USA > Illinois > Christian County > Past and present of Christian County, Illinois > Part 44
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
manship and honorable dealing he has built up an excellent trade and has succeeded in accumulating some nice property, including two business houses on Main street and two residences beside his own comfortable home, which is an eight-room house built by him in 1870. From this property he now derives a good income.
On the 14th of November. 1870, Mr. Wucherpfennig was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Laufkestter, and they have be- come the parents of seven children. namely : Mrs. Anna G. Hellring, who has three chil- dren: Cornelius, Edmund and Christ ; Charles H., who is engaged in the imple- ment business in Morrisonville: Dena, who is clerking in the store of J. H. Bertmann : Joseph G., who is learning the blacksmith's trade with his father: Wilhelmina E., who is keeping house for her uncle: Mary 'A .. who is taking a business course at the Catholic convent ; and Elizabeth C., who is attending school.
Mr. Wucherpfennig gives his political support to the men and measures of the Democratic party and for one term he served as township collector, but his time and at- tention have mostly been devoted to his busi- ness interests. He is a man whose word is considered as good as his bond and he is held in high regard by all who know him.
H. A. DANFORD.
H. A. Danford is a representative of the journalistic interests of Christian county. Since 1896 he has been the owner and editor of the Stonington Star, a weekly paper which has quite a large circulation. Mr. Danford was born in Denver, Missouri, in 1874. a son of Peter and Nancy Danford, both of whom are natives of Ohio. Remov- ing to Grant City, Missouri, Peter Danford
was there engaged in teaching school for nine years and in 1878 he came with his family to Owaneco, Christian county, where he again engaged in teaching for several years. In 1888, however, he abandoned ed- ucational work and entered the journalistic field. purchasing the Farmers' Journal of Taylorville. He published it for a year and then sold out, turning his attention to the grocery business in Owaneco, where he re- mained until 1896. He then bought a paper published in that town and removed the plant to Stonington. He also established another paper at Mount Auburn, Illinois, but sold it after one year-in 1901. In 1898 he disposed of his paper in Stonington and was again engaged in the grocery business for a time. He is now serving as police magistrate and notary public of Stonington and is well known in public affairs there. heing a progressive and enterprising citizen. At the time of the Civil war he proved his loyalty to the government by enlisting in the Union Army, in July, 1861, as a member of Company F Eighteenth Ohio Infantry. He continued in the service until the fall of 1864 and participated in a number of im- portant battles which contributed to the splendid success which ultimately crowned the Union arms.
To the public schools system of Christian county H. A. Danford is indebted for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. He continued his studies until fifteen years of age and then started to earn his own living by working as a farm hand, which pursuit he followed until he attained his majority. In that year he removed to Stonington and joined his father in the newspaper enterprise as the publisher of the Stonington Star. In 1896 he purchased his father's interest and has since been owner and publisher of this journal. In his printing office he employs
304
PAST AND PRESENT
four men and is doing a paying business. The Star has a circulation of eight hundred. This paper is published weekly and Mr. Danford is to-day doing a prosperous busi- ness, having a larger patronage than is usu- ally obtained in a town of the size of Ston- ington.
On the 25th of September. 1898. Mr. Danford was united in marriage to Miss Myrtle Horton, a daughter of Samuel Hor- ton, a native of Flora, Illinois. Two chil- dren grace this union: Mildred, who is four years of age : and AAlden, three months old. The parents are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church and they are widely and favorably known in the county, having a large circle of warm friends. Mr. Dan- ford is a progressive citizen and through the columns of his paper as well as in other ways he advocates all measures for the gen- eral good and champions every movement to advance general improvement.
T. T. BERRY.
T. T. Berry, one of Mount Auburn town- ship's most prominent and influential citi- zens, his home being on section 15, was born in Kentucky, February 18. 1838, and is a son of W. TI. and Elvira (Taylor) Berry. also natives of that state and both now de- ceased, the mother having died in 1852 and the father in 1882. Reared in Kentucky, our subject attended the district schools near his boyhood home and during his minority gave his father the benefit of his labors.
At the age of twenty-one Mr. Berry went to Pikes Peak, Colorado, in search of gold, driving across the country with ox teams, but the venture was a failure as he saw noth- ing but Indians and soon spent all that he had, returning home empty-handed at the end of a year. Renting a farm in Tennes-
see, he engaged in agricultural pursuits in that state until 1871, and then came to Illi- nois, locating first in Menard county, where he made his home until 1877. The follow- ing ten years were passed in Sangamon county and at the end of that time he be- came a resident of Christian county. locat- ing on the farm in Mount Auburn township where he now lives. Here he follows gen- eral farming with good success, being a man of good business ability, as well as a thor- ough and practical agriculturist.
Mr. Berry was married in 1863 to Miss Sarah F. Landrum, by whom he had two children, namely: Viola V., wife of L. Hamel, a farmer of Christian county ; and Ernest L., who is married and living in Cal- ifornia. The mother of these children died in 1870. and two years later Mr. Berry wedded Miss Anna E. Worthington, a daughter of Robert Worthington, of Men- ard county. Her grandfather, Robert Worthington, Sr., married a sister of Ed- ward Tiffin, the first governor of Ohio, and she is also related to Thomas Worthington, another of the early governors of that state, he being a brother of her great-grandfather. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Berry are as follows: Robert W., now a resident of Springfield, Illinois; Clarence E., who is living in Chicago: Edna W., wife of Dr. Holben, of Mount Auburn; and S. D. W. and Grover C., both at home with their par- ents.
The family hold membership in the Meth- odist Episcopal church at Grove City and Mr. Berry belongs to the camp of Modern Woodmen at that place. By his ballot he supports the men and measures of the Dem- ocratic party and he has ever taken an ac- tive and prominent part in local politics. He is now serving as supervisor of Mount Auburn township, having for fourteen years
T. T. BERRY
MRS. T. T. BERRY
399
CHRISTIAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
filled that office with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents, and he was chairman of the board five years. He does all in his power to advance the in- terests of his township and county and it was largely through his instrumentality that the new courthouse was erected. He is serv- ing his second term as school director and never withholds his aid from any object calculated to advance the moral, social, or material welfare of the community.
EDWARD EWING ADAMS.
Edward Ewing and Alfred Adams com- pose the law firm of Adams Brothers. The former settled in this county in 1899 and the latter in 1894. Their family stem is of English origin though planted in America in colonial days. Nathaniel Adams, the great-great-grandfather, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. The exact place of his birth is not known, but when a young man he was at Baltimore, Maryland, where it is supposed that he married. His wife was Rachel Chambers and their children were Charles, Robert, Nathaniel, James, Joseph, John and two daughters. Charles, who was a sea captain, died unmarried at Charleston, South Carolina, while Robert and Nathaniel settled in Mason county, Kentucky, and there reared families. The county records show that Robert was married March 19. 1796, to Rachel Hull. James, unmarried. was hurt by a falling tree and never fully recovered. Joseph, who was born January, 1769, and died October 18, 1844, was first married to Bridget Curran and afterward to Nancy Smith, and his death occurred in Madison county, Indiana.
John Chambers Adams, the great-grand- father of the gentleman whose name intro- duces this review, was born in Philadelphia
in 1777 and followed the occupation of farming. His death occurred in Dallas county, Iowa, December 16, 1862. He wedded Martha Walburn. who was of Welsh descent and was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, in 1776, while her death occurred in Urbana, Ohio, about 1834. The father of John Chambers Adams re- moved from Philadelphia to Greenbrier county, West Virginia, where he died be- fore 1798 and in that year John Chambers Adams removed to Kentucky, stopping first in Mason county, where he had two brothers. In 1800 he took up his abode on a farm four miles west of Springfield, Ohio. It was stipulated that he should receive the paternal estate in West Virginia on condi- tion that he would care for his mother and brother James. They came with him to Ohio, where both died. Some slaves also fell to his lot, which he afterward sold against the wishes of his wife, who held anti-slavery opinions even at that early date and to this she always attributed whatever bad luck befell them. Their children were Robert W .. John. Sarah, Mary, Rachel, Rebecca, Harvey, Wesley, Nathaniel, Isaac Newton, Minerva, Eliza and Martha. Of these Rebecca died at the age of thirteen and Minerva at nineteen years, in Springfield, Ohio, but all the others married and had families.
John Adams, the grandfather, born in Clark county, Ohio, in 1802, died in Green- ville, Illinois, April 15, 1877. His wife, Mary Bacon, was born in Angelica, New York. June 3. 1804, and died April 19, 1877. at Greenville, Illinois. For a short time he was a keel-boatman on the Mississippi river but afterward became a cooper. He first resided near Springfield, Ohio, and kept the toll-gate on the pike, while subsequently he lived in Dayton, Ohio, in Tippecanoe coun-
21
400
PAST AND PRESENT
ty, Indiana, in Alton, Illinois, and then after several other removals settled in Bond county, Illinois, in 1852, there living until his death. His children were: Jackson, who died in infancy; Nelson, who was born June 8, 1827. in Clark county, Ohio : Lemuel, who was born April 30, 1831. in Harshmans- ville, Ohio: Sarah Jane, who was born in the same place in 1833 and died in 1850 at Indianapolis, Indiana: John, who was born .April 30. 1835. in West Point. Indiana ; William, born June 5. 1838. in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and died at Walshville. Illi- nois. October 21, 1865: and Harrison, born August 29. 1841, at Woodburn, Illinois.
The Bacon family was from New Eng- land. Ezra Bacon who was born February 26. 1768, died in Reading, Ohio, March IL. 1826, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Emmons, was born January 28. 1777. in Connecticut and died in Fair- field, Ohio, August 2. 1819. Their children were: Mary: Lucinda, the wife of Alex- ander Porter, born November 24, 1806, and died May 24. 1889: Sarah, who was born February 11, 1809, and died in 1894, and was the wife of Andrew Wakefield: John Douglas, who wedded Mary Green, and whose birth occurred May 13. 1811. while his death occurred February 15. 1863: Ethelbert, who was born June 21. 1816, and died May 16, 1852, his wife being Jane Petefish : and Ezra Emmons, who was born July 25, 1819. and died August 11. 1839.
The following is the record of the sons of John Adams who had families. Nelson Adams. the father of our subject, has lived in Bond county since 1852. He was mar- ried January 20, 1859, to Nancy Bunch, a daughter of Lambert and Louisa ( Smith ) Bunch, who was born in Bond county Sep- tember 8. 1839. and died there November 11, 1860. He served as a private in Com-
pany E. One Hundred and Thirtieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, from August 12, 1862. to June 23. 1865. He was at Memphis, Champion Hills, Vicksburg, New Orleans and at other places with his regiment and at Mansfield, during the Red River expedition. was taken prisoner and thus held during the continuance of the war, at Tyler, Texas. His brothers, Lemuel and John. likewise did good service for the government. Nelson Adams was married August 17, 1865. to Rebecca Ann Green, a daughter of William and Jane ( Booth) Green. She was born in Mills township. Bond county, September 14. 1842, and their children are: Charles Emerson, who was born May 27, 1866, and died January 7, 1881 : Alfred, who was born August 31. 1868: Edward E., who was born December 31. 1870: Mary Olive, born De- cember 20, 1872; Ellen Jane, born August 4. 1875, and married Ulysses Coigny : Cora May, who was born April 3. 1878, and mar- ried John H. Smith ; and James Francis, who was born October 29, 1880. All were born in Mills township in Bond county.
Lemuel Adams was married on the 30th of April, 1862, to Julia Ellen Birge, who was born in Bond county. December 8. 1839. and died January 26. 1874. Her father. Ansel, with his brothers, James and Cyrus. removed from Poultney, Vermont, to Bond county, Illinois, about 1818. Ansel Birge was born in 1788 and his father David Birge was born at Litchfield, Connecticut. December 11, 1752, while the mother, who Fore the maiden name of Abigail Howland. was born at Barnstable, Massachusetts, De- cember 30. 1754. After arriving at years of maturity Ansel Birge wedded Millicent Twiss, a daughter of Eben and Amy ( Clay) Twiss. She was born in Weston. Vermont. December 16, 1808, and died in Greenville, Illinois, July 12, 1896. Unto Lemuel and
401
CHRISTIAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
Julia Ellen AAdams were born three chil- dren : Emma, Edgar and Cora Alice.
Lemuel Adams was again married May 4. 1882, his second union being with Miss Anna Morris, of Milton, Indiana, who was ยท born March 16, 1844. a daughter of John and Martha (Chappell) Morris. Her
grandfather was Joshua Morris, whose wife was a Morgan and the great-grandfather was Nathan Morris, whose wife was a Bell. . The parents of Martha Morris were Gideon and Mary (Squires) Chappell, the former of French and the latter of Scotch descent. Mrs. Adams' people were Friends or Quak- ers. By her marriage she had but one child, Martha Ellen, born May 9. 1885.
William Adams was married June 16, 1859. to Amanda Kershner, who was born at Hagerstown, Maryland, December 24. 1838, and died in Bates county, Missouri, November 2, 1884. Her parents were Jona- than and Catherine ( Mc. \han) Kershner and her father was a son of Isaac Kershner, another early settler of Bond county, Illi- nois. Unto William and Amanda Adams were born the following named: Mary Alice, the wife of James Reed of Cherry- vale. Kansas; and Ellen and William, who died in infancy.
William, son of James and Sarah (Hix) Green, was born in Madison county, Illinois. August 2, 1814, and died in Bond county. June 12. 1845. He was the youngest of fourteen children. His brothers and sisters were: Mrs. Nancy Laxton ; Mrs. Elizabeth Weldon : Mrs. Esther Matthews; Mrs. Polly Reavis: Mrs. Matilda Green; Mrs. Sally Clary: Falby, who first married. William Mains, later married William Drake, and still later James Henry Harris: Jarvis; Royal; Andrew, who married Elizabeth Pot- ter: George, who married Martha Brown;
and James, who married Sarah Williams. The first three brothers were never married.
The Greens were originally from North Carolina, thence removing to Tennessee and afterward to Illinois. James Green, the great-grandfather of our subject, emigrated from Knox county, Tennessee, in the sun- mer of 1811, settling near Edwardsville, Illi- nois, whence he removed to Bond county in 1815. This was during the period of the war with Great Britain and Indian troubles were frequent. The county records show that letters of administration were granted to his widow June 15, 1821, which is as near as the date of his death can be deter- mined. His wife died January 1, 1846, at the age of seventy-four years. His brothers and sisters and their descendants were in Illi- nois at a very early day, many of them being rangers of the war of 1812 and in the cam- paigns against the Indians. Jarvis Green was killed by the Indians at the battle of Blue Licks, Kentucky, in 1782. He was the grandfather of the late William G. Greene of Menard county, the early friend and companion of Lincoln. George Green, another brother, settled in Greene county, Illinois, and afterward went to Menard county, where he died. He married Lucy Jones and their children were: John. Will- iam, Potter, Aaron, Elias, Keziah, Hannah, Polly, Susan and Nancy. Esther Green, a sister, married a Henson; Mary married Thomas Ratton ; and another sister married Absalom Matthews; and Nancy married Robert Armstrong, who is known as "Robin." Her children were: Jesse : Rhoda: Royal: Hugh: Elizabeth; John or "Jack," with whom Lincoln had the famous wrestle : Nancy and . Eliza. Royal Potter. an early settler of Bond and Menard coun- ties, was a half brother of James, George and Jarvis Green. His wife was Rebecca
402
PAST AND PRESENT
Reavis and to them were born Nancy: Ed- ward: Elizabeth, who married Andrew Green: John: Delilah; and Royal. By his second wife, the widow Polly Cox, he had one son, Solomon.
There were born to William and Jane Green, the mother of our subject and a sis- ter. Sarah Elizabeth, the latter born October 25. 1844. The latter was married in La- clede. Missouri, October 18, 1866, to Solo- mon F. Gilmere, who died in Meadville, Missouri, April 10, 1883. Her children were : Lilly May: Edward Ewing : Dorothy DeRoy, deceased : Vernia, the wife of Fred Littrell: Virgil; and Clarence. Jane Green for her second husband married Harvey E. Stout, a son of Colonel Thomas Stout. June 11. 1848. He was born January 12, 1820, aud died April 9. 1865. Their children were : James E., of Brazilton, Kansas : Mary Ellen. who married John Scott and is now de- ceased, leaving a son Walter: Eliza J., who married Thomas L. Clark ; Harlow A., who died in infancy ; and John M., who died at the age of twenty-seven.
Tracing the ancestry in the line of the maternal grandmother, Edward Ewing Adams is of Irish descent. James Booth. the great-grandfather, was born in County Tyrone near Omagh, March 17. 1790. His wife. Rebecca Ager, was a daughter of James and Jane ( Ewing) Ager. Mr. Booth and his wife and all of the Ager family. with the exception of William who had come in 1811, sailed for America in the ship Lord Nelson in 1817. There were nineteen in the party and they were wrecked off the coast of Nova Scotia near Sable river and lost everything. On the same ship was an elder half-brother of James Booth, named William White, who died near White Sul- phur Springs, West Virginia. Professor Henry Alexander White, of Washington
and Lee University and author of the work entitled "Robert E. Lee and the Southern Confederacy." is his grandson. James Booth also had three sisters who came to America after his arrival. Sarah and Mary never married and Jane became the wife of a Mr. Jackson and removed from Virginia to Muskingum county, Ohio.
James Booth lived in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, from 1817 until the spring of 1823, and afterward in Loudoun county. Virginia, near Leesburg, from 1823 until the fall of 1829, when he removed to the vicinity of White Sulphur Springs and in 1839. accompanied by his family, made the trip in a wagon to Bond county, Illinois. where he lived until his death, on the 18th of January, 1872. His wife died at Poca- hontas, Illinois, December 7. 1858, at the age of sixty-eight years. Their children were as follows: Alexander, born on board the Lord Nelson, August 15. 1817. died in Baltimore in 1839: Jane, born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, January 26, 1819. died in Kansas City, Missouri. May 18. 1883: Robert Colwell, born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, December 5. 1821. married Hannah Isaacs, and died in Dallas county, Missouri. March 20, 1873: Sarah, born near Leesburg, Virginia. September 17. 1823. married Captain Samuel G. McAdams and lives at Greenville, Illinois: Rebecca Ann, born near Leesburg, February 25. 1826, was married to Royal Green. and died in Bond county, June 11, 1884: Isaac Eaton, born near Leesburg, August 27. 1828, died when eight months old: Mary Elizabeth. born near White Sulphur Springs, June 13. 1831. was married to Andrew McAdams and later to George S. Mills, and died near Keyesport, Illinois, July 3. 1883. The other children of James and Jane ( Ewing ) Ager were : William. Thomas, Henry, Rob-
403
CHRISTIAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
ert, Alexander, Mrs. Mary Forbes and Mrs. Ann Anthony, mother of James Anthony. a well known editor of the Pacific coast and founder of the Sacramento Union.
Alfred and Edward E. Adams passed their early manhood on their father's farm and received their education in the common schools. Following the example of many other young men they taught in various dis- tricts until they had prepared themselves for admission to the bar. Alfred was elected clerk of Bond county in 1890 and served one term, giving excellent satisfaction. He continued to pursue his legal studies and was admitted to the bar in 1893. The same year he married Irene, daughter of James and Irene (James) Perryman and a native of Sullivan, Illinois. Her grandfather, John Perryman, who married Ann Davidson, was at one time clerk of Moultrie county. Mr. Adams practiced the profession of law at Greenville with C. E. Cook until the ex- piration of his term of office, after which he removed to Taylorville, where he has since lived. He has served the people of the city for four years as police magistrate. In politics he is a Republican and he has always been found true to the party which represents his principles. His family con- sists of four children : Lucile, Geraldine, Malcolm and Dorothea. Alfred Adams is a member of several societies and is prominent in the councils of the Modern Woodmen, having twice attended the head camp in an official capacity. He has also served on standing committees.
Edward E. AAdams enjoyed a good rep- utation as a teacher before he was admitted to the bar in October, 1899. At an early age his studious habits were remarked by his associates and he has by his unaided efforts so risen in self-improvement that for many years he has enjoyed the respect of all who
know him. As a teacher he was not content with such a smattering as would enable him to get a position but he continued his studies until he was awarded a life certificate in recognition of his success and qualifications. Since his admission to the bar he has been associated with his brother in the practice of law. His work has been more of the office kind. His unobtrusive manners and knowledge of the law have gained for him many friends among those with whom his work has brought him in contact. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and sev- eral other fraternities. In politics he is an ardent Republican but he numbers his friends among all parties. He is unmarried.
GEORGE W. MILLIGAN, M. D.
Dr. George W. Milligan, who as a medi- cal practitioner of Edinburg has gained the confidence and support of the public by ' reason of his thorough training for his pro- fession and his fidelity to the ethics of the medical fraternity, was born in Christian county, Illinois, on the 16th of December, 1853. His father, Samuel Milligan, was a native of North Carolina, and when a young man went to Missouri, but soon afterward came to Illinois and took up his abode in Fayette county. He married Miss Phoebe Cearlock, a native of Tennessee and a resi- dent of Fayette county. They had nine children, eight of whom are now living : William H., Jacob L., George W., James A., John J., Thomas F., S. A. Douglas, Annie J. and Nancy M. The father, who was born in 1830, is still living, but the mother passed away in 1869.
Dr. Milligan received his education at Town Hall in Shelby county and at the age of twelve years went to live with Dr. George W. Fringer, of that place. While there re-
404
PAST AND PRESENT
siding he became interested in medicine and began studying preparatory to entering the profession. In 1875 he secured employment in a drug store in Edinburg as clerk and in December of that year he went into business for himself, continuing in that line until the summer of 1880. At the opening of the school year in the succeeding antumn he entered the St. Louis Medical College and the following year he became a student in the College of Physicians & Surgeons at Keokuk, Iowa. In the spring of 1882 he was graduated and opened an office at Bing- ham, Illinois, where he practiced for three years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Edinburg in the spring of 1885 and opened his office in this place. Here he has since remained and as the years have gone by his patronage has steadily increased. In 1894 he formed a partnership with Dr. C. A. Stokes of Sharpsburg and they pur- chased of Mr. Harrington a private tele- phone line to Taylorville, but abandoned the Taylorville part of the line. They ran only the Sharpsburg connection. The people, however, demanded telephonic communica- tion with the outside world and they en- larged their telephone system in 1902, ob- taining a franchise from the town so that they are now rapidly perfecting their system which will be of the greatest convenience to the surrounding district.
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.