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 75
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He was married May 5, 1865, in Brimfield, Ill., to Miss Arabella Guyer, who was born Jan. 31, 1843, in that village, being a daughter of Lazarus L. Guyer, a pioneer of that county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Jones are six in number, named Nettie G., Almon Rosco, Louise, Paul R., Julia R. and Ernest, besides one deceased, named Romeo Guyer, who died Aug. 17, 1881, aged nearly II years. Mrs. Jones' father was United States Government Asses- sor for a period of nine years, and is yet living, in Brimfield, a prominent citizen, and taking great in- terest in religious matters, especially in Sunday- school work. He married Elvira Wiley, a sister of James M. Wiley, of Galva.
Mr. Jones is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the G. A. R. and of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, of which latter society Mrs. J. is also a member.
enry White, senior member of the hardware firm of White & Weir, Cambridge, was born in Salem, Washington Co., N. Y., July 17, 1836. James White, the father of Mr. White of this sketch, was born in the North of Ireland and came to this country when quite young and was a soldier in the War of 1812. He was en- gaged in farming both before the war and after, and died from the effects of a fall from an apple-tree in 1840. He married Jane Hall, who was a native of Argyle, Washington County. She died at Salem, in 1872, after becoming the mother of 12 children.
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Five of her sons are now living in the State of Illi- nois. .
Mr. White attended school in West Hebron in the county where he was born, and when he was ready to settle himself in business he acquired a knowledge of the trade of a joiner and pattern-maker. He passed about six years in the pursuit of these, and in 1862 came to Henry County. He bought out a hardware store at Geneseo and the new firm was known as White & Tuttle. They were engaged in the prosecution of their joint interests until the spring of 1871, when Mr. White sold his interest, and in the autumn of the same year he opened the business which he is now conducting at Cambridge. The building of the railroad through the place at- tracted him hither. In 1872 he admitted J. I. Weir to partnership. Mr. White is the cashier of the First National Bank at Cambridge. In his political preference he is a Republican. He is President of the Board of Village Trustees.
The marriage of Mr. White to Sarah C. Irwin took place in Southwest Oswego, N. Y., Dec. 24, 1858. She died Sept. 4, 1866. Mr. White was again mar- ried, Oct. 4, 1871, in Cazenovia, N. Y., to Hattie E. Sims, and they have had four children,-Frank J., born Jan. 13, 1873, died July 20, of the same year ; Katie L., born May 13, 1875; Harrie S., Sept. 30, 1878; Herbert D., July 14, 1884. The mother was born Feb. 12, 1844.
Mr. White is a member of I. O. O. F. at Cam- bridge.
obert Moore, retired farmer, resident at Kewanee, Ill., was born in Luzerne Co., Pa., Aug. 23, 1834, and was second in a family of three sons and three daughters, born to John R. and Sarah (Bodle) Moore, natives of Pennsylvania and New York re- spectively.
The senior Mr. Moore was a farmer in his life- time, and brought up his sons to that vocation. The family came into Henry County in 1855, and settled upon a farm of 187 acres in Wethersfield Township, and about two miles southeast of Kewanee. Here the two old people spent the rest of their lives, the old gentleman dying in 1863, at the age of about 60
years, and the old lady Nov. 12, 1869, aged 63 years.
August 11, 1862, Mr. Moore enlisted in Kewanee as a private soldier in Co. F, 124th Ill. Vol. Inf., and served up to April 17, 1863, when, on account of physical disability, he was discharged at Lake Prov- ince, La. Returning from the war, he engaged again at farming, and followed it up to 1869, when, in company with his brother, he embarked in the gro- cery business at Kewanee, and followed it about three years. In 1870 or '71, he returned to his farm, from which he finally retired in 1876.
July 4, 1874, he was married, at Chicago, Ill., to Mrs. Lucy Pease, nee Gray, whose first husband died in Libby Prison. This accomplished lady now pre- sides over their elegant home in Kewanee. Mr. Moore is a member of the Masonic Order, and at this writing, August, 1885, holding the rank of Post Adjutant of the G. A. R. He is no politician in the strict meaning of the term, though he votes the Re- publican ticket, and is a strong Prohibitionist, upon which issue he was elected to the office of Trustee.
tephen Ordway, a farmer of Galva, was born May 10, 1815, in Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vt. His first progenitors in America were two brothers, who came from Scotland about two centuries ago, one of whom settled in Rhode Island, and has numerous descend- ants ; the other, who was the grandfather of Stephen, located in Orange Co., Vt, where he followed farm- ing and raised a family of 24 children, all of whom reached maturity, and remained members of the farming community. One of these, Oliver Ordway, was born in that county and died there, aged 54 years. He married Judie White, also a native of that county, who died in the same county, aged nearly 70 years, after having become the mother of nine children,-Alvin, Hiram, Joel, Stephen (our subject), Alonzo, Luther, Edson, Stillman and Cle- mentina.
Mr. Stephen Ordway was educated primarily in his native State, reared on a farm, and has been a successful farmer all his life. From Vermont he re- moved to Glens Falls, N. Y., at the age of 19 years, and three years later he came to this State, settled in
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Stark County, in June, 1837, thus being a pioneer of that county. After working by the month for a time, he purchased 40 acres of land, in 1843, and paid for the same with brick, of which he was a manufacturer. He subsequently purchased more land until he had a total of 181 acres in La Fayette Township, that county. This he sold, and in 1870 bought six acres near Galva, on section 14, joining the northeast part of the village, where he now resides, enjoying the comforts of a well earned competency. In the eve- ning of life, while the shadows are gathering about him, he can look back upon his career and be con- tented, for his home is a well furnished, beautiful and quiet place, and he is a man respected through- out the community.
Mr. Ordway was married in Stark County (then a part of Knox County), Aug. 24, 1840, to Miss Phoebe Steits, who was born Nov. 7, 1825, in Sussex Co., N. J., and was a daughter of Jacob and Ada (Ayres) Steits, also natives of New Jersey, of English extrac- tion, and who died in Kansas.
Mr. Ordway is a Republican in his political senti- ments.
ust Johnson, of the township of Atkinson, is a citizen of the United States by adop- tion, having been born in Sweden. Hïs birth occurred on April 2, 1850. He was the son of Johannes and Eliza (Oloff ) Johnson, both born in Smoland, Sweden. The former was born March 12, 1807, and died April 8, 1885. The latter was born Dec. 12, 1820, and died March 12, 1880. He had passed the period of his minority when he came, in 1872, to America. He landed at New York, and came at once to Kewanee, in Henry County. The first three months after his arrival in Illinois he was occupied in mining for coal. He was employed by the month while acting in that capacity, and in 1875 he began to rent land, and has since been interested in the pursuit of a farmer, and has operated in the same method. He is at present the manager of 440 acres of land.
His marriage to Mary C. Johnson took place Feb. 22, 1882. She was born Feb. 22, 1864, and is the daughter of Lars and Caroline (Nelson) Johnson. They were natives of Sweden. The father was born March 1, 1825, and is still living. Her mother was
born about the year 1840, and died Oct. 1, 1872. The father now lives in Geneseo Township. They have become the parents of two children-Rudolph Ray Bender, born May 20, 1883, and Forest Sylves- ter, born Nov. 17, 1884. The mother is a native of Henry County. Mr. Johnson is a Republican in his political relations. He and his wife are members of of the Lutheran Church at Geneseo.
A braham J. Rockafellow, deceased, form- erly a resident of Galva, was born July 28, 100 1819, in Somerset Co., N. J., and came to this county in 1837. His first wife was Sarah S. Newcomb, who was born Dec. 29, 1822, in Missouri, to which State her parents, Charles and Bettie Newcomb, emigrated from Keene, N. H., in 1817 ; the latter, after residing there five years, removed to Springfield, Ill., and then to Fulton County, this State.
Mr. R. was married first in February, 1841. His wife died Feb. 19, 1868, after having become the mother of seven children, viz : Charles, a prominent man and druggist at Hot Springs, Ark .; Mrs. Mary McCorkill, of Wyoming; Benton, of Atlantic, Iowa ; Emelie, wife of M. Anderson, of Shenandoah, Iowa; Mrs. Rose Saunders, of Bradford, Ill., and Fannie and Jennie. Mr. Rockafellow was married a second time Nov. 18, 1869, in Galesburg, to Miss Jane C. Young, who was born April 17, 1835, in Orange Co., N. Y., a daughter of Andrew M. and Isabella (Trim- ble) Young. Her parents died in New York, their native State. Her father, who was a prominent member of the farming community, and the last of his family, was of Holland extraction, a soldier in the War of 1812, and was the father of eight chil- dren,-John, Elizabeth, Adeline, Isabella, Mary, Jane C., Sarah and Andrew. Mary became the first wife of H. Knox Taylor, and died in St. Paul, Minn., July 9, 1885. Mrs. Young was born in 1800, and died in 1845.
The ancestors of Mr. Rockafellow were of Holland extraction. His father, William, was a native of New Jersey, and his son, Abraham J., was reared and educated in that State. When he became a young man he came to Fulton County, this State, where he followed the trade of blacksmithing, and in 1837 he
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removed to Galva, this county, where he became a successful farmer and stock-raiser. Mrs. Jane C. Rockafellow is the mother of one child, Freddie S., who was born Nov. 3, 1871. She is a member of the Congregational Church. Mr. R. was a man of great force of character, and well known and admired for his many good qualities of head and heart. He died Dec. 11, 1881.
dward C. Rosseter, A. B., A. M., who at this writing, August, 1885, is filling the dual position of Superintendent of the Ke- wanee schools, and School Superintendent of Henry Co., Ill., is a graduate of Marietta (Ohio) College, at which institution his father, George R. Rosseter, now deceased, also graduated, and was for many years Professor of Mathematics. Soon after completing his education, which was in 1870, Mr. Rosseter obtained a position upon the engineer corps of a railroad then building through his native town, and remained in the employ of the company some four years, during which time he was engaged in almost all the departments of railroad engineering. He came into Henry County in 1875, and for two years had charge of district schools near Woodhull. In 1877 he became Principal of the public schools of Wethersfield, coming thence to Kewanee, where, dur- ing the year 1879-80 he conducted the High School. From 1877 to 1880, he held the office of County Sur- veyor, and the latter year was made Superintendent of all the Kewanee schools. In 1882 he was elected to the office of County Superintendent, a position he will probably relinquish at the end of this term on account of additional duties which, under the law of 1885, are so greatly increased as to render it im- possible for one man to fill the two positions.
His parents, George R. and Elizabeth P. (Clark) Rosseter, were natives respectively of Boston, Mass., and Danbury, Conn., and reared three sons to man- hood and buried two daughters and one son in in- fancy. The parents are dead, Mrs. R. dying in 1860, and Prof. R. in 1882, in the 56th year of his age.
The subject of this sketch is a Republican in poli- tics, a member of the Congregational Church, and
identified with the Masonic fraternity and Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows.
His first wife, nee Miss Blanch Pray, to whom he was married at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in 1877, died in 1882, leaving one child, Frank S. June 30, 1884, Mr. Rosseter was married to his present wife, nee Miss Jenny B. Kearny, of Washington, D. C.
From the foregoing recital of simple facts the reader can form but one conclusion as to the char- acter and worth of Mr. Rosseter. That he is in every way worthy of the high trusts (and what trust can be greater than the care and training of the youth of our land ?) is conclusive ; and any attempted eulogium from the pen of the biographer would be useless.
amuel H. Dickey, one of the wealthy and extensive land owners of Henry County, where on section 24, Cornwall Township, he is the proprietor of 405 acres of excellent farm land, is also engaged in the hardware business in Kewanee, which he has carried on for eight years, and also has a hotel which at pres- ent is rented, having sufficient business to occupy his time besides that.
He was born March 5, 1843, and is a native of Kentucky. He lived with his parents until he gained his majority, but at the age of eight years, in the year 1851, he accompanied his parents to Fulton County, this State, where they located at Canton and remained four years. Their next move was to Henry County, when they located in Cornwall Town- ship, where Mr. Samuel H. Dickey, our subject, has since remained a resident. Assisting in the labors on the farm of his father, he became thoroughly initiated in that vocation, and therefore when he made various purchases of land, understood how to improve and cultivate the same ; and by his indom- itable energy, hard labor and industry, has, as above stated, 405 acres of farm land in an excellent state of cultivation. Upon the same he has a good, sub- stantial dwelling, 28 x 40 feet in dimensions, and all other necessary outbuildings. His orchard contains some 200 apple-trees. He is interested chiefly in raising Short-horn cattle and has a herd of some 18 thoroughbreds.
Mr. Dickey was married on the 7th of September,
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1870, Miss Allie Turner being the lady chosen to share his joys and sorrows, successes and reverses, through life. The Rev. Mitchell, of Gallipolis, Ohio, officiated, they being married in that State. Mrs. Dickie was born in Gallia Co., Ohio, Jan. 9, 1850, and of their union have been born five children, four of whom survive : Charlie A., born Sept. 21, 1871; Mary, born Dec. 11, 1873, died Oct. 3, 1875 ; Daisy D., born March 24, 1877 ; Allis L., Sept. 10, 1879; and Willie, Aug. 14, 1881.
He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics affiliates with the Republican party.
C. Nichols, M. D., a distinguished physi- cian and surgeon of Kewanee, Ill., son of the Rev. John B. and Mary E. (Hutton) Nichols, both deceased, was born at Ports- mouth, Ohio, March 9, 1844. His father, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, removed to Iowa in 1845, and there died in 1862 at the age of 54, his wife having died ten years earlier, at the age of 38 years.
The subject of this sketch was well educated at the Mt. Vernon (Iowa) schools, and graduated at the Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1880, with the degree of M. D., and at Kewanee entered at once upon the practice of his profession. His earliest ambition was to be a lawyer; but, getting into the drug business at Wyoming, Iowa, and following it for about seven years, he turned his attention to medicine, a science he understands thoroughly and practices with great success.
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In August, 1861, at Monticello, Iowa, he enlisted as a private soldier in Co. D, Iowa Vol. Inf., and served to July, 1865, when he was mustered out with the rank of duty Sergeant. He was in the battle of Pea Ridge; with Gen. Curtis to Vicksburg ; on Sher- man's march to the sea; in the Grand Review at Washington ; was wounded eight different times and saw as much actual service as any man in the army.
Nov. 10, 1877, the Doctor was married at Ke- wanee, Ill., to Miss Maria L. Sykes, a talented teacher for eight years in the public schools, four years as Principal of the Geneseo schools, and four years at Wyoming, Iowa, where she met and captivated the Doctor. They have two children-Gena V. and
Hiram O. The Doctor belongs to the I. O. O. F., A. O. U. W., K. of H., Woodmen of America and G. A. R.
He is no politician ; no fanatic; no " crank." Be- lieves in attending strictly to his own business, and has found that not altogether universal practice a good one.
braham Fry, deceased, was one of the early pioneers of this part of Illinois, having lo- cated in Bureau County as early as 1845. Ten years later he moved into Henry County, locating in Cornwall Township, where for 27 years he was a prominent, well-to-do and highly respected citizen. His death, which occurred April 11, 1883, was not only a loss to the family, but to the community in which he so long resided. His aged widow, with whom he had lived for over half a century, survives him. and is living on the old home farm on section 9 of Cornwall Township, and is at present 74 years of age. It was on the Ist of Sep- tember, 1831, that Abraham Fry and Miss Margaret Loughrey were united in marriage. This event took place in Licking Co., Ohio. Mrs. Fry was born in Huntingdon Co., Pennsylvania, in 1811, and is of Irish parentage. When six years of age, her parents moved to Ohio end located in Licking County, where she met and married Mr. Fry. She is the mother of 1 I children, five of whom are deceased. The names of these are Joel, Abraham, Mahala, Sarah and Isaac. Those living are Mary F., Amos, James, Lemuel, Almira and Charles. She has 24 grand- children now living. Her family are members of the Congregational Church.
ohn H. Mannon, A. M., M. D., a promin- inent young physician and surgeon of Ke- wanee, Ill., is a son of John and Matilda (McFerson) Mannon, natives of the State of Ohio, and of Irish and Scotch extraction re- spectively, and was born at Red Oak, Ohio, Feb. 2, 1851. The elder Mannon, now a retired citizen of Monmouth, Ill., was by occupation a farm- er, and brought his five sons up to follow his foot-
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steps, though the profession of our subject, as well as another son, who is a physician, resident in Cin- cinnati, Ohio, shows that they did not all take kindly to agriculture.
The family came to Illinois in 1855, and settled in Warren County. Here John H. entered Monmouth College, at which institution he graduated as A. B. in the class of 1876, and began at once the study of medicine. In the spring of 1877 he entered the office of Drs. Wallace & Troutman, of Monmouth, and after reading with them about one year went to Rush Medical College, Chicago, where he graduated as M. D. in 1880. Two weeks after leaving Chi- cago, he began the practice of medicine at Kewanee, where he rapidly attained a front frank in his profes- sion. He is a member of various medical societies, and is identified with the Presbyterian Church.
At Monmouth, Ill., Dec. 24, 1878, the Doctor was married to Miss Mary E. Hill, a native of that place and the accomplished daughter of Willianı Hill, now deceased. The Doctor's only child is named Mae.
vres
rson Jones, of Cambridge, was born Jan. 6, 1834, in the town of Potton, in Canada, just across the Vermont line. He is of Welsh extraction, his great-grandfather having come from that country to America. Daniel Jones, son of the latter, was born in Massachusetts. The family settled near Charleston and two of the brothers of the latter were soldiers of the Revolution. They entered into the merits of that contest at an early period and were at the battle of Bunker Hill. One of them was on the detailed duty of setting fire to the city of Charleston, the sanie one being a cler- gyman and left a record of duty well done. He preached in the interests of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and died in Potton at the age of 91. He married Jane Miller, who was a member of a family that belonged to a colony that settled at Potton, and where she lived to attain to a green old age. She was the mother of seven children,-Daniel, Joseph, Mary A., James, Rockwell (deceased), Albert and Jane.
The oldest was born Feb. 22, 1808, in Pot-
ton and died at Galesburg, Ill., Nov. 8, 1883. He came first to Knoxville in 1836. He became a prominent citizen there and was called to fill several township offices. In the formation of the Abolition- ist party he was actively interested in the organiza- tion of the local party and received the nomination for Congress from his District. This was about the year 1848. He was one of the leaders in all mat- ters of importance in the vicinity of his home, and he wielded a powerful influence, as was to be expected from a man of his temperament. He was self-edu- cated, and having formed his views by observation, his convictions were strong and his judgment of the most reliable character. Atlanta Bartlett, who be- came his wife March 2, 1830, was a native of Ver- mont. She died Aug. 27, 1868, aged 56. The chil- dren of which she became the mother were named as follows: Mandana, Louisa, Orson, Atlanta (died in infancy), Granville, Norval and Corwin. Orson, the oldest son, was educated in Knox and Henry Coun- ties and finished his educational course at Knox College. Before he was 19 he was a pupil in the common schools and also assisted on the farm. At the age named he began his career as a collegiate student. After leaving college, he went to Iowa and there put into practical operation the knowledge of engineering which he had acquired in Illinois. He assisted in the survey of the American Central Railroad from Galva to New Boston, which line is now a branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. His next business was in instructing the surveyor of Mercer County in the details of his duties, and he went to Iowa to aid in the State surveys. In 1857 he returned to Oxford Township, in Henry County, and has since resided in Illinois. On com- ing hither he interested himself in farming and pur- sued that vocation until the outbreak of the Civil War.
Aug. 4, 1862, lie enlisted. At the time of the enlistment of the colored troops he passed the re- quired examination and was commissioned Second Lieutenant. Soon after he was promoted to the po- sition of First Lieutenant and was placed in com- mand of Company F, 14th U. S. C. V. I., in which office he passed most of the time. He was mustered. out of the service March 26, 1866, at Chattanooga. He was under fire at Fort Donelson, Dalton, Deca- tur, also at Nashville and in other engagements. In the same spring in which he left the army he settled
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on the farm in the township of Oxford, and was in- terested in agriculture until the spring of 1885, when he removed to Cambridge. In the summer of 1881 he had been elected to the position of County Sur- veyor and is still the incumbent of the office.
He has been twice married. His first wife, who was Amelia Sexton previous to her marriage, died soon after that event. May 29, 1860, he contracted a second matrimonial alliance, with Helen P. Bart- lett. She was born Oct. 30, 1839, in Geneseo, and is the daughter of William C. and Katherine (Cul- ver) Bartlett. Her parents were natives of Boone's Creek, N. Y., and Plattsburg, Clinton Co., N. Y., re- spectively. Her father was born in December, 1798, and, the birth of her mother occurred April 14, 1803. The latter was the daughter of David and Katherine (Calender) Culver, and died Dec. 23, 1880, in New Windsor, Ill. She was the mother of 15 children, and ten of them reached maturity. The latter were named Edwin C., Orin M., Mrs. Catherine A. Ad- ams, Mrs. Sarah A. Artz, Mrs. Celinda Saul, Mrs. Helen P. Jones and Homer M. Mrs. Angeline Mer- riman, David C., Mrs. Amanda H. Merriman are deceased.
William C. Bartlett, the father of Mrs. Jones, was one of the earliest of the permanent settlers in Hen- ry County, whither he came in November, 1836. He was the first to build a house within the present cor- porate limits of the city of Geneseo. He was a member of the family of Mr. Jones during the clos- ing years of his life and died Sept. 5, 1878. By occupation he was a tanner and a shoemaker, but operated little in either capacity in Henry County. He was a farmer and located on the site of Geneseo. He was a member of the Geneseo Colony and was one of the first to remove his family to Henry County after the agents had made the selection of the loca- tion. In 1848 he went from Henry County to Tazewell County and was resident there until 1866, when he made another transfer, to Aledo, Mercer Co., Ill., and in his old age, in July, 1872, he return- ed to his first love, Henry County, becoming a mem- ber of the household of his son-in-law. He united with the Methodist Church when he reached his majority and was all his life active in religious work.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Jones includes two children. Frederick D. is a graduate of Knox Col- lege and is a student of law in the office of Shepard
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