USA > Illinois > Iroquois County > Past and present of Iroquois County, Illinois > Part 44
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farms of Iroquois county. In addition to carry - ng on the work of the fields, Mr. Totheroh gives considerable attention to the raising of stock, and this is proving a good source of revenue.
U'nto our subject and his wife have been born mmc children; Ed, who is a young man and now resides in Ambia, Indiana ; Anna, the wife of Miner Chatee, also of Ambia ; Charles, who is married and resides on a farm in Prairie Green township; Mattie, the wife of Bert Hallock, a resident farmer of this township ; Cora, a young lady at home; Lottie, who makes her home in Chicago: and Benjamin and Mice Ruth, also at home.
Mr. Totheroh has always given Ins political allegiance to the republican party, casting his first presidential ballot in 1800 in support of Abraham Lincoln, and he has supported each presidential candidate of that party since that time. He has never sought or desired office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his private business interests. Mrs. Totheroh and her children are all identified with the Christian church. Mr. Totheroh has resided on his present farm since the year 1878 and by his industry and capable management has made it a well improved prop- erty. Having lived for a long period in Iroquois county and in Benton county of the neighboring state of Indiana, he has a wide and favorable acquaintance for he has ever been as loyal in citizenship as he was during his service in de- fense of the Union, and is today numbered among the valued and highly esteemed residents of this portion of the state.
JOSEPH JOHNSON.
Joseph Johnson is the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres, situated on section 11. Martinton township, this property having been developed and improved by him in an early day, for it has been his home contin- nously for almost a half century. He is a native of Champaign county, Ohio, born December 5. 1810. His parents. Joseph and Lydia C. (Cook ) Johnson, were both natives of Rhode Island. whence they made their way to Ohio at a very
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early day, the journey being made with a one- horse wagon, the trip requiring forty-one days, for that was before the era of railroad trans- portation.
Joseph Johnson was reared and educated in the Buckeye state. and while his school privi- leges were somewhat limited owing to the prim- itive system of instruction in a new country. his training at farm labor was not meager for he was at an early age assigned to the duties of developing and cultivating new land. It was during his residence in Ohio that he was united in marriage to Miss Mary 1. Transton, who was born and reared in that state, the wedding being celebrated in the year 1840.
Taking up their abode in their native state, they there remained until 1858, when thinking to enjoy better advantages in the new western country, the father came with his family to Iro- quois county, the family home being established in Martinton township. Here the father bought three hundred and twenty acres of land. on which stood a small frame house, in which the family took up their abode. The land was raw and uncultivated but Mr. Johnson immediately undertook the task of developing the property. for he was not unfamiliar with such labor. He broke the prairie, prepared the land for the plow, planted the seed and in due time gathered rich harvests. \ portion of the land was low and swampy but he made this productive by digging ditches and laying tile, having laid altogether an amount reaching a mile and a quarter. The family endured many inconveniencies at that carly day for the homes of the settlers were widely scattered, and the products of the farm had to be conveyed by wagon to Kankakee, which was their nearest market. Mrs. Johnson had lived in this locality for six months before she saw another white woman, so few were the set- tlers who had here established homes. As time has passed and Mr. Johnson has prospered in his work he has been enabled to add many modern improvements to his place. In 1871 he replaced the pioneer home with a modern and substantial frame dwelling, and he has likewise erected many outbuildings, has set out many shade and ornamental trees, and his place is kept in an excellent condition, presenting a neat and attractive appearance. In former years, in ad-
dition to carrying on general agricultural pur- suits, he raised considerable stock, which added materially to his financial income. In 1881 he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. situated on section 12, Martinton township, and from this he derives a good annual rental, so that he and his wife are now able to spend the evening of their days in honorable retirement, be- ing provided with all the comforts of life.
U'nto our subject and his wife have been born eight children as follows: John B., Julia, P. P., Lewis C., Lizzie, Charles L., J. W. and Mary .A. In his political views and affiliations Mr. John- son is a stalwart republican, and has served as school director. He and his wife have spent sixty-six years of happy married life together. Coming to Iroquois county at an early day the. are familiar with the progress and advancement that has here been made, and Mr. Johnson has not only been an interested witness but an active participant in the agricultural development of his section of the state for he has improved a farm and made it a valuable and productive property, from which he derives an income suffi- cient to enable him to enjoy a well earned rest. Ile has now passed the eighty-seventh milestone on life's journey but is still a hale and hearty old man, giving his personal supervision to his busi- ness affairs. Ilis wife has reached the age of eighty-two years. They are highly esteemed residents of the county and have a host of wari 1 admirers among both young and old, rich and poor.
OSCAR APPLEGET.
Oscar AAppleget, well known in connection with his stock-raising interests in Concord township. was born in Indiana, November 6, 1845, and was only six years old when brought to Iroquois county by his father. Benjamin Appleget, who was a native of Kentucky. The family home was established in Concord township, where the fa- ther remained until 1861, when he offered his services to the government in defense of the Union cause and became a member of Company I. One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Infan- try. He went to the front and died of fever
MR. AND MRS. OSCAR APPLEGET.
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IROQUOIS COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
at Corinth, Mississippi. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Ann Wade, was a native of Indiana.
Oscar Appleget started out m hfe when four- teen years of age and assisted in the support of the family. He was employed at farm labor un- til 1865, when he could no longer content him- self to remain at home while the Union cause was still imperiled and accordingly when eight- een years of age he joined the army as a mem- ber of Company F. One Hundred and Fifty -fifth Illinois Infantry. His father had given his life for the cause and the fires of patriotism burned bright within his breast. He went to the front and was with his command until after the war was over. Returning to his home, he again worked by the month as a farm hand until about IS), when, desiring that his labors should more directly benefit hintself, he rented a farm and at once began cultivating the fields. As soon as his financial resources permitted he invested in eighty acres of land and kept adding to his prop- erty from time to time until he is now the owner of four hundred and five acres on sections 29 and 32. Concord township, three hundred and ninety acres being in the home farm. . All of the improvements upon this place were put there by him and are as monuments to his thrift and enterprise. Hle erected all of the buildings, ienced the fields and tiled the land, and in addi- tion to this property he owns one hundred and thirty-five acres in Indiana. Ile has always fol- lowed general farming and likewise raises polled Angus cattle and Chester White hogs. He and his sons farm the entire place and as the result of their care and labor the farm is richly culti- vated and good crops are annually gathered.
In 1808, in Concord township, Mr. Appleget was unite Hin marriage to Miss Sarah Hoagland, who was born in Ohio, and they have three chil- dren : James and Orie, both at home, assisting in the care of the farm; and Mrs. Hannah Wil- hamson.
Mr. Appleget is a republican in his political views and has served as pathmaster and school director but has not been active as a politician. preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. Socially he is a member of the Grand Army post at Sheldon. He may truly be called a self-made man, for starting out in life
at the age of fourteen years he has depended en- tirely upon his own resources and has made steady progress along those lines which demand close application and unfaltering perseverance but which eventually lead to success.
MAJOR ROBERT WOODARD FOSTER.
Major Robert Woodard Foster was for many years a leading merchant of Sheldon and so ac- tive and honorable was he in his business career that the most envious could not grudge him his success. Moreover, he rendered valiant service to the Union at the time of the Civil war and in all matters of citizenship has been loyal to the best interests of the community. His life, actu- ated by high principles and honorable motives, has made him one of the best loved citizens of Sheldon and no history of the town would be complete without mention of Major Foster.
Born in Northampton county, North Carolina, April 3. 1829. he was one of a family of ten chil- dren, whose parents, James and Sarah ( Hlicks) Foster, were also natives of that state. He comes of an ancestry noted for longevity and his paternal grandfather reached the very remark- able old age of one hundred and eight years. James Foster was reared in the state of his na- tivity and served his country as a soldier in the war of 1812. By occupation he was a farmer and in 1830 he removed from the south to Ohio, establishing his home near Zanesville in Logan county, where his subsequent days were passed, his death occurring when he was fifty-six years vi age.
Major Foster was only about a year old at the time of the removal of the family to the Buckeye state and to its public-school system he is in- debted for the educational privileges that he en- joyed. Ile remained at home until 1850 and then came to Iroquois county, casting in his lot with the early settlers. For a half century he has lived within its borders-an interested witness of its development and an active participant in much of the growth that has brought about its present condition of progress and prosperity. He first settled upon a farm of one hundred and twen- ty acres which he purchased on Sugar creek in
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Stockland township near Milford, and with characteristic energy he took up the task of con- verting raw land into richly cultivated fields. As the years passed he made his farm a valuable property and won a gratifying degree of pros- perity in his agricultural interests, He had driven across the country from Ohio and when he arrived in Iroquois county his possessions con- sisted only of his team and twenty-five dollars in money. Thus from a very humble financial position he has worked his way steadily upward to affluence, continuing to engage actively in farming until 1875. when he removed to Shel- don, where he worked in a lumberyard for a year. In partnership with Richard Carroll he then bought the lumber business, which they conducted for a year. At the end of that time. however, they sold out and Major Foster estab- lished a grocery, flour and feed store, which he carried on until 1879. In that year he opened his furniture store, which he conducted for over twenty years. He carried a large and well se- lected line of goods and in that business pros- pered, but he invested in the Novelty Works and through mismanagement of others lost most of his wealth. While engaged in the furniture business every year he gave to the widows of Sheldon a nice turkey as a Thanksgiving pres- ent and his generosity has always been one of his marked characteristics. The poor and needy have ever found in him a friend and he responds readily and liberally according to his means to the demands of those who are in distress. In 1901 he retired from the furniture business and has since enjoyed a well merited rest in his pleasant little home in Sheldon.
Major Foster proved his loyalty to the Union cause at the time of the Civil war, enlisting on the 7th of .August. 1862, as a member of Com- pany E. Seventy-sixth Regiment of Illinois Infantry, under Captain Abram Irvin. He served for three years and was with Grant on his march to Vicksburg and was at Holly Springs at the time of V'an Dorn's raid upon that place. From there he went to Memphis, Ten- nessee, where he remained until the siege of Vicksburg. In August. 1863. he returned home on a inrlongh, his leave of absence being grant- ed him on account of illness, which developed into a severe attack of typhoid fever, necessitating
his remaining at home for about six months. As soon as able, however. he rejoined his regi- ment at Black River bridge east of Vicksburg. where he remained during the siege, after which he was sent to Mound City hospital in the fall of 1864. He participated in the siege of Vicks- burg and in the engagements at Jackson and Benton, together with others of importance. Three weeks after he was sent to the hospital he was ordered home on account of disability and he received his discharge and was mustered out of service in Galveston. August 2. 1865. being paid off in Chicago on the 25th of the same month. . Although he was never wounded he still feels the effects of his army service and has never been quite the man physically that he was before he experienced the privations and expos- ures of army life. When the war was over he returned home and resumed farming, which, as stated, he followed until he became connected with commercial interests in Sheldon.
Major Foster had been married in Ohio, March 20, 1851. to Miss Hulda Inskeep, who was born in the Buckeye state and was educated in the public schools there. She is a daughter of Job and Sarah ( Sharp) Inskeep. Her mother's parents were natives of Pennsylvania and were pioneer residents of Ohio. Job Inskeep was born in Virginia and spent his boyhood and youth as a farm lad. pursuing his education in the pub- lic schools and working in the fields when not busy with his text-books. After attaining his majority he wedded Miss Sarah Sharp, a native of Ohio, and unto them were born nine chil- dren, of whom only one is now living: Levi. John, Isaac. Amos, Eliza, Hulda and Sarah Ann are deceased. Major and Mrs. Foster have one daughter. AAnnetta. the wife of Mahlon Inskeep. of Watseka, and they have two children, Frank and Mary, aged respectively fifteen and twelve vears.
Major Foster cast his first presidential vote for General Winfield Scott and was a supporter of the whig party until the organization of the new republican party, when he joined its ranks and has since been one of its stalwart advocates. Ilis fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have several times called him to public office. Ile served as justice of the peace in Stockland township, was commissioner of high-
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IROQUOIS COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
ways and also supervisor of that township for of this county, where he has labored energetically three years. He was likewise supervisor of Shel and with strong purpose in the acquirement of a competence that now enables him to put aside the more andnon- care of business and rest in comfort and cast don township for ten years and has filled other local positions, the duties of which have been discharged with promptness and fidelity. He be- Longs to Sheldon lodge. No. m.m. A. F. A. A. M. He was born in Counts Meath, Ireland. An- quist 3. 1831, and spent the first twenty years of his life in that country, when, determining to establish his home in the new world he started from Dublin, Ireland, on the Oth of April. 1852. and made his way to Liverpool, England, whence he embarked for the United States, landing at New York on the Moth of May. He did not tarry long in the cast, however, but made his way at once westward, to Chicago, Ihnois, where he was employed in various ways until 1855. He then became a grader on the Illinois Central Rail- road, which was then under course of construc- tion but after a brief period he left the railroad company at Clifton, and pre-empted eighty acres of land in Ashkum township. He is one of the few men of Iroquois county who are still living on the land which they pre-empted from the government in those early days. He has im- proved his property with comfortable buildings and all of the land is well drained and therefore tillable. His home stands in the midst of a beautiful growth of trees of his own planting. which he set out a half century ago. In all of his farm work he has been methodical, systematic and enterprising, keeping abreast with the trend of modern improvement as manifest in agricul- tural lines. and to A. B. Brown post. No. 151. 6 \ R. als to the Patriotic Order of Sans of America, Buth he and his wife are members of the Methodist church and for fifty-five years they have traveled hie's journey together, sharing its adversity and prosperity, its jons and sorrows. Altogether Major Foster's career has been a prosperous one owing to his well directed efforts, his industry and enterprise. He also attributes much of his success to the aid of his faithful wife, whose counsel and advice have been of great benefit to him. She has nobly done her full part and her words of encouragement have often been his in- spiration. Major Foster is a man of broad hu- manitarian principles and many there are who have reason to remember him with gratitude. Instead of hoarding up his possessions he has considered himself but the steward of a trust placed in his care and has given liberally of his means to aid others, for the support of churches and for the welfare of the community at large. He is a man of pleasant, genial disposition and kindly manner-qualities which endear him to all who know him, and both he and his wife have a host of warm friends. He has now passed the seventy-seventh milestone on life's journey and there is no more respected or worthy citizen in Sheldon that Major Robert Woodard Foster.
MICHAEL LEONARD.
Michael Leonard has lived retired from active business since 18go but is still the owner of good farm property and makes his home on section 15. Ashkun township, where he has one hundred and twenty acres of land His residence is sur- rounded Is a fine grove of trees which were planted by Him in 1855. a fact which indicates that he was one of the pioneer residents of this part of the state. More than a half century ha- come and gone since he located in Illinois, and he is therefore largely familiar with the history
Mr. Leonard was married at L'Erable, Illinois. in 1857, to Miss Rosanna Mulloy, and they be- gan their domestic life upon the farm where they have resided continuously since. Mr. Leonard be- ing actively concerned in the work of the field- until 180, when he retired from business, turn- ing over the care of the farm to others, while he has since enjoyed a well earned rest. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Catholic church, at Clifton. In politics he is a stalwart democrat, emphatic in his advocacy of the prin- ciples of the party since casting his first presi- dential ballot for James Buchanan. He has been sche of director and pathmaster at various times and all public duties reposed in him have been faithfully and promptly discharged He has long been recognized as a representative ami
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valned citizen of the community and in agricul- tural circles has made a creditable name. In ad- dition to his home property he owns forty acres of land on section 10. Chebanse township, and his property returns to him a good income enabling him to secure the necessities and many of the luxuries of life without recourse to further labor.
ED HARPER.
Ed Harper, who is engaged in general farm- ing on section 20, Onarga township. this being the old family homestead property, was born here, March 25, 1857. His father. Samuel H. Harper. was a native of Pennsylvania but was reared in Ohio and remained a resident of that state until he came to Illinois in early manhood in the fall of 1837. He was one of the first set- tlers of Iroquois county and entered land from the government and also purchased other tracts until he owned more than four hundred acres. He set out many cottonwood trees upon the place, broke the prairie, fenced the fields, erected good buildings and otherwise improved the farm until it became a well developed property. He was married here to Miss Mary Lehigh, a native of Virginia, who was reared, however, in Illi- nois. Mr. and Mrs. Harper reared their own family upon what has since been known as the homestead and he carried on farm work here up to the time of his demise, which occurred April 21. 1889, when he was seventy-five years of age. His wife survived him for several years, passing away . April 24. 1894. In the family were two sons and five daughters, who are yet living, the brother of our subject being Alexander Har- per, a resident of St. Joseph, Missouri. His sisters are Alvira, wife of Charles David, of Onarga township; Harriet E., wife of Orrin Hull, of Kirkwood, Missouri: Ella F .. wife of William S. Barnes, of Onarga township; Mar- garet J., wife of S. C. Moore, of Onarga: and Eva, who is the twin sister of Ed and acts as his housekeeper.
Ed Harper was reared upon the farm where his birth occurred and after acquiring his early education in the common schools he continued his studies in Grand Prairie Seminary in Onarga.
When not busy with his text-books lie aided in the work of the home farm and after completing his education he took charge of the farm, thus relieving his father of much of the active work of the fields. At a later date he purchased the interest of the other heirs in the old home prop- erty and became owner of this farm, which com- prises two hundred and forty-six acres of rich and arable land on section 20. Onarga township. He has since built to and remodeled the house and has also built a barn. He has likewise tiled and fenced the land, has set out fruit trees and has carried forward the work of improvement along modern lines of agricultural development until he now has a splendid farm property. Ile uses the latest improved machinery in carrying on the work of the farm and in cultivating his erops, and in addition to the raising of cereals he also gives considerable time to the raising of pure blooded Hereford cattle. Percheron horses and Cotswold sheep. He is a practical farmer and stockman and his business interests are attended with a measure of success that in- dicates his careful management and executive force.
Politically Mr. Harper is a republican and has served on the school board and in other local positions. He holds membership in the Onarga Methodist Episcopal church and this relation is indicative of the principles which have permeated his life and guided his conduct. He has been a resident of the county from his birth to the pres- ent time and has progressed with its development and growth, while in agricultural circles he now occupies a prominent place.
WILLIAM E. KNIBLOE.
William E. Knibloe is numbered among the pioneers in the work of drainage in Iroquois county, whereby a wilderness and swamp has been reclaimed and converted into a rich agricul- tural district. With keen foresight and sagacity he recognized the possibilities for development here and put forth his efforts along practical lines, whereby the county at large has benefited, while his individual success has also been greatly promoted. He is now one of the venerable resi-
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ED HARPER.
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dents of the county, living retired in Gilman, but for a long period was closely associated with agricultural interests in Douglas township. He has long since passed the Psalmist's span of three score years and ten, having attained his eighty- seventh year, for his birth occurred February 1". 1820. The place of his nativity was Sharon township, Litchfield counts, Connecticut, and his parents were Thompson and Keziah ( Wing) Knibloe. Descended from Scotch ancestry, the founder of the family in America was the great grandfather of our subject, who was a l'realy- terian minister and emigrated from Edinburgh prior to the Revolutionary war. He remained active in the work of the church throughout his entire life and his son, the grandfather, devoted his time and energies to agricultural pursuits. Thompson Knibloe, who was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, was also a farmer and when he arrived at years of maturity he wedden Keziah Wing, who was born near Cape Cod and with her parents removed to Litchfield county. where she gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Knibloe. The father died when his son William was about twelve years of age and the mother afterward became the wife of Benjamin Myers. who removed to Allegany county. New York. where she spent her last days.
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