Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 32

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

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HENRY COUNTY.

improvement, and has continued to reside thereon until the present time, meeting with success in the vocation which he has pursued all his life. In addi- tion to his landed interests in this county, he is the proprietor of 320 acres in Kansas.

Mr. Slawson's marriage to Miss Wilhelmina P. Houghton, a native of Vermont, occurred Dec. 25, 1866. Four children have been born of their union -Horace, Luella, Edith and Caroline.

Mr. Slawson, politically, is a Greenbacker, and socially is a member of the I. O. O. F.

hilip Sand, a prosperous farmer of Loraine Township, has been a resident of Henry County since 1847. He was born in Hesse- Darmstadt, Germany, April 17, 1815, and is the son of George and Catherine Sand. He passed the years of his minority in the manner common in his native country,-in school from the age of 6 to 14, and afterward was variously occupied until he left Germany to seek a better opportunity for himself than that afforded in his native land, where the chances in life are under hereditary mo- nopoly. He sailed from Germany to the United States in 1836 and landed at the port of Baltimore after a journey on the sea of 60 days. He was prac- tically penniless and the first move he made was in pursuit of work, which he had no difficulty in pro- curing. He passed a few months on a farm in Maryland and went thence to Ohio. There he ob- tained a situation in a blacksmith shop at $14 per month, but he was enabled to save little, as he had his board to pay out of his wages.

A year later he came to Illinois and stopped at Rock Island, where he learned to run a steam en- gine in a saw-mill and continued to operate in that capacity two years. At the expiration of that time, in company with several others, he made a trip down the Mississippi in a yawl-boat to the city of New Orleans, in search of employment .. Their quest was unsuccessful, and they returned to Vicksburg. There they found occupation in the way. of chopping cord-wood, in which line of business Mr. Sand was but a short time interested, as he soon after obtained a situation as engineer on a steam ferry-boat on the river, a position he occupied five.years.

In 1847, he came to Henry County, and at once

entered a claim on the west half of the southwest quarter of section 21, Loraine Township, and for three years ensuing he rented land of C. H. Kem- mis, on section 10. He then built a log house on his own property, of which he took possession when it was completed, and entered into the work of a farmer. He had a pair of horses, a cow and calf and a litter of pigs. This constituted his live stock, and he has since prosecuted the various branches of mixed husbandry with the success due to well di- rected efforts and untiring industry. He is now (1885) the owner of 580 acres of land. The build- ings are .of the best and most approved character for farm purposes, and the stock includes a large herd of cattle, horses, hogs and poultry ..

Mr. Sand was married in 1846 to Frances Rink, a native of Germany. Their children are Joseph, Felix, David, Francis, Albert, Charles, Sarah and Philip. Joseph and Frances reside in Minnesota. The latter is the wife of David Beers.

ohn Goss, one of the most respected and honored citizens of Geneseo in the ca- pacity of a business man, is the pioneer lumber dealer at. the place, where he estab- lished his trade in that line in 1855. In 1865 he became associated with his nephew and namesake, John W. Goss, and their commercial re- lations are still maintained. The firm handle about 2,000,000 feet of lumber annually, and also sell a yearly average of $1,500 tons of coal.

Mr. Goss was born May 26, 1810, in Worcester Co., Mass. He is the son of John and Rebecca (White) Goss. He was trained in a complete knowl- edge of the business of a bricklayer, and he was known for the excellence of his work. At 19, he went to Boston, where he operated in the line of his trade until he came to Chicago, and there embarked in mercantile life, and continued his relations therein in that city until 1843. In that year he returned to Boston and remained a citizen of "the Hub " ten years. He then came to Chicago and passed one year there. In 1855 he made a permanent removal to Geneseo, and at once embarked in the lumber traffic, in which he has operated. 30 consecutive years.

He was married in Boston, March 28, 1837, to

HENRY COUNTY.

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Miss Geraldine Poole. They have two children, both daughters: Maria L. is the wife of George A. Kellogg, of Colorado: she was born in Boston; and Martha, Mrs. Frank Curtis, was born in Chicago : they live in Colorado. Their mother died in 1843. The marriage of Mr. Goss to Mrs. Rebecca Lein- inger took place in January, 1874. She is the daughter of M. Zerbie, and was the widow of B. S. Leininger. She is a native of Pennsylvania.

In the days of his. first political connections and interest, Mr. Goss was a Whig, but he had imbibed Free-Soil sentiments, and on the formation of the Republican party he joined its ranks and has been from that date one of its most consistent adherents. The religious belief of Mr. Goss coincides with the tenets of the Unitarian Church.

S amuel B. Randall, agent of the United States Express Company, Police Magis- trate, and insurance agent, resident at Cambridge, was born April 1, 1831, in Wall- ingford, Rutland Co., Vt. He is the son of John and Rosalinda (Davidson) Randall. His father was born in the same place in 1786, and was the son of John Randall, a native of Rhode Island. The latter was a soldier in the War of the Revolu- tion, and was in the action at Monmouth, N. J., and fought through the entire course of the war, with the exception of a short time when he was held a prisoner in Canada, having been captured at Fort Washing- ton. In 1838 the family left Wallingford and went to Litchfield, Bradford Co., Pa., and they were there resident until 1851, when the father, mother, and a brother and sister came with Mr. Randall to Cam- bridge, settling on a farm on section II.

Mr. Randall was educated primarily at the com- mon schools, and as he was fond of books he made the most of his leisure by study, and thus acquired a mental training of the most practical value. After coming to Henry County he taught about ten terms of school. He bought a farm on the southwest quar- ter of section II, on which he spent the agricultural seasons in farming until 1865. He then established a small mercantile enterprise at what was then East Cambridge, and he also operated largely as a buyer of wild game, poultry and furs, which he bought

chiefly of hunters, his traffic commonly averaging $45 daily. On one day he shipped 1,200 quails, the result of four days' purchase. He made shipments to the city of New York. After three years' opera- tions he came to Cambridge, where he bought the mercantile interests of James Mascall and engaged in business, in which he was interested until 1873. His relations took extensive shape, and if the crisis in the year named had not caused a fatal shrinkage of values, the enterprise would have had a very dif- ferent ending. The hasty action of a New York firm caused the suspension of the business at a time when none of its liabilities which had matured were un- paid.

Mr. Randall was trained a Douglas Democrat, but his conversion to the most radical Republicanism was the work of but the shortest space of time possi- ble, and was effected by the tidings that the rebels had fired on the flag of the United States at Fort Sumter. Mr. Randall was elected Justice of the Peace in 1857 and served 12 years. In 1883 he was elected Police Magistrate of Cambridge.

He has officiated as agent of the United States Express Company since the establishment of their office at Cambridge, in 1870.

He was married July 4, 1855, to Lucy A., daugh- ter of Daniel and Lucy A. Williams. She was born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., and was married in Daven- port, Iowa. She died June 28, 1882, of cancer. Feb. 1, 1883, Mr. Randall was again married to Anna Louisa Carlson, daughter of Carl Peter Samuelson. The maiden name of her mother was Christine John- son. Her parents both died when she was four years old, their deaths occurring within the same week. They had four children -- two sons and two daughters. Mrs. Randall was born Dec. 25, 1864, at Hulsby, Fingard, Alsada, Sweden. She is the mother of two children : Frank A., born Nov. 1, 1883 ; and Samuel J., April 18, 1885.

The ancestors of Mr. Randall were remarkable for tenacity of life. His paternal grandsire lived to the age of 90, and his grandmother attained to great age. Following is the record of his brothers and sisters: Albert, born March 15, 1810, died May 14, 1864; Edwin, born May 20, 1812, died March 31, 1813; John O., born Jan. 12, 1815, died May 20, 1816; Lucina M., born April 15, 1817, died Feb. 23, 1840; Edwin D., born Dec. 7, 1819, is still living : Abel M., born Dec. 22, 1821, became a member of the 112th

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Ill. Vol. Inf., and was killed in a military charge, May 14, 1864, at Resaca, Ga .; John, born April 21, 1824, is living; Sarah E., born May 22, 1826, died Feb. 17, 1833; Electa A., born June 1, 1829, died Feb. 26, 1830 ; Samuel B. is next in order of birth ; Sarah M., born Oct. 11, 1833. died about 1874. John Randall, the father, was born Aug. 15, 1785, and died Dec. 26, 1863. Rosalinda Randall, the mother, was born Jan. 28, 1791, and died Dec. 26, I866.

lexander White, Superintendent of the Water Works at Geneseo, is also a hard- ware merchant at that place, where he has prosecuted the latter business since 1879. He was born March 1, 1829, in Washington Co., N. Y., and is the son of James and Jane (Hall) White. His father was a native of the north of Ireland, and came to the United States in child- hood. The mother was born in the State of New York.

Mr. White passed the years of his boyhood and youth in the State of his nativity, and there he ac- quired a complete knowledge of the business of a machinist, for which he had a natural genius. In the fall of 1853 he came to |Illinois and settled in the county of De Kalb. He came thence to Gene- seo in the spring of 1855. He devoted the next few years to the perfecting of an important invention known as White's Steam Governor, and in 1859 he erected a structure for the purpose of its manufac- ture. In 1865 the firm of Hammond, White & Co. was formed for the manufacturegof stoves at Gene- seo, the members of the association being A. H. Hammond, I. D. Ruggles and Mr. White. The business of the house was managed at Geneseo until 1870, when the firm removed their relations to Rock Island, and there were incorporated as the Rock Island Stove Company. Mr. White was made su- perintendent and for upwards of five years officiated as secretary and superintendent. In 1879 he re- moved again to Geneseo and established the busi- ness of a hardware merchant, and has continued the management of his relations therewith ever since.

The connection of Mr. White with the inventions of the West has been of marked importance, as he has made several which have had a local value,

notably those relating to the improvement of stoves used in burning the soft coal, which is one of the leading resources of Henry County. He invented a self-feeding soft coal burner, whose value is obvious to those who have used that article of fuel. His in- vention was the first of its kind in the market. An- other, of nearly equal practical utility, was that of a perforated attachment in the rear of mica windows, to prevent their becoming smoked, and which has been widely adopted and has been in general use for a period of 13 years.

Mr. White was a Democrat in the days of his early citizenship, but when the evolutions of the Whigs transformed the issues of the political ele- ments he adopted those of the Free-Soil party, and on the regular organization of the Republicans he fell into line and has since been an inflexible supporter of its principles. He has served two terms as Alder- man of Geneseo.

The marriage of Mr. White to Edith M. Munson occurred in Washington Co., N. Y., March 10, 1850. She was a native of that county and is the daughter of Nathaniel Munson, a prominent citizen of the county. Mr. and Mrs. White have had three chil- dren, only one of whom is living-Ella R. Two died in infancy. The parents are members of the Pres- byterian Church.

homas Nowers, Sr., a retired merchant of Atkinson, was born in the parish of Len- han, Kent Co., England, Aug. 24, 1805. In 1830 he came to the United States and located at first in Oneida County, in the State of New York. There is a portion of the beautiful lake which bears the name of the county, which is called the "Bar," and Mr. Nowers settled on that particu- lar spot. He was there a resident about 17 years, and was heavily engaged in the management of sev- eral saw-mills and in the lumber trade. In 1847 he removed to Mercer Co., Ill. After about one year he came thence to Moline, in the county of Rock Island. He was then the proprietor of the " Moline House " three years, and in 1857 he came to the county where he has since resided, and where he has been identified to a considerable extent with the de- velopment and progress of the business interests.

SACUISINE

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He was a farmer until 1861, when he commenced to operate in grain at Atkinson, and also established a store in connection with that enterprise. He was as- sociated with Mr. Dean for a time, the firm style being Nowers & Dean. At the expiration of a year their relations were brought to a close and Mr. Nowers received into partnership with himself his oldest son. They purchased the interest of Mr. Dean, and the affairs of the firm were transacted un- der the name of Nowers & Son. After a continuous trade of 20 years, Mr. Nowers sold out to his two sons, John and Thomas. (See sketches.) Henry Lyon was also associated with the sons of Mr. Now- ers for a time. At the date of his disposal of his business, Mr. Nowers retired from active connection with any business. He has been prominent in the administration of the affairs of the local government and has served 15 years as Highway Commissioner. He has acted as Supervisor three years, also County Treasurer one year.

Mr. Nowers was married Oct. 26, 1830, to Decima Foster. She is a native of England. Of their nine children seven are living. Thomas was born Feb. 2, 1834; John F., Jan. 20, 1837 ; William, June 17, 1838; Elizabeth, Sept. 10, 1840; Mary and Edward (twins), Dec. 11, 1842; Louisa, May 2, 1845 ; James, Aug. 7, 1847 ; Henry C., Jan. 4, 1852. They are all married. The mother died March 22, 1875. She was a communicant in the Church of England, as is Mr. Nowers. He has 18 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

· rof. Wm. A. Metcalf, of the commercial department of the Collegiate Institute at Geneseo, was born June 24, 1844, in Keno- sha Co., Wis. He is the son of Francis and Ophelia M. (Kellogg) Metcalf. His father was a merchant, and in 1854 removed his family to the city of Boston, where he conducted his interests in the same avenue six years, returning at the end of that time to Wisconsin. Prof. Metcalf was then 16, and he had been carefully educated in the English branches of study. He matriculated at Lawrence University, in his native State, and was graduated there with the class of 1867. He went next to War- saw, Wis., in the same year, and after passing one

year there in teaching he attended the Observatory in Chicago as a student, and continued there two years. In 1871 he became an attache of the Lake survey, with which he was connected seven years. He passed two years (1873-4) at the Northwestern University at Evanston, where he was employed in the capacity of teacher of civil engineering. He passed five years in the position of a book-keeeper in the city of Detroit, Mich .; and in 1884 came to Geneseo to enter upon the duties of the situation he is at present filling.

He was married in Detroit June 23, 1874, to Hat- tie Wilcox, and they are the parents of one child,- Harry W.

alentine Sieben, a farmer of Phenix Town- ship, is a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger- many. He was born Oct. 14, 1839, and is the son of Joseph and Aboline Sieben, who were both natives of the same German province. He was a pupil in the public schools of the place where he was born, and after he reached a suitable size he became a farm assistant. The fam- ily came to the United States in 1852, and settled in Whiteside County, this State. The son came to Henry County and engaged in farming in the town- ship of Phenix, and for his services he received at first 25 cents a day and boarded himself. He made his home for five years with Joshua Crocker, for whom he worked a considerable portion of the time. When he was 15 and 18 years of age he received from $12 to $16 per month as wages during the agri- cultural seasons of the year. He worked as he found suitable situations until 1860.

On the Ioth of July in that year he was married to Caroline Butzer, and they have five surviving chil- dren, who are named Fred, Annie, Ella, Carrie and Frank. The oldest child, George, died when he was eight years of age. Two others died in infancy. The mother is the daughter of George Frederick Butzer, of whom a sketch is given on other pages of this work. Her parents are pioneers of Henry County, where she was born.

For a time after he was married, Mr. Sieben passed the seasons in breaking prairie and in thresh- ing. In 1862, associated with his brother-in-law,

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Jacob Butzer, he bought a threshing-machine. In the year following he bought the first land he ever owned, consisting of 200 acres on section 3 in the same township in which he has since lived. He took possession of the farm in September of the year in which he bought it, and it has since been his homestead. He has built a large frame house and two barns, which are respectively 40 x 64 feet and 58 x 72 feet in dimensions. The place is finely stocked with good grades of horses and cattle.

Mr. S. is now serving his 14th year as Road Com- missioner, and his 18th year as School Director of his district.

6 0-

lisha M. Stewart, who removed to Kan- sas in the fall of 1879, was one of the Geneseo Colony, and settled near the site of that city in 1836. He was born in Livings- ton Co., N. Y., and was 17 when he accom- panied the family of his father to Illinois. He was married March 9, 1848, to Clarissa Cone, who was the daughter of one of the members of the same colony. They had five children,-three sons and two daughters. In the autumn of 1879 the family removed to Butler Co., Kan.

on. John Tufts, deceased, formerly a resi- dent on section 25, Edford Township, was born Sept. 11, 1814, in, Wardsborough, Wind- ham Co., Vt. His father, Rev. James Tufts, was a clergyman in the Congregational Church at Wardsborough for 47 years. He was a native of Worcester Co., Mass., as was his wife, who before her marriage was named Submit Hayden. After their marriage they removed to Vermont, where the father was in the active ministry, and was also the owner of a farm on which his children were reared.

Mr. Tufts was educated with care, and finished his general education at Brattleboro, in his native State, and he also attended school in Massachusetts. He passed the winter seasons for several years in teaching, and was employed in the agricultural por- tion of the years in the management of his father's

farm. He took a prominent part in general affairs from the time he completed his education, and, be- ing gifted with uncommon fluency of speech, he found abundant opportunity for the exercising of his talents in that direction in religious matters, and also in political circles, in both of which he became prom- inent and popular. His interest in the promotion of the general welfare frequently brought him forward as a candidate for official positions, and he served a number of years as Justice of the Peace, and twice represented his native State in the General Assem- bly in the capacity of Senator.

In 1856 he came to Henry County and located on section 25 of the township in which he passed the remainder of his life. He purchased the southwest quarter, on which slight improvements had been made in the way of breaking a few acres of ground, and also in the erection of a small frame house. He devoted his time and energies to the improve- ment of the place, which he put in advanced agri- cultural condition and erected good and suitable buildings for the requirements of his farm and family. His death occurred Feb. 15, 1885.

Mr. Tufts was prominent through a long term of years for his active interest in the Congregational Church, of which he became a member in early youth. Soon after his removal to Henry County he was made a Deacon of the local Church at Geneseo, and he continued in the position until his death. He was ever an earnest friend of the Sunday-school, and when he died he occupied the position of Super- intendent of the Ninthi District of Henry County. . He was equally active and prominent in the promul- gation of the principles of temperance, and he was in the habit of expressing his solicitude for the public welfare. In physical development he was of fine proportions, being six feet in height and of symmetri- cal build. He possessed a genial disposition, and was remarkable for his ability to say the right thing at the right time.

Feb. 11, 1847, he was united in marriage to Des- demona, daughter of Calvin and Mary B. (Hall) Barber. The parents were born in Worcester Co., Mass., and the daughter was a native of Townsend, Vt., whither her parents had removed. Her birth occurred May 23, 1819. After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Tufts they settled at the parsonage, and the husband managed the home farm until the year in which the family came to Illinois. Seven chil-

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dren were born to them, of whom there are six sur- vivors. John C. resides at Sioux Falls, Dak., and he is a farmer. Ella S. married Winfield Scott, and they live in Olin, Jones Co., Iowa. James P. lives at Grinnell, Iowa. Arthur is a practicing physician at Sioux Falls, Dak. Edward W. is a farmer at the same place. Francis B. is the manager of the home- stead.

homas W. Glenn, Assessor and Justice of the Peace, resident in the township of Co- K lona, was born Nov. 30, 1846, in Clinton Co., Ohio. He is the only son of Jacob and Julia (Daggett) Glenn. His father was the son of James and Sarah (Shoafanstall) Glenn, and was born Nov. 8, 1809, in the State of Ken- tucky. The mother was born in Virginia, in 1811.

The son was nine years of age when his parents went to Washington Co., Ky., and they resided in that State two years. They went thence to Ohio, and settled in Clinton County. Jacob Glenn grew to the age of manhood there, and when he was of a suitable age he learned the trade of a cooper. He worked at it in his native county when he was a resident therein. His brothers, James and Thomas, were the first settlers in Henry County who built a house in its limits, and he came here also at an early day, and was among the first to explore the territory, but could not persuade his family to re- move here for a number of years. He continued a resident of Clinton County until 1854, when he re- moved to Colona Township, this county, and bought a farm on section 32, which had been partly im- proved. He was from that time a citizen of the county until the time of his death. That event oc- curred June 1, 1882. His wife died in the fall of 1878. Their children were seven in number, name- ly : Sarah, the widow of John W. Briggs, lives in Colorado ; Louisa is the wife of William Stearns, a resident of the township of Western; Emma mar- ried James Craig, of Colona Township; Samantha married John Huntoon, of Rock Island.

Mr. Glenn of this sketch was nine years of age when his parents became residents of Colona, and he has since lived in Henry County. Just after the close of the first year of the war he entered the

Union Army, although he was but 16 years of age. He enlisted Aug. 26, 1862, in Co. H, 126th Ill. Vol. Inf., and was in the military service of the United States until the close of the war. He was a partici- pant in the battles of the siege and capture of Vicks- burg, and in the engagement in the Little Rock campaign. He received his discharge at the same time as his regiment, at Pine Bluffs, Ark., in Sep- tember, 1865. He returned to Henry County. In 1870 he went to Iowa and passed one year there, going thence to Missouri, where he continued a simi- lar length of time. On his return to Henry County he took possession of the homestead of his father, and has since been resident thereon.

· His marriage to Mary Holshoe took place in 1869. She was born in Lancaster Co., Pa., and they have nine children,-Annie, Louisa, Oscar, Leon, Dora, Louis, Jacob, Lizzie and George.

Mr. Glenn was elected Assessor in the spring of 1885. He has also served as Collector.

bram Miller, of Geneseo, is the pioneer landlord of that city, and has been longer in the pursuit of that business than any other individual now living in Henry County. He is associated with his sons, I. C. and C. B. Miller, in the management of the Geneseo House, one of the most popular and best managed establishments within the range of the traveling public.

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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 32

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