USA > Illinois > Pike County > Past and present of Pike County, Illinois > Part 41
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John E. Dinsmore pursued his education in the common schools and entered business life when twenty-one years of age. He farmed at home until December, 1904, when he removed to Pittsfield. In 1890 his mother went to Jack- sonville to live. He and his sister own two hundred and forty acres of fine farm land on sections 23 and 26, Hardin township, constitut- ing a well improved property. Mr. Dinsmore now superintends his farm and when he resided there- on he also engaged in raising and shipping stock, buying and feeding cattle, horses and hogs.
Mr. Dinsmore was married in 1880 to Miss Laura Hatcher, a native of Pike county, who was born near Milton, May 25, 1861, and is a daugh- ter of John and Rebecca (Boren) Hatcher. The father's birth occurred in Kentucky, while the mother's birth occurred in Pike county, her par- ents having been pioneer settlers here. Mr. Hatcher was a farmer, owning and operating a good tract of land, but both he and his wife are now deceased. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dinsmore have been born eight children: Jessie, Carrie, John, Katherine, Helen, Ernestine, Mildred and Hugh.
Mr. Dinsmore is a member of the Modern Woodmen camp, No. 2313, at Time, and also belongs to lodge No. 569, A. F. & A. M., at Time, and Milton chapter, No. 118, R. A. M., while his wife is a devoted member of the Christ- ian church. He has been a democrat all of his life and while living upon the farm served for sixteen years as justice of the peace. In 1904 he was elected circuit clerk and removed to Pitts- field, where he now resides with his family. He has ever been loyal to the trusts reposed in him, whether of a public or private nature, and his life has ever been honorable and upright. By the faithful performance of his daily duties he has found courage and strength for the work of the next day and in all life's relations has been straightforward and reliable.
GRANVILL O. SMITH.
Granvill O. Smith is the cashier of the Hillview Bank, in Greene county, Illinois, which is a branch of the Bank of Pearl. He was born in Pike county about three miles east of Perry on the Ioth of August, 1886, and is a son of George M. and Hattie J. (Wilkins) Smith. His father is now serving as sheriff of Pike county. The mother died June 22, 1904, in Pittsfield. When only two years of age Granvill O, Smith was taken by his parents to Griggsville, where he acquired his preliminary education. The family afterward removed to Pittsfield in 1902 and he there attend-
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ed school for two years. He next went to Quincy, Illinois, where he pursued a ten months' course in the Gem City Business College, and on the 30th of June, 1905, he returned to Pittsfield, where he secured the position of cashier in the Hillview Bank, which he is now filling. This is an excellent and responsible position for a young man of his years and he has made a splendid start perity as the years advance.
Thomas O. Wike, one of this number, was which argues well for greater honors and pros- . reared and educated in Barry township and in
GEORGE H. WIKE.
George H. Wike is engaged in the insurance business in Barry, his native city. He was born May 1, 1875, and is a son of Thomas O. and El- mira (Cochran) Wike. His father was born in Barry township, in 1848, and was a son of David J. and Drusilla (Orr) Wike, who were of Ger- man descent. The former was born in Cumber- land county, Pennsylvania, in 1821, and was the youngest son of George and Mary (Essig) Wike, both of whom were natives of the Keystone state, in which George Wike died in 1825. The grandfather of our subject, reared and educated in the east, settled in Quincy, Illinois, in 1842 and was there engaged in the woolen business for two years, when he removed to Barry town- ship, Pike county, and in connection with his brothers, George and Joseph, and J. P. Grubb erected a factory for the manufacture of woolen goods on section 23. The new enterprise proved profitable and an extensive business was carried on for five years, at the end of which time David J. Wike sold his interest and purchased a farm in New Salem township, devoting the succeeding three years to its cultivation and improvement. He then returned to Barry and in 1847 was mar- ried to Miss Drusilla, daughter of Thomas Orr and a native of Randolph county, Illinois, born in 1828. Mr. and Mrs. Wike settled upon his farm in the spring of 1853, the place comprising two hundred acres of land valued at seventy-five dollars per acre, and to the further development and cultivation of the place he devoted his ener-
gies. He was the first member initiated into the Masonic order at Barry-the year being 1845, and his name is indelibly inscribed upon the pages of Pike county history, because of his active con- nection with many events contributing to its ma- terial progress and permanent improvement. In his family were seven children.
his youth performed various duties which were assigned to him in connection with the cultiva- tion of the home farm. He was married in 1872 to Miss Elmira Cochran, who was born in Bay- lis, in October, 1849, and unto them were born five children: George H., Elizabeth E., Berl H., Charles Owen and Glenn E., all of whom are liv- ing in Barry. The father was a farmer, owning and operating forty acres of land. He held mem- bership in the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and enjoyed in large measure the respect of his brethren of that fraternity and of the gen- eral public as well. He belonged to the pioneer generation of Barry's citizens and was an inter- ested witness of the progress and development of the county through many years. He died in 1900 at the age of fifty-one years, while his wife passed away in July, 1902.
Reared in the county of his nativity and in- debted to the public-school system for the edu- cational privileges which have qualified him for life's practical and responsible duties, George H. Wike has for some time conducted a large and growing insurance business in Barry. He is now district agent and also special agent for the Phoenix Fire Insurance Company of Brooklyn, New York, and also for the Insurance Company of North America and the National Fire Insur- ance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. His territory covers Pike, Adams, Hancock, Morgan, Calhoun and Cass counties. For three years he was in partnership with Perry C. Allen, of Pitts- field, but is now alone in business and has a large clientage.
In 1901 Mr. Wike was married to Miss Gretta E. Greene, who was born in Pike county, near Barry, in September, 1880, and is a daughter of J. M. and and Hannah (Tilton) Greene, who are residing near Barry. The father is a breeder
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of Shetland ponies, also handles cattle and is the owner of one hundred and twelve acres of val- uable land. In his family were three daughters : Mrs. Wike, who was educated in music; Mrs. Nora Taylor, who is living in Trinidad, Colo- rado; and Della, at home.
Mr. Wike is a member of Barry lodge, No. 34, A. F. & A. M .; also Barry chapter, No. 88, R. A. M .; Knights of Pythias lodge, No. 567, and the Mutual Protective League. He votes with the democracy and has been alderman of Barry since 1901, but is far from being a poli- tician in the usually accepted sense, and his pres- ent office holding comes only from an earnest de- sire to aid in the promotion of the city's welfare and its progress along substantial lines of im- provement.
JACOB WINDMILLER.
Jacob Windmiller, ex-sheriff of Pike county and one of its prominent citizens, was born in Spring Creek township, January 3, 1849, and was the second son of Peter and Sevelia (Apple- gate) Windmiller. The father was born in Ger- many in 1816 and on crossing the Atlantic to the United States in 1832 settled in Pennsylvania, where he remained for two years. He then took up his abode on section 7, Spring Creek town- ship, Pike county, Illinois, in 1834, and remained upon that farm for eight years, after which he purchased another farm, on section 19 of the same township. He was an energetic agriculturist and during his residence in Spring Creek township did much toward developing a good farm. His second property is now a part of the town of Nebo. He spent his remaining days upon that farm, passing away in the winter of 1876. In connection with general agricultural pursuits he carried on merchandising and he did his full share toward the agricultural and commercial de- velopment of the county. In his death the com- munity felt that it had lost one of its most worthy pioneer citizens.
Jacob Windmiller was reared under the pa- rental roof, remaining with his parents until twen- ty-five years of age, during which time he ac-
quired a good practical education in the public schools and also learned the best methods of car- ing for the farm property. In the fall of 1870 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary S. Stone, who was born in Kentucky and was a daughter of Nathan Stone, who came to Illinois from the former state during the infancy of his daughter, Mrs. Windmiller. He located in Pike county, becoming one of its enterprising agricul- turists.
Following his marriage Mr. Windmiller set- tled in Pleasant Hill township, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits, making his home upon his first farm for two years. He then pur- chased one hundred and twenty-nine acres of land near Nebo, which he managed and at the same time conducted a hotel and a livery barn in the town. Being a good practical farmer and a sound business man, he carried on both enter- prises with success until 1886, when he was elected sheriff of Pike county and in the fall of the same year took up his residence in Pittsfield, where he lived for some time. He was eminently fitted for the office and his whole course during his incumbency showed him to possess rare tact, unfaltering bravery and sound judgement. He ever displayed the qualities of a public-spirited citizen, acting without regard to party affiliation or personal prejudices. He served as sheriff four years, filling the office in a most capable manner. Following his service in the office of sheriff he was elected county treasurer of Pike county for a four years' term. In politics he is a stalwart democrat and has filled a number of local po- sitions, including that of coroner while residing in Nebo, a position which he resigned when elect- ed sheriff.
Mr. Windmiller is still closely associated with the agricultural interests of Pike county, owning two hundred and seventy acres of valuable land on section 12, Pittsfield township, where he re- sides. He has a beautiful home here with all modern improvements upon his farm, including commodious and substantial barns, well kept fences and other equipments. His land is richly cultivated and annually returns to him good har- vests and he is also a successful stockman, rais- ing horses and polled Angus cattle.
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Unto Mr. and Mrs. Windmiller have been born five children, three of whom are now living : Loren O., Lena B. and Laurel L., while Olaf E. and Harry J. died in infancy. Mr. Windmiller is a prominent and influential Mason, belonging to Pleasant Hill lodge, No. 565, A. F. & A. M .; Pittsfield chapter, No. 10, R. A. M .; and Pitts- field commandery, K. T. He has a wide and fa- vorable acquaintance in the county in which his entire life has been passed, possessing a cordial disposition, genial manner and enterprising spirit which render him popular socially as well as in business and political circles.
STEPHEN M. HOLT.
Stephen M. Holt is the owner of a valuable farm of one hundred and ten acres of finely im- proved land in New Salem township, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. The place is improved with an attractive and com- fortable residence and good 'buildings for the shelter of grain and stock, In fact none of the equipments of a model farm of the twentieth century are lacking here and Mr. Holt is recog- nized as a leading representative of agricultural interests in Pike county. He was born in Sulli- van county, Tennessee, on the 5th of September, 1855, his parents being George and Elizabeth (Lots) Holt, who were married in Tennessee, where the father followed the occupation of farm- ing. His death occurred in that state in 1864 and his wife, long surviving him, passed away in Tennessee in 1898. In their family were six children, of whom three are now living : Stephen M .; Jesse E., who resides in Tennessee; and Noah D., also of that state.
Stephen M. Holt acquired his education in the common schools of Tennessee and in early life became acquainted with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He ar- rived in Pike county in 1876, when a young man of twenty-one years and here began his business career as a farm hand, being thus employed for two years. He was then married and took up his abode upon a farm owned by his wife, but
after two years that property was sold and Mr. Holt purchased one hundred and ten acres on section 36, New Salem township, where he now resides. He raises cattle and hogs and his fields are devoted to the cultivation of corn and other cereals. He is practical in his methods, accom- plishing much by his close application and unfal- tering industry, and he is deserving of consid- erable credit for what he has done, because he started out in life empty-handed and all that he now possesses has been obtained through his earn- est and well directed labors.
On the 29th of December, 1878, Mr. Holt was united in marriage to Miss Melvina Willsey, who was born July 4, 1860, in Pike county, Illinois, and was a daughter of Charles and Lydia Will- sey. Her father's birth occurred in New York in 1827 and when a young man he came to Pike county with his father and family, his father be- ing one of the early settlers here. Charles Will- sey gave his attention to agricultural pursuits in Pittsfield township and for many years was a re- spected and worthy agriculturist of the commu- nity. He died in the year 1874 and is still sur- vived by his wife, who is now living west of Pittsfield and is nearly eighty years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Willsey were the parents of seven chil- dren : Mrs. Holt ; Barnett Willsey, who is living in Kansas; Margaret, the wife of T. F. James, a resident of Pittsfield township; Emily, the wife of Robert Salee, who resides west of Pittsfield ; Louisa, the wife of Richard Woolfolk, who is living in Martinsburg township; Edward, who resides in Pittsfield; and Della, the wife of Wil- liam Underwood.
Mr. and Mrs. Holt have a family of six chil- dren : George Walter, who married Anna Brauer and resides at Chapin, Illinois; Grace V., who married Floyd Carnes and is living in Phillips, Nebraska ; Maud, Dora Dell, Ross and Cecil, all at home. The family occupy a fine residence sit- uated in the midst of a splendidly improved and valuable farm. Mrs. Holt is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Holt gives his political support to the democracy and belongs to lodge No. 790, A. F. & A. M., of Pittsfield, to the Modern Woodmen camp, the Protective League and the Fraternal Army. His earnest labors have
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been directed by sound judgment and in the busi- ness world he has achieved a fair measure of suc- cess which shows that his labors have been well directed, while the respect in which he is held indicates that his life has been honorable and straightforward.
JOHN G. YAEGER.
That John G. Yaeger has a wide acquaintance and that his friends are many is indicated by the fact that he is so uniformly addressed by his first name in the community and county in which his entire life has been passed. He is one of the prosperous farmers, stock-raisers and stock-feed- ers of this section of the state and his business ability is indicated in his capable management of his farm of six hundred acres, which is attrac- tive in appearance and is also a source of grati- fying profit because of the fine crops which are produced and the good stock raised upon his place. Mr. Yaeger was born in Newburg town- ship, April 22, 1857, and, as the name indicates, comes of German lineage. His father, Andrew Yaeger, is a native of Germany and became one of the early settlers of Pike county, where for many years he was numbered among the substan- tial, active and energetic farmers. His sketch ap- pears elsewhere in this work.
John G. Yaeger grew to manhood in Hardin township, acquiring a common-school education, remaining upon the old homestead farm with his father until he had attained his majority, assist- ing him in the work of field and meadow, so that he became familiar with all the duties that fell to the lot of the agriculturist. Following his mar- riage he rented a farm which he operated for a year and then settled in Spring Creek township and bought land and engaged in the operation of it for ten years. He then sold that property and bought the place upon which he now resides, set- tling here about 1887. He at first had one hun- dred and forty-six acres of land which he at once began to cultivate and improve. His labors were attended with success so that he was enabled to purchase more land from time to time until he
is now the owner of six hundred acres, of which three hundred acres is in the home place. He has built a good house, has fenced the farm, has also built two barns and altogether has an ex- cellent property. Much of his land is planted in blue grass, so that there is excellent pasturage for his stock and the fields supply feed for the win- ter. Seventy acres, however, are reserved for crops. He has been engaged in stock-raising throughout the years of his active business ca- reer and he fattens for the market from three to five carloads of cattle and from three to five car- loads of hogs and two carloads of sheep each year. He is one of the most extensive stock deal- ers of the county and he topped the Chicago mar- ket three times in succession with fat Aberdeen Angus cattle. He is indeed one of the most suc- cessful stock feeders of the county and he also breeds Aberdeen Angus cattle, having a pure- blooded Aberdeen Angus bull at the head of his herd.
On the 4th of November, 1878, Mr. Yeager was married in Hardin township to Miss Enzella Williams, a daughter of William Williams, and in December, 1888, he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife. There are four living chil- dren born of that marriage : Marion, who is mar- ried and resides in Peoria; Lillie, Lonnie and Howard. After losing his first wife Mr. Yaeger was again married, April 8, 1888, the sec- ond union being with Catherine B. Bauer, a na- tive of Hardin, Pike county, and a daughter of George Bauer, who was born in Germany and became one of the early settlers of this state. There are nine children by this marriage: Ada, Charles, John G., Frederick, Katie, Jessie, May, Nellie and Mary.
Politically Mr. Yaeger is a stalwart democrat, but is without aspiration for public office. He is a believer in good schools and in the employ- ment of competent teachers and for sixteen years has been a school director, acting as clerk and also as president of the board. He has also served as commissioner of highways and has been a dele- gate to the county conventions of his party. His interest in community affairs is deep and sincere and has led him to give active support to many measures for the general good. A Master Mason
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he belongs to the lodge at Time and has filled all of its offices save that of master. He is likewise a member of the Woodmen camp and is also insured in the Northwestern and Pike County Mutual Associations. Mr. Yaeger is perhaps best known throughout the county as a breeder, feeder and shipper of stock and is recognized as a man of good business ability and of broad in- tegrity and worth, having the confidence and es- teem of the community. He started out in life on his own account a poor boy with little means save his strong determination and laudable am- bition to achieve success and he has through his earnest labor, industry and good business man- agement accumulated a valuable property, so that he is today classed with the substantial men of the county.
R. T. HICKS.
R. T. Hicks, cashier of the First National Bank of Pittsfield, who has been an active factor in various business and public interests contrib- uting to the welfare and prosperity of this city, was born upon a farm four miles south of Pitts- field on the 19th of April, 1849, and is a son of Colonel D. D. Hicks, who is represented else- where in this work. The ancestry of the family may be traced back through several generations. His paternal great-grandfather, Simeon Hicks, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, while the grandfather, Truman B. Hicks, for whom R. T. Hicks was named, fought for his country in the war of 1812. The father, Colonel D. D. Hicks, won his title as commander of the One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Regiment of the state militia of New York, and these facts indicate that the mil- itary spirit has not been lacking in the family.
During the very early boyhood of R. T. Hicks his parents removed to Pittsfield, where his edu- cation was acquired, and between the ages of twelve and seventeen years, when not busy with .his text-books, his time was largely given to work upon his father's farm. Leaving the high school at the age of seventeen, he afterward pursued a short course in a commercial college at St. Louis and then entered upon his business career as as-
sistant to his father, who at that time was cash- ier of the First National Bank of Pittsfield. This bank had its beginning in a meeting in the old courthouse on the 28th of January, 1865. The organization was effected and the bank capital- ized for fifty thousand dollars, with C. L. Higbee as president, C. P. Chapman as cashier and D. D. Hicks as assistant cashier. After a year Mr. Hicks became cashier and R. T. Hicks was made . assistant cashier. Upon the retirement of his father from the position of cashier our subject became his successor and has since remained in that position. On the 15th of February, 1879, the capital stock was increased to eighty thousand dollars and in 1884 to one hundred thousand dol- lars, and the capital and surplus at the present writing, January, 1906, are one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. From the begin- ning this bank has maintained a foremost place among the strong and reliable financial institu- tions of this part of the state and its reputation is attributable in no small degree to the efforts of R. T. Hicks, who since May, 1867, has been connected with the institution and who for thir- teen years has been its popular cashier.
Not alone to banking interests, however, has Mr. Hicks confined his attention. The greatest period of building activity which the city of Pitts- field has enjoyed followed the organization of a savings and loan association. Mr. Hicks called a meeting for the purpose of organizing such an association, was made its treasurer and con- tinued in that position until the affairs of the as- sociation were wound up with profit to all con- cerned. He was also one of the organizers of the Pike County Telephone Company, which was capitalized for twenty-five hundred dollars. From the time the capital was first increased he has been its president. The capital at the present time is seventy-five thousand dollars and from the beginning the company has never failed to earn and pay regular dividends. This is an in- stitution which has been of great benefit to busi- ness conditions in the county as well as a source of individual profit to the stockholders. Mr. Hicks also assisted in the organization of the Home Telephone Company of Greenville, Texas, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars,
R. T. HICKS
LIBRARY Ot THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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and has been its president from the beginning. This has had an equally successful existence and, in fact, the various business enterprises with which Mr. Hicks has been connected have proven profitable, for he carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. He possesses keen discrimination, sound business judgment, strong executive force and enterprise, and these are indispensable factors in modern business con- ditions.
In October, 1872, Mr. Hicks was married to Miss Charlotte L. Abbott, and unto them have been born two sons and two daughters: George D., who is now assistant cashier in the First Na- tional Bank of Pittsfield; Fred A., a traveling salesman representing a Boston house; Nettie. L. and Julia C., who are at home.
In community affairs effecting the material, political, social, intellectual and moral progress of the community Mr. Hicks has been deeply, actively and helpfully interested. He has never been an office seeker and, in fact, has always pre- ferred to avoid office holding, yet feeling that he should bear his full share of the responsibilities of citizenship he has consented, at the solicitation of his fellow townsmen, to act as alderman for many terms and was also mayor of the city. He has frequently been a member of the board of education and the cause of public instruction has found in him a warm and stalwart friend. He was alderman at the time of the construction of the water works and also at the time when street paving was begun in Pittsfield. When it was proposed to build the new courthouse for the county he was made the chairman of the ways and means committee, which raised from the city of Pittsfield more than one-third of the amount required for building purposes. Mr. Hicks gave his political allegiance to the democracy until 1896, when free coinage became the issue of the people, when, like thousands of others who up to that time had advocated the democratic ticket, he became a supporter of "sound money." For twenty years he has served as superintendent of the leading Sunday-school of the county and for seven years has been president of the County Sunday-School Association. His entire life has been passed in Pike county, where he is regarded
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