USA > Illinois > Marshall County > Past and present of Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois > Part 63
USA > Illinois > Putnam County > Past and present of Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois > Part 63
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sions from time to time until he was at one time the owner of three hundred and eighty-six acres, but he has since disposed of a part of this, retain- ing possession of two hundred and forty acres, sit- uated on section 32, Magnolia township, and in addition to which he owns another tract in this township, and a farm of sixty-six acres in Roberts township, Marshall county, so that through his own well directed labors and careful management of his business affairs he is now enabled to lay aside the arduous duties of life and enjoy a well merited rest.
On the 6th of October, 1859, Mr. King chose as a companion and helpmate for life's journey Miss Ellen A. Smith, who was born on section 33, Mag- nolia township, and was here reared, while her ed- ucation was acquired in the Caledonia sehool. Her father, Ephraim Smith, was a native of North Carolina, born in 1805, being a son of Philip and Elizabeth Smith, who were among the early pio- neer settlers of Sangamon county, Illinois, where they both spent their remaining days. Ephraim Smith remained under the parental roof until he attained his majority, when he went to Spring- field, from which city he made his way with ox teams to Galena, where he worked in the lead mines. In 1830 he became a resident of Putnam county, settling on a farm on scetion 33, Magnolia township, being numbered among the first settlers of this township, where he made his home until his death, on the 10th of February, 1885, after which his remains were laid to rest in Magnolia cemetery. He served as a ranger in the Black Hawk war. He was first married to Harriet Ange- line Truman, who was born in New York in 1817, and her death occurred in July, 1857, when she was forty years of age. By that union there were nine children : Ervin O., who wedded Annie John- son, by whom he has two children; Ellen A., who became the wife of our subject; Franklin, who wedded Hattie Weir; Esther, deceased; Laura, the wife of Casper Weber; Hattie, the wife of Gilbert Hiltabrand; Addie and Artilissa, both deceased; and James C. For his second wife Mr. Smith chose Jemima Kays, now deceased, by whom he had three children, of whom the eldest dicd in in- fancy, while the others are: Katie R., the wife of Vivian Haws ; and Eva, the wife of Cyril Haws.
The family of our subject and his wife num- bered eleven children, of whom eight are still liv- ing: Silas, a resident of Virginia ; Frank, a resi-
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dent farmer of Magnolia township; Henry and Benjamin, likewise residing in this township; Laura E., the wife of Grant Trone; Robert E., re- siding in North Dakota; Edith, the wife of Ed Defanbaugh, residing in Magnolia; Kate E., the wife of Oscar Hiatt, residing in Toluca, Illinois ; Hattic, the deceased wife of George Lippert; and two who died in infancy. The wife and mother passed away January 26, 1898. She was devoted to the interests of her home and family and dur- ing the forty-eight years which she and her hus- band traveled life's journey together she proved to him a worthy companion and helpmate.
In his political affiliations Mr. King is a demo- crat, giving stanch support to the principles in which he so firmly believes. He has taken an ac- tive part in local politics, having served as road commissioner and as school director for a number of years, the cause of education finding in him a warm and helpful friend. Fraternally he is iden- tified with the Masonic order at Varna and is pop- ular among the brethren of the craft. Mr. King has now passed the seventy-first milestone on life's journey, and, having spent his entire life in Put- nam and Marshall counties, is well known and en- joys the friendship of a large circle of acquaint- ances. He has ever been known for his reliable and straightforward dealing in all trade transac- tions and is today accounted one of the venerable and well-to-do citizens of Putnam county.
O. A. LUNDQUIST.
The commercial interests of Granville find an active and worthy representative in O. A. Lund- quist, a clothing merchant, who in the conduct of his business displays the spirit of enterprise and progress which have been the dominant factors in the upbuilding of the middle west He was born in Skonc, Sweden, July 28, 1866, and when only eight years of age lost his father. Being left in limited financial circumstances, it was necessary that he earn his own living, and at that tender age he went to work in a tile factory, carrying tile all through the summer, while in the winter months he attended school and thus became better qualified for life's practical and responsible duties. When fifteen years of age he went upon a farm, where he was employed for two years, and at the age of seventeen he began learning the black- smith's trade, which he followed for about three years, becoming master of that occupation.
Hoping to better his financial condition through the broader business opportunities of the new world, Mr. Lundquist sought a home in America when a young man of twenty years. Landing on the shores of the new world, he came at once to Putnam county and began work at once upon a farm near Florid. After seven weeks he secured employment in a blacksmith shop in Florid in the employ of William Stehl, for whom he worked at ten dollars per month. Subsequently he spent two years in the plow factory at Peru, and saving his earnings during that period, he was at length en- abled to purchase a shop in Florid, where for six and a half years he engaged in blacksmithing on his own account. On the expiration of that pe- riod he came to Granville, purchased a shop and engaged in the same line of business here. He made steady progress, and five years ago he opened a clothing store, which today is the largest estab- lishment of this kind in the village. He carries an extensive and well selected stock of clothing, men's furnishing goods and shoes, and has a very liberal and constantly growing patronage.
About sixteen years ago Mr. Lundquist was married to Miss Clara Morine, who was born in Sweden, October 16, 1865, and died May 9, 1903, leaving five children : Edwin, who was born April 3, 1891; Olga, born July 14, 1892; Edith, April 16, 1898; Callie, June 19, 1900; and Hilda, Sep- tember 22, 1901. The children are all living at home with their father, who has never married again.
Mr. Lundquist was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church, but is not a member of any de- nomination at the present time. His political sup- port is given the democracy in national politics, but in town and county affairs he votes for the candidate whom he thinks best qualified for office, regardless of party affiliation. He has served as a member of the village board and in office and out of it has taken an active part in the upbuild- ing and substantial development of Granville. His store occupies a part of the first block put up in that part of the town. He was instrumental in soliciting farmers to donate work with teams to grade and gravel Main street in the village, and his co-operation can always be counted upon to support any plan or measure for the public good. Fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows and with the Modern Woodmen and in the camp of the latter is now secretary. Mr. Lundquist is a
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self-made man in the truest and best sense of the term and that he has prospered is indicated by the fact that he is now the owner of a nice home as well as the store building which he oecupies and the large stock of goods which he carries. Each step in his career has been carefully and thought- fully made. He has utilized his opportunities to the best advantage and with a full realization of the fact that labor is the basis of all success he has put forth unremitting effort and is today carrying on a prosperous business.
CHRISTIAN GEORGE BRUDER.
Christian George Bruder, deceased, was born in Bavaria, Germany, December 14, 1828, and was one of a family of three sons, of whom one re- mained in his native land and died there several years ago. In 1852 Christian G. Bruder and his brother, John, the former a blacksmith and the latter a shoemaker by trade, emigrated to America to seek their fortunes in the new world. John found employment and settled first at New York and later at Memphis, Tennessee. He has long sinee passed away and is survived by only one daughter, Mrs. Charles Eberhart, who resides with her husband in Memphis, Tennessee, but has often been a visitor in Granville.
Mr. Bruder of this review on coming to the United States took up his abode at Granville, and after working as a journeyman blacksmith for a time opened a shop on his own account in 1854. On the 3d of September, of that year, he was mar- ried to Miss Anna Gertrude Opper, an aunt of Christian G. Opper, whose sketch appears else- where in this work. The first child of this mar- riage was a daughter, Mary, now the wife of John Lantz, who resides at McCool Junction, Nebraska. The second, a son, J. T. Bruder, resides with his family at Burnside, a suburb of Chicago, and is a foreman in the Pullman car shops. On the 3d of May, 1870, the wife and mother was called to her final rest, and on the 24th of May, 1871, Mr. Bruder was again married, his second union be- ing with Magdaline Barbara May, a native of Bavaria, Germany. The children of this marriage are three in number: Leonard G., who is a book- keeper for the Davis Coal Company, at Chieago; Carrie M., at home; and Fred V., who is employed in the electrical department of the Pullman car shops at Chicago.
By the characteristic German energy, thrift and
frugality, Mr. Bruder in his business affairs gained a competence sufficient to warrant a life of comparative ease and rest during his declining years and about thirteen years prior to his death he sold his shop and retired from the exhaustive labors of blacksmithing, after which he devoted his time to the supervision of his property inter- ests that he had acquired, and to the care of his home and. garden. He was a man to whom indo- lence and idleness were utterly foreign, therefore, after he left the shop he always busied himself with the interests of the home or his property. In 1873 he made a trip to the fatherland with his wife and their children, spending the greater por- tion of the years 1873 and 1874 in Germany. In 1894 he once more visited his native country, where he remained for about three months. He remained a most vigorous man until within a short time prior to his death, when it was notice- able that time and disease were making inroads upon his health, and on the 25th of October, 1903, he passed away. In his death the community lost a good man. He was quiet and unassuming in manner, but thoroughly reliable and honorable at all times and had a kind word for everyone, while many a good deed was attributed to him and the poor and needy frequently found in him a stanch and helpful friend. He is remembered as one of Granville's best citizens and one whose life record is indeed worthy of emulation. His widow, a bright and intelligent German lady, still resides upon her old home purchased by her husband many years ago, and in addition to this and a while block of village property he left two hundred and forty acres of good land in Livingston county. Mrs. Bruder and her daughter now make their home in Granville, but spend their winters in the south.
JAMES E. BARNARD.
James E. Barnard, whose home is on section 10, Hennepin township, was born March 25, 1868, on a farm in Granville township, where still resides his father, Charles E. Barnard, who is mentioned on another page of this work. J. C. Barnard, an attorney of Omaha, Nebraska, and a brother of our subject, went to Boston a few years ago to look up the history of the family and secured a genealogieal reeord, dating back to the early part of the seventeenth century.
James E. Barnard acquired his early education
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in the country schools and in the village schools of Granville. He also attended the state normal and university at Champaign and taught school for three years, but throughout the greater part of his life has followed the vocation of farming. In his youth he worked with his father and after- ward operated his father's land until about three years ago, when he made investment in property, purchasing two hundred and twenty acres north of Granville. He has erected all of the buildings upon this place and they are modern and substan- tial structures, furnishing good shelter for grain and stock, while his home is an attractive frame residence. He is cutting props for coal shafts in the vicinity of Granville, getting out from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand per year. It is therefore an important branch of his business and brings him a good financial reward. This land he also uses for pasturage and he is largely engaged in stock-raising, feeding cattle on an extensive scale and expecting to increase his business in this department each year. He is a man of excellent business ability and bears a splendid reputation in commercial and agricultural circles.
On the 28th of May, 1901, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Barnard and Miss Addie K. Dur- ley, who was born in Hennepin and attended the Iowa College at Des Moines, Iowa. She is a daughter of Preston Durley, and a granddaughter of Williamson Durley, one of the earliest settlers of the county, who in pioneer times established his home here and took an active, part in laying the foundation for the present progress and pros- perity of the county. Three children grace the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Barnard: Elizabeth, Ruth and John.
In his political affiliation Mr. Barnard is a dem- ocrat, though he often votes independently. He has served as township assessor for two terms. He belongs to the Congregational church at Hennepin and takes an active interest therein and is serving as superintendent of the Sunday-school. He is in- terested in the material, intellectual, political and moral progress of the community and stands for advancement and improvement in all walks of life.
GEORGE W. FRANCEWAY.
George W. Franceway is a native son of Gran- ville township, where he yet resides, his home be- ing on section 21. His natal day was August 31, 1852, and his parents were Bushrod and Maria
(Ham) Franceway, both of whom are now de- ceased. The former was born near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in 1822 and came to Putnam county in 1844. He was here engaged in farnı- ing and subsequently removed to Grundy county, Illinois, where he lived for twenty-three years, when he took up his abode in Iowa, his death occurring at Seymour, Wayne county, that state, when he was seventy-two years of age. His wife passed away in Grundy county when fifty-two years of age. In their family were four children, of whom three are now living, while one died in infancy. James Franceway, a brother of our subject, lives with him and is interested with him in his farming operations. They have a sister who is a resident of Streator.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for George W. France- way in his boyhood days. He worked in field and meadow from the time of early spring planting until crops were harvested in the late autumn and in the district schools acquired his educa- tion. He remained with his parents until twenty- one years of age and then began work on the farm by the month. Saving his earnings, he later felt justified in beginning farming on his own ac- count, his first purchase of land making him part owner of one hundred and twenty acres where he now resides. He and his brother James pur- chased this together and since then have been car- rying on farming operations conjointly. Their place is well improved, having many modern equipments and accessories upon it, while the resi- dence is a good frame structure and there are substantial barns and outbuildings, all of which have been erected since the brothers took posses- sion of the farm thirty years ago, at which time there was a log cabin upon the place and but poor outbuildings. The brothers have since carried on general farming and have raised good crops, from which they have derived a very gratifying annual income.
On the 10th of March, 1880, George W. France- way was married to Miss Catherine Child, who was born in Granville township, a daughter of David L. and Margaret L. (Dysart) Child, early residents of Putnam county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Franceway have been born four children: Mar- garet, who was graduated in 1905 from the Uni- versity of Illinois; Alice, at home; and Elsie and Clarence, who are attending school.
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The family attend the Congregational church, of which the parents are members, and Mrs. Franceway, who is a very intelligent lady, belongs to the Ladies' Aid Society of the church and has recently been active in soliciting assistance to im- prove the cemetery. Mr. Franceway is a man of strictly temperate habits and principles, using neither liquor nor tobacco, and his influence is ever given for those measures which are for the betterment of mankind. In politics he is a re- publican and for eighteen years has served as school director. He and his family are very pleasant and hospitable people, taking an active and helpful part in church work and being allied with all those movements which work for the im- provement of the county along material, intel- lectual and moral lines.
JAMES HENNING.
James Henning, living upon a farm on section 22, Granville township, has reached the age of four score years, having been born in County An- trim, Ireland, September 15, 1826. He comes of Scotch-Irish ancestry, possessing the strong and sturdy qualities which have ever marked the peo- ple of that race. His parents were William and Catherine (Nickolls) Henning, the former a na- tive of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and the latter of County Antrim. For twelve years his father served in the British army, being with Welling- ton at the battle of Waterloo, when Napoleon met the defeat that practically terminated his brilliant career. After leaving the army Mr. Henning rented land belonging to an Irish officer. In fact, he secured a life lease, which, however, he sold on coming to America.
Upon a farm in his native land James Henning spent the days of his boyhood and youth to the age of nineteen years, when he accompanied his parents on their emigration to America. He at once proceeded to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where his brother William was working in a mill, and the succeeding five years he was employed in the same establishment, during which time he mastered the business in all its departments and was paid from two and a half to three dollars per day for his services-a very good wage for that time. The mill, however, was closed down on ac- count of the lack of business and thus in 1849, with the little capital which he had saved from
his earnings, Mr. Henning left Pennsylvania and came to Illinois.
After two years he located at Chemung, Henry county, where he was employed as a teamster, and in the gristmill and general store for a gentleman who was extensively engaged in business at that place. He afterward again spent two years as an employe in the mill at Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, but his residence in Illinois has been continuous since 1874, covering a period of more than a half
century. His brother William also came to this state and for ten years was connected with the grain trade at Lostant, where his death occurred. Another brother, Robert, lives at Hennepin, while Samuel has always lived with our subject, and John lives in Hennepin.
While Mr. Henning was living in McHenry county his parents came to Putnam county, set- tling in Granville township, where his father died, and subsequently returning to this state Mr. Henning joined his mother who made her home with him up to the time of her death. Hc began farming on rented land, first leasing land from Ralph Ware for three years. On the death of Mr. Ware, the farm, comprising three hundred and twenty acres, was divided into three parts, two of which Mr. Henning secured, thus becom- ing owner of two hundred and ten acres, for which he paid forty dollars per acre. Since that time he has greatly extended his landed posses- sions and he now owns four hundred and fifty- five acres in Putnam county beside a good tract in South Dakota. Although eighty years of age he still has active management of this property but he has now placed it on the market for sale and when he disposes of it expects to retire from business life.
Mr. Henning has given considerable attention to the raising of cattle and horses, feeding about a carload of the latter each year. He finds the breeding of heavy draft horses a profitable source of income, making a specialty of Clydesdale and Shire horses, and at different times making ex- hibits of his fine thoroughbreds at the various fairs. Corn is one of his principal crops and a glance at his place indicates to the passerby why this district has won its fame as a portion of the corn belt of the country. The soil and climate are principally adapted to this cereal and Mr. Henning has found in the raising of this crop one of his chief sources of income. Upon his
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place he sunk a well thirteen hundred and fifty feet deep, when he reached artesian water that is brought to the surface by a wind pump. He has a tank of three hundred barrels capacity, which he keeps full, and in this manner his stock is always well supplied. Mr. Henning has added to his place all of the modern equipments and ac- cessories of a model farm of the twentieth century and has kept in touch with modern progress along agricultural lines and his advancement in the business world is certainly creditable. He has been both the architect and builder of his own fortunes and in all of his business affairs has dis- played an aptitude for successful management. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, and while never an office seeker he has kept informed on the questions of the day and has loyal attachment for the land of his adoption, while here he has found a home and gained a competence, enjoying its advantages and its pro- tection.
WILLIAM J. COULTER.
William J. Coulter, who was one of the early residents and for many years a leading and rep- presentative farmer of Marshall county, began his life record in County Antrim, Ireland, on the 1st of April, 1827. His father was John Coulter, also a native of Ireland, and in that country the subject of this review was reared and educated, his youth being unmarked by any event of special importance. After arriving at adult age, how- ever, the business opportunities of the new world attracted him, for he had heard favorable reports concerning conditions in America. Accordingly in 1854 he crossed the Atlantic and, making his way into the interior of the country, settled in Peoria county, Illinois, where he was employed for nine months, but desirous that his labors should more directly benefit himself he rented land and began farming on his own account. In 1865 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Saratoga township, Marshall county, and for many years thereafter was actively engaged in the further development and improvement of that property, which he brought under a high state of cultivation. As new and improved farm machinery was introduced he used it to facilitate the work of the fields and his labors were attend- ed with a measure of success that made him one of the men of affluence in his community. About
eleven years ago he retired from active farm life, renting his place to his eldest son, and he is now spending the evening of his life in Henry in the enjoyment of a well earned rest.
In January, 1850, Mr. Coulter was united in marriage to Miss Harna Patterson, who was born in Ireland in 1829. They became the parents of nine children, four of whom yet survive: Mrs. Jennie Endsley, who is a widow and is now con- ducting a millinery store in Peoria, Illinois; Mrs. Ella Smith, living in St. Paul, Minnesota; Wil- liam, who is upon the home farm; and Curtis C., who is a traveling salesman representing the Wil- son Company.
Mr. Coulter, while living in Saratoga township, served as school director and was interested in having good schools and in employing competent teachers. His political support is given to the republican party and his religious faith is indi- cated by his membership in the Methodist church, which finds in him a worthy exemplar, loyal to its teachings and instructions. He is now one of the venerable citizens of Henry, having almost reached the eightieth milestone on life's journey. He has long enjoyed the esteem and good will of young and old, rich and poor, and well merits mention in this volume, having so long resided in Marshall' county.
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