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 29
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This important event in the life of our subjeet occurred in Princeville Township, January 6, 1852, when he was united to Miss Sarah Henry. She was born in Crawford County, Pa., a daughter of Col. James and Fannie Henry, the former a native of Fayette County, Pa., and the latter of Irish birth. Her father was a farmer in Crawford County, and took part in the War of 1812, and later was Colonel of a Pennsylvania State Militia regiment. He was otherwise prominent in public life and for three terms represented his district in the State Legisla- ture. In 1850, he came here with his family, and as he was a man of some means, lived retired until the time of his death at the ripe old age of eighty- four years, spending his last years with Mrs. Slane's mother and dying in 1867.
Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
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Slane: Odillon B. living on the home farm, was educated at the Peoria Normal and has been en- gaged princially in teaching; Ida, living at home attended the Valparaiso Normal in Indiana; Oliver C., who is in the hardware business in Peoria, is a graduate of Baily's Commercial College at Keokuk, Jowa; Edgar P., a farmer in Monica, attended the. Valparaiso Normal; Elgie M., an artist and a gradu- ate of the art department of the Valparaiso Nor- mal, is the wife of F. C. Ralston, Cashier of the Meridan Silver l'lating Co., of Chicago, and Mina, a school teacher living at home.
Our subject and his brother bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Princeville Township, located on it, erecting suitable buildings, lived to- gether and farmed in partnership. While his brother was in the army, our subject managed the farm alone. In those times the farmers of Illinois made money fast, as their grain commanded higli prices and Mr. Slane sold wheat at $3 per bushel and corn at 81 per bushel. In 1869, the brothers dissolved partnership, our subject selling his share of the farm to his brother, and he then bought one hundred and fifty acres of land on section 7, Akron Township. Hle farmed it three years. The Rock Island Railroad Company put a part of their road through his farm and he and some of his neighbors sued the company for the value of their land and he succeeded in getting $600, and after that lie would not stay on the place. Selling that place in 1871, he came to Princeville Township, and in 1872 bought his present farm of three hundred and twenty acres on sections 35 and 36, for $15,000. It was partly improved and he located on section 35, and commenced the work of its further develop. ment and now has one of the choicest and best im- proved farms in this part of the county. He has been extensively engaged in farming and stock- raising and has acquired wealth. In 1890, he sold his property to his brother and retired from farm- ing, and will probably move to Wyoming and make his home there in the future. He owns one hun- dred acres of fine farming land near Monica, which is under cultivation and is well improved.
Mr. Slane is pre-eminently a self-made man, well endowed with those clements of character that make life a success, and one needs but to peruse these
pages devoted to his life record to see that he has put his faculties to good use and is to-day a man of affluence. These many years that he has been a resident of this county have gained him many warm friends, and his pleasant face and genial manners make him well liked by all. He has given his ser- vices to the township in various otlicial capacities and has worked zealously to promote any scheme that would in any way enhance the interests of this locality. During the war he was Collector for two years, and for many years he has been a member of the School Board. He was Supervisor by appoint- ment twice, but did not accept the position. He is a member of the Detective Thief Association. He is prominent in politics, is an ardent Democrat, is one of the leading members of the Central Com- mittee, and has been delegate to county conven- tions. Five or six times he has been called on to serve on the Grand Jury.
AMES T. JOHNSON. In the thriving city of Peoria there may be found a number of men in whom the inventive genius is strong and to whom the patent office reports are the most interesting of all literature. One of the foremost of these is James T. Jolmson, inventor and patentee of the Acme Coal & Stone Drill, and of the Lightning Coal & Stone Drill, which is guaran- teed to drill two feet per minute in clean coal with two-man power. He first patented the Acme Drill, had it manufactured for him and conducted its sale throughout the United States about two years, after which he began the manufacture himself. This was in 1887, since which time he has built shops, 32x70 feet, with steam power, at No. 111-113 Garden Street, where he carries on the manufacture of his inventions. He improved the first patent, and sub- sequently he and Isaac Wantling invented the Lightning Drill which is also having an extensive sale throughout the country from Pennsylvania to Wyoming and Montana, thousands of them being in operation. They have also invented a coal cut- ting, a coal mining and coal drilling machine all combined and run by either hand or electricity.
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Mr. Johnson was born in Yorkshire, England, near Richmond Hill, September 2, 1846. He re- moved to County Durham and there grew to man- hood. He became interested in mining and all the practical details of the business in which he" finally became a contractor, driving stone levels and having many of the largest contracts in the county. In 1879, he emigrated to America, continuing his work in Pennsylvania and later in Ohio. He finally removed to What Cheer, Iowa, and while there in- vented his first drill. His thorough knowledge of what was needed in the mines was of great advan- tage and turned his mechanical ingenuity into an excellent channel. About 1885 he removed to Peoria to give his whole attention to the sale and manufacture of his inventions, this seeming to him a good center for his operations.
The marriage of Mr. Johnson was celebrated in County Durham, England, of which his wife, formerly Miss Elizabethi Thompson, is a native. Prior to their removal to America. eight children had been born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, five of whom still live. Four children have been born in. this country, three of these surviving. The living sons and daughters who now make up the household band are William, James, Harriet, Maggie, Eliza- beth, Fred, Joseph and Katie, not one of whom has yet left the parental roof-trec. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are intelligent, kindly and social, and have drawn around them a pleasant circle of acquaint- ances. Mr. Jolinson is known as a man of honor in business relations, and a law-abiding citizen who steadfastly pursues an upright course in life.
R REDERICK D. WEIENNETT. When the wires flashed around the world the news of the terrible disaster at Chatsworth, millions of hearts thrilled with sympathy for the unfortunate victims and their friends. Yet horrified and grieved as the world was, none but those who have suffered in a like manner can realize the thickness of the pall that settled over mourning homes whence loved ones had gone forth in all their manly strength or womanly beauty, to he
borne back in a few hours bereft of life or bearing pain and sorrow. Among the stricken households was that of Frederick D. Weiennett, who was in- stantly killed in the wreck, while his daughter Pearl received injuries whose marks she will carry to her grave.
Benedict and Mary Weiennett, the parents of our subject, were natives, respectively, of Switzer- land and Bavaria. They were living in Saline, Mich., when their son was born, his natal day hav- ing been May 10, 1837. The lad was reared in his native State, where he obtained an excellent edu- cation and won success as a school teacher. IIe alternated pedagogical labors with attendance at the Normal School at Ypsilanti, his reputation as an earnest student and an apt instructor being equally good. Lameness caused by illness unfitted him for severe physical exertion, and he therefore sought light employment in which brains would take the place of brawn.
Immediately after the war Mr. Weiennett came to Peoria, becoming book-keeper for Louis Green, wholesale liquor dealer, by whom he was taken into partnership in 1870. He subsequently engaged in the wholesale grocery business, in which he was occupied when elected County Treasurer in 1883. He had previously served three different times as City Treasurer and at the same time had held the position of Treasurer of the School Board. In 1887 he became Secretary of the Germania Fire Insur- ance Company, in which capacity he continued until his career was cut short by an untimely death on the 10th of August, 1887. The fact that Mr. Weiennett was strictly honest and up- right is evinced by his election to a treasurership so frequently. Ile was a member of the Demo- cratic party, but his friends were not confined to that political body. On the contrary he was highly respected by all to whom he was personally known or who were acquainted with his business reputa- tation. He was a member of the Masonic fratern- ity and Turner society, taking great interest in those orders.
The widow of Mr. Weiennett bore the maiden name of Carrie E. Best. Her parents, George C. and Gertrude (Schneider) Best, removed from De- troit, Mich., to Peoria in 1855, and here the daugh-
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ter's marriage was celebrated, May 10, 1870. Mr. Best, who had been a blacksmith prior to becoming a citizen of Peoria, breathed his last July 17, 1882. His widow survived until December 10, 1884. To Mr. and Mrs. Weiennett seven children were born, three of whom are now living. These are Pearl, Frederick and Carrie, in whose devotion the wid- owed mother finds solace for her ever-present sor- row for a faithful and loving companion. Her sterling qualities of mind and heart bring her earn- est friendships.
A portrait of the late Mr. Weiennett appears in connection with this sketch and will be welcomed by the many friends from among whom he has gone.
BNER HI. SMITH, who has practically re- tired from active life, and is living in comfort in his cozy home in Elmwood City, was among the earliest pioneers of this county, and for many years sturdily co-operated with his fellow farmers and stock-raisers in developing the rich agricultural resources of this region. He is a survivor of the earliest pioneers of this county, and to him and his good wife belongs the honor of having been the first couple united in marriage in Elmwood Township, the ceremony that made them one being performed by Esq. James P. Harkins, and their happy wedded life of many years is a worthy example for the young people of to-day who are starting out on the same journey.
Mr. Smith was born October 22, 1811, in Tioga County, Pa. His father, Ichabod Smith, was born in Massachusetts July 19, 1782, while his mother, whose maiden name was Anna Ilarkness, was a na- tive of New York, and was born May 22, 1790. She came of good Revolutionary stock, her father, James Harkness, having been a Revolutionary sol- dier, and after the close of the war a pensioner. Ilis son ,Jaines was a soldier in the War of 1812. The parents of our subject were married in Penn- sylvania, and removed from there to Ohio with their family. July 3, 1817, and settled in Richland County among the few whites who had preceded them and the aboriginal owners of the soil, and
thus became early pioneers of that part of Ohio. Mr. Smith cut down the trees, and in the space thus cleared built a log cabin in the primeval for- ests. After six years he removed with his wife and children to Crawford County, where he again cleared land and built another log dwelling, in which the family made their home until 1837. In that year they came to Elmwood Township, to begin anew the pioneer task of building up a home, and settled on the farm now owned by Oliver Graham. Here the faithful wife and mother suc- cumbed to the trials and privations ineidental to the life of the early settlers in this part of the country, and in December, 1837, passed to eternal rest. Of the twelve children she bore her husband, the following are now living: Our subject, Edson F .. Mrs. J. Gibbs, David Milo, James M., Mrs. John W. Couklin and Mrs. J. Nickerson. Their father departed this life November 3, 1856, leaving an honorable record as a useful pioneer citizen, and as a man of good character and unswerving in tegrity. After the death of the mother of our sub- jeet he had married again, in 1840, taking as his wife Mrs. Almira Aldrich, who died in 1888. Of that marriage there were three children.
Aber Smith, of this sketch, received but limited educational advantages in the primitive log school- house, which he attended in Crawford County. He was early initiated into the labors of farming, and became of great assistance to his father, help- ing him to clear three different farms, remaining with him until twenty years of age. Ile then started out with empty hands, but with a courage- ous heart to make his own way in the world. He too became a pioneer, and coming to Peoria County, arriving here January 21, 1832, he lo- cated on the old Orton farm in Trivoli Township,
Mr. Smith found the country round about here in a very wild and unsettled condition, and the land being still in the hands of the Government, was not then in the market. He built a log cabin and broke and fenced ten acres of the land upou which he had settled, and carried on its enltivation some two or three years. In the meantime, in 1834, he revisited his parents and friends in his old home in Crawford County, Ohio, making the entire journey there and back to this county on
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foot. lle hield his Trivoli farm until the fall of 1835, then soll it to Harkness & Buell, and from there came to Elmwood Township, and located on the section on which Elmwood City now stands. This was then an isolated spot, with not a house in sight, excepting the hewn log house with its nine window lights that stood on his purchase. Ilis homestead, which comprised one hundred and twenty acres, was partly improved, and when the land came into the market he entered it at the land-office, and in the busy years of toil and hard ship that followed, he was constantly engaged in its further improvement, and in time had devel- oped a good farm, supplied with neat buildings and every appurtenance for engaging in agricul- ture. In 1832, before coming to Elmwood Town- ship, the Black Hawk War had broken out, and he was one of the volunteers to aid in its suppression. He went to Galena. Ill., and there enrolled his name among the other brave and daring settlers who were going to face the dangers and ambus- vailes of Indian warfare that their homes might be safe in the future from the depredations of the dreaded foe. llis warlike intentions were, however, speedily squelched, as he was taken sick with the measles and was obliged to let his company go on without him, while he returned home.
Like all pioneers, Mr. Smith and his wife had to suffer many trials, and to make many sacrifices while living on the borders so far from the centers of civilization. Times were very hard in the early days, and often times corn bread, which formed their staple article of diet, was the only food they had to eat. Mr. Smith used to have to go twenty- five miles over rough roads to mill in Ellisville. Game, upon which the early settlers depended so much, was very scarce, as the severe cold of the season of 1830, known as the "winter of the deep snow," had killed the wild animals in large num- bers.
March 10, 1835, was an event of great impor- tance in the life of our subjeet, as on that date he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza A. Doyle, a daughter of Isaae and Mary Doyle, natives res- pectively of North Carolina and Virginia. HIer parents came to Illinois in 1830. and after staying one season in Warren County. removed to this
county and settled at or near Harkness Grove, in this township. being the second family to settle in this region, and Mr. Doyle was the first Justice of the Peace. Canton was the nearest town, about seventeen miles away, and its only store was the place where they secured their supplies. He owned a large amount of land, and was a prominent man in this part of the county. His wife died many years ago, and he married Jane Lamaster, and she survives him. Ilis death in 1879, removed one of our most honored pioneers. Three of the nine children born of his marriage with Mrs. Smith's mother are now living, namely: Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Naney Scott and Mrs. Irene Scott.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of seven children, as follows: Mary Ann and Henry C., deceased; Harriet, wife of Frank Trumley, of this township; George S., a resident of Minnesota; Edwin A., of Minnesota, who married Mercy Cav- erly, and has six children; William J., a resident of Elmwood, who has been twice married, the mai- den name of his present wife being Margaretta Mc- Coy; Alice, wife of Justin Gordon, of Galesburg, and the mother of two children; George has been twice married, and by his first marriage had two children.
March 10, 1885. was an eventful day in the life of our subject and his wife, as it marked to them the golden milestone of half a century of wedded life, and their golden wedding was celebrated with thankfulness and rejoicing by their children, grandchildren and the many friends that they had gathered around them during the many years they have lived in this county. The following beautiful lines are the opening ones of a poem written by Clara, the wife of their eldest son, as a loving souvenir of the occasion:
"Through fifty years we have walked together Through the sunshine of life, and its stormy weather. .
And to-day to the Golden Gate have come,
That marks the half-century of our home."
Mr. Smith possesses in a rare degree those ster- ling qualities that mark him as a man of single heart and pure purpose, and the uprightness of his character and his simple, unassuming kindness have won him both the respect and the affection
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of his fellow-citizens, which his wife also shares. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was formerly Steward, and for many years have been identified with its every good work. In early life Mr. Smith was a sup- porter of the Whig party, but on the formation of the Republican party, transferred his allegiance to it, and has ever since remained a steadfast up- holder of its principles.
HARLES M. SLAYTON is a fine type of our self-made, self-educated men,one whose indomitable, ambitious spirit has conquered every obstacle that lay in the path of his success, and to-day he occupies an honorable position in the farming community of this county. and is con- sidered one of our best citizens. His farm, lying on section 6, Elmwood Township, a part of it within the corporate limits of Elmwood City, is provided with a neat, substantial class of buildings and ample farming machinery, and its soil is admirably tilled, and yields to his careful cultivation rich harvests, besides supporting a fine herd of stock.
Mr. Slayton is a native of Chautauqua County N. Y., born May 15, 1843, to Hosea B. and Eunice (Chandler) Slayton, who were originally from Ver- mont, the Slaytons being an old New England fam- ily, and on the mother's side also he is of honorable descent, as she numbered among her ancestors the renowned Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga. The mother of our subject died in 1851, leaving behind her a memory that is still cherished in the bearts of lier children of a good and true woman. Of the six children born of her marriage, three are now living-our subject; Almeda. wife of Orange Daniels of Elmwood, and Deliska A., wife of C. Il. Kightlinger of Elmwood. Addison F. died in 1889; Lucy died at the age of three years; Edwin died in infancy.
The father of our subject was married a second time, and his widow survives him.making her home in Elmwood. Their union was blessed to them by
the birth of two children: Eunice E., wife of Samuel Alwelt of Elmwood, and Alton B., who married Susie Wooten; they also live in Elmwood. Mr. Slayton brought his family to Knox County, in 1853, and settled among the pioneers of Elba Town- ship, Knox County. He lived there until 1857, and then became a pioncer of Elinwood, and here re- sided until his mortal career was closed by deatlı in 1887.
The subject of this biographical sketch was the youngest member of the family, and as he was a mere boy of eight years when his parents brought him to this State, he was reared here under pioneer influences, and early became a manly, self-reliant, capable lad. who began life for himself at the age of fifteen years. In 1858, he went out to work on a farm by the month at $12.50 a month, and was thus employed the most of the time until 1862, but for two years traveled with a circus over Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Upper Canada, pod. dling lemonade and otherwise engaged, as he was determined by any honorable means to earn money to obtain a sound education. His first schooling had been in his native State, and in 1862 he studied in the district school near his home in Elmwood Township. and then entered Elmwood Academy, and there pursued a preparatory college course, studying Latin, geometry, algebra and kindred branches, defraying all his expenses himself. Ilis diligence and close attention to his books, soon brought their due reward in the shape of a teacher's certificate, showing him to be amply qualified to enter the profession, and he left school for a time In order to take charge of a school during the win- ter session, and then went back to the academy.and the following winter and summer again took up teaching. The first term he taught he received the princely salary of $40 a month, the next year $50, and the third year $60 a month, and after that he declined to teach. In the summer vacation of 1862, he kept an ice cream parlor at Elmwood, and carried it on profitably. He returned to the academy in the spring term, and at the close of the season opened a bakery and restaurant with C. 11. Kightlinger. his brother-in-law, and for three years they were engaged in that business together, and then our subject bought out his partner, and
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continued it for two years more, when he sold it at a good price.
Mr. Slayton next gave his attention to farming, spending a year in Kansas on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres that he bought in Franklin County. After his return to this State, he having sold his Kansas property, he bought his present place in 1872, which then comprised but eighty acres, but since then he has added another eighty, and twenty- five acres of his farm is within the city limits. He has been constantly improving it ever since, and has placed the land under excellent tillage. He has added to his residence, and has a commodious, comfortably furnished dwelling, the centre of a charming hospitality, wherein host and hostess vie with each other in making their guests feel at ease and at home. In 1885, Mr. Slayton erected a good harn at a cost of $1,000 and also put up other convenient outbuildings; he raises both grain and stock, and has been fortunate in his work, as we have seen, acquiring a desirable property.
Mr. Slayton was married in 1868, to Miss Mattie Harper, and her untimely death in 1883, while yet in the prime of a gracious and kindly womanhood, deprived him of a good wife and their offspring of a tender mother. The following are the names of the four children of that marriage: Edward C. (deceased), James A., Fred II., and Nellie M. Edward was a bright and promising youth, was a graduate of the Elmwood High School, and was in the Fresh - man year at Knox College, when death cut short his life. James is a well-educated young man, a graduate of the Elmwood High School, and he also took a course of study in the Business College in Peoria. Fred is a student at the High School, and Nellie is in the Intermediate Department.
Mr. Slayton was married to his present estimable wife in 1884, and in her has found a congenial companion and a wise counselor, and his children have in her a devoted stepmother. She is a woman of culture and high Christian character, and a con- sistent member of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Slayton's maiden name was Flora E. Lucas, and she is a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Simerson) Lucas, of Brimfield Township. She received ex- cellent educational advantages, was a pupil of the Brimfield Iligh School, in which she pursued a
course in some of the higher branches, and she also took lessons in instrumental music. Iler marriage with our subject has brought them one child, Stella May, who is five years old.
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