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 98

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 98

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

neither wounded nor captured, although in the thickest of the fight at Shiloh and where five men were shot down at his right side. He was mustered out by special order in December, 1865, at Mem- phis, Tenn., after having gained the marked ap- proval of his superior officers, and the good-will and esteem of his comrades, by his bravery and un- selfishness.

Upon returning to civil life Mr. Lockner took up his abode in Marshall County, this State, where he was engaged in farming pursuits until 1871. Then, having some means, he decided to invest in real estate in this county and settled where he now resides. Very little of the sod had been broken and there were no buildings of any kind. The land is now all under cultivation, and the residence, erected in 1887, is acknowledged to be the best in Germanville Township. The lady who has presided over his household affairs for a period of nearly twenty years, was in her girlhood Miss Catherine Seifert, and became the wife of our subject in Woodford County, Ill., in 1870. Mrs. Lockner was born in 1842, and is now the mother of six bright children, namely : Jacob, Mary, Katie, John, William and Henry.

Mr. Lockner is a stanch Republican, politically, and always ready to support the principles of his party. He is wide-awake, enterprising and indus- trious, and no man in the county stands higher or enjoys in a larger degree the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens. He has served as School Di- rector in his township and is a member in good standing of the Lutheran Church.

As illustrative of the progress made in the style of architecture in this section of country we present on another page a view of Mr. Lockner's residence.

D ETER HARRINGTON, a native of the Em- pire State, has been a resident of Dwight Township for eighteen years, and is one of the most useful and substantial members of the agricultural community. The history of his family is one eminently worthy of record. and which he preserves with conscientious care as a mat- ter which will be of invaluable interest to his chil-

797

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

dren. The world naturally reverts to the antece- dents of the prominent man involuntarily, wish- ing to know under what circumstances he com- menced life, and with what element> he has had to contend, particularly if his career has been fortu- nate, as has that of our subject.

Michael Harrington, the father of Peter, was born in County Cork, Ireland, whence he emigrated when a young man, about 1837, after his marriage, and after the birth of two children. The mother, formerly Miss Ellen Mahony, was born in the same locality as her husband, and cheerfully accompanied him to the New World, which they had sought in the hopes of bettering their condition and giving to their children the advantages which there seemed no prospect of obtaining upon their native soil. They located in New York, where the father was employed at farming for eight years following. In 1844 they removed to Wisconsin, and Mr. Harring- ton purchased a farm in Saukville, Ozark County, where he built up a comfortable home, and where his death took place in 1886. 1Ie had lived to the advanced age of eighty-one years, and his course had been such as to secure for him the highest re- speet of all who knew him. The parental house- hold included eight children, who were named re- spectively, Bartholomew, Jolin, Peter, George, Den- nis, Michael, Mary and Ella. They are all living, and residents mostly of Wisconsin. The mother is dead. Michael Harrington, after becoming a nat- uralized citizen, identified himself with the Demo- eratic party, whose principles he supported with all the energy of his character. He was an industrious, hard-working man, and is remembered by his chil- dren with the highest respect and veneration.

Peter Harrington was born in Ilerkimer County, N. Y., in 1837, and was a lad of but seven years when his parents removed to Wisconsin. He re- members the fact that they settled in a home among the Indians, when a large portion of the country was still a wilderness, and wild game was plenty. Amid these surroundings it was hardly to be ex- pected that he could aequire a finished education. but he was naturally fond of reading, and after be- coming acquainted with the first rudiments, made good progress in learning through his own exertions and by the aid of observation and experience. He

remained contented with the quiet pursuits of farm life, his greatest ambition being the establishment of a home of his own.

The men of thirty years ago, and in that section of country, not being as fashionable and exacting as they are at the present day, bravely started out when comparatively young in years, and took upon themselves the responsibilities of a family. The young ladies too were usually thoroughly trained in those arts which have such great influence in the happiness and contentment of a home. Young Har- rington accordingly, at the age of twenty years, having already selected his future helpmeet, was married in the spring of 1857, to Miss Catherine, daughter of Dennis and Ellen (Leary) MeCarty, of Saukville, Wis. They settled contentedly down to housekeeping on the little farm which had been pre- sented Mr. H. by his father, and where they resided until 1864. Our subject then disposed of his prop- erty in Wisconsin, and removed with his family to Chicago, Ill., but six months later rented a farm in LaSalle County, upon which he operated three years, and then secured possession of his present farm.

To Mr. and Mrs. Harrington there were born ten children, whom they named respectively, Michael, Dennis, Mariah, Kate, Daniel, Celia, Peter, John, George and Arthur.

The faithful and affectionate wife and mother de- parted this life at her home in Dwight Township, March 8, 1869. She possessed all the qualities of a worthy Christian lady, conscientious in the dis- charge of her duties, and doing everything in her power to make the home of her husband and chil- dren the most attractive spot on earth. With her husband and family she adhered firmly to the Catho- lie faith of her forefathers, and her name is held in universal respeet by all who knew her.

The present wife of our subject, to whom he was married Oct. 8, 1885, was formerly Miss Ellen, daughter of Patrick and Johanna (Donohoe) Burk, of Dwight. Mrs. Harrington was born July I. 1848, at the home of her parents in Ireland, and was favored with a good education and careful training in those duties and accomplishments which have fitted her to preside with nice judgment and discretion over the home of one of the most promi- nent citizens of a highly intelligent community.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

The Harrington homestead invariably attracts the eye of the passing traveler as being one eminently desirable, and under the supervision of a gentle- man of good taste and thorough experience as a farmer and business man. The dwellings are sub- stantial, and kept in good order, and the farm stock and machinery are entirely creditable to the proprie- tor .

OIIN W. MARSII. who is now a farmer and stock-raiser on section 8 in Pontiac Town- ship. is a man who has spent most of his life in other business pursuits, and became an agrienlturist but a few years ago. Ile is a native of Madison County, N. Y., where he was born on the 23d of July, 1834. His parents were James and Esther ( Miller) Marsh, the father being a na- tive of New England, and the mother of Chenango County. N. Y. Ilis paternal ancestors were of Scotch-English descent. When about three years of age. his parents moved to Chenango County, N. Y., and there lived until be reached his twelfth year. In his fifth year his mother died, and his father died when he was but twelve years of age, making him an orphan at this tender age. After his father's death he returned to Madison County, N. Y., and for two years resided with an uncle named Isaae Marsh. At fourteen years of age he began busi- ness for himself, working by the day, job or month. In his seventeenth year he began learning the trade of a shoemaker, serving for two years and a half. at the end of which time he bought out the busi- ness of his employer, Alexander Covey, of Brook- field. N. Y., and conducted the business success- fully for several years, when he sold out with the intention of going West. Ile reconsidered his pur- post. however, and again entered into business in the same town. which he continued until nearly the close of the war.

In November, 1854, Mr. Marsh married Cornelia Beebe, daughter of Amos Beche, of Madison Coun- ty. N. Y .. and by this marriage there were five chil- dren: Louisa, the wife of William Black. of Wood- ford County, Ill .; John A. married Ellen A. Hake, of Woodford County. H., and is superintendent of the manufacturing department and salesroom of

John MeCalla, of Pontiac; William A. is operating a part of the homestead; Willis S. is foreman in the fitting department of the shoe manufactory in the State Reform School at Pontiac. John W. Marsh married his present wife in 1871, she being Miss Lueene A. Lawson, originally of West Vir- ginia, but at the time of marriage residing in Wood- ford County, Ill. By this marriage there are four children-Esther, Edson, Mary and Lucinda.

Mr. Marsh came to Livingston County in the spring of 1866, and was located for two years three miles northeast of Pontiae, and then moved to Cayuga, where he engaged in farming and the boot and shoe business. In the fall of 1869 he moved to Pontiac, and for a short time was employed in the boot and shoe business for other parties, and then began business for himself, and gradually worked his business up to that point that made it the largest in the city. He continued in this busi- ness until 1876, when he moved to his farm, on which he has resided ever since. His farm consists of eighty acres of good land, which he successfully cultivates.

Mr. Marsh is a non-partisan in politics, and when he does take any part it is in furtherance of the Prohibition party. Ile is a member of the Baptist Church, and for many years has devoted consider- able time to ministerial work. He lectures quite frequently in Livingston and adjoining counties on questions of morality and reformation. He is a man of education and large information, and has pronounced views upon all the questions of the day, particularly those which relate to religion and reform.

NDERSON CORBIN. The subject of this biography is one of the oldest and most highly respected residents of Sunbury Township. At the time of his coming here, in 1855, there were but four families within its limits. He has watched with interest and satisfae- tion the development and growth of Central Illi- nois, and contributed in no small degree to its pres- ent importance and prosperity.

Mr. Corbin was born in Harrison County, W. Va., March 15, 1813, and came to the West in the

799

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

strength of his young manhood, prepared to battk. with the elements of life in a new country, to es- tablish a homestead, and build up a record that should reflect honor upon his posterity. When we consider what he has accomplished and the estima- tion in which he is held by the people who have known him so long and well, it is hardly necessary to say that his career has been a success. lle is now retired from active labor, and in the precincts of a pleasant home in the village of Blackstone is enjoying the fruits of his early industry.

The father of our subject, Anderson Corbin, Sr., was born in Culpeper, Va., and was the son of Francis Corbin, also a native of the Old Domin- ion. The latter was a farmer by occupation but afterward joined the army, and died in the service of his country while fighting on the side of the Colonists during the Revolutionary War. His son Anderson, encouraged by the example of his hon- ored sire, also entered the army when but fourteen years of age. He served as a substitute until the close, and was present at the surrender of Corn- wallis. The father of our subject, after retiring to civil life, purchased a tract of timber land in Harrison County, and located there during its ear- liest settlement. He redeemed a farm from the wilderness and established a comfortable homestead, upon which he spent the remainder of his days, his death occurring about 1835. He had married in early manhood Miss Elizabeth Haines, a lady of excellent character and well fitted to become the companion of an intelligent and worthy man. The mother of our subject was born in Maryland, and was the (laughter of Henry Haines. one of the earliest pio- neers of Harrison County, W. Va. He removed to Greene County, Ohio, and died at an advanced age.

The parental household of our subject included six sons and six daughters, of whom Anderson was the tenth in order of birth. Ile was reared on the old homestead in Harrison County, and remained with his parents until ready to establish a home for himself. After marriage he purchased a traet of partly improved land five miles from his father's farm, where he resided nine years. He then sold this property and removed to Ritchie County, W. Va., where he carried on farming until the fall of

1854. Not being entirely satisfied with the results of his labor he decided to seek the great West, and disposing of his property interests in the Okl Do- minion, he started upon a long journey overland to the Prairie State. He was accompanied by his wife and seven chiklren, and had a conveyance consisting of a wagon drawn by two horses. Upon arriving at LaPorte, Ind .. however, they concluded to spend the winter there, but in the spring they resumed their journey, and arrived in this county on the 29th of April, 1855. They had traveled after the manner of the emigrants of those days, camping and cooking by the wayside and sleeping in their wagon at night. Much of their road lay through an untraveled country, and in many districts the inhabitants were few and far between. Wild game was plentiful, and the traveler of those days, who seldom started ont without his gun, was able to snpyly his family with the finest of will meats. In this manner the emigrants fared not badly.

Mr. Corbin located at once in Sunbury Township, where he purchased a quarter section of land at $5 per acre. It was will prairie upon which not a furrow had been turned. He rented a tract of im- proved land adjacent, and in connection with farming carried on blacksmithing, which he had learned in his native State. In the course of five years he was enabled to build upon his own land, and located in a dwelling of his own in February, 1860. He also put up a blacksmith-shop, and pur- sued his trade while superintending the improve- ment of his farm. He lived and labored there con- tinuously until the spring of 1881. when he wisely decided to retire and spend his declining years in the ease and comfort which he had so justly earned. He accordingly purchased a neat home in Black- stone, and, surrounded by his chiktren and friends, is enjoying a green old age. Although having passed beyond his threescore years and ten, he is still active, and takes a lively interest in National, State and county affairs. He made the most of his opportunities for education while young, and has always kept up a regular course of reading, by which he has become well posted upon all matters of general interest. His manners are those of a gentleman born and bred, and his conversation that of a man who has had a rich experience in life

800

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

and bas kept his eyes open to what was going on in the world around him. He is liberal in his relig- ious views, and politically one of the stanchest ad- herents of the Democratic party.

The lady who has been the close companion and friend of our subject for a period of over fifty years. was in her girlhood Miss Mary A. Coplin, and became his wife on the 4th of May, 1837. Mrs. Corbin is a native of the same county as her husband. and was born in 1812. Iler parents were Benjamin and Nancy (Bartlett) Coplin, natives of Ilarrison County, W. Va. Of her nnion with our subject there were born the children whose record is as follows: Nancy E., the wife of William Van Schoy, is a resident of Streator, Ill .; Olive lives in Pontiac: Augustine makes his home in Streator; and Benjamin remains with his parents in Blackstone; Celia became the wife of Henry Bregg, and they are residents of Newtown Township; Garrett died in 1885, when forty years of age; Martha married C. C. MeDonnel, and died in Esmen Township in 1880. The children were carefully trained and educated, and those surviving have taken their rightful place in the community as the offspring of one of the most valued residents and honored pioneers of Livingston County.

6 HEODORE MONK. This gentleman has located his permanent home very many miles from the place of his birth, which was on the other side of the Atlantic, in the little manufactur- ing town of Sommerda, Prussia. He there began life April 26. 1839, and at an early age was placed in school, continuing at his studies until a youth of fourteen. His parents were natives of the same Province as their son, and the father, Gustavus Monk, was a cloth-dresser, preparing the material for market after it had been woven. The mother's maiden name was Leinsenbast.

Our subject upon leaving school was bound out to learn the machinist's trade, at which he worked three years, and then prepared to immigrate with his father to the New World. They embarked on a sailing-vessel. and after a tedious voyage of seven weeks arrived in New York Harbor, whence they

procceded to Milwaukee, Wis. There young Theo- dore secured employment at his trade, but a year later went south to St. Louis, and for two years thereafter was employed in a machine-shop. We next find him engaged as cook on board a boat ply- ing the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. He was thus occupied until the outbreak of the Rebellion, and then enlisted in the 4th Missouri Cavalry, under the command of one of his own countrymen, Gen. Sigel, and they began to encounter the enemy at various points in the Southwest. Later, at the battle of Pea Ridge, our subject received a serious injury from his horse falling upon him, and from which he has never fully recovered. He would not abandon his comrades, however, but persisted in remaining in the service, and was pres- ent at the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Jackson, and all the engagements of that campaign, up to the siege and capture of Vicksburg. lle afterward with his regiment pushed on to Atlanta, where, having served out the period of his enlistment, three years and four months, he was honorably dis- charged and mustered out at St. Louis.

Mr. Monk upon leaving the army came to Peoria and engaged as "mine host" of the Washington Ilonse. Six months later he abandoned hotel- keeping, and locating in Minonk engaged in the grocery trade, where he continued successfully for a period of fifteen years. In the meantime he had been married, Sept. 9, 1866, to Miss Louisa, dangh- ter of George A. and Dorothea (Swartz) Sauer, of Nebraska Township, Livingston County, Rev. Ilenry C. Dent officiating. While residents of Minonk they became the parents of six children, two of whom died there. Since their removal to Nebraska Township there has been born one more. Their eldest son, Emil T., was born July 29, 1867; Will- iam II., Nov. 9, 1868; Matilda L., Dec. 28, 1871; Elizabeth F., July 20, 1874; Lydia D., May 28, 1880; George A., Sept. 21, 1882: and Henry C., Oct. 11, 1885.

In 1880 our subject, abandoning the grocery business, came to this county and commenced farming on rented land. Three years later his father-in-law, Mr. Sauer, presented him and his wife with 160 acres of land, which our subject and his family have since occupied, and where he has

James Dowells

OLD HOME

STONY STRATFORD

FAVORITE

DUDLEY.

WAYMAN

RES. & TILE FACTORY OF J.W. M. DOWELL, SEC. 22. AVOCA TOWNSHIP.

₱

803

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

given his undivided attention to the cultivation of the soil and the raising of fine stock. Mr. M. is distinguished by the leading traits of his country- men, namely, honesty, industry and a strict atten- tion to his own concerns, Ile has consequently become a popular citizen, and his farm forms one of the most attractive spots in Nebraska Township. He is a Democrat politically, and is serving his fifth year as School Director of his township. Both Mr. and Mrs. M. are members in good standing of the Lutheran Church, at Minonk.

The mother of our subject, who was of German birth and ancestry, spent her entire life in her na- tive country, and died there in early womanhood. The father, after coming to this country, subse- quently crossed the Mississippi and spent his last days in Frankfort, Mo., where his death took place about 1858. Theodore was the youngest in a family of three children, the other two being sis- ters. Louisa, the eldest, is married, and continnes in her native land; Theresa came to America, and was afterward married in St. Louis; she is now a resident of Frankfort, Mo., and has one child.

The mother of Mrs. Monk was of French descent, and born in the city of Paris about 1825. She came to America with her parents when a maiden of sixteen years, and was married at Lacon, Ill., about four years later. She departed this life in 1882. and was buried at Minonk, Ill. Mr. Sauer was born in Germany, about 1818, and emi- grated from the Fatherland when a youth of six- teen years. After the death of his first wife he married a second time, and there was born one child. He is now a resident of Dana, Ill. Theodore Monk is a man of fine personal appearance, about five feet four inches in height, with a bright, hazel eye and black hair.

OIIN W. McDOWELL, tile manufacturer, ' farmer and stock-raiser, and a prominent resident of Avoca Township, is a native of Livingston County, and was born on the 25th of December, 1849. He is the son of James and Frances McDowell. The father was a native of Ohio, and the mother of Indiana. Ilis paternal

ancestors are of Scotch descent. Before settling in Illinois his parents were residents of Indiana, from which State they migrated to Livingston County about 1832, and settled on section 14, Avoca Town- ship. The grandfather of our subject, William Mc- Dowell, there entered a tract of land from the Gov- ernment at a very early day, and the parents of our subject were among the very first settlers of Avoca Township. The father died in June, 1880, and during his residence in Avoca served as Supervisor and Treasurer of the township for a number of years. He was a member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, and an active advocate of every move- ment and enterprise to benent society. He was a Republican in politics, and always gave his party warm and cordial support. In his death the county lost one of her best citizens and most publie-spirited and enterprising men. He was the father of a large family of children, of whom five survive, namely : Jason L., of Chase County, Kan .; John W., our subject; Sarah I., the wife of 1I. J. Ram- say, of Fairbury, Ill .; Grant Y., also of Fairbury, and Lillie E. The mother of the subject of this sketch resides in Fairbury, and is now past three- score years of age. In presenting the portrait of Mr. McDowell, which is done in this connection, we give that of one of the most active and highly respected men known in the early history of Liv- ingston County. A man whose character was above reproach, and whose hand was ever ready to help the needy, it is nothing strange that his memory is to-day held in veneration by the okler residents of the county.

John W. MeDowell, the subject of this sketch, was reared to manhood in Livingston County, where he obtained a good education in the common schools, and afterward was graduated from the com- mercial department of the Onarga Business College, located in Iroquois County, Ill. IIe was married, on the 13th of February, 1877, to Miss Chloe M. Fngate, of Livingston County, and to them was born one child, Gertie M., in 1879. This wife died in 1880, and Mr. McDowell was again married, this time to Luella A. Tanner, daughter of the late William Tanner, of Livingston County. One child has been born to them.

Mr. McDowell is the owner of a good farm of

804

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

525 acres, all of which is under an excellent state of cultivation. He established his present tile fac- tory in 1883, and it is fitted up with the newest and most modern machinery used in that business. He employs on an average for the year round. eight men. The good quality of the tile he manu- factures has created such a demand for it in Liv- ingston County that the entire product is used at home. Both in his farming and tile business he has been successful. In addition to his other busi- ness enterprises, he, in company with his brother, Grant Y .. has engaged in the importation of En- glish Shire horses. During the autumn of 1887 they brought over thirteen head of these splendid animals.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 98

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