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 31

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 31

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OHN W. A. LILLY has been a resident of the village of Cornell since the spring of 1875, and is serving his second term as ,Ius- tice of the Peace. He was born at Fair- mont, W. Va., May 25, 1834, and is the seventh son of John W. and Irene C. (Patterson) Lilly, na- tives respectively of West Virginia and Connecti- cut. In 1845, John W. Lilly, Sr., removed with his family from his native State to Sharon, Beaver Co., Pa., where, in March of the year following, he was stricken down with smallpox, and died at the age of fifty-seven years. Mrs. Irene C. Lilly was the daughter of Thomas Patterson, of Connecticut, and by her union with the father of our subject be- came the mother of nine children, seven sons and two daughters. She survived her husband many years, and died at the ripe old age of ninety-four. in Grafton, W. Va.

Our subject remained with his mother until reach- ing manhood, and in the meantime served a thor- ough apprenticeship at the boot and shoe business, which he followed until the breaking out of the war. In the meantime he was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca A. McVay, of Greene County, Pa., on the 1st of January, 1859. Upon the first call for 75,000 troops, Mr. Lilly was among those who yielded a ready and cheerful response, and after serving three months, re-enlisted for three years, or until the close of the war. His company was a part of the 2d West Virginia Infantry, which afterward became the 5th Cavalry, and he served with it un- til being mustered out June 16, 1864. He con- tinned, however, in the army, being thereafter in the recruiting service, until the surrender of Lee prac- tically ended the conflict.

Upon retiring from the army, Mr. Lilly rejoined his family in West Virginia, where he engaged in 1

merchandising until February, 1872, then started for the West. Ile tarried a few days at Cornell, this county, but subsequently took up his abode in Elmwood, returning, however, to the former place in 1875, of which he has since remained a resident. Here he is quite a prominent citizen. While in West Virginia he filled the office of Alderman in the little city of Cameron, and was afterward elec- ted Mayor.

Mr. Lilly cast his first Presidential vote for John C. Fremont, in 1856, and has since clung with un- abated fidelity to the Republican party. There is no doubt but that he will continue to share its triumphs, likewise its reverses, as he is a gentleman of decided opinions, and it will be a remarkable event that will cause him to forsake his early love.

S AMUEL ALGEO, a self-made man, is to- day a prosperous and highly respected farmer and stock-raiser on section 8, Rook's Creek Township. He came to Illinois with his parents, poor in pocket and without in- fluential friends, but by the exercise of his native energy and resolution he has secured for himself a comfortable home and a competency, and has es- tablished himself in the esteem of his fellow-citi- zens. Mr. Algeo is the son of Robert and Martha (Hughes) Algeo. and was born in May, 1836, near Dooballa, Donegal County, Ireland. He has no recollection of his paternal grandparents, but can remember his maternal grandfather, who lived to be an old man.

Mr. Algco is the youngest of eight children, as follows: Eliza married Francis McDeavitt in Ireland, and moved to Illinois in April, 1886; they have seven children. John, married, and living in Marshall County, Ill., has two children; William, born in Ireland, married in the United States, lived in Livingston County over thirty years, when he moved to Iowa in 1886; he has six children. Alex- ander, born in Ireland, came to Illinois where he married and has ten children; James, married in Ireland. came to Illinois thirty years ago, and has eight children living; Robert, unmarried, lives in

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LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Livingston County ; Joseph, married and living in Ireland on the old homestead as a tenant under Sir Samuel Hayes, has six children, and Samuel is the subject of this sketch.

The subject of this biography was married to Miss Fannie Margaret Algeo on the 5th of June, 1865, and on the 16th of July of that year they came from Ireland to the United States, making the voyage on the steamer Iowa, which required two weeks, and landing at New York, where they staid about three weeks. From New York they went to Oswego. where they remained till spring with an elder brother, when they came to Rook's Creek Township. Livingston County, where they bought eighty acres of land on section 14, and have since purchased 120 acres on section 8, on which farm they now live. The parents of Mr. and Mrs. Algeo were second cousins. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Algeo six children, whose names are as follows: Alexander, born on the 24th of March, 1866; Robert, born Dec. 3, 1868; Cassie, born Nov. 4, 1870; John James, born Feb. 27, 1872; Fannie May, born Nov. 1, 1875; Sarah M., born July 13, 1879. The parents of Mrs. Algeo were Alexander and Fannie (Ralston) Algeo. both born in the year 1797 in Ireland, and married on the 1st of January, 1818. They were the parents of the following named children : James, born in November, 1818, married, and died April 24, 1887, leaving three children ; John, born in 1820, i- unmarried; William, born in 1822, married, and lives on the homestead in Ireland; Alexander, born in 1824, married, and has two children, and lives in New York; Samuel, born in 1826, married, and has four children, and lives in Indianapolis; Robert, born in 1828, died and left four children who live in New York; Thomas, born in 1833, married, has four children, and lives in Pennsyl- vania; Fannie Margaret was born June 25, 1836; Catherine, Mrs. William Ray, lives in Battle Creek, Mich, and has five children.

Mr. Algeo is an intelligent member of the Pres- byterian Church, and has very decided opinions npon matters both religious and political, while he is especially well informed on the Home Rule and other questions which are agitating England and Ireland. He is independent in politics and is very

decided in his opposition to the question of Woman Suffrage. Mrs. Algeo received a very fair common-school education in Ireland, and both she and her husband are very extensive readers, keeping thoroughly posted on all the current topics of the day.

9 -C

0 LIVER JOLLY, whose forty-acre stock farm is located on section 32, Waldo Township, was born Ang. 7, 1835, near Martinsburg, Knox Co., Ohio. He is the fourth in a family of eight children, whose names are, Sarah Jane, Mrs. Hiram Cawl, who died leaving one child, Sarah, since married; John, born Aug. 27, 1830, married, has one child, and lives in California; Daniel, born Feb. 28, 1832, lives in Nebraska Township; Oliver, our "subject; Mary Ann, born Oct. 15, 1837, mar- ried Elijah Wade, has four children, and lives in Ohio; Emma Eliza, born in 1840. married Charles Walker, and died leaving six children; Robert; born Aug. 15, 1842, is married, has several chil- dren, and lives in Ohio; Eliza E., born in October, 1845, married James McMann, has six children and lives in Ohio. Our subject's parents were natives of Pennsylvania; the mother departed this life March 18, 1886; the father was born in March, 1809, and still resides in Ohio. Daniel, a brother of our subject, was a soldier in the Union army in the war of the Rebellion, where he served for three years. His brother was also a soklier in the Union army.

Mr. Jolly remained with his parents on a farm, and as opportunities presented, attended the com- mon schools until he was twenty-one years of age, when he began to do for himself. When about twenty-two years old, he came to Illinois and lo- cated at Farm Ridge, where he worked by the month for several years, when he rented ground and began farming on his own account, and in about two years, in 1867, he purchased his present farm of forty aeres in Waldo Township.

On the 2d of September, 1869, the subject of this sketch was married to Miss Susan Yaryes, daughter of Paul and Melinda Yaryes, natives of Pennsylvania. To Mr. and Mrs. Jolly have been

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born two children, as follows: Estella, on the 26th of August, 1872, and Matilda, April 18, 1875. Mr. Jolly has always been a Democrat, and cast his first Presidential vote for .James Buchanan. He is a member of the Cliristian Church, holding mem- bership at Gridley. While Mr. Jolly's farm does not comprise so many acres as some other farms in the township, it is equally as well cultivated. The improvements about the place are good and ample, and the buildings are both substantial and com- fortable. His family identify themselves with all matters which are calculated to benefit the com- munity in which they live.

G EORGE H. SIIERMAN. In order that a community may prosper, there must be men competent as leaders, enterprising as citi- zens, and industrious as workers. While the lower strata are as useful in their place as the upper, just as the mortar is as essential as the bricks in rearing a building, still there must be master minds to su- perintend and bring each division to its proper place. The subject of our sketch in his community has acted largely as a leader, has been judicious in his investments. and has added greatly to the gen- eral prosperity of this section. Although in younger days he was something of a mechanic, and possessed naturally considerable skill in this line, he later determined to enter upon the more con- genial pursuits of farm life. The consequence is that he has now one of the finest country estates in Union Township, where of late year- he has largely engaged in stock-raising, and has been uniformly prosperous.

The interesting points in the life history of Mr. Sherman are substantially as follows: He is the eighth in a family of fourteen children born to Samuel and Azubah (Greene) Sherman, natives re- spectively of New York and Vermont. The youngest of the family died in infancy, but the re- maining thirteen lived to mature years, married,

and had families of their own, before a death oc- curred among them. Eight of these are now liv- ing, making their homes principally in Illinois. 1-The maternal grandparents of our subject, Alpheus and Rhoda (Pratt.) Greene, were natives of Ver- mont, in which State they spent most of their lives. Mr. Greene died in Illinois in 1861. Mrs. Greene died in New York State.

Samuel Sherman was a cooper by trade, but was fond of country life, and purchased a farm where he passed his last years. Although but a youth, he served as a soldier during the War of 1812, and took part in the memorable battle of Plattsburg. In early manhood he had identified himself with the Whig party, but after its abandonment cor- dially endor-ed Republican principles, and later was quite active in public affairs. He came into the West in about 1850, locating in Knox County, and spent his last years at Galesburg, where his death took place in 1875. The mother, whose name is held in the most affectionate remembrance by her children, survived her husband until 1886, and then passed to her final rest. Both parents were universally esteemed in their community, as those whose places when they passed away it would be most difficult to fill.

Our subject passed his early years after the man- ner of most farmers' boys, assisting in the sowing and reaping, and during the winter season gaining a knowledge of the common English branches in the district school. At the age of eighteen, after the family came to Illinois, he left home and en- gaged in farming at various place- in Knox County, finally renting a tract of land and carrying on ag- riculture for himself. A few weeks before reach- ing his twenty-third year, there happened one of the most important events of his life, namely, his marriage, which occurred Nov. 27, 1855. His bride was Miss Charlotte M. Sherwood, who was born July 9, 1831, in Coeymans, Albany Co., N. Y., and was the second child of Stephen and Phebe (Ostrom) Sherwood. Her parents were also na- tives of the Empire State, and of Dutch and En- glish descent. Their family included six children. They came to Illinois in about 1853, settling first in Knox County, and afterward became inmates of the home of Mr. Sherman for a period of fourteen

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years. Subsequently they removed to Chicago, where they both passed away in 1884.

Mr. and Mrs. Sherman commenced housekeeping on a farm in Knox County, where they resided nine years. Mr. S. had in the meantime purchased a tract of land in Clover Township, which he after- ward sold, however, and in the spring of 1866, started out to hunt for a permanent location, think- ing probably he would go beyond the Mississippi. Upon his arrival in Livingston County, however, he found he could purchase good land at a reason- able price. and consequently, in company with his brother-in-law, secured a section in Union Town- ship. It was totally uncultivated, but he put up a small house and began the improvement of his pur- chase. He was prospered in his operations, and each year grew more attached to the place, so that it has become a permanent home, and has been his residence now for the last twenty-two years. The change which has been effected in this tract of land as well as the country around it, is ample evidence that master hands have been at work. Mr. Sher- man has bent his energies to the building up of a homestead which is creditable to him as a farmer and a citizen, and its appearance to-day indicates how well he has succeeded. The soil is the most productive in the township, and the farm buildings are of the best description. The fields each year produce the finest corn and wheat, and his live- stock includes the best specimens of thoroughbred Short-horn cattle and Norman horses. He also raises a goodly number of Poland-China swine, and the income from these sources nets him a hand- some sum annually.

Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Sher- man, but three survive: Sarah, the eldest, is the wife of Adolph Peterson, agent of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Co., at Adeline, Ogle County ; Cora, who possesses more than ordinary ability and is fond of study, is attending school at Greencastle, Ind .; Mary remains at home with her parents. Mr. Sherman votes the straight Republican ticket, and although no office seeker, has served as Justice of the Peace three terms. He is one of the most active workers in the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which he has been connected many years, and served as Steward and Trustee. It will thus be

seen that he has had little time for idleness, and looking back over a life which is yet in its prime, he may feel satisfied with the results attained, and hope for still better things in the future.

AVID L. MURDOCK, attorney-at-law, Fairbury, Ill., is among the prominent cit- izens of Livingston County. People al- ways delight to honor a self-made man, not alone for his success in life, but because he is generally a man of unselfish disposition. Lincoln, perhaps, is the most lofty example of the reverence of the people for those who have been the archi- tects of their own fortunes. Nearly every com- munity affords an example of what a humble in- dividual may accomplish by properly directed en- ergy. In the subject of this sketch an instance is furnished where a man began without a dollar, and while yet young in years has gained a compe- tency which will serve him through life.

Mr. Murdock was born in Butler County, Ohio, on the 19th of November, 1836, and is the son of Ezekiel P. and Rachel (Taylor) Murdock, natives of Pennsylvania and Tennessee respectively. His father was born on the 10th of March, 1809, and is still living at his home in Chicago. The mother was born on the 29th of January, 1814, daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Cross) Taylor, and died in August, 1885. They were married in Indiana on the 29th of June, 1835. Mr. Murdock was mar- ried, on the 22d of November, 1860, to Miss Mary E. Pillsbury, a sister of Judge Pillsbury, of Pontiac. She was born on the 20th of September, 1839, in the town of Shapleigh, York Co., Me., and came to Illinois in 1855. Mr. Murdock came to Illi- nois in 1854 and located in Hennepin, Putnam County, where he engaged in farming and school teaching. In 1859 be came to Livingston County, where he farmed until Aug. 9, 1862, when he en- listed in the 77th Illinois Infantry and became a private in Company H, and was subsequently pro- moted to the rank of Sergeant. The service of the 77th Regiment was principally in the 13th Army Corps and the Army of the Tennessee.

LIVERY

COTTAGE HOUSE

COTTAGE HOUSE, WM . COWLING, PROPR. CHATSWORTH, ILL.

RESIDENCE OF THEODORE WIENAND , SEC. 35. CHARLOTTE TOWNSHIP.

RESIDENCE OF LOUIS METTE, CHATSWORTH, ILL.

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LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Among the most prominent engagements he par- ticipated in were the siege of Vicksburg and the battles preceding the investment of the city, the siege of Mobile and the capture of Spanish Fort, and the siege and capture of Jackson, Miss. He served full three years, and was mustered out of the service on the 10th of July, 1865, at Mobile, Ala. After his return home he went to Pontiac and engaged in mercantile business with Mr. Pills- bury, in which he continued until 1869, when he began to read law under the instructions of Judge Pillsbury, of that place, and was admitted to the bar in 1870. At that time he took up permanent residence in Fairbury, and has since assiduously devoted his time to the practice of law and the prosecution of the insurance and real-estate busi- ness, in all of which he has been successful, and now owns 300 acres of good farm land, several pieces of town property, and his beautiful resi- 1 dence, which cost $5,000.

In 1876 Mr. Murdock was elected to the office of State's Attorney, in which position he served four years with much credit to himself and honor to the State. He was a member of the State Board of Agriculture for two years. The children who have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Murdock are: Ste- phen D., who married Miss Emma Spence; Clarence J. and Charles B., twins, the latter dying in in- fancy ; Rachel 1. and Nellie E. Mr. Murdock is a member of the order of Odd Fellows, and is Grand Patriarch in the State organization; he is also a member of the G. A. R., and was the first Com- mander of Post No. 75, at Fairbury. He is one of the stanch and reliable Republicans of Livingston County, and has frequently served as a delegate to State conventions. He can always be depended upon for active and energetic work in behalf of his party.

L. FRISBIE, of Pontiac, is the Division Superintendent of the Illinois Central Rail- road. He is a native of Branford, Com., where he was born on the Ist of September, 1835, and is the son of Hervey and Betsy (Shel- don) Frisbie, who were also natives of Branford. Ilis father was in early days a sailor, and later in

life a ship-builder. He became a citizen of Illinois in 1857, and settled in Onarga, Iroquois County, where he engaged in contracting and building, and in which place he yet retains his residence. The grandfather was Noah Frisbie, also a native of Con- nectient, who was a fisherman, and was drowned in 1835. The Frisbies were of English descent.

The parents of Betsy Sheldon were Jere and Katy (Lamphere) Sheldon, natives of Connecticut. The father was of English descent, and engaged during his life in farming. The grandparents lived and died in the State of Connecticut. The father of the subject of this sketch had a family of five chil- dren, three of whom are yet living: 11. L., our sub- ject ; Carrie. Mrs. J. M. Bates. of Gardner, Me. : Sara. Mrs. John Frith, wife of the Circuit Court Clerk, of Iroquois County, Ill. The father is a very ardent Republican. flis son John R. enlisted as a soldier in the 25th Illinois Infantry, a member of Company F, in 1861, and at Missionary Ridge re- ceived a severe wound from which he died one year later at his liome.

Mr. H. L. Frisbie attended the schools of Bran- ford. New Haven Co .. Con., until he was twelve years of age, when from that time until he was twenty-one he was engaged with his father in ship- building. He then followed the sea for two years, and in 1858 came to Illinois and settled in Iroquois County, where he engaged with his father in contract- ing and building until January, 1860. Ile engaged for two years as a brakeman on the Illinois Central Railroad, when he enlisted in Company D, 113th Ili- nois Infantry, and remained in the service about three years. Ile was appointed Second Lieutenant, and was, for the most of that time, on detached duty, as Adjutant Quartermaster, and Acting A-sist- ant Adjutant General, and participated in the bat- tles of Chickasaw Bluff, Arkansas Post, Vicksburg, and numerous skirmishes. After the war he re- turned to Onarga, Iroquois County, and engaged in business, dealing in lumber and coal, which he fol- lowed for five years, when in 1870 he resumed breaking on the Illinois Central, following that oc- cupation one year. In 1878 he again engaged as freight and passenger conductor. He afterward went to Kankakee, and had charge of the trans- portation connected with the buikling of the Middle

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LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Division. or the Kankakee & Southwestern Branch of the Illinois Central. Upon the completion of the road. he took charge of the traffic and ran a train. which he exchanged in April. 1880, for a pas- -enger train. and held the position for one year. lle then went to Clinton. III .. where he was Train- master until the 22d of June. 1881. when he ac- cepted the position of Division Superintendent. which position he holds at the time this sketch is written.

Mr. Frisbie was married in 1865 to Miss Sarah F. Hart. daughter of Nelson llart. of West Cornell. Conn .. and three children were born to them: Idla- lene M .. Be-sie C. and Amelia T. Mrs. Frisbie died in 1870. In 1871 he married for his second wife Mi -- Charlotte M. Hart. the sister of his first wife. They have had three children: Charlotte F .. Carrie L .. and Lynde II., born in 1876 and died in 1877. Mr. Frisbie is much interested in literature. and during his life has written a great deal. inelid- ing many Christmas and war songs. Among these are "Oh. Bury the Brave Where They Fall." which is appropriately sung on Decoration Day ; "The Songs We Sang on the Old Camp Ground," "Out West." and many others. lle has been a contributor to the Railway Gazette and the Railroader. He occupies an elegant residence on Main street. and has sull'- rounded himself and family with all the comforts of life. lle and his family are attendants of the Pres- byterian Church. He focenpies a prominent posi- tion among the citizens of Livingston County. and is considered by railroad men as one of the most efficient Superintendent- in the West. He has by hi- own effort- and attention to business succeeded in attaining a position in railroad affairs which is the envy of all his associates.

earlier years. He has battled bravely with what- ever hardships he has had to contend. and has built up for himself a good record as a man and a citizen.

Mr. Powell was born in Fayette County, Ohio, Feb. 21, 1814, and is the son of Philip and Isabelle Powell, natives of Kentucky. The Powells are of English descent, but the mother of our subject was of French-Irish ancestry. Her parents emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky, settling at Boone's Sta- tion in the pioneer days while the Indians were still troublesome and aggressive. Andrew Kelso, a ma- ternal uncle of our subject. was one of the brave characters of those days, and distinguished himself by shooting down many a treacherous savage in am- Inish and during the skirmishe> which continued to prevail between the settlers and their natural enemies. Ile was a cotemporary of Daniel Boone and possessed much of the bravery which distinguished that famous old Kentuckian, Abont 1808, the parents of our subject removed to Fayette County. Ohio. and were also among the earliest pioneers of that region. They remained in the Buckeye State until 1835. then made one more removal, to Randolph County. Ind., where they spent the remainder of their days. the mother dying five years later. in 1840. and the father in 1859. Of their children. eleven in number: only two survive. These are Jolm. our subject, and Harper. of MeLean County.

John Powell was reared principally to farm life and pursued his early studies in the pioneer log cabin of sixty years ago. He was mited in mar- riage, on the 25th of December. 1848, with Miss Mary Miller, who was born in Montgomery County. Ohio, April 25, 1814, and was the daughter of Christian and Susannah Miller. natives of Pensyl- vania and of German descent. Of this union there were born seven children, six now living and located as follows: Franklin A. is a resident of Thayer County. Neb. : Newman J .. of Pontiac; John K., of Oregon ; Sarah J., the wife of Samuel B. Turman, of Colorado, an engineer on the Kansas Pacific Rail- road: Lanrene is Mrs. J. D. Honeywell, of Monroe County, Wis .. and Susannah L., the wife of Uriah Springer. of Pontiac Township, this county. Mr. Powell became a resident of Livingston County in 1851. locating first two and one-half miles northeast

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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 31

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