Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 86

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 86

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years, he went to Lorain Co., Ohio, on a visit, and while there decided to join a party who were coming to Illinois. The transit over the intervening country was made with horses and a wagon.

Dr. Hurd arrived in Knox County in 1836, and was not at the time the possessor of a whole dollar. He found an opportunity to teach in a family of Kentuckians, not one of whom knew a letter of the alphabet. This helped him to a home, and he worked as a carpenter to supply himself with neces- sary funds. Accident placed a complicated case of illness in his charge, and his success established his claims as a physician.

The attractions of the lady he afterwards married brought him to Wethersfield, and he became an in- mate of the family of her father, Abner B. Little. The house was a pioneer's log cabin with one room. The " parlor " was partitioned from the general space by blankets, and comprised about four feet square of territory. In this the " sparking " was carried on to a final consummation, and the marriage was the first in Henry County. Dr. Hurd and his wife removed to the Little homestead and assumed charge of the parents. The place was comparatively new and Dr. Hurd operated as farmer, carpenter and physician. He bought rails to enclose 15 acres, and he built the fence by moonlight and midnight, as his duties through the day absorbed all the time that the gen- eral community was out of bed. After the lapse of two years, he removed to a claim of 160 acres he had made in another part of the town. He broke 15 acres, which he fenced after dark in the method known in that period as ditching, the results being a sod fence. He also built a log house, and after he had harvested his crop he found his title was defect- ive and abandoned the claim. He removed to the village of Wethersfield, where he owned ten acres, and built a frame house. His health was at that time seriously impaired by the extraordinary labors he had undergone. Later, he sold his property in Wethersfield and removed to Iowa City, Iowa, with the intention of practicing his profession, but he re- turned to Wethersfield on account of ill health.

In 1842 he went to Chicago, where he engaged in practice. As he belonged to no regular school, his business was restricted and his patrons were some- times located at remote points. This gave him an opportunity to add other business, and he canvassed Cook County in the interests of the American Bible

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Society. He was also, the first canvasser for the Western Citizen, the first anti-slavery journal pub- lished in Chicago, and which was established by S. C. Eastman. In 1852 the First Congregational Church of Chicago was organized. It was principal- ly the outgrowth of the efforts of Philo Carpenter, and Dr. Hurd and his wife were among the little com- pany who were its founders. They swelled the num- ber to 30 members. The meetings were held in a school-house, in "Carpenter's Addition, " until the growth of the society warranted the erection of a church and the engagement of a regular pastor.

Dr. Hurd was the first delegate from Chicago to the first State Anti-Slavery Convention of Illinois, which was held at Alton. His father-in-law, Abner B. Little, cast the first anti-slavery vote in Wethers- field. He cast the second.

After a residence of nearly II years in Chicago, Dr. Hurd went to Springfield, Mass,, where he oper- ated successfully as a physician four years, and in 1858 he canie again to Wethersfield. Two years later he went to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the purpose of obtaining for his children the advantages of the educational facilities of that place. Meanwhile, the war came on, and in 1861 he went to the field as a volunteer physician, under the auspices of Hon. Austin Blair, Michigan's " War Governor." In 1864 he returned to Wethersfield and engaged actively in medical practice until 1877. He is the owner of a farm in Wethersfield Township and resides in the village.

The marriage of Dr. Hurd and Caroline W. Little was solemnized Aug. 22, 1837. Mrs. Hurd was born in Hollis, N. H., Sept. 15, 1821, and came, in 1836, with her parents, Abner B. and Nancy (Tenney) Lit- tle, to Henry County. (See sketch of R. Augustus Little.) Seven children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Hurd and have all passed to the realms of the here- after. Anna Caroline was the third child born in the township of Wethersfield. She was born Aug. 13, 1838; Lewis Gardner was born Oct. 3, 1840; Julius Augustus, July 6, 1842; Anna Caro- line (second), Jan. 1, 1848; Eliza Orinette, July 18, 1849; William Little, April 17, 1852 ; Edwin Henry Nevin, July 1, 1854. The oldest son enlisted at 20, in 1861, in Co. D, 4th Mich. Vol. Inf., and died in Washington, D. C,, March 15, 1862, of typhoid pneu- monia. He was one of the band of students who enlisted from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Hurd is a Republican in political connection.

The portraits of himself and wife appear on other pages of this work. The days are not far away when all the pioneers of Henry County will have en- tered the land which lies forever beyond the front- iers of this earth. That time will affix the full value to the reminiscences and portraits of that class who bore the burden of the period of first things.

homas Walsh, farmer, section Io, Cam- bridge Township, was born June 9, 1840, in County Monaghan, Ireland, and he is the son of Francis and Mary (Boyle) Walsh. The parents were also natives of the Emerald Isle, and there the mother died. She had borne six children : Francis, Patrick, James, Thom- as, Catherine and Mary. The three younger sons came to the United States. James and Thomas came hither in 1853. The latter settled on Long Island, where he remained seven years. He then removed to the city of New York, and was a resident there five years ; his brother is a citizen there still.

In March, 1864, he came to Henry County, and in the ensuing years was married to Melinda Funk. He at once engaged in farming, to which he dovoted himself with the thrifty energy of the country of his nativity, and conducted his operations with marked success. He first hired to work by the month, and then rented until he was in a position to buy a farm for himself, on which he pursued the same wise methods of management, and is now the owner of 400 acres of land, all in excellent agricultural condi- tion. Mr. Walsh is also the owner of 1,600 acres of railroad land in Nebraska, for which he is paying with great rapidity, and will soon hold a clear title to a splendid estate.

ugenio K. Hayes, dealer in agricultural im- plements, and manufacturer and dealer in the Kewanee Check Rower, Hayes' Auto- matic Reel, "Boss" Shoveling Board, Kewanee Force Pump, wood cisterns, etc., etc., at Kewa- nee, Ill. Mr. Hayes is a distinguished inventor and manufacturer, as indicated by his card, which we

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insert by way of introductory. He was born at La Fayette, Ill., May 21, 1848, and was the only son and youngest of four children of Harry and Harriet (Wright) Hayes, natives of the State of New York.

The subject of our sketch was reared upon a farm, and at the district schools acquired a fair English edu- cation. Though decidedly of a mechanical turn of mind, he followed agriculture up to the year 1881, at which time he sold out his farm in Wethersfield Township, to which he had removed from Stark County in 1876, and in company with a Mr. Perkins engaged in his present business. Mr. Perkins re- tired from the firm in January, 1883, since which time Mr. Hayes has conducted the business alone. He employs about his shop from 12 to 15 men, keeps on the road from one to three drummers, and sells from $35,000 to $50,000 worth of his own manufac- tured wares annually. The Kewanee Force Pump, of which he is the patentee, is probably the greatest success of the kind in the world. With an ordinary farm pump, operated by one hand, he is able to throw a solid stream of water to the top of a three-story building. Though it is hardly yet upon the market, the indications are that he will sell over 1,000 the first year of their manufacture.

Mr. Hayes takes no part in politics, but attends strictly to business, and bids fair to become one of the leading manufacturers of a town noted for its thrift and enterprise in that direction.

He was married at Toulon, Ill., Jan. 17, 1871, to Miss Matilda J. Dack, daughter of John Dack, de- ceased, and has born to him five children : Ralph W., Albert L., Forrest, Fred D. and Percy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hayes are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

acob Messmore, Jr., engaged as a farmer on section 4, Kewanee Township, is a son of Jacob and Margaret (White) Mess- more, natives of Pennsylvania. They came to Henry County in 1852, and settled in this township, where they always remained, and their family comprised ten children, of whom Jacob, Jr., was the fourth in order of birth. He was born in Wayne Co., Ohio, Aug. 28, 1840, and was but 12 years old when his parents came into Henry County,

and has remained a resident of the same ever since, with the exception of three years during the war, when he enlisted in the cause for the Union; the date being Aug. 9, 1862, in the 124th Ill. Vol. Inf., and served his country faithfully for three years, com- ing home uninjured. Mr. Messmore is the owner and proprietor of 145 acres in this county, which is good, improved land.

He was united in marriage in Cambridge, Ill., April 4, 1864, the lady chosen to share his joys and sorrows, successes and reverses, being Miss Rebecca J. Gochenour, who was born in Ohio, May 19, 1846 ; and of this union has been born one child-Emma P. Mr. M. has held the offices of School Director and Highway Commissioner. in his township, and politic- ally is identified with the Republican party.

Scott Brown, stock dealer, residing at Osco, Osco Township, is a son of John and Sarah (Kirkpatrick) Brown, his father being a native of Chester Co., Pa., and his mother of Ohio. After marriage, they settled in Ohio, and soon thereafter removed to Fulton County, this State. His father was engaged in farming in the latter county for a time and the family moved to this county and settled in Osco Township, where he fol- lowed his chosen vocation, that of agriculture, until the date of his death, Oct. 4, 1881. His wife sur- vives him at the venerable age of 82 years, and is still a resident of Osco Township. Their children were five in number,-T. Scott, George C., John G., Mary L. and James M.

George C. is a resident of Osco Township, this county; John G. resides near Marshalltown, Iowa, where he is engaged in farming; Mary L. was united in marriage to W. L. Hitchcock, who resides in Greenfield, Iowa ; James M. follows the occupation of a farmer in Osco Township.

T. Scott Brown, subject of this notice, was born in Farmington Township, Fulton County, this State, June 7, 1835. He received a fair education in the district schools of his native county and there resided until the spring of 1860, when he removed to this county. On arrival here he rented his father's farm, which he cultivated for about two years. In August, 1862, Mr. Brown, whose name heads this notice, en- listed in the 103d Ill. Vol. Inf., and served his coun-

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try until January, 1865. In the skirmish near Co- lumbia, S. C., lie received a serious wound from a minie ball in his right arm, in consequence of which he was compelled to have that inember am- putated at the shoulder. He enlisted as a private and was promoted First Sergeant. John G. Brown, brother of Mr. Brown of this notice, was also a sol- dier in the war for the Union, having enlisted in the fall of 1861, in the 55th Ill. Vol. Inf., and served his country until the close of the war.

Mr. Brown of this sketch has held the minor offices of his township, and politically is a believer in and a supporter of the principles of the Republican party. He is a gentleman respected for his straightforward- ness and fair dealings with his fellow man.

B M. Dorr, residing at Galva, where he is engaged in the jewelry business, was born in Columbia Co., N. Y., May 25, 1832. The name Dorr seems to be a cor- ruption of the name De Orr. La Fayette, on his last visit to America, called on an uncle of our subject, Elisha Dorr, and asked him where the Dorrs originated. He told him tradition said from England. La Fayette replied that it was not an English name, but that it was undoubtedly from Normandy, a province of France, as the name was common there. There is but one family of Dorrs known in America: hence they all sprang from the same family.

Matthew Dorr, grandfather of the subject of this notice, resided in Columbia Co., N. Y., where he was engaged as a woolen manufacturer, and where, at Dansville, that State, he died. He was the father of five children, namely : Abraham, Samuel, Matthew, Jr. (the father of the subject of this notice), Phebe and Sybil. Matthew Dorr, Jr., father of our subject, was born in New York, and died in 1869, in Bureau County, this State, aged 83 years. He was formerly Judge of the Columbia County Court, New York, later a woolen manufacturer, and also a soldier in the War of 1812. He was Postmaster ten years and Justice of the Peace eight years while in Bureau County, Illinois. He was married to Ann B. Mudge, Jan. 29, 1811. She died at Neponset, Bureau Coun- ty, this State, in November, 1872, aged 79 years. They were the parents of 12 children,-Adeline S.,

Irene, Elizabeth S., William M., Harriet C., George E., Caroline, Hellen L., Phebe Ann, James Edmund, Byron M. and Samuel.

Byron M. Dorr, of whom we write, was edu - cated principally at Knox College, this State, and during the two years prior to his majority, was en- gaged in the active labors of the farm. He enlisted in Co. A, 42d Reg. Ill. Vol. Inf., as a private, but, the company not being received under the first call of 6,000 by the Governor, lie re-enlisted as musician and served nearly eight months, when the regiment bands were discharged by order of Major-General Hallock, and brigade bands formed. After this he returned to Kewanee, and, his health having been greatly impaired, he engaged to learn the jewelry business at that place. He mastered the same and then went to Neponset, Bureau County, where he en- gaged in business and continued until 1869, when he came to Galva and again engaged in the same busi- ness. Mr. Dorr, ever since he canie to Galva, lias continued in the jewelry business and at present has a first-class store, with a good and constantly in- creasing trade. He has also been engaged as teacher of a band at different times, and is widely known as a musician of fine ability. Politically, he is a be- liever in and a supporter of the principles of the Greenback party.

Mr. Dorr was united in marriage at Kewanee, Nov. 16, 1856, with Emma M. Maunder, born in the town of Martock, Somerset, England, in 1833, and who emigrated to the United States in 1854. Re- ligiously, Mrs. Dorr is a member of the Congrega- tional Church.

ames Lyle, farmer on section 25, Kewanee Township, was born in Bureau Co., Ill., July 13, 1850, and is a son of William and Margaret Lyle, natives of Scotland. He (the father) came to America about 1844, and the mother four years later. They first settled in Bureau Co., Ill., and from there removed into Henry County in the year 1852, locating in Kewanee Town- ship permanently. The father died at the latter place, Dec. 21, 1878. They had a family of nine children, of whom James, our subject, is the eldest.

James received only a common-school education

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in the district schools of this county, where he was reared. As a business man he has been reasonably successful, and to-day owns an excellent farm of 85 acres, and Mrs. William Lyle, his mother, owns 154 acres. Mr. L. has been prominent in promoting the welfare of the community in which he resides, and in educational matters also takes a deep inter- est. He has served as Director of his school district, and politically he is a Republican. Socially, he is connected with the Order of Odd Fellows.

At Kewanee, Sept. 7, 1881, Mr. Lyle was married to Margaret Price. This lady was born in Wales on Christmas Day of the year 1858. Two children have been born into their home, to whom they have given these names : Stella and Ernest.

A nn Moon, widow of the late Thomas Moon, who was born in 1813, resided on sec. 29, Annawan Township, for many years, and was well known and respected throughout the community. Mrs. M. was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1825, and five years later came to America with her parents, landing in New York. Thence they proceeded to Chicago, where they re- mained but one week; then they went to Jackson- ville, where they remained until 1847, about 17 years. At that time they came to Annawan Town- ship, this county, and became one of the earliest families who settled in this section of the county. Mrs. Moon has since then resided in the above- named township, and for the last 21 years has lived upon her present estate.

On the 12th of August, 1847, she was married to Mr. Moon, who was also born in Yorkshire, England, and three years prior to their marriage had come to America. He was an energetic, successful farmer, and when he died, in 1878, left a farm of 420 acres, all under good cultivation and improved with good dwellings and barns. Mr. Moon died Aug. 27, 1878. They had become the parents of the follow- ing-named eight children : Anna, born Feb. 3, 1849; George, Feb. 6, 1851 ; John, March 5, 1853; Thomas H., Aug. 23, 1855; James W., May 11, 1858; Ra- chel, Jan. 5, 1861; Joseph H., Jan. 21, 1864; and Chales E., Aug. 9, 1867.

Mrs. Moon resides on the old homestead, and is

an excellent type of a fine old English lady. She attends the United Brethren Church, but was for- merly an Episcopalian.

apt. Norman H. Pratt, Postmaster at Ke- wanee, a position to which he was ap- pointed by President Johnson, in May, 1867, re-appointed twice by Gen. Grant, once by " 'Squire " Hayes, and lastly by President Arthur. The Captain was born at Bingham- ton, N. Y., Dec. 10, 1825, and was fourth in order of birth of three sons and five daughters of Maverick and Samantha (Hyde) Pratt, natives of Connecticut, descended from the English, and dating their ances- try upon the Continent back to the first half of the seventeenth century. From Binghamton Mr. Pratt removed to Peoria Co., Ill., in 1835, and from there to Wethersfield, Henry Co., in 1846. Here he bought a farm now occupied by a part of the town of Kewanee, and upon which he and his wife spent prin- cipally the rest of their lives. The old gentleman died in 1868, at the age of 73, and his wife five years earlier, at the age of 63. His three sons were in the Union army, and two of them-the oldest and the youngest-laid down their lives in front of Vicksburg. The first, Julius A., was First Lieutenant of Co. A, 124th Ill. Inf., and was killed by a musket shot in June, 1863, and the latter, James B., died from dis- ease about the same time.

In August, 1862, in company with anothor gentle- man, the subject of this sketch raised a company of volunteers, and on Sept. ro following it was mustered into service as Co. F, 124th Ill. Vol. Inf., Mr. Pratt being First Lieutenant. At Vicksburg, Aug. 7, 1863, he was promoted Captain of the company, a position . which he held when mustered out of service, Aug. 15, 1865, at the city of Chicago.

His discharge, which bears date Aug. 15, 1865, shows that he led his company in Gen. Grant's Tal- lahatchie expedition, December, 1862; at Port Gib- son, May 1, 1863; at Raymond, Miss., May 12, 1863; at Jackson, Miss., May 14, 1863 ; at Cham- pion Hills, May 16, 1863; at Vicksburg, May 18 to July 4, 1863; on the Monroe. (La.) expedition, in August, 1863 ; at Benton and Yazoo, May, 1864; on Sherman's Meridian Expedition, February, 1864; at

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the siege of Spanish Fort, Ala., March 27 to April 9, 1865, and on Gen. Canby's expedition against Mobile and Montgomery in 1865. When the war was over he returned to Kewanee and engaged in the insurance business, and later on in the grain business, which he left to accept the Postmastership.

His early education was limited to such as could be had at the common schools of his boyhood days, alternating the seasons of farming and attendance upon the district school. In 1847 he abandoned the farm and went to New Orleans, where he clerked in a drug store for two or three years, a business he followed afterwards at Peoria.

The Captain is identified with no particular Church, though he is a good Mason, a strict regard to whose principles constitutes the highest religion and affords no excuse for hypocrisy.

He was married at Kingsville, Ohio, in 1855, to Miss Louisa Sloan, a native of the State of Pennsyl- vania.

enry Wright, deceased, formerly a resident of Cornwall Township, was a native of New York, in which State he was born Jan. 12, 1828. He was a farmer by occupation, and followed the same until his enlistment in the war for the Union. Mr. W. served his country in Co. A, 15 Ist Ill. Inf., for about a year, when he returned home to this country to die. Con- sumption had seized upon him during his time of service, and April 8, 1877, he passed away to the land of the hereafter, leaving a wife and eight chil- dren.

Mr. W. was united in marriage with Miss Annis, the accomplished daughter of Oliver Root, Jan. 12, 1850, in this county. She is a native of Ohio, in which State she was born Aug. 17, 1832. Her father was a native of Vermont, where he was born Jan. 21, 1792, and is at present living in Munson Township, this county, and enjoys good health. He married Miss Mary Thomas in 1817, a native of Athens, Ohio. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wright are as follows: William H, born Nov. 17, 1851; Mary C., born Oct. 24, 1853; Frank E., born Feb. 4, 1857 ; Ida E., born March 18, 1859 ; Clar- ence, Aug. 18, 1861 ; Alice, May 12, 1865 ; Arthur, April 19, 1867 ; and Louisa, June 25, 187 1.

Mrs. W. is a member of the Free Methodist Church, and a consistent, active Christian woman. She car- ries on the home farm with the assistance of her children, and is meeting with success in life.

ames C. Smiley, M. D., a distinguished physician and surgeon of Kewanee, re- moved from Deerfield, Ind., to Cambridge, Henry Co., Ill., in the year 1855, and five years later began the practice of medicine. In 1865 he moved to Kewanee, and at once, by his skill as a physician and his deportment as a gentle- man and a scholar, took rank among the foremost of his profession.

He was born at Winchester, Va., Sept. 14, 1832, and was the son of the Rev. Walter Smiley, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, his mother being before marriage Miss Susan Kraus. His parents were de- scendants respectively from the Scotch and German. He was nine years of age when his father died, and but nine when he set out in the world to make a living for himself. He attended pretty regularly the common schools of his neighborhood during his youth.

His first employment was as a clerk in a mercan- tile establishment at Deerfield, Ind., and from that time he dates the beginning of his medicinal stud- ies. Dr. McAfee, of Deerfield, Ind., was his first preceptor, and under him Dr. Smiley studied and practiced medicine for several years. After coming back to Illinois he entered Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1860.

Rev. Mr. Smiley left his family, consisting of a widow and nine children, in anything but independ- ent circumstances, and the result was, the sons from that time forward had not only themselves to look out for, but also had the care and support of their moth- er and sisters. Young as he was, if he did but little for the rest of the family in the beginning of their trials, he relieved them from any care upon his ac- connt, by proceeding to earn his own livelihood, and thenceforward he has acquired what of this world's goods he has, and has had, by his individual effort and industry.

In 1880, in partnership with another gentleman, to whom he leaves his management, he opened a drug

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store in Kewanee, thereby adding to his income and enabling him to have his prescriptions filled by drug- gists who understand their business, and upon whom he can safely rely for drugs chemically pure.

He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, votes the Democratic ticket, attends strictly to his own busi- ness, treats everybody politely and enjoys the re- spect and confidence of the community in which he resides.

Sept. 23, 1853, the Doctor was married in Jay Co., Ind., to Miss Mary Ellen Cook, a native of Ohio, and of the two children born of their union, we make the following notice : Frank M., graduate of Rush Medical College, and for the past two years a prom- ising young M. D. of Brooklyn, L. I., and Florence, now the accomplished wife of Mr. L. P. Kraus, a druggist of Beatrice, Neb.

ames P. Heaps. While traveling through Henry County, the biographical writer of the ALBUM met but few active business men who were born in the county. The vast majority of those who are to-day tilling the soil, raising the stock, or engaged in business or commercial enterprises, or are members of any of the professions, were born without he borders of Henry County. James P. Heaps, the subject of this narrative, however, was born upon section 32, Anna- wan Township, and is to-day living in the same house in which he was born, and cultivating the soil surrounding it. He is the son of the well- known pioneer, William G. Heaps, and was born on the 6th of January, 1856. The only educational advan- tages enjoyed by him were those afforded by the dis- trict schools in the neighborhood. He is, however, a good business man and a successful farmer.

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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 86

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