Portrait and biographical album of McLean county, Ill., containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 81

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 81

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After his term of service had expired, our sub- ject returned to West Virginia, and for the follow- ing year worked on a farm near the little eity of Fairmont. He then proceeded again to Ohio, where he entered the Normal National Sehool at Lebanon, and after a six months' course in this in- stitution, returned to West Virginia, where, for two years following, he worked on a farm in sum- mer and taught school in winter. In 1868 he re- sumed his studies in Ohio for another year, which were then onee in ore interrupted, to resume in 1870, for two years, after which he graduated and en- tered the law department of Miehigan University, from which institution he received his degree after a two years' eourse, in 1874.

Thus armed with the requisite credentials, Judge Myers soon afterward came to Bloomington and commeneed the practice of his profession. After a few months he associated himself in partnership with Albert Bushnell, and they operated together for three years. Judge Myers then formed a part- nership with Isaae W. Stroud, which continued two years, and then Mr. S. retired on aeeount of fail- ing health, and sinee that time he has praetieed alone. His talents and ability received early reeog- nition in this county, and after filling other posi- tions of responsibility and trust, he was elected Judge of the County Court, in 1886. He has been

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Chairman of the Republican Central Committee for the last six years, and has been attorney for the Bloomington Building and Loan Association, and also one of its Direetors and stockholders sinee its organization. He is a stockholder in the Third! National Bank, Seeretary and Treasurer of the Bloomington Iron-Piling Bridge Company, and Viee President of the Bloomington Law Library Association. Soeially he is a member of the I. O. O. F., the G. A. R., and is Grand Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias.

The marriage of Judge Myers and Miss Dora Yeager took place in the spring of 1872, in Leba- non, Ohio. Mrs. Myers is the daughter of Benja- min and Mary (Lueas) Yeager, who were both natives of Jackson, Ohio, and the latter is still liv- ing. The Judge and Mrs. M. occupy a handsome residence at No. 603 Taylor street, surrounded by the refinements of life, and enjoying the friendship and esteem of a large cirele of acquaintances. Judge Myers has attained to his present position among his fellow-citizens solely by his own efforts and his resolution of character. He is essentially a self-made man, obtaining his education through his own earnest efforts and perseveranee, and his property through his industry and good judgment in the place of capital and the disbursement of funds. He is noted for his kindness of heart, his simple and unostentatious habits, and the elevation of character which scorns an ignoble thought or cowardly aetion.

C APT. JOSEPH DENISON, Treasurer of MeLean County, and a resident of Bloom- ington, came with his parents from Penn- sylvania to the Prairie State in 1851. He was born in December, 1832, in Baxter County, Pa., and is the son of Andrew and Susanna (Herr) Denison, also natives of the Keystone State. Andrew Deni- son was a farmer by occupation and after a resi- denee of two years in this State, in the meantime ·having been visited by a sad afflietion in the death of his wife, which oceurred in 1853, he returned to Pennsylvania and lived there until 1857. He then eame baek to MeLean County, Ill., and en-

gaged in farming near Bloomington, being thus occupied until his death, which oeeurred in 1865. He belonged to the Dunkard Church. The parental household consisted of three children, two only of whom are living-Joseph and Noah W., a resident of Freeport.

The subject of this history remained with his parents on the farm, receiving careful home train- ing and a practical education, until sixteen years of age. He then engaged as clerk in a store of general merchandise for the four years following. After coming with his parents to Bloomington he engaged in the marble business for four years and then operated a groeery and bakery until 1857, when he resumed his former occupation of elerk, and thus labored until 1862. The late war being then in progress he enlisted as a Union soldier in Co. F, 94th Ill. Vol. Inf., as First Lieutenant. After six months he received a Captain's commission, which he retained until the expiration of his term of service in 1865. Mr. Denison with his eomrades participated in the battle of Prairie Grove, Ark., the sieges of Vicksburg, Ft. Morgan and Spanish Fort, and was in many other engagements and skirmishes, escaping without serious injury. After his honorable diseharge from the army Capt. Deni- son returned to Bloomington City and subsequently engaged in the groeery trade at Lexington. In 1868 he was appointed United States Storekeeper at Bloomington, and after six months· was promoted United States Gauger at Bloomington and Pekin, and was thus occupied until the summer of 1870, when he was elected County Treasurer, holding the offiee four years. In 1876 he was re-elected, and has held the office continuously sinee that time.

Capt. Joseph Denison and Miss Sarah J. Strain were united in marriage in 1854. Mrs. Denison is the daughter of Isaae and Mary Strain, natives of Ohio, and of her union with our subjeet there are five children, as follows: Herbert L. married Miss Florenee Downey, of Bloomington, and they have two ehildren-Edith and a babe unnamed; Adella, residing in Bloomington, married Edward L. Blair, and they have one ehild-Earl B .; Josephine, Noah B. and Isaae P. are with their parents at home. Capt. Denison and his family oeeupy a eomfortable and attractive residence at No. 609

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West Washington street, and enjoy the friendship and society of a large circle of warm friends. Our subject is prominently connected with the Repub- lican party and socially belongs to the A. F. & A. M. and tlic G. A. R. He is in all respects a worthy and valued citizen, and both socially and as a busi- ness man is a representative citizen of MeLcan Connty.

M ATHEW G. HAUGHEY, an estecmed citi- zen of McLean, is at present engaged as a stock-dealer, and has been a resident" of this vicinity since a child eight years of age, when he removed from his native State to this county. His birth occurred in Greene County, Ohio, on the 8th of April, 1840. His father, Joseplı · Hanghey, was born in the Old Dominion, where he was rearcd and grew to manhood. He was also married in Virginia, his wife being Miss Esther White, a native of that State. Soon after marriage the young couple removed to Ohio, settling in Greene County on a tract of timber land of 100 acres, from which Joseph Haughey improved a farm, which he occupied until 1848: He then sold out and started for the West, accompanied by his wife and nine children. The journey was made overland and their outfit consisted of six horses, two wagons and a carriage. After about thirty days' travel they landed in Logan Connty, Ill., where the father of our subject rented land for two years following.

In the meantime Mr. H. had entered 160 acres on sections 1 and 12 of what is now Mt. Hope Township, where he soon afterward built a house, into which he removed his family in the fall of 1850. He remained therc until a few years before his death, and spent his last days in McLean, re- tired from active labor. His death occurred in 1869, when he was fifty-nine years of age; his widow still lives in McLean. The children now living' are as follows: Henry is a resident of Ava, Douglas Co., Mo .; Elizabeth became the wife of Lewis Harley, who is now deceased (see sketch) ; Lorenzo Dow lives in Arkansas; John, in Kansas; Mathew G., in McLcan, and Mary E., Mrs. Samuel Bevans, in Mt. Hope Township.

The subject of this history was reared to farm- ing pursuits, and remained under the home roof until August, 1862. The Rebellion being then in progress he enlisted as a Union soldier in Co. A, 117th Ill. Vol. Inf., serving until March, 1863, when he was honorably discharged on account of disa- bility and returned home. As soon as his health would permit he resumed farmning pursuits until 1866. Then, coming to McLean, he began dealing 'in grain and stock and later purchased a one-half interest in a drug-store. He subsequently sold this and purchased an elevator, and continued operat- ing in grain until 1884, also in buying and shipping stock.

Mr. Haughey was married in McLean County, Ill., in September, 1872, to Miss Charlotte Snow, who was a native of Brookfield, Mass., and born Jan. 14, 1847. Her parents were Daniel C. and Louisa D. (Rice) Snow, whose sketch appears in this work. Of this union there were born two children-Frank M. and Daniel Max. Mr. and Mrs. Haughey are greatly respected wherever known. Our subject is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and socially belongs to Harrison W. Wood Post, G. A. R. Mrs. Haughey is a member in good standing of the Congregational Church.

S ABINA SACKETT. This highly respected citizen of Arrowsmith Township owns and occupies a fine homestead on section 17, consisting of 160 acres of highly improved land, with a handsome two-story dwelling, a good barn, and all necessary buildings adapted to the storing of grain and the shelter of stock. He has made the breeding of the latter a specialty, and in this, as well as in other farmning operations, has met with remarkable success.

Our subject was born in Delaware County, Ohio, March 22, 1828, and is the son of Elijah G. and Malinda (Leė) Sackett, natives respectively of Ohio and New York. Elijah Sackett was born in 1804, and died July 5, 1880. He came to Illinois in 1856, whence he removed to Iowa in 1875, and was engaged in farming pursuits all his life. He was a good man in every sensc the term implies,

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and with his wife was a consistent member of the 1 Methodist Episcopal Church. The mother of our subjeet was born in 1804, and departed this life at her home in Adair County, Iowa, in 1880. The children born to them were, Sabina, Nancy A., who died in childhood, Hiram II., Franeis, Josephine, Maria, Lyman, Charles D., Martha, Sarah E., Cath- erine and Lydia. Charles D. during the late war served four years in the 3d Illinois Cavalry.

Mr. Saekett came to this county in 1853, and was employed one year by David Lewis of Dale Township, for the sum of $150. He was variously occupied for about eighteen years afterward. His first purchase of land was 120 acres near Farmer City, which he finally sold and purchased a part of his present homestead. He is a thorough-going and enterprising business man, with decided opin- ions, and fearless in the expression of them, and glories in the fact that he is a " true blue " Repub- liean, ready upon every occasion to defend the principles of his party, which he believes to be the best upon the face of the earth.

W B. STOCKDALE, of the firm of Brown & Stockdale, of Heyworth, this county, is, with his partner, carrying on an extensive and lucrative trade in hardware, tinware, pumps, paints, oils, glass, etc. They also sell farming im- plements of all kinds. Mr. Stockdale established the present business in 1874, with his partner, Mr. Mann, but after two years sold out to Mr. Mann. Our subjeet then started in for himself, in another location, and after two years took in his present partner, Mr. Brown, and they have operated to- gether suecessfully sinee that time. They carry a good stock and have among their customers the best people in this locality.

The subject of this history was born in Washing- ton, Washington Co., Pa., near Monongahela City, on the river of the same name, Dec. 28, 1847, and is the son of John and. Margaret (Corry) Stock- dale, a sketch of whom appears in another part of this work. He is the eldest of the three ehil- dren of his parents, all now living, viz., James C. and Aliee. V., who still live with their parents.

Our subject was married near Heyworth, Jan. 30, 1873, to Miss Anna B. Wakefield, whose father, William W., is a retired farmer and lives in the vil- lage. Mrs. S. was born near Ft. Wayne, Ind., Sept. 5, 1852, and was ten years of age when her father came to Randolphi Township. She was reared by her parents, receiving a fair education, and remained with them until her marriage. Of her union with our subject there have been born three children-James E., Porter and Blanche. Mr. S. is Republican in polities and takes an active in- terest in upholding the principles of his party. He is also, witlı his wife, a member of the Presbyterian Church.

ON. REUBEN M. BENJAMIN, the young- est son of Darius and Martha (Rogers) Benjamin, was born at Chatham Center, Columbia Co., N. Y., June 29, 1833. His father was a private in the War of 1812, and his grandfather, Ebenezer Benjamin, was a Captain in the Revolutionary War. He is descended from English and Welsh ancestry, who in the colonial days lived in Rhode Island and Connecticut. Mr. Benjamin of this notice lived on a farm until he was fourteen years old and was prepared for eol- lege at Kinderhook Academy, N. Y., whence he en- tered Amherst College, Mass., and was graduated in 1853, receiving the third honor of his elass. He soon afterward became Principal of Hopkins Aead- emy at Hadley, ncar Amherst, and in 1854 entered the Law Department of Harvard University. In 1855-56 he was tutor in Amherst College. In April of the year last named he came to Blooming- ton, Ill., and in September following was licensed to practice law, his examination certificate being signed by Abraham Lincoln.

Shortly after his admission to the bar Mr. Benja- min became a partner with Gen. A. Gridley and Col. J. H. Wiekider, and remained with them as long as they continued to practice law. In 1863 he formed a partnership with Hon. Thomas F. Tip- ton, afterward Circuit Judge and Member of Con- gress, and since then, at different times, has been as- sociated with Hon. J. H. Rowell, Member of Con- gress, and Hon. Lawrence Weldon, Judge of the

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Court of Claims at Washington. In 1869 Mr. Benja- min was chosen a member of the convention that framed the present constitution of the State. Hc served on the committees of Bill of Rights, Mu- nieipal Corporations, State Institutions and Sched- ule. He was one of the most active and efficient members of the convention, and during the session and after its close was the recipient of highly complimentary remarks by his co-laborers and by the press.

Our subject was one of the counsel for the peo- ple in the celebrated Lexington case (C. & A. R. R. Co. vs. The people, 67 Ill. Rep.), a ease involv- ing the question as to the right of railroad corpora- tions to charge more for a less than for a greater distance. He was subsequently employed as spe- cial eonnsel for the State Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners, assisting also in the prosecution of the Warchouse ease, Mnun vs. The People, 69 Ill. Rep. 80, which was taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, being there affirmed Munn vs. Ill. 94 U. S. Rep., and became the leading case in the series familiarly known in 1876 as the "Granger cases." These cases established the constitutional power of the Legislature to regulate railroad and warehouse charges, and thereby protect the public against im- position. In the latter case, Ruggles vs. The peo- ple, 91 Ill. Rep., the Supreme Court of this State declared broadly that the Legislature has the power to fix the maximum rates of charges by eorpora- tions or individuals exercising a calling or business public in its character, or in which the public have a right to be protected against extortion or oppres- sion. In commenting on this case the Western Jurist says: "It is probable that the people of the State are indebted for the results of this agitation as given in the above decision to Hon. R. M. Ben- jan:in, of Bloomington, in a greater degrec than to any other single individual. As a member of the Constitutional Convention, he made the elearest and most convincing argument in favor of the rights of the people which was delivered in that body, and as special counsel for the people in the cases of the C. & A. R. R. Co. vs. The People, and Munn vs The People, has very materially contrib- uted in establishing the principle contended for by

him before the convention and established in the above cases."

In 1873 Mr. Benjamin was elected without op- position to the office of County Judge of McLean County. He was re-elected in 1877 and also in 1882. Hc soon won, and ever afterward retained the respect and confidence of the bar and of the people by his jndieial aptitude, the soundness of his decisions and the quiet ease with which he dis- patched business. He preferred not to be a eandi- date again for the office and accordingly retired from the bench at the close of his third term, in December, 1886. Shortly afterward he resumed his law praetiee in partnership with Mr. John J. Morrissey. Upon the organization of the Law Department of the Illinois Wesleyan University, in 1874, Judge Benjamin was appointed Dean of the Law Faculty and still holds that position. In 1879 he published a work entitled' "Student's Gnide to Elementary Law," which has proved of great assistance to those for whom it was ap- pointed.

Judge Benjamin was married at Chatham, N. Y., Sept. 15, 1856, to Miss Laura E., daughter of David G. Woodin, who for many years was County Superintendent of Schools of Columbia County, N. Y. The family residenec in Bloomington is finely located, and in all its appointments indicates the exereise of cultivated tastes and ample means. Its hospitable doors admit the best people of the city, whose, society is enjoyed by our subject and his wife, who are greatly respected as cultured and useful members of society.

R EV. JAMES SHAW, agent of the Preacher's. Aid Society, of Illinois, Conference Meth- odist Episcopal Church, is located at Bloom- ington and performing his varied duties in a successful manner. He was born in Longford County, Ireland, near Goldsmith's "Sweet Au- burn." His parents, James and Bedelia (MeIn- tyre) Shaw, werc of Seoteh deseent. His brothers, Henry and Alexander Shaw, merchants, live in Montreal, Canada. William Shaw resides in Bloom- ington, Ill., where aiso are his sisters, Mrs. William

Oliva An Janes

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Tanner and Mrs. John Dcan. . His youngest brother, the late Dr. S. M. Shaw, earried the colors of his regiment, 33d Illinois Volunteers, at the siege of Vieksburg, and as Lieutenant led his com- pany at the storming of Ft. Blakely in the late Civil War.

The subject of this sketeh while a student at the Wesleyan Seminary, Dublin, was called to take charge of a similar institution in the southwest of Ireland, from which he entered the Irish Wesleyan Conference. He followed his parents and their family to Ameriea in 1854, and was received into the Illi- nois Conference in 1855; he has been stationed in the following places : Old Town, Bloomington, Pe- tersburg, Decatur (circuit), Clinton, Rushville, At- lanta, Tuseola, Urbana, Pana, Charleston, Farmer City, Rossville, Griggsville, Quiney and Beards- town.

In the late war Mr. Shaw actively aided the Union eause, presenting flags and addressing Union soldiers, and during the Irish famine he was en- trusted with $30,000, Ameriean funds for the re- lief of the suffering. IIe was also entrusted with a large amount of American funds for the building and endowment of the Wesleyan Methodist Col- leges in Belfast and Dublin, Ireland. He has en: tered the field of literature, publishing works on America, Romanism, and Temperanee, that have had an extensive sale. .

Mr. Shaw was married in 1857 to Miss Mary B. Coley, eldest daughter of the late Edward Coley, Esq., of Luean, Ircland. Of the three children that eame to brighten their home, two died in in- fancy, and one is yet living, James Henry Shaw, a graduate of the Illinois Wesleyan University, and now editor of the Bloomington Lancet.

I SRAEL D. JANES, a wealthy and prosperous farmer of Danvers Township, has one 'of the finest homesteads in this section, consisting of 310 aeres, finely cultivated and tilled, furnished with a handsome and substantial set of frame buildings, and stocked with good grades of domestic animals. He first opened his eyes to the light among the New England hills, March 8, 1812, being born in Lebanon, New London Co., Conn., and is the son

of Ezra and Mary (Haynes) Janes. His father was born in Brimfield, Mass., in 1782, and the mother on Long Island, just two weeks after her husband. Ezra Janes was a cooper by trade, and after his marriage, which occurred in 1810, he removed to Connectieut, where he rented a farm, and for four- teen years following was engaged in cultivating it. He then went to the State of New York and pur- chased 100 acres of choice land, in Genesee Coun- ty, where he remained until his death, which oc- curred March 7, 1869. The mother had died five years previously, in 1864. Their family included five children, three sons and two daughters, of whom Israel of our sketch was the oldest born;

Ryland married Miss Salina Loomis; Ezra S. mar- ried Miss Margaret Kinney; Elizabeth became the wife of Leman Bishop; Mary died when about twelve years old. The parents were both inenbers of the Baptist Church, and politieally Ezra Janes was formerly a Whig, but later identificd himself with the Republican party.

The Janes family traee their ancestors back to the twelfth eentury in England where they were, even at that early period, closely connected with the history and government of the Kingdom, and in all measures for the publie good their influence was potential, as the . following will indicate. The writer was shown an engraving of a coat of arms presented to the Janes family, and inscribed as follows: "Janes family coat of arms, given to Guido de Janes by Henry II, King of England, for distinguished military prowess and leading in three successful expeditions to the Holy Land, A. D. 1200." The first representative of the Janes fam- ily in America was William Jancs, who, in company with Davenport and Eaton, established the colony of Connecticut. They came over a short time after the Massachusetts Colony, with which they were not fully satisfied, and went from there to Connecticut. The father of our subject served in the War of 1812. The family was noted for its en- terprise and intelligence, and for the exeellent in- fluenee its various members exerted in whatever community they ehaneed to reside.

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Israel B. Janes remained under the parental roof until he had attained his majority, in the meantime receiving a good common-school education. Like

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all the young men of that period who were physi- eally able. he was obliged to do military duty, and be enrolled in the State militia. On the first day of his attendance he was elected into the list of non-commissioned officers, and the third year rc- ccived from Gov. Marcey, of New York, the com- mission of Captain, which he held until eoming West. When about twenty-one years old he eom- menced learning the trade of a carpenter and eabi- net-maker. He was a natural mechanic, and be- came very skillful in the use of tools. To this he added the study of architecture, in which he also became skilled, being possessed of a correet eye, in regard to symmetry of proportion. In 1838 he emigrated to Illinois and purchased eighty-eight acres of land in Danvers Township. This he soon doubled, and afterward added to until he became the owner of 1,000 acres. He disposed of a part of this, but kept for his homestead the 313 acres al- ready mentioned. He was chief builder, architect and carpenter of his present residence, superintend- ing it from the first, and doing much other work with his own hands. He hauled the logs which he sawed into lumber, and his taste and skill are ap- parent in the whole.

The wife of our subject was the daughter of Elizur and Olive M. (Dowd) Hinsdale, who were natives of Connecticut, whence they removed to New York State in 1822. Mr. H. was a skillful ax manufacturer, which business he followed all his life. Hc died in the latter-named State in 1871; the inother survived her husband only a short time. The children were Morris, Mary, Olive M. and Charlotte M., by the first wife; and by the second and third wives there were Harriett, Caroline, Eliza, William, Anna and Jane; one died in in- fancy unnamed.

Mrs. Olive M. Janes departed this life Jan. 31, 1883. She was a faithful and affectionate wife, and a sincere and earnest Christian, devoted to Church work and to the cause of temperanee. She pre- sented to the society in this place a fine organ, and otherwise contributed liberally and cheerfully to the support of the Church and Sunday-school. She was also greatly interested in the Missionary and Bible Socicties, to which she gave much of her time and means. Her name is held in tender re-

membranee by her family and a large cirele of friends and acquaintances.

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Portrait and biographical album of McLean county, Ill., containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 81

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