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 40
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Mr. Cessna, with wise forethought and care has furnished us with a portion of the family record, which we append as follows. Mrs. Sarah J. (Haw- kins) Cessna was born in Washington County, Pa .. May 1, 1811. John W., her eldest son, was born in Mahoning County, Ohio, Sept. 7, 1851. Artlissa A., the eldest daughter, was born Feb. 19, 1854, and died in Ohio. Sarah A. was born in Stark County, Ohio, Feb. 11, 1856. Martha Ellen was born in Marshall, Ind .. April 24. 1858. William I. D. was born in Marshal! County, Ind .. Oct. 23,
1861. Rossa Ilora was born in Marshall County, Ind., May 28, 1866; Charles M. was born in Cham- paign County, III., JJan. 20, 1869. Mary Matilda was born in Vermilion County, III .. Oct. 27, 1872. Evan Cessna, the father of our subject, died July 29, 1861, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife, Mary Motelena. died Jan. 20, 1876, at the age of seventy-six years.
S AMUEL STARK, of Sidell. is numbered among its most useful and praiseworthy citizens, and performed no small part in the early settlement of the place with whose growth and development he has ever main- tained a warm interest. In 1885 he purchased the Cleveland Ilotel and from a small beginning built up a good patronage and became popular among traveling men generally. In connection with this he operated excavating machines such as the Mould Ditelier, the Plow Diteher and Road Grader, and graded several miles of road in Vance, Sidell and Carroll townships, making an excellent thorough- fare which is greatly appreciated by those most nearly concerned.
The parents of Mr. Stark were John and Mary (Cassady ) Stark, who were of Kentucky birth and parentage and came to this county during its early settlement, locating on its southern line. Their family comprised fourteen children. eleven sons and three daughters. Samuel was born in Indiana and was reared to farming pursuits. He received a limited education in the primitive schools and developed into a strong and healthful man, sound in mind and body and well fitted for the position which he was called upon to fill as a leading mem- ber of his community. He was married in Au- gust, 1875, to Miss Christina Rawlings, and the young people commenced their wedded life toge- ther on the Amos Jackson farm. Later Mr. Stark was connected with several farms as general over- seer, among them being the well-known Allerton farm, formerly the property of John Sidell. In 1881 they took up their abode in Danville. Mr. Stark having purchased the furniture in the Me-
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Cormick Ilouse of that city. Eight months later they again removed to a farm at Garrett Grove. where they remained four years. Their subsequent movements we have already indicated. On mov- ing to Sidell Mrs. Stark assumed charge of the Cleveland House, which she has since conducted with marked success and has become very popular with the traveling public. She seems admirably adapted to her responsible position and possesses a great deal of tact, generosity and kindness, having the faculty of making welcome all who come within her doors. She is a lady of more than ordinary business abilities, and is increasing her patronage perceptibly each year.
A native of Lee County. Va .. Mrs. Stark was born Jan. 19, 1855, and is the daughter of Sampson B. Rawlins, also a native of the Old Dominion and who married Miss Elizabeth Sanford, of his own State. Both were of English descent. They were married in Virginia, whence they removed to Clay County, Ky .. about 1860. The father prosecuted farming for three years, but in 1863 again changed his residence, settling this time near Paris Edgar County. this State. Ten years later they came to this county and located on a farm in Sidell Town- ship. Finally selling this also. they removed to Fairmount and conducted the IIall House one year. Afterward Mr. Rawlings engaged in the boot and shoe business of that place about a year. He re- moved to Sidell in 1885 and in 1887 established a store of general merchandise at Archie. After a time he was burned out, suffering a loss of $8,000. He is now employed as a traveling salesman for a grocery house in Chicago.
The mother of Mrs. Stark departed this life March 19, 1888. at the age of fifty-six years eight months and twenty-eight days. Her family con- sisted of nine children, the eklest of whom, Nancy, is the wife of J. P. Jackson, a farmer of Sidell Township, and is the mother of two children; Christina. Mrs. Stark. was the second child of the family ; James W. H. H., married Miss Ida Patter- son and operates as a carpenter and builder in Sidell; he is the father of one child. Zarilda mar- ried George B. Baum, of Sidell, who operates as a farmer and liveryman, and they have two chil dren; Bertha is the wife of Austin Jones. a business
man of Mt. Carmel, and they have one child ; Sarah J is at home with her father; John F. is farming in Sidell Township; Dora is a saleslady at Cerro Gordo, Ill .; Fanny M. lives with her father and sister.
Mrs. Stark thus in her youth lived in three dif- ferent States, Kentucky. Virginia and Illinois. She attended the common school and at an early age evinced an aptitude for business details. At the age of twenty years she was married to Mr. Stark. She has contributed her full quota to the rapid and thrifty growth of the village of Sidell, in the ex- cellent management of her house and in attracting to it a class of well-to-do and intelligent people.
A large force of builders is now (June, 1889) actively engaged in enlarging the Cleveland House, which when completed a month hence, will accom- modate a large number of guests and prove an or- nament to the village. Mrs. Stark patronizes the worthy enterprises established in the village, among them the Methodist Episcopal Church. in whose erection she took a warm interest. She is a lover of music and all those things which contrib- ute to the comfort and satisfaction of the people who may sojourn under her roof. She is a lady of decided views and sympathizes with the Demo- cratic party. The Ladies' Aid Society finds in her one of its efficient members. To her and her husband have been born four children: Callie, who died in infancy; Mary Alice; an infant who died unnamed; and Forest E.
B ENJAMIN ZEIGLER. This gentleman is the oldest settler in the eastern half of Grant Township. in this county, having lived there more years than any other per- son now residing within its borders. He was born in Cumberland County. Pa., March 3, 1830, and when twenty years old came to Fountain County, Ind .. with his elder brother, John, making the journey the entire distance in a two-seated wagon drawn by one horse. They came from Carlisle. in their native county, to Indianapolis, Ind .. over the road then known as the National Pike, and thence to
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RESIDENCE OF JOHN POLLARD, SEC. 21. CARROLL TP. VERMILION CO.
RESIDENCE OF WF H. SCONCE, SEC. 16. SIDELLTP. VERMILION CO.
STORE AND RESIDENCE OF MICHAEL FISHER, INDIANOLA, VERMILION CO.
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their stopping place, now named Reitersburgh, then known as Chambersburg. The trip occupied two weeks and four days, but it can now be made be- tween those two points in sixteen hours! John Zeigler had spent the previous year in Indiana, and our subject made the journey West with him simply as an adventure. But he liked the looks of the country. and determined to stay. especially as he found he could get twice as much for his labor there as he could in the East. Accordingly he located in Fountain County and began working out by the month. He made his home there until 1856, when having by this time secured a life partner, he came to Vermilion County and for two years worked for his father-in-law. Having saved a little money he had in 1852 bought 320 acres of Government land on seetion 15 in Grant Township. and it is on this place lis home now stands. IIe was too poor, however. to build on it or enltivate it. and he let it lie idle until 1858. 1 when he managed to get a house built on it, but was yet unable to get it ". broke." and therefore for the following two years he farmed what is known as the " Ann Brown " place, of 160 acres, one and one-half miles east of his house. In this way he accumulated some small means, and the following year he broke forty aeres of his own land with a team of four yoke of cattle and a twenty-four inch plow.
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His industry and energy soon made themselves felt, and each successive year saw Mr. Zeigler a little better off. Gradually more and more land was brouglit under cultivation, fences and hedges were made and planted. farm buildings were ereeted. and after the lapse of years more land was bought, and to-day our subject owns an excellent farm of 540 acres in one body, well fenced, drained. cultivated and with good and sufficient buiklings, and as he looks around over his broad aeres he can reflect with satisfaction upon the fact that this is all the work of his own hands. When he first bought this land it was all bare open prairie. not a tree or shrub was on the ground. Now it presents to the eye a typical American western scene. The house stands baek some distance from the road and is ap- proached from the front through an avenue lined on either side with well grown maple trees; the
buildings are all that are needed, for the large farm. the growing crops and the contented cattle grazing in the enclosed fields. all bespeak thrift and com- petence. All this is the work of Mr. Zeigler's own bands. The fine grove of maples which surrounds his house was raised by himself from seed and cov- ers nine acres. and an apple orchard of four acres, also of his own planting. The country when he tirst came here was wild and unsettled, and his nearest neighbor for some time was two miles away, and from the rising ground near his house, as far as the eye could see. there were less than a dozen houses. Prairie wolves wore numerous, compelling the settler to house his stock at night, wild game was plentiful, and deer. ducks. geese and prairie chickens were in such abundance that dogs were kept and trained to keep them from the farmer's grain fields, and the pioneer's table was well sup- plied with delicacies, the fruit of his gun. But one road was then laid out hereabouts. the settlers making their way across the prairies by following tracks made by others who had gone before. Not a fence was up, and to leave the beaten path was to run the risk of being lost on the prairie. Trad- ing was done mostly at Attica, Ind., thirty miles away, the trip to store and back consuming two days. Mr. Zeigler says it was his enstom when re- turning, if overtaken by darkness, to tie his lines and let his horses take their own way, they never failing to bring him safely home when human eyesight was of no avail in finding the road.
Now how different the scene. Publie highways are laid out in all directions. The country about is thickly settled, and half a mile from Mr. Zeigler's door is the village of Cheneysville, a station on the Lake Erie and Western Railroad. Around his home is a thickly settled and prosperous commun- ity. with evidence on every hand of comfort. schools and churches are easy of access. and all the appliances of civilization are at the farmer's door. This change has been brought about by the toils and sacrifices of such men as our subject, and to such all honor is due.
Mr. Zeigler was united in marriage. in Fountain County, Ind., Jan. 3. 1854. with Miss Verlina Brown, daughter of John and Catherine Brown. early settlers in that part of Indiana. The former
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was born in Perry County, Pa., and the latter in Dauphin County in the same state. After mar- riage they emigrated to Indiana, where Mr. Brown improved a large number of farms. certainly as many as twenty, selling as soon as he could get advance on his property. In this way he made considerable money and during the latter years was quite well-to-do. lle died in Hoopeston in the winter of 1881-85. His wife had passed away some years previously at Otterbein, Benton County, Ind. Mrs. Zeigler was born in Fountain County, Ind., March 27, 1834. By this marriage nine children were born, all except one, who died in childhood, being now living : Cyrus A., the eld- est, farms a portion of the homestead half a mile east of his father's house, and is married to Miss Cyrenia Leverton. and they have one child and one is deceased; Peter M. is married to Susan Labaw, has one child, and lives two miles east of his birthplace on a farm belonging to his aunt, Catherine A. Brown; John B. is married to Jose- phine Stufflebeam, and lives on a rented farm in the northeastern corner of Grant Township: George B. is married to Mary Ann Labaw, and has two children and lives on a part of his father's farm; Benjamin Franklin, Mary Amanda. Rachael Mahala and William J. are unmarried and are yet under the parental roof.
Mr. Zeigler has witnessed and participated in the growth and increasing prosperity of this part of Vermilion County. When he came within its borders, growth had hardly been begun in this part of the county. The site of the flourishing city of Hoopeston was a barren prairie which he could have bought from the Government at $1.25 per aere, but he thought it dear at that, when prospecting for a site, as the land was low and wet, and therefore bought where he is, where the land lies higher. On such small things does fortune sometimes hinge. Yet he has no reason to com- plain. Starting from an humble station and from small beginnings he has achieved a competence. and what is still better. has gained the universal respect, esteem and confidence of the community, a just tribute to the moral and upright life of the man and to his entire trustworthiness of character. For many years he has been compelled by his fel-
low-townsmen to accept office at their hands, hav- ing been School Director. Town Trustee, Road Overseer. etc., and he is now Assistant Supervisor. and among the worthy citizens of Vermilion County none stands higher in the estimation; of those who know him than does Benjamin Zeigler, the pioneer.
ILLIAM THOMAS SANDUSKY has for more than twenty years been prominently identified with the leading farmers and stock growers of Vermilion County, a shrewd, in- telligent set of men, and in that time he has been an important factor in extending its great agricul- tural interests. Ile has a farm on seetion 36, Cat- lin Township, of some over 400 acres, which is well cultivated, and on which he has erected a substantial, roomy set of buildings, and has all the needful machinery and appliances for carrying on agriculture with facility and to the best ad- vantage.
Our subject, although a Kentuckian by birth, was reared in Illinois, and has passed the most of his life here, his parents having been among the earliest settlers of Shelby County. His father, William Sandusky, was a native of Kentucky, while his mother, Julia (Earp) Sandusky, was born in Virginia. They were married in Kentucky, and there commenced their wedded life, but in 1829, when our subject was a small infant, they emi- grated to Illinois and settled in Shelby County. In the following spring Mr. Sandusky's earthly career was cut short, while he was yet in life's prime, by his premature death. The wife survived him ten years, when, in 1840, she too passed away.
Of a family of three children, our subjeet was the second child and the only son. He was born in Bourbon County, Ky., March 11, 1829, and was consequently but a few months old when his par- ents brought him to this State. He was bred to a farmer's life in Shelby County, and. amid the pio- neer influences that surrounded his early life, be- came strong, manly, self-reliant and energetic. In the spring of 1818 he left the place where his life had been mostly passed hitherto and came to Ver-
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milion County, having in his charge a drove of cattle, which he berded here till the fall of the year, when he proceeded with them toward New York. He only went as far as Sandusky, however, when he disposed of his cattle at a good price. Ile then returned to Vermilion County, and for some years after that was engaged in farm work and in in tending cattle. In the spring of 1853, ambi- tions to accumulate money faster than he was doing, he determined that he would scek the gold mines of California, and going there by the way of the Isthmus of Panama, he pursued mining on the Pacific Coast with fair suecess till the fall of 1855. Tiring of the rough life of the camps, he turned his face homeward, and, coming to Ver- milion County once more, was soon actively en- gaged in the business of buying stock. continuing that till the spring of 1859. At that time he turned his attention to the hotel business, having gone to Greencastle, Putnam Co., Ind., in June, and building a hotel known as the Junction House. Ile was profitably engaged in its management till the spring of 1866, when he sold out. returned to Vermilion County and bought the farm where he now lives, having decided to turn his attention once more to the calling to which he had been reared. and for which he has a natural aptitude. Ile now gives his attention wholly to agricultural pursuits, and for several years, besides managing his farm, was extensively engaged in buying and shipping stock, and still continues to raise a goodly number of cattle and hogs.
November 30, 1859, was an important date in the life of Mr. Sandusky as it was the occasion of his marriage with Miss Emily A. Clements, who has been to him all that an intelligent, refined, capable woman can be to the man by whose side she walks the journey of life, making his home pleasant and attractive, and a welcome retreat from the cares of business. She is a wise and tender mother to their children, of whom they had four, as follows: Ada, who died in infaney: Charlie. who died at the age of five months; Maggie and Kate, who are left to brighten the household by their presence. Mrs. Sandusky was born in Shel. byville, Ill., May 28, 1839, a daughter of John and Emily ( Livers) Clements, natives of Mary-
land. Her parents were among the early settlers of Shelby County, and there the father died. The mother is living in Shelby County, Ill.
Mr. Sandusky is a man of much experience. gifted with firmness, sagacity, and foresight to a marked degree, which traits have no doubt been instrumental in gaining him a position among the first citizens of Catlin Township as a substantial, well-to-do farmer. Ile is very liberal. and never hesitates to spend his money where it will do good or relieve suffering. lle has a mind of his own, and is very tenacions in his opinions. This is es- pecially true in regard to his political views, he being a very strong Republican, active in political affairs, and giving material support to his party. He has not mingled much in public life, having devoted himself strictly to his own private affairs. but he has been School Director for a long term of years, interesting himself greatly in educational matters.
HARLES HILLMAN. There are few more industrious or more conscientious and worthy men in Oakwood Township than the subject of this notice, who is located upon a well-improved farm upon section 24. Ilis property is the result of his own unaided industry and has been accumulated by years of arduous labor and close economy. Modest and retiring in disposition he is a man making very little show in the workdi. but one whom his friends recognize as possessed of high principle and sound common sense. and one whose word is considered as good as his bond. A patriot during the late Civil War, he contributed his quota in assisting to preserve the Union and it is hardly necessary to say, uniformly votes the straight Republican tieket. Ile has ever been the , advocate of temperanee, practically and theoretic- ally and with his estimable wife is a member in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church. in which he has officiated as Steward and Class- Leader and held other positions of trust and responsibility.
The offspring of a good family, our subject is the son of Edward Hillman, a native of Eng-
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land and a tailor by trade which he followed for some time in London, Province of Ontario. ( an- ada, to which he emigrated when a young man. His mother, who was of Scotch descent, died when a young woman, and when her son Charles was scarcely more than nine years old. Charles and his eldest sister were afterward taken to the home of Mr. John Bateman, of Ontario, with whom he lived until coming to Illinois in October. 1857, when a youth of seventeen years.
To the parents of our subject there were born four children. Charles being the eldest. Ile first opened his eyes to the light March 8. 1810 and re- ceived very few opportunities for an education. Hle attended school for a time after coming to this State but had his own living to make and was mostly employed on a farm. Ile saved what he could of his earnings as years passed on, and at the age of twenty-seven was owner of eighty aeres of land in Oakwood Township, and some personal property.
Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Hill- man that same year enlisted in Company I, 35th Illinois Infantry, and served with his regiment in the battles of Stone River, Perryville and Chicka- manga. At the latter he was wounded. Sept. 19, 1863, being shot through the left thigh in a peeu- liar and dangerous manner. His recovery was long and tedious, he lying in the hospital until Septem- ber, 1864, at which time expired his term of en- listment and he received his honorable discharge. Upon his recovery he again entered the ranks, Feb. 1, 1865, as a member of Company K, 150th Illinois Infantry. Ile served with his regiment in Georgia and Tennessee some months after the close of the war, receiving his second and final discharge, Feb. 1, 1866, and now draws a pension from the Gov- ernment. He went into the service as a private and on account of fidelity to duty and bravery in times of danger, was first promoted to Sergeant and afterward to Second Lieutenant, with which rank he was mustered ont.
The 8th of October, 1867, witnessed the mar- ringe of our subject with Miss Sarah A. Hilliary and the newly wedded pair settled at once upon the farm which they now own and occupy. This em- braces 2023 acres of land all in one body, 132}
aeres under cultivation and embracing property formerly owned by Martin Oakwood. The four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hillman are named respectively Edward ... Bertha, George F. and Mary E. They are all at home with their parents. are well educated and form a most intelligent and interesting group. Mr. Hillman has officiated as School Director in his district for a period of twelve years, and has been Commissioner of Iligh- ways three years. Stock-raising forms a leading feature of his farming operations. an industry which is very prolitable in Central Illinois. As an ex-soldier our subject is identified with George Morrison Post, G. A. R., at Glenburn.
Mrs. Ilillman was born March 15, 1849, in Ver- milion County, Ill., and is the daughter of George Hilliary, one of the pioneer settlers of this county and who died about 1876. Ilis widow is still liv- ing being now seventy-five years old and making her home in Oakwood.
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LINTON D. HENTON. M. D .. a popular physician of Vermilion County, was born in Fountain County. Ind., on the 3d day of August, 1831. Ilis father, Evan Henton, it is be- lieved, was a native of Virginia. Ile was married in Ohio and in an early day moved to Indiana and settled in Fountain County. where he purchased a traet of land four miles from Attica. Ile resided here until 1838. when he sold his farm and re- turned to Ohio and settled in Highland County, where he purchased a farm one and a half miles from Hillsboro, and there resided until his death, which occurred in 1856. His wife's maiden name was Maria Inskeep, a native of Ohio and daughter of the Rev. Daniel Inskeep. She died on the home farm in 1876. She was the mother of seven chil- dren, six of whom grew to manhood and woman- hood and whose names follow: Eliza, Clinton, Rachael, Colman, Samuel and Mary.
Dr. HIenton was a lad of six years when his parents removed to Ohio, where he received his early education in the public schools. He also at- tended Hillsboro Academy. At the age of six-
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teen, he commenced teaching and taught and at- tended school alternately. In the meantime he beeame anxious to study medicine, and pursued his studies in this direction all through the time cov- ered by teaching school. In July, 1853 he came to Vermilion County and inaugarated a successful practice of his profession, but being anxious to further post himself he went from Myersville, where he lived, to Chicago, where he attended Rush Medical College, graduating therefrom in 1861. He returned to Myersville and practiced until May, 1872, when he eame to Danville, where he has been a successful practitioner since. In 1855 he mar- ried Susan Gundy, who is a native of Ross Town- ship, this county, and a daughter of Joseph Gundy, (a sketch of whose life appears in another part of this volume.)
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