USA > Illinois > Piatt County > Past and present of Piatt County, Illinois : together with biographical sketches of many prominent and influential citizens > Part 7
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The town of Mansfield was laid out in 1870 by Gen. J. L. Mansfield, and named in his honor. The first church building was an Episcopal church erected in 1873. The Wabash and Big Four Railroads cross at this place. It is a good grain market and thousands of bushels of grain are marketed here each year. 'It has two banks. The bus- iness part of the town is well improved, there being some modern brick store build- ings. The Odd Fellows own a very nice building here. The population in 1890 was 533 ; in 1900, 708.
SANGAMON. i
Sangamon township was one of the early ones settled. Among the early settlers may
Centerville is the oldest town in the township, and was started by Mr. Archibald Moffett, who built the first house. The town was laid out and named about 1850.
White Heath was laid out in 1872. The land was owned by Mr. Frank White and was bought by Mr. Heath, hence the name. James Webster erectetd the first dwelling. Miss Frank and Mr. Vin Williams put up the first hotel and opened the first store in the place. Dr. Unangst was the first physi- cian.
The town of Galetville was first called Calef's Station and was changed to the pres- ent one in honor of Mr. Calef's wife, whose maiden name was Gale. The first store building was erectetd in 1876 by Mr. Calef, and the first residence was built and occupied by John Donlan.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
J. C. LANGLEY.
J. C. Langley is the cashier of the First National Bank of Mansfield. Although yet - . a young man he occupies a prominent and influential position in business circles, and one may safely predict for him a successful future because he possesses laudable ambi- tion and enterprise which are indispensable ·elements of business advancement. Mr. Langley was born in Mansfield on the 26th of September, 1873, and is a son of Andrew J. and Celia A. (Curtis) Langley, who are residents of Blue Ridge township, Piatt county. Both the father and mother are na- tives of Pennsylvania, and after their mar- riage they came to Piatt county in 1865, be- coming pioneer settlers of this section of the state. The subject of this review is the third in a family of four living sons.
Reared upon the home farm in Blue Ridge township, James. C. Langley attended the public schools and afterward entered the University of Indiana, where he pursued a literary and also a business course, being graduated in that institution with the class of 1890. In the same year after his comple- tion of his collegiate course, Mr. Langley en- tered the Mansfield Bank, and later became cashier of the Commercial Bank of Mans- field. Throughout his business career he has been identified with financial interests and thoroughly understands the banking business in every department. On leaving the Commercial Bank he became cashier and afterward second vice president of the State
Bank of Mansfield, and in 1902 he resigned his position there and opened the First Na- tional Bank of this city, which is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars. Its offi- cers are William D. Fairbanks, president ; Andrew J. Langley, vice president; J. C. Langley, cashier ; and H. P. Gladden, teller. The directors of the bank are John N. Darst, John Gardiner, William DeGrofft, James Caldwell, Joseph Seitner, in addition. to the three officers mentioned. Although the existence of the bank covers a compara- tively brief period it has already won favor with the public because of the excellent busi- ness methods which have been instituted there, and not a little of the success of the bank may be attributed to the enterprise, close application and broad knowledge of banking methods possessed by J. C. Lang- ley. It was on the 9th of January, 1902, that the bank was founded and subsequently the First National Bank building was erect- ed and splendidly equipped for carrying on the business. It has the triple time Hall safe and Hall vault, and every precaution is taken to insure safety for depositors. Mr. Langley has also engaged in the insurance business as a member of the firm of Clem- ans & Langley, and in this enterprise has a good clientage.
On the 27th of October, 1897, occurred the marriage of James C. Langley and Miss Elena Ryerson, a native of Gibson City, Ford county, Illinois, 'and a daughter of C. G. Ryerson, who was one of the early set- tlers of that county. In addition to his
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splendid home in Mansfield, Mr. Langley also owns land in Stevens county, Minneso- ta, which he rents. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and fraternally is con- nected with Mansfield Lodge, No. 773, F. & A. M., of which he is treasurer. He also belongs to Celestial Lodge, Knights of Py- thias, of which he is past chancellor and was made a delegate to the grand lodge of the Knights of Pythias fraternity at Rockford, Illinois, in the fall of 1903. In politics he is a Republican and that he has the regard and confidence of his fellow citizens is indi- cated by the fact that he is now acceptably serving as mayor. Whatever tends to prove of public benefit and to advance local prog- · ress and improvement receives his attention, endorsement and co-operation, and his ef- forts along many lines have proven of ma- terial benefit to the city of his birth.
THOMAS E. BONDURANT.
From a humble financial position Thomas E. Bondurant has steadily and persist- ently worked his way upward until he is to-day accounted one of the most exten- sive landowners of Illinois. There is in his life history much that is worthy of emula- tion, his record being such as any man might be proud to possess. He has worked dili- gently and perseveringly, guiding his efforts by sound judgment, and the reward of hon- est toil is to-day his. He has never incurred an obligation that he has not fulfilled, nor taken advantage of the necessities of his fel- low men in a business transaction, but has placed his dependence upon energy and un- remitting industry. Thus it is that Thomas E. Bondurant stands to-day among the wealthy and honored residents of Piatt coun- ty, his home being in DeLand.
He is one of Illinois' native sons, his birth occurring in Sangamon county, on the 29th of December, 1831. The Bondurant family is of Huguenot extraction, and was founded in America by representatives of that sect, who fled to the New World to es- cape religious persecution. Joseph and Mar- tha Bondurant, the parents of our subject, were both southern people, the former a na- tive of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. In the year 1825 the father removed to San- gamon county, Illinois, accompanied by his wife and three children. Establishing his home there, he continued to carry on farm- ing and stock-raising until his death. He was one of the honored pioneer settlers of the locality and aided in the early develop- ment and improvement of the county, while at the same time he carried on his farm work in its various departments and thus gained a comfortable living for his family. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bondurant were born eleven _children, of whom our subject was the fifth in order of birth. Four of the number are yet living, and a sister, Mary E., now acts. as housekeeper for her brother Thomas.
On the old family homestead amid the wild scenes of pioneer life Thomas E. Bon- durant was reared. He can remember cen- tral Illinois when the homes were widely scattered and when the prairies were largely covered with the native grasses, the land having never been placed under the plow. He- pursued his early education in an old log building, wherein school was conducted on the subscription plan, and yet to-day Illinois has a school system unsurpassed in the Union. His educational advantages in his- youth were quite limited, but later he at- tended the Walnut Grove Academy, at Eu- reka, Illinois, spending three months there after he had attained his majority. In his youth he became familiar with all the ex-
Thos, & Bondurant
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periences of pioneer life, and the hardships incident to the arduous task of developing a · new farm. He broke prairie with an ox- team, thus preparing hundreds of acres for cultivation. His father having the contract to put in ties on the Wabash Railroad, Thomas E. Bondurant began working for him for two dollars per day and board, act- ing as foreman. This was in 1855. After the contract had been executed Mr. Bondu- rant continued to break prairie through the summer months, turning the first furrows on many tracts which are now fertile fields. In the meantime he had entered from the gov- ernment two hundred and ninety-three acres of land in Piatt county, at fifty cents per acre, this being the nucleus of his present ex- tensive landed possessions. In the winter of 1858 he took a contract at Sangamon Station, east of Decatur, Illinois, to supply cord wood to the Wabash Railroad, and this work occupied his time and attention for a few months, after which he returned to his farm in Goose Creek township, Piatt coun- ty. As he has found opportunity he has added to his original landed interests until he is now the owner of fourteen hundred acres in Piatt county, twenty-six hundred and eighty-two acres in Kankakee county and eight hundred acres in Kansas. He is a man of keen business discern- ment, and his sound judgment has never been at fault in making investments. He has placed his money in the safest of all in- vestments-real estate-and to-day his holdings make him one of the wealthy men of central Illinois. He well mer- its this success, for it has come entirely through his own efforts and his business - methods have ever been such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. All the institution during the earlier period of
through the years Mr. Bondurant carried on general farming, annually harvesting large crops, and he has also made a specialty of raising and handling beef cattle, horses and hogs. He has always given his personal su- pervision to the operation of his various properties, keeping thoroughly in touch with the work done on each, and the condition of the farm and has a wonderful capacity for business, regarding no detail to unimportant to claim his attention if it has bearing upon the work and its ultimate outcome. In 1900 the First National Bank of DeLand was es- tablished with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, and Mr. Bondurant be- came its first president. The success of its existence was largely attributable to his efforts and his sound judgment, and he re- mained as president until 1902, when he re- signed on account of failing health.
Mr. Bondurant is a member of the Christian church of DeLand and since its organization he has served as one of its eld- ers. In the work of the church he has al- ways taken an active and helpful interest. and has contributed generously to its sup- port. For the past eight years Mr. Bondu- rant has been a member of the board of trustees of Eureka College, of Eureka, Illi- nois. At the time of the formation of the Republican party he became one of its sup- porters and has since followed its banner, and during the Civil war he was a stanch Union man. For seven years he has served as county supervisor, but has felt that his business makes too great demands upon his time and attention to allow him to seek pub- lic office. In 1882 he built his present home, which is one of the finest in Piatt county. He has his own sewerage system and elec- tric light plant, a hot water system of heat- ing, and hot and cold water throughout his
4
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PAST AND PRESENT
house. The residence is also tastefully, com- fortably and richly furnished, and the in- terior decorations are in keeping with the exterior adornments, for the house is sur- . rounded by a beautiful lawn, always kept in the finest condition, and the home of Mr. Bondurant is a credit to the county. He has seen many changes in this portion of the state, advancement and progress being manifest in all lines of life, and he has kept pace with the universal improvement. A self-made man, without any extraordinary family or pecuniary advantages at the out- set of his career, he has battled earnestly and energetically, and by indomitable cour- age and integrity has achieved both charac- ter and fortune. By sheer force of will and untiring effort he has worked his way up- ward and is to-day numbered among the leading business men of Piatt county.
JOHN M. WHITE.
When after years of long and earnest la- bor in some honorable field of business, a man puts aside all cares to spend his re- maining days in the quiet enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil, it is certainly a well deserved reward of industry.
"How blest is he, who crowns in shades like · these,
A youth of labor with an age of ease,"
wrote the poet, and the world everywhere recognizes the justice of a season of rest following the active period of business life. Mr. White is now living retired at his pleas- ant home in Monticello, and his history shows the accomplishment of well directed
labor. His residence in Piatt county covers a period of almost forty years, during which he was long connected with agricul- tural interests, but while promoting his indi- vidual success he has also labored for the general welfare and has advocated many measures which have led to the substan- tial improvement and material upbuilding of this section of the state.
A native of Ohio, John M. White was born in Franklin county, on the 27th of Jan- uary, 1817, and comes of English ancestry, being a direct descendant of the house of Tu- dor, long the reigning house of England. In the paternal line he is probably of Irish lin- eage, as it is thought that his grandfather, Samuel S. White, was born on the Emerald Isle. For many years, however, he resided in Virginia, where he engaged in teaching school, but early in the Eighth century he re- moved to Ohio, establishing his home near the Scioto Big Run, four miles southwest of the present city of Columbus. Again he resumed his educational work, becoming one of the first instructors in the schools of Franklin county, Ohio. He was also inter- ested in agricultural pursuits, and securing a large tract of wild land he transformed it into a fine farm on which he made his home until his death, which was the result of an ac- cident caused by a runaway horse. He was then ninety-six years of age. He had served as justice of the peace in the county and was a man of considerable prominence, leaving the impress of his individuality upon the early development and permanent improve- ment of that part of the state. His wife. bore the maiden name of Jane Stuart, and was of Scotch lineage. She died at the home of Mrs. John M. White, Sr., about 1836. His father was an own cousin of Mary, Queen of Scots, and thus comes our subject's
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connection with the house of Tudor. One branch of the Stuart family was established in Virginia, where they conducted hotels, and when the Revolutionary war broke out the great-grandfather, who would not take up arms against the mother country, re- turned to England, there enlisted in the British service and fought against the United States. His property in Virginia was confiscated, and when the war ended he was given a tract of land in Halifax to re- compense him for what he had lost in the United States. He wrote of this to his family, who were prepared to join him in Nova Sco- tia, but no news was ever received from him afterward, and it is supposed that he was lost on the water. Years afterward one of his granddaughters met a lawyer from Halifax, who told her that the property in- cluded in the grant to her grandfather had become very valuable and was held in the name of the Stuart heirs, whom it was thought would some day come and claim possession.
John M. White, Sr., the father of our subject, was'a native of Hardy county, West. Virginia, and when a young man accom- panied his parents on their removal to Ohio. When the war of 1812 was in progress he drove a six horse team to Fort Franklin, a military post now included within the city of 'Columbus, and there his horses were pressed into service and he decided to go with them, thus serving in the war of 1812. He married Mrs. Rachel Moorehead, nee McDowell, and settled on the Moorehead farm, on the Scioto river, two miles from Columbus, where he spent his remaining days. He did not live to an advanced age, however, but passed away November 17, 1833. By her first marriage his wife had three children : Sarah, Jane and Lincoln, all
deceased. Unto her marriage to Mr. White, there were also three children born: Samuel S., deceased; John M., of this review ; and Marilla, who became the wife of John N. Cherry and died in Franklin county, Ohio ..
Amid the wild scenes of pioneer life in Ohio John M. White, of this sketch, was reared. All around lay the uncultivated land, and the forests stood in their primeval strength. Frontier conditions existed and the family had to endure many hardships and trials incident to pioneer life. Mr. White was educated after the primitive manner of the times in a log schoolhouse, conning his lessons while sitting on a slab bench. Light was admitted into the room through greased paper, covering an aperture made by removing a log, and the building was heated by a fire-place, capable of con- taining an immense back log. The methods of instructions were almost as primitive as the little "temple of learning," and thus Mr. White had to depend upon reading, experi- ence and observation in later life to broad- en his knowledge and supplement the in- struction which he gained, in the school room. The Wyandotte Indians were fre- quent visitors at the White home, and deer and other wild game abounded in the forests and Mr. White has more than once brought home venison and other wild meat for the family larder. When his father died he continued to operate the home farm for his mother, and after her death the property was divided, he receiving one hundred and fourteen acres of the land, on which tract stood the home buildings. To the work of farming and stock-dealing. Mr. White de- voted his energies with success, becoming the owner of a valuable property. He con- tinued his residence in Ohio until 1864, when he came to Illinois, and in the fall of
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that year settled in Piatt county. Here he purchased two hundred and eighty acres in Sangamon township, and subsequently add- ed to this tract until he had five hundred and eighty-four acres of valuable land, including the Major Bowman farm of two hundred and forty acres, which he continued to cul- tivate until 1886. In the intervening years his carefully conducted business affairs had brought to him a handsome competence, and with this he retired to private life, establish- ing his home in Monticello, where he has since lived in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.
In 1843 was performed the wedding cer- emony which united the destinies of Mr. White and Miss Jane Huffman, who was born near Columbus, Ohio, a daughter of Jacob and Rebecca Huffman, but she passed away in 1845, leaving two children: Ophe- lia J., now the wife of Thomas Mof- fitt ; and Frank, a well-known business man of this county. For his second wife Mr. White chose Rebecca H. Williams, their marriage taking place January 25, 1849. She was a great-granddaughter of Vincent Isaac Williams, who lived near what is now Williamsport, West Virginia. He met a very tragic death. On one occasion while his family were in the fort at Moorefield, West Virginia, he and a colored man went over to his farm to look after his stock. The Indians were then on the warpath and seven of them attacked Mr. Williams, who rushed to his log cabin and succeeded in killing five of the savages. This so enraged the re- maining two that they picked out the mor- tar from the rear of the cabin and while Mr. Williams' attention was directed in front, one of them shot and killed him.
both of whom were natives of Virginia, and the latter was reared to the age of fourteen years at Harper's Ferry. She was a niece of General Darke, in whose honor Darke coun- ty, Ohio, was named. At an early day her parents removed to Ohio and located on the Scioto river, fifteen miles south of Colum- bus and four miles south of Chillicothe. The lives of the early settlers were constantly menaced by the treachery of the red men and Mrs. Williams, afraid to leave her baby in the cabin, would carry it to the spring when she went for a pail of water. Hardships and difficulties of all kinds incident to pio- neer life were .experienced by the family, and while the men of the household worked in the fields the wife and mother spun and wove the material which was used in fash- ioning the garments of the early settlers. The nearest market town was Chillicothe, thirty-five miles distant, and the way led through the forests, there being no road save the old Indian trail. At his death the father left an estate of eleven hundred acres, of which his widow took charge and settled. In the family were nine children: Joseph, who married a lady of New York city; Isaac, who married and removed to Illinois in 1883; John and Eliza, who are now deceased; James, who died in Indiana; Vincent, who cared for his mother until her death at the age of seventy-seven years ; Sarah, who married Benjamin Rennock, but is now deceased; Edwin, who died in child- hood; and Rebecca H., wife of our subject, and the only one now living.
The last named was the youngest mem- ber of the household. She was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, about four miles from Bloomfield, and by her marriage she has become the mother of five children : Ben-
The parents of Mrs. White were Isaac V. and Mary D. (Hendricks) Williams, jamin R .; Vincent I .; Sarah W., the wife of
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Horace Caleff; John M., and Mary Darke, the wife of E, I. Williams, living in Lafay- ette. Mrs. White is a valued and exemplary member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and to her family has ever been a devoted wife and mother. Like her husband, she is a representative of old and distinguished pioneer families, and her ancestral history is one of close and honorable connection with the development of Virginia as well as Ohio.
For almost forty years Mr. White has been a resident of Piatt county, and has therefore witnessed much of its develop- ment. Much of the land was wild and unim- proved when he came to this section of the state, and he has borne his full share in the work of transforming it into what it is to- day --- one of the rich agricultural districts of this great state, whose fine farms are un- surpassed throughout the length and breadth of this fair land. Throughout his entire ca- reer his life has been honorable and upright, characterized by fidelity to duty in all rela- tions and manifesting energy and enterprise in his business career. His worth is widely acknowledged, and he has the confidence and good will of young and old, rich and poor. He justly deserves the rest which he is now enjoying, and no history of Piatt county would be complete without mention of John M. White.
DUNCAN BROTHERS.
This well known firm of Lintner is com- posed of S. H., J. M. and A. C. Duncan, dealers in grain, general merchandise and farm implements of all kinds. They are the sons of Israel and Susanna (Henry) Dun-
can, both natives of Pennsylvania, and now deceased, the mother having died in 1890 and the father in 1900. They were mem- bers of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and died in that faith, honored and respect- ed by all who knew them.
In the family of this worthy couple were nine children, who in order of birth were as follows : Warren H., the eldest, died at the age of thirty years. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Pennsylvania Heavy Ar- tillery and was later with the Second Pro- visional Heavy Artillery. Being wounded in the battle of the Wilderness in 1864, he was sent to the Haddington hospital in Philadelphia, and was subsequently appoint- ed ward master. S. H. was born in York county, Pennsylvania, December 2, 1844, and was reared and educated there. He, too, entered the service of his country dur- ing the dark days of the Rebellion and held the position of wagon master in the quarter- master's department though he dressed in ci- vilian's clothes. He is now a member of the firm of Duncan Brothers of Lintner, Illinois, and has charge of the implement business. He married Mrs. Kate Gates, and has three sons : Wellington G., B. G. and P. G. Henry, the next of the family, was also a teamster in the Civil war and now resides one mile east of Lintner on his farm. He married Mattie Connister and has six children. J. M. was born on the 20th of Au- gust, 1850, in York county, Pennsylvania, and there spent his boyhood and youth, his education being received in the local schools. He owns and operates a farm a mile'and a quarter north of Lintner and also four hun- dred acres east of Lintner, making five hun- dred and seventy acres in all. For four years he served as postmaster of Lintner under General Harrison. He married Florence
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