Past and present of Iroquois County, Illinois, Part 30

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

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bia Balthis, our subject's sister. born May I, 1843. died September 14. 1858, when more than fifteen years of age and was buried in the beanti- ful Woodlawn cemetery at Zanesville. A cousin of Mr. Balthis, John W. Hardin, was born in Zanesville and at the time of the Civil war be- came a member of Company E. One Hundred and Ninetieth Volunteer Infantry. under Captain Martin Bean and Colonel Samuel Beatty. The regiment was assigned to the Fourth Army Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. Young Hardin was shot by sharpshooters at Culps Farm on Stone river when a mere boy seventeen years of age, and a tablet inscribed with his name and record has been set in Memorial Hall in Zanes- ville. Ohio.

Reared in his native city, the subject of this review was educated in the oldl McIntyre Insti- tute of Zanesville, and after his graduation from that institution he developed into an amateur woodcut engraver, showing such ability along that line that he was advised to continue in that work and did so by connecting himself with the firm of Doolittle & Mimson, banknote engravers of Cincinnati, Ohio. After completing his ap- prenticeship with that firm he engaged in engrav- ing for several years but had to give it up on account of failing eyesight. During that time. however, be illustrated a Mexican historical pub- lication called the Twelve Months Volunteers. also the Robinson series of school arithmetics.

While still living in Zanesville, Ohio. Mr. Bal- this was married in that city, on the Ist of May. 1840. to Miss Susanna Olivia Hamilton, a dangh- ter of the Rev. Sammel Hamilton, a noted cler- gyman of that place. Her mother was Mrs. Edith ( Harrison ) Hamilton, of Harrisonburg. Virginia, who was related to William Henry Harrison, who in 1840 was elected president of the United States. Her father received from the British government a large grant of land, on which Harrisonburg was laid out. It bordered the James river and there he developed a good plantation, and the old home stands there today as of old. Many interesting letters giving side- lights upon the family history are still in posses- sion of representatives in the present generation. U'nto this marriage were born six children : . Al- tha V. is the wife of Zack Smith, of Redlands. California : Alberta E. first married Louis Wal-

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heart and in backbone and will default in no demand made upon them for a pure patriotism." Mr. Balthis represented his township in the con- vention and held the office of supervisor for a number of years, after which he resigned and removed to Chicago, where he engaged in the wholesale iron business for several years. He then came to Iroquois county in 1867. removing to his three-hundred-and-twenty-acre farm of wild land near Clifton, thus carrying out a long cherished desire to realize the "deep pleasure of a rural life." He identified himself with agri- cultural interests, carrying on farm work for a number of years but now living retired, leaving the more active duties of the fields to others. His farm is one of the valuable and best im- proved properties of Chebanse township, embrac- ing two hundred and eighty acres of very rich and productive land on section 11. township 28, range 14 west. The farm yields a good finan- cial return for the care and labor that is be- stowed upon the fields and everything about the place presents a neat and thrifty appearance, while the splendid grove makes this one of the valuable farms of the county. He is a remark- ably well preserved man, retaining the activity usually found in the prime of life to a remarkable degree. He walks from his orchard farm to Clifton, a distance of one and a quarter miles, nearly every week-day, so that in ten years he has thus covered a distance of fourteen thousand four hundred miles. He attributes his strength and vitality largely to the fact that he has always been abstemious, never using intoxicants, and he asks the question, "Does it not pay?" Surely he ' is a splendid example of such a course of life.

In early life Mr. Balthis was an old-line whig. casting his first presidential vote for General Zachary Taylor. He then continued to support the candidates of the whig party until its disso- lution, when he joined the ranks of the republican party and he has voted for each of its presiden- tial nominees down to the present time. For seventy-nine years he has been a witness of the growth and development of the country, living through the period of many historic events. He can remember a time when there were no rail- roads through the middle west, travel being done by stage or private conveyance, and when the uncultivated condition of the prairies indicated

that few settlers had penetrated into this part of the country. Ile has lived to witness many re- markable changes in the great Mississippi valley and he feels the just pride of an American in his country and her accomplishments.

JAMES A. HALL.

The most envious can scarcely begrudge the success of a man who has gained his prosperity through years of close application and deter- mined effort and who has throughout his busi- ness career followed methods that neither seek nor require disguise. Such has been the life rec- ord of James .A. Hall, who in former years was identified with building operations and business interests in Onarga and Iroquois county and who is now living retired in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. Moreover he dates his residence in the county from May, 1856, and is therefore classed with the old settlers.

He was born in New London, Connecticut, May 11. 1828. His father, Henry Hall, was born in Connecticut and was a representative of a family of English and French ancestry. The great-great-grandfather of our subject became a resident of Connecticut, where he took up a sec- tion of land. being one of the first settlers of that locality. He married a lady of English ancestry and they were founders of the family in the new world. The family lived for a long period in New England and James A. Hall of this review inherited land that had been in possession of the family for over two hundred years. His father was a farmer and reared his family upon the old homestead which was so long in possession of his ancestors, spending his entire life upon that place. He had four sons and three daughters, all of whom reached adult age. Joshua Hall. the eldest, is now living in Ionia, Michigan, at the venerable age of ninety-one years. Henry, the second son, died in California at the age of eighty-four years. James A. is the third in or- der of birth. Samuel died in Connecticut. Ruth was married and at her death left two daughters, one of whom is now living. Frances is the wife of Franklin Randall, of Connecticut, and has two children, who are married.

MR. AND MRS. JAMES A. HALL.

1 UNIVERSITY OF RENOIS

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HOW ARD LYON.

Howard I win. ving in sect n1 1. 1 inorga t onslap. is ite of the otl stthis ite canty. having hned within it- border Stre 1850. that the history of settlement, growth and devel he fa 1 to do his tiil sbare m promoting y's agricultural progress A matie of Verdient. I was born in the town of Stockridge, Witolsor cats. March 1. 1838 and his father. I. som, Was also a native of that place 11. 1. 11 days was established in Connectent whence fat's representatives of the nelle to nel to te

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Ife al o cretel a Fouse there and 1 yle other sit initial movements Sequently he ld that property and bought eights ares, of who! forts acres be within the corporation hunts of Charge and the remaining forts acres ad on the town He then created a confortable residence thereon, trade improvements there and now has valuable place worth two hundred dollars per sure He has bought other land which he has further improved and then sold and has long let re ogiezed as a snecessful fari or of the Collinly

In i87t Mr Hall was called upon to niourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 4th of June of that year. There were three children hy that marriage : Gertrade. the wife of Alonzo Lunes, a business man now resulting in Danville : Jennie, the widow of Jacob Harkes and a rest sent of Arlington, New York; and Mary, the wir pi John 1. Hamilton, of Hopest m. Un the rose i April, 1873. Mr Hall was an married. bis second ntoolit being with Mary \

She was for tifarrived at the age of twenty wear to Willing Lee on the 25th di January. 1850 Mr Lee was a farmer here and becable a . dier of the Civil war, doing what in the arm Hear Vicksburg There was one son of the Marriage. Wilhand Lee, who is now a losmes Han i New York city. Unte Mr and Mrs Hall

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Brown and the same year removed with his bride to Illinois. He secured land in Iroquois county and began to farm and further improve the place upon which he still resides. As time has passed and his labors have brought him prosperity. he has added to his holdings and now owns four good farms in Onarga township. All of the land is arable and the care and labor bestowed upon it has transformed it into rich fields. making his business a paying one and classing him with the prosperous farmers of the township, his holdings comprising nearly six hundred acres.

Mr. Lyon lost his first wife by accidental drowning while they were crossing the Detroit river. at Detroit. Michigan, while on their way back to Vermont. Mr. Lyon remained in his native state for a year and a half and then came again to Illinois. He married his second wife in St. Louis. She was Mrs. Caroline Sanders, who was born and reared in St. Louis, and was the widow of Richard Sanders. She died in Onarga township. May 12, 1879. Mr. Lyon has five children: James, on the home farm: Ed- ward. a farmer of Ridgeland township: William H., of Artesia township: Parry, a farmer of Onarga township : and Robert, at home. On the 3d of March. 1880. Mr. Lyon married Mrs. Eveline Libhart.

With the Methodist Episcopal church at Del- rey Mr. Lyon holds membership, and while not an office seeker he is an ardent republican. giving unfaltering support to the party principles since casting his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. A resident of the county for half a century. he has seen the raw prairie converted into rich farms, in the midst f which towns and cities have sprung up. bring- ing industrial and commercial development. All through the years he has been an exemplary citizen and wherever known he is honored and esteemed.

JAMES A. LYON.

Tanes .A. Lyon is operating the old family h mestead f the Lyen family on section I. Onarya township. having in charge a well im- proved and valuable farm . f two hundred acres.

and the fields indicate his careful supervision and unflagging industry. The house which is his home was also his birthplace his natal day being March 29. 1865. The life history of his father. Howard Lyon, is given above. The son was reared to farm labor. acquired a good Eng- lish education in the common schools and remained with his father until his mother's death. when he started ont upon an independent busi- ness life. For two years he was in the street car service in St. Louis and for about a year worked in a tobacco factory in St. Louis. He returned to the farm about 1895 and assuming the management has since carried on the work of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. It is a well developed tract of land, the fields being used advantageously for the production of large crops and through modern methods he has in- troduced the yield has been greatly increased.

James A. Lyon was married in Onarga. May 3. 1900, to Mrs. Mary Crowley, a widow, who was born in Chicago and is of Italian parentage. They now had one son. Charles Howard Lyon. The mother died October 16, 1903.

Mr. Lyon has always voted the democratic ticket, casting his ballot for Grover A. Cleve- land and his last for Judge Parker, but he has never songht or desired office for himself.

He belongs to the Odd Fellow's lodge at Onarga. in which he has passed all of the chairs and is a past grand. He is also a past chan- cellor in the Knights of Pythias lodge and he holds membership with the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is classed with the enterprising young farmers of the county. Both father and son have long been valued residents of the com- munity and as pioneer citizens are particularly worthy of the mention in this volume.

CHARLES SIDNEY MORGAN.

Charles Sidney Morgan. wide-awake, alert and enterprising. is operating the old Morgan home- stead farm of two hundred and forty acres on section 22. Loda township. His birth occurred October 24. 1879. He is one of the four child- ren of Edwin B. and Cherrie ( Healey ) Morgan.

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since 1850. Mr. Main drives from his home in Sheldon almost every day to his farm, giving to it personal supervision and carefully watching the interests connected with its profitable devel- opment. General farm work is carried on and he also raises some stock, including horses, cattle and hogs. The greater part of his life, however, is devoted to the raising of the grain and his fields give promise of golden harvests. Ile like- wise feeds stock for the market. In 1896 he left the farm and took up his abode in Sheldon, where he owns a beautiful residence.

Mr. Main was married February 16, 1879. to Viss Helen King, a daughter of Orren King, of Sheldon, who was a very prominent resident of the town. They have no children of their own but have reared an adopted son and daughter. Ethel Main, who came to them at the age of two and a half years, is now the wife of Edward Winslow, who resides near Donovan, Illinois, and they have one child. Orlando Moon, who became a member of the household when a lad of nine years, is now with the Bell Telephone Company, at Springfield, Illinois.

Mr. Main is an ardent republican, keeping well informed on the questions and issues of the day, vet never seeking office as a reward for party fealty. He belongs to the Masonic lodge, No. 609, at Sheldon, and has filled all of the chairs in the order, while in his life he manifests the beneficent spirit of the craft. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Main has been a very successful man and quite promi- nent. The methods he has followed in his busi- ness career are such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny and he is known throughout the community as one whose salient qualities render him a valued and respected cit- izen.

ELLAS B. SMHITIL

Elias B. Smith, living on section 27, Loda township, is a representative agriculturist and stock-raiser, who owns and conducts a farm of two hundred and forty acres adjoining the cor- poration limits of the village of Loda. llis life record began in Woodford county. Ilinois, April

6. 1859, and he is one of the three living children of George and Rachel ( Richardson) Smith, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Virginia. The father was a farmer by ocen- pation and at an early day came to Illinois, set- tling in Woodford county near Metamora, where he died in 1864, having survived his wife for only a few months. The father was carried off by an attack of smallpox and all of the chil- dren were ill with the same disease. The sur- viving members of the family are: William 11 .. who is an active and prominent man, owning a section of land in Woodford county ; and Caro- line, the wife of Justin Wilcox, formerly of Gil- man, this county, but now living in McCook. Nebraska.

Elias B. Smith was reared in the usual man- ner of farm lads upon the homestead property in Woodford county and mastered the branches of learning taught in the common schools. Hav- ing reached years of maturity, he sought a com- panion and helpmate for life's journey and was married March 20, 1880. to Miss Belle Kice, of Tazewell county, Illinois. Mr. Smith was at that time the owner of a farm of eighty acres which he tiled and improved. He established a good home there and unto him and his wife were born two sons, Carl H. and Orlo L., who are at home. The wife and mother, however, passed away in October, 1884. and later Mr. Smith was married in Woodford county to Miss Dena Camp, who was born and reared in Woodford county.

Following their marriage Mr. Smith engaged in farming in that county until 1891, when he sold the property there and purchased the place which he now owns. He has since resided there- on, having two hundred and forty acres of rich and productive land. He has added many im- provements to it and the tilling of the soil has made this a valuable farm. He has also built a good barn, corn cribs and other buildings for the shelter of grain and stock, has put in stock scales, a feedmill and windpump and has laid eighty-seven thousand tile, so that the land is well drained, and altogether the farm is one of the best in the county. He uses the latest im- proved machinery for tilling the soil and caring for the crops and he also keeps good grades of stock upon his place.

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public office. Socially he is connected with the Knight of Pythias lodge at Cis-na Park and he is also a member of the Modern Woodmen and the Fraternal Insurance Society. His present financial condition is in marked contrast to that of twenty-two years ago, when he arrived in this country without capital but possessed of strong determination and energy. Willing hands and a stout heart enabled him to meet conditions and to shape them to his own ends and his life record may well serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others, showing what may be accomplished when one has determination and uses his opportunities to the best advantage.

REV. GEORGE BLANKEN.

Rev. George Blanken, spoken of by his par- ishioners and by many others in his locality as "one of the best loved citizens of Iroquois county." is now pastor of the Evangelical Lu- theran church of Buckley. His life has been de- voted to this holy calling and his influence has been of no restricted order. On the contrary it has been a strong force in the lives of many who have come under his teaching and his work has borne rich fruit in the moral development of the different communities in which he has labored.

Rev. Blanken was born in the kingdom of Hanover, Germany. December 7. 1850, and is a son of Henry and Margaret ( Holsten ) Blanken. both of whom were also natives of Germany. The mother died in that country in 1861 and twenty years afterward Henry Blanken crossed the Atlantic to the new world, spending his last days in Morgan county, Missouri, where he died in 1885, when about sixty-two years of age.

The family numbered seven children. includ- ing Rev. George Blanken of this review, who for seven and a half years was a student in the pub- lic schools of his native country. He heard many favorable reports concerning the new world and its opportunities and, becoming attracted thereto. he bade adieu to friends and native land in 1867 and crossed the briny deep. He lived for a time in Missouri and was employed at farm labor in Morgan and Lafayette counties. Hle also de-

voted a part of his time to teaching school until the fall of 1872, when, determining to devote his life to the ministry, he began studying with that end in view, entering Concordia Seminary, an Evangelical Lutheran school of St. Louis, where he studied for two and a half years. On the ex- piration of that period he went to Springfield, Illinois, and became a student in Concordia Sem- inary, of that place, in which he spent a similar period, being graduated therefrom on the 22d of March. 1877. On the 2d of April following he was ordained to the ministry by Rev. G. A. Mueller, of Kankakee, assisted by Rev. F. Lin- demann, of Champaign. He has continuously served as pastor of the church in Buckley. cov- ering a period of thirty years, and the strong and sterling traits of his manhood, together with the words of wisdom, of admonition, hope and en- couragement that he has offered in his ministe- rial capacity, have made him loved and honored throughout the entire community.

Rev. Blanken was married on the 27th of February, 1878, to Miss Lydia Rabe, a daugh- ter of John F. and Dura (Oetting) Rabe. They now have eight living children : William, who is a dealer in musical instruments, paints and wall- paper at Buckley: Rev. Theodore L. Blanken. who is a minister of the Lutheran church, now located at Galesboro, Indiana: Matilda, the wife of Ernest Schroeder, a farmer of Iroquois county : Clara, who is a well educated young lady, now engaged in teaching : Walter, a young man who is following the painter's trade; Eddie : Dora ; and Renata. They lost two children, The- odora, when about two years of age, and Lydia when about five years of age.

After coming to Buckley Mr. Blanken en- gaged in teaching in a private German school and has been identified with educational work throughout all these years, now maintaining a school with two teachers. During the winter months he has charge of the confirmation class. Ile started here with a congregation of but six- teen members and there is now a membership of ninety-seven voting members with one hundred and twenty families. He has confirmed four hundred and thirty-four in all since taking charge of the church. There are now on an average of about one hundred and twenty stu- dents in the school and a fine new school build-

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IROQUOIS COUNTY. ILLINOIS

ing is being erected, the corner-stone having hen land on the 220 of July, How, for a brick billing two stories in height with basement. There are to be two schoolrooms in the base n ent and the entire builling is to be heated with furnace. The church is free from all machted- ness and in its various activities is doing good work. Mr. Blanken is an able minister, who is continually studying and thus broadening hi- knowledge upon theological questions and topics i general interest which affect the welfare of Ins fellowmen. He has worked most earnestly. conscientiously and zealoushy and he has won the deep and abiding love of his people and the re- spect of all denominations in Buckley and wher- ever he i known.

JOHN H. BRENNER.

The home farm of John H. Brenner is located in section 20. Fountain Creek township, and it is a place where the spirit of activity, enterprise and diligence are rife. He dates his residence in the county from 1802, and has been a lifelong res- ident of Illinois, his birth having occurred in Tazewell county, June 11, 1802. His father. John Brenner, Sr .. was born in Germany and when a young man came to the new world. set- tling in Tazewell county, where he subsequently married Rachel Geischwind. also born in tier- many. The father followed farming as a life work and thus provided for the support of his family, which numbered four children. Hle lost his first wife when their son John was only four vear- of age, and he afterward married Elizabeth Steinberg, of Tazewell county, by whom he had ten children. In 1885 be removed to Vermilion county. Illinois, and now resides upon a farm near Rankin.

John 11. Brenner of this review was reared under the parental roof. His educational priv- ileges were limited and were those afforded by the district schools. He received ample training at farm labor and when twenty -four years of age began farming on his own account, renting land for this purpose. Making the best use of his opportunities and saving his earnings be at length purchased three hundred and twenty acres

of land m Indiana, which he rents, while he himself leases land in froquels county, having been on the Sheridan farm on section 20. Foun- tajn (reck township for fourteen years. lle conducts this as though it was he own. The place comprises two hundred acres of land and he has been very successful in carrying on farm work here.

On the gth of November, 1802. Mr. Brenner was married to Miss Lizzie France, a native of La Salle county and a daughter of Henry France. They are the parents of two children. Ray and Floyd. In the community where they reside they have won many friends and the hospitality of the best homes of the neighborhood is freely and cordially extended them.

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Past and present of Iroquois County, Illinois, Part 30

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