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 99
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Mr. MeDowell is known as one of the leading Republicans of Avoca Township. and his party, friends and the people generally have kept him in office for several years. For four years he served as Clerk of the township, and as Road Commis- sioner, in which position he is serving his ninth year, and is now serving his second year as Town- ship Treasurer. He is classed among the most in- fluential and highly esteemed citizens of Livingston County. Mr. and Mrs. McDowell are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which they take an active interest and occupy a conspicuous position. We give a view of their homestead in this volume. as one of the representative places in the county.
RS. ASENITH NORMAN, the widow of Isaac Norman, late of Avoca Township, occupies the comfortable homestead which was left her by her first husband at his death. Her property includes eighty acres of land, is located on section 13. and comprises one of the most fertile tracts in Livingston County.
Mrs. Norman is the daughter of John and Mary ( Blunt ) Snider, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Ohio. After marriage her parents located in Vermilion County, this State, and were among it- early settlers. Their daughter, Asenith. was born there Jan. 30. 1834, and remained with her parents in her native county until her first mar- riage, Dec. 5, 1850, to Alfred Lane. This gentle-
man was a native of Illinois, and born May 5, 1826. This union resulted in the birth of four children, namely : Mary E., now the wife of James W. Graves, of Avoca Township; Nancy, who died when twenty-four years of age ; John C., a resident of Avoca Township; and Sarah J., who died when nearly seven years old. Mr. Lane departed this life at his home in Avoca Township. . Jan. 10, 1859. He was a gentleman of much force of character, and became prominent in the township affairs, serv- ing as School Director, and otherwise identifying himself with the best interests of the people. He came to this county in 1851, and located on the farm now occupied by Mrs. Norman, in Avoca Township. When he first took possession the sod was still unturned by the plowshare.
Mr. Lane had secured 160 acres of prairie and twenty-eight acres of timber, which he operated in the wisest maier, and from which he built up one of the most valnable homesteads in the southern part of this county. He was active in the cause of religion, and one of the most prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Avoca, to which he was a liberal and cheerful contributor. In his family he was kind and indulgent, and among his neighbors self-sacrificing and obliging. Ile had commeneed in life comparatively without means, and at his death left an estate including 300 acres of land, with good farm buildings, a choice assort- ment of live stock, and a goodly amount of valu- able farm machinery. He did not mix very much in political matters, but uniformly cast his vote with the Democratic party.
Mrs. Lane continued a resident of this township until her marriage with Isaac Norman, Jan. 10, 1861. Mr. Norman was born in Licking County, Ohio, Feb. 14, 1840, and his marriage with Mrs. Lane re- sulted in the birth of the following children : Will- iam, now deceased; Amie and Rosa. residents of Avoca: Della and Eliza, deceased: Wesley and Axenith, the latter of whom died in infancy.
Isaac Norman came to this county in 1851, which remained his residence until his death, Feb. 1, 1884, and during the more than thirty years in which he walked in and out among the people of this set tion, he had by his upright course in life commended himself to their esteem and confidence.
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Religiously he had been at one time a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically voted with the Democratic party.
John C. Lane, the son of Mrs. Norman by her first marriage, has inherited in a marked degree the talents of his father, and is starting out in life under the most favorable auspices. Ile was born in this county on the 23d of March, 1857, and is now consequently thirty years of age. He has for the last few years been operating a snug farm on section 14, where he is building up a comfortable home, and is already looked upon as a citizen of whom much is expected in the future. He has spent his life so far in this county, and has also thus far in life been engaged in farming pursuits. He was married, Sept. 26, 1878, to Miss Maggie, daughter of Michael Fogle, who was formerly of Avoca Township but is now a resident of Kansas. The young people are the parents of three children- Cora M., Rosanna and George W. The property of young Mr. Lane comprises fifty-six acres, where he has a neat residence and is conducting his farm operations with excellent judgment. He is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Republican in politics.
NDREW S. McMILLAN, of Rook's Creek Township, owns eighty acres of good land on section 10, where he carries on general farming and stock-raising, and by his hon- esty and industry has secured the confidence and esteem of his neighbors. His possessions have been accumulated by his own industry and perseverance, and he has suffered adversity with the balance of mankind, having lost considerable by the rascality of an unscrupulous man. ITis career has been marked by steady persistence, however, and as he is still a young man it is probable that a few years will find him occupying a good position among the landed proprietors of Livingston County. He has served as School Director in his township several years, but has declined seeking other offices, pre- ferring to give his principal attention to his farm and his family. Politically, he votes the straight Democratic ticket, and religiously is a member of
the Missionary Baptist Church. His household in- eludes six bright children, born as follows: Fran- ces A., Feb. 14, 1872; Andrew Benjamin, June 3, 1874; Louisa Pearl, Aug. 24, 1877; William Ernest, Jan. 20, 1880; Ira Reason, Jan. 12, 1883, and Harry Robert, Jan. 18, 1886. The family resi- dence is a modest but comfortable dwelling, and the out-buildings are kept in good repair.
Mr. McMillan, a native of this county, was born in Pontiac Township, Jan. 8, 1848, and was the youngest of four children, the offspring of Andrew S. and Mahala (Springer) McMillan, the former a native of Virginia, where it is supposed the mother was also born, and whence she afterward removed with her parents when young to Ohio. The mother died when our subject was an infant of six or seven months, and he was then taken into the family of his aunt until after the second marriage of his father. He then returned to the parental roof, and six or seven years later was doubly orphaned by the death of his remaining parent. He then went to live with an unele, William MeMillan, who also died a few years afterward. Thus deprived of a home again, he worked about from place to place, and subsequently made his headquarters at the house of his eldest sister, Mrs. Mary Brown. When nine- teen years of age he took a trip to Kansas, driving a team through for J. M. Edenfield, of Rook's Creek. He was gone three or four months, then returned to Illinois, and in 1868 rented a tract of land in Pontiac Township, where he carried on farming until the following year. He then crossed the Mississippi again into Kansas, returning to Illi- nois a few months later. He was married, Jan. 6, 1870, to Miss Frances Helen Blue, daughter of Benjamin H. and Elizabeth (Johnson) Blue, natives of Ohio and Illinois respectively, the father now deceased, and the mother a resident of Rook's Creek. The young people commenced life together on section 12, in Rook's Creek Township, where Mr. McMillan had purchased forty aeres of land, which they occupied six years. He then secured his present homestead, where he has since resided.
The parents of our subject were residents of Rook's Creek Township at the time of the Black Hawk War, living near the old fort, all traces of which are now swept away by the hand of time.
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Of the first marriage of his father there were born the following: Mary, now the wife of Reason. Brown. a prosperous farmer of Pontiac Township, and the mother of five children; Hannah, who first married John Edgington. now deceased, and sub- sequently his brother Richard. Of the second marriage of his father there was born one child. Anna C .. now the wife of Oman Hendershott, of Pontiac Township.
ILLIAM H. ENTWISTLE, pleasantly lo- cated in the southeastern part of Living- ston County, on seetion 25 in Charlotte Township. occupies the homestead which his father built up from the primitive soil, and where that parent is now spending his deelining years. The property includes 360 acres of finely cultivated land, which, naturally fertile and beautifully located, has been thoroughly developed and produces in abundance the richest crops of the Prairie State. The farm is stocked with good grades of the do- me-tic animals, including Durham cattle and Nor- man and Clyde horses. The farm buildings are all that could reasonably be required for comfort and convenience, and everything about the place indi- cates thrift and prosperity.
The early home of our subject was in Waukesha County, Wis., where his birth took place in March. 1852. Ile is the youngest in a family of four children, the offspring of James and Jane ( Draper) Entwistle, natives of Lancashire, England. . The father learned the trades of carpenter and weaver in his native town, and first immigrated to America in 1831. A few years later he returned to his native shire, and was there married to one of his childhood associ- ates, Miss Jane Draper, the wedding taking place at the home of the bride in June, 1836. Not long afterward the newly wedded pair set sail for the purpose of establishing their home in the New World. They made but a brief stay in New York City. and from there proceeded to Waukesha County. Wis .. where their four children were born. and whence they removed to Peoria, this State, in the spring of 1864. The father not long afterward purchased 160 acres of wild land in Charlotte
Township, this county, of which the family took possession the following spring, making themselves comfortable in the small frame house which stood upon it.
James Entwistle was prospered in his farming operations, and added piece after piece to his landed possessions until he became proprietor of one of the most desirable homesteads in that section of country. The two ekler children married and es- tablished themselves in comfortable homes of their own, but our subject, William II., has continued under the home roof all his life. The faithful wife and mother departed this life on the 18th of No- vember, 1880. The father is still living and re- mains on the homestead with his two younger sons. James Entwistle, upon coming to this country had very little means, and the valuable homestead which now attracts the admiring gaze of the trav- eler is the result of his own unaided industry. He trained his sons to habits of economy and correct moral principles, and has lived to see them beeome highly respected members of the community.
S AMUEL I. CAIRNS. The vocation of a farmer is an honorable and independent one, and he who succeeds in that occupation, particularly under circumstances which are at first unpropitious, is entitled to more credit than the man who becomes a millionaire as a sequel to having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Among the agriculturists of this country all the happiness and comfort is not to be found upon the threshold of those who count their aeres by the thousands and their cattle upon a thousand hills, but real contentment may be looked for on the farms with quarter-section boundary lines or less.
The subject of this sketch is the owner of eighty aeres on seetion 26, Rook's Creek Township. Ile is the son of Michael K. and Mary (Skeels) Cairns, and was born in Tusearawas Co., Ohio, Ang. 10, 1852. lle came with his parents to MeLean County in 1856, where his father bought a farm of 160 acres near Bloomington, which he soll in 1859, and then moved to Tazewell County, where he bought eighty aeres which he farmed and at the same time ran a
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ditehing machine. Mr. Cairns continued to live with his father until he grew to manhood.
On the 25th of December, 1875, Mr. Cairns was married to Miss Ella, daughter of Tunis and Mar- garet Dumont (Fr. De Mort) Ten Eyck. Shortly after their marriage they removed to Woodford County, where Mr. Cairns rented a farm of Will- iam Jerry, which he managed for three years, and then moved to Iroquois County, and managed his father's farm for five years. He then came to Liv- ingston County, where soon after he bought a farm of eighty acres, on which he now lives. Mr. and Mrs. Cairns are the parents of three children- Maggie, who was born Sept. 4, 1876; Minnie B., Nov. 5, 1881, and Laura Grace, April 20, 1885.
The father of Mr. Cairns was born near the city of Cork, Ireland, and came to the United States with his parents when about seven years of age ; he died on the 11th of April, 1883. The mother was born in Ohio about 1830. They were the parents of four children-Margaret J., Samuel I., Eleanor, and Rosa B. Margaret J. married Isaac Tobias, and dying left one daughter, Carrie B. Tobias, who was born Dec. 11, 1874. and lives with her grandmother ; Eleanor married Samuel Amsler, has one child, and lives in Fairbury ; Rosa B. spent two years in Mon- ticello Seminary, four miles from Alton, and after- ward was graduated from the Jennings Seminary at Aurora, III. During his youth Mr. Cairns re- ceived his education in a common school, but he improved his opportunities to such an extent that when he quit school he was much further ad- vanced than most of his fellow pupils. Ile cast his first Presidential vote for Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, and continued to vote the Republican ticket until 1884. He has never been an office-seeker, nor has he held office. In religious matters his an- cestors were of the Methodist faith, and whatever church sympathies he has are for that denomination,
Mrs. Cairns was born on the 16th of September, 1856. ller father was born near Jersey City, N. J., on the 25th of September, 1828, and the mother on the 28th of April of the same year. They were married on the 2d of May, 1849, and moved to Tazewell County in 1855, where they are still liv- ing on a farm ; her father is a carpenter by tiade. Mrs. Cairns is the fourth child in a family of eight,
their names being as follows: Elizabeth A., Adeline C., Johanna, Ella, John, Charles, flenry W. and Caroline B. Elizabeth A. was born Sept. 29, 1850, married Isaac Vorhees, has four children, and lives in Livingston County ; Adeline C. was born Inly 16, 1852, and lives in Tazewell County; Johanna was born July 4, 1854, married William Boyts, and lives in Fairhope, Pa .; John was born March 11, 1860, and died March 22, 1874; Charles was born Sept. 23, 1862, and lives in Ness City, Kan. : Henry W. was born May 17, 1867, and died Nov. 13, 1887, and Caroline B. was born May 7, 1870. The grandparents of Mrs. Cairns were of French and German descent.
HARLES E. DIXON, one of the younger citizens of Owego Township, has just fairly embarked in farming on his own account, and is engaged in the cultivation of eighty acres of land on section 4, which he purchased in 1883. He possesses all the elements required for a successful career as an agriculturist, being wide-awake, per- sistent and inustrious, and blessed with the quali- ties of heart and mind which commend him to his fellow-citizens as a desirable member of the com- munity.
Mr. Dixon was born in this county, Nov. 3, 1862, and is the son of George and Margaret Dixon, the former of English birth and parentage, and the latter a native of Ohio. George Dixon came to this section of country during its early settlement, and spent twenty-seven years in Livingston County, Ill., where he first located upon emigrating from his native England. He was married to Miss Marga- ret Young in Livingston County, Nov. 3, 1861, and they became the parents of four children, namely : Clarence E., Mary, Sarah J., and Charles E., our subject. In 1867 the parents of our sub- jeet removed to LaSalle County, where the death of the father occurred soon afterward, in Septem- ber, 1867, and the mother passed away Feb. 12, 1883. Both were members of the United Brethren Church and most estimable people, who carefully trained their children in those principles which eon- stitute them worthy and desirable members of so- ciety and an honor to their progenitors. George
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Dixon, by his own efforts, had acquired a good ed- ucation. and took a warm interest in the welfare of the people around him, always favoring the estab- lishment of schools and other institutions that would give to the rising generation a fair chance to dis- tinguish themselves in life. He watched with pride and satisfaction the development and progress of his adopted country, and during the late war no man was more interested in the preservation of the Union, and the triumph of those sentiments and principles which first established it, and upon which it must depend for its perpetuation.
Our subject spent his boyhood days at his father's homestead in Otter Creek Township, and early in life began to lay his plans for the future. One of the most important steps was his marriage, which occurred on the 5th of February, 1884, at the home of the bride, Miss Amelia Thorndyke, in Ford County. Ill. Mrs. Dixon is the daughter of John and Maria Thorndyke, natives of England, and now residents of Ford County, Ill. She was born in 1869, and by her marriage with our subject has become the mother of two chiklren-John A., born April 17. 1885. and Nellie M., June 18, 1887. They have a snug farm dwelling, flanked by suita- ble out-buildings, and Mr. Dixon each year is add- ing to the beauty and value of his property.
- ULIUS ULRICH, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of Broughton Township, pleas- antly located on section 5, was born in the Kingdom of Prussia, Nov. 19, 1845. llis parents. Charles and Minnie Ulrich, were natives of the same Province as their son, and their family included four children, of whom three are living, namely : Charles, a resident of Nebraska; Minnie, who continues in her native country, and Julius, the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Ulrich continued on his native soil until twenty-two years of age. and then resolved to cast his fortunes with the large number of his country- inen who had crossed the Atlantic, and for whom success had sprung up in the New World. Accord-
ingly, in the spring of 1867, he embarked on an ocean steamer at the port of Bremen, and after a pleasant voyage of eleven days, landed in New York City: thence he came directly to this State, and for the year following was a resident of Mar- shall County. For one year after reaching the United States he was employed as a farm laborer, . and afterward for four years operated on rented land in company with his brother Charles, who had left the old country about two years before .Julius.
Mr. Ulrich came to this county in the spring of 1872 and located in Broughton Township, of which he has since been a resident. He purchased a part of the land which he now owns in 1870. and com- menced the improvements which have been com- pleted in such a praiseworthy manner, and which bear fair comparison with those of any farmer in the eastern part of this county. Ile now owns 210 aeres, which he has brought to a good state of cultivation, and which he has accumulated through his own industry, as upon landing in this country he had only about $50 in money. There were many disadvantages connected with his arrival here-the difficulties of acquiring a new language, and becoming acquainted with strange customs and the different methods of transacting business from those with which he had been familiar on his native soil. These he overcame successfully, as the result indicates when we see him as one of the leading men of an intelligent and prosperous community. Ile has served as School Director in his district, and politically, is a stanch Republican, and has taken a warm interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of his adopted country.
Our subject, after becoming a resident of Illi- pois. was married, on the 11th of March, 1873, to one of his own country-women, Miss Emma Lentz, who was born in Prussia, March 12, 1855. Mrs. Ulrich is the daughter of Louis and Rosanna Lentz, the former deceased and the latter a resident of Marshall County. They immigrated to the United States when their daughter Emma was a young girl, and located in Marshall County.
Mr. and Mrs. Ulrich are the parents of seven children, all living at home: Gustav A. was born Feb. 1, 1874; Mary B., Sept. 16, 1875: Ernestine, Ang. 16. 1877; Augusta A., Aug. 26, 1879 ; Henry
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G., Nov. 3, 1881; Louis H., Sept. 17. 1884, and Paulina R., Sept. 26, 1887. The eldest is an inter- esting girl fourteen years of age, and little Paulina, a babe of four months.
LEXANDER GRANT, who first opened his eyes among the Highlands of Scotland, crossed the Atlantic to the New World in 1852, and for twenty years thereafter fol- lowed the carpenter's trade. In 1861 he decided to change his occupation and take up farming. In this he has been more than ordinarily successful, and is now the proprietor of a fine estate, includ- ing 273 acres of land, a fine residence and all the other surroundings of a desirable and comfortable home. The main points in a history of more than ordinary interest are substantially as follows :
Our subject was born Feb. 21, 1821, and re- mained upon his native soil until 1852. He had in the meantime served his apprenticeship at the car- penter's trade, and after coming to America located first at Joliet, Ill., in the vicinity of which place he lived, with the exception of one year, until coming to this county. Soon after his arrival here he lo- cated on section 12, Round Grove Township, where he continued, engaged iu agricultural pursuits, and in 1882 put up his present residence at Reddick, where he is now living retired from active labor.
When Mr. Grant first arrived in this county the country was comparatively new and his neighbors were few and far between. He put up the first building in Gardner, Grundy County, which was a section-house of the Chicago & Alton Railroad. He has never been afraid of hard work, always made it a point to live within his income, and has been particularly fortunate in his investments. Although a Republican, and a strong temperance man, he has never aspired to be an office-holder, and has consequently given his time and attention to his real-estate interests and the cultivation of his land.
The marriage of Alexander Grant and Miss Katie C. Leonard was celebrated at the home of the bride, in Joliet, Ill., in May, 1861. Mrs. Grant
was born in the city of Manchester, England, in 1841, and came to Canada with her parents when thirteen years of age. A year later they migrated to the States and then took up their residence at Joliet, Ill. Her parents, Frank and Mary ( Leh- man) Leonard, were natives of England, and the father a stonemason 'by trade. Their family in- cluded eight chilchen, of whom Mrs. G. was the youngest.
The parents of our subject, John and Mary (Irv- ing) Grant, were of pure Scotch ancestry, and spent their entire lives in the land of their birth. John Grant was a farmer by occupation, and pos- sessed all the honest and reliable traits for which his nationality is so greatly noted. The parental household included eight children, of whom Alex- ander was the third in order of birth. Of these, five are living-one in Kansas, two in Illinois and two in Scotland.
Mr. and Mrs. Grant are members in good stand- ing of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, to the sup- port of which they have for years contributed lib- erally and cheerfully, and in which Mr. G. has of- ficiated as Superintendent of the Sunday-school. He has always taken a deep interest in the training of the young, believing that " as the twig is bent, so the tree inclines."
ILLIAM NIGH, son of one of the most honored pioneers of Livingston County, where he has spent his entire life, was born in Amity Township, Oct. 29, 1847. He is now pleasantly located on section 25, in Owego Town- ship, where he is carrying on farming and stock- raising, in which he has had ample experience, and has been uniformly successful since starting out for himself in life. He is numbered among the val- ued members of an intelligent community, where he has always distinguished himself as a man in- terested in the general welfare of the people, and willing to contribute of his time and means to the various worthy enterprises inaugurated with this object in view.
Our subject is the son of Philip and Lydia (Ed- ward) Nigh, natives respectively of Ohio and
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