USA > Illinois > Piatt County > Past and present of Piatt County, Illinois : together with biographical sketches of many prominent and influential citizens > Part 45
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Mr. Cyphers then returned to Fairview, Illinois, and learned the plasterer's trade, which he followed continuously until coming to Piatt county in 1870, when he purchased a farm of eighty acres adjoining the village of DeLand and turned his attention to agri- cultural pursuits. He has since operated his land quite successfullly, and has added twenty-five acres to the original tract, and has made many other useful and valuable im- provements which have added greatly to the attractive appearance of the place, including the erection of a fine ten-room residence sur-
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rounded by lovely shade trees. In connec- tion with the raising of cereals best adapted to the soil and climate, he also raises cattle and hogs for market, and in both branches of his business is meeting with well deserved success.
In 1867 Mr. Cyphers was united in mar- riage to Miss Ellen Cook, a daughter of Jo- seph and Mary Cook, of Fairview, but she died within three weeks of their marriage. He was again married in January 1888, his second union being with Miss Caroline Zeger, a daughter of Joseph and Mary Zeger, and by this marriage five children were born, but only one is now living, this being Jerry, who is at home with his parents. John Wesley, Robert Franklin and Joseph Dickey all died with membranous croup, and Hattie May died in infancy. Joseph Zeger, the father of Mrs. Cyphers, was born April 3, 1822, and died February 5, 1901, when almost seventy-nine. His widow, whose birth occurred on the 3d of February, 1828, now makes her home with our subject and his wife.
Politically Mr. Cyphers is a staunch Re- publican, and fraternally is a charter mem- ber of De Land Lodge, No. 740, I. O. O. F. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are held in the highest respect and esteem by all who know them.
JAMES W. ELLIOTT.
James W. Elliott, who is now success- fully engaged in general merchandising at Voorhies, was born in Lynnville, Morgan county, Illinois, on the 13th of October, 1855, his parents being George and Ann
(Wilkinson) Elliott, who were of English extraction. Leaving England in his twen- tieth year, the father came to America, land- ing in New York, where he worked at his trade of harness making for a time, and then removed to Jacksonville, Illinois, where he was similarly employed, bu he now follows farming in Macon county, his home being three miles west of Decatur. He has been twice married, his first wife, the mother of our subject, having died about 1860. By that union there were two children: James W. and Frances. The latter was for some time a popular schoolteacher, and is now the wife of a Mr. Brown, of Kansas.
James W. Elliott passed his boyhood and youth upon a farm and received a good com- mon school education. Being a lover of good ·literature, he has become a well informed man, and keeps abreast of the times. At the age of twenty-three years he left the home farm in Macon county and went to Kansas, where he engaged in farming for about twelve years. While there he was married in 1881 to Miss Ella M. Orr, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1862, and was educated at Cannonsburg, that state. They now have three children, two of whom were born before leaving Kansas. In order of birth they are George, Charles and Beulah, all of whom have received good educational advantages. One of the sons is now attending business college, while the other assists his father in the store.
On his return to Illinois, Mr. Elliott had charge of his father's farm for a time, and in 1892 removed to the E. P. Thompson farm in Unity township, which he conducted until the fall of 1895, when he came to Voor- hies. Here he embarked in general mer- chandising on the Ist of January, 1896, and in this new venture has steadily prospered,
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having a stock valued at about two thousand dollars, though he started out with a capital of seven hundred dollars. He is a thorough business man, prompt, energetic. and nota- bly reliable, and generally carries forward to successful completion whatever he under- takes. He is independent in politics and is well worthy the high regard so freely- accord- ed him.
JOHN D. BELL.
An honorable retirement from labor has been vouchsafed to John D. Bell, who after many years connection with business affairs in which his success was won through hon- orable, persistent effort, is now resting in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. He is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Mifflin county, on the 3d of September, 1830. His parents were George T. and Sara (Sample) Bell. The father was born in Mifflin county on the 15th of March, 1803, and resided at the place of his birth until 1864, when he came to Illinois. He was a farmer by occupation and followed that pursuit during his residence in the Key- stone state. He had also learned the black- smith's trade in early life, but devoted his energies to it for but a brief period. A mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, he was always interested in its work and pro- gress, and in his political views he was a Democrat. In. the county of his nativity he married Miss Sara Sample, who was born and reared in Mifflin county. Bringing his family with him to Illinois, he located in the village of Bement, where he spent his remain- ing days, passing away just two days before the seventy-seventh anniversary of his birth. His attention was not given to any business
calling after his removal to the west, the small farm which he purchased being culti- vated by his son, John D. and others. He was a prosperous and progressive man, pub- lic spirited and interested in all that tended toward improvement. In his work he was systematic and kept everything about his home in a neat condition. He passed away in 1880, and was survived seventeen years by his wife. She was born in 180y and passed away at the advanced age of eighty- eight years and five months. Her Christian faith was manifested by her membership in the Methodist church, with which she be- came identified during her girlhood days. For long years she was one of its active workers, and her labors were effective in advancing the moral development of the community. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bell were born but two children, John D. being the elder. The daughter, Mary Jane, who was born in Pennsylvania, became the wife of Jacob Mut- thersbaugh,, who came to Bement, Illinois, at the time of the removal of John D. Bell and her parents to this place. Mr. Muttersbaugh engaged in the butchering business here after several years, and was engaged in it at the time of his death. He was laid to rest in Be- ment cemetery by the side of his wife, who passed away in 1876. They left five children : William and Harvey, who are now conduct- ing a meat market in Bement; James, a resi- dent of Nebraska; Addie, a resident of De- catur, Illinois; and May, who is on a farm near Decatur.
John D. Bell obtained his early education in the old-time log schoolhouses of Pennsyl- vania and assisted his father upon the home farm from his early youth up to the time of his marriage, in 1853, when he took charge of the farm then vacated by his father, who located on a small fruit farm in Pennsylva-
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nia, remaining there until the family came west in the spring of 1864. On his arrival in Piatt county, Illinois, our subject pur- chased a farm just north of the village of Bement, erected a large and substantial brick residence and made other excellent improve- ments there. It continued to be his home un- til the spring of 1874, when, his wife having died in 1872, and his daughter being unable to keep house on the farm, he left the place and removed to Bement. Subsequently he engaged in the butchering business for ten years, and afterward bought a half interest in a drug store, but not liking the latter busi- ness he sold out to his partner in about a year. Since that time he has not engaged in any business on his own account, though he held a position in a furniture store until 1900, and since that time has practically lived retired from all business cares.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bell was blessed with five children, three of whom are still living : Sadie, the wife of R. O. Hick- man, of Colorado; Anna, the wife of A. C. Stadler, of Bement, Illinois, by whom she has one child, Arno Karl ; and Elmer E., who is a traveling salesman, residing in New Jer- sey. He is married and has four children : Two children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Bell died in infancy and were laid to rest in the McVeytown cemetery.
During his residence in Piatt county Mr. Bell has so lived as to win the high regard and confidence of his fellow men. In his busi- ness relations he has been active and straight- forward, and through capable management and enterprise he has won a competence that now enables him to live retired: He has passed the psalmists's span of three score years and ten, having reached the seventy- third milestone on life's journey. His worth is widely acknowledged, and it is with pleas- ure that we present to our readers this record of his career.
On the Ist of September, 1853, at Mc- Veytown, John D. Bell was united in mar- riage to Margaret E. Oliver, the widow of G. W. Oliver. She was born in the Key- stone state, a native of Huntingdon county, and a daughter of David Jackson, who was a farmer of that county. Both her father and mother died on the old home place in Hunt- HENRY W. GANTZ. ingdon county. Mrs. Bell was a member of the Presbyterian church, and in that faith she Prominent among the successful business men of Piatt county is numbered the gentle- man whose name introduces this sketch. For many years he has been actively identified with the agricultural, industrial and mercan- tile interests of this locality, and he has at- tained a leading place among its representa- tive citizens. In business affairs he has pros- pered through his own unaided efforts and sound judgment, and is now quite well-to-do. died, November 19, 1872, at Lincoln, Illinois, while visiting her daughter, Mrs. Houser. Her remains were brought back home and at her request were then interred in the Mc- Veytown cemetery near her old home in Pennsylvania. She was a devoted wife and a kind and loving mother. By her first hus- band she had three children who made their home with Mr. Bell: John L. Oliver, who now resides in Colorado; Mary, the wife of A native of Ohio, Mr. Gantz was born in Richland county, September 3, 1845, and Dr. W. W. Houser, of Lincoln, Illinois ; and George W. Olliver, who resides in Texas. is a son of David and Mary (Laninger)
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Gantz, both natives of Pennsylvania. The father was born July 7, 1806, and the mother September 18, 1817. They were married in the Keystone state on the 26th of Febru- ary, 1837, and subsequently removed to Ohio, where the father followed his chosen occupation-that of farming-until his death, having entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government. In his family were seven children as follows . Hiram, born in 1838, engaged in farming in Ohio until his enlistment in the Fifty- fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war and died in the service in 1862. Re- becca, born August 21, 1840, married Wil- liam Nagle, of Ohio, and died in June, 1899, leaving a husband and five children. Har- riet is the wife of Michael Katzemire, a shoe merchant, owning two stores, one in Upper Sandusky and the other in Toledo, Ohio .. Henry W. is the next of the family. George Washington, born June 13, 1848, is a resi- dent of Morgantown, West Virginia. Wil- liam Franklin, born July 6, 1855, is a farmer of Wayne county, Illinois. Sarah Alice, born July 3, 1858, died September 23, 1863.
During his boyhood Henry W. Gantz attended the common schools of Ohio from thirty to forty days in winter, the remainder of the year being devoted to the work of the home farm. He would also haul wood to the neighboring town, and on the return trip would bring home supplies for the family. On leaving home he started to earn his own livelihood in the lumber woods by manufac- turing shingles. Deciding to try his fortune on the prairies of Illinois, he came to this state at the age of twenty-two years, and af- ter working as a farm hand for one year, he purchased a team, and for one year operated a part of the Jacob Swigart farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres in DeWitt county. He . a stockholder and one of the directors of the
was then taken ill and during his sickness lost all that he had made, being thus forced to accept employment on a farm at twenty dollars per month. During the year passed in that way he borrowed one hundred dollars and made his first payment on forty acres of land in this county, and then rented one hun- dred and sixty acres of land in De Witt coun- ty in partnership with Jonathan Donnar, farming the same quite successfully until he had paid for his forty-acre tract in Piatt county. He then borrowed money to purchase an adjoining forty-acre tract, but after living upon his property for one year he traded it for one hundred and sixty acres of land in Goose Creek township, three miles southwest of De Land, which place he operated until 1883, in the meantime adding one hundred acres to his farm. Since then he has made his home in the village of De Land, but is still interested in farming prop- erty, and now owns four hundred and twenty acres in this county, four hundred acres in Wayne county, Illinois, and a half interest in five hundred and forty acres in White county, this state. In 1882 he erected a tile factory in De Land, but sold the same two years later and embarked in the mercantile business at this place as a member of the firm of I. L. Rinehart & Company, which firm was changed to Gantz & Fuller in 1896. In Igco Mr. Gantz became sole owner and car- ried on the business under the style of the Gantz Mercantile Company for one year, when he sold a half interest in the store to Wiley Dewees, the firm becoming Gantz & Dewees. In the fall of 1901, however, Mr. Gantz sold his interest to his son and Mr. Dewees sold out to a. Mr. Cox, since which time business has been carried on under the firm name of Gantz & Cox. Our subject is
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First National Bank of De Land, and owns forty thousand shares in the Mascot Gold Mining Company, which is capitalized at two million dollars, and is operating in Colorado.
On the Ist of October, 1873, Mr. Gantz. was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Porter, a daughter of James and Elizabeth Porter, and to them have been born three children : Hattie Ethel, who was born July 8, 1874, and was married June 28, 1899, to Dr. Charles Smith, of East St. Louis ; Inez, born January 10, 1878; and Ira W., born .February 10, 1882. The younger children are still at home.
Dr. Gantz and his family hold member- ship in the Methodist Episcopal church and he is also connected with the Knights of Pythias lodge at De Land. His political sup- port is given the men and measures of the Republican party, and he has served as coun- ty commissioner from Goose Creek town- ship one term and as a member of the school board two terms. A man of keen perception, unbounded enterprise and good business abil- ity, his success in life is due entirely to his own efforts, and he deserves prominerit men- tion among the leading and representative business men of the county. He is what the world terms "self-made," and well does he deserve the prosperity that has come to him, for he started out in life for himself with no capital, and by industry and perseverance has overcome the obstacles in the path to suc- cess.
JESSE J. CROOK.
· James M. Crook, father of our subject, was born in the county of Fountain in the Hcosier state in 1830, and lost his father when he was a lad of fourteen, the widowed
mother being left with seven children. With them she settled in Willow Branch township on the creek of that name about the year 1845. James, being one of the eldest of the boys, early felt the burdens of man's estate, and secured little education. Others of the fam- ily were, George, deceased; Jane, deceased wife of George Hopkins ; Thomas J. ; Martha, wife of Dr. H. Hickman, of Oklahoma; Mary E., widow of Daniel Madden, of Dan- ville, Illinois ; Benjamin F., deceased; Har- riet, wife of Sheridan Rose, of Oklahoma; and Delilah, also of Oklahoma, the wife of Murphy Secrest.
On arriving at years of maturity James M. Crook married Charity, daughter of Enoch and Elizabeth Peck, who had settled with their family in Willow Branch township as early as 1839. Life was simple and full of toil in those days, and Mr. Cook began his married life as a railsplitter. He finally succeeded in saving sufficient to make a pay- ment on a tract of swamp land near Cisco. This he improved as he could and in 1868 sold it for a price which enabled him to pur- chase the first forty acres of the farm which he afterwards brought to high perfection and which our subject still cultivates. He later added to it a quarter section of land. This land was virgin and was reclaimed from that state by his hand. He was a man of shrewd judgment and gave his attention largely to cne'line, that of the raising of hogs. He was very successful with these animals, and it is said that he paid for a full eighty-acre tract by the sale of one single drove. He had just finished remodeling his house when he took a severe cold, which after two years' illness re- sulted in his death, the date being November 9, 1884. He left a wife and four children, the wife still surviving him, living at Mil- mine. The names of the children are Wil-
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liam Wallace, now residing in Monticello; James M., who died in 1894; Jesse ; and Ora, who now resides in Cerro Gordo township, the wife of William McQuay.
Jesse J. Crook has held continuous resi- dence on the old homestead since the date of his birtlı, March 8, 1868. Hawver district school equipped him in the educational line, and he aided his mother in the cultivation of the home farm until his marriage, when he as- sumed the management himself. His wife, whom he married on the 8th of October, 1891, was Austie Snyder, daughter of Benner and Mary (Christian) Snyder. Her parents were farmers of Ohio, where she was born and reared, coming to Illinois in 1876. They set- tled on a farm in Cerro Gordo township, but after a few years moved to Milmine, where the mother died in 1881. The father is now living a retired life in Milmine. In the fam- ily beside Mrs. Crook were Victoria, who married Frank Root and resides in Bement ; Virginia, now Mrs. James Doyle, of Ham- mond, Illinois; Lyda, now Mrs. Frank Coak- ley, of Bement ; Laura, wife of Watts Caffee, of Pittsburg, Kansas; William, of Milmine; John, of Kansas ; Addie, wife of John Hend- ricks, of Willow Branch township; Quinter, of Milmine; Bartley, of Willow Branch township; and Jesse, at home. To Mr. and Mrs. Crook have been born Elma, Lester R., Chattie Fay and Dimple May.
To speak of the life led by our subject would be the enumeration of the manifold du- ties performed by the busy farmer. Like many farmers, he has his weakness, and that is a good horse, of which he is an excellent judge. He has made a specialty of blooded stock, and has now in his possession two very fine animals. These horses are both regis- tered, Schley III, a Percheron; and Milmine King, a fine Shire horse.
In the county round about Mr. and Mrs. Crook have a large acquaintance, among whom they are highly esteemed for their open-handed and generous hospitality. Mr. Crook served a term acceptably as tax collect- or of Willow Branch township, and six years as school director, and both are popular mem- bers of the Loyal American Lodge, No. 32, at Milmine.
ALBERT R. ROSS.
The above named gentleman is a repre- sentative of one of the oldest families in the county, his father, Francis Asbury Ross, having settled here during the great Civil war, after he had rendered gallant service to his country. He was born in Essex, New Jersey, April 1, 1841, the son of Simon and Eveline Ross. He came to Illinois when about three years of age, and· was educated at Whitehall, and at a college in Jacksonville, Illinois. Soon after leaving school he entered the army as a private in Company K, Twenty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served for eighteen months in the Army of the West. He participated in the battles of Belmont and Island No. 10, when he was taken sick and passed the remaining time in the hospital at Benton Barracks. Upon his return home in 1863, on the 3Ist of Decem- ber he married Miss Frances, daughter of William and Mary Cotter. After his mar- riage he purchased a farm in Blue Ridge township, then one of the wildest portions of the county. Here they patiently passed through the severe trials incident to pioneer life for a period of five years, thence remov- ing to Mansfield, where Mr. Ross engaged in merchandising for some twenty-six years. His health failing he exchanged his store for
A. R. ROSS
PIATT COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
457
land in Cheyenne county, Nebraska. After a period of rest he again engaged in mercan- tile life in Mansfield, but was again com- pelled to give it up and traded his store for six hundred and forty acres of choice land in Woodson county, Kansas. He removed to Bloomington, where he passed the rest of his days, dying in September, 1898. His wife survives him and is now a resident of Chicago. To them were born four children, those living being the subject of this sketch, and Brant C. Ross, now a student in Chicago Dental College.
Albert R. Ross, supervisor of Blue Ridge township, was born in DeWitt county, Illi- nois, on the 29th of July, 1867. He received · a good education and at twenty-two began life for himself as a farmer. His marriage to Hannah Belle Hilligoss occurred February 22, 1888. Mrs. Ross is the daughter of B. E. and Eliza Hilligoss, of Mansfield, and is the mother of six children. The five living are Albert L., Duane E., Frances Adelaide, Henry G. and Frank C., the three eldest be- ing in school, the younger ones at home.
Mr. Ross is one of the extensive farmers in Piatt county, cultivating four hundred and eighty acres of land and shipping from one to two hundred cars of beef cattle and hogs every season. For investment purposes he holds one thousand one hundred and twenty acres in Nebraska, a section in Kansas, and an eighty in Minnesota. It will thus be seen that Mr. Ross is one of the large land owners in the county, and an influential and re- spected citizen. His interest in matters of public moment is that of the good citizen, who, though not courting public attention, is yet willing to do his duty in administering the unpaid offices of the local government. In 1902 he was elected supervisor of the township on the Republican ticket, and is
serving most acceptably. He is at present chairman of the building committee which is erecting a handsome stone and brick court- house and jail in the county seat.
Mr. Ross is a thorough believer in the fraternal principles and is a popular member of several of the best societies, notable among * which are the Knights of Pythias, of which he is a charter member of No. 634 of Mans- field, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Royal Circle, of which Mrs. Ross is also a member. Still a young man, with a record of helpful and efficient service to his credit, our subject has before him a useful future. Successful in business affairs, courteous and obliging with all his associates, he is held in high esteem wherever he is known.
NATHAN E. RHOADES.
The activity of Nathan E. Rhoades has touched many lines and to the benefit of all, and Monticello has profited by his marked energy, keen discernment and business sa- gacity, for he has labored in such a manner as to promote the public welfare while ad- vancing individual success. His name is as- sociated with commercial and agricultural interests of the county and with its political history, and throughout the years of his con- nection with varied interests here, he has so guided his affairs that he has won the un- qualified regard of the public by reason of his straightforward business methods.
A native of Ohio, Nathan E. Rhoades was born in Franklin county, near the village of Reynoldsburg, in 1834, and his parents, Daniel and Catherine Rhoades, were also na- tives of the same county. In the year 1845 the father removed with his family from the
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PAST AND PRESENT
Buckeye state to Illinois, settling in Piatt county upon a tract of land which now consti- tutes the county poor farm, three miles west of Monticello. His possessions included two hundred and fifty acres, and for years he oc- cupied that property, giving his time and at- tention to its cultivation and improvement. He died in 1854, and many friends mourned his death, for he was a citizen of worth. His wife, who survived him for almost twenty years, died in March, 1873, in Monticello, where she had removed after the death of her husband.
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