Portrait and biographical album of Warren County, Illinois : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 22

Author:
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros.
Number of Pages: 794

USA > Illinois > Warren County > Portrait and biographical album of Warren County, Illinois : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 22

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Of the second marriage which has been mentioned there were three children, of whom two are living. They are named 'Andrew S. and Jesse E. The lat- ter was born April 30, 1859. He received his edu- cation in the public schools, and was married to Lydia J. Larkins, June 13, 1880. Mrs. Almond was born in Warren County, Jan. 22, 1860, and is the daughter of Samuel and Mary (Smith) . Larkins. Wernie C. is the only surviving child of Mr. and Mrs. Almond. Their first child was named Ora Dell, and she died when less than nine months old.

Mr. Isaac N. Almond, the youngest son 'by the former marriage, was in his second year when his inother died, and he was brought to Illinois by his father. He was trained and educated in the manner common to the sons of farmers, and the first import- ant event of his life was his marriage to Mary E. Waters, which took place April 23, 1876. She was born in Ohio, Aug. 5, 1855. Her death occurred March 16, 1881. In September, 1882, Mr. Almond was again married to Etta C. Prather. She is a native of Abingdon, Knox Co., Ill. Two children were born of . the first marriage. Their names are

Elvin Walter and Eva J. George C. is the name of the only child of the second marriage.

ames Smith, an agriculturist prosecuting his vocation on section 16, Berwick Town- ship, was born in Greene Co., Ohio, near Xenia, Sept. 15, 1841, and is a son of James Smith, who was born in Pennsylvania and died about 1850, in Ohio, and whose father, Joseph Smith, died at Jeffersonville, Ind., about 1841, the year in which the subject of this sketch first saw the light of day.

James Smith, at the date of his father's death, was but nine years of age, and accompanied his grand- father on his mother's side, by the name of Broad- .stone, to this State. His grandfather came from Wales to this country, and to this State in 1850, and located in Crawford County and there died. Some three years later, in the spring of 1856, James, the subject, came here and located near Monmouth.

He enlisted in the war for the Union, joining Co. C, 83d Regt. Ill. Vol. Inf., under Capt. L. B. Cutler, of Monmouth, and was mustered into the service in that city. His regiment was ordered to Fort Henry, Ky., where it remained for some 25 days, and was then ordered to Fort Donelson, some 12 miles dis- tant. He participated in the fight of Fort Donelson, Feb. 3, 1863, and after that battle he was stationed at the fort until June, 1865, when he was mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., receiving his final discharge and pay at Chicago, July 5, 1865, whereupon he immediately started upon the train for his home in Monmouth Township, Warren County.

Mr. Smith, of this notice, was united in marriage with Abbie S. Pike, March 25, 1879. She was born June 5, 1850, in Stoughton, Mass. Her father Augustus H. Pike, was a native of Maine, and died while in the Union army, in 1861, some six months after he had enlisted. He married Miss Mary T. Southworth, of the literary family of Southworths, who was born in Boston, Mass., in 1823, and died in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1855. Mrs. Smith was a resident of Galesburg, Knox Co., Ill., at the time of her mar- riage, where her western relatives live. "To Mr. and Mrs. Pike three children were born,-Abbie S.,

LIBRARY LAt THE UNIVERSITY WILLING ! "

EVERGREEN LAWN" RESIDENCE OF SCHUYLER PALMER, SEC.15 SPRING GROVE .

VIEW OF BUILDINGS FROM NORTH .

GRANARY:

MAPLE GROVE, RESIDENCE OF JOHN H. FRANTZ, SEC. 22, SPRING GROVE.

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Jan. 5, 1850; Mary A., Feb. 10, 1852 ; and Ozro, who died when two years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Smith of this notice are the parents of three chil- dren,-Wallace R., born Dec, 31, 1880; Winthrop G., Dec. 29, 1882; and Glen D., March 12, 1885. Mr. Smith moved on the place where he now resides in March, 1884. This place he had purchased the year previous. He is there actively engaged in the vocation of an agriculturist, meeting with success. In politics, he is a believer in and a supporter of the principles advocated by the Republican party.

S chuyler Palmer, a resident on section 15 of Spring Grove Township, is a pioneer of Warren County of 1845. He is one of the leading farmers of the township and has reached prominence through the extensive business relations he has established in the county. He was born Nov. 24, 1831, in the province of Ontario, Canada, and is the son of Wilkinson and Nancy (Hurd) Palmer. His parents were born in the same portion of the country as himself. The father was born of parents of New York origin and those of the mother were originally from the State of Vermont. The ancestors of the latter were orig- inally from Connecticut and later from New Jersey, and later still from New York. The father of Mr. Palmer removed with his wife and children to White- side Co., Ill., in 1842. Here they made their home in the vicinity of Prophetstown until the year named as that in which their removal to Warren County was effected. On coming to this county they located in Hale Township, where the father rented land un- til 1851, when a tract of 80 acres of land was pur- chased. It was wholly unbroken and the first move made was to build a house for the accommo- dation of the family. It was made of logs and was occupied for the purpose for which it was constructed

three or four years. The family then took posses- · sion of a new frame house which the father built on the homestead. Prosperity attended him in his busi. ness relations, and he was soon enabled to make other purchases until he became the owner of 200 acres of land, a portion of which was located in Henderson County. His death occurred in July,

1878, and that of his wife some years previous. Eight of their 11 children are now living. Sarah is the wife of Jeremiah Young. They are residents of Ida Co., Iowa. Ira A. lives in Ringgold Co., Iowa Minard resides in the same State, in the county of Harrison. George W. is a farmer in Hale Town- ship. Manada A. is married to B. C. Darrah, of Henderson Co., Iowa. Eliza lives in Pottawatomie County, in that State. William is a resident of Otoe Co., Neb.

Until he became hiinself the head of a family by marriage, Mr. Palmer was a member of the house- hold of his father and mother. His marriage to Lucy A. Mills took place Dec. 25, 1856. She was born in Henderson County and is the daughter of William H. and Lucretia (Morris) Mills, who were early settlers in the county where their daughter was born. William H. Mills, the father of Mrs. Palmer, was a native of New Jersey, but when five years of age his parents removed to Dearborn Co., Ind., lo- cating near Lawrenceburg, where he became a farmer, 1 William H. there grew to manhood, and, in 1836, married Lucretia Morris. Three years later he moved to Henderson Co., Ill., and settled upon a farm in Greenville Township, where they now reside. Here Mrs. Palmer was reared, and received her education in the neighboring district school. She was born in a log cabin two miles west of where her parents now -reside. Her mother was a native of Eastern Penn- sylvania, and is of Scotch parentage. Her mother's parents were Amos and Johanna Morris. William H. Mills' parents, the paternal grandparents of Mrs. Palmer, were Cyrus and Nancy Mills.

About the time of his marriage Mr. Palmer bought the northeast quarter of section 1 of Spring Grove Township, which is now the site of that part of Alexis that is in Warren County. It had never been cultivated in any sense, being still in its orig- inal condition of wild prairie land. He built a house on the north line of the county and made the first improvement on the place in the spring of 1856. This was previous to his marriage .. He bought the farm in the fall preceding. He made the usual im- provements, and that place was his home and field of operation until his removal to the farm on which he has lived since the spring of 1867. At that time he sold the place of which he was the first owner and has since occupied the property on sections 10 and 15. There was already a good house on the

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WARREN COUNTY.

southwest of the section first named and this was the family abode until the fall of the same year in which they took possession of it, when it was destroyed by fire. They moved to another house which had been erected on the farm, which they occupied until 1871, when Mr. Palmer built the frame house in which they now live and which is situated on section 15. He has also increased the value and appearance of his estate by building other suitable and excellent farm structures, which are without doubt the most substantial in Spring Grove Township, and among the finest in Warren County. We are pleased to be able to present a view of these on page 258. He is the owner of 400 acres of land, and, in addition to the common business of farming, is engaged in raising Durham cattle of extra grade.

Mr. and Mrs. Palmer have I I children. Mary E. is the oldest. Alice J. is the wife of Charles Gal- laugher, who is a resident of Ringgold Co., Iowa. Lillian married Fred L. Gilmore, who lives on sec- tion 9, Spring Grove Township. A sketch of the parents of Mr. Gilmore may be found on another page of this work. Effie A. is married to Robert Armstrong, of Spring Grove Township. The younger and unmarried children are named Henry W., Myron G., Mattie, Lura, Eva, Kate and George W.

Mr. Palmer is a Democrat in his political views, and has held the office of Road Commissioner for 17 years. Mrs. Palmer became a member of the Bap- tist Church at the age of 13 years, and in 1869 Mr. Palmer also became a member of the same Church. Three of their eldest daughters are connected with the Baptist Church, while the next three younger are members of the Church of God.

ohn Wingate, a well-known and highly re- spected farmer of Greenbush Township, who is actively engaged in the cultivation of his excellent farm, was born Feb. 1, 1815, in Maine, and is the son of Edmund Wingate, a native of that State. His father was united in marriage with Rebecca Whitney, also a native of Maine, and they had four children,-Hannah, Daniel, John and Lydia. John Wingate, subject of this biographical notice, came to this State in the fall of 1838. He was married to Miss Annis Dibble,

March 5, 1844. She was born in Chenango Co., N. Y., March 1, 1820. Her father, John Dibble, was a soldier in the war of 1812. In 1819 he married Martha Brown, who was born in New York in 1801. Of her parents' union five children, ·Annis, Eliza- beth, Erastus P., Laura A. and Thomas, were born. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Wingate of this notice, five children have been born, namely: John J. (deceased), Ann Eliza (deceased), Arthur L., Ella and Eva.

Mr. Wingate, with his wife and children, are pleas- antly situated on their fine farm of 250 acres, all of which is under an advanced state of cultivation. He has held the offices of Justice of the Peace, Town- ship Cerk, Assessor and Treasurer of the School Board for 39 years. In politics he votes with the Democratic party. What he has of this world's goods, he has accumulated with his own strong hands and the active co-operation of his good help- meet, and is passing the sunset of his life in peace and quiet at his pleasant home on section 20.

illiam T. Boyd, a farmer on section II, in the township of Point Pleasant, is a na- tive of the State of Indiana. He was born in Jefferson Township in Greene County, Oct. 7, 1845. Thomas H. Boyd, his father, was born in Kentucky. The place of the birth of the latter was Bath County and the occurrence was dated June 4, 1812. He was the eldest son of Drury B. and Elizabeth (Hurd) Boyd, of whom a sketch is presented elsewhere in this work. His pa- rents removed to Greene Co., Ind., when he was 13, and there he passed the years that intervened be- tween that period and his removal to Warren Co., Ill. His father was a carpenter by trade and he worked with him both at that business and as an assistant in the clearing of the farm. April 3, 1838, he was married to Margaret Jones. She was born in New Berry District, in the State of South Carolina, Jan. 17, 1818, and was the daughter of Benson and Pris- cilla (O'Neil) Jones. The families of her parents were both of the same State in which the daughter was born. In 1819 they removed to Indiana and were early settlers in Greene County. Their home

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WARREN COUNTY.

was there until 1847, when they made another trans- fer of their interests to Illinois. They came to War- ren County to seek a place for a permanent home and at the time their family included three children. They came from their abode in the Hoosier State with oxen and horse teams and three wagons. They were in fair circumstances and they brought with them their household belongings. After a journey of three weeks duration they halted in Henderson County, where they remained three months. At the expiration of that time they removed to Ellison, where they rented land and resided until the year which has been mentioned as that in which they removed to the township in which their son re- sides. The senior Boyd bought a tract of unim- proved prairie land on what was then "town 8," and now bears its present " Pleasant " name. The father erected a small frame house in which the family could find shelter until he should be able to build such a structure as their necessities demanded. He at once proceeded to the work of improving the place and put it in excellent condition. He added to and rebuilt the house and erected a frame barn. The place was well supplied with trees of the varie- ties common to the locality and was all enclosed. Mr. Boyd lived to see his township fully developed. His demise occurred on his farm, March 1, 1877. His widow is still his survivor and is the occupant of the homestead. Drury B., John J., William T. and Cary are the names of their sons. Priscilla, the only daughter, is the wife of Andrew Woodward and they are residing on the homestead with their mother.

When his parents came to Illinois, Mr. Boyd, of this sketch, was an infant of 18 months. Conse- quently, he is to all purposes a native citizen of the township of which he is now a resident and in which he has been a continuous inhabitant ever since. He was trained in the profession of a farmer and was a pupil in the common schools during the early years _in which he was busy in obtaining his education. Later, he was a student at Cherry Grove Seminary at Abingdon, where he attended three terms. At the age of 19 he engaged in teaching and filled his first term of school in District No. 6, in the same town- ship where he was brought up. He also taught one term in addition and that was the extent of his oper- ations as a pedagogue. He has passed the remainder of his life of activity in the pursuit of a farmer.

Oct. 1, 1868, he was joined in marriage to Susan

F. Dean. She was born in Lewistown, Fulton Co., Ill., Sept. 1, 1849, and is the daughter of Michael and Susan (Cummings) Dean. Her father was born in Kentucky and her mother was a native of Scot- land. They were pioneers of Fulton County and are now living in Warren County.

Mr. Boyd located on the farm on which he is now residing at the time of his marriage. It is situated on the northeast quarter of the section which has been mentioned. One child-Jennie May, has been born to the household. Mrs. Boyd is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Politically, he is a Demo- crat. He was Supervisor for three terms.

ehu Bailey came to Illinois in 1855. In the same year he located in Warren Coun- ty, and has therefore lived within the same municipality 30 years. He was born in York Co., Pa., Feb. 14, 1823. Charles Bailey, his father, was also a native citizen of the Key- stone State. The family name of the mother of Mr. Bailey was Davis. He was deprived of her care when he was about four years of age and from that time was the charge of an older sister. She was the manager of the domestic affairs of the household un- til she was married, which event transpired about four years after the removal of their mother by death He lived with his sister until he was 14, when he undertook the solution of the problem of self-main- tenance. He learned the trades of cooper and plasterer, which he followed winters and summers alternately in Cumberland Co., Pa., for some years. He was there married to Frances Swiler, Dec. 25, 1846. She was born in the same county Feb. 22, 1827. They lived there until 1850, when they re- moved to Ohio and were residents in Hancock County until the year in which they came to Illinois. While there, Mr. Bailey was engaged in the business of plasterer and he also operated as a farmer. In the fall of 1855 he set out with his family for an overland trip to the West, journeying in the common manner. They passed 21 days on the road between Ohio and Warren County. Soon after his arrival, Mr. Bailey bought 160 acres of land on section II in the same township in which he is now a property

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holder. It had been previously occupied, and there was a log house for the accommodation of the family and 20 acres of the land had been broken. Mr. Bailey continued the purchase of land until he was at one time the owner of more than 400 acres. The buildings and stock on the place are of excellent type.

In political faith Mr. Bailey is a Republican. In former days he was a Whig, and passed through the phases of the changes between that party and the one to which he at present belongs. He has been Assessor and Collector of Spring Grove Township. He and his wife are members of the Church of God. and he is an Elder in the local organization.

The record of the children of the family is as fol- lows: Ira, the oldest son, is a farmer in Nemaha Co., Kan. Agnes is the wife of William Postlewait, of Spring Grove Township. Jacob and Lincoln re- side in the same township and are married. Harry lives at home with his parents.

ruman Eldridg, one of the pioneer settlers of Warren County, and a gentleman possess- ing more than ordinary ability as a busi- ness man, with a large amount of practical knowledge obtained by actual experience, who at present resides at Roseville, is a native of Massachusetts, having been born in Hancock, Berkshire Co., that State, April 24, 1808. The pa- rents of Mr. Eldridg, Thomas and Rachel (Hall) Eldridg, were natives of Massachusetts. Thomas Eldridg, Sr., together with his wife, the grandparents, moved from Rhode Island to Massachusetts at an early day. They made their way thither on horse- back by means of blazed trees which were marked to indicate the road. Thomas, Sr., followed the voca- tion of a farmer, and, with his wife, continued to re- side there until their death. Thomas Eldridg, Jr., the son of Thomas, Sr., and wife, lived in Berkshire Co., Mass., until about 1845, when they moved and located in Rensselaer County, he following the oc- cupation of a farmer in that county until his death. His wife also died in that county. They were the parents of nine children, six sons and three daugh- ters, all of whom grew to attain the age of manhood

and womanhood. Their names were Heman, James H., Thomas B., Truman; Norman A., Nathaniel A., Thyerressa G., Elvira S. and Mary. Three of them, Truman, Norman and Nathaniel are yet living.

The gentleman whose name stands at the head of this biographical notice was the fourth in order of birth of his father's family. He remained at honie until 21 years old, alternating his labors on the farm with attendance at the common schools. After leaving the parental roof-tree he worked out, laying stone walls and taking such jobs as he could pro- cure to obtain a livelihood. ' At 20 years of age, be- fore leaving the old homstead, he commenced teach- ing school during winters, and was occupied in that vocation for five seasons. He then engaged in part- nership with a gentleman in a country store, his partner being Erastus Brown, at North Stephentown, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., which partnership existed. for three years, when Mr. Eldridg sold his interest and, in 1836, came to this State and county. On ar- rival here he " took up " 240 acres of land near Hat Grove, on which he remained for about three months. He then returned to South Williamstown, Berkshire Co., Mass., and engaged in the mercantile business, which he followed for about two years, until the first of September, 1838. He then returned to this county determined to make it his permanent abiding place, and during the winter of 1838 stopped at Swan Creek. He went into the woods, cut down his tim- ber and hewed and framed the same, preparatory to the erection of a residence. He then hauled it four miles to his prairie farm and the 2d day of April, 1839, raised the then palace residence of Warren County. It was 24 x 24 feet in dimensions and one and a half stories in height, and was at that time con- sidered a most magnificent residence for the then undeveloped portion of Warren County. Mr. Eld- ridg at once engaged actively and energetically upon the task of improving his farm, determined to make it his permanent abiding place for all time to come, and improve and beautify it until it became one of the most pleasant homes, as it has, in this part of the county. When Mr. Eldridg came here in 1839 the country was new and undeveloped, at. one point of the compass his nearest neighbor being three miles and the other 12 miles. He nevertheless had great faith in the future development of the country and resolved to "stick it out," which he did, and by so doing succeeded in accumulating a competency,

LA IRE

UNIVERSIT I W ILLINIC,

M. J. Lykkes

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Anna & cykel

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UNIVERS !!!

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WARREN COUNTY.

.In this, the sunset of his life, while his hair is streaked with silver threads of years past and gone, he looks back to those pioneer days with no small degree of pleasure.

The marriage of Mr. Eldridg to Miss Alma Jones, occurred Jan. 12, 1839. She was a native of Rens -- selaer Co., N. Y., having been born in that State, April 2, 1808, the same year as her husband ; and be it said to her credit that during the trials of the past and the privations incident to the early settlement of a new country, she bore her part with that womanly fortitude of which she is characteristic. Of their union one child was born,-Irene E., who became the wife of Edwin R. Smith, of Monmouth. He died in 1867, leaving one daughter,-Edna B. Mr. and Mrs. Eldridg adopted Flora A. Jones, who became the wife of Dr. H. E. Aylsworth, and by him she had three children,-Murray, Mabel and Iran. Dr. Aylsworth died in 1865.

Mr. and Mrs. Eldridg are members of the Baptist Church, as are likewise both of their daughters. Mr. Eldridg was the the first Postmaster in the village of Roseville, which was originally called Hat Grove. In politics he is a believer in and a supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and has held offices within the gift of the citizens of his township. He has been the owner since he came to this county of three quarter-sections of land, a portion of which he has sold, and a portion has been incorporated within the limits of the village of Roseville.

illiam P. Sykes, deceased, formerly a farmer and stock-raiser residing on section 9, Monmouth Township, was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pa., Oct. 11, 1805. Mr. Sykes was the son of Henry Sykes, a native of England, who emigrated to the United States in company with two brothers some years previous to his marriage. He was accidentally killed by falling from the top of a house in Philadelphia, which accident occurred when William P. was but a small child. The mother of the subject of this notice died in Philadelphia, Aug. 29, 1835.

The gentleman whose name stands at the head of

this biographical notice, was the youngest in order of birth of his parents' five children. After the death of his father, which, as stated, occurred when he was quite young, William P. lived with his mother, attend- ing the common schools and assisting in her mainten- ance, until his marriage. In his early years he had learned the trade of a cabinet-maker, at whichi he worked, obtaining remuneration sufficient to enable him to procure the necessities of life and support his mother, and amass a property worth $3,000. At his death he had property valued at $40,000

He was married in Lancaster Co., Pa., to Jane Ramble, daughter of a respected and wealthy miller of Lancaster County. Some 15 months after his marriage and after one child had been born to them, Mrs. Sykes died, the date thereof being 1828, her child having preceded her to the land of the here- after.

Mr. Sykes had learned his trade with a Mr. Eagle in Lancaster Co., Pa., and about 1825 engaged in the business of undertaker, which he followed for, some years, meeting with success. Eight years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Sykes was again mar- ried in Salisbury Township, Lancaster Co., Pa., the date in which he formed a union with Miss Anna C. Linville being Dec. 29, 1836. She was a daughter of Arthur and Elizabeth (Haines) Linville, who re- sided in Lancaster County the major portion of their lives, and where her father was engaged in the voca- tion of farming. Her father was appointed Justice of the Peace for Lancaster County by Gov. Rittner. He died in this county Nov. 29, 1857, aged 65 years ; his wife dying in Logan Co., Ohio, Sept. ! 11, 1846, aged 50 years. Mrs. Sykes' brother, Jacob H. Lin- ville, of Philadelphia, is one of the celebrated civil engineers of the present day, having assisted to con- struct the St. Louis and Brooklyn bridges. He is now President of the Keystone Bridge Company.

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Portrait and biographical album of Warren County, Illinois : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 22

Author: Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros. Number of Pages: 794

Author:
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros.
Number of Pages: 794