USA > Illinois > DeKalb County > Past and present of DeKalb County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 60
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Rev. Plapp acquired his early education in the schools of his native place, and upon reaching
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mature years he decided to enter the ministry. Accordingly he prepared himself for this high and holy calling, and completing his education along theological lines two years ago, entered upon the ministry at Malta Mission of the Evangelical church at Malta. Hle is very enthusiastic and de- voted to his work, having built up the church until its influence is being widely felt throughout the community. He is deeply interested in the moral development of this locality and through the various departments of the church organization he is doing beneficial service as well as through personal effort. He has won a host of warm friends not only among the members of his own congregation but among the members of the other denominations throughout the entire community.
Rev. Plapp chose as a companion and helpmate for life's journey. Miss Bertha Block, to whom he was married May 23, 1906. She was born in Germany, March 6, 1882, and was brought by her parents to America when only a year old. the fam- ily home being established at Green Lake. Wiscon- sin, where the father is still living. being engaged in carrying on general agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Plapp is proving a valuable assistant to her hus- band in his ministerial work. for she takes a very active part in the work of the church and her genial and pleasing manner has already won for her warm and lasting friendships.
HENRY CLAY GIDDINGS.
Henry Clay Giddings, who since 1889 has been a resident of De Kalb county, where his time has been given to breaking and training horses, was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, March 20, 1846. Ilis father. Moses C. Giddings, was born in the town of Lancaster, Coos county, New Hampshire, and after arriving at years of maturity he wedded Sophia Stafford, who was born in Penn- sylvania. There were fourteen children of this marriage, of whom Henry C. was the twelfth in order of birth. Two of the sons of the family were soldiers of the war of the rebellion-John W. and Thomas W., who enlisted from Illinois in the spring of 1863 and valiantly served in defense of the Union until the close of hostilities.
Mr. Giddings of this review acquired a public- school education and after putting aside his text- books began farming. He was closely associated with general agricultural interests until 1889, and in 1879 he purchased a farm in Warren county comprising two hundred acres of very rich, valu- able and well improved land. In fact it was called the premium farm of the county, and there in ad- chtion to the cultivation of the soil he also engaged in the stock business. On his removal to De Kalb county in 1889 he sold his Warren county property and has since made his home in the city of De Kalb. his time and energies being given to the breaking and training of horses. In this work ho is an expert. Ile is associated with W. L. Ellwood in his breeding of fine horses, and has always en- Javed the full confidence of Mr. Ellwood because of his ability and his trustworthiness. Seven years ago he was given charge of the road horses owned by W. L. Ellwood and has since remained in this position. He is indeed an excellent judge of the horse, seldom, if ever, at error in the slightest de- gree in placing valuation upon an animal and as a trainer he has done excellent work.
On the 15th of November, 1866, Mr. Giddings was united in marriage to Miss Ophelia E. Wag- goner, who was born in Oneida county, New York, January 11. 1846. Her father was Henry Wag- goner. a native of Germany, who was born near Baden in 1801. After coming to America he wedded Esther Sherman, who was born in Ver- mont. There were nine children in their family, of whom Mrs. Giddings was the sixth child. She had two brothers in the Civil war, Charles and James Waggoner. The latter died in the sery- ice and was buried at Paducah. Kentucky, while Charles lived to return home. Her grandparents in the paternal line were Jacob and Catherine ( Reece) Waggoner, both of whom were natives of Germany. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gidding> was born a son. Cyrus Sherman, who was born August 23, 1868, and died in infancy. They have an adopted daughter. Mrs. Bessie Giddings Blount, who was born July 18. 1820. and has two children : Perry Claud. born November 15, 1892; and Elizabeth Gene. born July 18. 1902.
In nis political views Mr. Giddings is a repub- lican and while he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, as every true American citizen should do, he has never sought
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or desired public office. He holds membership in the Baptist church. Although he started out in life without financial aid, he has by honesty and industry won a very comfortable competence which would enable him to retire did he so desire, but indolence and idleness are utterly foreign to his nature and he is so deeply interested in his work that he continues actively in business, being ac- knowledged to have no superior in his line in this part of the state. He and his wife are pleasantly located in their own beautiful home at No. 129 College avenue. De Kalb, and are among the best residents of the city.
HENRY J. STARK.
The name of Stark has figured with distinction in the annals of business development in Sycamore for many years and among the native sons of the city few have attained the prominence and pros- perity which Henry J. Stark has gained. A capitalist, now giving his supervision to his in- vested interests. he was formerly extensively en- gaged in dealing in live stock and grain. He is one of the large shareholders in the Sycamore Na- tional Bank and throughout an active career he has displayed business ability of superior order, as ex- emplified in his capable management and judicious investment.
Born in Sycamore on the 8th of June, 1849, he is a son of Marshall Stark, whose birth occurred in Luzerne county. Pennsylvania. August 12, 1813. The paternal grandparents, Oliver and Betsey ( Dixon) Stark, were both natives of the Keystone state and were descended from old New England stock, tracing the line back to the same ancestry from which General Stark of Revolutionary fame was descended.
Marshall Stark was reared in the county of his nativity and after acquiring a good education de- voted his early life to teaching school during the winter months, while in the summer seasons he was engaged in the work of the farm. The tide of im- migration was steadily flowing westward, bringing to the Mississippi valley hundreds of substantial settlers from the older east. who recognized the natural resources of the country and began its de- velopment. In the summer of 1834 Marshall
Stark made his way to Illinois and secured a claim near Rockford in Winnebago county, but made no permanent settlement at that time. On returning to Pennsylvania he taught school through the suceeding winter but in the spring of 1836 he again came to De Kalb county, locating a claim on what are now sections 20 and 21, Sycamore township. He purchased his land from the government when it was placed upon the market and in true pioneer style began life in the west. his home being a log cabin which he built near the timber. Hle turned the first furrows in his fields and continued the work of improving his farm until the fall of 1841, when he again went to Pennsylvania. being married there on the 5th of October of that year to Miss Louisa Tyler, a native of Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, born December 16. 1820, and a daughter of Royal and Mary (Southwick) Tyler. both of whom were natives of Connecticut. They settled in Pennsylvania in the fall of 1820 and there the daughter, Louisa, was reared to womanhood.
Two weeks after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Stark started for their new home in the west. driving across the country with horse teams. The log cabin remained their place of abode for three years and was then replaced by a more comfortable and prententious frame residence, in which they resided for a long period. Careful of expenditures. industrious and energetic in his work, Mr. Stark entered upon an era of prosperity that gained him the reputation of being one of the most energetic. thrifty and capable business men in De Kalb county. His fitness for official service was also recognized and in 1848 he was elected sheriff of the county. in which capacity he served for three years. At the beginning of his service he removed to Sycamore and during his term of office he opened a hotel in Sycamore. which he conducted for six years. At the end of that time. however. he sold ont his business interests in the county seat in 1854 and returned to his farm, which comprised five hundred acres of fine land, well improved and conveniently and pleasantly located about a mile and a half from Sycamore. He was called to sev- eral public offices, serving as assessor. school di- rector and supervisor of his township and was a member of the county board at the time of his death. He did not confine his attention to one line of business but extended his efforts to other
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fields of activity and became extensively interested in the lumber business. spending two winters in the pineries of Michigan. In 1824, in partnership with his sons. J. O. and H. J., he established a large lumberyard in Sycamore, which he carried on with pronounced success until his death on the 26th of December, 1882. when he was sixty-nine years of age. Ile also engaged in buying and sell- ing >tock and grain for many years and that busi- ness proved equally profitable. In fact he ear- ried forward to successful completion whatever he undertook and his energy, ready adaptability and farsighted sagacity constituted the salient factors in his financial advancement.
Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Sycamore, to the support of which they contributed liberally, mak- ing generons donations also for the erection of the house of worship and taking a helpful part in many of the church activities. Mrs. Stark survived her husband for about ten years and died July 1, 1892. They were the parents of ten children: Harmon M .. a farmer residing in Kingston township: Martha S., the wife of Hosea W. Atwood, living in Jasper county, lowa : Mary E .. the wife of L. C. llarris, of Genoa township : Jefferson O., deceased ; Henry J .. of this review: Theron M., who re- vides in Sycamore; Ada L., the wife of James Maitland. of Sycamore township; Ella A .. the wife of A. W. Brower. of Sycamore : Emma J .. the wife of Charles Wiggins, of Nebraska ; and Hattie MI., the wife of Burton W. Lee, of Sycamore township.
The boyhood days of Henry J. Stark were quietly and uneventfully passed upon the home farm a mile and a half from Sycamore and the public schools of the city afforded him his educa- tional privileges. At the age of twenty-one years he engaged in the stock business, which he followed throughout his active life, or until 1904. when he retired. However, he still feeds a large amount of sheep and cattle and is naturally qualified for this line of business, being an excellent judge of stock. He has also deal extensively in grain. Thus in a few words is given the history of his business career but it tells little of the energy he has displayed, his close application, his unfaltering nerseverance and his strong determination. These qualities, however, are familiar to all with whom he has had business transactions and they know. moreover. of straightforward methods which have
neither sought nor required disguise. He also bought and shipped hay for nearly thirty years in Sycamore and this contributed not a little to his success.
Mr. Stark was married to Miss Carolyn Ander- son, a native of Sycamore and a daughter of David P. Anderson, who came from Genesee county, New York, to De Kalb county at an early day. Her mother, whose maiden name was Laura Ann Brooks, was likewise a native of the Empire state. The father was a wagonmaker by trade and fol- lowed that pursuit for many years. One son, John G. Anderson, is now residing in Sycamore. Mr. and Mrs. Stark have an attractive home at No. 625 De Kalb street and he also owns the old homestead farm which his father secured from the government during the pioneer epoch in the history of this county.
In his political views Mr. Stark is a republican but has never been an aspirant for office. He be- longs to both the lodge and encampment of Odd Fellows. For fifty-eight years he has been a resident of the county. thus witnessing the greater part of its growth and progress as it has emerged from frontier conditions and taken on all of the evidences of an advanced and modern civilization. While the members of the Stark family have never sought to figure prominently in public life as office holders they have always stood for good citizenship and have given aid and co-operation to many movements which have directly benefited the county, and the name of Henry J. Stark, like that of other members of his family, is one that is honored in business circles and in publie and private life.
CHARLES W. BURCHIM.
The life history of Charles W. Burchim is insep- arably interwoven with the records of De Kalb county for during almost three score years and ten he has lived within the borders of the county. an interested and active witness of the changes which have occurred. His memory goes hack t) the old pioneer times when there were no rail- roads. when trees were uncut. streams unbridged, and prairies uncultivated. In fact one could ride for miles across the country without coming to a
lo yp Burehm
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house or fence to impede his progress. Only & few years before had the Indians been driven ont of the state by the settlers who had been the first to open the prairies of Illinois. Here and there was a long cabin to show that the seeds of civilization had been planted. Occasionally at the crossroads or in a little hamlet, was a "general store," carrying a very limited line of goods but none of the more expensive dry-goods or furni- ture were to be purchased there and in fact many of those edibles which are now considered essen- tial in every honschold could not be obtained in the little country stores. Cooking was largely done over the fire-places and the cabins were lighted by candles. The work of the field was largely done by hand while ox teams were hitched to the breaking plow and were used to convey the crops to the market or to take the family on their visits from one pioneer home to another.
Charles W. Burchim was reared to manhood amid the wild scenes of the frontier and performed the arduous tasks incident to the development of a new farm. Today he is owner of an excellent property of two hundred and twenty acres on section 8, Somonank township, and the labor he has bestowed upon the fields and the buildings he has erected have made this a valuable farmn. He was only about five years old when the family came to the middle west in 1838, his birth having occurred in Onondaga county, New York, July 28, 1833. His father, Joshua Burchim, was born in the Mohawk valley. New York. and in that state married Mary Tyrrel, also a native of New York. He was a cooper by trade and manufac- tured salt barrels at Liverpool, New York. In 1838 he removed westward to De Kalb county, Illinois, and bought a claim, while later he entered about one hundred and sixty acres of land. Not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made upon the property. He began its develop- ment and continued to make it his home until called to his final rest at the age of seventy-four years. His wife passed away only forty-three hours previous. In their family were six sons and three daughters, all of whom reached adult age but the only ones now living are: Charles W., of this review; William H., of Chicago; and Martha, who is the widow of Almond Hamlin. and is now living in Aurora, Illinois. Those de- ceased are: Malinda, who married William Wil-
son and died when about sixty-five years of age; Simon, who died in Texas; and Alexander, who went to California in 1850 and made his home in Kankakee. Illinois.
As soon as age and strength permitted Charles W. Burehim took his place behind the breaking plow, aiding in breaking the sod into furrows and later in harvesting the erops, continuing to assist his father until he had attained his majority. He later went to Iowa, where he spent two winter seasons, and in 1859, in company with Nat Wilson, made an overland trip with ox teams to California, where he spent three years engaged in freighting. He then returned to Illinois by way of the isthmus route, New York and Chicago, and after arriving at the old home carried on the farm for two years. Ile then bought an adjoining tract of land of eighty acres and operated it for one year continu- ing, however, to live with his parents. On the expiration of that period he sold that tract and bought the place where he now resides on section 8, Somonauk township. He at once began !o place the fields under cultivation and has since carried on the farm work, annually gathering golden harvests as a reward for the care and labor he bestows upon his fields. He has repaired and remodeled the house, has built two good farms for the shelter of grain and stock and has divided the fields by well kept fences. He has also bought the latest improved machinery to facilitate his work and has set out an orchard. He has an engine for pumping water and operating a feed mill and corn sheller. He raises pure blooded Hereford cattle and formerly raised, fed and fat- tened cattle and hogs for the market. He now annnally sells about a carload of fattened hogs and some steers. His business interests have been carefully and profitably conducted so that he has long been accounted one of the leading farmers and stock-breeders of the community.
Mr. Burchim was married in Sandwich in 1875 to Miss Lydia Jane Rose, who was born and reared on a farm in Somonauk township, her father being John G. Rose, an early settler who came from the state of New York. In 1904 Mr. Burchim was called upon to monrn the loss of his wife, who passed away in the month of January, leaving three children: Rose Mary, at home; Wesley Raymond, who aids in carrying on the home farm; and Eva Abigal.
PAST AND PRESENT OF DE KALB COUNTY.
Mr. Burchim is a Master Mason. belonging to Somonauk lodge. In polities he has been a stal- wart republican since casting his first presiden- tial ballot for John C. Fremont in 1856. His memory forms a connecting link between the primitive pioneer past and the progressive pres- ent. He has lived to witness the introduction cf railroads. the telegraph and telephone. the up- building of cities and commercial and industrial promotion while all of the advantages of advanced civilization have been introduced. In memory he recalls many interesting incidents of the early days and it is a pleasure to talk with him of the times when De Kalb county was situated on the frontier and the method of living in those days when Illinois was cut off by long distances from the older settled cities of the east. so that the people were largely dependent upon what they could raise and make to secure the comforts of home.
GEORGE W. BUCK.
One of the most prominent and influential busi- ness men of Genoa is George W. Buck. the presi- dent and organizer of the Farmers State Bank. who dates his residence in De Kalb county from 1849. being le -- than a year old when brought to this locality by his parents. He was born near Williamsport. Lycoming county. Pennsylvania. on the 24th of December, 1848, and is a son of Daniel and Jerusha (Craft) Buck. who were also natives of that county and were there reared and married. For seven years after their marriage the father continued to follow farming in Lycom- ing county and then brought his family to Illi- nois. entering government land in De Kalb county and acquiring four hundred acres of prairie land. all of which lies in Genoa township. This prop- erty is still in possession of the family. Upon his farm Daniel Buck erected a house and then turned his attention to the improvement and cultivation of his land. continuing his farming operations un- til called from this life in 18:3 at the age of fifty- eight years. His wife still survives him. at the age of eighty-four years, and lives with her sons, Alfred and George. Of the five children born to them one died in infancy: Charles, at the age of
twelve years : and Ellis, who died during his serv- ice in the Civil war as a member of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry.
George W. Buck of this review was the fourth in order of birth in this family and grew to manhood upon the home farm. He had good school ad- vantages, was a student at the old Chicago Uni- versity for a time and was graduated from the Bryant & Stratton Commercial College. After completing his education he went to California but not liking the climate he remained but three months and then returned home. devoting his time and attention to the raising and breeding of French draft horses. He made a specialty of Percheron- and was a pioneer importer. making four trips to Enrope to secure his own animals. He continued in this business with profit for ten years. In 1828 he formed a creamery stock company, of which he was secretary for a number of years and he con- tinued to carry on his farm after his removal to Genoa in 1882. giving personal supervision to his varied Imsiness interests. Mr. Buck organ- ized and chartered the Farmers State Bank. of Genoa, which was opened for business on the 9th of September. 1901, capitalized at forty thousand dollar> and now paying eight per cent dividends. There are one hundred and fifty-four stockholders, mainly substantial farmers of this section. He has served continuously as its president and owing to capable management and sound business judg- ment the enterprise has prospered from the begin- ning and it is now considered one of the most re- liable banks of the county.
On the ?d of August. 1894. Mr. Buek was united in marriage to Miss Mary Flick. also a native of Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and they attend the Methodist Episcopal church. of which Mrs. Buck is a member. Fraternaliy Mr. Buck belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Genoa. and is also a Master Mason. holding membership in Genoa lodge. No. 288. He is a stanch sup- porter of the republican party and its principles and is always ready to serve the organization in any way within his power. He has held several township offices, was assessor for five consecutive years and was appointed postmaster of Genoa under President Mckinley, serving in that position for twenty-six months. when he was retired from the office, owing to local politics. He has served ac- ceptably in several minor offices and never with-
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holds his support from any enterprise which he be- lieves will advance the social, moral or educational welfare of his town or county. He is pre-eminently publie spirited and progressive and is justly re- garded as one of the leading citizens of Genoa.
J. A. CARBAUGH.
J. A. Carbaugh is engaged in the operation of a farm of three hundred and ten acres of rich and productive land on section 17. De Kalb township. He dates his residence in the county from 1894. His birth occurred in Pennsylvania, June 29, 1850. His father, John Carbaugh, was born in Maryland, January 1, 1812, and removed thence to Pennsylvania, where his remaining days were passed. On the 7th of November, 1841, in the Keystone state, he married Miss L. Ann Eberts, who was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, No- vember 13, 1816. Her death occurred in 1896. The great-grandfather of our subject had a family of twenty-four children, while in the maternal line there was one family that numbered eight sons and six daughters, all of whom were married and be- came property owners.
In the state of his nativity J. A. Carbaugh spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and his edura- tion was acquired in the public schools. Removing westward, he was married in Indiana, on the 20th of March, 1877, to Miss Mary A. Gregg, whose birth occurred in Marshall county, Indiana, De- cember 24, 1854. Her father was a native of Virginia and in his boyhood days went to Ohio, where his wife was born in 1835. After ten years spent in Ohio. Mr. Gregg removed to Indiana ano it was in that state that he was married, livre he followed general agricultural pursuits ustil his death.
Following his marriage Mr. Carbaugh came to Illinois, settling in Ogle county. lle worked at the carpenter's trade at Rochelle until the fall of the same year, 1827, when he removed to a farm and has since given his attention to general agri- cultural pursuits. In 1894 he came to De Kalb county and has since resided on section 1 ;. De Kalb township, where he is cultivating a rich tract of land of three hundred and ten acres. He raises polled Angus cattle and Poland China hogs and
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