USA > Illinois > Peoria County > Portrait and biographical album of Peoria County, Illinois : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 104
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B ENJAMIN F. BOWMAN. This gentleman is the owner and manager of the best-equip- ped livery-stable in Central Illinois. It is located on a favorable site in Peoria and is represented by a view on another page. Supplied with a full line of equipages, carriage horses, ponies and saddle horses, it is as complete in its fittings as any establishment of the kind to be found outside of our very largest cities. Victorias, landans, sur- reys, phactons, and "T" carts, are among the vehicles which the stable contains and the three dozen car- riage horses present an appearance in keeping with the other appointments of the place. The stable is a strictly temperance one, Mr. Bowman employ- ing no man who drinks and, going beyond this, even refuses to let his vehicles to a drunken man.
Our subject is of excellent ancestry, both his parents, Peter and Mary (Woodling) Bowman, be- longing to good families in the Keystone State. In the vicinity of Harrisburg that worthy couple were living when the birth of our subject took place, his natal day being October 27, 1843. He is the seventh son in a family consisting of fourteen children. Two of his brothers, Christopher and Daniel, vol-
unteered during the Civil War, were taken prison- ers, and while Christopher was soon exchanged and died from exposure, Daniel was literally starved to death in Libby Prison.
When our subject was a babe his parents removed to Logan County, Ohio, where the father followcd farming pursuits, with an excellent knowledge of which young Bowman was reared. In the fall of 1860 he began buying horses for William Moran, of Cincinnati, continuing to employ himself thus after the breaking out of the Civil War, when Mr. Moran furnished equines to the Government. Young Bowman finally came West in order to escape the draft and after stopping in Peoria a week or two, went to the home of a brother in Fulton County. lle was there captured, taken back to the Buckeye Capital and turned over to the army officers, but escaping the next night made his way to Burling- ton, Iowa, where he secured work in a livery stable under his given name. Benjamin Franklin.
After a time Mr. Bowman opened a livery stable in LaHarpe, Hancock County, Ill., sojourning in that place ten years. Ile then removed to Nauvoo, a year later returned to LaHarpe, and in another twelvemonth took up his abode in Astoria, still following the same business. He built and man- aged the Central House in connection with his liv- ery four years. In 1880 he came to Peoria, opened a stable, soon bought his present premises, and as before noted, is now the owner of one of the most complete livery outfits anywhere to be found. He not only understands what makes up a thorough establishment, but possesses the straightforward and manly nature which leads him to treat with honor and courtesy all with whom he has dealings and to insist upon his employes showing an equal consideration for the rights and wishes of others. He is correspondingly respected by business men, visitors to the city who may have occasion to pa- tronize his establishment, and the many residents who supply him with custom.
The marriage rites of Mr. Bowman and Miss Florence May Moon were celebrated at the residence of the bride's father, Asa Moon, in Dallas City, Ill., in 1875. Mrs. Bowman is a beautiful woman, whose charming manners are the outward expres- sion of the love and sympathy of her heart. To
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her husband her price is far above rubies, to their only child, Pearl, she is mother and companion in one, and to many friends she is a highly valued counselor and associate. It is worthy of remark that Mr. Bowen votes exclusively for temperance men.
OUIS M. SECRETAN. Among the former residents of Kickapoo Township, one who bore an excellent reputation as a citizen and left as a heritage to his family the memory of a kindly and considerate life, was the gentleman above named, who passed from time to eternity in the fall of 1865. His residence was on section 28, where his widow is still living with her son, Jolin P. The estate of two hundred aeres is carried on by the latter, under whose efficient management it pro- duees abundantly.
The subject of this sketch was born in Switzer- land May 2, 1822, and resided in his native coun- try until he was twenty-six years old. For eight years he was engaged as a surveyor and he also held the office of Notary Publie. Having made up, his mind that America afforded a better field for his energies and talents, Mr. Seeretan embarked for the land of promise in 1848, and landing in New York came thence to Dayton, Ohio. He re- sided in that eity until his marriage, which occurred July 2, 1850.
The lady whom Mr. Secretan won for his wife was Miss Charlotte DuToit, an estimable and in- telligent young woman, who was born in Vevay, Ind., February 18, 1829. Soon after their marriage they removed to Peoria County, IH., settling in Kickapoo Township, where Mr. Seeretan gave his attention to farming. In July, 1865, he revisited the scenes of his youth and early manhood, and a few months later breathed his last. He was the father of six children, viz: Charles E., who died when eighteen years old; Francesca, the wife of A. Mall; John P .; Julius M., who married Miss Mag- gie Conway; Edward L., who married Miss Isa- bella Doubet, and Luey, who is the wife of Adolphus Evans.
John P., oldest surviving son of Lonis M. and
Charlotte Secretan, was born in Kiekapoo Town- ship, January 31, 1854. lle obtained a good edu- cation in the public schools of the vieinity, and choosing farming as his ealling, has devoted him- self to it in a painstaking and thorough way. He has erected excellent buildings upon the estate, in- cluding a tasteful residence and all the structures that are necessary to shelter his stoek and store his grain.
John P. Seeretan has taken an active part in the political affairs of the township and is a stanch supporter of the Republican party. In the spring of 1888 he was elected Township Supervisor and served one year; he has also filled the office of Collector one term. Ile is one of the most enter- prising of the younger farmers of the township, keeping abreast of the times in all that pertains to his oeeupation, and making use of the most ap- proved methods of modern husbandry in all his work. Possessing excellent principles, pleasing social traits, and a kind heart. he makes friends, and what is of far more importance, retains them.
VESTER SMITH. The farming community of Richwood Township has in this gentleman an able representative. He has for many years been identified with the agricultural interests of the county, and is one of its substantial reliable eitizens. He is a Pennsylvanian by birth, born in Allegheny County, February 29, 1824, the fifth son of William and Barbara (Fink) Smith. His father and mother were both born in Pennsylvania, the latter in Chester County, where she began her wedded life. Mr. and Mrs. Smith eventually took up their residenec in Allegheny County, of which they were residents until death removed them from the sphere of their usefulness. They had a family of six sons and one daughter.
Our subject passed the early years of his life in the home of his birth. When he became of age he served an apprenticeship of three years learning the trade of a shoemaker, and remained a resident of Pennsylvania until 1849. During the last few years of his stay in that eity he was employed in
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farming. The fall of the year mentioned he came to Peoria, thinking that among its thrifty enterpris- ing pioneers he could find employment and better his financial condition. He worked in a cooper shop for some three years and afterward was en- gaged in a gristmill on the Kickapoo, for one year. He then returned. to Peoria and after remaining for a while in that city, purchased his present farm, which is finely located on section 30, Rielwood Township. By assiduous and well directed toil he has placed a part of its one hundred acres under ex- cellent cultivation, and has erected a substantial set of farm buildings, and everything about the place wears a look of neatness and thrift, showing it to be under the management of a practical farmer.
Mr. Smith was married in Peoria September 14, 1864, to Miss Virginia Stone. She was born in Brownsville, Pa., in 1844. She has been to our subject a helpful wife, cheerfully assisting him in luis labors of providing a comfortable home for their family. They have had seven children, two of whom died in infancy, and the five living are: Isabella, Mary E., Elizabeth, Ida L., and Cora.
Mr. Smith has evinced in his calling, intelligence and skill, and his record shows him to possess in a full degree those characteristics without which suc- cess in any walk in life is impossible. Strangers find him a pleasant gentleman to meet and in his attractive liome are the recipients of true hospital- ity, while those who know him best have a high opinion of his personal character. Public life has no attraction for him as he prefers the quiet com- forts of his own fireside. He does, however, take an interest in politics and favors the Republican party.
W ILLIAM WRIGLEY. Among the residents of Peoria who have been prospered in worldly affairs to such an extent that they are enabled to spend their declining years without undue exertion, and surrounded by comforts enjoy the privileges afforded in a city for reasonable recreation and personal eulture, is the gentleman above named. Although his name is associated
with that of a son-in-law in business, his part in the firm is more that of a counselor than of an active participant in the conduet of affairs.
Mr. Wrigley was born in Lancashire, England, March 8, 1822, being one of eight children com- prising the family of Thomas and Ann (llartley) Wrigley. The father was a storekeeper and gro- cer. Five of his children came to America, our subject and his eldest brother, Robert, crossing the Atlantic together in 1841. When they reached New York they were undetermined where to lo- eate, but having traveled as far as Cincinnati they heard of Peoria and decided to visit the place. They therefore embarked on a boat, sailed down the Ohio and np the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers to the country in which they eventually made their home. During their progress thither the impres- sions of Mr. Wrigley regarding America were well calculated to make him homesick and ardently he longed for the fair fields of his native land. After having looked upou the vast far-stretching prairies, however, he was satisfied to remain in the Missis- sippi Valley, and buying land seventeen miles west of Peoria, he became a farmer.
In the same English shire in which Mr. Wrigley was born, Ann Greenough opened her eyes to the light of day. Her parents, with the major part of their family, came to Illinois in 1842, and here the young lady first met our subject. They were mu- tually attracted and having determined to unite their lives and fortunes, they were wedded Novem- ber 3, 1845. Mrs. Wrigley is one of nine children and has one brother, a civil engineer, in England. She has borne her husband three children, two daughters and a son. The latter, James H., is farm- ing on the old homestead; Helen is the wife of Stephen S. Barlow, and Jennie the wife of William Cutter, both of Peoria.
After tilling the soil until 1872, Mr .. Wrigley re- moved to Peoria and engaged in the grocery trade with Mr. Cutter. He occupies a pleasant home which is a center toward which excellent society gravitates and from which good influences extend. Mr. Wrigley is ever ready to promote the interests of the Republican party whose principles he be- lieves best adapted for the needs of American eiti- zens. He is a member of Calvary Presbyterian
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Church and an Elder, having held that office for about twelve years. His wife is also a member of the same church. She has shared his joys and sorrows for nearly a half century, and her genuine worth is appreciated beyond the walls of her home.
W W. WALLACE occupies a prominent place among Peoria's business men as the Manager of P. P. Mast & Co.'s extensive business interests in Illinois, lowa, Missouri, Ken- tucky and Tennessee. He has here under his con- trol a large and handsomely fitted up establishment and carries a half million dollars worth of stock and has a very large trade.
Our subject comes of a fine old ancestry, as the Wallaces are a large and prominent family of West- ern Pennsylvania. He is a native of that State, the city of Pittsburg the place of his birth, and April 6, 1839, the date thereof. Ile is a son of Hugh and Elizabeth (Brown) Wallace, natives re- spectively of Pennsylvania and Virginia. His father, a man of marked ability, and of some promi- nence in the city of Pittsburg, and possessed of more than ordinary enterprise, started the first steam furniture factory that was ever operated in that city. He now lives in retirement at Bloom- ington, this State, at the venerable age of eighty- five years. llis wife is eighty-one years of age.
Our subject was given a liberal education, and at the time of tlie outbreak of the war was a stu- dent of medicine. At the first call for troops he threw aside his studies, and was among the foremost to spring to his country's defence. le enlisted April 11, 1861, raised a company and went promptly to the field. His knowledge of medicine made his services invaluable in that direction, and he was transferred to the Surgeon-General's staff as Hospi- tal Steward in the regular army, and served as such in all the departments except that of the Mis- sissippi and the Gulf. His business was the impor- tant one of opening records for hospitals, and he was called an ' Executive Steward. He was in numerous engagements, although always a steward. and he experienced many exciting things. He re-
mained in the service until after the close of the war, and was mustered out at Chattanooga, Tenn., in the month of April, 1865, just four years after he entered the army, thus closing a military career that was a noble and useful one.
Mr. Wallace entered commercial life at Bloom- ington, Ill., and was actively engaged as a mer- chant there until 1875. In that year he went on the frontier in Southwestern Kansas, and for five years was engaged in farming there. His experi- ence of life in Kansas was not such as to make him desire to make a permanent residence there, and at the expiration of the time mentioned he re- turned to Bloomington, and resumed his old busi- ness. A short time after that he came to Peoria to take charge of the business of P. P. Mast & Co., as before mentioned. Ready of resource, possess- ing firmness and activity and an undeniable talent for affairs, Mr. Wallace has won for himself a high place in the financial circles of the city and county. His pleasant conversational qualities and his ready tact and courteous manner, have gained him social prominence, and he and his wife, who is a lady of great worth, are numbered among our best citizens. ile is prominently identified with the Masonic order, having taken the Thirty-second Degree, and he is also connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias
To the charming woman, the home maker, who presides over his home, our subject was united in in marriage in 1864. Mrs. Wallace was formerly Miss Mary R. Sullivan, of Indianapolis, Ind. The greatest grief of her wedded life has been in the deatlı of their only child-Ida B .- wife of John W. Sanders, who died May 11, 1890.
AMES H. SEDGWICK. Among the promi- nent law firms of Peoria County, may be properly mentioned that of Bailey & Sedg- wick. As Mr. Bailey is principally engaged in banking and a large loan business, the legal transactions of the firm are conducted by Mr. Sedgwick, the subject of this sketch, who has been practicing in the city of Peoria continuously for
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the past fifteen years. He is fifty years of age, having been born September 4, 1840, and is a na- tive of Coshocton County, Ohio, the son of Samuel and Ruhama (Knight) Sedgwick, of whom Rnhama, the mother, is still living in Sandwich, Ill. Samuel Sedgwick was a native of Connecticut, a descendant of Robert Sedgwick, one of Oliver Cromwell's generals, and at his death, Governor of Jamaica. It is a family that has produced lawyers, writers, soldiers and statesmen. Among them were Judge Theodore Sedgwick of Massachusetts, Catharine Sedgwick, the anthoress, Maj .- Gen. Sedgwick on whom Gen. Grant relied so implicitly, and Maj. Sedgwick who was with Washington at Valley Forge.
The father of our subject was reared to manhood in his native State and was educated to the profes- sion of a physician, which he followed first in Oneida County, N. Y., where he married, and after- ward in Coshocton County, Ohio. About 1844 lie came with his family to Kendall County, this State, but only lived three years thereafter, his death taking place in 1847. Young Sedgwick was reared by his mother, and after leaving the common schools, became a student in the famous Oberlin College, Ohio, where he pursued his literary studies. He was admitted to the bar in July, 1861, after a course at the Chicago Law School under the di- rection of Judge Booth. He commenced the prac- tice of his profession in Sandwich, this State, but after the outbreak of the Civil War, entered the Union Army. Ile participated in several active engagements, was captured by the rebels and taken to Tyler, Texas, where he was confined two years and then succeeded in making his escape. He worked his way North to the Union Lines in Ar- kansas, where he succeeded in due time in rejoin- ing his regiment, and remained with it until the expiration of his term of enlistment shortly after- ward. Ile was honorably discharged as Sergeant, Company B., Fifty-first Illinois Veteran Infantry, and bears on his person the scars of a faithful and exceedingly trying military experience.
Returning now to Sandwich, Ill., Mr. Sedgwick resumed his law practice, but subsequently removed to Sycamore and in partnership with Judge Lowell followed his practice two years. We next find
him in the city of Chicago, where in 1873, he as- sociated himself in partnership with O. J. Bailey, and two years later removed to Peoria, where they successfully followed the profession in which they have attained a good reputation.
Politically, Mr. Sedgwick, although mingling very little with public affairs, is a decided Prohibi- tionist, being one of the organizers of the party in this county and their nominee for congress in 1888. But while believing the total prohibition of the saloon is the true policy of the State, he is by no means a fanatic. He is liberal and progressive in his ideas, the friend of education and reform; he is one of the early members of the Law Library Association in which he has held all the offices, and is now President, being elected in the spring of 1889. This library is a very complete one. com- prising fifty-five hundred volumes, furnishing an invaluable store of information to those following the legal profession.
Mr. Sedgwick is a valued member of the Peoria Scientific Society, and his public addresses before that society are highly appreciated. The calls on him for addresses before other associations and on other occasions are frequent. His hearers are wont to remark that "Mr. Sedgwick has always some- thing to say worth listening to." In the National Bar Association he is for the third time Chairman of the Committee on Legal Education and Admis- sion to the Bar, and his annual reports on that sub- ject are anticipated as an event of the session.
On the 10th of July, 1865, Mr. Sedgwick was joined in wedlock with Miss Maria B. Merritt, danghter of William J. Merritt, a prominent pio- neer of DeKalb County. Of this union there have been born four children who are living. The eld- est son, Howard, is a practicing physician of Peoria. William C. is a hardware merchant of this city and located on Main Street; Philip aud Edna remain with their parents, attending the city schools. The family residence is pleasantly located on the East Bluff portion of the city and is frequented by its cultured and intelligent people. Mr. and Mrs. Sedgwick have ever a hearty welcome for progres- sive people, those who think and have definite, original ideas, whether or not they agree with them.
Mr. Sedgwick held several public offices in the
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first part of his career, while retainers were scarce and fees small. He consented at one time to act as a Justice of the Peace, afterward for a short time, to fill an interregnum, was County Attorney of De Kalb County. Then he was elected City Attorney of Sandwich, but refused to qualify. He holds that a man who has a good private business is not wise to sacrifice his independence for a public office, and that independence of thought and action is worth more than any office.
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R ICHARD T. MERCHANT, an honored resi- dent of Frivoli Township, is an old soldier who spent some of the best years of his life in the struggle against rebel hands that sought the Nation's destruction. The agricultural work to which he has devoted himself during most of his mature years, has resulted in securing him a fine estate of two hundred and forty-five acres on sec- tions 4 and 10, where he has made excellent improve- ments, including the good fences and farm build- ings usually seen on the land of an enterprising man, together with tile drains, orchards, etc., that indicate taste and prosperity. The entire acreage is tillable, being watered by Clark's Creek, and is well adapted to the raising of stock, in which Mr. Merchant takes considerable interest. The place is four miles from Farmington and one and a half from Cramer's Corners.
The Rev. Isaac Merchant, father of our subject, was born in Berkeley County, Va., to Abraham and Sarah (Bull) Merchant, natives of the same State in which the father died, the mother living to a venerable age in this county. Isaac Merchant grew up on a farm, leaving his native State when quite small to accompany a Mr. Brown to Highland County, Ohio, where he began his own career by working out on neighboring farms. After he mar- ried he removed to Fayette County, settling on a farm of ninety-five acres, for which he paid $2.50 per acre. It was but partially improved and he was obliged to ginb the balance, chopping by day and burning brush by night. He built a small frame house, and surrounded the home with such
comforts as were possible. He became a preacher in the Friends Church, serving as such until he left the section in 1854.
At that date Isaac Merchant came to Central Illinois, spending the winter in Farmington, and in the spring buying a quarter-section of partly- improved land in this county, now occupied by the son, our subject. He cultivated it until 1866, when he sold it to his son, returned to Ohio among the Quakers, and occupied himself solely with preaching until 1870. He then removed to Villisca, lowa, living in retirement until called to the better land in 1888. His remains were brought to his old home and deposited in the family burying grouud. His political adherence was to the Whig party of the old time. He reached the advanced age of eighty-eight years. His brother Jonah was one of the first settlers in Fulton County. He en- listed in the Black Hawk War, and rose to the rank of Major General. He was a conductor on the " Underground Railroad."
The wife of Isaac Merchant was Jane, daughter of Richard and Jane Todhunter. Her father was an Englishman who came to the United States in boy- hood, became a farmer, was an early settler in Fay- ette County, Ohio, cleared land there and secured much real estate. He died when eighty-eight years old, cheered by the belief of the Society of Friends. Ilis daughter Jane was born in that county, educated in the State, and died after a well-spent life in 1862, at the home in the Prairie State. She was the inother of twelve children who grew to matu- rity. Whalen is a retired farmer, now dealing in real estate in Washington, Iowa; Abraham is farm- ing near Des Moines; Mrs. Sarah Littler lives in that city ; our subject is the next in order of birth ; Mrs. Rebecca Arnold lives in Washington County, fowa; William was a member of the First fowa Battery from 1861 until killed at Black River, Miss .; Mrs. Harriet McMackin lives in Colorado; Mrs. Elizabeth Hill died in Gage County, Neb .; Mrs. Lydia Hunter lives in Greenfield, Ohio; Mrs. Matilda Thatcher lives in Elmwood, this county ; Mrs. Clara Holmes lives at Washington Court- House, Ohio; Mrs. Alwilda Keel lives in Trivoli Township, this county.
Our subject was born in Fayette County, Ohio,
.
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December 1, 1834, reared on the farm, attending the subscription schools in the old-fashioned log schoolhouse, and when eighteen years old entering New Martinsburg Academy, pursuing his studies there two winters. He was early set to work, learn- ing to drive oxen and in other ways aid in the cultivation of the home acres, but having much better opportunities for study than fell to the lot of many of his contemporaries. He came West with their parents, their journey being made by means of "prairie schooners," and their route cross- ing the level lands of Indiana and Illinois to the Illinois River, which they forded at Pekin.
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