Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II, Part 71

Author: Rice, James Montgomery, 1842-1912; S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 930


USA > Illinois > Peoria County > Peoria > Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 71


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On July 25, 1867. at Toulon, Stark county, Illinois, John F. King was united in marriage to Miss Permelia P. Godfrey, and to them were born six children: John F .; William B., who died in childhood; Maude, now the wife of George Lewis Casey, of Seattle, Washington; Harry P., Jessie May, the wife of J. F. Kuecher ; and Walter C. All through his life Mr. King has been an interested student of the science of geology, his knowledge vying with those who have de- voted their entire life to the study of the science. He has gathered together a rare collection of geological specimens to which he is constantly making additions. He is also decply interested in the study of history and his knowledge concern- ing Peoria and her annals is almost encyclopedic. He relates many interesting incidents and details of the early days, his reminiscences and recollections being authoritative information because he has been an eye witness of scenes and incidents which he describes. IIe is today one of the best known residents of Peoria. Few indeed even approximate his length of residence here, covering a period of more than seventy-five years. His memory goes back to the days of Peoria's villagehood, when a few homes along the river bank constituted the town. He has been an interested witness of its continuous growth and expan- sion and as a factor in its business life has contributed to its material upbuild- ing while his aid and influence have at all times been given to matters and move- ments that have had for their object the growth, development and welfare of . the community at large. In politics he was originally an anti-slavery whig.


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but allied himself with the new republican party and cast his first presidential vote for Fremont and Dayton in 1856. He served for several terms in the city council as alderman and the citizens of Peoria are indebted to his efforts for some of the best and most needed improvements adopted to benefit the city.


In religion he simply looks through nature, up to Nature's God. Every prominent citizen of Peoria knows John F. King and is proud to call him friend. His geniality and cordiality have made him popular and the high re- gard entertained for him is the legimate result of a well spent and honorable life.


CHARLES S. STUBBLES.


Among the prominent lawyers of Peoria who have distinguished themselves in the practice of their profession is Charles S. Stubbles, who with offices at rooms 1-2, Grimes building, 127 North Jefferson avenue, has since 1904 been a practicing attorney at law, being licensed to appear before all courts in the coun- try. He was admitted to the bar in 1886 but did not engage in active practice until 1901. He was born six miles east of Lacon, Marshall county, Illinois, February 6, 1862, a son of the Rev. W. J. and Sophia Ann Stubbles. The father was one of the pioneer preachers of the Methodist Episcopal church in Illinois.


Charles S. Stubbles received his preliminary education at Abingdon, Illinois, and there entered the office of an ex-attorney general of Illinois, where he read law for a considerable period. He is electro-metalurgist for the Waltham Watch Company. His services are particularly valuable to these concerns for he invented the modern dial process and in ten years has handled one mil- lion, eight hundred thousand dollars worth of gold bullion used in the construction of watch cases for the companies by whom he is employed. In ad- dition to the duties which he is performing for the great watch firms who regu- larly employ him, he has practiced as an attorney at law since 1901. He is a member of the Peoria Bar Association, taking active interest in the affairs of that organization. In his political views he is a republican and fraternally he be- longs to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Rangers. The important position as electro-metalurgist to several of the largest watch companies in the United States, in addition to his professional practice, makes him a prominent figure in business and professional circles in Peoria. His time is most fully em- ployed and his clientele includes a large number of well known people of Peoria whose interests he unswervingly protects.


ROBERT N. McCORMICK.


Robert N. McCormick, a successful general practitioner of law, with offices at No. 428 Woolner building, where he established himself on January 1, 1890, was born on the old farm homestead in Logan county, Illinois, near Lincoln, November 29, 1863, the son of James and Eliza McCormick. The parents were both natives of Scotland and emigrated to the United States in or about 1857, settling in Washington, D. C. The father was a stone cutter by trade and during the period of his residence in Washington he worked on some of the government buildings. In 1861 he removed to Illinois and settled upon a farm which he at once began to improve and develop, following agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1896, at the age of sixty-seven years. The mother passed away in 1904, at the age of seventy years, and both are buried in the family lot in Bethel cemetery, near the old homestead.


CHARLES S. STUBBLES


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Robert N. McCormick took his first steps in learning in the district school near his father's farm and when he was not occupied with his books he assisted his father with the farm work. In 1883 he entered the Normal school at Val- paraiso, Indiana, where he studied for two years, after which he taught school for two and one-half years and then took up the study of law at Lincoln, Illinois, in the office and under the direction of the firm of Beach & Hodnett. He proved to be an industrious and apt student and was able to pass the prescribed examina- tion, being admitted to practice by the supreme court of Illinois in 1889. Follow- ing his admission to the bar he engaged in the practice of his profession in Peoria and later became associated with W. V. Tefft, a partnership which was con- tinned from 1890 to 1892. He then received the appointment of deputy circuit clerk under James E. Pillsbury, an office which he filled until 1896, at which time he resumed private practice which he has since continued with marked success. He has taken an active interest in business matters aside from his pro- fessional career and is now serving as president of the Upland Improvement Association.


In Ottawa, Illinois, on October 27, 1891, Mr. McCormick was married to Miss Adele M. Elliott, the daughter of Henry F. and Eunice A. Elliott. Mr. Elliott, who resided near Lincoln, Illinois, was a successful farmer and a highly esteemed man. He passed away March 22, 1898, and his remains were interred in a cemetery at Madison Park, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. McCormick are the par- ents of two children : Harriett E., who is a student at the Bradley Institute; and Robert E., who is attending the Whittier school.


The political allegiance of Mr. McCormick is accorded the democratic party although he is liberal and independent in his preference of political candidates. He is an active and valued member of the Peoria Bar Association, to which he contributes materially in advice and influence. Fraternally he is a blute lodge Mason and he belongs to the Modern Woodmen Camp. Socially he is a member of the Creve Coeur Club.


Mr. and Mrs. McCormick are communicants at St. Paul's Episcopal church, to which they are liberal contributors. The family residence is at No. 177 North Institute place and here their many friends are always assured of a cordial greeting.


JAMES W. HILL.


James W. Hill, master mechanic and master car builder of the Peoria & Pekin Union Railway Company, has long been retained in this capacity, having first entered upon the duties of this position in 1887. He is widely known in local railway circles and is held in high esteem by both his employers and asso- ciates.


He is of New England extraction and was born in northern Vermont, but left there in early childhood and went to western New York. There he was reared to manhood and acquired his education, but belonging to a family in moderate circumstances was afforded but meager advantages in early life. He attended the village school during the winter months and in summer worked on a farmi until he was twelve years old, when he began his business carcer a clerk in a general store. He was fortunate in obtaining a position with a man sufficiently unselfish to consider his future, and afford him the opportunity of continuing his education in the village school. The lad possesed unusual mechanical skill and his all-consuming desire to acquire further knowledge along these lines led him to give up his clerkship at the end of three years, and when he was sixteen he entered a machine shop as an apprentice. During the succeeding four years he diligently applied himself to mastering his trade during the day, while his even-


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ings were devoted to the study of mechanics. At the expiration of this period of service he obtained a position as a fireman on a locomotive, and proving efficient and capable, after a year's time he was promoted to engineer. He re- tained this position for a similar period and at the end of that time was made master mechanic over three hundred miles of railroad. This was a very respon- sible position for one of his years. He was not yet twenty-three, but that he was fully competent to discharge his duties in this connection is manifested by his long period of service in the same capacity. He has ever since been a master mechanic in the railway service with the exception of a period of eight years, when he was in the employ of Fairbanks-Morse & Company, of St. Louis, Mis- souri, as mechanical engineer. In1 1887 he became identified with the Peoria & Pekin Union Railway Company and for the past twenty-five years has retained his present position of master mechanic and master car builder for that company.


Ever since granted the right of franchise Mr. Hill has been a stanch snp- porter of the governmental principles as formulated by Thomas Jefferson, and in 1908 he was nominated for congress in the sixteenth district on the democratic ticket. He is a great admirer of the late Henry George and firmly believes that many of our governmental ills would be abolished by the adoption of single tax, the cause of which he enthusiastically champions. Mr. Hill is a worthy exemp- lar of the Masonic fraternity and has been affiliated with the commandery for the past thirty-five years. He has long been identified with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, having held positions that qualified him for admission to this organization since 1884, while for twenty-three years he was an active member of the American Railway Master Mechanics Association and in 1910 was made an honorary member. In civic as well as business affairs Mr. Hill is enterprising and progressive and is always ready to accord his support and co- operation to every movement, the adoption of which he feels will redound to the benefit of the majority.


ARTHUR T. ANTCLIFF.


In the long years of his connection with the business interests of Peoria, Arthur T. Antcliff ever commanded the high respect and confidence of his fel- lowmen. Although he started out in life empty-handed he came in time to a prominent position as the founder and head of the Peoria Brass Foundry & Heating Company, of which he retained the presidency until about two years prior to his death, when he retired from business life. He was born at Gring- ley-on-the-Hill, Doncaster, England, on the 7th of June, 1847, his parents being Thomas H. and Elizabeth (Wall) Antcliff, who were also natives of that country. The son was but three years of age when the parents came to Amer- ica, landing in New Orleans, whence they proceeded up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers to Peoria. The family home was established at Brimfield where the father conducted a blacksmith shop. The son pursued his education in the schools of that locality and early came to a realization of the value of industry and perseverance through assisting his father in the smithy. The years passed and the country became involved in Civil war. To the first call issued by President Lincoln for volunteers both father and son responded, joining Com- pany A of the Seventeenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, of which Thomas H. Antcliff was made orderly sergeant, while the son, then only fourteen years of age, became a drummer boy. At the battle of Shiloh the father was seriously wounded, being shot through both arms, and the son was sent home to take care of him while en route, both receiving at that time an honorable discharge.


Later the family removed to Peoria and Thomas H. Antcliff served for one term as poor master and also one term as coroner. The boy entered business


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ARTHUR T. ANTCLIFF


THOMAS II. and ARTHUR T. ANTCLIFF


THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY


ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.


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life about that time, and through the ensuing years to his death was dependent upon his own resources and gradually he worked his way upward. He began learning the brass founding and plumbing trade, and after continuing for a while in the employ of others eventually embarked in business on his own ac- count, becoming a member of the firm of Couch & Heyle. Subsequently lie established the Peoria Brass Foundry & Heating Company, and upon the in- corporation of the business was elected its president, in which position he con- tinued until his retirement more than two years prior to his death. He ad- vanced gradually, and in all his business career took no backward steps. He learned valuable lessons in the school of experience, and each year found him better qualified for important and responsible duties and labors. Increasing sticcess year after year at length brought Mr. Antcliff a very substantial com- petence and he retired, feeling his income was sufficient to enable him to rest from further labor and yet supply himself and family with all the necessities and comforts and some of the luxuries of life.


On the Ist of January, 1870, Mr. Antcliff was married to Miss Augusta Kemper, a daughter of Christian and Marie ( Kahler) Kemper, who were na- tives of Germany, and upon coming to America settled in Peru, Illinois, while subsequently they established their home in Peoria. To Mr. and Mrs. Antcliff were born two daughters, Emma and Augusta. The death of Mr. Antcliff oc- curred November 5. 1911, and was a matter of deep regret, not only to his immediate family but also to the hundreds of friends he left behind. He was not only widely known in trade circles but also in fraternal relations, for he was a prominent thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen of America and the Bryner Post, G. A. R. In the latter organization he maintained pleasant relations with his old army comrades, and throughout his entire life he was actu- ated by a spirit of patriotic devotion to his country and her welfare. He voted with the republican party, feeling its principles contained the best elements of good government. He was at all times public spirited, and his cooperation could ever be counted upon to further movements for the general good. He never neglected any business opportunity leading to legitimate advancement, and yet he did not allow industrial pursuits to so monopolize his time as to make him neglectful of other duties of life. He stood firm in the support of his opinions and convictions, and ever sought that which is best for the individual and the community at large.


SABIN DON PUTERBAUGH.


Among the illustrious men of Illinois Sabin Don Puterbaugh is numbered. His contributions to the literature of the legal profession, his distinguished career upon the bench and his worth as a private citizen, all entitle him to recognition and have made his history a chapter in the annals of the state. He was born in Miami county, Ohio, September 28, 1834. His father, Jacob Puter- baugh, removed with his family to Illinois in 1839 and established his home on a farm near Mackinaw, Tazewell county, so that the usual experiences and environments of farm life were Sabin Don Puterbaugh's in his boyhood and youth. He was indebted to the common schools for the early educational ad- vantages which he enjoyed and in 1854 he took up the profession of teaching. which he followed for two terms at Hopedale. In 1855, however, he accepted an office at Pekin, that of deputy circuit court clerk, and while thus engaged devoted his leisure hours to the study of law until he was qualified in January, 1857, to pass an examination before a committee of which Abraham Lincoln was a member. Having been admitted to the bar by the supreme court, he Vol. II-30


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at once entered into partnership with Hon. Samuel W. Fuller, then of Pekin and also state senator from that district. His initial experience as a practi- tioner proved his knowledge and his worth and constituted the foundation upon which was built his later distinguished career. Following the dissolution of the firm in 1858, Mr. Puterbaugh practiced alone for two years and in 1860 entered into partnership with John B. Cohrs. In the following year, however, professional duties and personal interests were put aside that he might defend the Union cause on the field of battle. He enlisted in the Eleventh Illinois cavalry and was commissioned by Governor Yates, the first major of the regi- ment, under Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll. In February, 1862, he went with his regiment to Camp Benton, near St. Louis, and was soon afterward detached with the first battalion to join General Grant in the advance up the Tennessee. Later the remainder of the regiment came up with them, arriving just before the engagement at Pittsburg Landing, in which they took an active part. Re- porting with two companies of the Eleventh Regiment to General Prentiss on the morning of April 6, 1862, the first day of the battle of Shiloh, Major Puter- baugh and his command were about the first to receive the fire of the enemy and sustained considerable loss in men and horses. They afterward partici- pated in the advance on Corinth and in July, 1862, Major Puterbaugh was ordered with two companies to Bolivar, Tennessee, after which they engaged in scouting through western Tennessee and northern Minnesota. They like- wise participated in a battle near Bolivar on the 30th of August, where the major and his command were highly commended by General Leggett in his report. On the 3d of October came the hotly contested battle of Corinth, in which Major Puterbaugh and his command also participated. In November. 1862, he tendered his resignation and returned home.


Immediately after returning to private life Major Puterbaugh established his office in Peoria and here entered upon the active practice of law, in which he continued to the time of his death, thirty years later. In 1864 he entered into partnership with Colonel R. G. 'and E. C. Ingersoll, under the firm name of Ingersoll & Puterbaugh. This continued until June, 1867, when the latter was elected judge of the circuit court for a term of six years. His career on the bench was distinguished by a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution and by the utmost fairness and impartiality. As a judge he en- joyed the confidence and approval of the entire bar and proved himself the peer of the ablest jurists of Illinois. Following his retirement, in March, 1873, he removed to Chicago, where he engaged in practice for nine months, also spending much of the time in the preparation of the legal works which he expected soon to publish. In October, 1874, he again came to Peoria, and for three years was in partnership with John S. Lee and M. C. Quinn. Afterward he was joined by his son, Leslie D. Puterbaugh, in a partnership that was maintained until the father's death. The firm occupied a foremost position in the ranks of the legal fraternity in Illinois and their practice was ever a most extensive and important one. Aside from the active work which he did as a lawyer and advocate Sabin D. Puterbaugh made a valuable contribution to legal literature as the author of "Puterbaugh's Common Law Pleadings and Prac- tice," which was first published in 1863. Its reception by the profession is indi- cated in the fact that between 1866 and 1888 five other editions were brought from the press. In 1879 he published "Puterbaugh's Chancery Pleadings and Prac- tice," of which a second edition was issued in 1873 and a third in 1888. His research and investigations, his broad legal learning and his spirit of initiative gave him rank with the leading legal writers of the country and made his record one which reflects credit and honor upon the history of the profession in Illinois.


On the 18th of November, 1857, Judge Puterbaugh was united in marriage at Pekin, Illinois, to Miss Anna E. Rye and they became the parents of two


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sons and a daughter, Leslie D., Walter and Frances 1 .. , the last named being now Mrs. Blanchard H. Lucas. Judge Puterbaugh died September 25, 1802, at the comparatively early age of fifty-eight years, yet his contribution to the world's work far exceeded that accomplished by many a man who passes be- vond the Psalmist's allotted span of life. He ever stood for progress and advancement and kept pace with the onward march of the world. ITis reading was broad and he possessed the statesman's grasp of affairs. Ilis early politi- cal allegiance was given to the democratic party. During the war he espoused the cause of the republican party and in 1888 served as presidential elector, at which time he cast the vote of Illinois for James . Garfield. Political honors, however, had no attraction for him, for he felt that his real life work was the practice of law and in this he ably, wisely and conscientiously used the talents that were given him and gained the honor and distinction which the world instinctively pays to the man of superior ability.


JAMES B. MILLER.


James B. Miller, living on his farm which is situated one and one half miles . south of Hanna City, has been a resident of Peoria county since 1845. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, April 12, 1830, the son of Ezra and Nancy ( Weed ) Miller, who, in 1845 came by water route from Cincinnati to Peoria where they settled on a farm of forty acres which the father had purchased the previous year. In their family were ten children, of whom James B. of this review is the second in order of birth.


James B. Miller, being fifteen years of age when he removed with his parents to Peoria county, grew to manhood there and remained at home helping his father on the farm until 1855. At that date he, together with his father, pur- chased a tract of eighty acres of land in Logan township, and soon afterward he bought an adjoining eighty acres, and later purchased his father's share in the first eighty. He became very successful in his financial affairs and in time owned five hundred and forty acres of land in Peoria county, and at the same time a general merchandise store at Smithville which store he operated for four- teen years. Later he engaged in the mercantile business at Hanna City, and his merchandise was the first hauled over the Iowa Central Railroad out of Peoria. He was widely known throughout the entire county, and for thirty years in a grove on his farm known as Miller's Grove, he held a Fourth of July celebration. furnishing political speakers, band music, fireworks and refreshments to all the farmers for miles around. Mr. Miller now owns one hundred and forty acres in the farm on which he resides.


On the 21st of November, 1855, Mr. Miller wedded Miss Nancy A. Smith, and they have become the parents of seven children : William Fulton, born May 24, 1857, who, for the past twenty-two years has been a mail clerk on the Iowa Central Railroad; Martha Isadora, who was born January 27, 1859, and died August 17, 1860; James Smith, who was born April 20, 1860, and is engaged in farming in Logan township; Thomas Porter, who was born July 12, 1862 and died September 25, 1885: Anna Belle, who was born December 8, 1864, and is the widow of Mr. Walters, who was a farmer in Limestone township; John Gordon, who was born October 14, 1870, and is engaged in farming in Logan township; and Ralph Marion, who was born April 13, 1873, and is a farmer near Shedds, Oregon. Mrs. Nancy A. Smith Miller passed away February 8, 1910, at the age of seventy-six years nine months and four days. She was a member of the United Presbyterian church, and was greatly loved by all who knew her.


In politics Mr. Miller is a stanch republican and he is a faithful member of the United Presbyterian church. He has now resided in Peoria county for more


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than sixty-six years and he has witnessed the entire growth and development of this section of the country. He has always shown great interest in all that pertains to the general welfare, and has been known as a public-spirited man who has always found time and inclination to cooperate in the movements for the public good. In all the relations of life he has been honorable and straight- forward, and his example is well worthy of emulation.




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