Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 41

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 41

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HENRY COUNTY.

Mr. Fleming came to Henry County, and in 1865 engaged in farming for others by the month, and continued in that vocation for four years. He then purchased 80 acres of land on section 16, Osco Township, and engaged in its cultivation and im- provement and continued to reside thereon for two years, when he removed to section 35, same town- ship, where he is at present residing. Mr. Fleming came to this county, as will be seen by the perusal of his biography, a poor man. He possessed no means to purchase land or procure a home for him- self and family; but, with a firm determination to succeed in life, he engaged in working for others, and by energetic effort and economy has succeeded in becoming the proprietor of 412 acres of good farm land in this county, the major portion of which is in an advanced state of cultivation. He has a fine residence on his farm, together with good and sub- stantial outbuildings. He keeps about 100 head of cattle on his place, 15 head of horses and fattens about 140 head of hogs annually. Thus we see what has been accomplished by one possessed of the qualities of energy, perseverance and good judgment; and we see, further, that his accumulations are not the out- growth of a gift of inheritance but of honest toil, tact and good judgment.

Mr. Fleming was married in Davenport, Iowa, to Zipporah West. She was born in New York, Feb. 22, 1836. Two children, Robert W. and Blanche, have been born of their union.

Politically, Mr. Fleming votes with the Democratic party.

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illiam J. Smith is a veterinary surgeon at Geneseo, and Mrs. L. Smith is the man- ager of the green-house in the same place. Dr. Smith was born in Jefferson Co., Tenn., May 31, 1820. Barton and Fatha (Moore) Smith, his parents, were farmers in that State, and he was brought up at home and trained in the avenues of employ common to an agricultural life until he was 15 years of age. In 1830 he went to the State of Indiana, and came thence to Illinois in 1836. The family settled in Joliet.

In the spring of 1843 Mr. Smith united with the Methodist Church, and in the year 1848 he joined

the Rock River Conference and was assigned to min- isterial duty on the Aurora Circuit. He was con- nected therewith one year, and was next appointed to Sugar River, where he remained the same length of time. He was next sent to the Marietta Circuit, and officiated in its relations two years. The next two years he was at Macomb. His appointments subsequently were as follows: Kaneville, one year ; Sheffield, one year; Victoria, two years ; Wyoming, two years ; La Fayette, two years ; Oneida, two years ; Woodhull, two years. His health having become impaired, he then removed to Galva, in this county, where he resided about five years, although he had been placed on the "superannuated " list by the Conference. During the last 15 months of his resi- dence at Galva he preached on Saxon Circuit, in Stark County, he having been again made " effective," and then started the business of a veterinary sur- geon, and conducted a drug store therewith three years at Galva. He went thence to Miami Co., Kan., and passed three years there. In 1875 he came to Geneseo, and this has since been his home. On his arrival here he opened an office for the prac- tice of his professional knowledge as a veterinary surgeon. He began the study of that branch of business at 18, and through all his subsequent career kept pace with the progress made by veterinarians in the theory and practice of the art. He gave his en- tire attention to it as a business until 1848, when he entered the ministry. The practice of Dr. Smith has become extensive, and his hospital stalls are filled with patients. His uniform success is his best recommendation in his line of business, and he is specially adapted for the duties of a practitioner from a natural love for horses and a thorough under- standing of their attributes, nature and diseases.

Dr. Smith was married in Joliet, Ill., June 19, 1845, to Lydia Harrington. She is a native of Canada, and was born Dec. 14, 1827, near the line of Vermont. She was the daughter of Marsh T. and Lucy (Mott) Harrington, and has borne six chil- dren: Lucretia F. is the wife of J. H. Simmons, and they reside in the State of New York; Lucy J. married John Dunkle, and lives in Rice Co., Kan .; Mary L. is the wife of W. B. Foster, of the same county ; Charles W. married Annie Joslin, and they are living in Geneseo; Mark B. married Mary B. Baker, and they have removed to McPherson Co., Kan .; Fred F., now residing in Rice Co., Kan.

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In 1882 Mrs. Smith began to operate as a florist at Geneseo, and is conducting a prosperous business. Her conservatories have a roofing of 1,000 feet of glass. She made a small beginning, and, meeting with a satisfactory degree of encouragement, she has gradually extended her stock and facilities until she has an excellent assortment and a large patronage. She has resided at Geneseo since March, 1875. She is a member of the same Church in which the Doctor is a minister. He became a Republican in 1860, and in later years has adopted the principles of the Prohibitionists.

ohn M. Hanna, who is engaged in agricul- ture and in the raising of live stock on sec- tion 9, of Western Township, is a native of the Keystone State, being born in Westmore- land Co., Pa., March 15, 1835. His father, Robert Hanna, a native of the same State, and of Irish descent, was a farmer by occupation, and was married in the above mentioned county to Pris- cilla Hamilton, also a native of that county, and of similar ancestry.

Mr. John M. Hanna, the second in a family of four, was two years old when his parents moved to Richland Co., Ohio, and three years later, in 1840, came to Illinois, settling in what is now Cornwall Township, this county, near Shabbona Grove. This was before the Indian Chief, Shabbona, left this sec- tion of the country. The first land was taken here when there were no settlements by the whites, and the Indians were numerous at Shabbona Grove. Both Mr. Hanna's parents died in Cornwall Township, his mother in 1843 and his father in 1860. The latter had been officially connected with the township and county. Both parents were members formerly of the Presbyterian Church and later of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Our subject received but a limited education. After the death of his mother, he resided a short time with Capt. Charles Jack, well known in the early his- tory of Cornwall Township; but, owing to the un- sympathetic and tyrannical disposition of the Captain, he left him and returned home. Nov. 6, 1856, Mr. Hanna was married, in Cornwall Township, to Miss

Martha Bleeks. Her parents were John and Maria (Chrisman) Bleeks, natives of Pennsylvania, of Ger- man descent, who settled in Crawford Co., Ohio, in which county Mrs. H. was born Aug. 16, 1838. Her father, with the family, moved from that county to In- diana, and in 1855 came to this county, settling in Cornwall Township; her mother, however, died be- fore the last removal. Her father has since died. Mr. and Mrs. Hanna have two children-Charles R., who married Emily Finley, and resides on a farm in Western Township; and George, who is yet at home, assisting in the cultivation and management of the farm. After his marriage, Mr. Hanna lived two years in Cornwall Township, and then in Atkinson, Geneseo and Colona. In 1870, he purchased a quarter of section 9, where he now resides, and has a well improved farm; he has also a good farm of 86 acres under cultivation on section 17, Western Town- ship. He is also a dealer in swine to a considerable extent.

In political principles, he is independent, and pub- licly, he has been Township Assessor for about nine years.

Mr. Hanna's three brothers are: Hamilton, who resides in California; Alexander B., a farmer living in Audubon Co., Iowa; and James, married, residing in the same county.

R ev. Philip K. Hanna, deceased, was one of the pioneers of Henry County in the fullest sense of the term. He came here before the organization of the county and was a factor in each and all of the earliest move- ments to adjust its municipal affairs. He was the head and guardian of the moral and spiritual welfare of the community, and he was foremost in the organization of the Methodist societies in Henry and Rock Island Counties.

He was born in Kentucky in 1810, and came to Henry County in 1835. At the organization of the county he was made one of the first Commissioners, and afterward he was prominent in the official man- agement of the townships of Hanna and Geneseo in the capacity of Supervisor. In 1868 he was elected to represent the 46th District in the Legislature of Illinois. In all the official stations which he was

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called on to fill he discharged the obligations in a manner consistent with his own character and with the nature of the duty incumbent on him. A de- tailed account of his career in Henry County, if it were possible to obtain it in its completeness, would supply a large blank of interesting matter that has passed into hopeless oblivion. At his residence, in the pioneer home of 1835, the first religious so- ciety in the county was formed. He became an ex- tensive land-holder, and there was every prospect that he would be permitted to close his life in the county in which he had been among the most useful and valuable of its citizens ; but in the stringencies of 1873 and 1878 he was compelled to succumb to the shrinkages, and he surrendered all he had accu- mulated. True to his character, he prepared to commence anew, and he went to Kansas to start once more under the auspices of another State. One of his labors there will for ages to come constitute a noble inonument to his memory,-a forest of 3,000 trees set out by his own hands and nourished by his own care.

Mr. Hanna was three times married, and he was survived by his last wife. Eight of his 12 children are still living. His death took place at his home near Peabody, Kan., Thursday, Jan. 17, 1884, when in the 74th year of his age.

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enry D. Keel, a general farmer and stock- raiser, residing on section 16, Western Township, and owning three separate and well improved farms of 80 acres each, was born in Indiana Co., Pa., Jan. 16, 1833. His father, whose name was Jacob Keel, was also a farmer and an active and zealous minister of the Baptist Church. He also was a native of that State, and, in Indiana County, married Elizabeth Dewalt. The ancestry on both sides were American, and of Ger- man origin. Rev. Jacob Keel gained a fair, local reputation as a Pastor of his flock in Indiana County, which relation he sustained most of his life. He died there in 1879, a highly respected citizen and an ardent laborer for the cause he so ably advocated. The widow yet survives, and is living with her youngest daughter and child, Rebecca Lukehart.

She is very aged, and has been an invalid for five years.

Mr. Henry D. Keel, whose name heads this arti- cle, passed the days of his boyhood as a faithful son on his father's farm, but having very limited oppor- tunities for securing a school education. At the age of 19 years, October; 1852, he married the object of his first love, Miss Sarah Pearce, who was born in Pennsylvania, April 11, 1834, of American parentage and of German ancestry. The newly married couple, with hearts in unison, set out the following spring for the great unbroken West, determined to have a home of their own, in a section where they could grow up with the country, and become honored citi- zens and financially independent. They arrived in this county with no goods but what they could carry under their arms, and $12.75 in cash. After stop- ping for a short time with the wife's relatives, who came with them, Mr. Keel obtained work, and with the strictest economy he soon made a good start. He was first employed by Mr. T. W. Huston, who is now a prominent Justice of the Peace at Orion, 'a well respected citizen and an old settler.

Mr. K.'s first investment, out of his sinking fund of $12.75, was 75 cents for a ham of meat, and the $12 for a yoke of yearling calves, which he at once set to work, hauling, marketing, etc. Dr. Trego, now deceased, then one of the first settlers of the county, and considerably aged, met Mr. Keel one day with his diminutive ox team, and, although a comparative stranger to him, suggested, in a jesting way, that he should take the calves home and "let them suck." This was too much for the feelings of Mr. Keel, and, rising up in his wrath, and, forgetting the respect he had been taught to give to old age, raised his hand, placed it upon the Doctor's shoul- der, told him he "would have plenty to do if he minded his own business and let other men's busi- ness alone!" . He afterward, however, found the Doctor so great a friend and gentleman that to this day he has a pang of true regret for showing the aged man any disrespect.

Being too ambitious to be a laborer for others for any great length of time, Mr. Keel soon secured money by which he was able to purchase a little lumber, for the erection of a small, portable cabin, on the school section (No. 16), which had not at that time come into market, but a portion of which he had some hopes of buying when it was sold.

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HENRY COUNTY.

Without any assurance that he would obtain the land, he ventured to commence making improve- ments on 40 acres of it; and when the land was placed in market he obtained the indorsement of Mr. Huston as security for the tract, and learned also that Mr. Huston had so great confidence in his fidelity that he would have indorsed him for twice the amount had he asked for it. Mr. Keel says that he shall ever owe a great debt of gratitude to the man who thus helped him get his start in the world. Since then, he has been remarkably success- ful in the pursuit of his chosen calling and in the improvement of his chosen homestead. The land is beautifully undulating, and is situated in the best farming community in the county. Soon after he secured the ground, and before he attempted to pay for it all, he set about the work of putting in drain tile, and he now has more than 1,200 rods of tiling on his three farms; and this is demonstration to the modern farmer that his is a first-class farm.

Officially, Mr. Keel has consented to serve the public in only the minor offices of the township. He was made Sexton of the Western Township Cemetery 16 years ago, and his care and successful manage- ment of that most quiet retreat has made him actually essential to the position. Politically, he sympathizes with Republican principles.

He has had five children, two of whom are now deceased. Annie E. married H. J. Scheasley and now resides on her father's homestead, which her husband helps to manage; M. D. married Jennie Keer, and they reside on one of Mr. Keel's farms in Western Township; Vina B. is yet unmarried and lives at home.

3rs. Juliett Cox, widow of John W. Cox, a prominent and early settler of North- western Illinois, still owns the old farm homestead, but lives at her home in Alpha, at the advanced age of 73 years. Mr. Cox was born in Wayne Co., Ind., in 1807. In 1836 he came into Illinois, and settled on the banks of the Mississippi, at a place called Tippecanoe, near Hampton, Rock Island County. There he lived and labored hard in the development of the country for 13 years, when he came into Oxford Township, and

purchased 160 acres of land on section 16. Here he was one of the first pioneers, and was an honored and respected citizen. He lived on the old place, which he had brought to a good state of cultivation, until his death, which occurred March 2, 1864. Politically, Mr. Cox was a Republican, and religious- ly, an ardent Methodist, and for 40. years had been connected with that Church.

In 1832, while living in Indiana, Mr. Cox was married to Miss Juliett Williamson, the lady whose present name heads this sketch. She was born 'in Kentucky, in 1812, and passed through all the hard- ships and privations of pioneer life attending them on their removal to Illinois in so early a day. She can scarcely realize the remarkable transformation that has taken place in this section of Illinois since she and her husband came here in 1836. Mrs. Cox is and has been for many years connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church. She reared a family of respected and useful children, some of whom are well known in the community in which they reside. The following list gives their names and to whom they have been married : Eliza, the eldest, is the wife of John Henderson ; Joseph F. married Jennie Sutton ; John W. was united in the bonds of matri- mony with Mary Wagner; Samuel K. has for his wife Miss Ella Patterson ; Evarald S. became the husband of Hattie Epperson.

illiam S. Charles. One of the very ear- liest pioneers of this part of Illinois, is William S. Charles, an Englishman by birth, having been born in London, Nov. I, 1813. He has, however, passed all of his active business career in this country. When he was quite young his parents moved to Wales, where he lived until 1832, when he crossed the ocean for America. For four years he remained in the East, most of the time in New York, and in 1837 came West and located in what is now Stark Co., Ill. At this early period the face of the white man was rarely seen upon the broad, unbroken prairies of Northern Illinois. Mr. Charles was a sturdy young man and endured the hardships and privations which are necessary accompaniments of pioneer life, nobly. He did not remain in Stark County long, however,

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HENRY COUNTY.

for in the autumn of 1840 we find him on his way to Henry County, and in Burns Township he made a location, being one of the very earliest pioneers, not only in Burns Township but also in Henry County. He now resides on section 32, where he owns a good farm of 200 acres of land.

The year before he left Stark County, April 18, 1839, his marriage to Miss Esther L. Stoddard oc- curred. This was the first marriage ceremony that was performed within the borders of Stark County, which fact in itself tells of the unsettled condition of that country when Mr. Charles and Miss Stoddard carried on their courtship. His wife was a native of Goshen, Conn., and was born on the 6th of October, 1815. For many a year they traveled together along the journey of life, but on the 5th of May, 1879, this union was broken by the death of Mrs. Charles. Her demise occurred at her home in Burns Township. Five children had come to bless their home in those early pioneer days, only one of whom, however, is living. Their names are George S., Elizabeth M., Frank H., Rhoda I. and Mary A. Elizabeth is the only one now living.

Mr. Charles has been a prominent, active pioneer and citizen, and has acted as School Director, and in other positions has served the public. Politically, he is a Republican.

ohn V. Swanson, who is engaged in gen- eral farming and stock-raising upon sec- tion 36, of Western Township, was born in the central part of Sweden, Sept. 6, 1835. His father, John Swanson, was a farmer by occu- pation, and came to America with his family, consisting of his wife and seven children-three sons and four daughters. He soon found his way to Henry County, and located in Lynn Township, where the elder Swanson remained until his death, which occurred Sept. 13, 1869, at the age of 7 1 years. The mother is still living upon the 80-acre homestead, purchased by her husband when they first came to the country. She is at the advanced age of 86 years, yet resides alone.

Mr. Swanson, of this biography, was about 17 years of age when his parents crossed the ocean for the New World. He continued to reside at home,

helping his father to develop the farm, until 1862. On March 28, of the following year, he was married in Andover, to Miss Anna M. Peterson, who, like himself, was born in Sweden, and came with her parents to America in 1849. The family came West and settled in Western Township, where her mother died in the antumn of 1883. The father still resides on the old home farm. The home of Mr. Swanson has been blessed with nine children, seven sons and two daughters, all of whom are living.

After his marriage Mr. Swanson settled on the farm, which he now owns as a renter, but purchased it in 1864. He now has 320 acres, all pretty well im- proved, and well stocked with a good grade of cattle. He ranks among the large farmers of Western Town- ship, and is a thoroughgoing and enterprising man. The family are members of the Swedish Lutheran Church, of which Mr. S. is a Deacon. He is now, and has for many years, served as Director of his district. Politically, he is a member of the National Greenback party.

li Holland, one of the large land-owners, successful farmers and respected citizens of Henry County, residing on section 30, Osco Township, is a son of Reazon and Joanna (Wilson) Holland, natives of West Virginia. The gentleman whose short biographical sketch we write, was the fifth in order of birth of a family of 13 children. He was born in Monongalia Co., W. Va., Dec. 1, 1816. His years prior to attaining majority, and in fact until he was 23 years old, were passed on the farm, and his education acquired in the common schools. On his attaining his 23d year he was engaged in the saw-mill business during winter seasons, and in the summers followed farming for different parties for a time. He then engaged extensively in agricultural pursuits in West Virginia and followed that occupation until 1864. In the fall of that year he came to Henry County, and pur- chased 160 acres of land located in Osco and West- ern Townships, in partnership with a gentleman named Elijah A. South. They cultivated this land together for about three years and soon thereafter divided the same. By honest toil and economy Mr.

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Holland has succeeded in adding to his original purchase of land in this county until at present he is the proprietor of 423 acres, the major portion of which is under an advanced method of cultivation. He keeps about 80 head of cattle, 10 head of horses and fattens over roo head of hogs on his farm an- nually. He is meeting with success in his chosen vocation, agriculture, which, in fact, he has followed all his life, and to-day enjoys the comforts which a life of labor and economy, coupled with the active co-operation of his helpmeet, has brought him.

The marriage of Mr. Holland took place in Monon- galia Co., W. Va., Jan. 3, 1839, at which time Miss Louisa Tarleton became his wife. She was a native of West Virginia, having been born in that county, June 8, 1822. Their union has been blessed by the birth of 12 children. The living are: Hannah M., Sarah H., Elmos T., Mary J. and Margaret L. Hannah M. is the wife of Thomas Lanham, a resi- dent of Iowa; Sarah H. married Jackson Steel, who lives in Kansas; Elmos T. is a resident of Iowa; Mary J. became the wife of Harvey Lough, and they are living in Osco Township; Margaret L. married Notley S. Cole, and resides with him in Iowa. The deceased children are: Thomas A., William E., George P., Willie and Jamnes E., besides two who died in infancy. The wife and mother died in Osco Township, March 26, 1883. She was a member of the Baptist Church, and was a kind mother, a loving wife and a respected and honored neighbor.

Politically, Mr. Holland votes with the Republican party. He has held the office of School Director in his township, and in his religious views is an ad- herent to the doctrines of the Baptist Church.

H. Lowry, M. D., a physician, practicing at Woodhull, was born Feb. 1, 1847, in Erie Co., Pa., his parents being Samuel and Ruth A. (Parsons) Lowry, natives of

.16 Vermont.

While very young, Mr. Lowry lost both his parents, and he came to Altona, Knox Co, Ill., with an uncle, when ten years of age, and there he attended the common and high schools. In May, 1864, he enlisted in Co. G, 132d Regt. Ill. Vol. Inf., for the roo-day service; and after remaining in the

army for half a year, he received an honorable dis- charge. In 1866 he commenced the study of medi- cine, under the guidanceof Dr. Parsons, of Kewanee. After remaining there two years he pursued a course of study for three years at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. ; then in 1870 he came to Chicago, entered the Hahnemann Medical College (homeopathic) and graduated there in 1872. Coming then to Woodhull, he commenced the practice of his chosen profession, and has since pursued it at that place with an in- creasing patronage and satisfactory success. He, in company with D. K. Colburn, his brother-in-law, is the proprietor of a quarter of a section of land in the townships of Rio and Oxford, and a half section of land in Cedar Co., Mo .; he is also interested in the rearing of Jersey cows and Hambletonian horses. He is a Republican in his views of national policy, attends the Presbyterian Church, is a member of the. G. A. R., and is one of the "city fathers."

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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 41

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