USA > Illinois > DeKalb County > Past and present of DeKalb County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 46
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George Reminsnider, coming to De Kalb in his eleventh year, has since made his home here. He acquired a public-school education and was mar- ried to Miss Caroline Hartman who was born in Brunswick. Germany, February 19, 1845. Her parents were Chris and Frederica (Walter) Hart- man, natives of Brunswick. the former born June 4, 1820, and the latter on the 1st of May. of the same year. They came to the United States in 1844, arriving on the 4th of July-the nation's birthday. They are still living and yet enjoy good health. Uinto the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Reminsnider twelve children have been born : Her- man JI., born June 19, 1862 ; William, born Feb- ruary 30, 1869 ; Mrs. Amanda Glockner, born April 10, 1811 : Frederick, born May 5, 1873 ; Mrs. Clara Hartman, born May 2, 1875: George, born January 19, 1877: Hattie, born September 9. 1878; tda, born May 1, 1880 : Caroline, born April 28, 1883 ;
Edward, born October 5, 1884; Elmer, born May 13, 1886; and Elva, born April 21, 1888.
Mr. Reminsnider and his family are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church while his polit- ical allegiance is given the men and measures of the republican party. For several years he has been school director and while he is interested in all that pertains to the improvement and upbuilding of the community, his time and energies are most largely given to his farming operations. He has engaged in tilling the soil throughout his entire life and has worked perseveringly until now he is the owner of two hundred acres of productive land on section 34, Pierce township. He has earned this property with the assistance of his family, his wife being indeed a faithful companion to him on life's journey. He has now one of the finest farms in Pierce township and has continuously cultivated this until a very recent date. He and his wife, however, are now preparing to move to Hinckley where they will spend their remaining days without recourse to further labor. They will leave behind them in this neighborhood many warm friends but will win friends where they are going for they are people of genuine personal worth and possess those qualities which in every land and clime command respect and confidence.
LORENZO C. SHAFFER.
De Kalb county has been signally favored in the class of men who have filled her public offices, for they have usually been men who have held for high ideals in citizenship and have been prompt and reliable in the execution of the duties devoly- ing npon them. The public service of Mr. Shaffer. county treasurer. has been thus characterized and he is, moreover, well known as a successful mer- chant. having been engaged in the grocery and drug business at Kingston, Illinois, for nineteen years. He is a registered pharmacist and a gradu- ate of the Chicago School of Pharmacy.
He was born in Earlville, Delaware county, Jowa. April 12, 1865, and is a son of Ira and Helen (Williams) Shaffer, both of whom were natives of Ohio, the father following the occupation of farm- ing throughout his entire life. The maternal grandparents, Chester and Sallie Williams, were
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born in 1800 and in 1840 removed to Illinois, lo- cating in North Kingston, where Mr. Williams took up four hundred acres of government land. He built upon this place and immediately began to improve the land, developing a new farm which afterward became the property of his daughter, Mrs. Shatler, who for some years lived upon that place. She is now living quietly in the home of her son Lorenzo, however, and is a most highly esteemed lady. She was born in Ohio in 1836. Her father. Chester Williams, died in 1848, at the age of forty-eight years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer was born but one son, the subject of this review.
In taking up the personal history of Lorenzo C. Shaffer we present to our readers the life rec- ord of one who is widely and favorably known in De Kalb county. He was reared and educated in Kingston, being but a year old when brought by his mother to this county. After attending and graduating from the Kingston high school he en- tered the Northwestern University at Chicago and spent one year in the study of pharmacy. Pre- vious to this time, however, he was in the em- ploy of Dr. J. H. Fellows and following his gradu- ation in Chicago he bought the establishment of his former employer and has since been continuous- ly engaged in the drug and grocery business, har- ing a patronage equal in extent to that of any other merchant of the town. He carries a complete line of drugs and groceries and his reasonable prices, his straightforward dealing and his courte- ous treatment of his patrons secures mm a lib- eral support from the public, while his strict adherence to business principles and to a high standard of commercial ethics has made him a suc- cessful merchant ..
Mr. Shaffer was married November 26, 1892, to Miss Effie MeC'ollom, a native of De Kalb coun- ty, born in Mayfield township, November 5, 1869, and a daughter of Isaac A. and Roxie MeCollom. Hler father was an early settler here and was born in Mayfield township. He is now secretary of the Kingston Mutual Insurance Company.
In his political views Mr. Shaffer is a stalwart republican and for several years has been presi- dent of the village board of Kingston, giving a publie-spirited, business-like and progressive ad- ministration. In November, 1906, he was elected treasurer of De Kalb county, in which capacity ho
is now serving, but he still retains his residence in Kingston. He is a highly valued member of the Masonic lodge and also of the Modern Woodmen camp, and is a self-made man who in his business and private life and in his official service has made a most creditable record. Many there are who esteem him for his genuine personal worth, and his efforts along publie lines have been of direet and permanent value to the town in which he makes his home.
DAVID F. HIPPLE.
In a history of Clinton township mention should be made of David F. Hipple, who in former years was identified with educational interests as a suc- cessful teacher but who is now engaged in agri- cultural pursuits as the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 22. He was born in Perry county. Pennsylvania, January 9, 1868, and is a son of John H. and Louisa A. Hipple, who were likewise natives of that state. The father was born in 1841, while the mother's birth oc- eurred in 1842. and in the year 1820 they came to the west, settling on a farm in Clinton township. In their family were six children, of whom David F. is the eldest, the others being Alice M., the wife of C. C. Dean : William G .; Elmer J. ; Edgar E .: and Mabel J. The father died in 1901 but the mother is still living, being a resident of Waterman. In his business life Mr. Hipple had prospered and had become a large landowner, his possessions aggregating at the time of his death five hundred and twenty-two acres of rich and valuable land in De Kalb county and nine hundred and sixty acres in Nebraska.
David F. Hipple accompanied his parents on their removal to the west and largely acquired his education in De Kalb county but was also a stu- dent at the Jennings Seminary and the Aurora Business College at Aurora, Illinois. He has al- ways been a man of scholarly tastes and habits and constant reading, investigation and observation have made him a thoroughly well informed man. Having arrived at years of maturity, he was mar- ried on the 29th of March, 1893, to Miss Daisy A. Woods. a daughter of Isaac and Pluma Woods. Mrs. Hipple was born Angust 4, 1873, and, like
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her husband, was liberally educated, having at- tended the Illinois State Normal School at Bloom- ington, Illinois, for one year. Both engaged in teaching school for several terms prior to their marriage and proved capable educators. Unto them have been born five children : Roy E., born May 28, 1895: Gladys M., born November 22, [898: Franeis R., born June 15, 1901; Arleen Woods, born January 29, 1903 : and one who died in infancy.
The family home is on section 22, Clinton town- ship, where Mr. Hipple now owns and operates one hundred and sixty aeres of land, giving his entire time and attention to its further develop- ment and improvement. There are substantial buildings upon the place, together with the latest improved machinery, and everything necessary to facilitate the work of the farm. Mr. Hipple is also an extensive stoek feeder and is well known in this business connection, making large purchases and sales of stock. ITis business is capably man- aged, his judgment is sound and his diserimina- tion keen and accurate. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is now serv- ing as a school director, the cause of education ever finding in him a warm friend who does every- thing in his power to advance school interests. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- copal church and their friends in De Kalb county are legion. They occupy an enviable position in those social circles where true worth and intel- ligenee are received as the passports into good so- eiety.
JEREMIAH LIBBY BROWN.
Jeremiah Libby Brown was numbered among the founders of De Kalb county by reason of the early period at which he established his residence within its borders and it is therefore imperative that mention be made of him in this volume, lest the record of the county and its representative men will be incomplete. He resided for forty-five years within its borders, taking an active and helpful part in reelaiming its wild land for the uses of eivilization, and when he passed away his death was deeply regretted by many who had come to know and esteem him highly.
Mr. Brown was a native of Maine, his birth hav- ing occurred in Scarboro, on the 12th of April, 1805. The family is probably of Scotch lineage, for it is thought that Benjamin Brown. the father of Jeremiah L. Brown, was born in the land of hills and heather. lle married Ruth Libby, and in 1837 came to De Kalb county, where his death afterward occurred.
Jeremiah L. Brown was a pupil in the publie schools of his native state during the winter months until he reached the age of eighteen years, when, anxious to see something of life and to have more varied experiences than came with the routine of work on the farm, he ran away and shipped on a sailing vessel, which started ont upon a three years' eruise. During all of that time he heard not a word from home. He returned, how- ever, during the year in which he attained his ma- jority and accompanied his parents on their re- moval to the town of Hope, Ilamilton county, New York.
While living in the Empire state he was mar- ried on the 17th of August, 1830, to Miss Judith Richardson, of Johnston, New York, who died on the 4th of March, 1848. During the years of their married life seven children were added to the household, Julia A., James P., Judith, Esther E., Abigail JJ., Ruth S. and Jeremiah W. Of these Julia A. and Ruth S. are now deceased. Having lost his first wife, Mr. Brown was again married on the 2d of May, 1850, his second union being with Eliza A. Jaekman, who was born in Shadigee, New York, May 26. 1826, a daughter of Abner and Mary Jackman of Sycamore township, this county. Mrs. Brown taught school in Genoa, De Kalb county, in 1849, where she now resides. The children of this marriage are Emma R. Hollem- beak. Dillon S., Charles A. and Lizzie MI. Holroyd.
Jeremiah L. Brown continued a resident of the Empire state until 1836, when he resolved to try his fortune on the frontier of the middle west. By way of the canal and lakes he traveled to Peoria, Illinois, but did not remain in this state at that time. He returned once more to New York but in 1837 came again to this state, driving across the country with team, and just at the sunset on the 20th of September, 1837, he reached Genoa, De Kalb county. He had previously learn- ed and followed the shoemakers' trade in the east. but on coming to his western home he turned his
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attention to general farming, securing a tract of land on section 30, Genoa township, which he en- tered from the government. The conditions which confronted him at the time of his arrival here were such as are usually seen on the frontier. Five years before the Black Hawk war had been fought. Hardly three years before the arrival of Mr. Brown the white men had scarcely set foot in De Kalb county. Indians still visited the neighborhood and passed back and forth through the forests on their hunting expeditions or rode at will over the prairies. Only here and there had a claim been made and a little cabin built for the shelter of some hardy frontiersman who had left the older east with its comforts and civilization to establish a home in the then far west. Mr. Brown cast in his lot with the early settlers and with resolute spirit took up the work of the farm. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made upon his land but he placed the breaking plow on the prai- ries and soon turned the furrows. In course of time the seed was planted and the summer sun ripened the grain until he gathered good harvests. Year by year his farm work was successfully prosecuted and as his financial resources increased he added to his original holdings until he had ac- quired more than a section of land in Genoa town- ship. He was known as one of the leading and prosperous farmers of his community and his life was an excellent example of the power of thrift and industry in obtaining prosperity.
In antebellum days Mr. Brown was a supporter of the abolition cause and when the republican party was formed to prevent the further extension of slavery he joined its ranks and continued as one of its stalwart supporters until called to his final rest. He was a man ever firm in support of his honest convictions and he had no untried stand- ards. His neighbors and fellow townsmen recog- nizing his worth and ability frequently called him to office, so that he filled various positions of pub- lic honor and trust. For many terms he served on the county board of supervisors. He was a man of broad and liberal education, whose views of life were sane and not biased by strongly marked prejudices or hobbies. In all things he was emi- nently practical and this was manifest in his public life as well as in his business affairs. Those who came in contact with liim gave him their re- spect and warm regard and his value as a citizen
and as a friend caused his death to be regretted with a sense of personal bereavement by all who knew him, when, on the 5th of January, 1882. he passed from this life in the seventy-seventh year of his age.
ERWIN PERRY ELLWOOD .
Erwin Perry Ellwood. president of the First National Bank and one of the native sons of De Kalb, whose business development has brought him to a place of prominence in financial circles, was born in this city, August 10, 1873, a son of Colonel I. L. Ellwood, to whom the city is in- debted more largely than to almost any other individual for its industrial and commercial prog- ress and prominence. The son spent his early years in De Kalb, where he attended the public schools to the age of sixteen, when he matricu- lated in the Michigan Military Academy at Orch- ard Lake. Michigan. Subsequently he attended Beloit College, at Beloit. Wisconsin, and made further preparation for the practical and responsi- hle duties of a business career by a course in the Metropolitan Business College of Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1894.
The same year he entered the First National Bank of De Kalb in a clerical capacity and reso- lutely set to work to master the banking business in every detail. Two years later he was made assistant cashier of the institution, in which capac- ity he served until 1900. During that year he filled the office of treasurer of the Kansas City Southern Railway Company. with offices in Chi- cago. In 1902 he became a director of the De Kalb First National Bank. and on the 1st of Oc- tober, 1903, at a special meeting following the resignation of J. H. Lewis, he was elected to the presidency of that institution, in which capacity he has served continuously since. The safe, con- servative policy instituted at the establishment of the bank has always been maintained. and yet under the guidance of the present chief executive officer the business is also carried on along modern lines of progress and development.
Mr. Ellwood is a member of De Kalb lodge, K. P .. and De Kalb lodge. No. 765. B. P. O. E. His political allegiance is given to the republican
E.P. Ellwood
NEW YORK LIBRARY
I.R. LENOX __ IR UNCATIONS.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF DE KALB COUNTY.
party and he is interested in its success and growth, yet is without aspiration for position of political preferment.
On the 6th of September, 1898, was celebrated the marriage of Erwin Perry Ellwood and Miss May Gurler, a daughter of H. B. Gurler. They occupy a prominent position in social circles and Mr. Ellwood is regarded as one of the representa- tive men of De Kalb, possessing the alert, enter- prising spirit which has been the basis of Amer- ica's wonderful business development.
PETER S. WARBER.
Peter S. Warber, who is now engaged in the grocery business in De Kalb as a member of the firm of Barker, Warber & Glidden, was born in Sweden, January 8. 1855. His parents were also natives of that country and in the year 1862 crossed the Atlantic to the new world, settling first at Elgin, Illinois, where the father worked at the carpenter's trade on the asylum. He was con- nected with building operations there for four years and then removed to a farm in Kane county, purchasing fifty acres of land with the money that he had saved from his earnings. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits until after the death of his wife. In their family were six chil- dren : Charles, John, Anna, Peter S., August and William, all still living with exception of the last named.
Peter S. Warber was a little lad when brought by his parents to the new world and was reared in Illinois. Having attained his majority he was married on the 9th of November, 1886, to Miss Florence Helmer, who was born in Herkimer coun- ty, New York, May 14, 1858, a daughter of Peter and Rosannah (House) Helmer, who were also natives of the Empire state and came to the middle west in 1862, settling on a farm on sections 12 and 13, De Kalb township. There they lived until called to the home beyond. They had five dangh- ters : Celinda, Elizabeth, Frances, Clara and Flor- ence, all of whom are yet living with the exception of Frances. The father met with good success in the west and at the time of his death was the owner of one hundred and thirty acres of land. The ancestry of the Helmer family can be traced
back to a still more remole period. The father of Mrs. Warber was the fourth son of Adam F. and Anna M. Helmer. Iler great-grandparents on her mother's side, Captain Henry and Catherine Harter, were taken prisoners in the French and Indian war in 1757, when crossing the St. Law- renee river in a birch-bark canoe on their way to Canada. A daughter of the family was afterward captured by the Indians but later was recaptured by her father and when she grew to womanhood she became the wife of General Michael Myers. Adam Helmer, the grandfather of Mrs. Warber, served in the Revolutionary war under Washington and was a valiant defender of the colonial cause. Mrs. Warber was provided with excellent school ad- vantages, as were her sisters, and is a graduate of the Sycamore high school. After completing her own course she engaged in teaching music for sev- eral years. She was an able instructor and those who came under her direction benefited much by her teaching.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Warber have been born four children. Birdie R., who was born April 26, 1887, is a graduate of the De Kalb high school and is now attending the State Normal school. Pansy Helen and Pearl Ellen, twins, were born January 12, 1889, and will graduate from the De Kalb high school in 1907. The only son, Frank Helmer, born February 16, 1896, is now attending school.
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Warber located on a farm in De Kalb township, comprising one hundred and thirty acres. He sold a traet of one hundred acres to the county poor farm, and today owns six hundred and forty aeres of land in Canada besides his property in this county. In his farming operations he prospered and now has a valuable property, his fields being under a high siate of enltivation and devoted to the raising of cereals best adapted to soil and climate. In his farm work he is methodical, systematie, practical and progressive, and his capably directed labors have brought to him a goodly measure of success. On the 11th of April, 1907. Mr. Warber formed a partnership with Lester 1. Barker and William Glidden under the firm name of Barker, Warber & Glidden and they purchased the grocery business of ex-Mayor V. A. Glidden at De Kalb and are now conducting a first class store, which promises to be one of the leading establishments of the kind in this part of the county. All of the partners are
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well known and reliable business men and are highly respected.
Mr. Warber is a valued and interested member of the Elks lodge, No. 765, at De Kalb, and he and his wife are faithful members of the Congrega- tional church. In politics he has been an earnest republican since casting his first presidential vote and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to several local offices. He was a school director, serving in that capacity for fourteen years, the cause of education finding in him a stalwart champion. He has also filled the office of pathmaster. Wherever known he is highly esteemed and both he and his wife have an extensive circle of friends in De Kalb county.
SILAS DEXTER WESSON.
In the years which have come and gone, to the number of more than sixty, since Silas Dexter Wesson took up his abode in De Kalb county, there have occurred many changes wrought by time and man until the county today, with it> large commercial and industrial interests. its educational advantages and its agricultural im- provements, bears scarcely any resemblance to the district into which Mr. Wesson made his way ir 1845. He arrived here on the 9th of October of that year, finding large tracts of land on which not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made, while some of it had not yet been enteres from the government. In future years roads were laid out and the farms were fenced but at that time one could ride for miles over the prairie without coming to a habitation to impede his progress. AAn arduous task lay before the early settlers in the development and improvement of the fields and the planting of a modern civiliza- tion in the western wilderness, and in this work Mr. Wesson bore his part as he grew in years and strength. Ile was a little lad of about six years at the time of his arrival here, his birth having occurred in Jamestown, Chautauqua county, New York, August 22, 1839.
His father. James W. Wesson, was a native of Virginia and a son of James Wesson, who was a soldier of the war of 1812 and was killed at the
battle of Plattsburg. James Wright Wesson. father of our subject, in his boyhood days went to New York with the Mormons under Brigham Young and was reared in Chautauqua county, where he married Sybil Hatch, a native of Ver- mont, who was reared in New York. Mr. Wesson engaged in the manufacture of lumber and shingles and made many trips down the rivers with rafts of logs. All of his children were born in Chautauqua county and in 1845 he removed to the west, making the journey with ox teams. He came direct to this county and Silas D. Wesson of this review is the only surviving member of the party, comprising two families, that journeyed to De Kalb at that time. The father secured one hundred and sixty acres of land with a Mexican soldier's land warrant but rented and farmed for four years, living in a log cabin in true pioneer style. He located on his own place about 1850, built a small house, broke the prairie and fenced and cultivated the fields. He served as justice of the peace for a number of years and was : prominent and respected pioneer settler of the community. Ile was born in 1808 and died August 29, 1880, when in the seventy-third year of his age. His wife survived him for about five years.
S. D. Wesson was the only son in the family of four children and is now the only survivor. He was reared upon the old homestead farm, liv- ing in the little log cabin in his boyhood days. and as he could he assisted in the work of reclaim- ing the wild land and converting it into the uses of civilization. There were pleasures to be en- joyed unknown at the present day and yet hard work fell to the lot of all early settlers. He remained with his father until he joined the army in August, 1861, becoming a private of Company K, Eighth Illinois Cavalry. This regiment par- ticipated in all the important engagements in which the Army of the Potomac took part from Williamsburg to Appomattox and fired the first shot in the seven days' fight in front of Richmond and also the first shot at Gettysburg. Mr. Wesson was promoted to orderly sergeant and was wounded at Beverly Ford by a gun-shot through the right thigh. lle now has in his possession the bullet that wounded his horse. When the regiment was mustored in they had twelve hundred horses, but when mustered out only twelve of the original
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