USA > Illinois > Pike County > Past and present of Pike County, Illinois > Part 49
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land, which adjoins Baylis and is splendidly lo- cated. His farm is on section 12, Hadley town- ship, and is a well improved property, the fields having been brought under a high state of culti- vation, while the fences are well kept and the buildings are in good repair. He has a fine home, tasteful in its furnishings and attractive in its surroundings. He keeps a large amount of cattle, hogs and horses and is a lover of good horses, having now in his possession some fine coach horses and also some fine driving stock. Moreover, he figures prominently in financial cir- cles in the county as the vice president of the Farmers Bank, with which he has been con- nected since its organization. In fact he was one of the organizers and is a stockholder, and from the beginning has occupied his present official connection therewith.
In 1885 Mr. Barnes was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Davidson, who was born September 4, 1859, and is a daughter of William and Susan (Hartman) Davidson, of Adams county, Illinois. Her father was a farmer by occupa- tion; but both he and his wife are now deceased. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have been born two
March 22, 1887, was graduated from the high school at Baylis in 1905, and is living at home ; Ralph D., born March 15, 1888, was educated in Baylis, and is also with his parents; Alta May, born May 16, 1892, died in 1897.
Robert Yates Barnes was educated in the com- Mr. Barnes has always voted with the repub- lican party, but does not seek nor desire the honors nor emoluments of public office. He served on the town board, however, and was a school director for years. He is a member of the Mod- ern Woodmen camp, No. 593, of Baylis, and of the Mutual Protective League. His wife and elder son are members of the Methodist church, and Mr. Barnes contributes generously to its sup- port. He keeps thoroughly informed concern- ing the conditions of the village and commu- nity, and gives active co-operation to many meas- ures for the public good. As the years have gone by he has developed extensive business in- terests which have proven to him a profitable source of income, and his life of industry is in- mon schools of Pike county and remained at home until twenty-one years of age when he trav- eled through the west, visiting Colorado, Cali- fornia and Washington. He. spent two years in the west, being in Seattle in 1882, when there were but five thousand inhabitants in the city. In 1884 he returned to Pike county and entered upon the occupation to which he had been reared. For a year he remained upon the home farm and then went to Missouri for the winter, but in the spring returned to this county and resumed general agricultural pursuits. He made his first purchase of land in 1887, becoming the owner of sixty acres in Adams county, Illinois, which he sold in 1894. He then bought where he now lives, owning one hundred and sixty acres of fine · dicative of the fact that faithfulness to duty and
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strict adherence to a fixed purpose in life will do more to advance a man's interests than wealth or advantageous circumstances.
ROBERT A. ANDERSON.
Robert A. Anderson is a self-made man who as the result of his industry, economy and well di- rected labors in former years is now enabled to live retired in the enjoyment of a comfortable competence. He makes his home in Griggsville, but for many years was identified with agricul- tural pursuits in Pike county. His birth oc- curred in Durham county, England, on the 3d of October, 1828, and when eleven years of age he started out in life on his own account, since which time he has depended upon his own re- sources for everything that he has secured and enjoyed. His parents were Anthony and Han- nah (Meggeson) Anderson, the former born in England in 1797, while the mother's birth oc- curred in England about 1799. They were mar- ried at Houghton Lee Springs, in Durham county, England, and the father died in his na- tive country in 1850, having for a number of years survived his wife, who passed away in 1836, when thirty-seven years of age. They had a family of five children, all of whom are living in Griggsville at the present time: Ralph, who was born in 1822. and is therefore eighty-three years of age; William, born February 22, 1825; Robert A., of this review; Jane, born June 20, 1830; and John M., born August 20, 1835.
Robert A. Anderson remained a resident of England until twenty-one years of age, when in company with his brother Ralph he took passage on a sailing vessel which weighed anchor at Liv- erpool in May, 1850. They landed at New York in July on the day that President Taylor was laid to rest. They did not tarry long in the east- ern metropolis, however, but went up the Hud- son river to Albany, thence by rail to Buffalo, New York, and by steamboat to Chicago, on the Michigan and Illinois canal to LaSalle and thence by boat down the Illinois river to Griggsville Landing. On the Ist of October, 1851, Robert
A. Anderson started on the return trip to Eng- land by the same route and remained in his na- tive country until March, 1852, when he came again to the United States accompanied by his younger brother and sister. They were pas- sengers on a sailing vessel which after a voyage of nine weeks dropped anchor in the harbor of New Orleans, whence they came by steamboat direct to Griggsville Landing.
Mr. Anderson at once began farming on a tract of four hundred and forty acres of land which the brothers purchased conjointly, and his time and energies were given to agricultural pursuits until 1866, when he and his sister and brother John returned to England on a visit. In 1867 they came once more to the United States and remained upon the farm until 1873, when Mr. Anderson purchased for them a home in the city of Griggsville, where they now reside. He and his younger brother and sister have always lived together. While upon the home farm he was en- gaged in raising Durham shorthorn cattle, hav- ing only standard-bred animals. He followed that business for a number of years, purchasing im- ported stock, and found it a profitable source of income. For a long period he was accounted one of the thrifty farmers and stock-raisers of Pike county, and continued in business with his brother until 1873, since which time he has lived a retired life. The farm is located on section 5, Flint township, and consists of three hundred acres, and is still managed by the brothers, being rented to Mr. Henry Anderson, a nephew, and son of William Anderson. In June, 1867, Mr. Anderson attended the Paris Exposition for fif- teen days. In later years he has spent several fall seasons hunting large game in Wyoming, finding this a pleasurable source of recreation. He has never cared for public office for himself, but has always opposed misrule in 'municipal af- fairs, and has advocated the election of citizens of known ability and integrity to office. For sev- enteen years he was treasurer of the Griggsville Farmers Fire & Lighting Insurance Company. Mr. Anderson deserves much credit for what he has accomplished in life, as he had no pecuniary assistance when he started out for himself at the early age of eleven years. He depended upon the
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safe and substantial qualities of earnest labor and straightforward dealing, and upon these as a foundation has builded the superstructure of his success as the years have gone by.
DR. R. R. POLLOCK.
Dr. R. R. Pollock, of Nebo, who is one of the prominent bankers and financiers of Pike county, and for many years has been recognized as a lead- ing business man in this part of the state, dates his residence in the county from 1866. He was born in Union county, Ohio, on the 28th of Feb- ruary, 1843, and is a son of John D. Pollock, a native of Delaware, whose birth occurred in 181I. The paternal grandfather, Robert Pollock, was born December 23, 1784, and married Margaret Hurley, October 2, 1806. He removed from Del- aware to Ohio, becoming an early settler of Un- ion county and there John D. Pollock was reared and educated. He married Miss Rachel G. Dy- sert, who was born in Union county, Ohio, in 1817. He devoted his attention to farming in that county until his removal to Illinois, at which time he took up his abode upon a farm in Edgar county. Subsequently he became a resident of Aurora, Illinois, where he spent his last years in honorable retirement from further labor, enjoy- ing the fruits of his former toil. His death oc- curred in that city in 1897. His widow still sur- vives him and now resides with Dr. Pollock, a hale and hearty old lady of eighty-eight years.
Dr. Pollock went to Illinois in early life and there was reared. He attended the common schools, and afterward continued his studies in Abingdon College, having in the meantime studied also in the schools of Des Moines, Iowa. On the 27th of July, 1861, when eighteen years of age, he responded to the country's call for troops, and 'with patriotic ardor joined Company A. Tenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted as a private and so served until September 28, 1865, when he was honorably discharged, after having been with the army for three years and two months. He participated in a number of promi- nent and important engagements, including the
battles of Iuka, Corinth, the Siege of Vicksburg and Mission Ridge. He was also at Lookout Mountain and was at Kingston, Georgia, at the expiration of his term of service, after which he was honorably discharged and mustered out.
Dr. Pollock then returned to Des Moines, Iowa, where he continued his education, while later he became a student in Abingdon College at Abing- don, Illinois. He took up the study of medicine there under the direction of his brother, and at- tended his first course of lectures in 1870 in Jef- ferson Medical College at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania. The following year he began practice in Nebo, where he has remained continuously since as an active and able representative of his pro- fession. He attended his last course at Keokuk, Iowa, in 1877 and 1878, and was graduated in the latter year. He built up a large lucrative prac- tice, becoming recognized as one of the capable members of the medical fraternity in Pike county. He also established and carried on a drug store in Nebo for a number of years. As his financial resources have increased he has made judicious investments in real estate and now owns several farms in Spring Creek and Pleasant Hill town- ships. In 1903 he established the Bank of Nebo, and erected a large neat brick bank building, two stories in height. This building includes the post- office and store on the ground floor and offices above. The Doctor is president of the bank while his youngest son is cashier. It has become a strong financial institution and a general bank- ing business is carried on, a liberal patronage hav- ing already been secured. Dr. Pollock has also aided materially in the upbuilding and progress of the town of Nebo, where he owns a neat residence and also about forty acres of land within the town limits.
Dr. Pollock was married in Pleasant Hill in August, 1866, to Miss Anna E. Ferguson, a na- tive of Pike county, who was reared and edu- cated in Abingdon, Illinois, where she became acquainted with her husband. She is a daughter of James H. and Eliza Ferguson, early settlers of Pike county. Dr. and Mrs. Pollock have be- come the parents of three sons and two daugh- ters: Robert Cleon, of Peoria, Illinois, who is married and has two children; John R., who is
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a practicing physician represented elsewhere in this work; Ralph Waldo, who is cashier of the bank; and Nellie and Alice both at home. The daughters have been afforded liberal educational privileges, and Alice is a normal university grad- uate, having received excellent training in teach- ing. Nellie is a graduate of Wesleyan College of Music, Bloomington, Illinois.
Dr. Pollock is independent in his political views and supports the best men regardless of party affiliations. He is enterprising and watchful of opportunities both for his individual interests and for the public welfare, and public opinion is not divided concerning his ability in his pro- fession and in business life and his worth as a citizen.
ERNEST E. WILLIAMSON.
Ernest E. Williamson, editor and proprietor of The Independent Press of Griggsville, one of the leading papers of Pike county, is a progres- sive young man and has been quite successful since taking charge of this paper.
He is a native of Pike county and was born in the city of Pittsfield, March 16, 1870. The Wil- liamsons are of mingled Irish, Scotch and Welsh ancestry. The father of our subject, whose name was Thomas, was a native of Ohio, and a son of Jesse Williamson, a native of Highland county, that state, he having been born there in an early day. He was reared there to the life of a farmer, and was married to Martha Sloan, also a native of Highland county. After the birth of their children, he brought his family to Illinois in 1857, journeying hither by land and settling on a farm in Detroit township, Pike county. His land was somewhat improved and he spent the remain- der of his active life in developing a farm. After the death of his wife in 1869, he retired from business, removed from Detroit township, and went to Pittsfield, where his death occurred only a few years ago, at the advanced age of nearly ninety years.
Thomas Williamson, the father of our sub- ject, was one of the younger of his mother's
children and he was reared in Ohio until he at- tained manhood, having been bred to the life of a farmer. He was married there to Esther Slagle, who was born in West Virginia, and came of southern parentage and German ancestry. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Williamson moved to Illinois and settled in Detroit township, Pike county. He subsequently went to Pittsfield and engaged in the drug business. He now resides in Jacksonville, Illinois. He had the misfortune to lose his wife, who died in their home in Pitts- field, July 4, 1873, when she was less than forty years of age. She was a kind neighbor, a true friend, a devoted wife and a loving mother. She was an earnest Christian and was identified with the Methodist Episcopal church. She was the mother of two children, our subject and his brother Raymond, the latter of whom resides at El Reno, Oklahoma.
Ernest Williamson was quite young when he was deprived of the care of his mother and for a time was reared by his father and maternal grand- mother, Julia A. Slagle, of Pittsfield, the latter of whom died September 10, 1888. It was while living with her that he secured a practical edu- cation in the city schools of Pittsfield. At the age of fourteen and while still attending school he learned typesetting in the Old Flag office at Pitts- field, later worked on the Democratic Herald for a short period and at the age of sixteen he entered upon the work which led him into journalism, as he then secured a situation in the printing office of the Pike County Democrat, edited by Hon. J. M. Bush, Sr. He became familiar with general newspaper business, and for a year before he left to take control of his first paper, he was foreman of the Pike County Democrat. He became proprie- tor of The Independent Press inthe month of June, 1889, which he did not change in title or politics, which is strickly independent. It is a six-column quarto sheet, with a full line of local and general news and is popular wherever it circulates. It has continued to prosper since it came in posses- sion of Mr. Williamson, who succeeded Arnold Hughes, who founded the paper in 1879. It now has a circulation of one thousand two hun- dred copies weekly, and it is considered one of the most newsy and well edited papers of the day.
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Mr. Williamson was married April 2, 1891, to Miss Jessie, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Kenney, of Griggsville. They have three children, Helen Louise, born September 10, 1894; Kenney Ernest, born April 7, 1899; and Raymond, born June 26, 1903.
XAVIER CARLEN.
Xavier Carlen, better known as Charles Carlen, is an enterprising agriculturist of Pleasant Vale township, and is also an honored veteran of the Civil war. He was born on the Rhine in France, June 3, 1832, and was the only child of Charles and Catherine (Lougel) Carlen. The father was a farmer by occupation and both he and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. They died many years ago, Mr. Carlen at the age of fifty-two years and Mrs. Carlen when forty- three years of age.
Charles Carlen of this review was educated in the common schools of his native country and continued his residence there until twenty-five years of age, when, attracted by the favorable reports that he had heard concerning business opportunities and advantages in the United States, he came to America in 1857, landing in New York. He traveled for a number of years before taking up his abode permanently in Pike county. He was first married to Polly Meeks of this county, the wedding taking place in 1866. They had four children : Lewie, the wife of William Battie, who is living in Eldara; Lizzie, the wife of Jacob Moyer, a resident of Hadley township; Charles, at home; and Emma, the wife of George Watson, a resident of Peoria, Illinois. The wife and mother died in 1873, and it was not until 1891 that Mr. Carlen was again married, in which year he wedded Mrs. Rosella Fox, nee Saxbury. She was born in New Canton, Pike county, August 17, 1857, was the widow of William Fox and is the daughter of Edison Saxbury. He was a schoolmate of Martin Van Buren and was one of the first white men to establish a home within the borders of this county and aid in its recla- mation for the uses of civilization. Edison Sax-
bury became a farmer and devoted his attention to the tilling of the soil until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when, on the 13th of August, 1862, he enlisted as a member of Company C, Ninety-ninth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers under Captain M. D. Massie. He was with the army for three years, and was then honorably discharged July 31, 1865, at Baton Rouge, Louis- iana. Following his return to Pike county he resumed farming and spent his remaining days here. His birth occurred in 1827 and he departed this life May 25, 1895, at the age of sixty-eight years. By her first marriage Mrs. Carlen had four children : Walter and Edward both living near our subject ; Stella, the wife of Fred Wilson, of Eldara; and Lena, the wife of Frank Strater, who is assistant postmaster at Carthage, Illi- nois. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Carlen has been born one son, George.
· Mr. Carlen had been a resident of the new world only four years when the country be- came involved in the Civil war. He informed him- self concerning the conditions of the times and the great questions under discussion and believ- ing in the justice of the Union cause he enlisted on the Ist of August, 1861, as a member of Com- pany H, Tenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until honorably discharged, December 31, 1863, at Larkinson, Alabama. He re-enlisted there as a veteran on the Ist of Feb- ruary, 1864, and was appointed fifth corporal of Company H, Tenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, receiving the appointment on the 5th of Novem- ber, 1864, from Colonel P. P. Henderson, who was in command of the regiment. While at the front Mr. Carlen participated in the movements of the armies under Generals Grant, Sherman, McPherson, Logan, Howard and Dodge, taking part in a number of hotly contested engagements, and on the 15th of August, 1865, was honorably discharged at Little Rock, Arkansas.
Following the close of hostilities Mr. Carlen took up his abode in Pleasant Vale township, where he purchased eighty acres of land from Captain Massie's father-in-law. This was in the midst of the forest and there with the green woods all around him he began the arduous task of clearing and improving a new farm. He first
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lived in a log shanty and there he put forth stren- uous effort to develop his land and to care for his family, for his wife left him with four children, whom he reared himself, putting forth every effort in his power for their welfare, comfort and happiness. As the years passed he prospered in his undertakings and in addition to the tract of land which he now owns he also operates one hundred and twenty acres adjoining his place. He has good buildings and improvements upon his farm and a glance will serve to indicate to the passerby the careful supervision of a pains- taking effort of a practical and progressive owner. In his political views Mr. Carlen is a republican. He belongs to Amos Morey post, No. 617, G. A. R., at New Canton and his wife is a member of the Christian church.
There is no more loyal citizen in Pike county than this adopted son who from the early years of his residence in America has manifested a sincere and deep attachment to the stars and stripes. Local advancement as well as national progress is a cause dear to his heart and his co- operation has always been depended upon in matters of general improvement and progress here. The hope that led him to seek a home in America has been more than realized for he has found good business opportunities here, the utilization of which has resulted in the acquire- ment of a comfortable property and at the same time he has won many warm friends among his neighbors and fellow townsmen in Pike county.
W. A. BAKER.
W. A. Baker, of Pleasant Hill, usually called Judge Baker, is one of the prominent citizens of Pike county and one of the few remaining early settlers. For years he was a manufacturer of tobacco and his well-directed activity resulted in making him one of the prosperous citizens of his community. He dates his residence in Illinois from 1844 and has made his home in Pike county since 1865. His birth occurred in Ohio on the 28th of September, 1825, his father being George W. Baker, who was born in West Union. Ohio,
where his childhood and youth were passed. He became a blacksmith by trade, carried on a shop at West Union and conducted a successful busi- ness. At that place he was married and in 1831 he removed to Kentucky, locating in Gallatin county, where he carried on business for a long period, spending his remaining days there.
Judge Baker was reared in Kentucky, where he received fair school advantages. He came to Illinois as a young man about 1844, locating at Carthage, Hancock county, where he turned his attention to merchandising, following that pursuit for about four years. In 1850 he removed to Louisiana, Missouri, where he engaged in the manufacture and sale of tobacco, continuing in the trade at that point for sixteen years, after which he came to Pike county, settling first in Barry. He there continued in the tobacco trade for a few years, after which he removed to El- dara, where he engaged in the manufacture of to- bacco for about two years. In 1870 he came to Pleasant Hill, where he continued in the tobacco business for three years.
While living in Carthage, Hancock county, Mr. Baker was united in marriage to Miss Louisa E. Conklin, who was born in Ohio but was reared in Hancock county, Illinois. This union has been blessed with five children: W. V., at home; Ida, the wife of Richard Turner, of Oregon; Duane, a telegraph operator now at home; and Elmer, who carries on a harness business in Pleasant Hill. He married Gertrude Gelvin and they have a son, Ralph. Mr. and Mrs. Baker also lost one daughter, Clara, who grew to womanhood, was married and died in 1882, leaving three children.
Judge Baker has been a stalwart democrat since casting his first presidential ballot in 1848. He has never once missed a presidential election and has always stood loyally by the principles which he believes to contain the best elements of good government. He was elected justice of the peace in Derry township and long filled the same office in Pleasant Hill. He has also served as police justice for years, his incumbency in the two positions covering thirty years. He has like- wise been notary public and has frequently been chosen as a delegate to the county and congres- sional conventions. His residence in the county
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covers more than a half century, during which time he has witnessed its growth and progress, watching its transformation from an unbroken wilderness and swamp to a district of rich fer- tility with splendidly developed farms, in the midst of which are thriving villages or more pre- tentious cities. His life has been a useful one and his influence has ever been given on the side of improvement and progress. He was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife in 1895, her death occurring in Pleasant Hill. She was an esti- mable lady and like her husband, enjoyed the warm regard of many friends. . Mr. Baker made a cred- itable record in business circles and his official record is equally commendable, for at all times he has been found faithful to duty and loyal to the trust reposed in him.
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