Portrait and biographical album of Knox county, Illinois, Part 92

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

USA > Illinois > Knox County > Portrait and biographical album of Knox county, Illinois > Part 92

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KNOX COUNTY.

Mrs. McCutchen is yet living in Lyons, Iowa, having attained the venerable age of 75 years. She was the mother of nine children, of whom James W. is the eldest living, and one of whom died in infancy. Five of the children yet survive-two sons and three daughters.

James W. Mccutchen was born in Venango County, Pa., Feb. 21, 1833, came to Illinois in 1851, and settled in Peoria County. He was married Jan. 4, 1855, in Venango County, Pa., to Miss C. Rosetta Byers, a native of Mercer County, Pa., and born Aug. 27, 1833. She is a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Piper) Byers, natives of Mercer County, Pa., and who now reside in that county. They have lived to- gether as man and wife for 60 years. The father was born June 12, 1800, and the mother Oct. 10, 1807 ; the former was of French extraction and the latter of German, and in their united efforts in life they have met with far more than ordinary success.

Mrs. J. W. Mccutchen was well educated in the common schools and lived with her parents until her marriage. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. McCutchen six children have been born, four of whom are de- ceased. The record is as follows: Charlie M., born June 27, 1862, is a fireman on the C., B. &. Q. R. R .; Frank F., born Oct. 9, 1866, is attending Commercial College at Davenport; Almira, born Dec. 7, 1855, died April 13, 1865 ; Laura A., born Aug. 28, 1857, died Feb. 19, 1858; Ada B., born Sept. 27, 1859, died Aug. 29, 1860; Freddie E., born July 24, 1872, died August 31 of the same year.

After marriage Mr. and Mrs. McCutchen lived in Peoria County, where he followed agricultural pur- suits for ten years. He then moved to Freeport and from there to Marshall County, this State, where he purchased 120 acres of land, on which he lived for 12 years, engaged in farming. From the latter place he came to this county and purchased his present fine farm of 160 acres, one mile south of Galva. Since that time he has continued to reside upon the farm, devoting his time and attention to its cultiva- tion and improvement, together with the raising of stock. He and his wife are consistent, active mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and have been for many years, and of which denomination he has been Steward for about 30 years, Class Leader for many years and Sunday-school Superintendent. He has been Justice of the Peace and Supervisor and

held many other offices of minor import. In politics he always casts his vote for the success of the Re- publican party.

eorge W. Sawyer. Among the truly rep- resentative men in Walnut Grove Town- ship there are few who have held positions of trust and at the same time have had large business transactions who could so adequately perform the duties of both, with credit to themselves and profit to others, as the gentleman whose name heads this history. He may be pro- nounced as one of the many representative men of his district. In business he is a Notary Public, general collector, insurance and real estate agent and a farmer. His residence is on section 9, Walnut Grove Township, while his office is at Altona. He first came to this county in the spring of 1856, from Delaware Co., N. Y. He was born in Fergusonville, of that county, on the 5th of August, 1828. His father, Henry Sawyer, was formerly a carpenter but later a farmer, and lived and died in Fergusonville. He was of English extraction and married in his native county to Miss Margaret Multer. She was a native of Schoharie Co., N. Y., and of German descent. After the death of her husband she came to Illinois and died at her son's home Oct. 26, 1885, in her 80th year.

Mr. Sawyer, the subject of this biography, was the second of five children born to his parents. Two of these are now living in this State, one in Nebraska and one in Massachusetts; the latter, Joseph H., is the Principal of Williston Seminary, of East Hamp- ton, Mass. He graduated at Amherst and was Pro- fessor of the Higher Mathematics for many years. The present gentleman was educated in the public schools. He was a bright boy and secured his edu- cation chiefly by his own efforts. At first he learned the trade of his father, that of a carpenter, which he followed for some time. This he acquired when he was 16 years old and soon afterward set out on his own account, coming West in April, 1856. Locat- ing in Galesburg, he followed his trade for one year and then proceeded to Minneapolis, Minn., where he remained another year. After spending some months in Wisconsin he came again to Galesburg and engaged in teaching, a profession which he had

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KNOX COUNTY.

more or less cultivated in his native county. His first income from this was only ten dollars per month. In 1859 he became connected with the nursery bus- iness, and after working at this the best portion of two years began again to pursue his trade for a short time. Going to Quincy, Adams Co., Ill., he was there married, Dec. 9, 1860, to Miss Sarah Cleveland, a native of Schoharie Co. N. Y. She came, when only four years old, with her parents, to Quincy, Ill. Here she was educated and resided up to the date of her marriage. By her union she was blest with five children, two of whom are deceased. There are living at home Ida E., now a teacher in the public schools of this county, Charles C. and Henry J.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. S. went East, and in the following spring returned again to this township. After he had farmed for four years he sold out and proceeded to Quincy, Ill. Later he came to Altona and erected a desirable home in this vicinity. Having bought a lumber yard here, he operated the same for two years. Finally he was engaged as a Notary Phblic and in 1875 purchased a cattle ranch in Nebraska. In the course of a few years he traded the ranch for his present farm of 240 acres. Here he has become, as already stated, one of the most successful farmers of his district. Mrs. Sawyer and her daughter are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church at Altona and stand high in that community.

Mr. Sawyer has been Justice of the Peace and Township Treasurer, as well as filling other minor offices. In him the Republican party have one of the strongest adherents and one of the most consci- entious workers.

onas F. Anderson, fashionable restaura- teur and confectioner, Galesburg, came to America from Sweden in 1855 and to this city in 1856. His mother, who accompanied him hither, spent her last days in Galesburg. Jonas F. Anderson was born Sept. 7, 1841 ; his boy- hood in Sweden was spent principally in school, and since coming here, like his industrious people, he has gathered a pretty fair knowledge of English. After several years' experience in biographical work, cover- ing all classes and nationalities, the writer unreserv- edly pronounces the Swede as the most apt of all

foreigners who come to our shores in gathering an English education and adapting himself to American ideas. The industry and good citizenship of these people are marked, and their loyalty in the discharge of every obligation incumbent upon them makes their patronage in commerce and traffic of the highest worth.

Mr. Anderson farmed for three years after coming to Knox County. He then removed to Monmouth and engaged in the restaurant and confectionery bus- iness. In the fall of 1862 he went out with the 14th Ill. Cav., as sutler for H. H. Mayo, of Peoria, and remained about a year and a half. In February, 1864, he opened a restaurant on Cherry street, this city; was there about a year, when he removed to 128 East Main street, and from there in 1876 to his present elegant quarters, 140 East Main street. He is a consistent member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church and is a Mason and an Odd Fel- low. At Princeton, III., Sept. 26, 1865, he married Miss Christina Spaka, a native of Sweden, and their children are named respectively Fred H., Lillie V. and Walter R.

ohn C. Burt. Prominent among the suc- cessful farmers of Ontario Township, and one of the honored and respected citizens of Knox County, is John C. Burt, the details of whose personal history are herein given, and is a pioneer farmer, having come to this county in 1840. He was born in Medina County, Ohio, from which place he came to Knox County under the guardianship of his parents, locating in Rio Township, and working the farm, for the space of six years. The father, whose name was John also, was born in Taunton, Mass., in 1794, and pos- sessed the energy and inherent strength of character of the old New England stock. In 1846 he pur- chased 160 acres of land in Ontario Township, the northwest quarter of section 28. This was raw prairie soil, which he cultivated and improved till 1855. He next spent one year in Galesburg, which city he left and came to Oneida in the spring of 1856, and died the following year at the age of 63 years. He was of New England birth and of Scotch- Irish ancestry, and came to Ohio from Massa- chusetts when a young man. From that State

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KNOX COUNTY.

he went to Bristol, Ontario Co., N. Y., and there en- tered the holy bonds of wedlock with Hannah Dan- ielson, whom he lost by death a few months after marriage, in August, 1822.

His second matrimonial alliance was contracted with Miss Lucinda Hammond, and took place in March, 1824, and who has borne him five children, two of whom are married and living in pleasant homes of their own : Mary R. lives with her brother, John C., our subject : Nancy, wife of George D. Camp, resides on a farm in Gage County. Neb .; Lewis, a single man, lives at the home of his brother. John C., and his sister, Mary R .; Daniel W., hus- band of Bertha Leonard, of Dickinson County, Kan., is a grain buyer and shipper and a prominent bus- iness man of that place.

The father of our subject settled in Medina Coun- ty, Ohio, in 1818. He was left in charge of the family, being the eldest son and the confidant and help of his mother, who looked to and leaned upon him at the death of his father. The children, five in number, were young and in a degree helpless, but he acted his part nobly, and they lacked no kindness or attentive care that he could supply. Helocated in Medina County when it was still new, and returning to Massachusetts brought out West his mother and the children, for whom he tenderly cared until her death, which occurred in the spring of 1837. Fol- lowing this event was his removal to this county, in which he has shown himself successful in agricult- ural pursuits, living ever since in the township of which he was the first Assessor and to which he gave its name at its organization. At the time of his death he was Treasurer of the township and of the Board of Road Commissioners. In political belief he was a Republican, but he was formerly an old- line Whig.

The brother and sister of Mr. Burt, who were young at the date of his mother's death, in February, 1 840, grew up under his care and protection, as pre- viously stated, and, under his advice and by his strong efforts in that direction, one and all received a good common-school education. The father of this family was an active member of the Congregational Church, and morally and religiously stood high in the community. Their son, John C., who has proved himself so amply fitted for the vocation he pursues, purchased his first land, consisting of 160 acres, on

section 28. and to it added many improvements, cul- tivating it highly. He also owns a pleasant residence, handsome and convenient, within the limits of the town of Oneida. Three of the children are mem- bers of the Congregational Church in good and reg- ular standing, one a Methodist and one a Presbyte- rian. Mr. B. is himself Deacon and has been for the past 30 years in his church. He has held many of the local offices of his township, and has been Commissioner and Treasurer of the Board of the same for 18 years, and is in politics a Prohibitionist.

charles H. Fuller, Chief Train Dispatcher and Chief Operator and Car Distributor of the Galesburg Division of the C., B. Q. R. R., is a native of Rhode Island. He was born at Providence, April 18, 1835. His par- ents were Ebenezer and Charlotte Scott (Bab- cock) Fuller, both of them descended from a long line of worthy pioneers of that State.

In 1849 Ebenezer Fuller moved West with his family and settled in La Fayette, Stark County, 111., where he kept hotel for about six years. He then became the agent of the C., B. & Q. R. R. Co. at Galva, where he remained until his demise, in 1869. He had become the father of two sons-C. H. and John Cope Fuller, the latter of whom is a prosperous merchant at Cincinnati. In 1856 Charles H. engaged in the railway business at Galva, as clerk in a freight office, and in 1861, completing a course of telegra- phy, he received the position of operator in the office at Galva. In August, 1865, he was transferred to Galesburg, and took the position of Train Dispatcher, which he has filled acceptably. In 1881 he became the chief of that department, also being assigned to the chief operatorship of that office. Subsequently he was appointed to the office of Car Distributor, all of which offices he has filled with credit and effi- ciency.

Mr. Fuller was married at La Fayette, Ill., Jan 10, 1858, to Theda, the daughter of Gideon B. and Sarah A. (Dixon) Gillette, natives of the State of New York. The father died in 1849; the mother is still living at La Fayette, Ill. Mrs. Fuller is one of a family of four daughters born to her parents, two of whom are deceased. The one now living besides

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KNOX COUNTY.

Mrs. F. became the wife of Frank J. Bush, and is living at Clear Lake, Iowa.

The result of Mr. Fuller's alliance with Miss Gil- lette is a son, Fred. C., a young man of clever attainments and holding a good position in the ma- chinery department in the Chicago & Alton Railway Company's shops at Bloomington, Ill. Fred. C. is married and has a family of two girls. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller, of this notice, have besides an adopted daughter, Blanche Ballentine Fuller, to whom they are giving their kind parental care, rearing and edu- cating her as one of their own. She is a bright little gem in their domestic circle. Our subject and wife attend worship at the Congregational Church. Mr. Fuller is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having been a Mason since 1857. He is a worthy citizen and both he and his amiable wife enjoy a merited re- spect from all who know them.

harles A. Ericson. The subject of this biographical notice is a solid and substan- tial citizen, well known for his energy of purpose and his unvarying industry. He holds the position of foreman of the round- house of the C., B. & Q. R. R .. at Galesburg, and leaves no labor unfinished or poorly executed into which he enters.

Mr. E. was born in Hulsbre, Sweden, in 1844, and is a son of Nels P. and Lena Ericson, who came to America in 1852, and settled in Galesburg, and of their eight sons and one daughter but three survive : Charlie A .; A. W., assistant foreman of the machine shop of the C., B. & Q. R. R., and John W., a farmer in Union County, Iowa.

The subject of our sketch completed his time as an apprentice to the trade of machinist in the ma- chine shop of the railroad here, and has steadily followed it for nine years, leaving the shops to accept his present position. This he has filled to the satis- faction of all concerned, and is considered a me- chanic of the highest ability. He is genial and kindly in manner, of pleasing address and fine physique, and although an admirer of of the oppo- site sex and a favorite among ladies, has hitherto re- sisted all the darts of the blind god, and still treads the paths of single blessedness. He is well thought 1

of socially, and is respected for his integrity of char- acter and his worthy manhood. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge and of the I. O. G. T.

apt. C. E. Lanstrum was born in Sweden, March 2, 1837, and came to America in the early fall of 1852. His parents were John and Sophia Lanstrum, who came over in 1853, and settled in Knox County, from which point, in December 1861, the elder Mr. Lanstrum entered the United States Army. He was a member of the 2d Ill. Art., and, while at Shiloh, where his command was actively engaged, he contracted a disease which led to his death. This occurred on board the hospital boat City of Memphis, in 1862.

The subject of our sketch, on landing in the United States, came direct to Knoxville, where he procured employment from a farmer, with whom he staid about three months. He was 15 years of age when he left Sweden, therefore, under their system of education, had already received several years of schooling. This, though in a language so wholly different from the English, taught him the value of learning, and he at once set himself about mastering the English and advancing himself in the various studies. In March 1853, he went to Abingdon, and there worked a few months at wagon-making. His next move was to Knoxville, where he found employ- ment as clerk in a dry goods house.

In 1856 he removed to Red Wing, Minn., engaging in the real estate business to some extent. The fall of 1858 found him again in Galesburg, where he clerked in a grocery house, until April, 1861, trans- ferring thence to Des Moines, Iowa. In September of that year he assisted in organizing a company of volunteers for the United States Army. The com- pany, B, mustered Nov. 9, 1861, into the 15th Iowa Vol. Inf., with Mr. Lanstrum as the Second Lieuten- ant. He received a merited promotion to First Lieu- tenant, May 24, 1862, and to that of Captain, Feb. 19, 1863. With this rank he left the army May 16, 1 865, after a continuous service of nearly four years. During the siege of Vicksburg, he did picket duty for Crocker's Iowa Brigade. In the ensuing Septem- ber he filled a similar position with the 4th Division, 17th Army Corps, and in October, 1863, was assigned

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KNOX COUNTY.

to the duty of Commissary of Muster at the inilitary quarters, district of Natchez, Miss., by order of the Secretary of War. In this latter position he re- mained until ordered to Vicksburg, for final muster- ing out. While with his command he participated in the following battles : Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Bol- ivar, Tenn., Iuka, Corinthi, Holly Springs, Port Gib- son, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills, Big Black, siege of Vicksburg, siege of Jackson, Vidalia, La., etc.

The close of the war brought him again to Gales- burg, where he clerked for O. T. Johnson, then formed a partnership with Mr. Bancroft in the grocery bus- iness which lasted from 1866 to 1879. In the latter year he formed a business connection which has since received his attention. Capt. Lanstrum was one of the organizers of the Covenant Mutual Ben- efit Association, of which he was one of the Direct- ors, and at present is Treasurer. (See historical sketch of this Association in this volume.) He is prominent in the I. O. O. F., member of the En- campment and Grand Lodge in that Order, a Knight Templar in Masonry, member of the Army of Ten- nessee, of the Grand Army of the Republic and of Crocker's Iowa Brigade Association.

At Des Moines, Iowa, Dec. 9, 1861, he was united in marriage with Miss Susan E. Crocker, sister of Gen. Crocker, and they have a family of seven chil- dren, all living.

enry Ream, freight engineer on the C., B. & Q. R. R., was born in Richland County, Ohio, Oct. 14, 1841. His parents were Henry and Elizabeth (Doermire) Ream, the father being a native of Pennsylvania and of German ancestry, and the mother of English descent. In 1851 his parents moved to Grundy County, Mo., where our subject grew to manhocd on his father's farm.

Upon the outbreak of the Civil War our subject declared himself for the Union, and enlisted his serv- ices first in the defense of the State and latterly for the United States. He enrolled with Co. B, 23d Mo. Vol. Inf., receiving an honorable discharge at the end of the war. At the close of the war he be- gan railroading with the C., B. & Q. R. R., at Quincy, Ill., as fireman. In 1871 he was given

charge of an engine, and has very acceptably and meritoriously filled the position since.

Mr. Ream was married at Quincy, Ill., on July 22, 1867, to Elizabeth Ann, daughter of Michael Roley, Esq., who was a native of Westmoreland County, Pa. Their home circle has been blest by the birth of seven children, three sons and four daughters : Joseph Albert Ream, a young man of 18 (the eldest of the family), is completing his academic studies ; the names of the others are Lydia Annetta, Chris- tian, Rosa and Daniel (twins), Ethel Anne and Grace Victoria. Christian, Rosa and Daniel are dead. Mr. Ream and wife, together with their eld- est son and daughter, are members in full standing with the First Baptist Church. He is a worthy mem- ber of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Division No. 62, of Galesburg ; is a worthy citizen, a clever gentleman and kind husband and father.

eorge England, respected as a citizen, and honored for his sterling worth and in- tegrity, as well as being a successful farmer of Knox County, residing on section 4, Persifer Township, is the subject of this no- tice. He came here in 1854, from Vinton County, Ohio, but remained only a short time, when he went to Marshall County, this State, and there re- sided for two years. At the expiration of that time Mr. England returned to this county, and four years later removed to Copley Township, where for 16 years he was occupied in agricultural pursuits, and then moved to the township in which he is at present residing.

Mr. England is at present the proprietor of 300 acres of land in Persifer Township, 200 of which is in a tillable condition. He was born in Bedford County, Pa., May 4, 1826, and at Oneida, this State, on the 17th day of October, 1861, he was united in marriage with Miss Susannah Webb, the accomplished and in- telligent daughter of Simon A. and Catherine (Dempsey) Webb. Her parents came to this county in 1849, and settled in Haw Creek Township. Her father died in Warren County, and her mother is yet living. Mrs. England was born in Warren County, May 17, 1840, and has borne her husband eight chil- dren, with records as follows : William W. was born Aug. 7, 1862 ; Anna C., May 1, 1864; Edward W.,

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KNOX COUNTY.

May 31, 1866; Mary A., May 6, 1868 ; Emma E., June 16, 1870; Madison W., Sept. 23, 1872, died Feb. 28, 1873 ; John D., June 2, 1874; and Jacob H., March 16, 1876.

Mr. England enlisted in the 36th I!l. Vol. Inf., Co. A, Capt. Wm. A. Mitchell, Sept. 27, 1864, and re- ceived an honorable discharge June 15, 1865, at Nashville, Tenn. While in the service Mr. E. par- ticipated in the battles of Franklin and Nashville and a great number of skirmishes.

Mr. and Mrs. England are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. Politically Mr. England votes with the Republican party, and in his chosen vocation is meeting with that success which energy and perseverance are sure to bring.

Mrs. England has one sister, who married William Cheriington, now deceased ; she was again married to Charles Crouch. By the first marriage five chil- dren were born -- Mary A., Emma A., John A., James S. and Dennis W. By the second marriage two children-Jasper E. and Elizabeth C. She is now living in Copley Township.

R alph Skinner is a retired farmer, residing in the city of Galesburg, and was born in Cortland County, N. Y., July 31, 1819. The parents of Mr. Skinner, John F. and Cynthia (Chesebro) Skinner, were natives of Connecticut, of English descent, and reared two sons and five daughters, Ralph being the eldest and the only son now living, and one sister, now Angeline Gray, living in Decatur County, Iowa. He came to Knox County in 1837, and returned East for his parents in 1849. His father and mother died here, the former in 1854, and his widow in 1870.

Ralph Skinner was brought up on the farm and educated in the district schools, and joined the colony that founded Galesburg. June 19, 1856, he married Miss Louisa Swift, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Erastus Swift, one of the Galesburg colonists, the father, in his lifetime, being one of Knox County's best citizens. He was one of the Trustees of Knox College. Mr. Swift died in 1848, aged 70 years, and his widow, whose maiden name was Everest, died ten years later. Their children

were all highly educated, and the male members of the family have since adorned the most honored pro- fessions.

Mr. and Mrs. Skinner have no children of their own, but several children of other people have been blessed by their bounty and grown up under their fostering care. In 1875 Mr. Skinner retired from all active business, though retaining a supervisory care over his farm, now reduced to 80 acres. Mr. Skin- ner votes the Republican ticket. Mrs. Skinner is a member of the Congregational Church.

S. Simpson. The early training and sub- sequent life of this gentleman leave no room to doubt that his present success and future prosperity is and will be based on his sterling qualities of character. In his earliest start in life, friends who knew him then proph- esied that the boy's future would be marked with decided success.

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Portrait and biographical album of Knox county, Illinois, Part 92

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