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 87

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 87

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G RAY BROS .. of Wing Village. are widely and favorably known throughout the bor- der- of Pleasant Ridge Township. where they located some time since, and established a store of general merchandise in the spring of 1880. They carry a full line of everything pertaining to a general store. including dry-goods, groceries, hard- ware, boots and shoes, and also deal largely in lum- her aud grain. Their building occupies an area of 52x24 feet. two and one-half stories in height, and has become an institution quite indispensable to the people of Pleasant Ridge and vicinity.

George Il. Gray, senior member of the above firm. was born in the State of Maine, Feb. 27, 1854, and is the son of George and Mary (Mariner) Gray, native- respectively of Massachusetts and Maine. The father was born Der. 22, 1830, and the mother Der. 10, 1823. They came to Hlinois in 1851, and settled in Lasalle County. The father had worked in the East as a ship carpenter, and for several years

was foreman of railroad bridges on the Wabash Road. Afterward he became connected with the C. & A. R. R. He is now retired from active labor and makes his home in Wing Village. The parental household included five children-George Il., Annie L., Willard W., Joseph M. and Mary. George Il., on the Ist of January, 1876, was imited in marriage with Miss Eliza Pickering, who was born in LaSalle County. this State, March 26, 1855. Of this marriage there are two children -- George F. and Homer W. Annie L. Gray was born May 27, 1857, and married L. HI. Solomon, of Streator; Willard W. married Miss Sarah J. Greenho, and is living in Wing; Joseph M. married Miss Lottie Young, and occupies himself in farming in Saunemin Township: Mary is the wife of Ed- win Greenho, of Saunemin Township.

Mr. George Gray. in common with his brothers and sisters, received a fair education. After com- pleting his studies in the primary schools he took a course at Forest and at Pontiac. and after a brief residence at Westfield, where he was occupied in the same work, he returned to Saunemin Township and engaged in farming for the five years follow- ing. He then purchased the business which had been established by Jacob Keller, and about one year later his brother Willard W. became equal partner. To this business they have made material additions, having built a fine elevator the past sun- mer, and are now numbered among the substantial and reliable business men of the place; indeed, tak- ing the lead in trade and including in their interests by far the larger share of the business done at this point.

Willard W. Gray, junior member of the firm, was born JJuly 22, 1860, and spent his early life mostly at farming. His education was completed in the district schools, and in 1883 he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Greenho. They have one child, a daughter, Lucy, born May 15, 1887. Both he and his estimable lady are members in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. and Mrs. George Gray are also active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which Mr. Gray acts as Steward and Trustee. Mr. Willard Gray is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belong- ing to Forest Lodge No. 611. On the 5th of No-

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vember, 1885, he was appointed Postmaster of Wing, of which office he has since had charge, and the duties of which he is discharging in a manner creditable to himself and satisfactory to the com- munity. He has been Township Assessor three years. Both the brothers vote the straight Demo- eratie ticket.

OHIN B. EVVARD, a rising young farmer of Saunemin Township, has already a fine start in life, being the owner of 240 acres of good land on seetions 2 and 3. Upon it is a meat and substantial residence, a good barn and other necessary out-buildings, while the lowland has been thoroughly drained with 3,300 rods of tile, so that there is now a broad area which yiekls in abundance the choicest crops of Central Illinois. He has had a lifetime experience in farming, and readily adapted himself from the beginning to its different branches.

Mr. Evvard was born in Tazewell County, Sept. 26, 1855, and is the son of John B. and Mary (Jae- quot) Evvard, the former deceased, and the latter, now seventy-three years of age, making her home with our subject. The parents were natives of the Province of Lorraine, which at the time of their birth belonged to France, but is now included among the possessions of Germany. They immi- grated to America early in life, about 1850, and located in Tazewell County, of which they were among the earliest settlers. The father died there seven years later, Oct. 27, 1857, when our subject was but two years of age. The household cirele included six children, of whom but two survive. The name of the other is Eugene, and he lives with his brother John B.

Young Evvard remained in his native county until a lad twelve years of age, when in 1867 he accompanied his mother to Livingston County, lo- cating in Nevada Township. He completed his ed- ueation at Eureka College, and since leaving school has continued the study of instructive books and the various periodicals of the day, so that he has kept himself well posted upon current events, and

maintains a good position among the intelligent men of his community. lle was married when twenty-five years of age, on the 26th of September, 1880, taking for his bride Miss Mary A. Leitel, who is a native of LaSalle County, and was born Jan. 26, 1861. Mrs. Evvard is the daughter of Korby and Barbara (Bockmeyer) Leitel, who were native> of Germany, and are now residents of Union Town- ship. Our subject and wife commenced housekeep- ing on seetion 3, Saunemin Township, and in 1883 Mr. Evvard secured possession of his present home- stead. They have now two children: Mary B., born Aug. 8, 1881, and John M., Nov. 6, 1884.

Upon reaching his majority our subject cast his Presidential vote for l'eter Cooper, but is usually independent in politics, aiming to support the men best qualified for office. He takes a genuine inter- est in educational matters, being the descendant of a nationality which practices compulsory education, a system which it would seem might be profitably introduced into all countries. Although not very long a resident of his district he was elected School Director, in which capacity he is serving with credit to himself and satisfaction to all concerned.

The parents of Mrs. Evvard were born in the Province of Bavaria, Germany, and immigrated to the United States early in life, probably before their marriage. Their family included nine children, of whom but five are living, namely : William, Mary A., Marcus, Barbara and Annie.

NDREW J. TERWILLEGAR, who comes of sturdy German ancestry, is a successful farmer on section 32, Dwight Township. llis grandfather, Nathaniel Terwillegar, came from Germany to this country, and settled in Pennsylvania previous to the Revolutionary War, in which he was a soldier. Nathaniel Terwillegar, his son, and the father of the subject of our sketch, was born in Pennsylvania in 1785, and was by oc- cupation a farmer. When a young man he went to Ohio, and settled in Sims Township, Hamilton County, where he purchased a farm. After locating here, he married Miss Alice Elliott, daughter of John Elliott, of Hamilton County, a native of Ire-

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land. To them were born nine children, four of whom are now living, and whose names are : Mary, Sarah, George W. and Andrew J. Mary is Mr -. Sage, of Montgomery, Hamilton Co .. Ohio: Sarah married a Mr. Crist. of Olive Branch, Clermont Co .. Ohio. and George W. is a carpenter and buildler in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Terwillegar was one of the pioneers of Hamilton County, which was a wil- derness covered with a luxuriant growth of splendid timber of great variety, at the time of the settle- ment. He eut his farm out of the unbroken forest, and howed the timber for his log cabin with his own hands. fle was.in Hamilton County when Cin- cinnati was but a small village, and when Columbia, which is now a small place up the river from Cin- cinnati. was the trading point. In those days the struggle> of the pioneers were very severe, but they took fully as much comfort in their way as we do in ours now. There was a vast amount of timber and wood to be disposed of. Immense fireplaces were built in the side of the cabin. often occupying almost the entire side of the house. A great back- log was rolled in, which often required the united efforts of two strong men to put it in place. A fore-log nearly as large was placed in front, and over and between these were placed numerous smaller sticks. These made a fire which defied the severest weather, and before the light of its cheer- ful blaze the pioneer and his family passed the long winter evenings in solid comfort, while the cares and discomfort- of pioneer life were for the time forgotten. Mr. Terwillegar replaced the log cabin. with a good frame house, hewing out the frame with his own hands, which in turn gave place to a substantial brick house of twostories. All the chil- dren were born on this farm, and here Mr. Terwille- gar resided until his death,

In political opinions Mr. T. was a Democrat, and held the various township offices. His wife was a member of the Christian Church, and was very earnest and sincere in her religious convictions. Mr. Terwillegar was, like most of the pioneers of this country, self-reliant and per-evering. industri- ous and sagacious. He was a man prominent in his community, and undoubtedly would have made his name much more familiar to the people had not death marked him in middle life. He was a sub-

stantial farmer, and a reliable man in every way.

Andrew J. Terwillegar, the subject of our sketch, was born on the old homestead in Hamilton County, Ohio, on the 9th of September, 1829, and passed his early life among the surroundings of pioneer life amid the beautiful and picturesque scenery of Southern Chio, with its majestic rivers and mighty hills, and forests rivalled by none in this country. As a youth, he revelled in forest pleasures, which are unknown to the boys of the Prairie State. The woods were full of small game, and the Ohio River afforded the sports of swimming, fishing and boat- ing. Young Terwillegar received a common-school education, and was initiated into farm duties. In 1854 he came to Illinois and purchased a farm of 200 acres in Bureau County.

On the 21st of February, 1857, Mr. Terwillegar was married to Miss Elizabeth T. Harper, daughter of .James B. and Helen (Wycoff) Harper, of Hamil- ton County, Ohio, and he soon thereafter brought his wife to this farm in Illinois. The result of this union has been five children. whose names are: Helen II., Katie, Jennie, Albert and Mamie B. Jen- nie died on the 29th of July, 1883. and Mrs. Ter- willegar died in the month of October, the same year; thus in less than a year the household was bereft of a beloved mother and daughter: Helen married Adolphus Heller, a farmer who resides near Pontiac, and they have one son named Vietor G. Al- bert is the only son; Katie and Mamie are at home with their father. The children have all received a good education, while Helen was educated at Prince- ton, and was a school teacher of wide experience before her marriage.

Mr. Terwillegar remained on his farm in Bureau County ten years, and then went to Woodford County. He afterward rented land in McLean County, and in 1870 he came to Livingston County to his present residence in Dwight Township. He has been a life-long Democrat, as was his father be- fore him. lle is a gentleman of the old school; conscientious and honorable himself, he expects the same principles to obtain in others. The world needs honest men, and the words of Pope, "An hou- est man's the noblest work of God," will never be less true.

The father and an uncle of Mr. Terwillegar were

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soldiers in the War of 1812, and were present at Hull's surrender, at which cowardly act the soldiers were much enraged. His powder horn, which the father carried in the war, is still in the possession of the family.

OHN LEGGATE, EsQ., one of the pioneers of the southeastern part of Livingston Coun- ty, spent his childhood and youth in Lanark- shire, an inland county of Scotland, through which flows the far-famed and beautiful River Clyde. There he was born Ang. 25, 1816, at the home of his parents, James and Margaret (Dalgleish) Leg- gate, whose household included three sons-Robert, John and James. Robert, the eldest, was a soldier in the British army for a period of twenty years, and when retiring from military life, returned to his home, where his death took place about 1885. James came to this country when a young man, and is now a resident of New Jersey.

Our subject early in life learned the trade of a weaver, and in 1837, not long after his twenty-first birthday, was united in marriage with one of his childhood associates, Miss Elizabeth Fleming, a na- tive of his own county. They continued on their native soil until 1848, when Mr. Leggate with his wife and four children, bidding adieu to the friends of his youth, embarked on a sailing-vessel at Glas- gow. and after a tedious voyage of ten weeks landed in New York City. He was there occupied at his trade three years, and the three years following was employed in a glass factory. Subsequently here- moved to a point near London, Canada, where he remained until 1857, and was occupied most of his time in a brickyard. By the most rigid economy and continnous industry, he saved a little sum of money which he decided to invest in Western land. He came to this county, and being pleased with the outlook, purchased first eighty aeres in Germanville Township, where he set himself industriously at work with the laudable ambition of establishing a permanent home. His labors met with the success which they deserved, and besides bringing his first purchase to a good state of cultivation, he in due time put up snitable and substantial buildings, and by degrees added to his landed area until he be-

came the possessor of 240 acres. His career has been finely illustrative of the resolute persistence which has been the characteristic, from time im- memorial, of the sturdy Scotch nationality. He has also exhibited in a marked degree the straight- forward and honest qualities of his ancestry, which have constituted him a highly respected and re- liable citizen, whose word is considered as good as his bond. Upon becoming a voter, he identified himself with the Republican party, and has served as Justice of the Peace since the organization of the township. He is a stanch adherent of the Presby- terian Church, and a zealous worker in the Sunday- school.

Mr. and Mrs. Leggate became the parents of nine children, six now living, three having died in early childhood. One daughter, Margaret, became the wife of John Beckman, of Germanville Township, and died at her home in Iowa, aged twenty-seven years. Their son Robert, who had established a home for himself in Towa, and had a family, was ealled away when thirty-eight years of age. The four living are, James and Jolin in Chicago, George in Iowa, and Walter, who resides at home.

AMES A. GREGORY, M. D., is a young physician just beginning his professional ca- reer, and the duty of chronicling the events of his life beyond young manhood must de- volve upon the future biographer. In this place and at this time it is a pleasant duty to put on record an account of the source from which he sprang, and to recount the details of an auspicious beginning of the life upon which he is now enter- ing with a trusting and loving young wife by his side. ITe located at Chatsworth in April, 1887.

Dr. Gregory was born in Amity Township on the 13th of May, 1862, and is a son of Thomas and Ellen (Holdsworth) Gregory. His father was a native of England, where he learned the trade of a tailor. and followed that ocenpation while he re- sided in his native country. He married in En- gland, and immigrated to the United States in 1855, coming a few months later to Livingston County. Here he prepared himself for the minis- try and became a clergyman in the Protestant

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Methodist Church, preaching in different circuits in Illinois until about the year 1880, when he be- came superannuated, and died on the 4th of Febru- ary, 1886. He left an estate consisting of 190 acres of land in Livingston County and 160 acres in Kansas. During the war of the Rebellion he was a member of Company C, 129th Illinois In- fantry, and served faithfully for nine months, when he was discharged on account of disabilities in- curred. lle was a man who accomplished much good, and was thoroughly conscientious in the per- formance of every act.

Mrs. Gregory, the mother of the subject of our sketch, is also a minister of the Gospel, and com- menced preaching when she was but sixteen years of age, which she continued until an advanced age. She still resides in Amity Township, where she is highly respected and much esteemed for her many excellent qualities. They had nine children, six of whom are yet living. James A. is next to the youngest. and received his literary education at LaHarpe. IN. In 1885 he entered the College of Phy- sician> and Surgeons at Keokuk, lowa, from which he was graduated with honor in the spring of 1887, and immediately located at Chatsworth, succeeding Dr. Charles True in the practice of the profession.

Dr. Gregory was married, on the Ist of May, 1887. to Mardella Boyer, who was born on the 30th of November, 1863, and was a daughter of Isaiah and Celia C. (Bennett) Boyer, of Amity Township. The beginning of Dr. Gregory's professional ca- reer i- very auspicious, and he possesses the ability to maintain his reputation as a physician under all circumstances. His father having been a soldier in the Union army, that fact entitles the son to a membership in the order of the Sons of Veterans, to which he belongs, and is enthusiastic in the work of the order.

HOMAS GEORGE is an okl settler of Saune- min Township, whose neat and productive farm of forty acres is located on what is Judicially section 2 of that township, but which is congressionally in Pleasant Ridge Township. He is a native of Manchester, England, where he was

born on the 12th of November, 1812. Manchester is one of the most important cities of England, both in the way of commerce and education.

Mr. George is a son of Samuel and Catherine George, both of whom were English by birth. When about four years of age he accompanied his parents to America, taking passage at Liverpool, and after a voyage across the ocean which required eight weeks, landed in Boston, Mass. The parents settled in the State of Maine, where they made their future home, and remained until their death. The father died on the 10th of August, 1846, and the mother on the 13th of December, 1856. They became the parents of six children, of whom only two are now living, Thomas and Samuel. The boyhood days of our subject were spent in the State of Maine, where he received a meager educa- tion in the schools of that time, devoting the larger portion of his early life to the work of assisting his father in the conduct of the farm.

On the 21st of December, 1843, Mr. George was married to Lucinda Ayer, a native of New Glouces- ter, Me., where she was born April 9, 1821. She is the daughter of Asa and Rebecca Ayer, who were New Englanders by birth. Her father was a soldier in the War of 1812, and her grandfather, Thomas Ayer, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. George has resulted in the birth of the following-named chil- dren: Flora A., Alma L., Ilorace G., Frank F., Austin, Quincy, Ada and Virginia, Flora A. was born Sept. 25, 1850, and is the wife of James Fellows, of Kankakee, Ill .; Alma L. was born Oct. 18, 1852, and is the wife of Justus Gunsul, of Streator, Ill .: llorace G. was born Jan. 28, 1855, and resides in Kansas; Frank F. was horn Oct. 7, 1857, and resides at home; the other four are deceased.

In the year 1859 Mr. George migrated to Illi- nois, and for several years resided in LaSalle County. He located in Livingston County in 1869, and has resided here ever since. His farm consists of forty acres of splendid land, which was all unbroken prairie when it came into his possession twenty years ago. Mr. George has been a hard worker all his life, and whatever he possesses is the result of his own effort, economy and good management. In polities he has been a Republican since the dis-

Jahn Reilly

Francis

Ponohar

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LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

solution of the old Whig party, and while a resident of the State of Maine he held several of the minor township offices. He and his wife are both mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which they are very much devoted. Both have spent a long life in usefulness and well doing, of which they are now enjoying the fruits. None are more worthy of a place in this ALBUM than the subject of this sketch and his most estimable wife, and to a brief record of their lives this page is given with pleasure,

P RANCIS DONOHOE is an independent far- mer and stock-raiser, whose quarter-section farm is located on section 6 in Odell Town- ship. lle was born in Virginia within three miles of Leesburg, Loudoun County, on the 13th of April, 1814, and is the youngest in a family of eleven children. His parents were Samuel and Margaret (Elgin) Donohoe, who were also natives of Virginia. The paternal grandparents were Cor- nelius and Mary (McDowell) Donohoe, who were natives of Ireland, and were among the early set- tlers of Virginia. They were farmers by occupa- tion, and passed the remainder of their lives at Leesburg. The Elgins were of English descent, and were also early settlers of Virginia.

The father of Mr. Donohoe was a farmer by oc- cupation, and in that respect followed in the line of his forefathers. He spent his whole life as a Virginia farmer, and with his wife is buried on the old home farm originally improved by the grandparents. He was a quiet, inoffensive citizen, and much de- voted to the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was a member and a Class-Leader. It was one of his proud boasts that he had never been sued in a court, nor found it necessary to enter suit against any other person. The subject of this sketch was ten years of age at his father's death, and from that event had little chance to attend school. He

worked upon the farm until he was seventeen years of age, at which time the homestead was divided and he was thrown upon the world to care for him- self. He followed teaming in Alexandria for three years, and during this time he fell in with a party i

of traders from Tennessee, and joined them as a driver, going overland to Mississippi. Upon ar- riving there the teams were sold, and he engaged in hauling cotton to Vicksburg. At the close of tlie season he engaged to help open a general store on the road near Vicksburg. In the following spring he sold out his interest, and returned to his home in Virginia, making the journey on horse- back. After reaching home his next engagement was as an overseer on a canal from Richmond to Lynchburg, which was known as the James River Canal, and in this employment he remained three years, and then went to Rockbridge County, where he farmed one year, and then retired from active work one year. During this time he was guarding a real-estate investment he had made, and through which he had trouble regarding the title.

Mr. Donohoe came to the West in 1844, and set- tled first in Kendall County, where he farmed and broke prairie and also followed threshing. In 1850 he crossed the plains with a team to Califor- nia in search of a fortune in the gold mines, and experienced a hard journey, almost dying on the way, but as he neared the El Dorado his health im- proved, and when he entered the mines at Placer- ville he was robust and hearty. He engaged in mining at Placerville, Gold Hill, Cold Spring and Cedarville, where most of his time was spent. A nephew joined him there who engaged in merchan- dising, but soon died. After his death Mr. Dono- hoe was obliged to take charge of his affairs and close the business out. He then joined a prospect- ing party and was fairly successful, but in 1858 he returned to Leeeburg, Va., where he remained dur- ing the winter. In the following spring he came to Illinois to visit a brother and sister who had set- tled here, and led a pleasant life free from business cares for a couple of years.

On the 6th of March, 1860, Mr. Donohoe was married to Pleasant Furr, daughter of Newton and Pleasant (Matthews) Furr, natives of Virginia, who migrated to Illinois in 1853. After his marriage Mr. Donohoe began farming on rented land in La- Salle County, above Ottawa, where he remained for eight years, and then came to Livingston County and bought 160 acres of wild land, on which he settled and began to improve the farm.

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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 87

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