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 81
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Oren H. Loomis had attended school a short time
before the family left Connecticut, and after arriving in Michigan finished his education at the White Pigeon branch of the Michigan University. Here for one year he was Professor of Mathematics, and for the succeeding five years taught in the district schools of the Badger State. In 1847 he taught at Freeport, Ill., and in 1849 came to Wethersfield, where he followed farming about three years. Sept. 1, 1854, at Kewanee then just laid out, he engaged in the grain business and shipped the first car load of grain ever loaded at Kewanee. In 1855, with his associates, he built the first steam elevator erected at Kewanee. The building was burned in 18-, after he had severed his connection with it.
He followed grain business eight years, and in 1862 engaged in the agricultural implement trade, from which he retired in 1870. For three years he followed farming, and returned to Kewanee, bought back his agricultural implement business, and has devoted his time to it since.
Mr. L. has always been an ardent Republican in politics,-in fact, he was one of the twelve men that organized that party in Henry County, in 1854. The only office he appears to have held was that of Jus- tice of the Peace, away back in 1867 or '68, and School Trustee for many years. He was one of the projectors of, and was prominently identified with, the organization and establishment of the old Wethers- field and Kewanee Academy, and finally engineered its transfer to common-school purposes. It is now the higher department of the Kewanee schools. Both education and religion have had Mr. Loomis' best efforts all his life. He is a member of the Con gregational Church, and since coming into Henry has had charge of the Wethersfield and Kewanee Sabbath-schools, altogether upwards of 31 years. Al- ways a useful member of society, Mr. Loomis' ab- sence, which must of necessity come with the years, will be felt by the best people as will probably be the loss of no other man in this community.
He was married first at Edwardsburg, Mich., in 1846, to Miss Rosetta Rogers, who died in Edwards- burg in the spring of 1849. On August 27, 1850, at East Hamburg, N. Y., he was united in marriage with Miss Cornelia A. Starkweather. Of the chil- dren born to them we make the following brief memoranda: Niles H. is a farmer in Kansas ; Henry L. is a merchant in Kewanee; Lucy (Mrs. W. E. Terry, of Galesburg, Ill.); Rosetta M., now
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Mrs. E. A. Hebbard, of Galesburg; Grace E., an artist ; Emma F., wife of Rev. C. S. Leeper, of the Congregational Church, Batavia, Ill. ; and Hattie May, at home. Their first born, Francis E., died when about six years of age.
ol. Sylvester Blish, deceased, was by oc- cupation a farmer of Kewanee Township, was born at Glastonbury, Hartford Co., Conn., Dec. 31, 1790, and died in Wethers- field Township, Henry Co., Ill., Oct. 8, 1865. His wife, nee Rhoda Cheney, to whom he was married at Manchester, Conn., Jan. 1, 1811, died Jan. 9, 1878, in the 84th year of her age. They reared four sons and one daughter. The latter, Pru- dence H., now deceased, was the wife of James Knox, Esq., of Knoxville, Ill. Of the sons, the old- est, William H., is a farmer in Wethersfield Town- ship, Henry Co., Ill. ; Thomas died at Galena, Ill., where he had resided for twenty-five years ; Charles C. resides in Kewanee (see biography of Charles C. Blish), and George C. is a resident of Chicago, Ill , where he is employed as a book-keeper for E. Schnei- der & Co.
Col. Blish came into Henry County in 1836 as an agent for the Wethersfield Colony in the purchase of land, and settled upon a farm now owned by C. C. Blish, his son, in Wethersfield Township; and it was upon this farm that he spent the last years of his life. He also owned a tract of land containing some 1 60 acres lying east and adjacent to Main Street, Ke- wanee, a portion of which was included in the orig- inal plat of the village. He began life as a young man with but little of this world's goods, but by in- dustry and good judgment succeeded in accumulat- ing quite a fortune. In politics he was always a Democrat of the most pronounced type, though ex- hibiting but little ambition to hold office. It appears that when the county was young, he held the office of County Commissioner for a term or two, and in after years was a candidate for delegate to the State Constitutional Convention ; but the issues were pure- ly political, and the radical element in the county was largely in the ascendency, so a Republican was elected. His generosity at all times corresponded
with his means ; and the hospitallty of his household, proverbial in the earliest history of the county, is fully maintained by his descendants. The first two Methodist Episcopal churches erected in Kewanee were built upon lands donated by him. Though the deeds thereto were signed by his sons after his death in the conveyance, the latter carried out the express wish of their parent. The Kewanee Cemetery grounds were also given gratis by Col. Blish, and the Churches of the city, without regard to denomina- tion, found in him a ready and willing helper at all times.
uncan L. Murchison. There are several members of this family who are prominent and well-to-do farmers of Wethersfield Township. Duncan L. resides on section II, where he owns a fine and well-equipped farm. Scotland is his native country, and among its rugged hills were his parents, Finley and Catherine (McLean) Murchison, born and reared. Duncan was born June 8, 1845, and in 1851 his parents de- termined to move to the New World, where they hoped not only to secure better advantages for themselves, but also to enable their children to enjoy better opportunities for accumulating a competency and for doing good. The parents soon were located on a farm in Wethersfield Township, where the elder Murchison became a prominent and highly respected settler. Until July, 1872, the date of his death, he lived in this township, and the later years of his life were gladdened by witnessing the splendid results of his early and earnest labors. His widow survives him, and resides in Wethersfield Township. The children born to them numbered 12. Of these, Duncan was the next to the youngest; Roderick, of whom a sketch is given in this work, was the young- est.
Duncan was only six years old when he left his native land, and therefore received his education in this country. The early pioneer schools, however, did not afford to the young student any great ad- vantages for an education. He was reared and educated upon a farm, and selected for a calling the same business that his parents had followed. In this he has been eminently successful, and is to-day
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ranked among the leading and most prosperous farmers of this section of Henry County. He has a farm of 240 acres, and has erected a magnificent residence and fine and commodious barns, making his a most desirable farm home.
Mr. Murchison was united in marriage in Wethers- field Township, March 11, 1869, with Maria, daughter of Levi and Laura (Johnson) North. Her father was a native of New York, while her mother was born in Vermont. They came West and located in Bureau Co., Ill., in 1845, where, in 1852, Mrs. North died. Subsequently, Mr. N. re-married and moved to Henry County, and at present is a resident of Kewanee Township. Maria was the only child by the first marriage, and was born at Princeton, Ill., Aug. 5, 1850. Mr. and Mrs. Murchison are the parents of seven children, named as follows: Laura C., Mary C., Ros; N., Anna S., Duncan Guy, Rob Roy and Nina M. Politically, Mr. M. is a Repub- lican.
B enjamin I. Hulin is a manufacturer of carriages and wagons at Cambridge, and is dealing in agricultural implements. He is the patentee of the Wagon End-Gate and Top-Box Fastener, and is regarded as a solid business man of the place where he is opera- ting. Mr. Hulin was born Sept. 21, 1842, in Glen- marka, Christianstadt, Sweden, and is the son of Jans Johansen Hulin, who was also a manufacturer of wagons. He died in the land of his birth at the age of 60. He married Hannah Nelson, who also died in Sweden. Of their children, six in number, four are living: Elmer, Nels, Janson, Kyerster and B. I.
Mr. Hulin was instructed in the details of his trade by his father, and came to the United States in 1868. He came at once on landing to Monmouth, Ill., and obtained a position in the shop of W. W. Church, a wagon-maker. He remained in his employment 14 months, and then went to work for the Wier Plow Company at that place. He passed the chief part of the winters in their service for a period of five years. At the end of that time he came to Cam- bridge, and built the shop where he has since been engaged in business on his own account. A further
notice of his relations is presented in another part of this work.
Mr. Hulin formed a matrimonial alliance with Sophia Rahn, in March, 1871. She is a native of Sweden, and came to America with her mother when she was seven years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Hulin have four children-Hilda Z., Oscar L., Frank L. and Alice E. The parents are members of the Lutheran Church. Mr. Hulin is a Republican in his political connections.
enry Harms is a farmer on section 23, Gen- eseo Township, and has been connected with the agricultural interests of Henry County since the year 1855. He was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, Nov. 14 1826 .. When he was nine years of age he was employed as a sheep herder in his native land, and he also took care of a flock of geese, receiving for the double service only $1.50 for the services of an en- tire season. He was in the habit of passing the sum- mer seasons in this method and went to school in the winters. This alternating manner of operation he maintained until he was 14. He was then em- ployed as a farm laborer, and his wages consisted of $8 and a pound of wool yearly, with a few yards of linen cloth. After the first year his wages was in- creased, until finally he received $23 a year. At the age of 22 he went into the German Army, in which he served three years, as the law requires. On the expiration of the period of his enforced mili- tary service, he resumed farming and followed that occupation until he was the possessor of sufficient means to pay his passage to the United States. He was then 28 years of age. He came across the ocean on a sailing vessel and was on the sea 41 days. He came from the port of New York where he landed directly to the city of Davenport. When he reached that place he had $2 in his possession wherewith to begin life in the New World. He had no difficulty in procuring employment and he went to work in the harvest field about 12 miles from the city. He re- mained there a few months and in 1855, in the month of January, he came to Geneseo. He passed ten years in various employments in the city, and at the end of that time he rented a farm. On this he
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continued his operations until 1875, when he bought the farm on which he has since been an independ- ent farmer. He has erected the necessary build- ings and has rebuilt the house which was on the place. The farm contains So acres, and it is all im- proved and enclosed. Mr. Harms raises stock and has a valuable dairy.
He was married in April, 1855, to Eliza Martiesen. She was a native of the same German province in which her husband was born. She died the Novem- ber following.
March 7, 1856, Mr. Harms was again married, to Sophia Guldensuph, who was also born in Olden- burg, in Schleswig-Holstein. Two children were born of this marriage : Louis was born Feb. 12, . 1857. He has been reared in the county in which he lives, and was educated in the English and German schools of the city of Geneseo. He was married Jan. 12, 1882, to Minnie Glawe. She is a native of Pom- erania in Germany, and they have two children- Herbert and Raymond. A daughter, Emma, was born later, who died at the age of five. The son is operating the homestead with the father.
illiam B. Lee, a prominent business man at Cambridge, was born Feb. 17, 1829, On the Isle of Wight, England, and he is the son of John and Mary (Hayles) Lee. His father was born in Hampshire, England, and his mother was a native of the Isle of Wight. She was the daughter of an Englishman who removed to the United States, and died near Alton.
Mr. Lee came to the country of his adoption in the fall of 1853, and settled in the city of Rochester, N. Y. He was attracted to that place by the oppor- tunities it afforded for obtaining employment, being the " Flour City " of the State, and there he obtained a situation as a miller, which was his trade in his native country.
In 1856 he came to Illinois, and was interested in milling at Galesburg two years, after which he re- moved to Geneseo in Henry County. He was en- gaged in the same business there until 1874, the year in which he removed to Cambridge. He built a flouring mill, which he has since operated. He
has had several associates in its management, and is now in partnership with J. W. Stewart. They also own an elevator, run b. the same power which oper- ates the mill, and they traffic extensively in grain.
Mr. Lee was married, on the Isle of Wight, to Caroline King, also a native of the beautiful little island, which was recently made famous by the mar- riage of the youngest daughter of the Queen of Eng- land on its soil. Following are the names of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Lee : Carrie, Jessie, William, Fannie, Albert, Frank, Charles (deceased), Fred and Hugh; the latter is no longer living.
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inger Goodley, a farmer on section 16, Cambridge Township, was born Sept. II, 1822, in Lincolnshire, Eng., and is the son of Ainger and Mary (Watts) Goodley. In the spring of 1850 the family came to the United States, and made their first location in Lake Co., Ohio. They maintained a residence there seven years. The son, who is the subject of this narration, removed to Henry County, and after that occurrence they came hither, and took up their residence here in 1859. The father died in 1874, at the age of 84 ; the demise of the mother occurred March 14, 1871, when she was 80. Of ten children of whom they became the parents, only three are living.
Mr. Goodley of this sketch came to Henry County in 1857, and in the same month in which he arrived in Illinois he settled in the township in which he has since been a resident. At the outset he rented land, and later he bought 80 acres in his own interest. He has prospered in its management, and is now the owner of 376 acres, all in good condition and in a valuable situation. The position of Mr. Goodley is one that affords a strong contrast with that of people of the class to ., hich he belonged in his native land. He has fulfilled the ambition of his life, which was to secure for himself and his children the privileges to which they were heirs by natural inheritance, and for which he came to a country to obtain the privileges denied him in his native land-that of holding an ownership in the soil on which he earned his bread. He has just claim on the esteem of all who know him.
His marriage to Mary White transpired Oct. I,
A
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1851, at Painesville, Ohio. Mrs. Goodley was born July 24, 1828, in Lincolnshire, England, and she is the daughter of James and Rose (Smith) White. Her father is deceased. Following is the personal record of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Goodley : Anna M. is the wife of John Palmer; James A. is the oldest son ; John T. is the youngest.
Mr. Goodley endorses the principles of the Repub- lican party.
illiam Love, a farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section 27 of Western Town- ship, and a native of Antrim County, Ireland, was born April 15, 1841. His father, John Love, of whom a sketch is given elsewhere, came to this country in 1849, and located in Bucks Co., Pa. William was the seventh of a family of ten children, consisting of three sons and seven daughters. Coming to America when a small boy, he received most of his education in the common schools of Bucks County, and when a young man of 20, in March, 1851, he started for the West, and soon found his way to Henry County. Not long after his arrival the war broke out, and the patriotism so characteristic of his nationality was throbbing in his breast and he desired to defend the flag of his adopted country. His patriotism was publicly demonstrated on the 22d of February, 1862, by his enlistment in Co. B, 65th Ill. Inf., under Colonel Carner. His regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade, Third Division, and 2 3d Army Corps, and was in the army under Sherman on his march to Atlanta. His corps was afterward sent back North. Mr. Love participated in all the active en- gagements of the campaign and also fought at Frank- lin and Nashville. He was then sent to Washington, D. C., and later to Fort Fisher, and fought with his regiment at Wilmington, and then joining Sherman marched with him through to the sea. He was hon- orably discharged at Greensburg, N. C., July, 1865, after having served faithfully for more than three years and five months. At the skirmish at Harper's Ferry, three months after his enlistment, he was taken prisoner, but was soon afterward paroled, and was soon discharged. He was slightly wounded at Columbia, Tenn., and at Pine Mountain, Ga. He enlisted as a private, but was afterward made a
Corporal and then Sergeant, and finally Second Lieu- tenant.
At the close of the war, he returned to Illinois and began to work for the most extensive and successful fariner of Western Township, which gentleman was destined to be his father-in-law. A few years later, upon May 27th, 1869, he was united in marriage to his daughter, Miss Isabella Lloyd. She was born on her father's homestead, in Western Township, Nov. 1, 1849. Her father, Mahlon B. Lloyd, had come from Bucks Co., Pa., early in the history of Henry County, and was the first settler to locate in Western Township. He was one of the most suc- cessful farmers and business men of the county, and for a time was engaged in the banking business at Orion, where he established the first bank at that place. When seven years of age, Mrs. Love went to Bucks Co., Pa., where she lived with an uncle and attended school at Millersville, until she was 17 years of age, when she returned to her Western home. She is the mother of five children,-Mahlon R., Ar- thur and Edgar, besides two deceased.
Mr. Love made his first purchase of land, consist- ing of 160 acres, in 1867, upon section 13, Western Township. Here he settled and operated a farm for some years, but after the death of his father-in-law he took possession of the old Love homestead. Both Mr. and Mrs. Love are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically, Mr. L. is a stanch Republican. Though not an office-seeker he has held numerous offices of his township.
R odney E. Linnell is a farmer on section I in the township of Colona. He was born in Clayton, Jefferson Co., N. Y., May 24, 1832. His father, Rufus B. Linnell, was a a native of the same town in which the son was born. His birth occurred there May 10, 1803, and he was the second son of Samuel and Sophia Linnell, who were natives of the State of New York. The paternal great-grandfather was of En- glish origin and on coming to America settled on an island in the River St. Lawrence, which has ever since been called by the name of the family. The ancestor of the Linnell generations owned and improved a farm on the island. Rufus B. Lin- nell married Lucy Mellville. She was born in
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Oneida Co., N. Y., Feb. 10, 1807. They became the parents of eight children, and seven still sur- vive.
The elder Linnell was a pioneer of Henry County, removing hither in 1844. The little household journeyed in wagons, or rather with a wagon and a buggy. The latter structure proved too frail for the business required of it and on its giving out the whole family proceeded on the route in the wagon. They had with them three good horses. The acci- dent to the light wagon took place while they were in the State of Ohio. On their arrival the father exchanged a horse for a cooking-stove and ten bushels of corn. The location of their home was made on section I of what was then designated township 17, and the farm was in a state of nature. The first business which engaged the attention of the new-comers was the preparation of a domicile in which to shelter themselves, and they proceeded to the erection of a log-house. They then gave their attention to clearing the land, and were occupied in that when the father was killed by the kick of a horse. After the death of his father, Mr. Linnell and an older brother assumed the management of the homestead, which they continued to conduct to- gether some years.
Mr. Linnell was married, Nov. 27, 1856, to Sarah G. Taylor. She was born in White Co., Ill., and is the daughter of Merritt and Sarah (Hatchell) Taylor. The newly-married people took possession of a por- tion of the homestead situated on section 1, and which is now their property. They have had two children. Lucy A. is the wife of Thomas Cann and they live at Geneseo. Mary B. is the younger and lives with her parents.
ichael Ryan, engaged in farming on sec- tion 3, Wethersfield Township, was born in Ireland about the year 1819. He came to America when about 33 years of age and remained one season in Stark County, and in the fall of 1853 came to Henry County. Shortly afterward he located in Wethersfield Town- ship, but for a time only, as he then removed to Burns Township, where he resided for about 20 years, II years of the time working out by the month ..
Next he returned to Wethersfield, and is now the owner and proprietor of 130 acres in this township, 140 acres in Burns and 50 acres in Kewanee Town- ship.
Michael Ryan was united in the holy bonds of matrimony in Wethersfield, July 10, 1864, the lady who was chosen to be his companion in life being Miss Bridget Ryan, a native of Ireland, who was born in the year 1827. They are members of the Catholic Church and politically, Mr. Ryan is a Re- publican.
ames Blair, deceased, formerly a resident on section 18, Kewanee Township, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 5, 1829. He continued to reside in the State of his nativity until the year 1849, when he emigrated West, locating in Peoria Co., Ill., and lived in Rome until 1854. He afterward came to Burns Township, this county, in which section he remained for two years, and came to Kewanee Township in his next move, where he resided until the date of his death, July 15, 1883. He owned 280 acres of well improved and excellent farm land at the time of his demise, and had erected a fine residence and good outbuild- ings upon the home farm.
Mr. Blair was married in La Salle Co., Ill., Dec. 26, 1854, the lady chosen to share his joys and sor- rows, successes and reverses, being Miss Lucy E. Emerson, a native of West Virginia, where she was born May 18, 1830. Her parents, Benjamin and Mary (Hinckley) Emerson, were natives of Maine and Ohio respectively. Mrs. Blair has become the mother of seven children,-Amos L., Augusta V., John L., Benjamin V., Mary E., Sarah E. and Lucy I. Sarah E. died when four years old, in Kewanee Township, March 21, 1868; Augusta V. is the wife of William D. Oliver and resides in Kansas, and they are the parents of one child-Carlos J. Mr. Blair during his life-time held several of the minor of- fices in his township. Mrs. B. is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The grand old pioneers who came into this section of the Prairie State and reclaimed it from its native condition are fast passing away. One by one they are laid at rest, but the fruits of their labor are being enjoyed by the present generation, and will be by all
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those to come, who know nothing of the hardships endured and the obstacles encountered. Mr. Blair was a young man of 20 years of age when he came West, that he might have better advantages for mak- ing an honest living and saving something for his family. The record of his life tells how wisely he acted, and with what success he lived. He became an important factor in molding the affairs of his new home, and his impress in the early formation of his community is noticable even to this day. A worthy man, a useful life, his memory should be perpet- uated. As a man eminently fitted to be recognized as a representative man of Henry County, we take pleasure in placing his portrait in this ALBUM.
ewis M. Yocum resides at Galva, and was born Feb. 25, 1820, in York Co., Pa. He stands foremost among the self-made and moneyed men in Henry County to-day, to which he came fully 30 years ago. He is a son of Elijah Yocum, who died Sept. 27, 1867, in Ashland Co., Ohio, aged 84 years and 21 days, and Catherine A. (Wagner) Yocum, who died in the same county, May 4, 1857, aged 66 years, two months and two days. They were both natives of Pennsylvania and were married Oct. 20, 1808. The latter was a daughter of John Wagner, and was of German descent.
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