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 19
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acres on section 29, Clover Township. To this he has since added 40 acres, making a total of 120 acres. This farm he has greatly improved, building upon it a fine residence, etc.
Mr. Turner and Julia A. Shoot, a native of Ohio, were united in matrimony in 1853, and they have had one son, Lucius A., who married Viola Peck, and has three children,-Harvey O., Pearl I. and Jennie O.
Mr. Turner has held various local offices in Clover Township. He is a National Greenbacker in his political doctrines, is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows Orders, and a leading man in that part of Henry County.
oab Tracy. The gentleman whose name heads this personal sketch resides on sec- tion 32, Lynn Township, and is one of the largest land-owners of the county. He was born in Montgomery Co., Ind., May 26, 1831. His father, Jesse Tracy, was a native of Ken- tucky and of a family of four sons and four daugh- ters, who lost their father when Jesse was quite young. He lived in Kentucky until after his marri- age, which event occurred in Mason County, and the lady who joined her fortunes with his was Nancy Hayden, also a Kentuckian by birth and ancestry. After their marriage they went to Ohio, where, en- gaged in farming, they lived for some years. During their sojourn in the Buckeye State, four children were born to them. From Ohio they came into Mont- gomery Co., Ind., where Joab was born, as well as another child, making a family of six children, all of whom are living except the eldest, who was named John. The second was Minerva, who lives in Iowa ; Rachel resides in Montgomery County still; Cath- erine resides in Champaign Co., Ill .; Joab, our sub- ject ; and James, a farmer in Kansas. All of the children are married excepting one, and are all well- to-do and prosperous farmers.
Joab was about 20 years of age when the family moved to Peoria Co., Ill., his father having previously died in Montgomery County. He was born April 8, 1795, and died on the 16th of September, 1845, when Joab was 14 years old. He lived with his mother in
Peoria County for some years, when they went to Champaign Co. Ill., where, Aug. 17, 1859, the mother died. Our subject had not lived quite a year in Peoria County, when he celebrated his marriage. This event, however, took place in Montgomery County, his old home. Miss Mary J., daughter of Hiram and Nancy (LaValley) Coon, was the lady of his choice. This important event in their lives oc- curred Jan. 5, 1851. Mrs. Coon, the mother of Mrs. Tracy, died when the latter was five years of age. Between this period and her marriage, she lived with strangers.
About one year subsequent to his marriage, Mr. T. came to Mercer County, and for three years lived in Richland Grove Township. In 1855, he came into Lynn Township, and entered 160 acres of land upon which he began to make improvements, and where he intended to establish a home. This quarter sec- tion, which he still has in possession, was never owned by any person save himself and "Uncle Sam." He made improvements upon this place, and soon began to add to first purchase. He has con- tinued to make such accessions until he now owns 940 acres in Lynn Township, 320 acres in Osco Township, 80 acres in Oxford and 171/2 acres in Richland Grove Township. His farms, as a whole, are mostly under the plow, and upon his home place he has first-class farm buildings, and a large and commodious residence.
Politically, Mr. T. is a Democrat of the first water, and has been since he voted for Franklin Pierce. He takes an active part in local politics, but declines any official position.
The record of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. T. is given as follows: William R. is married and resides on a farm in Oxford Township, and is the father of two children, Grace and William; James A. is married and lives in Osco Township. The former married Mary D. Barrett, and the latter Lena Molthrope; Willis married Orlena S. Reynolds, lives in Lynn Township, and has two children-Edith and Alvah; Ellen is the wife of Charles Kinsey, and lives in Richland Grove Township, and the mother of two children-Emma and an infant; Catherine is the wife of Allen Sayre, of Rural Township, Rock Island County, and is the mother of one child- Harry T .; Jesse lives in Osco ; Rachel, Joab, Minnie and Jennie live at home.
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xxx
M. Thayer, engaged in farming on section 36, Clover Township, was born in Livings- ton Co., N. Y., May 3, 1830, and is a son of Peter Thayer, a native of Massachusetts. He left home at the age of 24 years, and, after having received a common-school education, and assisting on his father's farm, he came to this county, locating upon 80 acres of section 34; at the end of one year he moved to Iowa, where he resided seven years, three years of which time, however, he spent in the war of the Union. He enlisted in 1861 in Co. F, 5th Mo. Cav., under Col. Pennick, of St. Joseph, Mo., and was engaged in many small battles, as Lexington, Lone Jack, Springfield, Wilson Creek, etc. He received one slight wound, and after a ser- vice of three years he was honorably discharged. Returning to this county, he rented a farm one year, and then purchased the place which he now occu- pies, consisting of 240 acres, all in a high state of cul- tivation.
In the year 1865, Mr. Thayer married Elvira Hamilton, a native of Lima, Livingston Co., N. Y. Their three children are Inez H., Ernest N. and Marcy L.
Mr. Thayer is a Republican in his political views, is a worthy gentleman and a highly respected citi- zen. Both himself and Mrs. Thayer are members of the Christian Church in Knox County.
ohn H. Dean, dealer in grain at Atkinson, came to Henry County in 1859. He was born Feb. 26, 1822, in the town of Bath, in Grafton Co., N. H. He is a descendant of one of the Pilgrims of the Mayflower. He lost his father in early childhood, and, as his mother was left in indifferent circumstances, he began at the age of nine years to take care of himself. His first employ was at such labor on a farm as was suitable for a child of his tender years. He had the good fortune to secure a home with the same family until he was 21. He came to the West in 1846 and lo- cated in Rock Island County, where he was engaged in the lumber and mercantile business. One memor-
able act in his career was the fact that he was the first to plow the ground where was afterwards erected the college in which Jefferson Davis finished his edu- cation. He continued to operate there until he came to Henry County. In 1859 he established his present business at Atkinson, where he has been one of the most valuable citizens of the place in its prog- ress. His business is of extensive proportions. In his political relations he is a Republican. He is a member of the Order of Masonry.
Mr. Dean was married to Miss Eliza Butterfield, Aug. 15, 1848. She was born in Bellows Falls, Vt., and died at Moline, Nov. 9, 1849. In 1857, Mr. Dean was married to Lora H. Gould, and she died April 25, 1865. March 29, 1882, Mr. Dean was a third time married, to Nancy J. Gould, who is still living. The family of Mr. Dean includes a son and a daughter, who are both living in Dakota.
ames Gilbraith, a farmer on section 30, Alba Township, has been a resident of Henry County since 1863. He was born in the County Down, in the north of Ire- land, in July, 1837. He came to the United States at the age of 22, and landed at New York. He came with the purpose of trying what the application of his firm health and manly vigor would accomplish under the privileges of a free form of government, where every man is the controller of his own accumulations. After he landed at New York he proceeded forthwith to the county of Rock Island and there obtained a situation as an assistant on a farm at $12.50 per month, hiring out to remain a year. He continued in the same service three years, meanwhile renting land one season. In 1863, as has been stated, he came to the township of Alba and bought 80 acres on the section where he has since resided. The correctness of the judgment which he exercised in coming to the United States is manifest from the fact that he is now the possessor of 440 acres of land, and his estate is in excellent condition for successful farming, fitted with all necessary buildings for the successful prosecution of the busi- ness of a first-class farmer. The fine dwelling on the farm is 32 x 26 feet in dimensions and a story and a half in height. The barn is 28 x 32 feet in size, with a granary 30 X 32 feet. The stock consists of graded
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Durham cattle, Poland-China swine and Norman horses. The herds contain 100 head. Mr. Gil- braith is the possessor of one two-year-old English Draft horse of three-fourths blood.
His marriage to Sarah Morrison took place April 4, 1865. She was a native of the County Down, Ire- land, born in 1832, and died March 28, 1879, leav- ing five children-James, Joseph, Robert H., Sarah J. and Elizabeth A. The second wife of Mr. Gil- braith was Matilda Smith before her union with him. Their marriage occurred Dec. 21, 1882. She was born in Germany in 1848. Clarence E., born May 29, 1885, is the name of their only child. The heads of the household are members of the Congre- gational Church. Mr. Gilbraith has served in the capacities of Commissioner of Highways, as School Director and Trustee. He is a Republican in his political views.
obert D. Boice, a citizen of prominence in in business, social and religious relations at Geneseo, has been a dealer in hardware at that place since 1858. He was born Aug. 14, 1830, in the city of Pittsburg, Pa. His parents, Eben and Nancy (De France) Boice, were natives of Penn Manor, Franklin Co., Pa. The father was a descendant from a family of Scotch-Irish extraction, and the ancestry of the mother was of French origin.
Mr. Boice was approaching manhood when, in 1848, his father made a transfer of his family and business relations to Ashland, in the county of the same name in Ohio. He there was first engaged in the hardware trade, and there acquired a familiarity with its details, and prosecuted his interests until, in 1858, he removed to Henry County, where he arrived Jan. 25, of the year named.
The issues which resulted in the formation of the Republican party were being agitated at the time Mr. Boice arrived at the dignities of citizenship, and he cast his first Presidential vote for John C. Fremont. Since that time he has been an adherent of the "grand old party" without shadow of change in prin- ciple or acts. He has discharged the duties of sev- eral minor official positions at Geneseo. He is engaged in the prosecution of extensive farming in-
terests in Gage Co., Neb., and is in connection with a banking enterprise at Cortland, in the same county.
He formed a matrimonial alliance with Lydia E. Sınith, at Geneseo, Jan 29, 1854, and they have one child-Ollie S. Mrs. Boice is the daughter of John and Rachel Smith and is a native of Ashland, Ohio. With her husband, she is a member of the Congrega- tional Church.
W. Howell, dealer in hardware and tin- ware at Woodhull, this county, is a native of New York, having been born in South- ampton, Suffolk Co., that State, Sept. 3, 1810, his parents being Obadiah and Beulah (White) Howell, natives of New York. Mr. Howell was an inmate of his parents' family until he was 16 years old, having received a good education in the district schools.
On reaching his 16th year, with the consent of his parents, he left home and for three years served as apprentice at the carpenter's trade. In 1830 he started on a whaling voyage on the good ship Felix, H. Green, Captain. They sailed to the South Ameri- can coast and landed at Falkland Island, where they remained for two weeks, and during a voyage of ten months and four days they were enabled to procure 2,413 barrels of oil, 160 of it being sperm oil, with which they safely arrived home. After this voyage Mr. Howell made several others, and was promoted Sec- ond Mate and then Chief Mate. He followed the sea for II years. He also visited the California gold field, where he was engaged in mining for some five months. In 1849 he came back to New York, but again returned to California, where he remained for four years, and then in 1854 came to this State and purchased a farm of 170 acres in Andover Township, Henry County, upon which he located|with his family and entered actively and energetically upon the task of its cultivation and improvement. He re- mained on that farm for 15 years, then sold it and went to Woodhull, where he erected a residence and where he is at present residing. He engaged in the hardware business at Woodhull in 1879 and is still following the same at that place, meeting with suc- cess by his straightforward and honest way of doing business. In addition to his possessions at Wood-
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hull, together with his business at that place, Mr. Howell has lands in Kansas and Iowa.
Mr. Howell was united in marriage with Miss Susannah (Howell) Howell, a native of New York, in 1854. They have seven living children-Emma J., Sylvanus W., Edgar E., Leni Leoti, Charles C., Allen S. and Martha A.
Politically, Mr. Howell is a believer in and sup- porter of the principles of the Republican party.
ajor Erastus G. Moderwell is an attor- ney, and is engaged in the active pursuit of his profession at Geneseo. He came to Henry County in 1866. He brought with him the prestige of an honorable record in the service of his country, and the repute of a leader in the arena of the law. His course from first to last has eminently sustained the char- acter he bore, and he has won a kindred distinction in public affairs, and in the esteem of his compeers in Henry County.
He was born at Bucyrus, Ohio, March 6, 1838. His parents, John and Nessy (McCracken) Moder- well, were natives of Pennsylvania, and were of Scotch-Irish descent. They came from the Key- stone State in an early day, and settled in Bucyrus. Major Moderwell was educated primarily in the schools of his native town, and entered the Fresh- man Class of Jefferson College, in September, 1855. He had been a boy of studious habits and proclivi- ties, and had made good use of his time and advan- tages in his early school days, and from the first he took a fair rank among the leading students in his college. He was skilled in mathematics, for which he had a natural genius, and was a leader in the classes in Latin. He was also gifted in the use of language, and was pre-eminent as a speaker. His scholarship gave him prominence, and at commence- ment one of the positions of honor was accorded to him. He represented his class in the delivery of the English salutatory, and in one of the usual soci- ety contests was made Philo-Orator. He had a contestant of uncommon strength in debate, but he won the honors of the contest. He was graduated in the class of 1859, and soon after went South to teach. He was occupied in that capacity at Elkton,
Ky., one year, and at the expiration of that time he went to Fairmont in West Virginia. There came an eventful day in April, 1861, when his school came to an unceremonious termination, and he hastened to Washington, D. C., and he arrived there on the same day on which the first shot of the Rebellion was hurled at the walls of Fort Sumter. Major, then plain Mr., Moderwell, enrolled in the Union service on the day preceding that on which Presi- dent Lincoln made the first call for troops. He enlisted in the Cassius M. Clay Battalion, the first volunteer company that enlisted for the War of the Rebellion. The enrollments were made on the 14th of April, 1861. For two months he was em- ployed at the National Observatory in the city of Washington, and in the summer of the same year he returned to his native State. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 86th Ohio Vol. Inf., and subsequently was made Captain of a company in the same regiment. Later, he served as Captain in the 12th Ohio Cav., and was promoted to the rank of Major. He was frequently in command of the regi- ment which occupied that position, and on occasion he commanded a brigade under Maj .- Gen. Upton. His command was attached to the Cavalry Division of General Stoneman during the last year of the war. Major Moderwell distinguished himself in the accomplishment of a special duty for which he was detailed while in the division of General Stoneman, in which he commanded an expedition to capture a fort at Catawba in South Carolina. He was suc- cessful in the undertaking, and captured the fort with the garrison and stores. For this service he was honorably mentioned in the report of Gen. Thomas. The action is also mentioned in the his- tory of the war by Lossing, in which that popular and reliable historian states : "This expedition was one of the most gallant little exploits of the war."
Major Moderwell sustained several injuries in the course of his connection with the military service of the United States. He was wounded three times; one minie-ball passed entirely through his body, grazing the diaphragm and also touching the spine in its passage. The surgeons pronounced the wound mortal, and declared his chances of recovery to be one in ten thousand. But the Major took the one chance, and lives to give this account, although he is frequently reminded of the experience by lameness, difficult breathing, and the suffering inci-
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dent to such a condition. He was mustered out Nov. 24, 1865, after a service covering nearly the entire period of the war-the most terrible experi- ence that can be related in the history of our Re- public.
On returning to civil life he located at Geneseo, and interested himself in traffic in real estate, and also entered upon a preparatory study for the pro- fession of an attorney. He afterward became a student of the Cincinnati Law School and was graduated there with the class of 1869. The same year he secured the privileges of the State Courts of Illinois, and has since been engaged in the prosecu- tion of the business of an attorney at Geneseo.
Major Moderwell's abilities are recognized and ap- preciated by the community of which he is a mem- ber, and he has been called to serve the interests of the public in various capacities, which attests the versatility of his powers. He has officiated several times as City Attorney, and has occupied the posi- tion of Mayor of that municipality. In 1874 he was elected to the State Senate on the Republican ticket, serving consecutively four years.
The characters of individuals in their relations to their fellows become prominent, as a rule, more through the discrimination of those with whom they are connected in a common interest than through their own acts. It is one of the safeguards of the institutions of our form of Government that tlie intu- itions of the people are trained to an understanding of the characteristics required in their leaders, and in such a multitude of instances are the right ones put in the right places that the fact has come to be regarded as somewhat marvelous. Hence it becomes possible to place a man on record in a perfectly just sense. He has a right to a fair representation to the generations that are to follow and who will be certain to investigate acts of which they are the beneficiaries ; it also due to the justification of those who select their representatives in the performance of the world's work. In estimating the character of Major Moderwell, no man can be aggrieved by the statement that he is in the truest sense one of those whose innate nobleness and worth honors not only himself but his generation. What he was as a sol- dier, his record proves. Meager as it is in statement in this brief sketch, the facts of his course during the war impart no uncertain significance. His sur-
roundings at the time of the initiation of active hos- tilities, viewed in the light of his perceptions, “ blown crystal clear by Freedom's northern wind," brought home to him with a terrible portent the full and dire significance of all that Rebellion meant. He waited not for the overt act; he made haste to meet the emergency that he knew from long observation to be imminent ; he went to Washington and placed him- self where the fanatics by whom he had been sur- rounded had been arrayed for months and in some nstances for years-in the van-guard. He knew that there was no uncertainty in the matter; he foresaw that the end of the beginning that was so close at hand would be reached only through a long succession of events that would shake the founda- tions of the Republic. The weary months that fol- lowed proved the value of his judgment. The strongest witness of his own part in the progress of the war is the modesty of his own account of the events in which he was a participant. In actual service he came within one grade of the " stars " of a Major-General. If more need be said, he bears his credentials in his shattered constitution and in the suffering which will always remind him of the pang of a more cruel need,-that of becoming a voluntary target for a fratricidal bullet. Ages must roll away before the memory fades that the Civil War was a conflict between brothers. That is its enduring sting !
In his career as an official, entrusted with the in- terests of others, he has operated in accordance with the obligation conferred in his selection and never with an ulterior purpose. His course as a member of the State Senate was one that reflected the same credit on his manhood and fitness for the place.
As an attorney he ranks with the leaders in the county and in adjacent communities.
Major Moderwell is as far removed as is possible from the ranks of aggressive politicians, but he is one of the most inflexible Republicans and has wielded a telling influence on the local and general interests of that political organization.
In addition to the regular business of his profes- sion, Major Moderwell is conducting extended rela- tions in the cattle interests of the Indian Territory, and real estate in Kansas. He is President of the " Geneseo Cattle Company," and he bears the same relation to the " Eagle Chief Pool," one of the larg-
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est cattle companies in the West. He became in- terested in the enterprise through the advice of his physician, who recommended his passing as much time as possible in the open air; and in order to adapt business to the enforced change of base, he entered into the relations named.
He was married in Fairmont, W. Va., March 22, 1866, to Fannie R., daughter of Thomas Watson, a prominent Southern planter. She was born in Monongalia Co., Va., a portion of territory now in- cluded in West Virginia. After 17 years of cloud- less union in the affairs of their married life, the husband and wife were severed by death. The latter passed to the mysteries of the land of un- broken silence in October, 1883. Three daugh- ters and a son mourn their irreparable loss, and in their lives of promise preserve the wholesomeness of her influence and training, and in them " she still lives."
.ohn Henderson. This gentleman is largely identified with the farming interests of Henry County. His home farm is on sec- tion 15, of Oxford Township. He was born in Indiana Co., Pa., Sept. 9, 1831. Brice and Anna (Thomas) Henderson, his parents, were natives of the Keystone State and by occupation farmers. They passed their lives in their native State, and at the above mentioned vocation.
John received a good ordinary education at com- mon schools, and at the age of 20 bid farewell to the old home and embarked in life for himself. For five years he engaged in farming on shares. In 1856, he came to Illinois and soon made a location at Orion, Henry County, where he worked out by the month until 1860. He then purchased the place where he is now living, which consisted of 80 acres at that time. To this he has added 160 acres, and has erected a fine residence, built barn, set out orchards and shade-trees, built fences and improved his farm until it to-day ranks among the valuable estates of county, being worth $15,000. Politically, Mr. H. is a Republican, and is recognized as one of the repre- sentative men of his community.
In 1861, Jan. Io, our subject was married to Miss Eliza Cox, a native of this State. To them have been born five children, who are living and bear the
following names: Frank, William, T. S., Jennie and Fannie. Frank married Anna Costello, and Annie is deceased.
ohn O. Anderson, farmer on section 12, Lynn Township, was born at Jensping Lan, Sweden, March 25, 1830. His parents were Andrew Jacobson and Anna Swanson, both of whom died in their native country, Sweden. Mr. Anderson is the young- est but one of a family of ten children. After living at home until nearly 23 years of age, namely, in 1854, he emigrated to this country, settling in An- dover, where he was married Aug. 5, same year, to Miss Anna Youngquist. (For a sketch of her par- ents see the biography of Augest Youngquist.) She was born near the place of nativity of her husband, Oct. 29, 1831, and was nearly 22 years of age when she came to America. Her children now are John W., who is married, and resides on a farm in Osco Township, this county; Anna, Alfred, Albert, Amanda and Cordelia. After his marriage, Mr. Anderson rented a farm for five years in Andover Township; he then purchased where he now lives and where he owns 400 acres of good and well improved land; here he has a good barn, farm residence, etc. The family belongs to the Swedish Lutheran Church, where Mr. A. has been Trustee. He is also a staunch Republican.
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