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 28
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At the time of the Black Hawk War all the in- habitants for miles along the Illinois entered Ft. Clark for protection: Mr. Birket, with character- istic coolness and courage, remained outside bury- ing all his meats and valuables so that the Indians might not have the benefit of them if they came in that direction. Prior to that on one occasion when the Indians were molesting the whites, he was also the only one who remained at his home,
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and that was the first time that he ever locked his door, which was done with a chip.
During the first years of his residence in Peoria County, Mr. Birket was engaged in many pioneer enterprises, and planted the first orchard in what is now the corporate limits of the city of Peoria; from this he raised the first apples and other fruit in the county. About 1831 he sent about a half peck of apples to a former neighbor who was then living at Ft. Dearborn (Chicago). These apples were sent by a gentleman, who in order to secure a marriage license had come from that place to Peoria, then the county-seat of the northeastern portion of the State. This illustrates the strong bond of friend- ship existing among the old settlers.
In 1839 Mr. Birket removed to Tazewell County, where he bought four hundred acres of land and engaged in manufacturing lumber. After ten years residence there he returned to Peoria and lived here until his death, October 16, 1874; thus was closed a life well rounded in years and filled with those deeds that make a man in the fullest sense of the word; this city, for which he did much, mourned the death of a revered citizen and still cherishes his memory as one of its most useful pio- neers. His hand was felt in many enterprises that were inaugurated for the benefit of the community, and especially was he generous in his support of the church, his donations in that direction being quite considerable ; among them were ten acres of land, which afterward became Gallagher's Addition to Peoria, and he gave an acre of land to Ju- · bilee College and substantial aid in behalf of St. Paul's Church. Hle donated all of block No. 127, and half of block No. 116,to the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Illinois to be used as the site of a church. The land comprising Keighin's Addition to Peoria once belonged to him, and he gave it all to a man for plastering his house, which goes to show either the small value of the land at that time, or the enormous cost of plastering.
In the accumulation of his property Mr. Birket received substantial aid from his wife, who pre- ceded him in death many years, dying December 24, 1852. She was married to our subject Angust 17, 1831. Her maiden name was Marjory Thomas, and she was a daughter of Col. John Thomas, who
was killed by the Indians at Chillicothe, Ohio. The widow of Col. Thomas died in Peoria, December 27, 1850.
John Charles Birket, the son of John Birket, of whom we have just written, was born in Peoria February 3, 1834, and was reared under the influ- enees of pioneer life, receiving his education in pri- vate schools. He gave his attention to farming for a number of years. although he has always dealt in real estate more or less since he began life on his own account, and now makes it his principal business. Mr. Birket is very fond of his home, has never cared to travel, and has never been out of his native State. He is a firm Republican in politics.
The union of John C. Birket and Ann Jane Grundy in the holy bonds of matrimony was cele- brated January 1, 1868, and has been blessed by the birth of five children, namely: Mary A. J., John Charles, Walter A. and William E. (twins), and Louisa Isabel. Mrs. Birket is the daughter of Edmund and Jane Grundy, natives of Bolton, Eng- land, where Mrs. Birket was also born. They came to Peoria in 1849, and aided in the development of the county from its uncultivated condition to one of prosperity.
In connection with this sketch the reader will notice a lithographic portrait of the late John Bir- ket, whose name is still held in loving remembrance though he has long since passed from earth.
R OBERT ARMSTRONG, a man of wealth and an extensive landowner, now residing in Knox County, was among the first comers in Peoria County in the early days of its settlement, and the history of this section of the State, as told in the records of the lives of its citi- zens on these pages, would be incomplete without a sketch of his life and work, as he was an early set- tler of Millbrook Township, and was prominent among the leading pioneers of the county, and it gives us great pleasure to be enabled to represent him in this BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.
Our venerable subject is a native of Scotland, and was born in that country August 12, 1805,
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coming of sterling Scotch ancestry. His parents, James and Agnes Armstrong. were also of Scottish birth. Our subjeet passed his childhood, youth, and the opening years of his manhood in Dumfries- shire, the shire of his nativity, and was mostly en- gaged in herding sheep until he came here. llis opportunities for attending school were limited, but he acquired some book-learning in spite of the dis- advantages under which he labored, and by self- education has acquired a good fund of useful knowledge. In 1836, in the prime of a vigorous, healthy manhood, he left home and native land, ambitions to see if life did not hold something bet- ter for him in the large and powerful Republic across the sea, to which so many of his countrymen had wended their way. He embarked on a vessel at Liverpool, and six weeks and two days later he stepped foot on American soil, landing in the great metropolis of the country, and coming directly to this county. He was not without means, as are so many foreigners who land on these shores, but had sullicient capital to invest in quite a large traet of wild land on section 6, Millbrook Township, com- prising three hundred and twenty acres mostly in timber and brush, and be purchased it from the Gov- ernment, paying $1.25 an acre. He was one of the first to settle in Millbrook Township, and there were not many white men near him, but there was a tribe of four hundred Indians north of him a little way. However he was not long troubled with their pres- enee, as the Government removed them further westward the same fall.
When he settled on his homestead, Mr. Arm- strong had a large amount of pioneer work to do in clearing away the forest and preparing the land for cultivation, and also had to build a shelter for his family. He actively entered upon the hard task before him with a courageous heart and a steady determination to succeed in his undertakings. His first employment was to build a log house, 18x24 feet in dimensions, which was his dwelling the next ten years until he found time to erect a more com- modions and comfortable house, with which he at length replaced his first primitive abode. In the course of years he put his land under excellent till- age, and constantly made valuable improvements until his farm came to be regarded as one of the
most desirable in all Millbrook Township. He has added to his original purchase, and now has four- hundred and seventy acres of land in Peoria and Knox Counties. Ile continued to live in Mill- brook Township until the spring of 1887, when he removed with his wife to their present pleasant home near the county line in Knox County, and near Rochester.
Mr. Armstrong has been twice married. He was first wedded to Mrs. Rachel Clifford, who bore hin two children, Agnes and Lena, the latter of whom is deceased. Agnes is the wife of Jolin Kaus, of Knox County.
The maiden name of our subject's present wife was Agnes Brown. and she is, like himself, a native of the land of the Scots, born in Ayreshire, in the month of January, 1816, a daughter of William Brown. Her mother died when she was a mere child. Her early years were passed in Scotland, and when she was thirty-three years of age, she came to America and to this county, and in due time married Mr. Armstrong, and has been to him all that is implied in the term, a true wife. Thirce children have been born to our subject of this union, of whom two are living, Robert, and Jane, the wife of Charles Waldon, of Knox County. The name of the child who died, was James.
The sunset of life finds our subject and his es- timable wife serenely awaiting life's great end, in freedom from the eares and labors that beset them in the heat of the day, in a home whose comforts and Inxuries have been proeured by the ample com- petence that is the fruit of their nnited toil when they were young. It has been said that the trials and hardships that the pioneers encountered in their struggles in building up this country, strengthened their character and better fitted them for the cares and responsibilities of after life, making them have a warmer side for their fellow-men, and creating a willingness to lend a helping hand to those who are in distress. This is eminently true of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong, and their names are synonyms of love and charity, while many have eause to bless their benefactions, and are among the warm friends they have gathered around them in the long years they have lived in this State. They are true Christian people, and are devoted members of the Congre-
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gational Church. Mr. Armstrong has served as School Director, and has in various ways earnestly sought to elevate the social, moral, and educational status of the community. A man of intelligent views on all subjects, and having decided opinions of his own, he is independent in politics, and votes for the man rather than for party.
OSEPH S. BARNUM. This cognomen is familiar, not only to the residents of Prince- ville, where its possessor abides, but through- out the county and adjoining country. He who bears it is the editor of the Princeville Tele- phone, a live, eight-column folio, and the publisher of the Home Advocate, a weekly prohibition paper that was started June 6, 1889, under control of the Prohibition party of the Congressional district. A careful reader of the accompanying notes will form a just conclusion regarding some of the traits in the character of our subject and his fitness for the work which he is now carrying on.
The Barnum family is of English extraction and members of it settled in New England many years ago. In Danbury, Conn., the grandfather of our subject, Bethuel Barnum, was born, going thence to the Catskill Mountains in boyhood. He became the owner of a farm, also carrying on milling and participating in the struggle against British tyr- anny in the latter part of the eighteenth century. llis son Jabez became a contractor in turnpike and similar work. About 1830 the latter removed to Detroit, Mich., continuing his contracting but also paying some attention to farming. He subse- quently operated a farm in Kalamazoo County, whence in 1856 he removed to Hardin County, Iowa. There he entered land and continued farm- ing until his death. He filled various local offices, being highly regarded by his fellow-citizens. He was a sturdy Republican, and during slavery times an Abolitionist. Ile belonged to the Baptist Church.
The wife of Jabez Barnum was Anna Goodsell, a native of the Catskill region in New York. Her father was a hunter and trapper, and during the Revolutionary War served the Colonists as a scout.
He finally removed to Wayne County, Mich., where he died on a farm. He was of Welsh descent. Mrs. Anna (Goodsell) Barnum breathed her last in Iowa. She was the mother of ten children, seven of whom grew to maturity and three are now living. The survivors are: A. G., of Ackley, Iowa; Joseph S., of this notice, and Mrs. Elizabeth Rice, of Frank- lin County, Iowa.
The gentleman of whom we write was born in Detroit, Mich., May 3, 1832, and reared to about the age of eleven years in his native city. Ile then accompanied his parents to Kalamazoo County, completed his education at Schoolcraft and Battle Creek Academies, and on the home farm received parental advice and instruction. In 1856 he went to Iowa, traveling with a team from Rock Island to HIardin County, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land. 1Ie located upon it and made it his home for some years. He devoted him- self to surveying four years, during a part of this time filling the office of County Surveyor, and after the expiration of the two years for which he was elected continuing his professional work. A part of the time of his residence near Ackley was devoted to teaching.
In 1864 Mr. Barnum came to Peoria County, Ill., on a visit, and on the 23d of November his marriage was celebrated withi Miss Hattie Benja- min. This intelligent and worthy lady was born in Medina Township, where her wedding was cele- brated. For a time Mr. Barnum engaged in various pursuits, among them being farming, and in the fall of 1868 removed with his family to Topeka, Kan. Ile built a home in that city, but afterward pur- chased three hundred and seventy-five acres of land in Jefferson County, on the Grasshopper River, which he improved and operated until the spring of 1873. lle then sold his real estate and in the fall took up his residence in Princeville, this county. lle traveled as a collector for Eastern houses and was otherwise occupied until December 1, 1880, when he took charge of the seven-column folio, the Princeville Independent.
In 1881 Mr. Barnum bought the sheet which he was conducting, and making of journalism a suc- cess, he enlarged the paper which on September 27, 1883, was first issued under its new name the
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Telephone. Mr. Barnum wields a ready pen, evinces good judgment in the selection of matter for pub- lication, and is doing much to advance the welfare of his town and mold the sentiments of its people. In addition to the publishing of his own paper and the Home Advocate, lie also does general job work.
As might be expected from the publication of which he has charge, Mr. Barnum is now a Prohi- bitionist. He helped to organize the Greenback party in the Tenth District of Illinois, at Elmwood, was nominated for County Clerk and ran ahead of his ticket. He was Postmaster in Princeville, dur- ing Cleveland's administration. To him and bis good wife four children have been born, two of whom, Stella D. and Emory E., are still at home. Edwin J., the first-born married Miss Lillian Wear and assists his father in his journalistie work ; Dial HI., the second-born, married F. K. Pennington, a civil engineer, whose home is in Westfield, Ind. On the 31st of July, 1890, J. S. Barnum, the sub- jeet of this sketch was nominated by the joint Union Labor Convention of the Tenth Illinois Congressional District, as their candidate for Con- gress.
SAAC FISHER has been carrying on his ealling as a practical farmer in Rosefield Township for several years, and is classed among the sub- stantial agriculturists of this section of the county. He comes of stalwart Revolutionary ancestry and of an old pioneer family of Ohio. He was born in that State in the township of Berkshire, in the county of Delaware, January 17, 1824.
The parents of our subject were George and Phæbe (ilopkins) Fisher, natives, respectively, of Washington and Luzerne Counties. His paternal grandparents were Jacob and Eva (Elie) Fisher, who came from their native Germany after their marriage and settled in this country in Colonial days, and he bore an honorable part in the War for Independence. In 1797 he and his wife removed to the wilds of Ohio, and were among its early pio- neers, and there he died at the age of eighty-two. His wife preceded him in death twenty years. The father of our subjeet was their only child, and he
was eighteen years of age when his parents left Pennsylvania to take up their abode in the pri- meval forests of Ohio, and there he spent his remain - ing days, dying at the age of eighty-four. llis wife, who was ten years younger than himself, died at the age of seventy-one years. She was a daugh- ter of Timothy Hopkins, who removed from l'enn- sylvania to Ohio about 1798, and was one of the early settlers in that part of the country in its terri- torial days. The remainder of his life was passed there amid its pioneer scenes. He served in the Continental army during the Revolution.
The parents of our subject had twelve children, namely: Polly (Mrs. Itley), deceased; Jacob, of Delaware County, Ohio; John, who died, leaving one daughter; Ilenry ; George, who died, leaving a son and daughter; Sallie (Mrs. Beecher), of this county; Eliza (Mrs. Rosecrans), of this county; Phœbe (Mrs. Humes), of Ft. Independence, Kan .; Betsey (Mrs. Carter), of Delaware County, Ohio; Lydia, deceased; Alonzo, a resident of Ohio. All married and reared families except one. The fa- ther of our subjeet served gallantly in the War of 1812. Ile purchased his first farm of one hundred and ten acres with hand-made linen, giving a yard of linen for each acre of land. He was very much prospered in his calling, and was enabled to give each of his children a good start in life by present- ing them with a farm.
Our subject was reared to the life of a farmer, and although his school privileges were limited he gained sufficient education to enable him to teach successfully, and he was thus engaged a few terms. He started out in life on his own account at the age of eighteen, and at the age of twenty obtained a po- sition as guard at an asylum for the insane and was thus employed for three years. Ile had a natural taste for agricultural pursuits, and invested some of his money in land, purchasing his first fifty acres in Ohio, his native State. He did well there and be- came somewhat prominent in the public life of the place where he lived, and for four years served as Justice of the Peace. Ile thought that he could improve his financial condition by farming on the rich soil of the Prairie State, and in the spring of 1869 he came hither and located on the place where he now resides. IFe first rented the eighty aeres of
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land that composed it, and in 1874 purchased that tract and has constantly been engaged in its im- provement, until now he has one of the best tilled and most productive farms in the neighborhood, which he is conducting after the most improved methods.
March 14, 1850. Mr. Fisher secured by his mar- riage to Amanda Malvina MeNair, a useful and active helpmate. She was born in Yates County, N. Y .. January 1, 1826, a danghter of James and Dianna (Westbrook) McNair, who were natives, respectively, of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. They were early pioneers of Ohio, and he died in Delaware County at the age fifty, while her death occurred in Wyandot County at the age of sev- enty-three. She had been three times married. Mr. McNair was a son of Robert McNair, whose father came from Scotland. Robert McNair was a shoemaker by occupation. Ilis wife was Sarah l'eckam, and they reared eight children-five sons and three daughters. Mrs. McNair was a daughter of .James and Sarah ( Lewis) Westbrook, natives of Pennsylvania, where they were engaged in farming. They had twelve children and reared eight-three sons and five daughters. Mr. Westbrook came to this country from Holland, served in the Revolu- tion, was a pioneer of Ohio, and died in Knox County, that State.
Mrs. Fisher is one of twelve children, of whom ten grew to maturity: Rebecca (Mrs. Evans) of Ohio; Abraham died in California, leaving a fam- ily in lowa; Daniel, a resident of Iowa; Phebe (Mrs. Frost), who died in Ogle County, III .; Ma- tilda and Diana, who died young; Amanda M .; Iluldah (Mrs. Secoy), of Ohio, deccased; . James, who died in Ohio; Nancy and Elizabethi J., who died in childhood, and Wheeler W., of Van Wert, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher are enjoying the de- clining years of a busy life in the comforts of a cozy home. Of their four children born to them two are still living-Henry W. and Phebe A.
Mr. Fisher possesses those solid virtues that mark a man of real worth, and he is justly considered one of our most reliable citizens. llis sound common sense, shrewdness and discretion have been made available in the management of public affairs, and he has held important local offices. Hle
is now serving his third term as Justice of the Peace, and for ten years was Road Commissioner. In politics he is a sound Democrat, and has been true to party principles since he cast his first vote for President in 1840, in support of Gen. Cass.
3 ENJAMIN FRANKLIN SLANE, a repre- sentative of the early settlers of Peoria County, is classed among the most prosper- ous members of its farming community. As a pioneer of Princeville Township,he has wielded a potent influence in bringing about its present standing as a well improved and wealthy farming region. He lias accumulated a handsome property and contemplates retiring from the active life ne- cessitated by the proper care of his extensive inter- ests.
Our subject comes of an old Virginia family, and was born in Hampshire County, W. Va., April 29, 1825. Benjamin Slane, his father, was born in Frederick County, Va., in Winchester, and his fa- ther, of the same name, was also a Virginian by birth, and was the youngest of a large family. ITis father was from Ireland and died shortly before, or about the time the family came to this country. The grandfather of our subject followed farming, until his death in Hampshire County, W. Va. He was a member of the Episcopalian Church and was strong in the faith.
The father of our subject was reared in his na- tive county. His mother died when he was an in- fant and he was the only child of that marriage. He learned the trade of a tanner and currier and later opened an establishment of his own on Cold Stream. Ile failed in that venture and in 1830, started westward. Ile stopped one year in Som- merset, Perry County, Ohio, Gen. Sheridan's old home, and was there engaged in the tannery busi- ness. The following year he came to Peoria County, arriving here November 7. He found but three or four white families in Peoria, though the Indians were more numerous, and the city was then forti- fied and known as Ft. Clark. Mr. Slane remained there until 1833, employed in various pursuits and
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then went to Richwoods Township, and pre-empted land and entered upon its improvement. Two years later he sold his claim to S. Frye and removed to what is now Rosefield Township, on the Kieka- poo, where he bought Government land, paying fifty per cent interest on money he borrowed to buy his place. He remained on it until 1840, and there had the misfortune to lose his faithful wife, who had shared with him in the trials and hardships of their pioneer life, her death occurring in 1839. His next location was in Princeville,and here he farmed some and engaged in various other pursuits. He bought one hundred and sixty acres of land where the Sante Fe Station now is, and the title to the property is still in the family. Here the remainder of his life was passed and he developed and im- proved his farm into one of the choice estates of the vicinity, and there his death occurred in 1875, at the ripe old age of seventy-seven years. In polities he was a sturdy supporter of the Demo- cratie party. The maiden name of his wife was Delilah Cheshire, and she was born in Hampshire County, W. Va. Her grandfather, John Cheshire, a farmer, and a native of New Jersey, spent his last years in Hampshire County. She was a true and consistent member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. She was the youngest of her family and succumbed to the privations of pioneer life in 1839, at the age of thirty-nine years. She was the mother of seven children as follows: Benjamin F., John Z. and Elizabeth A., living in Princeville Township; Delilah .J., wife of N. E. Root, Mission Creek, Pawnee County, Neb .; Samuel S. and J. T. of Princeville Township. John took part in the late Civil War as a member of the Eighty-sixth Illinois Infantry, Company K, enlisting in 1862,and serving until the close of hostilities.
Our subject passed, the first five years of his life in Virginia, and then went to Ohio in 1830, with his parents, the journey being made by team and wagons. A year later the family again started on a westward journey. going by team to the Muskingum River, then by keel boat to Marietta, Ohio, from there by steamboat to Louisville, then carrying their goods around the falls and re-embarking on the boat for St. Louis and from there coming in a stern wheeler to Peoria, taking a week to perform
this latter stage of the journey. Some Indians were among the passengers up the river and they still made their home in this county when our sub- jeet's father first settled here. Ile was given the best educational advantages that Peoria County afforded in those days, the only college being a log schoolhouse in which the schools were conducted on the subscription plan. He was early made to assist in the farm labors and when seventeen years of age went out to work breaking prairie, chopping wood, and tilling the soil. His father was a famous bunter and our subject also enjoyed that pastime, as wild game was very plentiful here in early days, and he has seen as many as fifty and one hundred deer in a drove. Hard labor was the order of the day and the pioneers often suffered privations and led lives of self sacrifice. Our subject worked for his father principally until he was twenty-six years ok, as the older boys helped their father on ac- count of his inability, being a sufferer from rheu- matism. In 1840, he came to this township, and he and his brother, JJohn, engaged in making lime, in the spring of 1815, our subject went into the busi ness more extensively and had two kilns for burn- ing lime and operated them profitably for five years and he opened a stone quarry, and made a success of that also. Ile furnished lime to an extent of forty miles in the north, west and east of them,and lived most of the time in Akron Township, until his marriage.
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