Past and present of Pike County, Illinois, Part 25

Author: Massie, Melville D; Clarke, (S.J.) Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 760

USA > Illinois > Pike County > Past and present of Pike County, Illinois > Part 25

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Dr. Mckinney was only two years old when brought by his parents to Pike county and in his

youth he pursued his studies in one of the old- time log schoolhouses. In the end of the room was a large fireplace and the seats and other equipments of the little "temple of learning" were very primitive. The larger pupils wrote their "copy" upon a desk made by placing a board upon wooden pins driven into the wall. As his age and strength permitted Dr. Mckinney aided in the work of the home farm, continuing to reside thereon until his marriage. He afterward began farming on his own account, following that pur- suit until 1861, when failing health caused him to turn his attention to other labor. Taking up the study of medicine, for which he seemed to . possess a natural predilection, he entered upon the practice of his profession at Pleasant Hill in 1863. After a year he removed to Rock- port, where he spent three years, and in 1867 he located for practice at Kingston, Adams county. He made further preparation for his chosen call- ing by study in Rush Medical College, of Chi- cago, from which he was graduated in 1868, after which he returned. to Kingston, there residing until 1875, when he came to Barry. Here he rented a house and established a sanitarium and in 1885 he built a commodious and well arranged frame building for sanitarium purposes. In the conduct of this institution he met with success and at the same time performed a valuable serv- ice for his fellowmen. For some time he was as- sociated with his brother George W., and they ever maintained a foremost place in the ranks of the medical fraternity. Always ambitious to broaden his knowledge and promote his efficiency, Dr. Mckinney, of this review, pursued post- graduate work in the medical department of the Northwestern University and in 1883 was a post- graduate student in Rush Medical College, and later in a polyclinic in New York city, his certifi- cate from that institution bearing date of 1887. Two years later he went abroad and acquainted himself with modern methods abroad in the prin- cipal hospitals of London, Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Dublin. His practice constantly increased in volume and importance and he was accorded a position of prominence among the representative physicians of western Illinois. In more recent years, however, he has largely retired from the

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active work of the profession and is now giving his attention only to office and consultation prac- tice. He has kept abreast with modern scientific research and investigation through his member- ship in the State Medical Society and the Missis- sippi Valley Medical Association,

Dr. Mckinney was first married in 1856 to Miss Elizabeth Boulware, a native of Pike county and a daughter of Daniel and Christina Boulware, pioneer residents of this locality. She died in June, 1861, and in November, 1863, Dr. McKin- ney wedded Malinda Vining, a native of Adams county and a daughter of Abner Vining. There have been three sons born of this marriage and there were two children by the first marriage: Hardin W., who married Martha Chamberlin ; and Mary E., the wife of Professor R. W. Ken- ady. Of the sons of the second marriage, James A. spent four years at the Illinois State Normal School and four years at Rush Medical College, from which he was graduated. He was also for four years a student in a medical school in Louis- ville, Kentucky, of which he was an alumnus. He died at Grand Valley, Colorado, where he was practicing at the time of his death. George B. is a resident of Barry, where he is engaged in the practice of dentistry. Jerome is now living at home. In 1902 Dr. McKinney was called upon to mourn the loss of his second wife, who died in that year. On the 18th of February, 1903, he wedded Mrs. Electa Henry.

Dr. Mckinney sold his sanitarium in 1898 to Dr. Charles E. Beavers, after which he removed to Quincy, but when two years had passed he re- turned to Barry. For sixty-eight years he has lived in Pike county, and has long been recognized as one of its most valued and representative men. In addition to his practice he is connected with other business interests, being a stockholder in the Exchange Bank at Barry. He has deeded all of his real estate over to the bank trustees for the benefit of the depositors, for such is his ideal of honesty and business integrity, His advance- ment in life is attributable entirely to his own ef- forts. He was dependent upon his own labors for his education and he resolved that he would pro- vide his children with good advantages in that direction and has done so. He is a liberal man in

public affairs and has contributed generously to movements for the public good. An exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity, he joined the order in New Salem in 1861, and is now connected with Barry lodge, No. 34, A. F. & A. M .; Barry chapter, No. 88, R.A.M.,; Ascalon commandery, No. 49, K. T., at Pittsfield, which was chartered October 3, 1876, and of which he is a charter member. He also belongs to the Methodist Epis- copal church and his life has ever been actuated by high and honorable principles and his entire career has been in harmony with those traits of character which ever command respect and re- gard. His work has been of benefit to his fellow men as well as a source of profit to himself and he is to-day numbered among the valued and repre- sentative citizens of Pike county.

JOHN F. HATCH.

John F .. Hatch, dealer in lumber and coal at Griggsville, was born in Hillsboro, New Hamp- shire, on the 5th of January, 1850, a son of Isaac A. and Lydia (Baxter) Hatch, both of whom were natives of Hillsboro. The father was born September 13, 1812, and his life record continued until February 7, 1896. He was married in Hillsboro, October 6, 1840, to Miss Lydia Baxter, who was born October 11, 1814, and they became the parents of a son and daughter, the latter being Abbie A. Hatch, who was born March 3, 1842. In 1835 the father came to Illinois, settling in Pike county, but in 1840 returned to New Hampshire, and it was on the 6th of October of that year that he was married. He afterward started with his wife for the west, traveling by team to Boston, Massachusetts, and on by way of Pennsylvania to Illinois, making the journey by canal and teams. At length he reached Pike county and he and his brother, Hon. O. M. Hatch, first purchased two sections of wild land near Griggsville. They also bought timber land at Milton, about two miles from Chambersburg, and built a saw and grist mill at that point and also erected a large storehouse. They conducted the milling business for a number of winters and also broke wild prairie land in Griggsville town-

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ship, converting it into cultivatable fields. Isaac Hatch here carried on farming for about thir- teen years and then in 1862 built a fine home in the city of Griggsville, where his widow and daughter are now living. She has made her home in this residence for forty-three years and now in her ninety-first year is enjoying good health, being a bright and active woman, happy in many pleasant memories of the past. In 1861-2 Mr. Hatch served as revenue collector, and in 1873 he and his brother, O. M. Hatch, organized the Griggsville National Bank. Previous to this time his brother had served as secretary of state of Illinois and was a prominent factor in political circles in the state for many years. Isaac Hatch became cashier of the new bank and continuously filled the position until within two years of his death, when failing health caused him to retire. In politics he voted for the candidates whom he considered best qualified for office regardless of party affiliation. He belonged to the Congre- gational church and his efforts were a factor in the material, intellectual, social and moral prog- ress of the community. The Hatch family is one of the most prominent in Pike county and the family name is inseparably interwoven with its history from pioneer times down to the present.

John F. Hatch was a young lad when brought by his parents to Pike county and in the schools of Griggsville acquired his early education, which was supplemented by study in Princeton, Illinois, and by a course in Cornell University. In early manhood he was married, on the 11th of March, 1873, to Miss Jenetta Vose, who was born Sep- tember 8, 1852, in Danbury, New York, her parents being Marcellus and Phebe (Montgom- ery) Vose, both of whom were natives of the Empire state, the father dying when sixty years of age and his wife when fifty-five years of age. They were married in the Empire state and came to Pike county, Illinois, in 1874, locating first on a farm near Griggsville. Sub- sequently they became residents of Liberty, Adams county, Illinois, and Mr. Vose died in that county. Their children were Sarah, Mrs. Hatch, Fannie, William and Frank.

Following the completion of his education in Cornell University Mr. Hatch returned to Griggs-

ville and began farming, which pursuit he fol- lowed until 1890, when he purchased the lumber and coal yard of the firm of Dutton & Benson, and has since carried on business in this city with a patronage that is indicative of his straight- forward methods and the confidence reposed in him by the general public.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hatch have been born four daughters : Nettie May, who was born April" 15, 1874, and is a wife of Harry N. Capps, a resident of Jacksonville, Illinois; Stella M., born February 17, 1876; Julia Edna, born December 18, 1878; and Ethel Blanche, who was born November 24, 1880, and is the wife of William S. Sanford, a resident of Chicago.

The wife and mother died August 23, 1893. Mr. Hatch has been a member of the city council of Griggsville, to which position he was elected on the republican ticket. He belongs to the Con- gregational church and is a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family, his record being in harmony, with that of the representatives in the previous generation-his father and uncle, who made a most creditable record in the various departments of life into which their activities were directed. Mr. Hatch is now closely con- nected with the commercial interests of Griggs- ville and his careful management of his business and well directed labor are bringing him the success which is the reward of active labor.

JAMES H. CRANE.

James H. Crane, now. living retired but for many years a leading factor in public life and the business activity of Pittsfield and Pike county, was born in Scott county, Illinois, July 25, 1832, a son of Samuel L .. Crane, a native of Weather- field, Connecticut. Leaving New England he removed to Kentucky, where he was married, and . in 1824 he took up his abode in Scott county, Illi- nois. He was a tanner by trade but lost an arm and afterward gave his time and attention largely to the conduct of a hotel. He was proprietor of the Union Hotel of Pittsfield at the time of his death and for a long time was postmaster of the city, proving a competent and popular official.

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In his family were five children, of whom two sons and two daughters are yet living: William, who is a miner in Utah; James, of this review ; Mrs. D. W. Hyde, a resident of Pittsfield; and Della Crane, who is also living. in this city.

James Crane, at the usual age, began his edu- cation as a pupil of Jon Shastid, of Perry, but largely acquired his education in the public schools of Pittsfield. He afterward learned the printer's trade with George W. Smith and followed that pursuit for some time, being to-day the oldest printer in Pittsfield. He afterward became the assistant of his father in the postoffice and re- mained with him until after the inauguration of the Civil war, when, on the 23d of August, 1861, he enlisted as a member of Company G, Ninety- ninth Regiment of Illinois Infantry, with which he served for six months. He then returned home in. February, 1862, having been honorably dis- charged by reason of disability occasioned by in- juries received in the army. The only important battle in which he participated was at Hartsville, Missouri. He held the rank of first lieutenant.

Following his return home Mr. Crane entered the office of the circuit clerk as assistant to George Jones, who was afterward secretary of state and died in Springfield. Mr. Crane served in the cir- cuit clerk's office until the following election, when he was chosen circuit clerk by popular suffrage, filling the office for four years, after which he was deputy clerk under George W. Archer and oth- ers. He was connected with the office altogether for about sixteen years and he was also post- master of Pittsfield for four years under the ad- ministration of President Cleveland. He has since filled the office of justice of the peace for three years, but is now living retired. He has in his possession the old desk which was in the circuit clerk's office in 1856 and which he used when employed there as deputy.

Mr. Crane was married November 6, 1856, to Miss Emma Fisher, of Clermont county, Ohio, who came here with her uncle, Judge Ward, about 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Crane became parents of one son, Samuel Crane, who is now in the office of the Pittsfield Abstract Company. He married Leo Rathburn and they have two children, Cath- erine and Josephine.

In the year of his marriage Mr. Crane built `a home in the west part of the city which the oc- cupied until 1880, when he sold that and pur- chased his present fine home within six blocks of the courthouse square. He also owns several business blocks and is well-to-do, having made judicious investment in property which yields him a good return. He belongs to the Methodist church, his wife to the Episcopal church, and in the city where they have so long resided they have many warm friends. They have now traveled life's journey together for almost fifty years. In his fraternal relations Mr. Crane is a Mason and Knights of Pythias and also belongs to post No. 515, G. A. R. He has been a member of the Ma- sonic order over fifty years. His political alle- giance has always been given the democracy. For many years the name of Crane has been associated with public service in Pittsfield, as represented by father and son, and in this, as in other connec- tions, has ever been a synonym of honor and of- ficial integrity.

WILLIAM ARTHUR GRIMSHAW.

William Arthur Grimshaw, of Pittsfield, now numbered among the honored dead of Pike county, was born June 1, 1813, at Navin-on-the- Boyne, County Meath, Ireland. His father was of English parentage but was born near Belfast, Ire- land. He emigrated to the United States in 1815 and landed from a neutral vessel, bringing to the city of Charleston, South Carolina, the first news of the treaty of Ghent. Charleston was the birth- place of Harriet Milligan, who was the mother of William A. Grimshaw. Her father was Captain Milligan, a native of Ireland, who was residing in South Carolina at the beginning of the Amer- ican Revolution. Espousing the cause of the colonies, he entered the American army to aid in the struggle for independence and served in the Pennsylvania line throughout the war. The mother of William A. Grimshaw was educated in the city of Chester, England, and for many years after her marriage she was the principal of a large female seminary in the city of Philadelphia. The father of William A. Grimshaw was a member of

WILLIAM A. GRIMSHAW

ايد.

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the Philadelphia bar, made his home in that city and also spent considerable time at Harrisburg. For thirty years he was recognized as an author of much celebrity. His histories of the United States and England and his Etymological Dic- tionary-a work of much erudition-were in high repute and proved a gratifying source of remu- neration to the author. Captain Milligan, the ma- ternal grandfather of Mr. Grimshaw, was an original member of the Cincinnati Society, of which General George Washington was the presi- dent.

At the early age of nineteen years Mr. Grim- shaw was admitted to the bar and was licensed as attorney at law by the district court for the city and county of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1832. He then came to Illinois, then the far west, upon the responsible errand of locating and paying taxes on the large body of land owned by his father, comprising many quarter sections of the bounty lands in the northern counties of the mili- tary tract. He lived at Atlas for a time and was appointed adjutant of the Seventeenth Regiment of the Illinois Militia under the old military sys- tem, Colonel Benjamin Barney, commanding. On the 25th of November, 1833, he was licensed to practice as an attorney and counselor at law in all the courts of law and equity in the state of Illinois by Samuel D. Lockwood and William Wilson, justices of the supreme court of the

William A. Grimshaw was educated in the city of Philadelphia and read law in the office of the eminent attorney, David Paul Brown. He be- longed to a family of patriots and educators. His grandfather was a Revolutionary officer ; his brother, Dr. James Grimshaw," was a surgeon in the Mexican war, being commissioned by"James . state of Illinois. He was licensed to practice in K. Polk in 1848, after which he went to Mexico the circuit court of the United States for the dis- trict of Illinois on . the 19th day of December, 1839. He removed to Pittsfield, Pike county, in 1833. and here resided until his death. He was commissioned public administrator of Pike county by Governor Reynolds and was a member of the bar of the county for sixty years in active prac- tice. In a history of Pike county that was pub- lished in 1880, is the following: "William A. Grimshaw, the' oldest practicing attorney of the county, ranked as one of the leading lawyers of the state, was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of nineteen years. In 1833 he came to this county, since which time he has been actively identified with every public in- terest of the county." He was always a willing and full tax-payer. His property, under one continuous ownership by taxation and his purse by donation for over a half century have con- tributed generously to every improvement that Pittsfield has ever enjoyed. With characteristic zeal and energy he at once took an active and sub- stantial interest in establishing schools, churches and Sunday schools. He was also instrumental in starting a library association and became one of its stockholders. In 1847 he was chosen a mem- ber of the constitutional convention of Illinois and aided in framing the organic law of the state. The Daily Illinois State Journal of November 7, with General Scott ; his brother, Dr. Arthur Grim- shaw, was a colonel of the Civil war ; and his son, William A. Grimshaw, Jr., then a lad of eighteen years, served as a private soldier in the Fifth Illi- nois Infantry Regiment in the Spanish-American war. His father was author of many textbooks and other literary works and his mother was prin- cipal of a seminary for young ladies at Philadel- phia, while his sisters, Charlotte and Isabella, with their brother, Dr. Arthur Grimshaw as lecturer and business manager, owned and conducted- until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion -the Hannah Moore Seminary for Young Ladies at Wilmington, Delaware. Dr. Arthur was county superintendent of New Castle county, Delaware, and served on the school board of Wilmington, of which he also acted as president. He was in- tensely interested in educational matters and did everything in his power for advancement along such lines, although he had a large medical prac- tice. William A. Grimshaw was an active mem- ber of the Pittsfield school board and was in of- fice when the beautiful East school building was erected in 1864-5, continuing on the school board for many years. He has a brother, Robert Grim- shaw, a scientific ingenteur and critique, now and for a number of years residing in Germany, and a sister living in Kentucky.

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1883, has the following under the heading, The Real Old Timers; Survivors of 1847; Proposed Reunion of the Members of the Constitutional Convention ; Promise of an Interesting Event. A praiseworthy movement has been set on foot for holding a reunion of the surviving members of the constitutional convention of 1847 of the state of Illinois. This movement appears to have had its immediate beginning in the following letter from two old Pike county members :

PITTSFIELD, ;PIKE COUNTY, ILL., Oct. IO, 1883.

To the Hons. Ninian W. Edwards and James H. Matheny, Springfield, Ill.

The undersigned desire to call your attention to the number of years that have elapsed since they had the honor and pleasure to meet and serve with you, as members thereof, in the con- stitutional convention of 1847. More than thirty- six years have passed away since the organization, deliberations and adjournment of that convention and the first Monday of March next will be the thirty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of its work by the people of the state of Illinois. Prob- ably all the members of the convention who as- sisted in the framing of the constitution of 1848 survived long enough to be gratified and honored by its adoption by the people. Some of them (ourselves among the number) have had the honor to see it last as the organic law until the adoption of the present constitution in 1870. But few of us remain. We can not call to mind more than twenty-five or thirty who are now living. We need hardly add that a reunion of the few survivors could not fail to be a meeting of great interest and pleasure to each and all of them. In this view we beg leave to suggest to you a reunion of the survivors of the convention of 1847 at the circuit courtroom in Springfield (where the con- vention was held) on some day, to be suggested by you, during the ensuing winter. Please let us hear from you as soon as convenient and give us some suggestions as to the ways and means of notifying the survivors and securing their re- union at the time and place indicated.

Yours truly, WM. R. ARCHER.

WM. A. GRIMSHAW.

The editor says, "In some respects the conven- tion here referred to was one of the most impor- tant bodies ever assembled in the state and its work practically started the march of steady civil progress which has resulted in the greatness to which the state has attained."

Under the caption of "Pioneers of Progress," the Daily Illinois State Register of Springfield, January 3, 1884, gives a history of the convention with short historical sketches of the survivors. It says : "William A. Grimshaw, one of the three surviving delegates from Pike county, was born. in Ireland in 1813. His father, William Grim- shaw, was a distinguished historian and his. mother, Harriet Milligan Grimshaw, a daughter of James Milligan, a captain of the Pennsylvania line in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Grimshaw was educated in Philadelphia and admitted to the bar at the early age of nineteen years. He came to Illinois in May, 1833, where he has since re- sided. In 1840 he made an unsuccessful candi- dacy for the legislature on the whig ticket, but the vigorous campaign which he made in August resulted in giving the county to Harrison in No- vember. When in the convention, although his party was in the minority, he took a prominent part in its deliberations and was the author of the anti-dueling clause incorporated in the constitu- tion. In 1848 he carried his own county for the legislature, but the vote of Calhoun county de- feated him. He was in the Decatur convention in 1860, also in the state convention of 1864 and was a delegate from the ninth Illinois district to the Baltimore national convention of 1864, which nominated Lincoln the second time for president. He has been in the active practice of his profes- sion (the law) for over fifty years and enjoys the confidence and respect of a large and lucrative · clientage. He is at the present time the attorney for the Wabash Railroad and the Sny levee com- missioners. He has held numerous trusteeships in various public institutions. He has been for several years a member of the state board of char- ities. In 1880 he was on the Republican electoral ticket and was the messenger to take the vote to Washington.

"In accordance with the recommendation of the senate and house of representatives of the United

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States of America for the proper observance and celebration of the first centennial of our national independence on July 4, 1876, at a public meeting at the courthouse in Pittsfield the following com- mittee of arrangements and programme was ap- pointed by the action of the meeting : C. L. Hig- bee, chairman; William A. Grimshaw, James G. Erwin, William R. Archer, Strother Griggsby, J. M. Bush, Richard M. Atkinson."

The following paragraph is copied from the printed "Address of the Centenial Committee of Invitation": "In pursuance of the power of the power of the committee they have chosen as the historian of the county for the 4th of July, 1876, the Hon. William A. Grimshaw, himself one of the earliest settlers in the county and who, by rea- son thereof, and his eminent ability, is most fully qualified for the position." Mr. Grimshaw wrote and delivered as a centenial address at the Fourth of July celebration of 1876 a brief history of Pike county. In closing he said, "It is my anticipa- tion, in the march of events, that the next centen- nial history of Pike will be offered by a lady." By his consent extracts from his centennial his- tory are incorporated in "The History of Pike County" published in 1880. A copy of his cen- tennial history is in the library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia.

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Past and present of Pike County, Illinois, Part 25

Author: Massie, Melville D; Clarke, (S.J.) Publishing Company, Chicago Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 760

Author: Massie, Melville D; Clarke, (S.J.) Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 760