Past and present of Iroquois County, Illinois, Part 3

Author: Kern, J. W
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 792

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While Mr. and Mrs. Pierson never had any children of their own they adopted Janet Breyt Spraak, when she was eight years of age. She was born near Amsterdam, Holland, and

Was reared and educated by Mrs. Pierson. She was cared for and loved as their own child and now repays Mr. Pierson by filial devotion. She is a lady of great intelligence and culture, and now gives her time to the care of Mr. Pierson and his home, over which she presides with gra- cious hospitality.

Mr. Pierson has now been a resident of Onar- ga for more than fifty years and has not only assisted in upbuilding the town but also has. largely aided its people in many ways. He has. ever kept abreast of the times and for fifty-three years has been a reader of the Chicago Daily Tribune. His has not only been a long but also a most useful life and while he has never sought to figure prominently in any public light his la- bor and influence have been of benefit to his fel- lowmen. and constitute an example well worthy of emulation. Considering his long years, his splendid business successes, his public-spirited assistance to his town and county and his co- operation in those movements for the bettermen of mankind. many who know him entertain for him the feeling expressed by the bard of Avon :

"He was a man. Take him for all in all I shall not look upon his like again."

T. N. BQUE, M. D.

Dr. T. N. Bouc, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Loda, and one of the. oldest representatives of the profession in Iro- quois county, has remained at his present place of residence for over forty-two years, and throughout this period has administered to the needs of the sick and suffering with an ability that has made him the loved family physician in many a household. A native of Indiana, he was born in Fountain county, May 18, 1837. and is a son of L. D. and Eleanor (Moffett) Boue. In the state of his nativity the Doctor was reared and his literary education was acquired in the academy at Waveland and Ladoga. He began the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. Jehu Adkins, of Scotch Prairie, and pursued his first course of lectures at Rush Medical Col- lege, Chicago, in the winter of 1863-4. He then

DR. T. N. BOUE.

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

IROQUOIS COUNTY, ILLINOIS

located at Loda, where he entered upon the ac- tive practice of his profession, but later he re- turned to Rush, where he remained as a stu- dent in the winter of 1805-6, being graduated in the spring of the latter year.

After completing the regular course Dr. Bone returned to Loda and has since continuously practiced here, his active identification with the profession at this place covering more than four decades. llis friends gave to him an agreeable surprise on the forty-second anniversary of his arrival in Loda, July 27. 1900. Many of his ac- quaintances gathered at his home to commem- orate the event, to extend him hearty congratula- tions for what he had accomplished and to ex- press their wish that he might long be permitted to remain here in useful and successful practice. He has drawn his patronage from a wide terri- tory, being called for miles around to exercise his skill and ability in alleviating human suffer- ing and restoring health. He is probably the oldest physician in years of continuous practice in the county and none more thoroughly merit the confidence and respect accorded him be- cause he has ever maintained a high standard of professional ethics and through the passing years has kept abreast with the advancement of the medical fraternity.

Dr. Boue was married June 3. 1807, to Miss Effic L. Burnette, who died December 29. 1875. In 1879, in Chicago, he wedded Emma J. Kelsey. who was born and reared at Oregon, Illinois. There were two children by that union, Vera June and Eleanor May, who are young ladies at home. The second wife passed away in 1888. and on the 6th of March. 1800. Dr. Bone was married in Loda to Miss Minnie Carrington.

The Doctor belongs to the Masonic fraternity. his membership being with the lodge at Loda. with Paxton chapter and Paxton commandery. K. T. He has filled all of the chairs in the blue lodge, serving for twenty-two consecutive years as master and afterward for another year, an honor which has been conferred upon no other member. He and his wife hold membership in the Eastern Star, of which Mrs. Boue is past worthy matron. She is also a member of the Congregational church and served as chorister for a number of years. The Doctor has held membership in the Christian church since his

south. He belongs to the Iroquois and Ford Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Sver ety and the American Medical Association. His political endorsement is given to the democracy and he cast his first ballot for Stephen .A. Doug- las in 1860 and for each nominee of the party since that time. He votes independently, how- ever, at local elections, nor has he been an as- pirant for office, yet his worth and ability have been recognized by his fellow townsmen who have called him to some positions of political preferment. He has served as highway commis- sioner for twenty-four consecutive years, as pres- ident of the town board for a number of years and has also been a member of the school board. llis interest in community affairs is deep and sincere and arises from genuine devotion to the public good. His efforts have been discern- ingly directed in behalf of the general welfare and he is a public-spirited citizen, standing for progress and improvement along all lines. He and his family are held in highest esteem and it would be difficult to find any who have more friends than Dr. Bone.

JAMES E. OWEN.

The industrial interests of Onarga find a worthy representative in James E. Owen, who owns and conducts an electric light plant. He is, moreover, entitled to representation in this vol- ume as one of the pioneers of the county and state. and as one of the few remaining veterans of the Civil war. lle has resided in Iroquois county since 1855, having arrived when a youth of twelve years. He was born in Birmingham, England, in 1843, a son of James Owen, whose birth occurred in the same city. November 13. 1815. The father was there reared and married, the lady of his choice being Ann Elliman, who was likewise a na- tive of England. James Owen, Sr., was a black - smith by trade and followed that pursuit in his native country until after the birth of four of their children, when with his family he emigrated to the new world, arriving in 1849. He spent about one year in Brooklyn, New York, and then came west to Hire's by way of the Erie canal to Bui- fal, and around the lakes to Chicago. He h-

PAST AND PRESENT OF

cated first in Mason county, Illinois, where he took up his abode upon a farm which he culti- vated for about five years. In 1855 he removed to Onarga, where he again worked at the black- smith's trade, establishing his first shop at this place and he did work for patrons of Illinois at a distance of twenty or thirty miles. Subse- quently he again turned his attention to farming. developing a raw tract of land, which he cleared and cultivated until 1868, when he once more took up his abode in Onarga, spending his last years here. He died in 1898, at the venerable age of eighty-three years, while his wife survived him and passed away in 1905, at the age of eighty- five years, having spent her last days in the home of her son, James E. Owen.

The educational privileges which James E. Owen received in his boyhood days were quite lim- ited, for in his youth he began work upon the farm or in assisting his father in the shop and his minority was therefore largely a period of earnest toil. When a young man he also worked at farm labor, and in 1861, when seventeen years of age, he joined Company C. of the Fifty-sev- enth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. The regiment went to the south and was attached to the Army of the Tennessee. Mr. Owen was first under fire at Fort Donelson, and later at Shiloh, where he sus- tained a gunshot wound in the left leg. He was sent to the hospital at Savannah, where he re- mained for about three months on account of his injuries. He then returned home on a furlough of sixty days, after which he rejoined his regi- ment at Corinth. He afterward participated in a number of battles, including those of the Atlanta campaign and went with Sherman on the cele- brated march to the sea. being honorably dis- charged on the expiration of his term of service at Savannah, Georgia, on the 30th of December, 1864.

Mr. Owen then started on the return trip, mak- ing the voyage up the Atlantic coast to New York city. He crossed the country to Iroquois county. arriving in January. 1865. After recuperating from the hardships and rigors of war he began work on a farm and was thus employed by the month. Subsequently he engaged in the manu- facture of brick and tile as an employe and after- ward as proprietor of a plant. In connection with F. P. Beach, he owned and operated a brick

and tile yard at Delrey, where he remained for a number of years, after which he sold his interest to Mr. Beach and entered into a partnership with Horace Barnes in the manufacture of brick and tile near Onarga. That business was conducted successfully for several years, subsequent to which time Mr. Owen turned his attention to the grain trade, in which he continued for four or five years, when he sold out and in connection with L. J. Risser established a canning factory, which he operated for some time. ()n disposing of his interest in that business he established the electric light plant in Onarga, which is connected with the electric light plant at Gilman, the power house being at the latter place. He has the lighting of the city and public buildings, which are well illuminated, having about two thousand lamps used for the city. He also furnishes light to many private residences and the business is prov- ing a profitable one.

Mr. Owen was married in Iroquois county, in 1867, to Miss Nancy H. Coblentz, who died Octo- ber 5, 1868. There is one daughter by this union, Nannie, now the wife of F. M. Chaney, who resides at Longwood, Pettis county, Missouri. On the 27th of August. 1873. Mr. Owen was again married, his second union being with Mar- tha Harper, who passed away about 1882, leaving one son, Frank, who is now connected with his father in the operation of the electric light plant. In 1884 Mr. Owen wedded Emma Harper. a sis- ter of his second wife, who was born and reared in Onarga.

In his political views Mr. Owen is a stalwart republican and served as postmaster under Presi- dent Hayes and again under Presidents Garfield and Arthur. His second incumbency covered a period of about six years, when he resigned. He also served on the board of trustees for five years and for two years acted as its president. He was for five years a member of the board of educa- tion and is now a candidate on the republican ticket for the office of county treasurer, to which he will doubtless be elected. His official service has ever been characterized by a conscientious zeal in the performance of his duties and over the rec- ord of his public life there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. He has been a mem- ber of the Odd Fellows society at Onarga since 1860. has filled all of the chairs and is a past

IROQUOIS COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

grand. He - likewise connected with the cil- campment and has served as grand patriarch and has been a delegate to the grand lodge and the grand encampment, serving in the latter for four terms. Both he and his wife are identified with the Rebekah degree and Mr. Owen holds mem- bership relations with the Grand Army post at Onarga, which he assisted 'n organizing and of which he is the present commander, serving for two terms. From his youth Mr. Owen has been a resident of Iroquois county and has lived a most active and useful life, promoting and conducting numerous business enterprises, which have proven factors in the business development and prosper- ity of the community as well as a source of indi- vidual profit. He is well known in the county as a man of sterling character and worth, having the confidence and trust of the entire community. for in business he has made an unassailable repu- tation and in private life has gained that warm personal regard which arises from the possession of those traits which in every land and clime com- mand confidence and admiration.

J. A. PRUITT.

J. A. Pruitt, living retired in Goodwine, is fa- miliarly and affectionately known throughout Iroquois county as Unele Allen. Few residents of the county have more friends, for during a half century here passed he has so lived as to win esteem and respect, while his kindliness and geniality have brought him the closer ties of friendship and love. His opinions have carried weight and he has long been accounted an intlu- ential and leading citizen. For many years he was actively engaged in farming but has now put aside business cares and is living retired in Goodwine.

Mr. Pruitt was born in Tippecanoe county, In- diana, August 21, 1832, and is largely a self- educated as well as a self-made man. His fa- ther being in limited circumstances and with a family of eleven children to support, our subject went to live with his maternal grandfather Beeker when nine years of age and remained with him about seven years, or until the latter's

death, when he went to live with his uncle Daniel Beeker. After attaining his majority he engaged in the manufacture of lumber for a number of years and in 1854 removed westward to Iro- quois county, Illinois, where he worked by the day or month for three years.

Mr. Pruitt then returned to Indiana for his bride, being married in Carroll county, that state, in 1857. to Miss Barbara Heiney, who was born in Indiana and remained there until she came with her husband to Illinois. They began their domestic life upon a rented farm in this county but in 1800 Mr. Pruitt was able to purchase eighty acres of wild prairie land in Ash Grove township, which he broke and improved. his labors soon transforming it into a good farm. Very industrious and energetic, these qualities were manifest both in the tilled fields and in the stock-raising interests which claimed his atten- tion. In the early days there were many hard- ships and privations incident to the establishment of a home on the frontier, but as the fiekls were cultivated and the state became more thickly set- tled so that there was a better market for crops, the financial resources of Mr. Pruitt increased and he increased his acreage from time to time by additional purchases until he owned eight hundred acres in Milford and Lovejoy town- ships and also bought land in Indiana, whereon he engaged in farming for four years, begin- ning in 1887. lle then bought property in Wat- seka, where he made his home until 189t, and then removed to Goodwine, where he has since lived, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. Indolence and idleness, how- ever. are utterly foreign to his nature and he finds it impossible to put aside business interests entirely, but he drives out almost daily to his farm and thus keeps the place in good condition. He has the entire farm enclosed with woven wire fence, attached to red cedar posts, shipped from Alabama. There are good buildings and an orchard and the farm is a valuable property.

Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt have become the parents of four children: Mrs. Mary M. Ilickman, of Lovejoy township: Elias, who is living in Ur- bana, Illinois ; Annis, the wife of J. P. Hoffman, a farmer of Ash Grove township; and James HI .. who is engaged in the practice of law at Sumpter, Oregon.

PAST AND PRESENT OF

Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt are members of the Chris- tian church and he served as elder in the church while living at Watseka and also at Milford. In the work of the church they have been actively interested and have labored earnestly for the ad- vancement of the cause. Mr. Pruitt is a de- mitted Mason, having belonged to Milford lodge, No. 168. His political allegiance was long given the republican party but for some years he has supported the men and measures of the pro- hibition party, the cause of temperance having ever found in him a stalwart exemplar and ad- vocate. He has always refused to accept office, yet he has ever been a progressive and public- spirited citizen, and his advocacy of many meas- ures has been an influencing factor in securing them further support. In his business he has been straighforward and thoroughly reliable, his success - which is most desirable - coming through legitimate business channels, and no one more fully merits the confidence and respect so uniformly tendered than does Uncle Allen Pruitt and his estimable wife.

JUDGE ROBERT W. HILSCHER.

Judge Robert W. Hilscher, who at the time of his death was serving for the second term as cir- cuit judge and who was accounted one of the distinguished citizens of Watseka, was richly endowed with all those traits of character which work for intellectual development, the growth of high moral purpose and of a kindliness of spirit which results in consideration for the rights and interests of others. His life was so unselfish, his motive so honorable and his public usefulness so widely recognized that the news of his death was received with a sense of personal bereavement by all who knew him.

Robert Winfield Hilscher was born in Ly- coming county, Pennsylvania, March 8. 1853, a son of Joseph and Louisa Hilscher. The family comes of German lineage but has been repre- sented in America through several generations. The father, a blacksmith by trade, followed that pursuit in carly life in the cast and in 1855 rc- moved westward to Indiana. After two years passed in that state he took up his abode upon a

farm near Lincoln, Illinois, and it was there- amid rural surroundings that Judge Hilscher spent the days of his boyhood and youth, working in the fields as necessity demanded and attending school when opportunity offered. Ambitious for further knowledge than could be acquired in the district schools near his father's home, he entered the college at Adrian, Michigan, when eighteen years of age and was graduated there- from with the class of 1875. He then attended the law school at Albany, New York, and follow- ing his graduation was admitted to the bar in 1876.

His course as a lawyer was marked by steady progress due to his thorough preparation in his college days, his devotion to the interests of his clients and his clear and cogent reasoning before court or jury. He located for practice at Hoopeston, Illinois, where he remained from 1876 to 1879, when he removed to Watseka, where he continued to make his home until his death.

The same year he was married on the 8th of October, 1879, to Miss Clara McGill, and unto- them were born a daughter and son, Elma and Ralph, who with the mother still survive Judge Hilscher. Theirs was largely an ideal home life, for the Judge was devoted to his family and con- sidered no personal sacrifice on his part too great if it would enhance the happiness or promote the- welfare of his wife and children.

From the beginning of his connection with the Iroquois county bar he rapidly rose to promi- nence. In 1880 he was elected state's attorney and discharged the duties of the office with such fidelity and ability that he was re-elected in 1884. remaining as the incumbent for eight years. He was afterward master in chancery for one term and all this time his private practice was growing and he was gaining a wider acquaintance and a stronger hold upon the confidence of the people, so that it was but the logical sequence of events when in 1897 he was nominated and elected cir- cuit judge for a term of six years. His course upon the bench was distinguished by a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution. His decisions were models of judicial soundness and he had the endorsement of the bar as well as the general public. So creditable and satisfac- tory was his record that in 1903 he was re-elected

LIL Or TAL URL. ERCITY OF ILLINOG

IROQUOIS COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

without opposition. He had in the highest de- gree the judicial temperament. His knowledge of the fundamental principles of law was pro- ionnel and he was thoroughly grounded in the practice and procedure of the courts. His judg- ment was sound and his industry and conscien- tious devotion to the duties of his position were proverbial. He was recognized as one of the ablest jurists in the state.

Judge Hilscher was, moreover, a leader in po- litical thought and action because of his well- known devotion to high ideals in citizenship and his stalwart championship of republican prin- ciples. As a public speaker he stood very high. His appearance on the rostrum was dignified and impressive. His manner was deliberate and gen- erally argumentative, but his speeches always commanded attention and his language often rose to periods of impassioned eloquence.

Aside from the intellectuality with which na- ture endowed him and which he cultivated to the best of his ability Judge Hilscher had other strongly marked characteristics, among which was his fidelity to the Christian religion. He was a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, closely followed its teachings, and that he was honored in the denomination is indicated by the fact that he was made a delegate to the na- tional conference of the church at Los Angeles in 1904. This honor came unsolicited and he was not even present at the session of the body when chosen. Fraternally he was connected with the Masons, belonging to Watseka lodge, No. 446, A. F. & A. M .; Watseka chapter. No. 114. R. . 1. M. : and Mary commandery, No. 67. K. T.

Perhaps no better summary of the life and character of Judge Hilscher can be given than by quoting from the Watseka Republican, which at the time of his death said: "A strong man has fallen. In the death of Robert W. Hilscher, Iro- quois county has lost her foremos. citizen, one who has for many years stood as a splendid type of all that was best and highest in the lives of her people. He was the embodiment of vigorous, up- right, sterling manhood. His personality com- bined the dignity of conscious power with the simplicity of a pure and untainted life. He was warm hearted, courageous and loyal. Ilis char- acter was true as steel, steadfast as granite. His mind was clear, logical and vigorous. He was

incapable of falsehood or double dealing and he possessed that instinctive honesty and straight- forwardness that turned to truth as the needle to the pole. His conscientiousness was inherent. Honesty and justice and right dealing were the natural result of the habitual bent of his mind. He loved his fellowman with broadmindedness and charity for human, frailty, sorrowing deeply over misfortune and suffering. Few men have ever enjoyed more completely the confidence and respect of their fellow citizens-none have ever more richly deserved such confidence nor more sacredly respected it. His passing away in the prime of manhood and at the zenith of his pow- ers is felt as a personal loss by thousands in this and other counties."

HON. GEORGE H. HAMILTON.

George IL. Hamilton, attorney-at-law at Wat- seka and vice president of the First National Bank, also connected with cattle-raising in Texas, is numbered among the native sons of Iroquois county, his birth having occurred upon a farm near Wellington on the 4th of April, 1875. He is a son of John L. Hamilton, whose sketch ap- pears on another page of this volume.

Mr. Hamilton supplemented his early educa- tional privileges by study in the Watseka high school from which he was graduated with the class of 1801. He afterward matriculated in Olivet College, Olivet, Michigan, where he won the Bachelor of Science degree upon his gradua- tion in 1804, and in Harvard University he won the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1806. On leaving college he accepted the position of book- keeper in the First National Bank at Watseka. where he remained for two years, when he be- gan preparation for a professional career as a student in the Northwestern Law School at Chicago.

His course completed, Mr. Hamilton was ad- mitted to the bar in 1901 and entered upon active practice in Watseka, where he has already gained a large clientage and demonstrated in his hand- ling of important litigated interests his ability to solve intricate legal problems. With a mind naturally analytical and inductive he has found

PAST AND PRESENT OF

great interest in his law work and his devotion to his clients is proverbial.

His law practice, however, does not comprise the extent and scope of his business interests and activities, for he is also a factor in financial circles here, having in 1904 been elected vice president of the First National Bank, of which he has been a director for a number of years. Associated with his two brothers, John L. and W. A. Hamilton, of Hoopeston, he is likewise connected with cattle-raising interests in Texas. from which state the cattle are shipped north and fattened for market upon his farm of eight hundred acres near Wellington. This business has reached extensive proportions and is a profit- able source of income.

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Past and present of Iroquois County, Illinois, Part 3

Author: Kern, J. W Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Number of Pages: 792

Author: Kern, J. W
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 792