USA > Illinois > Macon County > Decatur > Past and present of the City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois > Part 93
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On September 20, 1874, he was united in marriage at La Clede Hotel, in St. Louis, to Miss Ida Davis, a daughter of Benjamin and Susan C. B. Davis, of Philadelphia, and to them were born three children, who are still living : Anna Maude, now the wife of John L. Patton, of New Orleans; Clifford O. and William Pointelle. They lost one child, Ellis, who died at the age of five years. Mrs. Down- ing, who was a most estimable lady, died February 13, 1899, at the age of forty years, and her death was deeply mourned by many friends as well as her immediate family. She was a loving wife and tender mother and was held in high regard by all who knew her.
Her mother, Mrs. Susan C. B. Davis, was one of the early pioneers of Macon county and a representative of an old and honored family. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1823, and died in Decatur on the 4th of January, 1899. Her father, Parmelas Small- wood, was born April 27, 1782, near Charles- town, Jefferson county, West . Virginia, and served as a soldier of the war of 1812. Before leaving his native state he was married June 23. 1807, to Miss Deborah Brown, who was also born near Charlestown, May 12, 1792. Later they removed to Lancaster county, Ohio, where Mr. Smallwood opened up a new farm, and as early as 1825 he came to Macon county,
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Illinois, accompanied by his wife and ten chil- dren. the journey being made by teams from Ohio. The winter after their arrival was spent at Sugar Grove, and from there they removed to a farm on section 3. Decatur township, which was the home of Mrs. Davis for many years. It has been in possession of the family since 1826. When they located here their nearest neighbor was forty miles away. Mr. Smallwood built a hewed long cabin and in true pioneer style began life in the west. He did his trading in Chicago, St. Louis and Springfield, where he bought salt at one dollar and a quarter per barrel and sold his wheat for thirty and forty cents per bushel. When the land came into market he purchased it from the government and upon the old home- stead he spent the remainder of his life. His death occurred in 1848 and his wife was called to her final rest on the 7th of November, 1873. Politically he was an active supporter of the Whig party. He was one of the few public spirited men who helped to build up Decatur, donating ten acres to the city which lies in the heart of the town.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Smallwood were born the following children : Mrs. Rachel Murphy. deceased ; George, who was a soldier of the Black Hawk war and died ncar Clinton, Illi- nois ; John, Samttel and James, all deceased ; Daniel: Amanda. wife of William Bennett ; Mrs. Elizabeth Roben. of Clinton, Illinois ; Douglas and Asberry, both deccased : Mrs. Davis; Joseph, who is living in Decatur ; and Gideon, who has also passed away.
Mrs. Davis was only two years old when the family located in Decatur township. In her girlhood she learned to spin, weave and perform such other duties as fell to the lot of the girls of the family in those carly days, and one year she wove and dyed over two hun- dred yards of cloth. Her education was ac- quired in the old-time log school house and with the family she experienced all the hard- ships and difficulties of pioneer life. Having attained womanhood she became the wife of
Benjamin Davis, who was born and reared in Philadelphia. Ilis father was engaged in the brick and real estate business in that city and there he remained until 1841, when he came west. Hle died on the 2d of January, 1861, when not yet forty years of age.
Mr. and Mrs. Davis had four children : Eliza died in infancy. Ida A., now deceased, was the wife of William T. Downing, whose name introduces this article. Benjamin A., the eldest who was educated in the Illinois Nor- mal School and Mount Zion Academy, was married at St. Louis, Missouri. in 1879, and at his death left two children, Edna S. and Louisa. Anna E., the youngest of the family, acquired her education at St. Mary's Hall of Burlington, Iowa, and Cottage Seminary at Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Davis was a lady of many excellencies of character, which won for her a wide circle of friends and gained for her the respect of all with whom she was acquainted.
JAMES HADWIN.
During his early years James Hadwin was engaged in agricultural pursuits and in his undertakings met with excellent success, so that he is now enabled to live a retired life at his home in Decatur, surrounded by all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. He was born in Shelby county, Illinois, June 14, 1860, and belongs to a family that has been actively identified with the development of this state.
His father. Thomas Hadwin, was born in the south of England in 1812, and in 1843 wedded Miss Mary Atkinson, also a native of England, born in Bland, Yorkshire, near the boundary of Westmoreland, November 12, 1819. The year of their marriage they came to America with the Atkinson family and on landing in New York proceeded at once to Ohio. As there were no railroads at that time a steamboat carried them to Albany, whence
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they made their way by the Erie canal to Buf- falo, by lake to Cleveland and by canal to Massillon, Stark county, Ohio, where they made their home for about three years. In 1846 they came to Illinois, this journey being made by wagon, and they brought a flock of sheep with them. They first located at Hails Point, Macon county, but afterward removed to Toddspoint. 'Shelby county, where Thomas Hadwin died in January, 1887. He was en- gaged in buying and selling sheep, cattle and other live stock for a few years, and then turned his attention to farming, which he con- tinned to follow throughout the remainder of his life. His wife still survives him and is now residing in the city of Shelbyville, Illinois. In their family were the following children : John, deceased : Mrs. Mary Alice Wilson, a resident of Chicago; Mrs. Sarah Boone, of South Haven, Kansas : Thomas, who is living in Missouri : Ellen and Lou, both at home with their mother in Shelbyville; William, who is living in the state of Washington; David. a resident of Assumption, Illinois ; and James, the only member of the family residing in Macon county.
James Hadwin had the advantages of only a common-school education and when not in school he aided his father in the operation of the home farm until his marriage. It was on the 15th of November, 1887, that he led to the marriage altar Miss Mary E. Jackson, also a native of Shelby county and a daughter of William Henry and Mary Ann ( Burk ) Jack- son, early settlers of that county, where the father engaged in farming until his death. He was born in Steubenville, Ohio, on the 15th of February. 1823, and came with his father's family to Illinois in 1840 making his home under the parental roof until the age of twenty- one. In September, 1849. he married Mar- garet Jane Waters, who died on the 8th of March, 1852, and he was again married Au- gust 25. 1853. his second union being with Miss Mary Ann Burk. They made their home in Ridge township, Shelby county, where he
was regarded as one of the most progressive and substantial agriculturists of the com- munity, being the owner of eleven hundred and sixty acres of valuable farming land in Ridge and Pickaway townships. He had eleven children, two by the first wife and nine by the second, namely: Thomas, who died March 24. 1864: William H., who is living in Texas : Robert, who is now in Alaska : Samuel, who is engaged in farming in Ridge township, Shelby county : Margaret Jane, a resident of Kansas : Lou, who lives in Christian county, Illinois ; Hester Isabella, who makes her home in Shelby county; Elizabeth, a resident of Shelbyville, Illinois : Andrew K., a resident of Henton. Shelby county ; Charles, who makes his home in Shelbyville; and Mary E., the wife of our subject. In 1892 Mr. Jackson re- tired from farm work and removed to Shelby- ville, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred in February, 1901. His sec- ond wife had died in April. 1898.
After his marriage Mr. Hadwin located on a farm in his native county and continued its cultivation for five years, after which he re- moved to Sumner county. Kansas, and there conducted a meat market for about six months. As the Cherokee strip was open to the public about this time, he went to Oklahoma and was there engaged in farming for three years. At the end of that time he returned to Shelby county, Illinois, and purchased a farm, which he successfully operated for some time, but owing to ill health he finally decided to give up farming and on the 10th of September, 1902, removed to Decatur, where he has since lived retired, though he still owns his fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in Shelby county, which he now rents. Besides this property he owns the nice residence at No. 1089 West Macon street, Decatur, where he and his wife intend to make their future home. In business affairs, Mr. Hadwin is prompt, energetic and reliable and to these qualities may be attributed his success in life. His po- litical support is given the men and measures
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of the Republican party, and in his social rela- tions he is identified with the Masonic Lodge at Findlay, Illinois, and the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Shelbyville. Wherever he is known he is hell in high regard and though his resi- dence in Decatur has been of short duration he has already made many warm friends throughout the city.
CHARLES S. HANKINS.
Charles S. Ilankins is connected with an enterprise which has direct and important bear- ing upon the majority of business interests of Decatur, being the president of the Macon County Telephone Company. The rapidity with which work can be executed and business plans formed is an important factor in suc- cess. It is no longer necessary to wait the transmission of a message by mail, for mat- ters of discussion relative to business can to- day be carried on over the telephone lines of the country and thus much valuable time is saved. There is perhaps no one branch of business that has had so great an effect upon existing conditions as has the introduction of the telephone, and Mr. Hankins is now putting forth every effort in his power to provide the citizens of Decatur and the surrounding coun- try with the best service possible in this regard.
'A native of Ohio, Charles S. Hankins was born in the vicinity of Reeseville, Clinton county, December 24. 1856. His parents were Enoch and Susan (McFadden ) Hankins. The father was a native of Ohio and the mother of West Virginia. In the fall of 1862 the parents removed from Ohio to Macon county and settled in Friends Creek township upon a farm, which Mr. Hankins improved and became a representative citizen of that community. He died about the close of the Civil war, in 1865. His wife, who still sur- vives him, is yet living in Decatur and has now reached the age of eighty-three years. In the family of this worthy couple were nine
children, four sons and five daughters, of whom Charles S. is the seventh in order of birth. The family record is as follows: Mary E., the wife of D. M. Adams ; Jennie, the wife of Dr. W. H. Deal, a resident of Dresden, Missouri : Florence E., the wife of A. Smick, of Decatur ; Orlandus M., who makes his home in Monon, Indiana, where he follows farming ; Frank 1 ... deceased : Hortense M., who is the wife of W. E. Collins and resides in St. Louis, Missouri ; Charles S., of this review ; Rose M., who is now living in Carthage, Missouri ; and Walter, who has passed away.
In retrospect one can see Charles S. Hankins as a farmer boy, assisting in the labors of field and meadow through the summer months, while in the winter season he pursued his edu- cation in the district school. After leaving school he entered upon his business career. Subsequently he entered into a partnership in the real estate business as a member of the firm of Lewis & Hankins and they conducted many important realty transfers, continuing in business together until 1891, when Mr. l lankins severed this relation and became con- nected with the telephone business as its super- intendent. Soon he became a purchaser of the stock and in 1901 he was made president of the company. He now owns the greater part of the stock of the Macon County Telephone Company, which is one of the best local sys- tems in this part of the state. It is certainly a necessary and important factor in the busi- ness operations of this city. The exchange has had a remarkably successful growth and now has in operation a complete telephone system throughout Decatur and Macon county and also telephone connection with two hundred and fifty towns in central Illinois. They have placed about one thousand phones in this city and vicinity and already have a number of farmer lines in operation. This exchange is equipped with a new twelve hundred phone capacity Sterling electric switchboard. The company is constantly making improvements in their equipments and during the year 1902
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spent twenty thousand dollars in underground conduit system. This company manufactures all of its own telephones and transmitters and has equipped a number of outside exchanges, and the office, which is located in the Areade building, is open night and day throughout the entire year. Mr. Hankins is the active head of the company and upon him devolves the business management.
In 1888 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Ilankins and Miss Mary B. Gerber, of Ar- genta, Macon county, Illinois, a daughter of Samuel Gerber, of Argenta. They now have one son, Orville G. Mr. Hankins was a mem- ber of the city council for two years and in matters pertaining to general progress and im- provement he has always been public spirited and progressive, co-operating in every meas- ure for the general good. He is also a meni- ber of the Knight of Pythias fraternity and the Woodmen of America. His prominence in business circles comes as a result of capability and his worth is uniformly acknowledged. His social, genial manner has gained for him many friends and he has the regard of young and old, rich and poor.
JOSEPH K. CLIPSTON.
Joseph K. Clipston, a well-to-do agricultur- ist residing on section 14, South Macon town- ship, is a typical self-made man and in the following record of his career there is much to arouse respect and esteem. He has placed his reliance upon industry and perseverance, and by making the most of circumstances, however discouraging, he has attained success in his chosen calling and has acquired a com- fortable home and competence.
Mr. Clipston was born in England in 1828, of which country his parents were life-long residents, his only relative in this country being his brother, James Clipston, a farmer living near Warrensburg, Illinois. On his emigration to America in 1851 our subject
first settled near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he worked in the mines for about three years, and then went to California, where he was similarly employed for two years. His wife now has a ring made from gold which he mined there.
Returning to Pennsylvania, Mr. Clipston was married in Morristown, that state, Febru- ary 5. 1857, to Miss Merthine Francis, a daughter of Jolin U. and Lydia (Smith ) Fran- cis, who were of Scotch and English descent. Her ancestors for several generations back were residents of the Keystone state and lived near Valley Forge, where they followed farni- ing. Her grandfather Francis was a great friend of George Washington. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Clipston have been born five children, as follows: Charles F., at home; Katie, wife of Jolın E. Winchell, a blacksmith of Moweaqua, Jennie, wife of Charles Slaughter, who is en- gaged in farming near our subject, though across the line in Shelby county; Grant who married Belle Tolston and follows farming in Shelby county ; and Elmer, at home.
In the same year of his marriage Mr. Clip- ston came to Illinois and settled near Mowe- aqua, in Shelby county, where he bought a farm of two hundred acres, but after residing thereon for five years, he sold that place and engaged in operating a rented farm for three years. At the end of that time he purchased eighty acres of his present farm on section 14, South Macon township, and has since added to his property until his landed estate now amounts to two hundred acres, a part of which is in Shelby county. He has transformed the wild land into well cultivated fields and has replaced the old log cabin, which was stand- ing at the time of his purchase, by a good frame residence. He has also erected barns and other outbuildings, until he now has a well improved and valuable farm under a high state of cultivation. He raises full-blooded polled Angus cattle and Poland-China hogs and feeds considerable stock for market, and he is also interested in the raising and breeding
PAST AND PRESENT OF MACON COUNTY.
of fine roadsters, being the owner of a valuable horse from the Ilenry Pickrell stock. As a farmer and stock-raiser he has met with marked success and is to-day one of the sub- stantial men of his community, though he came to the new world empty-handed and has had to make his own way unaided. He is known among his fellow citizens for his relia- bility in all trade transactions and justly merits their conhdence and regard. He was christened in the Church of England, to which his pa- rents belonged, but his wife is a member of the Dunkard church.
JOSEPH C. WILLIAMS.
A quarter of a century covers the period of Mr. Williams' residence in Decatur. He was born in Washington, Indiana, November 29, 1839, one of the seventeen children of Basil and Nancy Williams. All of this large family are now deceased with the exception of the subject of this review. The father died in 1841, when his son Joseph was only two years of age, and his mother passed away in 1865. They were natives of Kentucky, reared and married there, and were representatives of carly pioncer families of the state. Both the paternal and the maternal grandfathers were killed by the Indians in the early days of Ken- tucky's development ere many white settlers had penetrated into the interior of the state. Basil Williams was a soldier of the war of 1812, serving under Captain Belt and Colonel Poag, both well known officers at that time.
In 1846 the Williams family became resi- dents of Pike county, Illinois, and it was in the public schools there that Joseph C. Wil- liams obtained his education. During the periods of vacation he assisted his mother on the home farm and aided in the arduous task of developing a new tract of land. The coun- try was very wild and Mr. Williams remem- bers to have killed many a wolf and deer shooting these from his own dooryard. He
continued to assist his mother in the operation of the home farm until after the inauguration of the Civil war, when he became one of the Illinois volunteers, enlisting in the Ninety- ninth Regiment. He served under Second Lieutenant John Bossman, First Lieutenant B. Cloudy and Captain John F. Richards. He left home on the 20th of August, 1862, and returned on the 12th of August, 1865, having served for almost three years, during which time he participated in the battles of llarts- ville, Missouri, Magnolia Hill, the Vicksburg campaign and the battles of Champion Hill and Black River Bridge. Ile was several times wounded and yet carries in his body a number of rebel balls. He was severely wounded in a steamboat explosion at Vicksburg. Missis- sippi, on the 19th of August. 1863, and on several occasions narrowly escaped being captured. He thus became familiar with all the phases of army life, with its hardships and dangers, but never faltered in the performance of his duty or wavered in his loyalty to the Union canse.
After the war Mr. Williams returned to Pike county, where he remained until 1867, working on the home farm. Ile then removed to Tay- lorville, Illinois, where he carried on agricul- tural pursuits until October, 1869, and then went to Clarksburg, Monitean county, Mis- souri, where he remained from October until the following June. Ile was very successfully engaged in the grocery business, but on ac- count of ill health was forced to leave that place and take up his abode in Quincy, Illi- nois. He assisted his brother in getting a start in the grocery business there, after which he located elsewhere in Adams county, Illi- nois, and was engaged in farming from 1870 until 1875. On the expiration of that period he came to Macon county, where he has since lived. For a short time he engaged in farming for Mr. Woodcock, of Macon county, and then came to the city of Decatur, where he entered the employ of Mr. Whitmer, who was then en- gaged in the manufacture of brick. After
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serving in that way for several seasons he ac- cepted a position in the coffin factory, where he continued for about a year, while later he worked in the furniture factory until it was destroyed by fire. He next accepted a position in the grocery store of Frank Skelly, with whom he worked for four years, when he be- gan in the grocery business on his own ac- count on East Williams street. At intervals for several years he followed that pursuit and, having learned the carpenter's trade in his youth, he also followed that pursuit for a num- ber of years, in which connection he has been engaged in the construction of some of the best buildings in Decatur. He is now foreman in the carpentering department of the plant of the Sattley Malleable Iron Company of De- catur, having been associated with this com- pany for four years.
On the 21st of July, 1861, Mr. Williams wedded Miss Emily Hall, of Pike county, Illi- nois, a sister of J. H. Hall, the well known clothing merchant doing business on East Main street in Decatur. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Williams have been born seven children who are now living, and they also lost one son, Albert E. Those who still survive are Ida V., the wife of James .A. Sine, a packing and shipping clerk in the employ of the Decatur Coffin Company; Walter S., who is a pas- senger conductor on the Illinois Central Rail- road and resides at Clinton, this state; Stella, the wife of A. G. Hays, a farmer living near Decatur ; Maude, the wife of David Hostetler ; John A., an iron molder with the Sattley Malleable Iron Company ; and Leona V., who is at home.
Mr. Williams became one of the first mem- bers of the Grand Army of the Republic and takes great delight in meeting his old army comrades and in recalling the experiences which they underwent on the fields of battle in the south. Mr. Williams and his family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church of this city. He has been very suc- cessful through the many years of toil and
labor in which he has been an active factor in the business world and he now owns and occu- pies a beautiful home at No. 1140 East Cleve- land avenue in Riverside, the beautiful suburb of Decatur.
HARRY RUTHRAUFF.
Harry Ruthrauff is well known in business circles in Decatur, where for eight years he has filled the position of inspector of the water works of the city. He was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, on the 2d of July, 1866, and traces his ancestry back through several generations. His paternal great-grandparents were Jonnes and Margurett (Ensminger) Ruthrauff. The grandfather, William Ruth- rauff, was born August 23. 1822, and married Miss Elizabeth Pensinger. He was a farmer by occupation and in 1873 came to Illinois, settling on a farm two miles north of Illiopolis, in Sangamon county, where he remained until 1877. He then removed to what was known as the Silas Packard farm, located five miles northeast of Decatur, in Macon county. Upon this place he remained until almost all of his children were married and in 1881 he retired. for he had attained an advanced age and was physically unable to attend to the many duties incident to the cultivation of a farm of that size. Selling the property he and his wife went to the home of their daughter, Mrs. William Hicks, who at that time lived at a place called Torrence Mill, on the South Fork river. in Sangamon county. Mr. Ruthrauff remained with his daughter until the death of his wife, which occurred at Breckenridge, Illinois, December 5, 1870. her remains being interred at South Fork church, south of Roch- ester. Shortly afterward Mr. Ruthrauff went to the home of his son, Martin V., who at that time lived in DeWitt county, Illinois, and who was an extensive and prosperous farmer. There the father had a good home and enjoyed many pleasant days in his declining years. He was never happier than when assisting in
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the duties of the farm, for he thoroughly en- joyed outdoor life. In 1893 he decided to go to the home of his son Andrew, who was then living at Corbin, Sumner county, Kansas. There he was also made welcome and remained there until the final summons came on the 5th of April, 1894. He was laid to rest in Prairie Lawn cemetery near Corbin. Unto the grand- parents of our subject, William and Elizabeth Ruthrauff, were born twelve children.
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