USA > Illinois > Montgomery County > Past and present of Montgomery County, Illinois > Part 41
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In September, 1897, was celebrated the mar- riage of Dr. Strange and Miss Lulu Hope, a
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daughter of James and Mary ( Chamberlin) Hope. She was born in Hillsboro township and they now have two children, Russell and Ar- trude. The parents are members of the Pres- byterian church and Dr. Strange is identified with the Masonic fraternity. the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Delta Sigma Delta. In polities he is a Republican. He is also a member of the Illinois and Missouri Dental Associations, the Springfield Society and the Southern Illinois Branch of the Society. ITe has been named as a delegate to the fourth international dental convention to be held in St. Louis in October, 1904, and he is certainly one of the rising young members of the pro- fession.
DAVID P. ATTEBERY.
David P. Attebery is one of the active and enterprising business men of Montgomery county. He has been closely identified with in- dustrial interests. has taken important con- tracts in connection with railroad building. and as a farmer and stock dealer has conducted an extensive and prosperous business. He stands as a representative of one of the lead- ing types of American citizens-alert. enter- prising and progressive, watchful of opportu- nities and making the most of his advantages. At the same time he has maintained a high reputation for honorable dealing and has come to be known as one of the trustworthy citizens of Grisham township.
Born in Litchfield, January 16. 1864, Mr. Attebery became a resident of Hillsboro town- ship when only a year old, his parents locating upon a farm at that time. Ho obtained his education in the public schools, assisted in the farm work through the periods of vacation, and when nineteen years of age joined his brother. W. J. Attebery, in a partnership. They operated their father's farm on the shares for three years, and at the age of twen- ty-two David P. Afiebery went to Kansas, where he secured a homestead claim, upon which he lived for two years. He afterward spent one year upon a farm in Grisham town- ship. Montgomery county, and then. locating
in Litchfield. became a buyer for Wilton & Pierce, stock dealers. Ile had been in their employ for eight years when he was admitted to a partnership that continued for two years. On the expiration of that period Mr. Attebery removed to the farm upon which he now re- sides, but engaged in buying stock and grain at Walshville in partnership with A. B. Cope- land. Hle afterward purchased a sawmill in Grisham township, which he operated for three years, and in this way cleared up eighty acres of heavy timber. He has since engaged in general farming and in trading in stock. al- though he has in a measure extended his ef- forts to other lines of activity. In 1903 he took a contract to furnish rock for the bridges on the railroad for the cutoff. lle hauled iron for sixteen miles of the cutoff, to be used in building culverts for the railroad. Some of these pipes weighed as much as ten tons, and Mr. Attebery did the hauling with steam en- gines. He also took the contract for cutting out and hauling the dirt on the regular Big Four cutoff. Ile now owns two hundred acres of land on sections 5 and 6. Grisham township, and has his farm under a high state of culti- vation and well supplied with modern equip- ments and accessories which facilitate farm- ing.
Mr. Attebery has been married twice. In 1882 he wedded Miss Essie Davenport, and they had three children: Bessie E., Nellie Pearl and David E., aged respectively thir- teen, eleven and nine years. The mother died at the birth of her youngest child, and in 1897 Mr. Attebery was again married. his second union being with Cora MeAdams, widow of William A. Slaughter, who by her first mar- ringe had one son. Vernie R .. now ten years of age. By the second marriage there are two children: Willie Otto, four years of age; and Charles E., two years old.
Mr. Attebery does not affiliate with any po- litical party, but votes to support the meas- ures which he believes will work the greatest good for the majority, and for the men whom he thinks best qualified for office. His energy and unremitting industry have formed the salient features of his life history and have proven the basis of his success. Having al-
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ways lived in Montgomery county, he is well known here, has many friends and enjoys the confidence of the business public.
JOHN C. GRASSEL.
John C. Grassel, whose farm of two hundred acres on section 32, Butler Grove township, is the visible evidence of his life of thrift and industry, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Feb- ruary 15, 1852. His father. George Grassel, was a native of Bavaria, Germany, born in 1806. In early life he learned the trade of blacksmithing, at which he served a four years' apprenticeship. Thinking that better business opportunities were afforded in America, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States in 1836 when but thirty-six years of age. Land- ing at New York, he afterward worked his way to the west. doing blacksmithing at various places along the way. Finally establishing his his home in Cincinnati, Ohio. he there con- ducted a blacksmith shop for thirty years and on the expiration of that period he removed to Kentucky, settling near Covington, where he followed gardening for seven years. He then came to Montgomery county, Illinois, and with the proceeds of his labor in former years he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Hillsboro township, upon which he lived until 1884. In that year he took up his abode in the city of Hillsboro, where he remained un- til his death, which occurred in 1894. llis life was crowned with a high measure of prosper- ity and his success was due entirely to his own efforts. He came to America empty-handed save that he had a good knowledge of the trade. Ile worked earnestly and persistently, allowing nothing to interfere with his labor, and as the years advanced he accumulated a handsome competence which he judiciously invested in land until he was at one time the owner of eleven hundred acres in Hillsboro and Butler Grove townships. This he afterward divided among- his children. He carried on general farming and stock-raising and his practical knowledge and untiring efforts enabled him to so conduct his business affairs as to gain the best possible return for his labors. In community affairs
he was interested, taking an active part in many measures and movements for the general good. He served as a school director and both he and his wife were devoted members of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Grassel passed away in 1901 at the age of eighty-six years. She bore the maiden name of Katherine Espert and to her husband she was a devoted companion and helpmate on the journey of life. ably assist- ing him in his efforts to secure a handsome competency. There was little resemblance be- tween his condition in later years, when sur- rounded by his own extensive farming lands, and his financial condition when he arrived in America with only a dollar and a half and his clothes wrapped up in a handkerchief. U'n- to Mr. and Mrs. Grassel were born ton chil- dren : Barbara, the wife of Henry Swartz; George F., a dry-goods merchant of Cinein- nati, Ohio: Margaret, the deceased wife of Fred Fellner; Mary, the wife of Albert Fore- man, of Cincinnati, Ohio; Emma, deceased ; John C .: Edward, who is living in Butler Grove township: Henry, who conducts a creamery in Litchfield: Carrie, deceased; and Charles, who resides in Ilillshoro.
John C. Grassel, of this review, was but eight years of age at the time of the removal of his parents to Montgomery county. He acquired his education in the common schools and as- sisted his father in the farm work, being carly taught the lessons of honesty. industry and economy. Two years prior to his marriage he located upon the farm which he yet ocenpies, keeping bachelor ball until he procured a com- panion and helpmate on the journey of life by his marriage in 1849 to Miss Mary Lowey Their home has been blessed with five children : Harry, Albert, Walter, Etta and Frederick.
Mr. Grassel owns two hundred and seventy acres of land, of which two hundred acres is comprised within the home farm on section 32, Butler Grove township, where he is engaged in the tilling of the soil and in the raising of stock. He makes a specialty of shorthorn cattle and he is also engaged in the dairy busi- ness. His active business career has made his life a useful one and he has now a well im- proved property, indicating his careful super- vision and progressive methods. His fellow
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townsmen, recognizing his worth, have fre- quently called him to office. He served for nine years as road commissioner and then after an interval of six years was again elected to that office, in which he is now serving. He has been school director at different times, altogether covering a period of about fifteen years and no publie trust reposed in him has ever been he- traved in the slightest degree. He feels deeply interested in the success of the Republican party and in the promotion of community interests, and fraternally he is connected with the Wood- men lodge. Having long resided in Mont- gomery county, he is well known to its citizens and the fact that those who have known him longest are numbered among his stanchest friends is indieative of an honorable career.
JAMES F. M. GREENE.
James F. M. Greene, who is filling the posi- tion of postmaster at Hillsboro, fakes an active part in community interests and is known as an advocate of progressive measures contrib- uting to the substantial upbuilding and the in- tellectual and moral development of the city. He was born in Circleville, Ohio, on the 12th of September. 1855. Ilis father. Daniel Greene, also a native of Circleville, was a farmer by occupation and at the time of the Civil war espoused the cause of the Union, enlisting in his native eity in 1861 as a mem- ber of Company C. Eighty-eighth Ohio In- fantry. He was mustered out at Camp Chase, Columbus, July 8, 1865, with the rank of first sergeant. The company was stationed at Camp Chase during the war. Subsequent to this time Mr. Greene removed to Indianapolis. Indiana. where he worked at the carpenter's trade, spend- ing his remaining days in that city. He was very prominent and influential in religious cir- eles as a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and his efforts in behalf of the cause of Christianity were far-reaching and bene- ficial. He died in 1894 at the age of sixty-five years. ITis wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary E. McCoy, was born in Circleville, Ohio, in 1832, was of Scotch lineage and died in 1888 at the age of fifty-six years. Her father,
James McCoy, was a farmer. Like her hus- band, Mrs. Groene held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and her children, eight in number, were therefore reared amid the refining influences of a good Christian home. The family numbered three sons and five daughters, namely: James F .; Robert E., who is engaged in the poultry business in Car- linville, Illinois ; Martha J., who is the wife of David G. Kennedy, a clerk in Litchfield; Phoebe Ellen, deceased : Sarah E., who has also passed away ; Charles M., who is superintendent of a coal mine at Atchison : Carrie May, who is a trained nurse at Hillsboro and a graduate of the Chicago School for Nurses; and Mary Olive, who, following the same profession, is a graduate of the Rebecca Hospital in St. Louis.
Mr. Greene acquired a common school edu- cation and after completing his own course engaged in teaching in Montgomery and Ma- coupin counties, following the profession for eight years, his capability securing him good positions in connection with educational work. Subsequently he accepted a clerkship in the New York store at Litchfield, where he re- mained for five years, and in December, 1894, he was appointed deputy county clerk by Wil- liam L. Seymour. holding the position for four years. On the expiration of that period he entered the hardware store of George W. Brown, with whom he remained until 1902. when he was appointed postmaster by Presi- dent Roosevelt and is now occupying that posi- tion. In business life he was respected for his thorough reliability as well as capable service and in office he has made a creditable record as one who in the discharge of his duty is ever prompt and faithful. He had come to Mont- gomery county with his parents on the 12th of September. 1865. the family home being located at Butler, where his father engaged in farming for twenty years and then took up his abode in Hillsboro. Mr. Greene, of this re- view, has therefore long been a resident of the county and has a wide acquaintance here.
In 1897 was celebrated the marriage of James F. M. Greene and Miss Nellie L. Young, who was born in Greenville, Illinois, in 1872. Her parents were J. H. and Louisa ( Cooper) Young. Her mother died when Mrs. Greene
J. F. M. GREENE
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was but three weeks okl and she was reared hy her grandmother, Mrs. Cooper, the mother of Judge Cooper. Mr. Young was identified with educational interests, following school teach- ing in his later years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Greene have been born two children: James Cooper and Ruth Caroline.
The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, take a very active and help- ful part in its work and for twenty years Mr. Greene has served as superintendent of the Sunday-school and is a member of the official board. He is identified with the Masonic fra- ternity and with White Cross Lodge, No. 66. K. P., of Litchfield. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and in addi- tion to the office of postmaster he served as tax collector of North Litchfield township for two years, as city treasurer of Litchfield for two years and as city clerk of Hillsboro for two years. In office he has given undivided attention to the duties which have devolved upon him and has ever been reliable, prompt and trustworthy. lle is a genial. courteous gentleman, pleasant and entertaining compan- ion. and has many stanch and admiring friends among all classes. As an energetic and consei- entions official and a gentleman of attractive social qualities he stands high in the estimation of the entire community.
WILLIAM C. GOODIN.
William C. Goodin, whose record for fidel- ity and capable service as chief of police of Litchfield is unsurpassed, received substantial evidence of the trust reposed in him when at his re-election he was given the largest vote that has ever been cast for any incumbent of that office. He was born in Bond county, Illi- nois. July 3. 1866. His father. Charles M. Goodin, was a native of Ohio and was of Trish lineage, his parents having emigrated from Ireland at an early day and established their home in Ohio. Charles M. Goodin re- mained in the Buckeye state until 1857, when he removed to Illinois, settling in Bond county upon a farm which he cultivated and improved
until the outbreak of the Civil war. He then enlisted in the Third Illinois Cavalry as a men- ber of Company D, being enrolled at Green- ville for three years' service. He took part in the battle of Pea Ridge and other en- gagements and never faltered in his allegiance to the nation's starry banner and the cause it represented. When the war was over he he- gan taking contracts for public work in Louis- iana and Mississippi, building levees along the Father of Waters from St. Louis to Louisiana. Later he engaged in the dairy business at Greenville and there his death occurred on the 1:th of March, 1894, when he was sixty-four years of age. He was a member of the Green- ville Post, G. A. R. Ilis political allegiance was given to the Democracy until the outbreak of the war, when. being a great admirer of John A. Logan, he voted with him and became a Republican, remaining a stanch advocate of the principles of the party until his demise. Ilis funeral was one of the most largely at- tended in Greenville in many years, a fact which indicated his personal popularity and the high regard in which he was uniformly hold. lle was married in early manhood to Miss Mary E. Gillespie, who was born in Bond coun- ty, illinois, and is now living with her son, William C .. in Litchfield at the age of sixty- seven years. Her father was JJames E. Gilles- pie. a farmer and one of the early settlers of Bond county, who served as the first constable there. Mrs. Goodin in her younger days was a school teacher in Bond county and took a great interest in her work. She has been a life-long member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a most earnest and consistent Christian woman. By her marriage she be- came the mother of six children: Jeanette, John, Ella and Lee, all of whom have passed away: William C .; and Maggie, the wife of Jonah Dodson, of Mayfield, Kentucky.
William C. Goodin acquired his education partly in Tennessee and partly in Greenville, Illinois. After leaving school he was employed for two years on a farm and in 1885 he came to Litchfield, where he learned the blacksmith's trade. following that pursuit for seventeen years in the employ of the Litchfield Foundry & Machine Company. He afterward worked
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for a year for the Conneaut & Pittsburg Dock Company at Conneaut, Ohio.
Since attaining his majority Mi. Goodin has been an advocate of Republican principles, stanch in his support of the party and its platform. In the spring of 1903 he was elect- ed chief of police of Litchfield and was re- elected in the spring of 1904. He has made a clean record and won a notable reputation for fearlessness and fidelity. Because of his capa- ble service he is a menace to all lawbreakers, while the law abiding community have the ut- most confidence and trust in him.
On the 9th of January, 1901, Mr. Goodin was married to Miss Lottie E. Price, a daugh- ter of Evan and Ann Price, the former a miner. Mrs. Goodin was born in England in 1864. Mr. Goodin holds membership with the Catholic church and the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Ho is popular in Litchfield among all classes and has a large eirele of friends who esteem him highly.
WILLIAM F. RAINEY.
William Franklin Rainey, who for many vears was identified with agricultural interests in Montgomery county and has long been very active in church work, is now living in Litch- field. He was born in Clinton county, Illinois, December 9. 1836. His father, William W. Rainey, was born in South Carolina, October 5. 1805. and when twelve years of age accom- panied his father on the removal to Tennessee, the family home being established near Nash- ville. When twenty-two years of age William W. Rainey was married to Miss Cynthia Hicks. of middle Tennessee, and soon afterward they removed to Illinois, locating in Clinton county seven miles northwest of Carlisle, the county scat. Ten children. five sons and five daugh- ters, were born unto them. The father was a successful farmer and stock-raiser. keeping and dealing in high grade stock. He and his wife were charter members of one of the first Bap- tist churches of Illinois, Mr. Rainey serving as one of its deacons. The maternal grand-
father of William F. Rainey was a resident of South Carolina, served in the Revolutionary war until its close and died at an advanced age in middle Tennessee in the faith of the Baptist church.
William F. Rainey was reared to farm life and in his youth enjoyed hunting deer and turkey, which were numerous in the locality in which he resided. In early manhood he was given a farm upon which he resided until the period of the Civil war, when he sold that property and removed to JetTerson county. There he again engaged in farming and stock- raising remaining there three years. Ile then disposed of that farm and purchased his old home in Clinton county. Illinois. When about thirty-two years of age he came to Montgomery county and for a time worked at his trade of carpentering and building in Litchfield. He then bought land northwest of Raymond. Illi- nois, but sold that property after two years and removed to Shaws Point, Maconpin county, Illinois, where he rented a farm for a time. Ile then bought land on Shoal creek ten miles southeast of Litchfield, upon which he remained for ten years and on the expiration of that decade he sold his farm and has since been a resident of Litchfield.
On the 24th of December, 1859. Mr. Rainey married Miss Lucy T. Thompson. a daughter of Archibald W. and Mary Thompson, formerly of Virginia. Her father enlisted at the age of eighteen years and served through the war of 1812. He was with General Jackson at New Orleans, assisted in building the breastworks there of cotton bales and sand from which he said the enemy's cannon balls would bound back toward them. He was there when the English commander sent a note to Jackson that he "would breakfast in New Orleans or hell the nexi morning." Jackson replied, "Tell your general he will breakfast in hell then." Mr. Thompson removed from the south to Illinois. His first wife, a Miss James of Virginia, was the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier. His second wife was a Miss Bennett, the mother of Mrs. Rainey. By his two marriages Mr. Thompson had twenty-two children. He was never ill a day in his life and he reached the advanced age of eighty-eight years. During
LIBRARY UNIVER .
MR. AND MRS. W. F. RAINEY
MR. AND MRS. G. W. RAINEY
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the greater part of his life he was a faithful Baptist.
By his first wife Mr. Rainey had twelve chil- dren, seven sons and five daughters. The moth- er was a devoted Christian woman, belonging to the Baptist church. After her death Mr. Rainey married Sarah, daughter of Israel and Jane (Corlew ) Fogleman, and they had five daughters and two sons.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Rainey are members of the Baptist church, he having been actively identified with the church for forty-eight years, and during thirty years of that time in the ministry, doing missionary work. according to the teachings of John the Baptist. He was reared in the Democratic faith and for some time supported that party, but during the past twelve years has voted with the Prohibition party because of its stanch opposition to the liquor traffie. For a time he belonged to the American Protective Association and is still strong in that belief. While on the farm he was a member of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association and was chaplain of his township and county lodges. His has been an honorable and useful career and he to-day commands the respect of all with whom he has been asso- ciated.
GEORGE W. RAINEY.
George W. Rainey, whose business interests. carefully conducted, have made him one of the prosperous citizens of Hillsboro township, is now engaged in general farming and stock- raising, also following horticultural pursuits and the raising of sugar cane and the man- ufacture of syrup. A native of Illinois, he possesses the enterprising spirit so character- istic of the middle west. He was born in Clinton county, near Carlisle, November 8. 1861, and is a son of William F. Raincy, who is represented elsewhere in this volume.
In the common schools George W. Ramney acquired his education and when his time was not occupied with the duties of the schoolroom and the pleasures of the playground, he as- sisted in the labors of the fields on the old home place. When twenty-one years of age
he began working by the month as a farm hand, and when two years had thus passed he purchased teams with the money he had saved from his earnings and began farming on his own account on rented land in Macoupin county. At the end of a year he rented his father's farm in Hillsboro township for a year, and afterward operated a rented farm in But- ler township for a year. The year following his marriage he moved to a rented farm in Hillsboro township, where he lived for two years, when he bought eighty acres of land in Macoupin county, devoting his time and en- ergies to its cultivation and improvement for five years, when he sold that property at a good profit and purchased land in East Fork township, Montgomery county, which he after- wards disposed of at a profit, investing the amount in a fine ranch of four hundred and eighty aeres in Butler county. Kansas. He never lived on either place, however, and soon afterward removed to his present home on section 17, Hillsboro township, where he now has one hundred and sixty acres of rich and arable land. This is the old Attebery home- stead, known as the Wild Wood farm, where the Farmers Mutual Benefit Association has held annual pienies for the past seven years. Mrs. Rainey was only two years old when her parents located there. The place is pleasantly located five miles from the city of Hillsboro. and here Mr. Rainey follows general farming and stock raising. Ile also has about fifty peres in orchards, of carly and late planting, and for about fourteen years has engaged in
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