USA > Illinois > Christian County > Past and present of Christian County, Illinois > Part 22
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On the 2d of September, 1903, Mr. Eaton was united in marriage to Mrs. Maggie Large, a daughter of Andrew Barrett, one . of the pioneer settlers of Christian county. Both Mr. and Mrs. Eaton are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he be- longs to Owaneco Lodge, No. 623, A. F. & A. M. He is very loyal to its teachings and is regarded as one of the leading representa- tives of the craft in his town. His public- spirited interest in the general welfare, his honorable business record and his deference for the opinions of others, combine to make him a popular citizen of Christian county.
ROBERT W. ORR.
For twenty-one years Professor Robert W. Orr was the county superintendent of schools in Christian county and ranked with the leading educators in the state. His in- terest in his work was deep, sincere, zealous and unabating and the present splendid school system of the county is a monument to him, more enduring than any tablet of
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granite could be. His labors were progres- sive. and practical in character and proved of the greatest benefit to the county. Dur- ing his educational career he resided in Tay- lorville. True to every public and private trust reposed in him, he led an honorable, upright and useful life and his memory is enshrined in the hearts of many who knew him and benefited by his efforts for the in- tellectual development of the county.
Professor Orr was born in St. Clairsville, Ohio, September 30, 1833, and was the eld- est child of Andrew and Ann ( McNary) Orr, who were natives of eastern Ohio. In 1854 the family left that state and became early settlers of Christian county, Illinois, settling on Buckeye prairie in Locust town- ship, where the father carried on agricul- tural pursuits until his death, which occurred two years later when he was fifty-seven years of age. He lived a quiet. unassuming life and had the esteem of all who knew him. His wife spent the last ten years of her life in Pana, Illinois, and died in 1882, at the age of seventy-four years. By the death of her husband she was left with the care and sup- port of their nine children, but though it was a hard struggle to provide for them she nobly took up her burden discharging it to the best of her ability. Well was she worthy the filial love and devotion given her by her sons and daughters. The members of her family were : Margaret I., the wife of Henry Kirk; Mary J., the widow of G. W. Turn- ham, of Springfield, Illinois; John, of Pana ; Thomas A., of Mancos, Colorado; Andrew J., of Warren, Ohio: Kate M., who is living in Denver, Colorado: Samuel, who died at the age of fifty years; and Hugh, who was a soldier of the Civil war and died when home on a furlough, at the age of twenty- six years.
Professor Orr of this review began his
education in the public schools of his native state and later attended the seminary at Bloomingdale, Ohio, in which he spent one year. He began teaching in Ohio and when twenty-one years of age he came with his parents to Illinois, assisting his father in the operation of the home farm until the latter's death. He also followed teaching in this state and successfully carried on the work of the schoolroom until the time of his en- listment in the Union army, in the Civil war, on the 14th of August, 1862. He joined Company D. One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Infantry and on the organization of the company at Edinburg was elected or- derly sergeant. The regiment went into camp at Taylorville, later was sent to Camp Butler and in October of that year joined the army at Memphis, Tennessee, where the troops went into winter quarters. The One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois joined Grant's forces and participated in the siege of Vicksburg and the battles of Champion Hills and Black River Bridge. After the surrender of Vicksburg the troops proceeded to Jackson, Mississippi, and thence to New Orleans. While at New Orleans there came an order for Professor Orr to return to Springfield on recruiting service and there he remained until May, 1864. On the Ist of March of that year he was commissioned first lieutenant and subsequently command- ed his company as captain. During his absence in Springfield many of his company were killed or captured at Sabine Cross Roads, Texas, the regiment losing so heav- ily that it was divided into three divisions, Captain Orr being given command of Com- panies A, F and D. In February, 1865, the regiment was consolidated with the Sev- enty-seventh Illinois Infantry, under which consolidation Captain Orr was mustered out of service.
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Returning to Illinois he resumed his work in the schoolroom and successively taught in the schools of Sharpsburg, Owaneco and Taylorville, having charge of the west side schools of this city for three years. He then returned to his farm in Locust township and while there residing was elected county su- perintendent of schools in the fall of 1872, filling the office for nine years. He then retired from the office and after an interval of four years he again spent one year on the farm, following which he was once more elected to the position of county superin- tendent. In 1890 he was again chosen and by re-election was continued in the position until his incumbency covered a period of twenty-one years. The cause of education indeed found in him a warm friend. With a just appreciation of its value as a prepara- tion for life's responsibilities, he made it his constant aim to so improve the schools that the instruction would be of the greatest pos- sible benefit to the young. He was con- tinually promoting the standard of the schools until Christian county has every reason to be proud of her educational sys- tem, which is most thorough, practical and beneficial.
Professor Orr was married July 13, 1871, to Mrs. Harriet E. Shumway, the widow of Z. P. Shumway, of Taylorville. She was born in Connecticut and bore the maiden name of Harriet E. Pray. being a daughter of the Rev. Paris Pray, who came here on a ministerial mission and about 1858 or- ganized the Taylorville Baptist church, of which he was the pastor for many years. By her first marriage Mrs. Orr had a daugh- ter, Lou A. Shumway, now a teacher in the public school. Unto the Professor and his wife were born four children: Lillie, the wife of George W. Zimmerman : Daisy, the wife of Frank Wheeler; Frank W., who is
engaged in the mail service : and Charles R .. of Taylorville.
Professor Orr was reared in the faith of the United Presbyterian church but became a member of the Baptist church, in which he served as a deacon, while in the church work he took an active and helpful part. He was a Royal Arch Mason, having been initiated into the blue lodge in Taylorville in 1867. and he also belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic. He voted with the Democracy but was extremely popular among the Republicans, numbering many of his warmest friends among the representa- tives of the latter party. He passed away in Taylorville, March 26, 1903. and high trib- ute of respect was paid to his memory, while resolutions were passed by the teachers of the city and county as well as by the fra- ternal organizations with which he had been connected. He was a man whom to know was to respect and honor. His broad hu- manitarian principles were manifest in his devotion to the general good, whether as a soldier upon the field of battle, a private citi- zen or as the official in charge of the educa- tional interests of the county. His name stands as a synonym of all that was honor- able in his relations with his fellow-men and thus his memory is cherished by those who knew him, and his acquaintance was ex- tremely wide.
YOUNG B. CLARK.
To the Taylorville Courier we are indebt- ed for the following brief sketch of Young B. Clark, who was one of Christian county's most honored pioneers and highly esteemed citizens.
In the death of Y. B. Clark, of Clarks- dale, which sad event occurred at the late residence Thursday morning, January 5,
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1899, at 8:05, Christian county suffered the loss of one of its most widely known citizens-a man of unique though remark- ably strong personality. He was one of the county's earliest settlers and from the time he came here until his fatal sickness over- took him he stood second to no man in the exertion of individual force as applied to material advancement of humanitarian re- sponsibility. His business sense and capac- ity were remarkable. This trait in his char- acter was apparent to all with whom he came in contact. His grasp of affairs, his keen insight into men and things, his virile intellect and great physical power attracted the attention and admiration of his fellows, and the strict sense of justice which con- trolled all his actions won him their respect and confidence. A man of great determina- tion of purpose he was persistent and even aggressive in his opinions, but in all the re- lations of life he strove earnestly for the right, never wilfully wronging any man. The philanthropic side of his character was well developed and probably no man who ever lived in the county extended more char- ity to the poor or more assistance to the struggling unfortunate. He was as widely known for his beneficencies as for his great business ability. His purse was ever open to the needy and his practical wisdom at the disposal of any one who sought it. A vital force-material and philanthropic- went out to the community with the death of Boley Clark. One of the county's great characters has passed away.
His family was a remarkable one. His great-grandfather, Bolin Clark, was killed by the Indians, probably in North Carolina, before the Revolutionary war. He left six sons, all of whom served with General Na- thaniel Greene in the southern campaign. They were in Greene's retreat before Corn-
wallis and two of them were killed in the memorable battle of Guilford Court House. The other four survived the war and drew pensions as Revolutionary soldiers. One of these sons was Joseph Clark, the grand- father of our subject.
Y. B. Clark was born in Christian county, Kentucky, September 9, 1821, and was mar- ried there November 2, 1843, to Tabitha W. Hardy. Shortly after his marriage he went to Arkansas and from there, in September, 1845, he came to Christian county, Illinois, entering forty acres of land a half mile east of Clarksdale. His was the first house built on the prairie. the settlers of that period building in the timber or close to it. His dis- play of remarkable business ability began on this forty acres. Reverses came of course but his courage and energy readily overcame all obstacles and at his death he owned about sixteen hundred acres of land and a large amount of personal property. From 1845 up to the time of his death, a period of fifty- three years, he lived within a mile of his first habitation. He laid out Clarksdale and built the depot there and gave it with its ground to the Wabash Company.
By his first marriage ten children were born, three of whom are living, as follows : Mrs. Ann America Gladish, of Kansas City ; C. A. Clark, of Taylorville; and Mrs. Lou C. Caldwell, of Clarksdale. His first wife died September 21, 1859, and on the IItli of March, 1860, he married her sister, Ellen A. Hardy. One child was born of this union but died at the age of one year. His second wife died May 22, 1861, and on May 29, 1862, he married Melinda M. Anderson, of this county, by whom he had five children, but only one of them, James T. Clark, of Clarksdale, is now living. His third wife died in September, 1871, and on October 28, 1873, he married Elizabeth S. McGinnis,
II
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of Sangamon county. Three children were born of this union, as follows: Henry T. Clark, Sallie Clark and Inez Clark, all of whom are at home with their mother.
Mr. Clark's illness was of ten days' dura- tion. Up to Tuesday eve his mind was clear but he suffered a good deal and an opiate was given him to induce sleep. He never woke to consciousness from that sleep. His lungs filled and hardened and at 8:05 o'clock he breathed his last.
J. J. CALDWELL.
J. J. Caldwell, a well known and highly esteemed citizen of Clarksdale, was born in Vinton, lowa, on the 23d of October, 1860, and is a son of Daniel and Elizabeth Cald- well, also natives of that state, where the mother continues to make her home. The father died in 1900. Our subject was reared and educated in Iowa and on starting cut in life for himself at the age of sixteen years went to Cedar Rapids and engaged in the hotel business, having charge of the North- western Hotel at that place until 1891. He then went to Quincy. Illinois, and conducted the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad eating house for eight years, at the end of which time he came to Taylorville and car - ried on the Antlers Hotel for one year. At present he is not actively engaged in any business but is living on his farm, which is a valuable tract of two hundred and eighty acres in Bear Creek township near Clarks- dale, his home being in the village where he owns a nice residence.
On the 2nd of February, 1884, Mr. Cald- well was united in marriage to Mrs. Lou C. Moffat, a daughter of Young B. Clark, whose sketch appears on another page of this volume. Having no children of their own they adopted a nephew, Roy Ed O'Neil,
a son of Robert E. and Mildred O'Neil, both of whom are now deceased. Roy is now a telegraph operator. Both Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell are members of the Methodist Epis- copal church and are people of prominence in the community where they reside.
C. D. WINKLEPLECK.
After years of active labor, mostly de- voted to agricultural pursuits, C. D. Winkle- pleck is now living a retired life on his farm on section II, Locust township. He was born on the 22d of March, 1838, in Ohio, of which state his parents, James and Barbara ( Resler) Winklepleck, were also natives. The mother died in 1848, and the father, who long survived her, passed away in 1883. The first of the Winklepleck family to come to America was a native of Germany who crossed the Atlantic in 1732 and located in Pennsylvania. Our subject's paternal grand- father, Christian Winklepleck, was born in that state and from there removed to Ohio in 1806. There he continued to make his home until his death, which occurred in 1857.
In the state of his nativity C. D. Winkle- pleck was reared and educated and after leaving school at the age of seventeen years he commenced learning the miller's trade, which he followed for twelve years. He then rented a farm in Ohio and operated the same for eight years. At the end of that period he came to Illinois and settled in Christian county, purchasing at that time eighty acres of his present farm in Locust township. He has since bought an adjoin- ing eighty-acre tract and to-day has a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, well improved with good buildings. Although he continues to reside upon his farm he has
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retired from its active management and is now enjoying a well-earned rest.
Mr. Winklepleck was married in 1863 to Miss Sarah Helwig, a daughter of Samuel Helwig, of Ohio, and to them were born six children, as follows: Carrie, at home with her father; Horace, who died at the age of thirteen years ; Alice, wife of Charles Dorr, who is living on our subject's farm; Ida, wife of Herman Schmidt, a farmer of Christian county ; Bertha, who died at the age of two years; and Bird, at home. Mr. Winklepleck has been called upon to mourn the loss of his estimable wife, who died on the 5th of February, 1902. She was a con- sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which her husband and children also belong. Since casting his first presi- dential vote for Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Win- klepleck has supported the Republican party and its principles. Since 1873 he has been a resident of Christian county and in that time he has made a host of warm friends who esteem him highly for his sterling worth.
HENRY J. YARNELL.
Henry J. Yarnell, one of the representa- tive and prominent citizens of Mosquito township, his home being on section 22, is a native of Illinois, born near Carlinville, Macoupin county, January 8, 1844, and is the fourth in order of birth in a family of seven children, whose parents were Isaac A. and Rebecca B. (Bonham) Yarnell. His father was born near Knoxville, Tennessee, on the 13th of December, 1810, and came to Illinois in 1833. It was not until 1867, how- ever, that he became a resident of Christian county, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying here August 7, 1887. His wife passed away in 1851. Her parents were
Benjamin and Olive Bonham. Our sub- ject's paternal grandfather was Mordecai Yarnell, who was born April 17, 1767, and died July 30, 1846. The great-grandfather was a soldier of the Revolutionary war.
As soon as he had attained a sufficient age Henry J. Yarnell entered the public schools of this state, where he pursued his studies until eighteen years of age. By that time the country had become involved in civil war and he resolved to strike a blow in defense of the Union. Accordingly he enlisted on the 8th of September, 1862, as a private in Company K, Ninety-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry, for three years. His first service was in Kentucky and he was later taken pris- oner at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, by Jolın Morgan, December 27, 1862. He was sent to the parole camp at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, where he was exchanged June 3, 1863, and on the 7th of the following July went to Vicksburg. On the 14th of August they arrived in New Orleans and later were sent to Morganza, Louisiana, but afterward returned to New Orleans, where they em- barked on transports for Texas. They crossed the Gulf of Mexico and after a voy- age of ten days landed at Brazos, Santiago Island. They next went up the Rio Grande river to Brownsville, Texas, where they re- mained for some time and then returned to New Orleans. About the close of the war they were ordered to Mobile, Alabama. The march to that place was a very difficult one as there were many streams and swamps to cross and the soldiers were forced to build- ing bridges and corduroy roads along the way. They were in an engagement near a station on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, which is said to be the last fight east of the Mississippi river. Mr. Yarnell was under fire at Spanish Fort for fourteen days. The war having ended and his services being no
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longer needed he was honorably discharged on the 12th of July, 1865, and returned home.
Mr. Yarnell then attended a private school at Scottville, Illinois, for one term. and for sixteen years thereafter he alter- nated farming with school teaching, devot- ing the summer season to the former occu- pation, while during the winter months he taught. In 1867 he came to Christian coun- ty and located on his present farm in Mos- quito township, where he has since carried on agricultural pursuits with marked suc- cess.
On the 4th of April, 1872, Mr. Yarnell was united in marriage to Miss Jane A. Wil- kinson, a daughter of Thompson and Mary Wilkinson, who were early settlers of Ma- coupin county, Illinois, and were from Eng- land and Vermont, respectively. Our sub- ject and his wife have two children : Oscar, a physician of Cerro Gordo, Illinois, who is now pursuing a special course of study in the line of his profession in Berlin, Ger- many ; and Maud, who is attending the home school. The son is now married.
Religiously the family hold membership in the Baptist church and socially Mr. Yar- nell belongs to the Masonic Lodge No. 682 and the Grand Army Post, both of Blue Mound. Although a stanch Republican in his political views he is now serving his third term as supervisor of Mosquito town- ship, which is strongly Democratic, a fact that plainly indicates his popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow-citi- zens. During his incumbency the court house at Taylorville was completed. His official duties have been most promptly and faithfully discharged, winning for him the commendation of all concerned. No trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed in the
slightest degree and he well merits the con- fidence and high regard in which he is held.
WILLIAM CHAMBERLAIN.
William Chamberlain was one of the most respected and esteemed residents of Taylor- ville and the county owes much to him for what he did in its behalf along lines of material upbuilding and intellectual and moral advancement. As the day with its morning of hope and promise, its noontide of activity, its evening of completed and suc- cessful effort, ending in the grateful rest and quiet of the night, so was the life of this man. He left the impress of his individual- ity upon public thought and action and the world is certainly better for his having lived.
Mr. Chamberlain was born on Christmas Day in 1844 in Rochester, Indiana, and died on the ist of September, 1903. His residence in Taylorville covered more than thirty years. He pursued his early educa- tion in the common schools and spent his boyhood days in his parents' home, remain- ing there until after the inauguration of the Civil war, when his patriotic spirit was aroused and he joined the army, although but eighteen years of age at the time when he donned the blue uniform of the nation. He fought valiantly to protect his country's flag until the close of the memorable struggle and displayed valor equal to that of many a veteran of twice his years. After his re- turn home he determined to prepare for a business career and to this end entered Bry- ant & Stratton Business College in Chi- cago. There he completed a regular course and soon afterward was given employment in the wholesale dry goods house of John V. Farwell. A contemporary biographer in speaking of his early business' experience said: "As an evidence that Mr. Chamber-
William Chamberlain
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lain early in his career displayed the traits that afterward made him a success in the business world-when A. G. Barnes, of this city, sent to John V. Farwell for a 'sober, industrious and capable young man' to give a partnership in his dry goods house, Mr. Farwell picked out Mr. Chamberlain from more than a hundred clerks and sent him to Taylorville. Taylorville people have seen the success that has attended the Chamber- lain & Barnes dry goods house and to Mr. Chamberlain's able management was the suc- cess due. He certainly sustained the confi- dence Mr. Farwell reposed in him." In the conduct of his store he always followed pro- gressive methods, studied closely the wishes of the general public and endeavored to meet the demands of his patrons in every possible way. His business methods, too, were strictly honorable and straightforward. He was also one of the organizers of the Taylorville Coal Company and held consid- erable stock therein. Mrs. Chamberlain worked with her husband in the store for twenty-seven years, so that its success may also be attributed to her earnest efforts and co-operation.
It was on the 25th of July, 1871, that Mr. Chamberlain was united in marriage to Miss Sadie L. Phelps of Logansport, Indiana, a daughter of Hiram and Messina Phelps. Her father was a native of Virginia and her mother of Kentucky, while Mrs Chamber- lain was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. She was a maiden of eleven summers when she accompanied her parents to Indiana and in the seminary in Logansport she was edu- cated. By her marriage she became the mother of two children: Roy and Flossie, but both died in childhood. Mrs. Chamber- lain has always taken an active part in social and public life in Taylorville and her in- fluence has been a potent factor along lines
of intellectual and moral culture. She was the first worthy maiden in the Eastern Star here and she has also been a member of the grand chapter. Deeply interested in the cause of education and anxious for the ad- vancement of every improvement along that line, she made the speech placing Mrs. Laura B. Evans in nomination for the position of a trustee of the State University at Cham- paign. Her speech was delivered at the convention in Springfield and is spoken of as one of the most brilliant oratorical efforts ever made by a woman in Illinois. At all times Mrs. Chamberlain supplemented her husband's efforts along benevolent and moral lines and they also worked together in per- fect harmony as they did in business life. The relation which existed between them was largely ideal and theirs was a most happy union.
In matters pertaining to the public prog- ress and upbuilding Mr. Chamberlain was . very prominent and influential. He was among those who labored earnestly and in- defatigably for the establishment of the water-works system and secured this public improvement in the face of strong opposi- tion. A co-operant factor in many meas- ures for the general good Taylorville owes much of its advancement to him and his ef- forts. In Masonic circles he was prominent and honored. He belonged to the Royal Arch chapter in Taylorville and to Elwood Commandery, K. T., at Springfield. He held most of the offices in the blue lodge and all in the chapter, being high priest for a num- ber of years, and for twenty years prior to his death he acted as marshal at every Ma- sonic funeral held in Taylorville. If we would investigate his life record, however, and find the real secret of his worth and the motive that prompted his honorable actions we will find it in his religions faith. He was
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