capital of only twent. - six dollars, so that his present good fortune is the result of his own perseverance and labor. He paid thirty-two dollars per acre for the first land which he bought and forty-eight dollars and seventy-five cents per aere for the tract of one hundred and sixty acres. His farm buildings are among the best in the township and include substantial barns and sheds together with a very commodious and attractive residence. Altogether the farm is one of the pleas- ing features of the landscape and the owner is numbered among the leading and representative agriculturists of Manlius township.
J. S. CLARK.
J. S. Clark, a retired and wealthy farmer resid- ing at No. 816 South Main street in Princeton, his native eity, was born October 19, 1839, his parents being George and Nancy (Matson, Clark. The father was born in St. Clairsville, Ohio, March 13, 1811, and came to Bureau county in 1835, settling on one hundred and sixty aeres of 'and in Berlin township, but later he purchased a home in Dover, where he spent his last years in retirement from agricultural life. He and his wife had traveled life's journey together for fifty-six years at the
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time of his demise. Mrs. Clark was a sister of Nehemiah Matson, who gave to the city of Prince- ton its library. She was born April 6, 1814, and died in her ninety-first year, passing away in Princeton on the 30th of December, 1904, while Mr. Clark's death occurred in February, 1890. In the family were four children, three of whom are residents of Princeton, while Enis Clark is an attorney of St. Louis, Missouri.
J. S. Clark, whose name introduces this record, was educated in the common schools of Bureau county, Illinois, and always followed farming up to the time of his retirement. In 1866 he was married to Miss Annie E. Sapp, a native of this county and a daughter of Solomon Sapp, who arrived here in 1835. Two daughters grace this marriage: Fannie, the wife of II. A. Clark, of Princeton; and May, the wife of Thomas Joy, of Birmingham, Alabama.
In 1882 Mr. Clark took up his abode in Prince- ton, where he has since lived retired, his judi- ciously placed investments bringing to him a splen- did income. His life has been passed without excit- ing incident or episode but stands as a splendid illustration of the force and power of energy, per- severance and integrity in business affairs and the value of a high standard of conduct in winning the respect, confidence and good will of one's fel- lowmen.
JAMES C. JENSEN.
James C. Jensen, who owns, operates and occu- pies a valuable farm of one hundred and twenty aeres in Gold township, has spent almost his en- tire life in this county, although he was born in Denmark in 1810. He is a son of Andrew and Mary Jensen, who were likewise natives of Den- mark, whenee they sailed for America with their family when their son James was only a year old. making their way to Sheffield, Illinois. The father has devoted his life to farming, which oe- cupation he is now following in Manlius town- ship.
At the usual age James C. Jensen began his edu- cation in the district schools and therein mastered the common branches of English learning which equip one for the tran-action of business in later life and qualify him for responsible duties. The periods of vacation were largely devoted to work upon the father's farm as he assisted in the labors of field and meadow and the care of the stock, and after attaining his majority he began farming on his own account. He is now the owner of one hundred and twenty aeres of good land in Gold township and has brought his fields under a high state of cultivation, using the latest improved farin machinery to facilitate the work. He has also added many modern equipments and conveniences to the farm,
Mr. Jensen was married, in 1809, to Miss Han-
sene Jensen, who was born in Denmark and came to the United States when nineteen years of age. This marriage has been blessed with two children : Wallace, three years of age; and Martha, a year old. The parents attend the Danish Lutheran church of Sheffield, while fraternally Mr. Jensen is connected with the Odd Fellows lodge, No. 808, at Sheffield, and politieally is a democrat. He has spent practically his entire life in this county and many of his warm friends are those who have known him from his boyhood days.
JAMES O'BRIEN.
James O'Brien is farming a quarter section of land in Macon township which he purchased in 1900. Ile is one of the veterans of the Civil war and no adopted son of America has been more loyal to the interests and welfare of the nation. He was born in County Clare, Ireland, March 1, 1844, and is a son of Patrick and Bridget ( Rey- nolds) O'Brien, both of whom were born in Coun- ty Clare. Both died when about eighty years of age. They were married in Ireland and came to the new world in 1848 as passengers on a sail- ing vessel which dropped anchor in the harbor of Quebee. They afterward proceeded to the state of New York, where they lived for a number of years and then came to Bureau county in 1856, locating in Indiantown township, where the father was first employed at farm labor and later pur- chased a farm comprising both timber and prairie land. Ile continued its cultivation throughout his remaining days, making it his home until he was called to his final rest. Both he and his wife were devoted members of the Roman Catho- lie church and in polities he was a Jacksonian democrat. In their family were ten children, but only four are now living: James; Margaret; Anna, the wife of Philip Horan, of Tiskilwa; and Daniel, a resident farmer of Indiantown township.
James O'Brien was only four years of age when the parents left Ireland, bringing their family with them to America. In his youth he worked upon the home farm in the summer months and attended school in the winter seasons. He re- mained at home until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when on the 15th of August, 1862, at the age of eighteen years, he enlisted at Tiskilwa, Illinois, as a member of Company E, Ninety-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, serving with that command until honorably discharged at Camp Douglas, Chicago, July 6, 1865. On the day of his enlistment he was promoted to the rank of corporal and was in every battle and on every march in which his regiment participated. He took part in the engagement at Champion Hill, May 16, 1863: was in the siege of Vicksburg from the 19th of May until the 4th of July of that year; was also in the Chattanooga campaign; the battle of Mission Ridge; the battle of Altoona,
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Georgia, on the 5th of October, 1864; the can- paign in the Carolinas; and the grand review in Washington, D. C., on the 24th of May, 1865, where the victorious army marched past the stand on which stood the president and other noted men of the nation to welcome the returning army amid the cheers of thousands of loyal Union people who lined the streets of the capital city. The war being over, Mr. O'Brien then returned to his home with a most creditable military record.
He came with the family to Bureau county and here, on the 1st of January, 1870, was married to Miss Mary Cahill, who was born in County Cork, Ireland, March 17, 1817. Her parents, Mor- ris and Margaret (Golden) Cahill, came to the United States in 1851, sailing from Cork and land- ing at Boston, Massachusetts. They located at Salinon Falls, New Hampshire, where they lived until 1862, Mr. Cahill being employed in a cotton factory. In November of that year they came to Illinois, settling at Tiskilwa. He owned three hundred acres of land in Stark county and three hundred and twenty acres in Bureau county. HEis remaining days were spent as a farmer of this locality. Both he and his wife were communi- cants of the Roman Catholic church and his politi- eal allegiance was given to the democracy. Both died when about eighty-five years of age. In their family were eleven children, five now living : Mrs. O'Brien, Stephen, Morris, William and Agnes.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien has been blessed with nine children, seven of whom survive: Anna, the wife of Daniel Johnson ; Patrick ; Mary, the wife of John Turner; Morris; Elizabeth; James and Agnes Veronica.
Following his marriage Mr. O'Brien began farming on his own account and throughout his entire life has carried on agricultural pursuits. . He now has a well improved farm property, upon which he has lived since 1900. It comprises one hundred and sixty acres of well cultivated land and his labors are annually rewarded by abundant harvests. He has served as school director but has never been a politician in the sense of office-scek- ing. His ballot, however, supports the democracy and he is loyal in citizenship, manifesting the same spirit of fidelity that he displayed when upon southern battlefields he followed the old flag. He and his family are communicants of the Roman Catholic church.
N. W. ISAACSON.
N. W. Isaacson is the senior partner of the lead- ing dry goods firm of Princeton, and has a busi- ness record which any man might be proud to possess, for from a small beginning he has devel- oped an enterprise of extensive proportions, and. moreover, has the entire confidence, good will and admiration of his business associates, for he has never incurred obligations that he has not met
nor made engagements that he has not fulfilled. The firm of N. W. Isaacson & Company are to- day proprietors of the "White House," and carry an extensive line of dry goods, carpets, millinery and cloaks, this being the largest enterprise of the character in Bureau county.
The life record of Mr. Isaacson began in Chris- tianstadt, Sweden, January 20, 1853, his parents being Peter and Carrie (Johnson) Isaacson, both of whom have passed away, the father dying when about eighty-two and a half years of age and the mother when eighty-three years of age. They came to Princeton on the 12th of June, 1865, and made their home here throughout their remaining days.
N. W. Isaacson had attended school in Sweden and completed his education in the schools of Princeton, whither he came with his parents when a youth of twelve years. When he put aside his text-books he watched for opportunities for favor- able entrance into the business world, and on the 1st of March, 1870, became actively connected with the dry goods trade, in which line he has continued through the intervening years to the present time. For a quarter of a century he has been engaged in business on his own account, and the junior partners of the present firm are Miss Ohman and J. S. Anderson. From ten to twelve people are employed in the store, which is now an extensive establishment, unsurpassed by any commercial enterprise of this kind in Princeton or Bureau county. Mr. Isaacson erected the pres- ent fine building, which is forty-three and a half by ninety feet, and in 1895 he opened in this store the present stock of goods. The second story con- tains a suite of rooms occupied by Dr. Palmer and the Delmonti Club rooms. Mr. Isaacson gives his entire attention to the business, which is con- stantly growing. The stock is carefully selected with regard to the wishes of a general trade, and the enterprise, conservative business methods and yet progressive spirit which has always charac- terized the house have been the strong and salient features in its success.
Mr. Isaacson was married, March 24, 1881, to Miss Almeda Spake, a sister of John I. Spake, deceased. Two children grace this marriage: Roger S., who is connected with the store, and Verna L., who is now a student in the North- western University at Evanston, Illinois, pursuing a regular classical course and also devoting spe- cial attention to languages.
Since age conferred upon Mr. Isaacson the right of franchise he has always been a stanch repub- lican, though never an office seeker. He does not seek or desire office as a reward for his party fealty, which is given because of his earnest be- lief in the principles of the party and his desire that the best interests of the country may be pro- moted thereby. Socially he is connected with the Musonie fraternity, in which he has attained the Royal Arch degree, and he attends the Methodlist
N. W. ISAACSON.
THE
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THE WHITE HOUSE.
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Episcopal church. His interest extends to the material, intellectual, political and moral progress of his city and is manifest by tangible co-operation in many movements that have had direct bearing upon the general welfare. He is thoroughly iden- tified with the interests of Princeton and Bureau county and is justly accounted one of the most prominent Swedish-American citizens. The fam- ily residence is on South Main street, where Mr. Isaacson has erected a very comfortable and at- tractive home.
THE WHITE HOUSE.
The White House dry goods store, while it is not a department store, yet it is so systematically arranged that each particular line of goods is a complete store in itself. The store is divided into two parts by a double row of shelving down the center. That part facing north is filled with a complete line of dress goods and silks at the front and table linens and flannels in the rear. That part facing south contains kid and fabric gloves, hosiery and velvets at the front and underwear in the rear The millinery department is located at the left as you enter the door, and is one of the strong features in the store. The south side of the store is filled to its utmost capacity with notions, prints, ginghamis, cotton dress goods and staples. At the extreme rear, on the right, is found an up-to-dat. carpet. rug and linoleum de- partment, and at the left a full line of cloaks. On a balcony at the rear is the upholstery department, comprising lace curtains, portieres, shades, etc., in endless variety.
GEORGE G. BENNETT.
George G. Bennett, a stock-raiser and shipper of Neponset township, living upon a good farm prop- erty which he owns, is one of New England's na- tive sons, his birth having occurred in Peacham, Caledonia county, Vermont, March 10, 1851. His paternal grandfather, Humphrey Bennett, was a lawyer by profession and died in the east on the 1st of January, 1824, when ouly twenty-nine years of age. Ilis wife, who bore the maiden name of Celinda Morrill, long survived him and passed away August 24, 1851, at the age of fifty-three sears.
Humphrey Bennett, Jr., father of our subject, was born in Danville, Vermont, on the 6th of May, 1822, and was reared in the Green Mountain state, where, having arrived at years of maturity, he was married to Miss Laura M. Blanchard, whose birth occurred in Peacham. Humphrey Bennett, Jr., was only two and a half years of age at the time of his father's death but was carefully reared and educated. Attracted by the opportunities of the great and growing west. however, he left New
England in the fall of 1856 and made in way to Illinois, settling on section 35, Neponset township, where he secured one hundred acres of wild prairie land. Ile was a carpenter by trade and in the spring of 1857 he erected a residence upon his farmi and was then joined by his wife and children, who came from Vermont to their new home in Bureau county. With characteristic energy he un- dertook the task of breaking the wild prairie and developing a farm. He planted trees upon the place and carried on the work of cultivation, eventually transforming the wild land into pro- ductive fields. Year after year he performed the task of plowing, planting and harvesting and his labor brought to him a goodly measure of success. He lived upon his original farm until 18:4, when he sold that property and bought one hundred and sixty acres in the same locality as the Palmer Blanchard plice. There he lived until 1880, when he removed to Neponset and spent his remaining days. In 1886 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife, who died on the 22d of Octo- ber of that year at the age of sixty-one years, eight months and fourteen days. In their family were five children, of whom four still survive, namely : George G .; Lizzie H .; H. H., who is living in Lincoln, Nebraska ; and Hattie J., the wife of Wil- liam Studley, a resident of Maeon township. The father was again married, his second union being with Miss Lucretia Pearson, a native of Massa- chusetts, who still survives him. Mr. Bennett passed away on the 9th of March, 1905, at the advanced age of eighty-two years, ten months and three days. After coming to Illinois he served as a school director for a number of years and was also school trustee. His life was ever honorable and upright and he was a devoted member of the Congregation.1 church and took a most active and helpful part in its work. For some time he taught the bible class in the Sunday-school. continuing this labor of love as long as his health would per- mit. He was also one of the deacons in the church for a number of years and was a most ardent advo- cate of the cause of temperance, doing all in his power for its promotion. His political support was given to the whig party until its dissolution, when he joined the ranks of the new republican party and marched ander its banners throughout his remaining days. His position was never an equivocal one. He stood firm in support of his honest convictions and his influence was ever found on the side of right, justice, truth and progress.
George G. Bennett, whose name introduces this review, was a little lad of only five summers at the time his parents left New England and came to Illinois. He was therefore reared in Bureau county and worked upon the home farm in his boyhood days during the summer months, while in the winter seasons he attended the common schools, thus acquiring a good English education. He was afterward employed by the month at farm
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