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 139

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 139

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).

Mr. Chapman's parents came to Kendall County, Ill., where they had friends. Soon after, leaving their two boys at Lisbon, they went to Morris, Grundy County, where the mother opened a mil- linery store and the father engaged in gardening. Their children never saw them again, as a few weeks after the terrible cholera scourge swept over

the country and they were numbered with its vic- tim -. Mr. Chapman is now the only surviving member of the family. At the age of seventeen he bound himself to contractor Foote, of Grundy County, to serve as an apprentice at the carpenter's trade for three years, and with him came to this county in 1855. He worked at this trade for five years, helping to build nearly all the houses in and around Cayuga.

In the fall of 1859 Mr. C. and his brother bought some wild land and farmed until 1861, when the pressing need of brave men to defend the Union called him away from all that he had accumulated and bright prospects for the accumulation of more, to face the foe on the field of battle. Aug. 12, 1861, he was mustered into Company C. 39th IHli- nois Infantry, under Capt. Gray, of Rook's Creek Township. They were sent at once to Chicago, and thence to St. Louis, and soon after to Williams- port, Md., where they were joined by Company K. the last to enter the regiment, and which completed its muster and enrollment. It was now October, and they were placed under Gen. Curtiss, of Fremont's command, at St. Louis, Mo. About November the regiment was sent to the East under command of Gen. Ward Lemon, and stationed at Williams- port. Md., and were introduced to actual service in an artillery skirmish at dam No. 5, about four miles from the station, after which they were placed under the command of Gen. Leander, and stationed to guard the Baltimore & Ohio Railway at Alpine Station, Va. The brigade then comprised the 13th Indiana, 39th Illinois, 62d Ohio and 85th Pennsyl- vania. Ifere Stonewall Jackson found them tirst at Bath, Va., driving some toward Cumberland, Md., and the rest down the river to Alpine and across the river to Hancock, Md. Company C was placed on the hill near the pike, west of the station. to hold the enemy then approaching on the road from Bath. As Jackson's column arrived near them they were ordered to fire, and doing so. emptied eleven saddles. The company then re- treated to the landing and proceeded to cross the river on the ferry-boat. The boat being very heavy, it ran aground about the middle of the river, and enough of the men waded to the shore to lighten the boat so it could proceed to the other side. 1>

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a result of the exposure. Mr. Chapman was taken sick with erysipelas, and lay in that condition for some time. when he was furloughed thirty days. Mr. Chapman rejoined his comrades at Winchester, and they engaged Stonewall Jackson on the 16th of March. They drove him down the Shenandoah to Newtown, and across the brakes to the Luray Valley. They were then called to Fredericksburg, reviewed by President Lincoln and placed in Me- Dowell's command. The next order took them back to the Shenandoah, to engage Lee and Jack- son. McDowell lingered. and the detachment un- der Shields, in which Mr. Chapman was, reached there three day- before he did. Preparations were being made to fortify the mouth of the valley and de- stroy the three bridges crossing the river. This was the only outlet for the Confederates, the alternative being to abandon everything, even to their guns, and scatter among the mountains; but MeDowell refused to allow Shield- to do this, and the enemy crossed one of the bridges. fought their way through and attacked Mcclellan when he was lying before Richmond. Had MeDowell carried out the plan of tien. Shield- the Confederates would never have left the Shenandoah. MeClellan would have gone to Richmond. and the war would have closed in 1-62. The regiment was then sent up the James River to aid MeClellan, and captured a battery and 500 prisoners without firing a gun. They were just in time to take part in the battle of Malvern Ilill. July 3, after which they fell back and forti- fied Harrison's Landing, and hell it until ordered to Yorktown, thence were sent to Hampton Roads. In September they moved to Suffolk, Va., and fort- ifiel that place. Here the brigade was very mate- rially weakened by the 13th Indiana being taken from it. The regiment remained here half the win- tor. and engaged in skirmishing along the Black Wa- ter with detachment- of Jackson's forces. January " they broke camp. crossed the country to the coast, and shipped from Holley'- Landing, Va. to New- beru. N. C .. arriving there about the middle of the month. " weeks later they re-shipped at More- hegel City. N. ( .. and went to Hilton Head. a small island of the First of South Carolina, where they were reviewed by Con. Henter, who was then in command, and rested on their arm- until April 2.

when they went up to Cole's Island and crossed. On the 7th (the fleet having assembled, and every preparation having been made to reduce Ft. Som- ter) the first gun in retaliation for our humiliation of two years previous was fired. It was a sight long to be remembered. The fleet commenced fir- ing at 3 P. M. and continued until 5 P. M., when they moved majestically out of the harbor. The monitor " Monotuck " was badly hurt, and on mov- ing out in rough water sank about one mile from the shore off Morris Island. Contrary to the ex- pectations of the land forces, the fleet did not re- new operations. but some time afterward returned to Edistoe Inlet for repairs, leaving the regi- ment to which Mr. Chapman belonged on the north point of Folly Island. Here it passed a season of inactivity until some time in June. The rebel blockade runner, " Ruby, " being chased by the fleet. was run aground at the mouth of a small inlet be- tween Folly and Morris Islands. She was loaded with cotton fabrics and silks, and was a very valu- alle prize. The strife to gain possession of the cargo of this vessel caused a rupture between the Union and rebel forces, which ended in our being obliged to fortify ourselves, and ultimately forced on the siege of Fts. Wagner and Gregg. On July 18 the charge on the above forts took place, which was unsuccessful, and fully showed the strength of the rebel forces. From this time the fighting set- tled down to a siege. In the siege of Charleston, during the month of August, the famous "Swamp Angel" burst in firing the eighteenth shot. On the 7th of September the Union force> had worked up close to the forts, and the rebel forces evacuat- ing about 2 A. M. of that day, we had possession of the entire island by daylight. One of the mon- itors coming in to inspect the obstructions of the harbor, which were anchored at the extreme north (ir of the i-land, was left aground by the falling tide, upon which the entire fleet came in to engage the rebel forts so as to protect the monitor.

The regiment to which Mr. Chapman belonged returned to Folly Island October 28, and thence to Hilton Head, where the veterans re-enlisted, and re- turned home on a furlough for sixty days; Mr. Chapman remained on the island at Braddock's Point. On its return the regiment was placed un-

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der Butler's command and moved to Hampton Roads, where the detachment to which Mr. Chap- man belonged joined it on the Ist of May. They then moved on transports up the James River to City Point, and went forward toward Richmond. coming in sight of Manchester May 13, while Grant was fighting in the Wilderness. Ilere they lay un- til the 16th, formed in a semi-circle, when they were attacked on the right and defeated all along the line until the extreme left was reached, where the regiment to which Mr. Chapman belonged held its position at fearful cost, losing nearly 400 men. Every commissioned officer on the field was lost. Butler then re-organized the troops and aided Grant to cross the James River, hemming Lee in at Pe- tersburg by fortifying from the James to the Ap- pomattox in front of Weir Bottom Church, where, on the 20th of May, occurred the memorable charge and capture of Walker. On the 12th of August the regiment crossed the James River to Deep Run, and on the 15th attacked the rebels there, but were defeated with terrible loss. Mr. Chapman's time expired the day they crossed the river, and he ap- . plied for his discharge. Before it came he engaged in the battle of Deep Bottom, and was wounded in the left leg. Ile had received a wound in the cheek and one in the foot when before Richmond in May, but neither of these wounds disabled him from serv- ice. From the beginning to the end of his service he never was known to shrink when duty called him to action. He enlisted as a private, was promoted to Corporal, and then to Sergeant, for his bravery, and after heroie service at Charleston, was tendered a commission, which he modestly declined. He was discharged on the 11th of September, 1864, having served for three years and one month, and battle-worn and weary he returned to his home in Livingston County, where he began work at his trade and on the farm.

On the 16th of September, 1866, Mr. Chapman married Miss Mary J. Thompson, who was born in Edenton, Ohio, on the 4th of February, 1843. She was the second child in a family of three born to James and Alice (Harris) Thompson, who were natives of Ohio, and settlers in Illinois in 1860. Mr. Chapman farmed until the fall of 1872, when he was appointed agent of the Chicago & Alton

Railway at Cayuga, which position he has held up to the present time. In December of the same year he was made Postmaster, and filled that office with credit until May 1, 1886. He was a member of the School Board twelve years, and served as Road Commissioner three years. In 1875, realizing the need of a telegraph station at Cayuga, he provided himself with a battery and instrument, and by dint of hard study and close application, fitted himself and daughter, nine years of age. for the work. Without an instructor, never having seen the work- ings of a telegraph office, and past forty-two years of age, he was ready within six months for active work, and in May, 1876, the office was established, and is now one of the most important along the line.

Our subject and his amiable wife became the par- ents of six children-Agnes, George, Emily, Mary, Edwin and Cora. Agnes married J. Il. Cosgrove, who was Station Agent at Odell: George died in childhood, and Emily in infancy ; Mary, Edwin and Cora are attending school, it being the ambition of their parents to educate all their children well. Mr. Chapman is the owner of a comfortable home in the village, and has a good farm near by. He takes an active part in political matters, and votes and works with the Republican party.

C IIARLES HI. CRANDALL, engaged in build- ing and contracting in the town of Dwight, was born in the city of Providence, R. I., Ang. 12, 1831. His ancestry dates to the landing of the Pilgrims in 1620, and on his mother's side to Gov. Winslow. Charles Crandall, the grand- father of the subject of our sketch, came from En- gland with his two brothers when a young man, be- fore the battle of Bunker Hill had been fought, and settling at Greenwich, R. I., kept the tavern at that place at the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

Gen. Putnam was a guest at the hotel over night and offered Mr. Crandall a commission as Captain in the Continental army. Mr. Crandall was a pa- triot, and immediately accepting the proposition, . raised a company at Marblehead, Mass., which he

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commanded at the battle of Bunker Hill. The patriotism of the Continental soldiers is well illus- trated by the fact that part of Capt. Crandall's men were barefooted during much of the time they were in the service. Capt. Crandall -erved all through the Revolutionary War, and at it- close became a merchant at Voluntown, Windham Co .. Con .. where he remained until his death. He was paid for his services in the army in Continental money. which he applied to the purchase of a large tract of land at Voluntown. He was a very religions man, and becoming a Baptist minister, built a church himself in which he preached for many years. Ile was held in great respect, and is remembered to this day by the title of Elder Crandall.

Charles C. Crandall. the son of the above, and father of our subject, was born at Voluntown, Conn. Ile inherited lands from his father, and was a well elurated man, teaching school at Fall River, Mass., and Providence. R. I. Ile married Miss Lucy Winslow, daughter of Capt. Isaac Winslow, of Fall River, Mass .. and they were the parents of six chil- dren. named as follows : Lorenzo, William, Edward, Charles, Celestina and Joanna. He was a man of strong religion- convictions and was a member of the Baptist Church. His death occurred on the 14th of February, 1857, at the age of sixty years. He was a kind husband and father, and a man of ster- ling integrity.

( harles I]. Crandall. our subject, remained with bi- parent- until seventeen years of age, during which time he was given such an education as conld be obtained in the common school of that day. He ten left home and began learning the trade of a house joiner, at which he served an apprenticeship of three year -. In 1852 he went to California, and worked on the Panama Railroad at $10 per day. The mortality was so great that it is said a man was buried for every tie laid. Mr. Crandall did not. remain in the employment long but went to San Francisco, and soon after returned home, where he worked for a time in New York. He went to Cuba at the time of the exception of Gen. Lopaz, the lillibuster. and twenty-five Americans, most of shown were mere boys. Mr. Crandall has been ghite a traveler, and among the places in which he ha- plied lu- Vocation i- Savannah. Ga.

In 1856 Mr. Crandall was married to Miss Amanda, daughter of Daniel and Maria (Austin) Bartholie. of East Greenwich, R. L., who are now residents of Dwight. To Mr. and Mrs. Crandall have been born six children-Joanna, Lucy, Carrie, Charles, Oliver and Ilenry, all of whom are living. In 1858, with his family, Mr. Crandall removed to Dwight, and purchased a lot, on which he built the house in which he still lives. For twenty-three years he was a bridge builder for the Chicago & Alton Railroad, and in all this time he never lost a day's work excepting the regular holidays, and during this time worked on fifty-seven Sundays and eighty-seven nights; he has remarkably good health, and bids fair to live to a ripe old age. He is a man of excellent character and has won for himself an enviable reputation among men. He is an active and earnest member of the Masonic fra- ternity, and takes a prominent part in the work of that order.

LFRED P. BAYLER, a prosperous farmer of Broughton Township, is pleasantly lo- cated on seetion 18, in possession of about 115 acres of good land, which he has enl- tivated successfully since the spring of 1882. In connection with general farming he has given con- siderable attention to the raising of fine stock, which has been the means of yielding him a handsome in- come. He is a man of excellent business capacities, and in all respects a useful and liberal-minded citi- zen. Jle has been connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1865, being identified with the society of Campus. In this church he has served as Steward and Trustee, and has been one of its most cheerful and liberal supporters. Politically, the Republican party claims him as one of its most reliable adherents. He has served as School Trustee both here and in his native township, and has been dlected to other offices, but declined to serve, pre- ferring to give his attention to his farm interests and his family.

Mr. Bayler was born in Tazewell County, this State, Sept. 16, 1816, and is the son of George and Elizabeth ( Fleniken) Baylor, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. The mother

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was born in Ohio, and was the daughter of an Irish gentleman, who left his native soil when a young man, and was one of the early settlers of the Buck- eye State. The parents of our subject came to flli- nois carly in life, the father in 1842, and the mother three years later. They were among the pioneers of Tazewell County, and assisted in the early cul- tivation of the soil of Washington Township. They endured, in common with their neighbors, the priva- tions and hardships of life in a new country, and built up for themselves a good home in Washington Township, where they still reside, and enjoy the confidence and esteem of the people of that ser- tion.

The subject of this biography was reared to man- hood in his native county, and pursued his first studies in the district school. He was fond of his books and anxious to obtain knowledge, and made good use of the limited advantages afforded him. When twenty years of age, he entered the North- western University at Plainfield, where he expected to take a full course, but on account of ill-health was obliged to abandon his studies in less than a year. He did not allow himself to lose what he had gained, however, but kept up a course of reading, and upon the recovery of his health taught school two terins, and in the summer engaged in farming. He made his home with his parents until twenty- three years of age, and then started out in life on his own account.

One of the most important steps toward the es- tablisbment of a home of his own, was the marriage of Mr. Bayler with Miss Nancy E. Van Meter, a na- tive of his own county, and one of his childhood associates. Mrs. Bayler is a few years younger than her husband, having been born July 2, 1851, and is the daughter of Nathaniel W. and Corinna (Dorsey) Van Meter, who were natives of Hardin County, Ky., and of German descent. They re- moved from the Blue Grass regions soon after their marriage, and cast their lot with the pioneers of Tazewell County. Their household included eleven children, of whom the following survive: Joseph B., now of Nebraska; Mary E., the wife of James Van Meter, of Ellendale, Dak .; Sanford G., of Wil- her, Neb .; Henry R., of Colorado Springs, Col .; John F., of Los Angeles, Cal. ; and Nancy E.

Mr. and Mrs. Baylor commeneed life together on a farm in Tazewell County, where they remained until their removal to their present homestead. Their family includes eight children, namely: Car- rie B., who was born July 6, 1870; Laura A., Jan. 27, 1873; Jesse G., July 2, 1875: Lizzie L., Feb. 2. 1878; Una M., July 10, 1880; Hattie L., Jan. 8, 1882; George R., Nov. 9, 1883, and Ernest L., Jan. 20, 1886. llattie L. died Nov. 9. 1884; the others are at home with their parents, and form an inter- esting group of which they may well be proud. The eldest daughter is an accomplished young lady of seventeen years, and the youngest child is a bright little boy about two years old.

Mr. Bayler farmed in Washington Township, Tazewell County, until the spring of 1882, when he purchased the land which he now owns. Upon this he has effected good improvements, and has sup- plied it with the machinery and buildings necessary for prosecuting his chosen calling after the most ap- proved methods. He is held in the highest respect by his neighbors, and is a member of the com- munity of whom much is expected in the future. Mrs. Bayler is an active worker in the temperance cause, being a member of the W. C. T. U. at Eming- ton, and is also President of the Missionary Society in connection with the Congregational Church at Emington.

C HARLES MOULDS, Resolute men always take adversity philosophically, and persevere until they have forged prosperity ont of de- feat, when the faint-hearted would have gone down with scarcely a struggle. When a man is fight- ing for a foothold in life and at every step his feet slip backward, it requires courage to go ahead, and a strong will to hold every inch gained. The sub- ject of this sketch, at the beginning of his career in life for himself, met many obstacles and backsets, but growing neither weary nor faint-hearted he persevered until fortime smiled upon him. lle is now a farmer and stock-raiser on section 34, Long Point Township.

Charles Moulds is a native of England, where he was born on the 28th of April, 1835, and is the son of John and Sarah (Howett) Moulds, also natives

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of that country. The mother died in September, 1 .5. in Livingston County, while the father is now living with his son William. They emigrated to America in 1853. and were accompanied by the subject of this sketch.

At the age of twenty-two years Charles Moulds began lite on his own account, and hi- experiences at the beginning were varied and discouraging. Ili- first crop of wheat was a large one, and in due time it was stored in rail pens, lined with straw. The owner of the land, concluding to rid the field of superfluous straw, set it afire. The fire commun- icated to the pens and Mr. Moulds' entire crop was destroyed. The next year he began a new en- terprise. and engaged during the season in breaking prairie land. at which he made good wages, but when pay-day came he discovered that the con- tractor for whom he worked had absconded and he received no pay. The next season he again en- gagged in raising wheat, with a fine prospect of an excellent erop, but this time misfortune came in the shape of chinch bug, and entirely destroyed that season's crop. He then went to Indiana, where he engaged for two years as drayman.

On the 2 4th of January, 1861, Charles Moulds was married to Mis- Martha, a daughter of Fryer and Elizabeth Richardson, who were natives of England. in which country she also was born, on the Ith of February, 1841. To Fryer and Eliza- lweth Richardson there were born six children, one of whom. John. first married Miss Sarah Richardson, and was a second time married, to Miss Annie Mains, who bore him three children, and they re- -ide in Nebraska Township. Their daughter, Eliza- beth. married Henry Mould-, and to them were horn right children, five of whom are living; they now reside east of Pontiac. Thomas, another -on. wried Mi -- Mary Ann Farr, and they have seven children.

At the time of hi- marriage the cash capital of our subject consisted of $25, but he went to work with a will, and by economy and close attention to bu-mes, ably cronded by his wife, he has so well neceeded that be i- now established on an excel- lent xo.gere farm. All the building- are of good and -obstantial quality, and the fields are forced and cross fenced with both hedge and wire. Every

detail about the farm shows good and careful man- agement, and the evidence- of thrift are noticeable on every hand. Mr. Moulds, in politics, acts with the Democratic party, but he does not neglect his business affairs on account of politics. He and his family stand well in the esteem of the people who surround them.

J. PILLSBURY, of Pontiac, was born in York County, Me., Oct. 21, 1834. In 1855 he married Eliza J. Cole, and the same year removed to Illinois, and engaged in farming until April, 1863, when he commeneed reading law, and upon being admitted to the bar formed a copart- nership with Samuel L. Fleming, then engaged in the practice at Pontiac, III. In 1873 he was elected Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, composed of the counties of Livingston, Iroquois and Kanka- kee. This circuit was consolidated with the circuit composed of MeLean and Ford Counties in 1877 by the act of the Legislature establishing Appellate Courts for the State. He was then appointed by the Supreme Court one of the Judges of the Ap- pellate Court, and has been three times re-appointed and occupies that position. He has been re-elected for the third time Circuit Judge.

In 1870 Mr. Pillsbury was elected a delegate to the constitutional convention which framed and submitted to the people the present constitution of the State. Having been a resident of Livingston County for over thirty years he is regarded as one of the "old settlers," and it is believed he enjoys the confidence and respect of the people of the county.

Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pillsbury, four of whom still live to love and bless them : Clara A. intermarried with Mr. S. E. Sims, of Pontiac; C. Avis, now Mrs. E. JJ. Walker, of Kansas City ; Louis S. and Dale.

HESTER F. MORRIS. The extensive and valuable farm property of this gentleman is located on section 17, Amity Township, and forms one of the most valuable and well conducted homesteads in the western part of Livingston

RESIDENCE OF L. C. POPE, SEC. 28. NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP.

SCALES

RESIDENCE OF C. F. MORRIS , SEC. 17. AMITY TOWNSHIP.

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County. It includes 150 broad aeres, 300 of which has been brought to a high state of cultivation. The remainder is in pasture and timber, the proprietor being largely engaged in the raising of fine stock. Mr. Morris is widely and favorably known as one of the most enterprising men and skillful farmers of Central Illinois, and his very example has proved an impetus to his neighbors around him, whose farms, have no doubt been given better care and cultivation than they would otherwise have re- ceived. A view of the residence and its beautiful surroundings is given on another page of this AL- it's, to which the reader is referred.

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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 139

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