Past and present of Pike County, Illinois, Part 29

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 29

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PAST AND PRESENT OF PIKE COUNTY

No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for A. L. Kiser in his boyhood and youth." He was educated in the schools of Detroit, worked upon the old home- stead and remained with his father up to the time of his marriage, which was celebrated in Detroit on the 21st of November, 1888, Miss Ora Esther Sanderson becoming his wife. She is the youngest daughter of Reuben Sanderson and was born, reared and educated in Detroit. Following their marriage the young couple be- gan their domestice life in Detroit, where Mr. Kiser engaged in farming for two years, when in 1890 he located upon the farm where he now resides. He has since added to and remodeled the house and has put up about six hundred rods of good wire fencing. He has also made other improvements and has carried forward the work of cultivation until he has a splendidly developed property. In connection with the tilling of the soil he is engaged in feeding and raising hogs and cattle for the market and formerly also handled sheep.

Mr. and Mrs. Kiser have become the parents of four children : Lorena A., Paul Wayne, Mil- dred Marie and Lucile Bernadine. In his polit- ical views Mr. Kiser has been a life-long repub- lican and is now serving as supervisor. He served on the ferries committee of which he was chairman and he is also a member of the com- mittee on salaried offices. He has been a dele- gate to numerous conventions of his party and has served as chairman of the township commit- tees of Detroit and Newburg township. His wife is a member of the Christian church and Mr. Kiser belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Detroit, in which he has passed all of the chairs and is a past grand. He also served for two terms as district deputy and was a dele- gate to the grand lodge at one session. He like- wise has membership relations with the Mutual Protective League, a fraternal insurance order. Mr. Kiser is an industrious and prosperous farmer, a man of good business ability and of sterling character and worth. He is well known in Pittsfield and Pike county as one of its pub- lic-spirited citizens. The work which was insti- tuted by his grandfather and has been carried

forward by his father both along lines of indi- vidual business interests and the public welfare has also been continued by him and his value and worth as a citizen is widely acknowledged.

ALONZO LEONARD.

To those who are familiar with the history of Alonzo Leonard it seems trite to say that he is a self-made man, whose splendid position in financial circles is attributable entirely to his own efforts, yet it is but just to say in a history that will descend to future generations that his busi- ness career is one that has excited the admiration and respect of his contemporaries, proving the power of energy, enterprise and keen discrimi- nation as forceful factors in business life. A na- tive of Kentucky he was born in the year 1850, a son of Samuel Leonard, who in 1852 removed to Missouri, where his son Alonzo was reared. He had a charter from this state for building a levee along the river bank before the war. In his family were seven children, of whom Alonzo was the youngest.

Alonzo Leonard was educated in Missouri and in 1872 came to Pike county, where he has since resided. He worked by the month in the early years of his residence here and when he had ac- quired some capital embarked in business in Pittsfield. As the years passed by he prospered and eventually he turned his attention to the brokerage business which he has since followed. He is now a well known capitalist of Pike county, loaning money and conducting a business that has become of considerable extent and impor- tance.

On the 21st of September, 1873, Mr. Leonard was united in marriage to Miss Caroline I. Moore,, a native of Iowa, and a daughter of Robert Moore, a carpenter of Pike county, who is still living here. They have one child, Charles A., who was born July 4, 1879, and was grad- uated from Yale University in the class of 1904. He is now associated with his father. The fam- ily home is on East Washington street in Pitts- field, where they have a pleasant residence. Mr.

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Leonard is a member of the Christian church and in his political views is a republican. Start- ing out in life without financial assistance or in- fluence of friends to aid him he made steady ad- vancement on the road to prosperity, passing many upon the highway of life who started out more advantageously equipped. His success has been readily achieved, owing to his strong pur- pose that has enabled him to overcome difficul- ties and obstacles, his close application to what- ever task he has had in hand and his capable management. He has a wide acquaintance in Pittsfield and Pike county and is popular with his fellow townsmen who recognize his genuine worth, appreciate his kindly spirit and admire his consideration for others.

MICHAEL G. BAUER.

Michael G. Bauer, who is teacher in charge of the Pleasant Hill district school of Pike county, was born February 21, 1865, and is a son of George M. and Katharine (Reinhardt) Bauer, early settlers of this county. The father was engaged in general agricultural pursuits throughout his entire life, his labors being ended in death on the 18th of May, 1876, at which time he was making his home in Hardin town- ship. His widow still survives and now resides in Pittsfield.

Michael G. Bauer spent the days of his boy- hood and youth in the usual manner of farm lads of the period. During the summer months he aided in the work of the fields and his prelim- inary education was acquired in the district schools near his father's home, but, anxious for better educational privileges, he afterward at- tended the Illinois College at Jacksonville for one year. In 1882 he began teaching, following that profession for several years, after which he rested for one year and then pursued his work in Illinois College. After leaving that institution he resumed teaching in Pike county and so con- tinued until 1898. In 1894 he became connected with his brothers, L. G., J. A. and W. H. Bauer, in a mercantile enterprise conducted under the

firm style of Bauer Brothers, which relation was maintained for ten years. During the first four years of the firm's existence Mr. Bauer continued to teach school but afterward concentrated his energies upon the conduct of his commercial af- fairs. On the dissolution of the firm the mer- cantile stock was exchanged for a farm in New Salem township, Pike county, containing about two hundred acres of good land valued at about fifty dollars per acre. Mr. Bauer on retiring from commercial life resumed the work of teach- ing and is at present in charge of the Pleasant Hill district school.

In 1898 occurred the marriage of Michael G. Bauer and Miss Minnie V. Hoover, a daughter of David J. and Amanda Hoover. He belongs to Robin Hood lodge, No. 415, K. P., of Milton, and also the Modern Woodmen camp, No. 922. He justly deserves all the praise implied in the term, a self-made man. When the father died he left an indebtedness of two thousand dollars which the sons paid off and all that they now possess has been acquired through their own la- bors. Mr. Bauer has worked diligently and en- ergetically and is known as one of the capable teachers of the county, having done much to raise the standard of public instruction in the locali- ties where he has lived.

A. V. WILLS.

A. V. Wills, who is extensively engaged in farming in Pike county and in connection with his sons is conducting a large drainage contract- ing business, utilizing eight dredges in the execu- tion of contracts which call him into various parts of the country, is a native son of this county, born on the 14th of February, 1849, his par- ents being W. R. and Lucy D. (Scott) Wills. The father was born in the state. of New York in 1810, and when eight years of age accompan- ied his parents on their removal to Ohio, where he lived for eleven years. When a young man of nineteen in company with his younger brother, A. V. Wills, he arrived at New Orleans, where they remained for several months and upon his

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return to Ohio W. R. Wills, Sr., settled in Pike county, Illinois, where he worked as a laborer for six years. In 1836 he was married to Miss Sarah M. Cowles, who was born in New Hamp- shire in 1810. He then removed to Atlas town- ship, Pike county, where he began farming but in July of the same year his wife died. He then sold his household effects and other possessions and made a trip to the east but after eight months returned to Pike county, where he was engaged in trading in various ways until 1838. He then married Miss Lucy D. Scott, who was born in New York in 1812, and was brought to Illinois in 1818. Following his second marriage he settled in Florence on the Illinois river, where he engaged in coopering for two years and then removed to Rockport, Pike county, where he acted as general superintendent of coopering, milling and pork packing enterprizes. For three years he was thus engaged and then desiring that his labors might more directly benefit himself he purchased a farm near Summer Hill, Atlas town- ship, and there engaged in general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. After six years he sold that property and bought a large and valu- able tract of land in Pittsfield township on sec- tions 20 and 21, where he resided for many years, being extensively and successfully engaged in farming and stock-raising. Difficulties, ob- stacles and disadvantages met him on the jour- ney of life but he overcame these by determined and honorable effort and eventually became one of the large landowners of Pike county. He was a man of strong purpose, unfaltering determina- tion and unquestioned honor. Throughout his life he never used intoxicants and always lived so as to win the respect, confidence and trust of his fellowmen.

In the common schools A. V. Wills acquired his education and remained at home 'until the death of his father in 1872. He afterwards pur- chased the home place and has since resided thereon, owning two hundred and eighty acres in this tract, while he and his brother, W. R. Wills, own eight hundred and forty acres on the Mis- sissippi bottoms and A. V. Wills and his family own four hundred and eighty acres on the Illi- nois river bottom and one thousand acres in In-

diana. He has thus become an extensive land- owner, having made judicious investment in property. He has always been engaged in the stock business, handling shorthorn cattle and blooded hogs and this has also proved to him a profitable source of income. The firm of A. V. Wills & Sons has become widely known as drain- age contractors. For fifteen years Mr. Wills has been engaged in this business and previously he served for fifteen years on the board of drain- age commissioners. The firm are now engaged in the operation of eight dredges, five in Mis- souri and three in Illinois and they have taken large contracts in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri and in this state, the business amounting to about two hundred thousand dollars annually. The firm are experts in their line giving special attention to the drainage of wet lands and their business has constantly grown in volume and importance until it brings annually a splendid remunera- tion.

Mr. Wills was married in March, 1868, to Miss Elizabeth Halme, a native of Pike county, and a daughter of John Halme, a farmer and carpenter, who came to Illinois from England. In 1849 he went to California across the plains but returned by the isthmus route. He then gave his attention to farming in Pike county and was a large stock dealer, buying and ship- ping cattle on an extensive scale. In fact he was the largest stock shipper in the county at that time. Following his return from California he settled 11pon a two-hundred-acre farm in Pitts- field township but eventually sold that property and bought four hundred acres just south of it. At one time he made his shipments over the Wa- bash but they owed him three thousand dollars rebate which he found difficult to collect. He then went to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company and contracted to ship one hundred cars but his shipments amounted to nearly two hundred cars. The Wabash Com- pany afterward gave him the rebate and he fi- nally shipped over that line again. His ambitions as a stock dealer, however, almost caused his financial ruin about 1900, when he was seventy years of age. Mr. Wills then told him there was a place at his table whenever he desired to be-

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PAST AND PRESENT OF PIKE COUNTY.

come a member of his home but he declined to do this and went instead to Adams county, Wash- ington, where he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land and began farming. Again pros- perity attended him and at the end of three years he returned to Pike county and paid all his debts. The increase in his land values and the products he has raised there have now made him worth about fifteen or twenty thousand dollars and at this time he is living retired in California with one child. When he went to Washington his sons, James and Elmore, born of his second mar- riage, and his son, John, a brother of Mrs. Wills, owned land in Washington but lived in Illinois. The last named gave his father what he could raise on his land in that frontier state and one year he produced forty thousand bushels of wheat. He is now enjoying a well earned rest at the advanced age of eighty-three years. By his first marriage he had four children and by the second union there were six.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wills have been born nine children, who are yet living and they have lost their eldest, John R., who died in October, 1902. The others are: William, who is at home and is associated with his father in business; Emma, the wife of Charles Dunham, living near Griggs- ville ; Millie F., who is the wife of W. L. Cham- berlain and resides near Bluffs, Scott county, Illi- nois; Malinda, who is the wife of Walter Dilts, and resides at Malden, Missouri, where she acts as bookkeeper for her father, while her husband is an assistant of Mr. Wills in his business inter- ests in that state ; E. S., who is a member of the firm of A. V. Wills & Sons, and married Ethel Ellis, their home being in Malden, Missouri; Lucy, Glenn, Fred and Leslie, all at home.

In politics Mr. Wills is a republican but has never sought or desired office. In the Masonic fraternity he has attained the Knight Templar degree and he also belongs to the Modern Wood- men camp and the Court of Honor, while in former years he affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pyth- ias. His wife is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Wills is a man of fine personal ap- pearance, splendid business and executive ability, of keen insight and of unfailing enterprise. He

has never manifested a dilatory nor negligent spirit in any department of his work but has brought to his labors great energy and persever- ance and through capable management has ex- tended his labors until the breadth of his business interests prove a splendid foundation for success and he has become one of the substantial resi- dents of Pike county.

CAREY A. MANKER.

Carey A. Manker, a banker of Pearl, Illinois, was born June 9, 1861, in Darlington, Montgom- ery county, Indiana, and is a son of John J. and Tamnson (Wright) Manker. His father, J. J. Manker, was the president of the Bank of Elliott, now the First National Bank at Elliott, Iowa, es- tablished in 1884. His birth occurred in Hills- boro, Ohio, in 1818, and his wife was there born in 1821. The father died at Red Oak, Iowa, March 13, 1895, while the mother is still living in Red Oak at the advanced age of eighty-four years. In his day John J. Manker was a well known tem- perance lecturer and was one of those who were influential in securing the passage of the prohi- bition law in Iowa.

Carey A. Manker spent the first eleven years of his life in the state of his nativity and in 1872 ac- companied his parents on their removal to Fre- mont county, Iowa, where they remained for five years, and then went to Red Oak, the county seat of Montgomery county, where John J. Manker purchased a flour mill, continuing to operate it until 1883, when he sold out. It was in the schools of Red Oak that Carey A. Manker ac- quired the greater part of his education, being graduated from the high school there in the class of 1882. Following his graduation he assisted his father in the mill as bookkeeper and in con- nection with other duties until the property was sold. In 1884 he became associated with his fa- ther and brother, H. E. Manker, in organizing the Bank of Elliott at Elliott, Iowa, and also the Louisville Bank at Louisville, Nebraska. Carey A. Manker took charge of the latter institution and his brother, H. E. Manker, of the bank of

C. A. MANKER

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.

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PAST AND PRESENT OF PIKE COUNTY.

Elliott. In 1887 Carey A. Manker disposed of his interests in the Louisville Bank and in partnership with C. H. Parmele and J. O. McClain established the Bank of Com- merce at Louisville and in 1891 bought the Louis- ville Bank, which became merged into the Bank of Commerce. In 1892, however, Mr. Manker disposed of his interests and until 1895 was en- gaged in a private loan business. In that year he went to St. Louis, where he engaged in the mort- gage, loan and real-estate business until 1898, when he came to Pearl and on July 14th of the same year established the Bank of Pearl. He is now president of the institution and jointly with B. Heavner owns the Hillview Bank at Hillview, Greene county, Illinois. He has erected a nice bank building in Pearl which was completed in the banking business, which he is carefully con- ducting, winning in the control of his interests a gratifying measure of success. In addition to the bank building he also owns considerable other property in Pearland he has real-estate interests in Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Virginia.

August, 1905, and he is thoroughly familiar with .. .... George' D .. Cooper is the owner of a fine farm

Mr. Manker was married September 25, 1884, to Miss Florence Davis, a daughter of Joshua P. and Cecelia (James) Davis. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Manker have been born four children, three daughters and a son, namely: Genevieve M., who was born March 24, 1886, in Albion, Nebraska ; Arthur A., born in Louisville, Nebraska, October 8, 1887 ; Tamnson Marie, born June 5, 1891 ; and Florence R., born in St. Louis, Missouri, May 4, 1898.

Mr. Manker is a valued representative of va- rious fraternal organizations. He is connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Court of Honor and the Mutual Protective League. In community affairs he is- deeply and helpfully interested. When he came to Pearl he found the town in bad shape. Streets, sidewalks and almost every other public in- terest was in need of repair and improve- ment. Mr. Manker enthused others with his own desire for public advancement and progress and his fellow townsmen say of him that he has

done more for Pearl than any other man resid- ing here. He has labored persistently and earn- estly for the general welfare and his efforts have been crowned with a gratifying measure of suc- cess, as is shown in the improved condition of the streets and in many other departments of town life. At the same time in the management of his active business interests Mr. Manker has dis- played excellent ability, keen discernment and sa- gacity and has worked his way upward to a prominent position among the successful men of this part of the state.

GEORGE D. COOPER.

in Pike county" and ris also extensively and suc- cessfully engaged in stock-raising. He is one of the county's native sons, his birth having occurred in Martinsburg township on the 16th of June, 1858. His paternal great-grandfather, George W. Cooper, is believed to have been a native of Georgia and removed from that state to Tennes- see. After a time he changed his residence to Kentucky and finally came to Illinois, settling in Morgan county, but later removed to southwestern Missouri and afterward took up his abode in Macon county, that state, where his remaining days were passed. He was one. of the early resi- dents of Illinois and in the agricultural develop- ment of the state took a helpful part. A gentle- man of deep religious sentiment, he adhered closely to the teachings of the Bible and in early life held membership in the Methodist church, while later he was a firm believer in the doctrines of the Christian church. His political views were in accord with the principles of democracy.

Asa D. Cooper, grandfather of George D. Cooper, was born in Kentucky and was reared in that state and in Tennessee. He came to Illinois in the early '30s, making his first settlement in Morgan county, where he remained for several years. He then removed to Pike county and re- sided in Pittsfield for a time, after which he pur- chased eighty acres of land in Martinsburg town- ship, upon which there were no improvements.

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With characteristic energy, however, he began the development of a farm and after disposing of that property he and his brother became joint pur- chasers of one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 14, Martinsburg township, which they improved together. They were associated in their farming interests for some time, but eventually Asa Cooper bought out his brother's interest, con- tinuing to make the place his home until his life's labors were ended in death. In the meantime he had added to his property until he owned two hundred acres of land, the greater part of which was under a high state of cultivation and yielded to him excellent crops, so that he was enabled to add annually to his income. He was a believer in democratic principles but was without political aspiration for office. He held membership in the Christian church, with which he was long and helpfully identified, taking an active interest in its work. His death occurred in December, 1858, when he was forty-nine years of age. His wife bore the maiden name of Eleanor Goodin and was born in Saline county, Missouri, in 1818, but her death occurred in Pike county, Illinois, in 1855. She was an earnest and faithful member of the Christian church, living in harmony with her professions and her life was filled with many good deeds and gracious acts.

John H. Cooper, son of Asa and Eleanor (Goodin) Cooper, was born where Pittsfield now stands on the 10th of October 1836, and is one of the oldest native citizens of Pike county. He was reared amid the refining influences of a good Christian home and it was the aim of his parents to prepare their children to meet the practical and responsible duties of life and to win respect and confidence through honesty and well doing. He attended the pioneer schools which were sup- ported by subscription and which convened in a primitive log schoolhouse supplied with open fire place, while a writing desk was formed by placing a slab upon pins driven into the wall. The other furniture was equally primitive and the methods of instruction were crude as compared to those of the present day. At that time the teacher "boarded round" among the scholars and his com- ing was an event in any family, giving an intel- lectual tone to the household and at the same time

probably improving the larder, as the mistress of the home felt that her reputation as a cook and housewife was at stake. It was under such condi- tions that John H. Cooper acquired his education. He can well remember seeing deer and turkeys in considerable numbers in Pike county during his boyhood. He spent the winter months as a stu- dent in the public schools and in the summer sea- sons worked upon the home farm until eighteen years of age, when he started out in life on his own account, being employed first as a farm hand. When he attained his majority he was married and located upon a rented farm, thus carrying on agricultural pursuits for ten years. The capital which he saved during that period enabled him to purchase one hundred and eighty acres of land in Martinsburg township where he now resides, the so-called "improvements" consisting of a small house and twenty acres under cultivation. With characteristic energy he began placing his fields under cultivation and he erected good buildings and fences. The splendid appearance of the farm at the present time is due to the efforts and energy of John H. Cooper, who has led a busy, useful and practical life and his years of industry have been crowned with success. From time to time as his financial resources permitted he would add other lands to his holdings until he now owns five hundred and seventeen acres constituting a very valuable property. He has carried on farming operations on an extensive scale and he has han- dled a large number of cattle and other stock. At one. time he was extensively engaged in feeding stock and his business interests were carefully controlled and brought to him a most gratifying financial return. In 1875 he built upon his farm a nice residence which he yet occupies.

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Past and present of Pike County, Illinois, Part 29

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