USA > Illinois > Peoria County > Peoria > Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
John D. Collins, the Doctor's father, acquired a good education while spend- ing his youthful days under the parental roof, and having arrived at years of maturity was married, on the 25th of September, 1859, to Miss Martha Cox, who was born in Auglaize county, Ohio, January 21, 1839. The young couple began their domestic life in Ohio but in 1862 John D. Collins put aside all personal and business considerations in order to prove his loyalty to the Union cause by active service at the front. The country was then engaged in Civil war and he felt that it needed the aid of all loyal citizens. In 1862, therefore, he enlisted, becoming a member of Company K, Seventy-Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served as a sharpshooter for three years. During that period he went with Sher- man on the celebrated march from Atlanta to the sea and when the war was over he was mustered out at Washington, D. C. He participated in the grand review in the capital which was the most celebrated military pageant ever seen in the western hemisphere, thousands of victorious Union soldiers marching down Penn- sylvania avenue over which was suspended a banner bearing the words "The only
.
CLIFFORD U. COLLINS
-
THEN 1
ISTOK, LENOX AN- TILDEN FOUNDATIC
69
HISTORY OF PEORIAA COUNTY
debt which the country owes that she cannot pay is the debt which she owes to her soldiers."
The war over, Mr. Collins returned to his home in Ohio, where he remained until 1873, when he removed with his family to Vandalia, Illinois. He became a prominent factor of Fayette county, this state, acting as principal of the schools of Vandalia and also of Ramsey. He turned from professional life to commer- cial pursuits, however, in 1878, when he embarked in general merchandising at Vandalia, where he successfully continued for many years. John Collins and his wife were people of sterling worth whose influence and labors were always given on the side of advancement. reform and improvement. They were especially active in support of the temperance cause, Mr. Collins voting for many years with the prohibition party of which he was an active worker, while his wife was very prominent in the Women's Christian Temperance Union.
Dr. Clifford U. Collins was not yet six years of age when the family removed from Ohio to Vandalia, where he pursued his education until graduated from the high school of that city with the class of 1885. He then turned to the pro- fession of teaching as his initial experience in the business world, devoting five years to that work. He was first employed as teacher in the country schools but later became principal of the Vandalia schools. However, he regarded school teaching merely as a step toward other professional labor and with a desire to be- come an active member of the medical profession he entered upon a course of study in the Marion Sims College of Medicine in that city. Following his grad- uation there in 1892 he practiced for two years in Vandalia and then removed to Averyville, Peoria county, on the ist of April, 1893. Success attended him in his efforts at that place and won him a reputation which made him well known in Peoria. Seeking the broader field of labor offered by the city he came to Peoria in 1904 and after continuing in general practice for a time he determined to devote his energies exclusively to surgical work, in which field of practice he displays marked skill and ability, having comprehensive knowledge of anatomy, the com- ponent parts of the human body and the onslaughts made upon it by disease. Cool and quiet in an emergency, he is well adapted for the difficult and arduous duties that continuously devolve upon the surgeon.
On the 7th of January, 1890, in Vandalia, Dr. Collins was united in marriage to Miss Belle Henry and unto them has been born a daughter. Constance. Mrs. Collins is a daughter of Judge B. W. Henry, who was born in Shelby county in 1834 and for many years practiced law in Vandalia. His father. the Rev. Bush- ford Henry, who for an extended period resided in Shelbyville, Illinois, was one of the pioneer preachers, contributing to the moral progress and development of that district. His son, B. W. Henry, determined to devote his life to the practice of law and ultimately attained to high judicial honors in that connection. He married Sarah Johnson, who was born in Pocahontas, Illinois, in 1842.
Dr. and Mrs. Collins are well known socially in Peoria and throughout the county where they have an extensive circle of warm friends. He is identified with several fraternal organizations including the Supreme Court of Honor, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Royal Neighbors. In strictly professional lines he is connected with the Peoria City Medical Society, the Illinois State Med- ical Society, the American Medical Association and the Western Surgical Asso- ciation. Through the proceedings of these bodies he keeps in close touch with what is being done by eminent members of the profession and in his work em- ploys the most modern and scientific methods. There has been marvelous ad- vance in the practice of surgery in the past quarter of a century and Dr. Collins is thoroughly informed concerning the work of the most eminent members of the profession throughout the country.
Although Dr. Collins' professional duties are arduous, yet few physicians have their time better systematized. He has recently added to his activities by his elec- tion to the presidency of the Peoria Association of Commerce, a position which Vol. II-4
70
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
he entered upon the resignation of Douglas H. Bethard. On March 25th the directors of the association called a meeting to decide upon a successor to the office. A few hours before the meeting, Dr. Collins was informed that he had been selected as the dark horse candidate for the presidency. But instead of being the dark horse candidate, when the meeting was called to order, Dr. Collins was unanimously proclaimed head of the big association. This was a tribute to the acknowledged executive ability of the Doctor, and to the complete confidence which his fellow citizens repose in him.
JOHN J. HARDING, JR.
John J. Harding, Jr., who engages extensively in agricultural pursuits in Logan township, was born in Peoria on November 28, 1851. He is the son of John J. and Jane (Greenough) Harding, both of whom are natives of Eng- land, the father born in Bratton Fleming, Devonshire, June 3, 1819, and the mother in Lancashire, July 14, 1830. The paternal grandparents, John and Mary (Gill) Harding, were also natives of England and resided there all their lives, the grandmother dying at the age of ninety. John J. Harding, Sr., left England for America on April 4, 1845, landing at New York, and thence came to Chicago by the water route and from there with team and wagon to Peoria, where he arrived June 24. For some time he was employed as clerk in a com- mission house but in 1861 he moved to Logan township, settling on a tract of eighty acres on section 5. Later he removed to Rosefield township, where he purchased eighty acres on section 32 and to this afterward added one hundred and fifty acres on sections 30 and 31. He was twice married, his first union being with Miss Sarah Tucker, whom he wedded in England, March 29, 1845, and who died in Peoria in September, 1847. His second union was with Miss Jane Greenough, who was a daughter of James and Jane ( Pilkington) Green- ough, who came from England to America in 1842 and settled in Brimfield town- ship, Peoria county. To John J. and Jane (Greenough) Harding were born six sons. The parents celebrated their golden wedding January 9, 1901, and the father died just six days later, on the 15th of January, at the age of eighty- one years, while the mother passed away January 5, 1906.
John J. Harding, Jr., was reared under the parental roof and when twenty- four years of age his father gave him forty acres of land which was then valued at sixty dollars an acre and is now worth one hundred and fifty dollars per acre. In 1891 he purchased another one hundred and twenty acres, for which he paid thirty-eight dollars per acre and which is now valued at ninety dollars per acre. He engages extensively in raising grain and live stock. He markets yearly from fifty to one hundred hogs, has sixteen head of horses and yearly raises from two to five colts and about ten head of cattle. He has fifty-five acres in corn, twenty- five acres in wheat, forty-five acres in oats and fifty acres in pasture land. He now sells his grain at Eden but when he first came to his present farm his near- est market was Peoria.
In 1875 Mr. Harding was united in marriage to Miss Ida A. Green, of Rose- field township, and they have become the parents of three sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Ira J., died in November, 1910. The daughter, Laura May, was born in 1878 and is at home. The second son, Walter E., was born in 1881 and remained on the home farm until twenty-seven years of age, when he went to Hanna City, where he was employed as engineer for the Applegate & Lewis Coal Company until November, 1910, when he returned to the farm. In 1907 he married Miss Fay Scott and they have one child, Harley E. William C. Hard- ing, who completes the family, was born in 1883 and was married in 1907. He
71
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
engages in farming in Rosefield township, where he owns one hundred and twenty acres of land.
In politics Mr. Harding is a republican and he served as assessor of Logan township from 1907 to 1911 and in April, 1911, was made township supervisor. He has been very successful and besides his farming interests is a member of the Farmers' Telephone Association and of the Farmers' Fire & Lightning Insur- ance Company. He and his family are all members of the Baptist church at Trivoli. Mr. Harding is a well known man throughout the community, has been very prosperous and is highly respected by all his acquaintances.
EDWARD WHITE.
Edward White, president and manager of the Amole Soap Company of Peoria, was born in Burlington, Iowa, September 21, 1851. His parents were among the first settlers of that state, his father emigrating to Michigan territory, as Iowa was then called, in 1833, while the mother became a resident of that territory in 1835. At an early age Edward White entered the employ of the Burlington Hawkeye and by devoting all of his spare time to study and reading, became a writer as well as a practical printer. In 1874 he went to Chicago and soon afterward became one of the founders of the first literary magazine pub- lished west of the Alleghany mountains-The Northwestern-its publishers be- ing the firm of Street, White & Bowen. In 1876 Mr. White went to northwest- ern Missouri, where he engaged in the publication of a country newspaper, being thus connected with journalistic interests in Missouri and Kansas until 1884, when he returned to Chicago and pursued literary work for several years. In 1892 he went to New York, where he remained for several years, doing editorial work on The Bankers Magazine, The Banking Law Journal, Leslie's Weekly, The New York Commercial and other publications. In 1903 he established the Monetary Record of St. Louis and in 1907 founded the industrial magazine, Industry, at Pittsburg. He has edited and published several books on indus- trial and financial subjects and has written exhaustive commercial and financial reviews on all of the large cities of the United States. In May, 1911, he came to Peoria and engaged with the Amole Soap Company as financial manager. Shortly afterward the company became insolvent and Mr. White was appointed receiver by Judge Humphrey of the United States district court. Two months later he was elected trustee by the creditors and within thirteen months after his appointment as receiver succeeded in liquidating every dollar of unsecured indebtedness through cash and stock payments to the creditors. Upon the re- organization of the Amole Soap Company he was made president and manager. This company was established in 1884 by Abraham Brayshaw, who was later succeeded as proprietor by his sons, B. W., W. W. and C. W. Brayshaw.
ROBERT McCOWAN.
Robert McCowan, who resides in Rosefield township and is actively engaged in general farming, was born in Canada, February 23, 1857. He is the son of Robert and Hannah (Blake) McCowan, who came from Canada in 1865 and located in Elmwood township where they resided the remainder of their lives, the father dying in 1873 at the age of forty-five and the mother in 1908 at the age of sixty-six. In their family were seven children, of whom Robert of this review is the eldest. Robert McCowan remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age at which time he began working as a farm hand
72
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
and was thus employed until 1881. At that date he removed to Iowa where he rented and operated a farm of forty acres for two years and then returned to Elmwood township and was again employed for two years as a farm hand. In 1887 he removed to Kansas and remained in that state until 1890, when, return- ing to Illinois, he located in Peoria where he resided for ten years, during four of which he was employed on a United States mail wagon. In 1900 he re- moved to a farm of ninety acres near Oak Hill, and in 1903 he rented a two hundred acre farm at Harkers Corner where he resided for two years. In 1905 he removed to the Johnson farm of two hundred acres and operated the same for four years. He purchased his present farm of eighty acres in 1911, and rents in addition an adjoining one hundred and thirty acres. He engages in raising corn, wheat, oats and hay, and also live stock, making a specialty of hogs, horses and cattle. On the 3d of February, 1880, Mr. McCowan was mar- ried to Miss Vilena Hutchinson, who is a daughter of Abraham and Sarah (McCoy) Hutchinson. To Mr. and Mrs. McCowan have been born four chil- dren : Mabel; Stella, deceased; Robert; and Luella.
In politics Mr. McCowan is a stanch republican and socially he is identified with the Order of Maccabees. He is highly considerate of his neighbors, is greatly interested in the welfare of his community, and is known as a straight- forward energetic business man.
FRANK J. SHIVELY.
Among the native residents of Elmwood is Frank J. Shively, who is a suc- cessful contractor and builder. He was born October 6, 1871, the son of Wil- liam and Celia (Wilson) Shively, the former born in Greene county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1847, and the latter in Wisconsin, in 1852. The maternal grand- parents, Hiram and Julia Wilson, were natives of the state of New York, who removed to Wisconsin and about 1860 came to Elmwood. The grandfather operated a dredging machine in the Illinois marshes for some time but during the later years of his life lived retired in Elmwood. The father, William Shively, was reared in his native state and when only a youth enlisted in a company of Pennsylvania cavalry and served for nearly four years. After the war he came to Peoria county, settling near Elmwood, where he worked for a time on a farm. He then married and moved to Elmwood and was engaged for several years in a paper mill, after which he took up the carpenter trade and followed it the rest of his life, dying in 1905. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist church, and he was identified with the blue lodge of Masons and with the Grand Army of the Republic. In his family were five children, of whom Frank J., of this review, was the eldest. The others are: Edith ; Edward, now living in Peoria ; Harlan, who is working for the subject of this sketch and is familiarly known by the nickname of Joe; and Verna.
Frank J. Shively received his education in Elmwood and after putting aside his text-books was employed for four years in the grocery store of S. R. Henry and then for two years in the grocery store of Harry Patterson. Subsequently he learned the carpenter's trade and for the past eight years has been engaged in carpentering and contracting for himself. His patronage is constantly grow- ing and he now is conducting an extensive business. He formerly was a mem- ber of the firm of Shively & Lewis, owners of a five-acre farm upon which were raised thoroughbred Poland China hogs of the large type for breeding purposes. In 1911 their hog known as Senior Yearling took the first prize at the state fair.
On the 5th of July, 1899, Mr. Shively was united in marriage to Miss Edna M. Lawrence, who was born in Elmwood township, August 3, 1873, and is a daughter of Erastus and Emma Lawrence, of whom mention is made on another
73
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Shively have become the parents of four chil- dren, Doris, Roma, Ruth and Francis. In politics Mr. Shively is a republican and has served as city alderman. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is progressive and energetic in his contracting and building business and is meeting with excellent success.
LEONARD D. JEFFRIES.
The machinery of government in Peoria is in safe hands and capable mien are on the whole filling the public offices and directing municipal business. In this connection Leonard D. Jeffries deserves mention. He is serving as city engineer, to which position he was called on the 13th of December, 1911, as the successor of Ross J. Canterbury, who resigned. He had previously had two years' experience as a draftsman in the city engineering department and his qualifications were such as to commend him for appointment to his present posi- tion, although he is yet a young man, only about twenty-six years ago. Peoria is glad and proud to thus honor her native sons whose capability entitles them to such distinction. Mr. Jeffries was born here November 29, 1886, and is a son of Joseph and Sarah ( Woodson) Jeffries. His father is still a resident of this city and is one of the oldest boiler makers here. He was born in England but since early manhood has resided in the new world.
Leonard D. Jeffries was reared in Peoria and attended the public schools, passing through consecutive grades until graduated from the Peoria high school with the class of 1904. He then started out to earn his own living and secured employment in a gun store, working as a gunsmith and locksmith, thus calling into play his natural mechanical ingenuity and developing his latent powers along that line. That he was ambitious and desired to prepare himself for ad- vancement is shown in the fact that while there he pursued a correspondence course in civil engineering and thus mastered the technical and scientific phases of the business, while practical experience came to him through a year's service in the sewer department of the city of Peoria, in which he was employed in 1908. In the following year he entered the city engineering department, where he spent two years as a draftsman, becoming thoroughly acquainted with the duties which constitute the work of that department. Therefore, when Ross J. Canterbury resigned Mr. Jeffries was called to fill the vacancy and is giving excellent service in this connection.
On the 30th of June, 1909, Mr. Jeffries was united in marriage to Miss Ione Ford, of this city. His religious faith is that of the Scientist church. He is widely known in the city where his entire life has been spent and his social and personal qualities have gained him popularity among many friends. The story of his life is the story of honest industry and thrift and he may be aptly termed a man of purpose.
FREDERICK MICHEAL BURBACH.
Frederick Micheal Burbach, filling the office of justice of the peace and well known for thirty years as a representative of industrial interests in Peoria, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, August 19, 1866. His father, John George Bur- bach, was a native of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, and married Christina Run- kel. They became the parents of three sons and two daughters, and the father provided for the support of his family by the manufacture of saddletrees.
74
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
Frederick M. Burbach began his education in the public schools of his native city and in the mornings, evenings and on Saturdays he worked for his father. The necessity of his assisting in the manufacture of saddletrees made it impos- sible for him to attend high school. To that work he gave his attention until 1882, when he entered upon an apprenticeship at the pattern maker's trade in St. Louis, Missouri, with the firm of Kupferle Brothers. On the 27th of Febru- ary, 1900, he removed to Peoria, at the solicitation of the Brass Foundry & Heating Company, to make brass patterns and other goods for the Corning Distilling Company. He continued in that position for three and a half years and then went to the Kinsey & Mahler Company as pattern maker. Later he was employed by the Bartholomew Automobile Company and spent altogether thirty years at the bench as a pattern maker and brass worker, his labors being of an important character and his position one of responsibility. When three decades had thus passed he was elected to the office of justice of the peace, in which he is now serving for his second year and his record in this connection is creditable, for his decisions are strictly fair and impartial, being based upon the law and the equity in the case.
In 1887 Mr. Burbach was married to Miss Lizzetta Shornhorst, who was born in St. Louis. They have become the parents of two daughters, Lilly and Florence. The former is the wife of Ernest Witherell and has one child, a daughter.
Mr. Burbach is prominent in Masonic circles, holding membership in Peoria Lodge, No. 15, F. & A. M., of which he is a past worshipful master; Peoria Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M., of which he is now high priest ; and Peoria Council, No. 11, R. & S. M., of which he has been thrice illustrious master. He also be- longs to Electa Chapter, O. E. S., and to Peoria Camp, No. 812, M. W. A., of which he is venerable consul. In politics he has always been a stalwart re- publican, active as a worker in the party. He does not go off on a tangent after new ideas and was elected justice of the peace as a reward for party service and in recognition of his efficiency as a citizen. He is most loyal to the interests of Peoria and he led an annexation fight in the village of Mechanicsville in the one hundred thousand population campaign. Winning, he thereby added three thousand to the population of the city. In 1910 he was in charge of the cam- paign committee. He has always been a close student of the science of govern- ment and he is now studying law-two things which are closely allied.
FRED H. CAMP.
The name of Fred H. Camp is largely known throughout the country because of his extensive operations in realty, particulary in farm lands. The many large property transfers which he has negotiated indicate the day of small under- takings in real-estate dealings is past. He has bought and sold lands through- out the entire Mississippi valley and his sound judgment is manifest in his care- ful investments and his judicious sales.
Mr. Camp claims Vermont as the state of his nativity, his birth having there occurred on the 7th of June, 1849, Bennington being his natal city. His parents were Harvey and Lydia (Rounds) Camp. The father was for many years a well known farmer and land owner who met with substantial success in his business undertakings, and while he loaned thousands of dollars, such was his keen judg- ment that he never lost a cent in that manner. He became one of the most ex- tensive property holders in Peoria county, owning a number of valuable farms in the western part of the county, north of Elmwood. Much of this property he bought at a low figure, paying for all of it only sixteen dollars and a half per acre. Gradually it increased in value owing to the rapid settlement of this part
FRED H. CAMP
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX, AND TILDEN FOUNDAT ONS.
77
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
of the state and also to the many improvements which he placed upon it. He sold none of his land for less than two hundred dollars per acre, and his last sale brought him two hundred and sixty-two dollars and a half per acre. He died in 1897 at the venerable age of eighty-six years, and his death then was the result of an accident, a fall breaking his neck, although he lived for three days after sustaining that injury. His widow still survives and is now eighty-six years of age.
Fred H. Camp was a lad of only six years when the family left the New England states and came to P'coria, settling in this part of the state in 1855. Here he has since lived, and after attending the local schools he finished his education in Knox College at Galesburg, from which he was graduated when twenty-two years of age. He then started out in the drug business which he followed for a year, after which he secured employment in connection with the commission and grain trade. A year later he removed to Brimfield, Illinois, where he erected a brick block and for five years conducted a grocery store. At the end of that time his stock was destroyed by fire and he returned to Peoria. He then accepted a position as bookkeeper with the Avery Planter Company, where he continued for five years at the end of which time he entered the employ of the Kingman Company, a firm which he represented on the road for several years, selling their plows and farm implements. He afterward made settlements for the company, collecting for them thousands of dollars. As the years passed his services became of more and more value to them and his income increased accordingly. Thus as his financial resources permitted he made investments in land, and for the last five years he has concentrated his energies upon his land dealings all over the United States. He has handled property in almost every state in the Union. He is now the proprietor of the Florida Land Company with offices in the German Fire Insurance building and he also handles farm lands on an extensive scale, not only in Peoria county but throughout Kansas, Texas, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Indiana. It would be difficult to find one more thoroughly informed concerning land values, or whose judgment is sounder in relation to the possible rise or diminution in the same.
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.