USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > Portrait and biographical album of Vermilion county, Illinois, containing sketches of prominent citizens of all the governors of the state, and of the presidents of the United States, Volume I > Part 21
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was born June 16, 1821, and where the parents spent their last days. The father died in Septem- ber 1863. at the age of eighty-five years and the mother at the same age. in March, 1865. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the faith of which they serenely passed away. Many and great were the hardships endured by the pioneers in the wilderness of Ross County and our subject like his brothers and sisters was taught to make himself useful at a very early age. Ile as- sisted in clearing the farm and received a limited education in the subscription school. His life passed quietly and uneventfully during his boy- hood and youth, and like the other young men of that day and place, his chief ambition was in due time to have a farm and a fireside of his own.
Our subject continued a resident of his native county until his marriage, in 1819. The maiden of his choice was Miss Mary. daughter of Joshua Shockley, formerly of Delaware, but who, like the Holloways, was an early pioneer of the Buckeye State. Mrs. Holloway, was born in Delaware and was take by her parents to Ohio when about two years old. Her father died there. in 1841. The mother later came to this county and made her home with her daughter, her death occurring in May, 1888.
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OSEPH S. CHRISTMAN is emphatically one of the business men of Vermilion County, who has risen to prominence through his own exertions. He was born on the 30th day of January, 1855. He spent his boyhood days with his parents until he became seventeen years of age, when being of a studious mind. he went to Indianapolis and attended business college in that city, where he graduated. After leaving school he returned to Warren County, Ind . where his par- ents were living at the time. and remained there for a short period engaged in a dry goods store in Attica. He returned to Indianapolis and entered into the elastie roofing business at 211 Massachu- setts Ave., being successfully employed for one year. Hle then bought a grocery store on Merid- ian street, where he carried on a good business for
a period of one year, when he sold out and came to Rossville. Ill., where he landed in his twenty-first year with about $1.000. He contemplated pur- chasing a half interest in the dry goods store of Henderson & Co., but the company making arrange- ments more satisfactory to themselves, our subject found he could invest his money to a good advant- age by loaning it and did so. in the meantime en- tering the employ of thedry goods firm mentioned as clerk. About this time he bought 600 acres of his present home of 1,100 acres of land upon which he erected his present farm buildings, and where he now lives.
Joseph S. Christman is the son of Isaac and Eli- zabeth Christian, who are natives of Ohio, but who came to Illinois when they were young. They were married Oct. 25, 1813. when they immediately moved to Warren County, Ind .. where they settled on a farm which they conducted for two years, at the expiration of which period. they came back to Vermilion County, settling here on a quarter section of land where they now live. The family comprised the following children-Sarah ... is at home; Sa- san G., is the wife of W. II. Lincoln and is liv- ing in West Lebanon. Ind. ; Mary Il., is the wife of 11. C. Swisher and they also reside in the same place : Eliza E .. was killed when nineteen years of age by being thrown from a carriage; Maria C., is the wife of William Hunter, a farmer who is living in Warren County, Ind. ; Joseph S., of whom this sketch is written; Frank is in the real estate busi- ness at York, Neb .; Mahala L .. died when two years of age. The mother of this family Mrs. Elizabeth Christman, died July 8, 1872. She was an ardent member of the Methodist Church, and sustained a fine reputation in her neighborhood. Mr. Isaac Christman is quietly living with his son, Joseph, and enjoying his latter days in a manner which he has won by hard work. He is a Republican in polities, and takes great interest in his party.
Mr. Joseph S. Christman is a dealer in live stock shipping considerable quantities every year to Chi- cago. He makes a specialty in breeding Hamble- tonian horses, of which breed he owns several fine specimens. Politically. Mr. Christian is a Repub- lican and has held the office of Township Trustee for a long time. He is also a member of the Ma-
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sonic fraternity, having joined that order in 1876. by uniting with Lodge No. 527 at Rossville. He is also a member of the Oriental Consistory which meets on Monroe street. Chicago. Ilis career in business is a good illustration of what grit and in- telligence can do, and should be emulated by oth- ers of the younger generation. Mr. Christman is unmarried, but has succeeded in making a very comfortable home, and the view given in this vol- ume, represents a residence that in no wise displays the absence of a mistress,
D R. GEORG EDENS. In the person of this able practitioner the biographer dis- covers a gentleman in love with his pro- fession-one who adopted it on account of the keen interest which he has taken in it almost from boyhood, and whose aim has been to excel. He has been located in Danville for the past ten years, and it is not surprising to learn that he has built up a lucrative patronage among its best peo- ple. He has been faithful and conscientious in the discharge of his duties, and aimed to gain a full understanding of the disorders which he has been called upon to remedy before making the applica- tion of chemicals or drugs.
Dr. Edens was born in the Province of Holstein, Germany, June 16, 1851. and remained a resident of his native province until 1867. Then. a youth of sixteen years, he crossed the Atlantic with his parents, they settling on a tract of land in Cham- paign County, this State. The father prosecuted farming, while the son, who also assisted around the homestead, continued the reading of medicine, which he had begun when a lad of fifteen years. Two years later, in 1868, he began to dispense medicine to his acquaintances, and there followed such excellent results from his prescriptions that before he had realized the fact he had quite a num- ber of regular patrons.
In 1876 young Edens repaired to Chicago and entered Hahnemann College. from which he was graduated in 1579, after taking the special courses. On the 17th of March. that year, he came to Dan- ville, and commenced the regular practice of his
chosen profession, which he has since followed with really surprising results. Ile adopts many of the enstoms common to the Fatherland, where the students of medicine are subjected to the most thorough training, and not allowed to practice until they are masters in their profession.
The office of Dr. Edens is situated on North Street, near the Chicago & Eastern Ilinois depot. where he has around him his books and the various appliances requisite for his extensive business. Ile not only has a large practice in Danville, but also in the country surrounding it. Ile repairs to dif- ferent points at regular intervals, usually once a month. There is every indication that he has be- fore him a most prosperous future. and the pros- pects of attaining to eminence in his profession. He has naturally been too full of business to give much attention to politics, but has become fully identified and in sympathy with American institu- tions, and usually votes for the men and not the party.
Dr. Edens was married in Danville, March 14, 1885, to Miss Frances Kohler, who was born in Posen, Germany, April 30, 1859. She came to America in 1881, after having acquired a careful education, and thereafter was employed as a pri- vate teacher in German and French, and also in the public schools of St. Louis and Chicago. Mrs. Edens likewise possesses considerable musical tal- ent, and is at once recognized as a very accom- plished and intelligent lady. They occupy a pleas- ant and attractive home, and enjoy the friendship of the best citizens of Danville.
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AMUEL COOK, the son of a pioneer family of Vermilion County, as one of its practical, well-to-do farmers, a man of sound sense and good understanding. is classed among its most desirable citizens. Ilis homestead on section 11. Catlin Township, com- prising 160 acres, is one of the finest in the vicin- ity, and he has 100 acres of excellent farming land in Georgetown Township besides valuable property in Danville.
James Cook, the father of our subject, was born
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either in Maryland or Virginia, June 23. 1797. In early manhood he was united in marriage to Miss Susanna Moyer, their union taking place Oct. 6. 1822. She was born in Pennsylvania, Dec. 2. 1803, and is still living at an advanced age. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cook settled in Clermont County, Ohio, living there among its early pioneers till 1831, when they migrated across the country with their family to Vermilion County and became early settlers of Brook's Point in Georgetown. There the father rounded out a useful life, holding the respect and esteem of all about him as he was in all respects a good man. The wedded life of himself and wife was blessed to them by the birth of six sons and five daughters.
Our subject was the second child of the family. and he was born in Clermont County, Ohio. Oet. 4, 1825. Ile was nine years old when he came to Vermilion County with his parents more than fifty years ago, but he still retains a reeollection of that memorable journey through the forests primeval and over the wild prairies to this then sparsely settled country. He grew to man's estate in Georgetown Township. and gleaned an education in the old log 'school-house in which the children of the pioneers were taught the rudiments of learn- ing. He remained with his father and mother till he was twenty-six and a half years old, when he married and established a home of his own. Ile has devoted himself principally to farming, and through many years of persistent toil has accumu- lated a goodly amount of property, including one of the best farms in Catlin Township. Ile has his land under fine tillage, and has erected a substan- tial, conveniently arranged set of buildings, in- cluding a handsome. roomy residence. replete with all the comforts of life. When he was a young man Mr. Cook assisted in making five flatboats to go down the Vermilion River into the Wabash, and thence down the Ohio and Mississippi, and once he took a trip to Memphis.
Mr. Cook has been twice married. He was first wedded to Miss Amanda M. Graves, April 1. 1852, in Georgetown Township. She was a native of that place, born Aug. 18. 1833. to James and Mar- garet (Blackbourn) Graves, who were among its earliest pioneers, coming there from Kentucky in 1
1829, and spending their remaining days on their homestead in that township. By that marriage our subject became the father of six children, of whom the following is recorded: George W. mar- ried Eliza Douglas: James P. married Miss Eveline O'Neal; Mary married John II. Wherry; Margaret died when she was eighteen years old; Charles married Miss Celia Padgett ; Ellen died when about six months old. Aug. 19, 1866. after a happy mar- ried life of fourteen years Mrs. Cook passed away from the scene of her usefulness, and thus was lost. to her household a wife who had always striven to aid her husband and make his home pleasant and comfortable, a mother who was devoted to her children, a neighbor who was a kind and true friend.
Mr. Cook was married to his present wife, for- inerly Mrs. Martha E. (Citizen ) Moreland, in La- fayette. Ind., April 14. 1870. Their wedded life has been blessed to them by the birth of three children: Bertie J .. John F., and Fred. Mrs. Cook was the fourth of the nine children, six sons and three daughters. born to William and Esther (Parker) Citizen, and her birth occurred in Dark County, Ind .. July 25, 1838. Her father was born in Maryland. Nov. 10. 1809, and her mother in North Carolina, Aug. 1, 1812, her death occurring in Warren County, Ind. The father survives at an advanced age. When she was two years old Mrs. Cook's parents moved to Wayne County, Ind., and when she was thirteen years oldl her father brought her to this State. She was married in Warren County, Ind., Ang. 25. 185.4. to Joseph Moreland. Of this union there was one son. Charles W .. an intelligent, well educated young man, who has been engaged in the profession of school-teaching seven years.
It is said of Mr. and Mrs. Cook that " they are people whom it is a pleasure to meet. so friendly and generous are they toward all who come under their influence, and so kind and considerate are they in their relations with all about them." They are consistent members of the Christian Church - of which he is an ekler - contribute liberally to its support. and are never backward in aiding all schemes that look to the moral or social advance- ment of the community. In our subject the Dem-
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oeratie party finds one of its most honest support- ers and the township one of the promoters of education within its borders, he having held seve- ral of the school offices, and also being School Director for years, discharging the duties thus de- volving upon him with characteristic fidelity and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned.
OIIN L. JACKSON. In the career of this leading business man of Sidell, we recognize the type of the live, energetie American citizen. who has been peculiarly favored by Providence, being the owner of a fine property. the son of one of the wealthiest men in the county, and one of its leading citizens. and having had the happy faculty of improving all his advantages. By his straightforward methods of proceedure he has fully established himself in the esteem and confi- dence of all with whom he has had dealings. He is at present engaged in general merchandising at Sideil, and is in the enjoyment of a patronage which is steadily increasing. The firm of John L. Jack- son & Co. is considered A 1.
Mr. Jackson was born in Douglas County. this State, Sept. 22, 1860, and is the son of Amos and Sarah (Hesseler) Jackson, the former of whom was born near Frankfort, Ind .. and the latter in this county. They were married in Michigan. The elder Jackson operates as a farmer and cattle raiser, and is now a resident of Danville. He is represented on another page in this volume. The parental household was completed by the birth of four daughters and two sons, and of these JJolin was the eldest. He was twelve years of age when his parents came to this county, and settled near In- dianola. in Carroll Township. Later they removed first to Paris and then to Danville. At the age of nineteen years our subject entered the Commercial College at Terre Haute, from which he was grad- uated in the class of 1879. Upon leaving school he engaged in buying and shipping stock. with which business he had been familiar since a boy. Hle shipped his first load from Archie Station. and was occupied at this business until 1883.
The marriage of our subject with Miss Eva
Gray was celebrated at the bride's home, in March, 1883. This lady was born and reared in Cham- paigu County, and is the daughter of Henry and Louisa ( Weisiger) Gray, who settled in the above- named county in 1861. The father died in 1876. aged about forty years. The mother was subse- quently married and now resides near Kankakee. The three daughters were named Eva. Cora and Nettie. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have one child, a daughter. Meta J.
Mr. Jackson purchased the store and stock of general merchandise belonging to William Danley. the pioneer merchant of Sidell, and in addition to looking after the affairs of this establishment. con- tinnes to deal in cattle. Politically, he is an un- compromising Democrat. and socially belongs to Peace Dale Lodge Number 25. I. O. O. F. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen. Ilis farm comprises 172 acres of choice land, pleasantly located southwest of Sidell.
OUN MILTON DOUGLASS, a prominent and honored citizen of Vermilion County. is classed among its leading farmers and stock- raisers, he having been intimately connected with its agricultural interests for many years; and. the son of parents who were early settlers of this part of Illinois. he may indeed be regarded as a pioneer himself. as since, and even before. attain- ing man's estate, he has done much to develop the rich resources of this region and make it a great agricultural center. Ile owns a farm on section 16. Catlin Township, that is justly considered one of the best places in the county, and here he has erected a handsome commodious residence that. with its surroundings, beautiful lawns adorned with shade trees, etc., forms an attractive scene in the landscape. and in this lovely home he is quietly passing his declining years. cahnly awaiting life's great change.
The subject of this sketch was born in what is now Ohio County. Ind .. Aug. 23, 1823, the second child in a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters. belonging to Thomas W. and Delilah (Peyne) Douglass. The former was born in the
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State of Maine, on the Penobscot River, and the mother was a native of the State of New York. After marriage they first settled in Dearborn County, Ind., in that part of it now called Ohio County, and thence journeyed to this State in the spring of 1830, and located in Catlin Township, Ver- milion County, where the County farm now is, and where they spent their declining years, and the mother closing her eyes in death in September. 1856, and in October, 1865, the father departed this life. They were people of solid merit, who faithfully per- formed their allotted tasks in life, and. as pioneers of Vermilion County, their memories will ever be held in reverence along with those of other courageous. self-sacrificing spirits who came here in the early days of the settlement of the country, and toiled to make it a fitting home for those who came after them.
Their son John Milton, of whom we write, was seven years old when he accompanied his parents in their migration from the home of his birth to this county, and here the remaining days of his boyhood and youth were passed, and his entire manhood has been spent within the limits of the county. He early began his career as a farmer. and has been greatly prospered in his life work, being the fortunate owner of a fertile farm of 3173 aeres that is not surpassed in point of culti- vation and value of improvements by any other place in the township. Ile has erected a commo- dious, well-built house, a barn fifty feet square on a stone foundation, and other necessary build- ings, and has set out numerous beautiful shade and fruit trees, and, taken altogether, he has one of the finest estates in the county. Mr. Douglass' farm is well adapted to stock-raising, and he makes a specialty of Short-horn cattle, and his fine herd of that breed. highly graded, is one of the best in this locality.
On the 14th of November, 1811, the marriage of our subject and Miss Mahala Burroughs was sol- emnized in Catlin Township, one mile west of the village of Catlin. Mrs. Douglass was born in Rip- ley County, Ind., April 3, 1821, a daughter of lesse and Polly ( Wilson) Burroughs. Of her union with our subjeet nine children were born, as follows: Judith A., wife of Joseph Trister;
Winfield S., who married Lizzie Clark; Delilah, who died when she was two years oldl; Thomas W., who died when he was eleven months old; Clarissa, the wife of James Clipson; Mahala; Pamelia, who died in infancy; AArmilda, the wife of Richard O'Conell; and Esther, who died when one week old.
On the 10th of October, 1887, the pleasant wedded life of our subject was brought to a sad close by the death of her with whom he had walked, hand in hand, for more than forty-two years. This amiable wife and companion had been to him all that a true and devoted woman can be to her husband, and to her children she had been a wise and tender mother, and her presence is sorely missed in the household where she had been the home-maker so long. But our subject does not mourn as one without comfort, as his Christian faith points to a reunion beyond the grave.
Mr. Douglass is a man of decided character and sound understanding, and his career has marked him as possessing those qualities that enable man to make his own way in the world without the adventitious aids of fortune and birth. He and five of his chil- dren are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and are among its most earnest workers. In polities Mr. Douglass has taken part in the pub- lie affairs of the township as School Director and Highway Commissioner. In polities he favors the Democratic party, firmly believing that its policy is the only safe one for the guidance of National affairs.
OIIN B. CRANSON. It is a homely and time-worn adage that "virtue brings its own reward," but the truth of it is frequently brought to mind. as in contemplating the career of Mr. Cranson, which has been that of an honest man and a good citizen, and in which he has performed life's duties in a creditable manner. with the exception that he is still plodding along life's road single-handed and alone, although having passed the fifty-second year of his age. While he may not be the hero of any very thrilling event he has seen much of life in its different phases, and during the Civil War gave his services to assist in
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the preservation of the I'nion. Ilis army record is a ereditable one, as has been that of his life after leaving it. when he settled down to farm life again in 1878 on his present farm. and has now one of the attractive homesteads in his township. Ilis specialty is Jersey cattle, and he is likewise in- terested in the chicken industry, having a goodly number of fine fowls in which he takes a pardon- able pride.
The subject of this notice is a native of Lock- port, N. Y., and was born April 15, 1837. llis parents, Joel and Rhoda (Gray) Cranson. were natives of Massachusetts and Vermont respectively, and lived in New York until 1851, then removed to Michigan, and from the Wolverine State to In- diana, and from there came to Illinois in 1864, where their death occurred; the father died in 1875. and the mother in 1882. They were the parents 1 of six children, three of whom besides our subject are still living.
The union school at Lockport furnished young Cranson with his early education, which was com- pleted at the age of fifteen years. Ile then began an apprenticeship at the trade of tinsmith, which he followed two years, and after the removal of the family to Michigan he engaged in the lumber busi- ness. After their removal to Indiana he became interested in farming. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in 1861 in Company B. 29th Indiana Infantry, and six months later was pro- moted to the post of Orderly Sergeant. The regi- ment was organized at La Porte, Ind., was assigned to the command of Gen. McCook, and afterward participated in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, after which he fell and was hurt. Upon recovering sufficiently he was transferred to the veteran re- serve corps, in which he remained until the expira- tion of his term of service. Hle received his hon- orable discharge in September, 1864, and after a brief visit to bis old home in Indiana set out for Illinois with the view of permanently establishing himself in this State. Prior to entering the army he had purchased a farm in Indiana and sold it be- fore coming to Illinois.
The domestic arrangements of our subject are presided over by his two sisters, and he has one of the pleasantest homes in the county. The sisters
are members in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church. while Mr. Cranson is identifie.1 with the Cumberland Presbyterian. The three op- crate together in the business of raising chickens, which is carried on by the natural process and by ineubators, They market about 800 per year, and have all the modern conveniences for hatching and taking care of the chickens. The whole process is so systematized that the industry is pleasurable as well as profitable. Their cattle are grade Short- horn and full-blooded Jerseys.
In polities Mr. Cranson uniformly votes the straight Republican ticket. Socially, he is a mem- ber of Ilomer Post. G. A. R., and as a Mason he- longs to Blue Lodge and the Chapter in Homer, in the latter of which he is Master of Third Veil. Both in social and business circles he ocenpies an envi- able position, and is one of those men whose word is considered as good as his bond.
ENRY G. BOYCE. Sixteen years have passed since this worthy pioneer folded his hands in rest from the labors of life, but his name will be recalled by many as that of one of the first men coming to the vicinity of Danville and performing some of the earliest work in connection with his trade as a carpenter and joiner. He came with his parents to this county in 1831 and two years later established himself in the embryo town of Danville, which then consisted of only a few houses. With his young wife he took up his abode in the domicile which he built that year, which was weather-boarded in walnut and which is still standing and the property of his widow, who preserve it as a relie of the older days. Opposite it was built the engine house which now shelters the fire apparatus of a thriving and pro- gressive modern eity.
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