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 115
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116
While a resident of Varna, Marshall County, Capt. Warren served as President of the Village Board and was police magistrate some ten years. He held the position of Postmaster there twelve years, his first appointment having been made by President Grant. Ile belongs to the social order of Masonry, being now a member of George Wash- ington Lodge,No. 222, of Chillicothe. In politics he is an uncompromising Republican,ever ready to de- posit his vote in what he is persuaded is the inter- est of good government. While Massachusetts Jost a good soldier soon after the close of the Civil War. Illinois gained a good citizen in whom she can take a just pride for his exceptionally fine char- acter. personal attainments, and irreproachable and useful record.
E LI A. MITCHELL, now Postmaster of Chillicothe, received his appointment under the present administration and is discharg- ing the duties of the office in a manner satisfactory to the general public. Ile was born near Halifax, Yorkshire, England, October 22, 1855, and was not vet three years old when his parents. Eli and
Mary (Ashworth) Mitchell, emigrated to America. (The parental history will be found on another page in this volume.) He secured a good educa- tion in the schools of Chillicothe where he grew to maturity, and he also gave some attention to the trade of a jeweler, which he learned under his father.
The tastes of Mr. Mitchell, however, led him in another direction, and he entered upon a mercantile life as a grocer, in which business he remained until poor health compelled his retirement. In March, 1887, he entered the employ of the Chi- cago, Ft. Madison & California Railway as a draughtsman, making the plans for the founda- tions and masonry of the Illinois, Des Moines, Spoon & Grand River Bridges.
At the close of the construction department of this road. he entered the employ of the Arkansas Central as topographer. When that railroad cor- poration broke up, Mr. Mitchell was prevailed upon to take the Postmastership in Chillicothe and re- ceived the appointment for four years. He is a skillful draughtsman and should he again turn his attention to that species of labor, would undoubt- edly reach a high standing.
The home of Mr. Mitchell is presided over by an intelligent and capable woman who bore the maiden name of Miss Ellen Fisher. She was born in this place August 6, 1860, being a daughter of John and Agnes (Ewing) Fisher, the former of whom died in November, 1881, at the age of forty- nine years. He was born in Sheffield, England, and when a young man came to America with an uncle. In Peoria County he met, wooed and marricd Agnes Ewing, who was born near Glasgow, Scot- land, and having lost her father, had accompanied her mother to America. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher lived on a farm in this county some years, then moved into Chillicothe, where the husband established a meat market, carrying it on until his death. Ilis widow is still living here, now fifty-six years of age. She is a member of the Episcopal Church and a woman of fine character, who carefully reared her daughter, Mrs. Mitchell.
The subject of this sketch was for six years a member of the Board of Education, being the youngest man who has ever sat in that body. He
,
977
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.
has been City Clerk four years and in social orders he has also been prominent. He has held all the Chairs in Calumet Lodge, No. 196, I. O. O. F., holding the principal one three years. He has also been an officer in the Grand Lodge of the State for some time. He is an active local politi- cian, working with the Republican party, and oceu- pies a prominent position in musical circles. He and his good wife attend the Episcopal Church in which he has been a member of the choir for five years.
G EORGE A. ROGERS was born in Mamar- oneck, Westchester County, N. Y, October 8, 1831. Ilis father, John S. Rogers. was also a Dative of that county, and was there married to Mary Ann Sutton, who was a native of Manchester, England. In 1843 they started from their old home in New York to take up their residenee in Peoria County, this State, and while en route, ou the Mississippi River, the father was drowned, but the circumstances are not known. The mother was thus left with eight children, and they sadly proceeded on their journey to Peoria County, and on their arrival settled in Jubilee Township, where the children were reared. The good mother con- tinued to live there until about a year prior to her death, which occurred at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Margaret Davis, in Radnor Town- ship, March 12, 1879, when she was seventy-six years old. She retained much of her physical vigor till the last, but lost her eyesight about a year before she died. She was the mother of seven sons and one daughter, our subject being the third of the family. He was a lad of about twelve years when they came to Peoria County, where they arrived in July of that year. He remained with his mother in Jubilee Township until he was twenty- one years old, and soon after married and settled in Radnor Township, of which he has since been a resident. He owns here a good farm of one hundred and twenty acres of fine land, and has placed npon it many substantial improvements.
Our subjeet is a veteran of the late war. He enlisted in the month of March, 1865, in Com-
pany H, Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, and served until the month of September. He was then mus- tered out of the army at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., and returning home, quietly resumed his occupa- tion as a farmer. Hle is one of the prominent citizens of the township. He has represented Rad- nor as a member of the County Board of Super- visors, holding that office one year, and he has been Justice of the Peace for fourteen years. Hle formerly took an active part in polities, and was one of the leading Republicans in this section.
Mr. Rogers was wedded, January 1, 1857, to Maria C. Wakefield, the ceremony that made them one being performed at the residence of the late John L. Wakefield, in Radnor Township. Mrs. Rogers is a daughter of said .John L. Wakefield, and a history of her parents appears in the sketeli of William Wakefield, on another page of this Bio- GRAPHICAL ALBUM. She was born in Radnor Town- ship, June 15, 1839. She is a conscientious Christian and a member in high standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The pleasant wedded life of Mr. and Mrs. Rogers has been blessed to them by the birth of five children, who are named: Adolphus J., May .J., Grant S., Olive B. and Gretta 1. Adolphus S. married Miss Emma Newkirk; May is the wife of Madison Harrison; Grant S. married Miss Louisa Shehan.
NDREW NELSON, was born in the town of Roe, Franklin County, Mass., Septem- ber 6, 1833. He is a son of Osmund L. Nelson, a pioneer of this eounty, who was born in Boston, Mass. He married Sarah Houston, a native of Amherst, Mass., and they spent their early wedded life in Franklin County, that State. In 1838 they migrated to this State and became early settlers of Hallock Township, where they lived a good many years. The mother died there, and the father at the residence of our subject in Richwood Township.
He of whom we write was the eldest of five chil- dren, and he was quite small when his parents took up their residence in the wilds of Ilallock Town-
978
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.
ship, where he grew to a stalwart manhood. He remained an inmate of his parents' home until he was married, with the exception of the three years that he spent in California, operating a wagon and blacksmith shop the most of the time while there.
He began his wedded life in Akron Township. where he purchased a farm on which he continued to live two years. After that he lived one year in Peoria, and then bought his present farm on seetion 20, Richwood Township, of which he has since been a valued resident. He owns two hundred and forty acres of land on which he has erected a fine barn. and has made many other substantial im- provements.
Mr. Nelson was married in this township, April 19, 1866, to Miss Josephine A. Kellar, daugh- ter of John and lIester Kellar, who died in Rich- wood Township. Mrs. Nelson is a native of this township, and was born December 28, 1842. Her marriage with our subject has been productive to them of eight children, namely : Osmund K .. Sarah B., Andrew, William L., Alva, Mabel E., Eva K., and Ralph L. Osmund married Miss Agatha Purt- ¿chex. and lives in Rosefield Township.
Mr. Nelson is an important citizen of this com- munity. He has filled the office of Supervisor of Richwood Township for four years, has-been Town- ship Collector for several years, and School Director for nearly twenty years. In politics, he has long been closely identified with the Democratie party. Mrs. Nelson is a member in high standing of the Presbyterian Church.
R EV. HENRY APPLE, a retired minister and business man, is a well-known resident of Kickapoo Township. He was the sixth child of Henry and Mary (Bonser) Apple, and was born in Clermont County, Ohio, August 27. 1835. His father was a native of Hamilton County, that State, and his mother of Union County. Pa. After marriage they located in Clermont County, Ohio, and were among its carliest settlers. living there until 1837, when they' eame to Illinois, and were pioneers of this State. They first settled in
Lewistown, Fulton County, where the father died in 1867, the mother dying at the residence of her daughter, in Marysville, Mo. He had learned the hatter's trade when a young man, but did not fol- low it long, giving his attention to farming instead. He was the father of ten children, six sons and four daughters.
Our subject was in his second year when his parents brought him to Illinois, and he was reared to man's estate in Fulton County, remaining at home until he was twenty-five years old. He was given an excellent education, laying its basis in the common schools, and subsequently in the Ful- ton Seminary, at Lewistown, which institution of learning is not now in existence. After leaving home, Mr. Apple engaged in preaching as an itin- erant minister in the Methodist Church, he having joined the Central Illinois Conference in 1860. He was first connected with the Mount Hedding Circuit, and was with that a year and a half, when he was transferred to what is now the Madison Street Church, in Peoria, but was then known as the Second Charge of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Ile presided over that about seven months, when he was appointed to the French Creek Cir- cuit, in Knox County.
A year later Mr. Apple was again sent to Peoria Circuit for a term of two years, and then to Brimfield Station for one year, and from there to Coleville Mission, which was located in what is now Hilton, Tazewell County. He was there three years, and at the expiration of that time resumed the pastorate of the Madison Street Church. The following year he was assigned to Groveland. He located in Peoria in the fall of 1871, and the following winter in Bloomington. After residing there about a year and a half, he returned to Peoria and entered into the mercantile business in 1874. He continued his residence in Peoria until 1878, when he removed to his farm in Kickapoo Township. Four years later we again find him in Peoria, where he was engaged in the grocery business the next three years. Since then he has made his home on the farm. In September, 1887, lie es- tablished himself in the hardware business, and carried it on quite profitably until February. 1890, when he sold out and retired from active business.
979
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.
Mr. Apple was married in Chicago, April 23, 1863, to Mrs. Jeannette Bone, widow of the late Henry Bone, who died in Kickapoo Township Sep- tember 4, 1858. Mrs. Apple was a daughter of John and Mary (Jamieson) Borland, natives of Beith, Scotland. They emigrated to America in 1843, and first settled in Scott County, this State, then in Peoria, and afterward located in Limestone Township, where the mother died. The father sub- sequently removed to Peoria, where he died at the age of eighty. nine and one-half years. They were the parents of ten children, three sons and seven daughters. Mrs. Apple was the seventh child, and was born in Scotland February 1, 1831. The fol- lowing is the record of the three children born to her and her first husband: Mary J. is the wife of John G. McHugh; John Q. married Miss Lizzie Armstrong; and Maggie E. is the wife of Walter Booth, Jr. By her marriage with our sub- ject Mrs. Apple has three children : Henry S., Frank H., who married Minnie Krumpe, and Chloe.
Mr. Apple has an honorable record as a minister of the Gospel, is of high standing as a business man, and is thought highly of as a citizen, and as one who has been active in public affairs. During his residence in North Peoria he was Village Magistrate for three years and Clerk of the town one year, and has been School Director. He was prominent in the Grange movement and has been Chaplain of Orange Grange, No. 843.
S AMUEL A. L. LAW, Deputy Collector of Revenue, Peoria, was born in Boone County, Ky., May 21, 1836. His parents were Mathew and Martha (Clark) Law, the former a native of Ireland, of Scotch descent. His family belonged to the old Scotch Covenantors, who were driven out of Scotland and found homes in Northern Ireland. The old coat of arms and crest, which is an uplifted mailed fist, with the in- scription "Bide your time," is still in possession of the Law family. Mr. Law received a liberal education and was a graduate of the Royal Irish College of Surgeons, and also of the University
of Edinburgh. In 1820 he came to America, re- siding in New York for a time, and then locat- ing in Kentucky, whence he came to Illinois in 1843. He died April 18, 1856. He was a man of large enterprise, possessing foresight and sagac- ity in a marked degrec.
Our subject was one of eight sons born to his parents. At the age of seven years he accom- panied his parents to Illinois, and when thir- teen years of age enlisted for the Mexican War in the First Dragoons. His regiment proceeded as far as New Orleans, when, finding the war had closed, they went no further. Mr. Law had en- listed as a drummer in Gen. Dick Taylor's command. He subsequently went to steamboating, and after- ward worked on a sugar plantation near New Orleans, and then for awhile tried a seafaring life. Finally, he settled down to railroading, and most of his time in the South was employed as a railroad engineer. In 1857, in Indianapolis, Ind., he received a fall, which caused partial paralysis, and from which he never recovered.
In July, 1861, our subject enlisted in Company C, Forty-seventh Illinois Infantry, and was mus- tered in August 16, 1861. Soon after his enlist- ment he was made First Sergeant, later was com - missioned Second Lieutenant, then First Lieutenant, and as such commanded his company through the Vicksburg campaign. In the fall of 1862 be was appointed Quartermaster of his regiment. Before this, however, he acted as recruiting officer and secured a number of enlistments around Peoria. He arose from the position of Company Quarter- master to Regiment and Brigade Quartermaster, and belonged to what is known as the "Eagle Brig- ade," the one which the famous War Eagle, known as "Old Abe," accompanied on all its campaigns. For meritorious service our subject was commis- sioned Major of his regiment, and later was made Lieutenant-Colonel. He was in the last battle fought in the war, and his experiences were excit- ing and varied.
On September 6, 1865, Mr. Law was united in marriage with Miss Victoria Church, who belongs to an ancient English family. Of this union two children survive-Harry Victor and Edith Victo- toria. For eighteen years Mr. Law was in the
980
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHIICAL ALBUM.
Postal Service, four of those years being passed as Assistant Postmaster at Peoria. In August, 1889, he was made Deputy Collector of Revenue, and is, politically. a strong Republican. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and the Grand Army of the Republic, and holds membership with the See- ond Presbyterian Church, of Peoria.
ANIEL L. AMERMAN. It often happens that in searching for convicting proof against outlaws, an officer must penetrate into places where the movement of a muscle would insnre detection of his assumed disguise and lead to his death at the hands of reckless men who value no human life but their own. The man who thus takes his life in his hands, entering upon a career that leads him into scenes scarcely to be imagined by those unacquainted with the history of crime, displays a degree of moral and physical bravery of which few are capable,and must likewise possess acute perception, keen judgment and apt- ness in device. The past decade has been therefore a most eventful period in the life of the subject of this sketch who,as a United States Deputy Marshal, has traversed the Pacific Slope and Rocky Mount- ain region from Puget Sound to the city of Mex- ico, in search of counterfeiters, and has met with some thrilling experiences.
The surname of our subject is thought to be de- rived from America Man. His father, Henry Amerman, a native of New York State was mar- ried in Auburn, N. Y., to Miss Hannah A. Taylor. They had four sons and one daughter. the latter of whom died in infancy. Our subject was the youngest of the family and is now the only sur- vivor of the fraternal circle. His father died when he was two years of age and his mother subse- quently, married William Blandin of Illinois.
The oldest son, John A. T., who was a photog- rapher, died from disease contracted while in the United States service during the late war; Irwin, also a member of Company A, Twenty-third
Michigan Infantry, after suffering the horrors of captivity several months, died in Andersonville Prison; David Austin, after having served as con- ductor on the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw Railroad fifteen years, lost his life in an accident at Cruger, while in the line of duty. The last named left a wife and two little daughters in the city of Peoria. The only male representative of the family in the third generation is the son of our subject, a bright little lad bearing the name of Harry Lee.
The town of Hollis is now the home of our sub- ject who married Miss Anna Dickey, of Kansas City, in which place he lived for some years, en- gaged at his trade of a carpenter and also following contracting. He finally returned to the Prairie State in which eighteen years of his life had been passed, but in 1870 went to the Pacific Coast. In . 1881 he again visited the Slope in the employ of the Government and within two years captured sixty counterfeiters, performing the journeys neè essary in various ways and assuming various dis guises.
On one occasion Mr. Amerman left Kansas City by rail and having reached Cheyenne, Wyo.,started for Deadwood, S. Dak., on horseback. Thence he followed the trail of the criminals to Virginia City, Nev., thence to Portland, Ore., from there to Ft. Smith, Idaho, whence he returned to Virginia City. There he again became a railroad passenger and having reached Salt Lake City went to Wap- pan, Ariz., by stage, crossing the Colorado Can- yon. Here he again mounted a horse and with thirty prisoners in charge rode to San Francisco, picking up two more criminals on his way across the continent. .
Mr. Amerman reached Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., after an absence of about two months, during which time he had received three flesh wounds from the shots of those whom he was seeking to capture. Having undertaken to secure five men at one time, he "got the drop on them" and all surrendered ex- cept one. He pulled his revolver and fired on the Marshal, who in return shot him through the left shoulder. The criminal, however, managed to get away at that time, but was caught by Mr. Amerman a few weeks later. Nearly every State in the union has been visited by Mr. Amerman
981
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.
whose duties have also led him into Canada. Dur- ing the winter of 1889-90, he returned to his liome, whose pleasures he is enjoying with a keen relish af- ter his dangerous experiences.
OIIN MCDOUGAL. This name will at once be recognized by all familiar with the busi- ness affairs of Peoria, as that of a man long and prominently"connected with the trade and upbuilding of the municipality. Its"possessor is still actively attending to the business of a real- estate dealer, operating in both city and country property, as he has been doing for many years past. He is one of those energetic, shrewd,! but honest men, with whom it is a pleasure to deal, and his judgment regarding the value of lands, is unques- tioned. The place that he occupies in the reputa- tion of his acquaintances, is a worthy one, as busi- ness man, citizen, and private individual.
In the city of New York the eyes of our subject opened to the light of day March 4, 1822. When he was quite small, his parents, James and Elizabeth (Barton) McDougal, removed to Cayuga County, where the lad grew to his seventeenth year. He then left home to seek his fortunes in his native city, for whose business men he labored in various capacities as opportunities arose for advancement, nntil several years had passed. In 1845 he was given an unsolicited vacation of two months, and made a trip "out West." So well was he pleased with the country, that he was never satisfied until lie could make his home in the great Mississippi Valley.
In 1847 the desire of Mr. McDongal became feasible, and he became a resident of the little city of Peoria. Ile engaged in the grocery trade, first as a retailer, and subsequently as a wholesaler, the latter branch of the business being continued until the building of railroads around the city cut off his trade. The business was conducted originally as a partnership affair under the firm name of MeDou- gal & Smith, but ere long the senior member of the firm had bought out the junior, and was carrying on the business alone.
In 1857, finding the wholesale trade no longer pro- ductive of a good income, Mr. McDougal closed out and entered into the real-estate business, in which he thought the prospect more favorable. It . proved a prosperous enterprise, and has been con- tinued unintermittingly from that time. Although this has been his chief pursuit, Mr. McDougal has also done a good deal of building in connection with Messrs. Walker & Kellogg, of Chicago. In 1848 they built what was at that time the largest ware- house on the Illinois River, and which stood as a landmark at the foot of Harrison Street. An enor- mous trade for the time was done there, a line of boats running daily to the city on the lake that has become the great center of Western trade.
The residence of Mr. McDougal is a commodious brick edifice, with double walls, standing on a large lot on North Monroe Street. It was built by him in 1854, and is still considered one of the finest houses in the city. The spacious grounds are well kept and tastefully adorned, the dwelling is fur- nished in keeping, and the most charming hospital- ity rules within the walls of the model home. The lady who has held the place of honor therein dur- ing all these years. was formerly Miss Mary A. Gray, but became Mrs. McDougal April 14, 1852. She was born in Wheeling, W. Va., and came to Peoria with her parents in 1834. The name of her father, Andrew Gray, is remembered as that of a very early settler.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. McDougal numbers nine children, of whom seven are now living. All of the survivors except the daughter, Mary Eliza- beth, remain in the same city as their parents. She is now the wife of H. M. Clark, of Chicago. The sons are Edward D., William G., James B., Robert, Walter, and Alfred; the last two named are still in- mates of the parental home, but the others have set up their own households. The entire family attend and support the Second Presbyterian Church to which all belong except the father. Mrs. Mc- Dougal has been all that a wise and affectionate mother can be to her children, and to her they owe much for her counsel and instruction in usefulness. To her companion she has proved a most faithful and sympathizing helpmate, whom he delights to honor.
982
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.
AMES E. AUSTIN. Among the large land- owners of Brimfield Township, the gentle- man above named is deserving of mention, as his fine estate has been gained chiefly by · his personal industry and good management. It consists of four hundred acres of land, upon which but little improvement had been made when it was taken possession of by our subject, but which now is one of the most valuable tracts in the vicinity. It is supplied with various farm buildings and other improvements that are expected of an ener- getic and prosperous man, and affords a most com- fortable home for the family.
The natal day of Mr. Austin was May 7, 1825, and his birthplace Preble County, Ohio. His par- ents, James and Buelah (Jennings) Austin, were natives of New Jersey, both being of English origin. They made their home in the Buckeye State at an early period in the history of Preble County, when the section to which they removed was practically a wilderness. There our subject was reared amid the scenes of pioneer life, bearing such a part as his strength would permit, in the labors which resulted in the thorough development of the region, and obtaining as good an education as the limited school privileges afforded.
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.