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 41

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 41

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Our subject, when a youth of seventeen, began learning the earpenter's trade, which he followed eleven years. In 1863 he migrated to Oil City, Pa., where he operated three years, having a well of his own and opening up sixteen wells for other parties. This speculation was fairly successful, but he finally resolved to make his permanent home in the West. After passing his twenty-second year he was united in marriage with Miss Mary J. Duff, the wedding taking place at the home of the bride in Hunting- don County, Pa., Dec. 30, 1862. Mrs. Smith is the daughter of Charles and Eliza (Cunningham) Duff,

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of Huntingdon County, Pa., and by her union with our subject became the mother of three children- Elizabeth. Winnifred and Charles C. Mr. and Mrs. Smith remained in their native State six years after their marriage, when they emigrated to Illi- nois, and Mr. Smith purchased the land included in his present homestead. He began life dependent upon his own resources, and the result is a fine illus- : tration of what may be accomplished by persever- ing industry. On his arrival in this county he owed a debt of $62, which. however. he liquidated in a short time. and by the exercise of the closest economy, in due time found himself upon his feet and on the highway to prosperity.

The parents and grandparents of Mrs. Smith were all natives of Pennsylvania, and her paternal grandfather was of Scotch-Irish descent. Her par- ents came to Illinois in 1866, settling in Pontiac Township, this county, where the father died Sept. 12. 1873, and the mother July 13, 1887. They were people highly esteemed by their neighbors, and members in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

IMON BRINKMANN. The beautiful farm which occupies a quarter of section 33, in Rook's Creek Township, eliciting the ad- miration of all passers-by, is the property of the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this sketch. Ile has obtained it through his own plodding industry, as he was carly in life thrown upon his own resources. From working as a farm laborer. he has become a man of property, and a citizen greatly respected as one of the men con- tributing hi- full share to the progress and develop- ment of Livingston County.

Mr. Brinkmann spent his childhood in the Father- land, where his birth took place in the Province of Detmold, Oct. 21. 1839. lle is the son of Karl and Sophia ( Drachmeir) Brinkmann, also natives of Germany, who emigrated to the United States in 1×53, the year following the arrival of their son here. Karl Brinkmann was born in 1796, and died at his home in Mason County. Ill., in 1863,

being sixty-seven years of age, while his wife, Sophia, commenced life in the year 1806, and passed away in 1861. The paternal grandfather of our subject. Louis Brinkmann, spent his entire life in Germany, as also did August Drachmeir, the maternal grandfather.

The subject of our biography was the third in a family of five children who all came to this country with their parents. He has a half-sister who was married and remains in Germany. His own broth- ers and sister were: Frederick, who was married but died withont children; Henry, who died and left two children ; August. a resident of Independ- ence, Kan., and the father of eight children; and Sophia, the wife of John Myers, the mother of nine children, and a resident of Mason County, Il. Simon was nineteen years of age when he came to America, where two brothers had preceded him. He joined them in Mason County, and after oc- enpying himself as a farm hand one year, took charge of his brother's farm in that place. The year following he was married, Nov. 18, 1862, to Miss Mary, daughter of Herman and Henrietta (Bulk) Uthmiller. The young people commenced housekeeping on a rented farm where they con- tinned seven years, when they purchased the land which they now occupy, and have brought to a fine state of improvement. The lowland has been thoroughly drained with tile and they have a good residence and all other necessary buildings for the shelter of stock and the storage of grain. Their home has been brightened by the birth of nine children, all at home with their parents. Sophia, the eldest daughter, was born Jan. 14, 1864; Loue, Dec. 31, 1865; Frederick, April 13, 1867; Henry, Sept. 21, 1871 ; William, May 22, 1874; Matilda, March 24, 1878; Simon, Oct. 21, 1880; Mary, Jan. 30. 1883; Anna, Dec. 5, 1885.

Mrs. Brinkmann was the second in a family of three children born to her parents. Her brother William is unmarried and lives in Mason County ; Elizabeth, the wife of George Behm, has seven children and lives in Havana, Il. Upon occasions of important elections Mr. Brinkmann casts his vote with the Democratic party, but in local affairs aims to support the man best qualified for office. Ile has served as School Director eight years in

FANCY PROVOST 2968. Vol.3

RESIDENCE OF FRANK M. EADS , SEC. 26, INDIAN GROVE TOWNSHIP.

Respectfully ours Franklin In Eads

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this township, but further than this has steadily declined becoming an office-holder. He was reared in the doctrines of the Lutheran Church, and loy- ally adheres to the religious faith of his parents.

IC RANKLIN M. EADS is a representative of the family from which sprang James B. Eads, the noted civil engineer who has made his name famous in his connection with the navigation of the Mississippi. The subject of our sketch is one of the most prosperous farmers and stock-growers of Indian Grove Township, and owns a fine body of land on section 26, and also 193 acres in Belle Prairie Township. He was born in Morgan County, this State, Dec. 28, 1833, and is the son of John and Jane ( Anderson ) Eads, natives respectively of Maryland and North Carolina. When but a lad John Eads removed to Lexington, Ky., with his parents, and there learned black- smithing and followed the trade for forty or fifty years. He came to Illinois in 1828 or 1829, set- tling first in Jacksonville, Morgan County, where he resided until 1832, when he removed to a farm twelve miles southeast of the city, where, with his family, he spent the remainder of his life. His death took place about 1859, and that of his widow in about 1881.

The mother of our subject, Jane Brandon An- derson, was born five miles from Salisbury, Rowan Co., N. C., Oct. 5, 1796, and died at his residence, five miles south of Fairbury, April 15, 1881, at the age of eighty-four years, six months and ten days, She was the third child of Thomas and Martha (Dickey) Anderson, and her paternal grandfather, Isaac Anderson, was one of the original settlers of Rowan County, N. C., and married Miss Sarah Farmer. The first husband of Jane Brandon was Ezekiel Turner, and her second John Eads, Sr., of Jacksonville, Morgan Co., Ill., to whom she was married Sept. 18, 1828.

Our subject remained under the parental roof until a youth of nineteen years, receiving a com- mon-school education and being trained to habits of industry and economy. Then, under the in- struction of an elder brother, who was located in

the small village of Waverly, he took up the trade his father had so long and industriously followed. After an experience of about ten years in the shop he turned his attention to farming, and has since been energetically engaged in tilling the soil. 1le has been greatly prospered in his labors, and from the time of his first purchase of a quarter section of land he has accumulated until he is now the pro- prietor of 515 acres, all under a good state of cul- tivation. His stock-raising operations have been extensive, and his stables include imported Clyde horses and Short-horn cattle. As a breeder of horses he has attained an enviable reputation, and with his cattle has followed the practice of Mr. Haaf, of Henry County, Ill., that of sawing the horns off close to the head. This he esteems a humane procedure. He has also added sheep-rais- ing to his other interests, and as might be expected, keeps the best grades. His residence and farm buildings are of excellent description, and every- thing about the premises indicates thrift and in- dustry of no mean order, and we are pleased to present a full-page view of them as a representative farm estate of Livingston County.

After reaching his twenty-third year Mr. Eads was united in marriage with Miss Esmeralda Pat- ton. The wedding took place at the home of the bride in Woodford County on the 31st of May, 1857. Of this union there was born one child, a son, Willie E., who died when five months old. The wife was called to the other world in 1868. The second wife of our subject was Miss Minerva Travis, to whom he was married Feb. 13, 1873. She became the mother of three children, namely : Laura, who died in infancy; Dora M., who was born March 15, 1875, and Lester E., Jan. 22, 1877. The mother of these children died at her home in Indian Grove Township in 1877.

The present wife of our subject was formerly Mrs. John (Thompson) Hougham. This marriage resulted in the birth of one child who died in infancy. Mrs. Eads was born in McLean County, this State, Aug. 27, 1846, and is the daughter of Simpson E. and Narcissa Thompson, natives of Kentucky, and now living in MeLean County. Mr. Eads has held the various offices of his town- ship and officiated as Deacon in the Christian

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Church for eight years, and has recently been made an Elder. He meddles little in politics and is a strong Prohibitionist. Mrs. Eads united with the Christian Church in about the year 1864, and has ever since been a worthy member.

In Livingston County may be found many highly cultivated and well equipped farms, and some of the most advanced and enterprising farmers in the State. While it may be classed among the very leading agricultural counties of the Northwest it take- an equal rank among the counties more es- pecially devoted to raising fine stock. Here both the tilling of the soil and the breeding of farm animals are practiced after the most modern and 'scientific principles. The pioneers in these ad- vanced methods are rendering invaluable service to the community about them. They are men of skill, foresight and enterprise. Among the leading men of the county in both branches is Mr. Eads, the gentleman whose life is briefly outlined above. and it is with pleasure that we present his portrait in this volume.

ENRY ARTHUR SWIFT, dealer in hard- ware in the town of Dana, LaSalle County, just over the line dividing that and Living. ston Counties, is a native of the State' .of Illinois, and was born on the 14th of February, 1859. Ile is the son of Robert S. and Sarah II. (Smallwood) Swift. He remained with his parents attending the common schools until fourteen years of age, where he made such progress in his studies that at the age of seventeen he began to teach in the village of Reading, Reading Township, Living- ston County, and alternated his time between teaching and going to school until July, 1885, at- tending school at Valparaiso, Ind., about fifteen months, during which time he completed the busi- ness course of that institution. In that month he engaged in the hardware business in the town of Flanagan.

On the 20th of October. 1885, Mr. Swift was married to Lunette Hakes, daughter of Alfred B. and Marion ( Howe) Hakes, natives of New York. Mrs. Swift is a native of Illinois, and they have

had one child born to them, on the 20th of January, 1887, upon whom they have conferred the name of Maudie Roe. Mrs. Hakes was born on the 3d of August, 1835, and is the mother of nine children, eight of whom are living. Their names are as fol- lows: Jared is married to Miss Elizabeth Clegg; they have a family of four children, and are en- gaged in farming in Livingston County. Anthony I. married Miss Mary Belt, and is a farmer by oc- cupation; they have three children, and live in Logan County, Kan. Lunette, Mrs. Henry A. Swift, was born Dec. 16, 1863; Annie M. was born in 1858, and died in February, 1859: Mary Jane, Edgar, Arthur, Cora May and Hettie, all at home.

At the time this sketch is written, Mr. Swift is engaged in the hardware trade in the town of Dana, LaSalle County, and carries a general line of shelf and heavy hardware. He has been located in Dana since the 1st of March, 1886, and has drawn to himself an extensive trade from the surrounding country. He owns the house and lot where he lives, and also the business house and lot where he conducts his business. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Church. in which they take an active interest. In politics he votes and acts with the Republican party, and is a strong advo- cate of the prohibition of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors.

Mr. Swift is a young man who has developed ex- cellent business qualifications, and those who know him predict for him a bright future. He possesses the three great requisites for success-honesty, in- dustry and economy-and stands high among the business men of Dana, and of the two counties wherein lies his trade.

OHN VICKERY, well known throughout Nevada Township as one of its most exten- sive and successful farmers, was born on the other side of the water, and has traveled over a large portion of this continent. having so- journed in twenty-one different States. He pos- sesses more than ordinary intelligence, and has

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made the most of his opportunities for seeing life and becoming acquainted with the various phases of human nature. He has always been active, and known no greater pleasure than that of a stirring business life, in which both hands and brain may be employed.

The early home of our subject was in Devon- shire, England, where his birth took place Oct. 1, 1824. He was reared not far from the vale of Ex- eter, noted for its rich and beautiful stretch of country, and which forms such a strong contrast to the rugged coasts of the Bristol Channel, which upon the contrary, is broken and diversified, being in some places wild and sterile, and in others re- markable for fertility. The famous cattle prized so highly in America, the red Devons, originated in this county, and Dartmoor, also within its limits. feeds large numbers of small ponies, which, accord- ing to their size, possess remarkable strength and endurance, and are used largely in the mines.

Our subject passed his childhood and youth upon the farm of his father, Christopher Vickery, a native of Cornwall, and the descendant of a line of excellent ancestry who were mostly engaged in farming pursuits. The father of our subject spent his last years in Devonshire, and the homestead still remains in the family, being now the property of his grandson, Thomas Vickery. Christopher, although fond of country life, engaged consider- ably in trade, and also dealt largely in live stock. His wife, the mother of our subject, was formerly Miss Elizabeth Hodge, a native of the same county as her son, and the daughter of Thomas Hodge. She departed this life not far from the place of her birth, where she had always lived, in the spring of 1828, and had been the mother of four children, one of whom died in infancy ; Thomas still resides in England; Elizabeth came to America, became the wife of Charles Vele, and died in Vienna Town- ship, Grundy County, this State. about 1850.

Mr. Vickery attended school quite steadily dur- ing his childhood and youth, and subsequently em- ployed himself in assisting his father around the homestead, and also learned the butcher's trade. He remained in England until nearly twenty-one years old, but his busy brain had for some time been devising a scheme whereby he might better

his condition in life. On the 12th of July, 1845, he proceeded to Plymouth and embarked on a sail- ing-vessel bound for America. After a voyage of six weeks and four days, he landed at Quebec, Canada, whence he proceeded directly to Kingston, and a month later to Toronto. From there he mi- grated first to Cleveland, Ohio, and then to Cincin- nati, keeping himself supplied with pocket money by working at his trade. We next find him in Racine, Wis., and in 1847 he located in Grundy County, this State, and for a year was engaged in farming. This locality pleased him better than anywhere he had yet been, and he accordingly por- chased a quarter section of land in Vienna Town- ship. He improved this considerably, and sold out at a good profit a few years later. He invested in another quarter section in the same township, which he also sold, and taking up his abode in Highland Township, farmed there until 1872. In the spring of that year he came to this county and purchased a part of the land which he now occupies.

Mr. Vickery has been remarkably successful in his farming operations, the land responding gener- ously to his skillful and thorough management. He added to his acreage until he has now 435 acres in Nevada and Dwight Townships, all of which is improved and supplied with good buildings. Be- sides this he has 600 acres in Grundy County. This furnishes employment to a large number of men, horses and machinery, and like other enter- prising citizens he has thus acted the part of a pub- lie benefactor.

Mr. Vickery was married, March 22, 1854, in Kane County, Ill., to Miss Mary Staley. and they became the parents of two children: Fremont J., born June 19, 1856, married Miss Nettie Johnston, a native of Lee County, and of Scotch parentage; they have one child, a son, Paul B. Charles B., the younger son of Mr. Vickery, was born June 15, 1871, and remains at home with his parents. Mrs. Vickery was born in Euphrates Township, Mont- gomery Co., N. Y., July 10, 1832. Her father, Adam Staley, was born in Johnstown, that county, and was the son of Abraham Staley, a native of Hol- land, who came to America when young, locating in Johnstown during its early settlement. He mar- ried a lady of French birth, and both himself and

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wife spent their last years in that locality. Grand- father Staley was a man of great enterprise and in- dustry. and owned a good farm which he had opened up from the wilderness.

Adam Staley. the father of Mrs. Vickery, was reared to manhood in his native town, and after his marriage purchased a small farm near Euphra- tes, which he occupied until 1840. He then sold ont and started for the West. accompanied by his wife and four children. They proceeded by team to Buffalo, and then embarked, teams and all, on a ve-sel bound for Toledo. Thence they drove to Kane County, fording the river two miles below Aurora. Mr. Staley rented a farm in Aurora Town- ship. which he occupied a year, and then on ac- count of ill-health, returned East as far as New York State, locating in Oneida County, where he resided nine or ten years. Illinois in the mean- time had become more thickly settled, the land in better condition and the atmosphere purer. He accordingly returned to the West, and subsequently purchased a tract of land in Island Township, Grundy County, from which he opened up a good farm which continued his home until his death, in June, 1865. The mother of Mrs. Vickery was formerly Miss Sallie Higgins, a native of New York, and the daughter of Ebenezer Higgins, also a native of and a representative of one of the finest families in the Empire State. She is still living, and resides with her daughter, Mrs. Frances West, in Montgomery County, Iowa.

When Mr. Vickery came to Illinois there was not a railroad in the State. His nearest market was at Morris, and the nearest railroad at Niles, Mich., from which point he went to Michigan City, Ind .. and then to Chicago, and from there by stage to Grundy County. He has been the leader in the various enterprises for the development of the re- sources of Livingston County. and was among the first to encourage the establishment of religious and educational institutions. He has, since a young man, been connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he officiated as Class- Leader and Superintendent of the Sunday-school, and is now Trustce and Steward. He identified himself with the Republican party upon its organi- zation. and since oll enough to think for himself.

has been an Abolitionist of the strongest kind. While a resident of Lisbon, his house was one of the depots of the underground railroad, through which many a fugitive found his way to freedom. Taken altogether, his life may be written down as a success. lle has spent few idle days and neg- lected few opportunities to use his means and in- fluence toward the advancement of mankind, and the dissemination of the principles of truth and Christianity.

C HARLES KETTELLE, deceased, was a na- tive of Boston, Mass., and was born on the Sth of June, 1804. Ile was the son of An- drew and Eleanor Kettelle, of French descent, and was reared to manhood in his native city and State, where he received a good education. In 1831 he came West and located in Peoria County, Ill., where he was one of the first pioneers of the county, which then contained a population of only about 300 people. Ile was one among the first Recorders of Peoria County, and served in that office for fourteen years, and afterward held the office of County Clerk for about twenty years, besides serv- ing in several minor offices. lle was one of the pioneer business men of Peoria, and that city did him the honor to name one of its thoroughfares Kettelle street.

On the 12th of September, 1837, Mr. Kettelle was married to Lucinda C. Dickenson, who was born on the 18th of April, 1819, in Hadley, Mass., and went to Peoria, Ill., in 1836. She is the daughter of Samnel and Abigail (Stockbridge) Dickenson, both natives of New England. Mr. and Mrs. Kettelle had eight children, five of whom are living : George H .; Charles A., the well-known attorney-at-law, of Chicago; Cordelia S., Edwin S. ; Katie, the wife of J. W. Smith, and three deceased. Eleanor, Abigail and Samuel. Mr. Kettelle died on the 14th of March, 1882, in his seventy-ninth year.

The subject of this sketch was a Democrat in polities, and usually took a very active part in local, State and National campaigns. His church connections were with the Swedenborgian denomi-

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nation. He was a man whose reputation extended beyond the boundary lines of Peoria County, and he enjoyed the acquaintance of most of the prom- inent people of the State, while all who knew him esteemed his friendship very highly. The citizens of Peoria honored him with the offer of Mayoralty, which he declined, and accepted a seat in the Board of Alderman. In his death the family lost a kind and indulgent husband and father, and Peo- ria Connty one of her most useful and esteemed citizens. In the spring of 1882 he removed with his family to Livingston County, where he died within a few days after his arrival. The widow is now in her sixty-ninth year, and with the other members of the family resides on section 33, Pon- tiac Township. She owns eighty acres of land, and in her old age is enjoying the fruits of a life spent in usefulness and well doing.

R UDOLPH ULFERS, of Avoca Township, a self-made man and a fine representative of the German element which has assisted so materially in the development of Central Illinois, is located on section 32, where he has 160 acres of good land. This he has brought to a fine state of cultivation, and it is all enclosed with good fences. The buildings are of that substantial char- acter required by the progressive farmer, and the premises which he has built up by his own industry and thrift illustrate in a decided manner his enter- prise and perseverance. Upon coming to this country he labored under more than usual disad- vantages, being not only poor in pocket, but $80 in debt. This he liquidated as soon as possible, and before very long met with that encouragement which was the legitimate result of his honesty and industry. Ere long he found himself not only out of debt, but with the prospect of securing a home and something to lay by for a rainy day.

Mr. Ulfers was born in the Kingdom of Prussia, Nov. 21, 1845, where he spent his childhood and youth, and received the advantages of a common- school education. He emigrated to America in the spring of 1868, before reaching his twenty- third year, making the passage from Bremen on a

sailing-vessel, and landing in New York City after a tedious voyage of eight weeks. He had already heard of the Prairie State. and without tarrying long in the metropolis, he started directly for Illi- nois and located first in Tazewell County. A year later he came to Livingston County, where he has since remained. He was first employed as a farm laborer, lived economically and saved what he could of his earnings, and will never forget the time when he was so happy as to be able to secure a quarter section of land. He has become thor- oughly Americanized, is a Republican in politics, and a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The lady who has shared the home of our sub- ject for the last fifteen years and to whom he was married April 5, 1873, was formerly Miss Sophia Brown, daughter of Jacob and Rosa Brown, of Avoca Township. She was born in New York, re- ceived a fair education in the common school, and remained with her parents until her marriage. She is now the mother of five children, who were born as follows: Katie, Aug. 3, 1874; John, Dec. 17, 1876; Jacob, July 11, 1879; Emma, Sept. 21, 1881, and Anna, Jan. 21, 1884.

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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 41

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