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 94
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The natal day of him of whom we write was June 1, 1833, and his birthplace Hancock, Mass. He was quite young when his father removed to Rensselaer County, N. Y. and about thirteen years old when the family came to Illinois. IIe attained to his majority in Radnor Township, remaining under the parental roof until that time. He was married a few months after becoming of age, and settling in Radnor Township remained there until 1862. 1Ic then removed to Kickapoo Township, where he has remained, engaged almost exclusively in farming and reaping the reward of his pains- taking and persevering efforts.
At the home of the bride in Stephentown, Rens- selear County, N. Y., in November, 1854, Mr. Keaeh was united in marriage with Miss Laura Jane, a daughter of William Doty. This lady died in Radnor Township, in September, 1858, leaving one son, William Edwin, who is now farm- ing in Kickapoo Township. He married Miss Mary Sammls.
March 25, 1862, Mr. Keach contracted a second matrimonial alliance. The ceremony was per- formed in Peoria, where the bride, Miss Marian A. Fash, was born July 8. 1842. This union has been blest by the birth of four children, viz. : Eflie G., wife of George Holmes; Chester B .. who mar- ried Emma Slough; Jessie I .; and Cora M., who died when about two years old. The surviving children were reared under the careful oversight
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of a mother who possesses the nobility of charac- ter and useful knowledge, which especially fit her to discharge the duties of wife and mother, and which command the respect of all who are ac- quainted with her life and labors. She is a daugh- ter of Abram B.and Georgiettia V.(Smith) Fash,the former of whom died in Peoria in August, 1886.
Mr. Keach is somewhat independent in his polit- ical ideas, and exercises the right of suffrage in behalf of the especial principle which he thinks most important during any political campaign, or for the candidate of whom his judgment most approves. He has been School Director, serving acceptably and promoting . the interests of the cause of education. By the members of the com- munity in which he lives, he is held in excellent repute as neighbor, citizen and agriculturist.
LEXANDER P. PARR is a son of an early pioneer of Peoria County, and here the most of his life has been passed, and since attaining manhood he has interested himself in its agricultural development, and is to- day a substantial farmer, carrying on his occu- pation in Logan Township.
Mr. Parr was born in Oswego County, N. Y., May 13, 1831, and is a son of Thomas and IFeiress M. (Eno) Parr. Ilis father was born in Ireland in 1795, and his mother was born in New York. Mr. Parr had three brothers-John, Josephi and An- drew -- who came to the United States, and he and two brothers, Andrew and Joseph, coming directly to this county, lived and died here. The father of our subject came from Ireland to Canada and thence to New York, where he married and en- gaged in his occupation of farming. In the fall of 1831 he started with his family in a wagon from New York to take the long and momentous jour- nev across the country to the wild and sparsely settled State of Illinois. For six weeks they were on the way, and finally arrived in Peoria in the fall of the year. Mr. Parr selected a location about six miles north of Peoria, where he resided until 1840, when he removed to a place one mile west of
Smithville, on two hundred and forty acres of land, and actively entered upon the pioneer task of pre- paring it for cultivation. In 1852 his labors were brought to a close by his death, and the commu- nity was deprived of a good citizen. His widow still survives at an advanced age. She is the . mother of nine children, of whom six were reared to maturity, as follows: Alexander; Sarah, wife of David Proctor, who died leaving two children; .James; John, a resident of Rollins County, Kan .; Thomas, a physician of Indianola, Iowa; and Sam- uel S. The father of our subject served in the Black Hawk War as a teamster, using his own team.
Alexander Parr was bred amid the primitive scenes of pioneer life in this county, and obtained his education in its rude pioneer schools. He early adopted the calling to which he had been bred, and at one time had a farm of eighty acres in Rosefield Township, which he disposed of at a good price, and then purchased forty acres of his present farm. He has carried on his farming and stock-raising business with discretion, has made money by his operations, and is now the proprietor of one han- dred and three acres, ten of which are in timber; he also has three hundred and twenty acres in Thomas County, Kan. He has made the various improvements that made this a very desirable farm, in every respect himself, and has done well when we consider that he started out on his own account at the age of twenty-one, with no other capital than a team and wagon, and the accumula- tion of his property is the result of downright hard labor.
By her capable management of household affairs the wife of our subject has contributed her share in the upbuilding of their comfortable home. They were united in the holy bonds of matrimony Feb- ruary 23, 1854. Mrs. Parr, whose maiden name was Rachacl M. Cottingham, came of a pioneer family of this county. She was born in Hamilton County, Ill., February 26, 1835. Her parents were Thomas and Lydia (McNamer) Cottingham, the former a native of Maryland, born near Snow Hill in 1801, and the latter a native of Kentucky. When he was young Mr. Cottingham left his old home in Maryland to seek a new home on the fer-
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tile soil of the Buckeye State. On the voyage down the Ohio the father died, and Mrs. Parr's father then took charge of the family. For a time he left his mother, brothers and sisters in Ken- tucky, and proceeded by himself to Hamilton County, III., and became an carly pioneer of that section of the country, and was prominent there as a local minister and merchant. He married there, and in 1843 again became a pioneer, coming with his family to this county and locating in Logan Township on one hundred acres of land, which re- mained his home until his death in March, 1874. His wife was a daughter of Jeremialı McNamer, who married Kiziah Proctor, of Kentucky. Mrs. McNamer died, and was the second one to be bur- ied in Pleasant Grove, being interred in the Metho- dist Episcopal Churchyard. Mrs. Parr's parents had eleven children, of whom the following ten grew to maturity: John F .; Jeremiah B .; Kiziah Janc, now Mrs. Richardson ; Susan E. H., wife of John C. Kimzy, now deceased, dying in Kansas; Rachael M. A .; Thomas V .; Mary E., who died young, Sarah E .; Martha E. V., who died young; and Eliza A., Mrs. Hurff. Mr. and Mrs. Cottingham were worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
This brief life-record suffices to show that he is a man of solid virtues and exemplary life, and is de- serving of honorable mention in this work dedi- cated to the citizens of Peoria County. He and his estimable wife belong to the Methodist Episco- pal Church, and are never behind their fellow- members in the good work accomplished by the society.
b ON. A. J. BELL is a well-known citizen of Peoria, honored for his legal ability, his loyalty to the flag during the Civil War, and his labors in journalism and the polit- ical arena. A man of broad intelligence, good con- versational powers and honorable character, his friends are not confined to the members of his profession or party, but include all who appreci- ate culture and uprightness. He is a native of Madison County, Ohio, born May 25, 1842, and
descendant in the paternal line of an ancestor who came from England to Virginia in 1718. His father, William Bell, a native of the Empire State, died in 1842, and five years later his widow, Mary (Wright) Bell. came with her son to Marshall County, III.
After securing a fair common-school education, young Bell entered Lombard University, in which his scholastic career was interrupted by the cxcite. ment incident upon the opening of the Civil War. He had scarcely passed his twentieth birthday ere he enlisted in the Eleventh Illinois Infantry, the date of his enrollment being August 13, 1862. The Sunday after he reached the regiment he partici- pated in a fight with Gen. Morgan at Rigby's Hill, the next heavy engagement being on the Talla- hatchie River. Owing to an attack of typhoid fever young Bell did not participate in the siege of Vicks- burg but was on duty subsequently with his regiment at Yazoo City and in several skirmishes where hot work was done, but which, being engaged in by comparatively few men, figure slightly in general history. Mr. Bell was present during the siege and capture of Mobile, took part in the last fight of the war-the siege of Ft. Blakeley, and was discharged July 24, 1865.
Immediately after the war Mr. Bell was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession at Clinton, from which place he removed after a year's residence to Lacon. In that town he so- journed six ycars, removing thence to Peoria in 1873. Ilere he became political editor of the Na- tional Democrat, a position which he filled two years. In 1880 Mr. Bell was elected to the State Senate, and so well did he carry out the wishes of his constituents and so thoroughly satisfy them regarding his ability as a legislator, that he was re-elected in 1884. In 1888 he was a candidate for Lieutenant-Governor on the Democratic ticket, but although he made a good race failed of elec- tion. In March, 1889, he resumed editorial labors, taking a position upon the Peoria Herald.
As a journalist the logical mind and training of Mr. Bell give his words a force which is added to by his effective use of shafts of wit; as a legis- lator he endeavored to promote measures which would increase the material prosperity of the State,
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Nelson, L, Woodruff
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aid its citizens to become better informed, and give to its poor or unfortunate better accommoda- tions and greater care. In commemoration of the Weary months which he spent at the front, and the dark days of the country's history, he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
The refined, accomplished lady who presides over the home of Mr. Bell is a native of Marshall County, known in her maidenhood as Miss Amanda Davis, whose marriage rites were celebrated March 12, 1866. The happy union has been blest by the birth of one child, who bears the name of Fairy E.
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ELSON L. WOODRUFF, whose portrait is presented on the opposite page, and who died a little more than a decade since, was an honored resident of Peoria for many years, classed among her most enterprising business men, and peaceable, law-abiding citizens. He was born in Chenango County, N. Y., May 24, 1818, being a son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Woodruff, who re -. moved to Peoria in 1834. The elder Woodruff was a farmer, and the youthful days of Nelson L. were spent in the usual manner of those reared upon farms. Upon reaching manhood he became a cooper, following his trade for some time in Lower Peoria, and afterward building the first canal boat used on the Illinois Canal. The boat was named the " Ft. Clark." In 1855 Mr. Wood- ruff engaged in the ice business, which has been continued from that date, his widow now being President of the company which bears his name. Mr. Woodruff was called from time to eternity October 23, 1879.
Many an interesting incident can be related by Mrs. Mary A. Woodruff, and many a word-picture drawn of the village of a half-century ago, so dif- ferent from the large and flourishing city of to-day. She has been a witness to the growth of Peoria and the development of her multiplied interests since 1835, during which year she was brought hither by her parents. She was born in Luzerne County, Pa., January 1, 1826, to Samuel and Lois (Brown) Monroe, who were likewise natives of the
Keystone State. Family tradition claims that all the Monroes of the United States are descended from three brothers who came together to this country from Scotland several generations ago. The Brown family is of English extraction. Mr. Monroe was a miller, who after coming to this county purchased the mill built by John Hamlin, the first in this section. To Mr. and Mrs. Monroe were born eleven children, of whom four are living, namely : Mrs. Eliza Brown of Peoria; Mrs. Adam Sholl, of Pekin; James, of Limestone; and Mrs. Woodruff.
Marriage rites were celebrated between Nelson L. Woodruff and Mary A. Monroe, October 15, 1846. For more than thirty years they shared in the joys and sorrows of life, when death with en- vious hand separated them, leaving to the widow many loving memories to soften her grief. To Mr. and Mrs. Woodruff seven children were born, five of whom are living. They are: Mrs. George F. Emerson, of Peoria; Mrs. N. H. McCoy, of Chi- cago; Mrs. W. T. Irwin, of Peoria; Mrs. II. B. Morgan; and Edward N., Secretary of the Wood- ruff Ice Company, at Peoria.
Mrs. Woodruff is a consistent member of the First Baptist Church, and in the same faith her husband was an ardent believer. Politically, Mr. Woodruff was a stanch Republican, and a Union man during the war. She has displayed much business acumen since the death of her husband left to her the oversight of affairs, which she has been conducting in a creditable manner. She has many warm friends, not only among her contempo- raries, but among those of a later generation, who heartily enjoy her stories of the olden times, her genial courtesy and her true womanliness.
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C C. RANDALL. The home of this gentle- man and his highly esteemed wife and fam- ily is most attractive to all lovers of home- likeness. The roomy old dwelling, built of stone and brick, gives the observer the impression of "four stories, all on the ground floor" and satisfies him that the builders wrought for the comfort of
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the occupants and the varied needs of family life. It is surrounded by well-tilled fields and an abund- ant supply of small fruits, together with all need- ful farm buildings. The seventy-two acres which comprise the estate are devoted to mixed farming, and Mr. Randall is also much interested in bee culture, which he began twenty-five years since without any previous knowledge of the business.
Mr. Randall is of highly respectable ancestry, his father being Elias Randall, a native of New York, and his mother, Mindwell, daughter of War- ren Corning, of New Hampshire. Grandfather Corning was a Colonel in the War of 1812. The parents of our subject resided for some time after their marriage in Mentor, Ohio, where the father was engaged as a carpenter, cabinet-maker and farmer. He built and occupied, what is now known as the Garfield homestead, which he sold to the late President for $13,000. Mr. and Mrs. Randall re- moved to Illinois in 1854, making their home in Peoria, where Mr. Randall laid out and platted Randall's Addition. He speculated considerably in land during his later years. He breathed his last in 1867, his wife surviving until 1884. They had seven children, one of whom is now deceased.
Our subject is the fifth in order of birth in the parental family, having opened his eyes to the light June 17, 1830, in Lake County, Ohio. His youth was spent in his native State, and his boyhood divided between attendance at the district schools and cutting cord-wood, timber and rails, pulling stumps and otherwise exerting his physical energy. He finally became a student in the High School at Kirtland, Ohio, where he well remembers seeing Joseph Smith and other prominent Mormons, whose temple was located there. After having remained with his parents until twenty-three years of age, he began his own career as a salesman of apple trees, also spending about five months in the lightning- rod business. His labors before the war were in various parts of the Southern States.
Mr. Randall next entered land in lowa and Ne- braska, but taking the gold fever started to Pike's Peak. Ile went only as far as Omaha, Neb., when he determined to return eastward and, making his way back to Illinois, resumed his former oecupa- tion making trips to various places. In 1863 he
married and settled on section 33, Elmwood Town- ship, Peoria County, where he has permanently re- mained. He owns seventy-two acres of land, the cultivation of which he still superintends. His labors have not been entirely confined to bis per- sonal affairs but he has acted for those about him as Pathmaster and School Director, having served in the latter capacity six years. He has voted the Republican ticket since the organization of the party, and in connection with his political views recalls with pleasure a call made upon Abraham Lincoln at Springfield at the time of the first elec- tion of the lamented martyr. In his youth he was identified with the Christian Church.
The wife of our subject is a lady of intelligence and generous nature, in whom he has found a faith- ful helpmate. She was known in her maidenhood as Miss Elvira Barstow and was born September 1, 1844, in Muskingum County, Ohio. She received but a common-school education, but has improved every opportunity to continue her mental growth, and has been all that a wise and affectionate mother can be to her children who owe much to her coun- sel and training. She and her husband have taught their sons and daughters to follow the guidance of conscience and to use as a foundation for their character the Golden Rule.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Randall is made up of Lottie, Nellie M., Daisy Belle, Emma, Willard C. and Happy Jim. The first-born taught four years at Wahpeton, N. Dak .; she became the wife of F. C. Bohn and the mother of a daughter, Car- lotta Irene, who was left motherless when two weeks old. The dying hours of Mrs. Bohn were cheered by the faith of the Congregational Church, of which she was a consistent member. Nellie and Daisy have adopted the profession of teaching, and Emma has just been graduated from the Farmington High School. They are highly spoken of by the entire neighborhood. The nature of the younger son is fitly expressed by his name.
The parents of Mrs. Randall were born, reared and married in Muskingum County, Ohio. They removed thence to Illinois in 1846, first settling at LaJIarpe, Hancock County, and then moving onto a farm, where they lived thirteen years. At the expiration of that period they came to Peoria
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County, settling in Elmwood Township, where the father, Warren Barstow, died in 1876. The mother, Elizabetlı (Bateman) Barstow, is still living, being now sixty-eight years old. They had six sons and four daughters, one of whom is now dead. Hart Woodruff, an uncle of Mr. Barstow, was Captain of the company at LaHarpe which drove the Mormons out of Hancock County.
ILLIAM C. EDWARDS is a native of this county and is now prominently identified with its real estate dealers, who have had as much or more to do with the upbuilding of this section of the State than any other class of men. Ile is associated with Mary E. Culver, and they carry on business under the style of Culver & Ed- wards, with their office in the city of Peoria.
Our subject was born in Princeville, August 20, 1858, and is a son of John D., and Eveline A. (Parker) Edwards, natives of Brown County, Ohio, whence they came to this county in 1842. John Edwards was in. early life a shoemaker, but after- ward adopted the calling of a farmer, and was one of the active pioneers of this county. He and his worthy wife had a family of eight children of whom the following five are living: Edwin B., an artist in Peoria; J. Osear, a farmer in Kansas; William C .; Clarence D., a farmer in Iowa, and George S., a farmer in Iowa. The three deceased are Charles L., who was drowned in the Illinois River in June, 1869, Alvin and Eva.
The subject of this brief biographical review was given fine educational advantages. Ile laid the foundation of his book learning in the public schools of this county, and completed his educa- tion at Valparaiso, Ind. Ile was thoroughly equipped for the profession of a pedagogue and for nearly six years taught school in this county. He subse- quently entered the mercantile business as clerk and for five years was thus employed. He next be- came advertising agent for the Journal and acted in that capacity very satisfactorily for one year. August 16, 1889, our subject entered upon a new career, as on that date lie entered into partnership
with Miss Culver and two others in the real-estate business, the firm name then being the Peoria Real Estate, Loan and Insurance Exchange; but after about six months he and Miss Culver bought the interests of the other members, and changed the name to that of Culver & Edwards. They are meeting with excellent success, often making large sales of realty and doing well in the other branches of their business.
Mr. Edwards was married to Miss Dora, daugh- ter of William Simpson, June 21, 1883, and they have established in this city a charming home that is the center of true culture and a gracious hos- pitality. Their married life has been rendered happier by the child that has been born to them, whom they have named Neta G.
Mr. Edwards brings a vigorous, keen intellect and a most excellent capacity for business to the management of his affairs, and is one of the most wide-awake and active of our business men. Ile is connected with the Independent Order of Mutual Aid as one of its leading members. He is influential in local politics as one of the stanchest members of the Republican party.
OHN HALLER is a substantial farmer and stock-raiser, making a specialty of breeding Poland-China hogs, from the sale of which he derives an excellent income. He carries on his farming operations in Timber Township, of which he is one of the leading citizens, being prom- inent in its public and political life.
Mr. Haller was born December 27, 1846, in Wur- temberg, Germany. His parents were Ludwig and Anna Maria (Merktlin) Haller, and they were born in Wurtemberg, in the same place as himself, in the town of Kottweil. The subject's paternal grand- father was Ludwig Haller, and he had the fol- lowing children : Frederick, Adam, Ludwig, George, Rosina. Frederick and Adam came to the United States about the year 1836, and settled in Pennsyl- vania where they carried on farming. Frederick came from there to this county in 1851. Ile was a married man and reared a family of three sons and
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three daughters. An uncle of the father of our subject also came to this county and settled in Pennsylvania.
The father of our subject came to this country with his entire family of six children, and landed in Peoria June 14, 1859. They were sixty days on the ocean, and the voyage from New Orleans by river occupied eight days more. Mr. Haller settled in the northeastern part of Timber Town- ship on an eighty-acre tract of wild land. He toiled hard and after a great deal of pioneer labor de- veloped a good farm and in the comfortable home he built up here died in the month of June, 1878, at the age of seventy-seven years, he having been born December 2, 1802. Ilis wife who was born June 6. 1806, survived him until April 15, 1889. when she too passed away. They were the parents of the following children : Ludwig. a resident of Jacksonville; Mary, deceased ; Fredericka, deceased ; Rosina who died young; George and John.
John Haller of whom these lines are written, grew to man's estate on a farm, and early learned the rudiments of agriculture. He acquired an ex- cellent education in the schools of the Fatherland which has been of benefit to him in his after ca- reer. He was a lad of thirteen years when he ac- companied his parents to this country, and was of great assistance to his father in the work of con- ducting his agricultural interests. In the fall of 1869 he utilized his education by entering the teacher's profession and taught for eighteen years, and for several winters attended school as a stu- dent, being ambitious to still further increase his book lore. Ile had charge of one school for eight consecutive years and in the summer carried on farming. Wishing to devote himself more exclu- sively to agricultural pursuits, in the spring of 1875, he purchased eighty acres of land where he now resides. He has since been busily engaged in placing it under cultivation and improving it and has made of it a choice farm, supplied with excel- lent buildings, and all the necessary appliances for tilling the soil, and from it he reaps good harvests, and is laying up a comfortable income.
Mr. Haller has not been without the assistance of a capable, cheerful helper in the person of his wife, to whom he was married August 24, 1874. To them
have come two children-Boyd and May. Mrs. Haller is a native of this township and county, and is a daughter of Shadrack and Lucy Ann (Doan) Scott, natives of Kentucky and New York and pio- neers of this section of the country.
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