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 32
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The comforts of the home that he has built np here are due in a great measure to the thoughtful care of his good wife, to whom he was united in marriage in Medina Township. December 24, 1846. Iler maiden name was Adalet Ilenman. and she was born in Oswego County, N. Y., February 28, 1825, She is a daughter of Asa and Rebecca (Hurd) Hlenman, who were also natives of that part of New York. They were the parents of two children. of whom she was the youngest. After her father's death her mother married Justus Torrey, and they came to this county and were among the pioneers of Medina Township, where they died.
Mr. and Mrs. Hawley are the parents of nine children, of whom two died when quite young, and the following still live-Alden L., Frank .J., Deroy L , Justus T., Peter T., Guy and Charles B.
In polities Mr. Hawley firmly believes that the ; licy of the Republican party is the best to be Į, rsued in the guidance of national affairs, and he i. accordingly a stanch Republican. He is a fair- n aded, honest man of exemplary habits, whose fine reputation gives him a place among our most highly considered citizens, and as a pioneer of Rad- nor Township his name will ever be linked with its history.
AMES MOONEY, of Medina Township, is a gentleman whose life has been marked by no wonderful events, but by a steady per- sistenee in the calling which he chose, and a quiet pursuance of what he judges right in his as- sociation with humanity and in domestic life. He
occupies the Mooney homestead on section 11, Me- dina Township, is numbered among the farmers who have acquired a considerable share of worldly goods, and is an excellent representative of the agricultural community. The homestead was se- eured by his father in 1835 as a military tract, and is now considered one of the best farms in the county. It has been the home of our subject since he accompanied his parents hither, and he has be- come one of the best known men in this section of the county. Besides owning the present homestead he has possessed other well-improved property, having given each of his five sons an eighty-aere traet.
Grandfather Mooney, who bore the given name of Thomas, was a native of County Louth, Ireland, a farmer and man of influence there. Being in op- position to some of the tyrannieal forms of Gov- ernment, his life was threatened, and he fled to America with his family in 1798. He located in New York City, dying there when quite an old man. In his native land he had married Mary Gray, an Irish lady of the same county, who, like himself, was a life-long member of the Catholic Church. They were the parents of four sons and two daughters, all of whom lived to manhood and womanhood, all marrying but one.
Among the children of the couple above men- tioned was a son Thomas, who was born in County Louth, Ireland, and was ten years old when his par- ents settled in the United States. He grew to man- hood in New York City, where he learned the trade of a harness-maker, after having completed his edu- cation. He finally went into New Jersey, and there married Helen Stagg, a native of Passaie County, and descended from old Dutch stock. Her father, James Stagg, was the son of a commissioned officer of the Colonial Army. James Stagg was a farmer who lived to the age of more than three-score, dy- ing in his native county, where his widow also died at an advanced age.
After his marriage, Thomas Mooney, Jr., opened a grocery store in New York City, continuing in the business until 1835, when he determined to lo- cate in the West. With his wife, four sons and a daughter, he set out for Illinois, going up the Hud- son River to Albany, thenee by the Erie Canal to
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Buffalo, crossing the lake to Cleveland, Ohio, then crossing the Buckeye State to Portsmouth, and con- tinuing his journey down the Ohio and up the Mis- sissippi and Illinois Rivers to Peoria. A period of four weeks was consumed in the journey. Mr. Mooney at onee secured three hundred and twenty aeres of prairie land, and one hundred and sixty acres of timber in Medina Township, and began life in the pioneer style. The surrounding coun- try was wild and sparsely settled, and neighbors were few.
A log house was built, which was replaced by a more comfortable dwelling after Mr. Mooney had made a start in the improvement of his farm. He continued his labors thereon, ably assisted by his wife, until they were surrounded by many evi- dences of comfort and prosperity. He became quite prominent, holding some of the local offices, and serving as County Commissioner. He was a man of genial nature, industrious and enterprising in the pursuit of that to which he gave his atten- tion, a devout believer in the principles of Cathol - icism, and a strong Democrat in politics. He died at his home at the extreme age of ninety years, his remains being deposited in the cemetery of the St. Joseph Catholic Church, which be had helped to organize. Mrs. Mooney had been brought up under the Presbyterian faith, but died in that of the Catholic Church when nearly three score years old.
Our subject is the oldest member of the parental family. 'Ile has two brothers and a sister still liv- ing. His natal day was November 15, 1814, and his birthplace, Passaic County, N. J. He was reared in the city of New York, receiving his edu- cation there and being nearly of age when his par- ents came West. Ile was married in the township which is now his home, to Elizabeth Jenett, an in- telligent and capable woman who has been devoted to the interests of her husband and children dur- ing a long and happy married life. Mrs. Mooney was born in County Louth. Ireland, in 1822, and having lost her parents, came to America with her brother Michael when about seventeen years old. They at once settled in the Prairie State, which has since been their home. Mr. and Mrs. Mooney be- long to St. Joseph's Catholic Church, and Mr.
Mooney takes an active part in local politics, ex- erting his influence, and casting his vote for the Democratic party.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Mooney consists of five sons and one daughter, of whom we note the following: William married Anna Burk, and lives on a farm in Hallock Township; M. Thomas mar- ried Ann Rogers, and is farming in the same town- ship; George W. is a grocer in Chillicothe; James, who married Belle Hughes, occupies a farm in Me- dina Township; Oliver K. married Mary Brennan, his home being a farm in Medina Township; Mary A. is the wife of .J. C. Dolan, a real-estate dealer in Peoria.
In connection with this sketch we present litho- graphic portraits of Mr. Mooney and his estimable wife.
HARLES L. BOWERS, an honored resident of Elmwood City, where he owns and oc- cupies a comfortable and well-appointed home, is the proprietor of a good farm, lying partly in Elmwood Township and the remainder in Brimfield Township. By his skill as a farmer he has secured an ample competence, and was en- abled to rent his place at a good advantage and retire from active business while yet scarcely past the meridian of life.
Mr. Bowers comes from a brave and sturdy an- cestry that settled in America in Colonial times, and representatives of the family fought loyally in both the Revolution and in the War of 1812, and again in the late Civil War was the family represented in the person of our subject, who did gallant service for the Union cause and received deserved promotion from the ranks, and by his brother Ilarrison. A native of Muskingum County, Ohio, our subject was born in 1833. His father was John Bowers, of Pennsylvania birth. while his mother was Rebecca (Vernon) Bowers, also of Pennsylvania. His parents went to Ohio in their young days, and there married and estab- lished their first home. They lived there till 1853, and then went to Iowa and located in that State permanently. She died in 1872 and he died
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in 1878, both leaving records of honorable lives well spent. The Bowers family are descended from English and German stock. The father of our subject was a soldier in the War of 1812, while his father, John Bowers, served in the Revo- lution and was present at the surrender of Corn. wallis at Yorktown. On the mother's side, the aneestry of our subject was of mingled English, Scotch and Irish blood. His uncle, Joseph Ver- non, served under Gen. W. H. Harrison in the War of 1812. One of the brothers of our subject, Ilarrison Bowers, gave np his life on the_ altar of his country during the late Civil War. He was a member of Company K, Fourth Iowa Cavalry, re- ceived an injury from a horse, and died from the effects of it at the age of twenty-three years.
Mr. Bowers is one of a family of twelve chil- dren, of whom eleven are now living. He re- ceived his education in the common schools of Ohio and Iowa, coming westward at the age of twenty years. He remained with his father, assist- ing him greatly in the management of his agricult- ural interests, till he was twenty-five years old. Ile then entered upon his career as an independent farmer and improved a farm in Henry County, Iowa, which he sold in 1863 at a good advance, and came to Illinois to take advantage of its ex- ceptionally fine agricultural resources. He bought a farm in Brimfield Township, and actively en- tered upon its cultivation, and in the years that followed placed it under substantial improvement. It is very desirably located, and comprises eighty acres in Brimfield Township and eighty acres in Elmwood Township, all of which is under admira . ble tillage.
Mr. Bowers was first wedded to Miss Emiline .J. Morey, their marriage taking place May 24, 1860. ller parents, David and Elizabeth (Conroe) Mo- rey, natives of Ohio, came to this county in pio- neer days, and after living here for a time moved to Towa. In 1866 they returned to this part of the country, and settled in Elmwood Township, which they made their home till his death. Ilis widow survives him and makes her home in Kan- sas. By their marriage they became the parents of six children. Mrs. Bowers was born in 1841, and after a brief but happy wedded life with our
subject, died in 1866, leaving two children, Ida B. and H. G. The former is the wife of II. P. Zink, of Brimfield Township, and they have two chil- dren. The latter a resident of Brimfield Town- ship, married Mary Reed and they have two chil- dren.
Mr. Bowers was married a second time June 27, 1867, to Mary E. Burt, a daughter of Charles P. and Lucretia (Davis) Burt, natives of Vermont, They came West in 1853, and cast in their for- tunes with the pioneers of Brimfield Township, and there he rounded out a useful life in 1870, and she in 1874. They were the parents of four children, of whom Mrs. Bowers, the third in order of birth, was born January 20, 1841, in the village of Rockingham, Vt. She received an excellent education in the public schools of Brimfield Town- ship, and adopted the profession of a teacher, and has taught school successfully in Peoria and Knox Counties. She is a woman of rare intelligence, and of a fine character and has been a great help to her husband. The only grief of their wedded life has been in the death of the two children born to them.
In the fall of 1863, our subject enlisted in Com- pany K, Fourth Iowa Cavalry, of which he became Corporal, and bore an honorable part in the sup- pression of the rebellion. He was engaged in the battles of Tupelo, Guntown and Ripley, Miss .; Selma, Ala .; his regiment was the first to occupy Montgomery, Ala., and he was in front of the breastworks at Macon, Ga., when word was re- ceived of Lee's surrender. Our subject with his company, was at Columbus, Ga., May 16, 1865, and was subsequently mustered out at Atlanta and was discharged at Davenport, Iowa, in August, 1865, he having shown throughout his military life true soldiery qualities, proving himself to be effi- cient, cool headed and self reliant, in all times and at all places.
Mr. Bowers has intelligent views on all matters of public import, and especially is he interested in the cause of temperance, and is an active temper- ance worker, supporting the straight Prohibition ticket, though he had formerly been identified with the Republican party from the days of Fre- mont to the time of Garfield. All who know our
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subjeet, and he has many friends, are agreed that he is a thoroughly good, upright man, with a kindly, sincere and honest nature, that involunta- rily calls out the respect and trust of all who come in contact with him. He and his wife are mem- bers in high standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Elmwood, and are never behind their fellows in good works, whether of a charitable, social or religious character.
HOMAS VARS, a resident of Edelstein, where he is living in a beautiful home, in honorable retirement from an active busi- ness life, is one of the most prominent citizens of Hallock Township, where he long carried on agri- culture, acquiring a handsome competence thereby. He is also one of its trusted civic officials, discharging the duties of one of its most responsi- ble offices in a thoroughly business-like manner. redounding to the financial benefit of the com- munity.
Mr. Vars has been connected with the interests of this township and county since 1851. He then purchase:l one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, comprising a quarter of section 9, Hallock Township, and there began life as a general farmer and stock-raiser. his success in which work Las been complete, and he has developed a farm which is finely improved and is well ordered in every particular. lle has erected a neat set of farm buildings, including a fine residence, large barns, etc. He resided on this place until within a few months, when he retired from farming to his pres- ent home. lle has also a tract of eighty acres of land east of his homestead, which is well devel- oped, and under excellent improvement. Ile came to the county with but little of this world's goods in his possession, and has made his competency since then by hard labor, directed by sagacious forethought and excellent methods for carrying on his work.
Mr. Vars is a native of Rensselaer County, N. Y., his birth taking place in Berlin, September 7, 1824. Ilis father, Benjamin Vars, is thought
to have been a native of Rhode Island, as be is a descendant of an old Colonial family, who had set- tled in that State in early times, coming to New England from their native France, and for many generations were represented in that State. They first spelled their name DeVars, but later, with the democratic simplicity characteristic of the New Englanders, dropped the prefix and have sinee been known by the plainer cognomen that the family bears to-day. The grandfather of our subject was Thomas Vars, who had gone from his New England home to become a pioneer of New York, after his marriage to Abigail Sheldon, a na- tive of Rhode Island and a descendant of early settlers of that State. They located in what is now Berlin, in Rensselaer County, and Thomas Vars, who was a mechanic with a good deal of mechan- ical genins and an adept with carpenter's tools, followed that trade in connection with farming, and spent the remainder of his life in Berlin, where he died when an old man, and his wife also lived to a ripe old age. They were both prominent members of the Seventh Day Baptist Church.
Benjamin Vars was one of the oldest of the fam- ily and grew to man's estate in the pioneer home of his parents in Berlin. He was married in that town to Miss Olive Walker, a native of the place, who came of a respectable York State family. After marriage they took up their residence on the farm, and there their remaining days, which were many, were passed in quietness and peace and plenty. All their days they were adherents of the Seventh Day Baptist faith, and were well known and greatly respected. Benjamin Vars was a Whig in the latter years of his life. He and his wife were the parents of five children, of whom three are yet living, our subject being the only one who resides in Illinois or the West.
Our subjeet was reared to a stalwart and vigor- ous manhood in the place of his birth, and early adopted the calling of a farmer. to whieb he had been bred, and we have seen what he has accom- plished since he became a citizen of the Prairie State.
It was the good fortune of Mr. Vars to seeure in the person of Miss Helen Hull, a wife who has been devoted to his interests. They were married
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in their native township, where she was born July 19, 1827, the ceremony making them one taking place October 28, 1848. Her parents, Benjamin and Maria (JJones) Full, were also natives of Rensselaer County, and were there reared and married and began their wedded life in Berlin Township, which was their birthplace, and there they finally died at a good old age. Mr. Hull was seventy years old when he passed from the scenes of his usefulness, while his wife reached the ad- vanced age of ninety years before death called her henee. They were both hard working people, were well known and highly thought of in their native county. Benjamin Ilull was the son of Daniel Hull, who was a native of Little Rhody. Ile was a farmer by occupation and a pioneer of Rensselaer County, he going from his New Eng- land home to New York, after his marriage to Phobe Greene, who was likewise a native of that part of the country, born either in Rhode Island or Connectieut, who it is supposed came from an old New England family. Daniel Hull and wife spent their active years in Berlin Township, and there died when quite old people.
The wife of our subject was carefully reared by her parents, and was trained to be an excellent housewife, and knows well how to manage the affairs of her household. She is the mother of four children, one of whom, Adella, died at the age of two years. The other children of our sub- ject and his wife are: Lillie, widow of Rudolph Ayres, who resides with her two children on the old homestead; Morton, managing his father's homestead; and Olive, who lives at home. Mor- ton married Nettie Potter.
No man is more deservedly held in the high re- gard that is accorded to him on all sides, than our subject. Ilis reputation is of the best, and it is the universal testimony of all who know him that his life, past and present, is above reproach. Such a man is an invaluable aid in the manage- ment of public affairs, and his fellow-citizens, ree- ognizing that fact, having often called him to office and be has held all of the township publie positions from that of Supervisor down to the low- est in the civic list, and is now Township Treas- urer. He and his sons hold sound views on all
political questions and favor the Republican party with their support. Mr. and Mrs. Vars are prom- inent members of the Seventh Day Baptist Church and Mr. Vars has given liberally to the order. They are both members of the Old Settler's Society of this county.
S TEDMOND WHITNEY, has a well-eulti- vated farm on section 15, Elmwood Town- ship, and holds an honorable place among the men of character and principle, who have had the making of the township, and are ac- tive in sustaining its substantial prosperity as one of the richest farming centers in a county noted for its exceptionally fine agricultural resources, lle is a notable figure in the public life of his community as one of its leading and most intelligent officials, who performs his civic duties with an eye single to the good of the public.
. Mr. Whitney is a native of Allegany County, N.Y .. his birth occurring there November 26. 1823. His father, Horace Whitney, was a native of Ver- mont and a farmer. His mother, Hannah (Town) Whitney, was also a native of the Green Mountain State. His parents were there married and later removed to New York State, where they made their permanent home. A whole family of Whitneys had emigrated from the old home among the hills of Vermont, including the father and seven broth- ers, uncles of our subject, and they located near to- gether in Allegany County, forming a settlement that is known to this day as Whitney's Valley. The mother of our subject died in 1851, and the father rounded out his life in 1872. They were the parents of eight children, of whom five are now living.
The boyhood days of Stedmond Whitney, of whom we write, were passed in New York, and his education was gleaned in the common schools. He gained a good practical knowledge of agriculture in all its branches and after attaining manhood still remained at home with his parents, and his labors were given for the benefit of his father's farm until he was thirty years old. The first few
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years of his married life were spent in his native State, but in the spring of 1857. he decided to take up his residence in Illinois, to avail himself of its marvelous farming facilities. He first settled in Elmwood Township, but after a two years resi- dence here removed to Elba Township, Knox County. Six years later he returned to Elmwood and has ever since made his residence bere, and las always carried on farming. When he came here he was not in very good circumstances and he was obliged to rent land for a period of eight years. At the expiration of that time he purchased a resi- dence and eight acres of land in Elmwood, but still continued to rent farms. In the spring of 1875. he traded for bis present farm. It originally comprised both prairie and timber, and was already improved when it came into his hands. Its one hundred acres are all well tilled. and supplied with necessary buildings, and here he carries on mixed farming, having standard grades of stock, and is constantly adding improvements to his place.
Mr. Whitney is connected by marriage with the Ewalt family, the first pioneers of this township. Ilis wedding with Miss Mary Campbell was solemnized December 27, 1854, and has been one of exceeding happiness. Mrs. Whitney's parents were Jonas and Sovena Campbell, who were natives respectively of New llampshire and Pennsylvania. They had seven children, four of whom are still living. Their daughter. Mrs. Whitney, was born July 28, 1830. Mr. and Mrs. Whitney have been blessed with a fine family of three children: Hollis, who married May McCann and lives on section 16; Florence and Frank. All have been given liberal educational advantages and are graduates of the Elmwood High School. Frank has been engaged in the teacher's profession for the past two years, and Miss Florence also holds a teacher's certificate.
Mr. Whitney's intelligence and character as a man of honor and sterling integrity give him a high place in this community. His fellow-citizens, ap- preciating his wisdom and genuine worth often call him to public life, and he has well served the township in various capacities. He is now Trustee of Elmwood Township. this being his second term in that office, and he has also been Assessor and Township Collector for several years. While a
resident of Elmwood City he was a member of the Council. He is classed with the active politicians of this vicinity, and has always been associated with the Republicans. In his early manhood be supported the Whig party, but on the formation of the Republican party transferred his allegiance to it and he voted for its first candidate, John C. Fremont. His sons are also both staneh Republi- cans, and Hollis has been a delegate to county con- ventions.
C HARLES W. DAWSON is a native of this county and is now classed among the most in- telligent and progressive farmers and stock- growers of Rosefield Township, where he is con- ducting his agricultural interests very profitably. Our subject was born east of Oak Hill, on section 6, this township, August 28. 1845. His father, Rodimus, was one of the early pioneers of this part of the county. He was born near Wheeling, W. Va., February 23, 1813. He married for his first wife Mary Ann Johnson, the mother of our subject, who was also born near that city, her birth taking place November 17, 1813. She died at the age of sixty-eight years, closing a well-spent life and leav- ing behind her the memory of a virtuous and up- right woman. The father of our subject married Amy llutchinson for his second wife and lives with her in Oak Hill. When he came to this county he settled in this township on an eighty-acre tract of land which he improved and to which he subse- quently added another forty acres. In 1856, he moved to Marion County, Iowa, and thence to Ma- laska County in the same State, where he resided eight years. He was better pleased with this lo- cality, however, and at the expiration of that time he returned to Rosefield Township, and located on a tract of one hundred and twelve acres of land on section 7. He acquired a competence and for the past three years has lived in retirement in the vil- lage of Oak Hill. He and his wife are true Christ- ian people and in them the Methodist Episcopal Church has two of its best members.
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