Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 79

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 79

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Breckenridge was married Dec. 31, 1857, in

627

HENRY COUNTY.

Augusta, Hancock County, this State, to Mary A. Pitney, daughter of Samuel Pitney, and a native of Ohio. She has become the mother of four children : Julius, Susan E., Nannie and Ransom C., an infant son, deceased. Socially, Mr. Breckenridge is a mem- ber of the A. F. & A. M., and is one of the popular railroad men of this section of the country.

on. Nelson Lay, of Kewanee, is a native of Saybrook, Conn., second son of Jeremiah and Sallie (Ingham) Lay, and was born Jan. 20, 1812. From Saybrook the family removed to Madison Co., N. Y., in 1824, and there re- sided up to 1846, when they removed to Keno- sha, Wis., whither the subject of this sketch had preceded them by 11 years.

Mr. Lay's education was limited to such as could be acquired at the common schools of New York State, but this appears to have been sufficient to en- able him to conduct successfully the various business enterprises in which he subsequently engaged. At Oneida Lake, N. Y., he served an apprenticeship as a carpenter and joiner, and devoted his time to that trade until about 28 years of age. At Kenosha, Wis., to which place he emigrated in 1835, he was in mercantile business from 1842 to 1853, and suc- ceeded thereat in accumulating a considerable sum of money. Early in 1854 he removed from Wiscon- sin to Henry Co., Ill., and was at the village of Wethersfield when the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was completed through to Galesburg. His shrewd business knowledge taught him that Wethers- field as a town had fulfilled its mission, and that business would find its headquarters for this neigh- borhood thenceforth at the railroad station. So, as- sociated with Messrs. Howard, Little and Tenney, a quarter-section of land was purchased adjacent the railway, and the town of Kewanee laid out. His first business in the new town was that of merchant, an enterprise he abandoned before the end of the first year. He handled lumber about three years, and in the meantime became pretty extensively in- tere ted in Western lands, the traffic in which soon grew to such proportions as to require his whole at- tenti. n. In 1859 he again embarked in mercantile business, and the same year organized the Kewanee

Bank,-a short-lived enterprise which disappeared from the financial world along with many similar in- stitutions just before the war.

In 1863 he was elected on the Republican ticket to the Illinois House of Representatives, and for two years tried his hand at law-making ; and in 1865 re- moved to Chicago, where for 18 years he was a suc- cessful grain and commission merchant. Having by industry and untiring application to business ac- cumulated a handsome competency, he returned to Kewanee in 1883 and retired to private life, with the commendable intention of spending the rest of his days in a peaceful forgetfulness of the trials and troubles of the business world.

Mr. Lay was married at Kenosha, Wis., May 29, 1836, to Miss Maryette Towsley, a native of the State of New York, and of the eight children born to them we have the following memoranda : Hiram T., a merchant of the firm of Lay & Lyman, Kewanee; Fannie L. (Mrs. W. A. Pierce, of Chicago) ; Mary Jane, deceased, was the wife of Rev. C. A. Towle, of the Congregational Church; Nellie (Mrs. N. W. Watson, of Chicago); Charles N. died in infancy ; Charles C., now a resident of Chicago: Edward F. died when about 20 months old, and Richard E., a resident of Chicago.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Lay are consistent members of the Congregational Church.

ohn Armstrong. One of the best im- proved farms of Henry County is owned and cultivated by the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. His fine residence is located on section 14, of Wethersfield Town- ship, where he owns 480 acres of land, all of which is tillable. He has recently erected a fine residence, which is large and commodious and sec- ond to none in the county. Fine and well-stocked out-buildings are liberally provided for his stock. He keeps about 100 head of cattle, 16 horses, and usually fattens about 150 hogs annually. Mr. Arm- strong is recognized as one of the leading and most prosperous farmers in Henry County. He is a highly respected citizen and an earnest worker for the best interests of the township. Politically, he is a Repub- lican, but in temperance principles a Prohibitionist.

628

HENRY COUNTY.

Together with his wife, he belongs to the American Presbyterian Church. He has served his community as School Director for many years, and takes a deep interest in educational matters.

John Armstrong is a son of James and Sibella (Elliott) Armstrong, natives of Scotland. They came to America in 1855, and located in Stark Co., Ill., where they spent the remainder of their lives. John was the sixth child of a family of about eight chil- dren, was born in Scotland, Aug. 6, 1838, and was therefore only 16 when his parents came across the ocean. He received his education in Scotland, and has always been engaged in agricultural pursuits. After living in Stark County for ten years he came over into Henry County, and located in Wethersfield Township.

He was married in Bureau Co., Ill., Jan. 31, 1865, to Jane, daughter of John and Jane (Hume) Rule. This lady was also of Scottish birth and ancestry, and the second of a family of ten children. She was born Sept. 24, 1844, and came to America with her parents in 1853. The names of Mr. and Mrs. Arm- strong's seven children are: Jane, James E., John A., Robert, George A., Sibella and Kate E.

oshua Cole, a well-to-do and respected farmer of Wethersfield Township, where he resides on section 14, is a son of Eze- kiel and Maria (Smith) Cole, both natives of Ohio. They came to Henry County in the fall of 1850, and settled in Wethersfield Town- ship, where the father died the following year, Octo- ber, 1851; the mother still survives. Their family consisted of eight children, of whom Joshua was the eldest, having been born in Harrison Co., Ohio, Oct. 29, 1837.

He (Joshua) received the training of the common schools of his district, came into Henry County, this State, in the spring of 1851, and began immediately in the occupation of an agriculturist. He has 330 acres of valuable land, on which he entered vigor- ously and energetically into the the task of its culti- vation and improvement, and has made this his home, residing here ever since.

Mr. Cole was united in the holy bonds of matri- mony in Wethersfield Township, on the 6th of Feb-

ruary, 1859, to Miss Susan Hoppock, a native of New Jersey, and daughter of John and Margaret (Hackett) Hoppock. Mr. and Mrs. Cole have had their home circle blessed by the birth of eight children, as fol- lows : Mary C., Joseph T., Elton G., Martha M., William H., Wesley E., Otis R. and Earnest O. Mr. Cole has served his township as School Director for five years, and, religiously, is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. In politics, he affiliates with the Republican party.

ohn Scott, Sr., retired farmer residing at Kewanee, Henry Co., Ill., was born at Banff, Scotland, May 10, 1810, removed to England in 1832, and from there to America in 1844. His parents, Alexander and Chris- tina (Campbell) Scott, natives of Scotland, reared three sons and two daughters, John being the eldest but one. The senior Mr. Scott was a shoe- maker by trade, and died when the subject of this sketch was but five years of age, leaving the family in limited circumstances. He was a worthy brother Mason, however, and that most benevolent of all orders paid to the use of his widow and children an- nually the sum of 40 pounds as long as they remained in need of it.

John was educated to a limited extent at the com- mon schools of his native place, and while yet young learned the trade of blacksmith, at which he worked several years. For five years after coming to this country he was the only blacksmith in the neighbor- hood of his premises. His first home in Henry County was in Kewanee Township, whither he re -. moved in 1845, and it consisted of a small log cabin on the road leading from Peru to Rock Island. For many years he did his milling at the latter place, a distance of 40 miles from his cabin. Upon his farm, consisting first of a 160-acre tract, increased after- ward to 460 acres, lies probably 200 acres of fine bitun,inous coal. Some seven years before coal was discovered in his neighborhood, he dreamed of find- ing large quantities of the article at a certain point on his land; so, when the prospector put in an ap- pearance, Mr. S. took him at once to a spot remem- bered since his dream, and there the expert soon disclosed to view a rich and paying vein of the only

HENRY COUNTY.

629

thing thought to be lacking in the greatest agricultu- ral country on earth. Mr. Scott rented out his farm in 1883 and removed to the town of Kewanee, where he proposes spending the rest of his life in a well earned peace and freedom from the toils and cares of every business.

While in England, in the county of Surrey, Mr. Scott was married, when about 22 years of age, to Miss Mercy Paice, who was born in Surrey, April 15, 1812. Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Scott, three sons accompanied them from England, and the following brief history tells all the writer knows of the offspring: Isabella J. was the wife of Stephen Brown, and died Jan. 15, 1867, leaving the child to which she gave her life. The child was naned for its mother, and is now the wife of Charles J. Bridges, of Kewanee. The first-born was named William, now a successful farmer and stock-broker of Kansas ; Alexander is a farmer in Kewanee Town- ship, and John is a dealer in agricultural implements. A daughter, Jane, died in England, and Mary Ann in Henry County, Sept. 14, 1852.

Politically, Mr. Scott is a Democrat, and religiously is a Presbyterian.

arrett Brown, engaged as a farmer on sec- tion 5, Wethersfield Township, was born in Bucks Co., Pa, Aug. 23, 1833. His parents, James and Lutitia (Holland) Brown, were also natives of the Keystone State, and passed all their lives there. They had eight children.

Mr. Garrett Brown, the seventh in order of birth in the above family, was three years of age when his father died, and he was then taken by an uncle, with whom he lived until he was 16 years old. He then worked out by the month until 1855, in the spring of which year he came to this county, locating in Wethersfield Township, where he has since resided. He is the owner of 128 acres of land, most of which is cultivated. Mr. Brown is an exemplary citizen and farmer, and has served the public in the capac- ity of School Director and School Trustee. His political views are in keeping with the principles of the Republican party, and both himself and Mrs. B. are members of the Baptist Church.

He was married in Montgomery Co., Pa., March

13, 1855, to Miss Ellen, daughter of Thomas and (Ellen) Wright Taylor, who were natives also of the Keystone State. Mr. Taylor died in Philadelphia, Pa., July 10, 1856, and Mrs. Taylor died in Wethers- field Township, this county, Feb. 16, 1879. Mrs. Brown, the fourth in order of birth in a family of seven children, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 6, 1835 ; and the children of Mr. and Mrs. Brown have been three in number-Thomas T., Emma L., who died in infancy, and Anna M.

S ylvanus W. Warner, the leading grain dealer of Kewanee, Ill., was born in the county of Leeds, Canada, Feb. 9, 1817. In 1838 he came into Stark Co., Ill., farmed there two years, and removed into Henry County, where he purchased two 80-acre tracts of land, one in Burns Township on section 15, where he made his home, and the other in Kewanee on section 19. Other tracts of land were added to his possessions from time to time, all of which he sold after removing into the town of Kewanee, which he did in 1855. His first business after coming into the town was that of grocer, which received his attention a year or two. He next went into the buying and shipping of grain, a business he has followed regu- larly ever since.

In 1860-I he held the office of Township Assessor, and a year or so later was elected Supervisor. When he arrived in Stark County, in 1838, he had but $12 in money, but the opportunity was ripe to such men as he, and his efforts were fruitful of good in that they tended to build up a new country and add in- crease upon increase even unto the possession of a handsome competency. His early education was limited to such as the common schools of Canada afforded, but his interests have never suffered from lack of business knowledge. His parents, Ralph and Clara (Keeler) Warner, natives of the State of Con- necticut and Canada respectively, removed to Illi- nois in 1845 and spent the rest of their lives in Henry County, the old gentleman dying in 1851, at the age of 57 years, and the old lady in 1879, aged 28. They reared six sons and five daughters, three of the latter being dead at this writing (August, 1885).

Mr. Warner is a Royal Arch Mason, a member of

630

HENRY COUNTY.

the Baptist Church, and votes the Republican ticket. He was married in Stark Co., Ill., July 8, 1847, to Emaline Otis, a native of Ohio, and daughter of Edward Otis, a farmer by occupation. Of the six children born they have buried four,-three in in- fancy and one, Lucy A., their eldest, in 1866, aged 18 years. Vina is now the wife of H. C. Hunting- ton, a merchant at Ames, Iowa, and Adelia is at home with her parents.

enry Johnson, of the firm of Owen & John- son, general merchants, doing business at Orion, was born in Sweden, June 22, 1832. His father, Samuel Johnson, was also a native of Sweden, and during his active life was en- gaged in farming. He is now living a retired life at Orion, at the advanced age of 80 years. The mother of Henry, Christine Johnson, was also born in Sweden.

At the early age of 13 our subject came to Amer- ica with his parents, who first settled at Buffalo, N. Y. Two years later they came further West and lo- cated in Andover Township, where the mother died of cholera during the terrible rage of that epidemic in 1853. Henry was the second child of a family of three children. He left home when only 14 years old and worked as a farm boy for the neighboring farmers, who also gave him the advantage of attend- ing school during the winter season. He learned the business of brick making at Rock Island, and in 1854 established a brick-yard in Andover, which en- terprise he abandoned after 18 months. He then engaged as a clerk in a store at Andover, where he remained for some years. After he closed this en- gagement he devoted some time to farming, princi- pally in Western Township. In 1873 he built a mill and in company with Lloyd & Peterson began its operation. He conducted the mill and was its prin- cipal business manager of the entire concern, and is yet the company in the firm which is now styled Johnson & Co. The mill has a capacity of 300 bushels a day. In 1882 Mr. Johnson purchased a half interest in the general mercantile store of John Owen, which he yet retains. The stock invoices at from $7,000 to $10,000, and the firm does an excel- lent business.

Mr. Johnson was married in Andover, on the Ist

of May, 1858, to Miss Catherine Olson. Miss Olson was a native of Sweden and came to the United States when a small child with her parents; at least, she started with both of them, but while on the ocean her father took sick and died, and his body was consigned to a watery grave. The mother, thus bereft of her husband, came on with her four chil- dren, two sons and two daughters. They made their way to Andover Township, where the mother subse- quently married, and shortly after this event died. After the death of her mother, Mrs. Johnson worked in the homes of some of the people of the county until her marriage. The two children she has borne to Mr. Johnson are Oscar L., born Aug. 1, 1773, and Oliver, April 17, 1876.

Mr. Johnson has for some time been a member of the Village Board. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W. Politically, he is a National Green- backer.

hadrach T. Miles, of the firm of Miles & Minnick, grocers, at Kewanee. (See bi- ography of W. A. Minnick). This firm was organized and began business as dealers in staple and fancy groceries, glass and crockery wares, in March, 1867, and is at this writing (July, 1885) the oldest establishment of the kind in the town. The firm is composed of the subject of this sketch and Mr. W. A. Minnick.

Mr. Miles is a native of Philadelphia, Pa., where he was born, Nov. 18, 1827. His parents, William and Sarah (Jones) Miles, descended respectively from Welsh and Scotch ancestry, and were natives of Philadelphia County, now and for many years past incorporated into the city of that name. They reared a family of five sons and four daughters. The elder Mr. Miles was a farmer and the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this article devoted most of his time to that worthy vocation, until probaly 40 years of age. At the public schools of his native place he acquired a fair English education, which has been materially augmented by readng, by study and by such experience as is naturally incident to a busy life.

He gave up farming in 1867 and removed to Ke- Wanee and engaged in his present business. As a farmer, he was industrious and honorable and en-

HENRY COUNTY.

631

joyed the highest esteem of his neighbors. As a merchant he sought to build a trade upon purely bus- iness principles, relying strictly upon the idea that " honesty is the best policy, " and the experience of nearly a fifth part of a century has fully attested the wisdom of his undertakings. Since coming here he has served the people three years as a member of the Town Board and ten years upon the Board of Edu- cation. He is prominently identified with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, has filled all the official chairs in their course and is at present Chap- lain of the Kewanee Lodge. In politics he is a Re- publican, while his religious convictions are firmly anchored with the Baptist Church. When about 25 years of age he was married, at Philadelphia, to Miss Anna M. Eisenbrey, a lady of German descent and a native of the" City of Brotherly Love." Of the 13 chil- dren born to them, Ir are living: Sallie, Rena, Frank, Annie, William, Harry, Duffield, Kate, Edward, Mat- thew and May. W. P. died when about two years of age and Louis lived to be nearly four. Mr. Miles' father and mother died in Philadelphia, he at the age of 83 years and she at 76 years.

-do-

ndrew Sunquist, residing in Galva, where he is engaged in the service of the Hardien Coal Company, is a native of Sweden, hav- ing been born in Darlarna, that country, Jan. 18, 1845. His parents were Andrew Hanson and Kestine (Larson) Sunquist, who both re- side in Galva, to which place they came in 1872. Their family comprises ten children, only four of whom are living, namely: Martha, wife of John Boostum; Erick; Christine, wife of Frederick Pe- terson, of Bloomington ; and Andrew, the subject of this biographical notice.

Andrew Sunquist was educated in Sweden. He came to the United States at the age of 25 years, and on landing at an Eastern seaport came direct to Galva, this county. On arriving here, July 13, 1858, he worked at various occupations in the country and village, and in February of the year following he began mining coal. He has continually followed that vocation, except about three summers spent at his trade, that of a carpenter. Sept. 1, 1876, he commenced work for the Galva Mining Company,

now known as the Hardien Coal Company. He is at present superintendent of the company and also a share-holder in the same.

Mr. Sunquist was united in marriage, at Galva, to Miss Anna Erickson, a native of Sweden, and a daughter · of Erick Anderson, who died in the old old country. Politically, Mr. S. affiliates with the Republican party. He and his wife are members of the Swedish Lutheran Church.

avid Strohecker, of the township of Cam- bridge, is a resident on section2. He was

2000 born Nov. 2, 1802, in Berks Co., Pa. His parents, Daniel and Leah (Garber) Stroheck- er, were natives of the same county and there passed nearly the entire extent of their lives. They died in Northumberland Co., Pa. They were the parents of 12 children. The family descent is of German origin. The paternal grandfather, Daniel Strohecker, was born in that country, and when he came to the United States he settled in Pennsylva- nia. His son, John Strohecker, was one of the sol- diers of the Revolution. The latter was a brick-layer by trade and in his later life he was interested in farming. He married in Pennsylvania and there reared a family of eight children. He never remov- ed from the State. His son, Daniel Strohecker, mar- ried Leah Garber, who was a native of the Keystone State. Her father, John Garber, was born in the same State and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He, too, afterwards became a farmer. Father and mother both died in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Strohecker grew to manhood in the State where he was born and passed forty years of active life as a brick-layer. In April, 1865, he came to Henry County, and at first bought 80 acres of land in the township of Cambridge. Soon after he bought another like amount of land and the estate now in- cludes 166 acres in the best possible condition for prosperous farming. The estate is the accumula- tion of the proprietor in his own unaided strength and perseverance. He has passed most of his life in hard labor. In his political connection and views he is a Republican.

He formed a matrimonial alliance with Sarah Hummel, May 14, 1824. She was born in Berks Co., Pa., and the name of her father was John Hum-

632

HENRY COUNTY.

mel. The issue of their marriage was eight children. Dr. George W. is deceased. Sevilla S. married a man named Zimmerman. Benavel, John, Catherine L. (deceased), Mrs. Mary Thompson and Henry C. are the names that complete the list. The last named was a soldier in the Civil War, where he lost his life, in the Army of the Cumberland. Reuben still resides with his parents. He was married in Penn- sylvania to Hannah Hime. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania and was of German extraction. The young people have three children, named Henry Calvin, Mrs. Johanna Steckhouse and Laura E.

harles G. Howell. Upon section 28, of Western Township, resides Mr. Charles G. Howell, one of the representative agri- culturists of Henry County, and a gentleman well and favorably known throughout the county. He was born in Monongalia Co., W. Va., Jan. 20, 1837. His father, Leven Howell, was the rith child : hence the name. He belonged to an old Virginia family of English ancestry, and grew to manhood in old Virginia, but came into the territory now known as West Virginia, where he was married to Anna King, a native of the same place where her husband was born. After their marriage they improved a farm in the dense unbroken forest of West Virginia, living in the woods in a log-cabin. The father was a minister of the Old-School Baptist ' Church formerly, but later in life connected himself with the Missionary Baptist Church, in which de- nomination he preached until his death, which oc- curred in the same county in which he had settled so early in its history. His life was that of a worthy citizen and a zealous minister of the gospel. He demonstrated his interests in and his devotion to his religious sentiments most strikingly at one time. He was a mason by trade, and the congregation for which he labored had begun the erection of a church, but was compelled to abandon the work upon it for lack of means. With characteristic energy he set about the work himself, and laid the brick, put on the plaster and completed the edifice. The building stands to this day, and is used by the congregation of the faith he had so often zealously preached to. At the time of its completion it was valued at $5,000.

It is still in a fair state of preservation, and is a monument to the worthy builder, who received no assistance or remuneration for its erection. Another instance illustrating his devotion to his righteous faith is shown in the following incident: A little later on and in another neighborhood, he made the brick and erected a new church building, with but little money consideration outside of the help ren- dered by Mr. Ellis Holland, now of Osco Township, this county. To these two zealous and devoted workers, must be added the honored name of Mr. Reason Holland, the father of Ellis, now deceased.

Rev. Howell's pastorate extended over nearly half a century, during which time he labored as a faithful and devoted follower of his Master, and was especi- ally adapted to the time and condition of society existing in the section of country where he labored. We find but few such noble, hard-working and self- .sacrificing Christians to-day as he was. He was born Nov. 21, 1799, and after a remarkably useful life, passed to his reward on the 9th of May, 1868. His wife, who was born on the 23d of August, 1797, died February, 1858.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 79

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