Portrait and bigraphical album of Livingston County, Ill. : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, together with portraits and biographies , Part 109

Author: Chapman Brothers (Chicago) publisher
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman brothers
Number of Pages: 1208

USA > Illinois > Livingston County > Portrait and bigraphical album of Livingston County, Ill. : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, together with portraits and biographies > Part 109

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In politics Mr. Close is a Republican, having cast his first Presidential vote for Gen. Grant. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has long served as Steward, and of which his departed wife was also an carnest member. As

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a citizen his reputation is without reproach, and he is held in the highest esteem in the community in which he lives. Mr. Close is now, in his declining years, enjoying the well-earned fruits of a life of activity. His father and mother, three brothers and three sisters, still reside in Canada, he being the only one of the family to come to the States.

ENRY CANHAM owns a snug farm of eighty acres on section 23, in Broughton Township, upon which he has labored since the spring of 1863. Ilis efforts have been worthily rewarded, as he is in possession of a com- fortable home and realizes each year an income in keeping with his needs and the comfort of his fan- ily. Ile has passed his threeseore and ten years, and has built up for himself a good record as an honest man, enjoying the warm regard of his friends and neighbors. The homestead is provided with suitable buildings and our subject, since 1863, has been considerably interested in stock-raising, deal- ing mostly in cattle and hogs.

Mr. Canham was born on the other side of the Atlantic, in the county of Norfolk, England, the shores of which are washed by the waters of the North Sea. In this county there are probably more railroads than in any other stretch of territory of its size in England. The birth of our subject took place on the 26th of March, 1826, at the modest home of his parents, Thomas and Jane (Hewitt) Canham, where he was reared to manhood and became intimately acquainted with hard work and its attendant cares. Upon leaving the parental roof he engaged as a farm laborer, and continued in the employ of one man for a period of fourteen years. In the meantime he was married, Ang. 6, 1850, to Miss Mary Ann Daniels, a lady of his own county, born and reared not far from the child- hood home of her husband. Her birth took place Oct. 2, 1827, and her parents were George and Harriet (Cousins) Daniels. natives of the same county and of pure English stock.

Mrs. C'anham as a child was exceedingly bright and observant, but being the daughter of parents by

no means wealthy, she was deprived of the oppor- tunity for education to the extent which he de- sired. She, like her husband, made herself useful at an early age by working out, and each day after her duty to her employer ended, would improve her leisure hours in study. In this manner she gained a fair amount of knowledge in the common branches, and was particularly expert as an accountant, being gifted by nature as a mathematician, and to this day, although not having been required to exer- cise the talent very much of late years, can keep accounts better than most ladies of her age.

Mr. and Mrs. Canham remained in England six years after their marriage and became the parents of three children. After their arrival in this coun- try. seven more were added to the household circle, one born in Cook County, this State, and six in Livingston Connty. The record of their family is as follows : The eldest son, William, was born July 6, 1851, and died on the 2d of December follow- lowing : Mary Ann was born Jan. 16, 1853, mar- ried Robert Drew, March 9, 1870. and died at her home in Streator, Ill., on the 28th of June, 1879, leaving four children; Joshna was born April 3, 1855, and died Ang. 3, 1856; Philetus George was born June 17, 1857, and married Miss Emma Croneh, March 6, 1883, and is carrying on farming in Broughton Township: they have no children. John Franklin was born July 29. 1857, and is a resident of Macon County, Mo .; Sarah Helen was born Sept. 10, 1861, and on the 2d of October, 1882, became the wife of Albert Iluntly, of Brough- ton : they have three children. Harriet Maria was born Jan. 15, 1864, and is the wife of Lawrence Rutan, who is farming in Seward County, Neb. ; they have three children. Henry Elijah was born April 18, 1866, and died in July, 1867; Nelson Marion, born Nov. 8, 1868, and Frederick James, March 27, 1871, remain at home with their parents.

Mr. Canham immigrated to the United States with his own family and that of his father, in the summer of 1856, and landed in Cook County, this State, on the 21st of July. He remained there en- gaged principally in farming until 1861, when he came to Ford County, where he operated on rented land about two years and then purchased his pres- ent property. Upon this he has effected great im-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

provements, as the land, which was but little re- moved from its primitive condition, has now been brought under a good state of cultivation. In 1877 he invested some of hi- spare capital in another eighty acres, which had been the property of his father and which lies on section 14, so that he now has a quarter section of land in two different bodie-, and all highly productive.

The family of our subject and hi- estimable lady ineludes two orphaned grandchildren : Otho Henry. who was born Nov. 29, 1870, and George William. Aug. 9. 1872. To these little ones Mrs. Canham performs a mother's part, and is a lady who among her neighbors bears the reputation of being exceed- ingly kind-hearted and well worthy of their confi- dence and esteem. Mr. Canham votes the Repub- livan ticket. and has taken a warm interest in the temperance movement. being strictly prohibitory in his own habits. neither himself nor children using tobacco or ardent spirits in any form.

6 LIE LESLIE E. KEELEY COMPANY, of Dwight. is one of the industrial institutions now known all over the civilized globe on account of the marvelous work it is doing in the cure of DRUNKENNESS and the OPI'M HABIT. The agent used is the DOUBLE CHLORIDE of GOLD. a remedy that has laid in abeyance since nearly the days of the great Paracelsus, who first gave it to the world, till Dr. Leslie E. Keeley revived it for it- present purpose, and gave it to the public in May, 1880.

For several years previous Dr. Keeley had con- ducted an extensive medical and surgical practice, during which period he devoted much time and -peut largely of his worldly possessions in experi- mounting for the successful treatment of these special di-cases, and for a just recognition of his discovery. This enterprise at its inception was conducted in a little 7x9 office on West street. which included the laboratory and shipping department. To-day the business ocenpie- three billings besides a ware- house and keep in constant employment. besides the member- of the company. a large force of type- 1

writer- in the conduct of its extensive correspond-

ence. To-day these remedies are being shipped to almost every portion of the Christianized globe, wherever Liquor and Opium are used. and as a result this company exhibits more testimonials from victims of both habits saved-for the same period of existence-than all the specialists, sanitar- iums, physicians in general practice, and temper- ance leagues combined. Dr. Keeley has no sani- tarinm at Dwight, preferring to treat a limited number of patients at private houses, and has all he can attend to. The most extreme cases are cured in from ten to twenty days, and so easily and com- fortably that they hardly know they are under treatment.

The Doctor's cure for Drunkenness is simply a marvel. Patients come to him saturated with an alcoholie debauch of thirty years, and in from thirty-six to forty-eight hours turn their backs upon liquor forever. We had the opportunity of inter- viewing many recovered patients in Dwight while there gathering material for this sketch, and if the half told is true-first, of the wonderful enres; and second, of the rapidity with which they are effected -then truly is Dr. Keeley a benefactor of the human race. The increasing demand for these remedies assumed such proportions that in April, 1886, the entire business was incorporated in the name of The Leslie E. Keeley Company, under the general laws of the State, with a capital stock of $25,000.

Dr. Leslie E. Keeley, the President and head of the company, is a regular graduate of Rush Medi- cal College, Chieago, of 1862-63. Ile entered the United States Army as a medical cadet, was pro- moted surgeon and served until the close of the war. He has been a resident of Dwight since 1867, and for a period of seventeen years surgeon of the Chicago & Alton Railroad Co. His pub- lished works include "Opium, Its Use, Abuse and Cure ;" "A Treatise on the Liquor Habit;" "The Morphine User, or from Bondage to Freedom;" "Neurasthenia, or Nerve Exhaustion;" "A Treatise on the Opium Habit:" and "Opium Smoking-Does it Shorten Life." These subjects are all treated with a strength of argument and clearness of preception that cannot fail to convince the most incredulous. Years of careful study and experience have given

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the author an excellent field from which to harvest valnable knowledge, and so well has he improved the opportunity that even among the medical pro- fession he is a recognized authority on these ques- tions.

Mr. Curtis J. Judd, Secretary and Treasurer of the company, was a three years' member of the 129th Illinois Infantry, entering as a private in Company B, in August, 1862. He was promoted at the close of his first year's service to Sergeant Major of the regiment, and served until the close of the war. He was afterward a successful merchant for seven years at Dwight, in partnership with David Mc Williams. His connection with this enterprise dates from its earliest conception, and through his rare skill, careful application and perseverance, the office illustrates a marvel of accuracy in the neces- sary details of its management.

Mr. John R. Oughton, another member of the firm, formerly with the well-known drug house of Lord, Stoutenburg & Co., Chicago, is a regular graduated pharmacist, and an accomplished chemist of rare experience. He has exclusive charge of the laboratory, which is of ample proportions, and re- markably well equipped for the compounding and manufacture of these remedies.

Every department of this valuable industry is under a perfect system, and every detail-often the outgrowth of necessity-seems to have had the most careful attention from the beginning. All shipments are made by express in pairs of two bot- tles, each securely packed in a plain case. The rem- edies are put up in an especially designed bottle. regularly patented in the United States Patent Office. It is peculiar in shape and can be readily distinguished from any other bottle in the market. It has only three sides, the back and right hand side being at right angles, while the other side de- scribes the arc of several circles. The portion aris- ing from the body of the bottle is at different an- gles on different sides, and the lip is provided with a neat little spout or pour-out. On the front of the bottle, just below the neck, the letters "K. G. C." are blown in. while the cork of each bottle is sealed with red wax, and stamped with the monogram "L. E. K."

In the office, cabinets of filing cases offer all

facilities for promptly tracing the correspondence in relation to any case, and a "Patients' Record" preserves the entire history of each case, and greatly economizes time in reference. There are scores of other details of the business, which all pass under the same methodical system, and the utmost pre- caution is taken to respect in every particular the wishes of correspondents. The only publicity given is through testimonials in cases where full written authority has been granted. The office literature, in taste, design and workmanship, is a marvel of beauty and appropriateness, while the host of pam- phlets and other matter issued from time to time to the public exhibit a lavish generosity and never fail to receive their admiration and appreciation.

"We Belt the World," as a trade mark, is an ap- propriate expression as to the extent of country reached by these remedies. Shipments are recorded from St. John, N. B .; Canada ; through every State and Territory in the Union ; thence to Honolulu, H. I .; the Sandwich Islands; Sidney, New South Wales; Australia : Bombay, Calcutta and Seharun- poor, India ; Montserrat, W. I .; Balize, British IIon- duras : Victoria, British Columbia ; San Marcos, and Chihuahua, Mex. ; London and Hull, England, and numerous other foreign points. There are Sanitar- iums established for the exclusive use of these remedies at St. Louis, Mo., Paris, Tex., and San Francisco, Cal., each under charge of a graduated and experienced physician, besides several private Sanitariums throughout the United States, which have adopted these remedies with most satisfactory results.

ARON PRICKETT is engaged in farming on his own place, consisting of 240 acres of land, located on sections 24 and 26, Round Grove Township, and in addition is dis- charging the duties of Road Commissioner of the township. Mr. Prickett has been a citizen of Liv- ingston County sinee 1868, at which time he re- moved bere from LaSalle County.

Our subject was born in Kendall County, III., Nov. 15, 1839, and is the son of James and Rebecca Prickett, who died in Kendall County, Ill., when Aaron was quite young. He was reared upon the

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

farm. and what education he obtained was in the common school- during his boyhood. He remained in Kendall County until the spring of 1861. when he moved to Grundy County. and began farming on his own account. renting land for that purpose. In the fall of 1861, however, being siezed with a desire to assist his country in the troubles which had come upon it. he disposed of his interest in the erops he had raised and joined the ranks of the I'nion soldiers. In September he enlisted in Com- pany A, 36th Ilinois Cavalry, and going to the front remained with this regiment until the expira- tion of it- three years' term of service, when with a majority of it- members he re-enlisted as a vet- eran. for the war, no matter how long its duration might be. lle remained in the service until the close of the war. and was honorably mastered ont at San Antonio. Tex., in November, 1865, but on account of the difficulty in supplying their places in that section of the country with regular troops. they were compelled to remain until January, 1866. He went through this long service, participating in all the marches, engagements and skirmishes with hi- regiment. without receiving a single injury.

Upon his discharge from the army Mr. Prickett returned to Kendall County, Ill., where he remained for a short time, and in the spring of 1866 bought a farm in Lasalle County. He soon disposed of this farm and purchased another, consisting of 160 arres, which he managed until December, 1868, when he sold out and came to Livingston County, where he bought 160 neres of his present farm, and has since resided. He has added to his original purchase until he now owns 210 aeres, every acre of which is subject to cultivation, and he has greeted thereon good buildings and made other valuable improvements.

On the 19th of February, 1867, in LaSalle County, III .. Mr. Prickett was married to Miss Nancy A. Bagby, who was born in Wells County, Ind., ou the 19th of February, 1845, and is the daughter of Elisha and Rebecca Bagby. Her father died in La- Salle County. Ill .. in August, 1867. and her mother, in Indiana. in 1816. Mr. and Mrs. Prickett have had four children, whose names are: Mary E .. James E .. Edward and Ella, the latter two being twins. Mr. Prickett has held the office of Road

Commissioner since April, 1882, and has also been Director of Schools. He is an enthusiastic comrade of Dwight Post No. 224, G. A. R. In politics he is a starch Republican, and allows no occasion to go by in which he can further the interests of his party. He and his family are held in high esteem by the people of the neighborhood in which they live.

M. CYRUS, publisher and proprietor of the Weekly Gazette of Pontiac, is a native of the State of Illinois, having been born at Al- ton, Madison County. on the 24th of February, 1854. He is the son of John M. and Adelia (Gor- don) Cyrus, who had a family of three children, Josephine L., William Wirt and Charles M., of whom the subject of this sketch is the only survivor. The mother, together with Josephine and William, died of cholera on the 3d of July, 1854. The father was again united in marriage, about three years later, to Miss Amanda Combs, of Ironton, Ohio, and has three children living by his second wife, namely : Edward Everett, Helen M. and Ruth Wescott, the last two residing in Chicago; Edward is married and lives in Kansas City, Mo. The father of John M. was Matthew Cyrus, a native of North Carolina, born in 1792, who was reared in Alabama, and en- gaged in farming, came to Illinois and settled in Morgan County, afterward lived in Jersey Conn- ty, and then moved to Litchfield, Montgomery County, where he kept hotel for a number of years, and died in 1871. For some years he served in the capacity of Justice of the Peace.

Of a family of seven children, the only survivor is John M., who was reared on a farm in Illinois, where he came with his parents when a small boy. When he was twenty-one years of age, he taught school .. and about the year 1858 began the lum- ber trade at Alton, and continued there for a time, and then went to Cairo and engaged in the lumber and general commission business. In 1865 he went to Chicago, where he has been most of the time en- gaged in the commission business.

C. M. Cyrus began learning the trade of a printer in 1861, at Litchfield, Montgomery County. In

R.L. Holdridge

Jacob Haley

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1877 he established and edited the Dwight Com- mercial, published at Dwight, Ill., and conducted the same until the month of July, 1881. In September he came to Pontiac and worked in the office of the Sentinel two years, and in 1883 began the publication of the Pontiac Weekly Gazette, which he has conducted since and established upon a substantial basis. It is a paper largely read by the people of Livingston and ad joining counties, and wields considerable influence.

Mr. Cyrus was married, on the 10th of October, 1877, to Miss Columbia V. R. Frame, daughter of Elder John R. Frame, of Eureka, Ill. They have one son, named J. Howard. Mr. Cyrus' paper is independent in politics. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Christian Church.

R ANSLAER LAFAYETTE HOLDRIDGE. The best information which can be ob- tained in reference to the Holdridge family of which the present representative in Saunemin Township is one of the most worthy de- scendants, is that several generations back two brothers, natives of Wales, crossed the Atlantic and first settled in New York. From them sprang all the representatives of this name in the United States. They continued in New England for sev- eral generations, and the paternal grandfather of our subject, with others of the name, served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. He spent his last years in Cortland County, N. Y., and died at the advanced age of ninety-eight years, having sprung from a race of people of excellent constitution, and generally noted for longevity. He married and became the parent of a son, Asa, the father of our subject. Asa married Miss Polly Warren, of Portland, Me .. and they became the parents of our subject.

The subject of this history was born in Madison County, N. Y., May 29, 1829, and the following year his parents migrated to Illinois, making the entire distance with two horses and a wagon. They had then but two children, our subject and his sister, Clarinda A., and their road much of the way lay through

the swamps, over a corduroy road, and in a section of country very thinly settled. They camped and cooked by the wayside and slept in their wagon, seldom seeing the face of a white man, and only the blue smoke of an occasional cabin. They reached Chicago thirty days from the time of start- ing and about the 10th of October, when the agents of the Goverment were delivering to the ludians their stated annuities.

It is hardly necessary to state that Chicago fifty- seven years ago bore little resemblance to the city at the present time. There was but one frame dwelling, and altogether little to indicate that it ever would be the metropolis of the West. The Holdridges tarried here three days, and then went into LaSalle County, where the father of our sub- ject took up several claims and waited until the land office was opened at Galena before he could secure a clear title. When this time arrived he entered the land from the Government, and set about its improvement and cultivation amid the difficulties of life in a new country.

Asa lloldridge was one of the pioneers of LaSalle County, and being a man of great enterprise and industry, also progressive and intelligent in his ideas, ere long became one of the leading citizens. He was instrumental in bringing to that section many of the families who were mostly concerned in the development of its resources, the building np of schools and churches, and all the other institutions so essential to the well-being of society. In the course of a decade the struggling community be- gan to assert itself, and Mr. Holdridge was chosen as Supervisor of Eden Township, to which he had come before its organization. He also held the office of Justice of the Peace many years. The faithful wife and mother who had stood by the side of her husband through his toils and difficulties and presided with dignity over his household affairs, rested from her earthly labors in October, 185 1, and the father followed on the 7th of October, 1868. They spent their last years at the homestead which they had labored together to establish, and their names are held in grateful remembrance by those to whom they proved ever hospitable and kind.

Our subject was reared to manhood amid the pio-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

neer scenes of LaSalle County, and as soon as old enough assisted his parents and pursued his studies in the subscription schools. Although there could be no regular school system as at the present day. young Holdridge, being fond of his books and ambitious to learn. acquired a practical education, which has served him well all through life. There never was a time when he considered himself too old or too wise to learn, and he still follows the habits of his early youth in availing himself of the useful and instructive reading which is now so easily obtained. He consequently has become well informed, and his knowledge has not only enabled him to pursue his farming operations intelligently, but has given him a good position among the progressive men around him.

Mr. Holdridge when twenty-five years of age was married. in LaSalle County, March 1, 1855, to Mis- Hannah Simmons, whose family, like that of his own, had settled in LaSalle County before town- ship organization had been effected. Her parents. Ira and Susan (Bowen) Simmons, had come to the West from Ohio. Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Holdridge five are now living, namely : Clarence R., Harry A .; Lizzie, the wife of E. J. Scovel. a grain merchant of Saunemin ; Ira G. and Ward. One daughter. Ella, died when seventeen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Holdridge continued to reside in LaSalle County, where our subject had purchased a farm npon which he operated until 1871. Then, finding a spot in this eounty which appeared to him more desirable, he came to Saunemin Township in November, 1871, and took possession of his pre-ent farm, which is located on section 14. Ilere he commenced as a general farmer, and of late years has attained quite a reputation as a stock breeder. During these years he has been adding gradually to his real estate, and now in Livingston County alone has an area of 3.500 acres, while in Kankakee he own- and controls a stock ranch of 600 acre -. This property has been largely acenmu- lated through his own sagacity and forethought. a- he had to start with but eighty acres, which had been given him by his father after reaching his majority.

The home farm of Mr. Holdridge is supplied with a handsome and substantial set of buildings,

which with their surroundings attract the admiring attention both of people in that section and the travelers passing through it. A view of the prem- ises is given in this volume. His live-stock trans- actions are probably larger than those of any other man in the county. He has always been contented with the free and independent life of an Illinois farmer, while at the same time he has never been backward in tendering substantial assistance to those enterprises in the town which naturally af- fected the interest of the people around him. He has, however, steadily declined becoming an office- holder, although solicited to accept that of Repre- sentative, yet he is a warm supporter of Republican principles, and willing to work in any way except that which would interfere with his unostentatious and chosen career. The home and business inter- ests which he has built up will remain as a monu- ment of his thrift and industry long after he has been gathered to his fathers, and men will relate to their sons the history of his life of perseverance and frugality which has made his name honored thoughout Livingston County, and the portrait presented in this connection will preserve the fea- tures of the man who has done so much.

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Portrait and bigraphical album of Livingston County, Ill. : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, together with portraits and biographies , Part 109

Author: Chapman Brothers (Chicago) publisher Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago : Chapman brothers Number of Pages: 1208

Author: Chapman Brothers (Chicago) publisher
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman brothers
Number of Pages: 1208