Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 74

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 74

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In 1848, while making a trip around the lakes on a steamer, in company with several other passengers,

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consisting of ladies and gentlemen, a political debate was planned to take place in the cabin. Mr. North was to present the cause of the Free-Soil party, and, as he supposed, a young gentleman of the name of Daniel Driscoll, from Stark County, was to place the Whig party properly " before the world," or before that portion of it then floating over Lake Michigan in the good ship "Globe." Mr. North opened the debate, when, to his surprise, Mr. Driscoll presented to the audience the Hon. Abraham Lincoln, then a Member of Congress! The minutes of that debate are " not of record," but with Mr. North's vigorous manner of disposing of a pro-slavery adversary upon the shortest notice, and with Mr. Lincoln's well- known ability to sustain himself upon all occasions, either on land or sea, and as both gentlemen repre- sented a common cause, at least in one essential par- ticular, viz., antagonism to the Democratic party, it is safe to presume that the casus belli received a thorough ventilation, and that the slave oligarchy and the party of Calhoun, Clay and Benton received but few friendly allusions from either of the dispu- tants. Though a rank Republican, Mr. North has always retained a liberal independence, differing with his party upon various questions, upon various times, and never faltering in announcing publicly his opin- ions. He is an able writer as well as speaker, and the metropolitan as well as local press publish much from his pen.

In 1871-2 he represented Henry County in the Legislature, and took a prominent part in the revision of the statutes and in adapting them to the new Constitution. He bitterly opposed extremely high salaries for State officers, and led the majority in the contest against them. He aided in the passage of the liquor-license law, requiring saloon-keepers to give bonds for the payment of damages resulting from their traffic. He was the champion of the pres- ent popular penitentiary system of Illinois, and did much toward its adoption.

In the practice of his profession he differs from many eminent lawyers, and it is difficult to see wherein he is not right. He claims that the profes- sion does not require a sacrifice of manhood ; that a: lawyer has no right to be a " journeyman liar," and that it is as wrong for him to lie for a client as it would be for him to lie for himself; and, finally, that the lawyers are about as honest as their clients re-

quire them to be, or public opinion will sustain them in being.

Sept. 18, 1847, Mr. North was married, at Chester- ville, Ohio, to Miss Laura Johnson, who died Oct. 18, 1852, leaving one child, Maria, now Mrs. D. L. Murchison, of Wethersfield (see sketch of D. L. Murchison, this volume). At Dixon, Ill., March 9, 1863, Mr. North married his present wife, nee Miss Charlotte C. Strong, and of his children we make the. following memoranda : Milo, his eldest son, died in 1880, when about 24 years of age ; Foster and Ar- thur Tappan, graduated at the University of Illinois in June, 1885; the youngest, Charles Kelsey, is at home.

In 1873, through the publishing house of Calle- ghan & Co., Chicago, Mr. North gave to the legal profession his "Treatise on Practice in the Probate Courts," -- a work of standard authority in the State, and furnishing a base for all subsequent revisions upon the subjects treated.

ohn Burns is a resident on section 17, An- dover Township, where he has followed the occupation of a farmer since 1852. He was born in Somerset Co., Me., March 4, 1825. In 1851 Mr. Burns was united in mar- riage with Miss Gratia A. Weston, a native of Somerset Co., Me., where she was born in 1824. After marriage, in 1852, they came to this State and county, and located in Annawan Township, where he purchased 80 acres of land, on which he settled and at once entered vigorously and actively upon the task of its improvement and cultivation. By strict at- tention to his business, energy and economy he has been enabled to make subsequent purchases and at present is the proprietor of 190 acres. His farm has a good residence upon it, 28 x 34 feet in dimensions, and one and a half stories high. His barn is 36 x 40 feet in dimensions, with 18 posts. He also has a double corn-crib, 24 × 32 feet, on his farm, and is meeting with success in his chosen vocation, agri- culture. He has held the office of School Director, e and religiously he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church.

Mr. Burns has considerable stock on his farm, consisting of some 25 head of graded cattle and sev-

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eral fine Clydesdale horses. The father of Mr. Burns, Samuel S. Burns, was born July 31, 1791, in New Hampshire. He married Miss Anna Weston, April 26, 1813, in Maine, and died Aug. 7, 1885. She died March 14, 1873. Of their union 13 children were born, namely : William Burns, Feb. 20, 1814 ; Ben- janıin W., Aug. 22, 1815; Ann, Sept. 17, 1817; Samuel, Aug. 22, 1819; Nathan, Aug. 20, 1821; Electa, April 1, 1823 ; John, March 4, 1825: Ester W., April 30, 1827 ; Mary, Dec. 14, 1829; Emeline, Jan. 14, 1832 ; Almeda, Jan. 24, 1835 ; Caroline, Feb. 21, 1837; and Robert, May 18, 1839.

The father of Mrs. Burns, Joseph Weston, was born in Bloomfield, Me., Oct. 28, 1794, and married Miss Hannah Webb Nov. 9, 1816. She was born July 1, 1795, and bore her husband six children. Joseph W., born Feb. 4, 1818; James W., born June 20, 1821 ; Gratia A., June 29, 1824; Charles, May 3, 1831 ; Emily R., Aug. 30, 1838; Sarah, March 6, 1843. The mother died in Buda, this State, Dec. 9, 1878, and the father still survives at the age of 91 years.

Politically, he is a Republican, and religiously a member of the Congregational Church.

H. Lyman, of the firm of Lay & Lyman, leading dry-goods and clothing merchants of Kewanee, Ill., is a native of White River Junction, Vt., where he was born June 3, 1852. His parents were George and Mi- nerva (Briggs) Lyman. (See biography of Elias Lyman, this volume.) Mr. Lyman was the youngest of II children, born to his parents, and well educated at his native place and at Norwich, Vt. In 1869 he came to Kewanee and began clerk- ing for the firm of Lyman & Lay, and in 1874 became a member of the firm, changing its style to Lyman, Lay & Lyman, he being the junior partner. The senior member of the firm, Mr. Elias Lyman, retired in 1883, since when the present firm has existed. Mr. Lyman was one of the principal organizers of the Union National Bank in 1881. (See Union Na- tional Bank, this volume.) Since that date he has held uninterruptedly the office of Vice-President.

He is a member of the Congregational Church, identified with no secret order, takes no part in poli-

tics, but attends strictly to business, and enjoys being a member pre-eminently of the largest business house of its line in Kewanee.

Mr. Lyman was married at Kewanee, July 19, 1877, to Miss Elizabeth W. Stevens, daughter of William W. Stevens, Esq., of this city.

aniel Ketchum, one of the prominent farmers of Cornwall Township, this county, residing on section 23, and the owner of 240 acres of land located on sections 22, 23 and 26, all of which is under an advanced state of cultivation, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Crawford County, that State, May 12, 1831, and remained on the parental homestead, aid- ing in the maintenance of the family by working on the farm, and attending the common schools, until he attained his majority.

Mr. Ketchum's marriage took place Feb. 7, 1856, when Miss Mary C. McVicker became his wife. She was born in Ohio, Oct. 19, 1833.

In 1852 Mr. Ketchum came to Illinois and located in Marshall County, where he was married, as stated. Soon after marriage Mr. Ketchum purchased 160 acres of land on sections 23 and 22, to which he has added by subsequent purchases 80 acres on section 26, same township, making his present landed inter- ests in Cornwall Township 240 acres, all of which is under an advanced state of cultivation. The chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum are Frank D., Hattie S., Effie V. and Nellie M. Mr. Ketchum, in addition to agricultural duties on the farm, devotes a large part of his time to the raising of stock. He has some 21 head of three-quarter blood horses and one Short-horn bull, a thoroughbred. Mr. Ketchum came to this county Feb. 23, 1863. His father en- tered 320 acres of land and subsequently gave to his son 80 acres, on which he started in this county ; and by energetic effort and economy his accumulations have been increased in real estate and personal property more than 100 per cent ; and he is meeting with success in his chosen vocation, agriculture.

Archibald McVicker, the father of Mrs. Ketchum, wife of the subject of this notice, was a native of Vir- ginia, in which State he was born in 1806. He married Miss Susan Custer in 1825, and his death

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occurred in 1871, she following him to the land of the hereafter seven years later, in 1878. The mother of Mr. Ketchum, of this sketch, whose maiden name was Harriet Smith, was born Nov. 19, 1809. Daniel's® father, Eddi Ketchum, was born Oct. 19, 1802. They were married Dec. 8, 1827, in Crawford Co., Ohio.

bed Price, engaged in the brick business at Galva, was born April 22, 1834, in Sussex Co., N. J. The progenitor of the Price fam- ily in America, was the great-grandfather of Obed. He was born in Wales, and emigrated to this country, settling in New Jersey, where his descendants are at present residing. His son, David Price, was a mason by occupation, and died in New Jersey. He was a " fifer " in the Revolutionary War, and received his discharge at Trenton, N. J. He was united in marriage to Anna Ayers, who was born and died in that State. She bore him eight children, namely : John H., Ezekiel, Aaron, Samuel, Robert, James, Margaret (Mrs. Ryrick) and Archi- bald. Of these Samuel Price was born March 13, 1798, and died in Galva, Feb. 4, 1863. He was a plasterer and mason by trade, and followed the same in his native State. He came here in 1854, and for a short time followed his trade in this county, the latter years of his life being passed on the farm. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, and he was a Class-leader in that de- nomination. He was united in marriage March II, 1820, to Mary Wilson, born Feb. 28, 1795, in New Jersey. She died liere Oct. 28, 1880, at the resi- dence of the subject of this sketch. She was a daughter of Mahlon Wilson, and bore her husband six children : Aaron W., Catherine J., Wilson, Mary A., Archibald and Obed, the subject of this notice.

Obed Price was educated in New Jersey, where, on attaining a suitable age, he worked at the cooper's trade; then farmed a few years; then learned the mason's trade, which latter he followed until 1856. In November of that year he came to this State, and settled in Galva, this county, where he worked at his trade for two years. Since 1856 he has been engaged in contract work. In 1878 he formed a partnership with Mr. R. Payne, and they have been principally engaged in the manufacture of brick since that time,

having operated a brick-yard several years in Galva. They put in machinery, and the yard has at present a capacity for turning out 25,000 to 30,000 brick per day, the average demand being about 20,000 per day. Mr. Price. does the superintending of the building department of the works, and Mr. Payne superintends the yards. They use a 15-horse power engine, and the Henry Martin Stock Brick Machine, and employ from 25 to 30 men. Mr. Price has also traveled in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska in the inter- est of the Henry Stock Brick Machine, for which he and his partner are agents. Both Mr. Price and his partner deserves considerable credit for what they have done for the town of Galva.

Mr. Price was married in Galva, Ill., Dec. 29, 1859, to Mary Abbott, who was born Sept. 29, 1839, in Northumberland County, now Carbon County, Pa. She was the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Marsden) Abbott, natives of England. Her father died in White Haven, Pa., and her mother is at pres- ent residing in Iowa. Mrs. Price has borne her hus- band two children : Mary E. and Archibald W., the former having been born Sept. 15, 1860, and the lat- ter April 29, 1865. Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Price, together with their daughters, are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

rank S. Rosseter, A. B., A. M., attorney and counselor at law, at Kewanee, Ill., began life for himself as a teacher in the common schools of Henry County, Ill., when about 20 years of age. The year following his advent as a pedagogue, he was called to the position of Principalof the High School of Kewanee, a place he filled with much credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the public. Leaving Ke- wanee, he was immediately employed as Superin- tendent of the Schools of Toulon, county seat of Stark, and filled the office four years.

While discharging his duties as an educator, he was studying the fundamental principles of law, and in 1880, with the Hon. Miles A. Fuller, of Toulon, as preceptor, began reading with a view of devoting his time to the legal profession. In March, 1882, he was admitted to the Bar in the city of Chicago, and soon afterwards, at Kewanee, formed a partnership

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with C. K. Ladd, and entered fully into the practice of his profession. This partnership terminated in March, 1885, and the following April Mr. R. opened at Kewanee an office for the practice of law. In the same month he was elected Justice of the Peace, a position he is filling at this date. In the spring of 1885 he canvassed the county, preliminary to a candidacy for the County Judgeship for the vnex- pired term of Judge Hinman, deceased ; but, feeling that youth should defer to age, he tacitly withdrew and endorsed a rival candidate for the place. Mr. Rosseter is a young man of much more than ordi- nary attainments, and the writer of this sketch pre- dicts for him a future of marked possibilities. Mr. R. is a member of Wethersfield Lodge, I. O. O. F., being a Past Grand; also a member of Wethersfield Encampment, I. O. O. F.

He was born at Marietta, Ohio, April 18, 1858, and was second in order of birth of three sons and . one daughter of Prof. Geo. R. Rosseter, LL. D., deceased, and Elizabeth P. (Clark) Rosseter, natives of Boston, Mass., and Danbury, Conn., respectively, and of old English, probably Norman, extraction. His primary education was acquired at the public schools of Marietta, Ohio, and he completed his edu- cation at Marietta College, where he graduated in 1877, and from which institution he received the de- gree of A. M. in 1880.

Mr. R. was married at Toulon, Ill., Dec. 25, 1882, ¢ to Miss Luella M., daughter of Orlando Brace, Esq., Treasurer of Stark County, Ill., and his two children are named respectively Myrtle B. and Ethel L.

eremiah Hadley, of the township of Mun- son, has been a resident in Henry County since the year 1854. He was born in the. village of Bunker Hill, in Lincolnshire, Eng- land, March 19, 1827. He remained in the shire where he was born until he had passed the years of his minority, and in 185 1 he came to the United States.

He at first located in Niagara County, N. Y., and settled on a farm near the lake, where he lived until 1854, when he came to Henry County. He operated in the capacity of a renter of farms three years. He then bought land in the township of

Osco, which he managed until 1866, when he sold that property, and bought 96 acres on section 19 in Munson Township, on which he now resides. He is at present also the owner of 62 acres additional, situ- ated on section 18 in the same township. The entire acreage is under cultivation of the best type. The buildings are of a class which do credit to the jud gment and good sense of the proprietor of the estate.

Mr. Hadley was joined in marriage with Martha Poppleton, in the State of New York, in 1853. Mrs. Hadley was born in Seasend, Lincolnshire, England, and is the mother of five children, -- John, Brittan (see sketch), Emma, Frank and Lester; John is a resident in Jasper Co., Iowa; Emma is the wife of Charles Call, of Munson Township. The parents are conimunicants in the Episcopal Church:

dolph Maul, baker and dealer in groceries, confectionery, etc., at Kewanee, Ill., was born at Weida, Germany, July 12, 1830, and came to America in 1854. His first em- ployment in this country was in a flouring-mill near Newark, N. J., where he worked about one year. From Newark he went to Fredericksburg, Va., and on to Richmond, and again to Burlington, Iowa, all the time employed at milling. In 1857 he returned to Germany for a visit, came back to Amer- ica, and for several years followed almost anything that promised reasonable pay for honest work. After spending a year at a petroleum manufactory he came West, and, at Kewanee, has been in his present busi- ness since June, 1863. ¿ He is also in the fire insur- ance business, agent for steam-ship lines, dealer in lands, etc. Mr. Maul began life a poor boy in a strange land, but by persistent, hard and honest toil he has met with a reasonable success in accumulat- ing property. In 1870 he attended the golden wed- ding of his parents in "Faderland," Gottlieb and Johanna (Koch) Maul, both since dead. The old gentleman died in 1878, at the age of 83 years, and the old lady three years before, aged about 75 years.

Mr. Maul used to be a Republican, but in late years he has been strictly independent. He held the office of Assistant Supervisor several years, was on the Board of Education II years, Town Board four

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or five years, and on the Kewanee Library Board ever since its organization. Of the last named Board he has served several terms as Vice-President, and of the School Board he was 11 years Secretary. In addition to this multiplicity of interests he is Treas- urer of the I. O. O. F. of Kewanee Lodge.

Mr. Maul was united in marriage at Galesburg, Ill., in August, 1863, to Miss Mary James, a native of North Carolina, and his children bear the follow- ing names: Hettie M., teacher in Kewanee public schools; Emma, also teacher in public schools ; Ed- ward, a printer ; and William and Lina at home.

ufus D. King, a citizen of Cambridge, now retired from active business life, was born Dec. 23, 1819, in Franklin Co., Me., and is of mixed English and Scotch descent. The first Governor of Maine, William King, was a descendant of the ancestral stock which came from England. The great-grandfather of Mr. King was somewhat conspicuous for his small stature, but was proportionately prominent for courage. The son of the latter, Ichabod King, was a soldier of the War of the Revolution. He was born in Massachusetts, and located in Minot, Me., where he died at the age of 60. He was a farmer by vocation. He and his wife, Mary King, were the parents of six children- three sons and three daughters.

Their son Rufus was born in Minot, Me., and was educated in his native place. His birth occurred in 1791, and lie died in Franklin County, in his native State, March 29, 1849. He was a physician, and won great celebrity for skill and ability in his profes- sion. He was a ripe scholar, though he never had the advantages of a course of collegiate study. In him were combined all the most admirable traits of a man of learning, a gentleman of the old school, and a citizen who won the respect and permanent esteem of all with whom he came in contact. One of his prominent characteristics was an excellent memory. The eldest of his brothers, Elijah, was a graduate of Bowdoin College. The latter went to the State of Georgia. He entered the ministry, and after re- moval to the South he married the daughter of a planter and reared several children. Curus King,

another brother, was a farmer, and remained on the old King homestead in Maine. He became wealthy. The oldest sister, Mrs. Mary Burs, is deceased. Sa- rah married Mr. Crooker, who attained celebrity as a machinist, and was a man of fine scholarly attain- ments. The youngest daughter, Mrs. Rhoanna Crooker, married a merchant of Minot, Me.

Rufus King, the father of the gentleman who is represented in this account, was married to Elizabeth Pratt. She was born in 1800, and died in August, 185 I, in Prattsburg, Ind. She became the mother of three children,-Rufus D., George C. and Mary E .; the latter married a man named Clark. Mr. King of this sketch is the sole survivor. He was educated in the State where he was born, and was engaged in farming in the intervals of school, and after finishing his education he was a teacher. In May, 1850, he came to the West, and brought with him his mother and sister. They went at first to Prattsburg, in Indiana, and remained there three years. Mr. King came to Illinois in 1852, and engaged in farming in Marshall County. He made his first entry into Henry County, July 4, 1855. He purchased a fine farm of 220 acres in the township of Burns, of which he was the resident owner and occupant until 1883, when he sold the place. He removed to Cambridge, to make it his permanent home, in March, 1882.

Mrs. Elizabeth (Pratt) King was a daughter of Elijah Pratt. He was a soldier of the war of the Revolution, and was in that service throughout its whole extent, doing duty in behalf of liberty fully seven years. He lived to nearly 90 years of age, and was known far and wide as "Father Pratt." At the age of 75 years he rode a four-year-old colt a dis- tance of 35 miles to obtain his pension, starting at sunrise and returning at sundown of the same day.

The marriage of Mr. King to Rebecca J. Whitney took place Feb. 25, 1854, in Milan, Ripley Co., Ind. She was born June 16, 1834, in' Mainville, Warren Co., Ohio. Mrs. King is the daughter of Thomas and Lydia (Tufts) Whitney. Her parents came to Henry County in 1855. They passed the remainder of their lives in Burns Township, where they still are represented by their children. They are the parents of four children : George is a missionary and teacher near Bozeman, Montana Ter .; he is laboring in the interests of the Methodist Church: Alfred R. is Judge of the Court of Delta Co., Col., and is Mayor of that city ; Watson E. is a druggist at Cambridge, and

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Minnie E. is a student at Hedding College. The oldest son married Alice Jones, and they have one child, named Lowell R .; A. R. King married Annie Caldwell ; E. W. married Mary Ferguson.

omeo W. Jones, a farmer and stock-raiser of Galva Township, was born May 28, 1835, in Lebanon, Ohio, of Welsh extrac- tion. His grandfather, John Jones, emigrated from Whitehall, N. Y., where he had followed farming and reared his family, to La Fayette, Ind., where he died in 1836. His children were six in number, namely: Hiram, Hannah, Almon, Dex- ter, Minerva and Jarvis D. Hiram was educated in Whitehall, N. Y., graduated in Middlebury, Vt., in 1832, taught Latin and Greek in a select school, studied law in Lebanon, Ohio, under the instructions of the celebrated Thomas Corwin, was admitted to the Bar there, practiced his profession at Eaton, Preble Co., Ohio, for 15 years, then followed farm- ing until 1857 near Brimfield, Peoria Co., Ill., then resided in Galesburg, Ill., for a number of years to educate his boys, and finally returned to Brimfield, in 1862, where he died, Sept. 29, the same year, aged 57 years. He was Mayor of Eaton, Ohio, and filled the office of County Clerk for about ten years. He was a Whig and then a Republican ; was married in Hamilton, Ohio, in 1834, to Miss Julia Woodmansee, a native of Washington Co., Pa. When but two or three years old, her family removed with her to Cin- cinnati, Ohio, where she was educated. Her father, Daniel Woodmansee, was at one time a State Sen- ator of Ohio, and defended the project of the Miami Canal, which created great excitement at that time. Mrs. J. was born March 21, 1809, in Washington Co., Pa. She is yet living, in Brimfield, Ill., and has been the mother of four children, viz. : Romeo W., Montague J., Almon C., who died while a student of Knox College, and Corydon D.

Mr. R. W. Jones, the subject of this sketch, at- tended the common school and the academy at Brimfield and followed farming, while in youth, and then was a clerk in a drug store while in Brimfield, until the commencement of the late war.

He enlisted for the Union cause Aug. 8, 1862, in the Seventh Regt. Ill. Vol. Inf., Co. J, as a private,

and in the spring of 1863 he was honorably dis- charged at Memphis, Tenn ; and then he joined the First Mississippi Mounted Rifles, which was com- posed largely of East Tennessee men. He was commissioned First Lieutenant of Co. C, and held that office until the close of the war; was for nine months a recruiting officer for that regiment, and during his service he participated in several skir- mishes and battles.

After the war, he located in Galva, this county, where he has since resided. He was engaged in a lumber yard from 1865 to 1871, since which time he has employed himself in agricultural pursuits and in raising live stock.

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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 74

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