USA > Illinois > Morgan County > Portrait and biographical album of Morgan and Scott Counties, Illinois > Part 42
USA > Illinois > Scott County > Portrait and biographical album of Morgan and Scott Counties, Illinois > Part 42
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Richardson Vasey, was the youngest of his fam- ily but one. He was five years old when his peo ple landed in America. He began his education in the common schools, and completed it at the State College at Jacksonville, and also at a college located at Allegheny City, Pa. After finishing his education, he became a successful and intelligent farmer. He secured a good farm of 160 aeres which is now in an excellent state of cultivation. Everything that he undertook was finished, and in a satisfactory manner. Ile was painstaking in every small detail, and believed in the principle of "that which is worth doing at all, is worth doing well." Hle was very active in polities, and had been from carly life. He was firmly intrenched in the Demo- eratie principles, and he is given the credit of fight- ing many a good battle for his party. Ile was a born leader, a fact which was exhibited in his po- litieal doings. In 1878 he was elected from his dis- trict, to a seat in the State Legislature. As a law- maker, he left behind him a good record for in- tegrity and faithfulness. He was a reader of great scope, and there were few men in his portion of the country, whose general intelligence covered a wider field. He was particularly interested in astronomy, and in this branch of science, his knowledge was extended. The shelves of his library were filled with the choicest selection of books, which were not placed there for ornamental purposes, but for use, and it is a safe assertion to make, that he read every book he bought, as he was of an eminently studious bent, and was ever in search of knowledge. He at one time carried on a large local correspondence for newspapers, and was a writer of more than or- dinary talent. As a man, Mr. Vasey was respected by all parties for his simple honesty and sineerity of purpose. He was genial, kind hearted, and
made many friends by his uniform courtesy and willingness to aid those who needed it. Charity to him was a cardinal virtue.
Mr. Vasey was married in Morgan County, near Lynnville, on Aug. 20, 1877, to Miss Virginia B. Gordon, who was a native of this county, and whose birth occurred Oet. 28, 1853. She was the dangh- ter of the Hon. John and Sarah P. (Funk) Gordon. Her mother died at her home near Lyunville, on Sept. 12, 1873, where she was born and reared, at the age of forty-two years. She enjoyed the repu- tation of being a good woman, and a sineere Chris- tian. Mr. Gordon married for his second wife, Mrs. Emma Dayton, and now lives in Jacksonville, and carries on his farm near Lynnville. Mr. Gor- con is one of the reliable and leading Republicans of Morgan County, and has represented his distriet with ability in the State Legislature several terms. He was born on his father's old homestead near Lynnville, where he was rcared and attended the common sehools. He finished his education at an Ohio college. On the whole it may be said that he is a very sueeessful man.
Mrs. Vasey was educated at the old Athenæmm, a female seminary that onee existed in Jackson- ville. She was also graduated at the Conservatory of Music in the same city. She is a bright and intelligent woman, and an active member of the Christian Church. She has two children, Raymond G., and Richardson.
C HARLES W. AUGUSTINE is living on sec- tion 36, township 16, range 13, and was born on the seetion where he now lives. His birth occurrd Jan. 21, 1836, and if there is a man in the State of Illinois who deserves the appel- lation "old settler," and all the honors that cluster around such a personage, it is the one whose name heads this sketeh.
Our subjeet was the son of Charles and Christina (Stump) Augustine. The elder Augustine was of Freneh deseent. . He was born in Ohio, and located in Canada for a time. He emigrated to Morgan County, Ill., in 1830, the winter of the deep snow. Hle died here in 1845, his wife preceding him to the
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grave four months. They were the parents of six children, three of whom survive: Lydia, widow of John Hyde, of this county; Mary J. and Charles W. The following are deceased : Cornelius, George W. and Christina. Mr. Augustine, Sr., made his original purchase of land in section 36, township 16, and range 13, consisting of 160 acres. He later on bought an additional quarter-section and also seventy-five acres of timber land in Scott County, Ill. When he landed in Morgan County he had exactly 860, and from this small beginning he at- tained the distinction, of being one of the wealth- iest farmers in his neighborhood. Upon his first claim he erected a log cabin, which was constructed in the manner of the early days, and in which the subject of this sketch was born. As his circum- stances became better he improved his farm more, and in due time built a good, substantial farm house. He was one of the early members of the Baptist Church at Meredosia, and was enthusiastic in religious matters. The first plow he owned, when he came to this country, was one of the old wooden-mold-board style, and his other farming implements were correspondingly primitive. Stoves were nearly nuknown in those days, fireplaces be- ing the rule. Politically, the elder Augustine was a Whig, and it is said that he was a man of intelli- gence and decided convictions.
Charles W. Augustine is one of the class of pio- neers who came to this country with their parents, and were reared amid the hardships and privations that usually surround the early settler. He at- tended school a few weeks each winter, in the log school house and received his limited book-learning in the old-fashioned way. In those days the only schools that obtained were of the subscription sort, cach of the parents paying a stated amount for their children's tuition and the teacher "boarding aronnd," as it was called. The apparatus that the schools of to-day employ to teach children is all that could be desired, while the apparatus of the early settler consisted of a chunk of chalk and a good- sized birch rod. Mr. Augustine attended the public schools at a later period of his boyhood. Ile has been in agricultural pursuits his entire life, and is one of the inany who has witnessed the wonderful growth of this country, from a farmer's standpoint.
Mr. Augustine was first married, Nov. 2, 1865, to Miss Ruth Hodges, who was also a native of Morgan County. She was the daughter of Thomas Hodges, one of the pioneers of this county. This wife died. He was married the second time Jan. 30, 1884. The maiden name of his second wife was Ella Troy, a native of Clermont County, Ohio. who was born Jan. 1, 1855. She is a daughter of George (deceased) and Martha Troy. Her father was a native of Clermont County, Ohio, while her mother was born in West Virginia, and came to Warren County, Ohio, when eleven years old.
Charles W. Augustine settled on his present farm early in the sixtys. He erected his present fine residence in the fall of 1874, and has now a splen- did home. The furnishings of his house are in keeping with all the surroundings. He owns 273 acres of land, every acre of which is under good cultivation. Politically, he is a Democrat, and has served six years as School Trustee, and has also held the office of Township Road Commissioner. His wife is a communicant of the Presbyterian. Church. It may be said that Mr. Augustine is one of the best farmers and citizens of his neighbor- hood and still keep within the strict line of truth.
INCENT S. RICHARDSON, SR., is one of the oldest and best-known inhabitants of Morgan County. He is well located in township 15 and range 11, where he has labored industriously for many years, the result of which has been the accumulation of a large fortune. Ilis homestead now consists of 260 acres, which is the portion he has left out of about 1400 acres that he formerly owned. He has given each of his children a farm. The homestead is an ideal one. The land is in a high state of cultivation, and the house is a model of comfort and convenience. IIe has lived in this township since July 22, 1830, and is now enjoying the rest he has earned.
Mrs. Richardson also owns 400 acres of good land in Scott County, besides twenty improved lots in Merritt, Ill. Mr. Richardson is a native of England, being born in Yorkshire, near Searboro, in the North Riding, on the 9th of May, 1806. He came from a
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MORGAN COUNTY.
good family, and one prominent in Yorkshire, this heing the home of the Richardsons for many gen- erations. They were a hardy. industrious elass of people. Mr. Richardson is one of nine children. His father and mother, John and Elizabeth (Coats) Richardson, lived in their native eounty until they eame to America. They were preceded to this country, however, by their son Vineent, who sailed from Liverpool in April, 1830, and after a voyage of seven weeks and two days landed in New York City. He did not tarry long there, but started for the West, visiting several different states in quest of a good location, but he found none to suit him un- til he reached Morgan County, and here he found his ideal of a farming country. Ile says that he never has seen the time when he regretted his ehoiee.
As a matter of course, when Vineent Richardson arrived in Morgan County the country was wholly undeveloped; but, with a determination to succeed, he went bravely to work, and has sueeeded beyond his fondest dream. Being so well pleased with this country, he wrote to his people in England, and in eonsequenee, his father and mother and the rest of the children eame over, arriving in October, 1831. They soon found a home in what is now the south- west part of township 15 and range 11. His father, John Richardson, was not long in seeuring a good property, upon which he lived and died. His death occurred in 1851, when he was nearly eighty- five years old. His wife died some years later, at the age of eighty-four. They are held in kindly remembranee as the best of people. The old gen- tleman was a Whig, and took great interest in the polities of his adopted country. His wife wor- shiped with the Methodists.
Vineent Richardson is the only survivor of a family of five sons and four daughters, of which four sons and three daughters lived to be married. His early habits formed in England served him well in this country. Ile was taught that in- dustry and prudenee were two indispensable virtues, and by this sign he has conquered. A few years after he eame to this country, he was married to Miss Lydia Rawlins, who was born in North Riding, Yorkshire, England. in 1809. Her parents, Will- jam and Mary ( Wilson) Rawlins, came to America
in 1837, and afterward lived and died in Morgan County. They were the parents of five sons and four daughters. Three of the children are still liv- ing. Mrs. Lydia Richardson died at her home in this township in 1868. She was then past middle life, and had done her share toward making the fine home where she died. She was the mother of nine children, three of whom are deceased. Two of the children died in infancy, while Elizabeth passed away after she was married and became the mother of four children. Her husband, Charles Lazenby, survives her with three children. The living sur -. vivors of Vineent Richardson's family are: Mary A., wife of Robert Riley, who lives in this eounty ; John V. is a farmer, and resides in township 15 and range 11; William A. married Aliee Sanderson; they also live on a farm in township 15. George S. married Franees Rawlins, and is also farming in the same township; Vineent S., Jr., is a farmer in Stafford County, Kan., and married Mary Frost; James I. married Jane Wilson, and is residing on a farın in Champaign County, Ill.
Mr. Vineent Richardson's second marriage oe- curred in Seott County, to Mrs. Mary Gannen, nee Cherune. She is a native of Seott County, Ill., and was born May 4, 1835. Her father and mother are dead. Her first husband, John Gannen, aecu- miulated a large property, leaving his widow 400 aeres of land, which still belong to her. Mr. and Mrs. Richardson are publie spirited people, and believe fully in the Golden Rule. Mr. Richardson is a Republican, and has held many local offices. He is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Chureh.
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G EORGE N. BEAUCHAMP, a pioneer and prominent eitizen of Morgan County, Ill., resides on section 26, township 16, range 12. He is a uative of Maryland, and was born Dee. 16, 1834. He was a son of Riehard and Zipporah Beauchamp, both of whom are supposed to have been natives of Maryland. When about four months old, the subject of this sketeh eame with his parents direet from Maryland to Morgan County, Ill. His father settled about five miles northeast of the residence of George N., and here
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MORGAN COUNTY.
resided until his death, which occurred in 1854, his wife dying five days before him.
When Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania intro- dneed the Homestead Bill in the House of Repre- sentatives there was a determined opposition to the measure, and especially by those who were not friends of free labor. While Illinois did not reap a great deal of benefit from this most bencficent law, the great undeveloped West did. The oppo- nents of the homestead act have lived to see that Mr. Grow's proposition was a wise one, and had its provisions been in force a generation before it be- came operative, the pioneers of Illinois would have been saved the great hardship of paying for their lands. It is true that $1.25 an acre is a small price, but dollars were more difficult for the Illinois pio- neer to secure than anything else. Produce was practically worth nothing. Corn in an early day has been known to sell for five cents a bushel, wheat for twenty-five cents a bushel, and pork for $1.50 a hundred. This will exhibit the fact that ready cash was almost impossible to get. When the land came into market it had to be paid for, and the money vultures of the early period were relentless in their demand for interest. As high as forty per cent was asked and received, and it is easy to conclude that such usurious interest was a burden too hard for a pioneer to bear, and to un- load this burden, many an early settler was obliged to relinquish his land to the heartless money lender, after braving the trials incident to opening a new farm. This was one of the manifold trials of a pioneer, and none knew it better than Richard Beauchamp.
George N. Beauchamp was the second son of the family, and was reared to manhood surrounded by the difficulties that invariably assail the early set- tler. He received his education in the primitive schools that existed when he was a boy, but he has steadily increased his store of knowledge, and is now what may be termed a well-posted man of affairs. He was married Aug. 17, 1856, to Eliza- beth Smith, daughter of John and Malinda Smith. Eight children have been born to this conple, five of whom are living: Sarah, wife of William Burrus; John married Anna M. Streuter, and lives in this township; Lydia, Frank and Florry, Mr. Beau-
champ is the owner of 320 acres of land, half of which comprises his homestead.
There is too much of a disposition in these days to call men " self-made." There are many people who are called self-made men whose history will not bear out the title, but Mr. Beauchamp by his own industry and shrewd financiering has accumu- lated his splendid possessions by the inherent quali- ties that surround such men as he. Himself and wife are devoted members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, in which organization he has held the office of Steward. He has also served as Class Leader. He pays but little attention to polities, but his abilities have often been called in requisi- tion by his neighbors. He has held the office of Drainage Commissioner in his district for three years .. He is, at this writing (1889) serving as School Director, and has held that office for twelve years, and is now School Trustee. In most of his undertakings, Mr. Beauchamp has been successful and he deserves his success. In politics he is a stanch Republican.
G EORGE NAYLOR. As the older members of the farming community retire from the scene of action the younger men are gradu- ally taking their places, and the larger portion of them are perpetuating in a worthy manner the work which their sires began. Among these may be properly mentioned the subject of this notice, who is comfortably located on a good farm on section 9, township 15, range 12. He is a native of this State, having been born in Cass County, Feb. 2, 1852.
'T'he father of our subject was P. H. Naylor, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this work. IIe is one of the prominent citizens of Morgan County, to which he came at an early day, and contributed largely to its growth and development. Our sub- ject was reared to man's estate under the parental roof, and bred to farm pursnits, receiving his edu- cation in the common school. His life passed com- paratively quiet and uninterrupted until he was ready to establish a home of his own, and he was cn married Feb. 18, 1875, to Miss Mary B. Bur-
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MORGAN COUNTY.
rus. Mrs. Naylor was born Feb. 18, 1856, in Mor- gan County, and is the daughter of Thomas Bur- rus, now a resident of Kansas.
To Mr. and Mrs. Naylor there has been born one child, a son, Jonathan L., Jan. 29, 1876. This boy, now a promising youth of thirteen years, is being given a good education, and as the only son will receive all the advantages which his parents are able to bestow upon him. Mr. Naylor east his first Presidential vote for Hancock, and politically, is a sound Democrat. In his farming operations he is meeting with success. Besides carrying on general agriculture he is considerably interested in stoek- raising. He owns one-half of 240 acres of land in Cass County which is the source of a fair income. In religious matters he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church in which he serves as Steward, and with his wife labors cheerfully as opportunity presents in the Master's vineyard. They have a pleasant and inviting home, and enjoy the aequaint- ance of a large eirele of friends.
W ILLIAM H. SARGENT, a veteran of the late Civil War, in which he won an hon- able record as a faithful soldier who never failed in his duty, but fought bravely and faced the foe unflinchingly on many a hardly-contested battle-field, is now quietly and sueeessfully earry- ing on agricultural pursuits in this, his native county. He devotes himself principally to buying and shipping stock and to raising fruit. He has a vineyard of about twelve aeres of choice varieties of grapes, a fine orehard of apples, plums, cherries, ete., and has all kinds of small fruits.
William H. Sargent is a son of James B. and Mary J. (Carter) Sargent, a pioneer family of Morgan County, now living in Bethel. John Sar- gent, the paternal grandfather of our subjeet, was a native of Hamilton County, Ohio, where he mar- ried and reared a family of seven girls and three boys, and there their mother died. The father of of our subject was the ninth child in the family, and after he had reached man's estate he started out in the world afoot and alone in 1833, and made a pedestrian tour to the wilds of this part of the
country, having no money to come by boat. When he arrived at the little settlement in Eastport, he had only a " bit" left of his small stock of cash, and he was glad to replenish his capital by making a pair of slippers for a gentleman to wear at his wedding. After working in that place a few days at his trade of a shoemaker, he resumed his journey and arrived in this part of Morgan County, where lie obtained work on a farm. By industry and frugality he soon managed to make money and to lay up enough to warrant him in venturing on the sea of matrimony, and he was nnited in marriage to Miss Mary J., daughter of John Carter. Their .F.union has been blessed to them by the birth of nine children: John W .; William II. ; Martha C., the widow of Enoeh Reinhart, now living in Missouri; James C .; Henry B .; Elizabeth, now the wife of James Reed, of Whitehall, Ill .; Richard; Charles ; Lincoln, deceased.
Our subjeet was reared in this county, and was educated in the schools of Jacksonville, lie having been a pupil in the first school taught in the 2nd ward in that city, Ezend Henderson being the teacher. In the fall of 1861 he resolved to throw aside all personal aims and ambitions, and go forth from his home to the assistance of his countrymen on Southern battlefields and aid them in their en- deavor to save the honor of the old flag, and with that patriotie purpose he enlisted in Company B, 10th Illinois Cavalry. He did good service with his regiment in several engagements with the enemy, but was finally disabled by the bush whack- ers, near Sand Springs, Mo., two shots taking effect in his left thigh. After a short time he rejoined his regiment at Jefferson City, and in a fight with the enemy at that point he received five more wounds, which again prostrated him for a time, and although he onee more went into active service, he was com- pelled to abandon military life, and return to his home a wreek of his former self, he having been a man of strong, robust physique. When his health was partly restored he became connected with the omnibus line in Jacksonville, and continued in that business for some years after the war. He then turned his attention to agriculture, and has his forty-acre farm on seetion 33, township 16, range 10. under fine cultivation, every aere capable of pro-
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MORGAN COUNTY.
dueing a rich return in payment for the eare that he bestows on its proper tillage. Fifteen aeres of the farm is devoted to fruits, and Mr. Sargent has made this braneli of horticulture very profitable.
The marriage of Mr. Sargent to Miss Elizabeth F. Benjamin was duly solemnized in the fall of 1860, and has been to them one of happiness. Mrs. Sargent's parents, Charles and Mary (Ratliff) Ben- jamin, were early settlers here. IIer father served five years in the regular army on the frontier, and was in the Mexican War. After his discharge he eame liere, and was subsequently married. Eleven children have been born into the pleasant home of our subjeet and his amiable wife, as follows: Will- iam S .; James, deceased; Mary married James Hull and is deceased; two children died in infancy ; Nettie, now Mrs. Starkey Baldwin; Edward; Benjamin, deceased; Minnie; Rhoda; Logan Blaine.
Mr. Sargent's whole course through life, from the time of his enlistment in the early days of the late war to the present time, shows him to be an in- tensely patriotic eitizen, and one who is thoroughly to be relied on in all eases. IIe is a man of sound sense and clear understanding, always honorable and straightforward in his dealings. Hle votes as he fought, for the principles of the Republican party. He has a sincerely religious nature, and with his wife is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
ENRY GOEBEL. The enterprising and progressive German farmer, as well as the self-made man, is admirably represented in the subject of this notice, who is pursuing the even tenor of his way at a good homestead, on seetion 17; township 16, range 12. The comforta- ble property which he now enjoys is the result of his own labors, he not having received any finan- cial assistance from any souree, but building up his fortune by the labor of his hands and the practice of that frugal economy which always confined the expenses of living to his yearly ineome.
Our subjeet first opened his eyes to the light on the other side of the Atlantie, in the Province of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, Oet. 8, 1837, and is
the son of John and Christina (Schneider) Goebel, who emigrated to the United States in 1845. Henry was then a lad of eight years, but he remembers many of the incidents of preparation and the voy- age, whichi was made in forty-six days on a sailing vessel from Bremen to Baltimore. The family eame direet to Illinois, and located first near the present town of Arenzville, but what was then the wilderness of Cass County. A short time after- ward, however, they moved into the village, where the father engaged in brick-making, and where the mother died in 1885. John Goebel departed this life at the home of his son, Henry, June 16, 1887. They were the parents of seven children, but two of whom survive, our subjeet and his sister Eliza- beth, Mrs. Engelbach, a widow, and a resident of Arenzville.
Our subjeet was reared to man's estate mostly amid the pursuits of farm life, receiving a limited education and doing a large amount of pioneer labor. Ile was about nineteen years old when he removed with his parents to Mason County, and thirteen years later purchased his father's farm and lived there until 1869. In the spring of that year he came to the farin which he now owns and occupies. Most of his property-373 aeres-lies in the fertile Meredosia bottoms, and is well improved and valu- able. He has a fine residenee, which, with its sur- roundings, forms one of the most attractive homes in this part of the county. Not only has he been industrious, but has managed his affairs with that good judgment which has resulted in very profita- ble investments, so that he has now a competenee for his old age, and can at any time retire from aetive labor.
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