Past and present of the city of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois, Part 75

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 75

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).

Albert Hughes practically received no oppor- tunity for acquiring an education in school-a fact which he has always regretted-but in the school of experience he has gained many valuable lessons. He removed from Kentucky to Jeffer- sonville, Indiana, when that was a pioneer dis- triet, and in 1835, when twenty-five years of age, he came to Illinois, settling in Ursa township, Adams county, in the spring of that year. Ilere he raised one erop and then returned to Indiana, where he was soon afterward married. In the spring of 1836 he returned by boat to Quincy and again took up his abode in Ursa township, where he has since remained. Ile began farming on about one hundred acres of land, which he purchased at a low figure, and to this he grad- nally added until he had two hundred and forty- seven acres, part of which is now in possession of his son Robert, while the remainder he has sold.

On the 19th of November, 1835, Mr. Hughes was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Ann Tay- lor, a daughter of Robert and Jane (Gilliland) Taylor. Her parents, natives of Ireland, were Subsequently they went to Kentucky and after- ward to Indiana, locating near Jeffersonville. The father was a weaver by trade. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Inghes are as follows: Eliza J., born October 29, 1836, lives with her father in Ursa ; Minerva, bern December 7, 1838, is the wife of J. G. Johnson, the inventor of the shuck- ing peg, and a resident of Carthage, Illinois; Robert C., born June 11, 1841, married Mary A. MeNay, a daughter of Andrew and Mary ( Webb) MeNay, and they had seven children, of whom six are living: Bessie, born September 8, 1867, is the wife of Carl F. Markwood, of Ursa, and unto them have been born four children : Albert, eleven years of age ; Robert, Lydia and Herschel, aged. respectively, nine, five and two; Nellie, born February 22, 1869, is the wife of John W. Grimes, living on a farm north of her father's home, and they had three children, one of whom died in infaney, while the others are Blanche and Cora Alice, aged fifteen and ten years; Harry B., born September 13, 1872, married Louisa Walker, daughter of Peter and Christina Walker, November 29, 1893, and they have two children, Erling B. and Vera Viola; Lilly E., horn Angust 27, 1875, died September 7, 1878; Daisy A., born September 12, 1877, Sallie E., born November 29, 1880, and Lucy F., born JJune 20, 1886, are at home. Robert Hughes follows general farming, raising both stock and grain. fle has eighty acres of land, the greater part of which is under cultivation, and he is accounted one of the enterprising farmers of his com- munity. Ile has held publie office, having been road commissioner and tax collector. In his political views he is a democrat, but at local elec- tions where no issue is involved he considers only the capability of the candidates. The family at- tend the Christian church.

While rearing his family Albert Hughes re- sided on the okl homestead, but in his later years took up his abode in the village of Ursa, where he now makes his home. In polities he has always been a democrat and for one term served as school director, but has never sought or desired office, although he has always been interested in the questions of the day and the progress of his country. Ile has always been an excellent shot with the rifle, and even in his later years his aim is true and his hand steady. Not long since he saw a rabbit out in his yard, and, calling for his rifle, he raised himself in bed and through the open window killed the rabbit. His memory goes back to the time when it was no unusual thing to see herds of deer in Indiana and Illinois

ALBERT HUGHES

399

PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

and when small game was to be had in abun- dance. His mind forms a connecting link be- tween the pioneer past and the progressive pres- ent and he can relate many interesting incidents of the early days. For the past three years he has been a constant eare, having a nurse for about nine months, under the direct supervision of his daughter Eliza, who has in her devotion sacrificed every pleasure in order to take care of her father in his last days. His mind is as clear as ever, he recognizing every old friend as they come to his bedside. In this his last sick- ness his friends say of him: He is a man of strict integrity, honorable in all his transactions, acting always from principle rather than poliey, generously benevolent and public-spirited, al- ways ready to encourage and assist any enterprise calculated to result in good or to advance the true interests of the community in which he lives. These qualities in which he exeels, were characteristic of the early settlers of Ursa, and have left their impress never to be obliterated. The residents of Ursa cannot let such a man be taken away without the thought, Who will take his place? In his declining days Mr. Hughes and his family have the sympathy of every resi- dent of Ursa.

GEORGE S. REYNOLDS.

George S. Reynolds is mimbered amont the native sons of Adams county, his birth having oeeurred in Mendon township, January 10, 1866. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to the Mayflower. The paternal great- grandfather of Charles Reynolds was a native of Connecticut and served for seven years in the Revolutionary war, subsequent to which time he followed blacksmithing.

Ilis son, Horace Reynolds, was born in East Hartford, Connecti- ent, January 27, 1790, and was one of a family of four daughters and four sous and for some years was the only survivor of the family. Ile, too, became a blacksmith and worked at the forge for a half century. Leaving Winsted, Connecticut. he removed to Houston, Adams county, Illinois, in 1835, and there purchased land and established his home, being one of the pioneer residents of that locality. Not a fur- row had been turned nor an improvement made upon his land, but he soon broke the prairie and after turning the sod. planted his seed and in due course of time gathered rich crops, ulti- mately improving and cultivating two hundred aeres. The usual experiences of pioneer life were familiar to the family. Wolves were fre- quently heard howling around the cabin at night and it was no unusual thing to see a herd

of deer, while venison was a frequent dish upon the family board. Horace Reynolds reached the advanced age of ninety-six years, passing away February 5, 1883. Ile had been married on the 11th of October, 1815, by the Rev. Dr. Lyman Beecher, to Miss Annie Culver, who was born in Litchfield. Connecticut, in 1792. Their mar- ried life covered sixty-eight years and she sur- vived her husband two years. She held mem- bership in the Congregational church and was an able assistant to her husband, carefully man- aging the household affairs while he devoted his attention to the improvement of the farm and to working in his blacksmith shop. As the years passed they prospered and they always maintained a high position in the regard and esteem of their neighbors and many friends. In their family were ten children.

George Reynolds, the youngest of this fam- ily, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut. March 6, 1834, and was only a year old when brought by his parents to Illinois. During the winter months he was a student in a log schoolhouse, which. however, in course of time was replaced by a neat frame structure. He learned the blacksmith's trade with his father and during the winter months followed that pursuit, while in the summer season his attention was given to the cultivation of the fields and the care of the erops. In the spring of 1855 he formed a part- nership with his brother Henry for the conduct of a blacksmith shop and in 1860 the brother went to California, while George Reynolds con- tinned blacksmithing for three years longer. In 1863 he removed to Hancock county, Illinois, where he gave his undivided attention to farm- ing, having purchased one hundred and ninety acres of land there. In March, 1865, however, he returned to Adams county and for four years resided near Mendon, while in 1870 he took up his abode in Houston township. Here he had four hundred and thirty acres of land in one body on section 4, Camp Point township, and three hundred and thirty-five acres of land in Houston township. his farm bordering each side of the Camp Point road that divides the two townships. Ile was also extensively engaged in the raising of eattle and hogs and his business affairs were most capably conducted. For the last thirteen years, however. he has lived a re- tired life but remained upon the farm until about three years ago, when, in 1902, he and his wife removed to Camp Point, where they now make their home. being among the most honored and respected pioneer residents of the county.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. George Reynolds were born five children, the brothers and sisters of our subjeet being John O., who married Miss Stella Kessler and lives in Houston township;

400

PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

Henry IL., who married Lola MeAnulty and re- sides in Camp Point: Anna M., who is living with her parents : and Elodie, also at home.

In taking up the personal history of George S. Reynolds we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in Adams county. His early educational privi- leges were supplemented by study in the high school at Camp Point, and he was reared to farm life, early becoming familiar with the best methods of cultivating the fields and caring for the stock. When he had put aside his text- books he continued to work on the home farm until his marriage, which was celebrated No- vember 25, 1891, the lady of his choice being Miss Artie Groves, who was born July 31. 1872, in Houston township, her parents being Stephen and Mary Jane (Campbell ) Groves. Her father, now deceased, was at one time the owner of one of the pioneer farms on what is known as Big Neck prairie on section 30, Houston township. Hle represented one of the old families of the east. his grandfather, Jacob Groves, having been a native of Pennsylvania, while the great-grand- father, John Groves, came from Prussia to America, and settled in this country with Wil- liam Penn, from whom he received a grant of land. Ilis home was on what is known as Graf's Run. in Pennsylvania, where he lived the quiet and peaceful life of the Quaker colonist. His son, Jacob Groves, removed from Pennsylvania to Virginia, where he followed weaving as a life work and died at Reading in that state. Ile had a family of seven children, including Joseph Groves, whose birth occurred in JJefferson con- ty, Virginia, and who was reared in what is now Cabell county, West Virginia, where he resided until 1828. That year witnessed his arrival in Sangamon county, Illinois, and after three years he removed to Brown county, this state, where he purchased land and developed a pioneer farm, making it his home until he passed away in his seventy-third year. He married Catherine Sta- ley, also a native of Jefferson county. Virginia, and descended from Pennsylvania ancestry. She died when fifty years of age, leaving ten chil- dren.

Stephen Groves, the third of that family, was born February 22, 1818, in Cabell county, West Virginia, and accompanied his parents to the west when a lad of ten years, traveling in an old-time prairie schooner drawn by horses. Ile had little opportunity to acquire an education and the schoolhonse in which he pursued his studies was built of logs with an immense fire- place in one end of the building, the smoke hay- ing egress through the chimney built of clay and stieks. He was desirous of obtaining a good education and early began working that he might earn the means to pay his tuition in other

schools. However. he had the opportunity of attending school in Brown county for only one month but a scholarly old gentleman of the neighborhood assisted him in his lessons and guided his reading so that he laid the founda- tion for broader knowledge in later years. Ilis father gave him his time when he was eighteen years of age on the condition that he would never ask for financial assistance from his father. Hle then left home and entered the employ of an unele, living about fifteen miles from Spring- field, Illinois, where he worked in a distillery for two years. He then turned his attention to farm work and soon received twenty-five dollars per month. In 1837 he again became a resi- dent of Brown county, Illinois, where he en- tered from the government one hundred and twenty acres of land, on which he built a cabin and made other improvements, but later left the farm in charge of his brother-in-law and went on a trapping expedition, joining a party proceeding up the Illinois river and spent the winter on Dnek Island. They were successful in this venture and in the spring took their furs on a raft to St. Louis, selling to the American Fur Company. A few years later Mr. Groves exchanged his farm in Brown county for land in Houston township. Adams county, and later sold his interest in that place and purchased another farm in the same township. le at once built a log cabin and then, desiring a companion and helpmate for life's journey, he was married De- cember 28, 1846, to Mrs. Nancy Striekler, nee Witt. Her first husband, Abram Strickler, had died a few months after their marriage. Her father, Daniel Witt, was one of the pioneer set- tlers of this state. Mrs. Groves died June 26, 1850, and their two children, Jacob and Mar- tha, are still living. Later Mr. Groves was again married, the second union being with Mary Jane Campbell, a native of Tennessee, born Decem- ber 2. 1845. Her death occurred May 20, 1884. There were seven children born of this mar- riage: Emma; Joseph; John: Stephen; Dan- iel; Artie; and one who died in infancy.

Mr. Groves continued to engage in farming throughout his entire business career, making his home on section 30, Houston township, where he owns six hundred and forty-four acres of land all in one body, and he likewise had a farm of forty aeres in Andrew county, Missouri. He gave particular attention to the raising of Poland China hoes, which he sold for breeding purposes, and his shipments amounted to about two car- loads each winter. He was a man of excellent business ability, enterprise and industry, and all who knew him entertained for him high respect and regard. Mr. Groves passed away April 3, 1904, while his wife's death occurred May 20, 1884.

401

PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds have been born six children: Clyde E., born April 16, 1894; George W., born August 2, 1896; Nellie Irene, born September 8, 1899; Mary Edith, born July 25, 1901; Mildred G., born June 2. 1903; and John Stephen, born October 5, 1904.

Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds own two hundred and nine acres of land and their home is located on section 33, Houston township, about five miles west of Golden. Here Mr. Reynolds carries on general farming and also raises cattle and hogs. Ilis life has been quietly passed and yet he has displayed all the elements of good citizenship and sterling traits of an honorable, upright man. In polities he is a republican. Both Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds enjoy the friendship of many with whom they have come in contact and both are representatives of worthy pioneer families of this part of the state.

URIAII H. KEATII.

Uriah II. Keath, with one exception the old- est practitioner at the Quiney bar, was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, November 3, 1831. His father, Gabriel Keath, was born in Montgomery county, Kentucky. October 13, 1807, and died in 1865. Hle was a farmer and stock-raiser, con- ducting his business along progressive lines. Ile first visited Illinois in 1828, but afterward returned to Kentucky and it was not until 1832 that he became a resident of Adams county, lo- cating at Columbus. There he remained until the spring of 1834, when he removed to Ursa township, where he purchased a farm, residing thereon until his death. There he reared his family and in the management of his farming interests he displayed good business ability. Ile was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he served as elder and in the work of which he took an active and helpful part. Ilis early political support was given to the whig party and upon its dissolution he joined the ranks of the new republican party. Ile married Lneinda Randolph, daughter of James Randolph and a cousin of John Randolph of Roanoke. She was born in Kentucky and it was in 1879 that she was called to her final rest at the age of seventy-eight years. Gabriel and Lucinda Keath were the parents of eight chil- dren, four sons and four danghters.

To the public-school system of Adams county Uriah II. Keath is indebted for the early edu- cational privileges he enjoyed. In 1849 he en- tered MeKendree College, at Lebanon. Illinois, and on leaving that institution in 1852 he went

to Kentucky, where he was engaged in teaching school for several months. Following his return to Adams county, he again taught school for a time and then took up the study of law in the office of Archibald Williams and C. B. Lawrence of Quiney, being admitted to the bar on the 5th of February. 1855. He began prae- tiee at Sigourney. Keokuk county, Iowa, and was thns engaged at the outbreak of the Civil war in the spring of 1861. He was then com- missioned by Governor Kirkwood as a recruiting officer and assisted in raising three regiments. Ile was made first lieutenant of Company F. Fifth Iowa Infantry, under the command of Colonel W. Il. Worthington, and a year later was promoted to the rank of captain in Septem- ber, 1862, having command of his company until mustered out of the service on the 27th of Oeto- ber. 1864, at Atlanta, Georgia. Ile served in all of the campaigns in Missouri under Gener- als Fremont. Pope. Hunter and others and dur- ing the greater part of his connection with the army was with the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps. He was in twenty-one battles, among which may be mentioned New Madrid, Island No. 10. Fuka, Corinth, Vicksburg, Knoxville, siege of Corinth, Missionary Ridge and the At- lanta campaign, and he did his full duty as a soldier, being most capable and loyal in the dis- charge of every task that devolved upon him.

On leaving the army Mr. Keath returned to his home in Iowa, but in 1865 became a resident of Quiney, where he at once opened a law of- fice and has since practiced in all the courts. It was not long before he was recognized as one of the most prominent members of the bar of this county, which includes men of keen and cul- tured intellect. Ile enjoys the enviable reputa- tion with court, counsel and client of a practi- tioner serupulously arenrate in statement and in every action or position governed by the nieest sense of professional honor.

Mr. Keath was married in 1855 to Miss Car- rie Turner, a daughter of Ebenezer Turner. She was born in Adams county, eight miles north of Quiney, on the 5th of January, 1836, and died March 19. 1889. They were the parents of two children : Clarence R., deceased ; and Kate, the wife of Rev. L. J. Duncan, now of Butte, Mon- tana. The family residence was at No. 1211 North Sixth street for thirty-five years.

Mr. Keath is a member of the Unitarian church and belongs to John Wood post, No. 96, G. A. R. Ilis political support is given to the republican party and he has exercised consider- able influenee in political circles. He served as United States deputy colleetor of revenue under President Harrison. being appointed to that po- sition in 1889, and was assistant superintendent

402

PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

of the public schools of the county from 1865 until 1869. lle served for several terms as chair- man of the republican executive committee of Adams connty and has been a member of the state central committee. In fact his labors and influence have been a potent factor in mold- ing the policy of his party in county and state. Ilis time and attention, however, have been prin- cipally devoted to the practice of law and he is today the oldest member of the Quincy bar in continuous practice with the exception of Hope S. Davis. He has maintained a foremost place among his professional brethren, having abil- ity that has gained him distinction and pres- tige. As a man he is of genial nature and social tastes and these qualities have won him a host of warm and devoted friends.

WILLIAM ALEXANDER RICHARDSON.

The colleague and co-laborer of sneh distin- gnished men as Lincoln, Douglas, Browning, Shields, Baker, MeDongall, Hardin. Williams, Trumbull, MeClernand, Yates and the other mas- ter minds and giant intellects that shaped the early destiny of Illinois, William Alexander Richardson left the impress of his individuality upon the history of the state and nation and through many years largely aided in molding the public policy of this commonwealth and in guid- ing national issues.

Mr. Richardson was the oldest child of James L. and Mary ( Edmondson) Richardson and was born on his father's farm seven miles from Lex- ington in Fayette county, Kentucky, on the 16th day of January, 1811. Ilis education was ob- tained in the log school house, the Walnut Hill preparatory school, the Centre College at Dan- ville, and the Transylvania University at Lex- ington. After his junior year at this latter insti- tution he taught a country school for one year. and then entered the office of AAllen & Simpson at Winchester, where he studied law. He was admitted to practice before the courts of Ken- tueky, in March, 1831.

Mr. Richardson came to Illinois and located at Shelbyville in May. 1831, and commenced the practice of the law. En April of the next year he volunteered as a private in Captain Daniel Price's company for the Black Hawk war; was appointed assistant quartermaster May 5, 1832; and mustered out of service May 28, 1832.

In November, 1832, Mr. Richardson moved to Rushville in Schuyler county, having taken a fancy to that locality when there as a soldier. On the 10th day of February, 1835, the legislature of Illinois elected him state's attorney for the

fifth judicial circuit, his opponent being O. II. Browning. He received the highest vote of any of the five state's attorneys that day elected, al- though S. A. Douglas, J. J. Hardin, John Dough- erty, O. B. Fieklin and other prominent men were voted for. This old eirenit was composed of the counties of Pike, Adams. Schuyler, Hancock, MeDonough, Fulton, Knox, and Warren-Schuy- ler then comprehending Brown county.

The first term of the Adams county circuit court that Mr. Richardson attended convened in the old log courthouse at the northeast corner of Fifth and Maine streets in the city of Quincy, on the 14th day of September, 1835, with the llon. Richard M. Young on the bench. Earl Pierre as sheriff, llenry H. Snow as clerk, Lor- enzo Bull as deputy clerk, and John Wood as the foreman of the grand jury. Doubtless, too, that quaint old-time court habitue Mike Dodd was in attendance with his wry observations and comments, he certainly was at the April term, 1836, of this court when there was a murder trial -an early local cause célèbre-when Mr. Rich- ardson was assisted by Mr. Archibald Williams in the prosecution, and Mr. J. H. Ralston by Mr. 0. Il. Browning in the defense -- resulting in a verdiet of guilty, after a hard fight.

In the summer of 1836 Mr. Richardson was nominated as a candidate for the lower house of the state legislature and immediately resigned his position as state's attorney. In August he received the highest vote of any one on his ticket in Schuyler county and took his seat on the 5th day of December, 1836. This was the time when Mr. J. W. Whitney, of Quiney, as " Lorde Coke." was still holding his celebrated "lobby assem- blages" at Vandalia-that early school of parlia- mentary practice, oratory and statesmanship. At this session of the legislature Mr. Richardson was one of the few who opposed the "internal im- provement measures," which afterward played such a disastrous part in Illinois history, and one of the majority that voted for Springfield as the permanent capital. It was during this session that Mr. JJeff Gatewood, a senator from Gallatin county, insisted upon calling Mr. Rich- ardson "Old Diek," in spite of correction, be- canse he had never known a clever fellow whose name was not Diek-and "Old Dick" it was with Mr. Richardson's political friends and admirers up to the day of his death.

In August 1838, Mr. Richardson was elected to the state senate for a term of four years. At the end of his term he declined a re-nomination and election, desiring to give his undivided at- tention to his profession. In 1844 he was chosen by his party convention as one of the democratic presidential electors, and while engaged in an aetive canvass as such elector was nominated for

Ir Much andsun

405

PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

the legislature. Hle accepted the nomination very reluctantly-owing to his desire to give all his time to his profession-and made the fight against General James W. Singleton. the most popular whig in the district. In August, 1844. he was elected to the lower house, and, on the convening of the legislature, was made speaker.

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.

Past and present of the city of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois, Part 75

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