USA > Illinois > Macon County > Decatur > Past and present of the City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98
Mr. Powers was a native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Saratoga county on the 18th of May, 1816. He lived through the center of the world's greatest progress and advancement along commer- cial and educational lines. In New England at a very early day the Powers family was established. The paternal grandfather of our subject was reared in Connecticut and William Powers, the father, was there born. Hle spent the days of his youth in Bridge- port, that state, at the home of Colonel St.
202
PAST AND PRESENT OF MACON COUNTY.
John, whom his mother married after the death of hier first husband. She bore the maiden name of Abigail Hendricks and was likewise a native of Connecticut and of Scotch and English lineage. William Pow- ers devoted his energies to agricultural pur- suits for some time after his marriage, car- rying on general farming and stock-raising. He made his home in Saratoga county, New York, when it was a new and unsettled dis- trict and when it required two or three weeks to make a journey by sloop down the Hudson river to New York city. He died in the prime of life, passing away at the comparatively early age of forty-two years.
Samuel Powers of this review was then a lad of eight summers. His youth was passed in the county of his nativity, while his time was devoted to farm work and to attendance at the district schools. He pursued his studies during the cold season when it was impossible to engage in farm labor, but with the early spring planting he took his place in the fields and there worked until after crops were harvested in the late au- tumn. Ile was but fourteen years of age when the management of the home farm fell upon him and he continued its cultivation until he attained his majority when the property was sold.
Mr. Powers then determined to go to Alabama, where his brothers were success- fully engaged in business, one of them being a prominent commission merchant and ex- change agent in the city of Mobile. Sam- uel Powers, therefore, made his way to Tus- caloosa, where his brother Orlando Powers was conducting a mercantile establishment, but he found that commercial life was not congenial to him as he needed the freedom of outdoor occupations. His taste and in- clination was decidedly in favor of agricul- tural pursuits and he determined to come to Illinois, for its broad prairies offered ex- cellent opportunities to the farmer and stock-raiser. Accordingly in company with
his next elder brother, George Powers, lie made the journey from Alabama through Tennessee and Kentucky to Illinois. They traveled on horseback and crossed the Ohio river at Shawneetown, reaching Decatur in July, 1839. The traveler of to-day who vis- its this city with its extensive industrial and commercial interests, its splendid ad- vantages and its beautiful homes would see no point of resemblance to the little village which greeted the sight of Mr. Powers as he neared the county seat of Macon county. However, with marked foresight he made investments in this part of the state. Sev- eral railroads had been surveyed with De- catur as one of the points upon the proposed line and Mr. Powers recognized that the promises for the future were very favor- able and found that the little village was destined to become a city of considerable importance. Time proved the wisdom of his opinions.
Mr. Powers and his brother made invest- ments in real estate and though their cash capital consisted of only a few hundred dol- lars land values were then very low and they were able to acquire a considerable amount of realty. From the time of his arrival in this locality up to the time of his demise Mr. Powers was the owner of a tract of land adjoining the corporation limits of Decatur on the east and which became very valuable owing to the improvements placed upon it and because of the growth of this city. For six months after establish- ing his home here Mr. Powers carried the mail between Decatur and Homer and also other points in Champaign county. He worked earnestly, indefatigably and ener- getically and as the result of his labor he had in a few years accumulated sufficient capital to enable him to engage in the stock business on a small scale. Prices, too, for stock were also very low in comparison with the amounts given at the present day, hogs selling for only two dollars, while a four-
203
PAST AND PRESENT OF MACON COUNTY.
year-old steer brought from eight to ten dollars. Mr. Powers was an excellent judge of stock and made his purchases so judi- ciously that he was enabled to realize good profit on his sales. He soon established for himself a reputation for fair dealing and honesty and also for promptly meeting his obligations, which made his name a promi- ment one in trade circles and also a valuable one upon commercial paper. It was found that when the country became involved in financial panic dealers preferred to sell their stock to Mr. Powers because of his known reliability, all feeling sure that they would receive their money. Throughout his business career he continued one of the most prominent and extensive stock dealers of this portion of the state and it was through this avenue of activity that he won the splendid success which made him a wealthy man of Macon county. He did much to improve the grade of stock raised in this section of the state, and was espe- cially well known as a breeder of fine horses, in which regard he gained a national repu- tation. He was the breeder of some of the best horses that had been seen in America and, by improving the grade raised and thereby advancing prices, his labors were a direct benefit to those engaged in similai enterprises.
On the 3d of March, 1846, Mr. Powers was united in marriage to Miss Caroline M. Giles, a native of Massachusetts, and they became the parents of eight children : \'ill- iam, Myra, Carrie, George, Theron, Frank, Edward and Chauncey. The two oldest children are deceased. The family home is always maintained in Decatur and its repre- sentatives have for many decades figured prominently in social as well as business circles.
On attaining his majority Mr. Powers proudly cast his first presidential vote in behalf of the candidate of the Whig party and continued one of its supporters until
its dissolution, when he joined the ranks of the new Republican party, continuing to follow its banners until his death, which occurred February 7, 1885, his remains being interred by the side of his children in Greenwood cemetery. The magnitude and importance of his business interests so occupied his attention that he never cared for political preferment, but he was elected and served as a member of the board of supervisors from Decatur township. Long ere death came to him he rounded the Psalmist's span of three score years and ten and in the evening of life with his men- tal and physical vigor unimpaired he over- came the customary and usual infirmities and weaknesses of age by active participa- tion in the living issues and events of the day. In his home and in the city of his adoption he was surrounded by a circle of friends who appreciated his true worth and admired and esteemed him for his many ex- cellent traits of character. His name will be honored for many generations as that of one of the most enterprising of the carly settlers of Decatur-a man who acted well his part and who lived a worthy and up- right life.
JOHN W. CRANE.
John W. Crane is well known in the busi- ness circles of Decatur, being the district agent of the Aetna Life Insurance Company. He was born on the 8th of January, 1845. in Berea, Ohio. It is believed that the Crane family originated in England. Three brothers of the name came from that coun- try to America and settled in New Jersey. It is to one of these brothers that the subject of this review traces his ancestry. The grandfather, Elihu Crane, was born in New Jersey but spent the greater part of his active business life in Berca, Ohio, where he followed the occupation of farming. He held membership in the Methodist Epis-
204
PAST AND PRESENT OF MACON COUNTY.
copal church and had two sons who became clergymen of the Congregational church. His life was ever honorable and active and he passed away at the ripe old age of sev- enty-six years.
R. B. Crane, the father of our subject, was born in Ohio and during a part of his business career was engaged in the manu- facture of grindstones and building stones for the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. In 1859 he removed from Ohio to Sedan, Indiana, where he began building a factory for the manufacture of wooden bowls, but he died in 1860 just as the plant was nearing completion. He, too, held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, was greatly interested in its work and aided in all possible ways in the devel- opment of the church. He was also a trus- tee of the Baldwin University. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Jane Chaney, was born in Pennsylvania in June, 1820, and is still living, being in the eighty-fourth year of her age. In the family were six children, namely: John W., who is the eldest; George MI .; Ella, the wife of Albert Buchanan; R. B., who is a banker of To- ledo, Ohio; Charles E., of Ashland, Ohio, and W. H., who is now the postmaster and a merchant at Sedan, Indiana.
At the usual age Jolin W. Crane began his education, becoming a student in the com- mon schools of Berea, Ohio. He there con- tinued his studies until he had completed the high school course with the class of 1861 and later he pursued a course in Ober- lin College of Oberlin, Ohio. He then en- tered a printing office as an apprentice on the Lorain County News, continuing with that paper for seven years. While in col- lege he was converted and was licensed to preach by the Methodist Episcopal church. He became a minister of that denomination in South Bend, Indiana, and joined the Northwestern Indiana conference. He was afterward stationed at Lake Station, Indi-
ana, and still later at Kewanna, that state. Subsequently he became associate editor of the Indiana Christian Advocate and located in Indianapolis. For some time thereafter he was identified with journalistic work and in March, 1872, he came to Decatur as city editor of the Daily Republican. In the fall of that year he joined the Illinois Methodist Episcopal conference and has acted as pas- tor of the following charges: Maroa, Oak- land, Windsor, Kansas, Nokomis and Mo- weaqua, all Illinois towns. In the work of the ministry he produced good results, his influence being of no restricted order. He labored zealously and untiringly, in fact, devoted himself so closely to his work that at length his health failed and he found it necessary to retire from the active minis- try. He then purchased the Weekly Mail at Moweaqua, conducting that paper for a short time, and in 1887 he became special agent for the Aetna Life Insurance Com- pany. He has since resided in Decatur and during the past eight years has been dis- trict agent for the same company. In 1880 he represented the Indianapolis Journal on the reportorial staff during the session of the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church in that city, reporting the proceedings of the conference. He lias also written for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. He is still a member of the Illinois Meth- odist Episcopal conference, holding a super- annuated relation and occasionally he sup- plies a pulpit in the absence of the regular minister.
On the Ist of September, 1870, Mr. Crane was united in marriage to Miss Amanda MI. Hollett, a daughter of Thomas and Deborah Hollett, and their home has been blessed with three children: Minnie, who is now living in Decatur ; Albert, who died at the age of twenty-five years; and Jesse, who is employed as a stenographer by the Pacific Express Company, of Chi- cago.
.
Orville Betoning
207
PAST AND PRESENT OF MACON COUNTY.
Mr. Crane was made a Mason in Oak- land lodge of Oakland, Illinois, in 1873, and has deep sympathy in that order, which is based upon brotherly kindness and help- fulness. Both he and his wife hold member- ship in the Grace Methodist Episcopal church of Decatur and are most deeply in- terested in its work, doing all they can for the furtherance of its interests. In his bus- iness life Mr. Crane is energetic and active and is thoroughly conversant with the mul- tiplicity of details involved in the success- ful conduct of such a position as he is now filling.
ORVILLE B. GORIN.
Respected by all, there is no man in De- catur who occupies a more enviable posi- tion than Orville B. Gorin in commercial and financial circles, not alone on account of the success he has achieved, but also on account of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever followed. Ile possesses energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution, and his close application to business and his management have brought to him the prosperity which is to-day his. For thirty-seven years he has been con- nected with the Millikin National Bank, of which he is now the vice-president. This covers almost the entire period of his busi- ness career and his success may be attrib- uted in large measure to his persistency of purpose and to the thorough mastery of the work which he undertook as a young man.
Mr. Gorin is numbered among the native sons of Illinois, his birth having occurred in Taylorville, Christian county, on the 25th of January, 1849. His father, Jerome R. Gorin, was a capable lawyer and afterward a distinguished banker of Decatur, whose life work forms an important chapter in the business history of this city. The mother
bore the maiden name of Eleanor E. Faw- cett and was born in Charleston, Virginia, in the year 1820. At an early day she ac- companied her step-father, Mr. Walker, to Illinois, the family home being established near old Fort Dearborn in Chicago. In 1845 she became a resident of Macon conn- ty, to which place Jerome R. Gorin had re- moved in 1840, first locating in Taylorville. In 1853 he became a resident of Decatur and for many years he bore an important part in the work of promoting business de- velopment and activity here. He died Sep- tember 1, 1897, full of years and honors, and his wife passed away in 1894. In the family were six children, three sons and three daughters.
Orville B. Gorin was a little lad of only four years when brought by his parents to Decatur, where he has resided continu- ously since. At the usual age he began his education in the public schools of this city and continued his studies here until he pre- pared for collegiate work. He then matric- ulated in Knox College at Galesburg. Illi- nois, where he remained as a student for some time, broadening his mind and gaining that mental discipline which is so necessary to a successful business carcer. Upon leav- ing college he returned to Decatur and soon afterward accepted a position in the private banking institution conducted under the name of James Millikin & Company and from 1865 until the present he has been a representative of this institution, gradually advancing from one position to another 1111- til he is to-day one of the strong stock- holders and the vice-president of the insti- tution. He became a partner in 1880 and since that time his keen foresight, business discrimination and executive force have proven important factors in the successful conduct of what is now one of the strong financial institutions in the state outside of Chicago. This bank was established by James Millikin and the firm name of J.
208
PAST AND PRESENT OF MACON COUNTY.
Millikin & Company was assumed in 1866, at which date Jerome R. Gorin was ad- mitted to a partnership. It was in 1880 that the latter sold his interest to his son, O. B. Gorin, and to Milton Johnson and in turn the latter disposed of his interest to Parke Ilammer. In October, 1897, the bank was incorporated as the Millikin National Bank, with James Millikin as president; O). B. Gorin, cashier; and J. M. Brownback, as- sistant cashier, the latter having become an interested partner in 1896. In 1898 the pres- ent officers were elected : James Millikin, president; O. B. Gorin, vice-president ; J. M. Brownback, cashier ; and S. E. Walker, assistant cashier. In a history of the insti- tution published in the Decatur Daily Her- ald, the following account of the bank and its methods was given: "During the entire career of the Millikin National Bank it has demonstrated beyond a doubt that it is ably managed and that its affairs are in the hands of time-tried men who weigh well every act and who depart not from the well . trodden path of financial safety. All in- vestments are most carefully made and no unnecessary risks are taken, hence the marked favor it enjoys at the hands of many of the most conservative depositors.
"It does a general banking business, loans money on approved commercial pa- per. issues foreign and domestic exchanges and receives the deposits of the manufac- turer, merchant, farmer and general de- positor.
" Since its organization the bank has pur- sued the way of legitimate and conservative business, its able management avoiding the dangerous shoals upon which many banks have foundered and to-day the Millikin Na- tional Bank stands as solid and firm in the financial world as the most timid and skep- tical depositor could possibly desire. It has been held high in the people's estimation for these years because of the unquestion- able character of the men at its head and
the sufficiency of the capital behind it. There is not an officer or director in this bank in whom the people have not the ut- most confidence, and as a natural result it has always enjoyed a large patronage.
" This bank is a United States depository. Its present deposits are about three mil- lion dollars and loans and discounts arc two millions two hundred thousand. Its correspondent banks are the Hanover Na- tional Bank and the Winslow, Lanier & Company bank of New York, Merchants' Loan & Trust and First National banks of Chicago, National Bank of Commerce, St. Louis, Merchants' National Bank, Phila- delphia, Merchants' National Bank, Cincin- nati, besides connections with leading bank- ing houses throughout the United States and Europe."
In 1872 was celebrated the marriage of Orville B. Gorin and Miss Ella McClellan, a daughter of Adminston McClellan, a prominent and influential citizen of De- catur, who served for twenty-eight years in the capacity of clerk of Macon county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gorin has been born a daughter, Gussie J., who with her parents has enjoyed extensive travel, gaining the culture and knowledge which only travel can bring. The family home is one of the most attractive and beautiful residences of the city and is the center of a cultured so- ciety circle.
Mr. Gorin is a prominent Mason, be- longing to Macon Lodge, No. 8, F. & A. M., also to the chapter and to Beaumanoir Com- mandery, No. 9, K. T. Not to know Or- ville B. Gorin in Decatur is to argue one's self unknown, for his connection with busi- ness and social interests has been so ex- tended that he stands to-day as one of the most prominent men of the city. His inter- est in his fellow men is sincere and arises from a humanitarian spirit which has prompted his support and co-operation with many movements and enterprises for the
209
PAST AND PRESENT OF MACON COUNTY.
general good. He might perhaps have won high political honor, but he has always preferred to devote his energies to his ex- tensive business interests and has been in- strumental in winning for the Millikin Na- tional Bank a reputation which extends be- yond the limits of the state. His career has ever been such as to warrant the trust and confidence of the business world and his activity in financial circles forms no unimportant chapter in the history of De- catur.
JOHN M. CRARY.
John M. Crary has passed the eighty- fifth mile-stone of life's journey. For many years he was connected with agricultural interests in Macon county, but is now liv- ing retired at his home in Decatur in the enjoyment of a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. A venerable citizen of the community, he receives the respect and confidence which should ever be accorded to those who have advanced far on life's journey and whose record is in harmony with all that is honorable and up- right in man's relations with his fellow men.
Mr. Crary has the distinction of being born in the year in which the state was ad- mitted to the Union, his natal day being February 4. 1818: his birthplace was the city of New York; and his parents were John and Martha (Blakely) Crary. The father was likewise a native of the Empire state and throughout his business career following merchandising, but both he and his wife passed away when their son John was a little lad of only seven years. The subject of this review then made his home among strangers. His privileges and ad- vantages in youth were meager because of his orphan condition. Ilis youth was largely passed in Washington county, New York, and at intervals he had the privilege of at- tending school, but worked for much of the
time in the employ of different parties in order that he might provide for his own support. Eventually he became connected with mercantile interests by accepting a clerkship in a general store in New York city. The compensation for his labor, how- ever, was very small, although for two years he remained in the store and from his ex- perience there he gained a knowledge of merchandising and of men which proved of value to him in later years.
Believing that the new and growing west would furnish better opportunities than he could secure in the older cast where the population was greater and where there was, therefore, much more competition, he came to Illinois in 1840, locating first near Springfield. There he helped build a saw and flouring mill for John B. Auger and afterward went to Mechanicsburg, Sanga- mon county, Illinois, where he helped erect another flouring mill. On the completion of this contract he turned his attention to farming and stock-raising, which he fol- lowed successfully in Sangamon county for several years. It is along this line that his prosperity has been won. The broad prairies of Illinois furnish ample oppor- tunity to the agriculturist, who, if he but improves his advantages, can win success because of the great fertility of the soil. In this state total failures of crops are never known and usually the fields yield in such abundance that annually Illinois furnishes a large amount of the food supply of Amer- ica.
On leaving Sangamon county Mr. Crary purchased four hundred acres of land in Christian county and began the develop- ment of a farm, though at that time the tract was entirely unimproved. Later he sold that property and purchased what was known as the Fullenwider farm of three hundred and fifty acres and to its further development and cultivation devoted his energies untiringly. He also extended the
210
PAST AND PRESENT OF MACON COUNTY.
scope of his labors by dealing in live stock. He made a specialty of the feeding of hogs, cattle and sheep and annually sent to the markets large shipments on which he real- ized a good financial return. His next pur- chase of land made him the owner of the John Johnson farm. comprising a quarter section of land, adjoining the city limits of Springfield and this he subsequently sold for one hundred dollars per acre. His money he then invested in three hundred and sixty acres of land which he continued to cultivate and improve, devoting much of the farm to pasture lands, whereon he raised a great amount of stock. This farm is located in Illini township, Macon county, and Mr. Crary was actively and contint- ously connected with general farming and stock-raising interests at this place until 1890. He has also bought and sold other lands, realizing good profit upon his invest- ments and as a stock-dealer he has pros- pered, his sales annually adding to his in- come. At length, having acquired a hand- some competence, Mr. Crary determined to put aside further business cares to enjoy the fruits of his former toil for he has a capital that supplies him with all the comforts that go to make life worth the living. Since 1891 he has made his home in Decatur.
Mr. Crary has been twice married. He first wedded Miss Elizabeth J. Steel, who was born in the state of Kentucky, and they became the parents of two children: George 1., who has departed this life; and Annie F .. the wife of Isaac N. Ransom, who re- ides in Springfield. Illinois. It was in 1863 that Mr. Crary was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 24th of May of that year. For his second wife he chose Eliza Ray, the wedding being celebrated on the 15th of September. 1863. The lady bore the maiden name of Eliza llill and was born in the city of London, England, where she spent her girlhood days and acquired her education. She
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.