USA > Illinois > Christian County > Past and present of Christian County, Illinois > Part 32
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During his boyhood W. M. Stattner at- tended the district school and after com- pleting his education commenced learning the blacksmith's trade at the age of eighteen, serving a two years' apprenticeship. Dur- ing the following two years he worked on a farm and then resumed work at his trade, being employed in a shop in Millersville for two years. At the end of that time he went to Fremont, Nebraska, where he worked in a horse-shoeing shop for three years and then returned to Millersville and embarked
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in blacksmithing on his own account at his present location. He does horse-shoeing and general repair work of all kinds and being an expert workman and a good reliable busi- ness man he commands a fair share of the public patronage.
In 1895 Mr. Stattner was united in mar- riage to Miss Sadie Corneil, a native of Christian county and a daughter of Samuel Corneil, and to them has been born one son, Rodell. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are highly respected and esteemed by all who know them. In politics Mr. Stattner is a Democrat.
DAVID LACHARITE.
Practical industry, wisely and vigorously applied, never fails of success; it carries a man onward and upward, brings out his in- dividual character and acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The great- est results in life are usually attained by sin- ple means and the exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense and perseverance. The every-day life, with its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunity for acquiring experience of the best kind and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with abundant scope for effort and for self- improvement. It is along such lines that Mr. Lacharite has won a place prominent in business circles in Christian county and is now known as one of the most respected and honored, as well as most successful, citizens of Assumption. He is there engaged in merchandising, in banking and in the opera- tion of coal fields, and the extent and im- portance of his business interests make him a very prosperous man.
Mr. Lacharite was born in Maskinonge. Canada, November 28, 1839, of humble parentage. He is a son of Henry and
AAgatha ( Mason ) Lacharite, who were born near the old historic city of Montreal and they became the parents of eleven children, eight of whom reached years of maturity, while two died in infancy and one in later life. David Lacharite is the eldest and in the common schools of Canada he obtained his education. After leaving school he began clerking for an uncle and after two years spent in the mercantile field, he worked at the carpenter's trade for two years. In 1856 he removed to Minnesota, where he followed various pursuits and while there he mastered the English lan- guage, having spoken French up to this time. For four years he remained in Min- nesota and from 1860 until 1863 was in Louisiana.
In the latter year he came to Assumption, where he followed his trade as a journey- man carpenter, being thus employed for a year. He then engaged in contracting until 1869, when he turned his attention to mer- chandising, in which he has since engaged, meeting with splendid success and adding to the general prosperity by the establish- ment of a large and thriving enterprise. He first entered into partnership with A. Caza- let and the firm of Cazalet & Lacharite con- tinued until 1873, when our subject pur- chased his partner's interest, continuing alone until 1877. Joseph Lambert then bought out Mr. Lacharite and became an as- sociate of his former employer, Mr. Cazalet. The store was thus conducted until 1880. when the firm of Lacharite & Lambert be- came proprietors and have since conducted the business. They carry a very large and carefully selected stock of general merchan- dise and have one of the best equipped stores of the county. The firm is known far and near for its honorable business dealing and enjoys a large patronage which is constantly
MR. AND MRS. DAVID LACHARITE
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increasing. The building in which the store is located is well constructed, being built of brick, and is finely lighted. It is the prop- erty of Mr. Lacharite, who may well be classed among the substantial citizens of the county. He is the president of the Illi- nois State Bank, in which position he suc- ceeded B. F. Hight, the first president and organizer of the institution. He maintains the safe, conservative policy which was in- augurated at the establishment of the bank and has also introduced various progressive methods which have added to its success. He is the treasurer and one of the large stockholders of the Assumption Coal & Min- ing Company and he has extensive and val- uable farming interests, including his resi- dence and other realty and several farms in Assumption township.
On the 14th of February, 1865, Mr. Lacharite was married in Assumption to Miss Lenora Lambert, a sister of his part- ner in the mercantile business. She came to this county with her parents when but five years of age and has since resided here. Unto this marriage have been born seven children : Mrs. Mary Fear, who is now a widow and has two children; Clara, at home; J. A., who is assistant cashier in the Illinois State Bank, of Assumption ; Henry B., who in October, 1903, purchased an in- terest in the elevator and grain business at Assumption and is now devoting his ener- gies to that enterprise; Ella, at home: Her- man C., who married Alta Hight, a daugh- ter of B. F. Hight, and who recently gradu- ated from the Chicago Dental College, since which time he has engaged in the practice of his profession in the Illinois State Bank Building; and Leah, who is yet under the parental roof. The family are all members of St. Mary's Catholic church of Assump- tion.
In local politics Mr. Lacharite has taken an active part and has been elected to sev- cral official positions. He has been a men- ber of the board of supervisors of Assump- tion township and of the county board, and was the president of the former for a num- ber of terms. For ten years he was one of the county commissioners and has done more than any one man to secure good roads throughout the county. He is a stanch Dem- ocrat but places the welfare of the county above party prejudice. For twenty years he has been school treasurer and the cause of education finds in him a warm friend. He has seen Assumption and the surround- ing country grow from primitive conditions, having come here when the town contained nothing but frame buildings, while the country was full of sloughs and ponds and much of the prairie was still uncultivated. His business interests have been an import- ant factor in the development of this part of the state, and at the same time he has won gratifying success. His reputation in business circles is such as any man might be proud to possess. He has never incurred an obligation that he has not met, nor made an engagement that he has not fulfilled, and wherever known he is respected and honored.
W. T. SHORT, M. D.
Although one of the younger representa- tives of the medical fraternity in Christian county the age of the Doctor does not seem a bar to his success for he has attained a position in his profession that many an older physician might well envy. He was born July 27, 1872, in Fillmore, Montgomery county, Illinois, and is a son of H. S. and Sarah M. Short. His father, a native of North Carolina, took up the study of medi-
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cine in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has engaged in practice in Fillmore, Illinois, for thir- ty-five years. He is one of the prominent and influential residents of that part of the state and has a practice that is indicative of the unqualified confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen.
Dr. Short spent his boyhood days in his . parents' home and at the usual age began his education in the public schools, continu- ing his studies in Fillmore until he had mastered the branches of learning usually taught in the school system of the state. Resolving to follow in the profesional foot- steps of his father he began reading at home and soon afterward entered the Marion Sims Medical College, in which he was graduated with the class of 1897. After the comple- tion of his course he returned to Fillmore and for a time practiced with his father. Later he spent three years in Grove City, Illinois, and has now been located in Ston- ington for two years. His business is stead- ily increasing and in partnership with Dr. Coe he is enjoying a good patronage. They have a well equipped office and the calls made for their professional services are con- tinually growing more numerous-a fact which indicates that in public regard Dr. Short has steadily advanced, winning the confidence of his fellow citizens through marked skill and ability in his chosen work.
On the 12th of December, 1900, occurred the marriage of Dr. Short and Miss Rena Neer, a native of Christian county. This union has been blessed with an interesting little son, Hiram Coe, born on the 23d of December, 1901. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and fraternally he is a Mason and an Odd Fellow. He is also identified with a number of other organizations of a similar character and he gives his political allegiance
to the Republican party. In the line of his profession he is connected with the Chris- tian County, the Decatur, the Central Illi- nois and the Illinois State Medical Societies and in attending these bodies has gained many valuable ideas through the interchange of opinions and experiences. He is always deeply interested in anything that tends to solve the intricate problem which continually faces the physician and in his practice read- ily adopts any innovation that he feels will prove of practical benefit in his work of re- storing health.
FRANK W. HOWELL.
Frank W. Howell, the popular proprietor of the St. Charles Hotel, of Pana, was born on Buckeye Prairie in this county, July 23, 1874, and is a worthy representative of a family that has been identified with the up- building and development of this region for almost half a century. His parents were John and Maria J. (Law) Howell, the lat- ter a daughter of James and Lucretia (Stev- ens) Law, who were natives of Ohio. Our subject's maternal great-grandparents were William and Lovina ( Harris) Law, who came to this state from Ohio and settled in Christian county in 1856. William Law purchased a tract of wild prairie land between Taylorville and Buckeye Prairie and to the improvement and development of that place he devoted his energies until called to his final rest on the ist of September, 1861. His wife died in October, 1863. They had four children, namely : William; Ada; James, the grandfather of our subject ; and George, all now deceased. When the family first located here the country was wild and un- broken and covered with ponds and sloughs. There were no roads and fences and the deer roamed over the prairies.
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James Law, our subject's grandfather, be- came a very successful farmer and the owner of considerable land, accumulating enough property to give his children all good farms. He gave liberally to the erection of churches and schoolhouses on Buckeye Prairie and in other ways was actively identified with the upbuilding of the locality in which he lived. He was reared and educated in Ohio and throughout life followed agricultural pur- suits, dying upon his farm in Locust town- ship, August 27, 1880. For his first wife he married Lucretia Stevens, who died in 1857, leaving four children: Mrs. Lena Reynolds, who has three children, two living on Buckeye Prairie; Nancy, the widow of Charles Wood and a resident of Pana ; Maria J., the mother of our subject ; and James, who married Ollie Orr and died leaving two children. James Law's second union was with Letitia Churchman, who still survives him. Of her three children two are living.
It was on the Ist of December, 1861, that Mrs. Maria J. Howell received from her father a nice farm of one hundred and sixty acres of very productive and choice land. The corn crop from this in 1903 yielded sev- enty bushels to the acre and other grain in Mr. Howell enlisted from Christian county to serve three years and was mustered into the United States service at Anna, Illinois, February 18, 1862, as a private in Com- pany H, Fifty-fourth Illinois Volunteer In- proportion. During Mrs. Howell's girlhood . fantry, under the command of Captain Ed wheat was the principal crop and the chil- dren of the family used to gather the sheaves and shock it. She often dropped corn by hand and assisted in the harrowing. She has also shelled corn by hand and helped in the harvest field, being thoroughly familiar with farming in all its branches. She re- members well the conditions of early days, when one could see nothing but straw stacks for miles, there being no fences or hedges of any kind, but plenty of open prairie. At that time there were many wolves and rattle- snakes, while wild turkeys, prairie chickens and cranes were thick.
On the 29th of October, 1872, at Pana,
was celebrated the marriage of John Howell and Maria J. Law. The former was born in Indiana, August 25, 1841, a son of John and Margaret (Rutherford) Howell, while the latter was born in Noble county, Ohio, October 29, 1853, and was a mere child when brought by her parents to Christian county. After their marriage the young couple located in Pana, where Mr. Howell worked at his trade of coopering in the spring and fall, principally manufacturing barrels for flour. For two years he and his wife lived on her farm on Buckeye Prairie and then removed to Kansas City but re- turned to Christian county in 1880 and lo- cated permanently in Pana, occupying the same house for twenty-three years. During his last years Mr. Howell was an invalid, being afflicted with asthma and other dis- cases contracted in the army, from which he died on the 30th of November, 1903.
Roessler and Colonel Thomas W. Harris, who was later succeeded by Colonel Green- ville M. Mitchell. The regiment was organ- ized at Camp Dubois, Anna, Illinois, as a part of the Kentucky Brigade and February 24, 1862, was ordered to Cairo. On the 14th of March they moved to Columbus, Kentucky, and three companies were sta- tioned at Humboldt, Tennessee, during the fall of 1862 and the following winter were on duty in the vicinity of Jackson. taking part in a skirmish at Union City, Tennes- see. In the spring of 1863, having moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, they were as- signed to the Third Brigade, Second Di-
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vision, Sixteenth Corps. Army of the Ten- nessee. During its service the command took part in the following engagements ; the siege of Corinth. Haines Bluff, siege of Vicksburg. Steele's expedition against Lit- tle Rock. AArkansas: the attack on copper- heads at Charleston. Illinois : the pursuit of the rebel General Joe Shelby from Little Rock to Clarendon, Arkansas: and the en- gagement on the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad. where almost the entire command was captured by Shelby after fighting his vastly superior force of more than four thousand for five hours and until their hay breastworks were burned by the rebel shells and they were driven out by the extreme heat. Companies F and H were not at- tacked. however. being at that time detailed on service at a distant station. The captured men were paroled and sent to Benton Bar- racks, St. Louis, Missouri, where they were exchanged December 5.' 1864. and went to Hickory Station on the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, where they performed guard duty until June 6. 1865. when the command moved to Pine Bluffs. later to Fort Smith and Little Rock. Arkansas. Here Mr. Howell was taken ill and sent from Vicks- burg to Paducah, Kentucky, where he re- mained about three months, returning to his regiment at Little Rock. He was also in the hospital at Jackson, Mississippi, for about a month. At all other times he was with his command and performed most faithful and meritorious service. He was honorably discharged at Springfield, Illinois, February 17. 1865, by reason of expiration of service, and for a number of years he was a member of Henry A. Pope Post. No. 41I. G. A. R. His widow belongs to Pope Corps. No. 190, W. R. C. His brother. James W., served in the same company and
regiment as himself and re-enlisted as a vet- eran.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Howell were born five children, namely: Frank W., of this review : Mertie Belle, deceased: Margaret L., who is the wife of Bert Guenette and has one child. Evadna P .: Leona Gertrude and John C .. both at home with their mother. They all received good educations.
Frank W. Howell was educated in the public schools of Pana and was a member of the junior class of the high school when he laid aside his books and entered upon the more arduous duties of business life at the age of sixteen years. He was first em- ployed as night clerk in the hotel, of which he is now proprietor. it being then owned by Mr. Dalton, for whom he worked for five years. He then engaged in clerking in the store of G. V. Penwell until the spring of 1897. when he returned to the St. Charles Hotel. remaining with Mr. Dalton only a short time, however. He next accepted a position with the Illinois Central Railroad as assistant road supervisor and was in the company's office at this place for two years. On the 7th of October. 1899. he purchased the St. Charles Hotel. Mr. Dalton having died in the meantime, and at once took charge of the place as proprietor. Mr. Howell owns the building. furniture and fix- tures and has enlarged and remodeled the place, making it the best dollar a day house in the county. It is a favorite stopping place with commercial travelers and is also headquarters for Assumption merchants, as well as for the railroad men connected with the Illinois Central. Big Four. Baltimore & Ohio and Frisco Railroads. Mr. Howell has eight persons in his employ and under his capable management the business of the hotel has rapidly increased. When it came under his control only about one
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hundred and seventy were served with meals each day but this number has been increased to over five hundred. Pleasant and obliging in manner, he has proved a very popular host and is a business man of more than ordinary ability .ยท To some extent he deals in real es- tate, buying and selling residence property and is a stockholder in the Pana National Bank.
On the 28th of October, 1896, Mr. Howell was united in marriage to Miss Orpha May Chapman, a daughter of Thomas and Mar- garet (McKee) Chapman, of Rosemond, Illinois. She was born in Christian county, December 5, 1874, and was educated in the public schools of Pana. She is an accom- plished musician and prior to her marriage was a good stenographer and compositor, being employed on the Paladium paper. Mr. and Mrs. Howell have an interesting little daughter, Marcella Eileen, born August 9, 1899. In his social relations Mr. Howell is a member of the Knights of Pythias fra- ternity and the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, and is a man well liked by all who know him.
S. W. CULP.
Few men are more prominent or more widely known in the city of Morrisonville than S. W. Culp. He has been an important factor in business circles and public affairs and his popularity is well deserved as in him are embraced the characteristics of an un- bending integrity, unabating energy and in- dustry that never flags. He is public-spir- ited and thoroughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of Morrisonville.
Mr. Culp was born in Meigs county. Ohio, April 22, 1845, and is a son of Jacob W. Culp, who was born in Pennsylvania of
Pennsylvania Dutch parentage. For some years the father was engaged in farming in Ohio and in 1865 removed to Montgomery county, Illinois, where he purchased eighty acres of land and resumed farming. There his death occurred in 1894. The mother of our subject passed away in 1880. S. W. Culp received his early education in the public schools of his native state. Coming to Illi- nois in 1865, he taught school here until the fall of 1871, when he entered the university at Carlinville and continued his studies there until his graduation in 1873. He then served as principal of a high school in Ma- coupin county, Illinois, until his removal to Christian county in 1876, at which time he accepted the position of principal of the No- komis schools and was in charge of the same for one year, after which he removed to Morrisonville and had charge of its schools for six years. In educational work he met with excellent success and proved a very competent and thorough instructor.
In 1882 Mr. Culp purchased the drug stock of Leroy Martin, who was proprietor of the oldest store in that line in the city, and he is to-day known as the leading drug- gist of the place. He bought the building in which he carries on business in 1883, it being twenty by one hundred and forty feet in dimensions, with his office and dispensing room in the rear of the main store room and a large wareroom in the back. In addition to a full line of drugs, he now carries jew- elry and in that department of his business has formed a partnership with J. L. Mullen, who is a practical jeweler. Mr. Culp does not confine his attention wholly to his store as he has become interested in newspaper work, having purchased the Times in 1887. This he conducts as a non-partisan paper and since it came into his possession the circulation has been doubled, there being
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now between seven and eight hundred sub- scribers. He has made it one of the leading journals of the county, it being a bright, newsy sheet, full of local and foreign news. Mr. Culp owns the building in which the paper is printed and besides his business property has a fine residence in the Pence addition to Morrisonville, which is modern in all its appointments and is an honor to the city.
In 1886 Mr. Culp was united in marriage to Miss Nina M. Dunning. Her father. Andrew J. Dunning, was a native of New York and was a railroad conductor in the east for some years. In 1884 he came to Christian county, Illinois, and purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres in Bear Creek township, to the cultivation and im- provement of which he then turned his at- tention. There he spent his remaining days. dying in 1891.
Always a consistent Democrat. the party acknowledged his services by appointing Mr. Culp postmaster of Morrisonville during President Cleveland's administration, and he filled that office in a most creditable and satisfactory manner. He has also served as town collector and has been a member of the school board for six years. He has been president of the Business Men's Asso- ciation and is a charter member of the Mor- risonville Building & Loan Association, of which he is now president. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic lodge in Mor- risonville and belongs to the chapter in Tay- lorville and the Litchfield commandery. He is a charter member of the Modern Wood- men of America at Morrisonville and has passed through all the chairs in that order. His influence and labors have been of marked effect in promoting the interests of his adopted city and he stands deservedly high in the esteem of his fellow-men.
D. W. JOHNSTON.
Among the prominent and representative citizens of Taylorville is numbered D. W. Johnston. He has been an important factor in her business circles for some years and is a man whose worth and ability have gained him success, honor and public con- fidence. He enjoys the well-earned distinc- tion of being what the public calls a self- made man and an analyzation of his char- acter reveals the fact that enterprise, well directed effort and honorable dealing have been the essential features in his prosperity.
Mr. Johnston was born in Madison coun- ty, Ohio. October 13. 1839, and is a son of Alexander and Susan Johnston. His father was a native of Ireland, but being brought to this country at an early age was princi- pally reared in Pennsylvania. In 1854 he came to Illinois and settled in Christian county, where he became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land, which he operated quite successfully up to the time of his death in 1872. The mother of our subject was born in Ohio.
In the schools of his native state D. W. Johnston began his education and continued his studies here after the removal of the fam- ily to Illinois. At the age of twenty years he commenced farming and continued to follow that occupation for several years. He spent about seven years in the gold mines of Colorado. Montana and Idaho, and then turned his attention to the cattle business, driving his stock from Texas to Kansas. He dealt in southern cattle for about four years and in 1872 returned to Christian county, his time being taken up by his farming in- terests in Johnson township during the fol- lowing seven years. At the end of that time he removed to Taylorville and has since been identified with several business enter-
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