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 95
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On the 12th of October, 1865, Mr. Bosworth was married to Amelia Lewis, a native of Gen- esee County, N. Y. Their union has been blessed with three children-Arthur L., Carrie E. and J. Albert. Mrs. Bosworth was born on the 15th of June, 1840. Her father, Denby Lewis, was a na- tive of Massachusetts, and his father, Robert Lewis, a native of England, born on the 30th of January, 1770. He immigrated to America and settled in Connecticut, and later removed to Gen- esee County, N. Y., where he died Jan. 5, 1859. The father of Mrs. Bosworth was reared a farmer, but fitted himself for teaching, and for many years taught school in the winter and farmed during the summer seasons. He reared a family in Pavilion, Genesee Co., N. Y., and died in Grundy County, Ill., in 1874. The maiden name of the wife of Robert Lewis was Allas Hall, who was born Sept. 10, 1762, and died Oct. 27, 1824.
Mr. Bosworth is a member of the Republican party, in the welfare of which he takes a lively in-
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terest, but he does not participate in politics to the extent of making him an office-seeker. In his domestic relations he is very pleasantly situated, and his surroundings are such as to make life pleas- ant and happy. In his business affairs he shows rare judgment and displays unusual enterprise. His success has been equal to his expectations, and the outlook for his future is bright and cheerful.
G EORGE A. WATTS, of LaSalle County, is one of the most trusted business men of the town of Dana, where he is carrying on gen- eral merchandising. keeping a full stock of groceries, dry-goods, boots and shoes, and in fact most of the articles required in the village or country household, while he also deals in all products of field and farm. He has numerous friends in this county and vicin- ity, many of whom are represented in this work. His childhood home was in the town of Phoenix ville, Chester Co., Pa., where he was born on the 25th of July, 1845, and was brought by his parents to the West in 1847.
Our subject is the fifth son of Thomas and Fran- ces (Dykes) Watts, natives respectively of Balti- more, Md., and Manchester, England. The elder Watts during his early years was superintendent of a cotton-mill, and after coming to this State, lo- cated in LaSalle County, where he engaged in farm- ing, and continued a resident until his death in February, 1880. The mother had died in Magno- lia seventeen years previously, in February, 1863. Thomas Watts was three times married, and by his first wife became the father of Joseph B., who is now engaged in farming in Kansas, and Mary Jane, the wife of Thomas MeGoe, a farmer near Gibbon City. By the second marriage there were born nine children, whose record is as follows: John W. secured a good education and followed teach- ing; he died at the age of forty years. George W. died in infancy : James H., a machinist of Grand Island, Neb., has a wife and four children; Thomas B., of Bloomington, also a teacher, is married and has five children; Catherine, Mrs. Moore, of Say- brook, is now a widow; George A .; Phoebe M., Mrs. N. R. Baggs, of Chillicothe, Ill .; Fannie, who mar-
ried John Howell, of this county, and with her hus- band is now deceased; and Cornelius, who is farm- ing within two miles of Dana, and has a wife and one child.
The third wife of Thomas Watts was the mother of two children : Emily, who is unmarried and liv- ing in Tennessee, and Samuel, a lad of twelve years. living with Joseph B. Watts in Kansas. Our sub- ject spent his younger years in Magnolia, and was reared mostly to farming pursuits. He in early life developed good business qualities, and after reach- ing manhood one of his most important steps was his marriage with Miss Julia A. Moats, in 1874. Mrs. Watts is the daughter of Isaac and Ann (Mil- ler) Moats, and was born in Northampton, Ill., in 1855. To her parents were born three children- Julia, Louisa and Richard. Louisa was born in Northampton, Peoria Co., Ill. ; she is now a milliner in Chicago. Richard is a farmer and stock-raiser of Kingman County, Kan. Mrs. Watts is the mother of the following children : Fannie M., born March 24, 1875; George R., March 8, 1877, and Grace E., April 6, 1882. Mr. Watts completed his education in the State Normal School, and has been engaged in business at Dana for a period of fourteen years. Ile is independent in politics, aiming to sup- port the men whom he considers best qualified for positions of trust and responsibility. Ile owns a comfortable home and a reserve fund for a rainy day.
C APT. WILLIAM STRAWN, ex-Represent- ative of the Eighteenth District in the Legislature of Illinois, a prominent citizen of Odell, was born in Licking County, Ohio, on the 7th of November, 1822, and was the second child in a family of thirteen born to Jacob and Matilda (Green) Strawn. His father was born in Somerset County, Pa., and was the son of Isaiah and Rachel (Reed) Strawn. The grandfather was a native of Bucks County, Pa., and was the son of Jacob and Christiana ( Purcell) Strawn, while the generation back of this was represented by Lance- lot and Mary (Cooper) Strawn. Lancelot Strawn was an orphan boy of Welsh descent, but there is no trace of the personality of his ancestors. He
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emigrated from England during the latter part of the seventeenth century. The Strawns were a part of the Pennsylvania Colony, and of the Quaker faith. while all the generations were farmers and prominent citizens. Strawntown, in Bucks County, Pa .. was named in their honor. On the mother's side of the house the grandparents were John and Susannah ( Winters) Green. The Winters family were of German descent, but John Green was of English descent. and a native of Virginia, and dur- ing all his life he was a man of pronounced anti- slavery views.
Capt. Strawn's father came to Illinois in 1831, locating four miles southwest of Jacksonville, where the mother died in December, 1832. Hle married a second time, and followed farming and dealing in stock until his death, which occurred on the home- stead near Jacksonville, Ill., in September, 1865. When in the prime of his business career he was known as the "Cattle King of America" because of his large investments in live stock.
Capt. Strawn began his education in the common schools, and at the age of twenty years entered the Illinois College at Jacksonville, from which he was graduated at the age of twenty-five, when he went to Lane Seminary at Cincinnati, where he spent two years preparing for the ministry. ilis con- nection with the church dated back to his youth, and was first with the Presbyterians, under whose auspices Lane Seminary is conducted, but after- ward he united with the Congregationalists, and is now a member of that church. While proseenting his studies he was taken sick with smallpox. and after his recovery he went home and never returned to complete his course.
On the 19th of June, 1850, our subject married Harriet A. Holmes, who was born in Jo Daviess County, Ill .. on the 22d of January, 1829, and was the eldest in a family of three children born to Stephen and Lydia W. (Massey) Holmes, who were natives of New York and Vermont respect- ively. They came to the lead mines of Galena, Ill., at an early day. and afterward moved to Jacksonville, where Mr. Holmes engaged in the mercantile line until his death in 1833. His widow survived him forty-seven years. Capt. Strawn and Miss Holmes were married at Jacksonville, and
started at once for LaSalle County, where he owned some wild land, which they set to work at once to improve and develop, and there they lived for fifteen years. From the time of the first set- tlement in LaSalle County he filled the pulpits in the Congregational Churches at home and in neigh- boring districts during nearly the whole period of his residence there.
In the month of June, 1856, about the time of the climax of the Kansas troubles he resolved to aid in establishing the supremacy of freedom in that section of the country, and he therefore joined the Free State forces under Gen. James Lane, and was engaged in guerrilla warfare with John Brown, but on a more conservative basis than the plan ad- vocated by the latter. He remained about three months and engaged in the struggle actively all the time. At Leavenworth he was taken prisoner by a band of South Carolinians, who had their headquarters at Russel & Major's warehouse, a depot for western supplies. They were being marched out to a safer place when Capt. Strawn slipped between the lines, through an adjoining store, and escaped from the city. When the ques - tions in dispute were settled he returned to his home in Illinois, and took up the duties of the farm, which he prosecuted earnestly until the in- auguration of the Rebellion.
On the Ist of August, 1862, our subject enlisted in the United States service, and aided in raising Com- pany F, 104th Illinois Infantry, and was commis- sioned First Lieutenant under Capt. James G. MeKernan, and Col. A. B. Moore, Regimental Commander. The regiment was mustered in at Ottawa on the 14th of August, 1862, and going first to Louisville to assist Gen. Buell in heading off Bragg's raid toward Ohio, seared them out in a short time. He followed the fortunes of this company in the 14th Corps, under old "Pap" Thomas, and was in the battles of Chickamauga, and was also in all the following engagements, con- tinuously under fire in the Atlanta campaign for eighty-seven days out of 100. The first part of this service was under Rosecrans, but after the battles of Chickamauga Grant relieved him and carried them forward to Mission Ridge, after which Sherman took the lead and conducted
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the balance of the campaign. Sherman then, on the 18th of November, 1864, began his memorable march to the sea. They burned the public build- ings in Atlanta before starting and destroyed all railroads and bridges behind them, reaching Sa- vannah, Ga., on Christmas Day, 1864; at this time their division commander was J. C. Davis, of Indiana. They then marched through the Caro- linas, following Johnson and tearing up the rail- roads to Goldsboro, where their communications with Washington were re-established, and they then returned in pursuit of Johnson to Raleigh. At this time news of the fall of Richmond reached them, and the surrender of Johnson almost imme- diately occurred. They then marched to Washing- ton, and participated in the grand review in May. 1865. Here they were disbanded and sent to Chi- cago, where they were discharged from the service on the 6th of June, 1865. In July, 1863, on the resignation of Col. Moore, the subject of this sketch was promoted to a captainey, and served in that capacity until the close of the war. Upon his return to his home in LaSalle County, Capt. Strawn sold his possessions, and on the 22d of November, 1865, took up his residence in Livingston County on the farm he now occupies, and pursued the oc- enpation of a farmer. In the fall of 1866 he was the successful candidate on the Republican ticket for Representative in the State Legislature. In 1868 he was re-elected, thus serving two terms, and since that time he has resided on the farm, but has been more or less active in politics all his life.
Capt. Strawn and his excellent wife are the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living : Wilder F., Annie M., Freddie, Mary H., Augusta V., Frances L., llattie, Grace and Mabel. The names of the two deceased were Freddie and Mary. Hattie, Grace and Mabel are at home; Wilder and Augusta are in Kansas; Annie resides in Gihnan, and is the wife of De Witt Robinson, a jeweler; Wilder married Mollie Brown, of Normal, Ill., and is a farmer; Augusta married William Hosack, and lives in Great Bend, Kan .; Frances married R. J. Dickson, of Sandwich, Ill. Mrs. Strawn is a well- educated lady, and is universally esteemed for her very many excellent qualities. In all matters con- nected with the society in which she moves she
takes a leading and active part. Capt. Strawn is pardonably proud of the part he played in the. events immediately preceding and during the war. Being a man who has the courage of his convictions he could not have done less than he did during the troublous times which prevailed during the in- fancy of Kansas as a State, and in the light of his- tory his course then is not only vindicated but thor- oughly justified.
OHN BALMER, a farmer and stock-raiser on section 26, Pontiac Township, has carved ont a fortune by his own efforts, and can now look over a farm containing 700 acres. He is a native of Switzerland, where he was born on the 29th of October, 1829, and is the son of Chris- topher and Margaret Balmer. IIe is the second son of a family of six children, of whom five sur- vive, viz. : Margaret, Christopher, John, Catherine and Susan. In the year 1840, with his parents, he immigrated to America on a sailing-vessel, taking passage at Havre, and after a voyage of forty-nine days landed in the city of New York. They im- mediately came West, locating in Hancock County, Ohio, where the parents lived and died, the mother in 1845 and the father in 1853.
Until he grew to manhood Mr. Balmer resided in Ohio, receiving such an education as was attaina- ble in the common schools of that day, and in 1852 he came to Illinois and located in Livingston County. Shortly afterward, in connection with John F. Milham, he purchased 131 acres of land, which is part of his present farm, and at that time contained only ten acres of land which had been broken. In 1864 he purchased the interest of Mr. Milham in this farm, and since then by subsequent purchase he has made additions until he owns, at the time this sketch is written, 700 acres of land. Mr. Balmer is eminently a self-made man. Coming to Livingston County when he had only a horse and about $45 in money, he now owns one of the finest farms in the county, containing the full com- plement of excellent buildings, and well stocked with horses, cattle and hogs. All this is the result of close attention to business, perseverance and in-
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dustry. Besides his farm and its accessories he owns considerable property in the city of Pontiae.
On the 5th of September, 1854, Mr. B. was mar- ried in Ohio, to Nancy, daughter of David and Chris- tina Adkins, of Pickaway County, pioneers in that part of the country. The father was a native of Maryland, and the mother of Virginia. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom the follow- ing-named are living: Mary Melissa, Christina, David. William and Nancy. Mrs. Balmer is a na- tive of Pickaway County, Ohio, where she was born on the 22d of April, 1835. To Mr. and Mrs. Balmer were born four children: John, Leonard; Melissa J., widow of Anthony Scott, of this county, and Anna, wife of Madison Fipps.
Mr. Balmer is a stanch Republican and takes considerable interest in political matters. He is a practical, thorough farmer, and individually over- sees his farming interests. IIc has met with exeel- lent business success in financial matters, and has a credit which is considered gilt edged. He looks with favor on every movement for the benefit of the county and the elevation of society. Both he and his excellent wife are respected members of society, and participants in everything that tends to the public good.
ETER VERCLER has built up one of the most beautiful homes in Pike Township, where he is located on section 33, and has eighty acres of finely cultivated land, and an elegant residence standing in the midst of beautiful grounds, planted with evergreen trees and choice shrubs, in which the pine tree predominates, and line> the driveway leading from the house to the barn. From this place of residence may be gathered the distinguishing traits in the character of the proprietor, whose tastes are cultivated and homelike, and who has taken pride in surrounding hi- family with the comforts and luxuries of life. Adjoining the farm property is a tract of 160 acres which he cultivates in connection therewith, and from the proceeds of the whole realizes each year a handsome income.
Our subject is of French birth and parentage, his
early home having been in the beautiful Province of Lorraine, France, now a possession of Germany, where he was born April 12, 1826. He was edu- cated in French and German, and remained with his parents, their chief stay and support. until they passed from earth. The parents of our subject. Andrew and Barbara (Rupp) Vercler, werc also natives of Lorraine, France. The household circle included twelve children, of whom two died in in- fancy. The others were named Joseph, Mary, Andrew, Magdelaine, Christian, Barbara, Anna, John, Peter and Jacob. Not long after the death of his parents our subject set sail for the United States, from Havre de Grace, landing in New York City. He at once proceeded westward, and worked in and around the city of Peoria for three years, after which he followed gardening seven years. HIe had now laid up a sum of money, and coming to this county, invested a part of it in a quarter section of land in Pike Township. Upon this he effected many improvements, redeeming the land from its originally wild condition and putting up a fine residence with other necessary buildings. He occupied this place thirteen years, then retired from active labor and took up his residence at Chenoa. Three years of comparative idleness more than satis- fied him, and desirous of a more active life, he en- gaged with his son in the furniture business. This, however, not being quite in accordance with his tastes, he disposed of his interest to his partner and once more returned to the rural life of which he had always been fond, taking possession of his present homestead, where he has since employed his time in its embellishment, adding as much to its value as to its beauty. In the meantime he has served as Justice of the Peace and has been otherwise identi- fied with the interests of his township.
The wife of our subject was formerly Miss Anna Detweiller, a native of his own Province in France, and the daughter of Christian and Catherine (Schwartz) Detweiller, of the same country. She was born Nov. 13, 1830, and became the wife of our subject in February, 1856, the wedding taking place at the home of the bride in Peoria. Mrs. V. was ten years of age when her parents immigra- ted to the United States and settled in Peoria, where the father died in about 1863; the mother is
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still living. Of this union there have been born three children: Catherine, the eldest daughter, be- came the wife of Peter Claudon, and died in 1880, leaving two children; Andrew married Miss Jessie Hays. of Chenoa Township, McLean County, and is assisting his father in conducting business on the homestead ; Anna, Mrs. Samuel Hays, lives on a farm near her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Vercler at- tend the Baptist Church at Chenoa, and our subject, politically, is independent, aiming to support the men whom he considers will best serve the interests of the people.
B ENJAMIN F. BROWN, Deputy Sheriff of Livingston County, located in Amity Town- ship in the spring of 1875, and has a fine farm drained by the Vermilion River. He was then a young man just setting ont for himself in life and came to the West, determined to build up a future home which should be a credit to him- self as the citizen of a rapidly growing section of country. He is not yet far advanced in years, hav- ing been born Feb. 18, 1848, in Delaware.
The parents of our subject, Joseph and Ann Brown, were natives of Pennsylvania, and left their native State after their marriage. Mr. Brown en- gaged in the butchering business, and after a worthy life as a highly respected citizen passed away in the spring of 1858. The wife and mother survived a number of years, her death taking place suddenly of heart disease, in Pennsylvania, in 1867. The par- ental family included nine children. The eldest son, William, when last heard from was in the city of Philadelphia; Rachel Ann became the wife of J. H. Taylor, and died in Delaware, leaving a large family; Washington was married to Miss Mary Wallace, at Baltimore, Md., and is now in California ; Joseph has a wife and four children; James is mar- ried and living in Pennsylvania; three died in in- fancy unnamed.
Benjamin F. Brown continued under the parental roof until starting for the West. He first located in Pontiac in 1870, where he carried on butchering until the spring of 1875, and then invested his capital in his present homestead. He is the owner
of 100 acres of land and his farm is equipped with modern improvements, the result of his own indus- try and enterprise. In 1879 Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Miss Betsey F. Burch, a native of Illinois, and born in 1863. Her parents were B. F. and Rebecca (Campbell) Burch : the father still lives in Cornell. The mother in the fall of 1885 came to Amity Township upon a visit with our subject and his wife, and one night soon after re- tiring had a severe attack of asthma, from which she expired in about fifteen minutes. Iler remains were laid to rest in the cemetery at Cornell. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have two children-Harry Oscar, born in 1881, and Ora May, in 1886.
Mr. Brown was appointed Deputy Sheriff in 1882, the duties of which position he has discharged with satisfaction to the community. While a resident of Cornell he was City Marshal and is now serving as Road Commissioner in Amity Township. Ile is one of the most reliable supporters of the Repub- lican party, and on account of his social qualities and intelligence is popular among his neighbors and fellow-citizens.
R ICHARD G. CROUCH. The West owes much to the typical Yankee, who is a shrewd, thrifty and enterprising man wherever you find him, and you find him frequently in the State of Illinois. The Yankees of New Hamp- shire are notable for their go-aheadativeness, and that State is the cradle in which many of the em- inent men of the country were rocked. Among these may be mentioned Daniel Webster, Lewis Cass, Salmon P. Chase and Horace Greeley. Dur- ing the war in defense of the Union, New Ilamp- shire bore her part . with honor, gallantry and dis- tinetion, and it is with pride that the subject of this sketch, who is a farmer and stock-grower on section 15, Indian Grove Township, can call New Hampshire his native State.
Mr. Crouch was born in Grafton County on the 16th of February, 1817, and is the son of Ephraim and Rebecca ( Whitamore) Crouch, who were na- tives respectively of Massachusetts and Connecti- cut. The father was a farmer by occupation and
LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
spent a very busy life, dying at the age of seventy- six in the year 1855. The mother was born in 1783 and died in 1843. They had eight children, whose names are as follows: Eliza, Sarah, Rebecca, Olive. Franklin, Chester, Richard G. and Ephraim. Eliza married Hiram Ladd, and is living in Free- port, Stephenson Co., IN .: Sarab married Dr. J. L. Rodgers, and is deceased; Rebecca is now Mrs. Hammond: Olive is deceased; Franklin mar- ried Mary Whittaker, and lives in North Haverhill ; Chester married Harriet Toplin; she is now de- ceased.
Mr. Crouch has been three times married. His first wife was Sarah B. Colby, by whom he had three children, one of whom, Jane, is the wife of George Goshorn; the others were Richard and Ephraim, both of whom died in childhood. Mrs. Crouch died in 1847. His second wife was Sarah Marshall, by whom he had three children-Edwin O., Flora and Alice. Edwin O. lives three miles west of Fairbury, and is a farmer by occupation ; Flora is the wife of Linn McKee, and lives north of Fairbury, and Alice is the wife of George Harn. also a farmer, living in Cloud County, Kan. The second wife died in 1853.
Richard G. Crouch was married to Miss Joanna HIanna on the 24th of February, 1858. She was born in Greene County, Pa., in 1829, and died on the 4th of June, 1887, of paralysis, after an illness of six months. At the time of her death a biog- rapber wrote of her: " For several years past she had been a great sufferer, but during it all she man- ifested great patience and resignation to the Lord's will, yet never losing heart and hope. She was one of the constituent members of the Fair- bury Baptist Church, and in the honest and best sense of the word a Christian. As a neighbor she was highly esteemed, as a church member uniformly consistent. expressing in her life the sentiment of the poet-
So shall iny walk be close with God. Calm and -erone my frame:
yet those who knew her in her home relations knew her best; as a wife, devoted and true; as a mother, gentle, tender and affectionate. One of the sons, in visiting home, stated that his mother had never whipped him. nor had she over scolded him. She
was a rare woman, wonderfully gifted; chastened and resigned until ready to live or die; hence as she came down to the end of the journey she had no fear. The funeral was largely attended at the late home. The weather on that day was very in- clement. yet many, even through the storm, ac- companied the bereaved relatives to the cemetery. The services were conducted by Revs. Palmer, Crosby and Christie. Mrs. Crouch was a lady of great culture, and taught school for seven years previous to her marriage. She was a great Sun- day-school worker, and was an ardent advocate of the right of women to vote."
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