USA > Illinois > Pike County > Past and present of Pike County, Illinois > Part 47
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Franklin M. Fenton was reared upon his fa- ther's farm and acquired his preliminary educa- tion in the district schools, while later he at- tended the Pittsfield high school. He remained with his father, and upon attaining his majority took charge of the home farm, since which time he has given undivided attention to agricultural pursuits and raising and feeding stock.
On the 11th of September, 1901, in Jackson- ville, Illinois, Mr. Fenton was united in marriage to Miss Flora Kelley, a native of Newburg town- ship, and a daughter of William W. Kelley, 1 prosperous farmer of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton began their domestic life upon the old homestead farm, where they now reside, and their union has been blessed with three children : Char- lotte May, born August 3, 1902 ; Geneva Lillian, born November 25, 1903; and Margery Mildred, born December 16, 1905. Mr. Fenton gives his undivided attention to general agricultural pur- suits and stock-raising and feeding, making a specialty of feeding hogs, raising one hundred or more head per year. He also, raises good horses and cattle, however, and has made a start in the sheep industry, and raises all kinds of grain adapted to his locality. In his work he is prac- tical and energetic, and his labors have been at- tended with a gratifying degree of prosperity. Politically he is a democrat, but prefers to vote for men rather than party, and to give his at- tention to his business affairs rather than to seek- ing office. His farm is well improved with
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modern equipments, and everything about his place is kept up in accordance with the modern ideas of farming, according to the best of his ability.
H. CLAUDE FORTUNE, M. D.
Dr. H. Claude Fortune is numbered among the younger representatives of the medical fraternity in Pike county, but his years seem no bar to his progress nor success. He is associated in practice with his father at Pleasant Hill, and his excellent qualifications for his profession and his conform- ity to a high standard of professional ethics have gained him favorable regard throughout the com- munity. He was born in Prairieville, Pike county, Missouri, on the 5th of October, 1872, and when about two years of age was brought to Pike county, Illinois, by his father, Dr. H. D. Fortune. His preliminary education was acquired in the public schools of Pleasant Hill, and he entered upon the preparation for his chosen profession under the direction of his father. When Presi- dent Mckinley called for volunteers for the Span- ish-American war he was one of the first to en- list from Pike county. He comes of a fighting ancestry, his great-grandfather having been a soldier of the Revolution, while his father was an officer in the Confederate service in the Civil war. Dr. Fortune of this review went with his company to Manila, and entered the hospital serv- ice there, being connected with the United States army for more than three years. Following his discharge he returned home and spent four and a half years as a student in the medical depart- ment of the St. Louis University, being gradu- ated with the class of 1905. He then joined his father in practice in Pleasant Hill, and is now one of the successful physicians of the county, being in every way qualified for his chosen life work, in which he is now meeting with gratifying suc- cess. He has had extensive experience for so young a man, especially in the line of surgery, and has done excellent work in that department of practice.
Dr. Fortune was married in Vandalia, Mis- souri, September 26, 1904, to Miss Fannie But-
ler, a native of that state, and a daughter of Judge W. A. Butler, who occupied the bench of the county court of Ralls county. Dr. Fortune votes with the democracy, where national issues are involved, but at local elections casts an inde- pendent ballot. He is a Master Mason of Pleas- ant Hill lodge, and is now serving as junior warden. Having spent his entire life in this vil- lage, he has a wide acquaintance; and the fact that many of his stanchest friends are numbered among these who have known him from his boy- hood to the present is an indication that he is well worthy of the regard that is uniformly given him.
W. B. POWELL.
The development and progress of every com- munity depends upon its business interests and the class of men who are in control of its indus- trial and commercial affairs. In this connection Mr. Powell may well be termed one of the promi- nent and leading citizens of Barry, where he is ex- tensively and successfully engaged in the manufac- ture of cigars, which he sells to wholesale trade. He has conducted the business for twenty-five years with gratifying prosperity and, moreover, he is a stockholder and also one of the directors of the First National Bank of the town. His keen busi- ness discernment and unfaltering energy consti- tute the basis of success, which is as commendable as it is desirable.
Mr. Powell is a native of Missouri, his birth having occurred in Hannibal on the 12th of Au- gust, 1861. His parents, John E. and Eliza (Truitt) Powell, were both natives of Maryland, and in their childhood days accompanied their respective parents on the removal of the families to Missouri. John E. Powell became a tobacco worker, carrying on that business for some time. He passed away on the 18th of April, 1905, and his widow still survives and yet makes her home in Hannibal, Missouri. In their family were seven children, five of whom are yet living.
W. B. Powell, reared under the parental roof, pursued his education in the public schools of Hannibal and in early life learned the trade of
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manufacturing cigars. For twenty-five years he has been engaged in business in Barry, establish- ing his manufactory here on the 18th of April, 1881. He manufactures high grade cigars of the best quality and has gained a splendid repu- tation for the desirability of his output. He finds a ready sale for his product in Missouri, Illi- nois, Iowa, Nebraska and other states. He began business on a small scale, but his trade gradually increased in extent and importance until he is now in control of the largest cigar manufactory in the county. He follows the most modern pro- cesses in the work of manufacturing, and his very liberal patronage is indicative of the favor which his product finds with the trade.
On the 22d of December, 1886, Mr. Powell was united in marriage to Miss Carrie E. Wagy, of Plainville, Illinois, who was born on the 10th of December, 1863, and is a daughter of Oscar and Rebecca (Decker) Wagy. Mrs. Powell is a native of Adams county, Illinois, where her par- ents located at an early day. Her parental grand- parents were Henry and Eleanor (Stone) Wagy. The grandfather was of German lineage, and was the second man to settle in the city of Quincy, removing to Adams county from Licking county, Ohio. He was accompanied by his family and took up his abode on the present site of Quincy, where he lived for a brief period, after which he purchased the "smoking Dutchman's" place in Melrose township, Adams county. When he disposed of that property he removed to Mc- Craney creek, where he lived for a few years, and then established his home near Plainville, where he purchased a farm residing thereon until his death. He was closely associated with the early agricultural development of Adams county and reclamation of this wild land for the uses of the white race. He lived there when almost the entire district was in its primitive condition, when wild game of all kinds was plentiful, and he became one of the noted deer hunters of his day. Oscar Wagy, father of Mrs. Powell, was reared in Adams county amid the scenes of pioneer life and was married there to Miss Rebecca Jane Decker. The Deckers were of Irish lineage, and became early settlers of Richfield township, Adams county. Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Wagy be-
gan their domestic life upon a farm and became prosperous agriculturists of the community in which they resided, eventually owning seven hun- dred and forty-five acres of valuable and pro- ductive land there. In their family were ten chil- dren. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wagy have now de- parted this life.
Mr. and Mrs. Powell have a beautiful home in Barry, where they reside. Their residence is finished in hardwood throughout, and is built in modern style of architecture. It stands in the midst of beautiful and well kept grounds, and indeed is one of the most pleasant residences of the town. Its hospitality, too, adds to its charm, and the various social functions there held are greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. Powell is an honored member of Barry lodge, No. 34, A. F. & A. M., the Royal Arch chapter, No. 88, and is also a member of the Eastern Star. He likewise belongs to the Court of Honor, the Knights of Pythias fraternity and Pike County Mutual Association, while his wife is an earnest member and active worker in the Methodist Epis- copal church. Both are highly esteemed for their genuine worth; and Mr. Powell has made a most creditable business record, his keen insight into business situations, his ready mastery of intricate problems and his unfaltering diligence proving a safe and sure foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of his present prosperity.
T. W. SHASTID, M. D.
D .: T. W. Shastid, who since 1856 has been engaged in the practice of medicine and is one of the venerable and honored members of the medical fraternity in Pittsfield, was born near Petersburg, Menard county, Illinois, on the 26th of August, 1831, a son of John G. and Elizabeth B. (Edwards) Shastid. The father was born at Green River, Kentucky, in 1798, and was of French lineage, his grandfather being a French Huguenot, who was born in the northern part of France. John G. Shastid was only eight years of age when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Tennessee, where he remained until
DR T. W. SHASTID
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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1818, when he married Miss Elizabeth B. Edwards, who was born in Rutherford county, North Caro- lina, in 1794, and went with her parents at an early age to Tennessee. Following their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Shastid resided in that state until 1828, when they came to Illinois, settling in Sangamon county, where Mr. Shastid entered land and engaged in farming and stock-raising until the year 1835. Becoming dissatisfied with that locality, he made arrangements to remove to Pike county, settling in Pittsfield on the 20th of January, 1836. He took up his abode in the town in order to educate his children and in this county he was engaged in farming, teaming and other pursuits for about seven years, when he was elected constable. In the meantime he was appointed deputy sheriff of Pike county, in which capacity he served for about eight years. He likewise acted as mail carrier and in the discharge of his various public duties displayed marked capability and fidelity. His death occurred on the 5th of February, 1874, while his wife passed away on the 8th of December, 1863. She was a devoted wife and mother and an earnest Christ- ian woman. Mr. Shastid was also a member of the church and commanded the respect and con- fidence of all who knew him. He spent his last days in the home of his son, Dr. Shastid, of this review. In their family were nine children.
Dr. T. W. Shastid pursued his early education in Pittsfield and prepared for his chosen profes- sion in the medical department of the University of Missouri, at St. Louis, from which he was graduated in March, 1856. Before taking up the study of medicine, however, he taught for two terms and had pursued his preliminary reading under the direction of Dr. O. S. Campbell and Professor John T. Hodges, and also at Cincinnati under Dr. N. J. Elsenheimer, A. J. Ganvoort. Richard Schliewer and Frank Van der Stucker. Following his graduation he came to Pittsfield, where he practiced for a year and then went to Pleasant Hill, where he remained for five and a half years, after which he returned to Pitts- field, where he has since been in active practice. He has been a frequent contributor to medical journals on his original investigation, resulting in gleaning many valuable truths that caused his
writings to be a helpful addition to medical lit- erature. He is a member of the County, State and American Medical Associations and is now president of the Medical Society of Pittsfield. Everything that tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life is of interest to him and in his practice he has con- tinually sought out new methods for the further alleviation of suffering and the restoration of health and has found in the faithful performance of each day's duty courage and strength for the labors of the succeeding day.
On the 2d of August, 1860, Dr. Snastid was married to Miss Mary F. Edwards, of Columbus, Ohio, and they had one child, William E., who is now a practicing physician of Pittsfield. Mrs. Shastid died on .. the ioth of April, 1864, and on the Ist of October; 1865, the Doctor was again married, his second union being with Louise M. Hall, of Pittsfield, a daughter of Thomas Hall, Sr., and a sister of Thomas Hall, Jr., of this city. There have been three children by this marrige. Thomas Hall Shastid, born July 19, 1866, was educated in Pittsfield, at the Eureka College, at Eureka, Illinois, and Harvard University, from which classic institution he was graduated. He studied medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at New York for two years, was grad- uated at the University of Vermont and is now practicing medicine in Harrisburg, Illinois. He was married May 16, 1887, to Miss Fannie Cor- delia English, a sister of Harry English, a mer- chant of Pittsfield. Following his graduation Thomas Hall Shastid went to Europe, spent some time in study in Vienna, Austria, and also took post-graduate courses in Germany. He was grad- uated from the University of Michigan, receiving the degrees of A. M. and LL. B. He practiced in Pittsfield for two years before his removal to his present home. He has not only attained prominence in the medical profession but has also gained more than local note as a writer of prose and poetry. One of his volumes, entitled "A Country Doctor," has his father as its main character. Jon Sheperd, born January 20, 1870, was educated in Pittsfield, began the study of music under his mother's direction, afterward studied under Professor George Crawford, of
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Pittsfield, and later went to Chicago, where he was a student under Professor Liebling for a year. He then went to Wichita, Kansas, where he studied under Professor Metcalf, and during the succeeding two years was a pupil of Profes- sor E. M. Bowman in New York. He next es- tablished a conservatory of music in Pittsfield, which he conducted for six years, doing a fine business, and on the expiration of that period he went to New York, where he is now preparing for special work. He possesses superior talent that has already gained wide recognition, and he is making constant progress in his art. He mar- ried Miss Anna Barton, a daughter of Isaac Bar- ton, on the 6th of September, 1892, and on the 27th of February, 1895, she departed this life. Professor Shastid was again married November 3, 1897, to Miss Mary Barton, a daughter of John Barton and a native of this county. Joseph Cal- vin Shastid, born April 13, 1877, was educated in the Pittsfield schools, studied the foreign lan- guages under private teachers and took up the study of music under his brother Jon at the Con- servatory of Music in Pittsfield, where he was graduated on the 3Ist of November, 1895. He afterward became a student in the College of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was under the private instruction of Albino Gorno and John Brockhoeven, studying the violin. He spent three years in that city, after which he went to St. Louis, where he studied under Professor Kroe- ger, director of music at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, remaining in that city for one year. He then returned home and established the Pitts- field Piano School, which he has since conducted. He has classes in both piano and harmony. In the spring of 1905 he returned to Cincinnati and was married to Miss Mabel Bradley, a daughter of H. C. Bradley, a large manufacturer of that city.
Dr. Shastid is a republican and a member of the Masonic fraternity, while he and his family are all members of the Christian church. He has been medical examiner for several societies, and since the early days of his residence in Pittsfield has maintained a prominent position as a fore- most representative of the medical fraternity of Pike county. Moreover, he is honored for his
genuine personal worth and his prominence is none the less the result of professional skill than1 an irreproachable private life. He takes special delight in the study of philology, music, sculpture and painting.
ROBERT E. CUNNINGHAM.
Robert F. Cunningham, living on section 25, Hardin township, is one of the active and thrifty farmers and stock-raisers of the community, in which he has long made his home, and. in the control of his farm of two hundred acres he shows thorough familiarity with modern methods and their practical utilization in the every-day af- fairs of business life. His birth occurred in Pike county, June 17, 1865. His father, Thomas Cun- ningham, was one of the early settlers of the county and assisted in the material development of this section of the state at a time when prog- ress and improvement had scarcely been begun. He married Miss Sarah Edmondson, a native of Ireland. He owned and operated land near Griggsville for several years and after selling that property, bought two hundred and eighty acres where he now resides, continuing to devote his entire life to agricultural pursuits. He passed away upon this farm in February, 1902. His wife survives him, and now resides in Baylis.
Robert E. Cunningham is the third in order of birth in a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters, and with the exception of one of the daughters all are yet living. He spent his youth in the usual manner of farmer lads, attend- ing the common schools and working in the fields through the summer months. His father was given the benefit of his services until he attained his majority when he started out in life on his own account, and made arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Mar- garet Hunter, whom he wedded in Pittsfield on the Ioth of February, 1904. She was born and reared in Newburg township near Pittsfield and was a daughter of Robert Hunter, one of the early settlers and substantial farmers of the county, who came from Ireland to the new world when a lad of nine years. Prior to his marriage Mr.
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Cunningham had purchased the place upon which he now resides and had made some improvements there. He has built a good barn, also erected a substantial residence, and by well kept fences has divided the place into fields of convenient size. Through the careful rotation of crops, the use of good seeds and the proper cultivation of the soil he is enabled to gather annually good harvests; and in connection with his farming he raises good grades of stock, feeding and fatten- ing each year a large number of swine for the market. Mr. Cunningham commenced life emp- ty-handed, and has accumulated what he pos- sesses through his own efforts, becoming a sub- stantial resident of the community.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham have been born two daughters, Helen Edith and Sadie J. Politically he was a democrat where national is- sues were involved, but he is now independent in politics, having supported Theodore Roosevelt at the last election. Locally he votes for the men best qualified for office without regard to party affiliation. He belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge at Milton, and the Mutual Protective League. As the years have passed by his circle of acquaintances has been extended and the circle of his friends has grown proportionately. He possesses good traits of character which insure kindly regard; and his genial nature has won for him the friendship of many with whom he has come in contact.
WARREN S. SPENCER.
Warren S. Spencer, interested in general farm- ing on section II, Pleasant Vale township, is 'a native of Derry township, Pike county, born on the 22d of January, 1856, his parents being Franklin and Luretta (Pursley) Spencer. The father, a native of Kentucky, removed from that
began clearing his land when his life's labors were ended in death. Wild animals were very numerous in this part of the county at that time, and many hardships and trials incident to pioneer life were to be endured. Two sons survived the father's death: Thomas J., who was born in 1847, and is now living on the old homestead in Derry township; and Warren S., of this review. After losing her first husband Mrs. Spencer be- came the wife of Joseph Turnbaugh, of Martins- burg township, where he died in November, 1886. Mrs. Turnbaugh is now living in Pittsfield in the enjoyment of a hale and hearty old age, having attained her eighty-first year on the 3Ist of July, 1905. There was one son of her second marriage, William B. Turnbaugh, of St. Louis.
Warren S. Spencer was reared in Derry and Martinsburg townships, acquiring his education in the public schools of the latter. He started out in life on his own account at the age of seventeen years and worked as a farm hand until he had at- tained his majority, after which he gave his atten- tion to the cultivation and improvement of the old homestead, which he inherited. He lived upon that place until the spring of 1883, when he sold his property in Derry township, and bought one hundred and fifty acres of land, where he now re- sides, having made his home thereon continuously since. In addition to tilling the soil he raises and feeds considerable stock, making a specialty of feeding hogs for the market. He also raises shorthorn cattle; and both branches of his business are proving profitable. His farm is a fine prop- erty, located on the bluffs and on the river bot- toms, and he has erected here an attractive coun- try residence and substantial barn. None of the improvements of a model farm are lacking and all the evidences of careful supervision and prac- tical management are here seen.
On the 21st of November, 1878, Mr. Spencer was united in marriage to Miss Belle Wheelan, who was born in Pleasant Vale township, Janu- Isabelle (Brown) Wheelan. Her father was born in Ireland in 1837 and came to St. Louis, Missouri, with his mother in 1848. He was a son of Richard and Mary (Scully) Wheelan ; and. the former died in 1846, after which the mother
state to Missouri and subsequently came to Pike, ary 25, 1860. She is a daughter of James and county, where he died July 25, 1856, when his son Warren was but five months old. He had followed farming in Derry township, having set- tled on three hundred and twenty acres of land when it was a wild timbered region. He had just
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crossed the Atlantic with her son, making the voyage in a sailing vessel, which was six weeks and four days upon the bosom of the Atlantic before dropping anchor in the harbor of New Orleans. They remained in St. Louis until 1855, when Mr. Wheelan came to Pike county, and en- tered the employ of Horace Palmer, a blacksmith. Later he followed the same pursuit on his own account in New Canton until 1873, when he turned his attention to farming, and in 1877 he took up his abode upon a farm, which he had purchased in 1870, and on which he has resided continuously since. He has here two hundred and forty acres of fine land on section 1,. Pleasant Vale township, improved with a beautiful home and substantial buildings for the shelter of grain and stock. He was married in 1857 to Miss Isa- belle Brown, a native of Ireland, and of their seven children, four are yet living, namely : Mary, the wife of John Kendrick, of Pleasant Vale township; Mrs. Spencer; William, who re- sides with his father, having lost his wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna Brammel, and who at her death left three children: John B., James S. and George S .; James G., who also lives with his father. He married Anna Hoverland, who has departed this life. One daughter, Ella, became the wife of John Lax, and at her death left a son, Alexander H. Rebecca married Ed. Fesler, and both are now deceased. They left two children, James W. and Ella W. Richard was the other member of the Wheelan family. ยท The mother died in 1873 and in 1877 Mr. Whee- lan married Eliza Brown. He is a democrat and a Royal Arch Mason.
Mr. and Mrs. Spencer have no children of their own; but have reared two of Mrs. Spencer's neph- ews, John B. and George S. Wheelan. In political views, he is a stalwart democrat, but without as- piration ,for office. Fraternally he belongs to Barry lodge, No. 336, I. O. O. F., of which he is a past noble grand; and he is likewise affiliated with the encampment. His membership relations also extend to the Knights of Pythias lodge at New Canton; and his wife is a member of the Methodist church. In 1886 they went to Cali- fornia, spending the year in that sunny clime for the benefit of Mr. Spencer's health. He has been
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