Portrait and biographical album of Knox county, Illinois, Part 98

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 98

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KNOX COUNTY.

worthy member of the Masonic fraternity, and an active member of the Order of Railway Conductors, in which he at present serves as Junior Conductor and Correspondent of Division No. 3.

arry Dunbar. This gentleman is a farmer and stock-raiser on section 22, Henderson Township. He is the son of George and Millie (Collins) Dunbar, both natives of Ken- tucky and very estimable people. They came to Knox County and early settled in Sparta Township, where the mother died. Her husband survives her and is now living in Henderson village. They had a very interesting family of seven chil- dren, of whom the gentleman whose name heads this history was the fourth. The brothers and sis- ters of Mr. Dunbar were Mary A., now deceased ; Luticia married Stewart Holly, and one child was the result of this union ; Mrs. Holly is now dead; Frank married Martha Wilt, and seven children were born to them ; Sarah is deceased ; Washington is married to Miss McElhaney, and they have five children ; Nancy is the wife of Edward King, and they have three children living. Frank and Wash- , ington were in the Civil War, in Co. K, 83d Ill. Vol. Inf .; they both received honorable discharges.

Harry Dunbar was born in Sparta Township and received a good common-school education. He has resided in Knox Connty, where all his life he has engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. His farm consists of nearly 400 acres, all well-im- proved, most of which is tillable and on which are very desirable buildings and all necessary appliances for successful stock-breeding. His barns rank with the best in the county. He is chiefly interested in raising blooded stock. He has 60 head of horses, 100 head of cattle, and fattens about 150 hogs annually. His horses are of the Norman and Hambletonian breeds and his cattle of the Short-horn and Durham bloods. He is the owner of two imported Norman stallions and has also in his possession the well- known Kentucky mammoth jack, Young Samson. Mr. Dunbar's judgment as a cattle-breeder is of the first order, and throughout the county he is consid- ered one of the most practical and wide-awake farm- ers of his day.

Mr. Dunbar was married in Knoxville, Ill., on the

14th of April, 1860, to Cordelia Riggen. There have been nine children born to these parents-John A., Lillie C., Loren, Arthur W., Della, Luna, Anna, Fred and Daisy. Of these, Della, to the great sor- row of her parents, died early. John is married and settled in Henderson Township, and has one child -- Ella M. Lillie C. is the happy wife of John Has- kins, and resides in Henderson Township; two children have been born to this union-Florence and Daisy.

Mr. Harry Dunbar for the second time was mar- ried, in Henderson Township, March 17, 1879, to Rachel Riggen, a native of Stark County, Ill., born on the 25th of October, 1857. By this marriage there has been one child-Lulu F.

In politics Mr. Dunbar has always allied himself with the Republicans, and in the interest of that party has never lost an opportunity to prove his ad- hesion by word or deed. In connection with this sketch we present a view of the pleasant homestead of Mr. Dunbar.

harles H. Cuyler, Division Roadmaster of the Galesburg & Peoria and Buda & Rush- ville Branches of the Galesburg Division of the C., B. & Q. R. R., was born in Mont- real, Canada, Oct. 6, 1831. He is the son of Charles H. and Louisa (Field) Cuyler, natives of New York. The parents of our subject were, at the time of his birth, temporarily stopping at Mont- real. The Cuylers are natives of Dutchess County. The grandfather of our subject was a native of Amsterdam, Holland. Mr. Cuyler, senior, was ex- tensively engaged in the merchant marine trade and ultimately settled in Dutchess County. The family were of worthy English ancestry and settled in Flushing, Long Island.

The subject of our sketch was the second child of a family of 11 children. He was reared at Ferris- burg, Vt., and grew to manhood in New York City. At the age of 23 years he came to Illinois, and set- tled in Plymouth, and in r856, with his brother Walter (now of Quincy, Ill.), brought his parents West and established a home for them, where the father died in 1867. Ten years previous to this time Mr. Cuyler began work for the C., B. & Q. R. R. Co, His first experience was with the shovel,

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from which he rose to section foreman and from that to the foremanship of the floating gang, holding his headquarters at Colchester, whither he had removed in 1866. In 1877 he was appointed to his present position, a place he has worthily filled ever since.

Mr. Cuyler was married in Marion County, Ill., to Martha Maguire, whom he buried Aug. 31, 1879, in Argyle, near Colchester. She had borne him three sons and one daughter-Edward B., deceased ; Frank M., a telegraph operator at Minneapolis, Minn .; Daisy Estelle and Roger Irving. He was again married, in 1880, to Mary Davies, a native of Mountain Ash, Glamorganshire, Wales, by whom he has a son and daughter-May Davies and Charles, Jr. Mr. Cuyler is an active member of the I. O. O. F., and both he and his wife attend worship at the Baptist Church.

hester E. Allen, keeper of the City Prison and a Constable of Galesburg, comes of a worthy line of pioneer stock of Knox County. He was born there in 1846, and is the son of Sheldon W. and Fidelia (Leach) Allen, natives of York State. Our subject spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, and ob- tained a liberal education in the public schools. At the age of 16 he became apprenticed to the harness- making trade, but the Civil War being in progress at this time, young Allen longed to enter the service, but was too young. However, in consequence of his fine physique, he was accepted about a year afterward and enlisted his services in Co. D, 139th Ill. Vol. Inf., with which company he remained until the close of the war, receiving an honorable dis- charge. He then returned to his apprenticeship, which he completed, but the confinement of the shop was too much for him, and he left the harness- making business to engage in mercantile pursuits. In 1871 he joined his brothers in the meat market business, which he carried on continuously until 1881, when, upon the dissolution of the firm, he accepted a place upon the constabulary of his city, which position he has very reputably held since.

Mr. Allen was married at Galesburg, to Miss Anna, daughter of James and Clarinda (Fletcher) Fleming, of Staten Island, N. Y. This union has

been blest by the birth of a daughter-Blanche Fi- delia.

Mr. Allen is a liberal contributor to all religious organizations, and is a charter member of the G. A. R., also a worthy Mason, being a Past Master of Alpha Lodge, No. 155, and a member of the Chapter and Council. He is a fearless officer, a genial gen- tleman and a kind friend.

lbert J. Perry, Clerk of Knox County, resi- dent at Galesburg, is a native of Erie Coun- ty, N. Y., where he was born Dec. 10, 1841. His father, whose name was James Perry, was a native of Massachusetts, and his mother, whose maiden name was Sophronia Pengra, of York State.

The father of our subject, as appears from the memoranda before us, was one of the most active men in the county in which he resided. He was a small farmer, perhaps such only as a diversion ; was a pension solicitor for the soldiers of 1812, and a very successful one. He was a man who was in- trusted with a multiplicity of business of various kinds. He was possessed of a superior education, correct and methodical in methods of business, and therefore his services were eagerly sought for by his neighbors. He also held the position of School Commissioner, was Colonel of militia, and, in fact, was for years more or less identified with everything of a public nature in the community in which he re- sided. He died at Alden, N. Y., in 1860, at the age of 64 years. His widow survived him a few years, and died at the home of one of her sons at Toledo, Ohio.

The subject of this sketch was prepared for col- lege at the academy of his native town, Alden, and was admitted to the Sophomore Class of Rochester University, but for some cause failed to complete the course. He learned telegraphy at Alden, and worked at that business at various points upon the line of the Erie Railroad, for several years. In 1865 he came to Galesburg, having been offered the position as bookkeeper in the building department of the C., B. & Q. R. R., where he remained until Jan. 1, 1873. After leaving the railroad company he taught school a few months, and in July of 1873 went into the office of the Circuit Court Clerk as

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KNOX COUNTY.

copyist. While here, he read law under the instruc- tion of Williams, Mckenzie & Calkins, and was ad- mitted to the bar at Ottawa in 1876. In 1874, he was appointed Deputy Circuit Clerk, and held that position until he was elected and installed into the office he now holds, in December, 1882.

Our subject was married in Steuben County, N. Y., Dec. 9, 1866, to Miss Albina S. Hughes, daugh- ter of the late Dr. Hiram Hughes, of that county.

Politically, Mr. Perry has always been a Republi- can. In 1882 he was regularly nominated by the party for the position of County Clerk, and was elected by a handsome majority. In 1886 he re- ceived further favor at the hands of that politica! organization, by being nominated for the second term, thus attesting, in the most marked degree, the satisfaction which his service has been to the public.

onas J. Hedman, a farmer, living on sec- tion 2 of Copley Township, is the subject of this recital, and is one of our progress- ive and live men. He has lived to see Knox County attain success in the march of prog- ress. His home is a pleasant and desirable one and he pursues general farming as a vocation. He is settled upon 78 acres of land, which is now in a high state of cultivation.

Mr. Hedman was born in Sweden, Feb. 23, 1850, and is the son of John and Carrie (Shostrom) Hed- man. John Hedman was a tailor by occupation, which calling he pursued in Sweden, and was the father of two sons-Jonas J. of this writing, and John D. After Jonas was 17 years of age, up to which time he had attended school and worked with his father at tailoring, he in 1867 left his native land and with friends came to America. They landed at New York and from there came West, and, being pleased with the appearance of Knox County, stopped at Altona. There he hired out to a farmer, contracting to work by the month and rented farms up to 1880. At that time he took a trip to Nebraska and purchased 80 acres of land in Polk County, where he remained for two years. He improved the same, and at the end of that time he sold it and re- turned to Illinois. In this State he purchased the farm on which he now lives.

Mr. Hedman was united in marriage in 1882 with

Miss Catherine Englund, a native of Knox County, Ill. She was born in 1860, and was the daughter of Peter and Catherine (Anderson) Englund. They were natives of Sweden, and came to America in 1853, and settled in Knox County, where they are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Hedman have one daugh- ter, by name Minnie C. Mr. Hedman is an esteemed and worthy citizen, and politically supports the Re- publican party.

r. D. W. Aldrich, a physician and surgeon of distinction, and a resident of Galesburg, is a native of Boone County, this State, and is the son of William and Sarah Ann (Bassett) Aldrich, descendants respectively from English and Scotch-Irish ancestry. He was born April 1, 1846, and was the seventh in a family of 12 children. The senior Mr. Aldrich was a farmer by occupation, and a native of Binghamton, N. Y. He was married at Bradford, Pa., in 1831, and came to Illinois in 1844; resided in Boone County till 1860, removed to Knox County in that year, and died at Henderson in 1869 at the age of 64 years.

The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood days upon the farm and in attendance at the district schools, supplementing his academic studies with three years at Knox College. Before leaving Knox he began the study of medicine under the direction and tutelage of Dr. E. S. Cooper, and, in 1869, en- tered Rush Medical College, Chicago. Leaving that institution, he practiced medicine about three years at Gilson, going thence to Bellevue Medi- cal College, N. Y., graduating from there March 1, 1874. Four years later he took a post-graduate course in the same institution.

From 1874 to 1880, Dr. Aldrich practiced medi- cine at Gilson, Ill., and in May of the last-named year came to Galesburg. Here he has since occu- pied an honorable position as a citizen and a mem- ber of his chosen profession. January 1, 1886, he was appointed Surgeon for the C., B. & Q. R. R. Co. His practice is described as of the "regular school," and his patrons in number and respectability are second to none of those of any other physi- cian in the county.

In 1876 Dr. Aldrich was elected Coronor of Knox -

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

George atvery

d. M.M. Avery

LIBRARY OF THE L .. VERCITY OF ILLINO ;

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KNOX COUNTY.

County, and served acceptably for two years, and in 1880 was again elected. Missing one term of two years, in 1884 he was once more chosen to the position. He is a member of the Military Tract, the State and local medical societies, and an honored member of the Masonic fraternity and also the G. A. R. Speaking of the last-named organization calls to mind a fact worthy of mention here. From Jan. 1, 1865, to the close of the war, Dr. Aldrich served as a private soldier in Co. E, 148th Ill. Vol. Inf. His regiment served in Tennessee, and while in Decherd, that State, he filled the office of Postmaster. At Knoxville, Ang. 1, 1872, the Doctor was married to Miss Margaret McBride, and his three daughters are named Blanche, Mabel and Gertrude. Politic- ally he is and has been a Republican.

Judson Hale, who has resided in Knox County since June, 1845, was born in Smithfield, Pa., April 8, 1823. After re- ceiving an academic education, at the age of 19 he commenced his law studies in the office of Gen. Bullock, completed them in the office of Adams & Mercer, Towanda, Pa., and was ad- mitted to the bar in the winter of 1845. Arriving in Knoxville in June, 1845, he commenced the practice of his profession in competition with the able resi- dent bar of Messrs. Manning & Swift, C. K. Harvey, R. L. Hannaman, Edward & Thomas Law.

In 1847 he was elected School Commissioner of Knox County, and in August, 1848, he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court of Knox County. At the expiration of his official term, in 1852, he resumed the practice of law, as a member of the law firm of Hannaman & Hale, of which he was a more or less active member until 1861.

In 1862 he was appointed United States Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, which position he re- signed in 1864. Since 1865 he has resided in the city of Galesburg, occupied mainly with his personal affairs. Since 1867 he has been a Trustee of Lom- bard University, at intervals serving as President of the Board, Secretary and Treasurer. In 1876 he was elected upon the Republican ticket a member of the State Board of Equalization for the term of

four years. He was a member of the Board of Su- pervisors of Knox County, from 1875 to 1883 inclu- sive, and was Chairman of the Board from 1877 to 1 883.

As secondary incidents in his life, it may be men- tioned that while residing in the city of Knoxville he served one term as Mayor; that in 1869 he was elected and commissioned Colonel of the 59th Regt. Ill. State Militia; that since residing in the city of Galesburg he was for many years identified with the management of the Galesburg Public Library and the Galesburg Board of Park Commissioners; that at an early day he earned some position in the I. (). O. F., and both early and late as a member of the fraternity of A., F. & A. M., and has filled all posi- tions up to and including Eminent Commander of Knights Templar.

Sept. 24, 1848, he was married in Smithfield, Pa., to Sarah P. Pierce, daughter of James C. and Eliza- beth Pierce, and residing in Knoxville and Galesburg, Knox Co., since that time, they have reared their family of five children-Willie, Mark, Charles, Harry and Stella. Willie was instantly killed while in rail- road employ in 1873; Mark is a railroad engineer ; Charles, a graduate of Lombard University, is cash- ier of the First National Bank of Pittsburg, Kan .; 4 Harry, who graduated as a cadet at West Point, is a Lieutenant in the United States Army, and Stella, who graduated at Lombard University, resides with her parents, the subjects of the foregoing sketch.

eorge Avery. One of the oldest and most highly esteemed citizens of Knox County is Mr. George Avery, of Galesburg. He was born in Columbia County, N. Y., Dec. 2, 1802. His parents, William and Phebe (Throop) Avery, were of New England ances- try, although slightly tinged with foreign blood. The former died in the East when our subject was a young man. They had a family of eight children- George, Nathan, Clarissa, Hyde T., William T., Deb- orah, John T. and Cornelia. Nathan was a physi- cian, and married a Miss Rivers, of Tennessee. Both are deceased, leaving one son, William T., who has served in Congress from Tennessee. Clarissa mar- ried Silas Churchill, and both she and her husband are deceased. They left a family of five children,

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three boys and two girls. Both Hyde T. and Will- iam T. are also deceased, the latter dying in Indiana. Deborah married John Kendall, the celebrated ther- mometer-maker of New Lebanon, N. Y., where they now reside; three daughters have been born to them. John T. married Sarah Whiting, and resides in Cleveland, Ohio, and has a family of five boys and two girls. Cornelia became the wife of William Ball, and is living in New York.

Alternating the duties of a farm life with attend- ance at the common school, our subject passed his younger life in the vicinity of New Lebanon, N. Y. Early manhood found him possessed of a very fair English education. He was about 34 years of age when he came West, and the year 1836 found him upon the ground now occupied by the city of Gales- burg. Indeed he was one of the first members of that society known as the Early Settlers' or Pioneers' Association, the object of which was to found a Christian College. It will be highly proper in this connection to speak of him as one of the most enter- prising, industrious and active workers that ever entered Knox County.

The farm on which he lived up to 1867 was that piece of property which he purchased in the begin- ning. joining the corporate limits of the village, and he has come as near witnessing every step of the growth of this place as any living man. In the year last named (1867) he turned his farm over to his sons and retired to private life. Through a cit- izenship of full half a century, mingling daily with people who so rapidly settled around him, transact- ing business with hundreds, aye, with thousands in the aggregate, it is remarkable that not once in his life has he ever been summoned to court to answer the complaint of any man. He began life a poor boy, and has since inherited nothing except the reward that always eventually descends to the industrious and persevering. He was so fortunate as to add to his possessions a wife of many worthy attributes and a helpmate in its truest sense, one of those women whose price is above rubies. Together they have labored, and age finds him possessed of an ample competency. He was active among the early rail- way organizations of this place, and in fact all public enterprises of merit ever found in him a substantial friend and a strong advocate.

When Mr. Avery came to this county, the trip was made by the usual overland route, requiring eight

weeks' time to make it. A gentleman by the name of Col. Mills brought a colored boy about 12 years of age with him from New York. Mr. Mills dying, his widow requested Mr. Avery to take charge of the boy, which he did and was compelled to pay taxes upon him the same as he did upon his horses. Mr. Avery, being a strong Abolitionist, wrote back to New York for the boy's free papers, to show that he was not taxable property.

Mr. Avery's marriage was celebrated Jan. 24, 1839, in Knox County, when he was united in holy matrimonial bonds with Miss Seraphina Princess Mary Phelps, a native of Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Col. Aaron N. and Clarissa (Root) Phelps, natives of Westfield, Mass. The Phelps family is one of the oldest in New England. Two brothers landed in America May 30, 1630, coming from England on the ship "Mary and John," com- manded by Capt. Squibb .. Aaron N. Phelps was a colonel in the War of 1812. Mrs. Avery was born Jan. 19, 1815, and was the eldest of a family of three children. The others, who are deceased, were Mrs. Sybelana Kilbourn and Royal A. N. Mrs. Avery came to this county in 1836 with her mother, her father having died six years before. They set- tled in what is now Galesburg, where the mother died in 1856.

Mr. and Mrs. Avery have had born to them seven children, as follows : Robert H., President of the Avery Corn-Planter Company, of Peoria, Ill .; John T., a farmer of Rio Township, this county ; Mary, now Mrs. Rev. William R. Butcher, of Wataga, Ill .; Cyrus M., of Avery & Co., of Peoria; Phebe T., now living at home, and George, a farmer of Kansas. Fredrick Arthur died when about three years old. Robert H., the eldest son, married Miss Sarah P. Ayers ; they are the parents of five children-Minnie E., Fredrick A., Sadie T., Cornelia and Ellen K. Robert enlisted in Co. A, 77th Ill. Vol. Inf., in 1862, and served until the close of the war. He was taken prisoner and placed in Andersonville prison, where he remained for about eight months. He is the in- ventor of the Avery Corn-Planter, as well as other useful implements, and owns a controlling interest in the factory at Peoria. John T. took to wife Mrs. Flora Olmsted. Mary became the wife of Rev. William R. Butcher, and they have five children -Harry E., Mary Z., Etha, William and Irene. Cyrus M. married Miss Minnie E. Bartholemew,

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KNOX COUNTY.

and to them have been born three children-Elvira P., George L. and Grace O. George married Miss Ada Wood, and they are the parents of three chil- dren ; the name of the only one living is Edith L. Cyrus M., who is now Secretary of the Avery Corn- Planter Company, graduated from Knox College, standing No. r in his class.

Mr. and Mrs. Avery are consistent, sympathetic Christians, and are connected by profession of faith with the First Church of Christ. Mr. Avery is a stanch Republican and Prohibitionist.

The portraits of no worthier couple are given in this ALBUM than those of Mr. and Mrs. Avery.

dwin Chauncy Olin, Superintendent of the bridge-building department of the Gales- burg Division of the C., B. & Q. R. R., Galesburg, was born in Albany, N. Y., Dec. 3, 1825. He is a son of Jeremiah and Salomi (Gage) Olin ; the former was a millwright by profession, but in his later years carried on farming and stock-raising, and was a son of Giles Olin, a na- tive of Wales. Col. Giles Olin, grandfather of our subject, settled in Bennington, Vt., and distinguished himself in the Revolutionary War, in which he re- ceived a colonelcy. He died at Bennington, Vt., at the ripe old age of 96 years, leaving a family among whom are some clever professional people. They were of strong physical ability, a characteristic of the Olins.

Salomi Gage, the mother of our subject, was a daughter of William Gage, a native of Dutchess County, N. Y., and whose progenitors settled there at an early period in the history of that place, and besides being characterized by longevity, they have furnished many of our merchant people.

The subject of our sketch was the second son and fourth child of a family of seven. He grew to man- hood in Albany, N. Y., where he learned the trade of carpenter. In the year 1853 he came West and lo- cated at Chicago, where he spent some time with the Chicago & North-Western Railway. In 1855 he began work for the C., B. & Q. R. R. Co., and located at Aurora, at which place his family remained several years. His removal to Galesburg was made in 1873, and there he has remained continuously.

Mr. Olin was married in Schenectady, N. Y., to Cynthia Maria, daughter of David Fero, Esq. The result of the union of Mr. Olin and Miss Fero has been two daughters, both now grown to womanhood. Minerva, the eldest, and wife of Howard Bridge, Galesburg, has become the mother of two sons- George and an infant unnamed. Ida, the younger daughter, is the wife of Charles Goldsmith, a farmer of Iowa, and is the mother of one daughter, named Gertrude.

In 1873 Mr. Olin purchased 360 acres of valuable land, upon which his son-in-law, Mr. Goldsmith, re- sides, 160 acres of the same being in Taylor County, Iowa, and 200 just across the State line, in Nodaway County, Mo. He is a worthy member of the Masonic fraternity, and with his family attends worship at the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Olin has in his official capacity been very fortunate, inasmuch as he has never suffered an accident to his craftsman- ship since he has had the superintendency of bridges. He is still seemingly as active and vigorous as ever, and takes hold of the work with the same energy as he did in the days long ago. He is a genial gentle- man and respected citizen.

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Portrait and biographical album of Knox county, Illinois, Part 98

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