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 49
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
CHRISTIAN D. SALTZMAN.
Christian D. Saltzman, one of the wealthy and influential citizens of Ohio township, having ex- tensive landed possessions aggregating four hun- dred and twenty acres, most of which has been ac- quired through his own labors, was born in Millen- burg. Louisiana, December 18, 1865. Hle is a son of Mitchell and Elizabeth (Schrock) Saltzman, the father born in Alsace, France, and the mother in Bavaria, Germany. The subject of this review is the youngest of their family of six children.
Christian D. Saltzman received a public-school education, which fitted him for life's responsible duties. In 1881 he came to Bureau county, Illi- nois, where he engaged in farming. He began with eighty acres but through his careful management, industry and well directed labors has worked his way up year by year until he is now in possession of valuable farms of four hundred and twenty acres, which are among the finely improved tracts of Bureau county. He has added many modern improvements by building good fences, a beautiful residence, surrounded by fine shade trees, and ample outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock. He is practical and progressive in the meth- ods of carrying on his farm work, using only the latest improved machinery for facilitating his work, and thus year by year he harvests abundant erops which find a ready sale on the market, for his products are always of the best quality.
Mr. Saltzman chose as a companion and help- mate for life's journey Miss Anna M. Zimmerman, to whom he was married September 11, 1888. She was born in Bureau county, Illinois, May 26, 1870, and was here reared and educated. She is the younger of two children born unto Andrew and Elizabeth ( Albrecht) Zimmerman, the father a native of France, and the mother a native of Bu- rean county. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Saltz- man has been blessed with four sons: Julius A., born April 11, 1890; Otto M., January 2, 1893; Edwin W .. June 26, 1895 ; and Oscar C., born Sep- tember 19, 1900.
Mr. Saltzman is a republican in his political views. IIe has been called to fill some township offices, having served as highway commissioner and as school director. He and his wife are members of the Mennonite church, while three of their sons hold membership with the Methodist Protestant church. Mr. Saltzman has acquired the most of
860
PAST AND PRESENT OF BUREAU COUNTY.
his landed possessions through his own efforts, for when he started out he had but eighty aeres but has added to this until he now owns four hundred and twenty acres of very valuable land, constitut- ing one of the best improved tracts of the county. He is thus carrying on general agricultural pur- suits quite extensively, being assisted by his sons, whom he is training to habits of thrift and indus- try. He and his family are highly respected in the community in which they live, and he is today clased with the wealthy agriculturists of Bureau county.
ZUMRI SMITH.
Illinois, foremost among the great agricultural states of the Union, offers in its broad fields ex- cellent opportunity to him who wishes to engage in the tilling of the soil. The surface of the ground is generally slightly undulating, so that comparatively little artificial drainage is needed, and the rich black soil responds readily to the care and cultivation which is bestowed upon it, so that annually great crops are harvested and sent to the various markets of the country. Among the energetic business men who are devoting their time and labors to farm work in Bureau county is Zimuri Smith, whose life record began in Berlin township on the 5th of February, 1858, his par- ents being Jonathan and Malomba ( Ary ) Smith, who came to this county in October, 1816. The father, a native of Virginia, was born in Rocking- ham county, October 11, 1814, while his wife was a native of Greene county, Ohio, born in 1818. By their marriage they became the parents of five sous and one daughter, of which number one has passed away.
Zimri Smith is the fifth in order of birth, and under the parental roof the days of his childhood and youth were passed. At the usual age he en- tered the district schools in Berlin township, and thus continued his education until he became a student in Arlington. Later he engaged in teach- ing in this township and imparted clearly and readily to others the knowledge that he acquired. Much of his life, however, has been devoted to general agricultural pursuits, and he now owns eighty acres of fine land inherited from his father. By careful management and improvement the property has been doubled in value and is a very desirable farm, in the midst of which stands a beautiful residence amid attractive surroundings. All of the buildings are modern and first class in every particular and are kept in good repair. Mr. Smith is always to be found upon his farm, care- fully directing its interests, and in all that he undertakes he is practical, utilizing the meaus at hand to the best advantage and accomplishing re- sults which are very desirable.
Fortunate in his home life, Mr. Smith was mar- ried February 12. 1896, to Miss Emma G. MeKec,
who was born in Bureau county, September 11, 1852. She is a daughter of Richmond and Mary (Borger) MeKee, who were natives of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, the former born in 1818 and the latter in 1823. Both are now deceased. By their marriage there were thirteen children, three of whom have departed this life. Mrs. Smith being the seventh in order of birth. She was ed- ucated in the public schools of Selby township and in Princeton.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith are widely known in this part of the state. They are believers in the Christian religion, and Mrs. Smith belongs to the Presbyterian church at Arlington. Mr. Smith is identitied with Levi Lusk lodge, No. 270, A. F. & A. M., at Arlington; Princeton chapter, No. 28, R. A. M., and Bethany commandery, No. 28, K. T., of Mendota, and he and his wife are mem- bers of the Order of the Eastern Star. He has held various offices in his lodge and represented it in the grand lodge in 1896. For six years he has been a school director and clerk of the school board, and in polities he is an independent democrat, usually voting with the democracy yet not considering him- self bound by party ties. He is a man of cordial nature and genial disposition, whose kindliness of spirit, geniality and deference for the opinions of others have made him popular with those with whom he has come in contact. His entire life has been passed in Bureau county, and that he has lived worthily is indicated by the fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have known him from his boyhood days down to the present time.
ROBERT S. BEATTY.
Robert S. Beatty, pleasantly situated upon a fine farm in La Moille township, manifests in his busi- ness career a spirit of enterprise and progress that has made him a leading agriculturist and he now owns a valuable place comprising one hundred and ninety-one acres of land. Ile was born August 10, 1865, in the township which is still his home, his parents being Frank and Catherine (Smith) Beatty, the former a native of Canada and the lat- ter of Massachusetts. They became residents of Bureau county about 1855 and were married here. Unto them were born nine children, of whom Rob- ert S. was the fourth in order of birth. Three of the number are now deceased.
Reared upon the old homestead farm, Robert S. Beatty acquired his early education in the public schools of Bureau county and continued his studies in Fulton, Illinois. He has always followed tarm- ing and his advancement in business circles is largely attributable to his unfaltering diligence and keen business discernment. He is now the owner of one hundred and ninety-one acres of val- uable land, on which he carries on the raising of grain and stock. This farm was settled by a man of the name of Perkins and was purchased by Mr.
861
PAST AND PRESENT OF BUREAU COUNTY.
Beatty four years ago at a cost of ninety-two dol- lars per acre. Today the place is worth from one hundred and seventy-five to two hundred dollars per acre by reason of the natural appreciation of land values and the improvements which he has placed upon the property. There are excellent buildings on this farm and the home is supplied with many of the comforts and luxuries of life. It is surrounded by broad fields of waving grain, giving promise of abundant harvests, and ali of the equipments and accessories of the model farm of the twentieth century are here found.
Mr. Beatty was married November 10, 1887, to Miss Lizzie Cheesman, who was born in Arling- ton, this county, April 22, 1868, her parents being John T. and Elizabeth Cheesman, who were natives of England. On coming to Bureau county in 1855 they settled in Arlington, Westfield township, and their daughter, Mrs. Beatty, was the fifth of their children. By her marriage she has become the mother of seven children : Charles, born November 2, 1888; Alta, December 3, 1889; Frank, June 10, 1892; Robert D., March 20, 1894; Alice, February 26, 1899; Viola, October 25, 1902; and Henry L., June 2, 1905.
Mr. Beatty is a stanch republican, unfaltering in his allegiance to the party and yet without am- bition for public office. He and his family attend the United Brethren church, of which his wife and children are members. In the community they are held in high esteem, occupying an enviable posi- tion in the social circles in which they move. Mr. Beatty has long been recognized as a stalwart friend of the cause of education and has done ef- fective service in behalf of the schools during twenty years' connection with the school board. Hle owes his prosperity to his own efforts and the assistance of his estimable wife, who has indeed been a helpmate to him. They are both people of many excellent traits of character and the con- sensus of public opinion regarding them is alto- gether favorable.
WILLIAM R. SMITHL.
William R. Smith, for many years a respected and representative agriculturist of Bureau county, died upon the old home farm on section 33, Selby township, on the 18th of December, 1900. He was born near Brownsville, in Brown county, Ohio, September 4, 1829, his parents being Isaac and Lucinda (Bartley) Smith. When their son Wil- liam was about nine years of age they removed from Ohio to Indiana, locating in Grant county, and later in Wabash county, where they continued to reside until the spring of 1852, when they re- moved to Bureau county, Illinois. The father pur- chased a farm in the northern part of Selby town- ship, whereon he and his wife resided until called to their final rest. His death occurred in Febru- ary, 1869, when he was seventy-four years of age,
while his wife died in 1866, at the age of sixty- eight years. Mr. Smith was from the state of New York, and was of English and Welsh descent, while the Bartley family were from Virginia. Ilis entire life was devoted to general agricultural pursuits, and thus he supported his family of nine children, namely: Eliza and Joseph, deceased; William R., of this review; Margaret and Jane, who have passed away; Alva, who resides in Ottawa, Kan- sas; Isaac, Jr., deceased; Thomas, whose home is in Ethingham, Kansas; and Lucinda, who has also departed this life. Alva and Thomas were soldiers of the Civil war, enlisting from Bureau county, the latter being a member of the Ninety-third Illinois Infantry and the former of the One Ifun- dred and Twelfth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers.
William R. Smith resided in Indiana from the age of nine years until he became a resident of Fulton county, Illinois, in the spring of 1850, and in the following spring he came to Bureau county. Afterward, however, he returned to Wabash county and was married there in October, 1851, after which he brought his bride to Illinois and spent a year or more in farming on Green river. Coming to Selby township, he carried on farming until 1859, when he removed to Douglas county, Kan- sas, but in 1860 again took up his abode in Selby township, purchasing a tract of land on section 31. This was his home until he sold the property and bought the present home farm on section 33 in 1876. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. From a small start and by hard work-breaking prairie and tilling the soil-he accumulated an excellent property, and at his death left a valuable farm of one hundred and twenty-five aeres.
Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Susan Hartzell, who was born in Miami county, Ohio, October 20, 1831. a daughter of Leonard and Delilah ( Weiss) Hartzell, who were Penn- sylvania Dutch people, and removed from Ohio to Rush county, Indiana, and subsequently to Wa- bash county, that state, where they remained until the death of the wife and mother in 184 ;. Mr. Ilartzell afterward removed to Jowa, where he died in 1818, at the age of eighty years. Ile followed farming as a life work and owned a good tract of land in Indiana. In his family were eleven chil- dren : Willis and Lewis, both deceased; Adam, who resides in Wyanet; Susan, now Mrs. Smith; Mrs. Nancy MeNuslin, of Cass county, Nebraska ; Mrs. Eliza Mounts, deceased; Edward, who has also passed away: John, who resides in Kansas City, Missouri; Philip, living in Tama, Iowa; Mary, deceased; and Aaron, who has departed this life
Unto the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born ten children : Melissa, who was born in 1851 and died in infancy ; Alonzo, born June 25, 1856; Viola, who was bora October 15, 1858, and is the wife of Angustus Marity, a resident of Solby township; Lilly B. who was born December 19,
862
PAST AND PRESENT OF BUREAU COUNTY.
1860, and is the wife of Timothy Rhyne, of Selby township; Mary L., who was born December 22, 1862, and married Carlos Hosiar, of Bureau Junc- tion; John, born February 12, 1865; Nora, who was born February 20, 1867, and became the wife of Charles Ketch, of Kingfisher, Oklahoma, and died in 1892 ; Joseph, who was born April 4, 1869, and died in 1897; Edith, who was born December 28, 1813: and Linnie, July 10, 1875. The last two are still at home. The Smith brothers, Alonzo and John, operate the home farm of one hundred and twenty acres and also own other lands in Selby township, comprising in all two hundred and twenty acres. They have improved the farm until it is now a splendid property, built a new barn and added other modern equipments. They raise good horses, making a specialty of the Nor- man stock, and own a pacing horse, Cyelone, with a record of 2:1514. They also raise polled Angus cattle, and are very successful in their stock-rais- ing business. Politically they are supporters of the democratie party, and their religious views are indicated by their attendance at the Congregational church.
William R. Smith, the father, was a stanch democrat, and in early life held membership with the Methodist Episcopal church, but afterward became identified with the United Brethren church, and at the time of his demise was a mem- ber of the Congregational church. He lived a life of activity and usefulness characterized by un- faltering diligence and crowned with success. All that he possessed and enjoyed was acquired through his own labors, and, moreover, the business meth- ods which he followed won for him the unqualified respect of his fellowmen, because he conformed to a high standard of ethics. The family is a prominent and influential one in Selby town- ship, and well worthy of representation in this volume.
JOIIN QUINN.
John Quinn was born upon a farm in Bureau county, January 23, 1863, and his entire life has been devoted to general agricultural pursuits, Ilis parents, Thomas and Jane (Wood) Quinn, were natives of Ireland, and after coming to America located in La Moille township. Bureau county, upon a farm on section 20. They had a family of five children : James, Mary A., Alice J., Frank E. and John. Of this number James and Frank are still single and are living upon the old home- stead. They are partners of our subject in its ownership and operation, and also buy stock to- gether under the firm name of Quinn Brothers.
Having acquired a good practical education in the public schools, John Quinn concentrated his energies upon his business affairs. Ho was mar- ried June 28. 1899, to Miss Florence Brown, who was born in Bureau county, January 2, 1869. She was educated in the district schools of La Moille
township and in Princeton Commercial College. Iler parents, George and Rebecca (Goddard) Brown, were natives of Massachusetts and of Leicestershire, England, respectively, and were married in Princeton, Illinois. This union was blessed with seven children, of whom Mrs. Quinn is the fifth in order of birth.
The firm of Quinn Brothers own four hundred and twenty-six aeres of land, of which one hun- dred and twenty acres is comprised within the old homestead farm whereon their parents resided. Here they raise and feed stock and gather good crops, both branches of their business proving prof- itable. They have clung loyally together through all the years, four of the number remaining single and keeping up the old home. They have ever been loath to sever the associations of their child- hood, and the brothers carry on their business in complete harmony, the labors of one ably supple- menting the efforts of the others, so that the best results are obtainable.
John Quinn of this review is president of Father Mathews' Temperaure Society, of which he has been a member for twenty-four years, ever loyal to the pledge which he signed in early life. His political allegiance is given to the democracy, and both he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Catholic church.
WILLIAM BURKE.
Many of the residents of Westfield township are of Irish birth or lineage, and among this number is William Burke, who has displayed in his busi- ness life the versatility, ready adaptability and in- dustry characteristic of the sons of the Emerald isle. Ite deserves classification with the repre- sentative men of his community, and, having a wide and favorable acquaintance, his history can- not fail to prove of interest to many of the readers of this volume. He was born September 30, 18Ci, in La Salle county, Illinois, his parents being Thomas and Bridget ( McGraw) Burke, both of whom were born in Ireland. They became resi- dents of La Salle county with the carly settlers and there reared their family.
At the usual age William Burke entered the public schools and therein continued his education until he put aside his text-books in order to devote his entire time and energies to the labors of the farm. Ile is still actively interested in general farming, and also conducts a livery barn in the village of Arlington, employing others to work his fields. He has been in the livery business for the past five years, and has a well equipped stable, having good horses and carriages, which he lets out on demand. ITis earnest desire to please his patrons, combined with his reasonable prices, have secured him a volume of business which makes his investment a very profitable one. Ilis residence
WILLIAM BURKE.
865
PAST AND PRESENT OF BUREAU COUNTY.
in Bureau county dates from 1900, but he has al- ways lived in this section of the state, and is well known in both Bureau and La Salle counties.
On the 7th of February, 1899, ocenrred the mar- riage of William Burke and Miss Mary Dutty, who was born in Bureau county in 1814, a daughter of John and Ellen ( Prendergast ) Duffy, both natives of Ireland. Crossing the Atlantic to America, they became carly residents of Burean county, where the father followed the occupation of farm- ing, thus providing a livelihood for his wife and children. In 1902, however, he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who in that year was called to her final rest. He is now living retired, making his home in Arlington. The father of Mr. Burke is also living, and is a retired fariner of La Salle county, while Mrs. Burke, his wife, passed away on the 23d of August, 1900. Unto our sub- ject and his wife have been born a son and three daughters : John, Eleanor, Lucile and Angela, and the family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death.
The farm which Mr. Burke owns comprises one hundred and twenty acres of good land in West- field township, and is a carefully improved prop- erty, on which large crops of corn and oats are annually raised. Land is now very valuable in this part of the state, and this farm is today worth from one hundred and seventy-five to two hundred dollars per acre. The family residence stands upon the farm, of which forty acres lie within the corporation limits of Arlington, but while giving his supervision to his agricultural interests Mr. Burke largely devotes his time and energies to the management of his livery business, while the work of the fields is carried on by others. Ilis fraternal relations are with Keenan council of the Knights of Columbus, and he is a member of the Catholic church. He votes with the democracy, and for two years was alderman of Arlington, while for four years he has held the position of school director. His endorsement and co-opera- tion are given to many measures which have direct bearing upon the general good, and in an active business career his success is attributable entirely to his own labors.
JOHN W. CHAMBERS.
John W. Chambers, one of the younger repre- sentatives of agricultural interests in Bureau county, where he is operating a farm of seventy- eight acres belonging to his mother, is a native son of this county, his birth having occurred Novem- ber 30, 18:3. He is a son of Leander and Mary J. (Smith) Chambers, who are represented else- where in this volume. His father was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, August 26, 1-13, while the mother's birth occurred in Bureau county, Il- linois, Angust 26, 1852. John W. Chambers is the younger of two children born unto Mr. and
Mrs. Leander Chambers, his sister being Anna Bell Chambers, who was born October 25, 1872.
The subject of this review acquired bis educa- tion in the public schools of his native county, and was here reared to farm life. He is now operating his mother's farm of seventy-eight acres, situated in Ohio township, to which he gives careful super- vision, each year harvesting good crops in return for the care which he bestows upon the fields. He is an enterprising young business man, thoroughly familiar with the best methods of farming the land and caring for the crops, so that he is num- bered among the substantial citizens of Bureau county.
Mr. Chambers was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Stewart, the wedding ceremony being per- formed on the 19th of January, 1898. She was born in Bureau county, June 23, 1877, a daughter of James E. and Adeline ( Lafferty) Stewart, the former likewise a native of this county, while the mother's birth occurred in Ohio. Mrs. Chambers is the second in order of birth in a family of seven children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Stewart. She received her education in Bureau county, com- pleting a high-school course at Princeton.
Two children grace the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Chambers: Albert L., born December 1, 1898: and Louie B., born June 19, 1901. Mr. Chambers gives his political support to the repub- lican party, and his wife is a member of the Meth- odist Protestant church. Mr. Chambers is pro- gressive in his work of carrying on the cultivation of the fields, and he raises stock to some extent. Ile and his wife occupy a beautiful home, sur- rounded by fine shade trees, and neatness pervades the entire place. They are excellent young people and have a host of warm friends throughout the township in which they live.
CHARLES A. ANDREWS.
Charles A. Andrews, living in Manlius township, was born in Concord township, November 24, 1859. His parents were Henry P. and Susan L. (Nash) Andrews. The father eame to Bureau county from Maryland in 1851 and the mother canie from Massachusetts to Illinois in 1834. The Andrews family on their westward trip proeceded down the Ohio river and thenee up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers to Hennepin, Putnam county, while the Nash family traveled by way of the lakes from Buffalo to Chicago and thence overland by ox team to Putnam county. In early manhood Henry P. Andrews conducted a general mercan- tile store in Sheffield, but after the war turned his attention to farming. He had previously followed that pursuit to some extent in Putnam county and he resumed agricultural life in Manlius township in 1868. There he engaged in tilling the soil for some years but at length retired on account of poor health and died in 1825, at the age of fifty
866
PAST AND PRESENT OF BUREAU COUNTY.
years. His widow long survived him and passed away in 1905, at the age of seventy-five years.
Charles A. Andrews, a native son of Sheffield, aequired his early education in the country schools and afterward spent a year and a half in work in machine shops in Buda. In 1881 he went to Ne- braska, where he engaged in farming, having taken up a homestead elaim, upon which he remained for seven years. He then sold that property and re- turned to Manlius township. In 1891 he bought his father's farm, purchasing the interest of the other heirs in the property, and has since resided thereon. Here he raises Hereford cattle, keeping registered stoek and also standard bred horses, and he is well known as a leading stockman of the county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.