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 32
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Mr. Albright was born in Fairfield County, Ohio. Sept. 12, 1816, and lived there until a lad of twelve years. He then removed to Pickaway County where he sojourned until his marriage, which took place four miles southeast of Circleville the bride being Miss Clemency Morris. Of this union there were born two children-John M. and Mary Ellen, the latter the wife of William MeMur- trie of Potomac, and is the mother of four children. Mrs. Clemency (Morris) Albright died at her home in Ross Township in 1865.
Our subjeet contracted a second matrimonial al- liance, Sept. 10, 1866, with Miss Mary M. Davis. This union resulted in the birth of two children- Orrie Lulu and Lilly Belle. The elder is the wife of William Cunningham of Rossville and the younger remains with her parents. Mrs. Mary MI. (Davis) Albright was born in Muskingum County. Ohio, February, 1836. and is the daughter of Am- azial Davis, who came to this county at an early day and became one of its most prominent farmers and citizens.
David Albright, the father of our subject, was a native of Pennsylvania. whence he removed to Ohio when quite young. He was there married to
of
106 ACRES. in Sec. 8. J. 20 -R.13,
240/ACRES . SEC. 9.
AU KCRES TIMBER. Sec . 35 IT. 21. R 13
80.ACRES. SEC.10
120. ACRES SEC, 10.
Pist of 60. ACRES. IN Sec. 20. T.20. R. 13
PLAT OF HOME FARM, 520. ACRES IN SEC'S. 9. - 10 & 15 . T. 20. N. R. 13.W. PILOT TOWNSHIP, VERMILION CO. ILLINOIS.
80. ACRES SEC, 15.
"PRAIRIE VIEW"FARM-RESIDENCE OF WH H. PRICE, SEC:10.(T.20-R.13) PILOT TOWNSHIP.
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Miss Phebe Newman and they reared a family of nine children. Upon leaving the Buckeye State they settled in Frankfort, Ind., where the father died some years ago. The mother subsequently eame to this county and made her home with our subject until her death.
ILLIAM II. PRICE, the son of an early settler of Vermilion County, may also be denominated as one of its pioneers, as he had a hand in developing its great agricultural resources and assisted in laying the foundations of its wealth and high standing among its sister counties. lle is to-day one of the foremost farmers and stock raisers of Pilot Township, and is a man of considerable importance in the publie life of this community. Ile has a large farm of over 700 acres of well-improved land, comprising sec- tions 8, 9 and 10, whose broad fields are under high cultivation,and which is amply supplied with roomy, conveniently arranged, well made buildings, and all the appliances for facilitating farm work, while everything about the place betokens order and superior management.
Mr. Price was born in Pike County, Ohio, July 4, 1827. Ilis father, Robert Price, was a native of Lexington, Ky., born of pioneer parents July 29, 1788. The grandparents were from Wales and England. They removed to Pike County, Ohio when the father of our subject was a lad of nine years, and there he grew to maturity and married Miss Naney Howard, a native of Ohio. Iler par- ents came from England to that part of the eoun- try in the early days of its settlement. She was born Feb. 27, 1793 and died in middle life. Dec. 22. 1842, some years after the removal of the family to this county, which occurred in 1830. She and her husband were early pioneers of this section of the country.
The father died Jan. 6. 1850, in Vermilion County, Ill. They were the parents of four chil- dren. of whom our subject is the only survivor. The others were Lloyd II., Drusilla, and Jerusha. Lloyd married Minerva Howard, of Pike County,
Ohio, whose parents came to Vermilion County in an early day. and to them ( Lloyd and wife) were born nine children, namely: William. Robert, Thomas, Sarah. Nancy. Frank. Lloyd. May, and George. Drusilla was the wife of Joseph Dalay, of Vermilion County, now deceased, and they left one child, Naney, who became the wife of David ('lay- pole, a farmer. and they have five children. Jeru- sha married Franklin Adams. of Vermilion County, now deceased. and they have three children- John L., William, and Samuel.
When our subject was brought to this county, a child of three years. it was a wild waste of prairie, and the settlers at that time thought that the land away from the streams where the timber grew was worthless for settlement, so they confined them- selves to the banks of the creeks and rivers. He grew to a strong manhood in the pioneer life that obtained at that day. and early became independ- ent and self-supporting. Having determined to make farming his life work, he entered 200 aeres of prairie land from the Government, as his keen discernment foresaw the worth of the rich and fertile soil to the intelligent and enterprising young farmer. After his marriage in 1850. he erected a house and commenced the task of upbuilding his present desirable home. Ile is still living on the land that he purchased from the Government. and has added more to it as his means have allowed till he owns one of the largest farms in the neigh- hood, comprising. as before mentioned over 700 acres of choice land. He has besides helped to establish his children in life by giving them land. Hle does a general farming business, raising all kinds of stock, making a speciality of breeding Short-horn eattle, of which he has a herd of sixteen thoroughbreds. besides all other kinds of stock us- ually found on a model farm.
Mr. Price and Mary A. Cazatt were united in marriage in 1850. She was born in Mercer County, Ky., JJuly 4, 1833, to Henry and Susan (Gritten) Cazatt, native of the same county, her father was born about 1808 and her mother Dee. 4, 1810. Mrs. Prices's grandparents were Irish and Dutch. They were pioneers of Vermilion County, coming here in 1837, and here they spent their remaining years. the father dying in 1811, and the mother in
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1878, aged sixty-three years. Mrs. Price has one own sister-Minerva J., who married Otho Allison, a resident of this county. The union of our sub- ject and his wife has been blessed to them by the birth of six children-Jerusha J .. Lloyd 11 .. Emily M., Charles R., Alice N .. Emma B., the latter is deceased. Jerusha married Henry J. Helmick, a farmer of this county, and they have two children -Charles and William E. Lloyd H., a farmer, married Mary J. Snyder. of this county. Emily married Gny C. Howard, a merchant in Armstrong, this county. Charles R., a farmer. married Della Hatfield, of this county. and they have one child- Everett Lloyd. Alice married Berry Duncan, a farmer of this county, and they have one child, Lola.
Mr. Price is a noble type of our self-made men. who while building up a fortune for themselves have been instrumental in advancing the material interests of the county. lle, and his wife are lead- ing members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. of which he has held the office of Steward and Trustee. Ile has held the office of Highway Com- missioner for twelve years. fle is prominently identified with the A. F. & A. M. order, and is a Master Mason. In politics, he is a thorough and consistent Republican. He has served with credit on the juries of the State and county.
Mr. and Mrs. Price have some valuable heir- looms, which they highly prize, in the old bibles of their fathers and mothers.
A line lithographie view of the country resi- dence and surroundings of Mr. and Mrs. Price appears in the ALBUM, and represents a home of which the owners are justly proud.
L UTHER TILLOTSON. Supervisor of Pilot Township, and one of its most intelligent and influential public officials, is closely connected with its material interests as a practical agriculturist, owning and profitably managing a good farm on section 30, He was born in Warren County, Ind .. Aug. 13, 1849. a son of E. B. and Mary A. (Cronkhite) Tillotson. Ilis father was
born in Cayuga County, N. Y., Dec. 8, 1811. and his father. Luther Tillotson, was a native of New York. The mother of our subjeet was born in Hamilton, Ohio. Dec. 26, 1816. During some period of their lives the parents of our subject settled in Indiana, and of their marriage twelve children were born. and the following is recorded of the nine now living: Sarah A. married Edward Foster, a farmer living near Armstrong, this county, and they have seven children. Rebecca married Jeremiah Butts, who lives retired in Potomae. and they have six children. James M.,-a stock dealer and farmer in Calcasien Parish, La., married Mary J. Goodwine, and they have three children. Buell, a farmer of Pilot Township, married Eliza- beth Wiles. and they have one child. Walter B .. a farmer of Pilot Township, married Lucetta Endi- cott. Frances married J. A. Knight, a farmer of this county, and they have four children. William M., a farmer of this county, married Millie French. and they have three children. Mary A. married Frank HI. Henry, who is living retired in Armstrong Village, and they have two children. Luther is the subject of this sketch. [For parental history see sketch of Buelt Tillotson.]
Our subject came this county in 1856 with his parents. His father is deceased; his mother resides in this county. Mr. Tillotson and Mary E. Myrick were united in the holy bonds of matrimony Sept- ember. 1871, and five children complete their happy household-Bertie, Alden, Cora E., Luther E .. and Charles. Mrs. Tillotson was born in Illinois Sept. 15. 1853, and is a daughter of Thomas P. and Susanah (Firebaugh) Myrick, natives of Ohio and Indiana respectively. They came from the Buek- eye State to this and settled in Pilot Township at an early day.
After marriage Mr. Tillotson rented land for eleven years and carried it on to such good advan- tage that at the expiration of that time he had money enough to invest in eighty acres of improved land, which forms his present farm. Ile has his land well tilled, and it is capable of yielding large erops in repayment for the care bestowed upon it, and Mr. Tillotson has a neat and well ordered set of buildings for every needful purpose. He is doing well from a financial standpoint, has his farm
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stocked with cattle of good grade as many as it will carry, and displays commendable enterprise in the management of his interests.
Mr. Tillotson brings a well trained mind to bear on his work and fully understands how to perform it so as to obtain the best results, which is the secret of his success. His fellow-citizens, feeling that in a man of his education, of sound and sensi- ble views on all subjects, the township would find a superior civic official who would promote its high- est interests, have called him to some of the most responsible offices within their gift, and his whole course in public life has justified their selection. He has been Supervisor for six years, and was re- eleeted to that oflice this spring, and he has also been Assessor for one term, besides having held the office of Justice of the Pence for eight years. In politics he is a true Republican, although he performs his official duties without regard to party affiliations.
where. since the war, he has gathered around him all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life,
In reverting to the family history of our subject we find that his father. James Dalby, was a native of Pennsylvania. a carpenter by trade and in politics an old line Whig. Ile married Miss Sarah Sewell, a native of Ohio, April 1, 1820. the wedding taking place in Clinton County, that state, They lived there about fourteen years, Mr. Dalby engaged as a gro- ceryman, a farmer and an hotelkeeper. conducting the old-fashioned country tavern after the most approved methods of those times,
About this time the lead mines near Dubuque were being opened up and the demand for carpen- ters was great, so the father of our subject re- moved thither with his family in 1835. purposing to work at his trade. He found the times very hard and the country peopled largely with desperate characters, among whom a murder was committed nearly every night. This state of things made it impossible for him to remain and so he established himself at Quiney, Ill., where he lived three years and worked at his trade. Hle then returned to Ohio, where he sojourned two years and from there removed to Peru Ind .. but only remained there eight months. In August, 1843, he came to this county and on the 19th of October following passed from earth at the age of fifty-three years. lle was a well educated man and especially fine peuman.
ARON DALBY. The late Civil War de- veloped some rare characters, the depths of which would probably never have been disturbed had it not been for this revolution which shook the country from turret to foundation stone. There were then brought to the surface that God-given quality-the love of the true man The mother of our subject survived her first husband for the long period of nearly forty-eight years. She was born March 12, 1803, and died Feb. 26, 1885, when nearly eighty-two years old. The parental household was completed by the birth of six children, four of whom are living. Aaron. our subject, was the fourth in order of birth and was born in Clinton County, Ohio, April 25, 1831. He attended school at Quincy, Il., and also in Ohio a short time and in Indiana. and came to this county in time to avail himself of instruction in the subscription schools here. Being the eldest son, he, after the death of his father. naturally in due time assumed many responsibilities, and at the age of twelve years worked out for $3 per month. for his native land-and the extent of the sacrifices which he was willing to make to save her from dis- memberment. Among all those who are written of in this volume there was probably no truer pat- riot during the war than Aaron Dalby, and he justly esteems the period of his life spent in the Union Army as one of the brightest spots in his whole career. We give this matter prominence be- cause it is a subject dear to his heart and he has lost none of the patriotie affection which enabled him a quarter of a century ago to lay aside all per- sonal ties and give his best efforts to the preserva- tion of the Union. We now lind him comfortably located in a quiet country home, embracing a well- regulated farm on section 11, in Vance Township, 1- six months, from spring until fall. The year fol-
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lowing he was employed by the same man, with an increase of salary of $1 per month.
The mother of our subject was married a second time to James Elliott. Our subjeet was bound out for a term of six years to Alvin Stearns. Becom - ing dissatisfied with the arrangement he served out only half his time and went to Ohio to learn' a trade. He came back to Illinois, however, a year later and employed himself at whatever he could find to do, being at one time the partner of Aaron Ilardin in splitting rails and cord-wood. Their best week's work was forty-eight cords of wood. eut, split and piled, and this was done at twenty- five cents per cord, when rails were forty-five cents per 100.
The next most important event in the life of our subject was his marriage, which occurred Dee. 23, 1854, with Miss Martha E. Custer. The newly wedded pair commenced the journey of life to- gether at the old Custer homestead, which is now the property of our subject. and Mr. Dalby there- after farmed on rented land until the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1862 he went one day to assist a neighbor with his work and when he came back with his pitchfork over his shoulder his attitude and bearing were such that his wife exclaimed wben she saw him coming, " there. I bet he is going to the war." He entered the house and asked for some elothing, and in ten minutes was off for Io- mer, and joining some of his comrades repaired with them to Camp Butler and enlisted in Company E, 73d Illinois Infantry.
Mr. Dalby accompanied his regiment to the front and first engaged in the battle of Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. In the early part of the engage- ment he was in the front line of battle and had only discharged six or seven shots when a rebel bullet struck him in the right side of the abdomen, passing through the upper lobe of the liver and came out at the right of the spine, grazing the point of one of the vertebræ. The ball before en- tering his body struck the cap box on his belt, passed through the box and his belt, through his cont. the waistband on his pants then through his body and returning cut through the waistband and " body belt" and knocked the handle off the butcher knife on his belt, leaving the blade in its
scabbard and glaneed off to the rear. He pulled out of the wound a bunch of the wood from his cap box, some cotton-batting from his coat and a metal primer which he carried in the box. Ile was taken to the field hospital and a rubber tube pulled through his body twice: He was then conveyed to the Perryville General Hospital, where he remained until October 1863, and was then transferred to New Albany, Ind. He was discharged from the hospital there. Jan. 20, 1864.
Mr. Dalby now returned to his family and al- though he has been almost wholly disabled for work since that time he declares he is ready to fight the battle over again if the occasion arises. Ile and his excellent wife have no children of their own, but have performed the part of parents to a boy and girl, the former the son of a comrade of Mr. Dalby, who was discharged from the army for disability and died. The boy Joe II. Summers, be- came an inmate of their home at the age of seven years and remained there until twenty-one. Ile is now married and lives in Mendon, Neb. The girl Mary J. Custer was taken by them when but eleven months oldl and is still with them, now grown to womanhood.
It is hardly necessary to say in view of his war record that Mr. Dalby, politically, is a decided Re- publican. Ile had two brothers in the army, one of whom, Albert, enlisted in Company C. 25th Illinois Infantry and at Murfreesboro was wounded through the wrist and arm. At the expiration of his first term of enlistment he entered the veteran reserve corps from which he was honorably dis- charged. Another brother, William II. H., the youngest of the family, was born in 1840 and en- listed in Company D, 63d Illinois Infantry. He was killed by the explosion of a magazine at Co- lumbia, S. C., Feb. 19, 1865, being terribly mangled and blown into a river. He had strength, however, to swim ashore and was taken to the hos- pital where he died. Ile had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Mr. Dalby has officiated as Road Overscer and is a member of Homer Post No. 263. G. A. R.
Jacob M. Custer, the father of Mrs. Dalby, was. with his wife , Elizabeth Ocheltree, a native of Vir- ginia, They came to Illinois in 1819 settling in
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this county, but later removed to Champaign County, where the death of Mr. Custer took place. Sept. 17, 1865. His widow subsequently married .John L. Myers who has since died, and Mrs. Myers is now living at HIomer at the ripe age of seventy- nine years. She is the mother of nine children, six of whom are living and of whom Mrs. Dalby was next to the eldest. She was born Sept. 4, 1836, in Fayette County Ohio, received a fair education and was married at the age of eighteen years. She is a very estimable lady of more than usual benev- olence and is a member of the Homer Woman's Re- lief Corps, No. 69. She was at one time President of this body and was presented with a very fine gold badge as Past President by the members of her corps as a token of their appreciation of her worth and services. She has never missed a meet- ing, either regular or special since its organization, in April, 1887. In religious matters, she belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
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Mr. Dalby during the days of his early manhood was an expert hunter and has brought down many a deer in this county. He is naturally possessed of great courage and bearing. but is uniformly kind-hearted to all except the enemies of his country.
OIIN COLE. The bold, hardy, intelligent sons of New England have borne a prom- inent part in the settlement of the great West, and as a noble type of these, one who was a pioneer of Vermilion County in early days, we are pleased to present to the readers of this work a review of the life of the gentleman whose name is at the head of this sketch.
In the pleasant spring month of May, 1837, just fifty-two years ago, our subject. then in the prime and vigor of early manhood. twenty-two years of age, left his native home among the beautiful hills of Vermont to see if life held anything better for him on the broad prairies of this then far Western State, animated doubtless, by the pioneer spirit that caused some remote ancestor to leave his En- glish cot and seck a new home on this side of the Atlantic, and still later caused one of his descend-
ants, in turn, to journey to the Green Mountain State on the same quest. In that day the trip con- templated by our subject was a great undertaking, it being but slow traveling before railways spanned the continent, and many days and weeks even passed before he reached his destination. He went first with a team to Troy. and thence by the Erie Canal to Buffalo, expecting to proceed on his jour- ney from there on the lakes, but the ice prevented further passage after the boat had gone thirty miles on Lake Erie. His next course was to hire a man to take him in a wagon to Chicago, paying him $10. There he saw a little eity, or village, rather. situated in a low swamp, from which the frogs would venture to sun themselves on the narrow plank walks till some passing pedestrian disturbed their repose and caused them to jump into the water. There were no indications that one day that spot was to be the site of one of the largest and finest eities on the continent. From there Mr. Cole proceeded on foot to the fertile and beautiful val- ley of the Fox River, and after tarrying there a few days to visit some old friends he walked on to Vermilion County. IIe loaned what money he had taking a mortgage on a piece of land which was encumbered by a prior mortgage, and he soon had to buy the land in order to save his money. The summer of 1838, was noted among the early settlers as the sickly season, and almost everybody was ill, but Mr. Cole's fine constitution withstood the at- tacks of disease and he remained sound and healthy. Our subject found here the virgin prairie and prim -. eval forest searcely disturbed by the few pioneers that had preceded him; there were still traces of the aboriginal settlers of the country, and deer. wolves, and other wild animals had not fled before the advancing step of civilization. Settlements were few and scattering, and Chicago and New Or- leans were the most accessible markets. the only way to the former city being over rough roads by team, and to the latter by flatboat. via the Vermilion. Wa- bash. Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Mr. Cole fre- quently sent produce to those cities but did not journey there himself. He was one of the first wool growers in the county, but experienced much difficulty in raising sheep in the early days here on account of the wolves that would frequently kill
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some of his flock in sight of the house. He had a small horse that was an expert jumper and mount- ed on that animal Mr. Cole pursued the wolves and killed many of them. He commenced with forty-nine sheep and finally had a large flock. num- bering 2,200 of a fine breed. Ile invested in real estate here and engaged in farming, and in course of years met with more than ordinary success in his calling and became a large land owner. and now has 1,360 acres of fine land, divided into three farms. The one on which he resides on sections 19 and 20, is one of the choicest in the county.
We must now go back to the early history of our subject, and refer to his birth and ancestry. He was born in the pretty town of Shaftsbury, Ben- nington Co., Vt .. May 27, 1815. a son of Uriah Cole, a native of the same county and town. Par- ker Cole, the grandfather of our subject, was a na- tive of Rhode Island, of English ancestry. When he was sixteen years old his parents moved to the wilds of Vermont, before the Revolutionary War, the removal being made with one yoke of oxen and one cow, they were guided by marked trees for twenty miles, the road from Williamstown, Mass., being a mere trail. The grandfather of our subject spent his remaining days in the Green Mountain State, buying a tract of timbered land, from which he cleared a farm. and he at one time owned 1,000 acres of land. For some time the nearest market was at Williamstown, Mass., twenty miles away. and Troy, N. Y., thirty-two miles distant was also a market town. The maiden name of the grand- mother of our subject was Mollie Nash. and she was also a native of Rhode Island. She frequently told her grandchildren the story of their removal to Vermont, and how when she forded the Connecti- cut River, the water was so deep that the pony on which she rode had toswim. She died in the eighty- fourth year of her age, on the old homestead, and now lies beside her husband in the cemetery at Shaftsbury. The father of our subjeet was reared in his native town, and after he had grown to man's estate his father gave him a farm in Shaftsbury, and he bought other land till he had about 400 acres. Ile spent his entire life in his birthplace, dying there when about sixty years of age. The maiden name of his wife, the mother of our sub-
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