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 131

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 131

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R. JOSEPH PAYNE, who is a dentist of Dwight, is a native of Gallia County, Ohio, and a descendant of excellent English and Scotch ancestry. His father, George Payne. was born at Newport-Pagnell, in England, fifty miles from London, in 1778, where he received few advantages in his childhood and began early in life to "paddle his own eanoe." Mr. Payne pos- sessed, however, the qualities of resolution and persistence, and soon after beginning to receive wages saved gradually and made wise investments, so that he finally accumulated a handsome property. lle dealt largely in real estate and was chiefly in- strumental in the building up of Tavistock Square. London, where he finally resided, and attained to the dignity of his carriage and four at a time when only very wealthy people could afford such luxury.

The mother of our subject who, as a maiden, was Miss Isabella Smith, of Edinburgh, Scotland, was the

sister of John and James Smith, two Scotch mission- aries to New South Wales, where they greatly dis- tinguished themselves for their labors and piety. George Payne and his young wife immediately after marriage took up their residence at No. 10 Tavistock Square, where they first dined after the ceremony, and where their first child was subsequently born. There were afterward added nine more children to the househokl.

The father of our subject, after his marriage, con- tinned his business in London for some time, and finally became security for his brother James, who was largely interested in navigation and was an ex- tensive importer of rare foreign woods. He became embarrassed by the loss of a fleet of vessels and ap- pealed to his brother George to assist him out of his difficulties. The latter signed paper to a large amount, which could not be met at maturity, and the property of both brothers was swept away. Seeing that ruin was inevitable, Mr. Payne, before the notes came due, went to the creditors and offered them certain property which he owned for their claims. They readily accepted this overture, ad- miring the spirit which prompted it, and left George Payne in possession of only the mansion at No. 10 Tavistock Square.

George Payne, after this disaster, determined to cross the Atlantic with his family and seek to re- trieve in the New World a part, at least, of the fort- une which he had left in the old. Ile came to America in 1816, and made his way to Gallia County, in the State of Ohio, and purchased a farm on the Ohio River. This he sold, and purchased 1,600 acres of the finest farming land in Gallia County, where he put up a beautiful residence and remained there until ten years before his death. After selling this property he took up his abode at Porter, that county, where he lived retired from active labor until his decease, which occurred in 1856. He had never parted with his property in Tavistock Square, as be always lived in hopes of being able to return. It is now in the hands of and is being controlled by a lady by the name of Payne, a relative of the family.

Mr. Payne, soon after coming to America, came to the State of Illinois on a prospecting tour, and had the misfortuneto meet with an accident

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which entailed a broken limb, and by reason of which he was prevented from returning to London at the time he anticipated, for it required three months to make the trip. He possessed an ex- cellent business capacity, and while a resident of Gal- lia he served as Justice of the Peace for many years. Politically he was a Whig. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Epon assuming his duties a- Justice of the Peace the law of imprison- ment for debt was still in force, and when one of the primitive merchants would apply to the Justice for an execution for the body of his debtor. Mr. Payne would tell him "if the man could not pay him when out of jail. he was very sure he could not do so when in." Justice Payne in these cases would make no costs, and even in extreme cases would advise a peaceable settlement of the claims. Of the ten children of the household the record is as follows: Margaret, the eldest daughter, was married to James Donnelly, of Gallia County, Ohio, and is now deceased : George J. married Miss Susan Kerr. and was engaged in the mercantile business for forty years. now deceased; William married Miss Hannab Fisk. of Cincinnati, and is now deceased : James II. married Miss Fannie Newton, of Ohio; Charles took for his wife Miss Mary Dixon, of New Orleans: I-abella became the wife of Rev. Hiram R. Howe, of Gallia County : Jane married Norval 1. Rome, of the same county; Joseph, our subject, was the ninth child: Thomas, the youngest, met with an accidental death in infancy; Richard. the third brother, married Mi -- Mary A. Preston.

The subject of this biography was born at his father's old homestead in Gallia County, Ohio, July 15. 1>20. and acquired a limited education in the district schools of those times, the first schools being in log cabins, with no floor but the earth, and greased paper for windows. and three miles to walk, and the woods full of bears and panthers. Early in life he became a clerk in his brother's store at Porter, where he remained for a period of several Year -. During this time, however, be determined to become master of one of the professions, although he had nearly reached hi- twenty-fifth year before circumstances were so shaped that he could begm hi- cherished project. Once started he made good headway. and in the year following ( 1846 ) assumed

the responsibilities of a family by his marriage with Miss Mary M. Sissons, daughter of Stephen Sissons, of Gallia County, Ohio, and a playmate of his in childhood. Dr. Payne commenced practice at Gal- lipoli-, and there the young people remained until going to St. Louis. in 1853, where they lived for fifteen year -. In the meantime the household had been enlarged by the birth of four children, namely : Ellen R., Joseph W., Mary M. and Jennie. Of these three are living, two residents of Dwight, and one of Chicago.

In 1855 Dr. Payne had occasion to pass through this county, and was greatly pleased with the coun- try. The wide expanse of beautiful and fertile prairie attracted his attention, and he purchased 400 acres on sections 8 and 9, Dwight Township, a por- tion of which still remains in his possession. His dental instruments, which are probably not excelled in quality and finish by any in the workl, were man- factured expressly for him, and made of the finest steel with handles of pearl, beautifully inlaid with precious stones. Some of the instruments are of silver. llis work is in keeping with the quality of his instruments.

Dr. Payne assisted in the organization of the St. Louis Dental College, and was one of its charter members. He was unanimously elected its first President, and became the author of many ex- cellent articles in the leading dental journals of that time. From 1867 to 1868 he was editor of the St. Louis Dental Journal, and introduced various new theories which proved valuable to the profession. Ile had become convinced that amalgam fillings were poisonous, and fully demonstrated the fact by subsequent investigations. He is credited with having saved the lives of several people who were being slowly poisoned by mereury. These facts are certified to by Dr. William Todd Helmeth, of St. Louis, and also by Dr. E. C. Franklin, both cele- brated medical authors.

Dr. Payne, in 1869, removed with his family to Dwight. Although now in the sixty-eighth year of his age, he is still vigorous and active, possessing a steady hand in the practice of his profession and a mind not in the least impaired by the flight of years. lle has always taken a lively interest in those mat- ters which affect the general welfare of the connu-

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nity, and is warmly interested in the success of the Prohibition movement.

In an early day a wealthy land speculator pro- posed to the Doctor to buy a township of land from the Illinois Central Railroad Company. in which he should be given a one-fourth interest and its entire management. Dr. P. was to exercise his own judgment as to the price, and the gentleman men- tioned was to furnish the purchase money and pay the expenses of the negotiator. This party had tried to make this purchase, but the company had refused to sell except upon actual settlement. Dr. Payne secured the land for $8.60 per acre, the whole amounting to nearly $100,000. The plan was to lay off a town on the line of a projected railroad. nine miles east of the Illinois Central, and sell the land in alternate 80-acre tracts. In pursuance of this object he engaged 100 families in the East to buy the land and settle on it. The great panic of 1857 broke upon the country and the Illinois Cen- tral made an assignment. The people who were to purchase anticipated difficulty in securing a clear title, and thus the whole project fell through. Dr. Payne had formed extensive plans in connection with this project, one of which was a plank road to he constructed from the new town to the Illinois Central Railroad, and he obligated the railroad company to put in a switch and a station at the point of commencement of the plank road. That station ultimately became the nucleus around which the present city of Paxton was built.

Dr. Payne. however, immediately turned his at- tention to another enterprise, and soon organized a Swamp Land Company in Illinois and Missouri to contest the claims of those States to the so-called swamp lands, and made application to the General Land Office at Washington, embracing over 200,- 000 acres of land as fertile as the Valley of the Nile, under a promise from the Government that he should be permitted to enter these lands at $1.25 per acre. Dr. P. had them surveyed in 40-acre tracts, and the character of each tract accurately described, this being the requirement of the Gov- ernment. He was sent to Washington to hurry up the papers, and spent a week in the General Land Oflice with Thomas A. Hendricks. During this time twenty clerks were employed to make out

the papers. Dr. Payne, leaving a Member of Con- gress to look after his interests and to see that no bill was passed adverse to his rights, returned West to enter the land. But the gentleman he had left in charge to defeat any fraudulent bill that might be presented was the very man who betrayed the trust, and himself introduced a bill which Congress passed, and which was the means of cheating Dr. Payne out of every acre. He had fully complied with his part of the contract, and was thus robbed by the United States Government. He paid Rev- erdy Johnston $700 for his written opinion in the case, and who advised him to bring suit against the Government for the value of the land. It is possible that he may yet recover it, and if he does it will undoubtedly make him the richest man in the world, as most of it to-day is worth from $50 to $75 per acre.

The following facts, aside from being closely cou- nected with the life history of Dr. Payne, cannot fail to be of interest. In the summer of 1856, the Ilon. Jesse W. Fell, of Bloomington, during a short stay at ('airo. Ill., wrote to Dr. Payne, then stopping at the hotel in Bloomington, and advised him to purchase the farm north of Bloomington, which was known as the Arny farm, from having been once occupied by the noted W. F. M. Arny, of Kan- sas fame, and in his letter suggested that the State Board of Education might be induced to locate the Normal University there. lle proposed that Dr. Payne should meet him at Mound City. a small town near Cairo, Dr. Payne procured a team, drove to the farm in question, made a careful in- spection of its location and natural resources, and was impressed with the feasibility of Mr. Fell's pro- ject. The Doctor a few hours afterward was on board the cars bound for Egypt. Meeting Mr. Fell at Mound City, the two took a stroll up the railroad several miles and seated themselves on a log under the cool shade of a big oak tree, and there matured the plan which resulted in the location of the Normal University and later the beautiful city of Normal.

Dr. Payne repaired to the station, and telegraph- ing to Bloomington, purchased the farm for the sum of nearly $20,000, and donated eighty acres of it to the State. upon condition that the Normal

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

University be located upon it. As soon as it was known that the Arny farm had been purchased with a view to securing the location of the Normal I'niversity, every farmer within a few miles of Bloomington imagined he had the most eligible site for the enterprise, and real estate went up to fabu- lous prices. The excitement soon rose to fever heat. and spread to the neighboring towns until the whole State was involved : even Eastern speculator- from New York City hurried West to watch the movement with a view to investment. Peoria, however, soon became the formidable rival of Bloomington. The Board of Education required the university to be located where the best induce- ment- in money, and a healthy and central location could be found. Buth citie- possessed these req- uisite -. Each sought to show it- superiority over the other. and while Peoria endeavored to prove that the land at Bloomington was too low. the other party argued that the bluffs of Peoria were too high, and they did not fail to point out the great di-ad- vantage of a long row of distilleries at the foot of the bluff-, which made the locality a dangerous place for young men to attend -chool.

The amount of the subscription- in land and money wa- kept strictly secret, and was to be put in sealed envelopes. so that neither party should know what the other had raised until the bids were opened by the board. Finally the work of raising sub- scription- was completed. and the bids were sealed. Next evening a- Dr. Payne was going into the hotel, he met a gentleman from Peoria coming out. and judged from his peculiar facial expression that something had happened. Dr. Payne knew the proprietor of the hotel could not keep a secret, and concluded the Peoria man had been "pumping" him. The Peorian wa- none other than Prof. C. E. Hovey. who afterward became President of the Normal I niversity, and later was widely known as ( ol. Ilovey of the School Teachers' Regiment, and sau laurel- during the war that made him a General. Dr. Payne inquired of the landlord if he had told Prof. Hovey the amount of their subscriptions, and he replied that he had. "That is just what I thought," said the Doctor, "and he has gone to the telegraph office and sent the news to Peoria, and they will open their bid- and add enough more to

beat ns, and you have ruined our case." Dr. P. hastening away to the telegraph office, learned sure enough that Prof. Hovey had been there and sent a dispatch to Peoria. Something must be done quickly, and hastening to the house of Mr. Fell, Dr. Payne made known the situation. After a ha-ty consultation with Judge David Davis and Gen. Asahel Gridley, of the McLean County Bank, it was arranged to get the Judges of the County Court to- gether with the hope of inducing them to make an appropriation to help out of the scrape. McLean County owned a large amount of the so-called swamp land, and the plan agreed upon, was to try and induce the court to appropriate 10,000 acres of this land. Judge Davis agreed to take it at $5 an acre and pay the cash. thus adding $50,000 to the subscriptions in the envelope.

One of the Judges, however, lived more than twenty miles away, and it was now after nightfall, and the next day the bids were to be put into the hands of a committee; $50,000, however, was a powerful stimulus, and the Judge was sent for. He rame promptly, and somewhere between midnight and daylight the appropriation was made, the bids were re-opened and $50,000 in cash was added. The envelope was then sealed and the County Court adjourned.

When the bids were finally opened by the State Board of Education at Peoria, Bloomington was nearly $50,000 ahead of Peoria, and they have al- ways to this day supposed that the okl hotel-keeper at Bloomington lied to Prof. Ilovey.

6 HOMAS S, CURRAN, EsQ., one of the carli- est pioneers of the southeastern part of Liv- ingston County, located here in 1859, and has since been identified with its most important interests, He carried on farming almost continu- ously from the time of his arrival nntil 1865, when he retired from active labor and removed to Chats- worth, where he occupied various offiees, being Constable four and one-half years, and afterward Police Magistrate, which office he still holds. He also occupies himself to some extent at his trade of a tailor, being a gentleman who dislikes idleness,

Thomas S. Curran

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and is never so contented as when his hands and mind are employed in something useful. This qual- ity of industry seems to have been peculiar to the pioneer settlers, and through its exercise have sprung up the improvements which we to-day be- hold in all the country around us.

Mr. Curran is a descendant of excellent Scotch and Irish ancestry, and spent his early years in Frederick County, Md., where his birth took place April 9, 1822. Ilis father, William Curran, was a native of the same State, and a harness-maker by trade. Ile served as a soldier in the War of 1812, and was Lieutenant of a company of dragoons. Ile also followed teaming prior to the construction of railroads, and which at that time was a very lu- erative occupation. He was married to Miss Eliza- beth, daughter of Christopher Smith, of German descent, and locating in Frederick County, Md., they there spent the remainder of their lives. The six children of the parental family are recorded as follows: Elijah is married and a resident of Carroll County, Md .; Mary became the wife of Adam Bowers, and is now deceased, as is also Margaret, who remained single, and died about 1884; Eliza- beth became the wife of Christian Halleman, of Pennsylvania, and died about 1881; Sophia, the wife of Obediah Martin, is a resident of Frederick County ; Thomas S, was the youngest of the family.

Mr. Curran was but a child when his mother passed away, and his father breaking up housekeep- ing, he was taken into the home of his maternal aunt, where he passed his early youth. The death of this friend necessitated another change, and he went to live with his brother-in-law, Adam Bowers, where he remained until sixteen years of age. Sub- scquently he commenced learning the tailor's trade in Taneytown, Md., at which he served an appren- ticeship of five years, and after reaching his major- ity, worked as a journeyman in his native State and in Richmond. Va. Hte finally set up a shop of his own at MeConnellsburg, Pa .. whence in 1848, he migrated to Huron County, Ohio. A year later he removed to Richland County, and in 1850 to Hardin County. He started for the West in 1857, and upon entering the limits of the Prairie State, stopped first in what is now Ford County. lle was in poor health, and for a time made his home with

his brother-in-law, William 1. Reid. In 1859 he purchased a tract of land in Germanville Township, this county, upon which he operated six years, when he retired from the labors of country life, and established hinself at Chatsworth.

One of the most important events in the life of our subject took place in the spring of 1848, at Emmitsburg, Md., namely, his marriage with Mis- Margaret Reid, a native of that town, where she was born March 16, 1828. This union resulted in the birth of four children, two of whom died young, and one son was ealled hence when a promising youth of eighteen years. The eldest child now liv- ing is William R., who was born Dec. 3, 1855, and is engaged as attorney-at-law in Pekin, Ill., where he has met with fine success.

Mr. Curran has been an active member of the Presbyterian Church for several years, and politi- cally, is an uncompromising Demoerat.

As representative of the noble men who re- deemed Livingston County from the wilderness, we are pleased to give a portrait of Mr. Curran.

UGH ROBINSON, who is in the full mean- ing of the word a representative farmer and stock-raiser of Avoca Township, is a native of Fayette County, Ohio, where he was born on the 14th of July, 1842. He is the son of James K. and Ann J. Robinson, both of whom were natives of the State of New Jersey; the paternal ancestors were of Scotch deseent.

When about ten years of age, Hugh accompanied his parents when they came to Livingston County, and settled in the southern part of Avoca Township. On the 10th of January, 1853, the mother died, and the father followed her over the river in De- cember, 1860. To them were born a large family of children, of whom the following survive: lohn M., now in Kansas; Maria, the wife of Joseph Brown, of Iroquois County, Il. ; Darius A., now in Nebraska; Naney S., Ilugh; Elfie G., the wife of William E. Fox, of White County, Ind .; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Timm, of Joliet, Ill., and Irene M.

James K. Robinson, the father of the subject of

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LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

this sketch, was the first Assessor of Avoca Town- ship after its organization. In his political atlilia- tions he always acted with the Republican party, and was for many years of his life a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He wasa representa- tive pioneer citizen. and entered cheerfully and heartily into the work of improving the section of country where he lived. He was always a liberal- spirited citizen, and gave substantial encourage- ment to all enterprises that would better his and his neighbors condition. He enjoyed the confidence and respect of all who knew him. and was a man of sterling integrity in all his business relations. Ile was one of the prime movers, and largest contrib- utors to the building of the pioneer Methodist Episcopal Church at the site of the former village of Avoca, where he was a merchant for a few years. In his death the county lost one of its most valuable citizen -.

Mr. Robin-on was reared to manhood in this county, and during his youth obtained more than an average education. Ile has been engaged in agri- wultural pursuit- all his life. On the 3d of March. 1×70. Mr. Robinson was united in marriage with Elizabeth Hartley, a native of Canada, and they are the parents of four children: Minnie M., who was born May 7. 1872; Lillie G., Nov. 12, 1874; Jessie E .. Oct. 6, 1876, and John A., Nov. 25, 1881. Mr. Robin-on owns a fine farm of goodly dimensions. all of which is under a high state of cultivation, and upon which he has erected comfortable build- ing- of modern architecture. while he has expended much effort in making the surroundings of the place a- cheerful and comfortable as possible for his family.

Mr. Robinson take- a very decided interest in «lucational matter-, which the people seem to have appreciated. for they have elected him School Director for fourteen years, and School Trustee of the township for two years, and under his adminis- tration the school funds of the township have been honestly and judiciou-ly handled. For eight years le ba- been a member and stockholder in the Fair- bary I'nion Agricultural Association, which has for it- object the promotion of the interests of the annual fair held each year at Fairbury. Mr. Robin- "on is a member of the Methodist Episcopal

Church, in the affairs of which he takes a lively in- terest, as in faet both he and his wife do in every- thing that promotes the welfare of the community in which they live.

ICHIAEL MULLIGAN is comfortably lo- rated on section 8, in Broughton Town- ship, where he has 160 acres of land, and in the pursuit of his chosen vocation is meeting with fair success and enjoying the esteem and confidence of his neighbors. His property has been accumulated by hard work, as he commenced his life work at the foot of the ladder without means and dependent entirely upon his own re- sources.

Our subject was born in Ireland, Jan. 1, 1835, and is the son of Owen and Judith (Fay) Mulligan, natives of the same country. His father was a far- iner of modest means, and Michael early in life was trained to habits of industry, learning to rely upon himself, which proved an excellent school and the secret of his future success. His education was quite limited, and when nineteen years of age, find- ing little to encourage him upon his native soil, he resolved to seek his fortunes upon the other side of the Atlantic. Accordingly, in the spring of 1856 he took passage on a mailing-vessel bound from Liverpool to New York City, and after a voyage of four weeks and three days landed in the great me- tropolis, of which he had heard so much. Staying in New York a short time, he migrated westward, and in 1858 took up his residence in LaSalle County. this State. Eight years later he found hunself in this county, and in 1867 purchased the land which comprises his present homestead. Ile has effected a marked change in its appearance, and is now numbered among the thrifty and well-to-do farmers of Broughton Township.

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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 131

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