Portrait and biographical album of Knox county, Illinois, Part 100

Author: Biographical Publishing Company, Buffalo and Chicago; Chapman Brothers, pub
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical publishing company
Number of Pages: 1130

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outbreak of the war he came to Galesburg, entered the service of the United States, and became Second Lieutenant of Co. A, 59th Ill. Vol. Inf. From Second Lieutenant he was promoted to First Lieutenant and Adjutant, then to Major, Colonel and finally to Briga- dier-General, in which capacity his name is linked and identified with the history of our country, and will go down to posterity immortalized in the printed pages detailing the incidents of the great American conflict.

While in the service he participated in many of the hardest-fought battles in the South and South- west. He was at Pea Ridge, Perryville, Stone River, Nolensville, the Tullahoma campaign, Chick- amauga, the Atlanta campaign and many other minor engagements not designated in history as reg- ular battles. At Lovejoy Station, the last battle in the Atlanta campaign, Gen. Post had charge of a division, which he handled so skillfully as to earn for himself honorable mention. After recovering from the wound received at Nashville he was stationed at San Antonio, Texas, where he had command of 16 regiments of infantry. He left the military service in February, 1866.

Immediately after the terrible battle of Nashville Gen. George H. Thomas filed at the War Deparment a special report earnestly recommending Gen. Post's appointment as Colonel of the regular army. He said :

" Gen. Post is an active, energetic and intelligent officer, and his bravery in battle is beyond question His capability and efficiency as a commander of troops has been fully demonstrated."

In a similar report addressed to the Secretary of War by his corps commander, Gen. Post's military record is thus reviewed :

" I most respectfully and earnestly recommend Brig. Gen. Philip Sidney Post as Colonel in the regular army of the United States. Gen. Post entered the army as a Second Lieutenant, but soon rose by his superior merits to Major. He commanded his regiment in the obstinately fought battle of Pea Ridge and was severely wounded. Shortly after that battle he was promoted Colonel of his regiment. Re- turning to the field, even before his wound was re- covered, he rejoined his regiment in front of Corinth and was placed in command of a brigade. From that time to the end of the war Gen. Post's career was an unbroken term of arduous service, useful labor and

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brilliant actions. He participated honorably in some of the most obstinately contested battles and glorious victories of the war. In the great battle and decisive triumph of Nashville, Gen. Post's brigade did more hard fighting and rendered more important service than any like organization in the army. In the grandest and most vigorous assault that was made on the enemy's intrenchments, near the close of the fighting on the second day, Gen. Post fell, and, as it was at first supposed, mortally wounded, at the head of his brigade, leading it to the onslaught. A discharge of grape instantly killed his horse under him and tore away a portion of his left hip. I know of no officer of Gen. Post's grade who has made a better or more brilliant record."

On the re-organization of the army the Secretary of War informed Gen. Post of these recommendations and that they were favorably considered, but as peace was then established he decided not to remain in the military service.

Immediately after leaving the army Gen. Post was appointed to the foreign service. The following let- ter from the Department of State fully explains the character and nature of that service, and the reputa- tion made therein during a period of over 13 years :

"DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

WASHINGTON, March 19, 1881.

" GEN. PHILIP S. POST, Galesburg, III .- SIR: Your letter of the 17th inst., requesting a brief statement respecting your reputation and standing as an officer in the consular service, has been received. In reply I have to say that it gives me great pleasure to com- ply with the request. It appears from the records of the Department that you entered the consular service in 1866 as Consul at Vienna; that you were pro- moted for your ability and fidelity to be Consul-Gen- eral at that place in 1874, and that you retired from the service by resignation, in 1879. An examination discloses that many important duties, in addition to the more formal business of your office, were en- trusted to you during your long connection with the Department, and they were performed in a manner that commanded its approval and commendation. Your reputation in the service and your character as a representative of the Government were known to the Department and in the service, and to the high opinion entertained of your standing by iny prede- cessor and the officers of the Department may be added the testimony of your colleagues and my own

personal and official acquaintance with the reputation which distinguished your career abroad. It was a subject of much regret that circumstances compelled your resignation, but in your retirement from the service you carried with you the regard and esteem of the Department, and the character of an intelli- gent, capable and trusted officer of the Government. "I am, General, your obedient servant,

"JOHN HAY, "Assistant Secretary."

Gen. Post returned to Galesburg in 1880, and since 1883 has been engaged in real estate. He was promi- nently mentioned among the contestants for nomina- tion to congressional honors, in 1884.

At no time in his life could it truthfully be said that Gen. Post has been a politician, a wire-worker or a time-server. When the people of the district shall come to think that the army record and civil life of Gen. Post warrant his election as their serv- ant in any public trust commensurate with his abilities, then, and not till then, may it be said ? that he is a candidate for office. Gen. Post has accumulated in his life no pecuniary fortune. As 4

Colonel and brigade commander, and as foreign representative, he received no such salary as would enable him to store up wealth. Instead of making money his army life naturally produced a contrary result. Though contrary to our rule, forbidding con- clusions in reference to living men in biography, the writer knows that he can truthfully say that Gen. Post is a scholar of rare attainments, and at all times and under all circumstances a gentleman. Sometime in 1878, a prominent Southerner, trans- mitting sonie papers to Gen. Post, from Kentucky, took occasion to say in his letter, among other things : " In the hour spent at my house, as Buell's army was passing, in the fall of 1862, yo' taught me by your gentlemanly bearing and general discourse to lay aside my sectional aspersions for the time, and do homage to the high personal attributes and lib- eral sentiments so signally manifested by you on that occasion."

A Chicago Times editorial, of March 28, 1874, is here reproduced in further corroboration of the fore- going conclusions of the writer :

"The American Consul at Vienna is an impetuous son of Illinois, of more service to the country in a month than many in a year. Free from humbuggery and devoid of the nonsense of affectation, he has a

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cheery greeting alike for the traveling millionaire and the penniless sailor."

Gen. Post takes no stock in shams. He believed in fighting the battles for the Union while there was an armed foe, and with " the fury of the non-con- batants," of whom the late Gen. Grant spoke as hav- ing gone into the fight too long after the war was over, he has but little sympathy. He is a plain, everyday sort of a man, with many original ideas, which he always expresses elegantly, but, like Dick- ens, in a language that all can comprehend.

As a public speaker he ranks high, his language being choice and elegant, logic clear and forcible and his manner pleasing, and the deep conviction he has of the sentiments uttered carries with him the feelings and sentiments of his hearers. Had we the space we could make many choice literary selections from his speeches. He has been the distinguished orator at many noted gatherings and always wins great favor and applause.

Gen. Post is a married man. He married, May 24, 1866, Miss Cornelia A. Post, daughter of Hon. Wm. : T. Post, of Elmira, N. Y. Their children are Har- riette H., Philip Sidney and Wm. Schuyler. He attends the Episcopal Church, is Knight Templar in Masonry, member-at-large of the Republican State Central Committee, and Commander of the Depart- ment of Illinois, Grand Army of the Republic.

W. Lindquist came to Galesburg direct from Christianstadt, Sweden, in 1869, and has here since followed his trade, that of a blacksmith, which he learned in his native country. He was born Oct. 10, 1843. His mother came with him to America, and is liv- ing here at this writing (January, 1886). The Lind- quists, that is, the immediate family of the subject of this sketch, are now and have been for genera- tions remarkable for their physical proportions. J. W. is himself a Hercules; his father was of ordinary size ; his brothers are powerful men, and his grand- father, who by the Swedish system of naming was known as Swan Jos, was about seven feet tall, broad and muscular in proportion ; he could span 17 inches

with thumb and finger of one hand, and lived to at- tain the age of 98 years.

Coming first to Galesburg, J. W. Lindquist sought employment with Frost & Co., and was with the firm for ten years in charge of a blacksmith department. In 1879 he formed a partnership with Mr. Norine, where he is a present " hammering iron into gold." He was married at Galesburg June 6, 1879, to Miss Ella Bergland, a native of Sweden, and they have one child -- Lillie Estella. Mr. and Mrs. L. are mem- bers of the Lutheran Church.

eorge W. Mead. Among the prominent and influential farmers of Knox County is the subject of this brief biography, who is known as being active and enterprising in his particular line of business. By industry and energy, coupled with a determination to succeed, he has from a very small beginning en- larged and added to his possessions until to-day he may be rated among the best men of the country. He is an accurate and able financier and has the ability to execute whatever he begins.

Mr. Mead came to Knox County in February, 1862, from Mercer County, Ill., where he settled in Rio Township, after first purchasing 80 acres of land. Here he began his work by the erection of substan- tial farm buildings, commodious, neat and attractive. He successfully cultivated and improved his land, and is to-day the owner of 135 acres, most of which is tillable and productive. He now reaps the benefit of bounteous crops, and is known as one of the best and most substantial men in the county.

The subject of our narrative was born in Chau- tauqua County, N. Y., July 20, 1830, and lived in that State until he attained the age of 13 years. He then went into Pennsylvania, and remained four years, at the end of which time he removed to Ohio, where he spent three years, and in 1854 came to Warren County, Ill. Two years later he removed to Mercer County, where he tarried for a short inter- val and finally came to Knox County.

He was united in marriage with Miss Alvira, daughter of Aaron and Hannah (Davis) Proctor, natives of New Hampshire. Their nuptials were

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celebrated in Geauga County, Ohio, in 1853. Mrs. Mead was born in Weare, N. H., May 3, 1829, and is the mother of six children, as follows: Eugene, Willis, Homer, Franklin, Ella and Loren. Eugene and Willis are deceased. Mr. Mead is actively in- terested in local and public affairs and fills many of the minor offices. He has been Director in the school district for some time ; he takes part in pol- itical debates and is a Republican in sentiment and vote.

S tephen Osborn, whose parents were fore- most in the ranks of those brave pioneers who many years ago came into the wilder- ness, and by dint of their strong will and per- severing industry, coupled with uprightness of purpose, began the work of improvement and caused the silence to be broken by the sound of the hammer and the ax, is distinguished as being the first white male child born in Knox County. He has therefore been identified with its progress, and resident in its now busy midst, and can look back as he remembers the old, quiet days, and see the changes that civilization has made.

Mr. Osborn was born at Henderson Grove, Aug. 9, 1830. His father, Alexander Osborn, was reared in Indiana, where his parents were early settlers. The date of his birth was April 25, 1802, and at the age of 27 his second marriage occurred, he being united to Miss Ann Hendricks, in the year 1829, and he soon afterward came to Knox County. The journey was made overland, and reaching his desti- nation they first located at Henderson Grove, where he lived a short time, then removed to Knox Town- ship, and bought a farm near the city. He lived on this for a short time and then removed to the north part of the township and purchased a tract of unim- proved land, and after cultivating it sold out and re- moved to Sparta Township. There he bought a farm, which after a few years he also sold, and went to the village of Wataga and bought property and lived until 1879. Again disposing of his property, he removed to Frankfort, Kan., where his friends celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and where his wife died in the fall of 1879, and four months later he followed her. His second matrimo- nial alliance was blest by the birth of seven children.

There are two children living of the first marriage- Elizabeth, widow of William Collins, who lives in Kansas, and E. Jane, widow of George Pitman, who lives in Lyons, Kan. The children of the second marriage are as follows: Stephen, our subject; Do- rinda, wife of Samuel Vangilder, who lives in Kan- sas ; Robert K., who lives in Marshall County, Kan .; Lucinda, wife of Martin Key, now deceased; An- drew J., who lives in Knox County; Thomas, who lives in Union County, Iowa, and William, who is at present City Marshal of Girard, Kan.

Stephen Osborn, of whom we write, was reared in his native county, and educated in the public schools. He was married April 27, 1851, to Elizabeth Van- gilder, who was born in Indiana and is the daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Stephenson) Vangilder. They have five children living -- Alexander, who re- sides in Orion, Henry County ; Ella, wife of W. W. Thompson, whose home is in Dallas County, Iowa ; Samuel, Edward and George W. Anna died April 15, 1886, aged twelve years and eight months.

Mr. Osborn has lived in Knox County, with the exception of ten years spent in Mercer and Henry Counties, all his life. He bought the place he now owns in 1882, and it is situated on section 3, in Knox Township. He is at present engaged with his son, Edward, in man's original calling, that of gardening and fruit-raising, and they maintain the reputation of furnishing as fine fruit and plants as can be obtained anywhere. Both Mr. and Mrs. Os- born are hospitable and popular neighbors and friends, and good cheer is found around their pleas- ant hearthstone. They are members of the Method- ist Episcopal Church, and show forth in their daily lives the gentle attributes of a noble religion, as ex- hibited in the life of Christ Jesus.

obert Thompson, of Galesburg Township, is a farmer, residing on Section 4. He was born in Yorkshire, Eng., on the 23d of September, 1819, and came to Canada in 1845, where he remained until 1872, when he emigrated to the United States and took up his residence in Knox County. Purchasing 160 acres of good land in Henderson Township, he lived there until 1882 and then came to his present residence on

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the section already named, and resolved to devote most of his time to farming.

He is the son of George Thompson, of Durham, Eng., who was born in 1773, and died Sept. 20, 1854, near London, in Canada. He married a Miss Alice Dunn, a native of Yorkshire, Eng., who died in 1870, leaving eight children, viz .: John, George, William, Robert, James, Margaret, Thomas and Jane.

Mr. Robert Thompson married Miss Theresa Lee, on the 25th of December, 1847. The ceremony took place in Canada and the marriage has proved a happy one. She was born in Yorkshire, Jan. 14, 1825, and her parents were Paul and Ann (Barner) Lee, both natives of Yorkshire, Eng., where he was born in 1794. His demise took place in 1864. Her birth was in 1802 and her death in the month of No- vember, 1866. There were seven children by the marriage, viz .: George, Mathias, Theresa, James, John, Joseph and Ann.

Robert Thompson and his wife have an interest- ing family of six children-George W., John G., Robert P., Joseph T., Albert and Mary. Our sub- ject is at present engaged and deeply interested in breeding fine stock. He has 320 acres of land, and his dwelling, a two-story building, is nicely located and homelike in every respect. His horses are of the Clydesdale stock and among them he has a num- ber of first-class animals.

Mr. Thompson and family are highly respected members of the Episcopal Church. In politics Mr. Thompson is a consistent Democrat and keeps him- self well posted in all measures affecting public in- terest. He deservedly bears a high reputation among his numerous friends and neighbors, whose respect for him is only equaled by their affection.

A fine lithographic view of Mr. Thompson's home place appears on another page of this work.

ugustus E. Remier, of the firm of Remier & Linberg, manufacturers of wagons and carriages, 108 South Prairie street, Gales- burg, was born in France, Sept. 28, 1828. He came to America with his parents, Peter and Catherine (Glatt) Remier, in the year 1832. The family resided for several years at Utica, N. Y., where the senior Mr. R., who was a farmer, 2

died at the age of 62 years, in the year 1861. They reared seven sons and three daughters, Augustus be- ing the eldest.

Our subject acquired a common-school education and learned the cabinet-maker's trade while a boy, and followed it about six years. He then left Utica and at another city manufactured piano cases for ten years ; returning then to his old home, he worked for five years at wagon and carriage making, and in 1865 came to Galesburg and engaged in his present bus- iness. Mr. Remier was married at Fort Plain, N. Y., in 1852, to Miss Martha Rickard, a native of that place, and their children are Charles, a carriage trimmer, at Peoria ; William, machinist at the C., B. & Q. shops at Galesburg; Daisy (Mrs. Joe Simcos- key) and Lizzie, deceased in October, 1882.

Mr. Remier and his partner deservedly stand at the head of the wagon and carriage making and re- pairing business at Galesburg. (See biography of Mr. Linberg in this volume.)

X . ---

&apt. James L. Burkhalter, President of the Farmers' Bank of Galesburg, and Treasurer of Knox County, is the son of J David and Marion (Marks) Burkhalter. He was born in Allentown, Pa., April 15, 1835, and was the eldest in a family of seven sons and four daughters. His parents were of German descent and in their home spoke only the language of their ancestry, so their children learned no En- glish until they were old enough to attend school. The names of the brothers and sisters were Henry P., Savina, David F., Susan E., William, Mary A., Wayne, John, Anna E. and Charles M. Henry P. and Wayne are deceased; Susan E. became the wife of William Smythe and they have one son-William B .; William married Miss Clara Beard, and they are the parents of three children ; John married Miss Anna Carkhuff. The balance of the children reside on the old homestead.

James L. Burkhalter was educated at the Saegers- town Academy, taught school a short time and studied law with a view to professional life. From some cause, however, he abandoned this idea and went to Meadville, Pa., and there worked at the car- penter's trade until he was 21 years of age. He

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landed at Galesburg in April, 1856, where he prose- cuted his trade until the outbreak of the Civil War. After visiting various places he settled down at Ma- quon, and July 18, 1862, he received a commission from Gov. Yates, authorizing him to raise a company of volunteers. As recruiting officer, he raised Co. F for the 86th Ill. Vol. Inf. and Co. G for the 83d Ill. Vol. Inf. In camp at Peoria, Aug. 27, 1862, he was placed in command of Co. F, 86th Reg., and served his country faithfully and well until June, 1865. He was on the staff of Gen. Dan. McCook at the time that officer was killed, and was subse- quently on the staffs of Gens. Davis and Morgan, discharging in the meantime the various duties of Provost Marshal, Adjutant-General, Inspector-Gen- eral, etc. During his whole connection with the army he was never absent from the post of duty. At the siege of Atlanta, while on the staff of Gen. Mor- gan, and acting as one of the topographical engi- neers, he was captured by a guerrilla, but his Orderly, observing the situation, rushed upon the " reb " with a force that changed his victory into defeat, and in less than two minutes the whilom captor was being led captive into the lines of the Union Army. While acting as staff officer on the staff of Gen. Morgan, at Bentonville, N. C., the Captain, while carry- ing dispatches, was compelled to cross a swamp, wading in water up to his waist, under the fire of both armies, and, strange to say, he almost miraculously escaped unharmed.

Capt. Burkhalter left the army with the commis- sion of Major, but, failing to muster as such, he feels that he is scarcely entitled to that rank. At the close of the war he returned to Maquon, where he was for several years engaged in the lumber business, carrying on in the meantime the work of contractor and builder, and accumulating from various sources quite a sum of money. He became a stockholder and Director in the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank in 1882, and in January following was chosen President of that concern. While a citizen of Maquon he held the office of Police Magistrate for 16 years. He was elected Treasurer of Knox County in 1875, and re-elected in 1877, 1879 and in 1882. He has long been recognized as an able Republican worker, and has represented that party as member of the County Central Committee for 12 years. He moved into Galesburg in 1884, where he has since resided.

Capt. Burkhalter is a member of the I. O. O. F.

and A. F. & A. M., Eminent Commander of Gales- burg Commandery, No. 8, and member of Peoria Consistory. He was married at Maquon, Dec. 2, 1858, to Martha E. Adle, native of Genesee County, N. Y., and of German descent. Mr. and Mrs. B. have become the parents of eight children, namely ; Charles F., Henry L., James, Dessie, John, Nellie, Robert and Alvin P. Charles F. married Miss Osa Hoffman, daughter of James D. and Sarah Hoffman. They have one child, named James.

armon Brown. The gentleman whose name heads this history is the son of Alfred G. and Mary (Murdoch) Brown, natives of Kentucky. He is a prominent farmer on sec- tion 30, of Henderson Township. His parents - married and first settled in Breckenridge Coun- ty, Ky., and thence emigrated to Knox County, Ill. It was about the fall of 1830 when they took up their abode in Henderson Township, where they lived up to the date of their demise. His father died Oct. 8, 1865 ; the mother on March 29, 1869. They had a very interesting family of children, ten in number, of whom our subject was the third in order of birth, all of whom arrived at the age of man and womanhood except one which died in in- fancy. Alfred Brown, a younger brother, enlisted in the 82d Ill. Vol. Inf., under Col. McMurtry. He received an honorable discharge.

Harmon Brown was born in Breckenridge County, Ky., Nov. 28, 1825, and was only five years old when he came with his parents to Knox County. His early life was spent at home, and during this period he received a good common- school education. He sub- sequently attended Knox College for nearly three years, and on leaving that institution crossed the plains to California, with a drove of cattle. He was absent from home for 18 months, when he returned via the Isthmus to New York, and then to Illinois. Not long after this he became associated with W. A. Wood, in the grain trade, and they afterward engaged in general mercantile pursuits. He remained in the grain and mercantile business for four years before selling out. Six years later, during which interim he resided at Galesburg, he returned to Henderson Township, where he has since been occupied in farm- ing, and is now the owner of 165 acres of good land,

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all of which is valuable and the greater portion till- able.

He was married in Kelly Township, Warren Co., Ill., June 19, 1856, to Mary S. Adcock, daughter of George C. and Narcissa H. (Christian) Adcock. His wife's grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier and fought under Washington when only 15 years old. He was one of those noble old-time men who sought honor first. believing that all other good things would follow. His demise took place at the advanced age of 84 years. The parents of Mrs. Brown were na- tives of Virginia. In 1842 they came to Warren County, Ill., and settled in Kelly Township, where the old gentleman died Jan. 11, 1866. His wife still survives him. By their happy union four children were born, of whom Mrs. Brown was the second. Her birth took place in West Virginia, Dec. 26, 1834.

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Portrait and biographical album of Knox county, Illinois, Part 100

Author: Biographical Publishing Company, Buffalo and Chicago; Chapman Brothers, pub Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical publishing company Number of Pages: 1130

Author: Biographical Publishing Company, Buffalo and Chicago; Chapman Brothers, pub
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical publishing company
Number of Pages: 1130