Portrait and biographical album of McLean county, Ill., containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 15

Author: Chapman brothers, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman brothers
Number of Pages: 1222

USA > Illinois > McLean County > Portrait and biographical album of McLean county, Ill., containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 15

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

A combination and a form indeed.

When every god did seem to set his seal,

To give the world assurance of a man.

AVID VANCE, senior member of the firmn of Vanee & Sons, who are extensively en- gaged iu importing and breeding draft horses at Chenoa, has had a long experi- enee in this business and has been remarkably suc- eessful. Ile began dealing in horses in Adams County, Ohio, nearly forty years ago aud las be- eome thoroughly acquainted with the habits, needs and proper eare of the noblest of animals. In a State which has beeome quite noted for its fine horses, Mr. Vanee has for many years oeeupied a prominent position. See view in this work.

The subject of this biography is a native of Adams Co., Ohio, and was born April 22, 1824. His father, John Vanee, a prosperous farmer of that county, reared his son to agricultural pursuits and carefully trained him in all the duties pertain- iug to that department of business. Our subjeet received a good common-school education and re- mained under the home roof until he attained to years of manhood. The parental household in- eluded twelve children, of whom David was the youngest. His mother before her marriage was Miss Mary MeGovney, of Ohio. Young Vanee lived on a farm in Ohio until 1852, then came to this State and settled on a farm in Lawndale Town- ship, near the banks of Mackinaw Creek in this eounty, where he carried on blacksmithing and farming for thirteen years. The land which he there took possession of was but little removed from its original condition, but he cultivated and improved it, together with four other farms, all of which combined to form the basis of his start in life and laid the foundation for his future pros- perity. In due time he disposed of bis landed possessions in that loeality and is now the owner of a fine estate in Yates Township, which he has mostly devoted to the breeding of stoek. He re- sided upon this until 1881, when he removed to the village of Chenoa, where he ereeted a fine barn, especially adapted to breeding purposes. It is 32x110 feet in area, two stories in height and fitted up with convenient stalls for fine horses. Among these are the Belgium, Clydesdale, Pereh- eron and Norman breeds, besides a few handsome speeimens of Kentucky trotting stoek. In eonnee- tion with this, he also has a finely appointed livery

RES. OF J. A. STEPHENS , SEC. 10. (T.21.) MT. HOPE TOWNSHIP.

RESIDENCE OF P. M. STUBBLEFIELD , SEC. 9. (T 21.), FUNK'S GROVETOWNSHIP.

191

MCLEAN COUNTY.

stable, with the best of horses and the handsomest of vehicles. The sons have inherited in a marked degree the talents of their father in this direction and bid fair to follow in his footsteps as successful breeders and dealers.

Mr. Vanee was married, Sept. 2, 1845, to Miss Emma Wikoff, the daughter of William and Sarah (MeCue) Wikoff, and they became the parents of eight children : Ifenry B., who married Miss Rena Heflin; Joseph T., who married Miss Jennie Me- Cartney and is in partnership with his father in the stoek business ;. William, who grew to manhood and was married to Miss Mattie St. John, joined the regular army, and was Clerk in the Quarter- master's department in Wyoming Territory, where he died in 1880; Leona married William Holder- ness, and lives near San Diego, Cal .; Edgar married Miss Naney Gailbreath, and they live in Republie County, Kan .; Ella and Frank died when young, and Mary is the wife of William Arnold, who is engaged in the livery business in Chenoa. Mrs. Vanee has been a member of the Methodist Church sinee she was a girl. In polities Mr. Vanee, his sons and sons-in-law are all stanel Republicans.

AMES A. STEPHENS, a highly respected farmer of Mt. Hope Township, is engaged sueeessfully in agricultural operations on seetion 10, where he owns and oceupies a comfortable. homestead. His father was a pioneer of Illinois, and made his loeation in Logan County in the early settlement of the State.

The subject of our sketeh is a native of Logan County, Ill., and was born in Atlanta Township, Dee. 11, 1836. His father, Adam Stephens, of Virginia, was born in July, 1801, and his grand- father, Peter Stephens, an early farmer of the Old Dominion, emigrated from Virginia to Ohio in about 1809. He located in what is now Clinton County, and was among the earliest pioneers of that region. He purchased a traet of timber land, cleared a farm from the forest, established a com- fortable home and remained there until the elose of his life. His son, Adam, the father of our sub- jeet, there grew to manhood, and was united -in

marriage with Miss Mary Hoblit, a native of Ohio. They located in Cliuton County after their mar- riage, remaining there until 1829, and then, aecom- panied by his wife and four children, Adam Ste- phens started for the State of Illinois. The journey was made overland with horses and wagons. They carried their household goods with them and eamped and cooked by the way. Before removing his family here, Mr. Stephens had previously vis- ited the State, and purchased a claim in what was then township 21 north, range 1 west, and ineluded in Tazewell County. Upon it stood a log cabin into which the family moved and set up house- keeping in the best manner possible. The town of Springfield, forty miles distant, ineluded the near- est post-offiee, and Pekin, at the same distanee in another direction, was the depot for supplies, and the only market for grain and pork for several years. The, second winter during which Mr. Ste- phens was a resident of Illinois, was remarkable for its deep snows, a season which will be long remem- bered by the old settlers and their children. Travel was almost entirely suspended, and the pio- neers suffered great privation during a long season when there was no communication with the outer world.

After the land in that vieinity was surveyed and eame into market, Mr. Stephen's entered 280 aeres at $1.25 per aere, the greater part of whieli eon- sisted of timber. He cultivated what there was of prairie, eleared the timber as rapidly as possible, established a homestead, and lived to see the coun- try around him opened up to civilization. His death oeeurred in August, 1882, the wife and mother having departed from the seenes of earth three years before. They had become the parents of nine ehildren, seven of whom grew to years of maturity, and whom they carefully trained to hab- its of industry and to principles of honor.

James A. Stephens was the eighth ehild of his parents' family, and he has a vivid remembrance of the seenes and ineidents of pioneer life. The first sehool he attended was eondueted on the sub- seription plan in the old log cabin which had been the home of his parents when they first came to the county. The name of his first teacher was James Maekin, a brawny man, the quality esteemed

192

McLEAN COUNTY.

the most highly in a teacher of those days. The popular belief then was that the wisest plan to gov- ern a school was by the rod, and woe to the boy especially, who disputed the teacher's authority or judgment. The method of instruction too in those days, was widely different from that of the pres- ent, and a text book was never laid aside until it had become so worn that it was unfit for further use, a wide contrast to the present school system which is undergoing perpetual change, and not in- variably for the better. 'The benches and writing- desks were made of slabs, and the floor was made of puncheons. Here young Stephens attended school during the winter season, and worked npon his father's farm the remainder of the year. He was bnt a boy when he commeneed marketing the farm produce, and the trip to and from Pekin for this purpose usually oeenpied three days. Ilis wheat sold at thirty and thirty-five cents per bushel, and some qualities only ten cents, and dressed pork brought $1.25 per hundred, His fa- ther raised flax and kept sheep, and his mother and sisters spun the wool and the product of the flax plant, weaving the same into garments for the sev- eral members of the family, and for other purposes demanded in the household. "Calico" was then considered a luxury, and usually formed the " best dress " of the female members.

James Stephens remained at home with his par- ents until he attained his majority. Ile was soon afterward married and settled upon the. southeast quarter of seetion 10, in what is now Mt. Hope Township. He put up the first buildings on the place, having broken some of the land the year previous. This he occupied for two years, and then removed upon the farm which constitutes his present homestead. This latter consists of 159 aeres, all inelosed and under a good state of eulti- vation. 1le has a fine briek residence which was erected in 1877, good frame barns, and other necessary farm buildings, a view of which is given in this volume.

The marriage of Mr. Stephens with Miss Martha E. Ilateh, occurred Dec. 24, 1857. Mrs. Stephens was born in Greene County, Ohio, and was the daughter of Stephen B. Ilateh, a native of Indiana, and a farmer by occupation. He came to Illinois

in 1854, and located in Atlanta, Logan County, where he still lives. In early manhood he was married to Miss Phobe Levally.

Mr. and Mrs. Stephens have become the parents of two children-Edward, who was born in Mt. Ilope Township, and married Lillie Atchison, and Carrie B. Mr. Stephens is Republican in polities, straightforward in his business methods, and an honest man and a good citizen.

h ARRISON HORINE, a well-to-do fariner of West Township, is comfortably located on seetion 3, where he settled in 1884, and where he has a finely enltivated farm, pro- vided with all modern improvements.' He is a na- tive of Jessamine County, Ky., born Ang. 30, 1832, and is the son of John Horine, a native of the same county and State. His grandfather, Henry Ilorine, a native of Maryland, removed to Ken- tueky at an early period in the settlement of the Blue Grass regions. When he landed in Jessamine County he had $2.50 in cash and an ax on his shoulder. He took np a traet of wild land from which he cleared the timber and opened up a fine farm. He was a man of great resolution and good judgment and amassed a fine property, at his death leaving a farm estate consisting of 320 aeres with good buildings, and money at interest. Although born and reared in the Sonth he was always opposed to slavery. The great-grandfather of our subject, Tobias Horine, was a native of Germany and emigrated to America prior to the Revolution- ary War. He located in Maryland, where he carried on agriculture snecessfully and spent the remainder of his days.

John Horine, the father of our subject, was reared on a farm in his native county, and after arriving at years of manhood, was united in mar- riage with Miss Margaret Bash. She also was a na- tive of Jessamine County, Ky., being the daughter of Henry Bash of Virginia, who removed from the Old Dominion to Kentucky early in life. He also went into that State poor in pocket and died pos- sessed of a good property. About the time of his marriage John Ilorine purchased a traet of land

McLEAN COUNTY.

193

two and one-half miles from Nicholasville, the county scat of Jessamine County, where he lived until 1864. In the meantime he improved a good farm and supplied it with a comfortable residence and all the neecssary out-buildings. Desirous how- ever of changing his location and seeing the great West, he came into Illinois and located in this county, where he spent the last years of his life with his son, our subject. His death occurred in 1876. The mother survived two years, departing this life in 1878.

The parental family of onr subject included nine children, seven of whom grew to mature years; Ilarrison was the fourth child. He grew to man- hood in his native connty, received a fair ednca- tion in the subscription schools, and made his home with his parents until twenty-one years of age. He then went to Athens, Fayette County, purchased two four-horse teams, and engaged in general teaming. He also opened a wagon-shop and super- intended this while he employed men to do the teaming. After a residence in Athens of seven years he returned to his native connty, where he carried on farming until 1864. He then aceom- panied his father to this State and county, first rent- ing a farm in Old Town Township. Thenee he removed to Arrowsmith and operated upon rented land until the purchase of his present farm. Upon this he has already made good improvements, and may be properly classed among the representative citizens of this locality.

Mr. Horine was married in Lexington, Ky., Sept. 9, 1856, to Miss Mary E. Level, a native of his own county, and the daughter of Littleton and Mary (Goss) Level, both natives of Virginia, whence they removed and were among the; early settlers of Jessamine County, Ky. Of this marriage there have been born ten children, as follows: Franeis M. lives in West Township; Anna E., Mrs. Bedell, lives in Benjaminville, this county ; Andrew J., in Arrowsmith Township; Charles W., Walter C., Frederick L., Robert Clinton, Laura B. and John L. are at homc. Margaret, the eldest daugh- ter and second ehild, was born Sept. 29, 1858, and died Sept. 25, 1885.

Mr. and Mrs. H. are members of the Christian Church, in which our subject has been an Elder for

many years. He is Republiean in politics and' cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, which was the only vote cast for him in the county, out- side of Lexington, his life being threatened on account of this action. Ile has lived to see his Union and anti-slavery principles trinmph, and views with much satisfaction the outcome of the war.

UGHI VAUGHAN. This gentleman is a prominent member of the farming com- munity of: Chenoa Township, where he is successfully engaged in stoek-raising, and where he has been located since the spring of 1859. He is of Welsh parentage and ancestry, and was born on a farm in Montgomeryshire, Wales, Jan. 17, 1834. Hugh Vanghan is the son of Edward and Elizabeth (Davis) Vanghan, and his father was a farmer of modest means. Hugh lived in liis na- tive Wales until he was twenty-two years of age; then boarded a vessel bound for New York City, and after arriving there resumed his chosen ealling until the fall of 1859. He then came to Illinois, and purchased eiglity aeres of land on seetion 1, Lexington Township, this eounty.

Mr. Vaughan, of this notice, was married in 1860, to Miss Ellen Jones, a native of his own country and shire, and the dangliter of Hngli and Jane (Evans) Jones. After marriage Mr. Vanghan and wife located on his farm, whence they removed to the present homestead in 1865. The total amount of his home farm now comprises 240 acres.

During the war onr subjeet began feeding hogs and cattle, and shipping and selling, and from the proceeds realized a handsome income. Ile added , to his first pnrehase as time progressed and his means accumulated until he has become the owner of a handsome estate and lias all his land under good cultivation. He ships a carload of fat hogs every year, and often a carload of cattle. The farm is handsomcly laid ont, and the fields divided by hedge fences of which he has five miles. The land is tile drained.

Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Vanghan there were born eight children, four sons and four

194

McLEAN COUNTY.

daughters, as follows: Edward R., Viola J., Hugh (deceased), E. Mary, Grace J., Robert, Maggie I. and Jolm G. Mr. V. is Republican in polities, and is in all respeets fulfilling his obligations as a good citizen and worthy member of the community. IIe came to America without a dollar in his pocket, and his present possessions are the result of his own industry and perseverance. He is a striking illustration of the self-made man who has arisen by his own efforts to an enviable position among the best elass of citizens, and who have assisted in making this State what it is among the eommnon- wealths of the West. Mrs. Vaughan is a member of the Presbyterian Church. A fine lithographie view of the handsome residence and home of Mr. Vanghan is shown elsewhere in this work.

SA H. MOORE, proprietor of the Bloom- ington and Normal Horse Railway, is a highly respected and well-known citizen who has contributed a generons share to- ward the business interests of the city. This rail- way which he is now conducting in a business-like and systematic manner, is a source of great com- fort and convenience to those who would otherwise be obliged to go on foot to their places of business or employ a more expensive method of convey- anee.

Mr. Moore was born on a farm among the New England hills, in Worcester County, Mass., in Oe- tober, 1820, being the son of Asa and Sabra (Lov- ell) Moore, natives of the Bay State. His father was a man of modest means, and spent the greater part of his life in farming pursuits. Our subject was reared to habits of industry, received a careful- parental training, and obtained a fair education in the public schools. In early life he evinced that active and energetie disposition which has sinee served him so well and placed him in an enviable position among his fellow-men. While still young he began to lay plans for the future, and was am- bitious to do something and be somebody in the great world. At the age of nineteen he was em- ployed as conduetor on the Western Railroad, run-

ning from Boston to Springfield, Mass. Later he assisted in running trains which conveyed the first passengers from Worcester to Springfield, one of whom was the famous Maj. George W. Whister, who was then ellief engineer of the road, and who afterward attained a wide reputation as builder of the railroad from St. Petersburg to Moscow, in Russia, being peculiarly adapted to railroading and having more than ordinary knowledge of what was required to build and eonduet a system successfully and profitably.

The subject of our sketch made rapid progress in the confidence and respect of his superior offi- eers, and was soon placed in charge of a train as conductor, running out of Boston on the Western Railroad, and becoming widely and favorably known for his skill and reliability. He continued on that run for a period of eleven years, then came West to La Porte, Ind., where he was employed as engineer on the Michigan Southern, from which position he soon rose to be Assistant Superintend- ent with headquarters at La Porte, Ind., at which place he remained until 1854. He was then in- dueed by George Bliss to come to Bloomington, where he was appointed Assistant Superintendent of what was then the Chicago and Mississippi, but now the C. & A. R. R., Richard Morgan, now of Illinois, being Superintendent. Mr. Moore eon- tinued in this office until the resignation of Mr. Morgan, when he succeeded to the general super- intendeney of the road, a position which he filled in an able and creditable manner for three years. In 1869 he purchased the Horse Railroad of Bloom- ington, of which he took possession Jan. 1, 1870, and which under his management, as we have said, became one of the great enterprises of the city. It is suitably equipped in every particular, and ex- tends in every direction, so as to meet as far as possible the requirements of the local traveling public. It is conceded by all to be one of the best railway systems of its kind outside of Chicago, and Mr. Moore has spared neither time nor money to perfeet it and keep it in repair.

The marriage of our subjeet oeeurred in the spring of 1848, in Plymouth, Mass., the maiden of his choice being Miss Naney B. Washburn, and they became the parents of two children-Thomas

195

McLEAN COUNTY.

W. and Mary C., the latter the wife of E. E. Max- well, of the firm of S. A. Maxwell & Co., of Chi- cago.

The residence of Mr. Moore is pleasantly located on North Main street, where with his excellent, wife he enjoys the companionship of the cultured peo- ple of the city. He is a gentleman of fine personal appearance, and his genial, courteous disposition has secured for him hosts of friends wherever he is known.

B F. FUNK, of Bloomington, is a native of Funk's Grove, this county, and was born in 1838. He is the son of Isaac and Cas- sandra (Sharp) Funk, natives respectively of Kentucky and Maryland, whose names are widely and favorably known throughout this section. He was reared on his father's farm, completed his edu- cation in Wesleyan College, and received from the estate 2,100 acres of land. To this he has sinee added 140 acres, and with others of that name so familiarly known throughout this county, has been prosperous iu his undertaking, and ranks as one of the most valued citizens of MeLean County.

Our subject remained on the home farm until the beginning of the late war, and then enlisted as a Union soldier in Co. G, 68th Ill. Vol. Inf., but served only six months, near Alexandria, Va. Re- turning home he continued under the parental roof until 1865, and two years later became a resident of Bloomington, where he has a beautiful home at No. 1008 North Main street, the residence having been erected at a cost of $12,000. He retains the supervision of his farm, which is operated by ten- ants who take care of the stock, of which there are about 500 head of eattle and twenty-five horses of the Clydesdale and Norman stoek.

Mr. F. has been prominent in the affairs of the city since becoming a resident here. Hle was elected President of the Board of Trustees of Wes- leyan University in 1877, which position he has sinee held, and occupies the same office among the Trustees of the Blind Asylum of Jacksonville, Ill., being appointed by Gov. Oglesby in 1885. He was elected Mayor of Bloomington in 1871, and each succeeding year until 1875, and then again in

1884-85. He was Supervisor of Normal Township for 1870-71. He is a member and Director of the Bloomington Loan and Building Association, a stoekholder in the Walton Plow Company, and there are few worthy projects which have been set on foot since he became a resident here that have not received his assistance.

In 1886 Mr. Funk was chosen as one of the dele- gates from Illinois to attend the G. A. R. eneamp- ment which met at San Francisco, which he attend- ed, and was also chosen by the local post as dele- gate to the State Encampment at Decatur, Peo- ria, Springfield and Rock Island. He was an al- ternate delegate to the National Republican Conven- tion which met at Cincinnati and nominated Hayes for President, and was a delegate to the State Con- vention for many years.

Mr. Funk was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Hamilton in the spring of 1865. Mrs. F. is the daughter of John and Rebecca (Pritehard) Hamil- ton, natives of Ohio, who came to Illinois in 1845, and settled near Le Roy, where Mr. H. engaged in farming and stock-raising. Of this union there has been one child, a son, Frank, who is now attending eollege at Lawrenceville, N. J. Mr. Funk is Re- publican in politics, and socially, belongs to the Royal Areanum.

S AMUEL FITCHHORN, a highly respected resident of Downs Township, is the owner of 280 acres on seetions 9 and 10, on the former of which he has a handsome and substantial residence and upon which he located in 1866. When he first took possession of this prop- erty it was comparatively unimproved. It is now thoroughly drained and in a fine state of cultiva- tion. The barn and out-buildings are kept in good repair, and everything about the premises donates the oversight of a thorough and systematie busi- ness man.

The subject of our sketeh was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, March 3, 1821, and was taken to Indiana by his parents when a child four years of age. They located in Wayne County, near Centerville, where his father pursued his occupation of a hatter, and

196

MCLEAN COUNTY.

Samuel was employed by neighboring farmers most of the time until he attained his majority. IFis father in the meantime had also taken up farming - and finally went into Mexico, Miami County, where he spent the remainder of his life. The mother, who before her marriage was Miss Elizabeth Mon- roe, died in middle life in Wayne County. She was born and reared in Pennsylvania, and was there married to Samnel Fitehhorn, Sr.

'The subject of this history was the youngest of his parents' family of six daughters and two sons. He was married in Wayne County, Ind., to Miss Elizabeth MeKeman, who was born in Virginia and eame with her parents to Indiana when a young woman, where her education was completed. She died in Downs Township in 1870, when forty-five years of age. Of this union there were born eight ehildren, three of whom are now deceased, two dy- ing of measles ten days after the death of the mother. Those living are John F., James, Samuel D., William A., Daniel W. The deceased were, Elizabeth J., Stephen and Idora.

The second marriage of Mr. Fitehhorn took place in Peru, Ind., Feb. 15, 1872, when he was united with Mrs. Mary (Finster) Myers. This lady was a na- tive of Prussia, born Sept. 28, 1844, being the daughter of Simeon and Elizabeth (Daufel) Fin- ster, who emigrated from Germany to the United States when Mrs. F. of this notice was ten years of age. Their family consisted of four daughters and one son, of whom Mrs. F. was the eldest. They first located on a farm in West Virginia, where they remained during the Rebellion. The father participated in this war as a soldier of the Union, and was seriously erippled at the battle of Win- ehester, on aeeount of which he now draws a pension. He lives near Peru, Ind., being sixty-five years of age; the mother is sixty-four. Their daugliter, Mary, remained under the parental roof until her first marriage, to Frederiek Myers, which took place Dee. 29, 1865, near Bunker Hill, Miami Co., Ind. Mr. Myers was a native of Germany, a farmer by oeeupation, and died in Miami County in 1870. They had become the parents of four children : Simeon, Lewis and Maggie are living with their inother; Mollie, the third ehild, is mar- ried and a resident of Peru, Ind.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Portrait and biographical album of McLean county, Ill., containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 15

Author: Chapman brothers, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1887 Publisher: Chicago : Chapman brothers Number of Pages: 1222

Author: Chapman brothers, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman brothers
Number of Pages: 1222