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 34
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Mr. Withrow was but nine months old when his
parents removed to Henry County. He was born Oct. 19, 1834, in White County, and he was but four years old when his father died. His mother married Harvey Hickcox and the step-father came to live with the family on the homestead, which was thus occupied some time. Mr. Withrow lived with his mother until he was 24 years of age, when he be- came himself the head of a family. He was joined in marriage, Jan. 1, 1860, to Arvilla M. Allen. She was born Feb. 12, 1843, and is the daughter of Jonathan and Charlotte (Hatch) Allen, and her parents were both natives of Jefferson Co., N. Y. They settled in Iowa in 1837, and formed a part of the earliest pioneer element of Lee County, in that State. They removed in 1848 to Illinois, and lo- cated in Phenix Township. Later her parents went to Geneseo to pass the remaining years of their lives.
Mrs. Withrow's father was born Nov. 10, 1812, and died Feb. 23, 1876, and her mother was born Oct. 10, 1817, and died Aug. 23, 1882. They had five children, born in the following order : Adaline, Mary A., Arvilla, Lois A. and Dora A. The two oldest are deceased. Adaline was the wife of Charles Linnell, and lived in Phenix Township; Mary A. was the wife of James Withrow, of Geneseo; Arvilla is the wife of the subject of this sketch; Lois is the wife of Albert A. Colbert, and lives in Whiteside Co., Ill. ; Dora A. is the wife of Byron Coe, of Hanna Town- ship.
At the time he was married, Mr. Withrow rented land in the township of Geneseo, and was its occu- pant for two years. He then bought a farm on sec- tion 31, in Phenix Township, where he operated as an agriculturist until 1869. He then rented that place and took possession of the farm on which he is at present a resident, in Hanna Township. He has become prominent as a successful agriculturist, and owns three farms in the township where he is a citi- zen, and which lie on sections 1, 2 and 12. The land included lies in a solid body and comprises 500 acres. He is also the owner of 354 acres on section 31, in Phenix Township, in two farms, and has 160 acres on section 24, in Hanna Township, not con- nected with his homestead estate.
When his country needed his assistance he was ready to defend its interests in the cause that was near to every lover of an undivided nation, and he accordingly entered the military service. He en-
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listed in March, 1865, in the 112th Ill. Vol. Inf., enrolling in Co. K. He joined the regiment in which he had enlisted as a recruit at Goldsboro, N. C., and soon after was transferred to the 65th Ill. He was detailed for duty at Greensboro, N. C., where he passed the chief part of the time he was in the army. At the close of the war his command was discharged at Chicago, and he returned to his home and inter- ests in Henry County.
The household of Mr. and Mrs. Withrow includes seven children. They are named Francis O., Ira W., Ida E., Nina D., Effie A., George O. and Ray- mond F.
erritt Munson, deceased. This is a name which will be a portion of the recorded annals of Henry County as long as the present regime exists. In his honor one of the townships of the county was named, and he was the owner of the site of the present business portion of Geneseo.
He came hither in 1852 and was extensively in- terested in real estate in Geneseo, where he made his home. He procured the platting of the town in - 1853-4, and offered the most satisfactory induce- ments to such as would erect buildings thereon. He was the first President of the Council and officiated many years as Justice of the Peace. He was a man of uncommonly positive traits of character, and in his public career is exemplified to an extraordinary degree the influence exercised by an uncompromis- ing will over a community. When he located at Geneseo, the north line of the village was on North Street, while the business center was on Main Street. He purchased the land where the business blocks are now located, secured the location of the depot where it stands, and virtually transferred the town to the place of its present occupancy. The terms he offered and his liberality in the matter of granting sites for public buildings were of too great benefit to the public interest not to receive respect- ful consideration, and the result is patent to every observer of the city of Geneseo.
Mr. Munson died at Geneseo, Nov. 2, 1884. He was a man of remarkable traits. He was noted for his love of justice and equal rights, and for his
hatred of cant and hypocrisy. He had no patience with " orthodoxy," so-called, and he preferred ration- alism to the falsities that grew out of the unsound and selfish applications of the teachings of men in avenues which must of necessity be based on specu- lation. He was what is known as a " Humanitarian," and was considered a " free-thinker " in his religious views. He possessed superior abilities, and was a shrewd observer and a thorough student of hu- man character. He had extraordinary abilities as a writer, and on occasion performed literary work in a peculiarly easy and pleasant syle. He was uni- versally esteemed, and his influence in the affairs of Geneseo will not soon fade from the minds of men. He was a Democrat in political proclivities, and be- longed to the school of which Stephen A. Douglas was the exponent. He was a firm believer in and an ardent advocate of the doctrines of State and per- sonal rights. He was at one time the editor of the Geneseo Republic, and during his management of the paper it was neutral in politics.
Merritt Munson was born Oct. 7, 1805, in Wind- ham, Greene Co., N. Y., and was the son of Abel Munson. While he was still a resident of the East he was interested in the business of a tanner, and was also a dealer in boots and shoes.
He was twice married, but was childless. His marriage to Harriet Rice took place in the East, and she died Jan. 14, 1862. They were married July 4, 1827. March 2, 1872, Mr. Munson was married to Mrs. Maria S. Matthews, of Oswego, N. Y. She was born in Oneida Co., N. Y., and was the daughter of Thaddeus and Sophia Hibbard. She is yet living.
enry L. Lyon is the senior member of the mercantile firm of Lyon, Gibbons & Ran- som, at Atkinson. He was born in the State of New York, Dec. 17, 1834, and is the son of John W. Lyon. The latter was born in the Empire State in 1807, and he married Ju- lina Lawson. She was also a native of the same State, and was born in 1810. Their marriage was celebrated in 1830. She has been some years de- ceased.
Mr. Lyon came to Atkinson in 1856, and in 1881 he was associated with the firm of Nowers Bros. in the sale of merchandise. The present business rela-
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tion with which he is connected was formed in 1884. The house is doing a prosperous and popular busi- ness, and have an excellent and well-assorted line of goods, suited to the demands of the patrons of the establishment.
Mr. Lyon is an adherent of the Republican ele- ment in political connection.
He was joined in marriage to Elizabeth Nowers, Dec. 27, 1860. Mrs. Lyon is the daughter of Thomas Nowers, Sr., of whom an account is given on other pages. Mr. and Mrs. Lyon have two children. Louisa G. was born Nov. 21, 1862, and the birth of Helen L. occurred March 4, 1870.
r. Henry J. Hoppins and Mrs. Annie M. Hoppins are engaged in the practice of medicine at Geneseo. They are discharg- com ing the duties of physicians and surgeons, and are practitioners in the school of homeo- pathy. Dr. Hoppins was born in Geneseo, Livingston Co., N. Y., Sept. 21, 1841. He is the son of Lyman and Lydia (Dake) Hoppins, and comes of a family of which there are, and have been, a con- siderable number of medical practitioners. He is " to the manner born ; " and after passing his youth in a manner that made the choice of his profession a foregone conclusion, he pursued a course of medi- cal study at the Hahnemann Medical College at Chicago in 1870, and the Homeopathic Medical Col- lege of the State of Missouri, located at St. Louis. He was graduated with the class of 1872, and initi- ated his practice in the city of Chicago. Later, he went to Iowa, where he was occupied for a time in the practice of medicine, and subsequently returned to Chicago. He attended the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College in that city and took a full, regular course there, and was graduated in the class of 1883. He came to Geneseo in 1874, and this city has since been his field of operation, and he is fast construct- ing a popular and profitable business.
He was married in Allegan, Mich., Oct. 3, 1868, to Annie M. Coutant, who was born at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Oct. 30, 1858, and is the daughter of George and Lucy (Barnhart) Smith. In 1871 Mrs. Hoppins commenced the study of medicine at Hahnemann College, and in 1875 she fulfilled a course in the
same institution in which her husband studied. She was graduated in the class of 1875, at the Homeo- pathic Medical College of Missouri, at St. Louis, and at the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College in 1881. She commenced her career as a medical practitioner in Chicago, and since that time her medical business has been identified with that of her husband. At the time of her marriage to Dr. Hop- pins, she was the widow of Thomas B. Coutant, to whom she was married Oct. 3, 1858. He became a soldier in the army of the Union during the Civil War, enlisting in Co. C, 38th Iowa Vol. Inf., and died at New Orleans, Nov. 20, 1863. One child was born to them,-Oscar Z. Coutant, who was born in 1860. Doctor and Mrs. Hoppins have a daughter, -- Della D .- who is 12 years old. Dr. Hoppins served two years in the war for the Union, enlisting in 1863 in a regiment from Coldwater, Mich. He and his wife are members of the Congregational Church.
ellington Wood, a citizen of Edford Town- ship, is one of the prominent and enter- prising agriculturists of Henry County, whither he removed in 1859. He was born March 12, 1815, and is the youngest son of Beder and Fannie (Rogers) Wood. His grand- father, Benjamin Wood, was a printer by trade, and was taught the details of the business by Benja- min Franklin. The wife of Benjamin Wood was a sister of Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declara- tion of Independence. Beder Wood was born in the State of New York, and his wife was a native of New Haven, Conn. Her parents, Dr. Timothy and Eunice Rogers, who were prominent through their position as Puritans, were members of a well-known family of Connecticut.
In November, 1818, the family came to Illinois. The household included the parents and seven children. The journey was made here on the rivers that constituted the route of travel for the emigrants from the East to the West, and they located in Gallatin County in the then Territory of Illinois. They were among the earliest of the pioneers of that county, and the father became a prominent farmer. He bought his land from the Government of the United States, and made all the improvements on
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the place, on which he passed the remaining years of his life.
There Mr. Wood grew to manhood and there he was fitted for his career in life. He was the assist- ant of his father in the agricultural labors of the latter, and he aided in the improvement of a large amount of land. He was an attendant at the sub- scription school and obtained a fair education, to which he made an addition by attending one term at the college in Jacksonville.
Mr. Wood was 19 years of age when his father died, and he lost his mother six weeks after the death of the former. He was left with the problem of his future life on his hands, and in the year following the loss of his parents he entered the store of J. Woods, in New Haven, în Gallatin County, as a clerk. He operated in that capacity for about nine months, and he then began to act as a buyer and shipper of produce. He made his market in the South, and shipped his merchandise down the river. He followed the business until 1847.
He was married January 7th of that year to Ella Bradford. Her parents were early settlers of Galla- tin County, and she was born there. In 1848 Mr. Wood bought an entire section of land in Gallatin County, in the township of Wabash. He paid for it at the rate of $1.25 per acre, and he continued its owner and occupant until his removal to Henry County.
He bought 240 acres of land on sections 17 and 20, in the township of Edford, which has remained in his possession ever since. Some improvements had been made of not much account, and soon after the place came into his possession Mr. Wood made extensive changes. He has enlarged and re- modeled the house and built a commodious frame barn. He has also planted trees of various kinds, and at date of writing the farm is all under excel- lent cultivation and supplied with all necessary farm fixtures.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Wood are ten in number : Beder lives in Moline; Rebecca is the wife of Jacob Newman, and they are residents of Hubbard, Iowa; Ellen married Alfred Dusenbury, of Morristown; Maggie married William Shepard, a resident of Oscaloosa, Iowa ; Daniel and David are twins, and are living at Grand Forks in Benson Co., Dak .; Frank lives in the county last named ; Fan-
nie is the wife of Wellmon Warner, and they are liv- ing in Dawson, Lac-qui-parle Co., Minn .; George and Eva reside with their parents.
The parents of Mrs. Wood were settlers in Gal- latin County in 1810. Her father owned at the time of his death nearly 800 acres of land.
Mr. and Mrs. Wood are members of the Church of God.
ev. William T. Allan, deceased, came to Geneseo in 1844. He was born in Ten- nessee Feb. 7, 1810. He was brought up in his native State and there educated and fitted for the ministry. He was born in a slave State and reared in constant proximity to the "institution." He became impressed at an early age with the great evils resulting from the labor system of the South, and connected himself with that body of agitators of the slavery question among whom were William Lloyd Garrison, Gerrit Smith, Wendell Phillips and others. He was, of course, a marked individual and suffered ostracism at the hands of his friends and neighbors. He was threatened with vio- lence, and as he was fearless in the advocacy of his views and opinions he encountered the abuse that was the sure portion of such as endorsed the princi- ples of Abolitonism. He came North and entered with all his might into the controversy that in its ulti- matum shook to its foundation the structure of the Republic. He became a lecturer on the great polit- ical issue in national politics, and won distinction as a fervent and earnest champion of the principles of human liberty. After his removal to Geneseo he officiated sometimes as a clergyman of the Congre- gational Church, but he never had a settled charge.
He was married in Geneseo, to Mrs. Caroline Chapin, the widow of Rev. Jason Chapin, and the daughter of Eli and Alice (Alden) Snow. (See sketch of Rev. Jason Chapin.) Mr. and Mrs. Allan had one child, now the wife of Robert Townshend, of Indianapolis, Ind. He was married in early life to Miss Irene Ball, who died childless.
Mr. Allan was an earnest believer in the princi- ples of temperance, and lectured on that and on other subjects. He lived to see the triumph of the principles of which he was for so many and so fruit-
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less years the champion, and breathed the atmos- phere of a country in which there was not a soul held in legal bondage. When the issues of the Re- publican party assumed tangible shape, he became its adherent ; and he continued his connection there- with until a few years before his death, when he be- came dissatisfied with the party policy and ever after voted with the opposition. He was elected and served several years as Justice of the Peace, and he also held the position of Postmaster at Geneseo four years. He died June 5, 1882.
9
eorge B. Pillsbury, retired from the active labors of farm life, residing on section 16, Lynn Township, is one of the oldest ac- tual settlers of Henry County, and the first settler of Lynn Township. ~ He was born in Canaan Township, Grafton Co., N. H., Oct. 4, 1816.
The grandfather of Mr. Pillsbury, Joshua Pills- bury, was born in Massachusetts, of New England ancestry and of English descent. He was a private in the Revolutionary War, and fought under Wash- ington, and was with him at the capture of Burgoyne's army at Yorktown. He was united in marriage to Sarah Sawyer, born in Nova Scotia. She was of a German family, who had their first settlement in Nova Scotia at an early date, and who then came to Massachusetts, when she was quite small. She had three brothers, who were engaged in the Rev- olutionary War, and who lost their lives at the bat- tles of Breed's and Bunker Hills. After their marriage they settled in Grafton Co., N. H., and it was in that county, after living a life of usefulness, they died. Previous to the removal of his parents to New Hampshire, Caleb Pillsbury, father of the subject of this notice, was born, and after the removal of his parents to New Hampshire, he enlisted as a private in the War of 1812. He participated in the battle of Buffalo and Plattsburg, and went with Gen. Brown up Lundy's Lane, where he participated in the bat- tle of 'that name. After the close of the war, he re- turned to Grafton Co., N. H., and was there united in marriage to Anna Underhill, a native of that county, of New England parentage, and of genuine
English descent and ancestry. Her father was a private in the Revolutionary War, enlisting as such, and was promoted to the position of Captain. He was by name William Underhill, followed the oc- cupation of a farmer, and was married in Massa- chusetts to a lady of English descent and of New England ancestry. They both died in Piermont, Grafton Co., N. H., having lived lives of usefulness and won the respect of the citizens of the community in which they resided.
The parents of George B. Pillsbury, subject of this biographical notice, were the parents of five chil- dren, four sons and one daughter. One of the former is deceased, and the following is a record of those living: Almira married William Clark, whose biog- raphy is given in another part of this work; George B. was next in order of birth ; Levi also has a sketch in this work; and Ithamar resides in Monmouth, Warren County; Caleb is deceased, having died when 25 years of age, unmarried.
George B. Pillsbury, subject of this biographical notice, was only six years of age when his parents went to St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and it was on his father's farm that he remained, alternating his labors thereon by attendance at the common schools, and developed into manhood. When he was 20 years of age, the family came to Illinois, settling in what is now Lynn Township, this county, and known at that time as Lynn Grove. The settlement was made in August, 1836, arriving here on the 14th day of that month. Not a single house had been erected at that time in what is now Lynn Township, and but three families had made any improvements in the county of Henry. It was 30 miles to any postoffice, and not a sign of civilization was visible for miles around. The unbroken prairie, with its groves here and there, presented an appearance which time and improvement have obliterated. His father secured 80 acres of land, and after entering upon the im- provement of the same, and breaking about ten acres, he died,-taken away before his realization of the future developments of the county was substan- tiated by actual facts. His death occurred in 1838, when in his 56th year. The mother followed him to the land of the hereafter, in April, 1861.
Mr. George B. Pillsbury, after coming to this county and settling with his father in Lynn Town- ship, continued to reside with him until the latter's death. He then secured the place, from the heirs,
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on which his father had originally located, and then purchased 80 acres additional, and at once entered vigorously and energetically upon the task of its cultivation and improvement. In· 1841, he hauled wheat with an ox team to Chicago, for which [he re- ceived only 45 cents per bushel, and with the pro- ceeds was compelled to pay $ro per barrel for salt. He at one time purchased a large stock of goods and traded them for cattle and hogs, which he drove to Chicago, requiring from Nov. I to Jan. I to reach that place and return, where 'he disposed of the same.
Mr. Pillsbury is one of the sterling and respected citizens of Henry County. He became the first Su- pervisor of Lynn Township, and was one of the first to advocate and assist in its" organization. The voting precinct was at his house for several years, and upon him was conferred the honor of naming the township. By energetic effort, good judgment and economy, coupled with the active co-operation of his good help-meet, he has added to his original purchase of land until he at present is the proprietor of nearly 800 acres of good farm land in Lynn Township, and is the largest land-owner in the town- ship.
Mr. Pillsbury was united in marriage, Dec. 11, 1848, in Bureau County, this State, with Miss Eliza- beth J., daughter of David and Judith (Pattee) Greeley, natives of New Hampshire. Her father was a farmer by occupation, and formerly lived in Grafton Co., N. H., where Mrs. Pillsbury was born July 16, 1825. She was a young girl when the family came to Illinois, settling in Bureau County, where the mother died in 1865. Her father after- ward went to Iowa, where he died about 1881. Mrs. Pillsbury was the mother of nine children by Mr. P., six of whom died in infancy. Louisa married Wm. Sawyer, a resident of Iowa; George B., Jr., re- sides with his father on the farm; Henry L. is at- tending school at Monmouth, Ill. The children have all received the advantages of a good English education, and are respected citizens of the com- munity in which they reside, and well-to-do in life.
Mr. Pillsbury was not only the first Supervisor of Lynn Township, but he held that office for four terms, and was also Justice of the Peace 14 years, and also Township Treasurer for many years. He has always taken an active interest in the common
school question, and has devoted much of his time and means to further the cause in his township. Politically, he is identified with the tenets of the Democratic party. During the past few years he has been deprived of that greatest of blessings of man, his eyesight, the same having been brought about by natural causes ; and he lives to-day re- spected for his actions in the past, for the good he has done the community in which he resides, and for the straightforward and manly action in which he has treated his fellow-man.
Lolglelele hilip Ott, a resident at Geneseo, has been an inhabitant of Illinois since 1837, and of Henry County since 1854. He was born in Alsace, then a province of France, May 5, 1818. His native State is now attached to Germany. He is the son of Jacob and Mag- dalena (Urban) Ott, and they were also natives of Alsace. The family came to America in 1832. The first settlement was made in Warren Co., Pa., and they remained there until 1837, when they located in Cook Co., Ill.
In 1843 the son, who is the subject of this per- sonal narration, returned to Pennsylvania, and was there married, on the 2d day of April of that year, to Elizabeth Hirtzel. She is the daughter of Philip Hirtzel, and was born in Alsace. She came to the United States with her parents in her childhood. Immediately after their marriage they came to Cook Co., Ill., and there Mr. Ott was engaged in farming until 1854, when he made a permanent removal to Henry County. He had previously secured a tract of land in the township of Yorktown, and he was its owner and occupant until his removal to Geneseo in 1869. His farm in Yorktown originally contained 300 acres. On coming to Geneseo he interested himself in the business of a miller, and on giving up his interests in that direction he removed the ma- chinery and rents the building for agricultural ware- rooms. In addition to his other business, in 1876 he began to operate to some extent as a dealer in real estate in Kansas, and has met with success in that line of traffic. He still has interests there in the same direction.
To him and his wife six sons and one daughter have been born: Philip E. married Sarah Somers,
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and they live in Edwards Co., Kan .; Sylvanus mar- ried Julia Donnenfelser ; they are residents of Topeka, in the State last mentioned ; he is a very successful operator in real estate; Aaron H. married Elizabeth Smith, and they live in Kinsley, Kan .; Augustus married Mercy Hathaway ; he is a citizen of Offerle, Kan .; L. Eli is unmarried and lives at Highland Park, Lake Co., Ill .; Sarah O. and Jacob Benjamin are the youngest. The oldest son was a soldier in the military service of the United States during the entire course of the Civil War. He enlisted in 1861 when he was 16 years of age in the 9th Ill. Vol. Cav.
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