Past and present of the city of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois, Part 131

Author: Collins, William H. (William Hertzog), 1831-1910; Perry, Cicero F., 1855- [from old catalog] joint author; Tillson, John, 1825-1892. History of the city of Quincy, Illinois. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1228

USA > Illinois > Adams County > Quincy > Past and present of the city of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois > Part 131

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BARNEY A. GRAMKE.

Barney A. Gramke, who follows farming in Ellington township, was born in Quiney, Jan- uary 4, 1858, and is a son of the late John B. Gramke, who was a native of Germany and came to America when a young man of eighteen years. He landed at New York eity and became a resident of Quiney in 1845. Ile was married to Miss Maggie Niehaus, also a native of Ger- many and a daughter of Henry G. Niehaus. Her birth occurred in 1803. The Niehaus fam- ily came to Quincy in 1848 and soon afterward located in Riverside township, Adams county, where the father died at the age of eighty-seven years.

John B. Gramke was first employed by John Glass in Quiney and later accepted the position of foreman with Thomas Redman. in which capacity he assisted in the building of a railroad in Missouri. Eventually he turned his attention to agricultural interests and with the capital he had acquired through his own labors he pur-

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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

chased a farm in 1864, it being the present home of his son Barney A. Taking up his abode on this traet of land he continued its eultivation until his death, which occurred June 4, 1904. HIe was a democrat in his political belief and was a communicant of the Catholic church, to which all his family yet adhere. His wife still resides upon the old homestead with her seven children, namely: Barney A., Lizzie, Mary. Katie, Fanny. Joseph F. and Caroline.

The home farm comprises eighty acres of good land and is now managed by Barney A. Gramke and his brother. It is situated about five miles northeast of the courthouse in Quincy. Thirty- one acres of the land is devoted to the raising of wheat, five acres to corn, and there are good pastures whereon are found high grades of stock. Everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance and indicates the careful super- vision of Mr. Gramke, who is an enterprising. practical and progressive agrienlturist. His po- litical support is given to the democracy. He has a wide acquaintance in Adams county. where his entire life has been passed, and many of his warmest friends are those who have known him from his boyhood days to the present.

CAPTAIN ASBURY TOUT.

Asbury Tout, who is living a retired life in the village of Ursa, was born December 21. 1836, and is the son of lohn S. and Elizabeth ( Tatman) Tout. The father was born in Flemingsburg, Kentneky, October 18, 1806. The mother's birth occurred in that place on the 17th of November, 1800. They were married in 1826 and came with their family to Adams county, Illinois in 1842, when their son, Captain Tout, was six years of age. They located on a farm at Marcelline, the father purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land. Subsequently he sold that farm and rented land for a number of years. Later he received a deed to forty aeres of land east of Marcelline from a friend whom he had taken care of during siekness and after sell- ing that place he again operated rented land for several years. Ile then moved to Marcelline, where his wife died October 25, 1887, and shortly afterward he took up his residence with his son Asbury, remaining there until his death, which occurred on the 9th of Janury, 1893, and was the result of a caneer. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he also belonged to Marcelline lodge, No. 114, 1. F. & A. M. He was a personal friend of General Grant. The surviving members of his family are: Mrs. Sarah Jane Inghey, who lives in Min-

nesota : Mrs. Caroline Bennett. who is living at Smith Center, Smith county, Kansas; and As- bury, of this sketch.

Captain Tont spent the first six years of his life in the place of his nativity and then eame with his parents to Adams county, Illinois, where he acquired his education in the publie schools. He lived with his parents until eighteen years of age, when he went to Marcelline and there learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed until his retirement from business about fourteen years ago, save that he served his country for three years in the Civil war. He enlisted in the Third Illinois Cavalry and rendered active duty in behalf of the Union.

When the war was over Captain Tout returned to Adams county and was married here, on the 5th of October, 1864, to Miss Margaret Craw- ford. a danghter of John and Mary ( Heaney) Crawford. The former was born on the 6th of March, 1814, and the latter on the 25th of Sep- tember, 1822. The father was a native of Ire- land and in his youth came to this country. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Crawford are as fol- lows: Mrs. Tout, who was born February 18. 1845; Jane (. Davis, who was born December 6. 1846. and is now living at Mendon. Adams eounty : Matilda, who was born January 17, 1849, and lives with her father at Mendon ; Mary 1. lledges, who was born March 28, 1851. and died October 30, 1882, leaving four children ; Ed, who was born February 14, 1853, and resides at Rock- ford, Illinois; Susan, who was born October 3. 1854, and is a trained nurse, living in Galesburg, Illinois: Thomas, who was born June 23, 1856; John, who was born April 6. 1858, and lives in Mendon ; Mrs. Sophia Battell, who was born May 13. 1860, and resides in Galesburg, Illinois; and Sammel, who was born February 24, 1862, and lives in Mason City, Iowa. The father of these children has retired from active business and is now living in Mendon at the advanced age of ninety-one years. yet enjoying good health. Ile served for one year in the army, being a member of Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-first. Il- linois Volunteers, which he joined when nearly fifty years of age.

Sinee his marriage, Captain Tout has resided in Marcelline, and for many years he conducted a blacksmith shop here up to fourteen years ago, when he retired from further active business labor. lle owns a nice farm of eighty acres south of the town which he rents, having had one tenant upon the place for twenty years, which fact indicates the harmonious business relation which ever exists between them. Captain Tout also owns a fine home in the town, where he and his wife now reside, enjoying the fruits of their former labor.

In polities he is a stanch republican, believing

MR. AND MRS. ASBURY TOUT

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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

firmly in the principles of the party. He has a wide and favorable acquaintance in the com- munity in which he resides, for his life has been upright and honorable.

JOSEPH B. TAYLOR.

Joseph B. Taylor, who is engaged in general merchandising in Marcelline, was born August 19, 1869, in the county which is still his home. being a representative of one of its leading, prom- inent and honored pioneer families. His father, George W. Taylor, was born in this county, No- vember 12, 1848, and in 1864, when only sixteen years of age, he responded to his country's call for troops and enlisted for nine months' service as a member of Company G. One Hundred and Fifty-first Illinois Infantry. Following his re- turn from the war he was married on the 17th of September. 1868, to Miss Sarah L. Bryant, who was born in this county, August 14, 1848. She died March 28, 1897, and George W. Taylor is now living in the Soldiers Home at Quincy. Illi- nois. In the family were three sons and one daughter, the eldest being Joseph B. of this re- view. The others are: Franklin P., who was born October 8, 1882, and married Leta Barnett, December 24, 1904, their home being now in Mar- celline ; Leona E., who was born February 9, 1885, and became the wife Harvey Allen, JJan- mary 31, 1905, their home being in Quincy; and Charles W., who was born April 16, 1888, and is living in Ferris, Hancock county, Illinois.

Joseph B. Taylor pursued his education in the publie schools of Adams county and afterward worked with his father on the home farm until twenty years of age, when he began elerking in a store at Marcelline, being thus employed from the 18th of February, 1890, until the 6th of Au- gust, 1897, during which time he gained practical knowledge of commercial methods. IIe then em- barked in business on his own account as a gen- Pral merchant and has since been an active factor in commercial circles in Marcelline. He carries a large and well selected stock and has a liberal and growing patronage, his success being well merited because of his straightforward business methods and earnest desire to please his patrons.

On the 25th of March, 1897, Mr. Taylor was married to Miss Belle Zora Whitefield, who was born March 15. 1876, in Adams county, and is a daughter of John W. and Nancy .J. (MeFadden) Whitefield. Her father was born in Quiney, Jan- mary 13, 1852, and her mother was born in Me- Donongh county, Illinois, February 2, 1852. They were married August 26. 1874, and the father became a farmer of Lima township, Adams county, where he carried on agricultural pur-

suits until his death, which occurred September 19, 1895. His widow still resides upon the home farm. Mrs. Taylor has four brothers: Joseph C., born January 21, 1878, was married Decem- ber 24, 1902. to Lon A. Selby and lives in Mar- celline : Robert S., born February 16, 1883; Charles R., born October 16, 1889; and William L., born May 27, 1892, are all living with their mother.

Mr. Taylor gives his political support to the democratic party and is influential in its local ranks. He has been chosen several times as a delegate to the county conventions and has served as justice of the peace for four years. IIe is a member of Marcelline lodge. No. 127, I. O. O. F., with which he has been identified since August 21. 1890, and was a representative to the grand lodge in 1895 and 1896. Ile is also a member of Modern Woodmen camp, No. 6206, of Marcelline, and he and his wife are charter members of Mar- celline District Court of Honor, No. 442. Both are active members of the Christian church of Marcelline, with which Mr. Taylor has been as- sociated for eighteen years, taking an active and helpful part in its work. His life has been in strict conformity with his professions and his history will bear elose investigation and scrutiny for in business and social relations he has fol- lowed honorable principles. A social, genial na- ture has always made him popular with many friends.

WALTER DICKHUT.

Walter Diekhut. one of Keene township's most. enterprising farmers and a breeder of registered IFereford cattle, was born in Adams county, in December, 1874. He is a son of Charles and Kate (Schemer) Dickhut. the former born Jan- uary 5, 1847, and the latter on the 22d of Feb- ruary, 1850. For many years the father was identified with agricultural interests in this county but is now living a retired life, making his home in Coatsburg.

Mr. Diekhnt of this review pursued his educa- tion in the public schools of Adams county and afterward engaged in farming and dealing in stock in connection with his father, and when he had attained his majority he started out in busi- ness on his own account in the same way. He has prospered as the years have gone by and is to-day the owner of valuable property in Illi- nois. He has two hundred and seventy acres of fine land on seetions 11, 14 and 15. Keene town- ship, the home being situated on section 14, but he now rents his farm.

The fields are well tilled, bringing him rich harvests. and there are good buildings upon the

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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

place, furnishing ample shelter for grain and stock. His farm is one of the attractive features of landscape because of its neat and well-kept appearance. He makes a specialty of raising stock, buying feeding and selling cattle, and he has on his place a fine herd of registered Here- fords and one hundred and sixty-seven head of Angora goats. He owned two hundred and twenty acres of land in Hancock county at one time but sold that property in 1903 and pur- chased his present farm.

On the 22d of December, 1898, Mr. Diekhut was married to Miss Hattie MeGill, who was born in Hancock county, Illinois, near Bowen, Oeto- ber 12, 1878, and is a daughter of Clayton W. and Sophronia A. (Gay) MeGill. Her father, who was born December 18, 1842, died on the 10th of June. 1895. Her mother, whose birth occurred May 7. 1850, is now living in Bowen. Both Mr. and Mrs. Diekhut have a wide ae- quaintance in Adams county and enjoy the un- qualified esterm of many friends. She is a hand- some and accomplished lady and quite a mu- sieian. He votes with the republican party but has never been an aspirant for office. He he- longs to the Odd Fellows lodge at Bowen, Illi- nois, and is also a member of Modern Woodmen camp, No. 1014, at Bowen, while he and his wife are connected with the Rebekah degree of Odd Fellows, belonging to lodge No. 507 at Bowen. Their home is located near Loraine. Mr. Diek- hut, realizing that energy and perseverance con- stitute the basis of all success, has worked stead- ily on year after year and has gained a place among the leading, influential and prosperous farmers and stock-raisers of his township.

CHARLES L. KRABER.

Charles L. Kraber, a well known and leading citizen of Ellington township, who is now retired from active fam life, was born in Columbia, Pennsylvania, December 18, 1835, his father being Augustus Kraber, whose birth occurred in York, Pennsylvania, in 1809. After arriving at years of maturity he married Henrietta Kendall, who was born in New Jersey and whose mother cooked for the soldiers during the Revolutionary war, while her husband did active duty in the field in behalf of the cause of liberty. Augustus Kra- ber was a carpenter by occupation. Removing to the west, in 1836, he established his home in Quincy and hore he assisted in the building of the old Quiney Honse, the old court house. the flats on Ehn street and other early buildings of the city. He also embarked in the humber trade in connection with Porter Smith but in 1850 he dis-

posed of his interests in Quincy and located upon a farm on section 20, Ellington township, having purchased one Inindred and eighty acres of land, which he at once began to eultivate and improve, transforming it into a good farm property. He died here at the age of sixty-nine years. In his political views he was a republican, stanehly advocating the principles of the party. In relig- ious faith he was a Congregationalist and was one of the leading temperance workers of Illinois. In faet his life was devoted to the affhience of all those causes which tend to uplift humanity and further the moral development of the race. He was a worthy pioneer citizen and contributed to a great measure in the early improvement of Quiney and to the development of agricultural interests in the county.

Charles L. Kraber is one of a family of eight children of whom only two are living. His brother, William A. Kraber, occupied a farm ad- joining his own home. William A. Kraber was born in Quiney. February 15, 1845, and was nnited in marriage to Martha Hunter, of Elling- ton township, this county. They have five chil- dren : George F .. Harry, Frank JJ., Edgar K., and Henrietta E. Ilis farm comprises seventy acres of land which he has placed under a high state of cultivation and he is well known as a progressive and reliable agriculturist.

Charles L. Kraber was brought to Ilinois by his parents when only seventeen months old, the trip from Pennsylvania being made by boat down the Ohio and up the Mississippi rivers. He at- tended school in Quincy and supplemented his early educational privileges by two-years' study near Fort Madison, Towa, at Denmark Academy. He has resided continuously upon his present farm since 1550, covering a period of fifty-five years. but has not engaged in the active operation of the fields for twenty years, living retired dur- ing this period and leaving the work of the farm to others. The home place comprises forty arres and he owns altogether one hundred and twenty aeres in Ellington township. He also has prop- erty m Quincy which brings him a good rental. In his political affiliation Mr. Kraber is a republi- ean and has served as clerk of his township and as school director. He is always interested in every movement for the general good and has co- operated in many measures which have advanced the public welfare. Mr. Kraber has recently pre- pared an article upon the "Old Stone House," which appeared in one of the Quincy papers. He says "it once sheltered a pioneer of the earlies, a character in days gone by with something of a history. The old stone house dates way back to the '30's. Henry Jacobs, from Virginia, was the builder and owner. Hle settled there, in 1829. Hle and a John Wood bought the land together and when they divided it they eut the patent

MR. AND MRS. AUGUSTUS KRABER

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paper into two pieces and each man took a part, and when they wanted to refer to it had to put the pieces together to read it. They had no deed but thought they had good law for what they did. Jacobs must have built the house somewhere be- tween 1839 and 1844, getting the stone from the quarry on the creek north of the place. He was a blacksmith and had a shop near the house, be- sides doing some farming. This house stood in a large grove of peach trees. The lumber in those days in the locality came from the Illinois river, hanled across country. In 1850, Mr. Jacobs' widow, daughter and son still lived in the stone house. Later a Mr. Iler had married the widow and died. The widow and daughter not long af- ter moved to Iowa, and the son, Allan Jacobs, married and moved back to Virginia. The stone house and farm passed through several hands, the present owner being our townsman. Frederic Altenhein. The house is two stories and a cellar and is near Jacobs' well and about six miles northeast of Quincy. It has been unoeenpied for several years except by tramps, swallows and bats." The old stone house, however, still stands in its dilapidated condition, a mute reminder of the pioneer times. One other incident which Mr. Kraber give in the same article is worthy of repre- sentation. He says "When Jacobs lived in the stone house his family depended for the supply of water from a spring in the road near by at the head of a descending ravine. There was not much water but it was never dry. Later, years after Jacob's death, the town officers determined to dig the spring deeper for public use. When the work was done the person in charge reported to the town meeting that he 'had dug a well with a wonderful flow of water, having dug it fourteen feet and had seventeen feet of water." It cansed a smile all around but was literally true as any one can see at the present time by visiting the well. It furnishes water to the country around for miles in a dry season. It is called 'Jacobs well' to-day.

SAMUEL B. TURNER.

Samuel B. Turner. living on section 19. Elling- ton township, is still actively engaged in farming although almost eighty years of age, and such a career should put to shame many a man of much younger years, who grown weary of the struggles and burdens of a business life would relegate to others the work that he should do. Mr. Turner commands the respect and confidenee of all who know him and this work would be incomplete without the record of his life.

He was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, Sep-

tember 6, 1825, and is a representative of one of the oldest families of Massachusetts. He is descended from one of three brothers who came from England to America at a very early period in the settlement of the new world. His grand- father was E. Turner and his father Avery Tur- ner, both natives of Massachusetts and now de- ceased. The latter was reared on a farm in the old Bay state and was there united in marriage to Miss Hannah Baker, who was also born in Massachusetts. They started for Illinois in 1834. driving by team across the country. They were eleven weeks in making the journey, visiting a part of the time and reaching Quincy December 25, 1834. Roads were often bad and streams had to be forded. Settlements were widely scattered and often they traveled for miles without seeing any house or other evidence of settlement. In 1835 the father removed to a farm on section 19, Ellington township, settling on land which had been entered by his brother, the Rev. Asa Tur- ner. He had three brothers here, Rev. Asa Tur- ner being the first Congregational minister of Quiney. He was a home missionary and rode all over this part of the country on horseback, preaching the gospel in the pioneer settlements. Jonathan Turner was a professor in Jacksonville College for a long period at an early day. Ed- ward Turner was a business man and later en- gaged in stock dealing. Avery Turner, develop- ing a good farm, continued to reside upon the old homestead up to the time of his death, which oe- curred when he was seventy-six years of age. He was originally a whig and afterward a repub- lican. He had six children, of whom three are living : Samuel ; Susan, a resident of California ; and Otis A., of Quincy. The deceased are Ed- ward, Eliza A. and Asa, who were the first, third and fourth members of the family, respectively.

Samuel B. Turner was reared upon the home farm and attended the public schools. The first house upon the place was erected in 1835 and was a two-room frame structure. The second house, built of briek in 1840. is still standing. while the present residence occupied by Samuel B. Turner is a two-story brick and was built in 1852. That was the year in which he was mar- ried, the lady of his choice being Miss Catherine Savage, who died at the age of seventy-three years. They had three children, namely : Wil- liam S., Charles E. and Mary E. William S. is an electrician living in New York city, though he spent three years in New Zealand, where he was in charge of a street railway. He married Ilelen Sewell and they have two children, Cath- erine and Edmond.

Mr. Turner was reared amid the wild scenes of pioneer life and shared in the arduous task of developing a new farm. He joined in the improvement that was made and has carried for-

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ward the farm work in an enterprising manner throughout his entire life, using the latest im- proved machinery and adding all modern equip- ments. AAlthough now eighty years of age he is still able to pitch a load of hay. Nature is kind to those who do not abuse her laws, and Mr. Turner has never done so, so that he still enjoys good health. llis farm is situated four miles northeast of the courthouse in Quiney and con- tains one hundred and twenty acres of good land, devoted to the raising of grain, hay and stock. Ile has a nice home and well kept grounds and the place is attractive in appearance, forming one of the pleasing features of the landscape. llis political views accord with republican prin- viples and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church.

DE LAFAYETTE MUSSELMAN, JR.

De Lafayette Musselman, Jr., secretary and treasurer of the Gem City Business College, of Qniney, and the manager of the D. L. Mussel- man Publishing Company, was born in Quincy, March 31, 1879, a son of De Lafayette and Mary M. (MeDavitt ) Musselman. The father, born April 21, 1842, is a native of Fulton county, Illi- nois, whence he removed to Quincy, and in 1862 he enlisted in the Eighty-fifth Illinois Infantry. lle was elected orderly sergeant of his company. soon afterward was appointed lieutenant and finally became commander of the company and eventually was commissioned captain. In 1870 he became proprietor of the Gem City Business College and at the present time is president. Ento him and his wife were born three sons and a daughter. De Lafayette is the oldest son.

Entering the primary grades of the public school, De Lafayette Musselman, Jr., continued his studies until he had become a high school student. Il afterward entered the Shattuck Military College, at Faribault. Minnesota, where he spent a year and at the age of seven- teen he won the honors in the class of English literature. Ile then returned to Quiney and pursned a two years' course in the Gem City Business College, mastering the branches of the commercial and shorthand courses. lle was graduated May 20, 1898, and won the degree of master of accounts.

Mr. Musselman had charge of the L. E. Water- man fountain pen exhibit of New York city at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition at Omaha, and in 1898 he came to the college as an assistant teacher in the school, acting in that capacity for two years, after which. he being then twen- ty-one years of age, was elected secretary of the college, to succeed W. T. Dwire, who resigned.

A year later Mr. Musselman was chosen both secretary and treasurer, which is still his official connection with the school.

On the 1st of October, 1902, in connection with W. E. White and J. II. Crafton, he pur- chased the Musselman Building, which was erected in 1893, at a cost of one hundred thou- sand dollars. The Gem City Business College nses four entire floors of the Musselman Build- ing for study, recitation rooms, lecture rooms and college offices. The college has had phenom- enal growth ever since its establishment in 1870. having donbled its attendance during the past ten years until it now has an annual enrollment of nearly fifteen hundred students.

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Past and present of the city of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois, Part 131

Author: Collins, William H. (William Hertzog), 1831-1910; Perry, Cicero F., 1855- [from old catalog] joint author; Tillson, John, 1825-1892. History of the city of Quincy, Illinois. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1228

Author: Collins, William H. (William Hertzog), 1831-1910; Perry, Cicero F., 1855- [from old catalog] joint author; Tillson, John, 1825-1892. History of the city of Quincy, Illinois. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1228