Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 14

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 850

USA > Illinois > Henry County > Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 14

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In July, 1871, Mr. Hamilton married Miss Helen M. Williams, the daughter of Prof. Wm. G. Williams, Professor of Greek in the Ohio Wesleyan University. Mr. and Mrs. H. have two daughters and one son.

In 1876 Mr. Hamilton was nominated by the Re- publicans for the State Senate, over other and older competitors. He took an active part "on the stump" in the campaign, for the success of his party, and was elected by a majority of 1,640 over his Democratic- Greenback opponent. In the Senate he served on the Committees on Judiciary, Revenue, State Insti- tutions, Appropriations, Education, and on Miscel- lany ; and during the contest for the election of a U. S. Senator, the Republicans endeavoring to re-

elect John A. Logan, he voted for the war chief on every ballot, even alone when all the other Republi- cans had gone over to the Hon. E. B. Lawrence and the Democrats and Independents elected Judge David Davis. At this session, also, was passed the first Board of Health and Medical Practice act, of which Mr. Hamilton was a champion, against so much opposition that the bill was several times "laid on the table." Also, this session authorized the location and establishment of a southern peni- tentiary, which was fixed at Chester. In the session of 1879 Mr. Hamilton was elected President pro tem. of the Senate, and was a zealous supporter of John A. Logan for the U. S. Senate, who was this time elected without any trouble.

In May, 1880, Mr. Hamilton was nominated on the Republican ticket for Lieutenant Governor, his principal competitors before the Convention being Hon. Wm. A. James, ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Judge Robert Bell, of Wabash County, Hon. T. T. Fountain, of Perry County, and Hon. M. M. Saddler, of Marion County. He engaged actively in the campaign, and his ticket was elected by a majority of 41,200. As Lieutenant Governor, he presided almost continuously over the Senate in the 32d General Assembly and during the early days of the 33d, until he succeeded to the Governorship. When the Legislature of 1883 elected Gov. Cullom to the United States Senate, Lieut. Gov. Hamilton succeeded him, under the Constitution, taking the oath of office Feb. 6, 1883. He bravely met all the annoyances and embarrassments incidental upon taking up another's. administration. The principal events with which Gov. Hamilton was connected as the Chief Executive of the State were, the mine dis- aster at Braidwood, the riots in St. Clair and Madison Counties in May, 1883, the appropriations for the State militia, the adoption of the Harper high-license liquor law, the veto of a dangerous railroad bill, etc.

The Governor was a Delegate at large to the National Republican Convention at Chicago in June, 1884, where his first choice for President was John A. Logan, and second choice Chester A. Arthur; but he afterward zealously worked for the election of Mr. Blaine, true to his party.

Mr. Hamilton's term as Governor expired Jan. 30, 1885, when the great favorite " Dick " Oglesby was inaugurated.

HENRY COUNTY,

ILLINOIS.

BIOGRAPHICAL

INTRODUCTORY.

HE time has arrived when it becomes the duty of the people of this county to per- petuate the names of their pioneers, to furnish a record of their early settlement, and relate the story of their progress. The civilization of our day, the enlightenment of the age and the duty that men of the pres- ent time owe to their ancestors, to themselves and to their posterity, demand that a record of their lives and deeds should be made. In bio- graphical history is found a power to instruct man by precedent, to enliven the mental faculties, and to waft down the river of time a safe vessel in which the names and actions of the people who contributed to raise this country from its primitive state may be preserved. Surely and rapidly the great and aged men, who in their prime entered the wilderness and claimed the virgin soil as their heritage, are passing to their graves. The number re- maining who can relate the incidents of the first days of settlement is becoming small indeed, so that an actual necessity exists for the collection and preser- vation of events without delay, before all the early settlers are cut down by the scythe of Time.

To be forgotten has been the great dread of mankind from remotest ages. All will be forgotten soon enough, in spite of their best works and the most earnest efforts of their friends to perserve the memory of their lives. The means employed to prevent oblivion and to perpetuate their memory has been in propor- tion to the amount of intelligence they possessed. The pyramids of Egypt were built to perpetuate the names and deeds of their great rulers. The exhu- mations made by the archeologists of Egypt from buried Memphis indicate a desire of those people

to perpetuate the memory of their achievements. The erection of the great obelisks were for the same purpose. Coming down to a later period, we find the Greeks and Romans erecting mausoleums and monu- ments, and carving out statues to chronicle their great achievements and carry them down the ages. It is also evident that the Mound-builders, in piling up their great mounds of earth, had but this idea- to leave something to show that they had lived. All these works, though many of them costly in the ex- treme, give but a faint idea of the lives and charac- ters of those whose memory they were intended to perpetuate, and scarcely anything of the masses of the people that then lived. The great pyramids and some of the obelisks remain objects only of curiosity ; the mausoleums, monuments and statues are crum- bling into dust.

It was left to modern ages to establish an intelli- gent, undecaying, immutable method of perpetuating a full history-immutable in that it is almost un- limited in extent and perpetual in its action ; and this is through the art of printing.

To the present generation, however, we are in- debted for the introduction of the admirable system of local biography. By this system every man, though he has not achieved what the world calls greatness, has the means to perpetuate his life, his history, through the coming ages.

The scythe of Time cuts down all ; nothing of the physical man is left. The monument which his chil- dren or friends may erect to his memory in the ceme- tery will crumble into dust and pass away; but his life, his achievements, the work he has accomplished, which otherwise would be forgotten, is perpetuated by a record of this kind.

To preserve the lineaments of our companions we engrave their portraits, for the same reason we col- lect the attainable facts of their history. Nor do we think it necessary, as we speak only truth of them, to wait until they are dead, or until those who know them are gone: to do this we are ashamed only to publish to the world the history of those whose lives are unworthy of public record.

yours truly 3. Davenport

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HENRY COUNTY.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

homas Fitch Davenport, of Cambridge, came to Henry County in 1837, and has been since a continuous resi- dent within its borders. In 1836 the agent of an organiza- tion called "The New York Colony " came to the county and made a selection of the lands in the interest of what was des- ignated after their settlement in Henry County as the "Mor- ristown Colony." The location was made in June, and the same year five of the members came. They were in all eventually about ten families, and among them was that of the father of Mr. Davenport, who, with his entire household, made a permanent settle- ment in what is now Cambridge Township.

The name of Davenport is prominently associated with the Colonial history of this country. This branch of the family is a lineal descendant of the Rev. John Davenport, who settled in Massachu- setts soon after the coming of the Pilgrim Fathers. The inscription on the tomb of Rev. John Daven- port is inserted below. The slab contains, besides the lettering, the family coat of arms, which is a shield surmounted by the head of an animal " se- jant " (sitting), above a tripartite inner shield, each

division having a cross inscribed. The inscription reads :-

" At honorary distance keep, Nor dare disturb the peaceful sleep Of Rev. Davenport.

None but his sons, the sacred tribes, Or those whom heavenly wisdom guides, May to his urn resort.

Religion, while he dwelt below. Its sacred influence on him shed ;

Learning and grace adorned his brow, And round their balmy odors spread.

Unfading honors shall his tomb surround, To guard and wait the Prophet's sleeping clay, Till the last trumpet raise him from the ground To join the triumphs of the important day.

Rev. John Davenport departed this life on the 5th day of February, 1730, & in the 36th of his ministry."

Perhaps the best known of the members of the Davenport family is Abraham Davenport, who has been immortalized in verse by John G. Whittier, the Quaker poet. He was the son of the sturdy Puri- tan preacher, and in 1780 was a member of the Colonial Assembly, and was one of the Connecticut "Councillors." That body was in session when the still unaccountable event of the "dark day " trans- pired. As the somber shadows, that were like no other darkness within the remembrance of those who witnessed them, came on, terror took possession of the men composing the legislative body. Clamor- ous cries for adjournment arose, but the imperturb- able Abraham remarked that it was his opinion that if the Lord was coming he would be better satisfied

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to find his followers in the fulfillment of their duty, and gave a peremptory order to "bring in the can- dles."

The grandfather of Thomas F. Davenport, whose name was Silas Davenport, was a native of Con- necticut and was a merchant. He passed his entire life in the State of his nativity, and died there. He reared a family of five children, and his son, Charles W., was one of the members of the Morristown Col- ony in Henry County, in 1837. The latter was born in Stamford, Conn. He followed the profession of his father, and his business relations were very ex- tensive for the period in which he operated. He established branches of his business in the city of New York, in Washington, D. C., and in Mobile, Ala. In the year 1824 he engaged in the prosecu- tion of his interests in the several places mentioned. His wife was, before her marriage, Mary E. Fitch, a member of one of the best of the Connecticut fami- lies. Her earliest known progenitor was Governor Thomas Fitch, of Colonial times. She was the daughter of Thomas and Amelia (Lewis) Fitch, and her parents were natives respectively of Connect- ticut and Long Island, New York. She was born in Norwalk, Ct., June 22, 1796, and became the mother of seven children-Charles W., Jr., Thomas F., Mrs. Amelia Lloyd, Mrs. Mary Hannaman (deceased), Adolphus (deceased), Theodore, who resides in Nevada, is a miner in the Rocky Mountains and unmarried ; and Edward; the latter is a citizen of Chicago, and is a member of the Board of Trade. Charles W. Davenport, Sr., died in Morristown, Dec. 20, 1841; his wife died in Cambridge, Oct. 24, 1858. At the date of their settlement in the county their nearest neighbors on the north were five miles dis- tant, and on the south 35 miles intervened between them and the white settlers.

When Mr. Davenport was a boy his parents re- moved to the city of New York, where he obtained the greater part of his education. The history of his business career in Henry County includes a wide range of interests. He was engaged in farming in Morristown until 1846, when he removed to Cam- bridge, and there officiated as Deputy Circuit and County Clerk at various times until 1850, when he was elected to the position of County Clerk on the Whig ticket; in 1854 he was elected Sheriff, and discharged the duties of the office two years; in 1857 he was appointed to fill a vacancy as County

Treasurer, in which capacity he acted one year; in 1858 he went to Oakley, now Green River Station, situated on the line of the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, and there conducted the affairs of the station, and also operated as a miller and merchant. Mr. Davenport was the actual founder of the town. He says : " I ran the town. I built the depot, pre- sented it to the railroad company, and gave them the grounds and the right of way for the track." The place had the brightest prospects, but a week after the cyclone destroyed the village of Camanche, Iowa, a tornado struck Oakley, and in the space of five minutes Mr. Davenport was a poor man! Nearly the whole village was in ruins. The mill, depot, store and dwelling in which he carried on his busi- ness and lived were destroyed, and " Othello's occu- pation " had taken French leave, with the facilities therefor. But " man proposes and God disposes," and there is no more forcible truism in the language. Mr. Davenport can testify to its accuracy in his case.

He came from the scene of his losses to Cam- bridge, and commenced mercantile operations in such a manner as was possible in his circumstances. He was getting a fair start once more, when, in the spring of 1862, a disastrous fire again swept his hopes and business out of existence. There was, however, a chance. The issues of the Civil War were in the balance, and the nation needed men in her extremity. In August of the year in which his latest business venture disappeared in the remorse- less flames, he enlisted in the 112th Reg. Ill. Vol. Inf., under Col. T. J. Henderson. On the organiza- tion of the company he was unanimously made First Lieutenant, and acted in that capacity until the close of the war. He enlisted Sept. 20, 1862, and was mustered out of the military service of the United States June 20, 1865. He was in the sev- eral actions in which his company participated, with the exception of a period of 18 months, during which time he acted as Brigade Commissary and Quarter- master.

After his return to Henry County he interested himself in farming for a short time. In 1866 he received an appointment as Assessor of Internal Revenue for Henry County, and served one year. Since the expiration of that appointment he has been engaged chiefly in farming. He made one further effort to amend his waning fortunes by a business venture, and in 1870 went to Chicago to

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enter into a project under the management of a stock company for the purpose of smelting gold and silver ore. Mr. Davenport became the Secretary® of the well-known Balbach Smelting and Refining Company, which had a capital of $100,000, and was building up a fine business, taking out an average of $1,000 per day from the ores. The memorable fire of October, 1871, was the ruin of the affairs of the concern, and a sale to Stephen P. Lunt, of the business house of Lunt, Prescott & Kean, took place, in the vain hope to save the existence of the incorporation. The firm were obliged to go into liquidation, and in 1874 Mr. Davenport returned to his home in Cambridge.

The marriage of Mr. Davenport to Elizabeth Lloyd took place June 22, 1848. She was born in Bucks Co., Pa. Her birth occurred Jan. 31, 1822, She has been the mother of five children, two of whom died in their infancy : Anna M. is the eldest of the survivors ; Mrs. Fannie S. Rockwell is the next in order of birth, and has one child, Iva; Charles E. married Sarah J. Fullmer, and they have one child, Sylvester. Mrs. Davenport is a member of the Society of Friends.

illiam Gradert, a farmer of the township of Munson, is a citizen of the United States, of German birth. He is a native of Holstein, and was born April 28, 1848. He is the son of Gustav and Christina Gra- dert, who were born in the same province where their son first saw the light of day. They are still living there (1885).

From the age of six to fourteen, Mr. Gradert was sent to school, as the laws of Germany provide that all male children should be educated between those ages. After reaching the latter age, he was employed on the farm. He was 20 when he came to America. In 1868 he landed at New York, and proceeded to the city of Davenport without delay. He went into the country in the vicinity of the city and obtained work on a farm eight miles distant, where he re- mained six months. He then came to Henry County, and engaged as an assistant on the farm of John Redus, of whom a sketch may be found else-

where in this volume. He passed two years in the capacity of a farm hand in the employment of various individuals.

In the fall of 1870 he was married to Lena Gra- dert. She was born in the same German province as her husband. After his marriage he rented land for a time, and in 1876 bought 80 acres on section 13, of Munson Township. There was a house of humble pretensions on the place, which has been rebuilt, and other good farm structures have been erected, among which is a large stock and hay barn. Mr. Gradert has bought additional land, and is now the owner of 183 acres, which is all in advanced agricultural con- dition.

The children of the household are Dora, Nettie, Minnie, Lewis, Henry and William.

aertes F. Dinnick, a prominent business man of Henry County, resident at Cam- bridge, was born Sept. 17; 1838, in Mercer Co., Ill. His parents, Lucius D. and Julia (Langford) Dinnick, were born respectively in the State of New York and Pennsylvania, and removed from there to Berlin (now Swedona), Mercer Co., Ill., in the spring of the year in which their son was born. The senior Dinnick attained prominence as an agriculturist of extended relations in Mercer County, and later he removed to Rock Island, where he died in October, 1866, aged 60 years and some months. He was a member of the City Council of Rock Island at the time of his death. The mother of Mr. Dinnick died Oct. 8, 1885. Following is the list of children's names in the order in which they were born : Laura, Otis J., Laurin and Delavan (de- ceased), Chauncey, Laertes F., Emily, Ellen and Luella.

Mr. Dinnick was educated wholly in his native State. He was among those who were prompt to re- spond to the summons of an assaulted nationality while yet the echo from Rebel balls on Sumter's walls filled the land with surprised dismay. He en- listed in April, 1861, for three months' service. On the organization of his regiment and company he was made Second Sergeant, and previous to the ex- piration of his term of enlistment he was promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant. In the fall of

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HENRY COUNTY.

1862, with W. D. Williams, of Rock Island, he was instrumental in raising Company F, of the 89th Illi- nois Volunteer Infantry. The former was made Captain and the latter First Lieutenant. In the sum- mer of 1863 Mr. Dinnick was promoted to the rank of Captain, which he held until he was disabled. At the battle of New Hope Church, Ga., Capt. Dinnick was wounded. After spending two months in vari- ous hospitals he returned home.

In the spring of 1865 he came to Cambridge and has since been engaged without intermission as a buyer and shipper of stock. He has also been em- ployed in general farming and is the owner of a valu- able farm of 240 acres adjoining the village of Cambridge on the northwest. He owns also 400 acres near Sioux Falls, Dakota.

Mr. Dinnick was married Jan. 18, 1864, in An- dover, Ill., to Miss E. Genevieve, daughter of Morri- son and Mary E. Francis. Her parents were among the pioneers of Henry County, and an extended ac- count of them is to be found on other pages of this work. The children of Mr. Dinnick and his wife are named Francis J., Clyde W., Hallie Lee and Morrison.

The parents are members of the Christian Church. In political bias and affiliation, Mr. Dinnick is a Democrat.

·CAD obert Atwater, son of Elisha Atwater, a pioneer of Henry County, was born in Rock Island, Sept. 5, 1854. His father was born in New Haven Co., Conn., Dec. 18 1810. He passed the time of his boyhood and youth in the place of his nativity, and learned the business of a cabinet-maker. He had a natural understanding of the use of tools, and after acquiring a complete knowledge of the trade, which he had chosen, he worked in the city of New Haven until 1840. That was the year in which he came to Illinois, and he located in the city of Rock Island. It was then in its embryo state, and contained but a few houses. Not long after he came to Henry County, and located at Andover. He was occupied there in the prosecution of his trade for a few years, and then removed to what is now the township of Cambridge, and was then designated town 15 in the Government reports. He secured a claim on section

6, and proceeded to the work of making ready to found a home. He built a log house and a log shop for the prosecution of his trade. He operated as a farmer, and at the same time as cabinet-maker. He sold his earliest crops, and the first pork fatted on his 'farm at Chicago. That city had then 5,000 in- habitants, and was 160 miles distant. The pro- duce was all drawn there with teams. This would seem an interminable operation in these latter days. Mr. Atwater sometimes worked at his business of cabinet-making at Moline, and returned to his home on Saturday nights on horseback. He always re- turned to his work on Sunday evening. His wife and children lived on the farm in Cambridge, and at the time their nearest neighbors were three miles dis- tant.

In 1857 Mr. Atwater bought a farm on section 19, in the township of Munson, and entered almost ex- clusively into the business of a farmer. In the second year of the Civil War, he entered the military service of his country. He enlisted in 1862 in Co. H, 112th Regt. Ill. Vol. Inf., and when the com- mand was organized he was made Second Lieu- tenant. He was in active service one year, when he was discharged for disability. He returned to his home, and resumed the duties of his farm. He was instrumental in the improvement of a large tract of land, on which he erected a good class of farm structures, and he also set out a large number of trees. He died on the homestead estate Jan. 15, 1884.

His marriage to Margaret Wright took place May 18, 1838. Her birth occurred in Harrisburg, Pa., Feb. 28, 1821. She became the mother of II chil- dren. Eli B. was born April 10, 1839. He was just past his majority when the call for soldiers came, and he enlisted. He was enrolled in the 9th Ill. Cav., and after a service of two and a half years was discharged for disability. He returned to his home, but never recovered his health. He died Jan. 24, 1872.

Thomas was born Oct. 5, 1841. He enlisted in the same regiment as his father, and served two years. He received a severe wound at the battle of Knoxville, Tenn., and was taken from the field by the rebels. He underwent amputation while in their hands. During the time he lay in the rebel hospital his other leg was badly frozen. His father went after him and brought him home. He had an

H :

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HENRY COUNTY.

uncommon degree of pluck and courage, and they carried him through all, and after he returned to his home he partially recovered his health. He was elected Circuit Clerk, and was serving his term at the time of his death. George was born Aug. 10, 1843, and lives in Webster City, Iowa. Elnora was born Sept. 23, 1848, and is married to N. R. Penny, a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah. William C. was born June 5, 1850, and lives in Munson Township. Mary E. is the wife of Horatio Boyd, of Freeman, Phillips Co., Kan. The latter is an editor. Mrs. Boyd was born Sept. 25, 1852. Douglass was born Dec. 6, 1858. Robert W., who was his predecessor in the order of birth, was born Sept. 5, 1854. The two brothers last named live on the homestead. Frank, born Oct. 18, 1860, is a clerk in a clothing store in Rock Island. The demise of the mother occurred May 12, 1885. Emma, born Oct. 5, 1856, died at two years of age.

Robert W. was brought up on the place where he is now living. It has been his home all his life. He was joined in marriage to Belle McNorton, Dec. 14, 1881. She is a native of Annawan, and she and her husband are the parents of a son named Earl.

A ndrew Blose Lafferty, a hardware mer- chant at Cambridge, was born March 29, 1840, in Armstrong Co., Pa. His paternal grandfather, John Lafferty, was born in County Derry, Ireland, in the town of Pullen, and was Scotch-Irish by descent. He came thence to America in 1801, and landed at Philadel- phia. He proceeded to the frontier of the State of Pennsylvania, and bought a farm in the vicinity of Saltsburg, in Indiana County. There both himself and his wife passed the remaining years of their life. Her name hefore marriage was Martha McElmoyel. His son was born Oct. 19, 1802. He was a farmer, and also a teacher. In his early life he studied law, and during the period of his active business career he served his county in several official capacities. He was twice married. Margaret (Long) Lafferty, his first wife, bore him four children : John, Jacob, Robert and Rachel. His second wife, nee Susanna Blose, was the mother of four children : Martha, Margaret, Andrew B. and James D. She died April

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Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 14

Author: Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 850

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 850