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 69
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Mr. Crawford remained on the farm of his father
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until 1850, when he came, as has been stated, to Henry County. The place where he bought this tract of land was all wild prairie, and cut logs and had them sawed into material suitable for a frame house, which he built for the accommodation of his family, and which was 16 x 18 feet in dimensions. He broke first 40 acres and fenced it. He was the owner and occupant of that place until he exchanged it for land on section 19 in the same township, which transaction took place in 1852. In the spring of 1855 he commenced the work of breaking the acres of his new farm, and in the fall he erected a house and removed thither. He still holds the place and has added to its dimensions until it comprises 240 acres. It has all been improved and good and suit- able buildings erected. Mr. Crawford has set out a considerable variety of trees.
He was married Aug. 14, 1851, to Mary E. Snyder. Mrs. Crawford was born in Warren Co., Ohio, was the daughter of Frederick and Hannah (High) Snyder. She became the mother of three children : Libbie H. is the wife of William Sheaffer, Farragut, Iowa ; Ida J. married Byron Markham, who lives in Washington, Kan .; Clara A. is the wife of George Howard, and they reside near Shenandoah, Iowa. The mother died Nov. 3, 1863. Julia Morrow became her successor June 14, 1864, and of the second marriage there are six children : Nory Ella, who died Aug. 5, 1883 ; Minnie M., Arthur J., John W., Jay Edson and Jes- sie Martin.
Mr. Crawford is an Elder in the Presbyterian Church, and his wife is a member of the same or- ganization.
ri Wilson, a citizen of Cambridge, where he is living in retirement from active life, has been a resident of Henry County since 1855, when he settled on a farm of 100 acres in Burns Township. He continued its occu- pant until the spring of 1882, when he removed to Cambridge. He operated as a general farmer and stockman, reaping the reward of industry and frugality. He made additional purchases of land, and is now the owner of 195 acres in Burns Town- ship, which is in profitable agricultural condition.
Mr. Wilson was born April 3, 1819, in Otsego Co.,
N. Y. His parents, John and Jane (Decker) Wil- son, were born in the State of New York. The family of the former was of Scotch origin. Jacob Decker, the maternal grandsire, was of Dutch ex- traction. John Wilson died in the State of New York. Eight children were born to himself and wife, in the following order: Jessie, Marvin, Harriet, Asenath, Uri, Ahira, James and John. Jessie went to Michigan. Marvin became a soldier in the Civil War, and died in the summer of 1885. The other children, with the exception of Mr. Wilson, of this sketch, went to Iowa.
The latter was a farmer in his native State. In February, 1855, he came to Henry County, and in the fall of that year he located in Burns Township. He is a Republican, and while a resident there he filled several local official positions.
He was married April 5, 1840, in Friendship, Alle- gany Co., N. Y., to Rebecca Britton, who has borne eight children. Selecta (Mrs. Clark) is not living; Sylvia is Mrs. Taylor ; Nathaniel, Ersula (deceased), Sarah, Emma, Julia and Etta were born in the order named.
Mrs. Wilson was born June 26, 1819, in Lycoming Co., Pa. Nathaniel and Hannah (Howe) Britton, her parents, were natives of Pennsylvania, of Ger- man descent. William Howe, her paternal grand- father, was a soldier of the Revolution.
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eorge W. Benedict, Supervisor of Cornwall Township, and a general farmer, residing on section 15, is a New Englander by birth. He is the son of Elijah and Dolly (Foster) Benedict, also natives of the Green Mountain State. They married and settled in Cornwall, Vt., where they lived until 1841, when they came to Morton, Tazewell Co., Ill. Here they lived until 1852, when they moved still further northward and settled in Cornwall Township, Henry County. Here the elder Benedict died, May 6, 1876. His widow still survives him and resides in Cornwall. They had born to them a family of five children, as follows : Elijah F., Abel E., Rollin Z., George W. and Albert J. Rollin Z. died when about seven years of age.
George W. was born in Cornwall, Vt., Oct. 4, 1836.
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He received a good common-school education, which was supplemented by an attendance at the academy at Geneseo and at Knox Academy, Galesburg. He has devoted his efforts to general farming, with the exception of three years spent in the army in the de- fense of his country's flag. He enlisted Aug. 9, 1862, in the 112th Ill. Vol. Inf., and for nearly three fears faithfully served his country. He was discharged at Alexandria, Va., and at once returned to his home in Cornwall Township, where he has since lived. Here he owns a farm of 165 acres, most of which is tillable. He has been entrusted with the affairs of his township as Supervisor, and given a prominent position in the management of the affairs of his coun- ty for five years. He has also served as Township Clerk for several years, and was Justice of the Peace for eight years. The people have also called upon him to serve as Collector and School Director. In fact, he has "gone the rounds" of all the offices of his township. He is an active worker in the ranks of the Republican party.
Mr. Benedict was married in Burns Township, this county, on the 25th of May, 1869, to Lydia A. Brown. She was the daughter of Coles J. and Sally M. (Coul) Brown, and was born in Putnam Co., N. Y., Jan. 30, 1844. She was the youngest of a fam- ily of three children, the two older being Benja- min J. and James B. Her children number three : Minerva E., Rollin I. and Mary K.
ames Mascall, resident at Cambridge, is a pioneer of Henry County of 1838. He was born Jan. 29, 1814, in East Kent, Eng- land, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Neeves) Mascall. His parents came to America with their surviving children in 1830. A fuller account of them is given in connection with the sketch of Richard Mascall, which appears else- where in this volume. The family lived in Litch- field, Bradford Co., Pa., eight years, when they came to Illinois, and after a short stay in Stark County, in June, 1838, they came to Henry County. The first business outside of his farming (and this was 18 years after coming to Henry County) in which Mr. Mascall was engaged was the sale of groceries and provisions at Cambridge, and in the spring of 1838
he bought 160 acres of land on section 15, in Cam- bridge Township. This was the beginning of his transactions in real estate, and he has pursued his business schemes and relations until he is one of the solid men of Henry County. His first land entry in- cluded 80 acres, and he is now the owner of an es- tate of 1,300 acres in excellent agricultural condition. The first few years were full of struggle. He realized small proceeds from his crops and at the time he was ready to settle in life, in 1848, he was the possessor of a cash capital of about $40, with which to fit his home for living purposes and to pay his taxes.
He was married April 4, 1848, in Cambridge, to Mary A. Lilly. She was born Aug. 1, 1827, in Oneida Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Carlo H. and Wealthy (Ladd) Lilly. Her paternal grand- father was named Norman Lilly, and was a native of New England. Her mother was the daughter of Jeremiah and Mary (Franks) Ladd, the former a na- tive of England. Carlo Lilly and his wife were born in the State of New York, where the father died, and the mother died in the township of Andover, Henry Co., Ill., whither she came in June, 1846. The had eight children. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Mascall are six in number : John R., Mrs. Sallie J. Walline, Daniel S., Mrs. Anna Perkins, Mrs. Mary Melloy and Emma L.
The business . career of Mr. Mascall is one of marked interest, from the fact that he has for years labored under the most disheartening circumstances, such as would have relegated most men to oblivion and life-long poverty. Since 1856 he has not ex- perienced a day of firm, sound health. In the first days of that year he sprained his knee and he has suffered from unremitting lameness since that date, 30 years ago, and much of the time he has been compelled to use crutches. Notwithstanding his in- firmity, he never allowed his large and increasing business relations to grow less or be interrupted. In April, 1863, he incidentally pricked his right hand with a needle, and although the injury was seemingly very slight, the puncture not being deep enough to draw blood, the hand became permanently lame. In 1882 his other hand became lame. The crowning affliction which overtook Mr. Mascall was the loss of his eyesight, which occurred in 1878, as then a cataract commenced on the right eye. He can now descern daylight, but, since 1879, has been wholly unable to read or use his eyes in business.
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Arium Woodward
HENRY COUNTY.
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He is now a member of the mercantile firm of Mascall, Walline & Co., dry goods and groceries. He has been in the mercantile business for 28 years, and also heavily engaged in buying and selling stock and grain for about five years since he came to Cam- bridge.
iram Woodward, residing on section 21, Osco Township, is a son of Asa and Ruth (Joy) Woodward, natives of Connecticut and Massachusetts. The parents of Hiram Woodward were married and settled in Ver- mont, and in 1818 removed to Licking Co., Ohio, where the father died Aug. 30, 1837. The mother's demise occurred in Knox County, that State, June 22, 1853. Asa Woodward was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, and was with Wash- ington at Valley Forge. He was also with Ethan Allen at the taking of Ticonderoga, where through the strategy of their Colonel not a man was lost or a single drop of blood shed. The children of Asa and Ruth Woodward were nine in number, namely : Sally, Margaret, Masury and Asa B. (twins), Eben- ezer G., Arunah, Hiram, John M. and Sarah.
Hiram Woodward, whose name heads this sketch, was born in Cornwall, Addison Co., Vt., July 6, 1 807. He continued to reside in his native State until he attained the age of II years, when he accompanied his father to Licking Co., Ohio. What schooling Mr. Woodward has received was acquired in a log school house in Licking Co., Ohio. He resided at home, assisting in the maintenance of the family by work- ing on the farm, until he attained the age of 24 years. In the fall of 1852 Mr. Woodward came to this county and "took up" 320 acres of Government land in Osco Township, on a portion of which he has resided until the present time. He has disposed of all his landed interests in the county except one- quarter of section 21, Osco Township. On this traet he has resided, passing the sunset of his years in peace and quiet, respected by all who know him as a gentleman, fair and honest in his dealings with his fellow-man, and one who possesses a heart that al- ways responds to the sufferings, afflictions and troubles of others.
Mr. Woodward was married in Granville, Licking Co., Ohio, Oct. 1, 1829, to Cynthia Root, daughter
of Noble and Damaris (Bennett) Root, natives of Massachusetts, and whose children were seven in number, named : Alanson, Belinda, Cynthia, Re- becca, Laura, Orrila and Amanda. Cynthia (Mrs. Woodward) was born in Granville, Ohio, Feb. 28, 1810. She has borne to her husband eight children : Luman, Laurinda, Amanda, Jerusha, Eben, Frank- lin, Mary and Martha. Jerusha, Mary and Martha are deceased.
Mr. Woodward has held the office of Supervisor two terms, and likewise other minor offices within the gift of the people of his township. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and politically Mr. W. is identified with the Republican party.
For over 30 years he has lived in this community. Indeed, the community has grown up around him. As a venerable patriarch, and one who has done much hard work and given much valuable aid to- ward building up the county and moulding the character of the people, his memory should be cherished and preserved. It will live in the minds of those who know him personally as long as they live, but the generations to come will know nothing of his labors, his trials and good works unless some means are taken to hand down to them a record of his life. This brief sketch and the accompanying portrait will serve to perpetuate the memory of a good pioneer of Henry County.
enry Boomer, a prominent agriculturist of the township of Atkinson, has been con- nected with the business interests of Henry County since his permanent removal to the
State in 1862 His farm is located on section 28 and contains 205 acres. The land is of ex- cellent type and is well fitted for the prosecution of the plans of the owner. Two good dwellings have been erected on the place, two barns of extra dimen- sions and two smaller ones.
Mr. Boomer was born in the State of New York, July 23, 1826. Michael Boomer, his father, was born April 23, 1794, and he married Martha Moore, who was born in 1795. The son was an inmate of the pa- rental home until his minority was passed. He came, on being released from his obligations to his parents, to Illinois, and located at Elgin in 1847. He was
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there about a year and then returned to his native State. He continued there three years and was mar- ried meanwhile. Julia Wood became his wife March 1, 1849. She was born in the State of New York, Aug. 10, 1828. James Wood, her father, was born April 22, 1779. Barbara Ireland Wood, her mother, was born Oct. 3, 1785. In, 1851 Mr. Boomer re- turned to Illinois and passed a season in trapping on Fox River, catching mink and beaver. He made about $600 for the season's work. He spent another year in his native State, and in 1852 came to Aurora. In the course of the next year he removed to LaSalle County and there engaged in farming during the next nine years. He came thence, as has been stated, to Henry County. Mr. Boomer is an adherent of the Greenback party.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Boomer are four in number, and are named Emnia G., Herbert E., Gertie A. and Jay A.
oses Adams, a former citizen of Munson Township, at present residing in Chicago, is a native of the State of Maine and re- moved to Henry County in 1852. He was a citizen of the same township until his re- moval to Chicago in 1877. He was born in Old Falmouth, Cumberland Co., Me., Dec. 21, 1811, and is the second son of Moses and Sarah (Skillin) Adams. The grandfather of our subject was a soldier of the War of the Revolution, and was in the fight at Bunker Hill. He was in the Colonial service throughout the war and after the declaration of peace he settled near Portland, Me. He was born in Newbury, Mass. The father of Mr. Adams inherited the traits of his father, and when the second war with the British Government was declared he enlisted in the defense of his country. He was born Sept. 16, 1775. After his marriage he settled at Portland in Maine. The family removed there when the son who is represented in this sketch was about 16. The latter was apprenticed to a merchant and was in the same employ five years, officiating as a clerk. When he was 21 his employer set him up in business in Portland and he conducted his commer- cial operations there 16 years. A disastrous fire ruined him in a financial sense, or nearly so, and he
returned to his former station of clerk. He engaged at first as an assistant in a warehouse and later as a clerk in a store. He came West in 1851 and was employed in the positions last named in La Salle, Ill.
In 1852 he came to Henry County and entered a claim of land in Munson Township, or what is now known as such. It was situated on the northwest quarter of section 22. He took possession of the place as resident owner and manager in 1854, and occupied it as long as he remained in the county. Mr. Adams is a member of the fraternity of Masons and also belongs to the I. O. O. F. He has been connected with the latter since December, 1843. He was brought up in the tenets of the Presbyterian Church, but he is now a believer in the principles of the Universalist Church. He is a firm believer in the doctrine of the final subjugation of sin and the restoration of all mankind to a reconciliation with the Savior.
In 1835 Mr. Adams formed a matrimonial alliance with Frances E. Cutler. She was born in Medford, Mass., May 26, 1811, and died in Munson Town- ship, Aug. 17, 1867. Seven of the children of which she became the mother are living : Frank, the old- est son, was a soldier in the 14th Ill. Cav., and was for a long time a prisoner at Andersonville: his health was injured beyond recovery by the privations he endured, and he is now a resident of Topeka, Kan .; Moses A. lives in Cook County ; Edward is an engineer in Oregon; Sarah M. is the widow of Asa Smith : he served in the 124th Ill. Vol. Inf., and lost his life in the war; Elethea is the widow of Lorenzo Eldredge; Mary married Henry Boyce ; Charlotte L. is the youngest. -
Charles F. Wennerstrum, a merchant of Cambridge, was born July 29, 1852, in Nye, near Hwetlanda, Sweden, and is the son of Jonas P. and Frederika (Lindgren) Wenner- strum. The former died in that place (in which he was also born), March 8, 1885. He was 70 years and six months old. The mother is still living. Her children are Hilda, C. F. and Johan. Mr. Wennerstrom obtained such education as was possible in his circumstances in his native land, and came thence to the United States in 1860.
HENRY COUNTY.
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He located in Woodhull, this county, and was at first eniployed as a farm assistant. He operated in that capacity until 1874, when he entered the em- ployment of Mr. J. D. Bell, a merchant in that place, and continued in the same service three years, during which time he went to Nebraska in the inter- ests of his employer to take charge of his large farm. He remained there seven months, from March 17 to Nov. 10, 1877. In the fall of 1877 he went to Mo- line, near Rock Island, and became an assistant in the mercantile establishment of J. W. S. Horne. He was in the employ of that gentleman until the spring of 1878, when he went to Texas. After a short stay there he returned to the North and made a brief tarry in the State of Kansas. In the fall of the same year he returned to Henry County. In the spring of the year succeeding he became a clerk in the mercantile establishment of John Johnson, of Osco, and contin- ued in his employ two years. He next obtained a situation at Woodhull in the same capacity and was in that place one year in the interest of Edward Wea- ver & Co. In the spring of 1882 he formed a part- nership with James Mascall and P. E. Walline, of Cambridge. They have one of the finest business houses in this locality and are engaged in the prose- cution of a popular and prosperous trade. Messrs. Walline & Wennerstrum are the agents for all the trans-Atlantic steamship lines, and also buy foreign exchange for the accommodation of the traveling public in this vicinity.
The marriage of Mr. Wennerstrum to Tillie Wen- trand occurred Jan. 18, 1880, at Cambridge. She was born June 1, 1856, in Sweden. They have a daughter, Winnifred, who was born Aug. 20, 1883. Mrs. Wennerstrum is a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Wennerstrum is a Republican in his political sympathies, and he is a member of the Order of Masonry.
eorge Walker, a farmer in the township of Munson, is the youngest of six brothers who came to Henry County in 1858. James remained for a few years in this county and then removed to Iowa, where he died. David located in Cambridge and died there. John was for some years a resident in Munson Township and removed to Grand Forks Co., Dak. T,
Alexander lives in Cambridge Township. William is a citizen of Cornwall Township. Helen, a sister, married James Richmond and settled in Adair Co., Iowa.
Mr. Walker was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1839. He was reared in the shire where he was born and in 1858 he came to Amercia. He sailed from his native land in August and landed at the port of Quebec after a voyage of seven weeks and five days. He came directly to Henry County and remained a year. In company with his brothers he rented land in Munson and Cornwall Townships. They managed the land which they had taken five years and at the end of that time three of the broth- ers bought the southwest quarter of section 9 in Mun- son Township. Soon after Mr. Walker, of this sketch, bought 80 acres of land on section 27. The broth- ers operated together for two years. From that time Mr. Walker has managed his affairs alone. He broke the land on section 27 and retained possession of it two years. On selling it, he bought the south half of the southeast quarter of section 8, and has since made additions to his estate until he is the owner of 264 acres of land, which is all improved and consti- tutes a valuable estate. The family residence is lo- cated on section 16.
Mr. Walker married Ruth Ann Owen, and they have two children, -- Nina May and George Albert. Mrs. Walker was born in Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs. Walker attend the Presbyterian Church, of which she has been a member since Oct. 5, 1847 .
dward Bell, deceased, formerly a farmer on section 20 of Western Township, is son of Josiah and Sarah Bell, who were na- tives of Tennessee and died in Ohio State when Edward was very young. His mother died of cancer, after having gone to Preble Co., Ohio, when Edward was somewhat grown up.
The subject of this sketch was married three times. The first time he wedded Miss M. McWhinney, who died in Ohio, leaving one child, Angie by name. She married Eugene Mercer and resides in San Buena- ventura, Ventura Co., Cal. Mr. Bell's second wife was Miss Elizabeth Adams, whom he married in
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Preble County, Ohio, and who died in Western Township, this county, about 1865, leaving two children,-Herbert J., who has since died of con- sumption, and Albert W., now living in Northville, Spink Co., Dak. Mr. Bell's third marriage was to Miss Sarah J. McHenry, daughter of John and Mary (Williamson) McHenry, natives of Indiana Co., Pa. The latter were married in that county, and Mrs. Bell, of this sketch, was born April 18, 1835. Her father was a farmer and came to Illinois when their daughter was about 17 years old, settling in Western Township, this county, where she lived until her marriage. Her parents afterward, in 1879, removed to Lynn Co., Kan. They are now aged respectively 76 and 75 years.
After his marriage Mr. Bell settled on a farm in Western Township, where he finally died, May 6th, 1872, at the age of 48 years. Mrs. B. is the mother of four children, two of whom are deceased. The living are John and Elmer, and Laura and Maria died when young. Mrs. B. is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, as was also her husband. He had been Justice of the Peace of his township for 12 years before his death; was a Republican, and was an exemplary citizen, a devoted husband and father, and his loss was borne by a large circle of ac- quaintances. Mrs. Bell has a quarter-section of land in her homestead and it is managed by her sons.
harles Van Housen, a prominent citizen of Munson Township, was born Jan. 6, 1824, in Greene Co., N. Y. He is the son of Cornelius and Harriet (Hogabome) Van Housen, and they were born in Coxsackie, Cumberland Co., N. Y. Mr. Van Housen grew to manhood in Lexington, where he was born and was reared a farmer. The most important event of his early manhood was his marriage to Elizabeth Smith. She was born in Prattsville, Greene Co., N. Y., 'and was married to Mr. Van Housen Nov. 17, 1847. They took possession of a rented farm in Lexington and were its occupants until 1859, when they came to Illinois. They passed three years in La Salle County, where they first located, renting land in the township of Tonica. In 1862 they re- moved for a permanency to Henry County. Mr.
Van Housen bought a farm on section 14 in the same township where he is now a resident. He was at first the proprietor of 80 acres, but by a later pur- chase has increased his possessions and is now the owner of 120 acres, all of it being in a valuable and well improved state.
Hezekiah, the oldest son, lives in Laramie, Wy- oming Territory; Arlington is a resident of Colfax, Neb .; Romain is living at the same place; Lora is the wife of Warren Cramer, and they are settled in Munson Township ; Iretus lives at home. The par- ents are connected in membership with the Christian Church. Mrs. Van Housen is the daughter of Hez- ekiah and Chloe Smith.
hobal V. Deem, a resident of Galva, who is now engaged in the buying and selling of horses, was born Aug. 1, 1849, in Darke County, Ohio, and is a son of Adam C. and Catherine (Vail) Deem. The latter is a daughter of Shobal and Elizabeth Vail, and her home was blessed with two children, our subject and his brother Adam.
Adam C. Deem, the father of our subject, was born in 1813, in Butler Co., Ohio, and died April 3, 1876, north of Galva. He was in the mercantile and mill- ing business in Ohio, and in March, 1857, came to Geneseo, Henry Co., Ill., and there was engaged in the grain trade and in milling for many years. La- ter he came to Galva Township and located on the south half of section 15, and in the year 1865 pur- chased 520 acres of land there, of which the sons are now the owners. Catherine (Vail) Deem, the mother of the subject, was born in Middletown, But- ler Co., Ohio, Feb. 27, 1815, and died at her home north of Galva, March 9, 1880.
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