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 14
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In July, 1871. Mr. Hamilton married Miss Helen M. Williams, the daughter of Prof. Wm. G. Williams, Professor of Greek in the Ohio Wesleyan University. Mr. and Mrs. H. have two daughters and one son.
In 1876 Mr. Hamilton was nominated by the Re- publicans for the State Senate, over other and older competitors. He took an active part " on the stump" in the campaign, for the success of his party, and was elected by a majority of 1,640 over his Democratic- Greenback opponent. In the Senate he served on the Committees on Judiciary, Revenue, State Insti- tutions, Appropriations, Education, and on Miscel- lany ; and during the contest for the election of a U. S. Senator, the Republicans endeavoring to re-
elect John A. Logan, he voted for the war chief on every ballot, even alone when all the other Republi- cans had gone over to the Hon. E. B. Lawrence and the Democrats and Independents elected Judge David Davis. At this session, also, was passed the first Board of Health and Medical Practice act, of which Mr. Hamilton was a champion, againet cs much opposition that the bill was several times "laid on the table." Also, this session authorized the location and establishment of a southern peni- tentiary, which was fixed at Chester. In the session of 1879 Mr. Hamilton was elected President pro tem. of the Senate, and was a zealous supporter of John A. Logan for the U. S. Senate, who was this time elected without any trouble.
In May, 1880, Mr. Hamilton was nominated on the Republican ticket for Lieutenant Governor, his principal competitors before the Convention being Hon. Wm. A. James, ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Judge Robert Bell, of Wabash County, Hon. T. T. Fountain, of Perry County, and Hon. M. M. Saddler, of Marion County. He engaged actively in the campaign, and his ticket was elected by a majority of 41,200. As Lieutenant Governor, he presided almost continuously over the Senate in the 32d General Assembly and during the early days of the 33d, until he succeeded to the Governorship. When the Legislature of 1883 elected Gov. Cullom to the United States Senate, Lieut. Gov. Hamilton succeeded him, under the Constitution, taking the oath of office Feb. 6, 1883. He bravely met all the annoyances and embarrassments incidental upon taking up another's administration. The principal events with which Gov. Hamilton was connected as the Chief Executive of the State were, the mine dis- aster at Braidwood, the riots in St. Clair and Madison Counties in May, 1883, the appropriations for the State militia, the adoption of the Harper high-license liquor law, the veto of a dangerous railroad bill, etc.
The Governor was a Delegate at large to the National Republican Convention at Chicago in June, 1884, where his first choice for President was John A. Logan, and second choice Chester A. Arthur; but he afterward zealously worked for the election of Mr. Blaine, true to his party.
Mr. Hamilton's term as Governor expired Jan. 30. 1885, when the great favorite "Dick " Oglesby was inaugurated.
Livingston County,
Illinois.
LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
INTRODUCTORY.
OME of the fairest and most productive counties of the great Prairie State are to be found in what is known as Central Illinois, and the chief- est among these is Livingston County. Though settlers came into this county as early as 1829, yet the commencement of its rapid growth was not until many years later. It was the railroad that did so much toward the encouragement of sturdy tillers of the soil to come to the fair and fertile prairies. Since then the county has enjoyed a steady growth, nntil to-day it stands among the foremost counties of the great Northwest. In the growth and development of her vast resources, in her agri- culture and stock-raising, in all the departments of labor in which busy man is engaged : in her churches and schools, in civilization and culture, Livingston County has taken a front rank. Well may her people be proud of their product: well may her pioneers turn with pride to their achievements. Within half a century a wilderness has been sub- dued and converted into beautiful farms and thriving, populous cities, and a community estab- lished commanding the admiration of the country.
Transportation Facilities.
ERHAPS the most important factor in the business development and prosperity of a city or county is its railroad communica- tions. At least it is safe to assert that such has become a demonstrated fact with regard
to Livingston County. AA retrospection of her history since the advent of railroad facilities will convince the careful observer of the immense ben- efit resulting from the introduction of this essential adjunct of commercial enterprise, hence we give brief sketches of the railroads traversing this comty.
Wabash Railroad.
6 JIE Wabash Railroad Company, now under the able management of John MeNulta, Re- ceiver, has two lines traversing this county -the Chicago Line and the Streator Branch. The former extends through the eastern part of the county from north to south, and has in this county, including side tracks, about forty miles of road. At Streator Junction connections are had with the Bloomington Branch of the Illinois Central, at Forest, the most important station on the road in this county, with the Toledo. Peoria & Western, and at Scovel with the Minonk Branch of the Illinois C'entral. The Streator Branch traverses the county diagonally from the southeast to the northwest cor- ner, making connection at Streator with the main roads which center there. At Pontiac, the county seat of Livingston County, it crosses the lines of the Chicago & Alton and the Minonk Branch of the Illinois Central. and at Fairbury, the second town of importance in the county, with the Toledo. Peoria & Western.
The Wabash has more miles of railroad in this county than any other company, and owing to its splendid facilities and connections with the sea- hoard traffic and the principal Southern and West- ern cities, is destined to do more toward the de-
LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
velopment of the agricultural and material resources of the county than any other road. The principal lines of this road, including the Chicago Branch, have -teel-rail track, well-ballasted road beds, and altogether constitute one of the greatest railroad systems in the West. It is one of the most enter- prising roads in the country, and the finest passen- ger coaches on the continent are run on its lines and every effort put forth for the comfort and safety of its patrons. The number of miles now operated by the Receiver is 956, all of which, with the exception of that extending from the State line to Toledo, is in Illinois.
Illinois Central Railroad Company.
6 IlE Illinois Central Railroad Company has two branches which pass through this county. one known as the Chicago, Pontiac & Chats- worth Division, and the other as the Bloomington Division. There are something over sixty-six miles of track in this county. The line extending from Kempton to Minonk passes through the cen- ter of the county, crossing the line of the Chicago Branch of the Wabash at Seovel, and the Chieago & Alton and the Streator Branch of the Wabash at Pontiae. At Minonk the connections are made with the main line. The Bloomington Branch erosses the Toledo. Peoria & Western at Chats. worth : the connections of these lines with the main line and the Chicago Divison makes this road one of the best for transportation in the county.
In September. 1850, Congress granted an aggre- gate 2,595,053 acres to aid in building this road. The act granted the right of way and gave alter- nate sections of land for six miles on either side of the road to the company. The grant was made directly to the State, and Feb. 10, 1851, the Illi- noi- Legislature gave a charter to an Eastern com- pany. represented by Rantoul and others, to build the road. In granting the charter and transferring to the corporation the land. the Legislature stipu- lated that seven per cent of the gross earning- of the road should be paid semi-annually into the State Treasury forever. This wise provision in lieu of the liberal grant yields a handsome annual income to the State.
The Illinois Central is one of the great trunk
lines of the Mississippi Valley, connecting Chicago with Sioux City and New Orleans, and toward de- veloping the material resources of Illinois, stands first in importance. Strict attention to local busi- ness has always been a marked characteristic of its management, hence their land has been eagerly sought after, and its officials have the satisfaction of knowing that the valne of the road is not en- tirely dependent upon its identifieation with the through busines- of the country, but on the con- tribution of local traffic, which shows a permanent and certain increase. The total mileage of this road in Illinois alone is over 1,100 miles.
Other Roads.
HIE Chicago & Alton is an important road and has about fifty-seven miles of track in this county. The main line enters the county near Dwight from the north. Here connec- tions are had with the Streator Branch of the Chi- cago & Alton and Indiana, Illinois & Iowa Railroad. The next important station is Pontiac, the county seat, where the road crosses the Wabash and the Illinois Central. The Alton is the pioneer road in this county, and one of the best in the country. The rolling stock is excellent and the road bed one of the best in the State. This road has contributed largely to the development of the county,
The Indiana, Illinois & lowa has thirty-two miles of track in this county, passing through the north tier of townships, viz .: Round Grove, Dwight, Nevada, Sunbury and Newtown, having its western terminus at Streator.
The Toledo, Peoria & Western is a line extend- ing from east to west, in the southern part of the county, through the townships of Chatsworth, For- est and Indian Grove. The most important sta- tion in the county is Fairbury, and at Forest con- nection is had with the Wabash system, and at Chatsworth with the Bloomington Branch of the Illinois C'entral. Its mileage, including side traeks. is twenty-two.
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe has recently constructed a line through the northwestern corner of the county, traversing a portion of Reading Tp.
The Chicago & St. Louis is a short line in the northwestern part of the county, passing through the west corner of Newtown Township. through the center of Reading and the northwest corner of Long Point. . The length of road in this county is about eleven miles, and the principal stations are Reading and Ancona.
David Mc williams
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LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
HE portrait on the opposite ER page is that of David Me- Williams, who was the first merchant of Dwight, and who followed mercantile life there for many years, and with the growth of the place grad- ually drifted into his present business, that of banking; he settled in Dwight in April, 1855. Of his ancestors we gather the following: Ilis great-grandfather, Alexander McWilliams, emigrated in company with a small colony from Scotland in 1776. While on the ocean passage his grandfather, Alexander, Jr., was born. The colony had selected a place not far from Pittsburgh, Pa., which afterward became known as Pease's Iron Milis, where Alexander, Jr., was reared, and about the time of his becoming of age he, in company with a number of young men of the colony, located in Belmont County, Ohio, and the place is still known as the Scotch Ridge Settlement. It is about six miles from the city of Wheeling, Va., on the Ohio side. James Mc Will- iams, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born there March 2, 1802, and upon ar- riving at manhood purchased a small portion of his father's farm, and was married to Margaret Lattimer, the daughter of a well-known Scotch
family of the same settlement, who had come direct from Scotland to this colony only a short time previous. He occupied his farm until 1834, when he sokl out and migrated to Griggs ville, Pike Co., Ill. His family then consisted of five children, named in order of their ages-Alexander, Elizabeth Jane. Rachel, John and David. Mary was born afterward in Illinois, Rachel died soon after their arrival. and Alexander died in 1842. at the age of seventeen, and all the rest are now living. Mrs. Mc Williams, the mother, died in Pike County, in December, 1839, and Mr. Me Williams was married again, to Miss Lucretia Prescott, of Concord, Mass .. who was at the time the Principal of the Griggs- ville Female Academy. She was a highly culti- vated lady, and they passed forty years of wedded life together. She died in 1880, and Mr. James McWilliams in 1883, having spent nearly fifty years in and about Griggsville, having served his community in almost all positions of honor and trust.
David Me Williams was born in Belmont County, Ohio, Jan. 14, 1834, and was eight months old when his parents moved to Ilinois. He was en- gaged in farm work, attending the district school during the winters until he was fourteen years of age. At that time an offer was made by Z. N. Garbutt, the editor and proprietor of the Free Press, of Pittsfield, Pike Co .. III .. to enter his printing-office. This he accepted, and remained
LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
there for some time, gaining a knowledge of print- ing and becoming familiar with the general methods of newspaper work. During his residence at the county seat he had the opportunity of seeing the great lawyers of those days, among whom were Lin- coln. Douglass, Col. E. D. Baker. O. H. Browning. (. A. Warren, Archibald Williams, O. C. Skinner. William A. Richardson, John JI. Hardin, and of the younger lawyers. Milton Hay and Jackson Grim- -haw. Judge Lockwood at that time was on the beneh. and he well recollects the Presidential cam- paign of that year. when Zachary Taylor ran for the Presidency on the Whig ticket and was elected. He also recollects, during that campaign, of hearing Col. E. D. Baker, who was called the Silver Tongued Orator of Illinois in these days, make one of his great speeches at the court-house in Pittsfield, and such was the enthusiasm at the meeting that at its close Col. Baker was carried on the shoulders of hi- friends to his hotel. In the year 1849, his father, upon the opening of the Illinois & Michi- gau Canal. embarked in the pine lumber trade, and he returned home and in a short time the entire charge of the yard developed upon him. The business grew in proportions rapidly. and proved to be quite merative, and at this he continued un- til the spring of ts55, when he settled in Dwight, erected the first store building, which was in size 20x32 feet, and two stories high, and his first stock of good- cost less than $2.000. The railroad had been completed through Dwight only a few months before, and but few families were in or about that place on his arrival there. The country settled up quite rapidly and his first year's business amounted to about $20,000. He gave his personal attention to hi- mercantile business for eighteen years and was also interested in the same for "ven year- longer.
While engaged in the mercantile business our subject had been doing more or less of a banking business, receiving deposits from the farmers and selling New York and Chicago exchange, and has ever since been doing a regular banking business. and enjoy the confidence and credit of the moneyed interests of his portion of the State. His career has been quite successful, having passed through all the hoancial panies un-carred, and has
never been compelled to dishonor a draft or ask for an extension of credit. As he accumulated means he invested in farm lands and has done so ever since, and is now one of the largest land-own- ers of Livingston County.
Coming, as we have before stated, of Scotch origin. Mr. Me Williams' family were all Presby- terians, but at the age of eighteen years he identi- lied himself with the Methodist Episcopal Church. at Griggsville, Ill .. and was one of the six members who organized the Methodist Church of Dwight. in 1855. and has been connected with it ever since. lle was quite active in the erection of the present church edifice of Dwight, which was built in 1867, and contributed liberally to its erection. Ile has served the church in about all the positions that laymen are eligible to, and was honored by an election to a seat in the first General Conference to which laymen were admitted, which was held in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1872, and also served again in Baltimore, in May, 1876, and at Cincinnati in 1880. He was also a delegate to the Ecumenical council of all the Methodist bodies of the world, held in London, England, in September, 1881, and also to a similar council of the Methodist bodies of the United States, held at Baltimore in December, 1885. 1Te has been quite liberal to the various benevolence objects of the church, and in 1870 made the first donation of $10,000 to the Loan Fund of the Methodist Church Society, which fund he has lived to see increased to over $600,000. The Onarga Seminary, the Wesleyan University, at Bloomington, the Garrett Biblical Institute, and the Northwestern University at Evanston have realized great benefits from his generosity, and he has served the Northwestern University for ten years past.
Politically, Mr. Me Williams has always been a stanch Republican, his first vote being cast for John C. Fremont. He was present at the first State Repubhean Convention which was held in Bloomington, in 1856, and there for the first time saw and heard Owen Lovejoy. There were also present Abraham Lincoln, John M. Palmer, N. B. Judd, B. C. Cook, and many others of like polit- ical faith. In 1884 he was the elector for the Ninth Congressional District, and was permitted to cast
189
LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
his vote at Springfield for James G. Blaine for President. Ile has always been active in temper- ance work in his own town and takes pleasure in pointing to the fact that Dwight has had no saloons for ten years past.
In December, 1856, Mr. Mc Williams returned to Griggsville, and was married to Miss Louisa M. Weagley. They commenced life together at Dwight in a modest home, and thirty-two years later they still occupy the same homestead. There have been born to them four sons and two daughters, namely : Edward, the eldest. succeeds his father in the mer- cantile business in Dwight: James is engaged in the mercantile business in Odell ; Nellie remains at home with her parents; John manages the landed interests of his father, and otherwise assists in his business affairs; Louise is completing her studies at Mt. Vernon Institute, Washington, D. C., and Charles, the youngest, is attending the High School at Dwight.
In 1881 Mr. and Mrs. Mc Williams crossed the Atlantic. and made quite a tour of Europe, travel- ing through Ireland. Scotland, England, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France, visiting the cities of Naples, Rome. Florence, Ven- ice, Milan, Geneva, Paris and London. In 1887 they were again abroad, revisiting England, and spent three weeks in London during the Jubilee, from there going to Norway. and visiting the land of the midnight sun, also visiting the cities of Christiana, Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. and from there to Berlin. the capital of the German Empire; Dresden, the capital of Saxony, Prague, the capital of Bohemia, and as far east as Vienna, the capital of Austria. They returned across Southern Ger- many to Switzerland. where they spent some time at Lucerne and Geneva, thence going to Paris and London, and home by the way of Liverpool.
Mr. McWilliams has always encouraged the en- terprises best calculated for the good of the people around him, rightly judging that whatever affects the community in general also has due influence upon the interests of the individuals which compose it. The institutions which he has assisted iu build- ing up and the large property interests with which he is connected will remain as a monument to his
enterprise and worth long after, in accordance with the common lot of man, he shall have been gath- ered to his fathers, and the accompanying portrait will show to succeeding generations the features of the man thus useful and honored.
AVID HUNTLEY resides on section 24. Broughton Township, and is engaged in farming and stock-raising. He is the son of llezekiah and Priscilla (Smith ) Hunt- ley. and was born in the town of Sand Lake, Rens- selaer Co., N. Y .. Aug. 22, 1835. His father was a farmer, and when our subject was twelve years okl the family moved to Ohio. locating in Lucas County. Here the son, David, received the common-school education picked up in the way common to those times, that is, attending school during the few months of the winter season.
When our subject was twenty-one years old, in the spring of 1857, he came west to LaSalle County, Ill., where he worked by the month for Benjamin French during the following summer. This limited experience in Illinois gave him a good impression of the State and its great possibilities, and he re- solved to make it his future home. The first im- portant step in that direction was to get a wife, and in the fall of that year he returned to Ohio, and was united in marriage with Miss Eliza- beth Cooper, whom he had previously selected as the girl of his choice. She was the daughter of Reming- ton and Anna ( Fogle) Cooper. Their marriage oc- curred Nov. 26, 1857. In the winter of 1858-59. his father soll his small home place of forty acres in Ohio for $350, and by the persuasion of his son was induced to migrate to LaSalle County, Ill., whither our subject followed him, with his young wife. in the spring of 1859.
During the following summer David Huntley ran a mole-ditcher for C. Il. Horine & Co., then of Mendota, Ill., but since of the Chicago stockyards. The next summer he farmed for himself, paying cash rent, and doing extra work wherever he couk find employment. In February, 1861, he removed to Livingston County, where he settled on land on sertion 36, belonging to the canal, which he finally
190
LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
bought. In the spring of 1862 our subject eaught the Western fever, and started in April for Idaho, leaving his family in Livingston County. His work there was divided between the gold mines and a stoek ranch, and he received $200 per month for hi- labor. He returned from Idaho in about a year, and soon afterward sokt his farm and bought the one where he now lives, to which he moved in 1867. It is a fine body of land. well cultivated, splendidly watered. and has good improvements. A more convenient and well located farm can scarcely be found in Livingston County, it being just near enough to both Cabery and Kempton to be pleasant.
Mr. and Mrs. Huntley have six children, of whom the record is as follows: Altie E. was born in Lueas County. Ohio. Sept. 15. 1858, married John Slimpin. Sept. 15. 1878, and lives in MeHenry County. Ill. : they have four children. Albert E. was born May 12, 1861. married Sarah H. Canham, Oct. 2, 1882; they have three children, and live at Rogers, Ford County, Ill. Alice E. was born Feb. 28, 1863, mar- ried George Schumacher, Nov. 9, 1887, and lives in Rogers Township, Ford County; Aleie E. was born Sept. 20, 1865, and lives at home, as does Alfred E., born Nov. 17, 1867; Andrew E. was born Nov. 22, 1873.
Our subject is the eldest in a family of three ehil- dren. His brother Asil was a soldier in the 129th Illinois Infantry, serving under Gen. Grant, and was four years in the army. He was wounded once, had typhoid fever, and saw nearly all the fighting in which the famous 129th Regiment was engaged : he has five children, and lives in Ford County. llis sister. Mary S., married George Rogers, lives in Chetopa. Labette Co., Kan., and has three chil- dren. Our subject's father was born Oct. 8. 1807, in Rensselaer County. N. Y., where the birth of his mother also took place June 3, 1808; they were mar- ried Oct. 25. 1×29. The father died Oct. 25, 1887. and the mother Feb. 27. 1853; they were descend_ ants of the early settlers of New England. The grandfather of our subject. Obediah Little, was a soldier in the Revolution and in the War of 1812.
Mrs. Huntley's father was born July 8, 1791, at Providence, R. I. Her grandfather. William Cooper, was cousin of Peter Cooper, of Greenback fame, and was born in Vermont. Her mother was born
in Toronto, Canada. March 20, 1800. She was married March 20, 1815, on her fifteenth birthday. Mrs. Huntley, the wife of our subject, was born April 1. 1833, and was the seventh child in a family of ten, all of whom grew to maturity, and five of whom, including Mrs. Il., are still living, as follows : William married Maria Wilcox, and dying, left four children: Julia married Isaac Rogers, and is de- ceased, leaving six children, who live in Michigan : Laura married Richard Kimball, lives in Cabery, Ill., and has four children; Phoebe married John Komiskey, and died living no children; Philip married Sarah Hendrickson, lives in Lueas County, Ohio, and has one daughter; Mary married John Parker, who resides in Adrian, Mich., and has two sons: Elizabeth; Horace married Mary Kimball, and was killed in the battle of Shiloh; his widow and son live in Ohio. Harriet lives in Ohio, and is unmarried ; Almira married Wallace Mushrean ; she is deceased and left no children.
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